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 6
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MAJ. JAMES L. MITCHELL. The subject of our sketch is a distinguished member of the Indianapolis bar and an ex-soldier of the late war. who made a record for himself as a brave and patriotic, as well as a faithful officer. Maj. Mitchell comes of a family that for generations has been composed of worthy and good people, true to their country and to themselves. He was born in Shelby County, Ky., September 29, 1834, being the son of Pleasant L. D. and Mary A. (Ketcham) Mitchell, natives of Kentucky and of old Virginia stock. Thomas Mitchell, the grandfather of our subject, served as chaplain to Gen. Payne's brigade in the War of 1812. The maternal grandfather, John Ketcham, was a famous Indian fighter and had many narrow escapes, and was a terror to the red men; his part in the Black Hawk War being an active and helpful one. He moved to Indiana at an early date and entered a large tract of land. The father of our subject moved from Kentucky about 1840, coming in wagons, and located upon a fine tract of land in Monroe county, Ind. He died in 1883, while the mother is living at the age of eighty-one. James L. Mitchell was the eldest of a family of eight children. He received a liberal education. After a course in the common schools, at the age of seventeen, he entered the University of the State of Indiana, from which he was graduated in 1858. Then he entered the junior class of the department of law in the university and, after remaining a year, entered the office of Ketcham & Coffin, where he read law for a year, was admitted to practice, and at once formed a partnership with his uncle, John L. Ketcham, which continued until 1862, when he was commissioned adjutant of the Seventieth Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, ex-President Harrison's regiment. Maj. Mitchell took part in all the battles of the Atlanta campaign, and at the battle of Peach Tree Creek had his horse shot under him, but he escaped injury. He was mustered out in 1865 and at once resumed the practice of law with
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his former partner. In 1873 he was elected mayor of Indianapolis, he being the first Demo- crat to be elected to that position, and the only candidate on his ticket at that time who was elected. This office was held by him for two years, its onerous duties being discharged to the general satisfaction of the public. The suffrage of the voters of the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit, composed of Marion and Hendricks Counties, made him prosecuting attorney of the circuit, a position he filled so satisfactorily that he was, after serving two years, re-elected in 1888, serving out this term also, or four years in all. In 1883 he was elected by the mem- bers of the State Board of Education one of the trustees of the State University, which office he has filled ever since. Mr. Mitchell enjoys a decided popularity throughout Marion County, and indeed throughout the State. He is a most astute and learned lawyer, and an orator and pleader of eminent and persuasive force. October 4, 1864, in New Albany, Ind., while on a leave of absence from the army, he was married to Miss Clara E. Carter. One child, James L., Jr., being the fruit of this union. His son is now associated with him in the practice, under the firm name of Mitchell & Mitchell. Mitchell, Jr. is a graduate of the literary department of the State University and the law department of Michigan Uni- versity. The young man is possessed of a very bright and receptive mind and gives promise of a career of brilliancy and great success. Maj. Mitchell is a member of the Masonic order, of George H. Thomas Post, No. 17, G. A. R., and of the Phi Delta Theta, a Greek fraternity, of which ex-President Harrison and Vice-President Stevenson are members.
