Fayette County, Indiana - Chapter 21, 1917

Chapter 21

During the ninety-seven years of Fayette county history there have appeared a number of men in the county who have achieved more than local fame. It is one of the curious things of our American life that the fame of politicians should be more widely extended than that of men in any other calling. While it is true that men in other professions than the law reach just as high positions, yet their names have not received the notice that has been accorded those who have engaged in politics. The men from Fayette county who served in Congress, or held other official positions in the state and nation are better remembered than those who rose to eminence as result of their efforts in other directions.

Since the county was organized in 1819, it is not to be expected that any native-born citizens should become widely known to the outside world before the Civil War period, but several of the early settlers have left their names high on the scroll of our state and national history. From this county have gone forth United States senators, members of Presidential cabinets, congressmen, United States treasurers, United States district attorneys, attorney generals of the state, state geologists and a number of judges who made more than a local reputation. As will be noticed, all of these men held official positions of one kind or another, but there are others who are equally entitled to recognition as being representative citizens of the county. Such men as John Conner, A. B. Conwell, W. W. Frybarger, M. R. Hull, Philip Mason, the Roots brothers, Samuel J. Shipley, and scores of others have contributed of their respective abilities to the advancement of the different phases of growth' of Fayette county.

In this chapter there may be found brief sketches of a number of Fayette county's eminent citizens of a past generation. In other chapters mention has been made of many others. Lawyers, physicians, newspaper editors and business men are mentioned in their respective chapters. It must not be understood that every worthy citizen of the county has been included, but it is believed that all the men who have been mentioned have contributed in one way or another to the progress of the county. Every good citizen of the county has helped to make its history, but it is not possible to chronicle the deeds of everyone, and no attempt has been made in this chapter to set forth the achievements of those now living. A large number of these are

Oliver Hampton Smith

Oliver H. Smith, a resident of Connersville from 1820 to 1839, will go down in history as one of Indiana's great men. He was a member of the state Legislature, a member of Congress, a member of the United States Senate and always a statesman of the highest rank. His talents were diversified; as a lawyer he ranks with the best in the state; as a financier and practical business man he attained a position among the leaders in the state; as an author he left one volume which throws the best light on many phases of early Indiana history that has ever appeared in the state. This volume, entitled "Early Indiana Trials and Sketches," appeared in 1857. It would be easy to write a volume upon the life of OHver H. Smith, but it is not possible to cover his life in detail in this connection.

Oliver H. Smith was born on October 23, 1794, on a small island near Trenton, New Jersey, and came to Indiana in 181 7. He first located at Rising Sun, but a short time afterward moved to Lawrenceburg, where he commenced the study of law. In INfarch, 18 19, he was admitted to the bar and then located in Versailles, in Riplej' county. He remained there only a short time, removing to Connersville in May, 1820.

Two years later Smith was elected to the Legislature from Fayette county.- He was appointed prosecutor of the third judicial circuit in 1824, but resigned on August i, 1826, to become a candidate for Congress and was elected by over fifteen hundred majority. After the close of his first term in Congress he returned to Connersville and devoted all of his time and attention to the practice of his profession until 1836, when he was elected to the United States Senate. He served with distinction for six years in the Senate, but was defeated for re-election in 1842 by E. A. Hannegan and never again asked for political preferment.

The last sixteen years of his life (1843-59) were largely devoted to railroad matters, and Indianapolis and the state of Indiana are mainly indebted to him for building the railroad, now known as the Big Four, to Indianapolis. At different times he was president of two railroads and he exercised the same ability in railroad matters that characterized his work as a lawyer.

Smith died in Indianapolis on March 19. 1859, and the Indiaiiaf^olis Journal two days later, in commenting upon his death, said: "There is not a corner in the state in which the melancholy announcement of the death of Hon. Oliver H. Smith, which we make this morning, will not wake feelings of deep and sincere sorrow. He died as he lived, a sincere Christian. His eminent career, his great service to the cause of internal improvements, and his unspotted private life, make him a place in the public regard that few have filled more worthily."

