USA > Indiana > Vermillion County > Biographical and historical record of Vermillion County, Indiana : containing portraits of all the presidents of the United States from Washington to Cleveland, with accompanying biographies of each; a condensed history of the state of Indiana; portraits and biographies of some of the prominent men of the state; engravings of prominent citizens in Vermillion county, with personal histories of many of the leading families, and a concise history of the county and its villages > Part 9
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RUTHERFORD B. HAYES.
farm, Mr. Hayes concluded to enter into business in the village. He purchased an interest in a distillery, a business then as re- spectable as it was profitable. His capital and recognized ability assured him the highest social position in the community. He died July 22, 1822, less than three months before the birth of the son that was destined to fill the office of President of the United States.
Mrs. Hayes at this period was very weak, and the subject of this sketch was so feeble at birth that he was not expected to live beyond a month or two at most. As the months went by he grew weaker and weaker so that the neighbors were in the habit of inquiring from time to time "if Mrs. Hayes's baby died last night." On one oc- casion a neighbor, who was on friendly terms with the family, after alluding to the boy's big head and the mother's assiduous care of him, said to her, in a bantering way, " That's right! Stick to him. You have got him along so far, and I shouldn't won- der if he would really come to something yet." " You need not laugh," said Mrs. Hayes, " you wait and see. You can't tell but I shall make him President of the United States yet."
The boy lived, in spite of the universal predictions of his speedy death; and when, in 1825, his elder brother was drowned, he became, if possible, still dearer to his mother. He was seven years old before he was placed in school. His education, however, was not neglected. His sports were almost wholly within doors, his playmates being his sister and her associates. These circum- stances tended, no doubt, to foster that gentleness of disposition and that delicate consideration for the feelings of others which are marked traits of his character. At school he was ardently devoted to his studies, obedient to the teacher, and care- ful to avoid the quarrels in which many of his schoolmates were involved. He was
always waiting at the school-house door when it opened in the morning, and never late in returning to his seat at recess. His sister Fannie was his constant companion, and their affection for each other excited the admiration of their friends.
In 1838 young Hayes entered Kenyon College and graduated in 1842. He then began the study of law in the office of Thomas Sparrow at Columbus. His health was now well established, his figure robust, his mind vigorous and alert. In a short time he determined to enter the law school at Cambridge, Massachusetts, where for two years he pursued his studies with great diligence.
In 1845 he was admitted to the bar at Marietta, Ohio, and shortly afterward went into practice as an attorney-at-law with Ralph P. Buckland, of Fremont. Here he remained three years, acquiring but limited practice, and apparently unambitious of distinction in his profession. His bachelor uncle, Sardis Birchard, who had always manifested great interest in his nephew and rendered him assistance in boyhood, was now a wealthy banker, and it was under- stood that the young man would be his heir. It is possible that this expectation may have made Mr. Hayes more indifferent to the attainment of wealth than he would otherwise have been, but he was led into no extravagance or vices on this account.
In 1849 he removed to Cincinnati where his ambition found new stimulus. Two events occurring at this period had a pow- erful influence upon his subsequent life. One of them was his marriage to Miss Lucy Ware Webb, daughter of Dr. James Webb, of Cincinnati; the other was his introduction to the Cincinnati Literary Club, a body embracing such men as Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase, General John Pope and Governor Edward F. Noyes. The marriage was a fortunate one as every- body knows. Not one of all the wives of
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our Presidents was more universally ad- mired, reverenced and beloved than is Mrs. Hayes, and no one has done more than she to reflect honor upon American woman- hood.
In 1856 Mr. Hayes was nominated to the office of Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, but declined to accept the nomina- tion. Two years later he was chosen to the office of City Solicitor.
In 1861, when the Rebellion broke out, he was eager to take up arms in the defense of his country. His military life was bright and illustrious. June 7, 1861, he was appointed Major of the Twenty-third Ohio Infantry. In July the regiment was sent to Virginia. October 15, 1861, he was made Lieutenant-Colonel of his regiment, and in August, 1862, was promoted Colonel of the Seventy-ninth Ohio Regiment, but refused to leave his old comrades. He was wounded at the battle of South Mountain, and suffered severely, being unable to enter upon active duty for several weeks. No- vember 30, 1862, he rejoined his regiment as its Colonel, having been promoted Octo- ber 15.
