A history of Kentucky and Kentuckians; the leaders and representative men in commerce, industry and modern activities, Volume III, Part 64

Author: Johnson, E. Polk, 1844-; Lewis Publishing Company
Publication date: 1912
Publisher: Chicago, Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 860

USA > Kentucky > A history of Kentucky and Kentuckians; the leaders and representative men in commerce, industry and modern activities, Volume III > Part 64

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guard for President Davis and his cabinet until they separated. Colonel Breckinridge surrendered with his command in Georgia in May, 1865, returned to Lexington, Kentucky, assumed editorial charge of the Observer and Reporter, and made a fresh start upon his professional career. He rapidly built up a large practice, attained a wide reputation as a practitioner and pleader and in 1875 formed a partnership with John T. Shelby, which continued until his death.

Colonel Breckinridge was three times mar- ried. His first wife was Lucretia Hart Clay, granddaughter of Henry Clay and daughter of Thomas Hart Clay. His second marriage was to Issa Desha, daughter of Dr. John R. and Mary Curry Desha and granddaughter of Joseph Desha, governor of Kentucky, 1824- 1828. His third wife was Mrs. Louise (Scott) Wing, daughter of Robert W. Scott and widow of Rumsey Wing. The children who survive him are Eleanor Breckinridge Chalkley, Sophonisba Preston, Desha and Curry Desha Breckinridge.

In 1884 he became the representative of the Seventh Congressional District of Kentucky, known as the Ashland District, in the House of Representatives, to which he was re-elected four times. In 1896 he was a conspicuous figure among those who directed the secession from the Regular Democratic party and was an unsuccessful candidate for Congress on the so-called "sound money" platform. At this time, with his son, Desha Breckinridge, he assumed the editorial direction of the Lering- ton Herald, now the leading Kentucky Daily outside of Louisville. During his congres- sional career he was conspicuously identified with the effort to revise the tariff on a revenue rather than on a protective basis and was identified with Morrison, Mills, Wilson and C. R. Breckinridge in this effort. He was a dis- tinguished member of the leading committees of the House of Representatives, those on Ways and Means and on Appropriation.

In politics he was a staunch supporter of the principles and policies for which the Dem- ocratic party stood sponsor and gave freely of his aid and influence to all measures projected for the general welfare. In addition to the public positions in which he acquitted himself with honor and distinction he held at different times the chair of law in the University of Kentucky. To his convincing, persuasive and charming gifts as an orator no adequate trib- ute can be paid. The following appreciative words have been written concerning him and are considered worthy of reproduction in this article: "He was recognized as one of the most gifted orators in the House of Represen-

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tatives, and his eloquence and masterful un- derstanding of the issues discussed won him a national reputation. In the trial of criminal charges involving the penalty of death, Colonel Breckinridge's voice was often raised in be- half of mercy, and in defense of men so charged he was exceptionally successful in se- curing acquittals, his addresses to a jury in such cases being models of oratory calculated to awaken every human instinct of the heart and appeal not only to the sense of right, but also to those higher and nobler traits of the mind that find expression in the conviction that it is more divine to forgive than to punish." His mind was of giant strength; he was lib- eral in thought and action, charitable toward others' opinions and ever mindful of their rights and sensibilities. The list of his friends might be said to include the list of his ac- quaintances, and they were legion, bound in 110 sense by party lines, religious creeds or so- cial status. People of every condition, posi- tion, or relative importance knew him, and, knowing him, respected and loved him.

Colonel Breckinridge was a member of Lex- ington Lodge, No. 1, F and A. M .; of Lexing- ton Royal Arch Chapter, No. I, R. A. M .; and of Webb Commandery, No. 2, K. T.

The nobility which marked the person and character of Colonel Breckinridge came from high authority, since it was based upon ex- alted purpose and distinguished ability. His career indicated the possession of courage, de- termination, self-confidence and integrity. Many men have achieved marked distinction along one line of endeavor, but to few has it been given to attain such prominence in so many and in such varied directions as in the case of Colonel Breckinridge. As soldier, lawyer, educator, orator, statesman and phi- lanthropist, he stood out in the public affairs of the state and nation and his contribution to history is of no mean order.

He came of a distinguished family, many of whose members have rendered conspicuous service to their community. As his excellence can be more fully understood in the light of their prominence, extended reference is made to a few of those bearing the name.

