History of the Indiana democracy, 1816-1916, Part 82

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

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Contemporaneous with Colonel Jackson was Matthew Rippey, who came to the county three years later, settling in the same township and survived him ten years, dying in 1882. Both were farmers. living only a few miles apart; both were engaged in the breeding of improved stock and both gave their support to every movement for the improvement of agriculture in their day. Mr. Rippey served in both branches of the State Legislature. His last public service was in the State Senate, to which he was elected in 1862, in the second year of the Civil War. Though in no sense a brilliant man, he was a man of sterling worth and for a half century was one of the county's substantial citizens. His son, Joseph . Rippey, was also a prominent farmer and a staunch Democrat.

Some of the other Democrats of the county's early days were John D. Elsea, who served a term as County Commsisioner; Ebenezer Brown, who was Sheriff in the latter 30's and who was one of the founders of the Goshen Democrat; Elias Carpenter, the first man elected as County Treas- urer and whose son, John Carpenter, is still liv- ing at the age of eighty-nine years; Albert Banta, Jonathan Wyland, Joseph Cowan, Dr. E. W. H. Ellis, Captain Henry Beane, John Longacre and Michael C. Dougherty.

From 1840 to 1850 Dr. E. W. H. Ellis was ed- itor of the Goshen Democrat and in that capacity he served his party with signal ability. He also edited and published the Kinderhook Dutchman during the exciting campaign of 1840. This jour- nal was published solely in the interest of the Democratic party and sometimes was exceedingly bitter in its attacks on the Whigs. Dr. Ellis was a versatile and graceful writer, but sometimes became very caustic, as did most of the editors

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HISTORY INDIANA

DEMOCRACY-1816-1916

of those days. In 1841 he was elected Auditor of Elkhart county, filling that office eight years, after which he was elected Auditor of State for two terms of two years each. His race for County Auditor was an exciting one and he after- ward wrote a humorous account of it for the columns of the Democrat under the title of "The Pony Race." His Whig opponent in the contest was Charles L. Murray, also a journalist, and for more than thirty years one of the prominent men of the county. It is a rather strange coin- cidence that Dr. Ellis afterward became a Re- publican and Mr. Murray became a Democrat, and for several years was associate editor of the Goshen Democrat, serving the party as ably as did his distinguished rival in the 40's.

Judge Ebenezer M. Chamberlain was one of the pioneers of Goshen, locating in what was then a small village in 1833. From that time until his death in 1861 he was one of the most influential men in the county. The city of Goshen is in- debted to him for two things which contributed largely toward making it the beautiful city that it is-its wide streets and magnificent shade trees. He was a public-spirited man and took a special interest in educational matters, but was always ready to give his aid to any movement which had for its purpose the improvement of his community, or the welfare of its people. Sev- eral years before he died he purchased a tract of land on the north side, in Goshen, and believ- ing that it would be a good site for a school build- ing, he donated two and one-half acres for school purposes. The Chamberlain school stands on this ground, and with its splendid grove is one of the finest school grounds in the city. He also was instrumental in securing the erection of Goshen's first high school. In 1837 he was ap- pointed postmaster, serving until 1841. He also served in the State Legislature, was Circuit Judge for nine years and for two terms repre- sented his district in Congress. In all of these positions he acquitted himself well and earned the esteem which he enjoyed for so many years.

Another conspicuous figure of this period, and for many years after, was Philip M. Henkel. Mr. Henkel came to Goshen in the early 40's and for a short time clerked in the store of DeFrees & Barns. Dr. Ellis soon afterward appointed him Deputy Auditor, a position which he filled so capahly that he was elected County Auditor for two terms. He was an excellent penman and an accurate accountant. In the entire history of the county there has probably been no man in its public service who was more capable of filling clerical positions than he. In 1860 he was the Democratic candidate for Congress. From 1875 to 1883, while his son, Charles D. Henkel, was

County Auditor, he again served as Deputy. Later he served four years as postmaster at Eau Claire, Mich. He died only a little over a year ago at Clinton, Iowa, at the advanced age of ninety-six years.

