USA > Indiana > Biographical and historical sketches of early Indiana > Part 43
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The present Grand Treasurer of the Grand Lodge of Indiana is Charles Fisher. No history of Masonry in this State would be complete without a biography of this worthy man. It is be- lieved that there is no other member of the fraternity in the United States who has seen so many years of continuous ser- vice as an officer of the order as Mr. Fisher. In all his official life there has never been a breath of suspicion against his integ- rity. He is a model citizen as well as a model Mason, and his example is worthy of emulation by all men who aspire to be good citizens and good Masons. He was born in Dauphin county, Pennsylvania, on the 26th day of February, 1806, and came to Indianapolis in October, 1834, and has resided there continuously ever since. He was made a Mason by Center Lodge on New Year's day, 1836. In 1840 he was elected Sec- retary of his lodge, and held the office, without interruption, for
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thirty-five years. He was Recorder of Indianapolis Chapter of R. A. Masons from 1855 to December, 1882, Recorder of Raper Commandery from 1855 to December, 1877, Treasurer of the Grand Commandery since 1860, Treasurer of the Grand Council since 1861. In 1838 he was elected Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Indiana and held the office one year. In 1848 he was elected Grand Treasurer of the Grand Lodge, and holds the office to-day, having been custodian of the funds of the Grand Lodge for thirty-six years. In addition to these offices, on the formation of the Masonic Mutual Benefit Society of Indiana, in 1870, Mr. Fisher was elected Treasurer and held the office fourteen years. As Treasurer of this society more than one million of dollars passed through his hands. His accounts have always been correctly kept, and there has never been a dollar of discrepancy between his books and those of the Sec- retary. Surely this is a record of which any man may be proud, and his many friends in Indiana-Masons and non-Masons- will be gratified to know that he bids fair to live many years to honor the position he fills so well.
John M. Bramwell, ex-Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Indiana, is a native of Jefferson county, Indiana. He was a merchant's clerk for several years in Madison, and afterwards went into business on his own account. He was the first Aud- itor of Jefferson county, being elected in 1841, and serving until 1848, when he resigned and came to Indianapolis to engage in mercantile pursuits. He was made a Mason in Marion Lodge in 1850, and ever since has been an active and zealous worker. He was elected Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge in 1868, and is the oldest active member of the Grand Lodge. At the meeting of the Grand Lodge, May, 1882, the Grand Secretary. W. H. Smythe, prepared a full list of all the officers of the Grand Lodge since its organization in 1818. From the reca- pitulation the following items of general interest are hereto ap- pended :
" Since the organization of the Grand Lodge the following brethren have been elected and installed Grand Masters: Alex- ander Buckner, Alexander A. Meek, John Tipton, John Sheets, Jonathan Jennings, Marston H. Clark, Isaac Howk, Elihu Stout,
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Abel C. Pepper, Philip Mason, William Sheets, Woodbridge Parker, Daniel Kelso, John B. Martin, James L. Hagin, Caleb B. Smith, Isaac Bartlett, Johnston Watts, Elizur Deming, Alex- ander C. Downey, Henry C. Lawrence, Sol. D. Bayless, Thomas R. Austin, John B. Fravel, William Hacker, H. G. Hazelrigg, Martin H. Rice, Christian Fetta, Lucien A. Foote, Daniel McDon- ald, Frank S. Devol, Andrew J. Hay, Robert Van Valzah, Bal- lamy S. Sutton. By this it will be seen that but thirty-five breth- ren have had the honor of presiding over the Grand Lodge, and of this number there are now living the following : Thomas R. Austin, A. C. Downey, William Hacker, Martin H. Rice, Chris- tian Fetta, L. A. Foote, Daniel McDonald, Frank S. Devol, A. J. Hay, Robert Van Valzah, Ballamy S. Sutton.
" Those who have served as Grand Secretaries are as follows : Henry P. Thornton, William C. Keen, J. F. D. Lanier, A. W. Morris, Daniel Kelso, A. W. Harrison, Charles Fisher, William H. Martin, Francis King, William Hacker, John M. Bramwell, William H. Smythe. Of this number the following are now living : Charles Fisher, William Hacker, John M. Bramwell, William H. Smythe."
The intelligent reader will observe that this list contains the names of men as renowned in the State as they were in Ma- sonry. The lessons they had learned in the lodge room qual- ified them the better for the discharge of their duties as citizens. A good Mason is always a good man.
