USA > Indiana > Memorial and genealogical record of Representative Citizens of Indiana > Part 66
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 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68
747
him a recognition from the strongest opponents, faith in his powers, and the lasting fealty and admiration of thousands of friends until he reached the highest point among the great Ameri- can statesmen.
Up to his thirty-first year Mr. Morton was a Democrat. The county in which he lived was largely Whig, thus virtually preclud- ing him from holding elective offices. He was opposed to the ex- tension of slavery, however, and upon the organization of the Republican party he entered the movement, and in 1856 was one of the three delegates from Indiana to the Pittsburgh convention. His prominence was such that in 1856 he was unanimously nomi- nated by the new party for governor of Indiana, against Abel P. Willard, an able and brilliant speaker and Morton's superior as an orator, but his inferior as a logician and debater. These two distinguished men canvassed the state together, and drew im; mense crowds. Although beaten at the polls, Morton came out of the contest with his popularity increased, and with the reputation of being one of the ablest public men in the state. In 1860 he was nominated for lieutenant-governor on the ticket with Hon. Henry S. Lane, with the understanding that if successful he should go to the Senate and Mr. Morton became governor. He made a vigorous canvass and the result of the election was a Republican success, which placed Mr. Lane in the Senate and Mr. Morton in the gubernatorial chair. From the day of his inauguration Mr. Morton gave evidence of possessing extraordinary executive abil- ity. It was while filling this term as governor that he did his best public work and created for himself a fame as lasting as that of his state. A great civil war was breaking out when he became governor and few so well comprehended what would be its magni- tude as he. He was one of the first to foresee the coming storm of battle and most active in his preparations to meet it. Perceiving the danger of a dilatory policy, he visited Washington soon after the inauguration of President Lincoln, to advise vigorous action and to give assurance of Indiana's support to such a policy. He commenced preparing for the forthcoming conflict, and when Sumter was fired on, April 12, 1861, he was neither surprised nor appalled. Three days after the attack, President Lincoln called for seventy-five thousand troops to put down the rebellion, and the same day Governor Morton tendered him ten thousand men.
In seven days from the date of this offer over three times the number of men required to fill Indiana's quota of the President's
448 call offered their services to the country. Never in the world's history did the people of a state respond more cheerfully and more enthusiastically to the call of duty than did the people of Indiana in 1861. The record of the state reflects imperishable honor on his name, and from that time forth he was known throughout the nation as the "Great War Governor." During the entire period of the war he performed an incredible amount of labor, counseling the President, encouraging the people, organizing regiments, hurrying troops to the field, forwarding stores, and inspiring all with the enthusiasm of his own carnestness. His labors for the relief of the soldiers and their dependent and needy families were held up as matters of emulation by governors of other states, and the results of his efforts was that during the war over six hundred thousand supplies were collected and conveyed to Indiana soldiers in camp, field, hospital and prison.
The limits of a sketch like this forbid a detailed account of Governor Morton's public acts. He displayed extraordinary in- dustry and ability and in his efforts in behalf of the soldier justly earned the title of "The Soldier's Friend." In January, 1867, he was elected to the United States Senate and immediately there- after resigned the governorship. In 1873 he was re-elected to the Senate and continued a leading member of that body while he lived. In the Senate he ranked among the ablest members, was chairman of the committee on privileges and elections, was the acknowledged leader of the Republicans, and for several years exercised a determining influence over the course of the party. He labored zealously to secure the passage of the fifteenth amend- ment, was active in the impeachment proceedings against Andrew Johnson, and was the trusted advisor of the Republicans of the South. In the national Republican convention of 1876 he re- ceived next to the highest number of ballots for the presidential nomination, and in 1877 was a member of the celebrated electoral commission. In 1870 President Grant offered him the English mission, which was declined. After visiting Oregon in the spring of 1877, as chairman of a committee to investigate the election of Senator Grover, of that state, Mr. Morton suffered a stroke of paralysis, the second, having sustained one in 1865, and this re- sulted in his death, November 1, 1877. The death of no man, with the exception of Lincoln, ever created so much grief in Indiana as did that of Senator Morton, and he was mourned alinost as much through the entire nation.
