Biographical cyclopedia of the commonwealth of Kentucky, Part 20

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

USA > Kentucky > Biographical cyclopedia of the commonwealth of Kentucky > Part 20

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).

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KENTUCKY BIOGRAPHIES.

liams" to Blackburn, though petitioned to do so by his constituents in an immense petition.

When the new city charter for Louisville was adopted, providing the judge of the Police Court should have a vacation during the months of July and August each year, and authorizing the mayor to appoint a judge to preside during the absence of the judge of the Court, Mayor Tyler appointed Judge Smith to this important position, which he filled with signal ability during the months of July and August, 1894 and 1895, and many times in the absence of the regular judge. He demon- strated his fitness for the office by just and fearless rulings, and by an adminstration of the law with- out fear or favor for the protection of the people against crime, criminals and deeds of violence. The criminal was punished and crime suppressed, while justice was tempered with mercy to the youthful offender or those guilty of a first offense or deserving mercy. The criminal and habitual law breakers were very shy of the Police Court when Judge Smith was on the bench; and he made for himself a reputation as a criminal judge that is not confined to Louisville, but known and recognized throughout the country. The cele- brated detective, William Pinkerton, when in Louisville, visited the Police Court and expressed the opinion that "Judge Smith was one of the best men for such a position he knew and that no thieves would come to the city with him on the bench."

Judge Smith was married October 21, 1869, to Anna E. Baldwin of Cincinnati, Ohio. Mrs. Smith is a graduate of Glendale Female College of Glendale, Ohio, and a lady of considerable literary ability. She is a member and president of Ladies' Missionary Society of Covenant Presby- terian Church of Louisville, and member of La- dies' Board of Managers of Presbyterian Orphan Asylum, and also corresponding secretary of the Synodical Missionary Society of Kentucky.

Judge Smith is in politics a Democrat, though of conservative tendencies, and has taken a promi- nent part in nearly every state and national con- test since he came to Kentucky, his services being in demand in political campaigns. As a public speaker he has been a logician or argumentative speaker, or dealer in facts and figures, instead

of a rhetorician. He prefers the law to politics, and declined public positions in the consular ser- vice or that would take him away from Louisville.

Judge Smith was raised in the Presbyterian Church, both of his parents having been members of that church over fifty years. He is a member of no secret orders except the Louisville Lodge of Elks and Cherokee Tribe, Improved Order of Red Men, of Louisville. He has always resided in one locality in the Eleventh Ward in Louisville and been popular with the people, though fear- less, outspoken and frank in his opinions.

STEPHEN GIRARD KINNER, Circuit Judge of the Twentieth Judicial District, residing in Catlettsburg, was born in Lawrence County, Kentucky, July 20, 1848.

His father, H. H. Kinner, was also born in that county, February 12, 1825, and was a merchant and lumber dealer in the Sandy Valley. During the war he took no active part, but he openly expressed his sympathy with the Confederacy. He was an old line Whig as long as that party was in existence and he then became a Demo- crat, taking great interest in political matters, but seeking no office. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South; a Mason and one of the best citizens; died, January 3, 1893.

David Kinner (grandfather) was born in the southwestern part of Virginia, October 18, 1800, and came to Lawrence County, where he followed farming; married Mary Stewart of Virginia: died July 29, 1851. His ancestors came from England.

Mehaha Curnutte Kinner (mother) was born February 6, 1830; married David Kinner, De- cember 2, 1846, and is now living in Boyd County, near Catlettsburg. Her father, Reuben Curnutte, was born in Virginia, January 18, 1793; came to Lawrence County and was one of the leading farmers and stock raisers of that county. He be- longed to the old Whig party; was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and was a prom- inent and influential citizen. The Curnuttes be- longed to an old Virginia family of Welsh extraction.

Judge S. G. Kinner was educated in the com- mon schools of Boyd County; at South Bend,

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Indiana, in 1866; Center College, Danville, in 1867, and in the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, Ohio, in 1868-9; entered the law office of Ireland & Hampton, Catlettsburg, Kentucky, in 1870, and was admitted to the bar in 1872; began the practice of law without an associate; formed a partnership with Hon. K. F. Pritchard, one of the most eminent jurists of the state, and was associated with him from 1878 to 1880. In 1874 he was elected county attorney, in which capacity he served four years in connection with a growing practice; in 1880 was elected common- wealth attorney of the Sixteenth Judicial Dis- trict; re-elected in 1886, and, at the expiration of his second term in 1892, was elected circuit judge of the district for a term of five years. In his second race for commonwealth attorney, he was accorded the nomination without opposition in his own party; nor did the Republican party nominate a candidate against him. He received the unanimous nomination for circuit judge and was elected without opposition. He is a fine lawyer, an able jurist and a highly honored and respected citizen; a prominent Mason and Odd Fellow, and a member of the Methodist Church, South.

