So you live in Terre Haute but have never heard of James Solomon Barcus?

If you were around between 1899 and 1905, you surely would have known about him. In October 1900, the Terre Haute Express wrote:

"It is probable that no citizen has ever been more talked about (or) received such recognition and consideration in all circles, in so short a time as J.S. Barcus "

A native of Sullivan County, Barcus was born March 18, 1863. Solomon, his father, was a blacksmith; his mother Martha was a granddaughter of Nathan Hinkle, the erstwhile Revolutionary War veteran.

As a youth, the Barcus family struggled to make ends meet. Barcus dropped out of school frequently to work on his parents' farm. He finally earned a teaching certificate and taught school near Hymera for three years.

To better himself, he became a traveling book agent, peddling his wares by horse and buggy to farmers, preachers, doctors and lawyers. With scarcely enough money to pay railroad fare, he enrolled at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Meanwhile, in 1884 he married Bettie Belle Tichenor, a native of Pierson Township in Vigo County. Bettie's older brother William attended the University of Michigan, graduating from its law school in 1893.

Barcus worked his way through college selling books. Sometimes he had to pawn his watch, a cherished heirloom, to advance freight expenses. By the time he graduated from Michigan in 1891, publisher R.S. Peale & Co. hired him. Soon he was a full partner.

Two years later he co-founded Clarke, Barcus & Co. in New York and secured the exclusive rights to print and distribute "The Century Dictionary and Encyclopedia." He also formed J.S. Barcus Co., a publishing firm, and was president of Globe Publishing Co.

Widely known by 1895, Barcus wrote "The Science of Selling," a practical guide for canvassers. The proceeds allowed him to enroll at Columbia University School of Law.

Solomon J. Barcus was a fervent Republican. Raised in a hotbed of conservatism, James "spent his childhood fighting Democrats." During the 1896 presidential campaign, he wrote "The Boomerang," a satirical analysis of one of Democratic presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan's speeches. The book was published by J.S. Barcus Co.

The volume earned high marks among Republicans. By the time he earned a law degree in 1899, Barcus was 36 years old, affluent, a member of the Republican Party's committee on national affairs and an officer of several New York social clubs.

Though admitted to the New York bar, Barcus made an unconventional decision. In July 1899, James and Bettie Barcus bought one of Terre Haute's finest residences.

The William D. Griswold mansion, at Fifth and Crawford streets, was built in 1855. It had been sold to the Sisters of Providence in April 1872 when the Griswolds moved to St. Louis. For three years, it was St. Joseph's High School for Girls. Stables on the property, which occupied an entire block, were converted into an elementary school.

The Sisters sold the home to local hardware dealer William E. Shryer in 1876 and, in 1889, the Shryers conveyed it to Elisha Havens, senior partner of Havens and Geddes department store. After the deadly Dec. 19, 1898, fire destroyed their store, Havens and Robert Geddes did not rebuild, relocating to Indianapolis.

Long before James and Bettie Barcus returned to Terre Haute, the city was abuzz about renovations being made at the palatial old Griswold homestead. No expense was being spared to make it the most luxurious residence-law office in western Indiana.

Conveniently, William Tichenor had been elected Vigo County prosecutor in 1896.

Barcus promptly became immersed in politics. When Republican Congressman George Washington Faris chose not to seek re-election in 1900, Barcus placed his hat in the ring to succeed him. Information about his Horatio Alger career was well-circulated.

Though he lost the nomination to Elias S. Holliday of Brazil by three votes, Barcus was Terre Haute's "self-made man." His campaign underscored his youthful dreams to spend his adult years in Terre Haute, the "most sophisticated city of its size in America."

Barcus maintained his New York publishing houses and acquired "Success," Orison Swett Marden's popular magazine. Its circulation skyrocketed. In addition, he established the Bureau of National Literature and Gravure Publishing Co. of Chicago.

In 1902, to support his political ambitions, he bought the Terre Haute Tribune.

Though elected to the Indiana Senate that year, Barcus spent much time in New York, Chicago and Indianapolis, leaving his brother-in-law to tend to Barcus & Tichenor.

"The Messages and Papers of Congress," a multi-volume set published by J.S. Barcus Co., made "enormous profit," triggering a congressional inquiry. As his bank account got larger, his marriage began to crumble. James and Bettie eventually divorced.

Re-elected to the state senate, Barcus again tried to secure nomination to Congress. To aid that effort, he bought the Terre Haute Gazette from William and Spencer F. Ball in 1904 and merged it with the Tribune, naming it the "Tribune-Gazette."

When Holliday received the nomination again, Barcus abruptly resigned as state senator in September 1905 and returned to New York. He sold 430 S. Fifth St. to Frank and Mary McKeen but retained his interest in the Tribune. Before his departure, he devised Publisher's Clearing House to allow institutions to buy book sets on the installment plan.

His success persisted. Names associated with Barcus' publishing triumphs include "The Classic Library of Famous Literature" and "The Consolidated Library."

On April 13, 1914, "The Governor's Boss," an original play written by Barcus, opened at Charles Frohman's Gerrick Theater at 35th and Broadway in New York starring Charles Laite, Frank Anderson, George Fawcett, John E. Kellard and Richard Gordon.

The next year, The Governor's Boss Photoplay Co. released a screen version of the play featuring Sidney D'Albrook, Dorothy Kingdon, Edward P. Sullivan and Terre Haute native Edward Roseman. The silent movie was directed by Charles E. Davenport.

Before his death in Newark, N.J., at age 57 on May 3, 1920, Barcus wrote the novel, "The Repentance of Croesus," and published "The Governor's Boss" in novel form.