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 53

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 53

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

REPRESENTATIVE MEN OF INDIANA.

4th Dist. ]

law business of that section. Mr. Works was a Repub- lican from the organization of the party until 1874, in which year he was chairman of the Republican central committee of Switzerland County. In 1878 he was elected to his present seat in the Legislature by a coali- tion of Nationals and Democrats, formed only ten days prior to the election. In the House he is a member of the Committee on Judiciary, chairman of the Com- mittee on Enrolled Bills, and member of the Committee on Military Affairs. He introduced the resolution, and was chairman of the committee, to investigate the state Auditor's office. He joined in the minority report, which was adopted by the House. He was also ap- pointed member of the committee to investigate the Attorney-general's office. At the close of the session he was appointed, by the speaker of the House, member of a commission to continue the investigation. Mr. Works married, November, 1868, Miss Alice Banta. They have three children, two sons and a daughter. Mr. Works has scarcely reached the prime of life. He is a young man of active temperament and strong mental powers; and the future historian of the state will doubt- less give him a prominent place if life and health are spared. In the Legislature he made an enviable record. He paid the closest attention to the business of the House, was never absent from his place, and, when he took part in debate, showed himself a correct, pleasing, and fluent speaker. At the bar he is remarkable for the facility with which he grasps the points of law covering a case, and the clearness with which he presents them. He is creating for himself a reputation unsurpassed by any lawyer of his age in his part of the state.

ARDING, STEPHEN SELWYN, of Milan, ex- Governor of Utah Territory and ex-Chief Justice of Colorado Territory, the eldest son of David and Abigail (Hill) Harding, was born in Ontario County, New York, February 24, 1808. At the Wyo- ming massacre, in 1778, the Harding family, including the father and grandfather of our subject, were made prisoners by the Indians. The day before the battle of Forty-fort, David Harding, then twelve years old, was compelled by threats to turn a grindstone all day, while the Indians sharpened their spears, tomahawks, and scalping knives. In after years the recollection of these terrible scenes formed the subject of many evening con- versations, which were listened to with devouring in- terest by the young lad. In 1820 Mr. David Harding emigrated to Indiana, and settled in Ripley County, where he entered eighty acres of land, and cleared off a farm. Here he resided until his death, which oc- curred October 6, 1837. At the time of their arrival in Indiana that portion of Ripley County where the

Hardings settled was an almost unbroken wilderness. The houses of the settlers were log-cabins of the rudest and most primitive construction, and the character of the people quite in keeping with their surroundings. Amid such scenes the boyhood of Stephen Harding was passed. The educational advantages were meager, and attainable only a few months in the year. He early exhibited a talent for oratory, and when but seventeen years of age was selected to deliver the Fourth of July oration at a local gathering of the settlers. This was a memorable day in the boy's life; and, though the promise of those early years has been grandly fulfilled in the performances of his after life, it may be ques- tioned if any act of his subsequent career ever produced the same wild thrill of pleasure as that caused by the plaudits and congratulations of his rough, uneducated audience. His struggles to obtain an education, and the difficulties he encountered in its pursuance, are identical with those of the self-made men of our day whose youth was passed in the backwoods of the then far West. He eagerly devoured every thing that could widen the scope of his knowledge, and at the age of sixteen he began teaching a country school, for the mu- nificent salary of seven dollars a month and board. Having determined on the law as the field best suited to his ability, he entered the office of William R. Morris, of Brookville, and was licensed to practice March 17, 1828. He was then but twenty years of age. He opened an office in Richmond, where he remained about six months, when he determined to go South, and soon after took passage from Louisville to New Orleans. Before starting he was provided with letters of introduc- tion from General James Noble, United States Senator from Indiana, addressed to Senators Cobb, of Georgia, and Sevier, of Arkansas, and one from the Governor of Indiana to the Governor of Louisiana. A trip to New Orleans at that time of slow travel was far different from the same trip in these days of lightning locomo- tion. Mr. Harding embarked from Louisville on the steamer "Belvidere," with a scanty though genteel wardrobe, and but sixty dollars in his pocket. The fare was fifty dollars, but Captain Bartlett, "becoming interested in him, had learned of his impecunious cir- cumstances, and gave him a rebate of half the amount; so that he was enabled to reach his destination with nearly thirty-five dollars. The crowded marts, the cos- mopolitan character of the inhabitants, and the noise and bustle of the city, were like the opening of a new world to the backwoods lad. He proceeded at once to a fashionable boarding-house, where the executive of the state and a number of the Representatives were staying, and engaged board. Presenting his letter of introduction to the Governor, he was received by that gentleman with every courtesy. This was followed by an invitation to visit him at his plantation. Meanwhile,

REPRESENTATIVE MEN OF INDIANA.

