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 111

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 111

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).

ENDERSON, EBENEZER, ex-Auditor of the state, was born in Morgan County, Indiana, June 2, 1833, where he has resided since his birth, except- ing his temporary residence in the city of Indian- apolis while he was discharging his official duties as in the minority; Mr. Henderson, with other lead- state Auditor, in January, 1875. His father was James ing men, holding up the banner as best they could

REPRESENTATIVE MEN OF INDIANA.

[7th Dist.

during those long years. In 1868 he was nominated for state Senator for the joint counties of Morgan and Johnson, and, in a Republican district, was elected by a majority of twenty-seven, and served four years. In that body he was an active and efficient member, and was the author of several important measures that passed into laws. Among the most prominent of these was the fee and salary bill, regulating the fees of county officers, that was passed in 1871. So far in his public career Mr. Henderson has had the unusual fortune of election to public trusts of high responsibility by con- stituencies whose political bias was opposite to his avowed sentiments, a compliment which speaks his ability and soundness in the opinion of those who have long known and tried him. On retiring from the Sen- ate he gave his attention to his extensive farm, and the erection of a large pork-packing house at the county seat of Morgan County-a business which has been carried on to this date by the firm of Henderson, Park & Co. They rank among the leading packers of the state. In 1874 the Farmers' Convention at Indianapolis nominated him as a candidate for Auditor of State, and subse- quently the Democratic Convention designated him for the same office on the second ballot. He was elected ·by a majority of seventeen thousand, and entered upon the duties January 26, 1875. In 1876 he was unani- mously nominated for the same position and was elected. Ilis term of office expired January 26, 1879, as the in- cumbent is not eligible for a third successive term. The office of Auditor of State of Indiana is no sinecure, but the duties demand unremitted labor, exactness, mathematical ability of a high order, and correct judg- ment, and in every way it is attended with great respon- sibilities. Its obligations have been discharged by Mr., Henderson with a marked success that has won the confidence of the people of the entire state, and as he is a gentleman of universal popularity there can be no doubt that he will be called to serve his fellow-citizens in higher capacities, especially as he is in the very prime of his manhood and without a moral, political, or finan- cial blemish. The public needs such men. Mr. Hen- derson has been a power in the political arena, a shrewd and active worker, with the prestige of success in polit- ical affairs. Although inheriting a large estate, his sym- pathies are with the laboring classes, with whom he is especially popular, without losing influence with those in other positions of life. In 1872 he was chosen by the Democratic State Convention a member of the state central committee for the Indianapolis District, holding the place for two years and having done good service for his party. Mr. Henderson is above medium height, straight, and well formed, of easy address, ready, frank, and open in intercourse, whether social or official; a gentleman by nature, and intuitively winning friends by the pleasantness of his words and demeanor.

ENDRICKS, THOMAS A., lawyer, of Indianap- olis, was born September 7, 1819, on a farm near Zanesville, Muskingum County, Ohio. His father, John Hendricks, was a native of Western Penn- sylvania. The family was one of the first to settle in Ligonier Valley, Westmoreland County, and took an active part in the administration of public affairs, serv- ing with honor in the Legislature, and other places of trust. The mother of Thomas A. Hendricks, Jane (Thomson) Hendricks, was of Scotch descent. Her grandfather, John Thomson, emigrated to Pennsylvania before the Revolution, and was conspicuous among the pioneers of that date for his intelligence, integrity, en- terprise, love of country, and far-reaching good will to men. As soon as assured of the wisdom of emigration he addressed a letter to the Scotch people, setting forth the advantages of American soil, climate, and institu- tions, so forcibly that the section of the state where he lived (between Carlisle and Chambersburg) was prin- cipally settled by his countrymen. Taking into account his own large family, his influence upon his day and generation has been widely perpetuated. Several of his sons were soldiers in the Revolutionary War, and many of his descendants have attained distinction in the dif- ferent walks of life. Besides those bearing his name, mention may be made of the Agnews, of New York ; the Blacks and Watsons, of Pittsburgh ; the Wylies, of Philadelphia; and the Hendricks, of Indiana. The wife of John Hendricks and her niece are the only members of the Thomson family who emigrated West. In nearly every branch of the family the pioneer Cal- vinistic faith of the Thomsons is still maintained. When Thomas A. Hendricks was six months old, his parents removed from Ohio to Madison, Indiana. This was the home of William Hendricks, that uncle of Thomas A. Hendricks who, in indirect line, preceded him in the enjoyment of like signal tokens of public confidence and respect. He was then a member of Congress; three years subsequently he was elected Gov- ernor; and, at the end of the term, was chosen to the United States Senate. All of these positions he filled acceptably. He was, indeed, the first Representative in Congress who brought the state into favorable re- pute. John Hendricks, the father of Thomas A. Hen- dricks, had some share of government patronage. He held the appointment of deputy surveyor of public lands in the state, under General Jackson, and in that capacity became very generally known and respected. As early as 1822 he removed with his family to the interior of the state, and held the first title to the fine land upon a portion of which Shelbyville, the county seat of Shelby County, is located. In the heart of the dense forest, upon the gentle eminence overlooking the beautiful valley, he built the sightly and commodious brick homestead, which yet stands, in good preserva-

