The Biographical encyclopaedia of Kentucky of the dead and living men of the nineteenth century, Part 65

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

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ATTON, WILLIAM MOORE, Iron Manufac- turer, was born November 16, 1803, in Hunt- ington County, Pennsylvania. He received a good education in the schools of the country, and at Huntington Academy, Pennsylvania. He started in life as a teacher; was several years assistant engineer on the Pennsylvania Canal ; afterwards engaged, for a time, in mercantile pursuits, at Woodbury, in that State, where he received the ap- pointment of postmaster. In 1839, he became manager of Vesuvius Furnace, Lawrence County, Ohio, and was

afterwards, for several years, lessee of that furnace. . In 1846, he became principal owner and general superin- tendent of Pennsylvania Furnace, in Greenup County, Kentucky, remaining in that connection until 1856, when he located at Catlettsburg, where he bought, and for several years operated, the Big Sandy Flouring Mills; in 1865, he was appointed United States Assist- ant Revenue Assessor and Collector for Johnson, Law- rence, and Floyd Counties; in 1867, was also made whisky inspector ; in the following year, Carter County was added to his assessorship; in the Winter of 1869, offered his resignation, which was not accepted ; and, in the Spring of 1871, he was finally relieved of the duties of his office, and, having disposed of his furnace and mill interests, mainly retired from business. He died August 9, 1872. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church, and organized the first Sunday-school under that denomination at Catlettsburg, and was one of the most energetic, useful, and valuable men in his com- munity. From the time of his arrival in Lawrence County, in 1839, until within a few years of his death, he was largely connected with the iron interests, and was one of the most progressive and adventurous among the iron manufacturers. Mr. Patton was married, Jan- uary 20, 1842, to Miss Rebecca Boal, of Muncy, Penn- sylvania, sister of Senator Boal, of that State. She is still living. Their son, George B. Patton, served during the war as a Lieutenant in the Fourteenth Kentucky Union Infantry ; James and William, their other sons, are druggists and manufacturers at Catlettsburg, and are active, successful business men. He has one living daughter.

HOMPSON, JOSEPH ADDISON, M. D., was born July 4, 1805, at Harrodsburg, Kentucky, and is the son of Joseph Thompson and his wife, Eliza James, both parents having emigra- ted from near Richmond, Virginia, and were of English origin. His grandfather was a Coloncl of Engineers, and commissioned to survey the road into the Territory of Kentucky, by way of the falls of the Kanawha. His father arrived in what is now Mercer County, and settled at Harrod's Station, as early as 1779; and was a companion of the brave but inconsiderate Gen. Hugh McGary. Dr. Thompson received a thor- ough education, and graduated at Centre College, Dan- ville, Kentucky, in 1827, and immediately began the study of medicine with Dr. J. A. Tomlinson; continued his medical studies under Dr. John Morehead, at Cin- cinnati, and graduated in the Medical College of Ohio, in 1830. At the time of graduation he was elected member of the Ohio Medical Society. In 1832, he went to Philadelphia for the purpose of continuing his medi- cal studies, and assisted Dr. Moorse, in the almshouse,

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at the same time attending lectures in the Pennsylvania Medical College. He soon settled permanently in Har- rodsburg, in the successful practice of his profession. After the commencement of the civil war, he was ap- pointed Post Surgeon, and was located at the United States Military Asylum, at Harrodsburg, under the com- mand of Major-General Robert Anderson. In 1867, being a practical engineer, he was appointed President of the Board of Internal Improvements, of Kentucky, by Gov. John W. Stevenson. He has devoted his long life mainly to the duties of his extensive and laborious medical practice, taking little part in the political con- tests and disturbances of the country. He has devoted considerable attention to the early history of the State, and published several valuable sketches pertaining to the early settlement of Kentucky. In the house where he was born, Aaron Burr was arrested, being at that time a guest of his father, and from there, in company with Gen. Adair, was sent on for his trial. He was one of the first four men who established the Odd-fellows' Lodge in Harrodsburg, and has been for over half a century identified with the various interests and events of importance connected with the history of Mercer County ; and has been one of its most useful, upright, and valuable citizens. Few men have been able to en- dure such great fatigue, and few exhibit, at such great age, a finer state of physical and mental preservation, he engaging, even now, actively in the chase. Dr. Thompson was married, in 1836, to Miss Amanda Single- ton, of South Carolina. They have had no children.

