The Biographical encyclopaedia of Kentucky of the dead and living men of the nineteenth century, Part 3

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

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OBINSON, REV. STUART, D. D., one of the ablest of living Kentucky divines, was born of poor parents, at Strabane, County Tyrone, in the north of Ireland, about 1812. When he was quite small, the family emigrated to the United States, settling for some years near Martinsburg, Va., but removing, before the son was grown, to Charles- ton, Kanawha County, in what is now West Virginia.

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Here the strong will, quick wit, and rugged clear-headed- ness of the boy attracted the attention of Rev. James M. Brown, D. D., a noble Presbyterian clergyman, who gave him a good private school education, and started him at teaching at one of the neighboring salt-works. His education was completed at Amherst, Mass., where he graduated in 1834. Among his college mates were sev- eral who, like himself, have achieved wide distinction; among them Rev. Benj. M. Palmer, D. D., of New Or- leans, Rev. Edward P. Humphrey, D. D., of Louisville, and Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, of Brooklyn. Having studied for the ministry of the Presbyterian Church (Old School), he preached for some years at Malden, near Charleston. He married Miss Mary Brigham, whose father, Col. Wm. Brigham, an English gentleman of large estate and great enterprise, had been engaged in salt-making for some years before his death, in 1829. In 1846, it was a gratifying circumstance that when his old college mate, Dr. Humphrey, was compelled by ill health to relinquish for eight months his pulpit (the Second Presbyterian Church in Louisville), it was filled by Mr. Robinson, and so acceptably, that the same congrega- tion, when a vacancy occurred, years after, unanimously chose him as their pastor. From 1846 to 1854, he was pastor at Frankfort, Ky., and, during that period, found time to act as president of a female seminary, president of a cotton factory, president of a turnpike road com- pany, and director of the Farmers' Bank of Kentucky, with its seven branches and $2,200,000 capital. In 1854, he was called to the pastoral care of the Central Presby- terian Church in Baltimore, Maryland. With a large and growing congregation, he yet found time to originate and edit, for two years, 1855-56, the "Presbyterian Critic," a very able monthly, strongly controversial in character. In May, 1856, the Presbyterian General Assembly elected him professor of Church government and pastoral the- ology in the Theological Seminary at Danville, Ky., which he filled for two years with distinguished talent. Pecuniary reverses, in a business interest at too great a distance for his personal supervision, compelled him, in 1858, to resign the professorship, against the protest of many of his friends; he claiming that no minister of the Gospel could retain the respect of his congregation, and be exemplarily useful, except by a nice regard for his pecuniary obligations. In this view, he accepted the pastorate of the Second Presbyterian Church, Louisville, 'which he has now held for nineteen years, and also taught a school of forty boys, to supplement his re- sources, and enable him to pay the security debts which misfortunes had cast upon him. In 1858, he wrote "The Church of God as an Essential Element of the Gospel, and the Idea, Structure, and Functions Thereof;" a 12mo volume of great power and labor, which in a few months called for a second edition, much cn- larged. He has since written several other' smaller

works, and one 8vo, "Discourses of Redemption," probably the ablest of his writings. In 1861, he began the publication, at Louisville, of a weekly newspaper, "The True Presbyterian," which was twice suppressed by the military-in July, 1862, and in November, 1864- not because of any political utterances, but because its pronounced opinions on religious and Church topics were distasteful to some who sank their views of independent Church government and personal action in the maelstrom of subserviency to the military spirit of the hour. In 1862, he was himself arrested by the military, but after being released, and fearing a repetition of the indignity, went to Toronto, Canada, where he remained until April, 1866. The publication of his newspaper was re- sumed in 1865, by his co-editor, as "The Free Christian Commonwealth," which he aided in editing "from a far country." In May, 1869, at the session of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (South), at Mobile, Alabama, he was elected moderator unanimously-a com- pliment as distinguished as it is rare. In 1873, in a series of lectures to his congregation, he delivered a com- mentary on the Book of Genesis, both striking and ex- haustive. They were published weekly in "The Courier- Journal," but the public still look for them in revised book form. In the Summer of 1873, Dr. Robinson visited Europe, Egypt, and Palestine; and in the Winter following lectured upon his travels to crowded houses, always for the pecuniary benefit of worthy Church ob- jects, never for private reward. At this time, July, 1877, he is on the floor of the Pan-Presbyterian Conven- tion, in Edinburgh, Scotland, one of the most observed in that assembly of great and cultivated Christian minds, and is one of the strongest of the American representa- tives to that body. He imitates nobody. He is unlike any one else. He is odd at times, but great in his ad- dress. If not always sparkling, he is never dull. He is sometimes rapid in his speaking, yet deliberate always; earnest, but cool; presses his antagonist in controversy with great vigor, yet gives up gracefully when outvoted ; chains his hearers by his intensely suggestive thoughts, or startles them by his brilliant contrasts. He is won- derful in his power of endurance, in his freshness, in his versatility, in his broad, good humor, in his striking common sense. "The secret of Dr. Robinson's power," said a sanguine admirer, in attempting to daguerreotype the man some years ago, "is his directness, simplicity, scripturalness, and intense convictions of truth. Of course, these traits are mingled with genius, learning, and great industry. Dr. Ben. M. Palmer, of New Orleans, excels him in word-painting; Dr. Moses D. Hloge, of Richmond, Virginia, in poctic temperament and power of pathos; Dr. Samuel R. Wilson, of Louisville, as a compact and wary debater in ecclesiastical courts; Dr. Robert I .. Dabney, of Union Theological Seminary, in exactness of information upon a limited number of sub-

