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 50
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85
276
MEMOIRS OF INDIANAPOLIS
some denomination. He gives employment to from 200 to 250 men during the busy season, and is what may be termed an artist in his line and understands the business details of his calling in every particular. He came to the city with the determination of making a suc- cess, the extent and solidity of which should warrant a permanency, and how well he has pros- pered may be plainly seen in the high class of his custom and the excellent character of his work. In employing men he has always paid them what they earned and has therefore always had men who were skilled mechanics and practical and experienced workmen. In the building of the Insane Hospital his efforts were conspicuous for rapidity and efficiency, and in one season he manufactured the brick and built the building complete, including the smoke stack which is 175 feet high. He is a Scottish Rite Mason, is a Knight Templar in Raper Lodge, No. 1, and is a member of the famous Indianapolis Drill Corps that has taken a prize wherever they have gone. When the new State house was built he bought the ma- terial of the old one and with it built the barn owned by Mrs. Hendricks. He has long manufactured his own brick and manufactured that which was used in the Insane Asylum. He built the old New York store, also the new one, and the old glass works. He is in every sense of the word a self- made man, for he started in life with nothing but his clothes and a small amount of change, and although he has never been rich, he might have been, for out of the kindness of his heart he has given away a fortune, to those destitute and helpless beings always to be found in large cities. John Martin bas never had trouble with striking workmen for he always paid his men promptly and gave them their full due, and has had had the happy faculty of winning them for his friends. Among some of the other buildings worthy of mention which he has erected are the Fair Block, the John Smith residence, the market house, the high school on Pennsylvania and Michigan streets, besides inany other school buildings, the Malleable Iron Works and the Brown & Ketcham Iron Works. In 1850 he was united in marriage with Mary W. Hudson, a native of Marion County, Ind., by whom he is the father of six children, two sons and four daughters. Both his sons, Rob- ert and John, are connected with him in business and are intelligent and promising young men. Mr. Martin is the only man in the State who lias owned the State house.
HENRY W. LANGENBERG. It cannot be expected in a work of this kind, where but brief biographical sketebes of prominent citizens of the county are given, that justice can be done to this much esteemed and honored citizen, and yet he has been identified with the county from his birth, and his name is so familiar to all, that it is only just to dwell upon his career, not as empty words of praise, but as the plain statement of a still plainer truth. He was born in Indianapolis, October 29, 1854. His father, the late Henry Langenberg, was an old and substantial German citizen and one of the pioneers of that nationality in this section, for he took up his residence in Indianapolis in 1848. He was born in Hanover, Germany, was reared, educated and married there, his union being with Miss Minnie Lindemeier, who came with him to America in 1846, and for about two years thereafter they resided on a farm in Michigan. Upon the arrival of the family in Indianapolis the father engaged in mercantile pursuits, and conducted an establishment of his own for about thirty years, winning many friends during that time by his upright and business-like conduct, and a large and paying patronage. He was twice honored with the nomination for city treasurer by his party, at a time, however, when it was in the minority-much too small to allow even his popularity to carry him through at the polls. His death occurred March 17, 1880, at which time he left a comfortable property to his widow, who resides in Indianapolis, and his children. Henry WV. Langenberg was educated in the common schools of the city, attending until he attained his twelfth year when he became an employe of Dury & Hawk, dealers in boots and shoes, with which firm he remained for over six years. He then went into the timber business ou his own account, and bought, cut and hauled mill timber with gratifying financial success until 1877, when he became an extensive live-stock purchaser throughout the country, an occupation which received a great deal of his attention until 1884. At this time he accepted the appointment of deputy under sheriff George Carter, his duty being to serve warrants and . to make arrests in criminal cases, a position not only requiring considerable nerve but also one of much responsibility. In the spring of 1890 as a reward for faithful service, he was nominated by the Democratic party for sheriff. There were three strong and popular candi- dates pitted against him for the nomination, yet he was successful on the first ballot, receiving
5
277
AND MARION COUNTY, INDIANA.
