USA > Indiana > Daviess County > Living leaders, an encyclopedia of biography : special edition for Daviess and Martin counties, Indiana > Part 5
USA > Indiana > Martin County > Living leaders, an encyclopedia of biography : special edition for Daviess and Martin counties, Indiana > Part 5
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28
116
WILLIAM VINCENT ALLEN.
117
WILLIAM TAYLOR ADAMS.
T T HOUSANDS of middle-aged men of today hold in loving remem- brance the name of "Oliver Optic;" a name that was associ- ated with their boyhood's pleasures quite as intimately as was that of Santa Claus himself. And "Oliver Optic" is still living, and is the patron saint of the children today, just as he was a generation ago. His real name is William Taylor Adams, and his home is in Boston. Mr. Adams was born in Medway, Mass., July 30, 1822. He was for twenty years a teacher in the public schools of Boston, fourteen years a member of the school committee of Dorchester, and one year a member of the legislature. He has devoted most of his life to writ- ing for young people, with whom he has a warm sympathy. His literary career began in 1850, and he has produced over a thousand stories in newspapers, exclusive of his books. In early life he edited the "Student and Schoolmate," and in 1881 "Our Little Ones," but he is best known as an editor through "Oliver Optic's Magazine for Boys and Girls." His published works, issued mainly in series of several volumes each, include "In-Doors and Out," "Riverdale," "The Boat Club," "Woodville," "Young America Abroad," "Army and Navy," "Starry Flag," "Onward and Upward," "Yacht Club," "Great Western," etc. In fact, he has published about a hundred volumes in all, and the strangest thing about it is, that he is still writing. The fountain from which he draws seems to be inexhaustible, and his latest stories are as fresh and absorbingly interesting as his first. No writer ever exerted a greater or more wholesome influence on the minds and hearts of the young folks. Mr. Adams often says that he never quite got over being a boy himself.
118
WILLIAM TAYLOR ADAMS.
119
PHILIP D. ARMOUR.
TLLUSTRATING as he does the unflagging energy and enterprise that have made Chicago the most wonderful city, in some respects, in the world, as well as the philanthropic spirit that has given it a reputation for munificence, Philip D. Armour is a representative citizen of the western metropolis and a typical American. Born in Stock- bridge N. Y., May 16, 1832, Mr. Armour was educated in the dis- trict school. In 1851 he left home and went to California to seek his fortune. He returned in 1856 without having accomplished his pur- pose, and soon thereafter embarked in the commission business in Mil- waukee, Wis. In 1863 he formed a partnership with John Planking- ton, of Milwaukee, in the packing business, and that arrangement was the beginning of the immense enterprises in which Mr. Armour has since been engaged, and which has made his name known all over the world. The Chicago establishment of P. D. Armour & Co. was founded in 1868, and there are now extensive branch houses in New York and Kansas City. All in all, the packing-houses in which Mr. Armour and his brothers are interested, form one of the most gigantic enterprises in the country. He gives his business his personal super-
vision, and has a wonderful capacity for work. The Armour Mission, founded by his brother but cherished and substantially endowed by himself, receives his attention every Sunday. Mr. Armour's latest magnificent present to the city of Chicago-the Armour Institute, fully endowed-is of comparatively recent occurrence, and is numbered among the most princely gifts of the century on the part of a private citizen. He is a philanthropist in the best sense of the word, giving not only of his money but of his time and labor to the cause of charity.
120
PHILIP D. ARMOUR.
121
THOMAS FRANCIS BAYARD.
TT fell to the lot of a Democrat of the old school to first bear the title of American Ambassador to the Court of St. James. Presi- dent Cleveland was the first executive to confer this diplomatic rank upon a citizen of the United States, and the appointment was given to Thomas F. Bayard, of Delaware. Mr. Bayard comes of a family of statesmen. He was born in Wilmington, Del., October 29, 1828, and at an early age entered mercantile life, which he soon abandoned for the study of law. In 1851 he was admitted to the bar, and two years later was appointed United States District Attorney for Delaware, but resigned that office in 1854. In 1869 he succeeded his father as United States senator, and at once became a prominent figure in that body. He was re-elected in 1875, and again in 1881, retaining his seat in the Senate until March, 1885, when he entered Mr. Cleveland's Cabinet as Secretary of State. Mr. Bayard has several times been proposed as a presidential candidate, but the recollection of a famous speech delivered by him at Dover, Del., in the early part of 1861, in which his language was construed to express Southern sentiments, mil- itated against his chances of election. Nevertheless, at the Democratic National Convention at Cincinnati, in 1880, he received one hundred and fifty-three and one-half votes on the first ballot, and in the con- vention of 1884 he was Mr. Cleveland's principal competitor for the nomination. After his retirement from the office of Secretary of State, in 1889, Mr. Bayard held no public office until his appointment as Ambassador to the Court of St. James, in 1893. He is a man of imposing presence, a power in debate, and during his career in the Senate he was the recognized leader of the Democrats.
