USA > Indiana > St Joseph County > History of St. Joseph County, Indiana > Part 45
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HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.
he was then ordered to the West, with his headquarters at Louis- ville. His duties were very arduous, but he performed them faithfully and unflinchingly. They took him often with the advance of the army and he was in several battles. He remained in the army as Medical Inspector until June 1, 1866, when he was mus- tered out and returned home. His army duties were so hard that they undermined his health, and laid the foundation for the com- plication of diseases which eventually killed him.
On his return home he resumed the practice of medicine and his interest in the affairs of South Bend. From the time he set foot in it when a young man he believed South Bend had a brilliant future, and no man did more in his way to make a brilliant future for it. He bought property and laid out an addition to the city; he wrote in favor of and talked for every improvement which would benefit it. In 1868 he was elected Mayor to succeed the first Mayor, Hon. W. G. George, and in 1870 he was elected his own successor. He filled both terms with great credit to himself and benefit to the city, and retired with the good will of all parties. During these four years he was one of the commissioners of the Indiana hos- pital for the insane. He was one of the founders of the St. Joseph Valley District Medical Society, and its president for two terms. At the same time he was an officer of the Indiana State Medical Association and a member of the American Medical Association. When the St. Joseph County Savings Bank was organized he was made its president and continned in the position until his death. He was a charter member of the Odd Fellows and Knights of Pythias lodges in this city, and a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and had held offices in all these societies. In the Presbyterian Church he filled the positions of trustee and elder, and was for several years superintendent of its Sunday-school, and for many years a teacher there. He was a man who never sought an office, and yet few men had more of them thrust upon them than he, and few were as competent to fill them.
Dr. Humphreys, or Col. Humphreys, as President Lincoln's com- mission titled him, was the youngest of a family of 14 children. His ancestry were noted for being long-lived. His father reached the age of ninety odd years and was a splendid specimen of man- hood. Those who knew Dr. Humphreys can well believe that this physical trait of the father descended to his youngest son. Dr. Humphreys was a trifle above six feet in height, handsomely pro- portioned, and had an easy, graceful carriage and a courtly dignity that is rare to see. He had a military bearing that was "to the manner born," and many a time was he seen passing along the streets of Nashville in his uniform, and exciting the inquiry if he was Gen. Rousseau, who was to the soldiers of that army the embodiment of the ideal general in all that made up dignity of bearing, grace of manner, and the inbornness of a gentleman.
The immediate cause of Dr. Humphreys' death was paralysis of the respiratory nerves. He took cold some days previous, and
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HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.
although the congestion of the lungs passed off it was followed by this paralysis. Three or four days ago he began failing rapidly and it was easy to see by those intimate friends who visited him every day that the end of a long and useful life was near. The final struggle came last evening. In the presence of his loved family, his pastor, Rev. Geo. T. Keller, his physician, Dr. Cassady, Hon. T. S. Stanfield and Mrs. Stanfield, Mr. and Mrs. E. S. Reynolds, Mr. and Mrs. Cushing, Dr. Dayton, W. A. Bugbee, and a few other near and dear friends, he passed away peacefully and to the acceptance of that reward which is in store for all who faithfully practice the teachings of Him who died upon the cross. His last moments were unconscious, but before they came he had recognized those about him, and fully realized that he was going out upon the long journey which all humanity must sooner or later take.
JACOB HARRIS.
Among the early settlers of St. Joseph county, few men were better known than Jacob Harris, the first settler of the prairie which bears his name. He was a native of Northumberland county, Pennsylvania, and in early life moved to Starke county, Ohio, and in the spring of 1829 came to this part to see the country. He immediately returned for his family, and the same season removed to the place on which he lived until the time of his death. Jacob Harris was a man of indomitable will, together with an iron constitution, and scarcely knew what sickness was until the latter part of his life. The early settlers of this county, as well as many others, will remember the first " stop " in this county at Mr. Harris,' where the stranger as well as relatives and friends, all found a home. There are few men who took more interest in that direction than he did. It seemed to him good to be a father to the fatherless and a friend to the friendless and the stranger. Mr. Harris had been sick several weeks previous to his death, but one prior to that time he was so much better he arose from his bed, walked out to the kitchen and had a favorite dish prepared, eating and relishing it very much. He was at the time very cheerful, and could hardly be prevailed upon to return to his room. When he did so he was suddenly taken worse, and in a remarkably short time passed away, as "one who wraps the drapery of his couch abont him and lies down to pleasant dreams." Death called him home Monday, March 5, 1860, in the 76th year of his age.
