History of Vigo county, Indiana, with biographical selections, Part 101

Author: Bradsby, Henry C
Publication date: 1891
Publisher: Chicago : S.B. Nelson & co.
Number of Pages: 1032

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It was the splendors of his campaigning in the presidential battle of 1840 that made him the unanimous nominee of his party in 1841 for Congress, and assured his election; where his reputation had pre- ceded him and he was a prominent member from the hour he was sworn into office. He was one of the most conspicuous members of that remarkable body which was convened in special session by President Harrison. He met here the strongest men this country has ever sent to its capital. In the Senate were Franklin Pierce,

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Rufus Choate, Richard H. Bayard, George Evans, John C. Calhoun, Henry Clay, James Buchanan, John J. Crittenden, William R. King, Willie P. Mangum and Thomas H. Benton, and, in the House, William P. Fessenden, Nathaniel Clifford, John Quincy Adams, Millard Fillmore, Henry A. Wise, R. M. T. Hunter, John Minor Boots, Aaron V. Brown, Harvey M. Watterson, John White, Linn Boyd, Garrett Davis, "Tom " Marshall and Joshua R. Giddings. On the floor or in the committee room he was looked to in emer- gencies. His ability with the pen caused requisitions upon him to. write important committee reports which would always come for consideration in the shape that needed neither amendment or sug- gestion. At the end of his congressional term he not only declined a renomination, but in order that he might have a wider and better field for the practice of law he removed his residence to Terre Haute, and at this strong bar he was at once one of the strongest. In 1844 he was again appealed to by his Whig friends to make the sacrifice and become one of the electors of the State. He did so, and as in 1840 this was followed in 1847 by an election to congress from the new district in which he now lived. Serving out his term with fidelity and distinguished abilities, he returned to his law office, and refused a renomination. He now flattered himself that he could retire from public life permanently, and devote his time to his in- terests and tastes in his profession and to those literary pleasures. that were among the chief solaces of his life. . It was in the XXXth Congress that Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Thompson met, and cemented for life those warm feelings of friendship that had com- menced in the Wabash Valley. They were the Virginian and Ken- tuckian standing on all questions side by side. They were the only two northern Whigs in congress who voted against the proposition to abolish the slave-trade in the District of Columbia. In 1849 he was appointed United States minister to Austria by President Tay- lor, but declined; afterward he was appointed, by President Fill- more, general solicitor of the land office, and this he also declined. Mr. Lincoln during his first term of office appointed Col. Thomp- son judge of the court of claims at Washington, a life office, but this he declined, no doubt chiefly for the reason that it would per- manently remove his home from Indiana, and especially from Terre Haute, as well as the sacrifice he would be compelled to make in accepting the salary of the office in lieu of his far more lucrative practice. The President then tendered him the position of exam- iner of the Central Railroad, but this was declined.

When the last war came upon the country he was prompt and active in behalf of the Union, and was active in seconding the great Douglas who told his Southern Illinois people that the hope of

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peace then was only in the way of " stupendous preparations for war," and "Camp Dick Thompson" was made at Terre Haute, and Col. Thompson appointed commandant, in charge of raising, drill- ing and forming regiments and forwarding them to the front. The laws of war made it important, and he was made provost marshal of this district. In war as in peace, the same broad national views distinguished his course and action, and there is now little doubt that it was a fortunate circumstance for this portion of the State that matters were left to his management. He was conservative, just and wise, and where moderation was far better than violence, as was really about always the case in matters among neighbors and fellow-citizens, he made this felt and was a healthful restrain- ing influence upon such madcaps as all internal wars are sure to breed. Often there were military district commanders, wholly in- experienced in civil affairs, who were quietly restrained in some of their attempts at inconsiderate violence. He knew his neighbors far better than these martinets and trained fighters who were so ready to unsheath the sword against whatever they might imagine stood in their way. Col. Thompson had that influence with the powers that he often dared to question the orders of his military superiors, but vastly his inferiors in fact. And the result is that we have been spared something that now would have had to be recorded to our discredit. As these things at the time of the occurrence were unknown to the public, it is not amiss to give one of the many in- cidents from which much of the action of Col. Thompson may be judged:

The military commander at Indianapolis issued an order for the arrest of, and taking to the State capital, one of the most prominent and distinguished citizens of Terre Haute. The gentleman's friends in Indianapolis promptly informed him of the fact, and that he was charged with being a member of the Knights of the Golden Circle. The gentleman at once called on Col. Thompson and stated the fact, and the Colonel told him to go home and wait until he further heard from him. He then informed the commander who had issued the order, that he, of his own knowledge, knew the charge to be false, and advised revoking it immediately; he informed the com- mander that when he wanted the man, to notify him, and he would bring him on the train, not as a prisoner but as a friend and companion. His suggestion was adopted, the order was revoked, and the matter ended; the citizen was not molested, and the public were none the wiser. It was the frequent recurrence of matters something of this nature that was the occasion of the remark at the beginning of the paragraph, of the great good fortune there was in having him in that responsible position throughout the war.

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At another time, an officer came from Indianapolis to Terre Haute, and asked Col. Thompson to accompany him to Marshall, Ill., to arrest Judge Charles Constable, then holding court at that place. The Colonel knew the Judge well enough to know that there was no good cause for his arrest, and so advised. He realized that for the military to arrest a civil officer in the discharge of his high duty as judge was not a light or frivolous matter, and should not be thought of unless for good cause. Judge Constable was hold- ing a soldier as a criminal in custody, or a man who had commit- ted an offense, probably, and then enlisted, or something of that kind. Col. Thompson offered to go alone in his buggy that night, late as it was, to Judge Constable and state the case, confident he would at once give up his prisoner. When this availed nothing, he refused to go with the officer on any such mission. And he did not go on the night march to the village to arrest a man whom any constable or clerk could have arrested.

Soon after Hayes was declared elected President, and inaugura- tion day was approaching, Col. Thompson, in the midst of his hard work in the practice of law, was astonished at the reception of a letter, asking him to name one of two places mentioned in the cabinet that he would accept. Few men have been more completely surprised by an offer of office. His first conclusion was to accept none. His practice now was much more lucrative than any office. But, urged so strongly by friends, he finally consented to accept that of Sec- retary of the Navy, as he jokingly told a friend, because it would give him more " sea room." And during his term of office, which is a promontory landmark in the history of that portfolio, he enjoyed, no doubt, as much as the people and the papers, their good-natured witticisms about the "bold mariner of the Wabash; " " the gallant tar of Terre Haute on the howling Wabash;" " the great navigator of the raging Erie and Wabash Canal," etc. The very quips of the papers in their tone were evidence, that, as bitter as politics be- came at that time over the Presidential election, all the periodicals of the country felt kindly toward Col. Thompson, and realized that, while under his care, there would be none of these national scan- dals in the navy department.

Something of the Colonel's keen sense of humor is given in the answer to the question of his neighbors, when the people, old, young, Democrats, Republicans and Greenbackers, and everybody else had filled his house and grounds to congratulate him and bid him good-bye, before starting to Washington. One asked him if he had been much bothered by applicants for places : " very little," he said. "But the second or third day after my appointment was announced, I received a letter from a firm named Smith way down

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in New Jersey, asking me to please give them the name of the party to whom I would probably give the job of furnishing certain timber or lumber for the navy yard. I promptly wrote them: ' Think it will be one of the Smiths, but don't know which one.' " The many manifestations of the people at his home and the sur- rounding country, of their love and respect for their old neighbor and friend, a great and generous libation of reverence, love and friendship was one of those grand exhibitions of our humanity, where only good, tried and true men are the objects of the public expression. When the news became general, there was a great meeting spontaneously assembled at the opera house; an address was made to the Colonel by Col. W. K. Edwards, to which he feel- ingly replied, and there is so much of the man and his views of office-holding in the opening sentence, that it is here given:

I have led an active life, and am now satisfied and believe from your manifesta- tions that I have led a reasonably honorable one.

