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 44

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 44

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to consumption in his family, he gave up active practice, and engaged in the drug business in the young but thriving town of Mexico, Audrain County. There he conducted a successful business for some twenty years, during which time he gained many warm friends. He was several times mayor of the city, for a long time councilman, and served one term as clerk of the county court. He was also for some time postmaster of Mexico, under President Pierce's administration. In 1861 he was nominated by the conservative party to represent the district composed of Audrain, Pike, and Lincoln Counties in the Constitutional Convention called to consider the question of the position of Missouri in relation to the Civil War; but, on account of the ex- citement attending the election, he declined to run. In 1864 he was elected a Representative from Audrain County to the state Legislature. He immediately took a very prominent position in that body, being foremost in the counsels of his party, and the recognized leader of the Democracy in the House. In 1866 he was ap- pointed, by President Johnson, assessor of internal revenue for the Fourth District of Missouri. He repre- sented the Ninth Congressional District of Missouri in the National Democratic Convention of 1868, and was a member of the committee on permanent organization in that body. He was also for fourteen years editor and proprietor of the Mexico Ledger, a sharp, conservative paper, devoted to the political and agricultural interests of Missouri. While in the Missouri House of Repre- sentatives, Doctor Hunter made a memorable speech on the proposed amendments to the new Constitution in regard to the " test oath," which was afterward printed by the state executive committee and used as a cam- paign document. He also introduced many important bills for the welfare of his constituents, and, though belonging to the party in the minority in the House, held the following responsible positions: Chairman of the Committee for Visiting State Asylums, a leading member of the Committees on Ways and Means, Inter- nal Improvements, and State University; also, of the committee appointed by joint resolution to examine the accounts of the State Auditor and Treasurer ; chairman of the Committee of the whole House on the Revision of School Laws; chairman of the Committee on the Me- morial of the St. Louis Medical Society, requiring physicians to give evidence of qualifications, etc. ; and a member of the committee to escort Hon. B. Gratz Brown to a seat within the bar of the House. Concerning his appointment as assessor of internal revenue, the Demo- cratic Register, of Lawrenceburg, has the following :

" We are gratified to learn that Doctor W. D. H. Hunter has been appointed United States assessor of the Fourth District of Missouri. He was a member of the last Missouri Legislature, where he achieved lasting honors, and is now promoted to a lucrative and respon- sible position, in which he will no doubt sustain him-

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self, and administer its affairs to the satisfaction of the government."

The Mexico Ledger, in referring to the same appoint- ment, says :

"We congratulate the people of the district and the department on this judicious selection. A place of honor, profit, and trust, we believe, was never more fitly bestowed. Doctor Hunter is eminently qualified for the duties of the position, and is every way worthy. His friends will never cease to remember with pride the sublime heroism with which, in the last Legislature, he led a forlorn hope, in opposition to the infamous radical majority of that body; and will rejoice to know that he has been suitably rewarded."

The St. Louis Republican, the leading Democratic paper of the West, in speaking of the same episode in Doctor Hunter's career, says :

" Besides being a pleasant and intelligent gentleman, he is an upright and honorable citizen, one who will dis- charge the duties of his office without favoring political friends or oppressing political opponents. In the late Legislature he was a decided, active, and efficient con- servative member. Notwithstanding his decision and activity, his integrity of purpose was never doubted. . . In his new and important position he will be sure to discharge his duties correctly and honorably, and so se- cure the esteem of honorable men."

Doctor Hunter was a member of the state board of managers of the Missouri State Insurance Company, and president of the board of local managers for Au- drain County; he was also director of the Life Asso- ciation of America at St. Louis. The death of his step- father, Judge Isaac Dunn, in 1870, left his mother bur- dened with the management of a large estate. Mrs. Cornelius O'Brien, her only daughter, was able to lend her little aid. At the urgent solicitation, there- fore, of his mother and only sister, he consented to re- turn to Lawrenceburg, and in February, 1871, took up his residence in that city, not, however, with the inten- tion of remaining permanently ; but the past few years of residence in the city of his boyhood have established his social and business relations, and it is presumed that Lawrenceburg will be his future home. In 1875 he was appointed, by Governor C. H. Hardin, of Missouri, commissioner of deeds for the state of Indiana. Doctor Hunter, during his residence in Missouri, was an active friend to every enterprise that had a tendency to build up his county, and was, therefore, among the first to call the attention of the people of his section of the country to the building of railroads. As early as 1854 he took an active part in securing the location of the North Missouri Railroad, now known as the St. Louis, Kansas City and Northern Railroad, and was for a time a director of the company. He was one among the first projectors of the Louisiana and Missouri River Rail- road, now the western extension of the Alton and Chi- cago Railroad, of which he was several years a director,

