USA > Indiana > Biographical and historical sketches of early Indiana > Part 5
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RATLIFF BOON.
and assisting the pure and disinterested in combatting alike the open and disguised enemies of republicanism, and lending dig- nity to their councils. I have been drawn into these reflections by unexpectedly seeing this time-honored father of Democracy called, a few days since, to preside, at Louisiana, over one of the largest and most respectable political meetings ever assem- bled at that place. SPECTATOR."
The editor of the paper which published this communication says, " Colonel Boon was one of the most sterling Democrats in Indiana, and is one of the best in Missouri : yet his Democracy, past services and unflinching integrity have not saved him from the machinations of those whose instrument the editor of the Missourian is."
" Spectator " was at fault in relation to the success of Dr. Gorin's skill, for Governor Boon soon had a relapse and was compelled to take to his bed. His health was such that he de- termined to withdraw from the canvass. This he did, very much to the regret of his friends. He recovered his health suf- ficiently to get about the town, but not to travel. He was very anxious for the election of Mr. Polk, and as the election hinged on the result in New York, he was at the wharf boat all day November 20, 1844, in hope of learning how New York had voted. He said during the day that if the boat brought the news of Polk's election he would be willing to go home and die. When the boat came with the information that New York had voted for Polk and he was elected, Ratliff Boon went home, and in a few hours afterward died. He was buried in the cem- etery at Louisiana, and his son, Baily Hart Boon, caused a monument to be erected at his grave bearing this inscription :
.. RATLIFF BOON, " Born January 18, 1781 ; died November 20, 1844."
And the earthly career of Indiana's second Lieutenant-Gov- ernor was ended.
E. C. Murray, Esq., of Louisiana, Mo., who married a grand- daughter of Ratliff Boon, has furnished the author the following account of Governor Boon's career in Missouri, written by Colonel N. P. Minor :
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BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL SKETCHES.
" In 1839 Hon. R. Boon came to Missouri from Indiana, and settled at Louisiana permanently with his family, Mrs. Luce, Baily H. Boon and Matilda, afterward intermarried with John Folks, Jr. He was then apparently a long ways on the shady side of life, and yet full of pluck and vigor, and there was never more vitality concentrated in one small body than in his. He was the very embodiment of courage and daring, and as we listened to his fierce philippics on his enemies, and looked into his small but deep-set eyes, we could not but realize the truth of General Jackson's encomium on Boon, when he called him ' faithful among the faithless." The Missouri Republican, the Whig organ, called him . Collar Boon,' because they said he wore the collar of General Jackson, for whom he had intense admiration. But it was all words; he was a born partisan, loved his friends and hated his enemies, but at heart he was too honest and independent to fawn on any man, and if General Jackson, as much as he loved him, had been recreant to his- trust, Boon would have branded him as he afterward did Colo- nel Benton. His interest in politics never abated by his change of location ; in fact he always wore his harness, and he was al- ways ready to strike heavy blows for what he thought was right. About this time Benton began to show treachery to the Demo- cratic party, although he did not go off then boldly with Van Buren, Dix and others. He had his currency bills pass the Legislature, the object being to suppress the circulation of small bank bills, the passing or receiving them being made a felony. Of course, no one regarded the law, and it fell still-born. In 1843, I think, a Whig Congress had passed their mandamus act ordering the State to district before electing their members of Congress. As 1844 approached it was evident that Benton's. heart was with Van Buren and Blair, then avowed Freesoilers, although I believe he voted for Polk. The Democracy divided, and a fierce war followed. Colonel Boon became the candidate of what was called the soft wing of the Democracy on account of their opposition to the folly of Benton's currency bills, and he made a splendid canvass of the State. Much might be writ- ten of Colonel Boon's career in Missouri, to demonstrate how profound and fixed he was in his views, and how unyielding he was in all things. The labor of the canvass and advancing
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RATLIFF BOON.
years had worn out the old man, and he was admonished to set his house in order. He was willing to go, but he wanted to know that James K. Polk was elected before his eyes closed in death. The November election came at last, but the result was so close that none knew who the lucky man was. The State of Louisiana, long in doubt, after weary weeks, declared for Polk, and then the Empire State, New York, trembled in the balance. Then a single county in that State, then a single township in that county of that State, hung fire, until some time in No- vember, when the news reached us that New York had voted for Polk, which made him President. Then the venerable old man, with the spray from the Jordan of death beating in his face, exclaimed, ' Polk has beaten Henry Clay ; I am willing to go ;' and with the evening tide he entered that undiscovered land we call death. N. P. MINOR."
