History of the Indiana democracy, 1816-1916, Part 121

Author: Stoll, John B., 1843-1926
Publication date: 1917
Publisher: Indianapolis : Indiana Democratic Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1104

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The discovery of the White Water valley, that runs north and south through the eastern part of the county, has been credited to Judge Peter Flem- ing and Joseph Wasson, a revolutionary soldier, who accompanied the former from Kentucky in 1804, and the first settlement in the valley was made in 1805 by George Holman, Richard Rue and Thomas McCoy.

Wayne county has had three county seats. The first was at a place called Salsbury, which was located about midway between the now city of Richmond and the town of Centerville. The town of Salsbury was once the largest town in the county, but it is now extinct and the land on which it was located is under cultivation. In 1817 the county seat was removed to Centerville. There it remained until 1873, when the county seat was removed to Richmond, where the county govern- ment is located in one of the most beautiful, com- modious and well-built court houses of any in the State of Indiana.

With the removal of the court house from Sals- bury to Centerville began the decadence of Sals- bury, which latter now has only a place in mem- ory, where it may be worthy of note to relate that at just this time, August 4, 1823, there was born there the most distinguished personage in the his-

tory of the State. This was the Hon. Oliver P. Morton, whose name will be associated with the leaders of the United States Senate, but whose chief distinction was attained as Indiana's war governor. Oliver Hazard Perry Throck Morton (for thus the name stands in the family register) was the fourth child of James Throckmorton and Sarah.

Throckmorton is an old English name. In the ship with Roger Williams came John Throckmor- ton, who settled and lived in Providence, in the house next to Roger Williams, but his sons, John Throckmorton, Jr., and Job, went to New Jersey, where they are recorded among its earliest set- tlers. It is not known why the family name was changed, but a sufficient reason is found in the fact that Morton is more convenient.

During the first ten years of Mr. Morton's adult life he was a Democrat. On the day of the presi- dential election a young man of large frame with high forehead, dark eyes and with clothes that fitted him none too well, rode into Centerville upon a gray horse bespattered with mud. It was "Ob" Morton, then a student at Miami University, who had come home from Oxford, twenty-eight miles away, to cast his first vote for James K. Polk, the candidate of the Democratic party. For ten years after that he continued to act with the Democracy, but he was among those who feared the dangerous tendencies toward slavery. And he left the De- mocracy, but did not then join another party. The supporters of the Free Soil movement, who in most of the Northern States now bore the name of Republicans, had as yet no national organization. Oliver P. Morton was elected a delegate from Wayne county to the preliminary convention held in Pittsburgh, so that he was present at the birth of the Republican party.

The fact that Richmond was one of the earliest settled communities in Indiana, was on the Na- tional road and on the only railroad that con- nected Indianapolis with the east, together with the character of her citizens, made her the center of many stirring political events in the early days. Politics in this locality were always, as they are now, very exciting. The county in its early his- tory was strongly Whig. The most exciting inci- dent of the ante-bellum days in this vicinity oc- curred in the fall of 1844. It was on the first Sat- urday in October, 1844, that Henry Clay, the can- didate for President on the Whig ticket, arrived in Richmond on his way from Dayton, Ohio, to

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HISTORY INDIANA DEMOCRACY-1816-1916

Indianapolis, he then being on a speech-making tour in his own behalf. His appearance here was known ahead of time and the town was the scene of a wonderful multitude of people, greater than ever before in its history. The Abolitionists had determined to petition him for an interview rela- tive to the freeing of his slaves. A petition with over 2,000 names had been prepared and had been signed by the committee having it in charge.

