The Biographical encyclopaedia of Kentucky of the dead and living men of the nineteenth century, Part 133

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

USA > Kentucky > The Biographical encyclopaedia of Kentucky of the dead and living men of the nineteenth century > Part 133

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When Gen. Bragg was called to Richmond to give President Davis the aid of his military counsels, he offered Stoddard Johnston, who had served without pro- motion-which was difficult to obtain, above the grade of major, in the adjutant-general's department-the rank of lieutenant-colonel on his staff. Johnston, who was with Breckinridge, declined the appointment. Nevertheless, when Breckinridge went to Richmond as Secretary of War, he remained in the field. He went with the Ken- tucky troops from South-western Virginia as far as Charlotte, North Carolina, in 1865; and offered to fol- low the fortunes of Jefferson Davis and Breckinridge to the bitter end. But the Confederacy was already dis- solved, and he returned to Greensboro, North Carolina, with the command to which he was attached, and gave his parole, May 1, 1865. Since that time he has been a loyal citizen of the United States. In the last days of the war, he received the appointment of lieutenant- colonel. After the war, Colonel Johnston practiced law in Helena, Arkansas, until the Fall of 1867. In that year, he removed to Frankfort, Kentucky, when he be- came editor of the "Yeoman." His entire estate had been swept away in the war, but he entered cheerfully, and without repining, on a career of steady labor. His position threw him naturally into the political currents of the times. His large capacity for labor and fine ex- ecutive talent were speedily called into requisition ; and, from 1868 to 1875, he was Secretary of the Dem- ocratic State Central Committee, a position of great responsibility in the party, and requiring an immense amount of unremunerated labor. Under the able man- agement of the committee and its secretary, Republican- ism has become powerless in the State, and the De- mocracy have been consolidated into an influential power throughout the country. Much of this has been due to the wise, safe, conservative yet liberal counsels of Stoddard Johnston. He was Adjutant-General of Kentucky in 1870 and 1871; in 1875, he was a candi- date for the gubernatorial nomination, and the favorite of a very large and respectable flank of his party; but he failed to receive the nomination; in July, of the same year, he was appointed Secretary of State by Gov. Leslie, and was reappointed to the same office by Gov. McCreary, in September, 1865; he is the present incum- bent. In 1870, he was unanimously chosen President of the Kentucky Press Association, and, having been annu- ally re-elected to that position, has performed its duties with dignity and intelligence. His public services have thus been varied and valuable; but in none of them has he been more useful to the public than as editor of the "Yeoman;" in this capacity, he has been the friend of every public improvement and every liberal measure ; and yet has held fast to the time-honored traditions of his party, to the principles of constitutional liberty, and to an honest administration of public affairs; it has not

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been in his power, nor has it been his wish, to give personal direction to every public movement. He has rarely been found giving bad advice, but he has helped greatly to smooth over mistakes of policy in his party. ·Much of his influence and success has been due to an exceedingly sunny and genial temper, and to a nature just, tolerant, and benevolent. His household contains five promising children, and in the domestic relations he is honored and beloved. He is a good neighbor, a pleasant companion, an instructive public teacher, a clear, vigorous writer, and a forcible speaker. Col. Johnston's personal appearance is well known to most Kentuckians; of middle stature, with plenty of brawn and muscle, his countenance is striking, as the reflex of the man just described. With fair hair, gray eyes, and Roman nose, his well-cut features are pleasing and hand- some ; decision, composure, and benevolence are strongly marked in his countenance. It is not astonishing that in his career and character are to be found elements composing a man very useful as a citizen, very popular in social life, and very successful as a man of affairs and as a politician. With perhaps less adventitious backing than any man in Kentucky, few will be found with more solid influence on the public weal.

