The Biographical encyclopaedia of Kentucky of the dead and living men of the nineteenth century, Part 87

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

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ERR, LEVI, Stock-breeder, was born in Lan- caster County, Pennsylvania, January 13, 1816. His father, John Herr, was a respectable farmer of his county ; and, in 1833, came to Franklin County, Ohio, where he followed the occupa- tion of a farmer until his death, some years later. Levi Herr was about eighteen years of age when his father came to Franklin County ; and, after the death of his father, he remained in Ohio until 1844, when he removed to Paris, Kentucky. His early education was confined to the plain English branches, which he thoroughly mastered. At an early age, he manifested a natural fondness for the companionship and care of horses, the greater part of his youth being spent in the society of dealers in these animals. He took such pleas- ure in the treatment of their ailments and attending to their training, that, at an early age, he had formed the resolution of pursuing this business through life. The young student in veterinary science had many obstacles to overcome in pursuing his studies. In the first place, there were no veterinary colleges in this country, this science having been very much neglected on this side of the Atlantic. He was, therefore, compelled to send to Europe for the necessary books and instruments, with which to obtain the highest proficiency, and to take ad- vantage of all the latest information pertaining to his business. His labors were soon rewarded with a flatter- ing degree of success, he being consulted far and near, and his services being in constant requisition from all quarters. His name soon became known as one of the most successful members of the profession, in which he was one of the earliest founders and promoters. Hav- ing resolved, in accordance with his early determination, to master the equine science in all its departments, he, in 1852, left Paris, and purchased three hundred acres of land near Lexington, Kentucky, naming his place " Forrest Park." Here he established one of the finest and best-regulated breeding and training farms in the State ; and has brought out some of the most celebrated horses in the country. Among these may be mentioned

the following well-known animals, raised at "Forrest Park :" " Lady Thorne," " Roanoke," " Mambrino Pi- ļot," "Native American," "Lady Stout," "Mambrino Kate," " Kate Patchen," " Mambrino Gift," and many others, whose records are familiar to turf-men. To these may be added his "Mambrino King" and " Roths- childs," admitted, by all competent judges, to be two of the finest specimens of blooded stock ever seen in Kentucky. His library is well stored with all the latest works relating to his profession, and is one of the finest in the State. His stock of instruments is also extensive; and his inventive talent has been displayed in the add- ing of numerous and valuable improvements to these in- dispensable adjuncts of his profession. He is the in- ventor and proprietor of several very useful ointments and compounds, which are in constant demand among stable-men and dealers generally. He has, a number of times, performed the very difficult surgical operation of lithotomy, always drawing the presence of the most prominent physicians and scientific men of his vicinity to witness his operations. As an instance of the expe- dition and skill with which his operations of this nature are conducted, it may be mentioned that, from the time of making the first incision, to the removal of a stone of seven ounces weight, but the small space of time of two minutes and forty-eight seconds was occupied. His fame has reached nearly every part of the Union; and he is in constant receipt of letters from different parts of the country, asking his advice in regard to matters connected with his profession as veterinary sur- geon. He was the admired friend of the celebrated surgeons Dudley and Bush ; and their mutual labors were given for the advancement of surgical science. He was married to Miss Frances M. Dunning, daughter of Lucius Dunning, of New York State. They have had five children, of whom but three survive, named, respec- tively, Charles S., the youngest son; Lee P., and Ethel- bert D., who is preparing to enter the same profession as his father. Dr. Herr is an upright and conscientious gentleman ; modest and retiring, he has avoided, as much as possible, the prominence in the community to which his eminent abilities justly entitle him; self-edu- cated in his profession, he stands its acknowledged head throughout the West ; of a pleasant and social disposi- tion, he is universally respected by a large circle of ac- quaintances.

DWARDS, HON. NINIAN, Lawyer, was born in March, 1775, in Montgomery County, Mary- land, and was the son of Benjamin Edwards, who was born in Virginia, 1752, and was a mem- ber of Maryland Legislature, also of the State Convention which ratified the Federal Constitu- tion, and represented that State in Congress, from 1793

