USA > Indiana > Marion County > Indianapolis > Memorial record of distinguished men of Indianapolis and Indiana > Part 23
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At Lake Mills, Wisconsin, on the 15th of June, 1869, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Folsom to Miss Mary E. Rice, who survives him and continues to reside in Indianapolis. She has a wide circle of friends in Indianapolis and has long been active in church and social affairs. She is a member of the Women's Missionary Society of the Second Presbyterian Church, in the various depart- ments of whose work she has long been a zealous factor. Mrs. Folsom was born in Portage county, Ohio, and is a daughter of Amory and Jane (Partridge) Rice, who were born and reared in Worcester county, Massachusetts, where their mar- riage was solemnized. Upon their removal to the west they first located in Por- tage county, Ohio, whence they later removed to Wisconsin, where Mr. Rice secured a tract of land turned his attention to agricultural pursuits. The life of the farm did not prove attractive to him, however, and he removed to Lake Mills, Jefferson county, that state, in which village he became a successful mer- chant and an honored and useful citizen. He served as justice of the peace and also as postmaster of the town and represented his district in the state legislature. He was a Whig in politics and both he and his wife were identified with the Con- gregational church. They passed the closing years of their lives at Lake Mills, Wisconsin, and their names merit enduring place on the roll of the sterling pion- eers of that state. Of their children five lived to adult age and of that number two sons and two daughters are yet living. In conclusion of this brief memoir is given record concerning the two children of Mr. and Mrs. Folsom: Edson F., who is general agent for the State Mutual Life Assurance Company of Massa-
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Edwin S. Folsom
chusetts, with headquarters in Indianapolis, married Miss Mary Coyner and they have four children: Mary L., Edwin, Margaret and Jane. Mabel is the wife of Henry W. Buttolph of Indianapolis, and they have one son,-Richard Folsom Buttolph.
Talilliam A. Hughes
OMING to Indianapolis as a young man of seventeen years, the C late William Addison Hughes brought to bear, with the pass- ing years, his splendid abilities in connection with important business and civic activities in the capital city and became an influential force in the community, where his progressiveness, his loyalty and his sterling character gained to him command- ing place in popular confidence and esteem. Here he prepared himself for the legal profession, of which he became an able and successful repre- sentative, but his powers were soon enlisted in connection with financial and other business enterprises of broad scope and importance, with the result that he found it expedient to retire to a large degree from the active practice of his profession. He held offices of public trust and was ever alert in the support of measures and enterprises tending to advance the general welfare of the community, the while his fine initiative and administrative powers made him figure most prominently in connection with the various channels along which he directed his admirable energies. He was essentially one of the valued business men and representative citizens when his earnest and prolific career was brought to an untimely close, his death having occurred in a hospital in the city of Chicago on the 26th of Janu- ary, 1911, shortly after he had endured an operation for appendicitis. His health had been much impaired for nearly a year preceding his demise and such was his nervous condition that he was unable to rally from the effects of disease and the attendant operation. With uniform sorrow was the news of his death received in Indianapolis, where all who knew him gave to him the fullest measure of esteem, confidence and loyal friendship,-all of which he, eminently deserved.
William Addison Hughes was born on a farm near Wilmington, Clinton county, Ohio, on the 17th of May, 1859, and thus he was in the very prime of his strong and useful manhood when he was called from the scene of life's mortal endeavors, though his achievement was worthy a man many years his senior and constituted a full and symmetrical life work. He was a son of Judge Jesse Hughes, one of the honored pioneers and influential citizens of that section of the Buckeye state, where he served in various public offices of trust, including that of judge of the circuit court. The maiden name of his wife was Elizabeth Murdock, who moved to Indianapolis soon after the son's arrival here and who died in this city. Judge Hughes became the owner of a valuable landed estate in Clinton county and the major part of his active career was one of close identification with the great basic industry of agriculture.
