The Biographical encyclopaedia of Kentucky of the dead and living men of the nineteenth century, Part 94

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

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ocratic principles in Europe as well as at home, by ad- vocating the vigorous assertion of our doctrine and

example throughout the diplomatic action of the Fed-

eral Government. But it was very soon felt that, be-

yond an order to our ministers abroad, that they should

insist on appearing at court in citizens' ordinary dress, very little was to be done. Indeed, it is doubtful

whether such men as Pierce, Marcy, and Cushing cared to see other nations following our example, and there. fore, when the ball of revolution was sweeping over Europe, they had no "God-speed" to give the op- pressed. After a long delay, President Pierce appointed Mr. Sanders Consul to London, a post of slender pay, but one of great opportunities for such a superior man. The Senate at first rejected the nomination, but later they confirmed it, owing, as Mr. Sanders said, to the active intercession of Mr. Seward, a decided political opponent. Mr. Sanders departed for England with his family, and, for a couple of years, resided as Consul at London, where his hospitality and outspoken democracy made his house the resort of his fellow-citizens, and of the countless refugees of all countries. They had an ex- tended hand offered to them from open doors. Many were the consultations and weighty the conclusions of those days and nights devoted to the examination of the situation. Thence came the famous public dinner given to Mr. Buchanan, the minister, and a number of foreign notables of republican opinions. It was at Mr. Sanders's house that he, the genius of the place, in- spired the defiant tone of the speeches and sentiments. It is quite probable that it was the urgency of Mr. Sanders that pushcd Mr. Buchanan and encouraged Mr. Soule, at Ostend, to manifest the determination to appropriate Cuba at all hazards, and with no respect for

national law as hitherto accepted. From London, Mr.

Sanders himself, in his proper person and over his own

signature, fulminated the extraordinary assassination letter, which was published and circulated by him in several languages, advising the killing of Louis Napoleon, by any means, and in any way it could be done. He

found the current of affairs against him, and returned to the United States, disappointed but not subdued. In 1856, or soon after, he was appointed to the small office of Navy Agent at New York City, its duties being chiefly ministerial, and discharged under orders from Washington City. In 1859, he foresaw that the political aspect of the United States was full of omens of immediate danger. Mr. Sanders fore- saw it all in 1859-60, and did what seemed to him patriotic and advisable to save the country from a trial of physical force. He went to Frankfort, where the Legislature was sitting, and where the most di- vided counsels prevailed, but where a sort of armed neutrality had been drifted on as a mean between ex- tremes, for the purpose of getting Kentucky, to join the other Southern States, and thus, by showing a com- pact front along the Ohio river, to make war less immi-

nent than if Kentucky remained passive and indifferent.

When he failed in the Kentucky case, and was driven to the side of the South himself, he located in Canada, where he arrived from our side of the Niagara river on foot, in the disguise of a Welsh miner, which deceived

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the guard and carried him safely across the bridge. His evasion was keenly felt by the Administration, which estimated his hostility highly. From the Clifton House he joined his influence, with the New York press and with Northern politicians, to that of Messrs. Clay, Hol- combe, and Thompson, to turn Mr. Lincoln's heart to an armistice and consequent peace. Many and nameless forever now are the personal attentions and pecuniary assistance given by him to his countrymen in distress and exile during those eventful years. He continued to oppose the National Government, and aid in every way possible the South, until the Confederacy crumbled away. He then spent several years abroad-at London and Paris-always the same faithful votary of free institu- tions and the fast friend of its advocates. During the tragical siege of the French capital he was there, deep in the counsels of the advanced democrats. What a Titan he was in such scenes of revolution, danger, and destruction; the friend of Mazzini, of Garibaldi, of Kossuth, of Ledru Rollin, and now within the very inner circle of still younger, more ardent democrats! He is said to have been reticent of the part he acted in that scathing time; but he lived up to the intensity of the crisis. He devised plans of defense against the Prus- sians-the inner circular railways for the trenches. Be- fore leaving Paris he had a popular ovation at the Hotel de Ville, and his carriage was drawn by enthusiastic friends, probably the residents of the most democratic quarter of the city, which history has found so famous for devotion to human rights and progress, and for heroic war against hereditary offices and privileged or- ders. Mr. Sanders was of a very strong constitution, both mental and physical. He could endure any fatigue, face any labor or danger, with a degree of bonhomie which none could surpass. His life was one incessant action. He was constantly on his feet, moving in every direction, and by instinct toward his friends, and for their co-operation in the striking and useful objects, principally political, which absorbed his mind. His ad- dress was direct, open, manly and without disguise or pretense. It was no effort for him to make up his mind and evolve his course, giving others proper and generous credit for assistance. He never denied himself to his friends ; he sought them out ; greeted them warmly; made them acquainted and put them at ease in his cir- cle, and was ready to help them to any extent. His house, his hand, his purse, were theirs, and he did not hesitate to tax them fairly in pursuing a common object, always himself setting a good example. He required little sleep, but strong meat and drink, although rarely guilty of excess. The vitality and volume of the man were gigantic, and seemingly inexhaustible. He could concentrate himself exclusively upon one object, or at- tend simultaneously to many. His facility of personal intercourse was wonderful. He could find his man and

