A portrait and biographical record of Delaware and Randolph counties, Ind., containing biographical sketches of many prominent and representative citizens, together with biographies and portraits of all of the presidents of the United States, and biographies of the governors of Indiana, Part 14

Author:
Publication date: 1894
Publisher: Chicago, A. W. Bowen & Co.
Number of Pages: 1474

USA > Indiana > Randolph County > A portrait and biographical record of Delaware and Randolph counties, Ind., containing biographical sketches of many prominent and representative citizens, together with biographies and portraits of all of the presidents of the United States, and biographies of the governors of Indiana > Part 14
USA > Indiana > Delaware County > A portrait and biographical record of Delaware and Randolph counties, Ind., containing biographical sketches of many prominent and representative citizens, together with biographies and portraits of all of the presidents of the United States, and biographies of the governors of Indiana > Part 14

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).

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present and allows no measure of his political opponents to pass without the severest scru- tiny, and with him vigilance is the price of liberty.

0 R. DAVID J. JORDAN .- The above named gentleman is one of the most prominent of that coterie of scientific writers who have done so much to attract attention to the physical resources of Indiana. For many years Prof. Jordan has been president of the state university. He was educated at Cornell university, and after- ward studied biology under the famous Agassiz, in his celebrated summer school, Penikese is- land. Coming west, Jordan taught his spec- ialty in the university of Wisconsin, Indianapo- lis high school, Butler university and finally the Indiana university, of which his talents even- tually made him president. Prof. Jordan de- voted most of his attention for many years to the study of the habits and classification of the fishes of North America. On this subject he has published over 200 papers, besides a large work which has become a standard authority on ichthyology. In enthusiastic pursuit of his favorite study. Dr. Jordan made a fine and extensive collection of nearly ten thousand specimens of fishes, reptiles and birds, but un- fortunately these were all destroyed by a dis- astrous fire in 1883. With characteristic energy he set to work to repair the damage, and soon had a better collection than ever. He has been a voluminous writer on scientific subjects; the greater part being devoted to his specialty, the fishes of the western states. He has gathered around him, at Bloomington, a school of students who have grown up under his care, imbibed his tastes, and greatly assist- ed him in his scientific researches. The re- sult of their conjoint labors and writings has been to make the state university the center

and authority on subjects relating to biological work.

ROF. JOHN COLLETT, the most distinguished of Indiana geologists, is a native of this state, having been born in Vermillion county in 1828 and graduated at Wabash college in 1847. He has taken an active part in politics, having been state senator, state house commissioner, state statistician and state geologist. But his chief fame and his chief claim upon the grati- tude of his state, are based upon his work as a scientist. Prof. Collett's life has been studi- ous, useful to the geology of Indiana, and has done more than any other person to make known the natural resources of the state, es- pecially to advertise to the world the value of its coal measures and stone quarries. Chiefly through his efforts, the building stone of In- diana has been introduced to commerce, and is now used extensively for the construction of public buildings in all parts of the Union. He proved its superiority by a series of tests. From 1880 to 1884, he was state geologist, and for many years previously had served as an assistant in that office, to which he contri- buted his most earnest labor and the riches of his well stored mind. In 1884, he published the first and best geological map of the state ever issued, and has written voluminously on all subjects relating to the geology of the state. There is not a county he has not visited and studied, nor one with those geological history, dating far back into the dim twilight of the pre-historic periods, he is not so familiar as to be able to trace and read like an open book. Prof. Collett belongs to that useful class of citizens which, while not obtaining the passing applause and glittering fame that is conferred upon the politician in high office, confer more lasting benefits upon mankind and are of more

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actual value to a state than all its politicians put together. Indiana needs more John Col- letts and fewer "statesman" of the Col. Mul- berry Sellers and Senator Dillworthy type.

