Anti-Saloon Crusader Dwelled Along Downey Avenue

Samuel P. McNaught and his wife Ethel dwelled in Irvington in the late 1910s and early 1920s  Thirty-four-year-old Samuel and twenty-nine-year-old Ethel first lived at 43 North Arlington Avenue before moving to 330 South Downey Avenue in 1920. The McNaughts were likely drawn to Irvington because it was a dry neighborhood long before the Prohibition Amendment was added to the U.S. Constitution.  Mr. McNaught was an attorney for the Anti-Saloon League and celebrated when the entire nation went "dry." Conservative forces rose to prominence in the 1920s as a liberal way of living began to sweep the nation in the Roaring 20s.  The McNaughts clearly fell on the side of the traditionalists who were worried about the future of the U.S.   Many Irvingtonians shared similar concerns.

The family eventually moved to Iowa where Mr. McNaught headed up the Anti-Saloon League in that state.  He must have been horrified in 1933 when the country repealed the 18th Amendment and legalized the sale of alcohol once again.

Historic images from the McNaught family taken around 1922 show Ethel and her daughters, Esther and Doris Lucine standing on the sidewalk in front of 330 South Downey Avenue.  Behind the family, you can see a small woods that still exists just south and east of 317 South Downey Avenue.  You can also see a mirage of 317 South Downey Avenue.  This beautiful home was occupied by the Kingsbury family in 1922. Edward Kingsbury was a manufacturer of fertilizer.  His wife Mary and children, Virginia and George, also dwelled in the home.  Did they know the McNaughts?  Did they agree with their views on alcohol?  Nearby on the Butler University campus, there certainly would have been a few students who might not have seen eye-eye with their Anti-Saloon League neighbors.

After leaving Irvington, the McNaughts moved to Iowa where Samuel McNaught headed up the Anti-Saloon League in the 1930s.  

Doris Lucine, Ethel, and Esther McNaught in front of their home at 330 South Downey Avenue.  Behind them you can see the Kingsbury home at 317 South Downey Avenue in 1922.

Doris Lucine McNaught in front of her home at 330 South Downey Avenue in 1922.  Behind her, you can see a small woods located just south and east of 317 South Downey Avenue.  

Wooded lot remains in the 300 block of  South Downey Avenue in 2014.  

The Kingsbury home at 317 South Downey Avenue in 2014

The McNaught home at 330 South Downey Avenue in 2014

The historic images are courtesy of the descendants of the McNaught family via Ancestry.com.