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 16

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 16

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).

publican party, and, being an active member of that organization, was a delegate in the National Convention at Chicago which nominated General Grant. He has many times been urged to run as a candidate for state Treasurer, but has always declined. Mr. Albert is now a member of the National party, and in 1876 he cast the solitary vote in Paoli for Peter Cooper. He was married, October 7, 1841, to Ellen McVey, of Paoli, daughter of the county recorder, by whom he has had four children, John C., captain in the 67th Ohio, was killed at the storming of Fort. Wagner, South Carolina, July 18, 1863; James M. died, in 1865, from disease contracted while in the army; Mary married N. V. Huddess, a farmer in Kansas; Dessie F. married George Buskirk, an attorney of Paoli, Indiana. Mr. Albert lost his wife in 1872. He has done more to im- prove Paoli and Orange County than any other of her citizens, and many of the fine buildings in Paoli, whose erection is due to his energy, would be fit ornaments to streets of a large city. As an honest and upright citi- zen and gentleman, he is well known all over Indiana.

RMSTRONG, WILLIAM B. C., attorney-at-law, of Washington, was born in Knox County, In- diana, January 17, 1849, and is a son of John F. and Eliza (McCord) Armstrong. During his boy- hood he attended the common schools and worked on his father's farm. At the age of twenty he entered the State University at Bloomington, Indiana, and graduated in 1872, also graduating in the law department. He immediately went to Evansville, where he spent two years in the offices of General J. M. Shackleford and S. R. Hornbrook. In the summer of 1874 he removed to Washington, Indiana, and commenced the practice of his profession. By strict attention to business, sterling integrity, and gentlemanly manners, he has succeeded in

REPRESENTATIVE MEN OF INDIANA.

[2d Dist.

building up a good practice, and is the legal adviser of several wealthy men of the city and county. In pol- itics Mr. Armstrong is a Republican. He is an active worker, a member of the state central committee, and at present chairman of the county central committee. He was brought up in the Presbyterian faith. January 31, 1876, he married Alice Kercheval, daughter of a banker of Rockport, Indiana. Mr. Armstrong is a young lawyer who is fast winning his way to a prominent posi- tion at the Indiana bar, and is known and respected by the community in which he lives as a useful, honorable citizen.

B ARTLETT, THOMAS, merchant, of Edwards- port, Knox County, was born in Johnson County, Indiana, January 13, 1835. He is a son of George P. and Fannie Bartlett, who formerly lived near Louisville, Kentucky, but came to Indiana about 1825, and located on a farm in the above-named county. When Thomas was but two years old his father removed to Morgan County, where they remained for five years, and then moved again to Monroe County. In the rude log school-houses of Morgan and Monroe Counties, all the early education of Mr. Bartlett was received. This, of course, was very rudimentary and imperfect. And these facilities, meager as they were, were accessible for but a few short weeks in the winter. All suitable weather for out-door work was occupied in the most exhaustive manual labor; clearing the forests, and pre- paring and tilling the soil. In 1851 his father removed to Fayette County, Illinois, where he soon after died. Thomas, however, remained until 1857, when, at the age of twenty-two, he came to Edwardsport, where, with little exception, he has ever since lived. Immedi- ately on his arrival in his newly adopted home, he be- gan an apprenticeship at smithing, with Mr. Murphy. He then formed a partnership in the same business with William Hollingsworth. This connection con- tinued without change for three years; when they pur- chased a saw-mill, carrying it on until the spring of 1861, then selling out, and by mutual consent sepa- rating. After this Mr. Bartlett removed to a farm near the town, where he engaged in agricultural pursuits till 1865. In that year he went back to Edwardsport and began mercantile life again, in which he has continued ever since. He joined the Independent Order of Odd- fellows in 1867, and the Independent Order of Good 'Templars in 1865. He has held all the offices in the subordinate lodge, several times representing that body in the Grand Lodge, and always with credit to him- self and benefit to the society. He is a faithful and consistent member of the Christian Church-having joined it in 1854. He is a steadfast Democrat, having cast his first vote for James Buchanan in 1856. March

18, 1860, he was married to Miss Mary J. Killion, who is a daughter of David and Mary M. Killion. He is the father of eight children, seven of whom are living. Mr. Bartlett's career has been one of uniform success, though unattended with noise or boasting. As a business man he is cool and calculating. He makes few advances and less ventures. His plans are always well laid, and quietly but carefully carried into effect. He now occu- pies a large, handsome store of his own, and is slowly but surely amassing a fortune. As a citizen he always stands ready to aid and encourage every worthy enter- prise. In all his business transactions with the world, none have ever accused him of a mean or dishonest act. His integrity has always been above reproach, and, as a result, he enjoys the fullest confidence of the entire community. His business career knows no stigma; his moral character is without blemish ; and to posterity he will leave a character worthy the emulation of the wisest and best of mankind.