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MADISON FROM 1844 TO 1852 .*
THE PUBLIC BUILDINGS.
I FIRST knew Madison in 1844. In October of that year I landed, one evening, at the city wharf, and put up for the night at a hostelry known as the Light House. It stood on the east side of Mulberry street extended, between Ohio street and low-water mark. It was a two-story brick and frame house of the ordi- nary style, and was the only building then in the city between Ohio street and the river, and it was the only one that ever stood within these bounds since I have known the city. It long since passed away, but its location and its appearance are in- delibly written upon my memory.
At this time Madison was a well built city of 4000 or 5000 souls. Its streets were graded and its sidewalks paved much as they are to-day. The exception I now remember is High street, which then, east of Main street, was neither graded nor graveled. The principal hotels in the city at that time were the Madison Hotel and the Washington House. The former stood on the site of the Academy of Our Lady of the Angels, and was kept by George D. Fitzhugh, now of Indianapolis, and the latter, which was under the direction of Enoch D. Withers, still stands as a monument of hotel architecture of the olden time. The Court-house was a two-story brick building of modest preten- sions, standing on the site of the present one. Southeast of the Court-house was the jail, an old, dingy building two stories high, fronting on an alley, with cells in either story, and rooms for the
* An address delivered at the High School building in Madison, on Thursday evening, March 13, 1879.
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jailer on the south. On the northeast corner of the Court-house lot was the Clerk's office, a squatty one-story brick house of two rooms, fronting on Main Cross street. At the northwest corner of the lot, on the corner of Main Cross and Main streets, stood a two-story building, having two rooms in the first story, and three in the second, with a platform on a level with the latter running the entire length from east to west. The platform was reached from both Main Cross and Main streets by wooden stairways, over which people passed to reach the offices above. The main room below was occupied by Bramwell & Phillips as a dry goods store, and the other was the office of Dr. Joseph H. D. Rogers whose presence is not yet denied you. The west room above was the Recorder's office, the center one the Audi- tor's office, and the east one the office of the County Treasurer. Around the Court-house lot was a brick wall four feet high, capped with stone. Such were the public buildings of Madison thirty-five years ago.
THE CHURCHES.
Saint Michael's Catholic church then stood, and the priest who ministered to the spiritual wants of the parish was Maurice de St. Palais, afterwards the distinguished Bishop of Vincennes. This prelate was succeeded by Father Dupontavice, who was known to you all. The Rev. Harvey Curtis was pastor of the Second Presbyterian church, the Rev. Mr. Leavenworth of the First Presbyterian church, and the Rev. E. D. Owen of the Baptist church on Vine street. The policy of the Methodist church is such that its clergy remain but a short time in charge of a particular congregation, but I remember the Rev. W. C. Smith and the Rev. Prescott as pastors of Wesley Chapel, and the Rev. John Keiger and the Rev. Dr. Daily as pastors of Third street church. Saint John's church was not then in ex- istence. This church was an offshoot from Wesley Chapel. Among its leading members were the Taylors-Gamaliel, John H. and William M .- Caleb Schmidlapp and Charles W. Bas- nett. The church building was erected in 1849 or 1850, near the site of the first Methodist church built in Madison. The Rev. John S. Bayliss was the first pastor of Saint John's.
Christ Episcopal church and the United Presbyterian church
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were erected during this time. The former was built mainly by the exertions of Joseph M. Moore, then cashier of the Mad- ison Branch Bank, and of its worthy rector, the Rev. Dr. Clax- ton. Dr. Claxton was a gentleman of acknowledged ability and was esteemed outside his parish as well as within it. He was, probably, the most popular minister in the city of his day.
The Reverend James Browne, pastor of the United Presby- terian church, was a man of earnest convictions and of deep piety. He was an active worker in the anti-slavery cause, and did much to create public sentiment among us in opposition to human slavery. He used to declaim against this abomination from the pulpit, and was ever ready to espouse the cause of the oppressed. It is to the labors of such men as Mr. Browne that the world is indebted for that public sentiment which eventually strangled this monster in his lair.
THE NEWSPAPERS.
