This art deco ad from the August 30, 1930, issue of the Indianapolis Recorder advertises the chiropractic services of Benjamin A. Osborne. However, Osborne’s career as a chiropractor is just a small part of his story. Born in Guyana in 1898, Osborne immigrated to the Indianapolis area as a young man. He became a naturalized United States citizen in 1927, and a year later, he obtained his chiropractic license in Indiana.
As noted in this ad, he practiced in Indianapolis in 1930, but by the late 1930’s, he also added part-time deputy sheriff to his resume. From 1935 to 1943, he served as a probation officer in Marion County. In 1966, he was elected Center Township trustee, a position he held until his death in 1986. As Center Township trustee, he championed aid to the poor, and his office was known for providing training to those requesting aid in the hopes they would not have to visit his office again.
Osborne’s legacy was honored posthumously at the Black History Month Achievement Banquet and Ball in 1987. He is buried at Crown Hill Cemetery.
An excellent and informative article! I think Julia Carson followed him in this office prior to being elected a member of Congress. Don’t remember if there were someone in between Julia and Dr. Osborne.
The time I worked there Dr. Osborne was a no show. Making appearances now and then, but left the operations up to his assistant. It was a tight political machine. I was hired on under a federal government program, but let go when I refused to follow the patronage system of making donations from my paycheck to the political party. During official meetings we were told not to talk to the press about the content.
I believe there were political shenanigans when he was Township Trustee. He was always “running out of funds”, and no one could really review his budget. Julia Carson got it squared away once she replaced him. I know one can’t play the “patronage game” with Federal funds, but apparently the fox was in charge of the hen house. Appreciate your comment! (During the Great Depression, the political boss of Kansas City, Missouri, Tom Pendergast, built a new City Hall there; he forwent Federal Aid for it due to “strings attached”, like not allowing patronage payments, etc. He said he could build the building with less money since he didn’t have to deal with “Federal rules”; the building ended up costing more due to political kickbacks and initial shoddy workmanship which had to be redone. Across the street, Harry Truman, then heading county government, built a new County Courthouse WITH Federal assistance; he also followed the rules and got an adequately constructed building under budget, even with “Federal rules” applying).