At the beginning of the civil war he was appointed adjutant general of Indiana, soon afterward becoming colonel of the Eleventh Indiana Volunteers, with which he served in West Virginia, participating in the capture of Romney and the ejection of the enemy from Harper's Ferry. He became brigadier general of volunteers, September 3, 1861, led a division and the center of the Union lines at the capture of Fort Donelson, and displayed such ability that his commission of major general of volunteers followed on March 21, 1862. The day before the battle of Shiloh his division was placed on the north side of Snake creek, on a road leading from Savannah, or Crump's landing, to Purdy. He was ordered by General Grant, on the morning of April 6 (the first day of the battle), to cross the creek and come up to Gen. William T. Sherman's right, which covered the bridge over that stream, that general depending on him for support; but he lost his way and did not arrive until the night. He rendered efficient service in the second day's fight, and in the subsequent advance on Corinth. In November, 1862, he was president of the court of inquiry on the military conduct of General Don Carlos Buell in the operations in Tennessee and Kentucky. In 1863 he prepared the defences of Cincinnati, which he saved from capture by General Edmund Kirby Smith, and was subsequently assigned to the command of the middle department and the Eighth Army Corps, with headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland. With five thousand and eight hundred men he intercepted the march of General Jubal A. Early with twenty-eight thousand men, on Washington, D. C., and on July 9, 1864, fought the battle of Monocacy. Although he was defeated, he gained sufficient time to enable General Grant to send re-enforcements to the capital from City Point. By order of General Henry W. Halleck he was removed from his command and superseded by General Edward O. C. Ord; but when General Grant learned the particulars of the action he immediately reinstated Wallace, and in his official report in 1865 says: "On July 6 the enemy (Early) occupied Hagerstown, moving a strong column toward Frederick City. General Wallace, with Rickett's division and his own command, the latter new and mostly undisciplined troops, pushed out from Baltimore with great promptness and met the enemy in force on the Monocacy, near the crossing of the railroad bridge. His force was not sufficient to insure success, but he fought the enemy nevertheless, and, although it resulted in a defeat to our arms, yet he detained the enemy and thereby served to enable Wright to reach Washington before him." Returning to his command, General Wallace was the second member of the court that tried the assassins of President Lincoln, and president of that which tried and convicted Captain Henry Wirz, commandant of Andersonville prison. He was mustered out of the volunteer service in 1865.

Returning to Crawfordsville, he resumed the practice of law there and continued an active member of the bar until 1878, when he was appointed governor of New Mexico, serving until 1881. In that year he became United States minister to Turkey, serving until 1885, when he again resumed practice in Crawfordsville. His labors as a representative of the legal profession having been interwoven with that of the author and the lecturer, he has delivered many public addresses throughout the country and his writings have won for him world-wide fame. Among his most popular productions are the Fair God, a story of the conquest of Mexico; Ben Hur, a Tale of the Christ; Life of Benjamin Harrison; The Prince of India; and The Boyhood of Christ. Few novels that have ever been produced have attained the wonderful sale which was accorded Ben Hur.

Biographical and Genealogical History of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin Counties, Indiana
Volume 1
The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago
1899

GEORGE HOLLAND
No compendium such as the province of this work defines in its essential limitations will serve to offer fit memorial to the life and accomplishments of the honored subject of this review, a man remarkable in the breadth of his wisdom, in his indomitable perseverance, his strong individuality, and yet one whose entire life had not one esoteric phase, being able to bear the closest scrutiny. True, his were "massive deeds and great" in one sense, and yet his entire accomplishment but represented the result of the fit utilization of the innate talent which was his, and the directing of his efforts along those lines where mature judgment and rare discrimination led the way. There was in George Holland a weight of character, a native sagacity, a far-seeing judgment and a fidelity of purpose that commanded the respect of all, out greater than these was his absolute honesty, and "an honest man is the noblest work of God."

