USA > Wisconsin > The United States biographical dictionary and portrait gallery of eminent and self-made men, Wisconsin volume > Part 98
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and bears an excellent character for probity, effi- ciency and trustworthiness.
In politics he has always been a democrat ; has attended a great many county and State conven- tions, and may be regarded as one of the local lead- ers of the party.
Mr. Lowth is a member of the Temple of Honor; a man of excellent habits himself, and an encourager of good habits in others. He was reared in the Catholic church, and firmly clings to the faith of his forefathers.
The fruit of his union with Miss Loring, which occurred August 14, 1842, has been eleven children, eight of whom are now living. Three of them are married : Marcella is the wife of H. H. Bonney, and Martha, of B. F. Wood; both living in Minnesota. James, who has a family, is a lawyer, practicing at Lowell, a few miles from the county seat. Of the unmarried sons, Edward is a clerk with his father, and Frank is the proprietor of the " Dodge County Democrat," to which his father is a regular weekly contributor. Mr. Lowth lost his right arm in boy- hood, but early learned to use his left hand with facility. He is the political editor of his son's paper, and does his work well.
COLONEL JOHN G. McMYNN,
RACINE.
JOHN GIBSON McMYNN, for thirty years past prominently identified with the educational inter- ests of Wisconsin, was born at Palatine Ridge, Mont- gomery county, New York, July 9, 1824, and is the son of Robert McMynn and Margaret née Cooke ; the former a native of Dumfriesshire, Scotland, and the latter a native of Kingston, Canada, of Scotch- Irish extraction.
His father dying in the year 1832, when our sub- ject was but eight years old, he was at that early age thrown upon his own resources, and during boy- hood worked on a farm and earned his own living. His youthful experiences were, therefore, rough and uncongenial, but possessing good health, good hab- its and an unquenchable thirst for knowledge, he did not waste time in useless repinings, but resolved to procure a thorough education, if within the bounds of his power.
He pursued his preparatory studies at the acad- emies of Union Village and North Granville, New
York, working as a farm hand and teaching school at intervals to earn money to defray his expenses. He entered Williams College, Massachusetts, in 1845, and was graduated from that institution in 1848.
After leaving college he removed to Kenosha, Wisconsin, where he taught school for five years, and by this means paid off a debt which had accu- mulated during his last years at Williams'.
In 1853 he removed to Racine, which has since been his home, where he organized the public schools, and was principal of the high school until the close of the year 1857. During this period he attained to the highest rank as an educator, while the schools of the city were brought to a state of efficiency unsurpassed, if not unequaled, by those of any other municipality in the State or in the West.
He spent the whole of the year 1858 in Europe, and visited England, Scotland (the home of his ancestors and the place of his fathers' sepulchres),
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France, Belgium, Holland and Germany, and de- voted much time to the examining of the princi- ples and workings of the educational and charitable institutions, public and private, of those countries. Returning to Racine he resumed his work in the public school of that city, and at the outbreak of the rebellion in 1861 he was among the first to offer his services to the government, and in the summer of that year was commissioned major of the 10th Wis- consin Infantry. In the following year he was pro- moted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and in 1863 to that of colonel. The regiment was, during this period, continually at the front in Tennessee and northern Alabama. The service was ardnous and responsible. Colonel McMynn was selected by Gen- eral Buel to take charge of the public property at Huntsville, Alabama, and to transport it by railroad to Stevenson, Tennessee, when that officer retreated to Louisville in the summer of 1862. This very important and perilous duty was successfully accom- plished, with the loss of but two men. The com- mand was constantly under fire, and at the battles of Champlin Hills, in Kentucky, and Stone River, Tennessee, lost heavily. The Colonel was invariably with his regiment, and never absent from duty, either on sick leave or otherwise, during his entire period of service. In the autumn of 1863, his command being reduced to two hundred and fifty men, and private affairs pressing heavily upon him, he was reluctantly compelled to tender his resignation, which, after much delay and considerable hesitancy, was accepted.
