USA > Indiana > Wayne County > Biographical and genealogical history of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 6
USA > Indiana > Franklin County > Biographical and genealogical history of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 6
USA > Indiana > Union County > Biographical and genealogical history of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 6
USA > Indiana > Fayette County > Biographical and genealogical history of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 6
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61
Charles C. Binkley was reared in his native village, attending the public schools in his boyhood and preparing himself for entrance into the Ohio Wes- leyan University, at Delaware, Ohio, where he prosecuted his studies for some time, later matriculating in the Ohio University, at Athens, where he completed his essentially literary course. Having decided upon and formu- lated his plans for his life work, he began reading law at Brookville, Frank- lin county, Indiana, where he became a student in the office of Hon. John D. Howland, who was subsequently clerk of the United States courts for Indi- ana. For a short period he was a deputy for Hon. John U. Johnston, clerk of the Franklin circuit court. Prior to entering upon the practice of his pro-
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fession Mr. Binkley was elected clerk of Brookville township, and this prefer- ment gave distinctive evidence of his eligibility and personal popularity, for he was a stanch Republican in his political proclivities, while the political complexion of the township was very strongly Democratic. He was admitted to the bar in Brookville, and is still in the active practice of his profession.
Mr. Binkley was united in marriage to Miss Georgianna Holland, daugh- ter of Hon. George and Elizabeth (John) Holland, of Brookville, and he somewhat later entered into a professional partnership with Judge Holland, with whom he was associated in Brookville until 1861, and thereafter at both Brookville and Richmond, Indiana, until the death of his honored colleague, November 30, 1875, offices being maintained in both places noted. Senator and Mrs. Binkley have two sons and two daughters, all of whom are married. A man of broad mental grasp and marked business ability, Senator Binkley naturally became prominently concerned in many undertakings and move- ments which have distinct bearing on the material prosperity of this section of Indiana. In 1865 he was an active participant in securing legislation that enabled the Whitewater Valley Canal Company to sell to the Whitewater Valley Railroad Company the right to build a railroad on the bank of the canal. About the same time he was elected president of the canal company mentioned, and as such executive made the transfer to the railroad company of the right to construct its line as noted. He continued in the office of president of the canal company until its waterway was no longer in use as a means of traffic, having been superseded by more modern and effective methods of transit, he having been the last incumbent of the position of president.
From its organization until the time of his abandoning business associa- tions in Franklin county, in the fall of 1875, he was the attorney for the Whitewater Valley Railroad Company, and was very prominently concerned in its construction and subsequent management. As attorney he prepared the organization for the several hydraulic companies occupying the canal, from Cambridge City, Indiana, to Harrison, Ohio,-the list including the Connersville, Ashland, Laurel, Brookville & Metamora and Harrison Hydraulic Companies. In 1867, about the time he removed with his family from Brookville to Richmond, Mr. Binkley found the Cincinnati, Rich- mond & Fort Wayne Railroad Company making a desperate effort to build its road. It had been struggling to accomplish its object from as early a date as 1854, but its efforts had not been attended with any appreciable measure of success. In 1867 Mr. Binkley was elected secretary of the com- pany, and shortly afterward William Parry was chosen president. In these offices the gentlemen continued-Mr. Binkley subsequently becoming treas-
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urer also-until long after the road was constructed and, in fact, for years after the time when its line was leased, in 1871, to the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad Company, and the subject of this sketch is still a member of the board of directors of the company. It is needless to say that he brought to bear his rare executive ability, his mature judgment and indomi- table energy and enterprise in shaping the affairs of the company and gaining to it the object which it had so long struggled to attain. His efforts in the connection unmistakably had potent influence in placing the company and its properties upon a substantial basis.
In his political adherency Senator Binkley has ever been stanchly arrayed in support of the Republican party and its principles, and it was but in natural sequence that he should become an active worker in the cause and one of the leaders in political work. He has been in no degree a seeker for political preferment, but the conspicuous place he has held in the councils of his party is evident when we take into consideration the fact that from the year 1860 up to the present time he has been a delegate to every Republican state con- vention in Indiana, with the one exception of that of 1898, when he was absent from the state. In 1872 he was a delegate from his district to the national Republican convention, held in Philadelphia, when General Grant was nominated for his second term as chief executive of the nation, and Henry Wilson for vice-president.
