USA > Indiana > Marion County > Indianapolis > Memorial record of distinguished men of Indianapolis and Indiana > Part 27
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Mads Anderson was born at Hee Sognt Ringkjobing, Denmark, on the 29th of October, 1849, and was a son of Pedre and Cecil Anderson, who passed their entire lives in their native land, the subject of this memoir having been the only member of the immediate family to establish a home in America. Mr. Anderson was indebted to the schools of his native land for his early educational discipline and there also he learned the trade of brick making. Upon attaining to his legal majority he severed the home ties and set forth to seek his fortune in the United States, whither he came without other equipment than a staunch heart, a strong physique, industrous habits and a determination and ambition of insistent type. This was adequate fortification, as time well proved, and his ambition was not only one of action but also one of inflexible integrity,-an ambition that makes of suc- cess not an accident but a logical result. Soon after his arrival in America, vir- tually penniless and dependent entirely upon his own resources, Mr. Anderson came to Indiana and secured employment on a farm near Lafayette, where he re- mained about one year. He then came to Indianapolis, where he gave his atten- tion to any honest work that he could secure, and in the meanwhile he attended night school, in order to gain better knowledge of the English language. About
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a year after his arrival in the capital city he became associated with a man named Petersen and engaged in the manufacturing of brick. The new firm established its brick yard a short distance south of the city and the partnership continued for several years, at the expiration of which Mr. Anderson sold his interest in the busi- ness to his associate, Mr. Petersen. He then engaged in the teaming business and finally began to deal somewhat extensively in cord-wood, then the principal fuel utilized in this locality. He purchased wood by the carload and sold the same to different retail dealers. He developed a prosperous transfer business, and his energy was ever seeking new outlets in productive industry. In connection with his transfer business Mr. Anderson also developed a successful enterprise in the handling and storing of household goods. He eventually became one of the leading coal dealers of the city. In 1888 he erected his business place at the corner of Hosbrook and Cedar streets, and in 1903 he purchased another place, on New Jersey street. At these two locations he continued successfully in the wholesale and retail coal business until his death, and he ever maintained the highest repu- tation for fair and honorable dealings, so that his personal popularity in his home city had a solid foundation, his integrity in business being of the same high order as that shown in all other relations of life. When natural gas was introduced in Indianapolis Mr. Anderson added to his business activities the dealing in stoves and other fixtures utilized in connection with gas consumption, and after the failure of the natural gas he gave his attention almost exclusively to the coal trade, in which his operations were of extensive order. After his death his widow continued the business until July 8, 1911, when she disposed of the same.
A man of broad views and well fortified convictions, Mr. Anderson was loyal and liberal in his attitude as a citizen and though he had no desire to participate in the activities of practical politics he gave a stalwart support to the cause of the Republican party. His interests centered in his home and his business, and thus he had no desire to identify himself with fraternal organizations, clubs, etc. He was essentially honest, sincere and fair, and thus he had a distinct antipathy to trusts and other combinations that preyed upon the people. For a short time he held membership in the Indianapolis Coal Exchange, but after attending a few of its meetings he found its methods and policies to be at variance with his own opin- ions as to right and justice in business dealings, as he objected to the combina- tion's plan of holding up the price of coal beyond a figure which was justified. He accordingly withdrew from the Exchange and courageously started to fight the combination of coal dealers. The battle raged fiercely for a time and, though he met with incidental losses, he would not withdraw from his independent position, even in the face of boycott policies, and it is creditable to his name that he even- tually became victor in the conflict, in which he came out with flying colors.
Mr. Anderson was a consistent member of the Lutheran church and was lib- eral in his support of the various departments of its work, as was he also in his contributions to charitable and benevolent objects and institutions. His private benefactions also were many and unostentatious, and his heart ever responded to the call of suffering and distress. Such was his modesty, however, that he in- variably attempted to conceal his charitable activities, many of which will never be known save to those who were the recipients of his largeness. Even his loved and devoted wife was not informed of his donations to charitable and benevolent causes and learned of the same only after he had passed away. Mr. Anderson's
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character was the positive expression of a strong and noble nature, and his influ- ence was ever cast in favor of the good and true in the scheme of human existence. His remains were laid at rest in beautiful Crown Hill cemetery, and his name will be held in lasting honor by all who knew him and had appreciation of his sterling attributes of character.