447 votes, 357 being necessary for a choice. He was elected by over 3,160 votes, the largest majority ever received by any sheriff of the county. He is one of the youngest men that ever filled this responsible position but his administration proved to be one of the best in the history of the county, which was in a great measure owing to the fact that he was an energetic, tireless and conscientious worker and in all respects a man of the people and devoted to their best interests. During his administration he had some noted criminal cases to contend with and at one time successfully repelled a mob of 150 men which had gathered about the jail to mob a prisoner named Bisso, at which time he and his deputy were the only ones in the building. He retired from the office with an excellent record and the good will and esteem of all concerned. Since then he has been extensively engaged in the buying and selling of horses and in conducting this business as well as in his official life, he has exercised great prudence, sound judgment and undeviating energy. Socially he is a member of the K. of P., of all the city Democratic clubs, the Manerchor club and the Indianapolis Shooting Club. He has been married since March, 1878, to Miss Lucy Stille, a native of Decatur County, Ind., and a daughter of Ernest and Henriette Stille. Mr. and Mrs. Langenberg have one child, Bertha, born December, 1879. In 1880 Mr. Langenberg became a bonds- man for a contractor in the construction of the Indianapolis Shooting Club buildings but was unfortunate in being obliged to carry out the contract for an absconded contractor. Although his early literary advantages were limited, he received a most thorough, if severe training, in the hard school of experience, and his enterprises met with almost universal success, a fact which speaks eloquently as to his good judgment and discernment.
REV. MATTHEW MCCLAIN (deceased). This gentleman was born on February 15, 1806, in a small, rude cabin of logs, with a floor made of slabs of timber and the door of clap- boards. This cabin stood on his grandfather's farm, located on the waters of Beech Creek, now in Spencer County, Ky., about sixteen miles from Shelbyville, within about a half mile of where now stands the village of Mount Eden. His paternal great- grandfather was a native of Ireland, having emigrated to America before the Revolutionary War and settled in the State of Pennsylvania. He afterward moved to the State of Kentucky and made his home with his son, Alexander McClain, in Shelby County, until his death, at which time he was ninety-eight years of age. His grandmother came from Germany, out of the work- house, to the United States, and was sold to pay her passage across the ocean, which was the law then for those too poor to pay their fare in money. She departed this life in the year 1843, at the age of eighty-four years. The grandfather was born in America and died in Pennsylvania, leaving three children-two boys and one girl-destitute orphans, the mother having died previously. The little girl died while young and the boys were bound out, one to a tanner and the other to a wheelwright. The last- mentioned was the father of the subject of this sketch. At the age of twenty-one he left Pennsylvania and went to Kentucky, where he tarried awhile with his uncle and finally married a Miss Spencer, of Shelby County, about a year after which she died, leaving him with a little daughter to care for. He afterward became acquainted with and married Barbara Miller, who was born August 17, 1780, after which he built the cabin on her father's farm, in which the subject of this sketch was born. When he was about two years of age they removed to about seven miles south of Shelbyville, on the waters of Gnesses Creek, where they made their home until 1820, when they removed to Indiana and settled on a piece of land which his father had entered of the Government, located in Scott County. Here the father died in 1824, leaving a family with Matthew McClain as their mainstay. Here they toiled for years and were prosperous, and after deliberating whether to satisfy the inclination of his mind to travel over the world or to settle down in life, he finally concluded it would be better to have a home of his own, and accordingly, on July 21, 1829, he married Emily A. Swincher, daughter of John Swincher, of Jefferson County, Ind., and went to housekeeping in a cabin near the old home. By hard work early and late and by strict economy they had at the end of three years saved enough money to pay for their eighty acres of ground on which they were living. This land was bought by him of the Government, at the land office, Jefferson- ville. Early in life Mr. McClain began his ministerial duties and many and varied were the experiences he went through. The Baptist Church at Bethany, in Jefferson County, of which he was a member, at their meeting of business, the third Saturday in March, 1841, by
278
MEMOIRS OF INDIANAPOLIS
