USA > Indiana > Marion County > Indianapolis > Memorial record of distinguished men of Indianapolis and Indiana > Part 9
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"It is not, however, merely in his professional character that he has left a lasting impression upon the minds and hearts of all who have been either directly or remotely connected with our city schools for the past twenty years. He possessed many qualities rare in any man, and especially so in any musician. His life was an exemplification of the ideal musician. He was always in tune. No harshness or discord ever emanated from lips or his presence. His entrance into a school room brought not only a concord of sweet sounds but it brought the sunshine of a cheerful countenance and the soothing influence of an imperturbable temper. No teacher or pupil ever had reason to dread his arrival. His memory of persons was remarkable. Hundreds of children in all parts of the city were accustomed to his cheery greeting as he addressed them by name on the street or wherever he hap- pened to meet them. Of the thousands of pupils and the hundreds, almost thousands, of teachers who during his long service received instruction from him, it is not probable that one has a disagreeable memory connected with Professor Loomis.
"With all this, and above all, he was universally recognized as a modest and sincere Christian. The influence of such a character upon character in the sus- ceptible period of school life is like a perpetual benediction, and its value outweighs even the high worth of his professional work.
"We, the assembled teachers of the Indianapolis schools, conscious of the great
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debt which so many of us owe to him as our faithful instructor in the days gone by, desire to place upon record this glad tribute to his high qualities as a teacher and also to testify our great respect and reverence for him as a man. Being desti- tute of aggressive or showy characteristics, his value was little known outside the circle of his personal friends or of those who were associated with him in his official relations. The current of his influence flowed gently, but it ran deep. The good effects of his life and work may not be in all cases readily traced, but it is not flattery or exaggeration to say that were it possible to eradicate from our schools and from the social life of the city all that has been contributed by our departed friend, the loss would be deeply and universally felt."
In conclusion are given excerpts from a most appreciative memorial prepared by Miss Grace N. Cropsey, who was long a loved and valued figure in the public- school work of Indianapolis, and read by her before the teachers of the Indianapolis school on the 3d of December, 1887:
"Mr. Loomis himself might be said to represent the 'strain of temperance.' He never used his art to awaken intemperate desires and the merely sensuous in the soul. The whole influence of his style was pure and healthy. Our superintendent often said: 'It is not every city that is so fortunate as to have found a man as well as a teacher of music.' His nature was genial and his method with little children particularly happy. He would often teach by a bright remark what others might labor through days of drudgery to accomplish. He had a deeply religious nature, but his teachings in the schools never appeared in a sectarian form. He endeavored in his selections of music to present those thoughts and sentiments which should have universal application. * * * Mr. Loomis was a man who had time to live. Many of us seem to be waiting to get time to begin. He felt that living was no indi- vidual matter; that it is in co-operating with other personalities than our own that character is formed. To give and to receive is life. How many of us remember his deep sympathy and its ready expression to this body of teachers when the loss of one of our number made us feel the pain in the limitations of this short life. He never placed the machine above the person, but, in all his relations with teachers and pupils, regarded the individual as filling a place which could be filled by no other. His life was based upon principle. The caprice element in music and in life-that element which says that a man is not responsible for his deed-never seemed to have any hold upon him. He seemed to be grounded in the belief that 'Our wills are ours, we know not how ;. our wills are ours to make them Thine.' The external incidents of his life-where he was born, how long he lived, what he knew-will pass from our minds. This 'will,' striving to come into harmony with the divine will, is eternal. Its influence remains with us now and forever."
