A biographical history of eminent and self-made men of the state of Indiana : with many portrait-illustrations on steel, engraved expressly for this work, Volume I, Part 11

Author:
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Cincinnati, Ohio : Western Biographical Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1038

USA > Indiana > A biographical history of eminent and self-made men of the state of Indiana : with many portrait-illustrations on steel, engraved expressly for this work, Volume I > Part 11

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

tions, have been published ; the fourth was sent to press a few weeks before his death. In 1857 he was appointed state geologist of Arkansas, and in the succeeding year the report of his survey was published in one octavo volume. The preparation of a companion volume was about completed at his death, and was issued by his younger brother and administrator, Doctor Richard Owen, shortly after the death of Doctor David D. Owen. He also conducted various important examinations for private individuals and corporations. He was an inde- fatigable and enthusiastic laborer in his peculiar walk, and his death was hastened by the exposure incidental to camp life in the miasmatic regions last surveyed by him. He had just finished arranging a large private museum and laboratory at his home in New Harmony, which was said to be one of the most complete in the country. His collection of specimens in geology, mineralogy, and natural history, which formed his museum, is said to have equaled, if not surpassed, any in the Union; and this, after his death, was purchased by the state of Indiana for the State University, and is now at Bloom- ington, rearranged and labeled under the direction of his brother, Professor Richard Owen. During his life David Dale Owen made a great reputation as a geologist and scientist, being famous in scientific circles of Eu- rope, as well as in America. Just previous to his death, in 1860, he was regarded as the most eminent geologist in America. His labors have been of incalculable ben- efit for the several states in which they were performed, and the volumes containing the result of his geological surveys have been looked upon as most valuable addi- tions to the literature of natural science of America. He was an incessant worker, both while in the field and in the laboratory, and was constantly at work from early morning till late at night. He has probably accom- plished as much for geology in this country as any one man. He married Caroline, fourth daughter of Joseph Neef, of New Harmony, himself a celebrated educator, who had been an associate of Pestalozzi, and who, soon after his arrival in the United States, published two works on education. David Dale Owen had two sons and two daughters, all of whom are now living. The oldest son, Alfred Dale Owen, served as an officer in the Federal army during the late Civil War, the latter part of it as colonel of the 18th Indiana Volunteers.

WEN, ROBERT, an English social reformer, for- merly a resident of New Harmony, Indiana, was born in Newtown, Montgomeryshire, England, in 1771, and died there November 19, 1858. Al- though the son of poor parents, he received a respect- able education. He entered upon commercial pursuits, and when fourteen years old procured a situation in

REPRESENTATIVE MEN OF INDIANA.

[ Ist Dist.

London, where he soon recommended himself by his talents for business. At the age of eighteen years he became partner in a cotton mill, and subsequently re- moved to the Chorlton Mills, near Manchester. Pros- pering in this undertaking, he married, in 1801, the daughter of David Dale, a Glasgow manufacturer, and afterward assumed charge of a large cotton factory in New Lanark, Scotland, belonging to his father-in-law. Here he introduced a system of reform which proved for a time highly successful. He then turned his atten- tion to more extensive social evils, and published, in 1812, "New Views of Society; or, Essays upon the Formation of Human Character ;" and subsequently a "Book of the New Moral World," in which he main- tained a theory of modified communism, insisting on an absolute equality in all rights and duties, and the abo- lition of all superiority, even that of capital and intelli- gence. By the aid of his immense fortune he was enabled to distribute a large number of tracts develop- ing his peculiar views, and soon had every-where numer- ous followers; but, attacked on all sides, and particu- larly by the religious press, he set out in 1823, after the death of his patron, the Duke of Kent, for the United States, where he determined to found at his own cost a communist society; and with this view he bought from George Rapp the settlement of New Harmony, Indiana, on the banks of the Wabash, embracing thirty thousand acres, and dwellings for two thousand persons. The scheme, however, proved an utter failure, and in 1827 he returned to England, where experiments of a similar nature, attended by similar results, were made at Orbiston, in Lanarkshire, and at Tytherly, in Hamp- shire. He succeeded no better in establishing a " labor exchange " in London, in connection with a bazaar and bank. In 1828 he went to Mexico, on the invitation of the government, to carry out his experiment there, but effected nothing. His ill success, however, neither weakened his confidence nor lessened his activity, and during the remainder of his life he constantly appeared before the public as a lecturer and journalist. His ideas are most clearly developed in his " Lectures on a New State of Society," " Essays on the Formation of Human Character," and "Outlines of the Rational Sys- tem ;" and especially in his principal work, "The Book of the New Moral World," in which he came forward as the founder of a system of religion and society ac- cording to reason. He and his followers, the so-called Owenites, became, in 1827, the soul of the labor leagues, out of which sprang the Chartist movement. During his last years he was a believer in spiritualism, and published several conversations held with Benjamin Franklin, and other persons. He was one of the first to found infant schools, and through him they were in- troduced into England, and from there to the other coun- tries of the globe.