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to 1795, and was a man of considerable note. Ninian Edwards was a graduate of Dickinson College, Pennsyl- vania. He studied both law and medicine, and prac- ticed the former with great success. In 1794, he came to Nelson County, Kentucky, and devoted himself for some time to the improvement of a farm, located by his father, and on which his father's family settled, in 1800. He was elected to the Kentucky Legislature, in 1796; at the expiration of his term, was re-elected; in 1798, located at Russellville, in Logan County, where he soon became distinguished in his profession, and met with great success in the accumulation of property. He was appointed Circuit Court Clerk; soon after became a judge of the General Court of Kentucky; in 1804, be- came a Circuit Court Judge; in 1806, was elevated to the Court of Appeals, and, in 1808, became Chief-Justice of Kentucky, all before reaching his thirty-second year ; was Presidential Elector, in 1804, on the Jefferson ticket ; in 1809, was appointed by President Madison as Gov- ernor of Illinois; and was reappointed in 1812, and in 1816. Before Congress took any steps toward raising vol- unteer troops against the Indians, and before the war of 1812, he built forts, established a line of posts, and or- ganized companies of rangers, supplying them with arms, and putting in a state of defense the entire country from the mouth of the Missouri to the Wabash river. In 1816, he was commissioned to treat with the Indians ; and, when Illinois became a State, he was elected to Con- gress, serving in the Senate from 1818 to 1824; received the appointment of Minister to Mexico, but declined ; was soon afterwards elected Governor of Illinois, filling the position until 1831, after which he retired to private life. Governor Edwards was a large man, of fine address, and was celebrated, especially, as a pleader in criminal cases, usually having great power over a jury. Few men accomplished more, and filled more important offices and stations of honor in a life-time of half a century, than did Ninian Edwards. He died of cholera, July 20, 1833, at Belleville, St. Clair County, Illinois.

RELAND, HON. WILLIAM CRUTCHER, Lawyer and Judge, son of Capt. Samuel D. and Sarah (Crutcher) Ireland, was born November 28, 1823, in Mason County, Kentucky. His grandfather, James Ireland, was a native of Southern or Western Pennsylvania, and emi- grated to Kentucky while it was yet a part of the Terri- tory of Virginia. He was an officer under Gen. Wilkin- son in the early Indian wars, and was one of the active and influential pioneers of Mason County. He was a nephew of Rev. James Ireland, the distinguished Virgin- ian Baptist Clergyman, who appeared among the early ministers of his denomination that laid the foundation of

their Church in Virginia. His father, Capt. Samuel D. Ireland, was born in a block-house near the town of Washington, Mason County, August 1, 1798. He com- menced boating on the Ohio river before he had reached his seventeenth year, and long before the days of steam- boats; and in 1826 or 1827, built the side-wheel steamer, "Emigrant," commanding it until it was wrecked, in 1832; then built the "New Emigrant," and ran that for some time, to Cincinnati, Louisville, and points up the river ; afterwards built the "Cuba," and commanded her for some time, and, subsequently, partially owned and commanded the "Hunter." In 1845, he permanently quit the river, and remained on his farm near Maysville, in Lewis County, Kentucky, until his death, in 1861. He was a man of large brain and great mental and physical activity, and was noted for his integrity of character. It is quite certain that his ancestors, in this country, were of Scotch or Scotch-Irish origin, and appeared in America long prior to the war of the Revolution, doubt- lessly first settling in Pennsylvania, Maryland, or Vir- ginia, or in all those States. The orthography of this name may have remained unchanged from the first; but, in the Western States, one branch, apparently pointing to the same origin, are found omitting the final letter. His mother, Sarah Crutcher, was born in Mason County, Kentucky, in 1800, and was the daughter of Matthew and Sarah Crutcher, who came to this State from Mary- land. William C. Ireland received a good education, chiefly at the private schools of Mason and Lewis Coun- ties, and commenced life as a clerk in a store at Mays- ville ; and afterwards had charge of his father's farm for several years. In 1845, he went to Clarksburg, Lewis County, where he studied law and wrote in the Clerk's office for two years; in 1848, was admitted to the bar, and at once entered upon the practice of the law, at Clarks- burg. He rose rapidly in his profession, his practice soon embracing some of the most important cases. In 1852, he removed to Greenupsburg, in Greenup County, where he established a large and valuable practice, and became one of the leading men at the bar of Eastern Kentucky, his practice extending over five counties, and for many years before the Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court of the State. In 1868, he moved to Ashland, and has since resided there, pursuing his profession with his ac- customed skill and success. In 1859, he was elected to represent Greenup County in the Lower House of the Legislature, and was re-elected in 1861, serving two terms, and through the greater part of the most impor- tant period in the history of that body. Especially during the second term of his service, the Legislature of Kentucky was noted for being composed of many of the best inen of the State. He took position with the members of that body against the secession of the State from the Federal Union, and became one of the ad- vocates of the necessary measures to sustain the State in