At this time there were two weekly newspapers published in Madison, the Banner and the Courier. The first was edited by . Daniel D. Jones, known as Davy Jones, and the latter by Rolla Doolittle. Mr. Jones was a dapper little gentleman, a Welsh- man by birth, and in his day the foremost newspaper writer in the State. His sentences were short and terse, and their mean- ing always apparent. He seldom wrote his editorials ; he set them at the case and composed them as he handled the types. He was a genial, social man, delighting in fun and practical jokes. I was once at a social party at his house when a most ludicrous incident occurred. He kissed a young lady, who turned upon him as if to box his ears. His wife, a large, portly woman, was present, and to her Mr. Jones ran for protection. She was seated, and he cuddled by her side, sitting on the floor with his head under her arm, and looking into her face, his eyes sparkling with merriment, he said: "Mother, protect your boy." I need say nothing of Mr. Doolittle, the editor of the Courier, as he is of and with you at the present time.
William W. Crail, now, as then, of Louisville, Kentucky, bought a half interest in the Banner, and soon afterwards it was converted into a daily. On Mr. Jones's death, in 1851, his late interest in the paper was purchased by the Hon. John R.
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Cravens, who, in March, 1851, sold it to William Wesley Wool- len. Subsequent to this time Mr. Woollen bought Mr. Crail's interest, and in 1853 sold the Banner to General Milton Stapp, who soon afterwards disposed of it to Captain W. H. Keyt, in whose hands it died.
Samuel F. and John I. Covington bought the Courier in 1848, or thereabout, and changed it to a daily. In 1849 they sold it to Mr. M. C. Garber, now its senior proprietor. Mr. Garber is the ranking newspaper publisher in the State, having been continuously engaged in the business for twenty-nine years and over.
In 1851 Milton Gregg and John G. Sering established the Madison Daily Tribune. After publishing the Tribune for a short time Mr. Sering withdrew from the firm, and Mr. Gregg removed the paper to New Albany, where it was published for several years under his direction.
In 1852 the Daily Madisonian was established by a company of Democratic politicians. Rolla Doolittle was its publisher, and Robert S. Sproule its editor. It lived during the Scott and Pierce campaign, and soon thereafter it yielded up the ghost.
A daily paper was published a week or so during this time by B. F. Foster and Ben. F. Reed, but its life was too short for it to be properly classed among the journals of Madison.
A Free-soil paper was established in 1848 to advocate the election of Van Buren and Adams. Its editor was Riley E. Stratton, who afterwards went to Oregon and became a leading jurist of that State.
With the exceptions of two religious weeklies-one a Baptist and the other a Universalist-these are all the newspapers pub- lished in Madison during the time covered by this address.
THE BAR.
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At this time the bar of Madison was very able. Marshall, the giant intellect of Indiana, was of it; so was the suave and polished Sullivan ; the painstaking and prolix Stevens ; Glass, vigorous in mind and body ; the polite and affable Dunn ; the brilliant and erratic Sheets ; the scholarly King; the method- ical Markley ; the sarcastic Chapman ; the studious and careful Troxell ; the brusque Daily ; the two Brights, the elder a law-
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ver of much ability, and the younger, who gathered in the Sen- ate chamber the laurels which would have been his had he con- tinued at the bar. The two William Hendrickses, senior and junior, were of it-the elder an ex-Governor and an ex-Senator ; the younger genial in disposition and with a heart ever respon- sive to distress :
" Green be the turf above thee, Friend of my better days ; None knew thee but to love thee, None named thee but to praise."
There were two Abram Hendrickses-John Abram and Abram W. There were the two Hillises-William C. and John S .; Oliver S. Pitcher, once a partner of the elder Bright ; Hull, and Thom, and Crittenden, and Walker, and Shaw. and perhaps oth- ers whom I have forgotten. One whom I have not named I first knew as a wagon-maker in the neighboring town of Han- over. One-half the day he worked at his bench; the other half and well into the night he studied law. Weekly, under the summer's sun and through the winter's snow, he walked to Madison to recite his lessons, for he was too poor to pay for riding. In due time he stood his examination and was admit- ted to the bar. He came here and opened an office, but clients came not. Weekly board bills were to pay, clothing had to be bought, and other necessary expenses to be met, and how to do these things was the problem this courageous young man was to solve. More than once he consulted with me in regard to abandoning his profession and returning to his trade. I ad- vised against it, and the advice was followed. After awhile " the tide which, taken at its flood, leads on to fortune," turned. He was elected City Attorney, then County Attorney, then a Sena- tor, and now he is the honored Judge of your Circuit Court .*
" Honor and shame from no condition rise ; Act well your part, there all the honor lies."
