USA > Indiana > Marion County > Indianapolis > Pictorial and biographical memoirs of Indianapolis and Marion County, Indiana, together with biographies of many prominent men of other portions of the state, both living and dead > Part 28
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as showing the esteem in which Dr. Clarke is held at home, the following from an editorial in the Indianapolis Sun so long ago as November 6, 1889, may be cited: "Dr. Clarke seems to be on the road to recognition as one of the most advanced medical thinkers in the West." Dr. Clarke is always quick to see what is needed in any sudden emergency, especially of a public nature. For instance during the blighting heat of the summer of 1890 when a public meeting was called to devise measures to save the babies from its effects, his remarks regard- ing the utility of tent life in open spaces and the statistics adduced made such an impression that when the Summer Mission for Sick Children was soon after put in operation, his sug- gestions were carried out to the letter, the plan being still followed every year. While Dr. Clarke enjoys a large and lucrative practice, he still finds time to devote to keeping abreast with the advancement made in his profession, as is evidenced by the fact that in the winter of 1887-88 he visited the various hospitals of New York, as well as by his persistent, thorough and systematic reading upon all topics in any way allied with medicine and surgery.
EUGENE UDELL. As the years advance the discovery of some new element has a ten- dency to broaden the field of business operations and promulgate a general influence that en- ables men to attain a higher grade of knowledge than their predecessors. The different ends to which gas has been put have brought into activity men of keen business discernment and sound judgment. Eugene Udell represents the Indianapolis Gas Company and he and W. S. Schofield were the founders of the plant at this point, and since that time Mr. Udell has been its most successful and reliable manager. He was born near Albany, N. Y., April 10, fifty-three years ago, a son of Gardiner Udell, who was also a native of that immediate section. The paternal grandfather was a Welshman, and after reaching this country came direct to Albany County and located near the Hudson River, and in the vicinity of the town of Bethlehem Gardiner Udell was reared. He died in Ypsilanti, Mich., in 1873, at the age of sixty-eight years. He was a man of excellent morals, was self- made and was highly edu- cated through his own efforts. He was an omniverous reader, remembered what be read, and applied his knowledge to a good use. He had a host of friends and was held in high esteem for his strict integrity and many other noble attributes. He would never accept any official position, although often urged to do so. He was a strong Abolitionist prior to and during the war and did all he could for the freedom of the colored race. He was first a Whig and later a Republican in politics. As a farmer he was successful and as he farmed on scientific principles he was considered an authority on agricultural questions. He was strictly temperate and practiced temperance in all things. His wife was Manervia Bennett, who died in New Jersey in 1862, when about sixty years of age. In the common schools of Albany County, N. Y., the subject of this sketch received his education, which he finished in Greenville Seminary. At the age of eighteen years he turned his attention to school teaching iu Bethlehem, which occupation he continued two terms, at the end of which time he entered the United States armory at Springfield and became lock-maker for the Spring- field Rifles. Three years later, or in 1863, he went to Watervliet Arsenal, where he was en- gaged in making scientific sights for rifled cannon, where he remained until the war closed. He then entered the service of the New York Central Railroad, stationed at West Albany, but not long afterward he and his wife came west to Ypsilanti, Mich., and bought a farm of Lionel Udell, a prominent citizen of that section, and took care of the latter and his wife until their respective deaths, which occurred about eight years later. About 1874 Mr. and Mrs. Udell came to North Indianapolis and this place has since been their home. Soon after coming here Mr. Udell became associated with his brother, C. G. Udell, who was the founder of the Udell Ladder Works, and soon after this Eugene took charge of the ladder department, over which he had control for one year. At the end of that time he opened a grocery store, which he conducted some fifteen years, and during this time he was instrumental in establishing the first postoffice and for two years thereafter carried the mail without charging for his services. After retiring from the grocery business he succeeded in securing natural gas for North Indianapolis and has been manager of the Indianapolis Gas Company ever since. The establishment of this plant has been of inestimable benefit to Nortlı Indian- apolis and has been the means of greatly benefitting and improving the town. Mr. Udell is a member of the Royal Arcanum. He has never been an aspirant for public favor, and upon Cleveland's first election to the presidency he resigned the position of postmaster,
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which he had so long and ably filled. He has ever been noted for his deeds of charity and benevolence and it became well known among the fraternity known as "Tourists," that Eugene Udell and his wife never refused to give them aid when asked to do so. Mr. Udell was married in 1860 to Miss Fannie W. Tompkins, a relative of old Gov. Tompkins, and a descendant of the renowned Ethan Allen, of Revolutionary fame. She is a native of Albany County, N. Y., and is the worthy wife of a worthy man.
