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 68

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 68

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cated January 21, 1870, and has been in constant use ever since. Doctor Baer has always been a close stu- dent ; he has no moments to loiter away, and is always among his books when not professionally engaged. Swe- denborg's scientific works have a particular charm for him, as well as his theological writings. He has a large library of valuable scientific, medical, historical, the- ological, and other literary works; in other words, it is a complete reference library. In 1867, with ten other homœopathic physicians, he organized a state society of homœopathy, and had it chartered, under the name of " The Indiana Institute of Homoeopathy." He was elected its president, and was elected to same office for six con- secutive years, when, in consequence of failing health, he refused to hold office any longer. He never failed to present a paper at each meeting of the institute. He now is, and has been for several years, an active member of the great medical association, the American Institute of Homœopathy. Ile claims to have written the first article on atom mechanics in this country, assuming the polarity of atoms. Ile wrote two articles upon storms, showing, from meteorological data, why Richmond remains exempt from destructive tornadoes. He has written several scientific articles, which attracted more or less attention at the time of publication. He became an Odd-fellow in 1842, and a Freemason in 1857, and took both the York and Scottish Rites. He joined the first organization of Washingtonians in the West in 1834, was a Son of Temperance and a Good Templar; he is in every sense a teetotaler, never having taken a dram of liquor of any kind, nor prescribed it for his patients, in a large practice of over forty years. He never used tobacco, and never swore an oath, nor used slang language. He was constitutionally organ- ized a reformer ; for, when but fifteen years of age he eschewed the use of tea and coffee, studied geology when all the divines in Dayton condemned it as of the devil, became a phrenologist, a Washingtonian, a Swe- denborgian, an Abolitionist, a homœopath; in fact, he examines every thing, irrespective of public opinion, and, if he finds it to coincide with other established truths, he frankly accepts it. As a physician, he deems it his bounden duty to be circumspect in the sick-room, and to show a cheerful face under all circumstances, believ- ing that a desponding medical face often casts a deep gloom where cheerfulness would restore confidence and hope. The great cardinal truth according to which he desires to live is, "that all religion has relation to life, and the life of religion is to do good." Doctor Baer has now been for a long time before the people of Richmond, and has steadily grown in popularity each year. He has an eagerness for truth that leads him to examine any new theory or fact, and he is not to be «leterred from accepting the results of his investiga- tions by any clamor or misrepresentation.

ELL, HARVEY, hardware merchant, of Knights- town, was born near Staunton, Virginia, May 12, 1806. He is the third of the eleven children of John and Sarah (Mccutcheon) Bell, both natives of Virginia, where they were married. Mr. Bell was brought up to work on a farm, going to school for only a short time. In 1831 he removed with his wife and two children to West Liberty, near Knightstown, Indi- ana. His first business in the Hoosier State was that of running a saw-mill, in which he had bought an inter- est. At the end of three years he traded his mill prop- erty for a piece of land near by, which was covered with heavy timber. This he undertook to clear and cultivate; but, finding it too much for his strength, gave up the attempt after two years, and sold the land. He then bought an interest in a tin-shop in the village of Knightstown, and learned the tinner's trade. About the year 1843 he purchased, trimmed, and sold the first cook-stove ever sold in the town. By industry and close attention to his work he gradually increased his business, until his little shop became a large hardware store. The present firm (1878), H. & W. N. Bell & Co., organized in 1860-consisting of the senior member, Harvey Bell; his son, William N. Bell; and his son-in- law, Tilghman Fish-has one of the best stocked and most attractive establishments of the kind in the state. The Bell Block and Bell's Hall were built in the same year. The main room of the building occupied by this firm is twenty-five feet wide and one hundred and fifty feet deep; and when they took possession of it in 1864 they put in over twelve thousand dollars' worth of goods. They are doing the leading business in the town; and, being cautious in buying as well as in selling, have an excellent name for promptness and fair dealing. Mr. Bell has gone evenly and steadily forward in life, and has had no ambition for public office. In 1832 he was one of fourteen members who organized the Presbyterian Church, to which he still helongs. September 11, 1828, he married Miss Nancy Beaty, by whom he has two sons and three daughters. The eldest son, John A. Bell, is now postmaster at Knightstown; the eldest daughter is the wife of Mr. Fish, a member of the firm of H. & W. N. Bell & Co. Mr. Bell's first wife having died in IS41, he married Susan Elder, August 27, 1843. She is the eldest daughter of Doctor Asiel Noble and Eliza Herberger. Her father was a native of Pittsfield, Massachusetts; and her mother. of Philadelphia, Penn- sylvania. Mrs. Bell was born at Richmond, Virginia, August 22, 1805. When but a few months old she be- came blind, and remained so nearly two years, when, by a skillful operation, her sight was restored. Although now in her seventy-fourth year, she can read without the aid of glasses. January 6, 1830, she was married to Doctor James Elder, of Ohio, by whom she had three children, all of whom have died. In the year of their