William A. Hughes was reared to the sturdy discipline of the home farm and was afforded the advantages of the excellent public schools of Wilmington, the judicial center of his native county. Soon after completing the curriculum of the high school he came to Indianapolis, and he was about seventeen years of age when he thus established his home in the city in which he was destined to achieve
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William A. Hughes
so marked success and prestige. His initial employment in the capital city of Indiana was that of clerk in the dry-goods store of Davis & Cole, but such occu- pation could not long satisfy his ambition, and he soon began the study of law in the offices and under the preceptorship of the well known firm of Herod & Winter. With this firm he remained about seven years and with the same he was engaged in active practice after his admission to the bar, in 1880. Later he became asso- ciated with the representative firm of Wallace & Wallace, the members of which were William Wallace and his son Lew Wallace. He later married a daughter of William Wallace, who was long one of the most loved and honored citizens of Indianapolis. Mr. Hughes was finally admitted to partnership in the firm, the title of which was then changed to Wallace, Hughes & Wallace. Under these conditions Mr. Hughes continued to devote his attention to the active and success- ful practice of his profession for several years, and he then removed with his family to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he identified himself with a business venture. The success of this enterprise proved of a distinctly negative order and a few months later he returned to Indianapolis. Under the regime of Thomas Taggart as auditor of Marion county, Mr. Hughes assumed the executive charge of the assessment bureau of the auditor's office, and when Mr. Taggart was elected mayor of Indianapolis Mr. Hughes was appointed to serve out the unexpired term in the office of county auditor. He continued to be identified with executive work in the county court house for several years and in 1889 he was elected to represent the county in the state legislature, in which he served one term with marked efficiency and acceptability. His services were retained at the court house for some time after his retirement from the legislature.
Early in his career in Indianapolis Mr. Hughes gained the friendship and high esteem of the late Stoughton J. Fletcher, who was long a dominating power in local financial circles. When Mr. Hughes retired from his services in the county offices he secured through Mr. Fletcher the position of assistant manager, under Judge Tarkington, of the safety-deposit vaults in the Fletcher National Bank, with which he became thus associated in 1898. Later he became manager of the department mentioned and finally he became Mr. Fletcher's confidential man in the latter's banking office. He eventually advanced to the office of vice-president of the Fletcher National Bank, and he retained this position until the consolidation of the institution with the American National Bank, under the title of the Fletcher- American National Bank, and on the 1st of September, 1910, he was elected vice- president of the consolidated institution, one of the most substantial and popular banking houses in the state. This executive office he held until his death and he had much influence in the administration of its affairs. He not only held mem- bership in the board of directors of this institution but was also a valued member of the directorates of the Marion Trust Company, the American Creosoting Com- pany, the Federal Creosoting Company and the Indiana Creosoting Company. After the death of Stoughton J. Fletcher, Mr. Hughes continued as the close friend and valued advisor of the latter's son and successor, Stoughton A. Fletcher, and their relation continued to be most intimate until the death of Mr. Fletcher.
Mr. Hughes was a man of most attractive personality and fine social quali- ties, but his interests ever centered in his home and business, so that he had no predilection for identifying himself with fraternal or other civic organizations.
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William A. Dughes
He was aligned as a staunch supporter of the cause of the Democratic party until the financial heresies were introduced in its platform at the time of the first nomination of William Jennings Bryan, and, opposed to the doctrines inculcated in this plank, Mr. Hughes then gave his support to the so-called Gold Democratic ticket. After that campaign he did not formally ally himself with any political party, but gave his support to the men and measures meeting the approval of his judgment, without reference to partisan dictates. He was a liberal and consistent member of the Central Christian church, and with the same his wife and surviving children are actively identified as zealous members. His funeral services were held from the family home at 1427 Park avenue, and were conducted by Rev. Allan B. Philputt, pastor of the Central Christian church, interment being made in beautiful Crown Hill cemetery.
