A history of Kentucky and Kentuckians; the leaders and representative men in commerce, industry and modern activities, Volume III, Part 77

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 77

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Mr. Reid is a man of broad mind and liberal ideas, one who during his active life ever mani- fested a deep and sincere interest in all matters affecting the general welfare. He is liberal in thought and action, is tolerant of others' opin- ions and his entire life history is worthy of commendation and of emulation. Although quite well advanced in years he still retains in much of their pristine vigor the splendid men- tal and physical qualities of his youth and he possesses a large circle of loving and admiring friends.

JOHN TODD SHELBY .- It is inspiration enough to be descended from the founders of states and to have come into intimate personal association with the sons and grandsons of those whose bravery and genius have written bright pages into the history of their common- wealths and nation. Even the superficial

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student of the thrilling story of the achieve- ments of pioneer heroes and heroines beyond the Alleghenies need not be told that the names of Shelby, Todd and Breckinridge stand for foundation stones in the building of old Ken- tucky and for much of its highest progress up to the times of the modern commonwealth. By direct inheritance John Todd Shelby, the able lawyer of Lexington, comes of his force- ful personality through the Shelbys and the Todds, and he was also long a friend and a professional associate of the late brilliant William C. P. Breckinridge, congressman and Kentucky statesman of a type which con- ferred distinction even on the splendid name of his family.

Isaac Shelby, the great-grandfather of John T. Shelby, was a native of Maryland and a striking military figure in the Revolutionary war, which seemed to be so fertile a field for the breeding of remarkable heroes. The fact is that about a year before the culmination of the trouble with the mother country, as a young man of twenty-four, he had been not only under fire but his courage tested by con- flict with savage foes; his metal proved to be of such hard and fine temper that for some time after the commencement of the Revolu- tion he was pitted against the red man as his superior in shrewdness and woods-craft, as well as in promptness, intrepidity and diplomacy. His experience in these trying, training and testing times specially adapted him to perform a great part in the snatching of Kentucky and the western country from the allied Indians and British. His invaluable services as governor of the frontier state from 1792 to 1796 are fittingly and fully depicted in the picturesque general history which accom- panies these biographies ; and, if possible, his was the part of a rugged hero of the new world in an even more superlative degree, while he guided the swerving helm of the young commonwealth in the troublous times from 1812 to 1816. At the battle of the Thames, October 5, 1813, by which the Amer- icans crushed the allies of savage and "civil- ized" warfare, Governor Shelby was at the head of that fearless Kentucky phalanx which proved a very lightning shaft and a thunder bolt in Harrison's sweeping victory over the British and Tecumseh-for the Indians were as nothing without the bravery and military genius of their dusky leader. When Governor Shelby passed out of Kentucky history in July, 1826, not only was she bereft of a great man, but universal history wrote "finis" to the mortal life of an empire-builder. Before her marriage Mrs. Isaac Shelby was Susanna Hart, daughter of the well known Colonel Nathaniel Hart.

John T. Shelby is also descended (in the same generation) from Edmund Bullock, the first speaker of the Kentucky House of Rep- resentatives. Tracing his genealogy three generations back, he is also descended, ma- ternally, from General Levi Todd, a noted pioneer and grandfather of Mrs. Abraham Lincoln, and Rev. John Blair Smith, one of the eminent Presbyterian divines of the last century, who was successively president of the Hampden-Sidney College, of Virginia, and of Union College, New York, and died in 1799 as pastor of the old Pine Street church, Philadelphia. Both Mr. Shelby's grandfather and father were named Thomas Hart Shelby, the latter marrying Frances Stuart Todd, a granddaughter of General Levi Todd, conspic- uous in the military and civic history of Ken- tucky, and daughter of Dr. John Todd, who migrated to Illinois in 1817. On January 25, 1851, while Mrs. Shelby was visiting her father in Springfield, was born John Todd Shelby, subject of this review. His father, Thomas Hart Shelby, was a man of consider- able public prominence, and at his death in 1895 was United States internal revenue col- lector for the Seventh Kentucky district.

