The Biographical encyclopaedia of Kentucky of the dead and living men of the nineteenth century, Part 50

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

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town of Ashland. In 1843, he was elected to represent Adams County in the Ohio Legislature, and served one term. In politics, he was identified with the Whig party ; during the rebellion, was a staunch friend of the cause of the Union, and is now a Republican. Since his removal to Kentucky, although deeply interested in all questions of importance to the State and country, he has taken little part in political movements. Since 1856, he has resided in Ashland, Kentucky. In person, he is tall and slender, and of admirable bearing; has read a great deal, and kept himself fully up in the best literature of the times; is a man of mild, unobstrusive manners and refined taste ; is exceptional in his habits, of undeniable integrity and great purity of life, and is one of the suc- cessful and valuable men of the country. Mr. Means was married, in 1840, to Miss Esther Ellison, of Adams County, Ohio. She died at Catlettsburg, in 1851. From this marriage he has no surviving children. In 1853, he was married to Miss Amanda Wilson, of Catlettsburg, Kentucky, formerly of West Union, Ohio. They have four living children.

OKE, HON. WILLIAM B., Lawyer and Judge, son of Cornelius Hoke and his wife, Jane Dun- bar, was born August 1, 1837. His father was of German descent, was a farmer by occupation, a progressive man, and knew the value of educat- ing his children, consisting of three sons and four daughters. His mother was a woman of fine in- tellectual endowments, and of Scotch-Irish parentage. Both of his parents were natives of Kentucky. Judge Hoke spent the early part of his life on the farm, and in the schools of the country. But, displaying a taste for literary pursuits, he was sent to college, where he remained three years. Being impatient to commence the study of the law, his chosen pursuit, he entered the law office of Hon. James Speed ; attended lectures in the Law School of the Louisville University; graduated as valedictorian of his class; and was admitted to the bar, in Louisville, before reaching the age of twenty- one. He began the practice of his profession in the office of S. S. English, one of the old leading members of the Louisville bar. He rose rapidly to public favor in his profession, and, in August, 1866, was elected Judge of the Jefferson County Court, filling the posi- tion with distinguished ability ; in 1870, was re-elected without opposition ; in 1874, he again made the race, and was elected by a very large majority, and still holds the position. He is a man of fine judgment, of great strength of memory, with a superior faculty for making his knowledge available on any emergency ; and is justly regarded, not only as one of the first lawyers, but as one of the most clear-headed, upright, and able judges of the State. He is a fine writer, and is a clear, forcible, and

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Hugh Means.

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able speaker; his bench decisions are rarely reversed ; gives the greatest interest to the minutest details in his court ; and is universally admired for his official court- esy, dignity, and conscientious exactness. In politics, he is a Democrat, and was twice nominated by his party for the Legislature, but declined to make the race. His name has also been frequently mentioned in connec- tion with Congressional honors, but his partiality for his profession has induced him to decline political prefer- ment, while still warmly attached to the principles of his party. In 1859, Judge Hoke was married to the ac- complished Miss Whartie English, second daughter of S. S. English, member of a family distinguished in the history of the country, and he himself occupies a promi- nent place in the legal profession and community.

