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 II > Part 45
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Atlanta campaign and Sherman's "march to the sea," was, after its capture, commandant at Savannah, Georgia, and marched his division to Washington and took part in the great review at the close of the war. He received an honorable discharge on the 15th of July, 1865, and was breveted major-general the 26th of the same month, "for gallant and meritorious service during the war." His military career was marked by gallantry, earnestness, and patriotism. He was the idol of his soldiers; always looking after their comfort, and try- ing to lessen their inevitable hardships, appreciating the difference between the citizen soldier of Amer- ica and the machine soldier of Europe. He drew his distinctions, in military as in civil life, not by the rank fickle fortune may have for the time accorded the man, but by his real worth. When he was in charge of some important point for the shipment of cot- ton, he was known as one of the commandants cotton speculators dared not approach. General Washburne was warmly welcomed home, though not to the shades of private life. He was nominated and elected in the fall of 1864, while in the army, to the Thirty-ninth Congress, and took his seat in December, 1865. His course in Congress was marked by strict attention to the business of legislation and the interests of his constit- uents. He had time to attend to both; because, being strictly temperate, industrious, and moral in his habits, he evaded the rocks on which so many of our politi- cians founder. In politics he conscientiously did that which he deemed right and just, regardless of the party lash, as he fully demonstrated by voting against the Freedmen's Bureau bill, when told by old political friends that it would ruin his political prospects. He was re-elected to the Fortieth Congress, and at the close of his second term was appointed surveyor-general of Montana Territory. His course while surveyor of the territory was marked by an able and vigorous prosecu- tion of his official duties. He commanded the first expedition to the Yellowstone region. Dangers and difficulties were neither overlooked nor despised, but, with resources expanding with the emergency, he pre- served an unshaken confidence and an unruffled temper. With a company each of whom considered himself a host, all unusually self-sufficient and self-reliant and singularly disposed to individual judgment, yet, by his unassumed superiority and his cool, prompt readiness to take the foremost and hardest part in danger or labor, he grew in the esteem and confidence of every member of the party. On the west bank of the Yellowstone, between Tower Falls and Hellbroth Springs, opposite the profoundest chasm of that marvelous river cañon, a mighty sentinel, overlooking that region of wonders, rises in its serene and solitary grandeur, Mount Wash- burne. He was the first to climb its bald, bare sum- mit, and thence reported the welcome news that he saw
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the beautiful lake that had been the proposed object of ; candidate in the district. Hon. Godlove S. Orth, at the the journey. By unanimous voice, unsolicited by him, the mountain was given a name that through the com- ing years shall bear on the memory of this gallant leader. To the hardships endured on this trip are attrib- uted the cause of his early death, which occurred Jan- uary 26, 1871. General Washburne was an eminent member of the Masonic Fraternity, holding his mem- bership with the Sir Knights of Terre Haute. After the sermon the beautiful and impressive ritual of the Knight Templars concluded the services in honor of one of In- diana's gallant soldiers and valued citizens.
