Mount - James Atwell - Montgomery InGenWeb Project

Note: Picture sources, Darlina Shaw (findagrave.com) and Crawfordsville District Public Library (cdpl for home)

Source: H. W. Beckwith History of Montgomery County, Indiana, (Chicago: HH Hill, 1881)

James A. MOUNT, farmer and stock raiser, Shannondale, is the son of Atwell Mount, one of the early pioneers, and a man who made his mark in this country as one of the great moral and religious teachers. Atwell Mount was born in Farquhar county, Virginia, September 4, 1806, and removed to Shelby county, Kentucky, in 1815. November 1,1827, he married Miss Lucinda FULLINWIDER, and two years after emigrated to Montgomery county, Indiana, residing at the house of Ryker ROBBINS, until he got his cabin built. His family, which consisted of six sons and six daughters, were all raised and attained to adult age on the old homestead, upon which Mr. James Mount now resides. Their names are as follows: Thomas R., Catherine W., Jacob F., Elijah C., William H., Ann Elizabeth, Mary Jane, James A., Harriet N., Arvenia F. and Samuel B. Ten of them are still living and have families. Atwell Mount died February 23, 1880. He had been a life-long member of the Presbyterian church, and for fifty years an elder of the same. He was the originator of the first temperance effort in the county, and shut down upon the use of whisky at the log-rollings and railings at which he officiated, and though strongly opposed was successful in accomplishing the end he aimed at. He passed to his reward respected and lamented by all who knew him. James A. Mount was born March 23, 1843, obtaining his education at the district log school-house, and remained employed upon the farm unti11862, when he enlisted in the 72d Ind. Inf. On returning from the war he again went to school and finished his education at the Academy at Lebanon, Boone county. In 1867 he married Miss Katherine A. BOYD, whose father was a native of Kentucky, and mother of Dayton, Ohio. The result of this union is a family of three children: Hallie Lee, born August 18,1868, and Harry N. and Helen N. born December 24,1871, the two latter being twins. In 1866 Mr. Mount began farming on his own account as a renter, and now, through his indomitable perseverance and energetic labor, owns the beautiful and handsomely improved farm of 200 acres upon which he now resides. He is known and respected throughout the county as one of the rising men of this neighborhood. He has been a lifelong member of the Presbyterian church, and is clerk of the session of Bethel church, the records of which are in splendid order. He is also a member of the Shannondale Coy of the Horse Detectives, and in politics is a prominent member of the republican party. - contributed by kbz

Source: History of Montgomery County, Indiana. Indianapolis: AW Bowen, 1913 (Indianapolis: AW Bowen, 1913)

Hon. James Atwell Mount - The comment has often been truthfully made that deserved appreciation of really great men is too frequently withheld until death awakens society, or a state or nation, to a sense of loss. This is less true of the late Governor James Atwell Mount that of most distinguished personages. There was never a period in his illustrious career when him mental equipment was not recognized, by both friends and those who disapproved his doctrines, as a superior order. None ever failed to credit him with high moral purpose, true nobility of character, sterling sense of justice, able and comprehensive statesmanship and firm adherence to the loftiest of political, social and business ideals. This unanimous concession to his worth and greatness wholly disarmed the temporary opposition due to partisan exigency, and entirely shamed those few of his pretended political friends who could not debauch his integrity nor swerve his independence. He did not disappoint any intelligent opinion of his exceptional qualities of head and heart any time during political life, but, on the contrary, continued to add to acquired esteem by a constant display of ability and usefulness which were recognized and appreciated wherever he was known. As the one chief executive of Indiana who measured up to the stature of any predecessor in all that concerned parity and strength of administration, and contributed to the progress, stability and general welfare of the commonwealth, so he remained the one all-around statesman whose primacy was without dispute, and who judgments found respect without reference to party predilections. At his death his place was as easily that of the first Indianan as when he enjoyed the distinction and attracted the homage due the occupant of the gubernatorial chair. This universal estimate of his exalted character became more pronounced after his sudden departure. The restraints of politics were removed. Sentiments assumed free and open expression. He was deliberately re-weighed in all his attributes of character, in all his accomplishments, in all his relations to public and civic affairs, and what had been the common verdict was only rendered the more emphatic. Honors, no matter profuse, were all to insufficient for the distinguished dead. Mourning, however sincere and general, was but a feeble expression of the deep-seated sense of bereavement. It was Governor Mount who had been gathered to his fathers. The model man and statesman, through critical, yet most kind analysis, through sympathetic eulogium, and through touching dirge, was assigned his deservedly exalted, and, no doubt, permanent, niche in the Hoosier hall of fame, there to stand as an encouragement to noble statesmen-like endeavor, and an inspiration to the youth of our land.

Governor Mount has born on a farm in Montgomery county, Indiana, in 1843. It will be seen that his natal environment shaped his entire future life. With his earliest breath he drew in that love of the soil, of green fields and well-tilled acres, which permeated his life and made of him an ideal and progressive landed proprietor.