make his statements, his argument, and his propositions in the shortest possible time, surpassing all men in his force, clearness, distinctness, and point. A smile liabit- ually lighted his face ; his voice was winning and yet penetrating. Such a hilarious presence in the scenes he loved-those of rejoicing with his friends-we have never seen, and yet he could condole with those who were afflicted so as to mitigate their pangs. He took in the daily newspaper at a glance. His manner of possess- ing himself of its contents was peculiar. He got at the pith of the news and discussions without dwelling upon them. If he wrote letters, they comprehended every thing in a few lines, and by the same power of conden- sation the communications he often made to the news- papers were ever welcome and instructive. He put his own name freely to his communications, not from vanity, but to assume the responsibility, and to call to them the merited attention of the vast number of friends and foes who were interested in what he thought of public affairs. At a dinner table, either private or public, he was a fine host, and was greatly devoted to Champagne, for which he spent thousands while living in New York. His great trunk, and still greater head, with its powerful features and massive weight of disheveled hair ; his radiant blue eyes; his pleasant smile and speech ; his familiar gesture and his cordial wel- come, put all the guests at ease. His relish of the feast encouraged all; and the most timid person soon sympa- thized with this master of substance and ceremony. He tried to make a Presidential candidate of George Law; and he supported, socially and politically, Robert J. Walker, in his free-trade Secretaryship of the Treasury, his Texas and his Kansas championships. He never made any indiscriminate professions of friendship-much less any that were hypocritical. At home and abroad, he was recognized, without dissent, as the possessor of eminent and powerful qualities, which he carried with such a manly modesty and independence as to make him an influential figure wherever he appeared. His ways were as winning as his unostentatious talents were re- markable; and no man has acquired more friends, or retained them so warmly and universally. Politically, his life was hardly a success; as, to a great extent, the dogmas he labored to establish went down with the Southern Confederacy. Still, it is doubtful if any man of his caliber can be shown who made greater sacrifices, encountered more calumny, and was more careless of his defense. He was a votary of Jefferson, and held with him to the doctrines of State Rights, Federal subordina- tion, low taxes, hard money, and free trade. Mr. San- ders died on the 12th of August, 1873, suddenly, and we presume without previous illness, at his New York residence, No. 321 East Seventeenth Street, from what is called disease of the heart. His deeply attached family of wife and two grown sons, Louis and George,

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were with him when he expired. He was buried on the 14th, from St. Ann's Episcopal Church, in Greenwood Cemetery. From his own vigorous organization, and the hereditary vigor of his constitution, he was hardly past the climax of his strength, both mental and physi- cal, with many years of usefulness before him. Great, therefore, was the shock of his unexpected and lamented death. He was still a noble specimen of Kentucky man- hood in its best estate. An American, and a republican of the deepest dye, he bore his testimony with emphasis and constancy against every other constitution of States, and gave his strenuous aid and comfort to the patriots and exiles since the struggles of Europe in 1848. His deeds, which are many and distinguished, should not be forgotten, nor his memory be suffered to perish. Mr. Sanders was married to Miss Anna Reid, daughter of Commodore Reid, of the navy. She was the editor of a weekly literary paper in New York, and through that his attention was attracted to her. The courtship was conducted by correspondence, and the marriage took place within a week after their first meeting. It provcd a happy alliance. She was a lady of extraordinary ac- complishments, and, with her two sons, survived her husband.