After his preliminary educational training, John T. Shelby entered Princeton College, New Jersey, from which he graduated in 1870 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, three years afterward receiving that of Master of Arts from the same institution. He then studied law privately under the late Judge William B. Kinkhead, of Lexington, and was admitted to practice at the state bar in March, 1872. He immediately commenced the prac- tice of his profession in that city, and his suc- cess has been of the substantial kind which is grounded on such traits as are noted in that standard work, "Lawyers and Lawmakers of Kentucky." as follows: "Mr. Shelby is recog- nized as a painstaking, studious and well- balanced lawyer. As a speaker he is clear, logical and convincing, and the profession and the public both accord him a high rank among the members of the legal fraternity."

On September 1, 1875, Mr. Shelby became associated with the late Colonel William C. P. Breckinridge, under the firm name of Breck- inridge and Shelby, and the partnership soon gained precedence as one of the strongest and most harmonious legal combinations in the state, and it continued to advance in reputa- tion until the death of the senior partner in 1904. Mr. Shelby then resumed individual practice and remained alone in his profes- sional work until December 1, 1907, when he formed a partnership with his son, John Craig Shelby, a graduate of Harvard Law School, which stands today with an estab-

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lished and growing reputation for able and honorable professional work, under the style of Shelby & Shelby.

The senior Mr. Shelby was a member of the Democratic party until the presidential cam- paign of 1896, since which date he has gener- ally acted with the Republican party. He has never been ambitious for political or public preferment, but has devoted himself to the law, to the faithful discharge of his duties as a private citizen, to the general welfare of his city, to the cementing of personal friendship and to the manly and affectionate support of a happy and united household; these obliga- tions, which he has well discharged, present scope enough for the abilities and virtues of any American gentleman and Christian. Mr. Shelby holds membership in various profes- sional and social organizations of high stand- ard, and both he and his wife are members of Christ church of Lexington, the oldest Protestant Episcopal parish and the mother body in Kentucky.

On the 7th of November, 1872, Mr. Shelby married Miss Lizzie M. Craig, of St. Louis, a descendant of the Brooking and Craig fam- ilies, both associated with pioneer times in Kentucky. The following have been born of this union : Thomas Hart Shelby, who mar- ried Miss Agnes Scott, of Jessamine county, Kentucky, by whom he has one child, John T. Shelby, Jr., and is a resident of Fayette county, engaged in the internal revenue ser- vice; Francis Todd, who died in infancy ; John Craig Shelby, who is his father's law partner, as stated; and Christine, who is un- married and living with her parents.

WILLIAM T. COLE .- Among the men whose lives are crowned with honor and respect in Greenup county, Kentucky, William Throop Cole holds a high place. With him success in life has been reached by sterling qualities of mind and a heart true to every manly princi- ple. He has never deviated from what his judgment indicated to be right and honorable between his fellow men and himself. He has never swerved from the path of duty and he has every reason to enjoy the consciousness of having gained for himself by his honorable, straightforward career the confidence and re- spect of the entire community in which he lives. He has attained a foremost position at the bar and in business circles in this section of the state he is also well known.

Judge Cole, cashier of the Citizens State Bank and present county attorney of Greenup county, was born at Flemingsburg, Kentucky, on the 21st of July, 1869. He is a son of Alfred E. and Abigail (Throop) Cole, the former of whom was born in Adams county,

Ohio, and the latter of whom claimed Nicho- las county, Kentucky, as the place of her na- tivity. As a young man Alfred E. Cole accom- panied his parents to Kentucky, location being made in Lewis county, where he grew to ma- turity. He studied law early in life, his pre- ceptor having been Judge Richard E. Stanton, of Maysville. After admission to the bar he practiced law at Flemingsburg until 1874, in which year he was elected commonwealth's attorney, his district comprising six counties. He served as commonwealth's attorney for one term, during which time he resided at Flemingsburg, Kentucky. In 1880 Hon. A. E. Cole was elected circuit judge of the Four- teenth Judicial District of Kentucky, and he served with distinction and efficiency in that office for twelve years. After locating in Maysville he formed the law firm of A. E. Cole & Sons, which did an extensive business until Judge Cole's death, in 1902, at the age of sixty-four years. His wife, whose maiden name was Abigail Throop, was summoned to eternal rest in 1894, at the age of forty-nine years. To Mr. and Mrs. Alfred E. Cole were born six children, three of whom died in infancy and three of whom are living at the present time, in 1911.

