USA > Indiana > Marion County > Indianapolis > Memorial record of distinguished men of Indianapolis and Indiana > Part 16
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William M. Herriott, D. D. S.
industry until about 1833, when he removed with his family to Ohio and located on a farm near New Concord, Muskingum county. He became one of the influential citi- zens of the community, the while he lived up to the full tension of the middle-pioneer period in the history of the Buckeye state, within whose borders both he and his wife passed the remainder of their worthy lives, secure in the high regard of all who knew them.
The early associations and influences of Dr. Herriott were those of the home farm of the family in Ohio, as he was about one year old at the time of the family removal to that place. He soon gained fellowship with the arduous and prosaic work of the farm and in the meantime made use of the advantages afforded in the district schools of the locality and period. This is evidenced by the fact that he proved himself eligible for pedagogic honors, in which connection he did effective work as a teacher in the country schools of his home county, meanwhile continuing to be associated with the work and management of the farm until he was about twenty years of age. Finally ambition and desire for a broader field for his labors, coupled with distaste for farm work, caused definite decision to make a change. He accordingly went to a neighboring town in that section of Ohio and there began the study of dentistry, under the able perceptorship of Dr. Robert Burlan. He applied himself with dil- igence, and soon became an able exemplar of dentistry, as gauged by the standards of the time. He finally established his home in Zanesville, Ohio, where he continued in the successful practice of his profession until 1874, in which year he came to Indian- apolis, where he purchased the dental supply business of Strong, Smith & Company, an enterprise that had been founded in 1867. Here he brought to bear his fine technical and administrative powers in the upbuilding of a business which became, under his supervision, one of the most important of its kind in the state. He origi- nally maintained his business headquarters in the Henry D. Pierce building, from which he later removed to the old Rink building on North Pennsylvania street, where the Federal building now stands, and in that building he successfully continued oper- ations until his death, when his remains were taken back to Ohio for interment in the family lot in the cemetery at New Concord.
Dr. Herriott was a man of high ideals and his life was marked in all its relations by integrity and honor, the while his sense of stewardship prompted him not only to deep Christian faith, but also to good works. He was in a significant sense a friend of humanity and the Golden Rule found in him a consistent exemplar at all times. He early identified himself with the Presbyterian church, and while he was secure in his convictions as to religions tenets, he was liberal and tolerant to all in his judg- ment and found good in all religious denominations. His activity in church work was unremitting and valuable. He was one of the trustees of the Second Presbyterian church of Indianapolis, one of the strong and prosperous churches of the capital city. For some time he was superintendent of a Sunday-school which he organized and which became known as "The Feed Store Sunday-school," owing to the place in which its original assemblages were held. Through his earnestness and indefatigable efforts he infused vitality and inspiration into the work which he had thus undertaken, and from the same finally came the organization of the East Washington Street Presby- terian church, which he did not live to see completed. He devoted much of his time and means to the support of religious work in general, the while his abiding interest in his fellow men, and particularly in the boys who were dependent upon their own efforts, never flagged or grew discouraged. He was deeply interested in the affairs
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William A. Herriott, D. D. S.
of the State Reform School of Ohio and did much to foster the spirit of manliness and self-reliance in the boys, who were its wards, and to whom he gave personal atten- tion and counsel. His private benevolences and charities were invariably unostenta- tious, his evident desire having been to observe the instruction to let not the right hand know what the left was doing. "He remembered those who were forgotten," and many there were who realized that they had lost their best friend when this gentle man was summoned to eternal rest.
Never desirous of entering the turbulent stream of practical politics, or of becom- ing an incumbent of political office, Dr. Herriott was yet a liberal and public- spirited citizen and did all in his power to further the moral, religious, educational and civic interests of the community, his political allegiance being given to the Repub- lican party. Clubs and fraternal organizations had slight attraction for him, for his was the broader humanity which held "all sorts and conditions of men" in the light of friends, and his church and his home afforded him ample scope for the exercise of these consecrated functions.
After the death of Dr. Herriott his business was continued under the personal and effective supervision of his widow, who was ably assisted by her younger son, who now has entire control of the same, the mother having retired from active association with the enterprise a few years ago. The business, which holds precedence as one of broad scope and importance, with a trade extending throughout Indiana and neigh- boring states, is now established in the Newton Claypool building, where it is con- ducted under the title of the Indiana Dental Depot.
