It's racing month and you would be hard pressed to find someone that hadn't heard of the Indianapolis 500.  But finding someone that knew how this 2.5 mile oval racetrack came to be, is a different story.  So, today, we are taking a look at the four men that became responsible for the home of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing - Carl G. Fisher, James Allison, Arthur Newby, and Frank Wheeler.

We will begin with Carl G. Fisher as he was the visionary behind the Speedway.  Carl Graham Fisher was born in Greensburg, Decatur County, Indiana on January 12, 1874 to parents Albert Harvey Fisher (1847-1921) and Ida M. Graham Fisher (1848-1925).  He had two brothers, but I don't have any information on their names, but he opened a bicycle shop with them when he was about seventeen. This led to his love of bicycle racing as well as the emerging automotive industry.  He was said to have purchased the first car, a De Dion Bouton, in Indianapolis in 1898.  His love of bicycle racing shifted to auto racing and early in 1904, he set a world's record racing on a dirt track, driving two miles in just over two minutes.

His love of cars and racing innovations led him to open an automobile showroom in 1902 at 330 North Illinois Street.  It was here that he sold and serviced cars manufactured in Indianapolis - Premier and Winton.  A few years later, he moved this operation to 400 North Capitol Avenue. Here he sold Stoddard-Dayton, Maxwell and Nationals.  This building, unfortunately, is no longer there.  

In 1904, he and his friend James Allison bought an interest in a US patent to manufacture acetylene headlights.  These headlights used a compressed acetylene system to light these headlamps.  Unfortunately, the testing that happened to make these headlights lead to some explosions at the facility where they were being manufactured, so they moved their operations to some farmland south of Crawfordsville Road.  This new location for the manufacturing of the headlights was located across the road to the track where they were testing automobiles.  

The first event that was held at the newly founded Indianapolis Motor Speedway was a balloon race.  Fisher participated in this event, but he did not win, losing to John Berry and Paul McCullough in the University City Balloon.  But the true purpose of this track was to serve as a testing facility for the rapidly growing local auto industry.  Indianapolis ranked fourth in the nation around this time for the production of automobiles.  By 1913, it would rank second.

The need for this track was in part because the availability of automobiles and the technology used to create them was rapidly outpacing the conditions of the roads that they were being driven on. So Fisher and Allison, along with their two friends Arthur Newby and Frank Wheeler built the huge "motor parkway" that would eventually become the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Carl Fisher married Jane Watt (also spelled Watts) (1887-1968) in 1909 when she was only 15 years old, breaking off his previous engagement to an unnamed woman.  She became the hostess of their estate, Blossom Heath, which was located on Cold Spring Road.  In 1922, he sold the estate, but it still stands, sitting on land as part of Marian University.  They were married until 1926 when they divorced after he disapproved of her adopting a young child.  Their union only produced one natural child, Carl Graham Fisher, Jr (1921-1921) who is buried in the Fisher vault in Crown Hill Cemetery along with his father.

Fisher was married a second time, this time to Margaret Eleanor Collier Fisher Lyon (1894-1963), his secretary.  They were married until his death.

In the early 1910s, the motor club that Fisher helped found in 1902, the Hoosier Motor Club, joined with him in forming the Lincoln Highway Association.  This group set out to create a transcontinental highway more suited for automobiles.  After the success of this project, he then helped with the formation of the Dixie Highway.

In 1912, Allison and Fisher platted the town of Speedway on the land west of the track and the Prest-O-Lite factory.  The following year, the two partners sold their company to Union Carbide for a whopping $9 million dollars.

After Fisher sold his estate in 1922, he made the move to Florida, using his knowledge and fortune to buy up a plot of swampland.  This land eventually became what we now know as Miami Beach.

Carl Fisher died on July 15, 1939 in a Miami Beach Hospital of a stomach hemorrhage, brought on by
an prolonged illness, likely compounded by his alcoholism. He brought back to Indianapolis and interred in Crown Hill Cemetery.

Indiana Historical Society

Fisher's friend, James Asbury Allison is next on our list.  He was born on August 11, 1872 in Marcellus, Cass County, Michigan to Noah Samuel Allison (1871-1914) and Myra Jane Black Allison (1847-1931).  Both of his parents are buried nearby in Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana.  James had three siblings that I have been able to find, all buried in Crown Hill Cemetery: Wallace Samuel Allison (1871-1914), Delmore C. Allison (1874-1916) and Herbert Cleland Allison Sr. (1878-1918).

