have not often turned the tide and changed gen-
eral results. There are many counties in the
state which are just as reliably Democratic on
election days as Fayette is Republican, and on
even smaller majorities which are never over-
come by the opposition.
W. C. Forrey was for a number of years mayor
of. Connersville and always a strong Democrat
politically. He was elected on the Democratic
ticket for several terms, but his personal popu-
larity was sufficient to wipe out much political
prejudice. Charles J. Murray, another "all the
time" Democrat, also served as mayor, being
elected in 1872.
Frank M. Edwards, the county chairman in
1918, is one of the Democrats of the fighting sort
who have forced the Republicans to watch all
corners of their organization in order to pre-
serve their small margin, which is sufficiently
narrow that it would be designated in many
counties of the state as decidedly "unsafe."
( 598 )
HISTORY OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF
FLOYD COUNTY
By Herman Rave
BROADLY speaking, the earlier history of
Floyd county is that of the counties of
Clark and Harrison, out of parts of which
it was created in 1819 through the efforts of the
Scribner family, the founders of the city of New
Albany. In those early days the lines between the
two parties then in existence do not seem to have
been so sharply drawn as they were later, the
greater interests of the community of settlers
centering in their local affairs and on the ques-
tion of slavery. The latter seems to have been
the main dividing line and the Democracy of the
river counties of Indiana followed its first great
Governor in this matter and opposed the making
of Indiana a slave State and defeated its oppon-
ents at every step. In this matter what is now
Floyd county stood shoulder to shoulder with the
majority.
After the establishment of the county its first
years were devoted to a fight for the location of
the court house, in which the town of Greenville
competed with New Albany, and in which the lat-
ter won. As usual in such fights party lines were
mostly obliterated. When the court house was
at last permanently located in New Albany Floyd
became more and more what may be termed a
city-county and its politics and papers centered
there, although the city itself is Republican nor-
mally by some 300 majority, while the outside
townships are Democratic with one exception,
Franklin.
It was quite natural that Floyd as a separate
county should not have had any great and promi-
nent representatives of Democracy until a more
recent period. Harrison and Clark, with the
older towns of Corydon, Charlestown and Jeffer-
sonville, monopolized the honors and distinctions,
but when once Floyd and its capital got into the
stride a series of notable men in Indiana history
and Democracy succeeded one another rapidly and
held the attention of not only the State, but the
nation.
The first of these men to appear was Ashbel
P. Willard, native of Oneida, N. Y., who came
campaigning into the river counties and liked New
Albany so well that he settled here and at the age
of 36 became Governor of Indiana.
Cyrus L. Dunham, also a native of New York,
was another great leader of the Indiana Democ-
racy, and like Willard, fought the wave of Know-
Nothingism which swept the country.
There were other prominent and efficient men
who led the party locally and made a reputation
for themselves, but the greatest of the Democratic
leaders to be credited to Floyd county is undoubt-
edly Michael C. Kerr, who came from Titusville,
Pa., in 1852, filled the prosecutor's office and rose
to Congress, where he was one of the most noted
speakers of that great body.
Astute politicians Floyd county has never
lacked since she came into the running politically,
and the adjoining counties have contributed quite
a number of those who must be credited to Floyd,
which became their home with their entrance into
politics.
While sper.king of the political history of Floyd
county from a Democratic standpoint, it may as
well be understood that the newspapers have al-
ways had an important part in it, especially the
New Albany Ledger, which early came to be the
mouthpiece of the Democratic leaders of New Al-
bany and the county, and was frequently owned
by the men who not only edited the paper, but
directed the internal policies of their locality and
even of the congressional district and much of
southern Indiana. Sometimes its owners and ed-
itors even influenced State and national politics.
The Ledger is a lineal descendant of the Argus,
the first Democratic paper published in Floyd
county, founded in the autumn of 1836 by Denni-
son & Hineline. It went through a number of ups
and downs and first changed its name to the
Democrat, under a new ownership, but in 1841 it
was again sold and became the Register under
J. C. Jocelyn. In 1843 the outfit was purchased by
Phineas M. Kent and the name changed to Soiitli-
xvestern Demoerat. Another sale or two finally
brought the paper into the possession of Bradley
& Lucas, who, after a year, sold out to Norman
& Bosworth in 1849. The latter firm changed the
name to the Neic Albany Ledger and it at once
took prominent standing as a political paper.
