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 20
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Court of Louisiana, and was at this time engaged with the Hon. Henry Clay in an important land case. He also was admitted to plead in many other states, and on January 13, 1851, became a member of the bar of the Supreme Court of the United States, then sitting at Washington, District of Columbia. He was at first a Democrat and afterwards a Whig. He was appointed United States attorney for the state of Indiana, was a member of the Legislature, and was also speaker of the Indiana House of Representatives He was married to Harriet Brandon, of Corydon, Indiana, daughter of A. Brandon, Indiana state printer, and postmaster at Corydon, by whom he had eleven children, of whom three sons and, one daughter are now living. John M. is a practicing attorney of Indianapolis, and is fast win- ning his way to prominence; Noble B. is a practicing attorney of Chicago, and is a member of the law firm of Hitchcock, Dupee & Judah, and is fast acquiring dis- tinction in the profession, as the firm of which he is a member is the leading one of the city; Caroline mar- ried Doctor Mantle, of Vincennes; Catharine married General Lazarus Noble ; and Alice married Frank Clark, manufacturer at Vincennes. Samuel B., the oldest son, is farming at Vincennes. Mr. Judah died April 24, 1869; and in his death the city of Vincennes and the state of Indiana suffered an irreparable loss, as he was regarded as the most eminent jurist in the state. As a citizen of Vincennes he was greatly beloved and ad- mired by the entire community. His home was noted as one of wealth, culture, refinement, and hospitality. His wife still survives him, and her old age is rendered pleasant by the great love of her children.
EITH, BENJAMIN F., physician and surgeon, Edwardsport, Knox County, Indiana, was born in the same county, May 15, 1825. He is a son of John and Delilah Keith, who moved from Kentucky to Knox County in 1814. His maternal grandfather was for some time a soldier in the war with the Indians, serving under General Wayne, known in history as " Mad Anthony." The early life of Doctor Keith was spent on his father's farm, performing the severest manual labor of his time, clearing the forests and tilling the soil in summer and autumn, and attend- ing school for a few weeks in winter in a log-cabin. He very early in life determined to adopt the " healing art " as his profession; and so, in 1849, he left the farm and went to Edwardsport, entering the office of Doctor J. T. Freeland, where he began a course of reading, which he continued with close application for two years, after which time he removed to the town of Jonesboro, Greene County, Indiana, and commenced the practice of medicine in partnership with Doctor Cul-
bertson. The partnership continued for only a few months; but he still remained at Jonesboro until 1854, when he again moved to Robinson, Illinois, where, in partnership with Doctor William Watts, he practiced his profession for three years. He then entered Rush Medical College, where he graduated in 1858. Imme- diately after this he located at Edwardsport, where he has ever since lived. Doctor Keith has always avoided polit- ical incumbrances, never holding any office except trus- tee of his township for two terms. He prefers to devote his time and attention to the requirements of his pro- fession and to the general search for knowledge. And that his investigations have been profitable, all can at- test who know him. Doctor Keith had little or no early intellectual training, yet at present he is one of the best- informed men on general topics to be found in the state, while in medical literature he stands far in ad- vance of the average practitioner. He is still devoted to his books, journals, magazines, and newspapers, and so keeps himself well up with the times in the knowl- edge of his art and in the current news of the day. In his profession none stand higher, and the counsels of few are sought more eagerly. Doctor Keith has always been a steadfast advocate of all moral, religious, and material growth and development, aiding in building churches and school-houses. He was long a member of the Baptist Church, and still clings to that faith. He joined the Independent Order of Odd-fellows in 1854, but never belonged to any other secret organiza- zation. He was a Whig in the days of that party, casting his first presidential vote for Zachary Taylor in 1848. He is now and has always been a Republican since the organization of the party. His first marriage was to Miss Emily Culbertson, on the 6th of November, 1849. He was soon deprived of this companion, and, on the 23d of August, 1860, was married to Mrs. Koons, his estimable and esteemed companion. Doctor Keith is the father of six children, five of whom are living, and are honored and respected for their intelligence and moral worth. Considering the inauspicious begin- ning of the life of Doctor Keith, it is proper to say that few men have equaled him in his achievements and successes.
