USA > Indiana > Encyclopedia of biography of Indiana > Part 32
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42
269
BIOGRAPHY OF INDIANA.
brother, and nearly all his relatives were Republicans. His first personal interest in politics was in 1886, when he became a candidate for county auditor on the Democratic ticket. Being as vigorous and ardent in politics as in business, his elec- tion was a foregone conclusion. Before the close of his first term he was re- elected by an increased majority, serving in all eight years as auditor of Marion county. During that time he was succes- sively city, county and State chairman of the Democratic committees, and under his shrewd, executive management, the party was almost uniformly successful. Personally he has never tasted the bitter- ness of defeat. Before he had left the auditor's office his name was mentioned for the office of mayor, and he was nomi- nated and elected in 1895 by a majority of 3,780 votes, defeating Preston C. Trusler. He was re-elected in 1897 by 3,914 major- ity, defeating William M. Harding and four other candidates, though in the Presidential election the year previous the Republicans had carried the city by over 5,000 majority. While acting as county chairman in 1888, he carried Mar- ion county for Cleveland against Harri- son, and this was the first time in its his- tory that Marion county ever gave a ma- jority for a Democratic candidate for President. Mr. Taggart's second election as mayor was due to the fact that he was accredited with having given to Indian- apolis the best administration of munici- pal affairs the city had ever experienced. The political success achieved by him is
attributed to his peculiar genius for poli- tics; his material acquisitions are due to his own efforts-the result of brains and energy combined with tact and good judg- ment. A prominent lawyer of Indian- apolis, who formerly held high official po- sition, says :
"The first requisite for success in busi- ness or in politics is practical common sense, and this qualification Thomas Tag- gart possesses in a marked degree. To put it tersely, he is a good judge of men, rarely, if ever, making a mistake in the selection of his lieutenants; is quick to de- cide on points of vital interest to the suc- cess of his party, and when the battle is won he never forgets his friends. As mayor of Indianapolis he has made a record unprecedented in the history of the city. His interest in law and order was early manifested by the vigorous en- forcement of the laws against profession- al gambling, prize fights and sparring matches. He then took up the matter of public improvements, giving it personal attention and inaugurating a vigorous policy as to the paving of streets and the construction of sewers, introducing mod- ern methods and the best materials. Un- der his first administration was inaugu- rated the present excellent system of street cleaning, the collection and de- struction of garbage and the municipal ownership of the water supply. All these reforms have been accomplished without any increase of taxation or the necessity of resorting to temporary loans, which had always been done before. A large fund has been appropriated for the pur- pose of establishing and improving a sys- tem of parks and boulevards which will add much to the beauty of the city. Mr. Taggart's judgment is good on all sub- jects. His versatility is shown in the readiness with which he adapts himself to new sitnations and undertakings. He is one of the most charitable men in the city, and in helping the needy he knows no distinction of race or creed. He is liberal and tolerant. Raised a Protes-
270
BIOGRAPHY OF INDELN.A.
tant, he is always supported by the Catho- lies, as they have implicit confidence in his justice and impartiality."
Mr. Taggart is a member of the Cleve- land, and Hendricks-Gray Clubs, the most noted Democratic clubs in the State. In Masonry he has run the gamut of both Scottish and York Rites, is an active Knight Templar and a Mystic Shriner; also a Knight of Pythias and a member of the Uniform Rank. In 1877 he married Miss Eva D. Bryant, daughter of Charles Grandisou Bryant, of Mount Vernon, Ohio. Charles Grandison Bryant was a native of Knox county, Ohio. His father, Gilman Bryant, was the first settler in the locality and trafficked with the Indi- ans. He was a native of Peacham, Ver- mont, whence he came to Ohio. Ile was the son of David Bryant, a lieutenant in the colonial army during the Revolution. Jeremiah Gilman, the father-in-law of David Bryant, was a lieutenant colonel in the Revolutionary War. By right of line- age Mrs. Taggart is a member of the "Daughters of the Revolution," and is eligible to membership in the "Society of Colonial Dames." Mr. and Mrs. Taggart have five daughiers and one son: Flor- ence Eva, Lucy Martha, Nora, Irene Mary, Thomas Douglas and Emily Letitia. Mrs. Taggart is a woman of estimable charac- ter and agreeable manners, She is more practical than sentimental-a woman qualified to train a family of children. She presides in their pleasant home with dignity, grace and tact, and entertains with a quiet, cordial hospitality which at once places guests at their ease.
