Are you interested in the programming and events we have here at the Lew Wallace Study? Do you wish we did more about the gardens and less about the Civil War? More about the Civil War but less about study architecture?
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And as always, feel free to comment here at the blog.
Friday, August 10, 2012
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
A Taste of What’s to Come
The Sixth Annual Taste of Montgomery County is fast approaching! Come out to the grounds of the Lew Wallace Study & Museum on Saturday, August 25. From noon to 10 pm we will have great food and great music for you to enjoy!
Bands performing are Nut Hatch from 1-3, Mike Butler & Slim Pickin’ from 4:30-6:30, and The Snakehandlers Blues Band from 8-10. With all the wonderful restaurants in Montgomery County
Be sure to pencil August 25 on your calendar!
Monday, August 6, 2012
New Curtains for the Study Doors
We’re fortunate here at the museum to have historical photos of the Study--interior and exterior--as well as the Study grounds. Our goal is to present the Study to visitors as it would have been in Lew Wallace’s lifetime. We want visitors to see it the way Lew saw it.One thing we have learned from our historical photos is that the doors of the Study all had curtains on the inside. You can see his curtains in the picture to the left.
The curtains might have functioned to preserve heat in the winter, to provide privacy, or simply to block out distractions. Whatever the reason Lew had them, we are proud to have reproduction curtains installed as of this week.
Board member Laura Conners made the reproduction curtains, as well as the curtains over the bookshelves, and they look fantastic. Fabrics were chosen specifically to replicate the drape and weight of the curtains. There are two kinds of velvet that accent the colorful golden brocade. The borders are made of velour.
Visit us at the Study and see our new additions!
Visit us at the Study and see our new additions!
Friday, August 3, 2012
Shirt Sale!
We do have more of the Princess Irene t-shirts. If you’ve visited the Study, you’ll know there are four faces carved in stone on the four sides of the building. One is the Princess Irene, a character in Lew’s novel The Prince of India. T-shirts with her picture are also marked down to $7.
Polo shirts with an embroidered Lew Wallace Study & Museum logo are marked down to $20. And if you’re feeling festive instead of historical, we have Taste of Montgomery County shirts available as well.
Stop by the gift shop today!
Monday, July 30, 2012
Wallace & his Walking Stick
Among the extraordinary items in the Study, the General Lew Wallace Study & Museum has a collection of canes associated with the General. Throughout his life, Lew Wallace maintained a military bearing and erect posture that was frequently commented upon. He did, however, on occasion use canes. Beyond aids to walking, canes were also ceremonial gifts in the 19th century that were offered in recognition of significant events or to honor important people.
According to museum records, one of the canes in the museum was made from a sapling that was growing where General Wallace pitched his tent prior to the Battle of Shiloh in 1862. In later years when the General travelled to the battlefield he visited his campsite and asked for wood from the maturing tree. Wallace was given the wood and he sent it off to Tiffany’s in New York where a cane was made and an ivory handle was affixed.
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| Lew Wallace with cane in hand exiting the Study, ca. 1900. |
The General Lew Wallace Study & Museum celebrates and renews belief in the power of the individual spirit to affect American history and culture.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Education the Lew Wallace Way
As a youth, Lew Wallace managed to develop a reputation as a truant and a rascal. He used any number of excuses to avoid the classroom and undertake adventure in the great outdoors. He was part of an informal group of Indianapolis boys, who established “The Red Eye and the Hay Press Club,” which met in a loft accessible only by a trap door. The boys were reputed to raid gardens, pull bell ropes, and generally create havoc as they ran through the countryside. In 1840, when Wallace was about 13 years old his truancy hit a new level. A huge rally was planned in Battleground, Indiana in support of William Henry Harrison’s bid for president. This promised to be far more interesting to Lew than any classroom studies.
Twenty thousand Whig supporters and delegates converged on the tiny community a few miles north of Lafayette. It’s said the procession coming up from Indianapolis formed a column twenty-five miles long. With his father away on business, Lew decided to join this parade—without letting his stepmother Zerelda or anyone else know—as it headed north. Fortunately, one of Lew’s uncles saw him on the road and got word back to the family. Lew stayed at this “Log Cabin and Hard Cider” rally for almost two weeks. As the rally concluded a church revival started up and Lew stayed to see part of that enterprise before finally wandering the seventy or so miles back to Indianapolis.