and took an active part in raising subscriptions to its stock in the different counties through which the road was built. Doctor Hunter was married, November 21, 1854, to Miss Lucy J. White, of Audrain County, Mis- souri, who lived but a few months after her marriage. He was married in Mexico, Missouri, October 15, 1857, to his present wife, Miss Fannie A. Cauthorn, daughter of Ross and Sarah Cauthorn, of Essex County, Virginia. They have two children, Hattie and Bessie, both ac- complished young ladies. The Doctor is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Lawrenceburg, and is a trustee and the treasurer of the Church. He is also a member of the Masonic Fraternity, and has attained the rank of Senior Warden. He is president of the board of education of the city of Lawrenceburg. Since 1877 he has been editor and one of the proprietors of the Lawrenceburg Register, and holds a high rank among the editors of the state of Indiana. He is vice-presi- dent of the Southern Indiana Editors' Association, and president of the South-eastern Indiana Editorial Associ- ation. At the Democratic state convention of Indiana, held at Indianapolis, June 9, 1880, he was chosen a member of the state central committee for the Fourth Congressional District, to serve two years. Since taking up his permanent residence in Lawrenceburg, the city of his birth, Doctor Hunter has in every way justified the record that he made among the people of Missouri. His culture and intelligence, his active temperament and untiring devotion to all that is noble and pure, make him a power for good in the community; while his so- cial nature and winning manners render him very pop- ular even among those who differ with him in politics. In his domestic relations he is blessed with great hap- piness, and his home combines all that is attractive and pleasant in life.

OHNSON, CAPTAIN GEORGE S., of Brookville, was born in Aurora, Indiana, February, 23, 1843. His father was a slave-holder in Mississippi, where he reared a family of five children, three sons and two daughters. He afterward removed North and set- tled in Aurora. Mr. Johnson was a conscientious man, and before leaving the South disposed of his thirteen slaves in a manner most likely to advance their best interests-although he thus sacrificed the money he would have gained by selling them as chattels in the slave mart. Returning to the Southern States in 1846, he fell a victim to that dreaded scourge, yellow fever, and died in New Orleans. His widow is still living, at an advanced age, with her son, who is cashier of a bank in Aurora. Another son is a professor of mu- sic, and was connected for years with the firm of D. H. Baldwin & Company, Cincinnati. George Johnson, the immediate subject of this sketch, obtained a fair educa-