AMOS W. PATTERSON, M. D. The atmosphere of Indianapolis is conducive to a cultured, refined, learned and progressive body of physicians, the spirit of the people being in harmony with the aspirations of the constituent members of the profession after the highest possible attainments in the noble science of healing. There is no place here for the ignorant, the illiterate, or the charlatan, and if any such by chance come this way, they speedily discover that the sick-and they that have imaginary ills, even-have been taught to despise those who have not wisdom and understanding. In no city of the land is there such an all-per- vading sentiment of grasping after the highest and the best as exists among the medical men of this city; and no other can show so large a number, proportionately, of really learned and progressive practitioners. In this number of urbane and skilled physicians of Indianapolis is Dr. Amos W. Patterson, a native of Washington, Davies County, Ind., who was born October 17, 1839. His father, Rev. William J. Patterson, was a native of Washington, Pa., where he was reared and educated, and afterward accompanied his parents to Ohio. When a very young man he began to study for the ministry, attending the Northwestern Seminary at Hanover, and now located at Chicago. He became a Presbyterian clergyman, and was the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church at Brookville, Ind., holding this pastorate until his death in 1844, he being the organizer of that church and its first pastor. Ho married Jane Butler, a native of Brookville, and a daughter of Amos Butler, a pioneer of that county, and who laid out that town. Our subject was an only son, and was educated at Hanover College, from which he graduated in 1863. During the war our subject was connected with the examining surgeon's office at Indianapolis, and was for two years in old St. John's hos- pital at Cincinnati. Dr. Patterson began to carry out a long cherished purpose in 1863, when he entered upon the study of medicine under Doctors Parvin and Fletcher at Indianap- olis, afterward entering the Medical College of Ohio at Cincinnati, from which he graduated in 1866. His entry into the practice was in Bartholomew County, Ind., where he practiced for a year, and then went to Indianapolis, which has always been the Mecca of ambitious and able young physicians, who rejoice to get within the circle of learning and knowledge that is found here. Ever since his coming he has carried on the general practice, and is recognized as a physician of great ability, having proved himself one of the most successful practitioners of the city. During a period of three years Dr. Patterson was on the city hospital staff, and at all times he has been identified with the leading thought and practice of the city. The doctor is a member of the American Medical Association, of the Indiana State and the Marion County Medical societies, in all of which honorable bodies his merits are recognized and appreciated. He was married June 11, 1878, to Theodora Kiefer, a native of Miamisburg, Ohio, and one child, Ruth, is the fruit of this happy union. The Doctor while not taking a very active part in politics is in full sympathy with the Republican party, and supports its candidates. Possessed of gentle manners, sympathetic, generous and
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suave, the Doctor has hosts of attached friends, who esteem him for his winning qualities as a man, and admire him because of his attainments and skill in his profession.
WILLIAM L. HEISKELL, D. D. S. The profession of dentistry has made the most marked progress in the past quarter of a century and a leading practicing dentist is able to pre- serve the teeth of persons indefinitely if they will place themselves in his charge and carry out his instructions; and his skill is such that he can replace those that are lost with such consummate art that it is not possible to detect the counterfeit, while his operations in the matter of filling, capping, etc., indicate the most advanced practical knowledge. In the number of expert and eminent dentists of Indianapolis is Dr. William L. Heiskell, who was born at Jeffersonville, Clark County, Ind., September 28, 1845. His father, a native of Virginia, having been for many years a prosperous merchant of Jeffersonville, was at one time a di- rector of the Southern Prison and also served as city treasurer. He married Margaret Rue, a native of Ohio, by whom he had five children. Robert S. Heiskell, the father of our sub- ject, died April 23, 1892, in Indianapolis, where he had lived for many years as the State agent for the Masonic Mutual Insurance Company, be having been a very prominent Mason, a thirty-second degree member, and also a member of the Grand Lodge of the State. His wife survives him, residing at Indianapolis. Our subject was reared at Jeffersonville, where he received his education in the public schools and in a private academy. Coming to Indian- apolis in 1863 Dr. Heiskell began the study of dentistry with Dr. P. G. C. Hunt, in the rooms now occupied by himself. After two years he purchased an interest in the business and became a partner of Dr. Hunt, this connection lasting for two years, since which time Dr. Heiskell has been in business alone. In the last year of the war Dr. Heiskell enlisted in the One Hundred and Thirty-second Indiana Volunteer Infantry, being mustered in as a private and being discharged as an orderly sergeant. The Doctor returned to Indianapolis directly after the war, resumed the practice and has continued it ever since, having built up a very large practice and realizing a very handsome income from it. In the year 1879 Dr. Heiskell assisted in the organization of the Indiana Dental College, was elected its first president and continued such for a period of ten years; is now its vice-president and is chairman of its executive board. In the year 1883 the honorary degree of D.D. S. was conferred upon him by the college. The Doctor has been a member of the Indiana Dental Association for the past twenty-nine years and has served as president of that body. Ex- cept for the year that he was in the army, Dr. Heiskell has practiced continuously in the city ever since he located here; he enjoys a most lucrative practice and ranks among the leading dentists of the city. He is a member of Geo. H. Thomas Post, G. A. R., and is a trusted and honorable associate of that patriotic body. The Doctor is especially known in Knights of Pythias circles, there probably being no man connected with that organi- zation in the United States who is more widely and favorably known than he. He has passed through all the chairs of the subordinate lodge and the grand lodge of Indiana, served five years as grand instructor of the order for the State of Indiana, is at present supreme representative and grand instructor for the State, and is colonel of the First Regiment, Indiana Brigade, of the Uniform Rank, Knights of Pythias. The Doctor is an enthusiast in matters connected with the order, and has probably done more than any other man in Indiana to promote the interests of the organization and to give it its great distinc- tion in the State and its prominence with the order throughout the country. The Doctor has a very happy home, being blessed with a charming wife and a most interesting family of children. He was married December 29, 1869, to Miss Elizabeth J. Wilkins, a native of Indianapolis, and a daughter of John and Eleanor (Brouse) Wilkins, of Ohio. Dr. and Mrs. Heiskell are the parents of three children, namely: Walter W., Arthur R. and Frank W. Heiskell. The Doctor and his family are members of the Roberts Park Methodist Episcopal Church, and he has been leader of the choir in that body for the past twenty years. Despite the arduous duties of his profession, he finds time to give to political matters and is a warm and enthusiastic adherent to the fortunes of the Republican party, the teachings of which he is earnestly persuaded will best advance the material interests of the country. Personally the Doctor is a very popular man, his manners being pleasant and agreeable and his nature being sympathetic and his disposition being lively.
