USA > Indiana > Henry County > Hazzard's history of Henry county, Indiana, 1822-1906, Volume II > Part 56
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He had a special liking for mechanics and would have made a good architect and builder. He had a mechanical eye and could readily detect defects in the construction of buildings or other works requiring precision. In early times, he made his own shoe lasts, a very difficult piece of work, and was an expert in the making and fashioning of the old style hickory axe-handles.
After his marriage, Judge Elliott and his wife began housekeeping in a story and a half log cabin with one room on the ground floor, which he had previously pur- chased, situate on the lot now occupied by the Maxim block, opposite the Court House Square in New Castle. To this cabin he added a frame, one-story building, adjoining it on the east and an office building of one room, adjoining it on the west. He lived with his family in this home until 1850, when he moved to what is known as the "Elliott homestead," at the then west end of Church Street. Here he lived during the remainder of his life.
The domestic life of Judge Elliott was a very happy one. He delighted in his home and his great love and devotion to his wife and children was beautiful to behold.
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His companion, who survived him a number of years, was a faithful, loving wife and a devoted mother. Their happiness was her happiness. She was a very domestic wo- man and incessant in her labors. She believed in the old adage, "cleanliness is next to godliness." She was notable for her charities. She could herself bear suffering, but her sympathies and her helping haud went out freely to all who were in sorrow or distress.
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HAZZARD'S HISTORY OF HENRY COUNTY.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JOSHUA HICKMAN MELLETT.
LAWYER, LEGISLATOR, JURIST.
No member of the Henry County Bar or of the Bar of Eastern Indiana stood higher in the ranks of the legal profession than the late Judge Joshua Hickman Mellett, of New Castle. The law was his life's study and his life's duty and the author of this History has heard him say frequently that he regarded the practise of his profession as more to be desired than any other position of honor, trust or responsibility. As a member of the bench and bar of Indiana, he was the peer of any who preceded or fol- lowed him. He was eager in his pursuit of legal knowledge and zealous and persistent in following his chosen path.
Joshua Hickman Mellett was born in Monongalia County, Virginia, now West Virginia, April 9, 1824. His parents were John and Mary A. (Hickman) Mellett. They came from Virginia in the Fall of 1830 and settled on a farm in Prairie Township, Henry County, in the vicinity of what is now known as the village of Springport. At that time Joshua H. Mellett was a young boy, six years of age, but already the seed of ambition had been implanted within him which grew and flourished with his growth in intellectual stature until it placed him at the head of the legal profession.
His early education was obtained in the common country schools of the pioneer. days when the mastery of reading, writing and arithmetic distinguished the individual as of superior attainments; but when he had finished those branches of education, he advanced a step higher and for a year or more attended school at the "Old Seminary," in New Castle, over which had presided, for a number of years, such teachers as John Barrett, Simon T. Powell, Isaac Kinley and Dr. John Rea. Leaving school at the age of sixteen, he commenced the study of the law with the late Colonel Edmund Johnson, then a prominent member of the Henry County bar. Young Mellett pursued his studies with the same fixedness of purpose as afterwards marked the whole course of his pro- fessional career and such was his diligence and persistency that in a very brief time he applied for admision to the bar, passed the rigid examination then required with per- fect ease, and in 1844, when less than twenty years of age, received his license to practise. This was a proud moment to him, but he did not rest; rather he took another step for- ward and went to the then small village of Muncie, Delaware County, Indiana, where he formed a law partnership with the late Judge Joseph S. Buckles, who, like Mellett, was a young and aspiring attorney. This arrangement not proving in all respects sat- isfactory, the partnership was dissolved and Mr. Mellett returned to New Castle, where, in 1845, he began the practise of the law, which, barring a few years of official life, he followed with eminent success until his death, October 1, 1893. During his practise of the profession in New Castle, he had at different times as partners, each of the following named distinguished members of the Henry County bar, namely: William Grose, Jehu T. Elliott, Elijah B. Martindale (now of Indianapolis), Mark E. Forkner and Eugene H. Bundy.
