The Biographical encyclopaedia of Kentucky of the dead and living men of the nineteenth century, Part 9

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

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campaign of 1812, under Gen. Harrison ; led the advance of the detachment which fought the first battle of the river Raisin; was wounded in that engagement ; was also wounded in the battle of the 22d January, and taken prisoner. Captain Ballard died, September 5, 1853, in Shelby County, Kentucky, and his remains lie in the State Cemetery at Frankfort.

OONE, SQUIRE, was born in 1737, in Berks County, Pennsylvania, and was a brother of Daniel Boone, the celebrated pioneer. He vis- ited Kentucky as early as 1769, but did not finally settle in the State with his family until the Spring of 1775, reaching Boonesborough about April I, where he made his home for several years. In 1779, he settled in Shelby County, on Clear Creek, and erected what was known as Squire Boone's Station. He was a member of the Transylvania Convention ; was also a delegate, in behalf of the Colony, to the Virginia Legislature, and in that body met with great success in furthering the desires of the new settle- ment. He laid claim to a considerable tract of land in Shelby County, which was wrested from him in the great contest for disputed titles, and for a time took up his residence in Louisville. About 1806, he removed to the Territory of Indiana, and settled in what is now Boone Township, twenty-five miles from Louisville, and in that settlement he died, in 1815. He left a large family of children.

OWLING, HON. ROBERT CHATHAM, Law- yer, was born February 19, 1820, in Clarksville, Tennessee. He was the oldest son of the cel- ebrated Dr. J. B. Bowling, who moved to Kentucky when the subject of this sketch was but two years old. Robert C. Bowling received a very liberal education, first in the best schools of Logan County, afterward at Nashville, and finished his literary course at Centre College, Danville, Kentucky. In 1840, he began the study of the law with his uncle, Judge E. M. Ewing; graduated, in 1842, at Transylva- nia College, and at once commenced the practice of his profession. He speedily rose to political distinction, being, in 1845, at the age of twenty-five, elected to the State Legislature, and was the youngest member in that body, during that session, He was re-elected in 1847, and again in 1855. His career in the Legislature was marked by the faithful manner in which he attended to the interests of his constituents, although he continued the active practice of his profession during all this pe- riod. When, by the death of Judge Rogers, a vacancy occurred on the Circuit Bench, he was appointed, by

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Governor Stevenson, to fill the unexpired term; was twice re-elected, and, after an interval of a year, was again elected, and now fills the office. His career upon the bench has been marked with dignity and firmness, by which, and his systematic disposal of business, he has established an unusually high standing in his court. When he came upon the bench, he found the docket clogged, crowded, and disorganized generally, but he applied such method and attention as speedily to remove all such complaint. He is a most laborious worker, in the faithful discharge of his duties, understands thor- oughly the responsibilities vested in him, and conscien- tiously carries a spirit of impartiality into his office that wins for him the respect of the bar generally, and the support of his constituents. By close industry, and many hours' daily work, he soon brought up the business of his court so that each day had its complement of work. He made an order fining those who came late to their duties in his court, and although this action was unprecedented, yet by the just application, and its reasonable necessity, he found the bar in perfect accord with the bench, and speedily secured all the benefits for which the rule was adopted. Singularly enough, Judge Bowling was the first delinquent, and had the honor of paying the first fine under his rule. During the Presi- dential campaign of 1856, he was elected, as Elector from the Third Congressional District of Kentucky, by the Fillmore party, and was offered, by the Committee, the Electorship for the State at large. On the 7th of January, 1845, he was married to Miss Lucy C., daughter of Rev Benjamin Temple, a worthy Methodist minister, and by her has two sons and four daughters. His elder son, James R. Bowling, is a planter in the South; his younger son, Temple Bowling, who graduated at Cum- berland University, is an honored member of the legal profession at Russellville, Kentucky. Judge Bowling, although past the prime of life, is yet fit for much more hard service. As a lawyer, he is an able advocate, a sound logician, and a profound reasoner. He fills the duties of the bench with becoming dignity; firm and impartial in administering the law, he is yet one who tempers justice with mercy, endeavoring always to dis- criminate against that justice which is not equity. He has given great satisfaction in his judicial career, by his conscientious labor and fidelity.

