WELSH, JOSEPH S.: ?-
One of the most interesting among Indiana literary figures is Dr. Joseph S. Welsh , a physician by profession and a teacher by vocation.
Except for the fact that he chose west central Indiana as a place of residence, probably during his early middle life, little biographical information is available. That little was set down by Hiram W. Beckwith, lawyer and amateur historian who lived within a few miles of Dr. Welsh's sphere of activity. Beckwith, writing in 1881, says:
"Few persons in private life, dying, have been mourned by a wider circle of warm and admiring friends than was Dr. Joseph S. Welsh. He died on Coal Creek [Fountain County, Ind.] about the year 1846, having lived there presumably sixteen or eighteen years. It is much to be lamented that more is not known of his early life, his education and training … The industry with which he attended to the medical profession did not prevent his giving attention to general literature, and he wrote many poems and prose sketches of merit … he published a small volume of poems, entitled Harp of the West, which indicates the goings of his mind. Some of them are devotional; some breathe a spirit of high patriotism. The imagery is not always well chosen, and the versification is sometimes faulty, but many of them have high merit in various ways. They are rich in knowledge of Indian, as well as general history. He excelled rather as a prose writer … Reading his descriptions of natural scenery, the movement of armies and military engagements, one cannot help thinking what a war correspondent he would have been had he lived during the war of the rebellion …
"His conversational powers were even more remarkable … As a teacher he had few equals. Youth looked up to him with wonder and admiration while he discoursed to them in a strain too high for their full comprehension, but which held in their hearts and memories, their awakened curiosity, and enlarged understanding, sooner or later made clear. Of himself he wrote: 'My highest ambition is to plant in the bosoms of the rising generation, the youth of our favored land, the great, the good, and ennobling principles of morality, virtue, and patriotism.'
"His life, then, was a magnificent success. Truth regulated all his actions and guided his words."
From Beckwith–History of Fountain County, 1881.
- Harp of the West. Cincinnati,
1839.