ERCHEVAL, SAMUEL EDWARD, attorney-at- law, Washington, Daviess County, Indiana, was born in Campbell County, Kentucky, December 31, 1847. He is a son of Robert T. and Maria A. Kercheval, the former a native of Kentucky and the latter of Virginia. At an early age his parents moved to Grandview, Indiana, where his time was occupied in the common schools of the place and as a newsboy, selling papers, and in working in a tobacco factory. His father, Robert T. Kercheval, began life as a blacksmith,
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pursuing that calling zealously for many years, and after- wards filled many official positions in Spencer County, Indiana. He was treasurer of his county two terms, from 1864 to 1868, and in October, 1868, he was elected to the General Assembly of the state of Indiana, as Representative, being a member of that body at the time of the ratification of the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States, and casting his vote in favor of such ratification. In 1870 he and a few other gentlemen, Samuel E. Kercheval being one, or- ganized the Rockport Banking Company, of which he was elected the cashier, a position he still holds. In 1864 the subject of this sketch was employed as mail messenger on an Ohio River packet plying between Evansville and Cairo. When Samuel E. Kercheval was eighteen years of age his father removed from Grandview to Rockport, the county seat of Spencer County, where he still resides. At the age of seventeen Mr. Kercheval entered the county treasurer's office as deputy treasurer, holding that situation four years, and at the same time was deputy auditor under Captain Samuel Laird. From December 26, 1868, to October 20, 1869, he was deputy sheriff under Clement A. Damerman. December 1, 1869, he returned to Grandview, and until September 1, 1871, he was engaged in manufacturing wagons, buggies, plows, and many other farm implements. This proved to be a prosperous and successful enterprise, and at the time was the chief business of the place, he having sev- eral men in his employment. Soon after the close of this business he again removed to Rockport, and until July, 1872, was engaged with the Rockport Banking Company as assistant cashier. On the 24th of July, 1872, Mr. Kercheval began the publication of the Rock- port Republican Journal, of which he was the editor and proprietor. His natural fondness for politics found here an ample field for cultivation, and well did he improve the opportunity. His paper soon took rank among the leading weeklies of the state, as a faithful, true, and fearless advocate of the principles of the Republican party ; and it was the only paper in Southern Indiana which, in the years 1874, 1875, and 1876, boldly advo- cated the resumption of specie payments and the adop- tion of a hard-money currency as a standard of values. His fearless and outspoken course in these years won for him a high place in the counsels of his party, and this, with his known skill as an organizer and manager of cam- paigns, induced them to call him into service as the chairman of the county central committee during the campaigns of 1874 and 1876. He continued in charge of his paper till April, 1877, when he sold the office in order to enter the legal profession. Although young and inexperienced in the newspaper field, he was suc- cessful beyond the most sanguine expectations of him- self or his friends. As an imaginative, versatile, and witty writer he had few, if any, equals in the local
press of the state, and as a business manager he was a decided success. From April 4, 1877, to January I, 1878, Mr. Kercheval was engaged settling up his busi- ness affairs preparatory to removing from Rockport. February 7, 1878, he removed to Washington, Indiana, his present home, and immediately thereafter formed a copartnership with William Armstrong for the practice of law, and is now junior member of the firm of Arm- strong & Kercheval. In the campaign of 1878 he stood at the head of his party in Daviess County as leader and organizer, and, as an evidence of his skill and tact in this respect, it is only necessary to state that nearly the entire Republican ticket was elected by majorities ranging from one hundred and fifty-one to six hundred and ninety, and this, too, in a county which generally gives a Democratic majority of about three hundred. Mr. Kercheval joined the Independent Order of Odd- fellows, May 1, 1869. He is now, and ever has been, a steadfast member of the Republican party, being can- did, frank, and always outspoken, but never permitting his political affiliations to be a barrier to personal friend- ships. He is esteemed even by his most . inveterate political opponents. October 20, 1869, he was married to Miss Cornelia Brown, his present estimable and intel- ligent lady, daughter of Samuel G. Brown, of Rockport, Indiana. He is the father of two children, both of whom are living. Mr. Kercheval is a gentleman of fine physical appearance, and has many warm personal friends. He has often been solicited to accept nomina- tions from his party for various offices, but has so far declined. Few men in Indiana stand higher in the counsels of his party than he, and none have better records for honesty and sterling integrity. His unfal- tering devotion to the principles of the Republican party is certainly destined to bring him into a position of prominence commensurate with his skill and judg- ment as a politician.