I am not an office-seeker. I never was an office-seeker, but without any design on my part, without any manifestation of a wish on my part. on the contrary, having expressed an earnest desire that I should not be again invited to any office, but left to the enjoyment of my quiet home life. * When I came to Terre Haute to live, I intended to remain for life. Twenty years ago I was offered a most valuable piece of property in one of the largest cities in the West as a present, if I would become a citizen of the place, but my purpose was fixed, and I preferred to re- main among my old neighbors and friends. * * *

His administration of the office of Secretary of the Navy was ex- actly what his old friends knew it would be, and added to his national fame as an executive and as an official without fear and without reproach. In 1879 he turned back into the national treas- ury $1,500,000, which he had saved out of the appropriations for his department. This statement is superfluous, for the simple fact that no man in American history stands with a record of honor and in- tegrity above that of Col. Thompson. He retired from the navy in the latter part of 1880 to accept the position of chairman of the American department of the Panama Canal Company, upon the same salary as that of the projector of the canal, M. Lesseps. In this position he purchased the Panama Railroad, and some of the rolling stock for the road he purchased of the car shops in Terre Haute. He continued in this important position until the office of president and purchasing agent was divided, which he realized was increasing the expenses of the New York branch of the concern too heavily, when, after voluntarily reducing his own salary for serv- ices, he retired and returned to his home and friends in Terre Haute. He served as judge of the circuit court, having been ap- pointed by the governor, but refused an election at the end of his term. His appointment was by Gov. Baker, in 1867, to the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit of Indiana. He was appointed in-

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ternal revenue collector, and served a term in that office. Running through all his busy professional and public life was a vein of lit- erary reading, study, and finally writing and publishing that might very well have been a life work to the average worker in that line. In 1877 the Harper Brothers learned that he had the manuscript of " The Papacy and the Civil Power," and they made him a flatter- ing offer in the publication of the book, which he accepted, and forwarded his manuscript to them. It attracted wide attention in this country and Europe. In 1888 this was followed by the publi- cation of his "History of Protective Tariff Laws," which was also eagerly sought after by the leading publishers of the country. His facile pen is still kept busy, and with mind and body as healthy and vigorous as in the days of his prime, and with the mind no longer divided and engaged almost continuously here and there and everywhere, his intimate friends, without knowing what particular thing it is he is devoting himself to in his retirement, are firm in the faith that he will yet give the world his great masterpiece. He is now in his eighty-second year, and hale and hearty, considering his age remarkably so. His movements are quick and springy, and his eye as strong and clear as it ever was. He has retired from public and professional life, and spends his time mostly in his library, which is one of the largest and finest collections of any private library of the State. Here with his children he passes his days in peace and contentment, receiving his friends in the same hearty, warm and cordial fashion as of yore, and though wholly re- tired evincing the same interests in public and general affairs that marked his most active days. He is still as busy as ever, but now it is wholly reading, writing, smoking, entertaining his many callers and doing the bidding of little Miss Harriet Henry, his favorite grandchild. She is a willful little ruler over her one willing and loving subject and slave. The son-in-law's residence is in the same yard as the Colonel's elegant mansion, and the writer testifies that one of the pleasantest pictures of domestic life that he ever saw was on the occasion of an evening call on the Colonel, and when he was about ascending the stairway to his study he met him with his hat and cane, and he laughingly informed his caller that he was in the act of going over to "put the baby to bed." He returned to his room, but soon, however, one of the family called him out, and again he laughingly told his guest that he had been sent for, and begged to be excused a few minutes as he must go. He found the little lady sitting nodding, but peremptorily refusing to allow any one but grandpa to touch her.

Mrs. Thompson's maiden name was Harriet E. Gardiner, and she was a daughter of Col. J. B. Gardiner, of Columbus, Ohio, where Mr.

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and Mrs. Thompson were married May 5, 1836, by Rev. E. W. Se- hon, of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The fiftieth anniversary or golden wedding was a notable event when many friends filled the mansion, and a most enjoyable occasion it was for all. The pub- lished account of that day says: "Col. and Mrs Thompson received the guests in the large north room, and were assisted by Miss Mary Thompson, Mr. and Mrs. D. W. Henry, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Thomp- son, Mrs. Paige and Mrs. Stem, of Cincinnati, sisters of Mrs. Thomp- son ; Miss Mollie Campbell, of Louisville, and Miss Maggie Thompson, of Rockville (nieces of the Colonel)." One important assistant, who was appreciative but not talkative, has been omitted, Miss Harriet Henry, the autocratic little miss referred to above. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Thompson were eight in number-five sons and three daughters --- Fred, Richard W., Charles, Harry, Mary, Vir- ginia, William and Catharine, five of whom survive, four in Vigo county and one in Texas.

