The Biographical encyclopaedia of Kentucky of the dead and living men of the nineteenth century, Part 19

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 19

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

students participating in the work. In the Spring of 1873, while engaged in an autopsy, he made some scratches on his finger, which seriously affected his whole system. He partially recovered, and, soon after, attended the meeting of the American Medical Associ- ation, at St. Louis; and, after spending the Summer in recreation, again resumed the active duties of his pro- fession. But his health declined, and, after attending a meeting of the American Medical Association at De- troit, in 1874, he consulted the physicians of New York, as to his own case, and spent the Winter in Florida ; re- turned to his home, in the Spring of 1875, where he continued to decline, and finally died, in a paroxysm of coughing, of lung disease, December 8, 1875. Expres- sions of sorrow and respect were made by the medical organizations which he had adorned, and the journals to whose pages he had contributed, and by a com- munity in which he had passed a short, brilliant career. He was a member of all the State and local organiza- tions of his profession, and was complimented by a cor- responding membership in the Gynecological Society, of Boston, and of the California State Medical Society; and, in 1874, was invited to deliver the address before the Alumni of the University of Pennsylvania. He was a man of superior talents, extensive learning, great am- bition, untiring industry; was a model practitioner ; en- tertained great contempt for pretense and hypocrisy ; was courteous and charitable as a man ; was skillful as a surgeon ; clear and elegant as a writer ; was a man of wonderful personal magnetism ; was of medium height, erect and slender ; remained unmarried, devoting himself exclusively to his profession; and belonged eminently to that class of men who build their own monuments.

RNOLD, REV. THOMAS N., Lawyer and Clergyman, was born February 10, 1828, in Covington, Kentucky, and is the son of James G. and Margaret (Dalton) Arnold. His grand- father, and some other members of his family, were distinguished Baptist preachers in Vir-

ginia. His father was one of the most useful and suc- cessful business men who ever flourished in Covington, and was, in fact, one of the founders of that city; he built the first Christian Church ever erected there ; made some large donations to Kentucky University, and vari- ous other institutions; and died, in Covington, at the great age of cighty-four years. (See sketch of James G. Arnold). Thomas N. Arnold graduated at Bethany Col- lege, Virginia, in 1847; attended law lectures at Lex- ington ; graduated in the Law School at Louisville, in 1852; and practiced his profession for several years in Covington. In 1856, he entered the ministry of the Christian or Disciples' Church, and has been pastor of

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the Churches in Covington, Frankfort, Lexington, Lou- isville, Kentucky, and Richmond, Virginia ; his Church in Louisville probably being the largest of this de- nomination in the world ; and his present charge, in Mid- way, is one of the most flourishing Churches in the State. He is one of the most active, earnest, and en- terprising workers, and one of the most successful, able, and valuable ministers, in his Church. Mr. Arnold was married, in 1853, to Miss M. Frances Pugh, of Bourbon County, daughter of Gustavus Pugh, and granddaughter of Col. Joseph Cantrill. They have seven children.

ATHEWS, CALEB M., Lawyer and Farmer, son of John Mathews and Sarah McDowell, of Augusta County, Virginia, was born near Stan- ton, Virginia, October 29, 1810. His mother was daughter of Major Joseph McDowell, an officer of the Revolution; the sister of Gen. Joseph McDowell, of Ohio; sister-in-law of Gov. Allen Trimble, of Ohio; cousin of Gov. James McDowell, of Virginia; aunt of Gov. John P. Gaines, of Oregon; sis- ter-in-law of Col. L. Ford, of the regular army ; and relative of Dr. Ephraim McDowell, of Danville, Ken- tucky. His father belonged to a large and influential family in Virginia. He emigrated to Kentucky in 1811, and settled on a farm in Woodford County; but, in 1813, he died, leaving a widow and three sons-Joseph McDowell, William H., and Caleb M. Joseph became a minister of the Methodist Church; but, by reason of failing health, abandoned the pulpit, and for thirty years conducted the Oakland Female Seminary, at Hills- boro, Ohio, where he is now President of Hillsboro Female College; and William H. is a successful mer- chant and farmer of Jessamine County. The subject of this sketch was raised on a farm in Woodford County, where he was educated, and remained until the death of his mother, in 1825, when he started, without means, to make a living for himself. He sold goods for himself and others until about 1834, when he commenced the study of the law, under Judge George Robertson, of Lexington. In the Spring of 1837, he graduated from the law department of Transylvania, and soon after married Frances S. Beazley (née Edwards), and at once located in New Castle, Henry County, where he has since pursued his profession, and conducted the work of his farm and garden, a business in which he has always taken great delight. His circumstances are moderate, having spent the great part of his earnings in educating a large and now influential family, consisting of four sons, William H., John W., Joseph M., and Frank Mathews; and three daughters, Laura A., Ann M., and Sallie Brown Mathews. The eldest son, Dr. William H. Mathews, died, in 1872; John W. is now cashier of the