On the 14th of June, 1888, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Anderson to Miss Eleanor H. Loomis, who was born at Hillsdale, Michigan, whence the family removed to Indiana in 1853. Mrs. Anderson is a daughter of Captain Ruel B. Loomis and Eleanor (Haven) Loomis, both of whom were born in the state of New York. Mr. and Mrs. Anderson became the parents of one daughter, Eleanor Theresa, who died on the 18th of August, 1909, at the age of nineteen years. She survived her father only a year and a few months, and thus the loved and devoted wife and mother was called upon to drink most deeply from the chalice of sorrow when both the loved ones were called from the scene of life's mortal endeavors. The daughter was in the very flower of gracious young womanhood. She was a graduate of the Shortridge high school and was a student in Butler College at the time of the illness which terminated in her death. Mrs. Anderson owns a beautiful home at 805 Fletcher avenue, and the same is known for its generous hospitality. The property was purchased by Mr. Anderson a short time before his death and he lived only a few days after the removal to the new home. Mrs. Anderson is a zealous member of the Fletcher Place Methodist Episcopal church of Indianapolis, in which she is secretary of the missionary corps. She is also affiliated with the Joseph R. Gordon Woman's Relief Corps, an adjunct of the Grand Army of the Republic, her eligibility for membership in the organization being based on the valiant service rendered by her father as a soldier in the Civil war. She is a woman of the most gracious social qualities and distinctive culture, and prior to her marriage she had been a success- ful and popular teacher in the public schools of Indiana. She taught five years here and about twelve years in Indiana, outside of Indianapolis.
Captain Ruel B. Loomis, father of Mrs. Anderson, was reared and educated in his native state of New York, and there was solemnized his marriage to Miss Eleanor Haven, who survived him by forty years. In the '40s Captain Loomis removed to Michigan, in company with his wife and their two children, and located at Hillsdale, the judicial center of the county of the same name. There the other five children were born and there the family remained until 1853, when Captain Loomis removed to Indiana and established the family home in the village of Greenwood, about ten miles south of Indianapolis. There he established and con- ducted a foundry, to which he was giving his attention at the time of the outbreak of the Civil war. He was desirous of enlisting at once in defense of the Union, but was prevented from doing so on account of the death of his son John, who was killed by a fragment of a cannon which burst while being utilized in firing a salute in honor of the first troops to pass over the old Jeffersonville, Madison & Indianap- olis Railroad, in 1861. In 1862 Captain Loomis organized a company of recruits and with the same he enlisted as first lieutenant, but before the regiment left In- dianapolis he was made captain of Company F, Fifth Indiana Volunteer Cavalry. He enlisted in the Fifth Indiana Cavalry, Ninetieth Regiment, of his own free will, thinking that it was the duty of every American citizen so to do. He was then over fifty years of age and not eligible to be drafted. He boarded up the win-
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dows and went to war, and returning later on a furlough, he sold out the business. He lived up to the full tension of the great conflict between the north and south and proved a valiant soldier and efficient officer, the record of his military career being virtually that of the gallant regiment in which he served and with which he par- ticipated in many important battles as well as innumerable minor engagements .. He was killed in the siege of Atlanta, on the 18th of July, 1864, and his remains now rest in the national military cemetery at Marietta, Georgia. His widow passed the closing years of her life in Indianapolis and was summoned to eternal rest on the 5th of February, 1905, at the venerable age of eighty-five years, her death having occurred in the home of her daughter, Mrs. Anderson, who had accorded to her the deepest filial solicitude in her declining years. Concerning the children of Captain and Mrs. Loomis the following brief data are given: Emerete is the widow of Dr. Shadrick L. Ferree and resides in Indianapolis; John was twenty years of age when he met accidental death, as already noted; William was a resident of Greenwood at the time of his demise; Miss Amy J. resides with her sis- ter, Mrs. Anderson, widow of the subject of this memoir; Elly is a resident of Kansas City, Missouri; and Eleanor H., Mrs. Anderson, is the youngest of the number.
