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 95
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"The grain of dust, the drop of water, are inde- structible. Our physical frames are composed of water and dust. Man's thoughts are God-like. The works of his hands, of his genius, are immortal and imperish- able. Can it be that every atom of his physical frame, the works of his hands, of his genius, are immortal and indestructible, while he himself, his genius, his mind, his intellect, that which is nearest God, is indeed God-like, is all in all the wide universe that is mortal and destructible ? Can it be that the sculptured marble image lives, and the hand that carved it dies? The temple reared to the skies, defying the storms of centu- ries, and the genius that planned it blotted out forever? The grand thought, the God-like conception, lives on forever, an eternal inspiration. The mind that con- ceived it has ceased to be; the teeming brain turned to dust, that dust imperishable, and the intellect that ani- mated it passed into nothingness !"
During the strike in 1877 he did not hesitate what course to pursue. It was a time full of peril to life and property. A single injudicious word would have kindled a flame that could but result in wide-spread ruin. Blatant seekers after popularity were doing all in their power to awaken a mob spirit. It was reserved for John Caven, one of the most quiet and least intru- sive citizens of Indianapolis, to step between the ex- cited strikers and those who would mow them down with shot and shell, and by his firm but quiet speech and manner allay the mad passions that prevailed, and thus save this city from the fate that befell Pittsburgh. His conduct in that hour of danger is a bright chapter in his history that will illuminate his life; and his course, when the laboring men of the city held meet- ings in the state-house yard, and were beginning to whisper of " bread or blood." Mayor Caven met them on their own ground, told them firmly but kindly that their demands could not and would not be conceded, but he emptied his own purse to buy bread for the hungry, and promised then that he would do all in his power to obtain them work shortly on the Belt Railroad and at the stock-yards-two great public improvements that were bitterly opposed at the time, but to which Mayor Caven gave his best endeavors and urged to successful completion. Time has already demonstrated the wisdom of this great undertaking, and the large body of influential tax-payers who strenuously opposed it, now are among the foremost to acknowledge the effi- ciency and importance of the two enterprises, and honor their mayor for his judgment and foresight. It would be difficult to overestimate the obligations Indianapolis
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is under to John Caven for the splendid triumph gained by him, as mayor of the city, during the period of what is justly termed the "great strike," and which won universal applause. With untiring energy he combined inflexible firmness and an exalted comprehension of the threatening danger. Considerate and just, he won the confidence of the working classes, and from that hour the safety of the city was assured. After the storm had passed away an Indianapolis newspaper, not of Mayor Caven's politics, and therefore uninfluenced by partisan considerations, referred editorially to the course Mayor Caven had pursued, and paid him the following tribute of merited approval :
"Indianapolis was eminently fortunate in this trying crisis in having such a man as John Caven for its chief magistrate. It is not our purpose to deal in fulsome eulogy or strained panegyric in commenting upon the course of Mayor Caven, but we regard it as eminently proper to allude to the wisdom of his course, for we are satisfied that it has been the chief factor in the maintenance of the peace and quiet of the city. The fact is evident that Mayor Caven saw clearly the right way through and out of the storm, that he estimated with consummate sagacity the magnitude of the difficul- ties that environed the city, and clearly appreciated the value of prudence. To understand human nature is a quality of mind and heart that few possess. To say the right thing in the right way and at the right time is a test of the highest ability; and when it so happens that a man in authority exhibits such great skill in times of trial and peril, it is impossible to overestimate its value. Mayor Caven, fortunately for Indianapolis, has evinced an appreciation of patience in the hour of threatened violence, and maintained a self-poise and moral courage that were fully equal to the occasion. For the prudent exhibition of these excellent qualities-always valuable, but of incalculable worth when the well-being of large communities depends upon their exercise-the people of Indianapolis owe Mayor Caven a large debt of grati- tude."
Mayor Caven's name has been frequently mentioned in connection with the gubernatorial chair, and it is safe to say that he can be elected to any position he would consent to fill. He is, in its best sense, a man of the people, and to-day controls and guides public sentiment to a greater degree than any other citizen of Indianapolis, and yet without evincing the least desire to lead. He is a man of unexceptionable morals, tem- perate even to abstinence; is a bachelor, and outside of business hours devotes himself to social intercourse with his friends and to his studies.