[ 4th Dist.

as time passed on, his finances rapidly diminished until but a single dollar remained. He had exhausted every effort to obtain honorable employment, and was seated one evening in his room, a prey to the " blues," which were well-nigh rendering him desperate, when he was handed a note from Captain Bartlett, requesting him to call at the boat. Obeying the summons, he was over- joyed at being offered the position of clerk of the " Bel- videre," at a salary of seventy-five dollars per month. These duties he performed for a period of four months, when the boat changed owners, and he found himself once more adrift. He returned home, and soon after made a visit to the place of his nativity, in New York state, where he spent the summer in the neighborhood where Mormonism took its rise. Here he met Joseph Smith, the so-called prophet, and his dupes, Martin Harris and the scribe Oliver Cowdrey. Harris was the only one of the original Mormons who possessed any means. He had been a thrifty farmer, and when he embraced the new religion was worth about ten thousand dollars. He became warmly attached to Mr. Harding, and in company with Cowdrey followed the latter to Rochester, while on the way West, and stated that he had had a revelation from God which com- manded him to furnish the necessary funds and send Mr. Harding to London, where he would receive further instructions. Here was a temptation that was full of danger. He was young, and as free as the winds, but a moment's reflection satisfied him that its acceptance would degrade him at the bar of his self-esteem, as a hypocrite and a villain. So anxious were these de- mented zealots that they refused to take no for an answer. They finally departed, after solemnly warning him that his disobedience would debar him from the ful- fillment of promise to the latter-day saints. In the light of the world's experience since then, what if he had obeyed this divine (?) injunction ? It would at least have made his foot-prints deeper in the sands of time. In the month of December, 1829, he opened an office in Ver- sailles, and, on the thirty-first day of the following Octo- ber, married Miss Avoline Sprout, of Chautauqua County, New York. Nine children were born to them, five sons and four daughters, all but two of whom-sons --- survive. By the exercise of his talents, his income steadily increased. He found himself, when scarcely past his majority, a young man of marked promise, with a future before him rich in grand possibilities. In poli- tics he was a Whig until 1840, in which year he cast his last vote with that party. The signs of the political horizon were ominous; slavery had universal sway; all departments of the government were in the hands of the slave power; and the liberty of the press and of free speech was but a mockery. Mr. Harding early identi- fied himself with the liberty or anti-slavery party. With that zeal and boldness which in all ages have

characterized the disciples of any innovation for the public welfare, he became a bitter antagonist of slavery, at a time when such utterances resulted in social ostra- cism, and an almost total withdrawal of one's friends. In the month of June, 1844, he had an appointment to deliver an anti-slavery address at Versailles. He left home on horseback; and, when he arrived at Versailles, found the streets and commons filled with a motley crowd of men armed with shot-guns, rifles, and clubs. A black flag was hoisted over the court-house, and pieces of black muslin extended around three sides of the building, bearing, in large Roman characters, the words, "Treason! Treason! The Union dissolved this day by the Abolitionists!" Threats of violence were freely uttered at the first attempt to deliver the speech ; but it became evident that they were mistaken in their man. Mr. Harding possessed in an eminent degree the very qualities best adapted to the desperate occasion-nerve, coolness, and an unflinching determination. Proceeding to the court-house, he found the doors and windows securely fastened. Ascending the stone steps, he stood beneath the archway that crowned the heavy folding doors, and gazed around him. The entire space before the court-house had become filled with a crowd of des- perate-looking men. He began:

"Who am I, and in what country am I? Why do you stand here with loaded guns in your hands, charged with missiles of death? Why do you look upon me as if I were a criminal and outlaw in my country? What have I done to challenge your hate and displeasure? It was not so once. I have partaken of your hospitalities at your own homes, and you have partaken of mine. Am I not an American citizen? May I not exercise the sacred rights that are secured to me by the Constitution of our country-the rights of liberty and of free speech? Contemplate the despotism that would cover all this land as with the pall of death if these sacred and God-given rights were stricken down. Is there a man before me who will stand idly by and see this wrong done to the humblest citizen ?"