Knowing that the Hon. Charles H. Test was familiar with the prominent men of early Indiana, I wrote him, requesting his recollections of Ratliff Boon, and in reply received the follow- ing :
"DEAR SIR-I had but a slight acquaintance with Ratliff Boon. He lived on the west side of the State and I on the east. The first time I ever saw him was in 1817, at Corydon. He was a member of the first Legislature after the admission of In- diana as a State, and appeared to be an active member of the body. I recollect a circumstance occurring at that session of the General Assembly, strongly illustrative of the spirit of the times in regard to the negro race. A gentleman of Kentucky, by the name of Sumner, had determined to manumit his slaves, some forty in number, and with that view petitioned the Legis- lature to be allowed to settle them in Indiana, promising to pro- vide for them until such time as they were able to take care of themselves. The petition was referred to a select committee of which Boon was a member. The committee reported to the House a letter addressed to Mr. Sumner, in which they compli- mented Mr. Sumner as a philanthropist, but could not consent to his proposition to settle his freedmen in Indiana, as it set a dangerous precedent. They declared it would not do to allow
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free negroes to settle in Indiana, as in process of time they might inaugurate all the horrors of the massacre of St. Do- mingo. The reasons given for rejecting the petition of Mr. Sumner are at this day somewhat laughable, but the manner in which it was done was quite as much so. The idea of a sage Legislature addressing a letter to a private individual is quite as ludicrous as the fears that at some future day we might all be murdered by the freedmen if allowed to live within our bounda- ries. Amos Lane, of Dearborn, was the only member who op- posed the report of the committee.
" In those early days the whole State was infested by wolves. Farmers could raise no sheep. The Legislature undertook to give some protection in this particular, and passed a law allow- ing a premium on wolf scalps, to be paid out of the State treas- ury. The whole revenue of the State did not amount to much more than the expenses of an incorporated small city do now. The law failed to designate the kind of wolf for the killing of which the premium should be paid. It was intended, without doubt, to embrace the large gray species, for they were the most to be feared among the farmers' sheep. Boon, however, went to hunting prairie wolves, found in great numbers in the Wabash country, and at one haul drew from the treasury about $700. The next year the Legislature repealed the wolf law to save the treasury from bankruptcy.
" Boon was a lithe, active man when I last saw him. In height he was about five feet ten inches, spare in person, and as straight as an Indian. His forehead was low and receded rap- idly from his eyebrows. His face in this particular was pecul- iar. Without doubt he was closely connected with the Boones of Kentucky. Yours truly,
" CHARLES H. TEST."
There are few men now living who knew Ratliff Boon, and these few are widely scattered. He belonged to a type of men suited to frontier life, and his career, both in Indiana and Mis- souri, was that of a courageous and self-reliant man. He was a pioneer of two States, and he left his impress upon them both.
WILLIAM HENDRICKS.
WILLIAM HENDRICKS, Governor of Indiana from 1822 to 1825, was born at Ligonier, Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, in 1783. He was educated at Cannonsburg, having for a class- mate Dr. Wylie, afterward a distinguished president of the State University at Bloomington. They both became eminent, one as a statesman, the other as an educator, but their diverse path- ways did not sever their early friendship, which terminated only with their lives.
After reaching manhood Mr. Hendricks left Pennsylvania and located at Cincinnati, Ohio. He remained there but a year or so, and during that time studied law and was admitted to the bar. In 1814 he left Cincinnati and took up his abode at Madi- son, this State, and resided there until he died.