John A. Furgason
T THE time of his death, which occurred at his home in Indian- A apolis on the 1st of September, 1907, Mr. Furgason was one of the oldest native residents of Marion county and he was a scion of one of the old and honored pioneer families of the county, with whose annals the name has been identified from the time when this section of the state was little more than a forest wilderness. Mr. Furgason passed his entire life in Marion county, became one of the prominent and influential business men of Indianapolis, and was a citizen whose sterling character and fine ability made him a power for good in the varied relations of life. He acquitted himself well as a man of affairs and lived a godly and righteous life, so that he ever retained the respect and confidence of his fellow men, his standing in his native county being such as to render impossible any appli- cation of the scriptural aphorism that "a prophet is not without honor save in his own country." He was an influential factor in furthering the industrial advance- ment of the capital city of Indiana, to which his loyalty was of the most intense and appreciative type, and he did all in his power to foster those things which conserve the best interests of the community. In perpetuating records of such worthy lives as that of John Anderson Furgason does a publication of this nature prove its legitimacy and value, and such epitomes should offer inspiration and incentive.
On the old family homestead six miles east of Meridian street, Indianapolis, John A. Furgason was born on the 10th of November, 1830, the fine old farmstead having been located on the old National road, of which Washington street in the capital city of Indiana is a part. The place of his nativity was an old-time inn or tavern kept by his father and the same was known as the "Halfway House," as it was approximately midway between Indianapolis and Cumberland,-a popular stopping place for the early travelers over the national highway, which was one of the few im- proved roads of the state at that time. The old tavern is still standing and is in an excellent state of preservation, as it was built in the honest and substantial way common to the pioneer days. James and Nancy Furgason, parents of him whose name initiates this memoir, were numbered among pioneer settlers of Marion county, where their marriage was solemnized. James Furgason and his bride proceeded on horseback to their new home, which was a log cabin of the primitive type common to the locality and period, and they lived up the full tension of the pioneer epoch in the history of this now opulent section of a great commonwealth. James Furgason reclaimed a farm from the wilderness and prosperity attended his earnest and ardu- ous efforts. The original home was finally supplanted by the tavern mentioned, and the latter was a pretentious building at that time, becoming one of the land- marks of this section of the state. Of the eight children in the family the subject of this memoir was the eldest and all are now deceased. The parents continued to reside on their old homestead until their death and their names merit enduring place on the roster of the sterling pioneers of the county and state. The sons and
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daughters well upheld the prestige of the family name, and one of the sons, F. M. Furgason, became a prominent and successful figure in educational circles, having been for some time a member of the faculty of Franklin College in this state. All of the brothers except John A. and Professor F. M., loyally rep- resented Indiana as valiant soldiers of the Union in the Civil war.
John A. Furgason was reared to adult age on the old homestead farm and early began to contribute his quota to its work, the while he duly availed himself of the advantages of the pioneer schools of the locality, a discipline which was supplemented by high academic study in Franklin College, in which his brother became an instruc- tor, as already noted. As a young man Mr. Furgason came to Indianapolis and secured a position as clerk in the Dunlap dry-goods store. He later entered the employ of the firm of Hasselman & Vinton, who conducted the old Eagle foundry and machine shops, at the southeast corner of Meridian street and the Union Rail- way tracks. He was bookkeeper for this firm for some time and then accepted a position with Murphy & Holliday, who conducted a wholesale iron business. This concern was eventually reorganized under the title of W. J. Holliday & Company, and Mr. Furgason became one of the members of the firm, which developed a large and important wholesale trade in hardware, iron, sheet metals, etc., becoming one of the most extensive concerns of the kind in the state. With this enterprise Mr. Furgason continued to be actively identified as an interested principal and execu- tive officer until about four years prior to his death, impaired health having virtu- ally rendered his retirement imperative. He was a potent force in the upbuilding of the great industrial enterprise of his firm and was long numbered among the most prominent and influential business men of the capital city. His administrative ability was on a parity with his alert and progressive policies, and his influence was significant in the furtherance of those interests which have made Indianapolis an important industrial and commercial center. He won advancement and success through his own ability and well directed efforts, and upon his record in business and in private life there rests no shadow now that he has passed from the stage of mortal endeavors. He commanded inviolable place in the confidence and esteem of all who knew him and was in every sense a model citizen. The world moves on and its actors strut their brief hour upon its stage and then are seen no more, but each of these who plays a worthy part has given influence whose angle is ever widening in its beneficence. The lives of such men as Mr. Furgason still count for good after death has worked its transition, and character and services constitute a lasting and valuable heritage.