Engraved by the Western engraving Co Stinus

REPRESENTATIVE MEN OF INDIANA.

7th Dist.]

tion, in open view of the thriving city and richly culti- vated country around. It soon became known as a center of learning and social delight, and was the fa- vorite resort of men of distinction and worth. It was, in particular, the seat of hospitality to the orthodox ministry, Mr. Hendricks being the principal founder and support of the Presbyterian Church in the com- munity. The presiding genius of that home was the gentle wife and mother, who tempered the atmosphere of learning and zeal with the sweet influences of charity and love. Essentially clever and persistent, she was possessed of a rare quality of patience, which stood her in better stead than a turbulent, aggressive spirit. A close analysis of the character of Thomas A. Hen- dricks is not necessary to show that this trait was pre- eminently his birthright. It is thus apparent that the childhood and youth of Mr. Hendricks were passed un- der the happiest auspices. Together with his brothers and sisters he attended the village school, and derived the full benefit of very respectable and thorough in- struction. His senior brother, Abram, pursued col- legiate studies at the University of Ohio, and at South Hanover, Indiana ; and subsequently became a minister of the Presbyterian Church. In turn, Thomas A. Hen- dricks attended college at South Hanover, and then be- gan the study of law at home, under the advice and instruction of Judge Major. In so doing he followed the bent of his early and most cherished inclinations. From boyhood he had had a fondness for legal discus- sions; and, when but twelve years of age, attended the hearing of important cases in the courts. The final pe- riod of law study he prosecuted under the tuition of his uncle, Judge Thomson, of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, and was admitted to the bar at Shelbyville. His success was not rapid, but he grew in favor by careful atten- tion to business, and acquired a leading practice. His professional career has since been so interwoven with official life that it is next to impossible to refer to one without speaking of the other. In 1848 he was elected to the Legislature. He declined a renomination. In 1850 he was chosen, without opposition, senatorial delegate to the convention empowered to amend the state Constitution. Together with Judges Holman and Hovey, and Hon. Schuyler Colfax, he was among the younger members of that body ; but, like them, he took an active and prominent part in the deliberative pro- ceedings. In 1851 he was elected to Congress from the Indianapolis District. He was re-elected in 1852, but was defeated in 1854. He had scarcely resumed the practice of law, after the unsuccessful political cam- paign, when, in 1855, he was appointed commissioner of the general land office by President Pierce. This mark of executive favor was entirely unexpected. The wisdom of the selection was proved by the able and satisfactory manner in which the duties of the office

