Who Lived Here? The Schoenholtz Family

      John Jacob Schoenholtz and his wife, Alma Glore Schoenholtz, moved into their beautiful Arts-and-Crafts-era home at 240 South Emerson Avenue in 1911 and remained for decades. Mr. Schoenholtz immigrated to the United States from Germany in 1897 along with his family when he was fifteen years old. The talented young man graduated from Purdue University in 1901 with a degree in chemistry. Two years later, he founded the Indiana Chemical Company. In 1906, he married Alma Glore of Rushville, Indiana. 

     The couple's new home on the southwest corner of Emerson and University Avenues was ideally situated across from Butler College (later University). In 1915, they took out a building permit for a garage. It appeared that their lives were going smoothly and then World War I broke out.

      Anti-German feelings swept the nation and was especially strong in Indiana after the Americans joined the side of the British and French. Some schools outlawed the teaching of German and one Indiana town changed its name from East Germantown to Pershing. In 1917, many local newspapers published the names of Germans, who were not citizens. Local Germans were ordered to be photographed and fingerprinted by local police departments as they were all considered as "enemy aliens." 

     John Jacob Schoenholtz, who had come to his country with his parents, was published on one of those lists in the Indianapolis Star. He was so mortified that he purchased an ad in the Indianapolis Star on December 9, 1917, announcing his loyalty to the United States. He at least had the money to purchase an ad as most Germans living in the United States had to live under a cloud of suspicion. 

     At some point while the couple resided in the house, a member of the Shimer family took a couple of photographs of the Schoenholtz house likely before World War I. Mr. Schoenholtz died in 1956 while Mrs. Schoenholtz passed away in 1969. Both lived most of their lives on that particular corner in Irvington. 

John Jacob Schoenholtz graduated from Purdue University in 1901 with a degree in chemistry. 

Alma Glore Schoenholtz grew up in Rushville, Indiana and married John Jacob Schoenholtz in 1906. She was an active Irvington club woman. Her photo appeared in the Indianapolis Star on September 1, 1929.

John Jacob Schoenholtz published his loyalty to the United States in the Indianapolis Star on December 9, 1917. He was one of many German residents of the city who had been placed on an "enemy alien" list. 

Ralph Shimer and his beloved dog posed in front of 240 South Emerson Avenue c1911. John and Alma Schoenholtz resided in the house at the time. (photo courtesy of Chris Shimer)

Members of the Shimer family posed in the side yard of their home at 230 South Emerson Avenue. We believe that the older gentleman seated in a chair on the left might be Charles O. Shimer. We do not know the name of the younger man seated in the chair. The boy seated on the ground was Ralph Shimer. Behind the men, you can see the Schoenholtz home at 240 South Emerson Avenue c1912. (photo courtesy of Chris Shimer)

240 South Emerson Avenue on January 16, 2024

Sources:  Polk's Indianapolis City Directories; Garage Building Permit--Indianapolis News, September 28, 1915; World War One--"729 Registered Here as Aliens," Indianapolis Star, February 7, 1918, 2; Mr. Schoenholtz obituary--"Chemical Firm Founder is Dead," Indianapolis News, August 4, 1956, 22

Many Changes to Emerson Avenue Home Over the Years

      In the spring of 1903, Charles O. and Jessie Pearl Shimer sold several lots on Auvergne Avenue in southwestern Irvington for $5000. Mr. Shimer grew up on land nearby along Brookville Road. The couple then purchased lots 3 and 4 on the northwest corner of South Emerson and University Avenues from Dr. Richard Stone for $1,210. It is unclear if the Queen Anne cottage was already on the lot or if the Shimers had it built. Dr. Stone, whose address was on Alabama Street, operated out of an office at 222 South Emerson Avenue. The Shimers had a fantastic view of the Butler campus across the street. Mr. Shimer worked as a postal clerk for the Railway Mail Service. An article in the Indianapolis News in 1905 noted that he received a pay raise and earned $1000 a year. 

     The Shimers had two children, Edna Rae and William Ralph. It appears that both kids went by their middle name like their mother. The city of Indianapolis had already annexed Irvington by 1903 so the Shimers were likely hoping for improvements along Emerson Avenue. In the summer of 1906, the city awarded a contract to brick Emerson Avenue. Street workers began the process, but something happened and for over one year no one could get up or down the street. Frustrated residents who could not get their fuel or groceries delivered met at the Shimer home on July 5, 1907, to plan a course of action. The city eventually got its act together and finished the street. 

