The Biographical encyclopaedia of Kentucky of the dead and living men of the nineteenth century, Part 5

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

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BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPÆDIA.

occasion; in 1833, was again elected to the Lower House of the Legislature; in 1834, was chosen Speaker; was again elected in the following year; in 1836, became Lieutenant-Governor, being elected to that office by the Whigs, and, on the death of Governor Clark, filled the gubernatorial chair from October 5, 1839, until Septem- ber, 1840; was Postmaster-General of the United States, under President Tyler, from the Fall of 1841 until the Spring of 1845; in the latter year was sent on a secret mis- sion to Texas, by President Polk; was a member of the last Constitutional Convention of Kentucky, in 1849; in 1861, was a member of the Peace Conference, at Wash- ington City; was again elected to Congress, serving from 1861 to 1863, and in the latter year made the race as the Democratic candidate for Governor, but was defeated by Thomas E. Bramlette. He was an active member of the Presbyterian Church, and, in 1866, was a Commissioner from the Presbytery of Louisville to the General Assembly at St. Louis; during his last term of Congress, he was seriously crippled by a fall from his carriage, and was also blind toward the closing part of his life. He was one of the most noted, able, and influential men of Kentucky. Governor Wickliffe died October 31, 1869, at the residence of his son-in-law, Howard County, Maryland.

PPERSON, JUDGE. RICHARD, JR., Lawyer, was born September 20, 1829, in Madison County, Kentucky. His father, Richard Ap- person, was a native of New Kent County, Virginia, and was born about 1799. He studied law, and became one of the leading members of his profession in Central Kentucky. Was first elected to the Legislature from Montgomery County, in 1838, and was again elected, in 1843. He was a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1849, which framed the present Constitution of Kentucky, and, after a useful life, died in 1864. Richard Apperson, Jr., began his education at Mt. Sterling, where his father located when he was quite young, and completed it in a three years' course of study at Centre College, Danville, Kentucky. He studied law under the direction of his father; was ad- mitted to the bar, and began practice at Covington, Ken- tucky. He soon afterwards returned to Mt. Sterling, where he has since resided, actively engaged in the prac- tice of his profession. In 1846, he entered the army, and served one year under General Taylor, in Mexico. In 1867, he was elected Circuit Judge of his district, and held the position six years. But he has usually avoided political contests of every kind, devoting his entire atten- tion to the duties of his profession, in which he has taken a high position at the bar and on the bench. He has been for a long time President of the Exchange Bank

of Kentucky, at Mt. Sterling, and is largely interested in the important affairs of his community. Judge Apper- son is associated with the Presbyterian Church, and is a man of exemplary Christian life; of undoubted integrity, broad and generous views, attractive manners; an able lawyer, and one of the most valuable and esteemed citi- zens of Montgomery County. He was married, Decem- ber 5, 1854, to Miss E. S. Taylor, of Jefferson County, Kentucky, grand-niece of Gen. Z. Taylor. They have five children.

ARLAN, HON. JAMES, Lawyer, was born June 22, 1800, in Mercer County, Kentucky. After receiving a good English education, he en- gaged in mercantile pursuits until reaching man- hood, when he studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1803. In 1829, he was appointed Commonwealth's Attorney, and held the office four years. In 1835, he was elected a Representative to Congress. Was re-elected in 1837, and during the last session was Chairman of the Committee for Investigating Defalca- tions. From 1840 until 1844, was Secretary of State under Governor Letcher. In 1845, was elected to the Lower House of the Kentucky Legislature, and, in 1850, was appointed Attorney-General of Kentucky, and held the position until his death, which occurred February 18, 1863, at Frankfort. He was a lawyer of great ability, and was one of the most worthy and successful members of his profession in the State. His son, General John M. Harlan, who served with distinction in the Federal army during the rebellion, and who is now a lawyer of Louisville, is one of the most distinguished and able men of Kentucky.