ALLAN HENDRICKS. In tracing the genealogy of the Hendricks family, we find that our subject is related to the Hendricks family of note, that his ancestors came originally from Holland, and he from a parentage marked by great strength of character and a certain hos- pitality, and largeness of nature. This family emigrated to America at a period antedating the Revolutionary War, settled first in New Jersey, and one member fought bravely for independence in this war. The original of this notice was born in Madison, Ind., Septem - ber 24, 1864, and his parents, Abram W. and Sarah B. (Butler) Hendricks, were natives respectively of Westmoreland County, Penn., and Madison, Ind. The father left his native State at an early date, and came to Madison, Ind., where he studied law for some time. At the breaking out of the Civil War he raised a company in the First Indiana Cavalry, but was subsequently made paymaster, with the rank of colonel, which position he held until the cessation of hostilities. He was mustered ont late in 1865, and in 1866 he came to Indian- apolis, where lie engaged in the practice of law with Oscar B. Hord and Thomas A. Hen- dricks. This partnership continued until the death of Gov. Hendricks, 1885, and was con- tinued by the survivors until the death of Mr. Hendricks, in 1887. This most worthy and estimable citizen served in the Legislature, session of 1853, and although not an office seeker, he held many positions of trust and responsibility. He was a brilliant lawyer, a fluent and forcible speaker, and one of the foremost men of his section. Of the six children born to his marriage five are now living, and Allan Hendricks was second in order of birth. The latter passed his boyhood and youth in Indianapolis and there received a good practical edu- cation, graduating from one of the city's best institutions of learning in 1882. Subsequently he engaged in the manufacture of pressed brick, which business he carried on with fair success for several years. Afterward he began the study of law, was admitted to the bar, and has since been in active practice. Distinguished as a boy for maturity of mind and expression of thought, when matured he was no less noted for his readiness of wit and strong intellectual qualities, making him early in life a peer among the legal lights. He is secretary of the Century Club, director in the Indiana School of Art, director of the Marion Club, director of the Hoosier's Savings and Investment Company, and is a member of the Commercial Club, besides holding membership in other clubs. In politics he is a stanchi Republican, and in 1892 he filled a responsible position in the management of the campaign in Marion County. He was chosen secretary of the citizens' executive board, in charge of arrangements for the twenty-seventh national encampment, G. A. R., held in Indian- apolis in September, 1893, and contributed largely to the extraordinary success of the undertaking by the faultless discharge of the exacting duties of his position. Whatever he undertakes he does with conscientious and painstaking care, and his work in various respon- sible positions has demonstrated that he possesses exceptional capabilities. He has a gen- uine and thorough love for literature, the indulgence of which, however, has been resisted rather than encouraged. He has, in consequence, written little for publication. His inti- mate friends only have been privileged to know of the unpretentious efforts which have given evidence of his gifts as a graceful and forcible writer, and which unmistakably indi- cate unusual qualifications for the higher order of literary pursuits.
THEODORE POTTER, A. M., M. D. One of the best educated and most successful of the younger physicians of Indianapolis, is Theodore Potter, A. M., M. D., of 36 E. Ohio Street. Dr. Potter was born at Glendale, Hamilton County, Ohio, in 1861, a son of Rev. L. D. Potter, D. D., who is a native of New Jersey and a descendant from some of the early fam- ilies of that State. His grandfather was a colonel in the Colonial army during the Revolu- tionary War and his father was a major in the United States army in the War of 1812. Rev. Dr. Potter was graduated from Princeton College in 1841, and has lived for thirty-seven years at Glendale, Ohio, where he has been for many years president of the Glendale Fe- male College. Dr. Theodore Potter was educated in the public schools of his native place,
