Google Streetview Reveals the Lost Structures of the Greater Irvington Area, Part II

      Since 2007 the Google car has captured dozens of lost structures from the greater Irvington area. In part two of this series you will get to revisit many houses and two commercial buildings that used to grace the neighborhood. I am working on a third post just about the lost buildings of East Washington Street. That will come later this spring.  

39 South Arlington Avenue

     For as long as I could remember it, the cute cottage at 39 South Arlington Avenue had been empty, but that hadn't always been the case. The small residence was likely built in 1905 for Charles Wambold, a painter and wallpaper installer. Numerous families lived in the home over the years including the Armstrongs, Vannettes, Reeds, Coreys, Kelleys, and Willettes. No trace of the home exists today, but Google captured one of the last photos of the house in 2007. 

39 South Arlington Avenue, 2007 (Google Streetview)

Sonia Johnson posed in her front yard at 44 South Arlington Avenue in 1975. Her Grandpa and Grandma Willett lived across the street in the cottage located at 39 South Arlington Avenue. (photo courtesy of the Garza family)

4902 East New York Street

     The former two-story home located on the northwest corner of East New York and DeQuincy Streets dates to at least 1908. Clarence and Helen Cummins and their daughter Marian were likely the first residents of the home. Mr. Cummins earned a reputation as an outstanding reporter for both the Indianapolis News and Indianapolis Star. He briefly moved out to California to improve his health, but sadly he died at a young age in 1917. Mrs. Cummins also died at a young age leaving Marian without parents. She later went to Butler University and was a candidate for the May Queen pageant. The house burned sometime around 2013 and the site is now an empty lot. 

4902 East New York Street, Google Streetview, 2009

Marian Cummins (lower right) grew up at 4902 East New York Street. By the age of 20 she had lost both of her parents. (Indianapolis Times, April 30, 1930, p. 2)

446-448-450 North Riley Avenue

      Earl R. Gillum opened his grocery store at 448 North Riley in 1911. Next door, Hugh R. Kennedy operated at a drugstore. Later Beverly D. Brown took over the pharmacy. Numerous families lived upstairs in the apartments overlooking the Michigan Streetcar line. With the arrival of the concept known as the supermarket, little groceries like Mr. Gillum's struggled to survive. It also didn't help that the drugstore next door seemed to be a magnet for bandits. In the 1950s, a company known as Musi-Com leased the building for an office. Owner Robert Whitesell and engineer Charles Bailey pumped music into various large stores like Marsh Supermarkets. By the end of the twentieth century, not much seemed to be going on with the building. The structure had so much potential, but there must have been issues as one day it was just gone. 

446-448-450 North Riley Avenue, Google Streetview, 2009

This Sanborn Fire Insurance Map shows a sketch of the corner in 1940. The pinkish color represents that building was brick. (Indiana University-Indianapolis Digital Collections) 

435-437 South Ritter Avenue

     The first ad for renting either 435 or 437 South Ritter Avenue first appeared in various Indianapolis newspapers in 1909. For over a century, numerous people moved in and out of the tiny one-bedroom duplex. You could rent either side for $6.00. By 1930, it leased for $20 a month. In 1912, burglars snuck onto the back porch of 437 South Ritter Avenue and stole Martin Moore's recently-churned ice cream and spoons. He only called the police because he wanted his spoons back. Several couples welcomed babies while living in either half including Otha and Mary Higgenbotham in 1922, Earl and Thelma Oaks in 1924, Ernest and Lucille Settle in 1930, and Clarence and Emma Stockdale in 1945. Of course joy and sadness often go hand in hand. Perhaps the most tragic case occurred in 1912 when forty-one-year old George Moore failed to hear the train at South Audubon Road crossing at the Pennsylvania Railroad. His young son Edward had to identify his deceased father. Many neighbors along Audubon Road testified that the train was going too fast. By 2009 the property was in poor shape and all of those memories were wiped away with the removal of the historic structure. 

