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B. J. Claypool
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and several times reappointed to the re- sponsible position of first treasurer of the county of Fayette and being four times made a member of the General Assembly of Indiana-twice in the Senate and twice in the House. Immediately after coming to Indiana he had founded a home in Connersville, Fayette county, in which town the subject of this sketch was born December 12, 1825, and dwelt throughout the greater part of his lifetime. Such education as he was able to acquire in the public schools of Connersville was richly supplemented by the private in structions of Professor Nutting, a promi- nent educator from Massachusetts, un- der whose able tuition he became pro- fieient in the various branches of learning taught in the seminaries of that day, as also in the Latin and French languages. From the fall of 1843 to the spring of 1845 he was a student in the Asbury (now De Panw) University, at Greencastle, Indi- ana. While here his marked ability as a writer and a speaker won for him the ad- miring recognition of his associates. He left the college a short time prior to the graduation of his class, immediately en- tering the law office of Hon. O. H. Smith, who was at that time the acknowledged leader of the Indianapolis bar. Under the guidance of his learned preceptor he gained a thorough knowledge of the ele- ments of law, and in March, 1847, he was admitted to practice. Shortly after- ward he opened an office in Connersville, his native town, and pursued his profes- sional duties independently and in com-
petition with a bar which at that time could fairly boast several of the ablest lawyers of the State. By dint of perse- vering study and close application to business he soon proved himself equal to grappling with cases of the first magni- tude in both the civil and criminal courts, and was engaged in all the important liti- gation in his own and surrounding coun- ties during the active years of his pro- fessional career, which covered a period of over thirty years. Along with his ar- dent taste for the legal profession, he early developed an active interest in poli- ties. At first affiliating with the Whigs, he later earned the distinction of being one of the organizers of the Republican party. He was sent as a delegate from Indiana to the National Republican Con- vention held at Philadelphia in 1856, which nominated John C. Fremont for President. He was a Presidential elector from the Fifth Congressional Distriet in 1864, and Presidential elector at large in 1868, when he made a canvass of the en- tire State in the interest of his party. In 1874 he was nominated for Congress by the Republicans of the Fifth Congres- sional District, his Democratie opponent being the Hon. W. S. Holman. During a most brilliant canvass of his district he engaged in a series of joint debates with his renowned antagonist, in which his powers as a debater were severely tested, but with results highly creditable to him- self. Defeat, however, was inevitable to him and his party, 1874 being the year when the Democrats carried nearly every-
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thing in the Congressional elections. In 1860 Mr. Claypool was elected State Sena- tor from the counties of Fayette and Union, and during the four years of his term of office he was a conspicuous mem- ber of that body of able men which had been assembled at the front by the emer- gencies of war. Clear-headed, earnest, impassioned, ever with firm convictions and the courage to give expression to them, he advocated a vigorous prosecu- tion of the war, regardless of what might be the popular sentiment concern- ing his attitude. Apart from his profes- sional and political duties Mr. Claypool found time to give considerable attention to finance, and his policy was always in favor of a sound and stable currency. He was at one time president of the Con- nersville branch of the State Bank of In- diana, and subsequently president of the First National Bank of Connersville, his appointment to which latter office was coincident with the organization of the bank and continued until he sold out his interest in that institution in 1873. In his more advanced years Mr. Claypool be- came much interested in agriculture and the breeding of fine stock upon a large and extensively improved farm which he owned in Delaware county, Indiana. Various as were his undertakings, they were universally crowned with success- that diadem sought in vain by so many, yet ever to be won by him in whom are united a versatile ability and unvarying thrift, traits markedly characteristic of Benjamin F. Claypool. In connection
with his other good fortunes must be men- tioned that of his marriage, in 1853, to a woman of exceptional intelligence and cultivation, Miss Alice Helm, daughter of Dr. Jefferson Helm, of Rushville, In- diana. This lady doubtlessly contributed to no small extent in making the career of her husband a prosperous and happy one. Mr. Claypool died on December 11, 1888, having survived his wife by six years. One son, Jefferson H. Claypool, of Indianapolis, Indiana, whose biography appears in this volume, is their only liv- ing descendant.
LINDSEY T. LOWDER.
