USA > Kentucky > Biographical cyclopedia of the commonwealth of Kentucky > Part 45
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tice Prior of the Court of Appeals. In 1846 he was admitted to the bar and immediately entered upon practice. Finding that the law was not congenial to his tastes, Mr. Hudson, after two years' practice, abandoned the law and commenced merchandis- ing, which he carried on successfully for seven years. At the expiration of this time he became the owner of the Empire Tobacco Works at Cov- ington, which he operated for many years, be- coming one of the best known tobacco manufac- turers in the state. From 1850 to 1855 he was engaged in business in Louisiana, Missouri, in partnership with a Mr. Van Horn, under the firm name of Van Horn & Hudson.
In 1867 Mr. Hudson served as president of the City Council of Covington. He spent two years (1881 and 1882) with his family in Europe, visit- ing London, Paris, Brussels, Cologne, Switzer- land, Italy and other interesting points on the con- tinent. Mr. Hudson's beautiful home on Fifth street is largely furnished with rare specimens of bric-a-brac which were gathered on this Euro- pean trip. In 1885 Mr. Hudson retired from active business. He is a director and stockholder in the Suspension Bridge Company, and has been for many years; a director of the First National Bank of Covington, and a director in the Cov- ington Cemetery.
In 1857 Mr. Hudson was married to Esther Fowler, daughter of Edward Fowler and grand- daughter of Major Jacob Fowler. She was born June 4, 1826, in Covington, Kentucky, and died April 31, 1894, leaving three children: John Shel- ley Hudson, a tobacconist of Covington; Ida Dell, now Mrs. Ida Prettyman, and Dr. Clifford Hudson, who studied medicine in the Ohio Medi- cal College, and took a post-graduate course in a medical college in New York City. Mr. Hudson is well informed on all important questions and is liberal and independent in his opinions and in politics.
JOHN BUFORD HENDRICK was born in Frankfort, Kentucky, June 3, 1864, and is the son of John R. and Mary (Swigert) Hen- drick, and is descended on his father's side from the Dutch Burghers of Holland, who in the six-
teenth century fought Philip II. of Spain for fifty- one years and established the freedom and inde- pendence of Holland, and that Dutch republic was the fruit of their heroic resistance to the tyranny of Philip in that century.
John R. Hendrick (father) was born in Camp- bell County, Virginia, February 10, 1827, and emigrated to Kentucky when a young man. His education was received at Center College. He afterwards took a theological course at Prince- ton, and after entering the Presbyterian ministry, he removed to Frankfort, which was his home until the day of his death, November 28, 1881.
Phillip Swigert (maternal grandfather), in his day one of the most distinguished citizens of the state, was born May 27, 1798, and died in Frank- fort, December 31, 1871, in the seventy-fourth year of his age. For fifty years he lived in that community and was one of its most active, useful and distinguished men. The farm on which he was born lies eight miles southeast of Lexington, in the present limits of Jessamine County, and is now owned by Thomas A. Davis. When quite young he wrote as a deputy in the Woodford Cir- cuit Court under John McKinney. In 1822 he removed to Frankfort, and received the appoint- ment of clerk of the Circuit Court of Franklin County, and was the successor of Francis P. Blair, Sr. He continued as circuit clerk by appointment and then by election, under the Con- stitution of 1849, until 1862, a period of thirty-two years. At the expiration of that time, wishing to embark in other pursuits, he declined being a candidate for further re-election to that office. He was elected to the state senate of Kentucky from the district composed of the counties of Franklin, Anderson and Woodford in 1865, for the term of four years. He was a man of remark- able financial ability, which was proven sufficient- ly when opportunities were afforded him for ac- tion. He was chairman of the State Board of Internal Improvements and was for many years president of the Farmers' Bank of Kentucky. Soon after his removal to Frankfort he was ap- pointed commissioner, or agent, for the old Bank of Kentucky, the duties of which were to collect its assets and settle up its affairs, which he per- formed in the most satisfactory manner, and in
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the prosecution of which he visited nearly every county in the state.