HANDLER, MORGAN, banker, Greenfield, the youngest of a family of three sons, was born on a farm in Owen County, Kentucky, September 30, 1827. His parents, Uriah and Lydia Chandler, were respectively natives of Virginia and North Caro- lina. His paternal grandfather was a soldier in the War
of the Revolution, serving with honesty and fidelity to the close of that contest. Young Chandler was bereft of his father at an early age, which left him to the counsel and guidance of a widowed mother. His early opportunities for intellectual culture were of little or no value. A few weeks' attendance, snatched from a life of unceasing toil, in the schools of Owen County, was the sum total of his scholastic career; and the little benefit he derived from such schooling is evidenced by the fact that at the age of twenty-one he could neither read nor write his own name. But he had been think- ing, and to a purpose, for at this time he determined to educate himself, and this, too, without teachers or school, alone. How well he succeeded may be inferred when it is stated that within eighteen months, or at the age of twenty-two, he was at the head of a school in his county as teacher. The aptitude with which he learns whatever he undertakes, as is here indicated, has few, if any, equals in the history of mental acquire- ments. His career as a teacher was of the most suc- cessful and satisfactory nature from the very start, and it encouraged him to pursue the work for fifteen months. In October, 1851, he removed to Hancock County, In- diana, and again engaged in teaching. At the expira- tion of his second term he returned to the home of his childhood, spending the summer there, visiting his old friends and pupils. Returning to Indiana in the au- tumn of 1852, he taught another term of school, and then entered the store of G. G. Tague, where he re- mained six months, at a salary of ten dollars a month. Then, in partnership with Samuel Bear, he engaged in business for himself. April 22, 1855, he was united in marriage to Miss Nancy M. Galbreth, daughter of Will- iam Galbreth, formerly of Kentucky. In the autumn of the same year he was elected sheriff of Hancock County. He sold his store and applied himself assidu- ously to his official duties, which he discharged with satisfaction to the people of the entire county. At the expiration of his term of office he began farming, at which he continued until 1861, when he was elected clerk of the Hancock Circuit Court, holding the office four years. In the summers of 1867 and 1868 he spent considerable time traveling through the western states and territories, the winters of the same years being in Washington City. In 1869 and 1870 he was engaged in the store of Walker & Edwards. In 1871, he, with four other gentlemen, established the Greenfield Banking Company, of which he is the cashier. Referring back to his younger days, it is proper to state that at the age of twenty-two he was unanimously chosen lieutenant- colonel of the state troops of his native county, a po- sition he filled with honor to himself and satisfaction to his comrades. At the age of fifteen Mr. Chandler united with the Baptist Church, and still remains stead- fast to his early convictions. He has been an active
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Democrat all his life, but has conducted himself with such frankness and candor that he has never incurred the displeasure or hatred of his political opponents. He has been, and is now, an advocate of all improve- ments or reforms, either material, intellectual, or moral. He has devoted both time and money to the building of turnpikes, churches, and school-houses, and has always taken a lively interest in agricultural pursuits and improvements, being president of the District Fair Association, composed of the counties of Rush, Henry, and Hancock. Mr. Chandler is unaffectedly kind, hos- pitable, and obliging, and in consequence his personal popularity is as extensive as his acquaintance. His perception is quick and accurate, enabling him to read character almost at a glance. This faculty, together with his thorough acquaintance with monetary affairs, and his financial standing in the business community, lends great weight to his judgment on matters of finance. His courteous and affable bearing, added to a rare busi- ness tact and talent, eminently fit him for his position as cashier of one of the strongest moneyed institutions in the country. Considering the limited opportunities, privations, and hardships of the early life of Mr. Chan- dler, and that he began in the world without a dollar, all must agree that he is pre-eminently a self-made man, and as such is entitled to the confidence and es- teem of mankind every-where.