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marriage Doctor and Mrs. Elder removed to Covington, Indiana; thence, a year later, to Ohio; and returned to Indiana in 1835. Their son, Doctor B. F. Elder, was a student at Hanover College, and afterwards graduated from the Ohio Medical College. He began practice in Knightstown, when he was appointed post surgeon at Catlettsburg; and afterwards removed to Ashland, Ken- tucky. Through overwork, occasioned by inefficient help, he took a severe cold, which caused his death, August 5, 1862. He was a noble man, an ornament to society, and had an honest hatred for shams and shoddy. He passed away in the full hope of a happy future. By their second marriage Mr. and Mrs. Bell have had two children : Ada, who died in May, 1846, aged four- teen months; and Emma Louise, born March 7, 1847, now the wife of a prominent druggist of Knightstown. Mr. Bell leads a quiet and even life, is a valuable mem- ber of society, and highly respected in the community in which he lives.

ENJAMIN, BREVET COLONEL HORATIO N., senior member of the firm of Benjamin & Weaver, Richmond, and of H. N. Benjamin & Co., of Urbana, Ohio, both wholesale and retail grocers, was born in Binghamton, New York, November 9, 1829. His father, for whom he was named, was a wholesale merchant in New York City. His mother's maiden name was Sarah M. Baxter. IIis instruction in childhood was confined to that received at home and in the common school, and was interrupted by his becom- ing a grocer's clerk at the early age of twelve years. In this situation he remained, attending school part of the time, till 1846, when he began to learn the watch and jewelry trade; and four year later commenced the same business for himself in Binghamton. In Septem- ber, 1856, having previously married, he removed to Urbana, Ohio, and engaged in the grocery trade until 1862. He then entered the army as second lieutenant of Company E, 113th Ohio Infantry. The regiment was assigned to General Gilbert's division in the Army of the Cumberland. In January or February, 1863, he was made first lieutenant of Company B, and in the following June became its captain. The regiment, after a few minor battles, met the foe on the field of Chicka- mauga. In this engagement Captain Benjamin was wounded, first on the scalp, by a piece of shell, then by a bullet through the body. Having sufficient strength remaining to walk, he started toward the rear, but, in a moment, as if death was determined to make sure of its victim, another ball struck his leg and felled him to the ground, and he was left for dead on the field. He lay there with little attention until morning, when he was picked up and conveyed to the hospital. On the 22d of September he was sent home, though it was

thought he could not survive the journey. Once there, tender care and society, which he enjoyed, worked their potent charm, and by the first day of the New Year he had so far recovered as to engage in the recruiting service. He fixed his headquarters at Columbus, and though it was deemed almost impossible, in that dark hour of the war, to recruit without drafting, he filled the nine companies of the 113th Ohio with volunteers, added a tenth, selecting its officers, and sent a number of men to other regiments. In April of the same year (1864) he rejoined his command, and engaged in the Atlanta campaign as provost-marshal on the staff of General John G. Mitchell. Some time after the fall of Atlanta, Captain Benjamin was appointed major of the 185th Ohio Infantry, but, for important reasons, the sole command devolved upon him. He was ordered to Mt. Sterling, Kentucky, and a part of the task assigned him was to rid the country of guerrillas, which he did successfully, evincing marked ability for such service. While there he had the honor to offer conditions of sur- render to General Giltner, commanding 'Morgan's divis- ion of Confederate raiders ; but the terms were haughtily refused. Major Benjamin then delayed them until he obtained reinforcements, when, with five regiments and one battalion of infantry and cavalry and a battery of artillery, he demanded their surrender unconditionally. Seeing that resistance was useless, the enemy yielded, and that terror-spreading band laid down their arms. Major Benjamin was then put in command of the post at Cumberland Gap, and of Camps Pitman and Barbours- ville; after which he was ordered to Eminence and Shel- byville, thence to Lexington, and, finally, to Camp Chase, Ohio, where, October 26, 1865, he was mustered out of the United States service. He had previously been breveted lieutenant-colonel, then colonel of volunteers, for meritorious conduct in battle. Having laid aside the sword, Colonel Benjamin at once established him- self in the wholesale grocery trade, as a member of the firm of Johnson, Weaver & Benjamin, in Urbana, Ohio, which, after some changes, became, in 1866, the present firm of H. N. Benjamin & Co. In 1876, with one of the partners-his son-in-law, W. S. Weaver-he entered into the same business in Richmond, Indiana. The building they erected and now occupy was planned by him, and is said to be superior in internal finish and arrangement to any other of the kind in the United States. A convenient place is provided for every thing, and every thing is done in system and in order. Mr. Benjamin is a member of the Masonic Fraternity, and has taken all the degrees up to, and including, that of Sir Knight. With his family, he is connected with the Baptist Church. Politically, he is a Republican, and votes and acts with that party. Nature has endowed Colonel Benjamin with a vigorous constitution, a stout frame, regular features, and dark, piercing eyes. His