LACKBURN, HON. JOSEPH C. S., Lawyer, was born in Woodford County, Kentucky, Octo- ber 1, 1838. His ancestors were of Scotch-Irish extraction, but for several generations were resi- dents of Virginia, whence they emigrated, at an early day, to Kentucky. His father, E. M. Blackburn, became one of the most extensive farmers and raisers of thoroughbred stock in Woodford County, and was widely known and esteemed for his sterling qualities. He died at his homestead, shortly after the close of the war, at an advanced age, leaving a large family of descendants, the subject of this sketch being the youngest child. Having been reared on a farm, in such rural pursuits as engaged the country boy of that day, he was, at the age of fifteen, sent to the classical school of B. B. Sayre, at Frankfort, where he developed such proficiency as to enable him to graduate with honor at Centre College, in 1857. Selecting the law as his pro- fession, he studied under the direction of Judge George

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B. Kinkead, of Lexington, and, in 1858, entered upon the practice in Chicago. He returned, however, to his native county in 1860, and made his debut as a speaker in the Presidential canvass of that ycar, having stumped a number of counties of Central Kentucky as an assistant elector for Breckinridge and Lane. In 1861, he went South and espoused the Confederate cause, serving in the army as aid-de-camp to Gen. William Preston, until the Winter of 1864, when he was intrusted with an inde- pendent command in Mississippi, where he rendered effi- cient service until the close of the war. For two years after the surrender he resided in Arkansas, as lawyer and planter; but, in 1868, he returned to his native county, where he has since remained, engaged in farming and the practice of the law. In 1871, he was elected to repre- sent Woodford County in the Legislature, and was re- elected in 1873, achieving brilliant success as a legislator, both as a practical worker and as a skillful parliamentary leader. In 1874, he was nominated for Congress, by the Democracy of the Ashland District, to succeed Hon. James B. Beck, and, after a canvass notable for its activ- ity, he was elected by a majority of over six thousand over his competitor, Hon. E. C. Marshall; and, in 1876, being re-nominated without opposition, he was re-elected by an increased majority. Of his career in Congress it is not our purpose to speak, further than to say that, at its very threshold, he achieved a national reputation by his speech in the Belknap case, at its incipiency, and sustained it by the skill he exhibited as a temporary pre- siding officer of the House during a great part of Mr. Speaker Kerr's term, and by his bold speech upon the bill to establish the electoral commission. Mr. Black- burn possesses great power as a speaker, having fine com- mand of language, a pleasing and fluent delivery, a sin- gular clearness and directness in the statement of his propositions, and a peculiarly logical as well as magnetic force in convincing his hearers of their truth. As a popular orator, he is not excelled in a State which num- bers many in its list; while, as an advocate at the bar, his service is only limited by his political duties. He is prominent in many of the social organizations of the day, and is personally as popular in his intercourse with his fellow-men as he is officially prominent. In 1858, he was married to Therese, daughter of Dr. C. C. Graham, of Louisville, Kentucky, and has four children.

UDD, CAPTAIN JAMES, was born June 13, 1789, in Prince George County, Maryland. In 1796, his parents came to Kentucky and settled near Springfield in Washington County. They were members of the Catholic Church, and reared their children in that faith. James Rudd received a limited education, attending school only about

six months, under the father of the venerable Judge Henry Pirtle, and at an early age left his father's house and started in life for himself. He first apprenticed himself to the carpenter trade, in Nelson County, and in 1808 settled in Louisville, then a mere village. He be- lieved that Louisville would become a great city, and, acting on that opinion, he at once began to purchase real estate, and soon laid the foundation of his future success. He was the first Roman Catholic who resided in Louisville, and boldly maintained his religious opin- ions. In 1815 he raised a company of riflemen, and prepared to join General Jackson in Louisiana, but the news of the battle of New Orleans being received, his services were not required. He was a man of indus- trious habits, was always engaged; accumulated a con- siderable fortune; was never known to take advantage of any man's ignorance in a business transaction ; was distinguished for his uprightness of character, and be- sides taking charge of his own interests, which had be- come considerable by long persevering effort, he had the management of many large estates left to his care; was open-handed in his charities, never failing to befriend the needy or support any good cause in the community ; took a very active part in the affairs of the city, and, until the Know-Nothing party came into existence, was a Henry Clay Whig, and was elected by that party to the City Council; in 1831, represented Louisville in the Legislature, and was again elected to that body in 1840. During one term of his service in the Legislature, his brothers, Dr. Christopher Rudd, of Washington County, and Major Richard Rudd, of Nelson County, were also members of that body. He was a man of unyielding perseverance, and, although meeting on several occasions with great loss, both by fire and risks for friends, he never gave up, and was never discouraged, believing that by the proper exertion and means every obstacle could be overcome, and success be established on the ruins caused by misfortune. He was a member of the Louisville Council for over twenty-five years, and during that period did a vast amount of work for the improve- ment of the city, and probably few of its citizens ever did more; and so thoroughly was he established in the estimation of the people for his superior judgment and general worth of character, that he was elected a mem- ber from Louisville of the Convention of 1849, which framed the present Constitution of the State. He held to his opinions with great pertinacity, but never attempted to force them upon others. When the rebellion broke out, he sympathized strongly with the South, but took an active interest in the suffering and general welfare of the country. Capt. Rudd was married, in 1821, to Miss Nannie Phillips, only daughter of the late Thomas Phil- lips, of Jefferson County, Kentucky. She espoused his religion, and all of their children were educated in the Catholic. academies and colleges of the country. He