HARLES, EMILY THORNTON, whose maiden name was Thornton, but who is best known in literary circles by her nom de plume of " Emily Hawthorne," was born in Lafayette, Indiana, March 21, 1842. She is of English ancestry. Her maternal grand-parents, Parker and Gachell, were the offspring of Puritans, and resided in Pepperell, Massa- chusetts, the home of the historian Prescott, of whom her grand uncle, Samuel Farrar, was a most intimate friend and near neighbor. Her great-grandfather, Jonas Parker, was a son of the noted Deacon Edward Parker, whose residence is still standing on Mount Lebanon, near Pepperell. On her father's side the Thorntons also were of English origin, first settling in Bennington. Her great-grandfather, Elisha Thornton, was in the Rev- olutionary War; her grandfather, also Elisha, was born at Bennington in 1779. He also displayed the martial spirit by serving in the War of 1812. In the early part of the present century the family removed to the western part of New York, settling at Lyons, Wayne County, to which place the Parkers also came a few years later. Here Emily's parents, James Madison Thornton and Harriet Parker, were born, and it was here that they were married. Shortly after their union the young couple came West to Lafayette, in this state,
where the father was largely engaged in manufacturing. He was a natural genius, possessing great mechanical ingenuity, and thoroughly understanding both railroad and civil engineering. Although of an age to exempt him from the draft at the time of the late war, he vol- unteered in the 127th Illinois Regiment, and died in a hospital at Paducah, Kentucky, December 25, 1865. Her eldest brother, Charles H., served in the 63d In- diana Regiment, and died at Knoxville, Tennessee. Her only other brother, Lieutenant G. P. Thornton, when a lad of seventeen, marched in General Ben. Har- rison's 70th Indiana Volunteers. With the exception of a few years passed in Lyons, New York, the whole life of Mrs. Charles has been spent in Indiana, and of the state and its capital she is enthusiastically proud. She is particularly attached to the city of Indianapolis, with which she has grown up, for here her childhood and most of her mature years have been passed, and here too is the field of most of her struggles, sorrows, joys, disappointments, and successes. When she was only twelve years of age Mr. Calvin Fletcher, senior, whose kindness she remembers with heart-felt grateful- ness, took an interest in the little girl ; and once, when he was visiting the schools in company with some Boston ladies, her originality of thought won for her the warm- est compliments from the party, and Mr. Fletcher told the teacher that Emily was the brightest little girl he ever knew. She was extremely sensitive and diffident, and this, added to the misfortune of a slight defect in hearing, caused her to shrink from observation. At the age of fifteen she took charge of one of the free schools of Indianapolis, and had the distinction of a responsibility greater than any one else of her age at that time. In this position Mr. Fletcher encouraged and advised her, and so much did she revere him and feel his kindness that when he died she was so over- come with grief that she could not, or dared not, attend the funeral. In 1861 she was married to Daniel B. Charles, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, who had, however, been a resident of Indianapolis for some time. He was a man greatly esteemed by all who knew him, and loved for his genial manners and noble principles. Six years after this marriage his life was brought to an un- timely close by consumption, and she was left with two small children, a boy of five and a girl of two years, to battle for life in a world which is in no wise remark- able for its care of the unfortunate. But the stout- hearted young mother was successful in maintaining her- self and children. The boy, now seventeen years old, is a manly, self-poised youth, inclined to mathematics and mechanics, and is taking a thorough course in Purdue University, at Lafayette ; and the little girl, just budding into womanhood, is spirituelle and strongly individ- ualized, and has her mother's talent for writing (some of her productions having already been published and
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widely copied). Very early in life the subject of this sketch took an active interest in public matters, espe- cially in every thing tending to ameliorate the condition of her own sex. Five years since she came before the public as a candidate for the office of state Librarian, and, although she was not elected, as she could not file an official bond, thus rendering her ineligible, yet her indomitable energy and her direct appeals to the lead- ing politicians of the state in behalf of women afterward resulted in the election of a woman to that position. As a writer of prose sketches, Mrs. Charles is very suc- cessful. She is ready at description, and has a quick perception of the salient features of a subject; but it is as a writer of poetry she is best known. In 1876 her poems were collected into a volume of one hundred and sixty-five pages, entitled " Hawthorne Blossoms," and published by J. B. Lippincott & Co., of Philadelphia, a rare compliment to the first volume of a Western writer. These verses possess a high order of merit, and some of them have the sapphic ring, and are marked with the fine and passionate love of the beautiful. Many of her best poems have been written since this volume was pub- lished, and are fast winning for her a national reputation. The first publication was received with favor, and proved a financial success. Mrs. Charles did not develop her marvelous gift early. Her sensitiveness kept her from the public gaze, and a happy love satisfied her heart.