Though never desirous of entering the turbulence of practical politics, Mr. Furgason was essentially liberal and public-spirited as a citizen and he gave definite and loyal allegiance to the Republican party. For more than half a century he was actively affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and he was one of its prominent and popular representatives in Indianapolis, where he held membership in Philoxenian Lodge, No. 44, Metropolitan Encampment; and the canton of Patriarchs Militant. He was also affiliated with Star Lodge, No. 7, Knights of Pythias, and his funeral services were held under the auspices of these two fraternities, interment being made in Crown Hill cemetery. Mr. Furgason served in the various official chairs in the fraternities with which he was thus identified and took deep interest in the affairs of each. He was a man of fine spirituality and was a most devoted member of the Baptist church, with which he identified
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himself in his youth. As a boy he gave effective service in ringing the bell for the little Baptist church that stood near the present Union station in Indianapolis, and at the time of his death he was one of the oldest members of the First Baptist church of this city and had also been clerk and treasurer of the church many years. He was most zealous and faithful as a churchman and his earnest observance of the teachings of the divine Master was shown in his kindliness and generosity in the every-day life. He was ever ready to aid those in affliction and distress and his private benevolences were many and unostentatious. It may be noted that Mr. Furgason had much musical ability and that he had the distinction of being the first person to play a violin in the Baptist Sunday-school in Indianapolis, the inno- vation in thus using a "profane" instrument in the church having been deplored by certain rigid members for a time.
As a young man Mr. Furgason was united in marriage to Miss Martha J. Hol- brook, who died and who is survived by three sons,-William C., Frank L. and Leslie P. On the 21st of December, 1881, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Furgason to Mrs. Rebecca (Garsuch) Holloway, widow of Captain John Marshall Holloway. Mrs. Furgason was born at Middlebury, Wayne county, Indiana, and is a daughter of William and Sarah A. (Garsuch) Garsuch, who were natives of Maryland and who became pioneer settlers of Wayne county, Indiana, the father having been for many years a successful merchant and influential citizen of Middle- bury. No children have been born of the second marriage of Mrs. Furgason. She has been a resident of Indiana from the time of her birth and she now resides at 2354 Ashland avenue, Indianapolis. Her old home was at 510 North Capitol avenue,-a residence property purchased by Mr. Furgason, who there maintained his home for about forty-five years prior to his death. Mrs. Furgason and her family are prominent members of the First Baptist church and are zealous and liberal in the support of its various activities. She is a member of the Ladies' Social Circle and has been associate superintendent of the Sunday-school for nearly thirty years, being the only woman to receive such distinction in the history of this important church. She has a wide circle of friends in the capital city and her home has ever been known for its gracious and refined hospitality.
John Al. Holloway
NATIVE son of Indiana who honored the state by his loyal and gallant services as a soldier of the Union in the Civil war and A who was a member of one of the staunch pioneer families of this commonwealth, First Lieutenant John Marshall Holloway is well entitled to a tribute in this publication. His death was the direct result of disease contracted while in the army and for a number of years prior to his demise he had been an efficient and valned clerical employe in the postoffice at Indianapolis, in which city his circle of friends was limited only by that of his acquaintances. He was summoned to the life eternal on the morning of April 27, 1874, in his thirty-ninth year, and his remains were laid to rest in Crown Hill cemetery.