AURICE THOMPSON .- There is no more picturesque personality in the Hoosier state than the poet, naturalist, essayist, story writer and publicist, whose name heads this sketch. A native of the south, he possesses the frank- ness, ardor, geniality of disposition and fervent feelings so characteristic of the warm latitudes. His home, however, since the war has been in Indiana, with whose institutions and people he has become thoroughly identified. Mr. Thompson's tastes are literary and his occupa- tion and fame lie in that direction, but occa- sionally he takes an excursive flight into poli- tics, more by way of diversion than otherwise. He has served one or two terms as member of the lower house of the legislature, and one term also as state geologist by appointment of Gov. Gray. He prefers, however, to wander over the fields and woodlands, watching the habits of birds, and studying nature in all her varying moods. On these subjects he writes most entertainingly in stories, in poems, and in magazine essays. He is a born naturalist and is never so happy as when studying the in- teresting flora and fauna of his adopted state. He views nature with the eye of an artist, and describes her charms with the heart of a poet. One of his books covering these subjects, en- titled "Sylvan Secrets," is as charming as an Arabian tale. "The Red-head Family" is a bird sketch of the most delightful description, in which the imaginings of a poet, and the word painting of an artist are mingled with, and give color to, ornithological information of the most exact kind because gathered by a

student of nature in actual contact with what he describes. Bird song, nest building, bird anatomy, the loves, hates, trials and habits of the songsters of the grove, are themes which this poet-naturalist has enriched with the ap- preciation of a Thoreau, and the descriptive powers of a Goldsmith. One of his articles, a gem of its kind, describes the habits of the mockidg-bird in his native southern haunts. Mr. Thompson says, what is not generally known, that the mocker sometimes sings as it flies, after the manner of the skylark, and he dwells at length, on one of these "descending songs," which the mocker poured forth as he fluttered on ecstatic wing from branch to branch, and finally, by slow degrees, to the earth, where he fell exhausted with the efforts to produce his own exquisite melody. Mr. Thompson is a voluminous magazine writer and covers a wide variety of topics with un- flagging ability. He is a conspicuous member of that galaxy of literary stars who have shed such luster upon Indiana since the war period, and contributed so much to give her high rank in the world of letters.

3 AMES WHITCOMB RILEY .- Some fifteen or twenty years ago there commenced to appear in various pa- pers of Indiana poems in dialect, re- lating to homely phases of human life and touching on those domestic topics that are common to every fireside. At first they only attracted the attention of a few, but by de- grees their fame spread as they were more and more appreciated, and people began to en- quire the author of such pieces as "The Old Swimmin' Hole," "When the Frost is on the Punkin and the Fodder's in the Shock," "The Flying Islands" and other gems, the charac- teristics of which were a gentle humor, always

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accompanied by a rich vein of tenderest pathos. Usually these poems purported to be written by "Mr. Johnson, of Boone," or some other bucolic individual unknown to fame. Most of them were published in the various newspapers edited by the late George C. Harding, himself a universal genius of the first water, and always in sympathy with ris- ing literary talent, which he did more than any other newspaper proprietor of the state to foster and develop. By degress it leaked out that the author of the popular dialect poems was none other than James Whitcomb Riley, a young man of Hancock county, who from the rude life of a farmer boy found him- self drifting irresistibly into rhyme, like the noted Mr. Wegg. In the course of time, Mr. Riley's fugitive pieces were collected and published in a volume, which was succeeded, at intervals, by others of a similar tenor, all of which were were warmly welcomed and generally read by lovers of that kind of verse which deals with lowly human nature, and as it comes from the heart of the writer, goes di- rectly to the hearts of the readers. Soon Mr. Riley had a state reputation and was wel- comed everywhere with affection as the typi- cal "Hoosier Poet." It was not until the national meeting of authors in New York, in the winter of 1886-87, that Riley's fame spread across the state lines and extended to boundaries that are touched by the two great oceans. The select critics of literature in the east fell easy victims to his genial personal address and platform ability, and when the meeting adjourned, Mr. Riley was, by general consent, placed high up on the temple of fame alongside of the most popular American poets. After that, he figured conspicuously on the lecture platform as a reciter of his poems, and has been much sought after for concert and lyceum work. Mr. Riley is a distinctive Hoosier product and his poems are rich with

the flavor of the soil from which their author sprang. He has done much to give Indiana high rank in the literary world, and for this, as well as for the intrinsic merits of his compositions, enjoys a warm place in the hearts of his fellow citizens of the Hoosier state.