EE, CLEMENT, Washington, Daviess County, one of the largest millers in that section of the state, and one of Washington's most successful business men, was born in Lawrence County, Indiana, October 8, 1822. His parents were Joseph and Minnie Lee. He is a man who, without any peculiar or extraor- dinary advantages in early life, has, by his own energy, industry, and pluck, pushed himself to the front rank of men of his town and county, demonstrating the fact that steady industry, honor, and integrity bring their own reward. His education consisted of the ordinary schooling, which he made the most of, as he possessed an aptness for study. On leaving school at the age of seventeen he served an apprenticeship to the blacksmith's trade, in which he continued, together with farming, for some fifteen years. In 1856 he added to his business
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that of a miller, and is still in that occupation. He has already accumulated a fair competence, and enjoys as a result of his labors a luxurious and happy home, where he is surrounded by his family, to whom he is much attached, being a man of domestic virtues. In religious views he is liberal. He is a Democrat in politics. May 22, 1880, he was nominated by the Democratic party for Representative to the House from Daviess County, a position that he is well qualified to fill. Mr. Lee is a man of good personal appearance, is pleasing in manner and address, and is an educated and courteous gentleman, honored and respected by all who know him. IIe was married, January 2, 1842, to Sarah Wells, daughter of C. Wells, Esq., a large farmer of Daviess County. They have a charming family, consisting of five daughters and one son. Mr. Lee is looked upon as one of the leading men of Daviess County.
ASS, CAPTAIN ISAAC, proprietor of the Union Depot Hotel, at Vincennes, Indiana, was born in Baltimore, Maryland, September 20, 1810, and was a son of John and Mary (Essies) Mass. His father was a master cedar cooper. Isaac was the young- est of nine children, and is the only one now living. His oldest brother, Samuel, was, in 1833, president of the Maryland state Senate, and for many years was a member of the city council of Baltimore. He was a prominent Mason, and also served in the War of 1812, and was wounded at the battle of North Point, Baltimore. When Isaac was nine years of age he lost his mother. At the age of twelve he began the trade of coach trimmer, serving seven and a half years, and, after he had com- pleted his time, was employed for six months in Balti- more and Newark, New Jersey. While at Newark he saw an advertisement in the papers for workmen to go to the City of Mexico, and in February, 1832, he sailed from New York in the ship "Congress," commanded by Captain Miner. He landed at Vera Cruz after a voyage of twenty-one days, and left for Mexico the day after the battle between Santa Anna and Bustamente, making the journey on horseback, after procuring a pass from Santa Anna through the lines of Bustamente. He worked at his trade for Don Manuel Escandon, who had a line of stages from Mexico to Vera Cruz. In Decem- ber, 1833, he returned to the United States, and, after visiting New Orleans, New York, and Philadelphia, he spent a few months at his old home in Baltimore, when he again concluded to return to Mexico. Going over- land through the Western States, he stopped one night at Vincennes, Indiana, at the hotel of Colonel John C. Clark, who also had a line of stages carrying the United States mail to Louisville, Kentucky. The colonel, learn- ing that he was a coach finisher, and having shops of
his own, prevailed upon him to stop over and finish two coaches he had on hand. Being a Freemason, Captain Mass soon made many acquaintances, and at a ball given by Colonel Clark he became acquainted with Miss Em- eline Mccutchen, whom he married October 14, 1835- Previous to this time he purchased the shops of Colonel Clark. He carried on the business until 1843, when he was burned out. He was then appointed deputy sheriff of Knox County. In 1844 he was elected sheriff, and in 1846 was re-elected. Upon retiring from the office, in 1848, he opened a general store and also a pork- packing establishment, and sold out in 1852, having lost all he had on produce shipped to New Orleans. He built the first eleven miles of the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad from Vincennes east, and in 1854 erected the Star Flour-mills, at Vincennes, which he operated until they were burned out, in 1856. He then opened a gen- eral auction house, and continued in that business until the late war, when, in July, 1862, he recruited a com- pany for the 65th Regiment Indiana Volunteer Mounted Infantry, and was commissioned lieutenant. He was elected captain of the company in the same month. After serving one year in Kentucky on detached service, he became a part of General Schofield's army corps, July 12, 1863, and participated in many engagements, notable among which was the taking of Knoxville, Ten- nessee. He resigned April 30, 1864, on account of ill- health, and was elected sutler of the 65th Regiment Indiana Volunteers, but before he could get his goods to the regiment General Sherman had moved the army south, forbidding all sutlers to follow. General James B. Stedman, commanding at Chattanooga, granted him the privilege of disposing of his goods at wholesale. He then took charge of the government mess houses, and remained in charge until the military railroads were turned over, in December, 1865. January 1, 1866, he left Chattanooga and returned to Vincennes, and pur- chased the New York dry-goods and grocery store, which he sold out in a few months at a profit. He then bought the railroad eating-house at the crossing of the Ohio and Mississippi and Erie and Chicago Railroads, and was burned out in 1870. At that time, in company with his present partner, L. L. Watson, he built the Union Depot Hotel. He also assisted in putting up the new gas works, of which, having bought out the old gas company, he is president. Captain Mass did not have school advantages in his young days, but has, by his own energy, acquired a fair English education. He has furnished many contributions for the papers on the early history of Knox County, and also written several able articles on political economy, of which he is an earnest student. By his first wife he was the father of five children, one of whom, the wife of William S. Sterne, of Sedalia, Missouri, is now living. He was married to his present wife, Mary A. Thorn Raper, daughter of Hon.