HITE, MICHAEL D., ex-member of Congress and attorney-at-law, Crawfordsville, was born in Clarke County, Ohio, near Springfield, September 8, 1827. He traces his paternal ancestry to Ver- mont, his maternal to Ireland. His grandfather bore an honorable part in the War of Independence, was wounded in the service, and died in Lafayette, Indiana, at a venerable age, in 1837. His parents, Alanson and Mary (Dougherty) White, removed from Ohio to Tippe- canoe County, Indiana, in 1829. In boyhood Michael worked on the farm in summer, and attended the com- mon school during the winter. At the age of twenty- one he entered Wabash College, and remained four years. His health failing him, he engaged in farming for one year, and in 1853 began to study law with General Lew Wallace. At the conclusion of his course of preparatory study he accepted a partnership with his instructor, with whom his business connection continued until some time in 1858. During the first year of his professional life he was elected prosecuting attorney of the Court of Common Pleas for the counties of Mont- gomery and Boone. Mr. White has since practiced alone, with the exception of a brief partnership with James N. Binford. While his general business has been large and lucrative, he has won especial honors and achieved signal success as a criminal lawyer. In 1860, seven years after commencing the study of his profession, he defeated General Mahlon D. Manson for the state Senate, a victory which was very flattering for him, as the latter was one of the best known and most popular Democrats in the state, has since been a member of Congress, and is the present state auditor. In the Sen- ate Mr. White was a member of the Committee on Federal Relations, at that time a position of the first importance. In 1876 he was elected to represent his district in Congress, there being two other candidates, Democratic and National. ITis majority of fourteen hun- dred and ten over his Democratic competitor was, with the exception of Albert S. White's in 1860, the largest Republican majority ever attained by a congressional
succeeding congressional election, received but ninety- eight majority. Since his career in Congress, Mr. White has attended quietly to his profession. He is a member of the Masonic Fraternity. His family is attached to the Christian Church. Mr. White was married, April 29, 1858, to Miss Laura E. McMechan, daughter of Doc- tor J. G. McMechan, for many years a practicing phy- sician of Crawfordsville, and now of Darlington, in the same county. Two sons and four daughters have blessed this union. Mr. White is a plain, unassuming citizen, affable in his business and social intercourse, popular with the masses of both parties, and honored and re- spected in all the relations of life. He has been an able lawyer and faithful Representative.
ILLSON, COLONEL SAMUEL CAMPBELL, LL. D., was born in Cherry Valley, Otsego County, New York, September 17, 1810. The family are sprung from Scotch ancestry on the paternal, and English on the maternal, side. Colonel Willson's grandfather, James Willson, came to America in 1739, was actively engaged in the Revolutionary War, and held various positions of honor and trust in the Federal service. This gentleman's paternal ances- tors fled from Scotland in the time of William and Mary, owing to religious persecution, and settled in County An- trim, Ireland. His grandfather married twice. His first wife was a sister of Judge Wells, who was massacred by the Tories and Indians at the sacking and burning of Cherry Valley, November 11, 1778. The only one of the family that escaped was the late John Wells, one of the most distinguished members of the Philadelphia bar. Mr. Willson's second wife was one of the Camp- bells, of the celebrated Scotch clan of McCallum More, of which the Duke of Argyle, father of the present Governor-general of Canada, is the chief representative. Colonel Samuel Willson's maternal grandfather was named Spencer, and came to this country with Ann Lee, the founder of the society of Shakers, of whom he was a devout follower. In 1754 Mr. Willson's paternal grandfather was high sheriff of Albany County, New York; and among his prisoners was Mr. Spen- cer, incarcerated because of Shaker belief. Here an acquaintance was formed which led to a double marriage, between Colonel Willson's father, his father's brother, and two of the Shaker's daughters. Colonel Willson's maternal grandmother was nearly related to Major-general Nathaniel Greene, the fighting Quaker general of the Revolution. His paternal grandfather, before mentioned, settled in 1739 in Cherry Valley, and the original homestead is still in possession of the family, having descended from father to son, and never
