USA > Indiana > Encyclopedia of biography of Indiana > Part 15
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| to advance in the profession and sedu- lous in his application. The clients who employed him to establish their rights or protect their interests became his friends. His skill as a lawyer won recognition at the bar and success in business. His practice had already become valuable when, in the spring of 1861, he became a volunteer soldier. He was elected and commissioned first lieutenant of Com- pany A, Ninth Indiana Infantry, which served in the campaign of West Virginia in the three months' service. He fought at Philippi, Laurel Hill and Carrick's Ford, and at the close of his term of enlistment returned home-not to resume peaceful pursuits, but to re-enter the mili- tary service of the country. He raised a company for the Forty-sixth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, which in the organization of the regiment became Company A, of which he was commis- sioned captain. He served with his com- mand in the battles of Island No. 10, New Madrid, Riddle's Point, Fort Pillow, and when Memphis was occupied by the Fed- eral forces he was assigned to special duty as provost marshal. His training in the law and his judicial temper quali- fied him admirably for the duties apper- taining to this office. He received promo- tions to the rank of major and lieutenant- colonel respectively, but owing to ill health he resigned and retired from the service in February, 1863. After a sea- son of recuperation at home he again tendered his services and was appointed lieutenant-colonel of the One Hundred
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and Thirty-fifth Regiment. He remained at the front with his command until the close of the war and then resumed the practice of law in Delphi. For the next ten years Judge Gould was easily the ablest lawyer in the circuit and the one who had the most lucrative practice. In 1876 he was elected Judge of the Circuit Court for the Thirty-ninth Judicial Cir- cuit, which then comprised the counties of Carroll, White and Pulaski. He was re-elected twice and served continuously for twelve years with entire acceptability to the bar and the publie. His innate sense of justice, his quick perception, his penetration, his keen analysis, his integ- rity, his freedom from bias or partisan- ship, his erudition, his promptness, good humor and firmness, and the abundanee of his saving common sense placed him in the front rank of jurists presiding in a trial court. Judge Gould has given much attention to literature, is familiar with the best authors and is master of felicitous expression in oral or written speech. His speech abounds in wit and humor and he can employ sarcasm with much force when the occasion requires its use. He is a polished gentleman, without veneering. He is himself with- out sham or pretense. His suavity is natural and his friends are extremely fond of his society. He impresses all with whom he comes in contact as a man of ability, good humor and capacity for enjoyment but these characteristics de- seribe him very inadequately. He has large reserved powers, veiled by his mod-
esty and dislike of ostentation. Judge Gould was married November 12, 1866, with Miss Mary E. Robertson, of Delphi. Their only child, a daughter, is the wife of William L. Moyer, cashier of the American Trust and Savings Bank, of Chicago. This daughter has a son named for his grandfather, and the boy is a magnet which draws Judge Gould to Chicago frequently.
TRUMAN F. PALMER.
Truman Fayette Palmer, Judge of the Circuit Court for the Thirty-ninth Judi- cial Circuit, is a native of Indiana. His father, for whom he was named, was edueated in Allegheny College, at Meadville, Pennsylvania, for the min- istry of the Methodist Episcopal church, but died in the flower of young man- hood at Orland, Indiana, January 17, 1851, having been four years a member of the Indiana Conference. His mother, a woman of much refinement, literary taste and culture, was an author and a ยท teacher. Truman was born at Orland, Steuben county, only ten days prior to his father's death and was the younger of two children born to his parents. His mother, thus early cast upon her own re- sources, proved her courage and forti- tude to be equal to her industry and re- finement. As the rewards of authorship and promiscuous literary work were un- certain she devoted herself to teaching in the public schools and academies at
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South Bend, Clinton, Thorntown, and other places for the next twenty-four years, maintaining a home meanwhile for her children, whose early education was carefully supervised by herself. She never faltered in her duty, but performed her daily tasks with confidence in the present and hopefulness for the future. Judge Palmer appreciates the training received from his mother and acknowl- edges his indebtedness to her for all the success he has attained. She was one of the mothers who
"Feed the high tradition of the world, And leave their spirit in their children's breasts."