This was not his first, nor his last escapade. A few years later when Lew was about 16 years old he and a friend, Aquilla Cook, determined to create their own “Huckleberry Finn” adventure. Aquilla Cook was the son of John Cook, the first State House librarian, and disappeared from history a few years after his adventure with Lew Wallace. Aquilla married a dancer in Cincinnati and then killed a man who had reportedly made unwelcomed advances to his wife. He escaped arrest and was last heard from when he wrote a letter to a Cincinnati newspaper boasting of how he fooled the police and escaped arrest.
However, years before this drama played out, Wallace and Cook had been reading about the Alamo and the heroics of the freedom fighters in Texas. Together the teenagers decided that it was their duty to reinforce Commodore Moore of the Texan Navy. Although they were unsuccessful in recruiting others to join them, the two boys commandeered a skiff and began floating down the White River, intent on finding a flatboat headed to New Orleans. Their plan to reinforce the Texas Navy was thwarted when Zerelda Wallace’s father, Dr. John Sanders, and a local constable caught up with the boys.
This adventure was the one that finally led to Lew Wallace’s father to throw up his hands and throw in the towel. As Lew reported in his autobiography, his father approached the boy with his accustomed good address and graceful manner saying:
Were I to die tonight, your portion of my estate would not keep you a month. I have struggled to give you and your brothers what, in my opinion, is better than money—education. Since your sixth year, I have paid school-bills for you; but—one day you will regret the opportunities you have thrown away. I am sorry, disappointed, mortified; so, without shutting the door upon you, I am resolved that from today you must go out and earn your own livelihood. I shall watch your course hopefully.
It took a few more years and a few more adventures before David Wallace began to see his son settle down, grow in resolve, and focus on accomplishments that brought credit to the Wallace name. Throughout his life, Lew Wallace adored and respected his father and, just as David Wallace predicted, Lew grew to understand what had been lost when he squandered his education. He grew to be a man who learned by experience, read voraciously, challenged himself routinely, and became a devoted life-long learner. While Lew Wallace’s time in the classroom may have been a disappointment, perhaps his education was not truly squandered—he was just a boy who never let school get in the way of his learning.
Sources:
“The Early Life of Lew Wallace,” Indiana Magazine of History, September 1941 by Irving McKee.
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| Log Cabin & Hard Cider Campaign of 1840 for Wallace family friend William Henry Harrison |
This was not his first, nor his last escapade. A few years later when Lew was about 16 years old he and a friend, Aquilla Cook, determined to create their own “Huckleberry Finn” adventure. Aquilla Cook was the son of John Cook, the first State House librarian, and disappeared from history a few years after his adventure with Lew Wallace. Aquilla married a dancer in Cincinnati and then killed a man who had reportedly made unwelcomed advances to his wife. He escaped arrest and was last heard from when he wrote a letter to a Cincinnati newspaper boasting of how he fooled the police and escaped arrest.
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| Lew Wallace ca. 1850 |
This adventure was the one that finally led to Lew Wallace’s father to throw up his hands and throw in the towel. As Lew reported in his autobiography, his father approached the boy with his accustomed good address and graceful manner saying:
Were I to die tonight, your portion of my estate would not keep you a month. I have struggled to give you and your brothers what, in my opinion, is better than money—education. Since your sixth year, I have paid school-bills for you; but—one day you will regret the opportunities you have thrown away. I am sorry, disappointed, mortified; so, without shutting the door upon you, I am resolved that from today you must go out and earn your own livelihood. I shall watch your course hopefully.
 |
| David Wallace |
It took a few more years and a few more adventures before David Wallace began to see his son settle down, grow in resolve, and focus on accomplishments that brought credit to the Wallace name. Throughout his life, Lew Wallace adored and respected his father and, just as David Wallace predicted, Lew grew to understand what had been lost when he squandered his education. He grew to be a man who learned by experience, read voraciously, challenged himself routinely, and became a devoted life-long learner. While Lew Wallace’s time in the classroom may have been a disappointment, perhaps his education was not truly squandered—he was just a boy who never let school get in the way of his learning.
