USA > Indiana > Brief biographies of the members of the Indiana State Government : executive, judicial, and legislative, 1874-5 > Part 2
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SAMUEL H. BUSKIRK,
CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT,
Is an Indianian of noble birth, his family one of the old- est and best in the State. His father was an associate Judge of the Court, and Postmaster of Bloomington under the administration of President Van Buren. The Judge was born at New Albany, January 18, 1820. The first twelve years of his life were whiled away on a farm. There
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he laid the foundation for the fine physical health he has since enjoyed, and served as a superstructure for his supe- rior mental attainments. His education was acquired in the State University. When he had completed the classi- cal course, he read law and graduated from that depart- ment of the same institution of learning. His career in the literary and law departments was an honor to him . self and a credit to the college. His public services have been many and valuable to the people of the State. He has been instrumental in making and interpreting the laws under which the people of the State have been so prosper- ous for more than a quarter of a century. The Judge was a member of the Legislature during the sessions of 1848, 1851, 1855, 1863 and 1865. He served as Speaker in 1863. The reports of proceedings during these various terms are replete with with his words of wisdom. When not engaged in the discharge of the duties of office, he has been practicing his profession in the courts of this and other States ; for his reputation as a lawyer was not bounded by State lines. In 1872 he was nominated for Supreme Court Judge by the Democracy, of which party he has been a life long member, and was elected by a major- ity that was flattering, the closeness of the contest considered. For two years he has been upon the Bench. In that time he has rendered some of the most important decisions ever delivered in the State, notably that con- cerning mixed schools. His decisions are based upon firm conviction, supported by most exhaustive research into the authorities bearing upon each case that comes before him. Popular clamor nor any other outside influence can swerve him from his high resolve to be right though the heavens fall.
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HORACE P. BIDDLE,
SUPREME COURT JUDGE-INCOMING,
Is a native of Ohio, and is about sixty-two years of age. Since 1836 he has been a citizen of Cass county. He lives on an island in the city of Logansport. To reach his resi- denee one must cross, not one, but two Wabash rivers, for here this frisky old stream, as if enamored of the valley, opens its arms and embraces a portion and holds the emerald gem upon its bosom. The place is known to cul- tivated people as the island home of Judge Biddle. That gentleman is, in many respects, a most remarkable man. For thirty-five years he was prominently before the public, and as popular as prominent. From 1846 to 1852, and again, after an interval of eight years, from 1860 to 1872. he served the Eighth Judicial District as Judge of the Circuit Court. On the occasion of his last election, he received every vote cast for the office, having no opposition, for there was not even a politician who was so wholly devoid of discretion as to appear before the peo- ple to contest the honor with him. He was a member of the Constitutional Convention of Indiana in 1850, and par- ticipated prominently in the proceedings of that able body. In 1857 he was elected to the Supreme bench, though, through a misconstruction of the law by the executive, he never received his commission.
When not engaged in the discharge of the duties of office Judge Biddle has been busy in the practice of his profession, with marked ability and marvelous success. Three years ago he abandoned active professional life, resolute in his determination to enjoy the comforts of his sunny home, free from the cares and perplexities that attach to business. This resolution was only shaken by the
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nomination of two State Conventions (Democratic and Inde- pondent) for the Supreme Bench, to which he was elected last October, by a majority unprecedented in the annals of Indiana politics.
Then, Judge Biddle is known to fame as an author. Be- sides being an extensive contributor to leading newspapers and magazines, he published in 1858, a volume of poems ; in 1860 a treaties on the Musical Scale, with a revised edi- tion ; in 1867 a scientific work, purchased in copyright by Oliver Ditson of Boston, and held as a standard work; in 1868 another volume of poems, with a second edition of the same in 1872, in 1871 " A Review of Professor Tyndal's work on Sound," and in 1873 a large volume of poetry entitled " Glances at the World," besides many other poems and prose productions that take high rank in literature.