He continued in this strain for a few minutes longer, when a young man disengaged himself from the crowd, and started on a quick run around the corner of the court-house. There was a sudden crash of broken glass, and then the quick strokes of some one beating down the barricade against the door. The hero of this daring deed was none other than the Hon. Jonathan W. Gor- don, of Indianapolis, who to-day stands pre-eminent among the great men of the West. As the doors swung back on their hinges, Mr. Harding entered, followed by a crowd who immediately packed the room to overflowing. By this time his nerves were stretched to their highest tension, and in an address of two hours the words fell like coals of fire on the multitude. He had prepared a speech, but cast it aside as utterly unfit for the occasion. His utterances were extemporaneous, wrung from him by a sense of the great wrongs under which he was

REPRESENTATIVE MEN OF INDIANA.

4th Dist.]

smarting, and were delivered with strong dramatic ef- fect. That day marked an epoch in the history of free speech in that part of Indiana. Well might it have been said :

"And some who came to curse that day Went home, with better thoughts, to pray."

From this time he took an active part in the great movement that was being inaugurated. He was nomi- nated several times for Governor and Lieutenant-gov- ernor on the Liberal ticket. Of course, no one expected it to be elected, under such circumstances; but the party gained year after year, until at last it had the balance of power in many portions of the state. During the presidential canvass of 1852 he met the late Hon. Jesse D. Bright, then United States Senator, at a joint polit- ical mass-meeting at Manchester. The relations between the two gentlemen, despite their wide difference in poli- tics, had always been of the most friendly nature. Mr. Bright, before proceeding with his speech, turning to- ward Mr. Harding, said : "There is my old friend Hard- ing, as clever a gentleman as I ever met. I never see him without thinking what a pity it is that such a man should be foolish enough to spend his time, or sacrifice such pros- pects as he might have if he would quit paddling his lit- tle boat in the dirty goose-pond of Abolitionism." Mr. Harding immediately arose, and rebuked the honorable gentleman for his ill-timed jest. "The world moves," he added; "politics is a revolving wheel; and he who is on top to-day will find himself at the bottom to- morrow." His words were prophetic. On the 31st of March, 1862, Mr. Harding was appointed by President Lincoln Governor of Utah Territory, and confirmed by the Senate without a dissenting vote. At that time charges of disloyalty had been preferred against Mr. Bright, and his expulsion from the Senate chamber was demanded. His trial proceeded, and he was expelled from the United States Senate; and his fate as a politi- cian was sealed forever. In May, 1862, Mr. Harding started overland from Fort Leavenworth to assume his new and delicate duties as territorial Governor. The Secretary of War furnished an escort of one hundred mounted men to accompany him as far as Fort Bridger, and, if necessary, to Salt Lake City. Owing to the scarcity of forage on the way, a number of the horses broke down, and at Fort Laramie he dismissed his escort, and proceeded thence by stage. He arrived in the Mormon capital July 7, 1862, without any adventure worthy of special mention. It had always been the cus- tom for the newly appointed Governor to call on Brigham Young. This Mr. Harding refused to do, arguing, very sensibly, that as chief executive of the territory and the representative of the general government, it was obviously proper for the Mormon leader first to pay his respects. Whether this new departure from social custom was displeasing to Mr. Young will probably

