USA > Indiana > Encyclopedia of biography of Indiana > Part 34
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abroad in 1895 he again visited many of the noted herds of Herefords in the old world. Almost the last act of his life was the purchase of two fine specimens of Herefords to head his stock farm on the Wea. Mr. Stuart was greatly interested in La Fayette. Anything that would push forward that city had his cordial sup- port, both in influence and purse. He was one of the organizers of the La Fay- ette Club; was one of the originators of the Merchants' National Bank, in which he was a stockholder and director; his in- fluence and money aided in bringing natu- ral gas to La Fayette; he was an earnest supporter of the Monon shops project, now the pride of the city; took an active part in the county fair for years and was one of the board of directors; was a di- rector of the Belt Road enterprise, was for fifteen years a trustee of Purdue Uni- versity, and for ten years president of the board. He always took a great in- terest in Purdue University. It was the child of his mature years and he saw its rapid progress with all the pleasure that a fond parent sees the growth of a favor- ite son. He gave his time liberally to the cause of education and his influence was ever on the side of the right and against the wrong. He was a man of action rath- er than words. His opinion on all pub- lie questions was freely expressed, but his differences with men and measures were so courteous that one always left him with the feeling that his positions were the result of mature thought and not of haste. Politically he was a Democrat-
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a Gold Democrat-and that party had no ! truer supporter. Possessed of great in- fluence, he never sought preferment him- self. He was a delegate to the National Convention which nominated Mr. Cleve- land at St. Louis. December 20, 1876, he married Miss Alice J. Earl, daughter of the late Adams Earl and Martha J. Hawkins, of La Fayette, Indiana, who sur- vives him. Socially, he was the prince of hosts. Ilis friends were welcome at all times and his nature was so genial and hospitable that it was always a pleasure to be in his company. He was devoted to his home, and here, after the labors of the day, he loved to spend his leisure hours. Most happily married, surround- ed by those he loved, he was the ideal husband and son. When such a man dies the community suffers an irreparable loss. ITis industry and business sagacity placed him beyond the reach of want and he was looking forward to years of unalloyed happiness with those who were near and dear to him. His life was an example to the youth of La Fayette, and those who follow in his footsteps closely will leave behind them a name that will live and be forever cherished in the hearts of all. From an editorial which appeared in the La Fayette Sunday Leader at the time of Mr. Stuart's death, we quote the fol- lowing:
was identified with its growth and prog- ress. He was an active factor in pro- moting its interests. 1 man of clear, keen penetration, he seemed to grasp the situation at a glance, and time verified the soundness of his judgment. If Charles Stuart had an enemy on earth, the fact is not known. He was a man of the strictest honor. He made no prom- ises that he did not fulfill to the letter. He was a man of clean speech; the coarse jest had for him no charm. He was a man whose invariable custom it was to speak well of all men, or not at all. His life was an open book with no dark pages; there were no shadows on his name or his conduct. The writer was privileged to enjoy his friendship for a long term of years. During those years there is not recalled a single unkind utterance he ever made concerning any human being. His record as a son, husband, brother. citizen, friend and business man is an enviable one. In the midst of his legal battles, many of them necessarily fierce. in the social circle, in the office, on the street or at his fireside, his greeting was always cordial-his welcome sincere. In his death the bar has lost a conscientious pleader, the community an upright citi- zen; his family a devoted husband and brother; humanity a noble, pure-minded representative."
ALLISON MAXWELL.
