The Biographical encyclopaedia of Kentucky of the dead and living men of the nineteenth century, Part 116

Author: Armstrong, J. M., & company, pub
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: Cincinnati, J. M. Armstrong
Number of Pages: 946

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lican State Convention ever held in Kentucky; in the Fall of that year, removed to Lexington, in order to find a larger field for his professional services; in the Spring of 1869, was appointed Assessor of Internal Rev- enue for his district; filled the position until the office was abolished, in 1873. This was an important office, in a wealthy district, controlling a large subordinate service and involving millions of dollars, which he filled with satisfaction to the people, and under the highest commendation of the department at Washington. At this time, he declined the solicitation of his party in Fayette to become their candidate for the Lower House of the Legislature, but was nominated against his will, and elected. During this Legislative term, he introduced and supported a measure looking to the equal participa- tion of the colored children of the State in the benefits of the public-school fund, and a measure looking to the em- ployment of convicts in works of internal improvement in the State. The latter measure excited general atten- tion in the State, and received a strong support in the next Legislature. But the great contest of the session was over the "University Bill," by which it was pro- posed to transfer Kentucky University to sectarian con- trol. He took a prominent part in opposition to the bill, and in the exciting discussions to which it gave rise. In 1874, he was appointed United States Pension Agent at Lexington, which position he still holds, but is greatly devoted to the practice of his profession, in which he has been exceptionally successful, and which he has never at any time abandoned. Mr. Prall has been, for many years, a member of the Baptist Church, and a constant attendant upon its services; and, although long engaged in political conflicts, in his private man- ners and social intercourse, there appear none of the as- perities of party.

ARDIN, HON. MARTIN D., Lawyer, was born June 21, 1780, in Western Pennsylvania, on the Monongahela river. At the age of sixteen, he was brought to Kentucky by his father, Col. John Hardin, who was killed by the Indians, in Shelby County, Ohio, while on a peaceful mission. Martin D. Hardin studied law with George Nicholas. He practiced his profession at Rich- mond, and afterwards at Frankfort; and, besides being one of the most talented and able lawyers of Kentucky, was one of the most distinguished members of the Har- din family. In 1812, he became a major in Col. Allen's regiment of riflemen, and acquitted himself with honor in the campaign on the northern border. He was Sec- retary of State, under Gov. Shelby, during his second term of office-from 1812 to 1816. He was United States Senator, by appointment from Gov. Slaughter, to

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fill a vacancy in the session of 1816 and 1817. He served several years in the Kentucky Legislature. He died October 8, 1823, at Frankfort Kentucky, in the very prime of life. Col. John J. Hardin, who was a member of Congress from Illinois, and who was killed February 23, 1847, in the battle of Buena Vista, was his son.

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RADFORD, JOSHUA TAYLOR, M. D., American Surgeon, and the most successful Ovariotomist in the world, was born December 9, 1819, in Bracken County, Kentucky, and was the seventh son of William and Elizabeth Bradford. His father settled in Bracken County in 1790; was a farmer by pursuit; and, while not greatly distinguished, was a man of fine mind, and stood high among the pioneer farmers of Eastern Kentucky. Dr. Bradford received his literary education at Augusta Col- lege, Kentucky, and commenced life as a merchant's clerk at Augusta. But he soon after began the study of medicine with his elder brother, Dr. J. J. Bradford, at Augusta, and, after a thorough preparation, gradu- ated in the medical department of Transylvania .Univer- sity, in 1839, and at once entered upon the practice of his profession at Augusta, Kentucky, on the Ohio river, where he continued to reside during his life. He rose to great eminence in his profession, and especially in the line of surgery was unsurpassed, either in America or Europe. He established a large and wide-spread general family practice, in which he was not only suc- cessful, but in which he greatly endeared himself to the people; and, after pursuing this, in connection with his surgical practice, for twenty-five years, in 1865, in a printed address to the profession and the people, he gave up, not only his general medical practice, but also a considerable part of his surgery business. At the time of making this change, he said: "In separating from the many families whose confidence and continued patronage have so often warmed my heart by the testi- monials of their kindness, there is a feeling of regret, a struggle between duty and inclination, that drapes my heart in sorrow. And every such a fireside where and among whom I have shared their sorrows and their pleasures, their afflictions and their prosperity, I can only forget by a failure of mind and memory-them and their children." From that time he devoted his at- tention exclusively to surgery and consultation visits. Even then his business was very great, being obliged to make provision at his home for those who came from a great distance to obtain his aid in consultation or diffi- cult surgery. His long and extensive family medical practice, and his almost universal knowledge of medical authorities, rendered him eminently qualificd as a con- sulting physician. Long before he took this step in

