USA > Indiana > Memorial and genealogical record of Representative Citizens of Indiana > Part 33
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At the breaking out of the great Southern rebellion Mr. Wal- lace was appointed adjutant-general of the state of Indiana and entered actively upon the discharge of his duties, which at that time were unusually responsible. But to one of his active tem- perament and ardent patriotism such an office was not suited, and he determined to enter the active military service. He was com- missioned colonel of the Eleventh Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, with which command he served in West Virginia, par- ticipating in the capture of Romney and the ejection of the enemy from Harper's Ferry. On September 3, 1861, he was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general, commanded a division at Fort Donelson, and on March 21, 1862, he became a major-general. He was in command of a division at Shiloh and participated con- spicuously in the events of that fated field. In 1863 General Wal- laee assisted in the defense of Cincinnati and saved that city from capture by the Confederate raider, Gen. Kirby Smith. Later he commanded the middle division of the Eighth Army Corps, with headquarters at Baltimore, Maryland. With five thousand eight hundred men, he marched to the banks of the Monocacy and there offered battle to the overwhelming forces of Gen. Jubal A. Early, who, with twenty-eight thousand men, was marching triumphantly upon the national capital. On the afternoon of July 9th, near the railroad bridge that spans the Monocacy river
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near Frederick, Maryland, was fought one of the bloodiest engage- ments of the war, in proportion to the number of the combatants. General Wallace was entrenched behind stone fences that stretched along the heights near the bridge and at right angles with the river. MeCausland's cavalry, which led the vanguard of Early's army, crossed the stream and made a vigorous assault upon Wallace's lines, but, after a very spirited and bloody engage- ment, they were forced to retreat, taking up and holding a position in the rear. Soon thereafter a long line of infantry, famous as the "Stonewall Brigade," formerly made immortal by Jackson, now consolidated with other seasoned veterans into a division commanded by Gen. John C. Breckenridge, advanced on Wal- lace's main position and carried it. Though defeated, Wallace and his gallant troops had accomplished the important duty of delaying Early until reinforcements could reach Washington, thus saving the national capital.
General Wallace was second member of the court that tried the assassins of President Lincoln, and was president of the court- martial that tried Henry Wirz, commander of the notorious Con- federate prison at Andersonville, Georgia. At the close of the Civil war he was mustered out of the service with every official mark of honor. Later he represented the secret service branch of the United States, with the rank of brigadier-general, in the Mexican army. From 1878 to 1881 General Wallace served as territorial governor of New Mexico and from the latter date until 1885 he served as United States minister to Turkey. Upon re- turning home, he retired to Crawfordsville and engaged in liter- ary work up to the time of his death, which occurred on February 15, 1905.
Of all the honors achieved by General Wallace, his greatest fame will rest on the production of his pen, the most enduring of which is the book "Ben-Hur, a Tale of the Christ," which has been translated into every civilized tongue and has had the great- est circulation of any book in the English language, save "Uncle Tom's Cabin" and Macaulay's "History of England," having been read on the banks of the Mississippi, as well as on the banks of the Thames and Nile, and doubtless will be read by all peoples of all lands to the end of time. The spiritual power of "Ben-Hur" goes unchallenged and it is significant that many have been won to the Christian life by the reading of "Ben-Hur." It was ac- cepted into the homes of the luxurious, indifferent and self-satis-
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fied; men following the paths of pleasure and immersed in busi- ness; women, wearied with social successes, read the book and wept over it, and, as insensibly and certainly as the author, yielded to the story of the Christ.
General Wallace's first literary production, "The Fair God," appeared in 1873; "Ben-Hur" in 1880; "Life of General Benjamin Harrison" in ISSS; "Boyhood of Christ" in 1989; "Prince of India" in 1893; "The Wooing of Malkatoon" and, later, his "Autobiography," in two volumes. Few people can understand the great amount of study, research and careful analysis of his- torical facts, required for the production of these great historical novels. The late Bishop Newman, LL. D., of the Methodist Epis- copal church, paid Mr. Wallace a great compliment when he said that the General, in his wonderful description of the crucifixion of our Savior, gave the impression that he must have been an eye- witness. In writing his "The Fair God," he was obliged to learn the Spanish and Mexican languages, and his "Prince of India" was by far the most difficult of all.