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jects; Henry Ward Beecher, of Brooklyn, in melody and compass of voice; but in breadth and versatility of char- acter and genius, the American pulpit has no superior. Were he settled in London or Edinburgh, his congrega- tions would be equal to those of the most celebrated men."

ATTERSON, HON. HENRY, Editor, was born February 16, 1840, in Washington City, and is the son of the Hon. Harvey Watterson, of Tennessee, a Democratic writer and speaker, who distinguished himself in Congress, in the diplomatic service, and in journalism, having been an editor of the " Washington Union" in its palmiest days. Henry Watterson received a good education, mainly under private tutors, and was well trained in the polite accomplishments. He received much of his early political culture under the direction of his father, and, being reared for the most part at Washington City, de- rived great advantage from public men and public affairs during the ten years preceding the rebellion, and, having a passion for literary work, began his career in New York as a writer of drama, criticisms, stories, verse, and essays for periodicals. In 1859, he was engaged as a writer on the "States," an organ of the young Democ- racy at Washington; in the following year, was engaged to edit the "Democratic Review." War coming on, the "States" was suppressed, and, after returning to Ten- nessee, he soon became leading editor of the " Nashville Republican Banner," the oldest and most influential paper in that part of the country. When the Govern- ment took possession of Nashville, he became editor of the "Rebel," at Chattanooga, which, under his man- agement, became the most popular and widely circulated paper in the South. At the close of the war, he again resumed editorial charge of the "Banner;" in 1866, vis- ited Europe; after returning home in the following year, was invited to become editor of the "Louisville Journal," and took charge of the paper in 1868, being part owner; a few months later, in connection with Mr. Haldeman, the well-known proprietor of the "Louisville Courier," he effected a union of the two papers, and, through a third person, bought the old "Louisville Democrat ;" and Sunday morning, November 18, 1868, the community was startled by the appearance of the first number of the "Courier-Journal," controlling the press dispatches and commanding the field, he taking its editorial management and Mr. Haldeman the finan- cial. The "Courier-Journal" was a success from the onset, and is to-day the most ably edited and influential newspaper in the Southern States. Mr. Watterson is a writer of great versatility and force, grasping every sub- ject that agitates the public, and allowing little to es- cape that would give him advantage as an editor, or be

of value to the people; is a man of nervous, active na- ture, genial disposition, quick in his movements; is never idle, and is one of the most sterling, able, and progressive editors of his times. Always a Democrat in politics, he has become one of the most powerful leaders of his party; was mainly instrumental in the nomination of Mr. Tilden at St. Louis in 1876, and in that year was elected to Congress from the Louisville District, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of E. Y. Parsons, and made a national reputation in that body during the great contest resulting from the close Presidential elec- tion. Mr. Watterson was married, in 1865, to Miss Re- becca Ewing, daughter of Hon. Andrew Ewing.

