: Bundy, Allen, Elliott, Forkner, Mellett, Gray, Hovey Compendium of Biography Of Henry County, Indiana B. F. Bowen 1920 JUDGE EUGENE H. BUNDY In no profession is there a career more open to talent than in that of the law, and in no field of endeavor is there demanded a more careful preparation, a more thorough appreciation of the absolute ethics of life or of the underlying principles which form the basis of all human rights and privileges. Unflagging application and intuitive wisdom and a determination to fully utilize the means at hand, are the concomitants which insure personal success and prestige in this great profession, which stands as the stern conservator of justice; and it is one into which none should enter without a recognition of the obstacles to be encountered and overcome, and the battle to be won, for success does not perch on the falchion of every person who enters the competitive fray, but comes only as the diametrical result of capability. Possessing all the requisite qualities of the lawyer and jurist. Mr. Bundy stands today among the distinguished members of the bar of Henry County, Indiana. Judge Eugene H. Bundy is a native of the Hoosier state, having been born at New Castle on the 10th of October 1846. His father, Col. M.L. Bundy, was one of the early pioneers of the eastern part of Indiana and is today one of the oldest living members of the Indiana bar. In his youth Eugene H. Bundy attended the common schools, proving an apt pupil and making marked progress in his studies. In 1861, at a time when the country was in the throes of a civil conflict, he was appointed to the position of a page in the lower house of the state legislature. This was the “war legislature,” of which Hon. Cyrus M. Allen, of Vincennes, was the speaker. His position threw the subject into contact with many eminent persons and there were not many men of prominence in the state at that time with whom he was not personally acquainted, he there forming acquaintance-ships which have in the passing years ripened into warm personal friendships. During the following year Mr. Bundy filled a clerk-ship under his father, who at that time was, a paymaster in the army. In this position he served for about two years, being located the greater part of the time at Detroit and, Indianapolis. After his return from his, military services the subject entered Miami University, at Oxford, Ohio, the late Prof. David Swing being at that time the principal of the institution. He completed the work of the preparatory and freshman years, but took the work of the sophomore year at Union College, Schenectady, New York, where ‘he remained one year. Then returning to Oxford he completed his course at the university in June 1869, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Three-years later, in consequence of a continuation of his literary studies, that institution conferred upon him the degree of master of arts. Mr. Bundy had been strongly inclined to the legal profession as a life work, a fact not to be wondered at when it is remembered that his father was a lawyer and his mother’s brother, Judge Jehu T. Elliott, was one of the most profound and best known jurists of the state. In obedience to this inclination he entered his father’s office and after a course of reading and study was admitted to the bar in 1870. Soon afterwards he entered into a partnership with Mark E. Forkner, an association which continued for six years. In 1876 this partnership was dissolved and Mr. Bundy became associated with Judge Mellett, then just retiring from the bench. In 1880, the subject was nominated by his party for the position of state senator and at the ensuing election was elected by a majority of over five thousand votes. He represented the district composed of Henry, Delaware and Randolph counties and served during the sessions of 1881 and 1883. His record in the senate was an enviable one and so commended him to the members of the Republican Party that in 1884, he was nominated by that party for the position of Lieutenant Governor. He made a vigorous canvass, but in the landslide of that year went down to defeat with the balance of the ticket. Two years later, upon the resignation of Lieutenant-Governor Manson, Mr. Bundy was repeatedly solicited to accept the nomination for the office, but declined the honor. In 1887 he was named by Governor Gray as one of the commissioners to superintend the construction of the hospitals for the insane at Evansville, Richmond and Logansport and acted in this capacity until the completion of those institutions, when he resigned. In February 1889, he was appointed by Gov. Alvin P. Hovey to the judgeship of the fifty-third judicial circuit, newly created by legislative enactment, and at the ensuing election, in 1890, he was elected to this position by the people for a term of six years. In 1889, upon his elevation to the bench, the partnership which had existed between Judge Mellett and himself was dissolved.On the 6th of July 1870, occurred the marriage of Eugene H. Bundy and Miss Bettie M. Mellett, the only daughter of Judge J. H. Mellett, a most happy and congenial union. Judge Bundy’s life career thus far has been a most commendable one. In the legislature he was industrious and conscientious in the discharge of his duties, a strong partisan, yet always tolerant of the views of others. Because of his admirable equipment, love of the law, devotion to his profession, thoroughness in the grasp of cases before him and his inflexible integrity, he is eminently qualified for the position of judge and during his long service on the bench has administered the law with impartiality, ability and justness.