Publicity Committee
Rev. W. C. Walton Ph. D.
historian
Dean E. P. Baker
Judge C. E. Chamberlin
Business Manager
Paul R. Hortin
Editor
Joseph Guandolo
^vs;;
m
c.a
BISHOP McKENDREE was a pioneer circuit
rider in the middle west. Thousands
of the pioneer generation came under his
personal influence. The college which hears
his name, the landmark of a century, the
Pharos of the Mississippi valley, has stood
on the same spot for a century and shed
forth her kindly beams on other thousands
who have come within her influence.
<! This book IS but a partial record of a
century's achievement. It tells the deeds
' it men and women who have served their
tellowmen in college halls; in St. Clair, the
first organized county in Illinois; in the
n.ition; and in the world. McKendree's
ciinpus IS sacred ground to thousands who
here received an inspiration to nobler liv-
ing. To these it will be a reminder of col-
lege days. To others it will be a suggestion
"t the possibilities that life holds for aspir-
ing American youth.
m
IN MENTIONING THE FOI
TO THANK THEM FOR tI
ING THIS HISTORICAL 1
}, WE WISH
LP IN MAK-
•^POSSIBLE.
Mississippi Valley School Supply Company
H. A. S. Coffee Company
Meyer Brothers Drug Company
KrenninG'Westermann China Company
Martin J. Collins
Ely a Walker Dry Goods Company
Skinner &> Kennedy Stationery Company
Roth'Homeyer Coffee Company
First National Bank of East St. Louis
The Southern Illinois National Bank of East St. Louis
East St. Louis Daily Journal Company
Union Trust Company of East St. Louis
Gerold Storage, Packing &> Moving Company
Interstate Stone &■ Marble Works, Inc.
Hill-Thomas Lime &? Cement Company
B. Goedde 6? Company
m 'l.'lfAMK ■|■Hf•^/I FOR THEIR HEL^ hi la:
[O 'I'f-ff/j IfETi'OiaCJAL VOUJrAE ?OSSi£.i.ji. j
St. Louis Post'Dispatch
Central Engraving Company
Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company
Amos James Grocer Company
Blackwell Wielandy Company
The City Dairies Company
Langenberg Hat Company
Vestal Chemical Company
N. O. Nelson Manufacturing Company
William Ford Company
Vane'Calvert Paint Company
Edward A. Langan Furniture Company
Goodwill Industries of St. Louis
Munger Linen Supply, Inc.
A. W. Katz Poultry 6? Egg Company
REV. C. C. HALL, D. D.
President of Board of Trustees
CAMERON HARMON, A. B., D. D., LL. D.
President of McKendree College
CLARK HALL
THE CENTENNIAL GATEWAY
Eissnmayer Gy;
SCIENCE HALL
BENSON-WOOD LIBRARY
pij'<''c
iuwmw.wu......w...;v;, ^7:,:,^
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THE CHAPEL
Our McKendree
A College 'mid plains is standing, standing there from olden days.
The Pioneer of prairies, first in untrodden ways.
For service and Christian culture, for efficiency she stands.
Her sons and daughters praise her, with voices, hearts and hands.
Hail to thee our dear old McKendree,
May we always loyal he,
Ifs a song of praise we'll raise to thee.
Alma Mater, dear old M.-C,
May we ever own thee true and wise and right.
Honor Purple and the White,
And for victory we'll alivays fight,
'Till we win for old M-C-K.
Enduring and strong she stands there, stands upon our College Hill,
Though others may outnumber, she holds the first place still.
For beauty and truth and }{nowledge, and for service ivithout hound.
Then let us raise our voices, until the plains resound.
BOOK I
THE
McKendrean
The year book of
McKendree College
Stephen A. Kolesa
Editor
tffMC KEN DREE ^^^^^^::^;g^^E:;^>^^
Rev. C. C. Hall, D. D.
Leonard Carjon .
C. B. Peach .
Rev. W. C. Walton, Ph. D
Rev. Cameron Harmon .
Bishop F. D. Leete
Dr. C. B. Spencer
Dr. E. C. Waremg
Rev. F. M. Van Treese, D. D.
BOARD OF TRUSTEES-1927-1928
President
Secretary
■ Tnasurer
Fiscal Agent
President of the College and Ex-officio Member of the Board
HONORARY TRUSTEES
EMERITUS TRUSTEE
Indianapolis, Ind.
Kansas City, Mo.
Cincinnati, Ohio
East St. Louis, IlL
TERM EXPIRES 1928
Mr. W. R. Dorns O'Fallon, lU.
Rev. O. L. Markman East St. Louis, lU.
Mr. John M. Mitchell Mt. Carmel, 111.
Rev. Frank Otto EdwardsviUe, 111.
Rev. J. G. Tucker, D. D EdwardsviUe, 111.
Mr. H. F. Hecker St. Louis, Mo.
Mr. H. H. Bailey Altamont, 111.
Rev. F. O. Wilson, D. D. Olney, 111.
Rev. Chas. D. Shumard, D. D Albion, 111.
Mr. Ira Blackstock Springfield, 111.
Mr. C. M. Roos Cairo, 111.
Judge Chas. H. Miller Benton, 111.
TERM EXPIRES 1929
Dr. W. P. McVey
Mr. W. C. Pfeffer .
Mr. Harold Barnes
Dr. J. L. McCormick, M. D.
Rev. Ressho Robertson, D. D
Mr. Leonard Carson .
Mr. J. G. Wilkin .
Mr. C. B. Peach
Mr. W. A. Kelsoe
Prof. H. G. Schmidt .
Rev. J. W. Cummins
Rev. W. H. Whitlock, D. D.
. Carbondale, 111.
Lebanon, 111.
Harrisburg, 111.
Bone Gap, 111.
LawrenceviUe, 111.
Granite City, 111.
Robinson, 111.
Lebanon, 111.
St. Louis, Mo.
Belleville, 111.
. Marion, 111.
East St. Louis, 111.
TERM EXPIRES 1930
Rev. G. R. Goodman, D. D Mt. Vernon, 111.
Rev. C. B. Whiteside Centralia, 111.
Rev. C. L. Peterson, D. D Mt. Vernon, 111.
Mr. E. B. Brooks Newton, 111.
Rev. Robert Morris Murphysboro, 111.
Rev. C. C. Hall, D. D. . . Mt. Vernon, 111.
Hon. Chas. Deneen, A. M., LL. D Chicago, 111.
Rev. M. H. Loar Carbondale, 111.
Mr. C. P. HamiU Belleville, 111.
Judge Louis Bernreuter Nashville, 111.
Eight.
MC KENDREE
John Clay Dolley, Registrar
Latin and Cree}{
A. B., Randolph-Macon College, 1888; M. A., Uni-
versity of Wisconsin, 1918.
Graduate study:
University of Wisconsin, 1917-18; University of
Michigan, summer 192a; Washington University,
1922-23; American Academy in Rome, 1924;
Travel in Greece, summer 1924.
Edwin Percy Baker, Dean
German
A. B., Ohio Wesleyan University, 1893.
A. M., McKendree College, 1896.
Graduate study:
Sauveur School of Languages, summer 1896.
University of Berlin, 1896-97.
Edwin Rollin Spencer
Biology
A. B., University of Illinois, 1911; A. M., University
of Illinois, 1914; Ph. D., University of Illinois,
1920.
LuELLA Mueller
B. S., McKendree College, 1922; M. S., University of
Illinois, 1925.
Graduate Study:
Chicago University, fall 1925.
Ada Carroll
Voice
B. M., American Conservatory; Student of David
Bispham, New York; Student of Oscar Sanger,
New York.
Standleigh Myron McClure
Chemistry
B. S., Drury College, 1914; M. S., Drury College, 1915.
Graduate study:
Northwestern University, 1915-16; University of
Illinois, summer 1920; Harvard University, sum-
mer 1922; University of Chicago, summer 1923.
William Clarence Walton
Philosophy and Education
A. B., McKendree College. 1892; A. M., McKendree
College, 1894; Ph. D., McKendree College, 1897.
Graduate study:
University of Chicago, summer 1909; University
of Illinois, summers 1917-18; European Travel,
summer 1925.
Charles Jacob Stowell
Mathematics
B. S., Illinois Wesleyan University, 1911; A. M., Uni-
versity of Illinois, 1912- Ph. D., University of
Illinois, 1917.
Graduate study.
University of Illinois, 1923-24.
A^mini5trcltil1lt
A^mini5tvation
C. John Bittner
Social Science
A. B., University of Valparaiso, 1916; A. M., Iowa
State University, 1924.
Graduate Work:
Iowa State University, 1924-25; summer 1925;
University of Chicago, summers 1926-27.
Grant McDonald
Piano, Organ, Theory of Music
Graduate in Piano, Organ, and Theory, Drury College,
1920; Mus. B., American Conservatory, summer
192';; Student of Heniot Levy and of Josef
Lhevinne.
John William Andrew Kinison
Bible and Religious Education
A. B., McKendree College, 1915; B.D.,Garrett Bibical
Institute, 1918; A. M., Washington University,
1922.
Graduate study:
Washington University, 1921-22.
Lennie Bertha LaRue
Fre?ic)i and Spanish
A. B., Missouri Valley College, 1923.
Graduate study :
Missouri Valley, summer 1923; University of
Missouri, summer 1925; University of Missouri,
i92';-26.
Evelyn McNeely
English
B. S., University of lUinois, 1927.
Glenn F. Filley
B. S., Missouri Wesleyan, 1923.
Graduate study :
University of Illinois, summer 1924; University
of Illinois, summer 1Q26.
Joseph M. H.^rrell
English
A. B., McKendree College, 1921; S. T. B., Boston
University School of Theology, 1924; A. M.,
Boston University, 1925.
Graduate study:
Harvard University, 1924-25; Northwestern Uni-
versity, summer, 1920.
Alleen Wilson
Librarian
A. B., Missouri Wesleyan College, 1919.
Graduate study:
Colorado University, summer 1920; Summer Li-
brary Conference, Madison, Wisconsin, 1923;
University of Illinois Library School, summers
1924-25.
MC KENDREE
Alimiiustratiiin
Claude E. Vick
Education
B. S., University of Illinois, igi';.
Graduate study:
University of Illinois, summers 1925-26.
Wesley Charles Kettlekamp
History
A. B., Central Wesleyan College, 1921; A. M., Uni-
versity of Chicago, 1922.
Graduate study:
University of Chicago, 1922.
Olive E. Patmore
Expression arid English
Graduate School of Expression, Trevecca College,
1920; A. B., Trevecca College, 1922.
Graduate study:
Boston School of Expression, summer 1923; Gym-
nasium Course, Morse School of Expression.
J. Wendell Dunn
Physics
B. S., McKendree College, 1925.
Graduate study:
University of Illinois, summers 1925-26.
Oliver C. Wahl
Vio/in
Graduate in Violin and Theory, Beethoven Conserva-
tory, 1926; Student of Ernest La Prade, summer
1926; A. B., McKendree College, 1928.
Pauline Harper
Voice
Graduate in Piano and Theory, Missouri Wesleyan,
1909; Graduate in Public School Music Methods,
Northwestern U.; Graduate in Voice, Missouri
Wesleyan, 1920; Student Denver University,
summer 1921; Student of John C. Wilcox; Voice
pupil of John W. Bohn, 1926; Northwestern U.
School of Music, summer, 1926.
Mrs. Minnie Phillips
House Mother
Irvin R. Nelson
Historv
, McKendree College, 1928.
^■^■^^^^^^.^^.g-^g^^^^^c KEN PRE E^^^^^:^:^^..^.-.^..-^
I
^'cniors
Clarence R. Brennan, A. B.
East St. Lotus, lUtnois
To he able to head a senior class, it is necessary to possess the
best methods of diplomacy, a keen insight into human nature and
an irresistible personality. Such is "Chick,"" our class president.
His radiant smile, cheerful disposition and friendUness are typ-
ical evidence of his true '"Shamrock"" ancestry. "Chick"' is one of
the most popular men on the campus and ever dependable in his
tasks. A pretty little co-ed seems to be his only weakness
or is it his ""comfort and strength?"
PRESIDENT CENTENNIAL CLASS; PRESIDENT PHILOSOPHIANS; PRESI-
DENT Y. M. C. A.; PRESIDENT STUDENT ASSOCIATION; VICE-PRESI-
DENT O.XFORD CLUB; DEBATE TEAM, '26. '37; PI KAPPA
DELTA; BACHELORS.
Daniel Earl Hussong, A. B.
Raxatia, lUinms
A pleasing personality enhanced by a rich basso voice, a friendly-
smile and a congenial attitude have made "Huss" one of the pop'
ular men on the campus.
Though much of his time seemed to be occupied in the company
of his lady fair, he found plenty of opportunities to take a remark-
able part in student activities. He would be an asset to any or-
ganization in which he might be interested, and with his native
ability in song and public speech, "Huss"" will surely make his mark.
QUARTET. "24. "25, "=6. '17; SONG LEADER; GLEE CLUB. '24. 'iv '^6.
"17. -28; DEBATE. 1918; "GYPSY ROVER; " "MARTHA: " "BOHEMIAN
GIRL." "MESSIAH;" "AS YOU LIKE IT; " "TAMING OF THE SHREW;-
PLATO; NATURE CLUB; ALPHA PSI OMEGA; PI KAPPA DELTA;
"LASS O' LIMERICK TOWN.'
Ruth Henry, A. B.
Oblong, Illinois
Great things often come disguised in small packages, and so it
is with Ruth. Her quiet, brown eyes and her merry smile are indeed
an index to her serious and humorous nature. Just ask Chick.
Anything attempted is that thing accomplished, when Ruth is
the one to do it. A true McKendrean and a real friend is this
demure member of the Centennial class.
VICE-PRESIDENT STUDENT ASSOCIATION, CLIO PRESIDENT.
Margaret Teague, B. M.
West Frankfort, Illinois
Some people are fortunate in being endowed with both beauty
and talent. Margaret is a good example of such a combination.
With these assets and a magnetic personality, she swept into the
arena of her life. Earl Hussong.
By her musical ability and achievements, she has attained the
goal which has for its reward the degree. Bachelor of Music.
CLIO PRESIDENT; GLEE CLUB; "MESSIAH;" "THE LASS O' LIMERICK
TOWN;" ""THE BOHEMIAN GIRL;" ALPHA PSI OMEGA; STUDENT
ASSOCIATION PIANIST.
Ti(fiit)'-Tu'o
Seniors
Clifton Gould, B. S.
Lebanon, Illinois
The captain of our fast basketball squad has shown his i
fulness on the athletic field as well as in the parlor. Active as a
deer on the gridiron and basketball court, Hurley is as smooth
as a dear when Peggy he courts.
Versatile as an athlete, he is no less so as a speaker. His smooth,
flowing tongue works equally well, whether for an impromptu, to
a prospective Fuller Brush customer, or in making love.
PLATO; MATH CLUB; FOOTBALL, -14. 'ij. 'i6, 'ij; BASKETBALL. ^6.
"27, CAPTAIN. '28; TRACK, 'i^. '26, '27. CAPT.'MN, '28; ALPHA MU-
OMEGA; McKENDREAN STAFF, '27; 'M" CLUB; PURPLE "M,'- -26,
Joseph Guandolo, A. B.
Conway, Pennsylvania
That rare combination of athletic ability and keen intellect is
one of the fine attributes of this lovable chap — Joe — in whose
veins flows the blood of ancestors from Sunnyland.
An indefatigable worker, with an unceasing interest in all stu-
dent activities and a smiling way, make Joe a natural leader in
whatever he undertakes. His talent in argumentation and writing
assure him a bright future.
FOOTBALL. 24, '25, ■26. -27, CAPTAIN, '26; BASEBALL, '26. '27. '28; AN-
NUAL STAFF, '26. '27. EDITOR-IN-CHIEF. "27; EDITOR, McKENDREE
CENTENNIAL HISTORY; DEBATE. -26, -27, '28, CAPTAIN. '27. '28; VICE-
PRESIDENT STUDENT ASSOCIATION; PRESIDENT OF CARNEGIE
HALL; PI KAPPA DELTA; PRESIDENT PLATONIAN LITERARY SO-
CIETY.
Margaret Robinson, A. B.
Lebanon, Illinois
What girl's heart does not thrill when she sees a handsome
athlete go forward to bring honors to his Alma Mater and to
himself. Peg is no exception, for she was always "there" when a
certain dark-haired Senior was in the fray.
Peg will always be remembered when we chance to think of
Shakespeare, for she interpreted Rosalind's part in "As You Like
It" in a very realistic manner.
Vivian Young, A. B.
Mdrissa, Illinois
For versatility, "Viv" is without peer. Her convincing person-
ality won for her a position on the Debate Team of "26, and also
the attentions of a dark-haired McKendrean known as Joe.
She is an able impersonator and her readings are always appre-
ciated. Her magnetic personality and her ready smile have won
for her many friends.
■Tit'eiit;y-Three
cntcrrs
LoRiN Mitchell, B. S.
Olney, Illinois
For excellence in scholastic ability, consistency in applying him-
self to his studies, as well as his prominence in student activities
in which he participated, "Mitch" takes his hat off to none. More-
over, in school spirit, he's unequalled.
"Mitch," with his easy smile, wavy hair as black as night, and
that quality termed the "human touch." is one well-liked by both
boys and girls. Success to this boy will not come as luck but as
a deserved reward.
"LIGHTIN;" McKENDREAN STAFF, -iS; MATH
Dale Benner, B. S.
East St. Louts, Illinois
When looking for Dale around the campus, one is likely to be
baffled in his efforts to find him, for he's here one moment and
gone the next, making himself the most exclusive upper-classman
on the hill. The blame, however, lies not on his hut Fate's shoulders.
Dale has to be exclusive in order to hold a position with the
Aluminum Ore Plant in East St. Louis and at the same time attend
his classes. He's Edison II when it comes to sleep — may he not
be also in achievement^
SHURTLEFF COLLEGE, 'ii. '23, '2,.
GoLDA Taylor, A. B.
Lebanon, Illinois
In everyone's make-up there is both strength and weakness.
Golda's most pronounced specimen of the latter is man, which she
seriously tries to analyze. The object of her study is none other
than Lorin Mitchell.
By her Alpha Psi Omega pin, we know that Golda may well
apply the following poem to herself:
"Breathes there a woman with soul so dead.
Who never to herself hath said,
'I know that I can act'."
ALPHA PSI
ASS0C:iAT10
lEC/
SECRETARY-TREASURER STUDENT
Ray Bass, A. B.
Eldorado, Illinois
When Ray came to McKendree from Carbondale University,
he cast his lot with the adventures of the matrimonial voyage. As
a consequence, a McKendree co-ed has not only been his "assistant
pastor" ever since, but also the fountain whence his wisdom pours
forth.
Aspiring to a bishopry, the presidency of a large educational
institution, or at least to the pastorate of a large edifice of worship,
Ray is guided by the highest ambition and loftiest ideals in thought
and deeds.
OXFORD CLUB.
Twenty-Foi
•enters
James Stuart, B. S.
Granite Citv, llhnois
Here he comes, there he goes, and Jimmie is everywhere. Speedy
and active always, this veritable bundle of nerves and activity is
constantly in the limelight on the college campus.
No introduction is required to know this jolly, good fellow,
for with his peppy actions and cheery, radiant smile, the stranger
is made to feel he has already met Jimmie. Could any other politi-
cian or diplomat possess a more mysterious ability than this^
ASSOCIATE IN ATHLETICS; REVIEW STAFF; BACHELORS.
Paul Hortin, A.
Albion, Illinois
To he diligent in his duties, consistent in his class work, con-
genial with whom he comes in contact, true to his friends, and ar-
dent in lo\'e, seem to be the motto of the busiest man on the campus.
Persistent in his method and suave in his speech, Paul makes
success out of all his undertakings. He is a leader of no mean caliber
and a man of his type can always make the best of his opportunities.
MANAGER CENTENNIAL HISTORY; PRESIDENT PLATO; PRESI-
DENT ALPHA PSI OMEGA; PRESIDENT GLEE CLUB; McKENDREAN
STAFF, -17; VICE-PRESIDENT Y. M. C. A.; SONG LEADER; MANAG-
ING EDITOR. REVIEW; EGYPTIAN QUARTETTE; McKENDREE
QUARTETTE; ORCHESTRA. '14. 15; ■•MARTHA;" "BOHEMIAN
GIRL;" "EXPRESSING WILLIE;" MESSIAH CLUB.
Earl Miller, B. S.
Granite City, Illinois
Earl is one of the very few among the Centennial graduates who
is a natural scientist, devoted to the laws of science and ever search-
ing for its marvelous secrets. To him steel is not a cold, lifeless
matter, but a living potentiality with a pyramid of possibilities
further to benefit mankind.
Not a believer in getting his education from one institution. Earl
has tasted of the scholastic food at Washington and Chicago Uni-
versities. He leaves McKendree an out-and-out McKendrean.
PHILO; WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY; CHICAGO UNIVERSITY.
Edna Kinsey, A. B.
Allamont, Illmois
A scribe, an artist, a musician, and a tennis player is this versa-
tile Senior. Whether the occasion demands light or serious con-
versation, "Red" admirably adapts herself to the condition.
Her ability as an artist won for her the post of art editor of
the McKendrean for two years. You were always congenial,
"Red" — we'll miss you.
ORCHESTRA, 'is. '^6: CLIO; Y. W. C. A. TREASURER, -27. -28; PI KAPPA
DELTA; VICE-PRESIDENT STUDENT ASSOCIATION; McKENDREAN
ART EDITOR. 'iS. '27; EDITOR-IN-CHIEF McKENDREE REVIEW, 'iS;
DEBATE CAPTAIN, '2^.
Tu'ent;y-I'ue
Seniors
Dale Wilson,
y^ewton, UUnc
A. B.
Those who really know Dale find in him a truly attractive
personality. Clean cut in his appearance, he is no less so in his
character. He has revealed his versatility by his contribution to
scholastic, forensic, dramatic and musical activities of his Alma
Mater.
In a petite, golden-haired damsel, after many years of experi-
mentation. Dale has announced to the world at large that he has
finally found "Her" and all that he expected.
PI KAPPA DELTA; DEBATE TEAM, '27. '28; PRESIDENT PLATO; VICE-
PRESIDENT SYMPHONIC CLUB; PRESS CLUB; ORCHESTRA; BAND;
Y. M. C. A.; "AS YOU LIKE IT."
Clifton Oxendine, A. B.
Pates, Tiprth Carolina
A true son of America, Oxie wisely has taken full advantage
of its heritage, especially that in the educational realm. Not only
did he obtain his college degree by hard work, wise selection,
careful study and persistence, in addition Oxie intends to exalt
himself in the noble profession of teaching.
In the lighter side of his life, he has shown himself to be "right
there. "Oxie prefers jokes of the "apple-pie" type, however, he never
fails to see the point in the flattest of jokes.
CLASS PRESIDENT, '16; McKEN-
Charles Jack, A. B.
Opdyke. lUmois
A scramble, a quick grab, a twist, and a long arm reaches up
and this dependable basketeer scores another of his thrilling shots.
Charley, the backbone of our basketball team, is one of the most
popular athletes in McKendree.
"Fair play" is the motto of Charley, who can also boast of
having an engaging personality, a bushel of wit and a friendly
disposition. To know him is to know a friend good and true.
FOOTBALL, 'ifi. 'j?; BASKETBALL. '16. 'ly. 'is, CAPTAIN. '27; BASEBALL,
•ij. -16. 17. CAPTAIN. 28; ALPHA MU OMEGA; PLATO PRESIDENT;
•■M" CLUB; PURPLE "M." 27. '28.
Vernal R. W. Hardy, B. S.
ElUs Grove. Illmois
Swift and dextrous on the tennis court, this tall and handsome
young man applied his quick, efficient methods of the tennis court
to every task and duty which fell to his lot.
In striking contrast, a gentle and kind disposition makes his
personality an unusually likable one and has won him many
friends. To one young fair co-ed, at least, "Willy" is "just the
darlingest thing." Being a man of vitality, his future is very
promising.
REVIEW, MANAGING EDITOR. "26. '27. EDITOR. '27: McKENDREE
BULLETIN. EDITOR. -26, '27; PRESIDENT PLATO; TENNIS, -24. '27;
MATHEMATICS CLUB; ASSISTANT IN CHEMISTRY; SIGMA 2ETA.
cniors
Elza Cralley.
Mount Olive, llh
B. S.
Ordinarily very quiet, Elza can talk interestingly for a lengthy
period when the subject happens to he biology. What he sees
through the microscope would cover a mountain.
Being a scientist by natural inclination, Elza has that pecu-
liarly sympathetic understanding of the minute life. His pictur-
esque descriptions of the many dilly-dallying little creatures
beneath the magnifying glass makes biology seem a romancette.
His interest in "little things," it is said, extends to include a
"little" Belleville girl.
Delbert Lacquement, a. B.
Colhnsrille, Illinois
A quick glance, a flashy smile, a friendly greeting — that is
"Lacky," the "Fighting Parson" of our football team, and a real
friend.
His unselfish nature was revealed in his athletic career when he
sacrificed personal glory for the good of the team. Playing the game
well and fair, "Lacky" did much to keep up a fine morale among his
team-mates with his peppy and cheerful spirit. Adversity will not
deter this congenial chap from achieving his goal.
PRESIDENT OXFORD
Glenn ''Jack" Haskin, B. S.
Oblong, Illinois
A resounding slap on the back and a hearty, booming laugh,
and you know that Jack is indulging in another of his quiet, re-
served jokes. He has McKendree pretty well in hand, from the
faculty to co-eds.
His conscience severely chides him, however, for the multitudes
of pleasant dreams he has shattered in the boys" dormitory during
his windy career with the bugle. Jack is the proud possessor of
those rare qualities which can arouse enthusiasm even at a funeral.
FOOTBALL, 'ly; TRACK. •^6. 'ly. "^8; PRESIDENT PHILO; PRESIDENT
BACHELORS; CHEER LEADER, '24-'a8; SECRETARY-TREASURER "M"
CLUB; BAND. -14, '15; CIRCULATION MANAGER REVIEW; INSTRUC-
TOR IN ACADEMY.
William Kratzer, A. B.
Jamestown, Missouri
"Bill," one of our most popular and prominent students, is
called the "Jim Reed of McKendree." He is for Missouri first,
last, and always, because, as he aptly says; "A state is to be
exalted that can produce such men as Jim and I."
A man of aggressiveness, persistency and business ability, quite
evident in everything he does, assure Bill a future bright and
rosv. The services which he rendered for the glory of "Old Mc-
Kendree" and fellow-students cannot be too much appreciated.
PRESIDENT PHILO; BACHELORS; BUSINESS MANAGER McKEN-
DREAN igay; GLEE CLUB. '25. 'zO. 'ly. '^S; BUSINESS MANAGER MC-
KENDREE REVIEW; SECRETARY'-TREASURER GLEE CLUB, 'ly, -28.
TwentySe
MC KENDREE'^^^^^^s:?^;^-^.^^.^^
§'cntors
Irwin R. Nelson, A. B.
Williamsnlle, Missouri
With a heart as big as he is tall and robust, Irwin is the type of
man who inspires confidence and affection in everyone he meets.
One would have to be as strong and efficient as Irwin to handle
several classes besides participating in extra-curricular and schol-
astic activities.
With sterling character, consistent working methods and with
a radiantly, pleasant disposition, this big, old boy can accomplish
much in the teaching profession, which he chose as his life's work.
Leonard Metcalf, A. B.
Case>^ill«, Illinois
Leonard is one of the few fortunate men who go to college to
obtain an education, but in the process form an entangling alliance
with the opposite sex and get a wife, too. He settled down early
in his college career.
As a result, Leonard is one of the most earnest, conscientious
and hard-working students in everything he does. With his native
ability coupled with that of his life-mate, success to him seems to
be just around the corner.
PHILO: OXFORD CLUB.
Marion Kirkbride, A. B.
Cdiro, Illinois
Troubles befall all, and this blue-eyed Egyptian from Cairo has
not been exempted. All through her senior year Marion has been
under a terrific mental strain.
The two vital questions of her life, to which the answers have
not as vet been found, are "To let her hair grow or not to let it
grow," and "To diet or not to diet." As for the former, we will
say forget it, for gentlemen prefer blondes, regardless of whether
or not they have bobbed hair, but for the latter, nobody loves
a fat .
■LASS O- Lt.MERlCK TOWN;'
Helen Metcalf, A. B.
Collmst'illf, Illinois
We remember Helen as a prominent member of the McKendree
Concert Company. This noted company entertained Southern
Illinois in the summer of '17.
Now Helen has a husband to entertain and she is proving her-
self to be a capable minister's wife. Her sweet disposition, accom-
panied by perseverance and pluck, cause McKendree to be proud
to claim her as a daughter.
1ARTHA;" MCKENDREE CONCERT COM'
Tu^-ntv-E.ght
IMC KENDREE"^^^^^::^^:^^,,.;.^.:..^
•cniors
Kenneth Rippel, A. B.
Moherly, Missour,
Who could keep from laughing, when this witty and peppy
Missourian was around? He could sing, too, for he was a member
of the McKendree Quartette. Possessing a happy-go-luckv dispo-
sition, his clever conversation made him a genuine humorist. This
ability classified him as an able and interesting entertainer.
On the stage he could take anv role and perform successfully,
as can be noted by the many appearances he made. All McKen-
dreans will remember how gallantly he played in "As You Like It."
PRESIDENT GLEE CLUB; PRESIDENT PLATO; SONG LEADER; McKEN-
DREE QUARTETTE; -GYPSY ROVER;" "MARTHA;" "LASS O' LIM-
ERICK TOWN," "TAMING OF THE SHRE"';" "AN ECONOMICAL
BOOMERANG;" "AS YOU LIKE IT;" SECRETARYTREASURER STU-
DENT ASSOCIATION.
Eugene Smith, A. B.
East St. Lou.s, llhncns
If he were the direct descendant of the highest nobility. Gene
could not conduct himself in a more gentlemanly way, nor walk
with a more portly and graceful stride.
Tall and straight as a reed, he is as stately as any prince. But
hidden within him there is a cordial and warm personality with
plenty of response for affection. As a scholar, he ranks well; as
a debater, he is hard to refute.
Verdie Correll, B. S.
Lebanon, Illinois
Verdie"s large, dark, and mysterious eyes attract one's attention
immediately. She must be a juggler and a magician, because of the
apparent ease with which she accomplishes strange tricks with
figures.
As an impersonator, she soars beyond the ordinary, for did she
not interpret the part of Adam in "As You Like It," with unusual
success? We sometimes wonder, Verdie, just what you are think-
ing, when your eyes get that far away look, because we know
you aren't thinking of mathematical figures then.
Viola Ragland, A. B.
Greenville. Illinois
Viola was with us for one, brief semester, yet she made many
friends during this time. She came to us from Greenville College,
where she was in school for three and one-half years.
Viola is musically inclined, as is evidenced by her ability to
play the piano. Indeed she was an excellent student for, her name
never failed to appear on the honor roll. She is a real friend to
those with whom she is associated.
GREENVILLE COLLEGE, "as- '16. '27-
(it>-.Nine
Seniors
Emmery H. Martin, B. S.
Sumner, [llmois
tellar McKendrean athlete, invincible
ports. IS characterized by a generous
still waters run deep," and when it
which he believes, then his
True to his type, this
on the field of collegiate
amount of reserve. But,
comes to a matter of principles
strong character is truly revealed.
However, his reserve did not keep his thoughts from lightly
turning to love. It would not at all be surprising if he soon lent
his ears to the Heavenly strains from Lohengrin.
PHILO; BACHELORS; TRACK. '16. '2-. '28, FOOTBALL, '28; BASEB.^LL.
•17; CLASS PRESIDENT, '27; MATHEMATICS CLUB; "M" CLUB; BUS-
INESS MANAGER REVIEW; PURPLE "M,' '27, iS; B.'HSKETBALL.^t, 28.
Philip Glotfelty, A. B.
Granite City, Illniois
When a man goes out for football practice every day for four
consecutive seasons without earning a letter, he certainly must be
a man overflowing with the spirit of self-sacrifice, abounding with
persistence, and especially fond of hard knocks. That introduces
Rocky.
Diminutive in size, Rocky played an inconspicuous, but heroic,
role in athletics. But the honors he lost in football he gained as
the custodian of our most beloved pet bear. Rocky wisely chose
a field of service — the ministry.
PLATO; Y. M. C. A.; CHEER LEADER, ■2;. ■26. -27.
Helen Douglas, A. B.
Oblong, /llmois
"Doug" is McKendree's most famous man-hater. All but John
Hall have given up hopes of ever obtaining her coveted smile. He
still pursues her steadily, furiously, yea — even vigorously, but
Helen will have none of him.
Leap Year dates cause her to lose no sleep, for she knows John's
persistence will urge him to ask for just one date. Alas, alack!
Doug, we wish you joy!
McKENDREE REVIEW STAFF. -26. '27; W
SECRETARY-TREASURER JUNIOR CLASS.
cKENDREAN STAFF.
Lela Sites, A. B.
Salem, Illinois
Lela is small and peppy, and one of her chief delights is a mid-
night feast. Last year she distinguished herself as a member of
the "Eternal Triangle," and has proved to be the "survival of
the fittest."
She IS not thinking in terms proportionate to her advancement
in the field of mathematics, as this year she is thinking in fewer
numbers. Having linguistic possibilities, she is especially interested
in the romance languages.
CLIO PRESIDENT; MATH CLUB SECRETARY.
•Seniors
LossiE Morris, A. B.
OTdlloii, Jllmois
With a mischievous twinkle in his eyes, a pleasant disposition
and a friendly manner, Lossie seems to have found the secret to
creep into the hearts of his classmates.
Unassuming usually, blatant never, this young minister has a
future before him in the field to which his Master has called him.
Though Lossie has been with us only one year, he leaves McKen-
dree a true son of his Alma Mater.
PARK COLLEGE, 'ii. '^y
Robert Peach, A. B.
Lebanon. Illmo.s
With a pleasing baritone voice, a luxuriant crop of light hair,
keen intellect and excellent acting abilities, Robert is an asset unto
himself. This explains in part his success in musical operettas.
From early childhood, Robert long aspired to attend McKen-
dree College, on the campus of which he has romped many a day.
His dream has more than come true, for he is one of the Cen-
tennial class. He believes in education for business.
GLEE CLUB, •lyii: PRESIDENT PHILO, "EXPRESSING WILLIE;' "AS
YOU LIKE IT;" "BOHEMIAN GIRL: ' "MARTHA;" "LASS O' LIMERICK
TOWN;" "MESSIAH."
Fay Ragland, A. B.
Greennllc, llUnois
It is rather diiEcult to tell about Fay without telling about May
at the same time. The twins spent two and one-half years in Green-
ville College and one-half year in DePauw University.
Wanting to graduate from the right place, they came to Mc-
Kendree to conclude their college careers. At first they seemed to
be quiet and reserved, but on better acquaintance they are known
to be right jolly. Continued — in May's write-up.
GREENVILLE COLLEGE, '25. '26; DePAUW UNIVERSITY, '27.
May Ragland, A. B
Greenville, Illinois
If any distinction can be made, this half of the twins is the
more mischievous. Both are excellent scholars and are interested
in other activities too.
By exhibiting skill in basketball they won their college G's in
this sport. May was also yell leader for her class. These girls are
good examples of true sisterly love.
GREENVILLE COLLEGE, 'is. '26; DePAUW UNIVERSITY, '27.
antiiu's
Sam Kotelly, A. B.
Chautauqua, \ew Tor\
A congenial personality, a ready wit, and the ability to speak
well in several languages, peculiarly fit this ambitious young man
for his chosen profession — law. His inclination to work hard and
his ability to keep at it promise Sam the success which he deserves.
Clean in thought and conduct, this Albanian boy unconsciously
plays to advantage the best attribute for making friends. Naturally
a future judge would blush when a girl tries to kiss him.
PLATO; GLEE CLUB.
Alfred Crossley, B. S.
OTaUon, lUmo^s
Beneath a rather quiet and pleasing personality, the explorer
in human nature will find a heart of gold and sterling qualities of
a faithful friend in this young lad. His character, clean intellect and
sincere attitude towards others make him a good pal for any one.
Though not spectacular, Al will achieve a high place in the
chemical or business world, with his perseverance and stick-to-it-
iveness. A pretty little girl at Belleville holds his heart in her
little hand, and this explains why Al has rather neglected our fair
McKendree maidens.
WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY. ■24-
Oliver Wahl, A. B.
EdwardsviUe, llhnon
Quiet and reserved, Oliver has the ability to make his violin,
which he loves, do the talking for him. At his hands, this instru-
ment, otherwise inanimate and lifeless, laughs with glee, cries with
sadness, sighs with longing.
To his active interest is due the credit for the organization of
the McKendree band and orchestra. It is hoped by those who
know of his activities, that he will remain at his post to tontinue
his good work.
Anthony Sigillito, A. B.
St. Loms, Misscurt
Coming to McKendree in his senior year, "Sig" at once took
an active interest in several student organizations and became a
true McKendrean. His congenial and sociable nature has made for
him numerous friends from Italy, his birthplace, to McKendree.
His record in college, his genuine earnestness in performing his
work, and his confidence in himself assure success in his chosen
profession. Girls? Well — he prefers blondes and brunettes.
ThrtyTwo
§'cniors
Paul Gould, A. B.
FreebuTg. Ubnois
His serene pair of eyes can speak more eloquently for him than
the golden tongue for the orator. This explains why Paul, a man
of few words, has such a beguiling way with the opposite sex.
Being a firm beHever in the dictum, "Early to bed, early to rise,"
the wonder is how he can work this paradoxical role of the gallant
lover and still arise with the dawn. The "how" must be the secret
of his success.
PLATO; BAND; ORCHESTRA; Y. M. C. A.
Ronald Mowe, B. S.
Lcbdnon, llbmns
Talented in music and very capable in athletics, "Pete" has
made himself one of the most popular boys among his classmates.
Perhaps his drawback in pushing himself before the spotlight is
a certain degree of modesty which works to his advantage in
making admiring friends.
While to his sweetheart he is just a "baby," Pete is a real man
when it comes to swinging a tennis racket or throwing the javelin.
Popularity, he says, comes to him who does not seek it.
TENNIS, 'i6, "17, '18; TRACK, "ly; BAND, '25; "M" CLUB; ALPHA MU
OMEGA; ASSISTANT IN CHEMISTRY.
Frank C. Brown, A. B.
Lebanon, Illinois
Entering McKendree way back in 1910, when the women wore
long dresses and long hair, Frank attended school here whenever
his profession left him free to do so, to become a proud member
of the Centennial class.
This elderly senior, with a more serious aspect upon life than
most of his classmates, is keen in perceiving the humorous side
of life. His laughter comes out in delightful ripples. A hard worker
always, Frank is inspired by the Muses when it comes to writing
original poems and songs.
A.; MANDOLIN QUAR-
Walter p. Whitlock, A. B.
East St. Loms, Illinois
Walter is a living example of what a preacher's son ought
be. Quiet in manners, courteous to all and always willing to i
his share for any good cause, he is much sought after.
This lovable charac
any
group, IS
ade
more desirable by a soft, rich baritone voice. But really to know
him, one must he enlightened by Laura. With his own abilities
and those of his "running mate," Walter will shine brightly in
the community in which he locates.
PRESIDENT PLATO; Y. M. C. A.; GLEE CLUB; BAND, 'is. 'i6. 'n. 'iS;
ORCHESTRA. -24. '26; MATHEMATICS CLUB; INSTRUCTOR IN
ACADEMY.
.s:^^^^^^S^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ss>
])uninrs
Stephen Kolesa
Far-famed and great as a football star,
A speedy runner in baseball and track.
Of this year's McKendrean, he's Editor-in-Chief,
So you see in nothing is he ever slack.
PRESIDENT FRESHMAN CLASS; VICE-PRESIDENT "M"
CLUB; PLATO; FOOTBALL, '^s. '^6. '^7; BASEBALL. -26. 'ir.
■i8; TRACK. 'i6. '27, '28; PURPLE "M." '26. '27. '28; BACH-
ELORS; EDITOR INTERSCHOLASTIC PROGRAM. '28;
ASSISTANT EDITOR McKENDREAN. '27; EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
McKENDREAN, '28.
Lucille Hadfield
With laugh and song, with mirth and play.
She joyfully passes each happy day.
Never selfish or dull at heart
On McKendree's campus she plays her part.
GLEE CLUB; "MESSIAH;" CLIO; QUARTETTE; REVIEV^'
STAFF, '28; "BOHEMIAN GIRL;" MATH CLLIB; McKEN-
DRE.^N STAFF. '28.
Julia Wilson
To accomplish all — she will never fail,
For hers are the qualities that always win.
She does not stop when things go WTOng,
But picks up the threads and starts all over again.
PRESIDENT V. \V. C. A.; CLIO; McKENDREAN STAFF.
Thomas Perkins
President of the Junior Class is he,
A leader necessarily he has to be.
Known all around this beautiful land.
For he's McKendree's publicity' man.
PRESIDENT JUNIOR CLASS; REVIEW STAFF; PLATO.
BACHELORS; TRACK, '27, '28; "M" CLUB; ORCHESTRA-
BAND; BUSINESS MANAGER McKENDREAN, '28.
Edward Apple
Here and there and everywhere
You see this jolly boy.
First he's here and then he's there.
Ready and willing all things to enjoy.
Margaret Shaffer
From the tips of her toes to her beautiful eyes.
She is maidenly, dainty and precise.
Her gentle spirit and modest air.
Prove her as diUgent as she is fair.
GLEE CLUB; "BOHEMIAN GIRL;" "MESSIAH," CLIO.
Constance G
LENN
Belle and Connie are very close friends.
If you see them together, you'll think they're twins,
Connie's eyes are blue, and brown is her hair.
You'll always find that she'll treat you square.
PIA KAPPA DELTA; GLEE CLUB; "MESSIAH;" DEBATE.
•28; EXTEMPORANEOUS SPEAKING. '2-; "BOHEMIAN
GIRL;" "LASS O' LIMERICK TOWN;" CLIO; McKENDREAN
STAFF. '28.
Harold Culver
He was the Junior's basketball star.
Who played with a vim to win.
When the game was close, or the score was a tie
The ball was usually passed to him.
PRESIDENT "M" CLUB. BACHELORS.
T/n>t>-Four
MC KENDREE
Junior
John Dolley
Always smiling, his lessons ready,
He is ever present, ever steady,
For versatility he is also noted,
Altho to his work, he is seriously devoted.
PHILO; BACHELORS.
Mary H
UGHES
If this fair maiden you should chance to meet.
You would observe her as being demure and sedate.
She is diligent, quiet, retiring and dependable.
Her work is always very commendable.
PRESIDENT GLEE CLUB; "BOHEMIAN GIRL;" "LASS O'
LIMERICK TOWN." Y. \V. C, A. CABINET; BAZAAR
PRESIDENT.
Mae Goddard
What's the use of grumbling and being down-hearted.
What's the use of sighing and being blue.
What's the use of weeping if you weep alone?
Just laugh so the world may laugh with you.
CLIO; "AS YOU LIKE IT;" NATURE CLUB.
Charles Nichols
His whole lite through he's looking for fun.
One joke isn't finished, till another's begun.
He hkes to sing and tease and play and jest.
But oft-time seriousness reigns above the rest.
PRESIDENT PHILO; BASEBALL, '17. 'iS; ORATORY, 'iS; PI
KAPPA DELTA; DEBATE '28; GLEE CLUB; QUARTETTE;
"LASS O'LIMERICK TOWN;"
Lee Baker
When we look at Lee we find.
One with a keen and fertile mind.
Content to follow his own life's call
When duty summons he will never fall. '
PHILO; MATH CLUB; McKENDREAN STAFF, -27
Alma Buess
Quiet, reserved and dignified is she.
Her image is so fair to behold.
Her cheerful smile and her stately grace
Will stay with her, tho she be a hundred old.
Edith Plato
When into your life the rain does fall.
Don't be discouraged, just forget it all.
For life's worth while and it's not a bore.
If we sing a little and jest a little more.
CLIO; GLEE CLUB; "BOHEMIAN GIRL."
Harold Slaten
Harold is the preacher among our number
And never does his mental faculty slumber,
Ever alert and busy through the day.
Is he content to pursue his own life's way.
OXFORD CLUB; Y. M. C. A.; PHILO.
MC KENDREE^^^^^^^s^^.,,.^^^^
John Oster
He's a Bachelor but he has no pin
For httle Geneva, his heart did win.
In hasehall. on second base may he be found.
To tag the opponent, when he comes around.
Geneva Grieve
Thre: years of contact prove her as pure
As she is quiet, wise and demure.
She wastes no time on foohsh things
Because for her the bell of business rings.
CLIO; NATURE CLUB; REVIEW STAFF. -28.
Robert Young
Books! Oh books, how I admire you.
What to me could be more fun
Than to peruse your pages when I am blue
And absorb your thoughts one by one.
PLATO.
Ray Goode
Across the miles to East from West,
Rode Goode, our Javelin King,
He had in mind, to do his best.
That laurels to McKendree, he might bring.
Thomas Claire
This minister's name is Thomas Claire
Who came to McKendree in twenty-eight,
His favorite expression everyone knows, is,
"Let's see, now, if I have this straight."
Dorothy Ikemire
Ready and wilhng to do her share
She lives her life each gladsome day.
Her eye is clear, her face is fair.
She is a friend who will always stay.
Belle Pfennighausen
Petit and dark is this fair Belle.
She does her work and she does it well.
With a cheery hello, she greets each one.
She studies but she also has her fun.
DEBATE. '17. '18; GLEE CLUB; Y. W. C. A CABINET;
"BOHEMIAN GIRL;" "MESSIAH;" CLIO; FIA KAPPA
DELTA; "LASS O' LIMERICK TOWN;" M^KENDREAN
STAFF. -iS.
LoY Wattles
In declamation for Plato very witty
Is this tall youth from fair Clay City,
He has poise and voice and tact
And he can wield the discus, when it's time for track.
BACHELORS; PLATO; "M ' CLUB; TRACK. '26. '27. '18.
MC KENDREE"
inmns
Erle Todd
Captain of the Bear Cats of twenty-eight,
Was this tall youth from fair Penn State.
He led the boys through thick and thin.
Always fighting and determined to win.
PLATO; PRESIDENT CLASS, '25; PRESIDENT ALPHA MU
OMEGA: FOOTBALL. -14. '25. '^6. CAPTAIN, '17; BASKET-
BALL. '27; EXTEMPORANEOUS SPEAKING, '27; PI
KAPPA DELTA.
Vera Smith
Good natured. obliging, kind and true.
She does all that is assigned to do.
She likes to play and she likes to work.
Let duty call for she will never shirk.
CLIO; MATH CLUB,
Edward Woo
From across the Pacific, he comes to us.
To study and to learn our ways.
He is silent, but his mind is keen
We hope he'll remember us always.
Marvin Grupe
On Plato's floor he took his stand.
To make a speech I'll vow.
Some day a favorite artist, he will be.
For he can even paint a picture now.
PLATO,
Val Baggott
Val hails trom the Sunny South
Where the sun is always shining.
A little flagrant, boastful and imperious.
But under all there is a strain that is serious.
football, -2-; tr.ack, '26, 2-.
Audrey Bower
Joyful, kind and obliging too,
Audrey is a sincere friend to you,
If she knows you once, she knows you forever,
Because friendships to her, are not to sever.
GLEE CLUB; CLIO; "BOHEMIAN GIRL;" DEBATE,
Joe Williams
Although his name was "Polky Joe,"
In a football game, he was never slow.
He tackled his man, and he tackled him hard.
Never letting him run, not even a yard.
alpha mu omega; football, -2,, 'i-.
Helene Ferrell
Everyone watches for Helene 's smile
Because it always greets you,
She would go out of her way a mile,
If a favor she might do for you.
CLIO; Y. W. C. A. CABINET.
Erwin Hake
A proverbial school teacher.
Alvenia Hecklinger
Never a word said she.
Laura Wilhite
Without Walter she is lost
Edmund Maxwell
He has to be sighted Missouri.
Edward Shadowen
Marjorie Glotfelty
a friend to all.
CLIO; CLASS VICE PRESIDENT, '27; Y. \V. C. A. CABINET.
Jeanette Sprinkel
This brown-eyed lassie is our nightingale.
glee club.
Gilbert Ragsdale
Whitey — yes he was.
Elmo McCl
Did I see him blush?
PHILO; NATURE CLUB.
Circe Magill
Quiet and ever retiring.
■MESSIAH."
MC KENDREE
S»'o]pltomin*C5
Harry Pate
"Now, I ask you. Ladies and Gentlemen.""
PLATO; PI KAPP.'V DELTA, DEBATE. '2-, 'zs, ORATOR,
Grace Renner
Lavina Zook
Prexy"s right hand man.
Bovyard Clayton
Tall and stalwart is he.
ElTEL ScHROEDER
Oh, go shave.
Irene Smith
Our Schumann-Heink.
CLIO. GLEE CLUB, "BOHEMIAN GIRL;" QUARTETTE,
Elizabeth M^
a smile for everyone.
Albert Hagler
A most pious man, indeed.
PHILO, OXFORD GLUB; Y. M. C. A.
Harold Yerkes
A princely looking fellow
PHILO.
Pauline Brooks
Same way with me.
CLIO; NATURE CLUB.
^iip ho mures
John Montgomery
Always interested in East St. Louis.
WiLMA Schmidt
She breezes from Breese.
LORENE FULLERTON
Slow, but ever dependable.
CLIO; DEBATE. 'iS.
Charles Hall
A gay old soul.
PHILO; GLEE CLUB; MATH CLUB.
John Brian
He comes from Sumner.
PHILO; ALPHA MU OMEGA.
Harriet Mulford
Another quiet lass.
"MESSIAH."
Lela Aulvin
A conscientious worker and ever of good cheer.
CLIO; MATH CLUB.
Herbert Engelhardt
Patrick, you old Irisher.
ALPHA MU OMEGA; PLATO; FOOTBALL. -27; "M'
Earl Davis
Husky's all right.
PLATO; GLEE CLUB, "AS YOU LIKE IT.'
Bernice Parrish
McKENDREAN STAFF, '28; CLIO; SECRETARY-TREAS-
URER NATURE CLUB; MECHANICAL DRAWING AS-
SISTANT; BIOLOGY ASSISTANT.
# up 111! mores
Idris Cornwell
And everywhere that Mary went
Mildred Peak
A true pal.
CLIO; GLEE CLUB, "BOHEMIAN GIRL;" PIANIST.
LORIN DOUTHIT
Oh, that hne.
PHILO; DEBATE,
Dorothy Jackson
Gone, but not torgotten.
CLIO.
Thelma Brandon
Little women can do much,
GLEE CLUB; CLIO, DEBATE, '
Lucius Tunnell
Such a ""pressing" mar
PLATO; MATH CLUB.
George Awalt
Run, Await, Run!
TRACK, -27. 'iS; "M" CLUB; NATURE CLUB.
Verna Jarvis
We all like Vern.
CLIO; ORCHESTRA,
Arthur Hoppe
Elizabeth Melson
What could we have done without her?
CLIO; MATH CLUB; Y. W. C. A. CABINET.
•§*iiphamorc5
Kendall Bop
A man of chemistry, indeed.
Zella M
ALANDRONE
It was always Hardy with her.
Allene Beardsley
Gentlemen prefer blondes
CLIO.
Saegesser
Granite City, art calling me?
GLEE CLUB; PLATO: ^L^TH CLUB.
Merle Lang
They call me Red-Head, Red-Head.
MATH CLUB; "BOHEMIAN
LUELLA ReINCKE
Always willing to do a good turn.
NATURE CLUB.
Fred Merr'v
Girls, he's took.
OXFORD CLUB; Y. M. C. A,; PHILO.
Nina Mae Harmon
A chip off the old block.
CLIO; "AS YOU LIKE IT."
Louise Hal
All hail. Hale.
CLIO; DEBATE,
;APPA DELTA.
William Gillespie
A true Egyptian — Cairo.
PLATO; McKENDREE REVIEW, 'jg.
Forty-Two
Joyce Davidson
Preach — but he couldn't.
PLATO, GLEE CLUB; "BOHEML^N GIRL.'
Evelyn Dunn
He was so irresistible
CLIO.
Dan Hertensteii
Mathematician plus.
MATH CLUB; PLATO
Pauline Thurmond
Caesar, Cicero, Virgil, Livy.
Leone Chappel
"Well— I kinda think so.'
CLIO.
Marion Browj
Buster Brown.
CLIO.
Bertram Smith
He'll tell you the score.
Irma Oglesby
The most studious ot us all.
CLIO.
Martha Rogers
Can she cook?
CLIO; GLEE CLUB.
Ray Hamilton
Short and sure he wa
BASEBALL, '^S.
MC KENDREE Klfe^^^^^^^..^-^..^
1828^
1928
Forty-Three
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^g^^s^
JFrcslimcn
Allen, Clark Lee — I, II, West Frankfort, III.
AsBURY, Velma Valera -I, II, OTallon, III.
Baggott, George Irvin — I, II, Zeigler, 111.
Barnes, Charles Marvin — I, II, Granite City, 111.
Bartelsmeyer, Ralph Raymond — I, II, Hoyleton, III.
Beard, James Garfield — I, Altamont, 111.
Beardsley, Whit.more Everett — I, II, St. Louis, Mo.
Beckwith, Paul— II, East St. Louis, 111.
Bennett, Herbert Russell -I, II, Olney, 111.
Bergdolt, Margaret — I, II, Trenton, 111.
Beutelman, Elvira Anna — I, II, Lebanon, III.
Bingaman, Floyd Frederick — I, II, Brownstown, 111.
Brissenden, Robert Edgar ~I, II, Clay City, 111.
Broeg, George Frederick -I, Flora, 111.
Brown, Ralph Bert -I, O'Fallon, 111.
Bryan, Ouida Brewies — I, II, Johnson City, 111.
Camp, Charles Franklin -I, II, Brighton, 111.
Cariss, Marie Florence - I, II, Granite City, 111.
Carmichael, Nell Cathern -I, II, East St. Louis, III.
Church, Harmon Beare — I, II, Renault, 111.
Clayton, Josephine Christine — I, II, Vienna, 111.
Cothern, Genevieve Mae — I, II, Ramsey, III.
Craig, Scott — II, East St. Louis, 111.
Cralley, Jesse Albert — I, II, Mt. Olive, 111.
Creed, Mildred Mary — I, II, OF'allon, 111.
Crisman, Ernest Calvin — I, II, Columbia, N. J.
Culver, Paul Milberne- I, II, Palestine, 111.
111.
Curry, Edward McCoy -I, II, Palestine, III.
Dartt, Flora Agnes — I, II, Enfield, III.
Davidson, Lois Mary — I, II, Salem, 111.
Dey, Elisabeth Kathryn — I, II, Bunker Hill, 111.
Dorris, Wilson Carl — I, II, Breeze, 111.
Dressler, Myrtle Anna — I, II, Lebanon, 111.
Duggan, Ruth Miller — I, II, St. Louis, Mo.
Eaton, Mary Elizabeth —I, II, Edwardsville, 111
Fiegenbaum, Bruce Otto — I, II, Edwardsville,
Fink, Jordan Edwin — I, II, Carlyle, 111.
Gard, John Lavern — I, Chester, 111.
Gewe, Gladys Cornelia — I, II, Nashville, 111.
Gilbert, Lester Henry — I, II, Nashville, 111.
Globig, Sybella Marie— I, II, Beckemeyer, 111.
Golden, Owen Newland — I, Flora, 111.
Grant, Henry Clay — I. II, Mt. Vernon, 111.
Green, Vera Elizabeth —I, II, Nashville, 111.
Hamilton, Ruth Evelyn -I, II, Brownstown, 111.
Harpstrite, Elvera Kathryn -I, II, New Baden, 111.
Harris, Frances Elizabeth —I, II, Ashley, 111.
Harris, Joseph Camovitch —I, II, Ashley, 111.
Head, Lewis Nathaniel — I, II, Eldorado, 111.
Hedges, Thelma Pearl— I, II, Flat Rock, 111.
HiNES, Gail William- I, II, Alma, 111.
Hines, George Bernard I, II, Newton, 111.
Hortin, James F.— I, II, Albion, 111.
Hosler, Melville -I, St. Louis, Mo.
Howell, Nina Linden — I, II, McLeanshoro, 111.
HuBBELL, Chlorus Francis — I, II, Flora, 111.
IsLEY, Leonard Carlyle — I, II, Newton, 111.
Jackson, William Lee — I, Allendale, 111.
Jones, Clarence Robert — I, East St. Louis, 111.
"Karr, Dwight Melvin— I, II, Geff. 111.
Klein, Walter Peter — II, Granite City, 111.
Koch, George— I, II, Belleville, 111.
Kolb, Mildred Alice — I, II, East St. Louis, 111.
Kratzer, Lela Kathryn — I, II, Jamestown, Mo.
Kruger, Earl Eugene — I, II, Summerfield, 111.
Kruger, Lorena Margerite — I, II, Belleville, 111.
LowRY, Delton H. — I, II, Reyham, N. C.
Martin, Alice Lillian — I, II, Freeburg, 111.
Maynard, Paul Sylvan — I, II, Herrin, 111.
Maynor, Lois Vera — I, II, Golconda, 111.
McCollum, Marjorie — I, II, Louisville, 111.
Meinen, Edna Margaret — I, II, Lebanon, 111.
Middleton, Louis William — I, II, Salem, 111.
MoRELOCK, Marion Leontine — I, II, Mascoutah,
MowE, Orena Zillah — I, II, Lebanon, 111.
MuNDY, Van Allen — I, II, Elbert, Colo.
Naumer, Bernetta Elizabeth — I, II, Lebanon, 111
Nichols, Jesse Robert — I, II, Lebanon, 111.
Philbrook, Leman Kenneth — I, II, St. Elmo, 111.
Phillips, Irene Thema — I, II, Trenton, 111.
Rawlinson, Howard Edmonds — I, II, Crossville,
Reese, Myron — I, II, Jonesboro, 111.
Phillips, William Maurice — I, II, Mt. Vernon, 1
Reichert, Russell — I, II, Grand Cham,
Riley, Opal Edith— I, II, Centralia, 111.
Ritchey, Ralph C— I, II, Eldorado, 111.
Ruth, Ella — II, Summerfield, 111.
Sanders, Orland Miller — II, Ashley, 11'.
Sanders, Vernon Joyce — I, II, Crossville, 111.
Schubert, Ben — I, Mascoutah, 111.
SiGGiNS, Oscar P. — II, Chebmanse, 111.
Smith, Milton Phillips — I, II, Altamont, 111.
Spangler, Frank — I, II, Woodlawn, 111.
Spencer, Herbert Milberne — I, II, Christopher, 111.
Stanford, Virginia Marjorie — I, II, Louisville, 111.
Steinkamp, Wilmer — II, Mascoutah, 111.
Steinkoenig, Louise Jane — I, II, Highland, 111.
Stout, Harold A. — I, II, Mascoutah, 111.
Tatalovich, Eli — I, II, Buckner, 111.
Taylor, Howard Samuel — I, II, O'Fallon, 111.
Tedor, Stephen Lewis — I, II, Zeigler, 111.
Tedrick, Lowell Dale — I, II, Vandalia, 111.
Thilman, Erna Margaret — I, II, Casey viUe, 111.
Thomas, Bessie Lee — I, II, Lebanon, 111.
Walker, Williard Carroll — I, Cobden, III.
Weaver, James Carroll — I, East St. Louis, 111.
Well, Clarence Emerson — I, II, Brighton, 111.
Whitlock, Vera Elizabeth — I, II, East St. Louis, II
Williams, Zoa Rowena — I, II, Olney, 111.
Yargar, Laura Cathern — I, II, Stoy, 111.
Zachais, Dorothy Marion— I, II, Nashville, 111.
<=^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^s^
Fine Arts
Lucille Hadfield, Margaret Shafer, Edith Plato, Mildred Peak, and Constance Glenn, having completed the two-year course
in Public School Music have received certificates from the School of Music.
The School of Music offers a four-year course of study leading to the degree of Bachelor of Music. Certificates are also granted
in piano, organ, voice, violin, and public school music.
Margaret Robinson, Grace Renner, and Lorena Kruger, having completed the course in Expression, have received certificates
from the School of Expression.
The School of Expression offers varied courses in public speaking, interpretation of literature, and staging of plays.
FACULTY
Grant McDonald ................. Piano
Pauline Harper ............... Public School Music
Ada Carroll ....... ........ Voice
Olive Patmore ................. Expression
Oliver Wahl ................. Violm
Student Association
Organized 1921
OFFICERS
First Semester Second Semester
Eugene Smith President Clarence Brennan
Edna Kinsey Vice-President Joseph Guandolo
Kenneth Rippel ...... Secretary-Treasurer ...... Verdie Correll
James Stuart Associate in Athletics James Stuart
Lewis Head Cheer Leader Lewis Head
Charles Nichols Song Leader Paul Hortin
Lucille Hadfield Pianist Mildred Peak
EiTEL ScHROEDER Custodian of Bear Eitel Schroeder
The Student Association is composed of the regularly enrolled students. This representative student-body's purpose is to
centralize student activities as well as to stimulate "McKendree pep". The year's program consists of:
Student Chapel each Friday. Home-Coming Program.
Disposition of Student Business. Annual Interscholastic Program.
fMC KENDREE"^^^^^^^:^^.^....^^
The Press Club
Orgamzed i(j2i
Publishers of the McKendree Review
Editor-in-Chief
Managing Editor
Business Manager
Advertising Manager
Circulation Manager
Assistant CircuLnvm
Sports Editor
Societv Editor .
Feature Writer
Exchange Editor
Reporter
Reporter .
Edna Kinsey
John Oster
Emery Martin
William Gillespie
James Stuart
. James Hortin
Stephen Tedor
Geneva Grieve
. Lucille Hadfield
Clifton Oxendine
Nina Mae Harmon
. Frank Brown
Staff of the McKendrean
Editor-mChief
Business Manager
Assistant Editor .
Athletic Editor
Stephen A. Kolesa
Thomas Perkins
Erwin Hake
John Oster
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Kendall Born
Dorothy Ikemire
Stephen Tedor
Julia Wilson
LoRiN Mitchell
Constance Glenn
Bernice Parrish
OuiDA Bryan
Belle Pfennighausen
Lucille Hadfield
Anthony Sigillito
^MC KENDREE ^^^^^s:^:.^^^:...^
iilBigililB
Clionian Literary Society
Founded 1869
Charter Granted by State of Illinois, 1881
Lela Aulvin
Allene Beardsley
Audrey Bower
Thelma Brandon
Marion Brown
Pauline Brooks
OuiDA Bryan
Alma Buess
Leone Chappel
Christine Clayton
Kathryn Dey
Evelyn Dunn
Mary Eaton
Lorene Fullerton
MEMBERS
Marjorie Glotfelty
Mae Goddard
Constance Glenn
Geneva Grieve
Vera Green
Gladys Gewe
Ruth Henry
Nina Howell
Mary Hughes
Louise Hale
Nina Mae Harmon
Lucille Hadfield
Thelma Hedges
Dorothy Ikemire
Vivian Young
Verna Jarvis
Dorothy Jackson
Marion Kirkbride
Edna Kinsey
Merle Lang
Elizabeth Mayes
Zella Malandrone
Lois Maynor
Elizabeth Melson
Orene Mowe
Irma Ogelsby
Bernice Parrish
Mildred Peak
Edith Plato
Belle Pfennighausen
Opal Riley
Grace Renner
Margaret Robinson
Martha Rogers
Margaret Shafer
Lela Sites
Vera Smith
Irene Smith
Virginia Stanford
Margaret Teague
Julia Wilson
Lavina Zook
Laura Yarger
The Platonian Literary Society
Founded
1849
"Vid
Sdpientiae'
Clark Lee Allen
Jordan Fink
Leonard Isley
Ralph Ritchey
Whitmore Beardsley
William Gillespie
Charles Jack
Sam Saegesser
Kendall Born
Philip Glotfelty
Stephen Kolesa
Eitel Schroeder
Robert Brissenden
Clifton Gould
Sam Kotelly
Edward Shadowen
Frank C. Brown
Paul Gould
Paul Maynard
Eugene Smith
Harmon Church
Joseph Guandolo
Louis Middleton
Lucius Tunnel
Bovard Clayton
Marvin Grupe
LoRiN Mitchell
Erle Todd
Harold Culver
Vernal Hardy
Clifton Oxendine
Oliver Wahl
Paul Culver
Lewis Head
Harry Pate
LoY Wattles
McCoy Curry
Erwin Hake
Thomas Perkins
Walter Whitlock
Joyce Davidson
Dan Hertenstein
Myron Reese
Dale Wilson
Earl Davis
Paul Hortin
Kenneth Rippel
Robert Young
Herbert Englehardt
Earl Hussong
r=-3^ ^
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Pi Kappa Delta
National Honorary Foren?i;
I//inoi5 Theta Chapter
Established 1924
Membership — Intercollegiate Orators and Debaters
OFFICERS
President , ■ • • Eugene Smith
Vice-President ... ... Harry Pate
Secretary-Treasurer • .Joseph Guandolo
Corresponding-Secretary Edna Kinsey
MEMBERS
Dr. Cameron Harmon HONORARY Dean E. P. Baker
Olive E. Patmore J- W. A. Kinison
INSTRUCTION
W. C. Kettlekamp
Clarence Brennan ACTIVE Louise Hale
Edna Kinsey Charles Nichols
Constance Glenn Joseph Guandolo
Belle Pfennighausen Mary Richards
Harry Pate Eugene Smith
Fifty-Two
<:^:^:^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^s:£>
Philosoph
Lan Literary Society
Founded, 1837
George Baggott
Glenn Haskin
John Montgomery
Lee Baker
Gail Hines
Irvin Nelson
Herbert Bennett
Arthur Hoppe
Charles Nichols
Clarence Brenna
N
James Hortin
John Oster
John Brian
William Kratzer
Robert Peach
El:a Cralley
Delbert Lacquement
Howard Rawlinson
Jesse Cralley
Delton Lowry
Anthony Sigillito
Ernest Crisman
Emery Martin
Harold Slaten
John Dolley
Elmo McClay
Frank Spangler
LoREN Douthit
Leonard Metcalf
Stephen Tedor
Albert Hagler
Fred Mery
Harold Yerkes
Charles Hall
Earl Miller
Vernon Sanders
FiftyTh
Alpha Mu Omega
Organized 1924
President . . .............. Clifton Gould
Vice-President . . Ronald Mowe
Secretary-Treasurer . ■ Charles Jack
MEMBERS
George Baggott Chlrous Hubbell Edward Shadowen
John Brian Leonard Isley Elliot Solero
Idris Cornwell Charles Jack Eli Tatalovich
Herbert Englehardt Louis Middleton Stephen Tedor
Ray Goode Ronald Mowe Erle Todd
Clifton Gould Charles Nichols Joseph Williams
George Hines
F,fty-FouT
Bachelors
President .
Secretary-Treasurer
. Glenn A. Haskin
Clarence R. Brennan
FACULTY ADVISOR
Prof. S. M. McClure
Clarence R. Brennan, '28
El2a M. Cr alley, '28
Glenn A. Haskin, '28
William B. Kratzer, "28
Emery H. Martin, '28
LoRiN Mitchell, "28
Irvin R. Nelson, '28
MEMBERS
James Stuart, '28
Stephen A. Kolesa, '29
John W. Oster, '29
Harold Culver, '29
Thomas J. Perkins, '29
LoY E. Wattles, '29
Kendall E. Born, '-^o
BovARD W. Clayton, '30
John Dolley, "jo
Erwin Hake, '30
Henry C. Grant, 'ji
James F. Hortin, "31
Robert E. Brissenden, "31
J. W. Dunn, '25
Sigma Zeta
OFFICERS
Master Scientist Elza Cralley
Vice-Master Scientist Vernal Hardy
Recorder Treasurer S. M. McClure
MEMBERS
Elza Cralley J. W. Dunn
Vernal Hardy S. M. McClure
Mary Richards C. J. Stowell
The Society of Sigma Zeta was founded at Shurtleff College in 192'; and the Beta Chapter was established at McKendree in
the following year. This organization has for its object the promotion of scholarship among students of the sciences and mathe-
matics and restricts its membership to those having completed two years of these subjects with superior ratings.
Since its organization, the society has enjoyed a steady expansion annually and now has chapters located in a number of the
stronger small colleges of the Middle West.
Alpha Psi Omega
OFFICERS
President
. Paul Hortin
Business Manager ...
. Kenneth Rippel
Secretary ......
Grace Renner
Miss Patmore
MEMBERS
FACULTY
Dr Cameron Harmon
Olive E. Patmore
Pauline Harper
Evelyn McNeely
STUDENTS
Ada Carroll
Margaret Robinson
GoLDA Taylor
Margaret Teague
Vivian Young
Alma Buess
Grace Renner
Dorothy Harmon
Kenneth Rippel
Paul Hortin
Earl Hussong
Fred Jessop
The Alpha Theta Cast of Alpha Psi Omega was granted to McKendree College in 1927 by the Grand Cast. Alpha Psi
Omega is a national honorary dramatics' fraternity. The Alpha Theta Cast was installed with sixteen charter members, which
for a college of this size, was an unusually large number of persons to be qualified to meet the requirements of the national
organization. However, the large number of charter members is explained by the fact that McKendree has for some time had
a strong department of dramatics and expression.
F.ftySa.
jMC KENDREE^^^^^s^a.,,,;^,-^
Treble Clef Club
Orgai
.zed
IQ24
OFFICERS
Vice-President
Marion Kirkbride
Pianist
Lucille Hadfield
VOICES
First Sopranos
Second Sopranos
First Altos
Second Altos
Marie Cariss
Margaret Shafer
Mary Eaton
Lavina Zook
Thelma Brandon
Mary Hughes
Edith Plato
Irene Smith
Vera Whitlock
Edna Meinen
Constance Glenn
Elizabeth Mayes
Opal Riley
Belle Pfennighausen
Orena Mowe
Elvira Beutelman
Margaret Teague
Lucille Hadfield
Erna Thilman
Martha Rogers
Dorothy Ikemire
Audrey Bower
Ruth Hamilton
Mildred Peak
Jeanette Sprinkle
Margaret Shafer
Orena Mowe
QUARTETTE Lavina Zook
Lucille Hadfield
Men's Glee Club
Organized 1924
OFFICERS
Secretary-Treasurer
Director
Miss Ada Carroll
VOICES
First Tenors
Second Tenors
First Bass
Second Bass
Ben Underwood
Paul Hortin
Herbert Bennett
Harold Culver
Anthony Sigillito
Van Mundy
Earl Hussong
Sam Saegesser
Harold Yerkes
Clarence Brennan
Earl Kroeger
Sam Kotelley
Charles Nichols
William Kratzer
Robert Peach
Jess Nichols
EiTEL Schroeder
Earl Davis
Herbert Spencer
QUARTETTE
Ben Underwood
Jess Nichols
Paul Hortin
Harold Culver
McKendree College Orchestra
Director — Oliver Wahl
INSTRUMENTS
Violins
Saxophones
Piano
Clarinets
DWIGHT KarR
Clark Lee Allen
Ruth Hamilton
Paul Gould
Ralph Ritchey
Paul Culver
Zella Malandrone
Mary Eaton
Milton Smith
Laura Yarger
Sam Saegesser
Drums
Bass
Elvira Beutelman
Mrs. McDonald
Dale Wilson
Cello-
George Koch
-Harold Yerkes
Grace Renner
With the major part of its personnel retained from last year and with the addition of several experienced musicians from the
present student body, the McKendree Orchestra has this year enjoyed greater popularity than ever.
Many new numbers have been added to the repertoire this season. These together with the favorites of previous years
proved by their enthusiastic reception to be a vital part of chapel programs, recitals, concerts, and social affairs.
Sixty
-^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
McKendree College Band
Dnector — Oliver C. Wahl
Saxophones
Clark Lee Allen
Milton Smith
DwiGHT Karr
Wilson Dorris
Paul Culver
Willard Walker
INSTRUMENTS
Clarinets
Paul Gould
Mary Eaton
Laura Yarger
Elvira Beutelman
Grace Renner
Trombone
Ralph Ritchey
Walter Whitlock
Cornets
Leman Philbrook
George Baggott
McCoy Curry
Drums
Dale Wilson
Harold Yerkes
Our remarkable success in all athletic events of the year may be partly attributed to the McKendree Band. Enthusiasm ran
high when the band played at football and basketball game^, pep meetings, parades and similar affairs throughout the year.
The band this year consisted of nineteen members. This is the largest number that has ever represented McKendree College.
Attired in their new uniforms on Homecoming Day, they thrilled the returning McKendreans by the old school airs which
were played during the parade and at the football game.
Y. W. C. A.
FACULTY ADVISORS
Miss Alleen Wilson Miss Olive Patmore
CABINET MEMBERS
Julia Wilson
Elizabeth Melson
. Edna Kinsey
Lavina Zook
Marjorie Glotfelty
. Mary Hughes
Eliiabeth Mayes
Lucille Hadfield
This Christian organization, old in years and possessed with traditions noble and uplifting, holds a dignified position among
the clubs on the College Hill.
Each Wednesday evening the women meet for a devotional hour, in which they discuss different campus problems, and try to
find practical solutions to them. Capable leaders speak on various, interesting topics, explaining how one may improve her
spiritual and intellectual life. These meetings are much enjoyed by all of the members because of the social aspect and also
because of the inspiration derived from the thoughts presented. Our Y. W. C. A. strives constantly to sow seeds that will
make a rich and beautiful harvest.
President .
Vice-President
Secretary-Treasurer
Social Chairman
Program Chairman
Finance Chairman.
Chaplain .
Pianist .
Y. M. C. A.
FACULTY ADVISORS
DR. Walton, Professors Kinison and Vick
President ... .......... . . Irvin R. Nelson
Vice-President ............... John Montgomery
Secretary ................ Dan Hertenstein
Treasurer .............. Harold K. Yerkes
With but a few in number, this organization has weathered the storms of opposition and has a staunch and firm foundation.
The meetings are held each Wednesday evening at seven o'clock. The latch-string is always on the outside and all men are
extended a sincere welcome.
During this hour the serious features of campus activities are studied, and methods of improving one's spiritual experience
are discussed. Once a month the Y. W.and Y. M. combine to have a joint session. These evenings prove interesting because of
the devotional and musical programs. Things come and go but the Y. M. will remain to uphold Christian ideals and Christian
living.
The Oxford Club
Founded by Dr. W. N. Sterns 1920
Reorganized by Professor J. W. A. Kinison 1926
Second Semester
. Fred C. Mery
John Montgomery
Harold Slaten
ACTIVITIES
Meet wee}{ly for class m Homeletics Special mspiratwiial addresses b\ professionals in Christian wor}{
Create close fellowship between ministerial students Social recreation
OFFICERS
First Semester
Delbert Lacquement ..... President .
F. C. Brown ...... Vice-President .
F. C, Mery ...... .Secretary-Treasurer .
MEMBERS
Dr. Cameron Harmon
Dr. W. C. Walton
Leonard Metcalf
Frank C. Brown
Clarence Brennan
Delbert Lacquement
Phillip Glotfelty
LossiE E. Morris
Harold Slaten
Lewis Head
Prof. J. W. A. Kinison
Prof. J L. Harrell
Dale Hagler
Gail Hines
Arthur Hoppe
Bert Smith
Herbert Bennett
Fred. C. Mery
John Montgomery
Ernest Crismann
Cl/
Lee Allen
The Nature Club
Organized 1926
Founder — Dr. E. R. Spencer
Sponsoring of Hature Study
Bird Study
ACTIVITIES
Stellar Observation
Beautification of College Campus
President .
Secretary-Treasurer
Elza Cralley
Bernice Parrish
George Awalt
Velma Asbury
Pauline Brooks
Herbert Bennett
Alma Buess
Elvira Beutelmann
Verdie Correll
Jesse Cralley
Elza Cralley
Ernest Crismann
Leone Chappel
Evelyn Dunn
John Dolley
Flora Dart
Myrtle Dressler
Bruce Fiegenbaum
MEMBERS
Marjorie Glotfelty
Philip Glotfelty
Owen Golden
Sybil Globig
Lavern Gard
Mae Goddard
Paul Gould
Elizabeth Harris
Gail Hines
Chlorus Hubbel
Lewis Head
Arthur Hoppe
Earl Hussong
Louise Hale
Louis Middleton
Nell Marberry
John Montgomery
Orena Mowe
Marjorie McCullum
Elmo McClay
Bernice Parrish
Mae Ragland
Fay Ragland
Ralph Ritchey
Luella Reincke
Grace Renner
Virginia Stanford
Harold Slaten
Vernon Sanders
Bert Smith
Margaret Teague
Luella Mueller
^ftMC KENDREE"^^^^^:;^^,..^....^
Mathematics Club
Orgamzed 1926
Founded by Dr. C. J. Stowell
Verdie Corell .
President .....
. Charles Jack
Charles Jack .
Vice-President ....
Elizabeth Melson
Lela Sites .
Secretary-Treasurer ....
Vera Smith
REGULAR MEMBERS
LoRiN Mitchell
Clifton Gould
Elizabeth Melson
Walter Whitlock
James Stuart
Charles Jack
Lela Aulvin
Charles Hall
Vernal Hardy
Emery Martin
Lucius Tunnel
Dan Hertenstein
Verdie Correll
Samuel Saegesser
Vera Smith
Herbert Englehardt
Eugene Smith
William Gillespie
John Dolley
Lela Sites
Lee Baker
Glenn Stout
Zella Malandrone
J, W. Dunn
ASSOCIATE MEMBERS
Harold Stout
Jesse Nichols
John Hall
Howard Rawlinson
George Koch
Elvera Harpstrite
Maurice Phillips
Van Mundy
Thelma Hedges
Russel Reichert
George Baggott
Leontine Morlock
James Hortin
Floyd Bingamon
Bernice Parrish
Lucille Hadfield
Dorothy Zacheis
Margaret Bergdolt
Lois Davidson
Mary Eaton
Marion Brown
Forensics
FORENSIC LEADERS
Dean E. P. Baker . . .............. Manager
Professor W. C. Kettlekamp ............ Men's Debate Coach
Dr. E. R. Spencer .............. Women's Debate Coach
ORATORS
Representative to the Illinois St.ite Oratorical Association
Harry L. Pate
Representative to the Pi Kappa Delta Convention
Charles Nichols
Representatives to Southern Illinois and Southeast Missouri Oratorical Association
Charles Nichols
OuiDA Bryan
EXTEMPORANEOUS SPEAKING
Representatives to the Southern Illinois and Southeast Missouri Oratorical Association
Dale Wilson
OuiDA Bryan
AFFIRMATIVE
Eugene Smith, Captain
Harry L. Pate
Dale E. Wilson
Arthur Hoppe, Alternate
Men s Debate
W. C. Kettlekamp, Coach
AFFIRMATIVE DEBATES NEGATIVE DEBATES
St. Louis Law School at St. Louis, Mo. . noyvdeaswn Shurtleff College at Alton, 111 lost
Greenville College at Lebanon, 111. lost William Jewell College at Liberty, Mo. non-decision
Eureka College at Eureka, 111. . . nondecision Pittsburg Teachers College, Pittsburg, Kan. non-decision
Lombard College at Galesburg, 111 . . . non-decision Drury College at Springfield, Mo. .... won
Iowa Wesleyan University at Mt. Pleasant la. . won Illinois College at Lebanon, 111. .... won
Parson's College at Parsons, la. ... . lost Southeast Missouri Teachers, Cape Girardeau, Mo. won
Missouri Wesleyan at Lebanon, 111. . . . lost Hastings College at Lebanon, 111 won
Lincoln College at Lebanon, 111. . . won
PI KAPPA DELTA CONVENTION AT TIFFIN, OHIO
Two Man Team — Joseph Guandolo and Eugene Smith
Hastings College (afF.) vs. McKendree (neg.) ............. won
University of Dubuque, la. (aff.) vs McKendree (neg.) ........... lost
South Dakota Wesleyan (neg.) vs McKendree (afF.) won
Gustavus Adolphus, Minn, (aff.) vs McKendree (neg.) Jos*
Jamestown, N. Dak. College (neg.) vs McKendree (aff.l ........... won
NEGATIVE
Joseph Guandolo, Captain
Earl Hussong
Charles Nichols
Loren Douthit, Alternate
Sixtv-Eight
riMC KENDREE ^^fe^fes^,.,,.^^.,-^
ill
AFFIRMATIVE
Louise Hale, CapUin
lorene fullerton
Audrey Bower
Women's Debate
Dr. E. R. Spencer, Coach
AFFIRMATIVE DEBATES
Southeast Missouri Teachers at Cape Girardeau, Missouri
Drury College at Lebanon, Illinois . . . .
. lost
non-decision
A ^ua}{er friend informed me I was not content with being in the right when discussing any point, but had to be overbearing and
insolent about it — of which he convinced me b>i mentioning several instances. Endeavoring to cure myself of this fault, which I now
realize had lost me ynany an argument, I made the following rule: to forbear all direct contradictions of the sentiments of others and
all over-positive assertions of yny own. Thereafter, when another asserted something I thought an error, I denied myself the pleasure
of contradicting him abruptly, and shotting nnmediate/y some absurdity in his proposition. Instead, I began b>i observing that in
certain cases or circumstances his opinion would be right, but m the present case there appeared or seemed to me some differences, etc.
I soon found the advantage of this change in my manner. The conversations I engaged m went on more pleasantly. The modeit
way in which I proposed my opinions procured them a readier reception and less contradiction. 1 had less mortification when I found
to be in the wrong, and I more easily prevailed upon others to give up their mista\es and join with me when I happened to be right.
To my new tactics I thin\it principally owing that I had early such weight with my fellow citizens when I proposed new institutions,
or alterations m the old. and so much influence in public councils when I became a member. For I was a bad speaker, never eloquent,
subject to much hesitation and my choice of words hardly correct in /anguage-and yet I carried yny points — From How To Win
An Argument, by Benjamin Franklin.
NEGATIVE
Belle Pfennighausen, Captain
Constance Glenn
ThELMA BR.^NDON
The "M" Club
MEMBERS
FOOTBALL
Dr. Cameron Harmon, Erie Todd, Stephen Kolesa, Delbert Lacquement, Edward Shadowen, Val Baggott, Chlorus Hubble,
Herbert Englehardt, Ray Goode, Irvin Nelson, Joe Guandolo, Charles Jack, Idris Cornwell, Bruce Fiegenbaum, Glenn Haslcin,
Leonard Isley, J|ohn Hall, Clifton Gould, Emery Martin, Bovard Clayton, George Koch, Eli Tatalovich, George Hines, Glenn
Martin, Joe Williams, George Broeg.
BASKETBALL
Clifton Gould, Harold Culver, Charles Jack, Emery Martin, Edward Shadowen, Chlorus Hubble.
TRACK
Clifton Gould, Ray Goode, Stephen Kolesa, Thomas Perkins, George Await, Glenn Haskin, Ronald Mowe, Loy Wattles,
Val Baggott. Emerv M.irtin, Idris Cornwell, Harold Culver.
BASEBALL
Charles Jack, John Hall, Stephen Kolesa, Emery Martin, Joe Guandolo, John Oster, Idris Cornwell, Ray Goode, Bovard
Clayton, Charles Nichols.
TENNIS
Ron lid Mowe, Vernal Hardy.
Glenn F. Filley — Director of Athletics
Coach Filley has in the three years he has been at McKendree
estabhshed a reputation as Athletic Director equal to the great
reputation he made while an athlete at Missouri Wesyelan.
Successful as Coach has been in turning out good teams he has
even stronger claims to the respect of McKendreans than that
gained as a result of his accomplishments^ He is a man four-square,
honored and respected by all who know him.
Seventy
Mc Ken dree
McKendree
McKendree
McKendree
McKendree
McKendree
McKendree
McKendree
McKendree
McKendree
Football Scores
CONFERENCE GAMES
. 4 Millikm .
iQ Lincoln .
. 1 8 Macomb .
o Shurtleff
7 Carthage .
o Carbon dale
NON-CONFERENCE GAMES
7 Scott Field
I T, Cape Girardea
o Scott Field
I--, EvansviUe
Total ........ 8i Total
FOOTBALL SCHEDULE 1028
Sept. 21 Springfield Teachers .
at Springfield, Mo.
Oct. 27
Lincoln College
. at Lincoln, 111.
29 St. Louis University
.at St. Louis, Mo.
Nov. 1,
Shurtleff College
at Lebanon, 11!.
Oct. 5 Evansville College .
at Evansville, 111.
17
Carbondale Teachers
. at Lebanon, 111.
I T, Rolla School of Mines .
.at Rolla, Mo.
^4
Bradlev Tech.
at Peroia, 111.
19 Kirksville Osteopaths
. at Kirksville, Mo.
John Hall — Assistant Coach
""Skipper" Hall proved to be an invaluable aid to Coach in turn-
ing out the strong Centenarian teams. Though of much assistance
in football. '"Skipper" proved most valuable in basketball and base-
ball.
The basketball reserves under his tutelage defeated some of the
best independent teams in Southern Illinois, while the baseball
team «-as one of the best that ever represented the College.
Erle Todd
Captain
Rochester. Pennsylvania
Todd completed four years of varsity com-
petition this year. Ability to rifle long passes,
his shrewd signal calling, and his high-class
punt returning gave him the position of quar-
terback on Brick Young's second All-State
Team.
Edward Sh.adowen
Captain Elect
Chustopher, Ill.no.s
The smallest man on the squad, weighing
but one-fifty, Eddie was one of our best
ground gainers. He can pass and snare passes,
carry the ball and back up the line superbly.
Above all else, this Sophomore scintillant
was a great team player.
Joseph Guandolo
End
Conway, Pcnnsyhama
A veteran of four campaigns, Joe leaves
an enviable record. Almost perfection in the
execution of plays, he is the peer of any end
in the Conference and any McKendree has
ever had.
Football Summary
An almost air-tight line and a flashing backfield combined to make the Centenarians one of the most successful teams in
McKendree "s century of existence. Out of ten games played, only two were on the losing side.of the ledger, and there only
because of a very small difference in the scores.
LI Tatalovich
Emery Martin
Idris Cornwell
Fullback
Center
Halfback
Chnstopher, IJImo.s
Sumner. Illmou
Hewton, llhnois
Elfs ability as a line plunger is unques-
tioned. A fair punter at the opening of the
season, he was a good one at the end. On the
defense he worked havoc with the plays of
the opposition. He is a Freshman.
Waiting until his last year in school to
go out for the team, Mick showed such stuff
that he became regular center in midseason.
He passed accurately and opened big holes
for his backiield.
When it comes to smashing the line, run-
ning or punting, "Dudes" is one who knows
how it is done. The punting of this stellar
Newton lad gained ground and saved games.
Cornwell has two more years in which to
glitter.
Opening the season on September 24th on Scott Field's gridiron, the Centenarians copped a 7 — o verdict. Captain Todd
and^Cornwell starred for McKendree. The Purple line showed great promise, even though it did lack real co-ordination. This
lack'of team play can be attributed to the number of Freshmen on the squad and lack of practice.
Playing at MiUikin on October xst, the Bear Cats received their first set-back of the year. A muddy field slowed the
fast'backfield but aided the heavy line. The Fillymen made four points on safeties while Millikin tallied a touchdown after
blocking a punt. Score 7 — 4.
George Mines
Guard. Tackle
Xewtun. lUmou
Linemen much better than Hines are
scarce. His broad shoulders and his knowl-
edge of how to use them caused much com-
motion. Hines is another Freshman who has
done a great deal for his team.
Clifton Gould
End
Mt. Carmel, Hhnoxs
Stopping end runs has been "Hurley's"
chief outdoor sport for the past four years.
If Mt. Carmel has any more like him, we
would like to see them. Goodbye. Hurley,
we"ll miss you.
BovARD Clayton
End
V,enna. Illinois
When "Slim" extends his six-fcot-four,
the boys must pass them high to get them
over him. As a defensive end he is a capable
understudy to men like Guandolo and Gould
The Scott Field Aviators came to McKendree on October 7th, determined on victory. A water-covered grid checked the
attacks of both elevens. The Aviators threatened to score in the final quarter. Booth, Flyer star, made a sixty yard gain on a
pass, but was stopped by Kolesa's flying tackle three yards from the last line. Score o — o.
Changing from straight football to an aerial attack in the final quarter resulted in a 13,-9 victory over Cape Girardeau
Teachers on October 14. Cape led q — o as the last quarter opened. Todd heaved several successful passes to Guandolo m the
final canto, two being for forty yards. With .i half minute to go, Todd tossed over the goal line to Guandolo to gain the verdict.
Bruce Fiegenbaum
Tackle
Edwardsvi'.ie. llimois
They called him the "EdwardsviUe Flash"
and he lived up to it. ""Fiegie" was supreme
in breaking through the line, stopping run-
ners m their tracks, breaking up plays, and
making himself a general nuisance to the
other team.
Glenn Martin
Halfback
F^urfield, illmo.5
A snap ot" the ball, a run around the end,
and a long gain — that's what happened when
"Abe" got the ball. This versatile back was
severely injured early in the season, but his
lighting spirit was with the Bear Cats all
along. Watch "Abe" Martin next year'
Herbert Englehardt
Tackle
BciUwm. UUmns
In every game "Pat" proved himself to be
an important cog in the Bear Cat machine
as a mighty tackier. When Englehardt
brought them down they stayed down. Two
down and two to go- -that is. years ot ser-
vice, "Pat."
The Homecoming game was won from Lincoln before a large crowd on October 22. Williams and Lacquement starred
on the line. Ckirnwell hurdled the Lincoln line and ran sixty-five yards for a touchdown. Shadowen scored after a forty-five
yard run and Hines scored after recovering a blocked punt. Prince of Lincoln made two touchdowns in the last quarter.
Score 19 — 14.
Leonard Islev
End
^iewton, Illinois
Runs around Isley's end were rather
scarce, for the Newton star held his own
as a splendid end, both offensively and de-
fensively. His brilliant blocking and tackling
contributed largely to many a Bear Cat
victory.
Jack Haskin
Quarterback
Robii
Ilhi
Whenever Jack was called to take Todd';
place, he showed his stuff. He was a smarl
signal barker and could pick out the holes ir
the line when toting the ball.
Val Baggot
Guard
Ze.gler. Illinois
On the very first day of practice this
"Burn Zeigler Coal" lad was injured. A
month later he came back strong, displayed
his wares, finally winning his "M." Such
perseverance has made Val a fine guard.
Although three stars were on the bench. Western Normal of Macomb was easily defeated by the Bear Cats on October
29. Emery Martin's seventy yard run for a touchdown after recovering a fumble was the feature. Todd, Shadowen, and
Tatalovich also starred. Macomb's aerial attack was smothered. The final score was 18 — o.
On November 6th the Shurtieff Pioneers, our traditional rivals, held us to
attack. Williams and Englehardt, tackles, played a great game for McKendree.
scoreless tie. Tatalovich led the Purple
MC KENDReI^^^^^s:^.^,^^^^^
Charles Jack
End
Opdyke, Illinois
As a pass-snatcher, Charley was right
there with the goods. Those big paws of his
just seemed to drag the ball down, no matter
where it was thrown. This is his last year.
Stephen Kolesa
Halfback
EdwdrdmUe. Illinois
"Steve", a Junior, has been running around
ends for the past three years. The fastest
man on the team, and he makes good use of
his speed. His ability to snare passes won
several games for McKendree. A demon on
a dry field.
Delbert Lacquement
Guard
Collinsvilk. Illinois
The "Fighting Parson" has been tearing
up opponents for four years. A deadly tack-
ier and a fast charger, he was always break-
ing through the opposition. He is one of the
best guards McKendree has ever had.
After being held to a scoreless tie for half the game, the Bear Cats broke away from Carthage in the second half to score
a touchdown. Playing in a terriiic rainstorm that made the ball slippery and the eyesight almost useless, the Bear Cats, under
the capable handling of Captain Todd, and aided by the brilliant running and pass snaring of Kolesa, made a march down the
field and scored the only touchdown of the game on a short pass — Todd to Kolesa.
S. I. N. U. of Carbondale gave the Centenarians their second set-back of the season on November i8. The Bear Cats
played far below their usual game. Baggott and Fiegenbaum starred on the line.
George Kock
Chlorus Hubble
George Broeg
Guard
Center
Guard
BcUnMe. /Ilmo.s
Flora. nUnois
Floral, lllmo^s
After every game Kock was covered with
bruises. It all goes to show how hard this
Belleville guard fought, giving everything
that he had — holding that line, and stopping
those plays. And George is only a Fresh-
"Fuziy's" oni-hundred and ninety pounds
of beef stretched over a six-foot frame made
him immovable at the pivot position. In the
next three years of his collegiate career he
should become an A-i center.
Broeg happened to be another guard who
did his duty well. Only a Freshman, he won
the coveted "M." His ability made him use-
ful to the Centenarians, and troublesome
to the enemy.
The Bear Cats brought one of McKendree's most successful seasons to a close on Thanksgiving Day with a i j — o vic-
tory over Evansville College, of Evansville, Indiana. The backfield functioned at top speed_^while the line was at its best.
Shadowen, Cornwell, Kolesa, Lacquement, and Hubbel were in the linielight.
Seventy-Eight
The Bas\etball Season
After m.ikmg a bad start, m which six out of the first seven games were lost, the hristUng Bear Cats snapped out of
their inferiority complex with a swish that paved the way to a long string ot brilliant victories over some ot the most for
midable and highly-touted quintets of the middle west.
The first tilt was more of the practice variety, m which the Centenarians easily smothered the Belleville Allan Cigar
five by the lop'sided score of 60 to 21. This fracas helped Coach FiUey to pick some of his future stars.
The most discouraging part of the season then visited the raw FiUey material with four straight defeats. The first tumble
was dished out by St. Louis University by the score of j*; to i*; — a tilt in which the FiUeymen were outclassed in the clos-
ing minutes of play.
Two more games were then dropped to the fist Southwest Missouri Teachers" College by scores of 44 to 18 and 52 to
44. A few days later the Bear Cats were badly bruised by Evansville College a team that boasts one of the finest quintets
of the country — by the score of 46 to 25.
Clifton Gould
Captain
Mt. Carmel, Illmou
Possessing speed, knowledge of
the game, calm judgment and
skill, "Hurley" played a whale
of a game as guard. "Hurley"
made a good record while play-
ing on the Mt. Carmel High
teams, but in the three years that
he has been playing for McKen-
dree. he did even better. This is
his last season.
Harold Culver
Captain-elect
Palestine, Illinois
Harold made good use of his
six-foot-two on both offense and
defense. A consistent player, he
was second only to Jack in points
scored, and second to none on
defense. Opponents were much
worried by this forward's ability
to take the ball from them. Cul-
ver should be one ot the best
cage players in the state in 1928-
1929.
Chlorus Hubbell
Flora, Illmois
Only a Freshman, this tall Flora athlete, with his
long arms that broke up passes and made baskets so
easily, showed what a guard can do when groomed
for a forward. "Fuzzy" did exactly what was expected
of him, and, in future years, his ability will help the
Bear Cats march to greater glories. He's a sharp fang,
is "Fuzzy."
A long string ot seven dazzling victories over great teams then was started by the Filleymen, who were finally brought
to perfection by Coach FiUey. The first victim was none other than Carthage College — a tilt m which revenge was taken to
the point of 48 to 28. On the following day the Filleymen presented a set-back to the Macomb Teachers, 3,5 to 44. In the
two tilts the glittering Jack heaped up thirty points, while another star, Culver, took twenty-six.
The next act on the program was a comedy m which Shurtleff took the feeble end of a j-j to 43 defeat, chiefly because
of the pranks that Jack played with his twenty-two points and a batch of extra fine guarding. Another gem was added to the
string a few days later at the expense of Carthage College, who was humiliated by a 39 to 22 upset.
The sweetest, finest, and greatest victory of the season was enjoyed by the Filleymen over Southern Illinois Normal by
the score of 24 to 2";, a tilt in which the mighty Culver, speedy Martin, and crafty Jack did their stuff.
Evansville College was the theme for another splendid victory in a hot, peppery fight. The splendid guarding of Gould
and Shadowen kept off the enemy, while the scintillating Jack kept on them with twelve points. This was Evansville's third
defeat out of nineteen starts.
On another road trip the Centenarians slipped a hot one to Lincoln College by nosing them out of a 26 to 27 victory in
the last few minutes of play. The following evening marked the close of the season with a very inappropriate defeat by Illi-
nois College, 55 to 19.
The game with Illinois College pulled down the curtain over the career of the greatest cage star that ever graced a Mc-
Kendree team — "Charlie" Jack. Jack set records that will stand for years — the high spot being the high point man m the Little
Nineteen one year, and a runner-up another year. Capt. Gould and "Mickey" Martin also wore their cage armors for the last
time. Their sparkling work will be hard to duplicate in future years.
