Civil War: Benjamin F. Havens

Wabash Valley profiles : a series of tributes to hometown people and events that have shaped our history

Description:	One typed page including photograph; biography of Benjamin Franklin Havens, mayor of Terre Haute and distinguished community leader. Other individuals mentioned include Mary Havens, Nellie Havens, David C. Greiner, Jason Allen, William Jennings Bryan, John R. Baker, Harry Havens, Jessie Havens, George S. Cox, Robert S. Cox. WABASH VALLEY P R O F I L E SA series of tributes to hometown heroes who have made a difference.Benjamin F. Havensenjamin Franklin Havens overcame a significant disability suffered in the Civil War to become mayor of the City of Terre Haute and a distinguished community leader. Born in Arlington, Ind., in western Rush County, on July 22, 1839, Havens first attended Asbury College (now DePauw University) in Greencastle for one year. After teaching for a couple of years he enrolled at Indiana University to study law. With the commencement of the war, he assumed the responsibility of raising a major part of Company F of the 89th Indiana Infantry and was commissioned first lieutenant. Only days after being mustered, the 89th Regiment was dispatched to Louisville. During the siege of Munfordville, Ky., Sept. 14-17, 1862, while his company was supporting the Fifth Ohio Battery, Havens sustained concussions that deafened him to the extent that he could not hear a human voice. Compelled to resign from active duty, he was breveted major and returned to Rushville, where he enlisted in the Military Order of the Loyal Legion. In 1867 he brought his wife Mary and daughter Nellie to Terre Haute, where he practiced law and engaged in the real estate and insurance business. The family acquired a home at the northwest corner of Fifth and Poplar streets. From 1869 to 1871, Major Havens served as city attorney. In 1874 he was elected as a Democrat to a two-year term in the Indiana House, defeating David C. Greiner. In 1878 he was elected mayor, serving from 1879 to 1881. When the first federal government office building was awarded to the city in 1885, Havens was superintendent of construction for three years while maintaining an insurance office at Fifth and Wabash and uniting with Jason Allen in a drug and notions store at 500 North 13th St. From September 1891 through 1894, he was Executive Commissioner of the State of Indiana at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago but his devotion to that prestigious post took him away from his Terre Haute business interests. Though a life-long Democrat, Havens abandoned the party during the 1896 election, asserting he could not support the free silver platform espoused by William Jennings Bryan. On May 27, 1898, after the commencement of the Spanish-American War, Havens received a presidential appointment as Assistant Paymaster and served in Cuba. He tried to resurrect his Terre Haute insurance business after the war but his health failed during the effort. Meanwhile, on May 4, 1886, daughter Nellie married John R. Baker and moved to Chicago. Son Harry, born in 1868, also moved to Cook County, Ill. On Feb. 21, 1898, Havens youngest daughter Jessie, born in 1878, married George S. Cox, a son of Robert S. Cox, pioneer wholesale grocer and president of the Terre Haute Car Works. Soon after the Cox newlyweds relocated in Thomasville, Ga., where George bought a lumber business, Benjamin and Mary Havens joined them. In the summer of 1912 Major Havens was selected a delegate from Georgia to the Progressive National Convention, but illness prevented him from being seated. On Sept. 1, 1912, son Harry drowned in the Calumet River, causing immense family distress. Major Havens died at age 74 in Thomasville on Jan. 28, 1914, and is interred at Laurel Hill Cemetery there.BAlways Close to Home812-238-6000Sign up now for FREE* online banking atwww.first-online.comEQUAL HOUSING LENDER MEMBER FDIC*One-time sign-up fee is $5.95File name: Benjamin F. Havens profileDate Published: Sept 8, 2005
Origin:	2005-09-07
Created By:	McCormick, Mike
Publisher:	Terre Haute Tribune-Star
Source:	http://indianamemory.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/vchs/id/541
Collection:	Vigo County Historical Society
Rights:	http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/
Copyright:	Copyright Undetermined
Subjects:	United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 Havens, Benjamin Franklin, 1839-1914 Mayors Politicians Lawyers Legislators Wars & Conflicts People Politics

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