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 53

Author:
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Cincinnati, Ohio : Western Biographical Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1006

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 53

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religion, but was a liberal contributor to the Episcopal Church. He was strict and conscientious in the per- formance of every duty, public or private, a man of high impulses and high aims. His life would have adorned the best of creeds and been consistent with the highest professions. Amassing a handsome fortune, he was never a slave to money, and in the acquisition and disposition of his wealth he evinced sound judgment and discretion. He furnished his children with a good education, and, better still, implanted in them, by pre- cept and example, the same excellent principles which guided him through life. He was a man of firmness and of positive convictions, but he was so manifestly honest and sincere in the maintenance and expression of his sentiments, that those who differed most widely from him were often his warmest friends. Even in poli- tics, though a strict partisan and most pronounced in his views, he had no personal enemies. He died Oc- tober 31, 1878, in his seventy-sixth year. His death was the result of an injury received by a fall from a fruit tree which he was engaged in trimming. His loss was deeply mourned by the community. All seemed to feel that it was a personal sorrow. His remains were followed to the grave by a large concourse of citizens, including members of the orders of which he was an honored member. His memory is most affectionately cherished by all who knew him.

AYLOR, SAMUEL M., of Tipton, Indiana, is a native of the Hoosier State. He was born in Wayne County, Indiana, April 19, 1831. His parents were Samuel and Mary (Hancock) Taylor. His grandfather was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. His father pursued the peaceful profession of a Baptist minister. He was left without a father's care and guid- ance when he was an infant of two years of age; and upon his noble mother devolved his training and education. She did not live to see him attain manhood, as he was barely fourteen years of age when her life ended. The early precepts and example of the prayer- ful widow were not lost upon the youth, and have since remained as his guiding star to a higher and bet- ter life. Mr. Taylor's early education was obtained in the subscription schools of his native county, which he attended in the intervals of work on a farm, which was his first business in life ; and afterwards at the county academy, where he went after the death of his mother. This early dependence upon his own resources developed in him that self-reliance without which there can be no lasting success. To "paddle one's own canoe" has proved in numberless instances the surest road to the development of mental and physical energy. After some time spent in teaching school, which he began at

8 Mm. Taylor

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the age of seventeen, in 1853 he entered upon the study | of law, in the office of Elliot & Mellett, of New Castle. He served awhile as deputy in the clerk's office of Howard County, and in 1857 came to Tipton, and for four years was engaged as deputy clerk of Tipton County. In 1859 he commenced the practice as a law- yer, but soon forsook the atmosphere of the court-room for the more congenial pursuits of mercantile life, which, in connection with milling and dealing in grain, have continued to be his avocation up to the present. In- heriting, perhaps, the martial spirit of his grandfather, Mr. Taylor entered the army in the late Rebellion, and served with the 101st Regiment Indiana Volunteers dur- ing the war. Both from temperament and inclination he was induced to take an active part in politics, and in 1874 he was elected by the Republican party joint Representative from the counties of Hamilton and Tip- ton. He made the same good record as a legislator that he had already made as a business man, a good citizen, and a soldier ; and in 1876 he was honored by an election to the senatorial branch of the state Legis- lature. His record in both bodies, as in all his relations in life, is one of truth and integrity. He aimed to rep- resent all the wants of the people. The high moral tone of Senator Taylor gave him an influential bearing in the senatorial body. Personally, he is tall and slenderly formed, having rather a clerical appearance. His beard and hair are sandy, and he is light complexioned. In 1868 he married Miss Rebecca Wiggins, also a native of Wayne County; and their family consists of four daugh- ters, Florence, Lora, Hattie, and Augusta. Senator Taylor is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and has been an active worker in the Sabbath-school for nearly fifteen years. He is by no means dogmatic in his religious principles, believing in the highest type of individual liberty in all matters pertaining to religion. On his father's side he is of Scotch-Irish ancestry; and on his mother's is of English descent. Although a Re- publican of the strictest type, he is popular with all classes of citizens and all shades of political opinion. The business obligations of the Senator have made him a most useful citizen in the county of Tipton, and his solid integrity and high moral worth have given him a standing second to none in the vicinity. Tipton has no better representative than Samuel M. Taylor. He is a witty and pleasing conversationalist.

