USA > Indiana > Marion County > Indianapolis > Sketches of prominent citizens of 1876 : with a few of the pioneers of the city and county who have passed away > Part 44
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Mr. Harrison never engaged in any wild speculation. He was ever considered a cautious dealer, and in the dry goods and country store articles of his day. None knew better what the people wanted or how to suit them, hence he seldom had dead stock on hand. Forty-five years ago, and for many years subsequent, a letter of credit or in- troduction from him would pass as current in the wholesale houses of Johnson & Tingley, Siter, Price & Co., Price, Newlin & Co., and many others of Philadelphia, as the cash. A simple letter from him would buy as many goods as any one merchant would wish
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to buy, and many thousands have been sold on them with compar- atively no loss. Mr. Harrison has been married twice. His first wife was Miss Caroline Hansen, of Kentucky, who, at the time she became acquainted with Mr. Harrison, was visiting her half sister, Mrs. John Hawkins. Her mother and family afterwards became citizens of Indianapolis. One of Mrs. Harrison's sisters is the present wife of Bishop Ames, of the Methodist church. Mr. Harrison's second and present wife was Miss Lydia Douglass, daughter of the late John Doug- lass, who became a citizen of Indianapolis in 1824. He was for many years State printer, and founder and proprietor of the Indiana, now In- dianapolis Journal.
Mr. Harrison was a liberal contributor to the erection of the first Methodist church in 1827, and has, I understand, followed up the same course toward churches of other denominations as well as Methodist since that time.
Mr. Harrison is no longer young. He must feel that the strings of life begin to crack, but still he looks as though he had taken some of the elixir of life, as he looks and walks like one not half his age, and looks good for many years yet to come. He seems to enjoy life as well as he did forty years ago, and when the time of departure does come the fa- miliar face of Alfred Harrison will be greatly missed from our social and business circles.
He now resides in a fine residence on the northwest corner of Merid- ian and Michigan streets, and adjoining his son-in-law and partner, John C. S. Harrison.
HIRAM BROWN,
A leading jury lawyer and advocate of his time in central Indiana, came of an old English family, which immigrated to America at the time of or shortly after Lord Baltimore's settlement in Maryland. His great- grandfather, Wendell Brown, removed from Maryland to the Monon- gahela valley about the year 1754, and his grandfather, Thomas Brown, became the proprietor of a large tract in that section including the site of the present city of Brownsville, and he is buried in the old fort near that city. One of his sons, Ignatius Brown, married Elizabeth Gregg and resided in or near Brownsville for a number of years, and there, on the 18th day of July, 1792, the subject of our sketch was born.
The family being possessed of wealth and social position, and having expensive habits and hospitable tendencies, became pecuniarily involved, and scattered throughout the western territories, and few or none of
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them are now left in the old home. Ignatius Brown, with his family, in 1798 emigrated to Kentucky, where he had bought a tract of land and on which he resided for several years, but the title proving defective was compelled to leave it; he bought land near Deerfield, in the Miami Valley, in Ohio. The exposure to wet and cold on the return journey through the woods to Kentucky resulted in sudden paralysis of the optic nerves and total blindness, and his wife and small children were compelled to remove to the new home and open up the farm almost without his assistance. He was afterward elected justice of the peace in the new settlement, and at a later date was appointed judge of the county court, a position he held almost uninterruptedly till his death in 1834. His wife, the mother of Hiram Brown, was a woman of good brain, fixed principles and great energy and determination, and aided by her eldest son, on whom the main burden fell, she succeeded in managing the farm, educating the children and supporting the family till they reached maturity. As the support of the family kept Hiram steadily at work, he received but little schooling, and entering a store in Leb- anon, his close application after the lapse of a few years so seriously impaired his health that a fatal termination was expected, but on return- ing to farm life, and especially after taking charge of a mill-a work in which he delighted-he completely recovered his health, and in strength and agility became the champion in that section, taking the leadership in all athletic games. His great strength and activity were evidenced during his life in encountering the hardships of circuit practice.