UDLEY, MAURICE J., Lawyer, was born May II, 1825, in Fayette County, near Lexington, Kentucky, and is the son of Gen. James Dud- ley, a brother of the celebrated Dr. B. W. Dudley, and of Elder Thomas P. Dudley, the oldest living member of the Dudley family in the State, and one of the oldest and most noted minis- ters of the Gospel. (For many particulars of the Dud- ley family, see sketches of Ambrose W., Thomas P., and Benjamin W. Dudley, etc.) Maurice J. Dudley was edu- cated, in part, at the old Cincinnati College, and grad- uated at Georgetown College, Kentucky. He studied law under Gov. James F. Robinson, and graduated in the law department of Transylvania University, in 1847. In the following year, he began the practice of his pro- fession at Covington, where he has since resided. He was elected several times to the office of City Attor- ney of Covington, but never aspired to political promi- nence, although often requested so to do, devoting his time and energies mainly to the duties of his profession. At the organization of the Louisville, Cincinnati, and Lexington Railroad Company, he was selected their at- torney; had entire charge in securing the right of way ; and superintended the construction of the. eastern divis- ion of the Short-line Road, and has subsequently had control of the Company's legal business in various coun- ties on the road. His familiarity with railroad interests, and laws concerning the same, has secured for him a large practice in connection with other roads. He de- votes his attention chiefly to commercial causes, and other eivil business, seldom appearing in the criminal courts; and is one of the most substantial, able, and re- liable members of the Covington bar. He has always taken a deep interest in educational matters; devoting considerable time to literary pursuits ; often delivering lectures and orations before literary organizations. He has long been a prominent Mason; is a man of large and

liberal views; is broad in his charities; is free and un- assuming in manners; and is one of the most worthy and valuable men in the community of his residence.

ILLS, HON. BENJAMIN, Lawyer and Judge, was born January 12, 1779, in Worcester County, Maryland. When quite young, his father emigrated to Pennsylvania, where he was educated and studied medicine. While still a youth, he was placed at the head of Washington Academy, which afterwards became Wash- ington College, Pennsylvania. After his father emi- grated to Kentucky, he abandoned the study of medi- cine for that of law, and, in 1806, commenced his law practice in Paris, Kentucky. He soon obtained a large and lucrative practice; was elected to the Legislature, from Bourbon County, for several years; in 1816, he made a race for the United States Senate, but was de- feated by Judge Talbot ; in the following year became Judge of the Montgomery Circuit; and, in 1818, was transferred to Fayette Circuit, by request of the bar of Fayette. In 1820, he was appointed to a seat on the Ap- pellate bench, filling the position with ability and dig- nity, and retiring, with great credit and honor, in 1828. He soon after removed to Frankfort, where he engaged, with distinction, in the practice of his profession. He was a clear and forcible public speaker, without being an orator; was, undoubtedly, an able lawyer, and rose to eminence at the bar; and, although kind and courteous in his relations with men, he aimed in his life to com- mand their respect by inflexible integrity, rather than by winning their affections. Judge Mills died suddenly, at Frankfort, December 6, 1831.

RCHIBALD, REV. GEORGE D., D. D., was born February 15, 1820, in Washington County, Pennsylvania. His parents were of Scotch- Irish descent. He began his education in the Frankfort Academy, in Beaver County, Penn- sylvania ; afterwards attended Western Univer- sity, at Pittsburg; entered Jefferson College in 1844, from which he graduated in 1847; studied theology in the Associate Reformed Theological Seminary, Alle- ghany City ; was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of Monongahela, of the Associate Reformed Church, in 1849; became first pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Manchester, now part of Alleghany City, in 1850; was called to the pastorate of the First Associate Re- formed, now United Presbyterian, Church, Cincinnati, in 1855; having connected himself with the General Assem- bly of the Presbyterian Church, in 1861, became pastor

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of the First Presbyterian Church, Madison, Indiana; re- maining until 1866, when he accepted a call from the Westminster Church; in 1866, he became President of Hanover College, Indiana; in 1870, was elected, by the General Assembly, to the Chair of Homiletics, Polity, and Pastoral Theology, in Danville Theological Semi- nary, Kentucky; afterwards, owing to some temporary difficulties in the institution, was, for one year, Presi- dent of Wilson College, Chambersburg, Pennsylvania ; and then returned to Danville Theological Seminary, having been elected to the same chair as before, and now fills that position.

