USA > Indiana > Encyclopedia of biography of Indiana > Part 29
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his entire attention, and became a suc- cessful agriculturist. He was an active Democrat, served as inspector of elec- tions, justice of the peace, county com- missioner, and representative in the Gen- eral Assembly, being a member of the Legislature of 1858. He died in 1888. His son, Alexander C. Ayres, the subject of this sketch, was born at Mt. Carmel, Franklin county, Indiana, November 9, 1846. He became a resident of Marion county in 1858, and has lived there ever since. The youthful days of Alexander were given over to close study, and he took full advantage of the opportunities afforded him in this line. In 1868 he grad- uated from the Literary Department of the Northwestern Christian University, then located at Indianapolis, it being the same institution now situated at Irving- ton, and called Butler University. Fol- lowing this he taught school for one year at Greenwood, Johnson county, and then read law for three years with Hendricks, Hord & Hendricks, at Indianapolis. Dur- ing these three years of law reading, Mr. Ayres further fitted himself for his pro- fession by taking a regular course in the Law Department of the Northwestern Christian University, graduating in the class of 1872. Admission to the bar fol- lowed at once, when he became asso- ciated as a partner, with Hon. By- ron K. Elliot, this copartnership con- tinuing until the latter was elected Judge of the Marion County Su- perior Court in 1876. Mr. Ayres then became the partner of Edgar A. Brown,
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the firm being dissolved in 1882, when Mr. Ayres was elected judge of the Nine- teenth Judicial Circuit, composed of Mar- ion and Hendricks counties. Three years of life on the bench satisfied him, and in 1886 Mr. Ayres resigned the judgeship to resume the practice of law, his part- ners being Edgar A. Brown and Lawson M. Harvey, the latter being now Judge of the Superior Court of Indianapolis. In 1890 the firm of Ayres, Brown & Har- vey was disrupted by the retirement of Mr. Brown, who had been chosen to the judgeship of the Marion County Circuit Court, and Mr. Ayres conducted his busi- ness alone until January, 1892, when he formed a partnership with Aquilla Q. Jones, under the name of Ayres & Jones. This firm is still in active practice, and has a large and lucrative clientage. Mr. Ayres is an able and successful lawyer, and is especially strong in the cross-ex- amination of witnesses, and in the deliv- ery of a closing speech to a jury. His calm and deliberate manner in court might lead those who are not intimately ac- quainted with him to believe that he was not particularly strong in the trial of a case, but an attack from the other side arouses him to intensity of action, and converts him into an able and brilliant ad- vocate. Though making no pretense to oratory, Mr. Ayres is a logical, forceful talker, and has a knack of presenting his side of a case to a jury in a convincing manner. His record as a judge shows that his decisions were seldom reversed by the higher court. While on the bench
he was careful and deliberate in forming opinions, and he had the entire confidence of lawyers and the people at large. In politics, as in the law, Mr. Ayres is one of the strong men of Indiana. Always a Democrat, he has had high place in the State and National, as well as the local councils of his party. He has genius as an organizer and as an adviser in politi- cal affairs, preferring to serve in this way rather than to seek office which entails a public career and an abandonment of his valuable law practice. This course has been taken to the regret of Indiana Dem- ocrats, one of whom in giving his esti- mate of Judge Ayres, says: "I consider him one of the great men of Indi- ana, and am sorry that his tastes have not been more in the line of active, public politics, rather than as a party counselor, for he would undoubtedly have reached high office." Mr. Ayres was married in 1879 to Miss Anna Fay, daughter of Amos F. Fay, formerly of Indianapolis. To them have been born five children, Alexander, Jr., Elliot, Mabel, Franklin and Henry Lee, of whom the last four named are living.
AQUILLA JONES.
