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 63
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publican in politics. July 5, 1875, he was married to Salina G. Hardy, daughter of Christopher Hardy, a pioneer of Indiana. They have two children-a son and daughter.
TUART, WILLIAM Z., late Judge of the Supreme Court of Indiana, was born at Dedham, Massachu- setts, on the 25th of December, 1811. His middle initial he adopted to distinguish him from a school- mate of the same name, and afterward retained it. He was the son of Dr. James and Nancy (Allison) Stuart, of Aberdeen, Scotland. When he was but nine years of age his parents returned to Aberdeen, taking him with them. Having had a taste of American freedom and liberality, the exactions of Scottish life, especially the strictness of Scotch Presbyterianism, were very dis- tasteful to him, and, at the age of fourteen, without the knowledge of his parents, he returned to America. His mother was a refined and cultivated lady, untiring in her attention and devotion to her son. All his instruc- tion, to the time of his leaving Scotland, was received At the time of his election his party were about twelve from her. He afterward corresponded with her until her hundred votes in the minority in his district. He was married, April 9, 1861, to Miss Rachel Maxwell, of Valparaiso. She is a descendant of a member of the society of Friends, and eminent in the community for her many virtues and excellent traits of character. They have had seven children, of whom four are living.
death, and always spoke of her with deep filial affec- tion. Although there was but little of the poetic tem- perament in Judge Stuart, he was very fond of Burns, and, when fourteen years old, could repeat the greater part of his poems. He also admired the passionate force of Byron and the dashing movement of Scott. Upon reaching America he went at once to New Bed- ford, Massachusetts, and engaged as clerk in a drug- store. In about two years he removed to Boston, where he was engaged in the same capacity, employing all his spare time in reading medical works with a view to the medical profession. Soon after reaching Boston he be- came acquainted with the celebrated Dr. Kirk, who at once discovered his latent talents, and manifested a fatherly interest in his success. Through the influence of Dr. Kirk, Mr. Stuart decided to prepare for a col- legiate course; but, as his means were limited to his own earnings, it was up-hill work. Finally, however, he entered the academy at Amherst, Massachusetts, and in one year prepared to enter Amherst College. By in- structing the more backward students, teaching during the winter vacations, and exercising the closest econ- omy, he managed to pay his expenses through college, and graduated in 1833 as salutatorian of his class. In college he was particularly noted as a close student, a fine writer, and a strong debater. After graduating he was chosen principal of the high school at Hadley, Massachusetts, and performed the duties of the position with ability and success. Late in the year 1834 he re- moved to Westfield, New York, and became principal of the Mayville Academy. He taught there with marked success for two years, during which time he studied law
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with the late Judge Osborn. In 1836 he removed to Logansport, Indiana, and was at once admitted to the bar of that state. He rose rapidly to eminence in his pro- fession. The first forensic effort which gave him a repu- tation was made in the case of the state against Har- rison for the murder of Scott. Mr. Stuart was engaged on the defense, with the late Senator Pratt, then a tal- ented and aspiring young man. It devolved upon Mr. Pratt, as senior counsel, to close the argument in defense of the prisoner. Mr. Stuart, of course, preceded him ; and, when he had finished, Mr. Pratt whispered to a brother lawyer : "Stuart has exhausted every argument ; there is not one word left for me to say." Mr. Stuart's eloquence was not declamatory, and seldom impassioned, but his clearness, terseness, and logical force were irre- sistible. He never descended to the vulgar arts in speaking, but was a most thorough master of irony, which, however, he never used except when strictly justifiable. His practice soon extended into all the northern counties of the state; then to the Supreme and Federal Courts; and, finally, to other states. In the winter of 1845-6 Mr. Stuart was elected prosecuting at- torney, for two years, for the Eighth Judicial Circuit. He represented the power and dignity of the state with great force, yet with entire fairness and candor. He was sometimes equaled, and even surpassed, when lighter offenses were under consideration ; but in the trial of those accused of the higher crimes, if the facts warranted conviction, the profession found no loop-hole for escape. Yet Judge Stuart was more powerful in defense than in prosecution. He could not properly he called a popular man-he never sought popularity-but he was always esteemed by the people for his integrity and real worth, and most by those who knew him best. In 1851, al- though the party to which he