EWIS WALLACE .- Though a sol- dier of distinction in two wars, it is not as a military man that Gen. Wal- lace has achieved his principal fame. It has been rather with the pen than the sword he has conquered, and no Indianian has carved his name so high on the literary temple as the distinguished subject of this sketch. A son of Gov. David Wallace, he was born in Brookville, Ind., on the 10th of April, 1827. He received a common school education and was studying law when the Mexican war roused him from his reveries. He served in that war with credit as a first lieutenant, and at its close resumed his profession, which he practiced chiefly in the cities of Covington and Craw- fordsville, Ind. He served a term of four years in the state senate, but never took kindly to politics. At the breaking out of the civil war, he was appointed adjutant general of In- diana, soon after becoming colonel of the Eleventh Indiana volunteers, with which he served in West Virginia, participating in the capture of Romney and the ejection of the enemy from Harper's Ferry. He became a brigadier general of volunteers in the fall of 1861, led a division at the capture of Fort Donelson, and displayed such ability as to receive a major general's commission in the following spring. He participated conspicu- ously in the fated field of Shiloh. In 1864 he was assigned to the command of the middle department, with headquarters at Baltimore, Md. With 5,800 men, he marched to the

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banks of the Monocacy, and there offered bat- tle to the overwhelming forces of Gen. Jubal A. Early, who, with 28,000 men, was march- ing triumphantly upon the national capital. On the afternoon of the 9th of July, hard by the railroad bridge that spans the Monocacy, near Frederick, Md., was fought one of the bloodiest engagements of the war, in propor- tion to the number engaged. Gen. Wallace was entrenched behind stone fences that stretched along the heights near the bridge and at right angles with the river. McCausland's cavalry, which led the vanguard of Early's army, crossed the stream and made a vigorous assault upon Wallace's lines, but, after a very spirited and bloody engagement, they were forced to retreat, but took up and held a posi- tion in the rear. Soon thereafter a long line of infantry were seen fording the Monocacy, and filing right under cover of hills and trees to a position in front of Gen. Wallace's center. These troops were the famous "Stonewall brigade," formerly made immortal by Jackson, but now consolidated with other seasoned vet- erans into a division commanded by Major Gen. John C. Breckinridge. They deployed and were ordered to advance directly to the assault of Gen. Wallace's main position. The onset was furious and the fatalities on both sides many hundreds in a few minutes. The Union troops resisted stubbornly, but were finally forced to give way, and the hundreds of dead bodies observable on the field after the fight showed how bravely they had endeavored to stem the tide of invasion. Though defeated, Gen. Wallace and his troops had accomplished the important duty of delaying Early until reinforcements could reach Washington.

Gen. Wallace was second member of the court that tried the assassins of Lincoln and president of that which convicted Wirz of the Andersonville prison horrors. In 1878 Gen. Wallace was governor of Utah and served

from 1881 to '85 as minister to Turkey. He has lectured extensively and is one of the most popular of the platform speakers of the day. His chief fame, however, rests upon his authorship of the religio-historical novel, "Ben Hur; a Tale of the Christ," of which over 290,000 have been sold without diminu- tion in the demand. It has already become an American classic, and takes front rank among the imaginative works of the world. Other popular works by Gen. Wallace are, "The Fair God," a story of the conquest of Mexico, "Life of Benjamin Harrison" and "The Boyhood of Christ." No other Indian- ian has done so much to give his state high rank in the field of polite literature.

S CHUYLER COLFAX, statesman, and vice president of the United States, was born in the city of New York, March 23, 1823. His grandfather, Gen. William Colfax, was a native of Con- necticut, and served with distinction in the war of American independence. His father died before his son's birth, as did also a sister, and thus he became the only child of his wid- owed mother. The early years of Mr. Colfax were spent in his native city, where he attend- ed the public schools and afterward became clerk in a store. In 1836 he came to Indiana, and located at New Carlisle, St. Joseph coun- ty, where he again entered a store as clerk, and in 1841 he became a resident of South Bend, in which city he subsequently received tne appointment of deputy auditor. In 1842 he was active in organizing a temperance soci- ety at South Bend, and continued a total abstainer throughout his life. At this time he reported the proceedings of the state senate for the Indianapolis Journal, and in 1844 entered the political arena as a public speaker

