USA > Indiana > Marion County > Indianapolis > Greater Indianapolis : the history, the industries, the institutions, and the people of a city of homes > Part 50
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Once more Mr. English was brought for- ward for re-election to Congress, and his ene- mies made heroic efforts to defeat him, on the ground of his relation to the Kansas-Nebras- ka matter. The election resulted in the re- turn of Mr. English to Congress by a hand- some majority. He continued to have the friendship of President Buchanan, by whom he was offered the highest political honors, but he declined receiving any executive ap- 'pointment, feeling that his acceptance might be misunderstood. Under the administration of President .Johnson the same offer of ex- ecutive favors continued, but these were again declined. Of the two senators and 'eleven members of the House constituting the Indiana delegation to the Thirty-third Con- gress, which ended in 1854, Mr. English was the last to survive.
The Kansas-Nebraska affair was but an
Vol. II-16
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episode in connection with the national un- rest in regard to the matter of slavery, and as the dark cloud of civil war began to shed its pall over the national horizon, Mr. Eng- lish was still holding his seat in Congress and was also a member of the national campaign committee of the Democratic party. Though not a delegate, he attended the national con- vention of his party, at Charleston, South Carolina, where he used every possible means at his command to reconcile the opposing ele- ments of the north and south. Concerning his attitude at this time the following words have been written: "His efforts, however, as well as all efforts of all peacemakers in those troublous times, were unavailing, and the dis- tinguished Indianian returned to Washington sadly depressed at heart. While in this state of feeling he made his memorable speech in Congress touching the existing state of af- fairs. In it he predicted that the rank and file of the Democratic party would never for- give, and asserted that it ought never to for- give, those who had heedlessly precipitated that state of affairs upon the country. He denounced secession from the beginning and exerted every possible measure to induce southern members to abandon it. Speaking for his own constituents in Indiana, he as- serted that they would 'march under the flag and keep step to the music of the Union'. Seeing only a bloody conflict ahead at this time, he determined to retire from active par- ticipation as an official and, in conformity with his expressed wishes, his successor, who was a close personal friend, was chosen in his stead. He took no active part in the war, but was at all times a firm and consistent supporter of the Union cause. He was of- fered command of a regiment by Governor Morton, but declined."
Mr. English was a delegate to the Demo- cratic state convention in 1861, and in the fol- lowing year his name was again bronght for- ward in connection with congressional hon- ors, but he firmly declined to become a can- didate. He advocated the nomination of Gen- eral George B. McClellan for president, and later gave stanch support to Samuel J. Til- den when the latter was made the Democratic nominee for the presidency. Though still continuing at all times to take an active in- terest in political affairs, Mr. English was not associated with the practical manœuver- ing of the political forces for an interval of a number of years prior to June, 1880, when, at the Democratic national convention, in the city of Cincinnati, he received the unanimons nomination for vice-president of the United States. The official notification was delivered
to him at the home of General Winfield Scott Hancock, Governor's Island, New York, on the 13th of July, and on the 30th of that month he accepted the nomination in a vigor- ous letter that formed the keynote of the campaign. The record of the gallant cam- paign made by the Democratic nominees heading the ticket-Hancock and English-is an integral part of the political history of the nation, and there is no demand for de- tailed consideration of the same in this arti- cle.
After the close of the campaign, which re- sulted in the defeat of the Democratic party, Mr. English did not again take an active part in political affairs, though his counsel con- tinued to be frequently sought by the leaders of his party during the residue of his long and useful life. He found ample demand on his time and attention in the supervision of his manifold and extensive business and prop- erty interests. He early in life exhibited that great capacity for the effective handling of business and financial affairs that enabled him to accumulate a large fortune and to take rank among the most substantial financiers of his native state. Those familiar with his ca- reer know full well that he was exacting with himself as well as others in connection with business affairs and that absolute honesty characterized every stage of his business life. He knew and appreciated the value of per- sonal responsibility and. had no tolerance of shiftlessness or erratic methods ir any of the associations of life. He gave what was duc and demanded what was due, and yet he was never lacking in sympathy for those in af- fiction or misfortune, and he gave aid and succor, carefully and systematically, in hun- dreds of instances of which the general pub- lic knew nothing. His aim was to help oth- ers to help themselves, and he had proper dislike of the sickly sentimentality that char- acterizes much of so-called charitable and philanthropic work.