belonged was then in the minority, he was elected to the state Legislature from Cass County. In the session of 1851-2 he was largely instrumental in forming the code of procedure which has since governed the practice in the courts of Indiana, and is not likely ever to be materially changed. His legal ability became so widely known that, in 1852, he was elected to the Supreme Bench of the state for a term of six years. His decisions in that exalted position are models of clearness, and show the great ability of the man and the thoroughness of his training. While they are deep wells of judicial learning, they are, what is rare in dry law reports, elegantly written ; no superfluous words-nothing but nouns and verbs, and most of them monosyllables. So admirable are they that they are often referred to by eminent legal text-writers (notably Theodore Sedgwick, in his treatise on "Damages") in terms of admiration. Had he remained upon the bench he would soon have taken rank with the ablest jurists of the nation. He was comparatively a young man, how- ever, and felt that his powers were subjugated in that
position, while his salary bore no approximation to the value of his practice. Consequently, in 1857, he resigned his judgeship, and was appointed attorney of the Toledo and Wabash Railway Company. He became one of the best railroad and corporation lawyers in the northern part of the Union. In 1856 he became candidate for Congress against Schuyler Colfax, but was defeated, the party majority being largely against him. In 1868 the degree of LL. D. was conferred upon him by Amherst College ; but his title to the honor was broader than any record on parchment: it was impressed upon a state. In 1870 Judge Stuart was, by common consent, the choice of his district for Judge of the Supreme Court, but he declined the honor. He was a thorough student of military history, and delighted to read details of cele- brated battles. He could recite from memory all the positions of the French and Austrians at the battles of Marengo, Austerlitz, and Wagram, and of the French and English at Waterloo. It might almost be said that he knew all the leading American battles by heart. Among military men he had a great admiration for Na- poleon, Wellington, and Scott; and, among statesmen and jurists, for Secretary Marcy, of New York, Judge Dewey, of Indiana, and Daniel Webster, of Massachu- setts. Outside of his profession Judge Stuart was not a leader in the public enterprises of the time, but gave them countenance and support. His ancestors and im- mediate family belonged to the Presbyterian Church, and he believed in its doctrines, but was not a professor of religion. He was a firm Democrat in principle, though moderate in his partisanship. He neither prac- ticed nor knew the arts of the demagogue. His first wife, Minerva Potter, to whom he was married at West- field, New York, in 1838, was the daughter of Judge Potter, of Westfield. They had three children -a daughter and two sons. Venetia is the wife of A. N. Clarke, Esq., of Brooklyn, New York; Seldon P. is engaged in mercantile pursuits in Logansport ; and Francis H. is a practicing physician in Brooklyn, New York. Mrs. Stuart died in 1846. Judge Stuart was married, in 1849, to Sarah Scribner Benedict, of Vernon, New York. They have four sons-Charles B., a lawyer at Lafayette, and attorney for the Wabash, St. Louis and Pacific Railroad Company, in Indiana; Thomas A., junior member of the law firm of Coffroth & Stuart, Lafayette; and Will V. and W. Z., students at Am- herst College, Massachusetts. During the autumn of 1875 Judge Stuart's health became seriously impaired, owing to his incessant labor in one line, without rest or relaxation. He grew gradually worse during the winter, and in the spring, with the vain hope of his recovery, his family accompanied him to Clifton Springs, New York, where, on the 7th of May, 1876, he died. His death was a public loss, which has left a void not easily filled. His widow is still living. He was of medium
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height, and rather robust. He had black hair, dark, piercing eyes, and a strongly marked yet pleasing coun- tenance. His brain was large, and, though not quick, was vigorous in its action. Among strangers he was remarkably cautious and reticent, but among his con- fidential friends, free, and of excellent humor. But to see Judge Stuart at his best, socially, it was necessary to see him in the midst of his family. There his easy dignity, generous hospitality, and cordial manners marked him at once as the true gentleman. He was peculiarly blessed in his household, and left to his descendants the reflection of high honors, the example of a useful life, and an unsullied reputation. And so, at the threshold of old age, just past sixty-five, he passed away. Human life is like the waves of the sea. They flash for a few brief moments in the sun, marvels of power and beauty, and then are dashed upon the remorseless shores of death, and disappear forever. As the sea has rolled for ages in the past, and will continue to roll for ages to come, so will the waves of human life follow each other in countless succession.