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tion, principally by his own exertions. Unlike the other members of the family, he possessed a natural taste for mechanics, and has directed his studies more particularly to that subject and its cognate branches. Of mathe- matics, mechanics, and philosophy, he has a good knowledge, and so thoroughly has he mastered the me- chanical arts that a few years ago he built a traction-en- gine that could be guided and directed, and used suc- cessfully, on our common roadways. This engine when completed weighed six thousand pounds, and the first journey made was from Connersville to New Castle, a distance of thirty-one miles. The time occupied was eight and one-half hours. Twenty-five passengers were carried on this trip, and it was found that by reversing the engine in proportion to the grade or declivity of any hill a very steep descent could be easily and safely made. A few years previous to the late Civil War, Mr. Johnson was employed in the shops of the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad, at Cochran, Indiana. George B. McClellan, afterwards major-general in the United States army, was then superintendent of that road, and Horatio G. Brooks was master-mechanic. At the breaking out of the war Mr. Johnson volunteered as a private, and be- came a drummer in Company E, 7th Indiana Regiment. His regiment was sent to West Virginia, and served in the battles at Philippi, Laurel Hill, and Carrick's Ford. He was regularly mustered out of service that year, and returned to his old employment. In the spring of 1862 he enlisted part of a company, and was elected orderly sergeant of Company I, 83d Indiana Volunteer Infantry, commanded by General Benjamin Spooner. He was soon promoted to the rank of lieutentant, and finally to that of captain, which position he had nominally held for some time. He also served as staff officer for General Sweeny, General Jones, and others. His regiment was in the Atlanta campaign. At Vicksburg he was wounded in the hip, and at the battle of Resaca he was wounded badly in the shoulder. On being mustered out of the service, in 1865, he began work in Richmond, Indiana, in the shops of Gaar, Scott & Co., and went from there into the employment of P. H. & F. M. Roots, at Connersville. While there he superintended the building of one of the largest force-blast blowers in the world, to be used on the underground railway in New York. The shafts of this blower were twenty-two feet long and seven and one- half inches in diameter. It had two gear-wheels, each weighing three thousand pounds and eight feet in di- ameter. It weighed, when completed, sixty-five tons; was twenty-two and a half feet long, twenty-two feet high, and fifteen feet wide; and was capable of produc- ing an air pressure of fifteen thousand pounds, hurricane speed. After leaving Connersville he managed some machine works of his own for four years, and was very successful. He finally took charge of the Brookville

Machine Works as proprietor, building portable, sta- tionary, and traction engines. He has here every ap- pliance for the manufacture of all kinds of tools, agri- cultural implements, and the different kinds of engines. His trade is rapidly growing into large proportions; and, from the fact that every thing is cheaper in the country than in the city, he is enabled to make the low- est bids, and compete with the largest shops of the kind in city or country. He married, August 2, 1865, Miss Clara Gill, an intelligent and educated lady of Hing- ham, Massachusetts. Her brother married a Miss Bur- bank, a sister of the wife of Governor Morton. Captain Johnson is yet a young man. He possesses fine busi- ness qualities in addition to his ability as a mechanic, and has also the reputation of being scrupulously honest in his work and in his dealings with men. He is a Republican, and a member of the Baptist Church. He designs to improve his traction engine and put it upon the market. He is now making money; but he started as a poor boy, and has lost several thousand dollars through dealings with others.

ONES, JOHN, of Brookville, was born January 10, 1813, near the town of Denton, Caroline County, Maryland. The circumstances of his early life were peculiarly unfortunate. He is a posthumous child, his father, Robert Jones, having died two months before his birth. His mother, Elizabeth Jones, died in 1816, leaving six children, five sons and one daughter, friendless and entirely destitute. Finding them in this sad condition, one William Lucus, an overseer of the poor, took charge of them, and finally found homes for all except John Jones, the youngest, and the immediate subject of this sketch. Two years afterward a home was procured for him in the family of Zedrich Ferrens, in the county of his birth, with whom he remained until he was twenty-one years of age, about which time Mr. Ferrens died. From his youth Mr. Jones was a man of great industry and energy, and endured untold privations and hardships. He knew nothing of social or educational advantages; for few privileges or oppor- tunities were accorded to the friendless orphan, bound to a task-master, in an impoverished, slavery-stricken state. He was compelled to toil like the veriest slave, and received little more compensation than did the slaves with whom he labored. During his term of service he worked on the farm, and did much toward rearing and supporting the Ferrens family. In consequence of their early separation, Mr. Jones has never been able to ascer- tain the whereabouts of his brothers or sister. He mar- ried Maria Colescott, of Caroline County, on the 17th of September, 1834. Ile continued farming about three years, but the soil was so poor, and the hand of God