On the 5th of October, 1881, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Hughes to Miss Annie Wallace, daughter of the late William Wallace. Mrs. Hughes was born at Indianapolis and has passed the major part of her life thus far in this city, where she has been a prominent and popular figure in the representative social activities of the community. She still occupies the fine homestead on Park avenue, the property having been purchased by her husband about the year 1889. In conclusion is entered brief record concerning the children of Mr. and Mrs. Hughes: Cordelia is the wife of Howard T. Griffith, of Indianapolis, and they have two children, Jane and Hilda; Thornley died at the age of one year; Regi- nald W., who remains with his widowed mother in the fine old home, was gradu- ated in Purdue University and is now in business in Indianapolis. Robert Thorn- ley was graduated from the Law School of the celebrated University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, and is now one of the representative younger members of the Indian- apolis bar Elizabeth, who graduated at Knickerbocker Hall in 1908, and Anne W. remain with their mother.
William Talallace
T HE name of no family has been more honored and distinguished in the history of Indiana than that of the one of which the sub- ject of this memoir was a worthy representative. He himself gained high standing as an able member of the bar of his native state and as a citizen of influence and great public spirit. He served for a number of years as postmaster of Indianapolis, an office of which he was the incumbent at the time of his death, which occurred on the 9th of April, 1891. He was a brother of General Lew Wallace, soldier and author of worldwide celebrity, and was a son of Hon. David Wallace, who gave able service as governor of the state of which he was a most distinguished pioneer.
David Wallace was one of those strong, true and loyal citizens whose memory Indiana delights to honor. He was born in Mifflin county, Pennsylvania, on the 24th of April, 1799, and was a child at the time of his parents' removal to Ohio, the family home being established near Cincinnati. At the age of fifteen he was sent to New Orleans to engage in business, but at the end of one year his father and other interested friends procured for him appointment to a cadetship in the United States Military Academy at West Point, this preferment being obtained through the favorable overtures of General William Henry Harrison, who was then con- gressman from the Cincinnati district of Ohio, and who withdrew the claims of his own son for the appointment. The future governor of Indiana was successful as a student and held his rank in his class. He was graduated in the academy in 1821 and was there retained as a tutor for some time. After one year's service in the United States army he studied law and in due time gained admission to the bar. In 1823 he engaged in the practice of his profession at Brookville, the capital of Franklin, Indiana, where he continued his work successfully until 1831, when he removed to Covington, the judicial center of Fountain county. Here he gained recognition as one of the representative members of the bar of the state and also became a prominent figure in political and other public activities. In 1837 he was elected governor of the state, whereupon he removed to Indianapolis, in which city he passed the residue of his life. While a resident of Franklin county he represented the county in the state legislature,-from 1828 to 1830, inclusive. In 1831 he was chosen lieutenant governor and in 1834 he was elected his own successor in that office, of which he continued the valued incumbent until the higher office of governor was conferred upon him. His administration as chief executive of this commonwealth has passed onto record as one admirable in its con- servative wisdom and yet progressive policies, and after his retirement from office he continued in the practice of his profession in Indianapolis during the remainder of his active career. He died in September, 1859, at the age of sixty-one years, and his memory rests secure in the honor of the people of the state which he served so well.
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William Wallace
Governor Wallace was twice married, his first union having been with Esther Test, a daughter of Hon. John Test, likewise a distinguished pioneer of Indiana. William Wallace, subject of this memoir, was the eldest of the three children of this union; General Wallace was the second; and Edward, the youngest, was a representative citizen of Crawfordsville, this state, at the time of his death. After the death of his first wife, Governor Wallace married a daughter of Dr. John H. Sanders, and they became the parents of one son and two daughters, all of whom are now deceased. One daughter, Agnes, widow of John Steiner, lives on a large farm which she owns near Cataract, Indiana.
William Wallace was born at Brookville, Franklin county, Indiana, on the 16th of October, 1825, and he gained his rudimentary education in the common schools of Covington, to which place his parents removed when he was about six years old. He was about twelve years of age at the time of the family removal to Indianapolis, in 1837, and here he was afforded advantages which enabled him to gain a liberal education, according to the standards of the locality and period. Here he attended school in the old seminary, which was then a prosperous insti- tution, but which is now only a memory. No more consistent tribute, perhaps, can be given than the following appreciative memorial adopted by the Marion County Bar Association at the time of his death, and in the reproduction but slight change is made in the context, either by elimination or addition.