ROADNAX, JUDGE HENRY P., Lawyer, was born March 15, 1769, in Dinwiddie County, Virginia, and died February 4, 1857, at Rus- sellville, Kentucky. He was liberally educated, and at an early day emigrated to Kentucky, and, settling down in the Southern part of the Statc, practiced law until appointed Judge of the Cir-

cuit Court, which office he held until old age compelled him to resign and retire to his farm, twelve miles from Russellville, where he spent the evening of his days, surrounded by friends, universally honored, having lived a most active, useful, and valuable career. He was an able judge, and a lawyer of fine attainments. He was long a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, but finally of the Presbyterian Church ; he was a man of great uprightness of character; shrewd and firm in his opinions, having suffered few reverses of his decisions while on the Circuit Bench. Judge Broadnax was severe in his habits, but was kind, and generous, and, especially in his latter years, gave liberally to the poor. He was never married.

URNAM, HON. CURTIS FIELD, Lawyer and Banker, was born May 24, 1820, at Richmond, Kentucky. His parents were Thompson Bur- nam and Lucinda (Field) Burnam, and he was their third child. His father, Thompson Bur- nam, was born near the city of Raleigh, in Wake County, North Carolina; was brought by his par- ents, John Burnam and Ann Fort, to Madison County, about 1792; followed mercantile and agricultural pur- suits; was elected to the Legislature in 1844, serving one term; had a very decided aversion to holding public office; was always antislavery in principle; was relig- iously a Baptist; was a personal friend of Henry Clay; he died May 14, 1871, at the age of eighty-two. His mother was a native of Culpepper County, Virginia, and daughter of John Field, an carly settler of Bourbon County ; a soldier in the Revolutionary War; was elected to represent Bourbon County in the Legislature for sev- eral terms. Curtis F. Burnam was liberally educated, graduating at Yale College, in the class of 1840. He read law with Judge Daniel Breck, at Richmond; in 1842, graduated from the law department of Transyl- vania University, and at once began the law practice in his native town, where he has always resided; was elected to the Legislature in 1851; in 1852, was elected Presidential Elector for Scott and Graham; in the fol- lowing year, declined the candidacy for Congress from his district; in 1859, was again elected to the Legisla- ture; was re-elected in 1861; in 1863, was the Repub- lican nominee in the Legislature for the United States Senate; was defeated by James Guthrie; in 1864, was Elector for the State at large, on the Republican ticket, and canvassed Eastern Kentucky for Abraham Lincoln; in that year, was elected President of the Farmers' Bank of Richmond, since occupying that position; has been for many years President of the Board of Trustees for Madison Seminary ; in 1875, was appointed by President Grant Assistant Secretary of the United States Treasury, but resigned in the following year. He received the

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degree of LL. D. from Centre College, in 1873. He has devoted his time and energies mainly to the duties of his profession and business; still, has had time to speak and write on political, literary, and other subjects; has al- ways taken an active interest in the affairs of his com- munity; is an able speaker and lawyer, and one of the first men of his section of the Statc. He was originally a Whig; cast his first Presidential vote for Henry Clay; voted for Bell and Everett in 1860; and, during the war of the rebellion, was an unconditional Union man, and a fearless and determined advocate and supporter of the National Administration. He has been a member of the Baptist Church since youth; is a man of fine so- cial and personal manners and habits; has led an active and successful career, and been distinguished for his un- flinching integrity of character. Mr. Burnam was mar- ried May 6, 1845, to Miss Sarah H. Rollins, a native of Madison County, Kentucky, and daughter of Dr. A. W. Rollins, of Boone County, Missouri.

OBLE, JOHN C., Editor of the Paducah " Herald," was born December 2, 1815, in Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky. His father, Elijah Noble, was a Kentuckian by birth, of Irish descent, and, in his early man- hood, was one of the largest and most re- spected merchants of Lexington, owning and managing six or cight store-houses in different villages in Central Kentucky ; but the close of the second war with Eng- land, by depreciation in the value of the large stock he owned, brought disaster to his business, from which he never recovered. John C. Noble was educated in the schools of Fayette County and Lexington, and obtained a fair knowledge of Latin, and higher branches, under Charles O'Hara, in the Grammar School of Transyl- vania University. After completing his apprenticeship in the printing business, he also studied German and French, and through a long active literary career has become one of the most thoroughly well informed men of his profession. He studied law under Chancellor Caleb Logan, Louis- ville, but never entered upon the practice of that profes- sion. He was an ardent Democrat, and soon entered upon his career as a political editor, which he has pur- sued ever since, exerting a large influence over Ken- tucky, and gaining the' reputation of being a forcible and brilliant writer and sagacious politician. Twice only has he ever been a candidate for public office; once as the nominee of his party for the Legislature, in Louisville, with a very considerable Whig majority against him, which he reduced to two hundred votes. During the civil war, he was candidate for the Confed- erate States Congress, from the First Kentucky District, but was defeated by Hon. W. B. Machen, although a