Emery Martin
Sumner, Illinois
Aggressive to the nth degree, "Mickey" was an im-
portant cog in the Filley machine. Especially adept at
long shots, Martin was equally good when shooting in
the shadow of the goal. "Mickey" will b: lost through
graduation. This was his third year at McKendree, and
the second time he has won the "M."
Charles Jack
Opdyke, lUinois
A peep into the score-hook will tell you something
of Jack's achievements in making points, but it cannot
tell you anything about his sparkling defensive playing;
nor anything about his fighting spirit, courage, and ver-
satility. "CharUe's" name goes into the Hall of Fame
as one of the most brilliant and craftiest hasketeers that
ever dribbled over a McKendree court.
Bas\ethall Scores
CONFERENCE GAMES
McKendree
McKendree
McKendree
McKendree
McKendree
McKendree
McKendree
McKendree
McKendree
McKendree
McKendree
McKendree
McKendree
McKendree
McKendree
McKendree
. 26
Carbondale .
38
Wheaton
30
ShurtlefF .
48
Carthage .
44
Macomb
43
ShurtlefF .
• 39
Carthage
25
Carbondale
27
Lincoln
19
Illinois
NON-CONFERENCE GAMES
. 60
Belleville .
2,5
St. Louis U. .
. 18
Southwest Mo. Teachers
34
Southwest Mo. Teachers
25
Evansville .
32
Evansville
Edward Shadowen
Chustopher, Illinois
There was never a man on the floor who fought
any harder than "Eddie," who always said it with
action, rather than words. With two more big years
to go, this efficient Bear Cat guard has already proved
himself to be one of the finest, cleanest, and squarest
players that ever donned a purple sweater.
Eighty-One
MC KENDREE
Ray Goode
Jaielm, Discus, Shot
Val Baggott
Middle Distances, Relay
Glenn Haskin
Distances
Trac\
LoY Wattles
Discus
Track prospects are better at McKendree than they have been since 1925. The return
of Ray Goode gives needed strength m the field events. At this early date Goode is tossing
the javelin around the 200 foot mark. Coach Filley is grooming him for the IQ28 Olympics.
Other veterans of last year are Kolesa and Await, sprinters; Culver, hurdles; Perkins,
Baggott, and Martin, middle distances; Haskins and Hall, distances; Captain Gould,
Wattles and Cornwell in the field events.
This Ime-up of old campaigners will be bolstered by a number of promising Frosh. The
following look best at this time: Middleton, Klein, Isley, Bartlesmeyer, Phillips, Spencer,
Tatalovich, Rawlinson and Hubbel.
The Relay Team composed of Await, Haskin, Martin and Kolesa has already seen
action this year. In the Western A. A. U. Indoor Meet held at the Colesium in St. Louis
on March 31, this team broke their former record by seven and one half seconds.
Dual meets will be held with Washington University and Ciirbondale Teachers. Triangu-
lar meets with Shurtleff and S. I. N. U., and with Shurtleff and Springtield, Mo. Teichers.
Clifton Gould — Captain
Pole Vault, Broad Jump
Ronald Mowe
Javelin
Emery Martin
Middle Distances, Relay
Thomas Perkins
Middle Distances, Relay
All Time Trac\ Records
50-yard Dash
100-yard Dash.
22oyard Dash
220-yard Low hurdles
120-yard High hurdles
440-yard Dash.
880-yard Run
One mile run .
Two mile run
Shot Put
Discus
Javelin .
Running high jump
Running broad jump
Pole vault .
Half mile Relay
1200-yard Relay .
One mile relay
S.5 seconds
. 10 seconds.
23 seconds
. 26.2 seconds
16 seconds
. 5J.I seconds
2 minutes i .8 seconds
4 minutes J5 seconds
10 minutes 13 seconds
42 feet 7}/^ inches
126 feet 9 inches
197 feet 7 inches
10 1 4 inches
9 inches
3 inches
5 feet
21 feet
12 feet
minute 35.6 seconds
2 minutes 20.5 seconds
3 minutes 32 seconds
George Awalt
Daslies, Relav
. Kolesa 1927
Beedle 191 3
Isom 1025
Whitenberg 191 4
Peterson 1927
Whitenberg 1914
Whitenberg 1914
Darrow 1925
.Perkins 1927
. Rawlings 191 5
Rawlings 191 5
Cullen 1925
Goode 1925
Goode 192^
Isom 1925
Beedle 1913
. Gould 1926
Peterson, Kolesa, i92'i-
Darrow, L.om
Await, Haskin,
Martin. Kolesa
Await, Martin,
Baggott, Peterson
1928
1927
Harold Culver
High Jump. Hurdles
Stephen Kolesa
Dashes, Hurdles, Relay
Idris Cornwell
Hurdles, D<scus
Emerv Martin
Out Field
BovARD Clayton
Right Field
Basehall
1927
The baseball season of 1917 was unique in that not one of the eleven games was played on the home field.
Rain made a swimming pool of Hypes Field. The Bear Cats did not have one day of fielding practice during the
entire season. Despite this handicap the team won four of the eleven games, and forced such teams as Washington
University, Concordia, and Monmouth to the limit to win.
Victories were gained over Western Military Academy, Shurtleff, and Eden Seminary. Among the defeats
were several close games. Washington U. was held to a 2-1 score, Concordia }-o, the hard-hitting Monmouth
aggregation to a 3-1 score, while Shurtleff took a <i-4 game in eleven innings. But two decisive defeats were
suffered, one at the hands of Concordia, the other at the hands of the St. Louis U. Frosh.
Three good right-hand hurlers, Cornwell, Hortin and Kaeser, did the flinging. Nichols and Guandolo cared
for the receiving. A fast-fielding, accurate-throwing quartet. Hall, Oster, Captain Brown, and Zook made up
the infield. The gardens were patrolled by a quintet of classy fielders. Jack, Kolesa, Martin, G. Magill and
Clayton.
The 1928 team should make a better record according to pre-season dope. Cornwell, ace of the hurling staff,
is back, as are both catchers, Guandolo and Nichols. Oster, second baseman for the past two seasons, is the
lone survivor on the infield, while Captain Jack, Kolesa, Clayton, Martin and Goode are back in (be outfield
Charles Jack Captain
Third Bdse
John Oster
Second Bii.'^e
Charles Nichols !
•J . S I Catcher
MC KENDREE
f
John Hall
Baseball Schedule
1928
April 18 Western Military Academy ..... at Alton
19 Washington University . . . . . at St. Louis
21 Eden Seminary ....... at Lebanon
26 Concordia Seminary . . . . . . . . at St. Louis
May I St. Louis University ....... at St. Louis
5 Blackburn College ........ at Lebanon
16 Shurtleff College at Lebanon
19 Blackburn College at Carlinville
23 Shurtleif College ........ at Alton
30 Concordia Seminary ........ at Lebanon
June 2 Eden Seminary . . . . . . . . at St. Louis
%
'4Z.
eMMM^ ^ Joe Guandolo
Idris Cornwell
Stephen Kolesa
Center F.eld
t
n
Vernal Hardy
A veteran of three previous campaigns Hardy was one of the big
guns of this year's net squad. Built on the lines of Bill Tilden, he
moves over the court with the same ease. His driving service and
his net -smashing make him a formidable opponent.
Tennis
The racquet-wielders of 1927 were handicapped because of the continuous spring rains. Only two matches
were held, both being with the ancient and formidable McKendree rival, Shurtleff.
On April 28, the Pioneers were defeated by a score of 3-2, by virtue of the excellent playing of Hardy and
Mowe, who won their respective singles events and combined to cop a doubles match. A week later the
Pioneers were defeated at McKendree by the same score. Mowe and Hardy dropped their singles events.
They however won the doubles event as did Culver and Perkins. Edward Woo, Chinese player, came through
in grand style to cop the deciding singles contest for McKendree.
Playing in the Sectional Tournament at McKendree was made difficult because of the strong wind. Mowe
and Hardy, singles entries, were eliminated in the second round. As a doubles combination they fared better,
going into the finals. The finals were not played and both teams were eligible for the State Meet. Because of
heavy rains the State Meet was not held.
This year a card of ten contests has been arranged. Shurtleff, Eden, S. I. N. U., Illinois, and Blackburn
will each be met twice.
Prospects for a successful season look especially bright. Mowe, Hardy, Perkins, Culver, Woo, and Gillespie
of last year's squad are back. Among the freshmen Klein, Baggott and Nichols look good.
An attempt is being made to get the women of the College interested in women's intercollegiate tennis.
More than a score of women have expressed their intentions of going out for the team. A tournament will
probably be held to determine who will represent McKendree in the contests.
i
1 >^
Ronald Mowe
"Pete" has been a hard-playing member of the Bear Cat tennis
squad for three years. He plays a clean, rollicking game. His back-
hand slices, cut service, and low, fast forehand drive have always
been his strong offensive strokes.
Tennis Schedule
April 19 S. I. N. U. . . . . . . . . . . . at Lebanon
May 3 Shurtleff ............ at Lebanon
3 Illinois College at Lebanon
7 S. L N. U at Carbondale
11-12 Sectional Tournament.
17 Blackburn , at Lebanon
19 Eden at St. Louis
22 Illinois College ........... at Jacksonville
2'v-26 State Tournament
29 Shurtleff at Alton
31 Blackburn. ........... at CarlinviUe
McKENDREE CENTENNIAL
McKendree lives — one hundred years.
Wrinkled age has worn a groove.
Plowed b\ trtals, fakh and tears.
Wisdom's wa\s are never smooth.
God thought It good that faith and doubt,
Li\e wind and calm support the tree,
Ay\d let the Century full round out.
The seasoned strength of McKendree.
Those who cradled her at birth,
Visioned with a Veteran's eye.
Time turned many toward the Earth,
E'er the infant ceased to cry.
I miss the ills attending age.
The Century's symptoms, where are they?
The feeble step, the sour'd sage.
The wrin\led face, the hairs grown gray''
Others stayed 'till manhood's rim
Circled in her cultur'd scope.
Those whose faith though feeble, dir;
Died still drea»ni?ig half in hope.
But pardon me this Westu^ard glance.
The morning light now Eastward lies.
And "Old McKendree's" permanence,
Li^e a fixed star is in the s}{ies.
As we retrace the Century's tracl{. And b\ the lustre of that light,
Where are the years that faith made clear? To blend with those Diviner rays.
What decade lool{s not askance back. Across the world and up the height
Or forward mixed with faith and fear'' Lei us pursue nor lose our ways.
—Van B. Sullins, '08
Eightji-Eight
BOOK II
Centennial
History
of
McKendree
College
By
W. C. Walton, Ph. D.
Preface
A
n enterprise that involves the records of a century of achieve-
ment cannot he carried out in a few days. The events that occur
within a year often put a new face on many matters. The sudden
death of Mr. Jacob Kolf, who was the original business manager of
the Centennial history, has necessitated soyne changes in the plan.
The college Executive Committee felt that a Centennial History
should he published to satisfy, in some measure the expectation that
had been aroused by Mr. Kolf's activities, but not having the means
available to carry out his plans in full, they dei'ised a new plan
quite dijferent from that which was first intended. Therefore,
soyne features had to he omitted. 0?ie was a roster of the students
from the earliest records to the present. The fact that preparation
of this history was spread over a period of two years, while the
writer was at the same time carrying on his regular wor}{, may
accouyit for some inaccuracies, duplications and omissions; and the
fact that we were depe?ident upon the mails for the securing of some
needed facts, made it ofteyi difficult, ayid sometimes impossible, to
get them, hi these days some people are too husy to aiiswer letters
at all. However, we are very grateful to the mayiy who have helped
us. They are too many to merition b)i nayne here. We have tried to
he accurate m the statement of facts and dates, hut it is too ynuch to
expect that we have succeeded entirel>i. Where we could get the data,
a brief shetch of every aluynnus appears up to the last twenty years.
After that a roster of the yiames and addresses. Where graduates
have paid for space, their sketches have been adjusted accordingly.
Paid sketches of graduates iyi the last twenty years will appear in
the biographical division of this wor\.
W. C. Walton
Mg KENDREE
McKendree
College History
CHAPTER I.
Early Education
eDUCATION is an eternal process. Among primitive
peoples it was accomplished chiefly in the home and by
the efforts of the parents. Among civilized people while
the home training has never been completely abandoned, tho
perilously near it in some cases, the more important forms of
education have been largely intrusted to institutions. From
very early times history tells of schools of various kinds. There
were the schools of the prophets in the days of King Saul, and
not much later the schools of the ancient Greeks in which the
Homeric poems were the text books and a Greek slave served
as pedagogue to the Greek children. Then there were the rab-
binical schools in which Paul sat at the feet of Gamaliel, and
the Catechetical schools of the middle ages in which the fu-
ture servants of the church were trained for their special
religious duties. As the middle ages shaded into modern times
and the renaissance developed in the fields of both religion
and learning, the church began to foster the establishment of
universities in important centers in Europe, such as Bologna
which claims to be the oldest now in existence; Paris where
the famous Abelard drew thousands to hear his learned lec-
tures; Oxford, an offshoot of Paris, where rehgious conviction
was so strong as to lead to the martyrdom of Latimer and Ridley
on the very college campus; Cambridge, an offshoot of Ox-
ford, which trained such master minds as Sir Isaac Newton,
Charles Dickens, and Tennyson, who was England's greatest
poet-laureate. Here Erasmus lectured and Tyndale began his
work as a reformer. Dozens of other great institutions of the
old world, similar to these in scope and purpose, might be
mentioned.
Less than a score of years after the landing of the Pilgrims
at Plymouth the foundations were laid for an institution of
learning which has since become one of the greatest American
universities. Harvard was to some extent modeled after Cam-
bridge. It IS located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and named
for Rev. John Harvard who was a graduate of Cambridge
University. He contributed to the proposed college in the
new world his library of about three hundred volumes and a
considerable sum of money. A few decades later came William
and Mary College, named in honor of the joint sovereigns
who occupied the throne of England at that time. Then came
Yale, King's (now Columbia), Princeton, Dartmouth, Brown,
and Pennsylvania. These eight had their origin prior to the
Revolutionary War. The colleges of this period all had more
or less of a European background, tho the conditions in the
new country doubtless had a modifying influence in the or-
ganization and plans of most of them. The college existed in
New England before the elementary school. Then the latter
became necessary to prepare students for college entrance.
Higher education in those days was intended only for the
professional class, more especially the ministry, but the pio-
neers early came to a realization of the necessity of having
elementary education for the masses. If public policies were
to be determined by vote of the people the voters must have
some education in order that democracy might be a safe form
of government. Accordingly we find compulsory elementary
education provided for by law in the Massachusetts colony
as early as 1642. The whole college movement had a religious
basis in an early day and much of it still has. The spirit and
purpose of the first college in America is set forth in a little
New England pamphlet printed in 164 j, as follows: "After
God had carried us safe to New England and we had builded
our houses, provided necessaries for our livelihood, reared
convenient places for God's worship, and settled the civil
government, one of the next things we longed for and looked
MC KENDREE
after was to advance learning and perpetuate it to posterity,
dreading to leave an illiterate ministry to the churches when
our present ministers shall lie in the dust." Thus the primary
purpose of Harvard was the education of the ministry. Yale
was founded by a group of Congregational ministers. In fact
the church has been responsible for the founding of the most
of our early colleges even in the West. Many of the state
institutions originated with the church. We have good author-
ity for the statement that the University of Kansas was or-
ganized by the Episcopalians and Presbyterians, while the
State Agricultural College of Kansas began as a Methodist
school. The University of Minnesota was first organized by
church missionaries and later taken over by the state. Peter
Cartwright, who was once a legislator as well as a pioneer
preacher, introduced the bill in the Illinois Legislature which
led to the founding of the University of Illinois. The Episco-
palian Church organized the State educational system in Flor-
ida. Nineteen of the first twenty-two Superintendents of
Public Instruction of Kentucky were ministers of the gospel.
In fact Christian influence has always been evident m the
educational achievements of our country. Where education
has been taken over by the state it has been to avoid sectar-
ianism, not Christianity. The school founded by Stephen
Girard m Philadelphia is unique in that its by-laws provide
that no Christian minister shall ever be permitted to enter its
grounds. But even this strange rule was not aimed against
Christianity, but the school was intended primarily for or-
phans, and It was the idea of Mr. Girard that their beliefs
should not be biased by denominational teaching. It is also
noteworthy that the Pilgrim Fathers believed that Christian-
ity of the severe type which they enjoyed, not only justified
three hour sermons in churches without fire in winter and
equipped with seats without backs, but it also approved of
compulsory education for much the same reasons that we do
now. The leaders of that day said "The child is to be edu-
cated not to advance his own personal interest but because
the state will suffer if he is not educated."
After the Revolutionary War was over there was a great
tideof immigration into the MississippiValley.NewEnglanders
moved into Ohio and Ohioans into Missouri. The population
and development of this vast fertile region was soon well
under way and educational standards began to be established.
A few colleges were founded in this early period. Transyl-
vania in Kentucky, Vincennes in Indiana, McKendree in
Illinois, St. Charles in Missouri. The ordinance of 1787 pro-
vided that in the Northwest Territory a section of land in
each township should be set aside for education. In some
states there was also a provision for an additional section for
the establishment of a university. Illinois had an excellent free
school law passed as early as 1825, but it never really went
into effect for it was practically nullified by the succeeding
1 egislature which passed a law providing that no citizen should
be taxed for education without his own written consent. Illi-
nois did not really have free schools till 1850. Prior to that
time there were subscription schools in many communities
where the teacher received a small fee from each pupil and
"boarded 'round" among the various patronizing families dur-
ing the school term. Abraham Lincoln managed to get enough
education to enter the legal profession before the days of free
schools, though the requirements for admission to the bar
were not very severe at that time. As in New England, though
perhaps in less degree, the church had its influence upon edu-
cational effort. About this time the academy came into prom-
inence both in the east and west. The first, of which the record
IS clear, is the one established by Frankhn in Philadelphia which
afterward developed into the University of Pennsylvania. The
Academy differed from the earlier Latin Grammar school in
having a broader purpose. The earlier school was primarily to
fit students for college, while the later was also expected to fit
them for useful lives. The religious element was strong and
many of them were under direct control of the church. Others
were semi-public institutions of learning owned and controlled
by stockholders. The religious aim is plainly shown in the
charter of the Phillips Academy of Andover, Massachusetts,
which is one of the oldest. Its purpose was "To lay the foun-
dation of a public free school or academy for the purpose of
instructing youth, not only in English and Latin, writing,
arithmetic, and those sciences which they are commonly
taught; but more especially to learn them the GREAT END
AND REAL BUSINESS OF LIVING * * * It is again de-
clared that the first and principal object of this institution is
the promotion of true piety and vinue.'^ During the first half
of the nineteenth century these institutions developed in large
numbers. By 1850, according to Inglis, there were over six
thousand in the United States, with an enrollment of 26j,ooo
students. After the middle of the century these began to be
displaced by the tax-supported high school, until now they
have almost entirely disappeared. However a few still remain
in the east as Wilbraham in Massachusetts, Cazenovia in New
York and Williamsport in Pennsylvania. A considerable num-
ber existed in Illinois for a certain period but now have prac-
tically all been replaced by modern high schools. They were
once found m Belleville, Edwardsville, Carlyle, Anna, Albion,
and other important towns in southern Illinois.
IN 1757, John Wesley visited the University ot Glasgow.
At that time James Watt was employed there as a maker
of mathematical instruments. Thus two men met on
common ground, both of whose achievements h.ive had a
mighty influence in the new world. It was chiefly thru the
efforts of Watt that we have the steam engine, while Wesley
gave us Methodism. Both have been powerful forces m the
civilization of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Meth-
odism was not a new religion like Mohammedanism or Mor'
monism, but merely a revival of vital interest in the Christian
religion in England m Wesley's day. It has been well defined
as "Christianity in earnest." Its earliest promoters were mem-
bers of the Church of England. The Wesleys,
Whitefield, and others preached a living Chris-
tianity first to the churches and then,when they
were excluded from the church buildings, they
preached to the multitudes in the open field, on
the streets, at the fair, at the coal mine, or any
place where a crowd of people could be assem
bled. In 1739 the first Methodist chapel m the
world was built in Bristol, England. Later m
the same year the "Old Foundry" in London
was opened for worship by Mr. Wesley. In
course of time as many societies were organ-
ized their membership must have its terms
and conditions defined, hence the "General BISHOP ASBURY
Rules." There were more societies than preachers and there
fore the few preachers travelled from place to place preach-
ing the gospel all the time, hence the "itinerancy" as a
peculiar practice of Methodism came into use. When no
preacher was available these societies would come together
and tell their experiences and exhort one another to right
living. From this came the Methodist class meeting. Meth-
odism came to America in a very early day. Wesley and
Whitefield both visited the new world. Wesley spent many
months in the colony of Georgia, while Whitefield travelled
and preached in all the colonies from Georgia to Maine. His
wonderful voice was heard by thousands. So great was its
carrying power that it was claimed that some had heard his
sermons distinctly across the Delaware river. He was like a
flame of fire . The great awakening under Jonathan Edwards had
largely subsided. Whitefield revived it. He preached to the Con-
gregational churches of New England, and to the Presbyterians
and Baptists of the middle colonies and the south. His evan-
MC KENDREE
CHAPTER 11.
Early Methodisrn
gelistic seal led him to cross the ocean thirteen times and at
last he finished his career on this side at Newburyport, Mass-
achusetts, and his remains now rest under the little Presby-
terian church in that city instead of in Westminster Abbey.
But the real pioneers of Methodism were Philip Embury,
Barbara Heck, and Captain Webb in the north, and Robert
Strawbridge and Richard Owen, and others like them in the
south. In Baltimore, John King first preached from a black-
smith's block at the corner of Front .ind French streets. He
made such a favorable impression on certain influential citi-
zens who heard him that he was invited to preach in the
Episcopal church of St. Paul's. He improved this opportunity
with such fervor that he received no repeti-
tion of the courtesy. But Methodism had now
entered the city to stay and five years from
the time King preached from the blacksmith's
block, it was strong enough in Baltimore to
entertain the annual conference. In 1784 in
this same city at the Christmas Conference,
the church was formerly organized by Dr.
Coke who carried instructions and authority
from Mr. Wesley. At this same conference
occurred the ordination of Francis Asbury as
the first real Bishop of the Methodist church
in America. Asbury, designated by a recent
biographer "The Prophet of the Long Road,"
postle of American Methodism. He was the
1745 in Stafford-
was the real
only son of pious parents, born August
shire, England, he was converted at fourteen, definitely en-
tered the Wesleyan ministry at twenty-one, and came to
America m 177 1 when he was twenty-six. He threw all his
energy into the work, travelling and preaching constantly
and advising his fellow-workers. His qualities of leader-
ship and good judgmsnt were early recognized by his asso-
ciates. Tho there was necessarily somewhat of a cessation of
the work of Methodism during the Revolutionary War, it
was promptly resumed when peace was established and the
new government organized. The formal organization of the
church was effected m 1784, the next year after the treaty was
signed and three years before the Constitution of the United
States was signed. After Asbury became bishop, his duties led
him into the West where he travelled, preached, and presided
m the conferences, continuously. He was an excellent judge
of men and therefore skillful in his administration of the con-
|mc KENDREE ^^^^^:^^:^...^>..:^
ferences. He was as much of a student as the circumstances
permitted. He spent much of his time in the saddle and his
library was in his saddle bags. But yet his biographers insist
that he had some knowledge of the original languages of the
Bible and the journal which he faithfully kept during the most
of his itinerant life, indicates that he was a scholar of no mean
attainments. His equestrian statue in the city of Washington,
represents him in the role of the Methodist circuit rider. It
stands on Sixteenth street in an aristocratic quarter of the city
among the residences of the foreign ambassadors. It is said to
be the only statue of the many on the streets of our great
capital that does not represent a war hero. Asbury was a fa-
miliar figure in the middle west for a generation. He was a
true Itinerant but at the same time he was the friend of educa-
tion. He assisted in the founding of several Methodist schools,
notably Cokesbury, and in later years several were named
for him. More than any other one man he may be regarded as
the founder of the Methodist movement in America. He died
March 31, 1816. His body lies in Mt. Olivet cemetery in
Baltimore. He had many worthy co'laborers who were leaders
in the work and without whom it could not have succeeded.
A little later we will give sketches of the lives of some of
these, especially those who labored in Illinois, in order that
the reader may be better acquainted with the conditions pre-
vailing in the period of the founding of McKendree College
and have some slight acquaintance with some of the worthies
whose labors made possible the results that have been realized
in the later days. Methodism in Illinois had its organized be-
ginning about the close of the eighteenth century. In some of
the western states the first settlement of the country and the
introduction of Methodism were contemporaneous. Scarcely
had the settler erected his cabin when the itinerant appeared
with his saddle bags containing a Bible, hymn book and Meth-
odist Discipline. But this was not the case in Illinois. The first
settlers were French Canadians who were strict Roman Cath-
olics, who brought with them their priests and all necessary
appliances for their own forms of worship. There were per-
manent settlements in Cahokia, Kaskaskia, and perhaps other
points for about a century before the first Methodist sermon
was preached in the territory of the state. The exact year in
which Methodism was brought into Illinois is not positively
known. Dr. Leaton thinks that the first Methodist in the state
was Captain Joseph Ogle who came to Illinois in 1785 and
settled in the American Bottom in what is now Monroe
County, and afterward moved to St. Clair County about
eight miles north of Belleville, where he died in 1821 at the
age of eighty. The first Methodist preacher to come to the
state was Rev. Joseph Lillard, then a local preacher of Ken-
tucky. During his visit he gathered the few scattered Meth-
odists into a class and appointed Captain Ogle their leader.
This was in 1793. Another preacher to visit the settlements
in Illinois was John Clarke. He had been a travelling preacher
in South Carolina. After visiting the Illinois settlements and
preaching to them he went on to Missouri. It is claimed that
he was the first Protestant minister to preach the gospel west
of the Mississippi river. But the first Methodist preacher who
really lived in Illinois was Hosea Rigg who came from Ken-
tucky in 1796 and settled in the American Bottom in St. Clair
County. He reorganized Captain Ogles class and later organ-
ized another class in Madison County, in the Goshen settle-
ment near EdwardsviUe.
Another of the early settlers who aided much in the estab-
lishment of Methodism was William Scott who came from
Kentucky in 1797 and settled at Turkey Hill where he died
in 1828. In 1803 the Illinois Mission was formed and recog-
nized as a charge in the Western Conference, which then
Lovely Lane Meeting House in Baltimore, where the
Methodist Church was organized
H.it worn hy Peter Cjrtwnght
(Now in the McKendree Museum)
Fir t M E Chir 1 1 St ill is 7
Organi^^d through th^ ttforts ot M^ktndrLL and Walke
Present Church at Shiloh
Oldest M. E, Church in Illinois
embraced all the territory west of the Allegheny mountains.
The first missionary or pastor appointed officially by the con-
ference to the Illinois circuit was Benjamin Young. At the
close of the year he reported a membership of sixty seven.
The charge embraced all the settlements from the mouth of
the Kaskaskia to Wood River in Madison County. One of the
preaching places was the house of Squire Reynolds, father of
Governor John Reynolds, a short distance east of Kaskaskia.
Another was the New Design settlement, a few miles south
of where Waterloo now stands. Also Shiloh and Goshen were
included in the circuit. In 1804 Rev. Joseph Oglesby was
appointed to the Illinois circuit. Dr. Leaton says of him that
no history of Methodism in the Mississippi Valley can be
complete which does not speak largely of the labors of Joseph
Oglesby. In iSo"; Charles R. Matheny was the preacher on
the Illinois circuit. It was in the Cumberland District of which
William McKendree was Presiding Elder. It was during this
year that the first Methodist meeting house was built in Illi-
nois. It was known as the Bethel Church in the Goshen settle-
ment two and a half miles south of Edwardsville. In 1817 the
second session of the Missouri conference was held m it. In
1806 the western conference met in Ebeneser church, Nol-
lichuckie, Tennessee, and Jesse Walker was appointed to the
Illinois circuit. During this conference year in April, 1807 the
first camp meeting in Illinois was held at Goshen. A little later
in the same summer another was held at Three Springs, now
known as Shiloh. This resulted in the organization of the Shiloh
church, through the efforts of McKendree and Walker, which
has been maintained continuously ever since, having celebrated
its centennial in 1907 with appropriate observances, and is
therefore the oldest existing Methodist church in the state of
Illinois. In 1816 Bishop McKendree who had then occupied
the episcopal olfice for eight years, organized the Missouri
Conference at Shiloh. It included the territory covered by
Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana. An armed guard of horsemen
escorted the Bishop from Vincennes over the old trail which
passed through the place where Lebanon now stands, tho at
that time there were only two or three houses on the hill.
This was a dozen years before the founding of McKendree
but m those twelve years much progress was made in the great
task of settling up the country. At the General Conference of
1824 an enabling act was passed providing for the division of
the Missouri Conference. This was done in the fall ot the
same year. The joint session was held at the residence of Will-
iam Padfield near Summerfield, beginning October 23, which
was on Saturday, and closed the following Thursday. The
journal of the session is signed by Bishop Roberts but the
records show that Bishops McKendree and Soule were both
present also. At th.it time the territory of the Illinois Con-
ference was the whole state of Illinois and also the state of
Indiana. In 1832 Indiana was organized into a separate con-
ference leaving the boundaries of the Illinois Conference and
the state the same. In 1840 the Rock River Conference was
cut off the north end of the state. In 1851 the south end
was likewise cut off and the Southern Illinois Conference or-
ganized. In 1856 it was again divided and the Central Illinois
Conference was organized. Yet after suffering all these divi-
sions the Illinois Conference is still one of the greatest in
Methodism. In fact the state of Illinois is divided into four
great conferences. But the Southern, tho not equal to her Nor-
thern neighbors in numbers and material wealth, is the orig-
inal field of Methodism and is rich in history and tradition
and in this respect will always have the advantage of the other
conferences of the state. Perhaps its greatest legacy as well as
its most valuable asset is McKendree College which has been
the inspiration for much of the success of Methodism not only
in IlHnois but in other and far distant states, as we shall at-
tempt to show in later chapters of this narrative.
HinetyFiie
<=^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^s:^
CHAPTER III.
Early Methodist Leaders
IT SEEMS appropriate at this point to
give brief sketches of some of the more
prominent leaders in the movement call-
ed Methodism in the particular field occupied
by McKendree College. Without these neith-
er the church nor the college would have h.i J
any existence, and the reader will have a
better idea of how the results recorded in this
narrative were brought about if he has some
little acquaintance with a few of these men
who left such a deep impress upon the age
in which they lived. These "knights of the
saddle bags" had a large part in the develop-
ment of the wonderful civilization which it
is our privilege to enjoy in these later days.
BISHOP McKENDREE
The man from whom our beloved college took its name
was the fourth Bishop of the church in the order of election
and the first who was a native born American, and whom one
historian has characterized as the "chief founder of the de-
nomination in the west."
William McKendree was born in Virginia, July 6, 1757.
His parents trained him carefully in the faith of the church of
England. The morals of the youth were nearly perfect. He
could remember to have sworn but one profane oath in his
whole lifetime, though that vice was common all around him .
He was but a youth at the beginning of the Revolutionary
War, but he took up arms with the patriot army in their strug-
gle for independence. He served several years, and attained
the rank of Adjutant in General Washington's army. He was
present at the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown in 1781 .
His home was on the Brunswick circuit in Virginia. In the
year 1787 under the ministry of Rev. John Easter, famous for
his eloquence, young McKendree's conscience was effectually
awakened. In telling of it in later years he said, "The great
deep of my heart was broken up. Its deceit and desperately
wicked nature very clearly appeared. My repentance was sin-
cere. I became willing and desirous to be saved on any terms.
After three days spent in fasting and prayer and in listening
to Mr. Easter while he was showing a large congregation the
way of salvation by faith, with a clearness which at once
astonished and encouraged me, I ventured my all upon Christ,
and my soul was relieved of a burden too heavy to be borne.
and joy instantly succeeded sorrow. For a time
I was fixed in silent adoration, giving glory
to God for his goodness to such an unworthy
creature."
His superior character and abilities soon led
his brethren to believe that he should devote
his life to the ministry. But in his self-distrust
he shrank from the suggestion. Mr. Easter in'
duced him to go with him a few trips on his
circuit and try out his preaching abiHty. But
after several attempts to preach he returned
home fearful that he had answered before he
was called. However Mr. Easter had more con-
cKENDREE fidence in McKendree's abilities than he him-
self had. So on Easter's recommendation at the next session of
the conference, McKendree was received on trial in the con-
ference and placed under the care of Philip Cox on the Meck-
lenburg circuit.
Of this appointment McKendree himself says, "I went
immediately to the circuit relying more on the judgment of
experienced ministers, in whom I confided, than on any clear
conviction of my call to the work. When I yielded to their
judgment I firmly resolved not to deceive them and to retire
as soon as I should be convinced that I was not called of God,
and to conduct myself in such a manner that if I failed my
friends might 'oe satisfied that it was not for want of effort on
my part, but their judgment was not well founded. Sustained
by a determination to make a full trial, I resorted to fasting
and prayer, and waited for those kind friends who had charge
and government over me to dismiss me from the work. But I
waited in vain. In this period of suspense I was frequently
comforted and supported by the kind and encouraging manner
in which I was received by the aged and experienced brethren,
and by the manifest presence of God in our meetings which
were frequently quite lively and profitable. Sometimes souls
were convicted and converted, which afforded me consider-
able encouragement, as well as the union and communion with
my Saviour in private devotion which he graciously afforded
me in the intervals of my very imperfect attempts to preach
His gospel. In this way I became satisfied of my call to the
ministry and that I was moving in the line of duty."
As an example of some of the depressing experiences he had
before he reached this conclusion, his biographer tells the
following: At one of his appointments on this circuit, after
MC KENDREE
singing and prayer he took his text and tried to look his audi-
ence in the face; but so great was his embarrassment that he
could not lift his eyes from the Bible till after his attempted
sermon was finished. After the service his host at that ap-
pointment left the church supposing the preacher would follow
him, but when he did not come after a reasonable time, the
host returned to the church and found McKendree sitting on
the lowest step of the pulpit stairs, his face covered with his
hands, looking forlorn and dejected as though he had not a
friend in the world. He very kindly invited the despondent
preacher to go home with him. McKendree replied in a mourn-
ful tone, "I am not fit to go home with anybody."
Sometime later McKendree was sitting sad and alone in the
parlor of the home where he was being entertained, when an
aged minister whose name is not given in the record, came in
and laying a kindly hand on his shoulder, said to him, "Brother,
my mind is strongly impressed that God has a great work for
you to do, and I believe the impression is from the Lord. Don't
run away from the cross. Take it up. Go to the work and be
faithful." While uttering these prophetic words, the tears ran
down the old man's cheeks and he left young McKendree with
his mind greatly moved. The history of the church through
the years has recorded the result. He made full proof of his
ministry.
He was for a time under the influence of the reactionary
O'Kelly who tried to induce him to send his resignation to
Bishop Asbury. He was for a while uncertain whether or not
to believe O'Kelly 's representations of the Bishop. He finally
decided to satisfy himself as to the real character of Asbury
by a visit and personal interview with him. Accordingly he
made a trip on purpose to see the Bishop and came back fully
convinced that O'Kelly had misrepresented him. He went
back to his work with a devotion that never again wavered.
In 1794 Bishop Asbury took McKendree with him to South
Carolina and appointed him to Union Circuit. The next year
he was back again in Virginia, but before the year closed he
was sent to Greenbrier Circuit among the Allegheny Moun-
tains; and thence to the Little Levels on the Kanawha River,
the remotest part of the Virginia Conference. "Surely," says
his biographer. Dr. Fry, "This was a style of itinerancy that
would frighten many of his successors in these days, but such
was the zeal of the preachers of that day that they delighted
in the most self-denying labors."
During the remainder of the century he traveled large dis-
tricts as presiding elder. One of them extended along the
Potomac in Maryland and Virginia, reaching from the Ches-
apeake to the Alleghenies. He had now become one of the
leading men of the church.
His personal appe.irance was impressive. He w.is nearly six
feet tall, with robust frame, and weighed about one hundred
and sixty pounds. He had abundance of d.irk hair and keen
yet kindly blue eyes.
His voice was deep and flexible; his tones were clear and
his enunciation good. His mind was quick and keen. His man-
ner was calm and dignified, but he was so singularly observant
that nothing in sight escaped his notice. One who knew him
during most of his public life said of him, "His intellect was
bright and his thoughts were diamond-pointed. He never said
foolish things; never weak or common things. There was
thought in all his words and wisdom in all his thoughts. He
was the man for the times and the age in which he lived. I
shall never see his like again. He was communicative, compan-
ionable and sympathizing. There was no coldness, coarseness,
or selfishness about him. Without eff^ort he found his way to
the confidence and esteem of every one, old and young, white
and black, rich and poor. As a pulpit orator his excellence
consisted mainly in his power of analysis. In this respect I
think I never heard his superior. He was not wanting in de-
scription and pathos, but in argument he was overwhelming.
His sermons were generally short, especially in the last years
of his ministry. His public prayers were simple, comprehen-
sive and brief; while they were at the same time the essence
of humility and the breath of devotion."
Asbury judged him fit to be the leader of the western itin-
erancy. He passed into the valley of the Mississippi where a
grand career awaited him. For thirty-five years he was the
most influential figure in the Methodism of this valley. One
writer says of him, "He was the most truly eloquent Bishop
that his church has ever possessed, and one of the best preach-
ers of any church or age."
He never married because he chose to give his whole time
and energy to the cause he loved and the church he served.
And this left no opportunity for a settled home and domestic
life. He died at the home of his brother near Nashville, Ten-
nessee, March 5, 1835. His last words were, "All is well." His
remains lie buried on the campus of Vanderbilt University at
Nashville. A very modest stone with a very meager inscrip-
tion marks the grave. Some years ago when Dr. Isaiah ViUars
was president of McKendree, he started a movement to have
the grave of Bishop McKendree moved to the campus of
McKendree College But the authorities of Vanderbilt refused
to consider the possibility of any such transfer. There are two
pictures of Bishop McKendree at the college. One of them
has the Bishop's own autograph pasted under the portrait.
This was clipped from a letter that he wrote to that Lebanon
pioneer. Uncle Ben Hypes.
}{inetySa.'en
.^^^^^^^^^MC KENDREE ^^^^^^^^^^
PETER CARTWRIGHT
A very prominent character in early Methodism was the
pioneer preacher, Peter Cartwright. A number of biographies
of him have been written, but we wish to give here only a
brief sketch which will enable the reader to better appreciate
his part in the religious and educational history of his time.
His own autobiography has been said by one Hterary critic
to show the most "distinctly American spirit of any book yet
written." Probably this is because it always records his tri-
umphs but never his failures.
He was born in Virginia, September i, 178-;, "a son of
poverty." His parents moved to Kentucky while he was yet
a child. His mother was a Methodist and tried to give her son
religious training. His father was "not so much a bad, as a
good-for-nothing kind of man." Therefore he was subject to
no restraints except his mother's talks and prayers, which he
says drew tears from his eyes and resolutions to reform and
seek religion. But when he got away among his rough and
thoughtless companions, he would forget his mother and go
to the horse races. He was naturally wild and sometimes
wicked, and in his youthful days delighted in horse-racing,
card-playing, and dancing. In 1801 he was converted and joined
the Methodist church. The following year he was licensed to
exhort by Jesse Walker. In 1804 he was received into the
Western Conference and appointed junior preacher on the
Salt River circuit, with William McKendree as his presiding
elder. Here McKendree directed him in a proper course of
. reading and examined into his progress at each quarterly meet-
ing. Later in hfe he acknowledged himself more indebted to
McKendree than to any other person for his attainments,
meager tho they were, in literature and divinity. In the sum-
mer of 1806 he was married to Frances Gaines, a woman
worthy to rank with the noble women of Methodism, and
who exerted a more favorable influence on her husband than
any or all other persons combined. Her character is well drawn
by Solomon or whoever is the author of the last chapter of
Proverbs. A woman who lived in the Cartwright home for
some years says of her, "Sister Cartwright was one of the
most industrious and amiable women I ever knew. Whatever
she did seemed to be done better and quicker than anybody
else could do it." His ministry was carried on in Kentucky,
with the exception of one year in the Wabash district in Illi-
nois, until 1824 when the Illinois Conference was organized.
He then transferred to that conference and spent the remain-
der of his life in Illinois. Prior to 1824 he had been twice
elected to the general conference and had distinguished him-
self as a bitter opponent of slavery, and had published his
PETER CARTWRIGHT
celebrated "Letter to the
Devil." He had planned to
be present at the organiza'
tion session of the Illinois
Conference at Summerfield,
but was hindered by the
death of his daughter, a
little girl who was killed by
a falling tree where they
camped one night on the
way . A little later he settled
on a farm which he bought
in Sangamon County near
Pleasant Plains, which was
his home for the remainder
of his life. This farm is now
owned by Mr. Walter
Nottingham who has lived
on it many years, and who
was once a student in Mc
Kendree. Mrs. Johnson
whom we quoted above
gives this brief description
of Cartwright's personal appearance: "He was short, thick,
heavy-set, with a large neck, coarse and rough in his manners,
and anything else but grave. After preaching with power and
praying as few men could, he would have a dozen or twenty
persons, frequently some of the roughest in his congregation,
all indulging in uproarious laughter at his jests before he was
ten feet away from the pulpit. He was at times as kind and
affectionate as any man, but often as abrupt as if entirely des-
titute of feeling. He was however generally affectionate in
his family. When his wife would chide him for leaving home
so much when not all the family were well, I have seen him
sit down and weep like a child. And when he came home from
his round of quarterly meetings it was not an hour before he
got up a general romp with the children."
Rev. J. M. Gunn speaks of him as follows in "Methodism
in Tennessee": "I never knew him to get hoarse or appear
tired in his preaching. He was death upon whisky-drinking,
tobacco, and coffee. Take him altogether he was one of the
most powerful men I ever heard."
Dr. Redford says of him: "Few men in the west have la-
bored with more untiring energy in the ministry than Peter
Cartwright. While traveling the Cumberland District he of-
ten returned home from his quarterly meetings worn and
weary, but in order to support his family he would work his
fields by the light of the pale moon. Prompt in meeting his
E.ght
MC KENDREE
appointments, it was very seldom that he disappointed a con'
gregation." Before he left Kentucky he became a terror to evil'
doers in that state, administering reproof with unsparing hand.
He came to Illinois in 1824 and for nearly fifty years showed
the same characteristics in his ministry here. In view of the
extent of his labors, the severe privations he endured, the
meager support he received from the church, the fiithfulness
with which he performed his duties, and his deep devotion to
the cause for which he labored, we conclude that it would be
difficult to find his equal. True there were some things about
him that we would have had different if possible. His manner
of dealing with his opponents would not be tolerated in the
church of today but it was very effective in dealing with a
class of people who were common in his day. He died at
Pleasant Plains Sept. 25, 1872.
SAMUEL H. THOMPSON
Samuel H. Thompson was born in Pennsylvania, March 16,
1786. His parents were Presbyterians and he was carefully
instructed in their faith. He received a good English education.
He was converted at twenty and began to preach at twenty'
three. He assisted in holding the first Methodist camp meet-
ing in Indiana, which was a time of "great power and glory."
He was presiding elder of the Illinois district when it covered
more than two-thirds of the state. He was once nominated for
Lieutenant-Governor of Illinois but he could not be induced
to follow the electioneering customs practiced by candidates
of that day, as well as this, so he was not elected. He served
as agent for McKendree College and was president of the
Board of Trustees. He was at different times pastor of the
Lebanon circuit, Alton, Belleville, and other charges m Illi-
nois. He was a man of fine personal appearance and in manners
was a polished Christian gentleman. He had fine social qual-
ities and was an admirable conversationalist. As a preacher
his style was hortatory rather than didactic. His discourses
abounded in anecdote and illustration. He could tell a story
with a grace and force that strongly impressed those who
heard him. He was very sympathetic and like Jeremiah his
head was a fountain of tears. His sweet spirit endeared him
to all who knew him. He was five times elected to the general
conference; and on one occasion, the bishop being absent, he
was chosen to preside during the entire session of his own
conference. In his family worship it is said that he covered the
field so thoroly that he sometimes prayed for his horse as well
as for the various members of the family. He excelled in rais-
ing funds for benevolent causes and was so frequently engaged
in that work that he was called by some "the beggar general."
On one occasion he closed his appeal by telling the people to
come forward and lay their offerings on the table. Among
those who responded was a man who put his hand deep into
his pocket and took out a handful of silver in order to pick out
a piece for his gift. Thompson saw him and as if supposing he
intended to lay it all upon the table, exclaimed at the top of
his voice, "Thank God for one liberal soul." By this time all
eyes were fixed on the "liberal" gentleman who then felt that
he must indeed lay down the entire handful. Peter Cartwright
says of him, "Mr. Thompson had a passion for lost souls, and
spent the best years of his life seeking them out and trying to
show them the way to Heaven. No doubt many are now
praising God in eternity because this self-sacrificing Metho-
dist preacher taught them the way of life, m their mud hovels
and murky cabins. During his last illness he requested that
the neighbors be called in that he might preach to them once
more, while propped up in bed before he left for Heaven. It
was done. The room was crowded and such a sermon hardly
ever fell from the lips of mortal man. The power of God fell
on the congregation. They wept aloud and fell in every direc-
tion. Many dated their start for Heaven from that sermon.
And now having delivered his last message he said, 'My work
is done and I am ready to go at my Master's bidding'."
JOHN DEW
Rev. John Dew was born July 19, 1789 in the state of Vir-
ginia. In early youth he became religious and joined the Meth'
odist church. At the age of twenty-four he felt the call to the
ministry and joined the Ohio Conference in 181 3. After serv-
ing three years he located and married a wife. After a few
years he came west and joined the Missouri Conference in
1824 just before the Illinois Conference was cut off from it.
From that time on he was m the Illinois Conference. In 1830
and again m 183,2 he was appointed pastor of the Lebanon
Circuit. In 1835 he located again. This was probably for
reasons connected with the support of his family. In 1836 he
was readmitted and appointed president of McKendree Col-
lege. He held this position only two years and then was
appointed Presiding Elder of the Lebanon District. He held
this position to the end of his life. His death occurred Sep-
tember 5th, 1840, after an illness of two weeks. He was then
only fifty -one years of age and presumably in the prime of his
ability. The family left to mourn his loss consisted of his
wife and seven children. His biographer says that as a minister
he was able and useful. As a Presiding Elder his services will
be long remembered.
cs^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^g^^S^
As a man he was honest; as a citizen he was public spirited;
in the domestic circle he was kind and affectionate; as a
Christian his walk and conversation recommended the reli-
gion he had spent the greater part of hi? life in preaching to
his fellowmen.
Peter Cartwright, his intimate friend says of him, "He had
a fine order of talent as a preacher, was a strong theological
debater, had a clear and sound mind, and was well qualified
to defend the doctrines of the Bible against infidelity, and the
doctrines of Methodism against all sectarian assailants. He
was popular and useful as a preacher, labored hard, suffered
much in spreading the Gospel, lived beloved, and died la-
mented by thousands." He was said to be of fine personal
appearance with black hair and piercing eyes. His voice was
very musical and in reading the Scriptures or lining the hymns
he often produced a powerful effect on his hearers.
JESSE WALKER
Dr. Lea ton says that to Jesse Walker, Methodism in Illinois
and Missouri is more indebted than to any other single indi-
vidual. He was born in Virginia June 9, 1766 and hence was
nineteen years older than Cartwright. He had very slight
educational opportunities in his youth. Twenty days would
cover the whole period of his school life. When only nine
years of age he was religiously awakened under the preaching
of a Baptist preacher in Virginia, but for the want of religious
instruction and environment he later backslid and became
very wicked. At twenty he was reclaimed and joined the
Methodist church. He was at once appointed class leader and
became very useful in that field. His friends urged him to enter
the ministry but he refrained until he was thirty-six, when he
finally yielded to the call and joined the Western Conference.
At this time he was living in Kentucky and had a wife and
two daughters. He had only moderate preaching ability, but
he possessed a soul burning with desire for the salv.ition of
others. He was unable to discuss the learned theological doc-
trines, but he could tell the story of the cross with such
pathos and power as to melt the hardest heart.
Governor Reynolds, in his Pioneer History of Illinois, refers
to him in the following words, "Mr. Walker was a man of
great energy and courage; very excitable and producing great
excitement in his congregations. He was a short well-set man,
walked erect, and was possessed of great firmness, energy and
perseverance. His complexion was sallow. His eyes were blue,
small, and piercing. He was not a profound scholar, but a
student of the Scripture and of human nature."
Another writer says he usually wore a wide-rimmed hat
which m.ide him resemble a Quaker in appearance. In the
Spring of 1806 he paid his first visit to Illinois. He was greatly
delighted with the country and felt that here God had a great
work for him to do. He went back to Kentucky and finished
the year on his circuit, and at the next conference he was
appointed to the Illinois circuit. He arrived home from con-
ference at noon. By ten o'clock the next day he was ready to
start, with his family for his new field of labor in Illinois. They
braved the handicap of high waters, storms, hunger, and cold
as they traveled the two hundred weary miles from Hartford,
Kentucky to Turkey Hill in St. Clair County, Illinois. Near
there he located his family, and they lived there for several
years while he was constantly travelling through the pioneer
communities of Illinois and Missouri. His parsonage was an
old log cabin belonging to William Scott. It had a plank floor,
which was better than many had at that time, a stick chimney,
and a big fire place with a hearth so low that the edge of the
floor served as seats for all the family, around the fire. He
immediately entered upon his labors as a circuit rider and at
the next New Year's eve held a "Watch night meeting"which
was said to be the first ever held in Illinois. In connection
with that meeting he also held the first "love feast" in Illinois.
In April 1807 he held the first camp meeting in Illinois, at a
place about three miles south of the present city of Edwards-
ville. Late in July of the same year he and William McKendree,
then presiding elder of the Cumberland District, held another
camp meeting at Three Springs, later known as Shiloh, which
resulted in the organization of the Shiloh church, which is
now the oldest Methodist church in Illinois.
In one of his itineraries west of the Mississippi river he
held a camp meeting on the spot where later was built the
McKendree Chapel, which was the first Methodist church
west of the Mississippi river. In 1819 he planted Methodism
in St. Louis. When he and two other preachers arrived in
town they found the Territorial Legislature in session. Every
public house was crowded with guests and there was literally
"no room for them in the inn." When their mission became
known they were ridiculed and insulted by those who should
have respected them. Walker's two companions soon deserted
him. A little later he too became so discouraged by his treat-
ment there that he decided to leave the wicked place to its
fate and seek a more appreciative field of labor. He mounted
his horse and turned his back on the future great city. But
after going a few miles he reconsidered and in his own mind
resolved that "by the Grace of God he would take St. Louis
for Jesus Christ." So he turned back and renewed his efforts.
When after a few days the only place where he was permitted
to preach w,is closed against him, he boldly rented a room for
ten dollars a month and held meetings there five days m the
week and twice on Sunday. At the end of the conference year
he had built a house of worship and reported seventy-five
members in his church. Besides this he had estabHshed an out-
point on his charge at Alton, thirty miles away, where he had
a regular appointment to preach once a month at the house of
Nathaniel Pinckard. In the Spring of 1825 he preached the first
sermon inChicago,ortheplacethatafterwardsbecameChicago.
Mr. Walker could not confine himself to any particular
field. He adopted Wesley's motto, "The World is my parish."
To hundreds of early settlers he was the first to carry the
glad tidings of the Gospel. When John Sinclair was appointed
to the Chicago District he found that wherever he went
Walker had been there before him. Being ambitious to preach
the gospel first to some of the newcomers, and hearing of a
family that had just settled at Root River in Wisconsin, he
made all haste to carry them the word of eternal life. On his
way there he met Mr. Walker. On inquiry about his health
Walker told him that he was quite well but weary, as he was
just returning from a long trip looking after a family who had
recently settled at Root River. In despair Sinclair gave up
hope of ever being the first to take the gospel to anybody as
long as Walker was anywhere in the country.
One historian says Walker was to the church what Daniel
Boone was to the early settlers — preceding all others long
enough to be a pilot to the newcomers. His natural vigor was
almost superhuman. No day's journey was too long for him
to travel. No fare was too poor for him to live upon. To him,
in travelling, roads and paths were useless things. He blazed
his own course. If his horse could not carry him, he led the
horse. Where the horse could not follow, he left him and
pursued his course on foot. If night and a cabin did not come
together, he would pass the night alone in the wilderness,
which was no uncommon occurrence with him. He was never
lost. As the church moved north and west it seemed to bear
Walker before it. Every time you would hear from him he
was a little farther on. When at last feebleness of body com'
pelled him to take a place with the superannuates he did not
long survive the process of retirement.
PETER AKERS
Peter Akers was born near Lynchburg, Campbell County,
Virginia, September i, 1790. His parents, John and Agnes
Akers, were Presbyterians and gave their children careful
religious training. After being educated in the common schools
of his state, he began to teach when only sixteen years of age.
Later he attended two higher institutions of learning, one in
Virginia and the other in
North Carolina. He pur-
sued the classical course
and acquired habits of
close and diligent study,
but did not attain a degree.
Then, altho his mother,
wished him to enter the
ministry, he decided to
study law. He went to
Sterling, Kentucky, where
he first taught school for
a time and then studied
law in the office of Major
Fleming of Flemingsburg,
PETER AKERS
President of McKendree College when
It obtained its first charter in iS^';.
Kentucky. He was admitted to the bar in 181 7 and became
Major Fleming's partner. About two years later he began
the publication of a paper called "The Star" but he did not
continue long in editorial work. He was married March 12,,
1818 to Miss Eliza Farris. She died of tuberculosis June 24,
1821, leaving one son, Joshua Soule Akers, their first child
having died in infancy. This son was the only one of his chil-
dren who grew to maturity and lived to succeed his father in
the gospel ministry. Shortly before the death of his wife in
1821 he was converted in a Methodist revival meeting and a
few months later began his career as a Methodist preacher.
He was admitted to the Kentucky Conference in 1821 and
his first charge was Limestone Circuit. The next year he was
appointed to Kentawa on which charge he organized seven-
teen Sunday Schools during the year and received as his entire
cash salary the magnificent sum of $3,7.56.Thenext year he was
appointed to the Fleming Circuit and m the course of this
year he had a remarkable religious experience which probably
affected his entire subsequent career. In 1826 he was sent to
Lexington which was one of the prominent charges. It was
here that he married his second wife, Elizabeth Reed. In 1832
he came to Illinois where he remained a member of the Illinois
Conference for the rest of his life. The next year after he came
to Ilhnois his scholarship and ability was recognized in his
election to the presidency of McKendree College. He was
president when the first charter was obtained in 1835. He
continued in this position three years and twice thereafter he
was president of McKendree for short periods, but he seemed
to feel that his principle work was in the pulpit. He served in
numerous important charges and was presiding elder of the
Springfield District two terms, Quincy District two terms,
Jacksonville District one term, and the North Jacksonville
One Hundred and One
District two years. He was a member of eight General Con-
ferences, but on account of his extreme modesty, refused to
make a speech after the reporters were admitted in 1840. The
first degree that McKendree College ever conferred was the
Doctor of Divinity bestowed upon Mr. Akers in 1839. He
published a book while he was President of McKendree, en-
titled "Biblical Chronology" upon which he spent many years
of study and research. He was a mighty pulpit orator and had
no superior in Methodism in that field during the years of his
active service. It is said that an audience would often listen
to his preaching from two to four hours at a time with un-
abating interest and without realizing that the sermon was
long. Lincoln heard him one day in one of his great efforts and
went away feeling that he himself was to be in some way
concerned with the overthrow of slavery. He was a prophet
with the spirit of Elijah or Malachi. The evil of slavery was
one of his favorite themes. In 1856 he was preaching one
Sunday morning in the college chapel. After discussing the
subject of slavery at some length he approached the pulpit
stand with a gravity which hushed the audience to a breath-
less stillness, placed his long fore finger upon the page of the
open Bible, and with all the solemnity of a Jeremiah, said, "I
cannot give you the exact date but in the latter part of i860
or the early part of 186 1 there will arise in this nation the
greatest internecine war known to the history of the world.
It will be brother against brother, family against family, and
thousands of hearth stones will be made desolate. But thru
this bloody baptism we must pass for the deliverance of the
slave from bondage." His active ministry covered a period of
forty-six years. In 1867 failing health made it seem wise to
take the superannuate relation. But even after that he spent
almost a score of useful years living in retirement in the city
of Jacksonville, with his third wife who was Miss Anne
Goheen. He lived in a house which the citizens of Jacksonville
gave him in order to have him Hve in their city. His home was
a mile from the Methodist church, yet as long as his health
permitted, he could be seen regularly every Sunday morning
walking the mile each way to and from church. A friend of
his used to say that this was a splendid object lesson on the
duty of church going, and that he was in reality preaching a
sermon "two miles long" every Sunday. When his son the
Rev. Joshua Akers left Illinois to take up work out west a
few years before his father's death, in bidding him goodby
the aged patriarch said, "My son, I am old. My time has been
well lengthened out. My work is done. I cannot live much
longer, but I am unable to give you the date of my death any
nearer than to say it will occur on Sunday morning at the
hour of the church service." When the time of his departure
from earth did come, the son received a dispatch on Tuesday
saying his father could not live much longer. He remembered
his father's parting prophecy and after consulting a railway
guide he reasoned thus, "I can leave here on Thursday, be
with him on Saturday and thus see him alive, for he will not
pass away till Sunday." Following this plan he arrived home
and received his father's parting messages on Saturday, and
on Sunday morning while the church bells of Jacksonville
were ringing for the morning services his spirit took its de-
parture. This was on Feb. 21, 1886.
Saddle-bag used by Cartwright, now in the McKendree Mu
Ctie Hundred ,ind Tu
CHAPTER IV.
Early Methodist Schools
QETHODISM was born in a college when the Wesleys
organized the "Holy Club" at Oxford; and while it
has worked successfully among the poor and unedu-
cated classes, it has also emphasized educational work. Its
founders were educated men who taught an intelligent form
of religion. Before the days of American Methodism, John
Wesley established the Kingswood School in 1748. He care-
fully worked out the course of study himself and declared
that the youth who faithfully pursued and mastered its cur-
riculum would in most cases be better educated than the
graduates of Oxford or Cambridge.
In America Asbury had established a school in Brunswick
County, Virginia, which there is good reason to believe pre-
ceded the more famous Cokesbury. He was fond of scriptural
names and therefore it is not strange that it was called Eben-
ezer. There is scarcely any record to be found concerning it
now, but Mr. W. Embury Merritt once a prominent lawyer
in Virginia, whose father Rev. Henry Merritt was a trustee
of Ebenezer, said it was opened in 1784, at least a year before
the opening of Cokesbury, and in all probability earlier in the
same year that the Christmas Conference was held where the
Methodist Episcopal church was formally organized. Bishop
Asbury was not always pleased with the administration of
the school. In his journal under date of December 8, 1794 he
wrote : "I had a meeting with the trustees of Ebenezer Acad-
emy. Matters are very discouraging. People in general care
too little for the education of their children."
Jesse Lee's history of Methodism in 1809 mentions the
school as in operation at that date. There seems to be no
authentic record as to when it was closed. One writer says
it was finally sold by authority of the state legislature, but
does not tell what was done with the money. A few years
ago the Methodist Year Book contained a picture of the old
stone building, erected for Ebenezer Academy, but now fallen
into decay, and labelled it the oldest educational building in
American Methodism. There is a tradition that the first prin-
cipal of Ebenezer was a Scotchman who was brought to
America on purpose to take charge of the school, and that he
was a great linguist but rather ignorant in some of the prac-
tical things of life. In order to make his living more economical
he planted a garden. When his beans came up he noticed that
the beans he had planted were on the tips of the growing
plants. He concluded that by some strange mistake of nature
they had started to grow with the wrong end up. So he
immediately proceeded to dig them up and invert them. He
was probably a better linguist than a gardener.
COKESBURY
Cokesbury College was the first Methodist educational in-
stitution that claimed college rank. Before the Christmas con-
ference of 1784 had adjourned, plans were laid for the founding
of a Methodist college in the new world. The corner stone
was laid with solemn ceremonies by Bishop Asbury on Sun-
day, June 5, 1785. Dr. Coke had ardently advocated the enter-
prise, and helped raise $5,000 for it in the short period of his
official visit to America and the institution shared the names
of these two great leaders. But Coke under orders from Wes-
ley, hastened back to England while Asbury in the midst of
his other arduous duties, took care of the infant educational
enterprise. It was located at Abingdon, Maryland, twenty-
five miles from Baltimore. Magnificent views extend in either
direction. On the one hand the picturesque valley of the
Susquehanna, and on the other the magnificent Chesapeake
bay stretching away in the distance till it is lost in the ocean.
The building is described by John Dickens, the Methodist
Book Concern man of that day, in the following words: "The
college is one hundred and eight feet in length and forty feet
in breadth, and stands on the summit and center of six acres
of land with an equal descent and portion of ground on each
side. The whole building is painted on the outside and the
windows glazed." Wesley sent out a middle aged clergyman
from England to be the principal. In September, 1787 an
examination of the Preparatory School took place, Bishop
Asbury presiding. In December, Mr. Heath, the English Cler-
gyman, was publicly inaugurated as president and Mr. Marsh
and Patrick McCloskey as professors. There were then twen-
ty-five students. Abingdon soon became a favorite place of
residence for families desiring a beautiful locality and the
advantages of a good school. It entertained the conference in
1786 and later it became a common practice for the Baltimore
Conference to begin its sessions in that city and then adjourn
to Cokesbury College for the conclusion of its deliberations.
The Cokesbury curriculum included, besides the English
branches, the Latin, Greek, Hebrew, German, and French
languages. In the Methodist Discipline for 1789 is given a
detailed statement of the purposes and rules of the institu-
tion. From this we quote a few extracts.
One Hundred and Three
MC KENDREE
Where Cokesbury College built
"It shall be the purpose of the institution to educate the
sons of Methodist preachers, orphans, and other children. It is
expected that our friends who send their children to the college
will, if they be able, pay a moderate sum for their education
and board. The rest will be taught and boarded, and if our
finances will allow it, clothed gratis. Our first object shall be
to answer the design of Christian education by instilling into
their minds the principles of true religion and training them
in the ancient way that they may be rational scriptural
Christians, and this is one of the reasons why we do not
admit students indiscriminately. We shall inflexibly insist on
their rising early in the morning; and we are convinced that
this is of vast importance to both body and mind. The em-
ployments which we have chosen for the recreation of stu-
dents are such as are of great public utihty, as agriculture and
architecture. In teaching the languages care shall be taken to
read those authors only who join together the purity, ele-
gance and strength of their several tongues. And the utmost
caution shall be used that nothing immodest be found in any
of our books. The price of education shall be four guineas.
However the sons of travelling preachers shall be boarded,
educated, and clothed gratis, except those whose parents,
according to the judgment of the conference, are of ability to
defray the expense." The regimen of the institution was re-
markable for its vigor, if not for its wisdom. The students
were required to rise at five o'clock in the morning in summer
and winter, and to be in bed by nine o'clock in the evening
"without fail." Also to study seven hours every day with
intervals of exercise or recreation. No studies were allowed
after seven in the evening. The recreations prescribed were,
"gardening, walking, riding, bathing, out of doors; and the
carpenters', joiners', cabinet makers' and turners' business in
doors." It was also specified that the pupils shall not be al-
lowed to sleep on feather beds, nor shall they engage in any-
thing that the world calls play. During its ten years of
history Cokesbury educated a number of youths who were
afterward leaders in the church. It was also useful in furnish-
ing an opportunity for an education to preachers' sons who
probably would not have been able to secure it otherwise.
And, especially, training and strict discipline for the sons of
itinerant preachers whose fathers were not at home enough
to give them the needed discipline. At midnight December
7, 1795 the college was destroyed by fire. This ended its
career. The fire was said to be of unknown origin but it would
not be strange if it were started by some of the boys who
doubtless chafed under the severe discipline of the school.
When he heard of it Asbury wrote in his journal; "We have
now a confirmed account that Cokesbury College is consumed
to ashes. A sacrifice of about ten thousand pounds in ten
years. I do not think the Lord called Methodists to build
colleges. I wished only for schools. Dr. Coke wanted a college.
I feel distressed at the loss of the library." The former site
of Cokesbury is now a spot full of historic interest, shown
in one issue of the Methodist Year Book. The old bell which
survived the fire was in after years taken to Goucher College
in Baltimore where it is still in service.
AUGUSTA
Augusta College in Kentucky had its origin thru a com-
mission of the Ohio and Kentucky conferences. It was opened
as a preparatory classical school some time in 1822, with Rev.
John P. Finley as principal. In December of the same year it
received a charter from the state of Kentucky, with full
authority to confer degrees. It was the only Methodist col-
lege then in existence which had that authority. The most
influential man in securing the establishment of the college
was Captain James Armstrong, a lay member of the Metho-
dist church in Augusta. He furnished the land and bore the
entire expense of erecting the first Methodist church
building in his home town. That was in 1819. He likewise
furnished the ground and led in the construction of the col-
lege building, which after its completion was duly transferred
to the trustees of Augusta College. The building was eighty
by forty-two feet. On the first floor was a chapel besides two
recitation rooms. On the second floor were six rooms and the
third floor was divided into seven rooms. Among the distin-
guished men who have served on the faculty are Rev. James
S. Tomlinson, Rev. John P. Durbin, Rev. Henry B. Bascom,
and Rev. Martin Ruter. The last named received the degree
of Doctor of Divinity from Transylvania University. It is
claimed that he was the first minister in the Methodist Epis-
copal Church upon whom this degree was conferred
One Himdrd and Four
MC KENDREE
In the list of Trustees of August.i is found the name of
Bishop Joshua Soule. The college was noted for its religious
atmosphere. The revival spirit prevailed. In January 1828, Dr.
Durbin wrote to the Christian Advocate as follows: '"We
have a most glorious revival. It commenced among our one
hundred students. It would do you good to witness the
soundness of their conversion and the ardor of their triumph.
I had long believed that a college could be made not only the
nursery of learning but of morals and religion as well. I am
convinced of it more and more every day. I rejoice that we
have in the West one regular college where our youth may
be educated and neither their morals nor their principles cor-
rupted. I am clearly convinced that our youth should not be
taught by any man who is not decidedly pious." For a few
years Augusta was the only Methodist school in America
having legal authority to confer the baccalaureate and other
degrees. Therefore students from distant states sought its
advantages. The numbers were at no time great but included
representative young men from the best families m Metho-
dism. In 1829 the first class was admitted to the Bachelor of
Arts degree. From that time till the repeal of the Charter a
class was graduated each year. The total alumni list contains
one hundred and fifty-three names. Among these are some
II i m K 111 II! m iji
Augusta College, founded in 1822; the first Methodist College
in the west
who came to prominence in the legal and medical professions
and in the ministry. A larger list were students for ft time
but did not come to graduation. Among these were Bishop
BISHOP SIMPSON
A graduate of Madison
Randolphs. Foster and Pro-
fessor John Miley, who was
for many years a member of
the faculty of Drew Theo-
logical Seminary. It is said
that Foster and Miley were
fellow students and inti-
mate friends. In after years
Sallie Miley, John's sister
became Mrs. Foster. Also
Dr. John W. Locke, once
president of McKendree,
graduated from Augusta
in 1841.
Thedivisionof the church
ini844brought about condi-
tions which hindered the progress of Augusta and in 1849
Its charter was repealed and its doors were closed.
MADISON
Madison College, located for a few years at Uniontown,
Pennsylvania, represents another attempt at higher educa-
tion in Methodism. Its history as a college dates from 1826.
It developed from an academy known as Union Seminary
which had been started m 1792 under the direction and
leadership of Bishop Asbury, m this strong Methodist center
which had already entertained several annual conferences.
The college was organized under the patronage of the Pitts-
burg Conference with Dr. Henry B. Bascom as president and
professor of Moral Science, Dr. Charles Elliott as professor
of Languages, and Dr. James H. Fielding as professor of Math-
ematics. It was chartered by the Legislature of Pennsylvania
in 1827 and rendered a few years of excellent service as a
struggling Methodist college without sufficient endowment.
In 182,3 Allegheny College, a Presbyterian institution found-
ed in 181 f at MeadviUe, was ceded to the Methodist Church.
This institution, with much the same patronizing territory
and, having so much the start of Madison, so completely
overshadowed the latter institution that its doors were closed
and Its former supporters transferred their allegiance to Alle-
gheny. The building occupied by Madison was afterward
used for a college of the Methodist Protestant Church, then
as a Female College, later as a school for the orphans of sol-
diers, and still later as a private residence. Among the few
graduates which Madison sent out during its short career was
Bishop Matthew Simpson. Had the college done no other
service than the training of this wonderful servant of God it
would have justified its existence. Allegheny College, found-
ed in 1815 and Dickinson, founded in 1785 are both to be
counted among the early enterprises in religious education,
but their early struggles are not a part of this story for they
were both founded by the Presbyterians and became Meth-
odist institutions by transfer, both in the same year, 183J.
THE WESLEY AN
The Wesleyan Academy now known as Wilbraham acad-
emy and referred to in theCentennial number of theChristian
Advocate as "the oldest school in Method-
ism" was founded in 1817 at New Market,
New Hampshire. This location proved unsuit-
able in several ways. Altho for a time it
was under the guidance of that genius of
early Methodism, Dr. Martin Ruter, it
went behind financially to such an extent
that in 1823 it closed its doors. After a thoro
reorganization, the school was opened the fol-
lowing year at Wilbraham, Massachusetts.
Its first principal in the new location was Rev.
Wilbur Fisk, afterwards president of the Wes-
leyan University, who distinguished himself
in after years by refusing to accept the office
of Bishop when he was elected by the General
Conference on the first ballot. Dr. Fisk was a
strict discipHnarian. An interesting story of his diHgence in
this line is told in the early annals of Wilbraham. He always
appealed to the best that was in his pupils to secure correct
deportment, but incorrigibles, instead of being sent home,
were treated with stripes, few or many according to their
crimes. In extreme cases punishment was administered in the
presence of the school as a warning to others. On one occasion
a lad who had been a frequent offender was told to come next
morning prepared for a switching. After the usual morning
devotions he was called to the front and treated to a lengthy
BISHOP BOWMAN
Member of McKendree Board of
Trustees
homily on good behavior. Then down came the birch over
his shoulders. But while the rest of the school were in a state
of nervous fear it only produced a smile from the boy himself.
His coat was ordered off and the switch was again vigorously
applied. The rest of the pupils winced but the lad remained
calm and comfortable. Next his vest was ordered off, only to
find another and then another and then fell down a large atlas
which had furnished effectual protection against the cutting
blows of the switch. The whole school broke
into roars of laughter in which the principal
was compelled to join. After he had recovered
his equihbrium he asked "Why did you fixyour-
selfupin that way?" "You told me to prepare for
a flogging and, I did so," was the meek reply,
which again brought the house down. Without
further attempt at correction he was allowed to
resume his seat. He had earned his liberty. Sev-
eral prominent leaders in Methodism have been
connected with this school. Among them Rev.
Robert Allyn who was Principal (from 1845 to
1848) and later. President of McKendree Col-
lege. During his administration the school
prospered and increased in numbers. At the
close of the year 1848 an alumni reunion was
held in the grove north of the school. Many former students
were present and memories ofold days were revived. On that
occasion Mr. Annis Merrill ofSan Francisco delivered an able
historical address. Ten years prior to that time he had been
a professor in McKendree and his picture still hangs in
McKendree's chapel. For more than a century this
famous old school has been active in the field of sec-
ondary education. It has prepared thousands for college
or for the active duties of life and is still busy molding the char-
acter of some hundreds of young Methodists every year.
McKENDREE COLLEGE— Original building erected in 1828, destroyed by fire January, 1856
One Hundred and Si
ilMC KENDREE
ON THURSDAY, September 20, 1827, when the leaves
in the Wabash valley had just begun to take on their
gorgeous autumn colors, a group of serious minded, tho
ever cheerful Methodist preachers arrived at Mount Carmel,
on the Wabash for the fourth session of the Illinois Confer-
ence. They did not travel on limited trains or in limousines,
but each on his own faithful steed, with the records of his
year's work, his library, and his wardrobe, all in his saddle
bags. The territory of the conference at that time included
the two states of Illinois and Indiana, so the trip to conference
meant several days' journey for some of the circuit riders.
The conference host was the Rev. John McReynoIds. Altho
It was necessary to furnish lodging for as many horses as men,
the entertainment of the conference was not as heavy a task
as at the present day. At the opening session only twenty-
seven members answered roll-call, tho the records show that
there were at least fifty-five members. Probably the others
arrived later, in time to hear the bishop preach on Sunday.
There were also fourteen young men there as applicants for
membership in the conference. Of these, eleven were admitted
on probation. The other three were rejected for reasons not
stated in the minutes. And of those who were received on
trial two did not make good. The minutes of the next con-
ference show that one was dropped and one discontinued at
his own request. Bishop Roberts was the presiding officer. He
was the sixth in order of the bishops of the Methodist church,
but the first who was a married man. These men were indeed
serious minded and felt the importance of their business in
the conference. They held two business sessions daily for a
full week and opened the final session at six o'clock in the
morning in order to be able to adjourn at noon that day and
have the afternoon for a start on the long journey to their new
appointments. At that stage of Methodism a preacher was
rarely appointed to the same charge for a second year. They
adopted resolutions of thanks to the citizens of Mount Car-
mel for their hospitality and it is probable that a resolution
of that kind was more than a mere formality in those days.
By a formal vote each member was requested to furnish a
brief biography of himself to be presented at the next session
for the conference records. A course of reading and study for
the preachers was presented by Bishop Roberts and adopted
by the conference. But while this conference course was a
means of culture for those in actual service and might in some
measure atone for their educational deficiencies, yet all the
CHAPTER V.
The Conference and the Seminary
more experienced of these men realized that it did not afford
adequate training for men who are called to important posi-
tions of leadership as most Methodist preachers are. So far as
can be determined at this time not a single member of that
group of Methodist preachers, not even the bishop, had a
college education. But many of them realized the handicap of
this deficiency and were anxious to provide educational op-
portunities for their successors. In the afternoon session of
Friday, September 2 1 , Peter Cartwright, who had then served
more than a score of years in the ministry, had been a delegate
to the General Conference, was one of the original members
of the Illinois Conference, and at that time presiding elder of
the Illinois District, arose in his place and presented a petition
from "certain citizens of Greene County, Illinois" on the
subject of establishing a conference seminary for the Illinois
Conference. On motion this petition was referred to a com-
mittee of three with instructions to report before the close of
the present conference. The committee was composed of John
Dew, Allen Wiley, and John Fox. On Tuesday, September
25, this committee made a report recommending that a com-
mittee of five be appointed "to obtain all the information they
can on the subject of a conference seminary and report to the
next conference." The committee appointed by the bishop
was as follows, John Strange, James Armstrong, Charles Hoi-
Iiday, Peter Cartwright, and William Shanks. The petition
from Greene County was not copied into the minutes, and
since the document itself is lost we have no means of knowing
who signed it, or exactly what they asked the conference to
do. At any rate this shows the existence at that early day of
a sentiment among the people that there ought to be a Meth-
odist institution of learning in Illinois.
The minutes of the conference for 1828 contain several
references to the "Seminary Committee." Following is a verb-
al extract from the minutes under date of October 14, 1828:
"The president called for a report of the committee ap-
pointed at the last annual conference to take into consider-
ation the subject of a conference seminary. Whereupon the
committee asked and obtained further time; and on motion
resolved that the vacancy in that committee occasioned by
the absence of Peter Cartwright, be filled. The president
appointed S. H. Thompson to fill the vacancy."
In the minutes of the next day we find the following:
"It was moved and seconded that the committee appointed
at the last session to take into consideration the subject of a
One Hundred and Se
Imc KENDREE ^^^^^i^:^:^^,.^.^..^^
conference seminary, be discharged from any further consid'
eration of the subject. This motion did not prevail. It was
then moved that said committee have leave of absence for one
hour to make out their report. Which motion was lost. On
motion resolved that a certain memorial with accompanying
documents, now in the hands of S. H. Thompson, be read to
this conference. The said memorial and accompanying docu-
ments, concerning a seminary at Lebanon, Illinois, were read,
and on motion referred to a committee of three who shall
report as soon as convenient. The President appointed S. H.
Thompson, John Strange, and John Dew as that committee.
The committee appointed to take into consideration the ad-
dress of the committee of Illinois Circuit on the subject of
the Lebanon Seminary, submitted their report which was
read and on motion accepted. On motion the conference re-
considered the vote by which the report of the committee
on the above named address was accepted. On motion resolved
that the report of the above named committee be amended by
striking out so much of the said report as recommends that
this conference, at its present session, proceed to appoint
trustees to said seminary; and on motion the report as amend-
ed was accepted. On motion resolved that this conference
unite in requesting the stockholders of the Seminary at Leb-
anon to meet as soon as convenient and so to alter and amend
their constitution as to designate the number of trustees for
said institution, and the manner of their appointment, more
definitely. On motion resolved that the secretary of this con-
ference be instructed to furnish the committee of the Illinois
Circuit with a copy of the resolutions of this conference on
the subject of the Lebanon Seminary."
In the meantime let us see what had been taking place at
Lebanon between the sessions of conference of 1827 and 1828.
At that time Lebanon was a village of about two hundred
people on the stage route between St. Louis and Vincennes.
At that date it did not have a place in the list of conference
appointments, but presumably it was a part of the Shoal
Creek Circuit. For that year the preacher in charge was
Thomas Randle. Lebanon Methodists, knowing of the action
of the conference and believing that the seminary would cer-
tainly be established at no distant date, determined to secure
its location in their own town. The matter was talked up
during the winter and on February 20, 1828 a meeting was
held to take definite action regarding the founding of a sem-
inary. This action indicates the splendid enterprise and zeal
for education of these pioneer Methodists who were deter-
mined that their children should have opportunities for
mental .md religious culture.
The available records do not give the names of those pres-
ent at this meeting, but it is fair to suppose that they were
the leading citizens of Lebanon and they are doubtless all
included in the list of subscribers to the fund raised for found-
ing the institution.
They discussed the purposes of the school, the raising of
funds, the purchase of a site, the kind of building to be erect-
ed, and fixed the date of their next meeting for March 1, at
which time if the work of securing subscriptions had pro-
gressed favorably they would elect a building committee.
They discussed three possible sites for the building, the first
of which was eventually secured. It consisted of eight acres
of land belonging to Richard Bradsby, which was purchased
for three dollars an acre — a total of twenty-four dollars. This
was the same as the original purchase price of Manhattan
Island. While in real estate values Manhattan has outstripped
McKendree, the moral values attaching to the latter are such
that in the eyes of many they would outweigh the entire
wealth of the borough of Manhattan in New York City.
Before they adjourned articles of organization were formu-
lated and written on paper which is now yellow with age but
still preserved in the archives of the college. We give here a
complete copy of this document together with the names of
all the signers.
ARTICLES OF ORGANIZATION
I. We, the undersigned, estimating mental improvement
of the first importance to a commonwealth, as well as in a polit-
ical, moral, and religious view, promise to pay the several
sums annexed to our names for the purpose of creating an
edifice in, or near, the town of Lebanon, St. Clair County,
Illinois, for a seminary of learning, to be conducted as nearly
as may be, on the plan of Augusta College, Kentucky, the
hall of which shall be designed and used as a house of public
worship, when this will not interfere with the design and
object of the institution, and on the Sabbath day,
II. The property shall be deeded to the Methodist Epis-
copal Church for the purpose of safe keeping, and the benefits
of incorporation, with this limitation, that it shall never be
sold or appropriated to any other uses than as aforesaid,
without the consent of all the shareholders.
III. Ten dollars shall be the amount of a share, and a
certificate from the board, countersigned by the secretary,
shall entitle the holder to the benefits of a stockholder, which
certificate may be transferred and entitle the holder to all the
benefits of the original owner as stockholder.
IV. Each shareholder, for each share, shall be entitled to
one vote, in all elections for the appointment of such corn-
One Hundred and Eight
^MC KENDREE^^^^^^s^g^^ggyr:^
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<i^^^ ^ ■^i-' ^-fi-A/
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A facsimile of the original Articles of Confederation written in 1828
One Hundred and A(me
.v/^ .i4^ ^'tT^ ^ f <f-^icu^ \
'r,,^ r /c^-i <rt •/Ix^OMA.^yvu.o-u^-^ ^^& .^i^K^ ' ^
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Facsimile of the minutes of the stockholders of Lebanon Seminary, now preserved in the College Archives
Note the motion which changed the name to McKendree College, and Peter Cartwright's signature
mittes and other officers elective by a stockholder, to send
one scholar for each share, free from house rent and charge
for the use of the public library, etc., and also shall be free
from charge for fuel.
V. The lUinois annual conference is respectfully solicited
to take the institution under its fostering care, and take such
methods for increasing its funds, and endowing it with pro-
fessors, and procuring other means for its advancement as may
to them seem best; and it is very desirable that the Missouri
annual conference should unite with the Illinois conference
and make it a conference seminary for both conferences.
VI. Should the annual conference refuse to accept the
institution, the quarterly conference of the Illinois Circuit is
requested to act in conjunction with the quarterly confer-
ences in this district in its support. Each circuit shall have a
right to elect one manager, and the stockholders shall elect
seven from among themselves whose duty it shall be to solicit
donations and subscriptions. They, or a majority of them,
shall constitute the board of managers for the governing of
the institution, selecting professors and teachers, library, as-
tronomical, chemical, and philosophical apparatus, elementary
books, etc. They shall regulate the internal economy, fix the
price of tuition, specify the terms of the sessions, recess, and
vacation, and by their by-laws direct and ordain such rules as
may tend to its advancement, good order and respectabiUty.
VII. The stockholders shall meet at the school house in
Lebanon, on the ist day of March, ensuing, for the purpose
of electing a building committee, secretary, and treasurer, de-
fining their duty, and specifying compensation for their ser-
vices, and to transact such other business as the interests of
the institution may require.
VIII. The principal building shall not be less than j6 by
48 feet, with two wings of suitable dimensions for conven-
ience, to be commenced as soon as $600 is subscribed. The
subscription shall be paid to the treasurer in three install-
ments, as follows: one fourth on the ist of June, one fourth
on the 1st of September, and one half on the ist of December
ensuing.
IX. In case the conferences do not signify, by special
communication to the secretary of the institution, their in-
tention to aid the institution by the ist of October, the
stockholders shall, on notice, convene and elect a suitable
number of managers and other officers, whose power and
duties shall be delegated to them by the stockholders.
One Hundred and -^cn
NAME
AMOUNT
NAME
AMOUNT
NAME
AMOUNT
Nicholas Horner
$100.00
Asa Hutchinson
1000
Charlotte Sherman
5.00
Nathan Horner
50.00
Prettyman Boyce
10.00
Abigail Scarntt
5.00
A, W. Casad
50.00
Thomas Nichols
10.00
Charles Slade
10.00
David Chamberlm
50.00
Pleasant Nichols
10.00
J. C. Bruner
10.00
Robert Rankin
20.00
Joshua Barnes
10.00
Huey Alexander
10.00
George Lowe
20.00
Robert Abernathy
10.00
Joseph Foulks
10.00
Edward Young
20.00
Robert Moore
10.00
Gen. James Moore
10.00
Charles McDonald
20.00
Theophilus M. Nichols
10.00
Enoch Moore
10.00
Philonidas Balch
20.00
Evan Barnes
10.00
Milton Moore
10.00
Daniel S. Witter
20.00
Elijah Moore
1000
Philip Teter
10.00
John Crocker
20.00
James Porter
10 00
Dempsie Guthrie
10.00
Samuel H. Thompson
20.00
Meredith Journey
10.00
Abner Oliver Kelly
10.00
Wesley Dugger
20.00
Samuel Stites
10.00
Martin L. Allen
10.00
John C. Dugger
20.00
Austin Lyon
5.00
Philip Searcy
10.00
Jarrett Dugger
20.00
Robert Middleton
10.00
Isaac McMahan
10.00
Isaac Ferguson
20.00
Peter Wright
10.00
John Thomas, Jr.
10.00
W. C. Ballard
20.00
John McDonald
10.00
Vision West
10.00
E. B. Clemson
30.00
Jacob Widmer
10.00
David L. West
10.00
John O'Fallon
10.00
John Thomas, Sr.
10.00
Daniel White
10.00
Charles ColHns
10.00
William Moore
10.00
William Lewis
10.00
Josiah Patterson
10.00
John Springer
10.00
Samuel Mitchell, Sr.
10.00
James S. Simpson
10.00
Thomas Stanton
10.00
William C. Brown
10.00
George McDonald
10.00
Caldwell Morrison
10.00
John Martmdale
10.00
John Lowe
10.00
William Clark
10.00
George Temple
10.00
Silas McCann
10.00
L Baum
10.00
David Lincoln
10.00
William Faires
10.00
Thomas B. Stevens
10.00
George W. Kerr
10.00
Richard Vanorsdol
10.00
James Moore
10.00
Betsey M. Riggin
10.00
Thomas Ray
10.00
William Middleton
10.00
John Dew
10.00
James Riggin
10.00
Adam Vineyard
to. 00
Daniel Whittenburgh
10.00
Abram Sublett
10.00
Daussy Boring
10.00
Thornton Peeples
10.00
F. T. Crabb
10.00
William Welsh
10.00
William W. Roman
10.00
Moses Twiss
10.00
John Brake
10.00
Thomas Mather
10.00
C. W. Ennis
10.00
John S. McCann
[0.00
T. W. Gray
10.00
Joseph Hypes
10.00
10.00
James McCann, Sr.
William Parkinson
10.00
10.00
William Lunceford
10.00
George W. Vineyard
$1385.00
The names of the 105 subscribers to the Lehancn Seminary fund. These are the men who made possible the Lebanon Sen
and who thus may be classed as the founders of McKendree College
One Hundred and Elei
IMC KENDREE
The original draft of these articles, whose age is now past
a full century, the paper yellow and crumbling, but the
faded ink still legible, is sacredly preserved in McKendree's
archives. The list of 105 subscribers is a veritable roll of
honor. They deserve recognition as the friends and supporters
of education at a time when their humble gifts were worth
more to the cause than some of the princely gifts of more
recent givers.
This document, formulated chiefly by Rev. A. W. Casad,
contains several points worthy of notice. In the first place,
the seminary was to be conducted "as nearly as possible on
the plan of Augusta College." From this it appears that these
founders intended that the institution should eventually grow
into a real college. Then the property was to be "deeded to
the Methodist Episcopal Church for safe keeping." This indi-
cates that they intended it to be a Methodist college. And
the fact that the building was to be designed and used as a
"house of public worship when this will not interfere with
the design and object of the institution" shows that they
expected it to be a religious institution. Both the Illinois and
Missouri Conferences were invited to become its patrons,
and to a certain extent its managers, because they felt that
a church seminary could be more successfully operated with
the widest possible cooperation of the church. But in case the
conferences did not see fit to take it "under their fostering
care" it was to be placed in part at least under church control
in the district in which it was located.
The conferences were given until October i to signify
their intentions in reference to the enterprise, but the Illinois
Conference did not convene until October 9 that year, and
when the question of a conference seminary was taken up
there did not seem to he a feeling of perfect cordiality toward
the Lebanon enterprise. In fact the committee asked to be
excused from further service without making any report at
all, even tho one member had in his possession a document
setting forth the plan of the Lebanon Seminary and asking
the conference to elect trustees for it. The conference finally
required the committee to make a report, and then instead of
electing trustees they passed a motion requesting the stock-
holders of the seminary to meet and determine more definitely
the number of trustees the institution should have and the
manner of their election.
During the summer of 1828 some progress was made in the
construction of a building. The building committee appointed
at the meeting of March i, was Rev. A. W. Ca.sad, George
Lowe, and Nathan Horner. These men were all enthusiastic
supporters of the enterprise, but there were some difficulties
to overcome. Altho $i,j85 had been subscribed it was not
paid promptly. In fact by the terms of the subscription it
was not all due until December i. It was a larger building
than any that had yet been undertaken in the village of Leb-
anon, and it was not easy to secure mechanics sufficiently
skilled to work on such a superior sort of building as this was
felt to be. So when October came the building was still far
from completion. The March meeting had elected eight trus-
tees, namely, Samuel H. Thompson, Nicholas Horner, George
Lowe, Theophilus M. Nichols, Joshua Barnes, John Thomas,
Sr., Samuel C. Stites, and David S. Witter. After conference
the circuit preacher brought word of the action taken there.
The responsibility of the next step was not left to the trus-
tees alone, but a meeting of all the stock-holders was called.
We have no means of knowing just how many came, but there
was evidently a quorum and they proceeded to do business-
The meeting was held in Lebanon on November 8. After
discussing the whole situation they elected a Board of Man-
agers consisting of thirty-three members, chiefly but not en-
tirely chosen from the list of stock-holders. Every one who
had subscribed ten dollars was considered a stock-holder. But
a few of those chosen managers were from a wider area and
had probably not been solicited. Of this board the Rev.
Samuel H. Thompson was made president, David S. Witter,
Secretary, and Nathan Horner, Treasurer. Following is the
list with their residences From St. Clair County, Rev. John
Dew, Joshua Barnes, Colonel Andrew Bankson, James Rig-
gin, Thomas Ray, David L. West, Colonel E. B. Clemson.
Rev. Samuel Mitchell, William Padfield, and William Brads-
by ; from Sangamon County, Rev. Peter Cartwright and Rev.
Charles R. Matheny; from Madison County, Rev. Washing-
ton C. Ballard, Hall Mason, John C. Dugger, and Major
Isaac Ferguson; from Mt. Carmel, Rev. Aaron Wood; from
Kaskaskia, Hon. Shadrach Bond; from Kaskaskia Circuit, Rev.
Smith L. Robinson; from Hillsboro, John Tillson: from Bond
County, Peter Hubbard; from Carlyle, Charles Slade and
Pomeroy Easton; from Jackson County, John Logan; from
Washington County, Major John Phillips; from Vandalia,
Colonel E. C. Berry; from Waterloo. Dr. Thomas Stanton;
from Jefferson County, Rev. Zadoc Casey; from St. Louis,
Rev. Andrew Monroe, Major John OTallon and George W.
Kerr; from St. Louis County, Rev. Alexander McCallister;
from Missouri District, Rev. Jesse Green.
At this time also an elaborate constitution was formulated,
defining in detail the powers and privileges of the organiza-
tion; also rules and by-laws were adopted. The nature of the
work both elementary and advanced was indicated, pnd the
One Hundred and Twelve
frlVlc KENDREE^
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These articles are now preserved in McKendree's Archives
Ont Hundred und Thirteen
importance was emphasized of employing teachers who were
able not only to teach the common branches but also the
higher branches of mathematics, natural and moral philoso-
phy, and the Latin and Greek languages. This was in keeping
with the provision contained in the original articles, that the
seminary should be conducted "as near as may be on the plan
of Augusta College, Kentucky," which had then been in
operation for about five years. Following is a copy of the
constitution :
ARTICLE I.
Agreeable to the design of the original projectors of the
aforementioned seminary of learning, said institution shall be
placed under the control and management of the Illinois and
Missouri Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, or either of said conferences, under the limitations
and on the condition hereinafter named: provided said con-
ferences, or either of them, shall at any future period accept
the same and make it a conference seminary.
ARTICLE n.
All the property now belonging to the seminary, including
the buildings and lands appropriated to the same, or which
may be hereafter received by purchase or donation, that has
not already been conveyed, shall be conveyed to trustees for
the use and benefit of the Methodist Episcopal Church in
manner and form as near as may be, agreeable to the deed of
settlement contained in the discipline of said church securing
the privileges of churches and meeting houses; provided the
property aforesaid shall never be sold or appropriated to any
other use or uses, than specified by the articles of association,
to which the original subscriptions were appended, and pro-
vided further that all individual privileges granted and guar'
anteed to share-holders shall by this constitution be secured
inviolate.
ARTICLE III.
For the better organization of said institution and with a
view to carry into immediate effect the designs of its patrons
and friends, there shall be appointed by the stock-holders, a
board of managers, consisting of thirty-three members of the
Methodist Episcopal Church, who shall have authority to
make by-laws to regulate their own proceedings, and whose
duty it shall be to regulate the internal concerns of the insti-
tution, to appoint the times of sessions and vacations, fix the
terms of tuition, elect a president and professors, procure and
appoint competent teachers, regulate their salaries, take such
measures as to them may seem best, to increase the funds of
the institution, and in connection with the professors, attend
the public examinations of the students and adopt as they
may think proper a system of salutary discipline, and make
an annual report of their proceedings and doings as also of
the fiscal concerns of the institution.
ARTICLE IV.
The first meeting of the board of managers under the pro-
vision of the foregoing article shall be held on Monday, the
loth of November instant.
ARTICLE V.
There shall be a president, secretary and treasurer, ap-
pointed by the stock-holders, who shall be ex-officio members
of the board of managers; and at all meetings of the board of
managers, seven members shall constitute a quorum to trans-
act business, and the president or in his absence, such person
as shall be chosen for the time being, shall preside in all
meetings of the stock-holders, or of the board of managers.
ARTICLE VI.
The secretary shall keep a regular journal of all the pro-
ceedings of the board of managers, and a regular account of
all the receipts and expenditures of the institution, which
shall be published with the annual report of the board of
managers, signed by the president and countersigned by the
secretary.
ARTICLE VII.
It shall be the duty of the treasurer to receive and account
for all moneys which may be collected for the benefit of the
institution, including tuition fees and donations or subscrip'
tions, and to open and to keep a regular account with the
board of managers, and whenever called upon to exhibit a
report of the fiscal concerns, etc., and to honor and pay all
orders drawn on him by the board, which orders, when
presented shall always be signed by the president and counter-
signed by the secretary.
ARTICLE VIII.
The board of managers shall meet once every quarter, or
oftener if they deem it necessary, and shall always, on a call
of the professors, having ten days previous notice.
ARTICLE IX.
The provisions made in the third article of this constitu-
tion, for the appointment of managers and defining their
powers and duties, shall continue in force until the next
annual conference of Missouri and Illinois, and if neither of
the conferences at their next sessions should agree to make
the above mentioned seminary their conference seminary,
then the above regulations contained in the third article
aforesaid shall continue in force until altered by the stock-
holders.
One Hundred and Fourteen
MC KENDREE
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A reprodu
of part of the minutes of a meeting of the stockholders of Lebanon Seminary
ARTICLE X.
This constitution, except the first and second articles, may
be altered or amended after the next meeting of the above
named conferences, by a majority of the stock-holders pres-
ent, should the conferences refuse or neglect to accept the
conditions proposed in the first article.
ARTICLE XL
Should the conferences above named accept the above con-
ditions, there shall be thirty-three managers appointed, one
third by the Illinois, and one third by the Missouri Annual
Conference, and the other third by the stock-holders, or a
majority of those present, convened for the purpose, after
twenty days notice.
Or in case but one of the above-named conferences should
accept the conditions above-named, then said conference so
accepting shall have the power to appoint seventeen man-
agers, and the stock-holders shall appoint the remaining six-
teen, a majority of whom shall always be members of the
Methodist Episcopal Church, whose powers and duties shall
be the same as those prescribed in the third article of this
constitution.
ARTICLE XII.
Whenever, in the judgment of the board of managers, the
interests of the institution shall require it, they shall have
power to call a meeting of the stock-holders, and the secre-
tary shall be required to give at least ten days previous notice
of such meeting, with the objects for which it is called, in as
public a manner as possible.
The responsibility of the enterprise was now upon the
managers. After due deliberation they decided that to have
the school in operation was a matter of too great importance
to wait for the completion of the building. There were in
Lebanon at that time two buildings that had been used for
school purposes when some teacher maintained a subscription
school. The Illinois Legislature had passed a free school law
in 1821, but in 1827 they passed another providing that no
citizen should be taxed for education without his written
consent. So the free school law was practically nullified. Im-
mediately after their meeting of November 8 the Board of
Managers proceeded to rent the two small buildings above-
mentioned and to employ two teachers. Within the space of
two weeks the teachers were secured, Mr. Edward R. Ames
and Miss McMurphy, and on November 24, 1828 the Leb-
anon Seminary was formally opened for public patronage.
During the first term there were seventy-two students en-
rolled, five of whom were girls. The tuition charge for the
lower branches was fixed at five dollars per session. For the
higher branches, including mathematics, natural and moral
philosophy, Latin, and Greek, the rate was seven dollars per
session. This first school year ran for a period of five months,
closing in the latter part of April. This was the first chapter
in an educational serial which is still running. It will be noted
that McKendree's opening antedates that of any other col-
lege, now in existence, founded by American Methodism.