National Bank of New Castle, and one of the best busi- ness men of the country; Dr. Joseph M. Mathews, the third son, is now a successful and rising physician of Louisville; and Frank is a young lawyer of promise, who has just graduated from the Law School at Louis- ville, and been admitted to practice; the daughter, Laura A., is the wife of Dr. William B. Oldham, of New Castle; and Sallie Brown, the remaining living daughter, is still at home, with her parents. He also reared and educated Miss Apphia Beazley, his step- daughter, now the wife of Judge William S. Pryor, of the Court of Appeals. Mr. Mathews has been greatly devoted to his family, and has given most of his means and best thoughts to their mental and moral and per- sonal advancement. Of the result, he has great reason to be proud. He has taken a deep interest in general education; was largely instrumental in establishing Henry Female College, and was twenty-five years mem- ber of its Board of Trustees, conferring the degrees on all its graduates. He has been prominently connected with most interests of the community, and has long been conspicuous in some of its social organizations. Religiously, he is associated with the Baptist Church ; and, although he was originally a Whig, and took no active part in the war of the rebellion, his sympathies were with his section. He is in no sense a politician, preferring the more quiet and friendly walks of life, de- voting himself to his family and the better demands of society.

ISE, THEODORE NATHANIEL, M. D., Phy- sician, Surgeon, and Clergyman, was born June 29, 1817, in Alexandria, Virginia. His father was also a native of that place, and a lawyer of considerable distinction. Dr. Wise was edu- cated in the Academy of Alexandria, and in the University of Virginia. His father died while he was young ; and, in 1831, his mother removed to Ken- tucky, locating in Newport. He soon after began the study of medicine under Dr. Daniel Drake, and, after a thorough preparation (in the mean time attending lec- tures in the college), received his degree in medicine, in 1837, and at once entered upon the practice of his pro- fession, at Covington. He served, for some time, as President of the State Medical Society, being elected to that position in 1870; has been, for several years, a member of the Newport and Covington Medical Society ; has written considerably for the medical and literary journals; has taken an active interest in every thing look- ing to the elevation of the medical profession, and is one of the most able and influential physicians of the .State. He has taken an active interest in educational matters, and was twelve years a member of the Board of Education, and for six years served as its President.

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He has been a prominent and active member of some of the popular social organizations. In politics, he be- longs to the extreme school of the Democratic party, but has never been willing to accept a political office. He is an ordained minister of the Baptist Church, and is one of its most earnest and able preachers. Dr. Wise was married, in 1837, to Miss Missouri Arnold, daughter of the late James G. Arnold, of Covington ; and, by this marriage, has one living son, Dr. James S. Wise. In 1852, he was again married, to Catherine B. McGill, daughter of the late John B. McGill, of Virginia.

ARLAN, MAJOR SILAS, was born, in 1752, in Berkeley County, Virginia. He came to Ken- tucky in 1774, and became one of the most valuable of the early pioneers. He accompa- nied General Clark in his campaigns of 1779, commanding a company of spies; and was es- teemed by General Clark as one of the most accom- plished, and brave men, who ever fought by his side. In 1778, he built the fort which was named Harlan's Station, near Harrodsburg. He was a major in the memorable battle of the Blue Licks, where he fell at the head of his command. He was a man of fine personal appearance, of great strength of body, and was distin- guished for his patriotism. Major Harlan was never married.

PILMAN, CHARLES HARVEY, M. D., was born in Garrard County, Kentucky, May 20, 1805, of English parentage. His father was Benjamin Spilman, a farmer; and his mother, formerly Nancy R. Rice, daughter of James Rice, of Virginia, and a cousin of Parson Rice, a pioneer preacher of Kentucky, and N. L. Rice, D. D., of Danville. Dr. Spilman received his literary educa- tion at Centre College, under the presidency of Gideon Blackburn, and his medical education at Transylvania University, at Lexington, under Professors Dudley, Caldwell, Cook, Short, Yandell, and Richardson, and graduated March 1, 1835. Previous to liis graduation, he spent several years at Yazoo City, Mississippi, in the practice of his profession. In 1835, on the ninth day of April, Dr. Spilman was married to Miss Mary Duryea Skillman, a native of Freehold, New Jersey, and a lady of excellent qualities. The following month, they re- moved to Nicholasville, Kentucky, where he practiced his profession, with eminent success, for fifteen years. In January, 1850, he removed to Harrodsburg, contin- uing his favorite pursuit, without cessation, up to the present time. IIe is a member of the American Med- ical Association, and, on several occasions, has been a