In the spring of 1863 Mr. English became associated with other representative men in the organization and incorporation of the First National Bank of Indianapolis, and his association with this important enterprise as its president led to his removal from Lex- ington, Scott County, to the capital city, Jan- uary 1st, 1865, which thereafter represented his home until the time of his demise. Under his presidency the capital stock of this bank finally became one million dollars, and large dividends were paid to its stockholders. Mr. English served for some time as president of the Indianapolis Clearing House Association and the Indianapolis Banking Association. He
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continued the executive head of the First Na- tional Bank for a period of fourteen years and in the meanwhile secured a controlling interest in the local street-railroad system. His administrative duties and other business exactions so taxed his energies that his health became impaired, and on the 25th of July, 1877, he resigned the presidency of the bank, disposed of his entire stock in the street- railroad company, and at the time of his death he did not own a dollar's worth of stock in any corporation. This condition is almost phenomenal in the case of one whose financial interests were as large as were his. Mr. English was a man of large wealth, the tax duplicates at the time of his death show- ing that he possessed large holding of valu- able property in Indianapolis besides many desirable parcels of real estate, improved and unimproved, in many of the states of the Union.
Mr. English was a man of prodigious ap- plication, fine literary taste and appreciation and an avidious reader of all that is best. in classical and modern literature. No review of his career could be complete were there failure to revert to his carnest and unselfish labors, and deep research and arduous and protracted application in the production of a history of Indiana, and also a comprehensive history of the Conquest of the Northwest, as well as to his other contributions to the per- manent literature of the state and nation. The two historical works mentioned entitle him to a place of distinction among the writers who have won repute as chroniclers of Indiana and national history. Concerning his labors in this field the following pertinent extract is made from the columns of the Indianapolis News of February 8, 1896: "It was one of the coincidences of fate that Mr. English's death came just when he had concluded the com- pilation of the materials for his Conquest of the Northwest, which he always designed as the crowning work of his life. Although but two of the books are now completed, the data for all the others have been gathered and are now in such a shape as to enable his son easily to complete the work-a task that has already been determined on. The materials are all matters of familiarity to the son, William E. English, as he has devoted much time to as- sisting his father in their compilation. It was this active devotion to his historical work that did more than anything else to bring about the death of Mr. English. Many and many a time he has-been seen at mid- night toiling with an ardor that would wear out a young man, and would be found hard at work again by seven o'clock the next morn-
ing. He was very anxious to conclude his works, and there was not a prouder man in Indianapolis than he was when the first vol- ume came out of the press. Along in 1885 he was prompted by his love for every citi- zen who had been earnest in devotion to the welfare of the state, to call together in this city the survivors of the constitutional con- vention of 1850, the legislature of 1851 and preceding legislatures. Among those who re- sponded to the call were many of the most prominent of the old school of politicians that the state then afforded. The meeting so inspired Mr. English with the necessity of preserving the early history of the state in some definite form that he at once determined to apply himself to that task. For over ten years he carried out this design, sparing neither time nor money to gather his mate- rials. One of the characteristics of his his- tory is its faithfulness to details, and it has been said that the author would have traveled across the continent, if necessary, to prevent an error from creeping into its pages. The work was designed to embrace about six vol- umes, two of which have been issued from the press."
The Indianapolis Journal spoke of this phase of Mr. English's life work in the fol- lowing words: "It was not until the evening of his life that Mr. English took up literary work, and it was a task that thousands of younger men would not only have hesitated but also have become discouraged over. It is a history of the Northwest broader in scope and more comprehensive than any ever writ- ten before, and, with the history of Indiana to appear, will be a lasting monument to the man when his political and business life shall be hidden and lost even to memory." It may be said further that this important work of Mr. English has not yet been entirely com- pleted, though two volumes of the same have been published.
