USA > Indiana > Marion County > Indianapolis > Memorial record of distinguished men of Indianapolis and Indiana > Part 36
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"Benjamin Roberts was the son of Joseph and Oraminah (Compton) Roberts and was born on a farm near Mason, Warren county, Ohio, on the 19th of July, 1846, and died at his home, No. 2635 Roosevelt avenue, Indianapolis, Indiana. He enlisted in the military service of the United States at the age of seventeen as a private soldier in the Second Ohio Battery of Heavy Artillery in 1863 and served with that organization until the close of the war.
"Following his discharge from the army, he engaged in independent business, and thereafter until his death he was connected with affairs of a business nature.
"Our comrade was a member of the Capital City Lodge A. F. and A. M., also of Keystone Chapter, the Council, the Commandery and the Order of the Scottish Rite. He was also a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Independent Order of Red Men. He joined this Grand Army Post on the 16th of January, 1883, and was a member of the same in good standing at the time of his death, and was buried with the ritualistic service of the order.
"Comrade Roberts was a brave and faithful soldier and was ever proud of his army service, and that he had done something for his country. As a citizen he lived a busy and earnest life, devoted to hard work and the care of his family. He was a man of positive and earnest convictions, and never fearful of giving them ex- pression. His views were his own and he never left his friends in doubt as to where he stood upon all questions that came up in his presence. He was a faith- ful member of this post and performed his duties as such. His life was one of use-
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Benjamin Roberts
fulness and we do ourselves honor in honoring his memory by placing upon our record this Memorial of his life.
"We recommend that a copy be placed upon our records and that a copy be for- warded to Comrade Roberts' widow."
W. N. PICKERELL LEW NICOLL HENRY NICOLAI Committee
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CHARLES H. ABBETT
Dr. Charles Harrison Abbett
HE late Doctor Charles Harrison Abbett was one of the most T prominent men in Indianapolis, not only in his professional capacity as a physician, but as a man and a citizen. He was always active in any work that was conducive to the up- lifting of humanity, socially, morally or intellectually. He lived in Indianapolis for more than sixty years and built up a practical and a reputation that would be hard to excel. The tendency of the medical profession seems to be to-day to make its practitioners cynics or misanthropes or to make them lose their faith in mankind, for they are constantly seeing the worst and weakest side of humanity. Doctor Abbett was none of these; his heart was too full of human sympathy, he was too close to the eternal verities, and he had too deep and true an understanding of men to ever become a shallow cynic and scoffer. He gathered the sweetness from the scenes of sorrow and suffering of which he was a daily witness, and left the bitterness to those who possessed less noble characters. Can not young physicians, who think they have learned all there is to learn about life take a page from the life of this man, and realize that if he who had had years of experience to their months, and had practiced among all sorts and conditions of men, was able to keep his whole- some faith in the ultimate good of all things, then they might at least make the effort. During his service as a surgeon in the Civil war, he was not content to merely do his duty, he was always as near to the firing line as he was permitted to go, and the soldiers knew that not a man among them had more courage than this strong man whom they almost worshiped. He gave his services with a glad heart, and many a night when he was almost exhausted for want of sleep he would sit for hours by the side of some fever-racked Southern lad and hold his hand, be- cause his quiet touch calmed the boy as nothing else could. His four years of service are one continuous story of self-sacrifice, and these years were but the fore- shadowing of what his future life was to be. It is safe to say that no man was ever more truly mourned than was Doctor Abbett.
Charles Harrison Abbett was the son of Doctor Lawson Abbett and Abigail (Chase) Abbett. The father was born and bred in Kentucky, where his father owned a large plantation and many slaves. As Lawson Abbett grew up he became firmly convinced that slave-holding was wrong, and at last he left his father's home in the Blue Grass state because he disagreed with his father on this subject. He became an ardent abolitionist and a great admirer of Abraham Lincoln. Hav- ing an uncle in Bartholmew county, Indiana, be came to this county and began to practice medicine. This was in pioneer days, and he traveled all over this section of the state on horseback, with saddle bags slung across the back of his beast. He and the circuit-rider were co-laborers, and one was often called upon to do the work of the other. He was an enthusiastic blue ribbon man and a strict prohibitionist. His wife was born in New York state, near Cornell University, and she was married to Dr. Abbett after coming out to Indiana. They went to house-keeping in a log
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Dr. Charles Darrison Abbett
cabin and since the Doctor did not make very much money in those days, the young wife did not find the life an easy one. The cow helped with the matter of food, but the horse which the doctor had to keep offset this economy. Seven children were born to them, of whom Doctor Abbett was the third.