Dr. Allison Maxwell, of Indianapolis, Indiana, is of Scottish descent, his great- great-grandfather having emigrated, first to the North of Ireland and thence to Virginia, where his great-grandfather, Bazeleel Maxwell, was born and reared. His grandfather, Dr. David H. Maxwell, was born near Danville, Kentucky, and was a medical pupil of the immortal Dr. Ephraim McDowell, and later the degree
"It is seldom that the press is called upon to chronicle the passing away of one who was so universally loved and hon- ored, and whose death so saddens an entire community, as is the case with Charles B. Stuart. He was a man largely interested in the affairs of our city. He , of M. D. was conferred upon him pro
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Allison Maxwell
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merito, by the Ohio Medical College. In 1812, he, with his wife, moved from Ken- tucky to what is now the site of Hanover, Indiana, and in 1819 he located at Bloom- ington, Monroe county, Indiana, as a pio- Deer settler and physician; indeed, was one of the surveyors and organizers of the town, in which he resided and success- fully practiced his profession throughout his lifetime. He was chosen a member of the Constitutional Convention, which framed and adopted at its organization the first Constitution of the State of In- diana. He was the founder, and was elected first president of the board of trustees of the Indiana University at Bloomington, and served continuously as a trustee of that institution from its in- ception until his death in 1854, since which time he has been popularly re- ferred to as "the father of the Univer- sity." His son, Dr. James Darwin Max- well, married Miss Louisa Howe, and to them was born at Bloomington, on Sep- tember 25, 1848, Allison Maxwell, the sub- ject of this sketch. In his native town he grew to manhood, and graduated from the University of Indiana in 1868. After graduation he received an appointment by the university as tutor in Latin and Greek, which position he resigned to associate himself with the large publish- ing concern of A. L. Bancroft & Co., San Francisco, California, with which he re- mained for two years as manager of its educational department. On severing his connection with this house, he returned home and began the study of medicine
with his father. After a three-years med- ical course at Miami Medical College, he obtained, by means of a competitive ex- amination, an appointment as interne in the Cincinnati Hospital. At the expira- tion of his year of service at the hospi- tal, he went to Indianapolis and became associated as assistant to Dr. Theophilus Parvin, remaining with him for eight years, until Dr. Parvin accepted a profes- sorship in the Jefferson Medical Col- lege and removed to Philadelphia. In 1879 Dr. Maxwell was elected coroner of Marion county, and re-elected in ISSI, serving in that capacity for four years. In 1887 he was elected professor of the theory and practice of medicine in the Central College of Physicians and Sur- geons, which position he still holds. He is also a regular lecturer on the practice of medicine at the City Hospital clinics, having for eight years been a member of the hospital staff; and he is a member as well of the City Dispensary staff. He held the Republican membership of the first Board of Health Com- missioners under the new city char- ter, to which he was six years ago appointed by the mayor of Indianapolis; and he has been secretary and president of the Marion County Medical Society. Dr. Maxwell has made some valuable con- tributions to medical literature, especial- ly on the subject of diseases of the chest. Educational affairs have received more or less attention from Dr. Maxwell, and in 1898 he was elected president of the board of school commissioners of Indi-
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anapolis. Dr. Maxwell was married May 31, 1883, to Cynthia Routh, a daughter of James Rariden and Margaret Burroughs Routh, both natives of the State of In- diana. The grandfather, Isaac Routh, was one of the early settlers of Wayne county, Indiana, having emigrated from Tennessee, whither his father had gone in 1793 from North Carolina. The grand- mother was Sarah Roberts of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, a descendant of Christian Breneman, one of a company of Mennonites, who emigrated to Pennsyl- vania in 1709, obtaining a patent for land in that county from William Penn's com- missioners. The great-grandfather, Jo- seph Routh, settled on Deep river in North Carolina before the Revolution, fought in the Revolution on the English side, was twice wounded, and carried one bullet with him to his grave. The great- grandmother, Mary Redfern, who was of Scotch-Irish descent, was a woman of great gentleness, but great force of char- acter, and stories are handed down of her heroism and bravery during the Revolu- tion. The East Riding of Yorkshire, Eng- land, was the birthplace of the Routh family, who trace their history to one Amandus de Ruda, of the time of William the Conqueror. To Dr. and Mrs. Maxwell have been born four children, Leslie H., Ruth, James D. and Allen B. Dr. Max- well has been an active member of the Presbyterian church since 1869, to which denomination Mrs. Maxwell also belongs. They are both valued members of the Sec- ond Presbyterian Church of Indianapolis,
and interested in the many helpful char- ities of that organization.
ZEBULON BAIRD.