No member of the Indiana Historical So- ciety was more enthusiastic than Mr. Eng- lish, and he was president of the same at the time of his death. In his will he made devisement of an appreciable sum to aid in the work of the society.
Concerning the personality of this dis- tinguished son of Indiana, the following words are apropos and worthy of reproduc- tion in this sketch of his career: "Mr. Eng- lish had a strong personality, but he never forced his convictions upon anyone, and he was notably reserved and undemonstrative, though he was both positive and aggressive and could show spirit when necessary. His devotion to his family ties was unusually
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strong, as shown in his solicitude for his parents during their declining years, and his pride in his children and grandchildren. Mr. English's tastes were quiet and he was as averse to display of his material possessions as he was of his remarkable resources of character. His energy, perseverance and ap- plication enabled him to do anything to which he set his mind. His high sense of honor re- strained him from directing his activities toward any but worthy objects. He had a fine presence and pleasant address, and his appearance denoted the intellectual, forceful, manly man."
In a memoir of this order there is eminent consistency in drawing estimates from various sources, and the following extracts are from an editorial appearing in the Indianapolis Sentinel at the time of the death of Mr. English :
"Dr. Holland completely describes one of his characters by saying that he would have made a success in life in any line. William H. English was such a man. He had in him the elements that make men successful in the highest degree. Pre-eminent among his qual- ities was that sound judgment which is or- dinarily called common sense. He had the ability to grasp facts and infer their practi- cal significance with almost unerring cer- tainty. He had much confidence in his own judgment, and so had others. Few men were more sought for counsel than he by those admitted to his favor, and the correctness of his opinions in practical matters was almost proverbial. His good judgment extended to men as well as measures. He had a keen in- sight into human nature, whether of men singly or in masses. For these reasons he was a thoroughly practical man, self-reliant, firm, resolute. To this was added the one thing necessary for the ideal business man-a scrupulous honesty in his dealings with his fellow men. His integrity was unquestioned. "William H. English was a man of much greater talent and ability than he was sup- posed to have by those who did not know him well. This was not true in the years preceding the Civil War, when he took a prominent part in politics and became known throughout the nation by his participation in the great political struggle of his time, but in the last thirty-five years his life was, from choice, largely passed in business and per- sonal pursuits. The chief departure from this was when his party associates called him from retirement for the _period of a presi- dential campaign. This was not of his seek- ing. The nomination for the vice-presidency came through the efforts of party leaders
who knew the man's sterling worth and abil- ity. If circumstances had encouraged his continuance in public life he undoubtedly would have gained very high rank, but the disruption of his party and the new align. ments produced by the Civil War caused him to prefer a business life.
"It was natural result that a man of large means, who was subject to many appeals from undeserving purposes, should sometimes have his 'rough side out', but Mr. English was neither unkindly nor illiberal. He was always ready to aid in works of charity and relief when they were administered through channels in which he had confidence, and his private benefactions were more extensive than even his intimate friends knew. He did not advertise them. He had a keen sympathy for suffering and misery, and an especially soft spot in his heart for the aged who were destitute. The gray hair and the bowed form were certificates of helplessness and desert that he never questioned."
When William H. English passed to the life eternal there came from all sorts and con- ditions of men expressions and tributes of re- spect and regret,-from the most distin- guished public men to the lowly and unfor- tunate who had shared of his bounty. He did not admit all to his intimate regard, but to those of his close circle of friends his loy- alty was of the most inviolable type. After his death came messages of regret and con- dolence from men of high standing in every section of the Union, and among the number who thus sent tribute were Hon. Grover Cleveland, then President of the United States; Vice-President Stevenson, Senators Voorhees and Turpie and many others. By order of Governor Matthews his remains lay in state in the capitol on the day following his demise, and more than fifteen thousand citizens passed through the statehouse to take a last look at the distinguished dead. Eng- lish avenue, in Indianapolis, and the town of English, the county seat of Crawford County, Indiana, are named in honor of Mr. English, and at the latter place a fine bronze statue of him was erected shortly after his death. In 1907 a magnificent bronze statue of Mr. English was 'unveiled at Scottsburg, the county seat of his native county. On the occasion of his funeral there was gathered in his home city a vast concourse, including many of the leading men of the state and na- tion, and the services were impressive in the extreme. Mr. English was a member of Cen- ter Lodge No. 23. Free and Accepted Masons, in which he was made a mason a few years prior to his death. His son was master of
Mme English
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the lodge and presided at this ceremonial, and this is said to have been the first instance in the history of Masonry in America that a son has thus conferred the degrees upon a father. Mr. English held membership in the Sons of the American Revolution and was eligible for membership in the Society of Colonial Wars.
