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 5

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 5

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family, to whom he is devoted, and who in turn are devoted to him. His past is one which reflects the greatest credit upon him.

ARPENTER, WILLARD, of Evansville, was born in Strafford, Orange County, Vermont, on the 15th of March, 1803. His father, Willard Carpenter, senior, was born April 3, 1767, and died at Straf- ford, November 14, 1854. He was married, at Wood- stock, Connecticut, February 23, 1791, to Polly Bacon, who was born March 15, 1769, and died March 4, 1860, also at Strafford. All the children, twelve in number, were born and reared on the same farm. Mrs. Carpen- ter lived to see twelve children, fifty-two grandchildren, fifty-three great-grandchildren, and one great-great- grandchild, making one hundred and eighteen lineal descendants. The life of Willard, the subject of this sketch, is a remarkable one. His name has long been in Southern Indiana a synonym for skill and sagacity. He was known under the sobriquet of "Old Willard," even when a young man. His zeal for public interests has been the leading feature of his career, and it is readily conceded that the present prosperity of the dis- trict in which he lives is due to no man more largely than to Willard Carpenter. As a typical Yankee, he possesses sturdy independence and tenacity of purpose to an unusual degree. Always thrifty and energetic, having great powers of physical endurance, pluck, and perseverance, a strong and comprehensive mind, and great business ability, it is not strange that he has risen from the hardest poverty to great wealth. When a boy, he spent his days on a farm, and, as his father was one of the first settlers of Orange County, Willard did much work incident to pioneer life, which, as every one knows, consists in clearing the land, burning brush, turning the soil with ox teams, using the ax and the hoe, taking the corn to mill-usually many miles away-and other labor of a similar character. School privileges were meager. To read, write, and cipher was regarded as the ultima thule of a school education ; and three months a year for four or five winters, in his log-cabin college, was considered sufficient for him. He remained at home with his father until he was eighteen years old, receiving his board and clothes and "education" for his labor. Now and then, by doing odd chores, he turned a penny. His first twenty-five cents was made by digging snake- root and selling it to his uncle. This money was imme- diately put out at six per cent interest, and in process of time he found himself in possession of seven dollars. He then determined to go West. With a pack on his back, he made his way to the Mohawk, and passed through Troy about the time of the great fire, in 1822. Upon reaching Albany, he turned his capital of seven dol-

Willard Jarpeuter

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lars into a stock of Yankee notions, and from there stur- dily tramped up the valley of the Mohawk on his way to Buffalo. He then went down the lake shore and pene- trated Ohio as far as Salem, often turning aside on his way to dispose of his wares. At Salem he rested while visiting his uncle, who had moved to this place some years previous; but, not content with being idle, he went to work in the woods with two other men. In the summer and autumn of the same year-1822-they cleared eighty acres of forest land, for which they re- ceived five dollars an acre. Owing to the scarcity of money, grain was used instead, and even notes of hand were given to be paid in grain. Mr. Carpenter received his pay-four hundred dollars-in notes of this descrip- tion, and, after settling with his assistants, and disposing of the remaining notes, went to teaching a district school. His salary in the spring amounted to one hun- dred and forty dollars, which was paid in grain notes, as before. After this he concluded to learn tanning and shoemaking, but became dissatisfied after a six months' trial, and gave it up. Mr. Brown, his employer, being pleased with his services, urged him to remain, but learning that he had been in the business ten years, and cleared only about seven thousand dollars, he decided that it was too slow. He was now about twenty years old, and ready to begin life in earnest. Disposing of all his effects, he bought a horse and a watch, and had sixteen dollars left, after which he turned his face eastward to find a wider field in New York state. On his way to Buffalo he was taken in by some sharpers on the " little joker," who won his watch and all his money but one dollar. They returned him four dollars, and with this in his pocket he was glad to mount and get away, feeling that he had made a poor beginning for one who had refused a situation because the proprietor had made only seven thousand dollars in ten years. The lesson was a good one, however, and he never repeated the "little joker." Before reaching Buffalo he was attacked with a severe illness, but continued his journey, passing through Buf- falo to Manlius, a town lying some miles east. Here he found an old schoolmate, with whom, on account of his illness and the depleted condition of his pocket-book, he was glad to remain for a week or so. In a short time, however, feeling able to work, he left his horse in care of his host, Mr. Preston, and engaged himself to a man named Hutchins, to assist in floating à raft down the Mohawk to Schenectady, about two hundred miles dis- tant. He was to receive sixteen dollars a month for his services, but having reached Schenectady, after two months, the cargo was attached for debt, and he re- ceived nothing. He walked back to Manlius for his horse, when, to his dismay, he found that the animal had died in his absence. He next engaged to work with pick and shovel on the Erie Canal, with a com- pany of about one thousand Irishmen, and Ben Wade,

