The Biographical encyclopaedia of Kentucky of the dead and living men of the nineteenth century, Part 42

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

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and faculties which mark the popular and successful member of society. Mr. Smith was married, in 1852, to Miss Sue Helm, daughter of William S. Helm, of Henry County, Kentucky.

ETER, PROF. ROBERT, M. D., Chemist and Physician, son of Robert and Johanna (Dawe) Peter, was born January 21, 1805, in Laun- ceston, County of Cornwall, England; emi- grated to this country, with his father, in 1821; first settled in Baltimore; afterwards removed to Pittsburg; there learned the business of druggist and apothecary; developed great natural taste for chemical studies. During this period, he read and applied him- self with great assiduity; established a botanical soci- ety ; began to use his pen extensively ; read lectures on natural science before the Pittsburg Philosophical So- ciety ; was a member of the Philological Institute of that city ; in 1828, attended the course on the natural sci- ences, in the Rensselaer Scientific Institute, at Troy, New York; by special invitation, during the Winter of 1830, delivered chemical lectures at Mechanics' Insti- tute, Pittsburg, also in the Western University of Penn- sylvania, in that city, and taught private classes in chemistry; in 1832, was invited to deliver a course of lectures in the Eclectic Institute, at Lexington, Ken- tucky ; soon after his arrival in Lexington, was elected Professor of Chemistry in the Morrison College of Tran- sylvania University ; in 1834, received the degree of M. D. from Transylvania ; in the same year, began the practice of medicine in Lexington, associated with Dr. L. P. Yandell, then a professor in Transylvania Uni- versity ; soon abandoned the medical practice, and de- voted himself wholly to the practice of chemistry, and to his duties as teacher in this branch of science in the col- lege ; in 1838, was chosen Professor of Chemistry and Pharmacy in the Medical Department of Transylvania University ; filled the position with great distinction, uninterruptedly, until the opening of the civil war closed the institution ; went to Europe, in 1839, in con- nection with Prof. James M. Bush, to make additions to the library, museum, and apparatus of the medical de- partment of the University ; assisted in establishing the Kentucky School of Medicine at Louisville, in 1850, and resigned after serving for three ycars as one of its pro- fessors ; from 1854 until the outbreak of the civil war, had charge of the chemical branch of the State Geolog- ical Survey; doing the greater part of the chemical work, and making over a thousand analyses, and supply- ing nearly two thousand pages of the official reports, su- perintending the publication of the whole; aided, in 1860, in the survey of Arkansas, making several hundred analyses of soils, ores, etc., and furnishing over four hundred pages

of report; also assisted in the recent geological surveys in Indiana; from 1861 to 1865, was Surgeon in the Government Military Hospital at Lexington, much of the time being senior surgeon in charge; at the close of the war, when Transylvania was revived and merged into the Kentucky University, he was appointed to the Chair of Chemistry and Experimental Philosophy, which position he still occupies, with his accustomed ability; on the renewal of the State Geological Society, in 1873, under Prof. N. S. Shaler, he again undertook the chem- ical work, in which he is yet engaged; and one hundred and seventy-nine pages of volume one, new series, of Re- ports of Kentucky Geological Survey, published in 1875, contain his report of numerous additional analyses, per- formed by him, assisted by Mr. John H. Talbutt; in volume two, new series, of Kentucky Geological Survey, published in Frankfort, in 1877, are found his report of the work done in his laboratory during the survey, also a report on the "Chemistry of the Ashes of the Hemp and Buckwheat Plants," etc. He has now in prepara -. tion a "History of Transylvania University," and has, for nearly half a century, used his pen almost inces- santly, contributing largely to "Transylvania Journal of Medicine," the " Western Lancet," and various literary and scientific journals. His life has been wonderfully active, and in that way looking most to the advance- ment and benefit of his fellow-men; having this aim in life, and being passionately devoted to his profession, has labored indefatigably since early manhood, and now, at his advanced age, keeps the harness on with the great earnestness and skill of his earlier days. He is not only the first chemist of his adopted State, but also onc of the most distinguished who has ever lived in America. Prof. Peter has resided in Lexington, or on his farm, a few miles from that city, since 1832; and there, on Oc- tober 5, 1835, was married to Miss Frances Paca Dallam, eldest daughter of the late Major William Smith Dal- lam and his wife, Letitia Preston Dallam, nee Meredith. She is connected, on her father's side, with the Paca and Smith familics of Maryland; and, on her mother's, with the Breckinridges, Prestons, and Merediths; her grandfather, Col. Samuel Meredith, was a near relative of Patrick Henry. They have had eleven children, nine of whom are now living.