In 1898 Mr. Binkley was elected to the state senate from Wayne county, and in the session of 1899 was a member of ten, and chairman of two, of the important committees of the upper house of the state legislative assembly. He prepared, and took a leading part in securing the passage of, the bill providing for the return of the battle flag captured during the war of the Rebellion from Terry's Texas Rangers. The success of Mr. Binkley in a professional way affords the best evidence of his capabilities in this line. He is a strong advocate with the jury and concise in his appeals before the court. Much of the success which has attended him in his professional career is undoubtedly due to the fact that in no instance will he permit him- self to go into court witli a case unless he has absolute confidence in the jus- tice of his client's cause. Basing his efforts on this principle, from which there are far too many lapses in professional ranks, it naturally follows that he seldom loses a case in whose support he is enlisted. He is not learned in the law alone, for he has studied long and carefully the subjects that are to the statesman and man of affairs of the greatest importance, -the ques- tions of finance, political economy, sociology,-and has kept abreast with the thinking men of the age. A strong mentality, an invincible courage, a most determined individuality and a sterling character have so entered into his make-up as to render him a natural leader and a director of opinion.
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He is distinctively a man of high intellectuality, broad human sympathy and clearly defined principles. These attributes imply predilections which have naturally led him into associations aside from his professional, business and public life, and in conclusion we consistently may revert to the more import- ant of these.
In early life the Senator was initiated into the mysteries of that noble fraternity, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and in the same he has risen to high distinction and has ever maintained a live interest in its affairs. In 1889 he was elected and installed as grand master of the grand lodge of the state of Indiana, and therefrom was, in 1891 and 1892, grand represent- ative to the sovereign grand lodge of the order. As such representative he attended the session of the sovereign grand lodge at St. Louis, Missouri, in 1891, and that at Portland, Oregon, in the succeeding year. At the present time he is a trustee of the grand lodge of the state and is also a member of the I. O. O. F. home committee, comprising five members, that recently located and is now engaged in building a home for aged and indigent Odd Fellows, and Odd Fellows' wives, widows and orphans, the home being located at Greensburg, Indiana, and standing as one of the noble benevolent institutions of the state and as an honor to the great fraternity which brought it into being.
From his youth up Senator Binkley has been a zealous and devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and has been particularly active in Sunday school work. He was superintendent of the Sunday-school at Brookville, and as soon as his family came to Richmond he was elected superintendent of the school of the Union Chapel, which subsequently became and is still known as Grace Methodist Episcopal church. With the excep- tion of an interim of a few months he was thus continued as superintendent for twenty successive years. He served as delegate to the general confer- ence of the church at its session in 1880, having been elected to represent the North Indiana conference. In 1884 he was elected as one of the dele- gates to the conference composed of representatives from all the Methodist bodies in America to celebrate the close of the first century of organized Methodism, attending the conference, which was held in Baltimore, Mary- land, December 9-17, in the year mentioned.
In 1883 Senator Binkley was elected a member of the board of trustees of De Pauw University, at Greencastle, Indiana, and was thereafter re-elected and served for twelve consecutive years, during the greater portion of which time he was chairman of the committee on finance. He has always had an abiding interest in educational and all other matters that subserve the prog- gress and well-being of his fellow men, and he has been recognized as a power for good in any community where his influence has been directed.
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GENERAL LEWIS WALLACE.
It is seldom accorded one man to attain eminence in such varying walks of life as has General Wallace. At the bar he has won distinction, and upon the battle-fields of the south he gained distinguished honors, while no name is more prominent as the representative of our American literature than that of the author of Ben Hur. Indiana, in- deed, may well be proud to claim him as one of her gifted sons. He was born in Brookville, Franklin county, April 10, 1827, a son of David Wal- lace, who was a popular political speaker, a well-known congressman, and a laborious and impartial jurist. The son received a common-school education, and at the beginning of the Mexican war was a law student in Indiana. At the call for volunteers he entered the army as a first lieutenant in Company H, First Indiana Infantry. In 1848 he resumed his profession, which he practiced in Covington and subsequently in Crawfordsville, Indiana, and served four years in the state senate.