Caleb Blood Smith

Caleb B. Smith, a resident of Connersville from 1827 to 1851, a member of Congress for three terms and secretary of the interior under Lincoln, was one of the most distinguished men Indiana has ever produced. He served his state in the Legislature and the nation in Congress and as a member of President Lincoln's Civil War cabinet. At the opening of the Civil War an enumeration of a dozen of the nation's greatest men would have found the name of Caleb B. Smith one of the number.

Caleb B. Smith was born in Boston, April 16. 1808. and when si.K \ears of age located with his parents in Cincinnati. After completing the course of studies given in the University of Cincinnati he entered Miami University at Oxford, Ohio, where he was graduated in 1827. He had read law while in college and continued his study during the summer of 1827, and in the fall of that year located in Connersville, where he resumed his legal studies under the tutelage of Oliver H. Smith.

No better description of Caleb B. Smith has ever been written than that prepared by his mentor, Oliver H. Smith. It is here given as it appeared in his "Early Indiana Trials and Sketches."

One day I was sitting in my office at Connersville. wlieii there entered a sniiill youth about five feet, eight inches high, large head, thin lnown hair, li^-ht blue eyes, high, capacious forehead, and good features, and introduced himself as Caleb B. Smith, of Cincinnati. He stated his business in a li.sping tone. He had come to read law with me if I would receive him. I as.sented to his wishes, and he remained with me until he was admitted to practice, and commenced his professional, as well as his political, career at Connersville. He rose rapidly at the bar. was remarkably fluent, rapid and eloquent before a jury, never at a loss for ideas or words to e.xpress them: if he had a fault as an advocate, it was that he suffered his nature to press forward his ideas for utterance faster than the minds of the .iurors were prepared to receive them. Still, he was very successful before the court .md .I'liry.

Caleb B. Smith completed his studies under O. H. Smith and was admitted to the bar in 1828, although he was not yet of age. In 1831. being only twenty-three years of age at the time, he made the race for the Legislature, but was defeated by a narrow margin. In June of the following year he associated himself with M. R. Hull in the establishment of a newspaper known as the Indiana Sentinel. He made a second race for the Legislature in 1833, was elected and was re-elected for the three following sessions, serving as speaker of the House in the sessions of 1835 and 1836. In 1840 he was elected to the Legislature for the fifth time and in that same year was chosen as one of the Presidential electors on the Harrison ticket.

Mr. Smith was first elected to Congress in 1843 and was re-elected in 1845 and again in 1847, serving six years in all. During his three terms in Congress he was the leader of the Indiana delegation and at the close of his last term was probably not only the most prominent man in national affairs from Indiana, but also one of the most prominent men who has ever represented the state in either branch of Congress.

In the early fifties Caleb B. Smith became interested in railroads and in 1 85 1 was made president of the Cincinnati & Chicago Railroad Company, with headquarters at Cincinnati. The railroad proved a losing venture and the company soon became bankrupt. Smith himself losing a considerable portion of his fortune. In 1856 he was a presidential elector from Ohio on the Fremont ticket. He had been a resident of Cincinnati since 1 85 1, and made his home in that city for eight years.

In 1859 Mr. Smith removed from Cincinnati to Indianapolis in order to devote all his time to his law practice. He was chairman of the Indiana delegation at the Republican national convention at Chicago in i860 and was no small factor in bringing about the nomination of Lincoln. Such were his services in the campaign of i860 in behalf of Lincoln that the President recognized him by making him a member of his cabinet. He served as secretary of the interior from the beginning of the administration, March 4, 1861, until December 25, 1862, when he resigned to accept the judgeship of the United States court for the district of Indiana. He took this office on the first of the following year, and died about a year later, January 17, 1864. He died in the court building at Indianapolis as a result of a hemorrhage.

