USA > Indiana > Vanderburgh County > Evansville > Evansville and its men of mark > Part 30
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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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During this time the opponents of the road were not idle. A pamphlet, adverse to the interest of the enterprise, was sent to England and distributed among the bankers and iron men, soon after Mr. Carpenter's arrival. The tide turned. Thus attacked in the rear, and from the very home of the enterprise, he was unable to make headway and his negotiations ultimate- ly failed. Discouraged but not despairing, Mr. Carpenter left Europe and turned his face homeward. In London he called upon Vorse, Perkins & Co., who were acquainted with the rail- road interests of Evansville, and opened negotiations with them. He endeavored to enlist them in an effort to secure the iron on the bonds of the road. After some discussion, the question arose as to the freight and duties on the iron, which could be met only by cash. In lieu of cash he offered them the $100,- 000 in city bonds. The offer was accepted and the firm agreed to receive the bonds. The contract was then arranged, and the bonds, city and mortgage, were to be delivered to Messrs Vorse & Perkins, in July, 1857, at their branch office in New York. Mr. Carpenter immediately wrote to H. D. Allis, the Vice Pres't. of the road, to have the City Council called togeth- er and the issue ordered of the bonds. Here again the efforts of Mr. Carpenter were rendered abortive through the influence of the opposition, The Council failed to order the issue, and the company was unable to carry out its contract with Messrs. Vorse & Perkins. This was the finishing blow to the enterprise, for that time at least, and Mr. Carpenter, after five years of faith- ful work, and the loss of a great part of his fortune, was forced to abandon the enterprise and wait a more auspicious time. The road failed from no want of merit of its own or skill and vigor in its management, but simply because other and antago- nistic interests were too strong for it. The city was afterwards compelled to pay the bonds which Mr. Carpenter negotiated. Mr. Carpenter could not extricate himself from his entangle- ment, and soon atter failed, and lost a quarter of a million of dollars. Since that time his life has been comparatively unevent- ful. He was over ten years in recovering from his financial embarrasments.
Every man who has met with the success in business, which had crowned Mr. Carpenter's efforts, and who is posessed of that
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great good sense and positive character, which so peculiarly char- acterized the man, has his enemies both secret and open, and he did not prove an exception to the rule. On the contrary, his un- paralled success in business, his superior intellect and great positiveness of character, had made him a large number of bitter and inveterate enemies, and these, taking advantage of the misfortunes, which without fault on his part, had overtaken him in the Straight-Line Railroad enterprise, and swept from him his large fortune, commenced an open and fierce warfare upon him.
He was abused and his character slandered and traduced as no other has been. For years his enemies caused a stream of calumny to be poured out upon his name and character, and the result was that his hitherto good and irreproachable name and character suffered greatly, through this stream of misrepre- sentations and slander. For years he was compelled to remain under the cloud of his misfortunes, but with his iron will, indominitable energy and fixed purpose to retrieve his ruined fortunes and vindicate his good name and character, he undauntedly breasted the storm, determined to fight his enemies wherever and whenever they offered battle, and to prove to the public that he was innocent of the varied charges of bad faith which had been brought against him. In his extensive business relations, he had of necessity to form connections with people in whom he placed implicit confidence as genuine friends. A number of these proved false to him, and instead of standing by him in his troubles, as they were in duty bound to do, they joined in with his enemies and assisted in increasing and inten- sifying his troubles, by involving him in almost interminable litigations.
A proof of the wonderful powers of Mr. Carpenter's will- his rectitude and fixedness of purpose-is to be found in the history of these trials, filled as they were with questions of' interest, all of which he met with an evident conscious inno- cence, an unyielding will and consummate bravery, such as is seldom witnessed in the history of any one. In nearly every instance of this character he finally triumphed. After he had by his untiring industry and his wonderful business qualifica- tions, succeeded in retrieving his lost fortunes, those who were
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under greater obligations than all the others, to aid him in his troubles, joined in with his enemies and attempted to deprive him of all his property, and also, to destroy his name forever.
But in these, as in every other instance of the kind, he met the attacks manfully and thwarted them in there nefarious pur- poses, and thus, from the commencement of his pecuniary mis- fortunes, he has gone on battling with his enemies until he has finally triumphed over them, and his popularity and standing among his fellow-citizens, and in the community generally, is fully restored.
