USA > Indiana > Grant County > Biographical memoirs of Grant County, Indiana : to which is appended a comprehensive compendium of national biography with portraits of many national characters and well-known residents of Grant County, Indiana. > Part 27
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Mr. Morton was elected judge on the Democratic ticket, in 1852, but on the passage of the " Kansas-Nebraska Bill" he severed his connection with that party, and soon became a prominent leader of the Re- publicans. He was elected governor of In- diana in 1861, and as war governor became well known throughout the country. He received a paralytic stroke in 1865, which partially deprived him of the use of his limbs. He was chosen to the United States senate from Indiana, in 1867, and wielded great influence in that body until the time of his death, November 1, 1877.
JOHN B. GORDON, a brilliant Confeder- J ate officer and noted senator of the United States, was born in Upson county, Georgia, February 6, 1832. He graduated from the State University, studied law, and took up the practice of his profession. At the be- ginning of the war he entered the Confederate service as captain of infantry, and rapidly
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rose to the rank of lieutenant-general, commanding one wing of the Confederate army at the close of the war. In 1868 he was Democratic candidate for governor of Georgia, and it is said was elected by a large majority, but his opponent was given the office. He was a delegate to the national Democratic conventions in 1868 and 1872, and a presidential elector both years. In 1873 he was elected to the United States senate. In 1886 he was elected governor of Georgia, and re-elected in 1888. He was again elected to the United States senate in 1890, serving until 1897, when he was succeeded by A. S. Clay. He was regarded as a leader of the southern Democ- racy, and noted for his fiery eloquence.
S TEPHEN JOHNSON FIELD, an illus- trious associate justice of the supreme court of the United States, was born at Haddam, Connecticut, November 4, 1816, being one of the noted sons of Rev. D. D. Field. He graduated from Williams College in 1837, took up the study of law with his brother, David Dudley Field, be- coming his partner upon admission to the bar. He went to California in 1849, and at once began to take an active interest in the political affairs of that state. He was elected alcalde of Marysville, in 1850, and in the autumn of the same year was elected to the state legislature. In 1857 he was elected judge of the supreme court of the state, and two years afterwards became its chief justice. In 1863 he was appointed by President Lincoln as associate justice of the supreme court of the United States. During his incumbency, in 1873, he was appointed by the governor of California one of a com- mission to examine the codes of the state and for the preparation of amendments to the same for submission to the legislature.
In 1877 he was one of the famous electoral commission of fifteen members, and voted as one of the seven favoring the election of Tilden to the presidency. In 1880 a large portion of the Democratic party favored his nomination as candidate for the presidency. He retired in the fall of 1897, having served a greater number of years on the supreme bench than any of his associates or predecessors, Chief Justice Marshall coming next in length of service.
JOHN T. MORGAN, whose services in the United States senate brought him into national prominence, was born in Athens, Tennessee, June 20, 1824. At the age of nine years he emigrated to Alabama, where he made his permanent home, and where he received an academic education. He then took up the study of law, and was admitted to the bar in 1845. He took a leading part in local politics, was a presi- dential elector in 1860, casting his ballot for Breckenridge and Lane, and in 1861 was a delegate to the state convention which passed the ordinance of secession. In May, of the same year, he joined the Confederate army as a private in Company I, Cahawba Rifles, and was soon after made major and then lieutenant-colonel of the Fifth Regiment. In 1862 he was commissioned colonel, and soon after made brigadier-general and as- signed to the command of a brigade in Vir- ginia. He resigned to join his old regiment whose colonel had been killed. He was soon afterward again made brigadier-gen- eral and given command of the brigade that included his regiment.
After the war he returned to the prac- tice of law, and continued it up to the time of his election to the United States senate, in 1877. He was a presidential elector in 1876 and cast his vote for Tilden and Hendricks
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He was re-elected to the senate in 1883, and again in 1889, and 1895. His speeches and the measures he introduced, marked as they were by an intense Americanism, brought him into national prominence.