Foi a number of years Robert Lowry was ac- tive in the politics of Elkhart county. For a short time he owned the Goshen Democrat, dis- posing of it in 1855. He also served a term as Circuit Judge, and in 1866 was the Democratic candidate for Congress from the old Tenth dis- trict, but was defeated by "Billy" Williams of Warsaw. About 1870 he removed to Fort Wayne, where he engaged actively in the practice of law and for two terms represented the Twelfth dis- trict in Congress. He received a third nomina- tion, but the party had two candidates that year, the other being H. C. Stanley of Noble county, and both were defeated. In 1860 he was chosen to preside over the Democratic State convention.

For a quarter of a century, from 1863 to 1888. James D. Osborne was prominently identified with the Elkhart county bar and during a good portion of this time he also took an active part in politics. He first served as Justice of the Peace and when the new Thirty-fourth judicial circuit was erected he was appointed by Governor Hendricks the first judge of the circuit. At the subsequent election he was defeated by William A. Woods. In 1878 he was elected to the State Legislature, where he distinguished himself par- ticularly by his efforts in behalf of a measure for the reduction of official salaries. In 1880 he was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for Congress in the new Thirteenth district, but was defeated by Hon. Daniel McDonald of Plym- outh. However, he participated actively in the campaign which followed and was in great de- mand as a speaker. In 1880, when Judge Wil- liam A. Woods resigned to take a seat on the In- diana Supreme Court, Governor Gray appointed Judge Osborne as his successor on the circuit bench. In 1882 he was elected for a full term of six years, his Republican opponent being John M. Van Fleet of Elkhart. After the expiration of his term in 1888 he never aspired to public office. He spent several years in California, then he returned to locate in Elkhart and engage again in the practice of his profession. He died at Marcellus, Mich., November 30, 1916, aged eighty-six years.

Mention of the Goshen Democrat has already been made in this article. That paper was estab- lished in 1837 with Thomas H. Bassett as its first editor. Subsequent editors were E. W. H. Ellis, Robert Lowry, J. T. Bennett, James D. Osborne, H. S. Fassett, Laporte Heefner, M. B. Hascall and C. L. Murray. One man, however, was iden-

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HISTORY INDIANA DEMOCRACY-1816-1916

tified with the paper longer than all of these to- gether, and his name is more widely known in that connection than any of his predecessors. This was William A. Beane, familiarly known to the people of his generation as Billy Beane. Mr. Beane's connection with the Democrat began in 1844, when he entered the office as "devil." With the exception of about five years he was connected with the office in one capacity or another until his death, which occurred in the latter part of 1893. For nearly a quarter of a century he served as editor, and at the time he died he was one of the most widely known editors in the north" half of Indiana. He served his party in many campaigns, occasionally to win, but far more often to find himself on the losing side.

During the last quarter of the nineteenth cen- tury Llewellyn Wanner was a prominent figure in Elkhart county politics. Mr. Wanner came to the county in 1875 from Reading, Pa. He en- gaged in the practice of law, in which he contin- ued until his death in December, 1900. In every campaign, beginning with 1876, he was in demand as a speaker and he rendered his party valuable service. In 1876 he was nominated for Prosecut- ing Attorney, but was defeated by James S. Drake. In 1888 he was the Democratic candi- date for Judge of the Thirty-fourth judicial cir- cuit, his successful competitor being J. M. Van Fleet. In 1894 he made the race for Congress, but only to face defeat as before, this time by Lemuel W. Royse of Warsaw. For several years he served as City Attorney of Goshen.

Among the younger men who were prominent for a time in the politics of the county was Otis D. Thompson. Mr. Thompson was a talented man, an eloquent speaker and a good campaigner. In 1880 he was appointed City Judge of Elkhart. In 1882 he was elected County Clerk, serving ac- ceptably in that office for four years, but in the Republican landslide of 1886 he was defeated for re-election. In 1890 he was elected Mayor of Elk- hart, serving one term. Upon reaching manhood he took up the study of law, but owing to his dislike of that profession he practiced only a short time. After retiring from the office of County Clerk he engaged in manufacturing, a business which was more congenial to his tastes. He died in 1895 at the age of forty years.

Another citizen of Elkhart, who figured in public affairs at the same time and a little later than Mr. Thompson, was Harry S. Chester, who was elected Clerk of the city of Elkhart in 1886 and 1888, and County Clerk in 1890. Mr. Ches- ter was a capable, obliging and popular official and left behind him an excellent record. He was also an accomplished musician and an amateur poet and wrote a number of poems which would

have done credit to poets of greater celebrity. After retiring from office he seemed to drift from one occupation to another and was very unfor- tunate in some of his business ventures. He died in 1906, aged forty-four years. His brother, El- lis Chester, served a term as Mayor of Elkhart and died the day before his term expired.