George Holland spent almost his entire life in eastern Indiana. He was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, September 28, 1811. There, nine years before, his parents, John and Ann (Henderson) Holland, had taken up their abode. They were poor Protestant peasants from the north of Ireland, and after their marriage and the birth of two of their children they crossed the Atlantic, in 1802. Not long after the birth of their son George they removed to Ohio, and made their home near Zanesville until 1817, when they became residents of Franklin county, Indiana. The father purchased a farm upon the west bank of Whitewater river, about five miles from Brookville, the county-seat, making a partial payment upon the place, expecting soon, as the result of his labors, to have the money to discharge the remaining obligation. Death, however, set aside his plans, for in the autumn of 1818 both the father and mother were stricken with a malignant fever, and while their bodies were interred in a cemetery of their adopted land by the hands of strangers, their seven children, all yet in their minority, were ill at home, unable to attend the funeral. There were six sons and a daughter, and on this side of the Atlantic they had no relative. It was a sad fate, made still harder by cruel treatment which was meted out to them, and of which George Holland wrote in an autobiography found among his papers after his death:
We now first began to learn something of the great world around us. Its rush and roar we had before heard only in the distance; but those being gone who had kindly preserved us from exposure and had borne for us all the cares of life, we found ourselves, helpless and unprotected, afloat upon the current. We tasted, too, for the first time, the bitter falsehood of human nature. The man of whom my father had bought his land came forward in the exigency and charitably administered the estate. His benevolence was peculiar. It resulted in appropriating to himself the real and personal property, and turning us, the children, as paupers, over to the bleak hospitalities of the world."

In Indiana, at that time, it was the custom, on the first Monday in April, to gather the poor of a county at the court-house and hire them out to such persons as would engage to maintain them at the lowest price. The winter being passed in the cabin of a neighbor, Mr. Holland and his four brothers were conveyed by the overseers of the poor to Brookville, on the first Monday in April, 1819, to be thus placed in the care of the lowest bidder. Although but seven years of age, Mr. Holland deeply felt the humiliation of the position, but kind-hearted people of Brookville interposed in behalf of himself and his brothers, and found permanent homes for them as apprentices until twenty-one years of age. Thus it was that he became an inmate of the home and a member of the family of Robert John, a man who had no property but was possessed of a kind heart and proved a benefactor to the boy. In return, however, Mr. Holland was most faithful to Mr. John, and for many years was his active assistant in whatever work he engaged. When he was about thirteen Mr. John purchased an interest in a printing office, and Mr. Holland began work at the case and press, soon gaining a practical knowledge of the business and becoming a good workman. When Mr. John became sheriff he served as deputy, and on retiring from office he worked in a woolen factory which his employer rented, having charge of a set of woolcarding machines for two seasons. In the summer of 1830 Mr. John was elected clerk of the circuit court, and took charge of the office in February, 1831, Mr. Holland again becoming his deputy. This was a year and a half before he attained his majority. His experience in the office had determined him to make the practice of law his life-work, and on coming of age he began reading without the aid of a teacher. The county clerk, John M. Johnson, witnessing his ambitious efforts, permitted him to use his law library, and at the same time he read all the miscellaneous volumes he could procure, thus daily broadening his general as well as professional knowledge. He was always a man of scholarly tastes, and throughout life found one of his chief sources of pleasure among his books. A short time before attaining his majority he successfully passed an examination, and was admitted to the bar. One who knew him well, in referring to his early life, said: "As a boy and youth he was gentle, kind and considerate, full of energy, and possessed of the most indomitable perseverance. His vigorous and unremitting efforts to educate and prepare himself for the profession of his choice in the midst of irksome and exacting duties, and his early struggles in the profession, in the face of poverty and ill-health, indicate the heroic spirit and fixedness of purpose which even then distinguished him, and which he afterward so conspicuously displayed under such trying circumstances."