ALL, JAMES H., Plow Manufacturer, son of Samuel and Isabella (Conrad) Hall, was born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, December 24, 1817. At the age of ten, he was thrown on his own resources; and with his own efforts to live, and get the rudiments of an education, he passed the time until his fifteenth year, when he entered a ma- chine shop as an apprentice. After serving out his time, and working awhile as a journeyman, he began work in the plow factory of his brother, Samuel Hall, in Pitts- burg. In 1836, he came to Maysville, Kentucky, where he worked for several years in the plow factory of the Messrs. Jacobs; but, in 1839, determined to start a fac- tory of his own, he went South, with a view to ascer- tain the wants of the farmers of that section, with whom he wished to establish a large trade. In the Fall of 1840, he returned, and laid the foundation of the Eagle Plow Works, of Maysville, which has become one of the most extensive establishments of its kind in the country. It is worthy of note that this establishment, since the second year of its existence, has continued without a misstep or reverse of any kind. Without

capital, and in pressed circumstances, he was able the the first years to produce but a few hundred plows, now his annual production often reaches twenty-five thousand, and these of the heaviest and most valuable kinds, likely producing, in gross results, more real worth in his yearly work than any similar establishment in the entire West. And probably no manufactory in the country has been less dependent on borrowed capital, owing its success wholly to the energy, integrity, and intelligence of its proprie- tor. The products of the establishment were taken in flat- boats, by himself, down the Ohio and Mississippi, to the Southern markets, during the first years of its existence. The plows made in this factory are of steel and wrought iron, and have just celebrity in their markets for superior workmanship. They are chiefly sold in the Southern States, Cuba, Mexico, and South America. Mr. Hall has devoted himself chiefly to the interests of his busi- ness, giving little attention to politics and social turmoil. During the rebellion his sympathies were with the South, yet he took no part in the great contest. Still this did not free him from some of the inevitable hardships and misfortunes of the times. He was a Director in the Maysville and Lexington Railroad Company, at its first organization, and so remained until the road was fin- ished, when he served one year as its President; he has repeatedly served in the Council of the city, and been variously prominent in matters of interest to the com- munity ; and, as head of a vast manufactory, has been able to be of great value. to his fellow-men. He is a man of magnificent personal appearance, and, although a little over the prime of life, of unbroken energies. His great business success would enable him to retire from active life, but he chooses still to keep the harness on. In 1840, Mr. Hall was married to Miss Mary Brook. They have seven living children, four boys and three girls; two of their sons, John H. and James H., are associated with him, and are wide-awake, energetic . business men. His other sons are also engaged in the establishment.

AVIESS, HON. SAMUEL, Lawyer, was born November 22, 1775, in Bedford County, Vir- ginia, and was the son of Joseph and Jean Daviess, his parents being natives of that State, and of Scotch-Irish descent. He was brought to Danville, Kentucky, about 1779; chose the profession of law, and acquired a large and extensive practice. In 1822, he was elected to the Lower House of the Legislature, and, from 1825 to 1829, was a mem- ber of the State Senate, and was again elected to that body in 1833. He was, for a number of years, a mem- ber of the Board of Internal Improvement, and was actively identified with the best interests of the country. Samuel Daviess died September 28, 1856, at Harrods-

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burg, Kentucky. Wm. Daviess, who has frequently served in both houses of the Legislature, and has taken a prominent position among the leading men of Mercer County, is his son.