ALEXANDER CUMMINS DOWNEY,
SUPREME COURT JUDGE,
Was born of English and Irish parentage, near Cincin- nati, Ohio, September 10, 1817. With his parents he removed to this State when quite young. Indiana was then in her infancy, and of Judge Downey, it can truly be said, he grew up with the western country ; and he and the country are alike creditable to each other. He worked on his father's farm in summer, until eighteen years of age, attending the district school in winter. About the age of eighteen he enjoyed the rather exceptional advan- tage of attending the County Seminary. Then he learned a trade which he followed for a time. Possessing an active mind he drifted into journalism and ascended to the edi-
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torial chair of a newspaper. Afterwards he read law. In 1844 he settled at Rising Sun, and his star of destiny began to a ascend the horizon of his ambition. In 1850 he was elected Judge of the Circuit Court, and served with distinction, until 1858. Meanwhile he was Professor of Law at Asbury four years. He was elected. State Senator in 1862 and served the succeeding four years, and was one of the first Commissioners of the House of Refuge. In 1870 he was elected to the Supreme Bench, and entered upon the discharge of the duties of that position the ensu- ing year, and he is yet an honored as he is a honorable member of that distinguished body of jurists. Judge Downey is what he has been all his life, a conscientious and a consistent Democrat, from principal and not from policy.
JOHN PETTIT,
SUPREME COURT JUDGE.
Was born at historical Sacketts Harbor, in the State of New York, July 24, 1807. He traces his genealogy to the Scotch and those antagonistic antecedents, English and French. He was educated in the Academy of Now York, and through studies prosecuted by himself. The Judge removed to this State in 1831 and he has been part and parcel of its government, legislative and judicial, pretty much all the time. His has unquestionably been the busiest life ever led by an Indianian, at home or abroad. From 1835 to 1839 he was a member of the Legisla- ture of this State; for three years he was United States Dis- trict Attorney ; then he spent six years in Congress as a member of that body from Indiana ; was then a member
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of the Constitutional Convention; elector at large for President of the United States; three years United Stater Senator, and Circuit Judge several years; Judge of Supreme Court of Kansas two years, and mayor of the city of Lafayette. In 1870 he was elected to the Supreme bench of this State for six years and is now serving in that capacity, with credit to himself and honor to all con- cerned. Probably no man in the country is clearer headed on the law bearing upon any case that comes before him than Judge Pettit. His decisions are based upon the law and the evidence weighed in the balance of Justice, and are seldom reversed by the Court above. He has been a Dem- ocrat all his his life and has held all the positions of prom- inence enumerated, through the power of that party, elec- tive or appointive. But his decisions have never indicated party bias.
JAMES L. WORDEN,
SUPREME COURT JUDGE,
Was born in Berkshire, Massachusetts, May 10, 1819. His parents were of English extraction, but of American birth. When the Judge was a mere child, his parents removed to Portage county, Ohio, and he received the rudiments of his education in the common schools of that State. He had a strong, clear, logical mind, and steady, studious habits, upon which to base an education, and an ambitious and impulsive spirit to impel him to excellence in whatever profession he should settle upon for a life's practice. The profession of law, if successfully prose- cuted, required those qualities in the eminent degree pos- sessed by him, and he happily hit upon that profession.
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His taste as well as talent, led him into law. Having qualified himself for practice, in two years' reading, in Cincinnati, he opened an office at the early age of twenty- two years. After a year and a half spent in that city, however, he resolved to remove to Indiana for the prac- tice of his profession. So 1844 found him established in Whitley county, this State. He had not been there long until his talent was observed and appreciated. He was elected Prosecuting Attorney several terms in succession. In 1853 he was appointed, by Governor, Wright Judge of the Tenth Judicial Circuit, and at the ensuing election he was elected to that bench. Subsequently he was appointed Judge of the Supreme Court by, Governor Willard. The ensuing election he was elected to that position by the people for the term of six years. When that term of ser- vice had expired he resumed the practice of his profession, entering into a copartnership with Judge Morris, of Fort Wayne. In 1870, after having enjoyed six or seven years of successful practice, he was nominated for the position of Supreme Judge by the Democratic State Convention, and was elected by a large majority, and he took his seat for six years in October, 1871, and by virtue of that call of his constituency, he is still on the bench in the full and deserved enjoyment of the confidence of the bar and peo- ple of Indiana.