In 1852 General Wallace was united in marriage with Susan Arnold Elston, a native of Crawfordsville, a writer of marked ability and a gentlewoman in the highest sense of the word. Though his busy life brought General Wallace in close touch with many great and prominent men, he enjoyed most the quiet of his home life, where, with the wife of his youth, who was so much to him in his labors and ambitions, he passed his declining years. Her death oeeurred on October 1, 1907, more than two years after the passing of her distinguished husband. One child was born to them, Henry Lane Wallace, now a resident of Indianapolis. Gen- eral Wallace was an appreciative member of MePherson Post No. 7, Grand Army of the Republic, at Crawfordsville.
EDWARD GILBERT.
In connection with industrial interests, the reputation of the late Edward Gilbert was pronounced in the business circles of Indianapolis for a number of years. In studying the lives and characters of prominent men in any walk of life we are naturally led to inquire into the secret of their success and the motives that prompted their action. Success is oftener a matter of experience and sound judgment and thorough preparation for a life-work than it is of genius, however bright. When we trace the careers of those whom the world acknowledges as successful, and those who stand highest in publie esteem, we find that in almost every case they are those who have risen gradually by their own efforts. their diligence and perseverance. These qualities were undoubt- edly possessed in a large measure by the gentleman whose name introduces this memoir. Although his life was a busy one, his every-day affairs making heavy demands upon his time, he never shrank from his duties as a citizen and his obligations to his church, his neighbors and his friends. Always calm and dignified, never demonstrative, his life was, nevertheless, a persistent plea, more by precept and example than by public action or written or spoken word, for the purity and grandeur of right principles and the beauty and elevation of wholesome character. He had the greatest sympathy for his fellow men and was ever willing to aid and encourage those who were struggling to aid themselves against adverse fate, vet in this as in everything else, he was en- tirely unostentatious. To him home life was a sacred trust, friendship was inviolable and nothing could swerve him from the path of rectitude and honor.
Edward Gilbert was born in Germany, December 6, 1831. He was a son of and Rose (Switzer) Gellert (the name being spelled Gellert in the old country), and he was one of a family of eleven children, six of whom grew to maturity. The father died leaving a young widow and a large family, but in good cir- cumstances, while Edward and his brother John were away at boarding school. About this time the mother received word from her two brothers, located at Brooklyn, New York, suggesting that her two sons, Edward and John, come to America, so in a short time the boys set sail for the New World, Edward being then about eleven years old and John some fifteen months younger.
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After a long voyage on an old-fashioned sailing vessel they reached our shores. John entered the employ of a drug firm, later going to Rockford, Illinois, where he engaged in the drug busi- ness for some time, then went to Fort Wayne, Indiana, where his death occurred in 1906. The only one of the family now living is Fannie, who has remained in the fatherland.
Edward Gilbert, of this review, found employment with his uneles, upon reaching Brooklyn, they being fancy goods import- ers of that city. Later he went on the road as a traveling sales- man.
Mr. Gilbert was married in Brooklyn, New York, on June 12, 1856, to Sarah B. Berry, daughter of Daniel and Nancy (Fall) Berry, the father a Yankee shoe manufacturer, of New Hamp- shire. The Berry family is of English extraction and dates back to the year 1632. Lord Berry was of the direct line. The Berrys of the later days, however, care more for what the family is now than for its distinguished origin. This family at an early date located in New Hampshire, later moving to Vermont and for sev- eral generations were prominent in New England. The grand- father of Mrs. Gilbert was Thomas Berry, and he married a woman of Scotch descent, Miss MeCrellus. Their parents settled in Vermont, and she and the rest of the family were born in that state.
Shortly after his marriage Edward Gilbert came to Rock- ford, Illinois, and engaged in the stationery business. Selling out to his brother seven years later, he proved his patriotism by en- listing in the Seventy-fourth Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He in- tended going to the front as a private, but, being a good scribe and accountant, he was placed on detached duty at headquarters, serving under Generals Sherman, Rosecrans and Thomas, being with the latter when he fought the last great battle of the war at Nashville, Tennessee. He remained in the service a few weeks after the war ended, closing up accounts, etc. He had done his work most faithfully and well, winning the hearty commendation of his superiors, and he was honorably discharged at Nashville.