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died of heart disease, May 8, 1867. His widow and seven of their children, Sallie R., Dr. Richard H., James C., Charles P., John D., Anna, and Thomas S. Rudd, sur- vived him.

OORE, HON. LABAN T., Lawyer, son of Frederick and Pamelia (Vanhorne) Moore, was born January 13, 1829, in Cabell County, Vir- ginia. His father emigrated from Germany late in the eighteenth century, and settled in Penn- sylvania. In 1818, he removed to Cabell County, Virginia. He was one of the most prominent business men of his times. Late in life, he came to Kentucky, and died at the age of ninety-three. His mother is still living, at the age of eighty-three. The subject of this sketch received his education chiefly at Marietta, Ohio, and afterwards went to learn the tan- ner's trade, but, not finding that to his taste, he soon began the study of the law in the office of Rochester Beatty, of Washington, Mason County. After reading a year, he entered Transylvania University, at Lexing- ton. From Transylvania, he went into the office of Richard Apperson, of Mt. Sterling. In 1849, he was licensed to practice, and immediately opened his office at Louisa, Lawrence County. In 1857, he was can- didate of the Whig party for the Legislature, but was defeated by his advocacy of the establishment of a nor- mal school in connection with the public-school system of the State. In 1859, he was the Whig candidate for Congress, and was elected over Judge James W. Moore. He was therefore a member of the Lower House of Congress during the memorable period of secession, served on the same committee with Charles Francis Adams, and made his speech, on an "Undivided Coun- try," which elicited the highest compliments of the press of the day. At the expiration of his term, he was offered the re-nomination by all the counties of his district. This honor he declined, and W. H. Wads- worth became his successor. In 1861, he raised, and became Colonel of the Fourteenth Kentucky United States Infantry. He recruited this regiment because it was thought that he was the only man who could raise a regiment in that part of the State, and not at all with the design of remaining in the service, believing him- self unfit for military life. He soon resigned the col- onelcy of the regiment, and resumed his professional business. Although he has never since been a candi- date for political office, he has usually taken an active part in the political canvasses, and is now identified with the Democratic party. During the war he was a Union man. He has never voted for a successful Presi- dential candidate. Col. Moore is one of the most suc- cessful and popular lawyers of his district, and one of the ablest and most popular speakers in the State. He

has resided, for many years, at Catlettsburg, and been identified with all the leading interests of his section, both socially and professionally; and is, doubtless, in every sense, one of the most active, successful, and val- uable men in his part of the State. Col. Moore was married, January 15, 1850, to Miss Sarah E. Everett, daughter of Col. John Everett, of Virginia. They have five children, all daughters.