ALDWIN, WILLIAM W., Agriculturist, Stock- breeder, and Trader, was born January 23, 1827, in Mason County, Kentucky. His father, Garrison Baldwin, emigrated from Virginia at an early day, and was a prominent farmer of Mason County. W. W. Baldwin was educated in the private schools of his native county. He has always lived on a farm, and is now one of the most ex-

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tensive farmers and mule traders of Mason County. He has been an extensive breeder of Short-horns, usually taking the premiums with his stock in the county fairs; and is the most prominent stock man, and the largest trader and feeder of mules in the county, maturing and selling four or five hundred mules every year. He has also engaged largely in the tobacco trade. In 1866, he leased the Calhoun Plow Factory, of Maysville, and car- ried it on successfully for ten years, trading chiefly with the South, and usually spending his Winters in New Orleans, in the interest of his factory. In 1858, he was nominated by the Whigs for Sheriff of the county, but declined to make the race; was nominated, by the Bell and Everett party, for the same office, in 1860, and was elected ; was re-elected in 1862, holding the position two terms; and, in 1871, was elected, by the Democrats, to the Lower House of the Legislature. He was originally identified with the Whig party. During the civil war, his sympathies were with the South, but he took no ac- tive part in the great conflict. He is one of the most active, successful, enterprising, liberal, public-spirited, and thorough-going business men of Mason County. He is a man of great physical strength and fine bearing. Mr. Baldwin was married, November 20, 1850, to Miss Martha A. Tabb, of Dover, Kentucky. They have six living children.

HADWICK, REV. JAMES S., D. D., was born in New York City, April 12, 1841, of English parents, who left England for America in 1840. His parents dying while he was very young, he was adopted by and found a Chris- tian home in the family of his uncle, Mr. John Chadwick, a merchant residing in the city of Paterson, New Jersey. To this uncle he is indebted for early ed- ucational opportunities, and for other favors which have contributed largely to his success in life. In addition to a common-school and thorough academic training, he subsequently graduated at the Garrett Biblical Institute, Evanston, Illinois. From 1854 to 1856, he served an apprenticeship in the printing business, and followed his trade until 1858, at which time he entered upon his studies for the work of the Christian ministry. In the Spring of 1849, he united with the Cross Street Meth- odist Episcopal Church, at Paterson, New Jersey. He has filled the various positions of class-leader, steward, and local preacher. He was licensed to preach the Gos- pel by the Quarterly Conference of the Methodist Epis- copal Church of Hackensack, New Jersey, July 24, 1859; Rev. Thomas McCarroll being presiding elder of the district, and Rev. G. II. Winans pastor of the Church. In October, 1861, Mr. Chadwick graduated from the Theological School at Evanston, Illinois, and immediately united with the Rock River Conference of

the Methodist Episcopal Church. He was ordained deacon at Rockford, Illinois, by Bishop Levi Scott, in September, 1863; and, in October, 1865, was ordained elder at Aurora, Illinois, by Bishop Edward Thomson. His first appointment was as City Missionary in Chicago, where he labored for two years. During his ministry in this city, he was married, October 20, 1862, to Miss Jennie E. Winans, daughter of Mr. Abner L. and Lu- cinda Winans, of Orange, New Jersey. In the Fall of 1863, he was appointed to the pastorate of the Third Street Methodist Episcopal Church, Rockford, Illinois, where he labored for three years. In October, 1866, he was transferred by. Bishop Clark to the Newark Conference, in New Jersey, and was stationed at Bethel Methodist Episcopal Church, Tottenville, Staten Island, remaining there two years and a half. His next charge was the Halsey Street Methodist Episcopal Church, New- ark, New Jersey, which he served for three years. In the Spring of 1872, he was transferred to the Kentucky Conference by Bishop Ames, and appointed to the pas- torate of Union Methodist Episcopal Church, Covington, Kentucky. After a successful ministry of three years at Covington, he was appointed to his present station- Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church, Louisville, Ken- tucky-where he labors with great success. He was elected by the Kentucky Conference, at its last session, a delegate to the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, which convened in Baltimore, Mary- land, in May, 1876. In June, 1876, he received the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity, from the Ohio Wesleyan University, located at Delaware, Ohio-one of the best institutions of the Church in the country. Dr. Chadwick is a member of the Masonic fraternity, a Good Templar, and a member of the Sons of Temperance. He has three daughters; the oldest being thirteen, and the youngest five years. A critic, in the Louisville "Courier-Journal," says of him: "His oratory is sim- ple and unstudied, yet very free. His sermons abound in imagery which readily appeals to the emotional na- ture of his audience. He seldom uses notes, and never confines himself to them with any closeness. He has a full, deep voice, which varies its tones in unison with the speaker's own emotions, and without any attempt at or- atory, in the accepted meaning of that term. In social life, Mr. Chadwick is affable and dignified, never forget- ting his ministerial character and calling; yet never in- truding it in any way of superiority, but conversing easily and frankly on the topics of the day. He is not exclu- sive in his sectarianism, but links his hands with every hand that longs to do good, wherever the 'doing' may come from, and whoever the 'good ' may reach. As a pastor, he is greatly beloved; while, as a preacher, he is popular with his entire denomination." He is a court- eous gentleman ; one of the first ministers in the Church; and a noble specimen of Christian manhood.