never be known. It certainly convinced him at the outset that he was dealing with a man who understood the respect due to his position, and had the pluck to tacitly demand it, even in a matter apparently so trivial. The next day President Young, in company with Heber Kimball and Daniel H. Wells, called upon him at the Salt Lake Hotel. This was followed by an invitation to attend a grand ball, a few evenings later, on the anniversary of the arrival of the Mormon emigrants in the "Valley of the Mountains." There Mr. Harding suffered the infliction of unlimited introductions to un- limited Mrs. Youngs. One of them, the youngest and prettiest, whose beauty he describes in glowing terms, has since gained marked prominence in an exposé of Mormonism on the lecture platform. The arrival of General Connor, with a regiment of one thousand men, caused a revulsion of popular feeling. Previous to this the liberal views of Governor Harding had led the Mormons to believe that his policy would in no wise conflict with the temporal and priestly power of Brig- ham Young. In this they were grossly mistaken. When the Legislature convened, Governor Harding sent in his inaugural message. It was logical, concise, and aggressive. He knew the nature of the men he was dealing with, and felt that a temporizing policy would be dangerous. Not the slightest mention was made of it the next day in the Deseret News. It was, however, given a prominent place in the columns of the San Francisco and Eastern papers, particularly the New York Tribune. Thousands of copies of them were cir- culated throughout the territory, to the mortification of Brigham and the disgust of his satellites. There was but one expression in the public press in regard to it, and that was in its highest commendation. Perhaps no paper of the kind ever had a more universal circulation or more hearty indorsement at the hands of newspaper men, without regard to party affiliations. On the 23d of February, 1863, it was ordered by the Senate of the United States that "one thousand copies of the message of the Governor of Utah to the territorial Legislature be printed and sent to the Governor for distribution." This, it is believed, is the only instance where the Senate had ever ordered the printing of such a document. It was further ordered, by Mr. Chase, that not one dollar should be expended by the secretary of the territory for legislative expenses until the Governor's message had been fairly printed, and bound with the statutes of the territory. It is a matter of regret that not even a single excerpt from this able document can be given in this biography. It may, however, be found in full in the Miscellaneous Documents, No. 37, of the United States Senate, third session of the Thirty-seventh Con- gress. On the 16th of January a resolution was intro- duced in the Senate of the United States, instructing the Committee on Territories "to inquire and report

REPRESENTATIVE MEN OF INDIANA

[4th Dist.

whether the publication of the message of the Governor of Utah had been suppressed, and, if so, by what cause, and what was the message." The report of the com- mittee, accompanied by a copy of the message, was less complimentary to the Mormons than the message itself. The following extracts will indicate the character of the report :

"The message, on examination, is found to contain nothing that should give offense to any Legislature will- ing to be governed by the laws of morality. It is the opinion of your committee that the message is an able exposition of the manners and customs of the people of the territory, and as such brought down the censure of the leaders of the Mormon Church; and were it not for the animadversions therein contained it would not have been suppressed."

Each day the breach widened. As an evidence of the hatred and desperation of Brigham Young, some extracts from an address delivered by him in the Taber- nacle, before an audience of three thousand people, will be given. After some general remarks, in which he re- viewed from his own stand-point the course pursued by Governor Harding, characterizing him as a "nigger worshiper " and a " black-hearted Abolitionist," he said :

" Do you acknowledge this man Harding for your Governor? [Cries of "No; you are our Governor."] Yes, I am your Governor; and if he attempts to inter- fere in my affairs, woe, woe unto him. [Loud applause.] Will you allow such a man to remain in the territory ? [Voices from all over the room, "No; put him out."] Yes, I say, put him out. If Governor Harding and Judges Waite and Drake do not resign, or if the Pres- ident does. not remove them, the people must attend to it."

In addition to these manifestations, a mammoth pe- tition was sent to President Lincoln, asking the removal of the Governor and the two objectionable Judges, on the ground of "strenuously endeavoring to stir up strife between the people of the territory of Utah and the troops now in Camp Douglas." To this a counter- petition was sent to the President by General Connor and thirty-two commissioned officers of his command, denying these charges in toto, and indorsing the official acts of the Governor and Judges with the most unqual- ified praise. It must be remembered that these impor- tant events, so briefly alluded to, occurred during the gloomiest period of the war. All the energies of the government were devoted to crushing out the Rebellion. All troubles of a local nature were either overlooked or wisely disregarded, until the final supremacy of right against wrong should be firmly established. So strong, however, was the confidence reposed in the judgment and statesmanship of Mr. Harding, that the President, sec- onded by his Cabinet, refused to remove him, in spite of the pressure brought to bear by Brigham Young and his colleagues. Wearied, at length, with the unequal struggle between himself and the Mormon hierarchy,

