MISS MARY NEWLIN. The list of those to whose lot it falls to play a leading part in the dramas of national or civic life is comparatively short. Yet communities are made up of individuals, and the aggregate of achievements, no less than the sum total of human happiness, is made up of the deeds of those men and women whose primary aim through life is faithfully to perform the duty that comes nearest to hand. Individual influence upon human affairs will be considered potent or insignificant according to the standoint from which it is viewed. However, there are some individuals whose labors are so generally accepted as being beneficial that their influence is never doubted, and this applies in the case of Miss Mary Newlin, township trustee of Calumet Township and one of Gary's most progressive and public-spirited citizens.

Miss Newlin was born at Homestead, Pennsylvania, and is a daughter of Robert S. and Hettie (Irwin) Newlin. Her grandfather was Richard Newlin, a native of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, of Quaker descent, who passed his life as an agriculturist and who, with his wife, is buried in the cemetery of the Quaker meeting-house near Millvale, Westmoreland County. Robert S. Newlin was born on his father's farm in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, where he received a country school education, and married, at Elizabeth, Pennsylvania, Hettie Irwin, who was born in Westmoreland County, of Scotch-Irish descent. Mr. Newlin was taught to be a mechanic in his youth and for some years was employed by the Clairton Steel Company, at Clairton, Pennsylvania, and later by the Illinois Steel Company, at Gary, and for years was with the Railway Spring Steel Company of Chicago Heights, Illinois. He moved with his family to Gary in 1907 and still makes this city his home. Mr. Newlin is a member of the local lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, which he joined at the time that body secured its charter, in 1907, an dis one of the city's public-spirited and highly respected citizens. Mrs. Newlin was educated in the public schools of Irwin, Pennsylvania, and is a daughter of William and Charity (Saunders) Irwin, natives of Westmoreland County, where they are buried. Both sides of her family trace their ancestry back in this county to the sixteenth century, and both had representatives in the War of the American Revolution. Mrs. Newlin's parents were memeber of the United Presbyterian Church and she is a charter member of the First Presbyterian Church of Gary. Mr. and Mrs. Newlin had four daughters: Ruth, who died in infancy; Lucy, the wife of Carl Lehman, connected with the Illinois Steel Company, of Gary; Mrs. Alice Cothery, of Gary; and Miss Mary, of this review.

Mary Newlin attended the public schools of Clairton, Pennsylvania, and following her graduation from high school pursued a course at California State Normal, from which she was graduated as a member of the class of 1909. She later attended the Valparaiso University. For four years she taught school, two years each in Pennsylvania and the Froebel School, at Gary, and in 1915 became deputy township trustee under W. J. Williams, trustee, of Calumet Township, a position which she held for eight years. In 1922 she was the successful candidate for the office of trustee of this township, assuming her duties in the spring of 1923 and was reelected for another term of four years, starting in 1927. She has discharged the duties of her office in a highly capable manner and has won the full confidence of the people of this enlightened and progressive community.

Miss Newlin is a charter member of the First Presbyterian Church of Gary. She is historian of the Pottawatomie Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, and a member of the Daughters of Veterans, an auxiliary of the Civil War Veterans, and of the Auxiliary of the Spanish-American War Veterans. She likewise belongs to Genesis Chapter of the Daughters of Rebekah, was for some years active in the Gary's Woman's Club, and is a past president of the Lake County Tuberculosis Association. A woman of superior intellect and accomplishments, she is justly accounted one of Gary's valued and valuable citizens.

INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 5
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931


JAMES CLARENCE VANDERBUR. One of the signs of progress is the attention paid by local, state and federal authorities to the safeguarding of the foodstuffs of the people. Formerly there was but little protection, not only for the customer, but the honest dealer; the first buying blindly what was offered; the second having to meet the competition of those who, because of the inferior quality of their goods, could quote lower prices. Today, while there is still some dishonesty, the different laws are drastic, and the penalties for their violation heavy. However, even among dealers today there are differences, and, while some live up to the letter of the laws, there are others who take pleasure in rendering a better service, and carrying out the spirit as well. One of these first-class merchants of Kendallville who draws his large trade from the very best and most discriminating people of Noble County, James C. Vanderbur, has given such careful attention to details in his meat market, handling only "quality meats," that his store has become known all over his region as synonymous with the best in every respect.