Sources:
“The Early Life of Lew Wallace,” Indiana Magazine of History, September 1941 by Irving McKee.
The General Lew Wallace Study & Museum celebrates and renews belief in the power of the individual spirit to affect American history and culture.
Monday, July 16, 2012
Indianapolis National Bank Scandal
By all accounts, Lew Wallace’s older brother William was a capable, honorable, and trustworthy person. From 1855 until 1860, William Wallace and Benjamin Harrison were law partners. Their partnership was just one example of the friendships between the Harrison and Wallace families that crossed the generations. Harrison and Wallace also entered into other partnerships of various kinds including some with Theodore Haughey (pronounced Hoy).
Haughey was born in Delaware in 1826 and moved to Indianapolis in 1848. Theodore married Hannah Moore in 1853 and they had a daughter who died young and two sons, Louis Chauncey and Schuyler Colfax. Theodore worked first as a book keeper and accountant but moved up the ladder of success to become secretary and treasurer of one of the major railroads in Indianapolis. He dabbled in real estate and during the Civil War he was appointed collector of internal revenue for the Indianapolis by President Lincoln. During the war he also became president of the Indianapolis National Bank. Over the years he also became a trustee of Asbury University (now DePauw University) in Greencastle).
The business relationship between William Wallace and Theodore Haughey turned personal when William’s daughter Zerelda married Theodore’s son, Louis Chauncey Haughey. Louis Chauncey and Zerelda had several children: Theodore P., William, Esther, Lawrence G., John D., and Louis C. Several members of the Haughey family followed Theodore in business at the Indianapolis National Bank—and that’s what eventually brought the family down.
Fortunately for William Wallace his friendship with Benjamin Harrison continued over the years. Although William had completed a successful career and had retired, at the age of 64 he was suddenly in need of a job. Many people felt he was working to keep his son-in-law Louis and daughter Zerelda afloat. In 1889, President Harrison, in an effort to help, appointed William the City Postmaster in Indianapolis. This was a difficult position for William Wallace to find himself in but he worked dutifully, enduring some criticism by those seeking Civil Service reform, until his death in 1891. Although William Wallace’s name was never associated with the looming financial debacle, with his passing, the house of cards that the Indianapolis National Bank had become came crashing down.
The Indianapolis National Bank had been organized in 1864 with Theodore Haughey as president and Ingram Fletcher as cashier. It counted among its depositors some of Indianapolis’ most esteemed citizens. Relationships with the rich and powerful were so close that Theodore P. and his wife, Hannah, named their youngest son Schuyler C. Haughey after close family friend Schuyler Colfax—Speaker of the United States House of Representatives during the Civil War, Vice President of the United States, and one of Indiana’s most influential men. The relationship with Schuyler Colfax would prove useful when the bank ran into some difficulties in 1884. Mr. Colfax personally added $27,500 to the bank reserves and encouraged others to do the same.
It’s believed that at this time, the swindles and embezzlement by Theodore P. Haughey started. He began to create fictitious companies, placing his sons Louis and Schuyler in charge of some of them. In ways, some simple and some complicated, Theodore embezzled great amounts of money for almost a decade.
In August of 1893, Theodore was arrested at his home and charged with embezzlement and misapplication of funds and credits of the Indianapolis National Bank. Arrested at the same time were his son, Schuyler Colfax Haughey, and other associates Francis A. Coffin Percival Coffin, and Albert T. Reed. Schuyler, the Coffins, and Reed were charged with aiding and abetting Theodore. Theodore was indicted for embezzling more than $700,000. At the time of the arrests, the bank had liabilities of $2,000,000 and assets of approximately $300,000. Among the 3,000 creditors who lost their savings were charitable aid societies, school teachers and members of Theodore’s church who had trusted him.
The arrest of Theodore sent shock waves through Indianapolis. A business and social leader he had been an esteemed member of the Meridian Street Methodist Episcopal Church, serving the Indiana conference as lay delegate to national conferences and serving for years as a Sunday school teacher. He served as treasurer of the Grand Lodge, Independent Order of Odd-fellows for over 25 years, was chairman of the finance committee for six years of the Second Ward in the Indianapolis City Council and supported numerous charities and worthy endeavors. Glowing tributes directed toward Theodore in the early 1880s were swept away in the early 1890s as his financial misdeeds became known.