RISTOW, HON. BENJAMIN HELM, Lawyer and Ex-Secretary of the United States Treasury, was born in July, 1832, at Elkton, Todd County, Kentucky, and is the second in a family of four children. His father, Francis M. Bristow, was widely known throughout the State as a lawyer of ability, and the leading man of his section. (See sketch of Hon. F. M. Bristow.) His mother, who is yet living, was Emily Helm, daughter of Benjamin Helm, of Elizabethtown, Kentucky. His two sisters, Mrs. Petree and Mrs. Gill, and his brother Frank Bristow, a lawyer, all reside at Elkton, Kentucky. He received a thorough education, which was completed at Jefferson College, Cannonsburg, Pennsylvania. He studied and practiced law with his father until 1857, at which time he re- moved to Hopkinsville, and there, in connection with his brother-in-law, Judge R. J. Petree, pursued his pro- fession with success, until the opening of the civil war. He entered the Federal army as Lieutenant-Colonel of the Twenty-Fifth Kentucky Regiment, under Col. Shackelford, and participated in the battles of Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, and Shiloh. In 1862, he as- sisted in raising the Eighth Kentucky Cavalry, and, after serving for a time as Lieutenant-Colonel, became its Colonel. In 1863, he was elected to the State Sen- ate, from the Hopkinsville District, serving on the Coni- mittee on Military Affairs, and honestly stood by the cause of the Union during the stormy contests in that body. After serving until toward the close of his term, he resigned, and located in Louisville, for the practice of his profession; in 1866, was appointed Assistant United States District Attorney for Kentucky; per- formed the duties of that office with great ability; re- signed in 1870, and formed a law partnership with Gen. John M. Harlan; was soon afterwards appointed So- licitor-General of the United States, and, after filling the position two years at Washington, resigned, and again entered upon the practice of his profession in Louisville; in the Winter of 1874, was nominated for Attorney-Gen-

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eral of the United States, but did not enter upon the duties of that office, owing to the non-confirmation of Attorney-General Williams, as Chief-Justice of the Supreme Court; in the same year, became Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, and after filling that office with great distinction, and gaining for himself a national reputation, as one of the most able and up- right men who had for many years appeared in Ameri- can politics, he resigned, and again began the practice of the law in Louisville, where he now resides. In 1876, the reform element of the Republican party brought forward his name, and with great energy sought to procure his nomination for the Presidency, in the National Convention at Cincinnati. Mr. Bristow has never sought an office, and has resigned every civil position he has had, and is a man of unassuming char- acter, and great modesty of disposition, having a de- cided aversion to personal display; is a man of magnifi- cent personal appearance, and singular dignity of man- ner; and is undoubtedly one of the most able men in the country.

ECK, HON. JAMES BURNIE, Lawyer, was born February 13, 1822, in Dumfriesshire, Scot- land. He received an academic education, and came to America in the Spring of 1838, joining his father in Wyoming County, New York, where he had settled and engaged in agri- cultural pursuits many years previously, leaving his son to complete his literary education in Scotland. In 1843, he came to Lexington, Kentucky, and at once began to read law ; after a thorough preparation, graduated from the law department of Transylvania University, in March, 1846; and at once entered on the practice of his profession, at Lexington, where he has since resided. In 1867, he was elected to Congress ; was re-elected in 1869, and again in 1871 and 1873, serving eight years, consecutively, in the National House of Representatives; during the sessions of the Fortieth Congress, was member of the Reconstruction Committee, of which Thaddeus Stevens was Chairman, and was conspicuous in his influence over the acts of that com- mittee ; was member of the Committees of Reconstruction and Appropriation during the Forty-first Congress; was member of the Committee of Ways and Means in the Forty-second and Forty-third Congress, and distinguished himself by his great industry, ability, and zeal. In Jan- uary, 1876, he was elected to the United States Senate, being selected, without opposition, by the Legislative Democratic caucus. His name had previously appeared, on several occasions, in the party caucuses, for the same position. He was a member of the Charleston and Bal- timore Conventions of 1860, and assisted, at the latter place, in the nomination of John C. Breckinridge. He

was identified with the Whig party until its dissolution, casting his first Presidential vote for Henry Clay, in 1844; was the law partner of John C. Breckinridge from 1854 to 1860, and supported Mr. Breckinridge in his race for the Presidency. Senator Beck is a man of powerful build and constitution, his whole make-up indicating a man of great strength, determination, and self-reliance. He is a speaker of uncommon powers, and is undoubtedly one of the ablest lawyers and most influ- ential men of his adopted State. He was married, Feb- ruary 3, 1848, at Louisville, to Miss Jane W. A. Thorn- ton, of Loudon County, Virginia, step-daughter of Gov. James Clark, of Kentucky, and daughter of Geo. W. Thornton, grand-nephew of Gen. Washington.