SOLOMON W. PALMER.
Solomon William Palmer was born at Davenport, New York, Nov. 3, 1814. Both of his parents died before he was three years old. He lived at the place of his birth the greater portion of the time until shortly after he was of age, when he removed to Bru- nersburg, Ohio. Abont six months later he was married to Sarah
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D. Allen, which event occurred Dec. 31, 1837. In 1843 they removed to Indiana, settling in Mishawaka, where Mr. Palmer engaged in the lumber trade. After a three years' residence in Mishawaka, the family removed to South Bend.
While living in Mishawaka, Mr. Palmer united with the Presbyterian Church, but finally ceased his attendance on that denomination in consequence of the pro-slavery sentiments among the members. In South Bend he was a constant attendant of the First Methodist Episcopal Church, of which the other members of the family were members, and in January, 1877, he, too, united with that body. For upward of twenty years he was a member of the Odd Fellows of South Bend. He loved the order and all its associations, and was a frequent attendant at its meetings. The temperance movement early attracted his attention, and his influence and labors were always at the service of the cause, and especially was this the case when the Temple of Honor, of which he was a member, was in a flourishing condition.
In politics Mr. Palner was originally a Whig, but after his removal to South Bend he became a strong Abolitionist. He was one of the little band of nine men in South Bend, who, in those early days, braved public odium and reproach for conscience' sake, and maintained that human bondage was accursed of God, and a blot on the fair fame of the Republic. The old and middle-aged men that are now living well remember that the avowal of being an Abolitionist was to invite general ostracism even in the North.
Mr. Palmer was one of the number who in 1849 rescued a party of colored people, a mother and her three children, who had been kidnapped in Michigan, and were being taken to Kentucky. His participation in this act cost him nearly every dollar of his worldly possessions, suit being brought against him in company with several others, for the recovery of the value of the slaves together with the penalty attached to the rescue of slaves under the law of 1793. For years the case dragged along in the courts, and was finally decided against Mr. Palmer and his associates.
To illustrate the character of the man, and to show that dollars and cents would not influence him in an act against his conscience, it is related of him that when engaged in the lumber trade at Mish- awaka, he assisted a man to load up some building material, when the person procuring it incidentally made known that it was to be used for a distillery. Immediately Mr. Palmer proceeded to unload the lumber, saying to the astonished customer, " You can't use my lumber for such a purpose." His convictions were always on the side of truth, justice, and the oppressed, and he was faithful to his convictions. Dignified, affable, gentle-mannered, firm in his beliefs but tolerant of the views of others, he lived a true man, and died universally respected.
On the organization of the Republican party in 1856, Mr. Pal- mer identified himself with it, and was elected by that party to the office of Sheriff of the county in 1864, and re-elected in 1866.
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HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.
The same party also elected him Justice of the Peace, and Coun- cilman of the Fifth Ward, positions he was filling at the time of his death.
On Wednesday, March 12, 1879, he was on the street in his apparently usnal health, and that night attended a meeting of the Odd Fellows lodge that he might witness the initiation of his son, Orlando H. Palmer, his only surviving child. Thursday morning he arose as usual, but not long after had a hard chill. Medical aid was summoned, and every aid rendered. During the day he kept his bed, taking the medicine left him, continuing the same during the night. At 7:45 A. M., on Friday morning, March 14, he breathed his last. The funeral services were held in the Methodist Episcopal church Sunday afternoon, and were largely attended. He was laid away to rest by the Odd Fellows, with which order he was so long identified.
COL. NORMAN EDDY.
