USA > Indiana > Marion County > Indianapolis > Memorial record of distinguished men of Indianapolis and Indiana > Part 10
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On the 17th of September, 1890, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Allen to Miss Libbie T. Nicholson, of Indianapolis, and she continues to reside in the beau- tiful home at 1663 Broadway. Mrs. Allen was born at Indianapolis and is a daugh- ter of William T. and Jessie Nicholson, the former of whom was born on one of the Shetland islands of Scotland. Mr. Nicholson passed the closing years of his life in Indianapolis, where he died in 1872, and his widow now resides in the home of her daughter, Mrs. Allen. Mr. and Mrs. Allen had no children.
In speaking of the death of Mr. Allen, in a letter written to the latter's business associate, Senator Beveridge gave the following appreciative tribute: "I simply
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Branbille G. Allen
cannot express my grief for the death of our mutual good friend, Granville Allen,- 'Gran.' as I called him, was one of my very first friends in Indianapolis. We knew one another almost from the beginning, and never did his ardent friendship for and steady faith in me falter. I came to love him with a deep and abiding affection."
The funeral services of Mr. Allen were held from his late home and were con- ducted by the Rev. M. L. Haines, pastor of the First Presbyterian church. Inter- ment was made at Crown Hill cemetery, on February 1, 1911, and the services at the cemetery were conducted by the Scottish Rite Masons. From the address delivered by the pastor are taken the following extracts, which are well worthy of perpetuation, and but slight change is made in the subject matter, either by elimination or by other paraphrase:
"I am permitted to speak only in a brief and simple way regarding him whom God has called from us, and many words are not necessary to those who knew him so well as those present here,-whose very presence is evidence of that esteem in which he was held by so many. Any fulsome setting forth of his excellence would be contrary to his own spirit, for he was not a man who yielded to the weakness of a desire for self-display. Straightforward, unassuming, earnest, diligent in busi- ness, fervent in spirit, he won the confidence of his fellow men, and by his life of fidelity and integrity justified the exceptional esteem in which he was held.
"Forty-five years ago he was born in one of the towns of our commonwealth, and he came to this city, as all of you know, when just a young man; indeed, hardly having reached the age of manhood, but with all the ambition and purpose to make a man of himself. One who was called into close relations with him when first he came to our capital city said to me today: 'That young man, or boy, rather, was the best clerk I ever had,-thoroughly posted, active, trustworthy.' He was marked by a spirit of courtesy that was shown to even the smallest child as well as the older men and women, and those qualities he maintained during all the years. Certainly it is an honorable record that he has made in that relationship he has sustained now for more than twenty years to one of the larger firms of our state. From the time he entered that establishment, during all these years, he has joined with his great executive ability that kindly courtesy and genial spirit that made him liked by all who came into close relationship with him; that won for him that confidence and friendship of his associates. By his untiring energy and efficiency in business life he was advanced further and further into higher positions and larger responsibilities until he reached that office which he filled at the time God called him.
"In the fraternal relations in life, where, as you all know better than I can tell you, how many men open their hearts to one another, he won great confidence and affection. The representatives here today of that fraternal order of which he was a member held in honor, bear witness to the uplifting influence of his life as a friend and brother.
"I dare not attempt to tear away the veil and speak of the sacred relationships of this home where all the best of his life, as a faithful and loving and devoted husband, centered for twenty years. All the memories of what God enabled him to be and to do during these twenty years of happily wedded life will be for you who remain in the home an abiding and precious benediction."