Norman was a strong writer, a man of great lit-
erary ability and tht peer of Prentice in some
ways. Bosworth soon retired from the Ledger
and Mr. Kent again became one of the owners and
put it upon its financial feet. He was a man of
means, owned a large mill, and was first presi-
dent of the St. Louis Air Line, now part of the
Southern system. Norman's political influence
pervaded this particular section of Indiana and he
was acknowledged as one of the ablest of Indiana
editors. He died October 30, 1869. His interest
was transferred to Lucius G. Matthews, who in
( 599)
HISTORY INDIANA DEMOCRACY
16-1916
1872 sold to Merrill & Meter, when a stock com-
pany was formed and the paper was consolidated
with the Standard, the company consisting of C.
E. Merrill, C. R. Moter, Josiah Gwin, J. V. Kelso,
Charles E. Johnson. Shortly after the consolida-
tion all but Mr. Gwin retired from the ownership
and James P. Applegate, Jonathan Peters, Josiah
Gwin and Adam H'lmer became the owners.
The Standard, which had come into the com-
bination, was born in 1871 and was ably edited.
Mr. Kelso, one of its owners, was an able lawyer,
a shrewd politician and a strong fighter for his
own and the opinions of his party. All these men
have gone to their last rest, and for a number of
years the Ledger was the sole property of Miss
Ada Peters, who proved to be one of the best
newspaper women of the State, and has the es-
teem of her community. She sold the paper in
the fall of 1916 to Evan B. Stotsenberg, who this
year (1918) sold to Bruce Ulster, his manager.
The editors of the Ledger at all times played
quite an important part in district politics, and its
late owner is a well-known figure, not only in
district but in State politics as well, having served
the unexpired term of the late Attorney-General
Milburn and having been a candidate for the office
in the late campaign. His father before him, Judge
John H. Stotsenberg, was also prominent in Indi-
ana politics and was a most polished and culti-
vated gentleman. Major Kelso, who was con-
nected with the Ledger, is also succeeded by a
son, C. B. Kelso, equally as able as his father and
an equally stanch Democrat and successful attor-
ney and business man.
In 1881 Josiah Gwin began the publication of
the Public Press, also Democratic, under the firm
name of Josiah Gwin & Sons. Mr. Gwin has since
passed away, but his son, Frank Gwin, continued
the publication of the paper, which, as a weekly,
had a good circulation, until his death early in
1918, and is now conducted by his widow.
In 1850 a German Democratic paper was estab-
lished, but soon expired, to be succeeded by others,
but their existence was ephemeral, although there
were at that time some 5,000 German-Americans
in the county, all of whom, probably, could read the
German language. The late Otto Palmer was the
last German editor to publish a Democratic paper
in Floyd county. This fact goes to show how rap-
idly the population of German ancestry becomes
thoroughly Americanized.
Among other notable Floyd county Democratic
politicians was Thomas L. Smith, who came to
New Albany in 1836 and served one term as judge
of the Indiana Supreme Court. He was the only
lawyer of the Democratic faith for quite a time to
reside in Floyd county. This fact was seized upon
by the Floyd Democrats, and they ran him for
office whenever possible. He must have been pop-
ular, for he was frequently elected.
Judge George A. Bicknell was another attorney
of great ability, who served this county politically
and judicially, being first elected judge, then to
CongTess for two terms, and in 1881 serving on a
commission which brought up the arrears of cases
before the Indiana Supreme Court. He was un-
doubtedly one of the foremost lawyers of the Mid-
dle West.
In Floyd, as in other counties, the profession of
law has always figured most prominently in poli-
tics, and the present bar may justly be termed
the leading political body in the county. A roster
of the names of the attorneys means a roster of
leaders. Evan B. Stotsenberg has served as At-
torney-General ; C. W. Schindler as county attor-
ney; C. D. Kelso, while holding no office, is a
power; Charles Turner, an energetic and entirely
self-made man, is at present representative in the
Legislature; J. W. Ewing is a power not only in
Floyd, but in all the river counties; Col. Charles
Jewett, who held the highest judicial office in the
Philippines for a time, is not only brilliant in his
profession, but strong in politics when he chooses
to take a hand, and associated with him is Walter
V. Bulleit, who served as prosecutor and was suc-
ceeded by Herbert Kenney, another young Demo-
crat.
Outside of the legal circle there is M. C. Thorn-
ton, who has served the county as representative
for two terms and is now serving as joint senator
of Floyd and Harrison. Mr. Thornton is a strik-
ing figure and promises to go farther. He is an-
other example of sturdy American Democracy,
having risen from a boyhood of poverty and toil.