His efforts for the past twenty years have been mainly devoted to building up Evansville, and a list of his benefactions will show how generously he has used his means for this purpose. The religious and educational interests of Evansville have been well remembered by him.
In the year 1869, during the great revival conducted by Mr. Hammond, he united with the Vine St. Presbyterian Church.
Of late Mr. Carpenter has been associated with the Rolling Mill and several proposed Railroads, but the future alone will insure their success.
It is impossible in the limits of such an article as this, to give an adequate history of a life like his. But it has been attempted to so outline the salient points of his career, that in after years the student may know something of the life and struggles of one whose name must always stand prominent in the history of the city, and who has contributed largely to lay the foundation of its future greatness.
MEMORANDA, CARPENTER FAMILY.
Willard Carpenter, Sr., was born April 3d, 1767, and died at Strafford, Vt., November 14th, 1854. Was married to Polly Bacon at Woodstock, Conn., February 23d, 1791.
Polly Bacon was born March 15th, 1769, and died March 4th, 1860, at Strafford, Orange Co., Vt.
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CHILDREN.
Betsey Carpenter was born Dec. 15th, 1791. Parker Carpenter was born Jan. 24th, 1794. Ephraim Carpenter was born Feb. 5th, 1796. Harvey Carpenter was born Dec. 19th, 1798. John Carpenter was born Nov. 25th, 1800. § Mary Carpenter was born March 14th, 1803. Willard Carpenter was born March 15th, 1803. Joseph Carpenter was born March 29th, 1805. Samantha Carpenter was born March 12th, 1807. § Lucia Carpenter was born March 6th, 1810. Lucius Carpenter was born March 6th, 1810. Alvin Bacon Carpenter was born July 17th, 1812.
CHILDRENS' DEATHS.
Harvey Carpenter died March 9tb, 1825. Ephraim Carpenter died Aug. 6th, 1858. Joseph Carpenter died Aug 7th, 1860. Betsey Carpenter died 1869.
All the children, twelve in number, were born and raised on the same farm in Strafford, Vt.
(From a Vermont Paper.)
DIED-In Strafford, Vt .. at the residence of Lucius Carpenter, March 3rd, 1860. Mrs. Polly Carpenter, relict of the late Willard Carpenter, aged 92 years.
The deceased, with her husband, was one of the earliest settlers of the town of Strafford, where they emigrated from Connecticut while the country was yet a wilder- ness. Here they lived, till at the time of her decease, the deceased had had 12 children, 52 grand-children, 53 great-grand-children and 1 great-great-grand-child. Thus living to see 118 lineal descendants.
A. B. AND W. CARPENTER'S BUSINESS CONNECTIONS.
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About the 1st of May, 1828, W. Carpenter sent for A. B., then in his fifteenth year, to come to Troy, N. Y., where he and his brother John were engaged in trade in a small way. A. B. was with them about two years, mostly in the grocery trade. In 1831, or about that time, Ephraim came from Vt., and purchased his brother John's interest, and Ephraim and
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W. C. formed a partnership in the dry goods business, and A. B. commenced peddling for E. & W. Carpenter, they furnishing the goods and receiving one-half the profits. This was contin- ued for about five years, when A. B became a partner ; firm name, A. B Carpenter & Co. In 1835, purchased a stock of dry goods, boots, shoes, etc., and went to Evansville, Indiana. In 1838, Willard purchased the interest of Ephraim Carpenter in the West, and sold to him the Troy and Eastern business. Willard then removed to Evansville, where he continued in business until 1841, when he sold out to Steward & Amory. A. B. & W. C. were largely engaged in real estate and milling business. A. B. removed to New Orleans for the purpose of handling flour and produce shipped from Evansville. Remained in New Orleans one year ; then returned to Evansville, remain- ing there until the Summer of 1846, when A. B. went to Beloit, Wisconsin. In 1844, W. C. & A. B. had a settlement of most of their partnership business. For over forty years they have had dealings to a large amount without having any final settlement until May, 1872.
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A. B. CARPENTER'S FAMILY.
Alvin B. Carpenter was married to Almira L. Dutcher, at Troy, N. Y., July 5th, 1839.
CHILDREN.
James M. Carpenter was born Nov. 3d, 1840, at Evansville, Ind.