Atwell Mount, his father, was born in Virginia in 1806 and moved to Kentucky in 1813. Here he married Lucinda FULLENWIDER in 1826, and, leaving the "dark and bloody ground" of Kentucky in 1828, they migrated to the then uncultivated state of Indiana; that commonwealth to which their unborn son was to add dignity and honor. The hardships of the undrained malarial country they met heroically; they were industrious, temperate, frugal, the type of citizens who mold a nation. Twelve children were born to them and one of them was ingrained with the rugged heroism of his progenitors -this was James A. Mount.

The boyhood of the future Governor was passed in the usual round of boyish tasks on a farm - cutting wood, doing chores, feeding stock. He learned those valuable truths which indigence and labor teach best - frugality, thrift and the value of money. From his mother, as she spun and wove the raiment for little ones, he heard the tales that thrilled his young heart and created the embryo enthusiast and patriot. The story of Washington at Morristown, the sojourn at Valley Forge, the crossing of the Delaware river, - any of the deeds of valor of the soldiers of the Revolution were to this serious, earnest boy latent incentives which sprung into life at the first call of his country for volunteers when the fierce fires of rebellion began raging in the Southland. He enlisted in the Seventy-second Indiana Volunteer Infantry, in 1862. He was a member of the famous Wilder's Brigade, and General Wilder himself subsequently testified to his bravery in volunteering twice for the skirmish line at Chickamauga, when to do so was almost certain death. In the history of the Seventy-second it is stated that James A. Mount was the first skirmisher of Sherman's army to cross the Chattahoochee river, which he charged at Roswell, Georgia, at daylight, July 9, 1864. Even while ill from measles he marched through days of incessant rain and waded swollen streams, and for three years he missed not a single march, skirmish or battle.

At the close of the war Mr. Mount entered the Presbyterian Academy at Lebanon, Indiana. From lack of funds his time was limited to one year, but such was his assiduity in study that he put the work of two years into one.

In Lebanon he met and married Kate A. BOYD, in 1867. At this time Mr. Mount's principal possessions were his willing hands, supplemented by a well-trained mind, and the conscience of a Christian - the only patrimony he had inherited. The young husband and wife determined at once upon farm life. The heavy rental imposed upon them was enough to discourage hearts made of less "stern stuff" - they paid one-half of all the grain sold and one-half of all money realized from the sale of livestock. Besides paying this Mr. Mount cut the timber and laid several hundred rods of ditch, grubbing and clearing land, for which he received no pay. His neighbors urged to go west, assuring him that with such a heavy rent he could never hope to own a farm in Indiana, but his indomitable will had already determined to own as fine a farm as the state could boast. Gradually a change came over the farm; unremitting work, coupled with managerial ability, made themselves felt in the way of heavier crops, larger sales of livestock, well-drained fields and cultivated meadows. The young farmer seemed to have the touch of Midas, and all things prospered. At the end of seven years the stock and implements were bought and the rent paid in cash. Three years later Mr. Mount became the owner of the farm. This involved a debt of about five hundred dollars, but at the end of five years the debt was paid, and in 1895, twenty-eight years after he began as lessee, he was the proprietor of five hundred acres of land and had erected a home of modern style and beauty, costing over eight thousand dollars. He and his wife were valuable examples of what farm life may become. They were both inbued with the idea of elevating the standard of country life to the point of convenience and beauty. All that science could do to make easier the life of the farmer and to elevate him mentally they heartily believed in and encouraged. They considered it the ideal life, provided proper thought is bestowed upon it. Governor Mount possessed in a great degree that patriarchal love of the soil which has characterized many great minds from Cincinnatus to Gladstone. His success as a farmer led him to give his ideals in the form of lectures before institutes over the state, and there is no doubt but that his theories have made a permanent imprint upon the farming industry of Indiana, to its great and lasting benefit. During the busy years when Mr. Mount was developing his farm he little dreamed that, at the same time he was making of himself the very best political timber. His many practical excellencies, his constant meeting with the people of his state, brought unsought upon him the publicity and care of political life, although he had always a much interested Republican.

Mr. Mount was nominated in 1888 for state senator over his protest and carried a Democratic senatorial district - serving with distinction for a term of four years in the upper branch of the Indiana General Assembly. In 1896 he was brought forward as a candidate for governor. There were before the Republican convention twelve prominent aspirants for this office. It was a convention long to be remembered for its great size and immense enthusiasm. Mr. Mount was chosen on the seventh ballot. His perfect integrity and unimpeachable character elected him by a plurality larger than any ever given in Indiana to either a Presidential or gubernatorial candidate, and his administration was such as to prove the wisdom of his selection.