As an orator, Caleb B. Smith had few equals, particularly excelling in "stump" speaking. He had a singularly clear, sonorous and penetrating voice, which made it easy for him to address large crowds. His language was copious and musical, often striking and always clear. At his death President Lincoln sent a telegram to Indianapolis ordering that- the post- office be draped in mourning for fourteen days in honor of him "as a prudent and loyal counselor and faithful and effective coadjutor of the administration in an hour of public difficulty and peril."

Smith was married July 8, 1831, to Elizabeth B. Watton, of Connersville. They had several children, all of whom are now deceased. His widow survived him several years.

Samuel W. Parker

Samuel W. Parker, a member of Congress from 185 1 to 1855 and a resident of Connersville from 1828 until his death in 1859, was born on September 9, 1805, in Watertown, New York. When ten years of age he removed with his family to Cincinnati, and three years later the family located at Oxford, where young Parker completed his education at Miami University, graduating at the head of his class in 1828.

Shortly after his graduation, Samuel W. Parker located in Connersville, and in November, 1828, opened a private school in the village, which he taught for several terms. He was principal of the county seminary when it opened, and maintained his connection with that institution until April, 1830, when he resigned to engage in newspaper work in the village. The newspaper chapter elsewhere in this volume sets forth his connection with the press at Connersville.

While teaching and later while engaged in newspaper work, Mr. Parker devoted his spare moments to the study of law in the office of O. H. Smith. He was admitted to the bar in August, 1831, and from that time until his death he was engaged in the active practice of his profession, with the exception of the time he spent in Congress. He served in both branches of the General Assembly of the state and also served by appointment as prosecuting attorney. His first election to Congress was in 1850 and by re-election he served from March 4, 1851, to March 4, 1855. He could easily have been elected for the third term had he so chosen, but he declined to accept the renomination. As soon as he had left the halls of Congress he returned to his home in Connersville and from that time until his death divided his attention between the practice of law and the direction of the various railroad interests with which he was identified. He was president of the Junction Railroad Company at the time of his death, February i, 1859, and had for several years previous been president of the White Water Canal Company.

Parker was the leader of the Whig party in Indiana for twenty years and his services as a campaign speaker were in constant demand throughout

William Watson Wick

\\'iIHam W. ^^'ick, the first lawyer in Connersville and a resident of Fayette county until 1822, was born at Cannonsburg, Pennsylvania, February 2^, 1796. When he was four years of age he removed with his parents to the Western Reserve of Ohio, where he grew to manhood. During the two years following 18 14 he taught school in Washington county, Pennsylvania, and in the spring of 18 16 went to Cincinnati. There he taught school and began the study of medicine, but later decided to forsake the medical profession and engage in the practice of law. About 18 18 he began the study of law at Lebanon, Ohio, and sometime during the following year was admitted to the bar in that state. Having been admitted to the bar, the next cjuestion was where to locate. He heard of the newly-organized county of Fayette in Indiana and finally decided to cast his lot with its county seat. Accordingly in December, 1819, he located in Connersville, the first lawyer to settle in the county. In December, 1820, he was chosen clerk of the Indiana House oi Representatives and served through two sessions in that capacity. The Legislature elected him president judge of the fifth judicial circuit, February 7, 1822, and with his election to that office he severed his connection with Connersville forever, and located in Indianapolis.

There is probably not a man in Indiana who filled more official positions than William W. Wick. The different official positions he held covered practically the whole period from 1822 to 1857, his ofificial positions following: President judge, 1822-25; secretary of state, 1825-29; quartermaster general, 1826; prosecuting attorney, 1829-33; president judge, 1834-39; congress, 1839-41 and 1845-49; president and circuit judge, 1849-53; postmaster of Indianapolis, 1853-57.

Wick was first married in 1821 to Laura Finch, a sister of Fabius M. Finch, one of Indiana's best lawyers. After the death of his first wife in 1832, Wick was married, in 1839, to Isabella Barbee, who died in 1875. He spent his declining years at the home of his daughter at Franklin, Indiana, where he died on May 19, 1868.