Dickinson College, founded in 1785, and Allegheny College,
founded in 181 5, both in Pennsylvania and both Methodist
institutions now, were both established by the Presbyterians
and passed to Methodist control the same year, 1835. So that
neither can yet show a century of Methodist history. The
original Wesleyan University at Middletown, Connecticut,
was first opened in 183 1. The other Methodist colleges of
earlier date have all passed out of existence, thus leaving
McKendree the oldest Methodist college in America.
Of the other Illinois schools that lay claim to antiquity
Illinois College at Jacksonville was founded m 1829, the next
year after McKendree's beginning, and Alton Seminary,
which later developed into ShurtlefF College, was opened in
1832. Accordingly McKendree may justly lay claim to being
the first college in Illinois to complete a century of continuous
existence in the same location in which it had its origin.
One Hundred and F./l
,.^^,y:^g^^c^^^^ftMc KENDREE;;^^^^^^:^.^,^^.:^^
IT WILL BE seen from the preceding chapter that the
institution was not founded by direct official action of
the church, but independently by the citizens of Leb-
anon, most of whom were Methodists, and they fully ex-
pected that the Illinois Conference would accept it as an
institution of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
As already stated the Conference at the session of 1828,
for reasons that do not appear in the record, did not imme-
diately take the infant enterprise "under its fostering care."
So the founders proceeded to execute the plans already formed
independently of the conference. This led to the opening of
the institution in November, 1828.
At the next session of the Conference, at Edwardsville, in
September, 1829, a joint committee from the Illinois and Mis-
souri Conferences, made report on the subject of a conference
seminary, declaring the two conferences able to establish and
maintain a seminary superior to any "now in operation west
of the Wabash River." This remark seems to be a sort of
thrust at the institution already founded and in actual oper-
ation at Lebanon. The conference accepted the report, ap-
proved the plan, and instructed the committee to proceed to
select a location for the proposed institution.
A communication was read from Mt. Carmel in reference
to the site of the seminary. Two days later, September 24,
1829, the committee reported, recommending either Lebanon,
Illinois, or Mt. Salubria, Missouri, one mile west of St. Louis.
They also presented the following articles of confederation,
as a compact between the two conferences and recommended
their adoption.
ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION
Between the Illinois and Missouri Annual Conferences of
the Methodist Episcopal Church, for the purpose of estab-
lishing a joint seminary of learning for both conferences, made
and entered into at Edwardsville, Illinois, September 24,
1829, by the Illinois conference on its own part, and by
Alexander McAllister, Andrew Monroe, and Jesse Green,
delegates empowered to act on the part of the Missouri
Conference.
ARTICLE I.
There shall be by the conferences aforesaid, a seminary of
learning located and established at
under the following regulations
and restrictions.
CHAPTER VI.
The College and the Church
ARTICLE II.
The Illinois and Missouri Annual Conferences shall have
equal claim to all the rights and privileges, and immunities
belonging to and growing out of said seminary of learning.
ARTICLE III.
It shall be the duty of the said conferences respectively,
at each annual session, to appoint a committee of ways and
means, to adopt such measures as to them may seem necessary,
to raise funds to carry into effect the designs of this confed-
eration. And all moneys or other means collected for this
purpose shall be subject to the order of the Board of Mana-
gers or Trustees, as the case may be, who may be appointed
to superintend said institution.
ARTICLE IV.
Each conference shall annually elect seven trustees who
shall constitute a board, who shall have authority to receive
conveyances of real estate, and superintend the seminary,
transact its business, make all necessary rules and regulations,
for their own government, and for the government of the
institution, to fill vacancies that may occur in their body dur-
ing the year, appoint their own secretary and treasurer, and
do all other matters and things pertaining to the management
of said institution, provided nothing be done that shall any
wise infringe the articles of this confederation.
ARTICLE V.
Any of the foregoing articles of this confederation may be
altered, amended, or rescinded, upon the concurrent majority
of each of these conferences agreeing thereto.
On motion the conference proceeded to fill by ballot the
blank in Article I by determining a location for the seminary.
Mt. Salubria, Missouri had a majority over Lebanon, Illinois,
and the blank was filled accordingly.
This action was all reconsidered and rescinded on the fol-
lowing day.
Thus a pretentious effort came to naught; but the infant
institution at Lebanon was in the field to stay and moving
steadily along. In 1830, on account of the interest manifested
in It by Bishop McKendree, the Board decided to call it the
"McKendrian College."
At the next session of the conference, held at Vincennes,
on October 6, i8jo, a committee, consisting of John Strange,
Peter Cartwright, George Locke, John Dew, and E. Ray, was
appointed, "to take into consideration the expediency or in-
expediency of adopting the McKendrian College of Illinois
as the literary institution of this conference."
One Hundred and Si
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Facsimile of the minutes of a Stockhc
On the same day the committee reported in favor of adopt-
ing the McKendrian College, by recommending the following
resolutions :
1. That the conference accede to the proposal of the man-
agers of the McKendrian College of Illinois, in Lebanon, and
agree to adopt the college as a conference seminary.
2. That a committee of three be appointed by this con-
ference to appoint a president whose literary and religious
qualifications are such as will be a credit to the institution.
3. That each preacher of the conference be required to
open subscriptions and solicit donations from the friends of
literature within their respective charges,which moneys when
collected shall be paid to the person who shall be legally ap-
pointed either by this conference or the managers, to super-
intend the moneyed concerns of the institution.
CSigned) John Strange, Chairman.
John Dew, Peter Cartwright, and S. H. Thompson were
then appointed a committee to choose a president, acting in
conjunction with the Board of Managers. In the record of the
next session of the conference, held at Indianapolis in Octo-
ber, 183 1, the only reference to the college was the appoint-
ment of Peter Cartwright to receive money collected for
Lebanon Seminary and forward it to the trustees.
In 1832 the conference met at Jacksonville, Illinois. At
this session the "Lebanon Seminary" was again formally
adopted by the conference in resolutions presented by S. H.
Thompson and Peter Cartwright, and the latter was ap-
pointed to act as agent for it.
At the next session held in 1833 at Union Grove, in St.
Clair County, we find the first evidence that the conference
really felt some proprietorship in the institution, from the
fact that they elected six "managers to the Lebanon Sem-
inary." The men chosen were John H. Dennis, William G.
McKee, Dr. Nathan M. McCurdy, Samuel H. Thompson,
John Dew, and John S. Barger. On September 29, during the
same session, the conference was informed that the Rev.
ilders Meeting held Nov. 24, 1828
Peter Akers had been elected president of the Lebanon Sem-
inary and Smith L. Robinson and James S. Mitchell as agents
for the Lebanon Seminary, by the Board of Managers. On
the next day a committee of five, consisting of John Dew,
John S. Barger, M. S. Taylor, Simon Peter, and Samuel H.
Thompson, appointed at the preceding conference, to exam-
ine into the conditions of the Conference Seminary, made a
rather lengthy report of which we quote certain portions:
"That the Seminary building is in an encouraging state of
progress toward completion, and probably will be ready for
occupancy against the first of December next." This building
was begun in 1828 and it was supposed to have been pushed
vigorously by the enthusiastic founders, yet after five years
time and five actual sessions of the school, it was still in
some way incomplete.
Another paragraph of the report read as follows :
"That It is the desire of the Board to have connected m
some way with the seminary, a semi-monthly literary and
religious periodical; that they desire the preachers of this con-
ference to act as agents in procuring subscribers, etc.; and
that they will take upon themselves the responsibility of
publishing such a periodical, reserving to themselves the right
of the net proceeds, if any, to the interests of the seminary."
The committee also presented the following resolution:
"That we agree to act as agents for a literary and religious
periodical, contemplated to be published by, and to be under
the control and superintendence of the Board of Managers
of the Lebanon Seminary of the Illinois Annual Conference,
but that this Conference will not take on themselves in any
way the responsibility of publishing such a periodical."
This resolution was promptly adopted by the conference,
with much more unanimity than another that came up at
the same session to the effect that all members of the con-
ference be permitted to wear only "plain straight-breasted
coats." It was adopted by a vote of twenty-one to eleven.
We have no record as to whether the minority conformed to
the action of the majority or not.
One Hundred a-ni. Seventeen
MC KENDREE i
w
>HE FIRST principal of the institution was Edward
Raymond Ames. He was born near Amesville, Ohio,
May 20, 1806. He attended college at Athens, Ohio,
a state institution, but here he came under religious influence
which had a lasting effect on his life and work. This was in
1827. The next year he left college without completing the
course, to become the first principal of Lebanon Seminary. It
was his first experience in teaching, but he devoted himself
to the task with an earnestness that insured success. He was
not in the work primarily for the monetary reward, for his
entire salary for the first year's work was only one hundred
and fifteen dollars. He did not give up the job on account of
the meager return in money, but accepted an
appointment for the second year at twenty-
five dollars a month, which was a very modest
increase of ten dollars for the year, or a total of
one hundred and twenty-five dollars for his
second year's salary. Before the end of the sec-
ond year he reached the conclusion that he
was called to the ministry and decided to be
a preacher of the gospel instead of a teacher.
The preacher in charge of the Lebanon Circuit
that year was John Dew, who afterward served
a term as president of McKendree; and the
presiding elder was Peter Cartwright. He
doubtless talked the matter over with these
men and they were convinced of the genuine-
ness ofhis call to preach. But tho he was a man
of fine physique and commanding appearance, and might have
made a splendid athlete, he was exceedingly timid and dis-
trustful of his own ability. So that while no member of the
quarterly conference to which his name was presented for
recommendation, had any doubt of his sincerity, some who
had known him for two years did not believe he had certain
necessary abilities in sufficient degree to make him a successful
circuit rider. When the vote was taken on the question of
granting him a license to preach, it was a tie. Peter Cart-
wright refused to exercise his prerogative as presiding officer
to decide the question. So it was dropped and the conference
passed to other business. It so happened that an aged colored
man, who was a local preacher, belonged to the Lebanon
church. In fact there were eighteen colored members reported
for the charge in the minutes for that year. This man, as local
preacher, was a member of the quarterly conference but for
CHAPTER VII.
Early Developments
reasons of his own had not attended the meeting that day.
One of the brethren happened to look out of the window and
saw him going by on a load of wood. He ran out, hailed him,
and urged him to come in to the meeting "because," said he,
"we need you." When the old man had taken his seat in the
meeting the pastor asked the chairman to refer back to the
question of the recommendation of Mr. Ames. It was done
and they voted again. The result was a majority of one vote
in favor of granting the license. Thus the vote of a colored
man made Edward R. Ames a preacher and the General Con-
ference of 1852 made him a bishop. The Illinois Conference
met in the fall of 1830 at Vincennes, Indiana. At that time
it included within its bounds both the states
of Illinois and Indiana. It convened on the
thirtieth day of September. For some unavoid-
able reason the bishop failed to reach the seat
of the conference. The brethren proceeded
at once to elect Samuel H.Thompson president
pro tern. He presided during the entire con-
ference and he, with the presiding elders, made
the appointments for that year.
Mr. Ames was admitted on trial as one of a
group of seventeen young men who came in
that year. One of the number was Wm. D. R.
Trotter, who afterward became the son-in-law
of Peter Cartwright and also has the distinc-
tion of being the first man to receive the
Bachelor's Degree from McKendree College.
Another member of this class was Simeon Walker who was
the father of Levi Walker who for several years carried the
Southern Illinois "conference cane" which was the gift of
Jotham A. Scarritt and is supposed to be always in the
custody of the oldest living member of the conference.
When the appointments were read, John Dew, who had
been in charge of Lebanon the year before, was pastor of
Shoal Creek Circuit with Edward R. Ames as junior preacher.
Dew had been associated with Ames more or less during the
previous year and possibly he had asked to have him as his
associate on the big circuit. This was in the Kaskaskia District
and the presiding elder was Samuel H. Thompson, who was
chairman of the Board of Managers of the Lebanon Seminary,
so that he was not entirely among strangers. As far as' the
records indicate he made a success of his work as a circuit
rider m spite of his timidity. One writer says of him, "He
BISHOP AMES
First Principal of Lebanon Seminary
One Hundred and Eight
had a strong voice, and spoke with great oratorical power
and pathos. Great revivals everywhere attended his preach'
ing. His strong characteristics were quickness, clearness and
comprehensiveness of perception, an unbending will, and an
intuitive perception of human character. In generalship he
had few equals and no superiors in the church he served."
When the Illinois Conference was divided in 1832 he fell in
the division that became the Indiana Conference and re-
mained in that body until he was raised to the episcopacy
in 1852. He died in Baltimore April 25, 1879.
Miss McMurphy, who was Mr. Ames' assistant m the
first two years of the life of the seminary, was the subject of
a complimentary resolution in the Board meeting at the close
of the first school year. This may have been partly an effort
to compensate for the lack of salary since the total amount of
money she received for her year's work was eighty-three dol-
lars and thirty-three cents. The resolution introduced by
Colonel Clemson reads as follows: "Resolved, that after a
fair and full examination, this Board approve the system on
which Miss McMurphy teaches the Enghsh language, and
that they consider her eminently qualified as a teacher in that
branch of science."
It seems that this lady and her system were particularly
admired by the gallant Colonel, for we find in another part
of the record the statement that Colonel Clemson "submitted
sundry resolutions concerning Miss McMurphy 's system of
teaching grammar." The Board seems to have winked at
this partiality by appointing him a committee to wait on the
lady with a proposal for her employment for another year.
The record shows that she was employed for the second year
at the same salary as Mr. Ames, namely twenty-five dollars
a month. Our records do not furnish any further history of
Mi.ss McMurphy after two years' service as a member of the
faculty in the Seminary.
The election of Rev. Peter Akers as president, is recorded
in the minutes of the Board of Managers for September 27,
iSjj. This is the first mention in the records of a president.
Mr. Ames is designated as "Principal of the Seminary." In
March, 1830 at a meeting of the Board of Managers, presided
over by Peter Cartwright, a resolution was passed changing
the name of the school from "Lebanon Seminary" to" McKen-
dree College" in honor of Bishop McKendree and in consider-
ation of a gift which he promised in the form of a bequest of
certain lands which he possessed in Shiloh Valley. This name
is used sometimes in the records of the Board after that date,
but for the most part, both there and in the conference rec-
ords it was still called Lebanon Seminary for several years.
From time to time several members of the conference were
appointed to act as financial agents for the college, sometimes
in certain specified fields. The Board at one time requested
that Mr. Ames be appointed in that capacity, probably with
the idea that by reason of his two years' service as head of
the institution, he was better acquainted with its needs than
any other member of the conference. The condition of the
finances may be inferred from the fact that Mr. Ames did
not receive the balance of his salary until November, 1830.
At a meeting in the month of April, 1830, the Board author-
ized the Committee of Superintendence to use their own
judgment m employing a principal and assistant for the com-
ing year. There is no record now extant as to how they
exercised their judgment, or who was at the head of the
school from the close of Mr. Ames' term of service some time
in the summer of 1830 until the election of Peter Akers
September 27, 1833. The most reasonable supposition seems
to be that the institution was under the general supervision
of the pastor of the Lebanon Circuit. The pastors appointed
to Lebanon in those years were: 1830, Stith M. Otwell; 183 1,
John Dew; 1832, Smith L. Robinson. The record of the con-
ference minutes in 1833 shows that Samuel H. Thompson was
appointed pastor of the Lebanon charge, Peter Akers "Pres-
ident of Lebanon Seminary," James Mitchell travelling agent
for Lebanon Seminary in this state and Missouri, and Smith
L. Robinson agent for the Seminary "thruout the United
States except Illinois and Missouri." Mr. Akers took charge
of the school after conference in the fall of 1833. We have no
record of the enrollment at that time nor of other members
of the faculty, except that later in the year John N. Coleman
was employed as a teacher in the seminary at a salary of "$75
for the present session." There is also evidence that girls
were enrolled as students from the fact that Mrs. Peter Akers
was employed, by action of the Board in April, 1834, as
"principal teacher of the female department, acting under the
superintendence of the president of the seminary." About
this time the Board ordered that there should be "a charge
of twenty-five cents additional for each student whose parent
or guardian is not a stock-holder in the seminary, for house
rent and fuel." In January, 1834, legislation was passed by
the Board indicating that President Akers was about to with-
draw from the position. It was suggested that an effort be
made to secure either a single man or a man with a small
family, from Augusta College, who would be capable of con-
ducting the institution. It is not so stated in the records,
but the inference is that the six hundred dollar salary was
not sufficient to provide a "comfortable support" for Mr.
Facsimile of a motion passed by the
Akers' family. However in February another meeting was
held at which the president's salary was increased from six
hundred to seven hundred dollars a year. Then two months
later when Mrs. Akers was employed as a teacher her salary
was fixed at fifty dollars per session and since there were two
sessions a year this would bring the family income up to
eight hundred dollars a year. This seemed to be sufficient
for present needs.
It was during the administration of President Akers that
Rev. Learner B. Stateler of the Missouri Conference came
with the request that the Lebanon Seminary take two or
three Indian boys from Missouri to educate free of charge.
The president was not disposed to take the responsibility of
deciding the question himself so he called a meeting of the
Board and referred the matter to them. After due deliberation
the Board requested Mr. Akers to notify the gentleman from
Missouri that they "regret their inability to educate the In-
dian boys gratuitously, either in whole or in part, but they
would be willing to take them on the established terms of
the institution." This settled the matter and the Indian boys
did not come. In September, 1834, there was some legislation
in regard to the price of board. We find the statement that
when bedding and laundry are furnished by the student the
price of board and lodging shall be one dollar, twelve and a
half cents a week, and the "table shall at all times be well
supplied with good wholesome food, well cooked, in sufficient
quantity and suitable variety."
It was also stated that "hereafter no student shall be ad-
mitted without paying the price of tuition per session and
one third the price of board per session in advance, or giving
such security for the payment thereof as shall be satisfactory
to the Board." It was in the fall of i8j4 that the Board began
discussing the matter of a charter from the state. The school
had been in operation for six years, was looked upon as a
permanent institution and it was felt that this recognition
from the state would be an advantage to the struggling young
school. So the Board requested President Akers to draft a
memorial to the Legislature "praying the grant of a charter
to this institution."
The story of the charters received from the Legislature by
McKendree will be told in another chapter. Also a sketch of
Stock -holders of Lebanon Seminary
the life of President Akers is given elsewhere in this work
and there will be later reference to him since he was twice
re-elected to the presidency in the later history of the insti.
tution. However, we give here an incident in college life
which gives some idea of his unswerving purpose that the
school over which he presided should in fiict be a Christian
institution.
A CALLED MEETING OF THE BOARD
At the request of the President of the college, Rev. Peter
Akers, a meeting of the Board was called on June 4, 1834.
When the body had assembled, the following communication
was read by Dr. Akers, touching the moral conduct of the
students, which may reflect something of the spirit of the
times:
"To the Board of Managers of Lebanon Seminary,
Dear Brethren : Suffer me to call your attention to a subject
of vital importance to this institution, of which you are the
guardians and patrons. It is understood that this is the Con-
ference Seminary of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Illi-
nois; over which you have called a travelling preacher to
preside as your representative, and whom the conference,
according to the Discipline of the church, has appointed to
that office. The church, therefore, and the public generally,
have a right to expect that the moral discipline and govern-
ment of the institution shall be creditable to the church, and
exert a salutary influence over the youth of our church and
common country. That this expectation might be realized has
been the prayer of the present administrator of the govern-
ment of the seminary. And to render some service to the
church and community in this way (and not merely to secure
a subsistence for himself and family) was the leading motive
with him in taking charge of the institution. But it must be
obvious to every one that in order to sustain the pretentions
of the institution, and answer the wishes and expectations
of the friends of literature and morality, the Board of Man-
agers should, both by precept and example, authorize their
representative, the president of the institution, to employ
such discipline as may be requisite for the promotion of the
avowed object of the institution. The present incumbent had
supposed that he was sufficiently authorized in the matter.
One Hundred and Twenty
by the general spirit of the hy-Iaws of the seminary, as s.inc-
tioned by a special committee of the Board, and that he would
always find himself abundantly sustained and aided in his
efforts to promote the morality of the institution, by the
ministers and members of the church that turned him from
darkness into light, and from the power of Satan unto God.
But he is sorry to have to say to the Board, that a recent
occurrence has very much shaken his hope concerning a suffi-
ciently extensive and practical co-operation for promoting
the morality of the school.
On last Wednesday afternoon, his department, with the
exception of his own son, brother-in-law, and George Peeples,
was entirely vacated. And several boys were also absent at
the same time from the primary department. On making the
necessary inquiry it was ascertained that they were all m
town attending the circus. It was also ascertained on suitable
inquiry, that with the exception of two or three young men
and one small boy, they all had perynission of their parents to
go to the circus! Of these parents nearly all are members of
the Methodist Episcopal Church, and some of them are mem-
bers of your Board of Managers. I cannot well describe the
mortification, or rather crucifixion, experienced by the ad-
ministrator of the laws of this institution, when he attempted
to speak to the pupils on wholesome discipline and sound
morality. The students felt that they were safely fortified,
not only by the current opinion and custom of a great part
of the "non-professing" community, but also by the acknowl-
edged sentiment of their own "professing" parents; some of
whom had elected to office the public servant then attempting
a feeble moral lecture, m such circumstances as gave the
hearers a decided victory over the speaker. He felt that his
situation was critical in the extreme. Moral sentiment and
the reputation of the Seminary, and of Methodism connected
with it, were at once involved. He therefore concluded by
/ '.
informing the students that the Managers would shortly be
called upon to determine officially upon the merits of such
conduct in reference to the future. That if they should agree
with the speaker in moral sentiment on such subjects, and
would give a practical illustration of the same, then in all
similar cases of trespass the delinquents might assuredly ex-
pect suitable punishment, even to expulsion from the institu-
tion. But that if the Managers should judge differently and
choose not to adopt a measure quite so hostile to the Devil
and his own country, the carnal mind, then as a conscientious
man, having failed in the proper business on which he came
to the institution, the speaker would immediately hand in
his resignation.
The writer of this unvarnished communication does not
think It necessary to add a single argument m proof of the
diabolical nature and grossly corrupting tendency of the cir-
cus, and of all similar sports. They are the every day and
Sunday School of the Devil, and his travelling missionaries,
supported by the voluntary contributions of all, both parents
and children, who are friendly, for the time being, to such
institutions. Nor is it thought necessary to enlarge on the
manifest inconsistency of sending the same children to a
Christian Sabbath school and to the Sabbath school of Hell.
Neither is it now the business of the writer to say to the
Board all that probably should be said to "professors" gen-
erally, who when they gather not with Christ scatter abroad.
I have delivered my own soul.
Your servant for Christ's sake,
Peter Akers."
After the reading of this communication by their worthy
college president, the Board adopted a strong resolution au-
thorizing the Faculty to use vigorous measures to enforce all
the provisions of the institution for the proper restraint of
wayward students. At the close of the year Dr. Akers re-
sumed the work of the circuit rider.
Reproduction of the i
passed by the Trustees of Lebanon Seminary at the close of the first session
yMC KENDRE^^^^^gg^^^^
^;^^::S<*j...^ J
/-/^
f~y
f
^^!L^
— <^„ ,^
^
Facsimile of the statement of hills of tuition for the fi
'^T C.2^^i^y^^H^
rst session ot the Lebanon Seminary. The original is in McKendree's archives
One Hundred iirid IwinlyTwo
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^g^^s^
REV. JOHN DEW
Rev. John Dew was the president during the two years
1836-1838. He was prominent among the early circuit riders
and better educated than most of them, tho not a college
graduate. A sketch of him appears in the chapter on "Early
Methodist Leaders".
He showed himself a leader among his contemporaries in
the church of that period. Had his life not ended at fifty-one,
while he was still in the prime of usefulness, his influence
would no doubt have been more far reaching and he would
have occupied a larger place in the history of the college and
the church. It was under his leadership that McKendree first
began to assume the character of a college rather than a mere
preparatory school. Dr. Akers had secured the charter and
Mr. Dew felt that there ought to be a college trained faculty.
Looking to that end he secured two young men who had just
graduated from the Wesleyan at Middletown, Connecticut —
Annis Merrill and James W. Sunderland. They were fresh
from an eastern college and were ambitious to pass on their
college culture to the people of this new western country.
Now for the first time departments of instruction were or-
ganized in the institution. The president took charge of the
department of English Literature, Professor Merrill, of An-
cient Languages and Literature, and Professor Sunderland, of
Mathematics and Science. Besides these there was a Prepara-
tory Department in which there were two teachers. Rev.
John S. Barger, principal, and Wesley Bennett, assistant.
In August, i8j7, appeared the first printed catalog the
college issued. It has twelve pages. It gives the names of the
sixteen trustees, ten of whom were laymen; executive com-
mittee; conference visitors; financial agents; and auditor.
Then after the faculty, is a list of the students, twenty-two
college and fifty-one preparatory. Then follows a statement
of the course of study and instruction, and announcement of
the examinations, public exhibitions, and vacations. This is
followed by a table of expenses including tuition, room, board,
wood, lights, and washing, which is estimated at a total of
$87.50 to $99.50 a year.
We quote several other interesting statements found in it.
"It is earnestly recommended that students shall not be
authorized to contract any debts. All students will furnish
their own beds and furniture. No student will be admitted
to the college classes who is under fourteen years of age, and
unless he is personally known to some member of the faculty,
he must present a certificate of good moral character. Im-
moral or disorderly conduct is always considered a sufficient
reason for directing the student to leave the institution."
ANNIS MERRILL
Annis Merrill was the younger brother of John Wesley
Merrill. He was born in 1810 and graduated from the Wes-
leyan in 1835. He came to McKendree one year earlier
and staid one year later than his brother, and so spent six
years of service in the college. In 1842 he decided to take
up the profession of law. He went to Boston and spent
several years in legal studies, and then in 1849 when multi'
tudes were smitten with the gold fever he went along with
the maddening crowd to California. He settled at San Fran-
cisco and made that his home for the remainder of his life.
He was concerned more, however, with the application of
the law than with gold digging. When civilization had been
established and the church gained a place he was always
identified with the First Methodist Church in San Francisco.
For many years he was the teacher of a large men's Bible class
in that church, and it was said that he prepared each Sunday's
lesson as carefully as he would a plea before the Supreme
Court. He was elected a lay delegate to the General Confer-
ence of 1876. He was one of the founders of the University
of the Pacific and for many years was the president of the
board of trustees of that institution. He acquired consider-
able wealth in his long life. He was a man of great vitality,
which he preserved so well that he was able to spend ninety-
five years m this world. He left not only a fair fortune but a
good name as a legacy to his children.
JAMES WARREN SUNDERLAND
James Warren Sunderland was born at Exeter, Rhode
Island, February 9, 1813. He was graduated from the Wes-
leyan University at Middletown, Connecticut in i8j6 and
the same year was elected Professor of Mathematics and
Science at McKendree. His term of service ran parallel with
that of Professor Merrill. They had been friends during their
college course and were friendly colleagues in educational
work in this western educational enterprise. He had a good
reputation in every respect while at McKendree. In the opin-
ion of the students he seemed to be above reproach. Johnson
Pierson, a member of the class of 1841 at McKendree, testified
m a letter written soon after his graduation and still preserved
in the archives of the college, to the extremely high regard in
which Professor Sunderland was always held by the students .
The students were willing at times to play pranks on the
professors and make uncomplimentary remarks about them in
their absence, "but never about Prof. Sunderland." He tried
to resign his position several times, probably on account of the
unsatisfactory salaries paid to the faculty in those days, but the
board would refuse to accept his resignation, re-elect him and
One Hundred and TwentyThree
<.^:^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^B^^^:^
JAMES WARREN SUNDERLAND
finally persuade him to stay
another year. He did this un-
til the commencement of
1843, when he refused to re-
consider. When the Board
could hold him no longer,
they placed in the minutes a
highly complimentary reso-
lution expressing the high re-
gard in which they held him.
From McKendree he went
to Ursinus College at Col-
legeville, Pennsylvania,
where he maintained a long
and honorable educational
career, and where he also spent his years of retirement after
he had finished his years of active service. He died on April
9, 1904, at the age of ninety -one.
Since it is not a long one, we give the list of students in
this first catalog, as nearly as possible in the form in which
they appear in the catalog.
STUDENTS COLLEGIATE DEPARTMENT
NAMES RESIDENCE
John Baker Lebanon
Asahel Brown Macoupin County
Samuel K. Casey Jefferson County
James Y. Clemson Caledonia
D. B. C. Cossitt Lebanon
R. T. Cunningham
William Edgar Rapides Parish, La.
Henry H. Horner Lebanon
William Jeter Louisville, Ky.
Jeremiah Johnson Lebanon
Thomas Leonard
William T. Lucky Belleville
Robert H. Mason Madison County
William P. Mattox Clinton County
Napoleon B. MuUikin St. Louis, Mo.
Benjamin Norman St. Clair County
Elihu McKendree Peter White Hall
Johnson Pierson Burlington, W. T.
Andrew Ray Salem
Eli Robinson Carlinville
John Scott Shiloh
Joseph H. Tam Logansport, Iowa
PREPARATORY DEPARTMENT
Grafton Baker Lebanon
William Baker
James H. Barger
Wesley Bennett Clarksburg, Va.
St. Louis, Mo.
Palmyra, Mo.
Lebanon
St. Louis, Mo.
Lebanon
Charles H. Bradford Lebanon
William E. Bradford
Joseph P. Chamberlain
Samuel E. Chamberlain
Franklin C. Coons
E. S. Cossitt
Alexander Covington
J. W. Cunningham
Levi L. Dunlap
Dennis M. Foulks
Ezra L. Foulks
Samuel Foulks
Theodore L. Gray
William Gray
Henderson Isbel
James R. Isbel
John H. Kavanaugh
Joseph T. Kingston
Harvey Lasley
William Leonard
F. M. Mattox
John D. Miles
William Miles
Jerome B. MuUikm
Alfred Padon
John Penn
William Penn
Daniel E. Pierce
James A. Pierce
Elbridge J. Potter
William B. Riggin
James A. Roman
William Roman
William J. Ross
Samuel Stites
A. B. Sublett
J. H. Sublett
Cyrus F. Temple
George D. Temple
James Twiss
William Twiss
Ira Wakefield Union Grove
J. D. Walton St. Louis, Mo.
William D. Walton St. Louis, Mo.
John H. Welch Lebanon
Robert Vineyard
Collegiate Department 22
Preparatory Department 51
Total
St. Clair County
Galliopolis, Ohio
Lebanon
Clinton County
Lebanon
St. Louis, Mo.
Ridge Prairie
Lebanon
Shiloh
Burlington, W.
Lebanon
One Hundred and Twenty-Fow
MC KENDREE
CHAPTER VIII.
President McrrilVs Administration
"*7'oHN Wesley Merrill was born at
H 1 Chester, New Hampshire, May g, 1808.
His father, Rev. Joseph Merrill was a
Methodist circuit rider and named his oldest
son after the founder of Methodism. This son
grew up on various New England circuits, but
in spite of this secured a good education. The
father was a trustee of the Wesleyan Univer-
sity at Middletown, Connecticut and was
wiUing to sacrifice that his sons might be col-
lege graduates. John W. graduated from Wes-
leyan m i8j4 and from the theological sem-
inary in 1837. He then decided to take a trip
in the west as a means of recuperation of
his health. His brother Annis had been for a
year Professor of Ancient Language
JOHN WESLEY MERRILL
at McKendree, and he
thought it would be interesting to visit his brother and this
new seat of learning in the wilderness of the west. Mr. Mer-
rill himself describes his journey to Lebanon in a very inter-
esting manner, in a communication to an educational con-
vention held at McKendree in 1868. We quote from it as
follows:
"In September 1837 my ten years' continuous course of
study at the Wesleyan Academy at Wilbraham, Bowdoin
College in Maine, Wesleyan University in Connecticut, and
Andover Theological Seminary in Massachusetts, had closed
and left me in such a state of health as to require immediate
change.
"In three weeks after my graduation I concluded to visit
my brother in the west. It was a long, slow journey. We
glided down the winding Connecticut River, into Long Is-
land Sound, under the silvery light of the moon; then darted
by rail from New York to Philadelphia, then slowly clam-
bered over the Alleghenies to the Ohio River. We had an
eighteen day voyage down the Ohio and up the Mississippi
on a steam boat which was bringing home several western
Congressmen and twenty Sioux Indians, all of whom were
objects of deep interest to me. A new world reposed between
the Alleghenies and the Rockies and now my wondering eyes
beheld it. I spent the Sabbath at St. Louis and on Monday
afternoon took the stage for Lebanon. My travelling com-
panion on the way was a Jew — and where is not the wan-
dering Jew? At my request he sang a solemn song in Hebrew
from the Psalms. It touched my heart, and I longed that the
scattered song of the "Father of the Faithful"
might come to that faith in the Lord Christ
which avails to salvation.
"We had come late to the little village of
Lebanon. It was a dark night and my first view
was sufficiently draped, and my first impres-
sions sufficiently obscure. I was soon invited
to the hospitable roof of Mr. Nathan Horner
where he and his estimable lady made me both
welcome and happy. On the next day, with
out taking time to examine the village or its
surroundings, as Professor Merrill had delay-
ed in New England to bring his family to Leb-
anon, and as the college session had already
begun, I immediately went to the college and
took charge of my brother's classes, intending so to do until
his arrival two weeks later. On Wednesday, urged to preach
in the college chapel, I did so. On Saturday, riding out to
Shiloh, I was induced by Rev. J. S. Barger to preach on the
Sabbath forenoon. In the evening returning, I entered my
room at Mr. Horner's, whence I came out only after about
five weeks of suffering with the bilious fever. I shall never
forget those weeks of prostration and pain; nor the kind at-
tention of that true mother in Israel, Mrs. Horner, and of
her children. The students daily brought me a pitcher of cold
water from the college well, to cool my burning lips, and
watched at my bedside in the solitary night. My calamity
was their opportunity to bind my grateful heart to the family,
the students, and the stranger land to which I had wandered.
The second time I learned to walk; and as soon as possible,
sitting down to rest by the wayside three or four times, both
to and from the college, I taught my brother's classes, intend-
ing to go south in two or three weeks. But two or three
months slipped by and the Trustees came together one day
(January 1, 1838) and elected me a professor and president
of the college. I soon braided in with the golden cords already
there, and we prevailed in the work before us. About fifty
students were then in both departments of the college. I need
not say with what interest and devotion I entered upon my
work. I had the fond vision of a Harvard on the banks of the
Mississippi unrolled before my thoughts. True the college
edifice looked dingy enough with its two little wings, its
tinkling bell, and its three or four log cabins joined on in the
rear, where most of the students, from abroad, boarded.
One Hundred and Twenty-Five
lodged, and studied. It stood indeed in thickets where the
sly panther could scarcely find his way, save in front and on
the east. ****** So the thickets must give way and spare
an open campus. On one set day a clique of villagers and not-
able trustees, the fifty students, and the faculty, headed by
the president, with chains and levers, axes and hoes, crowbars
and grubbers, hatchets and brush-scythes, and other like pan-
oply, entered the college premises, not as the crafty Ulysses
in Calypso's isle cut timbers for his hidden craft, but as some
bold phalanx in a contest. Dido's Tyrians were not a busier
crowd. And ere the sun set, some cutting down the trees,
others cutting with scythes the undergrowth, while these
pried and dug up the stumps, and those bore away the wood
and rubbish, an open space was cleared on the crown of the
college grounds. The glee and shouts and antics then would
provoke a smile on features braver than Cyrus' bravest gen-
erals. The sun that night went down with joy and evening
wept less copious tears. The forest yielded to the classic axe.
The noble hickories and oaks were left for monuments and
shade.
"Here let me advert to the literary labors of the college m
the four years of my connection with it. The work was as-
signed to the professors and the best methods of study, reci-
tations and reviews, used in the older colleges were adopted.
A kind but strict discipline was preserved. Examinations at
the ends of the terms and the years, were instituted, and
these usually continued one week each. Exhibitions of orig-
inal productions, accompanied the examinations at the close
of the terms and at the anniversaries. General harmony pre-
\^ailed. There were few cases of discipline and those requiring
dismission were extremely rare. Study, cheerfulness, and good
order were characteristics of the college. At sunrise and near
sunset, for four years, I met the students in the chapel for
religious services. There were often seasons of spiritual re-
freshing from the presence of the Lord. The scriptures were
read, a hymn was sung and prayer offered. God was pleased
to visit the institution with several revivals of religion, and
many students as well as others shared in its blessings. Learn-
ing and religion mated well together. It happened to me not
only to do the work assigned by the trustees, but where there
seemed a want, there I applied my strength. It thus occurred
that the first class to graduate read most of their college Greek
with me. They read all of the first volume of the "Majora"
and most of the second, besides they read the Medea and
twelve books of Homer's Iliad. Few classes in the older col-
leges read more Greek than this. It was found that the powers
of our college charter were too narrow, and as it seemed de-
sirable to introduce professorships in Sacred Literature, Eccle-
siastical History, and Theology, as well as chairs in the other
professions, it was suggested by me, that that end could be
secured in a new charter, and it was agreed by the trustees
to ask of the Legislature power to estabHsh "professorships
in all the learned professions," and this power was generously
and amply granted. When we had obtained the new charter,
the senior class read with me one exercise in the gospels a
week exegetically. Our students studied so diligently and the
examinations were so satisfactory, that on the graduation of
this class the college had taken a high literary rank in the
state, and the number of our students was about one hundred
and twenty-two during the year. This graduation occurred in
August 1 84 1. About one year before this time I had been
unanimously elected as professor of Sacred Literature in the
Biblical Institute, then in its organic incipiency at Newbury,
Vermont, which after a sojourn of twenty years at Concord,
New Hampshire, finally settled down in the bosom of Boston.
As for years this object had been almost as dear to my heart
as life itself, I decided to accept jt, ***** * Thus closed my
brief, laborious, and interesting connection with McKendree
College."
After teaching in the Theological School until 1868 Dr.
Merrill became a pastor for a few years and retired from ac-
tive service in 187J. However his long life of usefulness was
by no means finished. His earthly career finally closed at the
end of the nineteenth century when he was ninety-two years
old. In 1896 Dr. M. H. Chamberlin, then president of Mc-
Kendree, had a long correspondence with him. Dr. Merrill
referred to the great satisfaction he had had in the water from
the college well, when he lay sick at the home of Nathan
Horner. Accordingly Dr. Chamberlin bottled up several gal-
lons of water from the old well and shipped them to him by
express. He was greatly delighted and claimed that he could
recognize the unmistakable flavor of the water from the old
well which is fifty feet deep and was dug in 1835-
The aged theologian then wrote a poem entitled "The
College Well" which was set to music by the Oliver Ditson
Company of Boston and copies were furnished the McKendree
Glee Club, who sang it frequently in their public concerts.
Dr. Chamberlin hoped that it would become a popular col-
lege song among the students, but the tune did not prove to
be well adapted to the uses of the non-professional singer, so
today it is well-nigh forgotten.
One Hundred and Tw
^MC KENDREE^^^^^^s:^^..;,^.:;,^^^
McKENDREE
Ho! ding dong goes the college bell!
Now gather, students, around the well.
The bucket living water brings
From the deep moss tunnel'd springs.
From the wild gourd or cocoa shell
Drink kindly greeting or farewell.
With waters of the college well.
The old McKendree College Well.
Oft have you drunk its cooling lymph.
Both man and lad and college nymph.
As sparkling from its hidden cell.
Its smooth, sweet waters tasted well.
When from the gourd or cocoa shell.
You drank kind greeting or farewell.
In waters from the college well.
The old McKendree College Well.
JUDGE WILLIAM BROWN
Judge William Brown was the other member of the faculty
that carried the first McKendree class through to graduation.
We have less information about him than any of the others.
But all that we do know about him is to his credit. He was
a lawyer in Jacksonville, Illinois, before he came to the
college. His field of instruction was Economics and Political
Science. He was a member of the committee appointed to
visit the Legislature in the effort to secure a new charter at
the beginning of the year 1839. His two able addresses deliv-
ered in the Hall of Representatives to the first Legislature
that convened in Springfield, seemed to have won the atten-
tion and approval of all who heard them. The members of the
Legislature were so favorably impressed that they appropri-
ated funds to have them printed for free distribution through-
out the state. It is likely that he, more than any other member
of the committee was responsible for the success of their
mission to the Legislature. He also served as field agent for the
college in one of the attempts to endow it with scholarships.
His later years were spent in law practice at Jacksonville.
In the first few years of the history of McKendree, the
school did not claim to be more than a seminary. Higher
education existed only in its plan, not in its practice. The
first students were all of elementary grade and there was
no college graduate in its faculty until the Merrills and Sun-
derland came. The most of the students had far outstripped
their parents if they finished a preparatory course ready for
college entrance. So it is not strange that no class went so far
as to complete a college course until 1841. At that time these
men, fresh from a New England college themselves, doubtless
COLLEGE WELL
Deep in the earth God hid these waters.
For all McKendree's sons and daughters.
Thousands have drunk their cooling lymph.
Old men and lads and college nymph.
All who drank, from last to first.
Have quenched the burning of their thirst,
With waters from the college well,
The old McKendree College Well.
We'll seek no springs of Hilicon,
Of Castala or Lebanon,
There gush from earth the cooling springs.
That comfort to the thirsty brings,
As they drink from flask or shell.
The kindly greetings or farewell,
In waters from the college well.
The old McKendree College Well.
held the same high standards in their work which they had
seen maintained in the eastern institution. This first class
carrying off their diplomas thirteen years after the institution
was founded deserve all the distinction they will receive if
we devote a chapter to them. However, the degrees conferred
on the August day in 1841 were not the very first degrees the
institution had bestowed. The corporation first exercised the
powers granted to it by its state charter to confer degrees, by
bestowing upon the Rev. Peter Akers, former president of
the college, the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity. This
was done on the thirteenth day of August, 1839. On the
same day the degree of Master of Arts was conferred upon
the Rev. Professor William M. Dailey, of St. Charles College
in Missouri.
A clause in the charter provided that any person present-
ing himself for examination upon the entire course of study,
if he could satisfactorily pass in all the subjects might receive
the Bachelor's Degree without having attended as a resident
student. In 1840 Rev. William D. R. Trotter presented him-
self as an applicant for a degree under the above rule. Pres-
ident Merrill, as chairman of the examining committee, re-
ported to the Board that Mr. Trotter had successfully passed
the required examinations and that he was recommended by
the faculty for the degree of Bachelor of Arts. It was granted.
So that the very first degree McKendree granted was the
Doctor's degree to Peter Akers, the first Master's degree to
Professor Dailey, and the first Bachelor's degree to Mr. Trot-
ter, who was a son-in-law of Peter Cartwright and a Metho-
dist circuit rider. But the first Bachelor's degrees earned in
One Hundred and Twent\-Sei
■csiS^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^S^^SrS^
the usual way were those granted to the seven young men
who constituted the class of 1841. They all received Bachelor
of Arts degrees, as the Bachelor of Science was not conferred
until some years later. That first commencement day was on
the eighteenth of August and President Merrill describes it
as follows:
"The members of the graduating class were Richard F.
Cunningham, Henry H. Horner, Jeremiah Johnson, William
T. Lucky, Johnson Pierson, Eli Robinson, and William Weer.
Their examinations had been passed with credit. Their ora-
tions had been prepared, and in a grove hard by the college
premises, over the road nearly in front of the college grounds,
a stage had been erected, and here the exhibitions of the three
lower classes had passed off well. The commencement day
had arrived, a large crowd had assembled, the trustees and
visitors were on the stage with the faculty, the senior class,
one by one had made their addresses, the diplomas were dis-
tributed and the degrees conferred. Now the first class in
McKendree College had been admitted to the grade of Bach-
elor of Arts; and this I think was the first class admitted to
that degree in a Methodist college north of Kentucky and
west of Pennsylvania."
Some one, who did not sign his name, but probably a mem-
ber of the faculty, wrote an account of the commencement
for the Western Christian Advocate. A copy of it was found
among the ancient records and we reproduce it here.
REPORT OF THE FIRST McKENDREE COMMENCEMENT DAY
August 18, 1841
Mr. Editor:
This was a proud day for McKendree College. A day
ominous of good to the cause of education, religion, and hu-
manity in Illinois. One that I trust will be long remembered
by the multitudes who assembled on that occasion to witness
the novel spectacle, the literary festival of crowning a class
of young men with university honors. The young but prom-
ising institution of learning, located in this place, has just
graduated its first class. A stage was erected and other suit-
able preparations made in a delightful grove adjoining the
college; the chapel being too small to accommodate the large
audience anticipated; and at the appointed hour a vast as-
semblage gathered from the neighboring regions presented
itself to witness the interesting exercises. There youth and
beauty, age and wisdom, wealth and fashion, talent and learn-
ing— for we have all these even in the far west — united to
grace the occasion. We mean no disrespect to our transmoun-
tain friends, but here was an audience with as much taste and
intelligence as is usually met with east of the mountains. The
literary exercises were of the highest order and it was re-
marked by several who had attended the commencement oc-
casions at several of our eastern colleges, that they would
suffer nothing from a comparison with those of our most
distinguished institutions. The following was the order of
exercises. It would be invidious to single out cases where all
were characterized for excellence, but we shall be excusable
for saying a word of the valedictory. It was an effort which
was peculiarly happy and impressive. The youthful orator,
Jeremiah G. Johnson, seemed to breathe the sentiment of a
warm and grateful heart, in words that carried with them a
sweetness and pathos so genuine that most of the audience
were melted to tears. The effect of this performance was good,
and I doubt not but all went away deeply impressed with the
worth of our young college, and firmly resolved that it should
not longer languish for lack of countenance and support.
"The next session of the institution will open on the second
Wednesday in October, and with better prospects, it is be-
lieved, from the present auspices, than any previous one. The
trustees, the conference, and the community seem determined
to sustain this college, and if the zeal in its behalf that was
manifested at the late annual meeting of the joint Board of
Trustees and visitors, is not suffered to wane, we may safely
predict that in a very short time after the opening of the next
session, the prospects will be really better than ever before.
The resignation of the late worthy president, Rev. John W.
Merrill, caused some regret among the friends, yet it is be-
lieved that his place has been supplied by one in every respect
competent to the station."
We give here a brief sketch of each member of this first class.
RICHARD FRISBIE CUNNINGHAM
Richard Frisbie Cunningham was born June 21, 1826, at
Abingdon, Maryland. While yet a small child he came with
his parents to Illinois and settled in Lebanon. On October
17, 1836, when he was only ten years of age he was enrolled
in the preparatory department of McKendree College. A few
years after he finished at McKendree, he enrolled in the Mis-
souri Medical College of St. Louis, from which he received
the degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1850. He took up the
practice of his profession in his home town where he spent
the remainder of his long and useful life. He was a capable
and successful physician.
About the time he began his medical practice he was mar-
ried at Brighton, Illinois, to Miss Mary E. Risley, who was
the daughter of a Methodist preacher. They were the parents
of four children, James W., Frederick, Annie, and May. He
was for many years president of the McKendree Alumni
One Hundred and TwerUyEtght
Association and at each annual meeting delivered an address
that was not without merit m other respects, but usually
excelling especially m its length.
The huildmg is still standing on St. Louis St. in Lebanon
which he occupied for many years as his office. He died at
his home m Lebanon, December 29, iSgi.
HENRY H. HORNER
Henry Hypes Horner was born in Lebanon, Illinois, Feb-
ruary 22, 1821. His parents were Americans for several gen-
erations back. His grandfather, Nicholas Horner, who came
from Maryland to Illinois
in 1812, was the largest sub-
scriber to the original fund
for the founding of Mc-
Kendree College, and was a
member of its first Board
of Trustees. Since its first
founding one or more mem-
bers of the Horner family
have always been in some
way connected with the col-
lege. Henry spent his youth
m his native town and at
the age of sixteen entered
college. He graduated in
the class of 1841 with the
degree of A. B. and later received the Master's Degree. He
was the salutatorian of his class. He belonged to the Philo-
sophian Literary Society. After his graduation Mr. Horner
taught school at Hillsboro, Illinois; was principal of Brandon
Academy in Mississippi, for one year; and was professor of
ancient languages in McKendree for the year 1844-45. He
then turned his attention to law, which was his principal
vocation for the remainder of his life. In 186'; he was chosen
Dean of the McKendree Law School and remained in this
position till 1889. At different times in his career he held the
offices of City Attorney and Mayor of Lebanon, State's At-
torney, and Master in Chancery. He was married November
19, 1857 to Helen M. Danforth. Their children were Roland
Henry, 'Wilbur Nathan, Walter Sargeant, Lottie M., Hattie
Hypes, and Bertha Adele. Of these the third and fourth died
in childhood. The others were all students in McKendree,
and three of them graduated. Mr. Horner finished his long
life in his native town, and died September 21, 1902.
WILLIAM T. LUCKY
William Thomas, son of Enoch and Mildred Lucky, was
horn in Elizabethtown, Hardin County, Kentucky, April 24,
JUDGE HORNER
Former Dean of McKendree Law
School
1821. He entered McKendree m i8:,7 and graduated m 1841,
receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He later received the
Master's Degree. He was a member of the Philosophian So-
ciety. He united with the Methodist church in 1840, and
later became a minister of the gospel, but his life was spent
in educational work rather than the pastorate. From 1841 to
1844 he served his alma mater as principal of the preparatory
department. From that time till 1852 he was principal of
Howard high school, Fayette, Missouri. In 1852 he became
president of Howard Female College m the same city, which
position he held until 1861 . He then went to the Pacific Coast
and became president of the Pacific Methodist College at
Vacaville, California. Here he remained till 1867 when he
became principal of Lincoln School, San Francisco. In 1868
he was made principal of the State Normal School at San
Jose, and in 187}, was chosen principal of the Los Angeles
high school. He was married August 29, 1844 to Mary Jane
Scarritt. Their children were Laura Ellet, Mary Cornelia,
Edward Merrill, William Scarritt, and Arthur Mason. He
received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from the Pacific
Methodist College in 1868, and from McKendree in i860, He
died in San Francisco, CaHfornia, October 21, 1876.
JOHNSON PIERSON
Johnson Pierson was born June 24, 1814, in Ohio County,
Virginia. He grew up on a farm and his early education was
acquired in his native state. In i8_^5 he emigrated with his
father's family to Burlington, Iowa. In i8j7 he entered Mc-
Kendree, and graduated in the class of 1841. He was one of
the founders of the Philosophian Literary Society. He was
married October 28, 1841 to Miss Martha I. Howard of
Lebanon. Their surviving children are J. L. and G. D. Pierson
of St. Louis, and one daughter, Mrs. Robert Cameron of Chi-
cago. After leaving college he was employed until 184-; as
Principal of the Mt. Vernon Academy. He was then elected
to the chair of Ancient Languages m the Iowa Wesleyan
University at Mt. Pleasant, which position he held for four
years. From 1852 to 1855 he was editor of the "Burlington
Hawkeye." During the Civil War he was Commissioner of
the Draft for the First Congressional District of Iowa. In
1872 he became postal clerk in the U. S. mail service, from
which work he was retired in 1885 on account of having
reached the age limit. He spent much time in literary work,
writing both prose and poetry. One of his published books
IS an epic poem reciting the history of the Jewish people,
entitled the "Judiad." He died at St. Louis in 1907 at the
advanced age of ninety-three.
One Hundred and TwentyJimi
Imc KENDREE"^^^^^^^^....^^.^^
JEREMIAH G. JOHNSON
Jeremiah G. Johnson, adopted son of Jeremiah and Esther
Johnson, was born in St. Louis, November 3, 1822. He lived
a brief but beautiful life. He was one of those noble souls
capable of appreciating the joys of learning and the beauties
of classical literature. He graduated in 1841 with the first
honors of the class, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts.
He was one of the founders of the Philosophian Literary
Society. His body was not sufficiently vigorous to sustain the
mighty intellect with which he had been endowed, and his
health soon failed. He studied law, but did not live to fulfill
the exceeding promise of his youth. He died a triumphant
Christian death in Lebanon, IlHnois, August jo, 1845. His
body was laid to rest in Ckjllege Hill cemetery where his
weather beaten grave stone may still be seen with the in-
scription on it still quite legible.
ELI ROBINSON
Eli Robinson was born in South Carolina in 181 "j. He was
the son of a pioneer Methodist preacher who greatly desired
to give his son a thorough education; but death claimed him
before this ambition could be gratified. Through the influence
of his father's friends the son found shelter and kind benefac-
tors in the home of Nathan Horner of Lebanon, one of the
original trustees of McKendree College, who, having but one
son of his own (Henry H. Horner) to educate, with generous
disposition furnished a good home and provided tuition fees
for this orphan youth who was seeking an education. He
graduated from McKendree in 1841 with the degree of A. B.
He was a member of the Philosophian Society. He taught
school several years after his graduation, and then studied
law with Judge Wm. H. Underwood of Belleville. He suc-
ceeded well in his chosen profession. Some years after we hear
of him at Hastings, Minnesota, where he had an elegant home
and his family consisted of his wife and two children, Frank
and Ollie. Here he was visited by John L. Scripps of Chicago,
who knew many of his early acquaintances at McKendree.
Mr. Robinson died at Sioux City, Iowa, October 19, 1878.
His son Frank having died some years before, he left only his
daughter, Mrs. Ollie O'Connor.
WILLIAM WEER
William Weer was born in Philadelphia, December 20,
1824. He graduated from McKendree in 1841 with the degree
of A. B. He was a member of the Philosophian Society. One
who knew him in his college days says, "He was a quiet stu-
dious young man, avoiding all social life. His books were his
closest companions." After leaving college he spent two years
in the Rocky Mountains, hunting, fishing, and living the sim-
ple outdoor life that enabled him to recover the health which
he had lost in his overstudious college life. He studied law
and practiced his profession in the state of Kansas. He was
a member of the Kansas Senate, and State Constitutional con-
vention. At the beginning of the Civil War he became Col-
onel of the loth Regiment of Kansas Volunteers. After the
war he located at Wyandotte, Kansas, where he died in 1866.
He was married to Gloriana Harrison. Their children were
Mary and Elizabeth, the latter of whom died in infancy. Mr.
Weer was said to so greatly resemble his classmate, Henry
H. Horner, in personal appearance, that they might easily be
mistaken for brothers.
Former President's Home. Built in
One Hundred and Thnty
MC KENDREE
CHAPTER IX.
College Charters
IN THE EARLY history of the state the legislature was
very suspicious of all corporations. For a long time it
seemed very doubtful whether any college would be
granted a charter. But President Akers, as well as the presi-
dents of other schools then in operation, was active in pre-
senting to the legislative body the claims for recognition of
higher institutions of learning. Finally in the session of 183,5
the assembled wisdom of the state, in a fit of literary and
religious toleration, passed an omnibus bill, providing in one
act charters for four colleges. One for the Methodists at
Lebanon, one for the Presbyterians at Jacksonville, one for
the Baptists at Alton, and another at Jonesboro, which how-
ever did not develop into a college as the others did, if indeed
it was ever in active operation at all. This legislation was
passed at Vandalia where the capital was then located, in
the building which was then a pretentious state capitol, and
now serves as the court house of Fayette County. The orig-
inal bill very neatly engrossed, may now be seen in the
archives of the present state house at Springfield. It is of
interest in educational circles because it was the first college
charter granted by the great state of Illinois which now has
more than a score of colleges and three great universities. We
therefore give the complete text of this bill for the benefit of
those who may be interested in reading it. The committee
to which the bill was referred, in considering the matter,
proposed three questions concerning it as follows:
1. Are institutions of this character really needed in the
state?
2. Is It important to their success that the trustees who
manage them should become corporate bodies?
3. Can corporate powers be granted with safety to the
public interests?
After lengthy discussion they answered all three questions
in the aiBrmative and recommended the passage of the bill.
FIRST CHARTER
An act to incorporate the colleges therein named. In force
February 19, 1835.
Section I . Beit enacted by the people of the state of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly: That Hubbell Loomis,
Benjamin F. Edwards, Stephen Griggs, George Smith, Enoch
Long, Cyrus Edwards, and William Manning, and their suc-
cessors, be, and they are hereby created a body politic and
corporate, to be styled and known by the name of "The
trustees of the Alton College of Illinois," and by that style
and name to remain and have perpetual succession. The said
college shall remain at or near Upper Alton in the county of
Madison. The number of trustees shall not exceed fifteen,
exclusive of the president, principal, or presiding officer of
the college, who shall, ex-officio, be a member of the board
of trustees ; no other instructor shall be a member of the board
of trustees. For the present, the above named individuals
shall constitute the board of trustees, who shall fill the re-
maining vacancies at their discretion.
Section 2. That Samuel D. Lockwood, WiUiam C. Posey,
John P. Wilkinson, Theron Baldwin, John F. Brooks, Elisha
Jenny, William Kirby, Asa Turner, John G. Bergen, John
Tillson, Jr., and Gideon Blackburn and their successors, be,
and they are hereby created a body corporate and politic, by
the name of "The trustees of Illinois College," and by that
style and name to remain permanently located in Morgan
County; the number of trustees shall not exceed fifteen, ex-
clusive of the president, principal, or presiding officer of the
college, who shall ex-officio be a member of the board ot trus-
tees; no other instructor shall be a member of the board of
trustees. For the present, the aforesaid individuals shall con-
stitute the board of trustees, who shall fill the remaining
vacancies at their discretion.
Section 3. That John Dew, Samuel H. Thompson, James
Riggin, Nicholas Horner, George Lowe, Robert Moore, The-
ophilus M. Nichols, Joshua Barnes, Samuel Stites, David L.
West, Nathan Horner, Joseph Foulke, Thornton Peeples.
John S. Barger, Nathaniel M. McCurdy, Anthony W. Casad,
and Benjamin Hypes, and their successors, be, and they are
hereby created a body politic and corporate, to be styled and
known by the name of "The trustees of the McKendrean
College," and by that style and name to remain and have
perpetual succession; the said college shall remain located at
or near Lebanon in the county of St. Clair; the number of
trustees shall not exceed eighteen, exclusive of the president,
principal, or presiding officer of the college, who shall, ex-
officio, be a member of the board of trustees; no other in-
structor shall be a member of the board of trustees. For the
present the aforesaid individuals shall constitute the board
of trustees, who shall fill the remaining vacancies at their
discretion.
Article 4. That B. W. Brooks, Augustus Rixleben, Win-
stead Davie, John S. Hacker, Daniel Spencer, WiUis Willard,
John W. McGuire, Thomas Sands, James P. Edwards, John
One Hundred and Thirty-One
Baltzell, William C. Whitlock, and Isaac Bizzle, and their
successors, be, and they are hereby created a body poHtic
and corporate, to be styled and known by the name of "The
trustees of the Jonesborough College," and by that style and
name to remain and have perpetual succession; the said col-
lege shall remain located at or near Jonesborough, in the
county of Union. The number of trustees shall not exceed
fifteen, exclusive of the president, principal, or presiding oifi'
cer of the college, who shall, ex-officio be a member of the
board of trustees. For the present, the aforesaid individuals
shall constitute the board of trustees, who shall fill the re-
maining vacancies at their discretion.
Article i. The object of said corporation shall be the
promotion of the general interests of education, and to qualify
young men to engage in the several employments and pro-
fessions of society, and to discharge honorably and usefully
the various duties of lite.
Article 6. The corporate powers hereby bestowed shall
be such only as are essential or useful in the attainment of
said object, and such as are usually conferred on similar bodies
corporate, namely; to have perpetual succession, to make
contracts, to sue and be sued, implead and be impleaded, to
grant and receive by its corporate name, and to do all other
acts as natural persons may, to accept, acquire, purchase or
sell property, real, personal and mixed, in all lawful ways;
to use, employ, manage, and dispose of all such property, and
all money belonging to said corporation, in such manner as
shall seem to the trustees best adapted to promote the objects
aforementioned; to have a common seal and to alter or change
the same; to make such by-laws for its regulation as are not
inconsistent with the Constitution and laws of the United
States or of this state, and to confer on such persons as may
be considered worthy, such academical or honorary degrees
as are usually conferred by similar institutions.
Section 7. The trustees of the respective corporations
shall have authority, from time to time, to prescribe and reg-
ulate the course of studies to be pursued in said colleges, and
in the preparatory departments attached thereto; to fix the
rate of tuition, room rent and other college expenses, to ap-
point instructors and such other officers and agents as may
be needed in managing the concerns of the institution, to
define their powers, duties and employments, to fix their com-
pensation, to displace and remove either of the instructors,
officers, or agents, as said trustees shall deem the interests of
the said colleges shall require, to fill all vacancies among said
instructors, officers and agents, to erect necessary buildings,
to purchase books and chemical and philosophical apparatus,
and other suitable me.ms of instruction, to put in operation
a system of manual labor, for the purpose of lessening the
expense of education and promoting the health of the stu-
dents; to make rules for the general management of the affairs
of the college, and for the regulation of the conduct of the
students, and to add, as the ability of the said organization
shall increase, and the interest of the community shall require,
additional departments for the study of any or all of the lib-
eral professions: Provided, however, that nothing herein con-
tained shall authorize the establishment of a theological de-
partment in either of said colleges.
Section 8. If any trustee shall be chosen president of the
college, his former place as trustee shall be considered vacant,
and his place filled by the remaining trustees. The trustees,
for the time being, shall have power to remove any trustee
for any dishonorable or criminal conduct : Provided, however,
that no such removal shall take place without giving to such
trustee, notices of the charges exhibited against him, and an
opportunity to defend himself before the board, nor unless
that two-thirds of the whole number of trustees, for the time
being, shall concur in such removal. The trustees for the time
being, in order to have perpetual succession, shall have pow-
er, as often as a trustee shall be removed from office, die,
resign, or remove out of the State, to appoint a resident of
the state to fill the vacancy in the board of trustees occasioned
by such removal from office, death, resignation, or removal
from the State. A majority of the trustees, for the time being
shall be a quorum to do business.
Section 9. The trustees shall faithfully apply all funds by
them collected, according to their best judgment, in erecting
suitable buildings, in supporting the necessary instructors,
officers, and agents, in procuring books, maps, charts, globes,
philosophical, chemical, and other apparatus, necessary to aid
in the promotion of sound learning in their respective insti-
tutions: Provided, that in case any donation, devise or be-
quest shall be made for particular purposes, accordant with
the object of the institution, and the trustees shall accept
the same, every such donation, devise, or bequest shall he
applied in conformity with the express condition of the donor
or devisor: Provided, also, that lands donated or devised as
aforesaid, shall be sold or disposed of as required by the
twelfth section of this act.
Section 10. The treasurers of said colleges always, and
all other agents when required by the trustees, before enter-
ing upon the duties of their appointments, shall give bond
for the security of the corporation, in such penal sum and
with such securities as the bo;ird of trustees shall approve;
One Hundred and Tl. irt3r.T«.o
i
and all process against the said corporation shall be by sum-
mons, and the serving ot the same shall be by leaving .m
attested copy with the treasurer of the college, at least thirty
days before the return day thereof.
Section II. The said colleges and their preparatory de-
partments shall be open to all denominations of Christians,
and the profession of any particular religious faith shall not
be required of those who become students; all persons, how-
ever, may be suspended or expelled from said institutions,
whose habits are idle or vicious, or whose moral character
is bad.
Section 12. The lands, tenements, and hereditaments, to
be held in perpetuity, in virtue of this act, by either of said
corporations, shall not exceed six hundred and forty acres:
Provided, however, that if donations, grants, or devises in
land shall, from time to time, be made to either of said cor-
porations, over and above six hundred and forty acres, which
may be held in perpetuity as aforesaid, the same may be
received and held by such corporation for the period of three
years from the date of every such donation, grant or devise;
at the end of which time, if the said lands over and above
the said six hundred and forty acres shall not have been sold
by the said corporation, then, and in that case, the said lands
so donated, granted, or devised, shall revert to the donor,
grantor, or the heirs of the devisor of the same.
Approved February q, 183^.
When Rev. John W. Merrill came to the presidency m
January, 183,8, he surveyed the field and the prospects and
possibilities of the college and decided that it ought to have
a new charter granting larger privileges and providing for the
establishment of schools of theology, law, and medicine, if
at any time such enlargement seemed expedient. He had just
completed his course in Andover School of Theology, and
probably dreamed of a new Harvard being developed here in
the Mississippi Valley. On New Year's day, 1839, a meeting
of the board was held at the home of John C. Gore, at which
a committee of three was appointed "to attend the State
Legislature and secure, if possible, the passage of an act pro-
viding such amendment as it is desirable should be made to
the college charter." The committee consisted of Professor
William Brown of the McKendree Faculty, Rev. Benjamin
T. Kavanaugh, the college agent, and Rev. Samuel H. Thomp-
son, one of the trustees. The committee went at once to
Springfield, where the Legislature was then in session. This
was the first session of the Legislature held at Springfield.
The final adjournment at Vandalia occurred July 22, 1837,
and the business of state was formally transferred to Spring-
field, the new capital. Bv permission of that body, Professor
Brown delivered two lectures in the H ill of Representatives
which seem to have been well received as they were ordered
printed and five thousand copies distributed to the public at
the expense of the state. The second of these was a direct
argument for granting a new charter to McKendree. He set
forth at length the present prosperous condition of the col-
lege and its promise of much greater usefulness in the future,
provided it receive a more liberal charter. The bill framed for
this purpose was passed without delay and with very slight
opposition and was approved January 26, 1839.
REVISED CHARTER
An act to incorporate the McKendree College, approved
January 26, 1839.
Section I. Be It enacted by the people of the State of
Illinois, represented in the General Assembly: That William
Wilson, Samuel H. Thompson, Thornton Peeples, John S.
Barger, Benjamin Hypes, Hiram K. Ashley, Joshua Barnes,
James Riggin, Nathan Horner, Benjamin T. Kavanaugh, The-
ophilus Nichols, Crispin Cunningham, John Hogan, Jesse
Renfro, Benjamin M. Bond, and Alexander N. Jenkins, and
their successors in office, be, and they are hereby created a
body politic and corporate, under the name and style of the
"McKendree College" and henceforth shall be styled and
known by that name, and by that style and name have per-
petual succession. The number of trustees shall not exceed
eighteen, exclusive of the president, principal, or presiding
officer of the college, who shall ex-officio be a member of the
board of trustees. No other instructor shall be a member of
said board: Provided, however, that the board of trustees by
a majority of two- thirds, at their annual meeting may increase
the number of said trustees to any number not exceeding
thirty-six. For the present, the aforesaid individuals shall con-
stitute the board of trustees, who shall at their discretion fill
the remaining vacancies, and such as may hereafter be created
should the number be increased.
Section 2. The object of said corporation shall be the
promotion of the general interest of education, and to qualify
young men to engage in the several employments and pro-
fessions of society, and to discharge honorably and usefully
the various duties of life.
Section 3. The corporate powers hereby bestowed shall
be such only as are essential and useful in the attainment of
said object, and such as are usually conferred on similar cor-
porate bodies, namely: to have perpetual succession, to make
contracts, to sue and be sued, implead and be impleaded, to
grant and receive by its corporate name, and to do all other
acts as natural persons may; to accept, acquire, purchase or
sell property, real, personal, and mixed, in all lawful ways;
to use, employ, manage, and dispose of all such property and
all money belonging to said corporation, in such manner as
shall seem to the trustees best adapted to promote the object
aforementioned; to have a common seal, and to alter and
change the same; to make such bylaws for the regulation of
the corporation as are not inconsistent with the laws and
constitution of the United States, or of this state, and to
confer on such persons as may be considered worthy, such
academical or honorary degrees as are usually conferred by
similar institutions.
Section 4. The trustees shall have authority from time
to time to prescribe and regulate the course of study to be
perused in said college, and the preparatory department at-
tached thereto; to fix the rate of tuition, room rent, and other
college expenses; to appoint the president of the institu-
tion and other members of the faculty, and such other
instructors, officers, and agents, as may be needed in manag-
ing the concerns of the institution; to define their powers,
duties and employments; to fix their compensations; to dis-
place and remove the presidents, and any member of the
faculty, either of the instructors, officers, or agents; to erect
necessary buildings, and purchase books and chemical, phil-
osophical and other apparatus, and other suitable means of
instruction; to put in operation if the trustees shall deem it
expedient, a system of manual labor for the purpose of pro-
moting the health of the students and lessening the expense
of education; to make rules for the general management of
the affairs of the college and for the regulation of the conduct
of the students; and to add as the ability of said corpora
tion shall increase, and the interest of the community shall
require, additional departments for the study of any or all
of the liberal profession.
Section 5. The trustees shall faithfully apply the funds
by them collected, according to their best judgment, in erect-
ing suitable buildings; in purchasing books, maps, charts,
globes, philosophical, chemical and other apparatus necessary
to aid in the promotion of sound learning in said institution.
Section 6. Any donation, devise or bequest, made for the
special purpose, accordant with the objects of the institution,
if the trustees shall accept the same, shall be faithfully and
truly applied in conformity with the express conditions of
the donor or devisee. The lands, tenements and heredita-
ments to be held in perpetuity in virtue of this act shall not
exceed three thousand acres : Provided, however, that grants,
donations or devises in lands which shall be made from time
to time to said corporation, may be held for the term of ten
years from date of such grant, donation or devise ; at the end
of which time the said lands over and above the before named
three thousand acres, shall be sold by the corporation; and
in the case of neglect to sell, said lands so donated shall re-
vert to the original donor or devisor, or to the lawful heirs
of the same.
Section 7. The treasurer and other officers of the insti-
tution, when required by the trustees, shall give bond for
the security of the corporation, in such penalty and with
such security as the board shall approve; and all processes
against said corporation shall be by summons and service of
the same by leaving an attested copy with the treasurer at
least thirty days before the return thereof.
Section 8. The trustees shall have power to establish
departments for the study of any of the liberal professions,
particularly law and medicine, and to institute and grant
diplomas in the same; to constitute and confer the degrees
of doctor in the learned arts and sciences and belles lettres,
and to confer such other academic degrees as are usually con-
ferred by the most learned universities.
Section 9. Said trustees shall have power to institute a
board of competent persons, always including the faculty,
who shall examine such persons as may apply; and if said
applicants are found to possess such knowledge, pursued in
said college as, in the judgment of said examiners renders them
worthy, they may be considered graduates in course, and shall
be entitled to a diploma accordingly, on paying such fee as the
trustees shall affix; which fee however shall in no case exceed
the tuition bills of the full college course. Said examining
board may not exceed the number of ten, three of whom
may transact business provided one be of the faculty.
Section 10. In its different departments the college shall
be open to all denominations of Christians, and the profession
of any religious faith shall not be required in order for ad-
mission; but those students who are idle or vicious, or whose
characters are immoral, may be suspended or expelled.
Section 11. Said college shall remain located at or near
Lebanon, in the county of St. Clair, State of Illinois. The
trustees shall hold at least one meeting in each year for busi-
ness, and may appoint other stated meetings of the board;
(special meetings may at any time be held by order of the
president of the board), ten of whom shall constitute a quo-
rum to do business; and it shall be lawful for the Illinois
annual conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church to ap-
point annually a board of visitors consisting of nine persons,
who shall have power to sit with the board of trustees at
One Hundred and Thirty-Foii
I
their annual meetings and participate with them exofficio as
members of the board.
Section 12. Hereafter the filling of vacancies in the hoard
of trustees and the appointment of the president of the col-
lege, professors, and tutors, shall be made only at the annual
meetings as provided in the eleventh section of this act:
Provided, that the trustees may fill vacancies in the profes-
sorships, or employ additional professors or tutors, when
necessary, until the succeeding annual meeting.
Section 13. In cases of the division of the Illinois Annual
Conference into two or more conferences of the Methodist
Episcopal Church, or if any other annual conference of the
said Methodist Episcopal Church, shall unite with the said
Illinois Annual Conference in the patronage and support of
the said college, each annual conference thus patronizing said
college shall have the same powers and privileges granted in
this act to the said Illinois Annual Conference: Provided,
that said visitors shall at no time exceed the number of trus-
tees; and should it so occur by the increase of patronage that
the number of visitors herein provided for shall exceed m
number that of the trustees, the ratio of visitors shall be by
the trustees so fixed as to limit the whole number of visitors
to that of the number of trustees of said college.
Section 14. The alteration of the name of the institution
shall not affect the title to any property acquired by the
institution heretofore but the title to such estate shall be
vahd to the institution under the name set forth in this act,
whether made to the same, or under the name and style of
"The trustees of the McKendrean College," or "The trustees
of McKendree College," that all contracts made with said
corporation, whether made under the name of "The trustees
of the McKendrean College or "The trustees of McKendree
College" shall enure as well for as against said corporation
under the name and style of "The McKendree College."
Section 15. If any trustee shall be chosen president of
the college, his former place as trustee shall be vacated and
his place filled by the remaining trustees and visiting com-
mittee as hereinbefore provided. The trustees for the time
being shall have power to remove any trustee tor any dis-
honorable or criminal conduct: Provided, that no such re-
moval shall take place without giving to such trustee notice
of charges against him, and an opportunity to defend himself
before the board, nor unless that two-thirds of the whole
number of trustees for the time being shall concur in said
removal
Section i6. This act shall be in force from and after the
time at which the trustees of the McKendrean College shall
accept the same, and the evidence of said acceptance shall
be a copy of the order of the board ordering this act to be
spread upon their journals, certified by the president and
secretary of the board.
Section 17. Should the corporation at any time act con'
trary to the provisions of this charter, or fail to comply with
the same, upon complaint made to the Circuit Court of St.
Clair County, a scire facias shall issue and the Circuit Court
of St. Clair County shall prosecute in behalf of the people
of this state for a forfeiture of this charter. This act shall be
a public act and shall be construed liberally in all courts for
the purposes hereinbefore expressed, and so far as this insti-
tution is concerned, all acts, as far as they may be contradic-
tory to this act, are hereby repealed.
Under this charter the college has worked for nearly ninety
years and it still seems sufficient for our needs. It conferred
no degrees under the first charter. The Illinois Conference
is mentioned frequently, but according to the provisions in
the charter itself the Southern Illinois Conference has all the
rights and privileges originally granted to the conference
which held the territory at that time.
The Campus in Winter
One Hundred and Thirty-Fife
£^l^^^^^^^^^^g^^s^
CHAPTER X.
College Finances
w
'HE YEAR 1839 marks the beginning of an interesting
era in McKendree's history. The school was just com-
; into collegiate rank. The faculty were college grad-
uates, and the president had completed a three year post
graduate course just before he took charge. A class of earnest
young men were doing real college work, on a par with that
done in the eastern colleges. There was a general feeling
among the constituents that now they actually had a college
after these ten years of strenuous but sometimes poorly or-
ganized effort. In the conference session of 1837 ^^ was voted
that the part of Bishop McKendree's bequest that would fall
to the Illinois Conference for the promotion of education,
should be reserved until "a literary institution shall be pre-
sented over which this conference shall exercise control and
supervision." The next year the conference passed resolution
recommending that the Bible be made a prominent text book
in the college. After the new charter was granted, President
Merrill organized a class in the New Testament, which was
appreciated by the members of the conference, many of whom
felt that the principal reason for having a college was for the
religious training of the youth. After the graduating exercise
of 1841, which was considered a great literary triumph and
was heralded far and wide as a demonstration of what the
college could do for the young men in her care, the conference
was highly elated and enthusiastically passed this resolution,
"That we feel the deepest gratitude for that high literary
reputation unto which McKendree College, under divine
Providence, has attained, and that we will sustain the college,
God being wiUing." This would indicate that they were no
longer ashamed of their college, but rather proud of it. Re-
vivals occurred there. Preaching services were held in the
chapel, not only on Sundays, but on week days also. So that
now its reputation seemed fairly well established as a reli-
gious institution. The class of 1841 established its reputation
from the literary standpoint.
The charter, granted in 1839, was a recognition by the
state authorities that its standards were such as could be
commended to the general public. In fact, the charter was
considered one of the chief factors in the success which imme-
diately followed its issue. If it should grow into a great uni-
versity it would need no enlargement of its corporate powers
Under this charter it could confer any degree that Harvard
or Yale could. When the news first came to Lebanon that the
new charter had been granted, both the college and the town
were stirred with enthusiasm and there was great rejoicing.
The trustees had a meeting and ordered a grand illumination
of the college building. Professor Sunderland, as the science
man, was placed in charge of this part of the celebration. A
meeting of the citizens was called and there were speeches
and mutual congratulations.
At this time also the financial prospects were very encour-
aging. An endowment of $50,000 was fully subscribed, in the
form of notes for $500 each, given by the subscribers, with
interest at ten per cent payable semiannually. This was con-
sidered ample for an institution of that size. The faculty con-
sisted of only five members and their salary was from six
hundred to eight hundred dollars a year. A writer of that
period speaks of the situation as follows: "Young and enthu-
siastic men were in the faculty, and everything promised great
success and glory. It must be confessed that affliirs did show
considerable signs of promise. The president was a learned
man and an enthusiast in his department. The professors were
well educated, full of vigor and as enthusiastic as the presi'
dent. The field agent was active and shrewd, and could prove
to every man who would subscribe for a scholarship, that the
investment would be profitable."
The first financial movement in the history of McKendree
was the effort to raise a fund for founding an institution of
higher learning. The original plan was the formation of a
stock company. The most of the subscribers took one share
each, tho several took more, and in one case two women took
a single share in partnership. The idea was that each stock
holder who so desired might receive dividends on their in-
vestment m tuitions or other privileges. The money was used
in the erection of the first building. The income of the school
with which to pay teachers' salaries and other expenses was
confined to the tuition fees from students whose fathers
were not stock-holders. Of course this proved entirely inade-
quate. Almost from the beginning, at any rate, after the Illi-
nois Conference had taken over the school, one or more agents
were appointed each year to travel thruout the territory and
solicit funds for current expenses. Of course the agent's salary
had to be paid out of his collections.
In 1836, an elaborate scheme was devised for endowing
the college. Rev. Benjamin T. Kavanaugh was appointed
agent and was authorized to sell perpetual scholarships for
either $5ooor$i,oooeach. The holder ofa five hundred dollar
scholarship w,is entitled to send one pupil free of tuition
One Hundred and Th
MC KENDREE
forever. Or for ,i thousand dolLir scholarship, he might
send one pupil free of tuition, room, and board forever. In
lieu of the cash which very few of the people ot that day
had m the bank, he was authorized to accept the subscriber's
note bearing ten percent interest and payable in ten years.
The agent was also to collect money in hundred dollar sub-
scriptions for the endowment of a "John Emory Professor-
ship" m the college. Another line ot business he handled was
to receive money from any person to be invested in Illinois
lands, one half for the college and half for the person furnish-
ing the money. Or by another plan the donor of the money
was to have title to all the land, but its increase in value for
the first five years was to belong to the college. At that time
a national railroad was headed toward Illinois, and it was
believed there would be an immense increase in the value
of lands on that account. But President Andrew Jackson ve-
toed the railroad bill, the land did not rise in value to any
considerable extent, the rosy hopes of wealth from the un-
earned increment were blasted, and the land purchase plan
of endowment proved a dismal failure.
However, by iSjg, one hundred of the five hundred dollar
perpetual scholarships had been sold, or rather most of them
had been exchanged for five hundred dollar notes bearing ten
percent interest, payable semiannually. This, according to the
figures, would produce an income of five thousand dollars a
year besides what might be received from tuition fees paid
by the students. This was a splendid outlook. The college
seemed permanently endowed. But these notes were not due
for ten years, and the signers were scattered over a wide
area which made collections expensive. Then hard times came
on. The veto of the national road and the United States Bank
Charter hindered the progress of this new country and made
its development very slow. Money was hard to get even for
necessities and so many of the signers of the notes were not
disposed to pay even the interest. Within a period of two
years the whole scheme was compromised by exchanging the
five hundred dollar notes for two hundred dollar ones, still
payable in ten years, and thus at one blow reducing the
$50,000 endowment to $20,000, and owing to the continu-
ance of hard times and financial stringency, even these latter
notes, for the most part, were never collected. So that the
bubble burst and left the college burdened with debt and
disappointment.
The fallacy of the whole plan was evident when it was
observed that the college promised tuition, room and inci-
dentals, to the amount of $61.50 a year to each holder of a
scholarship and enacted from him only the interest on five
hundred dollars which amounted to $50 a year. Therefore
the college was borrowing money at twelve and a half percent
and loaning it at ten and at the same time paying agents to
go thru the country to borrow the money and collect the
interest. So it was very clear that the more of that kind of
endowment the college had, the worse off it was. According-
ly, the plan of endowment by scholarships was abandoned,
at least for the time. When Dr. Wentworth came to take
charge of the institution in 1846, he said it was "thatched
over with mortgages," and had no means of paying its debts
or current expenses. Therefore, the professors were placed
on allowances paid by the churches, instead of salaries paid
by the college. In 1854, after the former experience had been
in some degree forgotten, another scholarship plan was de-
vised, which was, if possible, worse than the previous one.
This proposed to sell two classes of scholarships: one for $50,
giving the holder seven years of free tuition; and one for $100,
giving twenty years of free tuition. The holders of the first
class were to receive in tuition fees the equivalent of fifty
percent per annum on the money invested, or three hundred
and fifty percent by the time the money had to be paid in.
The other class were to receive only twenty-five percent, but
continuing for twenty years. So that in the end the college
would return to the purchaser of the scholarship five hundred
percent of his investment. Probably the men who initiated
this plan thought they were offering a business proposition
to the public. At least there was one good thing about it.
They were offering educational bargains, and thus diffusing
culture among the people. Of course it was a hard bargain
for the college and the result was more sacrifice on the part
of the faculty or more debts for the college. But the old college
had always stood by its end of the contract even tho it was
a bad bargain. The trustees never even consulted a lawyer
about the possibility of finding a legal way of escape from
such a one-sided contract. The scholarships that were limited
to twenty years have all expired, but of course the perpetual
ones of the earlier series never would expire. Efforts have
been made by committees of the trustees from time to time
to secure the surrender of these perpetual scholarships and
most of them have been so surrendered, however there are
a few still m the possession of the descendants of the pur-
chaser. One provision was that it was only valid for the use
of the purchaser or his lineal discendants. On account of this
provision, not many of them were ever used, and none have
been presented for many years, tho one is known to exist in
the family of Dr. Thomas Stanton, who was one of the orig-
inal "managers," and who died at Alton many years ago. In
One Hundred and Thim-Sei
the early history of the college, the financial agent was an
important officer. One or more was appointed by the con-
ference the same as members of the faculty. Professor William
Brown serving as agent, at one time undertook to raise a fund
of $10,000 for the education of preachers' children. He suc-
ceeded in getting about $6,000 of it subscribed and a part of
it was actually paid in, though in all probability not more
than enough to pay the expense of his agency. One year the
conference appointed two agents, one to solicit funds in Illi-
nois and the other in any territory outside of Illinois. One
year an agent was authorized to go to England to secure funds
for the college, however the records show no evidence that
he ever went. In 1S4S, Rev. William H. Milburn was ap-
pointed agent for McKen-
dree and instructed to go to
the eastern states, where
wealth was more abundant,
in quest of funds. He was
then a very earnest young
man in frail health and al-
most blind. He had secured
his education in the face of
almost insuperable difficul-
ties . Having defective vision
in one eye, a surgical opera-
tion was attempted to re-
move the disability. An
accident during the oper-
ation resulted in a total
loss of his good eye and left him with only a remnant of
vision in the other. But in spite of this handicap, he had
gone thru college as far as the senior year, when his health
broke down and he gave up the idea of getting his degree.
But he did not let this deter him from entering the ministry.
When he started on this mission for McKendree he soon
found himself travelling up the Ohio River on a steamboat
which had three hundred passengers on board. Among them
were a group of western congressmen on their way to Wash-
ington. Altho young Milburn could not see much, he kept
his ears open and thus learned much about the habits of these
national representatives of the people. He was quite shocked
at their vile conduct. When Sunday came he was invited to
preach on the boat. He did so. Since the congressmen were
anxious for the best of everything in the way of privilege,
they occupied the front seats. They were a little curious to
know what the young preacher would have to say. His ser-
mon was full eloquence and pathos which held the attention
REV. MILBURN
"the Blind Chaplain"
of the whole assembly. At the close he said, "Among the
passengers on this steamer are a number of members of con-
gress. From their position they should be examples of good
morals and dignified conduct; but from what I have heard of
them, they are not so. The union of these states, if dependent
on such guardians, would be unsafe, and all the high hopes I
have of the future of my country would be dashed to the
ground. These gentlemen, for days past, have made the air
heavy with profane conversation, have been constant patrons
of the bar and encouragers of intemperance. Nay, more! The
night, which should be devoted to rest, has been dedicated to
the horrid vices of gambling, profanity and drunkenness.
There is but one chance of salvation for these great sinners in
high places, and that is for them to humbly repent of their
sins, call on the Saviour for forgiveness, and reform their lives."
As might be supposed, language so bold from a mere stripling
twenty-two years of age, had a startling effect and made a
deep impression on the gentlemen particularly addressed. In
the afternoon a committee called on the young preacher and
congratulated him upon his courage for having dared to tell
the plain truth to sinners in high places. The committee
assured him that the congressmen had taken his rebuke in
the right spirit, and as evidence thereof, they handed him a
purse of money as a mark of their appreciation and at the
same time assured him that they would make him chaplain
of Congress. This promise they did not forget, and when he
was offered the appointment, he accepted and was thus the
youngest man who ever spoke in the halls of congress. This
new appointment interfered with his mission in behalf of
McKendree, but it started him on a great career. In after
years he became an author and lecturer of wide renown. He
was known far and wide as "the blind chaplain."
Another means of raising funds was through the organiza-
tion of Educational Societies in every charge of the confer-
ence. For a time this plan was pushed vigorously but after
some years it seemed to produce in the people a feeling of
apathy or actual disfavor on account of the constant calls
for money without apparent return in benefit to the societies
themselves. Still another plan which was open to the same
objection was for the Presiding Elder to take a collection each
quarter in every charge and send it to the college to pay
teachers' salaries. By this plan the professor was as liable to
reach the end of the year with a deficit in his salary as was
the circuit rider. As a matter of fact, it nearly always hap-
pened that way.
But there were several times when the college successfully
appealed to the sense of duty of the people to respond to a
One Hundred and ThirtyEight
MC KENDREE
worthy call for help. One wjs when the building now known
as "Old Main" was erected. This was during the administra-
tion of President Wentworth and Rev. William Goodfellow
was the solicitor. This was done in a period of two or three
years closing with 1850. Again the same policy was pursued
when the chapel was built in 1857-58. And again in 1859-60
when under the direction of President Cobleigh the foun-
dations were laid for a real endowment. This was the first
permanent fund raised for the college and was the nucleus of
the present endowment. In these cases the people were asked
to make direct contributions to a worthy cause without re-
ceiving any premium or bonus for their generosity, m the
form of scholarships. When Dr. M. H. Chamberlin came to
the presidency in 1894, the endowment was approximately
$20,000. During his term two legacies came to the college.
One from the Riggin estate of $14,000 and the other from
the McCurdy estate of $10,000. After he had succeeded in
raising the money to pay off a long standing debt of $5,500,
he set himself the task of raising $100,000 of new endowment.
This was a long hard task when financial conditions were
so stringent as they were at that time. He secured a con-
ditional subscription of $20,000 from Dr. D. K. Pearsons of
Chicago, and finally after repeated extensions of the time
allowed he was able to announce m chapel one morning m
April, 1905, that the last dollar of the $100,000 had been
subscribed. The enthusiasm ran high. A holiday was declared
in which to celebrate the victory. A group of students bor-
rowed Uncle Sam Hill's carriage and a long rope. By means
of the rope about two dozen boys hitched themselves to the
carriage and took the president and faculty for a ride around
town to announce everywhere the glorious news that the
college had $100,000 of new endowment. That evening there
was a mass meeting to which all the citizens were invited.
Enthusiastic speeches were made and extravagant predictions
of the greatness in store for the old college in the future. The
students rang the college bell and by a well planned system
of relays they kept it ringing steadily all night long so that
its iron tongue was permitted to grow quiet only with the
coming of the dawn of morning. These subscriptions were.col-
lected without material shrinkage so that when Dr. Cham-
berlin retired, the endowment was something over $1 jo,ooo.
During the term of Dr. John F. Harmon, it was increased to
a little above $200,000. During the presidency of Dr. George
E. McCammon, a financial campaign was made under the
direction of Dr. Hancher with his team of experienced work-
ers. They set one million and a half as the goal and spent
about six months in preparing and canvassing the field. The
goal was not reached, nor near it, but enough was subscribed
and paid in to claim the $150,000 conditional subscription of
the General Education Board, which brings the endowment
to half a million. There are yet some thousands in unpaid sub-
scriptions and a number of estate notes of which the value
cannot be definitely known till the death of the giver. When
these are all settled up, there will probably be another hun-
dred thousand to add to the total. But the college needs today
not less than a million dollars of productive endowment, and
there is a feeling in certain quarters that before the close of
our Centennial celebration, the friends of the college will
come forward with enough to make it that figure. At the
educational convention held at the college in 1868, on the
fortieth anniversary of its founding, facts were brought out
to show that up to that time the city of Lebanon and vicinity
had contributed not less than twenty-four thousand dollars
for the establishment and maintenance of the institution,
which was three-fourths of what had been expended for that
purpose. In 1909 when the charges were making payments on
the conference note Lebanon subscribed $j,ooo. During the
last mentioned campaign Lebanon, including the faculty and
students subscribed $70,000. Of course McKendree has had
debts. All institutions of that character do have them. They
are unavoidable. There has been a very small portion of the
time since her founding that she has not had debts hanging
over her. At one time her bonded indebtedness amounted
to as much as $150,000. But that has all been cleared away.
At present there are no debts except a few current bills,
but none of long standing.
Philip Embury's horn now in
McKendree Museum
One Hundred and ■Thirty-N"
IMC KENDREE
CHAPTER XI.
President Finley's Administration
SHE PERIOD from 1S40 to 1850 w.is one of stress and
strain for the young college, and during that time she
passed thru one great crisis in her history. As before
stated, the year 1839 marked a sort of peak of prosperity,
when the new charter had been granted and the scholarship
fund of $50,000 had been fully subscribed, which was fondly
believed at that time to be an endowment which would pro-
duce an income of $5,000 a year and enable the institution to
pay Its professors a living salary. So at that time the Board,
feeling that their financial problems were solved were inclined
to give attention to certain moral problems which they deemed
important. In those days the annual Board Meeting was held
in August, and then, as now, entertainments were given in
connection with it. Up to that time there had been no
graduation exercises. One evening some members of the Board
saw a play presented which was probably somewhat realistic
and tried to show life as it was lived by the common run of
humanity. The next day the Board passed the following reso-
lution :
"Resolved that the Board disapproves of the exercises held
last evening, in which were portrayed scenes of wickedness,
profanity, obscenity, and bloodshed; and that we disallow in
the future all purely theatrical and immoral exhibitions."
They voted that the Bible should be used as a text book in
the college course, and the works of Ovid were stricken from
the Latin course. The reason for the latter is not stated, but
it was probably on account of certain passages in the book
which were considered obscene and improper reading for
modest young people.
A feeling against Theological training for the ministry,
which probably the preachers in that body knew nothing
about by experience, called forth the following resolution:
"Since the new charter confers authority to establish a
Theological Seminary, Therefore, be it resolved, that Theo-
logical Seminaries are contrary to the genius, the spirit, and
the institutions of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and the
Board is determined that no such department shall ever be
added to McKendree College. Also we deem it proper that
the teachers in this college shall be expected to impress no
sentiments upon the students, adverse to the foregoing reso-
lution." Only two or three years after the death of Elijah P.
Lovejoy, at Alton, who was regarded as a martyr to the cause
of abolition of slavery, we find this resolution in the records:
"Whereas, the Board of Trustees and Visitors deem the
advocacy of the cause of abolition, either in the private circle
or the public assembly, by the agent, teacher, or member of
the faculty of McKendree to be prejudicial to the best inter-
ests of the institution, and of the country; therefore, if any
one of the persons above enumerated shall so advocate the
cause of abolition, the Board will deem it their duty to them-
selves, the institution, its supporters, and the country, to
adopt measures to dispense with the services of such persons."
Of course we are not to infer from this that the college was
a pro slavery institution, but it was probably an attempt to
keep it neutral on a question which was discussed with great
bitterness of feeling in those days. The next paragraph of the
record stated that the passages of either of the above resolu-
tions is not designed in any way to reflect upon the agents.
teachers, or faculty heretofore employed in the college.
It was about this time that the matriculation pledge was
devised. It was a sort of oath of allegiance which had to be
taken by every member of the student body. Then every stu-
dent who violated any of the specific rules of the college was
not only a law breaker, but he was guilty in the first place of
breaking a solemn pledge to which he had affixed his signature
with his own hand. This plan of requiring the students to
"sign their rights away" as some of them have expressed it,
has been kept up even to very recent years. Formerly the
pledge was written at the top of every page in the matricula-
tion register so that each student who wrote his name in the
book would of necessity sign the pledge. As a matter of con-
venience the last book of that kind which was provided, was
made to order for McKendree and had the pledge printed at
the top of every page. But since it was a printed form very
few of the students ever re.id it or even looked at it, or were
conscious m the slightest degree that they were signing a
pledge at all.
The pledge may have changed slightly in more recent
years, but here is the original form of it :
"I do solemnly promise to the Corporation and the Faculty
that, during my connection with the institution, I will main-
tain good moral character, observe quiet and gentlemanly de-
portment towards all men, settle promptly all my college
bills, perform to the best of my ability all my regular college
duties, and cheerfully submit to all college regulations and
One Hundred and Forlv
IfMC KENDREE
President Fmley came to the office m 1S41 atter the resig-
nation of President Merrill. There was a feeling of great
disappointment when Dr. Merrill left, but Dr. Finley was of
more mature age, and highly esteemed in church circles so
that most people were confident that he would be able to
guide the precious craft through the shoals and keep her from
going on the rocks.
JAMES C. FINLEY
James C. Finley was born in Somerset County, New
Jersey, October 10, 1802, and died at Jacksonville, Illinois,
July 27, 1885. He was reared a Presbyterian, like his parents.
He received his liberal education at Princeton and then took
a medical course m Philadelphia. After this he engaged m
hospital practice for a time m Cincinnati. While m that city
he was married and then went to Jacksonville, Illinois, where
he practiced medicine until 183^. About this time he and his
wife, who was formerly a Baptist, joined the Methodist
church. Soon after that he abandoned the medical profession
and entered the Methodist ministry. He was admitted to the
Mississippi Conference in 1837 '"'"i ^^s transferred to the
Illinois Conference in 1841. It was at this time that he took
charge of the college. He was a man of fine ability and thor-
ough scholarship. He endeavored to maintain the high stand-
ards of scholarship established by Dr. Merrill, and in this
he was quite successful, but the financial plan by which the
college was to be supported, through the interest on the
scholarships, proved a dismal failure. After four years of
strenuous effort in which the plan was given a thorough trial.
Dr. Finley decided that the case was hopeless and went back
to the pastorate. He transferred to the Rock River Confer-
ence where he labored for the next six years. In 1851, he re-
turned to the Illinois Conference. He was again a member of
the faculty at McKendree as Professor of Greek, for a year,
just prior to the coming of Dr. Swahlen, in 1865. After that
he spent one year as President of the Olney Seminary and one
year in the faculty of the Illinois State Agricultural College
at Irvington. He then retired and held the superannuate re-
lation until his death in 1885. He lived at Richview till the
death of his wife in 1881, and then with his daughter in
Jacksonville. The Methodist Church in Lebanon has a me-
morial window m his honor, which shows that he held the
degrees of A. M. and M. D.
He served the college at a time when there were extra
burdens to bear. From the time when he took charge there
were persistent rumors that the institution would soon be
obliged to close up. But there was eternal hope in the hearts
of a few of the trustees which no discouragements could sub-
due. In 1842, the tees were reduced twenty-five per cent in
the hope ot attracting more students who did not hold schol-
arships. At the same time the President's salary was reduced
to $400 a year to lessen the expenses of the college. Then the
board ordered that all tuition fees shall be paid in advance
or secured by note. Each professor was held responsible for
the enforcement of this rule, and was required to refuse ad-
mission to his classes to all who had not paid. Yet at the end
of the year, a committee was appointed to collect unpaid tui-
tion bills. The committee was instructed to require payment
in cash or in notes bearing twelve per cent interest. This
would make it cheaper for students with unpaid bills and no
money, to borrow money and pay cash.
In 1843, there was another reduction of salaries for the
faculty. There was an order to sell all McKendree lands to
raise money to pay debts. In the same session we also find
this resolution in the record:
"Whereas there are many debts pressing upon and humil-
iating this Board, and whereas it is our ardent desire to relieve
the college from its embarrassments. Therefore be it resolved,
that all property not directly needed in carrying on the oper-
ations of the college, be thrown on the market and offered for
sale. And that the Executive Committee be requested to at-
tend to this matter in view of meeting these debts."
Most of their troubles were financial ones, and they delib-
erated long and earnestly in the hope of finding the solution
of their problems. On August 16, 1843, they had a morning
session, then an afternoon session, then an evening session.