After the close of the Civil war, Mr. Gilbert came to Indi- anapolis, where he met his wife, who had shipped their goods here from Rockford, Illinois. He first entered the life insurance business, which he followed successfully for a period of fifteen years, then took up fire insurance. He was later made secre- tary of the Plymouth Building and Loan Association, which he
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managed with rare ability and fidelity, in a manner that reflected much credit upon himself and to the eminent satisfaction of all concerned and this position he held until he retired from business, being compelled to give up active life some three years prior to his death on account of failing eyesight. He was summoned, by the "Reaper whose name is Death" to close his earthly accounts on the 5th day of May, 1910, after a neofny! and successful career.
Edward Gilbert was known as a man of unswerving integrity and serupulous honesty. He was often asked to conduct private business for others who had implicit confidence in him. He was an active and faithful member of the Plymouth Congregational church (now the First Congregational church) of Indianapolis. He was an earnest worker in the Sunday school and he estab- lished the Sunday school at the poor farm, which he conducted for two years. He was a member of the Grand Army of the Re- public, in which he was greatly interested. He was in the fullest sense of the term a home man, his domestic life being ideal and harmonious. He was best contented when with his family in his pleasant and attractive home in Talbott avenue. He was a great reader and kept a good library of the world's best literature, and was thus well informed and an interesting conversationalist. He was patient and long suffering, as was shown during the last three years of his life when he was practically incapacitated from all work. During this period his wife, to whom he owed no small portion of his material success, owing to her encouragement and sympathy, conducted all his business matters, and she never tired of reading to him from his favorite volumes. And after he had passed away she was called upon to continue with his interests.
Besides his widow Edward Gilbert left two children, name- ly: Emily S., widow of Lewis H. Gibson, for many years a success- ful architect here; she is living at No. 1636 Pennsylvania street, and has the following children: Jessie G., wife of W. A. Payne, lives in Columbus, Ohio, and has one child, Phoebe; Edward G. Gibson, who lives in Cleveland, Ohio, married Helen VanHIoff; and Catherine Gibson. Charles II. Gilbert, better known as "Doctor," is professor of zoology at Stanford University, Palo Alto, California, being one of the best known educators of his line in the West. He married Julia Hughes. They are the parents of three children, namely: Ruth is the eldest; Winifred married Carl Brown, of San Francisco, and they have one child, Carl A .; Carl is the youngest of Charles II. Gilbert's children.
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THEODORE E. SOMERVILLE.
Fealty to facts in the analy zation of the character of a citizen of the type of the late Theodore E. Sonterville, for many years a well known business man of Indianapolis, is all that is required to make a biographical memoir interesting to those who have at heart the good name of the community honored by his residence, because it is the honorable reputation of the man of standing and affairs, more than any other consideration, that gives character and stability to the body politic and makes the true glory of a city or state revered at home and respected abroad. In the broad light in which things of good report ever invite, the name and character of Mr. Somerville stand revealed and secure and, though of modest demeanor with no ambition to distinguish him- self in publie position or as a leader of men, his career was signally honorable and useful and it may be studied with profit by the youth entering upon his life work.
Mr. Somerville was born in Ripley county, Indiana, March 15, 1848. He was the son of Thomas W. Somerville, who was born in Scotland, from which country he came to America when quite young, first locating in Pennsylvania. He later took up his resi- dence in Indiana, at what was then known as Pennsylvaniaburg, and there he remained many years, and at that place his son, Theodore E., was born. The father followed agricultural pur- suits, owning a farm in the vicinity of the above named town, which he worked successfully for a period of forty years or dur- ing the rest of his life. He married Sarah MeCreary, who was born in northern Ireland, and she emigrated to America when fourteen years of age and she and Thomas W. Somerville were married in Pennsylvania, sometime before their migration to the Hoosier state. The death of the mother of the subject occurred in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1893, while visiting friends.
