The Biographical encyclopaedia of Kentucky of the dead and living men of the nineteenth century, Part 83

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

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1858, Mr. Chase received the honorary degree of A. M. from the Indiana State University; and, several years ago, the degree of LL. D., from the Wesleyan Univer- sity, of Florence, Alabama. He has ever been enthusi- astically devoted to his chosen profession, and is one of its most accomplished, successful, and worthy members. As an organizer and disciplinarian, he probably has few equals; and, in the institutes and associations of teach- ers, he is one of the most efficient and highly appre- ciated workers. X At this time, he is President of the Louisville Educational Association, and is prominent in his efforts to advance the usefulness and interests of the Kentucky State Teachers' Association. He deservedly ranks as one of the first educators of the country. , In 1849, he was united in marriage with one of his pupils, Miss Josephine Breckinridge, of Harrison, Ohio, who has made him a most faithful and accomplished wife; and is the mother of five children-all, at this time, liv- ing. In 1852, he was licensed as a local preacher, in the Methodist Episcopal Church. Ten years afterwards, when he went to Louisville to reside, there being no Church of that denomination, he joined the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, of which he is still a member. He received his ordination at the hands of Bishop Kavanaugh; and, whenever his services have been re- quired, and his school would suffer no loss thereby, he has answered calls made upon him to preach; and his sermons, in the Churches of his own and other denomi- nations, have been highly approved. In his religious sympathies, he is exceedingly liberal; and his associa- tions with people of various sects have always been of the most fraternal and pleasant character. This catholic religious spirit is probably the result of his devoted at- tachment to various secret benevolent orders; for he has, for many years, been an earnest member of the Odd- fellows' and Masonic bodies, being now Grand Chaplain of the Grand Lodge of the Independent Order of Odd- fellows of Kentucky, and Prelate of Louisville Com- mandery of Knights Templar. Professor Chase is of nervous temperament, light complexion, barely medium stature, full of energy and endurance; and now, at about fifty-three years of age, is apparently in the very prime of life.

HOMAS, HON. JOHN R., Lawyer and Farmer, was born February 5, 1828, in Marion County, Kentucky. He was third child of Owen D. and Emily H. (Lindsey) Thomas; the former a native of Marion ; and the latter of Scotch-Irish extraction, and a native of Kenton County, Kentucky. His father was a farmer by occupation ; was a soldier in the war of 1812; died in 1853; and was son of an old Revolutionary Captain, Lewis Thomas, who came to this State in the carly times. He was

educated at St. Mary's College, Marion County, Ken- tucky; in 1852, began reading law, under the direction of John Shuck, then a prominent lawyer of Lebanon ; and, in 1855, was admitted to the bar. From 1855 to 1866, he was mainly engaged in agricultural pursuits, at intervals practicing law ; from 1861 to 1867, represented Marion County in the State Legislature ; was, therefore, a member of that body throughout the most critical and probably the most important period of the State's his- tory; in 1866, entered actively on the practice of the law at Lebanon; and, in January, 1871, became Com- monwealth's Attorney for the Seventh Judicial District. Mr. Thomas is a Democrat in politics ; at the election preceding the civil war, voted for Bell and Everett, the avowed " Union" candidates for the Presidency and Vice-Presidency ; and during the war was a Union man. Religiously, he is Episcopalian.

ORMALD, JAMES, Merchant, one of the oldest and most successful business men of Maysville, Kentucky, and son of Jacob and Frances ( Cox ) Wormald, was born in London, England, Sep- tember 3, 1815. He enjoyed but meagre ad- vantages of education, while engaged through early life with his father in the support of their family. In 1828, they emigrated to the United States, and settled in Maysville; but, in the following year, his father sent him to West Union, Ohio, to learn the printer's tradc. In two or three years, he returned to Maysville, where his first work was done on McClung's " Western Adven- tures," in the office of the "Eagle," then owned by Judge Lewis Collins, the historian. In the " Eagle" office he remained five years. In 1837, he went to Washington City, where he worked for some time at his trade; and was subsequently engaged for several years in New Or- leans. In 1843, he returned to Maysville, and started a hat-store. This was soon after united with the book- store of Lewis Collins, where he had charge of the affairs of Mr. Collins during the publication of his " History of Kentucky." This connection lasted until 1848, when he resumed his hat business, independently of other in- terests, with great success. In the course of time, he became agent, at Maysville, for the Pomeroy Coal Com- pany ; also, for the Ohio River Salt Company. For twenty-five years, he has been uninterruptedly connected with these two companies; and, although the coal trade, into which he had largely entered himself, became ex- tensive and valuable, he only recently abandoned his hat business. In the Summer of 1876, he was forced by protracted sickness, which finally resulted in a paralytic stroke, to retire entirely from business. For nearly half a century, Mr. Wormald has been largely identificd, in various ways, with the history of Maysville; has had re-