435-437 South Ritter Avenue, Google Streetview

In 1922, several local newspapers announced that Mary and Otha Higgenbotham welcomed a baby girl into their lives. The Higgenbothams resided at 437 South Ritter Avenue at the time and were active members of the First Baptist Church on Good Avenue. They named their little girl Ardell. Long after they moved out of their home on Ritter Avenue, Ardell posed for this photograph.  (photo courtesy of Krystal Wagner via Find-a-Grave)

466 South Ritter Avenue

       For the first several decades of its existence, 466 South Ritter Avenue served as a home for the Meyer family. They were first recorded living in the house in 1907. The Meyers have the distinction of being one of the founding families of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church. Irvington had largely been a Protestant neighborhood until the early twentieth century when many Catholic families like the Meyers moved into the area. The Meyers eventually moved around the corner into the beautiful two-story farmhouse located at 5802 Brookville Road. Through the remainder of the twentieth century, the home changed into both a restaurant and eventually a bar. The Ritter Inn became a landmark for many International Harvester employees who stopped by after work for a drink or two. The structure went up in flames in 2013. It had been empty for sometime. 

The Ritter Inn at 466 South Ritter Avenue, Google Streetview, 2011; The Meyer home in the rear of the structure was still visible. 

Regulars at the Ritter Inn swapped stories to reporter Marge Hanley in 1978. (Indianapolis News, May 4, 1978, p. 14)

110 South Webster Avenue

     In 1922 Jasper Raymond Rogers took out a building permit to erect the bungalow formerly located at 110 South Webster Avenue. He was a carpenter so it is possible that he built the house. Located in the Tilford and Thrasher Subdivision of Irvington, Rogers was one of the few white residents in the neighborhood. Over the years many Black residents purchased lots and built homes in the addition. Racist covenants and redlining prevented many Black citizens from the dream of homeownership in certain parts of the city. In 1938 Jesse and Maude Wright along with their children moved into the house. They resided in the bungalow through much of the remainder of the 20th century. Census records reveal that Mr. Wright moved to Irvington from South Carolina. He was part of the Great Migration, a movement of Black residents from the South for opportunities in the North. He worked in a foundry. The Google car captured one of the last images of the house in 2009. 

110 South Webster Avenue, Google Streetview, 2009

Tilford and Thrasher East Addition to Irvington as seen on the Baist map of 1927 (Indiana University-Indianapolis Digital Collections) 

     

Sources:  39 South Arlington Avenue--Polk's Indianapolis City Directory, 1905-1989; US Federal Census Records-1910, 1920, 1930, 1940; 4902 East New York Street--"Clarence Cummins Dies in California, Indianapolis News, September 11, 1917, p. 4; Obituary for Helen Cummins--Indianapolis News, December 12, 1928, p. 8;  448 N. Riley--"Addicts Blamed for Drug Store Narcotics Theft," Indianapolis Times, May 8, 1924, p. 2; "Two Armed Bandits Hold Up Drug Store," Indianapolis News, March 31, 1927, p. 40; 466 S. Ritter--"Meyer Services Wednesday," Indianapolis News, October 13, 1958, p. 8; "Former Ritter Inn is Destroyed by Fire," Indianapolis Star. October 24, 2013, p. A5; 110 South Webster--Obituary for Mrs. Maude Wright, Indianapolis Star, January 25, 1978, p. 40; Obituary for Carter Babb--Indianapolis Star, May 24, 1966, p. 42; Obituary for Jesse Wright--Indianapolis News, July 30, 1956, p. 7

Panoramic Photographs Show Many "Lost" Irvington Structures

      Throughout 1937 and 1938, a photographer from the Bass Photo Company documented the construction of the new International Harvester factory buildings along Brookville Road in southern Irvington. Inadvertently, he captured many structures no longer standing. Houses, a tavern, filling stations, and even Butler University appear on the margins of the photos. The Indiana Historical Society has uploaded 31 panoramic views of the construction of the complex. I have provided a link below to one of these images so that you can conduct your own investigations. 

