Died of lung cancer (2 years duration). Death Certificate #738
(80-012747) Oregon State Health Dividion; Address: 6855 S. W. RalieghwoodWay,
Portland, OR 97255. Jim's social security number was 312-12-1121.Cremated by
Willamette Crematory, Tigard, Oregon.
[Broderbund Family Archive #110, Vol. 1 A-L, Ed. 5, Social Security DeathIndex: U.S., Date of Import: Jan 3, 1998, Internal Ref.#1.111.5.72246.100]Individual: Evans, James
Social Security #: 312-12-1121
SS# issued in: IndianaBirth date: Jul 10, 1921
Death date: Jul 1980
Individual: Evans, James: Social Security #: 312-12-112; SS# issued in: IndianaBirth date: Jul 10, 1921; Death date: July 15, 1980
[Source: Margie Ruth Geider Evans Phillips, letter 1992]
"Burthplace of Margie Ruth Geider Evans Philips was at home on South Meridian Street, just a few miles south from Monument Circle in Indianapolisl. I remember seeing the little house. Also remember later seeing large business building at the spot. Copy of cancelled check for payment of my birth to a doctor written by my dad. Then we lived on Eugene Street. There is a picture someplace of me as a small girl standing on the front porch ofr this place. I will try to locate it later."When Margie Ruth came home from the hospital with baby Corliss, GrandmaZena didn't feel comfortable taking care of Margie and Corliss, so AuntVertha said to come to her house and they did. Elizabeth was about fouryears old and Uncle Roy was away in World War Two. Stayed in the mainfloor bedroom in their house because Vertha didn't want mother to go upand down stairs. Vertha was a nurse.
A Look Back: (A History of Arsenal Technical High School which Margieattended and from which she graduated)
The events by which a beautiful wooded tract of approximately seventy-sixacres became the site of a Government Arsenal is an interesting story, asis the preservation of this beauty spot of nature, now in the heart ofthe City of Indianapolis, and its transformation from a military centerto the site of a peaceful comprehensive high school. Early in 1861,shortly after the election of Abraham Lincoln to the presidency of theUnited States, rumor of war arose, and soon it became evident that acivil war was unavoidable.
One Indianapolis citizen, Herman Sturm, a maker of fine mathematicalinstruments, was aware that the country was not supplied with sufficientquantities of ammunition to meet the demand. He had made a thorough studyof the manufacture of ammunition in Hanover, Germany, so he set to workas early as February of 1861 to make samples of cartridges in his ownhome.
When war was imminent he conferred with Governor Oliver P. Morton, who,although he saw the importance of having cartridges made, could not aidMr. Sturm financially because he did not have the sanction of thelegislature.
Through Sturm's efforts, according to his sister Helena, the localbankers promised to finance his undertaking. Then Governor Morton advisedhim to go at once to Washington for a personal interview with PresidentLincoln and to have his cartridge approved. The cartridges were found tobe of the best quality. Upon Mr. Sturn's return to Indianapolis on April27, 1861, which was shortly after the beginning of the Civil War,Governor Morton ordered the building of a temporary State Arsenal on thenorth half of the present State House grounds from Market to Ohio Street,for the purpose of supplying munitions of war for the Indiana regiments.
Long wooden buildings were erected in which the cartridge shells weremade; and a small brick foundry was build for the molding of bullets andthe filling of the cartridges. Here, also, was the office of theOrdinance Department. Work was under the supervision of Robert Sturm.
Within ten days the place was ready for work, with Herman Sturm appointedSuperintendent of the Arsenal with the title of Captain of the OrdinanceDepartment. In 1862 Captain Sturm, according to his sister, formed acompany of artillery and was ready for action at the front; but on eve ofhis departure Governor Morton came to him and said, "Sturm, I cannot letyou go. I need you here to stay with your work in the Arsenal." Later,Captain Sturm was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and, then, Colonel.