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ACKIE, GEORGE W., M. D., was born in Maryland, in 1786. Ile received a thorough and scholarly education; came to Kentucky in 1813, and settled at Augusta, Bracken County, where he practiced medicine for over forty years, and was one of the most successful and popular of all the early physicians of Eastern Kentucky. Some of the best physicians of the country were his students, and he was all his life a student himself. He was a man of remarkable habits, and was never known to stand on the street to discuss a subject of any kind. He gave his whole life to his profession and family. His professional skill was very great, and his sense of professional honor was of the most refined character. The ferry-boat on the Ohio river, at Augusta, was named George W. Mackie, as a slight testimonial to his many virtues and social worth. Dr. Mackie died at Augusta, where he had spent the best part of his life, in 1855. He was married, in 1816, to Miss Maria Sharpe, of Bracken County. His daughter, Eliza, was married to Hon. Thornton F. Marshall, of Augusta, Kentucky; and his son, Dr. William H. Mackie, is practicing medi- cine at Lake Village, Chicot County, Arkansas.

ULE, GEORGE R., Lawyer and Master Com- missioner of Pendleton County, was born April 27, 1837, at Falmouth, Kentucky. He is the youngest of the three children of Augustin E. and Frances B. (Colvin) Rule. His father was twenty years constable at Falmouth, and throughout his entire life was occupied in some public trust. He died in 1852. His grandfather, Wm. Rule, was a native of Nicholas County, Kentucky, as was his father also, and was a soldier in the war of 1812. His great-grandfather, Samuel Rule, emigrated from Ireland, and settled in Western Pennsylvania, where he married Sarah Robinson, and afterwards removed to Nicholas County, in this State. His mother was a native of Pen- dleton County, and daughter of Lewis Colvin, an early settler of that county from Virginia. George Robinson Rule, the subject of this sketch, remained on a farm until the age of eleven, and attended school some of the Winters during the time. From 1848 to 1856, he spent most of his time in school, at Pendleton Academy and Aspen Grove Seminary, where he acquired a good edu- cation. From the time of leaving school, until the opening of the war, he occupied his time in various pur- suits. In 1862, he entered the Confederate army, as a member of Company D, of Col. Henry L. Giltner's Fourth Kentucky Cavalry, and served until the close of the war. He participated in Humphrey Marshall's raid into this State; was with Longstreet at Knoxville, Bean's Station ; with Morgan at Cove Gap, and in his last raid

through Kentucky; and was in numerous lesser engage- ments in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia-in all as many as thirty or forty engagements. In Morgan's last Kentucky raid, he was captured, and confined eight months at Camp Douglas. When the war ended, he returned home, but soon after went to St. Louis, where he spent some time as a salesman; for a short time taught a country school, and was engaged in farming until 1867, when he returned to Falmouth, and began the study of the law, under the direction of Judge W. W. Ireland. In 1869, he was admitted to the bar, and, in the same year, entered upon the practice of his pro- fession at Falmouth. In the Spring of 1870, he, was appointed Master Commissioner in the Circuit Court, by Judge James O'Hara, and was made Master Commis- sioner in Chancery on the organization of the Chancery Court, in 1871. Mr. Rule was married, May 20, 1873, to Miss Emma Wilson, daughter of Dr. James Wilson, of Falmouth. He is a Democrat, although, at the elec- tion preceding the rebellion, he voted for Bell and Everett. Religiously, he is a Methodist; is a man of fine personal, professional, and social habits, and deserv- edly stands very high in the community for his sterling qualities of heart and mind.