MICHAEL II. SPADES.
Michael HI. Spades, of Indianapolis, In- diana, was born at Cincinnati, Ohio, Feb- ruary 15, 1845. ITis father, Cyril S. Spades, was a native of Baden-Baden, Germany, all but the first two years of his life, however, having been spent in Ameri- ca. Ile was reared in Ripley county, In- diana, and became a civil engineer, de- voting the greater part of his life to that industry; and it is from him, as founder, that Spades' Station-a thriving village on the Big Four railroad-derives its name. Capable and enterprising, he was a man, also, whose integrity of character won the esteem of all. He had three chil- dren, of whom Michael H. alone survives. The senior Spades died in 1849, leaving our subject orphaned at the age of four and with no flattering prospects. His ear- ly education, chiefly obtained in the pub- lie schools of Lawrenceburg, Indiana, was but meager, and ended with his thir- teenth year, when, child though he was in years, he bravely enlisted in the great army of bread-winners. The history of his early experiences is one that appeals to both sympathy and admiration. For three years he toiled in a brick-yard, aris- ing in the morning at three o'clock and working late at night; and any one who has passed through the fast-growing stage of boyhood, with its imperative de- mand for long sleep and sound sleep, can realize something of the mental effort and self-denial exercised in those vigils. For his services, involving such heroic sacri- fice, he received a pitiful dollar and a
Illichal It Spandau.
271
BIOGRAPHY OF INDIANA.
quarter per week. His next position, which was a clerkship in one of the dry goods stores of Lawrenceburg, was but a trifle better in point of remuneration, eight dollars a month being the stipend afforded. In 1864 he went to Indianapolis and engaged with James E. Robertson, proprietor of a retail dry goods store at 10 East Washington street. During his four years here he developed marked mercan- tile capacities, which were highly appre- ciated by his employer, as were also his sterling traits of character. Mr. Robert- son says of him:
"He entered my employ many years ago, a mere inexperienced boy. Ile re- ceived my favorable consideration on ac- count of being able to speak the German language fluently and because we were at that time in need of a young man to do general work about the store while he was gaining a knowledge of the business. It was but a very short time before I was convinced of his , real worth. Exceeding- ly kind and courteous to all who visited the store, tidy and tasteful in his attire, he had evidently chosen the vocation for which he was peculiarly fitted. To my great astonishment, I found him able to handle a special line of laces and fancy goods, and in a short time he became so expert in this line that his services as a salesman were very valuable. A firm go- ing out of business had a stock of goods for sale, and young Spades was sent by me to inspect it. He reported the goods in fine condition, and suggested to me that he could buy the stock for a very reason- able sum. I asked him why he did not make them a proposition. To this he re- plied: 'I have no money.' And at this point his ability as a trader was first keenly exercised. I then owned some Western land of but little value, and I told Mr. Spades to offer to exchange the land, with a small amount of money, for the stock. He submitted the proposition
to the firm and it was accepted. He came back to me and said: 'They have taken me up; what shall I do?' Arrangements were made and he at once took posses- sion of the store, which was the beginning of his most remarkable business career. Mr. Spades gave close attention to the do- tails of business; the small things were looked after to perfection; and in a short time his trade had developed wonderful- ly. Being a hard worker and aggressive, he from time to time expanded in the mer- cantile business until he became one of The most prominent merchants in Indian- apolis. I have never been acquainted with anyone who overcame so many ob- stacles in so short a time, and he de- serves much credit for what he has ac- complished. To-day he is considered one of the substantial business men of this city."
The store in which he established him- self on leaving Mr. Robertson was located at 20 East Washington street. His enter- prise thriving from the start, at the end of one year he was compelled to seek more capacions quarters. He had his stock transferred to the Hubbard block, where he conducted his business for ton years. In 1878 he bought of H. B. Claflin, of New York City, the large commercial block numbered 6 and 8 West Washing- ton street, removing to that block his al- ready colossal business; and for nine years he operated in the new location, his annual sales amounting to from $400.000 to $500,000. In 1888 he retired from the mercantile business, and has since been extensively engaged in real estate opera- tions. Mr. Spades is the owner of the Windsor block, situated directly north of the Bates House. Indeed, he has a large amount of capital invested in Indian- apolis, also considerable property in other
272
BIOGRAPHY OF INDIANA.
