Biographical cyclopedia of the commonwealth of Kentucky, Part 10

Author: Gresham, John M., Co., Pub
Publication date: 1896
Publisher: Chicago, Philadelphia, J. M. Gresham company
Number of Pages: 726

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Dr. and Mrs. Parsons were the parents of five children. Their son, Honorable Edward Y. Par- sons, was elected to Congress in 1875 and died in Washington in 1876.

Frank Parsons, Commonwealth Attorney, one of the most brilliant and eloquent lawyers of Louisville, is a son of the late Rev. Dr. Charles Booth Parsons, an eminent divine, whose biography is given above.

Emily (Oldham) Parsons (mother) is a native of Jefferson County and a resident of Louisville, well advanced in years, a devout Christian and a "mother in Israel."

Frank Parsons was born in Louisville, Ken- tucky, January 2, 1850. He received a liberal education, attending the City High School, from which he graduated, and then took a course in the Indiana State University at Bloomington. He studied law with Jackson & Parsons, and was ad- mitted to practice at the Louisville bar in March, 1874. He was engaged in a general practice until

August, 1887, when he was elected Common- wealth Attorney by a majority of seven thousand votes over General Alpheus Baker, who was at that time one of the most capable lawyers in Louisville. He was re-elected for a second term, and has discharged the arduous duties of that office with fidelity to the public and with a high regard for the majesty of the law. He is a man of quiet, even temperament, courteous and polite to his witnesses, of dignified, scholarly bearing and has made one of the best prosecutors who has ever managed the cases of the Commonwealth in the Criminal Court of Louisville.

With a fine knowledge of the law, a keen sense of the responsibilities of his position, he has the moral courage to defend the rights of the people against evil doers of high or low degree. He is equally at home in preparing and conducting his cases, but he is particularly noted for the elo- quence of his pleadings, being one of the most finished speakers at the Louisville bar.

He enjoys the respect and confidence of the legal fraternity, and being candid and careful in his pleadings, his arguments have tremendous weight with judge and jury. Without any at- tempt at pyrotechnic display of oratory for the purpose of winning applause, he is easily the most pleasing and attractive speaker in the Criminal Division where oratory is of more avail than in the Civil Courts. In this, and in many other respects, he resembles his father, who was one of the most brilliant orators of his day. At the last election for the office he now holds he had no opposition, being a strong Democrat, but the Re- publicans brought out nobody to oppose him, pre- sumably because of his rare fitness for the office.

Frank Parsons was married in 1873 to Minnie Dent, daughter of the late Colonel Henry Dent, one of the most distinguished citizens of Louis- ville.

JAMES KENNEDY PATTERSON, Ph. D., LL.D., F. R. Hist. S., F. S. A. Scot., President of the State College of Kentucky, and of which under its reorganization he may justly be regard- ed as the founder, is a son of Andrew and Janet (Kennedy) Patterson, and was born in the City

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of Glasgow, Scotland, March 26, 1833. In 1842 he, with his father, came to this country and set- tled in Bartholomew County, Indiana.

His father subsequently removed to Hancock County, Indiana, where he lived until his death in 1862, in the sixty-second year of his age. His occupation in Scotland had been that of a calico printer, but after his arrival in this country he lived on a farm until his death. In religion he was a Presbyterian; in politics a Whig. His wife, Janet Kennedy, who still survives, lives with her son James. She, too, is a Presbyterian, with which faith her ancestors for generations had been identified.

The Pattersons from whom Dr. Patterson is de- scended were allied as a collateral branch with the Pattersons of whom William Patterson, founder of the Bank of England, in the latter part of the seventeenth century, was the most con- spicuous representative.

For some years after coming to America Dr. Patterson's educational advantages were meager. In 1849-50 he attended a school in Madison, Indiana, taught by Robert French, where he fin- ished the elementary branches and laid a founda- tion for classics and mathematics. During the next year he taught and in May, 1851, entered Hanover College, Indiana, where he graduated at the head of his class in 1856. From 1856 to 1859 he had charge of the Presbyterian Academy, Greenville, Kentucky. In the latter year he was elected Principal of the Preparatory Department of Stewart College (now Southwestern Univer- sity), Clarksville, Tennessee. The following year he became Professor of Latin and Greek in the same college. In 1861 he was elected Principal of Transylvania in Lexington, and when that in- stitution was consolidated with and merged into the Kentucky University he became Professor of Latin in the latter. In 1866 he became Pro- fessor of History and Metaphysics in the Agri- cultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, and in 1869 its president. On the reorganization of the college in 1880 he was re-elected President of the State College of Kentucky (Agricultural and Mechanical College), which office he still holds.