W TILLIAM MCKINLEY, the twenty-fifth president of the United States, was born at Niles, Trumbull county, Ohio, Jan- uary 29, 1844. He was of Scotch-Irish ancestry, and received his early education in a Methodist academy in the small village of Poland, Ohio. At the outbreak of the war Mr. Mckinley was teaching school, earning twenty-five dollars per month. As soon as Fort Sumter was fired upon he en- listed in a company that was formed in Poland, which was inspected and mustered in by General John C. Fremont, who at first objected to Mr. McKinley, as being too young, but upon examination he was finally accepted. Mr. Mckinley was seventeen when the war broke out but did not look his age. He served in the Twenty-third Ohio Infantry throughout the war, was promoted from sergeant to captain, for good conduct on the field, and at the close of the war, for meritorious services, he was brevetted major. After leaving the army Major Mc- Kinley took up the study of law, and was admitted to the bar, and in 1869 he took his initiation into politics, being elected pros- ecuting attorney of his county as a Republi- can, although the district was usually Demo- cratic. In 1876 he was elected to congress, and in a call upon the President-elect, Mr. Hayes, to whom he went for advice upon the way he should shape his career, he was told that to achieve fame and success he must take one special line and stick to it. Mr. Mckinley chose tariff legislation and he became an authority in regard to import duties. He was a member of congress for
many years, became chairman of the ways and means committee, and later he advo- cated the famous tariff bill that bore his name, which was passed in 1890. In the next election the Republican party was overwhelmingly defeated through the coun- try, and the Democrats secured more than a two thirds majority in the lower house, and also had control of the senate, Mr. Mckinley being defeated in his own district by a small majority. He was elected gov- ernor of Ohio in 1891 by a plurality of twenty-one thousand, five hundred and eleven, and two years later he was re-elected by the still greater plurality of eighty thou- sand, nine hundred and ninety-five. He was a delegate-at-large to the Minneapolis Re- publican convention in 1892, and was in- structed to support the nomination of Mr. Harrison. He was chairman of the con- vention, and was the only man from Ohio to vote for Mr. Harrison upon the roll call. In November, 1892, a number of prominent politicians gathered in New York to discuss the political situation, and decided that the result of the election had put an end to Mc- Kinley and Mckinleyism. But in less than four years from that date Mr. Mckinley was nominated for the presidency against the combined opposition of half a dozen rival candidates. Much of the credit for his suc- cess was due to Mark A. Hanna, of Cleve- land, afterward chairman of the Republican national committee. At the election which occurred in November, 1896, Mr. Mckinley was elected president of the United States by an enormous majority, on a gold stand- ard and protective tariff platform. He was inaugurated on the 4th of March, 1897, and called a special session of congress, to which was submitted a bill for tariff reform, which was passed in the latter part of July of that year.
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C INCINNATUS HEINE MILLER, known in the literary world as Joaquin Miller, "the poet of the Sierras," was born at Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1841. When only about thirteen years of age he ran away from home and went to the mining regions in California and along the Pacific coast. Some time afterward he was taken prisoner by the Modoc Indians and lived with them for five years. He learned their language and gained great influence with them, fight- ing in their wars, and in all modes of living became as one of them. In 1858 he left the Indians and went to San Francisco, where he studied law, and in 1860 was ad- mitted to the bar in Oregon. In 1866 he was elected a county judge in Oregon and served four years. Early in the seventies he began devoting a good deal of time to literary pursuits, and about 1874 he settled in Washington, D. C. He wrote many poems and dramas that attracted consider- able attention and won him an extended reputation. Among his productions may be mentioned " Pacific Poems," " Songs of the Sierras," "Songs of the Sun Lands," " Ships in the Desert," " Adrianne, a Dream of Italy," "Danites," "Unwritten History," "First Families of the Sierras " (a novel), " One Fair Woman " (a novel), "Songs of Italy," "Shadows of Shasta," "The Gold- Seekers of the Sierras," and a number of others.