Excitement ran high and threats of violence were made against any man who would insult Henry Clay by offering him such a petition, for so the Whigs called the action. The privilege to pri- vately present their petition was denied the Abo- litionists, it not being supposed they would have the courage to do it openly. The speaking oc- curred on North Eighth street, between A and B streets, from a temporary stand on the west side of the street. Upon the meeting being called to order the chairman asked that anyone having pe- titions to present to Mr. Clay would please bring them forward. This was done to force the Abo- litionists either to back down or else incur the anger of the hostile crowd of bitter partisans. It was also made known that any petition would be replied to by Mr. Clay at that time. When this announcement was made the Abolitionists, through Hiram Mendenhall, a fearless and stalwart farmer, sent their petition to the stand. When he started with it cries of "Mob him," "Stab him," "Kill him," arose from the crowd, the vast major- ity of whom were Clay partisans. Seeing the seri- ousness of the occasion, Clay stepped to the edge of the platform and importuned the crowd not to resort to violence. It is said that only his plea saved Mendenhall's life. The petition was handed to the chairman (Clay refusing to touch it) and was read by him. Then Clay made answer. For over an hour he poured down upon the heads of the Abolitionists in general and the petitioners in particular a storm of eloquent sarcasm, ridicule and argument such as was probably never heard in Richmond before or since, because it was only such as Henry Clay could give. He even became abusive and finished by telling the petitioners to "Go home; go home and mind your own business." Of course the speech was a strong one in the eyes of the crowd, but it is said that this very same Richmond speech defeated Clay and elected Polk.

The Democracy of Wayne county had been de- pendent upon outside newspapers for many years for the source of their political information. Pos- sibly one of the strongest Democratic newspapers the county has ever had was the Jeffersonian, a newspaper established in Richmond in 1836 by a Democratic association called the "Hickory Club." Samuel E. Perkins, afterwards a judge of the Supreme Court of Indiana, and a Mr. Talcott, a

young lawyer, were its editors. It was bought in 1837 by Lynde Elliott. It ceased to appear in 1839, but Mr. Perkins revived the paper in 1840. The same year James Elder took charge and it was continued until 1864.

In 1880 The Democrat was published by Wil- liam Thistlewaite as a campaign paper, but was suspended after the election. In January, 1881, it was revived by Mr. Elder, who published it as The Richmond Democrat for ten years. Milton C. Benham was editor and proprietor of it for a time. He afterwards sold it in 1891 to Benjamin F. Wissler and George W. Mickel. Mr. Mickel after- wards retired and it was operated in the campaign of 1896 as the Daily Sun. Mr. Wissler sold out in 1907 to the Palladium and retired from newspaper work. Since that time the Democracy of Wayne county has not had a local newspaper.

In passing it might be said for Milton C. Ben- ham and Benjamin F. Wissler that they are both residents of Wayne county and stand high in the councils of the Democratic party. In all local con- ventions where Milton C. Benham is able to at- tend the privilege is always accorded to him with the greatest of acclaim to make the formal motion that the rooster in the attitude of crowing shall be the emblem of the party on the ticket at the election.

Wayne county has never been a fertile field for the Democrat seeking to hold county office. The exceptions to the rule have been few, Andrew F. Scott, who was clerk of the county in 1845, being one of the first to break into public office. He was followed by an unbroken line of Republican clerks until in 1914 the genial and affable son of the Em- erald Isle, Michael W. Kelly, was elected to the office. Charles Marlatt was elected as a Democrat in 1890 to the sheriff's office and at the same time John M. Lontz was elected auditor of Wayne county. This county was represented in Congress for one term by W. S. Holman, the "watch-dog of the treasury," for two years. He and Finley H. . Gray have been the only Democrats to represent this county in Congress.

Henry U. Johnson, who was congressman from the Sixth District from 1891 to 1899, was elected as a Republican, but disagreed with the Repub- lican party and the Mckinley administration with reference to their foreign policy. He retired from office at the end of his term and has identified him- self with the Democratic party since that time. At the Democratic convention in Richmond in 1910 for the nomination of congressman he was sought after by many Democrats to receive the nomination and would no doubt have received the nomination if he had not discouraged his friends by giving them to understand that even though he might be nominated he would refuse to accept it.