Lost Houses:  The Shimer Farmstead

     The Shimer family predates Irvington. They had owned land along Brookville Road since 1829. In 1873 they built a beautiful Italianate home near what is today the intersection of Brookville Road and South Audubon Road. International Harvester officials purchased their land in 1937 and eventually demolished all of the structures on the former farm. 

Corydon and Hettie Shimer sold their farm to the International Harvester Company in 1937. Both of them lived long enough to witness the demolition of their beautiful home located on Brookville Road near South Audubon Road. (courtesy of the Indiana Historical Society)

Builders began clearing the Shimer land in 1937. The Shimer home on Brookville Road near Audubon Road had just a little while longer to stand. (photo courtesy of the Indiana Historical Society)

A Bass Photo Company employee stood atop a ladder or on a rooftop and captured one of the last photos of the Shimer home located on Brookville Road near South Audubon Road in 1938. The home had been completely surrounded by the new International Harvester factory. (photo courtesy of the Indiana Historical Society)

The 1927 Baist Map of Indianapolis shows the Shimer farm located on Brookville Road near South Audubon Road. (IU-Indianapolis Digital Collections)

Lost Houses: 5400 Block of Brookville Road

     For several years, Herman (Harry) and Louise Grabhorn lived next to the Shimer farm at 5451 Brookville Road. Mr. Grabhorn ran a music printing business next to his house. Their lives changed when the bulldozers and earthmoving crews arrived to build the International Harvester factory next door. Factory officials would eventually buy the Grabhorn residence along with several other homes and demolish the structures as the factory grew. 

Herman (Harry) and Louise Grabhorn along with their children lived in the pretty house at 5451 Brookville Road seen in this photograph. They witnessed the rise of the International Harvester factory from their dining room windows in 1937 and 1938. (photo courtesy of the Indiana Historical Society)

Herman (Harry) Grabhorn was a printer and advertised on this building (demolished) behind his home at 5451 Brookville Road. Ghosts of workers can be seen in the foreground. (photo courtesy of the Indiana Historical Society)

The Grabhorn home at 5451 Brookville Road along with several others were demolished. They used to exist on the south side of Brookville Road just east of South Irvington Avenue. (Google)

Lost Houses: South Ritter Avenue

     There used to be several homes in the 400 and 500 block of South Ritter Avenue. It was a diverse area of the neighborhood and home to a small black population. At one time, the pioneering Black suffragist, Carrie Whalon lived in the 400 block of South Ritter Avenue. By the 1930s when these photos were snapped, the street housed a mixture of Black and white families. 

After Henry Cress, who resided on the west side of Ritter Avenue just south of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, died in 1901, his widow Mary sold off eight lots in the Chambers and Tomlinson Addition in the 400 and 500 block of South Ritter Avenue. The houses above were located just north of Brookville Road on the west side of South Ritter Avenue. Heavy equipment and trucks were parked along the nearby streets on March 18, 1938, for the construction of International Harvester on Brookville Road. (photo courtesy of the Indiana Historical Society)

George W. and Willa Molden resided at 471 South Ritter Avenue in 1938 when this photo was snapped. That home was demolished for a series of commercial buildings. Mr. Molden worked for the city sanitation department. You can also see the filling station at 5506 Brookville Road also later demolished. (photo courtesy of the Indiana Historical Society)

Lost: A Tavern and a Filling Station on Brookville Road

     Although the construction sign for International Harvester blocks our view, you can still see the brick filling station at 5498 Brookville Road. (demolished). Maurice Kitterman operated the station. Joseph H. Meese managed a tavern in the larger white building at 5478 Brookville Road in 1938. (photo courtesy of the Indiana Historical Society)

5478 and 5498 Brookville Road (both demolished) as they looked on March 18, 1938. (photo courtesy of the Indiana Historical Society.)

Lost: Butler University

     When the Bass Photo Company photographer snapped a long panoramic view of International Harvester on March 4, 1938, the employee had no idea that he was also documenting the last weeks of Butler University's Irvington campus. Opened in 1875, Butler University students attended classes in some of these buildings until 1928. For ten years, the structures sat vacant and fell to vandalism. Two weeks after this image was snapped, Butler officials razed the old campus for future redevelopment. 