WEN, ROBERT DALE, New Harmony, author and statesman, eldest son of Robert Owen, whose sketch is given elsewhere, was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1801. He was educated with a younger brother, William, at Hofwyl, Switzerland, and about 1825 accompanied his father to America, when the latter bought out the Rapp Harmonists, and began to establish his community at New Harmony, Indiana. Robert Dale Owen went to the latter place and there began the New Harmony Gazette, a weekly literary and socialistic paper, devoted to the interests of the new community, and published it about two years. 'He then removed to New York City, and for four or five years was editor and publisher of the New York Free Enquirer, a weekly literary journal. At New York he married Mary Jane Robinson, and, after having made a trip to Europe, removed to New Harmony, Indiana, about the year 1833, and made that his future home. He entered the arena of politics, and was elected on the Democratic ticket as a Representative to the state Legislature for two or three terms. He was twice elected as a Representative to Congress for the First Congressional District of Indiana, holding his seat in Congress from 1843 to 1847. In Congress he took a leading part in settling the north-western boundary dis- pute, and in 1845 introduced a bill organizing the Smithsonian Institute. He was a member of the In- diana state constitutional convention of 1850, which framed the present Constitution of the state, and was chairman of the revision committee. He was the author of several important measures which were embodied in the Constitution ; notably one to secure to married women independent rights of property. As a testimonial to his services in this respect, he was presented by the women of Indiana with an elegant and massive silver pitcher. In 1853 he was appointed by President Buchanan as United States Chargé d'Affaires, and afterwards Minister to Naples, which office he held until 1858, when he re- turned to this country. He took a prominent part in the organization of the Smithsonian Institute, at Washington, District of Columbia, and was one of its first regents. Upon the breaking out of the Civil War, in 1861, casting aside political preferences, he gave his entire influence towards the suppression of the Rebellion. He was commissioned by Governor Morton, of Indiana, to purchase a large supply of arms for that state, which commission he faithfully executed. He encouraged, both by public addresses and contributions to the pub- lic journals, the enlistment of troops for the Union armies, and was a firm friend to President Lincoln and his cabinet, to whom he freely communicated his opinion on matters of state policy. He urged upon Mr. Lincoln in the early part of the war the necessity of emancipa- tion, and drew up the form of an emancipation procla- mation, which he submitted to President Lincoln, the

REPRESENTATIVE MEN OF INDIANA.

Ist Dist.]

main features of which the latter embodied in his famous proclamation declaring freedom to slaves in in- surrectionary states. Mr. Lincoln is reported to have said that it was the letters received from, and the argu- ments presented by, Mr. Owen that induced him to issue the proclamation. He was appointed a member of a committee of three to devise means for the amelioration of the colored population, released from slavery at the close of the war, the result of these labors being the establishment of the Freedmen's Bureau. After the close of the war, Mr. Owen devoted himself mostly to literary pursuits, and was a frequent contributor to the magazines and journals of the day. He is the author of a number of works, among which may be mentioned "New Views of Society," " Hints on Public Architec- ture," with one hundred and thirteen illustrations, pub- lished by the Smithsonian Institute; "Footfalls on the Boundaries of Another World ;" also a drama, " Pocahon- tas," and minor works, besides a serial, entitled " Beyond the Breakers;" and " Threading my Way," an autobiogra- phy, bringing the events of his life up to his twenty-sev- enth year; "The Debatable Land between This World and the Next." The first third of this, addressed to the Protestant clergy, he considered the best of his writings. His first wife having died, he some years afterwards mar- ried Miss Lottie W. Kellogg, of Lake George, New York, where he died June 24, 1877, and where his remains now rest. By his first wife he left two sons and one daughter. His oldest son was a lieutenant-colonel of the Ist Indi- ana Cavalry during the late war; the youngest son prac- tices law.

