USA > Indiana > An illustrated history of the state of Indiana: being a full and authentic civil and political history of the state from its first exploration down to 1879 > Part 49
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During the first year of his resi- dence in Logansport, he was blessed with a steady and remunerative practice of his profession, which he always maintained until he sought retirement. This active and pros- perous professional life was not long drawing him into the political
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arena. "On the nomination of Henry Clay for the presidency, he advocated his election, and was placed upon the electoral ticket. In 1845 he became a candidate for the legislature, but was defeated. [by an old settler.] Ile was elected pre- siding judge of the eighth judicial circuit court in December, 1846, in which office he continued until 1853. Ile was a member of the In- diana constitutional convention, which assembled in 1850. Although the district was against his party, he received a majority of over two hundred votes. In 1852 he was nominated for Congress, but failed to receive the election. Ile was elected supreme judge in 1857 by a large majority, but the governor, Ashbel P. Willard, refused to com- mission him for the reason that no vacancy in the office existed."*
From 1850 to 1860, he enjoyed a large and very lucrative practice at the bar.
At this point we turn from Mr. Biddle's political life, for a while, to notice his works in literature and poetry. It is not a little refreshing to the writer to be able to present, in the history of the State of Indi- ana, a brief biographical sketch of one of lier citizens who has attained the highest political distinction, and whose writings are fraught with such a high degree of literary merit, and will it not be a source of gratification to cvery resident of the State whose eye falls on these pages, to know that this work is enlivened by such poetry as the fol- lowing from the pen of one of their own oldest and most respected citi- zens.
Mr. Biddle has not only written many original poems of great taste and beauty, but has made excellent translations from French and Ger- man poets. His version of Lamar- tine's beautiful poem, "The Swal- low," stands very high among the real treasures in American litera- ture.
At an carly age Mr. Biddle com- menced writing rhymes. "One of his picces," says Mr. Cogshall, in his Poets and Poetry of the West, "printed when he was fifteen years old, contained merit enough to in- duce another poet to claim it as his own." In 1842 Mr. Biddle became a contributor to the Southern Liter- ary Messenger, furnishing some of the richest materials for that maga zinc. He also furnished many arti- cles, prose as well as poetical, to the Ladies' Repository, and to other leading literary periodicals.
In 1850, a collection of Mr. Bid- dle's poems was published in pam- phlet form, entitled "A few Po- cms." In little less than two years after a second edition appeared. The latter attracted the attention of Washington Irving, who, in a letter to the author, said: "I have read your poems with great relish ; they are full of sensibility and beauty, and bespeak a talent well worthy of cultivation. Such blossoms should produce fine fruit." In 1858, an cularged edition was published in neat book form at Cincinnati, with an essay entitled " What is Poetry ?" This volume of poems, and the cs- say, have received unlimited praise, and an exceedingly wide circula- tion. In the essay the author taste- fully discusses the definitions that
Poets and Poetry of the West.
.
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haye been given by eminent think- ers, and then decides that "poetry is beautiful thoughts, expressed in appropriate language - having. no reference to the useful."
The following is a selection from Mr. Biddle's volume of poems: HAPPY HOURS.
They say that time, who steals our hours, Will never bring them back, But bears them off' like faded flowers That strew his endless track.
But when I think of childhood's dreams, That round my pillow cling, And dream them o'er again, it seems Ile never stirred his wing.
And when I hear my father praiso His little urchin boy, It calls to mind those halcyon days, When all I knew was joy.
And yet I feel the fervent kiss My mother gave her son,
Again I share my mother's bliss, Forgetting that she's gone.
And when I call back friends again, That erst I loved to greet, And hear each voice's well-known strain, Again we seem to meet1
Time hallows every happy hour; While fading in the past,
E'en grief and anguish lose their power, And come to pain at last.
Although he thins our locks so dark, And silvers them with grey; His crumbling touch can never mark The spirit with decay.
He gathers all the fadeless flowers And weaves them in a wreath,
And with them twines our well-spent hours,
To blunt the dart of death.
As after music's tones have ceased, We oft recall the strain,
So when our happy hours are past, They come to us again.
Though time may mingle, thorns with flowers,
And gloomy hours with gay,
He brings us back the happy hours, And bears the sad away.
Then let ns gather only flowers, Along the pasture tread, And only count the happy hours, Forgetting all the sad.
i
And if we yet should feel a woe, Fond hope soon comes to prove, That though 'tis sometimes dark below, *Tis always bright above!