UELL, GEN. DON CARLOS, Soldier, was born in Ohio, in 1818. He received a fine edu- cation, and graduated at West Point, in 1841. He entered the army as second lieutenant; in 1846, was promoted first lieutenant; was bre- vetted captain for gallant service at Monterey, in 1846; distinguished himself at Cherubusco and Con- treras, and was advanced to brevet major; in 1848, be- came assistant adjutant-general, filling the duties of that office until 1851 ; was appointed brigadier-general, and assigned to the army of the Potomac; in November of that year, succeeded Gen. Sherman in the command of the army of the Cumberland, with headquarters at Louisville, Kentucky; was noted in the army as a fine disciplinarian, and was a soldier of undoubted military ability. In 1866, he resigned his commission in the army, and has since engaged in iron manufacturing in Muhlenburg County, Kentucky.

ANNA, WILLIAM MCAFEE, M. D., Physi- cian and Surgeon, was born September 25, 1837, in Shelby County, Kentucky. His father, John S. Hanna, of Irish origin, was a farmer by pursuit, and a man of some notc in Shelby County. His mother was a Miss King, of Scotch descent, a native of Harrodsburg, Kentucky, her family being among the early settlers of that place.

Dr. Hanna was finely cducated, graduating at Centre College, Danville, in 1858. He began the study of medicine, with Dr. A. S. Frederick, at Shelbyville; at- tended lectures in the University at Louisville, and received the degree of M. D. from that institution, in 1862. He located, for the practice of his profession, at Henderson, but soon afterwards entered the Confederate army, and served in the medical branch until the close of the war, participating in many of the great battles. As Surgeon of the Second Kentucky Cavalry, he accompa- nied Gen. John H. Morgan in most of his celebrated raids. In the Fall of 1865, he returned to Henderson, and re- sumed the duties of his profession, in which he is ex- ceptionally successful, having established a fine practice, and taken rank among the first physicians of his section. He has served, for several years, as member of the town Board of Health, and has been prominent in the Hen- derson Medical Society, serving for some time as its prc- siding officer. He also takes an active part in public matters, and, deservedly, stands high as a public- spirited and valuable citizen. He is a member of the Presbyterian Church, is an elder, and actively engages in furthering the best interests of his Church and com- munity. He is also connected with some of the social orders of the day; is a man of prepossessing person; is genial and attractive in manners; and is one of the worthy rising men of his section. Dr. Hanna was mar- ried, in 1865, to Mary Mathews, daughter of Rev. Mr. Mathews, a clergyman of the Presbyterian Church.

EALE, ANDREW J., M. D., Physician and Surgeon, son of Richard E. and Margaret (Seaton ) Beale, who were both natives of Fau- quier County, Virginia, was born March 19, 1831, in Breckinridge County, Kentucky. His father was a merchant and trader; came to Kentucky, and settled in Breckinridge County, in 1820; but died at Natchez, Mississippi, in 1833. He was a soldier in the war of 1812. James Seaton, the father of Margaret Beale, was an early settler and farmer of Breckinridge County. The subject of this sketch was raised on a farin, and educated in the schools of the neighborhood. At the age of fifteen he commenced clerking in a store, and was so engaged for several years, in this State and Missouri. In 1851, he began reading medicine, in Henderson County, under Drs. Gardiner and Bennett. In 1853, he attended lectures at the Louisville University; and, in the following year, grad- uatcd in the medical department of Transylvania Uni- versity, at Lexington, Kentucky, and soon after located at Cynthiana, in the practice of his profession. In 1861, he became Second Lieutenant of Company D, Ninth Confederate Kentucky Infantry. Immediately after the