December 25, 1862, he was placed in com- mand of the Kanawha division, and for meritorious service in several battles was promoted Brigadier-General. He wasalso brevetted Major-General for distinguishcd
services in 1864. He was wounded four times, and five horses were shot from under him.
Mr. Hayes was first a Whig in politics, and was among the first to unite with the Free-Soil and Republican parties. In 1864 he was elected to Congress from the Sec- ond Ohio District, which had always been Democratic, receiving a majority of 3,098. In 1866 he was renominated for Congress and was a second time elected. In 1867 he was elected Governor over Allen G. Thur- man, the Democratic candidate, and re- elected in 1869. In 1874 Sardis Birchard died, leaving his large estate to General Hayes.
In 1876 he was nominated for the Presi- dency. His letter of acceptance excited the admiration of the whole country. He resigned the office of Governor and retired to his home in Fremont to await the result of the canvass. After a hard, long contest he was inaugurated March 5, 1877. His Presidency was characterized by compro- mises with all parties, in order to please as many as possible. The close of his Presi- dential term in 1881 was the close of his public life, and since then he has remained at his home in Fremont, Ohio, in Jefferso- nian retirement from public notice, in strik- ing contrast with most others of the world's notables.
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GAMES A. GARFIELD.
JAMES A. GARFIELD, &:+
AMES A. GARFIELD, twentieth President of the United States, 1881, was born November 19, 1831, in the wild woods of Cuyahoga County, Ohio. His parents were Abram and Eliza (Ballou) Garfield, who were of New England ancestry. The senior Garfield was an in- dustrious farmer, as the rapid improvements which appeared on his place at- tested. The residence was the familiar pioneer log cabin, and the household comprised the parents and their children-Mehetable, Thomas, Mary and James A. In May, 1833, the father died, and the care of the house- hold consequently devolved upon young Thomas, to whom James was greatly in- debted for the educational and other ad- vantages he enjoyed. He now lives in Michigan, and the two sisters live in Solon, Ohio, near their birthplace.
As the subject of our sketch grew up, he, too, was industrious, both in mental and physical labor. He worked upon the farm, or at carpentering, or chopped wood, or at any other odd job that would aid in support of the family, and in the meantime made the
most of his books. Ever afterward he was never ashamed of his humble origin, nor for- got the friends of his youth. The poorest laborer was sure of his sympathy, and he always exhibited the character of a modest gentleman.
Until he was about sixteen years of age, James's highest ambition was to be a lake captain. To this his mother was strongly opposed, but she finally consented to his going to Cleveland to carry out his long- cherished design, with the understanding, however, that he should try to obtain some other kind of employment. He walked all the way to Cleveland, and this was his first visit to the city. After making many ap- plications for work, including labor on board a lake vessel, but all in vain, he finally engaged as a driver for his cousin, Amos Letcher, on the Ohio & Pennsyl- vania Canal. In a short time, however, he quit this and returned home. He then at- tended the seminary at Chester for about three years, and next he entered Hiram In- stitute, a school started in 1850 by the Disciples of Christ, of which church he was a member. In order to pay his way he assumed the duties of janitor, and at times taught school. He soon completed the cur- riculum there, and then entered Williams College, at which he graduated in 1856, taking one of the highest honors of his class.
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Afterward he returned to Hiram as Presi- dent. In his youthful and therefore zealous piety, he exercised his talents occasionally as a preacher of the Gospel. He was a man of strong moral and religious convic- tions, and as soon as he began to look into politics, he saw innumerable points that could be improved. He also studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1859. November 11, 1858, Mr. Garfield married Miss Lucretia Rudolph, who ever after- ward proved a worthy consort in all the stages of her husband's career. They had seven children, five of whom are still living.
It was in 1859 that Garfield made his first political speeches, in Hiram and the neighboring villages, and three years later he began to speak at county mass-meetings, being received everywhere with popular favor. He was elected to the State Senate this year, taking his seat in January, 1860.