James' father, Noah, was originally from Indianapolis and was involved in various enterprises before establishing the Allison Coupon Company.  James left school at the age of 12 to help with this business, eventually taking over the reins with his two brothers after the death of his father in 1890.

In 1909, he formed his partnership with Carl Fisher and and inventor Perry Avery to form the Concentrated Acetylene Company.  The company worked creating acetylene headlamps, an extremely dangerous occupation.  After a little while, Fisher and Allison bought out Avery's shares and renamed it Pres-O-Lite.  

Operations moved from the city limits out to its final location near what would become the Motor Speedway.  After the creation of the Speedway in 1909, Allison established the Allison Speedway Team Company, which was a machine shop on the grounds of the Prest-O-Lite factory.  After the company was purchased by Union Carbide, Allison moved his business to a new building and renamed it the Allison Engineering Company.  (My grandfather worked at Allison Engine for many years after WWII until his retirement).

During WWI, Allison's company provided tools  and such used in the production of Liberty Aircraft engines.  Because of his work, he received additional contracts to build British Whippet Tanks and tracks.  

After the war, he turned his attention back to his work at the Speedway.  Regardless of this work, he only entered a car in the race once, in 1919.  His car was driven by Howard "Howdy" Wilcox, who drive it to victory.

But not only did Allison create one of the largest employers in Indianapolis, he also had interests in Miami, Florida, where he built a hospital and an aquarium.  

Allison became the sole owner of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway

James Asbury Allison was married twice, his first wife was Sara Willis Cornelius Allison (1875-1938). They were divorced just a few weeks before his death in 1928.  But, it seems that just after their divorce and just before his death, he was married again, this time to Lucille Musset Allison Orr (1896-1942), his secretary.  He became ill with pneumonia while they were on their honeymoon in Port Washington, NY and died a few weeks later in 1928.  He is buried in Crown Hill Cemetery as well.

Indiana University

Our next important name is that of Arthur Calvin Newby born on December 29, 1865 in Monrovia, Morgan County, Indiana.  He was the son of John Newby (1840-1910) and Cornelia York Newby (1845-1920).  They are both buried near him in Crown Hill Cemetery.  

Little is known of his younger life, but we do know that he made his way to Indianapolis in 1881 looking for work and finding it as office boy at Nordyke and Marmon.  This company originally started out as a flour milling company, but changed in 1926 to focus on motor cars, changing its name to the Marmon Motor Car Company.

Not long after coming to Indianapolis, he succumbed to the bicycle craze that swept the country and he helped found the Zig Zag Cycling Club in 1890.  His success led him to create, along with Charles E. Test and Edward Fletcher, the Indianapolis Chain and Stamping Company, later the Diamond Chain Company.  His business supplied over half of the bicycle chains in America.  He also found himself part of the Willits Manufacturing Company from 1894-1899.

His love of bicycles led him to create the Newby Oval, a quarter mile wooden track on 15 acres near Central Avenue and 30th Street.  The course featured banked curves, a grandstand, two amphitheaters and could hold more than 8000 spectators.  It was considered one of the best velodromes in the country.  It was this venture that led him to work with Carl Fisher and James Allison.  

His attention turned from bicycles to automobiles with his work on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and with National Motor Vehicle Company..  

Newby never married and gave most of his money, without fanfare, to hospitals and higher education, most notable Riley Children's Hospital, Butler University and Earlham College.  He passed away on September 11, 1933 in Indianapolis, Indiana and was buried in Crown Hill Cemetery.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Our final name in this work is Frank H. Wheeler, born on October 24, 1863 in Manchester, Delaware County, Iowa to Sylvanus T. Wheeler (1834-1867) and Ursula M. Davis Wheeler Ball (1837-1926).  They are both buried in Oakland Cemetery, Manchester, Delaware County, Iowa.  

Frank made his way to Indianapolis from California after losing two fortunes.  After arriving, he met George Schebler, the inventor of one of the first successful carburetors.  Together they formed the Wheeler-Schebler Company to manufacturer these parts, find a small room on Alabama Street in downtown Indianapolis.  Wheeler provided the backing and office skills, while Schebler took care of the production.  

