USA > Indiana > Vanderburgh County > History of Vanderburgh County, Indiana, from the earliest times to the present, with biographical sketches, reminiscences, etc. > Part 46
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Abbett, August Brauns, Paris C. Dunning, R. V. Hodson, William H. Gudgell, George Palmer; in 1875, Adolf Pfaefflin, W. G. Bradley, A. C. Jones, Julius A. Coleman Rudolph Kehr, S. E. Smith, Karl F. Thieme, George R. Thomson, M. V. B, Van Arsdale, Bernard Wagner, C. H. Wesseler; in 1876, Robert S. Ilolt, C. H. McCarer, John W. McFarland; in 1877, Elhanan C. Devore, George. W. Dannetell, Richard J. Dixon, Philip W. Frey, William M. Hull, A. N. C. Leveson-Gower, Harry F. Lyon, Frank L. Mills, Isaac S. Moore; in 1878, Morris, C. Baum, George A. Cun- ningham, Charles F. Gould, William W. Ireland, J. Erian Martin, J. G. Winfrey; in plentiful. Wolves were so bad that the set-
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tlers- we could not call them farmers- could not raise pigs enough to furnish them pork, and could not keep sheep at all." Here he spent his youth, and lived to see great changes in the country; no one con- tributed more by sturdy character and indus- trious habits to produce these changes. The educational advantages of the country in his youth were also described by him: " In that new country, where there were no books, and newspapers were very rare, opportunities for education were very poor indeed; but father and mother, especially the latter, were anxious for the promotion and education of their children. Stimulated by her precept, we all early acquired a taste for books. We subscribed for weekly papers very early, and supplied ourselves with what few school books could be obtained, and went to school, a few months each winter in the improvised rude cabins, which were called school-houses in those rude days. But, in fact, our education was obtained more at home, from the scanty sup- ply of books we had, and from our applica- tion, and by stimulating each other. One of the sources of education and stimulation was the early Methodist preachers, who found their way as well to the wild woods of Warrick county, as every where in this country which has been reached by civiliza- tion. They were generally better educated than the most of the people in the country then were, and they stimulated us to seek for better educational opportunities; and though none of us ever went to college we obtained all the education which was attainable in those early days without going to college." At the age of twenty-four, he married Anne Cowle, a lady of intelligence and culture, both literary and social, quite above her surroundings, whom he sought in associations, which he describes: " In the neighborhood adjoining to where the farm
of the senior Iglehart was situated in War- rick county, across a neighboring creek in Vanderburgh county, were several families of English people, who were tradesmen in London. Around them were clustered two or three other families of northern Protes- tant Irish, constituting one of the most intel- ligent rural communities in all the western country." The influence of this community upon both the country and city of Evansville, may readily be seen to this day. After his marriage, he says, "by seemingly irresisti- ble passion for learning the law, I com- menced the study while on the farm, and pursued it with great enthusiasm, little short of romance, and having been admitted to the bar at thirty-two, changed my location and life, and adopted the profession of the law." In 1849, he removed to Evansville, and immediately entered the firm of Ingle, Wheeler & Iglehart, where he remained until he was appointed common pleas judge to fill a vacancy in 1854, and subsequently he was elected without opposition to the same position. In I858, he came again to the bar, after thorough elementary training and four years' experience on the bench, and his success came rapidly and certainly. His natural capacity, his reputation for learning in the law, his untiring industry, his unyield- ing will and integrity, which no one ever questioned, all combined to make his success full and complete. For many years his income from.the practice compared favora- bly with that of other leaders of the bar of the state. His personal acquaintance with the leading lawyers of the state was very great. He was active in organizing the first state bar association, and was its first president. He was an original promoter and member of the bar association of the United States. He was for many years an editorial contributor of the Central Law fournal, and his views on interesting legal
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questions were often expressed through this channel and attracted the attention of the bar throughout the west. He revised " McDonald's Treatise " for justices in Indi- ana, which subsequently became known as " Iglehart's Treatise." He prepared with great labor an original work on "Pleading and Practice " in Indiana. His was a pioneer work in this state, where the code practice is in force. Subsequently other works of the same general character followed; but the portion of his work on " Pleading," that is an adaptation of pleading as it exists at the common law, to the law in Indiana under the code, is a concise elementary discussion, which has not been, and probably will not be superseded, and is valuable especially to students of law in this state. These, with minor literary labors, were performed in the midst of active practice. Judge Igle- hart's practice in the supreme court of Indiana for many years was great, and his opinions were always received by that court with respect. Before the federal court was established in Evansville, he practiced regu- larly in the federal court at Indianapolis, with men like Hendricks and McDonald, and he conducted successfully a number of very important cases through the supreme court of the United States. Judge Iglehart's mind was distinguished by clearness of percep- tion, incisiveness and discrimination of thought; and such qualities always indicate a superior order of intellect. Not only was his reach and grasp of thought clear
and incisive, but it was at the same time broad and comprehensive. He very naturally, therefore, took his place as a jurist at the head of his profes- sion. There are certain principles of law
that Judge Iglehart traced more fully, and understood more thoroughly, it is believed, than any jurist in our state. He was vast in labors, patient and profound in his researches.
