The Biographical encyclopaedia of Kentucky of the dead and living men of the nineteenth century, Part 77

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

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made no enemies. His friends were numerous and de- voted; but the many heated public conflicts, in which he was engaged, necessarily engendered animosities, in some instances bitter and enduring, on both sides; even his enemies, however, recognized the remarkable qual- ities of the man, reluctantly but freely acknowledged his usefulness as a citizen, and dreaded the always vigorous weight of his opposition, manifest itself when, where, or against whom it might. If his manner and methods at times appeared to those who differed from him somewhat stern and arbitrary, they were simply an integral part of his nature. Without them, he would not have been the man he was, or achieved the marked results he accomplished. Philip Swigert was one of the most notable and influential Kentuckians of his times. Judged by the number and variety of the trusts public and private he filled, the invariable energy, sagacity, and fidelity he displayed in their discharge, and the marked success which, almost without exception, at- tended his numerous undertakings, it may be truthfully said that probably no Kentuckian of his day exhibited a higher order of executive talent. His administrative ability was but little, if any, below his executive. Al- most unbroken success, through so long a period of time and such a wide variety of pursuits, is conclusive proof of the happy combination of a very high order of ability. For a period of nearly, or fully, half a century he took an active, often conspicuous, part in the most important events, local and State. It is safe to say, that he left the vivid impress of his zeal, of his sagacity, of his strong will, of his fidelity to duty, as he under- stood it, upon every event or movement in which he engaged, and upon every association of men with whom he acted.

HARA, KEAN, A. M., one of the early dis- tinguished teachers of Kentucky, was born in 1768, in Ireland, and came to this country, with his father's family, at an early age, to es- cape the disabilities to which the people of his Church were subjected, and settled in Mary- land. In the latter part of the eighteenth century, he came to Danville, Kentucky, to take charge of a school, under the auspices of Gov. Shelby. He subsequently removed to Woodford County, and taught in that, Jef- ferson, Fayette, and Franklin; became one of the most highly respected and widely known teachers of the State, and some of his pupils were prominent men of the country; among them were President Zach. Taylor and the famous Major George Croghan, defender of Fort Stevenson. His brothers, Charles and James O'Hara, were also teachers of note; and the latter, after follow- ing that avocation for years, became a lawyer; settled at Williamstown, Kentucky, and gained considerable dis-

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tinction at the bar; he was the father of Judge James O'Hara, of Covington. Kean O'Hara received from Transylvania University the degree of Master of Arts, and was not only one of the most eminent scholars and educators of Kentucky, but also one of its most worthy and pious men. He died December 22, 1851, in Frank- lin County, Kentucky. He was the father of the brill- iant Col. Theodore O'Hara.

'HARA, COL. THEODORE, Poet, Journalist, and Soldier, was born February II, 1820, in Danville, Kentucky, and was the son of Kean O'Hara, an Irish political exile, who became a distinguished teacher in Kentucky. (See sketch of Kean O'Hara.) Theodore O'Hara was educated, with great care, by his father, and re- ceived his collegiate finish at St. Joseph's Academy, Bardstown, Kentucky, where he distinguished himself as a profound scholar, and was complimented by elec- tion to the Professorship of Greek in that institution. He studied law in the office of Judge Owsley, and was a fellow-student of John C. Breckinridge; and, although qualified for the practice of the law, there was not enough of adventure in it to satisfy his active and rest- less nature. He devoted his early life to political journalism, as assistant editor of the "Frankfort Yeo- man," and as editor of the "Democratic Rally," a

campaign paper of 1844, and afterwards, successively, of the " Louisville Sun " and the " Mobile Register." In 1845, he held a position in the Treasury Department, at Washington. He was appointed captain in the United States army; served with distinction during the Mexican war; was brevetted major for gallantry displayed on the field of Chapultepec, while serving on the staff of Gen. Franklin Pierce. At the close of the war, he was com- missioned captain in the cavalry service; resigned his commission soon after; commenced the practice of law in Washington City ; soon after, entered the service of the Tehuantepec Railroad Company, and, at the time of the breaking out of the Cuban fever, he embarked in that ill-fated enterprise; accepted a colonel's com- mission from Lopez, and, in 1851, commanded a regi- ment at the battle of Cardenas, where he was severely wounded, and compelled to return to the United States. He soon after met William Walker, and joined him in his filibustering expedition in Central America. At the commencement of the late civil war, he entered the Confederate service, at Mobile, and, with the rank of captain, was placed in command of Fort McRea; was soon after promoted to the Colonelcy of the Twelfth Alabama Regiment; subscquently served on the staff of Gen. A. Sidney Johnston, and was by his side on the field of Shiloh; was also Chief of Staff to Gen. John C.