As a boy Judge Palmer first attended the school taught by his mother and after- wards was a student'in the Collegiate In- stitute at the Tippecanoe Battle Ground and the Institute at Crown Point con- ducted by Rev. Timothy Ball. He then completed the course of study in the Law Department of the Indiana State Univer- sity and received therefrom a diploma certifying his qualifications to engage in the practice of law in all the courts of the State. He did not, however, enter upon the practice at once, but first pursued the avocation of a teacher in the district school, which is the unfailing resource of very many unfledged lawyers. After that he served four years as deputy clerk of White county and acquired in the clerk's office a practical knowledge of court pro- ceedings. A young man skilled in keep- ing the records of a trial court has no in- considerable part of the general and tech-
nical education which the successful law- yer must possess. He was therefore un- usually well equipped for practice at the time of taking his place among the prac- titioners at the White county bar. He was well read in the principles of the law, was familiar with the statutes and re- ports, the forms of pleading and practice. He was a careful observer and student; was alert and ambitions to succeed. So it was not long after becoming an active member of a bar noted for its sharp con- tentions that his practice became remu- nerative. By industry and painstaking, by making a client's canse his own and contending manfully for every right and interest until the final judgment was en- tered, he built up a practice equal to the best in his circuit. For fifteen years fol- lowing 1879 he was retained in much of the important litigation of his section of the State, and he always acquitted him- self with honor and credit. His reputa- tion for honesty was unassailable and his courtesy to brethren of the bar was never failing. He was not enticed from legiti- mate professional pursuits by the allure- ments of politics or the promises of po- litical office. Only once has he been a partisan candidate and that was for elector on the Blaine presidential ticket in 1884-an office without emoluments. In 1894 he was elected, as the nominee of the Republican party, Judge of the Thir- ty-ninth Circuit, comprising White and Carroll counties, receiving in his own county a majority larger than was ever before given to any candidate and in the
The Century Publishing & Engraving to Chucago
Usea B. Alord.
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circuit a majority larger, by more than four hundred, than any other candidate ever received in the two counties. He has shown himself to be an admirable presiding judge, always attentive and dignified; always polite and affable; al- ways fair and impartial. He is patient in his investigations, firm in his convic- tions, honest and just in his decisions. He maintains decorum in his court by firm- ness and urbanity. Commenting upon his service as special judge in a county out- side of his circuit a local newspaper says: "It is seldom that an outside judge has given such complete satisfaction to mem- bers of the bar, jurors and litigants, wit- nesses and the general public as Judge Palmer. His never-failing patience and courtesy; the promptness, fairness and evident correctness of his rulings and de- cisions were subjects of universal com- mendation." He is not only an able judge, but also a very agreeable gentle- man. He is a Scottish Rite Mason, a member of the American Bar Association and of the Columbia Club, of Indianap- olis. Judge Palmer was married Novem- ber 18, 1886, to Belle Marsh, daughter of Dillon Marsh, of Idaville, White county, and the union has been blessed with one child, Hilda, born February 22, 1888.
OSCAR B. HORD.