Lindsey Thomas Lowder, M. D., is de- scended from Quaker stock on the pater- nal side, his grandfather having been a Friend who, born in North Carolina, of English parents, married a woman of Scotch-Irish extraction, and in 1815 emi- grated to Indiana, settling in Lawrence county, where he successfully followed the agricultural industry. His son Lyn- den, born in Boone county, Indiana, mar- ried Mary Short, a native of Green county of the same State. They located upon a farm near Springville, Lawrence county, Indiana, and here the subject of this sketch was born May 6, 1846, and here grew to manhood. The elder Low- der was a carpenter by trade, and young Lindsey assisted his father, now in the work-shop, now in the fields of his farm, attending school only in the winter
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months. When seventeen years of age, however, he was sufficiently advanced as a scholar to qualify him for teaching the country schools; and he taught that of his own neighborhood for two winter terms, subsequently teaching four terms in other districts, in the meantime attending high school at Springville. He entered the In- diana University in 1867, taking a three years' course in that institution. In 1871 he began the study of medicine under the direction of Dr. F. W. Beard, of Harris- burg, Indiana, at the same time entering the Indiana Medical College at Indian- apolis. For three years he diligently pur- sued this two-fold course of instruction, graduating from the college in 1874. He then entered upon his labors as a prac- titioner at Harrisburg, where he re- mained until 1890, in which year he es- tablished himself at Bloomington, Indi- ana. During the few years of his resi- dence in Bloomington Dr. Lowder has built up a very large practice, in connec- tion with which he conducts a private sanitarium; and he has already become noted for his skill both as a general prac- titioner and as a surgeon, diseases of women and abdominal surgery heing specialties in which he has many times operated with signal success. Nor is his reputation confined to the city of Bloom- ington, but is constantly spreading from county to county of his State. Dr. Low- der is a progressive man, always striving to keep in touch with the most advanced methods in the twin sciences of medicine and surgery. Not content with the
amount of college work which entitled him to his degree of M. D., he took the post-graduate course of the Polyclinic Medical Institute at Chicago in 1893; and in the profession he is widely and favorably known, having officiated as president of the Monroe County Medical Society for a number of years, while other similar organizations of which he is a member are: the Mitchell District Medical Society, the State Medical So- ciety and the American Medical Associa- tion. He is also a trustee of the Central College of Physicians and Surgeons, and, as his leisure permits, contributes arti- cles to standard medical literature. Dr. Lowder is a veteran of our Civil War, and is both a Master Mason and a Knight of Pythias. In 1873 he was married to Miss Alice A. Stipp, whose father, George Stipp, of Clear Creek, Indiana, is one of the most prosperous farmers of Monroe county. Four daughters and five sons have been born of this union, as follows: Daisy E., Rosa May, Mary Clyde, Lillie Ella, Lindsey Clarence, George Stipp, Newton K., Franklin Edward and How- ard Maxwell. Of this generous family of nine children all are living in Blooming- ton, robust witnesses to the hygienic rear- ing of their doctor father, to whose pro- fessional ability hundreds of patients who have taken treatment in his sanitar- ium stand ready to gratefully testify. The physician's life is proverbially one of self-sacrifice and uncertain financial re- turn; but it is one of ever-increasing honor with our pioneer thinkers, who are recog-
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nizing the healthy body as the only nat- ural habitation of well-balanced intellect and character; and the man who spends his life in routing the old enemy Disease from his strongholds earns the right to a deep satisfaction, as a benefactor, not only of present, but of future genera- tions.
HORACE P. BIDDLE.