At the beginning of the civil war he was appointed adjutant general of Indiana, soon afterward becoming colonel of the Eleventh Indiana Volun- teers, 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 brigadier general of volunteers, September 3, 1861, led a division and the center of the Union lines at the capture of Fort Donelson, and displayed such ability that his commission of major general of volunteers followed on March 21, 1862. The day before the battle of Shiloh his division was placed on the north side of Snake creek, on a road leading from Savannah, or Crump's landing, to Purdy. He was ordered by General Grant, on the morning of April 6 (the first day of the battle), to cross the creek and come up to Gen. William T. Sherman's right, which covered the bridge over that stream, that general depending on him for support; but he lost his way and did not arrive until the night. He rendered efficient service in the second day's fight, and in the subsequent advance on Corinth. In November, 1862, he was president of the court of inquiry on the military conduct of General
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Don Carlos Buell in the operations in Tennessee and Kentucky. In 1863 he prepared the defences of Cincinnati, which he saved from capture by Gen- eral Edmund Kirby Smith, and was subsequently assigned to the command of the middle department and the Eighth Army Corps, with headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland. With five thousand and eight hundred men he inter- cepted the march of General Jubal A. Early with twenty-eight thousand men, on Washington, D. C., and on July 9, 1864, fought the battle of Monocacy. Although he was defeated, he gained sufficient time to enable General Grant to send re-enforcements to the capital from City Point. By order of General Henry W. Halleck he was removed from his command and superseded by General Edward O. C. Ord; but when General Grant learned the particulars of the action he immediately reinstated Wallace, and in his official report in 1865 says: "On July 6 the enemy (Early) occupied Hagerstown, moving a strong column toward Frederick City. General Wallace, with Rickett's division and his own command, the latter new and mostly undisciplined troops, pushed out from Baltimore with great promptness and met the enemy in force on the Monocacy, near the crossing of the railroad bridge. His force was not sufficient to insure success, but he fought the enemy never- theless, and, although it resulted in a defeat to our arms, yet he detained the enemy and thereby served to enable Wright to reach Washington before him." Returning to his command, General Wallace was the second member of the court that tried the assassins of President Lincoln, and president of that which tried and convicted Captain Henry Wirz, commandant of Ander- sonville prison. He was mustered out of the volunteer service in 1865.
Returning to Crawfordsville, he resumed the practice of law there and continued an active member of the bar until 1878, when he was appointed gov- ernor of New Mexico, serving until 1881. In that year he became United States minister to Turkey, serving until 1885, when he again resumed practice in Crawfordsville. His labors as a representative of the legal profession having been interwoven with that of the author and the lecturer, he has delivered many public addresses throughout the country and his writings have won for him world-wide fame. . Among his most popular productions are the Fair God, a story of the conquest of Mexico; Ben Hur, a Tale of the Christ; Life of Benjamin Harrison; The Prince of India; and The Boyhood of Christ. Few novels that have ever been produced have attained the wonderful sale which was accorded Ben Hur.
General Wallace's wife also possessed considerable literary ability. She bore the maiden name of Susan Arnold Elston, and was born in Crawfords- ville, Indiana, December 25, 1830. Her education was there acquired and in 1852 she became the wife of General Wallace. She has written many
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articles for newspapers and magazines; her short poem, The Patter of Little Feet, attained wide popularity. Among her other productions are The Storied Sea, Ginevra or The Old Oak Chest, The Land of the Pueblos, and The Repose in Egypt.
BENJAMIN F. BEESON.
