USA > Indiana > Biographical and historical sketches of early Indiana > Part 18
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).
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
205
BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL SKETCHES.
$180,000,000 to pay loyal men for their slaves, and $20,000,000 to aid in the colonization of the freedmen. This measure was recommended by Mr. Lincoln, and supported by him with all the influence of his position, but the madness of the Southern people prevented its adoption. Had the men of the South been wise they would have accepted this proffer as a solution of the slavery question. Had they done so there would have been no war, and the devastation that swept over the Southern States would have been avoided. In presenting the bill, Mr. White accompanied it with a report in which the social and political influences of slavery were elaborately argued. He contended that the white and black races should be separated, and the lat- ter colonized in the equatorial regions of America. In his speech supporting the bill, he told the Southern members that if they did not accept the olive branch it would be withdrawn, and their slaves would be taken from them without compensation. The result is known. The offer was rejected and the slaves freed by a proclamation by the President.
Mr. White failed of a renomination to Congress mainly on account of his action in regard to the emancipation question. He was, however, appointed by Mr. Lincoln one of three commis- sioners to adjust the claims of citizens of Minnesota and Da- kota against the government for Indian depredations. He dis- charged the duties of this position, as he did all his public trusts, honestly and well.
On the death of Hon. Caleb B. Smith, January 7, 1864, Pres- ident Lincoln appointed Mr. White United States Judge for the District of Indiana. He had been out of law practice so long that many doubted the wisdom of the appointment, but it proved a good one. He soon adapted himself to his new position, and had he lived would have proven a worthy successor of the em- inent man who preceded him. But his term was of short dura- tion, for, on the 4th of the next September, eight months from the time of his appointment, he died at his home in Stockwell, a town of which he was one of the founders. His death caused a gloom throughout the State, but its darkest shadows rested over Lafayette, where he had lived so long. A special train left there for Stockwell the Wednesday morning after his death, and soon returned with his remain's. They were met at the.
.
207
ALBERT S. WHITE.
Lafayette depot by an immense concourse of people, headed by the mayor, the city council, and the members of the bar. The procession moved to the Fifth-street Methodist church, where an appropriate discourse was delivered by Rev. John L. Smith, after which all that was mortal of Albert S. White was taken to the Greenbush Cemetery, and there interred. Subsequently, William F. Reynolds, a wealthy citizen of Lafayette, and a great admirer of Mr. White, erected over his grave a monu- ment which still stands to mark the resting place of the scholar and jurist. It is of Bedford stone, and represents an oak tree, thunder-riven, blasted, dismantled, its branches shattered by the storm, but enough of the trunk standing to show how loftily and nobly it towered toward the heaven. A pair of doves nestle on a broken limb, and an ivy vine clings and clambers around the root. On a scroll fastened to the tree is inscribed the name, date of birth and death of Mr. White, and a simple tribute to his worth as a man, a legislator, judge, lawyer, citizen, friend. The inscription is as follows :
The grave of ALBERT S. WHITE. In all relations of life, admirable. As a friend, sincere ; as a citizen, publie spirited ; as a lawyer, honest ; as a legislator, wise ; as a judge, without reproach.
It is a beautiful tribute of friendship to exalted worth.
In the Fayette Observer, of July 22, 1826, is the full text of an address delivered by Mr. White, at Rushville, on the Fourth of July of that year. It is a chaste and elegant production, abound- ing in classical allusions, couched in the choicest language. It could only have been prepared by a scholar of great erudition, one familiar with the classic authors. In apologizing for the space occupied by the speech, the editor says :
" We pretend not to be very lynx-eyed in historical politics, nor very sensitive to beauties or deformities in rhetoric and belles-lettres ; nor, indeed, to profess the talents or to exercise the privileges of reviewing public performances ; nevertheless. we can venture to express our belief that the speech of Mr. White, fraught, as it seems to us to be, with many historical in- cidents that can not fail to be pleasing to those who delight in
208
BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL SKETCHES.
the story of ' the times that tried men's souls,' will fully com- pensate its readers for time and labor."
Mr. White was then a young man, fresh from college, and his address was somewhat sophomoric, yet its diction is such as to stamp its author as one who had drunk deeply of the waters of classical lore.