His high character and accomplishments as a soldier are borne testimony to, not only by those whom he had the honor to command, but by the most distinguished officers in the service. When the raising of a cavalry regiment to be placed un- der his command was contemplated, Major-General Rousseau wrote to him from Nashville, Tennessee, January 6, 1864, in the following terms :
MY DEAR COLONEL McMYNN,-I am much gratified to learn that you are inclined to enter the army again. True men like yourself, possessing the capacity and courage to serve the country, are greatly needed; in fact such men are always needed. When you resigned I felt that the public service had sustained a great loss, and you will recollect I told you how deeply I regretted it. You and I have passed through many trying scenes, in all of which you have deported yourself as an efficient and brave officer, and I shall hail your return to the army with unalloyed pleas- ure. In all the gallant army of the Cumberland I know of no man with whom it would give me more pleasure to "soldier it" and stem the tide of battle, when it comes, than yourself, for I know of no braver or better man.
Should you return to the army I hope fortune may bring us together, and that I may again have the pleasure of lead-
ing you and your command; but whether or not, you have in all things my best wishes.
Very truly, etc.,
LOVELL H. ROUSSEAU.
A like testimony to his soldierly qualities is borne by General L. A. Harris, commander of the brigade in which he served. That officer wrote, under date of January 9, 1864 :
From the knowledge thus obtained, I can indorse, to the fullest extent, Colonel McMynn. He is a brave, active, earnest and accomplished officer, and in the service was an honor to his State.
The governor of the State decided not to raise any more cavalry regiments, hence Colonel McMynn did not reënter the service.
In 1854 he was appointed regent of the State Uni- versity, a position which he held for fifteen years, during which time the university was developed and placed upon a secure foundation. He was active in securing the organization that has so greatly con- tributed to its present prosperity.
He has been identified with the republican party since its organization, and was on the State ticket as a nominee of that party in 1854, 1855, 1857, 1864 and 1866. In April, 1864, he was appointed by President Lincoln and confirmed by the United States senate as superintendent of Indian affairs for Washington Territory, but declined the office on account of pressing private business. In November of the same year he was elected to the very respon- sible office of State superintendent of public in- struction, which he retained for four years. In 1866 he was a member of the board of visitors to the United States Military Academy at West Point.
In 1868 he was induced to enter the employment of J. I. Case and Co., of Racine, the largest manu- facturers of steam-power threshing machines in the world, and for six and a half years had charge of their collections. He entered their service on a salary of fifteen hundred dollars a year, which was soon increased to five thousand dollars a year. Much to the regret of his employers, however, he resigned this responsible position, with its very flat- tering emolument, to return to his chosen profession, that which he always intended to make his life-work.
In 1875 he built the Racine Academy, under which name he has since conducted a flourishing private school for the purpose of fitting young gentlemen for college, and to give others a general business education, according to their aims and purposes in life. The institution is largely patronized and doing a most excellent work in this direction.
Endowed with great intellectual force, possessed
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of those elements of mind and character which not only secure success to the possessor, but to those who are brought under his immediate influence, Colonel McMynn has always been a man of marked prominence. These qualities, together with his identification with the interests of education, have made him conspicuous not only in the State in which he lives, but throughout the Northwest. Learned in all branches of knowledge, he possesses rare pow- ers for imparting that knowledge to others. His methods of instruction are original, vigorous and thorough. During the time he was at the head of the public schools of Racine it was universally con- ceded that they were unsurpassed for discipline and efficiency in Wisconsin, and in consequence the rep- utation of that city for its educational advantages became widespread. While State superintendent of instruction he impressed upon the public schools of the State the vigor of his own character, and con- tributed most valuable exertions in behalf of the State University, and for the establishment of normal schools, which have since become a part of the edu- cational system of the State, and of which he was to a great extent the organizer. He infused new life, system and energy into every department of edu- cational work, and has long enjoyed a reputation as one of the most accomplished and successful edu- cators in the Northwest. Scattered throughout the West are many men and women, now established in life, and pursuing a useful and honorable career, who attribute their success to the training and disci- pline which, as his pupils, they received from him. His private academy, above alluded to, is already receiving such patronage and accomplishing such results as give assurance of a success worthy of the reputation of its founder and principal.