Mr. Mellett never, in any sense of the word, sought political preferment. He loved his profession and during all of his active life gave to it his close and undivided at- tention. To the numerous pleadings of his friends that he enter the arena of politics, he always turned a deaf ear, adhering firmly and steadfastly to his dominant passion for the law. Public service at any time was at the sacrifice of his own inclinations and showed a high regard for public duty. Probably the most congenial position held by him, because in line with his profession, was the office of prosecuting .attorney for the sixth judicial circuit, composed of the counties of Henry, Delaware, Fayette, Grant, Rush, Randolph, Union and Wayne, which he held from 1848 to 1852. He was the last prosecutor under the old constitution and this was the first office held by him in either the county or the district. The opportunities afforded by the position for acquiring a hroader, surer and more practical knowledge of the law, caused this office to be eagerly sought by members of the profession.
To Joshua H. Mellett, as to other men of force and character, came at length the demand that he serve the political interests of the community, and in October, 1858,
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at the biennial election, he was chosen to represent Henry County in the General As- sembly. He served in a special session from November 20 to December 15, 1858, and in the fortieth regular session, which convened iu January, 1859, a session not marked hy anything out of the usual order, but Mr. Mellett took an active and conspicuous part in all of its deliberations. Following this service in the lower house of the General Assembly, he was in October, 1860, elected State Senator for the full term of four years, and served in the forty-first regular session, convened in 1861; in the special session, convened April 24, 1861; and in the forty-second regular session, convened in January, 1863. The two last named were distinctively war sessions and the proceedings of the General Assembly were full of interest and otten marked by great excitement. Party feeling ran high and party lines were never so closely drawn. Mr. Mellett was an acknowledged leader of the majority in the General Assembly during these sessions. He was intensely loyal and did everything within his power to uphold the cause of the Union. He was a chief adviser of Governor Morton and was by him regarded as one of the ahlest men in the State. It was to such men as Joshua H. Mellett, Jehu T. Elliott, Martin L. Bundy, John F. Kibbey, Charles H. Burchnall and others prominent in the history of Eastern Indiana that Governor Morton attributed much of his success in the conduct of affairs during the trying and perilous period of 1861-1865.
So important were Mr. Mellett's services that although tendered a commission as colonel of volunteers, by Governor Morton, it was deemed hest that he decline the commission, it being evident that he could hest serve the country at home. Through the whole period of the war, therefore, he devoted himself to the fostering of patriotism and to the upholding of the State and National governments in their mighty efforts to preserve the Union. Of him and of the times, another writer has well said: "His services as State Senator from 1860 to 1864 were of great value to the State and Nation. Some of his speeches in the Senate in those dark days were among the most powerful pleas made for the Union cause by any citizen of the State. There his power of in- vective against the wrong had its full force, and the men who plotted to add Indiana to the Southern Confederacy were never more thoroughly exposed nor made to feel that the lash of justice could sting more deeply than they were by Senator Mellett. Most of the actors in those stormy dramas preceded him to the tomb and the old bitterness has heen softened hy the all-compelling touch of time, but the story of his services to State and country in those trying days is a part of our war history that the people of Henry County should never forget."
In the opinion of the author, his leadership of the majority in the State Senate, during the Civil War, was high water mark in the career of Joshua H. Mellett.
After the Civil War had been brought to a close and the affairs of the country ad- justed, Mr. Mellett, more absorbed than ever in the practise of law, was persuaded al- most against his will, to become a candidate for judge of the seventh judicial circuit, and was elected in October, 1870, for the full term of six years. He had no opposition in Henry County. The district was composed of the counties of Henry, Delaware, Han- cock and Grant. He filled the position with honor to himself, honor to the district. honor to the bar and honor to Henry County. In 1876, his term of office having expired, he absolutely declined a re-election and at once resumed the practise of the law in which he continued to the end of his life. Though he never again held office, he was more or less active in politics and was often chosen by the Republican party, of which he was a lifelong member, to represent it in county, district, State and National con- ventions. He was a delegate to the National convention in 1884 that nominated James G. Blaine for the presidency, and took part in the exciting campaign which followed the nomination.