Mary A. Carpenter was born June 9th, 1842, at New Orleans, La.
Hattie A. Carpenter was born March 8th, 1847, at Beloit, Wisconsin.
Annie B. Carpenter was born July 29th, 1849, at Beloit, Wisconsin.
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Addie Carpenter was born Oct. 4th, 1851, at Beloit, Wis- consin.
Cornelia Carpenter was born Aug. 23d, 1853, at Beloit, Wisconsin.
Mary A. was married to Alonzo A. Green, Oct., 1861.
CHILDREN.
Lulu Green, born July 10th, 1863.
Florence Green, born June 24th, 1866.
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Jas. M. Carpenter married Hattie G. Root, at Mohawk, N. Y., Oct. 6th, 1864.
Hattie G. Root died at Beloit, Aug. 27th, 1865
Married to Louisa Ingle, at Evansville, Ind., Dec. 23d, 1870.
CHILDREN.
Alvin B. Carpenter was born Dec. 23d, 1871. Ingle Carpenter was born April 17th, 1872.
Annie B. Carpenter was married to J. R. Lawrence, at Beloit. Aug. 9th, 1871.
CHILDREN.
Jessie C. Lawrence was born Feb. 23d, 1873.
POST OFFICE.
EVANSVILLE JOURNALCO 15/
Journal Building. BỘ-
The Evansville Journal.
HERE is no single interest which so completely repre- sents the growth and prosperity of a community, as that of the Press. Indeed, the newspaper is emphatically the record of that growth. Its columns contain the history of every week and day-of individuals, organizations, corporations, and every thing originated for advancing, or calculated to retard, the prosperity of the community which it represents, Not only is it the record of events as they transpire, but it is also the exponent of public opinion at the time it is published, and in this particular is more valuable and reliable than books which simply echo the opinions of their authors. In this view of the case, a brief sketch of the EVANSVILLE JOURNAL may very appropriately take its place in a book entitled " Evansville and its Men of Mark."
The first paper published in the then town of Evansville was called the Evansville Gazette. A copy of this paper, dated September 4, 1824, indicates that it was started some time during the month of August in the year 1821. The proprietors were General Harrison and William Monroe under the firm name of Harrison & Monroe. Gen. Harrison was, at the time, a member of the State Senate, representing a Senatorial district composed of the Counties of Posey, Vanderburgh and Warrick. William Monroe was a practical printer, having learned his trade in Chillicothe, Ohio. The Gazette of September 4, 1824, was published exclusively by William Monroe, indicating that Gen. Harrison did not remain a member of the firm any great length of time. Old settlers speak of him as a self-made man of remarkable ability and energy. He never went to school a day in his life, yet his editorials were noted for their force as well as their clearness and mildness. William Monroe seems to have been less of a writer. His paper, judging from the
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samples which have been preserved, was mainly made up of selections from other papers, in addition to which were added the laws of the United States, of which its proprietor was the authorized printer. During the latter part of the year 1824, or early in 1825, the Gazette suspended publication, and for a number of years Evansville was without any paper whatever. Mr. Monroe afterwards went south and was murdered near Lake Washington.
The successor to the Gazette, as nearly as can be ascer- tained from the recollections of the oldest citizens, was started by William Town who was, for several years, and until bis death, its editor and manager. He gave his paper the name of EVANSVILLE JOURNAL, under which name it has been con- tinuously published to the present time. He began the publi- cation, as nearly as can be ascertained from old files, about the first of November, 1833. During Mr. Town's management of the JOURNAL the Wabash and Erie Canal was projected and constructed. It need hardly be said that, true to the Genius of Progress and Improvement, the JOURNAL advocated this great improvement with marked zeal and ability, as it did every other enterprise which seemed to promise well for the future development and growth of the city.
Politically, the JOURNAL advocated the principles endorsed by the Whig Party, of which it was one of the most influential exponents in the State. Mr. Town was a man of mark and impressed his views and opinions upon the people to such an extent as to give shape to many of the public enterprises of the day.
