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 71

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 71

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

children, Doctor Helm married, in Chicago, his son Henry's mother-in-law, an estimable lady ; but she soon died, and he did not long survive her. On the 7th of September, 1874, the strong man, who had never known weakness or defeat, yielded to the resistless enemy, death. He was a man of wonderful energy and tenacity of purpose. He had made and lost fortune after for- tune, but no adversity could wholly overcome him, and finally, as if victorious over adverse fate, he died in the possession of wealth. His son, Doctor John H. Helm, the principal subject of this sketch, was born at Eliz- abethtown, Carter County, Tennessee, April 23, 1826. His education was gained chiefly through private instruc- tion. Having inherited, in some respects, his father's tastes, he studied medicine, first under Doctor Pliny M. Crume, at Eaton, Ohio, and then with Doctor Charles L. Avery. . In 1844 he entered the Ohio Medical Col- lege, at Cincinnati, from which he graduated in 1847, and immediately commenced practice in partnership with Doctor Crume, at Eaton. In the mean time, in the spring of 1846, he was mustered into the United States service under General Wool, and served one year in the war with Mexico. The years 1848-49 and 1850 were spent in traveling through California, Oregon, Mexico, the West Indies, Central America, and a portion of South America. In 1851 he married Mary Henkle, daughter of Rev. Andrew Henkle, of Germantown, Ohio, but she died only about a year later. Having resumed the duties of his profession with Doctor Crume, he remained at Eaton until 1860, when he removed to Peru, Indiana. There he soon established himself in the confidence and esteem of the people, and gained a large and lucrative practice. In 1854 he married, as his second wife, Margaret Ridenour, of Preble County, Ohio. They have three children, one daughter and two sons living. He still resides in Peru, and intends to abide there the remainder of his days. Besides attend- ing to his patients, Doctor Helm directs the management of his farms in Miami County, Indiana, and Champaign County, Illinois. Though he possesses good business qualifications, and has acquired considerable wealth, his chief ambition has been to excel in the medical profes- sion, and he has bent his best energies in that direction. In this laudable purpose he has not failed, as shown in part by the honors conferred upon him by various med- ical societies. The Indiana State Medical Society, of which he is a member, made him, in 1876, their pres- ident. In 1872 he was elected president of the Miami County Medical Society. He organized the Peru Board of Health, and has ever since been its president. He is a member also of the American Medical Association. Doctor Helm has contributed various able articles to these societies and to medical journals. He was one of the company of one hundred and twenty-three physicians

REPRESENTATIVE MEN OF INDIANA.

[IIth Dist.

the meeting of the American Medical Association in ! that city, in 1871 ; and an honorary membership in the California State Medical Society was there conferred upon him. His wife and his daughter Maud accom- panied him on this journey. Having been absorbed in the labors of his profession, Doctor IIelm has neither sought nor accepted any political distinction, though his talents and acquirements would have enabled him to succeed in that field. He was a Democrat in early life, but in later years has voted for those candidates he deemed most eligible, regardless of their party connec- tion. He is a member of the Catholic Church. Tall, powerful, and possessing much personal magnetism, Doc- tor Helm is fitted to influence men by these qualities alone; and, uniting with them talent, culture, and expe- rience, he can not fail to be a leader in every enterprise which he undertakes. His lot seems enviable; and it is hoped he may long live in the enjoyment of his inter- esting family, his pleasant home, his medical reputation, and the material blessings with which he is surrounded.

ORTON, THEODORE, M. D., physician and sur- geon at Bluffton, was born at Chester, New Jersey, October 28, 1823, being the son of Elijah and Sarah (Rose) Horton. He received his early edu- cation in the public schools of Chester, and afterwards at the academy at Nunda, New York, from which he was graduated in 1836. He commenced at the age of sixteen, under Doctor John Gilmore, of Nunda, the study of medicine, in which he continued until 1844, when he came to Indiana and taught school at Goshen for about one year, when he removed to Fort Wayne, continuing his medical course with Doctor Sturgis until 1846, when he attended his first lectures at the Ohio Medical College, at Cincinnati. He began the practice of medicine at Hunter Town in IS47, and remained there until the spring of 1848, when he removed to Bluffton and entered upon his profession, which he still continues. He has a large and successful practice, and is the leading physician of the town. In 1868 he at- tended a course of lectures at Bellevue College. In 1852 he was elected to the state Senate, and in 1861 he was elected to the House of Representatives. In 1864 he was elected auditor of Wells County. He is a man of large public spirit, looking well to the interest of his town and district. The Doctor has been an Odd- fellow since 1854, and has taken five degrees. In poli- ties he is a Democrat. November 27, 1847, he was married to Mary Rhoads. They have two children living, a son and a daughter. The son, Edwin R., a fine, promising young man, is practicing medicine with his father. The Doctor is a well-read, thoroughly versed physician, and his career has been a marked success.

