Person:Thomas Helm (4)

Thomas Helm wrote his own biographical sketch ³.

Publications Include

• History of Cass County, Indiana. Chicago, 1878.
• History of Hamilton County, Indiana. Chicago, 1880.
• History of Madison County, Indiana. Chicago, 1880.
• History of Allen County, Indiana. Chicago, 1880.
• History of Delaware County, Indiana. Chicago, 1881.
• History of Carroll County, Indiana. 1882.
• History of Wabash County, Indiana. Chicago, 1884.
• History of Cass County, Indiana. Chicago, 1886. - an extended and corrected version of his first 1878 History of Cass County, Indiana.

Additional Resources

• Diaries of Thomas B Helm at IN.gov.

1. ↑ ^1.0 1.1 Thomas B Helm, in Powell, Jehu Z. History of Cass County, Indiana: from its earliest settlement to the present time; with biographical sketches and reference to biographies previously compiled. (Evansville, Indiana: Unigraphic, 1972)
   Vol 1, p 236-237.

   Thomas B. Helm, born in Fayette county, Indiana, 1822, came to Logansport in 1832, and died, 1889. He was a student and a scholar, and interested in educational work ; a surveyor and civil engineer, a teacher and the first superintendent of the city schools. He was a contributor to the local press, writing chiefly on scientific, educational and historic subjects. He wrote most of the text for Kingman's Cass County Atlas, published in 1878, but his greatest work was the "History of Cass County," published in 1886, consisting of 976 pages. ...

2. ↑ Thomas B Helm, in Manford's Magazine, Volume 33
   p 184.

   IN MEMORIAM. Passed to the higher life, from his home in the city of Logansport, Indiana, February 10, 1889, Judge Thomas B. Helm, aged sixty-seven years. Judge Helm was a member of the Universalist Church, and a devoted believer in our precious faith. He was a man of culture, was quiet and unassuming in his manner, possessing a gentle disposition devoid of all offense to any creature. His scholarly attainments made him a valued member of society, and his characteristics as a friend made him of worth to a community. Being one of the founders of Logansport, he has lived with and for the town, and no one in the city or county was better known the T.B. Helm. His patriarchal figure will be missed. He was buried by the Masonic fraternity, of which he was a member ; and a funeral sermon was preached by the Editor of this MAGAZINE to a very large congregation in the Universalist Church. He leaves a devoted wife and one son to mourn his absence.

3. ↑ Thomas B Helm, in Helm, Thomas B. History of Cass County, Indiana: from the earliest time to the present ... : together with an extended history of the Northwest, the Indiana Territory, and the state of Indiana. (Chicago: Kingman Brothers, 1878)
   p 515.

   THOMAS B. HELM, Logansport. Change is constant and general ; generations arise and pass, unmarked, away ; and it is a duty to posterity, as well as a present gratification, to place upon the printed page a true record of the parent's life. In the year 1781 William Helm emigrated from Virginia, and settled near Blue Lick, Kentucky. He was a native of Virginia, the line of ancestry extending over a period of years to Germany, through England and Ireland, and thence to Virginia. His wife, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Drummond, was a lineal descendant of the ancient Scottish house of that name. Their son, Samuel D. Helm, was the father of the gentleman for whom this biography is prepared. He married Patience Wherrett, who was born near Hagerstown, Md. Her family genealogy reverts to the south of France, where the family was known by the name of Verette, since modified to its present orthography. Thomas B. Helm, with whom we are more directly interested in this sketch, was born on the 1st of February, 1822, in Fayette County, Ind. His parents moved to that county from Kentucky March 1, 1810, and were the first permanent white settlers of that county. They were farmers in good circumstances, and determined to place their son within reach of a good education and the advantages secured thereby. He was sent to school at a very early age, and, from the first days of his school life, manifested great aptness in his studies and an eagerness to acquire knowledge ; and as soon as his young mind was prepared to grapple with the difficulties of mathematics and the sciences he began the study of those branches, evincing especial interest in the science of language, in which he was rarely excelled by any one, and never by his school-mates. He possessed a very susceptible memory, of unusual strength and range, and mastered whatever he undertook with comparatively little effort. After completing a primary course in the common schools he entered upon an academic course, completing, first, a thorough course in mathematics, after which he turned his attention to the study of languages, ancient and modern, in which he acquired remarkable proficiency. We may safely term him a fine linguist and conversant with several languages. He became an excellent scholar in the Latin and Greek languages, and in the latter has always been recognized as good authority on disputed points. On the 13th of September, 1836, he came to Cass County, and for a period of more than fifty years has been one of her honored and respected citizens. In 1844 he began to impart to younger minds some of the knowledge acquired by himself through years of patient study, and from that time until the year 1873 he was more or less intimately connected with public educational interests. In the winter and spring of 1846-47 he assisted in the survey of the public lands constituting the great Miami Reserve. For a number of years he was engaged in the departments of surveying and civil engineering, and there can be no better evidence of his excellence in this department than the reputation awarded him by the public. His eminent fitness for the position resulted in his election to the office of city civil engineer in the year 1856, and for a period of fourteen years he held this position at intervals, at the same time filling other offices equally responsible. Within this period he acted as school examiner for Cass County, and filled that position creditably from 1856 to 1868, with the exception of one year. On the 20th of September, 1849 he married Miss Mary E. House, who bore him two children: Harry C. and Samuel L. The latter died in infancy. On the 5th of September, 1854, death severed all earthly ties between himself and his faithful wife. He was a second time married on the 2d of January, 1859 - Mrs. Catherine P. Davis becoming his bride. He became deputy clerk of the circuit and common pleas court in 1853, and has been constantly engaged in the clerk's office since that time. He served as probate commissioner from 1871 to 1882. He is a deep student, and is well informed on all current topics. With the history of this county he has been especially interested, and for a number of years has been engaged in collecting data, which are embodied in the various departments of this work. He possesses one of the most valuable libraries in the city of Logansport, containing more than 3,000 volumes, of a classical, scientific and general nature. He was made a Mason in the year 1852; is a member of Tipton Lodge, No. 33, F. & A.M. ; became a member of Logan R.A. Chapter, No. 2, in 1853, and has been a member of Logansport Council, No. 11, R. & S.M., since the year 1863. He is an active working member of the order, and feels a lively interest in its welfare. He is one who never sought public distinction ; is naturally modest and retiring, and the official positions in which he has acted at various times have been tendered him by his fellow citizens, in recognition of his many virtues and rare ability, and his official record is one of which he may justly be proud. Scrupulously honest and upright in all his dealings, he enjoys the friendship and good-will of all with whom he has ever been associated.

4. ↑ ^4.0 4.1 Thomas B Helm, in Find A Grave.

   [Includes headstone photo. Inscription: THOMAS B. HELM. BORN FEB. 1, 1824. DIED FEB. 10, 1889.]
   [Note: Birth year does not match his self-reported year of 1822 in his book History of Cass County, Indiana. Not sure which is correct.]