life, he had performed all. capital and nearly all minor operations in surgery, and had added greatly to the advancement of his profession. He was the first sur- geon to exsect the os calcis and cuboid bones success- fully, either in this country or Europe, and make a use- ful limb. This case he reported for the "New York Medical Times," in February, 1862, and it was after- wards copied into "Grosse's Surgery" and "Smith's Surgery." In 1812, he also reported a case in the "Medico-chirurgical Review," of a cure of a little girl at Foster's Landing, Kentucky, in which he extracted a stone from the bladder without cutting, by gradual di- latation and the use of the bougie. For many years he devoted his attention, with wonderful success, to surgi- cal operations for diseases of the uterus and ovaria. Most of his remarkable cases were reported in the "Cincinnati Lancet," in the third edition of "Grosse's Surgery," in the "New York American Monthly," in the "American Chirurgical Review," in the "Louis- ville Semi-monthly News," and to the medical societies ; and recently his great cases in ovariotomy have been fully set forth by Dr. E. R. Peaslee, of New York, in his work on the history of ovarian tumor. Dr. Peaslee's work also contained the substance of some papers which he had written for publication shortly before his death. In 1859, he reported that, in eleven of his operations for ovarian tumor, only one had proved fatal. At the time of his death, he had operated in thirty such cases; and, out of these, only three were followed by fatal re- sults. This was the greatest percentage of success ever reached, in operating for ovarian tumor, in the world. After his successful operation at Paris, Kentucky, in 1869, Prof. James Graham, of the Medical College of Ohio, wrote him enthusiastically : "You have been won- derfully successful. Three deaths in twenty-seven cases! What would the French surgeons say to that? I shall do myself the honor to present your letter, with some remarks, to the Academy of Medicine." In February, 1869, he reported to the "Lancet and Observer" his most remarkable and successful operation for a complete rupture of the perineum. He had unprecedented suc- cess in the treatment of cancer, his methods being the result of many years of study and research. The recipe which he left, he considered the best remedy that had been used at that time for cancer. Besides his great operations, which really distinguished him among sur- geons, he performed numberless others of less note, but alike indicative of his great skill. During the civil war, he served two years as brigade surgeon on the staff of Gen. William Nelson. If Dr. Bradford had been an am- bitious man, it would have been easy for him to secure decisive recognition of his talents; but, instead of seck- ing, he rather avoided the ordinary avenues to distinction in his profession. He was twice offered the chair of sur- gery in a medical school, and but a short time before his

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death, was induced to become the successor of Dr. Black- man, of Cincinnati, in the Professorship of Surgery in the Medical College of Ohio, but his Bracken County home had charms from which cven greater temptations could not lure him. And thus he passed away, carrying with him a soundness of judgment, a cunning of hand, and a wealth of peculiar experience, which it will be dif- ficult, if not impossible, for the future to supply. He was connected with one or two social organizations; was unobtrusive in manners; was gencrous to a fault; pos- sessed a high moral nature; was brave and patriotic; if he had salient points in his character, was reticent as to them, being content to do good, enjoy the consciousness of it, and let the world tell the story. To his habit of exhaustive contemplation, depending on his own pecul- iar judgment, after using the experience and judgment of the wise in his profession, he attributed his great suc- cess. He was the most successful ovariotomist, and, in many respects, one of the first surgeons, in the world ; was an ornament to his profession in America; was an honor to his State, a pride to all who bear his name; and was universally beloved in the community where he passed his useful life. He died at his residence, at Au- gusta, October 31, 1871. Dr. Bradford was married, in 1845, to Sallie E. Armstrong, of Augusta, Kentucky, a member of one of the old honorable patriotic familics of the State. His widow and two children, W. G. and Emily Bradford, survived him, and now reside at Au- gusta, the scene of his notable career.