Indiana was then a Territory, and the same year, 1814, he- was elected a member of the House of Representatives of the Territorial Legislature from Jefferson county, and was chosen Speaker of that body. The question of a State government was then agitating the people, and in 1816 a convention was held at Corydon to form a State constitution. This was but two years after Mr. Hendricks settled at Madison, but during this time he became so well known that on the organization of the conven- tion he was made its secretary. He so discharged the duties of this office as to win the good opinion of the delegates, and when the convention adjourned he had established for himself a repu- tation for business aptitude and political sagacity equal to that of any man within the boundaries of the State. At the next August election-the first held under the State government-he was elected the sole representative of the people of the new.
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State to the National Congress. He was re-elected in 1818 and in 1820, thus serving the people of Indiana in Congress for six consecutive years. He discharged the duties of his high posi- tion with so much acceptability that at the end of his third term, in 1822, he was elected Governor of the State without opposi- tion, receiving 18,340 votes, all that were cast. Thus he and Jonathan Jennings, the first Governor, exchanged places.
Before Governor Hendricks's term as Governor had expired the Legislature elected him a Senator of the United States, and on Saturday, February 12, 1825, he filed his resignation as Governor in the office of the Secretary of State, and notified the Senate thereof in the following communication, dated at Indianapolis the day aforesaid :
" GENTLEMEN OF THE SENATE-Permit me to inform you that I have filed in the office of the Secretary of State my resig- nation as Governor, and to assure you of the great degree of gratitude, which, under all circumstances, I must ever feel for the many signal instances of confidence reposed and honor con- ferred by the people and Legislature of the State. I have the honor to be, with the greatest respect, your obedient servant, " WILLIAM HENDRICKS."
In 1831 he was re-elected, and at the expiration of this term- in 1837-he retired to private life, and never afterward took upon himself the cares of public office. Thus it will be seen that for twenty-one years-from 1816 till 1837-he served with- out intermission the people of Indiana in the three highest offices within their gift.
Men who found empires should not be forgotten. They plant the tree of civil liberty, and water its roots, while those who come after them but trim its branches to preserve its symmetry. If they plant carelessly and in poor soil the tree will have but a sickly growth. That the men who planted Indiana in the wil- derness sixty-seven years ago planted wisely and well, is evi- denced by its wonderful growth. It was then inhabited only by a few thousand hardy pioneers, who had settled on its south- ern and eastern borders ; now it contains two millions of prosper- ous people, its whole area being covered with happy homes.
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WILLIAM HENDRICKS.
William Hendricks had as much to do with laying the found- ations of this great State and commencing its superstructure as any other man, excepting Jonathan Jennings only, and yet how few there are who know he ever lived. How transitory is the fame of human greatness.
" This is the state of man ; to-day he puts forth The tender leaves of hope, to-morrow blossoms, And bears his blushing honors thick upon him ; The third day comes a frost, a killing frost,"
and he dies and is forgotten.
Worldly honors are not easily won, although the bard tells us that some men have greatness thrust upon them. In the con- test for fame there is sharp competition, and those only win who have endurance and mettle. A number of educated and tal- ented young men had come to Indiana in quest of fortune, and had William Hendricks been a dolt or a laggard he would have been distanced in the race. But he was neither. He was talented and energetic, and he won. He also knew how to utilize the means at his command and to make the most of the situation. When he came to Indiana he brought with him a printing press, and soon afterward commenced the publication of a weekly paper. It was called the Eagle, and, I believe, was the second newspaper published in the State, the Vincennes Sun being the first. Through his paper he became known and paved the way for his political fortune. He made the first re- vision of the laws of the State and had it printed on his own press. The Legislature offered to pay him for this work, but he declined all pecuniary compensation. It then passed a res- olution of thanks, the only return for his labor he would take.
Governor Hendricks was a friend to education. Hanover College and the State University at Bloomington both received his fostering care. He took an active interest in public enter- prises, and frequently aided them with his purse. He was very politic in his actions, never antagonizing a man when he could honorably avoid it. He had a large estate, and after leaving the Senate he spent his time in managing it and practicing law. He held on to his real estate with great tenacity, leasing it for a term of years when practicable, instead of selling it. Many
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BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL SKETCHES.
houses were erected at Madison on property leased of him, and, like most houses built under such circumstances, they were poorly and cheaply constructed. His disposition to lease rather than sell his property caused much dissatisfaction among the people, and very greatly lessened his influence.