ANGSTAFF, GEORGE, Lumber Dealer, was born April 13, 1837, in Mount Holly, New Jersey. His father, James Langstaff, was a native of Scotland; and came to this country at an early period, settling in New Jersey. George Langstaff enjoyed a thorough education, having passed through the best schools of his home, and then entered Princeton College, one of the leading institutions of learning in the country. After graduating at this college, he decided to leave his native State. He located at Paducah, Kentucky, and became engaged, with his brother, in the lumber business, then one of the most flourishing industries of the West. He con- tinued in this trade for some time, under the firm name of G. & S. H. Langstaff, when, being desirous of ob- taining a knowledge of the laws of the State, he attended a course of lectures at the Louisville Law School, and, after graduating at that institution, resumed his former avocation. In 1857, John Orm, a gentleman of great mechanical genius, and well versed in every department of the lumber business, was admitted to this firm as a partner, the name being changed to Langstaff, Orm & Co. This addition proved a most beneficial one to the firm; for this gentleman, possessing inventive abilities of a high order, devised numerous important improvements in the machinery of the mill, thus enlarg- ing its capacity for work, and placing it second to no establishment of its kind in the country. This mill, from the very moderate dimensions and capacities in which the present owners began business, has, by their enterprise and ability, been constantly increasing its facilities; and now the combined planing and saw mill of this firm forms the most extensive and complete con- cern of this kind to be found throughout the Western and Southern States. Mr. Langstaff was married, in 1851, to Miss Frances E. Smith, daughter of Richard Smith, of Louisville, Kentucky, and has one child: He was chosen to the Board of Councilmen of Paducah, in the year 1856, and held his seat for fourteen consecutive years. He is a member of the Episcopal Church ; and

sympathizes with all movements tending to elevate and improve his fellow-men. His commercial integrity is beyond reproach, and his actions are controlled by the most honorable motives. He possesses a disposition marked by absence of all prejudice, presumption, or ostentation. His qualities are such as have gained for him the unreserved friendship and respect of all with whom he has been associated.

ALL, PROF. JOHN WORTHAM, JR., was born July 16, 1830, in Gallatin, Sumner County, Tennessee, and is the eldest child of the Rev. John W. Hall, a distinguished minister of the Presbyterian Church, and long time President of Miami University, at Oxford, Ohio. (See sketch of Rev. John W. Hall.) His mother was Miss Catherine P. Thornton, of Paris, Kentucky, and niece of Judge Mills, of Frankfort. Prof. Hall graduated at Williams College, in 1851, under the administration of Rev. Mark Hopkins, one of the ablest educators of the present century. Immediately after his graduation, he commenced teaching in the High-school of Dayton, Ohio, where he continued for sixteen years, and, since that time, has been Principal of the High-school, Cov- ington, Kentucky. He is not only one of the first teachers and scholars of the West, but is also a geol- ogist of considerable notoriety ; is a prominent member of the Natural History Society of Cincinnati, and received a medal for the best collection of polished marbles; is a writer and speaker of uncommon elegance and beauty, and has already attained a position among the most learned men of the country. He is a member of the Presbyterian Church, takes an active interest in all educational and scientific movements of the day; is a man of exceptionally fine personal and social habits, and of admirable and attractive manners. Prof. Hall was married, in 1855, to Henrietta S. Green, of Dayton, Ohio.

CKEE, REV. JOHN LAPSLEY, Vice-President of Centre College, was born, February 16, 1827, in Garrard County, Kentucky, and is the son of James McKee, member of an old distin- guished family of that county. The Mckees originated in Scotland, subsequently many of them settled in Ireland, and, in about 1700, ten brothers came to America, settling in Pennsylvania; some of their descendants subsequently located in Virginia, and from them came the Garrard County family ; his grand- father, Col. Wm. McKee, being the first of the name to settle in this State. John L. McKee was educated at Centre College, graduating in the literary department

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in 1850, and in the Theological Seminary in 1854, under the presidency of Dr. Young. From 1849 to 1854, he was engaged in teaching in Boyle County; from 1855 to 1859, taught in Columbia, Kentucky; from 1859 to 1871, was pastor of the Chestnut Street Presbyterian Church of Louisville; and, since 1872, has been Vice- President of Centre College, and engaged as an evan- gelist in his Church. He is an accomplished scholar; has devoted his life largely to the cause of education, and is one of the most able and successful educators of his State, and is also one of the most earnest, able, in- fluential, and successful ministers of the Presbyterian Church. Mr. McKee was married, in 1850, to Miss Sarah Henry Speake, daughter of Lee M. Speake, of Boyle County, Kentucky. They have seven living children.

