Early associated with Mr. Foulke in civil service reform work in Indiana was Oliver T. Morton (1860-1898), the son of Governor Morton, who was born in Wayne County and educated at Yale and Oxford. His volume of essays, “The Southern Empire” (1892), contains, besides the title paper, an historical essay on Oxford and an excellent discussion of civil service reform. The opening essay is a most suggestive presentation of the slaveholders’ ambitions to found a vast tropical slave empire. It is of interest to read this, in the light of the senior Morton’s herculean efforts against slavery; but that one generation may easily differ from another is proved by the concluding essay in advocacy of the merit system, which found few friends in the period of which Senator Morton was a dominating figure.
Mr. Foulke’s brother-in-law, Arthur Middleton Reeves (1856-1891), found employment for his scholarly tastes in unusual channels. After his graduation from Cornell (1878), he devoted himself to the study of Icelandic language and lore, in which his interest had been aroused by Professor Willard Fiske; and he subsequently continued his studies abroad in Europe and Iceland. He was an industrious and painstaking student, with a passion for accuracy, and the volume of his letters collected and published for his friends shows him to have possessed unusually varied talents. He wrote “The Finding of Wineland the Good: The History of the Icelandic Discovery of America” (1890); “Lad and Lass: Story of Life in Iceland” (1890); “Jan: A Short Story” (1892); and he had begun, with Dr. Valtyr Gudmundsson of Copenhagen, a translation of the Laxdæla Saga when, on the occasion of a visit to his home in Indiana, he was killed in a railway accident.
The first Indiana historian was John B. Dillon, who was born at Wellsburg, West Virginia (1808), learned the printer’s trade, and removed to Indiana in 1834. While resident at Logansport he studied law and was admitted to the bar; but his quiet, studious habits and natural reserve unfitted him for the practice, and he never tested his powers. He turned, fortunately, to the study of Indiana’s history; and appreciating the importance of assembling data before the death of witnesses and participants, began collecting material, and published (1859) a “History of Indiana,” covering the period from the first explorations to 1856. This work represents many years of laborious research in a field that was practically untouched. It is the point of departure for all who study Indiana history, and it is as exact as diligent care could make it. Dillon published “Notes on Historical Evidence in Reference to Adverse Theories of the Origin and Nature of the Government of the United States” (1871); and at his death left the manuscript of a work called “Oddities of Colonial Legislation.” He received a number of minor appointments under the Federal government, residing at Washington from 1863 to 1875. He returned to Indianapolis at the termination of these employments and died there, in 1879. He was gentle, patient, modest, and industrious, a man of merit, faithful in all things. He never married, and had no interests save those of the student. His proper place was in the quiet alcoves of libraries; and it must always be remembered to his credit that with little encouragement, and for the love of the labor, rather than for any reward, he gave many laborious years to the task of establishing the State’s place in history.
Jacob P. Dunn, who wrote “Indiana: A Redemption from Slavery,” in the American Commonwealth series (1888), employed critical methods that were not known in Dillon’s day. His work deals with a brief period, and with events that had not previously been viewed in their proper perspective. He brought to bear upon his subject a scientific analysis and an exhaustive research that show especial fitness for historical writing. His descriptions of the early French habitant are delightfully written, and give a distinct impression of the first white settlers of the Wabash. Mr. Dunn has written also “Massacres of the Mountains” (1886), an account of the Indian wars of the West, which is noteworthy for its thorough treatment of the Mountain Meadows incident. It is a standard work of reference, and one of the most popular books catalogued in Western libraries. Mr. Dunn served a term as State librarian, and has been for many years tireless in promoting interest in libraries for rural communities. He was born at Lawrenceburg (1855), and was graduated (1874) from Earlham College.
John Clark Ridpath (1840-1900), one of the most prolific of Indiana authors, was born in Putnam County and was graduated from Asbury University, with which he was subsequently connected in various teaching and administrative capacities for many years. He was a most successful teacher, particularly of history. Besides many text-books he published “A Cyclopædia of Universal History” (1885); “Great Races of Mankind” (1894); “Life and Memoirs of Bishop William Taylor” (1895); and many monographs on historical and biographical subjects.
Richard G. Boone’s “History of Education in Indiana” (1892) is one of the most important books in the State’s bibliography. Mr. Boone is also the author of “Education in the United States” (1894). He was for ten years identified with the common schools of Indiana, and for seven years held the chair of pedagogics at Indiana University, resigning to become superintendent of schools at Cincinnati.
“The Puritan Republic” (1899), by Daniel Wait Howe, shows further the grasp of newer methods in historical writing, and is distinguished by thorough treatment and judicial temper. It would seem that nothing could be added to the literature of this subject, which has attracted so many skilled historians; but Judge Howe adduced much new material and presented the old and familiar in an orderly and attractive manner. This is a thorough and exact work, which has taken rank with the accepted authorities. Judge Howe is entitled to his word on the Puritan, as his ancestors were among the pioneers of Sudbury, Massachusetts. He was born in Switzerland County (1839), was graduated from Franklin College, served four years in the Civil War as an Indiana soldier, and enjoyed the unusual distinction of sitting for fourteen years continuously as a judge of the Superior Court at Indianapolis. He has contributed valuable essays to the publications of the Indiana Historical Society.
William H. English (1822-1896) gave many years to a study of the life and services of George Rogers Clark, and produced (1896) “Conquest of the Country Northwest of the River Ohio, and Life of George Rogers Clark,” an elaborate work in two volumes, which is a veritable encyclopædia of facts. As Clark had been one of the neglected figures in American history, the preparation of his biography was in the nature of a public service. Mr. English is also the author of an historical and biographical work on the Indiana constitution. He was born in Scott County, and received his education in the public schools and at Hanover College. He served as a representative in Congress (1853-1861), and in 1880 was the Democratic candidate for vice-president on the ticket with Hancock.
“Early Indiana Trials and Sketches” (1858) is a racy record of the personal experiences of Oliver H. Smith (1794-1859), who had a kind of Boswellian instinct for the interesting. As a lawyer he “rode circuit” with Miles Eggleston, David Wallace, James Rariden, John Test, and others famous in the early days; and no one has written of these men with nicer appreciation of their high qualities. He was elected a senator in Congress in 1836, and served for one term.
William Wesley Woollen (1828) has also added to the literature of local biography. His “Biographical and Historical Sketches of Early Indiana” (1883) contains information that is nowhere else accessible, and it is, moreover, a well-written and entertaining volume.