On the 16th of May, 1850, Governor Hendricks rode out to his farm, just north of Madison, to oversee the building of a family vault. While assisting in the preparation of a receptacle for his body " after life's fitful fever" was over, he was taken ill and soon afterward died. The author is not certain whether he died at the farm-house or was taken back to his home in the city, but is inclined to the opinion that he breathed his last near the spot where he is buried and where his remains have crum- bled to dust.
The Indiana Gazetteer of 1850 thus speaks of him :
" Governor Hendricks was for many years by far the most popular man in the State. He had been its sole representative in Congress for six years, elected on each occasion by large ma- jorities, and no member of that body, probably, was more atten- tive to the interests of the State he represented, or more indus- trious in arranging all the private or local business entrusted to him. He left no letter unanswered, no public office or docu- ment did he fail to visit or examine on request ; with personal manners very engaging, he long retained his popularity."
Governor Hendricks was of a family that occupies a front place in the history of Indiana. There is probably no other one in the State that has exerted so wide an influence upon its politics and legislation as his. His eldest son, John Abram, was a captain in the Mexican war, and a lieutenant-colonel in the war of the rebellion. He was killed in the battle of Pea Ridge while in command of his regiment. Another son, Thomas, was killed in the Teche country during General Banks's cam- paign up Red river. A brother and a nephew sat in the State Senate, and another nephew, Hon. Thomas A. Hendricks, has received the highest honors his State could confer upon him.
Governor Hendricks was about six feet high and had a well- proportioned body. He had auburn hair, blue eyes and a florid
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WILLIAM HENDRICKS.
complexion. His manners were easy and dignified, and his address that of a well-bred gentleman. He was not a great lawyer, nor an eloquent advocate, but he prepared his cases with care and was reasonably successful at the bar. In early life he was a Presbyterian, but in his later years he joined the Methodist church and died in her communion. He never had a picture taken of himself, so there is no portrait of him in the State library, while portraits of the other Governors are there. This is to be regretted, for the people whose ancestors honored him so highly would like to know something of his form and features. The only picture they can have of him must be drawn with the pen, and the author submits this sketch as an effort in that direction. Would that the work were better done.
JAMES BROWN RAY.
ONE of the most noted and influential men of early Indiana was James Brown Ray. He was born in Jefferson county, Ken- tucky, February 19, 1794, and when quite a youth went to Cin- cinnati, Ohio, and read law with General Gano, of that city. On the 10th of December, 1818, he married Mary Riddle, and soon afterward removed to Brookville, Indiana, and commenced the practice of the law. Brookville was then the home of many ambitious and able men, but the young Kentuckian soon took rank among the ablest and most influential of them. In August. 1822, he was elected to the State Senate from Franklin county, and took his seat on the 2d of December following. On the 30th of January, 1824, Ratliff Boon, then Lieutenant-Governor of the State, resigned his office, and on the same day Mr. Ray was elected President pro tempore of the Senate. The Senate journal shows that, on motion of Mr. Stapp, it was "resolved that a committee be appointed to wait on His Excellency, the Governor, and inform him that the Hon. Ratliff Boon having resigned the office of Lieutenant-Governor, the Senate has elected James B. Ray as President pro tempore." Mr. Ray presided over the Senate for the balance of the session, and when that body met, in January, 1825, on motion of Dennis Pennington, the Senator from Harrison county, Mr. Ray again took the chair as President. A very interesting debate took place as to whether the election of Mr. Ray at the previous ses- sion continued him as President pro tempore of the Senate, and, a vote being taken, it was decided that it did not; whereupon he called General Stapp to the chair and took his place upon the floor. An election then took place for President pro tem-
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pore, which resulted in the re-election of Mr. Ray, who there- upon resumed his seat as the Senate's presiding officer.