RVOR, HON. WILLIAM S., Lawyer, and Judge of the Court of Appeals, was born in Henry County, near New Castle, Kentucky, April 1, 1825. His father, Samuel Pryor, was a farmer, and at one time Sheriff of that county, and also held other honorable and profitable positions; and was a branch of the extensive and in- fluential family of that name in Virginia and Kentucky. Among the early settlers of the State from Virginia, were the Samuel family, and to this belonged his mother, Nancy Samuel, daughter of William Samuel, a prominent farmer and politician of Henry County. His maternal grandmother was daughter of William Mar- shall, a member of the old Marshall family of the State, and relative of Chief-Justice Marshall. The subject of this sketch received a fine education in the private schools of the country, and, in 1843, commenced the study of the law, in the office of his uncle, Judge James Pryor, of Covington, and, in the following year, at about the age of twenty, was admitted to the bar; a special act of the Legislature enabling him to contract, practice, etc. In 1845, he opened his office in New Castle, and at once began his successful professional career, among such lawyers as Humphrey Marshall, Monroe, McHenry, Thomas Wilson, and William J. Graves. His practice soon embraced some of the most important causes before the courts, involving large in- terests, with great profit to himself; and, while yet a youth, was sought by litigants in all the surrounding country. He early developed the qualities of a popular leader, as well as the characteristics of a lawyer of more than ordinary ability; and his success and popularity surprised and dazzled his friends. He stood high at the bar, and his opinion, even in the early days of his professional career, was esteemed equal to that of the old savants in the law; and his fine bearing, great earnestness, and force of manner, gave him an almost irresistible influence over a jury. At this time, hardly approaching the meridian of his popularity and practice, he came to the Circuit Bench and disappeared from the splendid contests of the courts. In 1868, he was elected to the Judgeship of the Circuit Court of the Eleventh District; and was appointed in 1871, by Gov. Leslie, to fill a vacancy on the Appellate Bench, caused by the

BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA.

death of Chief-Justice Robertson. He remained Chief of that Court until the election in the Fall of 1872, when he was elected by the people to the same court, which position he now holds. Judge Pryor has always been a farmer, and in this, as in his professional career, he has been very successful. He owns some of the finest lands in the county, in the highest state of improvement; has been an extensive dealer in stock, and is now President of the Eminence Agricultural Association. Although not, probably, strictly speaking, a politician, yet owing to his great popularity, he largely molds the political sentiments of the community; and, notwithstanding his being thus surrounded by friends ready to prefer him to any position, he is, doubtlessly, without political aspira- tions. Not belonging to any Church, he is an earnest supporter of Churches, and a staunch advocate of mor- ality; connected with no charitable or social organiza- tion, he is a dispenser of charity without stint or osten- tation, and the friend and patron of every worthy social movement; a man of fine morals, open-handed benevo- lence, and great breadth of charity. He is yet in the prime of life, standing over six feet in height, and weighing over two hundred pounds-a man of magnifi- cent physique, commanding respect every-where, and in every way exhibiting those characteristics which would give him weight before any tribunal, and show him equal to any occasion. He is passionately devoted to the law, and will, doubtless, return to its practice with his usual spirit and success, at the close of his long offi- cial term. Judge Pryor has been twice married; first, to Miss Mary C. Brinker, February 8, 1848. By this marriage he had two children, one of whom is the wife of David Castleman, a farmer near New Castle. He was married to Miss Apphia Beazley, January 31, 1856. They have eight living children.

ILLARD, RYLAND THOMPSON, D. D., Minister of the United Baptist Church, was born in Carolina County, Virginia, November 17, 1797, and is descended from English and French ancestry. His education was obtained in the country schools, and in Rappahannock Academy, at Port Royal. At the age of twenty-one, he came to Kentucky and located at Winchester, where he studied law with Hubbard Taylor, Jr., and commenced practice, in 1821, with Hon. Richard French, of that town. But, after four years' successful practice, he left the law, and, in 1825, became a minister of the Baptist Church. At East Hickman Church, near Lexington, he preached forty-seven years; and, during that period, to David's Fork Church, for over thirty years. During the greater part of his ministry these two Churches had a membership of one thousand. IIe has baptized at least