(ABER, CYRUS, merchant, late of Logansport, was born at Tiverton, Rhode Island, January 19, 1800. He was the second son of Captain Paul Taber, who for a number of years had command of a merchant vessel, but on account of continued dep- redations by Spanish pirates and the French was obliged to discontinue his perilous calling. In 1803 the family moved to a temporary settlement in Western New York, and, subsequently, to Pennsylvania. At the age of sev- enteen Cyrus Taber was employed by William Salter, a Friend, in building fences. When nearly twenty-two he went West, and settled on a farm in what is now Allen County, Indiana. He worked with success for three years, and afterward, in the spring of 1828, in connection with Allen Hamilton and Samuel Hanna, established a business house in Logansport. Mr. Taber took charge of the house in that place, where he began | in the county, renting it until 1847, when he obtained a a mercantile career of almost unparalleled success. In half-interest of W. M. Harrison (successor to James S. Castle) in the county newspaper known as the Western Ranger, continuing the business under the firm name of Harrison & Talcott until 1849, when he bought the in- terest of Mr. Harrison, becoming exclusive owner and manager of the concern, and changing the name of the paper to that of the Practical Observer, publishing it under that title till April, 1857, when he sold out the business to Robert A. Cameron. In 1854, in addition to his duties as editor and publisher, he took up the study and practice of law in the courts. At the fall election of 1856 he was elected to the office of Judge of the Court of Common Pleas for a term of four years. He was re-elected to the same position in 1860, and 1835 Philip Pollard was taken into the partnership, and the firm became A. Hamilton & Co. In 1838 this connection was dissolved, the style again becoming Hamilton & Taber. In 1840 Mr. Taber, together with Thomas Hamilton, a brother of his former partner, es- tablished a mercantile house at Peru, under the name of Taber & Hamilton. This firm was dissolved during the latter part of 1842, and in 1843 Mr. Taber and Mr. William Chase established a mercantile business at Lo- gansport as Taber & Chase. In 1848 Mr. Taber retired from active life, and devoted himself to his landed estate, which had grown so large as to require most of his time. He participated in every enterprise which
tended to the improvement of Logansport. He took the initiatory step's in locating and constructing the first railroad in Cass County, and was largely instrumental in making Logansport a great railroad center. He was always very active in forwarding the educational inter- ests of the town. Until the year 1835 he was a Henry Clay Whig, but subsequently adopted Democratic prin- ciples. He served his county in numerous minor posi- tions, and in 1845 was elected the first Democratic Representative from Cass County, over Hon. H. P. Biddle. In the following year he was elected state Senator. In May, 1829, he was married to Deborah Ann Coles, daughter of Colonel Stephen Coles, of Fort Wayne. They have had eight children, three of whom are living. Mr. Taber's sterling integrity, energy, and perseverance raised him to a high position among his fellow-men. He died on the 13th of April, 1855, having passed a life well worthy of emulation.
(ALCOTT, JUDGE WILLIAM C., editor and pub- lisher of the Porter County l'idette, of Valparaiso, Porter County, Indiana, was born, December 25, 1815, in the town of Dalton, Berkshire County, Massachusetts. His parents, Joseph and Rebecca Tal- cott, were natives of New England. His advantages for an education in early life were limited, being only such as were obtainable in the district schools of those days. At the age of fifteen years he commenced the study of the languages, with a view of qualifying him- self for college, his inclinations being for the ministry. Pursuing these studies, together with that of the Scrip- tures, for about three years, he became too heretical in his religious belief to admit of his being an advocate of the faith as commonly taught by orthodox clergymen. In 1836 he commenced preaching as a Universalist min- ister, continuing his labors for about eight years, when he relinquished the pulpit. In 1842 he purchased and brought to Valparaiso the first printing-press ever owned
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again in 1864, holding the office for twelve successive | his mother, two sisters, and a half-brother, removed to years, and by his impartial and able administration of Indiana Territory, and settled near a place on the Ohio River known as Brinley's Ferry. He purchased fifty acres of land, for which he paid by chopping and split- ting rails at fifty cents a hundred. In 1811 he became a member of Captain Spencer's company of mounted riflemen, known as Yellow Jackets. This company did excellent service in the campaign against the Indians on the Upper Wabash. In the battle of Tippecanoe, No- vember 7, 1811, all the company officers above Ensign Tipton having been killed, he was promoted to the cap- taincy by General Harrison in the hottest of the fight, and by his superior tact and courage maintained the reputation of his men. He continued in service until the close of the war in that locality. Subsequently he was promoted, by regular gradations in the territorial and state militia, to the position of major-general in 1822. At the first election under the state Constitution, in 1816, he was made sheriff of Harrison County, and was re- elected in 1818. In 1821 he was chosen to represent Harrison County in the state Legislature, and during the same year was one of the commissioners that located the state capital of Indiana. In the session which followed he was appointed commissioner on the part of Indiana to