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HISTORY INDIANA DEMOCRACY-1816-1916

Finley H. Gray was nominated and was elected for three successive terms. He was defeated in 1916 by Judge Comstock by a small majority, and at the death of Judge Comstock soon after the be- ginning of his term Mr. Gray was again a candi- date. Henry U. Johnson was chairman of the con- vention and in his keynote speech, in taking up the questions of the war which had so recently been thrust upon us, he made an appeal to the patriot- ism of our citizenship that swept the convention with a wave that made them feel the great debt we owe to our forefathers for the great govern- ment we now enjoy and to appreciate the burdens we now must carry in order that free govern- ment may endure, and that the military despotism of old world dominion must now once for all be ended and wiped from the face of the earth. At the end of his address the convention stood ready to nominate him for Congress, but his refusal to accept even if nominated again discouraged his friends and the nomination afterward fell to Fin- ley H. Gray, who was defeated at the special elec- tion.

No story of the Democracy of Wayne county would be complete without a reference to the life of the Hon. Thomas J. Study, who died in the summer of 1914. At the time he was the Demo-

cratic nominee for judge of the Wayne circuit court and he was engaged in an active campaign for the election when he was stricken by an ill- ness that proved fatal. In his youth he was a Re- publican, but changed early to be a Democrat. He was judge of the Wayne circuit court by ap- pointment in 1896 for a short time. He was one of Wayne county's best lawyers, he was honest and courageous and was always willing to stand up and be counted in defense of any position that he might assume. The history of Wayne county Democracy, as far as holding local offices is con- cerned, is one that is not pleasant to think about. The officeholders have been few and far between. Successive defeats have not in any sense broken the spirit of the party in the county. They always have another fight in them. They might be likened to the Kentucky patriot in the Spanish- American war, who was about to be shot at a court-martial. He was commanded to turn his back to the firing squad and kneel, to which he re- plied that a Kentuckian never turns his back upon an enemy and kneels only to his God. Just so the Democracy of Wayne county may be defeated, but its spirit never was and never will be broken so long as the Democratic party remains the potent tool for good that the present day and the past decade have proven it to be.

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HISTORY OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF WELLS COUNTY

A N EARLY history of Wells county tells us that Colonel John Vawter, of Jennings county, chairman of the committee on new counties in the House of Representatives of the State, introduced a bill, which passed and was approved February 7, 1835, which provided for the laying out of the counties of Wells, Jay, De- kalb, Steuben, Whitley, Kosciusko, Fulton, Mar- shall, Starke, Pulaski, Jasper, Newton and Porter.

Wells county was named in honor of Captain William H. Wells, who was killed by the Indians at Chicago. An act was passed and approved February 2, 1837, to organize the county. David Bennett was appointed sheriff by the Legislature to notify the electors to meet at the house of Rob- ert C. Bennett to elect three commissioners. The first election for commissioners was held in June, 1837, and Solomon Johnson, James Scott and R. C. Bennett were elected. The board met at the home of R. C. Bennett on July 21, 1837, in accordance with the above recited act and produced their cer- tificates to the sheriff, showing they had been duly elected. David Bennett produced his com- mission as sheriff, signed by Governor Noble. Bowen Hale also produced a similar document ap- pointing him clerk of Wells county. Both were certified to and the board organized by electing Solomon Johnson president.

The first order of the first board of commis- sioners of Wells county was "That W. H. Parme- lee be appointed agent of the 3 per cent. fund do- nated to the county by the State for roads and bridges." Second, "Adnah Hall be appointed treas- urer of Wells county; bond $300." Third, "David Whitman be appointed assessor and collector of revenue."

While the county is now "dry as a bone" and has been since 1906, John Casebeer was the first sur- veyor for the county.

The first court was organized in 1837 with Hon. C. W. Ewing as judge; Bowen Hale, clerk; Isaac Covert, sheriff; Thomas Johnson, prosecuting at- torney. There was no business, and the court ad- journed.

Wells county contains about 372 sections of land, the Wabash river traversing the county from east to west. The Salamonie runs through the southwest part of the county.