As the complicated case wound its way through the court system and decisions were appealed, in some instances all the way to the Supreme Court, it ruined reputations and lives. Theodore pleaded guilty and at the age of 75 was sent to the penitentiary for six years. He was said to be broken in health and newspapers reported that they did not think he would survive the humiliation and disgrace. Theodore actually did survive the humiliation and lived until 1914. His wife Hannah predeceased him by two years, passing away in 1912. In the 1890 census Theodore, recently released from prison, Hannah, and their grandson William were living in a middle class neighborhood on North New Jersey Street. In 1900, they are still in Indianapolis, but they do not show up in 1910 records. Given their advancing ages, Theodore and Hannah may have moved in with family members.
Ultimately, his son Schuyler was acquitted when his case came to trial in 1895 and his other son, Louis (William Wallace’s son-in-law) was not arrested. Although Louis had been involved to some degree, he was not seen as a major player and there may have been some thought that with her husband and other son likely headed to prison, Hannah would have no one to care for her.
Although Theodore and Hannah remained in the city, in the aftermath of this financial collapse and social embarrassment, other members of the Haughey family left Indianapolis. By 1890, Louis C. Haughey and his wife Zerelda had moved to Chicago where census records indicate that their children were living with them and they were still able to have several house servants. By 1920, they had moved to Buffalo, New York and were living in a boarding house. Their children and grand children in turn moved on to places far and wide.
In 1890, Schuyler Colfax Haughey and his wife Gertrude were also living in Chicago in a comfortable residential hotel. Within a few years they left the Midwest and moved to Pasadena, California where they lived the rest of their lives.
Although William Wallace was never implicated in any wrong doing and, in fact, worked to help keep his daughter and her family together, the failure of the Indianapolis National Bank destroyed many lives surely affected the Wallace family personally and financially if not socially.
Sources:
National Bank Frauds by Franck G. Carpenter
History of Indianapolis and Marion County by Berry Sulgrove
History of Greater Indianapolis
A Biographical History of Eminent & Self Made Men of the State of Indiana, 1880
Life of Benjamin Harrison by Lew Wallace
The New York Times, August 22, 1893; November 26, 1893; May 29, 1894
Haughey was born in Delaware in 1826 and moved to Indianapolis in 1848. Theodore married Hannah Moore in 1853 and they had a daughter who died young and two sons, Louis Chauncey and Schuyler Colfax. Theodore worked first as a book keeper and accountant but moved up the ladder of success to become secretary and treasurer of one of the major railroads in Indianapolis. He dabbled in real estate and during the Civil War he was appointed collector of internal revenue for the Indianapolis by President Lincoln. During the war he also became president of the Indianapolis National Bank. Over the years he also became a trustee of Asbury University (now DePauw University) in Greencastle).
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| Williaml Wallace |
The business relationship between William Wallace and Theodore Haughey turned personal when William’s daughter Zerelda married Theodore’s son, Louis Chauncey Haughey. Louis Chauncey and Zerelda had several children: Theodore P., William, Esther, Lawrence G., John D., and Louis C. Several members of the Haughey family followed Theodore in business at the Indianapolis National Bank—and that’s what eventually brought the family down.
Fortunately for William Wallace his friendship with Benjamin Harrison continued over the years. Although William had completed a successful career and had retired, at the age of 64 he was suddenly in need of a job. Many people felt he was working to keep his son-in-law Louis and daughter Zerelda afloat. In 1889, President Harrison, in an effort to help, appointed William the City Postmaster in Indianapolis. This was a difficult position for William Wallace to find himself in but he worked dutifully, enduring some criticism by those seeking Civil Service reform, until his death in 1891. Although William Wallace’s name was never associated with the looming financial debacle, with his passing, the house of cards that the Indianapolis National Bank had become came crashing down.
