Blackford County Biography Ref. Page

DAVID H. BLUMENTHAL. Familiarly known as "The Old Reliable," the large and well equipped dry-goods and clothing establishment of the firm of Blumenthal & Company is one that lends materially to the precedence of the city of Marion as a business center, and enterprise is one of the most important in the field of retail merchandizing in Grant county, with standing of the highest order and with a trade that is essentially representative in character. It may well be understood that effective service and honorable methods have marked the conducting of this substantial business, and he whose name initiates this review has been closely identified with the business from the initiation of his active career. He is an interested principal in the firm and is known as one of the most reliable, popular and progressive business men of his native city, where his circle of friends is limited only by that of his acquaintances.

Mr. Blumenthal was born in the city of Marion, judicial center of Grant county, Indiana, on the 11th of January, 1870, and is a son of Morris and Ida (Marks) Blumenthal, the former of whom was born in Germany and the latter in the city of Rochester, New York, where their marriage was solemnized. Morris Blumenthal was a lad of nine years at the time of the family immigration to America and he was reared to maturity in the state of Indiana, where he also gained his early experience in connection with business affairs. In 1863 he came to Marion and established his home in Marion, where he forthwith became connected with a leading retail business enterprise. He purchased the business of the late Jacob Baer, founder of the extensive interests now conducted under the title of Blumenthal & Company, and through ability and energy he soon proved himself one of the capable and aggressive factors in the local field of mercantile enterprise. When he bought the business it was devoted solely to the handling of men's clothing and furnishing goods. Mr. Blumenthal adopted the title of Blumenthal & Company and amplified the scope of his business to include the handling of dry goods and incidental lines. He kept pace with the march of progress and the growth and development of the thriving city of Marion, with the result that his establishment became a leading retail emporium of this favored section of the state, with a thorough system and with each department of metropolitan equipment and appointments. It was due to his honorable and well directed efforts that the business constantly expanded in scope and importance, and the establishment, which is now one of the largest of the kind in central Indiana, stands as a worthy monument to the memory of this able business man and loyal and honored citizen. He was held in high esteem in the community that represented his home for forty years, and at his home in Marion he was summoned to the life eternal on the 24th of January, 1903, his remains being interred in the Jewish cemetery in the city of Wabash; his widow still resides in Marion and the city is dear to her through the memories and associations of many years. Of the three children one died in infancy and he whose name introduces this article was the first in order of birth; the other surviving child is Minnie, who is the wife of Maurice Blumenthal, of the same family name but of no kinship, and they reside in New York city.

David H. Blumenthal made excellent use of the advantages afforded him in the public schools of Marion, and thereafter completed an effective course in the Rochester Business University, at Rochester, New York. In 1885, when a lad of fifteen years, he became a clerk in the mercantile establishment of his father, and with characteristic energy and appreciation he familiarized himself thoroughly with all details of the business, both in knowledge of stock values and executive affairs. He finally advanced to the position of assistant manager and in 1900 he was admitted to partnership in the business, with the administration of which he has since continued to be a most influential figure, with secure vantage-ground as one of the reliable, enterprising and essentially representative business men of his native city. It may well be inferred that he is especially loyal to Marion and Grant county, and this has been shown by his ready co-operation in the support of progressive measures advanced for the general good of the community, along both civic and material lines. He is well known in his home county and is one of the prominent and valued business men of Marion, where he is well upholding the high honors of the name which he hears.

Liberal and public-spirited, Mr. Blumenthal takes abiding interest in all that touches the welfare of his home city and he is now serving with marked zeal and acceptability as president of the board of trustees of the Marion public library, of which body he had previously been treasurer for two years, within which time the library was entirely relieved of its incubus of indebtedness, largely through his effective administration of its fiscal affairs. Mr. Blumenthal is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks, and both he and his wife are popular in the representative social activities of their home city. In politics he accords a staunch allegiance to the Republican party.

On the 1st of August, 1900, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Blumenthal to Miss Jeanette New, daughter of Isaac New, a prominent citizen of Wabash this state. Mr. and Mrs. Blumenthal have a fine little son, Morris D., who was born on the 12th of April, 1905.

"BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES INDIANA, A CHRONICLE OF THEIR PEOPLE PAST AND PRESENT WITH FAMILY LINEAGE AND PERSONAL MEMOIRS"; Complied Under the Editorial Supervision of BENJAMIN G. SHINN; vol. II ; THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY; CHICAGO AND NEW YORK; 1914
Submitted by:Peggy Karol and Karen Overholt

REV. JOHN P. DURHAM. One of the able and honored members of the clergy of the Catholic church in central Indiana is he whose name initiates this review and who has gained secure place in the esteem and confidence of the people of the city of Marion, where he has been pastor of the parish of St. Paul's church since 1909. His high attainments and genial personality have gained him friends in all classes, and as a citizen he is broad-minded, loyal and progressive. In his present field he has labored with all of consecrated zeal and devotion and his success has been marked, both in his sacerdotal functions and in his executive administration of the affairs of his parish, in which he has gained the affectionate regard and earnest co-operation of the people of his representative congregation.