This is one of Mr. Biddle's first productions-one that has traveled from newspaper to periodical for many years. Like most all other poems, it has been freely used with- out any mention as to its author-a practice that should be arrested in the interests of common courtesy. We give below another gem from the pen of the subject of this sketch :
THE ANGEL AND THE FLOWER. I saw a child-a lonely flower, Spring to the summer's breath, I looked again : 'twas but an hour- And lo, 'twas laid in death.
I asked an angel why it was so, Why euch to earth were given? The angel said, "They spring below, But have their bloom in heaven."
Ilow often has the eye of the reader fell upon this little poetic star, shining in its beauty and bright- ness, without knowing its author! And we give another:
BIRTH OF CUPID.
A tear-drop fell from an angel's eye, And lodged in the cup of a flower; While trembling there, 'twas embraced by a sigh,
And Cupid was born in the bower.
Thus sprang from embraces so sweetly impressed,
The child of a sigh and a tear,
And reared on the sweets of a flowery breast,
Why marvel he's wayward, sweet tender and dear?
But our limited space will not admit of as many selections from this volume as its merit deserves.
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We must, in this connection, make some mention of "My Scrap Book," a very tasty volume of poems by Mr. Biddle, which has been printed and. elegantly bound, but not pub- lished.
This work has been printed for the purpose of preserving numerous scraps of poetry written at different times by the same author. It con- tains some fine specimens of wit and humor, many beautiful senti- ments, and some very rich treasures in poetry. We select a few pieces from this unpublished work, with- out the permission of its author, at our own risk.
First, we give an extract from a poem written on the "Death of the Presidents," or more particularly on the death of President Adams, the elder, and President Jefferson, both of whom died on the fourth of July, 1826, just fifty years after the sign- ing of the Declaration of Independ- ence :
*
*
They fell as falls the rock-built tower, That rears its form enblime, And ages prove the conquerer's power; Then, when no longer dangers lower, Bows to the hand of time !
*
Dismissed, as time rolled back that hour In which they laid the wall Of liberty's exalted tower: Planted the tree and spread the bower, Which we will not let fall.
And from a long poem, entitled "The old graveyard," we give three stanzas :
In this sequestered spot so dear, The loved ones of the household sleep: Nay, I forget : they are not here; It is their dust o'er which I weep.
That dust has slept so long and well, I would not now disturb its rest,
While they have gone with God to dwell, And find repose upon his breast.
On earth no monument can last
Beyond its little hour or day ; The summer's heat and wintry blast, Soon sink or crumble it away.
*
*
We also select this poem of "The Day of Life," from the unpublished volume :
The morning comes like a beautiful bride Adorned in her bright array;
But sweeter far is the evening tide, To those who have borne the day. So life begins with its radiant skies, When all is so fair and bright,
Our sun goes down, but the stars arise To show us a sweeter light.
The body is built up szt of the earth, And rounded in beauty and iove;
The soul that in heaven must have its birth, Comes down to us from above.
Thus through this world, 'twixt a smile and a tear,
We wander, hope, and despond;
But when life closes the clouds appear To show us the world beyond.
On a preceding page we give an engraving of Mr. Biddle's "Cabin Home," or the home of his youth.
The following is a poem on this old pioncer log dwelling, from the unpublished volume referred to:
MY CABIN HOME.
The old cabin home, how dearly 't is cher- ished !
What fond recollections rush back on the mind!
But where are my friends? Can it be they have perished ?
Not one at the homestead to greet do I find.
Ah! go to the graveyard; the stones there will tell
Where those whom I once loved so fond- ly have gone-
To a happier world, there forever to dwell, And left me behind them to wander alone!
But still grows the pear-tree, the apple, the cherry,
The sweet twining wild-rose that crept up the wall, The gooseberry bush, and the golden rasp- berry,
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And the Lombardy poplar that grew up so tall;
Though one spreading shade-tree has gone with my friends,
Its branches extended and shaded the well,
No leaves deck its limbs, and their dead, broken ends
Of ties that are broken now mournfully tell!
On the banks of Ilockhocking-the clear winding river-
Beneath the cool shade of a sycamore tree,
I reclined me at noon where the glossy leaves quiver,
And watched the light swallow that sported so free;
Or strayed by its waters to spend my noon- hour
In search of some pebble washed bare by its lave,
Or sought on its banks to cull a sweet flower,
Or bathe my young limbs in its silvery wave!
