USA > Indiana > Vanderburgh County > Evansville > Evansville and its men of mark > Part 15
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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
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doned as too dull and tedious. The fruits of these ruinous proceedings were now to be reaped, and the harvest of misery and woe which resulted we will not pause to contemplate.
Mr. Bowles, whose habits of close observation and just ap- preciation of men and things well qualified him to grapple with the times, saw the great upheaving of the storm which he had anticipated undismayed, and by prompt decision, strict adher- ence to fixed principles, and a judgment almost unerring in these matters, was enabled to maintain his position amid the convuls- ive throes which agitated the body politic. These qualifications which enabled him to analyze the character of the elements at work around him, and to stem the torrent as it approached. His maxim had ever been to " mind his own business," and though we might suppose this homely phrase almost obsolete in these days, yet its application is as useful now as it then was. Though he might have amassed a fortune more readily, had he followed the general impulse, and speculated in lands, etc., at this time, yet he preferred the more certain path to its acquire- ment by a strict attention to the daily routine of duties.
The man who adopts this as his line of conduct will more assuredly achieve a triumph than he whose mind is distracted by every fluctuating breeze. But though not swayed from his pursuits as a merchant by the excitements of the day, yet has M. Bowles always considered it his duty as a good citizen to array himself on the side of order, and give whatever influence he might possess to its preservation. He has always been con- servative in his views, and consequently was one of the Old Court party during those struggles between the advocates of order and demagogism.
We portrayed the unsettled state of things during the first years of his commercial life to show under what difficulties he labored ; yet he safely steered his course amid the contending elements, and by prudence averted the storm. Writing to his brother, who had emigrated to Tennessee, and was called by the public voice to become a candidate for the Legislature of that State, " Never," said he, " seek public offices which are opposed to your interests as a merchant. Leave them to those who have nothing to interfere, and distract their attentions from such pursuits. Your vocation as a merchant is incompat-
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ible with that of a politician, and if you wish to pursue it suc- cessfully, give it your exclusive attention. Whether you succeed or not in your efforts, the confidence of the community in you as a merchant, which has hitherto so well sustained you, will be impaired. I like the maxim, 'Cobblers, stick to your last.'" The brother did not listen to these wise counsels, was elected and the result predicted was too soon verified.
The Spring of 1825 found Mr. Bowles in a condition to enlarge his business, and he accordingly opened a wholesale dry goods house. Prior to this, however, his thoughts had been turned into another channel. In his efforts to obtain an inde- pendence, he had remained impervious to the attractions of the gentler sex. But there are moments when perchance the cita- del of the heart is not so strongly fortified as at others. At any rate, who that has arrived at years of maturity can say that he has never been subject to the sway of woman? It is curious how Cupid will wedge himself into the recesses of the human heart. As his arrow penetrates that fortress, the stern warrior becomes as docile as a child, and is disarmed of his prowess. the statesman, on " whose nod hung the destiny of nations," becomes the humble suppliant, The orator, who holds en- tranced the multitude, is struck dumb. The poet, who luxuri- ates in the ideal ; the practical man, who scorns the theorist, and laughs at the dreams of the poet - all, each in turn, suc- cumb at the summons of this little despot.