Mr. Holland had not a dollar at the time of his admission to the bar. He, however, borrowed fifty dollars, purchased a small law library at auction and opened an office in Brookville. About this time he secured the office of county assessor and the outdoor exercise proved very beneficial to his undermined health, while the nature of his business made him acquainted with many people and thus paved the way for future law practice. He received seventy-five dollars for his official services, which enabled him to repay the borrowed money. He was not only well equipped for his professional career by a comprehensive knowledge of the principles of jurisprudence, but his experience in the clerk's office had given him a thorough and practical knowledge of forms and practice. One from whom we have before quoted, said of him: His early success at the bar was marvelous, and may be attributed mainly to the thorough knowledge of his profession, which he acquired by the most indefatigable reading and study. He read everything he could get hold of in the way of general and professional literature. Few lawyers of the day, at the Indiana bar, were as thoroughly grounded in the principles of law and as familiar with the English and early American reports as he was. His range of professional reading was most extensive and included most of the rare works in black-letter lore that could then be procured. At the same time, and in fact almost during his entire life, even when in later years he was almost overwhelmed with financial cares and responsibilities, his delight was in general literature, it was his rest and recreation, and in historical, political, scientific and religious learning his mind was a cyclopaedia of facts. While he had none of the elements of a popular speaker, and, consequently, made no mark as an orator, he was a logical and persuasive reasoner before a jury, and had great force in presenting an argument to a court. The care with which he prepared his cases, the skill and shrewdness he displayed in their management, his unrivaled power in dealing with a complicated and tangled chain of issues and circumstances, together with his extensive professional knowledge, made him a most formidable opponent in the lower courts, and gave him an excellent reputation at the bar of the supreme court, where he was admitted to practice in May, 1835, when twenty-four years of age."

Prosperity attended his efforts for many years. The important litigated interests entrusted to his care brought him handsome financial returns, and much of his capital he judiciously invested in property and added not a little to his income through wise speculations. At length, however, disaster overtook him. Honorable himself, he was slow to distrust others, and when those in whose worthiness and friendship he relied implicitly wished him to go security for them he complied. It was in November, 1853, that some of his merchant friends failed, leaving him to pay their indebtedness of fifty thousand dollars. This seemed a great deal, but was as nothing compared to what awaited him. In November, 1854, he awoke to the realization that he was endorser for a broken and bankrupt merchant for one hundred thousand dollars in blank, all due within sixty days and for which he was unmistakably liable. Utterly discouraged and disheartened, in the midst of this gloom and desolation, yet encouraged by his sympathizing wife, he resolved that with the help and blessing of God he would pay the debt, and resolutely set to work to accomplish the task, with an abiding faith that he would live to accomplish it. And he did live to accomplish it after a struggle of twenty-one years, paying the last of these debts just fourteen years before his sudden death, and never was a word of suspicion breathed against his fair name. Anxiety pressed heavily upon him and he suffered a purely nervous fever, from the effects of which he never recovered, but he paid off dollar for dollar. The true character of the man now shone forth; his ideas of commercial honor and integrity were of the highest character and his deter¬mination to pay that awful debt, most of it fraudulently put upon him, was inflexibly fixed. The financial skill and business ability he displayed at this critical period in his affairs; the zeal and ingenuity he exhibited in getting extensions of the bank paper upon which he was liable, until he could have time to turn about and handle his property; his unvarying success in disposing of the latter to the best advantage; in making, when necessary, new and advantageous loans, and generally, in meeting his obligations, promptly as they became due, are simply marvelous. When one considers that all this was done in connection with the exacting duties of a large law practice, which he never suffered to be neglected, it indicates more strongly than words can express the strength and fertility of his mind and his great business and professional capacities.

In May, 1869, Judge N. H. Johnson died suddenly, leaving a vacancy on the bench of the criminal court of Wayne county, and to the position Mr. Holland was appointed. Previous to this time, his only child had married C. C. Binkley, a young lawyer, whom Judge Holland admitted into partnership in his business, this connection continuing until his elevation to the bench. In July, 1861, he had determined to remove to Richmond, and in May, 1862, had established his family in the new home. When elevated to the bench he was in very poor health, but after a few months spent at Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, he returned much improved, and with characteristic energy entered upon his judicial labors. He was re-elected to that office, and administered justice without fear or favor until the court was abolished by legislative act. His professional brethren spoke of him as one of the foremost lawyers of Indiana of his day and his record reflects honor upon the bench and bar of the state.