    Both Charles and his son, Ralph, witnessed two separate tragedies while living in the cottage. On the night of October 3, 1913, Charles Shimer noticed a light on at Dr. Richard F. Stone's office next door at 222 South Emerson Avenue. The Shimers had purchased the land for their home from Dr. Stone. Charles looked into the window and could see Dr. Stone's lifeless body on the floor. He summoned another neighbor, Joseph Ostrander, who lived at 216 South Emerson Avenue, to help pry open a window. The men were overcome by gas fumes and nearly passed out. Authorities who arrived on the scene could not save the elderly physician. A debate then ensued in the local press. Some thought that because the doctor had received some bad health and financial news that he deliberately turned on the gas to commit suicide, but his family maintained that he likely left the gas on as he was cooking his dinner. The doctor's office had four rooms and he sometimes spent the night there instead of at his Alabama Street home. We shall never know the truth. 

     Two years later, seventeen-year-old Ralph Shimer along with his cousin Thomas Shimer, and their friend Richard Rubush were hanging out along a fence row near the intersection of the Pennsylvania Railroad and Downey Avenue. While they were there, a slow moving freight train passed along one of the tracks. Ralph happened to notice Butler University student, Harold Howe Higbee, pacing along the train. Then, much to his surprise, he saw Higbee deliberately dive under the fourth car. The young man instantly died. Ralph testified to what he saw to authorities. Once again a debate emerged. Did Harold Higbee commit suicide? The general consensus from most people at the time was that he was trying to cross under the slow-moving train and made a costly error. 

     During the decades that the Shimers resided in the home, they did make some changes. In the autumn of 1915, the Shimers took out a building permit for a garage and they would need it as they purchased a Hudson Super-Six one year later. An ad in the Indianapolis News that year listed several people who purchased the same car in the city including the well-known author, Booth Tarkington. In the summer of 1921, the Shimers took out a building permit for an addition to the home. They may have also added the wrap-around porch at this time as well. 

     Mrs. Shimer died in 1934. Mr. Shimer lived another nine years before passing away in 1943. Their children sold the house to Lee Roy and Velma Smith. The Smiths dramatically altered the residence as Mr. Smith worked for the Stonekote Company. He placed ads in the local newspapers touting the veneer product and he completely sheathed the older home with the product. The house reflects the Smith era, but the photographs below show what the home used to look like prior to the remodeling. 

Edna Rae and William Ralph Shimer along with a family dog posed on the front porch of 230 South Emerson Avenue c1915 after a significant snowstorm. Both children went by their middle names. (photo courtesy of Chris Shimer)

The Shimer home at 230 South Emerson Avenue, c1915, sat across the street from Butler University. The empty lot next door was not developed until the spring of 1925 when Frederick Mertz built the double at 224-226 South Emerson Avenue. (Indianapolis Times, April 21, 1925, 11) The small structure in the photograph served as a doctor's office for Richard Stone at 222 South Emerson Avenue. You can also see the two-story home at 218 South Emerson Avenue. 

Ralph Shimer c1910 standing in the backyard of 230 South Emerson Avenue (photo courtesy of Chris Shimer) 

Edna Rae Shimer posed with two other young women c1915 at 230 South Emerson Avenue. (photo courtesy of Chris Shimer)

Edna Rae, William Ralph, and Jessie Pearl Shimer c1910 at 230 South Emerson Avenue. (photo courtesy of Chris Shimer)

On April 12, 1940, a member of the Shimer family snapped an image of 230 South Emerson Avenue after a spring snowstorm. You can see that the porch had been changed and that the double at 224-226 South Emerson Avenue had been constructed on the formerly empty lot. The Shimers witnessed many changes along the street including the closing of Butler University and the redevelopment of the site. 

Lee Roy Smith worked for the Stonekote Corporation out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He clad 230 South Emerson Avenue in the veneer "stone" material. (Indianapolis Star, April 3, 1949)

Google Streetview of 230 South Emerson Avenue with the veneer "stone-like" material on the home. (August, 2019) 

     I wish to thank Chris Shimer and Anne Hardwick for their help with this post. 