John . A. Schumacher ,
John A. Schumacher
ERMAN immigration has been of incalculable value to American progress, not only because of the German virtues but also be- G cause the German has been, by race, character and history, in sympathy with the ideals upon which American institutions were founded. The Germanic strain in America has been one of its greatest sources of strength, and fortunate is that com- munity which gains its quota of representatives from this stanch and worthy race. Among the many citizens of German birth whose lives and ser- vices have contributed to the social and material progress and wellbeing of the beautiful capital city of Indiana was the late John A. Schumacher, who here fol- lowed the vocation of contractor and builder for nearly forty years and who became one of the leading representatives of this important line of enterprise in the state. As may be inferred, he was a man of marked business acumen, but, further than this, he was a man of impregnable integrity, of great civic loyalty and of most generous and kindly spirit. Sincerity and truth denoted him in all the relations of life and he left the priceless heritage of a good name. His memory is revered by all who came within the compass of his genial influence. He did much to further the material upbuilding of Indianapolis and other cities in Indiana, and in all things his name was a synonym for integrity and honor. His loyalty to his home city was of the most insistent order and such was his standing as a citizen and as a man among men that there is all of consistency in according to him a dis- tinct tribute in this Indianapolis memorial edition.
John A. Schumacher was born in the province of Hanover, Germany, on the 12th of December, 1847, and was summoned to the life eternal at his home in Indianapolis on the morning of August 22, 1910. He was a son of Henry and Catherine Schumacher and was fourteen years of age at the time of the death of his father, who left a widow and nine children, John A. having been the second oldest of this number. The father had been a shipbuilder by trade and vocation and at the time of his death he had several vessels in process of construction. In the meantime John A. Schumacher had availed himself of the advantages of the excellent schools of his native place and when the devoted husband and father was called from the scene of life's mortal endeavors the son, though only a boy, bravely assumed much of the burden of providing for the other members of the family. He determined to supervise the completion of his father's ships and to learn the trade of shipbuilder. This he accomplished under the kindly direction of an old and blind friend of his father, and after a time he went to sea with his uncle, Captain Albert Schumacher, who had command of a German sailing vessel. He continued to follow a seafaring life about one year, within which he visited many foreign ports and gained wide and valuable experience. Upon his return home he found that his mother had been compelled to draw all his wages except his pay for the last month of service, in order to provide for the needs of her family.
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John A. Schumacher
Under these conditions he felt constrained to seek a more profitable field of en- deavor, and so long as his mother needed his aid he accorded the same with utmost filial devotion.
In 1866, when about twenty-one years of age, Mr. Schumacher determined to come to America and so minimal were his financial resources that he paid for his passage by work on the vessel. He had also been promised small wages, but upon his arrival in the port of New York City the dishonest captain of the ship defrauded him of his money, with the result that he found himself a veritable "stranger in a strange land" and with his available capital reduced to a single dollar. Soon afterward the ambitious and self-reliant young man secured employment with the New York firm of Trippert & Hawley, house-builders, and in this connection he learned the trade of carpenter and builder most effectively. He remained in the national metropolis until the great labor strike of 1873, when he came to Indiana and located in Indianapolis, where he formed a partnership with his sister's hus- band, William P. Jungclaus, who was likewise a carpenter and builder and who had located here some time previously. Under the firm name of Jungclaus & Schumacher they began operations on a modest scale, with headquarters on Hill- side avenue, and by effective service and honorable methods they built up a large and prosperous business, in which they continued to be associated about a quarter of a century. The dissolution of partnership was made in 1895, and this action was taken by reason of the fact that each of the interested principals had sons whom they wished to take into business. Accordingly Mr. Jungclaus engaged in business in company with his sons, and, following the same plan, Mr. Schumacher organized the John A. Schumacher Company, of which he continued as president until his death. Since that time the large and representative enterprise has been ably and successfully conducted by his sons, who are well upholding the high pres- tige of the family name and who are numbered among the substantial and popular business men of their native city.
As a contractor and builder Mr. Schumacher was ever known for the scrupu- lous honesty of his work, and he invariably observed all details of plans and speci- fications, so that his reputation became his best business asset. He was a most skillful and discriminating artisan, a good executive and a tireless worker, and thus he made of success not an accident but a logical result. His name was con- nected with the erection of many important public and business buildings in Indi- anapolis and other parts of the state, the while many fine private dwellings in the capital city remain as monuments to his skill and fidelity. He was one of the leading contractors in connection with the erection of the magnificent capitol of Indiana and among other important buildings erected by him may be mentioned the Indianapolis public library, the old St. Vincent Hospital, several buildings at St. Mary's of the Woods, the Meridian Street Methodist Episcopal church and other fine church edifices, the Maennerchor Hall, the Shortridge high school, the Methodist Hospital, and the police station, besides many other buildings in Indi- anapolis. He was the contractor for the laying of the foundations of the new Ma- sonic Temple, one of the finest structures in this city, and he also erected a number of buildings in Terre Haute and other cities of Indiana.
