USA > Indiana > Indiana and Indianans : a history of aboriginal and territorial Indiana and the century of statehood, Volume V > Part 29
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WHOually
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limited material resources but unlimited mind and will of the chief personality be- hind it.
Started as a small plant for the manu- facture of structural steel products, the Insley Manufacturing Company today has appropriated a large and important field of its own, making a varied line of appli- ances and equipment for the economical and effective handling of material used in construction work, especially in construc- tion where concrete is employed on a large scale and in vast quantities. The Insley products may be found today in general use wherever the government, big steel corporations and other industries are con- structing such great work as dry docks, dams and breakwaters, retaining walls, etc. In fact the equipment manufactured at Indianapolis by this company has gone to all the ends of the earth, and has been used by contractors in Europe and Austra- lia, as well as in all parts of America.
The Insley Manufacturing Company was organized in 1907. The first place of busi- ness was on South Meridian Street at the railroad tracks, but in 1912 the company commenced the building of a large plant at North Olney and East St. Clair streets. In the last six or eight years the company has devised and has manufactured machinery that has served to revolutionize the use of concrete materials on a large scale in con- struction projects. Most of the machines and appliances are covered by basic patents owned or controlled by the company. One of the most important contributions by this company to the field of modern industrial appliances is the gravity tower for con- veying and pouring concrete. These tow- ers are now a familiar sight wherever large- buildings, bridges, piers and other works are in process of construction involving the use of concrete.
When the business was first organized William H. Insley, its president, was not only the executive but was the bookkeeper, draftsman and engineer, and did prac- tically all the business in the office as well as much outside. At the present time the company maintains a staff of thirty to forty engineers, office assistants and clerks, be- sides a small army of workmen in the shops.
The Insley family are pioneers of In- diana and are of Scotch ancestry. The great-grandfather of William H. Insley, Job Insley, is buried at Newtown, near At- Vol. V-11
tica, in Fountain County, Indiana. The grandfather, Ellis Insley, came with his brothers to Indiana and entered land in Fountain County as early as 1827. He spent all his active life as a farmer. Ellis Insley during the '60s moved to a farm on North Illinois Street, or road, in what is now the City of Indianapolis. This farm was opposite the Blue farm near what is now Meridian Heights. He also served as a member of the commission which laid out the Crown Hill Cemetery at Indianapolis, and in that city of the dead his own re- mains now rest. He was a very active churchman and did much to keep up the Methodist Church in the various communi- ties where he lived.
The father of William H. Insley was Dr. William Quinn Insley, who was born near Newtown, Fountain County, Indiana, in 1838. He received a good education, tak- ing his medical course in the University of Michigan and in the Cincinnati Medical College. He practiced his profession at Terre Haute, Indiana. He died in 1880 and is buried at Crown Hill Cemetery at Indianapolis. He was a Scottish Rite Mason and Knight Templar. Doctor Ins- ley married Celia Whitmore, who was born at Rocky Hill, Connecticut, daughter of Edward Whitmore. The Whitmores on coming to Indiana settled near Fort Wayne. Mrs. William Insley died in 1906, at the age of sixty-six. They were the parents of seven children, five of whom are still living: Edward, an editor of the Los Angeles Examiner; Avis, wife of Ben Blanchard, of Independence, Kansas; Wil- liam H .; Rebecca, widow of Lewis Casper, of New York City; and Robert B., who is assistant to the president of Nordyke. & Marmon Company, Indianapolis.
William H. Insley was born at his par- ents' home at Terre Haute January 16, 1870. As a boy he attended school at a schoolhouse two miles north of Newtown in Fountain County. When seventeen years of age he began teaching which he con- tinued for two years, and then spent two years as a student at DePauw University, at Greencastle, Indiana. All his thought and effort were directed toward an educa- tion that would fit him for some of the larger responsibilities of life, and from the first his mind was directed into technical and industrial channels. With this pur- pose in mind, though without means and
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with no assurance that he could remain con- secutively, he entered the Rose Polytechnic Institute at Terre Haute. To support him- self and pay his tuition he was willing to accept any honorable employment, and while there he conducted a boarding house, acted as tutor, and succeeded in finishing his course only $400 in debt, that in itself being an achievement which was an earnest of his future success. Thus equipped with a technical education, he went to work as draftsman with the Brown, Ketcham Iron Works, and later served as chief draftsman in charge of the Engineering Department of the Noelke-Richards Iron Works. It was from this work that he withdrew and set up in business for himself. At that time he had practically no capital, and for sev- eral years his structural iron business went along with very modest returns. Gradually he began specializing in concrete work equipment, and from that time forward the success of his business has been assured.