Breckinridge, and remained actively engaged until the surrender; after which, he went to Columbus, Georgia, and engaged in the cotton business; being unsuccessful, retired to a plantation near Guerryton, Barbour County, Alabama, where he died, June 6, 1867. His body was buried at Columbus, Georgia; and, in the Summer of 1874, by act of the Kentucky Legislature, his remains were brought to Frankfort, and interred, on September 15, in the military lot appropriated to the soldiers of Kentucky. His political essays, public addresses, and literary compositions, would fill a volume, but his fame mainly rests on his elegies, "The Bivouac of the Dead," and "The Old Pioneer," which have been greatly ad- mired, and are regarded as among the most beautiful specimens of American poetry. Col. O'Hara was never married. He was strikingly handsome; was not quite six feet in height, graceful and erect ; was talented and brave; was a fascinating companion, and his whole ap- pearance and conduct indicated the highest degree of refinement. The remains of O'Hara lie near the tomb of the "Old Pioneer," and among the warriors whose requiem he sang, where,

"Glory guards with solemn round The bivouac of the dead."

The following, which is one of O'Hara's immortal ele- gies, was written before the monument was erected at Frankfort to the memory of Boone:

"THE OLD PIONEER.

" A dirge for the brave old pioneer ! Knight-errant of the wood ! Calinly beneath the green sod here He rests from field and flood ;

The war-whoop and the panther's screams No more his soul shall rouse,

For well the aged hunter dreams Beside his good old spouse.

A dirge for the brave old pioneer l Hushed now his rifle's peal ;

The dews of many a vanished year Are on his rusted steel ;

His horn and pouch lie moldering Upon the cabin door ;

The elk rests by the salted spring, Nor flees the fierce wild boar.

A dirge for the brave old pioneer 1 Old Druid of the West !

His offering was the fleet wild deer, His shrine the mountain's crest.

Within his wild wood temple's space An empire's towers nod,

Where erst, alone of all his race, He knclt to Nature's God.

A dirge for the brave old pioneer ! Columbus of the land 1

Who guided freedom's proud career Beyond the conquer'd strand ; And gave her pilgrim sons a home No monarch's step profanes ;

Free as the chainless winds that roam Upon its boundless plains.

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A dirge for the brave old pioneer ! The muffled drum resound ! A warrior is slumb'ring here Beneath his battle-ground. For not alone with beast of prey The bloody strife he waged,

Foremost where'er the deadly fray Of savage combat raged.

A dirge for the brave old pioneer ! A dirge for his old spouse !

For her who blest his forest cheer, And kept his birchen home. Now soundly by her chieftain may The brave old dame sleep on ;

The red man's step is far away, The wolf's dread howl is gone.

A dirge for the brave old pioneer ! His pilgrimage is done ;

He hunts no more the grizzly bear About the setting sun. Weary, at last, of chase and life, He laid him here to rest ;

Nor recks he now what sport or strife Would tempt him further West.

A dirge for the brave old pioneer ! The patriarch of his tribe !

He sleeps-no pompous pile marks where, No lines his deeds describe. They raised no stone above him here, Nor carved his deathless name-

An empire is his sepulcher, His epitaph is Fame."

E FUNIACK, FREDERICK, Civil and Mechan- ical Engineer, was born August 15, 1839, near the city of Trieste, in Austria. His father was formerly a colonel in the French army, and afterwards in the Papal army, at Rome, in Italy. The earliest years of the subject of this sketch were passed at Rome, and other parts of Italy, where he received an ordinary education. When about fourteen, he was sent to Vienna, Austria, and there at- tended the regular course of civil and mechanical engi- neering, in the School for Engineers, and afterwards in the Polytechnic High-school, from which he graduated, in August, 1857. He at once engaged as assistant engineer, on the Alexandria and Cairo Railroad, in Egypt, and remained on the location and construction of this road till 1859. Then, returning to Italy, he entered the mili- tary service as Lieutenant of Engineers, on the staff of Gen. Sonaz, serving through the Franco-Italian and Austrian campaigns. At the battle of Solferino, he was made captain. After the peace of Villa Franca, he was with Garibaldi, in Lower Italy, until the battle of As- promonte, when he returned home. In May, 1862, he left Rome for the United States, and remained several months in New York City, acquiring the English lan- guage. Having brought with him letters of introduc-