The first immigrant (to America) of the name was Alexander Breckinridge, a man of education and good standing, born in Ulster province, Ireland, descended from a Scotch family whose headquarters were in Ayrshire. He came to America about 1739, accompanied by his wife, Laetitia Preston, and by her brother, John Preston. Shortly after this time Colonel James Patton of the British army came from England, the grantee of a tract of land of 150,000 acres in Virginia, and

on a portion of this land, which was near the present site of Staunton, Virginia, Alexander Breckinridge and John Preston settled. Sev- eral of the grandsons of Alexander Breckin- ridge came at a comparatively early date to Kentucky. First came Robert and Alexander Breckinridge, sons of Robert Breckinridge and. his first wife (Miss Pogue) and grand- sons of the first Alexander. These brothers served in the Indian wars, were officers in the Revolutionary war, became charter members of the Order of Cincinnati, and were men of influence. They settled, in 1783, near the present site of Louisville. They were Iater followed, in 1792, by their younger half brother, John Breckinridge, the son of Robert by his second wife and cousin, Lettice Pres- ton. John Breckinridge was born in 1760. At the age of nineteen he entered William and Mary College. While a student he was twice elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses, though still disqualified by his youth. He was later admitted to the bar and in 1785 he mar- ried Mary Hopkins Cabell, a daughter of a Revolutionary officer. In 1792 he moved to Kentucky and established his family on a tract of land in Fayette county, to which he gave the name Cabell's Dale. In 1793 he was ap- pointed by Governor Isaac Shelby to the of- fice of attorney general, which he held until 1797, when he resigned in order to enter the State Legislature. He drafted the famous "Kentucky Resolutions" of 1798, and was a member of the constitutional convention of 1799, where he made an unsuccessful effort to retain the right of the ballot for the free negro. He served in the Lower House until 1801, and was speaker during the last two years of this period. In 1801 he was elected to the United States Senate, and sat in that body until 1805, when he resigned to become attorney general in Jefferson's second cabinet. The following year he died at his home in Kentucky, at the early age of forty-six.

John Breckinridge was survived by four sons, Joseph Cabell, John, Robert Jefferson and William Lewis. Two of these have been influential in determining the development of i Kentucky. The older, Joseph Cabell Breck- ! inridge, was born July 14, 1788. He gradu- ated from Princeton College. He served in the war of 1812, was a member of the State Legislature and speaker in the Lower House, 1817-18, and secretary of state 1820. He died in 1823. His wife, Mary Clay Smith, was a granddaughter of John Witherspoon and a descendant of John Knox. Their only son, John Cabell Breckinridge, born January 21, 1821, graduated from Center College, Dan- ville, in 1839, attended the Transylvania Law i

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School in Lexington, and became a member of the bar. He was a major in the Mexican war and a member of the State Legislature. He served in the United States House of Rep- resentatives from 1851 to 1857, was vice- president, 1856-60, was elected to the United States Senate in 1860, and retained his seat in the latter body until 1861, when he resigned to become an officer in the Confederate army and later a member of the Confederate govern- ment. He was a candidate for the presidency, representing the conservative slave-holding portion of the Democratic party, which re- jected the nomination of Stephen A. Douglas. The other son of John Breckinridge of whom mention will be made here is Robert Jefferson Breckinridge, who was born March 8, 1800, in Kentucky, studied at Princeton, Yale and Union College, where he was graduated at the age of nineteen. He was first a member of the bar and later a minister of the gospel of the Presbyterian faith. He was a member of the Legislature ( 1823-1827), superintend- ent of public instruction (184. . ), candidate for the State Constitutional Convention in 1848 and defeated on the issue of gradual emancipation of the blacks, temporary chair- man of the second Republican Convention in 1864, which nominated Lincoln for his sec- ond term, and largely influential in preventing the secession of Kentucky. He died in 1873, survived by three sons, Robert Jefferson, Jo- seph Cabell and the subject of this sketch.

WILLIAM C. FERGUSON .- As one of the pro- gressive agriculturists and stock-growers of the younger generation in Bourbon county Mr. Ferguson is well entitled to representation in this work, and he is recognized as a liberal and public-spirited citizen well worthy of the uniform esteem in which he is held in the com- munity. His well improved homestead is eligibly located on the Paris and Georgetown turnpike, six miles west of Paris, the judicial center of the county.