Mr. Insley is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Ameri- can Society of Mechanical Engineers, and is widely known among engineering and technical circles throughout the country. He is a Mason and a trustee of the Irving- ton Methodist Church, where he and his wife are members. In 1903 he married Jane Williams, daughter of Francis A. Wil- liams, an attorney of Corning, New York. Mrs. Insley is a niece of Charles R. Wil- liams, formerly editor of the Indianapolis News. Mr. and Mrs. Insley have one son, Francis H., now a student in the Indian- apolis public schools.
JAMES MORTON CALLAHAN, an educator of recognized ability, claims Bedford, In- diana, as the place of his birth. His life has been devoted to educational work, and he has become well known on the lecture platform, was lecturer on American diplo- matic history and archives at Johns Hop- kins University, 1898-1902, director of Bureau of Historical Research, 1900-02, head of the department of history and poli- ties, West Virginia University, 1902- and dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, 1916 -. He has conducted extensive re- searches in the manuscript diplomatic archives at Washington, London, and Paris, and has won distinction by his studies in international polities and diplo- macy. He was a delegate to the Interna-
tional Deep Waterways Association, to the National Conservation Congress in 1911, and has represented West Virginia at vari- ous conferences as delegate by appointment of the governor of the state.
Mr. Callahan married Maud Louise Ful- cher, and they have one daughter, Kath- leen Callahan.
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HAL A. ALDRIDGE is a veteran traveling salesman who on retiring from the road a few years ago set up in business for him- self at Anderson as proprietor of a dry cleaning establishment. There were possi- bilities which he realized in this work, and he has exemplified his ambition and plans by making the Guarantee Shop, of which he is proprietor, the largest business of its kind in that city.
Mr. Aldridge was born at Tipton, In- diana, September 26, 1886, son of James F. and Ollie (Bozell) Aldridge. He is of English ancestry, and the family have lived in America for many generations. When he was ten years old his parents came to Anderson, and here he continued his educa- tion in the city schools. When he was twelve years old his mother died, and from that time forward Hal A. Aldridge has made his own way in the world. For ten years he was a boy workman in different factories, spending seven years in a local glass factory. He finally went on the road selling jewelry for a Chicago house and traveled over Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky and Illinois for seven years, building up a large acquaintance with retail merchants over these states. He gradually accumulated a little capital, and seeking an opportunity for a business of his own established his present dry cleaning shop at 1015 Main Street, opening it on July 15, 1916. He has made a wonderful success of this busi- ness, and now handles work not only for the City of Anderson but drawn from the neighboring towns of Alexandria, Middle- town, Pendleton and other places.
In 1906 Mr. Aldridge married Metta L. Brown, daughter of Samuel and Sadie (Hutchinson) Brown of Anderson. They have one son, Edmund Arthur, born in 1907. Mr. Aldridge in politics votes the republican ticket in national affairs but is independent locally. He is a member of the United Commercial Travelers, and with his wife belongs to the Central Chris- tian Church.
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CHARLES I. SMITH first became identified with business affairs at Anderson as book- keeper for a produce house. Later he ac- quired an interest in the business, which he had learned from the ground up, and is now a member of the firm Moulton & Smith Company, wholesale fruits and vege- tables. At the same time he has acquired numerous other business connections, and is one of the men of Anderson whose interests are most widespread and who exert a large influence over business affairs both in that city and elsewhere.
Mr. Smith was horn at Muskegon, Michi- gan, in October, 1879, son of Andrew C. and Gertrude R. (Kratz) Smith. He is of German ancestry. His father came from Germany at the age of five years and lived in Detroit, Michigan, until he was thirty, developing a business there as a wholesale meat and provision dealer. He died at Muskegon, Michigan, November 15, 1917.
Charles I. Smith, who is one of four brothers, was educated in the public schools of Muskegon, including high school. His business experience began very early. He was only fourteen when he went to work for the firm of Moulton & Riedel of Mus- kegon. They were produce merchants, and his first work was driving a truck. He rapidly acquired a knowledge of the busi- ness in all details, and after three years the company had so much confidence in him as to send him to Anderson as book- keeper of the branch store. He began work here October 6, 1897, when he was only eighteen years old. In 1904 Mr. Smith bought the Riedel interest in the local busi- ness, acquiring that interest on credit. The firm was organized as Moulton & Com- pany. Their location is at 116-18 Main Street, and with subsequent expansions the firm does business with thirty-nine towns over this section of Indiana. The company was incorporated in 1912, with Mr. Smith as secretary and treasurer and owner of half the stock.