AN NATTA, SHELBY, Merchant and Banker, son of Samuel and Lucinda ( Moffett) Van Natta, was born December 8, 1820, in Shelby County, Kentucky. His mother was a Vir- ginian, and his father a native of New Jersey, and of German origin. Some of the Van Nattas are now prominent in the affairs of New Jersey. The subject of this sketch was raised on a farm, and received his education in the country schools. At the age of sixteen, he began to clerk in a store at Clay Village, where he remained until 1840, when he went to Shel- byville, and has since been in business there. In 1844, he started the dry-goods business for himself, and con- tinued it very successfully until 1856. During this time he engaged for a while in the manufacturing of hemp, but chiefly gave his means and attention to his regular business. In 1856, he was connected with the branch Bank of Ashland, at Shelbyville, as clerk and teller; and, in 1857, became its cashier. This position he con- tinued to hold until 1869, when that bank was merged into the Bank of Shelbyville. He was then appointed to the same position in the new bank, which he has since continued to hold with great acceptability to the people and credit to himself. He was, for fifteen years, member of the Common Council or Town Board of Trustees, and for many years its President; was two years treasurer of the county, and is now Treasurer of Shelby Railroad Company. In 1855, he was made one of the corporate members of the Shelbyville Cemetery Company, and has for years been its treasurer ; was, for many years, member of the Board of Trustees for Shel- byville Baptist Female Seminary, and was its treasurer during the entire existence of the school; and has, in short, been identified prominently with all the leading interests of the community. He has neither had time nor inclination to be a politician ; but was a Whig before the war, a Union man during the war, and has since been an Independent. He has devoted much attention to the cause of temperance, been connected with all its movements in the county, and is now prominent in its organizations. He is a Baptist ; has been an officer in the Church for twenty-five years, and has been thirty years superintendent of the Church Sabbath-school; and has not only been a pillar in the Church, but also one of the most industrious, energetic, exemplary, and useful men in the entire community. Although he crossed the mountains thirty-two times in a stage-coach, on his way to l'hiladelphia and New York for goods, and has done

a great deal of hard work, he is yet unbroken, and ap- parently but little over the prime of life. His business, social, and private habits have been exceptional, and these, with great perseverance and industry, have en- abled him to acquire a competency. Mr. Van Natta was married, December 10, 1844, to Miss Rebecca S. Willis, daughter of Pierson and Elizabeth Wilson, and once a schoolmate of his own. They have three chil- dren. The youngest son, James S., is in the bank with his father; the oldest, Thomas F., is a merchant of St. Joseph, Missouri ; and the daughter, Lulie V., is wife of T. C. Timberlake, Esq., of Anchorage, Kentucky.

OWLER, JOSEPH WILLIAM, Druggist and Chemist, was born June 17, 1848, in Fredericks- burg, Virginia. His father, Samuel O. Fowler, belonged to one of the old and valuable families of that State; and, during the war hetween Mexico and Texas, figured extensively under Gen. Sam Houston. His grandfather, Bernard Fowler, was an officer in the Revolution; his mother's father, Dr. Edward Overton, served in the war of 1812; and his uncle, Capt. John Fowler, of Lexington, was one of the first representatives from Kentucky in one branch of Congress. The subject of this sketch began his educa- tion in a commercial school at Lafayette, Indiana, and was prepared for college by Rev. C. J. Maugin, at Crawfordsville; and, in 1864, graduated at the University of St. Francis de Sales, near Milwaukee, Wisconsin. After graduating, he studied chemistry and pharmacy with Dr. George Mueller, of Lafayette, Indiana. He soon after commenced the drug business, and, during his ten years' connection with it, has labored hard to elevate the standard of his profession; and, as an educated and skillful chemist and druggist, has probably no superior in Louisville. His pharmaceutical preparations have won him considerable reputation, and his acknowledged skill among medicines has made him popular among physicians. He holds a certificate of the highest qualifi- cations from the Kentucky State Board of Pharmacy, and is now a member of the Louisville College of Phar- macy. He has achieved some success in a literary way, through his widely circulated "Druggist's Dream," and under the non de plume "Publius," He is a man of rare professional ability, of great cnergy and industry, of splendid personal habits; a man of worthy aspirations, and decided force and grit to carry them out. He is a zealous member of the Catholic Church. Mr. Fowler was married, September 10, 1873, to Miss J. Anna Clark, step-daughter of Judge Richard Constantine, of Fair- field, Kentucky, a lady of many accomplishments and of sterling worth, and great beauty of mind and person.