Dr. Harrison Abbett was named for ex-president Harrison of Tippecanoe fame. He was only a lad of twelve when his parents moved to Indianapolis, so he spent practically his entire life in the city. The family made the trip to the city in a covered wagon, for there was only one railroad through their section in those days. Charles Harrison Abbett was born at LaFayette, on the 10th of March, 1838, and it is a little hard to imagine him as a little boy peering timidly around the corner of a wagon of the prairie schooner type as it passed through the streets of Indianapolis. He attended the public schools of this city, and then concluded to take up the study of medicine. He studied first under his father, who was then practicing in the old Abbett homestead on Virginia avenue. Later he attended the Cincinnati Medical College from which he was graduated just before the Civil war. With the outbreak of the war he was among the first to offer his services and he enlisted in the Eleventh Indiana, which was a Zouave regiment. He served in this regiment for three months, and was then appointed a surgeon of the Thirty- sixth Indiana Regiment, with which he served to the end of the war. He was among the youngest surgeons in the service, and his record for courage, cool-head- ness and skilful surgery was certainly not surpassed. He was a very modest man, and could not be persuaded to speak about his war record, but from his old com- rades his friends were able to glean the story of these years which he gave to his country and to his fellow men. He was in the most terrible battles of the war, Gettysburg, Missionary Ridge, Lookout Mountain, Chickamauga and many others. Possibly he abstained from telling of these experiences because they brought up such terrible pictures to his mind's eye. No local anaesthetics, no antiseptic surg- ery, scarcely enough bandages, and the constant necessity of performing the most terrible operations under such conditions, small wonder that Dr. Abbett did not care to tell stories of those days. He could not send thrills through his audience by tales of night raids and swift dashes up the hillside in to the ranks of the gray coated regiments. All of his stories would tell of agony courageously endured, of sickness and suffering and death. Dr. Abbett came out from that four years' ex- perience, a boy almost in years, but an old man in knowledge. He was commis- sioned captain by Governor Oliver P. Morton, and as assistant surgeon held the rank of captain. After the war was over he returned to Indianapolis, and began to practice in his father's office. He had won fame and distinction in the war, and when he was mustered out it was with high honors, so people were eager to secure him as their physician. Had he not been a fine practitioner, this first suc- cess would not have lasted, but his practice was constantly on the increase. He remained in practice with his father until the death of the latter, at the age of seventy-seven. His devotion to the memory of this fine old man was so great that he left his father's name over the door until his son was ready to enter the office as his partner. Then he put his son's name in place of the one that had had the place of honor for so long. He continued to practice in the old Abbett building until the 10th of January, 1912, when the office was moved to the Hume-Mansur Building. The elder doctor appeared to be in his usual health, though rather tired, but the following morning at about five o'clock he had a cerebral hemorrhage, and at 12:30 he died. The following brief account of the funeral is quoted from the
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News: "The funeral of the late Dr. Charles H. Abbett, who died Thursday after- noon at his home, 142 West Vermont street, was held at two o'clock yesterday after- noon at St. Paul's Episcopal church. The Scottish Rite service was conducted by John Milnor and the Reverend Lewis Brown spoke briefly, praising Dr. Abbett's life. The veterans of the Eleventh and Thirty-sixth Indiana Volunteers, in which Dr. Abbett served during the Civil war, braved the cold weather to pay their res- pects to their former comrade." Dr. Abbett was buried at Crown Hill cemetery.
Dr. Abbett was devoted to his work, and while he took a great interest in his lodge and in public affairs he would never accept an office. He gave his entire time to his work and his family. He was a very loyal Republican, and was deeply interested in the election of 1912, but in which he did not live to take part. He was a sincere believer in the principles of the Masonic order, and was a member of the Marion lodge of the Scottish Rite and the Mystic Shrine. He was also a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, belonging to the George H. Thomas Post. In religious matters he was of the Episcopal faith, being a communicant of St. Paul's Episcopal church, where his family have worshiped ever since they came to Indianapolis.