In the meantime his services have been sought by a number of other business or- ganizations. He is a stockholder and di- rector of the Madison County Trust Com- pany, the American Playground Device Company, the Rolland Title Company of Anderson, the Security Investment Com- pany of Anderson, the Anderson Invest- ment Company, the People's Milling Com- pany of Muskegon, Michigan, the Colum-
bia Tire and Rubber Company of Buffalo, New York, the Beebe Title Company of Anderson, the Frankfort Carburetor Com- pany of Frankfort, Indiana. Mr. Smith also has real estate investments both at Anderson and at Muskegon, Michigan. For this successful representation of his busi- less career his own industry and capabili- ties have been largely responsible, since he started life without reliance upon other assets than his own character afforded.
In 1910 he married Miss Ida C. Beck- man, danghter of John and Margaret (Ringen) Beckman. Mr. Smith is a repub- lican, and in January, 1918, refused an ap- pointment as member of the Board of Po- lice Commissioners at Anderson. He is affiliated with Anderson Lodge of the Be- nevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
JESSE BELMONT ROGERS, M. D. For nearly a quarter of a century Doctor Ro- gers has borne the reputation of a careful and conscientious physician at Michigan City, where practically all of his profes- sional career has been spent. Before com- ing to Michigan City he had considerable experience in the civil engineering field, but gave that up to enter the medical pro- fession.
He was born in the parish of Byfield, Town of Newbury, Essex County, Massa- chusetts, December 30, 1865. He was the youngest of the five children of Abiel and Susan (Rogers) Rogers. His grandfathers were Nathaniel Rogers and James Rogers, both of English ancestry. Nathaniel Ro- `gers was an American soldier in the War of 1812, and otherwise was a farmer and spent his long and useful life in Essex County. James Rogers, the maternal grandfather, was a native of New Hampshire and was a millwright and miller by trade.
Abiel Rogers was born at Byfield June 10, 1828, grew up on a farm, and lived at Byfield until a few months before his death, when he came to Michigan City and died at the age of seventy-eight.
Doctor Rogers attended the public schools of Newbury, also the Putnam Free School at Newburyport, and after graduat- ing in 1883 entered Dartmouth College, where he took the engineering course and was graduated in 1887. For several years following Doctor Rogers was connected with the engineering staff of the Great Northern and Northern Pacific Railroads,
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and saw much adventure and experience in the great northwestern country. But the work was not altogether congenial and he sought something more to his liking and began the study of medicine with Dr. C. G. Higbee of St. Paul, Minnesota. In 1892 he entered the Hahnemann Medical College at Chicago and graduated M. D. in 1895. After a brief practice at Lincoln, Illinois, he moved to Michigan City, and succeeded to the practice of Dr. E. Z. Cole. He has enjoyed many professional successes and honors and is a member of the American Institute of Homeopathy.
November 14, 1893, Doctor Rogers mar- ried Miss Marian S. Woods, who was born at LaCrosse, Wisconsin, daughter of Oliver S. and Vernie (MeIntire) Woods. The two children born to Doctor and Mrs. Rogers both died in early life. Mrs. Rogers is a member of the Baptist Church while Doctor Rogers is a Congregationalist. He is affiliated with Acme Lodge No. 83, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, Michigan City Chapter No. 25, Royal Arch Masons, Michi- gan City Commandery No. 30, Knights Templar, Michigan City Council No. 56, Royal and Select Masters, and also belongs to the local lodge, No. 265, of Odd Fel-
lows, Washington Lodge No. 94, Knights of Pythias, and Michigan City Lodge No. 432 of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He is a member of the City Board of Health and is active in the Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Pottawat- tomie Country Club.
ROBERT W. BAILEY is general manager' and vice president of the J. W. Bailey Company, one of the largest firms in Madi- son County handling building supplies, coal and other materials. They have their prin- cipal offices and yards at Anderson, and also a branch of the business at Pendleton, conducted under the name of the Fall City Supply Company.
