The Biographical encyclopaedia of Kentucky of the dead and living men of the nineteenth century, Part 33

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 33

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).

188

BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA.

ranks as one of the first lawyers of the State. He was married, in October, 1826, to Elizabeth Dorsey, daughter of Dr. Edward and Juliet Dorsey, of Flemingsburg. Dr. Dorsey was the pioneer physician of Flemingsburg, and died there, of cholera, in 1833.

MITH, THOMAS, Merchant and Trader, was born November 22, 1790, and died of cholera, August 7, 1850. His father, Nicholas Smith, emigrated from Virginia, and settled five miles south-east of the present town of New Castle, Henry County, Kentucky. At that time the whole territory belonged to Virginia, and was a vast unbroken wilderness; and the few whites who ventured so far beyond the limit of safety were compelled to live in forts rudely constructed; and, in one of these, Nich- olas and Jacob Smith took up their residence, and, with their families, for many years underwent the dan- gers and privations of pioneer life. He and his brother Jacob took out letters patent on fourteen hundred acres of land, five hundred of which fell to Nicholas; and upon this he finally settled, and there lived and died; and there raised a family of eight sons and three daughters, who all married before his death, excepting one son, who died after reaching manhood. After his death, this tract of land fell to his son Thomas, the subject of this sketch, by purchase from the other heirs, and passed to his chil- dren after his decease. A singular fact connected with this tract of land was, that the patent was obtained from the State of Virginia, it then being a part of that State, it having consequently been in two States; and, in the forming and changing of new counties, it has been at different periods situated in four counties. Nich- olas Smith married Mary Jones, a woman of great natu- ral endowments, and eminently fit to become one of the pioneer mothers of the State. These worthy people both lived to a great age, and died and were buried on the original old homestead, in Henry County. Of their large family of children, but one, Stephen Smith, of Missouri, is now living, yet a vast number of their de- scendants are spread over the country. Their son, the subject of this sketch, had an English education fully up to the privileges offered then to the youth of the country, and at once set his face against the farm, the whole life of which was incongenial to him, and began his remarkable career in a store at Shelbyville. Not long afterwards, in company with Captain Searsy, he started business for himself at Old Port William, at the mouth of the Kentucky river. He afterwards removed to New Castle, Henry County, where he soon associated. with him, his brother William, and Daniel Brannin, which connection continued the greater part of the time, until 1837. During these years, he had succeeded in

amassing a fortune of over a half million dollars. Their store was the depot for every thing in demand by the people; in return for which they took the entire produc- tion of the country, buying the tobacco crop, dealing largely in hogs, and, in fact, became largely the control- lers of the entire market, of every kind, in a great part of the State. Mr. Smith was the directing spirit of the entire vast business. So extensive was the business of his house, and so vast its resources, that he extended its trade to all parts of the country, and even largely to Europe, and really became the most widely known, in- fluential trader and business man who had yet lived in the State. In 1837, he sold his interests in mercantile business, and gave the remainder of his life to the care and increase of his estate, and to some speculations in stocks of various kinds. His land possessions were at times immense, often holding by deed or mortgage half the land in Henry, and some in the adjoining counties, and this was usually obtained in the way of his busi- ness. And yet no man ever lived in the county who did so much towards establishing the homes of the people. He was never known to press a debtor who showed a willingness to do right, and no man was more ready to help a man who was determined to help him- self; and, although he was not unfrequently forced to sell the land of a debtor, he often sold them back the land at reduced rates, and gave them every facility for paying for it. He was a man of unbounded charities, with his own way of bestowing them ; usually doing so in a manner to bring the greatest effort to the beneficia- ries themselves, without making any display of his own work. In 1847, when work on the Louisville and Lex- ington Railroad was suspended, and the enterprise totter- ing, on account of his great executive ability and unlimited credit, he was induced to become President of the road. The work was soon resumed, and at the time of his death, in 1850, it was nearly completed. Largely owing to his exertions and personal credit, the State is indebted for that road, and the people of Henry County for its favorable location to them. He was an active Director in the Bank of Kentucky, and his own business house was a deposit-bank for the surrounding country. He was a member of the old Whig party, but was not a politician. He was one of the builders and most sub- stantial supports of the Baptist Church in his county; such a man would naturally be one of the marked features of any community, and his vast business trans- actions and great success gave him additional weight and distinction. He gave inspiration to men of failing fortune, and vim and adventure to timid tradesmen. His life well told, would constitute the business history of a country for three-quarters of a century, and the good of such a life could better be read in ages of a community's prosperity, than in the brief biography of an hour. Mr. Smith was married to Harriet Owens,

