Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1884-07-19

Thomas A. Hendricks.
Thomas Andrews Hendricks, ex-
governor of Indiana and candidate for
the vice presidency of the United States
i'll 1876, is essentially Il sclf-made man.
lle.is native OF Ohio. state which
seems never 10 tire of producing men
of active ambition and of great poliii-
cal ability. AS u young lawer, as a
member of the state legislature, as con.
gressman, as United States senator, as
governor, be showed that he possessed
talents which singled him out from
among his fellows. Add to this his
personal popularity in Indiana and it
explains why his name was selected for
the Tilden ticket in the notable CAM
paign of 1876. On that OCCASION he
carried his state by majority of near
ly six thousand, aud good Judges of
political affairs in Indiana have declared
that it was solely owing to the magic of
his name that Indiana was won by the
democrats.
lie WAS born i'm Muskingum county,
Ohio, near the city OF GAINESVILLE, Sept.
z, 1919. His father, the late Major John
Hendricks, with his family, left Ohio
the spring after Thomas was born, and
settled in Madison, Ind. Young Hem
bricks comp eted his education at Han
over College, one of the pioneer edu.
catiOnal institutions of the west. AZ
ter leaving college he studied law, and
in due time was admitted to the bar.
From that time until the present he has
been in the active practice of his pro-
fessiOn, excepting only the time he was
commissioner OF the general land Office
and the four years he was governor of
Indiana. In l845 Mr.. Hendricks mar
ried Miss Eliza C. Morgan.
PUBLIC LIFE.
Mr.. Hendricks public life has been
long and varied. In 1848 he was elect
ell to the state legislature from his
county. In 1850 he was chosen del
egate to the convention which made
the present constitution Of the state, and
was an active participator in the pro-
ceedings Of that body. In 1851 he was
elected to congress, and in 1852 was re-
elected to the same Office. In 1856 he
was appointed commissioner of the
general land Office, and held the posi-
ton until he resigned it in 1859. In
1868 he was elected a senator of the
United States and served full term of
six years. In 1872 he was elected gov
ernor of Indiana, and served as such
| until January, 1877, when he was sue
ceeded by Governor Williams.
1t is sufficient proof of the ability
and success of Mr.. Hendricks in the
senate that toward the close of a sing.e
term he had placed himself among the
foremost men of his party and become
a prominent candidate for the presi-
dency. In the convention of 1868 he
was brought forward, and at one time
led all other candidates, receiving the
solid vote of New York and the North
west. Ohio, however, which had been
compelled to abandon its own candi-
date. was determined to defeat all other
western men, and the delegates from
that state threw their votes for Horatio
Seymour persistently, and finally pro-
dmced = stampede of the whole conven-
tion TO his support.
AS A LAWYER.
| In Mr.. Hendricks profession-the
laval acknowledge him to be great.
This is the vocation to which nature
particularly adapted him, and it is his
favorite one. lie has, since first ell
tering public life, returned to the prac-
tice of his profession with facility and
zeal Immediately upon the termination
or intermissiOn of official engagements.
He studied the law at Chambersburg,
Pa, in the Office of his uncle, Judge
Thomson, an eminent jurist of that
state. He thoroughly mastered its ele-
mentary principles aud the minutie OF
its practice. With this foundation and
with natural legal mind he is never at
q loss, and is always strong in any
cause without special book prepara-
ton. Before court or jury he is equal.
ly ut home. In a trial he is never off
his guard nor disconnected by any un-
looked for turn in the fortune OF case.
He encounters any such crisis with as
much prOmptness, fortitude and ad-
dress as ii it had been anticipated and
prepared for.
PERSONAL.
Governor Hendricks is man of
medium height and symmetrical form.
He is erect, active and vigorous. His
face is manly and handsome. The fea-
tures are large and expressive, and
while there is soft. good humored ex-
preston in the large blue eyes and in
the mouth and dimpled chin, the brow,
forehead and full heavy jaw show wis
dom and resolution. His complexion
is flOrid. He looks like one who has
lived u happy life, encountered no great
sorrows aud yielded to no great vices.
Though he has for years been taught to
regard the presidency as within his
grasp, his ambition has been rather
sort OF rational longing for the honor
than all Unsuitable thirst for power.
His disposition is as sunny as his COM
plexien, and in social life he is a great
favorite. To acquaintance he is affa-
BILE and easy, to close friends warm and
lovable, to political partisans courteous
but cautious. He would rather con-
cillate an enemy than oblige an ally.
His habits are such that he found
3d. 900 a year ample for his expendi-
lures during his senatorial term at
Washington.
VERY OONsOLING.