Because laborers had enlisted, there were few men available for work whenthe Arsenal opened. About one hundred women and girls, mostly relativesof the volunteers, were employed to make the cartridges. Boys from thepublic schools also helped.
On October 18, 1861, Governor Morton asked that the work of the Arsenalbe continued at the expense of the government.
Soon work had increased to such proportions that it was considereddangerous to be making and storing munitions in the heart of town so theArsenal was moved from West Market Street to leased ground on the southside of Michigan Street, one and one-half miles east of the center oftown. It was owned by Colonel Sturm who had the buildings erected at hisown expense.
It is interesting to note that the Arsenal then ceased to be a matter ofinterest to the townspeople who had enjoyed pointing it out to visitorswhen it was downtown.
As war progressed, an increasing work force of men and women wasrequired, from 500 to 700 working day and night, producing 300,000 roundsof ammunition every twenty-four hours.
On July 11, 1862, the War Department "began making preparations to directexclusively the purchase and manufacture of all munitions for the conductof war, and on that date Congress passed an act providing for a permanentNational Arsenal at Indianapolis for the deposit and repair of arms andmunitions of war."
Governor Morton, assisted by the Honorable Robert Dale Owen, then agentfor the state to purchase arms and munitions of war, consulted with theNational Congress about the location for and building of the UnitedStates Arsenal.
Following the act of Congress, "A beautiful tract of wooded land one andone-half miles east of the City of Indianapolis, containing 75.14 acres,was purchased for $35,500" (so the record states). This land was directlynorth of the Sturm property, on the north side of Michigan Street.
The Indiana Arsenal was formally closed in April of 1864, and theNational Government took over the munitions work and began improvement onthe new site.
Thus, the manufacture of ammunition ceased in Indianapolis. The state hadrealized a profit of $77,457.32--$71,381.01 in cash, plus tools andammunition had been sold outside the state.
In August of 1863 Captain of Ordinance Thomas J. Treadwell was appointedin command, and work on the New National Arsenal was started.
Far-sighted and energetic, this thirty-one-year-old captain, a verycapable and progressive young man, saw great possibilities for startingthe Arsenal on this beautiful acreage, and after reviewing the situation,he wrote the first of a series of sixty-two letters to General James W.Ripley, Chief of Ordinance, Washington, D.C.
In his second letter, August 14, Captain Treadwell wrote: "Sir: I havethe honor to submit the enclosed plan of the Indianapolis Arsenalsite...I have made careful examination of the whole ground and havedecided the best site for the main Arsenal Building is as indicated bythe red line, C>A>, running east and west parallel to and at a distanceof 300 feet from the southern boundary line of the arsenal ground...Thiswill allow for a street in from 100 feet broad, and 200 feet spacebetween the enclosure and front line of buildings and gives a southernfront...all to the east and north of the site is thick forest."
Captain Treadwell had found that there were no roads on which to haulmaterials to build the Arsenal so he purchased land from Messrs. Fletcherand Sturm at a cost of $472 for a road connecting the Arsenal groundswith the National Road. This is now called Arsenal Avenue.
Concerning the progress of the three-story brick and stone-trimmedArsenal or storehouse, Captain Treadwell wrote in his letter of January13, 1864, "I will not be able to begin the foundation until the seasonopens next spring...I am determined to make all the bricks required(2,000,000) on the grounds, and hope to have them ready by Septemberfirst, all material being furnished on the grounds...No useful orornamental trees are being cut except such as are on the site of thebuilding...Excavation for basement was made during the fall."
In spite of his plans it was necessary to send to Cincinnati for some ofthe bricks, as well as for the timber. Stone used for the foundation andtrimmings of the buildings came from Vernon, Indiana. It was hauled fromthe railroad on wagons pulled by oxen. One woman who lived near thegrounds and whose fiance helped to build the storehouse said that thecornerstone blocks were so heavy that only one could be hauled at a time.Undoubtedly the dirt road, especially when it rained, made hauling doublyhard.
