History of the Ohio falls cities and their counties : with illustrations and bibliographical sketches, Vol. I, Part 105

Author: Williams, L.A., & Co., Cleveland
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Cleveland, Ohio : L. A. Williams & Co.
Number of Pages: 814

USA > Ohio > History of the Ohio falls cities and their counties : with illustrations and bibliographical sketches, Vol. I > Part 105

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member of the City Council several terms, he was interested in everything that could be of benefit to the city and its inhabitants. Strongly anti-slavery in sentiment, he always acted in public and private on his belief. As a judge he ranked high, but always kept himself unassuming. He died in Louisville, July 29, 1879, leaving five children.

General William Preston was born near Louis- ville, October 16, 1816. His great-grandfather emigrated from the county of Derry, Ireland, and settled in Virginia as early as 1739. His only son was William Preston, a Colonel in the Revolutionary war, who died from a wound received at Guilford. He was one of those who planned the battle of King's Mountain. He also had charge of the surveys of the western part of the State of Virginia and the whole of what is now Kentucky, and received a military grant of one thousand acres of land, a part of which is now occupied by Louisville. This he left to his son William, who served in the regular army under Wayne, subsequently marrying Miss Car- oline Hancock, the daughter of a Revolutionary officer and a member of Congress. His son, General Preston, after studying at Augusta Col- lege, St. Joseph's College, and at New Haven, Connecticut, finally graduated from the law de- partment of Harvard University, in the twenty- second year of his age. In 1840 he became as- sociated with Hon. William J. Graves in law practice, but much of his time was necessarily used in the management of his large estate. During the war with Mexico he was Lieutenant- Colonel in the Fourth Regiment of Kentucky Volunteer Infantry. He was at various times member of the convention which formed the present constitution of Kentucky, the State Leg- islature, the State Senate, and Congress; Presi- dential elector; a member of the convention at Cincinnati that nominated Buchanan in 1856; and two years later Minister to Spain. On the breaking out of the war he was one of the first to join the cause of the South. Colonel, Brigadier-General, Major-General, and Division Commander, in many of the severest encounters he distinguished himself by his military bearing and bravery. In 1866 he located at Lexington, and three years later was sent to the Legislature. He married in 1840 Margaret Wickliffe, daugh- ter of the Hon. Robert Wickliffe, of Lexington.

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Hon. John James Marshall was born in Wood- ford county, Kentucky, August 4, 1785. In 1806 he graduated from New Jersey College. Following this date, he prepared for and entered upon the practice of the law, in which he at- tained considerable eminence. As a politician he also ranked as a leader, and for several terms was a member of the State Legislature. His public office, however, did not stop here, for from the year 1836 up to the time of his death he served acceptably as Judge of the Circuit Court. In 1831-34, he published in seven volumes, octavo, his reports of the Kentucky Court of Appeals. Three years after the last date, he placed his entire fortune at the dis- posal of his friends, and became himself a poor man. In June, 1846, at Louisville, he died. He has always been considered one ot the strongest and most learned members of the great Marshall family, which Kentucky may justly be proud to call her own.

Henry Clay Pindell was a native of Lexing- ton, Kentucky, born in 1823, son of Thomas Pindell, a banker, and grandson of Dr. Richard Pindell, also of Lexington. He was educated in Transylvania University and the College of New Jersey, read law with Chief Justice Robert- son, and finished his professional course at Transylvania. He began practice in Lexington, where he was elected to the General Assembly ; but in 1846 removed to Chicago, and the next year to Louisville, where he formed a partnership with the late Judge W. S. Bodley, which existed seven years. He was for seven years cashier of the Northern Bank of Kentucky, and then of the Falls City Tobacco Bank, returning to his profession in 1871, after two years in Europe. He was attorney for two of the Kentucky rail- roads, and filled other important positions. His death in Louisville, March 8, 1882, caused a deep sensation.

Hon. William Jourdan Graves was born in 1805. After the thorough study of the law, he was admitted to practice, and stood high among men of the legal profession. He first served in the State Legislature, and afterwards in the lower House of Congress. In 1848 he was candidate for Governor in the same convention that nominated Hon. John J. Crittenden. In 1838, at Bladensburg, Maryland, he engaged in a duel with Jonathan Cilley, in which the latter

was killed. Ten years later Mr. Graves died in Louisville.

