Mr. Dorsey was born at Chatham, Ontario, Canada, of American parentage, July 21, 1879. The Dorsey family came from Ireland, and lived for many years at Brooklyn, New York. His grandfather, John Dorsey, was born in that city, attended school there and for many years was connected with the industry of white lead manufacture. He was killed in an accident in a lead plant. He and his wife are buried at Brooklyn. Joseph Dorsey, father of the Hammond attorney, was born and reared at Brooklyn, attended public and parochial schools there, and graduated from St. Xavier's College. His permanent home for many years was at Detroit, Michigan. He was in the lumber industry, and logged off great tracts of timber land in Canada. He married in Detroit and his home for only a few years was at Chatham, Ontario. He was a member of the Catholic Mutual Benefit Association of Detroit. During the World's Fair in 1893 lie moved to Chicago and in 1903 to Hammond. He has been retired for a number of years and since 1930 he and his wife have lived with their daughter in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Joseph married Magdalen Pickard. The Pickard family were among the first settlers of what is now Detroit, locating there when the central feature of that settlement was Fort Gratiot. Mrs. Dorsey is a daughter of Amos and Susan (McMullen) Pickard, and the McMullens were also early settlers of Detroit. Her father was a stationary engineer. Mrs. Joseph Dorsey attended public school in Detroit. She was a Methodist until her marriage and since then has been a loyal Catholic convert. Her four children are: William W., of Berwyn, Illinois; Francis J.; Marie Theresa, wife of A. J. Buck, of Milwaukee; and Joseph Alphonsus, a contractor in plumbing and steam fitting in Hammond.
Francis J. Dorsey attended public school both in Detroit and Canada and in 1894 was graduated from the high school of Niles, Michigan. Mr. Dorsey has always had the habit of work, has been actuated by a high purpose and ambition, and has shown the disposition to make the most of his opportunities and advantages in whatever situation he has been. When only nine years of age he began working after school hours and in vacations as water boy and timekeeper for Roadmaster Hagan of the Toledo Division of the Michigan Central Railway. Subsequently he became a clerk under his uncle, Alonzo Pickard, then superintendent of bridges and buildings for the railroad. After completing his high school work he continued railroading. When the Michigan Central built the Chappel yards on the Chicago West Side he was sent there as clerk in the transportation department. The terminal facilities of the Michigan Central and other roads were eventually consolidated as the Indiana Harbor Belt Railway Company, and Mr. Dorsey was promoted from time to time until he was made joint agent for the Michigan Central, Chicago Junction Railway, Chicago Terminal Transfer Company, now the Baltimore & Ohio Chicago Terminal, the Chicago, Peoria & Western, Santa Fe, and Dolese & Shepherd Terminal Railway. In 1903 he came to Hammond as accountant for the Chicago Junction Railway, now the Indiana Harbor Belt, and in 1905 was sent to Indiana Harbor as agent. In 1906 he was transferred to Gibson in the same capacity, and continued there until 1912. This completed a quarter of a century of work for railroad companies, starting from the age of nine years. While at Gibson he performed the duties of auditor, paymaster (without bond) and handled millions of dollars of funds for the road, and for several years signed all the checks for pay day.
His railroad career came to an end in 1912, merging immediately into the professional career of a lawyer. While working in railroad offices he took up the study of law, attended night school in Chicago and also at Hammond, and in 1912 was graduated from the Lincoln-Jefferson College of Law at Hammond. The instructors in this college were also members of the faculty of Valparaiso University, and eventually that university took over the Law College. Mr. Dorsey began practice at Hammond and is a member of the firm McAleer, Dorsey, Clark & Travis, with offices in the First Trust Building.
Mr. Dorsey is a third and fourth degree Knight of Columbus, being a member of Unity Council No. 726, and Abraham Lincoln General Assembly. He is a member of the Order of the Alhambra, Boabdil Caravan No.9 at Chicago and the Catholic Order of Forresters, Court Luers No. 111 of Hammond. He belongs to Hammond Lodge No. 570, Loyal Order of Moose, the Mooseheart Legion of the World, Victory Legion No. 48, is a member of Hammond Lodge No. 485, B. P. O. Elks. He votes as a Republican and is a member of All-Saints Catholic Church. He is a sports fan, particularly outdoor athletics, and personally enjoys fishing. In younger years he displayed much talent as a musician, and played the violin and banjo. His fellow members of the bar have a high degree of confidence in Mr. Dorsey, one tribute being that he is an "honest and square shooter."