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its relations to the National Government. He also pub- lished several papers ably defending the course pursued by the Union leaders, and rejecting the plan of secession as being a remedy for any wrong, but as being the way to the absolute ruin of the State and the impoverishment of her people. And while he remained firm in his po- sition throughout the war, and was bitterly opposed to the establishment of a Southern Confederacy, and worked ineessantly against it, yet his sympathies were very warm for the Southern people, whose course he believed to be wrong. In 1863, he was elected Assist- ant Clerk of the Senate, and served two years in that capacity. In 1874, he was elected Circuit Judge of the Sixteenth Judicial District, consisting of the counties of Boyd, Carter, Lawrence, Johnson, Magoffin, Floyd, Pike, and Martin, his term expiring in 1880. He was a Whig in politics until the dissolution of that party ; was a Conservative at the close of the civil war; and has, for a number of years, been identified with the Democratic party. He has been, for over twenty years, actively connected with the Methodist Episcopal Church, South ; is prominent in some of the social organizations of the day; has been largely identified with all move- ments of interest in his community ; and is one of the most able lawyers and valuable men of his part of the State. He is a man of good stature, being five feet nine and one-half inches in height, and weighing one hundred and seventy-five pounds ; of pleasant manners and admirable bearing ; with great vigor of mind and many superior excellences of character. Judge Ireland was married, July 4, 1848, to Miss Pamelia D. Robb, of Lewis County, Kentucky, a lady of many accomplish- ments and charming character. They have three living children : Virginia L., the wife of John W. Hampton, a lawyer of Ashland; Sallie D., the wife of Edward S. Norton, prominent lumber merchant of Cincinnati ; and Samuel, a youth at home.

cCLUNG, REV. JOHN ALEXANDER, D. D., was born September 25, 1804, in Mason County, Kentucky, and was the son of Judge William McClung, and grandson of Thomas Marshall. He received his education mainly under his uncle, Dr. Lewis Marshall, and, in his eight- eenth year, became a student in the Theological Sem- inary, at Princeton ; joined the Presbyterian Church, in 1820; was licensed to preach in 1828, and, after taking a position among the most brilliant clergy- men of the Presbyterian Church, and laboring with great success, he abandoned the ministry, and, in 1835, began the practice of the law at Maysville, and soon stood among the most brilliant men of that profession ; in 1838, he was elected to the Kentucky Legislature ;

after a successful career at the bar, in 1849, he again resumed his ministerial labors ; in 1851, he was pastor, for a time, of the First Presbyterian Church, at Louis- ville; was subsequently in charge of the Seventh Pres- byterian Church, Cincinnati ; was for four years pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, Indianapolis ; in 1857, took charge of the Church at Maysville, Kentucky ; in the mean time was elected President of Hanover College, Indiana, and urged to accept various valuable charges in his Church, all of which he declined. His health finally became impaired, and his habits became some- what peculiar, and, when on a tour of recreation, he was drowned, while bathing in Niagara river, August 6, 1859. In 1830, he published a romance called "Camden," and, in 1832, published his celebrated work, "Sketches of Western Adventure." He was a man of fine literary attainments ; displayed at the bar, and in the Legisla- ture, uncommon talents and ability ; possessed remarka- ble oratorical powers, was a preacher of extraordinary force, and was undoubtedly one of the most attractive and able ministers of his Church. Mr. McClung was married, in 1825, to Eliza Johnston a sister of General Albert Sidney Johnston and Hon. J. Stoddard John- ston, a lady of great refinement and piety.

UCKER, JOSEPH THOMAS, Lawyer and Soldier, was born August 31, 1833, in Boston, Massachusetts. His father was a Virginian, and his mother a native of Massachusetts. He received his education at Yale College, where he graduated, in 1852. He graduated in the law department of Transylvania University, in the fol- lowing year, and began the practice of his profession in Winchester, Kentucky, November, 1852. In 1862, he entered the Confederate army, under Gen. John H. Morgan, as Lieutenant-Colonel of the Eleventh Ken- tucky Cavalry; and, in 1863, at the battle of Stone river, after the death of Colonel Chenault, he was made colonel of the regiment. He was with Morgan in his famous raid through Ohio, and was captured above Cheshire, in that State. He was placed in prison on Johnson's Island, in the Ohio penitentiary, and in Fort Delaware, and was among the first fifty officers sent to Charleston to be placed under fire. He was exchanged at Charleston, in August, 1864; was connected with the army of West Virginia, as Colonel of the Fourth Bat- talion, until the close of the war; and surrendered, at Mt. Sterling, on the first day of May, 1865. He is a genial and hospitable gentleman ; a man of fine legal acquirements, and stands deservedly high at the bar. Col. Tucker was married, April 15, 1858, to Miss Miriam Hood, of Clarke County, Kentucky.