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posed in him some valuable trusts; and established a reputation for liberality, integrity, and fair and just deal- ings with men, of which he might well be proud. He started out moneyless, in a trade that seldom brings honor or fortune to its followers; and, by good sense, great industry, and care, has accumulated a considerable fortune. He has become greatly attached to the people of Maysville; and, in order to fix this attachment in some tangible shape for their ultimate benefit, has re- cently deeded to the city a considerable property, for the founding of a Mason County Historical and Scien- tific Society, and a public library in Maysville; and not this deed alone should give him a place among its bene- factors, and most generous and worthy citizens. He has never been much of a politician, nor taken but little interest in the social organizations that fret mankind. When the rebellion broke out, he took a stand in favor of the Union. This position he probably maintained throughout the war. Mr. Wormald is a bachelor.

ARSHALL, HON. THORNTON FRANCIS, Lawyer, was born July 4, 1819, in Augusta, Bracken County, Kentucky. A sketch of his father, Martin Marshall, one of the most ablc, conscientious, and pure lawyers who ever lived in Kentucky, will be found on another page of this volume. His mother was Matilda B. Taliaferro, a native of Virginia, and a daughter of Nicholas Talia- ferro, and a sister of the late Dr. W. T. Taliaferro, of Cincinnati. Thornton F. Marshall was educated at Au- gusta College, and Centre College, Danville. He left the latter institution in 1839, and commenced reading law, at Augusta, under his father; underwent a thor- ough and careful preparation ; was admitted to the bar in 1842; began the practice of his profession in that year, at Augusta; was elected County Attorney for. Bracken County, in 1851; was re-elected in 1855, holding the office eight years; in 1858, was elected to the Senate of Kentucky; held the office one term, of four years; was delegate to the Chicago Convention, in 1864, and was Elector for the State at large on the Mcclellan ticket, that year. He cast his first Democratic vote for James Buchanan, and voted for John C. Breckinridge, in 1860. He was previously a member of the old Whig party, and was a warm supporter of Henry Clay. Mr. Mar- shall stands among the first lawyers of Eastern Ken- tucky, and is a man of fine personal and social habits, and, in many respects, maintains in his own life the ad- mirable traits of the Marshall family. He was married, October 12, 1843, to Anna Eliza Mackie, only daughter of Dr. George W. Mackie, a good man, who died in Augusta, in 1855, after a life of great usefulness in his profession.

RAMLETTE, HON. THOMAS E., Lawyer, and once Governor of Kentucky, was born January 3, 1817, in Cumberland County, Ken- tucky. He received a good education, in the schools of the country ; studied law, and was admitted to practice in 1837. He had fine ability, and was characterized for industry and honesty, starting in his profession with a high reputation, which he maintained throughout a long, active, and successful career. In 1841, he was elected to the State Legis- lature; and, from that time, was almost continually in public office. In 1849, he was appointed Common- wealth's Attorney; filled the position two years; in 1852, removed to Columbia, Adair County, Kentucky, continuing the practice of his profession with great suc- cess; was elected Judge of the Sixth Judicial District ; filled the office for six years, his decisions being rarely ever reversed in the Court of Appeals. When the re- bellion broke out, he took sides with the Union army ; received a colonel's commission ; raised the Third Ken- tucky Regiment of Infantry; and entered the field at its head; resigned, in 1862, to become United States District Attorney for Kentucky, which position was offered him by President Lincoln on the death of Hon. James Harlan ; and at that time removed to Louisville. During his term of office, the Government tried and con- victed one Shackleford for treason, that being the only case of the kind recorded in the history of this country. In 1863, he was commissioned Major-General; and, while organizing his division, was nominated as the Union candidate for Governor of Kentucky; was elected by a large majority, in August of that year; and his admin- istration was a good one, characterized by fairness and freedom from partisan spirit. During the session in the Winter of 1863, he was offered a seat in Congress, but declined to be a candidate. In 1864, the Convention at Louisville instructed their delegates to vote, in the National Convention, for McClellan and Bramlette for President and Vice-President. He again declined the use of his name, thinking his services of more benefit to the State as its Governor. At the close of the war, he dealt with fairness towards the offenders of both armies, and became the friend of good feeling through- out the country. He was the supporter of public chari- ties and benevolent institutions of all kinds, and was a warm advocate of a State Normal School. At the close of his term of office, he again settled in Louisville, for the purpose of practicing the law, and soon obtained a large and lucrative business, taking a high position at the bar. He was a pleasing and forcible speaker and a fine writer; was impulsive, liberal-spirited, and brave ; commanding in appearance, and of unusual muscular strength ; was never vindictive; and died, universally esteemed and lamented, at his residence, in Louisville, January 12, 1875. Gov. Bramlette was twice-married :