Judge Henry C. Wood was born November 27, 1821, at Munfordsville, Kentucky. In 1841 he graduated at Centre College, after which he prepared for the practice of the law, upon which he entered in due time. He soon took a lead- ing place among the lawyers of his native town, where, for a time, he served as County Attorney. The year 1848 saw him elected to the State Legislature, and two years afterwards he became a resident of Louisville. He was elected to the position of Judge of the Court of Appeals in 1858, and died February 11, 1861. Mentally and morally among the strongest, his physical powers were crippled by a delicacy which time did not overcome. In the memories of those who knew Judge Wood best, he will always re- main a just and righteous man.

Hon. Pierce or Percival Butler was born Oc. tober 4, 1794. In 1820, he was elected from Fayette county to the Legislature, and at the ex- piration of the term was re-elected from Wood- ford county. After this term he moved to Louis- ville, and represented the city in both branches of the Legislature. He has become widely known as a capable lawyer and successful legislator. He died in Louisville in 1850. Two daughters survive him-Mrs. Dr. Urban E. Ewing, of Louisville, and Mrs. Judge James Pryor, of Cov- ington. The father of Hon. Percival Butler was General Percival Butler, the first Adjutant-Gen- eral of Kentucky, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1760. His parents, Thomas and Eleanor Butler, were both natives of Ireland. Conspic- uous, first in the Irish rebellion, and afterwards, with his five sons, in the War of the Revolution, this family of patriotic men received what they well deserved-honorable mention from Wash- ington and Lafayette. The five sons became officers of distinction, and three died or were killed while in service. General Percival Butler removed to Kentucky in 1785, after which time he was married to Miss Mildred Hawkins, and of this large family of children five are still liv- ing. Among these are Hon. Percival Butler, the youngest son ; General William O. Butler, soldier, statesman, and poet ; Major Thomas L. Butler, and Richard P. Butler.

Judge George W. Johnston was born in Shel- by county, Kentucky, in 1807. His great-grand-

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father settled in the colony of Virginia, and came from Scotland, near Dumfries, some time before the Revolution. Both the father and grandfather were born in Virginia, the former re- moving to the State of Kentucky as early as 1800. When serving as a member in the State Legis- lature, in 1814, he died at Frankfort. In the War of 1812 he commanded a company of mounted volunteers at the battle of Mississina- way; and in the battle of the Thames, an en- tire battalion. George W. Johnston received his education in the best private schools of that time, and in the Shelbyville Academy. For a few years he worked at office writing, after which he began the study of law. Having thoroughly prepared himself he was admitted to the bar, and continued his practice, associating with it the work of various local offices, till 1851. He was soon after this time elected to the State Legisla- ture, and remained there during two succeeding sessions. He next became a member of the State Senate, and was one of the convention that framed the present constitution of the State. The following year he was again sent to the lower house of the State Legislature, and became Speaker of that body. In 1851 he came to practice law in Louisville, and three years later was elected Judge of the City Court, where he was retained during eleven years. He then re- signed, and became soon after Judge of the Jefferson Circuit. At the end of three years of service he retired from active business. Judge Johnston has been twice married, and has one son and two daughters. He became a member of the Presbyterian Church in 1846, and has long been identified with the order of Masons.

Colonel Philip Lee was born October 22, 1832, in Bullitt county, Kentucky. His father, Wilford Lee, came at an early day from Virginia, and was one of the distinguished Lee family in that State. When but eighteen years of age Colonel Lee graduated from St. Joseph's Col- lege, Bardstown, following which he studied law in the University of Louisville, and entered into practice in 1852. The next year he was elected to the Legislature from his native county, and three years after re-elected. In the beginning of the civil war he warmly advocated the cause of the South and, after recruiting a company, aided in organizing Camp Boone, on the Tennessee border. As a part of the Second Kentucky

Confederate infantry, his company made the first raid of the war into Kentucky, on the line of the Louisville & Nashville railroad. At Fort Donel- son he was captured and remained six months a prisoner. During the war he was in every en- gagement except one in which his regiment had a part, and was several times wounded. He was promoted twice, first to the rank of Lieutenant- colonel, and afterward to the position of Colonel. At the war's close he resumed his law practice at Bardstown, but removed to Louisville in 1866. He was, after this date, twice elected as the Commonwealth's Attorney for the Ninth Judicial District. His death occurred at Louisville, in 1875. Colonel Lee was married June 23, 1866, to Belle B. Bridgeford. In his profession he was considered an able man. As a soldier and officer he was daring, resolute, and capable. As a citi- zen he was greatly admired and esteemed.

