USA > Indiana > Marion County > Indianapolis > Memorial record of distinguished men of Indianapolis and Indiana > Part 13
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Mr. Bassett's good judgment, persistent effort and fidelity to business asso- ciates were matter of general recognition, as was also his high reputation among the trade as being an excellent merchant. None were more appreciative of his abil- ity and sterling character than A. P. Pettis, the head of the firm of Pettis, Ivers & Company, of Indianapolis, Indiana. Mr. Pettis seized the first opportunity to se- cure Mr. Bassett as a partner, and this partnership alliance was formed in 1877, the house of Pettis, Ivers & Company having become widely known throughout Indiana under the title of the New York Store. On account of ill health Mr. Ivers retired from the firm, and the title was then changed to Pettis, Bassett &
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Company. Mr. Ivers died soon afterward and the business was continued by the firm of Pettis, Bassett & Company until 1890. Impaired health then made Mr. Bassett's retirement absolutely unavoidable and the affairs of the firm were ad- justed to meet the new conditions and exigencies.
Mr. Bassett's domestic life offers a record no less interesting than that of his business career. He was married on the 11th of July, 1852, to Miss Sarah Mar- garet Townsend, a daughter of Almond and Clarissa (Baker) Townsend. After many years a son was born to them and was named Edwin S. Bassett. He was an unusually bright, promising lad and lived to be nearly eight years of age. His death was a very severe affliction to Mr. Bassett, who, no doubt, had pictured in his mind something of the future of his son, whose death crushed all his hopes and anticipations, so that his grief and disappointment were great. It may be noted as a singular coincidence that Mr. Bassett's son was born on the birthday anniversary of the former's mother and died on the birthday anniversary of Mr. Bassett himself. After a few years Mr. Bassett's niece, Mrs. Salome A. Frost, of Boston, Massachusetts, gave birth to a son, to whom was given the name of Edwin B. Frost, in honor of the deceased son of Mr. Bassett. Mr. Bassett looked upon this boy as a representative of his own son but the child lived only a few years, and thus again sorrow and disappointment were brought into the life of Mr. Bas- sett, who said that never again could he consent to have a child named for his son. These afflictions and disappointments he carried with him until his death. In mem- ory of his son Mr. Bassett, by his will, remembered the Indianapolis Orphan Asy- lum with a very generous fund, which is known as the Edwin S. Bassett fund. He otherwise showed his generous disposition in many ways but always without the least ostentation or display.
In politics Mr. Bassett called himself a Democrat, but he was never a strict partisan and always reserved the right to cast his vote for the men and measures meeting the approval of his judgment. His religious views were in harmony with the Unitarian tenets but upon taking up his residence in Indianapolis he and his family became regularly identified with Plymouth church, which at that time was thought to be the most liberal in the city. He was a member of the Indianapolis Board of Trade and also of the Commercial Club. In Boston, Massachusetts, he was affiliated with the Blue Lodge of the Masonic fraternity and he was also a member of the old Massachusetts Historical Society. He was one of the founders of the New England Society of Indianapolis and ever took a deep interest in its affairs. He was very strong in his attachment to those whom he called his friends.
Mr. Bassett died on the 8th of May, 1896, and would have been sixty-four years of age had he survived until the 17th of the following month. His remains rest in beautiful Crown Hill cemetery, Indianapolis, and his widow still resides in this city.
Peter Harmon Walright, Al. D.
IGNIFICANT not only in its publicity and service, but also in S that success which is the tangible metewand of usefulness, was the life of the late Dr. P. H. Wright, who was one of the prominent and honored representatives of his profession in Indi- ana, and whose loyal character and brilliant career made him a distinctive power for good,-a unit whose value to the world can be properly estimated, now that he has passed to his reward. His life was singularly consecrated to high orders and these blossomed through his everyday compound life.