He was one of the most distinguished mem- bers of the Masonic fraternity and was more widely known in that relation than any other man of his day. He became a Mason in 1819, at the age of twenty-one, and in the following year rep- resented Landmark Lodge No. 41 in the Grand Lodge of Kentucky, which was in the same year that Henry Clay was elected and installed Grand Master of Masons in Kentucky. He was a life- long friend of Henry Clay. After serving alter- nately as Grand Junior and Grand Senior Deacon he served some years as Grand Treasurer, and for twenty consecutive years afterwards acted as Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge. Upon his retirement from office, as a testimonial of the high esteem in which he was held by his brethren, he was presented with an elegant Grand Secretary's jewel of gold. In 1858 he was elected Grand Pursuivant of the Grand Council, and held the same for several terms. He was elected Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Kentucky in 1857; elected Grand Secretary of the Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons in 1822 and held the office with an interval of only two years until his death. For a period of forty-three years he was a con- stant and efficient member of Hiram Lodge No. 4 of Frankfort; was a Knight Templar, the mem- bers of which order, together with all other Masons in convenient distance, were present at his funeral, with all the imposing honors and cere- monies of that ancient and time-honored frater- nity. He was a man of great energy of purpose, untiring industry and methodical habits. It did not matter how multifarious were his duties, he undertook them and accomplished them with great ability and fidelity. Whether of minor or greater importance, it made no difference; he did his duty and did it well. During his life he was nearly always one of the chief and directing spirits in the public affairs pertaining to his county and town, and his devotion to duty and his high moral rectitude were never questioned. No man en- joyed more fully the confidence and respect of the community in which he lived. For twenty years he was mayor of Frankfort; was a successful business man and left a large estate to his chil-
dren. The ancestors of Phillip Swigert were from Zurich, Switzerland.
J. Buford Hendrick, his grandson, was reared in the city of Frankfort, and was educated in pri- vate schools. After leaving school he accepted a position in the Deposit Bank of Frankfort, where he also successfully managed the business affairs of his mother. In 1893 he was elected vice-presi- dent of the bank, which office he still holds. In 1889 he wedded Georgia, daughter of Jesse P. Lyons of Missouri, and has two children, Mary S. and J. Buford. Mr. Hendrick is a member and deacon in the Presbyterian Church, and a mem- ber of Hiram Lodge No. 4, Frankfort Chapter, Grand Consistory of Kentucky. In politics he is a Republican. The ancestors of the name of Hendrick are land owners in Holland. Henry Hudson, who, in the service of Holland, discov- ered the Hudson River and afterward became a land holder in the Dutch Republic, changed his name to Hendrick Hudson.
JAMES GUTHRIE COKE, editor of the Herald-Enterprise, Russellville, son of Richard Henry and Mary Elizabeth (Guthrie) Coke, and grandson of Honorable James Guthrie, was born in Louisville, Kentucky, June 18, 1841.
His father was born in Washington County, Kentucky, August 13, 1815; was a graduate of Miami University, Oxford, Ohio; studied law in old Transylvania University; began the practice of his profession in Springfield, Kentucky; moved to Louisville, Kentucky, in 1840, where he prac- ticed law until his death, May 18, 1845. He was a member of the state legislature in 1837 and 1838; was married June 2, 1840, to Mary Eliza- beth Guthrie, daughter of Honorable James Guthrie and Elizabeth Prather, his wife, of Louis- ville. She was born January 6, 1823, and was educated at Nazareth College, Nelson County. James Guthrie Coke is the only child of this 11nion.
Mrs. Coke (mother) was married again in 1854 to John Caperton. He was born in Virginia and educated in the University of Virginia. He studied law in his native state and afterward con- tinued his legal studies in New Orleans. In 1849 he moved to California. He was a deputy under
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Colonel Jack Hayes, the first sheriff of San Fran- cisco County, and as such opened the first court ever held in California. After his marriage he wound up his business in California, moved to Louisville, retired from active business, and took up his residence in the Guthrie homestead, which fell to his wife's share in the settlement of her father's estate. By this union there were four children: John H., Mary Eliza, Julia and Hugh Gaston; all of whom are dead but John H., who is a successful business man in Louisville, Ken- tucky.
Richard Coke (grandfather) was a native of Virginia, and one of the pioneers of Washington County, Kentucky.
James Guthrie (maternal grandfather) was born in Nelson County, Kentucky, December 5, 1792. He was educated at St. Mary's College and at Bardstown Academy. After a few years spent in flatboating to New Orleans, he studied law with Judge John Rowan; was admitted to the bar and began to practice at Bardstown.