Franklin Goring-the first white child native to Barren county-was born May 3, 1798. His father, General John Goring, was in the Revo- lutionary War, served in the Indian wars under General Wayne, and had a part in the battle of the Thames in 1812. He was in the lower House of the Legislature, and also served eight years in the State Senate. He was descended from a French Huguenot family, his paternal an- cestor having settled in what is now the District of Columbia some time during the seventeenth century. Franklin Goring began the study of law in 1819, under his brother-in-law, Judge J. R. Underwood. Not long after, having attended law lectures at Lexington, he was regularly ad- mitted to the bar. For fifteen years he held the office of Attorney for Barren county, when he re- signed and was elected to the Legislature. After serving the second term in that place, he became the law partner of Hon. John Bell, of Nashville. Following this partnership, he was similarly associated with Hon. John R. Rogers, of Glas- gow, and Chief Justice William Sampson, of Louisville, but finally returned to Glasgow. He has been three times married, and has three children.

Hon. Wm. B. Hoke was born August 1, 1837. His father, Cornelius Hoke, was of German des- cent, although born in Kentucky. His mother, Jane Dunbar, of Scotch-Irish descent, was also a native of Kentucky. His early education was obtained wholly in the country schools. After

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spending three years in college, he entered upon the study of law in the office of Hon. James Speed, and attended lectures in the Law School of the Louisville University. Here he graduated at the head of his class, and was admitted to the bar, beginning his practice in the office of S. S. English. In 1866, he was elected Judge of the Jefferson County Court, and has since been twice re-elected. In 1859, he was married to Miss Whartie English, one of a leading Ken- tucky family, her father, Mr. S. S. English, tak- ing high rank in his profession. In politics, he has always been in the Democratic party. Judge Hoke is a man of remarkable memory, excellent judgment, and great legal ability. A dignified and conscientious officer, a fine writer, and for- cible speaker, his decisions are rarely reversed.

General Benjamin H. Helm was a native of Hardin county, born June 2, 1831, son of Gov- ernor John L. Helm and grandson of Thomas Helm, who came from Virginia to Louisville in 1780, and the next year settled at the old "Heln Place," near Elizabethtown. His mother was of the famous Hardin family, daughter of Hon. Benjamin Hardin, one of the ablest lawyers of his time in the State. Young Helm received a military and general education in the Kentucky Military Institute, near Frankfort, and at the West Point Military Academy. He served for a time in the regular army, but resigned from ill health, studied law with his father and in the Law Department of the University of Louisville; was associated in practice with his father, and then with Judge M. H. Cofer, at Elizabethtown; served one term in the State Legislature, and was chosen Commonwealth's Attorney ; came to Louisville in 1858, and associated himself in practice with his brother-in-law, Hon. H. W. Bruce, and soon commanded a fine business ; joined the Southern army at the outbreak of the war, was made a Brigadier-General, and fell at Chickamauga September 20, 1863. He was a brother-in-law of President Lincoln, by his mar- riage in 1856 to Miss Emily, daughter of Robert S. Todd, of Lexington.

Hon. Joseph B. Read was born October 2, 1829, in Hardin county, Kentucky. His father was an emigrant from Virginia, a well-to-do and useful farmer. After obtaining a good common school education, Joseph began the study of law with his brother, W, B. Read, a distinguished 65

lawyer of Kentucky. In 1859 he was admitted to practice in Louisville, and soon made a good reputation in the profession. Consecutively, he was elected to be member of the lower House of the Legislature, one of the Board of Educa- tion in Louisville, and a representative for Louis- ville in the State Senate. February 28, 1860, he was married to Miss Lucretia A. Brown, and is the father of six children now living. Mr. Read has always evinced an active interest in the public welfare, and, as a public officer, discharged his duties in a manner honorable to himself and satisfactory to those who chose him to fill such positions. As to political faith, he is a decided Jeffersonian Democrat. Religiously, he is a member of the Methodist Church.

Governor Charles S. Morehead was born July 7, 1802, in Nelson county, Kentucky. Graduat- ing from Transylvania University, he began the practice of law in Christian county. In 1827 he was elected to the Legislature, and at the expira- tion of his term received a re-election. His profession was afterward continued in Frankfort till he was appointed Attorney-General of Ken- tucky. Between the years 1838 and 1859 he held, at various times, the offices of member of the Legislature and Speaker of the House, to both of which places he was twice again chosen, member of Congress, and finally that of Gov- ernor of Kentucky. The last-named office he filled with the wisdom and justice that become so important a responsibility. In 1859 he came to Louisville, and again engaged in the practice of his profession. Two years later, he was a de- legate to the Peace Conference at Washington city, and at a later date was a member of the Border State Convention which met in Frank- fort. For a time he became a civilian prisoner, and during the war lost a large portion of his property. Governor Morehead died at his plantation near Greenville, Mississippi, Decem- ber 23, 1868. A distinguished lawyer, a popular public officer, his memory is one which his State will always hold sacred.