EARSE, MILTON W., attorney-at-law, of Mount Vernon, was born in Friendship, Alleghany County, New York, July 4, 1841. His ances- tors were among the early settlers of Bristol, Rhode Island, and several members of his grandfather's family were soldiers in the Revolutionary War. Milton W. Pearse was raised on a farm, received an academic education, and at the age of nineteen years started for the West. He went to Mount Vernon in 1860, where he was engaged in teaching school for about four years. In April, 1864, at the call of the President for volun- teers for one hundred days, he enlisted, and spent three months in the military service. He subsequently studied law in Mount Vernon, and was admitted to the bar in 1866. He entered at once upon the practice of his pro- fession, in which he has ever since been successfully en- gaged. In 1868 he was elected prosecuting attorney for the judicial circuit comprising Posey, Gibson, Vander- burg, and Warrick Counties, and held the office for two years, declining a nomination for re-election. He is a Democrat in politics, has taken an active part in every political campaign since the year 1860, and is now chair-

man of the Democratic county committee for Posey County, which position he has held for several years. He was married, in 1865, to Miss Mary Nettleton, of Mount Vernon.

ERIGO, EZEKIEL, of Boonville, one of the old settlers of Warrick County, was born there on the 6th of August, 1802. His father came from Mary- land, and was born in that state during the strife with Great Britain. He had at an early day moved to Kentucky, at a time when Indians were troublesome, and when panthers and other wild beasts were there to molest them. At eighteen years of age he moved to Ohio County, Kentucky, and when twenty-one years of age married Miss Hinman. This was in 1800. In 1802 Ezekiel was born, and when he was sixteen years of age his father moved to Warrick County, Indiana. His mother was a woman of nerve, and could handle a gun and shoot a wild-cat as well as a man. She died by a stroke of palsy in 1822. Shortly afterwards Ezekiel was married to Miss Hudson, a consistent member of the Methodist Church, who lived to the good, ripe age of · seventy-three years. His father died about 1830. Mr. Perigo has identified himself with the people of Warrick County in many public ways. His early ad- vantages in instruction were limited to a few days in each winter for two or three years only. He obtained the most of his education himself after he was married, by pursuing a regular and systematic course of study. This proved of great practical use to him afterwards. He began life in farming, and continued in that busi- ness until fifty-four years of age, when he went into a mill for eighteen months, from this into a saddle and harness shop, and thence to selling dry-goods. He finally retired to his farm, where he still lives, and will spend the remainder of his days. He began in mercan- tile business in 1856, and suspended it in 1872. He had one son, who was killed in the war, at Atlanta, Georgia. Mr. Perigo is a stanch Union man, and did much to assist in the war by helping to feed and clothe soldiers' families, and otherwise encouraging in the work of fighting our battles. He has been most of his life a public man, and the county has imposed upon him onerous duties. The first office held was that of consta- ble, in which he served two terms. He was also com- missioner of the county seminary for six years, and then for a while collector of taxes. In this he was required to ride through the county on horseback and make per- sonal collections. He was very successful. He remem- bers of paying himself off one time after the year's work was done, and of counting out the silver by throwing it into one of Jackson's " old-fashioned tin-cups," that held about three pints, completely filling it. This was his salary for the year's work, and consisted of about two

REPRESENTATIVE MEN OF INDIANA.

[Ist Dist.

hundred dollars. He has been for a long time commis- sioner of the Warrick County swamp lands. He has been treasurer of the township four years, trustee four years, and served as administrator in settling up forty- five estates, and commissioner in partition in closing up forty other estates. He has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church for fifty-two years. His wife died the 27th of June, 1878, and he now lives with a granddaughter. Mr. Perigo has been a useful member of society all through his long life, and is spoken of by his neighbors as a man of sterling worth, strictly honorable and upright in all his dealings.