In the management of the farm and mill he was very successful for a number of years, taking prominent rank among the business men of that section. During this period he was married, in the year 1817, to Miss Judith Smith, daughter of James Smith, one of the earliest Metho- dist ministers, and a lady of great personal beauty and the most amiable character. They lived happily together for thirty six years, rearing a family of eight children. She died in January, 1859, deeply mourned by her family and friends.
After his marriage, Mr. Brown embarked still more largely in mill- ing and merchandising, but in the commercial panic of 1820 and the following years was, like many others, left almost penniless. After settling his affairs, and acting on the advice of his friend, Thomas Cor- win, he entered the law office of the latter, and by close study for six months, was admitted to the bar. He shortly after removed with his family to Indianapolis, arriving here in November, 1823. Within a few years he acquired a good practice, and took the highest rank as an
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advocate in criminal cases, a distinction merited by his gifts. He was fitted by nature for an advocate. Ardent in temperament, he identified himself with his clients' feelings and interests, and made their cause his own. He was of medium height, squarely built, limbs tapering and well-knit, small hands and feet, massive dome-shaped head, with clearly cut, regular features, light complexion, blue eyes, and brown hair. Symmetrical in person, he was graceful and quick in action and gesture ; mobile of feature, his face expressed each passing emotion. His voice was clear, ringing, high-pitched, and a whisper would penetrate to the limits of the court room. Though quick-tempered he was generous and courteous in his treatment of others, and readily forgot and forgave injuries to himself. His mind was clear and aggressive; his humor quaint and playful ; his invective and sarcasm withering; his wrath,. when aroused, terrible. He at once detected the strong points in a cause, and in stating a case, or in presenting facts to a jury, his clear- ness of statement and illustrations by metaphor or anecdote, were unri- valed, while over all his wit and humor played and flashed like sheet lightning on a summer cloud. Many anecdotes were told among his contemporaries of his readiness, his wit, and his repartees. Some of them have been widely published, but most have perished with those who heard them.
He was in active practice from November, 1823, to June 8, 1853, when he died "the father of the bar," and while he had nominally made much money in those years, the low rates of fees then prevailing, and his negligence in collecting them, and his extensive hospitalities, left him in only moderate circumstances.
In politics he was a confirmed adherent of Mr. Clay and his system, but was not a politician. He occasionally made political speeches, and at the time of the Morgan excitement was strongly urged by the Anti- Masonic party for Congress, but steadily refused to make the race, or enter political life. His habits and tastes, indeed, were strongly op- posed to such a life. He delighted in home and its surroundings, and in the company of friends, and for years his house contained nearly as many guests as it did members of his own family.
He was enthusiastic concerning fruit culture, and spent much time and money on his orchard, and it was in visiting it, on a hot June day, that long exposure to the sun brought on congestion of the brain, of which he died three or four days afterward, His sudden death was a great shock to his relatives and friends, and his funeral was attended by all the bar and old citizens.
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Mr. Brown had nine children, eight of whom survived him, and all living to maturity. Eliza S., the oldest daughter, married James C. Yohn, Esq .; Minerva V. (now deceased) married Hon. Albert G. Por- ter; Angeline died an infant; Martha S. married Samuel Delzell, Esq .; Clay Brown, M. D., acting surgeon of the 11th Indiana volunteers, died of illness resulting from overwork in the discharge of his duties at Fort Donelson ; Matilda A. married Jonas Mckay, Esq., and is now resid- ing in Lebanon, Ohio; Ignatius Brown married Miss E. M. Marsee (now dead); James T. Brown (now deceased) married Miss Forsythe ; Mary E. married Barton D. Jones, and is now residing in Washington.
JOHN BUSSEY.
Mr. Bussey was born at Altona, near Hamburg, Germany, on the 24th of August, 1828, and on the day that this sketch was written was just forty-nine years old. He came to the United States in 1849, and resided the first year in Buffalo, New York, thence to Cincinnati, where he remained six years. In 1856 he became a citizen of Indianapolis, where he yet resides. Mr. Bussey is well known, and very popular, especially among our German population. He is the father of Harry Bussey, the renowned billiardist. Mr. Bussey, for several years, was the proprietor of the Palmer House (now Occidental) saloon, where he became acquainted with many of the celebrities and leading men of the State, of both political parties.