delegate to their conventions. In 1854, he was elected President of the Kentucky Medical Society, and held the office up to 1876, an unusually long term, and a de- served compliment to him. This same year, he deliv- ered an address before the State Legislature, on "The Relations and Reciprocal Obligations of Medicine and the State;" the object being to get an appropriation to cover the expense of publishing the proceedings of the State Society, this appeal being made in vain. Dr. Spilman is an extensive writer, being a man of broad views and liberality of thought, and has furnished, from time to time, articles of great value to the medical jour- nals, for the benefit of humanity. He is the father of ten children, of whom one daughter and four sons still live. John T., his oldest son, is practicing law at Har- rodsburg ; Lewis C., a practitioner of medicine with his father; Abraham T., a Presbyterian clergyman, of- ficiating at Paint Lick, Garrard County ; and Benjamin is a photographer at Harrodsburg; and his daughter Mary is the wife of Clarence Anderson, druggist in her native town. Dr. Spilman, at the age of seventy-two, is a man of noble and striking appearance, an intellec- tual cast of countenance, soft white hair-a living result of a useful and well-spent life. He is a man who has been careful in his habits, and philosophical in his mode of life ; has been a hard student, a quick observer, liberal and charitable in his views of men and measures. His mental faculties are of the brightest, and he still takes the keenest interest in all social and religious matters.

OUNS, HON. JOHN C., was born September 19, 1787, in Washington, Pennsylvania; and, when he was about six years old, his parents started to Kentucky. They halted at the mouth of the Kanawha, and there lived two or three years; but, about 1798, they settled near where the town of Grayson, Kentucky, now stands; and there he and his sister made the first salt, in a small kettle, that was ever made at Sandy Licks. At that time, elk, deer, and buffalo roamed over all that part of the State. About this time, or earlier, he learned to read; but this he did under many difficulties, for his father could not read English, he and three brothers having emigrated from Germany, and settled in Philadelphia, soon after the Revolution. He now engaged with his father in opening their farm, and in the manufacture of salt. When the war of 1812 began, he helped recruit a com- pany of soldiers, and afterwards, with the rank of lieu- tenant, was its commander, and served in a great part of the campaign, on the northern border. At the close of the war, he was detailed, as first lieutenant, in the First United States Infantry Regulars, stationed at New Orleans; and there commanded Gen. Jackson's escort at

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the first anniversary of the battle of New Orleans, hav- ing, at that time, command of Fort St. Philip's. While in command at that fortress, he was court-martialed for firing into a gunboat refusing to haul to and give the proper salutes, according to army customs. He was ac- quitted; but this case brought about the system of sig- nals now, or for a long time, in vogue between forts and war vessels. In 1815, he returned home, and, find- ing his father dead, and the office of sheriff, which he held, unoccupied, he, at once, resigned his place in the army, and served out his father's term of office. He then began merchandising in Greenupsburg, Greenup County ; and continued in mercantile pursuits until about 1827, when he became proprietor of the Kouns House, in that town, and so remained until near his death. In 1832, he was elected to the lower branch of the Legislature, and served his term. In 1850 and 1851, he was State Senator. He was two years Sheriff of Greenup County, under the old Constitution, and was ten or twelve years a magistrate. He was always a Dem- ocrat, and, latterly, a member of the Methodist Church. Mr. Kouns was married, October 21, 1816, to Miss Elizabeth Smith, of Greenupsburg. They had eight children, four of whom are now living: Mrs. Elizabeth Hollingsworth; Mrs. Nancy S. Winn, wife of John E. Winn; Mrs. Sarah Pollock, wife of Joseph Pollock, all of Greenupsburg ; and Dr. W. S. Kouns, who graduated in medicine, in the Louisville Medical Institute, in 1841, and, after ten years' successful practice, went into the drug business, in which he has since continued, and is now one of the most substantial and successful busi- ness men of Greenupsburg, Kentucky.

ORRISON, COL. JAMES, was born in 1755, in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, and was of Irish parentage. He served for six years in the Revolutionary army. After the close of the war he commenced business in Pittsburg, and became Sheriff of the county; in 1792, re- moved to Lexington, Kentucky; became Land Com- missioner ; was a member of the Legislature; supervisor of revenues ; navy agent ; contractor for the north-west- ern army, and quartermaster-general during the war of 1812; was President of the Lexington branch of the Bank of the United States; was Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Transylvania University; acquired im- mense wealth, which he largely distributed to the great advantage of the community ; and was one of the most valuable and influential men of Lexington in his day. He was a man of fine personal appearance ; had great native talent and strength of character, and, although somewhat stern, was gentlemanly in manners. He died while on a visit to Washington City, April 23, 1823.