It didn't take long before their company became one of the best in the world, expanding its products to include magnetos and small electric motors.  In 1915, Wheeler purchased his partners interest in the business, paying him a reported $1 million.  But Wheeler didn't just keep his fingers in one pot, extending himself to serve as president of the Langenskamp-Wheeler Brass Works and as director for the Stutz Fire Engine Company.

Because of his work with the automotive industry, he met and made friends with Carl Fisher and subsequently James Allison, becoming an original investor in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  But he wasn't just involved with the Speedway, he also has involvement with the Columbia Club and Scottish Rite.  He was known to grow fruits and vegetables that he gave to children all throughout the city.  The Indianapolis School Corporation named an elementary school after him.

Frank was married to Harriet Estelle Githens Wheeler (1859-1924) and they had one child, Douglas Francis Wheeler (1891-1965).  She is buried near her husband in Crown Hill Cemetery, while their son is listed as being buried in Oak Woods Cemetery in Chicago, Illinois.

He passed away on May 27, 1921 and is buried in Crown Hill Cemetery.

These four men came together because of their love of racing, either bicycle or automobile.  It didn't really matter to them.  They loved it all.  And because of them Indianapolis Motor Speedway, "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing", came to life and is now one of the most important sporting events in the world, drawing hundreds of thousands of people a year to the city.

The founders of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with Henry Ford.

 

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RESOURCES:

Wikipedia - Carl Graham Fisher

Historic Indianapolis - Indianapolis Early Automotive Roots

IndySpeedway - 1909 National Balloon Race

Indiana Historical Bureau - Lincoln & Dixie Highways

Encyclopedia of Indianapolis - James A. Allison

Encyclopedia of Indianapolis - Arthur C. Newby

 This month's grave spotlight focuses in on a very controversial and somewhat outlandish figure in Morgan, Brown and Monroe counties history - Reverend William N. Crabb, founder of the Crabbite religion.

William N. Crabb was born in 1856 in Barren County, Kentucky to Abraham J. Crabb (1834-1915) and Mahala P. Tanner Crabb (1837-1887).  He had a few siblings that I have found names of: Jemima "Mima" E. Crabb Osborne (1855-1939), Eliza Frances Crabbe Followell (1859-1898) and Martha Ann Crabb Petro (1862-1934).  There is a discrepancy in the names of his children, however.  I did find mention of a Martha Crabb Skaggs in various articles as well.

His father, Abraham, was one of the earliest settlers of Nashville, Brown County, Indiana, though I have not found much information as to what his occupation was.  He did, however, serve in the Civil War in Company G of the 79th Indiana Infantry.

On October 19, 1879, he married Miss Mary Ann Petro (though her headstone says Nancy Ann Petro Harrington) (1858-1957).  They had thirteen children, though little is known of them other than their names: Mary Ann Crabb Satter (1891-1959), Minnie Catherine Crabb Pentecost (1895-1958), Jemima Crabb (?-?), Martha Crabb (?-?), Anna Crabb (?-?), Liza Crabb (?-?), Lillie Crabb (?-?) Tuchulia Crabb (?-?), Idela Crabb (?-?) and his only son, Frank Crabb (?-?).

Not much is known about William's life before he organized his religion.  What we do know is that he had little formal education, but was a forceful speaker with a convincing voice, which was a draw for the locals.  He was noted as having been a farm laborer and also a mail carrier for the post offices father out from Nashville. 

The early formation of the Church of the First Born was from two visiting men from Indianapolis.  They arrived on Gose Creek in Morgan County, Indiana.  This was a hard one to figure out, because when searching for the location, I was repeatedly taken to a Goose Creek in Morgan County.  But after a little more looking, I did indeed find a Gose Creek, which has a nearby cemetery.  There are no Crabbs buried there.

These men from the metropolis in Marion County, Indiana, brought with them their marvelous teachings.  They declared all other doctrines to be false and also that they "were possessed of miraculous powers". The locals began to flock to their church, which was in a small, old log cabin. Their teachings became so popular that the log cabin could barely hold the numbers of believers.

This new faith, which as noted before stated that all other doctrine was false, preached that the earth was square, using the first verse of the Book of Revelations as their proof:

"And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor the sea, nor any tree."

Their teachings also denied that Jesus was born in a manger, but instead under an apple tree.  Where that idea came from, is not noted anywhere, mostly because, even though they preached the Bible to prove their beliefs that the earth is square, they do not quote the Bible.  Instead, these men claimed divine inspiration and forcing all that followed them to believe without questions.  They also believed that all sickness was banished by laying on hands and devils were cast out by them and them alone.