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and at Dr. Hammill's celebrated school at Lawrenceville near Trenton, and at Princeton Uni- versity, and he was graduated at Princeton, one of the honored men of his class in 1882. His standing in college may be inferred from the fact that he was one of the editors of a literary paper at Princeton, which institution conferred upon him in 1885 the degree of A. M. Ill 1882-83 he was an instructor at Miami University Classical School, Oxford, Ohio, and then began the study of medicine at the Medical College of Ohio, at Cincinnati. After four years diligent application he was graduated in 1887, again with honors, receiving in the class of 1887 the prizes for the best examination in obstetrics and in the practice of medi- cine. During the succeeding year he was house physician in the Good Samaritan Hospital at Cincinnati and was appointed assistant demonstrator of bacteriology in the Medical Col- lege of Ohio. He was for a time associated with Dr. J. T. Whitaker, as assistant in prac- tice and in medico-literary work. In 1888 he went to Germany, spending about a year in hospital and laboratory work, returning to this country and locating in Indianapolis in the spring of 1889. In the summer of that year he was appointed demonstrator of bacteriology and general microscopy in the Medical College of Indiana, and during the succeeding year established and conducted the three lines of work which have since grown into the laboratory courses in Histology, pathology and bacteriology in that institution. In 1891 he was elected professor of bacteriology, the chair being created for him, and in 1893 he was made professor of pathology and bacteriology. The same year he was appointed on the staff of the City Hospital, having previously been chosen one of the consulting staff of the City Dispensary, soon afterward becoming consulting physician for chest diseases to the last- mentioned charity. With the reorganizatian of the Indiana Medical Journal in the spring of 1892, Dr. Potter became one of its editors. He has read a number of papers before the County and State Medical Associations, several of them having been published. For several years he was appointed a committee of one to make the annual report upon bacteriology of the State Medical Society. Dr. Potter is a member of the Indianapolis Literary Club, of the Portfolio Club and of the Indiana Academy of Sciences.
THOMAS P. MILLS. Of the inany solid citizens engaged in the handling of realty in Indianapolis, there is not one who stands higher in public esteem or who enjoy a more sub- stantial share of recognition, than Thomas P. Mills, who is a member of the well known firm of Mills & Small, dealers in real estate, loans, rents, etc. Mr. Mills has been established in the line indicated for the past twenty-one years, and by close application and strict integrity has acquired a prosperous and influential business connection, numbering in his clientele some of the wealthiest property owners and shrewdest investors in the community. Mr. Mills who was born in Green County, Ohio, December 15, 1835, is a man of energy and sagacity, as well as entire probity of character and is thoroughly conversant with every feature and detail pertaining to the purchase, sale, transfer, and management of real estate. Appraisements are made for purchasers, Mr. Mills being accounted one of the very best judges of the present and prospective values of realty in and around Indianapolis. The parents of Thomas P. Mills, David and Melona (Brock) Mills, were born in South Carolina and Virginia respectively, the former being a farmer and stock dealer by occupation. In 1822 he became a resident of the Buckeye State but in 1838 removed still farther westward to Hendricks County, Ind., where he was prosperously engaged in business for several years. In 1866 Indianapolis became his home and here he conducted a liverly stable until 1874 when he retired. His death occurred in 1880, his wife's death also occurring in that year. Thomas P. Mills was about three years old when his parents came to Indiana and until fifteen years of age he resided on his father's farm in Hendricks County, at which time he entered his father's store as a clerk, after having acquired a good practical education in the common schools and at Mooresville College. After clerking for about three years he returned to his father's farm where he engaged in agricultural and stock pursuits on an extensive scale for several years, but in 1872 disposed of his land, stock and other property to come to Indianapolis and engage in the real estate business which he has followed continuously ever since with most satisfactory results. On November 4, 1854, Mr. Mills was married to Miss Anna Bowles, a native of Wayne County Ind., a daughter of George and Elizabeth (Bailey)Bowles, natives of North Carolina, the former having been the owner of but sold the land on which the city of Richmond now stands. Mr. and Mrs. Mills had two children, both
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of whom died when young. Mr. Mills is a member of the A. F. & A. M., the A. P. A., belongs to the Republican party and he and his wife have long been members of the Friends Church, of which Mrs. Mills has been a minister for a number of years.