large part of the votes cast in his favor, by Kentucky troops, were lost. In 1861, he joined the Confederate army as a private soldier; was appointed regimental Quartermaster, a few months after, with the rank of Captain ; was subsequently placed on the staff of Gen. Abe Buford, with the rank of Major, and served in the army until the surrender, bearing the reputation of an honorable, brave, and excellent officer. He has long been associated with several popular social organiza- tions, but has never been connected with any Church. His family are Episcopalians. He is a Jeffersonian Democrat of the school of '98, and the war and its results have only confirmed him in his faith. He is probably the oldest editor in the State, the "Nestor of the Press," and is still full of mental and physical en- ergy. He has been a very cxtensive reader; is a remarkably ready writer, and an eloquent talker. His political correspondence, in the last thirty-five years, doubtless contains a history of the secret springs which controlled politicians and parties, having becn in inti- mate relations with all the leading Democratic politicians of the State, still holding their highest confidence, and remaining a leader of great strength and influence in his party. He is a man of strong impulses, quick and pas- sionate, but genial and generous ; surrounded by a large circle of friends, has long made his home the seat of generous hospitality. He is passionately fond of garden- ing and horticulture, latterly spending a great deal of his time at his residence, "Villa Calhoun," three miles from Paducah. Mr. Noble was married, December 3, . 1839, to a daughter of Edwin B. Peason, a Virginian, and a lineal descendant of Col. Nat. Bacon, the first Virginia rebel.

OBLE, EDMUND PIERSON, Tobacco Mer- chant, was born August 4, 1849, in Louisville, Kentucky, and is the son of John C. Noble, one of the oldest and best known newspaper men of the State. (See sketch of John C. No- ble.) He received a good English education, and engaged for several years in his father's office. He afterward went to New Orleans, where he was two or three years connected with the commission house of Bryan & Thompson. On the dissolution of that house, Mr. Thompson removed to New York, and opened a large commission business, when he became his Western agent, transacting for him annually a large amount of business, also engaging extensively in trading in tobacco; and is one of the most enterprising, upright, and valua- ble young business men of Paducah, where he has re- sided since he was ten years of age. He is a member of the Episcopal Church. Mr. Noble was married, in 1870, to Miss Mary V. Rabb, daughter of G. T. Rabb, of Paducah, Kentucky.

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HAPLIN, REV. CHARLES CRAWFORD, Clergyman, was born August 22, 1831, in Dan- ville, Virginia. His ancestors were natives of

Great Britain. His father, William R. Chaplin, was a banker and lawyer of the town of Dan- ville, Virginia. Charles Crawford Chaplin was favored with a very liberal education, attending the best schools to be found in his locality. After completing his study of the primary branches, in a well-known academy of Lynchburg, Virginia, he entered Richmond College, with the view of preparing himself for the ministry. In the year 1856, he was ordained to preach the Gospel, and took charge of a congregation in Pittsylvania County, Virginia. With his great talent, captivating eloquence, and pleasing manner, he rapidly rose in favor, and soon became one of the most popular preachers of his region. He was shortly called to the pulpit of the Danville Church, and was its honored pastor for a period of fifteen years. When the war broke out, he served with the Eighteenth Virginia Regiment as Chaplain, and per- formed his duties in the midst of the carnage of war with heroic fortitude. In 1870, he removed to Ken- tucky, taking up his residence in Owensborough, where he remained for over two years, as minister of the Church in that place. He was next called to the pastoratc of the First Baptist Church, of Paducah, which he has since so acceptably filled. He was one of the founders of the Roanoke Female College, of Danville, Virginia, and was, for a number of years, President of the Board of Trustees of that institution. He has been frequently chosen to the position of presiding officer of the Roanoke Baptist Association, of which he is a member. He was President of the South-western Sunday-school Conven- tion; and, as a worker in this department of the Church, has few equals. He has gained considerable distinction as a poet, his productions showing the possession of no mean ability in that direction. Many of his shorter pathetic verses have been set to music, and have been extensively adopted by the Sunday-schools throughout the country. He has great merit as a writer, his style being flowing, perspicuous, and of irresistible logic. He has been a contributor to the leading religious journals of the country ; and such of his articles as have appeared in the "Watchman," of Boston, "Standard," of Chica- go, and other papers, entitle him to high rank among the theological writers of the country. He has, also, fur- · nished occasional articles to the secular press, which have. always been well received. He possesses rare ability as a lecturer, has a happy, humorous vein, which, blended with precept and philosophy, makes him one of the most attractive, interesting, and instructive lecturers in the country. He is a prominent member of the Masonic fraternity, and has held some of the higher offices of that order. He, also, belongs to the socic- ties of Good Templars and Odd-fellows, and takes an