OBERTS, WILLIAM BILLINGSLY, M. D., the only child of William Roberts and Susan (Cloud) Roberts, was born, in 1814, in the Dis- trict of Columbia. His father was a trader and farmer of Montgomery County, Maryland, and died there, about 1832. His mother was the widow of Abner Cloud, and daughter of Sampson Fram- mel, of Montgomery County, Maryland. The subject of this sketch was raised on the farm, and acquired a fair education in the private schools of the county. Before arriving at age, he had spent some time in reading med- icine. In 1832, he came to Kentucky, and three years afterwards he began the manufacture of rope and bag- ging at Lexington. For two years he continued in this business, still, at his leisure, reading medicine, with a view to ultimately entering the medical profession. In 1837, he went to farming in Fayette County, at which he engaged, chiefly, for eleven or twelve years. In 1848, he entered the medical department of Transylvania University, at Lexington, and, for the next two years, attended lectures, and studied under the direction of Dr. T. J. Lewis. In 1850, he entered upon his profes- sion at Independence, Kenton County, where he re- mained, in active and successful practice, for eight years. In 1858, he located near Falmouth, in Pendleton County. In 1861, after the war had been fairly inaugurated, he went to Missouri, and enlisted as a private in the Con- federate army, and served eighteen months; partici-

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pating in the battles of Pea Ridge, Lexington, and many lesser engagements; and, although enlisting as a private, he spent a great part of his time of service as a physician and surgeon. In 1863, he went to Texas, where he practiced his profession at Saline, until the Fall of 1865, when he returned to Kentucky, and lo- cated at Falmouth, where he has since resided, and estab- lished a large and valuable medical practice. He has never sought political preferment in any way, being wholly devoted to his profession, yet, for three years, he served as Justice of the Peace, in Kenton County. Politically, he is a Democrat, having voted for every Democratic Presidential candidate, beginning with Mar- tin Van Buren, up to the present time, and voted for J. C. Breckinridge, at the election preceding the war. For many years, he was Chairman of the Democratic Executive Committee of Pendleton County. He was raised in the Presbyterian Church, and his predilections, religiously, are in that direction. He is a man of decided and marked traits of character; of exceptional personal and professional habits; of known integrity, and great energy and industry. Dr. Roberts was mar- ried, in 1839, to Elizabeth Payne, daughter of Thos. Payne, a farmer of Woodford County, Kentucky. They have seven children.

OGAN, GENERAL BENJAMIN, was born in Augusta County, Virginia, of Irish parents ; and at the age of fourteen, by the death of his father, was left in charge of a large family ; and, after having provided well for his mother, and divided the estate, which was his according to the exist- ing laws of primogeniture, among his brothers, he mar- ried, and bought himself a farm on the Holston. He ac- companied Bouquet in his expedition against the Indians, and, in 1774, went out with Governor Dunmore in his ex- pedition to the North-west of Ohio; in 1775, came to Kentucky, and visited Lincoln County, where his fort was subsequently built ; in 1776, removed his family to Kentucky, leaving them for a time in the fort, at Har- rodsburg; in the following Spring, his family took up their residence at his station, where, May 20, 1777, they were invested by the Indians, and sustained one of the most hotly contested sieges in the early annals of the State. In the same year, at the head of a party of men, he defeated the Indians, in a short engagement, at Big Flat Lick, near his station ; in 1779, he was second in command, under Colonel Bowman, in the expedition against the Indian town of Chillicothe, in which, as usual, he distinguished himself for his great bravery, although the expedition was to some extent a failure; in 1782, he marched with a considerable force in pursuit of the Indians, designing to unite with the troops at the

Blue Licks, which he reached the day after the fatal battle, and, having buried the dead, disbanded his men and returned home. In the Summer of 1788, he con- ducted an expedition against the North-western tribes ; and, after laying waste their country, resumed the quiet pursuits of his farm, in Shelby County, from that time taking an active part in the civil and political contests of the country. He was a member of the Convention of 1792, which framed the first Constitution of the State, and also represented his county of Shelby in the second Constitutional Convention, held in 1799, and was several times elected to the Legislature. He was one of the most able and useful men who lived in Kentucky, in his day. From boyhood, he exhibited a taste for military life, and was one of the most patriotic and brave among the pioneer soldiers of the country. He died at an ad- vanced age, every-where honored and respected. Hon. W. Logan, twice Associate Judge of the Court of Ap- peals, was his son.