Mrs. Thompson died March 25, 1888; born January 29, 1811, the eldest of thirteen children, There was no organic disease, and all her life she had been of a remarkably strong constitution. Those who knew her best loved her best-faithful, gentle, trusting and noble as woman, wife and mother; few indeed have left such an ach- ing void as Mrs. Thompson. The little loved grandchild is named for its grandmother, and the sad bereavement of the Colonel in the loss of his companion, and the mother of his children, is now where the one solace to the grand old man is in that pure and intense child-love given him in his grandchild.

JUDY THORMAN is a member of the firm of Thorman & Schloss, leading manufacturers of clothing and dealers in gents' furnishing goods, one of the old and well-known business houses of Terre Haute, established by the late Hon. Philip Schloss, a broth- er-in-law of Mr. Thorman. The present firm continued Mr. Schloss' business, and have throughout met with the most flattering success. They have many patrons and friends, and have a wide and exten- sive trade. Mr. Thorman was born in Cleveland, Ohio, June 11, 1856, and is a son of Simpson and Rejina (Kein) Thorman, former of whom, who was a wool dealer, died in Ohio in 1881. Judy Thorman is next to the youngest in a family of twelve children, who lived to the age of maturity. He attended school in Cleveland, started in life as a clerk in a store at the age of thirteen, and sub- sequently engaged in the insurance business. On October 12, 1872. he came to Terre Haute, where he clerked in the store of Mr. Schloss, and in 1886 he bought a proprietary interest in the same, becoming a full partner in 1890. The present firm carries a large stock of choice goods. Mr. Thorman is a Democrat, but eschewing politics he devotes his time and talent to his private affairs.

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HISTORY OF VIGO COUNTY.

ISAAC THRALLS, farmer, Fayette township, P. O. St. Mary's. Among the names of prominent farmers and stock-growers of this county should be mentioned that of Isaac Thralls, who by industry, economy and careful business management has succeeded in accu- mulating a handsome fortune. He has been a tiller of the soil all his life, and is now the owner of 560 acres of well-improved land. He was born in Edgar county, Ill., December 31, 1824, and is a son of Joseph and Sarah ( Mattingly) Thralls, natives of Kentucky, and of German and English descent. The father, who was engaged in the distillery business, and was also a farmer, died in 1865. His family consisted of twelve children, of whom Isaac is the sixth. Our subject received his education in the common schools, and fol- lowed in his father's footsteps in being a farmer. He came to Vigo county in 1832, and was married here May 8, 1847, to Miss Eliza- beth. A., daughter of John B. and Margaret ( Cambron ) Richardson, natives of Kentucky, and of Scotch and German descent. This union has been blessed with eleven children, of whom six are now living, as follows: Marion; Rose A., wife of Thomas Brown; Cath- erine; William I .; Albert M. and Cecelia, at home. The family are members of the Catholic Church. In politics Mr. Thralls is a Democrat.

B. F. TOMLIN, M. D., Terre Haute, was born in Pendleton county, Ky., May 31, 1834, and is a son of Simeon and Elizabeth (Clements) Tomlin, natives of Virginia, former of German and latter of French descent. Dr. Tomlin, who is fifth in a family of nine children, was reared on a farm, and received his early educa- tion in the common schools at Mount Zion, Ky .; then attended Wilson's Academy at Warsaw, Ky., two years. He next entered William-Jewel College, Liberty, Clay Co., Mo., graduating in 1857, and then read medicine under Dr. William Emmerson. He taught school about seven years, including the time he taught in the primary department of William-Jewel College, while attending there. The Doctor has had to depend on his own resources from the time he was sixteen years of age. In 1864 he attended the Cincinnati Medical and Surgical School, where he graduated in June, 1865. He began the practice of medicine at College Hill, Ohio, and remained there one year; then removed to Mount Zion, Ky., where he practiced and also managed a general store for sev- eral years. From there he went to Louisville, where he was two years, and then located at Vincennes, remaining there seven years, when he came to Terre Haute, in 1883, and established his Medical and Surgical Institute on the northeast corner of Sixth and Ohio streets. He first established the Institute in 1875, for the treat- ment of all chronic and special diseases-male or female, medical or

