Franklin County, KY - Lindsey, Daniel Weisiger Posted by Sandi Gorin on Tue, 27 Jul 1999 ************************************************************************* USGENWEB ARCHIVES NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. http://www.usgwarchives.net ************************************************************************* Daniel Weisiger LINDSEY 3418, Franklin Co. Surname: Lindsey, Fitch Lawyers and Lawmakers of Kentucky, by H. Levin, editor, 1897. Published by Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago. Reprinted by Southern Historical Press. p. 127. Franklin County. DANIEL WEISIGER LINDSEY, of Frankfort, was born October 4, 1835, a son of Hon. Thomas N. Lindsey and a representative of a family that has furnished several leading members to the bar of the state. He pursued his education in a private school conducted by B. B. Sayre, a teacher of wide repute, and later a graduate at the Kentucky Military Institute. In 1854 he commenced the study of law with his father and took a full course in the Louisville Law School, graduating with the class of 1857. He commenced the practice of law in Frankfort, where he soon won considerable prominence, and was thus engaged when the country became involved in civil war. At that time Mr. Lindsey was captain of a company in the Kentucky state guards, which in May, 1861, met in state encampment in Alexander's woods. While there he learned that the state guard was not to be used to aid the nation in preserving its existence, and immediately marching his company from the camp to its armory in Frankfort he then resigned his commission and assisted General Nelson in the organization of the federal troops at Camp Dick Robinson. About the 1st of September, 1861, he was commissioned as chief of staff to General Thomas L. Crittenden, and in October, of the same year, he was commissioned colonel and recruited the Twenty-second Kentucky Volunteer Infantry, with which he entered the field, participating in the campaign in the Big Sandy valley, under General Garfield, and in the capture of Cumberland Gap, under General G. W. Morgan. At Memphis, Tennessee, he was placed in command of a brigade and participated in the campaigns against Arkansas Post, Vicksburg and Jackson, Mississippi. Later, under general order, the Thirteenth Army Corps, to which he belonged, was transferred to the Department of the Gulf. On the 14th of October, 1863, he resigned his command to accept the position of inspector general of Kentucky, and in 1864 was commissioned adjutant-general of Kentucky, which position he held until the fall of 1867. In January, 1868, General Lindsey resumed the practice of law in Frankfort, in connection with his father, and the partnership continued up to the latter's death, in November, 1877, since which time he has been associated with his brother, John B. Lindsey. Although he is thoroughly well-informed on all branches of the law, and was for some years a general practitioner, he has of late years confined his efforts to civil cases in the state and United States courts. He is now attorney for a large number of important corporations and has a valuable clientage among the merchant class. His pronounced ability in this direction has gained him marked prestige at the Kentucky bar, which numbers so many able members. He is also closely identified with the business interests of the capital city. Since 1868 he has been a director of the Branch Bank of Kentucky, and since 1884 its president. He is president of the Capital City Gas and Electric Light Company, of the Frankfort Water Works Company, is vice-president of the Kentucky Midland Railway Company, and a director of the Kentucky River Twine Mills. His connection with the municipal affairs of Frankfort came through his position as a member of the city council for several years. In January, 1864, General Lindsey was united in marriage with Miss Katherine McIlvain Fitch, a daughter of Thomas B. Fitch, a prominent merchant of Daviess county. They have four children living: Thomas, Noble, Henry Fitch, Daniel Weisiger and Katie Fitch. He has been a communicant in the Protestant Episcopal church since 1862, and shortly after attaining his majority he united with the Masonic fraternity. He is now a Knight Templar Mason and belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. The standing of General Lindsey among his fellow members of the bar and with the public at large was plainly manifest, in 1879, when he was so strongly recommended for the appointment of United States district judge, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Judge Bland Ballard. Many were the complimentary letters written in his behalf, and the following, from General W. T. Sherman, shows his standing in military circles as well as in legal. It is a just tribute to his sterling worth of character. The letter reads: "I do feel qualified to speak of General Lindsey as a gentleman and patriot. In 1861, when the safety of this nation hung in the balance and the state of Kentucky seemed the pivot, certain young men, of whom Lindsey was one and prominent, openly joined the Union army, turned the scale and carried the state of Kentucky into the right path, which led us to victory and national safety. I was there, and shall ever bear testimony to the fact. This government can never do too much for such men as Lindsey, Crittenden, Buckner, Board, Jackson and Rosseau, who at that critical time manfully resisted the influence of Breckenridge, whose personal popularity was almost supreme." Although the General did not receive the appointment, this letter and the commendation of the entire Frankfort bar indicate the prominent position he occupies in the legal fraternity, a position which adds new luster to the honored name that he bears.