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 71
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
VINCENT MYERS. This worthy agriculturist is a descendant of good old Virginia stock, his grandfather, Robert Myers, having been born in that State October 30, 1765. The lat- ter was married in his native State and subsequently moved to Kentucky, where his death occurred. He was the father of ten children, as follows: William, deceased; Henry, deceased; John, who served in the War of 1812, also deceased; Francis, deceased; Robert, deceased; Thomas, deceased; Mary, widow of Joshua Dean, resides in Brown County, Ind .; Matilda, deceased; Ephraim, who resides in Andrew County, Mo., and Elijah W., deceased. John Myers, father of our subject, and the third in order of birth of the above mentioned children, was born in the Corn Cracker State, Bourbon County, June 24, 1796, and there
388
MEMOIRS OF INDIANAPOLIS
remained until 1821, when he came to Indiana, locating in Marion County, Perry Township, where he and his brother, Henry, entered eighty acres of land in the green timber. A num- ber of years later he sold his share, forty acres, and bought 160 acres in Perry Township. To this he subsequently added nearly 155 acres, but divided a considerable portion among his children. He was twice married, the first time on July 11, 1820, to Miss Nancy Brown, daughter of Vincent Brown, of Georgetown, Ohio. Six children were born to this union, as follows: James M., deceased, was the husband of Henrietta Hull, daughter of William Hull, of Perry Township, Marion County, Ind; his wife died, and on March 5, 1891, he followed her to the grave; they left three living children, as follows: John W., Nancy J. and Harriet F., all of whom are married, the first to Cassie Morrison, the second to Charles Litterer, and the last to William Coatney. Sarah J. Myers, second child born to the marriage of Jobn Myers, married Hezekiah Copsey, and both are now deceased; they left four living children, George W., Jobn E., Nance E. and Francis M. The first of these, George W., married Miss Nannie Hughes; John E., married Jane Bristow, and they have two daughters, Jessie and Gracie; Nancy Ellen, first married William Morgan, by whom she had two cliil- dren, Emma and George; her second marriage was with Michael Snyder; Francis M., married Mattie McFarland, and they have one son, Hugh. Rebecca Myers, the third child born to the marriage of John Myers, died on October 7, 1859. She married George Har- nes, and they had four children, of whom three survive, as follows: Edward, who married Ella Wells; Nancy E., deceased, was the wife of Jobn Stanton, and Elizabeth, who married Fielding Brewer. Mary E. Myers, John Myers' third child, married Jesse Thomas, and they have two living children, Margaret and Jobn. Amanda Myers, unmarried, died May 3, 1856, and Vincent, our subject. The father of these children was a soldier in the War of 1812, and served under Gen. W. H. Harrison. He served as justice of the peace in Perry Township, Marion County, Ind., for forty years, and was bolding that office at the time of his death, July 19, 1882. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The mother of our subject died January 2, 1851, and the father was married December 11, 1854, to Mrs. Comfort Hinkston, who died February 6, 1892. Vincent Myers, the subject of this sketch, was born on the farm where he now lives June 28, 1842, and as he grew to mature years assisted his father on the farm and secured a fair education in the subscription schools, attending rather irregularly until of age. On December 18, 1872, he married Miss Mar- garet C. Neiman, daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth (Carr) Neiman, both of whom were natives of Pennsylvania, and both at present residing in Indianapolis. Our subject had purchased forty acres of land previous to his marriage, erected a house on this, and soon after his union moved into this. Three children have been given this worthy couple: Joseph John, born February 24, 1874; Albert Porter, born December 11, 1879, and Ray- mond Neiman, born January 1, 1891. Mr. Myers is a Republican born and bred, and has always voted the straight ticket. His first presidential vote was cast for Abraham Lincoln, a fact of which Mr. Myers feels justly proud. He was mustered into the State militia toward the close of the war, but never left the State. For many years he has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which he is now trustee and was steward. For seven years past he has been superintendent of the Sunday-school. In 189- Mr. Myers was elected justice of the peace but declined to qualify. He bas also served several terms as road supervisor in Perry Township. Of the 100 acres that he owns, sixty acres of which were given him by his father, ninety acres are cleared and in a good state of cultivation. Joseph Neiman, the father of Mrs. Myers, followed the trade of a tailor in Middletown, Penn., until 1849, and then came to Indianapolis, where he carried on his trade for some time. After this he was engaged in farming in Johnson and Marion Counties, and is now in the grocery business in Indianapolis. During the Civil War he enlisted in the Eleventh Indiana Infantry, Company A, and served about six months. He married Miss Elizabeth Carr, and seven of the eight children born to them are now living, as follows: Thomas J., who married Catherine Robertson, is the father of two children, Elizabeth and Clara; Mar- garet C., wife of our subject; Barbara E., who married Albertus T. Langhorn, is the mother of two children, Lucy and Barbara A. ; Frederika, who married Joseph Reeves, has one son, Stewart; Joseph M., who married Margaret Ward, has one son, Joseph; Ida E., married George Weakley, and they have two children, Blanche and Nellie, and Mary Anna, who is
389
AND MARION COUNTY, INDIANA.