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health is good. He is affable and fond of society, a man of kindly sympathy, considerate generosity, and sterling integrity. His successful management of two important mercantile houses proves him to be a man of superior business qualifications, and he is universally so regarded, both by his customers and those in the same line with him. Naturally, and from long experience in trade, he is accurate, far-seeing, prudent, and industri- ous. His mind forms conclusions with great rapidity. In the army he displayed marked courage, decision, and energy, and was quick to perceive the enemy's de- signs, and bold and rapid in foiling them. So ably did he perform the duties of commandant of the post of Mount Sterling, Kentucky, that the inhabitants united in a petition against his transfer to another field, and the press of Louisville spoke most approvingly of his administration. While performing his duties to the government and to his command, he was just and ac- commodating to the citizens of the place. It is said by those who knew him in Urbana, Ohio, that he there ranked high in business and social circles, and that dur- ing the war the citizens testified their appreciation of his worth as a man and a commander by presenting him with an elegant and costly sword. At the close of the war the officers of the 185th Ohio made him the recip- ient of a beautiful gold-headed cane, and presented himself and his wife with a pitcher, a salver, and goblets of solid silver. He enjoys the confidence and respect of the community in which he lives, and de- serves them. He has honestly fulfilled the duties of life, and is now receiving his rightful meed. He may truly be entitled one of the eminent and representa- tive men of the state of Indiana.

fessor of mathematics and natural science in White. Water College, at Centerville, in which position he served one term. In the spring of 1855 he began the practice of law, in partnership with John Yaryan, at Liberty. In the presidential canvass of 1856 he earnestly espoused the cause of Fremont; and in 1858 was elected state Senator for the counties of Fayette and Union; although the youngest member in the Senate, he took an active part in its proceedings. In the memorable political campaign of 1860 he spoke in most of the counties of Indiana for Mr. Lincoln, and in the following spring resigned his seat in the Senate to enter the army. On the very day the President issued his call for troops, Mr. Bennett began recruiting, and soon raised a company of one hundred men in his own town. With this company, of which he was elected captain, he joined the 15th Indiana Regiment, under Colonel G. D. Wagner, which was assigned to General McClellan's army in West Virginia. There he was in the battles of Rich Mountain, Beverly, Green- brier, and Elkwater River. In September, 1861, he was appointed, by Governor Morton, major of the 36th Indiana Volunteers, then in camp at Richmond, In- diana. With this regiment, and in General Nelson's division, he participated in the Buell campaign in Ken- tucky, Tennessee, and Alabama; including the capture of Nashville, the battle of. Shiloh, the occupation of East Tennessee, the retreat to Louisville, and the pur- suit of Bragg out of Kentucky. In October, 1862, Governor Morton appointed him colonel of the 69th Indiana Volunteers. In command of that regiment he fought under General Grant in all his campaigns from Memphis to the surrender of Vicksburg, embracing the celebrated river expedition under General Sherman, the disastrous defeat of Chickasaw Bayou and Haynes Bluff, the capture of Arkansas Post, the following battles around Vicksburg, namely, Port Gibson, Raymond, Jackson, Champion Hills, Black River Bridge, and finally the cap- ture of the stronghold itself. During this memorable campaign Colonel Bennett received many marks of favor from his distinguished commander. He was selected for the difficult and perilous duty of exploring and opening the route from Morganza Bend, on the Missis- sippi, above Vicksburg, to New Carthage, below, on the same river. This work he did in such a manner as to elicit from General Grant a special order of congratu- lation. Again, in the winter of 1863, while the army lay at Young's Point, opposite Vicksburg, Colonel Bennett was, by General Grant, appointed president of a commission to examine and report for dismissal all incompetent officers, which resulted in the dis- charge of nearly one hundred. After the fall of Vicksburg, he was ordered with his regiment to New Orleans to reinforce General Banks, and, under