In the spring of 1839, the JOURNAL passed into the hands of W. H. & J. J. Chandler. At the time these gentlemen bought the office it was known as the EVANSVILLE JOURNAL AND VANDERBURGH ADVERTISER. arising from some combina- tion as to the nature of which the writer of this sketch is not familiar. From the time the Chandler brothers took possession of the JOURNAL it seemed to have new life breathed into it, and it became a powerful exponent of public sentiment and political opinion. Its editors and proprietors- sketches ot whom will be found in this volume-were men of pluck, decided in their opinions and bold in their enunciation. John J. was
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one of the most acute thinkers and shrewd managers of his day, and the editorials of the JOURNAL at that time evince this fact most clearly. The typography of the paper was unusually good, showing that it was under the direction of a skillful mechanic and a workman of taste. The paper was an enthu- siastic supporter of Gen. Harrison's election in 1840, as it was of John Adams in 1836. In 1840 it was also an advocate of one Presidential Term, in this particular forestalling by thirty-two years the advocates of that measure in 1872. John J. Chand- ler only remained in the firm seventeen months, when he retired and the sole management devolved upon his brother, William H. In 1846, the latter started the TRI-WEEKLY JOURNAL, and in 1848 commenced the Daily, since when it has been continuously published in Daily, Tri-Weekly and Weekly editions. Mr. Chandler is yet a citizen of Evansville, and though for many years he has been an intense sufferer, he still displays those qualities of mind which made his paper success- ful while under his control.
In the year 1848, the JOURNAL passed into the hands of Gen. Add. H. Sanders, or, as he was more familiarly known, Add. Sanders. The latter possessed nearly all the qualifica- tions that go to make up an expert journalist. His editorials were sparkling and pungent-never verbose, Small in stature, but active and vigilant in thought and movement, he gave to the paper a spirit and dash that attracted very general attention throughout the entire section of country. With the instinct of an expert paragraphist he early saw the importance of the city department in a daily paper, and to that he gave a great deal of his personal attention. Naturally witty and abounding in humor, he gave to his local paragraphs a flavor which made them attractive even to those who were some times the sub- jects of comments, and the objects of his satire and ridicule. During Gen. Sanders' management the JOURNAL was an in- fluential and consistent advocate of the policy of the Whig party while that party had an organized existence. After the dis- astrous campaign of 1852, and the party had virtually disbanded, the JOURNAL still maintained its opposition to the Democratic party, and lost no opportunity to strike a blow at that organi- zation. In 1854, it joined in the celebrated and evanescent
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Know Nothing movement, which swept over the country like a political whirlwind, for the time prostrating everything in its course. In 1856, the JOURNAL supported Millard Fillmore for President, as the representative of the American party, and in September of that year, while the political contest was fiercest, Gen. Sanders disposed of the establishment to Mr. F. Y. Carlile, of Cannelton.
Mr. Carlile was a peculiar as well as an extraordinary man. Raised in Connecticut, he possessed many of the quali- ties for which the people of that state have always been noted. Cool and calculating-never off his guard-far reaching in bis thought and subtle in his operations, he passed among his acquaintances as a profound thinker and scholar of fine scientific attainments. He wielded a ready as well as a graceful pen, and possessed a fund of keen, biting sarcasm rarely found even in the most accomplished politicians and scholars of the day. Under Carlile's management the JOURNAL continued to support the American candidate for President, who was notwithstand- ing severely beaten in the city, county and state. But while the JOURNAL seemed to lose political influence, this deficiency was more than made good by the high position it attained in discussing scientific, manufacturing and financial questions. In these departments its editorials were freely copied and highly commended.
In the Spring of 1858, Mr. Carlile, disgusted by the trouble he was having in the management of the details of his office, opened a correspondence with some of the leading publishers of the State, for the purpose of obtaining one or more partners who were practical printers. At the suggestion of John D. Defrees, then proprietor of the Indianapolis Journal, F. M. Thayer and John H. McNeely, graduates in the office of Mr. Defrees, purchased a two-thirds interest in the JOURNAL, and assumed control of its financial and mechanical manage- ment, Mr. Carlile remaining as editor. The new partners took their places in April, 1858.