Sources:  Land sales and purchases--Indiana Tribune, May 22, 1903, 4 and May 28, 1904, 4; Obituary for Jessie Pearl Shimer--Indianapolis Star, May 31, 1934, 3; Obituary for Charles O. Shimer--Indianapolis News, September 25, 1943, 9; Charles Shimer pay raise--Indianapolis News, July 24, 1905, 7; Emerson Avenue problems--Emerson Avenue Meeting," Indianapolis News, July 3, 1907, 5; Dr. Richard Stone death--"Doctor Dies in Gas-Filled Room," Indianapolis Star, October 4, 1913, 3; Building permits--Indianapolis Star, September 25, 1915 and Indianapolis Star, July 3, 1921, 26; Harold Howe Higbee Death--"Ralph Shimer Tells How Higbee Met Death," Indianapolis News, October 28, 1915, 3.

New York Street Home Then and Now

 

       Sometime in the mid-1940s, a member of the Shimer family snapped an image of Edna Webster Shimer as she walked up to her home at 5815 East New York Street. The Shimers were active members of the nearby Irvington Methodist Church, so it is possible that she was coming home from a service. Behind her in the photograph, you can see the bungalow located across the street at 5814 East New York Street. Robert and Celestine Ratz Glassmeyer along with their three children, Robert Jr., Joanie, and Richard resided in that home. The Glassmeyers had lived in the house since the late 1920s. Amazingly, their residence looks much the same today as it did nearly 80 years ago when Mrs. Shimer came home on a winter or early spring day. 

Edna Webster Shimer walks up to her home at 5815 East New York Street c1945. Behind her, you can see the Glassmeyer bungalow at 5814 East New York Street. (photo courtesy of Chris Shimer)

The bungalow located at 5814 East New York Street looks much as did in the late 1920s when the Glassmeyers moved into the house. (photo snapped December, 2023)

     I wish to thank Chris Shimer and Therese Glassmeyer for their help with this post. 

Shimer Family Purchased New York Street Bungalow

      Thomas and Edna Webster Shimer bought their relatively new bungalow at 5815 East New York Street in 1930. They were not the first family to reside in the home. Werner and Irene Monninger and their young daughter, Gloria, lived in the house from 1926 until 1930. Mr. Monninger, a World War One veteran, taught at Arsenal Technical High School while Mrs. Monninger studied art at the Herron Art School. She later made a name for herself painting portraits. In 1930 they moved south of Irvington to 2160 South Ritter Avenue.

     Thomas Sylvester Shimer and Edna Webster Shimer had been married for nearly nine years when they purchased their forever home on New York Street in Irvington. Their son, Thomas, Jr., was only four years old when they moved in. Photos from their early years in the home show the young boy playing outside and celebrating Christmas. 

     Mr. Shimer worked as a safety engineer with his father-in-law, Dana Webster, at the Aetna Insurance Company. The job provided stability for the family as he remained with the company for 43 years. As a World War One veteran, he joined the local American Legion Post No. 38 and occasionally served as an officer. Mrs. Shimer stayed home and raised their son. Newspaper articles reveal that she served on the PTA for School #57 and that she hosted the Mother Study Club. She also had some musical talent and that seems to have passed to her son, Thomas Jr. He later became a jazz lover and played the saxophone for most of his life. 

     The Shimers were members of the Irvington Methodist Church so they could easily walk to Sunday services. Thomas Shimer, Jr. graduated from Arsenal Technical High School in 1944 and received a scholarship to study at the University of Cincinnati although World War II briefly affected those plans. In 1951, the Shimers walked down to the Methodist Church to witness the marriage of their only son to Carol Thompson. Later, they also proudly watched as he became an architect. In fact, he designed numerous hospitals in the state of Indiana including some of the wings for Community Hospital East. 

     Thomas Shimer retired from Aetna Insurance in 1962. In 1967, he died in the hospital designed by his son, Community East. He was 69 years old. Mrs. Shimer continued to live in the bungalow for many more years; however, due to her age she had to move into a nursing home run by the Methodists in Franklin, Indiana. She passed away in 2000 at the age of 100 years old. Thomas Shimer, Jr. passed away in 2012 at the age of 86. 