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having been transferred by deed since the period | Church, but of late years have worshiped with the mentioned. Colonel Willson's early education was at Protestant Episcopal denomination. He has been a Democrat from his youth up, and cast his first vote for General Jackson, in 1832. He has adhered to his party in evil as well as in good report, and has always been re- garded as a leader in his county and district. He mar- ried Miss Laura Virginia Maddox, of Charlestown, Indi- ana, October 20, 1835. Her father was a lawyer of con- siderable prominence from Virginia. He was appointed by President John Quincy Adams attorney-general for the district of Missouri, and died there. Mr. and Mrs. Willson have had seven children, of whom five survive, two sons and three daughters. The oldest son died sev- eral years ago in Indianapolis; one daughter is married to Doctor H. B. Marsh, and another to V. Q. Irwin, railroad contractor, both of Crawfordsville. Colonel Willson, now in his sixty-ninth year, is in the enjoyment of full intellectual power, and his retentive memory is a storehouse of reminiscences, legal, political, social, and historical. He has always been a man of strong convictions, and has not hesitated to make them known. His leadership at the bar as a special pleader was clear and unquestioned. His associates have always been men of mark and of commanding influence. He now lives in his elegant suburban home, at the east end of Crawfordsville, and takes charge of such business as naturally falls into his hands. He enjoys social inter- course with his friends and neighbors, and is highly es- teemed by his fellow-citizens. the Cherry Valley Academy, under charge of Professor James F. Cogswell. At the age of nineteen he entered the law office of Judge Levi Beardsley, of Cherry Valley. At the age of twenty-three he was admitted to the bar at the October term of the Supreme Court, Chief Justice John Savage presiding; and was made solicitor in chancery by the then Chancellor, Reuben H. Walworth. In June, 1834, Mr. Willson came to In- diana; he remained in Charlestown, Clarke County, for two years, and in 1836 came to Crawfordsville. The following spring he entered into partnership with Henry S. Lane, since Congressman, United States Senator, and Governor. This partnership continued until Mr. Lane retired from practice, in 1853. In 1838 Mr. Willson was elected by the Legislature, on joint ballot, prosecuting attorney of his judicial district, compris- ing nine counties, and was twice re-elected. In 1853 he formed a partnership with Hon. Joseph E. Mc- Donald, present United States Senator, which was dissolved six years later by Mr. McDonald's removal to Indianapolis. A subsequent partnership with Gen- eral Lew Wallace was interrupted by the breaking out of the Civil War. Since then Colonel Willson has continued the practice of his profession, in connection with other duties, and of late years has had associated with him his second son, Levi B. Willson. He, Mr. Willson, led the forlorn hope to an honorable defeat in the race for Congress in 1860. For several years he was actively interested in railroad enterprises; and was for three years president of the Indianapolis, Crawfordsville and Danville (Illinois) Railroad, which was constructed OLLETT, JOSEPHUS, of Terre Haute, president of the Evansville, Terre Haute and Chicago Rail- road, was born in Eugene, Vermilion County, In- diana, August 17, 1831. A brief account of his parentage and ancestry will be found under the head of John Collett, who is an older brother of the subject of this sketch. Josephus obtained his early education in a log-cabin school-house in his native county, and at the age of eighteen entered Wabash College. Before grad- uation, however, he was obliged to abandon study, on ac- count of feeble health and a serious disease of the nerves of the eye, which for several years were very seriously af- fected, and for some time a cure seemed hopeless. After his restoration to health he engaged in agricultural pur- suits, and also traded in farm stock with much success. About the year 1860 he engaged in general mercantile business at Newport, Vermilion County, and com- bined with merchandising the occupation of pork-packer and dealer in grain, which he shipped to New York and New Orleans, and soon commanded a fine trade. During this time, in course of business, the lack of transportation facilities in Vermilion County, and the necessity of remedying it, engaged his attention. In the under his administration, and now forms the eastern divi- sion of the Indianapolis, Bloomington and Western. For all his expenditure of time and money in this im- portant work he has received no pecuniary compen- sation. He was desirous to see a through route on this line of travel ; and in 1872 he had the satisfaction of taking a train at Crawfordsville and landing without change of cars in San Francisco. In 1831, forty-one years previous, he had ridden from Albany to Schenectady be- hind the Johnny Bull, the first locomotive in use in Amer- ica. Colonel Willson was for four years president of the board of trustees of the State University at Bloom- ington, Indiana. He alludes humorously to his title of colonel and his war record, his commission as colonel of the bloody 58th Indiana Militia having been signed by Governor David Wallace. He has taken some interest in agricultural matters, having been connected with the county and state boards of agricul- ture in different capacities. He introduced the first tiling used in the state, and has lived to see it become an im- portant article of manufacture. His family were for many years connected with the Methodist Episcopal
yours faithfully
in