And the record states that they adjourned at 12:30 A. M.
August 17. At a meeting in March, 184";, Dr. Finley was
requested to act as agent in the hope that he might collect
enough money in the field to "keep the sinking craft afloat."
It was at the conference session of this year that Rev. W. H.
Milburn was appointed as agent. Both students and faculty
were leaving the college as rats do a ship that is about to sink.
The loss of students, especially from the upper classes, re-
duced the sue of the graduating classes. The class of 1841
had seven members. The next year there were five, and the
next, seven again. But in 1844, there was only one, and in
1845, but two. Of the faculty that graduated the first class^
President Merrill and Professor Brown had gone soon after
the commencement of 1841 . After another year Professor An-
nis Merrill left, and the next year. Professor Sunderland. Each
of these men went away with an unpaid deficit in his salary.
Their places were supplied by young men who were grad-
uates of the institution and, of course, with little experience.
By 184s, there were three McKendree men in the faculty.
One Hundred and FortvOne
IMC KENDREE
Henry H. Homer of class of 1841, George L. Roberts of 1S42,
and John L. Scripps of 1S44. EH Robinson, 1841, had also
served in the faculty, but had resigned. In the summer of
1845, President Finley also resigned and left Professor Rob-
erts to report the situation to the meeting of the Joint Board.
Some of the trustees were in favor of closing the school per-
manently. But others were determined that it should go on.
Before the meeting adjourned. Rev. Peter Akers, who had
once before served in that capacity, was recalled to the pres-
idency, and the young McKendree professors were confirmed
in their several positions. The school opened as usual in the
fall of 1845. We have no means of knowing how many stu-
dents there were, for the records are lost and probably there
was no catalogue printed. At least there is none now acces-
sible for that year. But it must have been a discouragingly
small number. It is likely that most of those who did come
entered on a scholarship and hence there was no income with
which to pay a faculty. A special meeting of the Board was
called for November 17, 184'). There is no mention of Presi-
dent Akers. He may have been absent seeking help among
the churches, but Professor Roberts, who was also secretary
of the Board, announced to that body that the board of in-
struction had suspended the present session of the college.
Benjamin Hypes at once made a motion that it should be
resumed immediately. But instead of voting on that motion,
they discussed it carefully from every point of view; and since
there was no visible means of support for the faculty, it
seemed best to let the work stay suspended for the present.
So they agreed to meet again the following April and deter-
mine then whether conditions would justify resuming work
for the second session of the year. No more class room work
was done that year, but the Board was active. They did not
admit that the college was dead. It had only fainted. It could
be easily resuscitated if the proper restoratives were applied.
They did not wait till April but held a meeting in January,
and another in May. They were continually planning and
praying and working. There were no commencement exer-
cises of the usual kind that year and no graduating class, but
there was a Board meeting. Their persistent efforts were suc-
cessful and arrangements were made and carried out for re-
suming the regular college work in the autumn of 1846. Thus
there was a longer vacation than usual and no graduates for
the year 1846, yet the college did not lose a year of history,
for class room work was actually carried on for a part of the
year and the trustees were active all the year. This board did
not have much money but they had as much grit and deter-
mination as a whole kennel of bull dogs. They balked at no
discouraging situation, but decided that the college must open
in the fall of 1846. They selected as their new president a
rising young preacher and educator from New England,
named Erasmus Wentworth.
We now give brief sketches of the classes which graduated
under President Finley.
THE CLASS OF 1842
There were five members of the class — Thomas A. Brad-
ford, Lloyd W. Brown, Jesse Haile Moore, George Lamb
Roberts and Nathan Scarritt.
THOMAS A. BR.ADFORD
Thomas A. Bradford belonged to a Lebanon family,
though we have very meager information concerning him.
He was initiated into the Philosophian Society in 1840 and
after his graduation went to California. Later he lived at
Springfield, 111. and was prominent in Democratic political
circles.
DR. LLOYD W. BROWN
Lloyd W. Brown became a physician and in after years,
practiced his profession in Booneville, Mo., and later in
Jacksonville, 111. He was a member of Philo. His last years
were spent with some of his children at New Berlin, 111.
GEN. JESSE H. MOORE
Jesse Haile Moore had a remarkable career and was dis-
tinguished in several different fields. He was an educator, a
preacher, a soldier, and a
statesman. He was born in
St. Clair County, a member
of the well known Moore
family, his father fought in
the Revolutionary War. In
September of the year he was
graduated, he was married
to Miss Rachel Hynes of
Davis County, Kentucky.
He began his teaching career
in the schools of Nashville,
lUinois, and later taught in
the seminaries of George-
town, Paris, and Quincy.
The last named afterward became Chaddock College. In 1 846,
he was admitted to the Illinois Conference, and in 18^6, chang-
ed from teaching to the work of the pastorate. In i86i, he be-
came pastor of the First Methodist Church, Decatur, and a
year later he resigned his church and entered the service of his
country as Colonel of the 115th Illinois Volunteers. He con-
tinued in the service till the end of the war. He was promoted
JESSE H. MOORE
One Hundred and FortyTi
MC KENDREE
"for gallant and meritorious conduct on the field of battle"
and was mustered out as a Brigadier General. After the war,
he returned to his ministerial duties and later became a Pre-
siding Elder and also served as a member of the Book Com-
mittee of the church. He also served two terms in Congress
where he was a strong supporter of General Grant in his
reconstruction policies. Later he was pension agent at Spring-
field. In 1881, he was appointed United States Consul to
Callao, Peru, South America. Accompanied by his wife, two
sons, and a daughter-in-law, he went to this post of duty,
where for two years he administered the office with great
efficiency, and then he contracted yellow fever which caused
his death, July 12, 188 j. An extract from a Callao paper
shows the esteem in which he was held by the people among
whom he had lived for two years. "Last night. General
Moore, United States Consul, died. The public life of the
deceased was connected with the greatest poHtical and mili-
tary events of his country. His voice as a publicist was the
highest authority, and only matters of international politics
detained him in this port where certainly there was no one
holding the position of consul who could so much honor it.
With a deep feeling which the death of a useful member of
society, and particularly so distinguished a gentleman as Gen-
eral Moore, always inspires, we offer in the name of the
public whom we represent, the most feeling expression of
sympathy to his respected family." His body was brought
back and buried with military honors at his old home in
Decatur.
GEORGE L. ROBERTS
George Lamb Roberts was born in Kaskaskia, Illinois,
March 16, 1821. His early education was obtained under the
care of a private tutor. He then entered McKendree and be,
came a member of the Philosophian Literary Society. He was
especially proficient in the classic studies. The same year that
he was graduated he was licensed to preach, and the next year
he was employed as a tutor in the classics in McKendree. He
was a member of the faculty for several years, and also was
secretary of the Board of Trustees. In 1845, when Dr. Akers
was elected president for the second time he spent much time
away from the college and Prof. Roberts was made acting
president in the absence of the president. When the college
suspended its regular work for a part of the year 1845, Pro-
fessor Roberts took advantage of the opportunity to enter a
Divinity School of the Episcopal Church. After a time he
became rector of St. James Episcopal church at Vincennes,
Indiana. Here he became acquainted with a Bishop and some
of the clergy of the Roman Catholic Church. The diocese
was in possession of a valuable library which had been res-
cued from the chaos of the French Revolution and brought
to Vincennes. Mr. Roberts was given the privilege of this
library. He was scholarly inclined and of course appreciated
the opportunity to delve into the writings of the Church
Fathers. These priests were captivated by his intelligence and
social qualities, and he likewise by their learning and refine-
ment, the result was that he left the Episcopal Church and
went to the Roman Catholic. He remained in the Catholic
communion until his death, December 15, 1905. At one time
he occupied a Chair m the Roman Catholic College of St.
Mary's of the Lake, in Chicago. Afterward he moved to Old
Mission, Michigan, on Grand Traverse Bay.
He was married April 28, 1846 to Miss Virginia E. Horner,
of Lebanon, a daughter of Nathan Horner, long a trustee of
McKendree, and a sister of Henry Hypes Horner, a member
of the first class in McKendree. The wedding ceremony was
performed by Rev. Thornton Peeples. Their daughter, Vir-
ginia L. Roberts was graduated from McKendree in the class
of 1872. After the death of Mr. Roberts, his widow went to
Los Angeles, where she lived till past the age of ninety. She
died February 6, 1920.
REV. NATHAN SCARRITT, D. D.
Nathan Scarritt, was born near EdwardsviUe, Illinois,
April 14, 1821, and died in Kansas City, Missouri, April
22,1890. He was the seven-
th of twelve children. He
grew up on his father's
farm and at the age of six-
teen entered McKendree.
He paid his own way thru
college by clearing timber
from the campus, sawmt^
wood, and doing other forms
of manual labor. He was
graduated in 1842 with the
highest honors of his class.
He was a member of Philo.
After teaching two years at
Waterloo, Illinois, he went
to Fayette, Missouri, where he taught with Dr. William T.
Lucky of the class of 1841.
These two McKendreans working together established a
high school, out of which grew two successful colleges. Cen-
tral and Howard-Paine, the latter for women. These are both
leading institutions of the Methodist Church South, at the
present day. Dr. Scarritt spent the remainder of his life as a
NATHAN SCARRITT, D. D.
One HuTidred and ForU-Three
<::s^:^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^s^
member of the Southern Church and made his influence felt
in a remarkable manner. His sister married William T. Lucky
and his daughter married Bishop Eugene R. Hendrix of the
Methodist Church South. His brother Isaac was long a mem-
ber of the Illinois Conference of the Methodist Church and
his brother Jotham was one of the charter members of the
Southern Illinois Conference and for half a century a trustee
of McKendree. Nathan Scarritt was a trustee and a leading
benefactor of Central College as long as he lived. He made
some fortunate investments which gave him command of a
considerable portion of this world's goods and he always
proved himself a good steward. He made a plan before his
death which was carried out by his children whereby he be-
came the donor of $40,000 and thus the chief founder of The
Scarritt Bible and Training School for Missionaries in Kansas
City. He also built at his own expense the Melrose Metho-
dist Church in Kansas City and served as its pastor for many
years. He was several times a delegate to the General Con-
ference of his church and was always a wise and able coun-
selor. Kansas City has recognized and honored him by giving
his name to one of her fine ward schools, as well as to one of
her leading streets and her most beautiful park, which is
called "Scarritt's Point."
THE CLASS OF 1843
This class contained nine members and was the second to
graduate under Dr. Finley's administration. There are no
catalogues extant for the years 1841-1846. We find the names
of the graduates of those years in the records of the Joint
Board and a few facts are obtainable concerning the later life
of some of them.
THOMAS S. DOREY
Thomas Sterling Dorey was born April 8, 1821, at Tren-
ton, New Jersey. When he was quite young his parents
moved to Ohio, and later to St. Louis, Missouri. From there
he came to be a student at McKendree. He became a member
of the Philosophian Society, and received his Bachelor's De-
gree in 1843. After graduation, he entered one of the Medical
Colleges in St. Louis, and in due time became a Medical
Doctor. He served for some years as surgeon in the United
States Marine Corps, which was the Navy of that day, and
once made a voyage to China. He lived only ten years after
his graduation and was never married. His death occurred
February 16, 185J.
DR. J. R. M. GASKILL
James Riley Monroe Gaskill was born near Troy, Illinois,
May 18, 1820. While in McKendree he was a member of
Philo. After his graduation, he attended the McDowell
Medical College, and from that institution received the de-
gree of M. D. in 1854. The next year he went to Marine
Mills, Minnesota, and there engaged in the flour milling
business with the firm of Judd, Walker and Company until
1864. when he entered the Union Army as surgeon of the
Forty-fifth Regiment of Illinois Infantry. He served in this
capacity till the close of the war and marched with Sherman
to the sea. After the war, he returned to Minnesota and
engaged in the practice of medicine and the drug business
until 1886 when he removed to Stillwater, Minnesota, and
continued the practice of his profession until his death, which
occurred April 7, 1894. He was a representative in the Terri-
torial Legislature of Minnesota before it became a state and
of its State Legislature in 1872-73. He was state inspector of
prisons in Minnesota for three consecutive terms, and a mem-
ber of the State Medical Society of Minnesota from the time
of the Civil War. He was married in 1861 to Miss Clara
Eldredge Hughs, of Greenville, Illinois. To them were born
three sons and one daughter. Of these, only one son, Roy,
survived the father.
JUDGE WILLIAM H. SNYDER
William Henry Snyder, son of Judge Adam W. Snyder,
was born near Belleville, July 12, 1825. He spent several
years as a student in McKendree, was a member of the
Philosophian Society and received his A. B. degree in 1843.
He served eighteen months in the Mexican War, holding the
rank of First Lieutenant in the Fifth Regiment of Illinois
Infantry. He studied law with Governor Koerner of Belleville
and was admitted to the bar in 1845 before he went to the
war. Later he held the positions of Postmaster of Belleville,
State's Attorney of St. Clair County, and member of the
Illinois Legislature. He was Judge of the twenty-fourth Judi-
cial District from 1857 to 1861. He was a member of the
Constitutional Convention of Illinois in 1869-70. In 1873,
he was elected Judge of the twenty-second Judicial Circuit
and served in this office three consecutive terms of six years
each. He was married to Miss Jane E. Champion in June,
1859. He died December 24, 1892.
FREDERICK A. SNYDER
Frederick A. Snyder was born m St. Clair County,
December 21, 1828, the same year that McKendree College
was founded. Tho three years younger than his brother men-
tioned above, he came to McKendree at the same time and
graduated in the same class, read law and was admitted to
the bar at the same time. He also served in the Mexican War
and was a Second Lieutenant while his brother was First.
He served till thecloseof the war and then went to California
One Hundred and Fort\-FouT
i
and located in San Francisco. Later he was a member of
the Legislature of that state and was appointed with two
others on a committee to revise the statutes of the state. He
died at Lake Bigler, California, July 23, i8'J4, only eleven
years after his graduation. A third brother of this family,
John F. Snyder, did not graduate from McKendree, but be-
came a physician and practiced medicine for many years in
Virginia, Illinois. He was for many years president of the
Illinois Historical Society, and the biographer of his father.
Judge Adam W. Snyder, who, after a long and useful career,
died suddenly after he had been nominated for Governor ot
Illinois, with a prospect of almost certain election, had he
lived a few months longer.
DR. JOHN L. HALLAM
John Locker Hallam was born near Brassington, Derby-
shire, England, m February, 1819, and died at Centralia,
Illinois, June 15, 1894. His father's family, consisting of
parents and four children, came to Edwards County, Illinois,
in 1827, and from that time on he was a resident of Illinois.
He graduated from McKendree in 1843,, receiving the degree
of A. B. He then took up the study of medicine and in 1846,
received the degree of M. D. from the institution later known
as the Missouri Medical College, in St. Louis. He began the
practice of his profession in Louisville, Illinois, where he was
married July 4, 1850 to Sarah G. Green, daughter of Doctor
Peter Green, of that place. They had two children, William
Locker and Bessie, now both deceased. In 1854, he moved to
Centralia, and the same year his wife died. Twelve years
after, m 1866, he was married to Mrs. Sarah A. Doyle. To
them were born three daughters and one son. The son, John
C. Hallam, attended McKendree and then studied medicine,
giving promise of a brilliant career. He was assistant for a
time to the famous surgeon. Dr. A. C. Bernays. He also
travelled abroad. After some years of practice he was com-
pelled by ill health to give up his work and died in 1914. The
elder Dr. Hallam, besides being a successful physician, was
a useful and public spirited citi2;en. He served several terms
as a member of the city council in CentraHa, and also as a
member of the Board of Education. He was United States
Pension Examiner, physician for the Illinois Central Railroad,
a Mason, being a charter member of Centralia Lodge No. 201,
established in 1856. He also belonged to the Centrailia
Chapter No. 93, Royal Arch Masons, and to the Methodist
Church.
Of the other four members of this class we have very
slight information. James McAllister hved in St. Louis and
Ira Wakefield in Lebanon. Both were members of the Philo-
sophian Society. The names of George W. Leach and Wick-
liffe Price do not appear m the Philo records, so of them we
can only say th.it they graduated in 184J, receiving the de-
gree of Bachelor of Arts.
A later word concerning Mr. McAllister is that he went
to Washington, D. C. soon after his graduation, and obtained
a clerkship in one of the departments of the government.
Three years later he died of tuberculosis. He was never
married.
J. L. SCRIPPS
The class of 1844 consisted of only one man, but measured
by the lasting results attained it was as large as some classes
which contained a dozen or a score of members. John Locke
Scripps was born February 27, 1818, just a few months before
Illinois became a state. He was of English ancestry. His
father, George H. Scripps, settled near Cape Girardeau, Mis-
souri where he engaged in the practice of law. He was a
member of the convention which framed the constitution of
the state of Missouri and later a member of the Legistalure.
In 1836, he emancipated his slaves and moved to the free
state of Illinois, locating at Rushville. Here John L. worked
in his father's tannery and taught school. Later he entered
McKendree and graduated with the A. B. degree in 1844.
He then studied law and in 1847 went to Chicago and began
the practice of his profession. After a few years he decided
that journalism was more to his taste and accordingly pur-
chased an interest in the newly established Chicago Tribune.
Mr. Bross in his History of Chicago, states that Mr. Scripps
was the Tribune's writer and editorial manager. He says,
"Mr. Scripps' literary abiU-
ties were of a high order;
his style chaste, lucid and
simple;his reasoning powers
always strong and cogent;
his arguments well timed,
condensed and straight to
the point. His invariably
dignified and gentlemanly
bearing, joined with these
qualities, resulted m the
elevation of the Chicago
press and formed the founda-
tion of the power it has jqhn LOCKE SCRIPPS
since become." For political
reasons, Mr. Scripps withdrew from the Tribune and start-
ed the "Democratic Press" in i8'i2. However, in iS'io, the
"Press" was consolidated with the "Tribune" and Mr.
Scripps became the Editorin-Chief In that year he publish-
Hundred and FortyFns
ed a biography of Abraham Lincoln which was used as a
campaign document and was doubtless one of the influences
that caused his election to the presidency. From 1861 to 1865,
Scripps was Postmaster of Chicago. This important post he
filled with great acceptabiHty. During the Civil War, he
showed his patriotism by organizing and equipping at his
own expense. Company C of the Seventy-second Regiment,
Ilhnois Volunteers, well known during the war as the
"Scripps Guards."
In 1865, he ventured into a new field of activity and be-
came a partner in the banking firm of Scripps, Preston and
Kean, of Chicago. His marriage occurred October 24, 1848,
when he was united with Mary E. Blanchard of Greenville,
Illinois. They had three children, of whom George died in
1902, Mary Virginia died in infancy and Grace married Mr.
F. B. Dyche, of Evanston, lUinois. Mrs. Scripps died in Jan-
uary, 1866, and her husband in September of the same year.
The class of 1845 had just two members of whom brief
sketches follow.
HON, FRANCIS HEREFORD
Francis Hereford was
born in Fauquier County,
Virginia, July 4, 1825. His
ancestors were English and
Scotch. His grandfather,
Francis Hereford, was a
soldier in the Revolutionary
War. His father, Francis
Hereford, moved from Vir-
ginia to Missouri where he
practiced law until his death
in 1 8-; I. Young Francis at-
tended McKendree and
graduated in 1845 with the
degree of A. B. He belonged
FRANCIS HEREFORD
to the Philo Society. He studied law and then went to Cali-
fornia in 1849. He was elected District Attorney of Sacra-
mento in 1855. He afterward went to Virginia City, Nevada,
where he remained till 1866. He then returned to the East
and settled in Union, West Virginia. In 1868, he was Demo-
cratic presidential elector, casting his vote for Seymour and
Blair. In 1870, he was elected as one of the representatives
of West Virginia, to the 42nd Congress. He was re-elected
in 1S72, and again in 1874. In 1877, he was elected United
States Senator by the Legislature of West Virginia.
He was married in 1858 to Rebecca C. Pearis, of Sacra-
mento, who died in 1866. In 1872, he was married to Alice
B. Caperton, in West Virginia. Of this union were born two
sons and two daughters. Senator Hereford died December
21, 1891.
FREDERICK SPIES
Frederick Spies was born in Bavaria, Germany, Septem-
ber 8, 1822. In his nineteenth year he came to America,
arriving at St. Louis in January, 1842. He entered McKendree
and graduated in 184^ with the degree of A. B. He then
studied law in Transylvania University at Lexington, Ken-
tucky. He was admitted to the bar at Belleville in 1846, and
at St. Louis in 1849. In the latter city he spent the remainder
of his life. He was married January 6, 1847, to Miss Julia A.
Gray. To them were born seven children, three sons and four
daughters, all of whom died young except two, Mary L.
and Fannie. His wife died February i, i860. On March i,
i86j he was married to Lisette Crecelius, daughter of John
P. Crecelius of St. Louis County. To this union one son was
born in 1866. Mr. Spies enjoyed the distinction of being the
oldest living graduate for many years before his death which
occurred in St. Louis, January i, 191 1.
One Hundred and FortySi,
CHAPTER XII.
President Wentworth's Adm\
eRASTUS Wentworth was born m Stonington, Con-
necticut, August 5, 1813. In his early youth he at-
tended the Congregational Church at Norwich,
Connecticut, hut in 1831 was converted in a Methodist re-
vival and from that time on he was a Methodist. In 1832,
he became a student in Cazenovia Seminary in New York
State. In 1834, he entered the Wesleyan University at Mid-
dletown, from which institution he graduated three years
later. He then taught natural science in the academy at Gov,
erneur. New York, for several years. In 1841, he joined the
Black River Conference, and was appointed to teach m Troy
Conference Academy at Poultney, Vermont. In 1846, he was
elected president of McKendree, in which position he re-
mained four years. In the summer of 1846, after a temporary
suspension of a few months on account of financial diificulties,
the Board of Trustees decided that the college must open as
usual that fall. So they acted on the suggestion of Rev. Davis
Goheen and advertised for professors who, instead of salaries,
would be willing to accept the regular Methodist itinerant
preachers' allowance, estimated in the usual way, according
to the size of his family; and to be raised by the people in
collections and contributions of cash and provisions, but
chiefly the latter. A considerable number answered the ad-
vertisement and out of these the Board selected the faculty.
Dr. Wentworth, writing in the "Central Advocate" thirty
years after, gives a very interesting account of his experience
at McKendree.
""The writer was not an applicant, but was chosen presi-
dent without previous consultation. The position was readily
accepted, though at a pecuniary sacrifice, as a providential
opening to get a consumptive wife out of cold Vermont into
the milder Mississippi valley. A move which doubtless pro-
longed her life several years. The kindly ex-president, Dr.
John W. Merrill, whom I met at the Eastham Camp Meeting
that summer, said to me. Take a library with you and devote
the next few years to study. It will be a perfect burial with-
out books.' The advice, alas, could not be followed. But it
was hardly necessary. The next four years were the busiest
of a busy life. I was constantly preaching, lecturing, teaching,
writing, dedicating churches, attending camp meetings, con-
ferences, conventions, and conducting a weekly paper, the
Lebanon Journal, the modest bud which at length bloomed
into the full flowered and richly flavored 'Central Christian
Advocate.'
DR. E. WENTWORTH
"The voluntary support
system worked well. My
"allowance' was less than
three hundred dol lars a year,
on which I laid up money,
while I ran in debt at Dick-
inson on a salary of a thou-
sand. Our neighbors, the
prairie farmers, were espec-
ially liberal to the new pro-
fessors who preached every
Sunday m their school
houses, bringing m corn and
'side meat' more than we
could possibly make use of.
One brother put into my log crib forty bushels of Indian corn
for five dollars. "I give you the corn," he said, 'I only charge you
a bit {i2}4 cents) a bushel for hauling it.' We had a cow and
her keeping, pigs, poultry, and a vegetable garden which it
was next to impossible to protect from the wolfish hogs that
ranged the woods, and made no bones of forcing pickets and
could scale a six rail fence with the agility of a raccoon.
Lovely were those years in that broad college campus with
Its sunlit lawns, its graceful swells, its huge trees, the
home of contemplation and retirement, yet made lively by
the shouts of students with their games of 'shinney' and
foot ball. Cottages nestled among the trees, as cosy, if not
as handsome, as those provided for the accommodation of the
guests at Saratoga. The college building itself was spacious,
but a terrible eye sore. It took a fancy to burn down a few
years after and everybody said, in view of its past utility,
'Pax cineribus.' Built in early times before the age of saw
mills, it was sheathed with rived clap boards and looked
like a superannuated distillery. On its front gable rested a
little bell from which the rope dangled to the ground between
the front doors. One of our first improvements was to build
a cupola and remove the bell to the center of the building.
We remodelled and reseated the chapel, made the library
and recitation rooms cheerful with paint, paper, and white-
wash, doing much of the work with our own hands.
"We followed the bad habit of the olden time, now happily
abandoned, of early morning prayers; and compelled the boys
to get up in the dark and cold, to go through, with freezing
fingers, yawning muscles, drooping eye-lids, and empty stom-
One Hundred and Forty-Seven
|mc KENDREE ^^^^^rs^^.^.^,..^
achs, the forms of devotion which it was deemed an act of
piety to shirk as often as possible. We commiserated the
offenders against this barbardus college regulation, made jus-
tice do homage to mercy, and occasionally excused a poor
wight for sleeping over. The bell, small as it was, waked the
old building at six in the dark winter mornings, as it would
wake the dead; and yet many a drousy youth escaped debt
marks with the plea 'Didn't hear the bell.' One day dry "Tom
Harrison' of Belleville presented himself at the office with a
lugubrious face as a candidate for excuse from prayers the
morning previous. 'What is your excuse, sir?" 'Didn't hear
the bell, sir !' 'What ! You rooming away up among the rafters,
right under the cupola, why didn't you hear the bell?' 'Be-
cause, sir,' said he with imperturbable face, but with light-
ning glance of waggery from his sharp blue eyes, 'The rope
made so much noise, sir.' He was excused."
In 1850, Dr. Wentworth left McKendree to become pro-
fessor of science in Dickinson College. Four years later he
was appointed as missionary to China where he spent eight
years and saw the opening of what proved to be one of the
most successful of Methodist missions in heathen lands.
After his return to the United States, he spent some years
in the pastorate in New York State and Massachusetts. He
was three times a member of the General Conference, in
1868, 1872 and 1876. The General Conference of 1876 elected
him Editor of the "Ladies' Repository" and Book Editor of
the Western Book Concern at Cincinnati. Also in 1876, he
was made a member of the committee of fifteen appointed to
revise the Methodist Hymnal. His death occurred May 25,
1886, when he was in his seventy-fourth year, at Sandy Hill,
near Troy, New York.
At McKendree in those days, the President was always
Professor of Mental and Moral Science. His colleagues were
Rev. Anson W. Cummings, A. M., Professor of Mathe-
matics and Natural Sciences; Rev. Spencer Mattison, A. M.,
Professor of Ancient Languages and Literature; and Rev.
William Goodfellow, Principal of the Preparatory Depart-
ment. At the regular annual meeting of the Board for 1847,
the President reported a full year of scholastic work, though
on account of the vicissitudes thru which the college had
recently passed, there was no graduating class ready. But
Rev. William L. Deneen, who on account of ill health rather
than age, was on the superannuated list, having availed him-
self of the privilege provided by a rule passed some years
before, had prepared himself and successfully passed examina-
tion on the entire scientific course, and on recommendation of
the faculty, was granted the degree of Bachelor of Science.
This was the first time that degree was conferred by McKen-
dree and Mr. Deneen was the graduating class for that year.
A sketch of his life will be found in the History of the City
of Lebanon.
At a later session of the Board, two other members were
added to the Faculty. Dr. Sylvanus M. E. Goheen was elected
Professor of Physiology and Comparative Anatomy. His
name appears on the Faculty page in the catalogue for the
year 1847-48. Dr. William Nast of Cincinnati was elected
Professor of German, but he evidently did not accept the
place since his n<ime does not appear in any of the catalogues.
At a meeting in July, 1848, the Rev. Ernest Kern, A. M., of
the Missionary Institute of Basle, Switzerland, was elected
to the Chair of German, a chair which at that time had no
real existence. A notification of his election was sent him,
but he also failed to appear. However, in the catalogue of
1849, Michael Mummert is announced as the teacher of
German. German was his Mother tongue and he was said
to be an efficient teacher, tho he was at the same time a
student m the Preparatory department of the college. But
after one year the German department was allowed to lapse
for a few years. Dr. Goodfellow was a very important mem-
ber of the faculty since he had charge of the Preparatory De-
partment which contained a majority of all the students
enrolled. In 1848, he was charged with the additional respon-
sibility of establishing a Normal Department. However, it
did not materialize till many years after. In 1849, he reported
his work in soliciting funds for a new building. He was so
successful in this work that he was excused from teaching
that he might devote his whole time to raising money for
the building enterprise. G. N. Poston was appointed to teach
in his stead. He (Goodfellow) succeeded in raising $10,000
for the building, which was
several times as much as the
first building cost. The col
lege was now on the up-
grade. This was a substan-
tial three story brick build-
ing, well constructed and a
real credit to the institution
for that day. The corner
stone waslaidonCommence-
ment Day, 1850. The build-
ing was constructed during
the following year and com-
pleted on June if, US';:.
These exact d.ites are
PROF. W. GOODFELLOW
One Hundred and Forty-Eight
established by records in the diary of Capt. Henry C. Fike, who
was a student in McKendree at the time. This building now
known as "OldMain" is therefore the oldest building on the
grounds, and perhaps is still the most substantial of the nine
that now compose the group of college buildings. After this
successful achievement, Dr. Goodfellow felt that his best work
in this field was accomplished and that it would be better for
him to pass on to other fields. His father-in-law, Rev. John
Dempster, who was one of the founders of Garrett Biblical
Institute, and who received the degree of Doctor of Divinity
from McKendree in 1 848, had spent a number of his most active
years as a missionary in South America. Dr. and Mrs. Good-
fellow felt that they would like to carry on the work which
Mrs. Goodfellow's father had established. Therefore, not
long after leaving McKendree, they sailed for the southern
hemisphere and did a monumental work in Argentina, es-
pecially in the city of Beunos Ayres. They returned to the
United States in 1869, and spent their declining years in
Evanston. Sometime in the nineties when Dr. Chamberlin
was president of McKendree, the aged Dr. Goodfellow vis-
ited the scenes of his early labors by special invitation and
spent a commencement with us. Dr. Wentworth also, as
previously stated, after a few years more of college work,
went to the foreign mission fields. There must have been
something of the missionary spirit in the McKendree atmos-
phere in those days. There was a romance in the life of the
circuit rider and the pioneer educator that often fired him
with enthusiasm to reach even more remote and more difficult
fields, which he could only find in the foreign mission fields.
The following incident occurred in Dr. Wentworth's term
at McKendree;
Several of the students who had an appreciation of good
music were anxious to hear the famous singer, Jenny Lmd,
who was to appear m St. Louis. President Wentworth having
learned that a request for permission to make the trip to St.
Louis was likely to come to him (a rule of the college in those
days required a student to secure permission before leaving
town), and feeling that the parents of the students might
not approve the two days absence from their studies which a
trip to St. Louis required at that time, decided to avoid an
unpleasant refusal by hastening his own departure a few
hours. The trip was made in those days by stage or private
conveyance. The boys found the President had gone and his
representative had no authority to grant the desired leave of
absence. So they decided to take the risk of going without
It. They procured a team of some sort for the drive to St.
Louis and the late afternoon found them in the city where
Jenny Lind was to sing. But being mud-spattered and hungry,
they sought a moderate priced hotel where they might clean
up and refresh themselves a little before time for the concert.
There in the lobby of the hotel to which they happened to
go they found the President himself, whiling away the hours
before the concert with some acquaintances. The recognition
between the boys and their President was immediate and
mutual. Neither could ignore the other. So the leader of the
truant music -lovers, with great presence of mind and a serious
countenance, walked up to the President and told him they
had come all the way to St. Louis to ask his permission to
attend the Jenny Lind Concert. The President could see a
joke himself, especially when it was as plain as that, and
perhaps feeling that he had been outwitted in his effort to
avoid an unpleasant duty, generously granted the permission
and immunity from discipline, on their return home next day.
And so the boys and their President heard the famous Jenny
Lind together.
THE CLASS OF 1848
In the class of 1848, there were eight regular graduates
besides two who had received their Bachelor's Degree at the
Indiana Asbury University, at Greencastle, but were receiv-
ing their master's degree from McKendree with this class.
These were Rev. James A. Jaquess and Rev. Oliver S. Mun-
sell. The former was the first president of the Illinois Women's
College, at Jacksonville, and later Colonel of the 73rd Reg-
iment, Illinois Volunteers, during the Civil War, and the
other was for eighteen years President of the Illinois Wes-
leyan University, at Bloomington. In 1876, he moved to
Kansas and in 1880-81, he was a member of the Kansas Legis'
lature. The regular members of the class were Thomas Ogles-
One Hundred and FortyXi,
by Harrison, Cornelius Gooding Harrison, George Huston
Holliday, George Lunceford Phelps, James Henry Roberts,
Henry Clay Talbot, Samuel Kinney Thomas, and Daniel
White.
The Harrison fimily were among the early settlers of
Belleville and will be found prominently mentioned in the
history of St. Clair County. There are no less than eight
Harrisons of this particular family in the roster of JMcKendree
students, and Mrs. Charles Harrison may be considered the
ninth. She was Ida Blanck of Lebanon before her marriage.
THOMAS OGLESBY HARRISON
Thomas Oglesby Harrison was born at Belleville, May i ,
1827. He graduated from McKendree, July 19, 1848, and in
the spring of 185c, he and his brother went to California,
when so many were .seeking their fortunes in the gold fields.
They went overland by the slow travel of the covered wagon.
However, he did not find a fortune nor a permanent resi-
dence, but came near losing his health. The next year, he
returned, not across the plains, but by steamer around Cape
Horn. A year later he was married to Eliza J. Calbreath.
Their oldest child, Hugh, had Wentworth for his middle
name, in honor of Dr. Wentworth, who was President of
McKendree when the Harrisons were graduated. They had
six other children, tho two of them died in infancy. After en-
gaging in the milling business until i86o, he moved to Has-
tings, Minnesota, where he lived until his death which oc-
curred Feb. 20, 1863. His widow returned to Belleville to live.
CORNELIUS GOODING HARRISON
Cornelius G. Harrison, brother of Thomas, was in the
same class with him, and went to California with him. Later
he returned and they engaged in the milling business to,
gether. But after the death of the elder brother in Minne-
sota, the younger went back to California, where he made
his permanent home and engaged in the banking business at
San Jose. He was married to Sarah J. Spruance in 1857. They
had five children, of whom two grew to maturity. His death
occurred in 1904.
Hugh G. Harrison, an uncle of the two above mentioned,
attended McKendree as early as 1842, but did not graduate
GEORGE HUSTON HOLLIDAY
George H. Holliday was born at Harrisburg, Kentucky,
August 5, 1824. After finishing his course at McKendree in
1848, he settled in Macoupin County, Illinois, and for several
years served as County Surveyor. Later he published the
"Spectator" at Carlinville, the County Seat of the same
county. During the term i8';5-i857 he was a member of the
Illinois Legislature. In 1867, he was appointed a member of
the commission to erect a new court house. He was married
to Cinderella Chism in 1852. To them, six children were
born, four boys and two girls.
GEORGE L. PHELPS
George L. Phelps was born in St. Clair County on a farm
near the boundary line between St. Clair and Monroe
Counties. He grew up in rural districts, took a course in
mathematical studies under Rev. Wm. L. Deneen before he
entered McKendree. He was a cousin of Col. Risdon M.
Moore. He was a member of the Philosophian Society. After
his graduation, he returned to his agricultural pursuits which
he followed with great diligence and a high degree of success.
He lived only ten years after his graduation. He was never
married. His death occurred December j, 18^8
HENRY C. TALBOT
Henry Clay Talbot was born in Louisville, Kentucky,
August 14, 1825. He came to Monroe County, Illinois
about 1840. After his graduation, he engaged in newspaper
work in Waterloo, 111. In 1853, he was the publisher of the
"Monroe Advertiser," and in 1858, he became the publisher
of the "Monroe Patriot." Later he was admitted to the bar.
In 1862, he was elected to the Illinois Legislature. Beginning
in 1868, he served four years on the State Board of Equaliza-
tion. In 1872, he became County Judge of his county and
held this office for four years. In his earlier life, he spent some
years teaching, and he was always interested in educational
affairs. He died Sept. 29, 1874.
SAMUEL K. THOMAS
Samuel Kinney Thomas was born at the residence of Hon.
William Kinney, four miles northeast of Belleville, who was
his kinsman. He left college to enter the Mexican War. He
was in the battle of Buena Vista. After the war, he returned
to college and graduated in 1848. He was a member of Philo.
He received the B. S. Degree, but he desired to do the
necessary work in the classics to entitle him to secure the
A. B. Degree, so he entered college again, but before he had
time to accomplish this purpose, he died from an attack of
cholera, July 23, i84q.
JAMES HENRY ROBERTS
James H. Roberts was born at Kaskaskia, Illinois, Decem-
ber 12, 1825. His ancestors on his father's side came from
England with William Penn, and both parents were de-
scended from Quakers. When his grandmother Gibson was
a little girl, she sat on General Washington's knee when he
made his temporary headquarters at her father's house just
after the Battle of Brandywine. His father was a merchant,
One Hundred and Fifiy
^>
JAMES H. ROBERTS
and in his youth James as-
sisted in the store, but he
never seemed drawn toward
that Hne of work. For a time
he attended a private school
kept byRev.Hubbell Loomis
who was afterward prom-
inently connected with
Shurtleff College. While a
student at McKendree, he
was a member of Philo and
took great interest m de-
bates. Even before he grad-
uated in 1848, he visited the
Law School of Transylvania
University at Lexington, Kentucky. While|_ there. ,he, heard
Henry Clay make his great speech on the WilmotProviso. Some
of his relatives wished him to be a physician, and to please
them, he gave the matter a try-out. He says, "For weeks I read
works on human anatomy with a naked skeleton before me."
But he failed to get any inspiration in that line, and he soon
took up the law in earnest. He studied law with Hon. Ed-
ward Bates, who was afterward Attorney General in Mr.
Lincoln's cabinet. He first established a law office as a member
of a law firm in Vincennes, Indiana. A year or two later, in
1855, he began practice in Chicago, the city which his father
had helped to lay out m 1829 when he was a member of the
Illinois Canal Commission. Mr. Roberts had very little to
do with public life or office holding. He was for two years
a member of the City Council of Chicago. He soon became
disgusted with the political methods he saw practiced there.
He says, "I resolved to seek no further public position, be-
lieving that in the practice of my profession lay my happiness
and welfare." He was admitted to practice in the United
States Supreme Court in 1864. His first term in this court
enabled him to hear arguments by some of the great lawyers
of the country, such as Reverdy Johnson, William H. Seward,
James T. Brady and others. He says, "During my stay in
Washington in that court session, I saw Abraham Lincoln
for the last time. I scarcely remember how early I came to
know him as a boy; but early in the thirties, when I lived in
Springfield, I saw him almost daily. I heard him debate with
Douglas in Springfield in 1854. Again I heard them debate
m 1858. I heard Lincoln's great speech in Chicago in 1861,
just at the outbreak of the Civil War. I was also a personal
friend of Douglas, and was at his home when he received
Lincoln's challenge to a joint debate in 1858."
In fact, it may be said of this remarkable McKendrean
that he lived during some portion of the life of every presi-
dent of the United States, except Washington, down to
Woodrow Wilson. He was born the year before John Adams
died, and he died June 25, 1920, just before the end of Wil-
son's administration. He was personally acquainted with sev-
eral of them, as well as with other illustrious men who might
be regarded as unsuccessful candidates, as Webster, Clay,
Douglas, and including William Jennings Bryan, with whose
father he was a fellow student at McKendree. Mr. Roberts
was twice married. First to Harriet E. Smith, September 16,
1863. Their children were Lucretia B., and James Henry, but
the son died in infancy. Some years later his wife died. His
second marriage was to Susan M. Slater, November 10. 1870.
They had one daughter who died when only a year old.
DANIEL WHITE
The other member of this class, Daniel White, came from
a Carlyle family. He belonged to Philo, was a lawyer, and
in his later life practiced his profession in San Antonio,
Texas. We have not been able to secure further information
concerning him, except that he died in 1865.
THE CLASS OF 18-19
This class consisted of thirteen members whose names are
as follows: Reuben Andrus, Silas Lillard Bryan, William
Hugh Corrington, Robert DoUahon, Wesley Davidson, Jos-
eph Windsor Drury, Thomas Asbury Eaton, John T. Foster,
Joseph N. King, William W. King, William Spencer Pope,
Hiram Sears, and Thomas O. Springer.
Concerning three of these men we do not have sufficient
information to justify a separate sketch. These are Robert
Dollahon, Wesley Davidson, and John T. Foster. They were
all three members of Philo. Davidson enrolled from Jonesboro
and Dollahon from Lawrenceville. The former was a lawyer
and the latter a farmer. Foster's residence is given in the old
catalogue as Pleasant Point, 111. In after years, he became a
minister of the gospel. Brief biographies of all the others
follow.
REUBEN ANDRUS D. D.
Reuben Andrus was born in Rutland, New York, Jan-
uary 29, 1824. In early life he emigrated to Illinois. He was
a student for three years in the Illinois College at Jackson-
ville, but graduated from McKendree after having completed
the classical course in 1849, receiving the degree of A. B.
Later he received the degree of A. M. and in 1868 his Alma
Mater honored him with the degree of Doctor of Divinity.
The year after his graduation, in 1850, he was admitted
to the Illinois Conference. Though a minister of the gospel.
One Hundred and FijtyOn
he had a long career in educational work. Among the var-
ious positions he held were the following: Principal of the
Preparatory Department of the Illinois Wesleyan Univer-
sity, President of Quincy College, President of the Illinois
Female College, and President of the Indiana Asbury Uni-
versity. In 1867, he was transferred to the Indiana Confer-
ence. He was a member of the General Conference of 1876.
While in McKendree, he belonged to the Philo Society. He
died at Indianapolis, Indiana, January 17, 1887.
JUDGE SILAS LILLARD BRYAN
Silas Lillard Bryan was born near Sperryville, Virginia,
November 4, 1822. His parents were John and Nancy
(Lillard) Bryan. He was one
of the younger children of
a large family. His parents
died when he was about
fourteen years of age, and
soon afterward he came to
Illinois to hve with some
older members of the family
who had already gone west
to hve. He was ambitious to
secure an education, and by
his own energy and indus-
try, he made his way thru
college. An old building
is still standing (1912) in
the west edge of the city of Lebanon, where he and a fellow
student "kept batch" and chopped wood during their college
days. He completed the classical course at McKendree and
received the degree of A. B. in 1849. Later he received the
Master's Degree. He was a member of the Philosophian Lit-
erary Society. He studied law and was admitted to the bar
in 18^1. He located at Salem to engage in the practice of
law. In 1852, he was married to Miss Mariah Elizabeth Jen,
nings. To them were born nine children, of whom five grew
to maturity. Among them the famous William Jennings
Bryan. From 1852 to i860 Mr. Bryan was a member of the
Illinois State Senate. From that date till 1872, he was Judge
of the Circuit Court. In 1872, he was nominated as a can-
didate for Congress on the Democratic ticket, but failed of
election by a small margin. After his retirement from the
bench, he practiced law at Salem for the remainder of his
active life. He died at Jacksonville, 111., March jo, 1880.
Judge James H. Roberts, who graduated just the year be-
fore Bryan, tells this incident about his career in McKendree:
SILAS L. BRYAN
"Mr. Bryan was a hard
student and stood in the
front rank of scholarship,
but he was a confirmed to-
bacco chewer. The expec-
torations of the young men
indulging in this habit, es-
pecially in thecoUege chapel.
drew down on them a sharp
rebuke from one of the New
England professors who
would not be reconciled to
this bad Western habit.
Bryan regarded it as aimed
at him particularly, as it
was well known that he
WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN
McKendree conferred LL. D.
degree upon him
stood at the front, if he were not the very chief offender. The
reprimand immediately followed the morning prayer in the
chapel service. Thereupon Bryan rose in his place and in a
few words vindicated the tobacco habit as almost universal,
and said he would not tamely submit to the public reprimand
nor the abuse of any man, and especially before the assembled
faculty and fellow students, without resenting it. His re-
marks created consternation among the students, but instead
of expulsion, as they had feared, they brought immediate
apology from the professor, who admitted that he had spoken
sharply, and perhaps without due consideration, and certain-
ly with no intentions of hurting the feelings of Mr. Bryan.
It is needless to say that the tobacco habit was not quelled."
Mr. Bryan was a man of deep religious convictions and a
member of the Baptist church. While on the bench as Circuit
Judge, it was his custom to open court with prayer, claiming
that altho the practice was without precedent, yet the Senate
and House of Representatives, not only of Illinois, but of
the nation, were opened with prayer, and the courts equally
needed divine aid in the administration of justice. This pious
father instilled into the mind of his son, William J., those
religious principles which were always carried into his public
career without the taint of hypocrisy, even amid the demor-
alizing associations of party politics, and which secured for
him the admiration of even his most inveterate opponents.
REV. WILLIAM HUGH CORRINGTON
William Hugh Corrington was born in Harrison County,
Kentucky, March 28, 1826. He entered McKendree in 1847
and graduated with the degree of B. S. in 1849. Later,
he re-entered college, and after completing the classical
course, he graduated with the class of i8')j, receiving the
One Hundred and Fifty-Two
JOSEPH W. DRURY
degree of A. B. He w.is a
member of the Philosophian
Society. During the first two
years after leaving college, he
taught school at Chester and
Rockford, Illinois, and acted
as agent for McKendree Col-
lege. In 1855, he was elected
president of the Southern Illi-
nois Female College at Salem,
which position he held for
eight years. He was .idmitted
on trial to the Southern Illi-
nois Conference in 1861, but
did not become a pastor until 1864, when he was appointed to
Vandalia. He served two years each at Vandaha, Flora, and
Belleville, and then in 1870, was appointed presiding elder
of the Lebanon district. After two years of service on the
district, he died at Belleville, June 6, 1872. He was twice
married. First to Maria Blackwell, October 31, 1853. Of this
union one child was born, Alice Murray. The second mar-
riage was to Mary A. Smith, January 30, 1857. Their chil-
dren were James Courtney, Herschel Knox, Haller Smith,
and Rhoda May.
JOSEPH W. DRURY
Joseph Windsor Drury was born in St. Louis, February
5, 1832. He graduated from McKendree in 1849, receiving
the degree of B. S. He was one of the founders of the Pla-
tonian Literary Society. During the Civil War, he was Pro-
vost Marshal of Monroe County, Illinois; and for three
terms, served as sheriff and collector of his county. Dur-
ing the session of the fifty-third Congress, he served as
newspaper clerk in Washington, D. C. He was a member
of the Illinois Legislature for two terms, and also was a
member of the State Board of Equalization. He died at Water-
loo, Illinois, March 4, 1902.
REV. THOMAS A. EATON
Thomas Alexander Eaton was born October 22, 1825,
at Anchorage, near Louisville, Kentucky. He was one of
the several children given to Thomas and Sarah Eaton. In
1836, the family moved to Illinois and settled near Edwards-
viUe. February 22, 1844, he was married to Miss Louisa M.
Dougherty. Within a year his wife died, and soon after, their
child. In the midst of this great sorrow, the impression was
deepened in his mind that he ought to preach the gospel.
Feeling his lack of preparation, he once at set about secur-
THOMA3 A. EATON
ing an education. He spent several years at McKendree,
became a member of the Philosophian Society, and graduated
in 1849 with the B. S. degree. He entered the Illinois Con-
ference in 1850, and in the division of 1852, became a mem-
ber of the Southern Illinois Conference, and was ordained
by Bishop Ames. He was a faithful minister of the gospel in
active service for 42 years, having served one term as pre-
siding elder of the Lebanon District. He was a delegate to
the General Conference of 1868, which met in Chicago. He
was a member of the Board
of Trustees of McKendree
for forty years, until he re-
signed the post in 1894.
The college conferred upon
him the degree of D. D. in
1887. The last fourteen
years of his life were spent
at the home of his son in
Kansas City, Kansas. He
passed to his reward Octo-
ber 20, 1907. In Carlyle,
Illinois, November 6, i8')4,
he was married to Miss
Joanna Webster, with whom he travelled the journey of life
for more than half a century. To them were born seven
children, of whom three sons and three daughters survived
their parents.
JOSEPH N. KING
Joseph Nicholas King was born near White Hall, Illinois,
June 28, 1830. He was the son of Joseph and Sarah (Lindsey)
King, who were both natives of England, though the mother
was of Scotch ancestry on one side. He was the oldest of
four children. Both his parents died before he was twelve
years of age, and the four children went to live with an
uncle, William King, who resided near Jacksonville, Illinois.
While still a mere youth, he entered McKendree College and
was graduated in the class of 1849, receiving the degree of
B. S. He was a member of the Philosophian Literary Society
The next year after his graduation, he was married to Eliza-
beth Rawlins Morrow, March 3, 1850. They located on a
farm near White Hall, where they spent the remainder of
their lives. They were the parents of nine children, William
Joseph, Francis Edward, James Nicholas, Margaret Elizabeth,
Mary Lenthall, Sarah Rebecca, Albert Henry, Frederic
Charles, and Rachel Ellen. William and James died m child-
hood. The others grew to maturity, are all married and en-
gaged in various vocations in life. Mr. King was a member
:d and F.fty-Three
IM
c KENDREE^^^^^s:^;^^.^^^^^
of the Methodist Church, Hved a consistent
Christian Ufe, and trained his children in the
ways of righteous hving. He never accumulat-
ed large wealth, but was a successful farmer
and a useful citizen. He died at his home
February 25, 1885.
WILLIAM W. KING
William W. King was born in Green
County, Illinois, April 22, 1832. He was a
son of Joseph and Sarah King, of whom the
former was born in England and the latter in
Scotland. His early life was spent on the
farm in Green County, where he attended the
public schools and afterward McKendree Col-
lege, from which he graduated in 1849, with
the degree of B. S. He was a member of the Philosophian
Literary Society. After graduation, he gave his time to farm-
ing and teaching for some years. During the years of the
Civil War, he gave his services to his country in the Union
army. After the war, he was in the mercantile business m
Quincy, Illinois for ten years. In 1876, he moved with his
family to Lewis County, Missouri, where he resided on a
farm till 1905. He then lived three years in Brookfield, and
then in Rich Hill, Missouri until his death, which occurred
May 17, iqi2, after he had attained the ripe age of full four
score years. He was a man of bright mind, a great reader,
and possessed inventive ability, having secured patents on
several useful inventions. He was a member of the Methodist
Episcopal Church from early life till the time of his death
He was married April 7, 1852 to Miss Martha F. Benier.
Their four daughters are now Mrs. Fanny Hubbard and Mrs.
J. A. Bailey of Lewistown, Mo., Mrs. J. E. Bailey of Rich
Hill, and Mrs. J. F. Turner of Brookfield, Mo.
MAJOR WILLIAM S. POPE
William Spencer Pope was born near Hopkinsville, Ken-
tucky, April 25, 1827,, and died in St. Louis, December 24,
1906, in his eightieth year. His parents were Abraham and
Elizabeth (Farley) Pope. They had five children — all sons —
of whom William was the third. He became a student in
McKendree some time during the forties and in 1849 re-
ceived the degree of B. S. He then continued his studies
in college, devoting special attention to the classics, and in
1852 received the degree of A. M. He was a member of
the Philosophian Literary Society. In his last two years in
college, he served as tutor in Mathematics and was re-
tained for a time after his graduation as adjunct professor.
In 185J, he moved to northern Illinois, and for several years
THOM.AS O SPRINGER
was active as a teacher in Mount Morris Col-
lege, editor, and public lecturer. He also con-
tinued his law studies, begun at McKendree,
and was admitted to the bar in Chicago. Dur-
ing the Lincoln campaign of i860, he publish-
ed a Republican paper at Mt. Morris, Ogle
County, 111. Early in the Civil War, Governor
Yates commissioned him to go south and look
after the interests of the Illinois troops. He
fitted up a hospital boat, took it south, and re-
turned with it filled with wounded soldiers,
after the battle of Shiloh. Later, Major Pope,
as he was now called, accompanied Governor
Yates to Washington to see President Lincoln
in regard to the prosecution of the war, and
the part of their state in it. He was made a paymaster in the
army, was brevetted Lieut. -Colonel, and continued in the
service till the close of the war. General Grant then recom-
mended his appointment as paymaster in the regular army,
but he declined the honor, having decided to return to the
practiceof law. He located in St. Louis, and in a short time
became one of the leading members of the Missouri Bar. The
only public office he ever held was that of member of the 26th
General Assembly of Missouri. He was a leader of the
Republicans of the lower house, and one of the foremost
champions of the act which secured for St. Louis the large
tract of land now known as Forest Park. He was married
December 20, 1866 to Miss Caroline E. Moore, daughter
of Captain Henry J. Moore, of St. Louis. Their three chil-
dren are Annie E., now Mrs. William L. Boeckeler of St.
Louis, Carrie F., now Mrs. George B. McBean of Chicago,
and William S. Pope of St. Louis.
THOMAS O. SPRINGER
Thomas O. Springer was born November 2, 1827, in
Madison County, Illinois. He grew up on a farm and at-
tended the public schools; later he entered McKendree and
was graduated in the scientific course in 1849. He was one of
the founders of the Platonian Literary Society. The death
of his parents added new responsibilities, under which he
conducted himself as a faithful elder brother, keeping the
family together on the farm and assisting in the education
of his younger brothers. In 1855, he was married to Miss
Emma M. Thompson, who died in 1858. He was married
again in 1872 to Miss Ella J. Randle, of Lebanon, Illinois.
From 1856 to 1864, he was Clerk of the Circuit Court. He
also held the office of supervisor. In politics, he was a Whig
until the organiz<ition of the Republican party, and ever
One Hundred and FiftyFon
after that was a staunch RepuhHcan. He was a member of
the Methodist Church, the order of A. F. iif A. M., R. A.
M., and Knights of Honor. In 1890, Mr. Springer moved to
Thornberry, Texas, and later to Compton, Cahf., where he
died in 1909.
REV. HIRAM SEARS
Hiram Sears was born April 10, 1825, in Fayette County,
Ohio. When he was eleven years of age, the family moved
to Scott County, Illinois. Here he grew to manhood with
very limited educational opportunities. His father died when
he was seventeen, leaving him, the oldest son, as the main-
stay of the family. After a lengthy struggle in the matter
of personal reHgion, he became an earnest Christian, and felt
It his duty to preach the gospel. In preparation for this work,
he entered McKendree College and graduated in 1849, with
the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He was a member of the
Philo Society. He was married to Miss Mary H. Prentice
May 25, 1851. Of their six children, but two survive their
parents, namely Mrs. Rosa M. Rinehart and Miss Nellie
P. Sears. He was admitted to the Illinois Conference m iS'ji,
and in the division of the conference the next year he fell
into the Southern Illinois Conference, and received in order
the following appointments: Fairfield, Edwardsville, Finan-
cial Agency of McKendree College, Alton, Brighton, Graf'
ton. President of Southern Illinois Female College, Mt.
Carmel, Cairo, Vandalia, Presiding Elder Vandalia District,
Carbondale, Agency of McKendree, Upper Alton, Collins-
ville. East St. Louis. After thirty-two years of faithful ser-
vice, he was superannuated in 1883. Soon after, he was called
to the Agency of the Western Seamen's Friend Society, with
headquarters at Cleveland, Ohio. To this work he devoted
nearly a quarter of a century of diligent service, preaching
the gospel to the seamen of the lake region, promoting their
temporal welfare, and once a year canvassing a large district
in Ohio and Pennsylvania to secure funds for maintaining
the work. In 1908, he suffered an apopletic stroke, which
incapacitated him for further work. After lingering for two
and a half years as an invalid in the care of his daughters,
he passed from earth April 10, 191 1, on his eighty-sixth
birthday.
One Hmijti and Fi/t^r-Fu-e
|mc KENDREE .^^^^^^g^:^-^.^.^.^.^
IN THE SUMMER of 1850, Rev. Anson W. Cummmgs
took up the task which had just been laid down by Dr.
Wentworth, and assumed the responsibilities of the
office of president. He had already served on the faculty four
years, having been appointed Professor of Mathematics and
Natural Science at the same time that Dr. Wentworth was
made president. He also devoted a part of his energies to the
duties of Fiscal Agent. He served so effectively in every ca-
pacity that when they needed a new president, the Joint
Board did not look any further. He was a scholarly gentleman
and a graduate of the Wesleyan University, of which his
brother, Joseph Cummings, was for some years president. He
was a strong believer in education, and devoted his best
energies to that cause in McKendree's field, and after com-
pleting his seven years of service here he returned to the
East. After his retirement from active work, he lived in his
old age at Wellsville, New York. He was the author of a
book entitled "Early Schools of Methodism," pubUshed in
1884, which contains much interesting information concern-
ing pioneer education and sketches all the Methodist schools
up to about 1840. When he took the presidency of McKen-
dree, he was automatically transferred to the chair of Mental
and Moral Science, or Philosophy, as we would call it now.
His associates in the faculty were Spencer Mattison, who
came to McKendree at the same time he did, and occupied
the chair of Ancient Languages, Dixon Alexander, M. D.,
Professor of Mathematics, Rev. James Leaton, Professor of
Natural Science, Rev. William Goodfellow, still listed as
Principal of the Preparatory Department, and his assistants:
Risdon M. Moore, just graduated at the last commencement,
tutor in the classics, William S. Pope, B. S. and William H.
Corrington, B. S., who had both received their degrees from
McKendree the year before. President Cummings' salary was
fixed at six hundred dollars a year, the other professors at
five hundred, and the tutors at two hundred and fifty. Pro-
fessor Cummings, before he was president, had charge of the
college paper, and probably should be regarded as its first
editor, tho President Wentworth nominally held that office.
As far back as 18 j6, the Illinois Conference had recommended
that a semi-monthly periodical be established in connection
with the college, though it was specified in the resolution
that the conference would assume no responsibility in the
matter, but the preachers would act as agents. The paper
was finally authorized by the Joint Board in July, 1S47. It
CHAPTER XIII.
President Cumming's Administration
was first called the '"Lebanon Journal." In the report of the
publishing committee to the Board in 1848, it is referred to
as the "Illinois Advocate and Lebanon Journal." A printing
outfit was secured from St. Louis and a student was found
who was a practical printer, and he looked after the mechan-
ical side of the work of getting out the weekly paper. The
student printer was Thomas Coke Weeden, who was em-
ployed for his period of apprenticeship on the "Gazette" of
Carrolton, Illinois. The means of finding him was no doubt
the ubiquitous circuit rider, who was always "on the go"
and was an excellent channel of information, especially in
Methodist circles. Mr. Weeden tells how, before time for
college to open, he came from Carrolton, in Greene County,
to Alton, by stage, then by boat to St. Louis, and by stage
again from there to Lebanon. At first he "laid" the cases
and set up type in Dr. Goheen's office on the Public Square
in Lebanon. But as soon as practicable, a building for the
special use of the college paper, was erected. Rev. G. W.
Robbins, who was a carpenter before he became a preacher
and a presiding elder, was the architect and builder. After
the building was completed on the campus, it became the
home of the Lebanon Journal and was known as the "Printing
O&ce." During this period, the college not only printed the
paper, but even printed the diplomas for the graduates. There
is a record of the president securing an engraved cut for this
purpose which cost fifty dollars. One of the catalogues of this
period contains the announcement that "Those graduates
who have not received diplomas may now secure them by
sending in their application with the usual diploma fee."
There is recorded in the minutes of the Board for 1849 a"
order for the printing in the Illinois Advocate of "A correct
list of the members of the Joint Board and the resolutions
adopted on the death of Rev. Davis Goheen," who was an
unusually active and useful member of that body. When Pro-
fessor Cummings became President and Rev. James Leaton
became a member of the faculty, he was made chief manager
of the paper and Chairman of the Publishing Committee. In
1852, the "Illinois Advocate" was moved to St. Louis, and
its name was changed to "Central Christian Advocate."
The General Conference of 1852, meeting in Boston, took
cognizance of two periodicals, the Northwestern Christian
Advocate and the Central Christian Advocate. The former
was authorized and became one of the official publications
of the church. The latter was put up to the Book Committee
and Publishing Agents to publish if they saw their way clear
to do It. After consideration, these authorities decided not
to accept the responsibilities of publishing the Central. But
the Methodism of that region would not be put off that way.
The paper was already five years old and its readers regarded
It as still their paper, tho its name had been changed and it
had moved its home from Lebanon to St. Louis, as a matter
of business policy. So the paper was carried on during that
quadrennium as the organ of the conferences contiguous to
St. Louis, and having proved its ability to survive, the Gen-
eral Conference of 1856 took it over as one of the official
organs of the church.
Its home was in St. Louis for the remainder of the century
and it was edited by such men as Rev. Dr. Benjamin F.
Crary, Benjamin St. James Fry, and Jesse Bowman Young,
all of whom were members of McKendree's Joint Board.
The General Conference of 1900 moved it to Kansas City
where it is now located. Its editor since that time has been
the genial Cludius B. Spencer, also a member of McKendree's
Board. In January, 1853, the Board appointed President Cum-
mings to settle the accounts of the "Illinois Christian Advo-
cate" and sell the press and office furniture. He was to receive
thirty per cent of the proceeds for collecting the debts and
ten per cent for seUing the press. He does not seem to have
succeeded in the undertaking, for in July of the same year,
Benjamin Hypes was ordered by the Board to "sell the press
and office furniture and apply the proceeds upon the debts."
Thus the first college paper at McKendree did not die but
graduated and moved out into a greater field m the world
at large. Accordingly, the "Central Christian Advocate" is
now McKendree's oldest living graduate.
By 1850, Professor Mattison had a son old enough to enter
the preparatory department, and the next year the Board,
recognizing the fact that a professor could not afford to pay
tuition for his children out of the salary the college could
afford to pay him, enacted a rule exempting the children of
members of the faculty from paying tuition fees. The rule
is still in force, though the professors' children pay all other
fees, the same as other students.
Another interesting bit of legislation which occurred in
President Cummings' day was a resolution passed in 1852,
permitting the two boys' literary societies, which were the
only ones in the college at that time, to hold their meetings
on Friday night, instead of in the afternoon, "provided there
be no disorder, no injury of property, and they adjourn not
later than half past nine o'clock, and do not meet at such
times as will interfere with religious meetings."
Mr. Weeden, the student printer of the college paper,
wrote a reminiscent letter near the close of the last century,
and sent m to the college an old copy of Virgil, which he
had used while a student in McKendree. The book is now
over a hundred years old. He said he obtained it from Newton
Williams, who was a senior when Weeden was still in the
preparatory department. Williams was in the class of 1850.
He was an intimate friend of Professor Cummings. One warm
evening just before commencement, the two went out to
Silver Creek to bathe in its cooling waters. Neither could
swim. Williams got beyond his depth. Cummings could not
help him. After a few frantic and futile efforts, he gave it
up and ran for help to the college. Some of the college boys
went with all possible speed and got the body out of the
water, but it was too late. They got the bellows from the
Printing Office, hoping to inflate his lungs and thus induce
respiration, but it was all in vain. "It was a very sad com-
mencement," remarks Mr. Weeden. However, since Wil-
liams had so nearly completed the course, the Board granted
his degree and ordered his name to be placed in the alumni
list. This tragedy suggests another which occurred during
Commencement week in 1899. One pleasant afternoon five
McKendree girls went "wading" in Silver Creek, probably
at the same deep water hole where young Williams was
drowned, commonly known as "Blue Bend." None of them
could swim. In wading, one got beyond her depth. Another
went to help her and was pulled into the deep water. An-
other followed with the same result. The fourth managed to
struggle through to the other side of the creek and climbed
to safety on the opposite bank. The one remaining ran for
help. But the distance was a mile, and when help arrived,
the efforts of the two physicians, who with a number of
students and others had hurried to the scene, were not suc-
cessful in bringing breath back to the limp and lifeless bodies
of the unfortunate girls. Of course the commencement fes-
tivities were broken into. All entertainments of a social
nature were called off. Commencement was reduced to the
graduating exercises of the class and conferring of degrees.
The unfortunate girls were Hallie Jack of Beaucoup, Florence
Spies of St. Jacob, and Ruth Jepson of Lebanon. The last
was the youngest daughter of Professor Albert G. Jepson,
who for many years occupied the chair of Mathematics in
McKendree. President Cummings passed through another
sorrow during his stay at McKendree, which doubtless was
deeper and more poignant than his experience with Newton
Williams. That was the death of his wife, Mrs. Florilla Cum-
mings. The inscription on the stone which marks her resting
One Hundred and F./tv-Se,
<:^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^B^^S:^
place in College Hill cemetery says that she died March 8,
1852, in the twenty-eighth year of her age. Other tragedies
of this kind occurred in the homes of several of the early
presidents of McKendree. Another grave stone right near
that of Mrs. Cummings, was erected to the memory of Mrs.
Esther Finley, the wife of President Fmley. She died m 1844
and her death was followed by that of her daughter m the
same month. Only a few yards away are buried four of the
children of President Akers. Thus it appears that these edu-
cational pioneers were not only making financial sacrifices
and carrying burdens of work up to the limit of their en-
durance, but they were also called to tread the path of sor-
row time after time when death entered the home circle.
McKENDREE MISSIONARY LYCEUM
As evidence of the missionary spirit which characterized
the college at the middle of the last century, we have the
records of a missionary society which was called the Lyceum,
which was organized November 20, iS-io. A preliminary
meeting had been held a week earlier which was presided
over by Risdon M. Moore, who was at that time a teacher
in the institution, having graduated at the last commence-
ment, at which time certain committees were appointed to
report at the next meeting. So on the date above mentioned,
the organization was completed and permanent officers elec-
ted. Following is the list: President, W. S. Pope, Vice Pres-
ident, R. M. Moore, Recording Secretary, O. V. Jones,
Corresponding Secretary, W. B. Riggin, and Treasurer, D.
Blackwell. The constitution adopted need not be reproduced
in full here, but it indicates the object of the organization
as two fold, "First, to aid in sending the gospel to the desti-
tute portions of the earth, and second, to improve its mem-
bers in their knowledge of religious subjects." Any person
of good moral character was eligible to be elected to mem-
bership, on presenting a written application and paying a
fee of twenty-five cents. The first meeting of each collegiate
year was to be held on the third Thursday evening in Octo-
ber, and regular meetings were to be held thereafter every
four weeks. The programs were to consist of essays and
addresses. An anniversary meeting with suitable program
was held each year on the "Sabbath night preceding the
college commencement." The list of members is as follows:
Daniel Alexander, J. H. Barger, R. M. Bell, D. Blackwell,
W. H. Corrington, S. L. Edwards, W. C. Gillham, W. R.
Howard, Z. R. Humphrey, O. V. Jones, J. W. Lapham,
John Leeper, G. L. Moore, R. M. Moore, W. C Pitner,
J. I. Rinaker, Isaiah Stickel, W. B. Riggin, W. F. Short.
These twenty members were students or teachers in the
institution. The organization probably did not live many
years, but was soon crowded out by other commendable
activities.
THE CLASS OF 1850'
This was the last class to graduate during the presidency
of Dr. Wentworth. Colonel Morrison was not in the class
but was a student under Dr. Wentworth. Brief biographies
of these men follow.
DR SAMUEL M. MARTIN
Samuel Murray Martin was born at Leesburg, Virginia,
February 13, 1828 just one week before the organization of
the board that laid the foundations of McKendree College.
He became a student in McKendree in 1848 and graduated
in 1850, receiving the degree of B. S. He was a member
of the Platonian Literary Society. He later attended a
medical college and received the degree of M. D. He was
married November 2j, iS"?:,, to Miss Elizabeth Kerr. The
following are the names of their six children: Arthur L.,
Nettie C, Mary L., Annie H., Minnie E., and Murray K.
Having made preparation along the line of two professions,
his time was divided between teaching and the practice of
medicine. He taught a year in the Illinois Female College
just following his graduation. In later years, he taught in
the Jacksonville high school, the Winchester high school, the
Canton Seminary of Canton, Mo., and for ten years, 1863-
1873, he was County Superintendent of Schools of Morgan
County, Illinois. From 1873 to 1877, he was County Clerk
of the same county. In 1885, he was appointed physician to
the Blackfeet Indians. In religion, he was a Methodist, in
politics, a Democrat. He died near the close of the century.
REV. WILLIAM McKENDREE McELFRESH
William McKendree McElfresh was born m Nicholas
County, Kentucky, April g, 182';. He was a son of Rev.
John McElfresh, formerly a member of the Baltimore Con-
ference. With his parents, he moved to Morgan County,
Illinois, in the fall of 1834, to a farm near Jacksonville. He
died at his home in Jacksonville, March 23, 1909. He grad-
uated from McKendree in 1850, receiving the degree of B. S.
Later he was granted the degree of M. S. and in 1897, that
of D. D. In 1853, he was married to Miss Matilda J. Belford,
who was his faithful companion and helper during his long
ministerial career. He joined the Illinois Conference in 185 1
and received the following appointments: 1851, Rushville;
1852, Chili; 1853, Pulaski; 1854-55, White Hall; 1856, Dan-
ville; 1857-58, Clinton; 1859, Grigsville; 1860-61, Winches-
ter; 1862-64, Waverly; 1865-67, Island Grove; 1868-69,
*Not,- Bv or...r th,s w.,s oniu.cJ from Chapter XII,
One Hundred and F./tv-£.glu
IIMC KENDREE
Waverly; 1870-71, Delavan; 1872-75, Springfield District;
1876, Bloomington University Charge; 1877-80, Danville
District; 1881, Jacksonville Circuit; 1885-86, Alexander;
1887-88, Versailles; 1890-92, Payson; 1893-94, Barry; 1895-
97, Superannuated; 1898, Financial Agent of the Illinois
Women's College; 1899-1909, Superannuated. He was a mem-
ber of the General Conference of 1872, which was held m
Brooklyn, New York. His conference class numbered forty-
seven, of which he was the last to superannu.ite.
COL. RISDON MARSHALL MOORE
Risdon Marshall Moore was born near Cahokia, St. Clair
County, Illinois, February 16, 1827. His father was Cap-
tain Jonathan Moore, who
was a soldier m the Black-
hiwk War and the Civil
Wir. His mother was Eliza-
beth Lunsford before her
marriage. He entered Mc-
Kendree College in 1845 and
graduated in 1850, receiving
the degree A. B. Later he
received the degree of A.M.
and in 1895, that of Ph. D.
from his alma mater. He was
a member of the Philoso-
phian Literary Society. For
four years after his grad-
uation, he was tutor in Latin and Greek in McKendree. He
was then elected Professor of Mathematics, which position
he held till 1866, excepting the three years 1862-65, when
he was serving in the Civil War as Colonel of the 117th
regiment of Illinois Volunteers. In this regiment were found
a considerable number of McKendree students who left
their college to fight their country's battles. In 1866, Colonel
Moore went to Selma, Alabama, to engage in the coal mining
business. In 1875, he was appointed special agent of the U. S.
Treasury Department and in 1878 was transferred to San
Antonio, Texas, where he resided, except for short intervals,
until his death January 26, 1909. The most of this period he
was holding a government appointment of some kind. He
was married September 14, 1857, to Miss Helen Simmons of
Northampton, Mass. To them were born four children: Al-
bert Lincoln, George Samuel, Frank Risdon, and Helen Caro-
line. All are now living except the eldest. Colonel Moore was
a Republican in politics, a member of the Masonic order, a
man of scholarly attainments, a great lover of the classics, a
RISDON MOORE
devout Christi.m and an active member of the Methodist
Episcopal Church.
His sister, Mrs. Mary FitzGerrell, is still living in Lebanon
at an advanced age. She has always been interested in history
and biography, and has stored in her own memory a wealth
of information about persons connected with the early his-
tory of Lebanon and the college.
COL. WILLIAM R. MORRISON
William Ralls Morrison, member of a prominent Mon-
roe County family, was a student in McKendree in the
forties, but did not stay till graduation because he left
college to enter the Mexican War as a soldier in an Illinois
regiment. He was in most of the battles of General Taylor's
campaign. After the war closed, he did not return to college,
but studied law and was admitted to the bar. From 1855 to
1859 he was a member of the Illinois Legislature and during
the last year he was Speaker of the House. When the Civil
War broke out, he organized and became Colonel of the 49th
Regiment of Illinois Volunteers. He fought with his regiment
at Fort Donelson and other important battles, but resigned
in the fall of 1863 to take his place in Congress as a "War
Democrat." He had been elected while at the front. After
his term in Congress, he practiced law in his home city of
Waterloo from 1865 to 1873, when he was again sent to
represent his district at Washington. From then till 1887, he
was a member of Congress. He gained wide distinction dur-
ing those years as an advocate of reduction of the tariff. He
was for years Chairman of the Ways and Means Commission.
His bill of 1884, which provided for a horizontal reduction
of twenty per cent in all tariff schedules gained for him the
nickname "Horizontal Bill." In 1885, he was defeated by
General John A. Logan for the United States Senate, by only
one vote. President Cleveland appointed him a member of
the Interstate Commerce Commission in 1887, and he served
in that body for ten years, and for six years was chairman.
He spent his declining years at his spacious and commodious
home in Waterloo, Illinois. He left no children, but be-
queathed his home to the city, to be used as a public library.
In 1899, McKendree conferred upon him the degree of LL. D.
in recognition of his distinguished service as a lawyer and
statesman.
HON. WILLIAM ANDREW JACKSON SPARKS
William Andrew Jackson Sparks was born near New
Albany, Indiana, November 15, 1828. His parents, Baxter
and Elizabeth (Gwin) Sparks, were natives of Pennsylvania.
They moved from New Albany when William, the young-
est of their ten children, was only a child, to Macoupin
One Hundred and FiftyHme
^MC KENDREE .^^^^^s:^^^^:::^^^^
W A J SPARKS
County, Illinois. He enter-
ed McKendree in 1847, and
graduated in 1850, receiving
the degree of B. S., and in
iqoo, he was granted the
honorary degree of LL. D.
by his alma mater. He was a
member of the Philosophian
Literary Society. After his
graduation, he went to Car-
lyle, Illinois, studied law in
the office of Judge Breese,
was admitted to the bar, and
began the practice of law at
Carlylein 1851. In 1853, he
was appointed receiver of public moneys for the U. S. Land
Office at Edwardsville, and held this appointment until the land
offices of the state were consolidated at Springfield. He served
one term in the Illinois Legislature, one in the Illinois State
Senate, and four terms in Congress, representing the six-
teenth congressional district of Illinois. He was elected on
the Democratic ticket, and became prominent in his party,
so that when Mr. Cleveland became President, he appointed
Mr. Sparks to the position of Commissioner of the General
Land Office of the U. S. His administration of this office
gained him the hearty commendation of President Cleveland.
He was married April 16, 1855, to Miss Julia E. Parker, of
Edwardsville. They lived in Carlyle until 1895 when, Mr.
Sparks having retired from active work some years previous,
they moved to St. Louis. His death occurred there in 1905.
He left a widow but no children.
JAMES H. RIGGIN
James H. Riggin was a native of Illinois. He was edu-
cated in McKendree, where he graduated in the class of
1850, receiving the degree of B. S. He was a member of the
Platonian Literary Society, being one of the original founders
of that organization. After his graduation, he engaged in
mercantile business in the city of Belleville, but after a few
years, having suffered some mental derangement, he was
taken to the hospital for the insane at Jacksonville, where
he died some years later. His remains lie buried in College
Hill Cemetery.
CHARLES NELSON STARBIRD
Charles Nelson Starbird was born at Claremont, New
Hampshire, November 29, 1823. He prepared for college
at Kimball Union Academy and took his A. B. degree at
Middlebury College, Vermont, in 1S45. He came to Illi'
nois, did the work m McKendree required for the A. M-
degree which he received with the class of 1850. He then
settled in Chester, Illinois, where he practiced law and held
the office of State's Attorney. His death occurred in 1858.
NEWTON WILLIAMS
Newton Williams was a member of this class, but four
weeks before commencement in iS^o, he was drowned in
Silver Creek. Since he had so nearly completed the work,
the board granted the degree the same as to the other mem-
bers of the class, and ordered his name to be placed in the
alumni list.
THE CLASS OF 1851
THOMAS S. CASEY
Thomas Sloo Casey, son of Zadoc Casey, once Governor
of Illinois, was born April 6, 1832, and died at his home
in Springfield, Illinois,
March 1,1891. He was edu-
cated at McKendree, grad-
uating in 1851 with the
degree of A. B., and later
received the master's degree.
He was one of the founders
of the Platonian Literary
Society. He studied law and
was admitted to the bar in
i8')4.Ini86o,hewaselected
State's Attorney for the
twelfth Judicial District,
and was re-elected in 1864.
In 1 862,heentered theUnion
Army as Colonel of the iioth Regiment of Illinois Volun-
teers. About a year later, he was severely wounded at the
battle of Stone River and compelled to return home. In 1870,
he was elected to the Illinois Legislature, and in 1872, to
the State Senate. In 1879, he was elected Circuit Judge, and
was immediately appointed one of the judges of the Appellate
Court of the Fourth District. He served in this position until
1885, when he moved to Springfield where he engaged in the
practice of law until the time of his death. He was married
in 1861, to Miss Matilda Moran, of Springfield. Of their
three children, two daughters are now living: Carrie, now
Mrs. D. C. Nugent, of St. Louis, and Louise, now Mrs.
Baker, the wife of Lieutenant Baker, U. S. A.
STEPHEN F. CORRINGTON
Stephen Fletcher Corrington was born in Millersburg,
Bourbon County, Kentucky, February i, 1830. He entered
McKendree in the fill of 1847 and graduated in iS";!, re-
THOMAS S. CASEY
One Hundred and Si.xtv
c^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^s^^s^
ceiving the degree of A. B. He was a member of the Philo-
sophian Literary Society. He served as book-keeper and
salesman for a firm in Jacksonville, lUinois, for a year and
then taught school a year. He then studied law m the
office of Judge Brown, of Jacksonville. He practiced law for
a time in that city, and then moved to CarroUton, Illinois.
In the fall of 1859, ^e was elected superintendent of schools
of Greene County. He held this office till 1869, and is said
to have traveled as much as 3000 miles a year in the discharge
of his duties visiting the schools of the county. In 1859, he
resumed the practice of law, and the same year he was elected
city clerk, which office he held for four years. He was also
a justice of the peace and notary public, making a specialty
of collecting and conveyancing. Later, he held the office of
master in chancery. His death occurred in the year 1887.
He was married May 13, 1856 to Sue F. Bell, of Jacksonville.
Their seven children were Rosabella May, Ailsie Gray, Anna
Lenora, Sarah Emma, Francis Fletcher, Elijah Edward, and
William Jeremiah.
SURRY L. EDWARDS
Surry L. Edwards was born at Guilford Centre, Ver-
mont, March 13, 1827. He entered McKendree in the fall
of 1847, and graduated in 185 1, receiving the degree of
A. B., and later, A. M. He was a member of the Philosophian
Literary Society. He studied dentistry in St. Louis after
teaching school for five years. He then practiced his pro-
fession eleven years in Griggsville, Illinois, four years in Pe-
oria, and then settled permanently in Des Moines, Iowa,
where he practiced dentistry for many years, and ended his
long and useful career in 1895. He was married April 24,
1855, to Emma A. Dickinson, of Griggsville, 111. Their nine
children are Lucy Jane, Rollin Wentworth, Horace Noble,
Newton Olin, Walter Spencer, Mary Amelia, Esther Emma,
Joseph Albert, and Benjamin Akers. Walter was drowned
in 1882 at the age of eleven.
NINIAN EDWARDS PRIMM
Ninian Edwards Primm was born in the vicinity of Belle-
ville, Illinois, April 16, 1830. He was named for Governor
Ninian Edwards, to whom he was in some way related.
He became a student in McKendree and graduated in the
class of 1851, receiving the degree of B. S. The records of
the literary societies do not indicate that he was a member
of either one. There is some evidence that he studied law,
but his career was short, for his death occurred in 1857 —
only six years after his graduation.
DR. WILLIAM B. RIGGIN
William BoHvar Riggin was born in Lebanon, Illinois,
December 11, 1826. He belonged to a prominent Lebanon
family whose name appears in the story of the founding
of McKendree. He was for several years a student in the
college, and graduated in the class of 1851. He was a mem-
ber of the Philosophian Society. He studied medicine, and
received the degree of M. D., but was not permitted to
practice his profession long. His career was cut short by
his death at Asheville, North Carolina, August 8, 1856.
GEN. JOHN I. RINAKER
John Irving Rinaker was born in Baltimore, Maryland,
in November, 1830, and died at his winter home m Eustis,
Florida, January 14, 1915. He came to Illinois while still
a youth, and secured a part of his education at Illinois
College, but later transferred to McKendree, and graduated
in the class of 18'ii. He was a member of the Platonian So-
ciety. In 1892, McKendree gave him the honorary degree of
LL. D. He studied law and began the practice of this pro-
fession at Carlinville, Illinois, in 1854. That was his regular
occupation all his life except for the time that he was a soldier
in the Civil War. He practiced m the state courts, the dis-
trict courts, and the United States Supreme Court. In 1872
and in 1876, he was a Republican presidential elector. In
1876 and m 1884, he was a delegate to the Republican
National Convention. In 1894, he was elected to Congress,
and served one term. He has served on various important
boards, both in his own city and in others, and was for
some years a trustee of McKendree College. In 1862, he
went into the Union army as Colonel of the 122nd Regiment
Illinois Volunteers, and came home at the close of the war
with the title of Brigadier General. He was for sixty-six years
a member of the Methodist Church. He was also a Mason,
a member of the American Bar Association and various other
organisations. He was married in 1855, to Miss Clarissa
Keplinger, of Morgan County. Their four sons are: Thomas,
Samuel, John Irving, Jr., and Lewis. John Irving, Jr. is an
architect, and designed the present college library building
in 1917. In the entrance of the building is a memorial tablet
to General Rinaker. "Like an armed warrior; like a plumed
knight, he met his last great summons, and, wrapped in the
American flag, he moved out to his just and shining reward,
alone and absolutely unafraid."
ALEXANDER VAN WINKLE
Alexander Van Winkle was born in Morgan County,
Illinois, January 9, 1831, "the winter of the big snow."
His parents were from Wayne County, Kentucky. Some
of his ancestors were among the earliest immigrants to
this country from Holland. One of them returned to Holland
in 1633, bearing a letter from the church society in New
ffMC KENDREE"^^^^^s:^;.^^^.>^^^
Amsterdam. The next year he returned to America with his
bride and settled in New Jersey. From there his descendants
have scattered to various parts of the country. Mr. Van
Winkle entered McKendree College in 1848 and graduated
in 1851, with the degree of B. S. In 1849, he and fifteen other
young men became the founders of the Platonian Literary
Society. In 1852, he helped to "navigate a prairie schooner,"
drawn by eight oxen, across the plains to California. He re-
turned in 1858, and when the war broke out, enlisted in
the army and served three years as a soldier. He spent a
number of years in teaching, but in the declining years of
his long life, he enjoyed the quiet farm life at his home
near Franklin, Illinois. He was married February 28, 1862, to
Henrietta Keplinger. Of this union, there were three chil-
dren, Mary Henrietta and twin sons. Homer Alexander and
Horace, the latter of whom died in infancy. The daughter is
now Mrs. W. B. Otwell, of Carlinville. Some years after the
death of his first wife, Mr. Van Winkle was married in 1890
to Melissa J. Criswell, now deceased. He is a Methodist of
the old school, having united with the church in his youth.
In politics, he is a Republican, having voted with that party
ever since its origin, but has never aspired to office himself.
His death occurred in January, 1914.
A. H. H. ROUNTREE
Aaron Herbert Hawkins Rountree was born at Hills-
boro, Illinois, January 2, 1822, and died at the same place,
January 2, 1880, on his fifty-eighth birthday. His parents
were Hiram and Nancy Wright Rountree. He entered
McKendree in 1842, pursued his studies for two years,
then after a period of teaching, returned and completed his
course in 1851, receiving the degree of A. B. In 1859, he
received the degree of A. M. While in McKendree, he was
a member of the Philosophian Literary Society. His career
includes nine years of teaching, twenty-one of merchandising;
and in 1874, he entered upon the business of banking. He
was popular in his own city, having been alderman, mayor,
and president of the Board of Education. He was a member
of the Methodist Episcopal Church, a Royal Arch Mason,
member of the Eastern Star, and the Odd Fellows Lodge;
and in all these lodges, he wielded the gavel. He was married
at Huntsville, Alabama, March 20, 184'i, to Miss Eliza Agnes
Walpole. To them were born nine children, of whom six died
in infancy. The surviving ones are now Professor Hiram P.
Rountree of Chicago, Mrs. Mary L. McHenry, Detroit,
Michigan, and Mrs. Etta A. Stubblefield, Hillsboro, Illinois.
COL. JONATHAN MERRIAM
Jonathan Merriam was born in the state of Vermont,
November 1, 1834. He came with his parents m 183,6,
living in Springfield, Alton, and after 1841, in Ta:ewell
County. He attended the Illinois Wesleyan University, and
McKendree College, leaving the latter institution in 1852,
on account of impaired health. He was a member of the Pla-
tonian Literary Society. In 186;), McKendree conferred upon
him the degree of A. M. In 1862, he enlisted in the Union
<irmy and became Lieutenant-Colonel of the 117th Illinois
Volunteers, the regiment which contained so many McKen-
dreans. He was a member of the Illinois Constitutional Con-
ventions of 1869 and 1870. He held the position of Internal
Revenue Collector for the Springfield District from 1873 to
1882. He was elected to the Illinois Legislature in 1894 and
again in 1896. In 1898, he was appointed by President Mc-
Kinley to the Office of United States Pension Commissioner
at Chicago. He was for many years a trustee of McKendree
College. He several times attended the reunions of his reg-
iment at McKendree College. The last time was in 1916. In
politics, he was a Republican and in religion, a Baptist. At
the time of his death, he was a deacon in the Emanuel Baptist
Church in Chicago, altho for the last six years of his Hfe his
residence was at Wheaton. His death occurred as the result
of a grade-crossing accident at Wheaton in September, 1919,
within a few weeks of his eighty-fifth birthday. He is sur-
vived by his wife, three sons, and three daughters, all married
except the youngest daughter. His children all live in Illinois
and his sons occupy positions of trust and honor in the busi-
ness world.
THE CLASS OF 1852
HENRY C. PIKE
Henry Clay Fike was born near Mascoutah, Illinois, De-
cember 21, i8j2. His father, Abel Fike, with his family,
came from South Carolina
in 181 1 and located in the
Turkey Hill settlement
near Belleville. After pass-
ing through the common
schools, he entered McKen-
dree College in 1847, while
Dr. Wentworth was presi-
dent, and graduated in i8';2,
receiving the degree of A. B.,
;ind subsequently that ot A.
M. He IS a member of the
Platonian Literary Society,
which he assisted in organiz-
ing April 20, 1840. He was
marnedDecember 25, i8'i'!,toMissLucyC.Power.of Trenton,
HENRY CLAY FIKE
Illinois. To this union two children were horn, May, who died
in early childhood, and Miss Ellie, who lived with her father.
Mrs. Fike died June 25, 1906. After graduating, Mr. Fike
engaged in teaching up to the date of the Civil War, when
he enlisted in the Union arnjy and served as quartermaster
of the 117th Regiment of Illinois Volunteer Infantry from
August, 1862, till the close of the war. This regiment was
commanded by Colonel Risdon M. Moore, who was from
the faculty of McKendree College. In 1867, Mr. Fike moved
with his family from Mascoutah to Warrensburg, Missouri,
where he engaged in business pursuits till 1882, when he
became connected with the auditing department of the Mis-
souri Pacific Railway Company, which he served for seven
years. He completed two decades of service as clerk of
the United States Internal Revenue OfBce in Kansas City,
Missouri. Mr. Fike was officially connected with the State
Normal School at Warrensburg for twenty-six years. He
was a member of the Board of Education, and of the City
Council of Warrensburg, each for six years. He is a member
of the Masonic Fraternity, and of the National Union, a
beneficiary organization; also of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, which he joined in 1848 while a student at McKen-
dree. He has served as a Sunday School Superintendent for
thirty-eight years. He was a lay delegate to the General
Conference held in Baltimore, Maryland in 1876. In politics,
he IS a Republican. His home was at Warrensburg, Missouri
until his death, which occurred April i, 1919.
CHARLES WESLEY JEROME
Charles Wesley Jerome was born in Onandagua County,
New York, September 8, 1828, the same year that McKen-
dree was founded. He came with his parents to Illinois
in 1834, and spent most of his early life on a farm m Mad-
ison County. He entered McKendree in 1848, and was
one of the sixteen original founders of the Platonian Literary
Society. He graduated in 1852, receiving the degree of A. B.
Three years later he received the degree of A. M. Immediate-
ly after graduation, he became instructor in the Danville (111.)
Seminary. After two years, he became principal of the Shelby
Male and Female Seminary at Shelbyville, Illinois. He re-
mained in this position till 1862, when he enlisted in the
II ^th regiment Illinois Volunteers, and served as quarter-
master in this regiment until the close of the war. As a part
of his war experience, he was captured by Gen. Wheeler
and paroled at McMinnville, Tennessee. After the war, he
returned to Shelbyville for four years more. Then for four
years he was principal of the Bedford Seminary, at Shelby-
ville, Tennessee. In 1874, he was elected professor of Latin
and Greek in the Southern Illinois Normal University, at
Carbondale. After sixteen years of service in this institution,
failing health induced him to resign his position and retire
from active life. He was married m August, i8';S, to Miss
Eugenia A. Morrison, of Delaware, Ohio. Their only son,
Charles M., was born in 1867. After his retirement. Professor
Jerome lived for some years in Atlanta, Georgia. His home
was in Washington, D. C. for some years previous to his
death, which occurred several years ago.
JUDGE WILLIAM C. JONES
William Cuthbert Jones was born at Bowling Green,
Kentucky, July 16, 1831. He was a son of Dr. Cuthbert
T. and EHza R. (Treat)
Jones, who moved with
their family to Chester,
Illinois, when their son was
only three years of age. He
entered McKendree when
quite young, and graduated
in 1852, with the degree of
A. B., later receiving the
Master's degree, and in
1895, his Alma Mater
honored him with the de-
gree of LL. D. He was a mem-
ber of the Philosophian Lit-
erary Society. He studied
law at Bowling Green, Kentucky, and practiced this profession
at Chester, III, Hopkinsville, Ky., and St. Louis, Mo. until the
opening of the Civil War. He then enlisted m the Union army
as a member of the Fourth regiment of the United States Re-
serve Corps. In 1862, he was appointed paymaster of the
United States Volunteers, with the rank of maior. He served
this capacity until the close of the war. He then engaged
in business in St. Louis, but soon returned to the practice
of law, which he followed till his death, which occurred in
1904. He was elected judge of the Criminal Court of St.
Louis in 1874, and held this office till 1878. He was for many
years a trustee of McKendree, and was president of the
Board from 1897 tiU the time of his death in 1904. In politics,
he was a Democrat. He belonged to the Royal Arcanum,
Legion of Honor, Elks, and Knights of Honor. In the last
named lodge, he was grand dictator of the State of Missouri.
He was married November 20, i8')6, to Miss Mary A.
Chester. Of their seven children, four are now living. Their
names are: Mrs. Walter B. Watson, Mrs. Joseph Goodwin,
and two sons, James C. and Giles F. Jones. They all reside
in St. Louis.
JUDGE JONES
One Hundred and Si.vtv-Th
LEBANON JOURNAL.
D GOUEEN, B. HVPES, AITO G. L. ROBERTS-PUBUSHERS; \VSNTW0ETI1, EDITORi CUJlilTNGS, MATTISON, GOODFELLOW AND S. M. E. GOHEEN-ASSISTANT« -
BEVC™ I» CE.E1^ U.TLLL,O^CI, mEKATUHI. SUI.CE. MOR^UTT, WLUi.OK, 1K»^ FORE.G, .M, IK.„E>T1C NEW, «D «L>CEa^>E..r. »VB.E.T,.
VOL. 1. LEBANON, ILUNOIS, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 9th, 1847. NO. 1.
J ■ FortheLubaDoa Josraal. ; ,"
SABB.1TH CONVE.NTIQN. '
ifc Tiic SabUth AModotioB of Southern Illinoit
»«Mcmbled al NaihriUe, Wishfbgton c^imty,
jNot.Sd, 1847. . A respectable number of delc-
■^ gates •wcrepn?«nt. The cooTomiOT was call-
'6.1 to order at 11 o'cloei A. M., and the deTotiua-
, al eieiciscs conducted by Roy. W. B. Carter,
lathe abeeace of the Preaident of the Assi^i-
lege, dolWcrcd tho — ."i"" »"W«>c<,. -•-
The Convention
D. James. Predden^^l*.
' l.lfflBc1ier, Vice Presi
opening adflrese. '"
organiiedlyappouiting Rev
eddenl;^r». C- Rl«g^ C
btu^ Prof Cumming. mtd Be
. Wm. Clifle,
^xretarie..
meeting was
a^Kms connected with the
of various bu.
objecu of the
SeSlation, and in arranging the
preliminaries
Ir-m e.jping public mecung.
and Rev. W. Forter. The ad-
dress of Iho firet named genUcman, Rerr-Mr.
Tbatcher, was a close and able argument on the
*'Sabbath a« a perpetual inititulion, and lU ob-
«rTaDC« as of lasting obligation."
Rev. Mr. Cliffe followed in a speech of much
Interest, ehowing that reform in regard to the
proper obBerrancc of the Sabbath, must begin
a woid,'uilI that pertains to the affiiirs of ©Ycry
da/life. '
Dr. flnley argued with j;reat strength that
Christianfc-arelhe "light of tho world," and that
to maintain the Sabbath, ihej murt make the
k largest sacrifices.
^ \ Rev. Mr. Foster dwell with much interent
on Iheojndirion of thmga ai they formerly ex.
[ ^^Sslcd'iyiluB country. le*diiis to Sabbath dese-
hospitality iu entertaining the members
e ConrentioQ.
ic opening address of ProC Cummings, and
iscufisions in Convention, together with the
, produced
the great object of lh<
More than one hundred copies of Edward's
.Manual on the Sabbath, were distributed: a worit
that ahould be in eTery family in the land, and
llic next mectmg of the A.»sociaU"Qn -vrill be
held at BeUerille, on the fir«l Wednesday m
May next, to commence at 7 o'clock in the eTe-
ning. Rot, Messrs. Elliott, Peck and Harrison
ecomm ^^^^ ^^jj|^£^>lkled clerk.
0*- Herald of RcligiuuB Liberty, and other
paper* friendly to the better obserrance •f the
Sabbath, please copy.
EMERALD MOUND.
T?» Tisited this delightful spot, the Tomantic
denc«of Dajtiel Baldwib Esq., last Saturday,
cnjoyod Uia hnapitalitJes of its worthy proprietor— ty
DO means neglecting a ttroll upon the Bummit of this
wonderful eleration. The view of the prairie at this
huttJicrt is something in the sombre lod pensive as-
pect of dying Nature. lha,t accords well with the fecl-
Tisit to this sweet epot. The follow ingdesci
it, i^Titten for an Ohio paper, by one of our i
Editom, eometiine eince, cannot fciil to be read with
"The Emerald Mound from which I
ting, is a beautiful and romantic place. The
principal elcTation is about eixty fret aboTc the
> half a doien
laped, Bcattered around it.
t of tho large one ig level, and square,
.aa worship.
■Great, Ihe Holy and the
ped "in spirit and in truth
By aacending a stairway of twenty steps, we
B transported back as many centuries, and
ow not whether we are standing on the site
a temple era tomb. We arc suiToundedby
the viable signe of a people whose procci-sions
i sacrifices and battles are forgi'ttcni and
lir praploj-menls and language and sciences
) losrtV the world. In the absence of all
It there lived and died a race of men, on these
.V sweet and deliglilliil place is the Emerald
Mound. It has much to attract and please—
Here are tlic mounds connecting the liWn;: .■
the present to the dead of the past. The liir
reaching view of the adjoining lands and th'-i
wave-like undulations, the busy herds of grazin;
cattle, the large, rich fields of grain, llie go^^
taste exhibited in tho arrangement of building
and gardens and shnibberj*, and, above all, thi
kindness and intelligence of the eicellciit £iniil;
wliose residence it is, altogether, render llr
Mound one of the most interesting andbeautitu
places — a place of comfort and happiness to tti-
dwcUere, and of quiet enjoyroent and rest to
it is both cspediciit and ncces..«n' thai
hostilities should cease anionj! brrtbri
have "one Lonl, om- lailh, one baptism."
the essentials of dirisAitn am'/i/ sln-uld
lically adopted, even tvliore ujiilijnnit
practicable. This, is cs-seutia! tn our
and efficiency in the great r '
the evangelical chinches, is the present \
and fonnidaUc cfforls of tlic Papacy. Tl
of sin seems to have girded hiniM-lf for
conflict. Upon the reviv.^l of the ai,;:
For the Lebanon Joumal-
INTERNATIONAL PATRIOTISM.