Joshua H. Mellett regarded the legal profession as his life work and gave to it all the resources of his mind. He never ceased to be a student and to every case gave the most earnest and most serious consideration. He was always prepared and it was seldom, if ever, that he was "caught napping." or that he had left open any loop hole by which an adversary might gain advantage. He brought to the bench and har not only keen intellectual ability, but that personal dignity as well which characterized the lawyers of the early days. For the legal shyster or the dishonest lawyer, Judge Mellett
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had the utmost contempt-a contempt which he never tried to conceal-and in denoune- ing such characters no words from the lips of man could be more bitter or more severe. He despised demagoguery and looked with undisguised disgust upon those who prac- tised such arts. He believed in honor, truth and the brotherhood of man. He did not covet fame but valued above all things a good name. He was not a truckler to power, but was open in all his dealings and knew no distinction between men because of their wealth or their poverty.
Among those who knew him best, Judge Mellett was a companionable man, and for the suffering or distress of others he had the utmost sympathy and kindness. He was a versatile reader and gained great store of knowledge from such authors as Dickens, Bulwer, Thackeray, Dumas and others. He could not ahide tragedy, but for comedy he had the greatest liking, feeling that it was better to laugh than to cry-better to rejoice than to mourn. He believed in the teachings of the Bible and lived up to and practised its precepts. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and though not demonstrative of his religion, was possessed of that larger faith "that links the whole world around the feet of God with chains of love and hope."
Judge Mellett was the moving spirit in the formation and organization of "The Henry County Historical Society," and was its first president. He took great interest in all of its meetings, doing what he could during his life to put the society on a firm and lasting basis.
Joshua H. Mellett and Catharine (Shroyer) Mellett were united in marriage No- vember 16, 1847. The union was a very happy one. To them were born five children, namely: Elizabeth Mary (Bettie), born January 1, 1849, now the wife of Judge Eugene H. Bundy; William, born March 11, 1853, died July 3, 1853; Harry S., horn October 25, 1855, died June 18, 1888; another child also named William, born in 1857 and died in infancy; Charles, born April 14, 1859, died November 15, 1880. Harry S. and Charles were in the flower of young manhood and their deaths were a severe affliction to their parents. Their remains, together with those of the father and mother, lie side by side in south Mound Cemetery, New Castle. The parents of Judge Mellett, as previously stated, emigrated from Virginia to Henry County and settled in Northern Prairie Township in 1830. They were married May 2, 1811. The father died July 18, 1838, and the mother, November 8, 1853. Their remains are buried in Lebanon Cemetery, two miles south- east of Springport. The first of the Melletts to emigrate from old Virginia to Henry County after John Mellett, the father of the subject of this sketch, was his brother Jesse. Joshua Hickman, an uncle of Judge Mellett, came also at this time (1830) and located in the same neighborhood. John Mellett's father was also named John. He died in Loudoun County, Virginia, in 1790. The mother's maiden name was "Suiter," and a son of Luther Mellett, brother of Judge Mellett, was named "Suiter," after his grand. mother.
In 1833 Charles Mellett, father of the late Arthur C. Mellett, the first Governor of South Dakota, who died in Kansas but whose remains are interred at Watertown, South Dakota, and James T. Mellett, of New Castle, Indiana, made their first visit to Henry County in company with John, who had gone back to Virginia on a visit. Jesse Mellett above mentioned, the eldest brother of John, accompanied by his two sons-in-law, John Reed and Thomas Veach, and his sister, with her husband, came to the wilds of Indiana to found new homes. Jesse entered a quarter section of land which afterwards became known as the site of East Lehanon Church, in Prairie Township, for which he donated the ground. Later his brothers, John and William, followed and settled two miles further west. Arthur, another brother, the grandfather of James T. Mellett, came to Henry County in 1835. The early settlement of the Mellett family in Prairie Township in conjunction with the high character and reputation maintained by the family made them a power in the township and the impress of their lives will remain to mark their long, industrious and honorable careers in that locality. Their influence was wholly for good in the community in which they so long abided. They left behind them a long line of descendants, who emulate the spirit and example of their worthy ancestors.