Colonel McMynn is a forcible public speaker, and possesses rare conversational powers. He addresses himself directly to the point under consideration, whether in the presence of a public audience or in private conversation ; his thoughts are always full of freshness, and his words terse, crisp and emphatic. Naturally he despises shams, and at once impresses all who come in contact with him with the powers of mind and traits of character above indicated. Education and educational work are with him themes of absorbing importance. His views upon the subject are clear, cogent and comprehensive, and limited only by their relationship to the progress and welfare of the community, the State and the nation.
He is a firm believer in the cardinal doctrines of Christianity as taught in the creeds of the Protestant churches, but is not in communion with any church.
In private life he is eminently charitable and be- nevolent ; a warm and generous friend, a kind and courteous neighbor, a virtuous and honored citizen ; an honest man.
On the 27th December, 1852, he married Miss Ella F. Wiley, who died in June, 1858, leaving no children.
He was again married in 1860, to Miss Marion F. Clarke, daughter of Norman Clarke, Esq., one of the earliest settlers of Racine. She is a lady of rare culture, and noted in the community for her warm and intelligent interest in all that promotes the hap- piness of the community.
They have four children, two sons and two daugh- ters, namely, John and Robert, Louise and Nelly; all strong and vigorous, both mentally and phys- ically, giving promise of honor and usefulness in the future.
HARMON VAN DUSEN, M.D.,
MINERAL POINT.
AA
MONG the older class of medical practitioners in Iowa county, Wisconsin, is Harmon Van Dusen, who is well known among the profession, he having been twice at the head of the Wisconsin Medical Society. Though seventy years of age, his mind is very active, and when not otherwise engaged he always has a book in his hand,-in the evening his usual custom being to study till midnight. A life-time of such mental industry must necessarily
result in the accumulation of a great fund of knowl- edge outside of medical science,- a fund easily dis- cernible by conversing with the Doctor, but of which he makes no ostentatious display. He is as modest and unassuming as he is studious, and reads for his own benefit and pleasure rather than for show.
Dr. Van Dusen is the son of Henry Van Dusen, a farmer, and Sally Stoddard, and dates his birth at Salisbury, Connecticut, July 23, 1807. He farmed
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until his eighteenth year, supplementing a common- school education with one year's attendance at the Middlebury Academy, Wyoming county, New York. He read medicine at Bethany and Delphi, New York ; attended one course of lectures at Castleton, Vermont ; was admitted to practice under a county license in 1828 ; practiced at Tully, Onondaga coun- ty, until 1834, when he attended a course of lectures at Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, receiv- ing his diploma from the same. Returning to Tully he continued practice there until 1847, when he came as far west as Milwaukee. In December of the following year he removed to Mineral Point, and here made a permanent settlement. He has been in general practice, and had from the start, and has carefully maintained, a good standing in the pro- fession. He has been president of the lowa County Medical Society from its origin ; is also a member of the State Medical Society, and was its president in 1868 and 1872.
While residing in the State of New York, during the administration of Mr. Van Buren, 1837-1841, Dr. Van Dusen was commissioner of the United States deposit fund, a trustworthy position. He was mayor of the city of Mineral Point in 1876, and had previously held one or two minor municipal offices. He has always acted with the democratic party.
Dr. Van Dusen has long been a member of the
Masonic fraternity, and is at the present time (the summer of 1877) high priest of Iowa Chapter No. 6. He attends the Episcopal church.
He has had three wives: the first was Miss Aurora Hobart, of Delphi, New York, they being united in 1829; she died at Tully, New York, March 1, 1842, leaving five children, only one of them, Henry M., now living. The second wife was Mrs. Margaret Ann Mann, of Syracuse, New York, they being married in 1843; she died March 22, 1852, leaving one son, Wilson H., now practicing medicine at Montford, Grant county, twenty miles from Mineral Point. His present wife was Mrs. Jane E. Ackley, a cousin of his second wife, the maiden name of both being Wilson. Mrs. Van Dusen has a daughter, Mrs. Caroline E: Smith, by her first husband, but no children by her present union. She is a Christian woman, and she and her daughter are communicants in the Episcopal church.