receiving only the moral support of the administration, he resigned his office and returned to Washington. In an interview with the President and Mr. Seward, relat- ing to affairs in Utah, Mr. Lincoln expressed the great- est satisfaction with his administration of affairs, and said in conclusion that he had no idea of relieving him or accepting his resignation until he had a much better office to give him. It is necessary to add in this con- nection that, previous to his departure from the Plains, Governor Harding had received the appointment of consulate to Valparaiso, Chili, where the entire in- terests of the Pacific squadron were involved. On the eve of sailing from New York, he discovered that the health of his wife, and other domestic afflic- tions, rendered it impossible for him to leave home on so long a voyage, and for duties so far distant. The sacrifice was great, but he could not leave home under such circumstances; and he accordingly resigned the office, so much more desirable, in a financial view, than that of Governor of Utah. He asked for nothing, and was preparing, disappointedly, to return to Indiana, when a messenger from the Attorney-general's office laid on his table an official envelope containing his commis- sion as Chief Justice of Colorado Territory. This posi- tion he accepted, remaining in Denver until May, 1865, during which time he passed through ordeals so trying in their nature, so replete with temptation, that to be encountered with safety required the greatest firmness of mind and strictest honesty of purpose. During his residence in Colorado it was agreed by the general gov- ernment that the admission of the territory to the Union as a state should be decided by popular ballot, and a board of examiners, consisting of the Governor, Chief Justice, and United States district attorney, was ap- pointed to examine the returns, and certify to their cor- rectness. Briefly stated, the situation stood thus: A certain class of politicians desired the territory's admis- sion, because of the official power and patronage they would possess; and another class expected, in a subor- dinate degree, to share these political emoluments. It is proper to remark in this connection that the Gov- ernor was more desirous that the state party should have a majority by the certificate of the board of can- vassers, for in such case he would certainly be elected by the Legislature to the United States Senate from the state of Colorado. Opposed to these were thinking, conscientious men, like Harding, who objected on prin- ciple to allowing a state containing a population of twenty-five thousand an equal representation in the United States Senate with those having a population of millions. After waiting unnecessarily long, the returns were all in, and the examination proceeded. To a man of his clear intelligence and close observation it was apparent at the outset that the returns had been " doc- tored ;" and the vigorous protest made by Mr. Harding

ميـ

Mir Harding

REPRESENTATIVE MEN OF INDIANA.

4th Dist.]

against this bare-faced swindle was such as to result in an almost personal encounter between the Governor and himself. Pending the examination, which lasted several days, excitement ran high. It was an open secret that with the concurrence of Mr. Harding in the correctness of the returns all obstacles to the admission of the territory would be removed. Before a decision had been reached, Mr. Harding was approached by a gentleman well known in military and civil circles, and his warm personal friend, who assured him that, if he would yield his objections to the returns and sign the certificate with the other members of the board, he had been authorized to say to him that he could have twenty-five thousand dollars in gold. This was to be paid to him under the form of some pretended legiti- mate business transaction, that would enable Mr. Hard- ing to defend himself, if necessary, against the charge of having taken a bribe, or committed other wrongs in the discharge of his official duties. It is but a frank ad- mission, in passing, that, like many other men of marked promise, Mr. Harding was comparatively poor. The acceptance of this bribe, which involved merely the signing of his name, would place him in comfortable circumstances the remainder of his life. "After all," whispered the tempter, " there is nothing criminal in the act. It is merely sentiment, or, if you will, a matter of principle, that, in comparison with the reward, is slight indeed." Mr. Harding sat for a moment stupefied, and then replied, " General, that is more money than I ever had, or expect to have, at one time, but it is impos- sible. No; if it were in your power to add to this sum all the gold in yonder mountain, minted into coin, then I would not do it. What benefit would it be to me? I could not flee from myself, and I would end my life in suicide." The result of their deliberations at last ended in a disagreement, and a certificate to that effect was forwarded to the President; and, thus the state of Colorado vanished in a single hour, and, " like the base- less fabric of a vision, left not a wreck behind." In concluding this sketch, which does but scanty justice to a man of his varied accomplishments, learning, and eminence, it may be proper to advert to the fact that Mr. Harding has written much in the way of metrical composition, which it is hoped at some future time will be published in book form. The following stanza, which expresses his religious creed, conveys a fair idea of his poetic genius :

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

A biographical history of eminent and self-made men of the state of Indiana : with many portrait-illustrations on steel, engraved expressly for this work, Volume I, Part 53

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