localities. On June 26, 1873, Mr. Spades was married to Miss Hester A. Cox, daughter of Jacob Cox, of Indianapolis. In their elegant residence at 550 North Meridian street, Mr. and Mrs. Spades are delightfully domiciled, their doors stand- ing hospitably open to a large circle of friends. As musicians, both have won dis- tinction, Mr. Spades enjoying the reputa- tion of being oue of the leading violinists of the city. His services have been so- licited from all the large cities of Indi- ana, where his skill has won him high commendation. Apart from the pleasure he yields to others, and thus indirectly to himself, he loves the art for its own sake, as one must love any art in which he would excel. Mrs. Spades is a sweet singer, having giveu much attention to voice culture. She was long a pupil of Professor Black, the noted voice instruct- or of Indianapolis, and has sung in some of the leading churches of the city. Mr. Spades has had a busy life aud, on the whole, a happy one. Conscientiously re- sponding to the exacting claims of a busi- ness career, he has never acquired any ab- sorbing interest in political matters, and has conceived no aspiration for public office. He has not been unmindful of the publie weal, however, and the city of his home is indebted to him for a gift of ten * acres of valuable land, constituting what is now known as Spades Park. The many social qualities, also, with which nature endowed him, have been retained nuim- paired, and are the admiration of all for- tunate enough to count him their friend.
CHARLES B. LANDES.
Hon. Charles Beary Landis, Member of Congress from the Ninth Indiana Dis- triet, was born in the village of Millville, Butler county, Ohio, July 9, 1858. He is a son of Dr. A. H. Landis, who in 1862 entered the Union army in the Civil War as assistant surgeon of the Thirty-fifth Ohio Regiment. Dr. Landis was captured by the enemy and confined in Libby Pris- on, where his health was seriously im- paired by disease. Being finally ex- changed, he re-enlisted, and was seriously wounded at the battle of Kenesaw Moun- tain in June, 1864. From the effects of this wound and his prison life he never recovered, and a few years after the close of war he gave up entirely the practice of medicine. In 1875 he removed with his family to Logansport, where Charles en- tered the high school and graduated in 1879. He immediately entered Wabash College at Crawfordsville, graduating from that institution in 1883. He began work very soon thereafter as a reporter on the Logansport Daily Journal, and soon became city editor and later editor- in-chief of that paper, which position he occupied until 1887. In February of that year, with Mr. V. L. Ricketts, he pur- chased the Delphi Journal at Delphi, In- diana, and assumed its editorship, which position he has occupied ever since. In 1894 Mr. Landis was elected president of the Indiana Republican Editorial Asso- ciation, and was re-elected in 1895. He was also elected in 1894 a trustee of
The Century Publishing & Engraving to Chicago
Pling 4. Bartholomew
273
BIOGRAPHY OF INDLIN.
Wabash College, being the first alumni trustee elected for that institution. His name was presented to the Republican Convention of the Tenth Indiana District in 1894 as a candidate for Congress. After a spirited contest between his friends and those of Judge William Johnson of Val- paraiso, Mr. Landis was nominated. Many of the friends of Judge Johnson left the convention and subsequently met and nominated Johnson, Owing to the com- plications which thus threatened the suc- cess of his party, Mr. Landis, three months after the convention, returned his certificate of nomination to the party authorities, with the suggestion that an- other convention be called, and a candi- date be nominated who would be free from any of the factional feelings that had arisen in the district. Dr. Jethro A. Hatch, of Kentland, was then nominated and elected. The Legislature of 1895 re- apportioned the State for Congressional purposes, and Carroll county, the home of Mr. Landis, was placed in the Ninth District. Mr. Landis found many warm friends in his new district, and in the con- vention which assembled at Crawfords- ville, April 7, 1896, he was nominated on the first ballot as the Republican candi- date for Congress. Mr. Landis was eleet- ed to the Fifty-fifth Congress over Joseph B. Cheadle, the fusion candidate of the People's party and the Democrats. He has been quick to gain recognition with his colleagues, and has proved him- self one of the most forcible debaters in the House of Representatives, Ile first
drew attention to himself in the House by a speech in favor of the revision of the existing civil service laws, which forced even his most radical opponents on that question to concede in a measure the wis- dom of the reforms he advocated and gained for him at the same time a recog- nition as a public speaker which brought to him the most flattering compliments from the highest sources. In 1898 he was re-nominated and elected a Representa- tive in the Fifty-sixth Congress. In 1887 he was married to Miss Cora B. Chaffin, of Logansport, Indiana.