Judge Horace P. Biddle, of Logansport, was born in the State of Ohio in what was then Fairfield, but which is now Hocking county, on the 24th of March, 1811. His father, Benjamin Biddle, who was a native of Connecticut, came to Ohio in 1788 and died in 1829. He first settled at Marietta, emigrated west- ward and finally settled in the Hocking Valley in 1802, in what is now Hocking county. He became a com- fortable pioneer farmer and received the appointment of Associate Judge of the Court of Common Pleas. The mother of our subject was Abigail Converse, also a native of Connecticut. She belonged to an active, spirited, intelligent family, and was a bright, beautiful woman, respected aud beloved by all who knew her. She died in 1817. In his boyhood, Horace P. received an elementary education. He afterward, however, acquired sufficient knowledge to the eye, of the Latin, Ger- man, French, Italian, Spanish, and Portu- guese languages, to translate correctly; and as a student of Sir William Jones he acquired some knowledge of several of
the Eastern languages. Mr. Biddle from carly boyhood was not only a lover, but a faithful student of his books, as well as in the great school of the world. In his early manhood he felt a desire to study law and make it his profession; and ac- cordingly took up a line of preparatory studies-natural philosophy, history, DeLolme, Hallam's Constitutional Eng- land, etc. At the age of twenty-five he applied to the Hon. Thomas Ewing, then U. S. Senator from Ohio, for advice with regard to the study and practice of the law. He was kindly received by that dis- tinguished man, and, after a careful ex- amination, much encouraged. Mr. Ewing recommended him to Hocking H. Hunter, an eminent lawyer of Lancaster, Ohio, in whose office he was cordially received; and, after studying over two years, was admitted at Cincinnati, to the Common Pleas and Supreme Court of Ohio; and at Columbus to the Circuit and Supreme Courts of the United States. After his admission, Mr. Biddle "traveled the cir- cuit" a year in Ohio, and in 1839 settled and opened an office in Logansport, In- diana. He soon had a lucrative practice, rose to the first rank in the profession, and received the highest judicial honors of the State. He was also a member of the Constitutional Convention which formed the present Constitution of the State. In 1844 he was nominated as elector on the Whig Presidential ticket, and made many speeches throughout the northern portion of the State for Clay, with whom he had more than a casual acquaintance. In
your tity Anace P. Biddle
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the year 1845 he was nominated on the Whig ticket for the State Legislature, but was defeated by a majority of thirty-one votes. In December, 1846, Mr. Biddle was elected President Judge of the Eighth Ju- dieial Circuit, and served six years, re- signing the last year of the term to run for Congress against Norman S. Eddy. This was in 1852, and he was beaten. In 1857 he was elected Judge of the Su- preme Court to fill a supposed vacancy; but that court declared there was no va- caney at the time of election, and he never took the office. In 1850 he was elected a member of the Constitutional Convention, and in that body did some of the best work of his life. From that date until 1860, he was eminently successful as a lawyer, his income reaching the high fig- ures, for the times and place, of $8,000 per annum. During the latter year, he was elected Judge of the Circuit Court, of his, the Ninth Judicial District, re- elected in 1866 unanimously, and declined a third term in 1872. For the next two years he pursued purely a literary life. In 1874 he was elected Judge of the Supreme Court from the Fifth Judicial District, the first judge elected from it. His majority reached the high figures of 33,000, being 16,000 more than the Democratic ticket, upon which ticket he had been placed by nomination. Judge Biddle retired from the bench, January 5, 1881. Those who know him best, insist that his ablest work as judge, were the years between 1860 and 1872, when he occupied the nisi prius bench, he, in many things, being a model
nisi prius judge. Although not a col- legiate graduate, he has been honored with the degrees of LL. D. and Ph. D. Though Judge Biddle never neglected his professional studies for any other pursuit, yet he has carried on a line of studies in philosophy, science and literature through life. In 1849 he published a small volume, entitled, "A Few Poems," which was favorably received by Ir- ving, Longfellow and Charles Mackey. In 1858 he republished this volume with additions, making a volume of 240 pages. In 1849 he finished the manuscript of his work on the musical scale. It remained in manuscript until 1860, when he had a few copies privately printed, which he distributed to colleges, musicians and friends. In 1867 it came to the notice of Oliver Ditson & Co. of Boston. That pub- lishing house addressed Judge Biddle upon the subject, purchased the copy- right, and have published several editions of the work. In 1864 and 1865 he wrote a volume of poems entitled "Glances at the World," and published it in 1874. Other volumes are "Elements of Knowl- edge," "A Serapbook of Poems," and "Amatories, by an Amateur." This last work was published in 1878, and was limited to ten copies. Besides the above, he wrote for magazines at an early day, several articles, and published several monographs, among the latter, "A Dis- course on Art," "The Definition of Poetry," "A Review of Prof. Tyndall's Treatise on Sound," "The Analysis of Rhyme," "Russian Literature," and "The
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Tetrachord, a New Musical Instrument." This instrument was invented by Judge Biddle. His review of Mr. Tyndall's theories of sound was the most acute pub- lished in this country or England. His theory of the musical scale was accepted in London, in 1878, against the theory of Tyndall and Helmholtz. In 1876 he pub- lished a volume of considerable preten- sions, "America's Boyhood," a work of 288 pages. In January, 1881, a few weeks be- fore he arrived at the age of seventy, Judge Biddle retired from all active par- ticipation in the current affairs of life. Since his retirement he has lived quietly in his "Island Home" in the middle of the Wabash river, opposite the business center of the city of Logansport. Here he is free to enjoy the companionship of his books, having one of the largest private libraries in the State-which he playfully calls his "eight thousand friends." But the Judge has a host of friends besides his books. He has the refined nature and amiable qualities that win friends every- where. He is a great lover of the beauti- ful in art and in music, and has devoted his life to the law and to literature. It is of such men that Emerson says: "The world is upheld by the veracity of good men; they make the earth wholesome. They who live with them find life glad and nutritious."