'OURTENAY, ROBERT G., Merchant, was born in 1813, in Dublin, Ireland, and, at the age of five, was brought to America by his parents. Losing his parents when young, he was reared by his uncle, at Frankfort, Ken- tucky. At the age of fourteen, he went to Louisville, and became a clerk in the house of T. An- derson & Co., on a small salary. By his fine business capacity he was advanced rapidly, and by his economy was soon able to apply his earnings to his advantage in trade, investing in such enterprises as then opened with advantage in the city. His successful outset met fully his highest expectations, and his business habits and strict integrity gained for him not only an unlimited credit, but also the highest respect and confidence of the community. In 1853, he was elected to the Presi- dency of the Louisville Gas Company; and, shortly after, became administrator of the extensive estate of his deceased friend, John L. Martin. The duties of these trusts compelled liim to abandon mercantile pur- suits entirely in 1857. He continued at the head of the affairs of the Gas Company until his death, and carried its workings to a high source of perfection. He was

not only well informed on general topics of interest, but was decidedly scholarly in his attainments, possessing a large store of information on almost every subject. He was a man of earnest, independent convictions; was strong in his friendships; had uncommonly fine adminis- trative ability; was characterized for his deep sense of justice, for his openness, liberality, and high moral char- acter; and was one of the most popular, upright, influ- ential men who have figured in the business history of Louisville. He died October 1, 1864. Mr. Courtenay was married, in 1842, to Miss Annie Howard, of Jeffer- son County, Kentucky, who, with their children -Julia C., Thomas A., Helen M., Emma W., Louis R., and William C. Courtenay -survived him.

ESLIE, HON. PRESTON H., Lawyer, and twenty-sixth Governor of Kentucky, was born March 8, 1819, in what is now Clinton County, Kentucky; and is the second son in a family of eight children, whose parents were poor, hard- working people. He received a limited school education ; but he was fond of books, and, in after life, became a fair scholar. In 1816, he went to Louisville, and was variously employed at common labor for a short time; became a clerk in a dry-goods store, in Clinton County; was afterwards deputy clerk of the county court ; studied law under Gen. Rice Maxey ; was licensed to practice in 1841, and was from the beginning success- ful; moved to Monroe County in 1842, and pursued, his profession with great vigor until 1853 ; in that year pur- chased a farm on the Cumberland river, in Jackson County, which he successfully carried on for several years ; moved to Glasgow, where he has since resided, resuming the practice of the law, and devoting part of his time to farming interests; while residing in Monroe County, was elected to the Legislature, in 1844 and 1850; represented Barren and Monroe Counties in the State Senate, from 1851 to 1855; was again in the Sen- ate, from 1867 to 1871, after removing to Barren County; in 1869, was chosen Speaker of the Senate, and, thereby, Acting Lieutenant-Governor; on the resignation of Gov. Stevenson, served as Governor for the unexpired term ; became the choice of the Democratic party, and, at the regular election in 1871, was elected Governor by a ma- jority of over thirty-seven thousand, exceeding by twelve thousand the majority of any previous candidate for the position. During his administration, the State was freed from debt, and many reforms were instituted ; he dis- played fine judgment and superior skill in managing the affairs of the State; was distinguished for his high sense of right, and his adherence to just principles of govern- ment, and deservedly stands among the best Governors of Kentucky. In politics, he was originally a Whig;

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and, after the death of Mr. Clay, entered the Demo- cratic party, and is now one of the strongest advocates of its principles. At the breaking out of the civil war, he opposed secession ; subsequently took the side of the South; and, after the cause was lost, used his influence to restore harmony between the sections, and prosperity to the country. Since his eighteenth year he has been a member of the Baptist Church; and is an earnest, active worker in every good cause; and is one of the most valuable and substantial men of the State. Gov. Leslie was married in 1842, and his wife died in 1853.