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seemed to be so strongly against that country and its fostered institution of slavery, that he and his good wife resolved to emigrate to Indiana. They crossed the mountains in a wagon, and in November, 1837, reached Marion, Ohio, where they remained until the following spring. During this time Mr. Jones was engaged in cutting cord-wood, for which he received only a trifle ; but his disposition then, as now, was never to be idle, and he was willing to work for what he could obtain. Accompanied by his wife and child, he arrived at Brook- ville, Indiana, on the 24th of May, 1838. It being too early in the season to commence farming, true to his industrial habits, he at once engaged himself to the company at that time employed in building the White- water Valley Canal. He labored incessantly wherever his services were most needed; sometimes digging in the ditch, sometimes cutting timber, sometimes laying piers and helping to erect bridges. He began farming in the spring of 1839, renting the Sullivan-Colescott farm, east of Brookville. After long and tedious years of toil, through industry and unceasing energy he extri- cated himself from the slough of poverty, and has for nearly twenty years enjoyed the blessings of a good home. He now owns a spacious and comfortable resi- dence, on a beautiful farm of nearly three hundred acres, which overlooks the city of Brookville. It is the joint product of his own labor and that of his estimable wife, who has been, in every sense, a helpmeet to him. Their lives have been made successful by their united efforts against obstacles that oftentimes seemed insur- mountable. Eight children have been born to them -- William Henry, James Thomas, John Wesley, Richard Franklin, Oliver Pitt, Alexander Hamilton, Anna Maria, and Charles Fremont Jones, of whom all are now dead except William H. and Charles F., the eldest and youngest. Oliver P. died November 26, 1862, aged seventeen years; James T. and John W. died Decem- ber 10, 1862, aged respectively twenty-three and twenty- one years; Richard F. died November 1, 1873, aged thirty; Anna M., the only daughter, died November 20, 1874, aged twenty-three ; Alexander H. died October 19, 1876, aged twenty-eight. Thus the hand of afflic- tion has been relentless and severe. Of these deceased children we give the following brief sketch: James Thomas Jones, after graduation, chose the profession of law, and was prosecuting his studies at the time of his death. Possessing no ordinary mind, he excelled as a student, and while affable in his manners was firm and determined. He was reared on the farm, and knew something of the hardships and struggles of the family. John W. was also brought up a farmer, and as early as possible contributed his mite toward assisting his father. At the time of his death he was a member of Company H, 68th Regiment of Indiana Infantry, having volun- teered for three years in the war for the Union. He A-14

had been through a campaign, but in an engagement with the enemy was captured, with most of his regi- ment, and subjected to the hardships of a prisoner of war. Finally he was paroled, and returned home on a furlough. While there he was attacked by illness, doubtless the effect of exposure in the service, which resulted in his death. He was a promising youth, patriotic and true. The early life of Richard F. Jones was also spent in the country ; in the summer working with his father, and in the winter attending school. Even during this period he exhibited many of the rare traits which in his subsequent life bound him to rela- tions and friends more firmly than the endearing ties of blood. On arriving at manhood he entered upon a course of study in the Brookville College, which he pursued with few interruptions, and graduated, with much honor, in the class of 1867. His intellectual powers were of a peculiar order, and his sound, prac- tical sense was a safe guide to him in all the emergen- cies of his brief career. He was little disposed to wan- der where prudence did not lead the way; and, once having a purpose in view, his force of will led him on- ward to its accomplishment, although frequently his powers of endurance were overtaxed by his efforts in well-doing. At the conclusion of his collegiate course, he chose the profession of teaching, in which, as in every undertaking, his labors were crowned with suc- cess. In a few years, however, failing health com- pelled him to abandon his work and return home. Oliver P. Jones was a straightforward, honest, and indus- trious boy, and an exemplary youth, admired by all who knew him for his excellent qualities. Alexander H. Jones was also reared on the farm, but found time to acquire a good education, and, like two of his elder brothers, chose the profession of law, graduating in the Law De- partment of the Indiana University in 1875. His char- acter was adorned with excellent qualities, and those who were admitted to his friendship could not escape the conviction that they were brought into fellowship with a noble, generous young man. All who knew him remarked in him peculiar earnestness, and the ability to become one of the leading men of the country. To him life was inviting and full of promise. He was a hard student, a fluent and eloquent speaker, and excelled in all his undertakings. Anna M. was an accomplished and most estimable young lady, of rare attainments. Her character was of that high order that commanded the esteem and admiration of all with whom she came in contact. A sketch of the life of William H. Jones, the eldest son, appears elsewhere in this work, and it now remains only to speak of the youngest son, Charles Fremont Jones. After obtaining a good English edu- cation, he spent some time in traveling as the compan- ion of an afflicted brother. After his return home, like three of his elder brothers, he chose the legal profession,