JAMES McCABE.
Hon. James McCabe was born on the Fourth of July, 1844. His parents were
at that time living in Darke county, Ohio; but shortly after his birth they moved to Indiana, first settling in Kosciusko county, and eight years later removing to Warren county, where they located permanently. In the common schools James McCabe received his education, or rather the foundation of that broad and substantial education which has been added to, little by little, throughout his life, by the constant gleanings of his gift- ed and industrious mind. His father was a farmer, and James grew to manhood ro- bust and ruddy with his out-of-door ex- ercise in helping to till the fields. After completing his pupilage in the common schools, he taught for a while, at the same time taking up the study of law, which he pursued with an earnestness and courage which his later achievements have abundantly rewarded. In 1862- then a youth of eighteen-he was ad- mitted to the bar and opened an office at Williamsport, Indiana. The sincerity of his character and the thoroughness of his work quickly won for the young attorney the confidence of the community, and his practice grew rapidly and steadily until he had outstripped all his brother law- yers of that section in the race for suc- cess. At length Williamsport had come to be only the center of his legal opera- tions; for so wide had grown his reputa- tion for skill in the management of diffi- cult cases that his sphere of action was extended to include various of the Cir- cuit Courts in that part of the State. The weighty character of the cases in which
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James Mile ube
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he was retained brought him, of neces- sity, frequently before the Supreme Court. Indeed, at the time of his election to the Supreme Bench of Indiana, in 1892, its records showed a large number of cases in which he had participated than could be claimed by any other of its judges. During his professional career his practice has been largely of the char- acter involving legal subtleties, which his naturally analytical mind has become adept in elucidating; and his judgment is regarded as highly authoritative on all points requiring nice discrimination. For many years Judge McCabe has been prom- inently identified with the interests of the Democratic party, and has always been most loyal in his allegiance to its tenets. In the councils of that party his support is sought and relied upon, for he is known to be one whose opinions are based on a thorough and unbiased study of Democratic history and principles. In discussion his language is simple and his manner unstudied, yet his words are fraught with the eloquence which springs from earnest conviction and generous sentiment. Twice he has been honored by his party with a nomination to repre- sent it in Congress. In 1896 he was ap- pointed by the State of Indiana as a dele- gate to the National Democratic Conven- tion held at Chicago; and as representa- tive for his State on the Committee on Resolutions, he assisted in drawing up the declaration of principles destined to be given prestige and permanence by Bryan in his famous campaign. Whether in his
legal or political capacity, his fearless integrity and hearty cordiality have won for Judge MeCabe the respect and good- will of opponents as well as of sympathiz- ors. In a word, Judge MeCabe has gained success and distinction, not because he sought them, but inevitably, through the native nobility and force of his person- ality. In 1853 he was married to Miss Serena Van Cleve, of Crawfordsville, In- diana. Of their issue three children are living-two sons and a daughter. Both the sons, like their father, have espoused the cause of legal equity, and are now prac- tising attorneys.
CHARLES WHITE.