Abandoned Butler University buildings and the power station tower loomed ghostly through the trees in a panoramic view of the construction of International Harvester on March 18, 1938. (photo courtesy of the Indiana Historical Society)

Lost: International Harvester/Navistar

     The opening of International Harvester in 1938 changed the trajectory of Irvington. With the Great Depression in full swing, the factory offered relief for hundreds of people who found work during the difficult era. Employees, both labor and management, moved into the neighborhood and kept it a vital place. Many of their descendants still live on the eastside of Indianapolis today. No panoramic photographer showed up in 2018 to document the demolition of the factory. The site is now a major distribution hub for the U.S. Post Office. 

The Indiana Historical Society has 31 different views of the construction of the International Harvester. To see those images, click on the link below. (photo courtesy of the Indiana Historical Society)

International Harvester Plant Construction

     I wish to thank Kent Hankins and Anne Hardwick for their assistance with this story.

Sources:  Navistar International Indianapolis Plant, Indianapolis, 1987; Polk's Indianapolis City Directories, 1901-1940; US Federal Census Records, 1910, 1920, 1930, 1940; Baist Fire Insurance Maps, IU-Indianapolis Digital Collections; Walter F. Morse, "Old Butler Campus Fading; Administration Building Razed, Indianapolis Star, March 26, 1939, p. 10; Cress sale--"Sales of Real Estate," Indianapolis Journal, December 13, 1902, p. 8. 

South Ritter Avenue in the Late 1970s

   Jimmy Carter was President of the United States and Otis Bowen was the Governor of Indiana. Disco dominated the airwaves in the late 1970s in Indianapolis. With cable TV still on the horizon, Hoosiers consumed TV shows like The Jeffersons, Happy Days, M.A.S.H, the Mary Tyler Moore Show, and Saturday Night Live on five or six channels on their TVs. 

     Living at 128 South Ritter Avenue, teen-aged Doreen McGuire, the daughter of James and Ann McGuire, grabbed her camera and photographed her friends and family. Her collection of snapshots evoke an era and documents a small section of historic Irvington. Her images are now nearly 50 years old. Below is just a small sample from her scrapbooks. Her photos remind us that we need to save photos from this era of our lives. Doreen has done a good job of identifying individuals on the back of the snapshots and you should too!    

Doug McKain, Pete Boulais, Dave Arnold, and Phil Keough played basketball in the backyard of the McGuire home at 128 South Ritter Avenue in 1979. All of the young men lived nearby. Behind the kids, you can see the historic barn built for the Goe family in 1890. The large structure had been converted into a garage most likely by the Leamon family who lived in the house from 1957-1967. (photo courtesy of Doreen McGuire Crenshaw)

Before the invention of drones or the creation of Google Earth, there were trees. Doreen McGuire climbed this tall tulip poplar in her backyard and snapped the rear of her home at 128 South Ritter Avenue in 1977. (Photo courtesy of Doreen McGuire Crenshaw)

In one of her earlier images, young Doreen snapped a photo of a friend. Of course, without the ability to zoom in, she inadvertently documented houses across the street c1975. The double at 131-33 and the home at 139 South Ritter Ave are the most visible. The young boy in the photo is most likely a Boulais family member, who resided at 130 South Ritter Avenue. (photo courtesy of Doreen McGuire Crenshaw)

With a better camera Doreen McGuire stood on her front porch and snapped an image of 111, 115, 127, and 129 South Ritter Avenue in 1979. Mid-twentieth century residents of Irvington were practical people and clad many of the beautiful residences with aluminum siding. Three of the four homes in this photo have now been restored to their original early twentieth century look without the aluminum siding. (photo courtesy of Doreen McGuire Crenshaw) 