active interest in their affairs. He was married, in 1857, to Miss Lucy Exall, daughter of John Exall, a leading wholesale merchant of Richmond, Virginia. Seven . children have been born to them, and cheer his house- hold by their presence. His wife is a most excellent lady, devoted to her husband, striving by every means in her power to make lighter his cares and burdens. Mr. Chaplin is a man of unquestioned ability, culture, and refinement ; earnest, persuasive, and eloquent, he ranks among the first men of his Church. He is a man of sterling social worth, possessing a kindly and genial dis- position and affable manners; and is a most esteemed and honored member of society. In the domestic circle, he is affectionate and considerate. As a poet, his abil- ity is not only acknowledged, but his productions have justly obtained a wide-spread celebrity. The following verses, composed by him, have been extensively copied, both in the religious and secular journals throughout the country ; and have, also, been set to music, and become one of the most popular pieces in Sabbath-school music:

"THE SONG OF THE BROOK.

" Born amid mountains Rocky and wild, Cradled in fountains Gentle and mild ; O'er the cliff dripping, Blessing the moss,

Down the hill skipping Feath'ry as floss

On I flow bubbling, Dancing in glee ; O'er the rocks gurgling, Merry and free ;

On with a splashing, Sprinkling the grass

In the sun flashing Quickly I pass.

Thro' the sweet flowers, Gurgling along ; Spend the bright hours Gushing with song, To the broad river Sparkling I glide ; Onward forever, Floweth my tide."

STILL, CAPT. JAMES, was born in Augusta County, Virginia; came to Kentucky at an early date; settled in Madison County ; built Estill's Station, and became one of the most noted among the early settlers and Indian fighters of Kentucky. In 1781, his arm was broken in a fight with the Indians; and, in 1782, at the head of twenty-five effective men, he pursued a body of Wyandot Indians, and, coming up with them, March 22, fought what is known as the battle of " Lit-

BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPÆDIA.

tle Mountain," or "Estill's Defeat," near Mt. Sterling, Kentucky, one of the most desperate conflicts of the "Dark and Bloody Ground;" and, after having re- ceived several wounds, and lost a great number of his brave men, finally fell himself, in a hand to hand ren- counter. In honor of him, Estill County was named. He was one of the bravest and most noble among the early defenders of Kentucky, and occupies a conspicu- ous place among her revered men.

LEDSOE, HON. JESSE, Lawyer and Judge, was born April 6, 1776, in Culpepper County, Virginia, and was the son of Rev. Joseph Bled- soe, a minister of the Baptist Church, and his mother was Elizabeth Miller. When he was quite young, he came to Kentucky, with an elder brother; completed his education at Transylvania University, and was one of the most finished classical scholars of his times. He studied law; became eminent in his profession, and frequently represented Bourbon and Fayette Counties in the Legislature; was appointed Secretary of State, under Governor Scott, in 1808; from 1813 to 1815, was a Senator of the United States Con- gress, serving for an unexpired term; in 1822, was ap- pointed by Governor Adair as a Circuit Judge, in the Lexington district; located at Lexington; at the same time, was appointed Professor of Law at Transylvania; served five or six years, and, resigning both positions, again resumed his law practice; subsequently aban- doned the law for the pulpit, and was a preacher of the Disciples' Church; removed to Mississippi in 1833; to Texas, in 1835; and died at Nacogdoches, in June, 1836. He was a man of powerful intellect, and was one of the most able, eloquent, and popular lawyers of his day. Judge Bledsoe married the oldcst daughter of Col. Na- thaniel Gist, who survived him.

ATON, JAMES, Prominent Citizen of Paris, was born April 3, 1801, in Stafford County, Vir- ginia. His parents were John and Delilah (Fant) Paton, both Virginians. His father was a farmer; came to this State in 1806, and set- tled in Bourbon County, but afterward removed to Allen County, where he died. The Paton family were Scotch, and emigrated to this country at a very early period, and settled in Stafford County, Virginia. The subject of this sketch lived on the farm until the age of fourteen, and received his education mostly from his father, who was a scholar. In 1815, he went to Paris, to live with his uncle, William Paton, who was a merchant, and also postmaster of Paris. He remained with his uncle