When the college was reorganized and placed

on a broader basis a tax of one-half of one per cent. on each $100 of taxable property in the Com- monwealth was levied for its benefit. This tax he was largely instrumental in securing. Two years later the denominational colleges of Kentucky united in a movement to procure its repeal. For three months it was the principal question before the Legislature. Dr. Patterson fought and defeat- ed the combination-one of the most powerful ever formed in Kentucky-single handed and alone. When the question of the constitutionality of the tax was brought forward he argued the defense in reply to Judge Lindsay before the Legislature. In the Court of Appeals, whither the case was carried, Judge Holt affirmed several years later the constitutionality of the tax on the lines of the argument laid down by Dr. Patter- son. The college which in 1880 had an income of only $10,000 per annum, now has a yearly in- come from federal and state aid of over $80,000. It has the best equipped departments of Chemis- try, Botany, Zoology, Geology, Civil Engineer- ing and Mechanical Engineering in the South; and its Alumni take equal rank with the best who enter Johns Hopkins University for the prosecu- tion of post-graduate courses of study. It has seven courses of study and twenty-seven pro- fessors.

In 1875 Dr. Patterson was appointed by Gov- ernor Leslie delegate from Kentucky to the Inter- national Congress of Geographical Sciences, which met in Paris, France. On his return he made a report to the Legislature, ten thousand copies of which were printed by the state. In 1890 he was appointed by Governor Buckner delegate from Kentucky to the British Associa- tion for the Advancement of Science. On this occasion leave of absence was granted him for one year. With his wife and son he sailed for Europe in June, 1890, and returned in August, 1891, during which time they traveled in Eng- land, Scotland, Belgium, France, Italy, Austria, Germany and Switzerland.

In 1875 he received from Hanover College the degree of doctor of philosophy; in 1880 he was elected a fellow of the Royal Historical Society of Great Britain; in 1880 a fellow of the Society of Antiquarians of Scotland; and in 1896 re-

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ceived the degree of doctor of laws from Lafay- ette College Pennsylvania.

During the years 1871-72-73-74 he contributed most of the editorial matter on foreign politics which appeared in the Courier-Journal of Louis- ville, and the first articles which appeared in that paper on the tariff question were from his pen. He contributed about the same time a series of papers on Comparative Philology to Home and School, edited by Major Davis of Louisville, which were well received by prominent men throughout the South. To the local press he has also been a frequent contributor.

During the sixties and early seventies Dr. Pat- terson was an indefatigable student of languages, and in addition to Latin, Greek and Hebrew, ac- quired a good knowledge of Sanskrit, Gothic, Anglo-Saxon, German and French. Latterly he has devoted more time to history, metaphysics and political science, in which subjects he is regarded as an authority by his contemporaries.

In 1859 Dr. Patterson married Miss Lucelia W. Wing, youngest daughter of Captain Charles F. Wing of Greenville, Kentucky. Two children were born of this marriage: Jeannie, who died in infancy, and William A. Patterson, who died June 3, 1895, in the twenty-eighth year of his age. He was a young man of fine natural endow- ments and excellent education. His knowledge of French, logic, metaphysics and history was equalled by none of his age in Kentucky. His command of English, in the compass of his vocabulary and in exuberance and delicacy of expression, was a marvel for one of his years. He was the idol of his parents and had been the con- stant companion of his father from his childhood. Dr. Patterson has obtained a site on the college grounds on which to erect and endow a library building to commemorate and perpetuate the name of his only son, William Andrew Patterson, whose name it will bear. William A. Patterson had for some time prior to his decease been as- sistant professor of history and of the English language and literature in the State College.

Lucelia W. Wing is descended on her father's side from the Wings of New Bedford, Massa- chussets, and on her mother's side from the Rus- sells and Campbells of Virginia. She is a lady

of extensive reading and rare cultivation and re- finement. Hon. Edward Rumsey, who married her eldest sister, represented his district in Con- gress and was one of the most gifted men of his day. His uncle, James Rumsey, was the inventor of the steamboat, as shown by the resolution of Congress in 1839 awarding a gold medal to his son. Her nephew, Edward Rumsey Wing, was United States Minister to Ecuador, where he died in 1874.