The reports of the decisions of our highest court of appeal will preserve the conclusive evidence of all this down into future gener- ations. The following testimonial was, among others, given by a resolution of the Evansville bar: "It was, however, at the bar that he excelled. It was there he made for himself the name which we cherish. As a commercial and corporation lawyer he was without a peer in Indiana. As a special pleader he had no rival. He was master of all the branches and intricacies of our juris- prudence. For twenty-five years he was the leader of a bar, made famous by the names of Blythe, Jones, Chandler, Baker, Law and others, dead and living. In the history of Indiana, Asa Iglehart wil always rank with Willard, Judah, Morton and Hendricks, as one of her great men." The following estimate of Judge Iglehart'sl character as a lawyer has been given by one who was capable of describing it: "He was no ordinary man. In native breadth and strength of mind, in his accurate and extensive, I might say overwhelming, knowl- edge of the law, in his unrivaled capacity for work -a quality which often supplies the place of genius, which is genius - he was one of the most remarkable men with whom I have ever met. This was my deliberate conviction when I first met him, more than fourteen years ago, and years of association with him only strengthen this conviction. The privilege of conversing with Judge Iglehart, of hearing him discuss legal ques- tions in the courts, was in itself, if improved, a liberal education in the law. I never left him, after even a casual conversation upon legal topics, but what I felt I had been the gainer. His grasp upon legal principles was sure and firm. In this day, when the multiplication of reports has become an in- tolerable burden, the tendency in all of us is to become mere case-lawyers. Too many
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of us bow down to the authority of a case, or a dictum, no matter how ill-considered it may be, with almost cringing servility. Judge Iglehart, without the advantage of early education, who was a self-taught man, might have been pardoned had he shared this tendency. But of all men, he was freest from this bondage. He sought always to found his contention upon the bed-rock of legal principles, and when he had found his sure foundation, he brushed aside the decis- ion, or even the text-writer, which stood in the way of his maintenance of those princi- ples with little ceremony." On one occasion he persuaded the supreme court of Indiana to overrule Judge Redfield, one of the lead- ing American text-writers. Judge Gresham, several years after he had sat as judge of the United States circuit court, and before whom the leaders of the bar of the country had practiced, wrote of Judge Iglehart after his death: " All things considered, his career was a remarkable one. * * I have met few men who had greater power of analysis, and, just now, I can recall no one who examined and briefed a case better. *
* * ITis life was honorable and blameless." In his case the man was greater than his pro- fession. Professions, institutions and states are the work of man, but man himself is the work of God. In the underlying personal- ity of Judge Iglehart were embodied the largest gifts and rarest qualities of a rich and noble manhood. There are immutable ish. His unbounded liberality aided much
moral forces, certain primal virtues upon which family, society and the state must rest: with these he was richly endowed, and these were the sources of his great power. To him patronage and official recognition could give nothing. His claim to distinc- tion, his titles of nobility, his royal investi- tures came direct from the hand of God. His faith in the great fundamental principles | occurred February 5, 1886.
