Source: History of Boone County, Indiana, by Hon. L.M. Crist, 1914.
IRA E. CONRAD That parents have a wonderful influence upon the minds
and hearts of
their offspring cannot for a moment be gainsaid, hence the necessity of
measuring up to the
high standard which both nature and the Creator require of fatherhood and
motherhood.
In matter of birth Ira E. Conrad, one of the leading business men and representative
citizens of the town of Zionsville, Boone county, has been fortunate, inheriting
as he does
the sterling characteristics of his ancestors, and he has been most careful
to make the most
of his innate ability and to keep untarnished the bright escutcheon of an
honored family
name, which has stood for good citizenship and right living in this section
of the Hoosier
state since the pioneer days.
Mr. Conrad was born in Hamilton county, Indiana, six miles northeast
of Zionsville, July
10, 1869. He is a son of William Conrad, also a native of that county,
and a grandson of
Martin Conrad, who was born in North Carolina, and was an early settler
in Hamilton
county, where he experienced the usual hardships of frontiersman in developing
a farm
from the wilderness. We first hear of David Conrad of Pennsylvania, who
finally moved
to North Carolina. He was a native of Germany, and he was the father of
Martin Conrad,
mentioned above. William Conrad married Sarah Brown, a native of Hamilton
county,
and a daughter of Joseph Brown, a well-known citizen of that county in a
past generation.
The death of William Conrad occurred in 1869 when our subject was an infant.
The latter
grew to manhood on the farm and received a common school education. He
worked at
various things in order to get a start in life and early turned his attention
to merchandising,
working in a general store several years, finally being admitted as partner
in the firm of
Mills & Cropper. They carried on a large business until 1913 when the
firm dissolved, and
John Mills took the dry goods department and Miss Cropper and our subject
took the
furniture and undertaking end of the business, which they have since been
conducting most
successfully under the firm name of Cropper & Conrad, and are modernly
equipped in
every way and have a neat and well-furnished office and carry a complete
and well-
selected stock of furniture. Honest, prompt and high-grade service is their
aim. They have
a substantial and ample building and use both the lower and upper floors.
Their business is
rapidly increasing.
Mr. Conrad was married in 1898 to Anna M. Cropper, who was reared and
educated in
this community, and she is a daughter of E. S. Cropper and wife, both parents
being now
deceased. Her father was a successful business man in Zionsville for many
years. His
family consisted of the following children: Ella, wife of John M. Mills,
well-known
merchant of Zionsville; Alice, deceased; Nettie, Mrs. Anna M. Conrad and
Maggie Sparks;
Oliver died in 1913.
Politically, Mr. Conrad is a Democrat and he has served as town trustee.
Fraternally, he is
a member of the Masonic Order, and is treasurer of the local lodge. He
also belongs to the
Knights of Pythias and the Improved Order of Red Men. He is a member of
the Christian
church.
BROWN CONRAD CROPPER MILLS SPARKS
Submitted by Amy K. Davis