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 67

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 67

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"This farm, of nearly four hundred acres, is deci- dedly one of the best in the county. Nature has been bountiful in giving it a superior soil, supplying it with excellent timber, delightful springs, and rippling streams. It has large orchards, yielding numerous varieties of fruit. Tiles and ditches afford perfect drainage. In truth, Colonel Blanche takes a commendable pride in being a model farmer, and in having made his farm what it is. Still, it would be simply justice, perhaps, to

say in this connection that he does not alone claim the honor of this agricultural success, but cheerfully shares it with his prudent, faithful, and noble wife. During his absence in the service of his country she boldly and successfully assumed the management, which, with the care of four children - three daughters, Marinda C., Mary Frances, and Julia B., and an infant son, Charles Willis-made her responsibilities doubly great during that trying separation."

When, in 1861, the long-gathering storm of war broke in all its fury, among those who felt the necessity of defending the government by force of arms was Willis Blanche. He raised a company in Kokomo, and, leaving family and farm, joined the 57th Regiment of Indiana Volunteers. Having no other data concerning his mili- tary career than those in the sketch of his life published in the Howard County Atlas, above quoted, we copy from it the following :

" First came the march to Nashville ; then the siege of Corinth, the campaign in Tennessee, the retreat to Louisville, the second advance through Kentucky, the terrible struggle at Perryville, and the Murfreesboro campaign. The bloody battle of Stone River, while it sent mourning into countless homes in Indiana, covered her soldiers with a halo of glory. Following upon the heel of this came Wartrace, Chattanooga, and the deadly contest on the plains of Chickamauga; then Lookout Mountain and Mission Ridge, those grandest wonders of what men can do. Scarce had the brazen throats of our cannon cooled, ere the march to Atlanta began. Another name gleams out upon the banner of the 57th : 'Resaca' has blossomed - a blood - red page in history. Pine Mountain and Lost Mountain are forever famous ; Kenesaw is immortal ; Atlanta shall never die. Next came the operations in East Tennes- see; and Franklin and Nashville are as household words. In all of these Mr. Blanche bore a heroic part. Ilis captain's commission dates October 30, 1861. Upon the resignation of Major Jordan, Captain Blanche suc- ceeded him, his major's commission dating February 12, 1863. In this connection one fact is peculiarly worthy of notice ; - worthy, because it demonstrates the high and general regard which Captain Blanche had won from both his superiors and fellow - officers ; peculiar, because so extraordinarily at variance with the general custom of even the volunteer service-almost an isolated instance. The fact to which we refer is this: When a successor to Major Jordan was to be appointed it was agreed by all parties concerned, on recommenda- tion of Governor Morton, that the vacancy should be filled as a majority of the line officers of the 57th Reg- iment should elect. Willis Blanche was then the sev- enth captain in the order of rank : yet, upon balloting, he received-within five-the unanimous vote against two competitors; unmistakably a reward for meritorious conduct, as were his future promotions. Ever after the battle of Stone River, where both his lieutenant- colonel and colonel were wounded, Major Blanche had command of his regiment. His promotion to the rank of lieutenant-colonel occurred July 28, 1863; and to full colonel, June 24, 1864, upon the death of Colonel Leon- ard. The 57th being armed with the invincible Henry rifle, it was almost incessantly employed upon the skir- mish line, or assigned to the deadly charge."

Colonel Blanche was wounded at Mission Ridge, and

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also at Nashville, where he fought with distinguished valor, leading his shattered regiment in a brilliant and successful charge upon the enemy's intrenchments at the Franklin Pike. After he had partially recovered from his wound he obtained a furlough and returned to his home, hoping thereby more speedily to recover his strength. When at length his health was fully restored he rejoined his command ; but, there being no more important serv- ice required in that department, he resigned, and re- sumed the avocations of peace. In 1866 the people, in grateful appreciation of his services, elected him on the Republican ticket to represent Howard County in the Legislature. In 1868 he was elected by the Legislature a director of the Northern Prison at Michigan City, his associates in office being Judge Hamrick and Captain Hart. In this position he remained two years. In 1872 he was chosen sheriff of Howard County, and served one term. Great courage, executive ability, power of comprehension, and capacity for untiring effort have distinguished Colonel Blanche, and enabled him to. per- form the duties of both military and civil offices in the most efficient manner.