Thomas A. Marshall, formerly Chief Justice of Kentucky, was among the more noted Louisville dead of 1871. Mr. Collins furnishes the follow- ing sketch of his life and services:

Thomas A. Marshall, above, was born in Woodford county, Kentucky, January 15, 1794, and died in Louisville, April 16, 1871, aged seventy-seven. When a boy he spent

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some time in Washington City, while his father was United States Senator. One day, dressed in homespun, he climbed up one of the huge posts in the vestibule of the old capitol, and wrote his name. Some one inquired what he was doing. "I am writing my name," he replied, "and 1 want to see if it will be here when I come to Congress." He was but seven years old. In 1831-35 he came to Congress from the Paris and Maysville district, but the name written in infancy had been painted ont. He had previously, 1827 and 1828, rep- resented Bourbon county in the Kentucky House of Repre -. sentatives, as he did the city of Louisville, 1863-65. From April, 1835. to August, 1856, and for a short period in 1866, he was upon the court of appeals bench, and from 1847-51, 1854-56. and in 1866 was chief justice. His claim to great- ness and renown will be found in the twenty-four volumes of Kentucky Reports from Third Dana to Seventeenth Benja- min Montoe. From 1836, when he removed to Lexington, to 1849, he was a professor in Transylvania law school. In November, 1816, he married Miss Price, of Lexington, a niece of Mrs. Henry Clay. Several of their sons have at- tained distinction, Colonel Thomas A. Marshall, of Charles- ton, Illinois, and Judge Charles Marshall, of Paducah, Ken- tucky.

Hon. Edward Young Parsons was born in Middletown, Jefferson county, Kentucky, De- cember 12, 1842. His father, Rev. C. B. Par- sons, became one of the most eloquent ministers in the Methodist Church, going into the church from a tragedian's place on the stage. The son laid the foundation of his education in St. Louis and Louisville, from the High School of which he graduated with the highest honors in 1861. Then followed brief terms of service as principal of the Fifth and York Street Ward school, teacher in the Male High School, and professor of elocution in the same institution. Meantime he was busy in the study of the law, and entered, in 1864, the Louisville Law School, where he graduated in one year as valedictorian of his class. He first located at Henderson, but soon returned to Louisville, where, in 1868, he formed a partnership with Judge W. L. Jackson, which ceased only when the latter gentleman took his place on the circuit bench. Following this time, while in business connection with Colonel M. Munday, he figured in some noted legal cases and gained the reputation of being one of the ablest and most eloquent young lawyers of the Louisville bar. In 1874 he was elected to Con- gress, where he afterward made a record greatly to his credit. In Washington, July 8, 1876, he died, and his remains were brought to Louisville, where they were buried amid almost numberless tokens of respect and sorrow. Mr. Parsons, like his renowned father, was a zealous member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and was

a consistent Christian, bright and agreeable to all around him. Mr. Parsons leaves a wife and two children. The wife was formerly Miss Mary S. Belknap, daughter of Dr. Belknap, of Little Falls, New York.

General John Marshall Harlan is the son of the late Hon. James L. Harlan, a celebrated lawyer of Kentucky, and Attorney-General of the State at the time of his death in 1863. He was born near Danville, Kentucky, in Boyle county, June 1, 1833. After graduating at Centre Col- lege, his law studies were pursued under his father ; he finally graduated from the law depart- ment . of Transylvania University, at Lexing- ton. The practice of his profession was begun at Frankfort. Previous to his coming to Louis- ville in 1861 he had served one year as Judge of Franklin county. Soon after becoming associa- ted in practice with Hon. William F. Bullock, the civil war broke out, when he recruited and organized the Tenth Kentucky United States volunteer infantry While serving as commander of his brigade, in 1863, he was nominated Briga- dier-General by President Lincoln, which promo- tion he never accepted, however, since his father's death at this time compelled the resigna- tion of his place in the army. In the fall of the same year he was elected by an immense majority to the position of Attorney-General of the State, but in 1867, as a candidate of the Union party, he failed of re-election. In 1877 he was ap- pointed by President Hayes on the Louisiana Commission, on the part of the Government, and his wise course had much to do in bringing about its good results. He is now on the Supreme Bench of the United States. A man of magnificent personal appearance, General Har- lan is one of the ablest and best among the distinguished men of the West. In his religious connection he is a Presbyterian. In 1856 he was married to Miss M. F. Shanklin. He has six children.