Jonathan AlcCarty, one of the famous distinguished residents of Fayette county, although not born in the county, was nevertheless prominently identitkd with its early history. He was born in \'irginia, .\ugust 3, 1795; removed with his parents to Franklin county, Indiana, in 1804, was reared in sight of Brookville, and lived in that county until Fayette county was organized in 1819. He served as deputy clerk of Franklin county under his brother, Enoch, spent his spare moments reading law and was eventually admitted to the bar. He early began to interest himself in politics, was elected to the Legislature from Franklin county and introduced the bill which provided for the organization of Fayette county. Upon the organization of the county on January 1,1819, he removed to Connersville and was elected as the first clerk of the circuit court, serving also as recorder.

Mr. jMcCarty filled the office until 1828, when he resigned, having been notified of his impending appointment as receiver of the land office to be established at Ft. Wayne, Indiana. He took charge of the land office in 1829 and the following year made the race for Congress against John Test. In the course of the campaign he made the following statement in one of his speeches :

I have resided for more than twenty-five years in the territorial limits of what now forms this congressional district; first In the county of Dearborn [this was before Franklin was organized in 1811], then In Franklin, then in Fayette, my present residence. ****** Having been resired and educated in the western country, accustomed to its policy and laws, I necessarily Imbibed, at an early period, those republican principles so repeatedly and practically illustrated in the We.stern states - and have always been proud of the name and title of a Republican.

While McCarty called himself a Republican, it must be understood that it was not the party that it is today ; in fact he was a follower of Jackson, really a Democrat. His opponent, John Test, was a National Republican. Though McCarty was defeated in his race for Congress in 1828, he was successful two years later, defeating his former competitor. Test, and Oliver H. Smith. In the course of the campaign, Samuel W. Parker, then editor of the Political Clarion at Connersville, and a violent fighter against McCarty, referred to the latter in the following manner;

General McCarty for four or five years had particular notoriety as a heated parti- Siin of President Jaclvson. As a man he is possessed of natural abilities which rate considerable above mediocrity : abilities which could not but have rendered him truly and ,1ustly conspicuous, had they been jiroperly disciplined and directed. From village to national polities, he is shrewd, calculating, .nlfiil .iiul inili'f.itigalile. ;nid in his demeanor he is affable, courteous and interesting.

This statement from a political adversary, as will be noticed, recognized the ability of the man. Another, and probably a truer estimate of the man.

He was one of the most talented men in the state. He was defective in education, but had great native powers; represented his district in Congress for several years [he served from 1831 to 1837] with ability. As a stump speaker he was ardent and effective; his person was above the medium size; his head and face of fine mould; his voice strong and clear, and his actions good.

In 1848 or 1849 McCarty left Indiana and located in Keokuk, Iowa, for the practice of law, but had only fairly established himself in that city when his death occurred. He died in Keokuk in 1852 and his remains rest there.

Minor Meeker

Minor Meeker, a farmer of Harrison township, was a man of unusual ability. Born in Orange county, New York, July 5, 1795, he was left an orphan at the age of two years, fought in the War of 1812 in a New York regiment, and then learned the tanner's trade in Steuben county, in his native state. In 18 19 he started for the West in company with Minor Thomas and others, the party going down the Ohio river and stopping off at a point about five miles above Cincinnati. From that point they made their way overland to Fayette county, Indiana. Meeker settled in Connersville and at once engaged in the tanning business.

In January, of the following year, he married Rachel Thomas, the daughter of Minor Thomas, the leader of the party to this county. After his marriage he moved onto his father-in-law's farm and subsequently bought a farm in Harrison township. He built a log cabin on his farm, moved into it before it was completed, began clearing his land, and there on that farm he lived the remainder of his days. Before his death he was one of the largest landowners of the township.

