William Hunter Penman (May 18, 1858[1] – November 30, 1917[2]) was the first known permanent resident of East Chicago, Indiana, and later its first mayor.
William H. Penman | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 1st Mayor of East Chicago | |
| In office 1893–1898 | |
| Succeeded by | William Hale |
| Personal details | |
| Born | May 18, 1858 Hammondsville, Ohio |
| Died | November 30, 1917 Beaumont, Texas |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Alice McCoy |
| Residence | East Chicago, Indiana |
| Profession | Storage tank manufacturer |
Early life
editPenman was born in 1858 in Hammondsville, Ohio, to Scottish parents John Penman and Margaret Frazer.[1] At the age of ten, he left school to work as a cooper.[1]
In 1878, Penman went to work in the storage tank works of his brother-in-law, William Graver, in Pittsburgh.[1] The Graver Tank Company was then expanding due to heavy demand from the Standard Oil Company.[3] Penman soon became supervisor of the Pittsburgh works, a position he later also held at the company's subsequent locations in Lima, Ohio and Chicago, Illinois.[1]
On December 13, 1883, Penman married Alice McCoy, of Enon Valley, Pennsylvania.[1] They had two children.[1]
East Chicago
editIn 1888, William Graver sent Penman to East Chicago to supervise the construction of the new Graver Tank Works there. Penman arrived in June 1888.[1] At the time, the development of East Chicago had only just begun, with the completion of a railroad line to the city by the Chicago & Calumet Terminal Railway earlier the same year.[4] The Graver Tank Works was the first set of buildings in the city.[5]
Upon moving to East Chicago with his family, Penman built a two-story home at the corner of Tod and 148th Street, in what is today the city's Southside neighborhood.[6] The Penmans boarded in nearby Hammond until the house was complete.[1] The two-story house, which was soon joined by others, stood across the street from the Graver Tank Works.[6] The Gravers' was the first home built in East Chicago.[6]
The following year, in 1889, East Chicago was incorporated as a town.[7] Penman was elected treasurer of the town council.[7]
East Chicago held a special election of municipal officers on March 14, 1893, in order to become a city.[8] Penman was elected mayor.[8] He was reelected in April 1894.[1]
In the 1894 election, Penman (a Republican) was opposed by the Democratic candidate, Colonel Redmond D. Walsh.[9] In August 1895, Walsh swore out a warrant against Penman, accusing him of improperly using his office to secure a public contract for water mains.[9] Penman thus became the first of many East Chicago mayors to face public corruption charges.[5] However, when the case was tried to a jury, the jury not only acquitted Penman, but jointly issued a public testimonial to his character.[10] In October 1895, Penman sued Walsh for defamation.[11]
As mayor, Penman sought to establish the necessary infrastructure for urban development, including a municipal water supply and fire department.[5] However, these utilities ultimately went bankrupt due to the city's inadequate finances in this early stage.[5]
For a time in the 1890s, Penman and George McCoy operated the Penman & McCoy Tank and Boiler-Making Works in East Chicago. However, the works entered receivership and were sold in 1898.[12]
Texas
editIn 1901, Penman formed his own company, the Penman Tank Company. Initially based in East Chicago, the company moved to Beaumont, Texas in 1902.[13] Before the factory was even built in Beaumont, Penman Tank already had $500,000 in contracts, including from the Southern Pacific Railroad.[14]
Penman died in on November 30, 1917, and was buried in Beaumont.[2]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Pictorial and Biographical Record of La Porte, Porter, Lake and Starke Counties. 1894. p. 224.
- ^ a b "William Hunter Penman (1858-1917)". Find A Grave. Retrieved 2017-12-11.
- ^ Petroleum Age Vol 6 No 1. 1919. p. 176.
- ^ Robert Lewis (2009). Chicago Made: Factory Networks in the Industrial Metropolis. p. 163. ISBN 978-0226477046.
- ^ a b c d Lu Ann Franklin (1993-02-23). "Thirteen men have led the city on its course". Times of Northwest Indiana. Retrieved 2017-12-11.
- ^ a b c Tamsen Song Anderson (2013). ""Beautiful New Homes": The Development of Middle-Class Housing in the Industrial Suburb of East Chicago, Indiana". Indiana Magazine of History. 109 (3): 185–223. doi:10.5378/indimagahist.109.3.0185.
- ^ a b Kenneth J. Schoon (2003). Calumet Beginnings: Ancient Shorelines and Settlements at the South End of Lake Michigan. p. 150. ISBN 025334218X.
- ^ a b Jane and Evan Ammeson (2016). East Chicago. p. 11. ISBN 978-1467115001.
- ^ a b "Col. R.D. Walsh's Spite: Trumps Up a Charge Against Mayor Penman, of East Chicago". Indianapolis Journal. 1895-09-01. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
- ^ "Penman's Vindication'". Indianapolis Journal. 1894-10-04. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
- ^ "Mayor Penman Strikes Back". Indianapolis Journal. 1895-10-04. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
- ^ The Iron Trade Review - Volume 31. 1898. p. 21.
- ^ Engineering and Mining Journal. 1902. p. 359.
- ^ Iron and Machinery World - Volume 91. 1902. p. 33.