James C. Vanderbur was born at Greensburg, Decatur County, Indiana, February 28, 1891, a son of Elijah and Nettie (Jackson) Vanderbur, native of Decatur County, where the father was born April 26, 1866. For a number of years he was engaged in farming in Decatur County, but is now living retired. His father, Henry Vanderbur, was born in Pennsylvania, but came to Decatur County when only seventeen years old, and there he continued to reside the remainder of his life. The maternal grandfather of James C. Vanderbur, John W. Jackson, pioneered to Decatur County from Kentucky, and he, too, was one of the early farmers of that part of Indiana.

The eldest of eight children, James C. Vanderbur attended the district schools of his native county and Greensburg High School, but left the home farm when only sixteen years old to go to work in a meat market at Greensburg. His initial position was a lowly one, but he learned the business from the bottom up, and this in part accounts for his present success. He thoroughly understands, through personal experience, every phase of the work. In 1915 he entered the employ of Nelson Morris & Company, of Chicago, proprietors of the Union Live Stock Company, and remained with that great corporation until his enlistment for the World war. Going overseas with the Forty-second Division, A.E.F., he was division meat inspector, first with his division at the front for eight months, and then for two months held the same position at Coblenz, Germany, with the Army of Occupation. Returned to the United States, he received his honorable discharge at Camp Sherman, June 28, 1919. Mr. Vanderbur went back to Nelson Morris & Company, but was transferred from Chicago to Fort Wayne, Indiana, and made head of the sales department of the company's branch in the latter city, and he continued there until 1924. In that year he came to Kendallville, purchased the Hossinger Meat Market, which he has since operated under his own name. His market is equipped with modern appliances, and is admitted to be the finest in the northern part of Indiana. The first year he was in business his annual sales aggregated $78,000; in 1928 they were $110,000, and in 1929 they were still higher, the increase proving that he is receiving a constantly augmenting patronage.

Mr. Vanderbur belongs to the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Knights of Pythias, the Rotary Club, the Kendallville Country Club, the Chamber of Commerce and the American Legion. He makes a hobby of feeding cattle and has many head among the farmers of the county.

On September 2, 1920, Mr. Vanderbur married at Fort Wayne, Indiana, Miss Minnie Caroline Bill, a daughter of Jacob Bill, of that city. Mr. and Mrs. Vanderbur have no children. Their residence, one of the best at Kendallville, is one of the most desirable in the city, and here they entertain their many friends, for they are very hospitable and are never happier than wehn they have those dear to them gathered about them.

INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 5
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931


WILLIAM J. GOLIGHTLY was for thirty years superintendent of the Kokomo plant of the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company. His total service in the glass making industry covered a period of fifty-five years. It was a service distinguished by much more than routine accomplishment or sound administrative work. He helped pergect the technic of glass making. He was in fact a master of the processes of glass making, and it was this mastery that gained for him such an eminent position in the industrial circles of America.

It was genius and the sheer force of character that enabled him to rise from poverty and lack of opportunity to a place of wealth, esteem and to be marked as one of Kokomo's most valued and valuable citizens. He was born April 4, 1860, at South Shields, England, which was the native town of his parents, Benjamin and Sarah (Tompkinson) Golightly. Benjamin Golightly from his income as a sailor could maintain his family only to the point of providing the necessities of existence, and when he was lost at sea William Joseph Golightly, then eight years of age, had to take upon his shoulders the burden of supporting his mother. His schooling up to that time had been irregular and his subsequent education was largely the result of practical experience. He became a worker in a plate glass factory, and that determined his permanent vocation. Early in his employment in the plate glass trade he began experimenting in processes of plate glass manufacture and eventually perfected a formula of his own that made him a particularly valuable man to the glass manufacturers. It was his technical knowledge that first brought him to the attention of American manufacturers and it was technical skill that kept him at the fore-front of the industry the rest of his life.

Mr. Golightly came to America in 1891, and was first employed as a plate glass maker in the casting hall of a plate glass factory at Charleroi, Pennsylvania. Later for a short time he was at Butler, Pennsylvania, and in 1892 came to Kokomo, where he was employed in a minor capacity in the Diamond Plate Glass Company of that city. Soon afterward he brought his family from England and in April, 1893, established his home at Kokomo. After two years he moved to Elwood for a year and spent about two years at Alexandria, being connected with the plate glass plants in these Indiana towns, but in 1898 he returned to Kokomo to become assistant superintendent of the plant which in the meantime had been taken over by the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company. In the following year the local superintendent, S. E. Clark, was transferred to Elwood and Mr. Golightly succeeded him as superintendent in 1899. As executive head of that plant, one of the two largest manufacturing industries of Kokomo, he continued until his death on November 4, 1929. During that time he contributed perhaps more notably than any other figure in the plate glass industry to the development of the business and more than any other man was responsible for the permanence of the plant as an asset of Kokomo. He became a recognized authority in his field. All his knowledge was the product of his own efforts. He possessed an alert and able mind, and his success was due to an indefatigable industry.