Zebulon Baird was of Scotch descent. born in New Jersey and reared and ed- ucated in Ohio; but forty years of his manhood, with their record of honorable achievement, belong to Indiana. His great-grandfather, John Baird, was the Scottish ancestor who came to America in 1683, and, although a lad under the age of twenty, purchased a goodly tract of land at Marlboro, Monmouth county, New Jersey, and proceeded to erect a homestead. This quaint old house is still standing- an interesting structure of the early colonial type. John Baird married, and his descendants were men of large landed interests and social consequence. The second generation of American Bairds became connected with another of New Jersey's substantial families -- one of political prominence in colonial times-by the marriage of James Baird and Deliverance Bowne. These were the parents of our subject, who thus drew directly from two family fonnts of ability and virtue. Zebulon Baird, one of six children, was born December 21, 1817. Soon after his birth, his parents left their New Jersey home and settled npon a farm in Warren county, Ohio. Here Zebulon grew and studied. His school-house was a log cabin, but his instructor was a man of practical attainments and classical cul-
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ture, and, like the Bairds, a staunch Scotch Presbyterian. Zebulon was early ready for collegiate work, and duly entered Miami University, of which Robert II. Bishop was then president. His college course completed, he began the study of law under Governor Thomas Corwin at Leb- anon; and in the spring of 1838 he was admitted to the bar of Ohio. A few months later he began practice at La Fayette, Indiana, in partnership with Judge Ingram, a veteran in the legal field. Mr. Baird was markedly of the student type. To absorb and systematize truth for practical use was with him a natural mental function. His classical knowledge was the wonder, admiration and refer- ence fund of his associates. He loved his profession for itself, without regard to the financial rewards of success, or to political prestige. Yet, still more did he love his country and the cause of liberty; and when the Civil War came on, he en- tered service as a captain under General Milroy. During his army experience, he met with an adventure which promised to be more serious than it proved. It was at the second battle of Bull Run. Unbeknown to him, the Union forces had beaten a retreat, he being engaged at the time in carrying orders. Unconscions of his peril, he rode into the picket lines of the enemy, where he was quickly cap- tured, and made an inmate of that his- toric horror, Libby Prison. Unlike the fate of so many of his fellow-victims, he was soon released, on exchange, and the sequel to this prison episode wears a
tinge of less gloomy romance. Ile had at that time a case pending in the United States Supreme Court, and as the city of Washington lay in the line of his journey from Libby Prison to the new post of duty to which he was assigned, he took advan- tageof this opportunity to plead his cause. Ile addressed the court in his officer's uni- form, and the interest awakened by the novel appearance of the military advo- cate was deepened into profound atten- tion by the force of his oratory. At the conclusion of his plea, he was the recip- ient of much gratulation, and one of the justices was led facetiously to wonder what might not be expected of generals when captains could argue so well. The rigors of military life told severely upon the slender constitution of Captain Baird, and a short time before the declaration of peace he was obliged to resign his commission. Returning home, he devoted himself assiduously to professional work, and in the few remaining years of his life he earned a reputation in Indiana as one of the ablest and most thoroughly equipped lawyers of its bar. His intel- lectual talents were of the highest order, yet he did not rely upon those talents for his snecess, as so many, similarly gift- ed, would have done. His early mental discipline had been most excellent, and throughout his professional career, he was a close and conscientious student of his cases. The philosophy of law was his delight, and in the consideration of legal propositions, he dwelt upon princi- ples rather than precedents; but he
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never neglected to inform himself on the law of his cases, and if precedent became imperative, he was always prepared to apply it with his characteristic skill. His thorough acquaintance with fundamen- tal principles and his acute analytical power made him quick to detect a weak- ness or fallacy in an argument, and he was a formidable antagonist; yet his self- control was superb, and his courtesy to adversaries, as well as to court and jury, unvarying. He was a man of pure and lofty ideals, to which he was never for a moment oblivious; a man of erudition and noble integrity, yet modest and un- assuming; a man universally admired and revered. Joseph E. McDonald, formerly United States Senator from Indiana, now deceased, in his student days read law in the office of Mr. Baird, and the success which he later won, both as an attorney and a politician, he attributed to the splendid training he had received from his legal patron, whom he declared to be the ablest lawyer ever produced by the State of Indiana. Nor was he unsupport- ed by the profession in his high estimate of Mr. Baird. In the "Sketches of the Old Indiana Supreme Court Bar," by Gen. John Coburn, Zebulon Baird is credited with his many superior abilities, which are finally epitomized in these words: "He was well matched with the best law- vers on the Wabash, and in any English- speaking court would have ranked among the highest." In person, Mr. Baird was of a type almost feminine in its delicacy. His features were fine and clearly cut; his
blue eyes mild, his pale face vitalized with thought. His was one of those rare personalities from which all grosser ele- ments seem refined away, until the intel- lectual and spiritual being stands out in bold relief. The contemplation of such men, frail in physique, yet pronounced in character and sensibility, is reassuring to religious faith, making easier our con- ception of a future state in which the in- dividuality shall appear unchanged, only more clearly and purely defined in its freedom from the mortal clod. Mr. Baird was married on January 22, 1839, to Martha M. Probasco, whose father was the late Rev. John Probasco, of Lebanon, Ohio. Five children were born of this union, of whom four survive, and are: John P., Samuel P., Elizabeth and Annie. Mr. Baird died on the 29th day of Jan- mary, 1877, and his widow on the 22d of June, 1898.