Mk. EnlTon— 'I-he f.llouin; i.iri.i.nt
related to me tho ,m,.n. r ,-,ri.rilr r,:.-!
llrockviUe. Duvin::!;:
al and •the rel°ls,"nn.! il i- :m.i,,iiV - v.
ELlIir Bl'RUlTT.
Rediiced facsimile of the first copy of the Lebanon Journal of which Anson Cummings was probably th: first editor
REV. JOHN LEEPER
John Leeper was born in Guernsey County, Ohio, Octo-
ber i8, 1827. In 1837, he came with his father's family
to Perry County, Illinois. From his parents, who were mem-
bers of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, he received care-
ful religious training. In addition to his common school
education, he attended an academy at Collinsville, and after-
ward McKendree College, from which he graduated in the
class of 1852, receiving the degree of B. S. In 1855, he re-
ceived the M. S. degree and in 1894, his Alma Mater honored
him with the degree of Doctor of Divinity. He was a member
of the Philosophi.in Literary Society. He was converted at
a camp-meetmg in W.ishington County, and joined the Meth-
odist Church. And, believing himself called to the mini.stry.
he joined the Southern Illinois Conference in 1856. He was
married March 30, 1854, to Miss Christiana A. Vernor, of
Nashville, Illinois. Three of their five children grew to ma-
turity. They are: Mrs. M. M. Waller, St. Louis, John C.
Leeper, of East St. Louis, and Mrs. Florence Hoopes, of
Sumner. Dr. Leeper served the following charges as pastor:
Robinson, Palestine, Mt. Carmel Circuit, Carmi, Sparta,
Ashley, Richview, Mt. Vernon, Effingham, Salem Circuit.
Irvington, Litchfield, Sumner, Jerseyville, Duquoin, Collins-
ville, Trenton, Cisne, Lawrenceville, Okawville, Freeburg,
iind Hagarstown. He served a term as presiding elder on
each of the following named districts: Mt. Vernon, Olney,
and Vandalia. He died at Nashville, Illinois, July 7, 1906.
One Hundred and Si.vtv-Fc
CHAPTER XIV.
Doctor A/(er's Third Term
IN i8=;2, Dr- Cummings laid down the t.isk of the presi-
dency and Rev. Peter Akers was for the third time
called to take it up. No man was better acquainted
with the college and its struggles, its successes and failures.
He was now at the mature age of sixty-two, but still vigorous
in body and mind, and especially rich in those experiences
which are useful to a religious leader. This was a longer term
than either of his preceding ones. He had .been president
when the first charter was secured, and again during the
year 1845-46. In the minutes of the Southern Illinois Con-
ference for 1852, which was the first session of that body, is
found a report on education, which refers to the fact that
by the division of the Illinois Conference, McKendree Col-
lege fiiUs as an heritage to the Southern Illinois Conference,
and mentions as a cause of gratification the fact that Dr.
Akers has again been made president, stating further that
"His popularity as a preacher, his purity of morals, his fervent
piety, in connection with his literary attainments, promise
great usefulness to the college and the conference." He had
been a member of the Illinois Conference almost from its
beginning, and he did not think it worth while to transfer
to the Southern Illinois, since the Illinois was still in Mc
Kendree's patronizing territory. The conference was held in
Belleville that year. Rev. Charles M. Holliday was appointed
pastor at Lebanon, with Rev. W. L. Deneen as his assistant.
Mr. Deneen was really on the retired list and lived in Leb-
anon. The presiding officer was Bishop Edward R. Ames,
who had recently been elevated to the episcopacy by the
General Conference, which met in Boston in May, 1852. It
seems probable that being so close to the scene of his early
labors in the educational field, he would visit McKendree
and see what progress had been made in the interval of nearly
a quarter of a century, but we have found no record to show
whether he did or not. The faculty associated with Dr. Akers
at this time were : Rev. James Leaton, professor of Natural
Science, Rev. Russell Z. Mason, professor of Mathematics
and Philosophy, and Oran Faville, professor of Ancient Lan-
guages, with Risdon M. Moore and William S. Pope as
tutors. Leaton and Mason, as well as both the tutors were
already in the faculty when Dr. Akers took charge. The
next year Rev. Nelson E. Cobleigh came from New England
to Southern Illinois and became pastor of the Methodist
Church in Lebanon, and at the same time. Professor of An-
cient Languages in the college, so that he served an appren-
ticeship with Dr. Akers before becoming president himself.
The next year he became a member of the faculty m Lawrence
College, in Wisconsin, and Rev. George C. Jones took his
place in McKendree. Prof. Jones served as secretary of the
Joint Board, however not nearly so long as Professor O. V.
Jones, who served a little later. Other new members of the
faculty were Rev. Edward C. Merrick, professor of Math-
ematics, and Rev. Werter R. Davis, professor of Natural
Sciences. It was in this administration that we first find
mention of O. V. Jones and S. H. Deneen as tutors, who
later became prominent members of the faculty. Rev. Gallus
Rutz was for several years teacher of German. Concerning
some of these men, we have very slight information outside
of the fact that they served in the faculty. But Professor
Davis deserves more than a passing notice.
REV. W. R. DAVIS
He was horn in CircleviUe, Ohio, April i, 1815, and was
therefore thirty-nine years old when he came to McKendree.
He attended Kenyon College, but left there at the age of nine-
teen without finishing the course because he was repelled by
the lack of religion in the institution. He had strict religious
training at home and deep religious convictions of his own.
His father was a member of the Episcopal Church, and his
mother a Presbyterian. But he was converted in a Methodist
camp meeting and henceforth allied himself with Methodism.
He used to say that he was "paternally an Episcopalian,
maternally a Presbyterian, but by the grace of God, a Meth-
odist." He was licensed to preach by James B. Fmley in
1835. He was first a member of the Ohio Conference, but
belonged to several different ones during his lifetime. He
was once imprisoned in the state of Virginia for preaching
against slavery. He was married in 184J, to Minerva Russell,
with whom he lived for half a century till his death in 1893.
In 1854, he was transferred to St. Louis and became pastor
of Ebenezer Chapel. The next year he was elected to the
chair of Natural Science in McKendree, where he spent three
busy years, when he was elected to be the first president of
Baker University at Baldwin, Kansas, and authorized to select
the remainder of the faculty himself. He had a successful
career at Baker, and for many years shaped the destiny of
the "First College in Kansas." He was active, not only in
educational work, but also in political affairs, for those were
stirring times in Kansas in the midst of the slavery agitation,
and doubtless President Davis had a large part in settling
One Hundred and SixtyFwe
IMC KENDREE
the slavery question right in that great state. He spent the
rest of his active ministry, and of his Hfe, in Kansas. Thirteen
of his Kansas years were spent in the pastorate. He was a
member of three General Conferences. After his active min-
istry was completed, he spent his few years of retirement at
Baldwin in the shadow of the college to which he had given
so much of his life. There he saw his youngest son graduate
and enter the ministry. One of his daughters became the
wife of William A. Quayle, one time president of Baker,
and afterward, bishop.
In January, 1856, the original college building which was
begun in 1828, was destroyed by fire. The origin of the fire
has never been officially determined, but the opinion was
expressed with much confidence by one who
was a student there at the time, that it w,i<
deliberately fired by certain disgruntled and
unprincipled students. At any rate, the old
building was gone. The building that rep
resented so much labor and toil, so many pray
ers and sacrifices at last went up in smoke. It
occurred in the night, and scarcely anything
of the contents was saved. But fortunately,
there was insurance, thowe have no means of
knowing what amount. It was originally an all-
purpose building. It was used for an assembly
room and often for church services, for class
rooms, office, dormitory, and dining hall. But
after the completion of the new brick build-
ing in 1851, it was sufficient for recitation THE CHAPEL
rooms and society halls, and so the old building was used
principally for a chapel. So it was determined to build a new
chapel. This was the great achievement of Dr. Akers' ad-
ministration. At the meeting of the Board in June, 1856, the
Executive Committee was authorized to apply the insurance
from the old building toward the erection of a new chapel
and to employ an agent to collect enough in addition to com-
plete the building. When the Board met again in 1857, the
building was in process of construction, but the agent had
not succeeded in collecting enough money to finish the task.
So the committee was authorized to raise a loan of $6,000
for that purpose. During the following year, it was completed
and the class of 1858 held their graduating exercises in the
new chapel. The class consisted of the following persons:
Stith Otwell Bonner, John Wesley Brock, Thomas Essex,
Daniel Kerr, and Joseph W. Van Cleve. This was June 17,
1858. In the late nineties, Mr. Brock visited the chapel service
one morning, and in a reminiscent talk told the students
about the first commencement held in the new building, and
how the members of his class were the first who stood on
that platform to receive their degrees. It was a large and
commodious building for that period. At an educational
convention held at the college in 1868 to commemorate the
fortieth anniversary of its founding, the committee on build-
ings referred to this as "the largest hall of the kind in the
state." The auditorium is about forty-five by seventy feet,
and heated at first by two large stoves. About 1898, a steam
heat plant was installed to supply all three of the college
buildings at that time on the hill. The stoves were then re-
moved. The original seats were long, movable wooden bench-
es with backs, usually arranged like pews in a church. The
graduating class of 1890, as their gift to the
institution, raised money to seat the center
of the room with opera chairs. When Dr.
Chamberlin was president, he secured the
donation of enough chairs, thonotofthe same
kind, to finish seating the room. Some of the
old benches may still be seen in the gallery.
The room will seat slightly more than four
hundred people. So it has long since lost its
rank as the largest hall of its kind in the state.
Its tall spire is a land mark that can be seen
for many miles, and is surmounted by a gilded
globe three feet in diameter, and an arrow
nine feet long to serve as a weather vane to
indicate the direction of the wind. The top
TODAY of the spire is approximately one hundred and
forty-five feet above the walk in front. For many years it
was a favorite problem for the class in trigonometry to meas-
ure the height of the spire. Another achievement of Dr. Akers
was the publication of his book on Biblical chronology. The
title page of the book reads, "Introduction to Biblical Chron-
ology from Adam to the Resurrection of Christ, by Rev.
Peter Akers, D. D., President of McKendree College." It
was printed for the author at the Methodist Book Concern
in Cincinnati, 1855. It is an octavo volume of four hundred
and eleven pages, and represents a vast amount of research
and patient labor on the part of the author. It reaches some
very remarkable, though in some cases, doubtful conclusions.
It contains numerous carefully prepared tables to show com-
parisons of the Jewish and Julian calendars. It has a very
exact calendar of the period of the exodus, showing the day
of the week, month and year on which many of the important
events of that time occurred. In fact, it sets forth the calendar
in such detail as to show that Moses died on Sunday,
One Hundred and Si.vty-Six
February 13, and that this was also the anniversary of his
birthday. There are also long chapters on the fulfillment of
various Old Testament prophecies. Such minuteness of in-
terpretation indicates a tireless patience m research, but
tends to destroy confidence in the reliability of the con-
clusions reached. There is a copy of the book m the Mc
Kendree library.
Dr. Akers finished his work as President with the com-
mencement, or the Board meeting, of iS-iV. He was desirous
of returning to the work of the pastorate, and the Board
elected Rev. James G. Blair of Ohio to fill the vacancy. How-
ever, he did not accept the place, and later Rev. Nelson E.
Cobleigh was chosen for the position. He did not actually
assume charge of the work until January, 1858. In the mean-
time, Rev. Werter R. Davis, who had already been in the
faculty several years, was acting president.
THE CLASS OF 1S53
DR. GEORGE W. CALDWELL
George William Caldwell was born near Waverly, Mor-
gan County, Illinois, August 23, i8jo, not long after his
father removed to Illinois from Kentucky. After attend-
ing the pioneer country school, he entered McKendree in
1848 and graduated in iS'ij, receiving the degree of A. B.,
and later, A. M. He was a member of the Platonian Literary
Society, of which he was one of the original founders. After
his graduation from McKendree, he studied medicine at Rush
Medical College of Chicago, and in the summer of 18^';, he
began the practice of his profession at Zanesville, Mont-
gomery County, Illinois, a thriving inland town on the old
state road from Edwardsville to Springfield. The town is
now only a memory, its site being lost except to those who
reside in the immediate neighborhood. The Doctor has re-
sided in Waggoner, a few miles north of his former home,
for the past fifteen years. He was married September 19,
185'T, to Miss Frances Cloud, daughter of Rev. Newton
Cloud, a pioneer Methodist preacher and a prominent figure
in the early history of Illinois. They have two daughters,
Mrs. S. W. Kessinger of Litchfield and Mrs. E. V. Vorden-
baumen of Shreveport, Louisiana.
JOHN S. DENNY
John Smiley Denny was born in Bond County, Illinois,
August 13, 1827. He attended Greenville Academy in 1848-
1849 and entered McKendree in 1852. He graduated in
1853, with the degree of B. S. He was a member of the
Philosophian Literary Society. Until 1865, he taught school
continuously. In 1859, he was elected county treasurer of
Bond Countv, and attended to the duties of the office m
connection with his teaching. In iSe^;, he was elected county
clerk, which office he held for twelve years. In 1873, he was
elected mayor of Greenville. He was county commissioner
from 1878 to 1881. He was married April 10, 1854, to Miss
Marietta Meers of Platteville, Wisconsin. Two of their chil-
dren died young. The others are Ellen, Mary, Alfred M.,
Charles I., and Effie May. Mrs. Denny died in 1871, and
about two years later he was m.irned again to Miss Dorcas
Rosebrough. Ot' this marriage, there were no children. Mr.
Denny died in March, 1888, at Greenville, respected and
honored by all his fellow citizens. He was for many years
an elder in the Presbyterian Church.
PROF. OLIVER V. JONES
Oliver Vanlandingham Jones was born in Caldwell Coun-
ty, Kentucky, December 28, 1824. His early ancestors were
from England, but his father, Fountain W. Jones, was born
in Sumner County, Tennessee, and his mother, Mary Ann
Vanlandingham, was a native of Kentucky. When he was
SIX years of age, his parents moved to Illinois and settled
in Gallatin County, near Shawneetown, where he grew to
manhood. Bent on securing a good education, he earned
the money himself with
which to pay his way thru
college. He entered McKen-
dree in 1847 sritl graduated
in i8')3, with the degree of
A. B. He later received
the A. M. degree. He was
a member of the Philosoph-
ian Literary Society. His
connection with McKen-
dree was continuous from
the time he graduated till
1879. He served as tutor
in Mathematics until 1858,
adjunct professor of Ma-
thematics and English until 1862, professor of English
and History till 1866, and from that date till 1879, he was
professor of Mathematics and Astronomy. He was a life long
Methodist. In 1846, he became a member of that church, and
in 1867, he was ordained as a minister therein. In 1880, he
served as pastor of the Wisetown Circuit, but the next year
he was teaching again in the Illinois Literary and Commercial
Institute in Lebanon. He was for several years connected
with the Lebanon Journal. In 1883, he was appointed col-
lector of Internal Revenue, which position he held until the
time of his death, April 27, 1885. He was married in 1858, to
OLIVER V. JONES
One Hundred and S.
|mc KENDREE'^^^^^gs:^^'s^^>^^^
Miss Mary E. Crocker, of Lee, Massachusetts. Their two
children are William L. Jones, a graduate of McKendree and
editor of the Lebanon Journal, and Mrs. Mary A. Morriss,
of Colorado Springs, who is also a graduate of McKendree,
class of 1890.
ALONZO THOMPSON
Alon~o Thompson was born at Centreville, in St. Clair
County, IlHnois, February 22, 1832. In his youth, he at-
tended school in a log school house in High Prairie. In 1848,
he entered McKendree, and graduated in 1853, receiving
the degree of A. B., and later, A. M. He was a member,
and one of the founders of the Platonian Literary Society.
For a time after graduation, he engaged in teaching and in
the live-stock business. In 1856, he went to Nodaway Coun-
ty, Missouri, settled at Maryville, and engaged in the real
estate business. He was appointed county surveyor, and
made justice of the peace. In 1858, he became deputy sur-
veyor. At the opening of the Civil War, he took an active
part in the raising of troops for the army. In 1862, he was
elected to the Missouri Legislature, and from 1864 to 1868
was auditor of the State of Missouri. He then moved to
St. Louis, where he engaged in real estate business for some
years. He went back to Maryville in 1877, and assisted in
promoting a railroad enterprise. Later he moved to Omaha,
Nebraska, and then to Fullerton, Nebr., and still later to
Denver, Colo., where he resided until his death April 9,
191 3. He was married December 6, 1857, to Miss Mary F.
Vinsonhaler, of Nodaway County, Mo. Of their three chil-
dren, one died in infancy. The others are Hattie Irene, born
in 1858, and Elmer Ellsworth, born in 1861. Mr. Thompson
was said to be a millionaire, and a believer in spiritualism.
His fortune consisted mostly of lands and mortgages in Ne-
braska, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and other states.
His private records, which he has kept all through the years,
show that he has paid in his life time over $';,ooo,ooo in
taxes on real estate.
SAMUEL LOUIS FOSTER
Samuel Louis Foster was born in Curran Township, San-
gamon County, Ilhnois, Jan. 29, 1830. He entered McKen-
dree in 1850 and graduated in 1853, receiving the degree
of B. S. He was a member of the Philosophian Literary So-
ciety. From the time of his graduation until i860, he en-
gaged in farming and school teaching near his old home. He
then went to Sherbourne County, Minnesota, where he
farmed for three years. He then returned to Curran and
engaged in farming and stock-raising until his advanced age
made it preferable to retire from farm life, when he moved
to Springfield, Illinois. He was married December 27, 1S55,
to Miss Lydia Lee. Their oldest son, Charles, died in infancy.
Their other children are : Mary Alice, Louis Kossuth, Robert
Lee, and Margaret Belle. He died April 26, 191 1.
REV. THOMAS N. McCORKLE
Thomas N. McCorkle was a member of the class of 1853
and of the Philosophian Society. His early home was atOray-
ville, Illinois. He also engaged in teaching for some years.
Further than this we have no knowledge of his career.
JEREMIAH T. TOMLIN
Jeremiah T. Tomlin enrolled in McKendree in 1852, and
graduated in 1853. He was a Philo. For a period of years he
occupied the Chair of Natural Sciences at the Illinois Wes-
leyan. He afterward went to San Diego, California.
THE CLASS OF 18.51
THOMAS J. CALDWELL
Thomas Jefferson Caldwell was born near Franklin, Mor-
gan County, Illinois, January 11, 1833, and died May 1,
1863, at the place of his birth. His parents were John C.
and Louisa Caldwell, and he was the younger brother of
Dr. G. W. Caldwell. He graduated from McKendree in the
class of 1854, receiving the degree of A. B., and in 1856,
that of A. M. He was a member of the Platonian Literary
Society. He was married August 25, 1859, to Eliza M.
Trotter, daughter of Rev. W. D. R. Trotter, who was a
member of the Illinois Conference of the Methodist Church.
After his graduation, Mr. Caldwell taught for five years in
the State Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, at Jacksonville.
He then served for a term of years as assessor and treasurer
of Morgan County. He was a member of Grace M. E. Church
and Urania Odd Fellows Lodge in Jacksonville.
JOSEPH BUTLER
Joseph Butler came to McKendree from Jefferson County,
near Mt. Vernon, Illinois. Data concerning his parentage
and early life are not accessible. He became a member of
the Philosophian Literary Society in 1851. He graduated
in the class of 1854, receiving the degree of B. S. He was a
soldier in the Civil War, and held the office of lieutenant.
He studied law, but died in early life before he was fairly
launched on his professional career. His remains were laid
to rest at Mt. Vernon, Illinois. He was a nephew of Hon.
Robert F. Wingate, at one time Attorney General of the
State of Missouri.
RISDON M. DENEEN
Risdon Moore Deneen was born near Belleville, Illinois,
July 25, 1833. He entered McKendree in the fall of 1850,
One Hundred and Sixlv-Eight
and graduated m July, i8'i4, receiving the degree of A. B.,
and later, A. M. He was a member of the Philosophian
Literary Society. He taught one year in a school near Mas-
coutah. III, and two years in St. Louis. Then m 18^7, he
went to California by ship. For a year, he engaged m mining,
and then began teaching in this far western country. He
taught one year at Healdsburg, m connection with Col. R,
Mathieson, who was afterward killed m the Civil War. In
1861-62, he was professor of Mathematics at Santa Clara,
and 1862 to December, 1863,, he was professor of Mathe-
matics m Union College, San Francisco. In January, 1864,
he went from San Francisco to superintend the working of
the Santa Rosa silver mine near Opodepe, in the state of
Sonora, Mexico. At this mine, he was murdered sometime
between the 24th and 26th of December, 1864.
PROF. SAMUEL H. DENEEN
Samuel Heddmg Deneen was born near Belleville, Illinois,
December 20, 183, f. He was a son of Rev. William L. Deneen,
who was a member of the
Illinois Conference and one
of the pioneer Methodist
preachers. His mother was
MissVerlinderBeall Moore
before her marriage. He en-
tered McKendree in the fall
of 1850 and graduated in
July, 1854, receiving the ^^'
gree of A. B., and later, A.
M. In 1876, he received the
degree of Doctor of Philoso-
phy from the Indiana As-
bury University (now De-
Pa uw). He was a member of
the Philosophian Literary Society. After graduation, for one
year he taught school and studied Latin. He was then for
three years classical tutor in McKendree; then from i8';8
to 1862, he was adjunct professor of Ancient Languages;
and in 1862, was elected professor of Latin in McKendree.
In August, 1862, he enlisted in the U. S. army and served
as Adjutant of the 117th Regiment of Illinois Volunteers
until November 23, 1864, when he was granted an honorable
discharge on account of ill health. He then resumed his duties
in the college, where he taught Latin and History contin-
uously until 1886, when he abandoned the work of the class
room on account of failing health. In 1890, he was appointed
by President Harrison to the position of United States Con-
sul at Belleville, Ontario, which post he held till 1893, when
SAMUEL H. DENEEN
he resigned to go into business m Chicago. In this city, he
died April 13, 1895. He was married m 1859, to Miss Mary
F. Ashley, a daughter of Hiram K. Ashley, who was one
of the early trustees of McKendree, and secretary of the
Board from 1843 to 1846. Of their children, three are living:
Charles Samuel, Sadie Alice, and Florence. They are all
graduates of McKendree.
DR, ISAAC N. HIGGINS
Isaac Newton Higgins was born at Griggsville, Illinois,
August 4, 1834, and died in San Francisco, California, March
20, 1885. He entered in McKendree in 1848 and graduated
in the class of 1854, receiving the degree of A. B. Later
he was granted the A. M. degree, and after completing a
course in Rush Medical College of Chicago, he received
the degree of M. D. from that institution. While in Mc
Kendree, he was a member of the Philosophian Literary So-
ciety. In spite of the inducements to follow his father's pro-
fession, he seemed more inclined to literary pursuits, and
hence never practiced medicine. His early efforts at poetry
are lauded by his friend, H. C. Bradsby, as being worthy to
be classed with the works of Poe or Gray; but since it was
necessary that his work produce a means of livelihood as
well as an outlet for his desire to write, he turned his at-
tention to journalism. He was connected successively with
the Pike County Union of Griggsville, the Pike County Dem-
ocrat of Pittsfield, the Illinois State Journal of Springfield,
several Chicago papers, the Associated Press in Chicago, and
finally in 1870, he became Managing Editor of the San Fran-
cisco Morning Call, which position he held until the time
of his death. During the Civil War, he was adjutant of
Colonel Mather's regiment, the 2nd Illinois Light Artillery,
and at the same time, served as war correspondent for the
Chicago Times. He was a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite
Mason.
LEWIS M. PHILLIPS
Lewis M. Phillips was born in Washington County, Illi-
nois, August 6, 1833. He entered McKendree in 18^3, after
considerable preliminary training, and completed the scien-
tific course in 1854, receiving the degree of B. S. He con-
tinued his studies in McKendree and graduated in the clas-
sical course in 1857, with the degree of A. B. He then
studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1858. He taught
school for several years while continuing his law studies,
and then spent a year in the Law Department of Harvard
University, and in 1861, graduated from that institution with
the degree of LL. B. August 12, 1861, he enhsted in the
United States army. He was in a number of important
One Hundred and Sixty-Jiine
IfMC KENDREE
engagements, and tcDok an active part in the siege of Vicksburg.
After the surrender of that place, he resigned his position
as Lieutenant on account of ill health, and began the practice
of law at Nashville, Illinois. He was commissioner of enroll-
ments for the twelfth congressional district until the close
of the war. He continued the practice of his profession until
his death, which occurred December 27, 1880. He was mar-
ried April 10, 1864, to Miss Mary A. Buck. Their three
children were Clyde B., Paul L., and Myrtle K.
THE CLASS OF 1855
The catalogue of 1854 has one man listed as the senior
class for the next year. This was Mr. Isaiah Stickel. For
some reason, possibly because he did not wish to be in a
class by himself, his graduation was deferred till the next
year, and he finished in the class of 1856. So the only degrees
conferred at the commencement of 1855 were the Doctor of
Divinity upon Rev. James G. Blair, who was at that time
vice-president of the Ohio University, (and who was, two
years later, invited to become president of McKendree, but
declined), and the degree of Master of Arts upon Dr. J. S.
Harrison, who was already a Doctor of Medicine and a pro-
fessor in the Cincinnati College of Surgery and Medicine.
THE CLASS OF 1856
The members of this class are James H. Barger, Caleb
C. Burroughs, David Birch Halderman, Frederic James Hes-
lop, John Hill, Dempsey S. Kennedy, Jacob Samuel Moore,
Thomas Asbury Parker, David Howell Porter, Isaiah Stickel,
and Elias Dimory Wilkin. Sketches follow of those concerning
whom we have information.
REV. JAMES H. BARGER
James Hughes Barger, son of John S. and Sarah A. Barger,
was born in Kentucky, June 29, 183 1. Nearly his whole
life was spent in Illinois. He graduated from the Illinois
Wesleyan University, July 6, 185 j, with the degree of A. B.
This is claimed to be the first degree ever conferred by that
institution. In 1856, he received the honorary degree of A.
M. from McKendree. He was licensed to preach in 1850,
joined the Illinois Conference in 1853, and was active in the
work of the ministry till his death, which occurred October
31, 1861, when he was accidentally shot on an island in the
Mississippi River. His last appointment was presiding elder
of the Quincy District. He was married September 5, 1853,
to Miss Elisi A. Reddick, who with three children, sur-
vived him.
CALEB C. BURROUGHS
Caleb C. Burroughs was born June 5, 1829, at Prince
Frederick, divert County, Maryland and died at Salina,
Kansas, March i, 1904. His parents were Joseph and Re-
becca Burroughs. He came to Illinois at the age of nine,
and became a student in McKendree and a member of the
Platonian Society in 185 1. He graduated in 1856, receiving
the degree of B. S. He was married in April, 1857, to Miss
Nancy Phillips of MiddleviUe, New York. Their children
were Joseph V. and Charles N. Burroughs. Some time after
the death of his first wife, he was married to Miss Lizzie
Brown, October 16, 1883. Of this marriage, one son was
born — Harry B. Burroughs. After his graduation, he taught
for some years in a seminary at Shelbyville, Illinois, where
he was associated with his fellow alumnus. Professor C. W.
Jerome, who was principal of the institution. His first wife
was also a teacher in this school for a time. It was there that
he made her acquaintance. After this period of teaching, he
engaged in the book business in Decatur, Illinois, for a time,
and then entered the manufacturing business and established
the Union Iron Works of Decatur. In 1883, he went to
Kansas and lived on a ranch for a time, and later resided in
Salina, Kansas, where his death occurred. He was for many
years a member of the Methodist Church, but later m life
became a member of the Christian Church and a minister
in that body.
JOHN HILL
John Hill was born at New Salem, Illinois, September
6. 1839. He was a son of Samuel and Parthenia Hill. His
father was a native of New Jersey, and after coming to Illi-
nois, engaged in merchandising. John graduated from Mc-
Kendree in 1856, receiving the degree of B. S. He was a
member of the Philosophian Literary Society. On the death
of his father, the year following, he assumed charge of his
extensive business interests, which included the operating
of a large woolen mill which was burned a few years later.
He was editor of a local paper at Petersburg, Illinois, and
took an active part in the Lincoln-Douglas campaign as a
vigorous supporter of Douglas. He was elected to the Illinois
Legislature and served as a member of the twenty-fourth
General Assembly. After living in Jacksonville, Illinois, for
some years, in 1872 he moved to Columbus, Georgia, where
he was employed with the Eagle and Phoenix Woolen Mills.
Afterward he became engineer for these mills and held this
position until 1892, becoming widely known throughout the
south as a mill expert. He was the inventor of numerous
factory machines and fire protection devices, and later was
prominent in several manufacturing companies, among them
the Hill Automatic Sprinkling Company, and the Neracher
and Hill Sprinkling Company of Warren, Ohio. He was also
One Hundred and Seventy
^MC KENDREE-^^fe^.^^....^^^
a well-known and extensive writer on mechanical and textile
subjects. He married Lula C. Crawley of Jacksonville, Illi-
nois. Their four children were: Perry N., John and B. Y.
Hill, and one daughter, now Mrs. John C. Martin. They
all reside in Columbus, Georgia, except the second son, John,
who lives in Atl.mta. After a useful career, active to its
very close. Mr. Hill died January 20, 1898.
DEMPSEY S. KENNEDY
Dempsey S. Kennedy was born February ^, iSj";. He
became a student m McKendree m 1852, and graduated m
the class of 1856, receiving the degree of A. B. He was a
member of the Platonian Literary Society. He was engaged
in farming near Nashville, in Washington County, Illinois.
But he did not long survive his graduation. A promising
career was cut short by his death, February 28, iS-iS.
REV. JACOB S. MOORE
Jacob Samuel Moore was born in St. Clair County, Illi-
nois, February 16, 1835. He became a student m McKen-
dree m iS'fo, and completed the classical course, receiving
the degree of A. B. in i8'i6. Later he received the Master's
degree. He was a member of the Philosophian Literary So-
ciety. He was admitted as a probationer in the Southern
Illinois Conference m 18^7, and was received in full con-
nection in 1859. He served the following charges: Xenia,
Sandoval, Central City, Flora, Lebanon, Upper Alton, and
then for three years, 1865-68, he was president of the South-
ern Illinois Female College at Salem. During the Civil War,
he was captain in the Fortieth regiment of Illinois Volun-
teers. After his retirement from the work of the ministry
in 1869, he moved to Atchison, Kansas, where he lived until
his death, which occurred October 20, 1880. He was married
June 20, i860, to Miss Cornelia Randle.
REV. THOMAS A. PARKER
Thomas Asbury Parker was born m New Albany, In-
diana, February 22, 1838, and died at Champaign, Illinois,
June 18, 1921. When he was eleven years of age, his par-
ents moved to Lebanon to educate their son in McKendree.
He graduated in the class of 1856, when he was eighteen
years old. After this, he studied medicine in St. Louis, and
then went to Topeka, Kansas, to practice the physicians'
vocation. While there, he became a member of the first
faculty of Baker University, at Baldwin. He also joined
the Kansas Conference in 1861. Later, he held many im-
portant positions. He was president of St. Charles College,
and Superintendent of Public Instruction for the state of
Missouri. He was Grand Prelate of the Grand Commandery,
Knights Templar of Illinois for nineteen years, a record never
before attained. Early in the Civil War, he enlisted in the
1 2th regiment Kansas Volunteers, and was appointed chap-
lain. In later years, he was chaplain of the Legislature of
Missouri, and afterward of the Illinois Legislature. He was
a prominent member of the Grand Army of the Republic
and for twelve years was chaplain of the Soldiers' Home
at Danville, 111. He was in the ministry of the Methodist
Church for sixty years, and during forty-seven of those years,
he was connected with the Illinois Conference. He was pastor
of several important churches, and served a term as super,
intendent of the Champaign District. He was also widely
known as a lecturer and writer. He was a high grade type
of Christian gentleman, and filled every position to which
he was called with a high degree of efficiency. His wife
passed away about six years before his death, but their four
children survive him. His only son is Walter A. Parker of
Chicago. Dr. and Mrs. Parker celebrated their golden wed-
ding anniversary m July, 1914.
JUDGE DAVID H. PORTER
David Howell Porter was born near Ghent, Gallatm (now
Carroll) County, Kentucky. He was a son of Mr. and Mrs.
William Porter, his father
being a native of Virginia
and his mother ot North
Carolina. He became a stu-
dent in McKendree in 185 1
and graduated in 1856, re-
ceiving the degree of B. S.
He then studied law and re-
ceived from McKendree the
degreeof LL. B. in i86i.He
was a member of the Pla-
tonian Literary Society. He
was married October 25,
DAVID PORTER 1866, to Miss Sarah F.Copp,
of Waterloo, Illinois. To
them were born two sons, of whom one is now living. In 1861,
Mr. Porter enlisted in the Union army and was elected lieu'
tenant m Company E of the Second Illinois Cavalry. He was
afterward transferred to the infantry service, and in 1864,
became a captain in the 142nd Illinois Regiment. After the
war, he located in Kansas City, Missouri, and engaged in
the practice of law. From 1868 to 1872, he was editor of the
"Kansas City Bulletin." In 1873, he was elected judge of
the Kansas City Municipal Court. In 1874, he became asso-
ciate editor of the "St. Louis Dispatch." In 1883, he was
elected president of the Kansas City Municipal Council. In
One Hundred and Seventy-One
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^s^
religion, he was a Unitarian. He was a member of the order
of A. F. 6? A. M. and of the Grand Army of the RepubHc.
He was a man of sterling integrity — genial, kindly, cultured,
and a true friend. His death occurred January 28, 1909, at
Kansas City.
LIEUT. ISAIAH STICKEL
Isaiah Stickel was born in April, 1830. He entered Mc-
Kendree at the age of twenty, and made his own way
through college under circumstances of great difficulty. Be-
fore finishing his course, he taught two years in Union
Academy at Sparta, Illinois. He then returned to college
and graduated in 1856, with the degree of A. B.; and later
he received the A. M. degree. He was a member of the
Philosophian Literary Society. After graduation, he was prin-
cipal of the Jacksonville grade school. Then for two years he
was principal of the Monticello High School. In 1861, he en-
listed in Company F of the second regiment of Illinois Cav-
alry. He later became first lieutenant of this company. He
served through the entire Civil War and was engaged in
much actual fighting. During the last nine months of his
service, he was mustering officer with headquarters at San
Antonio, Texas. After the war, he located in Kansas, sixty
miles west of Atchison, and engaged in mercantile pursuits.
He was also active in church work and did much for the
promotion of the interests of Methodism in that section. In
1895, he removed to Baldwin, Kansas. There he was presi-
dent of the Board of Trustees which built a $50,000 Meth-
odist church. After that, he entered and proved up a soldier
homestead claim in western Kansas. He then returned to
Baldwin to spend his old age in that college town.
REV. ELIAS D. WILKIN
Elias Dimory Wilkin was born near Newark, Ohio, Sep'
tember 20, 1830. He was the second in a family of six sons
and three daughters. When he was about fifteen years of
age, the family moved to Crawford County, Illinois, where
they engaged in farming. After being trained in the common
schools and under a Methodist minister as a private tutor, he
entered McKendree in 1850, and graduated in 1856, receiving
the degree of A. B., and later, A. M. He was a member of the
Platonian Literary Society. He received the degree of D. D.
from Blackburn College, a Presbyterian institution at Carlin-
ville, Illinois. He had intended to make the law his profession,
but after his conversion in 1848, he felt the call to the minis-
try, and devoted his life to that work. He was admitted to
the Illinois Conference in 1857. After three years as professor
and president of Marshall Seminary, he took a regular pas-
torate and was appointed to Champaign. At the opening of
the Civil W.ir, he became chaplain of the Twenty-first Illinois
(Grant's) Regiment. In 1865, he resumed the work of the
ministry in his conference, and served with great accepta-
bility the following charges: Charleston, Normal, Springfield
Second Church, Mattoon, Pana, Paris, Champaign, Vermil-
lion, Danville First Church, Carlinville, and Lincoln, cover-
ing a period of nearly thirty-eight years in his entire ministry.
He was twice married, first to Miss Harriet Mayo of Paris,
Illinois, on December 20, 1857. She died October 31, 1881.
His second marriage was to Mrs. Mary E. Hill of Palestine,
Illinois, who survived him. In his death, April 8, 1895, Dr.
Wilkin realized his oft-expressed desire of "Dying in the
harness." He was in the fifth year of his pastorate at Lincoln,
which he was trying to make the best of the five. Though
he had been ailing for a few days, he was able to plan for
his charge. As he was seated in his arm-chair he threw up
his hands, "and he was not for God took him."
THE CLASS OF 1857
CAPT. WILLIAM H. COPP
William Herbert Copp was born in Chautauqua County,
New York, May 30, 1836. He came with his parents to
Monroe County, Illinois, in 1844, and settled near Waterloo.
He entered McKendree College in 1853, and became a mem-
ber of the Platonian Society.
He graduated from college, receiving the degree of B. S. in
1857. He then studied law in a law office in Waterloo, and
was admitted to the bar. But having no inclination to practice
law, he engaged in farming near Waterloo. During the war,
he was an officer in the Union army. He was captain of
Company A of the 130th Regiment, Illinois Volunteers. In
May, 1873, he was married to Miss Louisa Gilmore. He
died April 2, 1885, leaving his widow with three sons and
three daughters. Mrs Copp left the farm and moved to the
city of Waterloo, where she still lives with her one unmar-
ried daughter.
JOSEPH H. MATTHEWS
Joseph H. Matthews was born at Perry, Pike County,
Illinois, December 3, 1835. He entered college in Septem-
ber, 1853, a'""! graduated in 1857, receiving the degree of
A. B., and later, A. M. He was a member of the Platonian
Literary Society. For a year, he was a clerk in the office of
the State Auditor at Springfield, Illinois. He was then em-
ployed for some time with Prof. Norwood in making a
geological survey of the central and southern portions of
Illinois. He returned to Perry in the fall of 1859 and in
December of that year, was married to Miss Kate Whittaker.
One Hundred and Seventy-Two
^^^H^^^^^^^^^^^^^s^
He spent p.irt ot the following year in farming and then
engaged m the mercantile business with his father-in-law
He died ot tuberculosis at Perry, March ji, 1861.
REV. WILLIAM FLETCHER SHORT
William Fletcher Short was born m the state of Ohio m
the year 1829. In early childhood, he came with his parents
to Morgan County, Illinois, where he grew to manhood.
At the age of about twenty, he became a student in Mc-
Kendree and took his college course there except the last
year, which he spent in the Illinois Wesleyan at Blooming-
ton, and having transferred his credits, he received his
Bachelor's degree at that institution m 1854. I" 1817, he
received the degree of A. M. from McKendree. In later
years he was granted the degree of D. D. by the Ohio Wes-
leyan University. While at McKendree, he was a member
of the Philosophian Literary Society. After graduation, he
spent three years teaching in a seminary at Jackson, Missouri,
which was under the auspices of the Missouri Conference.
He then joined the Illinois Conference and was pastor or
presiding elder in that conference until 1875, when he was
elected president of the Illinois Female College at Jackson-
ville. He remained in this position until 189 j, when he was
appointed superintendent of the Illinois State Institution for
the Blind at Jacksonville. After four years of service here,
he retired from active labor, and his useful life came to a
close August 29, 1909.
Ilijliii Jiliiitiili liitlfifllllt iiliiiiii.^J iflilELHill
A pen and ink drawing of McKendree College as it appeared about i860
One Hundred and Seventw-Three
NIC KENDREE^^^^^^^.....^^^^^
CHAPTER XV.
President CobleigKs Administration
OCTOR Cobleigh's term as president
1^ covered the years iS-jS to 1863. The
catalogue of 1859 shows his faculty
to have consisted of Risdon M. Moore, Math-
ematics and Astronomy, Rev. Franklin O. Blair,
Natural Science, Albert A.Scott, A. M., An-
cient Languages, Hon. Augustus C. French,
LL. D., Lecturer on Law, Rev. Oliver V. Jones,
A. M., Adjunct Professor of Mathematics and
English Literature, Samuel H. Deneen, A. M.,
Adjunct Professor of Ancient Languages and
Literature. R. M. Moore was Fiscal Agent
and S. H. Deneen, Librarian. That year there
were one hundred and seventy-two students
enrolled in all departments. The list included
two future college presidents, McKendree H. Chamberlin and
John E. Earp, as well as several other names that were destined
to come to prominence. The Law Department was just in the
process of formation. There was a law lecturer announced, and
a course of study, but no students. They were to come the
next fall. The course of study of the whole institution was
classified under nine departments as follows: L Moral and
Intellectual Philosophy. IL Mathematics and Astronomy.
in. Natural Science. IV. Greek Language and Literature.
V. Latin Language and Literature. VI. Belles Lettres and
Enghsh Literature. VII. Hebrew and Biblical Literature.
VIII. Modern Language — French and German. IX. Law.
The course of study for the Freshman and Sophomore years
was made up entirely of Latin, Greek and Mathematics. In
the second term, for the sake of variety, they would study
Greek, Latin and Mathematics; and in the third term, they
secured still greater variety by studying Mathematics, Greek
and Liitm. In the Junior and Senior years, they continued
their classic studies, but also devoted some time to Science
and Philosophy; but there were certainly no fads or frills
in the course. Candidates for admission to the Freshman class
had to be able to pass an examination in all the studies of the
two year preparatory course, and be not less than fourteen
years of age. Also in all cases, satisfactory testimonials of
good moral character must be furnished. All fees had to be
paid in advance. No student was to be admitted to classes
until he showed a receipt from the fiscal agent. Tuition per
term in the Preparatory Department was seven dollars; col-
lege, eight dollars; Hebrew, French or German, two dollars
PRESIDENT COBLEIGH
extra; room rent, ten to twelve dollars a year;
board, two dollars to two and a half per week;
washing, sixty cents a dozen, and wood, two
dollars a cord. There was also a statement that
many students board themselves at a cost of
seventy-five cents to a dollar a week. A daily
record of merits and demerits was kept for each
student, and the same was furnished to par-
ents or guardians, if they so desired. If any
student accumulated twenty or more demerits
during a single term, he was subject to sus-
pension or expulsion at the discretion of the
faculty. 'No student was entitled to absent
himself from class or from the city without
the consent of the president.
Now It seems appropriate to give brief sketches of certain
members of the faculty who have not been sketched before,
tho some will be reserved for later treatment.
REV. NELSON E. COBLEIGH D. D.
Nelson Ebenezer Cobleigh was born at Littleton, New
Hampshire, November 24, 1814, and died at Atlanta, Geor-
gia, February i, 1874. His early years were spent in pov-
erty, and It was by hard effort and perseverence that he
secured an education. He was graduated from the Wesleyan
University in 1843, and the same year taught in the high
school at Middletown. He joined the New England Con-
ference in 1844, and was engaged in pastoral work until
1853, when he was elected to the Chair of Ancient Languages
in McKendree College. He held the position for only one
year, and at the same time served as pastor of the Lebanon
Methodist Church. The next year he was called to a similar
position in Lawrence College, Wisconsin. He continued in
this position until 1858, when he was called back to Mc
Kendree to be president and professor of Mental and Moral
Science. The record of the college Board of Trustees would
seem to indicate that Dr. Akers had preferred to return to
the pastorate in 1857, and Dr. Blair of Ohio was elected
president, but declined. Prof. Werter R. Davis was the acting
president. At commencement, i8';7, some of the students
presented a petition to the Joint Board, requesting them to
elect Dr. Cobleigh president. Doubtless some of them remem-
bered him as professor and pastor when he was there a few
years before. So late in the fall, they elected Dr. Cobleigh
and he took charge early in 1858. He continued in the posi-
One Htitidred and Seventy-Foii
tion for five years. In a historical sketch which he re.id at
the Educational Convention of 1868, Dr. Allyn says that
the institution made more substantial progress in certain lines
during his administration than it had under any of his pre-
decessors. His son, Nelson Simmons Cobleigh, was graduated
from McKendree in the class of 1862. The next year, the
father accepted a call to become editor of Zion's Herald,
which was the Methodist church paper for that part of the
country, and published at Boston. So when the family moved
to Boston, young Cobleigh took graduate work in Harvard.
Dr. Cobleigh spent four years with Zion's Herald and then
returned to the educational field as president of the Ten-
nessee Wesleyan at Athens, Tennessee. After five years in
this post, he was elected editor of the Methodist Advocate
at Atlanta, Georgia, in 1872. This was a difficult position
to fill, as editor of a journal of the Methodist Episcopal
Church in the very heart of the Southern Methodist country.
At that time, so soon after the Civil War, the estrangement
between the North and South churches was at its height.
He did his work with boldness and vigor, yet with such
tact and an evident spirit of fairness as to win the respect
and esteem of those opposed to him and the cause he repre-
sented. So that after his death, those who were his most
pronounced antagonists paid willing honors to his memory.
He achieved honorable success m every field of labor to which
he was called. One of his biographers says of him, "He was
an acceptable pastor, earnest and logical as a preacher, a
teacher of great and varied abilities, an editor of tact and
discrimination, and a man of magnetic and forceful per-
sonality."
Dr. Cobleigh's second son, Edward Augustus, was en-
rolled as a student in McKendree during his last year there.
Later he became a physician and surgeon, and founder of the
Chattanooga Medical College, of which he was president
for fifteen years. At the time of his death m 1904, it had
four hundred students. He was also instrumental m the
founding of Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga, and was one
of Its managers. The only daughter in the Cobleigh family,
Theda, married Rev. Frank A. Peake, a Presbyterian min-
ister. He has also been a college teacher and Chautauqua
lecturer. Mrs. Theda Cobleigh Peake has also had a career as
a college teacher in the field of languages and of education.
The record of the Board for the June meeting in i860
contains a resolution passed on motion of Dr. Cobleigh, then
president, "That we tender to the ladies and people of Leb-
anon our hearty thanks for the bell and clock, which by their
efforts and contributions have been placed in the tower of
the new college chapel." This means that some time prior
to that date the people of the community thru the influence
of the ladies as leaders of the enterprise, the people of Leb-
anon had furnished the money necessary to place these two
pieces of useful equipment in the chapel, in which no doubt
they all had a strong community pride. We have no infor-
mation as to the maker of the clock, but it is a ponderous
machine with weights hung on wire ropes, which descend
through wooden tubes from the clock tower to the ground.
One of these weights weighs eight hundred pounds. To wind
the clock means to lift these weights a distance of fifty feet
or more. It is accomplished by the operator turning a windlass
with a crank large enough to use both hands. The clock has
four faces showing on the outside of the tower in the four
cardinal directions, with long wooden hands to point the
hours. But these hive long ago gotten out of repair to the
extent that the hands no longer function. But the clock is
still kept wound. This needs to be done but once a week,
and Its loud strokes, made by a hammer striking against the
bell, can be heard over the greater part of the city, by day
or night, so that it serves as a sort of community regulator
to many of the citizens, and certain of the college classes are
dismissed at its signal instead of the ringing of the bell.
The bell has a more specific and more romantic history,
which some may regard as traditional or even mythical, but
It is embodied in a record left by Rev. Thomas A. Eaton,
D. D., who was a graduate of McKendree and spent his
life as a member of the Southern Illinois Conference. He says
the bell was brought to St. Louis some time in the fifties by
some Santa Fe traders who found it in a deserted church
somewhere in New Mexico. It is supposed to have been a
Roman Catholic Indian Mission Church. Dates and names
molded in the bell showed that it was cast in Spam m the
eighth century, and recast in the fourteenth. Both of these
castings occurred before the discovery of America. The date
that It was brought to Florida, some time m the sixteenth
century, was carved upon it. After the traders brought it to
St. Louis, It was recast again in that city, and shortly after
was taken to the Illinois State Fair, held at Centralia in the
fall of i8'i8. It was there placed on exhibition and offered
for sale. During the days of the fair, visitors kept it almost
constantly tolling to test the quality of its tones. After the
fair, it was purchased by President Cobleigh and Professor
R. M. Moore, who brought it to Lebanon and caused it to
be placed in the tower of the new college chapel. Since that
time, it has done constant service for every conceivable sort
of college gathering, except on a few occasions when it was
One Hundred and Seventy-Fne
left tongueless by the depredations of certain ill-advised
young students, whose feet were more active than their
heads, and who preferred to climb to the belfry by night
rather than to the commencement platform on graduation
day. In fact, the clapper is no part of the original bell, since
it has been replaced frequently through the mechanical skill
of some local blacksmith. For many years, an extra bell clap-
per was a necessary part of the college equipment, but in
recent years McKendree students have found more dignified
ways of amusing themselves than by the silly trick of stealing
the college bell clapper. This old bell has called the students
and the public to three score and ten annual commencements.
It has often rung the old year out and the new one in. Once
It rang continuously all night long when the students were
celebrating the achievement of President
Chamberlin in securing the first hundred
thousand dollars of endowment for the col-
lege. Thousands of students have obeyed its
call to class, and doubtless many other thou-
sands will hear and heed its mellow tones in
the years which Ue in the future.
PROF. F. O. BLAIR
Franklin Otis Blair was born in Blandford,
Massachusetts, November 30, 1822. He en-
tered the Wesleyan Academy at Wilbraham,
Massachusetts, in 1842. After completing his
preparatory course there, he entered the
Wesleyan University at Middletown, in
1844, and graduated from that institution
in 1848. In the same year, he began teaching
matics at the Providence Conference Seminary at East
Greenwich, Rhode Island. In 1850, he became principal of
the Springfield Wesleyan Seminary at Springfield, Vermont.
He joined the Vermont Conference in 1852, and took charge
of Woodstock Grammar School at Woodstock, Vermont, in
1855. The next year he was elected Adjunct Professor of
Mental and Moral Science and Principal of the Female Col-
legiate Institute in Lawrence University at Appleton, Wis-
consin. He transferred to the Wisconsin Conference in 1857.
In 1858, he transferred to the Southern Illinois Conference
and became Professor of Natural Science in McKendree Col-
lege. He continued in this position until 1871. From 1872
till 1888, he was Agent for the American Bible Society. He
was married August 7, 185J, to Miss Electa Ann Adams at
Luzerne, New York. Of their two children, the daughter
died in childhood. The son, Erwin Otis, grew up in Lebanon,
was educated in McKendree, and went west, where in after
DR. WILLIAMS
(the
years he became the editor and proprietor of the "Daily
News" at Trinidad, Colorado.
There is a house still standing adjoining McKendree's cam-
pus which Professor Blair built as a home for his family during
their sojourn in Lebanon. After the death of Mrs. Blair in
1888, he made his home with his son in Colorado, where he
lived for eight years until his death, October 14, 1896. He
made an honorable place for himself in the history of Mc-
Kendree, and when he went west he left his library to the
college.
PROF. S. W. WILLIAMS*
Samuel W. Williams was born in Chilicothe. Ohio, De-
cember 2, 1827. His father was of Welsh-Irish descent, and
his mother of German, though both were native Americans.
In jhis 'infancy, his parents moved to Cincin-
nati where he was brought up. He was pre-
pared for college in Woodward High School,
and then entered the Ohio Wesleyan Univer-
sity, and graduated from that institution in
the class of 1848. The same year he began
teaching in Worthington Female Seminary.
The next year he taught in Baldwin Institute
in Berea, Ohio. In 1851, he became a tutor in
the Ohio Wesleyan. After a few years of
service there, he became Professor of Ancient
Languages in McKendree in 1857. He enter-
ed the employ of the Methodist Book Concern
in 1859 as Book Editor and Assistant Editor
of the Ladies' Repository .He was the sole editor
of books practically all the time for more than forty years.
Bishop Moore said of him, "Dr. Williams has read more
manuscripts than any man in Methodism." He has
been a frequent contributor to Methodist periodicals and
is author of a book, "Pictures of Early Methodism
in Ohio," a volume of three hundred and twenty pages,
published in 1909. Early in the year 1892, when the
editorial chair of the Central Christian Advocate at St. Louis
became vacant by the death of Dr. Fry, Dr. Williams was
sent to take charge of the paper until the General Conference,
which was to meet in May of that year, could elect a new
editor. Dr. Jesse Bowman Young was chosen editor and also
commencement orator at McKendree's commencement that
year, June 16. Dr. Williams came with him. It was thirty-
three years after he had completed his term of service at
McKendree and doubtless a third of a century had seen many
changes. Probably there was no one either in the faculty or
*EciiroT'.5 .\nte — Dr. Willuims died Fehritary. 1938.
One Hundred and Seienty-Si.i
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^s^
student body with whom he had been associated m his
teaching at McKendree, but possibly a few of the same Bo.ird
members were there. He also delivered an address m the af-
ternoon of commencement day and presented to the college
a picture of Bishop McKendree, which has hung in the chapel
for thirty-five years. After he was relieved from duty on
the Central Advocate, he returned to St. Louis and resumed
his former post at the Book Concern. In 1912, when he was
eighty-five years old, he retired from active work. He is
spending the evening of life at his home m Wyoming, Ohio,
where he is still an omnivorous reader. His wife was Laura
L. Evans. Of their three children, one died in infancy. The
others are Berthold Alexander and Laura Elizabeth. He re-
ceived the degrees of A. B. and A. M. from the Ohio Wes-
leyan and LL. D. from McKendree. He reached his hundredth
year December 2, 1927. He received his first degree eighty
years ago. The Literary Digest recently called him the "oldest
college graduate in America." He was born before McKen-
dree was founded and has talked with men who attended
the funeral of George Washington. In his home is a library
of five thousand volumes, which includes what is supposed
to be the most complete collection of books on Methodism
to be found in the United States. At his death, this collection
will go to his Alma Mater, the Ohio Wesleyan University.
Following are some reminiscences of his life at McKendree
which he wrote by request for this history.
PERSONAL IMPRESSIONS OF McKENDREE COLLEGE
by Samuel W. Williams
When I entered McKendree College as a member of the
faculty in 1857, there were already five teachers and about
one hundred and thirty students. My department was the
Ancient Languages. James G. Blair of Ohio was the president-
elect, and It was understood that he would accept the posi-
tion offered to him. He finally declined to come, but mean-
while Werter R. Davis acted as president. Dr. Davis was
the Professor of Natural Science, including Physiology and
Hygiene. He was ready and alert in his department to per-
form the experiments required for illustration, and he handled
his apparatus and materials as a master. He was a skillful
manipulator of chemicals, and as chemistry is a part of the
science of medicine, a medical college m Cincinnati conferred
upon him, without his previous knowledge or intimation to
that effect, the degree of Doctor of Medicine.
I do not think that he was much of a reader of miscel-
laneous literature, but he managed to pick up a great deal of
information, and he never was at loss for an apt incident or
fact to illustrate his talks. In the pulpit he was listened to
with pleasure and profit, and as a minister of the gospel, he
was always in demand. There is an appreciative sketch of
him in the Methodist Review and m the volume entitled
"The Pastor-Preacher," published by the Methodist Book
Concern and written by his son-in-law. Bishop William A.
Quayle.
Professor Davis, and others of the faculty, thought that
on the declination of Dr. Blair, he should himself have been
elected president of the college; but there was a strong pre-
judice against him on the part of the resident trustees and
the executive committee, and he was passed by. I think he
was disappointed in not being elected. It is not my purpose
to rehearse "The Sorrows of Werter." as Goethe did. but
he certainly had cause to expect such a promotion. The trus-
tees had adopted a rule that in the choice of a president the
active members of the faculty should be consulted and their
preferences ascertained; but when Dr. Blair finally decHned
to come, they or their executive committee, without one hint
as to his successor or declaration of their intention to elect
any one else, offered the presidency to Nelson E. Cobleigh.
Dr. Cobleigh had formerly been a professor m McKendree,
and though he knew Lebanon well, he came about Christmas
to look over the ground and examine the condition of affairs.
Having satisfied himself as to the state and prospects of the
college, he accepted the position, and in the Spring of 1858,
he assumed charge. There was, however, no cordiality or
confidence between him and the leading members of the fac-
ulty— not so much on account of the person as the secret
mode of his election — and at the end of the year, some of
them left the institution. In this action, the trustees were
peremptory and suspicious; the faculty were hasty and in-
considerate. But perhaps it all turned out for the best; and
both parties learned that all wisdom did not reside solely
with them.
Shortly afterward Professor Davis became the president
of the Baker University at Baldwin, Kansas; and during the
Civil War, he served as Colonel of one of the Kansas regi-
ments. He was always considerate of the men under his
command, and as occasion required, he acted as chaplain. As
for myself, at the close of the college year, I returned to my
home in Cincinnati.
President Cobleigh was an eloquent speaker, and his ser-
mons and addresses were pertinent and instructive. As a
teacher, he was stimulating. His scholarship was good and
he was acquainted with literature. He kept himself abreast
with the thought of the age; and when he became editor of
"Zion's Herald," and subsequently of the "Methodist Ad-
((mY^RDER OF EXERCISES^^V))));
E2®KK10K](S =
PRAYER, - - - - Br THE PaE9IDI;^T.
MUSIC,
Stbcoolc ro« laraovEMMT, .... J. O. Butler.
Lite abd Death, L. M. Puillips.
MUSIC.
Beaoties or WigDOB, T. J. Caldwell.
BltlErACTO.S or MaKKIKD, ... - KM UE.VEt>.
MiMIOI. or POETRT, ....... S. H. D£>L£!«.
LirE's Co.1TE«T», I. N. Hll.Gl.Hi.
MUSIC.
ADDRESS 10 TH[ PHILOSOPHIAM SOClEir,
Br Prrf, BI>9ELU -f Bl.n.l..
BENEDICTION.
T. S. Cahev.
MlBD BA« A DtSTlNT. --.... S. F. ConRIHCTOH.
Muetc.
- - - - . S. L. Edwabd«.
AI)D?.SSS ?0 TS5 PLATOlJIillv S02ISTT,
JULY J*^
CANDIDATES FOR THE DEGREE OF
J. O. BrTLr.R,
L. M. PHILLIPS,
MOUHT Vee
Nashville.
CANDIDATES FOR THE DEGREE OF
T J. CALDWELL, -
R. M. IjENEEN, .
S. H. DENEEN,
I. N. HIGGINS, .
Fba,
Leba
CANDIDATES FOK THE DEGREE OF
T. S- CASF.Y, A. B. . - .
. Shaw«eeto»
S. F. CORRINGTON, A. B. .
Jacksonvill
S. L. EDWARDS, A. B. -
- GBEEHritLI>.
W. B. RIGGIN, A. B. - .
Le.anoi..
_<f^iSM U S 1 0 .C»i>V_
..^tf^iTBENEDICTION.^ii'V^
^-^ PL'BLIfHED LT Xn
^~hy<J
/a^f
Facsimile of commencem;
vocate" at Chattanooga, he exhibited his talents better than
he did in the class room or in the presidential chair of the
college. He was a good administrator, but both he and his
successor, Robert AUyn, were hampered by lack of funds.
There was very little endowment and very little income.
And the fees for tuition and incidental expenses were very
small. It was almost impossible to pay the salaries of the in-
structors, and indeed some of them were never wholly paid.
Risdon M. Moore, the professor of Mathematics, was a
patient and persevering instructor within the range of the
text books used in his classes. He did not pursue his studies
outside of them; and even if he had done so, he had no
pupils who might wish to extend their researches in Astron-
omy and fluxions. The professor preferred an active out-door
life; and when he became a Colonel in the war between the
states, he made a gallant and successful officer, and received
the commendation of his superiors in command and of the
general government.
nt program for 1854
Thomas H. Mudge was a member of a large and well
known New England family which gave so many of its sons
to the church and the ministry. He received a good educa-
tion at the Wesleyan University, and turned his attention
especially to the study of the Scriptures in their original
tongues. He was also well-versed in the literature of the
ancient classics and modern authors. He was named for one
of his uncles, Thomas Hicks, who resided in the East — New
Jersey, I believe. His uncle became partially insane, and as
there was no hospital for persons in such condition, he was
placed in the county jail for safe keeping. Tho he was not
treated as a common prisoner, but was allowed the liberty
of the precincts, and on one occasion when his keepers were
not watching, he took advantage of the opportunity to es-
cape. After roaming about for a number of days, without
recapture, he returned of his own accord to the prison, carry-
ing a few fagots that he had cut with his jack knife in the
woods, and exclaimed as he gave himself up:
One Hundred and Setenty-Eight
MC KENDREE
"Here comes old Hicks with a bundle of sticks,
To mend the prison door.
He has no doubt that he can get out
As well as he did before."
When our work in the class room was finished for the
day, Professor Mudge and I often rambled thru the woods
and over the fields about Lebanon. We both liked flowers,
and he sometimes gathered bunches of them to adorn his
sitting or dining room table. We once found a pretty blue
flower which neither of us knew, but in consulting our books
of botany, we identified it as a species of oxalis. The common
sorrel we well knew, but this was a variety we had never
before seen. I afterwards found it growing on one ot the
hills north of Cincinnati, but in only a single spot. We once
came across a patch of paw paw bushes. The professor had
never seen a paw paw tree in New England, and he inquired
of me what it was. I told him and said that it bore a fruit
which was the delight of boys, and that as this was the
season for paw paws, we might probably find some. On en-
tering the clump, we discovered an abundance of the fruit,
large and well ripened. Picking up one, I broke it open and
began to eat. "What!" exclaimed he, "are they good to eat?"
"Try one", I answered, and so he did. It was a new experience,
but he relished it greatly, and so long as we could find them
in the woods, he used them freely. His wife and children, a
son and a daughter, likewise became fond of them. Later in
the season, besides hickory and hazel nuts, we got wild
grapes, two varieties, and persimmons. These latter were
good until Christmas, and when I went home on a visit dur-
ing our Christmas recess, I took a little box of them with me.
After leaving McKendree, Professor Mudge began col-
lecting materials for a Commentary on the Pentateuch. In
his leisure from pastoral and professional duties, he wrote
expositions of many passages in it. If he had lived to finish
his task, it would have been his opus magnum. He went to
considerable expense in procuring from abroad works which
he thought would be helpful to him m his undertaking, most
of them in foreign languages.
Samuel H. Deneen was my helper in the department of
Latin and Greek. He was an earnest and diligent worker and
allowed no lagging in his classes. No slipshod pupil escaped
his attention. He was a reader of general literature as well
as of the ancient classics, and acquainted with poetry. He
owned a good library and was fond of books.
Oliver V. Jones had charge of the academic department,
and was faithful and untiring as an instructor. He was not
a reader of many books, and cared little for general literature ;
but he liked to run thru the magazines and papers that came
to the college, and talk about what was going on in the
world. He kept his eyes open, and was a good judge of men
and manners. This frame of mind was of service to him
when he subsequently became editor of a political paper.
Many of his evenings were spent in society. He was always
tidy in personal appearance, and used to shave himself every
day, Sundays excepted, though he did not follow the example
of Bishop Hamline who performed this operation twice on
Saturday — m the morning and late in the evening, so as not
to break the Sabbath.
Samuel H. Deneen, Oliver V. Jones and myself were then
unmarried. There were two churches in Lebanon, the Baptist
and the Methodist. Of course we always attended the latter.
It was a facetious saying in town that the Methodist girls
attended the church not so much for the sake of the sermons
as on account of "The Sams and the hims."
The Rev. Thomas F. Houts was the pastor stationed in
Lebanon during my time at McKendree. He had been edu-
cated as a lawyer; but God had touched his heart, and obey
ing the call of the Divine Spirit, he entered the ministry.
His sermons were generally interesting and he was a fluent
talker. His style was wordy and sophomoric. Take a speci-
men, on the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah.
"The site of these ancient cities is now a stagnant and
fetid lake. No trees deck its borders or relieve its shores with
their verdure. No white pebbles line its bed, and the waves
surge not against its bleak and desolate rocks. There they
frown on that dark, still, dead sea, bearing witness to all
time of God's everlasting and implacable displeasure of sin."
But this is not more than half as grandiloquent as some
of his sentences. Mr. Houts was, however, a student of
divinity, and in process of time he came to entertain doubts
concerning the "resurrection of the body." He adopted, per-
haps with some modifications. Professor George Bush's the
ory. This would have been innocent enough if he had kept
his opinions to himself, but he began to preach them. I think
he also published a small treatise on the subject, but it did
not attract much attention from scholars, as being rather
raw and rambling. But his theories subjected him to the
notice of his conference. The minutes will probably show
its action.
Upon the whole, McKendree was a good school, both
for the teachers and the taught. They equally learned les-
sons which would have been difficult to learn elsewhere.
If "History IS Philosophy-teaching by example," history was
there enacted.
One Hundred and Sef
^'^ MOBNIRO, 9 O'CLOCK.
f^xjsyo.
ORATtOMS.
ISdXJSIO.
Lettera ud Libenv
J H MATTyEwe
Th« Conquest of Mind,
B^TJSIC.
MASTERS' ORATIONS.
SoDga in the Silent World, X- J. Caluwl
The Causes of Byron's llnhu|)|Hn(■»^, S H Df.xeen
ADDRESS TO THE PHILOSOPHIAN SOCIETl
BT JUDGE NILES. Be.I,LEVII.LE.
IstfTJSIC
PRAYER. -MUSIC.
tmmm mmii mm to the cuADUATiJifl cuss.
W. H. C#i-i-, Waterloo
3. H. Mattuews,
I. M. Phillips.
Pcrrx .
m.
\B^Vi;'i\iJ Oi' .&.'iri'3.
T. J. Caldwell,
.luekvonvillc.
R. M. Dexeen.
SiULFroneisro.Ciil
S. H. De.neen,
Lcbauo...
I N HicoiNS,
Griggsvillc.
HOISrORARY
DEGl
REES.
c-
Poein to li.e Alumni,
By I.
N. HiooiN,'
A. M., Giife-fe-svllc.
Address 10 Iho Alumni,
By J
I,. S< iiipr»
A. M . Cliicaso.
-.MUSIC-
EVENING. — FESTIVAL OF TIIF, ALUMNI,
AT TBS TEBAKDAH HOTKL. 8 O'CLOCK.
755-7
Facsimile of commencement program
THE CLASS OF 1858
This was the first class whose diplomas were signed by
Dr. Cobleigh as president. Brief sketches of them follow.
STITH OTWELL BONNER
Stith Otwell Bonner was born at Staunton, Illinois, July
7, 183,7. His parents were of Scotch-Irish descent. His grand-
father, Henry Bonner, came from Virginia with his family
and settled near Edwardsville in 181 4. His father was John
Bonner, and his mother, Polly Davidson Randle, was the
daughter of an itinerant Methodist preacher. Mr. Bonner
entered McKendree College in i8')5, and graduated in 1858,
with the degree of B. S. He was a member of the Phil-
osophian Literary Society. He was married in 1861, to Julia
A. Ballard, a grand-daughter of Washington C. Ballard, one
of the early pioneers of Illinois. She died in 1867. In 1870,
■8,7
Jonathan and Frances Bascom, of St. Louis. By the first mar-
riage, there was one daughter, now deceased. By the second
marriage, a son and a daughter, LeRoy B. Bonner, now of
St. Louis, and Mrs. Fannie Bonner Price, who long resided
with her father at Edwardsville, Illinois. Since graduation,
Mr. Bonner has followed various vocations, chiefly farming
and horticulture. In 1888, he was elected Coroner of Mad-
ison County, and held the office for a term of four years.
After that he engaged in real estate and personal property
auctioneering at Edwardsville. He was a member of the
Methodist Church and the Independent Order of Odd Fel-
lows. He died in Jacksonville, Florida, January 7, 1925.
JOHN WF^LEY BROCK
John Wesley Brock was born in Jersey County, Illinois,
May 16, i8j6. He was the son of T. F. and Lucinda (Slaten)
he was married to Mrs. Mary E. McHenry, daughter of Brock, the former being a native of Virginia and the 1
One Hiitidred and Eighty
\fMC KENDREE
ter of Georgia. He entered McKendree m 1855, and grad-
uated in the scientific course in 1858, receiving the degree of
B. S. His was the first class to graduate in the present chapel
building. He was a member of the Philosophian Literary
Society. After graduation, he taught school for some time.
In 1861, he enlisted in the Union army, being a member of
the 27th regiment of Illinois Infantry, m which he served
till the close of the war. After the war, he was engaged in
various lines of business. He lived for a time in Five Oaks,
Florida, and later in Denver, Colorado, where his death oc-
curred in 1893. He was married in October, 1866, to Miss
Maria Parshley, of Ohio. Their two sons both died in in-
fancy. Their daughter, Georgia, grew to womanhood.
THOMAS ESSEX
Thomas Essex was born m St. Louis, December 15, 1837.
He was educated in a private school in St. Louis, the high
school at Arcadia, Missouri, and at McKendree College,
where he received the degree of A. B. in 1858. He was a
member of the Platonian Literary Society. He attended a
law school in Cincinnati and received the degree of LL. B.
in 1 86 1. He then settled in Ironton, Missouri, where he lived
for fifteen years. He practiced law, taught school and edited
the "Iron County Register." In 1867, he was elected to the
Missouri State Senate, and in 1870, was reelected and served
as president pro tem of that body. In 1875, he moved to
Little Rock, Arkansas, and the following year was appointed
Land Commissioner for the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and
Southern Railroad. In 1881, he was also made Tax Com-
missioner for the Missouri Pacific Railway in Arkansas. In
1892, he retired from active life and spent his declining
years m St. Louis. In 1866, he was married to Adeline V.
Hypes, a daughter of Benjamin Hypes, of Lebanon. Their
daughter, Carrie, became the wife of Professor Emory B.
Lease, of the University of Cincinnati. Mr. Essex died July
10, 1909.
DANIEL KERR
Danier Kerr was born in Scotland, June 18, 1837. He
came to America with his parents m 1841 and located on a
farm in Liberty Prairie, Madison County, Illinois. In 1848-49,
he was a student in ShurtlefF College. In 1855, he entered
McKendree and graduated in the class of 1858. He was a
member of Philo. After receiving his bachelor's degree, he
entered the Law Department of McKendree, which was then
newly organized, and completed the law course in 1861. The
following year he was admitted to the bar. In 1862, he en-
listed in the 117th Illinois Volunteers, which was known as
the McKendree Regiment. He entered the service as a pri-
vate, but was mustered out in i86'i as a First Lieutenant.
After the w.ir he began the practice of law in Alton. In
1866, he moved to Edwardsville, from which place he was
elected to the Legislature m 1868. In 1869, he moved to
Grundy Center, Iowa, and was elected to the Iowa Legis-
lature m 1883. In 1884, he was a presidential elector, and
in 1886, was elected to Congress. He was reelected the fol-
lowing term. After his career in Congress, Mr. Kerr retired
from politics as well as from the practice of law and spent
his later years on a farm in Iowa. He was accustomed to
spend the winters m California. After leaving the law, he
spent some years in another field as editor of the "New
Century," and later of the "Argos." He died only a few
years ago.
JOSEPH WILLIAM VAN CLEVE
Joseph William Van Cleve was born at Mt. Vernon,
Jefferson County, Illinois, Feb. 20, 1837. He entered Mc-
Kendree as a student in the fall of 1854 and graduated in
1858, receiving the degree of B. S. He was a member of the
Platonian Literary Society. He taught school in St. Jacob,
Bethalto, Hillsboro, and Alton, in the last named place, for
eight successive years. In 1870, he was admitted on trial in
the Southern Illinois Conference, and in 1875, was received
in full connection. He served the following charges : Equal-
ity and Shawneetown, Jonesboro and Anna, Ashley,
Jerseyville, Greenville, Olney, and Gillespie. In 1885, he was
transferred to the Southern California Conference, where he
spent the remainder of his life. He served several years as pre-
siding elder. He was married March 5, 1859, to Miss Fanny
Ransom Holmes. Their three children were William Holmes,
Fanny Ransom, and Mary Evans. Some time after his wife's
death, he was married a second time, June 30, 1872, to Miss
Belle Zora Gird. Of this union, there was born one son, Ray
Gird. Mr. Van Cleve's death occurred late in the century.
JOHN VAN CLEVE
John Van Cleve was born m Shrewsbury, New Jersey,
May 28, 1804. His parents moved to Ohio in 1815. He
was converted in 1822 and joined the "Old Stone Church"
in Cincinnati. He was licensed to preach in 1825, and joined
the Illinois Conference in 1828. In 185 1, he was transferred
to the Missouri Conference and preached one year in St.
Louis. He was then transferred to the Southern Illinois Con'
ference, where he labored till the end of his life. He served
as presiding elder in the Alton and Lebanon districts, and
was four times elected as delegate to the General Conference.
He was also a member of the General Missionary Committee,
and his last illness occurred while he was in New York City
attending the meeting of the Committee. He died at St.
Luke's Hospital in 1875. McKendree honored him with the
degree of Doctor of Divinity in
One HuTidred and Eightv-One
frMC KENDREE"^^^^^^^^.,..:^^...^
THE CLASS OF 1859
This was the second class to graduate under Dr. Cobleigh's
administration. Of course their training was mostly received
under the former president. One member of the class is still
living at this writing, and is now the oldest living graduate
of the college. There was also in the class a future president
of McKendree, McKendree Hypes Chamberlin, whose life
history will appear in connection with the account of his
administration as president. Some account of each of the
others is given here.
REV. LEMUEL CRAMP
Lemuel Cramp was born at Bunker Hill, Illinois, April
6, 1838. He entered McKendree in 1856 and graduated in
1859, receiving the degree of B. S. In 1898, he received
from his Alma Mater an honorary master's degree. He was
a member of the Philosophian Society.
After graduation, he taught for some
years in the public schools at Troy, St.
Jacob and Macon. In 1879, he joined
the Southern Illinois Conference and
spent the best years of his long life in
the service of the church. During his
ministry, he served some of the impor-
tant charges of the conference, among
them Lebanon and East St. Louis. He
was married September 27, i860, to Miss
Susanna Reed, of Lebanon. They had
four children who are all married. Three
of them were students in McKendree.
Mrs. Cramp died November 30, 1896.
Five years later he was married to Mrs.
Mary L. Wiley of Brighton, Illinois.
That city has been their home since his
retirement in 191 3. Mr. Cramp is now
the oldest living graduate of McKendree. He will have com-
pleted his ninetieth year if still living by the time McKen-
dree has finished her Centennial celebration . At the session
of the Southern Illinois Conference held at the college in
1927, Brother Cramp was awarded the Confe rence Cane which
is supposed to belong to the oldest member of the conference.
MADISON M. GOODNER
Madison Monroe Goodner was born near N.ishville, Illi-
nois, June 21, 1842. He was a son of Salem and Elizabeth
(Cherry) Goodner. He entered McKendree in 1856 and
graduated in i8';9, receiving the degree of A. B., and three
years later, A. M. He was a member of the Platonian Lit-
erary Society. He graduated from the law department of
LEMUEL
McKendree's oldest 1
the University of Cincinnati in 1861, receiving the degree
of LL. B. He practiced law many years in Nashville, was
master in chancery of Washington County for several
terms, having been appointed by Judge Silas L. Bryan, was
mayor of Nashville for three terms, and county judge of
Washington County from 1872 to 1876. He was a Repub-
lican in politics. He was married in 1863, to Miss Marietta
Cone, of Nashville. Two of their children are now living.
Dr. Ralph A. Goodner, now practicing the medical profession
in Nashville, and Mrs. Genevieve Allen, of Chicago. Judge
Goodner died at Nashville, March 16, 1888.
CHARLES M. HANDSAKER
Charles M. Handsaker was born at Broughton, Derby-
shire, England, September 29, 1836. He came to this coun-
try in early life and showed an ambition to secure an edu-
cation. He entered McKendree in 1855
and joined the Platonian Society. He
graduated in the class of 1859, receiving
the degree of A. B. He was employed for
some years as a civil engineer for the
Wabash railroad. His death occurred at
Mt. Vernon, Illinois, October 7, 1878.
WILLIAM HARTZELL
William Hartzell was born in Stark
County, Ohio, February 20, 1837. He
was of Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry.
He came to Illinois very early in life and
in 1855, became a student in McKen-
dree College, from which institution
he graduated in 1859, receiving the de-
gree of A. B., and later, A. M. He was
a member of the Platonian Literary So-
ciety. Until 1862, he was engaged in mer-
cantile business at Evansville and Ches.
ter; he then began the study of law, and was admitted to the
bar in 1864. He located at Chester for the practice of law.
In 1874, he was elected to the forty- fourth Congress of the
United States, and two years later was reelected to the forty-
fifth. In 1897, he was elected Judge of the Circuit Court. He
was married March i, 1866, to Miss Mary Isabella Holmes,
of Chester. To them were born two children — Joseph H., now
of Kansas City, and Mabel A., now Mrs. J. M. Randolph,
of Chester. He was a member of the Masonic Fraternity. He
died August 14, 1903.
DR. JOSEPH KEENEY
Joseph Keeney was born June 22, 1822. He received his
college education at Williams College, Massachusetts, where
One Hundred and Eighty-Two
MC KENDREE
he received the degree of A. B. He then took a medical
course and came west to engage in the practice of medicine.
He was located in Lebanon for some years and in 1859, re-
ceived the degree of A. M. from McKendree College. He
married Miss Helen Finley, whose father was for a time
professor of Greek in McKendree, and for several years its
president. They had one son, who afterwards became a
surgeon in the United States Navy. At the opening of the
Civil War, Dr. Keeney enlisted in the army and was present
in the battle of Shiloh. He contracted a disease which com'
pelled his retirement from the service and caused his death
July 7, 1862, at his home in Lebanon. He lies buried in College
Hill Cemetery. A memorial window in his honor has been
placed in the present Methodist church of Lebanon.
MONROE J. MILLER
Monroe Joshua Miller was born near Salisbury, North
Carolina, September 19, 1830. He was a son of Theobald
and Elizabeth (Knupp) Miller, the former of German and
the latter of Norwegian ancestry. When he was only a
small child, his mother died, and a few years later his father,
with his second wife and all his family, came west and
settled m Southern Illinois. In early life, he determined to
secure an education, though well aware that it depended
upon his own efforts. After getting what training he could
from the public schools, he worked in a printing office,
assisted the editor, and got what practical experience he
could. In 1853, he first entered McKendree, remaining one
year only. He then secured a position in a newspaper office
at Berlin, Wisconsin, and the next year attended school at
Lawrence University, where Dr. Cobleigh was then pres-
ident. When that able educator became president of Mc
Kendree, Mr. Miller returned there and graduated under
Dr. Cobleigh's presidency in 1859, receiving the degree of
A. B. and later, A. M. He was a member of the Platonian
Literary Society. He was three times president of that so-
ciety and four times editor of the "Plato Gem". He was
licensed to preach by the Lebanon Quarterly Conference,
but for a time engaged in newspaper work, and in August,
1862, he enlisted in the 117th regiment of Illinois Volunteers,
where he served his country faithfully for three years, and
where he contracted the disease of tuberculosis, of which he
died March 18, 1866. He was married July 28, 1863, to Miss
Mary Virlinda Wright, of Lebanon. To them was born one
daughter, Mary Elizabeth, now Mrs. Walter H. Offill, of
St. Louis. There are also five grand-children all grown and
all living in St. Louis.
JOHN S. NICHOLSON
John S. Nicholson was born at Oldham, England, Feb.
13, 1832. His parents were Samuel and Mary Nicholson
who, of course, were natives of England. He came to America
in early life and entered McKendree in 1854. He graduated
in 1859 with the degree of A. B., and afterward received
that of A. M. He was a member of the Philosophian Society.
He was married in i860 to Miss Jemima Harris. Some years
after her death, he was married to Miss Jane Buck, in 1875.
He left two sons, C. B. Nicholson and E. E. Nicholson. When
he was only a boy, he worked in the printing office, so after
finishing his college work, he naturally went into the news-
paper business. In time, he became the editor and proprietor
of the "Central Illinoisan," at Beardstown, Illinois, which
in 1892 was consolidated with the Daily Star, which since
that time has been a daily and weekly paper. He continued
to be editor and publisher of this paper until the time of his
death m April, 191 1. He was an active member of the Meth-
odist Church, of which he was a trustee for thirty years. He
also served as steward and was several times chosen as lay
delegate to the conference. He held the office of Postmaster
from 1904 till the time of his death. He served as presiden-
tial elector, was frequently a member of the state conven-
tion and has served on the Republican State Committee.
THE CLASS OF 1860
JOHN M. CHAMBERLIN
John McLean Chamberlin was born in Lebanon, Illinois,
January 20, 1837. His parents were David and Susan Cham-
berlin, who were both native Americans. The father was
a local preacher in the Methodist Church and one of the
founders of McKendree College. He entered McKendree
as a student in the fall of 1855 and graduated in i860, re-
ceiving the degree of A. B. Later he received the degree
of A. M. He was a member of the Platonian Literary So-
ciety. He was married November 9, 1869, to Maggie E.
Royse. To them were born four sons — Willis W., John M.,
Jr., C. Earl, 'and E. Clinton. They were all educated at Mc-
Kendree College, and all graduated except one. Mr. Chamber-
lin spent the greater portion of his active life in the mercantile
world, being for many years a member'of one of the leading
business firms of Lebanon, Illinois, engaged in general mer-
chandise. He was a memberof the Masonic Order, and of the
Methodist Church. He was for many years an active worker
in the Sunday School, and a very efficient Sunday School
Superintendent. He was for more than fifty years a trustee of
McKendree. He was at one time president of the board, and
served for many years as a member of the executive committee.
One Hundred and Eig(it>-Tliree
He was for twenty-two years treasurer of the college, and for
a long period one of the commissioners of the endowment
fund. He also served the interests of his home city for some
years as president of the board of education, and as a mem-
ber of the city council. He died in Lebanon .it the home of
his son, C. E. Chamberhn, June ij, 1919.
JOHN H. ECKERT
John Hardin Eckert was born near Waterloo, Monroe
County, Illinois, August 13, 1838, and died June 3, 1899,
at Arkansas City, Kansas. He was a son of John and Arah
(Williams) Eckert, who were both Americans, though the
former was of German descent. He became a student in
McKendree in 1856 and graduated in June, i860, receiv-
ing the degree of B. S. Later he took a law course and re-
ceived from McKendree the degree of LL. B., in 1877. He
was a member of the Platonian Literary Society. He was
married November 29, 1861, to Frances Henryetta Sager.
Their three children were lona May, Harry, and Fannie
Arah. Mr. Eckert engaged in the mercantile business for
some years after his graduation. Before, and for some years
after, his admission to the bar he was postmaster of Lebanon
under Republican administration. In politics, he was an
ardent Republican all his life. In 1884, he moved to Arkansas
City, Kansas, and entered upon the practice of law. A short
time after, he became city attorney of Arkansas City and
later filled other offices which were within the gift of the
people. He also took an active interest in newspaper work.
In 1893, he moved to a farm in Kay County, Oklahoma,
where his last years were spent in a quiet but useful life
in the country. He was a member of the Independent Order
of Odd Fellows. While not a member of any religious denom-
ination, he was a close sympathizer with the Methodists.
He was a devoted student of the Bible and a constant reader
of religious literature. He was interested in every good work
and was always anxious to promote the welfare of his fellow
men. He was held in highest esteem by all his friends and
acquaintances.
WILLIAM H. HYPES
William Henry Hypes was born at Lebanon, Illinois, No-
vember 17, 1839, and died in his native city April 31, 1887.
He was a son of Benjamin and Caroline (Murray) Hypes.
His father was a native of Virginia, of German and Eng-
lish ancestry, and his mother was born in Baltimore, Mary-
land, of Scotch-Irish parentage. He took the classical course
in McKendree and graduated in i86o, receiving the degree
of A. B., and A. M. in 1863. He was a member of the
Platonian Literary Society. He was engaged in mercantile
business for a number of years. In 1874, he was appointed
United States Revenue Collector for the thirteenth district
and held this position for eight years. He was married De-
cember 20, 1877, to Miss Emehne L. Allyn, daughter of
Dr. Robert Allyn, who was formerly president of McKen-
dree, but at the time of his daughter's marriage, president
of the Southern Illinois Normal at Carbondale. Of this mar-
riage was born one daughter, Cornelia Allyn Hypes, who
IS now the wife of Charles B. Whittlesey, a lawyer of New
London, Connecticut. Mr. Hypes resided in Lebanon during
his entire lifetime, and was a staunch and loyal friend of
McKendree to the day of his death. He was a worthy son
of his father, who was one of McKendree's earliest and
best friends.
CAPT. JOSEPH TABOR PARKER
Joseph Tabor Parker was born September 22, 1838, in
St. Louis, Missouri. When quite young he attended a Ger-
man school where he learned to read and speak that lan-
guage fluently. Then his father moved with his family to
the city of New Orleans. Here he attended an academy for
some time. At this place, his father died and the family moved
to New Albany, Indiana. From here, they moved to Leb-
anon, Ilhnois, in 1854, and in the fall of that year, young
Joseph became a student in McKendree. He graduated in
i860, receiving the degree of B. S. He was a member of the
Philosophian Literary Society. He was a skillful musician,
and composed several pieces of music which were published.
He also wrote several poems which were set to music. He
wrote numerous articles for various literary periodicals, and
in addition to his other accomplishments, he had a taste
for art and excelled in drawing. In recognition of his attain-
ments in literature and the fine arts, he was elected an hon-
orary member of the Belles Lettres Society of the Illinois
Conference Female Seminary. In May, 1861, he became a
soldier in the Union army, and as a member of Colonel F. P.
Blair's regiment, was present at the capture of Camp Jackson.
In August, 1862, he enlisted in the 117th Illinois regiment
under Col. Moore. June 8, 1863, he was commissioned as a
captain in Col. Kappner's regiment of heavy artillery (col-
ored), raised at Memphis, Tennessee. He died at Memphis,
October 17, 1863, of typhoid fever.
COL. EBENEZER TOPPING
Ebenezer Hibbard Topping was born in Athens, Coun-
ty, Ohio, December 19, 1830. In 1841, he came with his
parents to Perry County, Illinois. In 1850, he went to Cal-
ifornia, where he was engaged for several years in mining.
Returning in 1856, he became a student in McKendree, and
One Hundred and BghtyFour
graduated in i860, receiving the degree of A. B., and later
that of A. M. In 1862, he enhsted m the United States army
and was made captain of a company in the iioth regiment
of Ilhnois Volunteers. Later he was promoted to be lieu-
tenant-colonel, and in 1863, was placed m command of the
regiment. His command entered the field at Louisville, Ken-
tucky m 1862, and participated m the marches and battles
of the army of the Cumberland m its campaigns through
Kentucky and Tennessee. He was with Sherman at Atlanta
on the famous "March to the Sea." He was mustered
out at Washington after the grand review, June 8, 1865. He
was married in 1863, to a daughter of J. R. Watkins. After
the war, he settled on a farm in Kansas. In 1869, he was
elected to the Kansas Legislature, and in 1870, became a
member of the State Senate, and was re-elected the next
year. In 1877, he was appointed by the Secretary of the
Interior, Hon. Carl Schurz, to appraise Cherokee lands in
the Indian Territory. While in McKendree, he was a member
of the Platonian Literary Society. His death occurred late
in the century.
THE CLASS OF 1S61
REV. JAMES F. CORRINGTON
James Fletcher Cornngton was born at Greenfield, Illi-
nois, February 21, 1840, and died at Chautauqua, Jersey
County, Illinois, September 5, 1907. He was a son of Rev.
James B. Corrington and Rhoda B. Larimore, who were
both natives of Kentucky. He graduated from McKendree
in the class of 1861, receiving the degree of A. B. Later
he received the following degrees from the same institu-
tion: A. M. in 1864, D. D. in 1896, and Ph. D. in 1890.
He was a member of the Philosophian Literary Society. He
was married July 3, 1867, to Miss Juliet A. Hamlin, of Salem,
Illinois. Their only daughter is now Mrs. Joanna Corrington
Leverett. He was a soldier in the Civil War, enlisting m
1862, in the 122nd Illinois Volunteers, as a private. He after-
ward served as quartermaster, and still later was promoted
to the rank of captain. After the war, he engaged in mer-
cantile business for a year in Alton, Illinois. He then became
professor in the Military Academy at Lexington, Missouri.
Then after serving as principal of the Lexington High School
for a time, he was elected County Superintendent of Schools,
and held this position four years. Then in 1873, he entered
the ministry and became a member of the St. Louis Confer-
ence of the M. E. Church. He was a member of the Masonic
Order, and of the Grand Army of the Republic, being con-
nected with the Ransom Post of St. Louis. During his min-
isterial career, he was pastor of the following charges in the
St. Louis Conference: Dresden, Independence, and Butler,
two years each; in the city of St. Louis, he was pastor of
St. Luke's twice and of Bowman twice, and of Tower Grove
church; he was presiding elder of the St. Louis District from
1885 to 1889, and secretary of the Twentieth Century Fund,
1900 to 1902. After th.it, he took a supernumerary relation
and retired from active work.
WILLIAM P. HAISLEY
William Penn Haisley was born in Wayne County, Indi-
ana, December 21, 1831, and died in the year 1906. His
parents were Quakers who lived in North Carolina until
just prior to his birth, they moved west, stopping in Indiana
for a few years where they could be associated with more of
the Society of Friends than in their former home. Some years
later they moved into the vicinity of Jacksonville, lUinois,
where his boyhood was spent. He graduated from McKen-
dree in the class of 1861. He then took a law course at Har-
vard University and received the degree of LL. B. from that
institution. While m McKendree, he was a member of the
Philosophian Literary Society. He was an intelligent and
persistent traveller, and spent ten years of his life in travelling
for the purpose of securing information. In 1868, he visited
Florida, and being pleased with the country, eventually set-
tled there, making his home at Ocala. In 1877, he was elected
Superintendent of Public Instruction for the state of Florida.
In 1878, he was married to Miss Julia Simmons of Lewes,
Delaware, who, as his widow, still survives.
LUCIUS MARCUS OLDEN
Lucius Marcus Olden was born at Montpelier, Vermont,
March 4, 1832. While he was a small boy, his parents
came west and located at Alton, Illinois. He entered Mc-
Kendree at the same time with his older brother William,
m March, 1852, but did not pursue the course regularly. He
finished the law course, receiving the degree of LL. B. in
1861, and the classical course in 1863, when he received the
degree of A. B., and later, A. M. He was a member of the
Philosophian Literary Society. For some years after gradua-
tion, he taught school and practiced law. He then travelled
extensively through the west, finally stopping at Prescott,
Arizona. Here for many years, he engaged m mining, fighting
Indians, and leading the life of a typical frontiersman. His
death occurred February 2, 1905, when he fell over a preci-
pice while going down a mountain from his mill, and was
instantly killed. He was never married.
WILLIAM W. LEMMON
William Washington Lemmon, a native of Bond County,
Illinois, entered McKendree in 1858 and graduated in June,
One Hundred and Eiglit-v
i86i, receiving the degrees of B. S. and LL. B. He was
a member of the Platonian Literary Society. He stood at
the head of his class, receiving the first honors. Immedi-
ately after his graduation, he enlisted in the United States
army as sergeant major of the Eighteenth regiment of Illi-
nois Volunteer Infantry. After serving in this capacity only
a short time, he died August 7, 1861. He was a young man
of great promise, and evidently had a successful career be-
fore him which was cut off by his early death.
MAJOR WILLIAM P. OLDEN
William Pomeroy Olden was born in Montpelier, Ver-
mont, January 5, 1831. He first entered McKendree in 1852,
but owing to interruptions
in his course he did not grad-
uate till 1861, when he fin-
ished both the law and the
classical courses, and receiv-
ed the degrees of A. B. and
LL. B., both at the same
time. He was a member of
the first law class which
graduated fromMcKendree.
He was a member of the
Platonian Literary Society.
After his graduation, he
WILLIAM OLDEN taught school one year at
Moro, Illinois, and in the
summer of 1 862, he raised a company of soldiers of which he was
chosen captain, and which became Company D of the 117th
Illinois Volunteers, of which Professor R. M. Moore was
colonel. Benjamin F. Olden, a younger brother of William
P. was lieutenant of the same company. Before the close
of the war. Captain Olden became major of the regiment.
After the war, he began the practice of law in Springfield,
Illinois, where he spent the remainder of his life. Aside from
his law business, he was the author of a number of inventions,
on which he secured patents. He was married January 5,
1872, to Mary Q. Staley. Their children are William Q.,
born in 1873, Mary E., born in 1875, and Ulysses S., born
in 1879. His death occurred March 3, 1904.
SAMUEL BALDWIN RILEY
Samuel Baldwin Riley received the degree of LL. B. as
a member of the class of 1861. We have no recent informa-
tion concerning him.
THE CLASS OF 1862
CAPT. HENRY A. CASTLE
Henry Anson Castle was born at Columbus, Adams
County, Illinois, August 22, 1841. His parents, Timothy
HENERY CASTLE
H. and Julia (Boyd) Castle,
were natives of Vermont.
His four great-grandfathers
were soldiers in the Revo-
lutionary War. After attend-
ing the public schools, he
entered Quincy College in
1859, pursuing the classical
course, but in 1861, he trans-
ferred toMcKendree,chang-
ed to the scientific course,
and graduated in the class of
1862, receiving the degree
of B. S. Three years later,
he received the degree of
M. S., and in 1882, the honorary degree of Master of Arts.
He was a member of the Platonian Literary Society and editor
of the "Plato Gem." He has frequently been invited to deliver
addresses before various organizations in the college, on com-
mencement and other occasions. In 1912, five members of
this class were still living. Castle, Marshall, Young, Harris
and Cobleigh. The first three mentioned attended the com-
mencement exercises in commemoration of the fiftieth anni-
versary of their graduation. In August, 1862, Mr. Castle
entered the Union army as a private, and at the close of the
war, was mustered out as captain of a company m the i J7th
Illinois Volunteers. After the war, he studied law, and prac-
ticed that profession in Illinois and Minnesota. In St. Paul,
he engaged in editorial work, and afterward became owner
of the "St. Paul Dispatch," one of the leading papers of that
city. He served the public as a member of the Legislature of
Minnesota, postmaster of St. Paul, and auditor of the Post
Office Department at Washington, D. C. He has written for
many of the leading magazines, among them the North Amer-
ican Review, Harpers, Saturday Evening Post, World's
Work, McClure's and Collier's Weekly. He is author of
"The Army Mule and Other Sketches." He was married
April 18, 1865, to Miss Margaret W. Jaquess, of Quincy.
To them were born three sons and four daughters. The oldest
son, Charles W., is now a captain in the U. S. A. The other
sons died after reaching manhood. Of the daughters, Mar-
garet married Captain E. R. Stone, of the U. S. A. Anna
married Fred C. Christy, of Phoenix, Arizona, while Helen
S. and Mary J. resided with their father in St. Paul until
his de.ith August 16, 1916.
NELSON S. COBLEIGH
Nelson Simmons Cobleigh was born June 29, 1845, at
Wilbniham, Massachusetts. He was a son of the Rev. Nel'
Otic Hundred and Eiglil\-Si.'
|mc KENDREE"^^^^^s:^^..^^.>^^^
son E. Cobleigh, D. D., LL. D., a native of New Hamp-
shire, and Charlotte M. (Simmons) Cobleigh, a native of
Massachusetts. He entered McKendree in 1858 and grad-
uated as valedictorian of the class in 1862, receiving the
degree of A. B., and in 1865 the degree of A. M. He was a
member of the Platonian Literary Society. At the time of
his graduation, his father, the Rev. Doctor Cobleigh, was
president of McKendree. He took a University course in
Harvard in 1863-64. He received the degree of Master of
Arts from Yale in 1865, and the same degree from the Wes-
leyan University in 1866. He graduated from the Dio Lewis
Normal Institute of Physical Education in 1864. He was
married to Miss Martha A. Rice in Boston, June 29, 1869.
Of their five children, only one son and one daughter, Rice
and Nellie S., are still living. After entering upon his career
of newspaper work, Mr. Cobleigh held the following posi-
tions: Reporter for the Boston Daily Advocate and Bos'
ton Traveller, Assistant Editor of Zion's Herald, Boston-
City Editor of the Cleveland Daily Leader, City Editor and
Associate Editor of the Cleveland Plamdealer. He was on the
staff of the New York World from 1890, to his death and
was Foreign Editor of this paper since 1893. He spent the
year 1867 chiefly in travel and study in Europe. For two
years he was a member of the City Council of the city of
Cleveland, and served as Vice-President of that body. He
was an honorary member of the Cleveland Light Artillery. He
was also a member of each of the following learned societies
and fraternal orders: American Institute of Instruction, Na-
tional Geographical Society, Order of Elks, Eclectic Frater-
nity, Wesleyan University Chapter, and the Ohio Society
of New York. He died at his home in White Plains, New
York, March 4, 1927.