The lady to whom our hero's heart yielded was Mary, the daughter of Richard, and niece of General Winchester, whose military deeds, during the late war with Great Britain, in de- fence of his country, has caused his name to be enrolled in its historical annals. Endowed by nature with the rarest beauty, combined with a sound intellect and amiable disposition, this lady was calculated not only to capture but to retain possession, and he looked forward to days of prolonged happiness with her to whom he was united. On the foreground nought is percep- tible on the glowing canvas-love has woven but scenes of calm domestic enjoyment, varied by the beauteous tints reflected from the lustrous eyes of the cherub infant encircled by its mother's arms. But veiled from sight, the background-could we but penetrate the dismal gloom which hides it from our vis-
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ion-would present a far different aspect. There stands the stern destroyer of all human hopes contemplating this scene of connubial felicity. Already the fatal aim is taken. Will he relent ? Ah, no! that arrow may not miss its aim. The grim archer, " steady to his purpose," feels not remorse. The groans of the agonized husband, the prayers and tears of dearest rela- tives are alike ineffectual. He who gave has seen best in His wisdom to take away the idol, for on His altar alone would He have us sacrifice our affections. Afflictions affect us in various ways. Some sink under the infliction of such chastisements, and suffer unavailing regrets to sap the current of blessings still left them ; others, too forgetful of the sacred recollections entwined around the past, suffer the tomb to obliterate all trace of their existence, and hasten to utter fresh vows of love to another. Not thus with Mr. Bowles. Though the axe was laid to to the root of the heart's tendrils, yet he struggled for that resignation to the Divine will which can alone soothe the trou- bled spirit. În after life he has been called upon to endure repeated bereavements by death, Many children successively has it been his hard fate to follow to the grave; and though nature will exact her tribute, and the seared heart recoil from contact with the world at such times, yet has he been enabled, by the goodness of God, to fulfill the duties incumbent upon him in active life. The many years of retirement from scenes of gayety attested the sincerity of the grief which the bereave- ment referred to above laid upon him, though to the careless observer he might have appeared entirely engrossed in his bus- iness.
We have referred above to the triumph of the Old Court party in 1826. After so desperate a struggle it required some time for the fermentation to subside, but amid the inextricable confusion of such a crisis Mr. Bowles' business continued stea- dily to increase far beyond his anticipations.
From 1828 to 1832 the great contest of State politics be- came merged into one of a more national character. The Old Court party, who had assumed the more appropriate title of National Republicans, and to which Mr. B. belonged, were now at issue with their old opponents, and the name of Harry Clay was the rallying signal around which the hopes of the patriot,
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whether merchant, artisan, or those of professional character, clustered. Harry Clay! Kentucky's noblest son ! - who can write, who can read that name without feeling the blood quicken every pulsation, as it vibrates through the veins ? Let us pause to contemplate this era, for the time itself seems identified with the name of him who was the embodiment of all excellence. The elections of '31, in which Clay was elected to the Senate of the United States, proved that the foul calumnies with which his enemies had endeavored to blacken his fair fame, had not impaired the confidence which his fellow citizens and those of the State at large reposed in him. The almost unparalleled love and admiration with which those of his own State regarded him, are among the brightest jewels that adorn his character : and throughout his long public career they never wavered in their attachment, freely confiding the interests of the State into his hands. In '32 the great question, whether the talents of the eminent civilian could outweigh the military deeds of the military hero of the sword, was to be decided. Fierce was the combat. But the dire slanders of which the envenomed shafts of the enemy had sped with malicious zeal from one end of the confederacy to the other had done their bidding, and the latter was triumphant. A train of evil consequences, " the end of which is not yet," we fear, was the result. But it is not our business to trace these. Local considerations demand our time and attention, In 1829 Mr. Bowles had married Grace, daughter of Thomas Shreve, a Quaker gentleman, who, in con- nection with his two brothers, had long occupied a conspicuous place as merchant in Alexandria, District of Columbia. The war of 1812 had numbered him among its many mercantile vic- tims; and a large cotton factory, in which much of his capital had been invested, becoming unproductive, completed his ruin. He first removed to Trenton, New Jersey, but finding matters growing worse, he concluded to emigrate to Cincinnati, where, within two years from their arrival, the nuptials above referred to took place. Thomas H. Shreve, author of "Drayton " and many other publications in the different periodicals which ema- nated from the press some years ago, and of late years one of the principal editors of the Louisville Journal, which is well known throughout the Union for the ability and talent dis- played in its editorials, is brother to this lady. 23
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We resume our narrative. The replevin laws having been repealed, and the paper of the Bank of the Commonwealth having been burned by legislative authority, the dawning of a brighter day appeared. Thus reassured, business had resumed its wonted activity, and confidence was restored. But the elec- tion of '32 had caused another reaction. A bank of the United States at Louisville, and another at Lexington, had taken the place of those formerly in use. The dominant party, whose ob- ject it was to ruin the Bank of the United States, that they might, in its stead, form a multiplicity of those institutions, subservient to their own purposes, now carried their plans into execution with remorseless hands. The States had no alterna- tive but to establish local banks. In '32 Mr. Bowles was active, with many of the other leading men of the city, in obtaining a charter from the Legislature for the establishment of the Bank of Louisville. This was granted, and the bank went into ope-
ration with a capital of $3,000,000. Mr. Bowles was chosen one of its directors at its commencement, and continued in that capacity until 1840, when he was elected president, which office he still continues to hold. The Legislature, at the session of 1834, granted charters for the establishment of the Bank of Kentucky, and the Northern Bank in 1835. No institutions of the kind in the Union have maintained a more honorable stand- ing than those banks throughout the disastrous periods through which it has been their lot to pass.