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September, 1837, to Miss Sallie Travis, a lady of many virtues, with whom he lived the greater part of his life; June 3, 1874, he was again married to Mrs. Mary E. Adams, a daughter of Dr. C. C. Graham, of Louisville. A son and daughter, only children of his first marriage, survived him.

RIGHT, JOHN WILLIAMS, M. D., Physician and Author, son of Tobias Bright and his wife, Jane Ford, was born April 29, 1791, four miles from Lexington, on North Elkhorn, in Fayette County, Kentucky. His father was a native of North Carolina; was son of Albert Bright, one of the pioneers of Shelby County; came to Kentucky in 1790; lived, for a time, in Fayette and Montgomery Counties, finally settling in Henry County, where he died, in 1802. His mother was a native of Virginia, and daughter of John Ford, a farmer, who settled in Shelby County, Kentucky, at an early day. Dr. Bright remained on the farm until his twenty-first year, and up to this time had spent his evenings and leisure hours in educating himself; in 1812, he attended a select school, where he acquired a fair knowledge of Latin; and, throughout his long life, has been a persevering and la- borious student. In the Winter of 1812, he began to read medicine, under Dr. John Bemis, of Nelson County ; in 1814, commenced the practice of medicine at New Castle, Henry County ; in 1821, attended lectures at Transylvania University, and graduated in medicine, in 1822; in 1832, he practiced his profession in New Or- leans, Louisiana ; then, returned to Henry County ; from 1834 to 1859, practiced very successfully in Louis- ville; in the latter year, removed to Lexington, the old wealthy literary scat of the State, where he has since resided, most actively and incessantly engaged, dividing his time between his professional and literary pursuits. Of late years he has made a specialty of curing cancer without the use of the knife. His published works are: " A Plain System of Medical Practice ;" " Bright on Can- cer ;" and "The Philosophy of Christianity; " and he will soon issue his remarkable work on "Faith and its Fruits ;" also, his "Review of the Philosophies of All Nations, and the Religions Growing out of Them." His life has been one of incessant work, and, to-day, notwithstanding his uncommonly advanced age, and his sixty-two years of laborious medical practice, he is en- gaged, with remarkable vigor, in the pursuits which were, with great pleasure and success, undertaken in early man- hood. Dr. Bright has been a local preacher in the Meth- odist Episcopal Church for forty years; has established several Churches in localities where the Gospel had not been preached before; and now preaches occasionally, and acceptably, to the congregations.