FREDERICK HASKELL.
Frederick Haskell was born at East Windsor, Connecticut, December 4, 1810, and died in Chicago, May 6, 1890. Mr. Haskell was a member of a historic fam- ily. The blood of the Puritan fathers coursed through his veins. He possessed by heredity the estimable qualities at- tributed to the colonial residents of New England as characteristic virtues. His ancestors are no less deserving of hon- orable mention for the conscientious per- formance of all the duties of inconspicu- ous citizenship, which contribute to the
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J Harkne
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development and prosperity of the com- monwealth, than for their praiseworthy achievements in the honorable profes- sions, in literature and commercial busi- ness. He was a descendant in direct line from Governor Bradford, of the Plymouth Colony. By the marriage of one of his ancestors he was related by collateral descent with the distinguished family of Wolcott, which for three successive gen- erations furnished a Governor of the State of Connecticut, and administered the gubernatorial office for an aggregate of twenty-five years. His father, Eli B. Haskell, a man of broad mind, large in- telligence and practical executive talents, held a position of commanding influence in his community, served many years in the Legislature of Connecticut and built up a comfortable fortune as a merchant. Frederick Haskell acquired a substan- tial education, from which was eliminated all of the merely ornamental and super- fluous accomplishments. It was intended chiefly as a liberal and comprehensive preparation for commercial pursuits, and was supplemented during the period of his boyhood by a careful training in ac- tual affairs. In this way he was well qualified on arriving at manhood to con- duct business on his own account. Quick to discern the advantages which the pro- gressive sentiment and rapid development of the Western States offered to young men of energy and enterprise, he left the ancestral home on attaining his majority and settled first in Jacksonville, Illinois, having made the journey thence from
Hartford on horseback. Here he entered the employ of a relative in the mercan- tile business, where he remained about two years. He came to Illinois at an early day, before the wisest seer had pic- tured the Phoenix of the lake. Indeed, it was three years prior to the incorpora- tion of Chicago as a village. Mr. Haskell built a trading station at the crossing of two trails where the city of Princeton is located, but at that time there was not another building within a radius of twen- ty miles. Here he suceeded in building up a profitable trade during the two years he remained. He was induced to return eastward by his father, who upon a first visit to the far West was not so favora- bly impressed with its opportunities, and Frederick Haskell removed to Cleveland, Ohio, where he engaged in business. Thence he returned to Connecticut, where he remained several years. After mak- ing another trip to the western country in 1844 he settled at Ogdensburg, New York, and there became associated in partnership with his father in the manu- facture of flour. The tremendous water power of the Oswegatchie river applied to various industries at Ogdensburg, was utilized by them in their flour mills and also in their mills for manufacturing broadeloth and various kinds of woolen goods. These industries, conducted on a large scale for the time and place, af- forded scope for the exercise of a high order of executive ability. Young Mr. Haskell proved himself equal to all de- mands and managed the business with
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rare skill for seven years, during which his accumulations amounted to a com- fortable fortune. This fortune was dis- sipated by the financial disasters of 1851, leaving him practically with no capital but his energy and honor, his integrity and sagacity, with which to begin anew the battle of life. Turning again to the West, which twenty years before had in- spired his youthful enthusiasm, he de- termined to recoup his losses and build up a still larger fortune in the business of manufacturing. With these objects in view he entered into a contract at New York city for supplying the Louisville & New Albany railroad, in process of construction, with cars and equipment. And then with characteristic energy and foresight he established at Michigan City, Indiana, in 1852, a great manufactory, commensurate with the requirements of that new epoch which marked the begin- ning of railroad construction in the West. ITis former success and unquestioned hon- esty inspired the confidence of capitalists in his new enterprise. Mr. Haskell had the exclusive financial management of the business, which was conducted as a part- nership. Associated with him were his brother-in-law. Hiram Aldridge, and Dr. M. G. Sherman, then a resident of Ogdens- burg, under the firm name of Sherman, Haskell & Co. In the position of mana- ger, the executive faculty of Mr. Haskell was manifest in his rare discernment of the capacity of men and their adaptation to the requirements of a particular posi- tion. His judgment was almost infallible