HINKLE, AMOS, was born August 11, 1818, in Brown County, Ohio, and is the son of Peter and Sarah ( Day) Shinkle. His father moved from Pennsylvania, and settled in Ohio, in 1795, and raiscd nine children, six sons and four daughters, all of whom are now living. Amos Shinkle received a common-school education, and, with- out a dollar, at the age of eighteen, commenced life on a flat-boat in the Ohio river; met with some success, and began business as a dry-goods merchant, at Higgins- port, Ohio; after two years, failed; located in Coving- ton, Kentucky, and again began business on the river; in 1847, engaged largely in the coal trade; from time to time, bought or built various steamboats, and, at the time of abandoning personal operations on the river, owned eight or ten steamers; in 1865, founded the Champion Coal and Tow-boat Company ; was the prime mover in the organization of the First National Bank of Covington ; was made its President, and still holds that position ; in 1856, was elected a Director of the Covington and Cincinnati Bridge Company, and through his efforts, mainly, the magnificent bridge across the Ohio river was constructed; in 1864, he was elected President of that Company ; in the same year, was elected President of the Covington Gas-light Company ; has been for many years a member of the City Council; was for one or two years President of the Board of Education; has been Director of the Kenton Insurance Company ; has also been for several years Director in the Cincinnati Wesleyan Female College, serving as Chairman of the Board of Trustees; is a Trustee of the Board of the Frcedmen's Aid Society; is President of the Inter-state Sunday-school Encampment Association ; has been a prominent member of some of the social

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organizations; is a member of the Union Methodist Episcopal Church; has been for years Superintendent of its Sunday-school; in 1872 and 1876, was a member of the General Conference, and has been one of the most earnest, active, and valuable members of his Church. In politics, he is a Republican. He has been, to a great extent, identified with all the substantial in- terests of Covington ; has built thirty or forty houses in that city ; has accumulated a large fortune, and has freely used it in improving the city, and building up its charities ; and has been one of the most skillful, success- ful, public-spirited, and upright business men who have ever lived in Kenton County. Mr. Shinkle was mar- ried to Miss Sarah J. Hughes, an excellent lady of Hig- ginsport, Ohio, and has one son, Bradford Shinkle, who is an active, energetic, and successful business man of Cincinnati.

ASLETT, JOSEPH, SR., Manufacturer, was born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Sep- tember 10, 1820. His father, John Haslett, was a lead manufacturer of Alleghany City, Pennsylvania, and a brother of Mr. Haslett, of the well-known firm of Fahnestock, Haslett & Schwartz, of Pittsburg. Joseph Haslett was brought up in Alleghany City, and was at an early age put to work in the lead manufacturing business in that city, remain- ing in a subordinate position, as superintendent of sev- eral factories, until 1865. At that date he went to Louisville, Kentucky, and there, in connection with Mr. L. Leonard and other parties, established the Kentucky Lead and Oil Company, on Ninth, below Main Street, and soon a large business was developed. In 1876, the success of the establishment called for increased facili- ties, and a new White Lead Works, with all the modern improvements, was erected in the vicinity of the old one, and, for completeness of equipment, will compare favorably with any in its line in the country. Its ca- pacity is three thousand tons per annum. Mr. Haslett, in his religious and political views, is very liberal. Of a most charitable disposition, and devoid of all ostenta- tion, he has a true conception of the duty of man to man; ever ready to assist the unfortunate.

AMPBELL, HON. JOHN, after whom Camp- bell County was named, was a native of Ireland, and came to Kentucky at an early period. He received a grant of four thousand acres of land, from the State of Virginia, which was located immediately below Louisville, and he became one of the most wealthy land-owners of the State. He was a delegate, from Jefferson County, to the first Con-

stitutional Convention of Kentucky; and was chosen Senator, from that county, for the first State Legislature. He was a man of fine ability; exerted an extensive influence, had great force of mind, and fine personal appearance, but lacked culture of manners. He was never married, and his large estate fell to many heirs.

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The Biographical encyclopaedia of Kentucky of the dead and living men of the nineteenth century, Part 42

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