ANDREW L. OSBORNE,
EX-SUPREME COURT JUDGE-OUTGOING,
Was born in New Haven county, Connecticut, May 27, 1815. He was educated in his native State, and removed to Indiana in 1836. Having learned the law, he located
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at Laporte, for the practice of his profession, which he pursued with ability and success until 1844, when, having turned his attention to politics, he was elected to the Legis- lature. After having served the term through he was re-elected. When that term of service had expired in the Lower House, he was elevated to the Senate. In 1857 he was elected Judge of the Laporte Circuit (the 9th Judicial District). He served until 1863, when he was re-elected. His term of service expired in 1869. In 1872 he was appointed Judge of the Supreme Court, which term of ser- vice expired on the 16th of January, 1875. Last fall he was a candidate before the people on the Republican ticket and for the same position. He was defeated by Judge Horace P. Biddle. Politically Judge Osborn was an old line Whig, until the disintegration of the party- then and since a conservative Republican. However, he was never influenced an iota in his opinions, when on the bench, by party considerations.
JAMES BUCKLEY BLACK,
SUPREME COURT REPORTER,
Is a New Jersian by birth. He was born at Morristown, July 21, 1838. His parents were natives of Ireland. He came to Indiana in 1846. Since then he has resided in Wabash, Hartford City, Winchester, Camden, Bluffton, Muncie, Greencastle and Bloomington. He was educated at Asbury University and Indiana State University, at Bloomington. He commenced teaching school when six- teen years of age, and thus acquired the necessary means to defray his expenses at college. During the last term of
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bis junior year the flag was fired upon at Fort Sumpter. His spirit of patriotism asserted itself over his ambition then, and he enlisted as a private in the Union army, in response to the first call of President Lincoln for volun- teers. He did not long remain in the ranks however, for he was promoted from time to time until he held the com- mission of Lieutenant Colonel before he had served the three years and eight months that he was in the army. In 1868 he was elceted Supreme Court Reporter, and he is holding that offlee now. He published the Indiana reports from volume 30 to 45 inclusive. In politics, he has always been Republican, and by profession, a lawyer.
CHARLES SCHOLL,
CLERK OF THE SUPREME COURT,
Was born in Cologne, Prussia, December 27th, 1832. He was educated at the Royal Institute at Munich. At the age of nineteen, liberal political views entertained and expressed by Mr. Scholl forced him into exile. He deter- mined to come to this country. where every man has a right to think and express his thoughts, and at the same time receive the respectful attention of his fellow men, instead of official ostracism. So Mr. Scholl sailed for America, and landed in New York, Nov. 21st, 1851. His landing there marked a new epoch in his life. He was then on free soil, and in a land where a man could carve out his own fortune, untrameled by custom and undis- turbed by the minions of royalty. He remained in New York and Newark, N. J., but two years, then removed to Indiana. Settling in Washington county, ho taught school
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for a season. Then, in 1860, he engaged in business at Henryville. Subsequently he was elected trustee of Monroe township, Clarke county, for four successive terms, and Clerk of the Supreme Court in 1872, and is still in office, giving general satisfaction.
WILLIAM BAXTER.
THE SENATOR FROM WAYNE,
(Subject to the contest case with Jeffers) was born in York- shire, England, February 11th, 1824, the same county in which were born John Wickliff, " the morning star of the Reformation," Captain Cook, the daring navigator, William Wilberforce, the brilliant advocate of the abolition of slav- ery, and also the birthplace of the ancestors of George Washington, and of Constantine, the great Roman Emper- or. Mr. Baxter was born of English parentage, and is of the same lineage as the eminent non-conformist divine, Richard Baxter, who was imprisoned in the reign of Charles the First, because he would not conform to the established Church, not even when they offered him Bishopric ; the same Richard Baxter who, while he was in prison, wrote the "Saints' Everlasting Rest," and " The Call to the Unconverted." William Baxter, the subject of this sketch, was educated at the grammar school of Burnsall, in the division of Evanen, in the West Riding of Yorkshire. While yet a young man, not liking the monarchieal form of government prevalent in England, Mr. Baxter left his native land for the United States, being enamored of free institutions, and ours especially. Before leaving, however, he took an active part, with Richard
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Cobden. John Bright, George Thompson, Henry Vincent, and many other reformers, in battling against the iniq- mitons corn laws, in favor of the repeal of the oppressive game laws, and for the disestablishment of the Established Church of England. It was in February, 1848, that Mr. Baxter left the land of his nativity for the land of his adoption, arriving in America after an uneventful voyage.