of Ohio. The wages were thirteen dollars a month. He considered the work and pay to be fair, but the lodgings were almost unendurable, a hundred or so gen- erally occupying the same straw bed in a slab-board shanty. Mr. Carpenter accordingly hunted out a barn, and, with the consent of the owner, slept alone. In two months he was promoted by Mr. Anderson, his em- ployer, to "jigger carrier," to serve the men with their grog, and his pay was advanced to twenty dollars a month. As winter advanced, his lodgings being cold, he decided to leave, much to the regret of Mr. Ander- son. At Glenville Corners he stopped at a tavern for dinner, and while there attracted the attention of one of the trustees of the school, who, being pleased with his appearance, decided to offer him the position of teacher. The school had been very troublesome, the last teacher having been unceremoniously ejected by the larger boys. These things having been fully explained, Mr. Carpenter took the school, with the understanding that he should receive three dollars per quarter for each scholar and furnish his own board and lodging. After a few days the bullies of the school formed a conspiracy against him ; but, being determined to rule, he managed to subdue the ringleader, older and larger than himself, by the union of stratagem and force, and had no further trouble. In 1824 his father, desiring him to return home, presented him a farm as an inducement, which, however, he declined. His father then offered him six hundred dollars, but this also he refused, determining to make his way through life unaided. Two years after, he visited his father, and returned with his brother John to Troy, where they engaged in mercantile pur- suits. The trade being small, the first year's business amounted to only twenty-five hundred dollars. They then bought of an old Quaker goods to the amount of sixteen hundred dollars, on a credit of eighteen months. They afterwards found that they had paid exorbitantly for the goods, but, by a vigorous use of the horse and wagon, succeeded in working them off on the road. Then by the advice of the old Quaker, Mr. Burtis, who had sold them the goods, Mr. Carpenter accompanied him down to New York, and was introduced to some of his old Quaker friends, who sold the firm twenty-five thousand dollars' worth of goods upon their own notes, without indorsement, payable in bank, and running four, six, and eight months. When Mr. Carpenter's brother learned what had been done, being timid, he was dismayed, and a dissolution followed. Ephraim, another brother, similar in character to Willard, suc- ceeded John, and they continued in Troy for ten years. In 1837 Willard came to Evansville, at the solicitation of A. B. Carpenter, and joined him in the wholesale dry-goods and notion business. They began under fa- vorable auspices, but suffered in the crash of 1837. Wil- lard then sold out his interest in the Troy branch to

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Liberty Gilbert, a brother-in-law. He was at this time thirty-four years of age. Upon his arrival in Evansville he found the business of the firm in a deplorable state. Owing to the crash of the preceding year, their country correspondents were in a precarious condition, so that it would require sharp work to realize any thing out of their accounts. Mr. Carpenter, however, was equal to the emergency. He reached Evansville on Sunday, and at once took in the situation. Learning that a company of merchants was to leave for the upper country by the way of Vincennes and Terre Haute, he saw that his only chance was to outstrip them. He at once made an arrangement for a relay of horses in the stage line, and at nine o'clock that night started. After employing Judge Law to take charge of his business in Vincennes, he pushed on to Terre Haute, where he employed Judge Farrington. Tuesday morning, by day-break, he was closeted, in Danville, Illinois, with Vandervere, an at- torney at that place. He then started on his return trip, with fresh horses every ten or fifteen miles, and, by keeping in his saddle day and night, was enabled, by Wednesday noon, to meet the other merchants on their outward journey, between Vincennes and Terre Haute. The result was that the Carpenters received their claims in full, while the others hardly received ten cents on the dollar. This feat practically introduced Mr. Carpenter to Evansville. In February following he was married to Miss Lucina Burcalow, of Saratoga County, New York. From 1835 to 1837 the state of Indiana incurred a debt of fifteen million dollars in the construction of the Erie, Wabash, and White River Canal. In 1842 Mr. Carpenter called a meeting of the Evansville citizens to devise means to enable the state to pay its interest upon the bonds, and threatened to remove from the state unless she would pay her debts. It was resolved that a petition be sent to Congress, asking for one-half of the unsold public lands in the Vin- cennes District, this half amounting to over two million five hundred thousand acres, for the purpose of finishing the canal. Mr. Carpenter circulated the petition in seventeen different states, and through five different Legislatures, instructing their members to aid in the passage of a bill granting the lands; but it failed to receive the sanction of the President, Mr. Tyler. This was in 1843 and 1844, and Mr. Carpenter was a delegate at that time. At the next session of Con- gress-1844 and 1845-the bill passed both houses, to be ratified, however, by the Legislature of Indi- ana. Mr. Carpenter now made himself useful in the state Legislature. The Butler bill, and its journals ( f 1836, will explain the great opposition to the grant by the Legislature. This bill provided that the bond- holders should accept the land grant for one-half of the indebtedness, and that the state should pay the interest on the other half, and eventually the principal. Mr.