When twenty-three years of age Judge Holland was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth John, daughter of Robert John, in whose family he was reared, and he never lost an opportunity to acknowledge his indebtedness to his wife and her parents for all that they were to him. To her mother, Mrs. Asenath John, he attributed all the ambitious and honorable influences which permeated his youth, and to the assistance and encouragement of his wife he attributed the success which crowned his many years of effort in paying off the debts of another. One daughter, Georgiana, was born of this marriage, and from the time of their removal to Richmond Mr. Holland and his wife and Mr. and Mrs. Binkley with their children lived in one family. Mrs. Holland survives and still resides with her daughter. In 1849, having no son of their own, they adopted Edwin Holland Terrel, then only nine months old. He was left motherless at that age, and his father, Rev. Williamson Terrel, was an itinerant Methodist minister. The boy proved entirely worthy the love and tender care bestowed upon him. For some years he was a prominent practitioner at the bar at Indianapolis. Having married at San Antonio, Texas, he removed there and entered the practice at that place. Soon afterward he drifted into railroad and other enterprises, resulting very successfully. In 1888, his merit and qualification being well known to Benjamin Harrison, president of the United States, he appointed him United States minister to Belgium, which place he filled with great renown and distinction to the close of that administration. He is still living in San Antonio, occupied with the care of his property and accumulations, enjoying the comforts of one of the most elegant homes of Texas and reveling in the delights of one of the finest private libraries in the state.

In politics Judge Holland was a stalwart Republican, and in 1860 he was a delegate to the national convention in Chicago, which nominated Abraham Lincoln for the presidency. In the spring of 1842 he acknowledged his belief in the Christ and was ever afterward a follower in His footsteps, having an abiding faith in the Christian religion. He was always at his place in the church, and manifested his belief in that practical spirit of helpfulness of the One who came not to be ministered unto but to minister. Death came to him unexpectedly, November 30, 1875, but his upright life had fully prepared him to meet it, and he passed from earth as "one who wraps the draperies of his couch about him and lies down to pleasant dreams."

No death in Wayne county has ever been more deeply lamented than that of Judge Holland. He was a man who regarded home ties as most sacred and friendship as inviolable. Emerson says "The way to win a friend is to be one," and no man in the community had more friends than he. He was a man of very sympathetic and generous nature, a pleasant companion, and especially congenial to those who cultivated all that was highest and best in life. Resolutions of the highest respect were passed by the bar of the county and circuit and the bar of Brookville, - his old home, - and the sympathy of the entire community was with the family. Almost a quarter of a century has passed since Judge Holland was called to the home beyond, but he is well remembered by all who knew him, his memory is cherished in the hearts of his friends, and his influence still remains as a blessed benediction to those among whom he walked daily.

Biographical and Genealogical History of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin Counties, Indiana
Volume 1
The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago
1899

GENERAL JONATHAN McCARTY.
General McCarty was born in Virginia, August 3, 1795, reared on his lather's farm in Franklin county, Indiana, within sight of the village of Brookville and on the banks of Whitewater river, and in the little log schoolhouse of that place he received his education. For a time he assisted his brother in the duties of the clerk's office, at intervals reading law, without the assistance of a living teacher, and at length he was licensed to practice at the bar. He was soon elected to the legislature from Franklin county, and as a member of that body he procured the passage of a law creating the county of Fayette.

Soon afterward he removed to the new county, settling at the county seat, Connersville, where he was the first clerk of the courts and also performed other duties in county offices, ex officio, serving until 1828. The next year he was appointed receiver of public moneys in the land office at Fort Wayne, Indiana, and in 1830 he moved his family there. In 1828 he ran for congress on the Democratic ticket, but was defeated by Judge John Test, of Brookville, a National Republican. In 1831 he was elected to congress from his district, defeating his former competitors, Judge Test and Oliver H. Smith, in a heated canvass. He served his district from 1831 to 1837, and in 1848 or '49 removed to Keokuk, Iowa, where he died about 1852, and where now rest his remains. He was a man of limited scholastic training, but possessed great natural powers. He was one of the most talented men of Indiana, a forceful and eloquent speaker.

Biographical and Genealogical History of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin Counties, Indiana
Volume 1
The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago
1899

JOHN FREDERICK HAMAN
We pause a moment in the whir and flurry of this work-a-day world to pay a passing tribute to one who rounded out nearly a half century of honorable life and then passed to his reward. He was born at Brookville, Indiana, which was his home also in later years, on June 21, 1846, and was a son of Martin and Magdalene Haman. He remained in this vicinity until the death of his father, in his boyhood, when he went to Kentucky, where a better opportunity was offered in the unequal struggle for a livelihood. His work received his close attention, little time being given for pleasure or even rest, and he early developed a power of endurance and a persistent energy which was one of the chief characteristics of his life and enabled him to accomplish wonderful results in his business.