Minor Meeker divided his attention between farming, tanning and shoe- and boot-making, distilling and the pork-packing business. He was also one of the directors in the White Water Canal Company and always took an active part in urging public improvements of all kinds. Successful as he was as a farmer and business man, it is his record as a public official which insures him a place in the hall of Fayette county's distinguished men. It is said of him that so popular was he in the county that he was never defeated for any office to which he aspired. He was first elected as representative to the Legislature in 1841, serving in the twenty-sixth and twentyseventh sessions, and again in 1845, serving in the thirtieth and thirty-first sessions. In 1852 he was elected to the state Senate and served in the thirtyseventh and thirty-eighth sessions. An examination of the House and Senate journals shows that he was a prominent figure in both houses of the Legislature, and active in shaping legislation.

James C. Mcintosh, one of the leading lawyers of Connersville for many years, was born on January 13, 1827, in Connersville. His parents, Joshua and Nancy Mcintosh, natives of Virginia and Maryland, respectively, settled in Connersville in 1824. The elder Mcintosh was a local preacher in the Methodist church and for many years one of the associate judges of Fayette county. The son was educated in the schools of Connersville and then entered Asbury (now DePauw) University, at Greencastle, Indiana, and graduated at the head of his class in 1849, completing the regular four-year course in three years.

For a short time after graduating Mr. Mcintosh taught school in Lagrange, Indiana, but in 1850 he commenced the study of law, his preceptor being Samuel W. Parker, of Connersville. In 1851 he was admitted to the bar, and from that date until his death, August 27, 1878, he devoted himself to the practice of his profession. He never cared to mingle in politics and frequently declined to make the race for office. In commenting on the life of this distinguished lawyer, a local biographer thus characterized his life :

From the beginning he worlied his way upward in his profesision until he ni.Tile a reputation as a lawyer surpassed by a very few. And be it noted that the pul)lic prominence he attained was as a lawyer - polities had nothing to do with it. He never asked for otflce; in fact, he refused to allow his name to be used in that connection, and while many of his associates in the state have left their names to be tossed about on the billows of polities, he quietly toiled on in his profession, leaving a work that will last as long as jurisprudence has a place in the state he loved.

His devotion to his legal studies and duties, however, had no effect in diminishing his religious interest, nor did it then, or ever, interfere in the slightest degree with his faithful performance of his church duties. Always calm and dignified, never demonstrative, his entire Christian life was a steady, per.sistent, elevated plea for the truth of Christian doctrines, and the purity and elevation of Christian character. He did not flash with the fitful and momentiiry glare of the brilliant meteor, but glowed with the steady light of the planet that keeps the track of its orbit.

Col. James C. Rea

Col. James C. Rea, a veteran of the War of 181 2, a resident of Fayette county from 1818 until his death in 1876, a successful farmer, school teacher, justice of peace for nearly a quarter of a century and holder of other public offices, was born in Rockbridge county, Virginia, June 16, 1789. He served in the War of 1812 with a company of Virginia militia, and in 1818 was appointed lieutenant of the Thirteenth Brigade, Thirteenth Regiment Virginia Militia.

Colonel Rea's connection with Fayette county, Indiana, began in the summer of 18 18, in which year he and his brother Daniel came to the county and settled in Harrison township. He took a prominent part in the militia of the county and before the system was abolished in 1846 he had reached the rank of colonel. He lived on the farm in Harrison township, where he first settled, until his death, September 25, 1876.

Colonel Rea was married, April 20, 1823, to Mary Stockdale. They were the parents of a large family of children, nine of whom became successful teachers in the county, a record which has never been approached (luring the whole liistory of the county. The names of the children follow : Elizabeth M., Hetty J., Rheuamy, John, Robert, James C, Joseph B., Nancy H., Sarah A., and India B. The mother of these children died on November 10, 1846.

Colonel Rea was looked upon as one of the leaders in the county for half a century. He taught school for a number of years, even being found in the school room when he reached the age of seventy-eight years. He served on the board of tax commissioners in 1833, filled the office of justice of ])eace in his township from 1834 until 1857, ^"f' ^'^^ appointed in 185 1 to appraise the real estate of Waterloo, Harrison and Posey townships. He was a Jackson Democrat, an "old school" Presbyterian, and a man of firm and resolute character in every respect; a fine type of the sterling pioneers of the county, who reared large families to lives of usefulness and honor, took an active part in the life of their respective communities, and in every way worked for the ^ood of the county honored by their residence.

