History of the Indiana democracy, 1816-1916, Part 61

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

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In preceding chapters may be found re- corded biographical sketches and merited tributes to a number of the State's distin- guished sons who entered upon the jour- ney to the spirit land before the close of

the eighties. Among these may be men- tioned the distinguished men upon whom devolved leadership in a new political era dating from 1860, and in which Thomas A. Hendricks was knighted as the undis- puted chieftain of the Indiana Democracy. Of presidential stature was Michael C. Kerr, who died shortly after his election to the speakership of the National House of Representatives, in 1876. Mr. Hen- dricks himself passed away twenty-five years after he had been proclaimed the leader of his party in Indiana. He was preceded by Governor James D. Williams . at a ripe age, and after having rendered the State valued service in various ways. Suitable and deserved tributes by the mas- terly pen and the eloquent voice of the matchless orator, Daniel W. Voorhees, will be found printed on preceding pages. What follows these explanatory lines re- lates to men who entered the Palace of Eternity at subsequent periods.

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JOSEPH E. McDONALD was of presi- dential stature. He was a great lawyer. During his earlier years he served one term in Congress and before the civil war he was twice elected Attorney-General of Indiana. In the spirited contest for the Governorship in 1864 he was defeated by Governor Oliver P. Morton, but in 1875 he became Morton's colleague in the United States Senate. He was the choice of many influential Democrats throughout the country for the Presidency in 1880, but refused to consent to the use of his name unless Mr. Hendricks assented there- to. This could not be brought about, and the nomination went to the gallant Gen- eral Winfield Scott Hancock. Four years later Indiana formally presented Mr. Mc- Donald as Democracy's choice for the Presidency. Mr. Hendricks put him in nomination, but Grover Cleveland had the call that year, and McDonald's name was withdrawn after it had become apparent that he could not secure the nomination and that Mr. Hendricks might. As in 1876, the nomination for Vice-President was thrust upon Mr. Hendricks. He did not want it, but was compelled to subordi- nate his personal wishes to the behest of the party. Mr. McDonald, after these ex- periences, devoted himself more assiduous- ly than ever before to the practice of law, which in time became quite lucrative. But for certain regrettable jealousies Mr. Mc- Donald would have become President Cleveland's Attorney-General in 1885. Mc- Donald was born in Butler county, Ohio, August 29, 1819, moved with his mother to Indiana in 1826, and died at Indianapolis June 21, 1891. He was twice married, and his second wife died twenty-five years later. One of the former Senator's sons is a leading stock farmer in the northwest- ern part of Indiana.

DANIEL WOLSEY VOORHEES was one of the most remarkable men in the State. Born September 26, 1827, in the same county in which his life-long friend,

Joseph E. McDonald, first espied the light of the world, the county of Butler, Ohio. Daniel's parents soon after moved upon a farm in Fountain county, Indiana, on which the gifted son was reared. Was graduated from the Indiana Asbury Uni- versity in 1849; studied law, was admitted to the bar, and commenced practice in 1851; United States District Attorney for Indiana 1858-1861; elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-seventh and Thirty-eighth Congresses (March 4, 1861-March 3, 1865) ; presented credentials as a member- elect to the Thirty-ninth Congress, and served from March 4, 1865, to February 23, 1866, when he was succeeded by Henry D. Washburn, who contested his election; re-elected to the Forty-first and Forty-sec- ond Congresses (March 4, 1869, to March 3, 1873) ; defeated as a Democratic candi- date for the Forty-fifth Congress ; appoint- ed, and subsequently elected, as a Demo- crat to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Oliver P. Morton; re-elected in 1885 and 1891, and served from November 6, 1877, until March 3, 1897; died in Washington, D. C., April 9, 1897. A more generous-hearted man than Daniel Voorhees never breathed; a more eloquent orator never swayed juries or political gatherings. Politically he was frank, courageous, aggressive. Fi- delity to his friends was with him both a duty and a pleasure, from which no exi- gencies ever caused him to swerve. Devo- tion characterized his following, the bond which held them being profound affec- tion-a bond which rarely parted save in death. From his first nomination to Con- gress, in 1856, he never, in any of the many conventions in which his name was presented as a candidate for the House or Senate, had opposition in his own party. During the nineties he was freely talked of as a presidential possibility, but he promptly squelched all suggestions of that nature. "I have too many angles to be- come a presidential aspirant," he said to a

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small circle of devoted friends and admir- ers. He died poor in purse, but rich in the esteem, love and confidence of millions of his fellow-men.