Edna Webster Shimer and Thomas Shimer, Sr. posed in their living room at 5815 East New York Street with their son Thomas, Jr. sometime in the early 1930s. (photo courtesy of Chris Shimer)

Thomas Shimer, Jr. posed next to the family Christmas tree c1930 at 5815 East New York Street. Under the tree that morning appears to be a miniature Christmas village scene. As an adult, Thomas Shimer, Jr. had his own architectural firm in the city of Indianapolis. (photo courtesy of Chris Shimer) 

Mila Murphy Shimer posed with her daughter-in-law, Edna Webster Shimer, and her grandson, Thomas Shimer, Jr, c1930 in the front yard of 5815 East New York Street. The home most visible in the photo is 5819 East New York Street. The Cheney family lived in that house at the time of the photo. (photo courtesy of Chris Shimer)

Thomas Shimer, Jr. posed along the sidewalk at 5815 East New York Street c1930 after a snowfall in Irvington. (photo courtesy of Chris Shimer)

For much of the twentieth century, the Shimer family resided at 5815 East New York Street. (photo snapped on December 8, 2023)

          I wish to thank Chris Shimer and Sheri Piland for their help with this post.  

Sources:  Irene Monninger--Lucille Morehouse, "Portrait is of Interest to Art and Theater," Indianapolis Star, August 5, 1945; "Irene Monninger Liked Art, Music," Indianapolis News, June 13, 1964, 6; Werner Monninger--"Former Teacher Dies in Florida," Indianapolis Star, May 19, 1961; Thomas Shimer, Sr--"Thomas Shimer Dies, Retired Safety Engineer," Indianapolis Star, January 16, 1967, 33; Edna Webster Shimer--online obituary, 2000; "Mother Study Club," Indianapolis Star, November 14, 1937, 50; Thomas Shimer, Jr. --online obituary, 2012; Scholarship--Indianapolis Star, June 27, 1944; "Carol Anne Thompson, T.S. Shimer, Jr. To Wed," Indianapolis Star, December 17, 1950; Community Hospital--Indianapolis Star, May 31, 1964, 2; 1930 Federal Census; Polk's City Directory for Indianapolis.

Family Hosted Wedding in Bosart Avenue Home

 

A Beautiful Day for a Wedding--Saturday, April 2, 1921

     Residents near the intersection of North Bosart Avenue and East New York Street likely noticed many cars parked along the nearby streets. By 3:00 PM, the sun was out and the temperature neared 60 degrees. It was a perfect day to host a wedding in Irvington. If the neighbors opened their windows at that hour they would have heard Elizabeth Engle's rendition of the bridal chorus on the Webster family piano at 131 North Bosart Avenue. Miss Engle took piano lessons from Edna Webster and it was time for her most important recital thus far. 

The Websters Move to Irvington

     Dana and Annie Dicks Webster first moved to Indianapolis from New England in 1906. Mr. Webster had been hired by the Aetna Insurance Company as a safety engineer. They first lived on North Central Avenue, but by 1916 the Webster family, including daughters Arline and Edna, moved into their newly-built home at 131 North Bosart Avenue. Today, we know this area of Irvington as the Bosart-Brown neighborhood. Mr. Webster's name appeared in newspapers all over the state of Indiana as he was in high demand as a guest speaker about worker safety. Mrs. Webster stayed home to raise their two daughters. She was an outstanding seamstress and during the war years she knitted for the Red Cross and later for Goodwill industries. Both Arline and Edna graduated from Arsenal Technical High School and Arline attended Purdue University. Later, long after both girls had moved out and married, Mr. Webster became upset by the tax increases upon his Bosart Avenue property and in 1938 he led a successful petition drive to lower the tax rate in the city. On this day, however, his mind was focused on his daughter, Edna and her soon-to-be husband, Thomas Shimer. 