In 1837 the troubles consequent upon the destruction of the National Bank caused an enormous multiplication of others in its stead, had reached their climax. The salutary check which it had imposed on the local banks was then withdrawn, and the country had become inundated with paper currency. This had produced its legitimate fruits. Past experience was no obstacle to the speculating spirit which again pervaded all classes. The nominal value which had been attached to com- modities was now reduced to its proper standard. Heavy debts had accumulated, and the creditor was unwilling to be reim- bursed with the spurious currency. At this crisis the Legisla ture of Kentucky legalized the suspension of the banks, not requiring them to resume specie payments. This act of forbear- ance was justly appreciated by the managers, who, by their
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ability and strenuous exertions, resumed their liability after the lapse of little more than a year. But this was only a short interval of peace which preceded the second suspension. A perfect tornado burst in fury on the heads of numberless vic- tims, who had hoped they were beyond the reach of the fluctu- ations of the money market. Corporations which had weathered all previous storms now lost anchor, and were shipwrecked in the general ruin. At length the bankrupt bill was introduced into Congress. This, it was thought, would be a panacea for all their woes by those who were overwhelmed in debt ; but it was a law which told cruelly upon the interests of the hapless creditor. Great opposition was manifested, not only by these, but those also who feared the demoralizing effects of such a measure. Mr. Bowles, who was then President of the Chamber of Commerce in Louisville, united with his colleagues in a pro- test against the bankrupt law, which, for cogency of reasoning, and the solid arguments on which it was based, was admitted to be one of the most masterly documents which were presented at that session of Congress. Mr. B. was one of the few mer- chants who escaped bankruptcy in these perilous times, though his losses in so extensive a business as he was engaged in at that time were necessarily great. " Misfortunes seldom come alone." At the height of these monetary embarrassments, when our merchants felt their blood almost to stagnate within them the great fire occurred-a distinctive title to which it may well lay claim, as the fury of that devouring element has never raged to the same extent within our city either before or since. Two blocks of the finest and most commodious warehouses on Main street were consumed and a vast amount of goods destroyed. It started from a wholesale house adjoining the one which. Mr. B. occupied, about the center of the square to the corner ; then crossed in an opposite direction, and burned down the principal part of that street, till it reached a house which Mr. B. had shortly before vacated. The congratulations of his acquaint- ances the next day were general. "Mr. Bowles, you are always in luck "-" You were certainly born under a lucky star." "They call me lucky," said he to his wife, " but I would rather attribute my escape to the means I used to insure my luck. I should have shared the same fate, probably, with my neighbors,
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had I not used proper precautions to avert it. On arriving at the scene of the conflagration, I found the roof of my house in flames. Instead of throwing my doors open and having my goods pitched into the street, I hired several men to enter with me, and barred the door, stationing some one to see that no one entered by force, Blankets were plenty. We ascended to the roof, extinguished the flames, and then, by aid of water and blankets, we were able to arrest its further progress, and thus I saved my house and goods."