THOMAS BAKER.
Mr. Baker is a native of the Buckeye State, and was born in Butler county, in June, 1822, and with his father's family removed to Tippe- canoe county, Indiana, in the fall of 1827, his father's being the fifth fam- ily that settled in the immediate neighborhood of where the thriving little village of Dayton is situated. The families that were there when Mr. Baker arrived were the McGeorges, Pages, Bushes, and Dicker- sons, who settled there in the order in which they are named. The former, Samuel McGeorge, was one of the first settlers of Indianapolis, and received a grant of six sections of land from the Miami Indians. Through the influence and friendship of their head chief, Richardville, this land was located in this vicinity. In the fall of 1828 the writer spent several weeks with the family of Mr. McGeorge, and then became acquainted with the elder Baker, the father of the subject of this sketch.
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THOMAS BAKER.
During the time that section of country was being settled, corn was very scarce, and readily commanded one dollar per bushel, but Mr. Baker refused to receive more than twenty-five cents, and sold what he had to his new neighbors at that price, which liberality has been inher- ited by the son to a considerable extent. . I have thus far deviated from the main point to show the characteristics of the family. Thomas Baker was educated in one of the log school houses where the unpre- tending pedagogue taught the "young idea how to shoot " at two dol- lars per quarter, and gave some useful lessons now lost sight of by the high-toned institutions of the present day. Mr. Baker was raised an agriculturist, and inured to the labors incident to the life of a farmer. After he arrived at his majority he engaged in merchandising, and sold goods three years in Dayton.
In 1842 he was married to Miss Elizabeth Kellenberger, who died the present year, and acquired a reputation as a hostess no less envi- able than that of her liege lord as a host. In 1854 Mr. Baker became proprietor of the Bramble House, at Lafayette, and kept several differ- ent hotels between that time and 1865, at which time he became lessee and proprietor of the Lahr House, of the same city, which he kept and superintended in person until 1874. In 1871, and while keeping the Lahr House, he became proprietor of the Mason House of this city, and as such remained until the fall of 1875. In the meantime he designed and superintended the construction of the Grand Hotel, sit- uated on the southeast corner of Illinois and Maryland streets. This building has a frontage of two hundred feet on each street. It is six stories high, containing two hundred and fifty rooms, besides verandahs, corridors, promenades, recesses, with all the modern improvements of first-class hotels of the day, together with an elevator that will convey the guests, and all who wish to go to any floor of the building, without the fatigue incident to climbing up seven flights of stairs.
The rotunda, or office, is one of the largest and finest of the country, with a beautiful floral gallery or promenade in the rear and overlooking the clerk's desks. This magnificent building is furnished in the most elaborate and elegant style in all its appointments. Taken altogether it is a credit and source of pride to the city and an honor to its projector and proprietor, and will stand as a monument to his taste and enterprise. This magnificent establishment was thrown open to the public by Mr. Baker on the 25th of September, 1875, by a grand banquet to several hundred of his friends and invited guests, many from different portions of the country, and will be by them long remembered as one of the
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pleasant social events of their lives. To say that Mr. Baker already stands among the first-class landlords would convey but a faint idea of his reputation as such with the traveling public throughout the west. In February, 1876, he associated with him in the management and pro- prietorship of the house Captain Wightman, who is also well known as a popular landlord.
Mr. Baker has two children, both daughters, one of whom is the wife of Henry Rick, proprietor of the Ætna House, Danville, Illinois, and the other is married to Mr. C. E. Finley, a queensware dealer of this city. Mr. Baker is about five feet eleven inches in height, rather spare made, brown hair, hazel eyes and fair complexion, courteous and agree- able in manner, without any seeming effort to be so; it seems to be an inherent quality with him, and nature has adapted him to the profession he has chosen.
DAVID KREGELO.