He married at Hammond, October 12, 1904, Miss Anna Kunzmann, daughter of Fred and Marie Kunzmann. Her father was a Hammond merchant and died in 1912, and his wife in 1927, being buried in the Oak Hill Cemetery. Mrs. Dorsey attended public school at Hammond. She was reared a Lutheran, but became a Catholic. She died on Thanksgiving Day, November 28, 1918, and is buried in Oak Hill Cemetery. She left a daughter, Marie Lydia, who is now Mrs. Joseph Millstone, of Hammond. Mr. Millstone is sales manager for the Gary Heat, Light & Water Company at Gary, but resides in Hammond. Mr. and Mrs. Millstone were married in December, 1930. She is a graduate nurse of St. Margaret's Hospital of Hammond and is classified as a registered nurse.
Mr. Dorsey on July 14, 1923, at Hammond, married Miss Florence O. Ramsey, of Harrisburg, Illinois, daughter of Walter and Margaret Pearl (Fox) Ramsey, who now reside at Omaha, Illinois. Mrs. Dorsey attended public school in Harrisburg, including high school, and is a graduate trained nurse and practiced her profession in Illinois until her marriage. She was formerly a member of the Christian Church, but became a convert to the Catholic faith and is now a member of All Saints Church of Hammond. Mr. and Mrs. Dorsey have three children, Francis Joseph, Jr., a pupil in the All Saints parochial school, John Walter and Margaret Pearl.
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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
ZEPH E. KELLER is an Indianapolis attorney, has practiced law in that city for the past fifteen years, and came to Indianapolis from Western Indiana, where he was born and reared and where his people have lived since pioneer times.
He was born in Clay County, December 26, 1878, son of Alfred and Malinda (Orman) Keller. His father was born in Owen County, Indiana, and his mother at Ormanville, Iowa, a little community named for her family. She was a daughter of David and Nancy (Houck) Orman, early settlers of Iowa. Mr. Keller's paternal grandparents were Henry and Elizazeth (Minnick) Keller, the former a native of Putnamville, Indiana, and the latter of Virginia. Henry Keller was a pioneer tanner at Putnamville. Alfred Keller is a retired farmer living at Howesville, Indiana. His wife died in 1887.
Zeph E. Keller was educated in district schools, was an Indiana farm boy, and at an early age learned to rely upon his own initiative for his education and advancement. He had one year of high school work in the Central Normal College at Danville. Among other early experiences he spent four years with the Clay City Democrat and at the same time studied law. His work in the offices of Gardner and Storm was supplemented by courses in the American Central Law School at Indianapolis, where he was graduated in 1914. Mr. Keller first practiced with offices in the Hume-Mansur and is now located in the Inland Bank Building. He is a member of the Indiana Bar Association and for a time acted as deputy prosecuting attorney of Clay County. He is a Democrat, a Royal Arch Mason and a Sigma Delta Kappa.
He married, in June, 1905, Miss Lena Benham, who was born at Clay City, daughter of Jesse R. and Flora (Goshorn) Benham, her father a native of Ripley County and her mother of Owen County, Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Keller have six children, Paul Be. William W., Jessie M., Eleanor Alice, Robert R. and James Robertson. The family are members of the Presbyterian Church.
INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 5
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931
DR. EDWARD H. WHITE, osteopath, is one of the ablest representatives of his profession in Henry County, Indiana. Doctor White was born in Hendricks County, Indiana, in 1907, son of Arthur and Nell (Chambers) White. His father was born at Greenfield, Indiana, and his mother in Hendricks County, and his father has spent his active life as a farmer.
Edward H. White was graduated from high school in 1925. This was followed by a course in osteopathy and surgery and in June, 1927, he completed his preparation as an osteopath. He began practice with Dr. Milton C. Hanmer at Newcastle, with offices in Union Building. Doctor White is a member of the Friends Church, is a Republican in politics and is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity.
INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 5
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931
ALBERT A. O'BRIEN was an Indiana florist, and for many years carried on his business at Union City. Since his death this business has been continued under the competent direction of Mrs. O'Brien, who had worked with him and is a thoroughly qualified florist.