JOSEPH HARRIS
Joseph Harris was born in Truro, Cornwall, England,
December 25, 1830, and died at Los Angeles, California, De-
cember 15, 1912. He came to America at the age of nine with
his parents, who settled in Kentucky, but soon after moved
to Cass County, Illinois, where he grew to manhood. He
studied law for a time in Springfield, but abandoned it to
enter the ministry, and joined the Illinois Conference in
1859. He then entered McKendree and graduated in 1862,
with the degree of A. B., and in 1865 received the degree
of A. M. He preached a number of years in the Southern
Illinois Conference, and from 1879 to 1886, occupied the
chair of Mathematics in McKendree College. After two
years in the supernumerary relation, he transferred to the
St. Louis Conference. Among the charges he served in this
conference were Trinity and St. Luke's, and his last work
was assistant pastor of Union Church, all in the city of St.
Louis. In 1896, he took the superannuate relation and for
the last fifteen years of his life he and Mrs. Harris made
their home with their daughter and son-in-law. Rev. and
Mrs. Arthur Page Sharp, in Massachusetts. They were en-
joying an extended visit in Los Angeles, when he was called
to his final reward. He was one of the five members of his
class who lived to see the fiftieth anniversary of their grad-
uation, though he was unable to attend the reunion in r9i2.
JOHN S. FITZGERRELL
John Stanton Fitsgerrell
was born in Jefferson Coun-
ty, lUinois, March i, 1841.
He was a son of James J.
and Martha Ann (Martin)
Fitzgerrell, who were both
of Irish ancestry. He be-
came a student in McKen-
dree in the fall of 1858, and
graduated in 1862, receiving
at the same time the two de-
grees, B. S. and LL. B. He
was a member of the Philo-
sophian Literary Society.
He was married November
25, 1862, to Miss Mary C. Moore, a daughter of Capt. Jon-
athan and Ehzabeth Moore, of St. Clair County, Illinois. To
them was born one son, John Stanton Fitzgerrell, Jr., who
was educated in McKendree, and who, after a career in the
practice of law in Bowling Green, Missouri, died in the
early part of this century, due to heart failure.
Soon after his graduation, Mr. Fitzgerrell entered upon
the practice of law at Benton, Illinois, in partnership with
F. M. Youngblood, later known as Judge Youngblood. His
promising career was cut short by his death August 11,
1863. He was a member of the Methodist Church. His
widow moved to Lebanon where she might educate her son
at McKendree, and still resides in this city (1928).
JOHN N. GWIN
John Newton Gwin was born in Crawford County, lUi-
nois, February 26, 1837. He became a student in Asbury
University (now De Pauw), but later came to McKendree,
in 1857. In 1861, he left his studies and entered the United
States army as a volunteer soldier. After serving five months
he was discharged on account of sickness. As soon as he
was able, he resumed his college work, and graduated in
the class of 1862, receiving the degree of A. B., and later.
JOHN FITZGERRELL
f^r'
'%
\f j)j;(;R!ei;s CONFERRED. ^
M)in\us ton K s
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Reduced facsimile of cc
^■Mt
that of A. M. He was a member of the Philosophian Lit-
erary Society. He studied law in the Cincinnati Law School,
and received the degree of LL. B. from that institution
in 1866. He made the practice of law his vocation. He died
at Hot Springs, Arkansas, October jo, 1895.
BOONE GRIFFIN
Boone Griffin was born near Belleville, Illinois, July 27,
1842. He was a son of Joseph and Sally Ann (Collins)
Griffin, who were both natives of New York State. He en-
tered McKendree in the late fifties and had completed the
greater part of his college course before the beginning of the
Civil War. In 1861, he, with some of his fellow students,
went to Jefferson Barracks and enlisted in a Missouri Reg-
iment for ninety days. When this period of service was ended,
he decided to return to college. He was a member of the
graduating class of 1862, but in the spring of that year, his
health failed completely and he died at his home near Belle-
ville, May 4, 1862. When the Board of Trustees assembled
a month later, as a fitting memorial, it was voted that he
should be honored with the degree of Bachelor of Science,
and that his name should stand in the list of alumni of Mc
Kendree College.
DR. JAMES H LOWE
James Henry Lowe was born near Summerfield, St. Clair
County, Illinois, November 30, 1841, and died at his home
in Kewanee, Illinois, April 20, iSgj. He was the oldest
often children, and the first of these to pass from e.irth. While
only a boy, he entered McKendree and graduated with the
class of 1862, receiving the degree of B. S. He was a member
of the Platonian Literary Society. He studied law, but later
he entered the Chicago Medical College of the city of Chi-
cago, from which he received the degree of M. D. in 1873.
He at once began the practice of medicine at Brimfield, Illi-
nois, where he was married January 14, 1874, to Miss Au-
gusta Sutton, who with four children, survived him. In 1882,
he moved from Brimfield to Kewanee, where he practiced
his profession successfully until the time of his death. He
became a Christian at the early age of nine years, and was an
earnest and faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal
Church. At the time of his death, he had been for several
years president of the Board of Trustees of his church. An
extract from his obituary says, "He will be greatly missed
in the homes of Kewanee, where he ministered to the phys-
ical needs; in the church, where he was so faithful; and in
the temperance cause, where he was such a zealous worker.
His life was full of useful work; his influence always right."
DR. JAMES EDWIN MARSHALL
James Edwin Marshall was born near FayetteviUe, St.
Clair County, Illinois, May 22, 1842. His father, Edward
B. Marshall, was born in Dorchester County, Maryland,
in 1814, and his mother, Harriet (Barker) Marshall, in Ran-
dolph County, Illinois, in 1821. He entered McKendree
in January, 1858 and graduated in June, 1862, receiving the
degree of A. B. June 19, 1862, and five years later, in 1867, the
A. M. degree. He was a member of the Platonian Literary
Society. He studied in the St. Louis Medical College and re-
ceived the degree of M. D. in March, 1864. He practiced med-
icine and conducted a drug store at Centralia, 111. until i88j,
when he became cashier of a banking firm and continued in this
position until 1900, when the business was merged with a
State bank. He was also for twelve years treasurer of the
Centralia Building and Loan Association. He also served as
president of the Board of Education in the same city. In
1900, he moved to Chicago, and in 1905 to Evanston, where
he died in 1926. For seven years he served as director in
a wholesale grocery company in Evanston. He was married
November 11, 1869, to Miss Catherine McKnight at Cen-
tralia. Their children are Miss Zella Marshall, Mrs. Roy
H. Goddard, and Mrs. Claude R. Ailing, all born at Cen-
tralia and now residents of Evanston and Chicago. Dr.
Marshall saw service in the Civil War in a hospital on the
Mississippi River, and for a time was assistant surgeon in
the tenth Missouri Cavalry. He is a member of Centralia
Lodge No. 201, A. F. &? A. M., and for twenty-one years
One Hundred and EigKtv-Eiglil
i^Sl^^ll^^^^ss^^ss^
MKENDREE COLLEGK.
>:fSJ':'
REVERENDO NELSONI E. COBLEIGH. I). D.
PR.^.SIDI.
P.lOFESSOIilDUS. I
)FESSO
<1VLES1TAT1S McKlNDUl.l; HoNOKA.NDlS; Ejt'SL
; HoNOKANDls VTQUE III VERKNDIS; O.MMBUS
UE LlTEHAin'M FaUIORIDIS, IMPRIMIS
iiujrs AcAiiiM.ix I'ATKONis:
Nos, GRAUUM Ba
, LEM HECI
: L' R I ,
IIenricus Anson Castle,
Nri.sox Simmons CoDLEuai,
JoilANNrS SlANTON FiTZf. ERR ELL,
Boon GnniEN,*
Johannes Newton Gwin,
JosEi'iius Harris,
Jacodvjs Henrici.'s Lowe,
•Iacouus Edvinus Marshall,
Daniel Whittenberi; Phillips,
RoBERTUs Allen Queen,
GuLIELMt'S WaLLIS,
Peachy Taliaferro Wilson,
GuLiELMus Albion Young,
verecunde ihdicamus.
Facsimile ot an old commencement progra
served as recorder, two years as eminent Commander, and
treasurer for five years of the Cyrene Commandery, No.
23 Knight Templars. He attended the triennial encampment
of Knight Templars at Baltimore in 1871, and at Denver
in 1892. He has been a member of the Ancient Order of
United Workmen for about thirty years. He is a member
of the First Methodist Church at Evanston. He is a Repub-
lican in politics, has voted for president twelve times, and
ten times for the candidate elected. He has voted twelve
times for governor of Illinois, and helped to elect eleven
governors. He was present in two National Republican Con-
ventions in Chicago, m the years 1904 and 1908. He attended
One Uundred and £ightv-.\i
DR. PHILLIPS
President of McKendree in i8
three World's Fairs — in Philadelphia, Chicago and St. Louis.
He was one of the three members of his class who attended
the reunion in 191 2 on the 50th anniversary of their graduation.
DANIEL WHITTENBURG PHILLIPS
Daniel Whittenburg Phillips was born in Washington
County, Illinois, August 15, 18 j8. He was the youngest
of the nine children of John
and Sally (Whittenburg)
Phillips, whocame from East
Tennessee to Illinois in the
same year that it became a
state and settled in what
was afterward known as the
Beaucoup neighborhood, in
1818. He was reared in a re-
ligious home, converted at
sixteen, became a student in
McKendree College at eigh-
teen, and graduated in the
class of 1862, with the de-
gree of A. B. Three years
later he received the degree
of A. M., and in 1883, was honored with the degree
of D. D. He entered the ministry as a local preacher
and in that capacity did much preaching, and served
as supply pastor in several charges. He joined the
Southern Illinois Conference in 1868 and was a mem-
ber of this body until transferred to the Southwest Kan-
sas Conference in 1884, where his membership remained
until his death in Winfield, Kansas, September 2, 191 1. In
the former conference, he was pastor at Mound City, Nash-
ville, Mt. Vernon and Jerseyville. For two years he was
president of the Illinois Agricultural College, located at
Irvington. For four years, 1879-83, he was president of
McKendree College, his own alma mater. During his incum-
bency, a long standing debt of $7500 was paid, improvements
made on the buildings, and the departments of Music, Busi-
ness and Elocution were organized. In Kansas, he was pastor
at Arkansas City, Wichita, Eldorado and Medicine Lodge.
He was one of the founders of the Southwestern College at
Winfield, Kansas. He served for ten years as the president of
its Board of Trustees, and for one year was vice-president
and professor in the college. After his retirement from active
work in 1900, he spent the closing years of his life at Winfield,
in close touch with this college, where his son. Prof. J. F.
Phillips, is a member of the faculty. Dr. Phillips was first
married m 1863, to Mary Ann Curlee, who died five years
later, leaving one daughter, Eva May, now Mrs. Snyder, of
St. Louis. In 1869, he was married to Susan E. Vasey, of
Richview, Illinois, who now survives him. To them were
born five sons, William L., George A., John F., Walter E.,
and Robert E. These are all now living except the second,
who died in childhood.
WILLIAM WALLIS
William Wallis was born in Parsington, King's County,
Ireland, June 5, 1836. His father's ancestors went to Ire-
land from England in the army of William the Third and fought
m the battle of Boyne. His mother's ancestors went to Ire-
land with Cromwell's army and settled there. He was there-
fore of Puritan blood. He came to America with his parents in
1839. His father died a year later. He was reared on a
farm, joined the Methodist Church at fifteen, learned
the tanner's trade, taught school, and thus earned the
money to go to college. He entered McKendree in 1856
and graduated in 1862 with the degree of A. B. Three
years later, he received the degree of A. M., and in 1900, that of
D. D. He was a member of the Philosophian Literary Society.
August 13, 1862, he enlisted in Company C, 117th Illinois
Volunteers. He was elected Second Lieutenant, afterward
promoted to first lieutenant, and then to assistant adju-
tant. He was mustered out of the service in August, 1865,
and the following October, was admitted on trial to the
Southern Illinois Conference. His appointments were as fol-
lows: 1865, Mascoutah; 1866, professor in Southern lUinois
Female College at Salem; 1867-68, East St. Louis; 1869-70,
Collinsville; 1871-73, Brighton; 1874, EdwardsviUe; 1875,
Piasa and Fidelity; 1876-77, Effingham; 1878-79, Centralia;
1880, Olney; 1881-82, Carlyle; 1883-84, Ashley and Rich-
view; 1885-90, presiding elder Mt. Vernon District; 1891-92,
Carbondale; 1893-98, presiding elder Olney District; 1899,
Effingham. Failing health compelled him to retire from active
work, and he moved with his family to Lebanon. His death
occurred March 15, 1901. He was buried in College Hill
Cemetery. He was married September 8, 1868, to Miss Eva
Hain, of Salem, Illinois. Their five children are William,
Mary, Marshall, Robert and Edward. They all received a
college education, and the last two are graduates of Mc-
Kendree. Dr. Wallis was for many years a trustee of Mc-
Kendree College, and was a delegate to the General Confer-
ence of 1896.
PEACHY TALIAFERO WILSON
Peachy Taliafero Wilson was born in Christian County,
Kentucky, October 26, 1832. In 1833, he came with his
parents to Adams County, Illinois. He became a student
in McKendree in February, 1856. After several years at
One Hundred and H^
IfMC KENDREE
McKendree, he went to Garrett Biblical Institute and grad-
uated there in 1861. The next year he finished the course at
McKendree and received the degree of A. B. He was a mem-
ber of the Platonian Literary Society. In the fall of 1862, he
sailed for India as a missionary, under the direction of the
Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He
was married at Calcutta, November iq, 186:,, to Miss Mary
J. Whitcomb. To them were born five children. While Mr.
Wilson was home on a furlough with his family m 1874, his
wife died m Adams County, Illinois. He was married twice
afterward, the third wife surviving him. His death occurred
at Sitapur, India, February 13, 1898. He gave thirty-hve
years of faithful service to the cause of Christianity as a
Methodist Missionary.
WILLIAM ALBION YOUNG
William Albion Young was born in Montgomery Coun'
ty, Illinois, August 20, 1836. His parents, William and Jane
Young, were both native Americans. He entered McKen-
dree as a student in April, i8';7, and graduated with the
B. S. degree in 1862. He was a member of the Platonian Lit
erary Society. During the Civil War, he was quartermaster
of the first regiment of Illinois Cavalry. During the years
1864-66, he was sheriff of Montgomery County. He served
twelve years as a member of the State Board of Agriculture.
He was for many years engaged in farming and fruit growing
at his home at Butler, lUinois. He was a member of the Luth-
eran Church, and of the Royal Arch Chapter of the Masonic
Order. He was one of the three surviving members of the
class of 1862 who attended a reunion at McKendree in 1912
in commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of their grad-
uation. He was married m 1866, to Mary E. Ware. She died
in 1870, leaving two sons, who both became physicians,
Anthony, of St. Louis, and William Albion, Jr., of Spring-
field, 111. In 1871, Mr. Young was married again, to Sarah
Muenscher, of Mt. Vernon, Ohio. She died in 1898, leaving
four children : Cornelia, who became a Red Cross worker in
Russia, Frederica and Eunice, both of Chicago, and Charles,
who was killed in a railroad accident after he was grown. In
August, 1899, Mr. Young was married a third time, to Mrs.
Emma J. Whiting, of Kansas City, who survived him. One
who knew him well, said this of him, "He was a man of ex-
ceptional abihty, a deep reader and thinker, and a born leader.
He would have stood high in almost any field of endeavor,
but he loved the trees and flowers and fruits on his farm so
much that he was content to spend his life caring for them.
His country home was one of the most deHghtful spots in
all the region." He died April 3, 1922.
ROBERT ALEXANDER QUEEN
Robert Alexander Queen graduated in law with this
class.
THE CLASS OF 1863
JOHN ELAM
John Elam was born m Fayette County, Illinois, Febru-
ary 22, 1839. He was a son of Rev. William and Mary
Elam, the father being a minister of the Dunkard Church and
a native of Virginia, while his mother came from Tennessee.
He entered McKendree in 1861 and became a member of the
Platonian Literary Society. He graduated from the law de-
partment in 1863, receiving the degree of LL. B. He began the
practice of law in Vandalia and soon became the partner of
Judge Tevis Greathouse, and continued in this partnership
until his death, which occurred August 22, 1875. He left a
wife, a son, William, and a daughter. Fern. The son was
drowned in the Kaskaskia River in 1901.
WILLIAM HENRY KROME
William Henry Krome was born July i, 1841. He grad-
uated from McKendree m the class of 1863, receiving the
degree of A. B. He was a member of Plato. Later he took a law
course in the University of Michigan and received the degree
of LL. B. He began the practice of his profession in the city of
Edwardsville, where he spent the remainder of his life. He
has served as mayor of his home city and as a member of the
Illinois State Senate. In 1890, he was elected county judge of
Madison County. In 1894, he was a lecturer in the McKeiv
dree Law School. In addition to his different lines of legal
work, he was for a large part of his life engaged in the banking
business. For many years he was president of the Bank of
Edwardsville. His death occurred March 7, 1917.
WILLIAM CHRISTIAN
William Christian, of Tamaroa, graduated in this class,
receiving the degree of Bachelor of Laws. We have no record
of his subsequent career.
MCKE^jmEE COLLEGE.
CERTIFICATE OF CONATION TO^ THE\i;iSJ^WMEii
TeifSJf &&-2r,'^j,„ <^„^v,^ ««^/»^. .^.^-/i^^; j1,/;,,J<.- .,w\i?i,,,//<.^/, y„,,.,.
Reduced facsimile of an endowment certificate dated August 7th, 1863
CHAPTER XVI.
McKendree and the Wars
fficKENDREE's alumni list begins m 1841 and up to the
days of the Mexican War she had but few students.
The most of these were singled out for leadership
in civil lines, but there were a few McKendree men who
participated in that early war. Among them were William
R. Morrison, who was a captain in the Mexican, and a
colonel in the Civil War; the two brothers, William H. and
Frederick A. Snyder, the former a first lieutenant of the
Fifth Illinois, and the other a second lieutenant in the Six-
teenth U. S. A. regiment. These were both members of the
class of 1843. In the list of privates there were Samuel Kinney
Thomas, class of 1848; Joseph H. Tam, one of the founders
of Philo; and Michael Mummert, one of the founders of
Plato and the first teacher of German in McKendree. Doubt-
less there were others if we had a complete list. At the
beginning of the Civil War there were in the college in
all Its departments, including the faculty, less than two hun-
dred men. The Union Army, outside of the regulars, was
recruited by a call for volunteers. The draft came later, and
then it was a selective draft and not a conscription of all
sound men between certain ages. So probably not a single
one of the college group went except voluntarily. Also there
were some new students each year of the war, and by these
means the college work was kept going in spite of the large
number who entered the army. At this time it is not possible
to determine exactly how many McKendreans were in the
war, but we have a record of at least thirty officers, and it
seems likely that altogether there were not less than a hun-
dred and fifty who were in the army and also students in
McKendree either before or after their war service. As evi-
dence of the patriotic principles employed in the administra-
tion of the institution, and also as indication that there may
have been some students who were not strictly loyal to the
union, we find the following resolution in the records of the
Board : "Students shall not be allowed to utter disloyal senti-
ments against the government of the United States or make
disloyal demonstrations in any other way, by displaying signs
or badges indicative of disloyalty; and should any student
continue to do so after suitable admonition, he may be ex-
pelled or otherwise punished at the discretion of the faculty."
The class of 1862 graduated in June of that year, twelve in
number. We do not have at hand the titles of their orations,
but there is a tradition that they reflected the patriotic sen-
timent of the day and advocated the duty of citiiens to
engage in righteous warfare when their country needed their
service. The war clouds were hanging low upon the horizon,
and there was much discouragement in many quarters over
the outlook for the success of the war. It was that summer
that Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, though
it did not go into effect until the following January. It so
happened that before college opened in the fall of 1863, at
least two members of that class and two members of the
faculty were officers in the Union Army. In September the
117th Regiment of Illinois Volunteers was organized with
Professor Risdon M. Moore as colonel and Professor Samuel
H. Deneen as adjutant. This was called the McKendree
Regiment because the majority of the McKendree soldiers
were in that regiment. Henry C. Fike, of the class of 1852,
gives a list of the officers of this regiment who were grad-
uates or sometime students in McKendree. Colonel Risdon
M. Moore, Quartermaster Henry C. Fike, Adjutant Samuel
H. Deneen, Lieutenant Daniel Kerr, Sergeant Joseph T.
Parker, Major William P. Olden, Lieutenant Benjamin F.
Olden, Lieutenant William Wallis, Lieutenant James M.
Truitt, Sergeant William P. Eaton, Captain Robert A. Hal-
bert. Lieut.-Colonel Jonathan Merriam, Captain W. R.
Whittaker, Sergeant Monroe J. Miller, Lieutenant David
H. Wilderman, and of course a much larger number in the
rank of private. In other branches of the army were General
Jesse H. Moore, General James H. Wilson, General Wesley
Merritt, General Lucian Greathouse, Colonel William R.
Morrison, Captain William Herbert Copp, Captain Henry
A. Castle, Major Bluford Wilson, and of course it is not
claimed that this list is complete.
After a few weeks of training, the 1 17th left Camp Butler
November 11, 1862 and did service at various points in the
war zone as far south as Vicksburg. In its three years service
the regiment was engaged in six battles and thirteen skir-
mishes. It marched 2J07 miles, traveled 6191 miles by water,
and 778 miles by rail. A number of soldier boys came to
McKendree after the war was over, in the fall of 1865, real-
izing that with the handicap of maimed bodies, it was more
necessary to have trained minds in order to succeed in the
world's great struggle for the means of livelihood or for suc-
cess in a business or profession. At one time there were three
ex-soldiers reciting in McKendree classes, who had only one
arm each; having lost the other in southern battlefields. This
one-armed trio consisted of James B. Pinckard of Brighton,
Otic Hundred and ?imety-Two
c KENDREE^^^^^^s^g^^^^^T,.^
James Haynes of ZanesviUe, and William F. Wilton of Huey.
As an illustration of the kind of service the McKendree
soldiers rendered m this great war, we quote briefly from an
address delivered hy Professor Deneen at an educational
convention held at Lebanon in 1884. "But if our land were to
derive from its colleges no greater service than the zealous
devotion with which they espoused the loyal cause in the
late war, the nation would be amply repaid tor all the self-
sacrifice and expenditure made in their behalf. All did well,
but none better in proportion to age
and numbers, than our own McKen-
dree. From the tiring upon Fort
Sumpter to the capture of Mobile,
her sons gathered around the starry
banner to defend its honor or die
beneath its folds. They perished from
fever in hospitals; they pined away
from starvation in prison pens; they
found a sudden grave beneath the
waters of the Tennessee ; they fell m
the fiery front above the clouds at
Mission Ridge. From Fort Donaldson
to Appomattox there was scarcely
an important engagement in which
the sons of McKendree did not do
battle for equal liberty and an un-
divided nation. They were found
in all ranks from the private soldier
to the Major General; but how-
ever different in rank the spirit which animated them
all was the same. It was at Fort Donaldson that Colonel
Morrison, the present congressman, then in charge of the
Forty-ninth Illinois Volunteers, received a disabling wound.
It was at Holly Springs, when that post was surprised by
Van Dorn, that a cavalry officer, Isaiah Stickle, a graduate
of McKendree, while others were surrendering, drew his
sabre, and exhorting his comrades to follow his example, and
to prefer death to a rebel prison, cut his way through the
superior numbers of the encircling foe, and brought his
followers in safety to the Union lines. It was near Atlanta
that another son of McKendree, Colonel Lucien Greathouse,
leading his regiment in a charge against the serried ranks of
the enemy, fell with a fatal wound while the air was ringing
with the shouts for the victory which his fiery courage had
helped to win.
"The distinguished officer who in the latter part of the
war started from Nashville with fifteen thousand cavalry
THE THREE ONH-ARMED EX-SOLDIERS
James Haynes, J B. Pinckard and W. F. Wilton
and scattered havoc and desolation through Alabama and
Georgia, defeated Forrest and destroyed his army, took
Montgomery, which was for a time the capital of the Con-
federacy, and feasted his troopers where the chieftains of
secession had first met m council, and closed his eventful
campaign by the capture of Jefferson Davis himself, was a
student in McKendree. This was General James H. Wilson.
Not less deserving of mention is another son of McKendree,
M nor General Wesley Merritt, a cavalry officer, noted alike
for impetuous valor and eminent ser-
vices, prominent in campaigns in
Virginia, who not very long ago
was appointed Superintendent of
the United States Military Academy
at West Point.
"But not to dwell longer upon the
achievements of officers, it was a
student of McKendree, a private
soldier, a mere boy, who at the battle
of Nashville, rushed into the thickest
of the fight, tore their colors from
the hands of the enemy, bore them
m triumph to Washington City, and
received m person the thanks of the
nations representatives.
"There was another McKendrean,
Richard Thatcher, the son of a Meth-
odist preacher of Southern Illinois,
who joined the army when only fif-
teen years old. His company was captured and he was taken to
Salisbury prison, infamous on account of the inhuman Wirz
whose fiendish life was fitly closed by a felon's death. There
the poisonous air and the polluted water, the want of proper
clothing and sufficient food, the daily suffering and the distant
hope, had caused his young heart to despond and almost to des-
pair of aid, either human or divine. One day while he was
seeking to call away his thoughts from his own wretched condi-
tion by reading the Bible, which among other losses he had
contrived to retain, he was accosted by a fellow prisoner, low
in stature but with a piercing eye: 'What book have you
there, my friend^' The Bible,' was the reply. 'Let me see
it. The rebels got mine when they made me a prisoner.'
Taking the book he read some of the promises which have
brought comfort and hope to so many of the unfortunate
and suffering of earth. He then returned the volume to the
young soldier saying, 'Cheer up, my brother, cheer up ! We
shall yet find some means of deliverance. God has revealed
One Hundred and Xmety-Th.
-^r^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^g^^s^
to me that I am never to die in this rebel prison!' The
speaker was Boston Corbett, who afterwards fired the shot
which put an end to the life of John Wilkes Booth, the
assassin of Abraham Lincoln. The two captives resolved to
hold a daily prayer meeting in the prison. Others came. The
interest increased. A revival followed which resulted in
many conversions Subsequently our young soldier made his
escape from prison, and guided by the light of the stars and
assisted by the counsels of slaves, journeying through forests
and swamps, subsisting on such food and sleeping in such
places as the veriest tramp would now disdain, he made his
way in safety at last to the Union forces."
It seems appropriate here to give an extract from Colonel
Risdon M. Moore's account of the campaigns of the "Mc-
Kendree Regiment," the 117th, which was written for the
"McKendree Pigskin" which was puHished in 1905. After
enumerating the list of officers of the regiment who were
McKendreans, which we have already given above, he says.
"A large per cent of the privates and non-commissioned
officers had been college students and some were students
after the war. The response to 'Father Abraham's' call for
'three hundred thousand more' was so generous that the
government found it difficult to arm and equip the vast
number of regiments that were in camp within one month
after the call. The number of infantry regiments rose from
the sixties to over one hundred and thirty in Illinois. There
were no tents and few guns and mustering officers were
scarce. However we left for the front November 11, 1862,
almost two months after final muster, and went into camp
six days later at Memphis, Tennessee.
"I shall always remember a dapper little staff officer, who
escorted us from our steam boat to camp and began to let
us know who he was by expressing regrets that his grand-
father was dead. I, supposing he referred to some one re-
cently killed, was slow to reply to his words of sorrow. As
he kept repeating his regrets, I finally asked who his grand-
father was, and was surprised to learn that he meant Pres-
ident Harrison who died April 4, 1841, and .so had been
dead more than twenty-one years. I thought, though I
didn't say it, 'How blood will tell''
"On leaving Camp Butler, we had received our guns, a
Belgian rifle calibre sixty-nine. However we soon discovered
that they were worthless, as after bursting a cap eight or
ten times they would no longer explode one. We had these
rifles inspected several times by inexperienced officers like
our nice little fellow whose grandfather was dead, but no
one could tell what was the matter with our guns, and they
were all alike. They would fire all right a few times and
then they would cease to do duty. Finally General Sherman
came out and discovered the trouble in a few minutes. The
defect was irreparable, the guns were useless, and we were
left out of the moving column, then ready to start for Vicks-
burg, overland, by way of Holly Springs, under General
Grant in December, 1862.
"Being thus without arms we were placed in Fort Pickering
in the lower part of Memphis. And there we were kept to
man that fort with its hundred and twenty heavy guns, for
nearly two years. At times, however, we were sent out on
scout duty into Tennessee and Arkansas to drive out small
rebel forces under Forrest and other rebel raiders. On July j,
of 186 J, the regiment was sent down to Helena, Arkansas, to
support General B. M. Prentiss, whose command was then
severely threatened by the rebel commands of General Price
and Marmaduke. Their assaults failed and the 117th took an
honored part in sending them into the Arkansas woods
to rest.
"In December thereafter, Forrest threatened Memphis, and
then we went for him, as he was ravaging and pillaging West
Tennessee and Northern Mississippi, until he and his com-
mand hastily went for other places of safety, to annoy Mem-
phis no more for eight or nine months.
"In January, 1864, we became a part of General A. J.
Smith's command, in which we remained to the close of the
war, participating in all his campaigns and battles, not resting
between campaigns, at any time more than four or five days,
and without tents at one time for more than six months.
"We left Vicksburg for Meridian, Mississippi, as a part
of the third brigade, fought with portions of S. D. Lee's and
Polk's commands, driving them rapidly back on Jackson;
crossed Pearl River on the 6th, and then kept them moving,
fighting almost daily until we entered Meridian, February
14, under the boom of cannon and the rattle of rifles, the
117th in the lead. There we worked eight days destroying
railroads, with corn for rations for man and beast, one hun-
dred and fifty miles from the Mississippi River, our base
of supplies.
"We returned thence to Vicksburg by way of Canton,
where the fighting was resumed as a business almost daily,
until within a short distance from Vicksburg where we
arrived March 4, having been gone twenty-nine days. In
the meantime I had fallen heir to the brigade.
"On the eighth we took steamers for Red River, having
had four days for washing and for outward and inward
;. On the eleventh, we tied up for the night at
One Hundred and X'netyFour
MC KENDREE
Simmesport, Louisiana, on Atchafalaya Bayou; reconnoitered
the twelfth; moved out from Simmesport a few miles on the
thirteenth, driving off rebel cavalry: began a forced march
at four A. M. for Fort De Russey, thirty-four miles up Red
River on the fourteenth, and captured it at five P. M., tho
it was one of the strongest of fortifications. Abbott, in
writing up the brilliant battles of the war, cites De Russey
as one of them, but gives the credit to General Banks who
was not within a hundred miles of it at the time, and had
nothing to do with our movements until two weeks later.
After the fall of De Russey, we took our boats and ran up
to Alexandria, Louisiana, where we waited the arrival of
Banks' command, thus wasting ten precious days and thus
giving the rebels time to concentrate or get together. We
had divided or scattered them. This delay was the chief
cause of Banks' defeat later at Mansfield, April 8, and the
loss of the fruits of our victories up to that date, in which
we had captured several thousand prisoners and over twenty
pieces of artillery at De Russey, Alexandria, and Henderson
Hill. We reached Pleasant Hill battlefield April 8, while
Banks' command, parts of the thirteenth Army Corps under
Ransom and the nineteenth under Franklin, were fighting
at Mansfield or Sabine Crossroads. Banks, to display his
army and his lack of generalship, had placed our command
a day's march behind his rear, and besides this had cumbered
us with his baggage and a part of his supply train. Hence
we were fully twenty miles from the battlefield on the eighth,
but hearing the boom of the cannon on the afternoon of the
eighth, we abandoned all trains and hastened to the front
at a quick step and met our routed forces at Pleasant Hill
at dusk. Their condition gave an idea of our stampede at
Bull Run. We fought the battle almost alone on the ninth
and won a great victory, driving the rebels from seven to
twenty-one miles.
"Here again Banks' inefficiency was shown in falling back
to Grand Ecore, thirty-six miles, where after four days the
Confederates, discovering that we were retreating, came
timidly up to us. There the second brigade, and my brigade,
the third, went to the relief of our fleet and transports at a
small place called Campti, fourteen miles up the river, where
the Confederates under Dick Taylor had besieged Commo-
dore Porter's fleet and our boats with our sick and wounded
— about forty vessels of all kind, iron clads, tin clads, and
wooden boats.
"We released them under orders 'not to leave the camp.'
We left again on the twentieth and fought our way to the
Mississippi in battles at Cloutierville, Marksville, Alexan-
dria, and vicinity, and at Yellow Bayou. The date of the
last was May twentieth. This ended that disastrous cam-
paign of about seventy-five days, wherein Banks showed up
so badly and General A. J. Smith so brilliantly. We arrived
at Vicksburg and found the river blockaded. We landed at
Chico, Louisiana, and drove Marmaduke and company off,
and opened the Mississippi. We landed at Memphis June
tenth, to learn that Forrest had fallen upon the commands
of Generals Sturgis and Grierson and cut them to pieces. A
few years ago I opened a folio history of Professor Hamilton
Mabie, a writer of some note, wherein he said in substance,
that General Sturgis of the Federal army met General Forrest
June lo, 1864, and almost annihilated him. This was a strange
perversion of a sad history. Our command was hurriedly
pushed out to the relief of Sturgis and Grierson. Sturgis
should have been court-martialed and summarily dismissed
for that disgraceful affair. After our return from relieving
them, we were paid up and equipped for the work that
Sturgis failed to do — whip Forrest. This we did handsomely
in six pitched battles, fought July thirteenth, on the march
from Pontatoc to Tupelo, Mississippi; two at Tupelo, one
in the morning and one at night of the fourteenth. In this
night battle the 117th did all the fighting; two on the fif-
teenth, one at Tupelo and one at Crooked Creek, and then
one on the sixteenth. In all of these engagements we chastised
Forrest severely and gave him the only wound he received
during the war. I learned this fact from Forrest himself some
years after the war, in Montgomery, Alabama.
"After a fruitless campaign down to Oxford, Mississippi,
where we burned old Jake Thompson's residence, while he
was m Canada scheming to burn Chicago, we returned to
Memphis to wash up and secure supplies. Then we started
up the river for St. Louis to drive off Pap Price and his Con-
federates. At St. Louis, the 117th was first rushed down to
De Soto, and then back to St. Louis and out to Franklin,
thirty-six miles west, to meet Joe Shelby and others in line
of battle. A few shots and shells sent them away in haste.
We followed them up and out to the Kansas line without
another chance to try our Springfields on them. From the
Kansas border we returned to St. Louis and then were hur-
ried off to Nashville to aid General Thomas against the dash-
ing Confederate, Hood. The 117th went into line there
November 3,0, while Schofield and Hood were in a desperate
struggle for the mastery at Franklin thirty miles away.
Franklin was one of the bloodiest battles of the war. Hood
was so severely punished there that he was in no haste to
pitch in at Nashville. Thomas assumed the offensive on the
One Hundred and \,neU-Fn-e
riMC KENDREE"^^^^^^^^^..^,..-^
fifteenth of December and annihilated him. It was of these
battles that Lincoln told his dog story. Some critics com-
plained that Thomas did not capture every man, horse and
gun, in Hood's army. The story was that a farmer out west
gave a troublesome dog a piece of fat meat with some powder
and a piece of punk which had been lighted. The dog gulped
the dose down, but in a few minutes there was an explosion
and the late dog was scattered around in many pieces, and
though all the pieces were there, they were no longer a dog.
"We followed the retreating forces of Hood down to the
Tennessee River, capturing many thousand prisoners and
about ninety pieces of artillery. So that army, like the dog,
was dead.
"We went into camp at Eastport, Mississippi, and had the
finest rest we had had for a year. Here again we had corn for
rations for eight days. The soldiers took it good naturedly,
saying, 'the next ration, boys, is hay.'
"We left that camp for New Orleans and Mobile, February
the seventh. We camped a few days at New Orleans and
then took a steamer for Mobile, The George B. McClen-
nan' steaming down the Mississippi and out through the
south east pass and thence to Dauphine Island at the mouth
of Mobile Bay. On March twenty-sixth we took small steam-
boats and ran up to Danly's landing on Fish River. On the
twenty-seventh, by rapid march, we invested Spanish Fort,
driving a small Confederate force before us. On the second
of April, I invested Fort Blakely, six miles further north. On
April eighth a part of our corps assaulted Spanish Fort and
carried it, and on the ninth we assaulted Blakely and carried
it. We found an unfolded letter written by a Colonel of an
Alabama regiment to his mother in Mobile, saying: 'Dear
Mother- You have or will hear of the capture of Spanish
Fort by the Yankees, but I write to assure you that there
are not enough Yankees in Alabama to capture us in a
month.' We captured him and his fort in less than twenty
minutes. This battle ended the war for us as Lee had sur-
rendered nine hours before we fought our last battle.
"From Mobile we marched to Montgomery, arriving there
April a^th, and from there we were sent home to be mustered
out, by way of Selma, Meridian, and Vicksburg. From there
we went to St. Louis by boat and thence on to Springfield,
Illinois, by rail, where we were mustered out at Camp Butler
on August 5, 1865, having participated in about thirty-five
engagements, and having travelled by rail nearly a thousand
miles, by water over six thous.md, and on foot nearly two
thousand five hundred."
One of the trio of one-armed McKendreans whose pic-
tures appear above, James B. Pinckard, lost his right arm
at Fort Blakely. Yet as stated by Colonel Moore, General
Lee had surrendered more than nine hours before that battle
was fought. If the more perfect means of communication
which we have now had existed then, that soldier need not
have gone through life with only one arm. These narratives
of Colonel Moore, Adjutant Deneen, Lieutenant Fike, and
others, make it clear that the McKendree boys played no
inconsiderable part in the great Civil War.
With the Spanish- American War in 1898, McKendree
does not seem to have been so closely identified. It is true
that Harry Van Treese, a former McKendree student, was
one of Col. Roosevelt's "Rough Riders." And a number of
other McKendreans got as far as the training camp in Flor-
ida, among them, Rev. Orley E. Laird, class of '93, and the
three Wallis brothers, Marshall, Robert, and Edward, sons
of Rev. William Wallis, of the class of '62, while Cameron
Harmon, Clair Moorman, and OUie Wallace, commonly
known as "Irish," actually saw service in Cuba. Harmon
held the position of wagonmaster, served till the end of the
war, and came home with the victorious army by way of
New York City. All these experiences were a wonderful
inspiration to the young soldier boy, but as soon as prac-
ticable, he came back to McKendree and finished his col-
lege course.
McKendree's connection with the World War is more
difficult to determine with accuracy. The plan of the draft
for soldiers included all able-bodied men between the ages
of eighteen and forty-five who did not have some legitimate
reason for exemption. This no doubt included hundreds of
men out in the busy world who had at one time been stu-
dents in McKendree. In the fall of niS, according to the
plan devised by Congress, a chapter of the "S. A. T. C,"
or Student's Army Training Corps, was estabhshed in Mc-
Kendree. These boys from eighteen to twenty-one were
drafted for training, to be used for soldiers in case the war
should last until they were needed at the front.
This group was composed of a hundred young men, most
of them just out of high school. When they were given a
choice of going to the army training camp or training in
college, they usually chose the latter, and the government
bore the actual expense of their board and training. The
Corps was in charge of Major Andrews whom some of the
faculty still remember and whom some of the boys in the
training corps will never forget. The Boys' Dormitory was
transformed into a barracks, and military rules of living were
One Hundred dnd HmctyStx
MC KENDREE
enforced. A strict physical
examination had to be pass'
ed and a few were rejected
for physical reasons. The
hoys received military in-
struction under the major
and took certain specified
college courses which were
supposed to be especially
helpful to the future sol-
dier. The boys wore their
uniforms in the class room
and we seemed more than
GENERAL WESLEY MERRITT ever a part of the great war.
But after the armistice was signed on that well remember'
ed eleventh day of November, there were soon rumors
afloat that the policy of the government would be changed.
There were grave objections to spending the people's
money in training soldiers if there was to be no im'
mediate need for them. In fact, before Christmas, came
the order to disband the "S. A. T. C." in the various colleges
which had them throughout the country. It was done and
soldier uniforms were no longer the prevailuig costume on
McKendree's campus. But besides this training group many
McKendree boys were actually in the war activities both
at home and abroad, on this side of the ocean and "over seas."
The Philo and Plato Societies both had their service flags.
The stars on them represented men who were at the time
or recently connected with the college societies. Of course
there were also many Methodist young men m the war be-
sides those who were at McKendree. Almost every church
in the conference had its service flag. The idea came to a
couple of young women who had been working for a few
years in our conference as evangelists, that it would be a
fine thing to combine all these flags into one. These excellent
ladies were Miss May Paul and Miss Mary Olive, also
known as "Little Mary." They were quite successful as
evangelists and they undertook this new enterprise in the
same indomitable spirit that brought success in their evan-
gelistic work. They procured a huge banner and proceeded
with their own hands to set upon it the five thousand stars
that represented the Methodist soldier boys of one confer-
ence. The task took weeks and even months. But the two
women persevered and at conference time they brought the
magnificent flag with them to Greenville where the confer-
ence met that year (1918), and on the opening day it was
unfurled and raised in the Greenville Church, with appro-
priate ceremonies and abundance of patriotic speeches. Yet
this enthusiasm was tempered and subdued at times by the
fact that many ot the sons of members of the conference
were at that time over seas in the army and several had
already made the supreme sacrifice for their country in
"Flanders Field" at the battle front of the most stupendous
civil war that the world has ever known. After conference,
the great flag was carefully furled and brought to McKendree
College for safe keeping, where with its five thousand stars
it may still be viewed by the visitor as it reposes in a wooden
case with a glass cover.
Among the boys who had been recently connected with
the college and never returned from over seas or from the
training camp, were Herschel Tritt, Paul Dee, Harold
Adams, and Glen McCormack. As a memorial to the last
named his fellow members of the Philosophian Society have
started a movement to found a permanent scholarship to
aid one needy student after another during all the years
of the future m accomplishing the trying task of securing
an education.
We may safely conclude that McKendree's connection
with the four great wars in which our country has been
involved during the first century of her existence, has always
been an honorable one. Yet it is also a safe prediction that
her influence will he e.xerted in the most vigorous manner
possible to prevent the occurrence of any war at all during
her second century, upon which she is about to enter.
A LIST OF McKENDREANS
WHO WERE OFFICERS IN THE CIVIL WAR
General James H. Wilson Colonel Risdon M. Moore
General Wesley Merritt Colonel Jonathan Merriam
General Lucien Greathouse Lieut. -Col. E. H. Topping
General Jesse H. Moore Major William S. Pope
General John I. Rinaker Quartermaster Henry C. Fike
Surgeon J. R. M. Gaskill Quartermaster Charles W.
Colonel James A. Jaquess Jerome
Adjutant Samuel H. Deneen
Adjutant Isaac N. Higgins
Major William P. Olden
Chaplain Elias D. Wilkin
Captain Jacob S. Moore
Captain William H. Copp
Captain Joseph T. Parker
Captain James Cornngton
Captain Henry A. Castle
Captain Robert A. Halbert
Lieutenant Lewis M. PhiUi
Lieutenant Isaiah Stickel
Lieutenant Daniel Kerr
Lieutenant Benj. F. Olden
Lieutenant William Wallis
Lieutenant James M. Truitt
Lieutenant Lewis C. Bornman GENERAL JAMES WILSON
One Hundred and N.metySex'en
CHAPTER XVII.
Presicie?it AINvfs Administration
B
OBERT Allyn was a born leader. He
was both a physical and intellectual
giant. He was almost as tall as Lincoln,
but heavier built. He was born in Ledyard,
Connecticut, January 25, 1817, and died at
Carbondale, Illinois.. January 7, 1894. He re-
ceived his college education at the Wesleyan
University. It was located in his native state.
He graduated in 1841 and for a year taught
mathematics at the Wilbraham Academy. In
1842 he joined the New England Conference
and served four years in the pastorate. After
that he devoted his life mainly to educational
work. In 1846, he became principal of Wilbra-
ham Academy and after two years took a
similar position in the Providence Conference
Academy. In 1852, and again in 1854, he was elected to the
Rhode Island Legislature. In 1854, he was appointed Com-
missioner of Public Education for the state of Rhode Island,
and in that year was an official visitor to the United States
Military Academy at West Point. In 1857, he accepted a
position as professor of Ancient Languages in the Ohio
University at Athens, Ohio, and after two years he became
president of the Wesleyan Female College at Cincinnati. In
1863, in the midst of the Civil War, he was elected president
of McKendree. After guiding the destinies of McKendree
for eleven years, which was the longest term of any president
up to that time, he became the first principal of the Southern
Illinois State Normal School at Carbondale, where he finished
his educational and his earthly career. Many hundreds of
graduates received diplomas bearing his signature, and not a
few of them attained distinction in their respective fields.
Bishop Mallalieu, Dr. Charles H Payne, and Dr. William F.
Warren were at one time his pupils. He was a stalwart in
defense of the right and condemnation of the wrong, by pen
and voice and personal example. He excelled in talent for
organization and executive ability. The movement to cele-
brate the Centennial of Methodism in this state received
much of its inspiration from him, and he was chief among the
organizers of the Southern Illinois Teachers' Association. He
was secretary of the Southern Illinois Conference for six years
and represented that body in the General Conference in 1872.
He was twice married. First to Emeline E. Denison, who
died in 1844 leaving two children. Later he was married to
REV. ROBERT ALLYN
President of McKendree and later
principal of Southern Illinois Normal
Mary B. Budington, who died at Carbondale
in 187Q, leaving four children. His oldest
daughter. Emma, married William H. Hypes,
a son of Benjamin Hypes, who has been often
mentioned in this narrative. This daughter,
Mrs. Hypes, was for many years a leader in
the work of the Women's Foreign Missionary
Society of this conference and was conference
president of that body. The only other new
member of the faculty when Dr. Allyn came
to the presidency was William Fletcher
Swahlen, who taught Greek and German and
whose biography will appear in a later chap-
ter. It was during his administration that the
Educational Convention of 1868 was held to
commemorate McKendree's fortieth annivers-
ary and to inspire interest in her future. Substantial progress
was made in building up the endowment fund but in that per-
iod it did not reach a point where it was at all sufficient for the
growing needs of the institution. Also a college paper, "The
McKendree Repository" was established in 1867 and con-
tinued into the next president's administration. It is regarded
as one of the most successful journalistic efforts ever made
at McKendree. Another event was the admission of women
in 1869, and as a result of that, the organization of the Clion-
ian Literary Society. The salaries of the faculty were raised
to a figure more than double what they had been in the
early days, and higher than they were many years later when
by reason of its periods of depression, the college sometimes
paid its teachers less than a Hving wage.
When Dr. Allyn resigned the presidency of McKendree
to become principal of the Southern Normal in 1874, the
Joint Board at its session for that year adopted the follow-
ing complimentary resolution :
Whereas the election of the Rev. Robert Allyn to the
Principalship of the Southern Illinois Normal University at
Carbondale, and his acceptance thereof, has made it necessary
for him to vacate the office of President of McKendree Col-
lege which he has held for eleven successive years. It was
assumed in that time of our national and local history when
there was least encouragement for such institutions; for the
exigencies of the Civil War, the extraordinary depreciation
of money, and the enlistment of so many young men from
the patronizing territory were sources of no little discour-
One Hundred and TiinetyEight
agement. But the work of Dr. AUyn wjs undertaken and
continued up to the present with evidences of constant pros-
perity. The members of the Joint Board, in view of these
facts, and of his final separation from them, hereby resolve,
That in our judgment the affairs of the college were never
in more satisfactory condition than now. Throughout the
incumbency of Dr. AUyn there has been no decline of the
grade of scholarship in the college and no diminution of
interest on the part of its students and patrons. There has
been a steady increase of the influence of the college abroad,
and the results of the teaching in its halls we have witnessed
in the excellent character of the scholarship of the classes
annually graduated. We cordially commend the spirit of
piety, of harmony, and of patriotism, which has been man-
ifest among the students, and we are rejoiced to know that
many scores of them owe not only their mental, but also
their spiritual trainihg to the president and his excellent col-
leagues. We take pleasure in commending the retiring presi-
dent to the confidence and esteem of the institution and
community to which he may shortly remove, and devoutly
pray that God may continue his life long m the midst of
his abundant labor."
We here present brief sketches of the students who
graduated during the administration of Dr. Allyn.
The first class whose diplomas he signed was
THE CLASS OF 1864
ABIJAH SMITH MEGUIRE
Abijah Smith Meguire was born at Goshen, Cape May
County, New Jersey, January 26, 1838. He became a student
in McKendree in the fall of 1861 and graduated in 1864,
receiving the degree of A. B. He was a member of the Philo-
sophian Society. The same year of his graduation, he was
appointed clerk of the War Department in Washington. He
studied law in the ofiice of Walker and Stanton. In 1865, he
went to New York City and continued his studies in the
law office of Blatchford, Seward, and Griswold, and was
admitted to the bar in 1866. He then formed a law partner-
ship in Washington, D. C. with William L. De Zeng. In
1871, he moved to Chicago, where he continued the practice
of law. He was married March 20, 1872, to Miss Julia M.
Hypes, of Lebanon, a daughter of Benjamin Hypes, the long
time friend of the college. Their children are Grace A., Cor-
nelia B., Helen R., and Frank H. The eldest died while still
a young woman. Mr. Meguire practiced law for over forty
years in Chicago before he retired from active work. He
was a Methodist, a Mason, and a Republican. His death
occurred in 1921.
J. W. PURVIANCE
James Washington Purviance was born at Carlinville, Illi-
nois, February 25, 1842. He first became a student in Mc
Kendree in J.muary, 1862, and graduated in June, 1864, re
ceivmg the degree of B. S. He was a member of the Philo-
sophian Society. In addition to his regular college work he
carried a law course under the direction of Ex-Governor
French, which he completed about the time he graduated,
and in October, 1864, he began the practice of law in Mem-
phis, Tennessee. In July, 1865, he moved to Purdy, Ten-
nessee and continued his law practice in that place until the
next year when he was appointed prosecuting attorney and
held the office till 1869, when he was appointed U. S.
district attorney for the district of Western Tennessee,
and held the position tor tour years. During this period his
residence was at Memphis. In January, 1873, he was married
to Miss R. C. Pharr, of Purdy, Tenn. and soon after located
at Helena, Arkansas, where he engaged in the practice of
law m partnership with J. M. Hewitt. Later he moved to
Clarksville, Tennessee where he was located in 191 1.
WILLIAM BATEMAN WESTCOTT
William Bateman Westcott was born January 19, 1842,
near Mt. Vernon, Illinois. He entered McKendree in 1861,
and graduated m 1864, receiving the degree of B S. He was
a member of the Philosophian Literary Society. As soon as
possible after commencement he enlisted in the 1 36th Illinois
Infantry and served till the close of the war. He was married
October 6, 1864, to Frances A. Hoyt, of Lebanon, Illinois.
After the war he engaged in mercantile business at Ashley,
Illinois for several years, and then became a commission mer-
chant in St. Louis, where he remained for more than thirty
years. In 1904, failing health induced him to go south where
he could spend his declining years in a milder climate. He
lived six years at Ada, Oklahoma, and some time at Dallas,
Texas, where his death occurred December 11, 1914. His
wife makes her home with her sister, Mrs. A. N. Simmons,
at Cerro Gordo, Illinois. Two of their four children are dc
ceased. He was a Methodist and a Knight Templar.
NATHANIEL PARKER ROBINSON
Nathaniel Parker Robinson graduated from the Law De-
partment with the class of 1864. He received the degree
ot LL. B., but we have no recent information concerning
him. He was a member of Plato.
CALVIN AUGUSTUS SPENCER
Calvin Augustus Spencer was born at Du Bois. Illinois,
December 9, 1838. His parents were Daniel and Larina Spen-
cer. He with Mr. Robinson, just mentioned above, consti'
One Hundred and HinetyHme
MC KENDREE
tuted the Law Class of 1864 in McKendree. He was a mem-
ber of the Philosophian Society. He was married to Elvira
Lee Jones May 5, 1881, and had one daughter. He was in
business in St. Louis for many years and then moved to
Wichita, where he engaged in the real estate business ^
THE CLASS OF 18(15
DR. GALLAUDET OLIVER BAILEV
Gallaudet Ohver Bailey was born near Lebanon, Illinois,
December 25, 1843. He entered McKendree in 1861 and
graduated in 1865, receiving the degree of B. S. The following
year he was in the Poughkeepsie Business College, and then
he entered the Rush Medical College in Chicago, from which
he graduated in 1869. While in McKendree he was a member
of the Platonian Society. He began the practice of his pro-
fession in Beatrice, Nebraska in 1869, remained there five
years, moved to Arlington, Illinois, where he continued his
practice until 1906, and then moved to Burbank, California,
where he finished his career. He was married February 25,
1869 to Helen G. Arnold of Mason, Illinois. They had four
sons and six daughters, tho not all of them are living. Three
of the sons are druggists and the other a surgeon. Dr. Bailey
had a long and useful career. He was not only useful pro-
fessionally but also morally and religiously in the community
where he lived. He was a firm believer in Scriptural Christian-
ity and showed plainly the influence of the Christian training
he had received in his father's home. His death occurred
December 15, 1916 at Los Angeles.
REV. JOHN E. EARP
John E. Earp was born at Marion, Illinois, April 12, 1846,
and died at Atlanta, Indiana, May 10, 1897. He was a son
of Rev. Joseph Earp who was long a prominent member of
the Southern Illinois Conference and a member of the Board
of Trustees of McKendree. He graduated from McKendree
at the age of nineteen, receiving the degree of A. B., and
later A. M. While in McKendree he was a member of the
Platonian Society. In 1879, he received the degree of Ph. D.
from Lawrence College, and in 1882, Dickinson gave him
the degree of D. D. He served for a time as professor in
Central Wesleyan College and then spent two years study-
ing Philology at the Universities of Tubingen and Berlin.
He then became Professor of Hebrew and Modern Languages
in Indiana Asbury University. Later he made a second trip
to Europe for further studies in French and German. He
was admitted to the North Indiana Conference in 1876, and
ten years later he became President of Southwestern College,
at Winfield, Kansas. He remained in this position until 1890,
when he entered the pastorate in the Southwest Kansas
Conference. In 1S96 he was transferred back to the North
Indiana Conference and stationed at Atlanta, where his
career of service and his life were both completed at the
same time. In the reorganization of Asbury University, when
it became DePauw, he rendered special service in the enter-
prise which won for him the high esteem of Mr. DePauw
and other members of the Board of Trustees on account of
his business insight and excellent management of all affairs
entrusted to him. The faculty of DePauw passed complimen-
tary resolutions concerning him which contained the follow-
ing expressions; "He was a close student of books, of men,
of events, and was always abreast of the times.** ** He
was a tireless worker and a man of unbounded energy and
application.** ** Life to him was too sacred a thing to
be trifled with, and time too precious a gift to be wasted.
** ** He was a warm and true friend, nor did he spare
himself labor or sacrifice in aiding those in need."
REV. EDWIN ALONZO HOYT
Edwin Alomo Hoyt was born at Hill, New Hampshire,
March 8, 1845. When he was only eighteen months old his
father, John W. Hoyt, and his mother's brother, Augustus
C. French, moved with their families to Palestine, Illinois.
Here he grew up and received his early education. After
Mr. French retired from his second term as Governor of
Illinois, he came to Lebanon to educate his children. Young
Hoyt came to live with his uncle and attend McKendree.
A little later his father moved to Lebanon in order that his
children might all have educational advantages. Accordingly,
the Hoyts became good patrons of McKendree. Augustus,
Edwin, Charles, John, and Etta were all students at different
times. The older sister, Frances, was married before girls
were admitted to McKendree. Edwin paid his college ex-
penses very largely by periods of teaching while securing
his college course. He graduated in 1865, and shared the
honors of the class with John E. Earp. In 1867, he joined
the Southern Illinois Conference, and the same year was
married to Miss Mildred Lee, a daughter of Judge Harvey
Lee, of Sacramento, California. For twenty years he was
engaged in the regular work of the pastorate, serving several
important charges. He had various inducements to take up
other lines of work. Dr. Fry urged him to become assistant
editor of the Central Christian Advocate, and he was once
elected president of a college, but he felt that he was called
to the work of preaching the gospel, and could not be induced
to leave it. The Missouri Wesleyan honored him with the
degree of D. D. He was for several years president of the
Board of Southwestern College. In 1887, he heeded the call
MC KENDREE
of the great expanding west, and transferred to the South-
west Kansas Conference, and the remainder of his ministerial
service was rendered in the state of Kansas. He held several
important charges there and was superintendent of the
Wichita District 1Q04 to igio. He represented his conference
in the General Conference at Baltimore in iqo8. He also
served as treasurer of his conference and chairman of the
Board of Examiners. After leaving the district, the condition
of his health was such that he took the retired relation which
he held till his death November 2, 1916. His widow and his
two daughters, Mrs. A E, Almond and Miss Laura, re-
side in Wichita.
DR. THOMAS N, LIVESAY
Thomas Newton Livesay was born in Washington Coun-
ty, Illinois, February 11, i8j6. He entered McKendree in
September, 1861, and graduated in June, 1865, receiving the
degree of B. S. He was a member of the Platonian Literary
Society. After teaching school for a time, he took 3 medical
course in the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, grad-
uating in 1868. The same year he located at Patoka, Illinois
for the practice of medicine, where he has had a long and
useful career, ending with his death Jan. 10, 1904. He was
married September 16, 1866, to Mrs. E. O. Bilgen, daughter
of Abram Phillips. Their two daughters are Sarah N., born
in 1868, and Estaola B., born m 1871.
VALENTINE CLAY RUCKER
Valentine Clay Rucker, the only son of Rev. Alvm
Rucker, was born in St. Francois County, Missouri, De-
cember 7, 1847 He graduated from McKendree in the class
of 186'), receiving the degree of B. S. He was a member of
the Platonian Society. In 1866, he became professor of Math-
ematics in the Illinois Agricultural College at Irvington. At
the same time he was studying law, and was admitted to
the bar November 11, 1867. In June, 1868, he received the
degree of LL. B. from McKendree. He was First lieutenant
of Company C of the St. Francois County Regiment of the
Missouri Home Guards. He received this commission Octo-
ber 19, 1867. February i, 1868, he became editor of the
Farmington Herald. He was a young man of great promise,
but death claimed him almost in the beginning of his career.
He died in the Christian faith November 5, 1868, at Far-
mington, Missouri.
THE CLASS OF 1866
WILLIAM WALLACE ELIFF
William Wallace Eliff was born April 29, 1840. His home
was at St. Jacob, Illinois when he entered McKendree in
1859. He graduated in 1866, receiving the degree of B. S.,
and also, LL. B. at the same time. He was a member of the
Platonian Literary Society. He was married March 6, 1S70.
He subsequently practiced law and taught school in Barton
County, Missouri. He died of heart disease Januiry 8, 1880,
at Lebanon, Illinois.
EDWARD LIVINGSTONE FRENCH
Edward Livingstone French, one of the sons of Governor
French, was horn m Palestine, Illinois, July 24, 1846. He
hecime a student in the Preparatory Department of McKen-
dree m i8';7 when only a boy of eleven. His course was
broken by several absences, one being a year m the army, so
that he did not finish till 1866, when he received the degree
of A. B. He was a member of the Philosophian Society.
After his graduation he studied law one year at Springfield,
Illinois, and two years in the University of Michigan, where
he received the degree of LL. B. in 1869. He then practiced
law one year in Lebanon and one year in Obey, Illinois;
and then became professor of Latin and Natural Science in
Wells College at Aurora, New York. He was married Sep-
tember 7, 1870, to Miss Mary E. Wells of St. Louis. Their
children were William Wells, who died m infancy, Herbert,
Harry, Nora, and Helen. Mrs. French died in 1904. Late in
the eighties Mr. French moved to California on account of
his health, and there taught school for many years, at Ver-
dugo, Glendale, Canada, and other places. He spent his de-
clining years very quietly in the Soldiers' Home at Sawtelle,
which privilege he earned by his service in the Civil War.
He died only a few years ago.
JUDGE OLIVER ALBERT HARKER
Oliver Albert Harker was born at Fountain City, Indiana,
December 14, 1846. He became a student in Wheaton College
m i860 and studied there
for two years. He then en-
tered the army as a private
m the Sixty-seventh Illinois
Infantry. After returning
from the war, he entered
McKendree and continued
there until he finished the
classical course, graduating
in 1866 with the degree of
A. B. He was a member of
the Platonian Society. In
1908, after he had become
prominentinhis professional
field, McKendree bestowed
upon him the degree of LL.B. After leaving McKendree he took
a law course in the University of Indiana and was admitted
JUDGE HARKER
in the prim: of Life
Two Hundred and On
^c KENDRE^^^^^^^^^^^
to the bar. He then taught school for a few years, after which
he began practicing law in Vienna, Illinois, in 1870. In 1878,
he became circuit judge, which office he held until 1891.
From that time to 1903 he was judge in the Appellate Court
of Illinois. In 1903, he was elected dean of the College of
Law of the University of Illinois, which position he held
until 1916, when he retired from active service. But his
energetic spirit could not be idle; so he busied himself editing
a four volume edition of the Illinois Statutes, which was
published in 19 19. He is the author of several monographs
on legal subjects. Since retiring from the deanship he has
still been a professor of Law in the school and is legal ad-
viser to the university.
He was married to Miss Siddie B. Bain of Vienna, March
3, 1870. Their children are George M., Oliver A., and Mrs.
Winifred Hewitt of Vienna. Judge Harker is a Methodist,
an Odd-fellow, a member of the Order of Elks, and in politics
is a Republican. He lives in Champaign, Illinois.
REV. JOHN WEEDEN
John Weeden was born near Pulaski, Illinois, June 30,
1834. Even in his youth he was of a markedly religious dis-
position. He entered McKendree before the war, but in
1861 enlisted in the Union Army and served his country
faithfully till the close of the war, when he resumed his
studies, and graduated in 1866, receiving the degree of A.
B. He was a member of the Philosophian Literary Society.
After his graduation he joined the Southern Illinois Con-
ference where he labored faithfully through a long career.
The last few years of his service were spent as a home mis-
sionary in the west. He died at Bartley, Nebraska, July
28, 1904.
DR. B. M. HYPES
Benjamin Murray Hypes was born in Lebanon, Illinois,
July 31, 1846. His great-grandfather, Nicholas Hypes, emi-
grated from Germany to America in colonial days, married
Patience Reynolds of Puritan ancestry and settled in Vir-
ginia. Their son, Henry H. Hypes, moved to Ohio, and his
son, Benjamin, came to Lebanon in his youthful days, and
was a student in "Lebanon Seminary" in the first year of
its existence 1828. He afterward married Caroline Murray of
Baltimore and their younger son is the subject of this sketch.
The parents were among the sturdy pioneers of Illinois. The
father was for sixty years a trustee of McKendree, and died
at Lebanon at the age of 91. The mother attained the age
of 95. The mortal remains of both now rest in College Hill
Cemetery. Benjamin M. graduated from McKendree in 1866,
receiving the degree of A. B., and later, that of A. M. He
BENJAMIN HYPES
wasamemberofthePlaton-
ian Literary Society. He
taught a year in Arcadia
(Mo.) Seminary and spent a
year as principal of the pub-
lic schools in Bethalto, 111.
He then spent a year in Rush
Medical College in Chicago.
Then, after a year as pro-
fessor of Mathematics in
Central Wesleyan College
at Warrenton, Mo., he en-
tered the St. Louis Medical
College, from which he grad-
uated in 1872. After spend-
ing two years as assistant physician in the St. Louis City Hos-
pital, he began his private practice in that city in 1874. He was
one of the founders of the Marion-Sims Medical College in St.
Louis, was vice-dean until the institution was made a part
of the St. Louis University; and was a member of the faculty
until his death. He was recognised as one of the leading phy-
sicians of St. Louis and was a well-known writer for medical
journals. The doctor was never married, but maintained a
comfortable home of his own at 1615 Grand Avenue. He
was for many years a trustee of McKendree. He greatly
endeared himself to the students by the interest he took in
the physical side of student life as evidenced by the donation
of the "Hypes Athletic Field". His death occurred in 1924.
After the funeral in St. Louis, the body was brought to
Lebanon and placed in the Hypes family lot in College Hill
Cemetery.
PROF. WM. F. SWAHLEN
William Fletcher Swahlen was born at Wheeling, West
Va., April 19, 1839. His parents were Rev. John Swahlen,
a native of Canton Berne, Switzerland; and Ann Gibbons
Swahlen, a native of West Chester, Chester County, Penn-
sylvania. He was educated at the University of Pennsyl-
vania, from which he graduated in 1863, with the degree of
A. B. In 1866, he received the honorary degree of A. M.
from McKendree, and in 1877, that of Ph. D. from the Iowa
Wesleyan University. While a professor at McKendree, he
was an honorary member of both Philo and Plato. He was
professor of Greek and German in McKendree from 1863
to 1883; president of McKendree from 1883 to 1886; acting
president of Kansas Wesleyan University from i886 to 1887;
professor of Greek in DePauw University from 1887 to the
present time. In 1913, he completed his fiftieth year in edu-
Two Hundred and Two
MC KENDREE
cational work. He was also an ordained minister in the Meth-
odist Episcopal Church. He was a member of the American
Philological Association; one of the Gentleman's Literary
Club of Greencastle; and of the Masonic Order. He had
been secretary of the Faculty and of the Executive Committee
at DePauw from 1888 until his death m iqi"). For many years
he was the leader of the Students' class meetings. He was
contributor to the church papers and other publications on
Philological and other subjects. He was married June 26,
1873, to Miss Carrie V. Hypes, of Lebanon, Illinois. Of their
six children, three are now living: Ella Blanch, now Mrs.
Joseph P. Allen, of Greencastle, Percy Hypes, physician and
surgeon m St. Louis, and William Benjamin, also m St. Louis.
THE CLASS OF 1867
HON. WILLIAM FLAVIUS LEICESTER HADLEY
William Flavius Leicester Hadley was born June 15, 1S47,
near Collinsville, Illinois. His parents, William and Diadema
Hadley, came to Illinois from Kentucky. His father was a
local preacher in the Methodist Church. He graduated from
McKendree in 1867, receiving the degree of B. S. He was
a member of the Philosophian Literary Society. After leaving
McKendree, he entered the Law Department of Michigan
University, from which he graduated m 1871. He then began
the practice of law m Edwardsville. In 1874, he formed a
partnership with W. H. Krome, which continued till 1890,
when Mr. Krome was elected county judge. In 1886, he
was elected State Senator and was offered the nomination
for a second term, but was compelled to decline on account
of sickness in his family. In 1895, he was elected to Congress
as representative of the Eighteenth District. He was nom-
inated for a second term, but being obliged to go to California
for his health, he failed of election. He was a delegate to
the National Republican Convention in Chicago, which nom-
inated Benjamin Harrison for President. During the last
years of his life he was president of the Bank of Edwardsville.
He was married June 15, 1875, to Miss Mary J. West.
Their six children are Winifred, Julia, Flavia, Lester, West,
and Douglass. His death occurred in California, April
25, 1901.
JUDGE JAMES M. NORTH
James Medley North was born in Williamson County,
Illinois, March 29th, 1845. He became a student in McKen-
dree in September, 1864, and graduated in the class of 1867,
receiving the degree of B. S. He was a member of the Philo-
sophian Literary Society. For a year after his graduation he
taught mathematics in the Seminary at Shelbyville, Illinois.
He then travelled a year in the Rocky Mountains. He studied
law for a while and taught at the same time m the Southern
Illinois College at Carbondale. In 1869 aiid 1870 he was a
law student in Chicago University, where he graduated in
July, 1870, with the degree of LL. B. The next year he
taught m the Carbondale, 111. high school, and the following
year, located at Atchison, Kansas, and began the practice
of law. While here he was the superintendent of the Meth-
odist Sunday School. In 187;,, he moved to Jacksonville,
Illinois and formed a law partnership with W. F. Goheen.
A few years later he changed his location to Boulder, Colo-
rado, where m 1877 he was County Judge of Boulder County.
After some years of successful work in the field of legal en-
deavor in Colorado, he obtained a government position which
took him to Washington, D. C, where he spent the remain-
der of his busy life. He died in Washington June 6, 1906, and
his remains were taken to Boulder, Colo, for interment. He
was twice married, but was a widower at the time of his
death. He left two sons- Paul M. and James F., who are
both lawyers and reside at Rocky Ford, Colorado.
LIEUT. BENJAMIN F. OLDEN
Benjamin Franklin Olden was born m Alton, Illinois, Jan-
uary I, 1843. He first became a student in McKendree in
i860. After one year in school, he taught school for a term
near Edwardsville. In August, 1862, he helped to organize
a company of soldiers which became Company D in the 1 17th
Regiment of Illinois 'Volunteers. Mr. Olden was second lieu-
tenant of the company, and before the war was over, became
first lieutenant. After the war was over, he returned to
college and graduated in the class of 1867, receiving the
degree of B. S. He was a member of the Philosophian Literary
Society. He was admitted to the bar and began the practice
of law at Edwardsville in 1868. In September, 1870, he moved
to West Plains, Missouri, where he practiced law for many
years. Some years ago (191 5) he moved to Boise City, Idaho,
where he is now engaged in the banking business.
DR. GEORGE WASHINGTON GOODNER
George Washington Goodner graduated in the class of
1867, receiving the degree of B. S. He afterward took a law
course m the University of Michigan and a medical course
in Chicago. He went abroad at the time of the Franco-
Prussian War and was for a time assistant surgeon in the
Prussian Army. Later he practiced medicine in Chicago. We
have no information as to the date of his death.
GEORGE BYRON CHARLES
George Byron Charles graduated in the class of 1867, re-
ceiving the degree of B. S. We have been able to secure no
further information concerning him.
Two Hundred and Three
'OMl^IA aAM'A.
UNIVERSITATIS Mr K EN DRI AN AE.
JUNE IITH . 1868
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Facsimile of an old commencement programme dated 1868
Note that it is printed in Latin, as was the custom at that time
Two Hundred and Four
MC KENDREE
HON, JAMES M. TRL'ITT
James Madison Truitt was born in Trimble County, Ken-
tucky, February a8, r842. His parents, Samuel and Cynthia
Truitt were both natives of that state, but the femily came
to Illinois m 1 81 1. In i86s, he enlisted as a recruit in the
117th Regiment of Illinois Volunteers and was mustered out
as second lieutenant. After the war, he resumed his studies
in McKendree and graduated from the Law Department in
1867, with the degree of LL. B. He was a member of the
Platonian Literary Society. After being admitted to the bar,
he formed a law partnership with J. J. Phillips, afterward
one of the Supreme Judges of Illinois. He was elected to
the Legislature of Illinois in 1872; in 1876 he was a presi-
dential elector; m 1884, a delegate to the Republican National
Convention; and in 1888, presidential elector-at-large from
Illinois. He was appointed supervisor of the Census of 1900
for the Eighteenth District of Illinois. He died at his home
in Hillsboro, Illinois, July 2=^, 1900.
THE CLASS OF 1S68
REV. JOSHUA SOULE AKERS
Joshua Soule Akers, son of the famous pioneer preacher,
Peter Akers, was born near Jacksonville, Illinois, March 8,
i8j7. His father was three times president of McKendree,
and he himself was educated there, graduating m 1868, when
he received the degree of A. B. He was a member of the
Philosophian Literary Society. Many years after, in recog-
nition of his excellent service in the Christian ministry, his
alma mater conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of
Divinity, in 1894. He was licensed to preach in 1861; did
missionary work in Wisconsin, was a pastor of several im-
portant charges in the Illinois Conference; was presiding
elder six years of the Aberdeen District in South Dakota.
In iqoo he came back to Illinois and served as financial agent
for the Illinois Women's College. About 1910, his wife died
very suddenly, and after that his health declined rapidly,
and his closing years were spent as an invalid in charge of
his son. Rev. Edwin W. Akers. He died July 3,1, 191J. He,
his father, and his son, together have rendered over one hun-
dred years of service m the Christian ministry — an unusual
record.
LEWIS C. BORNMAN
Lewis Cass Bornman was born near Belleville on the farm
where he now resides, July 22, 1836. He is a son of Conrad
Bornman and is of German descent. He entered McKendree
shortly before the Civil War, but abandoned his studies to
become a soldier in the Ninth Regiment of Illinois Volun-
teers, where he served his country for three years and four
months. After the war, he came back to McKendree and
finished his course, graduating m the class of 1868, with the
degree of A. B. He was a member of the Philosophian Lit-
erary Society. He spent his life in a very quiet way on the
old homestead, as a bachelor, but enjoying the respect and
confidence of his neighbors. However, late in life, he changed
his point of view and was married in October, 1914, to a lady
from Freeburg.
WILLIAM POMEROY EATON
William Pomeroy Eaton was born at EdwardsviUe, Illi-
nois, March 27, 1840. His English and Welsh ancestors came
to America in i6jo. He was a son of Judge Henry K. Eaton,
of Madison County. His mother's name was Elizabeth C.
Pomeroy, and her ancestors were also English. Mr. Eaton
entered McKendree in i8'i;7, but did not graduate till 1868,
when he received the degree of A. B. He was m his senior
year when the Civil War broke out, and he entered the army
as a member of the 117th Regiment Illinois Volunteers, of
which Prof. R. M. Moore became the colonel. He served
three years and was sergeant of Company H. He was a mem-
ber of the Philosophian Society. He was married October 4,
18S2, to Miss Eliza A. Blackburn. To them were born six
children, of whom five are living: Henry B., an attorney at
EdwardsviUe, Prof. William J., Joseph King, now living on
the old homestead, Samuel West and Thomas M. After his
graduation, Mr. Eaton was engaged in teaching for a time,
and was elected county superintendent of schools of Madi-
son County. After ceasing to hold this office, he returned to
the farm which he managed until his death, which occurred
in 1909. He had held the offices of supervisor, school trustee.
Republican central committeeman, and president of the
Mutual Fire Insurance Company, and the Windstorm Insur
ance Company. He was also for years president of the Madi-
son County Old Settler's Association. He was a member of
the Methodist Church, and belonged to Lodge No. qg, A.
F &? A. M.
THOMAS W. ECKERT
Thomas W. Eckert was born in Monroe County, Illinois,
November 6, 1840. He was a son of John and Arab (Williams)
Eckert, the former being a native of Pennsylvania and the
latter, of Kentucky. He entered McKendree at the age of
sixteen, but after three years, left without graduating. He
afterward received the honorary degree of A. M., in 1868.
He studied dentistry and practiced in St. Louis three years,
then in Lebanon until, in 1873, he purchased the Lebanon
Journal, of which he was editor until 1878. He then estab-
lished the Belleville Republican in that city, which he con-
Two Hundred and Fne
^MC KENDREE'^^^^^:^^:^.,,.^:..^^.
ducted successfully until 1884 when he removed to Arkansas
City, Kansas, where he engaged in editorial work till a short
time before his death. On account of ill he;ilth, he went to
Los Angeles, California where he died June 2, 1909. He was
married May 30, i860, to Miss Viola Calhoun, who with
one son and two daughters, survives him. Mr. Eckert was
postmaster of Lebanon during the years 1874-1876, and was
a life long Republican.
CAPT. ROBERT ALEXANDER HALBERT
Robert Alexander Halbert was born in St. Clair County,
Ilhnois, February 9, 1841. He was a son of John Halbert,
a native of Virginia, and Clarissa Carr. He entered McKen-
dree in 1857, but in his senior year transferred to Illinois
College, at Jacksonville, graduated there in June, 1861, hav-
ing attended that institution the last six months of his course.
In 1868, McKendree conferred upon him the degree of A. M.
While in McKendree, he was a member of the Philosophian
Literary Society. After teaching school for a year, he enlisted
in the United States Army and became captain of Company
H of the 117th Regiment of Illinois Volunteers, and after
three years of active service, was mustered out August 5,
1865. He then studied law in the office of Hon. W. H. Under-
wood and was admitted to the practice of law at the fall
term of the Supreme Court held at Ottawa, Illinois, in 1866.
In 1868, he was elected state's attorney for the Judicial
District composed of St. Clair, Bond, and Madison Counties,
for a term of four years. He was married April 14, 1869, to
Miss Emma L. Underwood, a daughter of Judge Underwood,
who was a graduate of Monticello Seminary. Of their four
children, three grew to maturity. They are: Mrs. Clara
Halbert Needles, of Belleville, William Underwood Halbert,
who has been practicing law in Belleville since 1897, and
Miss Mary L. Halbert, who is Assistant Librarian in the
Belleville Public Library. Mr. Halbert died at Belleville,
December 27, 1888.
THOMAS JEFFERSON JUDY
Thomas Jefferson Judy was born at Troy, Madison Coun-
ty, Illinois, May 15, 1846. His parents were Thomas and
Damaris Judy. He became a student in McKendree College
in 1864 and graduated in 1868, receiving the degree of B. S.
He was a member of the Philosophian Literary Society. He
was married March 17, 1870, to Nancy M. McKee. They
were the parents of six children: Robert, Nancy, Charles,
Thomas, Edna, and Frances. They are all living except
Charles and Thomas. In politics he was always a Democrat.
He attended the Methodist Church. He engaged in mer-
cantile business in Edwardsville for three years, and then
moved to a farm, where he lived for the remainder of his
life, engaged in farming and stock-raising. He tilled the posi-
tion of school director and member of the County Board
of Supervisors of Madison County. He was a member of
the Masonic Lodge No. 99 at Edwardsville until his death,
which occurred February 11, 1897, and his funeral was held
under the auspices of the Masonic Order in connection with
services at the Methodist Church. His remains rest in the
Woodlawn Cemetery at Edwardsville.
HARRISON W. HAPPY
Harrison W. Happy was born in Perry County, Illinois,
August 29, 1842. His parents, Burgin and Mary Happy,
were both born in Kentucky. He entered McKendree in the
fall of 1866 and graduated in the class of 1868, receiving
the degree of B. S. He was a member of the Philosophian
Literary Society. He has been married, but in 191 5 was a
widower with no children. The profession of law has
been his life work, tho at this writing he holds a position
with the Federal Government at Washington, D. C. He is
a member of the I. O. O. F.
GARRETT CROWNOVER LAND
Garrett Crownover Land was born in Mascoutah, Illinois,
in August, 1846. He received his early education in the
schools of his native city, after which he became a student
in McKendree College, where he remained till he graduated
in the class of 1868, receiving the degree of B. S. He was
a member of the Philosophian Literary Society. In the fall of
1868 he entered the Law Department of Michigan Univer-
sity at Ann Arbor. He pursued the course here for some
time, but later transferred to Harvard Law School where he
received the degree of LL. B. in 1872. He then returned to
Warrensburg, Missouri, which had been his home for some
years, and entered upon the practice of law in that place.
He was a man of brilliant parts and what promised to be
a brilliant legal career was cut short by an early death on
November 4, 1882. He was never married.
GEORGE WASHINGTON PARKINSON
George Washington Parkinson was born near Highland,
Illinois, January i, 1844. He was the eldest son of Alfred
J. and Mary (Baldwin) Parkinson. He became a student in
McKendree in 1863 and graduated with the degree of B. S.
in the class of 1868. He was a member of the Platonian
Literary Society. He taught school for several years after
leaving college. His marriage to Miss Mary McKee of Sum-
merfield took place in 1875. Of their six children, three sur-
vived the father. They are George M., of Highland, Illinois,
Ralph W., of Magnolia, Arkansas, and Alfred W., of Siloam
Two Hundred and Six
Springs, Arkansas. After his marriage, Mr. Parkinson en-
gaged in farming near Highland until about 1903, when he
moved to Arkansas in the hope that the milder climate would
improve his health. He held numerous positions of honor
and trust, especially in relation to educational affairs. One
who knew him well declared that "he was of the manly
type of man and had many characteristics which com-
mended him." He died several years ago.
PROF. DANIEL BALDWIN PARKINSON
Daniel Baldwin Parkinson was horn near Highland, Mad-
ison County, Illinois, September 6, 1841. He was the second
son of Alfred J. and Mary
Parkinson. He entered Mc-
Kendree in January, 1864
and completed his course
in 1 868 in the same class with
his older brother, and receiv
ed the degree of B. S. He
also received from McKen-
dree the degrees of A. M. m
1874, and Ph. D. ini897. He
was a member of the Pla-
tonian Society. He was mar-
ried December 28, 1876, to
Miss Julia F. Mason. Some
years after her death, he was
married, July 30, 1884, to Miss Alice Raymond. Their two
children are Raymond and Mary Alice. Except the first two
years after his graduation, he spent his entire active life in
educational work. From 1870 to 1873 he taught Natural
Science and Mathematics in Jennings Seminary at Aurora,
Illinois. From 1874 to 1897 he was professor of Physics and
Chemistry at the Southern Illinois State Normal University
at Carbondale. From that time till his retirement in 191 3,
he was president of that institution. He was a member of
the State and National Educational Associations, as well as
other educational organizations. He was a member of the
Methodist Church from 1865 to the time of his death in
1922, and always an active worker in that body.
DR. ELAM STAFFORD RAMSEY
Elam Stafford Ramsey had his early home in Clinton
County, Illinois. He became a student in McKendree in
1865 and graduated in the class of 1868, receiving the degree
of B. S. He was a member of the Philosophian Literary So-
ciety. He later studied medicine and practiced his profession
in Carlyle, Illinois from 1874 to 1888, when he moved to
Kansas City, Kansas, where he continued in the same pro-
DR. PARKINSON
fession till his death, which occurred m 1900. He was married
to Miss Ida Breese, daughter of Justice Breese, of the Illinois
Supreme Court. They had three children. Mr. Ramsey was
a member of the Presbyterian Church, and was active in
religious work.
HON. GEORGE WASHINGTON SMITH
George Washington Smith was born in Putnam County,
Ohio, August 18, 1846. When he was but four years of
age, his parents moved to Wayne County, Illinois, where
he grew to manhood and learned the blacksmith's trade.
Later, having determined on a professional career, he entered
McKendree College, and graduated in the class of 1868,
receiving the B. S. degree. He was a member of the Philosoph-
ian Society. Later he took a law course in the University
of Indiana, and was admitted to the bar in 1870. In 1871 he
began the practice of law in Murphysboro, which was his
home for the remainder of his life. He was married in 1884
to Miss M. Ellis Dailey, of Murphysboro. In 1880 he was
presidential elector on the Republican ticket, and cast his
vote for Garfield and Arthur. He was first elected to Con-
gress in 1889, and was re-elected after that for seven times
in succession. In fact he held the position continuously until
the time of his death. He died at his home in Murphysboro,
November 30, 1907.
JAMES J. ROWEN
James Jacob Rowen was born at Winchester, Illinois,
June 15, 1836. His parents were Ira and Polly (Kersey)
Rowen, one a native of Maryland and the other of Delaware.
He entered McKendree College in the fall of 1854, but after
a time transferred his credits to the Ohio Wesleyan Uni'
versity, and from that institution received the degree of A.
B. in 1858 and that of A. M. in 1861. In 1868 the degree
of A. M. was conferred upon him by McKendree. He was
a member of the Philosophian Society. In October, 1865, he
w,is married to Ellen C. Trotter, the daughter of the Rev.
W. D. R. Trotter, who was the first editor of the Central
Christian Advocate. Miss Trotter was a grand-daughter of
Rev. Peter Cartwright. Mr. and Mrs. Rowen have three
children now living: Edith Rowen, of Rock Springs, Wyo-
ming, Mrs. W. A. Forrest, of Idaho Falls, Idaho, and Rowena
Rowen, of Black Diamond, Washington. Mr. Rowen is a
member of the Methodist Church, a lawyer, has taught
school, and has been somewhat interested in politics. He
was elected to the Colorado Legislature in 1879, and to the
Wyoming Legislature in 1903. In 191 5 he was at Sheridan,
Wyoming and was practicing the profession of law.
Two Hitncired and Seie
-^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^g^^s^
JUDGE THOMPSON BEVERLY STELLE
Thompson Beverly Stelle was born on a farm in Hamilton
County, Illinois, January 23, 1845. When the war broke
out, his father, Jacob Stelle, offered his services to his coun-
try, and Thompson, the eldest son. became the mainstay of
the large family during that critical period. He had a great
desire for education. As soon as he had secured sufficient
preparation, he began teaching in the country schools. By
working on the farm between terms and practicing rigid
economy, he managed to make his way through McKendree
College, where he graduated in 1868, receiving the degrees
of B. S. and LL. B. He was a member of the Philosophian
Literary Society. The same year of his graduation he was
admitted to the bar and located in McLeansboro for the
practice of law, where he spent the remaining thirty-eight
years of his life. In 1869 he was elected county judge and
served four years. He has been identified with nearly every
important enterprise of his city and county. He has served
the public as a member of the Board of Education, as alder-
man and mayor of the city, and was presidential elector on
the Democratic ticket in 1896. He was married February 11,
187J to Miss Laura E. Blades of McLeansboro, who with
seven children survived him. The children are Mrs. Edith
E. Wright, Mrs. Eleanor M. Graff, Cyrus B., Raleigh B.,
William H., Elsie J., and John H. Judge Stelle was a good
financier and an able lawyer. He used his wealth in such a
way as to benefit the community as well as to promote his
own interests. Death overtook him while still in the midst
of hfe's activities July ji, 1906.
JUDGE WARREN TRUITT
Warren Truitt was born m Green County, Illinois, July
4, 1847. He is a son of Samuel and Cynthia Truitt, who were
both natives of Kentucky. He entered McKendree in 186^
and graduated in 1868, receiving the degree of B. S. In 1894,
he received the degree of A. M. He was a member of the
Platonian Literary Society. He was married to Miss Kathryn
Schade and they have one son living. He was principal of
Bethal Academy, in Polk County, Oregon, from 1872 to
1874. He was then elected county judge of that county,
which office he held for four years, but refused to be a can-
didate for re-election. He then began the practice of law at
Dallas, Oregon. He was presidential elector for Oregon on
the Republican ticket in 1876, and was chosen as messenger
to bear the vote of that state to Washington, D. C. In 1890
he was made registrar of the U. S. Land Office at Lakeview,
Oregon, and in 1892 was appointed by President Benjamin
Harrison to the office of United States District Iudt;e for
the District of Alaska. This office he held four years, and
resigned in 1896. He was first admitted to the bar in Illinois
in 1870, and has practiced m the states of Oregon, Idaho,
and Washington, in both state and federal courts. He is still
engaged in law practice, maintaining offices in Moscow,
Idaho, and Spokane, Washington. He was State Senator in
Idaho from 1907 to 1909. He is a Mason and Knight Templar
and, moreover, he is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and of
Who's Who.
JOHN ENOCH UTT
John Enoch Utt was born June 18, 1849. Among his an-
cestors are found representatives of the following different
nationalities: Scotch, Irish, Welsh, Holland Dutch, and Ger-
man. He entered McKendree in 1864 and graduated in 1868,
receiving the degree of B. S. He was a member of the Philo-
sophian Literary Society. He was married in 1881 and has
three children. He has been a railroad man for many years
and has held responsible positions in the west, such as
general freight agent for the Burlington, Cedar Rapids, and
Northern. At present he is located at Omaha, Nebraska.
He is a member of the Methodist Church, and in politics
IS a Republican.
OTTO HUGO WANGELIN
Otto Hugo Wangelin was born at Lebanon, Illinois, March
2, 1850. His parents, Hugo and Bertha Wangelin, were na-
tives of Prussia. He entered McKendree as a student in
1865 and graduated in 1868, receiving the degree of B. S.
He was a member of the Platonian Society. He was married
July 17, 1878 to Miss Emma Holbrook of Du Bois, a grad-
uate of Monticello Seminary. Of their five children, Lyman
died in infancy. The others are Etta May, Mrs. Louise
Elliott of Globe, Arizona, Hugo O. Wangelin, of Bishop,
California, and Mrs. E. B. Tinker, of Miami, Arizona. Soon
after his graduation, Mr. Wangelin was admitted to the
bar and practiced law for a year in Edwardsville, Illinois.
He then abandoned the legal profession for newspaper work.
He went west and for many years was editor and proprietor
of the Daily Herald, of Boulder, Colo. He was a member of
the Masons, Odd Fellows, and Elks. He continued in the
newspaper work till the time of his death.
JOHN HARRISON WILSON
John Harrison Wilson was born in McLeansboro, Illinois,
February 8, 1845. He is a son of John A. and Eliza (Grady)
Wilson, who were both born in Shawneetown, Illinois. His
fither's family originally came from Virginia to Kentucky
and thence to Illinois in an early day. He entered McKendree
in September, 186"; and graduated as a member of a class
Two Hundred and Eiglit
PiMCKENp RE E^
of sixteen in i868, receiving the degree of B. S. He was a
member of the Philosophian Literary Society. During the
vacation of 1867 he was a member of the United States
Engineering Corps under General James H. Wilson, of the
U. S. A., which surveyed a route tor a proposed ship canal
from Lake Michigan to the Gulf. After his graduation he
became assistant to the chief engineer m charge of the im-
provement of the Rock Island Rapids. Later he was com-
missioned inspector of this work. In 1869 he was transferred
to the Des Moines Rapids Improvement and remained here
until he took up the business of contracting for railroad
supplies, which he has followed for thirty-five years, and is
now also engaged in the real estate and loan business, with
farming as a side line. He became a member of the Methodist
Episcopal Church, at McLeansboro September 22, 1878. He
has taken little interest in politics, but has always been an
advocate of good government. He served for twenty years
in the City Council of McLeansboro, and two terms as
mayor on the no-license ticket. He was married November
27, 187J, to Alice J. Randall, of Clinton County, Illinois.
They have four children, all married: A. F. Wilson, now
mayor of McLeansboro, F. R. Wilson, Mrs. A. W. B. John-
son, of Birmingham, Alabama, and Mrs. Lester Maxey, of
Mt. Vernon, Illinois.
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON TYNER
William Henry Harrison Tyner was born in Williamson
County, Illinois, December 28, 1841. He entered McKendree
in September, 1864 and graduated in June, 1868, receiving
the degree of A. B. He was a member of Philo Society. In
September, 1868 he joined the Southern Illinois Conference
and served the following charges in succession: Dongola
Circuit, Mt. Carmel Circuit, the Newton Circuit, and the
Pocahontas Circuit. In 1885 he transferred to the South
Kansas Conference and McKendree lost sight of him. He
was married June 16, 1868, to Miss Rebecca M. McDonald.
There is a tradition that he is dead, but we have no
reliable information concerning him.
JOHN WRIGHT TIPTON
John Wright Tipton graduated in the class of 1868, re-
ceiving the degree of B. S. He was a member of Philo. When
last known, he lived at Elizabethtown, Tennessee.
William Henderson Bennett and Wilbur Fiske Goheen
were both graduates in law in the year 1868 and received
the degree of LL. B. The latter was a member of the Goheen
family which was connected with McKendree history
through several generations. When last known he lived at
Jacksonville, Illinois.
THE CLASS OF ISIi'.i
CHARLES WESLEY BLISS
Charles Wesley Bliss was born at Fillmore, Montgomery
County, Illinois, January 8, 1846. His parents were Rev.
Alfred Bliss, a native of Vermont and for many years a
member of the Southern Illinois Conference of the M. E.
Church, and Mrs. Direxia (Knowles) Bliss, a native of New
Hampshire, who came to Montgomery County, Illinois in
1838. Mr. Bliss entered McKendree in the spring of 1864
and graduated in June, 1869, with the degree of A. B. Later
he received the degree of A. M. from his alma mater. He
was a member of the Platonian Literary Society. He taught
school and read law till 1871, when he moved to Hillsboro
and opened a law office. He served two terms as city attor-
ney of Hillsboro, and two terms as master in chancery of
Montgomery County. He was president of the Board of
Trustees of the Southern Normal at Carbondale from 1892
to 1896. He has been president of the Hillsboro Board of
Education, he has long been a member of the Methodist
Church, and is at present a trustee of the church at Hillsboro.
He belongs to the Masonic Order and is a Knight Templar
and member of the St. Omer Commandery of Litchfield. In
1892 he purchased the "Montgomery News," a weekly paper
published at Hillsboro and has been editor and proprietor
ever since. He was married October 15, 1872 to Miss Eliz-
abeth Phillips. They have three children: Nai Celecta, now
wife of Dr. H. A. Seymour, of Hillsboro, Clinton P. Bliss,
junior editor of the "Montgomery News," and Marguerite,
now the wife of Ben O. McLean, of Hillsboro, Illinois. During
recent years he has been quite faithful in attending the
McKendree "Home comings." He is an unusually interesting
writer and speaker.
WILLIAM PITT BRADSHAW
William Pitt Bradshaw was born near Fairfield, Illinois
April 7, 1846. He was a son of Greenup and Margaret (Bose)
Bradshaw, whose ancestors were Kentuckians. He entered
McKendree in 1866 and became a member of the Platonian
Literary Society. He completed his college course in 1869,
receiving the degree of B. S. Before his college days began,
he had experience in the Civil War. He went into the army
at the age of sixteen and was employed for fourteen months
as news carrier and scout. After his graduation, he studied
law, was admitted to the bar of Illinois, and began practicing
in 1872 in Edwardsville, Illinois, and in 1874, he became the
partner of Judge Metcalf in law practice. In 1894 he was a
Two Hundred and ?{u
lecturer in the McKendree Law School. He was married
July i6, 1876, to Miss Sallie H. Harrison. They have two
sons, Ernest W. and Courtlandt. Mr. Bradshaw died at
Edwardsville, March i, 1904.
JAMES M. HAMILL
About the beginning of the twentieth century a book
of over four hundred pages was written on "The Scotch-Irish
in History." Its purpose was to
show that much of the worth-
while achievement in the world
has been accomplished by men
and women of that famous an-
cestry. In this class was James
Miller Hamill, born near Gar-
vagh, Londonderry County,
Ireland, November 28, 1840. He
was the youngest of the eight
children of William Kennedy
and Elizabeth(Crawford) Ham ■
ill.When only seven yearsof age
became with his father and
some of his brothers and sisters
to America. His mother had
previously died in Ireland. They
lived for a time at Port Kennedy,
near Philadelphia, with rela-
tives who had preceded them to
America, and then came to Illi-
nois and settled on a farm near
Freeburg, in St. Clair County.
James M. attended the public
schools in Belleville and acquir-
ed sufficient preparation to
teach a country school. He had
an earnest desire for education
and the equipment that would
enable him to achieve some-
thing worth-while in life. Ac-
cordingly, he earned the money, by teaching, to pay his way
thru college. He first entered McKendree in the fall of 1861
and joined the Philosophian Literary Society the same year.
That was the year the Civil War broke out and patriotism
flowed freely on College Hill. The following year the "Mc-
Kendree Regiment," the one hundred and seventeenth Illi-
nois, was organized with Professor Risdon M. Moore as
colonel. On August i?,, 1862, Mr. Hamill enlisted in Com-
pany C of this regiment for three years, or the duration of
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the war. He fearlessly and faithfully endured the hardships
and dangers of soldier life until the end of the war. His war
experiences in:luded a part in the famous Red River expe-
dition under General Banks, the battle of Nashville, under
General A. J. Smith, the battle of Tupelo, Mississippi, and
the attack on Fort Blakely, which was in fact the last battle
of the war. He was mustered out in 1865 and immediately
returned to McKendree to re-
sume his interrupted college
course, which he pursued con-
tinuously, except for one year
of school teaching, until 1869,
when he finished the course,
receiving the degree of Bach-
elor of Arts and the first honors
of his class. While in college he
boarded for a time in the home
of Professor Deneen, and there
formed a friendship with his
son, Charles S. Deneen, now
United States Senator from Illi-
nois. He was a member of the
convention which nominated
Mr. Deneen for Governor of
Illinois, and in 1910 was ap-
pointed by Governor De-
neen as a delegate to the
National Conference on Uni-
form State Laws at Wash-
ington, D. C.
Mr. Hamill was a loyal and
enthusiastic "Philo." In writ-
ing about his McKendree days
he says, "While in college I
was regular in my atten-
dance at the meetings of the
Philosophian Society, and do
not remember ever asking to
be excused from any performance, unless on account of
sickness. I was just unsophisticated enough to think that
every duty assigned by the society or any of its officers
must be strictly performed even to the extent of the heroic
duty of escorting the 'oldest girl in town' to a 'select per-
formance' when I was appointed to perform that severe task.
I was president of the organization more than once, and
from president to janitor was the custom invariably followed.
1 filled the position of critic more frequently than any other
CLASS OF 1S6()
2. Cyrus Happy j. Wm. P. Bradshaw 4. James H
J M Hamill 6. A. McConaughty 7. David Logan
8. N. J. Shepherd 9. Samuel Young
Two Hundred and Ten
office and liked it better. Next to the college, the society
,ind Its library possessed the greatest interest and charm for
me, for there "knowledge with her ample page, rich with
the spoils of time, to my enraptured mind did freely unroll'."