HON. JOHN SCHLEY. This prominent citizen of Indianapolis has served his fellow citizens
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MEMOIRS OF INDIANAPOLIS
as soldier and legislator and has long been one of the most steadfast and effective friends of organized labor in the State. His career has been a busy and an honorable one. In every position to which he has been called he has acquitted himself with credit and to the extent of his ability has enhanced the weal of Indianapolis, of Marion County and of Indiana. So quiet and unassuming as scarcely to put forth a claim on his own behalf, he is yet recog- nized as one deserving much of the public because of the effectiveness of his services for the public good. The following all too brief, simple and direct statement of the essential facts in his life will be found most interesting, and it is penned with the consciousness that it forms one of the most edifying personal histories in this large book. John Schley was born at Frederick, Md., Angust 23, 1838, his father and mother having been natives of that State. His family connections are very large and embrace many prominent personages. His mother was a near relative of Edgar Allen Poe. His father was for many years an influen- tial politician and citizen of Maryland. Mr. Schley is a first cousin of Commodore W. S. Schley, United States Navy, who was in command of the Greeley relief expedition and commanded the cruiser "Baltimore " in the Chilian affair in 1891. Mr. Schley received a collegiate education and then learned the printer's trade. He came to Indianapolis July 17, 1856, and has resided in that city continuously since. His first employment here was as a compositor in the Sentinel office and he was employed there at the outbreak of the Rebellion. At the first call for troops he enlisted as a private in Company A (the old City Grays), Elev- enth Indiana, Maj. - Gen. R. S. Foster being the then captain of said company. At the expiration of three months' service he returned to Indianapolis and soon thereafter received a commission as second lieutenant in the Fourth Maryland Volunteer Infantry, his brother, Col. William Louis Schley, being the superintendent of recruiting for the Union army in that State. subsequently serving as first lieutenant and adjutant and being finally promoted to a captaincy, with which rank he was mustered out of the service at the close of the war. Capt. Schley was wounded three times while in the service. His first wound, received at the battle of Spottsylvania, May 8, 1863, was a severe longitudinal fracture of the left thigh bone, cansed by a six-pound solid shot during a charge upon a battery of the Confederates. His other wounds were of a minor nature and were received at the battle of Hatcher's Run, on February 6, in the following year. Capt. Schley was in all the important engagements of Grant's Richmond campaigu from the crossing of the Rappahannock to the surrender at Appomattox, of which historic event he was a witness. After the war he resumed work as a compositor on the Sentinel, and at different times served in the capacity of night and com- mercial editor of that paper and as foreman of its mechanical department. He has always been a Democrat in politics and as unswerving in his loyalty to that party as he was to his country during the Rebellion. He has always been closely identified with organized labor and has now been a member of Typographical Union No. 1 for thirty-seven years, continu- ously. For two years, he was president of the State Trades Assembly, and in 1881 his union honored him with an election as delegate to the International Union, which met in Toronto, Canada. Here he was elected as corresponding secretary of that body and served one term. He had also, twenty years before, in 1861, been honored with a similar election by his craftsmen and attended the session of the National Typographical Union, which met at Nashville. Tenn., that year. In 1875 he was appointed a deputy county clerk and served three years in Room 1, Superior Court. In 1878 the Republicans carried the county and Capt. Schley was removed. During the campaign of 1880 he was secretary of the Demo- cratic County Central Committee. In 1881 he was nominated by the Democratic City Con- vention as its candidate for city clerk. and though, with the rest of his ticket, defeated, lie succeeded in materially reducing the Republican majority. In 1884 he was elected a rep- resentative from Marion County in the State Legislature and introduced the bill which is now the law governing Building and Loan Associations in this State. He was re-elected a representative in 1886 and declined a renomination in 1888. In 1886 he was again appointed a deputy county clerk and is still serving as such in the Circuit Court. Capt. Schley has been secretary of Prospect Saving and Loan Association, one of the most success- ful in Indianapolis, for the past nine years. In 1867 Capt. Schley was married to Miss Emily Isabella Smith, a daughter of the late Hon. Isaac Smith, who also served as repre- sentative from Marion County in the Legislature and was one of the secretaries of the State
JAWebster