G EORGE FREDERICK ROOT, a noted music publisher and composer, was born in Sheffield, Berkshire county, Massachusetts, on August 30, 1820. While working on his father's farm he found time to learn, unaided, several musical instru- ments, and in his eighteenth year he went to Boston, where he soon found employ- ment as a teacher of music. From 1839
until 1844 he gave instructions in music in the public schools of that city, and was also director of music in two churches. Mr. Root then went to New York and taught music in the various educational institutions of the city. He went to Paris in 1850 and spent one year there in study, and on his re- turn he published his first song, "Hazel Dell." It appeared as the work of " Wur- zel," which was the German equivalent of his name. He was the originator of the normal musical institutions, and when the first one was started in New York he was one of the faculty. He removed to Chicago, Illinois, in 1860, and established the firm of Root & Cady, and engaged in the publication of music. He received, in 1872, the degree of "Doctor of Music" from the University of Chicago. After the war the firm became George F. Root & Co., of Cincinnati and Chicago. Mr. Root did much to elevate the standard of music in this country by his compositions and work as a teacher. Besides his numerous songs he wrote a great deal of sacred music and pub- lished many collections of vocal and instru- mental music. For many years he was the most popular song writer in America, and was one of the greatest song writers of the war. He is also well-known as an author, and his work in that line comprises: "Meth- ods for the Piano and Organ," " Hand- book on Harmony Teaching, " and innumer- able articles for the musical press. Among his many and most popular songs of the war time are: " Rosalie, the Prairie-flower," " Battle Cry of Freedom," " Just Before the Battle," "Tramp, Tramp, Tramp, the Boys are Marching," " The Old Folks are Gone," "A Hundred Years Ago," "Old Potomac Shore, "and " There's Music in the Air." Mr. Root's cantatas include " The Flower Queen" and "The Haymakers." He died in 1896.
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
OF
GRANT COUNTY, INDIANA.
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HON. R. T. ST. JOHN.
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS.
HON. ROBERT THOMAS ST. JOHN.
Hon. Robert Thomas St. John, ex- judge of the forty-eighth judicial circuit, is one of the oldest and most prominent members of the Grant county bar. He is of New England parentage, but his birth took place in the state of Mississippi. His grandfather, John St. John, was a native of Connecticut, and from 1775 to 1781 served in the Revolutionary army, and made an enviable record as a soldier. He en- tered the army as a volunteer, was made sergeant of his company, and promoted to lieutenant, captain and major. His service was under General LaFayette, and at the battle of Monmouth he was seriously wounded, which necessitated his leaving the army. After the war he married Hannah Fitch, a daughter of Governor Fitch, of Connecticut.
Samuel St. John, father of Hon. Rob- ert T., was a native of Connecticut, where he grew to manhood. At Saratoga, New York, he married Nancy Darling, who was also a native of Connecticut. He was a physician and surgeon, and after marriage located at Fairfield, Franklin county, Indi- ana, whence he went to Alabama and later to Mississippi. While in the south, he practiced medicine and, in Mississippi, also
owned a cotton plantation. He was a sur- geon in the army of General Andrew Jack- son and, as such, did hospital duty in time of peace at different posts. His wife's health was not good in the south, she being obliged to spend the summer months in the north; so in 1832 he sold out and removed to Ohio, thence to Indiana, and after living in Franklin and Decatur counties, settled in Marion in 1845, where he died in 1861, aged seventy-two years. His wife died in 1851, aged sixty-two years. He was prom- inent as a physician and as a citizen. He was a Royal Arch Mason; a charter mem- ber of the first Masonic lodge in Grant county, of which he was master several years. At his death he was one of the old- est Masons in the state, he having been made a member of the fraternity in 1817.
Dr. and Mrs. St. John reared four chil- dren, viz .: Abel F., a wagon maker, died at Colorado Springs, Colorado; 'Anna C. married John Speers, and died in Grant county ; John D., a physician, died in Wa- bash county; and Robert T.
Judge R. T. St. John, whose name in- troduces this biography, was born east of Natchez, Miss., October 27, 1828. He at- tended the common schools and at the age of seventeen commenced to read law in the office of George Holland at Brookville. In
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1845 he came with the family to Indiana, and when twenty-one years of age was ad- mitted to the bar.
In 1849 he joined several others and the company made an overland trip to the gold fields of California, where he delved in the mines some two years, and then returned by way of the isthmus. He brought back health instead of gold, and so was well paid for his trip. He then engaged in the practice of his profession, met with marked success, was elected Prosecuting Attorney, and served one term.
In 1872 he was chosen a member of the State Legislature, but after serving forty days he with thirty-three others resigned, for the purpose of breaking a quorum to prevent the Democrats from defeating Oli- ver P. Morton for the United States Sen- ate. He was a director and president of the board of directors of the penitentiary at Michigan City, and for six years Judge of the Forty-eighth Judicial Circuit when the circuit was composed of Grant and Black- ford counties. For twenty-four years his law partner was Colonel A. Steele, the fa- ther of Major George W. Steele, Congress- man from Indiana.