EARSS, DANIEL ROBERTS, capitalist, of Peru, was born August 23, 1809, in Geneseo, Livingston County, New York. His parents were Truman and Sabrina (Roberts) Bearss. His grandfather was a major in the Revolutionary army, under General Washington, and his father served in the War of 1812. About the year 1811 the family removed to Painesville, Ohio, and, in 1815, to Detroit, Michigan. Mr. Bearss's boyhood was spent on a farm, and his education was acquired in a log school-house. In 1828 he went to Fort Wayne, where he became a clerk for W. G. & G. W. Ewing. His employers soon after opened a branch store at Logansport, in which Mr. Bearss was engaged until 1832. He then spent two years in mer- cantile business on his own account, in Goshen. In August, 1834, with his young wife, he settled in Peru, where he has since resided. During his first year's resi- OBO, JAMES R., of Decatur, Judge of the Twenty-sixth Judicial Circuit, was born at Athens, Athens County, Ohio, June 4, 1839. He is the son of Townshend Garnier Bobo, who was born in Miami County, Ohio, and died in 1853, at the age of forty-four, and Hannah A. Gorsline, who was born at Albany, Ohio, in 1818, and is now living at Decatur, a healthy, cheerful woman of sixty-two years. She has been a life-long Methodist. The Judge received a common school education at Crown Point, Indiana, and afterwards at Decatur. His early tastes were strongly of a literary character, but his attention was inclination which still continues, as his well - stocked dence there he carried on general mercantile business, in partnership with his father-in-law, Judge Cole, whose biography appears elsewhere. This connection being dissolved, Mr. Bearss continued the business until 1844, when he formed a copartnership with Mr. Charles Spencer, under the firm name of Bearss & Spencer, Mr. Bearss being occupied in outside matters, and Mr. Spen- cer taking charge of the store. In 1849 Mr. Bearss sold his interest in the store, and finally retired from mercantile life, after a prosperous business career of about twenty-one years. With perhaps one exception, Mr. Bearss is the largest tax-payer in Peru. He owns more particularly turned to history and poetry. an considerable city property, among which are the Broad-

way Hotel and a number of business blocks. He also owns several valuable farms; on one of these, just north of Peru, he now resides, enjoying rest after a life of useful activity. Mr. Bearss is one of the leading poli- ticians of his county, but he will not stoop to a mean act that his party may triumph. No one in his locality labored more earnestly for the promotion of Henry Clay to the presidency. Since the organization of the Repub- lican party, he has been one of its warmest friends, and, through his great popularity, has succeeded in carrying many elections when his own party was in the minority. Through his influence, Hon. Schuyler Colfax was first placed before the people as a candidate for Congress. Mr. Bearss has served his county in various minor public offices. He was in the state Legislature twenty years,- eight years as Representative, and twelve as Senator. During the memorable and exciting period of the late Civil War, when many legislators, seemingly in sympathy with the South, sought to tie the hands of Governor Mor- ton, and prevent the state from furnishing support to the Union, no member of the Senate was more faithful to his country than Mr. Bearss. His age prevented him from entering the army, but he did his duty in the halls of legislation. He took an active part in the railroad enterprises of his county, and for a while served as direc- tor on the Indianapolis, Peru and Chicago and the Wabash Railroads. With his family, he attends the Congrega- tional Church, and gives liberally toward its support. Mr. Bearss is six feet in height, erect and well built. In his prime, he possessed great physical strength and endurance, and was a man of untiring activity. Of late years, he has been an almost constant sufferer from rheumatism; other- wise he is remarkably vigorous for his age. He has lately platted a town, which he has named Ridgeview. Few men are more favorably or better known, not only in the county, but throughout the state. January 14, 1834, at Goshen, he married Emma A. Cole, daughter of Judge Albert Cole. They have had eight children, one of whom died when quite young.

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library attests. In 1854, at the age of fifteen, he re- moved from Crown Point to Decatur, where he for some time worked on a farm, attended school, and taught school. In 1858 he began the study of law with Judge David Studebaker, and in September, 1860, was admitted to practice. In 1866 he was elected a member of the Legislature, and remained a member of that body until 1872. Judge Bobo was made a Mason in 1860, and is now a member of the Fort Wayne Commandery, Knights Templar. He became a member of St. Mary's Lodge, Independent Order of Odd-fellows, in 1865, is now high priest of Decatur Encampment, and is a member of Kionga Lodge, Knights of Pythias. In politics he has always acted with the Democratic party. He was married, September 22, 1861, to Miss Almira Cayton, at Decatur. In 1876 he was elected Judge of the Twenty-sixth Circuit, commencing Novem- ber 25, 1877, and is at present discharging the duties of that office. He is a man of fine judicial ability and legal attainments, a man of social virtues, honored, re- spected, and admired. He has a family of seven chil- dren.