Though his health had been impaired for more than three years, Mr. Schu- macher continued to give personal attention to his business affairs until within a short time before his death, which was superinduced by an ulceration of the stomach.
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John A. Schumacher
His remains rest in beautiful Crown Hill cemetery. Though his home, with its ideal relations, was his sanctuary and to him the "best of all places," Mr. Schu- macher did not confine himself within the narrow environs of thought and action. He was one of the best known and most popular factors in the leading German circles of the city, was progressive and liberal as a citizen, and was earnest and devoted in his work as a consistent member of the Zion Evangelical Lutheran church on Ohio street, with which his widow and children are also actively identi- fied. Broad in his sympathies and tolerant in his views, he was at all times ready to give timely aid to those in affliction and to support worthy charitable and philan- thropic agencies. He was a director of the Deaconesses' Hospital of the Methodist Episcopal church in Indianapolis, the buildings of which were erected by him, as has already been stated, and he was also one of the interested principals and liberal supporters of the German Orphans' Home. Though a stalwart supporter of the cause of the Republican party, he would never consent to become a candi- date for public office of any kind, but he was always loyal and progressive as a citizen. In the time-honored Masonic fraternity he received the thirty-second de- gree of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, and he was also identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Indianapolis Commercial Club, the Maen- nerchor, the German House, the Independent Turnverein, and the Two-and-Twenty German Union. He was held in high esteem by all classes of citizens and was well known in the city that so long represented his home.
In New York City, on the 29th of May, 1871, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Schumacher to Miss Augusta J. Viena, who was born in Germany and who was a child at the time of her mother's death. Her father, Charles Viena, was engaged in the livery business in Germany until 1867, when he came with his daughter to America, and he passed the closing years of his life in Indianapolis. One in sympathy and aspiration, Mr. and Mrs. Schumacher found their wedded life compassed by the most gracious influences and the silver cord of mutual love and helpfulness was loosened only when the husband and father was called to eternal rest. Mrs. Schumacher resides in a beautiful home at the corner of Belle- fontaine and Eleventh streets, Indianapolis,-a house erected by her husband nearly a quarter of a century ago and one that has found itself the center of much and generous hospitality during the long intervening period. Mrs. Schumacher has been active in the social and religious life of the community and has a wide circle of friends in the city that has so long been her home. She is a devoted member of the Zion Evangelical Lutheran church and holds membership in the German Orphans' Home Association, the Independent Turnverein and the German Old People's Society.
Of the six children of Mr. and Mrs. Schumacher three died when young and the three surviving sons are all actively concerned with the extensive business enter- prise of which their honored father was the founder. The headquarters of the business, which includes general contracting and building and the operation of a planing mill and well equipped lumber yard, are located at 814-20 East St. Clair street, and the enterprise is one of the largest and most important of the kind in the capital city of Indiana. William M., the eldest of the surviving children, married Miss Sophia Batcher, of Chicago, and they have four children,-William, George, Arthur and Margaret. Max M. married Miss Anna Batcher, and they have one son, John A. Alexander J. married Miss Lillie Kottlowski, who had pre- viously been a successful and popular teacher of German.
Liberty Howard
Liberty Howard
ENEROUS and big of heart, the late Liberty Howard was one G of those men whose very presence is like genial sunshine, and he was widely known and enjoyed unqualified popularity in Indianapolis. He came here as a youth and here he won his. way to a position of success and prominence in a business way, the while bis course was marked by impregnable integrity and by consideration for others. He was large of physique and large of soul; his temperament was buoyant and optimistic, and his very nature gained to him the appreciative regard of those who came within the sphere of his influence. There were no dramatic scenes or episodes in the story of his career, but he lived a calm, purposeful and kindly life; he directed his efforts along pro- ductive lines and thus proved a valuable citizen; he took a loyal interest in all that concerned his home city; and "gladness and goodness designated the man." These preliminary statements indicate how thoroughly worthy of a tribute in this publi- cation is the memory of Liberty Howard, who maintained his home in Indiana's capital city for nearly half a century and who retired from active business only a short time before his death, which here occurred on the 14th of November, 1911, his remains being laid to rest in Crown Hill cemetery, while manifold were the expressions of sorrow on the part of the friends whom he had indeed grappled to his soul with hoops of steel.