Ann McGuire, known as "Mrs. McGuire" to her students, taught at IPS #37 for many years. Her daughter Doreen captured her Mom relaxing on their long couch at 128 South Ritter Avenue in December of 1980. I had the privilege of meeting Ann McGuire (later Ann Brown), and she loaned me some incredible photos from her childhood along St. Clair Street. You can see those images by clicking on the "Schmidt" link below. (photo courtesy of Doreen McGuire Crenshaw)

Doreen McGuire, our young photographer, posed in her dining room at 128 South Ritter Avenue in 1976 or 1977. Behind her you can see the buffet and a Naugahyde chair given to them by a family friend, Dr. Harold Fahrbach, an optometrist. He knew Dr. Schmidt, a fellow optometrist, and the father of Ann McGuire. On the dining room table you can see the equipment that Doreen needed for her photojournalism class at Howe High School. (photo courtesy of Doreen McGuire Crenshaw)

     I wish to thank Doreen McGuire Crenshaw for these images and for her incredible kindness and support over the years. 

Goe Family Photos Show Neighboring Houses on South Ritter Avenue

      Often, when searching for historic photos of a house, we try to find descendants of various homeowners, but sometimes you can also find wonderful images from those who lived nearby or across the street. The Goe family, who lived at 128 South Ritter Avenue from 1890 until 1957, snapped images of various family members or friends on their property. Behind the subjects, we can see several homes along South Ritter Avenue. 

107, 111, 115, 127, 129, and 131-33 South Ritter Avenue

Marjorie Tretton visited the Goe family c1930. Behind her, you can see 127 and 129 South Ritter Avenue. (photo courtesy of the Kingsbury family)

Cornelia Farnsworth Goe posed in her front yard c1935. Behind her, you can see 127 and 129 South Ritter Avenue. (photo courtesy of the Kingsbury family)

Grace Goe posed on a snowy day c1930. Behind her you can see 127, 129, and part of the double located at 131-33 South Ritter Avenue. (photo courtesy of the Kingsbury family)

Richard and Cornelia Kingsbury, the grandchildren of Hezekiah and Cornelia Goe, posed on a snowy day in the front yard of the Goe residence at 128 South Ritter Avenue c1928. Behind the kids, you can see 127 and 129 South Ritter Avenue. (photo courtesy of the Kingsbury family)

Richard and Cornelia Kingsbury posed in the front yard of the Goe home at 128 South Ritter Avenue c1935. Behind the siblings you can see 127 and 129 South Ritter Avenue. If you look closely, you can also see the rear of 120 South Johnson Avenue. (photo courtesy of the Kingsbury family)

Cornelia Kingsbury posed in the front yard of the Goe home at 128 South Ritter Avenue c1935. Behind her, you can see the homes located at 107, 111, and 115 South Ritter Avenue. (photo courtesy of the Kingsbury family)

Cornelia Kingsbury posed on a snowy day c1930. You can see the neighbor's house at 130 South Ritter Avenue along with the homes across the street located at 129, 131, and 133-35 South Ritter Avenue. (photo courtesy of the Kingsbury family)

Hezekiah and Cornelia Farnsworth Goe posed next to their home at 128 South Ritter Avenue in 1911. Behind the couple, you can see 127, 129, and 131 South Ritter Avenue. (photo courtesy of the Kingsbury family)

106, 108, and 114 South Ritter Avenue

Hezekiah Goe stood in profile in front of his house at 128 South Ritter Avenue c1905. Behind him you can see the residence located at 106 South Ritter Avenue. You will note that 108 and 114 South Ritter Avenue had not yet been built. (photo courtesy of the Kingsbury family)

Three girls posed in the front yard of the Goe home at 128 South Ritter Avenue c1926. Behind the kids you can see the facades of 108 and 114 South Ritter Avenue. (photo courtesy of the Kingsbury family)

Theodore Kingsbury (center) spoke with his children, Richard (left) and Cornelia (right) c1926 in front of the Goe home at 128 South Ritter Avenue. Behind the family, you can see 114 South Ritter Avenue. (photo courtesy of the Kingsbury family)

          I wish to thank Kathy and Dick Meyer for their kindness in loaning me these incredible images. I also wish to thank the entire Kingsbury family for their stories and generosity with this series of photos. It has been a pleasure working with all of them.  