UDSON, HOMER, Tobacco Manufacturer, was born March 5, 1824, in Covington, Ken- tucky. His father, John Hudson, emigrated from Virginia at an early day, and became one of the influential farmers and land-holders of Boone and Grant Counties, residing a great part of his life on his farm, on the Lexington Pike, several miles south of Covington. Homer Hudson was educated at the private schools of Boone County, and at Kemp's Academy. He afterwards studied law under Judge James Pryor, at Carrollton, Kentucky, and, in 1846, entered upon the practice of his profession. Two or three years subsequently, he abandoned the law practice, and began merchandising, which business he pursued with success for several years. He afterwards became owner and proprietor of the Empire Tobacco Works of Covington, which he has carried on for many years with great success, and whichi, under his manage- ment, has become one of the most extensive and valu- able manufactories, in its line, in Kentucky. In 1867, he was elected President of the Covington City Council, and filled the position, with credit to himself and ac- ceptably to the people, for one term. He has devoted his time and energies mainly to his business interests, and, while taking an active part in affairs of general importance to the community, has not aspired to po- litical position. He is liberal and independent in his views on all subjects; is thoroughly posted in the affairs

of the day; is refined in his tastes and habits; and few men of his community are more generally well-informed on the great questions that concern the human family. Mr. Hudson was married, March 5, 1851, to Esther Jane Fowler, of Covington, Kentucky, granddaughter of Major Jacob Fowler. They have three living chil- dren -two sons and one daughter.

ICKINSON, JOHN A., Merchant and Manufac- turer, was born in Burlington, Boone County, Kentucky, on the 27th of July, 1830. His father, William C. Dickinson, was a native of Caroline County, Virginia, and a teacher by profession, being engaged as professor in the old Lancastrian School, of Lexington, Kentucky, after his removal to that State, which occurred in 1825. He died in Cincinnati, in 1832, having been regarded during his life as an accomplished teacher and a good citizen. His brother, John Dickinson, was a celebrated lawyer of Fredericksburg, Virginia; and another brother, Samuel Dickinson, was the first town clerk, and also first Super- intendent of the Public-schools, of Louisville. John A. Dickinson's mother, Ellen Lafayette Murdock, was a daughter of William Murdock, of King George County. She was a woman of great force of character and sound judgment, and instilled the correct principles of life into the minds of her two sons, John A. and William S. Dickinson, the latter now a prominent citizen of Cincin- nati, and one of her most prominent merchants. Her brothers were, respectively, Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, George Washington, Charles Carroll, and John Thornley Murdock, all of whom were named, patriot- ically, for distinguished Americans. The family were tenacious adherents to the old Jeffersonian and Jackson- ian Democracy. John A. Dickinson received his educa- tion at Morgan Academy, in Burlington, under Prof. S. S. Mead, and graduated with distinction, in 1845, at the age of fifteen years. Shortly after, he went to Cincin- nati, to learn the upholstering trade, and, after two years, rented a house, at five hundred dollars per year. With a capital of ten dollars, he commenced on his own account in his trade, on Water Street, between Main and Walnut; and, at the end of one year, had three hundred dollars in cash. He then removed to Cassilly's Row, in the same city, and continued the business, in partnership with his uncle, Thomas J. Murdock, for one year, when the firm was dissolved, and a new one formed, with his only brother, and the business was conducted on Third Street, between Sycamore and Broadway, for two years. Although successful, he now removed to Louisville for the benefit of his health, and carried on the same business, adding, in 1858, the carpet and fur- nishing departments. He was also during this time in-

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terested in building and operating steamboats in the Mississippi, Ohio, and upper Red river trades. At the outbreak of the civil war, he wound up all his affairs, to meet the emergencies of the times. In 1863, he formed a partnership with Henry Wehmhoff ( lately deceased), in the upholstery and steamboat outfitting business, which lasted for one year, when he established. a branch house at Memphis, Tennessee, and prosecuted a profita- ble business at both places. In 1864, he invested some surplus funds in the manufacture of agricultural im- plements, under the firm name of Dickinson, Bennett & Co., and individually purchased a square of ground in the western portion of the city, upon which he erected a large wooden building, supplied with steam power. This was completed in February, 1865, and on the 23d of June following, when just fairly under way, was de- stroyed by fire, entailing a loss of twenty thousand dol- lars above insurance. Bringing into play his nerve and energy, he at once directed the accumulation of the serv- iceable fragments, and, the next day, rented a ware- house on Fourth Street, which was soon in full opera- tion. In the following year, he rented the house No. 120 Main Street, and added the furniture business to that of upholstery, and continued it, in several localities, until September, 1873. He then rented the warehouses at Nos. 78 and 80 Sixth Street, where he is now engaged. In 1875, he bought out a furniture manufactory on Jacob's Street, between Hancock and Clay, which he is now operating. In January, 1877, he was made Presi- dent of the Dickinson Furniture Manufacturing Com- pany, organized on the 15th of that month, and now in successful operation, producing all kinds of staple furni- ture, for the jobbing as well as the retail trade. During his twenty-nine years of business experience, he has fitted out more steamboats than any man in the Ohio and Mississippi Valleys, and his is the oldest establishment in that line in the West. In addition to his active business interests, he has contributed largely toward beautifying and adding value to the city of Louisville, having, during the last fifteen years, built forty-five. houses-a number of them elegant and costly. He has studiously avoided the acceptance of any public office, believing that his duties to his family, his Church, and his business necessarily required all his time. In poli- tics, he has been a life-long Democrat, but is hardly a strict partisan. At the age of twelve years, he made the profession of Christianity, under the ministry of El- der John T. Johnson, of the Christian Church, of which he is still an active member. From youth, he has con- stantly and enthusiastically been engaged in the Sunday- school work. On the 23d of November, 1856, he rented a room in the west end of the city, and opened a Mis- sion Sunday-school, at which he labored, with many discouragements, for twelve years, at the end of which the effort was crowned with success, and a new congre-