But, though not losing in this way, yet he indirectly suf- fered loss. The Franklin Fire Insurance Company, of which he was President, had been chartered by the Legislature with a capital of $100,000, and he and his colleagues were at first apprehensive that their liabilities, which were largely involved in the recent calamity, would prove too heavy for their redemp- tion. But by strenuous exertions they paid up, and extricated themselves: with credit unimpaired.
In 1837 the charter was obtained from the State Legisla- ture by the City Council, for the organization of a medical in- stitute in the city of Louisville. Mr. Bowles, with many others, were actively engaged in getting up this noble enter- prise, but to Dr. Caldwell it is mainly attributable. This gen- tleman, who is well known not only in this country but in Europe, for his superior talents and great literary attainments, seeing the great advantages which would accrue to the city from such an institution, was unremitting in his exertions in enlightening the public mind on the subject. At length the charter was obtained, and a noble edifice erected, which stands a monument to his genius and perseverance. The Council ap- propriated $50.000 for the outlay. Since that time several acres have been set aside for a law university, high school, etc. Mr. Bowles was chosen one of the board of managers on its organization. The able body of men whom they have enlisted from different parts of the Union to fill the professorships reflect great credit upon those who selected them.
Under the auspices of such men as Caldwell, Cobb, Flint, Yandell, Miller, Short, Gross, Silliman, etc , it has risen to its present pre-eminent station among the Western schools of med- icine, and few at the East have more commanding influence.
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Commencing in 1838 with a class of eighty students, last Win- ter it numbered four hundred, and four thousand young men have attended the course of instruction within its walls.
Mr. Bowles having suffered many severe afflictions by deaths in his family, determined to leave the city and retire into the country, thinking it would be conducive to the health of his surviving children. With this view, he purchased a beautiful country residence between two and three miles from the city, and removed there in the Fall of 1845; and here we bid adieu to his commercial life.
We have endeavored to give a short sketch of the life of one of our merchants. We would not be thought exclusive. Many similar records might be given of this class of our enter- prising citizens, men who, more than any other portions of a commercial community, give a tone and character to the city in which they dwell,
Louisville may well feel proud of her merchants. For strict integrity in their moneyed transactions, for the liberal spirit which they manifest on all occasions where their aid is sought, they are justly esteemed no less than for their industry and enterprise.
Mr. Bowles, having removed to the country, pursued the same systematic course which he had adopted in early life. The truism, "The boy is father to the man," is exemplified in his case. At dawn of day he may still be seen taking an early view of all around, and seeing that all things are adjusted for the labors of the coming day ; or, not unfrequently, with im- plement in hand, giving a practical illustration of his theories. After an early breakfast he drives to town, attends to business, but so soon as bank hours close, returns home, where the re- mainder of the day is passed in performing the various duties and pleasures which belong to the life of a farmer. A sincere lover of nature in all her beautiful phases, he never tires of her company, and thus, though still engaged somewhat in moneyed concerns, yet most of his time is passed in agricultural pursuits, in which his chief pleasures lie.
In view of writing the life of a merchant, the materials for erecting a monument to his memory which could be of interest to the public eye, appear so scant that a feeling of discourage-
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ment comes over the mind of the writer. His character, as it passes in review before him, exhibits none of those traits which serve to intoxicate the mind of the reader, or render so easy the task of the narrator. He must deal with facts. The plain and unuarnished truths of everyday life are the basis on which his arguments are laid. Our duty is fulfilled.
If one young man should chance, on reading our unpre- tending pages, to resolve to follow in the footsteps of our mer- chant, we shall feel amply repaid for our trouble in elucidating his career. Let him resolve to do something as a worthy citi- zen, or as a son of our glorious republic ; and having, after mature consideration and advice, resolved, let him pursue his course unflinching, and with the blessing of Divine Providence, his labors will be crowned with success.