Norman Eddy was born in Scipio, Cayuga county, New York. His father was one of the earliest settlers of that part of the State. In 1836, having studied medicine, he removed to Mishawaka, in this county, for the practice of his chosen profession. In 1847 he removed to South Bend, where he resided, except when temporarily absent in the discharge of public duties to which he was called, till the day of his death. In the practice of medicine he was very suc- cessful, but feeling a strong desire to become a lawyer, he accordingly prepared himself by a thorough course of study, and was regularly admitted to the Bar of this connty on the first day of April, 1847. After he had practiced three years he was elected State Senator on the Democratic ticket. In 1852 he was elected to Congress, having Schuyler Colfax as a competitor, but in 1854, was himself defeated by the latter on the Nebraska issue. In 1855 he was appointed United States District Attorney for Minnesota, by President Pierce, and in 1856 Commissioner of Indiana Trust Lands in Kansas, which office he held until the fall of 1857. At this time he again commenced the practice of law, associating him- self with the late Judge Egbert, but two years after was appointed by the Legislature on a commission to settle claims due the State.
When the war of the Rebellion broke out he zealously took his stand on the side of the Union, and in 1861 organized the 48th Indiana Regiment, of which he was appointed Colonel. He fought with great bravery in the battle of Iuka, where he was severely wounded; also at Corinth and Grand Gulf and the siege of Vicks- burg, until its surrender, when he resigned, being disabled by his wounds from further serving his country as a soldier. Resuming the practice of his profession, he continued in it until 1865, when he was appointed Collector of Revenue for the Ninth District, by President Johnson.
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HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.
In 1870 he was elected to the office of Secretary of State, which office he held at the time of his death, which took place Sunday morning, Jan. 28, 1872, in the city of Indianapolis, of enlarge- ment of the heart, aged 62 years.
Commencing late in life as a lawyer, Colonel Eddy never achieved that success in his profession to which his legal accomplishments entitled him. The reason for this is obvious. His professional life was not continuous enough to build up a large and lucrative practice. The law, like the other professions, demands all of one's energies, and Colonel Eddy, who at various periods gave it up to accept office at the hands of the public, could not, with all his abilities, attain that success which his brother attorneys were devot- ing their lives to attain. He was not a custom-seeking lawyer, any more than he was an office-seeking politician. He was one of the most impressive speakers in the northern part of the State. His delivery was dignified and graceful. His voice was deep and full. He never seemed to have taken the infection common to young men of giving great importance to mere speech. He possessed that justness and beauty of diction, that happiness and grace of figures, and that facility of expression which never failed to attract and delight his hearers. Though a lawyer he never confined himself to that contentious style which breathes nothing but war and debate. Politically he was a Democrat of the old school, and while he earn- estly advocated the doctrines that he espoused, he did it in such a manner as to gain the respect and good will of his opponents, even though he did not convince them of the justness of his canse. He was never an office-seeker. In his case the office sought the man, and not the man the office.
He was during the greater portion of his life the victim of ill health. He had the head to manage, but not the constitution to bear, the affairs of State. Had he possessed a strong and healthy body, coupled with higher aspirations, his splendid abilities might have earned him a much wider reputation. To know him was to love and respect him. It was in the sacred precincts of the domestic circle, or when surrounded by faithful and admiring friends, that the fine gold in his nature came out with its richest effects. To the friend who entered his residence or place of business, he gave a frank and cordial reception, stretching forth that pure hand whichi had never been soiled by a mean act. His conversation was rich in political and moral instruction; rich in anecdote and character of times that were past. His address, politeness and knowledge of the world qualified him to wield a powerful influence over the minds of others. It was to him a source of pleasure to impart to the young that best of wisdom which is learned from real life. Lord Bacon has somewhere written that "a good man is like the sun, passing through all corruption and still remaining pure." In no way can this be applied with greater justice than to the career of Colonel Eddy. During a quarter of a century, at various times, he
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HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.
was called upon to fill offices of trust and responsibility, and while all around him were growing rich from the spoils of office, he was
Through all this tract of years Wearing the white flower of a blameless life.