The date on the keystone of the south archway of the tower of thestorehouse(Arsenal) is 1865. The other nine buildings--Artillery, GuardHouse, Office, Barn(or corral), Magazine, Barracks, Electric, and twoofficers' residences, were completed by 1893.
The grounds were laid out by an expert landscape gardener, a Scotsman bythe name of George Graham. The walks and carriage ways were curved; rosebushes, lilacs, pear and apple trees, and grapevines were planted. Thesoldiers kept the grounds in excellent trim.
Major Treadwell was in charge for only a short time; in fact, when heleft in 1864, only the basement of the storehouse had been completed. Hewas succeeded by James M. Whittimore, Captain of Ordinance, who wasrelieved, at his own request, in 1866, by Lieutenant Colonel W.H. Harris.
Fifty soldiers were stationed at the Arsenal and fifteen differentcommanders were in charge during the approximately forty years that theUnited States Government had this Arsenal.
Two of the buildings are of special interest: the Arsenal and PowderMagazine. The tower of the storehouse, now called the Arsenal, is sevenstories high. Through its open archway, paved in cobblestone, carts andwagons would be driven to be unloaded by means of wooden hoist on thefourth floor. The rope which hung down through the tower from the hoisthad a huge knot at the end: this made a tempting swing for children. Theclock works, enclosed in a glass case on the sixth floor of the tower,are wound by hand, taking four to five minutes to wind. The heavy weightsextend down two stories through a shaft. The clock was installed July 6,1867. A huge bell is mounted on the tower. The clock faces are six feetin diameter. The hands have been replaced twice: the first two sets wereof wood; the last of metal.
This Arsenal clock was the clock-setter for residents of Woodruff Place.Once, when the clock stopped, workmen found that a Yellow Hammer hadbecome entangled in one of the wheels. When the bell began ringing again,neighbors were heard to remark, "It was like getting a letter from home."
The Powder Magazine, located in the north west center section of thegrounds near Pogue's Run, was built in 1866.
Because the powder had to be kept dry, the building was really one of theearliest air-conditioned structures. It has double walls, each two andone-half feet thick, with an air-shaft between, and a series ofventilators resembling chimneys. There is just one window. While powderwas stored here, a lamp outside the window lit the interior.
Only copper nails and spikes were used. The floor was covered with tanbark to prevent fire from breaking out. When a soldier entered he had towear rubber-soled shoes which he kept outside the entrance. No visitorswere allowed to enter the Magazine; a sentinel was usually stationed onthe mound that had been raised around the building so that if anexplosion occurred, the debris would be shot up instead of spreading out,thus protecting the homes on Oriental Street.
According to stories of that time, children going along Oriental Streetwould run when they neared the Magazine for fear an explosion would blowup the building and they would be killed.
Children living in Woodruff Place loved to sneak into the Arsenal groundsto play and to slide down the mound around the Magazine. One of the crowdwould serve as a lookout, waving a handkerchief when there was a guardapproaching.
One day the boy selected to be the "lookout man" forgot his assignment,left his post, and joined in the fun with his playmates so the childrenfailed to see the guard approaching. When the guard called "Halt, in thename of the U. S. Government," the youngsters raced to scale the picketfence between the grounds and Woodruff Place.
One lad was caught; and to the children's horror, the guard handcuffedhim and led him to the Guard House. The children were sure he would beshot at sunrise! However, the guard had the boy's parents notified thathe would keep the lad until sundown. Then, he took the boy on a tour ofthe grounds and buildings, showing him everything of interest; so thechap had an interesting day, after all.
In enclosing the Arsenal grounds with a wooden panel fence, twelve andone-half feet on the north, thirty on the south and west and twenty onthe east were left outside to allow plenty of room for roadways andstreets, so as to obliterate in the future the necessity of thegovernment to donate land to the city for that purpose and thus, to savethe expense of moving back the fence.
