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 41

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 41

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but also with most of the general philanthropic and benevolent movements of the region. He was one of the first regents of the deaf and dumb and blind insti- tution, supported by the state, and had much to do with its successful inauguration. The pastorate at Wheeling covered the stormy times of the war and the period which succeeded it. On account of the divided feelings of the people, the position was one of great difficulty, but it was so filled as to command universal respect, and to avoid all just cause of blame from any quarter. The Church greatly prospered under this ministry. In the spring of 1876 Doctor Fisher re- signed the pastorate at Wheeling and sailed for Europe, where he spent the summer in travel through Ireland, Scotland, England, Holland, Belgium, France, Switzer- land, Germany, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. It had been his intention, also, to extend his journey to the East, but the threatened outbreak of the Turkish- Russian War led to a change of plans. Returning home, he spent the winter in preaching and in some literary labors. In the summer of 1877 he made a jour- ney to California, and in the fall he removed to Madi- son, Indiana, and took charge of the Second Presby- terian Church. In July, 1879, he was unanimously elected to the presidency of Hanover College, Hanover, Jefferson County, Indiana. Doctor Fisher has been a prolific writer for the public press, including secular and religious newspapers and the higher reviews. He has the repu- tation of a high order of scholarship and literary cul- ture. He has repeatedly been called to deliver the an- nual addresses before various collegiate societies, and he sometimes lectures for lyceums and similar organiza- tions. In 1874 Muskingum College conferred upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity. He is the father of three children, the eldest of whom is in the midst of his collegiate course. In height Doctor Fisher is about five feet nine inches. He weighs about one hundred and forty pounds. His hair and whiskers are black, and his countenance rather dark. His manner of preaching is without manuscript, but after careful preparation. His type of theology is Scriptural and evangelical. Though true to his denomination, he is free from narrow sectarianism. His administration of the affairs of his college has been highly successful.

OLEY, JAMES B., ex-Congressman, Greensburg, Indiana, was born in Mason County, Kentucky, October 18, 1807. His mother, Mary (Bradford) Foley, was the daughter of Benjamin Bradford, superintendent of the arsenal at Harper's Ferry, Virginia, during the Revolutionary War. His father dying when James was but seven years old left his mother, who had meanwhile become blind, with eight children dependent A-13

upon her for support. He therefore received no educa- tion except such as he gained from contact with the world. At the age of sixteen he engaged as cook on a flat-boat bound to New Orleans. He next served as deck-hand and steersman on two succeeding trips, and then commenced freighting, from Maysville and Dover (Kentucky) down the Mississippi, on his own account. He continued in this business for fifteen years, during which time he had owned as many different boats. At the age of twenty-one he commanded a credit of twenty thousand dollars, a remarkable showing for a man who had just attained his majority, and, poor and friendless, had commenced life as a deck-hand on a Mississippi flat-boat. It would seem, however, that the very obsta- cles he had to surmount in his efforts to realize a com- petency, by developing his energy, resources, and inven- tion, were the means best adapted to the end, as his subsequent career has proved. June 15, 1834, he re- moved to Greensburg, Indiana, and opened a dry-goods store, in which business he continued successfully for two years. In 1837 he abandoned merchandising and purchased a farm of four hundred and eighty acres, about two miles from Greensburg. This farm, on which he has ever since resided, is not only in a high state of cultivation, but is one of the most valuable in the state. He engaged in pork-packing in Lawrenceburg and Cin- cinnati, which he continued with varying success until 1877, his transactions in a single year amounting fre- quently to eighty thousand dollars. During the entire course of his mercantile and public career, a period of sixty years, he has never been the defendant in a law- suit-an honorable record, justifying a pardonable pride, and one of which but few men can boast. In 1841 he was elected treasurer of Decatur County, serving the full term. He was elected in 1850 to the Constitutional Convention at Indianapolis, at which were also present, as delegates, Michael J. Bright, Schuyler Colfax, Will- iam S. Holman, Robert Dale Owen, and Judge Pettit, and William H. English was its secretary. He was the author of several important provisions in the new Consti- tution, among which were those fixing the terms of state and county officers, and making the Governor and Lieu- tenant-governor ineligible to re-election, and other state and county officers ineligible to a second re-election ; and the provision prohibiting the state from giving aid to rail- roads, canals, and other public improvements. Through- out the convention he was an active opponent of the thir- teenth article of the Constitution, which forbade the immigration of negroes into the state. In 1852 he was appointed by Governor Wright brigadier-general of mili- tia for the Fourth District. In 1856 he received the Democratic nomination for Congress. His competitor was the now celebrated Will Cumback, at that time the incumbent, and desirous of re-election. The canvass marked an epoch in the political history of that district.