"The subject of this memorial came to this city with his father and thereafter resided here continuously. He received, for those days, a liberal education. He pursued the study of law while acting as deputy clerk of the courts of the county, and in the year 1850 was formally admitted to the bar. He had a manly bearing which attracted attention and won confidence; a gentle dignity which was at all times felt, and yet which never repelled. He exhibited such uniform deference to the court and courtesy to his associates in the profession that he was always a favorite with both the bench and the bar. He from the first had, and always main- tained, a high conception of the character of a lawyer, and his whole life was an exemplification of that conception. He rightly held that a lawyer's integrity and honor should be without spot or blemish; that his duty toward his clients and the court required the utmost fairness and frankness, without attempt at dissimula- tion, either as to the law or fact, and his conduct in his office and in the court was regulated on these principles.
"He was possessed of a lofty spirit, which was instantly aflame at the exhibi- tion of any dishonest, dishonorable or unmanly conduct; and on such occasions he was ever ready to condone and forget any repented fault and was at all times charitable in his judgments of the conduct and motives of others. If in the momentary heat or excitement of a contest he ever said anything which, upon re- flection, he considered beneath the conduct of a Christian gentleman, or that might be construed as an approach to rudeness, he was prompt to make such explanation or apology as the occasion demanded.
"He inherited from his father those rare qualities of eloquence and persuasion, and, actuated by such principles and exercising such qualities, he speedily took high position at this bar. In the year 1854 he formed a co-partnership for the practice of law with the Hon. Benjamin Harrison, under the title of Wallace & Harrison. Though young, the firm soon came to the forefront in the profession. This partnership continued until dissolved by the election of Mr. Wallace as
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William Wallace
clerk of the county in 1860. After his term as clerk expired, he resumed the prac- tice of the law, and his business at once became very large and profitable.
"Many years ago, in the trial of a protracted and exciting case, he received a clear warning as to his physical condition, and that he must be extremely careful in exposing himself to the excitement and the exhausing labors incident to such contests. He had, however, by his qualities of heart and mind and his well earned and thoroughly established reputation for integrity and sagacity, so drawn about him a clientage for purposes of advice and consultation that financially he was the better rather than the worse for the change in the character of his business. He had, by his clients and his fellow citizens aside from them and by the courts, been selected many times to manage and settle delicate and important trusts, the last of which, the receivership of the banking house of Fletcher & Sharpe, involving vast labor, care and responsibility, was not yet wholly completed at the time of his death. Every trust confided to him was loyally and conscientiously executed to the entire satisfaction of those whose rights and interests he held in his hands.
"Although holding earnest political convictions, which he announced with all the force and enthusiasm of his nature, yet so kindly was his disposition, so gentle his bearing, that among his warmest and closest friends will be found many hold- ing, and in like manner expressing, opinions directly opposed to his own. And al- though for many years one of the leading advisers and active supporters of one of the great political parties of the country, in times when party spirits ran high, yet no one has ever accused or even suspected him of advising or consenting to any act or method not consistent with the most pure and lofty standard of an American citizen.
"With his acts in other relations of life, his position in the great fraternal soci- eties of the country; of his manifold and well performed duties to the church and the state, and of the sacred family relation, it is not the province of this memorial to speak; and, wheresoever considered, language will not be found to give adequate expression to the sentiments sought to be conveyed.
"Thus William Wallace lived among us; thus he won and held our esteem and affections ; and thus he died. But the memory of his manly and generous nature, his high sense of honor, and the many 'Kindly deeds kindly done,' shall long live in our hearts. He has gone to his rest, leaving a name unsullied, as an inheritance to his children and the pride of his associates in his profession."