were discharged, at the time when the business was of the greatest importance-the sales, entries, and grants being larger than ever before in the history of the country. The term of four years in the land office was followed by an unsuccessful race for Governor in 1860. Colonel Henry S. Lane was his competitor. Two years later, in 1862, Governor Hendricks took an active part in the political contest which resulted in the election of a Democratic majority in the Legislature. As a rec- ognition of his important services, he was chosen United States Senator by the unanimous vote of his party. During the period of his term in the Senate, the Democrats were in a small minority, and he was compelled to take an active and prominent part in the proceedings of that body. He favored the earnest pros- ecution of the war, and voted for supplies to sustain the army. He was opposed to conscription, and favored the enlistment of volunteers and payment of soldiers' bounties. At the close of the war he held that the states engaged in the Rebellion had at no time been out of the Union, and were therefore entitled to full representation in Congress. He maintained that the people of those states should have entire control of their respective state governments. These views placed him in opposition to the reconstruction policy which was adopted by the majority in Congress. He also opposed the constitutional amendments, because the Southern States were not represented, and because, in his opinion, such amendments should not be made be- fore sectional passions had time to subside. He held that amendments to the Constitution should be consid- ered only when the public is in a cool, deliberative frame of mind. His term in the Senate expired March 4, 1869, when he devoted himself exclusively to the pro- fession of law. He had hitherto shared the service with the duties of public office. He had removed to Indianapolis in 1860, and engaged in the practice of his profession. In 1862 he formed a partnership with Mr. Oscar B. Hord, which was extended in 1866 to a cousin, Colonel A. W. Hendricks, and was known under the firm name of Hendricks, Hord & Hen- dricks. The business of the firm was large, impor- tant, and lucrative. In 1872 Thomas A. Hendricks was forced to give up the practice of his profes- sion by an election to the office of chief executive of the state. He accepted the nomination against his earnest protest, but made a vigorous contest, supporting the Greeley ticket. He was inaugurated Governor Jan- uary 13, 1873, and served the state in that office for the term of four years. He gave his undivided atten- tion to the interests of the state, and his administration of public affairs was above criticism. In the political contest of 1876 he was the Democratic candidate for the Vice-presidency, and carried his own state by upwards of five thousand majority. After the decision of the

REPRESENTATIVE MEN OF INDIANA.

[7th Dist.

Electoral Commission, Governor Hendricks, accompanied by his wife, made a brief sojourn in Europe, spending the summer in a tour of Great Britain, Germany, and France. Upon his return he resumed the practice of the law with his former partners, Colonel Hendricks and Mr. Hord, with the addition of Governor Conrad Baker, who took Governor Hendricks's place in the firm when succeeded by him in the gubernatorial office. The name of the firm, as then reconstructed, is retained ; to wit, "Baker, Hord & Hendricks." The personal mention of Thomas A. Hendricks can be given in a few words: He was reared in the Presbyterian faith, but has for some years been a member of the Episcopal Church. He is senior warden of St. Paul's Cathedral, Indianapolis. He has been connected with but one secret society. He was one of four to organize an Odd- fellows' Lodge in Shelbyville, but, for reasons best known to himself, ceased to attend or take an active part after he had attained the second degree. The only literary association he ever belonged to is a club in Indianapolis, to which he was admitted a few years ago. He was married, near Cincinnati, Ohio, Sep- tember 25, 1845, to Miss Eliza C. Morgan. She was the granddaughter of Doctor Stephen Wood, a prom- inent citizen and early settler of Hamilton County, Ohio. Governor and Mrs. Hendricks have had but one child, a son, who was born in 1848, and lived to be three years of age. The extent and character of Governor Hendricks's attainments can be well gauged by his pub- lic and professional record. The same may be said of his political views, although he has more strong con- victions than are credited to him. Under a somewhat cautious, reserved manner he conceals great depth of sentiment, and indomitable faith in the triumph of right over wrong, truth over envy, malice, and detraction. In social as in public relations he is steadfast in his friendships and generous to his foes. He has a happy equanimity of temper which reconciles him to the inev- itable and nerves him to make the best of life. This disposition grows upon him, and in repose his counte- nance is perfectly serene. A certain amount of benig- nity is imparted to his voice, which, in carrying a point before a jury, is almost irresistible. In appearance Gov- ernor Hendricks is distinguished. He has a fine figure and a dignified presence, which would be remarked among men. He has a large head and strong features. His eyes and mouth are particularly indicative of pur- pose and self-control. As his methods of thought and forms of expression are peculiar to himself, so, in the execution of his plans, he departs so much from the beaten track that the end in view is often lost sight of by others. It is none the less plain to him; and it is a question if he ever sought an object, the accomplish- ment of which depended upon his own exertions, that he did not gain.