122
THOMAS FRANCIS BAYARD.
123
ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL.
O UT of a long and careful study of vocal physiology, prosecuted with a view of improving the methods of instructing deaf-mutes, was developed the telephone, which has made the name of its inventor famous. Prof. A. Graham Bell is a son of the Scotch educator, Alex- ander Melville Bell. He was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, March 3, 1847, and was educated at the Edinburgh high school and Edinburgh University, receiving special training in his father's system for removing impediments in speech. He entered the University at London in 1867, and in 1870 emigrated with his father to Canada. In 1872 he took up his residence in the United States, introducing with success his father's system of deaf-mute instruction and becoming professor of vocal physiology in Boston University. He had been interested for many years in the transmission of sound by electricity, and had devised many forms of apparatus for the purpose, but his first public exhibition of
the telephone was in Philadelphia in 1876. Its complete success has made him wealthy. His invention of the "photophone," in which a vibratory gleam of light is substituted for a wire in conveying speech, has also attracted much attention, but has never been practically used. Professor Bell has put forth the theory that the present system of edu- cating deaf-mutes is wrong, as it tends to restrict them to one another's society, so that marriages between the deaf are common, and therefore the number of deaf-mute children born is on the increase. He is a member of various learned societies, and has published many scientific papers setting forth his theories and the results of his experiments. He has lived for some time in Washington, D. C. Prof. Bell is thor- oughly devoted to the cause of science.
124
ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL
125
EDWARD BELLAMY.
U TOPIAN dreams of perfected socialism have not been few dur- ing the nineteenth century, but of all the schemes that have been proposed for the reorganization of society, none has attracted so much attention or received such serious consideration, because of its apparent practicability, as that embodied in Edward Bellamy's remark- able story, "Looking Backward." Mr. Bellamy is a writer of marked ability. He was born in Chicopee Falls, Mass., in 1850, and was educated at Union College and in Germany. He studied law and was admitted to the bar, but never practiced that profession, as he preferred a literary life. During 1871 and 1872 he was on the staff of the New York "Evening Post," and for the five years following was an editorial writer and critic for the Springfield "Union." His health failing him, he made a voyage to the Sandwich Islands in 1876, and upon his return in 1877 became one of the founders of the Springfield "News." After two years more of journalism he abandoned it to devote himself entirely to literature. In addition to his many contribu- tions to the magazines, he has published "Six to One: a Nantucket Idyl;" "Dr. Heidenhoff's Process," and "Miss Ludington's Sister." His greatest success, however, has been in his socialistic novel, "Look- ing Backward," published in 1888, of which more than three hundred thousand copies were sold in America within two years of its first appearance. Mr. Bellamy still resides at Chicopee Falls, and interests himself in advancing the ideas of nationalism advocated in his book. He is thoroughly in earnest in his beliefs, and is known as a profound thinker, as well as one of the most clever and vigorous writers of the age.
126
EDWARD BELLAMY.
127
ANDREW ELLICOTT KENNEDY BENHAM.
A NAME that but a short time ago was on every tongue, in con- nection with a magnificent display of firmness and aggression in protecting American interests in a foreign harbor, is that of Admiral A. E. K. Benham, late commanding the North Atlantic squadron. In firing 1pon the Brazilian insurgents, who attempted to enforce a blockade in the harbor of Rio de Janeiro, January 30, 1894, and thus interfere with American commerce, this brave naval officer won the applause of the world. Admiral Benham was born on Staten Island, N. Y., April 10, 1832. He entered the navy as midshipman November 24, 1847, and rose to the rank of lieutenant September 16, 1855, having done several years' service on the "St. Mary's," in the Pacific squad- ron. He was attached to the "Crusader," on the Home station, in 1860 and 1861, and when the Civil war began was made executive officer of the "Bienville," on the South Atlantic blockade, where he participated in the capture of Port Royal, S. C., and in 1863 served on the "Sacramento." He was promoted to lieutenant commander in 1863, and commanded the "Penobscot" in the Western Gulf blockading squadron until the close of the war in 1865. After that he served at various stations, being promoted to commander in 1866, to captain in 1875, and to commodore in 1885. Later he attained the rank of rear admiral, and was commanding the North Atlantic squadron at the time of the Rio bay incident, when he gave the insurgents and the whole world to understand that the American flag would be protected. Ad- miral Benham was retired from the service in the spring of 1894, hav- ing served his allotted forty-five years, and he took with him into his retirement the grateful appreciation of the Nation for his efficient work.