ENNETT, GENERAL THOMAS W., of Rich- mond, was born in Union County, Indiana, Feb- ruary 16, 1831, and is the second in a family of ten children, whose parents were John F. and Nancy (Boroughs) Bennett. His father was an exten- sive farmer, stock-raiser, and merchant, and was promi- nent both in political and religious circles. Thomas W. Bennett was busily engaged in the lighter labors of the farm and in attending the common school until the age of fourteen, when he entered his father's country store as clerk. Here he remained about three years, and then became a "wagon-boy," driving a six-horse freight team between Richmond, Indiana, and Cincinnati, Ohio. In this he continued two years. At the end of that period he taught school in his home district one term, and then attended the county seminary until the fall of 1851, when, at the age of twenty, he entered the As- bury University. In 1854 he graduated from the law department of that institution, and was elected pro- ! that officer, participated in the Texas and the famous

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Red River campaigns as a brigade commander. In the fall of 1864 he was detailed by Secretary Stanton as a member of the military commission to try the Indiana conspirators, Bowles, Milligan, Humphreys, and Horsey. In January, 1865, he obtained leave of absence from the army to attend the session of the state Senate, hav- ing been elected a member of that body from the counties of Fayette and Union. He served in that capacity four years, being a member of the Judiciary and chairman of the Military Committee. In the spring of 1865 he was appointed brigadier-general, and ordered to report for duty to General Canby at New Orleans, but before he reached that city Lee surren- dered, and the war was over. General Bennett was then mustered out of service, and resumed the practice of the legal profession at Liberty, Indiana. In 1867, he made a tour of Europe, visiting the chief points of in- terest in Ireland, England, France, Germany, Switzer- land, and Italy. In 1868 he removed to Richmond, Indiana, and, in the presidential campaign of that year employed his whole time in speaking for General Grant and the Republican party. In May, 1869, he was elected mayor of the city of Richmond, and served two years; then, declining a re-election, he resumed the practice of law. In September, 1871, President Grant, having appointed him Governor of the territory of Idaho, he removed there with his family. During his term of four years he was intrusted by the government with many responsible duties in regard to Indian affairs, and made several important treaties with the Nez-Perces, Shoshones, Bannocks, Cœur d' Alenes, and Umatillas. In November, 1874, Governor Bennett was elected dele- gate to Congress from Idaho Territory, which seat he held eighteen months of the term of two years, when a contest for his seat was decided by a Democratic House against him. The very next day President Grant honored him by a re-appointment as Governor of that territory, which office he declined. In the campaign of 1872, while Governor of Idaho, he canvassed the states of Oregon and California for Grant's re-election. After leaving Washington, he settled permanently at Rich- mond, Indiana, and re-opened his law office. In May, 1877, he was again elected mayor of the city, which position he now holds. General Bennett joined the In- dependent Order of Odd-fellows in 1854; he has taken all the degrees of the order, and is still a member in full fellowship. He has belonged to the Masonic Fra- ternity since 1857, and has taken as rapidly as. possible all the degrees of the Blue Lodge, Encampment, Chap- ter, Commandery, and the Sublime Degrees of the Scot- ish Right. He is also a member of the college order of Beta Theta Pi. General Bennett was reared by Methodist parents, and retains a preference for that mode of worship ; he is not a member of any religious society, but, his wife being an Episcopalian, he gener-