UCKNER, RICHARD A., Lawyer and Judge of the Court of Appeals, was born in 1783, in Fauquier County, Virginia. He received a good education, and was a fine Latin scholar; came to Kentucky with his father's family in 1803, and settled in Greene County; had probably previously studied law; was admitted to the bar in Kentucky; taught school some, and made very little advance in his profession until about 1811, when he located in Greensburg, and soon established a large practice and became widely known in his profession. He was for a time County Attorney for Greene County, and for several years Commonwealth's Attorney; was Prosecuting Attorney in the famous trial of Alexander Hamilton, at Glasgow, for the murder of Dr. Sander- son, in 1818; his success in that case gave him con- siderable notoriety and greatly increased his popularity. In 1813, he was first elected to the Legislature; was re-elected in 1815. In 1822, was elected to the Lower House of Congress; was again elected in 1824 and in 1826, serving six years; was one of the Kentuckians who brought a storm on themselves by voting for Adams instead of Jackson, when the choice of a President was thrown into the House, in 1825; yet, he was successful in the ensuing contest for Congress. In December, 1829, was appointed Associate Judge of the Court of Appeals; resigned this position in a short time; was several times elected to the Legislature, serving his last term in 1838 and 1839. In 1833, he was the nominee of the Clay, "National Republican," or Whig party, for Governor, and, in one of the most exciting contests ever made, was beaten by a small majority by John Breathitt, the Jackson or Democratic candidate; was Presidential Elector in 1837 and in 1841, voting both times for Gen. Harrison; and was appointed Judge of the Circuit Court of his district, which position he held until his death, December 8, 1847. He was one of the most upright and able lawyers of his day. Judge Buckner was mar-

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ried to Miss Elizabeth R. Buckner, a native of Greene County, Kentucky, and daughter of William Buckner, one of the early valuable men of that county.

UCKNER, HON. RICHARD A., JR., Law- yer, son of Hon. Richard A. and Elizabeth R. Buckner was born, December 3, 1813, in Greene County, Kentucky. His father was a Virginian by birth; came to Kentucky about 1803, and be- came one of the most distinguished lawyers of the State. (See sketch of Hon. R. A. Buckner, Sr.) His mother was a native of Greene County, Ky., and daugh- ter of William Buckner, a farmer and surveyor, who was engaged with Knox and Taylor in the early surveys of Kentucky, while it was yet a part of Virginia; finally settled in Greene County; was for a number of years sur- veyor of that county; and, in 1822, was elected to repre- sent it in the Legislature. Richard A. Buckner was educated at Center College, Danville, and St. Joseph's College, Bardstown, graduating at the latter institution in 1831. He immediately began the study of the law at Greensburg; subsequently continued his studies at Lexington ; graduated in law at Transylvania University, in 1837, and, in the same year, entered upon the practice of his profession at Lexington, where he has since re- sided. In 1839, he was appointed Commonwealth's At- torney ; was reappointed, and held the office until 1842 ; in that year, was appointed Circuit Judge, and held that position until 1851; was elected to the Legislature in 1859; was re-elected in 1861; during this term, was Speaker of the House; and, in 1863, made the race for Congress, but was defeated by Brutus J. Clay. Judge Buckner cast his first Presidential vote for Henry Clay, and was originally a Whig. He is now identified with the Democrat party. In 1860, he voted for Bell and Everett, and during the war of the rebellion, was a Union man. He is an influential citizen of Lexington, and one of the most accomplished, successful, and able lawyers of the State.

UCKNER, HON. AYLETTE, Lawyer, son of Judge Richard A. Buckner, Sr., was born in Greene County, Kentucky. His father was one of the noted men of his time, in the State. His mother, Elizabeth R. Buckner, was a Ken- tuckian by birth, and a daughter of William Buckner, of Greene County, who served in the Legisla- ture, and was prominent in the affairs of his section. Aylette Buckner was liberally educated; studied law with his father; was admitted to the bar at Greensburg, about 1828; was elected to represent Greene County in the Legislature in 1842; in 1847, was elected from his

district to the Lower House of Congress, and served one term; made the race for the succeeding term, but was beaten, on account of his free-soil tendencies ; about this time, removed to St. Louis, where he practiced his pro- fession successfully until 1864; in that year, returned to Kentucky, broken in health ; practiced his profession at intervals until his death, which occurred at the residence of his brother, Judge R. A. Buckner, in Lexington. Mr. Buckner was never married.