unmarried. Mrs. Myers' grandfather, Jacob Neiman, was born in York County, Penn., and followed farming all his life. He married Elizabeth Metzger, and moved to Dauphin County, Penn., where he passed the remainder of his days. He was a soldier in the War of 1812. Two of his ten children now survive: Joseph Neiman, and Barbara, who married Benjamin Myers, and now resides in this county. Mrs. Myers' great-grandfather, Michael Neiman, was born in Germany, but at an early date emigrated to America. On the maternal side the great- grandfather, Joseph Snider, was an officer in the Revolutionary war. Her maternal grandfather, Moses Carr, was a soldier in the War of 1812.
O. C. CHAMBERS & BRO. Prominent among the many reliable houses of West Indian- apolis, Ind., may be mentioned that of Chambers & Bro., and that it is appreciated as one of the foremost drug establishments of the place can be readily seen by the large patronage it commands. This house deserves honorable mention in this volume, not only on account of the high character of its management, but also on account of the superiority of its stock. Oscar Chambers was born in Tipton, Ind., November 25, 1858, a son of John W. Chambers, who died at Brownstown. He was born in Jennings County, Ind., and when a young man went to Tipton, where he worked at the carpenter's trade, and afterward held the office of treasurer of Tipton County, and while there was also editor of the Advocate, but which was a well-conducted and successful journal under his management for some time. His wife was Miss Elizabeth Jane Boyd, and to their marriage five children were born, of whom Albert was the eldest, and Oscar the next; Avery and Thomas, twins, the latter dying in infancy; Albert, who also died young, and John W., who is the present editor of the Commercial, at Caruthersville, Ind. The initiatory training of Oscar Cham- bers was obtained at Brownstown and was finished at Lexington, Scott County, Ind., after which, at the age of twenty, he became a clerk in a drug store owned by Stillwell & Burrell, of Brownstown, with which firm he remained for four years. He then embarked in the same business for himself, and after continuing in this branch of endeavor for four years he went to St. Louis and became foreman for the Provident Chemical Works. After a time he entered the employ of A. J. Miller, at 284 South West Street, Indianapolis, Ind., but after a time took charge of the business, of which he and his brother Avery are the proprietors, but which at that time belonged to Mr. Miller. The business which they are so successfully following is unquestionably a highly important one, for upon the skill and care of the pharmacist, almost as upon that displayed by the medical profession, de- pends the physical welfare-almost the life or death of the sick or ailing. The proprietors, without doubt, thoroughly understand their business, and are doing well from a financial standpoint. Oscar Chambers has become a well-known citizen in West Indianapolis, and for one term served in the capacity of its treasurer, but has since been content to look after his ever-increasing business. Socially he is a member of the K. of P., the I. O. O. F. and the Red Men, his brother Avery being also a Knight of Pythias and an Odd Fellow. The latter learned the trade of a printer when a boy, and has worked on many of the princi- pal papers in the United States, among which may be mentioned the Indianapolis Sentinel, the Louisville Courier-Journal, and the St. Louis Post-Despatch. He and his brother are practical druggists, and are successful and honored business men, highly esteemed in social as well as commercial circles.