Liberty Howard was born in the little village of Etna, Tompkins county, New York, on the 4th of July, 1847, and by reason of his having thus made his advent in the world on the day marking the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, his father consistently gave him the name of Liberty. He was a son of Pliny and Sophronia (Whipple) Howard, who were numbered among the pioneers of Tompkins county and who continued to reside in the old Empire state until their death. The schools of his native village afforded Liberty Howard an opportunity to gain a good fundamental education, which he later broadened in the schools of practical experience and self-discipline. At the age of sixteen years he began learning the art of telegraphy, in which he soon perfected himself, his ap- prenticeship having been served in the city of Syracuse, New York. . When about seventeen years of age he came to Indianapolis, where his elder brother, Azel B., was employed as a telegraphist, and he himself here found employment as opera- tor in a railroad telegraph office. He continued to be engaged in the work of his trade until about 1870, when he made a radical change of vocation by establishing himself in the grocery business at the corner of Virginia avenue and New Jersey street. About one year later he disposed of his stock and business and established, on a very modest scale, the Howard Steam Cleaning Works, at the northwest cor- ner of St. Clair and Canal streets. He was the pioneer in this line of enterprise in the city and by his energy, good management and honorable dealings he soon built up a profitable business, the same continuing to expand in scope and import-
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Liberty Doward
ance with the passing years and eventually reaching extensive proportions. Though doing a general class of work, he made a specialty of the cleaning of carpets and rugs, and the facilities of the establishment were maintained at the highest stand- ard at all times. Under the able administration of Mr. Howard the enterprise which he thus founded became the largest of its kind in the city and controlled a supporting patronage of representative character. When he opened his plant it was considered far removed from the central business district and the locality was still known as Blake's Woods, with but few houses in the vicinity. This is now one of the closely settled and active business sections of the city. In the establish- ment during the later years of his control of the same Mr. Howard gave employ- ment to a force of about fifteen operatives, and he continued in the active super- vision of the business until August, 1911, when he sold the same, together with the property. He was not long permitted to enjoy his well earned retirement, as he was summoned to the life eternal on the 14th of the following November.
Mr. Howard was a man of fine physique and attractive presence, his average weight being about two hundred and fifty pounds. He was well known throughout the city in which he had so long maintained his home and it may well be said, without fear of contradiction, that his circle of friends was coincident with that of his acquaintances, as his cheery nature, unfailing good humor and cordial thought- fulness for others could not fail to insure this result. Like Abou Ben Ahdem, he "loved his fellow men," and this was shown in instant sympathy and kindly en- couragement and helpfulness.
Mr. Howard was diligent in business and his very character was such as to make him love and appreciate his home, every relation of which was of ideal order. He had no desire for the activities of practical politics but gave a stalwart support to the cause of the Republican party. Though he had reverence for spiritual verities, as shown in kindly thoughts and kindly deeds, he never identified himself with any formal religious organization and was broad and tolerant in his views. He was a charter member of the Commercial Club and never failed to show inter- est in those things which made for the wellbeing of the community.