ELLER, JAMES E., Judge of the Marion Crimi- nal Circuit Court, Indianapolis, was born at Sa- lona, Clinton County, Pennsylvania, January 22, 1844. He was the fourth boy in a family of seven children. Both his father and mother were born in Pennsylvania, as were their parents. The grand- parents of David Heller, his father, were Germans ; and the grandparents of Sarah Wilson, his mother, were born in London, England, and were of Scotch descent. His father was a saddler by trade, and was unable to give his children more than a common school educa- tion. The village school at Salona was attended regu- larly by James until he was thirteen years of age, at which time he went with an uncle to Freeport, Illinois, where he had an opportunity of attending high school for one year. At this time his parents moved from Pennsylvania to the lumber regions of North-western Wisconsin, and he accompanied them from Freeport, which place they passed through on their journey. This was in the fall of 1858. During a four years' resi- dence in this section of the country, comparatively without opportunity for education, his time was spent on the farm and in occasional attendance at the village school at Menomonee, Wisconsin. It had always been his desire when a boy to study law, and he embraced the first opportunity which presented itself to carry out his cherished desire. In 1862, being then eighteen years of age, while his two elder surviving brothers were in the army, he rented his father's farm for a year, and with the proceeds of that year's labor went to the Uni- versity of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, and commenced the study of law. At the close of the term of 1863-4 a situation in an insurance office was tendered him at La- porte, Indiana, and he went there in April, 1864. Al- most immediately upon his arrival at Laporte, and be- fore any time for acquaintance was had, Governor Morton issued a call for volunteers, to relieve the veteran soldiers from guard duty in the states of Ten- nessee, Alabama, and Georgia, and enable them to join General Sherman's force on his celebrated march to the sea. After considerable effort he obtained the con- sent of the insurance company to furnish a substitute in the office for the term of his enlistment, and he then entered as a private, and served as such, in Company B. of the 138th Regiment of Indiana Volunteers. He was, mustered into service on May 27, and mustered out on September 30, 1864, and immediately resumed his po- sition in the office at Laporte, where he remained for four years, during which time he rose from the posi- tion of copying clerk to that of secretary of the com- pany. In 1867 he married Miss Anna Ridgway, daughter of an old and prominent citizen of Laporte, and in 1868 he came to the city of Indianapolis and recommenced the study of law. In 1871 he was admitted to the bar, and immediately opened an

REPRESENTATIVE MEN OF INDIANA.

7th Dist.]

office and entered at once into active practice. There are very few instances at the Indiana bar in which such a rapid advance in the profession has been made as in the case of Judge Heller. His law practice was remuner- ative almost from the very start, and his clear-headed conception of the points of a case, his logical way of bringing them home to a jury, as well as his vigilance and attention to the interests of his clients, soon brought him prominently forward among the younger members of the bar, and secured him respectful recognition among the veterans. Possessing many elements which made him personally popular, not only at the bar, but in the community outside, and entering with a keen zest into the political contests of the day, he soon began to be regarded as a young man of mark, while his social qualities won him hosts of friends. In 1876 he received the Republican nomination for prosecuting attorney of the Criminal Circuit Court of Indianapolis, and was elected for the term of two years ending November 4, 1878. No comment upon his success as a prosecutor is necessary, further than to say that his record was so satisfactory that in March, 1878, he was nominated Judge of the same court, and the following October he was elected, when he resigned the office of prosecuting attorney, and on the 23d of October, 1878, took his seat on the bench, which he has occupied ever since, with the prospect of continuing in the same position for some time to come. His administration has been most active, and the number of important cases tried unprecedented. The penalties prescribed for the violation of the crim- inal laws of the state have been rigidly enforced in all cases where no reasonable doubt existed of the guilt of the accused. Nine murder cases were tried during a period of eighteen months. Three of the prisoners were sentenced to suffer the extreme penalty of the law, four were imprisoned in the penitentiary, and two ac- quitted. In a single case the judgment of the lower court was reversed by the Supreme Court, and a new trial resulted in the same penalty prescribed on the first trial. At first there was considerable opposition manifested to Judge Heller's nomination and election, based entirely upon his youth and comparative inex- perience ; but his capacity for the judicial position has been so signally demonstrated, and his legal ability and strict impartiality having stood every test that has been applied, opposition has been disarmed, and he was nom- inated by acclamation for the second term. The uni- versal verdict is that the Criminal Court of Marion County has never been presided over with more ability, and with higher regard for law and precedent, than during his administration. Judge Heller has long been a member of the Masonic Order, passing through the Blue Lodge when he reached his twenty-first year. Two years later he became a member of Thirty-second Degree, Scottish Rite; became Royal Arch Mason, in

York Rite, in 1866, and a Knight Templar in 1879. His family consists of a wife and four children, three sons and a daughter.