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William Raper, of Vincennes, October 7, 1847. They | having the pleasure of representing Oregon in the Elec- have had seven children, of whom two sons and two daughters are now living. Samuel is a farmer, and Lewis B. lives in Vincennes. Mary E. is the wife of Eugene Johnson, who is bookkeeper for his father-in- law. Carrie is at home with her parents. Captain Mass was educated an Episcopalian, but now attends the Presbyterian Church, of which his wife is a member. In politics he was a Whig, then a Know-Nothing, and then a Republican, but has become disgusted with par- ties, and now votes for the man best qualified to fill the position. Captain Mass is a whole-souled, genial gentle- man, and it is said by his friends, who are legion, that he is one of the most honorable and useful citizens of Vincennes.
EACHAM, ALFRED B., ex-commissioner of Indian affairs, was born in Orange County, In- diana, April 29, 1826. In 1841 his family emi- grated to Iowa, settling near Iowa City, where his father, Anderson Meacham, a substantial farmer, still resides. In 1845, Alfred aided in removing the Sac and Fox Indians to the reservation assigned them after the Black Hawk War. In 1850 he went to California in search of gold, returning in 1852 for the girl he left be- hind him, Miss Orpha Ferree, of Brighton, Iowa. For some years he followed mining with varying success, being sometimes on the revolving wheel of fortune, and again down low on its rim, but ever maintaining those elements of integrity, courage, and enterprise, inherited from a long line of Quaker and Methodist ancestors, which had taken vigorous root in his nature during the years of his youth, fostered by good counsel, virtuous example, and the admirable conditions incident to the life of a pioneer farmer's son. He subsequently, in com- pany with his brother Harvey, located a ranche in the Blue Mountain region, erected a hotel, and built a toll road on the trail from Idaho to Oregon, which for years was the principal thoroughfare for stages, pack trains, and emigrants. This place is still known as Meacham's Station, and it escaped pillage and destruction by the Bannock Indians during the war of 1877, through the respect those Indians had for its founder. He was a temperance man of the total abstinence type from boy- hood, and achieved fame as a temperance orator, mak- ing his first speech from the head of a whisky barrel in a saloon in San Francisco, in 1850 or 1851. He took a leading part in the organization of temperance societies and Sabbath-schools in that state. In politics he was first Whig, and then Republican, and always earnest and active. In 1868, and again in 1872, he was selected by his party to represent it as state elector, and in both those campaigns he made a thorough and able canvass, and in 1872 a successful one, achieving the honor and
toral College, and casting the vote of that state for U. S. Grant. In 1869 he was appointed to the responsible office of superintendent of Indian affairs for the state of Oregon, which position he filled for almost four years, with characteristic ability, and with an earnest devotion to the best interests of both the Indians and the gov- ernment. During this time he prevented war with Cap- tain Jack by visiting him at the peril of his own life. He remained in council with him for three days, and finally secured his confidence and made a treaty, which was afterwards broken by the government through its agents, the result of which was the Modoc War of 1872-73. At the earnest solicitation of Secretary Delano and President Grant, he accepted the chairmanship of a commission to the Modocs in the early part of 1873, and under instructions met General Canby at his headquar- ters, at Fairchild's Ranche, twenty-five miles from the Modoc camp in the Lava Beds. His efforts to secure a treaty of peace were constantly rendered abortive by the action and movements of the army; and at the final council, the Indians, having lost all faith in the honor- able intentions of the government, and all patience under the wrongs they had suffered, and were still suffer- ing, fired upon the commission, killing General Canby and Doctor Thomas, and lodging seven balls in Colonel Meacham's body. They supposed him dead, as he was unconscious, and, as they claim, pulseless, but he sur- vived to write a history of the affair, and to