RYAN, ROBERT THOMAS, M. D., Physician and Surgeon, was born February 21, 1823, in Paris, Kentucky. His grandfather came from North Carolina, and married Miss Spencer, in the fort at Boonesborough; and his marriage is said to have been the first celebrated in the State. His father, William S. Bryan, married Judith Field, of Bourbon County. Their youngest son, Robert T. Bryan, received his early education in Paris, Kentucky, and graduated at Bethany College, Virginia, in 1844. He began the study of medicine, and graduated in the medical department of the University of New York, in 1848, under the direction of Professors Patterson, Mott, Bedford, Payne, and Draper, and at once entered upon the practice of his profession, in Bourbon County ; in 1849, was married; lost his wife; in 1851, received an appointment as resident physician in Bellevue Hospital, New York; in 1853, returned to Kentucky, and settled in Fayette County; but, for the last twelve years, has re- sided at Georgetown; has performed quite a number of important surgical operations, established a large and val- uable medical practice, and taken a high rank in his profession in his part of the State. He is an active member of the Christian or Disciples' Church. Dr. Bryan was again married, in 1853, to Mary E. Offutt, of Fayette County, Kentucky. From his first marriage, he has one living son; and by his present marriage, has two sons and one daughter.

URYEAR, THOMAS HENRY, Tobacco Mer- chant, was born December 3, 1841, in Mecklen- burg County, Virginia; his father, Peter Pur- year, being a farmer of that county. The family is of French and English extraction. He re- ceived a very good common-school education, and, in his sixteenth year, entered Randolph Macon College, in his own county; but, before he completed the course, the war was begun, and he joined the Confed- erate army ; was assigned to General Loring's brigade, but afterwards to General Jackson's division, in the Shenandoah Valley; participated in the battle of Kerns- town, where he was severely wounded; after a year, spent partly in the hospital and partly at home, entered the army again; but, not being able for active service, was appointed to the Quartermaster's Department, whose headquarters were at Marion, and continued there till the close of the war. He then returned home and em- ployed himself on his father's farm for a year, when he concluded to go further West; came to Clarkstown, Tennessee, in 1867; was employed for three years as clerk in a wholesale tobacco-house, then was a partner in the same firm for two years more; was afterwards agent at Paducah for the firm of M. H. Clarke & Bro.,

. William

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of Clarksville, Tennessee, for two years; since which time he has remained in Paducah, conducting a business of his own in leaf tobacco, and now commands the best trade, and is probably the most extensive leaf tobacco broker, in his section. He is a member of the Methodist Church; is a man of strict integrity, and good busi- ness habits, which have made all his undertakings successful. He was married, in 1868, to Miss Ella At- kins, daughter of the late H. M. Atkins, a prominent citizen of Clarksville, Tennessee.

ILSON, DAVID, Merchant, Banker, and prom- inent business man, of Flemingsburg, was born October 16, 1820, in Bath County, Kentucky. His parents were Samuel and Elizabeth (Rogers) Wilson. His father was a native of Pennsylva- nia ; lost his parents when he was an infant ; came to Kentucky and settled in Bourbon County ; shortly afterward enlisted in the army, and served through the war of 1812; at the close of the war he became a clerk in the office of the County Clerk, at Winchester, filling the position for several years; afterwards removed to Bath County, where he became a farmer and stock- raiser, and where he died, in 1843. He was of Irish- German extraction. His mother, Elizabeth Rogers, was a native of Bath County, and daughter of James Rogers, a farmer and early settler of that county from Virginia, descended from Irish parentage. The subject of this sketch was raised on the farm, and attended the country schools in Winters. At the age of eighteen, he went to clerk in a store at Sherburne, in Fleming County, where he remained until his father's death, when he returned to the farm in Bath. He carried on the farm for several years, and, during a great part of the time so engaged, conducted the business of a store with success. In 1857, he removed to Flemingsburg, and, in connection with Thos. B. Smith and F. W. Allen, started the Exchange Bank of Flemingsburg, a private banking-house. In 1860, Mr. Allen withdrew; and, in 1865, Mr. Smith died. The entire business and management of the bank then passed into his hands, in which he has since continued, with great success and popularity. He has never sought or held a political office of any kind, but has devoted his time and energy to business, and the ordinary de- mands of Church and society. He has still had some time to devote to farming interests, and yet holds his landed property in Bath County. Mr. Wilson has been twice married. August 25, 1846, he was married to Mary Herndon, a native of Bath County, daughter of Samuel G. Herndon. She died in 1849, lcaving two children. In 1854, he was married to Elizabeth Hern- don, sister of his first wife. He was a member of the Whig party, and cast his first Presidential vote for Henry