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for Henry Clay. In 1845 he became editor and proprietor of the St. Joseph Valley Reg- ister, of which he was also founder, and he continued its publication for a period of eight- een years. He was secretary of the Chicago harbor and river convention in 1847, and in 1848 was elected secretary of the national whig convention, at Baltimore, which nomin- ated Gen. Zachary Taylor for the presidency. He was a member of the Indiana constitution- al convention of 1850, and in 1851 received the whig nomination for congress. His oppo- nent was Hon. Graham N. Fitch, an able pol- itician and and a fine speaker, with whom he engaged in a joint canvass, during which the two men traveled over 1,000 miles and held over seventy discussions. The district was strongly democratic, yet Mr. Colfax was defeated by only 200 votes. In 1852 he was a delegate to the national convention which nominated Gen. Scott for the presidency, and in 1854 was elected to the Thirty-fourth con- gress by the memorable majority of 1,776 votes, although the same district in previous years gave a democratic majority of 1,200. In 1858 he was again triumphantly elected to congress, and served as a member of that body by successive elections until 1869. He was elected speaker of the house in December, 1863, and on April 8th, of the following year, he descended from the chair to move the expulsion of Mr. Long, of Ohio, who had made a speech favoring the recognition of the southern confederacy. The resolution was afterward changed to one of censure, and Mr. Colfax's action was generally sustained by Union men. On the convening of the Thirty- ninth congress, Mr. Colfax was again elected speaker by 139 votes, his opponent, Mr. Brooks, of New York, receiving but thirty-six. March 4, 1867, he was for the third time chosen speaker, and his skill as a presiding officer, often shown under very trying circum-

stances, gained the applause of both friends and political opponents. In May, 1868, the republican national convention at Chicago nominated him on the first ballot for vice pres- ident, Gen. Grant being the presidential nom- inee, and the ticket having been successful, he took his seat as president of the senate March 4, 1869. In August, 1871, the president offered him the position of secretary of state for the remainder of his term, but he declined. In 1872 he was prominently mentioned as a presidential candidate, and the same year he refused the editorship of the New York Trib- une. "In 1873. Mr. Colfax was implicated in the charges of corruption brought against members of congress who had received shares in the credit mobilier of America. The house committee reported that there was no ground for his impeachment, as the alleged offense, if committed at all, was committed before he became vice president." "He denied the truth of the charges and his friends have always regarded his character as irreproacha- ble." His latter years were spent mostly in retirement at his home in South Bend, and in delivering public lectures, which he frequently did, before large audiences. The most popu- lar of his lectures was that on "Lincoln and Garfield." He died at Mankota, Minn., Jan- uary 13, 1885.

R OBERT DALE OWEN was the son of Robert J. Owen, a celebrated English reformer, who was born in 1771 and died 1858. He was born near Glasgow, Scotland, November 7, 1801, and after receiving a liberal education in his native country, came to the United States in 1823 and settled at New Harmony, Posey county, Ind. In 1828, in partnership with Mrs. Frances Wright, he began the publica-

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tion of a paper called the Free Enquirer, which made its periodical visits about three years. He was three times elected to the Indiana legislature, and in 1843 was elected to congress, in which body he served until 1847, having been re-elected in 1845. When in congress he took a prominent part in the set- tlement of the northwestern boundary dispute, and was largely instrumental in establishing the Smithsonian institute at Washington, of which he became one of the regents, and served on the building committee. He was a delegate to the constitutional convention in 1850, and no one bore a more prominent part in the deliberations of that body than he. In 1853 he was appointed charge d'affaires at Naples, and in 1855 was minister at Naples, holding the position until until 1858. During the civil war he was a firm supporter of the Union, and one of the first to advocate the emancipation of the slaves. Mr. Owen was a firm believer in the doctrines of spiritualism, and was fearless in his advocacy of the same. He inherited the communistic notions of his father, who had failed in numerous attempts to carry the system into practical operation, and he also signally failed in his attempts to accomplish a similar purpose. His scholastic attainments were of the highest order, and he possessed a mind well stored with general knowledge. He was indeed a man of tran- scendent ability and may justly be regarded as one the greatest, as well as one of the best, men Indiana has ever claimed. He contribut- ed largely to the literature of his day, and the following is a partial list of his best know works: "Moral Physiology," "Discussion with Original Bachelor on the Personality of God, and the Authenticity of the Bible," "Hints on Public Architecture," "Footfalls on the Boundaries of Another World," "The Wrong of Slavery and the Right of Emancipa- tion," "Beyond the Breakers," a novel,

"The Debatable Land Between this World and the Next," "Treading My Way," an au- tobiography. Mr. Owen departed this life at Lake George, N. Y., January 24, 1877, aged seventy-six years.