First Lieutenant Holloway was born at Richmond, Wayne county, Indiana, on the 20th of September, 1835, and was a son of Hon. David P. and Jane Ann Hollo- way, who came from Virginia and established their home at Richmond, Indiana, in the early pioneer days. David Holloway became one of the most influential citi- zens of that section of the state and was one of the prominent factors in political affairs in Indiana. He was for a number of years editor and publisher of a paper at Richmond, was called upon to serve in various positions of public trust, and finally assumed the post of United States commissioner of patents under the admin- istration of President Lincoln. He was a man of much ability, and through his character and services greatly honored the state of his adoption. He was a most ardent and effective advocate of the principles and policies of the Republican party and did much to support the cause of the Union during the climacteric period of the Civil war. His son, Colonel William R. Holloway, was an officer in an Indiana regiment in the Civil war and later served as postmaster in Indianapolis, where he was a citizen of prominence and influence.
Lieutenant John Marshall Holloway was reared to maturity in his native place and there received good educational advantages. As a youth he became identified with his father's newspaper at Richmond, and when about twenty-eight years of age he went to the city of Washington, where he became chief messenger in the office of his father, who had assumed the position of commissioner of patents. In this capacity he continued to serve until his intrinsic patriotism prompted him to decis- ive action and he enlisted in the Seventy-first Indiana Volunteer Infantry, com- manded by Colonel Biddle. He became captain of Company M of this regiment and saw arduous survice in various campaigns, in connection with which he took part in a number of important battles. He was finally captured by the enemy and was held as a prisoner of war in the odions Libby prison for several months. There he contracted the dread disease, consumption, which eventually terminated his life. His military career covered a period of about two and one-half years and his health became so impaired as to necessitate his retirement. After receiving his honorable discharge he was again tendered his position in the patent office at Washington,
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but his health was such as to render out-door employment imperative. He accord- ingly came to Indianapolis and secured the position of city mail carrier, being one of the first appointed in this city and having previously gained experience as rail- way mail clerk. At the time of assuming the position of carrier his brother, Colonel William P. Holloway, was postmaster of Indianapolis, and he was soon appointed general delivery clerk in the postoffice, a position which he retained until his death. From an article appearing in the Indianapolis News at the time of his demise are taken the following extracts: "For six months he has been able to attend to his business as general delivery clerk of the postoffice but a few days at a time, and for some weeks he has been entirely prostrated. He had held his place at the general delivery since about the close of the war and was universally esteemed for his genial temper and generous feeling."
Lieutenant Holloway was a man of quiet and reserved manners, but his ster- ling character and genial ways gained to him the high regard of all who knew him. He was a stalwart supporter of the principles and policies of the Republican party, was affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and held membership in the Methodist Episcopal church.
At Richmond, this state, on the 28th of September, 1859, was solemnized the marriage of Lieutenant Holloway to Miss Rebecca Garsuch, daughter of William Garsuch, a representative citizen and honored pioneer of Middlebury, Wayne county. Of this union were born three children,-Frank E., who resides in Indianapolis and is actively identified with railroad interests; Miss Jennie A., who is a popular business woman of this city; and Miss Emma J., who is a talented musician of Indianapolis, both daughters remaining with their mother in an attractive home at 2354 Ashland avenue. In 1881 Mrs. Holloway became the wife of John A. Fur- gason, now deceased, a former representative business man of Indianapolis.
ranbille G. Allen
LIFE that justified its being in full measure was that of the late A Granville Grant Allen, who died at his home in Indianapolis on the 29th of January, 1911. Such a life and such a character constitute an abiding beatitude, and when it comes to such an one to pass through the valley of the shadow of death there must remain to those who are left behind the veil the greater mead of consolation and reconciliation in having known and touched such a noble individuality. The silver cord of love need not be loosed by death when faith and hope have their perfect way, and to those nearest and dearest need not be denied the gracious memory-fruits of compensation, even when they must quaff deeply from the chalice of sorrow. He whose name initiates this memoir was not great, as the world commonly views greatness, but in high aspirations, in nobili- ity of character and worthiness of achievement he showed true elements of greatness, for he was true to himself and to others and he made the best use of the talents that were committed to his charge. He long occupied a prominent place in the busi- ness circles of Indianapolis and was called from the scene of his mortal endeavors in the full flush of his strong and useful manhood. Yet he had played a man's part in the world and his work was not unfinished. He won advancement through ability and honest worth and at the time of his demise he was vice-president of the A. Burd- sal Company, manufacturers of and wholesale dealers in paints and brushes, a con- cern with which he had long been identified and which is one of the oldest and largest of the kind in Indiana. He stood as the best type of business man and citizen and secure was the vantage place which he held in the confidence and esteem of the city in which he so long maintained his home, this memorial edition properly giving place to a tribute to the man, the friend.