His was the white page in the blotted volume of politics. Such is the example Norman Eddy has bequeathed to the young inen of Indiana. He was a lover of his kind, a friend to the friendless, the outcast and forlorn. Right royally could he forgive an injury. A faithful public servant, a considerate patriot, a true man and friend, a loving husband and affectionate father, has gone to his reward. The Bar of this county held a meeting and passed a series of resolutions of respect, which resolutions were reported to the Circuit Court and Court of Common Pleas and transcribed upon their records.
MRS. HANNAH D. MATTHEWS.
Mrs. Matthews was born in the city of New York, March 21, 1805. Her maiden name was Stryker, and her grandfather, Samuel De Lamater, was one of the old Knickerbocker families of that city. At the early age of fifteen she married Schuyler Colfax, her first husband, who was a son of General William Colfax, of New Jersey, and whose mother was a Miss Schuyler, cousin of General Philip Schuyler. Mr. Colfax was teller of the Mechanics Bank of New York. Three years after his marriage to Miss Stryker, he died of consumption, leaving her a widow with one little daughter, who died the year following. Soon after his father's death, Schuyler, the second child of this marriage, was born. She remained a widow, living with her mother, Mrs. Stryker, and assisting her in keeping a boarding-house, until her son became 11 years of age.
During this time, and although in straitened circumstances pecuniarily, she strove to give her son the best education the com- mon schools of New York afforded, and by example and precept to give him that best of all gifts, character. Often in his speeches he has casually remarked that such and such a rule in life he had learned in his youth from maternal instruction, and he has always in social conversation attributed his success in life to the impress of his mother's mind and teaching on his youthful years, when widowed, and fatherless, they were all in all to each other.
In 1834 she married George W. Matthews, then a commission merchant in New York. By this marriage she had 5 children, one of whom died in childhood, the others living to man's and woman's estate.
In 1836 she removed with her husband and little family to New Carlisle, this county, where Mr. Matthews opened a store and sold goods for several years, Schuyler serving as clerk and deputy post- master.
Mrs. Matthews had always taken a great interest in Sunday- school work, and shortly after her arrival in New Carlisle, organized
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HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.
a school which prospered greatly under her fostering care. She obtained a library for the school from New York, and her son was made librarian. Some of these books are yet found in that locality, treasured as mementoes of what one woman's energy did for the Christian cause in a new country.
In 1841 Mr. Matthews was elected Auditor of this county, and the family removed to South Bend, the county seat. Here Mrs. Matthews was largely instrumental in organizing the Reformed Church Sunday-school, and every member of her family was con- nected with it either as teacher or scholar. After Mr. Colfax's election to Congress, Mr. Matthews received an appointment at Washington, and during the sessions of Congress was there with his wife. For nine years they formed part of Mr. Colfax's family there, residing with him, and during five of the six years of his Speakership, Mrs. Matthews "received" with him, acting as the head of his family, he being a widower. Though 60 years old then, her vivacity, as well as her genial manners, was remarkable, and in a great measure served to make her son's receptions the most popular in Washington. Her popularity in social circles was uni- versal. President Lincoln had a deep and abiding friendship for her, and a great respect for her judgment on important public questions which came up in his administration, and in which she took all the interest of a statesman. Frequently at her son's recep- tions, she was the recipient of the most flattering attentions from the martyred President.
Shortly after the war, that terrible disease, cancer, commenced its ravages npon her system. Five times extirpated, it returned each time with increased violence. Once it was thought the dis- ease was mastered, and her family were quite hopeful; but while returning from California, in 1869, she was attacked with mountain fever, and came near dying at Cheyenne. From that time she failed, and although every effort was made to destroy the disease, it became evident, in time, that the cancer had obtained absolute mastery of the system, and that nothing could longer hold it in bay.
Her sufferings for several years were indescribably great, and but for her strong hold on life, and the inost faithful, affectionate and devoted nursing by her husband, she must have sooner succumbed to the intense agony she often endured, in addition to the terrible drain upon her system. She bore it all, however, with Christian resignation, illustrating that profession in which for forty years she had never faltered, and with abiding faith that beyond this life she would be free from pain and anguish.