The Goes of South Ritter Avenue

      Hezekiah and Cornelia Goe arrived in Irvington in 1884. He was 47 and she was 36. They left their comfortable home and business in Indianapolis for a new chapter in the small town located in eastern Marion County. Few people lived in Irvington when they arrived, but Butler University had been in the community for nine years so the Goes speculated that the area was ripe for a new grocery store. Their gamble paid off. After renting a home for a few years, they moved into their own home designed by Louis Gibson at 128 South Ritter Avenue in 1890. They had five children who lived into adulthood and three of them lived in Irvington for most of their lives. In this post, you will get the opportunity to meet some of the earliest residents of Irvington.

Hezekiah and Cornelia Goe posed for this photograph in 1911. Behind the couple, you can see their neighboring houses at 127, 129, and 128 South Ritter Avenue. (photo courtesy of the Kingsbury family)

Hezekiah Noble Goe (1837-1919)

     Hezekiah Goe hailed from Madison County, Indiana and married a local woman named Winifred A. Mauzy in 1864. They lived in Indianapolis as Mr. Goe started his various jobs as a clerk. Tragedy struck within one year as both his wife and newborn baby died in 1865. At some point, he met Margaretta "Cornelia" Farnsworth. They married in 1872 and started a family and a life together. 

     Besides running the family grocery store at 130 South Audubon Road, he also managed at least one rental property. In 1891, the Goes built a second home just south of the Pennsylvania Railroad at 220 South Ritter Avenue as an investment. An ad in the Indianapolis News on November 7, 1898, promoted an eight-room cottage for $15 a month. The house was within easy walking distance of their own home nearby. 

     We know from family records that Mr. Goe was active in the Methodist Church and that he loved to garden. Family photographs reveal that besides growing fruit and vegetables, he also raised chickens. The house had a large barn for his horses and later his automobiles. 

     He lived to be 82 years old. At his funeral, Professor Allen R. Benton, read the eulogy composed by Cornelia Goe, his wife of 47 years. 

     He loved the out-of-doors, the flowers, plant life, the work in his garden. Watching the growth of his planting was a source of great pleasure to him. He enjoyed sharing the results of his work with friends and neighbors, and possessed a fund of information which was often sought from him. So he was happy in his nature, liking people, and possessing a forgiving spirit. He did not cherish resentment. Sabbath, the last day of his life, he was very happy with his family, reading and enjoying his home in all that it afforded...When the even-tide came, a messenger hovered near--that unseen power called "death," the reaper, which spares neither young nor old, claimed its victim, after four brief hours...

Hezekiah Goe on December 12, 1912 (photo courtesy of the Kingsbury family)

One of the final photographs taken of Hezekiah Goe was snapped in 1919. Behind him, you can see a neighbor's home located at 5427 Julian Avenue. (photo courtesy of the Kingsbury family)

  Margaretta "Cornelia" Farnsworth Goe (1848-1940)

     In an age when most women in Indiana could only dream of a college education, Cornelia Farnsworth of Liberty, Indiana received her diploma from the Western College for Women in Oxford, Ohio in 1869. Education remained the hallmark of her life. Newspaper articles reveal that after she married Hezekiah Goe in 1872 she joined numerous clubs for women. In Irvington she belonged to dozens of organizations and frequently hosted book talks, discussions, and lectures. 

     Her crowning professional achievement came when she served on the Irvington School Board in the late 1880s and early 1890s. The State of Indiana allowed women to serve on school boards after 1881, but few did. In fact, she became one of the earliest females to serve on a school board in the state. Many women believed that capable public servants like Cornelia Goe demonstrated to the public that women could hold office and deserved the right to vote in elections. It took a while for the men to catch on, but Cornelia Goe likely cast her first vote in 1920 at the age of 72. 

      She helped to raise her five children into adulthood. All of them received coursework or degrees past high school. She loved to travel and the society pages noted her excursions throughout the United States and to Europe. She lived a long life. Sadly, she had to endure the deaths of her beloved husband and three of her adult children. 