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ALLING, WILLOUGHBY, M. D., son of George H. Walling, one of the leading physi- cians of Louisville, was born March 3, 1848, in Louisville, Kentucky. He was educated in the common-schools of Louisville; commenced the study of medicine in his father's office, at the age of sixteen, and graduated in the medical department of the University of Louisville. He spent some time in the hospitals of that city, and was for a time phy- sician to the City Almshouse; has been a member of the Board of Health for eight years; spent some time 'in Europe, attending lectures and visiting the hospitals of London and Vienna; for two years, has been President of the Medical Chirurgical Society of Louisville; has held the position of Local Secretary of the American Medical Association since 1874, and has contributed quite a number of articles to the medical journals of the day. He is one of the most energetic and talented young practitioners of Louisville ; is a man of fine per- son, pleasing manners, attractive social qualities; and is exceptionally successful in his profession. Dr. Wal- ling was married, June 24, 1876, to Miss Rosalind En- glish, daughter of Hon. William H. English, of Indian- apolis, Indiana.

OGERS, COLEMAN, M. D., was born August 10, 1840, in Louisville, Kentucky, and is de- scended from a family of physicians; his father, Dr. Lewis Rogers, and his grandfather both be- ing distinguished in the profession. (See sketch of Dr. Lewis Rogers.) His mother, Mary E. Rogers, was daughter of Charles M. Thruston, one of Kentucky's able lawyers. Dr. Rogers attended the pub- lic-schools of his native city; afterwards spent some time in the Male High-school of Louisville, from which he was withdrawn to make a trip with his father to Europe; entered the University of Toronto, Canada, where he finished his education ; in 1862, began the study of medi- cine in the University of Louisville, and graduated in the Spring of 1868; immediately afterwards, attended a course of lectures at Bellevue Medical College, New York; and, in September of the same year, entered upon the practice of his profession in Louisville; was, soon after, elected adjunct professor to Prof. Bell, in the Chair of Theory and Practice of Medicine in the Uni- versity of Louisville; and was, for several years, attend- ing physician to the University Dispensary, and also to the Louisville Marine Hospital. He has one of the finest medical libraries in the State; is enthusiastically devoted to his profession; is a writer of considerable ability; has a large and valuable practice; and is one of the rising men of the profession. Dr. Rogers was mar- ried, May 16, 1868, to Miss Mary Gray, daughter of George E. H. Gray, of Louisville.

ALDWELL, HON. GEORGE A., Lawyer, was born in Adair County, Kentucky, and was the son of William Caldwell, who was the first Clerk of the Circuit and County Courts of Adair County, and held that position until his death, a period of nearly half a century. George A. Caldwell acquired a fine literary education ; studied law, and en- tered upon its practice in Adair County. At the age of twenty-four, he was elected to the Legislature from that county; was elected to Congress from his district, in 1843; served his term; entered the army during the war

with Mexico, and rendered distinguished service as the colonel of a regiment ; was again elected to Congress, in 1849; removed to Louisville at the expiration of his Con- gressional service; was a delegate to the National Union Convention at Philadelphia, in 1866; and died suddenly at Louisville, September 17, 1866. He was an able and successful lawyer; accumulated a considerable fortune ; was never married; and his estate was divided among his brothers and sisters.

ORRIS GEORGE W., Merchant, son of John and Elizabeth Morris, was born January 27, 1823, in Gloucestershire, England. The family came to the United States, in 1831, and settled in Rensselaer County, New York. His parents gave great attention to the religious training of the children. His mother, a woman of great Christian virtue, died in Troy, New York, in 1861 ; his father still lives, in robust health, at the age of eighty-three years, retired from business, but still zealous in every good word and work. George W. Morris received an ordinary English education, and, at the age of fifteen, commenced his career as a clerk in a country store, near Troy, New York; and, after spending five years in that capacity, en- gaged for some time in teaching. In 1846, he started for the West, stopping at Buffalo, Cleveland, Cincinnati, and other cities, but without finding employment ; finally located in Louisville, where, after some hard experience, he obtained a situation, at a salary of two hundred dol- lars a year, in the tobacco house of E. Holbrook, but soon after became book-keeper in a wholesale dry-goods house; and, after two years, became a member of the grocery house of Fonda, Moore & Co., organized in 1848; this, in 1851, was changed to that of Fonda & Morris; and, after the withdrawal of Mr. Fonda, he continued until 1867, since which time he has been engaged in the iron business. He is notably, one of the most successful business men of Louisville. His career being character- ized by great energy, prudence, and liberality, controlled by a superior judgment, and marked throughout by un- doubted integrity ; and, notwithstanding his devotion to business pursuits, he has devoted considerable atten-