In 1847, while serving as a clerk in the treasury department, in Washington, Mr. English was there united in marriage to Miss Emma Mardulia Jackson, of Virginia, whom he long survived. She died in 1877 and her husband's remains were placed by her side in Crown Hill cemetery, Indianapolis, nearly twenty years later. Mr. and Mrs. English became the parents of two children, William E. and Rosalind. Concerning Captain Will- iam E. English individual mention is made on other pages of this work. The only daugh- ter is the wife of Dr. Willoughby Walling, a distinguished physician and surgeon of the City of Chicago and formerly United States consul to Edinburgh. Scotland. Dr. and Mrs. Walling have two children, William English Walling, a well known writer upon socialistic and economic subjects, and Willoughby G. Walling, secretary of the Western Trust and Savings Bank of Chicago, and an active busi- ness man of that city.
WILLIAM E. ENGLISH. It has been said that the sons of great men seldom attain to dis- tinction, implying that more or less of a han- dicap is entailed through standing in the shadow of such greatness. This may be true in many cases, the annals of our own as well as other nations show such to be the fact, but in contradistinction are found so many instances where sons have added laurels to honored names of fathers that there can be naught but perversity of spirit and obliquity of view when it is maintained that the above premise is invariably well taken. An in- stance is afforded in the career of William Eastin English, who is numbered among the representative citizens of the state that was honored and dignified by the life and services of his distinguished father, the late Honor- able William H. English, to whom a memorial is dedicated on other pages of this work. He whose name initiates this paragraph has achieved much in an individual way not de- pendent upon hereditary prestige but prov- ing himself worthy as a factor in public af- fairs, as a patriotic soldier and as a citizen and business man of the utmost loyalty and progressiveness. Thus as a representative of the family whose name has been identified with the history of Indiana from the early pioneer epoch to the present and whose promi-
nence reached its apotheosis in the labors and services of William H. English, the subject of this review is well worthy of consideration in this publication, the province of which is to touch upon the generic and biographical history of "Greater Indianapolis", in which city he has maintained his home during the major portion of his life thus far.
Captain William Eastin English was born at the old English homestead, "Englishton Park", near Lexington, Scott County, In- diana, on the 3rd of November, 1850, and is the only son of Honorable William H. Eng- lish, to whose personal memoir reference may be made for adequate data concerning his own and the family history. Captain William E. English passed the first fourteen years of his life in his native county, where he re- ceived instruction in the public schools and under the direction of private tutors. He then accompanied his parents on their re- moval to Indianapolis, where he continued his studies in various private schools and later in the Northwestern Christian University, now known as Butler College, at Irvington, an attractive suburb of Indianapolis .. In this in- stitution he was graduated as a member of the law class of 1872, and from it he received the degree of Bachelor of Laws. He was forthwith admitted to the bar of his native state and then entered into professional part- nership with Honorable John R. Wilson, un- der the firm name of English & Wilson. This alliance continued for five years, at the ex- piration of which Captain English retired from the firm, and started for a lengthy trip abroad. He was absent for a period of about three years, within which he visited every country in Europe, from Norway to Greece, as well as various portions of Asia Minor and North Africa, besides which he has traveled extensively through Canada, Mexico, Cuba and South America. Thoroughly receptive and of fine observative powers, he gained full value from his extended sojourn in foreign lands and during his tours wrote a series of letters which found place in the Indianapolis papers and which attracted general interest, both by reason of the individuality of the subject matter and also on account of its fine literary merit. His communications from the Holy Land, North Africa, Turkey and Egypt gained wide and favorable comment.