On the east side trouble arose when Mr. Woodruff, platting WoodruffPlace, disregarded the agreement with the former owner of the land thattwenty feet would be left along the boundary line, corresponding with thenumber of feet would be left by the government, for a roadway, andplanted stakes on the line of the U.S. twenty feet. He intended to usethe government's twenty feet as an alleyway for his property owners.Although Mr. Woodruff was informed of his error, he refused to move thebuilding line for barns and outhouses back twenty feet, so the governmentfence was erected at the boundary and the "alley," as it was called, wasnever opened to the public.
In 1894 the wooden fence was replaced with an iron fence which stillstands. It is seven feet high with pickets of three-fourths-inch gas pipepointed with malleable iron spike.
The wooden flagpole was raised in 1884, the pole being 169 feet high. Itwas placed between the Artillery Building and the West Residence on adirect line with Arsenal Avenue.
In the southwest corner of the grounds was a little creek and a densewooded section, called Ritsinger Woods. Here large yellow violets grewprofusely. Children discovered one of the fence pickets was loose, sowhen a guard wasn't looking they would creep through the hole to pick theviolets.
A large brass cannon, mounted on a carriage, was placed on the moundacross the driveway, just west of the Guard House. At sunrise and sunset,following the bugler's playing, the cannon would be fired, making aterrific noise. When homes were built on Davidson's Hill, now calledSturm Avenue, housewives complained because windows and dishes in thecupboards would rattle when the cannon was fired. Thus, the cannon wasmoved to the east side of the grounds behind the Barn, near the entrancegate to Woodruff Place.
However, the carriage cannon, according to pictures taken in 1902, wasreplaced by a small one mounted on a wooded base. Whatever became of theoriginal cannon is not known.
A guard always paced back and forth on the porch of the Guard House whichis located just inside the entrance to the Michigan Street gate. Twoguards paced the grounds from north to south on a path in the approximatecenter of the grounds. One would start at the Michigan Street gate andthe other at the Clifford Street( the present East Tenth Street)entrance. They would meet halfway, turn around, and retrace their steps.
Rules for the soldiers were strict. They had to take a pledge "to followthe dictates of their conscience and abstain from intoxicating liquor andpassionate language." Once a soldier was discharged for using languagedisrespectful to the President of the United States.
Smoking was frowned upon. However, it was permitted "within ten feet ofthe Barracks, on the road from the flag staff and the CommandingOfficer's Quarters to the south entrance."
Singing, whistling, loud talking, and boisterous conduct of any kind werestrictly forbidden. One soldier was reduced to Second Class Private,lowest rank, for conversing and laughing with prisoners in the GuardHouse.
If an employee was an offender of one of the rules, he was discharged; ifa visitor was the offender, he was forced to leave the grounds. Worstsoldier offenders were put in a dark cell in the Guard House for sevendays and nights, on a bread and water diet.
There was an ice-house on the grounds. Each soldier received hisallowance of ice at seven o'clock every morning. If he reported late hewas refused his portion.
Married soldiers lived with their families in small frame houses onOriental Street, west of the grounds. The gardener was the only employeeto live with his family on the grounds. He lived in a little white framehouse on the northwest side.
Children of enlisted men were not allowed to play on the lawns; however,they could walk through the grounds on their way to school.
In the Post records is the story of Private David Shaffner who wasmarried without permission. For this, when not at work he was confined tothe Guard House, was reduced in rank to Second Class Private, and wastreated as though he was not married.
The prisoners were watched rather closely. While in the Guard House theywere not allowed to keep in their possession anything except thenecessary changes of clothing. They were required to make their bedsneatly in the short time between reveille and the morning call to work.All their meals were eaten in their cells.
Enlisted men could go downtown in the evening if they had specialpermission. If they failed to report back at the specified hour, theyspent time in the Guard House.
All lights were turned out at nine o'clock in the Barracks except in thelibrary where lights were out at eleven o'clock.