of revealed religion was as the faith of a little child. He believed that the great ver- ities of religion were established facts, and in those facts his soul rested with utter con- fidence. To him religion was a matter to be verified by the test of experience, and hence, his was a practical religion. The church of his choice and her interests was ever before him and her prosperity was dear to his heart. He was generous in her support, loyal to her doctrines, and gave, as a most trusted and faithful official, wise counsel and cheering words. His home was ever open to his pastor, and any visit- ing minister of his church. He enjoyed the services of his church, and was devout and faithful in his attendance. When called upon, he could always in fitting and earnest words give a reason for his faith, and while not demonstrative in words or manner, yet a close observer could catch a glimpse of a heart touched and full of feeling, and see his eyes fill as emotions strong and deep would touch his inmost soul under the spell of speaker or song. He took an early and abiding interest in educational affairs in Evansville and abroad. He was for several years trustee of Evansville public schools and for many years a trustee of De Pauw University, and gave freely of his time, counsel and money to its support. He car- ried into his daily life, at home and abroad, a pure Christian character, untarnished and unstained. No man's life was more unself- to extend the sphere of his influence. In personal appearance Judge Iglehart was commanding. He was very stout in frame, and his massive head was for many years covered with silver white hair, crowning the impressiveness of a noble presence. Ill health compelled him to retire from his work several years before his death, which
Ala Iglehart
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JOHN LAW, an eminent jurist, whose life in congress, for which he was the demo- cratic candidate, and was re-elected in 1863. He was an able congressman, though in the minority exerted a powerful influence, and numbered among his friends the " great commoner " Thaddeus Stevens. work made him a conspicuous figure in the history of Indiana, was a native of New London, Conn., born October 28, 1796. His ancestry was no less notable, his grand- father being a member of the first conti- nental congress, and his father, Lyman THOMAS EDGAR GARVIN, attorney at law, Evansville, Ind., was born at Gettysburg, Adams county, Penn., September 15, 1826. He is a son of John and Providence Garvin, of Presbyterian faith, and of Scotch-Irish extraction. At the age of fourteen he en- tered Mount Saint Mary's College, at Em- mettsburg, Md., where he completed the course of study, after four years' diligent application, and graduated June, 1844. In the autumn of the same year Mr. Garvin removed to Evansville, Ind., where he has ever since resided. He has seen the city of his adoption gradually grow and increase in commercial importance till it ranks among the great industrial places of the country, and second in population to none, except the capital, in the state of Indiana. Soon after Mr. Garvin came to Evansville he began the study of law in the office of 1Ion. Con- rad Baker, ex-governor of the state of Indiana, and one of the leading lawyers of the country. Destitute of pat- ronage it became necessary for Mr. Garvin to make his own way, and raise funds by his own efforts to pursue the study of law. This he did by accepting a position as teacher in the public schools. Here he realized all the experiences of the early schools of Indiana made so famous by Edward Eggleston in his " Hoosier School Master." Mr. Garvin has a vivid recollec- tion of the pioneer times, which he now con- siders as forming an interesting epoch in his career. March 27, 1846, after an examina- tion, he was licensed by Judge James Lock- hart and John Law, of the fourth and sev- Law, as a lawyer and as a congressman, was a prominent man in Connecticut. He was careful in the education of his son John, and the latter received his earlier training in the school of Jonathan Pomeroy, an en- thusiast in an educational way, who devoted a culture shaped at Yale college to the training of students for that institute. John Law entered Yale at the age of four- teen and graduated in usual time, distin- guishing himself especially as a classical student. He then read law in his father's office, and was admitted to the bar in 1817. The fall of the next year he opened an office at Vincennes, and within a year after his arrival n Indiana, stood prominent as a successful practitioner. As a criminal lawyer he was especialiy famous, and his fame spread rap- idly throughout a wide region. For several years he was prosecuting attorney in nearly all the courts of the old first congressional dis- trict, and he served for a considerable period as circuit judge. His powers of analysis and clear mental inspection rendered him an able judge. The gravity and dignity that he well assumed in his official capacities gave way in social life to a bright animation that always drew about him an interested circle, and aided no little in his advancement. During the administration of President Pierce he was register of the land office, previously having served as receiver of the public money. In 1851 he removed to Evansville, and at this time was engaged in several land-title controversies, by the con- duct of which he won renown. In 1861 he was elected by this district as representative enth judicial circuits, respectively, and