William Clyde Ferguson was born in Fay- ette county, Kentucky, on the 24th of Novem- ber, 1883, and is a son of William H. and Mollie (Shackelford) Ferguson, the former of whom was born in Bourbon county, this state, in 1858, and the latter of whom was born in Hardin county in 1860. William H. Fergu- son was a son of James W. Ferguson, and con- cerning the family history adequate record may be found in the sketch of the career of Volney W. Ferguson on other pages of this work, under which conditions it is not necessary to repeat the data in the present article. Wil- liam H. Ferguson was reared to maturity in Bourbon county, to whose common schools he was indebted for his early educational dis-

cipline, and here he continued to be identified with agricultural pursuits until the time of his marriage, in 1879. Soon afterward he removed to Fayette county, where he became a successful farmer and stock-grower and a citizen of prominence and influence in his community. He continued to reside on his homestead in that county until his death, which occurred in 1887. His wife survived him by nearly a decade, as she was summoned to the life eternal in 1896. Of this union were born four children,-Earl H., who is a prosperous farmer of Bourbon county ; Karl S., deceased ; William Clyde, whose name initiates this sketch ; and Floyd, who is also deceased. The father was a man of sterling character and much business acumen, but he was called from the scene of life's activities before he had at- tained to the age of thirty years. He gave his support to the Democratic party and both he and his wife were zealous members of the Christian church.

William Clyde Ferguson was but four years of age at the time of his father's death, and after receiving his rudimentary education in the public schools he attended the Louisville Manual Training School. After leaving that institution he was matriculated in the historic old University of Virginia, at Charlottesville, where he continued his studies for some time. After leaving the university Mr. Ferguson located in Scott county, Kentucky, where he continued to be actively identified with agri- cultural pursuits for a period of about five years, at the expiration of which he engaged in the hardware business at Georgetown, that county. One year later he disposed of his interests in this line and removed to his pres- ent fine farm, where he has since carried for- ward his successful operations as a farmer and stock grower, bringing to bear much dis- crimination and most progressive ideas, so that his advancement along the course of def- inite prosperity has not been an accident but a logical result. His homestead comprises many acres of excellent land and the improve- ments on the same are of the best order, in- cluding a spacious and attractive residence.

Though never a seeker of political prefer- ment, Mr. Ferguson is found arrayed as a stanch supporter of the principles and policies of the Democratic party, and his intrinsic · civic loyalty is shown in the ready co-opera- tion given by him in connection with all meas- ures and enterprises tending to advance the social and material welfare of the community. He enjoys unalloyed popularity and both he and his wife are valued factors in the social activities of the locality in which they reside. both being members of the Christian church.

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Mr. Ferguson is affiliated with the Paris lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and also with the Alpha Tan Omega col- lege fraternity. He is a young man of pleas- ing address, genial and kindly in his associa- tion with others and his early educational training, of excellent order, has been effec- tively supplemented by his experiences in con- nection with the practical affairs of life.

In Scott county, Kentucky, on the 22d of June, 1904, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Ferguson to Miss Edmonia Virginia Smith, who was born in that county on the 3d of October, 1885, and who is a daughter of Edmund D. and Hattie F. (Harris) Smith, both natives of Kentucky, where the respec- tive families were founded in the pioneer days, the original representatives of each having come to this state from Virginia. Edmund D. Smith was born on the 2d of October, 1859, and his wife was born June 20, 1864. Of their two children Mrs. Ferguson is the elder, and the son, Major Barak, is engaged in farm- ing in Scott county, where the parents also still maintain their home. Mr. and Mrs. Ferguson have one child, Virginia Harris, who was born in Scott county on the 25th of De- cember, 1906, thus becoming a right welcome Christmas guest in the home of her maternal grandparents, where her birth occurred.

EDWARD LEE PEARCE, M. D .- A feeling of the deepest regret and consternation spread throughout the city when the news of the death of Dr. Edward Lee Pearce was circulated, not only on account of the part which he took in business life, but also because of the sterling traits of his character which had endeared him to those with whom he was associated and be- cause his benevolent spirit and generosity were so often and yet so unostentatiously mani- fested. He had been in poor health for more than a year but there was no cause for any great anxiety until a few days before his death, which occurred on the 24th day of August, 1910.

Dr. Pearce was still a young man, having been born in Jefferson county, near Louis- ville, Kentucky, on the 27th day of February, 1864. He was the son of Dr. Robert Walter and Susan M. (Johnson) Pearce. The grand- father was Robert Walter Pearce, a native of Maryland, who was a pioneer of Kentucky. He died when his son Robert Walter was a boy of seven years. The maternal grand- father of our subject was Barnett Johnson, of Shelby county, Kentucky. Dr. R. W. Pearce was born in Shelby county, Kentucky, and was a graduate of the medical department of the University of Louisville and from a Philadelphia medical college. He practiced

his profession near Boston, Shelby county, for about eighteen years, then removed to Louisville and practiced until his death, on July 29, 1905. The mother of our subject was born in Shelby county, Kentucky, in 1836, and died in Louisville in 1899.