Many of those I have named have pleaded their last case and gone to judgment. Marshall sleeps near your city, mourned by a State, and he would be mourned by a nation had his theater of action been larger ; Sullivan left you but yester- day, like a ripe sheaf garnered in the field ; Stevens, overtaken
* Hon. J. Y. Allison.
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in old age by poverty, his mind gave way, and he died at the Indiana Hospital for the Insane ; Dunn fills an honorable place in the military service of the country ; Glass was cut down in the prime of a vigorous manhood ; Sheets died young, a victim of an unfortunate appetite ; King is practicing his profession in Chicago ; Markley is a prosperous merchant in the same city ; Troxell lives in North-western Indiana, still engaged in the practice of the law ; Daily, after representing Nebraska in the National Congress, died while yet a young man ; the elder Bright is an invalid, and lives at the capital of the State, an honored citizen ; and the younger Bright, after serving seven- teen years as a Senator of the United States, died a few years ago in the Monumental City, and his remains now lie mould- ering on the banks of the blue Patapsco. The two William Hendrickses died in your midst many years ago ; John Abram Hendricks fell at Pea Ridge while leading his regiment against the enemy ; Abram W. Hendricks is an eminent lawyer at In- dianapolis ; William C. Hillis lives in Northern Missouri, where he has filled several offices of honor and profit ; Shaw is a re- tired merchant of Dayton, Ohio; John S. Hillis died in his youth, and was laid in the shade of the old homestead where he first saw the light of day ; Walker lives among you ; Pitcher is a thrifty business man in a sister State; Crittenden is prac- ticing his profession at Washington City ; Hull and Thom are dead and they were buried in your midst.
THE CIRCUIT JUDGES.
In this connection it is proper that I should say something of the Judges before whom these men practiced their profession. When I first knew Madison the Circuit Judge was Miles C. Eggleston. He was then in feeble health and well stricken in years. He was small in stature, a good lawyer, and although at times cross and petulant, he never forgot the dignity of his station.
Courtland Cushing succeeded Judge Eggleston upon the bench. He had respectable talents, was very dressy and quite a beau among the ladies. While serving as judge he was ap- pointed Chargé d'Affaires to Ecuador. After serving out his term he entered the service of the Nicaragua Transit Company. and soon thereafter died on the Isthmus of Panama.
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Alexander C. Downey, now, as then, a resident of Rising Sun, followed Judge Cushing as presiding judge of the Madi- son Circuit. Judge Downey is, or was at this time, an inveterate wag. I will relate two incidents which will show the truth of this :
In these days full beards were unknown, and a moustache was as rare as a disinterested friend. The Rev. Frederick T. Brown once apologized from his pulpit for wearing a full beard, and no other public man of the day had the temerity to offend in a similar manner. A young man noted as a wit, and who, since that time, has attracted much attention by reason of a rencounter which resulted in death, removed to Madison at this time. He had a red moustache which he cultured with the greatest care. He was often in the Court-house, and one day while he was there Judge Downey wrote the following order and handed it to the clerk :
"Ordered by the court, that the young man with the red moustache be taken into the custody of the sheriff and by him conducted to the nearest barber shop and there shaved within an inch of his life ; and may the Lord have mercy on his soul."
On another occasion, when the term of the court was nearly ended and order was lax, Abram W. Hendricks and John S. Hillis lay down at full length within the bar of the court-room. Observing their posture, Judge Downey wrote the following order and passed it to the clerk :
" Ordered by the court, that Abram W. Hendricks and John S. Hillis, two members of this bar, be, and each of them hereby is. fined five dollars for contempt of court for lying at full length within the bar during the sitting of the court." And on a line below the order, and in brackets, he added : " Which may be satisfied by bringing into court, at once, twelve good, ripe watermelons." The dozen watermelons were soon in the Tem- ple of Justice and the wrath of the Judge appeased.
JUDGES OF THE PROBATE COURT.
At this time William Hendricks, junior, was the Judge of the Jefferson Probate Court. This court was one of limited juris-
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diction, its business being to settle the estates of deceased per- sons, and to care for their minor children. Judge Hendricks was one of the kindest men I ever knew. Of a genial nature, he had the esteem and love of all who knew him. I never heard him say an unkind word of any one, nor any one say an unkind word of him. He was one of those rare men whose province is to make happy every one they meet. I can recall the memory of no one with more pleasure than that of this good and modest man. In the language applied to another by one of the most gifted daughters of Indiana, " He was good enough to be a woman."