Oscar B. Hord was born at Washing- ton, Mason county, Kentucky, August 21, 1829, and died at Indianapolis, Indiana,
January 15, 1888. The brief interval of less than sixty years between his birth and his death was sufficient to win high honor and enduring fame. He was am- bitious and studious in boyhood, acquir- ing such education as the limited oppor- tunities afforded and devoting himself in the hours of leisure to reading the best books which he could obtain. He was one of a family of seven brothers and two sisters, the sons and daughters of Hon. Francis T. Hord, a lawyer and judge of excellent reputation in Kentucky. At least three of his brothers have won dis- tinction in the profession of law. He began reading the text books of law at an early age under the tuition of his fa- ther, and at twenty was qualified for ad- mission to the bar. In 1849, upon attain- ing his majority, he settled in Greens- burg, Indiana, and formed a partnership with James Gavin, a successful practi- tioner, who subsequently entered the army and became colonel of the Seventh Regiment. The name of the firm, Gavin & Hord, became familiar to every lawyer in the State, chiefly by reason of its ap- plication to the best edition of the Indi- ana statutes published up to that time and for a period of nearly twenty years thereafter. Mr. Hord was young, ambi- tious, and full of energy; he possessed a taste for study and keenly enjoyed the work of annotating, arranging and class- ifying the laws. It is well understood by the profession that the name of his part- ner as one of the authors of "Gavin & Hord's Revised Statutes" was there very
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largely by courtesy. Colonel Gavin was in the army much of the time the work was going on, and even had he remained at home the burden of annotation and re- vision would have fallen upon the junior member, because of his scholarship and peculiar adaptation to the work. The publication was issued during the war and proved to be a profitable enterprise to the authors and of great value to the profession. Mr. Hord was elected prose- cuting attorney for the circuit at the age of twenty-three and maintained the honor of the State in the Circuit Court, with the ability and dignity of a veteran. In 1860 he was nominated as the Democratic candidate for attorney general of the State, but went down to defeat with his party. In 1862 he was again nominated and in October of that year was elected. His intimate knowledge of the statutes enabled him to discharge the duties ap- pertaining to the attorney general's office with marked ability. At the close of his term, in 1864, he settled at Indianapolis and entered into a partnership with Thomas A. Hendricks, for general prac- tice, under the style of Hendricks & Hord. Very soon Hon. Samuel E. Perkins, a Judge of the Supreme Court, was admit- ted to the firm, changing the style to Hendricks, Perkins & Hord, and in 1868 Judge Perkins was succeeded by Abram W. Hendricks, thus constituting the liis- toric firm of Hendricks, Hord & Hen- dricks. When Thomas A. Hendricks suc- ceeded Conrad Baker as Governor of In diana, in January, 1873, the latter suc-
ceeded to the position of senior member of the great law firm, so that it was simply an exchange of places. Baker, Hord & Hendricks remained together in the most harmonious relations until death dissolved the partnership. One after another its members answered the summons to appear before the high trib- unal, in the presence of the All-wise Judge; but the firm lived in the person of the surviving partner to perpetuate the memory of the great men, whose names will enrich the profession for all coming time. Mr. Hord was the last to go and the youngest of them all. In the very prime and strength of vigorous man- hood, when the wealth of learning is ren- dered more serviceable by the practical experience of years, he passed on, leav- ing to the profession the example of a noble life, crowned with usefulness. He had been married twice, first at the age of twenty-one to Miss Nannie Thompson, of his native county, who survived only eighteen months. His second marriage was in 1859, with Mary J. Perkins, the daughter of Judge Samuel E. Perkins, who became the mother of his four sons and died in 1874. Elliott, the eldest son, died in 1887; Ricketts, the youngest, died in 1892; the two living are Henry E. and Francis T. The last named is following in the footsteps of his father and pre- serving the traditions of the Hord fam- ily as a lawyer in practice at Indianap- olis. Oscar B. Hord was a man of great learning and profound insight into the law, Throughout life he was a student-
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not of text books merely, but of the prin- ciples of the law. He was fortunate in being associated in a partnership with great lawyers, and his partners were even more fortunate in their association with him. Systematic in his investigations, methodical in his arrangement of cases or disposition of business, he wasted no effort and lost no time. Whatever he did was done at the proper time and done well. He was always ready for trial. His preparation of a case was most thorough and his relationship to a client was not perfunctory, as defined by the obligation of an oath to protect and defend his in- terests, but, closer and higher than that, it was a relation of friendship and of sym- pathy. He was equally true to anyone who confided in him and to whom he was sincerely attached. His personal affec- tion and solicitude for the political ad- vancement of his associate, Thomas .1. Hendricks, were equally strong. In be- half of his friend he consented to serve as a delegate in the Democratic National Conventions of 1876 and 1884, and in both his influence was used effectively in se- curing the Vice President's nomination. He had no political ambition for himself after he settled down to the practice of law at Indianapolis. He loved the study of legal problems and the preparation of pleadings. His recreation was the pur- suit of literature. He bought good books and read them. His private library was one of the largest and best in the State. He was a broad scholar as well as a great lawyer. For a quarter of a century he
was eminent in his profession. Patient in his investigations, he was clear and exact in the statement of his views and sound in his conclusions. His intercourse was characterized by a refinement of manner, the culture of learning, the polish of gen- tility and the cordiality of fellowship. He was charitable in assisting worthy ob- jeets and liberal in supporting the meas- ures or the institutions designed to pro- mote education, religion and public wel- fare.