The veteran in the Democratic ranks and per-
haps the hardest fighter, a unique figure, is Capt.
Tom Hanlon, who has held office as auditor of the
county and various other offices. Everybody in
this section knows him. He is at once picturesque
and lovable and decidedly a "good scrapper."
Among the officials of the county at present
are Judge John M. Paris, quiet, mild-mannered,
just and a fine politician; Dr. A. V. Johnson, serv-
ing as clerk, who could be elected in several coun-
ties at once, if the law allowed; Emile DuPaquier,
auditor, whom everybody likes; Claude Sittason,
who has held the office of sheriff and treasurer,
and made the race for the mayoralty, capable,
strong and trusted by the public; Sheriff Charles
Long, who has been re-elected in spite of the fact
that he could not make a canvass on account of
illness; Recorder Williams, who stepped into poli-
tics out of the schoolroom, and Victor Herb,
county assessor, all of them doing their share to
further the interests of the party.
HISTORY OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF
FOUNTAIN COUNTY
By A. T. Livengood
THE location of Fountain county has much
to do with its politics, as it is surrounded
on two sides with the waters of the Wabash
river, which are pure and contributes much to the
health of its citizenship, and the life of the Dem-
ocratic party.
It is located in the "Bend" of the Wabash where
it turns southward from its long sweep across
the State from the State of Ohio, where it rises,
so that its northern and western boundary line
is the Wabash.
The county was organized December 31, 1825,
and Covington was established as its county seat
on July 25, 1826, but it being on the western side
of the county, frequent county seat removals have
arisen, first to transfer the seat of justice to a
little town near the center of the county, called
Chambersburg, and afterward to Veedersburg,
which is located near the county's center, but
all the past efforts have failed to take it away
from Covington, so that city has the court house,
which was erected in the sixties, but which is in
a good state of preservation.
The old court house has been the scene of many
a legal battle and many a prominent lawyer has
appeared in the courts of this county, including
Abraham Lincoln, Stephen A. Douglas, Daniel
W. Voorhees, Edward A. Hannegan, Joseph E.
McDonald, Lew Wallace, and many others that
could be mentioned.
Fountain county is not a large county, but it
contains about four hundred square miles and its
surface is mostly level, which well adapts it to
agriculture and stock raising. Coal is mined in
various parts of the county and it has many
beauty spots, such as "The Arch," at Fountain;
"The Glens," near Covington; "Ravine Park," at
Attica; "Hub Park," at Veedersburg, and the
"Fair Grounds," at Covington. The county was
given its name in memory of Major Fountain of
Kentucky, who was killed in a battle on the
Maumee river, near Fort Wayne, Ind., in the year
1790. Its population has remained about the
same since 1890, being a little over 20,000, and al-
though it has three thriving cities in Attica, Cov-
ington and Veedersburg, and many small towns,
yet none of them has grown to any great propor-
tions in the last twenty years, but they are all
active and are not losing in population.
The county has a sturdy manhood and woman-
hood, as the early settlers came from the Caro-
linas, Kentucky and the Virginias, and are prin-
cipally of German extraction, and having been
followers of Jefferson, Monroe and Jackson in the
early days, naturally its early citizenship affil-
iated with the Democratic party, and for many
years no one but Democrats were permitted to fill
the oflSces in the county, and while the Democratic
party has a small majority of the voters in the
county, yet a few Republicans are elected occa-
sionally.
Prior to 1890 Jackson township, in this county,
named in honor of the great President, had only
some twenty odd Republican voters therein out
of a voting population of 250, and it has always
remained steadfast to the Democratic party, as
has Troy and Wabash townships.
The Democratic party of this county points
with pride to its early leadership, because it was
here that lived that great Democrat, the Honor-
able Edward A. Hannegan when he was United
States Senator from Indiana; also the Honorable
Daniel W. Voorhees was raised in this county
and grew to manhood here and his voice electrified
the multitudes in law and in politics and he was
the idol of Fountain county Democracy until his
death.
Here lived the Honorable Joseph E. McDonald
at one time, and the Honorable Lew Wallace, the
far-famed author of "Ben-Hur," was a Democrat
before the war days, and he lived here also.
The Honorable David Wallace, once Governor
of Indiana during the years from 1837 to 1840,
is said to lie boi'ied in the old graveyard in the
city of Covington with his grave unmarked.
The Democratic party had always been in the
majority until the coming in of the Greenback
party, when many Democrats joined that party
and weakened the ranks of the Democrats, and
from that day to this the party majority has been
around the one hundred mark.