On the 14th of September, 1870, he married Ceres Wellman, daughter of Zerelda (Bowen) and Jeremiah Wellman of Wayne County, West Vir- ginia. She was born in that county, July 24, 1847, and was educated in the best schools of the county. They have four children: Mary, born November 14, 1871; Lute Belle, born Jan- uary 24, 1877; Ceres, born August 22, 1881, and Sallie, born March 27, 1885.

H ENRY L. KREMER, wharfmaster, Louis- ville, Kentucky, was born in that city, Sep- tember 3, 1858, and is a son of Annie (Hendricks) and the late Charles Kremer, who was wharf- master in Louisville for twenty-seven years prior to his death, December 6, 1893.

Charles Kremer was born in Louisville in 1830, on the present site of the Louisville Hotel. His parents were well-to-do Germans of the Catholic religion. He was educated in the parochial schools and accepted the religion of his father, to which he adhered faithfully during all of his

life. He learned the trade of coppersmith, but was ambitious and energetic and did not long confine himself to the narrow limits of the shop, but soon became a leader in local politics. He was a man of fine intellect, good judgment and wide influence; and he naturally drifted into polit- ical life, not merely for revenue, but because of the interest he manifested in the progress of the city. His popularity was attested by his election and often repeated re-election to the office of wharfmaster, a position of trust and responsi- bility in which he faithfully served the public until the day of his death. He was devoted to his family and was kind and indulgent to his chil- dren and a true and stanch friend and neighbor.

Henry Kremer (grandfather) was a native of Germany, who came to the United States, landing in Baltimore when he was a boy and subsequently coming to Louisville, where he married Mary Markley, a native of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, who came to Louisville on a flat boat in 1820. He was a dealer in feed and grain and a man of influence, particularly with the German element of society.

Annie Hendricks Kremer (mother) is a native of Louisville, daughter of James Hendricks, who was born in Ireland and came to Louisville in the '20's. He was a fine machinist and iron worker, and was for a long time connected with the Coleman rolling mill until it suspended oper- ation. He is still a resident of Louisville and very active for a man of eighty-six years of age.

Henry L. Kremer was educated in the Louis- ville public schools, which he left at the age of fourteen years to accept the position of book- keeper in the foundry of John G. Baxter. He held that position for seven years, and was then for a time bill-clerk in the Louisville & Nashville Railroad office. On the first day of January. 1880, he was appointed assistant city assessor and held that office until 1885, when he resigned and was elected to represent the Eighth and Ninth wards in the state legislature, receiving a large majority over the Republican candidate. He was re-elected for three consecutive terms, serving throughout eight years with distinction. During his last term he was chairman of the railroad com- mittee, whose duty it was to prepare the laws

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governing railroads under the new constitution. He also took an active part in forming the new city charter, and was otherwise diligent in secur- ing legislation for the benefit of the city. During this time, while not engaged at Frankfort, he was interested in contracting and street building. When his father died, in 1893, he was elected to fill the vacancy and has been wharfmaster for two years.

Mr. Kremer was married February 22, 1882, to Etta Belle Krack, daughter of Dr. J. A. Krack, who was for many years city assessor.

H ON. WILLIAM W. KIMBROUGH of Cynthiana, judge of the Circuit Court, son of John M. and Susan (Jones) Kimbrough, was born in Harrison County, May 19, 1843.

His father was also a native of Harrison County and a very successful and popular farmer and an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He died in 1868, at the age of sixty- three.

William Kimbrough (grandfather) was a Vir- ginian, a bricklayer by trade, but after coming to Kentucky he located near Cynthiana and fol- lowed farming. He was of Scotch-Irish descent.

Susan Jones Kimbrough (mother) was born in Nicholas County. She and her husband were consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. She died in 1880, aged seventy years. Her father, Moses Jones, was a Kentuckian and an extensive farmer in Nicholas County.