ERHUNE, JUDGE THOMAS J., of Lebanon, was born in Greene County, Indiana, March, 8, 1848, and is the second son of David and Sallie (Nealis) Terhune. The Judge, like the majority of those whose sketches form the material of this work, spent his boyhood on his father's farm, assisting his father,

and attending school during the winter months. Dur- ing the two years following 1867 he both taught and attended school, preparatory to entering college, which he did in September, 1869, at the State University at Bloomington. He graduated in 1873, and in 1874 finished a law course in the university, and, moving to Lebanon, entered the office of Boone & Harrison. During this year he was admitted to the bar, and a few months later became a member of the above-mentioned firm. This association was soon dissolved by the death of the senior partner, Mr. Boone. He next formed a partnership with John W. Clements, which remained in force until Mr. Terhune's election to the judgeship, in the autumn of 1878. He is a Democrat in politics, one of the best jurists in his district. By his fellow-citizens he is highly esteemed for his social qualities, and by his associates regarded as a rising man in his profes- sion. He is one of the youngest men ever elected to a judgeship in the state, and it is a matter of self-con- gratulation that he owes his elevation to office less to political influence than to his legal ability. He was married, October 20, 1875, to Miss May Knisell, of Lebanon.

HOMPSON, CALVIN D., lawyer, of Anderson, was born in Madison County, Indiana, July 26, 1839. His great-grandfather was the parent of eleven sons, and he not only contributed thus to the nation's strength, but fought for its independence in the Revolutionary War. His father, William H. Thomp- son, is a Baptist clergyman, and is still preaching at the advanced age of seventy-eight years, having been en- gaged in the ministry for half a century, averaging during that long period three sermons per week. His mother, whose maiden name was Mary E. Berger, was of German descent. She reared a family of thirteen children, and died at the age of sixty-four. Thus does the unappreciative pen of the stranger condense into one sentence the record of a long life of patient toil and self-sacrifice. As Calvin was a sickly child, his instruc- tion was delayed until he was nine years old, when, as he began to grow strong, he was taught the alphabet. He now made rapid progress, completing arithmetic in three years, and qualifying himself to teach, at the age of seventeen, a school of sixty pupils, sixteen of whom were over twenty-one years old. In 1858 he entered Marion Academy and remained three years, but did not graduate. In 1862, soon after leaving school, he com- menced reading law in the office of Pierce & Thompson, in Anderson, and was admitted to the bar and began practice there in 1866, where he still remains. In 1861 Mr. Thompson joined the Masonic Fraternity. and has since taken all the degrees from the first to the thirty- second, inclusive. He united, in 1876, with the Im-

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proved Order of Red Men, and is one of the charter members of Ononga Tribe, No. 50. Mr. Thompson was the first city clerk of Anderson, and is now a member of the city council. He has also served the county as prosecuting attorney. He was married, April 12, 1866, to Miss Sarah Van Ort, by whom he has one daughter, Celia H. Mr. Thompson is an able attorney. Harriet D. Ross, daughter of Joseph W. Ross, an old citizen of Hamilton County, by whom he has one son. He enjoys the respect and esteem of his fellow-citizens irrespective of party, being honored for those qualities which have given him, a purely self-made man, his high standing in the community. As an attorney, he is As a : highly respected by the court and his professional criminal lawyer he has, indeed, few superiors in the state. ; brethren. While he is regarded as a formidable advo- ; cate, he has attained a much higher rank as a pleader. It is said of him. in that respect that he has few superiors.

Of thirty important criminal cases he has lost but one, and that was only apparently lost, for he accomplished the object in view. Not only does he use the English language effectively but he also speaks German fluently, and finds it of great value in his practice. Shrewdness, discernment, unerring judgment, rapidity of thought and action, and personal magnetism are among the elements of his character. Such men can not be kept in obscu- rity. A resistless force within impels them onward and upward despite all obstacles. Mr. Thompson has already gained an enviable position in the legal profession, and, being still a young man, comparatively, his name and influence must yet be far more widely extended.