a unanimous vote gave him license to sing, pray and preach wherever the Lord might call him, and with much timidity, embarrassment and fear of doing an injury to the cause of religion he embarked in the great ministerial cause, battling with many discouragements and oppositions, preaching sometimes on Sunday and working hard through the week for the support of his family and for the advancement and education of his children and also 'those of his neighbors, being opposed on all sides in every attempt to increase the public inter- est in enlightenment, education and Christianity. He was determined, however, to educate his own children, and in the face of every opposition, and in so doing made enemies for himself and family and was much envied by the lower class. He founded and almost sup- ported alone the first schools that were taught in their neighborhood and served as the first treasurer and trustee for six years in succession and after a little rest served again for a short time. He has gone time and again upon his crutches and upon his knees, not being able to walk from having cut his foot, to get wood and make fires for the school, wearing leather caps on his knees for protection. He introduced and organized the first Sabbath- school in the neighborhood with considerable interest and success among the young people and great opposition by some of the older ones. Though his life was not wholly devoted to the ministry it was as much so as domestic duties and obligations would permit. His family was supported and educated and started on the broad road of life not under par by the sweat of his brow. He was thrown from the cars in May, 1863, and sustained great injuries, which caused him extreme pain and suffering, and had so far recovered that he was able to get about with the aid of a crutch, when, on March 26, 1866, came a still more deplora- ble misfortune; upon entering his barn, one of his horses being loose and very mischievous, rushed past him, kicking him in the face and breaking his cheek bone and upper jaw till the broken bones grated together. His nose was broken and the bones had to be raised and removed, as did also pieces of the skull, leaving the brain bare in one place. His left eyeball burst and wasted away, while the right one was turned. The optic nerve was totally paralyzed, and consequently his vision was destroyed, and from that time until his death the earth was a blank to him. Though it seemed to be a miraculous power that baffled the enemy death, yet it was more wonderfully strange that his rationality was pre- served, yet it was so, and as his attention could no more be attracted by vision his mind became constantly engaged in meditation and studying, and thus his mind became stronger and memory better, perhaps, than it had ever been, and continued so until the time of his death, which occurred May 26, 1893. After his great affliction he dictated the story of his life to his son, W. Thomas McClain, which was published several years before his death and is a very interesting volume. An elaborate obituary was published by several Indianapolis papers and copied by others, in which he was mentioned as " The blind preacher and pio- neer of Indiana." The loss of his eyes did not stop his ministerial work; he preached many impressive sermons while blind, until old age and general debility made such work for him impracticable. His sufferings were many, his faith in eternal reward steadfast. His last rejoicing on earth was when told of liis granddaughter-child of W. T. McClain-profess- ing Christ. His last words were of heaven and of that companion who had been the closest and dearest to him in life, whose meeting smile wooed him across death's dark river into the land of everlasting bliss.
WILLIAM T. McCLAIN. A man's life- work is the measure of his success, and he is truly the most successful man who, turning his powers into the channel of an honorable purpose, accomplishes the object of his endeavor. He who weds himself to a great principle, lays the foundation of a successful life. In the study of every man's life we find some mainspring of action-something that he lives for. In William T. McClain it seems to be an ambition to make the best use of his native and acquired powers, and to develop in himself a true man- hood. A native of Scott County, Ind., he was born on May 31, 1845, a son and youngest child of Rev. Matthew and Emily A. (Swincher) McClain, and his early life was passed on his father's farm. Upon attaining a suitable age he was placed in school and was kept there, when sessions were being held, by his wise and far-seeing father, until he was about seven- teen years of age at which tune he entered an academy at Madison, where his school days ended, with the exception of a commercial course which he took in a business college of In- dianapolis. He remained in Scott County until he was about twenty-one years old when he . .
279
AND MARION COUNTY, INDIANA.