Hon. Aquilla Jones was born in Stokes (now Forsythe) county, North Carolina, July 8, 1811. He was the son of Benjamin and Mary Jones, who were of Welsh line- age. His father was a farmer in lim- ited circumstances. The sturdy spirit of
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the son, however, was undaunted by the lack of opportunities afforded him. In the backwoods of his native State he ob- tained three months' schooling, and to enjoy this he walked several miles daily. This was the nucleus of that self-educa- tion which developed the boy by his own indefatigable exertion, into the useful and ambitions citizen. As Aquilla Jones tilled the fields beside his father, his thoughts and aspirations were upon dif- ferent things. In 1831 the family moved to Columbus, Indiana, having been pre- ceded by Elisha P. Jones, a brother of the subject of this sketch. Aquilla en- tered his brother's store as clerk, and remained until August, 1836, when he went to Missouri. However, his stay there was brief, as the year 1837 found him once more in Columbus. About this time the first grief of his life befell him in the loss of his wife, to whom he had been wedded but one year. Her maiden name was Sarah Ann Arnold. He launched into the business of hotel-keep- ing, but finding it an uncongenial one, soon abandoned it, and his brother Elisha having died, he succeeded him by pur- chasing his stock and becoming a general merchant, in conjunction with which duties he performed that of postmaster. About this time he was tendered the of- fice of elerk of Bartholomew county, but saw fit to decline. His ability, however, had become so manifest that in 1842 he was elected by a large majority to a seat in the Indiana Legislature. He was also offered the Indian Agency of Washington
Territory and of New Mexico, both of which he declined. In 1856 Mr. Jones was elected Treasurer of Indiana. Pre- vious to this he had been twice appointed to take the census, once by President Van Buren and afterward by President Pierce. He was renominated in 1858 for Treasurer on the Democratie ticket, but for personal reasons was forced to de- cline. Indianapolis at this time offering a larger field for his ambitions, it became his home. He was elected in 1861 as treasurer of the Indianapolis Rolling Mill, continuing in this position until 1873, when he became its president. He was also chosen president of the Water- Works in 1873, but resigned after a ser- vice of four months. His last official posi- tion was that of postmaster, which he filled during the first term of President Cleveland. His death occurred July 12, 1891, soon after his retirement as post- master. Aquilla Jones was a man of strong character and personality. His peculiar name Aquilla (an eagle) seemed well fitting his direct and peculiar nature. Having fixed his desires and hopes on what he conceived to be right, he sought its consummation with steady and un- daunted determination. Like so many of that class of men whom we term "self- made," he was successful in all of his ventures, besides filling his life with the pleasures which accrue to the good citi- zen and the good father. His name is linked politically with the great men of his party, Thomas A. Hendricks, Joseph E. McDonald and Daniel W. Voorhees,
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with whom he worked in both State and National politics. He was a devout and consistent churchman and was long iden- tified with St. Paul's church, of which he was for many years a vestryman. He was devoted to the interests of his home city and furthered them in every available manner. The history of the State of In- diana possessed a peenliar charm for him and was a subject of ceaseless study. Very few men have known so much about the commonwealth of Indiana as he knew; its unwritten history and tradi- tion were familiar to him and he was con- stantly adding to his store of knowledge. He was married in 1840 to Miss Harriet, daughter of Hon. John W. and Nancy Cox of Morgan county, Indiana. To them were born eleven children: Elisha P., John W., Emma (Mrs. Henry C. Holliway), Benja- min F., Charles, Aquilla Q., Edwin S., William M., Frederick, Harriet (deceased) and Mary (deceased).
WILLIAM J. RICHARDS.