Mr. White had but little in common with the typical Western pioneer, and it is, therefore, somewhat strange that he should have reached the eminence he did. He never sunk his man- hood nor lowered his self-respect by trying to get down to the level of every man who approached him. He was in no sense a demagogue, and never sought to curry favor by pretending to be what he was not. He was always dignified, was always a gentleman. The last speech made by Mr. White was delivered on the Ist of June, 1864, at the dedication of Crown Hill Ceme- tery. It was an elegant production, entirely worthy of its dis- tinguished author. The following extracts from this address will serve to show the author's style :
" You do well, friends, to leave for a day the busy pursuits of common life to plant these altars here. Your city is but little older than Jonah's gourd, but where are now the men who built it? Where are your Nobles, your Wallaces, your Merrills, your Coes, your Mitchells, your Coburns, your Stevenses, your Walpoles, your Footes, your Browns, your Morrises, your Saun- derses, your McCartys, and your Blackfords?
" Of some the public history of our State, and of others the traditionary annals of your city, will have preserved the mem- ory, but though their virtues may survive, their persons will have been forgotten. Let the honored remains of such be transferred to these guarded grounds, and here, side by side, let them sleep with other cotemporaries equally dear to memory. As time rolls round and the inmates of these grounds are counted by thousands ; as strange guests are deposited here from the myriads of emigrants who will flock to our capital af- ter its fortunes have been made, the story of the pioneer settlers will have a thrilling interest, and their graves a peculiar sanc- tity. In this respect your cemetery grounds will have a more classic interest than those of Mt. Auburn, Greenwood, Laurel
.
209
ALBERT S. WHITE.
Hill or Spring Grove, or even the famous cemetery of Pere la Chaise, which is said to contain the dust of Heloise and Abe- lard."
While Mr. White was in Congress Mr. Lincoln promised him the Lafayette postoffice for a friend, but after he left Washing- ton the President changed his mind, and appointed Mr. James P. Luse. Mr. Luse was not Mr. White's candidate, and when word came to Lafayette of the appointment, Mr. White at once went to Washington to remonstrate against it. As soon as Mr. Lincoln saw him he knew his business and sought to mollify him before he had time to speak. "I see how it is, White," said the President, " but before you proceed to business I want to tell you a story. In one of our large towns in Illinois a new hotel was opened to the public with a splendid entertainment to a large number of invited guests. Among these came a big, lean man, who was supposed to be a guest, and at the table he made tremendous havoc among the viands, eating with a voracity that struck everybody with astonishment. After din- ner the man approached the landlord and said : ' I was not in- vited to your dinner, but I was very hungry, and came of my own accord. I have nothing with which to pay you for your bountiful dinner, and all that you can do in the case is to kick me out of doors, and I shall be greatly obliged if you do kick me out ! I shall feel in that case that I have paid the debt.' "Now, White, I promised you that Lafayette appointment ; I admit it. Just before I left Springfield an old friend, with whom I had often fished and hunted and slept, came to see me, and I asked him if I could do anything for him, but he said there was no office he wanted. Well, the other day this good old friend of mine came on, and, of course, was my guest ; and before he left he asked me for the Lafayette postoffice for some friend of his, and I had to give it to him. You see, White, I admit I had promised it to you, but what could I do but give it to him? Now, if you will kick me out of doors, and go quits, I shall feel greatly obliged to you," whereupon the President turned his back to Mr. White, drew aside his coat tail, and asked for the kick. Mr. White used to tell this story, and add :
14
210
BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL SKETCHES.
"Just think of it! The President of the United States asking to be kicked ! "
In person Mr. White was small and spare. He had a thin visage, a large Roman nose and a narrow chest. Physically he was weak ; intellectually he was strong. Had his career in life depended alone upon his body he would have been a failure ; but depending, as it did, upon his mind and heart as well, he was a success. He was one of the first men of the Wabash country and of the State, and his name will not be forgotten while learn- ing and scholarship are cherished, and honor and patr otism revered.
EDWARD A. HANNEGAN.