Margaretta "Cornelia" Farnsworth Goe in her later years. She was a pioneer female public servant serving on the Irvington School Board in the late nineteenth century. (photo courtesy of the Kingsbury family)

Cornelia Farnsworth Goe posed with her daughter Cornelia Goe Kingsbury on May 30, 1920. After her daughter's death in 1923, Mrs. Goe helped to raise her grandchildren. Behind the women, you can see the rear of 128 South Ritter Avenue. (photo courtesy of the Kingsbury family)

The Goe Children

Clara Mae Goe (1872-1958)

     Clara Goe, the oldest child of Hezekiah and Cornelia Goe graduated from Butler University and became an elementary teacher in a variety of Indianapolis Public Schools before landing at #57 in 1909. Upon her graduation from Butler, she presented a recommendation note from her French professor, Hugh L. Miller, and the former president of the college, Allen R. Benton. How do we know this? The Irvington Historical Society possesses the letters. We also have one of her early teaching contracts. Like her mother, Clara immersed herself in local Irvington clubs. She remained at the Ritter Avenue house for decades taking care of her elderly mother and along with her sister, Grace, raised her niece and nephew. To hundreds of former students she was simply known as Miss Goe.  She lived to be 85 years old.

Clara Goe posed for this photograph sometime in the late nineteenth century. (photo courtesy of the Kingsbury family)

Hugh Miller wrote his letter of recommendation first on May 19, 1897. Allen R. Benton added his on to the same page on November 11, 1898. (courtesy of the Estate of Theodore Kingsbury, Irvington Historical Society)

Clara Goe earned $925 for the year in 1917-1919 as a teacher for Indianapolis Public Schools (courtesy of the Estate of Theodore Kingsbury, Irvington Historical Society)

Edwin "Herbert" Goe (1876-1903)

     Herbert Goe, the second child and first son of Hezekiah and Cornelia Goe, was a talented athlete and student who attended Butler University. While at Butler, he joined Phi Delta Theta fraternity. After graduating, he started his career working for power companies in New York, Wisconsin, and finally Michigan. While working for Consolidated Lake Superior Power Company in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, he had an attack of appendicitis. Hezekiah Goe rushed to northern Michigan to be near his son. Herbert immediately wrote the saddest letter a parent could receive. He posted the letter on January 15, 1903. With his father at his side, he penned:

     My Dear Mother.

     This may be my last letter to you. The doctors say so. I want to tell you for all dear mother how I love you with all the fervor of a son. I am so weak. I want to write more. Oh, if you and the children had come up with dear father.

     Don't give up hope, Mother. I am trusting in God. Love Love Love to brothers and sisters--

    Your Dying Son,

     Herbert

The poignant note is still possessed by family members. Herbert Goe, who was only 27 years old, died shortly after writing his mother. As a testimonial to his popularity, 200 power company employees escorted the casket to the train station for the long ride back to Indianapolis. One can only imagine the grief back on Ritter Avenue over the loss of Herbert. 

Herbert Goe shortly before his untimely death in 1903. (photo courtesy of the Kingsbury family)

Grace Goe (1880-1968)

     Grace Goe was a career woman who followed her mother's footsteps and attended Western College for Women in Oxford, Ohio. Upon returning, she worked for a variety of companies as a stenographer. Her longest employment occurred at the Washington Hotel in downtown Indianapolis. She served as stenographer for that organization from 1928 until 1958. She, along with her sister, Clara, lived at 128 South Ritter Avenue for most of their lives. She and Clara cared for their elderly parents and later helped to raise their niece and nephew. She outlived all of her siblings. 