Having engaged in busine3s in his native village, after arriving at manhood, he was married on January 6, 1870, to Mary Higgs, by whom he had two sons, George and John. His second marriage was contracted with Miss Amelia Mueller, a daughter of Charles and Sarah (Lodhtholtz) Mueller. The former is now in his seventieth year and is a resident of Milton, Indiana. Her mother died in 1873, at the age of forty-seven. The wedded life of Mr. and Mrs. Haman was a most felicitous one, extending over a period of nearly seventeen years.

Concerning his deep religious convictions and the purity of his life we insert the following tribute taken from one of the local papers and written by one who knew him intimately. "By the influence of his wife, who, by her devotion and affection and by the high standard of her pure and noble womanhood, cultivated and fostered the innate, sterling qualities of her husband, and through the instrumentality of a revival among the German Methodists, Mr. Haman was led to unite with that church on probation. He was very much interested in the work of the church, and as long as there was a prospect for success he was the main support and contributed all that a willing heart and hand can do. During his illness he was admitted to full membership in the Methodist church.

His life furnishes us an example worthy of emulation. In dealing with mankind his word was his bond. Deceit never entered into any transaction. One glance of his frank and unflinching eye, one word, spoken with sincerity, carried conviction. His plain, blunt, rugged honesty; his open-hearted and reserved manner; without guile, undisguised and unaffected, is to us a sweet and lasting memory. More admirable still was the sympathy and fellow-feeling which he extended to all. How many good turns, how many kind offices he performed. With him truly the quality of mercy was not strained. It fell as the 'gentle dew from heaven' upon the place beneath. All shared alike in his generosity, unstinted if the object was worthy, and his keen, quick, sharp intelligence quickly detected the alloy. But more beautiful still was his ideal of a Christian life, and how uncon-sciously did he exemplify it! With what childlike faith did he cling to his Savior during his illness. His lips often moved, and when the patient attendant at his side inquired for his wishes, he replied: 'Nothing; I'm only talking to the Lord.' When pain racked his fevered frame, the name of Jesus was on his lips. The visitors to his bedside were many, and as long as speech remained he exhorted all to surrender their hearts to Christ, and he was no doubt the instrument in God's hands to cause many a fellow being to think seriously of his sours salvation. He died peacefully, at 12:45. Friday morning, January 5, 1894, retaining consciousness to the last. Shortly before his decease, songs and prayers were offered, and, although too exhausted to speak, he gave testimony by a nod of his head and by the brightening of his eyes of his faith in the cleansing power of the blood of our Lord Jesus, and of his desire to meet the Savior in a better land."

Biographical and Genealogical History of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin Counties, Indiana
Volume 1
The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago
1899

GEORGE BERRY, M. D.
No state in the Union can boast of a more heroic band of pioneers than Indiana. In their intelligence, capability and genius they were far above the pioneers of the east, and in their daring and heroism they were equal to the Missouri and California argonauts. Their privations, hardships and earnest labors have resulted in establishing one of the foremost commonwealths in America, and one which has still great possibilities before it. The material advancement of the central Mississippi states is the wonder of the world, and it has been largely secured through the sturdy and intelligent manhood of descendants of the cavaliers of Virginia, with their moral, intellectual and physical stamina; but their work is nearly complete, and every year sees more new graves filled by those who helped to build an empire, and soon, too soon, will the last of these sturdy pioneers be laid away; but their memory will forever remain green among those who lived among them and appreciated their efforts.

The name of the late Dr. George Berry was perhaps more closely associated with the earlier history of Brookville and Franklin county than any other, and his valuable counsel and the activities of his useful manhood were of great moment to the advancement of his city and county. He was a representative of an old Virginian family. His father, Henry Berry, was a native of Rockingham county, in the Old Dominion, and emigrating westward located on section 26, Brookville township, Franklin county, Indiana, November 7, 1816. There he spent his remaining days, his death occurring in September, 1864, in the eighty-second year of his age, his remains being interred on the old homestead. He was a blacksmith by trade, and coming to Indiana established a smithy on his farm, doing business for the settlers for miles around. His shop was a favorite resort with the frontiersman of that time, and the proprietor was an artisan of the true American type. He could shoe a horse, repair a rifle, "jump an ox," renew the springs of a steel trap, discuss the political and religious topics of the day, assist the itinerant minister or do whatever else appeared to be necessary to build up a pros¬perous neighborhood. He took the papers, which but few of his fellow pioneers could afford to do, and therefore his shop was headquarters for the news of the outside world. He was a very popular man and was chosen justice of the peace and later probate judge of Franklin county, which position he filled for twenty consecutive years.