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ARTER, JOSEPH C., M. D., was born Decem- ber 23, 1808, near Charlottesville, Albemarle County, Virginia, and died at his residence, in Woodford County, Kentucky, January 26, 1876. In 1809, his parents came to this State, and settled in Woodford County. His father, Good- loe Carter, was a highly esteemed citizen of that county, and his mother, Mary Crenshaw Carter, was one of the noblest of women. Dr. Carter received a thorough classical education, and, in 1827, went to Cincinnati, where he was, for five years, a student of Dr. Daniel Drake, and an inmate of his family; during that time, spent one Winter with his preceptor in attending med- ical lectures in Philadelphia. In the Spring of 1832, he graduated at the Ohio Medical College, and, in the same year, entered upon the practice of his profession at his home, in Kentucky. Soon after, the country was visited by the cholera, and out of the great scourge he passed with many golden opinions of his skill and rare adapta- bility to his profession, and, from that time throughout his life, had a large and successful practice. He was a man of fine intellect, strong constitution, and untiring energy ; was master of his profession, and would have risen to eminence in any great city ; was the idol of his own community; was possessed of great dignity, yet free from haughtiness or arrogance; was kind and sympa- pathetic, and exercised a powerful influence in the room of the sick ; had fine social qualities; was hospitable and charitable; was public-spirited, and gave his means and attention to every interest looking to the public good; and was one of the most useful and valuable men of his county. Dr. Carter was married, November 13, 1832, to Miss Margaret T. Carlyle, who, with their children, Dr. D. Drake Carter, Mrs. Lack White, and Misses Ella and Josephine Carter, survived him.

ORMAN, GEORGE W., M. D., Physician and Surgeon, son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Glas- cock) Forman, was born December 18, 1820, in Nelson County, Kentucky, and is the oldest of twelve children. His grandfather, Joseph For- man, came of Pennsylvania-German parentage, and his grandmother, Forman, was Rebecca Fry, of Virginia. His mother was the daughter of Micajah Glascock and Catherine Rector, both Virginians. His grand-parents came to Kentucky about 1785, and settled on Cox's Creek, now in Nelson County; there opened a farm, under the hardships peculiar to the " Dark and Bloody Ground;" and were among the most worthy of early pioneers. Dr. Forman received a good education, mainly in the best private schools of his own and Spencer Counties, and, having decided on a profession, in 1839 began the study of medicine, in the office of Dr. David

H. Cox, and, after a thorough preparation, graduated in the Louisville Medical College, in 1843, and also received a diploma from the Medical Society of that institution. He soon after entered upon the practice of his profession in his native county, where he has since, with the exception of a short residence in Louisville, continued actively and successfully engaged. He soon distinguished himself, in his own county, as a bold and skillful surgeon, performing a number of surgical opera- tions with successful results, when other members of the local profession would not undertake or sanction them. In the treatment of dropsy, and many peculiar forms of disease, he has been notably successful; and was remark- ably so in the treatment of cholera in 1854, on its visit to his section, giving his labors often without compensa- tion during the most urgent demands for his services, and greatly endearing himself to the community. In October, 1862, he was appointed one of the surgeons in charge of the General Hospital, at Bardstown, which position he held, with great credit to himself, until the necessities of the army service required the breaking up of the hospital, in the following May. In 1863, he was appointed, by the County Court, to assist the Draft . Commissioners, at Lebanon, in determining the number of men to be taken from his county, and performed his task greatly to the country's benefit. He is a member of the Kentucky State Medical Society. In politics, he was a member of the Whig party, and, in 1855, became the Know-Nothing candidate for the Legislature, but was defeated by a small majority, in a strong Catholic county, and with a strong Democratic opposition by such speakers as Hon. Charles A. Wickliffe and Hon. William B. Read, as well as that of the Democratic candidate, Dugan. In 1860, he represented his district in the Convention, at Baltimore, which nominated Bell and Everett. When the war broke out, he openly and earnestly took the side of his country, opposing all arguments and acts of the rebellion, and at times with considerable personal risk. In 1869, he received the appointment of Deputy Internal Revenue Collector for the Fourth Kentucky District, and, in 1873, accepted the additional duties of Assessor, and continued in the position until the appointment of Col. Burns as District Collector. He was soon after reappointed Deputy Collector, with a territory embracing seven counties; and received from the Government the ap- pointment of Surveyor of Distilleries for the same terri- tory, continuing until the change and consolidation of the districts under the new appointee, Col. Buckner. He soon after received his third appointment of United States Deputy Collector and Surveyor of Distilleries. Of this appointment the Democratic paper at Bardstown said : "Dr. Forman has held the office for several years, and during the administration of three different Collect- ors; and his reappointment is a merited recognition of

Ger. W. Forman.