Kokomo citizens recall gratefully his special services in keeping the industry in the city. He did this largely through adapting and changing the local plant to be able to challenge competition from other plants both at home and abroad. It was while under his supervision that the Kokomo plant was equipped with gas engines, which at the time were considered the latest thing in the production of electric power. This change was made after the directors of the company had resolved to dismantle the Kokomo plant and Mr. Golightly was offered the superintendency of another plant in Missouri. He finally overcame opposition and the company baked his judgment by voting $5,000,000 at his disposal to rebuild the plant at Kokomo. Then, following the close of the World war, the entire system of gas engines was removed and the most up-to-date and efficient steam electrical power house in Indiana was constructed near the factory under his direction. The introduction of electrical power produced by steam turbines enormously increased the efficiency of his plant.

To quote a portion of an editorial tribute from the Kokomo Tribune, "William J. Golightly's service to Kokomo, however, did not lie alone in the fact that he preserved and successfully administered the plate glass industry here. His influence and worth were felt far outside the confines of the big plant whose operations he has supervised for three decades. He had become one of the most helpful and outstanding civic leaders and community workers - a man who in the last few years had contributed of personal efforts as much perhaps as any other one individual here to the various civic movements and public undertakings here that have added so greatly to the general progress and welfare of Kokomo.

"As the year gathered William J. Golightly mellowed and broadened. The aloofness of his earlier years - his disposition to attend strictly to his own affairs and mix not all in community enterprises - wore away. In time he became a constant student of public needs, the most potent influence towards meeting them. He wished to measure up to the best standards of citizenship, and to that end dedicated all he had of constructive capacity - all he had of hand and head and heart.

"It is a fine record - one in which his family and friends and business associates can take fullest pride - one to which the city he served so well will do full honor, one which will be an example of shining citizenship in far distant days, one on which to bestow the best we have of gratitude and one to keep ever green with the laurel of affectionate memory."

Mr. Golightly had been elected president of the Kokomo Chamber of Commerce in 1925 and was given the honor of a second term in that office in 1926. For several years he as president of the Howard County chapter of the Red Cross, was a charter member of the Kiwanis Club, was a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason, the B. P. O. Elks and Modern Woodsmen of America. For many years he was a member of the vestry of St. Andrews Episcopal Church and was a supporter of all civic enterprises. In addition to his responsibilities with the glass company he was a director of the Howard National Bank, director of the Hoosier Iron Works and a director of the Lincoln Acceptance Corporation.

In 1881, when he was twenty-one years of age, Mr. Golightly married Miss Isabella Adams Sims, and three of his children were born in England: The mother of his children passed away in 1916 and in 1918 he married Mrs. Harriet Ovens, of Kokomo.

The oldest of his children, Sarah, was born April 6, 1882, and was married in 1908 to Mr. John B. Duret, connected with the Kokomo plant of the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company. Mr. and Mrs. Duret have three children, Mary Isabella, Sarah Elizabeth and John B.

The oldest son, Joseph Golightly, who is assistant superintendent of the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company at Kokomo, was born in England November 18, 1883. He married, June 15, 1911, Miss Ada Woodward, of Kokomo, and they have five sons: James Sidney, born January 11, 1914; Joseph Richard, born October 26, 1915; Robert Edward, born May 10, 1917; George Lewis, born March 17, 1921; and Thomas Woodward, born November 19, 1930.

The third child, William Golightly, who is also an assistant superintendent in the Kokomo plant, was born in England June 21, 1889. He married Josephine Favre, of Kokomo. He has four children, William Joseph, John Frederick, Richard and Joan.

During the residence in America four more children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Golightly: Miss Ethel; Sidney, who married Ruby Pierce, of Kokomo and has three children, Sidney, Jr., Ralph and Geraldine; Miss Hilda and harry, who died in 1906, when five years of age.

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INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 5
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931


DAVID H. BLUMENTHAL. Among the commercial establishments around the public square at Marion one of the most conspicuous is the Blumenthal Department Store on the west side. It is an establishment with an interesting history, and reflects more than the commercial growth of this city during a period of sixty odd years. It is a business of character as well as of material facilities and service equal to much larger cities. The foundation of the business was fair dealing, good merchandise, and these qualities earned the early patronage of the store and they have continued as vital factors in the steady growth of the business through all the years.