AXTER, JAMES R., attorney-at-law, Bloomfield, Greene County, Indiana, was born in Jefferson County, Indiana, on the 25th of November, 1832. He is the son of William and Jane Baxter; his father was of Irish lineage, and his mother Scotch. He was educated in the common schools of Jefferson County until sixteen years old, when he entered Asbury Uni- versity, at Greencastle, Indiana, where he graduated in 1855. His early life was spent on a farm. In the year 1853 he taught a term of school in Jefferson County, and afterward five months at Dupont in the same county, as principal of the school. In 1857 he removed to Greene County and was elected principal of the Bloomfield high school, remaining in charge for the next five years, all the time reading law with a view of making that his profession. At the expiration of his engagement as principal of the Bloomfield schools he opened a law office in the county seat of Greene County, and began practice, and he is still so employed. He was trustee of Richland Township from 1863 to 1868, and was the Republican candidate for clerk of Greene County in 1862, and defeated. In 1872 Mr. Baxter was the Republican candidate for Representative to the state Legislature, being beaten by a small major- ity. In 1876 he was again the nominee of his party for the same office, and elected, serving in the regular and special sessions of 1876-7 as a member of the Commit- tees on the Judiciary and on Engrossed Bills, and was chairman of the Committee on Corporations. In 1878 he was again a candidate for the Legislature, but was beaten by Hon. Andrew Humphreys. Mr. Baxter joined the Methodist Episcopal Church when but fifteen years old, and is still a member. In politics he was originally

REPRESENTATIVE MEN OF INDIANA.

2d Dist.]

a Whig, but has been a steadfast Republican ever since the organization of that party. He was married, Octo- ber 27, 1863, to Miss Frances F. Taylor, his present companion. He is the father of three children, and has a happy home. Mr. Baxter has always been iden- tified with the public movements of his town and county, and is public-spirited and active in every thing of a progressive character. He is one of the prominent citizens of Greene County, and stands well with his townsmen.

LAND, THOMAS A., M. D., was born at Bloom- field, Greene County, Indiana, May 21, 1830. His father, Thomas Bland, a native of North Carolina, was a pioneer. He came the year after Indiana was admitted to the sisterhood of states, and, building a cabin and opening a farm, he laid the foundations of a home near where Bloomfield was afterwards laid out. He sold this farm in 1850, and removed to Central Illi- nois, where he died in 1862. Thomas A. Bland was bred a farmer, with no facilities for an education save those furnished by the county schools of that day. He was a hard student, and made the most of his opportu- nities. His taste for reading was so great that he pe- rused all the books he could beg or borrow. Hon. S. R. Cairns, Hon. Hugh T. Livingstone, and Captain (afterwards General) L. H. Rousseau, and other prominent friends of his father in the village, freely opened their libraries to him ; and thus, without a teacher, he acquired a good English education and some knowledge of law. At the age of twenty-two he won and wedded Miss Mary Cornelia Davis, of Hitesville, Illinois, with whom he has lived for almost thirty years, and who is as well known in literary circles and to the reading and lecture- going public as her husband. He chose medicine as his profession, graduating at the Eclectic College, of Cin- cinnati. But on coming out of the army, where he had rendered good service as a surgeon, he became editor of the Home Visitor, a literary weekly, published at Indianapolis; his wife, M. Cora Bland, becoming his associate editor. This was in 1864. In 1865 he estab- lished the Northwestern Farmer, which, after he sold it, in 1871, was changed in name to the Indiana Farmer. Mrs. Bland was associate editor of this until 1868, when she established a magazine, the Ladies' Own. In 1870 Doctor Bland's first book was published by Loring, of Boston, under the title of "Farming as a Profession," and sold an edition of ten thousand copies in a year. In April, 1872, the Doctor and his wife removed to Chicago, where she continued to conduct her magazine, and he took the editorship of the Scientific Farmer. Two years later they removed the magazine to New York, the Doctor assuming the editorship of the Farm and Fircside. He also began the preparation of a large work, now 4-6