ERRY, WILLIAM TAYLOR, Farmer and Trader, was born December 26, 1796, in Fay- ette County, Kentucky. His father, John Washington Berry, a native of Virginia, and by occupation a farmer, was one of the pio- neers of the State of Kentucky. In 1798, he removed to Shelby County. The education of William T. Berry was quite limited. When fourteen, he en- tered the office of Samuel M. Taylor, Clerk of Clarke County, as a deputy, and remained as such for six years. He then went to Shelby County, and, for a few years,

worked on his father's farm. Having formed a taste for adventure and travel, he loaded a raft with flour, and started down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to New Orleans. On his return trip, he walked from Natchez to Shelby County, making a distance of seven hundred and fifty miles in eleven days. The next season, he took a cargo of tobacco to New Orleans, and walked home. He then made a third trip to New Orleans, this time with live stock, returning in the same manner. He then went to St. Louis, and was, for seven months, in the Surveyor's office, under Gen. Rector. He after -. wards went to Shawneetown, Illinois, engaging in the Saline Salt-works, and, for one year, managed a store at that place. From this place, he returned home, mar- ried, and went to farming; but, one year later, he moved to Texas, and, finding the State under the rule of lawless excesses, returned, in 1826, to Kentucky; lo- cated in Oldham County; carried on a farm for three years; and then went into partnership with his brother, in raising beef. Four years later, he retired from this, went to farming again in Oldham County, and so con- tinued till after the rebellion, when, in 1867, he sold his farm, and moved to the city of Louisville. IIe was married to Margaret A., daughter of Major Jonathan Taylor, who served under Gen. Wayne in the Indian campaigns. He had eleven other brothers, all of whom

were officers in the United States army. By this union, William T. Berry had five children, two sons of whom gave up their lives in the Southern army. Mr. Berry is now living, in venerable years, at the residence of a son- in-law, where, a few years ago, he celebrated, amidst the most happy circumstances, his golden wedding. As a young man, Mr. Berry was adventuresome and ener- getic. The record of his flat-boating trips, and his long homeward journeys, is the common record of not a few brave and hardy men of his time.

LLEN, JUDGE JOHN, Lawyer and Soldier, was born in 1749, in James City County, Vir- ginia. He was a soldier in the American army during the war of the Revolution, and obtained the rank of major. He studied law under Col. George Nicholas, at Charlottesville, and engaged in the practice of his profession. In 1786, he came to Kentucky; located in Fayette County in 1788; settled permanently at Paris, Bourbon County; after the or- ganization of the State Government, was chosen one of the commissioners to determine upon the location for the capital ; was appointed Judge of the Paris District Court during the first term of Gov. Garrard's adminis- tration ; and, in 1802, was appointed Judge of the Cir- cuit Court, including Bourbon County. He died in 1816, and was an able and good man. Judge Allen was married, in 1781, to Miss Jane Tandy, of Albemarle County, Virginia.