gation of Christians established, at the corner of Fif- teenth and Jefferson Streets. In this work, he had the hearty co-operation of the following brethren: J. P. Forbin, Robert, William, and Benjamin Skene, E. H. Bland, and James McGee. Believing that the Gospel is preached with the most purity in the Christian Church, and that the Church should be the dispenser of all char- ities, he has always adhered to that Church, and used his influence and means in its behalf. Ile was married, in 1852, at Cincinnati, to Miss Sarah E. Owen, daughter of William J. Owen, formerly an extensive wholesale and retail boot and shoe merchant of that city. Eight children, five sons and three daughters, have blessed the union. Mr. Dickinson is a man of genial disposition, scrupulous in all his dealings, and has always, through his business life, aimed to give perfect satisfaction, and to oblige, to the fullest extent, all his patrons. He is now one of the most prominent, useful, and respected citizens of Louisville.

IVENS, HUGH LOGAN, M. D., was born in Lincoln County, Kentucky, September 19, 1802. His father, Alexander Givens, emigrated to Kentucky from Virginia in the early days. His mother, Nancy Logan, was a niece of Gen.

Ben. Logan; and both the Givenses and Logans were distinguished in the early annals of the " Dark and Bloody Ground." The subject of this sketch during boyhood worked on the farm, or spent his time in the country schools. Afterwards, he was sent to some of the higher schools, and acquired a fair education, which he enlarged and completed during a long and active pro- fessional life. In 1824 and 1825, he studied medicine in the office of Drs. Nuchols & Moore, of Shelbyville ; and, in the following year, entered the medical depart- ment of Transylvania University, at Lexington, and graduated. He at once opened his office at Old Port William, or Carrollton, where he remained for several years; 1834 and 1835 he spent in Missouri, but, his health failing, he determined to return to Kentucky, and accordingly again took up his residence at Car- rollton. In 1837, he removed to La Grange, in Old- ham County, where he remained, in active practice, for thirty-three years, and until near the time of his death, on the cighteenth day of May, 1870. He established a large and lucrative practice ; and was, for many years, most active and prominent in all matters pertaining to his profession, in his part of the State. He was a mem- ber of the American Medical Association and the State Medical Society, and was, in fact, one of the represent- ative men of his times and profession. He was not only a critical and exhaustive thinker, but a writer of ability, and contributed largely with his pen to the

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medical literature of the day. His practice extended over a large tract of country, as was customary in the laborious country practice of the times. He was a member of some of the social orders of the country, and a prominent and active worker in the Methodist Church. Dr. Givens was a man of fine presence, being nearly six feet in height, but of somewhat delicate mold; with pleasing address, and gentle and faultless manners in dealing with his patients.' Altogether, he was one of those men so necessary in his time and day as to leave a gap in the community by his death. In February 23, 1836, he was married to Miss Fannie M. Middleton, daughter of John M. Middleton, a lawyer of Gallatin County, who now survives him, and lives in their home at La Grange, in company with his sister, Mrs. Sarah A. Armstrong, the widow of Judge George Armstrong, a prominent lawyer of Oldham County.