.
WILLIAM H. ENGLISH.
A man of national reputation and importance in affairs of government and business for many years was William II. English, a man whom Indiana was proud to claim for one of her native sons. He also won a reputation in the field of letters. He was born at Lexington, Scott county, Indiana, August 27, 1822, and was the only son of Ilon. Elisha G. and Mahala (Eastin) English. The original progenitor of the English family was James English, who was a son of Thomas English, and who emigrated to America about the year 1700, settling near Laurel, Delaware, and there his son James English was born, also the latter's son Elisha English, who there married Sarah Wharton, with whom he removed to Kentucky where their son, Elisha G. English, was born. In 1830 the family moved to Greene county, Illinois. Major Elisha G. English, father of the subject of this memoir, was the founder of the family in Indiana and was one of the earliest settlers in Scott county, where he took up his abode in 1818, and there he became prominent in the public affairs of the county, and for many years was a member of the Legislature and he had much to do in making the early history of the state. He died in Indianapolis November 14, 1874. ITis wife, Mahala Eastin, was a native of Kentucky, one of a family of seventeen children. In the maternal line Will- iam H. English was a direct descendant of two notable characters in the colonial history of the nation-Louis DuBois, the Inguenot patentee and early colonist in New York, and Jost Hite, who established the first settlement west of the Blue Ridge mountains in Virginia, having received a grant of more than one hundred thousand acres of land from King George II.
William H. English was born and reared amid pioneer condi- tions and his advantages for obtaining an education were limited, but he persevered and became a self-educated man of rare mental attainments, having possessed by nature a mind noted for its logic and reason. He studied law for a time, but his ambitions were always in the line of politics, and he soon accepted an office in one of the departments at Washington, which he held four years. He gave up the law, returned to Indiana and became very active in
politics, always supporting Democratie principles. Even before he was of age he was chosen a delegate from Scott county to the Democratie state convention. At that time there were no rail- roads and he came to the capital on horseback. He later served as postmaster at Lexington, the then county seat of Scott county. In 1843 he was elected principal clerk of the state House of Repre- sentatives. After the session was ended Mr. English took the stump for James K. Polk in his campaign against Henry Clay for President, and after the election of the former, Mr. English was appointed to a position in the treasury department at Washing- ton, later resigning this office. During the memorable session of Congress in 1850 Mr. English was clerk of the claims committee in the United States Senate and listened to the famous speeches made by Webster, Benton, Clay, Calhoun and Cass. At the elose of that session he resigned his position and returned to his Indiana home. In October, 1850, he was elected secretary of the repre- sentatives that had been selected to the constitutional convention in Indianapolis, for the purpose of revising the old constitution. At the adjournment of the convention he was delegated to per- form the important duty of supervising the publication of the con- stitution, the journals and the addresses. He had thus become an important factor in the political arena of his native state before he was thirty years of age. In 1851 he was chosen to represent Scott county in the Legislature during its first session after the adoption of the new constitution, and in the race for the position of speaker of the House he was defeated by only nine votes. Soon, however, the speaker resigned and Mr. English was elected to the place. During a session of three months not a single appeal was taken from his decisions. His admirable record in the Legis- lature marked him for higher official honors. In October, 1852, he was elected to represent his district in Congress and there he made a brilliant record. He was a member of the committee on territories, and to it was referred the famous Kansas-Nebraska bill. In his position on that question he was the pronounend champion of the popular sovereignty idea, leaving to the inhabi- tants of the territory the privilege of determining such laws as they desired to make in relation to the institution of slavery. His amendment was voted down, but one almost exactly similar was formulated in the Senate and became a provision of the law as enacted. During all the period Mr. English was in Congress he
751
was prominently identified with all the measures relating to slav- ery. He believed with the leading men of that period that the question of slavery ought to be left to the people of the localities where it existed. Mr. English was one of the three represent- atives from a free state who were able to secure re-election to Congress in the face of their position on the Kansas-Nebraska bill.