RECKINRIDGE, HON. JOHN, Lawyer, was born December 2, 1760, on a farm where Staun- ton, Virginia, now stands, and was the oldest child of Robert and Letitia Breckinridge. His father was a subaltern officer in the Revolutionary army, and, after the declaration of peace, came to Kentucky, settling in Jefferson County. He served in several Indian campaigns during that period; was a member of the various conventions in the territory of Kentucky, and was the first Speaker of the House of Representatives, in 1792. His mother, Letitia Preston, was his father's second wife, and the daughter of John Preston, an ancestor of the Prestons, Browns, Blairs, Marshalls, Woolleys, McDowells, and other families. His grand-parents, Robert Breckinridge and John Pres- ton, were Scotch-Irish Presbyterians, whose ancestors had been Protestants since the Reformation. John Breckinridge's father moved to Botetourt County, where he died, leaving a large family in narrow circumstances, when the subject of this sketch was but eleven years old. After the death of his father, his opportunities for educa- tion were exceedingly limited, attending nó school until reaching his nineteenth year, at which time he entered William and Mary College. While attending that insti- tution he was elected to represent his county in the . House of Burgesses, without his knowledge, and, being under age, was elected the third time before being per- mitted to take his seat. From that time, throughout his life, he was almost constantly in public position. He studied law; in 1785, married Mary Hopkins Cabell, daughter of Colonel John Cabell, an officer in the Revolu- tionary army, who was a son of Dr. William Cabell, from whom the Cabells, Carringtons, Dixons, and others, are descended; settled in Albemarle County, where he practiced law for seven years; emigrated to Kentucky late in 1792; purchased and settled on a tract of land in Fayette County, which he called Cabell's Dale, in honor of his wife; soon became one of the leading citizens of Kentucky, and at that time had but one rival (George Nicholas) as a lawyer in the State. As a public speaker he was probably without an equal, until Henry Clay rose to position ; obtained a large and lucrative practice; at first declining political honors, but soon became the

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head of the Democratic Society, as it was then called, whose purpose was the securing of the free use of the Mississippi river, and a State Rights' construction of the Federal Constitution; as early as 1793, advo- cated the acquisition of Louisiana by peaceable or for- cible means; he was an intense anti-Federalist, and probably shared Patrick Henry's opposition to the Fed- eral Constitution; was the undoubted author of the Reso- lutions of 1799, and probably of those of 1798; at least, his immediate friends and relatives never doubted that he was. In 1801, he took his seat in the Senate of the United States, as the recognized leader of the Admin- istration or Jefferson party, and to his views Mr. Jef- ferson finally yielded, as to the power of the General Government in acquiring new territory. In 1805, he became Attorney-General in the Cabinet of Mr. Jeffer- son. He died December 14, 1806, at Cabell's Dale, Kentucky, barely in middle life, and at a time when there seemed to be no eminence which he could not reach. Humanly speaking, no life could have had a more untimely end. In stature, he was slightly over six feet in height, slender and muscular; a man of great power and noble appearance; was extremely grave and silent in his ordinary intercourse, but courteous and gentle in manners; possessed a melodious and impres- sive voice; was unostentatious and exemplary in his habits; of numerous but private charities ; patient, for- bearing, and just; possessed great bravery; was ex- tremely warm in his friendships, and was every-where beloved. He left a widow and seven children, the youngest of whom died in youth; another, the wife of David Castleman, died within a few years, and the five remaining children were Letitia Preston, Joseph Cabell, John, Robert Jefferson, and William Lewis. His wife was one of the most brilliant women of her day. She survived her husband for nearly fifty-two years. Few women had so wide an acquaintance; plain, simple, generous, and pious, she was universally respected and beloved, and even at the advanced age of ninety, her distinguished sons were obedient to her. Letitia Pres- ton Breckinridge married Col. Grayson, who had one son, John Breckinridge Grayson, educated at West Point, and remained in the regular army until 1861, when, resigning his commission, he entered the Confed- erate service, and died, in Florida, in 1862, as a Briga- dier-General. After the death of her first husband, Mrs. Grayson married Gen. Peter Porter, of New York, Secretary of War under John Quincy Adams, and by that marriage had one son, Peter A. Porter, who was killed at the head of a brigade under Gen. Grant, in one of the terrifie charges at Cold Harbor, in 1864, a man of splendid social and soldierly attainments, and one of the most daring and able of the defenders of the National eause, who, like many of his relatives on the opposite side, gave his life in defense of his eonvictions.

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The Biographical encyclopaedia of Kentucky of the dead and living men of the nineteenth century, Part 3

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