This gentleman, one of the most prominent and successful farmers of Wayne county, whose home is in Washington township, was born on the farm where he yet resides, August 11, 1824, and is a worthy representative of one of the most distinguished pioneer families of this region, being a son of Benjamin and Dorcas (Starbuck) Beeson, natives of North Carolina, where their marriage was celebrated. The paternal grandparents were Ben- jamin and Phœbe Beeson, and the former was the son of Isaac Beeson, who was of the sixth generation in direct descent from Edward Beeson, the founder of the family in the New World. He was reared in Lancastershire, England, where George Fox originated the Society of Friends, and with that denomination the family became connected. Edward Beeson came to Amer- ica in 1682 with one of William Penn's colonies and located first in Pennsyl- vania, later removed to a Quaker settlement in Virginia, and subsequently to one near Wilmington, Delaware. He had four sons,-Edward, Richard, Isaac and William. Of these Isaac went to North Carolina, and from him the Indiana branch of the family is descended. They continued their con- nection with the Society of Friends until coming to this state, but finally left it, and they wished to be more enterprising and progressive than accorded with the customs of that sect. However, they still adhered to the good religious qualities of the Friends' church, doing all the good possible and as little harm. Three brothers came to Indiana: Isaac settled near Richmond, Wayne county, in 1812; Benjamin located where our subject now resides, in 1814, and Thomas, on first coming to the county in 1818, lived with Benja- min for a few years and then bought the farm where his son, Elwood, now resides. Although they came here in limited circumstances, they were soon in possession of comfortable competencies, secured by their enterprise, energy, industry and perseverance, and, in advancing their own interests, did much toward the building up and beautifying of their adopted county. They also won the respect and confidence of the entire community.
Benjamin Beeson, father of our subject, was a blacksmith and wagon- maker by trade, and before leaving North Carolina made himself a good wagon, in which he brought his family to this state with a four-horse team. While on the road he sold the wagon and after his arrival in Wayne county returned it to the purchaser in Tennessee and rode his horses back to Indi- ana. In 1813 he had come to this section of the state and selected his tract
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of land, which he entered at Cincinnati. On bringing his family here the following year he left them with his brother Isaac while he delivered the wagon. On his return he erected a cabin upon his place, and began the arduous task of clearing and improving the wild land, which he at length transformed into a fine farm. He soon found out that eighty acres adjoin- ing his one-hundred-and-sixty-acre tract was for sale, and as he desired it and had no money, he again went to Tennessee, where he was able to borrow the needed money, at twenty-five per cent. For three years he made a trip to that state to pay the interest and was then able to cancel the debt. His family assisted him in every possible way, spinning, weaving and making all the clothes needed, and as prosperity crowned their combined efforts the boundaries of the farm were extended from time to time, and the father was at length able to give to all of his children a good home. He was ever a friend to the poor and needy, was charitable and benevolent, and the latch- string of his cabin was always out. Many an early settler has been aided by him, and in assisting in opening up the country to civilization Wayne county owes to him a debt of gratitude which can never be repaid. In connection with general farming, he engaged in stock-raising, and in early days drove his hogs to Cincinnati, while he went to Lawrenceburg on the Ohio river to mill. He was a strong Democrat in politics, and most acceptably served as justice of the peace for many years, his decisions being always final. When he had a log-rolling his neighbors would come from far and near without his notify- ing them as he was held in high regard by the entire community and had a host of warm friends. Although he was a member of no religious denomi- nation he led an upright, honorable life and will certainly reap the reward of the just. For many years he suffered with one of his legs, and as amputa- tion was at length necessary he made his will, giving everything to his wife, and prepared to die if the operation was not successful. He lived only a month after it was performed, dying March 1, 1852, at the age of sixty-four years. His wife survived him many years and passed away in October, 1872. She was a devoted wife and affectionate mother. To this worthy couple were born eleven children, the birth of the first two occurring in North Carolina, the others in Indiana. They were as follows :. Bezaleel; Othniel; Temple- ton; Delilah, wife of John Patterson; Rachel, wife of James Harvey; Gulelma, wife of William Dick; Cinderella, wife of William Harvey; Benjamin F., our subject; Amanda M., wife of Thomas Emerson; Mark D., a prominent farmer of Wayne county; and Charles, who died in 1852. Only three are now liv- ing: our subject, Mark D. and Mrs. Dick, of Kansas.