On the 5th of September, 1869, Mr. Howard was united in marriage to Mrs. Mary J. (Martin) Wood, who was born in the city of Cincinnati, Ohio, but who has been a resident of Indianapolis since she was fifteen weeks old. She is a daughter of Robert and Margaret Martin, the former a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, and the latter of Lexington, Kentucky. They came to Indianapolis when Mrs. Howard was a baby, as already stated, and here they passed the residue of their lives, the principal vocation of the father having been that of a foundryman and machinist. At the age of sixteen years Miss Mary J. Martin became the wife of James Wood, who was born in Scotland, in the year 1831, and who was five years of age at the time when his parents established their home in Indianapolis, where he was reared and educated and where he followed his profession of civil engineering until his death, which occurred on the 19th of July, 1866, his mortal remains being interred at Crown Hill cemetery. Mr. and Mrs. Wood became the parents of one son, Henry M., who was born in Indianapolis, on the 28th of February, 1864, and who was afforded the advantages of the public schools of his native city. He became associated with his step-father, Mr. Howard, in the business described in preceding paragraphs, and became a partner in the same, with which he continued to be actively concerned until his death, on the 8th of April, 1911. He married
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Liberty Doward
Miss Mary Handley, who survives him and who still resides in Indianapolis, her only child heing Kathryn, who was born on the 22d of February, 1898, and who remains with the widowed mother. Henry M. Wood, was one of the progressive business men and popular citizens of his native city, was a staunch Republican in politics, and was affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and the Knights of Pythias. His widow and daughter reside in the beautiful home he provided for them on North New Jersey street. Mr. and Mrs. Howard had no children, and it may well be understood that the burden of sorrow lay heavily upon Mrs. Howard when she lost her only son, Henry M. Wood, and her loved and devoted husband within the same year. The pleasant old homestead which she owns and occupies, at 418 East Pratt street, has been her place of abode since 1864 and is endeared to her by the gracious memories and associations of the past, the while its hospitality continues to be greatly enjoyed by the many friends whom she has drawn about her in the city that has been her home from her girlhood days.
Frank Utenbach
Frank Ittenbach
MONG those who have stood exponent of marked progressive- ness and civic loyalty in Indianapolis and who have contributed A to the industrial and civic advancement of the city was the late Frank Ittenbach, who was one of the representative stone con- tractors of the Indiana metropolis at the time of his death, which here occurred on the 13th of May, 1911. He was a native son of the city in which he won so distinctive success in his chosen sphere of endeavor and was a member of one of the honored pioneer families of this state. He well upheld, both as a citizen and business man, the prestige of a name that has been significantly honored in connection with indus- trial activities and civic affairs in Indianapolis, and his sterling character gave to him high vantage ground in the confidence and esteem of the community which ever represented his home and in which he found ample opportunity for productive enter- prise along the line that had been followed by his honored father, who was one of the pioneer stone contractors of Indianapolis. In this city Frank Ittenbach was born on the 7th of April, 1859, and he was a son of Gerhard and Frances Ittenbach, both of whom were born in Germany. The parents were numbered among the early repre- sentatives of the valued German element in the population of Indianapolis, and here the father founded the stone-contracting business in which he was later succeeded by his sons Frank and John B.
Frank Ittenbach gained his early education in a private German-English school in his native city, and as a boy he began to assist in the business conducted by his father. Under these favorable conditions he learned the trade of stone mason and familiarized himself with all details of the contracting business in this line, so that he became a valued coadjutor of his father, as did also his younger brother, John B. The father, then venerable in years, retired from active business about the year 1893, and the two sons continued the large and substantial enterprise, under the title of G. Ittenbach & Company, until January 1, 1911, when the part- nership was dissolved and Frank Ittenbach engaged in business in an independent way, at the corner of Twenty-first and Montcalm streets, where he associated with himself in the enterprise his only son, Elmer J., who now has entire charge of the business, as his father's death occurred within a few months after the new firm began active operations. In thus initiating the new enterprise the firm issued an attractive announcement, from which the following quotations are taken: "Frank Ittenbach having sold his interest in the firm of G. Ittenbach & Company, of which he was the senior member, has opened up a plant with the latest improved stone-working machinery, corner of Montcalm and Twenty-first streets, where his son will be associated with him in conducting a cut-stone contracting business, under the firm name of Frank Ittenbach & Son. With these modern facilities in- stalled, they are able to execute work promptly and assure their patrons the best of service, courteous treatment, combined with excellence of workmanship, the very best of material and prices as low as consistent with high-grade service."
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