USA > Indiana > Marshall County > History of Indiana : containing a history of Indiana and biographical sketches of governors and other leading men. Also a statement of the growth and prosperity of Marshall County, together with a personal and family histry of many of its citizens, Vol. I > Part 29
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PROF. JOHN COLLETT, the most distinguished of Indiana geologists, is a native of this state, having been born in Vermilion county in
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1828 and graduated at Wabash college in 1847. He has taken an ac- tive part in politics, having been state senator, state house commis- sioner, state statistician and state geologist. But his chief fame and his chief claim upon the gratitude of his state, are based upon his work as a scientist. Prof. Collett's life has been studious, useful and laborious. He has devoted most of his time to the study of the geology of Indiana, and has done more than any other person to make known the natural resources of the state, especially to adver- tise to the world the value of its coal measures and stone quarries. Chiefly through his efforts, the building stone of Indiana has been introduced to commerce, and is now used extensively for the con- struction of public buildings in all parts of the Union. He proved its superiority by a series of tests. From 1880 to 1884, he was state geologist, and for many years previously, had served as an assistant in that office, to which he contributed his most earnest labor and the riches of his well stored mind. In 1884, he published the first and best geological map of the state ever issued, and has written volumin- ously on all subjects relating to the geology of the state. There is not a county he has not visited and studied, nor one with whose geological history, dating far back into the dim twilight of the pre- historic periods, he is not so familiar as to be able to trace and read like an open book. Prof. Collett belongs to that useful class of citi- zens which, while not obtaining the passing applause and glittering fame that is conferred upon the politician in high office, confer more lasting benefits upon mankind, and are of more actual value to a state than all its politicians put together. Indiana needs more John Colletts and fewer "statesmen" of the Col. Mulberry Sellers and Senator Dillworthy type.
MAURICE THOMPSON .- There is no more picturesque personality in the Hoosier state than the poet, naturalist, essayist, story writer and publicist, whose name heads this sketch. A native of the south, he possesses all the frankness, ardor, geniality of disposition and fer- vent feelings so characteristic of the warm latitudes. His home, however, since the war has been in Indiana, with whose institutions and people he has become thoroughly identified. Mr. Thompson's tastes are literary, and his occupation and fame lie in that direction, but occasionally he takes an excursive flight into politics, more by way of diversion than otherwise. He has served one or two terms as member of the lower house of the legislature, and one term also as
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state geologist by appointment of Gov. Gray. He prefers, however, to wander over the fields and woodlands, watching the habits of birds, and studying nature in all her varying moods. On these sub- jects he writes most entertainingly in stories, in poems, and in mag- azine essays. He is a born naturalist and is never so happy as when studying the interesting flora and fauna of his adopted state. He views nature with the eye of an artist, and describes her charms with the heart of a poet. One of his books covering these subjects, en- titled "Sylvan Secrets," is as charming as an Arabian tale. "The Red-head Family " is a bird sketch of the most delightful description, in which the imaginings of a poet, and the word painting of an ar- tist are mingled with, and give color to, ornithological information of the most exact kind because gathered by a student of nature in actual contact with what he describes. Bird song, nest building, bird anatomy, the loves, hates, trials and habits of the songsters of the grove, are themes which this poet-naturalist has enriched with the appreciation of a Thoreau, and the descriptive powers of a Gold- smith. One of his articles, a gem of its kind, describes the habits of the mocking-bird in his native southern haunts. Mr. Thompson says, what is not generally known, that the mocker sometimes sings as it flies, after the manner of the skylark, and he dwells at length , on one of these "descending songs," which the mocker poured forth as he fluttered on eestatic wing from branch to {branch, and finally by slow degrees, to the earth where he fell exhausted with the efforts to produce his own exquisite melody. Mr. Thompson is a volumin- ous magazine writer and covers a wide variety of topics with un- flagging ability. He is a conspicuous member of that galaxy of literary stars who have shed such lustre upon Indiana since the war period, and contributed so much to give her high rank in the world of letters.
JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY .- Some fifteen or twenty years ago, there commenced to appear in various papers of Indiana, poems in dialect, relating to homely phases of human life and touching on those do- mestic topics that are common to every fireside. At first they only attracted the attention of a few, but by degrees, their fame spread as they were more and more appreciated, and people began to enquire the author of such pieces as "The Old Swimmin' Hole," "When the Frost is on the Punkin and the Fodder's in the Shock," "The Fly- ing Islands " and other gems, the characteristics of which were agen-
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tle humor, always accompanied by a rich vein of tenderest pathos. Usually these poems purported to be written by "Mr. Johnson, of Boone," or some other bucolic individual unknown to fame. Most of them were published in the various newspapers edited by the late George C. Harding, himself a universal genius of the first water, and always in sympathy with rising literary talent which he did more than any other newspaper proprietor of the state, to foster and de- velop. By degrees it leaked out that the author of the popular dialect poems was none other than James Whitcomb Riley, a young man of Hancock county, who from the rude life of a farmer boy, found himself drifting irresistibly into rhyme, like the noted Mr. Wegg. In the course of time, Mr. Riley's fugitive pieces were col- lected and published in a volume, which was succeeded at intervals, by others of a similar tenor, all of which were warmly welcomed and generally read by lovers of that kind of verse which deals with lowly human nature, and as it comes from the heart of the writer, goes di- rectly to the hearts of the readers. Soon Mr. Riley had a state repu- tation, and was welcomed everywhere with affection as the typical " Hoosier Poet." It was not until the national meeting of authors in New York, in the winter of 1886-'87, that Riley's fame spread across the state lines and extended to boundaries that are touched by the two great oceans. The select critics of literature in the east fell easy victims to his genial personal address and platformn ability, and when the meeting adjourned, Mr. Riley was by general consent, placed high up on the temple of fame, alongside of the most popular American poets. After that, he figured conspicuously on the lecture platform, as a reciter of his poems, and has been much sought after for concert and lyceum work. Mr. Riley is a distinctive Hoosier product and his poems are rich with the flavor of the soil from which their author sprang. He has done much to give Indiana high rank in the literary world, and for this, as well as for the intrinsic merits of his compositions, enjoys a warm place in the hearts of his fellow citizens of the Hoosier state.
LEWIS WALLACE .- Though a soldier of distinction in two wars, it is not as a military man that Gen. Wallace has achieved his principal fame. It has been rather with the pen than the sword he has con- quered, and no Indianian has carved his name so high on the liter- ary temple as the distinguished subject of this sketch. A son of Gov. David Wallace, he was born in Brookville, Ind., on the 10th of
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April, 1827. He received a common school education and was study- ing law when the Mexican war roused him from his reveries. He served in that war with credit as afirst lieutenant, and at its close re- sumed his profession, which he practiced chiefly in the cities of Cov- ington and Crawfordsville, Ind. He served a term of four years in the state senate, but never took kindly to politics. At the break- ing out of the civil war, he was appointed adjutant general of In- diana, soon after becoming colonel of the Eleventh Indiana volun- teers, with which he served in West Virginia, participating in the capture of Romney and the ejection of the enemy from Harper's Ferry. He became a brigadier-general of volunteers, in the fall of 1861, led a division at the capture of Fort Donelson, and displayed such ability as to receive a major-general's commission in the follow- ing spring. He participated conspicuously in the fated field of Shiloh. In 1864 he was assigned to the command of the middle department, with headquarters at Baltimore, Md., with 5,800 men. He marched to the banks of the Monocacy, and there offered battle to the overwhelming forces of Gen. Jubal A. Early, who, with 28,000 men, was marching triumphantly upon the national capital. On the afternoon of the 9th of July, hard by the railroad bridge that spans