Mr. Kregelo was born near Baltimore, Maryland, on the 4th of June, 1812; he was the oldest of eight children. He remained with his par- ents on the farm until he was twenty years of age, he then determined to seek his fortune in the great west of which he had heard so many glowing descriptions. He started on foot, with a bundle of clothing and a few dollars in money ; when his money ran short he would stop and recuperate by a day's work. In time he reached Indianapolis, which was then but a village, and learned the carpenter trade. After finishing his trade he assisted in building many of the best houses now in the city. He worked on the Indianapolis and Madison railroad depot on South street. He engaged in the lumber business on the southeast corner of Tennessee and Market streets, and was aided in the enterprise by the late John L. Ketcham, and by hard labor he accumulated some money. He then engaged with John Blake and erected a planing mill on the corner of Massachusetts avenue and Vermont street; after some time at the latter place they moved to the corner of New York street and the canal. His health failing, he sold out the establishment ; after a year's rest and retirement he engaged with Eden & Avery in the same business on the corner of New York and Delaware streets; finding the business too laborious for his delicate constitution he sold his interest and engaged in the undertaking business and is yet in the same line with his son. Since Mr. Kregelo engaged in the latter business he has buried many of the old and well known citizens of the city, among whom were John L. Ketcham, Rev. Mr. Marshall, Hervey Bates, Sen., James Blake,
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E. T. Sinker, Isaac N. Phipps, J. B. Ritzinger, and many others who have passed off within a few years. When Mr. Kregelo has an order to bury the dead he does not stop to inquire whether the friends of the deceased are rich or poor, or as to the probability of his receiving the pay for his services ; the poor as well as the rich, he thinks, are entitled to be laid away in a genteel manner. He now does a large business.
Mr. Kregelo was married to the daughter of the late Dr. John L. Heiner, who was a well known and popular physician of Mooresville. They have had eight children, three of whom are living, Mrs. Belle McCune, John L. and Charles E. Kregelo, the latter being engaged with his father in business.
It certainly alleviates the pangs and sorrow that death brings to a family to know that their friends are handled and treated with care and laid away in a genteel manner. The last look at departed friends is generally remembered with a melancholly pleasure that all has been well done.
EDWARD TRAVERS COX
Was born April 22, 1821, in Culpepper county, Virginia. His mother died.in 1824 and left his father, Edward Cox, with seven small children. About this time the celebrated Robert Owen-the father of Robert Dale Owen-came to America for the purpose of promulgating his "new views of society," and establishing a community of common interests, sometimes designated as the social system-a co-operative society on a large scale. Mr. Owen purchased the town of New Harmony, in Posey county, Indiana, together with large tracts of adjoining farm lands, of George Rapp, who was at the head of a community of Germans known as Harmonists. New Harmony is situated on a second bottom of the Wabash river, sixty miles above its junction with the Ohio and fifty miles below Vincennes. A range of low hills, here cut in two by the river, borders the town on the south and east and thence stretches to the northward for many miles, leaving a broad river valley. Mr. Rapp was attracted to this locality on account of the beauty, fine timber, rich farm- ing lands and the advantages afforded for manufacturing with a water- power supplied by the cut-off, an arm of the Wabash which puts out from the main stream just below town. When Mr. Owen purchased the place it contained many buildings, a woolen factory, cotton factory, large water-power grist mill, linseed oil factory and a hat factory. The lands were in a fine state of cultivation, numerous apple, peach, pear, plum
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and cherry orchards were in full-bearing, extensive vineyards were cul- tivated, and wine and fruit brandies were articles entering extensively into the commerce of the place.
The father of E. T. Cox, the subject of our sketch, was a mechanic, though he had been engaged for many years in the milling business, and was at one period of his life an agent for Thomas Jefferson, who entrusted him with the management of important business. It may also be added that he was a soldier in the war of 1812 and held the rank of lieutenant at the battle of Yorktown. Finding himself left with a large family of small children, which it was necessary to educate, he was struck with the many advantages Robert Owen presented to the members of his- community for education, since it was to form its keystone ; the mottoes on his banner were: " Ignorance is the fruitful cause of human misery," " If we can not reconcile all opinions, let us endeavor to unite all hearts." He also attended one of Mr. Owen's' lectures at Richmond, and soon after resolved upon moving to New Harmony. The Allegheneys were crossed in wagons. From Wheeling the journey was made in a flat- boat to Cincinnati, where the winter of 1824 was spent; in the spring he proceeded down the river in a flat-boat in company with several other families, who were also going to join the community at New Harmony. All arrived safely at Mount Vernon, on the Ohio river, the present county seat of Posey, and fifteen miles from New Harmony. From this place the journey was finished in wagons. It was on the 28th day of May, 1825, that the subject of this sketch first beheld the town of New Harmony, which was to be his future home, and child though he was, the impression which the scene made upon him will never fade from his memory. The orchards were all in bloom and the entire valley which burst upon the view of the emigrant, from the top of the hill just before descending to the town, looked like one vast flower garden.