RISSAL, FRANCIS M., attorney, of Tipton, was born in Montgomery County, Ohio, September 30, 1847, and is the second son of Joseph and Phœbe (McGriff) Trissal. At an early date in life, in consequence of poverty and the death of his parents, he was compelled to rely on his own energy for an education and livelihood. He acquired a good con mon school education, and in 1865 was made deputy county clerk at Noblesville, where he remained three years. In 1868 he filled the same position in Howard County, returning to Noblesville in 1869. He then entered the law office of General David Moss, where he studied law for two years, when he was admitted to the bar, and in 1873 admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of the state and the United States Circuit Court. From 1870 to 1875 he was the partner of General Moss, during which period he filled for a time the office of prosecutor, to which he was appointed by Governor Hendricks. The three years following 1875 Mr. Trissal practiced in Indianapolis. In 1878 he removed to Tipton, where he still resides, having the best practice of any attorney at that bar. He is a Democrat in politics; was one of eight candidates in the State Convention of 1878 for attorney-general, but was defeated by a small majority ; and was the nominee of his party in 1870 for prosecuting attorney, running far ahead of his ticket, but was de- feated. He has been chairman of the several commit- tees, and has stumped the state in every campaign since 1870. Mr. Trissal was the founder, in 1874, of the first Democratic newspaper published in Noblesville since the war. He was married, October 10, 1869, to Miss

ALDRON, EDWARD H., general manager of the Lake Erie and Western Railway, was born October 30, 1843, in Auburn, New York; but · spent most of his life in Syracuse, in that state. Though still young, he has already attained a well- deserved and more than local reputation, owing to the high qualifications necessary for the discharge of his important duties. He is the son of John E. and Viletta A. (Gould) Waldron. On his father's side he is a descendant of Baron Waldron, who, many years ago, received from Governor Stuyvesant a large tract of land on East River, New York, on which to settle an English colony. This land the heirs have lately united in trying to recover. Mr. Wal- dron, however, is not one of those who place a high value on genealogical greatness, and he refers with far more pride to his ascent than to his descent. He received limited instruction in the common schools of his native state, learning only the elementary branches. When quite young his parents removed to Syracuse; and there he was employed as clerk in the wholesale oyster house of his father. He remained in this position for several years, with the exception of a few brief inter- vals. He then went to Cincinnati, to gratify his early formed tastes for the railroad business. He began at the foot of the ladder, entering the employment of the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad as freight brakeman. To the experience gained in this and other subordinate posi- tions he, no doubt, owes both his present comprehen- sive knowledge of his complicated duties, and his rapid and honorable promotion. He served the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad Company in various capacities until 1863, when he came to Lafayette, in the interests of the Louisville, New Albany and Chicago Railroad, as cashier, and afterwards as assistant superintendent. He superintended personally the building of the Kan- kakee Railroad, and managed it for four years. He then accepted the position of general superintendent of the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad, with which he had begun railroad life. This position he held for two years, when he came to Lafayette as general manager of the Lafayette, Bloomington and Mississippi Railroad,

Hinein

W. DEWitt Wallace

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and general superintendent of the Lafayette, Muncie, and Bloomington. On the consolidation of these two roads he was appointed general manager-the position which he now holds. September 17, 1865, he married --- Miss Mary Anne (Russell) Beauchamp, of Lafayette. They have one son. He has been too much devoted to his profession to give time or attention to political life. He is a stanch Republican. He was educated in the i of Indiana pioneers.

Presbyterian belief ; and is an attendant, but not a mem- ber, of that Church. Owing to Mr. Waldron's youth, and to the fact that he has been devoted to one calling, a sketch of his life is necessarily brief; yet few biog- raphies exemplify more strongly what may be accom- plished by patient industry and perseverance in rising from the humblest to the highest positions.

and a strict adherence to honest principles, he raised himself from poverty and obscurity to wealth and the highest place in the esteem of all who knew him. He will long be remembered and revered by the older citi- zens for his Christian integrity, and upright, honorable | life. He died February 10, 1879, nearly seventy-five i years of age, leaving an irreparable void in the ranks