Benjamin F. Beeson, of this review, was reared on the farm where he still resides, and obtained his education in the subscription schools which he attended for three months during the winter season. The school-house was a
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primitive structure, built of logs, with a puncheon floor, and seats also of puncheons, with pegs for legs. He remained at home until his marriage, in January, 1848, when he located upon a tract of new land given him by his father, and during the four years he resided there he placed eighty acres under cultivation, and built thereon a commodious residence, to replace the little log cabin where he commenced his domestic life. He and his wife then returned to the old homestead to care for his widowed mother in her declin- ing years. He purchased the interest of the other heirs in the place, and there continues to reside. He has cleared sixty-five acres of the two-hun- dred-and-forty-acre farm, erected thereon a pleasant residence, large barns and other outbuildings, and now has one of the finest improved farms of the locality. The place is conveniently located, three and a half miles south of Milton, and is adorned with a beautiful grove of ornamental trees. He has successfully engaged in both farming and stock-raising, and has bought large tracts of land, most of which he has given to his children, except one tract which he sold. He still retains the old homestead, however, and is still act- ively engaged in his chosen calling.
In January, 1848, Mr. Beeson married Miss Catherine Howard, who was born in Wayne county, January 22, 1827. Her parents, John and Sarah (Calaway) Howard, natives of North Carolina, came to the county about 1814 and located at Nolan's Fork, where the father entered and improved the farm now occupied by Elijah Hurst. There his children were all born, but he finally sold the place and moved to Madison county, Indiana, where he improved another farm. On disposing of that place he returned to Wayne county and bought the farm where the Valley Grove church now stands. After his children were all grown, he gave that farm to a son and bought a small piece of land in the same neighborhood, built a residence thereon and spent the remainder of his life upon that place. In politics he was a Democrat. He was three times married and by the first union had two sons: Samuel and Joseph. The latter, an able financier, died at the age of forty-eight years, leaving a fine estate. There was one son, Charles, by the last marriage. Twelve children, two sons and ten daughters, were born of the second union. The following are most of their names: Mary E., wife of N. Waymore; Sarah, wife of B. Hurst; Mrs. S. Dwiggins; Ged- dia, wife of James Thorp; Rachel, wife of E. Waymore; Cynthia, wife of A. Lowery; Catherine, wife of our subject; John A., a resident of Franklin, Indiana; Neill, of Oklahoma; and Margaret, widow of M. Pursnett and a resident of Kansas. The children born to our subject and his wife were: William, who died in 1873, aged twenty-two years; Oliver H., a prominent farmer of Wayne county; Joseph F., who died in 1873, aged eighteen years; Elizabeth, wife of Albert Williams, a farmer of Wayne county; Sanford G.,
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who died in 1873, aged thirteen years; Elmer E., who conducts a meat mar- ket in Cambridge City; Ira J., who died in infancy; May, wife of J. Coyne, a farmer; and Minnie, wife of F. Flora. The wife and mother died April 14, 1873, her death and that of her three children occurring within four months and being caused by spinal meningitis.
Mr. Beeson was again married in 1879, his second union being with Miss Kate Roadcap, who was born in Virginia, August 5, 1844, but was only eight years old when brought to Indiana by her parents, Henry and Lydia (Myres) Roadcap, also natives of the Old Dominion. Her father improved a farm in Henry county, where he still resides, at the age of eighty-four years. He is of German descent and a consistent member of the Dunkard church. After the death of Mrs. Beeson's mother he married again. His children are: Elizabeth, wife of Milton Rains; Frances, wife of Conrad Koontz; Mary, wife of Joab Rains; Barbara, wife of George Mathias; Kate, B. F. Beeson, Benjamin F., Joseph and Peter. Mr. Beeson has no chil- dren by his second marriage.
Politically, Mr. Beeson follows in the footsteps of his father and gives his support to the Democracy, and though he has often been solicited by his friends to accept office he has steadily refused, as he cares nothing for polit- ical honors. He is very charitable, being always ready to respond to the appeals of the needy and distressed, and ever ready to pay his last respects to the dead. He is one of the most honored and highly esteemed citizens of his community, and it is safe to say that no man in Wayne county has a wider circle of friends and acquaintances than Benjamin F. Beeson.
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