Dr. Van Dusen has partially retired from business, his rides being limited to the city and to the day- time. A few of his old neighbors, when unwell, will+ not call anybody else, but he is working out of the practice as rapidly as he can, conveniently. He is held in high esteem by the older citizens of the city and county, and by some of those out of town his retirement from practice is much regretted.
JOHN H. VIVIAN, M.D., MINERAL POINT.
T THE Vivians are a very old English family with two branches. One branch is represented by Sir Richard Vivian, the other by Lord Hussey Viv- ian, who was created a baron many years ago for brilliant military service, he being a cavalry officer under Lord Wellington, and losing an arm at Water- loo.
John Harris Vivian, son of Henry A. Vivian, a mine agent, and Mary Lean, is a native of Cornwall, England, and was born at Camborne, July 27, 1825. All his younger years were spent in literary institu- tions, first in a grammar school in his native town, and then in a commercial school at Trevarth. At sixteen he commenced the study of medicine at the Falmouth public dispensary ; received his degree of M.D. in 1846; practiced with his uncle, Dr. John Vivian, as an assistant at Buck's Head, in the parish
of Crown, a short time; left the old country in May, 1847 ; acted as hospital surgeon a few months at Grosse Isle, the Quebec quarantine ground; and in September of that year located at Mineral Point. Here for thirty years he has been in steady prac- tice, except during short intervals, when he was absent in the service of his adopted country.
In 1863 and 1864 Dr. Vivian was surgeon of the board of enrollment, and early in 1865 became sur- geon of the 50th Regiment Wisconsin Infantry, in which he served until June, 1866, his being the last Wisconsin regiment mustered out of the service. Its operations were on the western frontier, and it was stationed, during the latter part of its service, at Fort Rice, Dakota Territory.
Dr. Vivian was mayor of Mineral Point in 1859, and member of the assembly in 1862 and 1863. In
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the legislature he was very active and conspicuous, and was chairman of the committee on State affairs during the latter session. It was while the rebellion was in progress, and no man born in this country acted with more patriotic ardor than he. He has been on the board of supervisors several times, and was chairman one year. He is pension surgeon, and has been since 1865. He is secretary of the Iowa County Medical Society, and a member of the State Medical Society.
Dr. Vivian was originally a "free-soiler," and sup- ported the ticket, standing on the Buffalo platform, in 1848. He has been a republican since there was such an organization; is quite active as a politician, and attends most of the State conventions of his party.
Dr. Vivian belongs to the Independent Order of Odd-Fellows; is grand representative of the order, and has been grand patriarch.
He has been twice married. His first wife was Miss Elizabeth Stansmore, a native of Cornwall,
England. They were married at Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1849, she dying in 1857, leaving one child, a daughter, still living. His present wife was Miss Amelia Stansmore, a sister of the former, their union occurring in July, 1858. They have had six children, of whom four are living.
Dr. Vivian, who had a good literary and medical education at the start, has continued his studies, and has striven to keep pace with the progress of medical science. He has had a fair practice in surgery as well as a heavy one in medicine, and has a good reputation in both departments of the healing art. His rides are quite extensive. He is prompt to obey the calls of suffering humanity ; has a sympathetic disposition, very opportune at the bedside, and is cheerful and cordial alike with the sick and the well. As a citizen, as well as a physician, his ser- vices are highly valuable, and are appreciated by the community in which he resides. He is con- versant with English literature, agreeable in conver- sation, and a very good entertainer.
H. M. BENJAMIN,
MILWAUKEE.
T HE subject of this brief biography is a native of Plerchen, Prussia, and was born July 30, 1841, the son of Myer and Eva Benjamin. His parents were highly respectable people, and gave to him a good common-school and business educa- . tion. His father was a nephew of Rev. Dr. Elias Guttmacher, of Graetz, Prussia.
Leaving his home on the 25th of August, 1856, our subject went to Hamburg, and on the Ist of September following, sailed for New York, where he arrived on the 15th of October. After spending ten days in that city he proceeded to Georgetown, South Carolina, and there found employment as a clerk in the mercantile house of Messrs. Link and Brown. Returning to New York in the year 1859, he went thence to La Porte, Indiana, and there began busi- ness on his own account. His first adventure was in the grocery trade, in partnership with a Mr. Win- chell, under the firm name of Winchell and Benja- min. After a time, however, he sold his interest to his partner, and forming a partnership with a Mr. Rosenthal, embarked in the dry-goods trade under the firm name of Rosenthal and Benjamin.