meet a like commissioner from Illinois to locate the boundary line between the two states. The duty was satisfactorily performed. In the spring of 1824, without his solicitation or knowledge, he was appointed by President Monroe to the Indian agency then located at Fort Wayne, which embraced the Pottawatomie, Miami, and other Indian tribes on the Upper Wabash and Tippecanoe Rivers. Soon after his appointment he removed to Fort Wayne, and re- mained until March, 1828, when, at his instance, the agency was removed to Logansport. He was one of the commissioners appointed by John Quincy Adams to su- perintend the treaties with the Indians in his jurisdiction, and to his eminent ability were chiefly due the impor- tant provisions of the treaties of 1826, whereby valuable lands were opened to the public. He continued in charge of the agency until December, 1831, when he was elected United States Senator, to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of Hon. James Noble. In December, 1832, he was elected for a full term of six the office winning honor for himself and the confidence of the public. During his first term the jurisdiction of the court extended over three counties, but during the eight years following six counties were embraced in his district. In 1868 he resumed the practice of law in both the Court of Common Pleas and the Circuit Court until 1874, when he repurchased the same press and business he had previously owned, the name of the paper having been changed to that of the Porter County Vidette, and being still known by that title. The same year he as- sociated with him in the business his son, Charles R. Talcott, since which time the business has been con- ducted under the firm name of W. C. Talcott & Son. His financial success in business has been satisfactory. He was elected Justice of the Peace for one term in IS40, serving but a short time, when he resigned. He also served two years in the town council. He acted as surveyor in locating public highways and in general work of that kind for thirteen years, selecting all the swamp lands in the north part of Porter County. He is a member of the Odd-fellows and the Masonic Order, and has filled most of the subordinate official positions in both. In the day of the Sons of Temperance and Good Templars he was a member and worker in both, having filled all the official positions. In politics he is an earnest Republican. He was married, May 1, 1838, to Miss Maria Luther, of Morgan Prairie, Porter County, Indiana, daughter of James and Irena Luther. The fruits of this union were six children-five sons and one daughter-three of whom are now living : Henry W., born at Morgan Prairie, February, 1839; Ransom, born at Valparaiso, 1841; Laroy, born at Waterford ; Roana, born at South Bend ; Joseph F., born at Valparaiso, 1850; Charles R., born at Valparaiso, 1852. Ransom died in 1843, and Laroy and Roana subsequently. The Judge is highly esteemed by his neighbors, and much beloved by his family and intimate friends. Henry W. Talcott, his oldest son, is a resident of the state of Kansas, and is serving as Judge of the District Court of the Ninth District of that state. Joseph F., the fourth son, is cred- itably filling a government position as United States mail agent on the Chicago and Pittsburg Railroad.
LIPTON, GENERAL JOHN, was born in Sevier County, East Tennessee, August 14, 1786. His father, Joshua Tipton, was a native of Maryland. When quite young, being impelled by a desire to participate in the excitements of pioneer life, he removed to Tennessee. He was one of the most formidable ad- versaries of Indian strategy, to which he finally fell a victim in 1793. In the fall of 1807 John Tipton, with
years from March 4, 1833. As a Senator he ranked high, distinguishing himself by his accurate knowledge of men and their relations to public affairs, and in work- ing for the best good of the nation, without reference to politics. During the summer of 1838 he was delegated by the President to remove certain disaffected Potta- watomie and Miami Indians to the land which had been reserved west of the Mississippi River. Though these Indians had disposed of their lands, they were unwilling to emigrate, and the contractor had found it utterly impossible to proceed farther. General Tipton, how-
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ever, readily comprehending the situation, overcame the difficulties by strategy, and, with a celerity scarcely an- ticipated, removed the remnants of the once mighty tribes. In March, 1839, he returned to his home in Logansport, and commenced improving his vast landed estate on the Wabash. Had he lived to execute his plans for developing the immense resources of that local- ity, he would have given to Cass County in general, and Logansport in particular, a place in the industrial world unequaled in Indiana. He died, April 5, 1839, from a sudden illness induced by exposure. General Tipton was twice married-in 1822, to Miss Shields, who died soon after; and, in April, 1825, to Miss Matilda Spen- cer, daughter of Captain Spear Spencer, who was killed at the battle of Tippecanoe. They had four children, all of whom are now dead, excepting one daughter, who is the wife of Captain Thomas S. Dunn, of the United States Army. In 1817 General Tipton received the sev- eral degrees of Ancient Craft Masonry in Pisgah Lodge, No. 5, at Corydon, Indiana. Upon the organization of the Grand Lodge, in 1818, he was elected Grand Senior Warden, and served until September, 1820. He was then elected Grand Master of the state, and served dur- ing the fourth and twelfth sessions. In 1822 he was made a Royal Arch Mason, in Louisville, Kentucky. In the fall of 1828 he organized Tipton Lodge, No. 33, of Logansport, and in 1837 procured a charter and or- ganized Logan Royal Arch Chapter, No. 2.