At that time the JOURNAL office was located in the second and third stories of the old Lewis building, corner of Main and Water Streets. The paper and all the job work was printed on two hand presses. The assortment of type was what printers
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would call only fair for a country office. The weekly bills for labor, including compositors, pressman and foreman, were about sixty dollars. The new proprietors at once set to work to place the office more in accordance with the spirit of the age and the growing importance of the city. A steam engine and power press and a job press, with a good assortment of job type, were purchased, and the office placed on a footing that would com- pare favorably with offices in cities of equal or even greater importance. Before they had fully consummated their plans, which included the purchase of steam newspaper and job presses, and new fonts of type, the office was consumed by fire which was communicated from an adjoining building. This was a severe blow, but nothing daunted, the new proprietors immedi- ately took steps to repair their loss, and so energetically did they carry out their plans that the JOURNAL was suspended for only a single day, and in a couple of weeks the paper appeared in an entire new dress, and was pronounced by competent critics to be one of the handsomest in the State. In addition to his duties as business manager of the office, Mr. Thayer became associated in the editorial department, and gradually took upon himself much of its labor, besides coppying the dispatches, which were then received on paper and read by the operator to the copyist. In the fall of 1858, the proprietors purchased the lot on which the present JOURNAL building stands. It was at that time occupied by a two story frame building, fifty feet deep, with a basement which was fitted up for a press room. This building was regarded at the time as furnishing ample accom- modations for many years to come. In the fall of 1859, owing to disagreements with his partners-political and otherwise- Mr. Carlile sold his interest to Mr. James H. McNeely of In- dianapolis, who became associated with F. M. Thayer in the editorial management of the paper, and one-third partner in the profits of the concern.
Up to this time the JOURNAL had been classified, politic- ally, as an opposition paper. It advocated the election of Gen. Hovey in 1858, on what was known as the Anti-Nebraska issue. It had given the Republican Party no aid and comfort what- ever, its editor, Mr. Carlile, preferring the Democratic Party as what he termed the choice of two evils. But with the retire-
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ment of Mr. Carlile the new proprietors, who were, individually, Republicans in 1856, determined on joining the fortunes of the JOURNAL to that new and rising political organization. Accord- ingly, when Abraham Lincoln was nominated at Chicago, the JOURNAL, against the advice of many of its oldest and firmest friends, announced its intention to advocate his election. So adverse was public sentiment to anything that savored of sectionalism at that time, and so thorough the conviction of many of its old Whig friends that the Republican Party was sectional in its objects and aims, that the undertaking seemed hazardous, and was not fully determined on without some mis- givings. But believing they were right in standing true to political convictions, the young proprietors unfurled the banner of Republicanism from the mast-head of their paper, and sailed into the memorable contest of 1860 with all the zeal and deter- mination of young soldiers embarked in a holy cause. The details of that struggle need not be repeated. Suffice it to say, that the JOURNAL achieved a most signal triumph in having the vote of Vanderburgh County recorded in favor of its candidates.
Shortly after Mr. Lincoln's inauguration, Mr. James H. McNeely was appointed Postmaster, and thenceforth devoted all his attention to that office, leaving the editorial manage- ment of the JOURNAL in the hands of Mr. Thayer, where it has mainly rested ever since. During the war the JOURNAL was unflinching and unflagging in its support of the government. For its fidelity in this particular, it incurred the bitter hostility of a large Kentucky element, and for several years was abso- lutely denied any circulation in that State. The office was repeatedly threatened, and efforts to intimidate its proprietors were frequent but of no avail. The paper was true to the Country, and the proprietors had the gratification of being heartily endorsed by the people among whom it circulated.
In 1864, it supported Mr. Lincoln for re-election, and was one of the first papers in the country to suggest the name of Andrew Johnson for Vice-President. 'Yet, when the latter abandoned his party, the JOURNAL was among the first to denounce him.
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In the Spring of 1865, the Company erected one section of their present commodious building. It was a three story brick, fifty feet deep. In July, 1866, Col. John W. Foster bought the one-third interest of Mr. James H. McNeely, and became con- nected with the paper as one of its editors and proprietors. In January, 1867, Mr. Edward Tabor, who had for years been connected with the office as book-keeper, was admitted as a partner, taking the position of business manager. In Novem- ber, 1867, the present commodious building was finished and occupied. In 1868, Col. Foster was appointed Postmaster by General Grant, and assumed the duties connected with that position, the editorial management remaining in the hands of Mr. Thayer. In November, 1872, Col. Foster disposed of his interest in the office to Claude G. DeBruler, Esq., at the time one of the editorial writers on the Cincinnati Times and Chron- icle. Mr. DeBruler at once became one of the editors of the JOURNAL, and is at present filling that position.
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