Abram B. Conwell

Abram B. Conwell, for years the most prominent merchant of Connersville, and ictentified with the history of the city from 1819 until 1886, was born in Lewiston, Delaware, August 15, 1796. He was apprenticed to a tanner at the age of fifteen and served an apprenticeship of five years. In 1818 he and his brother, James, left their native town for the West, and on arriving at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, James secured a ^xisition in a shipyard, leaving Abram to continue his journey westward alone. He went on down the Ohio river and stopped in Kentucky, but a year later he left that state and came to Fayette county, Indiana, and located at Connersville, where he lived until the day of his death, November i, 1886, being in his ninetieth year.

In the fall of 181 8 three of the Conwell brothers, James, William and Isaac, made a prospecting- trip throughout the Northwest looking for a suitable location. James, a Methodist preacher, located at Laurel, Franklin county; William settled at Cambridge City, Wayne county; Isaac chose Liberty, Union county; while Abram finally decided to cast his lot with Connersville. All of the brothers became successful merchants in their respective communities, Abram achieving the most pronounced financial success.

Having learned the trade of a tanner it was but natural that Conwell should start a tannery as soon as he got located in Connersville. He lx)ught one acre from John Conner, the founder of the town, and proceeded to build a fine residence on the same, the building still being in an excellent state of preservation. He was married February 22, 1821, to Elizabeth Sparks, a daughter of Matthew Sparks, one of the earliest settlers of Franklin county. They were the parents of three children, Lafayette, who was associated with his father in business until his death; Anna K., who became the wife of William Merrell, a banker and merchant of Connersville. and Charles K., who died in 1876.

To tell the business career of Abram B. Conwell, extending as it did over three-quarters of a century, would transcend the limits of this article. He was financially interested in a large number of projects in the city and county, and nearly all of them were successful. Primarily he was a merchant - a store keeper, he called himself - and it was in trading that he made his greatest success. He gradually branched out into other lines of activity and such was his versatilitv that he was capable of handling his manv diverse (38) interests in a way to make them successful. He bought a mill in the village and later built a new one., installing the latest and most improved machinery. Still later he became interested in the pork-packing business and it is said that during some years he sold more than six hundred, thousand dollars' worth. of pork. In the meantime he was buying up land in the county and at one time he owned about fifteen hundred acres. Thus he had four enterprises in hand at the same time- - his store, flourmill, pork-packing establishment and finally his hundreds of acres of farming land.

When the question of completing the White Water canal through Connersville was being agitated in 1839 and 1840, Mr. Conwell became one of the leading promoters of the new company, which finally secured the right to complete the canal, and he was one of the heaviest stockholders. Likewise, when the proposition of building the present Cincinnati, Indianapolis & Western Railroad was broached, he took a prominent part in raising the money to build the branch, connecting Dayton and RushviUe. He invested sixty thousand dollars in the project and got no other returns except such as came indirectly through the improvement of the city. , ,

Mr. Conwell was one of the charter members of the first Masonic lodge established in Connersville. In politics he was a Hfe-long Democrat, but never during his long career would he consent to become a candidate for a public office. His life work was in the business world, and with an indomitable will, ceaseless energy, unquestioned integrity and well-directed effort he built up a truly remarkable business for his day and generation. During all of his life he took a hearty interest in the welfare of the community and contributed generously of his means to all worthy causes. His life spanned four score and ten years and with his death in 1886 there passed away the greatest merchant Fayette county has ever produced.

Francis M. Roots

Francis M. Roots, for many years one of the leading business men of Connersville, was born at Oxford, Ohio, October 28, 1824. His parents, natives of Vermont, had located at that place in 1816, his father, Alanson Roots, at once establishing a woolen factory at Oxford. Alanson Roots' three elder sons assisted in the factory and in this way learned all the details of the business. Francis M. entered Miami University, located in Oxford, when he was sixteen years of age, and was graduated from the scientific course.