128
ANDREW ELLICOTT KENNEDY BENHAM.
129
WILSON SHANNON BISSELL.
T HE man who acted as chief groomsman when President Cleve- land was married afterward became Postmaster-General in the President's Cabinet. W. S. Bissell was born in Rome, Oneida County, N. Y., December 31, 1847, but since 1853 has been a resident of Buffalo. After receiving a preliminary education in the public schools he took a two years' course in Hopkins' Grammar School at New Haven, Conn., and then entered Yale College, where he was gradu- ated in 1869. He studied law in Buffalo, and in 1872 formed a part- nership with Lyman K: Bass for the practice of his profession. At the beginning of 1874 Grover Cleveland became a member of the firm, which was then known as Bass, Cleveland & Bissell. Mr. Bass with- drew, but the other parties retained their association until Mr. Cleve- land went to Albany to assume the duties of governor of the state, and subsequently resumed their partnership. A few years after the marriage of his law partner, then President of the United States, Mr. Bissell followed his example, and Mr. and Mrs. Cleveland were the honored guests of the occasion. Mr. Bissell has been an active Dem- ocrat all his life, but has always refused to be a candidate for office, except for elector-at-large in 1884. He was earnestly solicited by Mr. Cleveland early in 1885 to take a high official position, but declined, and his acceptance of a place in the Cabinet in 1893 was a great financial sacrifice. His fitness for the place was demonstrated as soon as he had taken charge of the office, and his services gave him a high reputation as a public official, but he was compelled to resign and return to his law practice in Buffalo, where he has the reputation of being a wise and able counsellor.
130
WILSON SHANNON BISSELL.
131
JOSEPH CLAY STYLES BLACKBURN.
T T HE name of Blackburn has become familiar throughout the United States as representing Kentucky pluck and vigor and statesman- ship, and it is largely to the subject of this sketch that the prominence of the name is due. Joseph C. S. Blackburn was born in Woodford County, Kentucky, October 1, 1838. He attended the common schools, receiving private instruction as well, then took a course of study at Sayres Institute, and finally graduated from Centre College, at Danville. He entered at once upon a course of legal study at Lexington, Ky., and was admitted to the bar in 1858, being then only twenty years of age. He looked upon Chicago, Ill., as a promising field, removed to that city at once, and practiced successfully until the beginning of the Civil war. His sympathies were naturally with the South, and he returned to Kentucky and entered the Confederate army, in which he served with distinction. The war over, he returned to his native state and resumed the practice of his profession, making his home eventually in Versailles. He was elected to the Kentucky legislature in 1871, and became conspicuous in that body. He was re-elected, and in 1875 was elected to Congress, in the Lower House of which he served continuously until 1884, when the legislature of his state elected him to the United States Senate. At the expiration of his term in 1891 he was re-elected to the Senate, for the term expiring in 1897. The same energy and force of character which made him a promising lawyer before he was twenty-one years of age, which led him into the army and allowed no circumstances to deter him from his course, have made Senator Blackburn a capable and earnest law-maker. He is a man of recognized force.
132
JOSEPH CLAY STYLES BLACKBURN.
133
RICHARD PARKS BLAND.
F "ROM the outset of his public career Congressman Bland, of Mis- souri, has been the champion of cheap and plentiful money in every form, and for many years has been the recognized leader in the House of Representatives of the free silver wing. Mr. Bland is essen- tially a self-made man. He was born near Hartford, Ohio County, Kentucky, August 19, 1835. Orphaned at an early age, he worked during the summer months in order to obtain means with which to attend school in the winter, and thus acquired an academic education. He then studied law and was admitted to the bar. In 1855 he removed to Missouri, and then to California. Subsequently he settled in Virginia City, Nevada, where he became interested in mining opera- tions. Returning to Missouri in 1865, he eventually drifted to Lebanon, in that state, and while practicing law there was elected to Congress as a Democrat in 1873. He has since been regularly re-elected. He introduced in the Forty-fourth Congress the well-known "Bland Bill," which provided that the Secretary of the Treasury should purchase suffi- cient bullion to coin the minimum amount of $2,000,000 a month in silver dollars of 4121% grains each, and that these dollars should be legal tender. He also introduced in the Fifty-third Congress the "Seigniorage Bill," which was passed by the House, but vetoed by the President. Whatever else may be said of Mr. Bland's legislative career, it is certain that he reflects faithfully the wishes and the opin- ions of his constituents. Personally he has his cause much at heart, believing firmly in silver and conceiving himself to be the champion of the debtor class and a crusader against a wicked conspiracy of the bankers and the "gold bugs."