The first paper published in the county was the Republican Bugle, a democratic paper, regard- less of its name, the Republican party not having been born at that date, 1847. In 1849 the Banner

was launched and still remains in the newspaper field, publishing both daily and weekly. The Ban- ner was started by S. G. Upton and L. S. Grove, and has since been edited by T. J. McDowell, George McDowell, James G. Smith, D. J. Callen, T. B. Gutelius, J. H. Smith, Theo. Horton & Co., J. G. Smith, Wm. J. Craig, E. A. K. Hackett, E. Y. Sturgis, P. A. Allen, John H. Ormsby, Geo. L. Saunders, Cecil E. Elliott, and at present by Geo. L. Saunders, he having returned to Bluffton in 1913. The Bluff- ton Chronicle, the other remaining paper in Bluff- ton, was established in 1855, and was known as the People's Press. D. H. Swaim is the present publisher and also issues the Evening News, a daily paper, neutral in politics.

Wells county has been Democratic since organi- zation, and only in a very few instances have the Republicans succeeded in getting a man in office. Their greatest success was in 1898, when they made a determined campaign on an "open-the- books" platform. They succeeded in electing two commissioners, the treasurer and clerk. They opened the books and found them correct almost to a cent-simply some little irregularities. Since that campaign just one man on the Republican ticket has succeeded in being elected to office, Mr. O. D. Garrett being elected county auditor in 1908. The city of Bluffton is also safely Democratic.

The city and county have furnished some notable men to the party in the State's existence, and at this date feels proud of the record made and being made by Frank C. Dailey, who as District Attor- ney, so successfully conducted the cases against the Terre Haute election fraudists, thus gaining fame as a lawyer throughout the United States. His father, Joseph C. Dailey, served the State on the supreme bench. In the 1917 session of the Legislature we have the Hon. Abram Simmons, who has been considered one of the leaders in that body; especially has he been active in state-wide prohibition, woman suffrage and constitutional convention. The present county judge, the Hon. W. H. Eichhorn, has established a reputation throughout the State as a jurist, lawyer and ora- tor that does his county proud. W. A. Kunkel, our present district chairman, has been in the same office for three terms, his work has been of the best, and his counsel for the state committee is valuable. Mr. Kunkel has long been in the Demo- cratic politics of the county.

The present Democratic chairman is the Hon. A. M. Hamilton, while the present county officials are: Abram Simmons, joint state senator for the

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HISTORY INDIANA DEMOCRACY-1816-1916

counties of Adams, Blackford and Wells; John A. Bonjam, joint representative for the counties of Blackford and Wells; W. H. Eichhorn, judge for the counties of Blackford and Wells; Orville A. Pursley, prosecutor for the counties of Blackford and Wells; Herman F. Lesh, clerk of the court; O. E. Lesh, treasurer; C. T. Kain, auditor; D. T.

Brinneman, recorder; J. A. Johnston, sheriff; T. C. Guldin, surveyor; A. R. Huyette, county super- intendent of schools; H. Thoma, coroner; John A. Prough, William A. Redding and Henry Swaim, commissioners, and Harry Grant, county agent, all Democrats. B. A. Batson, an ex-chairman, and a Democrat, is the present postmaster.

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HISTORY OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF WHITE COUNTY

By James P. Simons

W HITE COUNTY was organized in 1834 in pursuance of an Act of the Legisla- ture of 1834, it having been a part of Carroll county prior to that date. As the Tippe- canoe river flows through the county and also forms part of the east boundary line, it was given the name of White county, in honor of Major Isaac White, who was killed at the battle of Tip- pecanoe in 1811. The county occupies a unique position in that the Tippecanoe river here forms the boundary line between what was formerly the great timber region of the country, reaching east- ward to the Allegheny mountains, and the Grand Prairie region, stretching westward to the Rock- ies. Most of the county lies in the Prairie region, being a part of the following tract ceded to the government by the Pottawatomies in a treaty con- cluded at St. Mary's, October 2, 1818:

"Beginning at the mouth of the Tippecanoe river and running up the same to a point twenty- five miles in a direct line from the Wabash river, thence on a line as nearly parallel to the general course of the Wabash river as practicable to a point on the Vermilion river twenty-five miles from the Wabash river, thence down the Ver- milion river to its mouth and thence up the Wa- bash river to the place of beginning."