The Bailey family has been well known in Anderson for many years. Robert W. Bailey was born at Portsmonth, Ohio, Aug- ust 22, 1887, and was a child when his parents, James W. and Anna L. (Brown) Bailey, moved to Anderson. The family were farmers in Southern Ohio. The Baileys are of English stock, first locating in Pennsylvania and coming to Southern Ohio in pioneer times. The maternal grandfather, Henry Brown, was the
founder of that family in Ohio. Mr. Bailey's ancestors have been in the main farmers, but some of them have been lawyers, physi- cians and ministers. James W. Bailey on coming to Anderson in 1890 was employed as a bookkeeper in the Cathedral Glass Company. Later he established himself in the builders' supply business at Jackson Street and the Big Four Railroad, and that was the beginning of the present J. W. Bailey Company.
Robert W. Bailey graduated from the Anderson High School in 1905, and then entered Purdue University, where he ob- tained his Bachelor of Science degree in 1909. For a time he was employed in the engineering department of the Buckeye Manufacturing Company at Anderson, and then entered the service of the Philadelphia Quartz Company, and made the plans and helped construct the large plant of that company at Gardenville, New York, a suburb of Buffalo. Returning to Anderson in 1911, Mr. Bailey entered the copartner- ship with his father, and since 1914, when his father retired, has been manager and vice president of the company. The com- pany is incorporated for $10,000, and does business all over Madison County.
In 1911 Mr. Bailey married Ruth B. Buck, daughter of Alfred and Martha (Bliven) Buck. The Bliven family is the oldest in the City of Anderson. Mr. and Mrs. Bailey have three children: Martha W., born in 1912; Robert W., Jr., born in 1914; and John W., born in 1917.
While always a keen student of politics and interested in the success of the republi- can party, Mr. Bailey has had no time for official participation in public affairs. He is a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason and Knight Templar, and is a mem- ber of Indiana Delta Chapter of the Phi Kappa Psi college fraternity of Purdue. He is also a member of the Purdue Alumni Association, of the Anderson Rotary Club, and of the First Methodist Episcopal Church.
JOHN L. HOGUE is one of the leading an- tomobile salesmen of Anderson, and is one of the partners in the Hogue-Fifer Sales Company, operating one of the chief sales agencies in that city.
Mr. Hogue was born on a farm near Sabina, Ohio, in 1877, son of William R. and Emma (Titus) Hogue. His ancestry
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is Scotch-Irish. He grew up as a farmer boy, had a country school education in the winter time, and also spent eight months in the Normal School at Lebanon, Ohio. At the age of seventeen he went to work on his grandfather's farm, remained there two years, and gradually acquired experi- ence in other lines. For two years he was engaged in building rigs and oil pumps with a large oil well supply house at Lima, Ohio. He then took up a trade as a bar- ber, worked in different towns in Ohio, and in 1903 moved to Anderson, and for several years conducted one of the well patronized shops of the city. Being attracted into the automobile field, he proved himself a suc- cessful salesman during three years of con- nection with the Hill Stage Company, sell- ing Ford and Overland cars. He then went with the Robinson Sales Company, selling the Dodge and Ford cars, but on March 1, 1917, established the present business of the Hogue-Fifer Sales Company.
Mr. Hogue is a democrat in politics, a member of the Christian Church, is affil- iated with the Loyal Order of Moose and is a citizen who is always alert to opportunity and public spirited in his attitude with re- gard to everything connected with the wel- fare of Anderson. He married Miss Leeta. Roller, daughter of Albert Roller, and they have two children, Delbert, born in 1901, and Dorothy,. born in 1904.
HON. JOSEPH M. RABB took his first cases as a lawyer soon after the war, in which he had played his part and rendered full duty as a youthful but brave and energetic soldier for three years. He has practiced law half a century, and more than half of that time has been either a Circuit or Ap- pellate Court judge.
Judge Rabb was born at Covington in Fountain County, Indiana, February 14, 1846, son of Smith and Mary (Carwile) Rabb. His father was born in Warren County, Ohio, and died at the age of eighty- one, while his mother was a native of In- diana and died at the age of sixty-eight. Judge Rabb was the third among their nine children. His father was a shoemaker by trade, and for fifty-six years was in the boot and shoe business at Perrysville, In- diana. For over twenty years of that time he served as postmaster. He received his first appointment and commission as post- master from President Lincoln. He was a
loyal and enthusiastic republican from the time this party was formed until his death.