EDWARD A. HANNEGAN was born in Ohio, but early in life he moved to Lexington, Kentucky, and grew to manhood there. He acquired a good education, studied law, and, when twenty- three years old, was admitted to the Lexington bar. Not long after this he left Kentucky and started West in search of a lo- cation. When he reached Covington, a town on the Wabash, he stopped, and for many years afterward made it his home. He opened an office and commenced the practice of his pro- fession. In a short time he obtained a lucrative business, his practice not being confined to the county in which he lived, but extending to many others in the western part of the State. But the law was too dry to satisfy his fiery nature, so he entered politics. He was elected to the State Legislature, and became a leading member of that body. He advocated the passage of a bill chartering the State Bank of Indiana, and was particu- larly active in trying to secure an appropriation for the improve- ment of the Wabash river at the rapids. This was in January,. 1833, and the next August he was elected to Congress from his: district, defeating Albert S. White, afterward his colleague in the United States Senate. He was re-elected in 1835, and dur- ing his two terms established a reputation for eloquence excelled by few in the House. In 1840 he was again a candidate for Congress, but, after a most laborious and exciting contest, he was defeated by Henry S. Lane, afterwards Governor of In- diana, and then a Senator of the United States.
The Legislature of 1842 was very evenly divided between the Whig and Democratic parties. Oliver H. Smith was the Whig candidate for United States Senator, and General Tilghman A.
212
BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL SKETCHES.
Howard the Democratic. On the first ballot Mr. Smith re- ceived 72 votes ; General Howard, 74 votes ; Edward A. Han- negan, 3 votes ; and Joseph G. Marshall, I vote. On the second ballot Mr. Smith received 75 votes ; General Howard, 74 votes ; and Mr. Hannegan, I vote. On the third ballot Mr. Smith re- ceived 73 votes ; General Howard, 73 votes ; and Mr. Hanne- gan, 3 votes. The fourth ballot was the same as the third, ex- cept that Governor William Hendricks received one of the . votes which before was cast for Mr. Hannegan. On the fifth ballot Mr. Smith received 71 votes ; General Howard, 73 votes ; and Mr. Hannegan, 2 votes. On the sixth ballot Mr. Hanne- gan received 76 votes, and was elected, General Howard hav- ing withdrawn from the race.
This election caused much excitement at the time. David Hoover, of Wayne county, and Daniel Kelso, of Switzerland county, refused to vote for General Howard, and, as he could not be elected without their support, he withdrew from the con- test. It was said that both Hoover and Kelso were pledged to the support of Mr. Smith. Hoover, who was a Democrat, elected from a Whig county, voted for Mr. Smith on the first and second ballots, and then went over to Mr. Hannegan. Kelso voted for Hannegan on every ballot ; therefore it will be seen that Hoover and Kelso virtually selected the Senator.
Mr. Hannegan took his seat in the Senate on the 4th of De- cember, 1843, and served until the 4th of March, 1849. Dur- ing his service in that body he made several speeches which attracted the attention of the country, notably, one on the Ore- gon boundary. He occupied an extreme position on this ques- tion, being " for 54-40, or fight." In a letter to the committee inviting him to be present at a meeting of the friends of Mr. Dallas, held in Philadelphia, January 8, 1846, he sent the fol- lowing toast :
" Oregon-Every foot or not an inch ; 54 deg., 40 min. or delenda est Britannia."
The committee replied : " The Hon. Edward A. Hannegan. The true-hearted American statesman, who truly represents the people on the Oregon question-the whole of it or none ; Oregon or war!" !
213
EDWARD A. HANNEGAN.
He attacked President Polk, who favored a compromise pol- icy, in a most bitter manner. He said of him :
" So long as one human eye remains to linger on the page of history the story of his abasement will be read, sending him and his name together to an infamy so profound, a damnation so deep, that the hand of resurrection will never drag him forth. So far as the whole tone, spirit and meaning of the remarks of the Senator from North Carolina are concerned, if they speak the language of James K. Polk, then James K. Polk has spoken words of falsehood with the tongue of a serpent."
He closed the speech as follows :
" For the singleness and sincerity of my motives I appeal to heaven. By them I am willing to be judged now and hereafter, so help me God, when, prostrate at thy feet, I falter forth my last brief prayer for mercy on an erring life."
Mr. Hannegan's votes in the Senate were always in accord with those of his party friends. On the Ist of March, 1847, Mr. Upham, of Vermont, while the Mexican treaty was before the Senate, moved " that there shall be neither slavery nor invol- untary servitude in any Territory which shall hereafter be ac- quired or annexed to the United States, otherwise than in pun- ishment for crimes." Among the nays was Mr. Hannegan. In this, however, he but obeyed his party's will, for he had for company Senators Bright, Cass and Dickinson, from the free States, and all the Senators from the South.