He is honorable and upright, enjoying the confidence and respect of the community and the love of his fam- ily. He is most eminently a "representative man," one who in his more mature years is enjoying the ben- efits and results of a well-spent and useful life. He is liberal in his religious views.

EADINGTON, COLONEL JOHN W., of Port- land, was born in Knox County, Ohio, December 13, 1833, near Mt. Vernon, noted as the birth- place of George W. Morgan, President Hayes, Colonel Delano, and other distinguished men. His father, Nicholas Headington, was born in Maryland, in 1789, on Christmas day, and died February 6, 1865. He was a farmer, and served as a soldier in the War of 1812. He married Miss Ruth Phillips, a woman re- markable for strength of mind and moral courage. She was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and never, during her long and eventful life, partook of food without first asking a blessing. Her pure record has left lasting impressions upon her family. Colonel Ilead- ington during his youth was able to obtain but a pri- mary knowledge of the elementary English studies. In 1853 the family removed to Jay County, Indiana, where John W. Headington taught school one term, and in 1856 began the study of law under Judge Haynes. He grad- uated in 1858, with a license to practice in all the courts of the state. He entered upon the duties of his profes- sion in Portland, and was very successful ; but, upon the breaking out of the war, he volunteered his services to the government, and recruited a company, of which he was elected captain. This company was assigned to duty in the 100th Indiana Volunteer Infantry, of the Fif- teenth Army Corps. Captain Headington participated, with this regiment, in twenty-five battles. They were engaged in the siege of Vicksburg, the battles of Mis- sion Ridge, Altoona Pass, Buzzard's Roost, Atlanta, Savannah, Resaca, Jonesboro, Dallas, and other noted contests. Captain Headington gradually rose in com- mand, being promoted to the rank of major and then to that of lieutenant-colonel of the regiment. As an evidence of his legal abilities, as well as his knowl- edge of military matters, it may be said that he was a member of a court-martial for one hundred days. His military career embraced the entire period from August, 1862, to June, 1865. Since that time he has enjoyed a very lucrative practice in his chosen profession, in Jay and surrounding counties. The members of the bar give him great praise as an ear- nest and successful worker. He has had but one case reversed that was carried to the higher court, and has been complimented by having two decisions which he has rendered copied into the American Reports. In 1858 he

REPRESENTATIVE MEN OF INDIANA.

1Ith Dist.]

was married to Miss Nannie Bosworth, daughter of have been born to them, of whom only one is living- Doctor Bosworth, an old resident of Jay County. She Minnie A., born June 8, 1866. Doctor Johnson has died in 1874, having borne him four children. She been a student all his life, keeping pace with the ad- was a woman of superior ability and a devout Chris- tian. Colonel Headington married, in 1876, Miss Laura Haines, a sister-in-law of Judge Haynes. Colonel Head- ington has always been a public-spirited man, taking an active part in all that pertains to the best interests of society.