On the 28th of April, 1870, Dr. Abbett was married to Georgia Burrows, a daughter of George W. and Christian (Watterson) Burrows. Mrs. Abbett's father was born near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and her mother was a native of the Isle of Man. The marriage took place in Mrs. Abbett's native city, Cleveland, Ohio, and the officiating minister was Reverend Doctor Henry Day. Mr. Burrows was a carriage manufacturer, well known for the fine vehicles he built. He had a large factory and the business was a prosperous one. When Mrs. Abbett was ten years old her parents moved to Indianapolis, and her father here went into the livery and sales business. Both of her parents died in this city and are buried at Crown Hill. Mrs. Abbett became the mother of six children, two of whom died in infancy. Walter Angus died when he was five and a half years old. The first child to grow to maturity was Earnest Lawrence. He is a railroad man in Indianapolis, and is married. His wife was Rosemund M. Budd, and they have two children, Dora- thy R. and Ernest L. The second son, Dr. Frank E., is the successor to his father and grandfather. He was in business with his father for six years preceding his death. In addition to this valuable experience he is the possessor of a fine pro- fessional education. He is a graduate of Shortridge high school and of the Indiana Medical College. He took the state examination. He married Kathleen Bannon, of St. Paul, and they have one child, Grace Warren. The youngest son, Ralph Watterson, lives at home. He has charge of the administration of the estate, which is no light task. He is a graduate of the Shortridge high school and attended the Ohio State University.
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Dennis P. Downs
HE careers of innumerable representative men of America show T that the potency of personal achievement lies in the individual, and that success is an evolution, an unfolding, and an ex- pression of selfhood. There is a disadvantage in too many ad- vantages and the full strength of the individual must be brought out by struggle for advancement. The career of the late Dennis P. Downs, who arose from the ranks to a position of distinctive trust and importance in the railway service, shows what is possible of accomplishment on the part of one who is willing to bend his powers and energies along a prescribed course to a definite end. He won advancement through his own ability and effective service and for more than a quarter of a century he was in the employ of the Vandalia Railroad Company, with which he held the responsible office of claim agent for several years, and with the freight department of which he was identified until his death, which occurred at his home in Terre Haute on the 25th of June, 1908. He was a man of alert and well matured mentality, of dis- tinctive executive ability, and of broad and liberal views. His integrity of purpose was as certain as were his sincerity, his geniality and sympathy, and his unswerv- ing personal demand to make the best use of his powers in all relations of life. He was well equipped for leadership, and by virtue of his very nature, that leader- ship could not be other than wise and true, buoyant and optimistic, he looked upon the bright side of life and endeavored to infuse the same sentiment into those with whom he came in contact. He won staunch friends in all classes and his noble character gained to him unlimited confidence and esteem of unqualified order.
Dennis Patrick Downs was born in the city of Terre Haute, Indiana, and was a son of James and Mary (McCarthy) Downs, both of whom were born and reared in fine old county Clare, Ireland, and both of whom were descended from the staunchest of Irish stock.
The father of James Downs was Patrick Downs, who again was the son of Patrick. His father was Michael Downs, who was associated with Oliver Crom- well during his lieutenantship of Ireland in 1649. At this time when the posses- sions of the Catholics were confiscated and about 20,000 Irish were sold as slaves in America, Michael left his original home in Trumond and settled in the west of county Clare, where he took up farming. This is the farm Dennis P. Downs visited.