Of the immediate family of Dr. Patterson but few survive: William Kennedy Patterson, pro- fessor of Greek in Transylvania, died in 1862; Andrew McFarland Patterson, professor of Latin in the same institution, died in 1863; Alexander L. Patterson, died in 1865. Besides the subject of this sketch Walter K. Patterson, of a family of five sons, alone survives. He was born in 1844, and is now and for sixteen years has been principal of the Academy of the State College, of which his older brother has for nearly thirty years been president.

H ARRISON D. TAYLOR was born March 3Ist, 1802, in Frederick County, Virginia, and died April 8th, 1889, after a successful and useful life, at the advanced age of eighty-seven years. His parents were of Welsh and English origin and derived the name of Harrison from an intermarriage into the Harrison family of Vir- ginia. His grandfather, also named Harrison Taylor, emigrated to Ohio County, Kentucky, the latter part of the last century, his father having died without a will, and under the feudal laws of that time the eldest son inherited the property and left Harrison shareless, who, declining to be a pensioner on his brother's charity, boldly struck out for the frontier. It was not long until he mar- ried Miss Jane Curlette and settled far back in the woods, and as the county improved he built a mill on a stream in Frederick County by which the main road passed, leading from the east across the Alleghany Mountains to the then great unex- plored West. He raised a large family and bore the reputation of an honest miller, which in after years gained him the title of "Honest Old Taylor at the mill." Who should wish to trace their origin to a higher source? as "there is no legacy

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so rich as honesty." The subject of this sketch was the son of Rev. Thomas Taylor, a pioneer Methodist minister in Ohio County. Although through life a large contributor to the support of his church he never asked nor received a cent for his services as preacher of the gospel.

While in the vigor of his manhood it was his practice to work at hard labor through the week and ride many miles away on Sunday to fill some appointment, frequently going to Muhlenberg, Grayson, Breckinridge and even Hardin Coun- ties to preach. Of him it may be truly said his heart was always right, his failings were but vir- tue in excess. He had five sons: Nicholas, Wes- ley, Harrison D., Milton and Thomas, and one daughter, Frances. The third son, Harrison, was a man who lived without fear and died without reproach. His boyhood days were spent on his father's farm where he had but small chance of obtaining an education, but such was his burning ambition for knowledge that whilst he followed the plow he carried his grammar in his pocket and conjugated his verbs as he went along, and at night by means of a bright wood fire he pursued his studies. At last upon attaining his majority he decided upon law as a profession, and moved to Hartford, the county seat, where he studied with Judge Henry Pirtle, one of the most distinguished lawyers of the state. His mother, one of the illus- trious women of her day, a model of all the duties of social, religious and domes- tic life, had instilled in him the principle to do right whatever else might happen. And the following story will illustrate his strong characteristics in that direction. His father hav- ing arranged for his board he packed up and went to town dressed in homespun from head to foot quite ignorant of the customs and manners of town life. At the tavern where he stopped there was a bar, of course, which was frequented con- stantly by the most brilliant young men of the place; in the little room to which he had been assigned he noticed old packs of cards laying around, and saw that it had been a resort for gamblers. He had not more than arrived at this conclusion when he heard the voices of three gen- tlemen in the bar below. Then the proprietor remarked in a bland voice: "O, yes, just walk up;

you will find a good fire; a young Mr. Taylor is up there, but he will have no objection." But before they had ascended the steps he had argued the question pro and con in his mind. First he thought, "I am here a lone boy, noticed by no one; how pleasant it would be to become intimate with such distinguished gentlemen-the leading doctor, lawyer and most accomplished young gentlemen of leisure and fortune in the community. How will it look for so uncouth a chap as I," glancing at his homespun, "to refuse such a favor;" but by the time they had entered the room and asked his permission to play he had decided. "Gentlemen," he said, " I am here for the purpose of study, and although I would like to accommodate you, I think it best to decline." The old doctor wheeled around, audibly muttering curses as he retired, but the other two politely bowed themselves out, and that young man, distinguished for his wealth, family connections and mental endowments, was ever after that his warmest friend.