189

BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPÆDIA.

daughter of Col. Abram Owens, an officer in the war of 1812; and raised seven children-Abram O., Nicholas J., Clark O., Thomas, Martha A., Harriet, and Bettie; three sons and one daughter are now living ; Abram O. and Nicholas J. live in Missouri, and Clark O. Smith is an energetic business man of Louisville, who has been distinguished for his connection with many business, social, Church, and charitable works of that city; Mrs. Harriet Smith Roland now resides in Henry County. Rev. Thomas Smith, Jr., one of their sons, after grad- uating in two colleges, Georgetown, Kentucky, and Princeton, became a Baptist preacher of great power and popularity, at a remarkably early age. He united the two Baptist factions in Louisville, and became their pastor, and founded the present Walnut Street Baptist Church of that city ; and after these great initiatory steps of his life, his health failing, he went on a trip to Texas, but died March 6, 1851, in his twenty-third year, at New Orleans, on his way home. Thomas Smith Hay- don, of New Castle, who was reared by the side, and in the store, of Thomas Smith, and who is now one of the most successful business men of Henry County, is a son of Mr. Smith's oldest sister, Keziah.

ODD, ORRIN D., M. D., was born April 24, 1841, in Shelby County, Kentucky, and is the son of James M. and Mary (Porter) Todd. His father was a native of Tennessee; a soldier in the war of 1812; a member of the Constitu- tional Convention of 1849; and is one of the oldest and most prominent farmers of Shelby County. His mother is a native of that county, and a lady of high moral and intellectual worth. (See sketch of James M. Todd.) Dr. Todd received a liberal education, and com- menced the study of medicine, in 1862, with Dr. Hugh Rodman, in Frankfort. In 1863, he entered Jefferson Medical College, at Philadelphia, where he attended three courses of lectures, and graduated in the Winter of 1865. The same year, he was appointed Assistant Surgeon of the Twenty-first Kentucky (Union) Regi- ment, and sent to Texas. He remained with the regi- ment until it was mustered out, at Louisville, in 1866. He then commenced practice at Eminence, forming a part- nership, which lasted five years, with Dr. D. N. Porter; and was afterwards, for a year or two, associated with Dr. E. C. Bright. He has now a large and lucrative practice ; is one of the first surgeons of his part of the State, performing most of the difficult surgical opera- tions of the neighborhood. He is a member of the Sidenham Medical Society ; Transylvania Medical So- ciety ; Kentucky State Medical Society; and the Ameri- can Medical Association; and was delegate, from Ken- tucky, to the American Medical Association, which met

at Philadelphia, in 1872. Dr. Todd has taken the deep- est interest in all movements connected with his pro- fession, and is thoroughly up with the spirit of the times. He is a man of fine appearance, and great physical en- durance; with an enviable past record, and, being not yet in the prime of life, it is but reasonable to predict for him a most honorable and useful career.

ERRIN, WILLIAM JOSEPHUS, Lawyer, was born August 3, 1825, in Harrison County, Ken- tucky. His father, S. C. Perrin, was a native of the same county, and was a merchant, cler- gyman, and lawyer; was, at a time, Judge of Kenton County Court ; for a number of years, clerk of that county; represented Harrison County in the Legislature for several terms; and was the son of W. C. Perrin, a soldier of the war of 1812, who was one of the pioneers of Harrison County, from South Carolina, and was of French Huguenot extraction. His mother's maiden name was also Perrin. She was daughter of Gen. Josephus Perrin, general of State militia, and sol- dier in the army in the war of 1812, and one of the early settlers of Harrison County from South Carolina. The subject of this sketch was raised on the farm, and at- tended the private schools of the country. In 1841 and 1842, he attended Bacon College, at Harrodsburg, and acquired a fair classical education, after which he spent two years on the farm. In 1844, he began teaching in his native county, which avocation he continued until the commencement of the Mexican War, in 1846, when he enlisted in Humphrey Marshall's cavalry regiment, from Kentucky, and was with Gen. Taylor. But, in 1847, on account of bad health, he was discharged, and returned home. The following year he spent in mer- cantile business, in Covington. In 1849, he was elected one of the constables of Harrison County, and performed the duties of that office for three years. In 1852, he re- sumed teaching school, at Falmouth and other points, and continued this pursuit for five years, using all his leisure time in reading law. In the Fall of 1857, he was admitted to the bar, and, in the following year, be- gan the law practice at Falmouth. In 1860, he re- moved to Covington, and became his father's deputy in the clerkship of the Kenton County Court. For over two years he occupied this position. In 1863, he re- sumed teaching again, and this time in Kenton County. In 1866, he returned to Falmouth, where he has since resided. During this year, he was elected Attorney for Pendleton County, and, in 1870, was re-elected, holding the office eight years. In 1874, he was elected Judge of Pendleton County, and now holds that position. Polit- ically, he has always been a Democrat, and, during the rebellion, his sympathies were with the South. Relig-

190

BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPÆDIA.

ously, his preferences are with the Christian Church. He is a man of great energy, of untiring perseverance, and of irreproachable character in public and private. In the Fall of 1851, Judge Perrin was married to Miss Nancy D. Oldham, daughter of Thomas J. Oldham, a farmer of Pendleton County, Kentucky.