ALLACE, CAPTAIN WILSON DEWITT, law- yer, of Lafayette, Indiana, was born at Lafay- ette, November 19, 1838. His father, James Wallace, was of Scotch-Irish descent, coming to this county from Tyrone County, Ireland, about 1808. His mother, Sarah A. (Marquam) Wallace, was of En- glish and German descent. Captain Wallace grew to young manhood in Lafayette, assisting his father in the ALLACE, JAMES, late of Lafayette, Indiana, was one of the oldest and most respected of the pioneer settlers of Lafayette. He was born May 15, 1804, in the northern part of Ireland, in the county of Tyrone, which has furnished to America many celebrated and educated Protestant citizens. Mr. Wallace came to this country when but four years of age; and, while justly proud of the land of his birth, became thoroughly imbued with the spirit of our Re- publican institutions. His education was extremely lim- - ited, as he enjoyed only the meager advantages of our common schools when the system was in its infancy. He lived on a farm in the Tuscarora Valley, Pennsyl- vania, in the mean time learning the trade of cabinet- making, until he became of age. He then went to Cincinnati on foot, and wandered about the city for several days in search of work. At last he found em- ployment at his trade; and, though his wages were small, he saved enough money during the winter to go to Lafayette in the spring and open a cabinet-maker's shop. He conducted this business with increasing suc- cabinet-shop and on the farm. Mr. Wallace's father was one of those old-fashioned men who did not believe in raising boys in idleness, and the theory of the father has told greatly on the life of the son. At the age of seventeen young Wallace left the public schools of his native town and entered Waveland Academy, in Mont- gomery County, Indiana. After one year's attendance want of money compelled him to leave and engage in teaching, to earn the means to pursue his education. He was thus enabled to return to the academy, leaving which he entered the sophomore class of Jefferson Col- lege, Pennsylvania, and was there graduated in 1861. Before he graduated the thunder of the cannon fired on Sumter was heard, and, glowing with indignant patriot- ism, he hurried home to enlist in the Union army. He was disappointed-Indiana's quota was full. He then began the study of the law with Huff & Jones, of La- fayette. But this did not last long, for there was another call for troops, and, prompt to answer it, he en- listed as a private in Company C, 40th Regiment Indi- ana Volunteers. Men did not join as freely as at first. cess till 1853 or 1854, and, by making timely and judi- | The realities of war had come from the front in the cious investments in real estate, accumulated a com- petence. He married Miss Sarah A. Marquam, of Lafayette, by whom he had six children, all of whom survive except two sons. Physically, Mr. Wallace was a - remarkably fine specimen of a man -- over six feet tall, very erect, and weighing nearly two hundred pounds. Originally a strong Whig, he became thoroughly iden- tified with the Republican party, and was active in pro- moting every measure to advance its interests. He was descended from Irish Presbyterians, and was a most worthy and active member of the First Presbyterian Church of Lafayette, in which he served as elder for many years. No man can be more justly styled self- made than Mr. Wallace. Without the advantages of education, wealth, or friends, but by industry, economy, persons of legless and armless men, and it was now necessary to use persuasion and exhortation to raise troops. Into this work private Wallace entered with his characteristic energy and zeal, and was markedly suc- cessful. At the election of officers he was chosen sec- ond lieutenant of his company, and while in the field, his captain having been promoted, Lieutenant Wallace was unanimously elected to succeed him. Before leav- ing for the field of war, on his twenty-third birth- day, he was married to Miss Anna M. Shields, daughter of Doctor P. S. Shields, of New Albany, Indiana. Captain Wallace was an honest, conscientious, and brave soldier, always at his post and ever ready in the discharge of a soldier's duty. He was wounded at the battle of Stone River. After a three days' en-