B ICHARD W. THOMPSON, ex-sec- retary of the navy, is a native of Vir- ginia, born in Culpeper county, June 9,1809. In the fall of 1831 he emi- grated to Indiana, and taught school in the town of Bedford, afterward establishing the Lawrence county seminary, which he con- ducted about one year. Abandoning school work he embarked in the mercantile business in Lawrence county, and while thus engaged began the study of law. He was admitted to the bar in 1834, and the same year he was elected a member of the Indiana legislature, in which body he not only displayed great ability and foresight, but was also instrumen- tal in shaping much important legislation. In 1838 he was returned to the house, and the following year was chosen state senator, of which he was president pro tempore on the occasion of the resignation of Lieut. Gov. Wallace. In 1841 he was elected to the United States congress over Hon. John W. Davis, but declined a renomination to the same position, and in 1843 removed to Terre Haute, in which city he has since resided. He was a presidential elector on the Harrison ticket in 1840, zealously supporting Gen. Har- rison in public speeches, and by his pen, and was a defeated candidate for elector on the Clay ticket in 1844. In 1847 he was again elected to congress by the whig party, and be- came prominent in national legislation during his term, but at its expiration retired from public life. In 1849 he was appointed United States minister to Austria, by Gen. Taylor,

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but declined to accept the honor, and was also tendered several other appointments by the general government, all of which he saw fit to refuse. During the war for the Union he was active and rendered valuable service to his country, was commandant of Camp Dick Thompson, near Terre Haute, and also served as provost marshal of the district. He was again a presidential elector on the republican ticket in 1864, and a delegate to the national conventions of that party in 1878, and 1876, in the latter of which he nominated Oliver P. Morton for the presidency. In 1867-69 he was judge of the eighteenth circuit of the state, and on March 12, 1877, he entered Pres. Hayes' cabinet, as secretary of the navy. He served nearly through the administration, but resigned the position in 1881, to become chair- man of the American committee of the Pana- ma Canal company. Mr. Thompson has written many political platforms, and obtained a reputation for his ability in formulating party principles. He is an eloquent and effec- tive speaker, and a man of benevolence and unassuming manners.

a OL. FRANCIS VIGO, whose name is prominently identified with the early history of Indiana, was born in the kingdom of Sardinia in 1740, and died at Vincennes, Ind., in 1836. Until 1778 he was a resident of the Spanish port of St. Louis, where, as an Indian trader, he acquired the title of the "Spanish Merchant." He re- moved to Vincennes a short time previous to its capture by Gen. George Rogers Clark, whom he was instrumental in assisting, for which he was afterward arrested by the British as a spy. In the Illinois campaigns of 1778 and 1779, Col. Vigo rendered valuable service

to the army of Clark by advancing large sums of money for food and clothing. Through his patriotism and self-sacrifice, he served the army and gave victory to the cause of the col- onies of the west. He was made commandant of the militia of Vincennes in 1790, and in 1810 was one of Gen. Harrison's confidential messengers to the Indians. His name will ever be associated with the early history of the Wabash valley.

J OHN W. DAVIS, one of Indiana's most noted men, was born in Cumberland county, Penn., July 17, 1799, and died in 1859. He was well educated and graduated in medicine at Baltimore in 1821, shortly afterward removing to Carlisle, Ind. He was soon embarked on a political career and graduated for the purpose in that universal and popular school, the state legis- lature. He served several years in that body, and was chosen speaker of the house in 1832. In 1834 he was appointed a commissioner to negotiate a treaty with the Indians. He was elected to congress by the democrats, and served from December 7, 1835, until March 3, 1837, was re-elected, and again served from 1839 until 1841, and from 1843 till 1847. During his last term he was speaker o! the house of representatives, having been elected on December 1, 1845. He was United States commissioner to China in 1843-50, and gov- ernor of Oregon in 1853-54. He presided over the convention held at Baltimore in 1852, that nominated Franklin Pierce for the presidency. Mr. Davis was a strong man and a party leader of long continued popularity and well recog- nized ability. He was also a decided feature of the list of self-made Indiana publicists.

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A portrait and biographical record of Delaware and Randolph counties, Ind., containing biographical sketches of many prominent and representative citizens, together with biographies and portraits of all of the presidents of the United States, and biographies of the governors of Indiana, Part 14

Author: Publication date: 1894 Publisher: Chicago, A. W. Bowen & Co. Number of Pages: 1474

Author:
Publication date: 1894
Publisher: Chicago, A. W. Bowen & Co.
Number of Pages: 1474