The Biographical encyclopaedia of Kentucky of the dead and living men of the nineteenth century, Part 18

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 18

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for his legal learning and high and honorable profes- sional and social principles. During the last twelve years of his life, he was associated in the law practice, at Paris, with his son-in-law, Hon. John A. Prall, now of Lexington, and, throughout his long professional ca- reer, maintained a high position at the bar, and in the patronage and confidence of the people. As soon as he was eligible, he was chosen to represent his native county in the Legislature; and, by successive elections, without a single defeat, served his county or district in deemed right, either in public or private life. Mr.

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Williams was eminently a Christian, and, although de- voted to the forms and doctrines of the Disciples' Church, there was no place in his heart for the narrow- ness of bigotry and intolerance. He died, universally regretted and esteemed, and left the world better for his having lived in it.

TANTON, HON. RICHARD H., Lawyer and Law Writer, son of Richard and Harriet Perry Stanton, was born September 9, 1812, at Alex- andria, then in the District of Columbia. His father was of English origin, a Marylander by birth, participated in the war of 1812, was a bricklayer by pursuit, and died at Memphis, Tennessee, in 1846. His mother was a native of the District of Columbia, and daughter of Alexander Perry, a soldier in the war of the Revolution. Richard H. Stanton was educated at Hallowell Academy, in his native town. He assisted his father at his trade for several years, but spent much of his leisure in reading law, having early decided on entering the legal profession. In 1835, he came to Kentucky, stopping for a few months in Flem- ingsburg, but subsequently locating at Maysville, where he has since resided. He edited the " Maysville Moni- tor" until 1841 ; in the mean time, finishing his law studies, was admitted to the bar in 1839; in 1841, en- tered regularly upon the practice of the law; in 1845, was appointed postmaster of Maysville, then a distrib- uting office, by President Polk; was removed, under Taylor's administration, in 1849; in that year, was elected to Congress; was re-elected in 1851 and in 1853 ; during the first term, was Chairman of the Committee on Public Grounds and Buildings, and was mainly in- strumental in the construction of the dome, and other- wise improving the Capitol; and, during his second term, on account of his successful interest in the work of improvement, a gold watch was presented to him by the mechanics engaged ; during his last term, was Chairman of the Committee on Elections, and of the Special Committee on the Military Supervision of Civil Works, and succeeded in removing the military super- vision of mechanics at the armories of Harper's Ferry and Springfield, and substituting civil superintendence ; in 1857, was appointed Commonwealth's Attorney for what was then the Tenth Judicial District; was elected to the same position in 1858; resigned the office in 1862; in 1868, was elected Judge of the Circuit Court for the Fourteenth Judicial District, and served the term of six years; was a member of the Baltimore Convention, of 1844, that nominated James K. Polk; was member of the Baltimore Convention, of 1852, that nominated Franklin Pierce; was a member of the Union Conven- tion, which met in Philadelphia, in 1866; also, of the New York Convention, which nominated Seymour, in

1868; and, in 1856, was Presidential Elector, and cast the vote of his district for James Buchanan. Among his published works are: "Civil and Criminal Code of Kentucky;" " Revised Statutes of Kentucky," in two volumes; "Powers and Duties of Justices of the Peace, Clerks of Courts, and other Officers;" " Manual for Ex- ecutors, Administrators, and Guardians;" "Guide for Sheriffs;" and will soon have ready for the press his "Complete Digest of the Decisions of the Kentucky Court of Appeals, from 1795 to 1877." Judge Stanton has always been a Democrat. He is a voluminous and indefatigable writer, an able and successful lawyer, and has made for himself a record, of which he might well ·be proud, and a place among the most distinguished men of his profession in the State. In 1833, he was married, in Alexandria, Virginia, to Miss Throop, a na- tive of that city.