Oh! scenes of my childhood, and home of my birth,
I bid you a long and a last sad adieu :
The sweet little vale-fairest spot on the carth-
And ye hills that surround it, a farewell to you !
My home and my friends ! shall I cease to regret them ?
Shall I ever forget the dear scenes of my plays ?
When death rends these heart-strings, yes, then I'll forget them-
Then cease to forget those halcyon days. 1839.
Since 1870, Mr. Biddle has lived a retired life in his delightful " Isl- and Home," on "Biddle's Island," in the Wabash river, near Logans- port.
This home is one of the most de- . lightful places in the State. It is provided with one of the most com- plete and best selected libraries in the country. There are also a good supply of fine musical instruments with which Mr. Biddle often enter- tains his numerous guests.
Although his life has been retired for the last few years, it has by no means been idle. In 1868, another volume of poems from his pen was published by Hand & Houghton, of New York, and a second edition of the same work was published in 1872.
Mr. Biddle's work, entitled, " The Musical Scale," a purely scientific treatise, published by O. Ditson, of Boston, is regarded as a standard work, and is probably the best work on the subject ever published. His review of Prof. Tyndall's work on "Sound," correcting several radical errors, has also received attention and praise. But we have no space even to mention the list of his va- rious writings of merit in prose and poetry. It is stated on good author- ity, that he has now ready for press one of the best poems he has ever written, entitled, "American Boy- hood." This piece covers an inter- esting portion of the carly history of this country, and will make a large volume.
He has also in manuscript, nearly ready for press, a volume entitled, "Elements of Knowledge," which will no doubt take a permanent place among standard works on the subject.
In 1873, a volume appeared, enti- tled, "Glances at the World," which was attributed to Judge Biddle, and perhaps rightfully. It was a run- ning satire upon the times, and elic ited considerable comment in polit- ical circles.
In 1874, against his wishes and expectations, Mr. Biddle was made a candidate for judge of the supreme court of Indiana. Ile was elected by the largest aggregate vote, and the largest majority ever before
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given to a candidate in the history of the State. Thus, at the ripe age of sixty years, Judge Biddle has been called from his pleasant retire- ment by the united voice of the people of his State, to fill one of the highest and most responsible offices within their gift, a testimo- nial that can not fail to make the arduous duties of his position pleas- ant.
We will close our hurried and incomplete sketch of one of In- diana's best men, by a poem from his own pen, taken from his un- published "Scrap-Book," entitled:
MY ISLAND HOME.
Dear home of beauty and repose, Where all untutored blooms the rose, Where sing the birds on every spray From coming morn till parting day; Secure from strife, away from harm, In summer cool, in winter warm; Nursed in the river's sweet embrace, Where all is gentleness and peace !
Here lives the oak, whose mighty arm Protects the flow'ret from the storm ;
And fruits are smiling o'er the land, Planted by nature's plenteous hand. The garden, forest, and the field, Their beauty, strength, and richness yield. Unchecked the heart, unchained the mind, Yet all is chastened and refined!
Here friends may seek the grove aloof, Or gather 'neath the sheltering roof, Where still, like Academus' school, They hold sweet converse, soul to soul. When grave thoughts too heavy weigh, Then music breathes her softest lay; Or joy and mirth our spirits move, All mingled with the sweets of love!
Here garnered are the thoughts of time, The noble deeds of every clime. And here still dwell the mighty dead; Here living minds are richly fed With ancient lore and Attac salt, And all that can the soul exatt; Here distant lands and ages meet, And all the world lays at our feet!
Here sciences our minds engage, And here philosophy's rich page Teaches nnalterable truth
That lives in everlasting youth. And here the arts their treasures show- The good, the beautiful, the true, Wherein the things that can not die All join in immortality 1
JOIIN L. CAMPBELL, LL. D.
He was born at Salem, Washing- ton county, Indiana. In carly life he enjoyed special advantages for instruction, under Hon. John I. Morrison, of Indianapolis, and 10 this excellent teacher he is largely indebted for his impulses in the di- rection of a liberal and scientific education.
Mr. Campbell entered Wabash col- lege in the year 1844, and graduated with distinction in 1848. A part of the following year was spent as a clerk, and a portion as surveyor in the location of the Louisville, New Albany and Chicago railroad, when he was appointed tutor in Wabash college.