almost ready for the press, which he proposes to bring out under the title of "The Great Thinkers." In 1875 he assisted in writing a special "History of New Eng- land," for the publishers, Vanslyke & Co., of Boston. His " Life of General B. F. Butler" was issued by Lee & Shepard, of Boston, in 1879, and at once proved a success. Doctor Bland located permanently in Wash- ington, D. C., in 1878, with a view to devoting his life to literature and politics. His wife, having grad- uated in medicine, is making a specialty of scientific health reform. She has been twice elected presi- dent of the Woman's National Health Association. As characteristic of the devotion of this noble-hearted woman to any cause she deems just, it were well to cite the fact that, when Colonel A. B. Meacham lay helpless and paralyzed from the effects of a dozen bullets, this heroine watched over the despairing invalid for one hundred and fifty long, weary days and nights, until at last the brain became clear, the nerves composed, circu- lation equalized, and the whole system of the victim of Modoc bullets regulated. Then Doctor Bland, with his heart alive to the Indian cause, started out in this field, as a co-worker with his wife in restoring her patient and working for humanity. Nearly four hundred cities and towns in New England, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois were visited by this trio of workers; Doctor A. T. Bland making the appointments and managing the busi- ness, " the patient " pleading for justice toward the In- dian as a solution of the problem, Mrs. Doctor Bland devoting herself to the restoration of her patient and to lecturing upon the various branches of her profession. Since their removal to Washington they have already gathered around them a host of warm-hearted friends. Mrs. Doctor Bland has given a course of lectures upon physical subjects and health, chiefly to ladies, whose appreciation of her ability and culture as a true woman, and a scientific teacher and physician, has been mani- fested by liberal patronage and voluntary resolutions highly complimentary. Their weekly receptions are among the most delightful social gatherings to be found in that charming city. In religion Doctor Bland and his wife are Unitarians of the liberal type. His political views are those of the Conservative Nationals. He was brought up a Democrat, but in 1856 and 1860 he did good service for the Republican party. He is now recognized as one of the ablest champions of the prin- ciples of the new party. His letters and essays on finance are extensively circulated and widely read, and regarded as standard by financial reformers. As a writer he ranks among the most forcible, logical, and graceful, and as an orator he is convincing, eloquent and pleasing. He is a good specimen of the class to which he belongs-" self-made men." His career proves that talent, combined with energy and a laudable ambi-

REPRESENTATIVE MEN OF INDIANA.

[ad Dist.

tion, rises superior to any condition in life, and is able to compel success from circumstances however un- favorable.

REEN, JOHN N., merchant, of Loogootee, Indi- ana, was born in the county of Wexford, Ireland, March 9, 1830, and emigrated to the United States in the autumn of 1848, having previously received a good English education. He settled in the city of Louisville, where he was employed in the whole- sale grocery house of John Hayes, now an old, wealthy, retired merchant of that city. In 1850 he removed to Washington, Daviess County, Indiana, and became en- gaged as clerk for Mr. James Campbell, a leading mer- chant there. In the year 1857 he formed a partnership with Mr. Campbell, for the purpose of carrying on a general store in Loogootee, to which place he removed. Mr. Campbell died in 1860, but had previously trans- ferred his interest in the business to his son, James C. Campbell, the firm name still remaining Campbell & Breen. They are carrying a large stock, and are the leading firm of Loogootee. Mr. Breen is also the pres- ident of the National Bank of Washington; and the citizens of that place, in speaking of him, say that he is a gentleman, and one of the most liberal men in Martin County. In political matters he votes the Dem- ocratic state ticket ; but in local elections casts his ballot for the man best qualified to fill the position. He is a member of the Church of Rome. October II, 1865, he was married to Mary J., daughter of James Camp- bell, of Washington, Indiana. They have six children living.

ELDING, STEPHEN, editor and proprietor of the Daviess County Democrat, was born in Wash- ington, Indiana, November 21, 1841, and is the youngest of the ten children of Stephen and Eliz- abeth (Clenny) Belding. His father was a shoemaker by trade, and during the latter part of his life was a boot and shoe merchant. His grandfather Clenny was a soldier in the war for independence. At the age of twelve, Stephen Belding began to learn the trade of a printer in Washington, and, after serving his apprentice- ship, worked at the trade until the year 1859. He then entered the State University at Bloomington, where he remained two years. Since that time he has continued his studies, and by his energy and industry has acquired a fair English education. In 1861 he purchased the Martin County Herald, which he published at Dover Hill until 1863, after which he worked for some time on the Evansville Journal. He then went to Cincinnati and was employed on the Commercial until the fall of 1867, when he went back to Washington, Indiana, and,

in connection with Mr. J. H. Palmer, organized a joint- stock company which started the Daviess County Demo- crat. At the end of six months, however, Mr. Belding bought the interest of Mr. Palmer and the rest of the stockholders, and has since been sole proprietor. The paper is, and has been, the Democratic organ of the county; and, owing to the ability, energy, and industry of Mr. Belding, it has acquired an extensive circulation. It is noted for its able discussion of the principal events transpiring in the political arena, and as a faithful chronicler of all important matters occurring through- out the world. In politics he is a Democrat, and is regarded as one of the leaders of the party in his county and district. On several occasions he has been chairman of the central committee. He attends the Presbyterian Church. January 22, 1872, he married Miss Cora White, of Washington. Mr. Belding has been closely identified with the growth and prosperity of Washing- ton. He has always taken an active part in the educa- tional institutions of the town and county, has been for some time a member of the school board, and has always devoted considerable space in his paper to educational matters. He has a great many friends in the county, and is every-where known as a clever, courteous, and genial gentleman.