Governor William Hendricks having been elected to the United States Senate, resigned the Governorship on the 12th day of February, 1825. When the Senate received notice of his resignation Mr. Ray left the presiding officer's seat and at once entered upon the discharge of his duties as Acting-Gov- ernor. The Senate unanimously passed a resolution thanking him for the ability and fairness with which he had discharged his duties as presiding officer, an honor fairly won, for he had been impartial in his rulings and courteous in announcing them. He was then a young man, but he was one of the most popular and influential politicians in the State. He became a candidate for Governor, and the next August was elected to that office over Isaac Blackford by a majority of 2,622. Three years afterward-in August, 1828-he was a candidate for re- election, his competitors being Dr. Israel T. Canby and Harbin H. Moore. Governor Ray received 15,141 votes ; Dr. Canby, 12,315, and Mr. Moore, 10,904. Governor Ray having received a plurality of the votes was re-elected, and held the office of Governor until the inauguration of Noah Noble, in 1831.
During Mr. Ray's service as Governor no exciting questions agitated the people of the State. In 1830 the terms of the Su- preme Judges expired, and he determined to reorganize the court. He reappointed Judge Blackford, but refused to nomi- nate to the Senate Judges Scott and Holman. It was charged at the time, and very generally believed, that his refusal to re- appoint Judges Scott and Holman was because they had declined to aid him in his senatorial aspirations. Be this as it may, he would not send their names to the Senate, but, in their stead, nominated Stephen C. Stevens and John T. Mckinney. This action of Governor Ray cost him many friends. Up to that time no man in the State was so popular, but after this his popu- larity waned, and finally almost disappeared. The people be- lieved this action of Governor Ray was prompted by personal reasons and not for the public good, hence they withdrew their support and confidence from him. A sad example was this of what one false step will do.
In 1826, while filling the executive chair of Indiana, Gov-
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ernor Ray was appointed a commissioner, on the part of the United States, to negotiate a treaty with the Miami and Potta- watamie Indians. His associates in the commission were Gen- erals Cass and Tipton, and the result of the treaty was the ceding of a tract of land ten miles wide, on the north line of the State, and the cession of a small body lying between the Wabash and Eel rivers. Through the exertions of Governor Ray the Indians donated to the State one section of land for each mile, to aid in building the road from Lake Michigan to the Ohio river, known as the Michigan road. This was an im- portant cession, and Governor Ray deserves the gratitude of the people of Indiana for obtaining it.
The constitution of the State prevented the Governor from holding any office of honor or profit under the government of the United States, and when Governor Ray asked to be ap- pointed a member of the commission to negotiate the treaty which I have named, he requested that no commission, but merely a letter of authority should be sent him. He remem- bered the difficulty Jonathan Jennings had encountered by act- ing as commissioner to negotiate an Indian treaty while holding the office of Governor, and sought to avoid a similar difficulty by acting without the authority of a regular commission. But his precaution did not save him from trouble. The Legislature took cognizance of his action, as it had done with Governor Jennings, and, as in that case, settled the matter by evading it.
The record of this controversy is as follows. It is of interest in showing the somewhat stilted dignity of those early states- men in the exercise of their official functions :
In the Legislature of 1826 Mr. Craig, a representative from Ripley county, offered the following resolution :
"Resolved, That it is the opinion of this House that James B. Ray, Esq., who now is acting in and filling the office of Gov- ernor of this State, has forfeited his right to act in and fill said office of Governor by accepting of and exercising at Mississin- awa, during a part of the year 1826, the office of commissioner under the United States, together with Lewis Cass, Esq., Gov- ernor of the Territory of Michigan, and John Tipton, of Fort Wayne, Indian agent, to treat with the Pottawatamie and Miami
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JAMES BROWN RAY.
tribes of Indians, for the purchase of lands lying within the State of Indiana; and that the Senate be informed of this opinion, and their opinion requested."
The resolution was offered on the 5th of December, 1826. The next day the House passed a resolution " That a committee be appointed to wait on James B. Ray, Esq., and inform him that there is now a resolution before this House tending to de- clare his office as Governor of the State vacated, in consequence of his having accepted and exercised the authority, under the President of the United States, of treating with certain Indian tribes within this State during the present year ; and that he, the said James B. Ray, has leave, should he judge proper, to avail himself of the privilege to appear before this House and defend himself, either in person or by counsel." The Speaker appointed Messrs. Johnston and Bassett the committee, who served Governor Ray with a copy of the resolution, and the following day the Governor sent the House a letter, of which the following is a copy :
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