"Her genius slumbered, hushed in love- An untouched harp that never rang- Till wrong its snare around her wove, Then sorrow taught her-and she sang."
She attempts nothing in verse beyond the simple and true expressions of her heart, and a gentle, womanly spirit pervades every thing she writes. An eminent critic has said of her, " She has a vigorous mind, an ac- tive imagination, a fine literary taste, and a true poetical genius-a rare combination of superior faculties." Mrs. Charles has lectured and given readings in the principal cities and towns of Indiana with decided success. Her reception at Lafayette-her birthplace and childhood home-and the complimentary benefit tendered by state officers and leading citizens at the opera-house in Indi- anapolis were literary ovations. An address delivered by her before the United Order of Honor was so earnest a plea for women that shortly afterward ladies were ad- mitted to full membership in this society. At Muncie, in September, 1878, as Daughter of the Brigade, she de- livered to the regiments drawn up in line a historical poem commemorating events of the war. In October she was the poet at the annual convention of Indiana edi- tors at New Albany, her lines being the feature of the occasion, and eliciting unbounded applause. In 1880 she visited Washington, reading a poem before the Grand Army of the Republic on Decoration Day. She ap- peared before literary societies in the capital, and was
asked by more than fifty members of Congress and heads of departments to give a literary entertainment there. She visited New York and Boston, and at Cam- bridge was a guest of Mr. Longfellow, who complimented her highly on her writings. In September she accepted a position as editor of the Citizen-Soldier, of Washington. She is a practical woman, but of a confiding disposition, and has a heart which beats in sympathy for whatever is unfortunate. No matter how much glory her verse may win her, the noble qualities of heart and mind which she possesses are her greatest claims for praise. She is always ready to do any thing that is right for her friends, among whom are many of the most eminent persons of this and other states. She is entirely free from the vices of envy and deception. She possesses the qualities, in a high de- gree, of the following ideal picture of a true woman :
"She has the strength of her sex without its weak- ness; she is strong, yet tender, and has all the amia- ble and innocent amenities which so engage us, without the ostensible and aggressive severity which repels. Wherever she is placed, or happens to be thrown, she is sure of her position without defending it by demon- strations; if left to her own resources for support and protection, she meets the struggles of life with unfaint- ing nerve, and endures its severest trials with composure and with a fortitude that would do honor to a hero- and all without complaint. No one knows better than she what to guard against, and none can be more watchful of their womanhood; yet she always conducts herself as though all men were gentlemen and all wo- men ladies, and as if there was no such thing as passion, deception, treachery, or wrong in the world. Making no parade of modesty herself, and seeing nothing im -. modest in others, there is yet a delicacy in her man- ners which shames rudeness and hushes insult far more effectively than the most scrupulous fastidiousness or the severest austerity. With a large mind, a bright genius, a warm heart, and a pure soul, she is wholly without pride, malice, or envy. An affectionate daugh- ter, a loving sister, a faithful wife, a good mother, a retiring widow, a discreet neighbor, and a generous friend-the most perfect work of God on earth, the shrine of beauty, goodness, love, and truth."