Dr. George Berry, his eldest child and the immediate subject of this review, was born in Rockingham county, Virginia, February 17, 1811, and died in Brookville March 19, 1892, at the age of eighty-one years. In an account of his life a friend said: "Before the forests were cleared away or the meadows appeared upon the uplands, when our valleys and hills were timber clad, with no openings through the woodlands, save the little clearing of the early pioneer, the Indian trail or the emigrant's trace; he appeared upon the scene of his activities in Franklin county. Almost with the dawn of civilization in southeastern Indiana he came, and the history of his life is to a great extent the history of our valley." Thus from its earliest development Dr. Berry had a part in the public life and progress of this locality. As soon as old enough he began to learn the blacksmith's trade under his father's supervision, but ill health caused him to abandon that pursuit. From the newspapers for which his father was a subscriber, and from a collection of books, quite large for a frontiersman's cabin, he obtained most of his education. He, however, attended school to a limited extent, pursuing his studies for a time in the schools of Brookville. In 1827 he engaged in teaching near the site of Roseburg, Union county, Indiana, and in 1828 was employed as a teacher in Brookville. Subsequently he went to Butler county, Ohio, and engaged in teaching near New London, also taking up the study of medicine under the direction of Dr. Thomas, who was at that time considered one of the most able surgeons of the state. When he went to Ohio he called upon School-examiner Bebb, afterward governor of that state, and desired to be examined as an applicant for a license to teach school. The examiner looked up at the stripling, and, calling attention to some figures with which he had been busy, said: "I can't get this sum; if you can, I'll give you a license without examination." Dr. Berry undertook the solution of the problem and secured both the correct result and the license.

In the spring of 1832 Dr. Berry located in Brookville and began the practice of medicine and surgery. From that time until his death he practiced the healing art, and he became the loved family physician in many a household, his kindly and skillful ministrations winning him the heartfelt gratitude of hundreds. Probably no man in the county was more widely or favorably known, his professional duties bringing him into contact with almost all of the settlers of the county. On the 6th of May, 1834, he was united in marriage to Miss Ann Wright, daughter of William and Elizabeth (Bardsley) Wright. They began their domestic life in the house which was their home until the death of the Doctor, and there four children were born to them, two sons and two daughters, the elder daughter dying in infancy. The younger daughter, Elizabeth, still resides in the old home, on Main street, one room of which was used as a land office in the early days. William H. is a practicing physician of Brookville, and George is now deceased.

In all the public affairs concerning the welfare of the state Dr. Berry took a deep interest, and gave his support to every measure which he believed would contribute to the public good. In 1835 he was appointed post-master of Brookville by President Jackson, and was reappointed by President VanBuren. In March, 1839, he was elected the first town clerk of Brookville, and for many years he was a member of the board of school trustees. In 1843 he was elected a member of the state senate, for a term of three years, and in 1846 was re-elected, leaving the impress of his individuality upon the early legislation of the state. He studied closely the issues of the day and gave an earnest support to all measures which he believed would prove of public benefit. At the breaking out of the Mexican war he was appointed surgeon of the Sixteenth Regular Infantry, U. S. A., and started for the scene of hostilities April 7, 1847. He served under General Taylor in northern Mexico during the campaign ending in the brilliant victory of Buena Vista, and receiving an honorable discharge he returned home August 8, 1848.

Immediately thereafter he resumed the practice of medicine, but his fellow townmen were not content that he should remain long in private life, and in 1849 he was again elected to the state senate, and in 1850 was appointed a member of the state constitutional convention, becoming one of its most valued and efficient representatives. He left the imprint of his strong intellectuality upon the organic law of the state, and in connection with his colleagues framed a constitution that has stood the test of almost half a century. In 1864 he was the nominee of the Democratic party for congress, and in l870 was elected auditor of Franklin county and was re-elected in 1874.