Philander H., decided to come to Connersville and establish a woolen-niill. At that time (1845) the White Water canal was just being opened through the town and this fact, together with the opportunity of utilizing water power for their factory, offered such an attractive inducement to the two brothers that they decided to establish a large woolen-mill here.

The Roots brothers at once erected a five-story building, one hundred by forty feet, and when operated at full capacity, as they did during the Civil War period, employed at least one hundred men. This building was in constant operation from the time it was opened for manufacturing until it was destroyed by fire in 1875.

Before the woolen factory burned the Roots brothers had become interested in another manufacturing enterprise of even greater magnitude. In i860 they succeeded in getting patented what became known as Roots' rotary blower. This machine was awarded first premiums at three international expositions: Paris, 1867; Vienna, 1873; Philadelphia, 1875. ^^ sold extensively not only in this country, but in Europe as well. By 1885 no fewer than five thousand had been sold in England alone, while as many more had been sold on the continent.

Francis M. Roots became interested in banking in Connersville in 1873, and was president of the First National Bank from 1879 until his death, October 25, 1889. An extended sketch of his life, which covers his business career in detail, is given in the biographical section of this volume.

Lieut. Samuel J. Shipley

Samuel J. Shipley, a resident of Fayette county from 1819 until his death in 1897, a member of the first class to graduate from the United States Naval Academy, at Annapolis, a participant in the Civil War and one of the best beloved men of a past generation in the county, was born in Wilmington, Delaware, December 24, 181 3, the son of Joseph and Mary H. (Test) Shipley. He came with his mother to Fayette county when he was six years of age, his father having died leaving his wife with four small children.

It was the childish ambition of Shipley to become a sailor, and when he was nineteen years of age Jonathan McCarty, then congressman from this district, secured an appointment for him as midshipman in the navy. This was before there was a naval academy and it was not until 1839 that Congress established such an institution, the first one being located at Philadelphia. Shipley was enrolled as a student at the time of its inception and

Shipley continued his career at sea year after year, being advanced to a lieutenancy in 1847 ^^ the close of the Mexican War. At the opening of the Civil War he was stationed at Fortress Monroe as commander of the "Brandy wine," but his health became impaired and he was compelled to retire from his command in 1863. He at once returned to his home in Fayette county and settled down on his farm in Harrison township, which he had purchased in 1837. There he continued to reside with his daughter until a few years before his death, when he moved to Connersville where he died on July 11, 1897.

Lieutenant Shipley was married on November 14, 1841, to Martha Holden, but his wife died two years later, leaving a daughter, Jennie, who is still living in Connersville.

Louis Theodore Michener

Louis T. Michener, attorney-general of Indiana from 1886 to 1890, was born near Connersville, Indiana, December 21, 1848, a son of William and Mary Michener. After receiving a common-school education he spent one year in Brookville College and then began the study of law with James C. Mcintosh, at Connersville. He was admitted to the bar in 1871 and located in Brookville for the practice of his profession. The same year he was appointed deputy common pleas attorney for his district and served in that capacity for two years. In 1873 he moved to Winfield, Kansas, but a year later returned to Indiana and located at Shelbyville, where he formed a partnership with Thomas B. Adams. He continued to practice in Shelbyville until he was elected attorney-general of Indiana, serving by re-election from 1886 to 1890. After retiring from the ofifice he went to Washington, D. C, where he has been practicing several years.

Mr. Michener took an active part in politics in former years. He was a delegate to the Republican national convention at Chicago in 1884, and was political manager for Gen. Benjamin Harrison from 1884 to 1892. From 1884 to 1886 he was secretary of the Republican state committee of Indiana, and during 1889-90 was chairman of the state committee. He was married on May 30, 1872, to Mary E. Adams, of Brookville, Indiana.