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Party feeling was well-nigh suspended, the election be- ing an issue of personal popularity between the two men. The friends of Cumback, relying on his party record, his oratorical powers and knowledge of wire- pulling, freely backed their favorite with large sums of money, which were in turn as quickly taken by the adherents of his less brilliant, but more astute and clear-headed opponent. When the result became known, it was found that General Foley had beaten Mr. Cumback by fifteen hundred votes. While a member of the Thirty-fifth Congress, the celebrated Lecompton Constitution, the outgrowth of the Kan- sas troubles, came before that body. Though a Demo- crat, General Foley opposed the bill with all the stubbornness of an honest man fighting an iniquitous measure, and though personally importuned by Pres- ident Buchanan, and his colleagues in both Houses, he remained unchanged in his determination. At this junc- ture, Senators Bright and Fitch threatened to remove certain persons whom the General had had appointed to office in his congressional district. Meeting them both at their rooms one day, he denied their ability to make these changes, and then, suddenly removing his coat, offered to settle the matter on the spot by recourse to the "manly art." The honorable gentlemen, deeming " discretion the better part of valor," wisely avoided the combat, and the General heard no more of their threatened interference. Calling upon Mr. Buchanan a few years later, the President referred to Mr. Foley's conscientious attitude on the Lecompton Constitution, and, laying his hand on his heart, said, in a tone which the General never forgot, "Had they all [meaning the Democratic members] been as honest as you were, I should have had less occasion for the regret which I now feel." Mr. Foley was one of the original projectors of the Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Lafayette, and Terre Haute and Cincinnati Railroads. He has also liberally endowed Bethany and Butler Colleges, and is, in short, a man whose hand and purse are ready to promote any enterprise for the welfare of the community. In 1874 he was again offered the nomination for Congress, but declined, since which time he has retired from active business, and on his beautiful farm, surrounded by his children and his grandchildren, he is spending the evening of his days in that peace and content which can come only from a pure heart and a clear conscience, and is best appreciated after the vicissitudes of half a century of active life. General Foley was married, April 2, 1829, to Miss Martha Carter, of Mason County, Ken- tucky. Six children blessed this union, three of whom are still living. The second son, Benjamin, died in New Orleans, August 19, 1848, while returning from the Mex- ican War. He was again married March 4, 1848, to Mrs. Mary Hackleman, of Decatur County, Indiana, by whom he has three children. The eldest child of the

second marriage, William O. Foley, has been for some years the Deputy Treasurer of State, at Indianapolis. Mr. Foley belongs to the Masonic Fraternity, and is a member of the Christian Church. In person he is of medium height, stoutly and compactly built, possessing a pair of keen, penetrating eyes, which meet the gaze clearly and unflinchingly, and are perhaps the best index of the man's character-shrewd, honest, and brave. As a friend, he has always been found faithful; as a companion, he is exceedingly interesting and con- vivial. Gentle as a woman in his ordinary moods, when aroused in controversy he displays almost lion-like power. God made him for a purpose, and he has accomplished it.