OHNSON, ISAAC C., physician and surgeon, and treasurer of Howard County, was born in Indian- apolis, Indiana, September 26, 1829. His father's name was Isaac, and his mother's, Barshebah (Helvey) Johnson. His father died at about the age of thirty ; and his son Isaac, then an infant, was received into his grandfather's home. On the death of that rel- ative, in 1835, he was sent to live with his uncle, Joel Helvey, in Huntington County, where he remained until eighteen years of age, attending the common school of that district. From Huntington County Mr. Johnson removed to Indianapolis, was a pupil in the graded schools of that city for one year, and then began the study of medicine, in Grant County, in the office of Doctors W. and C. Lomax, prominent physicians of Marion. He attended lectures, during the terms of 1860 and 1861, at Rush Medical College, Chicago. In 1863 he again entered that institution, and graduated the following spring. He then returned to Kokomo, to which he had removed the previous year, and there commenced practice. In June, 1864, he entered the Federal service as a contract surgeon in a hospital in Nashville; the following February he received the com- mission of acting assistant surgeon in the 153d Indiana Volunteers, and served in that capacity until the close of the war. On being discharged, he returned to Ko- komo, and resumed his former practice. This steadily increased until 1874, when he was elected treasurer of Howard County. In 1876 he was re-elected, and still holds the office, engaging meanwhile in professional duties to a limited extent. Doctor Johnson is an hon- orary member of the Grant County Medical Society, a member of the Howard County Medical Society, of the Kokomo Academy of Medicine, and the State Medical Association. In June, 1863, he joined the Independent Order of Odd-fellows, has passed all the chairs, and is now trustee of Kokomo Lodge. Since 1855 he has been identified with the cause of temperance, but is not an enthusiast. He is a member and a trustee of the Methodist Episcopal Church. His political principles are those of the Republican party, with which he has been connected since its organization. Doctor Johnson mar- ried, January 8, 1857, Miss Adelaide Swope, daughter of George Swope, of Marion, Grant County. Four children

vancement of the medical profession. He comprehends his duties, conscientiously performs them, and thus has accomplished much good as a physician. He has been active in promoting the prosperity of Kokomo, and still takes a leading part in whatever promises to benefit the city. He is a man of solid worth, courteous, temperate, upright, and is the possessor of fine business abilities. His administration of the duties of county treasurer has been eminently satisfactory, and is characterized by dig- nity, efficiency, and perfect integrity.

IRKPATRICK, CAPTAIN THOMAS M., of Kokomo, was born in Brown County, Ohio, May 2, 1820. His father, James Kirkpatrick, a native of Virginia, was a soldier in the War of 1812. His grandfather was born in Scotland, but came to America before the Revolution, and took part in the struggle for independence. His mother, whose maiden name was Mary Kincaid, was a native of Pennsylvania. Thomas Kirkpatrick was obliged to content himself with the elements of an English education, which he obtained in the school near his home. In 1834 his widowed mother emigrated with her children to Mont- gomery County, Indiana, where she afterward married. There he also attended a common school, but spent most of the time until 1843 with an uncle, engaging in farm- ing. In that year he removed to the " Indian Reserve," and settled on government land, near the present site of Kokomo. In 1846, when the general survey was made, Mr. Kirkpatrick bought the claim, consisting of two hundred and forty acres, and set vigorously at work to transform it into what it now is, a fertile and well- improved farm. In a short time he acquired, without effort, an influence among the people of that vicinity, and was made a Justice of the Peace. In 1852 he was elected sheriff of Howard County. In 1861 he volun- teered as a private in Company C, 12th Indiana Volun- teers, but was soon made captain of Company E, 13th Indiana Infantry. Captain Kirkpatrick served with his regiment through many hard-fought campaigns in West Virginia, with the Army of the Potomac, in the opera- tions in Charleston harbor, under Gilmore, and again in Virginia, at the siege of Petersburg. In some of these engagements the command of the regiment devolved on him. In the spring of 1865 he was appointed lieuten- ant-colonel of the 147th Indiana Infantry. A little later he was offered a commission as colonel of the 154th Reg- iment, but, when he was about to accept it, the news came of Lee's surrender, and, knowing the war to be virtually closed, he declined the position. On his return

REPRESENTATIVE MEN OF INDIANA.

[11th Dist.