came with his parents to Marion County, and in 1865 settled on a farm in Pike Township where he has since lived and carried on farming very successfully. Besides some valuable property in the city of Indianapolis, he has a magnificent farm of eighty-six acres, so care- fully and skillfully tilled that it yields a much larger income than does many more pre- tentious places, and it is also exceptionally well improved with buildings of all descriptions, his residence, which was erected in 1890, being exceptionally handsome, conveniently arranged and homelike in its appointments. A large portion of this farm is drained and tiled, is devoted to general farming and Mr. McClain is proud of the fact that he has one of the most productive farms and one of the most comfortable liomes in Pike Township. His place is known far and wide as "Halcyon Grange," and it is an appropriate title. His industrious and methodical habits and personal attention to details enable him to secure desired results where others fail, and he is in every respect deserving the hospitality which has attended his footsteps. He was the editor of a volume of 232 pages, treating of the life of his father, Rev. Matthew McClain, and of the McClain family, which manuscript was dictated by the father. Mr. McClain's religious belief is not sectarian in its nature, but is based on the principles of reverence and obedience to his Maker, justice to mankind, one to another, sub -. ject to the behests of Christ and heaven's high will. Greater proof being required to sub- stantiate a written identity in the Lamb's Book of Life than merely the entry of his name in some church register. Mr. McClain has always been a Democrat in politics, and althoughi by no means an active politician he has held some minor positions and for four years was deputy county and city treasurer, two years under Hiram W. Miller, his efficiency being recognized by Mr. Miller's successor, Sample Loftin, with whom he was also deputy. Mr. McClain was married February 6, 1867, to Miss Frances A. Case, a native of Pike Township and a daughter of Jonas and Mary (Smock) Case. Their children are Bernice F., born July 10, 1872; Edith O., born March 21, 1879, and Royal L. W., born January 3, 1883. Bernice F. is an accomplished and intelligent young lady and has been a teacher for three years in Pike Township. She has a decided taste for literature, is well posted on all sub- jects, and has been a successful teacher since her seventeenth year. She is now married but still makes her home with her parents.
WINFIELD SCOTT MANN was born in Morgan County, Ind., November 1, 1847, on a farm occupied by his grandfather. Here he remained until fourteen years of age, receiving his education in the common schools, which he attended during the winter sessions. In 1860 he went to Martinsville, entered the blacksmith shop of R. Elliott, and remained there two years, when he went to Shelbyville. While there he was in the employ of Judge Glessner, his uncle, for a year, and then went to Morgan County, where he worked for Mrs. John Cox, on a farm, for about four years. From there he came to Marion County, and for two years after this worked on the farm of Jackson Landers, in Decatur Township. Later he went to Indianapolis and ran a buzz saw in the Wheeler & Wilson sewing machine factory, thereby losing a finger, and then located in West Newton, Decatur Township, where he remained a year. In 1873 he celebrated his nuptials with Miss Sallie Wilson, daugh- ter of Elijah and Catherine (Johnson) Wilson, and for the first year after his marriage farmed for his father-in-law on shares. The following year he bought thirty-three and a third acres of Wesley Brown, and moved on the tract, where he lived until 1884, and has added more to it from time to time, after which he and his wife moved on the old home place of Mr. Wilson. There they have remained ever since. Mr. Mann is a member of the Baptist Church. In politics he is a Republican, though inclined to be independent. He has served as supervisor of Decatur Township and has held other local positions, dis- charging the duties of all in a very satisfactory manner. His marriage was blessed by the birth of seven children, five of whom survive as follows: Frank, Lncy, Nettie, Myrtle and Charley. Those dead are Flora and Dollie, aged five and three years. William Mann, father of our subject, was a native Ohioan, but came to Indiana in early manhood, locat- ing in Morgan County. He was a miller all his life. His wife was Miss Eliza Glessner, and to them were born two children as follows: Winfield S. (our subject) and Morris, who married Miss Elizabeth McCreery, and they have four children. The father of these chil- dren served in the Black Hawk War. He died when Winfield was but a boy, and the mother subsequently married Asa Cox, by whom she had two children: Oliver, who married. Ada
280
MEMOIRS OF INDIANAPOLIS
Myers (deceased), who bore him two children, Ethel, and Charley (deceased), and Oscar (deceased), married, but had no children. The mother of our subject is still living. Mrs. W. S. Mann's father, Elijah Wilson, was born in New Jersey, in 1811, and made his home there until 1854. He was married in 1837 to Miss Catherine Johnson, and in 1854 they came to the Hoosier State, locating in Marion County, Where Mr. Wilson bought 147 acres of land. ' To this he added from time to time, until at the date of his death, which occurred March 10, 1883, he was the owner of nearly 243 acres. His wife passed away two years later. Of the eight children born to this estimable couple four died young, as follows: Samuel, Elizabeth, Mary A. and one unnamed. The others are named as follows: Henry, Rebecca (died at the age of nineteen), John and Sallie: The eldest, Henry, first married Nancy J. Sawyer, by whom he had five children as follows: Flora, John, Lida, William and Jesse. His second marriage was with Miss Elizabeth E. Edwards; and John (deceased), served in the Civil War, in Bracken's Independent Company, for three years, and participated in many prominent engagements. Sallie married our subject. Mrs. Mann's paternal grandparents were Samuel Wilson and Rebecca (Price) Wilson. Mr. Wilson's grandfather was a soldier of the Revolution. Grandfather Wilson died about 1812. He was of English descent.