Eugene Underwood was born at Glasgow, Kentucky, April 4, 1818. His great-grandfather was Rev. David Rice, a celebrated Presbyterian minister-the first, in fact, of that denomination in Kentucky. His father was Judge Joseph Rogers Underwood, of Bowling Green, at which place his son pursued his preparatory studies previous to entering Miami University. In 1835 he went to Centre College, Danville, and gradu-

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ated in the class of 1838 with several who are now distinguished men, among them J. C. Breck- inridge. Following his college course, he pur- sued the study of law with his father, and after- ward became his partner in that business for Bowling Green and the adjacent counties. In 1848 he removed to Nashville, where his success brought him not a little popularity. In 1846 he was married to Catherine R. Thompson, the daughter of a noted lawyer of Nashville. He has now three children. In the year 1861 he moved to Louisville, where he was married to Mrs. F. V. Wilder, and in 1864, on account of his wife's ill-health, he moved to St. Paul, Minne- sota. During the war he retired from his pro- fession, and up to 1874 was employed in farm- ing, real estate, and other operations. At this date he returned to Louisville. In the Masonic fraternity he has taken the high degree of Knight Templar, and while a resident of Minnesota was active in the organization of the Patrons of Husbandry. He has given much time, too, to the advancement of railroad interests, and has served as railroad director and attorney a num- ber of years. With all his varied occupations, he has, however, found time to cultivate his taste for literature, and contribute not a little of permanent value to the journals of the day. Mr. Underwood is an active member of the Protestant Episcopal Church. He is prepossess- ing in his personal appearance, and has the dig- nity and ease of action of a cultivated gentleman.

The Hon. John Watts Kearny, who came from Fayette county to Louisville in about 1868, was trained to the legal profession, but did not enter upon its active practice. He is a native of Paducah, born Julv 25, 1845, son of the famous General Philip Kearny, who was killed at Chantilly, Virginia, during the late war. His mother's maiden name was Diana Bullitt, of the famous Louisville family. He was finely educat- ed, and took his law course at Columbia College, New York, graduating in 1866. After a Euro- pean tour, he settled on a farm in Fayette coun- ty, but removed to Louisville two years after- wards, where he has since lived. In 1873 he was elected to the Legislature. He is well known as a writer and speaker on subjects of tariff and taxation. In 1866 he was married to Miss Lucy, daughter of Dr. T. L. McNary, of Princeton, Kentucky.

Hon. Benjamin Helm Bristow was born in July of 1832, at Elkton, Todd county, Ken- tucky, and is second in a family of four children. The Hon. Francis M. Bristow, his father, was a celebrated lawyer of the southern part of the State. His mother, who still is living, was Emily Helm, of Elizabethtown. Young Bristow re- received a thorough education, and was grad- uated at Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, and afterward studied and practiced law with his father until 1857. From this date till the open- ing of the civil war, he was with his brother-in- law, Judge R. J. Petrie, in Hopkinsville, engag- ed in law practice. As Lieutenant Colonel of the Twenty-fitth Kentucky Regiment, he was in the battles of Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, and Shiloh. Between 1862 and 1863, he was in the Eighth Kentucky Cavalry, first as Lieutenant- Colonel, and afterwards as Colonel. In 1863, he was sent to the State Senate, where, as one of the committee on military affairs, he zealously stood by the Union. Toward the close of his term he resigned his place, and removed to Louisville. Subsequently he was appointed to the position of assistant United States District Attor- ney for Kentucky, Solicitor-General of the Unit- ed States, and Secretary of the Treasury of the United States. In the winter of 1874, he was nom- inated for Attorney-General of the United States, but owing to the non-confirmation of Attorney- General Williams as chief justice of the Supreme Court, he never entered upon the duties of the office. In 1876, the reform element of the Republican party, in the national convention at Cincinnati, made great efforts to gain his name a place as candidate for the Presidency of the United States. Mr. Bristow now resides in New York, and is still in the practice of the law. Of singularly fine personal appearance, dignified, intellectually strong, he still impresses those who know him as a modest, unassuming man. At the same time he ranks high among the able men of his day.

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History of the Ohio falls cities and their counties : with illustrations and bibliographical sketches, Vol. I, Part 105

Author: Williams, L.A., & Co., Cleveland Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Cleveland, Ohio : L. A. Williams & Co. Number of Pages: 814

Author: Williams, L.A., & Co., Cleveland
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Cleveland, Ohio : L. A. Williams & Co.
Number of Pages: 814