It is needless to say that none of the attrac- tions of town life allured him, so firm was his determination to do right and his ambition to learn. He was admitted to the bar in 1825. As a practicing lawyer he was a model of industry and fidelity to his clients, of which he had a large share. He had the confidence of the people as an honest, fair dealing, truthful, noble-spirited man. His practice at the bar was restricted by his own choice and taste to chancery causes and for many years after his retirement from active practice his opinions on the vexed questions which so fre- quently arise in equity, was sought after and esteemed by the Hartford bar. His habits of close study, formed in early life, clung to him in old age. His mind was broad and liberal and he had a most extensive knowledge of all subjects. In the domain of history, the sciences, literature, politics and religion he possessed a vast and varied store of accurate information. He made the first authentic survey of Rough and Green Rivers by directions of the Government, which resulted in establishing permanent navigation of Green River. His excellent knowledge of land titles and of surveying enabled him to acquire a vast amount of real estate in Ohio County. It has been said of him that by his leniency and indul-

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gence he afforded many struggling young farmers the opportunity to retain their homes. His influ- ence was on the side of every good enterprise and every broad charity. His house was the home of the friendless and especially was he interested in those struggling to acquire an education. He wrote a valuable history of Ohio County and many other interesting papers; and was a member of the Filson Club, the principal historical society of the state. He never aspired to political honors and never held office but once (county attorney), and was elected to that without being a candidate. He was in early times a Whig and great admirer and personal friend of Henry Clay, but after the retirement of the great commoner he affiliated with the Democratic party.

His first marriage was to Miss Mary Daviess in 1828, by whom he had several children: Henry Pirtle, Fannie, Randall, Thomas and Margaret, all of whom are dead but Thomas, who is a farm- er near Hartford. His second marriage was to Mrs. Kittie Trible, of Owensboro, who survived him. His eldest son, Dr. Henry Pirtle Taylor, married Miss Sallie May of Daviess County. Two of their children are living, Harrison P. Taylor and Mary Taylor. The former married Miss Mary Pendleton, daughter of Dr. John E. Pen- dleton of Hartford, Kentucky, and to them were born two children, Sallie and John Pendleton.

F ERDINAND ADAM NEIDER of Augusta, son of Adam and Barbara (Quill) Neider, was born in Wheeling, West Virginia, March 2, 1851.

His father was born in Prussia in 1805. He came to America when about twenty-five years of age and settled in Wheeling, West Virginia, where he was engaged in the manufacture of gas until 1855, when he retired, five years before his death.

Barbara Quill, his wife, was also a native of Prussia. They were married in Wheeling in 1831. She was born in 1814 and died in 1877.

Ferdinand A. Neider was educated in the pub- lic and Catholic schools of Wheeling. At the age of seventeen years he left home and school and began the battle of life for himself. He was stationed at different times in Columbus and Cin- cinnati, Ohio, and Madison, Indiana. In Cin-

cinnati he learned the carriage-making trade; and in 1870, when nineteen years of age, he locat- ed in Augusta and engaged in carriage making. In 1883 he began the manufacture of carriage trimmings, and has now one of the most success- ful and popular establishments of the kind, of which there are only seven in the United States.

Mr. Neider is a mechanical genius, having patented some thirty different inventions in the line of his business, and from the profits in these inventions and in the manufacture of trimmings and novelties and the sale of carriage hardware he has accumulated a handsome fortune.

Being public-spirited, hospitable and liberal with his means for the public good and for the pleasure of his friends, he is naturally one of the most popular and useful citizens of Augusta.

He is considered an all-round man in politics as well as in affairs pertaining to the prosperity of his adopted city. He votes the Democratic ticket in national elections; but is neutral in local poli- tics, always voting the ticket, or for the man, he considers the most likely to serve the public faithfully.

Mr. Neider is a member of the Catholic Church, as were his father and mother.

January 29, 1873, he married Maggie Sherwood of Augusta. They have three children: Bertha Estelle, Maggie and Bonnie May.

D R. RICHARD PRETLOW, deceased, was born in Southampton County, Virginia, November 27, 1811. His parents were Edna (Bailey) and Samuel Pretlow, who removed from Virginia to Springboro, Ohio, when the son was seventeen years of age. Dr. Pretlow, having secured a liberal education in the best schools of the day, went to Cincinnati when twenty-one years of age and attended the Ohio Medical Col- lege, graduating in 1835. He began his profes- sional career in Richmond, Indiana, and gained a wide reputation as a physician in the course of several years of practice. In 1843 he removed to Covington, where he was engaged in the practice of medicine for over half a century. His death February 20, 1894, was mourned by the entire community in which he had lived so long, and in which he was universally known and respected.