The Democratic newspapers of the county have
been noted for their conservatism and have not
been so aggressive in pushing the cause of the
great Democratic party as it appears they should
have been, but their laxness in that respect is ac-
counted for, because of the fact that there are
only two out-and-out Democratic papers in the
county, one the Covington Friend, the party or-
gan at Covington, Ind., edited now by John B.
Schwin, and established in 1840, and the other
the Fotnitain-Warren Democrat, edited by G. M.
Williams, at Attica. A long line of independent
HISTORY INDIANA DEMOCRACY — 1816-1916
newspapers are strung all over the county, the
most prominent of all of them being the Veeders-
burg Neiv's, which was for a number of years
edited by Charles M. Berry, who was probably
the most popular newspaper man in the county,
and the Democratic party lost a brave defender
when he died, some six years ago. Other inde-
pendent Democratic newspapers in the county are
the Attica Daily Tribune, edited by R. E. Ray;
the HiUsboro Times, edited by J. W. Small, and
the Kingman Star, edited by R. A. Booe.
The following are the names of some of the
Democrats in this county who served the State in
the Legislature: Daniel W. Cunningham, Elliott
N. Bowman, Bayless Carter, E. Scott Booe, J.
Shannon Nave, Thomas N. Lief, Dan R. Young,
D. C. Reed, Joe H. Stahl, H. R. Claypool and oth-
ers could be named.
Among the workers in the ranks of Democracy,
many of whom have held important places in pub-
lic office and leadership, we name the following:
Harris Reynolds, Judge Ristine, David Webb,
Horace Hetfield, Stephen Voorhees, Colonel James
McMannomy, James A. Sanders, James G. Mof-
fett, Samuel Clark, William H. Miles, Thomas M.
Rinn, Joel Watts, H. C. Yount, Alex Hetfield, A.
M. Booe, George Glascock, Robert J. Miller, W.
W. Luke, and of a later date F. W. Macoughtry,
Judge Charles Remster, Judge L E. Schoonover,
Lewis Tinder, D. S. Ferguson, W. A. Wright, A.
T. Livengood, Jas. A. Copeland, General William
B. Gray, John B. Martin, W. W. Finfrock, J. A.
Wilt, Leroy Sanders, Thomas J. Dotson, C. G.
Wildt, J. G. B. Short, W. N. White, C. W. Dice.
T. H. McGeorge, M. F. Livengood, C. B. Philpott,
W. R. Massey, W. T. Willett, Hiram Allen, Wil-
liam H. Young, O. S. Clark, Burton VanHook, D.
H. Wallace, H. J. Sullivan, G. P. Schwin, W. L
Boggs, Judd Cory, J. B. Thomas and W. B. Myers.
Very few federal appointments have come to
the Democrats of this county, other than the
offices filled by those mentioned above.
HISTORY OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF
FRANKLIN COUNTY
By Louis Federmann
FRANKLIN COUNTY is located in the
southeastern part of Indiana, bordering on
Ohio, and was the gateway through which
the pioneers of the East and the South entered
into the wilderness of the territory of Indiana.
The first entry of lands was made in 1803 and
active settlement began in 1804. Two miles to
the west of where Brookville is now located was
the old Indian boundary line, established at
Greenville, Ohio, in 1795, which halted their on-
ward western march ; so they settled and builded
their homes among the hills and valleys of the
beautiful White Water river and here they made
ready to take an active part in the development
and advancement of Indiana. Here came the
Butlers, the McCartys, the Nobles, the Hannas,
the Eads, the Wallaces, the Rays, the Templetons,
the Stoopes, and many others, several of whom
became noted in the official and institutional life
of Indiana.
Franklin county was organized February 1,
1811, and was the sixth county organized in In-
diana. At the time of its organization it is esti-
mated that the county had a population of about
five thousand people; the census of 1815 showed
a population of 7,370, being second only to the
population of Knox county. Franklin county had
been in existence only five years when Indiana
was admitted to statehood and had had members
in the territorial legislature of the five previous
sessions. When the constitutional convention of
1816 met at Corydon, Franklin county had five
of the ablest men who sat in that body, viz.: Wil-
liam H. Eads, Robert Hanna, Jr., James Noble,
James Brownlee and Enoch McCarty. Two of
these men, James Noble and Robert Hanna, later
became United States Senators from Indiana,
Noble serving from 1816 to 1831, dying in the
middle of his third term, when his friend, Robert
Hanna, was appointed to serve his unexpired
term.
