Theodore Franklin Vonnegut

THEODORE FRANKLIN Vonnegut . A member of one of the oldest and most highly-respected families of Indianapolis, Theodore Frankli Vonnegut has had an active and diversified career, in which he has invaded several fields of endeavor with marked success. He commenced his career as a lawyer, giving this up temporarily to engage in the book business, in which he became widely known, but eventually returned to the law and is now in possession of a large and representative clientele. He likewise has been prominent in public affairs, partic ularly those affecting education, and from 1926 to 1928, inclusive, was president of the school board of Indianapolis, and one year (1929) served as chairman of the buildings and grounds committee.

Mr. Vonnegut was born at Indianapolis, June 21, 1880, and is a son of Franklin and Pauline (Von Hake) Vonnegut. His paternal grandfather was Clemens Vonnegut , who was born in Westphalia, Germany, and came to the United States in 1851, settling at Indianapolis, where he became a leading citizen and served as a member of the school board for a period of thirty-seven years. Franklin Vonnegut also labored in the cause of education, having been a member of the school board of Indianapolis for six years.

Theodore Franklin Vonnegut attended the Indianapolis grade schools and the Emmerich Manual Training High School, following which he attended Indiana University, from which he received the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws. Subsequently he pursued a course at the University of Heidelberg, Germany, and in 1903 graduated from the Indiana Law School.

For several years after completing his university work Mr. Vonnegut practiced his profession at Indianapolis, and then engaged in the book business, specializing in old and rare books. He built up a business as an old-book dealer and was known as an authority on such.

He wrote and in 1926 published a work entitled “Indianapolis Booksellers and their Literary Background -1822-1860, A Glimpse of the Old Book Trade of Indianapolis,” and this was a thesis submitted to and accepted by Indiana University as a partial requirement for the degree of Master of Arts, January 4, 1926.

n 1926 Mr. Vonnegut retired from the book business and resumed the practice of law. In that year he was elected president of the Indianapolis School Board, a position to which he gave a great deal of his time and thought, contributing to the extensive public school system of his city a wise and efficient administration

He is a Knight Templar Mason.

Mr. Vonnegut married Miss Lucy Lewis, of Princeton, Indiana, a member of a pioneer Indiana family, and they have one daughter: Pauline.

INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 5
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931

Vonnegut Family Index