WILLIAM WILLIAMS was born in Rockbridge County, Va., near the Natural Bridge, April 1, 1822, and two years later his parents, William and Mary (Sanders) Williams, moved to Botetourt County, Va., where the father, who was a cooper, made barrels for a flour-mill. The parents were natives of Virginia and Pennsylvania respectively, and the father was a soldier in the War of 1812. Twelve children were born to their union, as follows: Pow- hatan; Mildred, who married Samuel Morricle; Hector; Adeline, deceased, was the wife of William Zimmerman; Nancy, deceased, married Mr. Kitterman; David; Malinda, deceased, was the wife of Preston Jones; William (subject); John, killed in the Confederate service; Susan, deceased, who was the wife of Early Dickinson; Demaris, deceased, was the wife of Mr. Kitterman, and Matthew died from the effects of a wound received in the Confederate service; he was the husband of a Miss Saurs. The father of these children died in Virginia in 1842 and his wife followed him to the grave in 1856. Until sixteen years of age our sub- ject remained in Botetourt County, and during that time only received about two terms of schooling. He worked with his father and five brothers at the cooper trade until January, 1849, when he started for California. He reached St. Louis and found the prospect for get- ting an outfit so poor that he and 100 others abandoned the trip. He then came to Marion County, Ind., and for three years was engaged in making barrels. In 1852 he bought eighty acres in Perry township and tilled the soil there for three years when he went to Iowa and bought 100 acres of land in Benton County. One year later he returned to Marion County, Ind., and purchased forty acres in Perry township. On this he erected a house and made his home there until 1863, when he sold it and the following year bought eighty acres of Andrew Shirk, in Section 15, Range 4 east, and paid $27 per acre, all green timber. In September, 1864, Mr. Williams was drafted and assigned to Company H, Seventeenth Indi- ana Infantry, and served nine months. He participated in the following battles: Red Mountain Iron Works, near Selma, and at Selma. From there they went to Montgomery, Ala. ; thence to Columbia, Macon, Ga., and Oglethorpe, Ga., where they remained about three weeks, and in the latter part of June Mr. Williams returned home. The next day, June 21, he commenced cutting the wheat he had put in in the fall when drafted. In 1865 he bought ten acres at $75 per acre, and a year or so later he purchased the balance of the forty acres for $65 per acre. In 1893 he bought forty acres at $60 per acre and all his land is cleared except about twenty acres. In 1892 Mr. Williams raised about 1, 100 bushels of wheat. He raises from twenty to twenty-five acres of corn per year that averages about seventy-five bushels to the acre. In 1893, on seven acres, he raised 400 bushels. In politics Mr. Williams has ever been a decided Democrat. He joined the Missionary Baptist Church in Virginia when nineteen years of age and has held membership in the same ever since. His wife is also a member of that church. He has always refused office, both in army and civil life and the church, except to serve as trustee in the latter. He was never sued in his life, and never sued but one man when he had to pay the costs. He then decided that he had done with law. Mr. Williams was married December 26, 1850, to Miss Elizabeth J. Sanders, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Obenchain) San- ders, and twelve children were given them: George E., married Miss Martha McClain, and they have three children, Joel E., Clarence E. and Katy V .; Sarah, died when about ten years of age; John W., died in 1888, married Miss Ruth Girton, daughter of Ad. Girton, and left one daughter, Carrie J .; Flora B., died June 22, 1861, when an infant; Mary E., died August 7, 1865, when an infant; Charles A., born June 13, 1865, and died August 13, 1877; Nora F., born October 9, 1868; Laura A., born July 17, 1866; Owen, born March 19, 1871, married Miss Sadie Toon, daughter of Lewis and Dicey (Collins) Toon (they have one son, Charles); Ida B., born September 11, 1873, married Oscar Morgan, May 12, 1892; Katie, born January 14, 1876, died August 13, 1877, and Artie May, born August 12, 1877. John Sanders, father of Mrs. Williams, was born in Rockbridge County, Va., and he was there married to Miss Elizabeth Obenchain. He was a blacksmith by trade and came to Indiana in 1848, settling in Marion County. Later he moved to Benton County, Iowa, and there died about 1864. His wife died in 1886. Five children were born to them, as follows: 11
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George, who married Miss Elizabeth Wheatcraft, resides in Indiana; Elizabeth J., subject's wife; John W., who married Miss Sarah Kerns and now makes bis home in Iowa; Mary V., married Robert Kirkpatrick, and is now a widow residing in Texas, and Edward J., who married Miss Emma Watson and resides in Iowa.