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course of his investigations, and after the failure of many other previous attempts at securing railroad facil- ities, he was obliged to consult very frequently with Mr. Chauncey Rose, a warm friend of the family through two generations. Mr. Rose entered into his projects warmly, and aided him with his advice and counsel, and the still more important item of pecuniary assist- ance. The result was the building of the Evansville, Terre Haute and Chicago Railroad. Mr. Collett was president of the road at its inception, and has filled the position uninterruptedly ever since. Unlike other rail- roads, this road was built at such close contract prices, without the intermediate profits of middlemen and speculators, and its alignments and grades were so ar- ranged, that it has been generally classed as a model railroad in economy of cost of construction. While nearly all of the new railroad enterprises of the country have passed through the hands of receivers and as- signees, this road, under the management of Mr. Col- lett, who not only filled the office of president, but was also superintendent and treasurer, has survived the terrible and crushing effects of the hard times; and by universal consent credit is given to Mr. Collett for this result. He is never afraid to ride on a locomotive, and makes it a point to see every rail-tie and timber on his road once a month, making the inspection personally. His management has been such as to merit and receive the compliments and confidence of the stockholders and bondholders, and of the community who have occasion to use the road. His opinion is constantly sought in other important public enterprises. He was interested in the construction of the Columbus and Sandy Creek Railroad, which opens up a new approach to the Hocking Valley coal region in Ohio. Mr. Collett is known, in his quiet way, for many acts of kindness and benevolence to deserving objects. He is a leading promoter of all public-spirited enterprises that come within his scope of action. On the death of Mr. Chauncey Rose, so widely known for his munificent benevolence, it was found that Mr. Collett was ap- pointed one of the executors under the will of the de- ceased. He was elected one of the trustees of the " Rose Polytechnic Institute," and became president of the board, still occupying that position. Mr. Collett is Republican in politics. His industry is wonderful. He works from fourteen to eighteen hours a day, and is untiring in his exhaustive attention and devotion to business. He is considered one of the best railroad managers in the country. He is a man of quiet and unobtrusive manners, very reticent to strangers, but to his friends a genial, whole-souled man, whose motto seems to be not to let his left hand know what his right hand doeth. He is unmarried. He is very fond of geology and archæology, particularly the latter ; and has the finest archaeological collection in the West.
ERVEY, ROBERT G., of Terre Haute, was born at Brockville, Canada, May 16, 1839. His father, Robert Hervey, was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and emigrated to Canada, where he was a promi- nent business man for more than fifty years. He car- ried on various manufacturing enterprises, and was iden- tified with most of the public works of the country-the construction of the Canadian canals, docks, railways, etc. In partnership with his brother and cousin, and the Hon. George Crawford, he also went to Illinois and constructed the Illinois and Michigan Canals for the state, completing the work, although the state was un- able to pay, and they had to take certificates of indebt- edness, for which they received payment after a lapse of fifteen or twenty years. Mr. Hervey married Sarah, daughter of Paul Glasford, one of the earliest settlers of Canada, by whom he had eight children, four daugh- ters and four sons, the subject of this sketch being the oldest son. He received an excellent education, being sent to a boarding-school when he was only. nine years old, and from there to Lower Canada College, Montreal, where he rapidly attained such proficiency, not only in mathematics and the classics, but in all branches taught in the college, that he finished his course in 1853 (though only fourteen years old), and at the midsummer examinations of that year was at the head of every class, and gazetted "Dux " of the college, a silver medal-the only one ever given by the college-being struck to commemorate the occasion. The intense zeal with which he devoted himself almost night and day to his studies brought on an attack of brain fever, from which he recovered after a six weeks' illness. Having re- cruited his health at his father's residence on the St. Lawrence River, near Brockville, he desired (although educated for a civil engineer) to obtain a knowledge of general commercial business, and for that purpose went to Whitby, where he served some time as clerk to his cousin, R. H. Lawder, the most extensive merchant in that section of Upper Canada. Thence he went to Montreal, where for about a year he aided in the management of the business of his uncle, who owned the largest elevator there; but, his health being im- paired from the effects of a cold which had settled on his lungs, he again returned to his father's home, where, aided by a vigorous constitution and the healthy climate, he regained perfect health. Anxious to engage in business for himself, he rented a warehouse and com- menced purchasing produce, which he shipped to Mon- treal and New York. His business increasing rapidly, he rented the wharves at which all the boats stopped, be- came agent for all the steamers of different Canadian and American lines, and did a general forwarding busi- ness, meanwhile building up largely the produce busi- ness, and also keeping powder, shovels, and other ma- terials to supply the contractors who were then building