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battle of Shiloh, he was promoted to the rank of first lieutenant of his company, which position he held until after the battle of Murfreesboro, where he received a dangerous wound, and was made a prisoner, and con- fined at Fort Delaware until exchanged. During his imprisonment he was again promoted, to the rank of captain of his company. He rejoined his command, in Tennessee, in May, 1863; but soon thereafter resigned his position as captain, on account of physical disability from wounds, and received an appointment from the medical department as surgeon, with orders to report for duty on James Island; remained there with this command until May 1864, and accompanied, and shared its fortunes in the Virginia campaign, at Gaines's Mill, Drury Bluff, and Petersburg. In July of this year, on account of failing health, he was assigned to hospital duty, at Harrisburg, Virginia. Here he again fell into the hands of the enemy, during Sheridan's raid, having been detailed to take charge of the Confederate sick and wounded prisoners. After his exchange, he was as- signed to duty in Lynchburg (Virginia) hospital, where he remained until the close of the war. He saw service in Kentucky, Mississippi, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Virginia, and participated in the battles of Shiloh, Hartsville, and Murfreesboro, besides many lesser en- gagements and skirmishes. In 1865, he returned to Cyn- thiana, and resumed the practice of medicine. In 1868, he was elected Clerk of the Circuit Court for Harrison County, and held the office for six years. He is a Dem- ocrat in politics. Dr. Beale was married, July 1, 1856, to Mrs. Mary Elliott, a native of Harrison County, and daughter of John Tucker, a farmer of that county.

OUNG, REV. JOHN C., D. D., President for many years of Centre College, Danville, Ken- tucky, was born August 12, 1803, in Green- castle, Pennsylvania; and was the youngest son of Rev. John Young, minister of the Associate Reformed Church, and Mary (Clarke ) Young, both probably of Scotch-Irish descent. He was brought up under the direction of his mother, a wise, pious, and judicious woman, who lived to see her son rise to emi- nence as a scholar and minister of the Gospel. He was finely educated, spending three years in Columbia Col- lege, New York, and graduating, under the Presidency of Dr. John M. Mason, in Dickinson College, Pennsyl- vania, in 1823. Having already united with the Church, he began to prepare for the ministry, under the guid- ance of Dr. Mason, in 1824; entered the Theological Seminary at Princeton, where he remained for four terms, in the mean time being a tutor in the College of New Jersey ; was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of New York, in 1827; was elected and installed pastor

of McCord Presbyterian Church, Lexington, Kentucky, in 1828; in the Fall of 1830, was unanimously elected to the Presidency of Centre College, which office had been made vacant by the resignation of Dr. Blackburn. Though having resided but a short time in Kentucky, he had already risen to the front rank as an eloquent and able preacher, and a man of varied accomplish- ments. For twenty-seven years, and, until his death, he remained President of Centre College, filling that position with great distinction, and making, during his administration, the most successful period in the history of that institution. In 1834, the Synod of the Presby- terian Church in Kentucky, at its annual meeting, in Danville, passed some resolutions favoring gradual eman- cipation, and his address on the subject was published, and attracted extensive notice, and the resolutions were pushed through that body mainly by his efforts, in connection with Hon. John Green. He subsequently held a controversy on abolition with Reverends Steele and Crothers, of Ohio; and, although opposed to the methods and doctrines of the extreme Abolitionists, he remained, throughout his life, a supporter of gradual emancipation, and, in 1849, boldly discussed, with Hon. John Kincaid, of Danville, and President Shan- non, of Bacon College, Harrodsburg, the propriety of inserting an emancipation clause in the new Consti- tution ; and remained, throughout his life, actively con- cerned in the advancement of the best interests of the slave. In 1834, the Presbyterian Church in Danville invited him to supply their pulpit, in addition to his labors in the college, a position which he continued to fill with unparalleled ability for over twenty years-in the First Church until 1852, and in the Second Church until 1857. In 1839, the College of New Jersey, with- out solicitation, conferred upon him the degree of D. D. In 1853, he was elected Moderator of the General As- sembly of his Church, presiding over that body with distinguished success. As an extemporaneous preacher, he had few equals, and his congregation preferred to hear him to any of the occasional pulpit orators who filled his place; yet he was in no sense a sensational preacher, and made no effort towards the sublime and brilliant, but was eminently practical, aiming to make his hearers wiser and better. He attempted nothing impracticable, and all his efforts were directed by a cau- tious, wise, and temperate policy. Before the division of the Presbyterian Church, in 1838, his sympathies were with the New School party; but, living in the midst of the Old School Synod, he co-operated with that party. He was a large donor to the benevolent operations of the Church, and to every other good cause; and through his influence the Danville congregations raised large amounts for the endowment of Centre Col- lege and the Theological Seminary. As a teacher, his ability was above that of merely able men; and, as a