In Fleming county Judge Cole of this re- view was reared to maturity and when eigh- teen years of age he removed with his parents to Maysville. He was graduated in the Ken- tucky Wesleyan College, at Millersburg, in 1887, and subsequently he attended Vander- bilt University, at Nashville, Tennessee, in the law department of which excellent institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1890, duly receiving his degree of Bachelor of Laws. Immediately after graduation he en- tered upon the active practice of his profes- sion as a partner of his father and older brother, Hon. A. D. Cole, at Maysville, con- tinuing as such until 1895, when he opened an office at Greenup, where he has since resided. In his political convictions he is a stalwart supporter of the principles and policies prom- ulgated by the Democratic party, in the local councils of which he has long been a most im- portant and active factor. In 1905 he was appointed by Governor Beckham to fill the unexpired term of Judge Bennett, who had been elected to Congress. He served as county judge for one year. After the new Twentieth judicial district was created, in 1907, Judge Cole was appointed commonwealth's attorney by Governor Beckham, being the first incum- bent of that position in the new district. In November, 1909, Judge Cole was further honored by election to the office of county at- torney, remaining in tenure of that office for

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one term, of four years. Although the county is normally Republican Judge Cole was elected on the Democratic ticket. He is de- cidedly aggressive in his law practice, which is extensive and lucrative, and he is widely renowned as a skilled trial lawyer and as a well fortified counselor.

In addition to his professional work Judge Cole has other business interests of broad scope and importance. In November, 1909, he was elected cashier of the Citizens State Bank. He is a prominent member of the In- dependent Order of Odd Fellows, as is like- wise his brother, A. D. Cole, who is a past grand master of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows of the state of Kentucky, and also a prominent member of the Masonic order. Also his youngest brother, H. W. Cole, is a member of the Masonic order. Their father, Judge A. E. Cole, now deceased, was a Knight Templar Mason.

In the year 1896 was solemnized the mar- riage of Judge W. T. Cole to Miss Jeannette Reid, who was born and reared in Greenup county and who is a daughter of A. L. Reid, concerning whom mention is made elsewhere in this volume, so that further data concern- ing the family history need not be introduced at this juncture. To their marriage union have been born seven children, whose names are here entered in respective order of birth,- Abigail R., Alfred E., Herbert R., Jeannette Collings, Josephine A., Helen E., and Mary L. Judge and Mrs. Cole are devout members of the Methodist Episcopal church, South.

Though heavy demands have been made upon his time and attention through profes- sional, political and business associations, Judge Cole has always found opportunity to enhance the welfare and happiness of his family, where his deepest interest centers, and to labor zealously for the advancement of the interests of his home county of Greenup. His is a sturdy American character with a stalwart patriotism. He has a strong attachment for our free institutions, being ever willing to make personal sacrifices for their preserva- tion. A man of stern integrity and honesty of principles, he despises all unworthy or ques- tionable means to secure success in any under- taking or for any purpose, or to promote his own advancement in any direction whether political or otherwise. It is our duty to mark our appreciation of such a man, a man true in every relation of life, faithful to every trust, a statesman diligent in the service of his country and seeking only the public good.

SAMUEL M. STEDMAN, M. D., is engaged in the practice of his profession at Versailles, Woodford county. He is a scion of the third

generation of the family in Kentucky, with whose industrial and civic advancement the name has been prominently and worthily identified.

Dr. Samuel Maddox Stedman was born at Georgetown, Scott county, Kentucky, on the 12th of August, 1868. He is a son of Silas N. and Elnora Keene (Maddox) Sted- man, the former of whom was born at George- town, Scott county, and the latter in Newtown, that county. Silas N. Stedman was a son of Leander Stedman, who was a native of New England, whence he came to Kentucky when a young man. He established his home at Georgetown, where he conducted a business as curer, continuing in that business until the time of the Civil war, after which he lived re- tired until his death, when well advanced in years. He was a man of prominence and in- fluence in his community, served as president of the trustees of Georgetown College and was a prominent representative of the Masonic fraternity in the state, having been one of the few in his day who had attained to the thirty- second degree of the Ancient Accepted Scot- tish Rite of this order. He was twice mar- ried and his first wife, whose maiden name was Kidd, was the mother of Silas N. Sted- man. She likewise was born and reared in New England and she died in middle life.