Father Durham claims the national metropolis of the United States as the place of his nativity, as he was born in New York city, on the 22d of September, 1867, his paternal ancestors having settled in New York city many years ago and his father, John Durham having there been born. The mother of Father Durham bore the maiden name of Rose Wiley and she was born in Ireland. In the parochial schools of his native city Father Durham received his preliminary educational discipline, and thereafter he was for six years a student in St. Benedict's College, at Atchison, Kansas, where he completed a thorough classical curriculum. Thereafter he completed a two years' course in philosophy in Niagara University, at Niagara, New York, and in preparation for the specific work of his high calling he entered Mount St. Mary's Seminary, in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he completed his theological course of four years. In 1897 he was ordained to the priesthood, in Cincinnati, receiving holy orders at the hands of Archbishop Elder, and thereafter he served four years as assistant priest at the cathedral in the city of Fort Wayne, Indiana, under Bishop Rademacher, the executive head of the diocese. He was next assigned to the pastoral charge of the parish of St. Mary's church at Huntington, Indiana, where he remained for eight weeks. For eight years thereafter he held a pastorate at Union City, this state, and on the 7th of January, 1909, he came to his present parish, where he has carried forward his work with indefatigable zeal and earnestness and made his labors count for good in every relation. Within his administration here he has effected the organization of a splendid parochial school, for which a fine modern building has been erected, as well as an excellent residence for the sisters who are engaged in the school and in other departments of parish work. He has shown himself a man of much constructive genius and practical business acumen, and while at Union City he gave distinctive evidence of this, as he not only effected the liquidation of a large indebtedness against the parish of which he had charge but also compassed the erection of an excellent parish school building. About the time of his ordination Father Durham had charge of about three hundred young men whom he had formed into a club and athletic association, and he has ever continued to manifest the deepest interest in young folk, to whom, in the formative period of their lives, he proves a guide, counselor and friend. He is a man of ripe scholarship and mature judgment, and has eminently fitted himself for the exalted vocation and stewardship to which he has consecrated his life and his powers.

JOSEPH E. ARMSTRONG. An enumeration of the men of the younger generation who are worthily representing the agricultural interests of Grant county, Indiana, would be incomplete did it not include the name of Joseph E. Armstrong of section 6, Van Buren township, who with his wife owns and operates a farm of one hundred and forty acres of valuable land. The home is situated on sixty acres in section 6 and eighty acres in section 5. He is a native of the Hoosier State, having been born in Wabash county, December 11, 1882, and is a son of Gipson and Lavina (Bogardus) Armstrong, natives of Rush and Wabash counties respectively, and now residents of Lafontaine, Indiana.

The career of Mr. Armstrong from early youth has been one of constant industry. Educated in the Brown school in district No. 10, at the age of fifteen years he began to work in Wabash county, and in the spring of 1904 came to Van Buren township. At this time, he and his wife are owners of sixty acres in his home place, in section 6, and also a farm of eighty acres in section 5 of Van Buren township, both of which have been brought to a high state of cultivation. By the use of progressive methods and modern machinery, in 1912 he was able to raise 2,000 bushels of corn, 1,000 bushels of oats and fifteen tons of hay, and in addition was successful in his stock breeding operations, selling one hundred and twenty-five head of hogs, and is now raising Poland China hogs of the big type. He has a young fruit orchard, specializing in the small fruits, and has improved his property by the erection of substantial buildings, his neat frame residence being surrounded by a wide, well-kept lawn.

In 1908 Mr. Armstrong was married to Miss Lillie C. Landess, a daughter of Oscar E. and Sarah J. (Bradford) Landess, and a member of an old and prominent family of Van Buren township. Oscar W. Landess was born on the old homestead place in this township, June 10, 1849, a son of Lewis Landess, a pioneer of Grant county, who was born near Danville, Highland county, Ohio, October 17, 1825. He was the son of John and Sarah (Roush) Landess, natives of Kentucky and Virginia respectively, and John was a son of Jacob Landess, a native of North Carolina, who married a Welsh lady and settled in Kentucky from whence both families migrated to Highland county, Ohio. John Landess was twice married and was the father of sixteen children, of whom Lewis was the third of the sons of the first marriage. When sixteen years of age, Lewis Landess left his Ohio home and made the journey on foot to Grant county, Indiana, eventually reaching the home of his uncles Michael amid Philip Roush in Van Buren township. Here he was employed by a Mr. Gardner for seven years, and during this time secured eighty acres of land, on which he settled at the time of his marriage, March 18, 1848, to Phoebe C. Whinnery, daughter of Joseph and Lydia Whinnery, pioneers of Grant county, whence they came in 1837 from Clinton county, Ohio. Lewis Landess spent the active years of his life in agricultural pursuits, and was successful in his operations, accumulating 277 acres of land, but in his declining years moved to Van Buren, and there his death occurred in November, 1912. He was married a second time, his wife being a widow, Mrs. Hannah S. (West) Johnson.