RADFORD, JONATHAN JOHNSON, M. D., son of William and Elizabeth Bradford, was born January 5, 1808, in Bracken County, four miles from Augusta, Kentucky. His father was born in the North of Ireland, and, when eight years of age, was brought to America by his parents, who settled at Red Stone Fort, now Browns- ville, Pennsylvania; he came to Kentucky when a young man; lived for a few years in Bourbon County ; was married there, in one of the frontier fortifications known as Irish Fort ; subsequently removed to Bracken County, where he followed agricultural pursuits until his death, in 1830. His mother was a native of Maryland, and daughter of William Johnson, who was a lieutenant in the Revolutionary War, and a personal friend of Gen. Washington. Dr. Bradford received a good education, which he completed at Augusta College in 1827. In the same year, he commenced reading medicine at Augusta, under Dr. F. A. W. Davis; studied and at- tended lectures incessantly for three years; graduated in medicine, at Transylvania University, in 1830; and, in the same year, began the practice of his profession at Augusta, where he has since resided, actively engaged in the duties of a large and valuable medical practice; and ranks as one of the most successful and able physi- cians of Northern Kentucky. He is a man of splendid personal and social habits, and has been identified with all reformatory movements of his community ; has been a persistent advocate of the temperance cause, lecturing and writing in its support ; was elected and served five times as Grand Worthy Patriarch of the Sons of Tem- perance of his State, once as the Most Worthy Asso- ciate, and once as the Most Worthy Patriarch of the National Division Sons of Temperance of North Amer- ica; has written some on medical subjects, and has been one of the most active and useful men of his commu-

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nity. He was identified with the Whig party until its dissolution; was an ardent Union man during the war of the rebellion, and is now a Republican. His distin- guished younger brother, Dr. Joshua T. Bradford, was. his pupil in medicine. Dr. Bradford has been twice married: in 1830, July 8, to Miss Amanda Thome, daughter of Arthur Thome, of Augusta; she died in 1832; and, November 20, 1834, to Miss Maria Louisa Stewart, of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania.

UTLER, PROF. NOBLE, A. M., LL. D., was born July 17, 1810, in Washington County, Pennsylvania, and was named after his great- grandfather, Noble Butler, whose family had emigrated from Bristol, England, in the times of William Penn, and settled in Chester County, Pennsylvania. His parents were Jonathan and Nancy (Hopkins) Butler, the former a Pennsylvanian, and a merchant and farmer by pursuit ; and the latter a native of Maryland. His early education was commenced in a log school-house in Jefferson County, Indiana, to which State his father had moved when his son was seven years of age. He was graduated at Hanover College, Hanover, Indiana, in 1836; was immediately afterward appointed Professor of Greek and Latin in that institu- tion ; held the position until 1839, when he was ap- pointed to the same chair in the University of Louis- ville, and removed to that city, where he has since re- sided, and taken rank among the most accomplished scholars and first educators of the country. Many years ago, at the request of the Louisville publishers, Morton and Griswold, he prepared an English Grammar, which became very popular throughout Kentucky, and was favorably received and extensively used as a text-book in the schools over the country. He has recently published his "Practical and Critical Grammar," which has re- ceived the highest encomiums from teachers of note throughout the United States and Canada and in Eu- rope. Some years ago he was employed to revise S. G. Goodrich's series of school Readers, which were greatly improved and known as "Noble Butler's Goodrich's Readers." He subsequently produced " Butler's Read- ers," an independent series, which have been received with great favor, and are among the most carefully pre- pared and valuable school-books in our language. For over forty years his pen has hardly ever been idle. He has contributed largely to "Home and School," and other journals; twenty-five years ago, wrote a theory of the Hebrew Tenses, published in " Bascom's Quar- terly Review," which, it is believed, has been adopted in the late edition of "Nordheimer's Hebrew Gram- mar;" and has not only written critical articles on Burns and other poets, but has himself produced some

exquisite poetry. He received the degree of Master of Arts from Harvard University, and that of Doctor of Laws from his Alma Mater, at Hanover, Indiana. Pro- fessor Butler was married, in 1836, to Lucinda Harney, sister of the late John H. Harney, who was many years editor of the Louisville Democrat. They have five chil- dren, four of whom are married. Their son, Jonathan Selby Butler, entered the Federal army at the outbreak of the civil war, as a private ; became Assistant Adjutant- General ; and is now a lawyer in Rock Island, Illinois. Their second son, William Patterson Butler, was gradu- ated at West Point Military Academy; served in the regular army; and, on the death of Gen. Rodman, his father-in-law, being appointed administrator of the es- tate, resigned his position in the army ; and, in 1876, was elected Mayor of Rock Island, Illinois.