OSEY, FRANCIS BLACKBURN, attorney-at-law, Petersburg, Pike County, one of the most success- ful lawyers and prominent politicians of the dis- trict, was born April 28, 1848, at Petersburg. His parents were John W. and Sarah B. Posey. His father, a large farmer, was among the earliest settlers of the county, and gave his son a thorough and complete education. After learning all that was taught at the common schools he went to Asbury University, and was there from 1864 to 1867 inclusive. Young Posey needed no incentive to study; it was his nature. He seemed to have formed an early determination to excel, and excel he did, carrying with him all through his life that same spirit. Although comparatively young, he is a leader of men, a ready and efficient speaker, with a clear, firm voice. Logical and plain in his arguments, he carries conviction to his hearers. The writer has heard him in a speech, during the past campaign, hold his audience almost spell-bound, riveting their attention and eliciting their applause. He is a fine specimen of a man. He is robust and in the enjoyment of full health. He is about six feet high, portly, with a frank and open countenance, and has such an appear- ance as indicates honor, integrity, honesty of purpose, and determination. In politics he is a Republican, standing in the foremost rank in the county, and is an ardent and zealous worker, who acts from strong con- victions. In 1869 he graduated at the state law school, and entered upon the practice of his chosen profession at Petersburg. In 1873 he removed to Vincennes, but in 1875 he returned to his native town, remaining there ever since, and enjoying a large and lucrative prac- tice. In 1872 he was appointed by Governor Baker prosecuting attorney. Being a Republican in an over- whelmingly Democratic district, it was only by an appointment that an office could be held by him. He is exceedingly popular, and as a politician his influence is great. Genial, affable, and courteous, he enjoys the respect and friendship of those who differ from him

politically. January 17, 1878, he was married to Emma Brown, the most estimable daughter of the Hon. Perry Brown, of Pike County.

HELPS, ABRAHAM M., of Newburg, was born January 6, 1798, in Hartford, Vermont. His father, who was a soldier under Arnold at West Point, was born in Northampton, Massachusetts, in 1765, and was married to Margaret Hamilton in 1796. Their son Abraham endured in youth all the hardships incident to our early civilization, and, while he failed to receive much of a school education, became well grounded in those principles of rectitude that should underlie every business career. When nineteen years of age he commenced to work for himself, and, by means of hard labor at low wages during the summer months, was able to attend the Royalton Academy during the winter. He struggled on in this way for three succes- sive years in his efforts to acquire something of an edu- cation. In June, 1820, when twenty-two years of age, he started on foot for the far West, traveling thus for three or four hundred miles, until he reached Black Rock, near Buffalo, New York. There he took a steamer, called "Walk-in-the-Water," the first one that was built on the western lakes. For about three miles the steamer was propelled by four yoke of oxen, that it might not be drawn over the falls. After the oxen were withdrawn from the boat, its rate of speed did not ex- ceed four or five miles an hour, thus making the journey to Cleveland a tedious one. From Cleveland he went to Franklin, Ohio, where he taught school for nearly two years. While there he entered the employ of a New Orleans shipper of produce, where he had an op- portunity to barter a little in the way of provisions on his trip down the river. After that Mr. Phelps oper- ated solely on his own account, and engaged in com- merce in a small way up and down the Mississippi River, his trade being principally between Memphis and Natchez. For a time he engaged in trade in Evansville, after which he removed to Newburg, where he has since resided. June 7, 1827, he was married to Miss Frances Johnson, of Evansville, a lady who, by her many acts of kindness, has endeared herself to all who know her. Mr. Phelps has been so successful as a merchant that during the panic of 1837 he was about the only man in that section of the country who could buy goods in New York. He continued in business until 1865, when he retired from mercantile life. He has been a consistent member of the Church to which he belongs, the mate- rial interests of which he has greatly advanced. He built the First Presbyterian Church of Newburg, and afterwards, when a new one was built, contributed most liberally to its erection. He was also instrumental in

REPRESENTATIVE MEN OF INDIANA.

Ist Dist.]

building the seminary in Newburg, which for a time had a most excellent patronage. Mr. Phelps is now reaping the fruits of his long career of toil in a life of ease and affluence.