Another Post record read as follows: "The Commanding Officer has noticedthat several of the employees of the Arsenal are in the habit of quittingwork and putting up their tools some time before the ringing of the bellto cease work. Such practice is injurious to the public service and mustbe stopped... In cases of bad weather when the light is not sufficient towork, the master workman will direct when to quit."
In 1885 when Major A.L. Varney was in command of the Arsenal, a sergeantwho was fond of beer sneaked a sprinkling can of the liquor onto thegrounds, having bought it at a saloon on Clifford Street. He was enjoyingit when his companion warned him that Major Varney was approaching.Quickly the sergeant pretended to be sprinkling a flower bed.
"Your water is rather muddy," remarked the Major, known for his sense ofhumor; and as he walked on, the relieved sergeant returned to his beer.
John S. Hatfield, master workman, who was employed during the entirehistory of the Government Arsenal, enjoyed his pipe. One day he wassmoking while digging a ditch. As major Varney approached ,Mr. Hatfieldstuffed his pipe into his pocket and jumped into the ditch.
As the major glanced down, he remarked, "I believe your coat is on fire,Mr. Hatfield."
"Why, so it is, Major, " Mr. Hatfield replied; and with a knowing smileMajor Varney walked on.
All records were kept in a Post Guard Book concerning every detail on thegrounds, the time anyone or any vehicle passed through the gate, and thenames and misdeeds of enlisted men were recorded. For example: April 17,1866: Early this morning Mr. Curry's horse broke loose, out of thestable, and through the grounds to the carpenter shop. April 19, 1866:Boland and Spencer, after fighting in the mess hall, were confined to theGuard House for twenty-four hours.
April 24, 1866: Private Keys confined to the Post for one week for notkeeping the wash house in good order.
Later items, years omitted, follow:
August 27: Stain on table. Evening gun fired two minutes late
August 28: Private Welch did not report "off pass" in the usual way.
August 31: Ink spots on floor of Guard House.
September 1: Two gents with ladies passed out at 10:20 p.m.
September 7: Servant at Commanding Officer's passed out gate at 9:35 P.M.
September 18: Clock meddled with by Guard. Clock will not run.
September 28: Corporal Riley fired evening gun one hour too soon.
December 14: Cow passed in while Corporal Riles was at Guard House.
From the monthly Company Returns are interesting items, especially thoseconcerning the early years.
November 7, 1865: The first six enlisted men arrived today. Their nameshave been entered in the book in the following manner: Edward Marshall,James Sullivan, Charles Swaney, Philip White, Dennis Sugrue, and JamesGardner.
December 6, 1865: Dennis Sugrue is the first man to desert the Arsenal.
April 6, 1867: A bill was passed prohibiting payment by any officer toany person known to have been against the rebellion.
September 21, 1867: An order issued for the month of October by NationalHeadquarters reads that officers are to be furnished with canned fruitsand vegetables for the winter.
June 3l, 1868: Announcement was received today that the honorableex-President Buchanan passed away at his home.
January 18, 1869: A bill was passed today relative to and limiting theamount of straw allowed to every horse in the service.
The Post Order Book contained official orders, read to the company atmorning roll call. For example:
March 29, 1874: Death of ex-President Millard Fillmore was announced.Labor would cease for the day and the flag would be flown at half-staff.
August 7, 1885: It was announced that August 8 had been designated "forthe observance of the funeral ceremonies in testimony of respect forGeneral U.S Grant." Thirteen guns were fired at dawn, and afterward, atintervals of thirty minutes between the rising and setting of the sun. Atthe close of the day there was a national salute of thirty-eight guns.The flag was displayed at half-staff.
Major Varney was in command of the Arsenal until May, 1899, when he wasrelieved by Major Charles Shaler.
At the outbreak of the Spanish-American War the Arsenal was being usedmainly to store guns, powder, and relics and records of the Civil War. Atone time 100,000 rifles were in storage.
In 1898, during the Spanish-American War, the Arsenal was raised fromthird to first class. Infantry, cavalry, and horse equipment, andartillery harness were made in the shops. Altogether the government hadordered 32,000 haversacks, 200,000 haversack straps, 25,000 blanket bags,20,000 blanket bag straps, and 20,000 coat straps.