URKE, JUDGE MICHAEL F., deceased, late of Washington, Indiana, was born in the county of Limerick, Ireland, March 10, 1829, and emi- grated to America in 1848. Previous to his em- igration he had acquired a classical education, and immediately on his arrival in America he settled in Washington, Indiana, and commenced the study of law. He entered the State University at Bloomington, Indi- ana, and took a course of lectures, teaching school dur- ing the vacations, and graduated in 1851. Returning to Washington, he began practice, which he continued with great success, and was elected Judge of the Circuit Court, which position he still held at the time of his death. In politics he was a Democrat, and was an acknowledged leader of that party in the county and district in which he resided. In religious matters he lived and died a firm believer in the Church of Rome. He was married, February 7, 1854, to Miss Honora Brett, daughter of Hon. P. M. Brett, a wealthy farmer 'of Washington. They had five children, of whom one son and a daughter are now living. The eldest son, Matthew F., born December 8, 1855, attended the com- mon schools while young, and entered the St. Louis University in 1869, from which he graduated in 1874, with the degree of A. B. In 1875 he taught school, and in 1876 acted as deputy county clerk. In the fall of the same year he joined the Indiana State University at Bloomington, graduating in the spring of 1877, since

Western Ging: Day La

Coo HBurton M.N.

REPRESENTATIVE MEN OF INDIANA.

2d. Dist.]

which time he has been practicing his profession. In politics he is a Democrat, and in religion is a Catholic. Catherine resides at home, with her mother, on the old homestead. Judge Burke was noted in the state as be- ing one of the most thorough and intellectual lawyers at the Indiana bar. He was a hard student, and, owing to his practical and thorough acquaintance with the writings of all eminent lawyers, was enabled to unravel and make plain the most intricate legal questions. During his life he was known as an honest, upright Judge, and a genial, courteous gentleman; and his death was mourned by a large circle of friends to whom he had become endeared.

URNET, STEPHEN S., lumber merchant, of Vin- cennes, Indiana, was born April 8, 1834, near Cleveland, Ohio, and is a son of Stephen and Lo- myra (Gardiner) Burnet. His father was a minister of the Christian Church. Having settled in Vincennes in 1852, taken a very active part in the affairs of the uni- versity, carried on a large nursery, and done much to improve the fruit of the country, Stephen S. Burnet is considered one of the leading men of that city. He at- tended the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute, Hiram, Portage County, Ohio, entering in 1853 and remaining one year. Previous to this time he traveled for his father through Indiana and Illinois, selling patent med- icine. On leaving school he spent some time on the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad during its construction, and afterwards was in the lead mines of Missouri for two years. In the winter of 1860 he removed to Vin- cennes, where he engaged in farming for two seasons. In 1862 he went to Nashville, and opened a wholesale liquor and sutler's supply store. Selling out in the winter of 1865, he returned to Vincennes and engaged in trading until 1866, when he removed to Paducah, Kentucky, and opened a wholesale liquor store. This he continued until the fall of 1867, when he again re- turned to Vincennes, and purchasede an interest in a fur- niture manufactory and planing mill. In 1870 he bought out his partner's interest and went into the lum- ber trade, continuing the planing mills. His present associate is Thomas Eastham, and the firm name is S. S. Burnet & Co. It is regarded as a leading one in that city. They are carrying a large stock of lumber, and their mill is constantly running. Mr. Burnet is known as a man of sterling integrity. He has been closely identified with the growth and prosperity of Vin- cennes. He was brought up in the Christian faith, but is now a freethinker. In politics he is neutral, voting invariably for the man in his opinion best qualified to fill the position. In October, 1868, he married Kate Nance, an orphan.