Franklin county was represented in the con-
stitutional convention of 1851 by Dr. George
Berry. Whether the county will be represented in
the constitutional convention of 1918 is too early
to foretell.
Franklin county has been the birthplace or
home of many men who won distinction in public
and professional life in the earlier history of our
State and Nation, and those worthy of mention
are as follows, viz.:
James Noble ar.d Robert Hanna, U. S. Senators
from Indiana.
John Henderson, U. S. Senator from Missis-
sippi.
Jesse B. Thomas, U. S. Senator from Illinois.
John H. Farquhar, member of Congress, 1864.
James B. Ray, Noah Noble, David Wallace and
Abram Hammond, Governors of Indiana; John P.
St. John. Governor of Kansas; Stephen Harding,
Territorial Governor of Utah; Lew Wallace, Ter-
ritorial Governor of New Mexico, Minister to
Turkey and author of "Ben-Hur."
John A. Matson, candidate for Whig nomina-
tion for Governor of Indiana, 1844, but failed to
receive the nomination.
Courtland C. Matson, son of John A. Matson,
Democratic nominee for Governor of Indiana,
1888, but failed of election.
Isaac Blackford, Stephen C. Stephens and W.
F. McKinney, Judges of the Indiana Supreme
Court.
R. B. Abbott, President of Albert Lea Univer-
sity, Minnesota.
John P. D. John, President of DePauw Univer-
sity.
Charles W. Lewis, President of Moores Hill
College.
Charles N. Sims, Chancellor of Syracuse Uni-
versity.
E. D. Barbour, President of Kansas University.
James B. Eads, son of William H. Eads, engi-
reer, builder of St. Louis bridge, and jetties at
the mouth of the Mississippi river.
James N. Tyner, Postmaster-General.
P. A. Hackelman, General U. S. Army.
Oliver S. Glisson, Rear Admiral U. S. Navy.
Proud as the county is of its early pioneer his-
tory and of its noted men and women ; proud as
the county is of the scenic beauty of its rivers,
hills and valleys, prouder still is the county of
its loyalty and steadfastness to the Democratic
party. Since 1844, without exception and under
all circumstances, it has given large and substan-
tial Democratic majorities for the National and
State ticket and in all this time of seventy-three
years but four of the local Democratic candidates
have failed to carry the county. While Franklin
county is the recognized Gibraltar of Democracy
in the State of Indiana, it rarely ever has sought
favor or scarcely ever received preferment at the
hands of the Democratic party. It has had only
one candidate for State office, viz.: in 1902 Cap-
( 603 )
HISTORY INDIANA DEMOCRACY
-19 1
tain William H. Bracken was nominated for
Judge of the Appellate Court. It has never had
a Democratic State officer and but once has it had
a Democratic candidate for Congress, Dr. George
Berry, in 1864, who was undoubtedly elected, but
owing to the throwing out of a Democratic town-
ship in Decatur county, failed to receive the cer-
tificate of election. Captain William H. Bracken
was appointed as Collector of Internal Revenue
in 1893 and served four years, and this is the
only appointment of note ever given a Democrat
in this county, and yet we have always proved
faithful, loyal and true to the principles of the
Democratic party.
The medical profession has always wielded a
potential influence in maintaining the high
standards of Democracy in Franklin county. One
of the most prominent members of the profession
was Dr. George Berry, State Senator in 1849,
member of the constitutional convention of 1850,
Democratic candidate for Congress in 1864 and
County Auditor from 1870 to 1878. It is safe to say
no other man in Franklin county was so well
known or wielded a greater influence than Dr.
George Berry. His son, William H. Berry, while
never holding office except that of School Trustee,
always took an active part in political aff'airs and
was an enthusiastic worker for the good of the
party. Dr. John H. Quick was County Auditor
from 1857 to 1864.
Dr. Thomas Giff'ord of Laurel, Ind., another
sturdy Democrat, was elected as a representative
in 1858, 1860 and 1862. In 1866 he was elected
to the State Senate. As a member of the General
Assembly he was distinguished for his untiring
eff'orts in working for the welfai-e of the county
and State. His son. Dr. Samuel A. GiflFord, was
elected Representative in 1908 and 1910. Dr.
Evan L. Patterson was elected to the lower house
of the Indiana General Assembly in 1896 and
1898, and was elected as State Senator in 1906.
He is now a member of the school board of Brook-
ville. Among those members of the profession
â– .vho have always worked untiringly in the inter-