REEMAN, AMZI WHITEFIELD, minister, of Aurora, Dearborn County, was born in South Orange, Essex County, New Jersey, June 10, 1821. His ancestors came, as early as 1667, from Con- necticut to Newark, and soon after took a prominent part in the formation of the Mountain Society, which by an ecclesiastical change became the first Presby- terian Church of Orange. In the records of this organ- ization several generations of Mr. Freeman's paternal an- cestors are represented among its officers as deacons or elders; the last being his father, who led a colony and founded the Presbyterian Church of South Orange. His mother (née Tichenor), was descended from the same Puritan stock, and her grandfather honorably distin- guished himself in the War of the Revolution. When the subject of our article was fifteen years of age, his father died, leaving him a patrimony to be expended for his collegiate education, with the prayer recorded in his will that he might become a minister of the gos- pel. Before the son was aware of this clause in the testament, the prayer was in effect answered by his con- secration of himself to that work. After his preparation for college, which was completed in the academy at Morristown, in the autumn of 1840, he entered Nassau Hall, at Princeton, from which he graduated in 1843. After a year spent in teaching in Sparta, Sussex County, Mr. Freeman entered Union Theological Seminary, New York City, where he remained three years. In the fall of 1847 he came to Indiana, which has been his adopted state. His first settlement was at Covington, Fountain County, where he labored four years. During this time he had also the care of the Presbyterian Church in Perrysville, on the opposite side of the Wabash. Dur- ing his stay his congregation at the former place erected a house of worship, and his people at Perrysville pur- chased an edifice already built from another denomi- nation. In 1852 he was invited to take charge of the Second Presbyterian Church, Fort Wayne, where he re- mained two years. About July 1, 1854, he was called

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to the pastorate of the Presbyterian Church of Aurora, where, after the lapse of a quarter of a century, he still continues to minister. Here, too, soon after his coming, he had the pleasure of seeing a house of worship, only the basement of which had been finished, entirely and elegantly completed. Besides his pastoral and pulpit labors in this prosperous and influential Church, Mr. Freeman has taken a great interest in the prosperity of the city and in the general improvement of society. Both a vocalist and instrumentalist himself, he has done much towards the cultivation of music. In the cause of education he has always been especially interested. Indeed his love of teaching has been such that during the greater part of his life he has had under his care either private pupils or classes. Often has he been solicited to make teaching a profession, but his attach- ment to his people has prevented. This interest led him to take charge of the public schools of Aurora for the period of two years, during which time they were first thoroughly and systematically graded. For many years Mr. Freeman has been a trustee of Hanover College. In 1861-62 Mr. Freeman's resources were greatly in- creased by a year's travel in Europe and Palestine. During his absence he was a regular correspondent of the Cincinnati Gazette, and on his return he delivered to large audiences, in a series of lectures, his personal ob- servations in the lands of the Bible. As a pastor, Mr. Freeman is sympathetic with those in affliction, helpful to the poor, and watchful over the young. As a preacher, he is studious in his preparations and earnest in his delivery. He has been successful in his efforts to do good, and has a claim to be numbered among the benefactors of our state.

AFF, THOMAS, merchant, banker, and manufac- turer, of Aurora, was born near Edinburgh, Scotland, July 8, 1808, and came to the United States with his parents, James and Margaret Gaff, when only three years of age. They settled in Spring- field, New Jersey, where Thomas Gaff received his early education. At the age of sixteen he learned his father's trade-paper-making; but, on the introduction of improved machinery, he learned the distilling busi- ness from an uncle, Charles Wilson, of Brooklyn, New York. With his brother, James W. Gaff, he engaged in the same business in the city of Philadelphia, Penn- sylvania, where for a time they were successful. Finally, a change in the duties, operating to their disadvan- tage, rendered their business unremunerative, and they disposed of their establishment and removed to Indiana in the year 1843. They settled in Aurora, where they laid the foundation of what is now the flourishing establishment of T. & J. W. Gaff & Co. This firm

has done much toward building up the city of Aurora. The Gaff Brothers were the first to undertake the con- struction of turnpikes, and to establish daily communi- cation by steamboat between Aurora and Cincinnati. Thomas Gaff was also one of the original stockholders and directors of the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad. Their enterprises have been various and extensive, in- cluding farming, mining in the Rocky Mountains, foundry and machine-works, mercantile business, and banking. Mr. Thomas Gaff is also a joint partner in the extensive flour and hominy mills at Columbus, Indiana, vice-president of the Aurora Gas-light and Coke Company, and president of the First National Bank of Aurora. During the late Civil War, Mr. Gaff strongly supported the cause of the Union, furnishing steamboats and supplies for the use of the government. The beautiful and fast-sailing " Forest Queen," which, under the command of Captain C. D. Conway, of Au- rora, Indiana, successfully ran the blockade at Vicks- burg, under a storm of shot and shell from over two hundred cannon, was principally owned by the Gaff Brothers. She was afterward burned at St. Louis, Missouri, by emissaries of the Confederates. Mr. Gaff has partially retired from active pursuits, his business interests being to a large extent managed by his brother- in-law and confidential partner, Mr. Henry W. Smith. Though his early educational advantages were limited, Mr. Gaff has always been a diligent reader and student. As a financier, he is regarded as one of the best in the country. His executive ability is remarkable. No trans- action within the range of his complicated affairs escapes his observation. He is generous, and ready to relieve the deserving poor. Few men have been more liberal in their contributions to religious and charitable objects. By his honorable life he has won the esteem of all who know him. His wife, who was Mrs. Sarah T. Whipple (née Darling), of Providence, Rhode Island, is a Christian lady of great refinement and culture, and of remarkable personal beauty. Of their six children, two only sur- vive, both happily married.