Carpenter was a delegate there through the session, but it must be remembered that he paid out of his own pocket all the necessary expenses previously incurred in visiting Congress and the seventeen different states. In 1849 Mr. Carpenter was one of the principal movers in the Evansville and Terre Haute Railroad enterprise, sub- scribing largely, and taking more stock than any two men in the county. It was intended that this road should run up the White River Valley to Indianapolis; but in 1853 Mr. Carpenter resigned as a director, and, with O. H. Smith, ex-Senator, entered into an agree- ment to build a railroad from Evansville to Indianapo- lis, which was to connect with the Louisville and Nash- ville Road, Kentucky then being at work on that end of the line. They had procured over nine hundred thousand dollars on the line-Mr. Carpenter himself having subscribed sixty-five thousand-and had steadily progressed with the work, having graded the road and made it ready for the iron as far as the Ohio and Mis- sissippi Railroad line, a distance of fifty-five miles, at a cost of about four hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars, when Mr. Carpenter left for Europe to purchase the rails. At this juncture opposition sprang up, to such an extent that a pamphlet of about one hundred pages, containing all the misrepresentations that could be pos- sibly gathered, was published and sent after him. This pamphlet was circulated freely among the banks and rail-makers in London, Paris, and Wales; and after Mr. Carpenter had been in London ten days, and had ac- complished the contract for the iron, excepting the de- tails, which were to be settled the next day, he was surprised by being shown, in Peabody's bank, the pam- phlet referred to, which completely stopped negotiations, and thwarted him in the great undertaking. He then called upon Vorse, Perkins & Co., who had a house in London, and also one in New York, doing a commission business for railroad companies in America, and, after much negotiation, made a contract with that firm, agreeing to pay them twelve thousand dollars of mort- gage bonds per mile upon the road-bed, one hundred thousand dollars' worth of real-estate bonds, and one hundred thousand dollars of Evansville city bonds, which the city had subscribed, but not then delivered. All, excepting the Evansville bonds, he had with him; and these latter were to be handed over, in July of the same year, to the commission house of Vorse, Perkins & Co., in the city of New York. Mr. Carpenter now wrote in full to the vice-president, Mr. H. D. Allis, urging him to call the city council to- gether immediately, and ask them to deliver over the one hundred thousand dollar bonds to Vorse, Perkins & Co., in New York. The enemies of the road were now at work in his own city, and the council refused. Mr. Carpenter then offered, if they would consent, to secure them by mortgaging all the real estate he held in the