the Monocacy near Frederick, Md., was fought one of the bloodiest engagements of the war, in proportion to the num- ber engaged. Gen. Wallace was entrenched behind stone fences that stretched along the heights near the bridge and at right angles with the river. MeCausland's cavalry, which led the vanguard of Early's army, crossed the stream and made a vigorous assault upon Wallace's lines, but after a very spirited and bloody engagement, they were forced to retreat, but took up and held a position in the rear. Soon thereafter a long line of infantry were seen fording the Monocacy, and filing right under cover of hills and trees, to a position in front of Gen. Wallace's center. These troops were the famous "Stone- wall brigade," formerly made immortal by Jackson, but now consoli- dated with other seasoned veterans, into a division commanded by Major General John C. Breckinridge. They deployed and were or- dered to advance directly to the assault of Gen. Wallace's main po- sition. The onset was furious and the fatalities on both sides, many hundreds in a few minutes. The Union troops resisted stubbornly, but were finally forced to give way, and the hundreds of dead bodies observable on the field after the fight, showed how bravely they had
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endeavored to stem the tide of invasion. Though defeated, Gen. Wallace and his troops had accomplished the important duty of de- laying Early until reinforcements could reach Washington. Gen. Wallace was second member of the court that tried the assassins of Lincoln and president of that which convicted Wirz of the Anderson- ville prison horrors. In 1878 Gen. Wallace was governor of Utah and served from 1881 to '85 as minister to Turkey. He has lectured extensively and is one of the most popular of the platform speakers of the day. His chief fame, however, rests upon his authorship of the religio-historical novel, "Ben Hur: a Tale of the Christ," of which over 290,000 have been sold without diminution in the de- mand. It has already become an American classic, and takes front rank among the imaginative works of the world. Other popular works by Gen. Wallace are, "The Fair God," a story of the con- quest of Mexico, "Life of Benjamin Harrison " and "The Boyhood of Christ." No other Indianian has done so much to give his state high rank in the field of polite literature.
SCHUYLER COLFAX, statesman, and vice president of the United States, was born in the city of New York, March 23, 1823. His grandfather, Gen. William Colfax, was a native of Connecticut, and served with distinction in the war of American independence. His father died before his son's birth, as did also a sister, and thus he be- came the only child of his widowed mother. The early years of Mr. Colfax were spent in his native city, where he attended the public schools and afterward became clerk in a store. In 1836 he came to Indiana, and located at New Carlisle, St. Joseph county, where he again entered a store as clerk, and in 1841, he became a resident of South Bend, in which city he subsequently received the appointment of deputy auditor. In 1842 he was active in organizing a temper- ance society at South Bend, and continued a total abstainer through- out his life. At this time he reported the proceedings of the state senate for the Indianapolis Journal, and in 1844 entered the politi- cal arena as a public speaker for Henry Clay .. In 1845 he became editor and proprietor of the St. Joseph Valley Register, of which he was also founder, and he continued its publication for a period of eighteen years. He was secretary of the Chicago harbor and river convention in 1847, and in 1848 was elected secretary of the national whig convention, at Baltimore, which nominated Gen. Zachary Tay- lor for the presidency. He was a member of the Indiana constitu-
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tional convention of 1850, and in 1851 received the whig nomination for congress. His opponent was Hon. Graham N. Fitch, an able politician and a fine speaker, with whom he engaged in a joint can- vass, during which the two men traveled over a thousand miles and held over 70 discussions. The district was strongly democratic, yet Mr. Colfax was defeated by only 200 votes. In 1852 he was a dele- gate to the national convention which nominated Gen. Scott for the presidency, and in 1854, was elected to the Thirty-fourth congress, by the memorable majority of 1,776 votes, although the same district in previous years gave a democratic majority of 1,200. In 1858 he was again triumphantly elected to congress, and served as a member