and he gathered about him assistants and heads of departments who were efficient and trustworthy. Under his judicious control and sagacious management im- mediate success was followed by a contin- uous growth in production and a con- stantly expanding area for the sale of their products. The facilities for manu- facturing were largely increased to meet the enormous and unprecedented demand for railroad equipment soon after the opening of the war. About the same time Mr. John Barker, a merchant of Michigan City, became associated with Mr. Haskell as a junior partner, and for a period of fifteen years thereafter the business was conducted in the name of Haskell & Bar- ker. In 1871 the partnership was merged into a corporation, styled the Haskell & Barker Car Company, organized under the laws of Indiana. Mr. Haskell was elected president of the company and re- tained the executive management by suc- cessive elections until 1884, when he sought rest and retirement, after dispos- ing of its interests. The corporation es- tablished on the ample foundation which he builded has never ceased to prosper. It continues to bear his name and is a splendid monument to his foresight, gen- ius and integrity. While this great in- dustrial establishment was the instru- mentality of rebuilding his own fortune and enlarging it far beyond the propor- tions attained in the first instance, it has for nearly half a century contributed, year after year, with unfailing regularity, to the growth of Michigan City, and to
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the happiness and well-being of hundreds of her citizens. In 1867 Mr. Haskell re- moved to Chicago, where the remaining years of his life were spent in the enjoy- ment of the tranquillity which thirty-five years of unceasing activity in affairs had earned, and the consciousness of recti- tude had rendered possible. He was al- ways a conscientious man. He accepted every trust with a high sense of the par- sonal obligations it imposed. IIe dis- charged every duty with earnestness, fidelity and zeal. While generally ab- sorbed with the larger affairs he was equally faithful in the daily routine of smaller duties and personal engagements. His quick and keen discernment discoy- ered to him opportunities; his decision and energy, his intellectual capacity and persistence enabled him to grasp and use them wisely. His commercial integ- rity was inseparable from the integrity of his character. All of his transactions were open and honorable. Throughout a business career, distinguished for its suc- cess upon a high plane, he was held in the highest esteem, not only by associates but also by competitors among whom com- petition was sometimes sharp. Mr. Has- kell possessed by nature those qualities which inspire confidence and affection. All of his impulses, prompting inter- course with his fellow men, were gene- rons and kindly. His disposition was ami- able and benevolent; his action charit- able and philanthropic. He was a man worthy to be charged with the adminis- tration of his own large estate, because
of his discriminating judgment and free- dom from unreasonable prejudices. In the distribution of gifts his sole aim was to benefit the individual, the family or the community. Esteemed among men for his ability, honesty and uprightness, he was loved in the home for the tender sympathy, refined gentleness and that never failing urbanity which is one of the chief decorations of domestic life. Ile was married in 1852 to Caroline E. Al- dridge, of Chazy, New York. He was al- ways considerate for the members of his household, and his solicitation for their welfare is among the precious memories of a noble life. Mrs. Haskell is a lady of high character and great purposes; and since the death of her husband, her energies and fortune have been consecra- ted to broad philanthropie work. The Hahnemann Hospital of Chicago, Illinois, is indebted to her for an endowment fund of $50,000, while the Chicago University points with pride to its splendid Oriental museum-constructed under the direc- tion of Architect Henry I. Cobb, and dedi- cated July 2, 1895-which museum was projected and established as a part of the University by Mrs. Haskell at an ex- pense of $100,000. Some slight idea of the beneficent effect of this institution, and of the appreciation felt by the University of so royal a gift, is conveyed by the fol- lowing simple, grateful words of Presi- dent Harper in a letter to Mrs. Haskell, dated October 27, 1897: "I wonder wheth- er, down in your quiet home, you realize how much thought you have stirred up
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