UMSEY, HON. EDWARD, Lawyer, was born in Botetourt County, Virginia, in 1800, and re- moved with his father, Dr. Rumsey, to Chris- tian County, Kentucky, when quite a boy. His uncle, James Rumsey, is claimed to be the first who applied steam to navigation in America, if not in England. It is also claimed that the evidence submitted before the National House of Representatives, in 1839, is conclusive as to his priority over Mr. Fitch. A letter written by Gen. Washington, in 1787, mentions that Mr. Rumsey had communicated his steamboat in- vention to him in November, 1784; and that, subse- quently, Mr. Fitch had laid his claims to the invention before him, asking his assistance, he declining to give it, stating that Mr. Rumsey had previously introduced the same idea to him. It is certain that Mr. Rumsey pro- pelled a steamboat on the Potomac river, against the stream, at the rate of four miles an hour, in 1784. He afterwards went to England, and procured patents for steam navigation from the British Government in 1788; constructed a boat of one hundred tons burden, with im- proved applications, covered by his patents, which were in advance of those of James Watt; and was on the eve of complete success, when his sudden death, from apo- plexy, while discussing the principles of his invention before the Royal Society, terminated his career. His boat and machinery went to satisfy his creditors; and Mr. Fulton, then in London, profited by his intimacy with the inventor. Edward Rumsey was educated at Hopkinsville, Kentucky, by Barry, one of the famous classicists of Kentucky ; studied law with- John J. Crit- tenden, who became his life-long friend; settled in Green- ville, Kentucky, and practiced in Muhlenburg and ad- joining counties. His reputation for candor and thorough honesty, coupled with his clear sense of justice and won- derful faculty of expression, soon placed him at the head

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of the bar. With all his natural qualifications to shine in public life, he was remarkably timid and modest, his diffidence at times becoming almost morbid. Owing to this fact, no doubt to a great extent, may be attributed the loss from public affairs of one of the most refined and brilliant men of the times. At the urgent solicita- tion of his county, he consented, in 1822, to represent its interests in the Legislature, where he immediately took rank as a leader, making a great impression by his earnestness, modesty, and uncommon ability. In 1837, he was nominated for Congress, and was elected by an almost unanimous vote of his district. While in Con- gress, he made the famous speech on the resolution recog- nizing his uncle's claim to the invention of the steamboat, and bestowing on his blind and only surviving son a gold medal, as a mark of such recognition. While serving in Congress, his two children died of scarlet fever. No argument of his friends or constituents could ever induce him again to enter public life. He strove to drown his sorrows in mental and physical toil; living in the future and the past; never entirely recovering his elasticity ; and becoming prematurely old. The outbreak of the civil war brought with it new calamities; loving his country next to his children, at the same time believing that the General Government had no right to coerce a State; and, although he survived the war, grief and apprehension aided greatly in breaking the thread of his life. He died April 6, 1868. Probably no more gentle and fine- strung nature ever lived in Kentucky ; brave and manly, he was feminine in gentleness; his mental and moral nature were formed on a large scale; was endowed with great fluency and refinement of speech; led a singularly pure and honorable life, and died universally esteemed and regretted. Mr. Rumsey was married, in 1832, to Miss Jane M. Wing, daughter of Capt. Charles F. Wing, a lady of rare culture and refinement, and one of the most gentle and unselfish of women. They had two children, a son and a daughter.

HOMPSON, PINCKNEY, M. D., Physician and Surgeon, was born April 15, 1828, in Liv- ingston County, Kentucky. His parents were both natives of North Carolina, and his mother's maiden name was Thompson. Her family set- tled in Livingston County, Kentucky, in 1796. His paternal grandfather emigrated to Kentucky, and settled in Livingston County, in 1791, and died in 1797. His father was apprenticed to a farmer of his na- tive county, and, on reaching his majority, voluntecred in Capt. Barbour's company, and served under Gen. Hopkins, in his Northern campaign against the Indians. He subsequently made several trading trips to New Or- leans, and, while there on one of these expeditions, was