ALBERT HENDERSON.
Albert Henderson was born at Con- nersville, Indiana, January 10, 1815, the year before the State was admitted into the Union. His father was John Hender- son, member of the Society of Friends, his mother Ann Jane Orr, of the well- known Carolina family of Orrs. They and their families came to the great Northwest territory on account of their firm anti-slavery principles, and their son ever maintained the strongest convictions on the subject of liberty. After the death of his parents he settled in Covington, Indiana, as a "master builder and archi- tect." In 1844, at Indianapolis, he was married to Miss Lorraine P. Richmond, whose companionship and hospitable spirit were henceforth to aid him in his long life of usefulness. In Fountain county his name and influence were ever used for the furtherance of all education- al, philanthropic and religious progress. Mr. Henderson was one of the earlier
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friends of Franklin College and for many years served as a member of the board of trustees. As indicative of his interest in this institution, it is related that he once took a party of students across the coun- try in a wagon to enter the college, be- fore the days of railroads. Mr. Hender- son was an early advocate of the public school system and every educational movement elicited his hearty support. During the trying times of the Civil War his loyalty and patriotism were a bulwark for the State in a disaffected district. In 1863 he removed with his family to La- Fayette, Indiana. Here he resided until his death, May 15, 1892. He engaged in the granite business and extensive farm- ing and stock raising. It may well be said that Albert Henderson possessed those characteristics of manhood worthy the following of his fellow men. He was a great reader and student to the last days of his life. His integrity inspired the confidence of all classes. In assist- ing his many employees to build homes for themselves his philanthropic endeav- ors met with practical realization. He was so public-spirited that he was ready to further every good word and work. As a faithful deacon in the Baptist church he was a tower of strength to the denomi- nation in the State. One of his life-long friends said of him, in the language of the poet:
"His life was gentle, and the elements So mix'd in him that Nature might stand up
And say to all the world, 'This was a man! "
NAPOLEON B. TAYLOR.
The biographer who would strive to condense the life and personality of the late Judge Napoleon B. Taylor is well- nigh appalled by the task. So rich in all good things, so overflowing and exuber- ant in the noblest traits of man, was that useful life of three score and ten years that the voices of his fellow-men joined with one accord in eulogiums which might fill a volume. And yet when one has finished the record of that life in which undeviating rectitude was the pole- star it seems all summed up in that one trenchant, memorable line, "An honest man's the noblest work of God." Napo- leon Bonaparte Taylor was born in Camp- bell county, Kentucky, on the 18th of October, 1820. His ancestry was English. Robert Taylor, his paternal grandfather, was a Revolutionary soldier and was orderly sergeant in Captain Ball's com- pany under General Steuben at York- town. He was present at the surrender of Cornwallis. At the close of the war in 1783 he moved to Kentucky, engaging in the Indian wars, on account of which that State received its famous descrip- tion as the "dark and bloody ground." He was with General Anthony Wayne in his Indian campaign. Robert Taylor was a superior man in natural abilities and was widely known and sought for coun- sel. In addition to his farm work, he taught school and gained an enviable reputation as a preceptor. Robert A. Taylor, his son, was born in Madison
Napoleon B. Taylor,
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county, Kentucky, but lived in Pendleton county until, at the age of seventeen, he entered the army of the War of 1812, serving in Captain Childer's company of mounted riflemen under General William Henry Harrison. Returning to Kentucky after peace was declared, he learned the trade of brick-mason, which he followed all of his life. His wife, Mary Vize, was a native of Virginia. In January, 1826, Robert A. Taylor brought his family to Indianapolis, then a small hamlet of three hundred inhabitants. Owing to his ability and thoroughness, he at once be- came a prominent contractor. As a pioneer of the county and a man of spot- less character and excellent judgment, his influence soon became pervasive. He was a Jackson Democrat and a devout member of the Christian church. Napo- leon B. Taylor was his eldest son and was five years old when his parents settled in Indianapolis. The available private schools were the cradles of his education and later the Marion County Seminary. He took a full literary and scientific course, developing an omnivorous love for study which impelled him to acquire many branches outside the regular cur- riculum, among them Latin and French, in which he became a fluent reader. Work was a necessity in that era, and this boy worked with pride in his achievement. His father's trade of brick-mason became his and he worked at it diligently out of school hours and apart from his farm du- ties. It is noticeable that the possession of a trade puts something into a man's