The earliest record of a division on political lines was in the November election, 1832, when that portion of White county west of the Tippe- canoe river still formed a part of Carroll county. In this election twenty-three votes were cast, eighteen votes for the Whig electors and five for the Democratic. It was several years after the organization of the county before political party organizations cut much figure, men being selected to local offices without regard to politics. As one old settler puts it, "The settlers would meet at a house or barn raising, a husking bee or a log roll- ing and discuss possible candidates in a casual way, the matter being taken up at the next gath- ering of the kind until finally a ticket was made up; and frequently no opposition ticket was named."

However. in presidential years party lines were more closely drawn. The vote of the county in all these years was as follows:

Years.

Democrat. 106

Whig. 109

Free Soil.

1836.

No. Rec.

...

....

1844.

No. Rec.

....

1848.

305

268

1852

536

510

*1856.

746

703

....

Years.

Democrat. Rep.

Free Soil.

+1860

811

993

. . .. .

1864.

898

939

....

1868.

1,101

1,173

....

1872.

1,003

1,260

....

1876.

1,450

1,502

....

1880.

1,591

1,610

....

1884.

1,829

1,723

. .

.. .

1888

2,017

1,942

.. .

1892.

1,896

1,807

....

1896.

2,440

2,383

....

1900

2,510

2,562

....

1904.

2,096

2,679

....

1908

2,326

2,423

.. .

¢1912.

2,059

1,613

....

*American, 42. +Breckinridge Dem., 67. ¿ Pro- gressive, 822.

From this table it is seen that White county has always been very close politically, with the Democrats seeming to have a little the better of the votes down to 1860. In the six presidential elections between 1856 and 1884 the Republicans carried the county by small pluralities. Then the Democrats were in the majority in four elections and the Republicans again in three. In the cam- paign of 1912 it appears that both parties lost votes to the Progressives, but the Democrats car- ried the county by a plurality of 446. However, by 1914 many of the Progressives had returned to the Republican fold and that party had a plu- rality of five on Secretary of State; but United States Senator Benjamin F. Shively, who headed the State Democratic ticket, carried the county by a plurality of 84. In this election the Demo- crats also elected the County Treasurer, Surveyor, Coroner and two Commissioners.

In the fifty-four years since 1860 Democrats have occupied the various county offices as fol- Iows:

Clerk-Daniel D. Dale, 1867 to 1875; Samuel P. Cowger, 1879 to 1887; Jones Brearley, 1887 to 1895; Samuel L. Callaway, 1899 to 1907, and Wal- lace Atkins, 1907 to 1911.

Auditor-David M. Carson, 1885 to 1893; Mor- ris J. Holtzman, 1893 to 1901, and Albert G. Fish- er, 1909 to date.

Treasurer-Joseph Rothrock, 1862 to 1866; same again, 1868 to 1872; Madison T. Didlake, 1880 to 1884; Robert R. Breckenridge, 1884 to 1888; Hiram A. B. Moorhous, 1888 to 1892; Julius W. Paul, 1892 to 1894; James C. Stockton, 1898 to 1902; William F. Brucker, 1902 to 1904, and Otto C. Middlestadt, 1912 to date.

Recorder-John S. Hurtt, 1862 to 1866; James

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....

1840.

HISTORY INDIANA DEMOCRACY-1816-1916

P. Simons, 1883 io 1891; Bernard A. Vogel, 1891 to 1895; Charles H. Kleist, 1903 to 1911.

Sheriff-Matthew Henderson, 1860 to 1864; same again, 1866 to 1870; William E. Saunderson, 1870 to 1874; Joseph W. Stewart, 1882 to 1886; James P. Gwin, 1888 to 1892; Robert F. Dobbins, 1892 to 1894; John W. Warner, 1898 to 1902; George W. Stephens. 1902 to 1906; James H. Mc- Cully, 1906 to 1908; Thomas F. Downey, 1913 to 1915.

Judge of White Circuit Court-Alfred W. Rey- nolds, 1888 to 1894.