In 1851 he assumed the duties of principal of the preparatory depart- ment of the college, and continued in this position for two years, in the meanwhile devoting all his leisure hours to the study of law under the direction of Hon. Henry S. Lanc and Col. S. C. Wilson, receiving his li cense to practice law in the year 1853.
The same year he was appointed associate professor of matlicmatics in Wabash college, and in June, 1854, received the appointment of professor of mathematics, natural philosophy and astronomy; which responsible and important position he still retains.
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HISTORY OF INDIANA.
In June, 1874, the Indiana State University conferred on Prof. Camp- bell the honorary degree of LL. D.
By special invitation of Professor Henry, Prof. Campbell, in Februa- ry, 1864, delivered the address at the Smithsonian Institution, Wash- ington, D. C., on the life and teacli- ings of Galileo, in commemoration of the completion of the third cen- tury since the birth of that great philosopher. This address was a very able production and highly spoken of.
To the occasion of this address he refers the origin of the thought of holding the international exposition and centennial celebration of 1876, at Philadelphia.
In 1866, Prof. Campbell was ap- pointed by the president of the United States, a member of the board of visitors to West Point, and during the same year or carly in 1867, he addressed letters to Hon. Morton McMichael, mayor of Phil- adelphia, and Hon. Henry S. Lane, United States senator, from Indiana, suggesting and giving an outline of a plan for the centennial celebration of 1876, at Philadelphia, to which letters they promptly responded with the most cordial endorsement of the proposition and promise of
earnest co-operation at the proper time.
The act of congress providing for holding the industrial exhibition at Philadelphia, in 1876, requires the appointment, by the president, of a commissioner and alternate commissioner from each State; and in compliance with this act, Presi- dent Grant, on the recommendation of Governor Baker, appointed Prof. Campbell commissioner for In- diana. This commission bears date April 29, 1871.
At the first meeting of the Unit- ed States Centennial Commission, March fourth, 1872, Prof. Campbell was honored with the position of chairman of the committee on per- manent organization, and after- wards placed at the head of the committee on foreign affairs, a po- sition of great responsibility, in an international undertaking of such magnitude.
At the session of the commission in May, 1573, he was elected perma- nent secretary of the commission, and entered upon the onerous dutics of that highly important office in the following Junc.
Prof. Campbell has been an active contributor to the editorial and oth- er columns of a number of our lead. ing newspapers.
JOSEPII F. TUTTLE, D.D.
IIc was born at Bloomfield, New Jersey, in 1818. His father was the Rev. Jacob Tuttle, a prominent minister in that State. Dr. Tuttle's early school life was spent at New- ark Academy, until 1832, when the family removed to Ohio.
Dr. Tuttle entered Marietta Col- lege as a Freshman in 1537, and
graduated in 1841. He received the first honor as valedictorian at grad- nation, and was afterwards more highly complimented by receiving the first honorary degree of D. D. conferred by the college upon one of its own Alumni. The subject of his oration (poem,) for the second degree, (A.M.,) was " The Aztec Sac-
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rifice." He entered Lane Theologi- cal Seminary in 1841, and was after. wards tutor in Marietta College one year. Ile was licensed to preach April, 1844, and was settled as pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church. of Delaware, Ohio, in 1845. In 1847 he was called to the Presbyterian Church of Rockaway, New Jersey, and entered on his long pastorate, ending by his removal to Crawfords- ville, Indiana, as president of Wa- bash College, in 1862. During this period, he rarely failed to fill all his appointments ; indeed two or three Sabbaths would include all the omissions for twenty years.
The incidents of an earnest and successful ministry, extending over a period of fifteen years, relate more to the inner life than the rough ex- periences of the outer world. The commonplace book of the pastor is filled with visits to the bereaved, ministrations to the sick, consola- tions to the dying, comforts to the needy, joys to the buoyant, the ser- vice at the altar and in the home. This sacred inner life is the reward of the true Christian minister in a higher sense than of any other pur- suit or profession.
In addition to this delightful work as pastor, Dr. Tuttle has kept
a busy pen for the public. His contributions to the religious and secular press have been very nu- merous, and have always received great commendation. Among the more important productions of his pen we may mention his several Baccalaureate addresses at Wabash College, a " Life of William Tuttle," two Sabbath School books entitled, "Self-Reliance," and, "The Way Lost and Found," several addresses before the New Jersey Historical Society, the College Society at Wor- cester, Mass, and a number of funeral discourses.