The Thirtieth Congress expired March 4, 1849, and with it Mr. Hannegan's senatorial term. In its closing hours Mr. Polk nominated him for Minister to Prussia, and the Senate con- firmed the appointment. He was commissioned on the 29th of March, 1849, and at once sailed for Berlin. Mr. Hannegan was unfitted for diplomacy both by nature and by habit. He was naturally open and frank, carrying "his heart upon his- sleeve," and besides, his convivial habits were such as to make him an unsafe depository of secrets. It is therefore no wonder that his career at Berlin was such as added nothing to his char- acter or that of his government. He was recalled on the 13th
214
BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL SKETCHES.
of the next January, and with that recall the public life of Mr. Hannegan ended. He returned to his home at Covington, and the next year was a candidate for the State Legislature. At that time the question of removing the county seat from Coving- ton to a more central point agitated the people of his county, and the canvass was made mainly upon that issue. Jacob Dice, a Democrat, who favored the removal of the county seat to Chambersburg, became a candidate against Mr. Hannegan, and receiving the votes of those who favored a change, and also of many Whigs at the county seat who were particularly hostile to his opponent, was elected. Mr. Hannegan took his defeat much to heart. Like many other generous and warm-hearted men, he loved his cups, and his defeat caused him to drink the harder. The habit grew upon him until, in a fit of madness, he killed one whom he dearly loved. This tragic event took place in his own house, and at the time created intense excitement not only at Covington, but throughout the State. Mr. Hanne- gan and his brother-in-law, Captain Duncan, had been drinking deeply, and angry words passed between them. Mrs. Hanne- gan, who was present, asked her husband to go up stairs, which he did, and lay down upon his bed. Captain Duncan started after him, when his sister requested him not to go, saying her husband was drinking and trouble might ensue. But he refused to heed her, and went up stairs and into Mr. Hannegan's room. As he entered, the latter half arose and awaited the Captain's coming. A Spanish dagger was within his reach, and as Cap- tain Duncan approached he called Mr. Hannegan a coward and slapped him in the face. Hannegan snatched the dagger, and in an instant drove it to the hilt in the Captain's body. The lat- ter, all wounded and bloody, walked into an adjoining room and lay down to die. When his sister came, and friends gathered about him, he told them no blame attached to Mr. Hannegan, that the fault was all his own. Hearing this, Hannegan ran to the wounded man, threw his arms around him, and madly kissed him again and again upon the forehead, sobbing all the time as though his heart would break. The wounded man died the next day and was buried in the cemetery at Covington. Never afterward did Hannegan enter that city of the dead. Not even
215
EDWARD A. HANNEGAN.
when his wife died and was there laid to rest would he cross its portals.
In the Madison Banner, of May 13, 1852, a paper conducted by the author of this sketch, is the following notice of Captain Duncan's death :
" Captain Duncan, whose unfortunate altercation with ex-Sen- ator Hannegan we mentioned yesterday, died on Saturday, twenty-six hours after receiving the fatal blow. Captain D. was a brother of Mrs. Hannegan, and a member of her family. He was formerly a citizen of Newark, Ohio, and commanded a company of mounted riflemen during the Mexican war. His personal appearance was exceedingly prepossessing and com- manding. He was about forty years of age, and had never been married.
"Nothing has transpired as to the cause of this lamentable affair, but it is generally attributed to the influence of liquor. No steps have yet been taken to arrest Mr. Hannegan. The anguish of his mind is said to be indescribable. His friends are apprehensive that the consequences of his rash act will drive him mad. What a lesson !
"' Better be with the dead,
Whom we, to gain our peace, have sent to peace, Than on the torture of the mind to lie In restless ecstasy. Duncan is in his grave ; After life's fitful fever, he sleeps well ; Passion has done its worst, nor steel, nor poison, Malice domestic, foreign levy, nothing Can touch him farther.'"
Mr. Hannegan was not indicted and tried for the killing of Captain Duncan, the universal sentiment of the people being in his favor. But had he been convicted it would have added nothing to his suffering. He sought surcease of sorrow by leaving the State and going to a distant place, but peace did not come. He removed to St. Louis in 1857, and on the 25th of January, 1859, he died in that city. His remains were brought to Terre Haute and deposited in the earth with impos- ing ceremonies, on the banks of his own beloved Wabash. Let us hope that the peace which came not to him on earth was found when he entered the dark portals of death.
216
BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL SKETCHES.