tion to Gen. Dix and Gen. Beauregard, the latter being in the Confederate armies, Captain De Funiack went South ; joined the Confederate army as a volunteer; was transferred, shortly afterwards, to the Topographical En- gineer Corps, with headquarters at different places; and surrendered, in May, 1865, at Meridian, Mississippi, ranking as Captain of Engineers. Soon after, he found occupation, for six months, in teaching mathematics, drawing, and languages, in several schools and colleges at Memphis, Tennessee, seeking, meanwhile, an open- ing in his professional line, as soon as the affairs of the country should again settle into their former state. In January, 1866, he received an appointment as Resi- dent Engineer on the Mississippi river levees, in Washington County, Mississippi; in 1867, was As- sistant Engineer on the Memphis and Charleston Rail- road, in charge of the construction of the Tennessee river bridge, at Florence, Alabama, and of surveys for new lines and extensions, with charge of the middle division of the road, as Road-master. In May, 1870, he was appointed Chief Engineer of the Mississippi Central Railway; in June, 1871, was sent to Europe, as general agent for the East Tennessee and Virginia Air Line, and Mobile and Ohio Railroads, to put on sale at the principal points in England, France, and Germany, through emigrant tickets, and to investigate and report upon the European narrow-gauge railway system, as just then the economy of that kind of railroad was being agi- tated in the United States. After his return, in Novem- ber, 1871, in addition to his official connection with the Mississippi Central, he accepted the position of Chief Engineer of the Ripley Narrow-gauge Railway, the earliest road of the kind in the South; and built and equipped the road, twenty-six miles in length, in eight months after the date when the instrument for the pre- liminary surveys was first set up. Meantime, he accepted the position of Engineer and Superintendent of the road department of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, on its Louisville Division, in March, 1872; resigning his connection with the Mississippi Central Railroad, but completing the Ripley Narrow-gauge. On the Ist of January, 1874, he was appointed Chief Engineer and Superintendent of the road department of all roads owned, leased, or operated by the Louisville and Nash- ville Railroad Company; in February, 1876, was also appointed Superintendent of the whole line operated by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad Company, which important position he now fills with ability and success. Capt. DeFuniack is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, and correspond- ing member of the Austrian Society of Architects and Engineers. He is a member of the Roman Catholic Church, but is inclined to great latitude in sentiments of religion. He was married, November 9, 1865, to Miss Olivia F. Browning, of IIernando, Mississippi, and

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by her has four children, three sons and one daugh- ter. Before his Egyptian service, he was for quite a period in the Crimea, and afterwards in Turkey and Greece. He speaks, with fluency, English, French, Ital- ian, Turkish, and Greek. He is a fair portrait-painter, and finished in many other accomplishments; is fond of scientific investigation, and, above all, a mathematician of unusual excellence ; polite, though unostentatious and retiring, he is genial in company. His faculty as an or- ganizer and manager is wonderful. Capt. DeFuniack is one of the first engineers of the country, and, profes- sionally and socially, commands a high degree of respect.

INNELL, HON. JOHN WILLIAM, Lawyer, was born December 24, 1821, in Clarke County, Kentucky. His father, N. L. Finnell, was a printer ; was also, at a time, sole or joint edi- tor and proprietor of the "Lexington Observer and Reporter," "Lexington Intelligencer," "Covington Licking Valley Register," and other pa- pers; was a Whig; an able and fearless writer, and died December 8, 1850, being at that time the oldest printer in the State. John W. Finnell received a thorough ed- ucation, and, when not quite seventeen years old, grad- uated at Transylvania University, in 1837, under the presidency of Dr. Lewis Marshall ; learned the print- ing business with his father, and afterwards assisted in the editorial conduct of the "Lexington Intelligencer ;" studied law under Richard H. Menefee; graduated in the law department of Transylvania University, in 1840; commenced his professional career in Carlisle, Kentucky; soon obtained a fine practice; in 1845, was elected to the Legislature, and, with a strong Democratic majority against him, was the first successful Whig candidate in Nicholas County; during his service in the Legislature, was induced to take editorial charge of the "Frankfort Commonwealth," one of the leading Whig organs in the State; in 1849, became Secretary of State under Gov. J. J. Crittenden ; and, on the resignation of Gov. Crit- tenden, to become Attorney-General in the Cabinet of Mr. Fillmore, was reappointed as Secretary of State, un- der Gov. Helm; located in Covington, in 1852, and re- sumed the practice of his profession. In 1854, during the failure of many banks throughout the country, he was appointed Commissioner of the Kenton and Campbell Circuit Courts, to close up the affairs of the Newport Safety Fund Bank, and the Kentucky Trust Company Bank, executing his commission with great judgment and fidelity, paying the creditors their full demands. In 1861, he was elected, from Kenton County, to the Legislature, as a Union man, and directed all his influ- ence towards sustaining the cause of the Government in Kentucky. In the Fall of 1861, he was appointed, by