ROWN, JAMES MONROE, lawyer and ex-mayor, of Peru, is a native of Union County, Indiana, and was born October 16, 1826. He is the son of Walker Brown, born in Hamilton County, Ohio, and Keziah (Laboyseaux) Brown, a native of New Jer- sey. He was reared on a farm, and attended the com- mon schools. At the age of eighteen, he entered Beech Grove Academy, an institution under the control of the Friends, and conducted at that time by William Haugh- ton. Until he was twenty-two, Mr. Brown was variously occupied in attending school, in farming, and in teaching. In the fall of 1848, he married Emily Caroline Willis, also a native of Union County. For five years he contin- ued farming, teaching, and studying, spending eighteen months of the time in preparing to enter upon the prac- tice of law. In the mean time, he held the office of township trustee for one year, in Israel Township, Preble County, Ohio. Ile removed to Connersville, Indiana, for the purpose of completing his studies, and there en- tered the law office of the Hon. Nelson Trusler, and was soon after admitted to the bar. In October, 1855, Mr. Brown removed to Peru, Indiana, where he began the practice of his profession. From 1857 to 1869, with some intermission, he was associated in a law partner- ship with Hon. James N. Tyner. In the spring of 1860 Mr. Brown was elected mayor of Peru, and, being three times re-elected, served four successive terms. . Immedi- ately after, he was elected city engineer, which position he held about eight years. He also served as school trustee two years, and has been a member of the com- mon council of Peru since 1876. He has always been

identified with the Republican party. During the year 1868 he was connected with G. I. Reed as part owner of the Peru Republican, and continued as associate editor during most of the succeeding three years. Mr. Brown is recognized by all who know him as one of the most useful and upright citizens of the community in which he lives. Possessing an extraordinary fund of exact in- formation on many subjects, his qualifications to dis- charge with ability the duties of each official trust to which he has been called are great and unquestioned. Sagacity, and fidelity to the public welfare, characterize his official conduct. A close student of history, science, and ancient literature, he is also a genial, companion- able gentleman, beloved by his family and honored and respected by his friends,

ROWNLEE, JUDGE JOHN, of Marion, is the eld- est of four children of James and Catharine (Ewing) Brownlee, and was born in Franklin County, In- diana, June 9, 1816. His father, a native of Penn- sylvania, was of Scotch-Irish descent. He was conspic- uous in the early history of Indiana : as a member of the first Constitutional Convention from the county of Frank- lin, and a Representative in the Legislature for four terms thereafter, he helped frame the original Constitu- tion and organize the government of the state. At his death, in 1828, he was Judge of the Fayette Circuit Court. His wife, also of Scotch-Irish descent, was a native of North Carolina, whence she removed with her parents to Indiana Territory while a child. John Brownlee received, in the subscription schools and the seminary of Fayette County, a good education. The profession of law had more charms for him than any other, and accordingly, in 1834, he entered the office of Samuel W. Parker, of Connersville, a prominent lawyer and member of Con- gress, and two years later was admitted to the bar of the Circuit Court. It was soon observed that his mind was specially adapted to the mastery of legal principles, for such was his progress that, when four years more had expired, he was licensed, in 1840, by Judges Blackford, Dewey, and Sullivan, to practice before the Supreme Court of the state. Two years previous to this event, in 1838, Mr. Brownlee removed to Marion. There were then only three hundred voters in the county, but from the first he had a good and steadily increasing practice. In 1839 he was elected prosecuting attorney of the Eleventh Circuit, composed of the counties of Ran- dolph, Jay, Adams, Wells, Blackford, Grant, and Dela- ware, commonly known as the Mud Circuit, because of the condition of the wagon roads at that time. He served in that office a term of two years. Mr. Brownlee continued the regular duties of his profession until 1854, when he was appointed Judge of the Judicial Circuit