Mr. Hannegan was warm in his friendships, and had a large personal following. He and Judge John R. Porter and Jose- phus Collett maintained the closest intimacy for many years. It was their custom to often meet at the home of Mr. Collett and spend days together. Hannegan was a brilliant conversation- alist, Porter a fascinating talker, and Collett the best story tel- ler in the country 'round about. When they met it was seldom they parted until
" Some wee short hour ayont the twal."
One evening they entered into a compact that the one who first died should return to his friends, if it were possible, and give them words or tokens of what was going on in the other world.
After this every time they met, before separating, they would clasp hands and renew the covenant. Judge Porter first " crossed the river," and soon afterward Mr. Hannegan wrote Mr. Collett a note stating that he would be with him the next Wednesday evening. He came at the time, and was received by Mr. Collett with all his wonted cordiality. But he was nervous and ill at ease. After supper the two friends conversed until bedtime without either of them naming Judge Porter. When the time for retiring arrived, Mr. Collett announced it, and proposed conducting Mr. Hannegan to his room, where- upon Hannegan sprang to his feet, and in an excited manner said : " Joe Collett, has John Porter been back to you?" " No, Mr. Hannegan," replied Mr. Collett; " has he appeared to you?" "No; and now I know there is no coming back after death. John Porter never broke his word." This instance illustrates Mr. Hannegan's faith in mankind, and his confidence in the veracity of his friend.
When Mr. Hannegan was on his way to Covington in search of a location, he was overtaken in the woods, one evening, by darkness. He saw a cabin, and, approaching it, asked for shelter for the night. It was given him, and next morning, when ready to resume his journey, he demanded his bill, and was answered there was none. This was a boon to the young man, for he had but a pittance in his pocket, and could ill have spared the small amount he expected to pay. He never forgot
217
EDWARD A. HANNEGAN.
the kindness then shown him, and years afterward, when he had become famous, he repaid the debt with interest doubly com- pounded. A rich neighbor had killed the son of the woman who had given him shelter and bread in the woods, and Han- negan was employed to prosecute him. The attorney for the defense tried to make capital for his client by speaking of the efforts made to convict him, dwelling particularly on the em- ployment of the most eloquent man in the country to prosecute him. Hannegan replied by telling the story of his stopping in the cabin in the woods, and saying that the woman who then gave him shelter and bread had come to him in her extremity, and requested his services in prosecuting the murderer of her son. "She said she had no money to give me," said Hanne- gan, "but she had a horse which I could send for when I pleased." With flashing eye and quivering lips, he continued : " When Edward A. Hannegan and his family are starving for bread, then, but not till then, will he send for the horse."
In some respects Mr. Hannegan was superstitious. He would not commence a journey or any important business on Friday. Neither would he pay out money on Monday, and so well was this fact known that his bills were never presented on that day.
For years a great rivalry existed between Covington and At- tica. Hannegan headed it in Covington, and James D. McDon- ald in Attica. In 1848, when the water was being let into the Wabash and Erie Canal below Lafayette, the level at Attica was necessarily filled before the Covington level was reached. Some ten days before the latter level could be filled Mr. Han- negan and a party of his friends went to Attica for the purpose of having the water drawn into the Covington level. The boat- men prevented this from being done, and Mr. Hannegan left for home. A few days afterward he returned, with some two hundred followers, determined to turn on the water. The party took possession of the lock, placed guards around it, and turned on the water. Ezekiel M. McDonald, and some half dozen other citizens of Attica, were present, and mixed with the crowd in a friendly way. A Covington man knocked a Mr. Herr, of Attica, down, while he was in the water, and Mr. McDonald. on attempting to go to his assistance, was struck with a club and badly hurt. The Covington men, having accomplished
218
BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL SKETCHES.
their purpose, returned home and disbanded. Mr. McDonald determined to hold Mr. Hannegan personally responsible for the assault upon him, and punish him for it. Some six months afterward he and Hannegan met at the Brown Hotel, in Cov- ington, and McDonald at once assaulted him. The parties were separated before either was hurt, and Hannegan left the hotel. He went home and armed himself and returned at the head of some forty of his friends, and demanded that McDon- ald be surrendered to him. The latter was secreted in the house, and knew what was going on. The landlord, however, told the mob that McDonald had gone, and it left in search of him. A horse was obtained, and McDonald left town by way of the Crawfordsville road, and by a circuitous route reached his home. Had he been caught he would have been killed, so excited and mad were Hannegan and his friends.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.