Governor Magoffin, Adjutant-General of the State; or- ganized the troops for the Union army; remained Ad- jutant-General during the administration of Governor James F. Robinson; successfully discharged the per- plexing duties of his office, during the most critical time in the history of the State; declined reappointment under Governor Bramlette; returned to the practice of the law, in Covington; in 1867, was appointed Register in Bankruptcy, for the Sixth District in Kentucky ; re- signed at the close of one year; about 1870, removed to Louisville ; subsequently became managing editor of the "Louisville Commercial," and, remaining in charge of that paper for two years, returned to his farm in Kenton County, and resumed his law practice in Covington. He has gained considerable distinction as a writer of marked originality and force; is an elegant and eloquent speaker; is a man of great geniality and suavity of man- ner; possesses great business tact and resource; and is one of the most able, widely known, and successful law- yers in the State. Gen. Finnell was married, in 1854, to Elizabeth Tureman, of Carlisle, Kentucky ; and they have six children. His daughter Virginia is the wife of H. W. Hunter, of Louisville ; his daughter Ida is mar- ried to F. W. Gray, a lawyer of Covington; and his son, Joseph C. Finnell, is also a lawyer of that city.

RIMBLE, HON. LAWRENCE S., Lawyer and Judge, was born August 26, 1826, in Fleming County, Kentucky. His father, James Trim- ble, was long a farmer of that county, and of Irish descent. His mother was Harriet Tripp- let, member of one of the prominent families of Kentucky, coming from Virginia, and of English an- cestry. Judge Trimble obtained a good English educa- tion, and began the study of law, in the office of Frank T. Hord, in Maysville, at the age of eighteen; was admitted to the bar, at that place, two years subse- quently; in 1847, located in Paducah, where he soon established a fine practice, and took a prominent posi- tion in his profession. In 1851, he was elected to the Legislature; in 1853, was elected President of the New Orleans and Ohio Railroad; and built the first part of the road constructed west of the Tennessec river, in Kentucky. In 1856, he was elected Criminal Judge of the First Judicial District, extending from Union County, on the Ohio river, to Fulton County, on the Mississippi; resigned in 1859; was Douglas Elector in 1860; in 1865, was elected to Congress; was re-elected; served in the Thirty-ninth, Fortieth, and Forty-first Congresses ; and declined re-election. Of late years he has been largely engaged in manufacturing and real estate transactions ; is President of the Paducah Rolling- mill Company ; was, for scvcral years, Vice-President of

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the Paducah and Memphis Railroad; has taken an ac- tive part in all the political campaigns; and, at the last Presidential election, cast his influence for Tilden. He is a man of fine business ability ; is one of the leading members of his profession; occupies a high position as a judge; is a man of . fine personal and social habits; of admirable manners and appearance; is universally es- teemed by his community; and ranks as one of the most valuable men in his section of the State.

HELF, HON. WILLIAM HOLBERT, Law- yer, was born February 7, 1834, at Summers- ville, Greene County, Kentucky. His father, Fielding Chelf, was a farmer and merchant, a soldier in the war of 1812, and emigrated to Kentucky from Culpepper County, Virginia, about 1830. The Chelfs were of German origin. His mother was Viranda Newman, a lady of fine mental and personal qualities. Her family were among the early Vir- ginia emigrants to Greene County. The subject of this sketch was mainly educated in the common-schools of Greene County, but studied two years with Silas Sabin, one of the early teachers of repute in that part of the State. After leaving school, he began to teach, and in this way passed several years, using all his leisure time in studying law. He afterwards commenced writing in the office of the county and circuit courts, at Greensburg, at the same time studying law under the direction of Andrew Barnett, now of the Louisville bar. In 1856, he was licensed to practice, but did not commence until 1858, when he attempted to form a partnership with the Hon. Aaron Harding. In this he was unsuccessful, until in the following year, when Mr. Harding invited liim to engage with him. This partnership lasted until Mr. Harding was elected to Congress, two years afterwards. In 1873, he removed to Elizabethtown, where he has continued his legal practice with flattering success. In 1859, he was elected Attorney for Greene County, and held the position four years. In 1869, he was elected to the State Senate, and served four years. He was Chair- man of the Committee on Revising the Statutes, was the originator of several important measures, and ac- quired the reputation of being one of the most original and fluent speakers and decidedly clear-hcaded and practical members of that body. In 1871, he was can- didate for Congress in the Fourth District, but was de- feated. In 1874, he was again a candidate for Congress, but was defeated by Proctor Knott. At the commence- ment of the late war, he stood among the " Peace Dem- ocrats," and made several speeches in favor of peaceable settlement of sectional difficulties. When the first shot was fired at Fort Sumter, however, and the war really inaugurated, he joined the side of the South, but re-