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city and country, which was extensive, indemnifying the city, so that the rcad should be built and cars should be running over the first fifty-five miles-to the Ohio and Mississippi crossing-by the next December, 1859. This the council very unwisely refused to do, owing to the selfishness of the opposition party. This caused the fail- ure of the Straight-line Railroad, and the downfall of Evansville-a great mortification to Mr. Carpenter, who had spent five years of his time, had been once to Eu- rope and fourteen times to New York, all at his own ex- pense. This was twenty years ago. Since that time the business citizens of Evansville have had time to reflect on the mistake they have made. The city had a natural location for an extensive trade, being at a safe distance from Cincinnati, Cleveland, St. Louis, and other prominent points; and the road, as they now see it, would have made Evansville a large place. The government would have spanned the river, and commerce from the North and South would largely have come to it. In 1865 Mr. Carpenter donated to the trustees of Vanderburg the Christian Home, con- sisting of grounds and a large new house of twelve rooms. This act of charity was for the reform of homeless girls who had gone astray. He afterwards gave two acres and a half of land in the city, and subscribed a thousand dollars for the same purpose, the donations in all amounting to about ten thousand dollars. To the various Churches of Evansville he has given over fourteen thousand dollars. In 1840 he erected a building upon his own land, and estab- lished the poor-house system, where paupers were kept three years, at an annual cost to the county of fifteen hundred dollars. Previous to this time the county had been at an expense of three thousand dollars a year for their maintenance. This was accomplished during his five years as county commissioner. He also advanced liberally of his own means for repairing and corduroy- ing roads, and, as an evidence of the appreciation of his worth in this particular, he was elected the second term to this office, over his own protest. In 1851 Mr. Carpenter was elected a member of the state Legislature, and served during the long term of the session of 1851 and 1852. While here he was active in getting through several important bills, one of which was the equaliza- tion of taxation, and another, no less important, the low- ering of salaries of county officers and the raising of salaries of those in state offices. The Willard Library is an example of munificence seldom witnessed. The prop- erty given for this purpose, including money and real estate, does not fall short of four hundred thousand dollars. The grounds, which are situated in the center of the city, comprise ten acres, and are estimated to be worth one hundred thousand dollars. Steps have been taken, according to Mr. Carpenter's direction, to main- tain on part of them a beautiful park. This royal gift

is now being used with heart-felt gratitude for the donor. Such is but a poor attempt to outline the remarkable career of this pre-eminent man. His deeds alone serve as a noble monument to his greatness.

HANDLER, JOHN J., of Evansville, was born in New York City, November 17, 1815, and died at Evansville, Indiana, April 15, 1872. He was the son of Asaph Chandler, who was a native of Ver- mont, but removed to New York at an early day in or- der to enter into the Atlantic trade. He commanded and owned a ship in the New York and Liverpool and New York and Havre lines, and was at one time a mer- chant in New York City. The subject of our sketch was characterized by a devouring thirst for knowledge, and diligently applied himself to his studies, and read with unflagging interest every book that came in his way. In this manner he prepared himself for Nashville University, Nashville, Tennessee, to which place the family removed in 1824. This institution was then un- der the presidency of the late Doctor Philip Lindsey. Here he distinguished himself as an essayist on political economy and mental philosophy. He took an active part in all the debates, and it was not long before he was recognized as one of their ablest debaters, and won a formidable reputation. He graduated in 1836 at the head of his class, and, as the Seminole War was then raging in Florida, he immediately raised a company and started for the scene of battle. He participated in sev- eral of the most important engagements, and distin- guished himself for bravery, and for his skill in maneu- vering his men in fighting a peculiarly wily foe. He was thus engaged until the close of this campaign, when he commenced the study of law at Nashville, where he remained until 1838, removing to Evansville, Indiana, in the fall of that year. He entered the office of Amos Clark, a prominent attorney of that city, and continued his law studies. In the spring of the year following he was admitted to practice in all the courts of the state, and at once was received as a partner by his former preceptor. He was untiring in the study of his cases, and explored every field that was likely to add information or furnish illustration. In this manner, with his power as an advocate and his shrewdness as a counselor, he at once took a stand among the ablest lawyers of his adopted place, and as an advocate with few superiors in the West. Although often abrupt in asserting his opinions and sometimes personal in the course of an argument, his most bitter opponents would forget their defeat when they saw the audacity and skill he exhibited in the management of a cause on trial. He was in every respect a gentleman. A scholar by nature, his conversation indicated the depth of his learn-

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ing and the scope of his reading. These qualifications, aided by quick perception, thorough knowledge of man- kind, good judgment, genial ways, fluency of speech, and his generous, open-handed way, made him a host of friends, who deeply mourned his death, feeling that a mas- ter-spirit had gone from the place he loved so well, and that Evansville had lost a man who was foremost in every good work, and one who took a lively interest in her growth and prosperity. Mr. Chandler was married, in 1851, to Mrs. Ann Hann, a sister of the late Doctor Isaac Casselberry. This estimable lady, with three chil- dren, survives him.