ally attends that Church. While believing in the great doctrines of a future existence and responsibility to a Creator, he is not altogether orthodox on many dogmas of the Church. In 1858 he married Miss Anna M. Cast- erline, daughter of Doctor Ziba Casterline, of Liberty, a prominent physician, editor, and politician, an Abolition- ist and a temperance advocate. General Bennett is kind and benevolent almost to a fault, yet very positive in conviction, and firm in decision. He reads character intuitively, has strong personal magnetism, is a graceful and effective speaker, and thus is often enabled to win men to his views, and accomplish what to others would be impossible. These qualities have rendered him very efficient in the mayoralty, and conspicuous in the state Senate, and, united with courage and untiring energy, they have made him one of the best officers in the army. He ably administered the governmental affairs of Idaho, as shown by the fact of his re-appointment, and his previous election as delegate. Having risen in eight years, by the force of his own talent, from ob- scurity to the rank of brigadier-general and the office of governor, before the age of thirty-six, and efficiently performing all duties, his career has indeed been re- markable and worthy of emulation.

IGGER, HON. FINLEY, ex-register of the United States treasury, an able lawyer and mathema- tician, of Rushville, was born near Lebanon, Warren County, Ohio, September 29, 1807. He is a brother of Governor Samuel Bigger, deceased. (See sketch.) Through his father, Hon. John Bigger, a na- tive of Maryland, he is descended from one of three brothers who, about four hundred years ago, fled from Scotland during the Claverhouse persecutions, and settled in the north of Ireland. Their home in the former country was in or near the village of Biggar (as the family name was originally spelled), not far from the scene of one of Sir William Wallace's battles with the English. His grandfather, John Bigger, senior, was a native of Antrim County, Ireland. His father was born December 5, 1770, and in the spring of 1798 emigrated from Pennsylvania to Ohio, and settled in what afterward became Warren County. There he was soon elected to the first state Legislature, and con- tinued to represent that county either in the House or Senate until near the date of his death, June 18, 1840. He served, it is believed, more sessions in the Ohio Legislature than any other man. His early education had been neglected, but he had read and thought much, and his mind was strong, clear, and discriminating. He never suffered himself to be influenced by passion or prejudice ; and those who wished to do right in dif- ficult circumstances, sought his advice and relied on his

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judgment with implicit confidence. He was always a peace-maker, and possessed the rare faculty of reconcil- ing contending parties even when reconciliation seemed impracticable; and, when he failed, he still retained the confidence and esteem of both. Strongly attached to family and friends, inflexible in the discharge of duty, ever ready to assist those who needed help, always more willing to forgive an injury than to resent it, he gained wide influence and was profoundly esteemed. For more than thirty years he was an e'der in the Presbyterian Church, to which he became attached in early life. Tom Corwin was one of his intimate friends, and held him in such high esteem as to declare that by his honesty and nobility of character he was a natural Mason. That statesman and Henry Clay were often guests at Mr. Bigger's house; and Mr. Cor- win's mode of introducing him to distinguished gentle- men was, " Allow me to introduce my honored friend, John Bigger, one of nature's nobleman and an honest man." Hon. Finley Bigger, the subject of this sketch, was introduced by Elisha Whittlesey to Judge McLane as the son of John Bigger, of Warren County, Ohio, " as honest a man as the Lord ever placed on earth." Finley Bigger had only very limited school privileges, but he was reared under influences that stimulated in- tellectual growth. There, in the almost unbroken forest, was a coterie of young men of brilliant talents, who, with his father's distinguished guests, unconsciously aided in molding the mind of the unlettered boy. Among these were two teachers of neighboring schools- Francis Glass, A. M., and J. J. Bruce Right, a graduate of a Boston college, a fine scholar and an eloquent de- bater. The former was a proficient linguist, writing and speaking with fluency seven languages. While in that region he translated Weem's "Life of Washington " into Latin, and it is still used as a college text-book. Yet both these men, with their splendid endowments, were victims of intemperance, and hence were reduced to the necessity of teaching small country schools. Mr. Bigger was not a pupil of either, but they were frequently at his father's house. Years passed, and he studied law under Governor Corwin, was admitted to the bar, and, either in 1834 or 1835, licensed to practice in the Supreme Court of Ohio. In the spring of 1836 he removed to Rushville, Indiana, and there com- menced the successful practice of his profession. Ex- cept during a period of several years, in which he re- sided in Washington, Rushville has ever since been his home. In 1853 Mr. Bigger was appointed register of the United States treasury, and discharged the duties of that responsible position until 1861. He found the archives of the office in a disordered condition, so much so that it was very difficult to find important papers on file, and months sometimes elapsed before a call from Congress or the heads of departments could be an- A-21

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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 68

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