ARDIN, COL. JOHN, was born October I, 1753, in Fauquier County, Virginia, and was the son of Martin Hardin. He was an ensign in a militia company in the expedition of Gov. Dunmore against the Indians, in 1774; was wounded soon after in an engagement with the Indians, while serving as a volunteer under Capt. Zach- ariah Morgan; before recovering from his wound, ac- companied Gov. Dunmore in his expedition against the Indian towns; afterwards, recruited men for the Conti- nental army, and entered the service as a second lieu- tenant; was afterwards connected with Morgan's Rifles, until his resignation, in 1779; in 1780, he visited Ken- tucky, and located some land warrants; in April, 1786, removed with his wife and family to Nelson County, Kentucky; was quartermaster under Gen. Clark, in his expedition to the Wabash in the same year ; in 1789, he crossed the Ohio river with two hundred mounted men ; attacked and defeated a camp of Shawnee Indians on a branch of the Wabash; was actively engaged in nearly all expeditions against the Indians after his arrival in Kentucky; in 1792, was sent to negotiate peace with the Indians, by Gen. Wilkinson; on his way, and near his destination, in what is now known as Shelby County, Ohio, while encamped in the night in company with the Indians, was tomahawked and killed. In 1840, a town was laid out on the supposed spot of his murder, and named Hardin. Hardin County, Kentucky, was also named in his honor. Col. Hardin left three sons and three daughters, several of whom became dis- tinguished, and raised distinguished families. His oldest son was Martin D. Hardin, and his oldest daughter married Rev. Barnabas McHenry.

ITHROW, COL. CHARLES HOWARD, was born in Waynesboro, Virginia, February 6, 1840. His father was of Scotch, and his mother of Welsh descent. His father's family settled, at an early day, near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Professor Withrow received his early education at schools in the vicinity of his birth- place, and afterwards took a thorough course in all of the academic branches, also including the law, at the University of Virginia, where he graduated, in 1860,

under President Gessner Harrison, a distinguished pro- fessor. Among his classmates were many men who have since become distinguished throughout the coun- try. There may be instanced, Bishop Dudley, now of Louisville; Joseph Hodgson, of the "Mobile Reg- ister ;" Professor William Du Base, of Sewanee Uni- versity. After graduation, he engaged as private tutor at Natchez, Mississippi, and continued in this position until the outbreak of the war, when he became a member of the Second Company Richmond Howitzers, Confederate States Army. He subsequently served in a regiment of engineers, Col. T. M. R. Talcott com- manding, when he was promoted to the staff of Gen. James Deering, commanding the Laurel, formerly known as Ashby's, brigade, serving as lieutenant of artillery. He took an active part in all of the cam- paigning of 1864, from the battle of the Wilderness to that of Petersburg; and at Petersburg was actively en- gaged in the mining operations of the siege. He was present at the retreat to Appomattox Court House. From 1865 to 1871, Col. Withrow was engaged in teaching in Virginia, at which time he was appointed Professor of Greek in Hampden Sidney College, where he stayed one year, and then came to Kentucky, for a time assisting William F. Junkin in the conduct of the Danville Classical Institute. In 1874, in conjunction with Col. J. L. Ford, he established the Danville Class- ical and Military Academy, of which he is now Associ- ate Principal. This academy has been attended with marked success since its organization, and is well ap- pointed throughout, now being in a most flourishing condition, having all that liberality and earnest effort can do to make it a popular institution of learning. Col. Withrow was married to Miss Mary Shroyock, daughter of William P. Shroyock, of the well-known firm of Shroyock & Rolland, of St. Louis, Missouri, on Febru- ary 23, 1874.