Calilliam Talebb Hobson
MONG the young men of fine initiative and administrative ability A who have contributed their quota to the commercial progress of Indianapolis, is the late William Webb Hobson, who here maintained his home for an appreciable period of years and who left a definite and worthy impress upon the civic and busi- ness annals of the city. His was a most genial and generous personality, and he did not permit the demands of business to hedge him in, but was loyal and progressive as a citizen and was a valued and popu- lar character in fraternal, club and other representative circles of a social order in Indianapolis. Until within a few months prior to his death, Mr. Hobson was president of the Dynes, Hobson & Jennings Company, extensive manufacturers of sash and doors, and he retired from his active association with this important Indianapolis concern only when his depleted health rendered this action neces- sary. His standing as a business man and as a citizen was such that it is entirely consonant that in this Indianapolis memorial edition be incorporated a brief trib- ute to him as a representative citizen of this city.
William Webb Hobson was born in the city of Mobile, Alabama, on the 14th day of November, 1869, and is the scion of an old and patrician southern family. He was the youngest in a family of three children, of whom the sole survivor is now a sister, Mrs. Gertrude Dudley, of Arrville, Indiana. The subject of this memoir was a cousin of Richmond Pearson Hobson, who achieved distinction in the naval service during the Spanish-American war. In his city Mr. Hobson was afforded excellent educational advantages, as was he also at Greensboro, Alabama, where he completed the curriculum of the high school and was duly graduated. He early demonstrated distinctive ability for business achievement, and his initial service in the business world was as a salesman for a retail hardware store in the city of Birmingham, Alabama, where he gained valuable experience and prepared himself for further responsibilities. He eventually came to the north and for three years he maintained his headquarters in the city of Chicago, where he became a traveling salesman for one of the leading concerns engaged in the manufacture of sash, doors and blinds in the great western metropolis. He continued to be thus engaged with the Foster-Munger Company for a period of twelve years, but, as already intimated, he maintained his home in Chicago only three years. After he established his residence in Indianapolis his loyalty and allegiance thereto were ever afterwards of the most insistent and enduring order. Here he continued to reside until his death. In 1903 Mr. Hobson was one of those who were instru- mental in directing the organization of the Dynes, Hobson & Jennings Company, and in the building up of its substantial and prosperous business he wielded great influence, and brought to bear a fine executive ability, as well as his thorough fam- iliarity with the line of enterprise which the new company represented, that of the manufacture of sash and doors. Mr. Hobson continued as president of the
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company until the 20th of October, 1910, when the condition of his health ren- dered it imperative for him to retire from active business, when he resigned his position as chief executive of the firm. He then returned south for the purpose of supervising his extensive estate in Greensboro, Alabama, and where he was subsequently stricken with heart disease which caused hi's death in thirty minutes. He was thus summoned to eternal life on the 9th of April, 1911, and in Indian- apolis the news of his demise was received with uniform expressions of regret, as he had here endeared himself to a wide circle of friends in both business and social life. Mr. Hobson was an enthusiastic member of the time honored Masonic fraternity, in which he had taken the thirty-second degree of the Scottish-Rite, besides which he was identified with the adjunct of the order, the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He was identified with various Ma- sonic bodies of Indianapolis, and showed a deep interest in the work of each of them. He was a valued and popular member of the Marion Club, one of the rep- resentative organizations of the city. He was known as a man of exceptionally fine business ability, and through his well directed endeavors he achieved a snc- cess worthy of the name, the while his course was ever guided and governed by the highest principles of integrity, so that he well merited the unqualified esteem in which he was so uniformly held. Liberal and progressive in his attitude as a citizen, but manifesting no penchant for public office of any order, he always gave a hearty support to the principles for which the Democratic party stands sponsor in a basic way.