HOMPSON, JOSEPH WILLIAM, M. D., Physician and Surgeon, was born June 27, 1838, in Graves County, near the line of Bal- lard County, Kentucky. His father was Dr. Augustus Nathaniel Thompson; descended from worthy and respectable ancestry, a man of high character, much natural talent, fine sensibilities, and of good reputation as a country physician. He died with an attack of cholera, before attaining his prime. The grandfather of the subject of this sketch, Moses Thomp- son, was one of the earliest settlers of what was known as Jackson's Purchase, a tract of land including McCracken and six adjacent counties. He was a native 'of North Carolina, and descended from English ances- try. In later life, he was one of the first associate cir- cuit judges of the Jackson Purchase, and, with his col- leagues, heard the first causes tried in that district. On the maternal side, his parentage was equally prom- inent, his mother being the daughter of Joseph Grundy, and grand-niece of Felix Grundy, the celebrated crim- inal lawyer of Tennessee. The carly education of Joseph W. Thompson was limited to the rudimentary

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branches; he subsequently completed his studies in the Male Seminary at Paducah. He had already evinced a very decided preference for his father's profession. In his eighteenth year he began the study of medicine, under Dr. George Stovall, of Lovelaceville, Kentucky. He finished his studies, was admitted to practice on the 17th of March, 1859, and, having formed a partnership with his former preceptor, continued at Lovelaceville, in the practice of his profession, for the next two years, up to the opening of the war. Led, by all his relations and sympathies, to side with the people of the South, he entered the Confederate Army as surgeon in the Third Kentucky Regiment of the Second Kentucky Brigade, where he served on active duty for two years. His health having been impaired by unusual field service, he was transferred to the hospital department, and was, for two years, in charge of Forrest's Hospital, at Lau- derdale Springs, Mississippi. He was present at the battle of Shiloh, the first siege of Vicksburg, the bat- tles of Baton Rouge and Corinth, and other conflicts of minor importance. During his army life he had many opportunities of adding to his surgical knowledge and experience. One peculiarly bold surgical operation gave him professional eminence. In 1864, while at Lauderdale Springs, he performed the operation of ligat- ing the internal iliac artery, on account of extensive hemorrhage from a gunshot wound in one of the prin- cipal branches of the gluteal region. This was the elev- enth time in the written history of surgery, up to that time, that the operation had been attempted, and, al- though Dr. Thompson is not entitled to a place in the successful minority of the distinguished eleven who succeeded in saving life, nevertheless he prolonged the life of the patient nearly seven days, when a secondary hemorrhage caused death. He has been unusually suc- cessful in performing the operation of lithotomy, and, in the general practice of his profession, is second to none in South-western Kentucky. Just after the war he removed to Paducah, Kentucky, where he has since resided, and pursued his professional life. In 1873, he was elected President of the South-western Kentucky Medical Society; in 1874, President of the State Med- ical Society, and, in 1875, at the organization of the same, at Vincennes, Indiana, President of the Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky Tri-state Medical Society; in all of which positions his dignified manner, and knowledge of parliamentary law, have enabled him to preside to the entire satisfaction of his associates. In 1867, he was married to Victoria, daughter of Spencer O'Brien, of Todd County, Kentucky, and a son and daughter are the issue of this union. The happy success and honors Dr. Thompson has won, are due largely to his energy and perseverance. With a kind disposition and unwa- vering integrity of purpose, he has won the respect and esteem of not only all his community, but of the mem-

bers of his profession generally, to whom his name and labors are well known. A close student, he keeps up with the progress of medicine. His practice is exten- sive, not only at his home, but also in the neighboring counties. As a surgeon, he is recognized as standing pre-eminent in Southern Kentucky. To his surgical op- erations he gives a cool head and a steady hand, which, with his surgical knowledge, have made him highly suc- cessful. He has written several medical articles which have been recognized by wide-spread copy. He has also achieved some considerable distinction as a reviewer of medical works.