OREHEAD, HON. JAMES T., Lawyer, and one of the Governors of Kentucky, was born May 24, 1797, near Shepherdsville, Bullitt County, Kentucky. He attended school at Russellville, where his father had settled when he was a small child, and completed his education at Transylvania University. He studied law under Judge H. P. Broadnax, and subsequently with John J. Crit- tenden, at Russellville. In the Spring of 1818, he set- tled at Bowling Green, and entered upon the practice of his profession ; was elected to the Legislature, in 1828, and re-elected ; was a delegate to the Convention, at Baltimore, which nominated Henry Clay for the Prcsi- dency ; was elected Lieutenant-Governor of Kentucky, in 1832; in February, 1834, on account of the death of Governor Breathitt, was inaugurated Governor, and filled the position until the end of the term; in 1835, by virtue of his office, became President of the Board of Internal Improvements ; was commissioned to the same office, in 1838, by Governor Clark; resumed the practice of the law, at Frankfort, in 1836; in the fol- lowing year, was elected to the Legislature; in the Winter of 1839, was appointed by the Legislature, in connection with Hon. John Speed Smith, Commissioner to the State of Ohio, to secure the passage of a law pro- tecting the slave property of Kentuckians; was United States Senator from 1841 to 1847; took a high position in that body as a debater, being a fluent and graceful speaker; in the latter year entered upon the practice of his profession, at Covington, where he died, December 28, 1854. He was one of the most able lawyers of the State; was scholarly in his attainments; was a careful and painstaking writer; gave much attention to matters pertaining to the early growth of the State, and made valuable contributions to the biography and adventure of the historic pioneer settlers and their times ; gave con- siderable time to literary pursuits, and by his efforts in that direction did much in giving permanency to the early history of his State; and his own name has long occupied a niche by the side of Kentucky's noble dead.

INCOLN, ABRAHAM, Sixteenth President of the United States, was born February 12, 1809, in Hardin County, Kentucky. Both his grand- father and father were natives of Rockingham County, Virginia, but his ancestors were from Pennsylvania, and were Quakers. They had settled on the frontier, first in Pennsylvania, then in Vir- ginia, and afterwards in Kentucky; and, in the latter State, his grandfather, Abraham Lincoln, was murdered by the Indians, while working on his farm. His father, Thomas Lincoln, was the youngest son in a family of six children- two daughters and four sons- and was a man of no education, possessed of only ordinary natural ability, and throughout his life had a constant struggle with poverty. At the age of twenty-eight, he married Nancy Hanks, a Virginian by birth, a woman of strong physical organization, fine sense, deep religious feelings, gentle manners, self-reliant in character, and devoted to her family. In 1816, the family removed to Spencer County, Indiana; and, in 1818, his mother died, but not until she had planted in him the elements of all his future greatness. He afterwards said: "All that I am or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother." She taught him to read and write, and gave him his first great les- sons from the Bible, which became the controlling prin- ciples of his life. His father afterwards married Sally Johnson, of Kentucky, who was a widow with three children. In 1830, the family removed to Macon County, Illinois, near Decatur. His father subsequently located in Coles County, where he died, in 1851, at the age of seventy-three. By his first marriage, he had two sons and one daughter, none of whom are now living. Abraham Lincoln was early inured to hardship, and was, even at the period of the removal of his parents from this State, of great assistance to them in making a home in the wilderness. He started out to seek his own for- tune, soon after his father settled in Illinois; engaging in farming, wood-chopping, rail-splitting, as a flat-boat- man, clerk, and as a surveyor; working at any thing to which he could turn his hands; and, with a quiet, un- spoken ambition to rise to something higher, spent his nights in reading and study ; and, being ever employed, contracted no stain of drink, vice of any kind, or any kind of bad habit, not even using tobacco in any shape. In the Spring of 1832, he volunteered as a private, was afterwards made captain of a company, raised by the Governor of Illinois, for service in the Black Hawk War, and continued during the campaign ; was elected to the Illinois Legislature in 1834, receiving the highest vote on the ticket, and all the votes of his precinct but seven; was re-elected, in 1836; was twice more re-elected, re- maining a member of the Legislature for eight years, and then declined to serve further ; was admitted to the bar in 1836, and, in the following year, began to practice ; in the Spring of the same year, located at Springfield,