When Dennis P. Downs was five years of age his parents removed to Green- castle, this state, where he received his early educational discipline in the parochial and public schools. The parents were folk of sterling character and both were devout communicants of the Catholic church. Of their children five sons and two daughters are living at the time of this writing, 1912. After leaving school, Dennis P. Downs passed a year in European travel and found special satisfaction in visit- in the ancestral home of his father in Kilard, County Clare and that of his mother in Water Park, in the fair Emerald Isle. There his uncle offered him an interest in
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Dennis p. Downs
a lucrative business, but his love for America was such that he could not be pre- vailed upon to remain in Ireland. Upon his arrival in Indiana on his return, Mr. Downs secured employment in the offices of the roadmaster of the Vandalia Rail- road at Brazil, and through faithful and effective service he made rapid advancement. He was transferred to Terre Haute, where he was finally promoted to the position of stock and claim agent, in which he made a most enviable record. Perhaps no better epitome of his career as a representative of railroad interests can be given than the appreciative estimate given by Richards, a well known Indiana newspaper man, in the columns of an Indianapolis newspaper at the time of his death, and the same is well worthy of perpetuation in this connection:
"The life story of Dennis P. Downs, former claim agent for the Vandalia, who died Thursday, June 25, 1908, at his home in this city, is typically that of a railroad man. Beginning at the very foot, as a messenger boy, when a lad, as many others who have reached the top in railroad circles have done, Downs continued to follow his chosen profession until his death, at the age of forty-eight years. His parents removed to Greencastle when he was still young, and in 1882 he returned to Terre Haute and entered the roadmaster's department of the Vandalia, while it was under the management of the McKeen interests. After working in this department for a short time, his ability was recognized and he was appointed claim agent for the road, which position he held until 1896.
"While acting as claim agent for the road under the old regime, Mr. Downs reported to John G. Williams, who was then general manager of the Vandalia lines. As claim agent he is declared to have been one of the most successful in the country. Many serious damage suits which were threatened against the Vandalia during this time were turned over to him for adjustment outside the courts. His natural wit and effective argument were employed in their fullest capacity in doing this work and many thousands of dollars are said to have been saved for the road through his efforts. No attorney ever argued more strongly for his client than Mr. Downs for the Vandalia while he was negotiating with claimants.
"The most signal victory of Mr. Downs in adjusting claims was in the case of the Coatsville wreck, which occurred on the Vandalia, January 28, 1895. So suc- cessful were his efforts in reducing the amount of damages asked by parties bring- ing suit in this case that but a comparatively small amount of money was ex- pended in satisfying the claims of the injured and the executors of the estates of the dead. He always attempted a compromise, but once learning that such was impossible, he procured evidence of the strongest nature for the defense and assisted in fighting the cases to the end.
"With the purchase of the Vandalia by the Pennsylvania interests in 1895, . and the reorganization of the road, Mr. Downs resumed his position, but he was later offered a desk with the local freight department-a position which he ac- cepted and which he held at the time he was stricken down with the illness that caused his death, nine months later."
"Mr. Downs was a remarkable man in many ways," said Superintendent W. S. Downing of the St. Louis division of the Vandalia-Pennsylvania. "He was a competent man and held the highest respect of his fellow workers. His mind was extraordinarily developed in many directions, and he did not spare himself for the interests of the road."
Aside from his activities in railroad affairs, Mr .. Downs brought his fine powers to bear in divers other lines. He built up a successful real-estate business
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in Terre Haute, and he also owned and operated a stone quarry. In politics he was a zealous advocate of the principles and policies of the Republican party and was an active and effective worker in its cause. In 1892 he was made the candidate of his party for representative of the Terre Haute district in the state senate, but in a close race, in which he drew heavily from the normal majority of the opposition, he was defeated by Colonel William E. McLean. As president of the Harrison Railroad Club, which was organized by a number of railroad officials during the campaign of Benjamin Harrison, Mr. Downs became a personal friend of the president and had in his possession many interesting letters from him. He was a communicant of the Catholic church and showed characteristic zeal and energy in the support of parochial and diocesan activities. He was a charter member of the Terre Haute Knights of Columbus and was also affiliated in a most prominent way with the Catholic Knights of America, of which he was the state treasurer of Indiana for twenty years prior to his death. Ever an avowed adversary of the liquor traffic, Mr. Downs labored earnestly in the cause of temperance, and he was state president of the Catholic Total Abstinence Union of Indiana for eight years. His father was also a strong advocate of temperance and took the total abstinence pledge from Father Mathew, the founder of the Knights of Father Mathew, in county Clare, Ireland, in 1839. D. P. Downs served as a trustee for the Society of Organized Charities in Terre Haute, where he also held membership in the Fra- ternal Aid Association. His character was positive and his nature was strong, true and loyal, so that he well merited the unequivocal esteem accorded to him by all who came within the sphere of his kindly and inspiring influence. Few citizens of Terre Haute were better known, and none had had more secure place in popular confidence and affection. True to every trust reposed in him, ever ready to give aid to those in affliction or distress, tolerant in his judgment, and sure in his stew- ardship as one of the world's workers, Dennis P. Downs lived a life that was worthy and fruitful, so that its angle of influence must continue to widen in benign- acy now that he has passed forward to the "land of the leal."