Peter Harmon Wright was born in Greene county, Tennessee, on the 27th day of November, 1840, and was a son of Dr. Jesse and Charity (Reese) Wright, both of whom were likewise natives of Tennessee, and representatives of staunch old southern families. The conditions and influences which attended the childhood and youth of Dr. Wright were not of especially advantageous order, but were such as to develop and render symmetrical his naturally strong and self-reliant nature. He gained his rudimentary education in the district schools of his native state, and was about fourteen years of age at the time of the family removal from Tennessee to Grant county, Indiana. His father secured a tract of land and turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, becoming one of the prosperous farmers and representative and honored citizens of that section of the country, where both he and his wife continued to reside for many years. Jesse Wright was a physician of mature judg- ment and excellent ability as gauged by the standards of his day, and he continued to follow the work of his profession to a greater or less extent after his removal to Indiana.
He whose name introduces this memoir was anxious to secure a liberal education, and after the family removed to Indiana he was enabled to attend, at varying inter- vals, the schools of Marion and Newcastle, besides which he prosecuted higher stu- dies in Spiceland Academy, a well-ordered institution located near Newcastle. Hav- ing determined to prepare himself for the medical profession, which had been hon- ored by the career and service of his father, he finally began reading medicine in the office of Dr. E. P. Jones of Marion, and through close application and effective preceptorship he made rapid advancement, so that he was soon established in the study of his chosen profession. He entered the Eclectic Medical College in the city of Cincinnati, Ohio, from which institution he was graduated, with honors, in 1867, duly receiving his well-earned medical degree. In initiating the active work of his pro- fession Dr. Wright located at Jonesboro, Grant county, where he remained two years, and where his success amply demonstrated his ability and the consistence of his choice of a vocation. At the expiration of the period named he moved to Fairmount, Grant county, near to the old homestead of his parents, and where he continued in active general practice until he was summoned from the stage of life's mortal activi- ties, his death having occurred on the 27th of September, 1886.
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Dr. Wright brought to bear the dependable forces of a strong and noble nature and was unfaltering in his devotion to his exacting calling, the while his admirable human simplicity and gentleness made his a welcome figure in every home within which he ministered. He was energetic, conscientious and a close student, so that he ever kept in touch with the advances made in medicine and surgery, and no one could have a greater appreciation of the dignity and responsibility of the profession in which he labored with so much zeal. He gained reputation as one of the essen- tially representative physicians and surgeons in Indiana, and his stirring attri- butes of character won and retained to him the inviolable confidence and esteem of all with whom he came in contact.
Dr. Wright was a most valuable and devoted member of the Society of Friends, and both he and his wife were especially active in the affairs of the church of this denomination in Fairmount. There also they became associated with others in establishing Fairmount Academy, an institution which has gained wide repute for its high order of advantages and its effective administration. Dr. Wright served on the board of trustees of this academy until the time of his death and none of those connected with the institution was more loyal and liberal in the support of its work than he. At the time of the death of Dr. Wright there appeared in a Fairmount newspaper an appreciation from which the following extract is made: "Dr. Wright will be greatly missed by the academy. During its first years he stood by it and labored with zeal for its prosperity. We know not upon whose shoulders his mantle will fall, but, while we believe it will have many warm supporters, Dr. Wright will be remembered as one of its benefactors." Apropos of the foregoing statement it is proper to record that the services which had fallen to the portion of Dr. Wright were assumed after his death by his eldest brother, Joel B. Wright of Fairmount, who was appointed secretary of the board of trus- tees of the academy as the successor of his deceased brother and he continued the incumbent of this position until his death, a quarter of a century later.
Professor Lewis Jones, a step-brother of Dr. Wright, was his classmate at Spiceland Academy, and notwithstanding the fact that their parents were in com- fortable financial circumstances, the young men depended upon their own resources in making their way through this institution, a matter of grave importance. Pro- fessor Jones eventually attained to high reputation in the domain of practical peda- gogy, and was for a number of years superintendent of the public schools of Indianapolis, and he also served in a similar capacity in the city of Cleveland.