At Tipton, Indiana, the judicial center of the county of the same name, Granville Grant Allen was born on the 8th of June, 1865. He was a son of Thomas L. and Margaret (Thornburg) Allen, the former a native of Wayne county and the latter of Randolph county, this state, within whose gracious borders the respective fami- lies were founded in the early pioneer days. The parents of Granville G. Allen now reside in Indianapolis, where they have an attractive home at 2333 Ashland avenue. The father was long and actively identified with business interests, and is now living virtually retired. He whose name initiates this memoir passed his childhood and youth at Hagerstown, Wayne county, this state, and there he completed the curricu- lum of the public schools. After his graduation in the high school he found employ- ment in the drug store conducted by his father at Hagerstown, and later he was similarly employed in the Davenport drug store at Bluffton. In 1885 he came to Indianapolis and assumed the position of clerk and pharmacist in the retail drug establishment of Harry Pomeroy, at the corner of Michigan and Pennsylvania streets.
On the 19th of May, 1887, Mr. Allen formed a partnership with his uncle,
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Thomas R. Thornburg, and effected the purchase of a drug store on Fort Wayne avenue. As a member of the firm of Thornburg & Allen he gave close attention to his business affairs and the enterprise became one of large and substantial order. Finally he sold his interest to Mr. T. R. Thornburg, and in July, 1891, associated himself with and became a stockholder in the A. Burdsal Company, wholesale paint and brush manufacturers, and a few years thereafter came emphatic recognition of his fidelity and pronounced ability, in that he was elected general manager of the business and also vice-president, of which latter office he continued the honored and valued incumbent until his death, since which time his widow has retained his interest in the business. Ambition, close application, fine executive powers and impregnable integrity of purpose thus won for Mr. Allen consecutive advancement and a final place as one of the popular and essentially representative business men of the Indiana metropolis, and none could have had more secure place in popular confidence and esteem. He was the soul of sincerity, and his buoyant, generous and optimistic nature won for him firm friends in all classes, while he was ever ready to lend a helping hand to those less fortunate or "in any ways afflicted or distressed, in mind, body or estate."
Though devoted to home and business, Mr. Allen was a man of fine social instincts and was duly appreciative of social amenities. He was actively identified with vari- ous Masonic bodies in Indianapolis, including the Oriental lodge, the Knights Templar, the Consistory of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, in which he has received the thirty-second degree, and the order of the Mystic Shrine. He was an appreciative student of the history and teachings of Masonry and was one of the zealous and valued representatives of the fraternity in his home city. His splendid ability as a business man gave him a position of prominence and influence in connec- tion with the industrial and commercial activities of Indianapolis, and no citizen took greater interest and pride in the upbuilding of the greater city. He was well fortified in his political convictions and was an ardent advocate of the principles and policies of the Republican party, in which connection it may be consistently noted that he was a close personal friend of Senator Beveridge, one of the acknowledged leaders of the party in Indiana. He held membership in the Columbia Club and other local organizations of representative order and his religious faith was that of the Presbyterian church. His private charities and benevolences were many and inva- riably unostentatious, for his was a nature that had naught of self-seeking; naught of liking for the indiscriminate public plaudits. He had made his own way in the world and thus was appreciative alike of his stewardship as a successful man and of the dignity and value of honest toil and endeavor, no matter how humble. The world moves on in the even tenor of its way, but the memories and works of such men as Granville G. Allen live after them to offer both lesson and incentive.
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