Five children were born to Thomas W. Somerville and wife, namely: Thomas M., deceased; Tillford D., who lives in Indian- apolis; James is deceased; Theodore E., of this review; Margaret
(24)
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is deceased. All these children were born at the old home place near Pennsylvaniaburg, Indiana.
Theodore E. Somerville spent his boyhood on the homestead and assisted with the general work there when a boy, and in the wintertime he attended the common schools. Later he was a pupil in Butler College, Irvington, Indiana, now a suburb of Indi- onapolis. He also took a commercial course.
Mr. Somerville started in life for hiniself by accepting a posi- tion as bookkeeper for the Tarlton Wholesale Fish Company, with which he remained for a number of years, after which he entered into the wholesale candy business, in partnership with a Mr. Mes- sick, under the firm name of the Somerville-Messick Company. After conducting this business for four years Mr. Somerville sold his interest to his partner and went on the road as a traveling salesman for the Nicholas Grocery Company, of New York, and he remained with this firm for two years. While in this capacity he made many firm friends and a wide acquaintance was his. Being away from home was not to Mr. Somerville's liking, so he gave up his position with the last-named firm to engage in busi- ness which would keep him near his family. He therefore opened a laundry in Indianapolis, where the Co-operative Laundry now stands, near the viaduct. This was one of the first modern laun- dries to be built in this city. In the year 1887 he sold out this business and went to Colorado, locating thirty-six miles west of Denver, where he remained for thirteen months, owning and oper- ating what he believed to be a gold mine. In later years, while relating his experience in Colorado, he would always say, joking- ly, that he was sure that there was money in the mine because he had put about two hundred thousand dollars into it and had never taken anything out. Aside from the experience which he re- ceived he had nothing to show for his gold mining days except a large beautiful oil painting of the mine and surroundings exe- cuted by his wife, Mrs. Mary E. Somerville, a lady of much esthetic talent, she having been his companion during the period of his residence in the Rockies.
Returning to Indianapolis, Mr. Somerville organized the Co- operative Laundry where he had formerly been engaged in the same business. He later sold his interests in that laundry and started the Somerville Laundry, situated at No. 460 Virginia
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avenue, where he continued in business until his death, which oc- curred on February 3, 1912, at the Methodist Episcopal Hospital, of heart trouble, at the age of sixty-two years. Ilis widow, hav- ing taken over the interests in this business, still conducts the plant on the same plans inaugurated by the subject, and she has met with increasing success all the while. It was Mr. Somer- ville's ambition to have one of the most thoroughly ognipped laun- dries in the state and to this end he installed every modern im- provement known to the business and was able to realize his am- bition before he passed away. Ilis plant was regarded by all who inspected it as a model, superior in every way, and he will long be remembered as one of the city's pioneer and most expert laundry- men. He was manager and secretary-treasurer of this concern and he gave it his close attention and saw it grow steadily from year to year. During 1911 he was president of the National Laundrymen's Association, the duties of which important posi- tion he discharged most faithfully and satisfactorily.
Mr. Somerville was reared in the Baptist faith, and in his younger days he was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, but, being what might essentially be termed a home man, he withdrew from this lodge later on in life and spent his even- ings with his family. Politically, he was a Republican, but he never took a very active interest in party affairs or aspired to publie office, preferring to give his attention to his individual affairs.
On February 26, 1879, Mr. Somerville was united in marriage with Mary Ellen Townsend at Indianapolis. She is a native of Royal Center, Cass county, Indiana, and is the daughter of Dr. William Townsend, a graduate of the Chicago Medical College and practiced medicine in Cass county for a number of years, and also for a short time in Indianapolis, being regarded as a general phy- sician of a very high order of ability. His death occurred in 1876, his widow passing away at the home of Mrs. Somerville in 1898. She was known in her maidenhood as Mary Veal and she had formerly been married to Madison Dixon when sixteen years of age, and their residence at that time was on an Indian reservation, their nearest neighbor being five miles away.