LAYPOOL, SOLOMON, of Indianapolis. Occupy- ing a very prominent position among the distin- guished members of the Indianapolis bar, and coming pre-eminently into the ranks of self-made men, is the name which stands at the head of this sketch. Judge Claypool, as he has been long and familiarly known in Indianapolis, is a native of the state of Indiana. He was born in Fountain County, August 17, 1829, and is the third son of a family of eight boys and two girls, of whom six sons and two daughters survive. One brother died in infancy; and his youngest brother, Jacob Claypool, a lieutenant in the Federal army, after having passed through several battles, died in camp of fever, in July, 1864. Judge
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Claypool's parents, Wilson and Sarah (Evans) Claypool, were respectively of English and Welsh ancestry. In 1823 they emigrated to Indiana, and settled on Shawnee Creek, in Fountain County, where all their children were born, and where the husband and father died in 1876, at the ripe old age of seventy-eight. The spot which they selected for their future home was at that time a wild, unbroken forest, but is now one of the largest and most beautiful farms in the county, on which the aged mother of Judge Claypool still resides, with her oldest son, Evans Claypool, surrounded by a loving family, having lived to see changes in her sur- roundings which the brightest dreams of her youth could scarcely have pictured. The childhood and youth of Judge Claypool were spent on the farm, and the old log-cabin school-house, with its unplastered walls and rough benches, figured exclusively in his early school- ing, and upon this foundation was erected the super- structure of bis subsequent education. His father became able and willing to give him a more liberal edu- cation, and he, being naturally of a studious disposition and ambitious to make his own way in the world, en- tered Wabash College, Crawfordsville, Indiana, where he graduated in July, 1851. After graduation he felt that the time had come to show his parents that he was able to succeed in life alone and unaided. His father pressed upon his acceptance two hundred dollars, and with this capital he commenced the battle of life. He had determined to take up the profession of law, and began a course of reading in the law office of Lane & Wilson, at Crawfordsville. Here he remained a short time, when he went to Terre Haute and entered the office of Hon. S. B. Gookins, of that city. After a few months' reading at Terre Haute he began practice, in 1852, at Covington, in his native county. In Sep- tember, 1855, he removed to Terre Haute, and there married Miss Hannah M. Osborn, sister-in-law of his former preceptor, Judge Gookins, with whom he became acquainted while a law student at Terre Haute. The reader will readily divine a reason why that city pos- sessed peculiar attractions for the Judge, both as a place for legal instruction and for settling down in practice. Although a very young man when he opened a law office in Terre Haute, he soon built up a fine practice, and took a leading place at the bar of Vigo County. Too deep a thinker not to have decided political opin- ions, and too fearless and independent not to give them expression, he soon became actively identified with the politics of the county, and in 1856 was elected a mem- ber of the state Legislature from Vigo County, taking a leading part in the deliberations of that body. In No- vember, 1857, he was appointed Circuit Judge of the Vigo Circuit, and in 1858 was elected by the people for the full term of six years. By the time Judge Claypool was thirty-five years of age he had been on the circuit
bench for seven years, and his name had become famil- jar to the bar of the state outside his county as an able and impartial judge. At the expiration of his term of office he immediately resumed the practice of the law. In 1866 he was nominated by acclamation the Demo- cratic candidate for Congress. This being the first election after the close of the war, and the returned soldiers almost universally voting the Republican ticket, the Democratic candidates were defeated, but Judge Claypool ran considerably in advance of his ticket. Again, in 1868, he was the choice of the Democracy for Attorney-general of the state, and, after a very ex- citing contest, with the rest of his ticket, was defeated, or, at least, as the Judge expresses it, "another gentle- man got the commission." Since that time he has given his undivided attention to the practice of his pro- fession in his old circuit, living at Greencastle in 1873, when he removed to Indianapolis, where he has since resided and practiced. He became the head of the well-known law firm of Claypool, Mitchell & Ketcham, which, on the withdrawal of Major Mitchell and the accession of Hon. H. C. Newcomb, became Claypool, Newcomb & Ketcham, a law firm which controls a large business in Indianapolis and throughout the state. Judge Claypool in his personal characteristics shows very plainly traces of his English descent, in the bluff- ness and tenacity of his disposition. As a speaker, he is strong and logical, clear and convincing, and is re- garded as one of the best advocates in the state. At the bar he is bold and aggressive. Judge Claypool is in robust health, and is a fine specimen of the genus homo. He is of strong build, has dark complexion, dark blue eyes, and black hair, is within one inch of six feet high, and weighs two hundred and fifty pounds. Both physically and mentally he is one of the strong men of the state. Judge Claypool has a family of seven children, six daughters and one son. The latter, John W., is a student of law in his father's office at Indianapolis. One daughter is the wife of Mr. George W. Faris.
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