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gagement, and while pursuing the routed enemy across the river, and just as he had gained the opposite bank, he was stricken down by a shell at the head of his company. His right elbow was shattered, and his head so seriously injured that for several weeks his life hung trembling in the balance. Incapable of further military duty, he resigned, returned home, and resumed the study of the law, with Hon. John A. Stein. In 1864 he was admitted to the bar. He carried into his profes- sion the same honesty, perseverance, and zeal that char- acterized him as a soldier, and his professional life has been crowned with abundant success. He has a large and lucrative practice, and has won an eminent position at the bar. As an adviser he is trustworthy, and is noted as an advocate. He is a close, logical reasoner, clear in his comprehension, and correct in his applica- tion of legal principles, and he handles the facts of a case with wonderful power before a jury. He has held the offices of prosecuting and city attorney, and ably discharged the duties of both positions. But, while the law has been his life work, Captain Wallace has not de- generated into a mere attorney. Surrounding himself with a good library, he has systematically devoted a portion of his time to the study of literature. He is a man of ripe scholarship and of large and liberal cul- ture. His literary taste is marked by chasteness of se- lection in his researches and skill in execution. He is a strong and ready writer, an appreciative reader, and a fluent and eloquent speaker. He is at home in society and on the rostrum, and is a welcome occasional con- tributor to several standard publications. His views of men and life are marked by a broad catholicity, and his acquaintance with great thoughts, with which he com- munes in his library, has made him not only firm and well-founded in his own opinions, but also widely tol- crant of the opinions of others, a condition of mind seldom attained save through deep and varied reading. Captain Wallace is yet comparatively young, with the rich promise of a highly successful life before him.

ARD, THOMAS B., Judge of the Superior Court, Lafayette, was born in Marysville, Ohio, April 27, 1835. While yet an infant his parents re- moved to Indiana, and located in Lafayette, where the subject of this memoir has continued ever since to reside. He received a careful intellectual train- ing, and by every consideration of personal advancement, seconded by the counsel of friends, he decided to adopt the law as the surest path to the attainment of those honors which his friends believed him qualified to win. Graduating from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, in 1855, he immediately began the study of law, and was admitted to the bar two years later. Entering the

arena of politics, which possessed for him a peculiar fascination, he was elected mayor of Lafayette in 1861, though at that time but twenty-six years of age. So well and faithfully were these duties administered that he was honored by a re-election. He was appointed city attorney by the common council in 1869, and has since served several terms in that responsible position. In 1875 the Indiana Legislature created the Superior Court of Tippecanoe County. To the judgeship of this court Governor Hendricks appointed Mr. Ward, as a gentleman well qualified to perform the duties of this responsible office. This selection of the chief executive was in- dorsed by the action of the voters at the election of 1876, and he now serves in that capacity by the direct suffrage of the voters. Until assuming the judicial er- mine Mr. Ward was a leading Democratic politician in his district, taking a deep interest in local and state af- fairs. As a party leader, he was popular and efficient, and exerted a powerful influence in elevating and puri- fying politics. By his political opponents he is held in high esteem, as a high-minded gentleman, honest in his convictions and fair in his dealings. Personally, he is the most genial of men, a warm friend and a delightful companion. In social circles he is exceedingly popular ; and, though possessing great native dignity at all times, he does not carry with him into society that austerity and coldness which naturally attach to the bench. As a lawyer, he was fast winning distinction when called to his present position. He is a ready debater and a brilliant orator, and in the many years of usefulness which lie before him it is safe to predict a successful and an eminent career. In the position of judge he displays a legal acumen unusual in one of his years. He is gentle in manner, but inflexible in adherence to principles-a quality so essential to the judiciary-and is always calm, thoughtful, and deliberate in his renderings. He was married, June 10, 1856, to Miss Harriet L. Wanee. Three children have been born to them.

ILDMAN, JOHN F., of Anderson, collector of internal revenue for the Eleventh District, was born near Madison, Jefferson County, Indiana, January 1, 1842. IIis father, Enos Wildman, was a native of Leesburg, Virginia; and his mother, Jane M. Elliott, was born in Dayton, Ohio, to which place her father, who had been a soldier in the War of 1812, emigrated at a very early day. John F. Wildman prepared for Hanover College, and entered that institu- tution with the intention of graduating, but Fort Sum- ter's cannon summoned him to sterner scenes, and he left school to aid in his country's defense. He enlisted, August 15, 1861, as a private in Company E, 3d Indi- ana Cavalry, and served as such and as a non-commis-

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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 II, Part 53

Author: Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Cincinnati, Ohio : Western Biographical Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 1006

Author:
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Cincinnati, Ohio : Western Biographical Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1006