For eight years Mr. English was a regent of the Smithsonian Institution and in that capacity had a great deal to do in control- ling the finances of that institution. At the close of his second term in Congress he was not a candidate for re-election, but the convention insisted on his taking a third term, which he finally agreed to and was elected by a much larger majority than ever before. He was appointed chairman of the very important com- mittee on postoffices and post-roads. The agitation of the slavery question continued, and application was made to admit Kansas as a state which did not prohibit slavery. Mr. English ardently op- posed this on the ground that there had not been a satisfactory declaration by the people of Kansas in its favor. After much agitation in both houses, the subject presented a proposition known as the "English bill," which passed both houses and fur- nished the solution of the long-standing difficulty. President Buchanan wrote Mr. English a letter in which he earnestly thanked him for his services in settling this vexed problem. Once more he was elected to Congress and both under President Buchanan and President Johnson he was offered many high executive appointments, but refused them. He used every pos- sible means at his command to reconcile the North and South on the question of slavery. He took no active part in the Civil war, but was at all times a firm and consistent supporter of the Union cause. He was offered command of a regiment by Governor Morton, but declined. He refused a renomination for Congress in 1862, in fact, he took little active part in politics for a number of years prior to .Inne. 1880. when at the Democratic national convention in Cincinnati, he received the unanimous nomination for Vice-President of the United States, and he made the race with Gen. W. S. Hancock, the Presidential nominee. After the close of the campaign which resulted in the defeat of the Demo- cratic party Mr. English did not again take active part in political affairs, though his counsel continued to be freely sought by the
-
.
152
leaders of his party during the residue of his long and useful life. He found ample demand on his time and attention in the super- vision of his manifold and extensive business and property inter- ests. He was one of the organizers of the First National Bank of Indianapolis in 1863. He moved from Scott county to the capital city in 1865 where he spent the rest of his life, dying Febru- ary 7, 1896. He was head of the above named bank for fourteen years, and was president of the Indianapolis Clearing House As- sociation and the Indianapolis Banking Association, and he held controlling interest in the local street railway system. He was a man of rare literary tastes and produced a history of Indiana, but his best known work is his comprehensive history of the "Con- quest of the Northwest."
In 1847 Mr. English married Emma M. Jackson, of Virginia, who died in 1877. Two children were born of this union, William E. English, a well known business man of Indianapolis, and Rosa- lind, who married Dr. W. Walling, of Chicago.
4
WILLIAM FREDERICK BORGMANN.
It is with a great degree of satisfaction to us when we avert - to the life of one who has made the rough path of life smooth by untiring perseverance, attaining success in any vocation requir- ing definiteness of purpose and determined action. Such a life, whether it be one of calm, consecutive endeavor, or of sudden meteoric accomplishments, must abound both in lesson and in- centive and prove a guide to the young men whose fortunes are still matters for the future to determine. For a number of years the late William Frederick Borgmann directed his efforts toward the goal of success in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and by patient con- tinuance won pronounced prestige. But it is by no means an easy task to describe within the limits of this review a man who led an active and eminently useful life and by his own exertions reached a position of honor and trust in the line of industries with which his interests were allied. But biography and memorial history find justification, nevertheless, in tracing and recording such a life record, as the public elaims a certain property interest in the career of every individual and the time invariably arrives when it becomes advisable to give the right publicity. It is, then, with a certain degree of satisfaction that the chronieler essays the task of touching briefly upon such a record as has been of the honored subject of this memoir, one of the honored native sons of Allen county and for many years one of our leading business and public men, who deserved in every respect the large success he attained and the high esteem in which he was universally held.