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Constitutional Convention of 1852. One of her brothers is Capt. Oak M. Smith, United States Army, now on duty at New Orleans. Mrs. Schley is a lineal descendant of Josiah Bartlett, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. There were four children born to this marriage-two sons and two daughters. The sons are both dead, the elder one, Naval Cadet O. S. Schley, was killed in 1886, while on his summer cruise with his class from the Naval Academy at Annapolis by falling from the mast of the practice ship, Constellation, his body being lost at sea. He was then a young man of eighteen years. The other son died when but sixteen months old. The daughters are now young ladies, at home with their parents. Capt. Schley has been more or less prominently identified with numerous impor- tant enterprises and movements not mentioned above, always generously and helpfully and to the benefit of his fellow citizens. A more unostentatious or a more valuable citizen it would be hard to name, or one who possesses in a higher degree the esteen of the public, politics not considered. His life, while successful, has not been without its struggles, but le entertains bitterness toward no man; while it has been blessed above the measure accorded to many others, it has also been darkened by affliction, but he never looks upon the " bitter side," believing that which the future contains is well ordered and is therefore good. He has achieved his successes through labor and by strictly honorable methods and they are therefore the more estimable.
J. H. WEBSTER. There is nothing more important to the welfare of a city or more effective in the preservation of property as well as life, than a well equipped and conducted fire department, and the man who successfully fills the position of chief must possess keen foresight, unbounded energy, and must be ever alert and ready to respond to the calls upon his services. All these attributes are possessed in a marked degree by J. H. Webster, who is chief of the fire department of Indianapolis. He owes his nativity to Phelps, Ontario County, N. Y., being born on March 21, 1833, to Chester and Phoebe (Pinkham) Webster, natives of Litchfield, Conn. Chester Webster had the honor of serving his country in the War of 1812. in which struggle he rendered effective service, and while following the duties of a civilian he conducted a boot and shoe business, to which his attention was devoted for many years in Troy, N. Y. In the latter part of his life he purchased a farm in Ontario County, N. Y., on which his declining years were spent surrounded by all that goes to make life comfortable and enjoyable. To his marriage a family of nine children were given, five of whom survive. The life of J. H. Webster, from the time of his birth up to the age of twenty-one years, was spent in his native county in assisting in the nsual duties of farm life and in attending the common schools near his rural home, where he received the major part of his literary education. After attaining his majority he decided to sever home ties and anticipating the advice of Horace Greeley he decided to "go West and grow up with the country," and in Circleville, Ohio, he had his first experience in fighting the battle of life for himself. After clerking in a hotel for a brief period he became a salesman in a wholesale furniture establishment where he remained for a few years after which he returned East but again turned his face westward in 1855 and this time made his way to Indianapolis, Ind., and finally to Danville, of the same State. In the latter place he found employment in the woolen mills belonging to Roger Foster and while thns employed wooed and won for his wife the daughter of his employer, Frances E. Foster, in 1857. One year later he came with his wife to Indianapolis and for a few years was employed in the Hub and Last Factory. On March 31, 1860, he became a member of the fire department of the city and had the man agement of the first steam fire engine that was ever brought to the place. His marked ability, zeal and promptness soon brought him into prominent notice and the city government soon manifested its knowledge of his fitness for the position and its desire for the welfare of the community by making him chief of the department. To the discharge of the many duties of this position he has devoted his time and energies up to the present time with the exception of two years when he conducted a livery stable. He is now the oldest employe of the fire department of the city and many times during this honorable career the people of Indian- apolis have had occasion to congratulate themselves on the efficiency, promptness and intelli- gence shown by Chief Webster in subduing conflagrations with but little loss to life and prop- erty. Mr. Webster has been married twice, his second marriage being celebrated in 1886, to Miss Mary McGilvery, by whom he has two children: Daisy C. and Rufus E. His first wife
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MEMOIRS OF INDIANAPOLIS
bore him a danghter, Fannie G., who is the wife of John Fuller. Mr. Webster is a member of the Masonic and Independent Order of Odd Fellow fraternities, and politically has always supported the measures of the Republican party.