cBRAYER, JUDGE WILLIAM H., Merchant, was born within one mile and a half of Law- renceburg, Kentucky, December 10, 1821. His paternal grandfather left Harrod's Station, and settled near Lawrenceburg, leaving the estate to the Judge's father, Andrew McBrayer, who was a prominent man in his county during his whole life, representing it in the Kentucky Legislature in 1829, and again in 1839, in which year he died. The Judge received a common English education, such as was usually afforded by the schools of that day. Commenc- ing business in 1840, he continued it for a space of thirty years successfully. Taking an active part in politics, he was, under the new Constitution of Kentucky, elected, in 1851, as county judge, serving three years; and, in 1856, was elected to the State Senate, for a term of four years, representing Mercer and Anderson Counties. As a merchant, he has been successful to a marked degree, winning the confidence of all. Having a large business acquaintance in Louisville and Cincinnati, his transac- tions have always been a pleasure to him and satisfactory to them. As a member of the Presbyterian Church, he is very active, and takes a leading part in furthering its interests. He is also an active and devoted member of the Masonic fraternity. A man of splendid appearance and commanding mien, possessed of fine literary attain- ments, whole-souled and generous to a fault, he has the stamp of superiority upon him. He would fill with credit and dignity any office in the gift of the Common- wealth.

UCKER, JAMES JEFFERSON, A. M., Pro- fessor of Mathematics in the College, and Prin- cipal of the Female Seminary, at Georgetown, Kentucky; was born January 27, 1828, in Ran- dolph County, Missouri. He is the son of Rev. Thornton Rucker and his wife, Martha, both natives of Virginia, and married in that State. His father was a Baptist clergyman, and among the earliest preachers of that denomination in Missouri. His mother, a sister

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of William Snyder, a citizen of prominence in Boone County, Kentucky, comes from a family having its lineal representatives in this State, Missouri, and Orange County, Virginia, whence it originally sprang. Remotely, this family were, by occupation, millers, and the Rucker family, farmers. About the year 1820, the parents and grand-parents of Prof. Rucker emigrated from Virginia to Missouri, settling, respectively, in Howard and Monroe Counties. In these, and Saline and Randolph Counties, Professor Rucker passed his childhood and youth, mostly in assisting his father on the farm. During this period he received but meagre schooling, and at the age of nineteen found himself possessed of but the merest rudi- ments of an English education. Feeling the absolute necessity for a knowledge of arithmetic, for ordinary business purposes, in the Fall of 1847, he entered a county school, with a view to attain this knowledge. In this school he continued about a year. It proved the occasion of determining his whole future course of life. His teacher, observing that his abilities were of more than usual character, urged upon him the pursuit of a routine of studies especially calculated to fit him for a professional career. Adopting these friendly sug- gestions, in the Fall of 1848, he commenced teaching a country school, employing his leisure hours in self-cul- ture. In the Winter of 1849-50, he entered Howard High-school, at Fayette, Missouri, remaining as pupil and assistant teacher until June, 1851; in the Fall of that year, he recommenced the duties of a country school- teacher; in the Spring of 1852, through the advice, in- fluence, and financial aid of his friend, E. D. Sapping- ton, of that county, a gentleman for whom he has ever since cherished the highest esteem, he came to Kentucky and entered Georgetown College, to pursue and com- plete his studies; here he remained a student, teaching at intervals a school in Bourbon County, until June, 1854, when, with the honors of his class, he graduated as an A. B .; after graduating, he kept up his school in Bourbon County until the Fall of 1855, at which time he entered upon the discharge of the duties of Principal · of the Academy attached to the Georgetown College, to which position he had been appointed during the Sum- mer of that year. This laid the foundation of his profes- sional career. He, however, had scarcely assumed the discharge of these duties, when, a vacancy occurring in the Chair of Mathematics in the Georgetown College, he was temporarily appointed to the place, in the capac- ity of a substitute. He took the chair on the 21st of November, 1855, and gave such signal proofs of ability, that, when the Board of Trustees met in the following June, they at once invested him permanently with the office, which he has ever since continued to fill, with honor to himself and profit to the community. Among his pupils in mathematics may be especially mentioned Dr. J. F. Cook, President of La Grange College, Mis-

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The Biographical encyclopaedia of Kentucky of the dead and living men of the nineteenth century, Part 50

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