Daniel W. Marmon

Greater Indianapolis : the history, the industries, the institutions, and the people of a city of homes Chicago: Lewis Pub. Co., 1910, 1186-7

Daniel W. Marmon. It must be conceded that in this age of colossal enterprise and marked intellectual energy, the prominent and successful men are those whose abilities lead them into large undertakings and to assume the responsibilities and labors of leaders in their respective fields of endeavor. Success is methodical and consecutive and represents the concrete result of thedetermined application of individual abilities and powers along rigidly defined lines of labor, whether mental or manual.

Among the great industrial enterprises which have conserved and admirably maintained the commercial prestige of Indiana's capital city is that conducted by the Nordyke & Marmon Company, manufacturers of milling machinery and appliances and also, in later years, of automobiles. Of this great concern the subject of this memoir was chief executive, and to the upbuilding of the magnificent enterprise her gave the beat of his fine mechanical powers and administrative ability, so that he merits a place of distinction in this publication as having been one of the veritable "captains of industry" to whom Indianapolis has been indebted for her splendid, for her great industrial advancement and wide commercial prestige. His life was characterized by exalted purpose and impregnable integrity and he left a deep impress upon the industrial and civic annals of the metropolis of the that which represented his home from his infancy until the time of his death, which occurred in the city of Indianapolis on the 10^th of May, 1909. He was known as one of the ablest milling engineers in the United States and many inventions of great practical utility in this field are to be attributed to him.

Daniel W. Marmon was born in Logan county Ohio, on the 10^th of October, 1844, and his father, Dr. James W. Marmon, was one of the able physicians and surgeons of the old Buckeye state, where he died in 1849 and his wife a month later. When Mr. Marmon was but five years of age he removed from Ohio and located in Richmond, Indiana, where he was reared to manhood. After completing the curriculum of the common schools of that attractive little Quaker city he there entered Earlham College, a well ordered institution maintained under the auspices of the Society of Friends, and in the same he was graduated as a member of the class of 1863. From his early youth he manifested a distinct predilection for mechanical work and study, and through the development of his powers in this line he attained to high prestige as a mechanician and inventor.

In 1866, not long after his graduation from Earlham College, Mr. Marmon purchased an interest in the business of the firm E. and A. H. Nordyke, manufacturers of milling machinery, in Richmond and the title of the firm was thereupon changed to Nordyke, Marmon & Company. For the ensuing ten years the firm continued its operation in Richmond and then, in 1876, for the purpose of securing better internal facilities and greater commercial advantages, the business was removed to Indianapolis, where it rapidly expanded in scope and importance. Upon this removal the enterprise was incorporated , under the title of the Nordyke & Marmon Company

and Mr. Marmon, who had been secretary of the company since 1865, continued incumbent in that office until 1898, when he became president of the company and was so until death. The corporation gave its attention exclusively to the manufacturing of flour mill machinery until 1903, when the manufacturing of automobiles became one of the important departments of the enterprise. The great manufacturing plant of the company is one of the largest and best equipped in the city and its products in the original field of operation have found sale in the most diverse sections of the Union as well as in foreign lands, thus adding materially to the commercial precedence of Indianapolis. In the development of the business to its present extensive proportions, no influence was more potent and beneficent than that of Mr. Marmon, who gave it the best of his energies and abilities during the long years of his connection with the same. Not only was he splendidly equipped in the matter of mechanical talent, enabling him to give intelligent direction to all details of manufacturing, but he was also a business man of marked executive ability and distinctive acumen. His influence therefore permeated all departments of the enterprise and the same stands as an enduring monument to his memory. Other prominent concerns also benefited materially from his interposition, and it should be noted in this connection that he was the owner of the Noblesville Milling Company, of Noblesville, Indiana and president of the Indianapolis Light and Heat Company from its organization until his death.

While essentially a business man and giving his time and attention to the various interests with which he was thus connected, Mr. Marmon was never lacking in civic loyalty and public spirit, as was evident from the tangible co-operation which he ever stood ready to accord to measures and enterprises tending to conserve the general welfare of the community. He found neither time nor inclination for political activity, though he was a staunch supporter of the cause of the Republican party, and he never sought or held office. He was a charter member of the Columbus Club and also held member ship in the Commercial Club, both of which stand exponent of high civic ideals. He commended the unequivocal esteem and confidence of all with whom he came in contact, though he was singularly free from ostentation and never found allurement in the great white light of publicity. He measured men and affairs accurately, was kindly and tolerant in his judgment and he made his life county for good in all its relations and activities. For many years prior to his demise Mr. Marmon was on of the valued and zealous members of the Second Presbyterian Church of Indianapolis, and he gave effective service as a member of its board of trustees.

In August, 1870, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Marmon to Miss Elizabeth Carpenter of Richmond, Indiana, a daughter of Weller and Susan M. Carpenter. Mrs. Marmon still maintains her home in Indianapolis, as do also the three children, Walter C., Howard C. and Caroline. The sons are identified with the business to which their father so long gave the major part of his time and attention and are numbered among the representative business men of the younger generation of Indianapolis.