But, not all those in the area were as fanatical about the new religion and the small, log cabin meetinghouse was destroyed by dynamite, scattering the believers to instead become devout followers of the Reverend William Crabb, residing in Brown County.  He preached in an open air church, using a tree stump to deliver his wild teachings.  He claimed that he could handle poisonous snakes without danger to himself, which he should free to his audience.  

But this wasn't all he did while preaching.  He introduced something called the "Holy Kiss", which, from what I can tell, was him talking in tongues during his sermons.  He also added foot-washing to his litany of practices, with what intentions, I am unsure.  

According to an article in the Indianapolis News, dated May 23, 1908:

"On May 14, the converts of this Moses of the Brown county wilderness were repulsed by nonbelievers in a sensational fight when the attempted to restore the dead of life." 

This was shown to be one of their beliefs when one the members of the group passed away from consumption.  The family set out for her burial at Goose Creek Cemetery (actually Gose Creek Cemetery as I found a listing for her burial).  They stopped the family from proceeding with the burial and instead attempted to resurrect her by praying and laying on hands.  

It would seem that not only did William Crabb believe that he was immune to the bite of snakes, but that these same snakes could use their venom to bring back the dead.  They also believed that "those of the faith will instantly know it if sin, sickness or accident befalls a brother or a sister of the faith, and when this impression comes to them even though miles be between, they pray and overcome the untoward condition that threatens".  This belief also extended to disarming their enemies, which they were using said power against the man, or men, that destroyed their original meeting place.

Many people truly believed that he was nothing more than a con man and that the supposed venomous snakes that he used in his circus sideshow preachings were nothing more than harmless black snakes that the illiterate followers would not recognize.  These followers were stated as being "ginseng diggers, blackberry pickers, bushmen and men and women who can not read or write".  Those with a modicum of education believe that this teachings were nothing more than "tom-foolery".  Even with that, they also believed that he was doing good by teaching these isolated people, regardless of his beliefs.  That seems some what backward.

William Crabb travelled all over Brown County, into the hollers and valleys to preach this bizarre religion.  These travelling priests were called Circuit Riders.  He did have a settled home on a farm between Morgantown and Cornelius, which  was an unincorporated town in Jackson Township, Brown County, Indiana.  

Their religion, however, seems to have not been just a local bit of oddness, but had farther reaching fingers.  An article in The Newton Enterprise from Newton, North Carolina, dated July 1, 1909, noted that the Crabbites believed voting to be one of the deadly sins.  

Regardless of what the beliefs were, William Crabb and his followers have woven their religion into the fabric of Brown and Morgan Counties.  Now, if you will remember, at the beginning, I listed Monroe County as well.  And that is because, for some reason, even though there is no written proof anywhere that I can find, many have said that these people performed strange rituals and orgies in the woods of the Morgan Monroe State Forest, particularly at Stepp Cemetery.  This cemetery is riddled with all kinds of ghosts stories and hauntings, which, in my opinion, as much as I love a good ghost story, is all hokum.  I have been to Stepp Cemetery and it is a lovely, calm little burial spot nestled amongst the trees.  Somewhere amongst the stories it is said that Reuben Stepp purchased the land in 1856 and he bequeathed and area for a church for the Crabbites to preach at.  This makes little sense since this is on the wrong side of the Morgan County area, closer, as noted to Monroe County, while William lived up on the Morgan/Brown border area nearer to Morgantown.  And since William was a circuit rider, he stuck in a small area and preached open air.  It seems to me that since people like to attached a variety of hauntings to Stepp Cemetery, they grabbed a hold of the Crabbites as well.  There doesn't appear to be any true association.

To sum up, William Crabb (middle name unknown, though the initials N., V. and W. all seem to be attached to him) was a fanatical preacher of an odd sect of Christianity with an odd following of believers and nonbelievers alike.

He is buried in Mount Zion Separate Baptist Cemetery in Morgantown, Indiana having passed away on December 3, 1927.  

As a note, the Separate Baptist beliefs do not align with the Crabbite belief in any way.

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RESOURCES

Brown County Journal - February 15, 2012

Countryfolk - Followers of the Reverend William Crabb

Genealogy Trails - Circuit Riders, Ministers & Pastors Biographies

Wikipedia - Cornelius, Indiana

Newspapers.com 

Newspapers.com