The late Mr. O'Brien was born in Darke County, Ohio, in 1868. His father, Cornelius O'Brien, came from Ireland. He married after coming to the United States, his wife being an English woman. They then settled on a farm in Darke County, Ohio, where their son, Albert A., spent his early years.
Mr. Albert O'Brien had a common school education. The first occupation he took up was the trade of florist. After learning it he went to Denver, Colorado, and operated a greenhouse at University Park in Denver. About 1899, returning to Indiana, he went to the rose city of Newcastle and was employed in the extensive greenhouses of Heller Brothers. From there he came to Union City, where he established a business of his own. Mr. O’Brien had an expert knowledge of the production of flowers, and he specialized in the growing of flowers for funeral designs. In 1905 he built the greenhouse at 907 West Pearl Street in Union City, and the business has been carried on there for a quarter of a century. Mr. O'Brien passed away November 20, 1924.
He married in 1909 Miss Anna Zicht, who was born in Union City, daughter of Henry Zicht. Her father came from Germany and was a bricklayer by trade. Mrs. O'Brien was educated in public schools. She is a member of the Lutheran Church, and is an independent voter with leanings toward the Republican party.
INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 5
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931
WILLIAM N. McMAHAN was born at Lawrenceburg, Indiana, the son of Rev. S. S. and Victoria (Boulware) McMahan, he born in Union County, Indiana, and she in Clermont County, Ohio. The paternal grandparents, Elijah B. and Charity (Beck) McMahan, were born in North Carolina, and he was a son of Morgan McMahan, the latter of whom came to Union County, Indiana, from Salisbury, North Carolina, about 1819 and here bought a tract of land, his brothers at about the same time making entries of Government lands.
This was before the creation of Union County, the territory now included within the county lines being attached to other counties.
The maternal grandparents, Benjamin and Ann Boulware, natives of New Jersey, came as far west as Clermont County, Ohio, and there the remainder of their lives was passed.
The parents of Mr. McMahan moved about considerably, as this was the custom of the Methodist ministry. Both father and mother died at Liberty, however, the former in 1882; the latter in 1916.
William N. McMahan having prepared himself for a teacher began his work as such at nineteen years of age, and has continued in this profession for thirty years, with the exception of 1914 to 1918, when he held the office of county treasurer. For the past thirteen years he has been superintendent of the Union School of College Corner, Ohio.
Mr. McMahan is an official member of the Liberty Methodist Episcopal Church, a trustee of the Public Library, and a member of the Indiana and the Ohio State Teachers Associations.
ALBERT T. RUMBACH, who was an Indiana soldier overseas during the World war, has during the decade since the close of the war found opportunity for usefulness in his native community of Jasper, Dubois County, as manager and editor of the Jasper Herald.
Mr. Rumbach was born at Jasper September 14, 1895. His father, Christian Rumbach, was a native of Germany and was a soldier in the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-71. In 1880 he brought his family to America, and from that time until his death, thirty years later, was a prosperous and influential farmer at Jasper, Indiana. He died in 1910. He married, in Germany, Mary Hettich, who is still living. They were the parents of twelve children, two born in Germany and ten in Dubois County, Indiana.
Albert Thomas Rumbach was the eighth in this large family of children. As a boy he attended parochial schools, and completed his literary work in St. Meinrad College in Spencer County, and after graduating there took a course in journalism at Marquette University at Milwaukee.
During the World war Mr. Rumbach enlisted with the engineers and was sent overseas, spending eleven months in France, attached to the general headquarters. He returned home and received his discharge at Camp Grant, Illinois, April 1, 1919, and just a month later, on May 1, returned to Jasper and took charge of the Jasper Herald as manager and editor. His training in journalism, his experience as a man among men have enabled him to give to the Herald unusual qualities as a newspaper. The Herald was established in 1895.
Mr. Rumbach is a member of the Indiana Weekly Press Association, and has found various opportunities of expressing his civic interests in the community. He is a member of the Chamber or Commerce, the American Legion, of which he has served as commander, is a Democrat, a Catholic and Knight of Columbus. On October 20, 1920, he married Miss Cecilia Kramer, of Chicago. They have three children, John Thomas, born July 24, 1923, Edwin Joseph,. born November 19, 1925, and Margaret Mary, born April 17, 1927.
INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 5
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931
HANS A. JOHNSON is a Hammond business man who has raised himself from the obscurity of a worker in the ranks to success and influence. Mr. Johnson is a native of Norway, but came to America as the land of opportunity and has found in this country the opportunities for individual initiative and has made his name respected and honored in Hammond, where he is president and the principal stockholder in the Johnson Transfer & Fireproof Storage Company.
He was born at Oslo, Norway, August 1, 1874, son of John and Andrina (Olson) Johnson. His parents spent all their lives in Norway. They were educated in public schools, and his lather was a dairy farmer. His father died in 1902 and his mother in 1910. Of their eleven children one died in childhood, and Anna Olson passed away in 1929. All the others are living.
Hans A. Johnson was the fourth in this large family. He acquired a public school education in his native country. At the age of eighteen he came to America. His first location was at Minneapolis, Minnesota, where for four years he was an employee of the Street Railway Company. He then returned to Norway, but after five years in his native land again sought the opportunities of the new world in 1905, and this time he located at Hammond, Indiana. Here because of his previous experience he found employment with the Street Railway Company. He resigned in 1917 in order to establish the Johnson trucking business. He has built this up, gradually extending the service and increasing his facilities. In 1927 the company built a large fireproof storage warehouse on Douglas Street, with railroad switching facilities. The Johnson Transfer & Fireproof Storage Company now has one of the best equipped plants in Northern Indiana, with 45,000 square feet of floor space.
Mr. Johnson is active in the Hammond Chamber of Commerce. He is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias and B. P. O. Elks, is a member of the Lake Hills Country Club, votes as a Republican, and he and his family are members of the Trinity Lutheran Church. He is an animal lover, and all his life he has been very fond of horses.
Mr. Johnson married at Hammond, December 22, 1917, Mrs. Anna Prohl. She is a daughter of Herman and Anna Werner, formerly of Riverdale, Illinois, where her father was one of the early settlers and for many years in business as a general merchant. Both her parents are buried in Riverdale. Mrs. Johnson attended public school at Riverdale and has always been a loyal Lutheran in religion. Her first husband, John Prohl, died in 1913 and was buried at Hammond. By this marriage she had two children, John and Virginia Prohl. John spent two terms in the Valparaiso University, and is now associated with Mr. Johnson in the storage and transfer business. He is unmarried. Miss Virginia, now at home, is a cultured and highly educated young woman. After graduating from the Hammond High School she attended the Rockford College for Women at Rockford, Illinois, and finished her education in Indiana University.
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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
DANIEL W. BELL, M. D. A well-known and highly valued member of the medical profession in Pike County, Indiana, is Dr. Daniel W. Bell, physician and surgeon at Otwell, a veteran of the World war, and now a major in the United States Medical Reserve Corps. Doctor Bell is a native of Indiana, a descendant of old pioneer families, and the greater part of his busy, useful life has been spent in his native state. Son of a veteran of the war between the state, and one of a large family, his early educational opportunities were confined to the local schools but, largely through his own determined efforts, he was graduated with honor from a well-known medical school when but twenty-six years old. From that time until the present he has been devoted to his profession, and for twelve years the residents of the pleasant, thriving little City of Otwell have profited by his sound medical knowledge, surgical skill and general good citizenship.
Doctor Bell was born in Pike County, Indiana, January 28, 1878, a son of William M. Bell, the latter of whom was born in 1840, in the same county as his son, was a farmer by occupation, and died in 1899. During the war between the states he served in the One Hundred and Forty-fourth Indiana Volunteer Infantry. The Bell family migrated from North Carolina to Indiana prior to the birth of William M. Bell, and were pioneers of Pike County. The mother of Doctor Bell, Mary J. (Lomax) Bell, was born in Pike County, in 1840, and died in 1908, having borne her husband twelve children, three whom died in infancy, the others being: William A., who died in 1925, lived at Texico, New Mexico, and was the husband of L. (Minion) Bell; James Z., who is deceased; Nannie E., who married George P. C. Selby, of Pike County, has no children; Rebecca, who married J. R. Chew, is a widow. Mr. Chew having died in 1900, leaving four children; George W., who lives at Clovis, New Mexico, is a widower and has seven children; Minnie A., who married William H. Stewart, is a widow with five children; Dr; Daniel W.; Clarence, who lives on the old homestead, married Miss Nannie Robinson, had two children, but only one is living; A. Howard, who lives at Gary, Indiana, and is auditor for the city schools, married Miss Nina Maple.