INTON, JAMES S., of Indianapolis, was born at Raleigh, North Carolina, on the twenty-fifth day of December, 1834. His father, John Cook Hin- ton, was born at Fayetteville, North Carolina, and, as he was particularly skilled in the manufacture of sky-lights, he traveled extensively in his own state and in South Carolina. He was successful in his busi- ness, and at his death, in 1850, left his family in comfort- able circumstances. In his early life he united with the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he maintained a good and regular standing until his earthly mission was finished. Hannah (Mitchell) Hinton, his mother, was a native of Raleigh, North Carolina, of free birth, like her husband, and an active, zealous worker in the Methodist Episcopal Church. She was a very intelli- gent lady, of considerable musical ability, giving in- struction on the piano to various circles of white citi- zens. In 1832 she was married to John C. Hinton, and, in 1848, they moved westward, locating in Terre Haute, Vigo County, Indiana. James S. Hinton began his education at Terre Haute, by his attendance upon the subscription school taught there by a colored gen- tleman, which school he attended for four years in suc- cession, at the expiration of which time he went to a school whose standard of scholarship was higher, under the supervision of the Quakers, at Hartford, Vigo County, where he remained two years. Subsequently, he went to Greenville, Darke County, Ohio, where he took a course of collegiate training at the Greenville Institute, Professor R. G. Tucker at that time being president. When he had completed his studies at Greenville, some white philanthropists at Terre Haute interested themselves in him, and urged him to go to Liberia, to do what might lie in his power for his race there. He entered the office of Doctor George W. Clippinger, to read medicine, in a plan the fulfillment of which provided for his location in Liberia in the practice of his profession. He busied himself in this preparation two years, during which time Edward J. Roy, second president of Liberia, and a graduate of Oberlin, Ohio, returned to his native city, Terre Haute. For a time Mr. Ilinton drove a huckster wagon; then he learned the barber trade, which he followed for three years, when he left that vocation and commenced teaching. He taught in Vigo County, Indiana, three years, when he moved to Indianapolis in 1862; since which time he has resided here. Upon coming to the city he opened a real estate and intelligence office, and in this business he was engaged till 1867. In 1862, at the opening of the Rebellion, he tendered his services

REPRESENTATIVE MEN OF INDIANA.

[7th Dist.

to the Governor of this State; but, as there were no colored regiments organizing here, he went to Massa- chusetts, with a letter of introduction from Governor Morton to Governor Andrews, of that state. There he received a commission to recruit for the 54th and 55th Colored Regiments. He served in this capacity for seven months, when, in April, 1863, he was mustered into the United States service, but, on account of a de- fective right eye, he was rejected ; whereupon Governor Andrews offered him the sutlership of the 55th Regi- ment, but, as he could not serve as a private soldier, he declined this honor. On his return to Indiana, Gov- ernor Morton proffered him the position of recruiting officer, with the rank of second lieutenant, which he accepted. The 28th Regiment of United States colored troops -- of eleven hundred men-was in a camp situated in the south-east part of the city, and known as Camp Fremont. Considerable time was spent in organizing and fitting the regiment for service, but at the end of one year they were ordered to the front, in January, 1864. What each man contributed to the successful issue of the war we can never know; but every one who came forward ready to lay down his life for his coun- try deserves our deepest gratitude. He served as a canal commissioner of Indiana four years-from January, 1874, to the same month in 1878-for two of which years he had at his disposal the large fund of the com- pany, which sufficiently attests the confidence reposed in him by those who knew him best. Finally, how- ever, he checked it out, paid it over, and got an ac- quittance from the Governor. He was an elector at large; himself and Hon. Frederick Douglass being the only two colored men in the Northern States who served in that capacity. He is a member of the fraternities of Masons and Odd-fellows, in the former of which he began with the Knight Templar degree, and in both of which he has proved worthy of his membership and faithful to his trust. He was for a number of years Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Colored Masons of Indiana, which position he resigned in 1878. Mr. Hinton was for a time in the mail service, being em- ployed six months in the postal department of Indian- apolis, which position he then resigned. He was the first colored grand juryman ever chosen in Marion County. Jesse L. Williams, civil engineer of the Wa- bash and Erie Canal, received his appointment from the Canal Board, composed of Thomas Dowling, treasurer ; Charles Butler, secretary, and James S. Hinton, pres- ident. He was also for many years a trustee of the Wilberforce University, and is at this date, May, 1879. It is easy to do what circumstances seem to favor; but, in a career like Mr. Hinton's much must have been against him, much had to be overcome, many trials and disappointments were there to be borne, but in due proportion these all increase the amount of credit

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 111

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