Captain English has been a close student of the teachings and history of the ancient and time-honored craft of Masonry and he is one of its most prominent and influential affiliates in Indiana. His history of early Masonry in Indiana, published in 1902, shows careful and effective investigation and study, and per-
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petuated much data that would otherwise have been lost and gained special favor and endorsement on the part of the members of the great fraternity in this state and else- where. His standing in the fraternity is shown most clearly in his having been called to the highest office in its gift, that of Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Indiana, to which position he was elected May 26th, 1903, and from which he retired on the 24th of May, 1904. He has taken a total of forty- three Masonic degrees and has passed the various chairs in the different Masonic bodies with which he is identified. He is a life member of the Indiana Sovereign Consistory of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, in which he has attained to the Thirty second degree, He is also affiliated with various other fraternal organizations and it may be noted that he is Past Grand Exalted Ruler of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks of the United States, and has been connected with various other fraternal and civic organi- zations. He has served as president of the Indianapolis Commercial Club, president of the Indianapolis Board of Park Commission- ers, president of the Indianapolis Board of Police and Fire Commissioners (Safety), president of the Indiana Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, president of the Indiana Society of Colonial Wars, vice-presi- dent of the Indiana Historical Society, vice- president of the Indianapolis Benevolent So- ciety, vice-president of the old North-Western Genealogical Society, a member of the So- ciety of Cincinnati. Huguenot Society of America, Holland Society of America, Ameri- can Social Science Association, National Civic Federation, Western Writers' Association, In- dianapolis Bar Association, Indianapolis Art Association, Indianapolis Board of Trade, In- dianapolis Deutsches Hans. New York Lambs' Club, Army and Navy Club of Washington, D. C., and the Indianapolis University Club, Columbia Club. Marion Club, Country Club, Canoe Club, ete, Captain English has the distinction also of being an honorary member of two labor unions .- the Musicians' Protec- tive Association and the National Alliance of Stage Employees,-these preferments having come to him in recognition of his various services to the cause of labor as represented by the Indianapolis branches of these organi- zations. He is a man of fine appearance, of most gracious personality and his popularity is of the most unequivocal order. He has shown special facility in dialectics, is eloquent as a public speaker and is easy, graceful and versatile as a presiding officer.
Captain English has long maintained high
vantage ground as a leader in the politics of his home city and state, and has repeatedly served as delegate to the various conventions of the party with which he has been affiliated. Reared in the faith of the Democratic party of which his father had long been a most in- fluential member, he naturally clung to the same in the earlier period of his career and he became an active factor in its councils, but with the entrance in 1896 of a new and domi- nating element into the party, he became con- vinced that its basic principles were being subordinated and he at once showed the cour- age of his convictions by allying himself with the Republican party in whose connection he has since continued an effective and valued worker. He began to take an active part in political affairs before he had attained to his legal majority and thus early held various official posts in connection with campaign or- ganizations and party conventions. In 1892 he was elected vice-president of the National Association of Democratic Clubs and was also made a member of the national commit- tee for the State of Indiana for the ensuing four years. He served as a member of the Democratic state executive committee, and as a member of the county committee of Marion County for more than twenty consecutive years. For many years also he was a member of the Democratic city committee of Indian- apolis, of which he was elected chairman in 1878. Shortly afterward, in recognition of his effective services in this capacity, he was unanimously chosen chairman of the Marion County committee, in which connection he ably maneouvred his forces during the spir- ited campaign in the fall of that year. While he was incumbent of the two positions men- tioned, he received the party nomination for joint representative in the legislature of Marion and Shelby Counties, in connection with which he made a most vigorous cam- paign and was elected by a majority of over two hundred, leading his ticket by nearly five hundred votes, although in the election two years previous the opposition ticket was vic- torious by a majority of nearly seven hun- dred. Captain English had the distinction of being the youngest member of the lower house of the legislature and represented what was then the largest district in the state. It is worthy of note that both his father and grandfather had previously served in this branch of the state legislature. He proved a valuable working member both on the floor of the house and in the committee room and gained leadership as well as recognition as one of the best parliamentarians of the house, over whose deliberations he was frequently
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