The founder of the business was Morris Blumenthal, a son of Morris Blumenthal, who was born and died in Germany. Morris Blumenthal, Jr., when nine years of age was sent to America on a sailing vessel. He was sent very much as an express package would be sent today. This precious human package was consigned to a sister, Mrs. Baer, then living at Peru, Indiana. He arrived safely, found a home with his sister, attended schools in that city and had his early training as an American citizen there. When he was seventeen years of age his first opportunity came to learn business as an employee of the Falk Clothing Store of Peru. Three years later he secured a better job in the store of Mr. Kahn of Shawneetown, Illinois.

He was living in Southern Illinois when the Civil war came on and was one of the first young men from that section to volunteer. He became a private in a regiment of Illinois cavalry, and served throughout the long struggle of four years between the North and the South, participating in many bloody engagements. During a furlough from the army in 1863 he visited his sister, Mrs. Baer, then living at Marion. During the furlough he bought the small clothing store conducted by his brother-in-law. After the purchase he rejoined his command at the front and continued his service as a brave and loyal soldier until the end. He gave serious attention to his work as a soldier, studied and prepared himself for leadership and before the war was over had won a commission as a second lieutenant.

On the restoration of peace the veteran soldier returned to Marion and resumed his new responsibilities as a merchant. A picture of Marion during the ‘60s and ‘70s would present a view of a small village of several hundred, the main street during the summer deep in dust and in winter and spring ankle deep in mud. There were no sidewalks, flag stones being laid irregularly and serving as stepping stones. It was here that Morris Blumenthal elected to begin his career as a merchant, full of energy, with a sound sense of commercial standards and principles, and with a confidence that won patronage. Those who knew him intimately agree that he was a genius as a merchant. He kept his business steadily growing and building, and eventually it was the largest store in the city.

After establishing his business on a substantial footing Morris Blumenthal made a trip to Rochester, New York, where he married Miss Ida Marks, a pretty dark-eyed young woman who remained a loving wife until his death on December 24, 1903. It was a fortunate marriage in every way, not least because of the fact that it brought to his business at Marion two of his wife's brothers. About 1872 David Marks bought an interest in the store, retaining it until 1880, when he sold out his to his brother Louis S. Marks, of Rochester, New York, who for three years had been a clerk in the store. After the death of Mr. Blumenthal the business was continued under the able leadership of Louis Marks and David H. Blumenthal. Another interest in the business was owned by Minnie Blumenthal, now the wife of Maurice Blumenthal, a New York attorney. Mrs. Morris Blumenthal, who died at the age of seventy-nine, had made her home for a number of years with her son David.

When Louis Marks entered the partnership he was only twenty-three years of age. He and his brother-in-law, Morris Blumenthal, were of rather contrasted types. Morris Blumenthal was very lively in his social intercourse, had a genius for friendship and had a large following of warm friends throughout this section of Indiana. Louis Marks on the other hand was somewhat reserved, though people esteemed him both for his manner and character. He was the soul of courtesy, and his habits were such that in combination with his business ability and resourcefulness he became a very valuable factor in the growth of the business. Mr. Marks after the death of Morris Blumenthal became the active head of the business, his junior associate being David H. Blumenthal. They added different departments until they had brought the business to the status of a complete department store, one of the largest in Eastern Indiana. Mr. Louis Marks, who married Miss Mattie Strauss, of Lyons, New York, passed away in June, 1922.

Since that date David H. Blumenthal, who was born at Marion, January 11, 1870, has had the full management of the business. Several years ago a disastrous fire damaged the building, which was owned by Mrs. Ida Blumenthal. Not long afterwards Mrs. Louis Marks sold her interest in the business to the Blumenthal heirs. They erected the new Blumenthal Block, a building which is regarded in every way as a distinct credit to the city. Under the leadership of David H. Blumenthal and his son Morris D. this business has continued to grown, and in its service caters to the better class of trade. It employs seventy-five sales people and is probably the chief establishment in maintaining Marion's reputation as one of the best retail centers in Indiana.

Mr. David H. Blumenthal married Miss Jenette New, of Wabash, Indiana. Mr. David Blumenthal is a Republican voter and has always shown a public spirited and generous attitude toward community affairs. He had the distinction of being the first and second president of the local Lions Club, and takes an active interest in the Marion Public Library Association, serving on its board of trustees and treasurer for two years and four years as president of the City Planning Association. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, B. P. O. Elks, Loyal Order of Moose and the Phi Delta Kappa fraternity. Mr. David Blumenthal has generously given his support to philanthropic and charitable enterprises of different kinds, but his hobby has been along the line of rescuing and salvaging the good in characters of men committed to penal institutions. In a large number of cases he has carried out personal investigations and when convinced of the fitness of some prisoner for parole he has worked to restore such a man to his family and regulated freedom. Mr. Blumenthal has not put forth these efforts as a sentimentalist, but rather as a hard-headed business man inspired by a sense of duty to humanity at large. So carefully has he estimated the worth of the individuals whom he has thus benefitted that in only one our of a number of paroled prisoners has his faith and judgment been disappointed. All others have through their conduct shown their earnestness in becoming honest citizens.

INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 5
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931


SAMUEL C. MALSBARY. The Malsbary family has been in Tippecanoe County for three-quarters of a century. They have been known as prosperous farmers and stock men, also represented in various lines of business and professional life. Of this family Samuel C. Malsbary continues the family tradition as a practical farmer and stock man. His home is in Randolph Township, near Romney.

His great-grandfather was Job Malsbary, whose home was in New Jersey. He was born at Trenton, Monmouth County, that state. His children were Samuel, Isaac, William and Sarah. William Malsbary was born in Monmouth County, New Jersey, in March, 1794. He married Elizabeth Bowman. From New Jersey he went west to Hamilton County, Ohio and took up Government land. He and his wife reared a large family of children, named as follows: Elizabeth A., job, Samuel B., Linda M., John, Sarah, William, Mary, Alfred and Jasper.

The father of Samuel C. Malsbary was John N. Malsbary, who was born in New Jersey. Five of his brothers and sisters were natives of that state and three others were born in Ohio. Three of his brothers, Samuel, Alfred and Jasper, were soldiers in the Civil war. John Malsbary was born June 18, 1829, and died December 27, 1908. He was a boy when the family came west and he received most of his education in Hamilton County, Ohio. He learned the trade of wagon maker. In 1853 he settled in Montgomery County, Indiana, and in 1857 moved to Tippecanoe County, where he lived out his life. He married Martha Berry, and the children of that union were: Martha E., wife of C. M. Liston, Leahada and Ruth. The second wife of John Malsbary was Sarah Johnson. They were married June 19, 1856, and had nine children: Eliza, wife of John Coyle; Linda Jane, who married Robert A. Bonwell and had two children, named Earl J. and Opal E.; William F., deceased; Alfred; Samuel C.; John M., who married Alice McClamrock and had a son, James S.; Mary Addie, deceased; Sarah Elizabeth, widow of Edward Hayward; and the ninth child died in infancy. The parents of these children are buried in the Sugar Grove Cemetery in Jackson Township. The mother died April 24, 1880.

Alfred Malsbary has been well known in Tippecanoe County both as an educator and business man. He graduated from the Indiana State Normal at Terre Haute in 1889, is also a graduate of Indiana University, and he taught school in Montgomery and Tippecanoe counties, was superintendent at Thorntown eight years, and superintendent at Peru for three years. On leaving school work he entered the grain business and also conducted an independent telephone business at Monon and Francisville. At the same time he engaged in farming in Jasper County. He was in the grain business at New Richmond about five years, then at Remington, and in 1912 moved to Lafayette, which has since been the headquarters of his business affairs. He is a Scottish Rite Mason and Shriner, member of the Lafayette School Board, president of the Sunday School Association. Alfred Malsbary married in 1905 Meta Horner, daughter of E. W. and Alice (Malcolm) Horner. They have two children, Dorothy Maxine, a graduate of Purdue University, and Keith.

The late Edward Hayward, who married Sarah Elizabeth Malsbary, was born May 27, 1867, and died September 20, 1930. He was a son of Enoch and Margaret (Reed) Hayward. He was educated in the Terre Haute Normal School and Purdue University and taught for four years. At one time he was a township trustee. Mrs. Hayward's two children are William Blair and Edward Francis. The latter married Ruth Willis.

Samuel C. Malsbary was born at the old homestead in Jackson Township, Tippecanoe County, was educated in country schools, and his experience as a farmer has been converted into the practical training he has used for his mature career. He took the agricultural course at Purdue University, and then settled down to the practical profession of farming. He is well known as a breeder of pure bred cattle, and his stock has frequently won prizes. At one time he had a grand champion in his herd.

Mr. Malsbary married, February 14, 1895, Miss Mary Leaming, daughter of Henry and Martha (Fox) Leaming. The first of their children died in infancy. Mary is the wife of Dr. Robert Millis and has a son, Samuel Clark. George Dale Malsbary is a student in Purdue University.

Samuel C. Malsbary is ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church. He has been on the advisory board of his township and is a member of the Henry Clay Lodge No. 288, Knights of Pythias.

INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 5
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931


Deb Murray