Grace Goe attended Western College for Women like her mother. The photo above is attributed as her dorm room c1896. (Kingsbury family collection)

Grace Goe worked as a stenographer for most of her life. (photo courtesy of the Kingsbury family)

   

Grace Goe worked as stenographer for a variety of companies. She can be seen in the white dress in this photograph c1910. (photo courtesy of the Kingsbury family)

     

Percy F. Goe (1888-1921)

     Percy Goe was the first child of Hezekiah and Cornelia Goe to be born in Irvington. He attended local schools as well as Butler University where he followed his older brother's footsteps and pledged the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. He served his country during World War I, and later worked for several years for National Cash Register in Dayton, Ohio. At a turning point in his life, he decided to switch careers and become an income tax inspector, but that goal was cut short when his tuberculosis returned with a vengeance. Like his brother, he died at an early age likely devastating his poor Mother and sisters. 

Percy and Cornelia Goe, c1894; Both siblings contracted tuberculosis at an early age and succumbed in their early adulthoods. (photo of the Kingsbury family)

Butler University friends, Percy Goe, Harry Browning, Mark Houser, and Theodore Kingsbury posed for this photo c1910. Percy Goe's sister, Cornelia, married Theodore Kingsbury in 1912. (photo courtesy of the Kingsbury family)

Percy Goe c1915 (photo courtesy of the Kingsbury family)

Cornelia Goe Kingsbury (1890-1923)

     Cornelia Goe Kingsbury lived much of her life in Irvington. She was the only child of Hezekiah and Cornelia Goe to marry and to have children. She graduated from Emmerich Manual Training High School and Butler University where she pledged as a member of Kappa Alpha Theta. Her marriage to Theodore Kingsbury in 1912 united two prominent Irvington families. The Kingsburys briefly lived in Washington D.C., but they returned to Irvington after the death of Hezekiah Goe presumably to be nearer to her family.  She bore two children, Cornelia and Richard, before dying of tuberculosis in 1923 at the age of 33. Her death greatly affected the trajectory of her young family. Her absence weighed upon her husband Theodore, who had to travel for his job as the state geologist. To help him, the Goes stepped up and invited the Kingsbury children to live at their home on Ritter Avenue for extended periods of time. 

Cornelia Goe (left) with her friend, Mayme Potter c1902 in the front yard at 128 South Ritter Avenue (photo courtesy of the Kingsbury family) 

Hezekiah Goe posed with his daughter, Cornelia, next to the family home at 128 South Ritter Avenue in 1911. (photo courtesy of the Kingsbury family)

The Goe family home at 128 South Ritter Avenue c1920 (photo courtesy of the Kingsbury family)

I wish to thank Kathy and Dick Meyer and the extended Kingsbury family for their stories and photos about the Goe family. 

Sources:  Hezekiah Goe--Eulogy by Cornelia Goe read at his funeral by Allen R. Benton, September 3, 1919 (possessed by the Kingsbury family); "H.N. Goe, City Grocer Forty Years, is Dead," Indianapolis News, September 1, 1919, p. 7. Rental house construction--"Irvington," Indianapolis Journal, September 18, 1891, p. 6

Cornelia Farnsworth Goe--"Mrs. Goe Rites Wednesday," Indianapolis News, April 29, 1940, p. 12; Western Alumni News--"Personal and Society," Indianapolis Journal, July 3, 1887, p. 5; Irvington School Board--"Irvington," Indianapolis News, September 10, 1891, p. 6  "Women for School Officers," Indianapolis Journal, December 28, 1892, p. 6; Travels--"Irvington Items," Indianapolis Journal, August 4, 1895, p. 11 (European travel)--"Personal and Social," Indianapolis News, April 30, 1897, p. 9

Children--Clara--"Clara Goe, Ex-Teacher, Dies," Indianapolis News, May 30, 1958, p. 18; Edwin Herbert Goe--"Funeral Notice," Indianapolis News, February 12, 1903, p. 8; Letter from Herbert to his mother, January 15, 1903, (Kingsbury family archives); Grace Goe--"Miss Grace Goe Rites Tomorrow," Indianapolis News, August 16, 1968, p. 36; Percy Goe--"Funeral to be Wednesday," Indianapolis News, May 10, 1921, p.15; Cornelia Goe Kingsbury--"Mrs. Cornelia Kingsbury," Indianapolis Star, October 24, 1923, p. 7.