Judge Kimbrough attended the county schools and completed his education in Miami University at Oxford, Ohio, at that time one of the leading educational institutions in the country. After leaving school he was deputy circuit clerk of Harrison County for fifteen months. He then read law with W. W. Trimble of Cynthiana and was admitted to the bar in 1867. He moved to Bates County, Missouri, in September, 1871, and returned to Kentucky in March, 1875, when he located in Mount Olivet, Robertson County, and practiced law there for thirteen years. He was county attorney of Robertson County from 1878 to 1882. In June, 1888, he returned to Cyn- thiana and resumed the practice of law in his old home. In September, 1892, he was nominated by

the Democratic party for the office of judge of the Circuit Court of the Eighteenth Judicial District and was elected easily for a term of five years. He assumed the duties of his office January I, 1893.

Judge Kimbrough was married in 1869 to Johanah C. Ridgely of Jessamine County. His son, Daniel R. Kimbrough, i's deputy circuit clerk of Harrison County.

J ASPER BUSTOW KARN, County Judge of

Daviess County, son of Christopher and Ann (Bustow) Karn, was born in the same county, Kentucky, March 7, 1848. His father was a na- tive of the same county, where he spent his life in farming, and died in 1878. His father, also named Christopher, was a native of Pennsylvania, who came to Kentucky early in the century and married Leah Boone, a native Kentuckian and a relative of Daniel Boone, and was a farmer in Daviess County, where he died, in 1847. The ancestors of the Karn family were from Germany.

Ann Bustow Karn (mother) was born in Da- viess County, in 1828, and died in 1882. Her father, Jasper Bustow, for whom Judge Karn was named, was a Baptist preacher in Daviess County, where he died in 1847. His wife was Rachel Barnhill, whose ancestors were of Irish extrac- tion.

Jasper B. Karn, after obtaining his education in the Daviess County schools, was a teacher in the county for three years, reading law at the same time under the instruction of Sweeney & Stewart, of Owensboro, and was admitted to the bar in 1870; but did not begin the practice of law until 1872, when he gave up the business of the pedagogue. He quietly pursued his chosen pro- fession, steadily gaining a profitable practice and making his way to the front.

He served two terms as city judge, prior to his election as county judge, in 1890. He was re- elected in 1894 and is now serving his sixth year in that important office. He is a gentleman of quiet demeanor and a dignity becoming the office which he has faithfully filled so long.

He is a member of the Masonic Order, Knights of Pythias, and Knights of Honor.

Judge Karn has been twice married, His first

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wife was Sallie Fuqua, daughter of Perry Fuqua, of Daviess County. She died December 13, 1881, leaving two children: Virgia, who died in 1892, and Eva, who was born November 15, 1878. His second marriage occurred October 12, 1884, to Rose Roberts, daughter of Dr. Henry Roberts, of Owensboro. By this union there are three children: Robert, Fredrick and Rose.

F RED KAMLEITER, a prominent and suc- cessful merchant of Paducah, was born in Shillingsfurst, Bavaria, November 4, 1840. He was educated in Germany, leaving school when fourteen years of age, and two years later, in 1856, came to America and located in Cairo, Illinois, where he found employment as a laborer. He re- mained there until the call for troops, in 1861, when he enlisted with the sharpshooters, Com- pany M, Fourth Missouri Infantry, under Captain Harvey.

During a service of three months this regiment was commanded by Dr. Hammer, and was a part of the command of General Sigel, with whom Mr. Kamleiter was well acquainted. He was in the battles of Wilson's Creek; at Carthage, Mis- souri; Fort Donelson; Pittsburg Landing, and Corinth, Mississippi. After serving the term for which he had enlisted, he joined Battery C, Sec- ond Illinois Artillery, under Captain Flood; and in this he served until the close of the war. He was with General Rosecrans all through the war, from the latter part of 1861 till 1865.

Returning home, he found employment for a short time in Mound City, Illinois; and in 1866 arrived in Paducah, where he was engaged as a salesman for a year or two, and in 1869 estab- lished the retail grocery which is now one of the leading mercantile concerns in that city. He soon became identified with the best interests of the city and is known as one of the most enterprising and liberal public-spirited citizens.

He was the representative of the Fourth Ward in the City Council from 1883 to 1893, being elected on the Republican ticket; is a stockholder in the German National Bank, and in the Citi- zens' Bank, in which he has been a director; a stockholder in the Paducah Trust Company, in the Citizens' Street Railway Company and in the

Paducah Fair Association; is largely interested in real estate, owning some fifteen buildings; and is comparatively a rich man, especially consider- ing that he began to hew out his own fortune as a day laborer. He is quite popular among the benevolent orders, and is a member of the Odd Fellows, Masons, Knight Templars, Knights of Honor, A. O. U. W., and is Commandant of Grant Post No. 59, G. A. R. He is also a member of the Lutheran Church and a liberal supporter of the cause of religion.