The oldest of his parents' children, Oscar E. Landess lived with his parents until he reached his majority, at which time, assisted by his father, he purchased a farm near the old homestead. On this he resided for four years, and then bought the old home place of one hundred acres, of which only thirty-five acres were cleared. He settled down to completing the clearing of the land, and in 1879 built the residence in which Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong now live, and as the years passed added to his land and equipment, and became one of the successful farmers of his locality. At the time of his death October 22, 1902, he was the owner of one hundred and seventy acres, of which Mrs. Armstrong inherited ninety-five acres. On October 10, 1872, Mr. Landess was married to Miss Sarah J. Bradford of Washington township, and to this union there were born three daughters: Mrs. Eva White, who died June 29, 1911; Lillie C., now Mrs. Armstrong; and Myrtle, who died at the age of four years. Mrs. Landess died August 31, 1912, in the faith of the United Brethren church, of which she had been a lifelong member.

Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong have one son, Charles Vernon, who was born May 23, 1910. They have also an orphan girl whom they are rearing, Elizabeth Hiatt. They are faithful brothers of the United Brethren church, and have actively supported its movements. In political matters Mr. Armstrong is a Republican. The farm Mr. Armstrong occupies is known and registered as the Plain View Stock Farm, while the farm of eighty acres which he owns in section 5 is named and registered as the Brown-Mead Stock Farm.

GEORGE A. OSBORN. In review of his life, it can be said there are few men who have had more to do with community affairs than G. A. Osborn, who was an educator in an epoch-making time�at a time when public policies were shaping themselves, and although business success has always followed his efforts, his retrospective pleasure comes from his experience as an educator.

His name in business affairs is probably most familiarly associated with the Osborn Paper Company, one of the substantial business concerns of Marion. It was established in a small way in 1892, and it has been extraordinarily successful under his personal management and the payroll of the company is widely distributed�traveling salesmen and help employed in the office and factory. The plant is centrally located, and once on the payroll of the Osborn Paper Company, men and women strive to hold their positions�a splendid moral atmosphere surrounding the institution. Mr. Osborn has always had the faculty of organization, and as president of the company he has had opportunity of systemizing the business.

George A. Osborn is a son of George C. and Margaret (Nace) Osborn, who were "forty-niners" in Grant county, arriving from Ohio in time to give their son George a fortunate birth, January 15, 1850,�a Hoosier, and all his life has been spent in Indiana. His father married twice and older children bearing the relation of half-brother and sister to him are Lewis Osborn and Mrs. Mary Oliver, the latter a resident of the county, and it was in her home the father spent his last days, dying in 1897. The other children born to the mother of George were: Theophilus Osborn, Mrs. Jennie Fowler, and Mrs. Margaret Weesner.

The Osborn family home was in Monroe at the time of his birth, but a few years later the family removed to Franklin, and that is the township of his early life associations. He was a student and pursued college studies unaided and alone while a young man at home, and early in life enrolled as a teacher, and while a resident of Franklin he served the township as trustee, and later, 1879, was elected county superintendent of schools. He had been through the degrees of advancement�teacher, trustee and examiner, and he fully knew the requirements of all.

Mr. Osborn's record as a county official�superintendent of schools and auditor of Grant county�is given in the chapter on civil government. Having acquired a comfortable fortune from his present business, he looks back over his life with more pleasure in affairs of an educational nature than any other feature. He certainly accomplished a great forward stride when he held the first township examination in 1881, and graduated pupils from the district schools of Grant county�and he congratulates each recurring commencement day on an impetus started by himself and destined to such unrestricted popularity. The original list of county graduates was compiled in a book refused by the officials of another county, and purchased privately by him�and now the graduates from the common schools have reached many thousands. All innovations have to overcome objections, and teachers were divided on the subject of graduating pupils from the grades. Some of the teachers of that day were opposed to making colleges from the district schools. There is a coterie of citizens now who are glad their names are in the graduating class of 1881�the year the world did not come to an end, as prophesied by Mother Shipton, but instead was a new system inaugurated in the public schools of Grant county. Mr. Osborn installed the teachers' library, which has had such an important place in the lives of teachers before there were such excellent library advantages, and while he was in the Indiana legislature, as joint senator from Grant, Wells and Blackford counties, he had opportunity of supporting several educational measures� all that work having been accomplished since his active days as a teacher. The superintendents of Grant, Henry, Wayne, Delaware and Union counties held a joint meeting on an Indian mound near New Castle the first year he was in office, and at that time they determined to issue a course of study and hold commencements, and although there was a wave of opposition, there are now no objections to the system, and Mr. Osborn is the father of the local commencement idea, diplomas given township graduates from the eighth grade, which is an educational monument to his memory.