JOEL MILLS. A noble class of men have built up the agricultural interests of Decatur Township, Marion County, Ind., and have made it a garden spot in the great commonwealthi of the State. Among those who have been active and efficient in the work is he whose name stands at the head of this sketch. He has been identified with the farming interests of the county for many years, and in every walk of life has conducted himself in an honorable, upright manner. Mr. Mills was born in Decatur Township, Marion County, August 23, 1835, on a farm of 160 acres belonging to his father, Mark Mills. He became familiar with the duties of the farm at an early age and received a fair education in the schools of Decatur Township, commencing to attend when seven years of age and continuing until twenty. Until twenty-two years of age he remained with his father, and on October 7, 1857, he was married to Miss Maria, daughter of Joel and Mary A. (Reed) George, both natives of the Old Dominion. One son was born to our subject and wife, Levi R., whose birth occurred July 28, 1858, and who died August 6, 1884, unmarried. In his political views Mr. Mills is a Republican, and his first vote was for John C. Fremont. That ticket he has voted ever since. He is a member of the Friends' Church and has been clerk of the same. Mark Mills, the father of our subject, was a native of South Carolina, born September 25, 1804, and when six months old he was taken by his parents to Ohio. Mark's parents had had their property destroyed by fire and they thought to better their condition by removing to the Buckeye State. The father of Mark made the trip on foot, but the wife rode a horse and carried her two children, William and Mark, in her arms. Arriving in Ohio they located in Warren County, where the lad, Mark, grew to manhood on the farm owned by his father. In 1826 he was married to Miss Charity Sanders, daughter of William and Amy (Williams) Sanders, and in 1833 he and family emigrated to Indiana, locating in Decatur Township, Marion County, where he had previously entered 160 acres. On this his death occurred in 1876. He added eighty acres to the original tract and had a good farm of 240 acres. He was a hard-working, industrious man, and cleared about 160 acres from the green timber, representing an immense amount of labor. He received a fair education for his time, and was a man well posted on all the current topics of the day. In politics he was originally a Whig. but upon the formation of the Republican party he affiliated with that. In religion he was a Quaker. His marriage resulted in the birth of seven children, as follows: Daniel, Amos, Amy, Joe (our subject), Willis and Charity. Daniel, the eldest, married Eliza Epper- son, who bore him nine children: Amanda, William A., Mark. Julia A., Lewis, Charity, Cordelia, Gurney and James Oscar. Amos Mills (deceased) married Miss Mary E. Cook, and they have two living children: Samuel C. and Edwin S. Amy married Alfred Kellum, and six children were born to them: Noah M., William L., Ella J., Ida, Charles E. and Annetta. Willis married Miss Mary Hawkins, and five children were born to them: Rolena A., Arthur L., Cora, Chester and Lessie. Charity married Dayton R. Hodson, and they have three children: Orpha L., Elva A. and Florence A. The mother of our subject, died in 1841, and the father married for his second wife Mrs. Jessup, daughter of Noah Kellum and widow of
281
AND MARION COUNTY, INDIANA.
William L. Jessup. One child was born to this union, Asenath, who married Reazin Reagan. The mother of this child died December 31, 1891. John Mills, the paternal grandfather of our subject, was a native of the Palmetto State, born in 1778, and he resided there until 1805, when he moved to Ohio. There he made his home until about 1835, when he came to Indiana and bought 160 acres in Decatur Township. There he died in 1841. He was a Quaker in his religious belief, and an honorable, upright citizen. He married Miss Phoebe McDonald in South Carolina, and they had six children as follows: William, Mark, Mary, Rachel, Amos and Lydia. The grandfather died in 1864, aged eighty. three years, Our subject's great-grandfather, John Mills, was the son of John Mills, who was a Quaker, and of English descent.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.