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Many expressions of sorrow and tributes to his memory were published in the newspapers of the city, among which was the following, written by Hon. John Sanford, one of his many devoted friends:

"Another link has been broken which binds the present with the earlier history of Covington. There are not many of them left, and in the death of Dr. Richard Pretlow we have lost one to which many will cling with loving remembrance. For fifty years he practiced medicine in our city. A calling that required him to move along the pri- vate pathways of life, that lead within the home circle, and is associated with family affliction.

"There are no memories so tender as those which cling around the name of one who brings comfort to us at such a time. The announcement of the death of Dr. Pretlow on yesterday moved across our city like a shadow, and tears came everywhere in eyes that were unused to the melt- ing mood. The kindly face that had so often beamed beside the bed of pain-the tender hand that had so often brought comfort, and the voice that had so often encouraged hope, were all gath- ered on the silent shore.

"He was a modest, unassuming man, who walked along the sequestered vale of life with no ambition save that of good for his fellows. In all his surroundings, whether as citizen, physician, friend, husband or father, he might have been taken as a model, and humanity would have been elevated by the pattern. He had accumulated a very handsome estate, but not one dollar of it was ever wrung from the suffering poor.

"If they were able to pay him for his services it was all right; if they were not, they received his attention all the same. The world was made better in his life, and in his death it has lost one of its endearing charms. May he rest in peace."

Dr. Pretlow was not only devoted to his pro- fession, but endeared himself to all classes by his kindly disposition and his never-failing interest in the general welfare of the community. He was a man of superior judgment in matters of business and was identified with the Farmers' Bank of Kentucky of Covington, and was its president for many years.

He attended the Presbyterian Church, of which

he was a trustee, and Mrs. Pretlow put a beauti- ful and artistic memorial window in the church, representing "Christ, the Great Physician," in memory of her devoted husband.

Dr. Pretlow built a beautiful home on the cor- ner of Fourth and Greenup streets, Covington, in which he lived for fifty years.

He was in no sense a politician, but took great interest as a Republican in political questions.

In 1837 Dr. Pretlow married Elizabeth A. Lynch of Lynchburg, Virginia. She lived with him for thirty years; died in 1867, and was buried in Highland Cemetery. By this marriage there are two children living: Mrs. Frank Prague of Covington, and Samuel D. Pretlow. He mar- ried again, June 1, 1869, Cassie Prague, daugh- ter of Edward and Sarah A. Prague of Spring- dale, Ohio.

Dr. Pretlow's ancestors were English, and they brought the brick with them to build their house in Virginia.

AMES ALLEN McCANE, clerk of the Bracken County Court, son of Thomas and Nancy D. (Anderson) McCane, was born in Bracken County, March 3, 1854. His father is also a native of Bracken County. He was born May 18, 1820, and since his school days, which were spent in the county schools, he has devoted himself to farming near Augusta. He was mar- ried November 29, 1849, to Nancy D. Anderson.

D R. JAMES T. REDDICK of Paducah was born in Sumner County, Tennessee, Feb. 15, 1859. His father, James W. Reddick, was born in the same county in 1836, and was a prominent farmer and trader there who became a Primitive Baptist minister in middle life and preached suc- cessfully in Sumner and adjoining counties for twenty-five years. He was a forcible speaker, a man of strong convictions and exerted a great influence for good in his community. Outside of the ministry he was a citizen of prominence and influence.

John A. Reddick (grandfather) was also a native of Sumner County; a farmer and a man of most excellent character; honest, industrious, a lead- ing member of the Primitive Baptist Church, a

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good citizen and neighbor and a Democratic voter.

John Parish (maternal grandfather) was a native of Tennessee and a farmer all of his life.

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Biographical cyclopedia of the commonwealth of Kentucky, Part 10

Author: Gresham, John M., Co., Pub Publication date: 1896 Publisher: Chicago, Philadelphia, J. M. Gresham company Number of Pages: 726

Author: Gresham, John M., Co., Pub
Publication date: 1896
Publisher: Chicago, Philadelphia, J. M. Gresham company
Number of Pages: 726