DAVID TURPIE, who, like his col- league Voorhees, served a long time in the Senate of the United States, was born in Hamilton county, Ohio, July 8, 1829; was graduated from Kenyon College in 1848; studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1849, and practiced in Logansport, Ind .; appointed by Governor Wright Judge of the Court of Common Pleas in 1854-1856; Judge of the Circuit Court in 1856; mem- ber of the Legislature of Indiana in 1852 and 1858; elected to the United States Sen- ate in 1863 to fill the vacancy caused by the Senate expelling Jesse D. Bright, and served from January 14, 1863, to March 3, 1863; member of the State House of Representatives and served as Speaker 1874-1875 ; one of the three commissioners to revise the laws of Indiana in 1878-1881; appointed United States District Attorney for Indiana in August, 1886, and served until March 3, 1887; delegate-at-large to the Democratic national convention in 1888, and again in 1896; elected as a Dem- ocrat to the United States Senate Febru- ary 2, 1887; re-elected in 1893 and served from March 4, 1887, until March 3, 1899; died in Indianapolis, April 21, 1909. He was one of the State's most scholarly men, a profound thinker and a forceful, logical speaker. By the practice of law he ac- quired an adequate competence.

WILLIAM E. NIBLACK was born in Dubois county, Indiana, May 19, 1822; at- tended Indiana University, but did not graduate; studied law and was admitted to the bar; practiced in Vincennes ; elected to the State House of Representative, 1849 and 1853; member of the State Senate, 1850-1852; Circuit Judge from January, 1854, to October, 1857; elected as a Demo- crat to the Thirty-fifth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of James Lockhart; re-elected to the Thirty-sixth

Congress and served from December 7, 1857, to March 3, 1861; delegate to the Democratic national conventions in 1864, 1868 and 1876; re-elected to the Thirty- ninth and to the four succeeding Con- gresses (March 4, 1865, to March 3, 1875) ; Judge of the Supreme Court of In- diana, 1877-1889; died in Indianapolis, May 7, 1893. Personally he was a lovable character. He would have been delighted to have rounded out his long and useful career as Governor of his native State, but the younger element set up claims to which Judge Niblack did not care to interpose objection. During his entire political career he sustained very close relations to Mr. Hendricks.

WILLIAM STEELE HOLMAN, . who had the proud distinction of serving a longer time in Congress than any other Indianian, was born in Dearborn county, Indiana, September 6, 1822; attended the common schools, and Franklin College, In- diana, for two years; studied and prac- ticed law; Judge of Probate Court, 1843- 1846; prosecuting attorney, 1847-1849; member of the constitutional convention of Indiana in 1850; member of the Legis- lature in 1851-1852; Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, 1852-1856; elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-sixth, Thirty-sev- enth and Thirty-eighth Congresses (March 4, 1859, to March 3, 1865) ; re-elected to the Fortieth, Forty-first, Forty-second, Forty-third and Forty-fourth Congresses (March 4, 1867-March 3, 1877) ; re-elected to the Forty-seventh, Forty-eighth, Forty- ninth, Fiftieth, Fifty-first, Fifty-second, and Fifty-third Congresses (March 4, 1881-March 3, 1895) ; again elected to the Fifty-fifth Congress and served from March 4, 1897, until his death in Washing- ton, D. C., April 22, 1897. Judge Holman was for years the ever-vigilant and faith- ful "Watchdog of the Treasury." As such he was to the nation worth his weight in gold several times over. He was plain, unpretentious, able, diligent, vigilant, pa-

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triotic, level-headed, and scrupulously hon- est. Fads and frills never commended themselves to this faithful and incorrupt- ible servant of the people.