,INKEAD, JUDGE W. B., Lawyer and Farmer, was born December 31, 1819, in Woodford County, Kentucky. He spent some time in the schools of old Dominie Thompson and Dr. Lewis Marshall, and afterwards entered Tran- sylvania University, where he graduated, in 1830. He studied law under Judges Mayes and Boyle; was admitted to the bar, and practiced several years in Woodford County; in 1841, was elected to the Legisla- ture from that county; in the following year, removed to Lexington; in 1845, was appointed, by Gov. Owsley, Judge of the Nineteenth Judicial District; served nearly five years; resigned, and moved to Covington, in 1850; practiced his profession there until 1860, when he re- moved to his farm, in Fayette County, and, for a time, divided his attention between the interests of his farm

Ling:" & Petby Homer Ice & Co NY

7.6. Welch

193

BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPÆDIA.

and his legal practice; but lately, in connection with his son, has devoted himself exclusively to the practice of the law. At the outbreak of the civil war, he was earnestly opposed to secession, and did every thing in his power to keep Kentucky out of the rebellion, de- Iivering many able speeches over the State, and other- wise using his influence to that end. Throughout the struggle, he was an ardent Union man. When the war was over, he was in favor of burying the past, and build- ing up and uniting the unfriendly and distracted country. In 1867, he was the candidate of the third, or Conserva- tive, party for Governor. The contest, although a hope- Iess one from the outset to his faction, was designed to be of ultimate benefit to the State, in the work of peace and reconstruction. Judge Kinkead is one of the ablest lawyers in the State, and one of the most consci- entious and upright men. He was brought up in the Presbyterian Church, and has been, for many years, an officer in that Church.

ART, CAPT. NATHANIEL G. T., Lawyer and Merchant, was born in Hagerstown, Mary- land, and brought, while a boy, by his father, Col. Thomas Hart, to Lexington, Kentucky. He studied law, and practiced his profession for several years at Lexington; but finally aban- doned the law for mercantile pursuits. In 1812, hc com- manded the "Lexington Light Infantry," with which he entered the service of the country; served a part of the Winter campaign of that year as a staff officer; com- manded his company at the battle of Frenchtown, on the river Raisin, January 22, 1813; was wounded and taken prisoner, and was murdered during the subsequent massacre. In honor of him, Hart County was named. Capt. Hart left a wife, who was Miss Ann Gist. She died shortly after his own tragic death. Their son, Henry Clay Hart, was long a resident of Paris, Kentucky.

OSS, COL. JAMES W., Trader and Soldier, was born in October, 1822, at Greensburg, Greene County, Kentucky, and was the son of Captain Thomas Moss, an officer in the war of 1812. His mother was a sister of Judge E. Bullock, lately of Hickman County. He was well educated, and early engaged in trading. He raised a company for the Mexican War, and served in McKee's regiment, his company taking the first position in that regiment ; madc a fine reputation during that war, and fought gallantly at Buena Vista. After the close of hostilities, he continued trading in stock and produce with the South, and accumulated a considerable fortune,

and for several years had made his home at Columbus. He was one of the first to make a move for the estab- lishment of Camp Boone, in Tennessee, designed as a rendezvous for Confederate troops from Kentucky. He organized Company A, and became its captain, in the Second Regiment; fought and was captured at Fort Donelson; afterwards commanded the right wing of his regiment at Hartsville; was promoted major in December, 1862; was engaged at Murfreesboro, Jackson, and Chick- amauga; was promoted lieutenant-colonel in September, 1863; was made colonel in the following month; was wounded and captured at Jonesboro, August 31, 1864; had his arm amputated, and died while a prisoner in the hands of the Federal troops, at Marietta, Georgia. He was a man of stern and quict habits; possessed fine military ability ; was brave to the last extent; and was a man of many admirable qualities.

ELCH, JOHN C., A. M., M. D., Physician and Surgeon, was born July 3, 1823, in Jessamine County, Kentucky, and is the third son of John and Elizabeth J. Welch. His parents were both natives of Virginia, and his father was a worthy and enterprising farmer of Jessa- mine County, where he died, at a good old age, in 1842. His grandfather, John Welch, was a native of Ireland ; came to this country before the Revolution, and was a soldier in that war, soon after which he came to Kentucky, and settled in Lincoln County ; but, in 1784, removed to Jessamine County, locating on a farm near Nicholasville-this old homestead of the family, where Dr. Welch was born, now being owned by one of his relatives. His mother was a near relative of the distinguished Presbyterian clergyman, Rev. L. N. Rice ; and her father, Samuel Rice, was also one of the pi- oneers of Jessamine County, in this State. Dr. Welch is eminently a self-made man. In his early youth he had, by his own unaided efforts, acquired a sufficient knowledge of the Greek and Latin languages to ena- ble him at once to enter the Junior Class of old Transyl- vania University, then under the presidency of the cele- brated Bishop Bascom. While in the University, his remarkable quickness of apprehension was displayed to an extraordinary degree, enabling him, intuitively as it were, to master points in his studies at a glance, or with the aid of a single brief explanation from a prc- ceptor, which required hours, if not days, of close appli- cation on the part of most of his fellow-students. It was the earnest desirc of the mother of Dr. Welch, who was a lady of great grace of character, that he should educate himself for the ministry. He gradu- ated in the collegiate department of Transylvania Uni- versity, September 5, 1844, receiving his degree of

194

BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPÆDIA.