Williamson Dunn, of Hanover, succeeded Judge Hendricks. He was a man of marked character. He was a soldier of the war of 1812, and had served the State in many important posi- tions. He was of unquestioned courage, and although an elder of the Presbyterian church, he never pleaded his religion in bar for not resenting an insult. In the year 1848 a meeting was held in the Court-house to put forward General Taylor for the presidency. It was the first meeting for that purpose held in the country. and as it was mainly inspired by Judge Dunn, it will be seen that he was the author of the movement that culmi- nated in the election of old " Rough and Ready " to the presi- dency. The Judge offered a resolution nominating General Taylor and supported it in an earnest speech. Charles Wood- ward submitted an amendment, putting forward Tom Corwin, of Ohio, for Vice-President. This Judge Dunn opposed. He said that its adoption would militate against the interests of General Taylor. It will be remembered that Governor Corwin opposed the Mexican war. In a speech delivered in the Senate of the United States, he said :
" If I were a Mexican I would tell you, 'Have you not room in your own country to bury your dead men? If you come into mine we will greet you with bloody hands. and welcome you to hospitable graves.' "
Referring to this speech. Judge Dunn said that while he could cordially support its author for Vice-President, many friends of General Taylor would be driven from him if his name were
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coupled with that of the man who had uttered such a sentiment. Mr. Woodward replied to him with some warmth, and during his speech said : " The gentleman admits that the nomination of Governor Corwin would be a good one, but says he is afraid to have it made." Slapping his breast with his hand as was his custom when speaking earnestly, he exclaimed, " Coward- ice, sir, cowardice." Judge Dunn sprang to his feet, and ap- proaching Mr. Woodward, said in a loud voice : "I am an old man, and never before was cowardice imputed to me. I ask the gentleman to take back his words. Will he do it?" Whether it was the sight of the judge's fist, or whether it was a sense of justice that caused Mr. Woodward to withdraw the of- fensive words, I know not, but I remember they were withdrawn.
THE ASSOCIATE JUDGES.
Previous to the adoption of the present constitution each county had two associate judges. These officials, usually de- nominated side judges, sat on either side of the presiding judge, and acted as guy-ropes to hold him level. As a rule they were neither Blackstones nor Mansfields, but were possessed of good common sense, an important requisite of the righteous judge. William M. Taylor and Robert Kinnear were the associate judges in Jefferson, and they were the last of their line. They went out of office with the old constitution, but their deeds live after them. Judge Taylor was a low. chunky man with a kindly face, was a saddler by trade and a gentleman by nature. He dressed neatly, wore a fob-chain with a large seal dangling at his side, and walked with a cane. Judge Kinnear was a farmer. and lived near Bryantsburgh. He was a large man with stooped shoulders and an ungainly walk. These judges sometimes, though rarely, held court in the absence of the presiding judge. When they did so the lawyers would call up their cases which had no merit and have them decided. I remember one case which was tried in the absence of Judge Cushing that caused much merriment at the time. It grew out of a horse trade, and Mr. Michael G. Bright was the defendant, and acted as his own attorney. It was of that class of suits which, under the old practice, was brought when the plaintiff was not the party in in- terest. Mr. Bright called the case, and, as attorney for the
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plaintiff, ordered it dismissed. "Not so fast, Mr. Bright," said Mr. Marshall, rising to his feet. "I have something to say about that." He proceeded to state the case, and succeeded in satisfying the court that it should not be dismissed. The trial proceeded, and Mr. Bright made an ingenious speech in which he quoted much law, and when he sat down it seemed certain that his case was won. Mr. Marshall arose, and with unusual deliberation addressed the court. He said that as the case was a small one-the amount involved being but sixty dol- lars-he had given it but little thought ; that Mr. Bright knew the law, and as he was attorney for the plaintiff, attorney for the defendant, and defendant, himself, he had no doubt thoroughly familiarized himself with the case; that, if what he had laid down to the court as law was the law, he was entitled to a find- ing in his favor ; therefore, he moved the court that Mr. Bright be put upon his oath, and required to answer as to whether or not the law he had given the court was the law of the land. Turning to Mr. Bright, and pointing at him with his finger, he exclaimed : "Will you swear, Mr. Bright, will you swear. sir?" The effect was electrical. Mr. Bright would not swear, and Mr. Marshall won the case.
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