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entered regularly upon the practice of law. Immediately after this event Mr. Garvin formed a partnership with ex-Gov. Baker, before mentioned, under the firm name of Baker & Garvin. This partnership was pleasantly and profitably continued for eleven years, and while it lasted these gentlemen were employed as counsel in some of the most important cases ever adjudicated in the state. Mr. Garvin has always been esteemed as a careful and vigilant attorney, in whose hands it was safe to trust the most intricate and complicated litigations, and in consequence his clients have been among the most prominent and influential citizens of Evansville and contiguous country. No- vember 11, 1849, he was married to Miss Cornelia M. Morris, at Penn Yan, Yates county, New York. Mrs. Garvin is a direct descendant of the Morris family of Morris- town, New Jersey, and of revolutionary fame. In 1862 Mr. Garvin was elected to represent Vanderburgh county in the state legislature, where he served his constituents with credit to himself and the community which had elected him. Mr. Garvin was among the first stockholders of the First National Bank of Evansville, and for many years one of its directors, a position he still holds. In 1876 his alma mater, Mount St. Mary's college, conferred upon him the degree of LL. D., a distinction rarely granted, and of which Mr. Garvin should feel justly proud. The later years of his life have been mainly spent as a real estate attorney and in speculation. He is a man of much application and greatly de- voted to the interests of those who intrust their business to him. It is not alone in the legal profession that Mr. Garvin has distin- guished himself. In the department of po- lite literature and natural history he takes high rank. He was one of the original trustees of the Willard library, and one of
the board to whom the property was deeded. He has always taken a lively in- terest in the welfare of this institution, and has been for many years one of its chief executive officers. He is well known in Indiana, and has many warm personal friends. As an example of self-made men Mr. Garvin furnishes us a rare type. All in all his career has been one of uniform success and there are few citizens in the state more entitled to a place in American biography than Thomas Edgar Garvin.
JOHN J. CHANDLER, who in his prime stood among the foremost lawyers of Indi- ana, was born in New York city, November 17, 1815, and died at Evansville, April 15, 1872. The less than thirty-six years of manhood within those limits were crowded with achievements in his profession which won for him a wide renown and made him one of the most prominent men of Evans- ville. He was the son of Asaph Chandler, a native of Vermont, who moved to New York at an early day, and obtained com- mand and ownership of a ship in the New York and Liverpool and New York and Havre lines, and was also at one time a merchant in the city. The son soon dis- tinguished himself by a great interest in books and study, and when the family re- moved to Nashville, Tenn., in 1834, he was ready to enter the university there. This in- stitution was then under the presidency of the late Dr. Philip Lindsey. Here the young student soon attracted notice as an essayist on political economy and mental philosophy, and as a skillful debater. He graduated in 1836 at the head of his class, and as the Seminole war was then the most prominent thing to attract the energy of a young man he raised a company and went to the scene of action. He participated in several important engagements, and was distinguished for bravery and ability as a
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fighter and captain against a treacherous en- emy. On the close of the campaign he returned to Nashville and began the study of law. In 1838 he came to Evansville and entered the office of Amos Clark, where he continued his studies. In the spring of the year fol- lowing he was admitted to practice in all the courts of the state, and became a partner of his preceptor. As a lawyer he was un- tiring in the study of his cases, shrewd as a counselor and powerful as an advocate. Though often abrupt in asserting his opin- ions, and sometimes personal in the course of a warm argument, his most bitter oppo- nents would forget their chagrin in admira- tion of the audacity and skill of his manage- ment of the case on trial. His disposition was scholarly, and he was in all respects a gentleman, genial and generous, esteemed as a friend as well as admired as a brilliant man of affairs. Mr. Chandler was married in 1851 to Mrs. Ann Hann, a sister of the late Dr. Casselberry, by whom he had three children. His son, John J. Chandler, is now a leading citizen of Evansville.