There is one commanding figure who towers above all of his contemporaries of the period im- mediately following the Civil War and mention of whom has purposely been reserved for the last. This is Judge Joseph A. S. Mitchell of the In- diana Supreme Court, better known to Elkhart county people as Captain Mitchell. For more than twenty years Captain Mitchell was the ac- knowledged leader of the county's Democracy and he was also conspicuous in the councils of the party in the State. He came here in 1859 and began the practice of law. When the Civil War broke out he enlisted and served throughout that bloody conflict. When the war closed he returned to Goshen and took up the work of his chosen pro- fession. Almost immediately the veterans of the far recognized in him a coming leader and his leadership did not wait far in the future. The twenty years from 1865 until his entrance upon the Supreme Court in 1885 were exceedingly busy ones for him. There were few important cases in which he was not engaged and the more diffi- cult the case the more eagerly were his services sought. When Goshen organized its city govern- ment in 1868 he became its first City Attorney, a position in which he rendered valuable service in framing its first ordinances. In 1870 he was elected Mayor, serving one term. He was re- peatedly urged to become a candidate for impor- tant positions, but he turned a deaf ear to these importunities, choosing to devote his talents to the pursuit of his profession. In 1880 he accept- ed the nomination for Supreme Judge, but suf- fered defeat with his party, his successful oppo- nent being his friend and fellow-townsman, Wil- liam A. Woods. In 1882 he was chosen by the Board of County Commissioners as County At- torney. In this capacity he was employed in some of the most important litigation in which the county was ever engaged. An attempt had been made by a former Board of Commissioners to fasten upon the county a tract of almost worth- less marsh land at an enormous price for a coun- ty farm. This attempted steal had resulted in a political upheaval, three Democratic commis- sioners, John A. Smith, William W. McVitty and Brice Larimer being elected. Messrs. Smith and Larimer both took their seats at once and one of their first official acts was to set aside this in- famous deal. A stubbornly contested lawsuit followed in which Captain Mitchell's splendid tal-

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HISTORY INDIANA DEMOCRACY-1816-1916

ents were zealously employed in behalf of his client, the county, and with the result that the case was finally won. For this arduous service Captain Mitchell received a salary of $200 a year. In 1884 he was again nominated for a place on the Supreme bench, and this time, in spite of a campaign of misrepresentation and vituperation waged against him, he was elected, taking his seat in January, 1885. He found his new duties congenial to him and himself admirably fitted for the work which lay before him. His judicial de- cisions are regarded as models and stand as mon- uments of his incessant industry and his great legal knowledge. He was renominated in 1890 and triumphantly re-elected, but did not live to begin his second term. He died December 12, 1890, after a brief illness. No death ever cast the little city of Goshen into a deeper gloom. Nor was the sorrow confined to his own city, but it was felt throughout the State. Had he lived to serve another six years on the bench, there is little doubt that he would have risen to still high- er eminence, but with his single term of service he ranks among Indiana's greatest jurists.

There are many others, both living and dead, whose names deserve honorable mention, but the allotted space has been exhausted. Suffice it to say that in no county in this State can be found a better citizenry than those who make up the Democracy of Elkhart county. As the party has been in power but little of the time during the past sixty-five years, there has been but little

opportunity for achievement. Its history, there- fore, is a history of men and the men here sketched are among 'its most conspicuous repre- sentatives in their respective periods.

Note .- When I was writing the above article 1 did not intend to mention any persons now liv- ing, as there are so many sterling Democrats in this county that it would be impossible to give each one even a half dozen lines. Following are a number who deserve notice and there are many others who do not now come to mind: Mayor S. F. Spohn, Dr. C. C. Bower, Colonel C. G. Conn, Dr. D. L. Miller, Hon. M. M. Galentine, Piebe Swact, Anthony and B. F. Deahl, J. W. Replogle, George B. Slate, Haines Egbert, Charles E. Free- land, J. J. Zollinger, Edson C. Bartholomew, W. H. Winship, John N. Swart, James Dunmire, George H. Rimpler, A. R. Bemenderfer, W. J. Beasecker, A. E. Weaver, D. M. Bechtel, W. R. Coverstore, Charles Swart, W. W. Showalter, W. E. Girner, E. E. Fisher, Ben Wise, C. C. Raymer, O. M. Conley, J. F. Hauenstein, B. F. Kindig, Frank Leader, Charles A. Aitken, Dr. G. W. Spohn, Judge J. L. Harman, John W. Brown, Elias Fisher, Charles Kohler, J. A. Beane and Aaron Work.