of that body by successive elections until 1869. He was elected speaker of the house in December, 1863, and on April 8th of the fol- lowing year, he descended from the chair to move the expulsion of Mr. Long, of Ohio, who had made a speech favoring the recognition of the southern confederacy. The resolution was afterward changed to one of censure, and Mr. Colfax's action was generally sustained by Union men. On the convening of the Thirty-ninth congress, Mr. Colfax was again elected speaker by 139 votes, his opponent, Mr. Brooks, of New York, receiving but thirty-six. March 4, 1867, he was for the third time chosen speaker, and his skill as a presiding officer, often shown under very trying circumstances, gained the ap- plause of both friends and political opponents In May, 1868, the republican national convention at Chicago, nominated him on the first ballot for vice president, Gen. Grant being the presidential nominee, and the ticket having been successful, he took his seat as president of the senate, March 4, 1869. In August, 1871, the presi- dent offered him the position of secretary of state, for the remainder of his term, but he declined. In 1872 he was prominently mentioned as a presidential candidate, and the same year he refused the editor- ship of the New York Tribune. " In 1873, Mr. Colfax was implicated in the charges of corruption brought against members of congress who had received shares in the credit mobilier of America. The house committee reported that there was no ground for his impeach- ment, as the alleged offense, if committed at all, was committed be- fore he became vice president." " He denied the truth of the charges and his friends have always regarded his character as irreproachable." His latter years were spent mostly in retirement at his home in South Bend, and in delivering public lectures, which he frequently
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did before large audiences. The most popular of his lectures was that on "Lincoln and Garfield." He died at Mankato, Minn., Janu- ary 13, 1885.
ROBERT DALE OWEN was the son of Robert J. Owen, a celebrated English reformer, who was born in 1771 and died in 1858. He was born near Glasgow, Scotland, November 7, 1801, and after receiving a liberal education in his native country, came to the United States in 1823, and settled at New Harmony, Posey county, Ind. In 1828, in partnership with Mrs. Frances Wright, he began the publication of a paper called the Free Enquirer, which made its periodical visits about three years. He afterward moved to New Harmony, Ind., where he was three times elected to the Indiana legislature, and in 1843 was elected to congress, in which body he served until 1847, having been re-elected in 1845. When in congress, he took a prominent part in the settlement of the northwest boundary dispute, and also was largely instrumental in establishing the Smithsonian institute at Washington, of which he became one of the regents, and served on the building committee. He was a delegate to the consti- tutional convention in 1850, and no one bore a more prominent part in the deliberations of that body than he. In 1853 he was appointed charge d'affaires at Naples, and in 1855 was minister at Naples, hold- ing the position until 1858. During the civil war he was a firm sup- porter of the Union, and one of the first to advocate the emancipation of the slaves. Mr. Owen was a firm believer in the doctrines of spiritualism, and was fearless in his advocacy of the same. He in- herited the communistic notions of his father, who had failed in numerous attempts to carry the system into practical operation, and he also signally failed in his attempts to accomplish a similar pur- pose. His scholastic attainments were of the highest order, and he possessed a mind well stored with general knowledge. He was in- deed a man of transcendant ability and may justly be regarded as one of the greatest, as well as one of the best men Indiana has ever claimed. He contributed largely to the literature of his day, and the following is a partial list of his best known works: "Moral Physiology," "Discussion with Original Bachelor on the Personality of God, and the Authenticity of the Bible," "Hints on Public Archi- tecture," " Footfalls on the Boundaries of Another World," "The Wrong of Slavery and the Right of Emancipation," " Beyond the Breakers," a novel, "The Debatable Land Between this World and
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the Next," " Treading My Way," an autobiography. Mr. Owen de- parted this life at Lake George, N. Y., January 24, 1877, aged seventy- six years.