After the commencement of 1869, Mr. Hamill immediately
began studying law in the office of his brother, William, at
McLeansboro, and was admitted to the bar October 26,
1870. It was during that year that he became junior partner
in the law firm of Crebs, Conger, and Hamill, at Carmi,
Illinois. While a member of this firm he assisted m securing
the right of way for the St. Louis and Southeastern Railway
Company, and thus became acquainted with General Edward
F. Wmslow, one of the builders of the road. This acquaint-
ance resulted m his being employed as attorney for the rail-
road company, and later when the property was acquired
by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad Company, he was
appointed district attorney for that company, and occupied
this position over a period of fifty years until his death. In
addition to this position he also served as district attorney
for the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis from
about iqoo to iqio.
He was married November 8, 1877 to Miss Agnes Lillian
Pace, a daughter of Charles T. Pace, of Mt. Vernon., Illinois.
She also attended McKendree and graduated in the class of
1873. She was a member of the Clionian Literary Society at
McKendree. She has nearly all her life been a Methodist
and a prominent worker in the various lines of church activ-
ity. She has been president of the Women's Foreign Mis-
sionary Society of the First Methodist Church of Belleville
for many years.
Mr. and Mrs. Hamill had two sons. Edward W. was
born in Belleville, December 26, 1878. He graduated from
the Ohio Wesleyan University near the head of his class
in 1901, and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. The next
year he took a degree at Harvard, and after two years of
teaching at Harvard and Ohio Wesleyan, he entered the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology and graduated in
Architectural Engineering in 1907. But after a brief exper-
ience in architectural work he found that teaching had a
stronger appeal for him than any other vocation. He taught
in the Yeatman High School in St. Louis, and was engaged
to teach in the Ohio Wesleyan University for the school
year of 1909-10, but what seemed an unusually promising
career was cut off by his early death, which occurred June
29, 1909.
The younger son, Charles P. Hamill, was born in Belleville,
September 23, 1882. He graduated from the Belleville High
School, and then from the Ohio Wesleyan University m
190;^, from Harvard m 1904, and from the Harvard Law
School in 191 1. Since that time he had been practicing law,
in partnership with his father until the latter's death in 1919,
and since that time, alone. He succeeded his father as District
Attorney for Illinois for the Louisville and Nashville Rail-
road Company. He has been for some years a member of
the Board of Trustees of McKendree College, and is niw
a member of the Executive Committee.
We quote from a letter written by Senator Charles S.
Deneen, at that time president of the Board of Trustees of
McKendree College, to Mrs. Hamill and her son, Charles
P. Hamill, acknowledging their gift to the college to endow
a chair of English Literature in memory of James M. Hamill.
They (the Joint Board of Trustees and Visitors)
are pleased, too, that a chair is to be endowed in
memory of Mr. James M. Hamill, who represented
in his student life, his patriotic service to his coun-
try and in his professional career, the highest type
of manhood and service. . . .My memory of Mr.
Hamill runs back to my earliest childhood and he
was one of my best friends. I am glad to know
that his name is to be associated forever with the
college."
Mr. Hamill was a member of the Illinois State Bar Asso-
ciation, a Mason, and for many years prior to his death, a
trustee of McKendree. His death occurred at his home in
Belleville, October 4, 1919.
CYRUS HAPPY
Cyrus Happy was born January 28, 1845, in Perry County,
Illinois. He is a son of Burgin and Mary (Williams) Happy,
who were both born in Kentucky. He entered McKendree
in 1866 and graduated in 1869, receiving the degree of B. S.
He was a member of the Philosophian Society. He was
married September 11, 1879, to Miss Minna Prickett. They
have four children, Mrs. Claudine Kaufman, of Marshfield,
Oregon, Mrs. Eloise Richards, of Spokane, Washington,
Cyrus, Jr., and John. The older of the sons studied law in
the University of Chicago. Mr. Happy has made the law
his vocation since 1871, when he was admitted to the bar
in Illinois. He was a presidential elector in 1876. He has
been a member of the Masonic Lodge since 1869. He has
for a long time been the senior member of a prominent law
firm in Spokane, Washington.
DAVID LOGAN
David Logan was born at Flora, Illinois, February 22,
1840. His ancestors were of English and Scotch origin. He
Two Hundred and Elei
p^c KENDRE^^^^^^^^^^
entered McKendree in 1865 and graduated in i86g, receiving
the degree of B. S. He was a member of the Platonian Literary
Society. After his graduation he engaged in educational
work. He was a teacher for twenty-two years: then was
manager of a lumber yard at Edinburg, Illinois for twelve
years. He retired from business in 1902. He is a Methodist
and a Mason, and has made good in every position he has
held. He was married August 20, 1874, and has three children
now living, all of whom are graduates of the University of
Illinois. His oldest son, who was a railroad mail clerk, was
killed at the Union Station, St. Louis, December 24, 1910. His
other son is an engineer now employed at Panama. His eldest
daughter is married to Prof. C. S. Montooth, an Illinois
school superintendent. His younger daughter, Grace, has
been employed as dietician at the Reading Hospital in
Pennsylvania.
JAMES H. THOMAS
James Harrison Thomas was born December 2, 1848 at
Belleville, lUinois. He entered McKendree in 1865 and grad-
uated in 1869, receiving the degree of B. S. He studied law
for two years in the ofEce of Judge Underwood and was
admitted to the bar in 1871. He practiced law for a time in
East St. Louis and then changed to a business career. He
was connected with a drug firm in Belleville for some years,
but later went west. His death occurred at Denver, Colo-
rado, December 20, 1915. He was married June 30, 1880, to
Miss Hattie P. Sargent of the class of 1875, who survived him.
N. J. SHEPHERD
Nehemiah John Shepherd was born at Lebanon, Illinois,
October 7, 1850. His parents, T. H. and E. A. Shepherd,
were both American. He entered McKendree as a student
in September, 1864, and graduated in June, 1869, receiving
the degree of B. S. He was a member of the Platonian Literary
Society. He was married May 22, 1872, to Pamelia J. Ralls,
near Red Bud, Illinois. They have five sons and three daugh-
ters, all living. His occupation during the years has been
farming and doing the work of agricultural editor. He is a
member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and for seven-
teen consecutive years has been secretary of Ionia Lodge
No. 381, A. F. is' A. M. He has also been secretary, ever
since it was organized, of the Eldon Chapter, No. 128, of
Royal Arch Masons. He has been secretary for thirteen
years of Eldon Lodge No. 462, I. O. O. F. He is a member
of the Prairie Encampment, No. 86, I. O. O. F., and has
been secretary of that body ever since it was organized. He
has been a Notary Public for many years. In politics he is
a Democrat. He moved to Miller County, Missouri in 1880,
and now resides in Eldon.
SAMUEL YOUNG
Samuel Young was born February 10, 1847. He graduated
from McKendree in the class of 1869, receiving the degree
of B. S. He belonged to the Platonian Society. He was for
many years engaged in the banking business in HiUsboro,
Illinois. His death occurred January 5, 1881.
FRANK A. McCONAUGHY
Frank Alexander McConaughy was born at Lititz, Lan-
caster County, Pennsylvania, December 25, 1849. His pat'
ents were Dr. John B. and Mrs. Elizabeth (Martin) Mc
Conaughy, both of Scotch-Irish descent. He came with his
parents to Illinois at the age of five and from that time on
his home was at Belleville. He first became a student in
McKendree in the early sixties while his father was a surgeon
in the Union Army. He graduated in 1869, with the degree
of A. B., and received the Master's degree a few years later.
He was a member of the Platonian Literary Society. He
studied law with Judge William H. Underwood and was
admitted to the bar in Illinois in 1871. Later he was admitted
to practice in the Federal Courts, including the Supreme
Court of the United States. He practiced law in Belleville
until he moved to New York City in 1908, and since then
he has been connected with one of the leading law firms
as consulting counsel. In 1877 ^^ was elected city attorney
of Belleville. For one year he was judge advocate general
of the Illinois Division of the Sons of Veterans. He has been
a prominent figure in many Republican conventions, and
chairman of several. In one of these he was offered the nom-
ination for Congress, but declined. He was one of the early
members of the Illinois State Bar Association, and is now
a member of the New York State Bar. He has made numerous
public addresses, some of which have been published. He is
not a member of any lodge or church, but usually attends
the Presbyterian Church. He was married October 28, 1875,
to Miss Lucy Wait Thomas, of Belleville. They have five
sons and two daughters, all living except the second son,
who died at the age of twenty-seven. The other four sons
are all engaged in business or professional activities. The
daughters are still living at home with their parents.
THE CLASS OF 1870
JOSEPH G. ALLYN
Joseph Goodnow Allyn was born at East Greenwich,
Rhode Island, April i, 1849. He is a son of Rev. Dr. Robert
and Mary (Budington) Allyn. His father was for many
years a prominent member of the Southern Illinois Confer'
Two Hundred and Twelve
^^^S:£>
ence of the M. E. Church, and for eleven years president
of McKendree College, He became a student in McKendree
about the same time his father became president in 1864.
He received the degree of A. B. in 1870, and later, A. M.
He was a member of the Platonian Literary Society. For
two years after his graduation he taught Natural Science m
East Greenwich (Rhode Island) Academy; he then studied
a year in the School of Mines of Columbia College, New
York. In 1873, he was elected professor of Chemistry in
the Northwestern University at Evanston.
He retired from active service and lived in Chicago for
some years before his death, which occurred about 191 5.
BENTON AXTELL
Daniel Benton Axtell was born at Elyria, Ohio, April
29, 1850. His father, Almon Axtell, was a native of Massa-
chusetts. His mother, Sophronia Boynton, was from Maine.
One of her ancestors came over in the Mayflower. In i860
the family moved from Ohio to St. Joseph, Missouri. There
he attended the public school, and also received private
instruction in the higher branches. In 1868 they moved to
Lebanon that the son and daughter might attend McKendree.
He graduated in 1870, receiving the degree of B. S., and
later, M. S. He studied civil engineering and was employed
by the Iron Mountain Railroad. In 1880 he moved to Texas,
and was the engineer in charge of the building of the Cotton
Belt Railroad from Corsicana to Waco. Afterward he was
employed on the construction of the Southern Pacific Rail-
road, then commonly known as the "Sunset Route;" and
while taking up an estimate in a deep cut he was overcome
by the heat, from the effects of which he died at Del Rio,
Texas, June 20, 1882. He left a widow and two small boys.
His wife before her marriage, was Miss Ninevah Allen, a
native of Fredericktown, Missouri. Mr. Axtell was one of
the editors of the McKendree Repository during his last
year in college. In March, 1870, he was elected president
of the Platonian Literary Society. The subject of his grad-
uating oration was "Esthetic Emotions."
PROF. JAMES H. BROWNLEE
James Henry Brownlee was born in Livonia, Indiana, De'
cember 29, 1846. His father, Rev. James Brownlee, born in
1812, in Ireland of Scotch parentage, was a Presbyterian
minister. His mother, Lavinia (McClung) Brownlee, was
born in Cynthiana, Kentucky, in 1817. James Henry became
a student in McKendree in the fall of 1866, and graduated
in the class of 1870, receiving the degree of B. S. He was
granted the degree of Master of Arts by his alma mater in
1876. He was a member of the Platonian Literary Society.
He has been engaged in teaching ever since his graduation.
He was two years principal of the Shiloh, Illinois schools;
two years in a similar position at Grayville; fourteen years
professor of Elocution and English Literature at the Southern
Illinois Normal School at Carbondale; nine years professor
of Oratory and Rhetoric at the University of Illinois; two
years professor of Elocution in the Charleston, IlUnois State
Normal; three years professor of Elocution in McKendree
College; and seven years professor of Elocution and English
Literature in Epworth University at Oklahoma City, Okla.
He IS the author of two books, "Martial Recitations for the
Veteran's Camp Fire" and "Wartime Echoes." The latter
has reference to the Spanish War. He was a member of the
G. A. R. and the Presbyterian Church. He was married
December 25:, 1873, to Miss Sarah Carey, of Grayville, Illi-
nois. They have two daughters, Elizabeth Emma and Mary
Lavinia. The latter is now Mrs. George Frederickson. Mr.
Brownlee's death occurred only a few years ago, but we
do not have the exact date.
THOMAS ELAM
Thomas Elam was born in Fayette County, Illinois, Octo-
ber 22, 1843. He is a son of Rev. William and Mary Elam.
His father was a minister of the Dunkard church and a
native of Virginia; his mother was from Tennessee. He
entered McKendree in 1861 and remained two terms. He
then went to California. In 1865 he returned to Illinois and
re-entered college. He made his way through college by
teaching and farming. He taught several terms in Madison
and St. Clair Counties. He was a member of the Platonian
Literary Society. He graduated in the class of 1870, receiving
the degree of B. S. He studied law in Vandalia, Illinois,
and was admitted to the bar in 1873. He located in Clinton,
Missouri, where he practiced law many years. A few years
ago he returned to Vandalia where he resided with his sister,
Mrs. Victoria Guffey, until the time of his death which
occurred recently. Mr. Elam never married.
EDITH M. FLINT
Edith Maria Flint was born near Lebanon, Illinois, Feb-
ruary 16, 1845, and died in Lebanon, November 10, 1898.
She was a daughter of William and Mary Flint who were
of English descent and came to the vicinity of Lebanon in
1842. She graduated from McKendree in the class of 1870,
receiving the degree of B. S., and in 1873, M. S. She was
one of the founders of the Clionian Literary Society and
was the first woman to graduate from McKendree as a reg-
ular student. After spending a few years in teaching, she
was married to the Rev. L. W. Thrall, of the Southern
Two Hundred and Th
.:s:^:^^^^^^^^^^S^^^^^^^^^^^^s^
Illinois Conference, September 29, 1873,. She was the mother
of one daughter, Edith Laura, and four sons, Victor W.,
William F., Charles H., and Harold L., all of whom are
graduates of McKendree. She spent her life as the diligent
helper of her husband in the work of the ministry. She took
a prominent part in the work of the Woman's Foreign Mis-
sionary Society, and the Woman's Christian Temperance
Union. Her funeral was held in the college chapel.
OSCAR B. GRIFFIN
Oscar Benjamin Griffin was a member of the class of
1870 and received the degree of A. B. He was a member
of the Philo Society. When he came to McKendree he
registered from St. Morgan. We have no record as to how
he spent the two years which intervened between his grad-
uation and his death in 1872.
THOMAS H. McBRIDE
Thomas Harrison McBride was born near Belleville, Illi-
nois, April 15, 1847. His parents were William John and
Dovey (Harrison) McBride, who were both Americans. He
entered McKendree in 1867 and graduated in June, 1870,
receiving the degree of B. S. He was a member of the Philo-
sophian Literary Society. He took a medical course at the
St. Louis Medical College, receiving the degree of M. D.
from that institution in 1874. He was married May 6, 1874,
at Joliet, Illinois, to Miss Mary Hardy. To them were born
three children. He began the practice of medicine at Joliet
in September of the same year, and continued in this pro-
fession until his death, which occurred December 19, 1881.
He was a member of the Richard Street Methodist Church.
WILLIAM M. ROBINSON
William Melrose Robinson was a member of the class of
1870. He received the degree of B. S., and later, M. S. He
belonged to the Philosophian Society. He afterward studied
law, and practiced his profession in the city of Lawrence-
ville. 111. We have no information as to the time of his death.
HENRY SEITER
Henry Seiter was born at Lebanon, Illinois, September
22, 184'i. His parents were Michael and Eliwbeth Seiter,
the former of German and the latter of English ancestry.
He entered McKendree in 1866 and graduated in June, 1870,
receiving the degree of B. S. He was a member of the Pla-
tonian Literary Society. He took a law course in the Uni-
versity of Michigan, receiving the degree of LL. B. He was
in the banking and real estate business in Lebanon for many
years. He was a member of the lower house of the Illinois
Legislature, 1878 to 1880, and of the state senate from 1882
to 1890. In 1884, he wa.s the Democratic nominee for Lieu-
tenant-Governor of Illinois. He is a thirty second degree
Mason. He was twice married — to Alice I. Radefeldt in
1872, and after her death to Mamie Badley, in 1879. Of the
first marriage was born one son, Victor M., and of the sec-
ond, two sons, Orville R. and Fay E. Seiter. Mr. Seiter was
for many years a trustee of McKendree, and for a term of
years was secretary of that body. He was also a member
of the executive committee. He now (1928) resides with his
son, Victor, at Kansas City, Mo.
DR. EUGENE L. STOKER
Eugene Lecompte Stoker, son of William and Martha Ann
Stoker, was born at Louisville, Illinois, August 14, 1S50 and
died at Centralia, Illinois, September 30, 1900. He received
his early education in the pubUc schools of Centralia where
his parents took up their residence when he was but a lad.
He graduated from McKendree in 1870, receiving the degree
of A. B. He was a member of the Platonian Literary Society.
He studied law in the office of his father at Centralia and in
due time was admitted to the bar of Illinois. He practiced
his profession in Centralia until 1892 when he moved to
Chicago and spent the remainder of his life in the legal
profession in that city. He held the office of state's attorney
of Marion County and was for one term he was a member
of the state Legislature. He was married to Miss Maggie
McKnight of Centralia. To them was born one son, William
McKnight Stoker. Mr. Stoker was a member of the Meth-
odist Church and a thirty-third degree Mason. He has held
the office of Past Grand High Priest of Southern Illinois
in that order.
SAMUEL P. SPARKS
Samuel Preston Sparks was born in Surry County, North
Carolina, January i, 1844. He attended Chapel Hill College
in Lafayette County, Missouri for one year; but at outbreak
of the Civil War, he left college to enlist in the Union Army.
He served three years in Fifth Missouri Cavalry. After the
war he taught school for a time, then entered McKendree
and graduated in 1870, receiving the degree of A. B., and
later, A. M. He then studied law and for a time attended
the St. Louis Law School. He afterwards located at Warrens-
burg, Missouri for the practice of his profession. He served
four years as clerk of the County Court of Johnson County,
Missouri, and two terms in the Missouri State Senate. He
was a lawyer of marked ability. His death occurred .it his
home in Warrensburg, September 16, 1892.
REV. DR M P WILKIN
Milton Perry Wilkin was born in Crawford County, Illi-
nois, August 17, 1846. He IS next to the youngest of the
Tu'O Hundred and Fourteen
^^^s:2:>
nine children of Isaac and Sarah (Burner) Wilkm, who were
of German descent, horn m Virginia, moved to Ohio, and
afterward came to IlHnois in 1845. He entered McKendree as
a student in March, 1868, and graduated in June, 1870, re-
ceiving the degree of B. S. Later he received the degrees of A.
M. and D. D. from Chaddock College. While in McKendree
he was a member of the Platonian Literary Society. He was
married October 25, 1871, to Miss Jennie Greer. They have
no children. After leaving McKendree, he taught school for
a year, then joined the Southern Illinois Conference. He was
transferred to the Illinois Conference m 1882, and continued
m the regular work till 1909, when he took the superannuate
relation and located at Urbana, Illinois. He has done much
Chautauqua work, both as manager and lecturer. He has
served as platform director of the Chautauqua at Havana,
Illinois, and at Piasa Chautauqua in Jersey County, Illinois.
Among his most popular lectures are the following: "What
Will You Take," "What is the Matter with the World,"
"Stars to Sail By," "Scraps of Experience and Hints to
Teachers," etc., etc. He has also done much campaigning
and lecturing in the interest of temperance and prohibition.
His death occurred April i^, 1926.
THE CLASS OF 1871
DR. LYMAN A. BERGER
Lyman Adams Berger was born at Lebanon, Illinois, No'
vember 22, i8'?4. He was the oldest son of Dr. Adolph
Berger, who came from Germany and became one of the
early residents of Lebanon, and was the leading physician
of the town for many years. He grew up in his native town
and received his education in the Lebanon public schools
and McKendree College, where he graduated in the class
of 1871 with the degree of A. B. He immediately entered
the St. Louis Medical College and received the degree of
M. D. from that institution in 1874. After practicing his
profession two years, he went west on account of failing
health. He spent several years in Idaho and then located
in Kansas City, Missouri in 1880. In 1886 he went to Europe
with his father, and remained there long enough to take a
special course in obstetrics in the Universities of Berlin and
Vienna. He then returned to Kansas City, where he engaged
in the general practice of medicine and surgery until the
time of his death July 8, 1897. He has held the following
positions at various times in his career: chief of staff of the
German Hospital, Kansas City; professor of Obstretics m
the University Medical College of Kansas City; secretary
of the State Medical Society of Missouri ; vice-president of
the Pan-American Medical Congress at Washington, D. C.
m iSqi. He was a member of the Platonian Literary Society,
Knight Templars, Shnners and Knights of Pythias. He was
married December ji, 187=;, to Miss Lillie E. Dausm.m of
St. Louis, who died m i88s. Their three children are:
Mrs. G. W. Thaxter, Roswell, New Mexico, Mrs. E. P.
Allen, K.msas City, Mo., and Miss Grace Berger, who was
for some time a member of the staff of the Kansas City
Public Library.
JOHN H. BLUME
John H. Blume was born July 10, iS'jo, at Pleasant Ridge,
Madison County, Illinois, and died in the summer of 1873.
He was of German parentage. His father was John H; Blume,
Sr., and his mother, Christine (Dierking) Blume. He had two
sisters, Mrs. C. F. Kayser, of Edwardsville, and Louise C.
Blume, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, and one brother, Wm. F.
Blume, of Granite City, Illinois. He became a student m
McKendree in September, 186";, when he was only fifteen
years of age, and graduated m the Classical Course, as the
valedictorian of his class, in 1871, receiving the degree of
A. B. He was a member of the Platonian Literary Society,
and was elected president of that body in his senior year.
He was never married, though at the time of his death was
engaged to an excellent Christian young woman. After his
graduation in 1871, he was elected professor of Ancient
Languages m Jennings Seminary at Aurora, Illinois. Here he
taught for two years, while in the same school the sciences
were taught by his fellow McKendrean, Daniel B. Parkinson,
later president of the Southern Illinois Normal University.
He was elected for the third year, but died at his father's
home after a brief illness, shortly before the opening of the
next school year. He was a devout Christian and a faithful
member of the Methodist Church. He was prepared for the
great change and closed his eyes on the scenes of earth
exhorting his loved ones to meet him in the Heavenly home.
JOHN M. BROOKS
John Melville Brooks was born at Townsend, Massachu-
setts, February 12, 1850. He was descended from a distin-
guished New England family. One of his ancestors, John
Brooks, LL. D., served m the Revolutionary War and in
the War of 1812, and for six years was Governor of Massa-
chusetts. The parents of the subject of this sketch were
John C. and Lefy (Hart) Brooks, who were both natives
of Massachusetts. He prepared for college at Lawrence
Academy at Groton, and Wesleyan Academy at Wilbraham,
Massachusetts. He then came west, entered McKendree
and graduated in 1871 with the degree of A. B. He was
a member of the Philosophian Literary Society. After his
Two Hundred and Fifteen
-^:s:^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^e^^s^
graduation he taught school a year near Lebanon, and then
entered the Law Department of Michigan University at
Ann Arbor. He was admitted to the bar in 1874, and located
at Saginaw, Michigan, where he spent the remainder of his
life in the practice of law. He was a man of unusual ability
in the line of his chosen profession, and was highly esteemed
by his contemporaries for his noble character. He might have
had a brilliant political career had he not steadfastly refused
political honors. He was president of the Saginaw Valley
Bar Association. He died very suddenly of heart failure,
March 26, 1903. He was married July 6, 1876, to Miss
Luella J. Dadmun of Boston, who still lives in Saginaw,
Michigan. Of their four children, two are still living: William
C. Brooks, of Portland, Oregon, and Melville D. Brooks, who
is practicing law in Saginaw, Michigan.
JOHN H. BAIRD
John Hardin Baird was born in Sparta, Illinois, January
25, 1850, and died at Emporia, Kansas, April 16, 1903, at
the home of Mr. and Mrs. T. L. McDill. His parents, John
and Lucinda (Morrow) Baird, were both of Scotch-English
ancestry and were born in the early part of the last century.
His father was engaged in mercantile business for some years,
both in Sparta and Pinckneyville, Illinois. He also served
several terms as district judge in Illinois. John H. was one
of a family of nine children, three of whom died in infancy,
and three others before their parents. None of them were
ever married, and John H. was the last of the family. He
entered McKendree in the late sixties and graduated in the
class of 1871, receiving the degree of B. S., and later, M. S.
He was a member of the Platonian Literary Society. He went
to Emporia, Kansas in the early seventies, and was engaged
in mercantile business there till the time of his decease. He
did not belong to any lodge, but was a member of the
Presbyterian Church.
DANIEL H. DELZELL
Daniel Holly Delzell was born in Walker County, Georgia,
September 9, 1849. He graduated from McKendree in 1871,
receiving the degree of B. S. He was a member of the Platonian
Literary Society. He taught school for a year after his grad-
uation and was also reading law with the intention of making
that his vocation, when his promising career was cut short
by the grim reaper. He died at the home of his father at
Wakefield, Illinois, May 9, 1872. The testimony of one who
knew him well was that he was an earnest Christian.
JOHN C. DELZELL
John Carter Delzell was born in McMinn County, East
Tennessee, July 5, 1847. He graduated from McKendree with
the degree of B. S. m 1871, and later, received the Master's
Degree. He was a member of the Platonian Society. He was
married to Lourenia B. Gillison, July 5, 1874 After his ,
graduation he spent one year in teaching, seven years as
deputy clerk of Richland County, and one year as collector
of Olney Township. At this time, his health having failed,
he went to live on his farm near Wakefield, Illinois, where
he spent the brief remainder of his life. He died July 11,
1 88 1. He was a member of the Methodist Church and a local
preacher, exercising his gifts in this line as opportunity
offered, as long as his health permitted.
THOMAS E. KNOX
Thomas Ewing Knox, A. B., St. Paul, Minnesota. We
have no information concerning him since the time of his
graduation.
JAMES P. LYTLE
James Pollack Lytle was born in Troy, lUinois, November
12, 1848, and died at Princeton, Illinois, April 19, 1902. He
was a son of Dr. F. W. Lytle who was formerly a physician
in Lebanon, 111. He graduated from McKendree in 1871,
receiving the degree of A. B. He attended the St. Louis
Medical College, where he received the degree of M. D.
He was married in 1877, to a Miss Sawyer, of Tiskilwa,
Illinois. To them were born three children, Blanche F., Ralph
S., and James Albert. He practiced medicine at Princeton,
Illinois for over twenty years, and was a prominent member
of the profession. He was a member of the Presbyterian
Church, and a Knight Templar in the Masonic Order.
JOHN C. EDWARDS
John Columbus Edwards was born in Monroe County,
Tennessee, January 11, 1849. His father, Thomas Edwards,
was from North Carolina, and his mother, Margaret
(Stephenson) Edwards, was a native of Tennessee. He entered
McKendree in 1868, and received the degree of B. S. in
1871, and LL. B. in 1873. He was a member of the Philo-
sophian Society. In 1882, he was married to Miss Lizzie R.
Elliott. Their two sons are Hugh and John C. Mr. Edwards
followed the profession of law, beginning his practice in
McLe.msboro, Illinois. He held the office of state's attorney
of Hamilton County for two terms, and was county judge
of the same county for two terms also. He held an important
appointment in the Treasury Department during the second
Cleveland administration. At the expiration of his term of
office he moved from Washington, D. C. to Chicago, where
he engaged in the practice of law. In this city he died
November 17, 1905. He was buried at McLeansboro, which
was regarded as the home town of the family. Here the chil-
Two Hundred and Sixteen
dren grew to manhood, and here was the home from which
three brothers went to McKendree College, graduated, and
went out to hless the world with their influence. Judge Ed'
wards was, from childhood, a member of the Methodist
Church, but after his removal to Washington, he became a
member of the Episcopal Church.
ABRAM G. GORDON
Abram Gooding Gordon was born m Randolph County,
Illinois, November 6, 1849. His parents were of Scotch and
German ancestry. His father. Rev. H. S. Gordon, was a
farmer and a pioneer minister of the Free Baptist Church
in Southern Illinois. His Scottish ancestors came to America
before the Revolutionary War. Young Abram entered Mc-
Kendree in 1868 and graduated in 1871, receiving the degree
of LL. B. He was a member of the Platonian Society. Since
then he has practiced law, and has been connected with many
of the business enterprises of Chester, Illinois, where he has
resided for the past thirty years. He and his son, Eugene R.
Gordon, organized and operated the Gordon Telephone Com-
pany Exchange at Chester. He was a member of the Baptist
Church, independent in politics, and belonged to the Inde-
pendent Order of Odd Fellows. He died Dec. 20, 1917.
WILLIAM E. McBRIDE
William Erastus McBride was born near Belleville, August
I, 1849. He was a son of William J. and Dovey H. McBride,
who were both Americans. After attending the Belleville
high school, he entered McKendree in 1868 and graduated
m 187 1, receiving the degree of B. S. He was a member of
the Philosophian Literary Society. He was married Septem-
ber I, 1875, to Miss Virginia Thatcher, of the class of
1872. To them were born four children: Dovey, now Mrs.
D. M. Church, Thomas, now residing on the McBride
farm near Belleville, Olive, and Sadie, now Mrs. E. R. Crisp.
All but one of these have been students in McKendree.
Mr. McBride's business was that of farmer and stockman.
He was a member and an active worker in the Methodist
Church. He was for many years Sunday School Superinten-
dent. Largely through his influence a church was built on a
portion of the McBride farm. He died January 3, 189J.
CHARLES W. WOOLVERTON
Charles William Woolverton was born at Belvidere, Illi-
nois, February 27, 1847 and died November 10, 1895, at
Tuscola, Illinois. His parents were Charles W. and Amanda
H. Woolverton. He became a student in McKendree in 1866
and graduated in 1871, with the degree of A. B. Three years
later he received the degree of A. M. He was a member
of the Platonian Literary Society. He studied law, was ad'
mitted to the bar, and began the practice of his profession
in Tuscola, Illinois. He was soon a prominent figure in the
courts of Douglass County, He was married June 12, 1888,
to Mrs. Elizabeth C. Remine, who was at that time the
official court reporter of the Judicial District composed of
Douglass, Coles, and Edgar Counties. Their only daughter
is now Mrs. Lutie Woolverton Rice. He was for ten years
a member of the law firm of Bundy and Woolverton, and
after the death of Mr. Bundy he carried on the extensive
practice himself, without taking another partner. The nu-
merous resolutions adopted by the courts, lodges, etc., etc.,
with which he was connected, indicate the high esteem in
which he was held. He attended the Presbyterian Church
and was a member of the Camargo Lodge No. 440, A. F. &?
A. M., Tuscola Chapter No. 66, Royal Arch Masons, and
Melita Commandery No. 37, Tuscola, Illinois. Mrs. Wool-
verton is still living and makes her home with her daughter,
Mrs. R. F. Rice, at Rossville, Illinois.
JUDGE COLUMBUS A. KELLER
Columbus Alonzo Keller was born near Mt. Vernon,
Illinois, November 24, 185 1 and died at his home m San
Antonio, Texas, in February, 1918. He entered McKendree
in 1869, being admitted to the Junior Class on examination,
and graduated in 1871, with the degree of B. S. He was a
Philo. For the next two years he was a student in the Law
School of the University of Michigan. He was admitted to
the bar at Ottawa, Illinois, September 14, 1873. He was
elected county judge of Jefferson County in 1877, which
position he held for five years. In 1885 he moved to San
Antonio, Texas, seeking a climate more favorable to his
wife's health. His wife was formerly Nellie Raymond, of
Lebanon. This change doubtless prolonged her life, but she
died in 191 1, leaving one daughter, now Mrs. D. P. Allen,
of San Antonio. Mr. Keller's second wife was Miss Essie
F. Haynes, of San Antonio, who survived him. In McKendree
he was a hard working student. He was president of Philo,
a member of the editorial staff of the McKendree Repository,
and in his senior year was elected president of the "College
Association." In later life he was a prominent lodge man.
He was a Knight Templar, a Shriner, and a thirty-third
degree Scottish Rite Mason. In 1882, he was chosen State
Grand Master of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows for
Illinois. In 1912, he was chosen Grand Sire of that order
for the World, in the convention at Winnipeg, Canada. He
was also an active member of the Methodist Church, and
a Democrat in politics.
Two Hundred jnd Seve
Reunion of the class of 187
From left to right —
WiUiam Edgar Ward, Charles Spies, Ellen Cecilia Axtell, George W
Virginia Laura Thatcher (Mrs. W. E. McBride), William Austin Ke
THE CLASS OF 1872
ELLEN S. ALLYN
Ellen Sophronia Allyn was born in East Greenwich, Rhode
Island, June 5, 1852. Her father. Rev. Dr. Robert Allyn, who
was born in Ck)nnecticut and died at Carbondale, 111., was
president of McKendree College from i86j to 1874. Her
mother, Mary B. Budington, was born in Leyden, Mass.,
and died in Carbondale, 111. From 1857 to 1859, Ella lived at
Athens, Ohio, where her father was professor of Language
in the Ohio University; and from 1859 to i86j at Cincinnati,
where he was president of the Wesleyan Female College.
During the first six years of her residence in Lebanon she
attended a private school conducted by Mrs. Helen Finley
Keeney and her sister, daughters of Dr. James C. Finley, a
former president of McKendree. She became a student in
McKendree in 1869, and graduated in 1872. She was the
first woman to receive the A. B. degree from the college.
She was devoted to the interests of the Clionian Society,
which she joined soon after its organization. When Dr. Allyn
became president of the Southern Illinois Normal School at
Carbondale, she removed to that place with her father's
family, and for the remainder of her father's lifetime, devoted
much of her time to assisting him in the duties of his office.
She was for many years a teacher in the Sunday School of
the Methodist Church at Carbondale. Her death occurred
several years ago.
2 held at McKendree in 191 2
illiam Flint, Leonidas Worthy Thrall, D. D., Thomas Jefferson Porter,
:lsoe, Charles Shuman, George Key Edwards, Walter Watson, M. D.
ELLEN C. AXTELL
Ellen Cecelia Axtell was born at Elyria, Ohio, April 3,
1845. She was of New England ancestry. Her parents were
Almon and Sophronia (Boynton) Axtell, the former a native
of Massachusetts and the latter of Maine. Philip De La Noye
(later anglicized to Delano) one of her ancestors on the moth-
er's side, came to America in the ship "Fortune" which
followed the Mayflower. His grandson married a grand'
daughter of Bettie Alden, the oldest child of John Alden
and Priscilla. Miss Axtell's grandmother Boynton's maiden
name was Delano and she was thus descended from the
famous New England Aldens. In i860 her parents moved to St.
Joseph, Missouri, and eight years later, to Lebanon, Illinois.
Here both she and her brother, Benton, became students in
McKendree. He finished in the class of 1870, and she in
1872. After that. Miss Axtell taught five years in the public
schools of St. Louis. In 1877, she gave up teaching on account
of her health, and a little later went to Cleveland, Ohio, and
studied art. Upon the death cf her brother in 1882, she went
to Waco, Texas to live with his family. Soon afterward the
teacher of art in Baylor University died, and Miss Axtell
was appointed to the position. Two years later her mother
died, and she went to live with her sister in St. Louis. There
she attended the St. Louis Art School for two years, and
then opened a studio, first in her own home and then at the
Two Hundred and Eighteen
MC KENDREE
Y. M. C A. Building, where she taught various Hnes of art
work. After working m St. Louis a number of years, she
returned to Texas, still pursuing her favorite vocation. She
made a specialty of china painting. She came to Lebanon to
attend the reunion of the class of 1872 on the fortieth anni-
versary of their graduation. Her death occurred at Magnolia,
Texas, February 24, 1917.
DR. AUGUSTUS C. BERNAYS
Augustus Charles Bernays was born at Highland, Mad-
ison County, Illinois, October 16, i8';4. He attended the
schools of St. Louis during
the Civil War, and after the
removal of his family toLeb
anon, he became a student
m the Preparatory Depart -
mentofMcKendreeCollege.
He completed the Classical
Course and received the de-
gree of A. B. in 1872. He was
a member of the Platonian
Society. He was the young-
est member of the class and
was still under eighteen at
the time of his graduation.
The following autumn
he went to Germany to pursue his medical studies. He
entered Heidelburg University and four years later received
the degree of M. D. "summa cum laude," being the first
American to graduate from this famous university with
highest honors. He then spent a year in post graduate studies
and hospital work in Heidelburg, Berlin, and Vienna. Also,
m England he succeeded in becoming a member of the Royal
College of Surgeons in London. In 1877 he came to St. Louis
to take up his life work as a specialist in surgery. He was
a pioneer in abdominal surgery, introduced antiseptic treat-
ment in this country, and invented surgical instruments now
used the world over. He was a teacher many years. First in
the St. Louis College of Physicians and Surgeons, and later
in the Marion-Simms Medical College, which is now the
Medical Department of St. Louis University. Dr. Willard
Bartlett of St. Louis said of him- "He had more gifts of
various kinds than any man I ever knew. He ranked high
as an investigator, operator, and teacher. While in my eyes,
his greatest merit lay in his ability as an operator — in his
being able to do things successfully which others refused to
attempt — he was also a great teacher."
DR. BERNAYS
Dr. G. G. Cottam of South Dakota, a pupil of his, gives
the following testimony of his ability as a teacher: "He pre-
sented the plain, unvarnished truth without affect.ition and
so convincingly that to hear him was to believe him. In the
early nineties, when I first heard him, he was lecturing on
pathological anatomy; later clinical surgery was added, and
his fourfold qualification as embryologist, anatomist, path-
ologist, and surgeon, of each of which he was a master,
enabled him to deal with his subject in a manner wholly
impossible for one lacking m any of these four closely con-
nected branches."
Dr. Bernays was never married, but maintained a well
equipped home which was presided over by his sister,
Thekla, who was a student in McKendree with him, and
remained with him to the end of his career, devoting herself
to his comfort. She accompanied him on several trips to
Europe and on a trip to Japan, and after his death, which
occurred in May, 1Q17, she wrote his biography m a very
interesting volume, to which we refer the reader for further
information about this remarkable man.
LOUIS F. BOHM
Louis Frederick Bohm was born on a farm near Edwards-
viUe, Illinois, November 18, 1849. His parents were natives
of Germany. Louis completed the classical course at McKen-
dree in 1872 and received the degree of A. B. After his grad-
uation he taught in a country school two years, and the
following year was appointed to teach in the Edwardsville
High School. Early in the spring of 1874, he was compelled
to give up his school work on account of failing health, and
died April i, of that year. At college Mr. Bohm excelled
especially in the languages. Not only was he a master of
German, his mother tongue, but also ranked high in Greek
and Latin. He never married.
GEORGE K. EDWARDS
George Key Edwards, A. M., of the class of "72, was born
December jo, 1846, near Madisonville, Monroe County,
Tennessee. He is the son of Thomas H. and Margaret (Ste-
phenson) Edwards. The family moved before George was
three years old to the farm on which he lived to the end of
his life, near McLeansboro, Illinois. George was married
April Q, 1885, to Miss Ada Daily, of McLeansboro. They
have four children, Kate, a teacher in the McLeansboro High
School, George, Paul, and Frank, the youngest. After grad-
uating at McKendree, Mr. Edwards taught school in Illinois,
Kansas, and Montana, nine years in all, and then engaged
in farming and stock-raising on the farm on which he himself
was raised. For many years he has been also a public lecturer.
Two Hundred and H-
^MC KENDREE"^^^^^:^^^...^;^..^
and a writer for magazines, religious and temperance journals,
and other publications. The "Ram's Horn," a religious pub-
lication of international fame, once printed a friendly cartoon
of this physically slight, slender man, representing him as a
very big, fat, heavy, short man. Mr. Edwards has devoted
much time to Sunday School work, both on the public plat-
form and in private life . His death occurred only a few years ago .
STEPHEN G. H. EDWARDS
Stephen Gardner Hicks Edwards was born at Mt. Vernon,
lUinois, December 23, 1850 He was the son of Dr. F. H.
and Margaret Elizabeth (Hicks) Edwards. His paternal grand-
father, Rev. William Edwards, was a pioneer Methodist
preacher in Illinois, and for many years chaplain of the
Illinois Grand Lodge of I. O. O. F. His maternal grandfather,
Stephen Gardner Hicks, was an officer in three wars — Black-
hawk, Mexican, and Civil. Stephen's mother lived to the
end of her long life at Sandoval, Illinois, their home when
he was a student in McKendree. After finishing his college
course, he attended the Ohio Medical College at Cincinnati,
where he received the degree of M. D. Then he formed a
partnership with his father, and for the next twelve years,
practiced medicine in Sandoval. Early in 1887, he went to
Texas on account of his health, and on April 30 of that
year he died at Castroville, Texas, leaving a wife and four
children. One of his sons, Dr. Frank M. Edwards, is now
a practicing physician; the other. Dr. Ralph D. Edwards, is
a dentist. His daughter, Lydia, is a talented musician; the
other, Elizabeth, is the wife of Chas. W. Hall, a prominent
business man of Sandoval. Dr. Edwards' wife never re-married.
WILLIAM M. ESSEX
William Monroe Essex, salutatorian of the class of 1872,
was born in St. Louis, November 12, 185 1, and died in the
same city January 23, 1875, a victim of the "white plague."
He never married. He became a teacher after graduating from
McKendree, and continued enthusiastically in the service of
the cause of education up to a short time before his death.
He was for a time professor of Mathematics in the Springfield
(Missouri) Female College. He was a younger brother of the
late Thomas Essex, who was also an alumnus of McKendree,
class of 1858.
GEORGE W. FLINT
George William Flint was born on a farm near Lebanon,
Illinois, February 6, 1847, and died at his home near Ray
mond, Illinois, February 11, 1926. He was the oldest son of
William and Mary (Gedney) Flint, who were both natives
of England and came to America soon after their marriage
in the home land. George W. graduated from McKendree in
the class of 1872, receiving the degree of B. S., and later,
M. S. He was a member of the Platonian Society. A year
after his graduation he went to Glenwood, Iowa, where he
engaged in teaching for several years. Here he was married
February 24, 1876, to Miss Ada M. Carter, of Glenwood.
She died in August of the same year, at the age of twenty.
He then returned to Illinois and engaged in the lumber busi-
ness, first at Mt. Olive, and later at Greenville. On May 4,
1881, he was married to Miss Annie E. Kirkland of Walsh-
ville, Illinois. Mrs. Flint died in March, 1912, leaving two
children. Earl W., and Mary Louise. From the spring of
1896 until his death, Mr. Flint lived on a farm near Raymond,
which for a number of years has been managed by his son
and daughter. The residence is a large roomy house, lighted
with gas, heated with hot water, and supplied with all
modern conveniences. Mr. Flint had five brothers who were
students at McKendree, tho not all of them graduated.
MARGARET E. GILBERT
Margaret Elizabeth Gilbert, daughter of Edward and
Margaret E. (Roosevelt) Gilbert, was born March i, 1850,
on the old Greenwich plantation of colonial days, five miles
from Savannah, Georgia, and died January 29, 1906, at Los
Angeles, California. Most of her childhood was spent on a
farm near Lebanon, Illinois. Before the doors of McKendree
were open to women, Miss Gilbert attended a young ladies'
seminary in Jersey City, and Almira College, at Greenville,
Illinois. She entered McKendree in 1869 and graduated in
1872, with the degree of B. S. She was one of the founders
of the Clionian Society. She was married October 10, 1876,
to Charles Colgate Galusha, of Rochester, New York. One
of her classmates. Miss Ellen Allyn, served as bridesmaid
at the wedding, which took place at the Gilbert homestead
two miles east of Lebanon. Their two sons were Eldon Gil-
bert and Charles Edward, the latter of whom died when but
two years old. Her husband, after a long period of ill health,
died March 18, 1881. In December, 1902, Mrs. Gilbert, with
her son, Eldon, and her sister, Euretta, moved to Los Angeles,
where she died only about three years later.
SAMUEL HASTINGS
Samuel Hastings was born at Ingraham, Clay County,
Ilhnois, July 24, 1850, and died in Cairo, Illinois, September
22, 1905. After graduating at McKendree in 1872, where he
was a member of the Platonian Society, he taught school for
several years in Clay County, and then moved to Cairo and
engaged in the wholesale grain business. On September 24,
1876, he was married to Miss Anisee Barney at Ingraham,
Two Hundred and Twenty
Illinois. To them were born four children: Lelia M,, Maude,
Oris B., and Mary Alice. The grain business established by
Mr. Hastings in 1885 has now passed to his son, Oris, and
his brother, Ira. He also served the public as a member of
the City Council of Cairo, and as County Commissioner of
Alexander County. He was also president of Cairo's Board
of Trade, and one of the trustees of the State Hospital for
the Insane at Aurora, Illinois.
GEORGE W. HILL
George Washington Hill was born at Ewing, Franklin
County, Illinois, October 31, 1874, and died at Murphys-
boro, Illinois, October 29, 1897. His parents were Judge John
W. Hill, a native of Virginia, and Margaret (Beattie) Hill,
born in Alabama. At McKendree, Mr. Hill was a member
of the Philosophian Society. After his graduation in 1872,
when he received the degree of B. S., he was elected pro-
fessor of Science and Latin in Ewing College. He spent
a year there and then located at Murphysboro, serving as
principal of the public schools of that city for a time before
entering upon the practice of law. In 1884 he was elected
State Senator from the 50th Illinois District. He took an
active interest in politics, served many years as chairman of
the County Central Committee of his party, and was a
delegate to the Democratic National Convention which nom-
inated Grover Cleveland for president in 1888. Mr. Hill was
married October 27, 1875 to Miss Fannie Ingram, daughter
of Col. W. T. Ingram, M. D., of Murphysboro. Five children
were born to them, three of whom are still living. These
are Margaret, now Mrs. D. M. Parkinson of San Antonio,
Texas; Frances, now Mrs. A. C. Butterworth of Little Rock,
Arkansas; and Miss Helen, the youngest daughter, who lives
with her mother in Murphysboro. The only son, Dr. W.
C. Hill, died in 1906 at Murphysboro, where he was en-
gaged in the practice of medicine.
JOHN C. KEET
John Charles Keet, son of Thomas Josiah and Elizabeth
(West) Keet, was born at Keetsville, Missouri, August 9,
1850. While in McKendree he was a member of the Platonian
Society. He graduated in 1872 with the degree of B. S., and
later received the degree of M. S. On December 18, 1875
he was married to Miss Lyda Hypes at her home in Lebanon.
Miss Hypes was one of the founders of the Clionian Society,
and was a student in McKendree at the same time with Mr.
Keet. To them were born five children: Florence, Bertram,
Harry, Belle, and Margaret. Mr. Keet engaged in merchan-
dising at Springfield, Mo. soon after his graduation, and
continued in this business until his death February 20, 1905.
W. A. KELSOE
WILLIAM A. KELSOE
William Austin Kelsoe, a veteran newspaper man of St.
Louis, IS one of the two surviving members of the class of
1872, the other survivor be-
ing Zachary Taylor Remick,
of Trenton, Illinois.
Mr. Kelsoe traces his an-
cestry back to American col-
onists from Europe, includ-
ing the four countries of the
British Isles and two on the
Continent. The mother of
his father. Alexander Kelsoe,
a native of Tennessee, was
a North Carolina Huston
(also spelled Houston). Her
husband, Archibald Kelsoe,
is said to have changed the
spelling of his family name to have it end like Monroe,
Defoe, Kehoe, Bludsoe and other names ending in "oe," Arch-
ibald's brothers and their children keeping the old-time Scotch
and Irish spelling, Kelso.
Mr. Kelsoe's parents were both school teachers before their
marriage. He still has the teacher's certificate under which his
mother taught a country school in Athens County, Ohio,
when she was Miss Elizabeth Watkins, her father being
Mathew Watkins, a soldier of the War of 1812 and a son
of Jonathan Watkins, a soldier of the American Revolution.
She was married to Alexander Kelsoe in 1849 at Rock Island,
Illinois, where she was then living with a married sister,
Mrs. Austin (Esther) Prouty. Alexander Kelsoe was then
circuit clerk of Bond County, Illinois, but before that he
had taught school in the county several years and had at-
tended McKendree College in 1844.
W. A. Kelsoe, born Feb. i, in Greencastle, the capital of
Bond County, lost both parents before he was eleven years
old, his mother in his early infancy, and until he became of
age he lived most of the time with the family of an uncle
and aunt, William and Martha Watkins, the latter being a
Greenville Greenwood, of Boston parentage and culture. His
early education was received at public schools in Greenville,
Pocahontas and Vandalia, a private school in Greenville for
boys, and a country school near Highland, 111. Entering Mc-
Kendree College in September, 1866, he devoted two years
exclusively to studies in the regular scientific course and the
next two largely to Greek and Latin. Then he put in nine
months as a teacher of a country school not far from Lebanon,
Two Hundred and Twenty-One
returning to the college campus in June, 1871, to read Greek
and Latin daily to Professor S. H. Deneen (the flither of
the present United States Senator) under a shady tree the
rest of the summer.
Mr. Kelsoe says that he was not a brilliant student and
that he owed his election to an editorship (twice) on the
college paper and to the presidency of the Platonian Society
in the fall of 1869 and again in the fall of 187 1, not to oratory
or any literary achievement, not to his record in the recitation
room, but largely, in fact, almost entirely to his work on the
ball field and in the college gymnasium. He is credited with
having won high honors in an essay contest, but his good
fortune then was due, he says, to the fact that one of the
members of his class. Miss Virginia Leonora Roberts, was
not a competitor, this brilliant young lady having been the
winner in a similar contest the year before. And the high
prize this time, in June, 1872, was not for Mr. Kelsoe alone,
he tells us. He had to share it with another great woman in
the graduating class that year. Miss Ellen Sophronia Allyn^
a daughter of the college president.
After graduating at McKendree, Mr. Kelsoe accompanied
his youngest classmate, Augustus Charles Bernays, (later
nationally famous as a surgeon) to the old University of
Heidelburg, Germany where they were joined later by
another classmate, the valedictorian of the class. Rev. Thom-
as Clark McFarland.
From the Centennial History of Missouri, page 501, we
learn that "at Heidelburg, Mr. Kelsoe studied philology and
old German literature under Professor Bartsch, history and
literature under Professor von Treitschke, international law
under Professor Bluntschli. the master works of literature
under Professor Kuno Fischer and physics under Professor
Kirchhoff, all men celebrated in their respective fields of
education."
His stand for the settlement of international controversies
by arbitration, publicly advocated on more than one occasion
at McKendree, was greatly strengthened at Heidelburg.
"Old McKendree" and "Alt Heidelberg" have never, no,
not for a single moment, since his student days, cea.sed to
be very dear to him.
Twice the college (McKendree) has honored him with
election to its Board of Trustees — in 1893, and 1926. One
of its present members, Charles Pace Hamill, who.se parents
were Mr. Kelsoe's fellow students at McKendree, was asso-
ciated with him in newspaper work at the St. Louis World's
Fair, being connected with the Exposition's Local Press Bu-
reau, and so were Professor Willi.im F. Thrall, J. Paul Ed-
wards and G. Roy Flint, themselves McKendre<ins, as their
fathers were before them. Dr. Theodore Lewald, who had
charge of Germany's wonderful exhibit at the Fair, was a
member of Mr. Kelsoe's college fraternity at Heidelburg,
the Verbindung Rupertia, named for Carl Rupert, the foun
der of the present Germany's oldest university.
Mr. Kelsoe was married in 1877 at Kansas City, Mo., to
Miss Frida Hillgaertner, whose acquaintance he had made
at McKendree College and whose father was prominently
identified with the German press of that city, as he had
been in the Fifties with the Illinois Staatszeitung of Chicago,
Mrs. Kelsoe's native city, where some of her relatives are
still hving, notably Mr. Charles Roden, the head of the
Chicago Public Library and president of the national asso-
ciation of American Librarians. Dr. Hillgaertner was with
Carl Schurz in the German Revolution of 1848, and Mrs.
Hillgaertner was of the German nobility, a von Roden of
Hanover and a great-granddaughter of Baron von Freytag.
Mr. Kelsoe's long service in St. Louis newspaper work,
beginning in August, 1874, has seemed to him to have been
a continuation of his college training, and he says he has
never regretted his choice of journalism as his life vocation.
Much of his newspaper experience is told in his work, the
"St. Louis Reference Record," published late in 1927 by the
Von Hoffman Press in St. Louis. Since Mrs. Kelsoe's death,
in 1920, he has made his home with their only child, Stephen
Hillgaertner Kelsoe, connected with the St. Louis Public
Library.
DR. GEORGE S. LIGGETT
George Samuel Liggett was born in Williston, Vermont,
October 27, 1853. He was a son of William C. and Ellen O.
(Whitney) Liggett. His mother was a member of the cele-
brated Whitney family of New England. At an early age
he came with his parents to Lebanon, where in due time
he entered McKendree College and graduated in 1872, re
ceiving the degree of B. S., and later, M. S. In 1876 he
received the degree of M. D. from the St. Louis Medical
College. He spent the next year as interne at the St. Louis
Public Hospital. His first private practice was at Mt. Vernon,
Illinois. After a year he accepted a position as company
physician for the Iron Mountain Mining Company in Mis-
souri. In 1884, Dr. Liggett moved to Oswego, Kansas, where
he spent the remainder of his life. He had a large general
practice, and made a specialty of microscopic work. He wrote
much for medical and other scientific journals. He has served
as county health officer, county physician, mayor of Os-
wego, member of the City Board of Health, Government
Two Hundred and Twentv-T
IfMC KENDREE
pension examiner, president of the County Medical Society,
secretary of the Southeast Kansas Medical Society, and the
American Medical Society, and filled other public and semi-
public positions of honor and trust. While m McKendree
he was a member of the Platonian Society, and m later life
was prominent in several fraternal organiz,ations. He was
married in February, 1882, to Miss Marianna Henderson,
of Glasgow, Mo. Of their three sons, the oldest and youngest
are now living. The second died m his twentieth year. Dr.
Liggett's death occurred at his home m Oswego, Kansas,
January 16, iqij, in the sixtieth year of his age.
REV. THOMAS C. McFARLAND
Thomas Clark McFarland, born near Sparta, Illinois, Oc-
tober 8, 1850, was valedictorian of the class of 1872. He
received the degree of A. B., and later, A. M. He taught
school in Cahfornia, and also did newspaper work on a San
Francisco paper in 1872 and 187J. He then went to Heidel-
berg, Germany, where he joined two of his McKendree class-
mates, Bernays and Kelsoe. After attending university lec-
tures on philology and literature a year at Heidelberg and a
year at Strassburg, he returned to the United States and
entered the Lane Theological Seminary at Cincinnati, where
he remained a year. He then spent two years in the McCor-
mick Theological Seminary at Chicago, graduating there with
the class of 1878. That year he was ordained a minister of
the Presbyterian Church, and soon afterwards accepted a
pastorate at Bellevue, Iowa, where he remained one year.
Then he served in turn, four years at Malcolm, Iowa, three
at Petersburg, Illinois, one at Mitchell, South Dakota, seven-
teen at Williamsburg, Iowa, and seven in California. He
removed to California on account of his health, and lived
at Beaumont, in that state. On September 20, 1880, he was
married to Miss Myra Delia Wynkoop of Bellevue, Iowa.
Mrs. McFarland died November 2j, 1903, leaving three
children, John S., Isabel, and David Hawthorne. While m
McKendree he was a member of the Platonian Literary So-
ciety. He died m Los Angeles, Jan. 24, 1914.
THOMAS J. PORTER
Thomas Jeiferson Porter was born May 10, 1851, at Mid-
dleburg, Tennessee. He was the son of William G. and Mary
A. (Stubblefield) Porter. Young Thomas entered McKendree,
joined Plato, finished his course, and received the degree of
B. S. in 1872, later receiving the Master's Degree. He became
a travelling salesman soon after graduating. During the years
between 1887 and 1899, he was engaged in the mercantile
business for himself, but since 1901 he had been engaged in
the life insurance business. He was state agency director
ot the Kansas City Centr.il Life Insurance Company for that
state. On May 10, 1880, Mr. Porter was united in marriage
with Miss Sallie A. Hughey, at the home of the bride, m
St. Louis. She was a daughter of Dr. and Mrs. G. W. Hughey,
who lived m Lebanon when Mr. and Mrs. Porter were both
students m McKendree. The Porters lived for many years
m Galena, Missouri. Mr. Porter attended the reunion of
his class m 1Q12. His death occurred a few years later.
2ACHARY T. REMICK
Zachary Taylor Remick, son ot George W. and Eleanor
Remick, was born March 1 . 1850, m Clinton County, Illinois,
two miles south of Trenton. After graduating at McKendree
in 1872 with the degree of Bachelor of Science, he taught
school for four years at Summerfield, three at Columbia, two
at Shiloh, and five at Trenton, where he is still living. After
teaching fourteen years he engaged in the milling business
in Trenton with his father-in-law and brother-in-law, and
later for fifteen years in the grain and lumber business. He
is at present interested in the loan, insurance, real estate,
and collection business, and was for some years president
of the First National Bank at Trenton, Illinois. He has served
for many years as notary public and police ludge. In 1904,
he was nominated without his consent for county super-
intendent of schools and was beaten by only 300 votes, al-
though running on the Republican ticket in a county ordin-
arily Democratic by 1000 to 1200 votes. Whilein McKendree
Mr. Remick was a member of the Philo Society. On Decem-
ber 3, 1880, he was married to Miss Kate Eisenmayer, a
daughter of the late Andrew Eisenmayer, of Trenton, and
a sister of the late J. C. Eisenmayer, both of whom have
been trustees of McKendree College. To Mr. and Mrs.
Remick four children were born. Arthur, the oldest, is an
architect in New York City; A. B. Remick, the second son,
studied law and is now connected with an advertising agency
in St. Louis; Christine, the only daughter, was a student
in McKendree, and is now the wife of Walter Siegmond,
of St. Louis: the youngest child, Walter, died when only
three years of age. He is still Hving in Trenton (1928) and
takes an interest in business. For a number of years he
served as organist in the Methodist Church at Trenton.
VIRGINIA L. ROBERTS
Virginia Leonora Roberts was born July 2r, 1851, in
Lebanon, 111. She was a daughter of Rev. George Lamb
Roberts, a native of Kaskaskia, one of whose ancestors came
to America with William Penn and was the first governor
of the province of New Hampshire. On her mother's side
she was descended from Nicholas Horner, a native of Eng-
Two Hundred and T,
land, who came from Baltmiore to Lebanon in 1812, over a
century ago. Her mother was Virginia E. Horner, a native
of Lebanon. Miss Roberts was born in the historic old house,
built and occupied by her maternal grand-parents, Nathan
and Nancy (Hypes) Horner. In this home Bishops Asbury,
McKendree, and Soule had been entertained as guests, and
here too, Edward R. Ames, afterward bishop, preached his
trial sermon before being licensed to preach. Miss Roberts
was one of the founders of Clio. She graduated in 1872, with
the degree of B. S., after which she taught school two years
in Lebanon, and was then chosen principal of a school in
Atchison, Kansas. Here she met John C. Kerr, to whom she
was married November 24, 1880. To them were born three
children, Edward Roberts, now living in California, Mabel
Virginia, a teacher in the public schools of San Diego, Calif.,
now the home city of the Kerrs, and Margaret, now the
wife of George A. Otis, and living in the same city. Mrs.
Kerr died Nov. 5, 1918, in San Diego, Cahfornia.
CHARLES SHUMAN
Charles Shuman was born in Philadelphia, Pa., February
21, 184J. His parents were Charles and Magdalena (Elbert)
Shuman, both natives of Heidelburg, Germany. They came
to America in i8j9, first locating in Philadelphia, and after-
ward settling in Illinois in 1857. Charles entered McKendree
where he pursued the scientific course, and was a member
of Plato Society. He graduated in the class of 1872. He then
taught school two years in "Looking Glass Prairie," St. Clair
County, Illinois, spent one year at the Southern Illinois Nor-
mal at Carbondale, and then taught three years in Moultrie
County, Illinois. He served three years as township super-
visor and eighteen as county clerk of Moultrie County,
being elected on the Democratic ticket. In 1891 he was
elected vice-president of the State Bank of Sullivan, Illinois,
and six years later, president. In 1905 this bank became the
First National Bank of Sullivan. He was the head of the
bank for many years. He was also for many years extensively
engaged in farming and stock-raising. His farm of 850 acres
near Sullivan includes the farm on which he worked when
a boy. He was married September 8, 1874, to Miss Mary
R. McPheeters at the home of the bride's parents, Major
and Mrs. Addison McPheeters. They have two sons. Bliss,
who manages the Shuman farm, and Irving, who is a cashier
of the First National Bank of Sullivan, and one daughter.
Bertha, who became a teacher after graduating from DePauw
University. He died at the Mullanphy Hospital of St. Louis,
April 6, 1916.
CHARLES SPIES
Charles Spies was born on a farm near Marine, Illinois,
June 13, 1850. He graduated from McKendree in the scien
tific course in 1872. He was a member of the Platonian Liter-
ary Society. From 1873 to 1875, he was principal of the St.
Jacobs public schools. He was engaged in the drug business
in St. Jacob for twenty-four years, and for twelve years of
the same period was secretary of the Valier and Spies Milling
Company of that place. He was also Township Treasurer
for eight years. Later he moved to St. Louis and became
vice-president of the C. F. Blanke Tea and Coffee Company
of that city. He is the son of Jacob and Katherine (Kaufman)
Spies. He was married August 6, 1874, to Miss Emma
Blanke of Marine, Illinois. To them were born three daugh-
ters. Stella graduated at McKendree and married Victor M.
Seiter. They live in Kansas City. Florence, the second daugh-
ter, was accidentally drowned while a student in McKen-
dree. Linda, the youngest, is still living with her mother in
St. Louis. Mr. Spies' death occurred in November, 191 5.
VIRGINIA L. THATCHER
Virginia Laura Thatcher was born September i, 185a,
at Marion, Illinois. Her parents were Rev. John and Virginia
(Wells) Thatcher. Being a Methodist preacher's daughter,
she lived in many towns during her girlhood, the family
moving in turn to Xenia, Benton, Salem, Fairfield, Mascou-
tah, Ashley, Tamaroa, and Mt. Erie, all in the Southern
Illinois Conference. After her father's death in 1869, the
widow and children located in Lebanon where Miss Jennie
attended McKendree and graduated in 1872 with the degree
of B. S. She was one of the founders of the Clionian Literary
Society. She taught school in Lebanon for a time after her
graduation, and in 1875, on her twenty-third birthday she
was married to William E. McBride, of the class of 187 1,
with whom she lived happily until his death in 1893. Their
four children are Dovey M., who married Dr. O. C. Church;
Olive, William, Thomas, and Sadie E., who married Prof.
Ernest R. Crisp. The son now has charge of the McBride
farm in St. Clair County, which was owned by his father,
grandfather, and great-grandfather, having been in the
McBride family for more than a hundred years. After liv-
ing on the farm for thirty-three years, Mrs. McBride moved
to Lebanon and lived till her death in the home formerly
occupied by her mother. One night, January 30, 1918,
she went to bed as usual, after talking over plans to visit
her youngest daughter in Chicago, and woke up in Eternity.
She thus made the transition from this world to the next
without a single day of illness.
Two Hundred and Twenty-Four
REV, DR. L. W. THRALL
Leonidas Worthy Thrall was born on a farm near Bone
Gap, Edwards County, Illinois, February 21, iSso. He is a
son of Worthy and Hannah (James) Thrall. His mother was
of Welsh ancestry, and his father was a great-grandson of
Samuel Thrall, a captain in the American army during the
War of Independence, and a descendant of William Thrall,
who came to America from England with a band of Puritans
and settled at Windsor^ Connecticut, in i6jo. Before entering
McKendree College. Leonidas attended the academy of the
Northwestern University at Evanston, Illinois; and before
his graduation he taught a school for colored children at
Lebanon. He completed the classical course and received the
degree of A. B. in June, 1872. In 1875 he was granted the
degree of A. M., and in 1895 his Alma Mater honored him
with the degree of Doctor of Divinity. After his graduation
he entered the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal Church
and was received into full connection in the Southern Illinois
Conference m 1874. After a few years of work m this con-
ference he was transferred to Kansas, and served the churches
at Hartford, Columbus, and Independence, Kansas. He then
returned to Illinois in 187Q and served m turn the following
charges: Ashley, Grayville, Metropolis, Salem, Greenville,
Lebanon, and Flora. For six years beginning 1893 he was
presiding elder of the Vandalia District, making his home
first at Salem and later at Lebanon, that his children might
more conveniently attend college.
While in Hartford, Kansas, he served as president of the
Hartford Collegiate Institute of that city. He once served
as financial agent for McKendree College, and was a mem-
ber of the Board of Trustees for thirty years. He was a
delegate to the General Conference of the Methodist Epis-
copal Church, which convened at Cleveland in 1896; and
again to the one in Chicago in 1900. It has been truly said
of Dr. Thrall that he was one of the ablest pulpit orators m
the Methodist Church, and he was known throughout South-
ern Illinois as a public speaker at Memorial Day exercises.
Fourth of July celebrations, and educational meetings.
Dr. Thrall was twice married. His first wife was Edith
M. Flint, the first woman to graduate from McKendree
College (class of 1870) and one of the founders of Clio. They
were married September 29, 1873, at the old Flint home one
mile east of Lebanon. Mrs. Thrall died November 10, 1898,
at Lebanon. Her funeral was held in the college chapel. Their
five children. Edith Laura, Victor W., William F., Charles
H., and Harold L., are all graduates of McKendree. On
December 27, 1900, Dr. Thrall was married to Emily M.
Jones, of Ingraham, Illinois. Their only child, Mary Vir-
ginia, was born on St. Patrick's day, 1902. He died at Du
quoin in 1018.
JUDGE WILLIAM E. WARD
William Edgar Ward was born in Belleville, Illinois, May
13, 185 1. His parents were John Ward and Lucy L. Ash,
pioneer citizens of St. Clair County. He graduated from
McKendree in 1872, receiving the degree B. S., and a year
later was admitted to the bar at Mt. Vernon, Illinois. In
addition to his law practice he has been city attorney of
Belleville five years. Township Clerk and Township Attor-
ney, two years each. In 1892 he was elected city justice
of Belleville, and held the office thirty-five years. Judge Ward
was married May 13, 1874, to Miss Elizabeth G. Phillips,
of Belleville. They have five children: William H., Marian
Frances, Edgar A., Florence, and Ardella. They are all mar-
ried but one. Mr. Ward was a member of the Philosophian
Society while in McKendree, and belonged to the Knights
of Pythias and the Liederkranz Singing Society of Belleville.
He died in Belleville December 4, 1927.
DR. WALTER WATSON
Walter Watson was born
May 14, 1851, at Mt. Ver-
non, Illinois. He is a son of
Joel Franklin and Sarah
(Taylor) Watson. He grad-
uated from McKendree m
the class of 1872, receiving
the degree of B. S. Later he
received the Master's de-
gree from his Alma Mater.
While m college he was a
member of the Philosophian
Society. After his gradua-
tion he taught school for a
time at Grayville, Illinois, and then entered the Medical
College of Ohio at Cincinnati, from which institution he
received the degree of M. D. m 1875. While there he won
the college prize in ophthalmology and by competitive exam-
ination secured a position as interne m the Good Samaritan
Hospital of Cincinnati. After serving a year in the hospital
and a year as demonstrator of anatomy in the medical college
where he graduated, he returned to Mt. Vernon in 1877 and
began the practice of medicine in his home town, having
formed a partnership with Dr. W. Duff Green of that place.
In 1893 he was appointed superintendent of the Hospital for
the Insane at Jacksonville. Illinois. He was a member of the
DR. WATSON
Two Hundred and Twenty-Fne
riMC KENDREE^^^^^;^^:^...^.^.^^
Democratic State Central Committee of Illinois for seventeen
years. While he was chairman of this committee, the party
polled the highest vote in its history in this state. He was
a delegate-at-large to the National Democratic Convention
which nominated Grover Cleveland for president in 1892.
Dr. Watson retired from regular practice some years ago.
He stood high both as a physician and surgeon, but it was
in surgery, of which he made a specialty, that he won his
chief distinction. On September 16, 1888, he was married
to Miss Nettie M. Johnson, of Champaign, Illinois, who
died April 7, 1897. Their only child, Margaret, is the wife
of Thomas Perry, of Westerly, Rhode Island. He died Jan-
uary 8, 1922
THE CLASS OF 1873
REV. WILLIAM F. BROWN
William Fletcher Brown enrolled as coming from Walsh-
ville, lUinois. His membership in the Philosophian Society
shows that he came as early as 1865, but he did not finish
his course till 1873,, when he received the degree of A. B.
He joined the Southern Illinois Conference in 1874 and
served in the pastorate in this conference till 1882, when
he transferred to Iowa. Later he moved to Kansas. In 191 1
he was at South McAlester. Oklahoma. We have no later
information concerning him.
THOMAS I. BRISCOE
Thomas Ira Briscoe, son of Edward and Nancy Briscoe,
was born in Pike County, Illinois, August 27, 1845. He
grew up on a farm and after passing through the public
schools, he entered McKendree and graduated in 187J, re-
ceiving the degree of B. S. He was a Philo. Later he entered
the Law School of the University of Michigan and received
the degree of LL. B. in 1876. He practiced law for a few
years at Pittsfield, Illinois, and then in 1878 he vyent to
Colorado and engaged in the mining business. At the last
report from him a few years ago he was still concerned with
mining interests and his home was at Buena Vista, Colorado,
which is the county seat of Chaffee County. He was county
commissioner for one term, sheriff for one term, and county
judge for one term. He was married in July, 1895, to Miss
Minnie Oliver of Pittsfield, Illinois. He is a member of the
Masonic Order and has been twice master of the local lodge
in his home city. He has not had an opportunity to visit
his Alma Mater for many years, but nevertheless he is still
a loyal McKendrean.
BENJAMIN H. CHAPMAN
Benjamin Harvey Chapman was born m Green County,
Illinois, October 28, 1846. He became a student in McKen
dree in 1869 and graduated in 187},, receiving the degree
of B. S. He was a member of the Platonian Literary Society.
After his graduation he studied law at Springfield, Illinois.
He began practicing law in Vandalia, Illinois, about the year
1878, and later became a member of the law firm of Henry
and Chapman. In 1884 he moved to Kansas City and be-
came a member of the law firm of Brown, Chapman, and
Brown. He afterward became interested in gold mines in
South America, and while looking after these interests, his
death occurred at Medellin, United States of Columbia,
about the year 1905. He was never married. He was an
attendant and supporter of the Methodist Church, a good
lawyer, a high-minded and honorable man, a companionable
and trustworthy friend.
JOHN TETHERING TON
John Tetherington was born near Caseyville, Illinois, Oc-
tober 8, 1849, and died at Edwardsville, August 31, 191 1.
He graduated from McKendree in the class of 1873, receiv-
ing the degree of A. B. He was a member of the Platonian
Literary Society. He was married October 8, 1878, to Miss
Mary I. Renfro. They have seven living children. He spent
a good portion of his life on a farm in Madison County.
For a number of years he was treasurer of that county.
During his later years he retired from the farm and resided
in Edwardsville. He was a Ma.son and also belonged to the
Order of Red Men .
OLIVER M. EDWARDS
Oliver Mathis Edwards was born at McLeansboro, Illi-
nois, March 30, i8si. His parents were Thomas H. and
Margaret Edwards. The father was a native of North Caro-
lina, and the mother of Tennessee. Oliver entered McKen-
dree in 1869 and graduated in June, 1873, with the degree
of B. S. He was a member of the Platonian Literary Society.
He was married November 20, 1873, to Miss Louise Alice
Vollintme, who was a student of McKendree from 1869 to
18" I. They have five children; Emory, William H., lona,
BeuLih, and Oliver Mathis, Jr. The youngest followed his
father's footsteps for a time in being a student in McKendree.
After his graduation Mr. Edwards made farming his principal
business until 1906, since which time he has resided in So-
rento, Illinois, with his wife and son. He has always been
identified with educational interests in the community where
he lived. He taught school himself for seven years, and was
a member of the Board of Directors eighteen years. Since
living in Sorento he has been a member of the Board of
Education for four years. He has been a member of the Metho-
dist Church since he was thirteen years of age, and for many
Two Hundred and TwentySv
MC KENDREE
DEAN EDWARDS
years a Sunday School Superintendent. He has always been
active in public affairs, especially so m the interest of the
Republican party. In March, 1912, he was appointed post-
master of Sorento, Illinois, by President Taft. He has been
for fifteen years a Mason, and for twenty years a Modern
Woodman.
DEAN WILLIAM W. EDWARDS
William Wirt Edwards
WIS born March 3, 1853,,
at Pinckneyville, Illinois,
where his parents, William
md Juliet M. Edwards,
were among the early set
tiers, having located there
tbout the year 1832. His
tither, William Edwards,
was for some years a mer-
chant, but later he studied
and practiced law, and at
the time of his death m
i8s4. stood high m the legal
profession. The widowed mother, a woman of cultured
mmd, by reason of home study and extensive reading, was
deeply interested in the education of her children, and ren-
dered them every assistance which her limited means would
permit. When William W., her youngest son, had finished
the village school, she came with him to Lebanon in 1869
and remained there with him during most of the time he
was pursuing his college course. He graduated m 187}, with
the first honors of his class, receiving the degree of A. B.
and three years later, A. M. For three years he engaged in
teaching and studied law. In 1876, he was admitted to the
bar and began the practice of law at Carleton, Nebraska,
where he remained five years. In 1878 he was elected county
judge. On September 11 of the same year he was married to
Miss Cora Malone, of Steelville, Illinois. For thirty-eight
years she shared with him the vicissitudes of life as a beloved
companion and a wise counsellor, devoted to her home and
family, also finding much time for active religious work, for
which her character and talents especially fitted her. At her
death in November, 1916, she left four sons and five daugh-
ters, all of whom are still living. About four years later,
Mr. Edwards was married to Mrs. Louise Watson, of Spring-
field, his present wife.
In 1883, Mr. Edwards entered the ministry and joined the
Southern Illinois Conference. From that time until his retire-
ment in 191 1, he served pastoral charges except the years
in which he was engaged in educational work. He was for
ten years, i88sr to 189";, a member of the faculty of McKen-
dree College, first as professor of Latin, and later .is dean
of the Law Department. He also served five years as principal
of the McCray-Dewey Academy, at Troy, Illinois. Even
after his retirement, he was so strongly drawn toward edu-
cational work that he founded the Lincoln College of Law
at Springfield, Illinois, which was chartered by the State in
May, 1912, and of which he is still the dean. This school
maintains a strong course of study, and has obtained favor-
able recognition by the profession m general, as well as by
other institutions of like character. Dean Edwards says: "In
reviewing the experiences of the more than half century of
my active life, I derive the greatest satisfaction from the
thought that I may have contributed somewhat to the suc-
cess of the youth with whom I have come in contact."
FRANK W. MARSHALL
Frank Wyman Marshall was born at Clinton, New Jersey,
March 3, i8<f3,. He is a son of Rev. Lyman and Eliza W.
Marshall, who were both native Americans. His father was
for many years pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Leb-
anon. He entered McKendree m 1869 and graduated m 1873,
receiving the degree of A. B., a.nd later A. M. In 1897,
McKendree conferred upon him the honorary degree of Doc-
tor of Music. He was a member of the Platonian Literary
Society. He spent some years in teaching after his graduation,
being principal of the high school at Shelbyville, 111., and
then was superintendent of schools at Upper Alton. He then
went into newspaper work and for fifteen years was employed
with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He is a gifted musician,
and gave much time to amateur and professional work in
that line. He was for nearly thirteen years in charge of the
Church Music Department of the Presbyterian Board of
Publication in Philadelphia. He was a director of the Winona
Summer School Association for more than twenty years. He
was a member of the Presbyterian Church, and of the Masons,
Odd Fellows, and Knights of Pythias. He was married Octo-
ber 6, 1874, to Miss Sarah Seaman, of Lebanon. They have
one son and three daughters. The son is a graduate of Ox-
ford University and is a practicing physician. The daughters
are married and living in the west.
Mr. Marshall died in New York City, May 14, 1924.
He was buried in College Hill Cemetery.
HENRY M. NEEDLES
Henry Mace Needles was born at Mt. Sterling, Brown
County, Illinois, October 9, 1853. His parents were James
B. and Christina M. Needles, who were native Americans
Two Hundred and Twent^-Scr
.^:^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^s^
of English descent. He entered McKendree in 1870 and
graduated in the class of 1873, with the degree of B. S ;
some years afterward, he received the Master's Degree. He
took a law course in the University of Wisconsin, and there
received the degree of LL. B. in 1876. While at McKendree
he was a member of the Philosophian Society. He was married
May 9, 1875, to Clarissa L. Scott. Their children are Homer
Needles, Mrs. Marjorie Needles Lyon, and Elmer H. Need-
les. Some years after the death of Mrs. Needles, he was
married to Miss Clara Halbert. To this union there was
born one child, Dorothy Needles. Mr. Needles has practiced
law since 1876. He was public administrator of St. Clair
County from 1880 to 1884, and for twelve years was police
magistrate of Belleville, 111. He was a member of the Meth-
odist Episcopal Church and of the Blue Lodge chapter, con
sistory and commandery, in Masonry. He died in 1927.
JOHN F. SOMMERFELDT
John Frederick Sommerfeldt was born at Marine, Illinois,
October i, 1847, and died in St. Louis, Mo., April ig, 1909
He was a son of J. G. and A. M. Sommerfeldt, who were
of German nationality. He was educated in the public schools
and in McKendree College, from which institution he grad
uated June la, 1873, receiving the degree of B. S. He was
a member of the Philosophian Literary Society. He was mar
ried December 26, 1883, to Mrs. J. C. Cox. To them were
born three children: Grace, born September 27, 1884; Philo
born February 9, 1886: and Zelma, born June 6, 1890. He
taught school for a number of years, but in his later life
was engaged in insurance business in the city of St. Louis
where his closing years were spent and where some members
of his family still reside.
MARY A, RAYMOND
Mary Alice Raymond was born in San Francisco, Califor-
nia, September 26, 1856. She is a daughter of Charles F.
Raymond, a native of Beverly, Massachusetts, and Jennie
K. Fielding, of East Randolph, Vermont. She became a stu-
dent in McKendree in September, 1870, and graduated in
June, 1873, with the degree of B. S. She was a Clio. After
her graduation, she taught school in Mt. Vernon for eight
years, and in the Art Department of the Southern Illinois
Normal University for two years. On the thirtieth day of
July, 1884, she was married to Professor D. B. Parkinson,
who had then been a member of the faculty in the Normal
School for ten years. They have one son, Raymond, and
one daughter, Mary Alice. Mrs. Parkinson was a member
of the Methodist Church.
WILLIAM H. STEWARD
William Henry Steward was born ;n Salem County, New
Jersey, June 23, 1850, and died at Carlinville, Illinois, Octo
ber 10, 1912. His parents were William and Rebecca (Abbot)
Steward, both being of Scotch ancestry. When he was only
four years of age his parents came to Illinois and settled in
Bunker Hill Township of Macoupin County. In 1869, he
became a student in McKendree College, and graduated in
the class of 1873, with the degree of A. B., later receiving
that of A. M. He studied law for a time in Springfield, and
then entered the Law Department of the Northwestern
University, where he took a full course and graduated. He
began the practice of law in Carhnville, Illinois, in 1876-
Here for three years he was the law partner of W. H. Snell-
ing; he then entered into a partnership with Mr. M. L
Keplinger, which continued thirty-three years, till the time
of his death. He was closely associated with the affairs of
his home city and community. He has held the position of
Alderman, and again of city attorney in Carlinville; he
was a member of the Examining Board of the Carlinville
Building and Loan Association from the time of its first
organization; a member of the building committee of the
School Board during the construction of the North School
Building, and for many years has been secretary of the Car-
linville Cemetery Association. More than thirty years ago
he became a member of the Methodist Church, and ever
since has lived a consistent Christian life, giving many years
of service as a member of the official board. He was married
October 14, 1880, to Miss Addie Miller, of Carlinville.
Their eldest daughter, Edna, died some years ago, while
their other children, Helen and Elwood, are now grown to
womanhood and manhood. From Mr. Steward's published
obituary we quote: "He was one of the men for whose life
we need make no apology. As a friend he was true as steel,
of approved integrity, just and generous in all his dealings.
As a citizen he was in all respects a man ranking as the best
of men. What he believed to be right he did as nearly as
was in his power to do." His death came as the result of a
paralytic stroke.
Of the following members of the class of 1873, we have
no recent inform,! tion.
FRANCIS M. MARION
Fr.incis Marquis Marion graduated with the degree LL.
B. He engaged in farming near Mulberry Grove, Illinois.
MARQUIS L. McALLILLY
Marquis Lafiyette McAllilly graduated with the degree
of B. S. He afterward studied medicine and practiced his
Two Hundred and TwanyEight
frMC KENDREE'^^^^fe^^^.,..^-;.-^^
profession as a physician at St. Jacob, Illinois. Later, at
Nickerson, Kansas. He was a Philo.
WILSON WEATHERSBEE
Wilbon Weathersbee graduated with the B. S. degree. He
was a member of the Philosophian Society. He engaged m
farming at Akin, Illinois, and later at Benton, Illinois.
THE CLASS OF 1874
JOHN F. ARNOLD
John Fletcher Arnold was born in Grove Township, Jas,
per County, Illinois, April 21, 1851. His parents, John F
and Rebecca J. Arnold, were both of American descent. He
entered McKendree in 1870 and graduated m 1874, with
the degree B. S. In 1877 he received the degree M. S., and
m iSS') the honorary degree, A. M. He was a member of
the Platonian Society. In 1876 he was married to Delia B
Barton. To them were born five sons, Edward E., Eugene
P., Virgil H., Lawrence F., and Dale J. Arnold. Mr. Arnold
has been engaged in educational work ever since his gradua-
tion, and has held the following positions: superintendent
of the Newton City Schools for eight years: county super-
intendent of schools of Jasper County for twenty -five years.
In i8go he was a candidate for State Superintendent of
Public Instruction. In 1903 and 1904 he was a member of
the Examining Board to examine candidates for West Point
and Annapohs. He was a member of the I. O. O. F. Lodge
No. 161. He died July 9, 1921, at Jacksonville, Illinois.
WILLIAM H. BLACK
William Hampton Black, son of William M. and MiUy
G. Black, was born near Lebanon, Illinois, March 6, 1852.
He graduated from McKendree in the class of 1874, receiving
the degree of B. S. He was a member of the Platonian Society.
For some years after his graduation, his home was in Texas,
but later he moved to Beulah, Kansas, where he died Sep-
tember 8, 1884.
JUDGE E. DAYTON BROWN
Erastus Dayton Brown was born on a farm near Walsh-
ville, Illinois, April ij, 18'; i. His father was a native of
Connecticut, his grandfather was one of the early settlers
of New England, and his grandmother was a first cousin to
Neal and Lorenzo Dow. His mother was Miss Mary Kirklin,
of Jersey County, Illinois. She died when he was only two
years old, and his father died in 1875. Mr. Brown attended
college a year at Lincoln, and then entered McKendree in
1871 and graduated in 1874, receiving the degree of B. S.
He was a Philo, and took an especially active part m de-
bating. In 1881, he was married to Miss Anna E. Nicholson,
of Bond County, Illinois. To them was born one daughter,
Mabelle Claire, who is now Mrs. Walter Birge, of St. Louis,
After leaving college, he studied law with Dysert and Brown,
of Macon City, Missouri, and was admitted to the bar in
1876. He located in Edina, Missouri for the practice of law,
and was elected judge of the Probate Court in 1877, and
was re-elected for a second term. In i88j he became legal
representative of the Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance
Company for several counties m Northeast Missouri. In
1886 he became financial agent of the company for the state
of Kansas. In this he was very successful, and is said to have
loaned more than three million dollars for his company on
Kansas farms, with no loss to his company. After retirement
from active service, he made his home in Carthage, Missouri,
where he died m 1914.
HON, WILLIAM V. CHOISSER
Willi, im Voltaire Choisser was born in Hamilton County,
Illinois, August 28, 1848. His father was of French and his
mother of Irish ancestry. When scarcely fourteen years of
age, he enlisted in the Union Army in 1862 and served three
years till the close of the war. He was with Sherman in the
famous "March to the sea" and in the Grand Review at
Washington at the close of the war. After attending school
at Carbondale and at Ewing College, he entered McKendree
m 187J and graduated in the class of 1874, with the degree
of B. S. He was a very active member of the Philo Society.
After leaving McKendree he studied law and was admitted
to the bar in 1876. He located in Harrisburg, Illinois, where
he spent the greater part of his professional life in the prac-
tice of law. In i8q7 he assisted in the organization of the
City National Bank, and was its president from the time
of its organization. In politics he was a Democrat. He served
four years as State's Attorney of Saline County. In 1884 he
was elected a member of the Illinois Legislature. In 1892
he was a presidential elector, and voted for Mr. Cleveland
for president. In 1891, he was appointed by Governor Alt-
geld, commissioner of the Southern Illinois Penitentiary,
and served four years. He was a delegate to the National
Democratic Convention in Denver in 1908, and again to
the one in Baltimore in 1912. He was appointed warden
of the Southern Illinois Penitentiary by Governor Dunne
in 191 J, and held the position until his death in May, 1917.
He was prominent in the Masonic Order, being a member
of both the Consistery and Commandery. He was married
in 1 88 1, to Miss Kate Pearce. Of their five children, one
died in infancy. The others are Robert E., who graduated
at McKendree in 1906, Roger M., Nelle W., and Mary
Louise. The latter married E. F. Hayes, of Mattoon.
Two Hundred and Twenty?{it
JEREMIAH T. DEW
Jeremiah Thornton Dew was born in Clinton Cbunty,
Illinois, November 5, 1847. His grandfather, Rev. John Dew,
was a native of Virginia, a pioneer Methodist preacher, came
west with Bishop McKendree, was long associated with
Peter Cartwright, and was once president of McKendree
College. His father, Samuel P. Dew, was a native of St.
Clair County, Illinois. His mother, Eliza Walker, was a native
of Clinton County and a member of a prominent family of
pioneer Methodists. Their son, Jeremiah T. grew up on a
farm in the famous "Looking Glass" prairie near Summerfield.
He attended school for some time in St. Louis and then
entered McKendree, where he graduated in 1874, receiving
the degree of B. S., and three years later, that of M. S. He
was a member of the Platonian Literary Society. He studied
law at Nashville, Illinois and Topeka, Kansas, and then
located in Kansas City, Missouri for the practice of his
profession. He became a member of the law firm of Tom-
linson, Ross ii Dew; later, that of Dew, Downs &? Parkinson;
still later. Dew, Parkinson &? Barnes. He was a member of
the Kansas City Bar Association and has served as its pres-
ident. He was prominent in the G. A. R., having served in
the 145th Regiment of Illinois Volunteers during the last
year of the Civil War, though only sixteen years old at the
time of his enlistment. He has served as Commander of
Farragut Post No. j, G. A. R., was for about fifteen years
Post Adjutant, and has filled many other stations of honor
in the order. He was a member of the Masonic Order. He
was a Republican in politics, though not a strict partisan in
municipal affairs, and has never sought political preferment
for him.self. He was a member of the Illinois Historical So-
ciety, also of the Missouri State Historical Society. He was
married in July, 1877, to Miss Julia E. Parkinson, of High-
land, Illinois, who was a member of his college class at
McKendree. Mrs. Dew died October 17, 1887, leaving three
children: Emma, Arthur Samuel, and Julia L. Mr. Dew was
president of the graduating class of 1874, and while a student
in McKendree, was one of the editors of the McKendree
Repository. He died in April, igi";.
REV. JOHN W. FLINT
John Wesley Flint was born near Lebanon, Illinois, Jan-
uary 9, 1849. He was among the oldest of the nine children
of William and Mary Flint, who came to Lebanon in 1842.
He entered the Preparatory Department of McKendree in
1867 and graduated as a member of the class of 1874, receiving
the A. B. Degree and the first honors of his class. He was
a member of the Platonian Society. McKendree also made
him a Doctor of Divinity in 1900. He entered the Southern
Illinois Conference in 1875, and spent fifty years in the work
of the Methodist ministry. He held a number of the im-
portant charges in the conference and was presiding elder
twelve years, covering one term on the Mt. Vernon Dis-
trict and one on the Vandalia District. He was the leader
of church building enterprises at Flora, Lawrenceville, and
Fairfield, where he closed up his half century of service in
the ministry. He was a member of the General Conference
which met in Los Angeles in 1904. He was married Sep-
tember 6, 1875, to Miss Mary E. Robertson, of Freeburg,
Illinois. Their oldest daughter, Mrs. Minnie Phillips, died
in 1912, leaving her husband and three children. Another
daughter is Mrs. Mary Flint Morgan, whose husband is a
member of the faculty of the University of Missouri. Gilbert
Roy Flint, the only son, lives in Fairchild. The youngest
living daughter, Annie, lives in Madison, Wisconsin. Mrs.
Flint was born on the same day as her husband, but died
about a year sooner. Dr. Flint died July 4, 1926, the one
hundredth anniversary of the death of Thomas Jefferson.
The funeral was held in Lebanon and he was laid to rest
in College Hill Cemetery. There were thirty-five of his fellow
ministers at the funeral. He was for thirty years a trustee
of McKendree.
WILLIAM A, HARNSBERGER
William Augustus Harnsberger was born at Alhambra,
Madison County, Illinois, September 7, 185 1. He can trace
his ancestry back to a pioneer family who settled in Virginia
more than two hundred years ago. After receiving the usual
preliminary training, he entered McKendree College, and
after completing the course, graduated in the class of 1874,
receiving the degree of B. S. He was a member of the Phil-
osophian Literary Society. After leaving McKendree, he
entered the Union College of Law in Chicago, from which
institution he graduated in June, 1877, receiving the degree
of LL. B., and was the same year admitted to the bar of
Illinois. The following year he was admitted to the bar of
the State of Missouri, and began the practice of law in Kansas
City, which has been his occupation since that time. He was
married December 20, 1907, in Kansas City, Kansas, but has
resided since that time in Kansas City, Missouri. He regards
himself as a Republican in politics, but does not consider
himself bound by any party in the matter of local and mu-
nicipal affairs. He was reared in a Methodist home and is
a believer in the Christian religion, but is not affiliated with
any branch of the church. He is a member of the" Masonic
Order.
Two Hundred and Thirty
MC KENDREE
SALLIE M^ HUGHEY
Sallie Maria Hughey was born at Harnsburg, Illinois,
January i6, 1852. She is a daughter of Rev. George W. and
Elizabeth A. Hughey. Her father was a prominent Metho'
dist preacher and author who spent more than half a century
in the service of the church in various capacities. She became
a student in McKendree in 1870 and graduated in the class
of 1874, receiving the degree of B. S. She was a member of
the Clionian Literary Society. She was a music teacher and
church organist and worker in other lines for some years
after graduation. May 10, 1880, she was united in marriage
to Thomas Jefferson Porter, who was her school mate at
McKendree and a member of the class of 1872. Their home
was for many years at Galena, Stone County, Missouri. Here
for several years she had the privilege of ministering to the
wants of her aged parents, who made their home with her
in their declining years. She is a member of the Methodist
Church, the Order of the Eastern Star, and the Women's
Christian Temperance Union. For ten years prior to 1900,
she was active in the County Sunday School work ; and she
was for twenty years superintendent of the Loyal Temper'
ance Legion. Since the death of her husband, her home has
been in Kansas City, Missouri.
NORMAN A. LOUGH
Norman Allyn Lough was born in Richland County,
Illinois, October 10, 1S52. He is the son of R. C. and M.
A. Lough. After receiving a preliminary education he en-
tered McKendree College and graduated in the class of
1874, receiving the degree of B. S. He was a member of the
Platonian Literary Society. After his graduation, he studied
law and made that his life profession. He was city attorney
of Olney, Illinois, but later went to Chicago, where he en-
gaged in law practice for a number of years until an attack
of pneumonia made advisable a change of residence to the
hills and sunshine of Colorado. His home is now at Grand
Junction, Colorado. He is a member of the Methodist Epis-
copal Church, and the Knights of Pythias. He was married
January 9, 1877, to Miss AUie Conklin. They have two
children now living, Clarence R. and Herbert M. Lough.
ISABEL L LYNCH
Isabel Irvin Lynch was born in Shiloh Valley, November
2j, 1855. Her parents were Nehemiah and Ehzabeth (Cal-
breath) Lynch, who were both native Americans. She entered
McKendree in the fall of 1872 and graduated in the class
of 1874, with the degree of B. S. She was a member of Clio.
After her graduation, she lived at her home in Lebanon until
1889. Since that time she has been employed principally as
sales-lady in mercantile establishments. She served two years
in Beardstown, three years in Galena, Missouri, and since
that time has been with the Robeson Department Store in
Champaign, Illinois, where for many years she has been
superintendent of the department of ladies' furnishings.
Since early youth she has been a member of the Metho-
dist Church.
JOHN W. LORD
John Wesley Lord was born near Trenton, Illinois, April
18, 1853. He was the son of John and Ann Lord, who were
both natives of England. He entered McKendree in the fall
of 1870 and graduated in the class of 1874, with the degree
of B. S. He was a member of the Philo Society and was
president of that organization. He was married to Miss M.
F. Towling of Decatur, Illinois, September 18, 1879. They
have two children, Walter C. and Bonnie C, both married.
After his graduation Mr. Lord taught school one year and
then took up the study of Chemistry and Pharmacy. In
1881 he purchased a drug store at New Douglass, Illinois,
which business he carried on till 1887. While living m New
Douglass, he served as postmaster and school director. Then
for seven years as a registered pharmacist he held a position
as prescription clerk in a drug firm; but in 1894, he accepted
a position as chemist in the laboratory of Irwin, Kirkland
&' Co., of Decatur, Illinois. He remained with this firm until
1900, when he became senior chemist in the laboratory cf
Flint, Eaton &' Co., in the same city. He is a member of
the First Christian Church of Decatur, has served as dea-
con, clerk, and treasurer of the church, and at present holds
the office of elder. He also belongs to the "Modern Amet'
ican Fraternal Order."
SAMUEL P. McKEE
Samuel Patton McKee was born near Summerfield, Illinois,
January 10, 1849. He is the elder son of Dr. Samuel P.
McKee and Mrs. Mary (Thompson) McKee, the former
born near Louisville, Kentucky and the latter near Edwards-
ville, Illinois. His father was a member of the Board of Trus-
tees of McKendree, and his maternal grandfather. Rev. Sam-
uel E. Thompson, was a well-known pioneer preacher and
one of McKendree's founders. Mr. McKee entered Mc-
Kendree as a student in 1869 and graduated in 1874, with
the degree of B. S. and received the degree of M. S. three
years later. He taught school three years, but his principal
occupation has been farming, which he has followed con-
tinuously except from 1890 to 1903, when he was employed
in Kansas City. On November 24, 1874, he was married to
Miss Frances E. Walker, of Richview, Illinois. Of their child-
Two Hundred and Thirty-On
ren, two died in early childhood. They have only one daugh-
ter now living. While in McKendree, Mr. McKee was a mem-
ber of the Philosophian Literary Society. He is a Republican
in pohtics, and an active member of the Methodist Episcopal
Church.
JULIA E. PARKINSON
Julia Emma Parkinson, born March 26, 1850, was a mem-
ber of the prominent Parkinson family of Highland, Illinois.
Several of her brothers were graduates of McKendree. She
was a Clio, and graduated in the class of 1874. In 1877, she
was married to J. T. Dew, who was a member of the same
class. She died October 17, 1887, leaving three children.
Additional data will be found in her husband's sketch.
SARAH A. SHEPHERD
Sarah Abbie Shepherd was born in Lebanon, Illinois, Oc-
tober 10, 1854. Her father, Thomas H. Shepherd, was a
native of St. Louis, of English and German ancestry. Her
mother, Ehza A. Calbreath, was of Scotch-Irish ancestry.
She became a student in McKendree in 1872 and graduated
in the class of 1874, receiving the degree of B. S., and in
1877, that of M. S. She was a member of the Clionian Lit-
erary Society. October 20, 187';, she was married to Rev.
John D. Gillham, D. D.. who was for many years a prom-
inent member of the Southern Illinois Conference. They
spent twenty-six years of wedded life together before the
husband was called to his reward. During that period they
served the following charges in the Southern Illinois Con-
ference- Cairo, Litchfield, Carbondale, Belleville, Lebanon
District, and Centralia. Dr. Gillham died at Centralia, May
1";, 1Q04. In November of the same year, Mrs. Gillham
moved to Los Angeles, California, where she now resides.
She is a member of the First Methodist Church of that city,
and was a teacher in the Sunday School until compelled by
illness to give up her class. She has six living children.