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and completed his studies at the University of Virginia, from which he graduated with honor in the spring of 1879. Soon after, he commenced the practice of law in his native city. He is a bright and earnest student, an attentive and honorable business man, and has the prospect of a successful future. He married, October 23, 1879, Mary, the accomplished daughter of the late Samuel Rose, of Fairfield, Indiana. He is a stanch Republican. John Jones is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, with which all his children have united. He was a Whig, but has been a Republican since the organization of that party, ever true to its principles and devoted to his country. Mr. Jones has done much good, not only in guiding his own family in the right way, but in elevating and helping others. He is a man of firmness and integrity, and has many friends.

OHNSON, RICHARD, starch manufacturer, Mad- ison, was born at Belfast, Ireland-a place noted for the number of business men of prominence it has given to this country-January II, 1829. He is the eldest son of John and Margaret (Waring) Johnson. His father was a soap merchant, and educated him with a view to a profession. But, preferring mercantile life, he went into the office of Mr. O'Neill Bayley, of Belfast, with whom he served his time. After this he went into the produce business on his own account. In 1850 he concluded to sell out and go to America. He was of- fered, as inducements to remain at home, situations with some of his relatives, who were extensive ship-owners and shippers, doing business with the East Indies and America; but these offers could not make him alter his determination to strike out for himself and seek his for- tune among strangers. Shortly after his arrival in New Vork he obtained a situation in a commission house, where he remained for more than a year, and then came West. After traveling through different parts of the Western States, he finally settled at Madison, Indiana. Here he was employed in the pork-packing establishment of Mr. O'Neill Bayley, with whom he had served his time at home. He remained with Mr. Bayley several years, attending to his pork business here, and in differ- ent cities of the West, and, during the summer months, when business was dull-there was no summer packing in those days-would seek such other employment as it was offered. He could not endure idleness, and often worked as a laborer during the day and attended to his bookkeeping at night. In 1856 Messrs. O'Neill Bayley & Co. purchased the Crystal Starch Works at Madison, and appointed Mr. Johnson superintendent, which posi- tion he held until the failure of that firm in 1859. The next year Mr. Johnson and Mr. John Clements, under the firm name of Johnson & Clements, purchased the

same starch works. This had hitherto proved a failure and a bad investment for its owners, but, under their careful and judicious management, a large and profita- ble trade was established. In 1872 they talked of mov- ing their works to some other locality, and, after looking around for some time, they finally chose Leavenworth, Kansas, as being a suitable place. When the citizens of Leavenworth heard of this possibly large addition to their manufacturing interests, they sent a committee of three citizens to confer with them in regard to the ad- vantages of that locality. Upon the return of this com- mittee, the city of Leavenworth made Messrs. Johnson & Clements the flattering offer of a gift of about fifty thousand dollars to locate their works there. An act of the Legislature was passed to enable them to issue bonds for that purpose. This offer was taken into considera- tion, but, on account of the possible failure of crops in that state, they decided to remain at Madison, and a short time afterwards dissolved partnership. The same offer was then made to Mr. Johnson to build at Leaven- worth that was made to Messrs. Johnson & Clements, but, for the above reason, was not accepted. He then associated with him his son John, under the firm name of R. Johnson & Son, and erected at Madison one of the largest corn-starch works in the country, with all the modern improvements, and in a locality unsurpassed for convenience by that of any other establishment in the state, having the Ohio River on one side and the Jef- fersonville, Madison and Indianapolis Railroad on the other. The starch bearing their brand is well and favor- ably known, and finds a ready sale in all the principal markets of the world. Mr. Johnson is engaged in other enterprises, but the starch business receives the most of his attention. He has always been very successful and persistent in his undertakings, and his opinions and judg- ments are formed only after the most careful consideration. Having once decided upon a course of action he pur- sues it with fortitude, devoting his whole energy and constant efforts to the attainment of his object. He has been twice married, and is the father of seven children, five of whom are still living. He is a regular attendant of the Presbyterian Church, and has always given liber- ally for charitable and other objects.

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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 44

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