four thousand people, and married eight hundred and seventy-three couples. He was, for many years, Mod- erator of the Elkhorn Baptist Association, the first estab- lished in that Church in the West; was prominent in all the movements of that Church in the State; was Trustee of the Baptist School, at Covington; many years Trustee of the college, at Georgetown; and was delegate at the Bardstown Convention, where the General Association of Kentucky Baptists was formed, in 1839. In 1842, he was appointed by Gov. Letcher as Superintendent of Public Instruction for the State, and was again appointed by Gov. Owsley, and held the position for six consecu- tive years. He was preceded in this office by Bishop Smith, of the Episcopal Church, and followed by the Rev. J. J. Bullock. During the greater part of his long ministerial life, Dr. Dillard carried on an extensive farm in Fayette County, and was largely engaged in import- ing and raising fine cattle. He made a trip to England in connection with his stock interests, and from his farm came some of the finest cattle of the State. He is one of the few remaining soldiers of the war of 1812, and was politically a Whig; after the breaking out of the rebellion, was Union "to the hub," and is now a Republican. Dr. Dillard was a successful farmer and breeder of fine stock, and in these pursuits accumulated a fortune. He commenced life as a lawyer, and became a popular preacher and educator; a man of sterling qualities, who has lived a long, active life, of which he has given by far the greater share to the good of his fellow-men. Since the death of his wife, in 1873, he has resided with his son-in-law, Dr. Pratt. In 1820, Dr. Dillard was married to Pamelia A. Dudley, daughter of Capt. William E. Dudley, and granddaughter of Elder Ambrose Dudley. They had nine children, of whom five are now living: Dr. William Dillard, of Chicago; Dr. John Dillard, of Fayette County, Kentucky; James .M. Dillard, a farmer, of Kansas; Mary E. is wife of Rcv. Dr. William M. Pratt, of Shelbyville, Kentucky; and Almira is wife of Rev. George O. Yeiser, of Nebraska.

ARLISLE, HON. JOHN GRIFFIN, Lawyer, was born September 5, 1835, in Kenton County, Kentucky. He received a good education ; studied law with Hon. John W. Stevenson and Judge Wm. B. Kinkaid, and began the practice of his profession, in 1857, in partner- ship with Judge Kinkaid; was elected to the Legislature in 1859; remained quiet during the civil war; in 1865, made a race for the State Senate, but was beaten, by Mr. Benton, at the polls; in the following Spring the Legislature declared the scat vacant; to which he was then elected; was re-elected in 1869 ; resigned, in 1871, to become Democratic candidate for Lieutenant-Gover-

BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPÆDIA.

nor of the State; was elected to that position in August of that year, serving the regular term; in 1876, he was elected to represent his district in Congress, and is now serving in that capacity. Mr. Carlisle resides at Cov- ington, and has taken a position among the first and most brilliant lawyers of Kentucky. He is exceedingly popular throughout the State, few men of his age having received such continuous display of popular favor. He is thoroughly posted in all the great political questions of the day, and, springing himself from the people, and being a representative of the great conservative, Demo- cratic interests of the West and South, he is not only able to handle the questions of the new era in the coun- try's history, but few men, either by natural endowments or education and training, are better able to advocate the people's interests in the halls of Congress, or in the public contests of the times. The Kentucky lawyer, probably more than the member of his profession in other States, is necessarily a politician, and, consequently, educated to the wants of the people, by his appearance in popular assemblies, and the discussion of every ques- tion of interest with rival candidates. Thus it was that the Clays, Breckinridges, Wickliffes, Popes, Marshalls, Rowans, and others, became master spirits in Congress, and leaders of the people. Mr. Carlisle is peculiarly endowed with admirable popular traits, and the elements of leadership which characterized many of the distin- guished men who figured prominently in the past history of his section. As a lawyer, he is very successful ; his style, simple, plain, direct, and distinct; he bears him- self with great honor before a jury, or in the affairs of the court; possesses great power in explaining general principles of law, often rising, with the occasion, into the region of sentiment and eloquence; is skilled in the use of sarcasm and ridicule, weapons that especially serve him in the public assembly ; and, above all, is far- reaching, broad, and magnanimous in his views, and is, altogether, one of the most able and valuable men of his State.

'RY, JOSHUA, was born in Virginia, in 1760. His father, Col. Fry, commanded the Virginia troops in the early Colonial war. Joshua Fry served as a common soldier in the war of the Revolution. He received a thorough classical education, inherited a large estate, and in 1788 settled in Mercer County, Kentucky, with his family, where he subsequently organized a school, which he car- ried on for several years, and became one of the most distinguished among the early teachers of Kentucky, many of the first men of the State receiving their early training under him. He gave his attention also largely to all matters pertaining to the improvement of the new country, and was one of its most worthy and wealthy

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The Biographical encyclopaedia of Kentucky of the dead and living men of the nineteenth century, Part 5

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