Prior to 1860 a number of Democrats prominent in the early history of the county had filled vari- ous local offices, among these being Hon. David Turpie, Judge of the Common Pleas Court, who resigned his office in 1854 after holding court but one term; Thomas M. Thompson, Ranson Mc- Conahay, Joseph D. Cowden, Hugh B. Logan, Jonathan Harbolt, who was known as "The Hon- est Squire;" James C. Reynolds, Michael A. Berkey, Elisha Warden, James K. Wilson, George Cullen, Andrew Hanna, Sothy K. Timmons and Thomas Downey, Sr.

The present Democratic county officers are: Albert G. Fisher, Auditor; Otto C. Middlestadt, Treasurer; Paul Ward, Surveyor; Dr. Homer B. Gable, Coroner; Andrew F. Nagle and Marshall Personett, Commissioners, and Henry J. Reid, County Superintendent of Schools.

The following White county Democrats have been elected to legislative offices : Rowland Hughes, David Turpie, Thomas Davis, Robert Davis, John Green Timmons, Charles J. Murphy and Patrick Hays to the Legislature; Emory B. Sellers and Thomas W. O'Connor to the State Senate; Dr. William S. Haymond to Congress, and Hon. David Turpie to the United States Sen- ate. Of these Messrs. Murphy, Hays, Sellers and O'Connor are still residents of the county. Mr. Murphy has become prominent in State politics, has been the Tenth district representative on the State Central Committee for some years, and is at present (1915) a member of the Public Service Commission. Mr. Sellers, after the expiration of his senatorial term, was appointed United States District Attorney by President Cleveland and after that returned to the practice of law in Mon- ticello. Mr. O'Connor is president of the Monti- cello National Bank and in 1914 was a prominent candidate before the Democratic State convention for Treasurer.

By far the most prominent Democrat ever re- siding in White county was Hon. David Turpie, late United States Senator from Indiana. Mr. Turpie came to Monticello in 1849 and in his autobiography, "Sketches of My Own Times," published in 1903, he has added very materially

to the published history of White and adjoining counties. He early engaged actively in politics, being elected to the Legislature in 1852. He was not a candidate in 1854, when the high tide of Know-Nothingism swept Indiana Democracy from power, but engaged actively in the campaign of 1856, which resulted in the overthrow of this un- American cult and the triumphant election of Ash- bel P. Willard as Governor. In 1858 Mr. Turpie was again elected to the Legislature, and in 1860 was nominated for Lieutenant-Governor on the ticket headed by Thomas A. Hendricks. In this campaign he made an extended joint canvass with Oliver P. Morton, Republican candidate for the same office. In 1862 Mr. Turpie was nominated for Congress in his district and held a series of joint debates with his Republican opponent, Hon. Schuyler Colfax. In 1863 he was elected to the United States Senate to fill out the unexpired term of Senator Bright. In 1864 Mr. Turpie, still a resident of Monticello, enjoyed the unique distinction of being nominated for two important offices. He was again nominated for Lieutenant- Governor on the ticket headed by Hon. Joseph E. McDonald, and while making his canvass for that office was again nominated for Congress by the Democrats of his district. He decided to again try conclusions with Mr. Colfax and resigned from the State ticket, his place being filled by General Mahlon D. Manson. Mr. Colfax was re-elected. Still again, in 1866, was Mr. Turpie nominated, and made a third joint canvass of the district with Mr. Colfax, then Speaker of the House of Repre- sentatives, only to again go down in defeat. These three successive nominations as the candidate of the minority party and against the same success- ful competitor, not only illustrates the high esteem in which Mr. Turpie was held by the Dem- ocrats of his district, but it is probably unique in the political history of the State. Some time after this Mr. Turpie removed to Indianapolis, where, in 1874, he was again elected to the Legislature; and later, in 1887, he was again elected to the United States Senate, serving two full terms; but this later career belongs more properly to the his- tory of the Democracy of the State. White county and Monticello Democrats have always been proud of the fact that for nearly a quarter of a century they were privileged to claim this distinguished Democrat as one of their number.

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History of the Indiana democracy, 1816-1916, Part 121

Author: Stoll, John B., 1843-1926 Publication date: 1917 Publisher: Indianapolis : Indiana Democratic Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1104

Author: Stoll, John B., 1843-1926
Publication date: 1917
Publisher: Indianapolis : Indiana Democratic Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1104