AFF, JOHN H., retired merchant, late of Law- renceburg, was born in Springfield, New Jersey, September 13, 1820. He was one of the family GG of five sons and five daughters of James and Margaret Gaff, who emigrated to this country from Scotland about the year 1811. His father was a paper- maker, and was considered an expert at his trade. His mother, a pious and worthy woman, lived to a ripe old age, enjoying the hospitalities of her children and grandchildren. John H. Gaff received in his boyhood a common school education ; and in 1835 was ap- prenticed to learn the jeweler's trade with Mr. Acker-

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man, of New York City. He remained in New York, working at his trade, for six years, when, feeling a de- sire for a change, he visited Mexico. He remained at the capital of that country for four years, working at his business and making a specialty of diamond setting, in which he was remarkably expert. He was a resident of the City of Mexico when Santa Anna was crowned Dictator of that country. In 1845 he returned to the United States, and settled in Aurora, Indiana, where he engaged in distilling with his brothers; first as clerk and afterwards as partner. While a resident of Aurora, he was held in the highest esteem by his fellow-citizens, and served two terms as mayor of that city. On the sixth day of May, 1851, he married, in the village of Newburg, New York, Miss Margaret G. Lendrum. She is a very estimable lady, and was in every sense of the word a helpmeet to her husband, and a most admirable coadjutor in his many plans for the welfare of the com- munity. In 1864 Mr. Gaff, with his family, removed to Lawrenceburg, where he continued to reside until his death, February 16, 1879. The partnership with his brothers at Aurora culminated in one of the largest dis- tilling interests in the country; and, on his removal to Lawrenceburg, he continued the business with his brothers and Mr. Anson Marshall. On the withdrawal of Mr. Marshall from the firm, a new firm was organ- ized, consisting of Mr. Gaff and Charles L. Howe, under the firm name of John H. Gaff & Co. This firm continued until the year before Mr. Gaff's death, when, owing to feeble health, he retired. His business career had been one of intense earnestness, and drew heavily upon his physical resources. The people of Lawrence- burg looked upon Mr. Gaff with a feeling of respect and confidence to which few men attain in a com- munity. He was actively identified with the educa- tional interests of the city ; after the organization of the graded schools he was elected first trustee, and was for

several years a member of the board of education. In this position he acquitted himself with so much satisfac- tion to his constituents, and won such universal respect, that the school was closed and the school bell tolled during his obsequies, in appreciation of his services. He was a thoroughly honorable man. His high regard for the rights and feelings of others insured him from enmity ; a rare thing for one occupying his position in life. He was an acceptable member of the Presbyterian Church ; a quiet, unassuming gentleman of pleasant social nature ; and, in the family circle, a devoted hus- band and tender father. He was buried with the hon- ors of the Masonic Fraternity, of which he was a mem- ber; and was followed to the grave by a large concourse of sorrowing friends. Besides his wife, four daughters and one son survive him. Two daughters are married : Mrs. Aggie Andrews, of Cumminsville, Ohio : and Mrs. Roger Spooner, of Madison, Wisconsin.