On the 29th of January, 1890, was solemized the marriage of Mr. Downs to Miss Ella M. Sullivan, of Indianapolis, who was born and reared in this city, and who is a daughter of Michael N. and Ellen (O'Connor) Sullivan, the former of whom was horn on the Island of Valentia, or Kenmare, off the west coast of Ireland, in county Kerry, and the latter of whom was a native of the same county their marriage having been solemnized in Indianapolis, Indiana. Michael N. Sul- livan was a man of sterling character and fine business ability, and he won large and worthy success in the land of his adoption, having been one of the most promi- nent railroad and street contractors in Indiana at the time of his death, which oc- curred in 1874. Of the nine children of this union Mrs. Downs was the fourth in order of birth, and of the number two others are now living-John M. and Miss Nora M. From an article appearing in the Indianapolis Star, with slight para- phrase, the following interesting extracts are taken:
"From the results of a severe attack of chronic rheumatism which, with other complications, had made her an invalid for nearly ten years, Mrs. Ellen Sullivan Keating, wife of John Keating, passed away at her home, 1109 Dawson street, Mon- day morning, January 27, 1908, aged sixty-nine years. As a resident of Indianapolis since 1847, Mrs. Keating saw the city grow from a small village, which only sparsely settled the original "mile square," to a city of more than two hundred thousand population. She saw the last of the Indians who visited the city and
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Dennis p. Dotons
was in the crowd that assembled to welcome the first railroad train into "town." From the time when all traffic was done by canal and all traveling was overland, she kept pace with the advancing town to the day of street cars and electric lines, she saw the little frame stores of Washington street, which represented the busi- ness section of the town when she came here, supplanted by great modern structures, the while the business district expanded in every direction.
"Born in county Kerry, Ireland, in 1839, Mrs. Keating came to America in company with her parents and a brother and sister when she was eight years of age. After a very brief residence in Quebec, Canada, the family came to Indianapolis, and she had lived here ever since.
"It was at the age of fifteen years that Ellen O'Connor became the bride of Michael N. Sullivan. Four years after the death of Mr. Sullivan, in 1874, she was married to John Keating, who survives her. Mrs. Keating was the daughter of exceptionally long lived parents, Mr. O'Connor having died in 1878, at the age of ninety-eight years, and her mother passing away in 1891, at the age of one hundred and four years. Mrs. Keating was a woman of retiring disposition, liv- ing almost wholly for her home and her children, but she always maintained an interest in the affairs of the city. Funeral services were held at St. Patrick's church, of which she was a devout communicant."
In June, 1909, about one year after the death of her honored husband, Mrs. Downs returned with her children to Indianapolis, her native city, and here she now has a pleasant home at 2114 North Talbot street. She has a wide circle of friends in the capital city and she and her children are communicants of the Catho- lic church, her membership being in SS. Peter and Paul parish, in which she was reared.
The children of Mr. and Mrs. Downs are here given in conclusion of this memoir, which is dedicated to a husband and father whose devotion made his home life one of ideal order: Marie, Madeline, Katherine, James and Genevieve.
Frank Fertig
N THE life history of Frank Fertig the young may see what indus- try and temperance can accomplish; the farmer, the mechanic, the professional man-all may learn the results of energy, and the possibility of the combination of a great success with an active benevolence; while the rich may find that a wise benefi- cence brings the largest revenue of happiness. An early settler and prominent citizen of Indianapolis, Mr. Fertig was for many years a well known figure in business circles of the city, and when death removed him there was no man more sincerely missed nor more deeply mourned. I
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