Silas N. Stedman was reared to maturity at Georgetown and while he was afforded the excellent advantages of Georgetown College, he never deemed it expedient to adopt a profes- sion but gave his allegiance to the great basic industry of agriculture throughout his active career. In 1869 he moved to Fayette county near Russell Cave, where he engaged in the raising of fine horses. After there maintaining his home for a number of years he removed to Bryantsville, Garrard county, where he died at the age of fifty-six years. In Scott county, Kentucky, was solemnized his marriage to Miss Elnora Keene Maddox, who was a daughter of Samuel Maddox. Her father was a native of Maryland and was a son of Edward Maddox, who likewise was born in that state, as was also his father, Samuel Maddox, who was a valiant soldier of the Continental line in the war of the Revo- lution and who served as aide-de-camp on the staff of General Washington at the battle of White Plains. He continued his residence in Maryland until his death. The maiden name of the wife of Edward Maddox was Calias and they likewise continued to reside in Mary- land throughout their lives.

Samuel Maddox, maternal grandfather of Dr. Stedman, emigrated from Maryland to Kentucky and became one of the early settlers

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of Scott county. Here he married Miss Sarah Keene, who was born and reared in this county and who was a daughter of Vachel Keene. This worthy pioneer came to Ken- tucky in company with his father at the age of thirteen years, and after voyaging down the Ohio river by flat boats they landed at Lime- stone, now Maysville, August 20, 1789, then made their way through the wilderness to Scott county, where were secured large tracts of land, and instituted the herculean task of reclaiming farms from the virgin forest. When they here took up their residence wild animals of all kinds native to this section were much in evidence and here the Indians still maintained their hunting grounds, the sav- ages oftentimes proving troublesome to the early settlers, by reason of which fact the father and two brothers built a stockade about their primitive log cabin as a proper protection against the Indians. Vachel Keene of Queen Ann county, Maryland, married Sarah Y. Faunt Le Roy, of the same county and state. Samuel Maddox became one of the extensive and successful agriculturists of Scott county, where both he and his wife continued to re- side until they were summoned to the life eternal. The mother of Dr. Stedman was thirty-eight years of age at the time of her ('emise and of her children three attained to maturity,-Leander, who died when about thirty-two years of age; Elnora, who is the wife of Colby T. Jenkins, of Georgetown; and Samuel Maddox Stedman, who figures as the immediate subject of this review.

Dr. Stedman was about a year old at the time of the family removal to Fayette county, where his early educational advantages were those afforded in the common schools of the period. This discipline was supplemented by a course of study in the State University of Kentucky, at Lexington, and in preparation for the work of his chosen and exacting pro- fession he entered the medical department of the University of Louisville, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1891 and from which he received the degree of Doctor of Medicine. After his graduation he served two years as interne in a hospital in the city of Lexington and then established his home at Pisgah, Woodford county, Ken- tucky, where he continued in the successful practice of his profession for twelve years, since which time he has continued his endeav- ors as a physician and surgeon, with residence and headquarters in the city of Versailles. He is identified with the Woodford County Medical Society, the Midland Medical So- ciety, the Kentucky State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. His

political support is given to the Democratic party and both he and his wife hold mem- bership in the Presbyterian church. He is affiliated with the lodge of the Knights of Pythias at Versailles and with the lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks at Lexington.

In the year 1894 was solemnized the mar- riage of Dr. Stedman to Miss Mary E. Wor- ley, who was born and reared at Pisgah, Woodford county, and who is a daughter of Harvey Worley and Betty ( Wason) Worley, her father having been one of the leading citizens of that section of the state. The pa- ternal grandfather of Mrs. Stedman was Joshua Worley and he was a son of Caleb Worley, one of the sterling pioneers of Ken- tucky. On the maternal side she is a grand- daughter of Dr. R. H. and Margaret ( Steven- son) Wason. Dr. and Mrs. Stedman have two sons,-Harvey W. and Leander S.

SAMUEL S. SAVAGE .- A native son of Ken- tucky, the late Judge Samuel S. Savage ac- complished a great work in connection with the development and progress of the old Blue Grass state, was a power in the local field of financial operations and over and above all was a man of impregnable integrity. Signal purity and honor found in him a secure abid- ing place and his life was guided and governed upon the loftiest principles. He was one of those whose lives offer lesson, incentive and inspiration and it is' but consonant that in this publication be entered a brief tribute to his memory.