Another kindly and appreciative estimate of the character and labors of Dr. Wright is contained in the following statement: "He has been a useful member of society, admirably filling positions of trust to which he was appointed. Espe- cially in the cause of education did he prove himself an efficient and valuable servant. This resulted from the hearty interest he felt in seeing young persons well equipped for the duties of life. He was frequently heard to express a desire for the higher education of his own children, and with this in view he labored dil- gently as secretary of the board of trustees for the upbuilding of Fairmount Academy." Still another newspaper report says: "Dr. P. H. Wright of Fair- mount, one of the most widely known physicians in this section, died Monday morning of consumption of the bowels, after a lingering illness. His age was forty-seven years. Dr. Wright was well and favorably known throughout the county. He had a large practice and was a man of wide popularity. He was a
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popular candidate before the last Republican county convention, and had a fol- lowing that made him formidable." It has already been noted that the father of Dr. Wright was an earlier representative of the medical profession, and the third of the family to represent the same profession was a younger brother, Dr. John M. Wright, who practiced successfully in Michigan and Texas, and whose death occurred in the latter state.
Dr. Wright accorded unwavering allegiance to the cause of the Republican party, and was always active in matters pertaining to the public polity. He was indefatigable in the work of his church, in which he taught a Sunday-school class for a long period, and he exemplified in his daily life the simple and noble faith which he thus professed. The Doctor was in the very prime of his strength and manhood when he was summoned to the last rest, but it had been given to him to accomplish in the world a work worthy of a lifetime of service, so that there remains both reconciliation and recompense in contemplating the perspective of his life, now that he has passed away. The home of Dr. Wright was one whose every detail was of idyllic order, and to this home there came the maximum of bereavement when he passed forward to that "undiscovered country from whose bourne no traveler returns."
On the first of January, 1870, was solemnized the marriage of Dr. Wright to Miss Martha Pearson, of Richmond, Indiana. Mrs. Wright was born at Tippe- canoe City, Ohio, and is the daughter of Isaac and Rachel Pearson, who removed from Tippecanoe City, Ohio, to Spiceland, Indiana, in 1853. Mrs. Wright was the youngest of a family of eleven children, and was but nine months of age when her mother died, her father passing away seven years later. The father devoted his life to agricultural pursuits. Mrs. Wright attended the Spiceland public schools, and there she also attended the Academy; she later entered Earlham College, a noted institution conducted under the direction of the Society of Friends at Richmond, Indiana. In the same institution was graduated her brother, Pro- fessor Calvin W. Pearson, Ph. D., who has attained an enviable position in the educational world. He was for some time a member of the faculty of Earlham College, and is now principal emeritus of Beloit College, of Beloit, Wisconsin, in which institution he held the chair of German and French languages for the long period of twenty years. He received the degree of Ph. D. in the University of Dresden, Germany, and he now resides with his daughter, Mrs. David G. Yarnell, in the city of Philadelphia.
Dedicated to Professor C. W. Pearson is the following appreciation: At the end of a college course, one is often surprised to find how little concrete knowl- edge he has really gained. The facts which he learned about each subject seem to have faded away entirely and he has only a general impression of the whole. Each one seems to be possessed of a certain individual tone and flavor, due partly to the character of the study itself but in a large measure due to the personality of the instructor in that particular branch. Any one who has taken German in Beloit College cannot look back upon his course without many associations of this kind. The days of "Ekkehard" ond "Der Trompeter" are times when one imagines himself sitting in a long dingy room, lighted by windows at the back and at either end. One remembers the feeling of annoyance that he had because the big antiquated iron stove was so located that it shut off the best view of the shady avenue. On a table was a large German dictionary much worn on the
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outside. The blackboards were covered with cabalistic signs purporting to be German script, and the desk was of the telescopic kind, which it was your delight to operate in Freshman days. But these things all become matters of unimportant detail as one becomes impressed with the personality of the man who for twenty- eight years has ruled this little kingdom. To many generations of college students Professor Pearson has with infinite patience and unfailing geniality interpreted and represented the spirit of the German race-its altitude of mind, its methods of thought and terms of expression-summed up in his favorite expression "des Deutche Sprach-Gefühl."