At Lancaster, Fairfield county, Ohio, on the 1st of November, 1859, was solem- nized the marriage of Dr. Herriott to Miss Juliatte Irene DeVelling, who was born at Athens, that state, where her father was for many years a leading merchant and influential citizen. She is a daughter of Henry and Adeline H. (Townsend) DeVel- ling, the former of whom was born in the city of Baltimore, Maryland, and the latter in the state of Connecticut. Mrs. Herriott is a representative on the paternal and maternal lines of families notable for longevity, and it may be noted that her father was ninety-two years of age at the time of her death, and her mother was summoned to the life eternal at the age of eighty-five years. Mrs. Herriott has been a resident of Indianapolis since 1875, and has been active in religious and social affairs, the while she has gathered about her a wide circle of valued friends. She is known for her gracious and gentle personality, and her home city is dear to her through the hallowed memories and associations of the past, as well as the varied interests which she here maintains at the present time.
Dr. and Mrs. Herriott became the parents of three children, of whom the eldest, Alfred Louis, died on the 26th of April, 1895, at the age of thirty-five years, his mortal remains being laid to rest in Crown Hill cemetery. William Morton, the second son, became associated with his father's business when nineteen years of age, and after the latter's death assumed charge of the sales department. Since his mother's retirement from the management he has had the entire administrative con- trol of the enterprise and is numbered among the progressive and representative young business men of this city. He married Miss Mary M. White, of Greencastle, Indiana, and they reside at 4170 Washington Boulevard, Indianapolis. Stella, the only daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Herriott, became the wife of Frederick M. Burke and has one son, Roland H. She resides in the city of Seattle, Washington. Mrs. Hcriott continues to reside at 940 Middle Drive, Woodruff Place, Indianapolis.
James S. Tibben
SUCCESS in any line of occupation, in any avenue of business, is S not a matter of spontaneity, but is the legitimate offspring of subjective effort, the improvement of opportunity and the exer- cise of the highest functions made possible by the specific ability. To trace the history of a successful and worthy life must ever prove profitable and satisfying indulgence, for the history of the individual person foreshadows all history of generic order. He who figures as the subject of this brief memoir attained to a high degree of success in material affairs and gained prestige as one of the representative factors in the commercial affairs of Indianapolis, where he was one of the founders of a wholesale dry-goods business which has become one of broad scope and importance and in which his name is perpetuated by the interposition of his two sons, who are admirably upholding its honors and are numbered among the influential and repre- sentative citizens of the city. Mr. Hibben was not only a singularly able and pro- gressive business man and a loyal and public spirited citizen, but, over all and above all, his private life was pure and noble,-altogether worthy of emulation. His was a deep appreciation of those things which represent the higher ideals of human thought and action ; his was a mentality broadened by distinctive culture; and in all the relations of life he bore without reproach the just title of gentleman,- patrician in his instincts, his ideas and his actions. He distinguished himself by his ability to master opposing forces and bend them to his will, by which means he wrested from fate a large measure of success, the while he won an honorable name as one of the world's noble army of constructive and produc- tive workers. So benignant and emphatic was his influence as one of the leaders in the commercial enterprise and progress of Indianapolis and so certain his worth as a man, that it is most consonant that in this edition be entered a definite trib- ute to his memory.
James S. Hibben was born at Wilmington, Clinton county, Ohio, on the 20th of October, 1822, and more than thirty years have elapsed since he was sum- moned from the stage of life's mortal endeavors. He was a son of Thomas and Ruth (Entriken) Hibben, the former of whom was born in the city of Phila- delphia, Pennsylvania, and the latter in Wales, whence she came with her parents to America when a child. Thomas Hibben was numbered among the sterling pioneers and influential citizens of Ohio, where he established his home in the early part of the nineteenth century, and where he became a prominent merchant, with residence and business headquarters at Wilmington, which was then an im- portant distributing point. As a merchant he dealt principally in dry goods and allied lines, and it is interesting to note in this connection that four successive generations have been identified with this important line of enterprise. Thomas Hibben and his wife continued to reside in the old Buckeye state until their death. Both were earnest members of the Presbyterian church, and both were persons
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James S. Dibben
of a high order of mentality, so that they exerted much influence in the pioneer community in which they established their home.