On the breaking out of the war of the Rebellion in 1861, Mr. Garfield resolved to fight as he had talked, and accordingly he enlisted to defend the old flag, receiving his commission as Lieutenant-Colonel of the Forty-second Regiment of the Ohio Volun- teer Infantry, August 14, that year. He was immediately thrown into active service, and before he had ever seen a gun fired in action he was placed in command of four regiments of infantry and eight companies of cavalry, charged with the work of driv- ing the Confederates, headed by Humphrey Marshall, from his native State, Kentucky. This task was speedily accomplished, al- though against great odds. On account of his success, President Lincoln commissioned him BrigadierGeneral, January 11, 1862 ; and, as he had been the youngest man in the Ohio Senate two years before, so now he was the youngest General in the army. He was with General Buell's army at Shi- loh, also in its operations around Corinth and its march through Alabama. Next, he was detailed as a member of the general
court-martial for the trial of General Fitz- John Porter, and then ordered to report to General Rosecrans, when he was assigned to the position of Chief of Staff. His mili- tary history closed with his brilliant ser- vices at Chickamauga, where he won the stars of Major-General.
In the fall of 1862, without any effort on his part, he was elected as a Representative to Congress, from that section of Ohio which had been represented for sixty years mainly by two men-Elisha Whittlesey and Joshua R. Giddings. Again, he was the youngest member of that body, and con- tinued there by successive re-elections, as Representative or Senator, until he was elected President in 1880. During his life in Congress he compiled and published by his speeches, there and elsewhere, more information on the issues of the day, espe- cially on one side, than any other member.
June 8, 1880, at the National Republican Convention held in Chicago, General Gar- field was nominated for the Presidency, in preference to the old war-horses, Blaine and Grant; and although many of the Re- publican party felt sore over the failure of their respective heroes to obtain the nomi- nation, General Garfield was elected by a fair popular majority .. He was duly in- augurated, but on July 2 following, before he had fairly got started in his administra- tion, he was fatally shot by a half-demented assassin. After very painful and protracted suffering, he died September 19, 1881, la- mented by all the American people. Never before in the history of this country had anything occurred which so nearly froze the blood of the Nation, for the moment, as the awful act of Guiteau, the murderer. He was duly tried, convicted and put to death on the gallows.
The lamented Garfield was succeeded by the Vice-President, General Arthur, who seemed to endeavor to carry out the policy inaugurated by his predecessor.
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CHESTER A. ARTHUR.
CHESTER A. ARTHUR.
HESTER ALLEN ARTHUR, the twen- ty-first Chief Execu- tive of this growing republic, 1881-'5, was born in Franklin County, Vermont, October 5, 1830, the eldest of a family of two sons and five daughters. His father, Rev. Dr. William Arthur, a Baptist clergyman, immigrated to this country from County Antrim, Ireland, in his eighteenth year, and died in 1875, in Newton- ville, near Albany, New York, after serving many years as a successful minister. Chester A. was educated at that old, conservative institution, Union Col- lege, at Schenectady, New York, where he excelled in all his studies. He graduated there, with honor, and then struck out in life for himself by teaching school for about two years in his native State.
At the expiration of that time young Arthur, with $500 in his purse, went to the city of New York and entered the law office of ex-Judge E. D. Culver as a student. In due time he was admitted to the bar, when he formed a partnership with his intimate 9
friend and old room-mate, Henry D. Gar- diner, with the intention of practicing law at some point in the West; but after spend- ing about three months in the Wester .. States, in search of an eligible place, they returned to New York City, leased a room, exhibited a sign of their business and al- most immediately enjoyed a paying patron- age.
At this stage of his career Mr. Arthur's business prospects were so encouraging that he concluded to take a wife, and ac- cordingly he married the daughter of Lieu- tenant Herndon, of the United States Navy, who had been lost at sea. To the widow of the latter Congress voted a gold medal, in recognition of the Lieutenant's bravery during the occasion in which he lost his life. Mrs. Artnur died shortly before her husband's nomination to the Vice-Presi- dency, leaving two children.
Mr. Arthur obtained considerable celeb- rity as an attorney in the famous Lemmon suit, which was brought to recover posses- sion of eight slaves, who had been declared free by the Superior Court of New York City. The noted Charles O'Conor, who was nominated by the "Straight Demo- crats" in 1872 for the United States Presi- dency, was retained by Jonathan G. Lem-
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mon, of Virginia, to recover the negroes, but he lost the suit. In this case, however, Mr. Arthur was assisted by William M. Evarts, now United States Senator. Soon afterward, in 1856, a respectable colored woman was ejected from a street car in New York City. Mr. Arthur sued the car company in her behalf and recovered $500 damages. Immediately afterward all the car companies in the city issued orders to their employes to admit colored persons upon their cars.