mained comparatively quiet during the struggle. He has been largely interested in the various political con- tests, being a speaker of uncommon ability and force. In the court he probably appears at his best, where his angular make-up, earnest manner, clear, ringing, well- modulated voice, and perspicuous reasoning, win him favor, and give him great advantage. He is a member of some of the popular organizations of the country, and a Christian. Mr. Chelf was married, December 25, 1856, to Miss Melissa Bloomfield Patton, of Greene County, Kentucky.

AYS, REV. JOHN S., Professor of Biblical and Ecclesiastical Literature in the Theological Seminary at Danville, Kentucky, was born Au- gust 1, 1830, in Washington County, Pennsyl- vania. His parents were of English and Scotch- Irish origin. His father, John Hays, was a prominent farmer of Washington County ; was actively connected with the educational interests of his commu- nity ; was a leading member of the Presbyterian Church, and three of his sons are ministers of that denomination. John S. Hays graduated in letters, at Jefferson College, Cannonsburg, in 1850; and, in theology, at the Theolog- ical Seminary, Alleghany City, in 1853. He soon after entered the ministry at Charleston, Indiana, where he re- mained until 1857; took charge of the Second Presby- terian Church in Nashville, Tennessee, where he re- mained until 1862; in that year, became pastor of the Frankfort Presbyterian Church; in 1867, removed to Louisville, and was pastor of the Walnut Street Pres- byterian Church, until 1874, when he was elected to his present position. His .pastoral relation with some of the prominent Churches of his denomination was main- tained through one of the most exciting periods of the Church's history ; and, greatly owing to his zeal and skill- ful management, weak Churches were strengthened, and Churches in which there were strong dissensions were conducted with the greatest possible 'degree of prosper- ity. Prof. Hays was married in 1854, to Miss Fannie M. Dickey, daughter of Capt. Samucl Dickey, and cousin of Horace Greeley. They have six living children.

AYLOR, HARRISON D., Lawyer, Farmer, and Merchant, was born March 31, 1802, in Fred- erick County, Virginia. His father, Thomas Taylor, was a local preacher in the Methodist Church, a farmer and mechanic, a native of Virginia, connected with the Harrison family of that State, and moved to Kentucky, settling in Ohio County, in 1804. His mother was Margaret Curlet, a Vir- ginian by birth. He received only a fair English educa-

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tion, and studied surveying, remaining on the farm till his twenty-first year, when he commenced studying law in the office of Judge Pirtle, now of Louisville; was admitted to the bar in 1823, and entered on the prac- tice of his profession at Hartford, Ohio County, where he has since resided. In 1835, he engaged in merchan- dising, which he continued until the close of the war. In 1840, also, he engaged in farming, which he has since continued. In 1853, he was elected County Attorney of Ohio County, serving two years. He was regimental quartermaster under the old system of State militia. From 1847 to 1863, he was school commissioner, finally resigning that position on account of his opposition to the "iron-clad oath." He has occasionally filled tem- porary vacancies in the office of county judge; and in every position has distinguished himself for his integrity and ability. He has written a fragmentary history of Ohio County, which was published in the Owensboro "Shield " and the Hartford "Journal;" and has also written considerably on temperance. He has been em- ployed on some important surveys in the Green river country ; and, as a surveyor, is noted for his accuracy. He has been considered one of the finest land lawyers of his part of the State; has given his encouragement and aid to every public enterprise; has been distin- guished for his high moral integrity ; holds to his con- victions of right with great pertinacity; has been long identified with the history of Ohio County ; and is one of its most useful, upright, deserving, and valuable citi- zens. Mr. Taylor was married, November II, 1828, to Miss Mary Davis, daughter of Henry and Fannie Davis, who died in 1862; and, in 1874, he was again married, to Mrs. Barnett Tribble, daughter of John and Jane Wallace, of Owensboro, Kentucky.

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The Biographical encyclopaedia of Kentucky of the dead and living men of the nineteenth century, Part 77

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