134
RICHARD PARKS BLAND.
135
JEAN BLEWETT.
T HROUGH many charming poems and dainty pen-pictures, which somehow never fail to enlist the deepest interest and sympathy of the reader, the name of Jean Blewett has become well and favor- ably known in connection with the literature of Canada and the United States, and is constantly acquiring a wider recognition. She was born in a country place near Rondeau Bay, Ontario, Canada, November 4, 1864. Her parents were John and Janet McKishney, of Argyleshire, Scotland, and much of her youth was spent with her Scotch grandpar- ents. She received a liberal education, and early manifested the imag- inative faculty which caused her to be regarded as an indolent dreamer. At the age of seventeen she wrote a book of prose, which, though showing the amateur, displayed much strength and originality, and gave promise of the better things that were soon to follow. She has since been a contributor to some of the leading magazines of Canada and the United States, and her poems, etchings and life-sketches have found their way to the hearts of thousands of readers in both countries. A keen observation and the faculty of describing what she sees in lan- guage that flows naturally from a poetic soul, give her the rare power of making the reader see, hear and feel with her, while the senses are gratified with the music that accompanies the revelation. Her religious verse is characterized by strength and breadth, and has called forth widely favorable comment, while her short stories show remarkable originality and power. Mrs. Blewett was married when quite young to Bassett Blewett, an Englishman, and now resides in a pleasant home, living a quiet life with her husband and two children, at Blenheim, Ontario.
136
JEAN BLEWETT.
137
HORACE BOIES.
W THATEVER may have been the other conditions which aided the Democrats in wresting Iowa from the strong grasp of the Republicans in 1889, there is no doubt that their success was largely due to the strength and popularity of their candidate for governor. The choice of Horace Boies to lead the fight against prohibition legis- lation in that campaign was a fortunate one. Mr. Boies was born on a farm near Buffalo, Erie County, N. Y., in 1827, and until he was sixteen years of age was a hard-working assistant to his father in clearing the timber land of the farm. He went West at seventeen, but after working for a time on a Wisconsin farm he returned to New York, took an academic course, and studied law. In 1852 he began the practice of his profession in Buffalo, and in a few years had established an excellent reputation as a criminal lawyer. Mr. Boies removed to Waterloo, Iowa, in 1867, and there practiced in partnership with H. B. Allen for several years. He was afterward associated with C. F. Couch until that gentleman retired to become a district judge, in 1884. Mr. Boies continued to add to his reputation and influence year after year, and, being a stanch Democrat, he naturally attracted the attention of the party managers in the state. They made him their candidate for governor in 1889, and he led them to victory. He was re-elected in 1891, but was defeated for a third term by F. D. Jackson, though the excellence of his administration was universally admitted. Mr. Boies was the choice of the Iowa and several other state delegations for the Presidency in the Democratic National Conven- tion of 1892. He is extremely popular in his state, and a prime factor in all political movements.
138
HORACE BOIES,
139
ROBERT BONNER.
TO O many thousands of readers a peculiar interest, amounting almost to reverence, attaches to the name of the man who founded the New York "Ledger," that famous story paper that for many years gave to the public the best productions of Mrs. Southworth, Sylvanus Cobb, Jr., Fanny Fern, Alice Cary, and a host of other writers. Robert Bonner was born near Londonderry, Ireland, April 28, 1824. His parents were Scotch-Irish Presbyterians. . Coming to the United States at an early age, he learned the printer's trade, and in 1839 was employed in the office of the Hartford "Courant," where he gained the reputation of being the most rapid compositor in Connecticut. In 1844 he removed to New York, and in 1851 purchased the "Ledger," at that time an insignificant sheet. By printing the most popular class of interesting stories he gave the paper a wide circulation, which was further extended by the contributions of James Parton, Fanny Fern, Edward Everett, Henry Ward Beecher, Charles Dickens, and other emi- nent authors and clergymen. Mr. Bonner has made large gifts of money to Princeton College and to various charities. To gratify his
taste for fast horses he has purchased several of the most celebrated trotters in the world, always withdrawing them from the race course. These included "Peerless," "Dexter" and "Maud S." The last named had a record of 2:09, afterward reduced to 2:082, and was purchased from William H. Vanderbilt for $40,000. Some years ago Mr. Bon- ner retired from active business life and is now enjoying, in a quiet way, the fruits of his energy and enterprise. Since his retirement the "Ledger" has been successfully conducted by his sons, to whom he surrendered it.