EAVIS, WILLIAM, of Evansville, was born on the 27th of August, 1815, in Gibson County, In- diana, then a territory, and a comparatively unin- habited wilderness. His advent to this world was made amid the howling of wolves, the growling of bears and catamounts, and the screaming of panthers. His father, Isham, was born in North Carolina, and his mother, whose maiden name was Strickland, was born in South Carolina, and in 1813, soon after her marriage, moved to Indiana. The country was thinly settled, and savages in small squads were still prowling around. Bread was scarce, and hominy was oftentimes used as a substitute. They had, however, many varieties of food, fish, flesh, and fowl, and were always able to pre- pare a feast that would have proved savory to a king. His father engaged in stock-raising, in which, however, he had nothing to do but to keep his cattle gentle with salt, and protect them from the ravages of wild beasts. For this latter purpose he kept two rifles, one for him- self and one for his wife, who knew how to use it. He killed three bears in one day, and at another time his wife killed a wild-cat that came into the yard for a pig. She chased it up into a tall tree and coolly shot it. William was taught early in life how to handle a gun. He killed deer before he was fourteen years of age. These were his surroundings. He had the grand old woods and the open sky for a school-room, but he can never recollect when he could not read; knowledge for him had charms, and he thirsted for it as the panting hart for the brook. Later, however, he had an occa- sional teacher, who could read, write, and cipher, and was permitted to go to school, about six weeks out of the year. The Old-school Baptist ministers were numer- ous among the settlers, and they often held worship from house to house, as they had no church building. When he was ten years of age his father died, leav- ing the duties of the farm and the care of the house- hold to devolve largely upon him. He thus gained much experience that became useful in after life. His constant passion was for books, more literature. Every odd moment was thus utilized. His mother gave him his liberty when he was twenty years of age, and, in addition, a horse, bridle, and saddle. These he dis- posed of and went immediately to school. In his four months' tuition he gained a knowledge of the principles of grammar which has aided him materially many times since then in the tongue battles he has waged so unmercifully on political heretics. Before he was twenty years of age he had taught two schools. These | pear. At one time the people of Southern Illinois raised

were in the days of Eggleston's Hoosier Schoolmaster, and he thinks that picture not overdrawn. He was married on the 12th of December, 1836, to Miss Eleanor C. Burton, by whom he had eight children. In 1839 he was baptized in the general Baptist Church. In the year 1846 he was elected treasurer of his native county. The records on file in Indianapolis show that he had the least delinquent list in proportion to taxables of any treasurer in the state the first year. In 1849 he was urged to run for the position again, and was elected by a largely increased majority. He held his office for six consecutive years. During his second term the famous school law, taxing the property of every citizen ad va- lorem, was passed by the Indiana Legislature. Mr. Reavis strongly advocated this enactment, but it was op- posed in his county as unconstitutional by lawyers, and even by Judge Hall, one of his bondsmen, the latter re- fusing to stand longer on his bond if he attempted to collect the tax; but Mr. Reavis, knowing his duty, col- lected it from Judge Hall, threatening to levy on his favorite horse and buggy in case he refused to pay it. Judge Hall paid it, but he withdrew his name from the paper, whereupon Mr. Reavis gave another, representing the largest amount of wealth of any bond ever given in the county, and the schools were opened amid general rejoicings. In 1852, with- out any solicitation on his part, he was nominated for Congress by the Whig party, but was defeated, although he ran ahead of his ticket. Shortly after this time his wife died. He was still exercising the functions of a Baptist minister, when, getting into a difficulty with a couple of men, he gave them a sound thrashing. He then offered to surrender his credentials to the Church, which being refused and his short-com- ings forgiven, he continued to preach. In. 1858 he mar- ried again, this time Mrs. Damon, widow of the late Volney Damon, Esq., of Vanderburg County, Indiana. In 1859 he removed to Benton, Franklin County, Illi- nois, where he engaged in the practice of law. Here he was intimately associated with Hon. John A. Logan, then a citizen of that place. Mr. Reavis had, while at Benton, written articles to the Benton Standard, and, although a Democratic paper, his contributions had per- suaded it into the Union line. He also wrote for the Hamilton Sucker, another Democratic journal, and im- bued that newspaper also with Union principles. A large majority of the people were, notwithstanding, for the Confederacy, only eight votes in the county having been cast for Abraham Lincoln in 1860. Rebellion was rife in this section. The editor's life was threatened, and he was obliged to discontinue his paper. Union men were forbidden, by bold, intrepid rebels, to make recruiting speeches, under penalty of death; and conse- quently old politicians, when called upon, refused to ap-

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

A biographical history of eminent and self-made men of the state of Indiana : with many portrait-illustrations on steel, engraved expressly for this work, Volume I, Part 11

Author: Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Cincinnati, Ohio : Western Biographical Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 1038

Author:
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Cincinnati, Ohio : Western Biographical Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1038