After the Spanish-American War, the Arsenal declined and finally wasoffered for sale when Major William H. Miller, chief quartermaster of theArsenal, advertised the grounds with all the buildings at public auction.
At once citizens, civic organizations and the press demanded that theproperty be purchased and kept intact as a public park or as a site of aschool or university.
Mr. M. B. Wilson, a trustee of the Winona Lake Technical and AgriculturalInstitution, made the only bid--$154,000. Because the entire amount ofthe bid had to be on hand or promised before the bid could be made, Mr.Wilson had been working for nine months to raise the necessary amount. OnMarch 6, 1903, the auctioneer went through a ceremony of auctioning thegrounds and the deal was transacted. The Winona technical Institute wasin session from 1903 to 1909, when it went into the hands of a receiver.
The final abandonment of the Arsenal had been authorized June 30, 1902.After the government officially abandoned the grounds, a detachment fromFT. Thomas, Kentucky, was in charge until the funds were raised to buythe grounds.
Ed Schobe, a civilian who had been a clerk at the Arsenal for many years,packed all of the government records in seventeen boxes and shipped themto the Frankfort Arsenal; but before he closed the last box, he enclosedcopies of several letters he had written to Major Shaler, the lastcommanding officer of the Government Arsenal
One of the letters contained this sentence: "I do not suppose that they(meaning the boxes) will ever be opened and will eventually mould away."
Walter N. Carpenter, a Woodruff Place resident, gave a touching accountof the firing of the last cannon and the lowering of the last flag whenthe grounds were abandoned./ "In the cold gray dawn of April 13, 1903, mysmall son Paul and I made our way over to the Arsenal grounds to witnessthe firing of the last morning gun...
"Shortly before six o'clock a lone soldier strolled leisurely to theplace where the small cannon, bolted to a block of wood, was embedded inthe ground just north of the Barn. As the clock in the Arsenal Towerstruck the hour he pulled the halyard, setting off the charge, and thelast cannon had been fired at the old Arsenal...
"On the afternoon of April 15, 1903, under leaden skies, a detachment ofsoldiers marched to the foot of the flag staff, and as they presentedarms, the Stars and Stripes were lowered slowly, for the last time, andthe old Arsenal passed into history."
There is a postscript to Mr. Schobe's so-called prophecy. The summer of1919, Miss Esther Fay Shover, one of the original eight teachers who,with Milo H. Stuart, principal, started the Arsenal Technical Schools inSeptember, 1912, wrote to Washington, asking permission to examine theold Arsenal records at the Frankfort Arsenal.
When permission was granted, Miss Shover went to the Frankfort Arsenal,donned coveralls, and, with the assistance of one of the soldiers,ferreted out the boxes of records. Then she wrote to the Board of SchoolCommissioners in Indianapolis asking it to pay the freight to have theboxes returned to Arsenal Tech.
The Board agreed and the seventeen boxes of records which Mr. Schobe hadthought would never be opened again arrived at the school in December,1919.
The shop classes made special boxes to hold the records. With the help ofseveral students, Miss Shover catalogued all of the materials and filedthem in the boxes.
These boxes are now stored in the government archives on the third floorof Treadwell Hall, which, through the efforts of Miss Shover, had beennamed for the first commanding officer of the Indianapolis GovernmentArsenal, Major T.J. Treadwell.
The above information was taken from LOOKING BACK TO ARSENAL DAYS, byElla SengenbergerNote from Margie:
"Birthplace of Margie Ruth Geider Evans Phillips was at home on South Meridian Street, just a few miles south from Monument Circle in Indianapolis. I remember seeing the little house. Also remember later seeing large business building at the spot. Copy of cancelled check for payment of my birth by Dr. Pendleton. Then we lived on Eugene Street. There is a picture someplace of me as a small gifl standing on the front portch of this place."