URTON, GEORGE W., M. D., physician and sur- geon, Mitchell, Lawrence County, Indiana, was born in that county, July 22, 1836. He is the son of Hardin (and Lucy) Burton, one of the pioneer Baptist ministers of the state, who settled in Indiana in 1826. The Doctor is one of a numerous and illustrious family, descended from John P. Burton, who was born in Virginia, July, 1758, and whose grandfather came to America from England in 1730, and settled in the vicin- ity of Richmond, Virginia. His descendants are scat- tered in various states, a large portion of them residing in Lawrence County. The family is considered to be the largest in Indiana, if not in the whole Union, being found in nearly all the various callings in life. They are represented in all the professions, from the pulpit to the school-room ; in civil offices, from road supervisor to governor; in the military, from corporal to major-gen- eral. In religion they are principally Baptists, and are honorably represented in all the benevolent institutions. A majority of them are Masons. Most of the voters are Democrats. They are remarkable as a sociable, peace- able, and respectable family, and the ladies are especially noted for their beauty and attainments. Its members hasten to marry and bring up large families, and all seem to do well in life. We find no less than eighteen differ- ent towns bearing the name, scattered in twelve differ- ent states, and the aggregate population is estimated at seventeen thousand. They have a regularly organized society, known as the " Burton Family Reunion Associ- ation," of which the subject of our sketch was the pro- jector, and is chairman and secretary. As a people, they are of marked characteristics. Noted for their out- spoken honesty, morality, frugality, and generous hos- pitality, no more honorable name is known throughout the state. George W. Burton received a good, thorough common school education, graduating from the high school in 1852. In 1853 he took a commercial course. On finishing his education he was employed on the staff of civil engineers in the construction of the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad, on the completion of which he commenced the study of medicine with'Doctor Thomp- son, alternating teaching school for some three years. In the fall of 1857 he attended his first course of lectures at Iowa State University. He then settled in Illinois in the practice of his chosen profession, but shortly after he took a partial course in the McDowell Medical College, St. Louis. On the breaking out of the war he entered the 5th Missouri, under General Henderson, where he served until ill-health compelled him to resign, return- ing to Indiana in the spring of 1862, and locating at Huron, Lawrence County, where he practiced until Au- gust of the same year, when he again entered the army, in the 17th Indiana Volunteers, serving in the line and on the medical staff alternately until the spring of 1863, when he was again compelled to retire on account of ill-

REPRESENTATIVE MEN OF INDIANA.

[ zd Dist.

health, being unfit for duty. He immediately returned to his home and practice. On the last call for volun- teers, in December, 1864, he raised Company D, 145th Indiana Volunteers, of which he was appointed captain, and also served as assistant surgeon and afterward as acting surgeon of the regiment continued to do so until Lee's surrender, when he once more returned to his home. In 1873, his father dying, he removed to Mitch- ell, where he has remained ever since, in the enjoy- ment of a large and successful business, being acknowl- edged one of the leading physicians of the county. The Doctor is active, popular, and successful. He is prominent in all the various medical organizations of the state. He is eminent in his profession, noble and pure in his character, and a man of rare attainments. He is honored, respected, and beloved. Doctor Burton is gifted with a fine intellect, and blessed with good physical powers. He joined the Lawrence County Med- ical Society on its organization in 1862. He with his partner at that time, Doctor H. L. Kimberly, was the originator of the Mitchell District Medical So- ciety, which was organized in 1874-the first medical society of Southern Indiana. He was sent as the first delegate of this society to the American Medical Asso- ciation, which was held in Detroit, Michigan, in 1874. In 1875 he took the degree of Doctor of Medicine at the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Indianapolis. In 1875, with a number of gentlemen of the Wabash Valley, he organized the Tri-state Medical Society of Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky, and was at the time made its secretary, continuing as such ever since. In 1875 he was made a member of the Indiana State Health Commission, and in 1877 took a degree at the Hospital Medical College at Louisville. He is an hon- orary member of the South-western Kentucky Medical Association, and also of those of Jackson and Orange Counties. He was one of the originators of the South Central and Normal School at Mitchell, Indiana, of which he is one of the trustees and most active mem- bers, an institution that bids fair to rank among the highest in the state. In 1866 he became a Mason, having passed the several degrees; in 1869 he became a member of the Grand Lodge, in 1872 of the Royal Arch, and in 1877 of the Council. He has been a member of the town council of Mitchell, and is examin- ing surgeon for pensions. In religion he is a Baptist, and is a member of the First Baptist Church, having joined it in 1866. He is a Republican, although of a Demo- cratic family. He married, March 1, 1857, Hattie C. Campbell, a most estimable lady, daughter of Dougal Campbell, of Illinois, a descendant from the old Dougal Campbell family of Scotland. They have four daugh- ters, now attending school. Such is the brief record of Dr. George W. Burton, one of the younger members of a most remarkable family.

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 16

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