He was appointed commonwealth attorney, under the old constitution, but resigned; removed to Louisville, where he soon acquired a lucra- tive practice; was a member of the City Council for many years; served repeatedly in both branches of the legislature; was a member of the constitutional convention and its presiding officer in 1849; was secretary of the United States treas- ury under President Pierce from 1853 to 1857; was a candidate for the nomination to the presidency before the Democratic national convention at Charleston, South Carolina, in 1860; was a dele- gate to the peace conference at Washington in 1860; also to the border state convention at Frankfort soon afterward; was offered a position in President Lincoln's cabinet, and afterward a major general's commission, with command of the division embracing Kentucky, both of which positions he declined to accept; was elected to the United States senate in 1865, but owing to feeble health, resigned in 1868, and died in Louisville, March 13, 1869.
His ability as a financier was illustrated in the management of his own affairs, no less than that of the national treasury and the Louisville & Nashville Railroad, in whose early history he was
one of the master spirits, and by his indomitable energy and wise judgment the success of that road was attained after many years of threatened failure.
James Guthrie Coke was partly educated in Louisville, and when twelve years of age went to Washington City to live with his grandfather Guthrie, who was at that time secretary of the treasury. After attending private schools in Washington he went to Georgetown College, Dis- trict of Columbia, and in 1857 to Georgetown Col- lege, Kentucky, and would have graduated in 1861, the same year that institution suspended on account of the war. He attended the law depart- ment of the University of Louisville; graduated in 1863, and began the practice of his profession in Louisville; was in the City Council for two years ; served in the legislature from Louisville in 1871- 72; was a director of the Louisville, Cincinnati & Lexington Railroad, and helped to organize, and was one of the first directors of the Manufac- turing and Financial Company. He moved to a farm in Logan County in 1872; was twice elected on the board of magistrates; was elected a director of the Louisville & Nashville Rail- road Company, and was elected a delegate from Logan County to the convention of 1890-91, which framed the present constitution of Ken- tucky. In 1884 he moved to Russellville and practiced law in the civil courts until 1888, in which year he connected himself with the Rus- sellville Herald-Enterprise, of which he is editor. His paper is one of the best in the state, and Mr. Coke's strong, vigorous editorials wield a health- ful influence on public opinion.
Mr. Coke is an able editor, as he was a dis- tinguished lawyer, business man and public ser- vant, before his newspaper work absorbed his at- tention; and is a man of sound judgment and un- swerving principle, devoted to the progress and enlightenment of the people of his community. He is a trustee of Bethel College, a member of the Baptist Church, and a highly esteemed citizen.
Mr. Coke was married, first, September 27, 1865, to Jennie Winston, a native of Kentucky, daughter of David Y. and Elizabeth Winston. She was educated in Mrs. Nold's Louisville Female Seminary. By this union there was one
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son, James Guthrie Coke, born July 29, 1866. Mrs. Coke died October 9, 1870. His second marriage was celebrated November 5, 1873, to Queenie Marshall Blackburn, daughter of Gen- eral Samuel Davis Blackburn. She was born in Bowling Green, Kentucky, June 3, 1855; was educated at Bowling Green and Nazareth College in Nelson County, and is one of the most cultured and refined ladies in Southern Kentucky.
They have three children: John Caperton, Elizabeth Blackburn and Richard H. Coke.
SPENCER C. LONG of Georgetown, son of Nimrod Long and Elizabeth (Curd) Long, was born in Russellville, Kentucky, March 3, 1835.
His father, Nimrod Long, was a native of Logan County, and died in Russellville in 1887, in the seventy-fifth year of his age. It was said of him that Logan County never produced a more honorable and upright man. He was a farmer of the most progressive class, a man of rare business qualifications, and was known as one of the wealthiest men in the county. For some years before his death he was engaged in the banking business in Russellville, and in 1868 the notorious bank robbers known as the James brothers robbed the bank and wounded Mr. Long; but fortunately the wound did not prove fatal, and he continued the business without loss to his depositors.
He was a faithful member of the Baptist Church, and was liberal in his support of the gospel. He was also one of the largest contribu- tors to Bethel College, and his charities were in- numerable and were chiefly unknown to others.
John Slaughter Long (grandfather) was born in Culpeper County, Virginia, and coming to Kentucky, was among the pioneers of Logan County. He was a farmer and one of the best citizens of his county. He died in 1839, having reached the age of seventy-six years.