PLINY W. BARTHOLOMEW.
On August 4, 1840, at Cabotville, Mas- sachusetts, Pliny Webster Bartholomew was born. His parents were the late Har- ris and Betsey (Moore) Bartholomew, and he was the namesake of his maternal grandfather, Pliny Moore, of Montgom- ery, Massachusetts. During the early childhood of Pliny Bartholomew success smiled upon his father. He took advant- age of a business opening in Easthamp- ton, Massachusetts, moved his family thither, and became, and for nine years continued to be, the most flourishing mer- chant of the place. In 1851, the Hamp- shire district elected him representative to the State Legislature, for which trust he proved himself markedly qualified. Subsequently he again changed his resi- dence, this time to Northampton, Massa- chusetts, where he pursued the mercan-
274
BIOGRAPHY OF INDLLN.A.
tile business on a large scale. In all com- mercial relations Harris Bartholomew won respect as a thoroughly trustworthy business man; but the rain of misfortune falls alike on the just and the unjust, and the panic of 1837 meant financial ruin for him. His son, now a lad of seventeen, was thrown upon his own resources. But, although young, Pliny Bartholomew was strong with that self-helping ambition which in notable instances has worked its way over many barriers to the goal of col- legiate honor. First clerking for two years in a combined meat-market and grocery store, he then followed his father, who had removed to Canton, New York, and assisted him for a year as clerk in his dry goods business. Then they re- moved to Hermon, New York, Pliny help- ing his father as before, and at the same time attending school to complete his preparation for college. This object ac- complished he was able, in September, 1861, to enter as a sophomore at Union College, Schenectady, New York. Here his time was divided between his studies and the duties by which he earned his livelihood. In summer he canvassed for books; in winter, taught school. In his senior year, however, his father came to his succor, and he graduated in the class of 1864. The degree of A. B. was con- ferred upon him, which honor was sup- plemented three years later by that of the degree of A. M. After his graduation he went to Ballston Spa, Saratoga county, New York, and read law for a time with Judge Jesse S. Lamoreaux; then,
passing the necessary examination, he was admitted, in May of 1865, to the bar of the Supreme Court of Schenectady. He continned the practice of law at Ballston Spa until the autumn of 1866, when he abandoned that location for Indianapolis; and since that time the latter city has been his place of residence and the scene of his professional labors. Here he drew to him a large clientage, and conducted with signal success many weighty cases. In 1890 the Democratic ballot made him Judge of the Superior Court; and, during his term on the bench, he won renown for his clearsightedness and justice, there having come up for his solving several knotty problems new in the jurisprudence of the State. So equitable were his decis- ions that they seldom met with appeal, and very rarely with reversal by the Su- preme or Appellate Courts. The follow- ing sentiment of the Marion county Bar was given expression by one of its lead- ing members: "Judge Bartholomew has long been known among his intimate friends and associates as a man of ster- ling character, his reputation for upright- ness and integrity being of the highest. Modest in demeanor, courteous in manner, and quick to see and grasp the salient points in a case, he is a model judge. He has the judicial manner to a remarkable degree, and his urbanity on the bench is such that a young man appearing before him for the first time is made to feel per- fectly at ease, and as if he had known the judge who is trying his case for years. In point of natural ability, sound judg-
275
BIOGRAPHY OF INDIANA.
ment and old-fashioned common sense, as well as in his knowledge of the law and the application of the soundest principles to a given case, Judge Bartholomew com- pares favorably with the ablest jurists who ever sat on the bench of the Marion Superior Court." Judge Bartholomew is a man of progressive views and interests. He has devoted some attention to socio- logical questions, and the leadership on that subject has devolved upon him in the Winona Reading Circle, of which he has been a member. He is Past Chancel- lor of the Knights of Pythias, also Past Grand Dictator of the Knights of Honor. He is a member of the Memorial Presby- terian church, and belongs to various minor organizations. Judge Bartholo- mew was married January 30, 1873, to Miss Sarah Belle Smith, whose parents were the late George W. and Mary Smith, of Crawfordsville, Indiana, and two sons and one daughter were given them. One of the sons-Pliny W., Jr .- died at the age of four years; the two children sur- viving are Belle Isadora and Harris Sher- ley.