Removing to St. Joseph, Michigan, in July, 1865,
he there continued the same line of business until July, 1868, when he closed out his interests and settled at Milwaukee, where he has since made his home. In March, 1869, the firm of Herbst Broth- ers and Benjamin was formed, and purchasing the wood and coal yard of C. D. Guernsey and Co., these gentlemen have continued in that business until the present, meeting with good success.
As a man Mr. Benjamin is active, enterprising and public-spirited, and aside from his regular busi- ness has been called to many positions of honor and trust. In September, 1874, he was elected a direct- or of the Banner and Volks Friend Printing Com- pany, and in the same year was elected a second
time as councilman from the sixth ward, having been first elected in April, 1872. He was also, in 1874, president of the common council and acting mayor of the city, a position to which he was reelected by a unanimous vote, in January, 1875. It was also during this year that he was elected one of the directors and president of the Milwaukee and Du- buque Railroad Company. Mr. Benjamin is also one of the trustees of Greenwood Cemetery.
He is of Israelitish parentage, and belongs to the
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reformed class of that people, and is a member and one of the trustees of the Temple Emanuel at Mil- waukee.
As a business man Mr. Benjamin is known for his promptness and energetic effort, and enjoys the highest confidence of all who know him for his trustworthiness, reliability and fair dealing.
On the 12th of January, 1868, being at that time
twenty-seven years of age, he was married to Miss Carrie Herbst, then in her eighteenth year. Mrs. Benjamin died on the 23d of January, 1873. Of the three children that were born to them (one son and two daughters) the daughters are now living.
Though still a young man, Mr. Benjamin has at- tained to a high degree of success as a business man, and gives every promise of a bright future.
EDWARD T. MIX,
MILWAUKEE.
E DWARD TOWNSEND MIX, architect, is the eldest of a family of six children born to Edward A. and Emily M. (Townsend) Mix, of New Haven, Connecticut. The Mix family is of Welsh descent, and the Townsend of English ancestry. The families on both sides, for several generations, were noted mariners, being connected with the East India trade. The father and grandfather of our sub- ject are distinguished as having made the most suc- cessful voyages of the times to the Indian seas, as may be learned from the " Transactions of the New England Historical Society."
His father, at the age of eleven years, following the impulses of an adventurous and daring disposi- tion, left home for a "voyage round the world," in a ship commanded by his uncle, his avowed pur- pose being to punish the Queen of the Sandwich Islands for the murder of his father some three years previously. On reaching the islands, how- ever, he learned that her majesty had been dead for some months. He was thus left functus officio, so far as this self-imposed duty was concerned. He completed his voyage, however, and returned to his home in safety. At the age of eighteen he was in command of his own ship, and for fifty years he continued to plow the waves, being one of the best known and most successful commanders in the New York, China and East India trade. An accident resulting in the loss of his right hand, at the age of sixty-five years, compelled him to abandon the pro- fession of his heart, and content himself on shore with his family during the remainder of his lifetime. He was characterized by an indomitable will, united to a warm impulsive heart, unswerving integrity and high moral character, together with the true sailor's open hand to all in distress or trouble. His creed was short and practical -" Do your duty, and trust
God for the rest." He is still living at his home in New Haven, Connecticut.
His father being absent most of the time, the care of the family devolved mainly upon the mother of our subject, and nobly did she meet the claims of duty. "Home" was always to her children the dearest spot on earth, and their mother the best and loveliest of women. Her predominant characteristic was her pure and undissembled piety. She was an humble follower of Him who "went about doing good." She was, moreover, a lady of rare intel- lectual attainments, of fine presence and appearance, and endowed with high social and conversational powers, a sympathetic friend and prudent adviser. She was called to her "reward above " in the year 1867, but her memory is still fragrant and dewy in the hearts of all who knew her.
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