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where he soon became a partner of John T. Stewart. Although he had had little schooling, he became well versed in the physical sciences; was one of the best practical surveyors in the State; had a good store of information on most subjects of learning; continued a hard student during his life; and was one of the most ready and thoroughly well-informed among all the public men of his times. From his first entrance into the legal profession, he was remarkably successful, the peculiar character of his mind enabling him, in a wonderful degree, to simplify the abstruse points of law. In fol- lowing the judge on his circuit, as was the custom with the leading lawyers of that day, he wore a suit of Ken- tucky jeans, and was exceedingly popular, his great wit, his fund of comparison and anecdote, and his genial manners making him a favorite. His power before a jury was almost irresistible, and his professional bearing was so high that his truthfulness or lionor were never questioned. He was an able, upright, and successful lawyer ; seldom took the wrong side of a cause, and had a power in him, when aroused on the side of justice, that was not often overcome by any opposition. Among the most marked traits of his character was his love of justice, and this he illustrated during his eventful career. He had great confidence in the people, and his sympa- thies were strong in behalf of the wrongs and sufferings of the oppressed. Early in life he became opposed to human slavery, both from the convictions of reason and the impulses of his heart. In 1847, he was elected to Congress, and took his seat, in the Lower House, in December; was distinguished by his able speeches on the Mexican War, Internal Improvements, and by his great speech in favor of the election of Gen. Taylor as President ; proposed a bill for the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia ; declined re-election ; and, in 1852, led the Electoral ticket of Illinois in favor of Gen. Scott for the Presidency. He engaged quietly in the pursuit of his profession until after the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, when, fearing the advance of the slave power might lead to great evil, he began to de- vote himself, with his singular earnestness, to the cause of his country, becoming one of the most effective and influential advocates of freedom who ever came before the people ; and, more than any other man, his speeches, writings, and acts contributed to the destruction of slav- ery. He now became one of the leaders of the party formed to resist the encroachments of slavery, and to establish the principles of republican government; and that party, in 1856, gave Gen. Fremont one hundred and fourteen electoral votes; and, in 1860, ami ds great tumult, elected Abraham Lincoln President of the United States. In 1856, he made his celebrated contest against Mr. Douglas, for the State Senate, and, although defeated by the " Little Giant," he gained a national reputation, and not only more firmly estab-

lished himself in the feelings of the people, as a deeply conscientious and incorruptibly honest man, but began to be regarded as one of the most able men in the na- tion, and the most far-seeing, popular, and successful leader of the new political organization. His race with Mr. Douglas was one of the most remarkable in the po- litical annals of the country, and was made at a time when Mr. Douglas was in the height of his brilliant career, and when Mr. Lincoln modestly considered his own life a failure. Yet, he was destined to take such a place in the history of the Republic, and in the affection of the people over the civilized world, that the name of Stephen A. Douglas would be carried to posterity mainly by its association with that of Abraham Lincoln, the great martyr to human freedom. On the 27th of February, 1860, he delivered his famous Cooper Insti- tute address, in New York, where he aroused the nation in his favor, and made that noble appeal: "Let us have faith that right makes might; and in that faith let us, to the end, dare to do our duty, as we understand it." His nomination for the Presidency, at Chicago, was hailed with enthusiasm throughout the entire North, his sobriquets of "Honcst Old Abe," "The Illinois Rail-splitter," becoming favorite campaign terms, as did afterwards, among the soldiers, the familiar appellation, " Father Abraham." There were many unusual ele- ments of popular feeling and patriotism brought into the great contest, and the result was in favor of Mr. Lincoln, he receiving one hundred and eighty; Doug- las, twelve; Breckinridge, seventy-two; and Bell, thirty- nine, electoral votes. By his election as President of the United States, the power of the Government passed entirely from the representatives of slavery. And while this was so, neither he nor his party then contemplated any interference with the institution in the States; they meant to prevent its extension only, and its encroach- ments upon the liberties of the people. But the sup- porters of slavery, believing that the success of the Re- publican party would lead to the downfall of their peculiar institution, were not willing to try the new ad- ministration or submit, preferring "to take up the sword." On the IIth of February, 1861, with many forebodings, and deeply oppressed with the weight of responsibility resting upon him, he started to Washington City, to enter upon the duties of his office. The great events, step by step, in the bloody war which ensued, are yet familiar to all of our people. Men were unknown and untried, armies unformed and undrilled, and slowly the President worked his way until the right men were in command of the armies, and the fratricidal strife went on. After an earnest appeal to the border States to adopt compensated emancipation to save themselves, as the inevitable events of the war might make it necessary to give up the Union, or, as a war measure, to save it by declaring the universal abolition of slavery, he finally

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The Biographical encyclopaedia of Kentucky of the dead and living men of the nineteenth century, Part 116

Author: Armstrong, J. M., & company, pub Publication date: 1878 Publisher: Cincinnati, J. M. Armstrong Number of Pages: 946

Author: Armstrong, J. M., & company, pub
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: Cincinnati, J. M. Armstrong
Number of Pages: 946