Rev. Charles White, D. D., was born at Randolph, Massachusetts, December 28, 1795. The family trace their lineage directly to the Whites who came to America in the Mayflower. Charles White fitted for college in Randolph, Vermont, under Rev. Rufus Nutting. He entered Dartmouth College in 1817 and graduated in 1821 in his twenty-sixth year with the highest honors of his class. He took his theological course at An- . dover, graduating in 1824, and was mar- ried in 1825 to Martha Ellsworth Carter, dangliter of Ezra Carter, the first precep- tor of the academy at Peacham, Vermont, the Caledonia Grammar School. To them were born ten children. Mr. White was settled for four years at Thetford, Ver- mont, as colleague pastor with his step-
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father, Rev. Asa Burton, D. D., celebrated in his day as a theological teacher, and as the author of what is called the "Taste Scheme" in theology. Charles White was in 1829 thence called to the Presby- terian church of Cazenovia, New York, where he remained three years. He was then called to Oswego, New York, where he accomplished a highly useful and suc- cessful ministry, remaining there until he went west in 1841. He received the de- gree of D. D. from Union College in 1840. A member of his family writes of him at that period: "I, who know him most per- fectly, am constrained to declare that I never knew anyone to walk so closely with God as he did. To number his vir- tues is to give an epitome of his life, which was nothing else but a progress from one degree of virtue to another. His example was more instructive than the best rules of the moralists. He had a sweet courtesy toward the poor and often employed many spare hours with them. His mind was ardent, his temper serene, his affections warm and benevolent and his character shone with the angelic light of pure disinterestedness and cheer- ful piety. Religion was not for him a thing set apart for occasional use-it was the vivifying principle of his existence, it guided every feeling, was blended with every thought and passed into every ac- tion." The church and congregation were deeply attached to their pas- tor and his family, and it was with sad hearts that they consented to let them go. A beautiful poem was
written by Nathaniel P. Willis, express- ing the great affection and sorrow felt by all who knew him. In 1841, after a jour- ney of three weeks, Dr. White, with his six children and aged mother, reached Crawfordsville, Indiana, to take the presidency of Wabash College. Here he spent the remaining twenty years of his life, which was instantaneously closed by a fit of apoplexy while alone in his study, October 29, 1861. Dr. White entered upon his public career at a somewhat advanced period of life, beginning in his thirtieth year, and closed it at the very beginning of old age, in his sixty-seventh, so that the active period of his life was but about thirty-seven years. But these years were filled to the brim with useful deeds, and his life, if estimated by what he accom- plished, was a complete success. Though shorter in years than the lives of many of the servants of the church, it was longer in deeds. While in the active duties of the ministry, he was uniformly snecessful and highly acceptable both as a pastor and preacher. At the centennial anniversary of his church at Cazenovia, recently held, the following tribute was offered to his memory: "Dr. White was as gracious and winning as the beloved apostle John. The church, the Sunday- school and the families of the parish felt the charm of his gentle and winning per- sonality. He was then in the vigor of early manhood, full of ardor for his work. full of love for his church. Children were attracted, and the same graces that win children, win parents. And so it was not
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astonishing that his ministry was blessed with a pentecostal revival. On one Sun- day sixty young persons stood up before the pulpit to assent to the articles of faith read by their dear pastor, an inspiring and memorable occasion." But the event that made Dr. White just what he was, was his call to the presidency of Wabaslı College. From that hour his life came under the power of one great purpose; and his ability, influence and reputation ever after constantly and rapidly aug- mented. This last position was alike suited to his tastes and his talents. And it was his absorbing ambition to make this college first in character and reputa- tion in the West, and thus to bring this entire section of country under tribute to himself, for a higher educational stand- ard and a more completely qualified Christian ministry than it had hitherto enjoyed. In the judgment of many, his ef- forts were not unsuccessful. The growth of the college was constant and healthful and all its facilities for imparting a lib- eral and thorough education were much increased. A large proportion of the min- istry of the State of Indiana at the time of his death had been educated within the walls of Wabash College and under Dr. White's personal instruction. He had made himself very widely and favorably known, especially throughout the West, and there were few in that part of the country whose influence was so strong and whose reputation was so high. His influence over the college students was also exceedingly strong, and in their es-
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