Dr. Berry affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His petition for membership in Penn Lodge, No. 30, was one among the first presented to that organization. On account of absence from home he was not initiated when the lodge was organized, February 18, 1846, but was received on the following Wednesday. He was a charter member of Brookville Encampment, No. 32, which was organized December 2, 1852, and served in almost every official capacity in both lodge and encampment. He was true to his fraternal obligations, was deeply interested in the success of the order, and upon his death Penn Lodge passed resolutions of respect, in which he was spoken of as "a man endowed with many of the choicest gifts of nature. In intellect he possessed talents of a high order. He loved right and justice; he hated wrong and injustice. He was an honest man, a true brother and friend, and loved with all the ardor of his warm heart the principles of Oddfellowship."

His practice as a physician was very extensive. For many years he was the principal surgeon of this region, and made professional visits into a part of the territory now embraced within the counties of Franklin, Union, Fayette, Decatur, Dearborn and Ripley, in Indiana, and Butler, in Ohio. His practice began before the epoch of public highways and bridges. The newly cleared roads, or more frequently the bridle paths, were the only thoroughfares. He traveled on horseback and carried his supplies in his saddlebags. He practiced medicine sixty years and at the time of his death was, with one exception, the oldest practitioner in the Whitewater valley.

Throughout his life he was a very active man. His memory was phenomenal. His acquaintance with most of the historic characters, and his familiarity with the scenes of many of the occurrences of historic interest in the valley, together with his love of anecdote, for which he was noted, made him an instructive and entertaining companion. In this connection a friend wrote of him: "Certainly no other man in Franklin county was so well or so widely known as he. He was familiar with the history of all the older families of the county and with the personal history of a large part of the community. His life has entered into the home life of us all. His outspoken ways, open-handed charity, well known regard for truth, his• hatred of sham and great love for humanity were known to all. He had sympathy for us in our sorrows, rejoiced with us in our joys. Never did he utter an angry word in his home, and his family ties were to him a most sacred trust." He had passed the eighty-first milestone on life's journey when he fell asleep. The veil was lifted to gain the new glory of a true and beautiful life when death set the seal upon his mortal lips. Any monument erected to his memory and to commemorate his virtues will have become dim and tarnished by time ere the remembrance of his noble example shall cease to exercise an influence upon the community in which he lived and labored to such goodly ends.

His wife survived him only a short time, passing away at the old home in Brookville, May 18, 1894, at the age of eighty years. One who had known her long and well wrote the following lines, which were read at the funeral: "To-day our lines have met at the end of the pathway of the life of one of our friends. To bear testimony to the fidelity of this pilgrim's life; to express our appreciation of faithfulness to duty; to sympathize with those with whom these life chords have been so closely woven, is our present sad privilege. A long life, full of duties well performed, is as the course of the sun. Its happy childhood as the brightness of its rising; its middle-life activities as the energizing influences of its mid-day power; its close as the beauty of the evening, -a quiet, peaceful end.

Ann, daughter of William and Elizabeth (Bardsley) Wright, was born near Ashton-Under-Lyne, Lancashire, England, October 12, 1813, came with her parents to the United States, and settled in Montgomery county, Ohio, June 1, 1820. On the 7th of April, 1825, the family came to Franklin county and located on the old home farm, three miles southeast of Brookville. Mrs. Berry was the second of eight children, five daughters and three sons. She was married, May 6, 1834, to Dr. George Berry, and within three weeks they began housekeeping in the house where she died and where she had ever since resided. Some who sit here today can wander back in memory's valleys to the wedding day of the one about whose body we are gathered, and from that time to this they can trace the course of her life. Together she and her husband began their new life's journey. What bright prospects, what joyful hopes were theirs. Along the morning of their married life toward its midday they walked together. Family cares and family blessings alike came to them. Joys and sorrows, the smooth places and the rough, were a part of their experience, but all helped in the development that made them the man and woman that they were. He became the friend of man, the man of mercy to the suffering, and his wife his helper in all, -in everything. They passed the noontide of their married life, and the sun started on its journey to the west. How sweet it was to see them come down the hill together. For nearly fifty-eight years, side by side, they trod life's pathway. Then their hands unclasped. One dropped by the wayside; the other continued on the journey. Tired and weak, she lay down and fell asleep. She looked forward to the coming of this day when her spirit should pass from this short life into the fuller, the perfect life beyond. The rest of the righteous is now hers."

Biographical and Genealogical History of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin Counties, Indiana
Volume 1
The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago
1899