Esther Elderkin and Elwood Whitney McGuire
ELWOOD WHITNEY MCGUIRE was born May 5, 1854 in Eaton, Preble, Ohio, and died March 1, 1938 in Colorado Springs, El Paso, Colorado. He is buried in Earlham Cemetery, Richmond, Wayne, Indiana.89, 1125
He married ESTHER ELDERKIN on June 15, 1874 in Wayne County, Indiana.1675 She was born August 2, 1853 in Ohio, and died February 24, 1938 in Colorado Springs, El Paso, Colorado.5584 She is buried in Earlham Cemetery, Richmond, Wayne, Indiana.89, 1125
Children of ESTHER ELDERKIN and ELWOOD WHITNEY MCGUIRE:
- CHARLES ALBERT MCGUIRE, b. May 17, 1875, Richmond, Wayne, Indiana;4931 m. BLANCHE OGRETA SCOTT on July 29, 1897 in New Paris, Preble, Ohio12, 265; d. September 6, 1961, Richmond, Wayne, Indiana.266, 4931
- EDNA AMANDA MCGUIRE, b. 1879; m. JACOB HAROLD FRANTZ on June 18, 1919 in Colorado Springs, El Paso, Colorado3872; d. July 11, 1941, Colorado Springs, El Paso, Colorado.5587
- HENRY CLEM MCGUIRE, b. October, 1879; d. March 28, 1902, Southern Pines, Moore, North Carolina.5586
- MARY FLORENCE MCGUIRE, b. July, 1887; d. October 31, 1924, Colorado Springs, El Paso, Colorado.1142
Obituaries
Richmond Item, February 26, 19385584
MRS. ELWOOD W. M'GUIRE
Mrs. Esther E. McGuire, wife of Elwood W. McGuire of Colorado Springs, Colo., founder of the Dille & McGuire Manufacturing company here, died Thursday night at her home. Mr. and Mrs. McGuire formerly resided on East Main street until they went to Colorado Springs in 1912. Mr. McGuire, whose son now operates the Dille and McGuire Lawnmower factory here, gained prominence for perfecting the modern lawnmower. The local factory is one of the oldest and largest concerns manufacturing lawn mowers in the United States.
Mrs. McGuire before her marriage was Esther Elderkin, member of an early Richmond family. She was a native of this city and a sister of the late Ms. John Hollowell and the late Mrs. Edwin Thatcher. Funeral services and interment will take place Saturday at Colorado Springs.
Survivors are the husband; one daughter, Mrs. Edna Frantz, Colorado Springs; one son, Charles A. McGuire, president of the local lawnmower company, who now is in Florida; three grandchildren, Whitney McGuire, secretary to the local company, Miss Sue McGuire, Richmond, and Scott McGuire, Washington, D. C.; and two great-grandchildren, Frances and Charles McGuire, of this city.
Richmond Item, March 2, 19385588
Elwood McGuire, 84, Succumbs in Colorado
Following his wife in death by less than a week, Elwood W. McGuire, 84 years old, president of the Dille & McGuire Manufacturing Co., one of the oldest and largest concerns manufacturing lawn mowers in the United States died early Tuesday at his home in Colorado Springs, Colo. His wife, Mrs. Esther Elderkin McGuire, died Feb. 24.
Mr. McGuire had been an invalid the past several years. Funeral services will be held at Colorado Springs.
While a resident of Richmond until 1912, Mr. McGuire not only devoted his time to the development of his business, but showed a keen interest in community affairs and contributed much to local charitable organizations.
He was one of the largest stockholders in the Second National bank, and formerly served as a director of the old Union National bank, also the Second National bank. He was a member of the First Presbyterian church, Richmond Lodge of Elks, and the Knights of Pythias, which he joined in 1877. He was a past chancellor and member of the grand K. of P. order at one time.
Mr. McGuire was born May 5, 1853, at Eaton, Preble county, Ohio, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Ezekiel Whitney McGuire. He attended grammar school there, and his education was completed at the Lawrenceburg High School and at Whitewater college at Centerville.
His ancestry was of the earliest American, his father's forbears being of Plymouth Rock stock. Several of Mr. McGuire's ancestors served with Washington at Valley Forge. His mother's parents came to Ohio from Maryland and settled at the mouth of the Miami, near Cincinnati, Ohio. They became prosperous farmers, and Jesse Hunt, maternal grandfather of Mr. McGuire, assisted in laying out and building the town of Lawrenceburg.
Mr. McGuire was a natural mechanical genius. This trait was evident even in his early youth, and eventually was responsible for the perfecting of the modern lawn mower, and the founding and growth of the firm, Dille & McGuire Manufacturing Co.
While still attending school he began working part time as an apprentice wood patter maker with the Quaker City Machine works. Steam engines, saw mills and general machinery were produced at this plant, and it gave him an excellent opportunity to study and to develop those traits of mechanical ability which were already becoming evident.
Except for a year of travel, he remained at this employment until 1870 when he went into partnership with Henry H. Dille, machinist and model maker. Their shop, located on Fort Wayne avenue, made progress and soon employed several helpers. This was a period of hard struggle, however, and neither employers nor employees could always be sure that the pay roll could be met. It always was, however, and the business continued growing.
In 1872 a fodder cutting machine was brought to them for repair. This machine operated with revolving cutters. The repairing of this machine inspired Mr. McGuire to attempt to build another machine, simpler and more efficient, and to be used for cutting grass.
Two previous attempts had been made to make a lawn mower, both in England, and while these cutters functioned, they were exceedingly clumsy and heavy. Mr. McGuire undertook to make a more successful mower, and designed and built the first American lawn mower at that time. So correct were his ideas that the fundamental features of his first built mower are the same as those employed today in practically all mowers.
The original model had a rear wheel instead of the long wood roller now used, and this change was made by Mr. McGuire almost immediately. The modern finely constructed mower is a tribute to Mr. McGuire, but a far greater tribute is the fact that his original mower should be so fundamentally correct that after 60 years its principle still is perfect.
In 1880 the Richmond Lawn Mower company was formed and incorporated, replacing the former company. New quarters were obtained. Some time later the name was changed to Dille & McGuire Manufacturing Co., this name still being used by the present firm.
A few years later Mr. McGuire purchased the interest of Mr. Dille, and shortly afterward he bought the interests of all the other stockholders, thereby acquiring exclusive ownership of the company.
In addition to the many improvements and refinements which he added to the mowers he manufactured, Mr. McGuire continued his work on other lines. Among his most notable achievements was the designing and construction of a steam engine which was used for many years to furnish power for the factory, and later preserved as a relic in the factory building. For this work he was presented a medal from the Tenth Cincinnati Industrial exposition in 1882.
In 1880 he mounted a steam engine on wheels, and so constructed one of the first self-propelling vehicles ever built. This "horseless carriage," as it was then known, was capable of a speed of seven or eight miles per hour, and was one of the forerunners of the modern tractor and automobile.
Fully as notable as these achievements with the steam engine was his invention and perfection of an electric automatic signal device for railroads. This was the forerunner of the modern electric block system now used by practically all railroads. It operated by means of batteries, and was so designed that the engineer knew from a system of lights in his engine cab whether the road was clear for a distance of two miles ahead.
During all his experimentation, however, he confined the factory activity to the building of but one product—lawn mowers—and from this policy the factory has never deviated.
The product of the company is sold throughout the United States and Canada, and in many other parts of the world.
Early in his career he established agencies in England, France, Germany, and other European countries and in the Far East as well as in South Africa. So satisfactory has his product been that all of these points still continue to distribute his mowers. Universal recognition was accorded him when he furnished the machines that cut all the lawns in the World's Fair grounds in Chicago in 1893.
Mr. McGuire remained in active charge of his business until 1912 when he retired, leaving the management to his son Charles A. McGuire, who had been associated with him for many years. Charles A. McGuire is still in active charge, being assisted in the management by his son, Whitney S. McGuire, as secretary.
During the early history of the factory, Mr. McGuire's father, E. W. McGuire, sr. who was primarily interested in railroading, was president of the factory. Charles A. McGuire, who now conducts the business is, therefore, the third generation of the family who conducted the business, and his son Whitney, now assisting him, is the fourth generation.
After his retirement from the active management of the factory in 1912, he moved to Colorado Springs.
Survivors are his son, Charles A. McGuire; one daughter, Mrs. Edna M. Frantz, Colorado Springs; three grandchildren, Whitney S. McGuire, Miss Sue McGuire, Richmond; Scott McGuire, Washington, D. C., and two great grandchildren, Frances and Charles McGuire, Richmond.
Richmond Palladium and Sun-Telegram, March 4, 19385589
McGuire and Wife To Be Buried Here
Last rites for Elwood W. McGuire, president of the Dille & McGuire Manufacturing Co., here, who died Mar. 1 at his home in Colorado Springs, Colo., will be conducted in the late home Saturday afternoon. The bodies of Mr. McGuire and Mrs. Esther Elderkin McGuire, his wife, who died Feb. 24, will be returned to Richmond at a later date for interment in Earlham cemetery.
Cemetery Pictures
Earlham Cemetery, Richmond, Wayne, Indiana
McGuire Family Plot
Census Records
| Date | Location | Enumerated Names |
|---|---|---|
| June 4, 1880659 | Richmond, Wayne, Indiana |
|