As may readily be inferred, Mr. Wallace was staunch in his allegiance to the Republican party, but he did not seek many favors at the hands of his party. From 1861 to 1865 he was clerk of Marion county, and in 1889, his lifelong friend, President Harrison, appointed him postmaster of Indianapolis, an office in which he continued to serve with characteristic ability and faithfulness until the close of his life. From an appreciative article appearing in the Indianapolis News at the time of his death, are taken the following pertinent statements: "His career genius and out of touch and sympathy with the world. He was a man with sym- pathy for every affliction. His voice and influence were always for the right side. Genial and fond of friendships, he was a delightful character. The much abused title of 'gentleman' in its truest and highest meaning was applicable to him. He was at the head of every movement which had for its aim the welfare of the people and the good of Indianapolis. His friendly hand-clasp and kindly word are a famil-
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Talilliam Wallace
iar memory to thousands." At a later point in the same article are other statements well worthy of reproduction in this article:
"When the Civil war began Benjamin Harrison, his former law partner was organizing the Seventh Regiment, and Mr. Wallace was very anxious to go to the front, but as he had just been elected county clerk and it was feared that his resignation might result in a change of the political complexion of the office, which might prove disastrous at that critical time, at the solicitation of Governor Morton, he determined to continue in the office, though his sympathies were with the army in the field. He was very active in the recruiting and enlisting of the troops and gave of his time and means unreservedly to that work. He went to the front with the Seventh Regiment and remained for several months, and again in 1864 he was in the field with the Indiana armies, doing what he could to add to their comfort and success.
"Mr. Wallace was one of the prominent figures in the organization of the Re- publican party in Indiana and was active in politics all his life. For many years he was treasurer of the Republican state central committee, and his counsel in politics, as in business, was much sought. One thing which added to the respect- ing of his opinions in politics was the absence of any self-interest. Time and again he was importuned by friends to accept office, but he uniformly refused ex- cept in the single instance when he was elected county clerk. His private life was without flaw, and he has been for many years a member of the Central Christian church. He has been for years high in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, occupying some of its most honorable positions. He was for a long time attorney for Butler University and at one time a trustee of that institution. Mr. Wallace was a member of the Crown Hill corporation from its organization and served for many years as a member of the executive board of seven, which had the entire management of the cemetery."
Mr. Wallace was the intimate friend of both Governor Morton and President Harrison, and of both he was the valued and confidential adviser during the cli- macteric period of the Civil war, when grave responsibilities rested on the chief executive of the state and upon General Harrison as a leader in military opera- tions.
Mr. Wallace was twice married. In 1846 he wedded Miss Cordelia Butler, a daughter of the late Ovid Butler, the generous benefactor in whose honor Butler University was named. Mrs. Wallace passed from this life in 1865, and was sur- vived by six children: Esther, who married John S. Duncan and died in 1902, sur- vived by her husband and two children in Indianapolis; Zerelda married Louis C. Haughey and both are living in Wilmington, Delaware; Lew Wallace, a lawyer in Indianapolis; Ovid who died in Denver, Colorado in 1906; Anne, who is the widow of William A. Hughes and William, who is captain in the Seventh Infantry of the Regular Army.
On the 23d of April, 1868, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Wallace to Miss Sarah Jameson, daughter of Rev. Love H. Jameson, a representative member of the clergy of the Christian church and a resident of Indianapolis at the time of his death. Mrs. Wallace is still living in Indianapolis.
The children of William and Sarah Wallace were: David, a lawyer in New York City, and Helen, who died at the age of sixteen in 1892 in Indianapolis.
Marshall L. Woods
Marshall C. Taloods
OR somewhat more than twenty year's prior to his death Mar- shall C. Woods had maintained his home in Indianapolis and F here he held that high personal popularity to which his fine character and ability justly entitled him. He was a man of splendid intellectual powers and attained to more than local repute in connection with journalistic work and other lines of literary production. His broad mental ken and mature judg- ment well fitted him for leadership in public thought and action and he wielded marked influence in political affairs in Indiana, both as a writer and as a zealous worker in behalf of the principles and policies which he believed to represent the best in practical governmental economics. He was a man of strong individuality and well fortified opinions; his sincerity and loyalty were of the firmest type; his integrity was impregnable; and his personality was such as to win to him strong and enduring friendships, so that in his death, which occurred on the 29th of Jan- uary, 1895, the capital city of Indiana lost one of its sterling, talented and honored citizens.
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