As a lawyer he is a close student, and always has his case carefully prepared be- fore entering the court room. A Republican in politics, he is an active campaigner in local and state politics.
Judge St. John was married, in 1859, to Emily Ward, daughter of Willis P. Ward, a prominent contractor and large real-estate owner at Michigan City. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. St. John, viz .: Maggie, wife of William H. Charles, who is law partner of Judge St. John ; Hart- ley W., a merchant at Marion; Bertha, a
talented musician, and Jessie, an artist of marked ability, are at home.
The Judge has a very comfortable home on the corner of Washington and Thirteenth streets, and owns other city realty.
HON. HIRAM BROWNLEE.
Hon. Hiram Brownlee, judge of the supe- rior court of Grant and Howard counties, is a citizen of Marion residing on the same town lot where his birth took place Septem- ber 13, 1849.
James Brownlee, grandfather of the judge, was of Scotch descent and a native of Pennsylvania; but settled in Fayette coun- ty , Indiana, in the early part of the nine- teenth century, where he was soon recognized as a man of prominence and influence, and after the state was admitted to the Union, he was a member of the Constitutional Con- vention.
John Brownlee, father of Judge Brown- lee, was the oldest of a family of five chil- dren. His early life was passed upon the farm, and when he grew to manhood he read law in the office of Sam Parker, of Brook- ville. In about 1836 he settled at Marion where for more than a half century he was a prominent member of the Grant County Bar. He was a Democrat until the war, then sup- ported the Republican party, and for some years during the '50s he served as circuit judge by appointment. He was a charter member of the Masonic lodge at Marion, of which he was one of the first Masters. His religious connection was with the Chris- tian church of which he was a worthy mem- ber until his death, which took place in 1891, aged seventy-four years.
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BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS.
The mother of Judge Brownlee bore the maiden name of Mary Weeks, and her par- ents, Hiram P. and Laura Weeks, were na- tives of the Green Mountain state. She was born in Granville, Ohio and is still living on the old homestead in Marion. By her mar- riage with Judge Brownlee six children were born of whom Hiram, the subject of this sketch is the oldest; Maggie, now Mrs. Gil- bert Willson; Laura, now Mrs. Edward S. Lenfester ; Charles, deceased; Robert, de- ceased ; Frank and Minnie, now Mrs. C. NI. Stuart.
Hiram Brownlee attended the public schools of Marion and at an early age decided to become a lawyer. His study of law was under the direction of his father, and he at- tended Wabash College during the years of '67 and '68; and when he attained his ma- jority he was admitted to practice and be- came the law partner of his father.
He encountered the struggles that usually beset a young lawyer ; but his advance was steady and he soon rose to prominence. He was associated in the firms of Brownlee & Carroll, Brownlee & Paulus and Brown- lee & Cline. In politics Judge Brown- lee has at all times been an active and influential worker in the ranks of the Republican party ; he is recognized as an orator and his advice is often sought when experience and sound advice is desired by party leaders. He twice represented the dis- trict in the Legislature and was the caucus nominee of his party for Speaker.
By act of the Legislature the superior court between Grant and Howard counties was established, and February 11, 1897, Hiram Brownlee was appointed Judge, and in 1898 was elected to the position-he hav- ing received the nomination without oppo-
sition. On the bench he exercises due delib- eration, but has no liking for unnecessary waste of time in conducting a case and so keeps the docket well cleared.
Judge Brownlee was married, in 1877, to Linnie McDowell. She died in 1896 leaving three children, viz: Louise, Bessie and Phil. He has a beautiful home on East Second street and owns other valuable real estate.
Judge Brownlee is a Thirty-second De- gree Mason, a member of the Mystic Shrine and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
HON. JAMES CHARLES.
Hon. James Charles, the present State Senator from Grant county and one of the oldest and most widely known business men of Marion, was born at St. Keverne, Corn- wall, England, on the twenty-second of De- cember, 1835, being tenth in a family of twelve children. His parents were Richard and Mary ( Oates) Charles, whose lives after the year 1858 were passed in America. Richard Charles was a practical miller, hav- ing had the thorough training required in his native land, and besides operating mills at various places there working at his trade at Buffalo, New York, is well remembered here in the same connection by those familiar with the leading citizens of a generation ago. Both himself and lifetime companion sleep in the Odd Fellows Cemetery at Marion. His death occurred in 1876.