Doctor Bell attended the common and high schools of Pike County, and took his medical training in Hahnemann Medical College, Chicago, Illinois, from which he was graduated in 1904, and immediately thereafter he began the practice of his profession at Williamsport, Indiana, but a year later moved to Glendale, Indiana, and remained there for seven years, after which he went to Winslow, Indiana, for four years. At the termination of that period, in 1916, he located permanently at Otwell, and has here built up a very large and augmenting practice.
During the World war Doctor Bell enlisted in 1918, and was commissioned a first lieutenant of the Medical Corps. His service was confined to this country, and he was honorably discharged in March, 1919, and placed in the Reserve Corps, with the rank of captain, and was promoted to the rank of major in March. 1932.
On June 1, 1904, Doctor Bell was married to Miss Cora T. Thomas, a daughter of Frank and Margaret (Hollon) Thomas, also natives of Pike County. Three children have been born to Doctor and Mrs. Bell, one of whom is deceased: William F., who was principal of the Otwell public schools and is now manager of the leading mercantile store at Otwell; married Edna Craig, and they have two children, William F., Junior, and Roger Craig Bell; and Violet E., a graduate nurse, makes her headquarters at Otwell. Doctor Bell has been much interested in the training of young ladies for nursing and has often sponsored local girls in that noble calling, having at one time a class of eight girls at Walker Hospital, Evansville.
In political faith Doctor Bell is a Democrat. He belongs to the Baptist Church, and is one of its valued members. Fraternally his affiliations are with the Odd Fellows, Modern Woodsmen of America and the Order of Ben Hur. Professionally he belongs to the Pike County Medical Society, the Indiana State Medical Society, and the American Legion. In addition to his practice Doctor Bell owns farm land and real estate and is accounted one of the men of means in his community.
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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
GEORGE B. DE TAR, M. D. The medical profession in Pike County, Indiana, includes many learned and experienced practitioners whose qualifications fit them for high standing in medical science. One of these is found in Dr. George B. De Tar, physician and surgeon at Winslow, where he has large property interests, and he is a veteran of the World war. In boyhood he attended the public schools at Winslow, where his father, also a physician, still resides; later he had college advantages, and in 1904 he was graduated from the Louisville Medical College, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. However, he continued his medical studies, taking post-graduate work in the Chicago Polyclinic and the Chicago Post Graduate schools. An enthusiast in his profession, he has continued to study as well as practice and has attended many conventions and clinics in different medical centers. His first year of practice was with his father at Winslow, to which field of work he returned in 1916, after a practice of ten years in Spenser County, Indiana. In 1918 Doctor De Tar enlisted for service in the World war, was commissioned a first lieutenant in the United States Medical Corps, and was stationed at Fort Sherman. He is a member of the American Legion.
Dr. David De Tar, father of Doctor De Tar of this review, enlisted for service in the war between the states when he was but fifteen years old, and served as a drummer boy under the command of General Grant and Gen. Lew Wallace. Doctor De Tar, the elder, married Miss Willie B. Bouldin, a native of Missouri, who died in 1886, aged thirty-two years, leaving two children: Dr. George B. De Tar; and De Orr, who is an automobile dealer of Los Angeles, California. He is married and has three children.
Dr. George B. De Tar first attended the public schools of Winslow, later was a student of Danville, Indiana, Normal School, completing his education as already stated.
On December 31, 1894, Doctor De Tar married Miss Viola Bartley, of Harrison County, Indiana, and three children have been born to them: Marion D., who is an oil salesman, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, married Helen Barnitz, of New Oxford, Pennsylvania, no children, and during the World war he was in France for eleven months as a member of the Tank Corps, and after the Armistice he remained in Paris for eighteen months as vice consul, and for a year held the same office in Palermo, Island of Sicily; Harold E., who is an oil man at Bristow, Oklahoma, married Miss Ruth Crawford, of Oklahoma, and they have two children, George and David; and Mary Bell, who married Maurice Turner, of Rising Sun, Indiana, and they have a daughter, Barbara Jane.
Doctor De Tar is a Democrat, but is not active in politics. He is a consistent member of the Christian Church, and he belongs to the Knights of Pythias, the Woodmen of America, the Pike County Medical Society, the Indiana State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. In addition to his large practice he owns property at Winslow, and is a man of ample means and one who takes a deep and constructive interest in civic affairs.
INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 5
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931