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his efficiency and trustworthiness as an officer." After repeated visits to Washington City, he succeeded in se- curing an act of Congress admitting a claim of the Lou- isville and Bardstown Turnpike for "war damages," to the amount of thirteen thousand and six hundred dol- lars, and for years has been one of the Board of Man- agers of that pike; has in various ways been of grcat benefit to his county; and has, throughout his active life, been one of its most useful and valuable men. He is a writer of considerable ability, having contributed various articles to the newspapers, written a number of addresses, and also a history of his Church. He has de- voted considerable attention to agricultural pursuits, and is the only man in the county who has engaged to any great extent in the nursery business, starting the enter- prise in 1872; he now has on his farm ten acres of well- selected fruit and ornamental trees, under the care of a trained nurseryman. He is an active member of the Board of Directors of the Nelson County Agricultural and Mechanical Association. He has always resided on the old homestead of his parents, on the Louisville and Bardstown pike, nine miles from the latter place; and has, from time to time, made additions to it, making a farm of six hundred and fifty acres, and one of the best in Nelson County, on which he has recently built a fine brick residence. Since 1869, he has devoted considera- ble attention to raising the Cashmere or Angora goat ; and is in every way one of the most energetic and suc- cessful farmers, as well as one of the most skillful and highly esteemed physicians, in the country; and one of the most upright and valuable citizens of the county. Since 1859, he has been an active member of the Bap- tist Church, contributing largely with his means and presence to its welfare. He is a man of fine personal appearance, being six feet in height, and of superior sclf- command; has exceptional personal and social habits; is agreeable and genial in manners; broad and charitable in his views; is characteristically hospitable; and, al- though a man of abundant means, he is still as active and vigorous as in early manhood. Dr. Forman was married, in 1843, to Miss Elizabeth A. Wells, daughter of William P. Wells, of Nelson County, Kentucky; and, of their eight children, only two, William M. and Lydia J. Forman, lived to be grown.

WING, HON. PRESLEY UNDERWOOD, Lawyer, was born in Russellville, Kentucky, September 1, 1822. He was the eldest son of the distinguished Judge E. M. Ewing, of the same town, and Jane P. McIntyre, one of the most brilliant and accomplished women of her time. He received a very liberal education, gradu- ating at Centre College, in Danville, in 1840, and after-

wards studied law under his father, Judge Ewing, the Chief-Justice of the State, and graduated in the law department of Transylvania University, at Lexington, Kentucky, in 1842. He then went on a European tour, and upon his return, in 1848, was elected to the Ken- tucky Legislature, and was re-elected in 1849. In 1851, he became a candidate for Congress, and received the nomination of his party, over a worthy and popular opponent, Beverly L. Clark, and was elected, and, in 1853, was re-elected without opposition. For eloquence and fluency of speech he had but few peers; he had a perfect command of his voice, which, together with a certain magnetism and perfect gesticulation, made his efforts carry every thing before them. He was the oppo- nent in politics of John C. Breckinridge, and served in the Legislature several times with him ; and, although fast friends in their social intercourse, they were often pitted against each other on the floor of the House, both equally brilliant and commanding in appearance, equally handsome and chivalrous, and both equally matchless in their oratory. It has been said of Mr. Ewing that he could have gone to Congress as long as he desired, in such estimation by the people was he held. He possessed traits of character to a remarkable degree of both his parents; like his father, learned and brilliant, and like his mother, gentle, vivacious, and fond of society, in which he was a natural leader. The evening before his death, he was surrounded by a charming circle of friends, who were entranced by the sweet strains he was draw- ing from a violin, of which instrument he was a master. He died at Mammoth Cave, Kentucky, on the 27th of September, 1854, of cholera. His untimely demise was sincerely mourned by his large acquaintance, among whom was a beautiful and accomplished young lady of Cincinnati, to whom it was said he was engaged to be married. On his tomb the words, " Died ere his Prime," are a touching tribute to his memory.

OHNSON, HON. GEORGE W., Lawyer and Agriculturist, was born May 27, 1811, near Georgetown, Kentucky, and was the son of William Johnson, and grandson of Col. Robert Johnson. He obtained a fine literary education, graduating at Transylvania University. He studied law, and practiced that profession for some timc, but finally turned his attention to agricultural pursuits; and, besides his farming interests in Kentucky, con- ducted cotton-planting quite extensively in Arkansas. In 1838, he was elected to the Legislature from Scott County ; was always a Democrat; represented his party on several important occasions; made the race for Presi- dential Elector, in 1852 and 1860; declincd repeatedly to be a candidate for Congress; acquired great power in

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The Biographical encyclopaedia of Kentucky of the dead and living men of the nineteenth century, Part 65

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