VAVIN, JAMES, lawyer and soldier, late of Greens- burg, Indiana, was born in Butler County, Ohio, March 31, 1830. His parents moved to Franklin County, Indiana, and settled about two and a half miles from Brookville. James Gavin was the youngest son of a large family, and was reared, as boys usually are on a farm, to work early and late, a habit which he never lost. He spent his time in this way until about fifteen years of age, going to school a few months, and studying at home under the supervision of his brother, David. About this time he went to Brookville, and became clerk in the store of Andrew Shirk, after which he taught school. In 1851 he married Martha E. Tucker, and continued teaching near Dublin, Indiana. In 1852 he removed to Greensburg. He had studied law while teaching, and, entering upon its practice, soon succeeded in obtaining an excellent business. About the year 1857 the firm of Gavin & Hord was formed, and commenced the revision of the Indiana statutes, known as the Gavin & Hord Statutes; but Mr. Gavin did not remain until the completion of the work, on account of the breaking out of the Civil War. Pre- vious to that event Mr. Gavin was a Democrat, and a warm supporter of Douglas; but he immediately took up the cause of the Union, and aided in organizing the 7th Indiana Volunteer Infantry, of which he was made lieutenant and adjutant. At the expiration of its term of three months the regiment was reorganized for the three years' service, with E. Dumont as colonel and James Gavin as lieutenant-colonel. Dumont was imme- diately appointed brigadier-general, and Mr. Gavin be- came commander of the regiment. Under Colonel Gavin, and its subsequent colonel as well, the 7th Indi- ana became essentially a fighting regiment. Colonel Gavin was by no means a martinet; he thought much of his men, and held their comfort and their safety ever in his mind, but when the time came they must fight, and they did fight, cheerfully and well. While at home on a furlough, the excitement over an expected raid from John Morgan caused the calling out of the thirty days' men, which Colonel Gavin commanded, at Hen- derson, Kentucky. In that vicinity Colonel Gavin and a small party of his men were ambushed by Morgan's troops; and Lieutenant Braden, who happened to be in full uniform-while Colonel Gavin, by accident, had on a civilian's coat-was literally riddled with bullets. Colonel Gavin's horse was killed under him, and he himself was wounded in the hand. All the party were wounded; but they succeeded, by taking to the bushes, in escaping and reaching the camp next morning. At the second battle of Bull Run, on the evening of the second day's fight, Colonel Gavin was shot through the right breast. From the effects of this wound he was long in recovering fully, and in 1863 re- signed his commission, while in charge of a brigade.

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In the fall of 1862, while at home and confined to the house by his wound, he was nominated for member of Congress, against W. S. Holman, but was able to make no canvass, and, sharing the fate of many others, was defeated. Upon resigning his position in the army, he was nominated and elected clerk of Decatur County, but vacated his office in 1864 to take command of the 134th Indiana Volunteers. After the return of this reg- iment he was re-elected clerk, and filled the office until 1867, resigning when the Republican party divided. He followed the Johnson element, and, having always claimed to be a war Democrat, he returned to the Dem- ocratic party, with which from that time he was in full accord. In the Greeley campaign he was one of the candidates for elector at large. July 4, 1873, he died, being but little over forty-three years old, and having raised himself from poverty to his position in the law, in the army, and among the people, solely by his own exertions. Colonel Gavin left a widow and three chil- dren-Frank E., William J., and Addie M. Gavin. Frank E. Gavin is a member of the law firm of Miller & Gavin, of Greensburg ; William is reading medicine.

IVENS, NOAH S., Judge of the Seventh Judicial District, was born in Dearborn County, September 30, 1833, and is now, therefore, in the forty-seventh year of his age. His parents are both dead. The father, who was called Joshua, was an early emigrant of that county, having arrived there from Maryland, where he was born, in 1835. His mother was a native of the same state, her maiden name being Henrietta Davis. The father followed the occupation of a farmer, and the son's earlier years were passed alternately in assisting in agricultural labor and in going to school. At twenty years of age he entered Franklin College, which he attended three years, afterwards going to the State University at Bloomington, and remaining there for two years, when he was graduated in the literary department. This was in 1858. A general course of study in law was then begun with Judge Buskirk, strengthened by attendance at the law school; and, re- ceiving his license in 1859, he opened practice at Washington, Daviess County, staying there five years, and then removing to Lawrenceburg, in the same county, where he now is. He was prosecuting attorney there for two years, and in 1862 he was elected a Repre- sentative to the state Legislature on the Democratic ticket. He has held various official positions since living in Lawrenceburg, for which his party has chosen him. In 1872 he was a Representative, serving two years; in 1874 a Senator from Dearborn and Franklin Counties for four years; and in 1878 he was elected Judge of the Seventh Judicial District, for a term which has not yet

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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 41

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