Mr. Arthur's political doctrines, as well as his practice as a lawyer, raised him to prominence in the party of freedom; and accordingly he was sent as a delegate to the first National Republican Convention. Soon afterward he was appointed Judge Advocate for the Second Brigade of the State of New York, and then Engineer-in- Chief on Governor Morgan's staff. In 1861, the first year of the war, he was made In- spector-General, and next, Quartermaster- General, in both which offices he rendered great service to the Government. After the close of Governor Morgan's term he resumed the practice of law, forming first a partnership with Mr. Ransom, and subse- quently adding Mr. Phelps to the firm. Each of these gentlemen were able lawyers.
November 21, 1872, General Arthur was appointed Collector of the Port of New York by President Grant, and he held the office until July 20, 1878.
The next event of prominence in General Arthur's career was his nomination to the Vice-Presidency of the United States, under the influence of Roscoe Conkling, at the National Republican Convention held at Chicago in June, 1880, when James A. Gar- field was placed at the head of the ticket. Both the convention and the campaign that followed were noisy and exciting. The friends of Grant, constituting nearly half
the convention, were exceedingly persist- ent, and were sorely disappointed over their defeat. At the head of the Demo- cratic ticket was placed a very strong and popular man ; yet Garfield and Arthur were elected by a respectable plurality of the popular vote. The 4th of March following, these gentlemen were accordingly inaugu- rated; but within four months the assassin's bullet made a fatal wound in the person of General Garfield, whose life terminated September 19, 1881, when General Arthur, ex officio, was obliged to take the chief reins of government. Some misgivings were entertained by many in this event, as Mr. Arthur was thought to represent espe cially the Grant and Conkling wing of the Republican party ; but President Arthur had both the ability and the good sense to allay all fears, and he gave the restless, critical American people as good an ad- ministration as they had ever been blessed with. Neither selfishness nor low parti- sanism ever characterized any feature of his public service. He ever maintained a high sense of every individual right as well as of the Nation's honor. Indeed, he stood so high that his successor, President Cleve- land, though of opposing politics, expressed a wish in his inaugural address that he could only satisfy the people with as good an administration.
But the day of civil service reform had come in so far, and the corresponding re- action against "third-termism" had en- croached so far even upon "second-term" service, that the Republican party saw fit in 1884 to nominate another man for Presi- dent. Only by this means was General Arthur's tenure of office closed at Wash- ington. On his retirement from the Presi- deney, March, 1885, he engaged in the practice of law at New York City, where he died November 18, 1896.
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GROVER CLEVELAND.
GROVER CLEVELAND.
ROVER CLEVE- LAND, the twenty- second President of the United States, 1885-, was born in Caldwell, Essex County, New Jersey, March IS, 1837. The house in which he was born, a small two-story wooden building, is still stand- ing. It was the parsonage of the Presbyterian church, of which his father, Richard Cleveland, at the time was pastor. The family is of New England origin, and for two centuries has contributed to the professions and to busi- ness, men who have reflected honor on the name. Aaron Cleveland, Grover Cleve- land's great-great-grandfather, was born in Massachusetts, but subsequently moved to Philadelphia, where he became an intimate friend of Benjamin Franklin, at whose house he died. He left a large family of children, who in time married and settled in different parts of New England. A grandson was one of the small American force that fought the British at Bunker Hill. He served with gallantry through- out the Revolution and was honorably discharged at its close as a Lieutenant in the Continental army. Another grandson, William Cleveland (a son of a second Aaron
Cleveland, who was distinguished as a writer and member of the Connecticut Legislature) was Grover Cleveland's grand- father. William Cleveland became a silver- smith in Norwich, Connecticut. He ac- quired by industry some property and sent his son, Richard Cleveland, the father of Grover Cleveland, to Yale College, where he graduated in 1824. During a year spent in teaching at Baltimore, Maryland, after graduation, he met and fell in love with a Miss Annie Neale, daughter of a wealthy Baltimore book publisher, of Irish birth. He was earning his own way in the world at the time and was unable to marry; but in three ycars he completed a course of preparation for the ministry, secured a church in Windham, Connecticut, and married Annie Ncale. Subsequently he moved to Portsmouth, Virginia, where hc preached for nearly two years, when he was summoned to Caldwell, New Jersey, where was born Grover Cleveland.