Indianapolis City Directory, 1889. Indianapolis, IN: R.L. Polk and Co., 1889.& 1890

Name: Daniel W Marmon; Addison H Nordyke; Brainard Rorison; Amos K Hollowell; Charles D Jenney
Location 1: Office and Works crossing Indianapolis and Vincennes Railroad R R and Morris (W I)
City: Indianapolis
State: IN
Occupation: president; Vice-president; secretary and Genl Mngr; treasurer; Electrician, Manufacturers and Contractors Dynamo Electric Machines, Lamps and Motors, Electric Lighting Plants
Year: 1889
Business Name: Jenney Electric Co

Name: Daniel W Marmon
City: Indianapolis
State: IN
Occupation: secretary; president
Year: 1889
Business Name: Nordyke & Marmon Co; Jenney Electric Light Co
Location 2: 518 N Delaware

Name: Addison H Nordyke; Daniel W Marmon; Amos K Hollowell
Location 1: crossing Indianapolis and Vincennes Railroad R R and Morris (W I)
City: Indianapolis
State: IN
Occupation: president; secretary; treasurer, Founders and Machinists and Manufacturers of Mill Machinery, Etc
Year: 1889 & 1890
Business Name: Nordyke & Marmon Co

Name: Charles E Coffin; Daniel W Marmon; Theodore P Haughey; Charles E Holloway
Location 1: 90 E Market
City: Indianapolis
State: IN
Occupation: president; Vice-president; treasurer; secretary
Year: 1890
Business Name: Indiana Savings and Investment Company of Indianapolis The

Name: Daniel W Marmon
City: Indianapolis
State: IN
Occupation: secretary
Year: 1890
Business Name: Nordyke & Marmon Co
Location 2: 518 N Delaware

Name: Walter C Marmon
City: Indianapolis
State: IN
Occupation: millwright
Year: 1890
Location 2: b 518 N Delaware

Indianapolis Auto Greats Celebrating Automotive Heritage at Crown Hill Cemetery .

Sec	Lot	Name		Comment
44	29	Daniel Marmon	1844-1909	Indianapolis auto manufacturing family. A Marmon Wasp won the first Indianapolis 500
		Franklin Marmon	1899-1924
		Howard Marmon	1876-1943
		Walter Marmon	1872-1940

DANIEL W MARMON was born October 10, 1844 in Zanesfield, Logan County, Ohio, and died May 1 909 in Indianapolis Marion County, Indiana. Buried Crown Hill Cemetery Indianapolis Marion County. He was the son of James Watkins Marmon, M.D. and Hannah Moffitt

He married August 18, 1870 Wayne County, Indiana. ELIZABETH M CARPENTER born April 25, 1849 CLinton Seneca county Ohio and died 10 Feb 1940. Indianapolis Marion County Indiana Buried Crown Hill Cemetery Indianapolis Marion County Indiana daughter of Weller Totten Carpenter and Susan Mable Maybe/Mabie.br>
The resided at 970 N. Delaware Indianapolis>

Children of DANIEL MARMON and ELIZABETH CARPENTER are:
i WALTER CARPENTER MARMON was born August 25, 1872 in Richmond, Indiana, and died August 29, 1940 in Richmond, Indiana. Buried Crown Hill Cemetery Indianapolis Marion County Indiana ii HOWARD CARPENTER MARMON was born May 24, 1876 in Richmond, Wayne County, Indiana, and died April 04, 1943 in Fort Lauderdale, Boward, Florida. Buried Crown Hill Cemetery Indianapolis Marion County Indiana He married 1st abt 1901 FLORENCE MOORE MYERS born 1 Jan 1881 San Francisco, California daughter of Warren F. Myers and Sallie M. [-?-]. The marriage ended in divorce> By U. S. Passport applications for and Passenger Lists she remained unmarried. He married 2nd June 15, 1911 in Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana (at noon at her residence by Rev. M. L. Haines) MARTHA MARTINDALE FOSTER. She was born November 12, 1880 in Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana. d. Apr 1959 in Indianapolis, Marion, Indiana daughter of Chapin Clarke Foster and Harriet Newell McIntire. Howard and Martha had no children.

iii. MARY TOWNSEND MARMON, b. December 11, 1873; d. July 04, 1874, Indiana.

iv HOWARD CARPENTER MARMON, b. May 24, 1876, Richmond, Wayne County, Indiana; d. April 04, 1943, Fort Lauderdale, Florida; chief engineer of the Marmon company.

v. CAROLINE MARMON, b. June 24, 1878 Richmond, Wayne, Indiana Dec. 28, 1960 Indianapolis, Marion, Indiana buried Crown Hill Cemetery Indianapolis, Marion, Indiana; m. June 02, 1917, Marion count, Indiana James William 'Billy' Fesler born 29 Sep 1864 Morgantown, Morgan, Indiana and died 1949 Indianapolis, Marion, Indiana James Indiana and was buried Crown Hill Cemetery Indianapolis, Marion, Indiana son of John Roush Fesler and Harriet Louisa Fish

Year: 1870; Census Place: Richmond Ward 2, Wayne, Indiana; Roll: M593_371; Page: 528A; - Hotel

Year: 1880; Census Place: Indianapolis, Marion, Indiana; Roll: 294; Family History Film: 1254294; Page: 52A; Enumeration District: 108

Year: 1900; Census Place: Indianapolis, Marion, Indiana; Roll: 388; Page: 1B; Enumeration District: 0057; FHL microfilm: 1240388.

Year: 1910; Census Place: Indianapolis Ward 8, Marion, Indiana; Roll: T624_368; Page: 10B; Enumeration District: 0144

Year: 1920; Census Place: Indianapolis Ward 8, Marion, Indiana; Roll: T625_453; Page: 5B; Enumeration District: 144;

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Daniel W. Marmon