140
ROBERT BONNER.
141
HENRY BILLINGS BROWN.
A VERY clean record and admirable as representing intellect, culti- vation and a power to look upon things broadly and justly, is that of Henry Billings Brown, now an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was born in South Lee, Mass., March 2, 1836. He received a thorough preliminary education, and was graduated from Yale College in 1856, after which he studied law for some time in a private office, and later attended lectures at both Yale and Harvard law schools. He came west and was admitted to the bar of Wayne County, Michigan, in July, 1860, and in the spring of 1861, upon the election of Mr. Lincoln, was appointed United States Deputy Marshal, and subsequently United States Attorney for the east- ern district of Michigan, a position he held until 1868, when he was appointed judg of the circuit court of Wayne County, to fill a vacancy. He returned o active practice in partnership with John S. Newberry and Ashley Pond, of Detroit, each a man prominent in his profession. In 1875 he was appointed by President Grant United States District Judge for the eastern district of Michigan, to succeed Hon. John W. Longyear, and in December, 1890, was appointed associate justice of the Supreme Court to succeed Judge Samuel F. Miller. He entered upon the duties of his present office January 5, 1891. Since his advent in the Supreme Court, he has become recognized as a man of marked ability and one who is a credit even to that assemblage of leaders in the law. Honors have come upon him thick and fast. He was made an LL. D. by the University of Michigan in 1887, while Yale University conferred the same honor upon him in 1891. He occu- pies the front rank in his profession.
142
HENRY BILLINGS BROWN.
143
ROBERT JONES BURDETTE.
M 'ETEOR-LIKE in their short-lived brilliance have been the careers of the majority of the newspaper "funny men" whose bright paragraphs made brief reputations for the journals in which they ap- peared. With Robert J. Burdette this has not been the case, for he is one of the few who possess literary ability of a high order, who are able to depict the pathetic as well as the humorous phases of life, and who write entertainingly on a variety of subjects. Nevertheless, he is essentially a humorist, and not many years ago he was univer- sally designated "The Burlington 'Hawkeye' Man," because his name was so little known. Mr. Burdette was born in Greensborough, Pa., July 30, 1844, but early in life removed to Peoria, Ill., where he was educated in the public schools. He enlisted as a private in the Forty- seventh Illinois volunteers, in 1862, and served until the close of the war. In 1869 he became one of the editors of the Peoria "Trans- cript," was afterward connected with the "Review," and still later assisted in the founding of a new paper in Peoria, which did not suc- ceed. Subsequently he became associate editor of the Burlington "Hawkeye," and his humorous contributions to that journal, being widely copied, gave him a national reputation. In 1877 he began to deliver public lectures, in which he was very successful, his subjects being "The Rise and Fall of the Moustache," "Home," and "The Pilgrimage of the Funny Man." Several volumes of his humorous writings have been issued. He was connected with the Brooklyn "Eagle" for some time, and continues to contribute much to periodical literature. He also occasionally preaches, being a licensed minister of the Baptist Church.
144
ROBERT JONES BURDETTE.
145
JOHN BURROUGHS.
-- -
W THAT other American author writes so charmingly of bird life, green fields, rural fancies and observations, and the impressions of nature, as John Burroughs? The pure, bracing air of the country breathes through almost everything that comes from his gifted pen. Mr. Burroughs was born in Roxbury, N. Y., April 3, 1837. The son of a farmer, he early imbibed a love of the woods and meadows and the society of birds and books. After receiving an academic edu- cation he taught school eight or nine years, and then became a jour- nalist in New York. He was a clerk in the treasury department at Washington from 1864 until 1873, after which he was appointed receiver of the Wallkill National Bank, in Middletown, N. Y. In 1874 he settled on a farm at Esopus, N. Y., giving his time principally to fruit culture, except during the months when his duties as bank exam- iner called him away. He has contributed largely to periodicals, writ- ing mainly upon rural themes and natural history. His published books are: "Wake Robin," "Winter Sunshine," "Birds and Poets," "Locusts and Wild Honey," "Pepacton," "Fresh Fields," "Signs and Seasons," "Indoor Studies," and "Notes on Walt Whitman as Poet and Person." He has also written enough poetry to create a wish among his admirers that he would write more. The thoroughness with which Mr. Burroughs' keen observation absorbs a subject is only equaled by the cleverness with which he describes it, always enlisting the sympathies and interest of his readers where a less entertaining writer would only weary them. As an author and naturalist he is a worthy successor of Thoreau, without Thoreau's personal peculiarities and erratic habits of life.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.