Reared under the beneficent influences of a home of distinctive culture and refinement, James S. Hibben also received the best of educational advantages along academic lines. His earlier training was obtained in the schools of his native town, and, with the ultimate view of entering the ministry of the Presy- terian church, he completed a thorough course in Miami University, at Oxford, Ohio, which was founded by the state in 1824. In this excellent institution he was graduated as a member of the same class as was the late General Benjamin Har- rison, former president of the United States and one of Indiana's most distinguished representatives. Receiving a thorough classical education and the degree of Bach- elor of Arts, Mr. Hibben continued throughout his life to take great interest in the best literature and also in general educational advancement, and he was known as an especially fine linguist, with facile command of several languages.
His tastes and inclinations leading him to abandon his purpose of entering the ministry, Mr. Hibben as a young man came to Indiana and established his home at Rushville, the judicial center of Rush county, where he became associated with his brother George in the retail dry-goods business. The enterprise was attended with gratifying success and he continued to be actively identified with the same until 1865, when, with a view to obtaining a broader field of action and affording more ample scope for the exercise of his well matured administrative ability, he came to Indianapolis. Here he became associated with his wife's brother, the late Coleman Bates Patison, in founding a wholesale dry goods business, the same becoming the nucleus of that now conducted by the extensive dry goods house of Hibben, Hollweg & Company, in which his two sons are interested principals and which is one of the oldest and most important wholesale concerns in the state, with a trade extending throughout the wide territory normally tributary to Indianapolis as a distributing center. In initiating operations in the new field the firm adopted the title of Hibben, Patison & Company, and this was retained until the death of Mr. Hibben, who soon gained precedence as one of the city's most alert, progressive and substantial business men, and as a citizen whose interest in the furtherance of its material and civic pros- perity and advancement was of the most intense and helpful order. His gracious personality won to him the confidence and high regard of all with whom he came in contact and he was a most popular factor in the business and social activities of the capital city. He was one of the organizers of the Indianapolis Business Men's Association and had the distinction of being chosen its first president. He otherwise identified himself closely with progressive movements and found great satsfaction in noting the advancement of his home city, to which his loyalty was unswerving. Not a long period of years may be recorded to him in connection with important business enterprise in Indianapolis, but his influence far outstretched these years and left an impress that time has not yet been able to eliminate. He was one of the foremost in the early development of Indianapolis as a commercial center and had remarkable prescience of its growth and future importance, as later years have amply demon- strated. He was called to eternal rest about fourteen years after he had established his home in this city, and his name and memory are honored by all who in any way came within the sphere of his influence. He stood "four-square to every wind that blows" and exemplified those traits that ever indicate strong and noble command. His devotion to business was close and his capacity along executive lines seemed un-
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James S. Dibben
limited. While a resident of Rushville he was president of the leading banking insti- tution of the town, and in Indianapolis likewise he became an influential figure in financial circles. Mr. Hibben ever gave a staunch allegiance to the Republican party, and while he never had any desire for the honors or emoluments of political office, he never neglected civic duties or responsibilities, took a lively interest in the dominant questions and issues of the hour, was strong in his convictions as to matters of public polity, and ever exerted his influence in behalf of good government, general and local. He was reared in the faith of the Presbyterian church, but after coming to Indianapolis he united with the Unitarian church, the tenets and teachings of which commanded his approval and coincided with his opinions, which were fortified by close and extensive study. He held membership in the First Unitarian church of Indianapolis at the time of his death. In his fraternal affiliations he was an appreciative member of the Masonic order.