ISAAC P. GRAY, for fifteen years a power in the Democratic party of Indiana, was born in Chester county, Pennsylvania, October 18, 1828; removed to Montgom- ery county, Ohio, in 1839; in 1855 settled in Union City, Ind., and practiced law. Became Colonel of the Fourth Indiana Cavalry; recruited and organized the One Hundred and Forty-seventh Infantry. Was nominated in 1866 by the anti-Julian party of the Sixth District for Congress, but was defeated by George W. Julian. Was elect- ed State Senator in 1868 as a Republican, and served four years. He was largely instrumental in securing the ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment to the Fed- eral Constitution by the Indiana Legisla- ture. In 1872 he Greeleyized, and from that time on until his death he affiliated with the Democracy. In 1876 he was nominated by the Democratic party for Lieutenant-Governor and elected. He be- came acting Governor on the death of James D. Williams, November 20, 1880, during the remainder of the term. In 1880 he sought the Democratic nomination for Governor, was defeated by Franklin Landers, but again nominated for Lieu- tenant-Governor. With the rest of the ticket he was defeated at that year's elec- tion. In 1881 he was made the caucus nominee of the Democratic members of the General Assembly for United States Sena- tor, but in the election was defeated by General Benjamin Harrison. In 1884 he was easily nominated for Governor and triumphantly elected. In 1893 he was ap- pointed by President Cleveland as Minis- ter to Mexico, which position he held until his death, February 14, 1895. After Colonel Gray had become fairly fixed in the Democratic saddle he was a power in the party, notwithstanding his former ob- noxious political affiliation and activity.

He was very much chagrined over his de- feat for the gubernatorial nomination in 1880, when he was beaten by Franklin Landers by about a dozen votes. In 1884 there was still some hostility to him among prominent and influential Democrats, but he snapped his finger at them and told them to do their utmost. He secured the nomination without much effort, and was triumphantly elected. He had incurred the displeasure of the friends of Joseph E. McDonald by depriving the latter of the caucus nomination for United States Sen- ator in 1881. Notwithstanding this fric- tion, Governor Gray was made Indiana's choice for the Vice-Presidency in 1888, but the nomination went to Senator Allen G. Thurman of Ohio. In 1892 Gray was put forward for the presidential nomination, but the Cleveland sentiment in Indiana was made to appear to be so formidable that the State's entire vote was by some strange manipulation turned over to Grover Cleveland, with the understanding that Gray was to be nominated for Vice- President. There was a hitch in this, and the nomination went to Adlai E. Steven- son of Illinois. Gray, though not a schol- arly man, was a graceful, effective, logical speaker. He counted his ardent friends by the thousands. He had two promising sons, both of whom died in comparatively early manhood.

Governor CLAUDE MATTHEWS was a native of Kentucky. Both branches of the family were farmers. The maternal grandfather served as one of Kentucky's representatives in Congress. Claude was born in Bath county, December 14, 1845. He attended such schools as the county afforded until fifteen years of age, when his father purchased a farm near Mays- ville and located there. Young Matthews availed himself of the superior school facilities of that locality, graduated in due time. and in 1863 entered Center College, Danville, Ky., from which he graduated in June, 1867. On the first of January, 1868,

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he was united in marriage to Martha R. Whitcomb, only child of the late James Whitcomb, in his day Governor and later on United States Senator. The same year the young couple moved onto a big farm near Clinton, Vermilion county, Indiana, where they lived continuously except dur- ing the time that he served as Secretary of State and Governor at Indianapolis-a period of six years. Governor Matthews was extensively engaged in grain and stock farming. In 1876 he was persuaded to enter the race for the Legislature, and was elected by nearly 300 majority, not- withstanding the fact that the county had almost uniformly been largely Republican. After giving six years of his life to the public service he resumed farming opera- tions in Vermilion county. Death sudden- ly terminated his useful career while away from home. After having concluded an address at an old settlers' meeting at Me- harry's Grove, near Wingate, Montgomery county, August 25, 1898, he was stricken with paralysis and was taken to the home of Mr. Isaac Meharry, where the former State executive died at 6 o'clock the morn- ing of the 28th of August. He was con- scious, but never spoke after leaving the speaker's stand. Just as he had finished his address he said: "I feel so very queer," and would have fallen but for the fact that friends came to his assistance.

General JAMES R. SLACK was one of the most popular men in the State of In- diana. He was born in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, September 28, 1818, and died suddenly at Chicago, July 28, 1881. He received an academic education, and when nineteen years of age came to In- diana with his parents, who settled in Delaware county. He taught school and read law until he was of age, when he was admitted to the bar. Soon after this he chose Huntington county as his field of activity, locating in the town (now city) of Huntington, where he held citizenship the remainder of his life. He taught in