pressed into the army service by Gen. Jackson, and, after a short service, returned home, and soon after settled on his farm, where he long resided, and reared a family of twelve children. He died, at Henderson, September 8, 1871, aged eighty years. Dr. Thompson worked on his father's farm until his twentieth year, and, during that time, obtained a fair English education in the schools of his neighborhood. In 1849, he entered upon the study of medicine, at Smithland, under Dr. D. B. Sanders, continuing until 1851, when he went to Louis- ville, and became a pupil of Dr. T. G. Richardson, and graduated in medicinc, in the University of Louisville, in the Spring of 1853, when the celebrated Dr. Gross was a member of its medical faculty. He soon after located at Henderson, Kentucky, and entered upon the practice of his profession, where he obtained a large and . lucrative practice, and is one of the most successful and highly esteemed physicians of the country. He has operated in tracheotomy three times, twice successfully ; has operated twice in lithotomy; performed two suc- cessful operations for cancer in the breast; and per- formed successfully quite a number of minor surgical operations. In 1870, the city of Henderson was first organized into a school district by the Legislature, with power to issue its bonds, for fifty thousand dollars, to build a public school-house. He was one of the original trustees appointed to carry out the provisions of the measure. He has been identified. largely with every movement looking to the improvement of Henderson, taking an active part in its educational, social, and other interests, and has been, for over a quarter of a century, not only a most active and successful practitioner in his profession, but also one of the most earnest and valuable members of society. He is connected with the Presby- terian Church; has long been a ruling elder, and is one of the most active working members.

OSBY, REV. JOUETT VERNON, Clergyman and Poet, was born July 8, 1816, in Staunton, Virginia, and is the son of Dabney Cosby, an architect and builder. His mother was Francis Davenport Tapp. His grand-parents, on both sides, served under Gen. Washington, in the Revolutionary army. He received a thorough prepar- atory education, and, in 1832, went to Hamden Sid- ney College, where he graduated, in 1837. He after- wards taught a classical school in Cumberland County. He studied law under Samuel C. Anderson, of Prince Edward's County, and afterwards under Judge William Gaston, of Raleigh, North Carolina, but never entered upon the practice of the profession. He studied theol- ogy, at Union Seminary, Virginia, and completed his preparations for the ministry at Princeton, New Jersey ;

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and was licensed to preach by the East Hanover Pres- bytery, at its session in Petersburg, in May, 1843; and preached in Virginia and North Carolina until 1847, when he was called to the Church at Bardstown, Ken- tucky, where he remained in charge of the Presbyterian Church for many years, until his health compelled him to retire from the pulpit. During the time of his resi- dence in Bardstown, and since his failing health neces- sitated his retirement from ministerial duties, he has suc- cessfully carried on the Presbyterian Academy, known as Roseland Academy, an institution for young ladies, one of the most thoroughly conducted and best institu- tions of its kind in the State. He is a man of fine cul- ture, and of undoubted scholarly attainments, and is somewhat distinguished for his poetical writings. He has written many fugitive pieces of recognized merit, and his poem, "Consecration," of considerable length, was published in book form in 1874. Mr. Cosby has gathered around him a host of friends; has given a wide-spread and favorable reputation to his school, and ranks as one of the first teachers of the State. He is unassuming and quiet in his manners; and, without am- bition for earthly fame, is only desirous of leaving the world better for his having lived in it. In 1846, he was married to Miss Margaret Powell, of Virginia, a lady of rare accomplishments and many admirable qualities. They have eight living children, six sons and two daughters.

AMBERT, REV. JOEL, Farmer and . Clergy- man, was born August 25, 1796, in Mecklenburg County, Virginia. His father, Joel Lambert, was of English descent, and a farmer by pur- suit. His mother, a Miss Bennett, was a native of Virginia. His parents removed to Kentucky during his childhood. He received a limited education, but the best afforded in that early day in Kentucky. He held a commission in the army, during the war of 1812, and served six months at New Orleans, under General Jackson. After the restoration of peace, he returned home, and for several years clerked in a dry- goods store, where he acquired the reputation of sterling worth and honesty, and was intrusted with what was called "interchanging "-transferring money from mer- chants between different points in the country. This business carried him largely through the unsettled por- tions of the State, to Frankfort, Lexington, Russellville, and other centers of trade, and, was a position of great responsibility and danger. He was afterward selected, by the bar of Henderson, to act as sheriff, and filled the office with great acceptability, from 1818 to 1832. About this time he connected himself with the Cum- berland Presbyterian Church, and prepared to enter the ministry. He was pastor of the Madisonville Church