spend the remainder of his providentially preserved life in expos- ing the wrongs, defending the rights, and pleading the claims, of the race at whose hands he suffered so much. When his death was reported, his political enemies said of him, " Meacham was a man of strong will and posi- tive character." He made warm friends and bitter ene- mies. He has not fully recovered from his wounds, nor ever can. He has not had since, nor will he probably dur- ing his life have, an hour of perfect respite from pain. Yet he has since written a book, " Wigwam and War- path," another, " Wi-ne-ma and Her People," and a pamphlet, "Tragedy of the Lava Beds," and is still at work. After two years of almost hopeless despair and physical and mental prostration, Providence, whose ways are past finding out, raised up for Colonel Meacham friends who were fitted by nature, education, and expe- rience to again cheat the grave and restore him to health and labor, in the persons of Doctors T. A. and M. Cora Bland. Of these noble-hearted Samaritans, Colonel Meacham says:
"They have found me walking on the crumbling verge of the grave, half paralyzed, with brain congested, spirit broken, helpless, hopeless, and friendless in a great city. They have fought death away from me, and by their united skill restored me to comparative health and hope, always declaring that I had a work to do, and that it was theirs to be co-workers. For two years
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these friends gave undivided time and professional skill, traveling, lecturing, and writing upon the Indian ques- tion, in order to restore me to manhood; never faltering in the belief that they were working for the Master in saving me to labor for God's poor, despised children. If the seven hundred speeches I have made, and twenty numbers of the Council Fire I have issued, have ac- complished any thing for the Indian, the Indian owes a great debt of gratitude to the doctors who saved me from death, and have stood by me through good and ill. But for them no Council Fire would have ever been kindled in behalf of justice to a despised race."
This worthy tribute he pays them in the pages of his publication, the Council Fire, a paper issued to meet the demand for a journal devoted to the Indian cause. And the Council Fire blazes to a good purpose in the capital of the nation, lighting up the dark phases of the Indian question, and warming the hearts of the oppressed red men in the wigwams of the far West. He is a member of the United States commission to the Utes. Their duties consist chiefly in selecting a home for those people, di- viding their lands in severalty, providing schools, etc. His appointment met with unanimous approval by the press.
OORE, DOCTOR JACKSON L., physician and surgeon, of Washington, Indiana, was born in Laurel County, Kentucky, January 16, 1833, and is a son of Uriah and Amanda (Sellers) Moore. His father, who was a farmer, emigrated from Kentucky to Indiana, and settled in Bedford in 1836. He is still living in that city, having retired from the active life of the farm. Jackson I. attended the common schools of the country, and acquired his medical education at the Louisville and the Evansville medical colleges. Grad- uating from the latter in the year 1866, he immediately began the labors of his profession at Elliotsville, Indiana, where he remained one year. He then removed to Da- viess County, where he has been in continual practice for the last twenty-two years. The Doctor is a member, and is at this time one of the censors, of the Daviess County Medical Society. He is also a member of the State and of the Tri-state Medical Societies, the latter of which has honored him with the position of one of its vice-presidents. He was married, May 12, 1853, to Jane S. Dye, daughter of a farmer of Lawrence County, Indiana. Five children have been born to them. He was brought up in the Methodist Episcopal faith, and is now a member of a Church of that denomination. On the breaking out of the Rebellion, Doctor Moore raised a company, which was attached to the 27th Reg- iment Indiana Volunteers, and received a commission from Governor Morton as a captain. He proceeded with the regiment to Washington City, but in March, 1862, was compelled to resign, on account of ill-health. Re- turning to Washington, Indiana, he resumed his prac-
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