Mr. Borgmann was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, August 7, 1865. He was the son of William and Lesette (Brockmeyer) Borgmann, both parents having been born in Germany where they spent their earlier years, and from there they emigrated to the United States and were among the early settlers of Allen county, Indiana, having come here while yet single, and they were mar- ried in Fort Wayne in 1862. The elder Borgmann was a pioneer boatman in the early days of the canal and he was on the police force in Fort Wayne for a number of years, retiring from the service to engage in the trucking business, which he became very
(48)
754
successful in, and he became well known and influential in his adopted city, and here he spent most of his life, his death occur- ring in 1908. His widow survives and is at this writing making her home with her oldest daughter, Mrs. Ferdinand Busse. She has attained an advanced age and is a woman of gracious person- ality.
William F. Borgmann was the second of a family of five chil- dren, four of whom survive and make their home in Fort Wayne, namely: Mrs. Ferdinand Busse, August C., Christian Frederick and Mrs. Elizabeth Heist.
The subject grew to manhood in his native city and received his early education here up to the age of fourteen years when he became associated with his father in the trucking business, in which he spent his life and was very successful. Always mani- festing an abiding interest in public affairs, he was appointed patrolman in 1890, then sergeant, and later captain, finally becom- ing chief of police, his gradual rise having been due to merit and honorable conduct, and he held the office of chief until he resigned in 1910, having given the utmost satisfaction to all concerned, irrespective of party tics, having discharged his every duty in a manner that reflected much credit upon his ability and stanch character as a man.
In 1898 Mr. Borgmann went into partnership with his brother in conducting the Brown Trucking Company, in which their suc- cess was pronounced from the first, and of which the subject was president at the time of his death. He was always very active in the Democratic ranks, and he was often prevailed upon before his death to permit his name to be placed in nomination for sheriff, but he cared for no honors and finished the rest of his life looking after his large business interests, and ranking as one of the city's most capable and successful business men. His life came to a tragic and sudden end on April 13, 1912, being struck by an auto- mobile, his death shocking the community from which he will long be sadly missed. In manner he was quiet and imassuming, and was a lover of his own fireside. He had purchased five acres of land a few miles out from the city and was to have built a sum- mer home there in 1912. He was fond of outdoor recreation, also was very fond of music, his family being talented in that direction. He was a member and trustce of Trinity Lutheran church, the family also being members of this church. The family resides
100
.
755
at No. 420 West Fourth street, which has been the homestead of the Borgmanns since 1892.
On July 4, 1886, Mr. Borgmann was united in marriage with Anna Hunsche, in Fort Wayne. She was born in Lima, Ohio, the daughter of Henry Frederick and Anna (Reber) Hunsche, both natives of Germany, where they spent their earlier years, emi- grating to America in 1862, and here became well established. They are both now deceased, the father having passed away in 1911, his wife having preceded him to the grave nearly twenty years ago.
Three children were born to the subject and wife, namely: Edith Borgmann, who married Paul Charl'le, of Fort Wayne, and two children have been born to them, William and Jack, the latter being deceased; Walter A. Borgmann, who married Paula Doenges, of Fort Wayne, is still a resident of their home city; Irene Borgmann, who married John C. Marshall, of Antwerp, Ohio, has one son, Stephen Marshall.