life that nothing else does. Laborious work done with the hands, solidifies, in- tensifies the structure of man's charac- ter, and in his memorial one of Judge Taylor's friends speaks of the value of this period of bricklaying to the ambi- tious youth who had early in life decided upon the legal profession. When twen- ty-one years old he began the study of law with the firms of Fletcher & Butler and Quarles & Bradley, his studies being pursued at the odd hours when he was not engaged in earning a livelihood. On the 27th of April, 1844, he was admitted to the bar, having passed a fine examina- tion before the Supreme Court. Until his twenty-ninth year he was unable to de- vote his entire time to his profession, but from that time until the very close of his long life he was honored-even vener- ated-for his absolute, unswerving legal integrity. From 1853 until 1856 he held the position of city attorney of Indian- apolis. During this time Judge Taylor was instrumental in inaugurating many needed reforms in the management of city affairs. In 1849 he was a law partner of the late John L. Ketcham, and in 1853 he became associated with Gen. John Coburn, continuing with him until 1856. From 1856 till 1859 he practiced alone, at which time his son, Edwin Tay- lor, became his partner, this arrangement continuing until 1872, when Frederick Rand, of the Superior Court Bench, re- signed the judgeship, and the firm name became Taylor, Rand & Taylor. The dis- solution of this firm occurred in 1882,
Y
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when Judge Taylor was elected to the bench. Having been nominated by the Democratic party as a candidate for Judge of the Superior Court of Marion county, Napoleon B. Taylor was elected in November, 1882, and took his seat of office on November 20th, presiding in Room No. 1. In this election Judge Tay- lor received the highest vote of any can- didate upon either ticket. In the suc- ceeding elections of 1886 and 1890, when Judge Taylor was re-elected to the same position he again received the highest vote cast for any candidate. From a sketch of Judge Taylor published in the "Bench and Bar of Indiana" is quoted this encomium on his legal acumen:
"There are probably few men who have been elevated to the bench in this State to whose lot, within a single decade, has fallen the burdensome responsibility of considering and deciding a larger num- ber of gravely important cases in litiga- tion, and one has but to refer to the court reports to learn that during his long term of office there have been but few judges in Indiana whose decisions have been so generally affirmed by the Supreme Court as have those of Judge Taylor. Techni- calities were not allowed to suhvert jus- tice when, by fair means they could be surmounted or escaped. He followed au- thority, but he questioned the validity of that authority which perverted sound principles. His views of the law were al- ways elevated. He did not look upon it as an aggregation of arbitrary rules and disconnected machinery, but as a broad, fair and noble science, that should per- vade with a salutary and wholesome in- fluence all the affairs of human life; as not merely the protector of private right, but equally the conservator of public liberty."
Judge Taylor was a fine exponent of
the doctrine, "Mens sana in corpore sano," his physique being of the kind to inspire respect and admiration. He was of heroic presence, being six feet in height and admirably proportioned. Brown eyes that never lost their youthful fire, high forehead and hair frosted with silver, yet silken as a child's, a charming smile and a most agreeable manner, made up a personnel striking and refreshing. So great was his strength in his youth that it is said of him that not enough men could get hold of him to control his movements. Though his court was an in- ferior one, its decisions came to be widely known and respected in other tribunals. Chief among his notable traits were his unfailing courtesy and kindness, his pa- tience in hearing, the unassuming dig- nity and quiet decorum with which he in- vested the proceedings of his court and the practical sense and sagacity with which he encountered questions of fact. Under his guidance a jury seldom erred and the most disappointed suitor carried away a feeling of respect for the judge. On August 14th, 1893, this kindly man, of whom his fellow-man could utter naught but good, closed his eyes on earthly affairs, and, undaunted, went into the presence of his Maker. Sentiments of regret were universal and were voiced in a faint degree at a meeting of the members of the Indianapolis Bar which was held on the day following his death. It was indeed a memorable meeting. Fraught with emotion, his old legal friends and neighbors eloquently and
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