James Charles grew up as it were, in the mill, having acquired under his father's di- rection a thorough familiarity with all the details of milling and flour manufacture. In
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1855, while in his twentieth year, he accom- panied his elder brother Edward, who has been for years a popular millwright at Buf- falo, New York, to the United States, join- ing others of the family in that city. Forty- five years ago Buffalo was one of the most important flour manufacturing cities of the Union, and in one of its large mills James soon secured a position as miller, in which ca- pacity he continued for about three years. Though young, his ability and intelligent conduct of the work asigned him won for him an enviable esteem in the minds of his employers.
.\ company of Buffalo contractors had erected a mill at Fort Wayne, Indiana, and seeking for a suitable man to operate it chose young Charles, who, though in charge of it but a few months, placed it in line of a successful career. At Wabash, Indiana. where his services were sought by Enoch Thomas, of Marion, who owned a mill there, he met a man whose brother he had known in Buffalo, the personal resemblance leading him to make inquiry that led to the ripening of the friendship. This gentleman, Mr. Lapp, being interested in a mill at Marion, induced young Charles to take his place in renting the property. AArmed with strong recommendations from Lapp. and with Thomas' advice, he came to Marion Decem- ber of the year 1858. The proprietors, Jacob and John Secrist, who had built the mill in 1854. feared to place the responsibility of their property in the hands of so young a man, whose youthful appearance only tended to emphasize their doubts. They refused to contract, as they had intended. To prove his ( wn confidence in his ability. James agreed to assume charge of the mill for one month without pay if his management failed in any
respect. At the end of the time the propri- etors were anxious to retain him perma- nently, and entered into a contract that con- tinued uninterruptedly for fourteen years. He had engaged to operate the property for one-third of the profits-a contract that proved eminently satisfactory to all con- cerned and by its provisions enabled him during its continuance to assume a substan- tial place among the prosperous citizens of the community.
Mr. Charles had invested his savings in real estate, having secured about three hun- dred and seventy acres of land, part of it ly- ing adjacent to the mill property, just north of the city limits, and which, by the general growth and prosperity had become of con- siderable value, but 200 acres of which have been sold. His relations with the Secrist Brothers had been of the most cordial and confidential character, and he married the daughter of one of them, John. July 1, 1860.
Jacob Secrist died in 1872, after which Mr. Charles secured full control of the busi- ness by paying a cash rental until 1881, when he purchased the entire property and has continued to operate it to the present time, his sons, Harry S. and Mark E., now being asociated with him, the firm being known as James Charles & Sons. Three generations have been fed from the doors of this mill, and it has come to be one of the best-known landmarks of the Mississinewa. When erected forty-six years ago, its preten- tions at being the most valuable mill in this part of the State were not overdrawn. Riley Marshall had built a saw-mill in 1836 near the present mill, and for upwards of sixty years not only the pioneers but also their children and grandchildren have gathered to patiently wait their turn. Here, for forty-
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two years, Mr. Charles has attended to the wants of thousands of customers, ever ready to provide the multitude with the staff of life. In 1887 the property was thoroughly overhauled, a full roller process being in- stalled with a daily capacity of eighty barrels.
Experience has meant advancement in the conduct of the business, and while the mill has ever held a high position, its more recent reputation, won by the superior grades of flour produced, stands unexcelled by any similar property in the state of Indiana. Forty-two years of continuous attention to the one mill on the one site, entitles its ven- erable head to justifiable pride in being the Nestor of Indiana mill men.
In 1881 Mr. Charles returned to the mother country, where, besides revisiting the interesting scenes of youth he studied in the admirable milling system of London and other cities the progress made in the manu- facture of bread stuffs. There he acquired many valuable hints, which he has since adapted to the conditions existing in his mill here.
Mr. Charles having at heart the prosper- ity of the community, earnestly advocated the development of the county's natural gas when it was suspected that it could be found in quantities sufficient for commercial use. The first well that penetrated the gas-bearing strata was located at Fourteenth and Boot streets in the city, and was sunk by a fund raised by popular subscription. Wells have since been put in operation at the mill prop- erty, the product being utilized to supply power for the plant in case of emergency.
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