Judge Samuel Summerfield Savage was born at Tolesboro, Lewis county, Kentucky, on the 9th of April, 1851, and is a son of Pleasant M. and Sarah J. (Moore) Poage Savage, the former of whom was a native of Virginia and the latter of whom claimed Law- rence county, Kentucky, as the place of her birth. Pleasant M. Savage was a prosperous merchant in the Big Sandy Valley for a num- ber of years and there occurred his death, in 1862. He was a son of James Savage, who was born and reared in the Old Dominion commonwealth, where was solemnized his marriage, and who served throughout the Revolutionary war as a gallant and faithful soldier. In 1791 he, with his wife and some of his older children, came to what is now Kentucky, settling at Poplar Flat, some four- teen miles above Maysville. James Savage was one of the earliest pioneers in that sec- tion of the state and he was the founder of the family in Kentucky. He improved a splendid farm from the virgin wilderness, al- though much hampered by wild animals and hostile and ferocious Indians. The doors and

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windows of the log cabin, which represented the primitive home, were constantly barri- caded, port holes being utilized for rifle de- fense. This old homestead was built on an eminence and is one of the well known land- marks of eastern Kentucky. There James Savage continued to reside during the re- mainder of his lifetime and he died at a ripe old age. He accumulated a large estate for those days and carried on extensive farming operations, being the owner of many slaves. His wife, Mary Philips, was also a native of Virginia. Mr. and Mrs. James Savage be- came the parents of six sons and two daugh- ters, of whom Pleasant M. was the second in order of birth.

Pleasant M. Savage was a prosperous mer- chant during the major portion of his active business career and he married Mrs. Sarah J. (Moore) Poage, who was the widow of John Poage and a sister of the late Judge L. T. Moore, of Ashland. To this union were born five children, several of whom attained to marked distinction in public life. One son, Dr. George Savage, was a practicing physi- cian and minister of the Methodist Episcopal church, South, for some twenty-five years. He was also a professor in the Female Col- lege at Millersburg, Kentucky. The father was summoned to eternal rest in 1862.

Judge Savage, the immediate subject of this review, was a mere child at the time of his parents' removal to Louisa, Lawrence county, Kentucky, to the home of his mater- nal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Moore, who were pioneers in northeastern Kentucky. Here Samuel, with his two broth- ers and two sisters, was reared until the death of the father, in 1862, at which time he was eleven years of age. Shortly after the death of her husband, Mrs. Savage removed with her children to Catlettsburg, Kentucky, where she passed the remainder of her life. When twelve years of age young Samuel became a pupil in the National Normal School at Leba- non, Ohio. He was an interesting youth, red- headed and blue-eyed, always a prime favorite. with everyone. He was quick, energetic and studious and made rapid advancement in his school work. When the East Kentucky Nor- mal School was opened in Catlettsburg he en- tered that institution and worked his way through a three years' course, at the expira- tion of which he was engaged by the Boyd county board to teach in the public schools of Catlettsburg. About this time he began to study law in the office of his uncle, the late L. T. Moore, under whose able preceptorship he made rapid progress in the absorption and assimilation of the science of jurisprudence,

being admitted to the bar of the state. He practiced the legal profession for a few years, but the work did not suit him, being too con- fining. He was at one time police judge of Catlettsburg and after coming to Ashland he was elected county judge, in 1878, serving in that capacity most creditably for two or three terms. He was one of the founders and lar- gest stockholders in the Ashland Fire Brick Company and as its official head was respon- sible for its subsequent rapid growth and suc- cess. At the time of his death he was a mem- ber of the board of World's Fair Commis- sioners and was largely influential in building up the fair at St. Louis. In the time-honored Masonic order he had passed through the circle of York Rite Masonry, being a very prominent Knight Templar. He was also affiliated with several other organizations of a fraternal nature. He was candidate for Congress, in 1886, but failed the nomination. For many years he was a stanch Democrat, being one of the electors of that party, in 1884, but in 1896, during the Free-silver cam- paign, he became a loyal Republican.

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A history of Kentucky and Kentuckians; the leaders and representative men in commerce, industry and modern activities, Volume III, Part 77

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