UCKER, REV. SILAS, D. D., a minister of the gospel, and preaching in accordance with the doc- trines of the Baptist Church, was born on the sixteenth day of May, 1813, in Broome, Scho- harie County, New York. Dr. Tucker's early educa- tion was of the character usually enjoyed in New York at that time. Having a strong desire to enter the min- istry, in 1835 he entered Hamilton Literary and Theo- logical Seminary, where he pursued the regular college course until 1837. His career as a student, however, began at a much earlier date, as a natural sequence of his highly devotional temperament. At the age of sev- enteen years he was deeply exercised on religious sub- jects. "After much struggling and prayer," says he, " my mind and heart trusted in the provisions of the gospel," and, in November, 1829, he joined the Meth- odist class, and continued a member of that Church until 1833, when he was baptized, and became a mem- ber of the Blockley Baptist Church, in the city of Phil- adelphia, on the 22d of December of that year. On the 25th of June. 1834, he was licensed, by that Church, to preach. Three years later, having sufficiently pre- pared himself in the mean time, by close application to study, he accepted a call from the Ohio City Church to
become its pastor, and entered upon his charge on the 5th of July, 1837. On the 16th of August following he was ordained by a council, called by the Church for that purpose. On the 27th of August he baptized and ad- ministered the sacrament of the Lord's supper for the first time. While preaching in Ohio City he was in- vited to hold a series of meetings in Elyria, Ohio, where many were converted. Soon after, he became pastor of that Church, performing two years of successful labor, when he accepted a call from the Church at Laporte, Indiana, where, for five years, he labored with great success, baptizing, in that time, about one hundred per- sons. In 1845 he became pastor of the Church in Ra- cine, Wisconsin, giving eminent satisfaction during the four succeeding years. Thence he moved to Naperville, Illinois, remaining until 1856, when he accepted the pas- torate of the Church at Galesburg, Illinois, where, in the five years of his ministration, he baptized over one hundred persons. He came to Logansport in 1860, serving the cause of Christianity with marked success during the succeeding twelve years, admitting into the Church in that time, by baptism, one hundred and sixty members; endearing himself, by his exemplary Christian deportment and genial manner, to all with whom he came in contact. He commanded the respect and con- fidence of the entire circle in which he moved. In April, 1872, he left Logansport, and settled in Aurora, Illinois, and took pastoral charge of the Union Baptist Church in that city, where, after a pastorate of about seven months, he closed his earthly career in the midst of his active ministerial work, loved by his people, and respected and esteemed by all who knew him. He was married in 1838, while engaged in his work at Elyria, Ohio, to Miss Maria D. Stow, a lady of high intellect- ual culture, possessing, in an eminent degree, the quali- ties which most adorn the true woman, making her the fit companion of a model husband. By her he had six sons and two daughters. Of all these, but the two young- est sons are now living, three sons and two daughters having died before him, and one son followed soon after. One of the sons, Charles, was a graduate of Knox Col- lege, and a theological student at Hamilton, New York. On the breaking out of the Rebellion he entered the army as a captain, and fell while gallantly leading his men at the battle of Port Hudson. Dr. Tucker died suddenly, of heart disease, at the Union Baptist Church in Aurora, Illinois, on Thursday, November 7, 1872. Up to the very moment of his death he was apparently as well as usual. He had been making calls through the day, and seemed very cheerful and happy. Between six and seven in the evening he walked to the church, to attend the prayer-meeting, which was to begin at seven. Besides the sexton, who was engaged in lighting the house, no one was present. He was seated in a chair near the stove, talking, when suddenly he ceased
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