OWLAND, DE WITT CLINTON, General Superintendent of Transportation of the Louis- ville and Nashville Railroad, was born July 13, 1829, in Hartford, Connecticut; and is the son of Benjamin Rowland, a merchant, and a man of fine literary ability. De Witt C. Row- land received a good education, in the public-schools of his native city, and, after spending several years in learning and working at a mechanical trade, in 1851 he began railroading on the Mobile and Ohio Railroad, at Mobile, filling minor positions in the transportation de- partment at that city, and as conductor on that road and the Nashville and Decatur division of the Louisville and Nashville road. In the Spring of 1861, he was ap- pointed assistant superintendent, and, after the evacua- tion of Nashville by the Confederates, he was for a time general manager of the United States military roads in that region, and subsequently accepted the assistant superintendency of railroads in the department of the Cumberland, embracing the Nashville and De- catur, Nashville and Chattanooga, and a portion of the Memphis and Charleston, roads. The duties of this position, at such a time, were onerous, and, in the Spring of 1864, he was forced, by reason of broken health, to retire for a time from active business. After a rest of a few months, he was appointed general agent at Louisville, Kentucky, for the army freight line oper- ated by Adams Express Company, and held that posi- tion until the close of the war. In November, 1865, he was appointed Assistant Superintendent of the Louis- ville and Nashville Railroad, afterwards holding the po- sition of Superintendent of Transportation until 1875, since which he has been General Superintendent of Transportation, and now holds that place on that road, and is one of the most active, wide-awake, and efficient

railroad men of the country. He has long been quite prominently identified with several social organizations ; is a man of fine habits; possesses first-class executive and business qualities ; is systematic and thorough ; takes a deep interest in public affairs, but mainly devotes his time and energy to his business; is a man of fine man- ners, and at all times exhibits himself to advantage by his genial and affable address. Mr. Rowland was mar- ried, in 1851, to Miss Eliza Page, daughter of Jeremiah Page. They have a family of four children-two sons and two daughters.

cMURTRY, ROBERT P., M. D., son of Joseph and Mary (Peace) McMurtry, was born Feb- ruary 17, 1820, in Hardin County, Kentucky. His grandfather, William McMurtry, emigrated from Virginia, and became one of the promi- nent actors in the Indian troubles of the early days of Kentucky. His father was born in a fort in Jessamine County, about 1785. His mother emigrated with her parents from Maryland over eighty years ago. The subject of this sketch received his education at Elizabethtown, chiefly under Robert Hewitt. At the age of twenty-two, he left the farm, and began the study of medicine in the office of Dr. Harvey Slaughter, at Elizabethtown. After reading two years, he com- menced to practice in Hardin and adjoining counties. After ten years of hard and successful practice, in 1853, he attended lectures in the University of Louisville, and graduated in medicine. For eight years, he practiced his profession near Louisville, after which, he removed to Hardin County, where he now resides. He has been thirty-two years in active practice, and is probably the oldest regular physician now in business in the county, and has certainly been one of the most earnest, indus- trious, highly esteemed, and successful. After receiving the degree of M. D. from the University of Louisville, he was offered the Obstetric Chair in that institution, which he declined. While residing in Jefferson County, he was nominated for the Legislature, but, on account of professional duties and personal inclinations, declined to make the race. He has devoted himself mainly and passionately to his profession, with all the interests of which he has been so long identified. He is a member of the local organizations of the profession, and was for a time President of the Hardin County Medical Society. During the war, he took no active part in any way, although his sympathies were with his section. He has mainly lived on a farm, in which he has always taken a great interest, and which he has carried on quite suc- cessfully. For thirty-four years, he has been an active member of the Baptist Church. Dr. McMurtry has been three times married: in 1846, to Miss Eliza Wortham, of

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Grayson County, who died in three years afterwards; in 1851, to Mrs. Adaline Barnes, of Nelson County, who died three years afterwards; and, in 1857, to his present wife, Mrs. S. A. Shirley, daughter of Dr. Robert P. Gest, of Louisville. From his first marriage, he has two sons: James W. McMurtry, a farmer of La Rue County; and Joseph McMurtry, a lawyer of Colorado. From his present marriage, he has one daughter.