THOMAS B. HARVEY.
Thomas B. Harvey, M. D., LL. D., was born in Clinton county, Ohio, November 29, 1827, and died December 5, 1889, while lecturing to his class in the Medical Col- lege of Indiana. He is given high rank, both as a man and as a doctor, and did much to build up medical education and the standard of the profession. Dr .. Har-
vey was the son of Dr. Jesse Harvey, who taught the first school in Ohio to which colored children were admitted. ITis father founded an academy at Harveys- burg, in Ohio, and was a missionary among the Indians in Kansas when he died, in 1848. The elder Harvey was of English descent. His wife was a Vir- ginian, whose mother, Mrs. Burgess, eame to Ohio and liberated her slaves. All were members of the Society of Friends. The father of Dr. Harvey left him no patrimony. His time and talents had been given so freely to the poor and op- pressed that there was none left for mon- ey making. The inheritance of the future great surgeon and leader of men was a noble mind, an honest heart and a sound constitution, which fitted him for hard study and good work. He was compelled to practice stringent economy from his youth, but found time, nevertheless, for much reading in general literature and natural science. He began the study of medicine at the age of nineteen, and grad- uated from the Ohio Medical College in 1851. Dr. Harvey first located for the practice of his profession at Plainfield, twelve miles west of Indianapolis. For eight years he and Dr. Levi Ritter, af- terward a leading member of the Indiana bar, were the only physicians of the lo- cality. Dr. Ritter has this to say of his dead colleague and friend :
"A more perfect gentleman profession- ally I have never met, in either law or medicine. In the sick room he was the model physician; he studied to gain the confidence of patients, nurses and friends,
276
BIOGRAPHY OF INDIANA.
and his presence was a healing balm in those many cases where the mind and dis- position require treatment as well as the body. I was present with him at his first major operation-amputation of the thigh-and have seen him operate many times since, and can hear testimony to his nerve and skill and to that rare con- fidence which led him not to be embar- rassed when unforeseen complications arose. Dr. Harvey excelled in sympathy, and this was one of his strong holds on his patients. I remember a family to which poverty came from the death of the husband, and sickness followed, in which he not only visited the sick widow, but would leave a bill folded in the preserip- tion to purchase food and medicine. In politics, he was a Free Soiler, and when he allied himself to the Republican party it was not as a partisan, and even less so after the party was in control of the gov- ernment."
In Plainfield Dr. Harvey married Miss Delitha Butler, who, with two sons and a daughter-Lawson, Jesse and Elizabeth -constituted his family at his death. Another son, Frank, was drowned while a student at Harvard. When the war came on, Dr. Harvey was made examining surgeon for his district and became a citizen of Indianapolis. A contemporary says: "The war swept by, but before the close none of the hundreds who had been called to the military center were better known than Dr. Harvey. His was a com- manding presence, his personal appear- ance an exponent of the man within, as perfect physically and as handsome as the typical Greek; his frame was large and his face expressed kindness, strength and intelligence. He attracted attention in any audience, without speaking, and when he spoke all ears were strained to
hear the cadence that fell as music on the air. And with all these natural gifts, he was always a modest man, wholly with- out ostentation, and without the least ad- mixture of pride or professional jeal- onsy." Dr. Harvey was by nature and in- heritance a teacher. In 1869, when the Indiana Medical College was organized, he was elected to the chair of medical and surgical diseases of women, which he held to the day of his death. In the palmy days of the college it was no uncommon thing for Dr. Harvey to hold a clinic for hours, comprising the whole range of medical diseases. His clinics for women at the City Dispensary were never neg- lected nor at the City Hospital, where every Wednesday for twenty-five years. he was in attendance, attracting always a large concourse of students. Dr. Har- vey was the chief spirit in organizing the Hendricks County Medical Society, read the first paper before it, and was subse- quently its president. He was the first president of the Indianapolis Academy of Medicine, afterward merged into the Marion County Medical Society. He was a member of the Indiana State Medical Society and its president in 1880, as well as a delegate from the same to the Inter- national Medical Congress of 1888. He was a member of the American Medical Association and of the Mississippi Valley Medical Society, and in 1886 the State University conferred on him the degree of LL. D. He was the author of numerous papers on professional topies, read before the societies to which he belonged. The
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.