McDonough County IL Archives Biographies.....Veatch, Whendricks August 19, 1831 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/il/ilfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Sandy Morrey sandymorrey@yahoo.com November 9, 2009, 9:27 pm Source: Hancock, McDonough and Henderson Counties, Illinois Author: Unknown WHENDRICKS VEATCH, M. D., who is numbered among the leading medical practitioners of Carthage, where he has built up an excellent business, claims Indiana as the State of his nativity, his birth having occurred in New Albany August 19, 1831. His father, Rev. Isaac Veatch, was a Baptist minister, and served in the State Legislature of Indiana as Representative from Spencer County. He died of cholera in Indiana in 1833, while visiting his daughter, who also died of the same disease. His son, James C. Yeatch, is an attorney of Rockport, Ind. , and served as Deputy County Auditor before he attained his majority. When he had reached man's estate, he was elected County Auditor. He was a candidate for Con- gress on the Republican ticket in 1856, and has represented his district in the State Legislature. In 1860 he was a delegate to the Republican Na- tional Convention that nominated Abraham Lin- coln for President, and was also a Representative to the convention that nominated James A. Gar- field for the presidency. During the war he served as Colonel of the Twenty-fifth Indiana In- fantry, and after the battle of Ft. Donelson was made Brigadier-General. When the war closed he was breveted Major-General. During his service he was placed in command of the city of Memphis, under Gen. Hulburt, and later had charge of the enlisting of the negro troops. At the battle of Hatchie River he was wounded, and was carried off the field for dead, but it was found that life was not extinct, and he ultimately re- covered. After his return home he was made Collector of Internal Revenue at Evansville, Ind., under President Grant, and filled the position for fourteen years. After that time he gave his atten- tion to law practice until about seven years ago, when he retired from business. The eldest son of the Veatch family, John Al- len, died in 1872. Before the birth of our subject he left home, going to Louisiana, where he en- gaged in teaching. He then went to Texas, and took part in the Mexican War as a Captain of a company of Texas Rangers. On the cessation of that struggle, he went to Colorado, and the last heard of him for twenty years was that he was in a massacre of the Indians while on the way to Texas. When two decades had passed, and James C. Veatch was serving in the Indiana Legislature, he met a gentleman who said there was a physician in California by the name of John Allen Veatch, that he lived in San Fran- cisco, and was the noted author of medical works, and also works on the flora of that State. Trac- ing him, it was found that he was the missing brother of our subject. He died in Oregon, but his family is still living in California. He pre- pared the first authentic record of the plants of California, and attained eminence as a botanist and physician. Our subject is the youngest of fifteen children, but only two are now living, our subject and the brother before mentioned, who is now seventy- five years of age. The mother of this family re- moved to Schuyler County, Ill., in 1837, and there died in 1874. Mr. Veatch whose name heads this record was a boy of only six years at the time of that re- moval. He remained upon the home farm until after the marriage of all his brothers and sisters. He took up the study of medicine with his broth- er-in-law, Dr. McCaskill, in Pawnee, Sangamon County, and pursued a course of lectures in the University of Missouri at St. Louis, from which he was graduated in the Class of '56. Among his classmates was Dr. J. Miner, of Winchester, Ill. Dr. Veatch then joined his brother-in-law, who, after two years, went to California, and our subject continued in practice alone until 1877. He then removed to Sciota, McDonough County, and in 1880 came to Carthage, where he has since suc- cessfully engaged in practice. He is a member of the Hancock County Medical Society, the Mili- tary Tract Medical Society, and the State and American Medical Societies. He has been a con- tributor to the Peoria Medical Monthly for some time, and has written many able articles for that sheet. He has also been the author of a number of articles of good literary merit which do not treat of the medical science. For six years he filled the Chair of Hygiene in the Carthage College, and has delivered many lectures on the subject before teachers' institutions. In 1857 Dr. Veatch was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth Sweet, of Auburn, Sanga- mon County, who died five years later, leaving one child, Byron E., a merchant of Chicago. For his second wife the Doctor married Martha E. Klepper, of Schuyler County, sister of Jacob Klepper, the banker and horseman of Augusta. They have one child, De Laskie Miller, who was named for Dr. De Laskie Miller, a prominent professor of Rush Medical College of Chicago. He is now in a dry-goods store in Quincy. Dr. Veatch is a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, but was reared in the faith of the Baptist Church. In early life he was a Douglas Demo- crat, but when the war broke out he joined the Republican party, and has since been one of its stanch supporters. The greater part of his time and attention, however, is devoted to his profes- sion, of which he has ever been a close student. His skill and ability have won for him a high and well-merited reputation. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/il/mcdonough/bios/veatch1555gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/ilfiles/ File size: 6.0 Kb