The Indianapolis National Bank had been organized in 1864 with Theodore Haughey as president and Ingram Fletcher as cashier. It counted among its depositors some of Indianapolis’ most esteemed citizens. Relationships with the rich and powerful were so close that Theodore P. and his wife, Hannah, named their youngest son Schuyler C. Haughey after close family friend Schuyler Colfax—Speaker of the United States House of Representatives during the Civil War, Vice President of the United States, and one of Indiana’s most influential men. The relationship with Schuyler Colfax would prove useful when the bank ran into some difficulties in 1884. Mr. Colfax personally added $27,500 to the bank reserves and encouraged others to do the same.
It’s believed that at this time, the swindles and embezzlement by Theodore P. Haughey started. He began to create fictitious companies, placing his sons Louis and Schuyler in charge of some of them. In ways, some simple and some complicated, Theodore embezzled great amounts of money for almost a decade.
In August of 1893, Theodore was arrested at his home and charged with embezzlement and misapplication of funds and credits of the Indianapolis National Bank. Arrested at the same time were his son, Schuyler Colfax Haughey, and other associates Francis A. Coffin Percival Coffin, and Albert T. Reed. Schuyler, the Coffins, and Reed were charged with aiding and abetting Theodore. Theodore was indicted for embezzling more than $700,000. At the time of the arrests, the bank had liabilities of $2,000,000 and assets of approximately $300,000. Among the 3,000 creditors who lost their savings were charitable aid societies, school teachers and members of Theodore’s church who had trusted him.
The arrest of Theodore sent shock waves through Indianapolis. A business and social leader he had been an esteemed member of the Meridian Street Methodist Episcopal Church, serving the Indiana conference as lay delegate to national conferences and serving for years as a Sunday school teacher. He served as treasurer of the Grand Lodge, Independent Order of Odd-fellows for over 25 years, was chairman of the finance committee for six years of the Second Ward in the Indianapolis City Council and supported numerous charities and worthy endeavors. Glowing tributes directed toward Theodore in the early 1880s were swept away in the early 1890s as his financial misdeeds became known.
As the complicated case wound its way through the court system and decisions were appealed, in some instances all the way to the Supreme Court, it ruined reputations and lives. Theodore pleaded guilty and at the age of 75 was sent to the penitentiary for six years. He was said to be broken in health and newspapers reported that they did not think he would survive the humiliation and disgrace. Theodore actually did survive the humiliation and lived until 1914. His wife Hannah predeceased him by two years, passing away in 1912. In the 1890 census Theodore, recently released from prison, Hannah, and their grandson William were living in a middle class neighborhood on North New Jersey Street. In 1900, they are still in Indianapolis, but they do not show up in 1910 records. Given their advancing ages, Theodore and Hannah may have moved in with family members.
Ultimately, his son Schuyler was acquitted when his case came to trial in 1895 and his other son, Louis (William Wallace’s son-in-law) was not arrested. Although Louis had been involved to some degree, he was not seen as a major player and there may have been some thought that with her husband and other son likely headed to prison, Hannah would have no one to care for her.
Although Theodore and Hannah remained in the city, in the aftermath of this financial collapse and social embarrassment, other members of the Haughey family left Indianapolis. By 1890, Louis C. Haughey and his wife Zerelda had moved to Chicago where census records indicate that their children were living with them and they were still able to have several house servants. By 1920, they had moved to Buffalo, New York and were living in a boarding house. Their children and grand children in turn moved on to places far and wide.
In 1890, Schuyler Colfax Haughey and his wife Gertrude were also living in Chicago in a comfortable residential hotel. Within a few years they left the Midwest and moved to Pasadena, California where they lived the rest of their lives.
Although William Wallace was never implicated in any wrong doing and, in fact, worked to help keep his daughter and her family together, the failure of the Indianapolis National Bank destroyed many lives surely affected the Wallace family personally and financially if not socially.
Sources:
National Bank Frauds by Franck G. Carpenter
History of Indianapolis and Marion County by Berry Sulgrove
History of Greater Indianapolis
A Biographical History of Eminent & Self Made Men of the State of Indiana, 1880
The New York Times, August 22, 1893; November 26, 1893; May 29, 1894
The General Lew Wallace Study & Museum celebrates and renews belief in the power of the individual spirit to affect American history and culture.
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