Though the community was supplied with good schools, and teach- ers eminent for their learning, the youth only four years of age was un- able to profit by the advantages they afforded. The community was dissolved inside of two years, and the town was soon after deprived of the school system which Mr. Owen and William Maclure were trying to establish. Mr. Godwin Volney Dorsey, a young man of exemplary habits and good scholarly attainments, opened a subscription school and afforded the only opportunity which fell to the lot of E. T. Cox for ac- quiring an education. In 1832 Mr. Dorsey moved to Ohio and the town was deprived of his excellent school.
At the age of thirteen the subject of our sketch obtained a situation
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as salesboy in a dry goods store, and from thence forward continued to earn his own living, and during moments of leisure from business occu- pied the time in reading scientific books, histories and general literature, with a view of preparing himself for a scientific pursuit. In 1848 he married Miss Eliza A. Sampson, eldest daughter of James and Eliza Samp- son, residents of New Harmony from the time of the community. His father died in 1850. Of his five brothers and two sisters, the younger sister died while an infant in Virginia, the brothers all grew to manhood. William died in 1840, John died in 1850, Thomas, the youngest, died in 1851, of cholera, while on his way to California with his family. He possessed a musical voice, and was noted for his fine reading and admir- able elocutionary powers. The late Robert Dale Owen said of his reci- tation, in an article published in the New York Evening Post, that it was given in a "style and manner Kean would have envied." Of his Shakespearean reading the same authority pronounced it second only to Mrs. Siddons'. James P. Cox died in Ghent, Kentucky, in 1856, so that there are only two of this large family now living, the subject of our sketch and his widowed sister, Sarah Jane Thrall, who is living at New Harmony.
In 1854 Prof. Cox received the appointment of assistant geologist in the geological survey of Kentucky, from Dr. David Dale Owen, and continued in this survey for three years, during which time he made himself acquainted with the general character of the geology of the State by visiting every county in it.
Dr. Owen was appointed State geologist of Arkansas in 1857, and Prof. Cox was then transferred to that State, where he served as prin- cipal assistant up to 1860, when the civil war put a stop to the survey. Following this period he was employed on a great many surveys for private individuals and companies, which enabled him to extend his geo- logical researches from the Appalachian to the Rocky mountains. In 1867 he was employed on the Illinois survey under the direction of Prof. A. H. Worthen, and continued on this survey until the spring of 1869, when he was appointed State Geologist of Indiana by Governor Con- rad Baker, in which position he still continues to serve the State. In 1873 he was appointed by the Legislature and commissioned by Gov- ernor Hendricks as commissioner for the State of Indiana to the world's fair at Vienna. In 1876 he was appointed to make a display of the mineral and agricultural products of Indiana at the centennial exhibi- tion and was a member of the group of judges. Of the work he has
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accomplished and its importance to the State the people are to be the judges.
The results of the survey are published in seven volumes, and the eighth is now in preparation for the press. Previous to the publication of these reports but little attention had been given to the mineral re- sources of the State. He does not claim to have been the first to dis- cover coal in Indiana, for this important mineral was found here by Colonel Crogan in 1763, some years before it was known to exist in Pennsylvania, and the boundary and area of the coal field was very ac- curately determined by Dr. David Dale Owen in 1837, but he does claim to have been the first to give an accurate sequence of the coal strata and to make known to the world, in a satisfactory manner, its true value as a fuel and its adaptability to all kinds of metallurgical processes, and especially its application to the smelting of iron ores and the manufac- ture of steel.
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