At Rushville, this state, on the 29th of August, 1854, was solemnized the mar- riage of Mr. Hibben to Miss Sarah A. Patison, who was born at Salem, Rush county, Indiana, and who is a daughter of Joseph and Lucy (Mauzy) Patison, the former of whom was born in Augusta, Bracken county, Kentucky, and the latter at Lexington, Bourbon county, that state, within whose borders both families were founded in an early day. Joseph Patison was a son of Edward Patison, also a native born Kentuckian. He migrated to Rush county and was a well known pioneer of that section of the state. He was a clergyman of the Methodist faith, and while he farmed through the week, he was always to be found on Sunday ex- pounding the scriptures according to his faith. His wife was Hester Day, a native of Virginia, where her family were well known and prosperous in early days. At one time Mr. Day owned as many as one hundred slaves. They migrated to Indiana, and both died and lie buried in Rush county. The paternal grandfather of Mrs. Hibben, Peter Mauzy, was born in Kentucky. He was a planter and slave-holder, but on coming to Indiana he freed his slaves as a matter of principle. He was an old and well known and highly respected citizen of Rush county, and he passed the remainder of his life on his farm near Salem. His wife was Sarah Gooding, and their granddaughter, Sarah Patison Hibben, was named after her. When Mrs. Hibben was a child her parents removed from Salem, Indiana, to Harrison, Hamil- ton county, Ohio, but they later returned to Indiana and established their home at Rushville, in which locality the father became an extensive landholder and engaged in the raising of live stock on a large scale. He was one of the prominent and influ- ential citizens of that section and was honored for his ability and sterling character. Both he and his wife continued to reside in Rush county until their death and the names of both merit enduring place on the roll of the honored pioneers of Indiana. Of their three children, Mrs. Hibben was the first born and she is now the only survivor. Her sister, Elizabeth, became the wife of Earl Reid and was among those who perished in the ever memorable San Francisco earthquake and fire. The third child, Coleman Bates Patison, is also deceased.
The home life of Mr. Hibben was one which had the most ideal relations and in this sanctuary was his death the cause of deep bereavement, but there remained both consolation and compensation in the memories of his devotion and his nobility of character. There can be no wish to touch the esoteric phases of this chapter of his life history, and a fitting close to this memoir will be a brief record concerning his children. Mrs. Hibben, now venerable in years, has the love and solicitude of all
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James S. Dibben
who come within the pale of her gentle influence and she still resides in Indianapolis, where she has a pleasant home at 1455 North Delaware street. She is a member of the Methodist church, in which faith she was reared, and in which her honored grandfather, Rev. Edward Patison, was a clergyman.
Concerning the two sons of Mr. and Mrs. Hibben it may be briefly stated that both are interested principals in the extensive wholesale dry goods house of Hibben, Hollweg & Company, and that they are numbered among the most honored and influential business men of Indianapolis. The fine enterprise which they control is the outgrowth of that established by their honored father, as has been previously noted in this context.
Harold Barcroft Hibben was born at Rushville, Indiana, on the 3d of December, 1855, and his educational training was obtained principally in Butler University. He early identified himself with the business interests of his father, and, with his brothers finally succeeded the latter in the wholesale dry goods business in Indian- apolis. He married Miss Louise Freeman, of Terre Haute, this state, and they maintain their home on North Delaware street. They have four children: Louise, who is the wife of Richard Fairbanks, the son of Hon. Charles W. Fairbanks, former vice-president of the United States; Dr. Freeman Hibben, who married Miss Evdena Hayward, of Indianapolis, and who is now engaged in the practice of medicine and surgery in the city of Boston; and Catherine and James Harold, who remain in the parental home. The younger son, James, is associated in the business with his father.
Thomas Entriken Hibben was born at Rushville, Indiana, on the 19th day of October, 1860, and is associated with his brother in business as previously stated. He has a pleasant home in Irvington Place, Indianapolis, and his wife, whose maiden name was Jane Ketcham, was born in Indianapolis. Concerning their children the following brief data is given: Paxton, who has been attache of the United States Consulates in Mexico, St. Petersburg, Bogota and The Hague and is at present in South America; and Helen, Thomas E., Jr., James and Hazen who are still in the parental home.
Louise Hibben, the only daughter of the subject of this memoir, became the wife of Ernest Wiles, of Cincinnati, and they now reside in Indianapolis, where Mr. Wiles is identified with the business of Hibben, Hollweg & Company.