The following who are no longer living also ought not to be omitted: Dr. P. D. Harding, George Milburn, Joseph Zollinger, Edwin M. Win- gar, W. W. Wise, Dr. F. L. Putt, Brice Larimer, Henry Bemenderfer, David Logan, Colonel R. M. Johnson, John A. Smith and Samuel R. Miller.

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HISTORY OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF FAYETTE COUNTY

I N writing the history of Fayette county one hundred years from the date of the act of the legislature authorizing the organization, it is interesting to quote from the writings of some of the earlier historians, which writings are repeated by some of the later guessers in the same line. For instance, here is a short para- graph in a recent publication which fairly sum- marizes all of those who tried to analyze:

"The first mention of Fayette county by name is to be found in the legislative act of Decem- ber 28, 1818, which defined its limits and pro- vided for its formal organization on the first day of the following month-that is, four days later. The fact that such a short time was to elapse between the passage of the act creating the county and the time for its actual organization would seem to indicate that the politicians of the proposed county had their plans well in hand for the disposal of the few offices which would be necessary in order to get the county started. Most of the officials named had had some connection with Franklin county affairs and some of them had held offices in that county. Jonathan Mc- Carty and John Conner were undoubtedly the men most responsible for the creation of the new county, Conner being a member of the state sen- ate at the time the act was passed."

If all these historians are right in their con- clusions the politicians of those early days builded well and did the work on hand at the start most excellently. Jonathan McCarty was one of the Whig leaders who is constantly mentioned among those present when the offices were being dis- tributed, and the praises which were sounded of him by the Indianapolis Journal in the early days were such that no doubt could be entertained of his party loyalty.

Jonathan McCarty was the first county clerk and Newton Claypool was the first county treas- urer, both "Whigs forever." In mentioning these two offices at this time, it is interesting to note that in the first one hundred years of Fayette county history only two Democrats have ever held the office of county clerk, and only two Democrats have ever been given the chance to count the money in the treasury.

The two Democrats who held the office of coun- ty clerk were John G. T. Veach, elected in 1874, and William Reeder, who was accidentally elected in 1915. Reeder had to have several counts to determine that he was really elected, and then he had but three votes ahead of his Republican op- ponent.

The two county treasurers admitting Democ- racy as their political belief were W. H. Beck, elected in 1853, and Ben W. Cole, who "nosed-in" and defeated his Republican opponent in 1915. In 1915 it will also be remembered that Finley Gray was serving in the congress, by the aid of some other counties in the district.

In looking through the early history, in 1819, in the long list of Whigs holding office appears the name of William W. Wick, one of the early- day Democrats who was conspicious later in Marion county politics and served in congress. He was subjected to much abuse from the Indianapolis Journal in all his political activities, the chief complaint of the editor being that Wick sometimes made his campaign appealing to voters of all political parties, as he did when a candidate for Congress, and when it was claimed that party lines should rule, the editor declaring it an "im- moral act" for a Democrat to ask Whigs to vote for him. However, Wick was elected whenever he chose to run. He was the first prosecutor in Fay- ette and about the only man in office outside the Whig party who can be clearly recognized as a Democrat at that time or later.

In the city of Connersville the Democrats have been more fortunate than in the county. They have maintained a good working organization and while they have been winning occasionally in the city they have kept the county Republican ma- jority so small that it appears peculiar that they have not often turned the tide and changed gen- eral results. There are many counties in the state which are just as reliably Democratic on election days as Fayette is Republican, and on even smaller majorities which are never over- come by the opposition.

W. C. Forrey was for a number of years mayor of. Connersville and always a strong Democrat politically. He was elected on the Democratic ticket for several terms, but his personal popu- larity was sufficient to wipe out much political prejudice. Charles J. Murray, another "all the time" Democrat, also served as mayor, being elected in 1872.