RICHARD W. THOMPSON, ex-secretary of the navy, is a native of Virginia, born in Culpeper county, June 9, 1809. In the fall of 1831 he emigrated to Indiana, and taught school in the town of Bedford afterward establishing the Lawrence county seminary, which he con- ducted about one year. Abandoning school work he embarked in the mercantile business in Lawrence county, and while thus engaged began the study of law. He was admitted to the bar in 1834, and the same year he was elected a member of the Indiana legislature, in which body he not only displayed great ability and foresight, but was also instrumental in shaping much important legislation. In 1838, he was returned to the house, and the following year was chosen state senator, of which he was president pro tempore on the occasion of the resignation of Lieut. Gov. Wallace. In 1841 he was elected to the United States congress over Hon. John W. Davis, but declined a renomination to the same position, and in 1843 removed to Terre Haute, in which city he has since resided. He was a presidential elector on the Harrison ticket in 1840, zealously sup- porting Gen. Harrison in public speeches, and by his pen, and was a defeated candidate for elector on the Clay ticket in 1844. In 1847 he was again elected to congress by the whig party, and became prominent in national legislation during this term, but at its expira- on retired from public life. In 1849 he was appointed United States minister to Austria, by Gen. Taylor, but declined to accept the honor, and was also tendered several other appointments by the gen- eral government, all of which he saw fit to refuse. During the war for the Union he was active and rendered valuable service to his country, was commandant of Camp Dick Thompson, near Terre Haute, and also served as provost marshal of the district. He was again a presidential elector on the republican ticket in 1864, and a delegate to the national conventions of that party in 1878, and 1876, in the latter of which he nominated Oliver P. Morton for the presi- dency. In 1867-9 he was judge of the eighteenthi circuit of the state, and on March 12, 1877, he entered President Hayes's cabinet, as secretary of the navy. He served nearly through the administration, but resigned the position in 1881, to become chairman of the Ameri- can committee of the Panama Canal Company. Mr. Thompson has
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written many political platforms, and obtained a reputation for his ability in formulating party principles. He is an eloquent and effect- ive speaker, and a man of benevolence and unassuming manners.
COL. FRANCIS VIGO, whose name is prominently identified with the early history of Indiana, was born in the kingdom of Sardinia in 1740, and died at Vincennes, Ind., in 1836. Until 1778 he was a resi- dent of the Spanish port of St. Louis, where, as an Indian trader, he acquired the title of the "Spanish Merchant." He removed to Vin- cennes a short time previous to its capture by Gen. George Rogers Clark, whom he was instrumental in assisting, for which he was after- ward arrested by the British as a spy. In the Illinois campaigns of 1778 and 1779, Col. Vigo rendered valuable service to the army of Clark, by advancing large sums of money for food and clothing. Through his patriotism and self-sacrifice, he served the army and gave victory to the cause of the colonies in the west. He was made commandant of the militia of Vincennes in 1790, and in 1810 was one of Gen. Harrison's confidential messengers to the Indians. His name will ever be associated with the early history of the Wabash valley.
JOHN W. DAVIS, one of Indiana's most noted public men, was born in Cumberland county, Penn., July 17, 1799, and died in 1859. He was well educated and graduated in medicine at Baltimore in 1821, shortly afterward removing to Carlisle, Ind. He was soon em- barked on a political career and graduated for the purpose in that uni- versal and popular school, the state legislature. He served several years in that body, and was chosen speaker of the house in 1832. In 1834 he was appointed a commissioner to negotiate a treaty with the Indians. He was elected to congress by the democrats, and served from December 7, 1835, until March 3, 1837, was re-elected, and again served from 1839 until 1841, and from 1843 till 1847. During his last term he was speaker of the house of representatives, having been elected on December 1, 1845. He was United States commissioner to China in 1848-'50, and governor of Oregon in 1853-4. He pre- sided over the convention held at Baltimore in 1852, that nominated Franklin Pierce for the presidency. Mr. Davis was a strong man and a party leader of long continued popularity and well recognized ability. He was also a decided feature of the list of self-made In- diana publicists.
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