WILLIAM MOGINNIS. Among the pushing and enterprising men of Indianapolis, Ind., William McGinnis takes high rank. He is a son of James and Eliza (Mericle) McGinnis, the former of whom was born in Westmoreland County, Penn., and the latter in Oneida County, N. Y. The father was a blacksmith by trade and emigrated to Indiana in 1832, settling at Guilford, of which they were among the very first families. They resided there until 1857, then removed to Lawrenceburg and the father entered the employ of the I. C. & L. Railroad as blacksmith, in which capacity he served for many years. He is still in the employ of that road but has attained an advanced age, and owing to long and valuable service which he has rendered the company he has been retired from hard work and given a position suitable to his enfeebled condition. In April, 1861, William McGinnis responded to the first call of his country for troops, and was a member of the first company that left Indiana for the front, Company D., Seventh Regiment Indiana Infantry, being discharged at the expiration of four months. He immediately re-enlisted in the same regiment and
390
MEMOIRS OF INDIANAPOLIS
company, but was shortly after assigned to military railroad work in Tennessee and Georgia, from the fact that he had practical experience in railroad work. He served faithfully in this capacity until near the close of the war, being discharged in August, 1864, on account of disabilities arising from injuries received in a railroad accident, which unfitted him from further service and has resulted in his permanent injury. He was in the first engagement fought in West Virginia at Phillipi and was afterward in the battle of Carrick's Ford. In politics he.has always been an active worker for the success of the Republican party, but as far as regards himself has never been an aspirant for political preferment, his business fully occupying his time and attention. He established his lumber yards in 1881, and in 1888 the South Side Planing Mill was purchased from Lonis F. Burton, and with its original capacity more than doubled it has been run in connection with the lumber yards of the present proprietor. A considerable increase was made in the mill as soon as it was bought, but the greater part was made in the spring of 1891. The establishment is located at the corner of Woodlawn Avenue and Dillon Street and is reached from the central part of the city by taking the Virginia Avenue cars to the fountain. Twenty-five skilled employes are kept busy in operating the mill, and its work is noted among builders everywhere for cheap- ness, beauty and finish, as well as for the promptness and accuracy with which orders are filled. The machinery used is all of the latest and best description, In connection with the planing-mill, and in the conduct of his general trade, Mr. McGinnis has two large lum- ber yards. The main one of these is at 152 Lord Street, and is admirably located for cheap shipments and access to railway transportation. The second yard or branch is at 59] Virginia Avenue. In both the yards business and the planing-mill the bulk of the materials handled heretofore has been pine, of late years there has heen an increase in use of native hardwood, sycamore, ash, stained poplar and thelike for finishing. In these Mr. McGinnis is prepared to compete with any firm in the State both in prices and in finish. The mill and yards are among the model institutions of their class in the Indiana Capitol. Mr. McGinnis was born in Guilford, Dearborn County, Ind., June 19, 1842, and began work as a railroad employe early in life, and beginning at the bottom, in the course of years rose to one of the most trusted and popular officials ofthe old I. C. & L. route. Mr. McGinnis was successively fireman, locomotive engineer. freight and passenger conductors. After serving three years as engineer he was made freight conductor by Superintendent Richardson, and was thus employed for seven years. He was then promoted to passenger conductor, and for thirteen years was one of the best known and most popular of all the knights of the bell cord and punch in Indiana. He continued thus running from Cincinnati to Chicago as the exigency of the service required until he embarked for himself in his present business, in which he has been deservedly successful. In the fall of 1893 he added to his business interests a livery, board- ing and feed stable, for the conduct of which he erected a substantial brick building 72}x110 feet, at a cost of $4,000. His building is thoroughly equipped with an excellent line of carriages and horses, and he is thoroughly equipped to do a strictly first-class business. In this connection he deals in flour, feed, etc., and is considered an enterprising man of affairs. He is treasurer of the Equitable Savings & Loan Association. and is a well known and popu- lar citizen. He was married in March, 1865, to Miss Julia Evans of Lawrenceburg, Ind., his family consisting of two boys, Percy E. and William Clare.