Despite the fact that the poet John G. Saxe has humorously cantioned ambitious individuals not to attempt to ascend the "family thread," yet there is a growing tendency in man- kind to delve into family archives and bring into light all that pertains thereto. Particularly pleasant is this task when the ancestral line is an un- blemished one. The long genealogy of the family of Richards has been carefully pre-
served and dates even prior to the time of Edward Third of England when his prime minister, Richard, formed a link in this chain. Its source is found in the early annals of the Welsh, where the family name was borne by the chiefs of the clans which successfully resisted the Roman invasion. The identical stock appears also among the Scottish clan chieftains. In America the name of Richards is not heard so often as that of Richardson, which is a collateral branch, but where- ever found is marked by unusual strength of character. A branch of the Richards family came from the old country during the Eighteenth Century, and settled in Maryland. Here was born Samuel Rich- ards, grandsire of the subject of this sketch. He wedded Elizabeth Bonwell, a native of Maryland, and in 1812 the con- ple removed to Clark county, Indiana, where in 1821 Samuel Richards died, the widow going with her children, ten years later, to Spencer, Owen county, Indiana, where she remained until her death in 1858. Rezin Richards, her son, was born in 1807, and married Elizabeth Fain Evans of Kentucky. She was born in 1814, the daughter of Jesse Evans, who with his family, came to Owen county during the childhood of his daughter. Jesse Evans was prominent in the pio- neer life of southern Indiana, administer- ing the affairs of his section as justice of the peace for many years, which office then exceeded in importance and scope that of a present Circuit Judge. From this auspicious union, celebrated in Owen
Williamf Richard
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county, were born ten children, of which six were sons. Of the five brothers of William two were men of mark: Joseph, five years younger, is one of the able gen- eral attorneys of the Missouri Pacific system of railways, residing at Fort Scott, Kansas; and Wallace, five years older than William, died at the age of twenty-eight, while in the quartermas- ter's department of the Government dur- ing the civil war. He had four years prior to the war entered the profession of the law at Delphi, Indiana, and with bril- liant promise. As an orator and advocate he was phenomenal. It is said of him that he was as much an intellectual as Blind Tom was a musical prodigy. His death was one of the tragedies of the war. William J. Richards was the third in order of birth; his father also having been the third of six brothers who left a vivid impress for good in the pioneer hardships of early Indiana. The last and youngest of these uncles of Ma- jor Richards, Harlan Richards, recently died in Spencer, Indiana, full of honors, universally admired and loved by the bar, of which he was a noted member. Will- iam J. was graduated at the Waveland Collegiate Institute, a celebrated seat of learning at that day, in 1861, receiving the degree of B. S. Having reached his majority, he enlisted as a private of the 38th Indiana Volunteer Infantry. After serving fifteen months in this regiment he was transferred to the 81st Indiana Infantry, with the rank of second lieu- tenant. Promotions followed in rapid
succession through all the grades to that of major and lieutenant colonel. The pas- sage from captain to major was not by seniority, there being five senior captains in the regiment, but the selection was by the extraordinary method of universal choice of the line officers, and the hearty endorsement of the field and staff. Major Richards' service was entirely with the armies of the Ohio and Cumberland. He participated in all the great battles, re- ceiving slight wounds at the battles of Stone River and Resaca, and winning more than one special mention for gal- lant intrepidity. Among other tributes is that of having his name placed on one of the memorial tablets of the bloody field of Chickamauga, after which battle he was unanimously chosen lientenant col- onel by the vote of his brother officers, but declined muster in favor of a brother officer who held a senior commission. Major Richards' continuous service with these two regiments covered a period of more than three years, during which he filled many positions, as inspector gene. ral, adjutant general, provost marshal of corps, and judge advocate of courts- martial. After the war he entered the pro- fession of journalism as associate editor of the LaFayette Journal. Being pos- sessed of an aggressive and redundant en- ergy which constantly urged him on to greater undertakings, he came to Indian- apolis, where he filled responsible posi- tions on different papers until his final alliance with the Indianapolis News, with which his chief life work has been
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wrought. Major Richards rapidly ad- vanced to the position of business manager, and for several years has been one of the proprietors of this valnable property. .A finer encom- ium of his extraordinary ability could not be framed, than is the daily edi- tion of The News. Having a lofty con- ception of the possibilities and mission of a newspaper, he threw into the fruition of his ideas the whole dynamic force of his energy. As an independent paper, clean, high and progressive in tone, recognizing the rights and needs of the people and abetting them in every possible way, The News stands pre-eminent even among such splendid journalism as that of the United States. In every way has Major Richards sought to enhance the valne and efficacy of The News. In 1896, realizing that The News was not properly housed, he sought both at home and abroad for a model upon which to plan a building for the paper. This research resulted in the erection of an elegant costly building, entirely fire-proof, in which The News has since been comfortably domiciled. As a medium of advertising The News is sought far and near; as a reflex of the best thought and criticism of the day it is habitually read by thousands, and as a newspaper, per se, it is unsurpassed. Major Richards has the pleasure, denied to many men, of enjoying his own best monument-The News-during his life- time. Money making and professional snecess have not absorbed his whole at- tention. Much of his time and means have
gone into the noble philanthropies of his city and State. He is president of the Boys' Club, an admirably managed or- ganization, and also the president of the Indianapolis Press Club, on his second term in that office, the only person ever accorded the honor of a re-election in this progressive club. He is also vice-com- mander of the Indiana Loyal Legion, and as a citizen he fills a large place in the community. Major Richards' name and influence at the head of any enterprise is in itself a guaranty of success, and his assistance is eagerly sought in most of the city's undertakings, be they commer- cial, philanthropic or social. In 1869, while still a resident of La Fayette, Ma- jor Richards was married to Miss Mary Alice Hoover, daughter of Alexander and Melinda Hoover. One son, Hugh Robert- son, was born to them, December 23. 1871. Major Richards and family have a beautiful home in Pennsylvania street, where, in his choice library, he spends much of his leisure time, alternating with trips to his fine farm, a short distance from the city.
