Wayne County Biographies



Part of the Indiana Biographies Project



Arthur C. Lindemuth

For twenty-three years a distinguished member of the legal profession, honored and respected in every class of society, Mr. Lindemuth has long been a leader in thought and action in the public life of the state. His name is a familiar one in political and professional circles throughout Indiana, and by reason of his marked intellectual activity and superior ability he is well fitted to aid in molding the policy of the state, to control general interests and form public opinion.

Long years ago the Lindemuth family was founded in America by Ludwig Lindemuth, the great-great-grandfather of our subject, who, as his name indicates, was of German birth. He resided near Wurtemberg in the Fatherland, and thence crossed the Atlantic to America in early colonial days. He eventually settled in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, where the remainder of his life was passed. The great-grandfather, John Peter Lindemuth, lived and died in the same county, having been a farmer by occupation. George Lindemuth, grandfather of our subject, was born on the old homestead near Mount Joy, Lancaster county, and there spent his entire life. His residence, a large stone house, built in 1765, by Ludwig, the pioneer of the family, was one of the finest in all that country-side at that day. Its walls were frescoed and its furnishings were in keeping with the exterior. It still stands as one of the landmarks of the early time. It was situated in the midst of a large farm, belonging to George Lindemuth, who was a most practical, progressive and enterprising agriculturist, following advanced methods and conducting his business after the most approved custom of the time. He was the first to introduce irrigation and other improved systems of farming into his neighborhood, and was accounted a leading and influential farmer. He died in 1873, when about eighty years of age.

John Lindemuth, father of Richmond's well known lawyer, was born at Mount Joy, Lancaster county, on April 26, 1821, and at different times made his home in Gettysburg, Dayton and Greenville, Ohio, and Richmond, Indiana. For twenty-two years he resided in Greenville, and then came to Richmond, where his death occurred in 1895. For a considerable period he engaged in the manufacture of sash and doors, but after his arrival in this city manufactured picture frames for the well-known firm of W. S. Dunn & Company, of New York city. He possessed excellent business ability, and his wise management and enterprise won him a most desirable success. In manner he was very quiet and of domestic tastes, preferring the pleasures of the home circle to the excitement of the political arena or the interests of social life. He married Eleanor Huffman, who died in 1884, at the age of sixty years. They had three sons and three daughters: One son, Preston, and one daughter, Hellen, are now deceased; Albert H., of Los Angeles, California, has charge of the carpentering department of the Los Angeles & Pasadena Elecric Railroad Company; Emma E., of Richmond; Arthur C.; and Victoria E., who was educated in the public schools and Danville Academy, and has now successfully engaged in teaching in the public schools of Richmond for twenty years.

Hon. Arthur C. Lindemuth was born in "Little" York, York county, Pennsylvania, January 3, 1854, and with his parents came to Indiana. He was graduated in the high school of Greenville, in the class of 1873, and then entered Cornell University, at Ithaca, New York, where he was graduated in 1877, having completed the scientific course. In 1877 he accepted the appointment to a position on the Ohio geological survey, for one year, under Professor Edwin Orton, state geologist and president of the Ohio University. He discovered seven new specimens of mollusca, and his report was published in the Ohio Geological Reports. He declined a professorship in his alma mater, in order to enter upon the study of law, having determined to make the practice of that profession his life work. His preceptors were the Hon. C. M. Anderson, of Greenville, Ohio, later a member of congress from that district, and Judge Jobes. He was admitted to the bar by the district court of Ohio, in 1876.

For a year Mr. Lindemuth practiced in Greenville, and during that time received the Republican nomination for prosecuting attorney, but the Democratic majority in that district was too large to overcome. On September 10, 1877, he arrived in Richmond, where he has since engaged in the practice of law, securing a large and distinctively representative clientele. From 1888 to 1898 he served as city attorney and ably represented Richmond's interests in the courts. He is an indefatigable and earnest worker. His practice has been general and he is proficient in every department of the law. The litigation with which he has been connected has embraced many of the most important cases tried in the courts of this circuit, and again and again he has won the victor's laurels over competitors of marked ability.—a fact which indicates his own power as counselor and advocate. With a keenly analytical mind, his broad knowledge of law enables him to apply to the point in litigation the principles of jurisprudence which bear most closely upon it, citing authority and precedent until the strength of his case is clearly seen by court or jury. His deductions are logical and the force of his arguments is shown in the many verdicts, favorable to his clients, which he has won.

For some years Mr. Lindemuth has been a recognized leader in the ranks of the Republican party in Indiana. He served for two terms in the state legislature, being elected in 1891 and again in 1893 to represent Wayne and Fayette counties. During the first session he was the recognized leader of the minority, in 1893 was the Republican nominee for speaker, and during that assembly was the real leader in the house. He studied closely every question which came up for settlement, and his wise judgment and patriotic service won him a large following. He introduced and secured the passage of the Lindemuth or corporation franchise act, also the park law, controlling and governing the park commissioners, and many other bills of lesser importance. He has taken an active part in local and state campaign work, and his able, logical and entertaining addresses have been most effective in securing Republican victories. He has been prominently mentioned for governor and secretary of state in Indiana, and his ability would enable him to grace any position which he might be called upon to fill. He possesses those qualities which constitute the true statesman,—keen analytical power, close comprehension, a thorough understanding of the needs of the people and a loyalty to republican principles and institutions; and whether in political or professional life, he will serve his fellow men well.

Source:
Biographical and Genealogical History of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin Counties, Indiana, Volume 1, The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago, 1899