Eugene H. Bundy and Elizabeth Mary (Bettie) Mellette, the only daughter of Judge Joshua H. and Catharine (Shroyer) Mellett, were married July 6, 1870, the Rev-
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erend Milton Mahin, of the Methodist Episcopal Church, performing the ceremony. To their union was born one child, a daughter, Nellie Catharine, born January 1, 1875. To his daughter and granddaughter Judge Mellett was most devotedly attached.
ANCESTRY OF MRS. CATHARINE (SHROYER) MELLETT.
The parents of Catharine (Shroyer) Mellett were John and Elizabeth (Kincaid) Shroyer. They were married in December, 1828, at Jefferson, Greene County, Pennysl- vania, and in October, 1835, came to New Castle, Henry County, where they resided until their deaths. John Shroyer was born March 11, 1806, and died August 29, 1873. His wife died February 19, 1866. Both are buried in South Mound Cemetery. They were the parents of six children, of whom Catharine was the eldest. Of the surviving children, Mary, now the widow of the late Isaac R. Howard, resides at Richmond, Indi- ana; James, resides at New Castle, Henry County, and John at Richmond. Catharine (Shroyer) Mellett died Sunday morning, January 23, 1898. John Shroyer was for many years one of the prominent business men of New Castle. He was a painter and chair- maker hy trade and successfully conducted that line of husiness for a number of years, but finally united with his brother, the late venerable Henry Shroyer, in the drygoods trade. During this partnership the firm erected the building known as the "Shroyer Corner," which was at the time of its construction (1860) one of the largest and best business houses in Eastern Indiana.
Mr. Shroyer was a quiet, unobtrusive man, very careful in business affairs, and strictly economical. He was an extremely temperate man who never drank spirituous liquors nor used tobacco in auy form. He was a moral, upright man, and a good citizen, who left behind a record for honor and probity, unexcelled. His wife is remembered with great affection by those, now living, who knew her in New Castle.
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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JAMES BROWN.
DISTINGUISHED LAWYER AND PROMINENT CITIZEN.
James Brown, who was for many years a prominent attorney, practising in the courts of Henry and the adjoining counties and in the Supreme Court of the State, was a member of a remarkable family. His parents were Isaac and Mary (Mendenhall) Brown, and he was the sixth child in a family of nine, all of whom grew to be men and women of strong character and sterling worth in the various communities in which they lived, and most of them were so well known and respected in the county that it seems proper to recall their names here. They were: Tamar, born September 9, 1816, afterwards the wife of Neziah Davis; Moses, born December 12, 1819, long one of the best-known citizens of the county, and in every way a worthy and upright man; Rachel, born March 19, 1822, afterwards the wife of Dr. Isaac Mendenhall; she and her husband were long among the most influential people of New Castle, Dr. Mendenhall enjoying a large practise as a physician and surgeon; she, with her husband's assistance, was practically the founder of the Friends' meeting in New Castle, and furnisbed a room in their brick business and residence building, at the corner of Broad and Fourteenth Streets, for its use, where its meetings were held until the erection of the neat brick church ón North Main Street. Jacob, born January 17, 1824, never married; Anna, born December 27, 1825, afterwards the wife of James Pressnall; James, born August 17, 1827, the subject of this sketch; Isaac, born July 30, 1829, a prominent farmer of Harrison Township, and for many years a justice of the peace; Samuel, born August 10, 1833, a successful farmer of Liberty Township, and a leading member of the Friends' Church on Flatrock; Thaddeus, the last child, born March 3, 1837.
The parents of this family were persons of great energy and strength of character. The father, Isaac Brown, was a native of North Carolina, where he was born March 9, 1797. He immigrated early in the last century to the neighborhood of Stillwater, Ohio, where he was married to Mary Mendenhall, a lady who was two years older than himself, sne having been born September 28, 1795. Like him, she was a person of strong native sense, rugged health, great industry and conscientious devotion to the tenets of morality and religion. Both husband and wife were possessed of those sterling quallties which were characteristic of the pioneers of the Middle West, of which stead- fastness of purpose and quiet courage were prominent features.