Dr. Edward Lee Pearce was educated in the public schools and the Rugby School of Louisville and later was graduated from the medical department of the University of Lou- isville, in 1886. He supplemented this with a post-graduate course in New York city in 1887-88, and in the latter year returned to Louisville, where he engaged in the practice of his profession, which he continued until his death. Dr. Pearce was a member of the Jefferson County Medical Society and of the Kentucky State Medical Society. He for- merly was surgeon for the Illinois Central Railroad Company and for a period of twelve years was surgeon for Louisville Legion, Ken- tucky State Guards. He was also a member of the Tavern and Audobon Country Clubs. For more than twenty years he was a promi- nent member of the profession and held high rank in the medical fraternity of Louisville.

On March 21, 1888, Dr. Pearce was married to Miss Lelia Miller, who was his loved and trusted companion for a period of twenty-two. years, who contributed to the happiness and completeness of a delightful home and who, surviving, cherishes the memory of his ir- reproachable life. Mrs. Pearce was born in Virginia but reared in Louisville, is the daugh- ter of J. C. Miller, a prominent citizen of Louisville. Besides his wife Dr. Pearce is survived by two children: Robert Walter, twenty-one years of age, who is connected with the United States internal revenue de- partment in Louisville, and a daughter, Miss Susan Pearce, sixteen years of age. He also leaves a brother and two sisters, all residents of Louisville. He lived in the community long enough to become identified with its wel- fare and proved the value of his citizenship by advocating and supporting every measure for the improvement of conditions and the good of society. Dr. Pearce was a true ex- ample of one who achieves success without paying the price at which it is so often bought ; for his prosperity did not remove him farther from his fellow men, but, on the contrary, brought him into nearer and more intimate re- lations with them, and his name will long be remembered amongst them with respect, ad- miration and love.

WILLIAM H. SLAUGHTER, JR .- The state of Kentucky has been the birthplace of men of marked ability and high character in the various lines of business and the gentleman

GORDON LOGAN

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whose name initiates this review has gained recognition as one of the able and successful business men of Louisville, and by his labors, his capability and his sterling characteristics has justified the respect and confidence in which he is held by the public in general as well as by his friends and associates.

Mr. Slaughter, the president of the W. N. Slaughter, Jr. Coal Company and a well- known citizen of Louisville, was born in that city August 27, 1862, the son of Austin Hub- bard and Sarah Jane ( Boone) Slaughter. The paternal grandfather was James B. Slaughter, a Virginian who settled in Bardstown at an early date in the history of Kentucky and be- came a merchant of that place. The mother, Sarah J. Boone, was the daughter of Hiram C. Boone, who was a great-nephew of Daniel Boone. Hiram C. was a pioneer "flat boat merchant," who built flat boats and traded on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers in early days. He also owned the "Sandy" farm in Meade county, Kentucky, where he spent his last days. Austin H., father of our subject, was largely interested in "flat boat" merchan- dising on the Ohio and Mississippi and built many boats for that trade. He traded as far south as New Orleans and in 1848 met with severe financial loss when eight of his boats, all laden, were destroyed by a tornado on the Mississippi river. He and the Boones bought a large tract of land extending from what was old Portland (now the city of Louis- ville) to what is now Shawnee Park, paying one hundred dollars per acre for it. Part of this land is now in the family. He died in 1890, his widow surviving him until 1891. They left the following surviving children : William H., Jr., Samuel J., Sallie J. (married John Huggins), and Victoria.

William H. Slaughter, Jr., attended the pub- lic schools of Louisville and began his career as clerk in a coal office in Louisville when eighteen years of age. In 1888 he became a member of the firm of Smith & Slaughter, re- tail coal merchants, which partnership lasted until 1896, he then assuming the entire busi- ness. In 1905 Mr. Slaughter incorporated the W. H. Slaughter, Jr. Coal Company, min- ers, shippers and wholesale dealers in coal, of which he is the president. He also owns and operates a farm near the city, where he grows alfalfa extensively.