Clay. He is now a "Conservative " in politics. Dur- ing the rebellion, he was a Union man. He is a mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. He has always been a man of exceptionally fine personal habits; of rare business and executive ability ; of great energy and perseverance ; of unapproachable integrity of char- acter ; and, while largely devoted to his own affairs, has had time and inclination to share largely and honorably in the burthens and responsibilities of society; and has been one of the most successful, useful, and valuable cit- izens of his section of the State.

OOD, JUDGE HENRY C., Lawyer, was born November 27, 1821, at Munfordville, Kentucky. He graduated at Centre College, in 1841 ; chose the profession of law, and entered on the practice in his native town, where he soon took a leading position among the first lawyers of his section; served, for a time, as County Attorney ; in 1848, was elected to the Legislature ; in 1850, located in Louisville ; in 1858, was elected Judge of the Court of Appeals, but died February 11, 1861. Judge Wood was physically delicate, but had a mental and moral organi- zation of the highest grade; and his learning, professional ability, and principles of justice and right, placed him among the most valuable rising men of his day.

INDSAY, HON. WILLIAM, Chief-Justice of Kentucky, was born September 4, 1835, in Rock- bridge County, Virginia. His father, Andrew Lindsay, was also a native of that State, of Scotch parentage, the family having emigrated to America about 1785. His mother's maiden name was Sallie Davidson, of Scotch-Irish descent, her ancestors settling in Virginia before the Revolution. Judge Lindsay received a liberal education in the best schools of his native county. In 1854, he came to Ken- tucky, and located in Hickman County, where he en- gaged, temporarily, in teaching; but, being desirous of making his mark in the world, he studied law, and, in 1858, was admitted to the bar, at once entering upon the practice of his profession at Clinton, and continuing, with flattering success, until the commencement of the civil war. His strong political convictions, and the necessities of the times, led him to consider it his duty to take active part in the contest ; and his predilections and sense of right led him to take the side of the South ; entering the service as a lieutenant, was afterwards Captain in the Twenty-second Tennessee Regular Infan- try ; served as a staff officer with Generals Buford and Lyon, and Colonels Crossland and Thompson, remaining

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with the Second Kentucky Brigade until paroled as a prisoner of war, in the Spring of 1865, at Columbus, Mississippi. Upon his return to Clinton, he at once re- sumed the practice of his profession, and was, in 1867, elected to the State Senate. During his service in that body, he displayed himself to great advantage, exhibit- ing an ability worthy of the highest confidence. Before the close of his term in the Senate, he was elected to the position of Judge of the Court of Appeals, and, in September, 1876, became Chief-Justice of the State. He has acquired great distinction on the Appellate Bench, and now justly ranks as one of the foremost men of Kentucky, being certainly one of the strongest men south of the Cumberland. His name has been favora- bly mentioned in connection with the United States Senatorship, and, although now occupying the chief ju- dicial office of his State, his eminent ability fits him for any position in the gift of the people. At the age of thirty-five, he took his seat on the Appellate Bench ; and, at the age of forty-one, became Chief Justice of the Court; his success certainly being very great, giving just cause of pride to himself, and the people most directly concerned in his elevation. As a judge, he has dis- played a rare combination of fine talents; is quick in his perceptions, anticipating with remarkable depth and correctness; is a keen, close, analytical reasoner, often obliterating, by one stroke, a labored argument; is far- seeing, reaching a conclusion with great readiness; is a fine debater, mingling argument with wit and humor; adapts himself readily to any condition ; is endowed with seemingly inexhaustible resources ; and proves himself, on the shortest notice, equal to any emergency. On the bench, as in his private life, he is distinguished by his high sense of justice, and undoubted integrity of char- acter. He is not only a man of large and controlling in- tellect, but also of fine physique, commanding in height and proportions, placing him in a favorable attitude under any circumstances. He is one of the most able lawyers in the State, and probably few men have before them more flattering prospects of honorable prefer- ment. Judge Lindsay was married, in 1864, to Miss S. Semple, a member of one of the prominent families of Kentucky. She died in June, 1867; and, in October of the following year, he was married to Miss Hattie Sem- ple, sister to his former wife. He has two children.

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The Biographical encyclopaedia of Kentucky of the dead and living men of the nineteenth century, Part 19

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