OOK, FREDERICK WASHINGTON, of Evans- ville, was born at Washington, District of Colum- bia, February 1, 1831, and when yet quite young removed with his parents to Port Deposit, Cecil County, Maryland. After a residence of about three years at this place, they removed to Cincinnati, Ohio, and in 1836 to Evansville. In the same year Mr. Cook's step-father, Jacob Rice, in copartnership with Fred Kroener, the uncle of Mr. Cook, commenced a bakery business on the site now occupied by White, Dunkerson & Co.'s tobacco warehouse, corner of Locust and Water Streets. In 1837 Messrs. Rice & Kroener bought prop- erty in Lamasco, near the terminus of the Erie and Wabash Canal, then in course of construction, and, in the same year, built what is known as the Old Brew- ery, the first structure of that kind erected in Evansville. In 1853 Mr. Cook, the subject of our sketch, in con- junction with Louis Rice, built the city brewery, on the spot then occupied by a corn-field. When they be- gan business their cash capital was three hundred and fifty dollars, half of which Mr. Rice had saved, Mr. Cook having borrowed an equal amount from his father. Mr. Rice attended to the brewing department, and Mr. Cook to the finances. In 1857 Louis Rice sold his interest to Jacob Rice for three thousand five hundred dollars, and in 1858 the new firm built a lager-beer cel- lar and an extensive malt-house, making the first lager-beer in the state of Indiana. In 1856 Mr. Cook was elected a councilman in the fifth ward, and in the eighth ward in 1863, being re-elected in 1864. The people, finding him a useful man, and one whom they could safely trust in matters of great importance, elected him as Representative from Vanderburg County to the Legislature of Indiana. In this capacity he served dur- ing the called session of 1864, and also during the reg- ular session of 1864-5. After his return home, and in 1867, the people again showed their appreciation by tendering him a membership in the city council. His public services have been satisfactory to his constituents, and have been performed with great credit to himself. He is a stanch Republican, and is known on account of

['his military record as Captain Cook. During the war he was a warm supporter of the government of the United States, and aided in the work. In 1866 Mr. Cook was married to Miss Louisa Hild, of Louisville, who died in February, 1877. He was again married, to Miss Jennie Himmeline, of Kelley's Island, Ohio, in the month of November, 1878. He has had eight children, four of whom are now living. Mr. Rice, his step-father, died in 1873, and his mother in 1878, leaving him the sole heir and proprietor of the city brewery. He still continues the business under the old firm name, which is known far and wide, and is iden- tified with the history and growth of Evansville, the original owners having been among the early settlers of that place. His buildings comprise more than half a block, and are worth at least one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The sales during the past year amounted to one hundred and seventy thousand dol- lars, and this year every thing bids fair to bring them to two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, which will require a sale of over thirty thousand barrels. Mr. Cook has not built any public library nor endowed any college, but it is known of him that he has a large heart, and his acts of charity and benevolence have been bestowed upon thousands. Equally liberal has he shown himself in all enterprises tending to benefit the general public. His wisdom and judgment are highly esteemed in local matters, which accounts for his being a public man.

AVIS, FIELDING L., M. D., of Evansville, was born near Boonville, Warrick County, Indiana, December 16, 1831. His father died when he was " but four years old, and his mother eight years after, leaving young Fielding, at the age of twelve years, an orphan, without education and without a dol- Jar, to fight the battles of life alone. Fortunately, however, he possessed those high aspirations which have characterized so many American boys who from hum- ble stations and small beginnings have worked their way to honor and distinction. He felt that God had given him a heart to feel and a brain to think; and, far from desiring to bury those talents, he was deter- mined to make the best possible use of them. To the end that he might prepare himself for future usefulness, he first bent his thoughts towards the best means of ob- taining an education. His uncle, a farmer of some little means, feeling an interest in him, kindly sent him to school for a time, he performing manual labor to pay for the trouble and expense. He stayed with this uncle for two years, working on the farm in the summer and going to school in the winter. He then commenced in earnest the battle of life. New fields were sought and employment was obtained. Sometimes he worked as a

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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 5

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