Mr. Slaughter is a member of the Board of Trade, the Louisville Commercial Club and of the Kentucky Historical Society. He mar- ried Elvira Sydney Miller, the poetess. Mr. Slaughter is an enterprising man, taking a deep interest in the progress and upbuilding of the community. Prominent and reliable in

business and popular among his friends, he well deserves mention in this volume.

GORDON LOGAN .- Among the life-long resi- dents of Shelby county and the men who for many years were conspicuously associated with the development and advancement of its mate- rial and industrial prosperity, special mention should be made of the late Gordon Logan. He was an extensive landholder, a representative agriculturist, and throughout the latter part of his career was officially connected with the Bank of Shelbyville, serving as one of the directors and as its president. He was born on Bull Skin creek, five miles west of Shelby- ville, Shelby county, January 7, 1814, and died in Shelbyville on the seventy-fourth anniver- sary of his birth, January 7, 1888.

James Logan, his father, bought land in Shelby county in pioneer days, on Bull Skin creek, and by dint of hard and persevering labor cleared and improved a homestead, a portion of which fell into the possession of his son Gordon and is now owned and occupied by his grandson, Walter Logan. He lived to the adavnced age of ninety-six years, passing away January 19, 1846. He married November 15, 1792, and his wife died February 20, 1844, two years before he did.

Succeeding to the ownership of a portion of the parental farm, Gordon Logan was actively and prosperously engaged in farming during his earlier life, and as his means increased in- vested in adjoining land. He bought the farm of his brother, Benjamin Harrison Logan, and operated that as well as his own, having five hundred acres in all to care for. Retiring from agricultural pursuits, he rented his farm, and moved to Shelbyville to school his children, and was there a resident the remainder of his life. One of the directors of the Bank of Shelbyville, he was afterwards made its presi- dent, and from that time devoted hiniself to the financial interests of that institution. In addition to owning his home farm, he had also another valuable estate of two hundred acres, and was a man of considerable means, his wealth having been acquired mainly through his own efforts.

Mr. Logan married, February 14, 1854. Mary Elizabeth Ballou, who was born in Shelby county, Kentucky, near Eminence, No- vember 30, 1832, and is now living at her pleas- ant home in Shelbyville. Her father, William Ballou, a native of Henry county, Kentucky, married Nancy Howard, while her grand- father. James William Ballou, who came from Virginia to Kentucky, married a Miss Mar- shall. Mr. and Mrs. Logan became the par- ents of nine children, one of whom, Benja- min, died at the age of sixteen years, and four

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are now living, namely : Walter; William G., living with his mother in Shelbyville; Mary G., wife of Scott McCarthy, of Owensboro; and Nicholas H., of Shelbyville.

Walter Logan was born November 11, 1864, in Shelbyville, and was educated in the com- mon schools. His natural tastes leading him to choose a rural life, he began farming before his father's death, but subsequently spent one ycar in Louisville. Resuming his agricultural labors after his marriage, he now owns one hundred and forty acres of the original Logan homestead, west of Shelbyville, and as a gen- eral farmer and dairyman is meeting with uni- form success, shipping the products of his dairy to Louisville. He is a man of sterling character, and a prominent member of the Democratic party, at the present time belong- ing to the County Committee.

On December 3, 1890, Mr. Walter Logan married Anna Smith, a daughter of Bird and Nancy Smith, former residents of Simpson- ville. Her father, for many years a successful tiller of the soil, is now living in Lexington, making his home with a daughter, Mrs. Ed Byars. Of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Logan three children have been born, namely : Gordon, William Lindsay and James Franklin.

JOSEPH TEMPLE BRYAN, M. D .- To feel that he has followed nature's inward laws, that he has not lived for self alone, that he has helped and uplifted many of his fellow- men, and that he has won a high and honored position in society, all these things and many more are the rewards of the splendid career of Joseph Temple Bryan, a well known and leading Homeopathic physician and surgeon of Louisville. No estimate can be set upon the works of such a man, and it is hoped that the brief record of the main events of his career, which is all that can be attempted in a work of this kind, will give him some slight tribute of what is more than due to hin1.

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A history of Kentucky and Kentuckians; the leaders and representative men in commerce, industry and modern activities, Volume III, Part 64

Author: Johnson, E. Polk, 1844-; Lewis Publishing Company Publication date: 1912 Publisher: Chicago, Lewis Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 860

Author: Johnson, E. Polk, 1844-; Lewis Publishing Company
Publication date: 1912
Publisher: Chicago, Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 860