HON. WILLIAM F. PARRETT. - Judge Parrett, the son of Robert and Martha Par- rett, was born on a farm near Blairsville, Posey county, Ind., August 10, 1825. In 1826 his father moved to Vanderburgh county, and purchased a farm adjoining the village of Evansville, then containing but few inhabitants. The Parrett homestead em- braced all of the present city limits lying south of Washington avenue and east of Parrett and Third streets. His early youth was passed on a farm and going to school. He spent three years at Asbury (now De- Pauw) University, at Greencastle, under the renowned Matthew Simpson, who was then its president, and he obtained the substantial benefit of a college course. He was eight- een months under John Douglas, president of the old Evansville branch bank, in a posi- tion to congress, he was succeeded by Judge
tion of trust, and readily learned accurate business habits and ideas, which were of value to him in his professional life. He began the study of law with Conrad Baker, later governor of Indiana. April 7, 1847, at Boonville, he was admitted to the bar after examination. He remained at Boon- ville till 1852, when he went to the Pacific coast and spent two years and a half in the practice of the law in Oregon, when he returned to Indiana and continued in the practice in the firm of Lock- hart, Parrett & Denby, at Evansville. In 1855 he removed to Boonville and con- tinued successfully in his profession until August, 1859, when he was appointed by Gov. Willard, judge of the 15th judicial circuit, composed of the counties of Craw- ford, Perry, Spencer, Warrick, Vanderburgh, and Posey. In October, 1859, he was elected for six years to the same position, when he removed to Evansville, where he has since resided. In 1865 he was re- elected for another term of six years. After serving three years of this term, he resigned and entered into the practice of the law with Gen. James M. Shackelford, and subse- quently formed a partnership with Luke Wood, the firm name being Parrett & Wood. In 1873, upon the formation of the first cir- cuit of Vanderburgh and Posey counties, Judge Parrett was appointnd judge by Gov. Hendricks, and later was again a candidate, and re-elected over Judge Edson of Posey county by a large majority. In 1879, he was again elected to the same position with- out opposition, his name being printed on all the tickets. By a change in the law, the next election came one year earlier, and in 1884, Judge Parrett was again elected judge over Mr. Ernest Dale Owen, of New Harmony, and he remained on the bench until December, 1888, when after his elec-
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Robert D. Richardson, of the Evansville great natural power gave him high reputa- tion as an advocate; Chandler, of superior education, mental culture and high forensic power; Harrow, able and brilliant; Biythe, stately and eloquent; Iglehart, with broad intellect, a comprehensive lawyer and a jurist of extensive reputation; Pitcher, of marked ability; Garvin, learned in the law, classic in his tastes, and genial in his social life; Hovey, who has held high positions, military and civil, now governor of Indiana; Denby, able, eloquent and successful at the bar, now United States minister to China; Foster, United States minister to Mexico, Spain and Russia; Hynes, than whom none was more eloquent, brilliant and charming. These and others composed the bar which practiced before Judge Parrett in the earlier days. They were men of strong, broad natures, robust manhood and sturdy char- acters. Comparing favorably in natural ability with these men, with whom he asso- ciated, quick to feel the inspiration which these surroundings produced, with a natural aptitude to the law, Judge Parrett has in a nized when he was a candidate for office. life of continuous labor earned the tribute, which was paid him by the Evansville bar, upon his retirement from the bench. It contains a just estimate of his personal and professional traits, by those who know him most intimately, and is given elsewhere. bar. Judge Parrett, upon his retirement from the bench, entered into partnership with Mr. W. M. Blakey, at Evansville, the firm being Parrett & Blakey. He was for several years trustee of the Evansville public schools, with H. W. Cloud and others, un- der whose management the schools continued to thrive and grow upon their liberal found- ations, under a policy which had placed the best citizens in that office. Judge Parrett was presidential elector for the first judicial district of Indiana in 1856, and cast the vote of Indiana for James Buchanan. In 1858, he was elected to the legislature of Indiana from Warrick county and served the regular and a special term. In IS88, he was chosen by the democratic party as its candidate for congress in the first district, and in Novem- ber was elected over Mr. F. B. Posey of Petersburgh. In politics he has been a leading democrat, although during his entire career upon the bench, he has always risen superior to any political prejudices, and his politics have only been prominently recog- In November, 1852, Judge Parrett married Miss Harriet W. Hinman, who died in 1888, leaving surviving two daughters, Mary and Eva, who reside with their father in Evans- ville. The retirement of Judge Parrett from the bench was an epoch in the history CONRAD BAKER, who practiced law in Evansville twenty-five years, from 1841 un- til 1867, when he was called to the highest office of the state, was a native of Pennsyl- vania, born in Franklin county, February 12, 1817. He was educated at the Penn- sylvania College at Gettysburg, and studied law in the office of Stevens & Smyser, the senior member being the illustrious Thad- deus Stevens. Mr. Baker was admitted to the bar at Gettysburg in the spring of 1839, and practiced there for two years. In 1841, of the bar of Evansville and vicinity. Though yet in full mental and physical vigor, he is one of the few remaining of the bar of this section as it existed thirty years ago. Judge Parrett's career begins after that of Lockhart and Law, both of whom served in congress; contemporaneous with Baker, who later became governor of Indiana; Jones, attorney general of Indiana; Shanklin, who died young, in the beginning of great promise; Robinson, whose unique originality and sarcasm and |he came west and settled at Evansville,
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