Gabriel Long (great-grandfather) was a major and served under Generals Washington and Greene in the Revolutionary war. With Colonel James Slaughter and Chief Justice John Marshall, he had the honor of being in the battle of the "Great Bridge," the first battle that was fought
in Virginia, and was present at the last, the sur- render of Lord Cornwallis.
In 1777 Gabriel Long was assigned to the Eleventh Regiment, commanded by General Daniel Morgan. He was one of the sufferers at Valley Forge in 1778. Among his messmates was John Marshall, who was afterward Chief Jus- tice of the United States Supreme Court. Gabriel Long was a gallant soldier, a true patriot, and lived to a great age and died in Virginia. The Longs were of English and Norman descent, and were among the earliest settlers of Virginia.
Elizabeth Curd Long (mother) was born in Logan County, in 1814, and died in 1845. Her father, Spencer Curd, was a native of Shelby County and was for twenty years circuit and county clerk of Logan County. During a part of that time the circuit embraced all of the south- ern part of Kentucky, a territory larger than the states of Rhode Island and Connecticut com- bined. Mr. Curd died in Russellville in 1833.
John Curd (maternal grandfather) was a native of Virginia, a soldier in the Revolutionary war and was taken prisoner by the British at the battle , of Germantown. The ancestors of the subject of this sketch on both sides were patriotic citizens and soldiers in the war of independence.
Spencer C. Long spent his boyhood in Rus- sellville, and attended Georgetown College, graduating in the class of 1854. His first business venture was as a wholesale grocer in Louisville, where he was a member of the firm of Hall & Long for six years. The firm dissolved about 1866; and he was then engaged in the tobacco business in Louisville until 1878, when he went to Russellville and took charge of his father's bank, in which business he remained until his father's death.
In 1887 he organized the Deposit Bank of Rus- sellville, of which he was president until 1891, when he resigned and removed to Georgetown. He owns a fine farm almost within the limits of Georgetown, and is deeply interested in its culti- vation, while having other investments of various kinds in the city.
During his residence in Louisville he was a member of the school board, and while in Rus- sellville he served three times as mayor of that
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thriving city, and was, and still is, treasurer of Bethel College. He is a member of the Baptist Church, and in all respects is an exemplary and enterprising citizen.
He was married in 1856 to Camelia Gano, daughter of Dr. Stephen Gano of Georgetown. They have two sons and three daughters: Stephen G. Long is a lawyer in Los Angeles, California; Nimrod Long is in the grocery busi- ness at Owensboro; Nelly Long married Church Blackburn of Georgetown; Mary Long married Dr. Walter Byrne of Russellville; and Bessie Long married Robert Finnell of Georgetown.
C HARLES O. REYNOLDS, Register of the Land Office, son of O. A. and Catherine (Rice) Reynolds, was born in Lexington, Ken- tucky, March 23, 1856.
His father was born in Anderson County, Ken- tucky, in 1823, and died in Lexington, July 22, 1883. He was a well-known business man of Lexington, where he was in the grocery business for thirty-two years; was a leading member of the Baptist Church, a Republican in politics and a member of the Odd Fellow's fraternity, in which he was prominent for many years.
Catherine Rice Reynolds (mother) was a native of Rose Hill, Fayette County, daughter of Solo- mon Rice; was educated in the county schools; was a very active member of the Christian Church, in which her father was one of the organizers in Lexington. She died in 1866.
William Reynolds (grandfather) was born in Kentucky, in 1800, and was educated in Ander- son County; married Margaret Abbott of that county ; was a farmer, industrious, successful and highly esteemed, and was a leading spirit in the Old Pisgah Church. He died in 1868, and his wife in 1888.
William Reynolds (great-grandfather) and his father, Aaron Reynolds, were famous Indian fighters in the pioneer days of Kentucky, and William was awarded a land grant by Virginia for his three years' service in the Virginia State Line troops.
Charles O. Reynolds went into his father's grocery as a salesman before he could see over the counters and learned something about busi-
ness before completing his education. He at- tended the city schools and won a scholarship in the Agricultural and Mechanical College, and completed his schooling in that institution.
When twenty years of age he embarked in the grocery business with his brother William, and was thus engaged until 1882, when he was ap- pointed to a position in the United States in- ternal revenue service by Colonel A. M. Swope, remaining until 1885. In the examination of revenue employes Mr. Reynolds was one of two men in the district who received a perfect mark, which resulted in his promotion to the position of division deputy under T. C. McDowell, Colonel W. C. Goodloe's successor having been the first man . appointed by Collector Goodloe. He resigned in January, 1893, and was employed as superintendent of the new distillery of J. E. Pepper, and remained with that establishment un- til it shut down, temporarily, after which he was engaged in the coal business until his election as register of the land office.