On the first day of August, 1897, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Hobson to Miss Letha Josephine Benette, of Lexington, Kentucky. Mrs. Hobson was born in the fine old Blue Grass state, and is a daughter of John T. and Sarah (Beech) Benette, who now reside in Indiana, their beautiful home being located at No. 10 Highland Place. Since the death of her honored husband Mrs. Hobson passes much of her time in traveling, and while in Indianapolis she makes her home with her parents. She retains her husband's business interests in this city, as well as his valuable estate in Alabama.
Irwin Robbins
T HERE are many interesting phases in the history of the career of the late General Irwin Robbins, who died at his home in Indianapolis on the afternoon of February 9, 1911, after an illness of very brief duration. The immediate cause of his death was heart syncopation. General Robbins had played a prominent part in the industrial and civic activities of the Indiana capital, and served in public offices of no little dis- tinction, was one of the representative manufacturers of the city, and in his native state was one of the best known and most honored veterans of the Civil war. He was a scion of one of the sterling pioneer families of Indiana and never found it in his heart to sever his allegiance to his native heath. Here he found ample opportunity for the exercise of his splendid business ability and civic functions, and by very reason of his steadfast integrity and gracious personality he gained and retained the unequivocal esteem of his fellow men. His life and labors well entitle him to recognition in every publication whose province is the consideration of those men who have stood as representative citizens of the fair metropolis and capital of Indiana.
As preliminary to somewhat more ample data to be incorporated in this memoir, is reproduced the following extract published in the Indianapolis News on the day of General Robbin's death, and slight latitude is given in the reproduction:
"Irwin Robbins, one of the best known of the city's veterans of the Civil war, died, of heart trouble, at one o'clock this afternoon, at his home, 12 West .North street. He had been in failing health about three weeks but was not considered in a serious condition until he was suddenly stricken, shortly after noon. General Robbins was seventy-one years of age and was engaged in the manufacture of automobile bodies, having his sons as partners, in the Laycock Power building, in West Tenth street. Formerly he was a carriage manufacturer. He was promi- nently connected with the Grand Army of the Republic and took a specially active part in its national encampment held in Indianapolis. He was one of the oldest Scottish Rite Masons in the state.
"When the Civil war broke out Mr. Robbins enlisted in the Seventh Indiana Regiment as a private. During the course of the war he was promoted to com- mand of a battalion in the One Hundred and Twenty-third Indiana Regiment, and was a major when the war ended. During the administration of Governor Mat- thews he served as adjutant general of the state, and in 1882 he was superinten- dent of the police department of Indianapolis.
"General Robbins, who was commonly known by the military title gained through his service as adjutant general of his native state, was born in the little village of Milroy, Rush county, Indiana, on the 30th of March, 1838, and was a son of Dr. Richard and Sarah Ann (Wood) Robbins. Dr. Rohbins was one of the pioneer physicians and surgeons of Rush county and was a man of fine pro-
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fessional and intellectual attainments. He finally prepared himself for the pro- fession of law and engaged in active general practice at Greensburg, Decatur county. He became one of the representative members of the bar of that county and was a prominent and influential citizen, commanding the high regard of all who knew him. He died in 1861 and his widow passed the closing years of her life in Indianapolis. She died in the home now occupied by the widow of her son, General Robbins, of this review.
The common schools of his native county afforded General Robbins his early educational advantages and he had also the benignant influences of a home of dis- tinctive culture and refinement. In pursuance of higher academic studies he en- tered Northwestern Christian University, now known as Butler University and located at Irvington, a suburb of Indianapolis. In this excellent institution he was graduated and he was also a student for a time in old Asbury University, now known as DePauw University, at Greencastle.
General Robbins was twenty-three years of age at the time when the dark cloud of civil war cast its pall over the national horizon, and he was among the first of the loyal sons of Indiana to tender his services in defence of the Union. In response to President Lincoln's first call for volunteers he enlisted as a private in the Seventh Indiana Volunteer Infantry, one of the very first regiments to go to the front from this state. At the expiration of his original term he re-enlisted, in the Fifty-fourth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and later he organized and became captain of a company in the One Hundred and Twenty-third Indiana Volunteer Infantry, with which he served until the close of the war. He lived up to the full tension of the great and prolonged conflict between the states of the north and south and proved himself a faithful and gallant soldier of the republic. He par- ticipated in many important battles, including those of Chickamauga and Lookout Mountain, and on several occasions he had command of his regiment,-in the ca- pacity of colonel at certain times and at others in that of major. His war record is one that will ever give honor to his name and memory and he continued in ser- vice until victory had crowned the Union arms, when he was mustered out and re- ceived his honorable discharge.