GEORGE S. BURROUGHS.
George Stockton Burroughs, D. D., LL. D., fourth president of Wabash College, was born at Waterloo, New York, Jan- nary 6, 1855. He is descended from Jere- miah Burroughs, a noted Independent, or Congregational, member of the West- minster AAssembly, convened by the Long
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Parliament in 1643. His ancestors came to New England just after the middle of the Seventeenth Century, settling first on an island in what is now the harbor of Portland, Maine. An ancestor in direct line was pastor of the church in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692, where during the celebrated and lamentable witchcraft de- lusion, he was executed August 29. The family removed subsequently to New- town, Long Island, New York, and in the Eighteenth Century to Trenton. New Jer- sey. His great-grandfather was in the army of the Revolution, and was a guide to Washington at the crossing of the Del- aware, just before the battle of Trenton. His grandfather was a leading business man of that city, holding the office of mayor during a period of fourteen years in succession. His father was a clergyman of the Presbyterian church, a graduate of Lafayette College and of the Theo- logical Seminary at Princeton, New Jer- sey. On his mother's side, Dr. Burroughs is descended from the New Jersey Stock- tons of Revolutionary fame. President Burroughs was brought up in Philadel- phia, Pennsylvania, where he fitted for college at the Mantua Academy. He en- tered the sophomore class of Princeton College in the fall of 1870, graduating with the celebrated class of 1873, of which Dr. S. J. McPherson of Chicago, Dr. Henry Van Dyke, of New York, the IIon. David Marvel, of Delaware, and others were members. During his college course he distinguished himself for high scholarship, especially in literature, clas-
sical and English, winning several medals for essay writing and in debating and original speaking. He was a leading member of the Chiosophie Society, one of the two great literary societies of Prince. ton University. After graduation he passed a year in special study. In 1874 he entered the Theological Seminary at Princeton and graduated in 1877. For three years he was a clergyman of the Presbyterian church, located at Slating- ton, Pennsylvania. In 1880 he removed to New England and entered the Congre- gational ministry, becoming pastor of the historic First Church of Christ, of Fair- field, Connecticut, organized in 1639. Sub- sequently he was pastor of the First Church of Christ of New Britain, Con- nectient, at that time the second larg- est church in New England. He was called from this pastorate to that of the College Church of Amherst, Massachu- setts, and to the Samuel Green professor- ship of Biblical literature in Amherst College. While occupying this chair he wrote extensively on subjects connected with Biblical study and with the litera- ture of the Semitic family of languages. Ile was one of the founders of the Amer- ican Institute of Hebrew and later one of the original members, a director and sec- retary of the American Institute of Sacred Literature, besides being a mem- ber of the Society of Biblical Litera- ture and Exegesis and of the American Oriental Society. In acknowledgment of his work in Oriental and Biblical studies he received the degree of Doctor of Phil-
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osophy from Princeton University in 1884. In 1887 he received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from the same institution. In 1892 Dr. Burroughs was called from his professorship at Amherst to succeed the venerable Dr. Joseph F. Tuttle, who for thirty years had held the presidency of Wabash College. He began his adminis- tration in October of the same year. Since his taking the office of president, Wa- bash College has received almost a quar- ter of a million as additional endowment and three departments of instruction have been added to the working force of the college. The venerable institution, founded in 1832, is entering upon its six- ty-ninth year with the close of the pres- ent century, having a plant and endow- ment together amounting to a million dol- lars. Since coming to Indiana, Dr. Bur- roughs has, in addition to his duties as administrator, worked extensively in the line of experimental psychology and ped- agogy, and, in addition to the presidency of Wabash, fills the chair of philosophy and education in the college. He received the degree of Doctor of Laws from Mari- etta College in 1895. Dr. Burroughs was married May 30, 1877, to Miss Emma Frances Plumley, daughter of Rev. Dr. Gardiner Spring Plumley, of New York City. Mrs. Burroughs is directly descend- ed on both the paternal and maternal sides from the pilgrims of the Mayflower. Four children have been born to them, one daughter and three sons, named re- spectively, Mabel, Harold, Ralph and Edmund.