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embracing the counties of Cass, Carroll, Miami, Wabash, Huntington and Grant, to fill the unexpired term of Judge John U. Pettit, and in this capacity served one year and a half. He has held minor official positions in municipal and in educational affairs. His attention has been devoted, in a considerable degree, to public im- provements, among which may be mentioned the build- ing of railroads and turnpikes through Marion, and a system of drainage, which is of great value to agricul- tural interests. In all this he has seldom accepted remu- neration for his services. Judge Brownlee joined the Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons at the age of twenty-one, has been master of Marion Lodge, and is now a member of Marion Chapter. He attends the Presbyterian Church, with which his family are con- nected, but his religious views are more in accordance with the doctrines of the Campbellites. He formerly entertained those political opinions so ably represented by Stephen A. Douglas; but, at the beginning of the Civil War, became, with many other supporters of that states- man, a member of the Republican party. He is not, however, a partisan, but votes for the most eligible can- didate. Judge Brownlee has been twice married. His first wife, Miss Mary Goldthait, was a native of Ohio. She died in the spring of 1843, leaving one daughter, now the wife of Gilbert Wilson, a merchant of Marion. In October, 1845, he married Miss Mary L. Weeks, of Vermont. Six children have been born to them : Hiram Brownlee, his partner ; Laura, wife of Captain E. S. L.en- festy, now of Colorado; Charles, Robbie, Frank, and Min- nie. Judge Brownlee is the oldest lawyer in Grant County, and has practiced in Marion for forty years, longer than any other attorney. For more than that time he has been a diligent student of law, and thus his mind has become richly stored with legal knowledge, enabling him to excel as a counselor and a jurist, and to acquit himself well in the discharge of every professional duty. He is upright and conscientious, inclined to silent medi- tation and solitude, yet strongly attached to his numer- ous friends. Being of a retiring nature, an intimate acquaintance is necessary to a full appreciation of his finer qualities. He has acted the part of the truly wise in pursuing his way without ostentation, and preferring truth and right to deceit and injustice, however expedi- ent and profitable the latter may appear.

UCHANAN, SAMUEL, merchant, of Huntington, was born in Perry County, Ohio, March 12, 1833. His father, John Buchanan, removed from there in 1836, to Huntington County, Indiana, where he (lied July 19, 1878. Samuel Buchanan acquired his ed- ucation by attending the district school, and when six- teen years of age, began work at the printing business,

which he followed five years. 'From 1859 to 1862, he was employed in Huntington, in buying grain from farmers; and in 1862 he engaged in the mercantile business, first dealing in agricultural implements, then adding grocer- ies, and subsequently hardware; during this time he had two partners. The firm is now Samuel Buchanan & Co. The business is very extensive, amounting to from one to two hundred thousand dollars a year. September 22, 1859, Mr. Buchanan married, in Huntington, Mary Jane Wiest. They are the parents of nine children-six sons and three daughters. Mr. Buchanan is a member of the Catholic Church, of Huntington. He is a Democrat ; and was one of the first councilmen of the city, serving from its incorporation, in 1873, until May, 1876. The year following, he was appointed chief of the Hunting- ton Fire Department, which position he still holds.

ARY, COLONEL OLIVER HAZARD P., of Ma- rion, belongs to a very large family, all doubtless descended from Adam de Karry, who, in the latter part of the twelfth century, was lord of Castle Karry, or Kari, in the county of Somerset, England. The castle long since crumbled and disappeared, but remembrance of it is preserved in the name of the vil- lage in that locality, known as Castle Cary. As early as the time of Edward I, the family name was spelled C-a-r-y. William and John Cary represented the county of Devon, in Parliament, in the thirty-sixth and the forty-second year of the reign of Edward III. John Cary was made a Baron of the Exchequer, by Richard II. Sir Robert Cary, his son, succeeded to his honors and estates. He was a gallant knight, and, in the begin- ning of the reign of Henry V, vanquished a certain redoubtable knight-errant of Aragon, in Smithfield, London, for which the king restored to him a good part of his father's lands that had been confiscated, and authorized him, according to the laws of heraldry, to bear the arms of the knight of Aragon, which his pos- terity in England carry to this day. John Cary, one of the four ancestors of all the Carys in the United States, and the one from whom the subject of this biography is descended, came from Somersetshire, England, about 1634, and joined the Plymouth Colony. He was one of the original proprietors and settlers of Duxbury and Bridgewater, in that colony. Colonel Cary is of the sev- enth generation from this progenitor. He was born at Connersville, Fayette County, Indiana, February 26, 1819, and is the ninth of the twelve children of Colonel Samuel and Sarah (Goble) Cary. His father was the son of Abraham Cary, who was a Revolutionary soldier, and became the owner of land now occupied by the city of Cincinnati. Samuel Cary was born in New Jersey in 1784. He moved with his parents to Ohio, then a part

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[01.