Mr. and Mrs. Theodore E. Somerville were the parents of one child, a daughter, Nell, who was married in June, 1904, to Ira
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Justus. They reside in Indianapolis, and two children have been born to them, Harold Theodore and Ethel Ruth. There is a pretty little incident in connection with the naming of Mrs. Justus. Dickens being one of Mrs. Somerville's favorite authors, she had decided years ago that if she were ever blessed with a daughter she would name her for "Little Nell," the famous character of The Old Curiosity Shop."
Like the subject of this memoir, whose memory is revered by a wide circle of friends and acquaintances, Mrs. Somerville and her daughter, Mrs. Justus, have long been a favorite in the circles in which they move.
JUDGE THOMAS F. DAVIDSON.
Indiana has been especially honored in the character and career of her public and professional men. In every county there have been found, rising above their. fellows, individuals born to leadership in the various vocations and professions, men who have dominated not alone by superior intelligence and natural en- dowment, but by natural force of character which has minimized discouragements and dared great undertakings. Such men have not been rare by any means, and it is always profitable to study their lives, weigh their motives and hold up their achievements as incentives to greater activity and higher excellence on the part of others just entering upon their first struggles with the world. A lawyer of exalted ability, a jurist of the highest type and a man of sublimated integrity and honor, the late Thomas F. Davidson, for many years a judge of the circuit court, left a deep impress upon the history of this state, of which he was one of her distin- guished and honored native sons. Indiana was dignified by his noble life and splendid achievements, and he stood as a worthy and conspicuous member of a striking group of public men whose influence in the civic and social life as well as in professional cir- cles of the state was of a most beneficent order. Not only in the judiciary was Mr. Davidson accorded evidences of popular con- fidence and regard, but also in other directions, while he ever or- dered his course according to the highest principles and ideals, so that he was found true to himself and to all men. Such was his prominence in public affairs and in professional life in Indiana that it is but a matter of justice to here enter a brief tribute to his memory and perpetuate at least a brief record concerning his career.
Judge Thomas F. Davidson was born in Covington, Indiana, February 17, 1839. He was the son of Samuel H. Davidson and wife, an excellent old family of Fountain county, this state. Their son, Thomas F., grew to manhood near Hillsboro, in much the same manner as the average farmer boy in that day. He worked hard when a boy about the homestead and he received a meager education in the early country schools. When fifteen years of age he began learning the miller's trade at his father's
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mill east of Hillsboro, later known as Snyder's mill. After spend- ing two years in the mill he began working on his father's farm, in the same vicinity, remaining on the same until 1860. It was in the fall of 1859 that he took up the study of law, having long entertained a laudable ambition to enter the legal arena. Hc borrowed law books of S. C. Wilson and the great Lew Wallace, who were at that time lawyers in Comwfordsville. After working hard on the farm all day, young Davidson would pore over the law books at night. Upon finishing a book he would return it and re- cite the contents of the volume to General Wallace, then re- turned home with another book. This method was continued until the young man became well enough grounded in the basic principles of his chosen profession and far enough advanced in other studies to enable him to secure a certificate to teach school, a license for this work being obtained from John McBroom, Esq., and he taught one term of school in his neighborhood in the win- ter of 1859-60, and the following fall and winter he taught in Tazewell county, Illinois, still keeping up his law studies. In the spring of 1861 he settled in Covington, Indiana, and began the practice of law. He was permitted by the kindness of San- uel F. Miller, Esq., then recorder of Fountain county, to occupy his office. In this manner, with but few books, little money, and without education, except such as he received in the common schools and one term in high school at Waynetown, he entered upon his life work. With a dauntless courage, partaking of the rugged experience of his youth, he announced himself through the usual mediums as an attorney-at-law; continued his studies; improved opportunities that fell in his way and gradually fitted himself for his profession, and as a result at the end of three or four years enjoyed a law practice second to none in Fountain county.
On May 31, 1865, Mr. Davidson was united in marriage with Eliza E. Tice, youngest daughter of Jacob Tice, one of the oldest and best known citizens of Covington. It was about this time that he began to be known as an able and successful lawyer. For several years, until his elevation to the bench of the circuit court, he devoted his entire effort to the practice of law. He maintained and advocated a high professional standard both for himself and for others. His record as a practicing lawyer was so far satisfactory to the bar and people of the circuit that in 1870, when only thirty-one years of age and in a large circuit,
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