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tion to letters, and given much of his time and interest to public affairs. In 1851, he advocated before the peo- ple, and through the press, the necessity of a new city charter ; was one of the earliest advocates for loaning the credit of the city to aid in building railroads; was elected member of the first Board of Trustees of the University and Public-schools of the city of Louisville, under the charter of 1851; contributed largely to the present ad- mirable public-school system of the city; was connected with the board for nearly twelve years, being elected its President five consecutive years, without opposition; and, as presiding officer in that and other bodies, has gained considerable distinction. In 1865, the degree of A. M. was conferred upon him. For several years he was one of the Directors of the Kentucky Mechanics' Institute; delivered the fifth annual address before that association, in 1857; in 1860, was elected President of the Board of Trade, serving two years; in 1864, was a member of the City Council; in 1866, was the nominee of the Demo- cratic Convention for Mayor; in 1870, was chosen mem- ber from his ward to the convention which framed the present city charter, and was chosen President of that body; in 1873, on solicitation, without reference to party, he became a candidate for the Legislature, and was elected by a unanimous vote, but was compelled soon after, on account of pressing business, to resign. For sixteen years, he has been a Director of the Franklin Fire Insurance Company, of Louisville; was one of the originators of the Southern Mutual Life Insurance Com- pany, of Kentucky, serving as one of its Directors and member of its Executive Committee since its organiza- tion; for ten consecutive years, was a member of the Board of Directors of the Bank of Louisville, and has been for some time a Director in the Bank of Kentucky. In politics, he was an enthusiastic Whig, until the dis- solution of that party, when he acted with the Democ- racy, but of late years has not taken an active part in politics. In early life, he united with the Presbyterian Church, and has been zealous and active in its affairs, often representing his Church in its high courts, and is Superintendent of the Sabbath-school of the Second Presbyterian Church (Dr. Stuart Robinson's). For thirty years, his name has not only been prominently connected with the benevolent institutions and the charitable move- ments of the city, but also with most interests looking to the business, educational, and material interests of the city. He is a man of scholarly attainments; an easy, graceful, public speaker ; is liberal, using his means freely for all good purposes; is a man of attractive manners and liberal views; and is, undoubtedly, one of the most valuable men Louisville has ever had. Mr. Morris was married, in 1848, to Miss Caroline A. Wallace, daughter of James and Abigail Wallace, of Western New York, a lady of superior intelligence and fine personal attractions.

ELL, DAVID, M. D., Physician and Surgeon, son of David Bell and Nancy Holmes, his wife, was born July 9, 1810, near Lexington, Ken- tucky. His father was a native of Staunton, Virginia; came to Kentucky about the year 1804, and settled in Fayette County, where he remained during his life, engaged in agricultural pur- suits. His mother was a Pennsylvanian by birth, and daughter of John Holmes, who was an early settler in Fayette County. Dr. Bell was educated at Transylvania University, at Lexington. In 1828, he began reading medicine, principally under the supervision of Dr. Ben- jamin W. Dudley, one of the most prominent men in the medical profession in Kentucky. In 1832, he grad- uated at Transylvania University, receiving his medical degree; in the same year, entered on the practice of his profession at Hannibal, Missouri; soon afterwards re- turned to Kentucky, and located at Lancaster; in 1835, removed to Lexington, where he has since resided, act- ively engaged in a large and valuable medical practice. He has been engaged in his profession over forty years at Lexington, longer than any physician in active prac- tice in that city; was a member of the College of Phy- sicians and Surgeons, of Lexington, and, especially, during that period, often used his pen for the benefit of the profession ; has not only been popular and successful in ordinary practice, but has established a fine reputation as a surgeon; as early as 1834, performed the rare and difficult operation of Cæsarian section. He lias been greatly devoted to his profession, and to it has mainly given his time and energies throughout a long and successful career. In politics, he is a Democrat, but was a Whig until the dissolution of that party, casting his first vote for Henry Clay. He has been for over half a century a member of the Presbyterian Church, and for over forty years an elder ; is a man of fine per- sonal and social traits, and stands deservedly high in the community, of which he has been so long a valuable and useful member. Dr. Bell was married, June 5, 1834, to Charlotte Corday Robertson, daughter of Chief- Justice George W. Robertson.

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The Biographical encyclopaedia of Kentucky of the dead and living men of the nineteenth century, Part 87

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