to Indiana he was elected county commissioner without | elected a member of the town council; since then, for his knowledge, being at work at the time on his farm. six years, he has held the office of county commissioner. He is one of the charter members of the Odd-fellows' lodge in Huntington, and has filled all its offices. He is one of the twelve constituent members who organized the Baptist Church in Huntington, in 1841. Since that time Mr. Kenower has been a trustee almost continually, and has occupied the office of deacon, to which he was elected shortly after the Church organization. He has been three times married : first, to Lucy Montgomery, who died eight months afterward; in April, 1847, he married Flora Binager, who died fourteen months later ; his last marriage, to Sarah Purviance, occurred in Huntington, April 15, 1851. This union has been blessed with four children, two sons and two daugh- ters. Mr. Kenower, besides being a successful, straight- forward, and energetic business man, takes great interest in the growth and prosperity of Huntington and the adjoining country ; and is always willing with his means and influence to promote any enterprise that will add to the beauty or value of the pleasant city in which he lives. His integrity is beyond question, and all who deal with him meet with honesty and justice in every transaction. When he accepted the office the county was in debt to the amount of fifteen thousand dollars; on the expira- tion of his term there were thirteen thousand dollars in the treasury, so wisely had he and his associates per- formed their duties. In 1870 Captain Kirkpatrick was elected, on the Republican ticket, to represent Howard County in the Legislature, and was re-elected, in 1872, by a majority three times as great as before. In April, IS78, he was again nominated for the same office. In IS52, with characteristic public spirit, he subscribed, even before his farm was paid for, the sum of five hun- dred dollars toward building the Indianapolis and Peru Railroad. He took a leading part in organizing the Pete's Run Gravel Road Company, and has ever since acted as its secretary, being at present its heaviest indi- vidual stockholder. He is also an active member of the Howard County Agricultural Society. Mr. Kirkpatrick has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church from his youth, and a friend of the temperance cause. He was married, April 1, 1841, to Miss Margaret J. Baldwin, youngest daughter of William and Amy Bald- win, of Montgomery County. Few men have done more for the interests of Howard County than has Thomas M. Kirkpatrick. He has been influential in various ways: as a helper in religious, educational, and business enter- prises, and also as an agriculturist and a public officer ; while with others he shares the undying gratitude of the nation for the defense of our free institutions. He is recognized throughout the county as a man of intel- ligent views, sound judgment, and sterling moral worth ; and many are attached to him by strong ties of personal friendship.

ENOWER, JOHN, lumberman, of Huntington, was born, March 2, 1820, in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. His parents were Jacob and Sarah Kenower, descendants of the old Pennsylvania Germans. Mr. Kenower attended the common school until he was about thirteen years old. In 1835 he re- moved with his father to Carlisle, Clarke County, Ohio, where he remained until January, 1841. He then left home, and settled at Huntington, Indiana, where he has since resided. There he spent the first five years in working at carpentering, and then added cabinet- making, carrying on both together for four years. In 1850 he entered upon the lumber business, which he has since followed, gradually giving up his trades. In 1865 he erected a saw-mill, and, subsequently, a planing- mill. He is now extensively engaged in manufacturing lumber, putting up wagon stock, and farming. Mr. Kenower is a member of the Republican party. In early days, when Huntington was a small village, he was

OMAX, WILLIAM, M. D., of Marion, one of the most eminent surgeons in Indiana, was born in Guilford County, North Carolina, March 15, 1813. He enjoys the mental and physical vigor imparted by the commingling of the blood of three races, among which the Anglo-Saxon predominates. Through his father, Abel Lomax, he is of English-Irish descent, and on the side of his mother, Elizabeth (Ladd) Lomax, of English-Welsh parentage. His parents' ancestors were among those who first colonized America, and both his grandfathers fought to confer upon it the blessings of free government. When William Lomax was five years old the family emigrated to Wayne County, Indiana, and settled on a tract of wild land. As his strength increased he was required to help his father in the slow work of converting a forest into a farm ; and only dur- ing the winter could he be spared to attend the little subscription school with its meager course of instruc- tion. Home influences are sometimes equal to the advantages of school, however, and in this case they nurtured in the hard-working boy his growing desire for knowledge. Night after night he pored over text- books and other volumes, assisted when necessary by his father, a man of literary tastes. His ambition grew with his progress, and he determined to obtain a collegiate education. For a time circumstances seemed to favor the execution of this plan, but, obliged finally to renounce it, he decided to prepare himself for the medical profes- sion. On reaching his majority he set out to earn the

REPRESENTATIVE MEN OF INDIANA.