SAMUEL E. MORSS.
Samuel E. Morss, proprietor and editor- in-chief of the Indianapolis Sentinel, was born at Fort Wayne, Indiana, December 15, 1852. His ancestors emigrated from England in the Seventeenth Century and settled in New England, whence their nu- merous descendants have scattered throughout the New England and Mid- dle States. His immediate ancestors lived in the State of Maine, where his father, Samuel S. Morss, was born and from which the family removed about 1820 to settle in Greene county, New York. From there his father followed the Star of Empire in 1830 and established himself in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he en- gaged in mercantile pursuits. For more than thirty years Samuel S. Morss was a prominent and highly esteemed citizen of Fort Wayne. Settling there among the pioneers he became an important fac. tor in promoting the interests and the welfare of the community. He was fre- quently elected to important official po- sitions and acquitted himself with honor in every station. He filled the offices of sheriff and auditor of Allen county, and mayor of the city of Fort Wayne. The mother of Samuel E. Morss was a native of Genesee county, New York, born of Connecticut parents whose ancestors had been established in that State for sev- eral generations. She is still living at the age of eighty-three. Mr. Morss was educated in the common schools and grad- uated from the Fort Wayne High School
S.E. Mons.
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in 1871. Immediately thereafter he en- tered upon newspaper work as city editor of the Fort Wayne Gazette, of which the Honorable D. S. Alexander, who is now a representative in Congress from Buffalo, was the editor at that time. Mr. Morss maintained his relations with the Gazette until March, 1874, and for six months thereafter was employed as city editor of the Fort Wayne Sentinel. In the au- tuman of the same year he became the editor of the Gazette and held the posi- tion until May, 1875, when he accepted the editorship of the Fort Wayne Senti- nel. This paper was thien owned by Will- iam Fleming, subsequently treasurer of State, who was at the time and continued to be until the day of his death, in 1890, a leader in the politics and business life of Indiana. Mr. Morss continned as edi- tor of the Fort Wayne Sentinel until the first of April, 1879, when he united with Mr. William R. Nelson in a partnership for the purchase of the paper, which was conducted by them jointly until August, 1880, when they sold the property to Mr. E. A. Hackett, the present owner. Mr. Morss and Mr. Nelson removed to Kansas City, Missouri, and on the 18th day of September, 1880, established the Kansas City Star, the first two-cent evening news- paper published west of the Mississippi river. This newspaper, which proved an immediate success, has developed into one of the most lucrative newspaper prop- erties in the United States and one of the marvelous successes of the age. On ac- count of failing health, as the result of
overwork in building up the Star, Mr. Morss, in December, 1882, sold his inter- est in the property to his partner, Mr. Nelson, and went abroad in search of health. After spending several months in European travel he returned to this country in the summer of 1883 and became a member of the editorial staff of the Chicago Times, of which the famous journalist, Wilbur F. Storey, was proprietor. For a period of nearly five years Mr. Morss served the Times as edi- torial writer, Washington correspondent and special writer. In February, 1888, he organized a company for the purchase of the Indianapolis Sentinel, and when the property was acquired, on the 10th day of that month, he became editor-in- chief of the paper, a position which he has retained continuously. His associates in the company were William J. Craig, E. A. K. Hackett, Hugh Dougherty, and the late William Fleming and the late Dr. George W. Loag, of Fort Wayne. From time to time Mr. Morss purchased the sev- eral interests of his associates and, al- though the Sentinel is still published by a corporation, he owns practically all of the stock and has been, to all intents and purposes, sole proprietor for the past seven years. Under his management and control the Sentinel has exerted a power- ful influence in the political party of which it is the chief exponent in the State, and at the same time has been fear- less in the exposure of corruption and the denunciation of political corruption- ists, within and without the party. No
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