Prior to entering the army General Robbins had begun the study of law, but his long and arduous service in the war had so impaired his health that he found it impracticable to continue his studies, as he demanded for his wellbeing an out- door life. He accordingly went to Boone county, Iowa, where his father owned a large tract of land, and his prime object in making this trip was to sell the land to veteran soldiers who were seeking homes in that state. He remained in Iowa about three years, within which time he not only recuperated his health but also succeeded in disposing of his father's land to good advantage. At the expiration of the period noted he returned to Indiana and after remaining for a brief inter- val at Greensburg he came to Indianapolis, where he became associated with one of his old army friends, Colonel Shaw, in the manufacturing of carriages, under the title of the Shaw Manufacturing Company. The headquarters of the concern were at 32 East Georgia street and the business soon became one of substantial and profitable order. When, after several years, Colonel Shaw was elected a state official, General Robbins purchased his interest in the manufacturing business, which was thereafter conducted under the title of the Irwin Robbins Company. He gave close attention to this enterprise and developed the same to large pro-
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portions. With the incoming of the automobile as an agency for commercial enter- prise, the manufacturing of automobile bodies was made one of the principal features of the business, the special functions of which had been for a number of years the manufacturing of carriages and hearses of the finest grade. The busi- ness was incorporated under the title noted and General Robbins continued as president of the company until his death. His two sons were associated with him and since he passed away they have successfully continued the business which has long been one of broad scope and importance. The major portion of the stock of the company is retained by the widow of the General and the executive head of the company is E. Guy Robbins, who had been its secretary and treasurer prior to the death of his honored father. The elder son, Walter Scott Robbins, is also actively identified with the business, and both are well upholding the pres- tige and honors of the name which they bear and which has been one of prominence in the industrial history of the capital city.
The loyalty of General Robbins in all matters touching the public welfare was of the same insistent order as that shown by him during the dark period of the Civil war, when he gave himself unreservedly to the defense of the nation's integrity. In politics he originally gave his allegiance to the Republican party but he finally became a staunch supporter of the cause of the Democratic party, with which he aligned himself as a matter of conviction. He never sought public office, but in 1882 he was made chief of the police department of Indianapolis, a position in which he gave an admirable administration, though he did not consent to retain the office for any considerable period. When Hon. Claude Matthews was elected governor of the state he gave evidence of his appreciation of the mili- tary ability and zeal of General Robbins by appointing the latter adjutant general of the state militia, and in this position the General did much to bring the troops of Indiana up to their present high standard of efficiency. He had become a thorough tactician and disciplinarian during his long service in the Civil war and had continued to take a specially deep interest in military affairs. His old comrades gave to him the fullest measure of confidence and esteem and he was one of the prominent and valued members of George H. Thomas Post, Grand Army of the Republic, in his home city,-an organization in which he was called upon to serve in various official positions. He also held membership in the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States and the Union Veteran Legion, for which latter only those were or are eligible who served two or more consecutive years in the Union ranks in the Civil war. The General served as commander of George H. Thomas Post, and was specially influential in connection with the enter- taining of the old comrades and veterans at the time when the national encamp- ment was held in Indianapolis. He was an appreciative student of the history and teachings of the time-honored Masonic fraternity, in which he completed the circle of each the York and Scottish Rites, and at the time of his death he was one of the oldest representatives of the thirty-second degree of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite in his native state. General Robbins was a man whose mind and heart were large, and he was the soul of kindliness and generosity,-one who was ever ready with good words and deeds of consideration and sympathy. He was known and honored in the city and state which was his home throughout a long and useful life, and his name merits enduring place in the annals of its history.
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