Of all the material successes that have come to him�and prosperity has always been his portion�nothing accomplished in politics in county or state gives to Mr. Osborn the inward satisfaction that has come from the knowledge that he was the man of the hour when it came to raising educational standards in Grant county. His published course of study was among the earliest in Indiana, and while an educator he was abreast of the times�the same rule having been applied later to his business, the Osborn Paper Company.

Mr. Osborn married September 22, 1880, Miss Cora Jay. She comes of pioneer Quaker stock, that was introduced into Grant county the year Mr. Osborn was born, so that both are thorough-going Indianians. Mrs. Osborn has one brother, Arthur E. Jay, their parents being Walter and Nancy (Ellis) Jay, and their grandfather, Rev. Isaac Jay, having been one of the most prominent friends of the old Mississinewa Friends community. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Osborn are: Arthur and Anna, twins, the son having married Miss Isabel Beane, and the daughter being the wife of G. A. Wilkinson. Besides the twins the third child is Mrs. Lois Osborn Spencer. The grandchildren are Josephine Wilkinson, and Osborn and Catherine Ann Spencer.

There is no question about Mr. Osborn's attitude on moral questions and he is a moral bulwark in the community. He belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Knights of Pythias lodges, and has filled positions of honor in both. The Osborn family is identified with the First Methodist Episcopal church, prominent members and active in the work of the Sunday school. Mrs. Osborn has been prominent in woman's clubs, and she is the first president of the recently organized Young Women's Christian Association in Marion�both sides of the house having been active in community interests. When there are citizen movements looking toward the moral uplift of the community, Mr. and Mrs. Osborn are in line with progress. The same success has come to him in business that attended him as an educator�due to the strong personality of the man�and the Osborn Paper Company is always reckoned with among the larger industries of the community.

ALONZO W. CARR. Spending his youth on a farm about Jonesboro, Mr. Carr entered manhood and the grocery business about the same time, held the subordinate position of clerk, until he had thoroughly mastered the trade, and then for upwards of twenty years conducted the largest and most popular establishment of its kind in the city of Marion. His place in business affairs at the present time is well known as head of A. W. Carr & Company, engaged in the wholesale fruit and commission business.

Alonzo W. Carr was born December 27, 1859, at Jonesboro in Grant county. His family, while not pioneers, were among the early settlers in the south half of the county. His parents were Abraham and Margaret J. (Fankboner) Carr, both having been born in Tuscarawas county, Ohio. About 1854 Abraham Carr came to Grant county, locating in Jonesboro, where he spent ten years, engaged in his trade as a wagon maker. Selling out his shop and business, he then began farming two miles from Jonesboro, but after a few years moved to a farm east of town, subsequently to another place east of Marion, which continued to be his home until the age of sixty-five when he came to Marion, and lived in that city until his death in April, 1894. The mother is now living in Marion. Their five children were: Emma J., deceased; Hattie A., deceased; and an infant son, deceased: E. J. Carr, of Oklahoma City; and A. W. Carr.

Mr. Carr, who is the only one of the children now living in Grant county, was educated in the Jonesboro high school, and spent his youth on the farm, and followed its work until he was twenty-one. He then found a place as a clerk in the establishment of H. D. Thomas at Marion, and remained with that employer for five years, after which he went with H. W. Weaver, a short time. In 1887 he set up in business for himself, and until he retired from the retail grocery trade in 1904 conducted what was probably the largest grocery trade in the city. In 1904 he established a wholesale commission, fruit and vegetable business at the corner of Ninth and Washington streets, under the present firm name of A. W. Carr & Company. At one time Mr. Carr was president of the Marion Grocery Company, a wholesale concern, located in this city.

On June 20, 1883, Mr. Carr married Miss Myra B. Clunk, daughter of Henry F. and Catherine (Mitchell) Clunk, both of whom were natives of Pennsylvania. Her father is deceased, and her mother is living in the Carr home at the age of ninety-two. The two children of Mr. and Mrs. Carr are Hattie A., wife of Willis A. Fahrney, who is associated with the firm of Carr & Company; and Katherine, who is the wife of Henry C. Moore, of the Marion State Bank. Mr. Carr is affiliated with Marion Lodge No. 105, F. & A. M. and with the different branches of the York rite up to the commandery. He is a Republican in politics, but has consistently refused to be mentioned or nominated in connection with any public office.

Deb Murray