Alfred Burdsal
ONCERNING Alfred Burdsal, who was for nearly forty years C a prominent and influential citizen and factor in the industrial and civic activities of Indiana's capital city, the following signi- ficant words have been written: "He coveted success but scorned to gain it except through industry and honest means. He ac- quired wealth without fraud or deceit and the results of his life offer lessons and incentive to the rising generation." Mr. Burd- sal was an influential factor in furthering the material development and progress of Indianapolis, and no shadow rests upon any portion of his career now that he has been called from the scenes and labors of this mortal life, his death having occurred on the 2d of April, 1911. His success, and it was great, was principally gained through his identification with the paint industry, and he was essentially the architect of his own fortune. He was reserved and reticent, never courting or desir- ing public notice and evading the same by every legitimate and courteous means. In manners he was somewhat abrupt and brusque, but those who knew the man as he was, realized that underneath this temperamental attitude were the intrinsic qualities of a fine mind and a fine heart. Self repression he had in marked degree, and though there was this touch of austerity his nature was strong and true. He was a man whose value to the world was assured, and he long held precedence as one of the liberal and essentially representative business men and progressive citizens of the Indiana metropolis. He so revealed himself above minor eccentricities as to gain and retain the unqualified confidence and esteem of his fellow men, and his death involved a great loss to the community in which he had so long maintained his home and directed his energies.
A scion of one of the pioneer families of the old Buckeye state and of one that was founded in America about the time of the war of the Revolution, Mr. Burdsal was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on the 20th of October, 1839, a son of Thomas C. and Hulda (Howell) Burdsal, both likewise natives of Cincinnati, where the former was born in 1815 and the latter in 1820. The original progenitors of the Burdsal family came from England about the time of the Revolution, for the purpose of manufacturing ammunition for the British troops, as they were skilled in this line of industry, in connection with which they maintained a manufactory in New Jersey, where representatives of the name later removed to New England. The maternal great-grandfather of Alfred Burdsal served as lord-mayor of Dublin, Ireland, and the family was one of prominence and influence in the Emerald Isle. The parents of Mr. Burdsal continued to reside in Cincinnati during the major part of their lives and when they were of venerable age they joined him in Indianapolis, passing the residue of their lives in his home, where they eventually passed away. The only sister, Miss Ollie Burdsal, likewise died at the home of the subject of this memoir. Thomas C. Burdsal was a son of Reverend Aaron Burdsal, who was a clergyman of the Methodist Episcopal church and was sent to Cincinnati, Ohio, by the New Jersey conference of this church early in the nineteenth century. Uriah Burdsal,
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Alfred Burdsal
father of Reverend Aaron, likewise migrated to Ohio in an early day and he passed the closing years of his life in Hamilton county, that state, as did also his wife, whose maiden name was Charleton.
To the common schools of his native city Alfred Burdsal was indebted for his early educational discipline, which included a course in what is known as the Wood- ward high school. A youth of alert and receptive mind and definite ambition, he soon exemplified those traits of character which brought to him so marked advance- ment and success in later years, and for three years after leaving school he was identified with various lines of business enterprise in Cincinnati, the while seeking the best opportunity for initiating a definite career. In 1858 he entered the employ of William Wood & Company, manufacturers of white lead, and he remained with this concern for many years. Beginning as a clerk, he later became bookkeeper, from which position he was advanced to that of traveling salesman, and finally, when the company was reincorporated in 1867, as the Eagle White Lead Works, he became one of its stockholders and also its secretary. In the meanwhile he had not failed to manifest his patriotism when the Civil war threatened the life of the Union. On the 10th of May, 1864, at the age of twenty-four years, he enlisted as a member of the One Hundred and Thirty-seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with which he continued to serve in the office of commissary sergeant until the expiration of his term of enlistment, when he received his honorable discharge on the 19th of August, 1864. He proceeded with his command to the front and the more import- ant engagements in which he participated were those of Fort McHenry, Fort Car- roll, Fort Marshall and Monocacy, the titles of these engagements having been placed on a beautiful badge which was sent by the members of his old regiment to be placed on his casket at the time of his funeral, and to be removed prior to interment for retention by his widow, who holds the same as a valuable token of the regard in which he was held by his old comrades in arms. With them he perpetu- ated the more gracious associations of his military career by retaining membership in the Grand Army of the Republic. Concerning his army experience Mr. Burdsal once said: "I didn't kill any one that I can remember, and no one killed me, so I guess my military career was about the same as that of a great many other privates in the war."
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