UCKLER, J. AUGUSTUS, Lawyer, was born February 1I, 1844, in Fleming County, Ken- tucky, His parents were Robert and Sarah (Huff) Buckler, and he was the oldest of their family of eight children. His father, a branch of a large Maryland family of that name, is a native of Nicholas County, and followed agricultural pursuits through life. His mother was a Fleming County woman by birth, and daughter of Samuel Huff, an old settler of that county, and a soldier of the war of 1812. He remained on the farm until his nineteenth year, and received his elementary education, of Winters, in the schools of the neighborhood. In 1863, he en- tered the Ohio University, at Athens in that State, where he remained three years. During 1866 and 1867, he was engaged in merchandising, in Mason County, at Sardis, occupying his leisure time in reading law. In 1867, he was admitted to the bar, and soon after located at Mt. Olivet, in Robertson County, and entered on the practice of his profession. In the Fall of 1873, he re- moved to Paris, in Bourbon County, where he now re- sides, actively engaged in his profession. Mr. Buckler has made but one political race, in which he was de- feated by only a few votes, as candidate for Judge of Robertson County, in 1870. He is a Democrat in poli- tics; and, at present, is one of the firm of Buckler & Paton, attorneys at law.

'ORD, WILLIAM HOUGH, Lawyer, was born May 9, 1822, in Natchez, Mississippi. His father, Garrett Cord, was a native of Harford County, Maryland, and was a tailor by trade. In 1815, he came to Kentucky, and settled in Fleming County ; in 1818, he went to Natchez, Mississippi, where he remained until 1826; in that year, he returned to Fleming County, and there died, in 1847. He was a soldier in the war of 1812, and witnessed the death of Gen. Ross, the British commander, in the battle of Bla- densburg, near Baltimore. The Cord family were de- scendants of the IIuguenot Cords, and settled in Mary- land at a very early day. The mother of the subject of this memoir was Martha Hendon (Prewett) Cord, a na-

tive of Sumner County, Tennessee; and daughter of Bird Prewett, an emigrant from South Carolina, and of Scotch origin. The subject of this sketch received a good edu- cation, and, at the age of sixteen, began school teach- ing, at Elizaville, in Fleming County. At his leisure hours, he read law, under the direction of Thomas Throop, a distinguished lawyer of Flemingsburg. In 1840, he entered the law department of Transylvania University ; attended two courses of lectures, and grad- uated in the following year. Among his classmates were John C. Breckinridge, Bland Ballard, John I. Rodgers, and others, who became prominent as statesmen, jurists, and soldiers. In 1841, he began the practice of the law at Flemingsburg, in connection with Thomas Throop. This partnership continued until the death of Mr. Throop, in 1847. He has practiced largely in the Court of Appeals, as the reports of that court for many years show; and has, through his long professional residence of over thirty-five years at Flemingsburg, mainly de- voted his attention to his large and valuable legal prac- tice. He was, however, elected County Attorney for Fleming County, in 1862, and served four years; was, also, postmaster of Flemingsburg for four years; and, in 1852, was candidate on the Democratic ticket for Judge of the Court of Appeals. In this race the party was split, and he was defeated. His first Presidential vote was cast for James K. Polk; and, although at the elec- tion preceding the opening of the rebellion, he voted for John C. Breckinridge, he now belongs to the Repub- lican party, or, at least, is in sympathy with that party. He has given considerable attention to general litera- ture, and few men are found more universally and thor- oughly well informed; yet he has been, by natural tal- ent and inclination, greatly devoted to his profession, and upon it has spent his best thoughts and greatest energy. He is the author of the "Legal and Equitable Rights of Married Women," a work published by Kay & Brothers, Philadelphia, in 1861 ; and is now prepar- ing for publication works on other departments of law. He is a man of powerful constitution and great energy, and utilizes all his great forces in study and business. His professional habits are exceptional, and his legal methods are business models ; is a writer of .unusual ability ; is decidedly scholarly in his tastes, and, although devoting his time mainly in the direction of his profes- sion, is thoroughly well read in general literature; his social traits are admirable; and his position is deserv- edly among the front ranks of the profession. Mr. Cord has been twice married : first, in May, 1849, to Miss Vir- ginia R. Dupuy, a native of Portsmouth, Ohio, daugh- ter of Jesse L. Dupuy, formerly a merchant of Peters- burg and Norfolk, Virginia ; she died in 1855. In 1861, he was again married, to Miss Mary F. Dupuy, sister of his first wife, and both sisters of Miss Eliza A. Dupuy, the authoress.

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The Biographical encyclopaedia of Kentucky of the dead and living men of the nineteenth century, Part 133

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