As a boy at Perrysville Judge Rabb at- tended the public schools, but his educa- tion was not completed until after the war. On July 22, 1862, a short time after his six- teenth birthday, he enlisted in Company K of the Seventy-First Indiana Infantry. He was mustered in at Indianapolis August 18, and just two days later, August 20, 1862, received his baptism of fire at the bat- tle of Richmond, Kentucky. The fighting began at daylight and continued practically uninterrupted until ten o'clock at night. It was one of the critical battles in beating back the advancing forces of Bragg. The Seventy-First Indiana lost fifty-four men killed, including a lieutenant colonel and major, 215 wounded and 500 captured. The remnants of the regiment were reor- ganized as the Sixth Indiana Cavalry. With the Sixth Cavalry Judge Rabb con- tinued through the various campaigns made by General Burnside in East Tennessee, and in 1864, at Paris, Kentucky, he and his comrades were remounted and were then assigned to General Sherman's army. They were in the advance upon and siege of Atlanta, following which they returned to Tennessee to follow Hood up to Franklin and Nashville, when his forces were dis- sipated. He then broke down the resistance of the Confederates represented chiefly by Wheeler's Cavalry and General Forrest's Raiders. Judge Rabb was mustered out at Pulaski, Tennessee, as corporal of his company.
After his return home he attended school one term at Asbury University at Greencastle, and then entered the law offices of Judge Brown and Gen. George Wagner. He applied himself diligently to his law books and was admitted to the bar in 1868. In 1870, upon the death of General Wag- ner, he became a partner of Mr. Brown in the firm of Brown & Rabb. After two years he practiced for himself, and was then as- sociated with Allen High in the firm of Rabb & High until the death of his part- ner three years later. Judge Rabb in 1882 was elected circuit judge of the Twenty- first Circuit, including the three counties of Fountain, Warren and Vermilion. He remained on the bench of this circuit twen- ty-four years, constituting one of the long- est services as a circuit judge in Indiana. In 1906 Judge Rabb was elevated to the
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Appellate Court Bench, and after serving one term retired to private life. He then located at Logansport and is now associated with M. F. Mahoney and U. L. Fansler under the firm name of Rabb, Mahoney & Fansler.
Judge Rabb is a republican and has been so in all his political activities. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic. On June 11, 1872, he married Miss Lottie Morris. She died May 7, 1888, the mother of five children, two of whom died in infancy, while the daughter Clara died in 1900, the wife of Guy Winks. On November 11, 1884, Judge Rabb married Ida Elwell. They have one daughter, Louise, now a teacher in the Logansport High School.
DR. HORACE ELLIS, state superintend- ent of public instruction of Indiana, is an educator of the widest experience, of great attainments and splendid ideals, and brought to his present office a previous excellent record as an administrator and a thorough familiarity with the needs and the working relations of all the many in- stitutions under his supervision.
Practically his entire life has been de- voted to the schools of Indiana, and he has given active service in every school capacity, as rural teacher, village principal, city superintendent, normal school presi- dent, university president.
Doctor Ellis was born in Decatur, Illi- nois, July 9, 1861, a son of Ira and Mary Frances (Ferguson) Ellis. His early life was spent in a rural environment, he was reared on a farm and attended country schools. He began his career as a country school teacher and continued that work until 1882. In the meantime he was ac- cepting every opportunity to advance his own knowledge and improve his resources, and for part of his higher education he attended Butler College at Indianapolis. From 1885 to 1892 he was superintendent of Indianapolis suburban schools. He then reentered Indiana University, from which he received the A. B. degree in 1896. The University of Indianapolis conferred upon him the degree Master of Arts in 1897, and he has the degree Bachelor of Philosophy conferred in 1903.
During 1896-98 Doctor Ellis taught at Lafayette and North Vernon, Indiana, was superintendent of public schools at Frank-
liu, Indiana, from 1898 to 1902, and at that date accepted the only call away from the schools of Indiana, when he went to Idaho and served two years, 1902-04, as president of the Idaho State Normal School. In 1904 he returned to Indiana to become president of Vincennes University. He has always been allied in polities with the re- publican party and in 1914 accepted a place on the state ticket as candidate for state superintendent of public instruction. As is well known, the republican ticket of that year suffered defeat all along the line, but in 1916 Doctor Ellis' name was again placed as a candidate, and the appreciation of his fitness for the office is well indicated by the fact that he lead the entire ticket in many counties of the state. He assumed the duties of his present office in Indian- apolis on March 15, 1917. His conduct of the affairs of his great office during the war won the hearty approval of the Federal government for the brilliant and patriotic cooperation with the nation.
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