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the Brockville and Ottawa Railway. He soon went into the milling and lumber business, and also opened a wholesale grocery, supplying goods to the country mer- chants who bought produce for him. The connection which he gradually established with American firms with whom he did business taught him to admire Yankee ingenuity and enterprise, and to wish to move into the States himself. In 1866 his brother Arthur, who had conceived the idea of constructing large build- ings to be used for skating rinks and places of public amusement, had gone to Chicago for that purpose, where Kobert joined him, and together they put up a number of buildings in different cities. Anxious, how- ever, to return to the business for which he had been educated (civil engineering), and inheriting from his father a love for the construction of public works, he took up his headquarters in New York City, to look about for some public works to his mind. In the spring of 1871, he met, in New York, Mr. Dwight Hitchcock, from Arcola, Illinois, president of the then contemplated Paris and Decatur Railroad, who was seeking capitalists to construct that road. Going with him to Illinois and driving across the country, Mr. Hervey was so much pleased with the rich prairies that he undertook to build the road, and, with his usual prompt decision and ener- getic action, purchased six thousand tons of rails within two days after signing his contract with the company, and immediately determined to settle in Paris, Edgar County. He accordingly moved his family to that place, and soon purchased there real estate to a large extent, satisfied that it would be enhanced in value by the construction of the railway. After completing the Paris and Decatur Railroad, Mr. Hervey built a railway from Peoria to Decatur, called the Peoria, Atlanta, and Decatur Railroad, and subsequently built the Paris and Terre Haute Railroad. In the fall of 1874, he consol- idated these three railways under the name of the Illinois Midland Railway, in which he still retains a large interest. He also built a street railway in Paris, and gas-works for his private residence and offices. He established the Decatur National Bank, at Decatur, of which he was for a long time president and principal owner, only selling out when he removed from Illinois to Indiana. The estimation in which he was held by the people of Illinois was evidenced by public recep- tions and banquets tendered to him at different times by the citizens of Paris, Arcola, and Decatur; but the reception of which he is the proudest is one that was tendered by the employés of the Paris and Decatur Railroad, who gave him a magnificent banquet on his return, in July, 1873, from a trip to Europe. The address which was then presented to him is engrossed on vellum, handsomely framed, and is more highly cherished than any of his other worldly goods. In all his public works in which he has had large numbers of
men employed, Mr. Hervey has made it a point to study and care for the moral and social advancement of his employés. At Paris he provided at his own expense a reading-room for his men and their families, and was not only accessible at all times to any who wanted his aid or advice, but so constantly studied their welfare (in which he was cordially aided by his good wife) that his employés and their families seemed to form a portion of his own family. Hence arose an esprit du corps among his men, and a respect and almost adoration for him and his family, such as is rarely gained by men engaged in public works. In April, 1875, Mr. Hervey removed to Terre Haute, Indiana, where he bought the most elegant residence in that beautiful city, in which he has since resided except during the hot months of summer, when his family occupy a charming place which he owns in Canada, on the banks of the River St. Lawrence, at the foot of the Thousand Islands. Though he was many years ago naturalized as a citizen of the United States, he naturally retains his love of his native country, and greatly enjoys spending there all the time he can spare from his numer- ous business pursuits. Mr. Hervey has still large inter- ests in Illinois, and in addition is engaged in constructing the Indianapolis and Evansville Railway, a direct line between those two cities, passing through counties rich in agricultural wealth and in coal and iron ore. In this enterprise Mr. Hervey has associated with him a number of the most prominent men in commercial and financial circles in Indiana and New York. He was married, in April, 1869, to Lucy, daughter of the late Judge Albert Sawin, of Buffalo, New York. They have had six children, two sons and four daughters, of whom he has lost two, his oldest son and second daughter. Mr. Hervey is now in the prime of physical and intel- lectual manhood. He is endowed with the rare qualities of close observation, accurate judgment, and executive ability of the very highest order; prompt to decide and energetic in action, when his plans are once matured no time is lost in putting them into execution, and in the furtherance of his objects he is a bold and firm operator. He is a most esteemed and enjoyable com- panion. Since the above was written Mr. Hervey has suffered an irreparable loss in the death of his charm- ing wife, who, in June, 1880, after a short illness, fell a victim to quick consumption.
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