Calvin W. Pearson entered Earlham College in 1859. Two years after he became principal of the Academy at Picton, Ontario, but later returned to Earl- ham and was graduated, taking his degree of B. A. in 1865. After one year's service as assistant principal in the College Academy he entered the University of Göttingen. Here he received the degree of M. A. and Ph. D., having spent one year in study at Berlin in the meantime. He was called to the chair of mod- ern languages in Earlham College in 1870. Seven years later he entered upon his present duties at Beloit. Since then Professor Pearson has spent three vacations abroad for the purpose of study. There is one thing that interests Professor Pearson more than German, and that is the life of the students. He knows each one of his students personally and is interested in his welfare. He is loyal to all college interests, especially athletics. He has a generous fund of humor and his cheery cordiality is unfailing as he greets each student with the hearty greeting: "Guten Morgen, Wie Gehts?" Small wonder then the term 'Professor Pearson' is only a form of direct address and a convenient reference in the College catalogue for he is known by a pseudonym which to the students means the place he occupies in their hearts and in the life of the College.
Mrs. Wright has made her home with the exception of three years while in the west, in Indianapolis since 1905 and is a popular factor in club circles and literary and social activities. She is a member of the Clio Club, one of the oldest and most prominent literary clubs in the city, and is also identified with the Thursday Afternoon Club and other organizations. She resided for a time at Wichita, Kansas, and while there was an active member of the Hypatia Club, and during the years of her residence in Fairmount, Indiana, she, like her honored husband, was most deeply interested in the Fairmount Academy, as well as in the general work of the church in which she was a birth-right member. Her interest in the academy which received such solicitous attention from her husband has been shown in many significant ways, and she has recently given to that institution a valuable collection of books. Mrs. Wright is a woman of fine literary and social attainments and is an important factor in the representative circles in which she moves. Dr. and Mrs. Wright became the parents of two children, of whom the younger, Frank Leslie, died at the age of six years. Ella Leona, who remains with her mother, is an especially talented musician. She was graduated in the musical department of Earlham College in piano and in the Metropolitan School of Music in Indianapolis in voice. For several years she was director of the musical department of Fairmount Academy at Fairmount, and for three years she was director of the music department of the Friends University at Wichita, Kansas.
Calbin Fletcher, St.
ALVIN FLETCHER, SR., father of the subject of this memoir, C was numbered among the earliest and most distinguished pion- eers of Indiana and its capital city and he was one of the most prominent and influential members of the bar of Indianapolis and was engaged in practice throughout the state. He wielded great influence in the civic and material development and up- building of central Indiana and concerning his character and services adequate data have been published in various historical works, so that further review of his career is not demanded in the present connection. It may be noted, however, that he established his home in Indianapolis in the year 1820, when the future metropolis of the state was represented by a mere cluster of small houses, with the surrounding territory virtually unreclaimed from the forest wilds. He was a native of Vermont and his first wife, whose maiden name was Sarah Hill, was born in Kentucky. Of the eleven children of this union Calvin Fletcher, to whom this tribute is dedicated, was the third in order of birth, there being nine sons and two daughters.
