Judge Biddle of Biddle’s Island

Fri, May 16 2008

— The story of Horace Peters Biddle is a very strange one. He was a man with little formal education but a voracious reader. By the end of his life, Horace Biddle possessed a doctor of philosophy degree and a doctor of law degree.
Horace was born March 24, 1811, near Logan, Ohio, on the Hocking River. His parents were Benjamin and Abigail Converse Biddle. Abigail died when Horace was five years old, leaving him in the care of his 17-year-old sister. He was the youngest of nine children.
Horace lived on a farm, going to school whenever the occasion offered. He left home when he was 16 and began clerking in a country store owned by his brother, Daniel, for eight years. During this time Horace was reading every book and paper that he could find. His appetite for learning was never satisfied.
As a young man, Horace was noted for his quick intelligence and his fluent vocabulary. He began the study of law under Senator Ewing and Mr. Hunter of Ohio. He was soon admitted to the Ohio Circuit Court Bar and the Federal Court in 1839. Horace began riding the circuit to try cases in southwestern Ohio and eastern Indiana.
Horace came to Logansport on Sept. 18, 1839, and hung out his shingle. The Indiana Senate elected him as president of the 8th Circuit Court. He held that position for six years. In 1850, he was a member of the Constitutional Convention to write a new Indiana Constitution.
In 1857 Judge Biddle was elected Indiana State Supreme Court judge by a huge majority but was not commissioned, as there was no vacancy.
He worked at his practice for the next few years and was then elected to the circuit court for 12 years.
In 1874 Judge Biddle was nominated by both the Democratic and Independent Conventions for the Supreme Court of Indiana and was elected by the greatest majority of any candidate up to that time. He held that position for 18 years.
Judge Biddle had a full knowledge of Latin and spoke and wrote both German and French.
Early in life, Judge Biddle began writing poetry and was a contributor to several magazines. In 1849 he published his first volume of poetry, “A Few Poems,” and then republished in 1858 with 240 other poems.
In 1860, Judge Biddle published a work titled “The Musical Scale” that caused an uproar in the musical world. Finally, his musical scale was proven correct and is still used today.
Judge Biddle wrote many other books with subjects ranging from “A Discourse on Art” to “Russian Literature.”
The house that John Tipton built became Judge Biddle's home on Biddle's Island. The house was filled with flowers, music, art and the largest private library in Indiana of more than 8,500 books.
Judge Biddle died May 13, 1900, and his wife, Anna, died Sept. 23, 1900.
Richard B. Copeland is president of the Cass County Historical Society and can be reached at ptnews@pharostribune.com. The material for this article came from Helm's History of 1886, from the Internet and from the Cass County Historical Society archives.

Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.