Frank M. Edwards, the county chairman in 1918, is one of the Democrats of the fighting sort who have forced the Republicans to watch all corners of their organization in order to pre- serve their small margin, which is sufficiently narrow that it would be designated in many counties of the state as decidedly "unsafe."

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HISTORY OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF FLOYD COUNTY

By Herman Rave

B ROADLY speaking, the earlier history of Floyd county is that of the counties of Clark and Harrison, out of parts of which it was created in 1819 through the efforts of the Scribner family, the founders of the city of New Albany. In those early days the lines between the two parties then in existence do not seem to have been so sharply drawn as they were later, the greater interests of the community of settlers centering in their local affairs and on the ques- tion of slavery. The latter seems to have been the main dividing line and the Democracy of the river counties of Indiana followed its first great Governor in this matter and opposed the making of Indiana a slave State and defeated its oppon- ents at every step. In this matter what is now Floyd county stood shoulder to shoulder with the majority.

After the establishment of the county its first years were devoted to a fight for the location , of the court house, in which the town of Greenville competed with New Albany, and in which the lat- ter won. As usual in such fights party lines were mostly obliterated. When the court house was at last permanently located in New Albany Floyd became more and more what may be termed a city-county and its politics and papers centered there, although the city itself is Republican nor- mally by some 300 majority, while the outside townships are Democratic with one exception, Franklin.

It was quite natural that Floyd as a separate county should not have had any great and promi- nent representatives of Democracy until a more recent period. Harrison and Clark, with the older towns of Corydon, Charlestown and Jeffer- sonville, monopolized the honors and distinctions, but when once Floyd and its capital got into the stride a series of notable men in Indiana history and Democracy succeeded one another rapidly and held the attention of not only the State, but the nation.

The first of these men to appear was Ashbel P. Willard, native of Oneida, N. Y., who came campaigning into the river counties and liked New Albany so well that he settled here and at the age of 36 became Governor of Indiana.

Cyrus L. Dunham, also a native of New York, was another great leader of the Indiana Democ- racy, and like Willard, fought the wave of Know- Nothingism which swept the country.

There were other prominent and efficient men

who led the party locally and made a reputation for themselves, but the greatest of the Democratic leaders to be credited to Floyd county is undoubt- edly Michael C. Kerr, who came from Titusville, Pa., in 1852, filled the prosecutor's office and rose to Congress, where he was one of the most noted speakers of that great body.

Astute politicians Floyd county has never lacked since she came into the running politically, and the adjoining counties have contributed quite a number of those who must be credited to Floyd, which became their home with their entrance into politics.

While speaking of the political history of Floyd county from a Democratic standpoint, it may as well be understood that the newspapers have al- ways had an important part in it, especially the New Albany Ledger, which early came to be the mouthpiece of the Democratic leaders of New Al- bany and the county, and was frequently owned by the men who not only edited the paper, but directed the internal policies of their locality and even of the congressional district and much of southern Indiana. Sometimes its owners and ed- itors even influenced State and national politics. The Ledger is a lineal descendant of the Argus, the first Democratic paper published in Floyd county, founded in the autumn of 1836 by Denni- son & Hineline. It went through a number of ups and downs and first changed its name to the Democrat, under a new ownership, but in 1841 it was again sold and became the Register under J. C. Jocelyn. In 1843 the outfit was purchased by Phineas M. Kent and the name changed to South- western Democrat. Another sale or two finally brought the paper into the possession of Bradley & Lucas, who, after a year, sold out to Norman & Bosworth in 1849. The latter firm changed the name to the New Albany Ledger and it at once took prominent standing as a political paper. Norman was a strong writer, a man of great lit- erary ability and the peer of Prentice in some ways. Bosworth soon retired from the Ledger and Mr. Kent again became one of the owners and put it upon its financial feet. He was a man of means, owned a large mill, and was first presi- dent of the St. Louis Air Line, now part of the Southern system. Norman's political influence pervaded this particular section of Indiana and he was acknowledged as one of the ablest of Indiana editors. He died October 30, 1869. His interest was transferred to Lucius G. Matthews, who in

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History of the Indiana democracy, 1816-1916, Part 82

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