AUGUSTUS A. PARKINSON
Augustus Alfred Parkinson was born near Highland, Illi-
nois, November 14, 1847. He is a son of Hon Alfred J. and
Mary E. (Baldwin) Parkinson. He graduated from McKen-
dree in the class of 1874, receiving the degree of B. S., and
later, M. S. He studied law in the University of Michigan,
and received the degree of LL. B., from that institution. He
was a member of the Platonian Literary Society. He was a
Methodist in religion and a Republican in politics. He was
married in 1876. to Miss Mary Harrison. He practiced law
for some time at San Jose, California. He died at Highland,
Illinois, May 18,
CORNELIA E. SHEPHERD
Cornelia Ellen Shepherd was born November 2, 1856, at
Lebanon, Illinois. Her parents were Thomas H. and Eliza
Shepherd. She entered McKendree in the fall of 1872 and
graduated in the class of 1874, receiving the degree of B. S.
She was a member of the Clionian Society. She taught school
for two years after her graduation, but her chief occupation
during the intervening years has been home keeping. She
has always been an active worker in the Methodist Church
and a member of the various organizations connected with
it, such as the W. F. M. S., the W. C. T. U., and various
other social or religious societies.
REV. HEZEKIAH M. SHORT
Hezekuih M. Short, son of Ignatius T. and Mary Short,
was born February 14, 1845, in Macoupin County, Illinois.
He became a student in McKendree College in September,
1867 and joined the Platonian Society. He graduated in the
class of 1874, receiving the degree of B. S., and later, M. S.
He was admitted to the Illinois Conference in 1875, and
was pastor of various charges — among them were Chatham,
Merritt, and Hardin. After retiring from the ministry, he
went west and engaged in the real estate business in Denver,
Colorado. Before entering college he served as a soldier in
the Civil War, being a member of the 133rd Illinois Volun-
teers. He was married January 10, 1882, to Miss Mattie
Cline, of Denver. Their five children are Mabel N., Myrtle
E., C. Paul, Hazel R., and Halford D. After going to Den-
ver, he was a member of the Trinity M. E. Church and
served as class leader and Sunday School teacher. His death
occurred May 23, 1901.
JUDGE CHARLES E. SMALL
Charles Edwin Small was born at CollinsviUe, Illinois,
July 27, 1854. His parents were Edwin and Agnes P. Small.
He graduated from McKendree in 1874, receiving the de-
gree of B. S. He was a member of the Platonian Society.
After leaving McKendree, he studied law at Michigan Uni-
versity and was admitted to the bar in 1878, at Kansas City,
Missouri. He has devoted his life to the legal profession,
having been a member of a leading law firm in Kansas City
since 1878. In 1919 he was appointed to the Supreme Court
of Missouri. He was married November 12, 1879, to Miss
Liura Hughey, of the class of 1875. They have seven chil-
dren. The oldest son, Charles H. Small was vice-consul
to Bogota, South America, during the years 1910-1912. Judge
Small died October 24, 1924-
Two Hundred and Jhirty-Tu
JAMES A. WILLOUGHBY
James Amos WiUoughby was born in Looking Glass Prai-
rie, near Lebanon, May 2, 185';. His father, William E.
WiUoughby, was born in Delaware, and his mother, Mary
Moore, in Georgia. He graduated from McKendree m 1S74,
receiving the degree of B. S. He was a member of the Pla-
toman Society. From McKendree, he went to the Univer-
sity of Michigan, where he received the degree of LL. B m
1876. After that, he engaged in the drug business in Lebanon
for four years. He was then elected county clerk and re-
corder for St. Clair County and moved to Belleville, where
he made his home for the remainder of his life. In 1885 he
became editor of the Belleville Advocate and made it a
leading paper. In 1890 he was appointed postmaster of Belle-
ville. In 1894 he was elected State Senator on the Republican
ticket. Governor Deneen made him a member of the Railroad
and Warehouse Commission, and he was a member of that
body until it was absorbed by the Public Utilities Com-
mission. In 1904 he served as Comptroller of the Currency
for two banks m Oklahoma, so that his sphere of influence
reached beyond the borders of his own state. He was a
member of the Masonic Fraternity. He was married No-
vember II, 1886, to Miss Lis:;ie V. Hughes. In his later
g^ f /a ^a^ieiitiit
COLLEOE CHA-PEL,
Mloii(l,tn (Biciiiiin, iHerctiibcr 13.
' "" 1878 '"
p. T. KNTltEKIN', Pies.
INVOCVTIOS. ll OVEKTUKE,
•Poet and Peasant," . . (Suppe.;
MIS9E3 McCrackek ;inil LEEl-Elt.
years, his health was much impaired and he spent much
time in the hospital where his death occurred July 4, 1916.
He was buried at Belleville, where the most of his active
life had been spent
There are three other members of this class concerning
whom we have no recent information, namely, Beniamin
Moore Curtis, Charles Smith Frost, and John Godfrey
Goethe. There is a strong probability that all three are dead.
Ot Mr. Curtis, we only know that he enrolled in McKen-
dree from Summerfield, was a member of the Platonian So-
ciety, received the B. S. degree, and some time after his
graduation, his address was Topeka, Kansas.
Charles Smith Frost was born at Jersey ville, January ai,
1852. He took the first part of his college course at Browder
Institute, in Kentucky. He came to McKendree in the fall
of 1873, and graduated with the class of 1874, receiving the
degree of B. S. It was his purpose to study medicine.
John Godfrey Goethe was born in St. Louis, January 25,
i8'>o. He took the first three years of his college course at
the Central Wesleyan College at Warren ton. After teaching
school for several years, he came to McKendree and finished
his course, receiving the degree of B. S. He afterward went
to California. We have no late information about him.
OU.VTION-, Winch Shall Triumph.
.1 U. La1!GE.
GiXJA-RTEX,
"Spiuno IS Coming." . . . (GoMbcck.)
Mt.ssES Patkin anil iMcCracken.
MESSH8. Entrekin anil Casev.
0U.\T10.\-
W. W Flint.
The Victors
OK.VTK
^
NMtioua
C. S. Fhexrk.
eoisro.
Safeguards.
"Uaily
n
Mis
the. Summer Birds
8 Florence I-eefe
" (DaPinna)
DECLAMATION, . "Thn Loneliness or Go
W. n. PiEiCE
t_6=^IJE3)EDICTI0N.'
Facsimile of an old programme of the Platonian Literary Society
Two Hundred and Thirtv-Tdr.
CHAPTER XVIII.
Women ni McKendree College
IN THE DAYS of the Lebanon Seminary, the institution
was co-educational. There is no account of any legis-
lation on the subject in the records, but the very first
year the school opened there was one woman in the faculty,
and while we have no list of the students enrolled, there are
traditions that both boys and girls were included. After a
few years there seemed to be a disposition on the part of
the management to segregate the girl students. In April,
1834, the Board passed a resolution employing Mrs. Peter
Akers to be the "Principal teacher of the female depart-
ment," acting under the superintendence of the president of
the Seminary. Her salary was fixed at fifty dollars per session.
There were two sessions a year of five months each. In Sep-
tember of the same year, another resolution was passed
instructing the committee on seminary building to '"make
an arrangement and prepare a home for a female school." In
January, 1836, a scale of tuition fees was placed in the rec-
ords with the statement that it applied to both male and
female students. The fees were as follows: For reading, writ-
ing, and the four primary rules of arithmetic, five dollars per
session. For higher arithmetic, grammar, and geography,
without the use of the globe, seven dollars per session. If
geography lessons with the use of the globe were desired,
the fee was three dollars more. Then we find the statement,
"In the female department, for drawing, painting, and needle
work, three dollars extra." From this it appears that, not
only were girls admitted to the school, but as early as i8j6
there was instruction for beginners in the fine arts and home
economics. On the same date there is this record: "Male
and female departments shall be maintained for this session."
Also Miss Polly Thorp was elected principal of the Female
Department at a salary of one hundred and twenty-five
dollars per session.
The Board had another meeting in April, 1836, which
was about the middle of the session. From the following
resolution, passed at that meeting, it may be inferred that
the "Female Department" was doing satisfactory work:
"Resolved, that it is expedient and the wants of the country
demand, of the Trustees of McKendree College, the estab-
lishment of a Female Institute connected with the college,
but conducted in a separate building with a female boarding
house connected with it. And that our agent is hereby
authorized and requested to use his best efforts in his con-
templated tour in the east, to raise the sum of twenty
thousand dollars for that object." In October, 1836, it was
ordered that the female school taught by Miss Thorp should
be held in the north room of the college building until further
orders. It is also recorded that Rev. Rufus Spalding was
invited by the Trustees of McKendree to take charge of a
female academy. However, there is no record to show that
he accepted the invitation.
After 1836 there is no mention of girls in the school for
more than thirty years. Why they were no longer there,
whether they were legislated out or voluntarily withdrew,
can be only a subject of conjecture. Mrs. Mary Fitzgerrell,
a daughter of Jonathan Moore, came to Lebanon in 1850 as
a member of her father's family. Her brother, Risdon M.
Moore, graduated from McKendree that year and she would
have been glad to become a student in the institution, but
was not permitted. She attended a school for girls which
was held in the basement of the Methodist Church, but
for a taste of higher education, was obliged to go to the
Illinois Women's College at Jacksonville. The first McKen-
dree catalogue was published in 1837. It contains no girls'
names. Nor does any other of the catalogues until 1870.
By the middle of the century there was a feeling in cer-
tain quarters that while it was a fine thing to give educa-
tional privileges to the intelligent young men who were to
be the leaders of the coming generation, their sisters also
should have the same privilege, or at least not be barred
from it by a Christian college, for which many noble women
had made sacrifices as well as men. It was a sentiment that
had to have time for growth before it would be generally
accepted. Illinois Women's College at Jacksonville, whose
first president was a McKendree man, had been in success-
ful operation for several years, demonstrating that the women
of this western country were capable of acquiring higher
education, and that some even at that early day were anx-
ious to receive it. Several colleges had already tried the
experiment of co-education and some of McKendree 's pa-
trons felt that it would be an appropriate step to admit
women to the privileges of higher education. At the meeting
of the Joint Board in 1852, President Anson W. Cummings
presented a resolution to the effect that women should be
admitted to McKendree on the same terms as men. It was
discussed a while, then laid on the table until the next
annual meeting, and then forgotten.
Two Hundred and Thirty-Four
In 1865, a committee which had been appointed to con-
sider this question, failed to agree. A majority of the com-
mittee, thru their chairman, Rev. Joseph Earp, presented a
report favoring the proposition, while a minority report
against it was presented by Hon. A. W. Metcalf. There
was an interesting discussion m which the arguments were
not recorded, and then the whole matter was referred to
the Southern Illinois Conference, as a means of avoiding de-
cision on a question which had strong advocates on both
sides. But the question would not down.
At the meeting of the Joint Board on June 10, 1868. Dr-
B. F. Crary introduced a resolution providing for the ad-
mission of young women into the college as students. After
"considerable discussion" it was laid on the table "for the
present." In the afternoon session of the same day the rec-
ord says, "The resolution offered by Dr. Crary to admit
young women into the college on the same terms as young
men was taken from the table, and after some further dis-
cussion. Rev. P. P. Hamilton moved that said resolution
be laid upon the table and made the special order of business
on the second day of the next annual meeting of this Board
at 10 o'clock A. M., which motion was adopted."
This action postponed the matter for a year. Then Rev.
Ephraim Joy moved that copies of the resolution be sent
to each of the patronizing conferences, in order that they
might take action in regard to it. Later on the same day,
Dr. Crary offered this resolution, "Resolved, that the faculty
be requested to organize a Normal Department in this insti-
tution." Dr. A. C. George moved to amend it by adding
the words, "To which both males and females shall be
admitted." The chairman, Rev. Thomas A. Eaton, ruled the
amendment out of order. Then Dr. Crary appealed from
the decision of the chair, and when the vote was taken the
chair was not sustained. The amendment was then adopted,
and then the resolution as amended.
If the order of the Board had been carried out immediately
and the Normal Department established, girls might have
entered McKendree that year by the door of the Normal
Department. But it was not done. Another year soon
slipped by, and on Wednesday, June 9, which was the
second day of its session for 1869, the Board adopted
various reports and recommended the class for graduation.
Then the hour of ten o'clock having arrived, according to
their legislation of the year before, the resolution in regard
to the admission of women as students in McKendree,
which had been "lying on the table" for a whole year, was
taken up for further consideration. It was the motion of
Rev. Joseph Earp which brought it before the house again.
Of course it was discussed again at length. When the vote
was taken the result as shown in the records was fourteen
yeas and seven nays. This was a clear two-thirds majority
m favor and it was declared adopted. It would be interesting
to know how each member voted, but while a record of
that kind is kept m Congress, it is not in McKendree's
Board, and as the men who voted that day are all dead,
without a single exception, that bit of information is entirely
beyond our reach.
The resolution, as finally adopted, reads as follows:
Whereas the universities and colleges of the west
are opening their doors to women, and whereas
women need education as much as men, and where-
as McKendree College owes a debt of gratitude to
noble Christian women, therefore be it resolved
that young women be hereafter admitted to all
the classes of McKendree College on the same
terms as young men.
B. F. Crary
J. W. Phillips
This was a piece of epoch-making legislation in McKen-
dree. The admission of women into the college where they
had not had any place for more than thirty years worked
radical changes in the institution. The presence of the more
gentle sex m the class room doubtless had a civilizing and
cultural effect on the men of the college and m all probability
improved the quality of the education which they secured.
Yet strange as it may seem there was a feeling of opposition
to this splendid step of progress, on the part of certain
students whom the Apostle Paul would likely have char-
acterized as "lewd fellows of the baser sort." These seemed
to have a feeling similar to that of a certain saloon keeper,
who, when the temp-
erance campaigners came
to hold a prayer meet-
ing in his saloon, de-
clared that it was "no
place for women." This
sentiment was expressed
in a college prank doubt-
less perpetrated by some
of this class of college
boys, when the news
was spread abroad that
women were to be ad-
mitted to the college.
EDITH FLINT (THRALL)
First woman graduate
Two Hundred and Thim-Fne
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^s^
Professor Blair had a gentle mare which he kept tor a driv-
ing horse. The next morning this mare was found in one
of the recitation rooms on the second floor, with a large
placard hung about her neck bearing this inscription "First
female student in McKendree."
Of the men who framed, signed, and presented the reso-
lution to admit women, the first. Dr. Benjamin F. Crary,
was a member of the St. Louis Conference, which was then
an official patron of McKendree and sent Conference vis-
PREPARATORY
Elizabeth Gray Gilbert
Jersey City, H- ]■
Nellie Frances Raymond
Lebanon
Virginia Laura Thatcher
Lebanon
Harriet Floyd
Lebanon
Virginia Leonora Roberts
Lebanon
Elvira Robinson
Cottonwood Grove
Jeannette Ross
Cottonwood Grove
Amelia Frances Slayback
Hilhboro
Olive Mary Slayback
HiUshoro
Maggie Elizabeth Gilbert
Summerfield
Louisa Alice Vollintine
Cottonwood Groi'e
1^^^
EXHIBITION
OF THE
i'cijanon |nnalf Institute.
Reduced facsimile of programme presented by the pupils of the
Lebanon Female Institute, 1S.5S
quest, presented the case of Miss Mary Julia Jewett, who
according to his statement had completed a course of study
"about equivalent to the college course" and would like to
receive the degree of Bachelor of Arts. A committee, con-
sisting of Professor Blair, Professor Deneen and Dr. George,
was appointed to examine her as to scholarship. The next
day the committee presented a favorable report and the
degree was granted; so Miss Jewett was the first woman
to receive a degree from McKendree. This was in 1869.
FRESHMAN
Ellen Sophronia AUyn
Lebanon
Georgiana Floyd
Lebanon
Adeline Floyd
Lebanon
Eliza Maria Hypes
Lebanon
Kate Leonora Parker
Lebanon
Carrie Hannah Thrall
Bone Gap
SOPHOMORES
Mary Waity Adams
Granger, Minn.
Martha Jane Toney
Lebanon
SENIOR
Edith Maria Flint
Lebano7i
itors each year who were members of the Board, the same
as those from our own conference. He was at that time
editor of the Central Christian Advocate, which was then
published in St. Louis. The other. Rev. John W. Phillips,
was for many years a prominent member of the Southern
Illinois Conference, and served one term as presiding elder
of the Alton District. He was a brother of Rev. Daniel W.
Phillips, who was afterward president of McKendree. Be-
fore ,the close of the session in which the legislation for the
admission of women was passed. President Allyn, by re
Before women were admitted to McKendree as students,
there was a girls' school carried on for several years in the
basement of the Methodist Church in Lebanon. It was
known as the "Lebanon Female Institute." We reproduce
here a program presented by the pupils of that school. It
bears no date, but circumstantial evidence indicates that it
was some time in the year 1858.
The college catalogue of 1870 shows that those names
which we have listed above are those of girls who enrolled
m McKendree in the fall of 1869.
Hundred and Thirty-Six
^^Sl^^^^^^^^^^s^^s^
CHAPTER XIX.
President Locke's Administration
IN June, 1874, Dr. Robert Allyn notified the Board at
their annual meeting that he was not a candidate for
re-election, since he had decided to accept the position
offered him as Principal of the new State Normal School
being established at Carbondale. In that institution whose
income was provided thru taxation, there would be no wor-
ries about lack of endowment, unpaid salaries, and similar
financial inconveniences which he had experienced at Mc-
Kendree.
The committee appointed to nominate a new president
proposed the name of Rev. John W. Locke, of the Southeast
Indiana Conference. He was unanimously elected and notified
by telegraph. He agreed at once to accept the position, sub-
ject to investigation of the conditions, which would take
a little time. The salary of the new president
was to be $i,')00 and that of each professor
$qoo, all of which were guaranteed by the
Board, regardless of what the income ot the
college might be. The outlook for the college
was hopeful in many ways, but the lack ot en-
dowment made it very probable that the in-
come would not meet expenses for the coming
year. And the Board still had the arrearages
in salaries for several years back to struggle
with, as well as cases of unpaid notes and in-
terest due the endowment fund.
John Wesley Locke, the oldest child of Rev.
George and Elizabeth Locke, was born at Paris,
Kentucky, February 12, 1822. His father died from exposure
while in the Wabash District in 185';. The widow then
opened a young ladies' academy at New Albany, Indiana,
where young Locke taught mathematics at the early age of
fourteen. His college education was obtained at Augusta
College m Kentucky, where he had as classmates, Randolph
S. Foster, afterward bishop, and John Miley, who was for
many years was a professor in Drew Seminary. He grad-
uated in 1841 when he was only nineteen. The following
year he was admitted on trial into the Ohio Conference
where he served in the pastorate for seven years. He was
the eighth minister of the gospel, father and son in direct
line. In after years his son, Edwin Locke, became the ninth
m the line of preachers of the gospel. In 1852 he was elected
president of Brookville College in Indiana, and served 111
that position four years. He then became presiding elder
DR. J. W. LOCKE
of the Connersville District. After one term m this field,
he was elected to the Ch,ur of Mathematics m Asbury
University (now DePauw), He filled that position with a
high degree of acceptability for twelve years. Then after a
brief pastorate m Jeffersonville, Indiana, he was called to
the presidency of McKendree. After four years, in which
the college reached the highest point of attendance it had
attained up to that time, he then became presiding elder
of the Lebanon District. He also served a term in the same
office on the Alton District. He also served several of the
leading churches in the Southern Illinois Conference as pastor.
He had been a member of three General Conferences before
he came to Southern Illinois, and he was three times chosen
to represent that body. So he probably holds a record of
which no other member of this conference
could boast, that of having been a member
of six General Conferences. Dickinson College
honored him with the degree of Doctor of
Divinity. He was a fine scholar, an excellent
teacher and administrator, a true friend, a pa-
triot, a real manly man. He was twice married.
First, to Miss Matilda Wood, a daughter of
Colonel Wood of Ohio. To them were born
two sons and one daughter. The sons, George
W. Locke and Edwin Locke, are both dead.
The latter was for many years a member of
the Kansas Conference, and once secretary
of the General Conference. The daughter is
Mrs. Bettie Hamilton of Greencastle, Indiana. After the
death of the first Mrs. Locke, he was married to Mrs. Mary
E. Hill, who was the widow of a member of the Southern
Illinois Conference. A few years after this, he retired and
made his home m Lebanon. This was m the autumn of
i89'5'. His death occurred December 29, of that same year.
His widow lived in Lebanon for about twenty years after,
until her death.
It seems appropriate to make a little survey of the college
as it was in the beginning of Dr. Locke's administration.
The catalogue for his first year shows a total of 263 students.
One hundred and two of these were preparatory students
and the remainder of college grade. The graduating class
had nineteen members. The faculty of liberal arts was com-
posed of five teachers including the president, who taught
Mental and Moral Philosophy. Henry H. Horner was the
Two Hundred and Thnty-Seie
IMC KENDREE
only instructor in the Law Department, there was a teacher
of elocution, and a tutor who assisted in the work ot the
preparatory department. Among the requirements for ad-
mission, we note that a student must be fourteen years old
to enter the Freshman class, and in all cases, satisfactory
testimonials of good moral character must be presented. In
the paragraph on general information, parents and guardians
are informed that daily records are kept of the merit and
demerit of each student, the former denoting the excellencies
of each in his recitations and other college duties, and the
latter, his delinquencies and deficiencies of each in his re-
spective duties. The president will furnish an exhibit of
these records in any particular case when requested by the
student or his friends. It is also stated that "The Faculty
are determined that the college shall not be infested, and
the whole community embarrassed and perhaps corrupted
by idle and dissolute members." There is an interesting list
of requirements: "Regular and punctual attendance at the
morning services in the chapel, at church, and at the Sun-
day afternoon lecture; the strict observance of the hours
prescribed for study; the faithful performance of the exer-
cises, studies, and duties assigned by the faculty; a prompt
account of the reason for any neglect of duty, or absences;
the subordination of all other exercises to those prescribed
by the Faculty." There is also a remarkable list of prohi-
bitions in those days, long before the eighteenth amend-
ment: "Irreverence during religious services at church or
chapel; violation of the Sabbath by engaging in any kind
of play or amusement, or by assembUng, except for worship,
in the rooms of students or elsewhere; disrespect towards
the faculty; ungentlemanly treatment of fellow students or
citizens; absence from room during the hours of study; loud
conversation, loud laughing, wrestling, jumping or other
unnecessary noise in the college buildings or campus; dis-
turbance of the regular recitations and exercises in any way
whatever; the frequenting of taverns, groceries, billiard
saloons, bowling alleys, or any such places of drinking or
amusement; lounging about stores or public places, or re-
maining there longer than business requires; using profane
or obscene language; visiting circuses or shows; keeping
pistols, dirk knives or any unlawful weapons; card-playing
and gambling of every kind; writing upon or otherwise de-
facing the college building or furniture; disorderly conduct
at boarding houses or elsewhere; leaving town without the
knowledge and consent of the faculty; boarding at hotels or
public houses without the written permission of the faculty;
tiking lessons in any branch of study, in the regular college
terms, from any person not connected with the faculty, ex-
cept by permission."
A table of average expenses is given to serve as a sort of
guide to the prospective student in estimating his necessary
expenditures during his college career. By comparing these
with the list given in Dr. Merrill's time, it will be seen that
expenses had increased somewhat, tho it was still not a
very expensive proposition to go to college.
EXPENSES
Tuition in Preparatory Department, per term $6.00
Tuition in Collegiate Department, per term 8.00
Contingent expenses, per term 6.00
Boarding, room furnished, (lights excepted) per week j.50
Washing, per dozen .75
Wood, per cord 2.50
For Law, extra 7.00
For German, French, or Hebrew, extra 5.00
Commercial Department, extra 5.00
All bills must be paid in advance.
There is also given in the catalogue a list of the titles of
the Sunday afternoon lectures. One for every Sunday during
the college year. The lecturers named are ex-president Allyn,
President Locke, Professors Jones, Deneen, Swahlen, and
Edwards, Reverends Reuben Andrus, T. M. Post, Earl
Cranston, Lyman Marshall, T. H. Herdman. and G. W.
Hughey.
Dr. Locke was formally inaugurated with much speech-
making and enthusiasm in September, 1874. The Board had
voted to guarantee the salaries of the president, $1,500 and
the four professors, $900 each. These professors were O.
V. Jones, S. H. Deneen, W. F. Swahlen, and E. E. Edwards.
The regular income of the institution did not fully meet
these claims. There were also other arrearages in salaries.
President Allyn was not paid up in full and these same pro-
fessors had other claims for unpaid salary which were morally
just as binding as the one for the current year. In 1872, the
Board had voted that interest on the endowment fund, when
paid, as it often was, long after it was due, should be applied
to the claims of the year in which it should have been paid.
But this was not done. When it was needed for current use
as soon as it was paid, it was so applied. All these difficulties
caused the Board much perplexity and were responsible for
many lengthy debates. They usually appointed a committee
to consider the matter and then discussed the report at
great length. Perhaps they would recommend the appoint-
ment of a new financial agent with the provision that the
first money he collected should be applied to these deficits.
-^^:^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^s:g>
and then the matter would rest until the next .mnual meet-
ing of the Board. In reference to one of the financial agents,
whose name need not he mentioned here, the report at the
end of his first year showed that he had collected enough
to pay his own salary except Siof. This of course left the
institution $105 deeper m debt than before. He also secured
a few thousand dollars in subscriptions to the endowment
but it is doubtful whether they were ever paid at all. The
Board was also troubled by a note for $<;,ooo, due to the
French estate, with interest at 10%. There was even a
claim of $217 still due to Professor S. W. Williams, whose
service to the college had been rendered nearly twenty years
before. The French note had been due several years and
there were many hundreds of dollars of accrued interest,
because they didn't have enough current income to pay the
salaries, so the interest had been neglected, yet the French
heirs needed the money and wanted it paid. At the meeting
of 1875, the Board appointed a committee to ascertain the
assets and liabilities of the institution. They reported the
total assets in real estate and endowment to be $92,035,
and the liabilities consisted of debts except back salaries due
the faculty; to the amount of $6,500, and unpaid salaries
$6,605, making a total of $13,105. Therefore the assets ex-
ceeded the liabilities by $78,930, which in those days seemed
a great sum. Yet those assets were not liquid but so thor-
oughly frozen that the institution could not pay its debts.
Dr. Locke in one of his reports told of unsuccessful efforts
to borrow money and said he was forced to the conclusion
that the credit of the college was not good. He said if any
one church in the conference owed this debt, he was sure
it would be paid, but since the responsibiHty was so widely
distributed, no one felt it very keenly and therefore it was
allowed to drag on indefinitely.
The French note was not paid till years afterward m the
administration of President Phillips; and the salary debts
were probably never paid. At one meeting the executive
committee reported that the faculty would settle on a fifty
per cent basis provided the French note was paid. At a later
meeting the president reported that the entire faculty would
remit all claim to back salaries if the college would pay its
other debts and thus stand free of all financial incumbrance.
In 1875 the Board resolved that brick walks should be laid
thruout the campus. But this was never done. There were
only gravel walks until 191 1, when the new dormitories
were built, and granitoid walks were laid around the build-
ings so far as needed, and down the front from the chapel
to the street. The corner entrance to the campus and the
winding walk from there to the chapel were not built until
1927. At the session in June, 1877, the following resolution
was passed, providing for a music department: "Resolved,
that the Faculty and Executive Committee be hereby author-
ized to engage the services of a first class teacher of music,
and as far as possible, organize a department of music for
the ensuing college year. The salary ,ind expenses to be paid
out of the tuition and rents of such department." During
the following year, a Mr. Hodgden was employed to establish
the work, but in the first few weeks met with so little re-
sponse among the students that he .ib.mdoned the project.
In the year 1878-79, the Board authorized the establish-
ment of a Commercial Department, and elected Professor
J. W. Whittlesey to have charge of it. The catalogues men-
tion a Commercial Course as much as two years earlier than
this, even indicating the subjects taught and the text books
used; but no teacher is mentioned nor any students listed
as belonging to the department. At the meeting just men-
tioned, a committee was appointed to consider the question
of fitting up the Athleton as a home for the Commercial
Department. As far as we can learn, this building had been
erected chiefly thru the efforts of the students, especially
those interested m athletics. In several previous years, re-
ports were made in the Board meeting in reference to the
Athleteon commending the students on their enterprise, but
not acknowledging that the college had any financial respon-
sibility m the matter. But athletics in McKendree at that
time did not have a very efficient organization, hence interest
waned, and the building was for the most part standing
idle. The committee of investigation at this time reported
that they had difficulty in gaining access to the building,
because no key was in possession of the college authorities.
When they did succeed in examining the building, they re-
ported that it could easily be adapted to the need of a com-
mercial department, but that the financial claims of Dr. Allyn
,ind others must be satisfied before it could be taken over
for this purpose. The records do not tell us how it was done,
but in some way these claims must have been released, for
the building passed under college control the same as the
other buildings on the hill. This structure was all in one
large room with a twenty foot ceiling. It was eventually
fitted out with school desks and became a study hall for the
use of students between classes. Some member of the faculty
was always in charge, to maintain order and preserve proper
working conditions. Sometimes he would also carry on a
recitation at the front of the room, and then the conditions
were not much different from the old time one-room school.
Two Hundred and Thirty-H
■cs::^:?::^
..^^^c^^^^MC KENDREE ^^^^fesg:^:.^^^^..^
Students chafed under the rule requiring them to remain in
the study hall when not in recitation, claiming that they
were not school children who needed to be watched while
they studied. So the plan was eventually abandoned, and in
1893, when Morris L. Barr was president and E. B. Waggoner
was professor of Science, the building was taken over for the
Science Department. This gave opportunity for some expan-
sion of that important part of the college work. In 1916,
when Dr. Hurt was president, the roof was raised and two
other floors built in, so that it became a three-story building,
of which the third story contains the chemical laboratory,
the second the biological laboratory, and the first floor is
divided into three lecture rooms- one for chemistry, one for
biology, and one for mathematics. The Commercial Depart-
ment never had any very definite quarters which it could
claim exclusively, but it had an actual place in the college
for about a quarter of a century. It was housed wherever
vacant space could be had, even tho at times the rooms had
to be shared with other lines of college work. The depart-
ment reached its highest point of efficiency while under the
direction of Professor Waggoner. Such subjects as short hand
and typewriting were taught at different times, tho not con-
tinuously. Book-keeping and business arithmetic were re-
garded as the foundation stones of a business education. For
some years while Professor Waggoner was in charge of it,
the Commercial Department had its regular commencement,
at which a suitable address was delivered and the graduates
received certificates as evidence that they had completed
the work. These certificates helped them to procure a posi-
tion in the business world, and some thought the department
was doing a great work. However, the course could be com-
pleted in about six months, and some of these young people
who were anxious to get into the business world where they
could earn money did not know enough about a real college
course to appreciate the years of hard toil and effort which
it required, and sometimes told people that they were grad-
uates of McKendree College. Evidently the six months grad-
uate would not be a credit to a hterary institution. There-
fore, to avoid this confusion and sometimes harmful pretense,
on the recommendation of President Chamberlin, the Com-
mercial Department was abandoned.
On June 10, 1875, at the close of Doctor Locke's first
year, the following degrees were conferred : Bachelor of Arts
upon George Washington Atterbury, Charlotte Augusta
Dressor, Thomas Edward Green, John Theodore Handsaker,
Edward Parker Keach, Edward Henry Parkinson, Charles
Sylvester Royse, Hattie Parsis Sargeant, Edward Baker Wag-
goner, and Thomas Corwin Watkins; the degree of Bachelor
of Science was given to the following: Orla Samuel Casad,
Samuel P. Herron, John Warren Hoit, William Harrison
Horine, Laura Artella Hughey, Anna Rebecca Laird, John
Laird, George Hanna Logan, and George Douglas Phillips.
George Washington Hill received the degree of LL. B., Rev.
James A. Robinson received the degree of D. D., and the
honorary degree of A. M. was conferred upon John D
Johnson and Henry Z. Gill.
Brief sketches of these will follow, except of those whose
biographies appear elsewhere in this work.
GEORGE W. ATTERBURY
George Washington Atterbury was born at Litchfield,
Illinois, in 1854. His parents, A. D. and Julia Atterbury,
were both native Americans. He entered college in 1871 and
graduated in 1875, receiving the degree of A. B., and later,
A. M. He was a member of the Philosophian Society. For
two years after his graduation he was principal of the public
schools at Jennings, St. Louis County, Missouri. Then for
two years he held a similar position at Nashville, Illinois.
For the next twenty years he was employed as travelling
salesman and bank clerk. Most of the years since then he
has been associated with the Atterbury Motor Company,
of Buffalo, New York, of which company he has been presi-
dent for many years. He was married in 1881 and has four
children. Later he moved to the far west. In 1927 he lived
at Woodland, Calif.
ORLA S. CASAD
Orla Samuel Casad was born near Trenton, Clinton Coun-
ty, Illinois, January 31, 1846. His parents were John M.
Casad and Elizabeth A. Moore. The father was of French
descent though American born. When he was eight years
of age, the family moved to Summerfield, in St. Clair County,
where he grew to manhood. While a mere youth he enlisted
in Company B of the 62nd Regiment of Illinois Volunteers,
and served three years as a soldier in the Civil War. He
entered McKendree in 1872 and finished the Scientific Course
in 1875, receiving the degree of B. S. Later he received the
degree of LL. B. He was a member of the Philosophian So'
ciety. He was married in September, 1876, to Alice M.
Babcock. Of their four daughters, one is deceased, two are
married, and the other, Josephine, now resides with her
parents in Pittsburg, Kansas. After his graduation, Mr.
Casad taught school for some years. In 1878, he emigrated
to Donna Ana County, New Mexico, where he edited a
newspaper and practiced law. In 1880, he came to Crawford
County, Kansas, and settled in the town of Pittsburg, where
he still lives. He served as postmaster of Pittsburg for four
MC KENDREE
years and two terms as justice of the peace. He now holds
the office of police magistrate. He is a member of the Meth-
odist Church and the A. F. and A. M. He was a soldier in
the Civil War and a captain in the Kansas National Guards,
i8qi-i896. He is a member of the Masonic Fraternity, and
of the G. A. R.
CHARLOTTE A. DRESSOR
Charlotte Augusta Dressor was born near Greenville, Illi-
nois, August ji, 1850. She entered Almira College at Green-
ville in 1866. She continued there a year and a half and then
after an interval of several years, during which time girls
had been admitted to McKendree, she enrolled in that insti-
tution in 1871. She graduated m 187'; with the first honors
of her class, receiving the degree of A. B. She was a member
of the Clionian Literary Society. In the summer of iSv"; she
was elected professor of Natural Sciences m the Illinois Fe-
male College at Jacksonville. She filled this position only one
year and was then made professor of Ancient Languages in
the same institution. Her educational career, which promised
to be a brilliant one, was cut short by her death September
24, 1876. She was a member of the Methodist Episcopal
Church.
THOMAS E. GREEN
Thomas Edward Green was born at ShippenviUe, Penn-
sylvania, December 27, iS-iS. He entered McKendree in
September, 1872 and graduated in the class of 1875, receiving
the A. B. degree. He was a member of the Philosophian
Society. He attended the Princeton Theological Seminary
during the years 1878-79. In 1889, he received the degree of
S. T. D. from Griswold College. He was married April 27,
1880, to Laura Elizabeth Johnson, of Mt. Carmel, Illinois.
To them were born two daughters, Elinore and Gladys. The
former married R. W. Goodell and the latter J. B. Terbell.
Mr. Green's life work has included the three lines of clergy-
man, author, and lecturer. He was pastor of Presbyterian
churches at Mt. Carmel and Sparta, and later of the Eighth
Presbyterian Church of Chicago. In 1886 he became a mem-
ber of the Episcopal Church and served for two years as
rector of St. Andrews" Episcopal Church, Chicago. From
1888 to 190J he was rector of Grace Church, Cedar Rapids,
Iowa. In 1898 he was elected Bishop of Iowa, but declined
the office. He also held the following positions of honor at
different times: General Chaplain of the Sons of the Revo-
lution, Grand Prelate of the Knights Templar, Chaplain
First Regiment, Iowa National Guards, Chaplain of the
National Democratic Conventions of 1884, 1892, and 1896.
He was a deputy to the General Convention of the Episcopal
Church in the years 1889, 1892, 189';, and 1898. He is the
author of numerous books and magazine articles, and m
1909- 1910 was associate editor of Hampton's Magazine of
New York. During the years 190J to 1908, he travelled ex-
tensively in Europe and Japan, and in I9i0'i9ii, made a trip
around the world. He has been a lyceum lecturer since 1903.
For some years his residence has been in Chicago.
LAURA A. HUGHEY
Laura Artelia Hughey was born January 12, iSi'i, at
Rosaclaire, Illinois. She is a daughter of Rev. George W.
and Elizabeth A. Hughey. Her father was a Methodist
preacher in the Southern Illinois and Missouri Conferences
for more than half a century. She graduated from McKendree
in the class of 1875, receiving the degree of B. S. She was a
member of the Clionian Literary Society. After graduation
she taught in the public schools of Belleville, lUinois. No-
vember 12, 1879, she was married to Mr. Charles E. Small,
who was also a graduate of McKendree. Since that time her
home has been in Kansas City, Missouri, where her husband
is engaged in the practice of law. They have five sons and
two daughters. The eldest son was U. S. vice-consul to
Bogota, South America during the years 1910-1912. Mrs.
Small IS a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
THOMAS T. HANDSAKER
Thomas Theodore Handsaker was born in Madison Coun-
ty, Illinois, July 6, iSsi- He entered college in the fall of
1868 and graduated in the class of 187';, receiving the degree
of A. B. He was a member of Plato. He was a Methodist
and a Republican. After his graduation, he engaged in jour-
nalistic work for several years, and later in educational work.
August 6, 1878 he was married to Miss Mary E. Morris, of
Cincinnati. They then went to California, where Mr. Hand-
saker taught school for many years. He also taught in Oregon
for three years. His work was in Orange, California for some
years, and later in San Francisco. We have no recent infor-
mation concerning him.
JOHN W. HOYT
John Warren Hoyt was born in Palestine, Illinois, August
22, 1853, and came with his parents to Lebanon in September,
1859. He was a son of John W. and Rowena (French) Hoyt.
His father was a local preacher in the Methodist Church
and a resident of Lebanon for many years, until his death.
His mother was a sister of Governor A. C. French. He re-
ceived his education in the public schools of Lebanon and
McKendree College, where he graduated in 1875, with the
degree of B. S. He was a member of the Philosophian Society.
He graduated from the St. Louis Medical College in 1878,
Two Hundred and Forty-Oi
riMC KENDREE"^^^^^^s:^^.^?^>,r-..^
and later went abroad and studied in Germany. He practiced
his profession in Olney, Illinois, St. Louis, and Kansas City,
Missouri. He was married to Miss Carrie A. Brown ("8i),
of Lebanon, December 30, 1884. His death occurred at Kansas
City in 1892, while he was still in the prime of life and in
the midst of a useful career. His funeral was held in the
Methodist Church in Lebanon, and he lies buried in College
Hill Cemetery.
SAMUEL P. HERRON
Samuel P. Herron was born in July, i8';4, at Arrow Rock,
Missouri. He entered McKendree m 1872 and graduated in
1875, with the degree of B. S. He was a member of the
Platonian Literary Society. He was married June 26, 1878,
to Miss Emma C. Moore, of Lebanon, who was also a grad-
uate of McKendree. His business during most of his active
life was that of a druggist. He was located for many years
in Chicago, later in St. Louis, and still later in Santa Monica,
California. He is now retired from active business and lives
in Richmond Heights, St. Louis County. He is a member of
the Royal Arcanum. Mrs. Herron died in June, 1927.
WILLIAM H. HORINE
William Harrison Horine was born at Waterloo, Illinois,
July 3, 1855. He entered McKendree in 1871 and graduated
in the class of 1875, with the degree of B S. He was a mem-
ber of the Platonian Society. Later he studied law and settled
in Springfield, Missouri. For many years he had a very suc-
cessful practice and he was considered a wealthy man. His
death occurred July 19, 1921. His funeral was held in the
old church in Waterloo where his Methodist parents had
been members, and he was buried in the cemetery at that
place.
JOHN D. JOHNSON
John D. Johnson was born m Belleville, Illinois, April
19, 1S44. He was educated in the public schools and McKen-
dree College. However he
did not complete the col-
lege course, but left school
to enter the Union army,
where he did service for his
country, holding the rank of
first lieutenant. In 1868
he moved to St. Louis,
where he became deputy
county marshall and dep-
uty clerk of the Court of
Criminal Correction. In the
meantime he studied law,
and was admitted to the bar
in 1870. Since then he has
JOHN D JOHNSON
As he appeared in the early part
practiced law in St. Louis. For a few years he was in partner-
ship with Judge W.C.Jones, but for a longer period with his
brother, Hon. Charles P. Johnson. While at McKendree he
was a member of the Platonian Society. The college gave
him the honorary degree of A. M. in 1875. He is still living,
and was present at the "Homecoming" of 1926. At the
reminiscent meeting held in the chapel, he presented a re-
ceipt for tuition paid by him to R. M. Moore, Fiscal Agent,
in the fall term of 1856. This was evidence that he had been
a student in McKendree seventy years before but still in
vigorous health and with a figure tall and straight as an
Indian warrior. He gave the receipt to the college as an
interesting souvenir.
EDWIN P. KEACH
Edwin Parker Keach was born at Wapello, Iowa, No-
vember 4, 185 1. After taking a part of his college course at
Westminster College in Missouri, he came to McKendree,
where he finished in 1875, receiving the degree of A. B.
He belonged to the Platonian Society. He took a Theological
course at Danville, Kentucky, where he graduated in 1878.
He then entered the ministry of the Presbyterian Church
and served several pastorates, mostly in Missouri. He was
also for a time editor of the "Texas Presbyterian." Later
he became a missionary to the Cherokee Indians, with head-
quarters at Hulbert, Oklahoma. He was married November
7, 1878, to Miss J. Russell. To them were born five chil-
dren— Edith, Annie, Louise, George, and Edwin. The young-
est daughter, Louise, married Rev. A. W. Moore, who be-
came a missionary in India.
ANNA R. LAIRD
Anna Rebecca L.iird was born in Jefferson County, Illi-
nois, April JO, 1850. Her parents were Nicolas and Jane
(Martin) Laird, who were both native Americans. She be-
came a student m McKendree in the fall of 1872 and grad-
uated in 1875, with the B. S. degree. She was a member of
the Clionian Society. After graduation she taught school
two years, then took a course in a business college in Evans-
ville, Indiana. Then after teaching two years more she was
married to Mr. Peter Smith, March 24, 1880. He died in
1890, leaving no children. Mrs. Smith, being compelled to
support herself by her own efforts, found employment in a
woolen mill at Topeka, Kansas. In 1906 she secured a position
in Oakland, California, but two years later she became a
member of the Old People's Home, Anderson, Indiana, where
she is comfortably spending her declining years. She is a
member of the "Church of God."
Tifo Hundred and Fort'i-Two
^^^iK^^^^^^^^^^^g^^^^
REV. JOHN M. LAIRD
John Martin Laird was horn in Jefferson County, Illinois,
October 22, 1848. He entered McKendree m the fall of 1872
at the same time with his sister, and they both graduated in
the class of 187';, receiving the degree of B. S. He was a
member of the Platonian Society. In June, 1875, he was mar-
ried to Miss Lizzie Meyers. To them were born three sons,
Charles N., John F., and Walter P., and one daughter,
Blanche. He joined the Southern Illinois Conference in 187=;
and served m the regular pastorate till 1892. He then with-
drew from the Southern Illinois and went to Oklahoma. Af-
ter some time he resumed the work of the ministry, and
several years later he was transferred to California, where
his death occurred at Fort Jones, April 7, igoq.
GEORGE H. LOGAN
George Hanna Logan was born in Big Prairie, Illinois, Sep-
tember 4, i8';5 and died in the same community December
31, 18S7. He was a son of Thomas and Lucy (Land) Logan
After receiving a public school education, he entered Mc-
Kendree and graduated m the class of 1875, with the degree
of B S. He was a member of the Platonian Society. After
graduation he spent some years m teaching, and was also
for some time engaged in the jewelry business, being a mem-
ber of the firm of Logan and Snively; but the greater part
of his life he spent m agricultural pursuits. He was married
March 27, 1879, to Miss Margaret Williams, who was also
for a time a student at McKendree This union was blessed
with five children -Ella Maud, Lucie Belle, Thomas Wyatt,
Helena Lee, and William Tuley. The last named died in
infancy. Two of the daughters are married. Mr. Logan was
a faithful member of the Methodist Church, and m poli-
tics a Republican.
GEORGE D. PHILLIPS
George Douglas Phillips was born at Nashville, Illinois,
in September, 1856. His father was a prominent member of
the Southern Illinois Conference and for years a member of
the Board of Trustees of McKendree. His uncle, D. W.
Phillips, was for several years president of McKendree. Mr.
Phillips graduated in 1875, with the degree of B. S. He was
a member of the Philosophian Society. He was engaged in
business in Alton for some years, and later moved to Chicago.
REV. EDWARD H. PARKINSON, D. D.
Edward Henry Parkinson, son of Alfred J. and Mary E,
(Baldwin) Parkinson, was born at Highland, Illinois, January
10, i8'i2. After completing the public school courses, he
entered McKendree, and having finished the classical course,
he received the degree of A. B. in June, 1875- He was a
member of the Platonian Literary Society. After leaving Mc-
Kendree, he entered Garrett Biblical Institute, where in
1878 he received the degree of S. T. B. He afterward received
the Master of Arts and in 1892 the degree of Doctor of
Divinity from his alma m.iter. He was married October 20,
1881, to Miss Carrie Hollis He has been a Methodist for
more than half a century and for over a quarter of a century
a Methodist minister. The active years of his ministry were
spent chiefly m Kansas, so that he had a share in freeing
Kansas from the liquor traffic. For eleven years he lived in
Chicago and inaugurated various movements in behalf of
national prohibition. Among these may be mentioned the
hand-to-hand and house-to-house campaign for the distri-
bution of literature to the voters. Another campaign dis-
tributing circulars and posters by mail to reach every county
in the United States. He then began a movement through
the newspapers, furnishing short articles to as many as a,
thousand newspapers in a single year. Later he was active
in circulating petitions to present to Congress m the interest
of nation-wide prohibition. He lived to see the i8th amend-
ment passed and died March 17, 192:,. He was buried at
Celphos, Kansas. "He was one of God's noblemen."
MRS- HATTIE SARGEANT THOMAS
Hattie Persis Sargeant was born m Lebanon, Illinois, in
, i8s5. Her parents were John L. and Abigail (Danforth)
Sargeant, who were among the early settlers of the town
of Lebanon. After attending the public schools, she entered
McKendree and graduated in the class of 1875, with the
degree of A. B. She was a member of the Clionian Literary
Society. She was married June 30, 1880, to James H. Thomas,
of Belleville, who about that time became editor of "The
Belleville Advocate." After a residence of five years in Belle-
ville, they moved to Denver, Colorado. Mrs. Thomas' two
sons, John and Garland, both grew to manhood, but the
elder, a youth of great promise, died soon after graduating
from the school of mines. The younger is now in business in
Chicago. Mrs. Thomas died at Chicago, August 29, 1920.
REV. CHARLES S. ROYSE
Charles Sylvester Royse was born at New Albany, Indi-
ana, April 8, 18'ii. He entered McKendree in September,
1870, and graduated m June, 187-;, with the degree of A. B.
He was a member of the Philosophian Society. He was a
student for a time in Garrett Biblical Institute, and then
entered the ministry of the Methodist Church. He preached
five years in Illinois, five in Iowa, fifteen in Minnesota, and
five in Dakota. He is now on the retired list. He was mar-
ried April 16, 1876, to Rose A. Nichols. Four of their chil-
Two Hundred and Forty-Th
^MC KENDREE^^^^^^:^^^..^,^^..^^
dren are now living; George, Maud. W.ilter, and Clara. Mrs.
Royse died August ii, 191 1.
PROF. EDWARD B. WAGGONER
Edward Baker Waggoner was born in Madison County,
Illinois, near the village of Godfrey, August 22, 1852. His
father, Wesley F. Waggoner, was a farmer, but also a car-
penter and mechanic. His mother's maiden name was Eliza
Ferguson. There were five children in the family, of whom
Edward B. was the oldest, and the only one still living. He
received his early education at the Bethany country school,
near Godfrey, entered the Preparatory Department of Mc-
Kendree in 1869 and graduated from
the college in 1875, receiving the de-
gree of A. B., and later, A. M. He
was one of the honor men of his class
and a member of the Platonian
Society. He spent some time teaching
before he finished his college course,
but after his graduation he made it
the regular business of his life, and
his career as an educator continued
without interruption for more than
half a century . He taught successively
at the Jones school, east of Brighton,
the Ferguson School, north of Bright-
on, the Bethany School, the Piasa
School, served a year as principal of
the Chatham schools, then spent a
year in graduate work at Valparaiso
University. He was then elected professor of Science in Mc-
Kendree in 1881. He continued in the McKendree faculty
until 1922, with the exception of one year when he was
professor of Science in Southwest Kansas College at Wmfield.
He thus rendered full forty years of service in McKendree,
and then tapered off with five years of service as teacher of
Science in the Lebanon High School. At that time, real-
izing that the work was heavy for one of his years, he
decided to retire. His alma mater then employed him to
build up and care for a museum such as McKendree ought
to have. This is work to his liking, for when he was pro-
fessor of Science, he collected a large amount of material
which he will now re-assemble as soon as suitable provision
can be made for its proper display. Professor Waggoner has
always shown especial skill in the work of teaching, as many
hundreds of students will testify. His aim was always, not
only to impart knowledge, but to develop character. He has
been for many years and still is an active worker in the
Methodist Church .ind Sunday School. He served for more
PROFESSOR WAGGONER
than thirty years as superintendent of the Methodist Sun-
day School in Lebanon, and for many years was active in
the work of the Epworth League. He has served as district
president of that organization. He has ser\'ed as an institute
speaker, not only in the County Institutes of the public
schools, but also Sunday School and Epworth League Insti-
tutes. He has always been a loyal citizen of the community
and nation, a Republican in poHtics, but always standing
for good government and the principles of righteousness in
his own community. He is a charter member of the M. W.
A. in Lebanon.
Professor Waggoner has been
twice married. First, to Ella L.
Sargent, of the class of "77 in Mc-
Kendree, in 1883. Their four children
were Carrie L., Leroy S., Ella Mabel,
and LottieA. Of these, only two are
now living, Leroy and Mabel, now
Mrs. R. C. Sayre, of Decatur. His
present wife, before her marriage,
was Miss Ella Cowen, of Jersey ville.
She, too, is the mother of four child-
ren, Marian E., a teacher in Kankakee,
Morris, who has been a high school
teacher for some years in northern
Illinois, Beatrice C, now Mrs.
Bertram Jones, and Kenneth C,
who is teaching in Kentucky. Mrs.
Waggoner also attended McKendree
before her marriage, ,ind has been a life long Sunday School
worker. Both she and her husband are still teachers in the
Sunday School. She is active in the Missionary Society and
other organizations of the church. Also she was the founder
and has been, for twenty-two years, the president of the
Lebanon History Club.
REV. THOMAS C. WATKINS, D. D.
Thomas Corwin Watkins was born at Antrim, Ohio,
March 7, 1847. He completed his course in McKendree in the
class of 1875, receiving the degree of A. B. He also received
the degree of A. M. in 1878 and D. D. in 1887 from his alma
mater. He completed a course in Boston University School
of Theology and received the degree of B. D. from that
institution in 1878. While m McKendree he was a mem-
ber of the Pl.itonian Society. He was married to Miss
Emm.i D. Hadley, a teacher, in Medford, Massachusetts.
Their sons, Thomas Webb and Charles Hadley, are both
t;raduates of Harvard. The former has been for a number
Two Hundred and Forts-Four
MC KENDREE
of years principal of Kent's Hill Seminary, which is a Meth-
odist secondary educational institution in Maine. Their
daughter, Margaret, graduated from Boston University in
the class of 1913. Mr. Watkins began preaching the Gospel
in his youth. He supplied charges in various places while
getting his education. He joined the New England Confer-
ence in 1878, and was a member of it for the remainder ot
his life. One of his notable achievements was the establish-
ment of the Stanton Avenue Church in Boston. He organized
the church, starting with only four members, and led them
in the enterprise of erecting a new church building. It is
now one of the strong churches of that New England city
He was for six terms secretary and two terms president of
the Boston Preachers' Meeting. For fifteen years he was
secretary and treasurer of the New England Conference
Bureau of Entertainment. He retired from the active pas-
torate in 1920, but retained certain duties in connection
with the conference until the time of his death, which oc-
curred on September 21, 1924. His last charge was Needham
Heights, which continued to be his home until his death.
It is claimed that he was the first to suggest the motto of
the Epworth League, "Look up, lift up."
THE CLASS OF ISTlj
LOUISE C. BLUME
Louise Charlotte Blume was born January 19, 185J, at
Pleasant Ridge, Madison County, Illinois. She is a daughter
of John H. Blume, Sr. and Christine (Dierking) Blume — both
German. She first became a student in McKendree in Jan-
uary, 1873 and graduated in June, 1876, receiving the degree
of B. S. She was a member of the Clionian Literary Society.
She was employed in educational work from the time of her
graduation until her retirement. She taught in the schools
of Madison County for thirty-three consecutive years, elev-
en years of this time, in the Granite City schools. For four
years or more she was a member of the faculty in the Bible
Training School in Fort 'Wayne, Indiana. She had charge of
the departments of English and German. She was a member
of the Methodist Episcopal Church, though a lover of all
the churches, and an earnest active Christian worker m
whatever line of service the opportunity offered. Her death
occurred at Edwardsville, Illinois March 13, 1921.
CHARLES P. BELL
Charles Patterson Bell was born January 20, 1859, at
Ullin, Illinois. He entered McKendree in the fall of 1873
and became a member of the Platonian Society. He graduated
in 1876 with the degree of B. S. He intended to make the
law his profession and settle in Cobden, Illinois. In religious
belief he was an Episcopalian, m politics a Republican. Later
he went into the mercmtile business in Little Rock, Ar-
kansas, where he died m 1881.
FRANKLIN P. CREWS
Franklin Pierce Crews was horn at Island Grove, Illinois,
December 23, i8<;4. He entered college in 1872 and joined
the Platonian Society. He graduated in the class of 1876,
receiving the degree of B. S., and later, M. S. In politics, he
was a Democrat, and in religion a Methodist. After he left
college, his home was in Teutopolis, Illinois He was ad'
mitted to the bar in 1878, and intended to make the legal
profession his vocation. We have no recent information con-
cerning him.
LLEWELLYN CALHOUN
Llewellyn Calhoun was born near New Boston, Mercer
County, Illinois, March 11, 1849. He is a son of Dr. David
and Susannah Calhoun. His father died when he was but a
small child, and later his mother married an ignorant man
who opposed young Llewellyn's efforts to secure an educa-
tion. He therefore secured his schooling, both in the district
school and in McKendree, in the face of much opposition
and entirely without assistance from his family. He paid his
way chiefly by teaching school at intervals alternating with
his years in school. He entered McKendree in 1867 and
graduated in 1876, receiving the degree of B. S. He was a
member of the Philosophian Literary Society. He was mar'
ried February 24, 1876, which was his senior year in college,
to Miss Rebecca Mildred Rutledge. She was elected an hon-
orary member of the class of '76. He then studied law and
graduated from McKendree's Law Department in 1879, re-
ceiving the degree of LL. B. His little daughter one year
old was made an honorary member of the class of 1879 She
is now Mrs. Grace R. Seabott. Since his graduation, Mr.
Calhoun has been engaged in various occupations. He taught
school four years; was in the railway mail service during
President Garfield's administration; was travelling salesman
in Texas and the Southwest; in 1885 he entered the field
of journalism and worked on the Fort Worth (Tex.) Gazette,
the Dallas and Galveston News, the St. Louis Republic, and
the St. Louis Globe-Democrat. In 1890, he became editor of
the Fort Worth Evening Mail; and during the years 1892-96
he was editor of "Industrial Education" at Fort Worth,
Texas. During the years since that time he has been engaged
in the adjustment of insurance for several of the old line
companies, which work has taken him to all parts of the
United States, and^to Canada, Alaska, Mexico, West Indies,
and the Bahama Islands. His home at present is in Seattle.
Hundred and Fortv-Fue
MC KENDREE ^^^^^s:^;^-^.^..^^^^
Washington. He is a member ot the Christian Science Church
and the Knights of Pythias.
HON. PLEASANT T. CHAPMAN
Pleasant Thomas Chapman was born on a farm in Johnson
County, Illinois, October 8, 1854. His parents, D. C. and
M. E. Chapman, were of English ancestry. After receiving
his early education in the home schools, he entered McKen-
dree in 1871, and after completing the Classical Course, he
received the A. B. degree in 1876, and A. M. in 1879. After
leaving college he read law and was admitted to the bar in
1878. He located at Vienna, Illinois, which is still his home.
He has served two terms as county judge, two terms as
county superintendent of Schools, three terms as State Sen-
ator, and has ably represented his fellow citizens as a member
of Congress. He has also for many years been engaged in the
banking business. He was married to Miss May Copeland,
December 20, 1882. Of their four children, one daughter
died in infancy; the elder son, Ward, Hves in Chicago and
is special agent for the National Fire Insurance Company;
their daughter, Marian, married Lieutenant Paul C. Rabory,
of the U. S. A. , the younger son, Ralph, is teller in the First
National Bank of Vienna. Mr. Chapman is a member of the
Methodist Church, a thirty-second degree Mason, member
of the I. O. O. F. and the Knights of Pythias.
EDWIN W. DRESSOR
Edwin Washington Dressor was born at Cottonwood
Grove, Illinois, December 12, 1854. He entered McKendree
in 1869, and after completing the Scientific Course, he re-
ceived the degree of B. S. in 1876. He was a member of the
Platonian Literary Society. In politics, he is a Republican.
He married Miss Mary Kirkland and established a residence
near Greenville, Illinois. After a long career as a successful
farmer and stock -raiser, he retired from active business and
now resides in the city of Greenville.
WALTER C. GOFORTH
Walter Cyrus Goforth was born at Mt. Carmel, Illinois,
September i j, 1856, and died in St. Louis, Missouri, October
3,1, 1911. He entered McKendree in 1872 and graduated in
1876, receiving the degree of A. B. Later he received the
Master's Degree. He was a member of the Platonian Literary
Society. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1880.
He practiced his profession in St. Paul, Minn, for many
years until failing health compelled him to abandon pro-
fessional work. In his later years he travelled much, and
while seeking to improve his health, spent winters in Florida
and in California. While at the seacoast he gathered shells
from both oceans, carefully classified them, ,ind after pro-
viding a handsome glass cabinet for their proper display,
presented his entire collection to McKendree College. He
was married October 3, 1883, to Miss Julia Belle Nichols,
of Lebanon. Their deaths occurred within a month of each
other. They left no children. They were both buried m
College Hill Cemetery.
REV. JOHN N. HUGGINS
John Newton Huggms was born at New Athens, Illinois,
August 31, 1856, and died at his home in Statesville, North
Carolina, December 5, 1909. He became a student in Mc-
Kendree in 1 87 1 and graduated in 1876, receiving the degree
of A. B. He was a member of the Philosophian Literary So-
ciety. He studied law and practiced this profession two
years in Belleville, Illinois. Later he moved to Miami, Mis-
souri, where he practiced law for several years. While at
McKendree, he was converted and joined the Methodist
Church. Having for some time felt called to the work of
the ministry, in 1884 he gave up the law and entered the
ministry of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, becom-
ing a member of the Southwest Missouri Conference. He
ser\'ed as pastor at Carthage, Brooklyn Avenue, Kansas City,
presiding elder of the Springfield District, Jefferson City,
and Marshall. In 1899, failing health led him to seek a differ-
ent climate. He was transferred to the Western North Caro-
lina Conference and here served as pastor at AsheviUe, Con-
cord, and Lexington. In 1907 he was made presiding elder
of the Statesville District, which position he held at the
time of his death. He was married March 24, 1887, to Miss
Janie Pipkin, daughter of W. H. Pipkin, at that time post-
master of Springfield, Missouri. Their three children are
Harvey, Helen, and Reuben. The eldest died at the age of
seven, while his father was pastor in Jefferson City, Mis-
souri. Mrs. Huggins, since her husband's death, has resided
in Springfield, Missouri.
SYLVESTER M. IRWIN
Sylvester Milton Irwin was born in Montgomery County,
Illinois, October 27, 18'; i, of native American parents. He
entered McKendree in the fall of 1870 and graduated in
1876, with the degree of B. S. He received the degree of
M. S. in i88i. He was a member of the Philosophian Literary
Society. He was married in October, 1876, and has three
sons, Walter S., Ira M., and Roy L., ranging in age from
thirty-five to twenty-five. They are all engaged in business
in Decatur. In the years intervening since his college days,
Mr. Irwin has spent sixteen years as a pharmacist and twenty
as a manufacturing chemist. He was for eighteen years office
manager of the firm of Irwm, Neisler, &? Co., Manuficturing
Two Hundred and FortyStx
Pharmacists. He is at present general manager ot the Bush-
way Extract Company, of Decatur, Illinois. He has been a
member of the Methodist Episcopal Church since he was
sixteen years of age. His home is at Decatur, Illinois, where
he has resided for many years.
JUNIUS N. McCURDY
Junius N. McCurdy was born at Augusta, Arkansas,
April 7, 1856. His parents were Isaac M. McCurdy, of
Scotch descent, and Sarah Elizabeth (Quitt) McCurdy, who
was of English ancestry. He entered McKendree in Septem-
ber, 1871, and graduated in the classical course m June,
1876, receiving the degree of A. B., and later, that of A. M.
He was a member of the Philosophian Literary Society. After
graduation, he was engaged in mercantile business for a per-
iod of about twenty years. He was mayor of his city for six
years and city recorder for four years. He is still prominent
in political circles. He is a member of the Knights of Honor,
the Legion of Honor, and the Woodmen of the World. He
was married February 18, 1880, to Miss Ella M. Cornelius.
They have six children living, and all grown to maturity.
They are Junius C, Edward P., Isaac M., Ara Bessie, Laura
Maude, and Floy Lucile. Mr. McCurdy "s home is still at
Augusta, Ark.
JOSEPH W. McKEE, M. D.
Joseph William McKee was born May 5, 1854, at Sum-
merfield, 111. His parents were Dr. Samuel P. McKee, a native
American and one time member of the Board of Trustees of
McKendree College, and Mary M. (Thompson) McKee, a
daughter of Rev. Samuel H. Thompson, who was one of the
founders of McKendree College and twice president of its
Board of Trustees. Mr. McKee entered McKendree as a
student in 1872 when he was a youth of eighteen, and grad-
uated in 1876, with the degree of A. B. In June, 1879, he
received the degree of A. M. He afterward took a medical
course in the Northwestern University Medical College
and received the degree of M. D. in 1884. While in McKen-
dree he was a member of the Philosophian Society. After
graduating, he taught in a country school two years and was
two years principal of the school at Rich view, Illinois. After
finishing his medical course, he located in Kansas City, Mis-
souri, where he has been practicing medicine ever since. He
took a post graduate course in the New York Eye and Ear
Infirmary and since that time his practice has been limited
to his specialty — the diseases of the eye, ear, nose, and
throat. He was married September 28, 1886, to Miss Emma
Parkinson, of Highland, Illinois. She was the youngest daugh-
ter of Hon. Alfred Parkinson, at one time a member of Mc-
Kendree's Board of Trustees. Their children are Wilbur P.,
Joseph Wallace, Raymond E., and Mary Mildred McKee,
Dr. McKee is a member of the Jackson County Medical
Society, the Missouri State Medical Association, and the
American Medical Association. He belongs to the Howard
Memorial Methodist Church m Kansas City and his been
Sunday School superintendent for many years.
MRS. EMMA CARRIE HERRON
Emma Carrie Moore was born at Lebanon, Illinois, being
the daughter of Thomas and Mary J. (Nichols) Moore, who
were both native Americans. She attended the public schools
of her home town and then entered McKendree in September,
187J. She completed the scientific course and graduated m
June, 1876, receiving the degree of B. S. Later she received
the Master's Degree. She was a member of the Clionian
Literary Society. In June, 1878, she was married to Samuel
P. Herron, who was also a graduate of McKendree, class of
'75. She has resided for long periods both in Chicago and
St. Louis, where her husband was engaged in business as a
druggist. Their home was at Santa Monica, California for
some years, and later m Richmond Heights, St. Louis County.
In religion, Mrs. Herron was non-sectarian. She was a mem-
ber of the St. Louis chapter of the Daughters of the American
Republic. She died in St. Louis, June 17, 1927 and was
buried m College Hill Cemetery.
ANDREW J. PENROD
Andrew Jackson Penrod was born in Union County, Illi-
nois, January 8, 1850. His parents were Allen and Lucinda
Penrod. After completing the course at McKendree, he re-
ceived the degree of B. S. in 1876, and later, M. S. He was
a member of the Philosophian Literary Society. After his
graduation, he spent ten years in teaching; then for a number
of years engaged in mercantile business, and later was soli-
citor for several different firms in commercial business. He
has also been in newspaper work as correspondent for several
different papers. He was married October 19, 1890, to Miss
Mattie Delleney. They have one daughter, Viola. They
lived for a number of years in Brownwood, Texas, and later,
in Dallas. Mr. Penrod is not a member of any church or
lodge, and in politics, he is an eclectic, having voted at
different times with the Republican, Populist, and Socialist
parties.
JUDGE M. W. SCHAEFER
Martin W. Schaefer was born at Troy, Illinois, March
20, 1857. He IS a son of Jacob and Margaret (Noll) Schaefer,
who are natives of Bavaria, Germany. He entered McKendree
as a student in 1870 and graduated in 1876; but was out of
Two Hundred and FortySev
^^^^^^^^^^^^g^^s^
school two years of that time. He received the degree of
A. B. m 1876, and in 1879 he completed the law course and
received the degree of LL. B., and at the same time that of
A. M. While in McKendree he was a member of the Pla-
tonian Literary Society. The same ye;ir he graduated he was
admitted to the bar in the state of Illinois. He was married
November 11, 1879, to Louisa Weigel. Their children are
Edna, now Mrs. M. L. Harris; Elmer, died in 1898; Leota,
now Mrs. G. L. Tarlton; and Edwin, Otho, and Corinne.
Mr. Schaefer practiced law in Belleville from about 1887.
He held the oflice of city attorney of Belleville for six
years, state's attorney of St. Clair County for two terms
of four years each. He was elected judge of the Third Judi-
cial Circuit of Illinois in 1897, which office he held for a
term of six years. He then became a member of the law firm
of Schaefer and Kruger, of Belleville, and engaged in the gen-
eral practice of law. He was also general counsel of the East
St. Louis and Suburban Railway Company, and the Alton,
Granite City and St. Louis Traction Company. He was a
member of the German Evangelical Church at Lebanon, 111.
He became a member of the Odd Fellow's Lodge in Lebanon
in 1880, but later was a member of the Pride of the West
Lodge No. 650, Belleville. In 1892-189?, he was Grand Master
of the Illinois Grand Lodge of Odd Fellows. He died at
Belleville, March 21, 1922.
JUDGE ALBERT WATSON, LL. D.
One of the most highly respected and influential citizens
of his community is Judge Albert Watson, of Mt. Vernon.
He is the younger son of Joel
F. and Sarah M. (Taylor)
Watson, and was born at
Mt. Vernon, Illinois, April
15, 1857. His native city has
been his home all his life. He
was educated in the public
schools of Mt. Vernon, and
after finishing the high
school, entered McKendree
College, where his older
brother, Dr.WalterWatson,
had previously taken his col-
lege course. While at Mc-
Kendree he was a member
of the Philosophian Literary Society. He was graduated in
the class of 1876, receiving the degree of B. S. After that,
he studied law in a law office in Mt. Vernon and was ad-
mitted to the bar. Since that time the legal profession has
JUDGE WATSON
been his major interest during his long and active career. He
was married August 12, 1880, to Miss Mary Eunice Way
Their four children are Mrs. Marina W. Frazier, of Ocono-
mowoc, Wisconsin; Captain Joel F. Watson, U. S. A., San
Francisco, California; Miss Alice E. Watson, Ph. D., a
teacher in Forest Hills, Long Island, a suburb of New York
City; and Allen Stanley Watson, attorney-at-law, Mt.
Vernon, Illinois. Judge Watson, in addition to his work as
a lawyer, has engaged extensively in the banking business.
He was for fifteen years president of the Ham National
Bank of Mt. Vernon. He was also founder, and for some
years president of a number of village banks in surrounding
towns. He was twice city attorney of Mt. Vernon, four
years state's attorney of Jefferson County, and two years
master in chancery. In 191 1, on the death of Judge Vick-
ers, of the Supreme Court of Illinois, Governor Dunne could
find no more suitable person to fill the vacancy than Mr.
Watson. And thus he became a member of the highest
court in the state, a position which he fills with great
acceptability.
Among the honors that have come to him from his fellow
workers in the legal profession is the presidency of the
Jefferson County Bar Association, which position he held
for twenty years. He was also one of the founders and first
president of the Bar Association of the First Supreme Judi-
cial District. Among the specific instances of service rendered
during his legal career, it should be mentioned that he has
been for fifty years attorney for the L. £s? N. Railroad, and
at the same time, for many years attorney for the Southern
and C. 6? E. I. Railroads. In June, 191 5, he became president
of the Illinois State Board of Law Examiners, and still holds
the position. In the discharge of his duties in this office, he
has examined about ij,ooo applicants for admission to the
bar. He believes in fraternalism and is a member of the
Knights of Pythias. He was Grand Chancellor of Illinois in
that order in 1909-1910. He was in charge of the completion
and dedication of the Pythian Orphans' Home at Decatur,
Illinois. The dedication ceremonies took place June 9, 1910.
Judge Watson was reared in a Methodist home and for
sixty years has been a member of the First Methodist Church
in Mt. Vernon. For many years he has been a trustee of that
body. Since October, 191'?, he has been teacher of the Men's
Bible Class in the Sunday School of his church. This class
IS an outstiinding religious organization with a large enroll-
ment, and maintains an average attendance of about one
hundred.
Two Hundred and Forty-Eiglit
At the session of the Southern Illinois Conference held
at McKendree College in 1927, he was elected by an almost
unanimous vote of the Lay Electoral Conference, as leader
of the Lay Delegation to the General Conference of the
Methodist Episcopal Church, which meets in May. 1918, at
Kansas City, Missouri.
At the time of the Civil War, Judge Watson was only
a child, and therefore could take no part in it. When the
United States entered the World War, he was beyond the
age of active service at the front, but his patriotism was
plainly shown in his efficient service as chairman of the local
draft board, from April, 1917 to February, 1918. At that
time he was promoted to the district draft board, where
he served till Armistice Day, 1918. Each of these boards
achieved a Number One rating from the War Department,
hi 1904 he was the nominee of his party for the office of
Attorney General of Illinois. Although not elected because
his party was in the minority at that time, yet he ran far
ahead of his ticket.
Because of his accomplishments out in the work-a-day
world, Judge Watson was selected as one of the chapel
speakers who addressed the students in chapel, one each
week during the Centennial year at McKendree. At a meet-
ing of the Board of Trustees and Visitors in September,
1927, the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws was bestowed
upon Judge Watson, and it should be stated that this honor
came to him unsolicited and without his knowledge. It was
therefore the spontaneous recognition of true merit and
service.
THE CLASS OF 1877
EDWIN L. ASH
Edwin Linder Ash was born on a farm at Turkey Hill,
in St. Clair County, Illinois, October 9, 1857. He was a son
of John P. and Sabina Ash, who were both native Amer-
icans. When their sons were of suitable age, they moved
to Lebanon to give them a better opportunity to secure
college training. Edwin L. entered college in March, 1874
and graduated in June, 1877, receiving the degree of B. S.,
and later, M. S. He was a member of the Platonian Literary
Society. He spent the greater part of the twenty years fol-
lowing his graduation in the west. He died at Ogden, Utah,
January 21, 1897, leaving a widow, but no children.
STEPHEN M. BAILEY
Stephen Milburn Bailey was born near Lebanon, Illinois,
November 26, 1857. His parents, Stephen and Mary Bailey,
were both natives of the state of Delaware, and both died
in Lebanon at a very advanced age. Mr. Bailey entered Mc-
Kendree m the fall of 1872, and having completed the scien-
tific course, received the degree of Bachelor of Science in
1877. Later he entered the University of Michigan and
graduated from that institution m 1880, with the degree of
LL. B. While in McKendree he was a member of the Pla-
tonian Literary Society. He was married November 26,
1885, to Miss Louisa K. Gerne, of Lebanon. They have
two children, Leon and Irene Bailey. After completing his
education, Mr. Bailey went west and located in Fairbury,
Nebraska. There for many years he has been engaged in the
gram, coal, and stock business. He was a Democratic pres-
idential elector in 1904 and 1912; mayor of Fairbury four
terms; county treasurer four terms; and a banker for many
years. He has been Chaplain of the Blue Lodge; Commander
and Shriner of Masonry; a member of the Order of Elks,
Knights of Pythias, and the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows.
MRS. IDA BLANCK BAKER
Ida Belle Blanck was born in Lebanon, Illinois, August
15, 1858. Her parents were Charles and Jennie (Cape)
Blanck, the former being of German and the latter of Amer-
ican ancestry. She became a student in McKendree in 1873
and graduated in the class of 1877, with the degree of A.
B., later receiving A. M. She was a member of the Clionian
Literary Society. While a student, she won the "Citizen's
Prize" in June, 1875, as the best reader. She is a member
of Grace Methodist Episcopal Church in Chicago. She was
married August 3, 1878, to Hon. James D. Baker, then of
Lebanon, Illinois. They resided for many years in Chicago,
where Mr. Baker died some years ago. Mrs. Baker still has
her permanent home in that city.
ATKINS H. CARTER
Atkins Harrison Carter was born at Butler, Choctaw
County, Alabama, January 18, 1853. His parents were Joel
D. and Amelia S. Carter, who were both of pure English
stock. He became a student in McKendree in September,
1873 and graduated in June, 1877, with the degree of B. S.
later receiving the degree of M. S. He was a member of the
Platonian Literary Society. He studied law at the Union
College of Law in Chicago and received the degree of LL.
B. in 1 88 1. He has not devoted all his time to the law since
then, but for twenty-four years has been principal of the
public school in Fort Smith, Arkansas. He is a member of
the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. He was married
December 25, 1883, to Miss Mattie E. Liggett, of Oswego,
Kansas. They have no children.
Two Hundred and FortyHii
__^^^^^^^^^^#MC KENDREE
MRS. ANNIE CUNNINGHAM PEARN
Annie Cunningham was born at Lebanon, February iS,
1857. She is the daughter of Dr. Richard F. and Mary
(Risky) Cunningham. Her father was a member of Mc-
Kendree's first graduating class. She entered McKendree in
1872 and graduated in the class of 1877. She delivered the
salutatory in Greek as her part of the graduating exercises.
While in McKendree she was a member of Clio, and she
belongs to the Methodist Church. She was married at Leb
anon, March 30, 1880, to John Grigg Pearn, of Beardstown ,
Illinois. For many years their home has been at Ashland,
Illinois.
MINERVA E. LANE
Minerva Ellen Lane was born at Marshall, Illinois, in
1859. She is a daughter of Rev. Joseph Lane, who was a
member of the Illinois Conference of the Methodist Epis-
copal Church. Her mother's maiden name was Hannah A.
Piggott. Her father was especially active in the pastoral phase
of church work and was particularly successful in clearing
up church debts as well as misunderstandings among the
members. The mother was active in the missionary work as
well as an ardent student of general literature and the Bible.
She believed heartily in education, and when she was left
a widow with two children, George and Minerva, she made
it the ambition of her life to give them a good education.
She came to Lebanon where they both attended McKendree.
The brother pursued the course as far as the senior year
when he dropped the college work and took up the study
of law. He afterwards became a successful lawyer. Minerva
finished the college course, graduating in the class of 1877
with the degree of A. B., and in 1880 received the degree
of A. M. She was a member of the Clionian Literary Society
and was noted for the efficiency with which she filled the
office of treasurer. After her graduation she taught school
for a time at Elsah, Illinois. She then accepted a position as
book-keeper for an implement firm in St. Louis, and then
was employed for some time by a real estate company. For
many years she has been secretary of Forest Park University,
a young ladies" school of St. Louis. In this position she is the
efficient assistant of the president and does much field work
in securing students for the institution. She is a woman of
much ability in this line of work. Some years ago she com-
pleted the course of the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific
Circle. She is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
REV. EDWIN G. LOCKE, D. D.
Edwin Garretson Locke was born at Brookville, Indiana,
February 9, 1857. He was the younger son of John W. and
Matilda Locke. His father was many years a member of the
DR. E. G. LOCKE
Southern Illinois Conference
and for four years president of
McKendree College. He en-
tered McKendree in the fall
of 1874 and graduated in the
class of 1877, while his father
was president of the college.
In 1896, Taylor University
honored him with the degree
of D. D. While in McKendree,
he was a member of the Philos-
ophian Society. After his grad-
uation, he taught school for
three years, two in Illinois and
one in Holly Springs, Mississippi, and studied law in the
office of Hon. Charles W. Thomas, of Belleville, during the
vacations. He then changed his plan, and yielding to the call
to the ministry, he joined the Kansas Conference in 1881.
During his ministerial career he held some of the important
charges of his conference, both in Kansas City and Topeka.
He also served as presiding elder of the Topeka District. He
served for twenty years as secretary of his conference and twice
represented it in the General Conference. In the general con-
ferences of 1896 and 1900 he was associate editor of the
Daily Christian Advocate. In 1916 he was secretary of the
General Conference. Dr. Locke was twice married. Paul,
the only child of his first marriage, died in infancy. His sec'
ond marriage was to Miss Mary A. Myers, of Jefferson ville,
Indiana. The children of this marriage are John M., who
died in youth, and two daughters, Rachel, and Ruth Joan.
Dr. Locke was a forceful and attractive public speaker and
did much work in this line for the church and other good
causes outside of the regular work of the ministry. His death
occurred June 14, 1918.
MRS. ELLA SARGENT WAGGONER
Ella Lovell Sargent was born August 10, 1857, at Lebanon,
Illinois. Her parents were John L. and Abigail (Danforth)
Sargent, who were of English ancestry. She entered Mc-
Kendree in 1872 and graduated in 1877, receiving the degree
of A. B., and later, A. M. She was a member of the Clionian
Literary Society. She was married July 3, i88j, to Prof. E.
B. Waggoner, of McKendree College. To them were born
four children: Carrie, Roy, Mabel, and Lottie. They were
all students in McKendree. Carrie died in California some
years after her marriage. The others live in Illinois, except
Lottie, who was a trained nurse in St. Louis, and later in
Oklahoma. She was married to Mr. Whitlatch. Her death
Two Hundred and Fifty
occurred a few years later as the result of a surgical oper.i-
tion. Mrs. Waggoner was a member of the Methodist
Church. She was a good home-maker and a faithful mother
to her children. She died after a short illness at her home
in Lebanon, February i8, i8q2.
THE CLASS OF 1878
JOHN F. ASH
John Fremont Ash was born in the Turkey Hill settle-
ment, in St. Clair County, Illinois, September 29, 18';';. He
was a son of John P. and Sabina Ash, who were both Amer-
icans. When their sons were of suitable age they moved to
Lebanon to give them an opportunity to secure a college
education. John F. became a student in McKendree in 187J
and graduated in June, 1878, receiving the degree of A. B.
At the same time he also received the degree of LL. B. and
was admitted to the bar for the practice of law the same
year. He was the salutatorian of his class and won a prize
m an essay contest. He was a member of the Platonian
Society. He was a Democrat in politics. He went west and
located in Denver, Colorado, where he died August ji, 1805.
WILLIAM J. BADLEY
William Johnson Badley was born at Upper Alton, Illi-
nois, May 26, 1852. He became a student m McKendree m
1875 and graduated in the class of 1878, receiving the degree
of A. B. He was a member of the Platonian Society. At
the time he was attending McKendree, his father was a
farmer living near Summerfield. He left college intending to
follow the profession of a druggist. He went to Mariana,
Arkansas, where he was married to Miss Lena Wright, De-
cember 15, 1879. He died at that place March 13, 1880, as
the result of a severe attack of pneumonia. He was a Metho-
dist m religion and a Democrat in politics.
GEORGE L. BROWN
George Luther Brown was born at Lebanon, Illinois, April
20, 1858. His father, Luther Brown, was a native of Ver-
mont, of English ancestry. His mother, Caroline E. Baldwin,
was a native of New York and of Scotch descent. George
grew up in Lebanon, attended the public school, and entered
McKendree in 1874. He graduated in 1878 with the degree
of B. S., and later received that of M. S. He was a member
of the Philosophian Literary Society. After graduation, he
was engaged in general merchandise for eight years in New-
ton, Illinois and at Lebanon. In 1886 he went to Arkansas
City, Kansas and engaged in insurance and real-estate busi-
ness. The following year he moved his family to that city,
which has been his home up to the present time. In 1896
he became the president and general manager of the Brown
Investment Company with headquarters at Arkansas City.
This company is still doing a flourishing business. In 1907,
Mr. Brown was elected mayor of Arkansas City. He served
one term and declined to be a candidate for a second, since
he did not find political life agreeable. He was married Sep-
tember 14, 1881, to Miss Iva Lee Wise, of Lebanon, who
was one of his classmates at McKendree. They have three
sons and two daughters, all now living.
AUGUSTINE P. CARTER
Augustine Peck Carter was born at Beardstown, Illinois,
February 22, 18^^. He was the son of Thomas H. and Marcia
(Peck) Carter. He graduated from McKendree m the class
of 1878, receiving the degree of B. S., and later, M. S. He
was a member of the Philosophian Society. He was married
July 20, 1882, to Miss Frances Henderson. They have one
child. Miss Marcia Peck Carter. He spent his life as a railroad
man. He was first employed as a clerk in the Division Super-
intendent's office of the St. Louis Division of the Chicago,
Burlington, and Qumcy. He served m various capacities
during his lifetime in the employ of the Lake Shore and
Michigan Southern and the Great Northern Railway. When
death came Nov. 20, 1903,, he was General Adjuster and
Claim Agent tor the Norfolk and Western Railway at Roa-
noke, Virginia. He was a member of no church or lodge.
His widow, Mrs. Frances Henderson Carter, lives m New
York City. She suggests the following quotation as suitably
characterizing her late husband :
"His life was gentle, and the elements so mixed m him
that nature might stand up and say to all the world, 'This
was a man'!"
EDWARD A. DENEEN
Edward Ashley Deneen was born March 10, 1861, at
Lebanon, Illinois. He was the eldest son of Professor Samuel
H. and Mary F. (Ashley) Deneen. He became a student in
the Preparatory Department of the college in 1872, and
continued in school until he completed the classical course
in 1878 and received the degree of A. B. He was the vale-
dictorian of his class. He was a member of the Platonian
Literary Society and voted with the Republican party. In
May, 1881, he entered the United States Mail Service as
postal clerk, but on account of failing health he resigned
this position March ji, 1882. He died of consumption Feb-
ruary 12, i88j.
REV. FRANK W. DOWNS
Frank Washington Downs was born m the state of Ohio,
February 9, 1853. He became a student in McKendree in
the early seventies and graduated in the class of 1878, re-
Two Hundred and FiftyOne
^ftMC KENDREE^^^^^:^^^,...^;,.^^
ceiving the degree of A. B. He was a member of the Pl.i-
tonian Society. He was an enthusiastic young orator, and
represented McKendree in the state oratorical contest held
in Monmouth in 1877. He was also the "Flag Orator" at
McKendree in 1876. He entered the ministry of the Meth-
odist Church and spent the best years of his life in that
branch of service, working chiefly in the far west. He was
located for a number of years in San Diego, California. He
was married September 17, 1885, to Miss Elinor Lemen, of
Collinsville, Illinois. They have one son, Robert F. Downs.
ROLAND H. HORNER
Roland Henry Horner was born at Lebanon, Illinois, Sep-
tember II, 1858. His parents were Henry Hypes Horner,
who was a native of Lebanon, Illinois, and Helen (Danforth)
Horner, who was descended from some of the "Mayflower
immigrants."' He entered McKendree in 1874 and graduated
in 1878, receiving the degree of A. B. Later he received the
degree of Master of Arts. While in McKendree he was a
member of the Philosophian Literary Society. He also studied
law and was admitted to the bar in Illinois. He was married
in 1884 to Miss Louise Sauter. They have two daughters,
Ethel and Helen, who are graduates of McKendree; and
four sons, two of whom have been students in McKendree.
Mr. Horner was employed two years on the surveying corps
of the Union Pacific Railroad, several years as superintendent
of gold and silver mines in New Mexico; was also mine
superintendent in Georgia. Since 1894 he has been a lawyer
in Lebanon. He has held the office of city attorney and
mayor of Lebanon. He has also been justice of the peace in
Lebanon for many years.
KATE C. LIGGETT
Kate Clara Liggett was born at Lebanon, Illinois, May
29, 1854. Her father was William C. Liggett, of St. Louis,
who was of Scotch-Irish descent, and her mother was Ellen
O. (Whitney) Liggett, a native of Vermont and of English
ancestry. She entered McKendree in the fall of 187'i and
graduated in June, 1878, receiving the degree of B. S. She
afterward received the degree of M. S. She was a member
of the Clionian Literary Society. She is a member of the
Methodist Episcopal Church.
GEORGE W. LOCKE
George William Locke was born in April, 1852. He was
the older son of Rev. John W. and Matilda Locke. His boy-
hood was spent largely at Greencastle, Indiana, where his
father was professor of Mathematics in De Pauw University.
In 1874 the father became president of McKendree and his
sons became students in the institution. George W, grad-
uated from the Law Department in 1878, receiving the de*
gree of LL. B. He was employed as a teacher for some years
and spent a few years as a member of a surveying company
in Indian Territory. He then engaged in the real estate busi-
ness in East St. Louis for a number of years, and later followed
the same business in St. Louis. He was married to Miss
Fannie Parker and had one daughter, Mrs. David R. Smith,
of St. Louis. He suffered a paralytic stroke in 1896, from
which he never entirely recovered. His death occurred in
St. Louis, in June, 1918. He lies buried in College Hill Cem-
etery, at Lebanon.
HON. CICERO J. LINDLY
Cicero Jefferson Lindly was born near St. Jacob, Madison
County, Illinois, December 11, 1857, ^^'^ '^i^'l ^^ his home
in Greenville in September, 1926. He entered McKendree
in the early seventies and would have graduated in the class
of 1877, but having decided to turn his attention to the
law, he dropped his regular college course to give his time to
the law course. He then finished in the class of 1878, receiv-
ing the degree of LL. B. He was a member of Philo. He was
married December 22, 1880, to Miss Alice J. McNeil, of
Greenville. Their three children are all deceased. The death
of his son when a lad of a dozen years or so was especially
sad. He accompanied his father on a trip to Colorado, and
there sickened and died. In 1880 Mr. Lindly purchased a
section of land near Greenville, where he lived till 1900,
when he moved into the city of Greenville and resided
there for the remainder of his life. He was prominent in
various political circles. He was a presidential elector in
1884, casting his vote for Blaine and Logan. He was a del-
egate to the National Republican Convention in Chicago
in 1888. In 1890 he was a candidate for Congress, but was
defeated by a small majority. In 1891 he received the entire
Republican vote of the Illinois Legislature for United States
Senator, but Former-Governor John M. Palmer was elected
by a majority of only three votes. In 1897 he was appointed
Chairman of the Railroad and Warehouse Commission by .
Governor Tanner. In 190J he was elected to the Illinois
Legislature and served six years. In 1913 he was appointed
Master in Chancery of Bond County. He was a member of
the Christian Church, a thirty-second degree Mason, a
Knight Templar, a Shriner, an Odd Fellow, an Elk, a Knight
of Pythias, and a Modern Woodman.
MRS. SARAH MILLS PRIBBLE
Sarah Marguerite Mills was born at New Albany, Indi-
ana, May 10, 1857, and died at Lebanon, Illinois, June 21,
1897. She was a daughter of Robert and Sarah (Norvell)
Fifty-Two
MC KENDREE
Mills, who were both native Americans. She entered Mc-
Kendree in 1872 and graduated m 1878, receiving the degree
of B. S. Later she was granted the degree of M. S. For
twelve years after her graduation she was a teacher, and
organized a literary society and a Sabbath School m the
neighborhood where she taught. In August, i8qo, she was
married to Thomas J. Pribble. They had three children,
Clark, Arlie, and Grace. She was a member of the Presby-
terian Church and was a faithful worker m every line of
endeavor which she undertook.
MRS. ADDIE MOORE SAGER
Addle Viola Moore was born in Lebanon, Illinois, Sep-
tember 21, 1859. She was a daughter of Thomas and Mary
(Nichols) Moore, and was a grand-daughter of one of the
founders of McKendree. She graduated in the class of 1878
with the degree of B. S. She was a member of Clio. She was
married September 21, 1881, to Charles E. Sager, of Lebanon.
They spent most of their lives in St. Louis where Mr. Sager
was m business, though for a few years of their later life they
lived in Lebanon, while Mr. Sager was a partner in the hard-
ware business which was established by his father in an early
day. Their son, Roy, was a student in McKendree. Mrs.
Sager died in October, 1923 and was buried in College Hill
Cemetery. She was a member ot the Methodist Church and
of the "Daughters of the American Revolution."
MRS. HATTIE MORRISON MILNOR
Hattie Alicia Morrison was born at Carmi, Illinois, April
12, 1856. Her parents were Rev. A. B. Morrison, a native
of Ohio, and formerly a member of the Southern Illinois
Conference but later of the Southern California Conference.
Her mother, Charlotte Milner, a native of Ireland, died in
1892, at Santa Monica, Calif. She entered McKendree in
the fall of 1874 and graduated in June, 1878, receiving the
degree of B. S., and three years later, M. S. She was a member
ot the Clionian Literary Society and held the oiBce of pres-
ident of that organization. After her graduation she taught
school for five years, holding positions at Anna, Cobden,
and Litchfield. She was married April 2, 1884, to Mr. M.
M. Milnor, a druggist of Litchfield, Illinois, and her home
has been in that city ever since. She is an active worker in
the Order of the Eastern Star and for two years served as
Worthy Matron of that order in Lavonne Chapter No. 5'i,
located at Litchfield.
ALLAN D. METCALFE
Allan Deneen Metcalfe was born at Edwardsville, Illinois,
October 17, 1859, and died in the year 1902. He was the
son of Hon. Andrew W. Metcalfe, and his wife, Sarah
Deneen Metcalfe. After receiving training in the public
schools, he entered McKendree College and graduated 111
the class of 1878, receiving the degree of B. S. He was a
member of the Philosophian Literary Society. Later he grad-
uated from the Chicago Law School and was admitted to
the bar in 1882. He practiced law m Edwardsville. He was
married m January, 1885, to Miss Lillie Wheeler, of Edwards-
ville. Their children are Donald W., Margaret, and Jessie,
all of whom are now living.
MRS- JULIA NICHOLS GOFORTH
Julia Belle Nichols was born at Lebanon, December 19,
1857, 'i'""^ died in St. Louis, Mo., September ix, 191 1. She
was a daughter of William and Caroline Nichols, both of
whom were natives of Kentucky. She grew up in Lebanon,
was educated in the public schools and McKendree College,
where she graduated in the class of 1878, receiving the de-
gree of B. S. She was married to Walter C. Goforth, of the
class of 1876, October 3, 1883. They lived for many years
in St. Paul, Minnesota, and later in St. Louis. She preceded
her husband to the grave by lust one month. They left
no children.
OSCAR L. PARKINSON
Oscar Louis Parkinson was born at Highland, Illinois,
December 24, 1856. He is the son of Alfred J. and Mary E.
(Baldwin) Parkinson, of whom the former was born in Ten-
nessee and the latter in the state of New York. He entered
McKendree in the early seventies and graduated in the class
of 1878, receiving the degree of B. S. He was a member of
the Platonian Literary Society. He was married December
2, 188';, to Miss Virginia Parkinson, of Mineral Point, Wis-
consin. They have two children, Florence A, and Donald
L. He lived in Kansas for a time, but in recent years has
resided at Harrison, Arkansas, which is his present home.
He has been engaged in farming, the hardware business, and
real estate business. He and his son are proprietors of the
"Pine Hill Dairy Farm," where they raise thoroughbred
Jersey cattle and Duroc Jersey hogs. He is a member and
a prominent worker in the Methodist Church, in which he
has served as trustee, class leader, and Sunday School
superintendent. For years he has been a radical Prohibi-
tionist.
JUDGE FRANK PERRIN
Frank Perrin was born near Mascoutah, in St. Clair Coun-
ty, Illinois, September 10, 1858. His parents were Frank and
Catherine Perrin, who were of French descent. He entered
McKendree in the fall of 1874 and completed his course in
1878, receiving the degree of B. S. He then pursued his law
course in McKendree and received the degree of LL. B. in
Two Hwidred and FtftyThrcc
i88o. From that time on he devoted his whole hfe to the
profession of law. He practiced law in Mascoutah for many
years, and was for fourteen years city attorney in that
place. Other positions which he held might be mentioned
as follows: ten years a member of the C!ounty Board of St.
Clair County; two years assistant State's Attorney; four
years county judge in Belleville; and for the remainder ot
his life, probate judge. He had but a few months to serve
to complete another term at the time of his death in 1Q26.
He was a reliable and faithful public officer in every position
he held. He was first married to Miss Amelia Letherbury,
and after her death, to Miss Ida Ludwig. As a result of the
first marriage, he had two sons and one daughter. By the
last marriage, he had one son. For many years he lived in
the city of Belleville, and as long as he filled his last public
position he was ex-officio custodian of the museum of the
St. Clair County Historical Society.
RICHARD THATCHER
Richard Thatcher was born near Mt. Pleasant, Illinois,
March 23, 1846. His parents were Rev. John and Virginia
(Bolls) Thatcher. His father was a member of the Southern
Illinois Conference. When he was in his sixteenth year, he
entered the Union army as a drummer boy in the iiith Reg-
iment of Illinois Volunteers. At the close of the war he was
presented with a drum by the officers of the regiment in
recognition of his faithful service. Before the Battle of At-
lanta, he was taken prisoner and confined for two months
in Andersonville prison. From the effects of this experience
he never fully recovered. While in prison he became a friend
of Boston Corbett, the slayer of John Wilkes Booth. In 1866
he entered McKendree, but after one year he left college
to engage in teaching. Later, he returned and completed the
course, graduating in 1878 with the degree of B. S. Later, he
received the M. S. He was a member of the Philosophi.in
Literary Society. After graduation he was engaged in high
school work for some years in the state of Kansas, also for
a time, in newspaper work. In 189J he was elected president
of the new "Central State Normal School," at Edmond,
Oklahoma. Here he taught for sixteen years, until failing
health compelled him to give up the work in 1909. He was
married in September, 1869, to Melissa D. Deford, of Ashley,
Illinois. Of their five children, the oldest, a son, died in
infancy. Their daughters, Edna, May, Blanche, and Ethel,
are all married and living in the west. He died November
28, 1909. He was reared a Methodist, and for some time
was a preacher in the Southern Illinois Conference, but on
account of throat trouble, was compelled to abandon the
work. Loiter in lite he was a Presbyterian as a matter of
convenience. In 191 1, a bronze bust of him was placed in
the school where he taught so long, bearing this inscription:
"Dedicated to the memory of Richard Thatcher, by his
friends, fellow-teachers, and pupils; his brethren of the Ma-
sonic Order and G. A. R., and his co-workers in the church."
PROF. HENRY D. WALKER
Henry Dew Walker was born in Illinois, February 2, 1849,
and died at Olathe, Kansas, February 3, 1909. He was a son
of the Rev. Samuel Walker, who was for many years a mem-
ber of the Southern Illinois Conference. At the age of twen-
ty, he entered McKendree and became a member of the
Philosophian Literary Society. After being out of school at
intervals in order to earn expense money, he graduated in
the class of 1878, receiving the degree of B. S. He was en-
gaged in teaching nearly all his life in several different Hnes.
For a number of years before his death he was in charge of
the Deaf and Dumb Asylum at Olathe, Kansas. At his death
he left a widow, who now resides in Pasadena, California.
WILLIAM C. WATKINS
William Clement Watkins, son of J. R. and Margaret
Watkins, was born at Antrim, Ohio, May 10, 1856, and
died at Fairfield, Illinois, May 21, 1891. While a student in
McKendree, he was a member of the Platonian Literary So-
ciety. He graduated from McKendree in the class of 1878,
receiving the degree of A. B., and later, A. M. He was a
brother of Rev. Thomas C. Watkins, of the class of 1875.
In October, 1880, he was married to Miss Lou Hall, of Huey,
Illinois. To them were born two children, Charles and Clara.
The former is married and lives in Los Angeles, California.
The latter is now Mrs. Clayton Hale, and also lives in
California. