Hon. Oliver
J. Glessner,
Hon. Oliver J. Glessner, attorney at law, was born in
Frederick City, Maryland, October 11, 1828. The Glessner family
came originally from Germany, and settled in Pennsylvania. John
Glessner, Oliver's father, was born in 1800, and died in 1865, in
Morgan County, Indiana. His mother, Elnora Glessner, a native
of Baltimore, Md., was born in 1803. The subject of this sketch
is the second of twelve children, ten of whom are living. Mr. Glessner came with his parents to Indianapolis in 1836, and there
remained a short time, thence moving to Morgan County. He grew
to manhood on the farm, receiving a good common school education meanwhile.
He began the study of law in 1853, in the office
of W. R. Harrison. During the same winter he entered the Department of Law in the State University and graduated in 1856.
He located afterward at Martinsville and began the active practice of law.
In 1864, he was elected Judge of the 8th Judicial District, and served until 1868.
He moved to Shelbyville in 1865,
and has been practicing law ever since his term as judge expired. Judge Glessner is in politics a Democrat.
He was elected a member of the State Senate from Shelby and Bartholomew Counties,
in 1870, and served four years. In 1872, while yet a Senator, he
introduced the bill which abolished the Common Pleas Court. He
was married to Miss Louzena Moore, of Georgetown, Ills., in
1860. To this union five children have come: Louann, Daniel M.,
Franklin, Martha and Oliver J. In 1880, he was chosen to act as one of the
presidential electors upon the Democratic ticket, but was not elected. Judge Glessner is one of Shelbyville's most prominent citizens.
He
is an active man in everything he undertakes, and always makes
his influence felt whatever way he chooses to move.
History of Shelby County, Indiana, Brant & Fuller, 1887,
"Shelbyville Sketches," page 485-6.
Contributed by Phyllis Miller Fleming
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