Upon his arrival in America, Mr. Baxter traveled through the country on a tonr of observation for nine months, and then he embarked in business as a wool mer- chant on Market street in the city of Philadelphia, which business enterprise he prosecuted successfully for fifteen years, amassing quite a competency. In 1856, he married Miss Mary Baker of Wayne county this State and in 1864, retired from business in Philadelphia and moved to Wayne county, and purchasing a farm near Richmond, engaged in rural pursuits. To use his own language: "Seeing the blighting influences of intoxicating liquors upon men, society and the nation, threatening the dis- ruption of civilized society and the ultimate destruction of my adopted country, I have for the past ten years been devoting my energies to the removal of that accursed traffic from our midst; and believing that we never can put down intemperance by moral snasion alone-any more than we can put down any other great public evil, simply by moral suasion-1 have been earnestly advocating the paramount necessity of Legislative restriction on the traffic in alcohol. It was in order to accomplish this that in 1872, I consented to become a candidate for the General Assembly of our State and it was while a member of that General Assembly that I introduced the bill which is now better known as the Baxter Law. This is the only public
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position I ever held and that single term satisfied my political aspirations. I would prefer never to hold another public office. I was elected to the State Senate at the last election but it was thrust upon me. I would much prefer the privacy of my farm to the Halls of Legislation."
Mr. Baxter is a Republican in politics. His father was a minister of the Wesleyan Methodist Society for nearly forty years in England, and died there.
JAMES RUFUS BEARDSLEY,
SENATOR FROM ELKHART,
Was born in Ohio, of American parentage, in 1829. With his parents he removed to Indiana in 1830, he being but one year old at that time. His father was the founder of the town of Elkhart. The son was educated in the com- mon schools of the county. When he had arrived at the age of maturity, he engaged in the manufacture of flour and paper, and he is now the principal proprietor of the well known Elkhart paper manufactory. He knows how to apply the business principles that achieve success in individual transactions to the treatment of public affairs. This is the second term that he is serving as Senator, which would indicate that his constituents have confidence well founded in him. When he shall have served the ter through, they will no doubt honor him further, unless the people hold him responsible for the many misdeeds of the Republican party, of which he has been. a prominent member since its organization.
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DANIEL ROBERTS BEARSS,
SENATOR FROM MIAMI AND HOWARD.
Was born in Geneseo, Livingston county, New York, August 25, 1809. His parents were English. Mr. Bearss was educa- ted in the common schools of Western New York, and De- troit, Michigan, and has since been engaged in farming. He came to this State in 1828. Since then he has lived at Fort Wayne, Logansport, Goshen, and resides at present, as for a long time past, near Peru. He has been honored by, and has honored, the people of that section of the State many times. He has held the office of School and County Commis- sioner two or three terms each. Twice has he been elected to the lower branch of the Legislature, and thrice to the Senate. Originally he was a Whig in politics, then a Repub- lican. and lately a Granger. His son is now a member of the House of Representatives for Kosciusko and Fulton. So it would seem that the genius of office-holding has been handed down from father to son.
ROBERT C. BELL, SENATOR FROM ALLEN,
Was born in Clarksburg, Decatur county, this State, July 13, 1843, of American parentage, both parents having been born in Kentucky, and having removed to this State in early life. Senator Bell was educated in the common schools, at the Academy at Muncie, and in the law department of the University of Michigan. He served his country as a sol- dier in the 134th Regiment Indiana Volunteers during the
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latter part of the late war, and subsequently in the civil service at Nashville, Tennessee, in 1867 and 1868, as Assis- tant United States Attorney for Indiana, then United States Commissioner for the District of Indiana. For the last two years he has been Attorney for the county of Allen, and a member of the firm of Coombs, Morris & Bell, Fort Wayne. In political principles Senator Bell claims to have been born and bred a dyed in the wool Democrat, and for the last fifteen years has fought the power of darkness in the shape of Radicalism without fear, favor, affection, reward, or the promise or hope thereof. Now he proposes to fight it out on this line if it takes him a life time.
ANDREW J. BOONE,
SENATOR FROM BOONE AND CLINTON,
Was born in Preble county, Ohio, July 17, 1820. His par- ents were of German and Welch extraction, but both were born in Ohio, and removed to this State in 1827, first locat- ing at Union, and living there until 1833, when they moved to Rush county. Residing there until 1838, they took up their abode at Lebanon, Boone county, where the Senator has since resided. Mr. Boone is a direct deseend- ant of Daniel Boone, the pioneer of Kentucky, he of his- torical renown. During the earlier days of his life, Mr. Boone was a farmer and a miller, subsequently studying law, first having acquired an admirable education through the common schools, and a two year's course in Indiana University. In that Institution, he was a schoolmate of the late and lamented Prof. M. B. Hopkins, and many others, of Indiana's elder and noblest sons. Like Mr.