His nomination for that office in the Republi- can convention was a surprise to him as he had not sought the nomination, which was secured by his personal friends. His selection was most for- tunate, as he was well known throughout the cen- tral portion of the state and popular with the rank and file of the party, and by his gentlemanly, pleasing manner and striking personality he made many votes for his ticket. He made an active canvass and proved himself a worthy leader and a competent man for the office. In the November election, 1895, he received the largest majority in the state, having a plurality of 9,878 votes which was 966 votes ahead of the ticket. In his new position he has demonstrated his fitness for the office to which he was elected and has made many friends for himself and for his party.
Mr. Reynolds was married September 23, 1884, to Josephine DeLime of Frankfort. She was born November 10, 1866; educated in Frankfort schools and died July II, 1888, and is buried at Lexington. Her father, Professor Louis A. De- Lime, was sent to this country by the French authorities to investigate the culture of sugar beets. In France he was a noted chemist and the author of several scientific works. He was
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awarded the first prize at the Louisville Exposi- tion for the best apparatus for aging whiskey.
The five children of O. A. and Catherine Rice Reynolds (parents) were: William, who accom- panied the Greely relief expedition and traveled extensively over the world, now a resident of Lex- ington; Charles O., subject of this sketch; Mollie, married Reed Taylor, went to Chicago and died there in 1881, and Addie and Frank, who are living in Lexington.
C' HARLES LATHAM, a prominent and highly successful merchant of Hopkinsville, is a native of that city, Christian County, Ken- tucky.
His father, John C. Latham, was born in Rus- sellville, Kentucky, November 6, 1814, and re- moved with his parents to Christian County when he was five years of age. He was educated in Hopkinsville, and after leaving school was clerk of the Circuit Court of Christian County for sev- eral years. He was then engaged in mercantile pursuits for fifteen years, and in 1865 organized the Bank of Hopkinsville; was elected president of the bank and served faithfully in that capacity until the day of his death, 1885. His estimable widow, whose maiden name was Virginia Glass, is still living in Hopkinsville. 'His family con- sisted of three children: John C. Latham, Jr., Mary R. and Charles M. Latham, the subject of this sketch.
John and Nancy (Moorehead) Latham (grand- parents) were Virginians, who came to Kentucky and located in Logan County in the earlier years of the present century and removed to Christian County in 1819. They belonged to that sturdy and intelligent class to whom the county in which they lived owes its high moral and intellectual standing at the present day.
Charles M. Latham secured a good practical education in the excellent schools of Hopkinsville and Bethel College, Russellville, Kentucky; en- gaged in business while still in his teens, and at once developed a remarkable aptitude for busi- ness, to which he gave his undivided attention, and in the course of the eighteen years of his mer- cantile experience he has steadily risen step by step until he is counted one of the leading mer-
chants in his section of the state, and one of the most enterprising, industrious and substantial citizens of Hopkinsville.
He has made a careful study of all the details in the various lines of his trade, being particular to buy the best qualities of salable goods so that he can give his personal guarantee with each sale. His well known integrity and honesty of purpose have won for him the implicit confidence of the people.
Mr. Latham has been directly or indirectly iden- tified with the general prosperity of his native city, being always ready to assist in any movement that promises to add to its further development and growth. He has investments in bank, hotel and turnpike stock; has never held office or had any aspirations in that direction, but he uses his influence and casts his vote for men and measures which tend to the improvement and elevation of the public service.
G EORGE HENRY MOORE, deceased, who was a leading and influential merchant of Louisville, was the son of George J. and Cather- ine (Fonda) Moore, and a native of Louisville, born January 10, 1835; died January 14, 1896.
His father was a native of Ashford, Connecti- cut, who came to Louisville in 1833, where he resided until his death, which occurred in 1875, aged sixty-five years. He was for some time a private banker; and subsequently engaged in the wholesale grocery business as a member of the firm of Fonda, Moore & Company, in which he continued for a number of years. He was a Whig in the days of Henry Clay, who always received his vote when Mr. Clay was a candidate. In 1856 he became a Democrat and affiliated with that party until his death, in 1875, although persis- tently refusing to accept any office, political or otherwise. The ancestors of the Moores were English.
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