After her return from Washington, in the spring of 1872, she steadily grew worse. As long as she could keep up her husband took her riding daily, but daily these rides were made shorter, until at last her vital forces were so sapped and weakened she was com- pelled to keep her room and finally her bed. For two or three years previons to her death she scarcely saw any company, and her family had but little lest it might weary her.
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HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.
On Sunday afternoon, Aug. 11, 1872, she peacefully died, and with but little suffering, recognizing her family most lovingly to the very last. Noble in all her traits of character, cheerful in her disposition, carrying sunshine and gladness wherever she went, it is seldom that death finds such a shining mark.
FATHER LAURENCE, C. S. C.
Brother Laurence, a well-known and popular steward of Notre Dame University, died in the infirmary attachment to that institu- tion, Friday evening, April 4, 1873. Brother Laurence was named "in the world," Jean (John) Menage, and was born March 22, 1816, at St. De Gatines, in France. He was induced by Father Sorin, while giving a mission in that locality, to enter the Congregation of the Holy Cross, in the year 1840. He made his religious pro- fession in 1841, at the Mans. His death, therefore, took place in the fifty-seventh year of his age, and in the thirty-second of his profession. He was one of the six original companions who came with Father Sorin to the United States, landing at New York on the 14th of September, 1841. The little colony settled first at St. Peter's, near Vincennes, in this State, but the year following they moved to Notre Dame, where they arrived on the 30th of November, 1842. From that time Brother Laurence was closely identified with the growth of the institution, and contributed not a trifle to its prosperity. He filled for many years the responsible office of steward, and was three times deputed to the General Chap- ters of the Congregation, where his voice was always listened to with marked attention.
Father Sorin, founder of the University, and Superior General of the Congregation of the Holy Cross, in a circular letter issued on the death of Brother Laurence, thus speaks of him: "Brother Laurence carries with him the deep and unfeigned sentiment of respect and esteem, not alone of his entire congregation, but of all with whom he came in contact, either as a "religious", or as the agent or steward of the institution. For more than thirty years he spent here, he was always, as every one knows, foremost among those who sought honestly and earnestly to promote the interests of the community; and if any one is to be named as having con- tributed more than others by earnest and persevering exertions, both of mind and body, to the development and prosperity of Notre Dame, if I did not do it. here, the public voice would declare it, and name Brother Laurence. No religions in our family ever possessed and retained more constantly the confidence of his superiors and the community at large. In the death of Brother Laurence we sustain a serious loss, which none can better appreciate or more keenly feel than myself, however much his memory may be held in gratitude and love among those who knew him best, or whom he assisted most in advice or example, or in pecuniary transactions. It was myself who] brought him to the community thirty-three
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years ago; and although I have seen more than any other mnen of my age, religious of undoubted fidelity, of great zeal and admirable devotedness, I can remember none whom I would place above our departed one on these various points. He leaves behind him not only a long, but also a stainless record, such indeed as would honor the memory of the most ambitious among us. Not only will you not perceive in the ensemble of his religious life none of those blemishes that paralyze the effect of the best qualities; not only was he remarkable by a clean negative of serions defects, but he was really prominent by the strength of his mind, the freshness and often the originality of his inventions and resources in general, of which he always had some in reserve. Directly or indirectly he has benefitted persons and things here more than any one of us. May all whom he leaves in justice obligated to him, acknowledge it now by the fervor of their supplications in his behalf. The com- munity loses in Brother Laurence one of its first pillars; but his spirit will not die away with him, or disappear; his virtues and examples shall live forever on the spot where his name is identified with every acre now cleared, and every building erected with his personal assistance. The neighborhood itself loses one of its hardi- est pioneers, and one of its most efficient and honest citizens. As to myself, I lose a friend who never refused me any sacrifice, who for thirty-two long years kept himself, without a moment excepted, ever ready and willing for any call of obedience. Never can I for- get his devotedness."
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