AYLOR, MAJOR-GENERAL ZACHARY, Sol- dier, and once President of the United States, was born September 24, 1784, in Orange County, Virginia, and was the son of Col. Rich- ard Taylor, a Virginian, who rose to the rank of lieutenant-colonel in the war of the Revolu- tion, and, after his removal to Kentucky, in 1785, en- gaged with great fearlessness in the wars with the Indians, and made his name a terror to that people on the Western border. He was of English origin, settled near the Falls of the Ohio, and there the subject of this sketch was reared and educated. In 1808, he was appointed First Lieutenant in the Seventh United States Infantry, and soon after joined the army, under Gen. Wilkinson ; in 1811, took charge of Fort Knox, on the Wabash, near Vincennes; in the following year, took command of Fort Harrison, then fifty miles beyond the settlements, on the Wabash; and, on the night of the 4th of September, was attacked by a large party of Indians, composed principally of chiefs, whom he de- feated with a handful of men; and, for this brilliant achievement, which brought great joy to the settlements in Kentucky, and greatly decreased savage ardor, he was brevetted major; in 1814, he took temporary com- mand of the troops in Missouri; in August, of that year, was sent, with a detachment of three hundred and twenty men and a few pieces of artillery, to destroy the Indian villages, and erect a fort at the mouth of Rock river, on the Mississippi, where he was met by a strong force of British and Indians, and was com- pelled to retire to the mouth of the Des Moines, where he erected a fort on the opposite side of the Mississippi, and named it Fort Johnson; in December, took charge of the troops in Indiana, where he re- mained until the close of the second war with Eng- land, when he rcsigned his commission, being unwill- ing to take the rank of captain in the army, during the time of peace; in 1816, he was reinstated with the rank of major, and took command of Fort Craw- ford, on Green Bay. In 1832, he was promoted to the rank of colonel, being actively engaged in the Black Hawk War; in 1836, engaged in the Seminole War in Florida, and, on December 25, in that year, fought, on Lake Okeechobee, the most successful and desperate battle of that war; was promoted to brigadier-general for his valuable services in Florida; at the commence- ment of the war with Mexico, he was sent to establish a post of observation on the Mexican border; in 1845, located his camp at Corpus Christi; in March of the following year, under instructions, marched to the bank of the Rio Grande, and established Fort Brown, opposite Matamoras; on the first day of May, he marched out with the main body of his army, with a view to opening his way to Point Isabel, which he reached with- out obstruction ; on his return to Fort Brown, on the

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8th of May, he was intercepted by six thousand Mex- ican Regulars, a large artillery force, and a considerable body of Ranchers, at Palo Alto, and defeated the enemy, in the first great battle of the war; on the following day he again attacked the enemy, at Resaca de la Palma, and defeated them with great loss; and, on the 18th of May, without opposition, took possession of Matamoras; after some delay, he started on his march to Montery, a strongly fortified position, commanded by ten thousand Mexicans, and, with a force of little over six thousand men, he invested the city, and, after a series of desper- ate engagements, compelled its surrender ; soon after, fought the great battle of Buena Vista, with less than five thousand men, against a force of twenty thousand, under Santa Anna, defeating the Mexicans with the loss of two thousand men, and closing the war in that quar- ter. In 1848, he was nominated by the Whigs, as their candidate for President ; defeated Gen. Cass, and was in- augurated March 5, 1849; and, having gathered around him an able body of councilors, and before having op- portunity to exhibit much of his own skill as a states- man, was suddenly seized with illness, and died July 9, 1850. He was a plain, unassuming man, with little ed- ucation for political life, being reared and having lived as a soldier ; was a patriot ; never sought position or office, and served his country in any position to which he was called, believing it his duty, and being actuated only by pure love of country. He was one of the most able of American generals, and his character was uni- versally admired by the American people. Gen. Taylor was married, in 1810, to Miss Margaret Smith, a native of Maryland, and a woman of great worth of character.

INEBAUGH JOSEPH T., M. D., Surgeon and Druggist, was born on the 25th of November, 1850, in Montgomery County, Tennessee. His father was engaged in farming in that county for many years, and was a native of Russellville, Kentucky. The family is of German descent, and emigrated to America at an early day, coming to Kentucky in 1810. Joseph Linebaugh received as lib- eral an education as the county schools afforded, and having an insatiable thirst for learning he by self-appli- cation acquired a fair knowledge of Latin, with a view to the study of medicine, for which profession he early developed a decided preference. In 1871, he entered the University of Nashville, Tennessee, and attended a course of medical lectures, delivered by Doctors Briggs and Bowling, professors of various branches of medicine, after the completion of which, he went to Philadelphia, and became a student in Jefferson College, under Pro- fessors Gross, Pancoast, and other eminent physicians, and graduated in 1873. He then opened an office, for

the practice of his profession, at Guthrie, Kentucky, within one mile of his birthplace, and has since had a very large patronage. He is particularly successful in the diseases of women and children, and as an obstetrician has the confidence of the community. He furnishes oc- casional papers to journals of the profession, of rare merit. In the Spring of 1876, he embarked in the drug business, with W. T. Spaulding, and, in the Fall of that year, purchased his partner's interest, and still continues, with his father as a partner, to transact the leading drug business in his locality. Dr. Linebaugh, was united in marriage, in 1875, to Miss Bettie Bible, the daughter of the late W. F. Bible, the first settler in the town of Guthrie, and for many years its leading cloth merchant. Dr. Linebaugh is an earnest and skillful practitioner, a deep student; has acquired an extended practice, and is rapidly achieving fame as a surgeon.