the public schools in that city, served as deputy clerk, and was auditor of the coun- ty for eight years. In 1851 he was elected as a Democrat to the State Senate, in which body he served two terms. He had previously served with distinction in the Mexican war and for a time officiated as Military Governor of New Mexico. At the outbreak of the rebellion in 1861 he assisted in raising the Forty-seventh Regi- ment of Indiana Volunteers, he being se- lected as colonel of the regiment. Besides other important service, his regiment was engaged in the battle of Champion Hills and lost 143 in killed and wounded. It took part in the siege of Vicksburg which followed, and was almost constantly on the firing line. On December 31, 1864, he was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general, and in March, 1865, was brevetted major- general, and performed conspicuous serv- ice until the close of the civil war. After the collapse of the rebellion he resumed the practice of law in Huntington, and continued until appointed judge by Gov- ernor Hendricks, in 1873, for the judicial circuit composed of Huntington, Grant and Blackford counties. He was elected judge of that circuit at a special election held in October, 1873, and re-elected at the regular election in November, 1878. He served until his death in 1881. Mean- while he had made an unsuccessful race for Congress. He was a brave officer, and an honest and upright judge. General Slack had the good will of every soldier under his command, and his comrades never tire of repeating his many kind acts to them and the sacrifices he made and dangers encountered for their comfort and safety. As a judge he made a lasting im- pression. He had an unusual quantity of practical common sense, which enabled him to brush aside the moss of legal tech- nicalities with which a question is some- times surrounded and reach a conclusion that was generally satisfactory to those concerned. He had great executive abil-

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ity, and this enabled him to push the busi- ness with such dispatch that litigants were pleased. Wherever one may go in his cir- cuit, even after the lapse of thirty-five years, there will still be heard the people and lawyers mentioning something that Judge Slack had said or done while holding court and trying cases in their counties. His mortal remains are interred in Mount Hope Cemetery, near the city of Hunting- ton. One daughter, Mrs. Dr. B. H. B. Grayston, resides in Huntington, and a son, James R., and daughter, Mrs. Al- pough, reside in California.

WASHINGTON C. DEPAUW stood among the foremost men of Indiana. He was born at Salem, January 4, 1822. As a young man he saved his money and soon bought and operated flour mills and saw- mills. He established banks at Salem and New Albany. DePauw was the first man- ufacturer of plate glass in the United States and broke the monopoly enjoyed by France, England and Belgium. Every- thing he touched in a business way pros- pered. He was uncommonly liberal and helpful to his less fortunate and less suc- cessful fellowmen. Decidedly public-spir- ited, he developed numerous enterprises in various parts of the State. Before he had become of age he was made deputy clerk of Washington county. In 1872 many in- fluential Democrats favored and urged his nomination to the office of Governor. Had Thomas A. Hendricks adhered to his reso- lution not to make a third race for the gov- ernorship, DePauw would in all probabil- ity have been nominated to that position. As it was, the convention by an overwhelm- ing majority named him for the lieuten- ant-governorship, which, however, he de- clined. As a pronounced protectionist and temperance man, and much more in- clined to the cause of education and re- ligion than to practical politics, he respect- fully but firmly declined the nomination tendered him by the convention. The va- cancy was happily filled by the selection of

John R. Cravens of Madison, a Liberal Re- publican and most estimable gentleman. The father of W. C. DePauw was a man of high repute. He was widely and favor- ably known as a leader in the Territory of Indiana. The son was one of the wealth- iest men of the State. He endowed As- bury University at Greencastle with a gift of half a million, and the trustees changed the name of the university to DePauw Uni- versity. He died in 1887 of apoplexy while away from home on a business trip to Chi- cago.

JAMES F. McDOWELL was for many years a Democratic leader in Grant coun- ty. He was born in Mifflin county, Penn- sylvania, December 3, 1825; moved to Ohio in 1835; attended the public schools ; worked in a printing office; studied law, was admitted to the bar, and commenced practice in 1846; elected district attorney of Darke county, Ohio, in 1848; estab- lished the Marion Journal in Indiana; elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-eighth Congress (March 4, 1863-March 3, 1865) ; unsuccessful candidate for re-election to the Thirty-ninth Congress; resumed the practice of law; died in Marion April 18, 1887.

SIMEON K. WOLFE was quite a factor in Democratic politics of the old Second (New Albany) district. He was born in Floyd county, Indiana, February 14, 1824; attended Floyd county schools and was graduated from the law department of the University of Indiana, at Bloomington, in 1850, and practiced in New Albany, Ind .; presidential-elector in 1856; State Sena- tor, 1860-1864; delegate to the Democratic national convention in 1860; engaged in newspaper work; elected as a Democrat to the Forty-third Congress (March 4, 1873-March 3, 1875) ; circuit judge of the Floyd and Clark circuit, 1880; died in New Albany November 18, 1888.