JOHN H. ROTH. The grocery industry of the States is one whose greatness is hardly understood, except by those who are directly connected with it. Thousands of persons are engaged in this line and millions of dollars of capital are involved, and in this as in many other lines, West Indianapolis takes a leading part. New firms are constantly springing into prominence and one established in 1890, is that of which Jobn H. Roth is the pro- prietor, at 262 Howard Street. Mr. Roth was born in Jefferson County, Ind., April 10, 1862, a son of Charles Roth, who was born in Germany, and came to the United States when a young man, about 1833 or 1834. He was a shoemaker by trade but after coming to this country and locating in Kentucky he was engaged in the management of a plantation. During the war he was a resident of Louisville, and after its termination he came to Indiana and located in Shelby County, where he resided for some time. He also resided for a while in Edinburg, Johnson County, but for many years past has been engaged in tilling the soil in the vicinity of that place. He is now sixty years of age and his wife, whose maiden name
391
AND MARION COUNTY, INDIANA.
was Eva Kitzsinger, was also born in Germany, on July 26, fifty-four years ago. Her father, Leonard Kitzsinger, has now attained the advanced age of ninety-two years and is a resident of Madison, Ind. John H. Roth, whose name heads this sketch, acquired what knowledge he has of the world of books in Edinburg, Ind., and being industrious and push- ing, he began earning his own living at the age of fifteen years. He spent seven years in learning the butcher's trade, and the following five years clerked in a grocery store, where he thoroughly learned the details of the trade. In 1890 he commenced business at his present stand with a limited capital, but has prospered far beyond his expectations and has without doubt a prosperous future before him. His stock of goods is select and by his honorable business policy he has won to his side a long line of patrons and has attained a degree of success which is a credit to his business talent, and also to West Indianapolis, in which he is held as a most worthy citizen. He has aided in the improvement of the place, is active in advancing her interests and is a reliable and public-spirited citizen. September 9, 1883, he was married to Miss Hester Ellen Green of Bartholomew County, Ind., and to their union two sons and a daughter have been given. Mr. Roth is a member of the I. O. O. F., I. O. R. M. and the K. of P. He expects to soon change his business place to Reisner and Miller Streets.
GEORGE W. SHAFFER. The practical value of shrewdness and discrimination combined with strict probity is exemplified in the prosperous condition of those who transact business on these principles. Mr. Shaffer is a man who has kept fully abreast of the times in the matter of enterprise and is considered one of the substantial and useful citizens of the city of Indianapolis. He is a product of Hamilton County, Ohio, where he was born November 8, 1853, a son of Levi and Sarah J. (Patterson) Shaffer, the former of whom was born in Pennsylvania and the latter in Ohio. The occupation of Levi Shaffer has been that of farm- ing, in which line of human endeavor he has met with reasonable success in Hamilton County, Ohio, of which section he has been a prominent and honored citizen for many years. During the Rebellion he was four years in the service of his country as a member of the Twenty-fourth Ohio Regiment Infantry, participating in many important and bloody battles. In the county of his nativity George W. Shaffer was reared and was given the advantages of a good public-school education, which opportunities he was wise enough to improve. He afterward learned the tonsorial art, and in the spring of 1873 came to Indianapolis, the first three years of his stay here being spent as a laborer at the old Union depot. At the end of that time he engaged in business for himself and for seventeen years successfully conducted a well appointed establishment of his own, which was largely patronized by persons desirous of getting shaved in first-class style. His place of business was located at 205 Massachu- setts Avenue for seven years. Mr. Shaffer has always been quite an active politician, and in the fall of 1893 was elected from the seventh ward as a member of the city council on the Republican ticket by 520 votes, the largest majority ever given to a candidate from that ward. Socially he is a member of the K. of P. and at present holds the position of Prelate in Star Lodge, No. 7. Mr. Shaffer was married December 28, 1879, to Miss Lyda Lewis, a native of Greencastle, Ind., a daughter of Henry and Sarah Lewis, and to their nnion one child has been given whom they named Pearl, who was born on January 7, 1883.