Mr. Kamleiter was married November 28, 1868, to Margaret Beyer, daughter of Tobias Beyer. She was born in Bavaria, Germany, December 6, 1841, and came to America with her parents when she was three years of age. They have three chil- dren, two of whom are married and have families: Katie, born December 26, 1869; married March 24, 1892, to E. W. Brockman; has one child, Fred- rick, born September 19, 1894. Louisa, born March 5, 1870; married March 27, 1893, to Charles Scholz, of Evansville, Indiana; has one child, Norman Fredrick. Henry Kamleiter, born December 15, 1872; is now in business in Padu- cah.

Mr. Kamleiter's father, John Fredrick Kamlei- ter, was a mechanic in his native town in Bavaria, Germany.

H ENRY TIMBERLAKE DUNCAN of Lex- ington was born in Paris, Bourbon County, Kentucky, August 31, 1836; and is a son of the late Henry T. and Eliza (Pike) Duncan, natives of Bourbon County, Kentucky.

His grandfather, Daniel Duncan, was a native of Pennsylvania, who left that state and settled in Kentucky in the year 1798, and was a merchant in Paris for thirty-six years-1798 to 1834.

The Duncans came from the highlands and lowlands of Scotland. A branch of this Scotch family came from Dumfreeshire and settled in Virginia in 1694, and another branch settled in New York and Pennsylvania in 1735. In the history of Western Pennsylvania, the Rev. Joseph Duncan is spoken of as a Presbyterian minister, preaching in a log church in 1739. Whether this Scotch pioneer preacher was related to Henry T. Duncan or not, is not known. Tra-

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dition states, however, that the Rev. Joseph Dun- can settled in Kentucky about the year 1789, leaving several sons, and one of his grandsons was at one time governor of the territory of Illi- nois. This grandson was a cousin of the subject of this sketch.

Henry T. Duncan (father) was for many years a leading lawyer and manufacturer in Paris. He died in Lexington in 1881, at the age of 81.

Samuel Pike (maternal grandfather) was a na- tive of England, who erected the first cotton mills west of the Allegheny Mountains, and whosc death occurred in 1838, leaving a fortune of some four hundred thousand dollars, which in that day was considered a very large amount of money for one man to control.

Henry T. Duncan was prepared for college by private instructors and at the age of seventeen years, entered Harvard College and was gradu- ated from that institution in the class of 1859. After leaving college he became a student of jurisprudence under the late Chief Justice, George Robertson; and was admitted to practice in the courts after four months' study.

In a short time after this he took editorial charge of the "Observer and Reporter," a political paper, famous in the days of Mike Wickliffe. This was just before the close of the Civil war, and the paper was soon seized and held by the Federal authorities for a time, but was returned to its proprietors. At this time it was edited by T. J. Bush and the late William A. Dudley. Mr. Duncan remained with them for seven or eight months, when he returned to the practice of law. He subsequently formed a partnership with Hart Gibson and J. J. Miller, and in 1870 founded the Lexington "Daily Press," which Mr. Duncan owned and edited until November, 1893, when he assumed the duties of mayor of Lexington. He was nominated to this office by the Democratic party and was elected without opposition. His administration of Lexington's municipal affairs was one of the most noteworthy and sensational in the city's history. He instituted a searching in- vestigation of the city's affairs for preceding years and unearthed a condition of municipal rotten- ness which startled and amazed the public. He discovered large shortages in the department of

city collector, running back over many years and through several administrations. His administra- tion was characterized by reform methods, strict business principles and great economy in public expenditures. Perhaps the most worthy and last- ing fcature however of his administration was the splendid improvements inaugurated and per- fected by him in the public schools, both white and colored. Under his progressive and intelli- gent directorship they were rescued from the old fogy methods in which they had been conducted for a quarter of a century, and brought to a degree of efficiency that will now compare favor- ably with the public schools of any city of equal size in the south or west. In his race for re-nom- ination, however, he was defeated. His exposures of official rottenness stirred up an active host of encmies who encompassed his defeat by making a coalition with the A. P. A. vote, which was very large. Two primaries were necessary to decide the contest. The first was declared a tie and the second resulted in Mr. Duncan's defeat by only eleven votes, nearly 2,500 votes being cast. His successful opponent was Joseph B. Simrall, whom he had defcated for the nomination two years prior.

Soon after his election in 1893 the "Daily Press" was consolidated with the "Daily Tran- script," and the two journals were succeeded by the "Press-Transcript," which was for one year cdited by Mr. Duncan's son, Henry T. Duncan, Jr. The paper was then purchased by S. G. Boyle, half owner of the "Press-Transcript," and Mr. Dun- can's son took up the profession of law.

