627 W. Vermont St
The Hansberry Family
627 W Vermont Street was built prior to 1887, when it appears on the 1887 Sanborn map as 339 W Vermont Street. Many families and people lived in the house over the course of its history including a police officer, a family of lawyers, teachers, a physician, and several owners of small businesses. However, the family that spent the most time at 627 W Vermont Street was the the Hansberry family, headed by Marimon Hansberry Jr and his wife, Goldie.
The Hansberry family's story neither starts nor ends at the Vermont Street home but rather begins with Marimon Hansberry Sr in Kentucky. Born in 1847 to Wyle and Maria Hansberry, Marimon Sr grew up with at least four other siblings but moved out to fight in the Civil War in 1863. While fighting he suffered an injury to his leg. After the war, Marimon Sr moved to Indianapolis with his wife, Anna, around 1880 and began their family at 136 Minerva Street. It is unclear what happened to Anna; however, after several years, Marimon Sr married a woman named Mary Violet. He and Mary Violet have at least four sons including John, Otto, Henry, and Marimon Jr who was born in 1894. Marimon Sr spent the rest of his life in and out of various soldiers homes and died on July 25th, 1924 while living at 627 W Vermont St.
Following his graduation from Manual Training School in 1915, Marimon Hansberry Jr attended Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois. While there, he followed in his father's military footsteps as he was drafted and served in WWI. He served in Brest, France and returned February 9th, 1919. Shortly after his military service, he married his first wife Ozela Bass and began living at 627 W Vermont Street with his father and his older brother Henry. In 1926, Marimon Jr married his second wife Goldie and Henry moved out of the home.
Marimon taught at various public schools around Indianapolis for a decade until 1935, when he began teaching at Crispus Attucks High School. During this decade, he also worked for the American Legion at the Senate Avenue YMCA and within Bethel AME Church as a librarian and congregation member. In 1947, he even received the Cable Award for his "outstanding service to the community without compensation."
While at Crispus Attucks High School, Hansberry was the directory of the Industrial Arts program, ran a traffic squad club, and lead a troop of boy scouts. As the Industrial Arts director, he even assisted in lighting a play put on by Crispus Attucks students. During this time, Goldie also gave birth to their daughter Patricia Hansberry around 1940.
After roughly two decades at Crispus Attucks, Marimon left and once again moved from school to school before becoming a principal at Elder W. Diggs School 42. The Hansberry family left 627 W Vermont Street around 1957 and following a long retirement, Marimon Hansberry Jr died April 6th of 1986 at age 91. Both Marimon Hansberry Jr and Sr were buried at Crown Hill Cemetery.
The Starkey Family
After Marimon Hansberry and his family moved out of 627 West Vermont Street, the Starkey family moved into the house. Mozel Starkey Sr, born in 1915, and his family were only in the house for about three years from 1958 to 1960; however, they had been members of the surrounding community for years. A little over a decade after the family moved out of 627 W Vermont Street, a tragedy struck the family which would be the beginning of much hardship.
Born March 21, 1948 in Indianapolis, Mozel Starkey Jr attended Shortridge High School and worked as a nurse at General Hospital for six years. However, in 1974, Mozel Starkey Jr was shot twice in the chest by his wife, Florence LePearl Banks, and died. The couple had married in 1970. In court, Florence argued that the shots were fired in self-defense. Despite this, she was convicted of murder and served seven years in prison before being released after her case was revisited in the 1980s. After review, the authorities determined that Florence had been acting in self-defense. Florence went on to marry again after her release and died in 1991.
Mozel Starkey Sr moved out of the 627 W Vermont Street sometime in 1960 but remained in Marion county until he died in 1980. Unfortunately, like his son, Starkey Sr also died as a result of gun violence. In 1980, after causing a disturbance with a firearm, Starkey Sr was shot by a police officer who had answered the disturbance call. The ICLU later included the shooting in a list of incidents in the Indianapolis Recorder of excessive force and gun violence perpetrated by the Indianapolis Police Department. Both Starkey men were buried at New Crown Cemetery.
627 W Vermont Street Today
The house at 627 W Vermont Street was demolished around 1978. Today an IUPUI parking lot sits in its place.
Written by Dana Dobbins
Edited by Hannah Ryker, April 10, 2020