During the twelve years since 1862, Wabash College has been greatly enlarged in all its facilities, and Dr. Tuttle has achieved very gratifying success as its president. As a public speaker, he has won a reputation of a high order. Ilis Sab- bath afternoon lectures, in the col- lege chapel, are specially interest- ing, and his literary addresses before lyceums and lecture associations in various places are uniformly suc- cessful. In the class room he is an earnest teacher, expounding with clearness and precision, and seek ing faithfully to stimulate carnest endeavor to secure honest manhood.
MOSES FOWLER.
lle was born near Circleville, Ohio, in 1815. IIe removed to Indi- ana in 1839, and settled at La Fay- ette, where, in company with John Purdue, now of Purdue University, he engaged in mercantile pursuits, conducting a successful business for several years. Ile was subsequently associated with Robert Stockwell and W. F. Reynolds, in the whole- sale grocery trade. La Fayette was
at that time the terminus of the Wabash and Erie canal, and the head of navigation on the Wabash river. Her trade, within a- radius of a hundred miles or more, was immense. The house of Reynolds, Fowler & Stockwell, not unfro- quently chartered an entire fleet of steamboats at New Orleans in the spring of the year to bring their stock of sugars, coffee and molasses
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up the Wabash. Six first class steamers unloading their goods at the La Fayette landing at one time, was not an unusual spectacle. Mr. Fowler retired from this firm, and in company with Adams Earl, opened a private banking house. The old State Bank had served its day and generation, and Mr. Fowler, in company with Hon. Hugh Mc- Cullough, C. B. Blair, Levi Warren, and other representative men, de- vised the new system known as the Bank of the State. He indentified himself with the La Fayette branch, and, as its president, opened the in- stitution in its auspicious begin- ning, and made it the strongest branch, (save one,) in Indiana. This well conducted branch, with ample capital and accumulated surplus, was merged into the present Na- tional State Bank, which, with its capital and available resources, ag- gregates over a million of dollars. Mr. Fowler is in the prime of life, and the active duties of the banker have not .interfered with another, and we may say a better aspiration- to become a farmer. Some years since his attention was attracted to the valuable belt of lands lying west of the Wabash, on the Illinois State line-the very cream of the Grand Prairie. He invested in twenty-six thousand acres, and set himself to work in the improve- ment of this magnificent domain. On the completion of the L. M. and B. railroad, due west from La Fay-
ette to Bloomington, Mr. Fowler, associated with Adams Earl and G. Ricker, from their private means, constructed the railroad known as the C. L. and C., or the short line to Chicago. This road passes through the heart of Benton county, and traverses the rich body of lands owned by Mr. Fowler. The geo- graphical center of Benton county, at Hickory Grove, was selected as the new county seat. The town of Fowler was laid out, and the re moval of the capital from Oxfor: secured by a donation from M) Fowler of forty thousand dollars te the building of a new court house A beautiful structure has been com pleted, the records removed, and ยป flourishing town has sprung up, un if by magic. Mr. Fowler has placed every acre of his landed estate in Benton county under cultivation, and while selling liberally to actual settlers, cultivates six thousand acres in corn, and handles from two to three thousand head of cattle annually. Mr. Fowler has in con- templation the endowment of a fe- male college at the new county seat ; a mile square, of choice land on a commanding elevation south of the town has been designated as the location, and if Mr. Fowler shall conclude to administer upon his own estate in the inauguration of this educational benefaction, it will be an enduring monument to his memory when he shall go hence.
WILL CUMBACK.
Ile was born in Franklin county, Indiana, March twenty-fourth, 1829. His father, a few years before, had moved to the West and occupied a
small farm in that county. Schools, in those days, were of a pretty low type, and kept open only a few months in the year, so that an am-
SASHAZA
CROSSCUP & WEST-SC, PHILA.
Charles B. Lasselle
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HISTORY OF INDIANA.
bitious boy was obliged to look away from home and make a reso- lute fight for an education. Cum- back, working steadily for his fath- er, contrived, by renting and work- ing some adjoining fields of the neighbors, to raise money enough to enter Miami University and get a good footing there; and as his stock was exhausted, he did as so many thousand other lovers of books have done, replenished it by teaching. Without graduating he kept this up a few years, when, by alternate teaching, reading and at- tending the Cincinnati Law School, he fitted himself for practice, and was admitted and went vigorously to work in the flourishing town of Greensburgh, where he has ever since resided.
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