When he was three years old the family moved to Fayetteville, Onondaga County, New York. Here Grover Cleveland lived until he was fourteen years old, the rugged, healthful life of a country boy. His frank, generous manner made him a favorite among his companions, and their respect was won by the good qualities in the germ which his manhood developed. He at- tended the district school of the village and
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was for a short time at the academy. His father, however, believed that boys should be taught to labor at an early age, and be- fore he had completed the course of study at the academy he began to work in the village store at $50 for the first year, and the promise of $100 for the second year. His work was well done and the promised in- crease of pay was granted the second year.
Meanwhile his father and family had moved to Clinton, the seat of Hamilton College, where his father acted as agent to the Presbyterian Board of Home Missions, preaching in the churches of the vicinity. Hither Grover came at his father's request shortly after the beginning of his second year at the Fayetteville store, and resumed his studies at the Clinton Academy. After three years spent in this town, the Rev. Richard Cleveland was called to the vil- lage church of Holland Patent. He had preached here only a month when he was suddenly stricken down and died without an hour's warning. The death of the father left the family in straitened circumstances, as Richard Cleveland had spent all his salary of $1,000 per year, which was not required for the necessary expenses of liv- ing, upon the education of his children, of whom there were nine, Grover being the fifth. Grover was hoping to enter Hamil- ton College, but the death of his father made it necessary for him to earn his own livelihood. For the first year (1853-'4) he acted as assistant teacher and bookkeeper in the Institution for the Blind in New York City, of which the late Augustus Schell was for many years the patron. In the winter of 1854 he returned to Holland Patent where the generous people of that place, Fayetteville and Clinton, had purchased a home for his mother, and in the following spring, borrowing $25, he set out for the West to earn his living.
Reaching Buffalo he paid a hasty visit to an uncle, Lewis F. Allen, a well-known
stock farmer, living at Black Rock, a few miles distant. He communicated his plans to Mr. Allen, who discouraged the idea of the West, and finally induced the enthusi- astic boy of seventeen to remain with him and help him prepare a catalogue of blooded short-horn cattle, known as " Allen's Amer- ican Herd Book," a publication familiar to all breeders of cattle. In August, 1855, he entered the law office of Rogers, Bowen & Rogers, at Buffalo, and after serving a few months without pay, was paid $4 a week-an amount barely sufficient to meet the necessary expenses of his board in the family of a fellow-student in Buffalo, with whom he took lodgings. Life at this time with Grover Cleveland was a stern battle with the world. He took his breakfast by candle-light with the drovers, and went at once to the office where the whole day was spent in work and study. Usually he re- turned again at night to resume reading which had been interrupted by the duties of the day. Gradually his employers came to recognize the ability, trustworthiness and capacity for hard work in their young employe, and by the time he was admitted to the bar (1859) he stood high in their con- fidence. A year later he was made confi- dential and managing clerk, and in the course of three years more his salary had been raised to $1,000. In 1863 he was ap- pointed assistant district attorney of Erie County by the district attorney, the Hon. C. C. Torrance.
Since his first vote had been cast in 1858 he had been a staunch Democrat, and until he was chosen Governor he always made it his duty, rain or shine, to stand at the polls and give out ballots to Democratic voters. During the first year of his term as assistant district attorney, the Democrats desired especially to carry the Board of Su- pervisors. The old Second Ward in which he lived was Republican ordinarily by 250 majority, but at the urgent request of the
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GROVER CLEVELAND.
party Grover Cleveland consented to be the Democratic candidate for Supervisor, and came within thirteen votes of an elec- tion. The three years spent in the district attorney's office were devoted to assiduous labor and the extension of his professional attainments. He then formed a law part- nership with the late Isaac V. Vanderpoel, ex-State Treasurer, under the firm name of Vanderpoel & Cleveland. Here the bulk of the work devolved on Cleveland's shoul- ders, and he soon won a good standing at the bar of Erie County. In 1869 Mr. Cleveland formed a partnership with ex- Senator A. P. Laning and ex-Assistant United States District Attorney Oscar Fol- som, under the firm name of Laning, Cleve- land & Folsom. During these years he began to earn a moderate professional in- come; but the larger portion of it was sent to his mother and sisters at Holland Patent to whose support he had contributed ever since 1860. He served as sheriff of Erie County, 1870-'4, and then resumed the practice of law, associating himself with the Hon. Lyman K. Bass and Wilson S. Bissell.
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