The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-12-22
A DIRECTORY OF 1866
WAS PROUD OF POPU-
LATION GAINS EVEN THEN.
Some Of the Rebuns Canvasscrs Vet In
This Early WOrk-Changes
i'm Churches.


fell into the Journals hands. it is seen
that the city of those days, thirty years
ago, was quite boastful of it's population.
The names in this book-a Director" 1t
was called then-numbered 13,440, and 10
obtain the population this number was null
tiplied by four, the accepted average Of
family This permitted the calculation Of
So 800 people in the thriving metropolis. If
this same average was used as basis
by the directory publishers OF to-day In
dianapolis would have much higher rank
ing among the cities OF the country than
the directory Of 1895 shows. In this last
mentioned volume $685. names are found.
but the. publishers only multiply this num-
Der by two and one-half, instead Of four.
II the old basis were taken. the city would
be credited with a population of nearly
10000 The city evidently increased re-
markably in the two years 1864 and 1865,
for 1t appears that the directory Of 1864
contained but 1850 names, compared to 13,44O
in the beginning OF 1866, or a gain in esti-
mated population of 1920. This extraordi-
nary gain may have been due in part to
incomplete directory work in the earlier
year. and again, in 1864 many men were
away at war. $50.
Compiling a directory in the early six
ties was attended by many more rebuffs
than the men employed nowadays encount-
er and this particular year in question
the trfbulations of the canvassers must
have been more exasperating than ever,
for in the Introductory the publishers grow
satirical at the expense of people who
helped make life burden to the direc-
tory men. It is acknowledged that most of
the imperfections in the work are due to
the formidable and embarrassing OBJ
stacles thrown in the way by people who
refused to give their names or their oc-
equations. These people, 1t Is added, are
the ones who first complain of any mac
curacies that may occur. Under far-fetched
pseudonyms these people are described, to-
| gether with the particular caprices which
| they displayed when approached by the
| canvassers. For instance there was Mr.. A.,
who absolutely prohibited the use Of his
| name in the directory, setting far more
| value on II In this connection than the aver
| age man does these later days. Then there
| was Mr.. Bullen, who feigned a great desire
| to keep out of the directory and yet fairly
| fumcd when he found his patronym omitted.
| Another citizen employed as a clerk in
| sisted upon a compliance of old time forms,
| claiming a right to be registered as "a
gentleman" But the publishers failed to
| comply with his ambitious aspirations. Mr..
Gannymede thought 1t piece Of imperti-
| nence to publish directory at all. A dew
iIish mean fellow was Mr.. Mephistopheles,
| who gave a canvasser direction which. If
printed, would have subjected the publish
er to libel suit. Others did not like
to have appear the names of the streets
on which they lived. Some wanted to fight
because they were left out entirely. while
there were a few people whose objec-
tions consisted of the fear that publicity
of names might make them more liable
| to call for jury service.
Some Of the advertisements in this 1864
directory might be found in directory OF
the present day. II. Lieber & Co. dealt in
pictures and artists materials even as far
back as 1864 Charles Mayer & Co. were
at the old stand, while Chandler C Taylor
were operating a machine shop but list
Of these firms is a small one. On one of the
fly leafs Of the directory, among the "addi.
tions, alterations and corrections" appears
so prominent a name as Thomas A Hen.
bricks, who lived one-half mile outside OF
the corporation line, southeast of town
Benjamin Harrison lived at No. 299 NORTH
Alabama street.
. Another page shows the advertisement o.
| the Great Pacific railway, which, it wa.
announced, was open as far as Lawrence
; Kan. The county and city records show
that John Caven was Mayor and Byron X
Elliott city attorney. Among the council
men from the nine wards were DR.. p. II
! Jameson, Henry Coburn, Austin H. Brown
and c. F. Schmidt. Daniel Glazier, who
! afterwards lost his life in heroic duty, wa
the engineer for steam engine No. 8, located
: on South street, between Delaware AM
Alabama streets. Jesse NJ. Van Blaricur
was chief of police 'Rod" Shea was
patrolman in the Second ward. David Wal
. lace was county clerk. and his deputies in
cluded VIM. c. Smock, Ovid d. Butler an
John w. Coons.
r 1t would be interesting to some men nov
}, in the prime Of life to glance over thi
. directory and see In the chapter devoted t
n public schools the names of some of thei
c old school teachers. Some of them are still
y teaching I'm the schools. Clemens Vonne
e CUTS name appeared as trustee in 1861
e There were but nine school buildings. on
> in each ward, and thirty-four teachers, in
n GLIDING those of music and gymnastics
# The people were evidently as proud of tn
- system then as the people are now, judgin
from the comments made. Many are tn
n changes that have been made in the loca
:, ton of buildings. The Third ward schoC
e then was on New York street, between Ter
e nessee and Illinois, and it was not unit
II almost ten years later that the new Thir
d ward building on Meridian street was bull
y And now they are talking about selling til
- Meridian-street building! The Second war
Is building was on Delaware, between Vel
p mont and Michigan streets. Miss Henri
- Co,gan was the principal OF the Fifth war
s. and Miss Mary Colgan and Miss n. CroI
al sey were teachers in the primary depar
i &c ment of the same school. Miss Fidel.
l. Anderson, a much-beloved teacher in III
High School, was then at the Sixth war
h a building located in Pennsylvania stree
Dr. below South.
n In the classification OF churches it appeal
r that St. Johns Catholic Church was the
~ ~ on Georgia street. between Illinois and TIE
IS nessee, and Rev. Augustus Bessonies WI
" the pastor. AT St. Peters Church the a
- nouncement was made that a sermon
W French always followed the 10 o'clock NOR
Oh ing services. Rev. ~. A. Hyde was pastor
y: the Plymouth Congregational Church, WIFI
~ the Jewish Synagogue was in Judah's Bloc
d. on Washington street. opposite the coul
go house. Rev. b. F. Foster, now secretary
o. the Grand Lodge /. o. o. F., pastor
An | Jyniversalist church congregation VIII,
In met in College Hall, corner OF Pennsylvan
&c | and Washington streets. The princir
nd churches were close to the center of t
II city in 1864. The Second Presbyterian W