Bachelor of Arts. Being endowed by nature with an excellent understanding, and enjoying the advantages of a classical education, united with a self-reliant will and a genial disposition, and a heart full of sym- pathy for suffering humanity, the bent of his mind early turned to the study of the medical profession. He began his medical studies at Nicholasville, under Dr. Wm. Johnston, now a prominent physician of St. Louis; attended lectures at the Louisville Medical School, and also in the medical department of Transyl- vania University ; and graduated at the latter institution, March 6, 1846. He also received the degree of M. A., conferred September 1, 1848. He, immediately after his graduation in the medical school, commenced the practice of his profession in his native county. His great success at once gained him a reputation for med- ical skill, and in due time secured for him an extensive practice. For over thirty-one years he has been actively engaged in his profession, at Nicholasville ; besides es- tablishing a large and valuable practice, has been greatly instrumental in maintaining a high standard of profes- sional excellence in his community; has contributed largely to the medical literature of the day; and has deservedly taken a front position in the medical profes- sion of Central Kentucky. In 1861, after the civil war had commenced in earnest, he entered the National army, as surgeon of the Twentieth Kentucky Federal Volunteer Infantry, and, from 1863 to the close of the war, was Brigade Surgeon. He participated in the great battle of Shiloh, and in Sherman's battles, from Dalton to Atlanta; also, numerous lesser engagements, including those at Lebanon and Perryville, Kentucky. He has always been a Democrat in politics; and cast his first Presidential vote for James K. Polk, and his last, before the war, for Stephen A. Douglas, warmly advocating the claims of Mr. Douglas, and earnestly opposing secession. During 1859, 1860, and 1861, he was editor of the "Nicholasville Democrat," and es- tablished for himself the reputation of a versatile and able literary and political writer. He is prominently identified with several popular social organizations, and has been for many years a distinguished member of the Odd-fellows. The second time he attended the Grand Encampment, at Louisville, in 1867, he was unanimously elected G. H. P. In October, 1869, he was elected G. P .; and during his administration more subordinate en- campments were added to that branch of the order than in any previous decade. He was also chosen, in Octo- ber, 1874, G. M. of the order, without opposition-the second time such an occurrence ever happened since the order was introduced in Kentucky, in 1833; and was the editor of the Kentucky department in "The Odd- fellows' Companion " for eight consecutive years. Few men have done more in defense of Odd-fellowship in Kentucky, with both pen and tongue, than Dr. Welch.

He is also a Mason of high standing. He is now Com- mon-school Commissioner of Jessamine County, and is the first man that has ever held the office who has visited all the district schools, and caused the erection of good and substantial school-houses in the various school dis- tricts. He was elected a member of the Legislature, August 6, 1877, and will doubtless make himself felt there, as he has done in other positions of life. In boy- hood, he was connected with the Methodist Church, and has preserved that relation unbroken ever since. Few men in his part of the State have done more to raise the standard of medical education. He was chiefly instru- mental in procuring the passage of a law, in the Kentucky Legislature of 1874, preventing the medical profession from being overrun by the great impositions of uneducated quacks and pretenders. He is a man of exceptional per- sonal, social, and professional habits; has been a hard worker, a close student, and an extensive reader; while wedded to his profession, has been greatly devoted to the general interests of the community ; is a man of fine personal bearing and influence, of high professional honor, and of irreproachable integrity of character; and is greatly respected and honored by all who have the pleasure of his acquaintance. He is a brother of Rev. Thomas R. Welch, D. D., a Presbyterian preacher of high standing, of Little Rock, Arkansas; also, of Col. Wm. R. Welch, one of the ablest lawyers of Carlin- ville, Illinois; and of the late James A. Welch, who died in 1850, and who was postinaster of Nicholasville during the administration of Mr. Polk. Dr. Welch has been twice married: on June 1, 1847, to Miss Susan McBrayer, of Jessamine County, who died, July 27, 1855, leaving four children; and, May 22, 1857, to Miss Mary E. Downing, of Mercer County, Kentucky, and daugh- ter of Armistead Downing, a farmer of that county.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

The Biographical encyclopaedia of Kentucky of the dead and living men of the nineteenth century, Part 33

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