JOHN C. SCHMID & SONS. The senior member of the above named firm is probably the pioneer cut stone contractor of the city of Indianapolis, of which place he has been a resident since 1856. The industries pursued in this city are numerous, and few of them are of more importance than the business followed by Mr. Schmid and his son, for on their thorough knowledge of their calling depends the durability of the structures raised by them, and in it are engaged thousands of men to whom are paid millions of dollars in salaries every year, while the amount of capital invested in the rearing of these structures is enormous. Mr. Schmid is a product of Germany, where he first saw the light in 1829. He received his edu- cation in the land of his nativity, which he obtained in the common schools and also by some private instruction, and at the age of thirteen years, or in 1842, he began learning the stone cutter's trade, at which he served an apprenticeship of three years, during which time he became thoroughly informed in this branch of human endeavor, and received a diploma for his efficiency in his trade. He successfully labored at his trade in his native land until 1849, at which time, being ambitious and enterprising, he determined to come to the United States,
392
MEMOIRS OF INDIANAPOLIS
rightly judging that this country offered a better field for advancement than his own. Upon his arrival here he made his home in Cincinnati, Ohio, until 1851, during which time he came to Indiana, and laid the abutments for the bridge over the White River at Bedford at a very early day. From Cincinnati he removed to Columbus, Ohio, and during the five years that he remained there he was engaged in contracting. After his arrival in Indianapolis he did journeyman's work for some time, after which he formed a partnership with G. Itten- bach and a brother of the latter, and the firm of Schmid & Ittenbach was in existence for . about seventeen years. They did a very large amount of important stone work on the Rob- ert's Park Methodist Episcopal Church, the Vance block, the Ingalls block, and on various costly and extensive buildings throughout the State, their work being of such a nature as to merit universal approval, and a patronage of more than ordinary proportions. Mr. Schmid superintended the stone work of the State House, the admirable nature of which work is greatly to his credit. He started out in life with a capital of $300, and a thorough knowl- edge of his calling, and showed his wisdom by coming to a city, which up to the time of his arrival, had had no stone work done within her limits. His career has been imbued with an active, energetic spirit that has placed him in the front rank of permanent prosperity. He is a man of strict commercial integrity, and invariably carries out his promises to the letter, his patrons being among the owners of the largest and most important buildings. In 1853 Mr. Schmid was married to Miss Elizabeth Hamil, who bore him one son and one daughter: John H. who was recently elected on the Republican ticket as a member of the city council from the ninth ward, and his daughter who became the wife of George F. Smith, a promi- nent contractor of the city. For his second wife Mr. Schmid chose Miss Klinck in 1862, and by her became the father of two sons: Charles H. and C. F. E., both of whom are in business with their father, and are practical stone cutters. John H. married Miss Mary Tice; Charles H. is married to Maggie Reifle, of this city, and the youngest son is unmarried. Mr. Schmid is decidedly public spirited, helped to build up the town, and is a member of the Builders Exchange. He and his family attend the Reformed Evangelical Church, in which he has been an elder for about twenty years, and Sunday-school superintendent for twenty-two years.
HARVEY J. ARMANTROUT. Every owner of a residence or business block, as well as every tenant, knows how important it is to have all parts of a building built of seasoned lumber and in first-class shape so that its different parts will not be warping, shrinking or getting out of shape. One Indianapolis gentleman has proven to contractors and builders, as well as owners of property, that material purchased of him is always as represented, and that he can sell as cheap, if not cheaper, than many of his competitors. This gentleman is Harvey J. Armantrout, a wholesale dealer in hardwood lumber, which he purchases throughout Indi- ana, Kentucky and Tennessee and markets at Chicago, Cincinnati and other large western cities. He has been engaged in this business in Indianapolis for the past six years and handles about 2,000,000 feet annually, which aggregates from $75,000 to $100,000. Mr. Armantrout was born in Crawfordsville, Ind., January 10, 1850, but his father, Joseph Ar- mantrout, was born in Virginia, and was one of the earliest settlers of Montgomery County, Ind., of which he was a successful farmer for many years. His death occurred in 1887 at the age of seventy-seven years. His wife, whose maiden name was Martha Crane, was a Kentuckian by birth, but when young was taken by her parents to Indiana, and in Mont- gomery County she grew to womanhood. Her death occurred in 1858 at the age of thirty - five years, and thus at an early age Harvey J. was deprived of a mother's care. He was reared on a farm until seventeen years of age, the advantages of the public schools being given him, and then began to learn the trade of carpentering and bridge building, and at the age of twenty-three years he became a contractor. For a number of years there- after he carried on an extensive business, amounting to about $60,000 annually, the carpentering and contracting being done principally at Frankfort and Kokomo, Ind. He afterward engaged in bridge building, which was largely in connection with railroad con- tracting. In 1881 Mr. Armantrout engaged in the lumber business with residence at Kokomo, but his operations extended throughout the State and he was engaged in buying and selling for a Chicago firm. In 1886 he came to Indianapolis and engaged in the whole- sale and retail hardwood lumber business for himself, and in this business, thanks to his
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.