Mary (Mendenhall) Brown, the mother of the subject of this sketch, used to relate that when she came to Henry County, Indiana, with her husband and family, in the year 1825, they settled in that part of the county which was afterwards organized into Liberty Township, in a round-log cabin with no shutter to the door, other than a blanket or quilt to keep out the rain and cold. Her husband was often kept away from home, either all night or until a late hour in the night, especially when he went to the mill at Milton, Wayne County, for meal or flour for the famliy use. At home with her five children, the oldest being but nine years of age, the wolves howling about the cabin and even snapping and snarling upon its roof, she often found it necessary to barricade- the door with their meagre furniture and guard the safety of her little ones until morning came or her weary husband returned from his hard journey through the woods.
Isaac Brown had learned the blacksmith's trade in his old home and soon opened a shop in the Henry County wilderness, where he also made coffins in which to bury the dead, and wagons to do the settlers' hauling. He was a master of the blacksmith trade, as it was then followed, and it was said of him that he could weld a wagon tire so perfectly that the weld could not be detected. His education, like that of the majority of his day, was very limited, but he knew how to keep accounts and possessed a native acumen and business foresight which caused him to value correctly the opportunities about him for acquiring ownership of the new lands in his neighborhood. His black- smithing business furnished him largely with the means to carry out his ideas; but he was also a successful farmer and knew the best methods of making money from the new fields, and in addition to his home farm, now known as the Pleasant M. Koons farm, he became the owner of many tracts of land in his part of the county, some of which he afterwards sold, but the greater part of them was divided among his children.
James Brown
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HAZZARD'S HISTORY OF HENRY COUNTY.
Isaac Brown and his wife were members of the Society of Friends, or Quakers, and zealous believers in its doctrines of peace and good will, and were among the founders of the Flatrock Meeting of Friends and the Flatrock School, where his children, in- cluding James Brown, were educated. He was a great friend to education and gave freely both to his church and to the support of the school. He often said: "I can't preach, but I know how to make money, and it is my duty to give to those who can preach and teach;" and he did give freely, as attested hy many instances of his kind- ness to the ministers of his society, who were mostly poor men and women, who traveled and preached for conscience sake.
A number of young men learned the blacksmith's trade with him in his little, old country shop, who later became prominent in the affairs of the county, as so many of the early blacksmiths did. Among them were John K. Millikan and his own son, James Brown.
JAMES BROWN.
James Brown, the son of Isaac and Mary (Mendenhall) Brown, was born August 17, 1827. Though his father was liberal in the matter of primary education, it is not likely that he gave much thought to the higher education of the colleges and academies, at least none of his children seem to have enjoyed the advantages of such schools. Thus the school days of James Brown were confined to the Flatrock School, which, as a neighborhood school, was superior to the majority of those surrounding it.
As already stated, each child of Isaac Brown received a farm as a start in life. James Brown, however, cherished other aspirations and the longing for the career of a lawyer had grown so strong by the time he had reached the age of twenty two years that he sold his land back to his father, took off his leather apron, threw down his sledge, and came to New Castle, where he entered the law office of William Grose and Joshua H. Mellett, and began to read law. He devoted himself so closely to his studies that, at the end of two years, he was admitted to the bar and soon afterwards became the law partner of William Grose, the firm of Grose and Mellett having been dissolved. The partnership of Grose and Brown continued, with a large and increasing practise, until Mr. Brown was elected district attorney, in 1855, when it was dissolved.
He filled the district attorneyship with ability and after retiring from that office formed a partnership with Robert L. Polk. The firm of Brown and Polk continued with marked success from 1863 to 1872, when the junior partner was elected judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Henry County. Mr. Brown then took into partnership his nephew, Joseph M. Brown, who had been practising for some time after completing his studies in his uncle's office; and the firm name became J. and J. M. Brown, or, in brief, Brown and Brown. In 1876, Joseph M. Brown was elected prosecuting attorney and James Brown continued the business alone for a few years. He then took his son, William A. Brown, into partnership and this firm continued under the old name of Brown and Brown until the death of James Brown, when the business fell to and is still maintained by the son.
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