but died before it was completed. In addition to her literary ability, Mrs. Whitcher was a clever caricaturist, and illustrated the " Table Talk " when it first appeared in the "Gazette." After her death her writings were collected in two vol- umes: "The Widow Bedott Papers, with an In- troduction by Alice B. Neal " (New York, 1855), and " Widow Spriggins, Mary Elmer, and Other Sketches, by Mrs. P. M. Whitcher ; Edited, with Memoir, by 'Mrs. M. L. Ward Whitcher" (1867).
WHITCOMB, James, senator, b. near Windsor,
Vt, 1 Dec, 1795; d. in New York city, 4 Oct.,
1852. His father removed to Ohio and settled near
Cincinnati when James was quite young. The boy
prepared himself to enter Transylvania university,
where he maintained himself by teaching during
his vacations. On leaving college he entered a law-
office, and in 1822 was admitted to the bar of Fay-
ette county, Ky., where he practised for two years.
He then removed to Bloomington, Ind., where he
soon made a reputation in his profession, and in
1826 was appointed prosecuting attorney of his
circuit. In discharging the duties of this office he
travelled over a large extent of country, and be-
came acquainted with many men of note. In 1830
and 1833 he was elected to the state senate, where
he did much to stay the progress of the " internal
improvement " fever that was then at its highest
point. In October, 1836, he was appointed a com-
missioner of the general land-office. He was re-
appointed by President Van Buren, and continued
to serve until the end of the latter's term. Early
in 1841 he returned to Indiana and opened a law-
office in Terre Haute. Business came quickly, and
he soon acquired a lucrative practice. He was
nominated for governor in 1843 by the Democrats,
and elected by 2,013 majority. In 1846 he was re-
elected bv nearly 4,000 majority. When he entered
office Indiana was loaded down with a debt upon
which no interest had been paid for years ; when
he left office the debt had been adjusted, and the
public credit was restored. He also, by his efforts,
created a public sentiment that demanded the
establishment of benevolent and reformatory insti-
tutions, and he awakened the people to the impor-
tance of establishing common schools and provid-
ing a fund for their maintenance. During his term
of office he raised five regiments of infantry that
represented the state in the Mexican war. The
legislature of 1849 elected him to the U. S. senate
for the full term, beginning in March of that year,
but he was unable, owing to feeble health, to dis-
charge his senatorial duties as he wished, and died
of a painful disease when he had served little more
than half his term. In 1843 he wrote a pamphlet
entitled " Facts for the People," which is considered
by many one of the most effective arguments
against a protective tariff that has ever been
written. As a lawyer Gov. Whitcomb ranked high.
It was his custom in presenting a case to the jury
first to give his opponent's side of the question,
that he might the easier demolish it afterward.
Thomas A. Hendricks said : " Gov. Whitcomb . . .
declared what he believed to be the truth, and
trusted to its influence upon men's minds to bring
them into common action. He led legislators be-
cause it was safest for them to follow. His manner
was grave and serious, his voice was full and mu-
sical, and his delivery almost without gesture."
WHITCOMB, John, soldier, b. in Lancaster,
Worcester co., Mass., about 1720; d. in 1812. He
was colonel of Massachusetts troops in the
campaign against Crown Point in 1755, in which he
served with credit. At the beginning of the
Revolution he was not called into service on account of
his advanced age, but the soldiers of his regiment
were so greatly attached to him that they resolved
not to enlist under any other officer, and the
veteran, failing to move them from their purpose
by appeals to their patriotism, proposed, as an
inducement to them to remain in the army, to join
them in the ranks. Col. Brewer, however, who had
been appointed Whitcomb's successor, relinquished
the command, and the latter continued with the
regiment at Boston until he was chosen brigadier-general
on the Continental establishment, 5 June,
1776, having previously been promoted to the same
rank by the Provincial congress. On the 13th of
the same month he was made major-general in the
Massachusetts service, but he was soon after
permitted to retire from the army.
WHITE, Albert Smith, senator, b. in Bloom-
ing Grove, Orange co., N. Y., 24 Oct., 1803 ; d. in
Stockwell, Tippecanoe co., Ind., 4 Sept., 1864. He
was graduated at Union in 1822, in the class
with William H. Seward. After studying law he
was admitted to the bar in 1825, and soon after-
ward removed to Indiana. In March, 1829, he
opened an office in Lafayette, where, and in the
neighboring town of Stockwell, he resided until
his death. During the session of 1828-'9 he re-
ported the proceedings of the Indiana legislature
for an Indianapolis journal, the first work of the
kind that .had been done in the state. In 1830-'l
he was assistant clerk of the Indiana house of rep-
resentatives, and from 1832 till 1835 he served as
its clerk. In 1832 he was a candidate for congress
in opposition to Edward A. Hannegan, but was de-
feated. Four years later he was elected, serving
from 4 Sept., 1837, till 3 March, 1839. The year
before he had been an elector on the Whig ticket.
In 1839 Mr. White was elected to the U. S. senate
as the successor of Gen. John Tipton. There were
three candidates, and he was not chosen until the
36th ballot. In the senate he opposed the. annexa-
tion of Texas, as well as every other measure that
tended to extend the area of slavery. He was also
active in securing grants of land to aid in the ex-
tension of the Wabash and Erie canal. On the
expiration of his senatorial term in 1845 he re-
sumed the practice of law, but soon abandoned it
to become actively engaged in the construction of
railroads. He was president of the Indianapolis
and Lafayette road from its organization until
1856, and for three years was also at the head of
the Wabash and Western railway. In 1860 Mr.
White was elected to congress as a Republican, and
served from 4 July, 1861, till 3 March, 1863. He
was made chairman of a select committee whose
duty it was to consider the question of compen-
sated emancipation, and reported a bill appropri-
ating $180,000,000 to pay loyal owners for their
slaves, and $20,000,000 to aid in the colonization
of the freedmen. This measure was recommended
and supported by Mr. Lincoln with all the influ-
ence of his office. In presenting the bill, Mr. White
accompanied it with an elaborate report on slavery
as a social and political problem. Ho contended
that the white and black races should be separated,
and the latter colonized in the equatorial regions
of America. He also assured the south that if his
proposition were not accepted, their slaves would
ultimately be taken from them without compensa-
tion. Mr. White, at the close of his term, failed
to secure a renomination, mainly on account of his
action on this question. He was named by the
president one of three commissioners to adjust
the claims of citizens of Minnesota and Dakota
against the government for Indian depredations.
On the death of Caleb B. Smith, 7 Jan., 1864, Presi-