until his death, in 1826, and was then himself appointed postmaster, by Postmaster-General John McLean, and remained in the office for the next fifteen years, through the administrations of Adams and Jackson. In connec- tion with his duties as postmaster, he carried on the gro- cery business. In 1845, he became deputy in the office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court for Bourbon County, and held the position until after the first election under the "New Constitution," in 1851, when he was elected magistrate for the Paris district .. In 1854, he was ap- pointed Clerk of the Circuit Court, and was afterward elected and re-elected to the same position, holding the office until 1868. In 1870, he was elected Clerk of the City Council of Paris, which position he now holds. Mr. Paton is among the oldest men in Bourbon County, and has, for over threescore years, been identified with the history of Paris. He was a Clay Whig, after the election of Jackson, until the dissolution of the Whig party. He has since been identified with the Democrats, although, at the election preceding the war of the rebell- ion, he voted for Bell and Everett. During the war he was a Union man. Religiously, he is associated with the Baptist Church, and has been distinguished through life for his many sterling qualities of character, his unswerv- ing honesty, and his fine personal, social, and business habits.

ENTON, HON. MORTIMER MURRAY, Law- yer, was born in 1807, in the town of Benton, then in Ontario County, New York, which place was named in honor of his grandfather, Levi Benton. His family is of English extraction, but both his grandfather and father were na- tives of Litchfield, Connecticut. His father, Joseph Benton, was a surveyor, and also engaged largely in agricultural pursuits; he died at his son's residence, in Covington, in 1872, at the ripe age of eighty-nine years. M. M. Benton received an excellent education in the best private schools in the country, and, in 1817, came with his father's family to Indiana, settling in Franklin County ; and, in 1827, removed to Cincinnati, where he became clerk in a store, and, while occupying that posi- tion, he engaged assiduously in the study of the law; subsequently continued his legal studies in the office of Caswell & Starr, in Cincinnati; about 1828, removed to Covington, Kentucky, where he began merchandizing and trading, also engaged in teaching, in the meantime pursuing his legal studies; was admitted to the bar in 1831, and entered upon the practice of his profession with his preceptor, Major Jefferson Phelps, who was then the leading lawyer of Covington, and ranked among the first of the State. He soon after started alone in business; rose rapidly into distinction; became widely known as an energetic, able, and upright lawyer,

Em,s & Per Gy Home Lục & Cuh T

July mm Benton.

BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPÆDIA.

soon obtaining a large and valuable practice in all the courts of the State. In 1834, upon the organization of the city government, he became the first Mayor of Cov- ington ; was re-elected once, but resigned that position in the following year. In 1849, he succeeded in obtain- ing from the Legislature a charter for the Kentucky Central Railroad; was largely instrumental in leading to its success, having been from the first organization of the Company its Attorney, and a member of its Direc- tory ; was afterward elected President of the road, and served in that capacity four years, mainly giving his time and attention to its interests. He also took an active part in the movement to build the Cincinnati and Charleston Railroad, and obtained its charter. He represented Kenton County in the Lower House of the Legislature from 1863 to 1865; was then elected to the Senate at the expiration of his term ; his seat being con- tested, the Senate ordered a new election in 1866. He took a very decided stand for the Union in the War of the Rebellion. After the surrender of Lee and the Con- federate forces, a tide set in against the Union party in Kentucky, producing his defeat. He has been largely and actively identified with every valuable public en- terprise of interest to Covington; has given much of his time and attention to the introduction of the present system of common-school education in the State; is a writer and speaker of ability ; is broad and liberal in his views ; firmly adheres to his convictions of right ; is un- aggressive in his deportment; has been characterized, throughout his professional and business life, by faith- fulness to the cause of his clients, and by indefatigable industry and great integrity; is a man of dignified and admirable bearing, always giving weight to his cause by his fine presence and manners; for forty-five years has conducted a large, influential, and lucrative busi- ness, and has not only, for a long time occupied the position of leading member of his profession in Coving- ton, but is also one of the most accomplished, able, widely known, influential, and upright lawyers of the country. He possesses the confidence of his brethren of the bar to such an extent that they have frequently called him to the bench to try important causes; and it is worthy of note, that not one of his judgments has been reversed. In his private character and daily walk, his life has been distinguished by the same purity and manly devotion to upright and honorable principles. In person he is tall and erect, over six feet in height, and yet displays much of the vigor of early manhood, giv- ing his attention, with the delight of former years, to his noble profession ; has long been a zcalous member of the Episcopal Church, and, in his personal and social habits, exhibits many exemplary and admirable traits. Mr. Benton was married, March 10, 1832, to Miss Ange- linc Clemons, a native of New York, who came West in early childhood, and he has raised and educated, in the

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The Biographical encyclopaedia of Kentucky of the dead and living men of the nineteenth century, Part 9

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