In addition to his labors for his own city, he also accom- plished much for the future of Evansville. Many are the loans that our merchants and capitalists received from our subject, and he is held in grateful remembrance by many of our most influential citizens.
Major H. A. Mattison.
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AMILTON A. MATTISON was born in Rensellaer County, New York, on September 23d, 1832. His father, Allen J. Mattison, was a farmer by occupation, and the son of a Rhode Island Quaker, who left that sect to enter the Revolutionary army, where he participated in the battle of Bunker Hill, and finally settled in the Empire State.
Major Mattison, the subject of this sketch, passed his time in the usual way of farmers' boys until his nineteenth year when he went to Troy and clerked in a store there for the two succeeding years. Here he saved sufficient money to keep him two years at the New York Conference Seminary, at Charlottes- ville, Schoharie County. He graduated at the age of twenty-
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MAJOR H. A. MATTISON.
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five, and among the students-in number 780, and of both sexes -he became acquainted with the most estimable lady, who afterwards became his wife. He left this institution with the highest honors, being the valedictorian of his class, After teaching till 1856, he entered the Sophomore class at Union College, and graduated in the Summer of 1860.
He at once became Principal of the Bacon Seminary, in Salem County, with one hundred and fifty students under his care. Here he remained until his patriotism was aroused to its highest pitch, and he determined to come to the rescue of his endangered country. The Governor of his native State com- missioned him as Second Lieutenant. and having raised a com- pany, he was promoted to the captaincy, and before leaving the State he was promoted to the position of Major of the regiment to which his company belonged. His company was then the color-bearing company of the regiment, and formed a part of the First Brigade, Third Division, Second Army Corps, and our subject remained in the service till July, 1865.
Its first battle was at Chancellorsville, where he was wounded in two places, and his comrades supposed that they would prove fatal. He was taken to Washington, and after- wards sent East. His excellent constitution and good nursing enabled him to rejoin the army in September, and he became attached to the staff of General Alexander Hayes, Third Divis- ion, Second Army Corps. He was engaged in all the battles of the Wilderness. In the Spring of 1864 his bravery gained him the promotion to the position of Assistant Inspector General, and he was ordered to report to Major-General Nelson of the Second Army Corps; and in this position he was mustered out of the service at the close of the war.
In May, 1864, during the great Wilderness battles, while his corps was charging on the main line of Lee's forces, his horse was killed and he was captured by the enemy. The re- port of his death among his comrades was believed, and a body, supposed to be his, and found near the spot, was honored with a soldier's burial ; while his friends at home, and particularly the young lady who had plighted to him her troth, mourned him as dead. But worse even than death awaited the heroic soldier in the Southern prison-pens. He passed through Lynch-
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burgh, Virginia, Burksville, Andersonville, Macon, Savannah, and finally was removed to the Charleston jail-yard, in South Carolina. In September, of '64, yellow fever having broken out in Cahrleston, the prisoners were conveyed to Columbia, two miles out of that city. Here he was confined in a place without shelter, barely clothed, and fed solely upon coarse corn meal and sour sorghum. All the tortures and sufferings which are famed all over the world were experienced by our subject and his gallant fellow-prisoners. Endurance was no longer possible, and on the 28th of November, 1864, he, in com- pany with Major Schermerhorn, of Rockport, Indiana, endeav-
ored to make his escape. The two started without money, with hardly sufficient clothing to cover their nakedness -- no boots, no hats-and traveled across the State of South Caro- lina. No pen can properly paint the picture of their perilous journey. Sleeping by day, traveling at night, with the aid of the colored people, they reached the city of Savannah, and en- tered General Sherman's line about the 6th of June, 1865. In a personal interview with the General he told him the route over which he had passed, and the Union army followed the tracks of the escaping prisoners. He was ordered to report to the army of the Potomac as soon as he was in proper condition. After a recuperative tour in New York and New Jersey, on the Ist of March he rejoined the Army of the Potomac and reported for duty, where he did noble service in every battle till the overthrow of the Rebellion and the surrender of General Lee.
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