The funeral of the late William F. Borgmann was very largely attended. We reprint in full the splendid oration delivered upon that occasion by Rev. Paul Stoeppelworth:
"There is no doubt that the sad, untimely death of our friend and brother, W. F. Borgmann, has caused a general feeling of sorrow in our entire city. He was a man of unusual power, mentally and physically, in the prime of life, husband and father of a loving wife and children, the son of an aged mother, who clung to him as her main support in her declining years. Death in its most horrible form has torn him from their midst, hurling them into a state of grief, which they alone can fully understand. Surely no human heart is so hardened as to deny them its sym- pathy. -
"Besides, W. F. Borgmann was generally beloved. He had a wide circle of acquaintances and among them all not one but who was proud of his friendship. His sterling qualities, his manliness of character, his fine sense of justice, his high regard for duty, his absolute honesty were so apparent as to command immediate re- spect, which a close acquaintance invariably served to increase and confirm. Honesty was the basic principle of his character. Through close application to work and circumspect planning he had succeeded in building up a profitable business, but the charge of dishonesty in business transactions was never made against
756
him. A number of times he served our community as a public officer, but he was never charged with having acquired such office by dishonest methods or having abused the trust placed in him for his own material advancement. He never sought public honors. Had he cared to do so he might have occupied much more exalted positions; nor, having attained them without his seeking, did he ever look upon his office in any other light than that of a public trust. Such was W. F. Borgmann, a gentleman, a model citizen, a true patriot, his death a distinet loss to the com- munity; he was more, he was an upright Christian, a faithful mem- ber of our Lutheran Trinity church, which is sorely stricken by his sad departure. He was right, not only to his relation toward his fellow men but also, as to his relation with his God. And God judges us by a different standard than men do. God is perfect and his standard of judgment is perfect. What men look upon as an admirable conduct and land as model righteousness, is, in His sight, nothing but 'filthy rags.' Our departed brother knew that very well. To place himself right with his God, he presumed not to plead his good and noble qualities as men saw them. He put his faith in something far better; the absolute righteousness merited by Jesus, our Saviour, for all mankind: 'Jesus' blood and righteousness, My raiment are and precious dress.' That was the sum substance of his faith.
"'Just as I am, without one plea, Save that Thy blood did flow for me, And that Thou bidst me come to thee, So, Lamb of God, I come, I come.'
"On that plea alone he cared and hoped to face his God. I make this statement from personal knowledge, having been con- nected with the deceased for ten years as his pastor. And this fact gives me courage to perform my duty on this sad occasion. Knowing the deceased to have been a Christian, I drew from our text, Luke vu:12-15, the two-fold comfort in assurance for you, grief-stricken mourners:
"'Christ, the Lord, has dealt with your beloved and is dealing with you according to his loving kindness.'
"A happy reunion with him whose death you mourn, awaits you in eternity.
75%
"Our text takes us to the village of Nain, in the plain of Edraelon in Galilee. A very sad death has occurred in that village. A young man, the only son of his mother, a widow, has been taken away by death. His body was being carried out of the city for burial. Many friends followed him to his last resting place. The funeral procession had just reached the city gate, when they were met by another procession coming toward the city, 'Jesus and his disciples and much people!', When Jesus saw the grief-stricken mother bent down under her load of sorrow 'He had compassion on her and said unto her: Weep not, and he came and touched the bier; and they that saw him stood still and He said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise, and he that was dead, sat up and began to speak.' A most fortunate coincidence, some call it, that Jesus, the Prince of Life, happened along that way just at the proper moment to show his life-giving power for the benefit of the poor, bereaved mother and her dead son, but there .was more in that meeting than coincidence; it was designed. Jesus walked that eight hours' way from Capernaum, where he had liealed the centurion's servant, to Nain for the sole purpose of per- forming the miracle our text speaks of, Being a part of Jesus' work, this miracle was unchided in God's plan of redemption, or- dained from eternity. More than that-all circumstances lead- ing to and conditioning the performance of the miracle were in- cluded in this plan. God, Jesus himself, ordained from eternity and at the proper moment so shaped the circumstances, that He must meet the funeral procession at the city gate. The young man's death occurred at a moment suited to God's plan and that plan included not only the Saviour's glorification but also the wel- fare of the sorely stricken widow and her deceased son. In both the firm, unwavering, absolute faith, that truly saves, was to be. awakened, the faith that in Jesus of Nazarethi we have the Saviour promised by the Old Testament prophets, who conquered all our. enemies, even death itself. For that reason Luke tells us, that when Jesus saw the widow. He had compassion on her and said, 'Weep not.' That look of compassion from the eyes of the merciful Saviour, those words of tender, yet forceful, consolation from his divine lips conveyed to the poor dejected widow the sustaining truth: 'My Lord is dealing with me and my dead son according to his loving kindness. It is by his good and merciful will, not by the will of blind fate, that I now pass through- this
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.