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disciplinarian, he was kind and indulgent, attaching his pupils to himself as life-long friends. In private life, he was eminently social; in manners and tastes, simple, easy, and yet refined, in dignity. His life passed smoothly along; no calamities befalling him, his means being suf- ficient; and few men lived more usefully and happily, and died more generally regretted. He died June 23, 1857, of disease of the stomach; and over his remains at Danville was erected a handsome monument, by the citizens, teachers, and students of Centre College. Dr. Young was married, November 3, 1829, to Frances A. Breckinridge, eldest daughter of Cabell Breckinridge, and granddaughter, on her mother's side, of Rev. Sam- uel Stanhope Smith ; and, by that marriage, he had four daughters, three of whom married clergymen. She died in 1837; and, in 1839, he married Cornelia Crittenden, daughter of Hon. John J. Crittenden; and, by this mar- riage, had three sons and three daughters; one of his sons became a minister of the Gospel; and all his chil- dren survived him.

EATHERS, JOHN H., Merchant, was born near Martinsburg, Berkeley County, Virginia, on the 24th of April, 1841. His father, a Vir- ginian, was poor, industrious, and religious ; and died about one year ago. After attending the common-schools until he arrived at the age of thirteen years, John H. Lcathers was placed in a store, serving there for four years for his board and clothing. Attaining the age of seventeen, he left Virginia, and came to Louisville, Kentucky, where, through the kindness of several resident Virginians, he secured employment as bill-clerk, at a small salary ; and afterwards as book- keeper for a wholesale clothing-house on Main Street. At no time during this period did his salary exceed the sum of seven hundred and fifty dollars per annum. Re- turning, at the outbreak of the war of the rebellion, to Virginia, he enlisted in the Second Regiment of In- fantry of that State, being appointed sergeant-major. This regiment was one of those originally composing the well-known "Stonewall Brigade." With it he remained until the close of the war, cheerfully enduring the pri- vations incident to the service, and winning a reputa- tion for bravery among those heroes whose courage is a matter of history. At the battle of Petersburg, he was wounded in the leg; and, on the 10th of May, 1864, was taken as a prisoner of war in the battle of the Wil- derness, and was confined at Point Lookout, Maryland, for a period of about ten months. The war left him pen- niless, but with a character that enabled him to borrow cnough money to transport him back to Louisville, where he obtained a situation as book-keeper, in the house in which he is now a partner. By industry and constant

application, he has placed his house at the head of his line of trade in the West. His character, both business and personal, has never been questioned; and he en- joys the confidence of all with whom he deals. On the twelfth day of March, 1868, he was married to Miss Kate Armstrong, a daughter of Charles D. Armstrong, well known in former years as a successful pork-packer of Louisville. This marriage has been blessed with thrce children. Mr. Leathers is a member of the Second Pres- byterian Church, of which the Rev. Stewart Robinson is the pastor. As a member of its Board of Trustees, he discharged his duties with that fidelity which character- izes every relation which he assumes. In December, 1865, he petitioned the Falls City Lodge of Masons for admission to membership; which being granted, he rose step by step, so winning, by his proficiency, the esteem of his brethren, that, in 1868, he was elected as Master of his lodge, holding the gavel for four consecutive years, and finally surrendering it at his own option. In 1869, he was elected a member of the Board of Direc- tors of the Masonic Widows' and Orphans' Home; and, amid a multiplicity of business engagements, overlook- ing his own interests, he has scrupulously devoted him- self to the building up of an institution of which every Mason is proud. As Chairman of the Entertainment Committee, he has been successful, to a marked degree, in organizing the annual 24th of June Jubilees, the suc- cess of which has contributed so largely to the build- ing up of the Home. He was elected Senior Grand Warden in 1873, Deputy Grand Master in 1874, and Grand Master in 1875-a remarkable record for a man of his years. As the chief executive of the order in Kentucky, he discharges with singular ability the diffi- cult duties pertaining to that office. As a presiding officer and parliamentarian, he is without a superior. Mr. Leathers is in robust health; has a handsome, open face; and is in every respect, physically, mentally, and morally, a symmetrical man.

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The Biographical encyclopaedia of Kentucky of the dead and living men of the nineteenth century, Part 94

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