JOSEPH PENN, one of the well known and prominent agriculturists of Marion County, Ind., and a.lineal descendant of the famous William Penn, owes bis nativity to Bourbon County, Ky., his birth occurring near Paris, right in the heart of the Blue-Grass region; January 21, 1824. The incidents of his early life were not materially different from those of other boys living on farms in the country. He was taught to work at anything necessary for him to do, and in this manner gained habits of industry and perseverance which have remained with him through life. In common with other boys he attended school winters in the stereotyped log school-house, and in summer assisted in clearing away the forest, fencing the fields and raising crops after the land was improved. He would rise long before day- light, and after finishing his feeding and chores, would walk three miles to the school-house, where he remained all day. He learned to read and write and to figure a little. In 1847 he married Miss Elizabeth Webb, daughter of John Webb, a native of Virginia, and the same fall he and his bride started for Indianapolis, Ind., where her father had settled in 1840. They made the journey on horseback, and arriving in Marion County about four days after starting, stopped with her brother, Austin Webb, who lived on eighty acres of land in Perry Township. There Mr. and Mrs. Penn remained during the winter and in the spring returned on horseback to Kentucky, where our subject began working on his father's farm. There he remained until 1851, when he started with his wife for Montgomery County, Ind., where he had two married sisters living. He located in Brown Township, that County, about nine miles south of Crawfordsville, where he purchased 120 acres of land, paying $1,875 for the tract. Of this land half of it was ready for the plow. A frame house of two rooms had been erected, also a log stable, a well dug and an orchard set out. Mr. Penn resided on this tract about eight years, making many improvements, and then, in 1859, he sold the place to David Gayley for $35 per acre. Mr. Penn subsequently bought 208 acres on Indian Creek, Brown Township, paying $33 per acre, and of this tract there were about seventy-five acres cleared, a three-room frame house erected, also a log stable, and a fine orchard set out. On this farm Mr. Penn resided for abont twenty- five years, or until he came to Marion County, Ind., and in that time made many improvements. His son, Lafayette Penn, now occupies this farm. During the Civil War Mr. Penn purchased forty acres of land formerly owned by Moses Orme, located in Perry Township, Marion County, Ind., and in 1884 he had a good barn and a fine two-story brick house of eight rooms erected on this tract. The following year he moved to this lovely place and here he now resides, practically retired from the active duties of life. Later he purchased forty acres adjoining, and still later twenty acres, on which he set out a fine orchard. He has 100 acres cleared and is one of the prosperous farmers of the locality. In politics he is a Democrat. Although not a member of any church he attends the Christian Church, in which his wife holds member- ship. He has never belonged to any secret organization. Mr. Penn's union was blessed by the birth of seven children, as follows: John T., who resides in Montgomery County, Ind., on a tract of 214 acres owned by his father, married first Miss Piney Watson, by wbom he had one daughter, Margaret, who married a man named Bailey. John T. took for his second wife Miss Eva Moore, who bore him four children as follows: Walter, Grace, Bessie and Sallie; David is at home, unmarried; Sarah, died in Montgomery County in 1884, aged twenty- five years; Mary died in infancy; Lafayette resides on the old farm in Montgomery County ; he married Miss Lena Ray and they have three children, as follows: Florence, Ford and Ruth; Charles resides near John Penn, and is also married, his wife's maiden name be- ing Frances Howard; they have had three children, Harry, William and Roy; and Mattie makes her home with her parents. David Penn, the father of our subject, willed the latter 225 acres in Bourbon County, Ky., and Joseph subsequently bought 125 acres more in that county. David Penn was a native of Bourbon County, born in 1797, and he was there reared and lived nearly all his life. He was married before twenty-one years of age to Miss Mary Lyon, daughter of John Lyon, and received forty acres of land from his father. Later he became the owner of several good farms in Bourbon County. He was a Democrat in his
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political views. He was not a member of any church. Seven children were born to this mar- riage: Jacob, who resides in Scott County, Ky., married Miss Sallie Rogers; Charlotte, who married Oliver McLeod, makes her home in Montgomery County; Joseph (our subject); David married Miss Kate Russell and died in 1873; Mary E., married Dr. Joseph Russell, who died in 1893, and now resides in Montgomery County, Ind .; William, who died unmar- ried, and Betty died unmarried. After the death of the mother of these children the father married Mrs. Pauline Jones, nee Griffith, of Harrison County, Ky., where she owned a farm on which Mr. Penn and she lived until her death. Afterward the father came to Indiana and died at the home of our subject in the fall of 1889. Joseph Penn, grandfather of our subject, was a native of Maryland, but emigrated to Kentucky when that State was almost one vast canebrake. He was married twice, first in Maryland and the second time in Ken- tucky. Six children were born to the first and eight to the second union. The father of our subject was one of the children born to the second union, his mother's maiden name be- ing Charlotte Acre, who was of Dutch extraction. The children born to the first union were named as follows: Eli, Daniel, Thomas, Samuel, George and Ann. The eldest child served in the War of 1812. The children of the second marriage were named as follows: Elizabeth, Jane, Delilah, John, David, Sallie, Susan and Joseph. All these children are dead, our subject's father being the last to die.
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