OGHLAN, REV. MICHAEL M., D. D., was born at Millbrook, Galway County, Ireland, and is the son of Peter Coghlan, who was a worthy and energetic farmer. His early educa- tion was acquired at the common-schools of his native county ; he also attended the monas- tic schools, and passed through a course of professional studies at St. Thomas's Seminary, situated about four miles from Bardstown, Kentucky, and at St. Joseph's College, over which he now presides. He was ordained priest, in 1847, and, in 1853, was made Vice-President of St. Mary's College, in Marion County, Kentucky. In August, 1872, he was made President of St. Joseph's College, where he still continues, the Rev. P. Defraine being his predecessor. This college was founded in 1820, at the earnest solicitation of the people of Bardstown, who desircd the establishment of a school for the educa- tion of their children. Bishop Flaget, in complying with the wish, selected Father Elder as the first presi- dent and founder. In the absence of a suitable build- ing, the school was opened in the basement of the The- ological Seminary. The rapid progress of the school rendered the erection of a separate and suitable building absolutely necessary. Under the direction of the Bishop, the south wing of St. Joseph's College was then put up, and paid for chiefly from the proceeds of the day school. Boarders were then received, and the school filled to overflowing. . St. Joseph's College is pleasantly and healthfully situated, surrounded by romantic scenery. It has long been one of the first institutions of learning in the State, and an honor to its noble founder, Father Elder, a Kentuckian by birth. As conducted at present, under the special patronage of the Right Rev. Bishop of Louisville, and the clergy of the diocese, it is de- signed principally for the preparation of young men for

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the study of theology. There are no courses of studies established in this college; the students select their own- the classics for those preparing for the ministry or other learned professions, and the commercial course for those intended for mercantile pursuits. Father Coghlan is zealous in the discharge of his religious duties, pleasant and congenial in his manners, and, being a gentleman of fine culture, is fully qualified for the position he now holds.

ARTIN, THOMAS J., Merchant, son of Thomas J. Martin, Sr., was born near Lynchburg, Vir- ginia, April 16, 1815, and, at an early age, went with his parents to Middle Tennessee. After receiving such an education as the schools of that time and section of the country afforded, he, at the age of fourteen, left his home, without means, to seek his fortune in the wide world ; going down the Tennessee river on a flat-boat. Landing at the town of Trinity, just laid out by a Mr. Webb, some eight miles above Cairo, he found it filled with cock-fighting roister- ers. Finding no inducement for him to remain there, he obtained passage on the first steamboat, on payment of one dollar-one third of his entire capital-to Smith- land, at the mouth of the Cumberland. Desiring to reach Nashville, to persons in which place he had letters of introduction, he applied for and obtained a situation as clerk on a boat going to that port. Failing to find em- ployment on his arrival, and being engaged in seeing the sights, he accidentally made the acquaintance of Martin Thomas, the proprietor of two stores in Nashville and one in Clarksville, who received him into his house, and furnished him the desired employment. Continuing here until Mr. Thomas's retirement from business, he was sent to Elkton to dispose of the goods on hand, act- ing as auctioneer himself. Here he was employed by Mr. Nimrod Long, for the firm of Henry & Robinson, with whom he continued until his removal to Louisville, in 1831, where he became engaged as clerk in the cot- ton house of Fellows & Co. After remaining with this, firm until 1833, he went into the wholesale grocery busi- ness, under the firm name of Thomas J. Martin & Co., with John S. Snead, one of the oldest, wealthiest, and most prominent merchants of the Western country. After severing his connection with Mr. Snead, he was, unfortunately, with many others, involved in the tor- nado of financial distress which swept the whole coun- try, in 1840. Losing his all, and being obliged to begin anew, he went to New Orleans and founded one of the largest commission houses in the country, having branches at Louisville, Mobile, and New York City ; and was also at the head of the well-known pork-packing and ham-curing firm of Duffield & Co. Being closely connected with the financial interests of the South, he

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The Biographical encyclopaedia of Kentucky of the dead and living men of the nineteenth century, Part 83

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