After Mr. Duncan's first experience in the newspaper business he resumed the practice of law with the late Judge W. B. Kinkead, and was in partnership with him for four or five years.

In 1862 Mr. Duncan was a member of the State Guards, serving as adjutant on the staff of General James S. Jackson, who was killed at the battle of Perryville in October, 1862.

Henry T. Duncan was united in marriage in 1860 to Lillie, daughter of George W. Brand of Lexington; and they had ten children, nine of whom still survive. His eldest son, George Brand Duncan, was graduated from West Point in 1886, and is now adjutant of the Fourth United

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States Infantry, stationed at Fort Sherman, Idaho. The second son, Edward, is now engaged in the revenue service; Henry T., Jr., has adopted the profession of law; Daniel graduated from West Point in the class of 1895. The daughters are: Eliza, wife of John R. Allen, county attor- ney of Fayette County; Nanny; Lilly, wife of George Otis Draper, son of Congressman Draper, and a wealthy cotton machine manufacturer of Hopedale, Mass; Margaret and Fanny.

C HARLES L. KING, a leading merchant of Corydon, president of the Deposit Bank and president of the Anchor Rolling Mills Com- pany, of Corydon, was born in Henderson Coun- ty, Kentucky, March 12, 1838.

His father, James H. King, was a native of Virginia, who removed to Union County, Ken- tucky, about the year 1829, and engaged in farm- ing. About the year 1832 he removed to Hen- derson County and was a farmer there for a few years, but soon engaged in the milling business; sold out his mill in 1856 and went to Hickman and engaged in the dry goods business.

He was married in 1828 to Caroline Brinkley, and had ten children: John M., George W., James T., Charles L., Alexander, Edward S., Har- but A., Mary A., Martha C., and Sarah I. Mr. and Mrs. King died in Hickman in 1864, and they are buried at Hickman, Kentucky.

C. L. King (grandfather) was a native of Vir- ginia, and his father was a native of Ireland, who came to Virginia in very early times.

Charles Brinkley (maternal grandfather) was a native of Virginia, whose antecedents are not known.

Charles L. King was educated in the schools of Hickman, and at the age of twenty-one years became a partner in his father's store, under the firm name of J. H. King & Son. They were fairly successful merchants, and after three years they closed out their business and Charles L. es- tablished another store with S. C. Wilson as his partner, the firm name being King & Wilson. They closed out at Hickman in 1866.

In 1866 Mr. King moved to Corydon and en- gaged in the same business there, in which he has continued in connection with other enter-

prises until the present time. From 1874 until 1878 his brother, Edward S. King, was in part- nership with him, and the firm was King & Bro. C. L. and H. A. King succeeded Edward S., un- der the firm name, and the establishment is still known by that firm name.

Mr. King is largely interested in other busi- ness enterprises, being president of the Anchor Rolling Mills; president of the Corydon Deposit Bank; director in the Henderson National Bank; director in the Henderson Woolen Mills Com- pany, etc. He has been an extensive dealer in real estate during the past fifteen years, and is the owner of valuable property in Corydon and vicinity.

He is a man of the highest integrity, esteemed by all who know him for his generous spirit and upright character. Being a man of sound busi- ness judgment, successful in all of his under- takings, he wields a strong influence in the com- munity, and is recognized as a leading citizen of Henderson County.

Mr. King was married in 1864 to Mrs. Sallie (Powell) Sheffer, daughter of Harrison A. Powell, a sketch of whose life will be found in this volume. They have four children: Anna, Addie, Maude and Harbut.

OHN FRANCIS LOCKETT, a prominent J

lawyer and politician of Henderson, was born in Henderson County, Kentucky, December 5, 1856. He is the eldest son of Rev. Paschal H. and Elmira (Eakins) Lockett. His father was born in Henderson County, June 21, 1832. He studied law when quite young and upon his being admitted to the bar, was regarded by his friends as among the most brilliant lawyers of his day. He was a Whig in politics and followed the changes of that party while it existed and after the beginning of the Civil war became a Demo- crat. In the exciting times just prior to the war he took an active interest and on more than one occasion met upon the rostrum speakers of the opposing party, holding his own among the best of them. He was elected judge of the Henderson County Court in 1866 and held that office for three consecutive terms, until 1882. During the latter year of his official life he devoted much of

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Biographical cyclopedia of the commonwealth of Kentucky, Part 20

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