Riestern Pical FLE

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of the North-west Territory, and, in Cincinnati, October 25, 1803, married Sarah Goble, after which he settled in Clarke County. From there he removed, in 1819, to Fay- ette County, Indiana. He was a quiet man, of amiable temper, a great favorite with the Indians, and truly one of nature's noblemen. In the War of 1812, he served as a commissioned officer, attaining at length to the rank of colonel. He became a prominent member of the soci- ety of Free and Accepted Masons. His death occurred by accident, August 27, 1828. His wife, a model woman, died at the age of seventy-one. Oliver Cary received all his early instruction in Rush County, with no better educational facilities than were afforded in a log school- house, with greased paper windows and crude methods of teaching. On arriving at the age of thirteen, he was apprenticed to learn the trade of harness and saddle making. This he followed until May, 1847, when he enlisted in the army raised for the invasion of Mexico- a step that marked a new era in his existence. The steamer conveying his regiment to that country was blown up while crossing the gulf, killing and scalding thirty men. Mr. Cary was uninjured, and, with a few com- panions, reached the shore in a small boat, and then walked to Sabine City, a distance of sixty miles. They were two days and part of one night in reaching that place, and all this time had no water, except a little found in upturned clam-shells filled by the rain. He finally joined General Scott's army, and took part in sev- eral of those brilliant victories that resulted in the occu- pation by our troops of the capital of the Montezumas. He was in that city when peace was declared. He was an orderly sergeant for ten months, at the end of which he was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant, then again to that of first lieutenant, and finally was elected captain ; but, being so far from Indianapolis, and the war nearly over, he did not receive his commission. In July, 1848, Captain Cary returned to Marion, Indiana, and, in the year 1850, went with eight others by the over- land route to California. The journey required nearly five months, and was one of danger and great hardship. The party lost their way in the region between the Hum- boldt and the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and were seven- teen days without other food than wild berries. During two days of this period, while crossing the " Ninety-mile Desert," they suffered almost intolerable thirst, which was not relieved till Mr. Cary had ridden sixteen miles from the course and found water. Arriving at last in California, he engaged in successful operations for one year, then returned and resumed his former occupation. The next year, 1852, he sold out, and began the livery- stable business and mail carrying, having contracted with the government to convey the mails by coach to the coun- ties of Cass, Huntington, Howard, Madison, Wabash, and Miami. This engaged his attention till 1860. In 1861, when President Lincoln issued the call for seventy-

five thousand troops, our veteran of the War with Mex- ico was the first man in Grant County to respond. Like General Putnam, the news of battle reached him at his plow, and, like that patriot, he left it in the furrow, and hurried away to join his country's defenders. Enrolling his name at once, he was commissioned first lieutenant in the 8th Indiana Infantry-three months' men-and, at the organization of the regiment, was promoted to the captaincy of Company B. Being sent to West Virginia, it fell to him there to open the battle of Rich Mountain, having been ordered by General Rosecrans to advance with his company in skirmish line. At the close of their short term of service, the regiment returned, and, having re-organized, were mustered in for three years. Captain Cary was placed in command of Company A, but, before reaching the front, he was appointed lieutenant-colonel of the 36th Indiana Infantry, and helped recruit and organize that regiment in the fall of 1861. It was sent to Camp Wickliffe, Kentucky, under General Nelson. In February, 1862, the 36th Regiment was ordered to re-en- force Grant at Fort Donelson, but, before it arrived, that stronghold had fallen. The regiment then took part in the capture of Nashville, and, in the following March, was hurried on to Pittsburg Landing. Colonel Cary, with half of the regiment as advance guard, was the first to cross the river, on Sunday evening, and engage in that bloody contest, and was soon afterward joined by the other half, under Colonel William Grosse. Colonel Cary passed through unscathed, though his horse was struck down by a bullet. He was in the fight at Corinth, then was ordered to East Tennessee, and took part in the battle of Stone River, where he lost another horse and was himself wounded. In the battle of Chickamauga, a third charger fell under its intrepid rider, who was again wounded. Mission Ridge was added to the already proud record of the 36th Regiment and their Colonel; then, May 3, 1864, began the Atlanta campaign with its rapid succession of battles and skirmishes. In Septem- ber, 1864, the regiment was mustered out of service; and, in February, 1865, the 153d Indiana Infantry was organized. In this Colonel Cary enlisted as a private, was made captain, and then promoted to the rank of colonel, and lastly to that of brevet brigadier-general. He commanded a brigade under General John M. Pal- mer, during the summer of 1865, and was finally ordered back to Louisville and placed in charge of Taylor Bar- racks, where he remained till September of that year. Then, the war being over, he returned home, having served four years and seven months; but has never received his discharge. He was in all the battles of the Army of the Cumberland, besides the others mentioned, and was wounded five times. Since the war he has engaged in farming. He was formerly a Douglas Democrat ; but, in the great political changes which the war occasioned, he found himself on the Republican platform, voted for

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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 67

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