Governor Mount's official life was one of marked success. He desired greatly in introduce into the management of state affairs that careful expenditure and economy which was one of the chief sources of his success. To do this is ever a dangerous and difficult task. It meets with objection and opposition at every point. To carry on affairs of state with a reckless extravagance, meting out the people's money to the various dominant "rings" seems to be an axiom of political economy it requires nerves to confront. Governor Mount had that nerve and he set his face firmly against it. He frowned at extravagance, counseled prudence and thrift and governed wisely and well. There was no tinsel effect about his administration, nor did he use his office as a promoter of brilliant social life. He pursued his calm, serene path exactly as he did before. Having always been engaged in strenuous physical toil himself, he was a friend tot he day laborer. In all his farm institute work over the state, and in his well selected course as state senator and governor his sympathy was with the common people, always contending that on them depended the success of both state and nation, and their response or appreciation of his honest convictions were surely evident in his nominations, his elections and their praise of his administration.

The degree of Doctor of Laws was conferred upon Governor Mount by the trustees and faculty of Hanover College in 1898. Through all his busy life he did not neglect religious matters. He served in an official capacity for several years with the Winona Association of this state. A few years after his death the Mount Memorial school building was erected and dedicated for educational purposes, showing their appreciation of his efforts in the Winona cause. Governor Mount was a devoted Presbyterian. He was chosen vice-moderator of the Presbyterian General Assembly in 1898. He was an elder in the home church at Shannondale for a number of years, and was a Sunday school teacher at that place up to the time he moved to Indianapolis. The beginning of these many years of teaching was in his early manhood, taking up the work with the same class that his Christian mother so nobly commenced. When governor of Indiana with all the arduous tasks and duties necessarily involved in that position, he as found on Sunday morning with the same intent and interest as in former years teaching a large young men's Sunday school class that is still recognized as the Mount Sunday school class.

The union of Governor Mount and wife was graced by the birth of three children. They all received excellent educational advantages and are all still living, each reflecting in their every-day lives the wholesome home atmosphere in which they were reared and they are all favorites with a large circle of acquaintances. Hallie Lee Mount married Charles E. BUTLER, of Crawfordsville, and a complete sketch of them appears elsewhere in this volume. Helen Nesbit Mount, who was graduated from Coats college, Terre Haute, married John W. NICELY, of Dayton, Indiana; he is now known as Doctor Nicely, and is pastor of the Cresar Presbyterian church of Chicago, being regarded as a very successful and prominent minister of the gospel. The Governor's youngest child and only son, Harry N. Mount, is a promising young minister, at present preaching in one of the large churches in Portland, Oregon, where he is popular and doing an excellent work. He was graduated with honors from Wabash College with the class of 1894. He subsequently attended the Theological Seminary at Princeton, New Jersey, where he made an excellent record and was graduated. His first ministry was at the Presbyterian churches at Oxford and Boswell, both in Benton county, Indiana. After two years he accepted an urgent call to the church of that denomination at Connersville, this state. His work at this place was very successful. The tender love and affection that existed between pastor and people at that place was made evident when ill health compelled Mr. Mount to resign his pastorate and try the climate conditions of the Pacific slope. The eight years of his ministerial career in the West has been marked with eminent success. He was married to Verda BELL, of Crawfordsville, in 1897. Wabash College conferred on him the title of Doctor of Divinity five years ago. His wonderful zeal and ambition to accomplish good is only retarded by ill health, but what is lacking with him in strength is amply made up in pure manhood and Christian character.

Governor James A. Mount was summoned to his eternal rest very suddenly on January 16, 1901. His four years reign as governor was just completed; every little detail was arranged for the return the following day to his beautiful and long-cherished country home. The reins of state has bee handed over to another; tomorrow he was to begin a different life - the long sought for peaceful life in the rural districts of old Montgomery county; but death decreed that both his official and earthly administrations were ended, and he was transplanted to a higher plane of action, and, with Milton, "The sky on which he closed his eyes was cloudless."

Mrs. Mount soon followed her illustrious husband to the grave, her death occurring July 6, 1905. She was born in Boone county, Indiana, in 1849; was graduated from the Lebanon Academy in 1866. She and the Governor were married November 10, 1867, she leaving a sheltered home life a great refinement and culture, and immediately entered upon one of rugged toil and privation, and nobility which she stood by and ever assisted her ambitious husband proved the sterling qualities of her character. She was descended from stanch Revolutionary Presbyterian ancestry and she reflected credit and honor on them by strict adherance {sic} through life to the most upright principals and ideals. Her home, social and public life was marked by a quiet dignity and grace of Christian womanhood. She was spoken of as a "queenly woman,", but the tribute her pastor paid her, and the one she would have treasured was, "She was a good woman." - contributed by kbz

Source:  The Political Graveyard (thanks to Jeff S)

James Atwell Mount (1843-1901) -- also known as James A. Mount   -- Born in Montgomery County, Ind., March 24, 1843. Served in the   Union Army during the Civil War; member of Indiana state senate,   1889-91; candidate for U.S. Representative from Indiana, 1890;   Governor of Indiana, 1897-1901. Presbyterian. Died in   Indianapolis, Marion County, Ind., January 16, 1901. Interment at   Oak Hill Cemetery.

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Source: Crawfordsville Weekly Journal 18 May 1900 p 6