FREDERICK W. CADY. The American bar offers the finest opportunities for preferment of any country upon the face of the earth, its members being privileged, if the talent is not wanting, to attain not only the greatest distinction in the profession, but it is the easiest way of approach to the highest official places in the land. What is more, the American bar can show an array of eminent talent, of profound erudition and of judicial ability equal to that of England, France or Germany. The Indianapolis bar has during the past half century been greatly distinguished for the learning and talent of its members, who know no such word as fail when pitted against lawyers from other cities. A very bright and most promis- ing young attorney of this city is the subject of our sketch, Frederick W. Cady, who thus early in his career has won victories at the bar that would have reflected credit upon its oldest members. He is senior member of the firm of Cady & Cady, with offices at 8} North Pennsylvania Street, and was born in Windsor County, Vt., July 23, 1864, being the son of John W. and Mary A. (Leavens) Cady, natives of the Green Mountain State, and is of Scotch-English descent. The Cady family were pioneers in the State of Connecticut, after- ward settling in Vermont. Stephen P. Cady, the grandfather of our subject, was a farmer and stockraiser of Vermont, who spent his days in that State. The maternal grandfather, Hon. Orange Leavens, was a farmer of the Connecticut River valley, who amassed a com- fortable fortune and was, later in life, a member of the General Assembly and of the Senate of his State for several sessions, distinguishing himself therein by his great force of char- acter, quick perception, and his large resources of common sense. A man of great promi- nence, he was especially identified with the interests of the town of his home, holding the most important positions in the Government thereof for many years, and contributing greatly to its improvement. He died in West Windsor, the town of his birth and life-long home in the year 1884, at the age of eighty-four years. The father of our subject is a prosperous and industrious farmer of the town of West Windsor, Vt., and has been for a long time a member of the board of that town, a position which he fills with great fairness and ability. During the late war he served in Company A, Twelfth Vermont Volunteer Infantry. Unto him and Mrs. Cady have been born three children, namely: Frederick W., Daniel L. and Mary E. The subject of our sketch was reared in the county of Windsor, where he passed through the public schools, graduating from the high school at Windsor and from the famous Kimball Union Academy, at Meriden, N. H., immediately following which he entered the law office of the Hon. Gilbert A. Davis, of Windsor, as a student, remaining from Septem- ber, 1885, until October 25, 1888, when he was admitted to the bar of the State of Ver- mont, after a four days' examination as a member of a class of twenty-three, being one of the three successful applicants for admission from the entire class, passing the most satis- factory examination and receiving the highest mark of proficiency ever accorded to any law student in the history of the State of Vermont up to that time. Directly after passing this brilliant examination he was elected assistant secretary of the Senate of the State of Ver- mont, session of 1888, serving through the term, when he returned to the office of Mr. Davis, continuing with him until January 1, 1890, at which time he removed to Indian- apolis. Previous to settling here, however, he made a careful investigation into the op- portunities offered for successful practice in the various States of the Union and his loca- tion here was the result of deliberate purpose and not a mere haphazard adventure. . With his brother, Daniel, he came to Indianapolis an entire stranger and the two formed a partner- ship and opened an office in Wright's block, on East Market Street. In November, 1890, he was appointed a deputy prosecuting attorney of Marion County, by Prosecuting Attorney John W. Holtzman, continuing as such officer until November, 1892, when he resigned said office to accept the office of deputy city attorney of Indianapolis, to which he was appointed by Hon. Leon O. Bailey, city attorney. Entering upon the discharge of the duties imposed by this office in June, 1892, lie held the same until January 1, 1893, going out with Mr. Bailey, who resigned the office of city attorney at that time. Mr. Cady is one of the bright- est young members of the Indianapolis bar, bringing to the profession a most intimate knowledge of law together with the qualities of pleader and advocate in a high degree of
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