11th Dist.]

means necessary for the prosecution of his studies; with his elder brother Joseph, he went into Northern Indi- ana, where he worked at various occupations for seven months. He then returned home, and soon afterward became a student in the office of Joel Bugg, M. D., of Newport, Indiana. This was in 1834, and he continued his studies there until October, 1836, when he entered the Ohio Medical College, at Cincinnati. Leaving that institution the following year, he started for Laporte, there to obtain money for a trip to Mississippi; but, because of an accident to his horse, he stopped in Ma- rion. There, for reasons which he himself can hardly define, he remained, though it was then but a small village in a county very sparsely settled, and excellent opportunities awaited him in Mississippi, where he was to reside with his uncle, Alfred Lomax. He at once entered upon the profession of medicine in partner- ship with Doctor John Foster, and remained in that connection three years. During the years 1847 and 1848 he attended lectures at the Indiana Medical Col- lege; and, having completed the course, entered the University of the City of New York, from which he graduated in 1850. He then returned to Marion and resumed practice. In 1861, at the first sound of war, Doctor Lomax began enlisting volunteers; and as many required, as the condition of their enrollment, that he should be the surgeon of their regiment, he obtained the fi.st appointment as surgeon ever issued by Gov- ernor Morton, and was the first one ready for service in the state. He accompanied the 12th Indiana Infantry, and, as far as other duties would permit, remained with it throughout the war. He was found to possess superior skill, and was called to act in the various capacities of surgeon-in-chief of division, and medical director of the Fifteenth Army Corps. Having served with great effi- ciency through the hardest campaigns until the close of the war, he resumed his practice at Marion, in which he has ever since been zealously engaged. Doctor Lomax is one of the oldest living members of the Indiana State Medical Society, and has been identified with all its history, having joined it in 1850 at its first annual meet- ing, when there were but twelve members outside of Indianapolis. In 1866, when it was re-organized as a delegated body, he drew up the new constitution, and took a leading part in all the proceedings. But the soci- ety was yet imperfectly constituted ; any one prefixing " Doctor" to his name could join it, and membership had almost ceased to be desirable to a well qualified physician. Justly displeased with this condition, a few of the leading members determined to effect a change. Chief among these was Doctor Lomax, and he immedi- ately set to work with that end in view. In that year, 1871, he delivered before that body an address on "The Responsibility of Physicians, and the Objects and Du- ties of the Indiana State Medical Society." This was

regarded as an able production and had a marked effect ; but the task was no easy one, so strong was the opposi- tion, and required four years of persistent effort on the part of Doctor Lomax and his supporters before the desired end was gained. At length, in 1875, the society was again re-organized as an incorporated body, com- posed entirely of delegates from regularly constituted county societies, the constitution being, as before, framed by Doctor Lomax. The State Medical Society is not only deeply indebted to him for its present perfect organization, but many of the county societies also owe their existence to his wisely directed energies; for he organized a number of these bodies in person, and helped to form others by correspondence with leading physicians. In 1856 he was elected president of the State Medical Society, and has frequently contributed to its "Transactions." In 1850 he was sent as delegate to the American Medical Association, which convened at Cincinnati, and has since often acted in that capacity. Doctor Lomax performed, in the summer of 1837, prob- ably the first amputation in Grant County, and has since devoted himself to surgery with enthusiasm, until he has become one of the most skillful surgeons in the state. He has performed many of the most difficult op- erations known to the profession, including the flap am- putation below the knee, which he effected fifteen years before the earliest recorded operation of that kind. He is the peer of his associates as a family physician, bring- ing into exercise all the gentleness, sympathy, and moral rectitude needed in that sphere. Books are his loved companions, and his library is the largest and best selected in the county. Iligher education is a subject that engages his attention, and he has given freely of his means to enable others to obtain its benefits. He also contributes liberally to the public enterprises look- ing to the improvement of the city or the county. He is connected with the Republican party ; and is a mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal Church, having been born and reared in that denomination. He has taken, in Freemasonry, all the degrees conferred in this coun- try. Doctor Lomax was married, in 1839, to Miss Sarah Van De Vanter, who, in the Civil War, nobly went with her husband to the front, and aided him in caring for the sick and wounded soldiers. But in this heroic devo- tion she sacrificed her life ; for, stricken by disease, from which she had sought to relieve others, she died, at Sharpsburg, Maryland, December 24, 1861. In 1866 Doctor Lomax was united in marriage to Miss Maria Hendrix, of Wabash. There is sufficient material in the active and useful career of Doctor Lomax to fill a volume. We might describe his arduous duties as a pioneer practitioner, traveling on horseback, often in storms and darkness, through almost pathless woods, from cabin to cabin, giving relief to the suffering, and not infrequently without pecuniary reward. We might

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

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 71

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