for several years; was for a long time in charge of the Hibbitsville Church, and was for ten years connected with various charges; and has ever since held missionary and irregular ministerial connection with his Church. He has been an earnest and faithful worker in the cause of the Master, and has filled some important places in the Church, being a member of its General Assembly; is interested and active in all its great works, remain- ing throughout his life, in his daily walks, an example of its grand precepts. He has, for many years, been largely engaged in mercantile pursuits, in which he has been very successful, and yet, at his advanced age, gives his daily attention to his farming interests, and is as exact in his habits as during his early manhood. Throughout his long and successful business life, he has never for a moment separated his religion from his secu- lar interests, and has been noted for his charity, his devotion to every good work, and his support of every charitable interest in the community. While devoted, heart and soul, to his Church, and giving freely of- his means for its support, although unflinchingly adhering to its principles, he is broad and liberal in his views, and has been characterized by great charitableness to- ward others. He has lived a most active life; has served his Church faithfully; has been a most successful and valuable member of society ; has been noted for his great probity of character, and is universally esteemed and honored in the community where he has so long lived; and, although an octagenarian, and white-headed, is yet a hale and vigorous man. Mr. Lambert was married, December 3, 1818 to the daughter of John Husband, who was the son of Harmon Husband, who died while imprisoned at Philadelphia, for opposition to the British Government. Of their thirteen children, only four are now living.

ACKSON, JOHN DAVIES, M. D., Physician and Surgeon, was born December 12, 1834, in Danville, Kentucky. He was the oldest child of John and Margaret Jackson, both Kentuck- ians. His father, two brothers, and three sis- ters are still living. He received a thorough education, and graduated at Centre College, in 1854. Soon after graduating, although having a decided taste for art studies, he chose the profession of medicine, and entered the office of his uncle, Dr. Thomas W. Jackson, as a student. In the Fall of 1854, he entered the med- ical department of the University of Louisville, when Gross, Flint, Rogers, Yandell, Miller, and Palmer were professors, and graduated, in 1857, in the medical de- partment of the University of Pennsylvania. He at once returned to Danville, and entered upon the prac- tice of his profession. He began his career with a dis-

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tinct plan and unlimited ambition. From the outset, he avoided the artful and unmanly methods of obtain- ing employment, and determined that his skill alone should recommend him. He sought few acquaintances, made few social visits, was retiring in disposition, inde- pendent in manners; and, while waiting for public recog- nition, used his time with great energy for extending his professional knowledge; and, against the breaking out of the civil war, had worked himself into a fine practice, and been recognized as one of the most deserving and profound men of his profession. He never took an ac- tive part in politics, and seldom talked on the subject, but his opinions were carefully formed, and to them he adhered unwaveringly; and, when the war came on, he entered the Confederate army as a surgeon; served with the Army of the Tennessee, during the first years, and, subsequently, with the Army of Northern Virginia ; ranked as a surgeon ; and spent his time mainly, through- out the war, in active service in the field, declining promotion, preferring to remain with his command. During his army service, he made a valuable report on vaccination among the troops, which was published, by order of the Surgeon-General, at Richmond. At the close of the war, he returned to Danville; and, although depressed in spirits, was finally persuaded by his friends to again open his office in that city. His reputation as a physician and surgeon began to extend with great rapid- ity, and greater demands were constantly made upon his skill and energy. About this time, he began the study of the French language, to which he applied himself with great assiduity amidst his increasing practice. . At this time, he also commenced writing elaborate essays on most difficult branches of his practice. In order to increase his knowledge, he went to New York, in the Winter of 1869, and devoted himself especially to the study of diseases of the eye and ear; after which, the demands for his services became more numerous. With a view to further professional advancement, in the Sum- mer of 1872, he went to Europe; visited England, as a delegate from the American Medical Association to the British Association ; spent some time in London, Edin- burgh, Berlin, Vienna, and Paris, pursuing special stud- ies and visiting hospitals, and, after returning home, was soon engaged in a most extensive practice and the vig- orous use of his pen. He translated Farabeuf's " Man- ual on the Ligation of Arteries," afterwards published by Lippincott ; wrote quite a number of valuable papers, which were usually published in various scientific and medical journals, and some of them in book form; also prepared a fine biographical sketch of Dr. Ephraim McDowell, and devoted himself, with great energy, to the organization of a McDowell Memorial Fund, and other necessary movements toward honoring the mem- ory of the great ovariotomist. In the Winters he re- refreshed his anatomical knowledge, by dissections, his

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The Biographical encyclopaedia of Kentucky of the dead and living men of the nineteenth century, Part 18

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