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surgical-and has met with marked success with his Institute. He was united in marriage in July, 1857, with Elizabeth J., daughter of Asa and Eliza J. (Franks) Tomlin, former a native of Virginia, latter of Kentucky, and both of German descent. Elizabeth J., who was the eldest in a family of four children, was born in 1840, and died in September, 1873, a consistent member of the Baptist Church. Dr. Tomlin had by this marriage three children, viz. : John G., Mediline and William S. He was married, the second time, in January, 1875, to Margaret L. Williams, a native of England, and by this union were born three children: Elida Thea- dora and Adina, deceased, and Mabel, living. The Doctor and his wife are both members of the Baptist Church. He is a member of the I. O. O. F., No. 157, Terre Haute, and has passed the chairs. In politics he is a Republican.

HARRY P. TOWNLEY, of the Townley Stove Company, No. 609 Wabash avenue, Terre Haute, also of the Townley Metal Com- pany, Kansas City, Mo., was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, February 18, 1854, and is a son of Maj. James and Harriet ( Allen) Townley, former a native of New Jersey, and latter of Connecticut, and both of English descent. Harry P., who is the youngest in a family of six children, was married May 5, 1880, to Nellie, daughter of George and Harriet (Canine) Graham, natives of Ohio. She is the elder of two children, and was born December 7, 1856, in New Lisbon, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Townley have three children: Harriet, Grace and Gertrude. Mr. Townley was reared in Cincinnati, Ohio, and received his education in the city schools of that place. He commenced business as a clerk in a stove store in his native town, and was thus engaged one year, when he removed to Terre Haute in 1874, and commenced in the stove business under the firm name of H. P. Townley & Co. In 1879 this was changed to Townley Bros., and in 1889 to Townley Stove Company, which is operated on the co-operative plan. They are retail dealers in stoves, ranges, furnaces, and are manufacturers of tinware; are also wholesale dealers in stoves, metals, tinners' supplies, stamped ware, wooden ware, granite ware, cutlery, steel goods, house furnishing goods, tin roofing, etc., besides being importers of tin plates. James P. Townley has charge of the company's store in Kansas City, Mo., known as the Townley Metal Company, wholesale metals and tin- ners' supplies. Mr. and Mrs. Townley are members of the Pres- byterian Church, of which he is an elder, and he is superintendent of the Sabbath-school in the Central Presbyterian Church. He is a member of the Terre Haute Literary Club, and president of the Citizens Gas & Fuel Company. While in no sense a politician nor a partisan, Mr. Townley affiliates with the Republican party.

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NATHANIEL TRIMMER, farmer and stock-grower, Riley township, was born in York county, Penn., April 12, 1837, and is a son of William and Elizabeth (Baker) Trimmer, former of whom was born in Pennsylvania, of German descent, and latter in West Virginia, of English descent. The father, who was a weaver, died in York county, Penn., in 1839, when Nathaniel was but two years of age. Our subject lived with his mother until eleven years of age, since when he has made his own way in the world. He worked on a farm at $4 per month, then at $7, then at $9, and when sixteen years old he got $15 per month. He was a prudent and thrifty lad. At sixteen years of age he moved to Franklin county, Ohio. Sep- tember 9, 1859, Mr. Trimmer married Mary Howard, and by her had eight children, three of whom are living. This wife died October 17, 1880, and March 30, 1882, Mr. Trimmer was united in marriage with Susan Crouse, a daughter of Martin and Susan Crouse, who were of German descent, natives of North Carolina, and among the early settlers of Clay county, Ind., where Mrs. Trim- mer was born in 1848. This union has been blessed with two children : Deha and Wady. When married Mr. Trimmer commenced farming as a renter, and by 1867 he had saved enough money to. buy a farm in Riley township, where he resides-now a fine farm of 140 acres, highly improved and well stocked. He came here from Ohio in 1868. Mr. Trimmer is a member of the German Reformed Church; politically he sympathizes with the Democratic party.

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History of Vigo county, Indiana, with biographical selections, Part 101

Author: Bradsby, Henry C Publication date: 1891 Publisher: Chicago : S.B. Nelson & co. Number of Pages: 1032

Author: Bradsby, Henry C
Publication date: 1891
Publisher: Chicago : S.B. Nelson & co.
Number of Pages: 1032