Calvin Fletcher was one of the oldest native residents of Indianapolis at the time of his death, which occurred at his home, at 707 East Thirteenth street, on the afternoon of January 27, 1903, and through his noble character and worthy accomplishment he added new laurels and prestige to the honored name which he bore. He was born September, 30, 1826 in a small one-story frame house that stood at the corner of Washington and Illinois streets, Indianapolis. He was nearly four score years of age when he was summoned to the life eternal. For a number of years Mr. Fletcher was in delicate health and it was largely due to this fact that he early identified himself with the great fundamental industry of agriculture, of which he became one of the most enthusiastic and successful expo- nents in the central part of his native state. The name of no one family has been more prominently and worthily linked with the history of Indianapolis than that of Fletcher and he whose career is here briefly outlined was one of the most honored representatives of this sterling family. Mr. Fletcher was favored in his child- hood and youth in having the influences and associations of a home of distinctive culture and refinement, though the household provisions were of the simple order common to the pioneer days. He was afforded the advantages of the common schools of Indianapolis and supplemented this by effective study in the Marion County Seminary, a university in this city, taught by Mr. Kemper, a fine educator and at Brown University, taught by Dr. Wayland. He was class-mate of James B. Angel. After leaving school he worked as clerk in the general merchandise store of Harrison & Fletcher, and in compensation for his services he received the noteworthy stipend of five dollars a month. In 1846, after spending some time in this modest position, Mr. Fletcher resumed his studies. He entered Brown University, at Providence, Rhode Island, and upon returning to his native state,
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he turned his attention to agricultural pursuits. He was noted as being the first fish commissioner of the state.
On September 18, 1849, he married Miss Emily Beeler, and the young couple, whose devoted companionship was destined to cover a period of more than half a century, established their home on a large farm of his father's east of Indianapolis, where Brightwood is now situated. After a few years of devotion to the work and management of his farm. Mr. Fletcher's health became seriously impaired and under these conditions he returned to Indianapolis, where he was a resident during the period of the Civil war. His physical condition was such that he was ineligible for service as a soldier of the Union, but he did all in his power to support the cause and his noble wife went to the front as a hospital nurse, as will be more fully noted in a later paragraph.
As soon as his health justified such action, Mr. Fletcher resumed an active outdoor life, as a stock-farmer and nurseryman. Vigorous and enthusiastic in everything he undertook, he became a leader and successful exponent of these important lines of industrial enterprise; and he was one of the most influential factors in the organization and control of various agricultural and horticultural societies, both county and state. His energy and progressiveness were proverbial and he took the initiative in furthering many movements for the general good of the community. Thus it may be noted that to him was due the construction of the first turnpike roads in Marion county, the introduction of threshing, reaping and mowing machines into this section of the state, and other equally progressive enter- prises. In 1866 Mr. Fletcher became associated with Judge Franklin and others in the building of the Indianapolis & Vincennes Railroad, and as managing agent of the same he devoted three years to bringing the line to completion. In the mean- while he removed with his family to the immediate vicinity of the village of Spen- cer, Owen county, where he developed a fine farm and erected an ideal country residence,-one widely known for its gracious hospitality.
In 1873 Mr. Fletcher visited southern California, where, in the interest of the Indiana Colony, with which he had become identified, he effected the platting and subdivision of the site of the present beautiful city of Pasadena, Los Angeles county. He became so favorably impressed with the future of that section of the Golden state that he made large personal investments in the Pasadena tract. His stay in California, however, was of brief duration, and he returned to his home near Spencer, Indiana. In 1874 he made with his family an extended European tour, and incidentally he gave to his two sons and two daughters the advantages of for- eign study. The children attended school for some time in the city of Naples, Italy, and later passed two years in study in Lausanne, Switzerland and in Wei- mar, Germany. After his return from Europe Mr. Fletcher continued to live on his farm near Spencer for some years, and after this time his home was in Indian- apolis, where he lived virtually retired until his death. He was a man of broad mental ken and mature judgment. He was generous, sympathetic and courteous, -a true gentleman of the fine old-school, and he made life count for good in its every relation. In politics Mr. Fletcher accorded unswerving allegiance to the cause of the Republican party and he took a broad-minded interest in the questions and issues of the hour, though he never showed any desire for the honors or emoluments of public office. It was only in early life that he gave attention to fraternal organizations, when he was a member of the Masonic order. He was a
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member of the Fourth Presbyterian church in Indianapolis until his removal to Spencer, at which place he helped organize and establish a Presbyterian church, in which he held membership all his later life.
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