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Hopkins, Mr. Boone devoted much of his life to the training of the " hope of the State," teaching in several seminaries, notably, Lebanon and Leavenworth. Having learned the law at an earlier date, Mr. Boone did not proceed to prac- tice his profession until 1851, the same year that he mar- ried Miss MeLaughlin, making it a very eventful epoch in his history. Securing a large practice, he devoted himself too assiduously to the discharge of his duties, and in less than a decade he had so materially impaired his health that he had to abandon his profession and return to his first love-farming.
Not content with the quiet of rural life, he resumed the practice of law in partnership with Hon. R. W. Hanna four or five years afterwards, taking a six or seven mile walk, for exercise, each day. By proper precaution he recovered his health, and is now a hale and hearty man. In politics he has always been a Democrat, and has held many positions of trust and profit through the popular partiality for him. In 1841. he was elected Auditor of the county, and held the office for a term of two years. Being elected Assistant Clerk of the House of Representatives Indiana Legislature in 1849, he was retained in that official capacity until 1852, thoroughly familiarizing himself with the routine of Legislative labor. Elected to the Senate in 1872, he is still the incumbent of that office, and serves both parties to their satisfaction.
Senator Boone is emphatically one of the self-made men of the State, a genuine Western production, and one whom we should all be proud to honor. His father before him, was a prominent personage, having served in the Legislature. The Senator lives at Lebanon, where he .is 3
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known of all men and universally esteemed for his many good qualities. When the history of Indiana has been written it will not be complete unless one chapter at least, is devoted to the Senator from Boone and Clinton.
JOHN A. BOWMAN,
SENATOR FROM WASHINGTON AND JACKSON,
Was born in Blount county, East Tennessee, April 7, 1818. His father was a native of Virginia, his mother of Penn- sylvania. Both the grandfathers of the subject of this sketch served as soldiers in the revolutionary war. As early as 1824, Mr. Bowman came to this State with his parents, having spent two years in New Orleans and one
in Pennsylvania previously. What education he was able to acquire was in the common schools of his adopted State. 'He began business for himself as a farmer and a horse and mule trader, when he was but eighteen years of age. For years, he was in the habit of taking two or three droves south every season, and selling them in the States of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. Indeed, he continued in this branch of business until the breaking out of the civil war and the unhealthful heat of the climate that resulted therefrom. He took but little part in the war until the Morgan raid, when he came to regard it as a part of his funeral as it were, then he raised a company and assisted in securing that daring depredator. In politics he has ever been a Democrat of the unswerving kind, and still adheres to the old Jeffersonian principles. . He was elected to the House of Representatives in 1857, without opposi- tion, and in 1859 he was re-elected. So well did he serve
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as Representative, his constituents elevated him to the Senate in 1864, where he represented Washington and Harrison counties; and in 1872 he was re-elected, and again without opposition. For fifteen years he has held office almost constantly, and was never defeated when a candidate. Under the new apportionment he serves the counties of Washington and Jackson.
Senator Bowman is a bachelor, and his address is Salem, Washington county.
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WILLIAM BUNYAN,
SENATOR FROM NOBLE AND LAGRANGE,
Was born in Saratoga county, in the State of New York, October 20th, 1833. His parents were of American birth and Scotch descent. Mr. Bunyan was reared on a farm, and continued to work upon it until he was twenty- four years of age; then he engaged in trade, thus amassing a competency. The only educational advantages he ever enjoyed were the district schools in the vicinity where he resided during boyhood. In 1854 he came West and grew up with the country in and around about Lima, for four or five years ; then he removed to Kendallville, where he has resided for the last sixteen years. During the short and stormy period of' his more mature manhood, he amassed quite a competency in a worldly way, and can well afford to devote a part of his time and talent in the illy-paid service of the State. Before he was elected Sen- ator, in 1872, Mr. Bunyan had never held any position of trust or profit through political preferment. He is now, and has been since the organization of the party, an ardent
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