WILLIAM FLEMING, one of the State's most sagacious and successful busi- ness men, wise counsellor, and trusted

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leader, though a native of the Emerald Isle, was in sentiment and action a typical American. Born near Dublin, Ireland, June 17, 1828, he was made the beneficiary of an excellent practical education. The Fleming family was blessed with ten chil- dren. When William had reached the age of eighteen the father decided to take his family to America, via Quebec. While de- tained in the harbor at that quaint old Canadian port town the father and four of the children died. This calamitous mis- fortune imposed upon William a task that tested as well as developed the mettle in his makeup. Heroically and determinedly he met every requirement incident to a struggle for existence. He soon gained a firm foothold in Fort Wayne. Steady progress crowned his efforts. His first oc- cupation was that of a stone cutter for the late James Humphrey. His first political office was that of high constable, long ago abolished. Then he became a deputy un- der Sheriff McMullen, later serving two terms in that office as sheriff, then being elected to two terms as county clerk. Dur- ing the seventies he owned and conducted the Fort Wayne Sentinel, giving that pub- lication exceptional prestige, politically and commercially. In 1878 he was elected State Treasurer of Indiana, was renomi- nated in 1880, but went down in defeat with the rest of the Democratic State ticket. In politics he was always a stanch Democrat and was one of the most influen- tial leaders of the party in the State and to some extent in the nation. He was a man of prodigious abilities and amassed a snug fortune in business. For years he had suffered from asthma. Assuming an acute form, that disease caused his death on the 13th of January, 1890. He closed his eyes in eternal sleep at his ideal home on West Berry street, surrounded by his grief-stricken wife and children and a group of sorrowing friends. The funeral was one of the most largely attended in the annals of the Summit City. Sincerely

beloved as he was by thousands, his pass- ing occasioned deep-felt sorrow and grief, not only at Fort Wayne and in Allen county, but throughout the commonwealth.

GEORGE A. BICKNELL spent by far the greater part of his useful life in the public service. He was born in Philadel- phia, Pa., February 6, 1815; was grad- uated from the University of Pennsylva- nia in 1831 ; attended Yale law school one year; completed law studies and admitted to the bar in New York City in 1836; moved to Lexington, Scott county, Indiana, in 1846; elected county prosecutor in 1848, circuit prosecutor in 1850, and judge of the second judicial circuit in 1852, hold- ing the last-named place twenty-four years; professor of law in the University of Indiana, 1861-1870; elected as a Demo- crat to the Forty-fifth and Forty-sixth Congresses (March 4, 1877-March 3, 1881) ; in 1881 he was appointed commis- sioner of appeals in the Supreme Court of Indiana, which office he held until the com- pletion of its work in 1885; judge of the Circuit Court of Indiana in 1889, and held that office until his death, in New Albany, April 11, 1891.

THOMAS R. COBB had for years a strong hold upon the Democracy of south- western Indiana. He was born near Fayette, Lawrence county, Indiana, July 2, 1828; attended Bloomington Univer- sity ; studied and practiced law in Bedford, Ind., from 1853 until 1867, when he moved to Vincennes; elected to the State Senate from 1858 to 1866; Democratic candidate for elector in 1868; President of the In- diana State convention in 1876; delegate to the Democratic national convention at St. Louis, which nominated Tilden and Hendricks in 1876; elected as a Democrat to the Forty-fifth, Forty-sixth, Forty-sev- enth, Forty-eighth and Forty-ninth Con- gresses (March 4, 1877-March 3, 1887) ; died in Vincennes June 23, 1892.

GENERAL JAMES A. CRAVENS had in several respects a marvelous career.

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For nearly a half century he was in one way or another associated with public life. Born in Rockingham county, Virginia, No- vember 4, 1818, he moved with his father to Indiana in 1820; attended the public schools; engaged in farming and stock raising ; served in the war with Mexico as major of the Second Indiana Volunteers from June, 1846, to 1847; member of the State House of Representatives from 1848 to 1849, and of the State Senate from 1850 to 1853; commissioned brigadier-general of militia in 1854; elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-seventh and Thirty-eighth Congresses (March 4, 1861-March 3, 1865) ; delegate to the Union national con- vention in Philadelphia in 1866, and to the Democratic national convention in New York in 1868; died in Hardinsburg, Ind., June 20, 1893.

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History of the Indiana democracy, 1816-1916, Part 61

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