Annie Dicks Webster wore a "Harding blue" dress on the day of her daughter's wedding in 1921. Both Mr. and Mrs. Webster, who were in their mid-forties, posed along their sidewalk at 131 North Bosart Avenue. Behind the couple, you can see the home of Agnes Haddow at 133 North Bosart Avenue and in the distance you can see the Morrow home at 4702 East York Street. (photo courtesy of Chris Shimer)

The Shimer Family Pre-dates the Founding of Irvington

     Edna Webster had been born in Connecticut, but her fiance, Thomas Shimer, had been born into a family who had lived in the area since the early nineteenth century. The Shimers owned farms along Brookville Road for decades. By 1921, they had sold off much of the land and lived in various houses along South Emerson Avenue. Nelson Shimer, the father of Thomas, was ten years old when founders, Jacob Julian and Sylvester Johnson, began buying land north of the Shimer farm for a planned community named Irvington. In his lifetime, he watched as developers and contractors built houses and commercial structures on former meadows and woodland. By 1921, Nelson had retired from farming as he was 61 years old. Mila Murphy Shimer had been busy on the farm as she helped raise nine children. For many decades the couple resided at 422 South Emerson Avenue so their commute to the Webster home would have been a short one.  

Nelson Shimer was 61 on the day of his son's wedding, while Mila was 59. They lived nearby on South Emerson Avenue. In this photo, they stood along the sidewalk belonging to the Webster family of 131 North Bosart Avenue. (photo courtesy of Chris Shimer)

Thomas Shimer and Edna Webster Marry

     With Miss Engle playing the piano, sixty guests crammed into the home attempted to watch as Edna Webster and Thomas Shimer took their vows in front of the fireplace at 131 North Bosart Avenue. The couple stood near lattice work buttressed by ferns. Greenery and flowers draped the nearby staircase and even from the hanging lights. Ralph Shimer, the groom's cousin, served as the best man while Arline Webster, Edna's older sister, served as the maid of honor. Both Thomas and Arline had graduated from Arsenal Technical School. Did they meet there? We do not know. Thomas served his country during World War One and had found work in the insurance industry upon his return. Following their honeymoon, the couple took up residence in the Spink-Arms Apartments at the southeast corner of East Washington Street and Downey Avenue. 

Thomas Shimer and Edna Webster married at her home at 131 North Bosart Avenue on April 2, 1921. The couple would eventually move into a bungalow at 5815 East New York Street in Irvington. (photo courtesy of Chris Shimer)

131 North Bosart Avenue along with 133 North Bosart and 4702 East New York Street on December 4, 2023. 102 years earlier, a wedding took place at this house. 

Sources:  I wish to thank Chris Shimer for his help with this post. About the actual day--"Wedding," Indianapolis News, April 2, 1921, 14; Mrs. Webster--"Annie Webster Dies at Hospital," Indianapolis News, July 26, 1957, 5; Mr. Webster and tax revolt--"Taxpayers Unite in Strong Demand for Heavy Slashes," Indianapolis News, August 31, 1938, 1. Federal Census Records for 1920; Polk's City Directory for 1916-1921. 

Emerson Avenue Used to Have a Median Strip

    

     In the early twentieth century, local Irvington residents traveled on many brick streets including South Emerson Avenue. Additionally, this particular stretch of Emerson also had a median with grass and flowers separating the lanes. The homes most visible in the photograph below were 218 and 216-14 South Emerson Avenue. If the photographer had turned to the right, you would have seen Butler University. Students and professors who exited via the western side of campus would have viewed a beautiful street. Later, city officials removed the medians and paved over the brick as the street became a major thoroughfare. 

A grass and flower median used to separate the traffic lanes in the 200 block of South Emerson Avenue, c1910 (photo courtesy of Chris Shimer)

Google Streetview of the 200 block of South Emerson Avenue (August, 2019)

Pennsylvania Railroad Had a Double Track Through Marion County.

 

     Sometime around the year 1910, a member of the Shimer family crossed South Emerson Avenue and took a photograph of the double tracks at the Pennsylvania Railroad. If the photographer had turned ever so slightly to the right, you would have seen the campus of Butler University. The lighter colored home in the far left of the image is the rear of 152 South Spencer Avenue. The home next to the utility pole is 159 South Spencer Avenue. Both homes still stand in 2023. After the last rail company abandoned the tracks in the later part of the twentieth century, various people bought the land and constructed houses or expanded their yards near this section of the former line. Looking at this photograph, it is easy to see why some Butler professors complained about the noise of nearby trains in the middle of their lecture. 

Pennsylvania Railroad tracks at South Emerson Avenue in Irvington c1910 (photo courtesy of Chris Shimer)

Site of former Pennsylvania Railroad tracks as seen by Google Streetview in August of 2019.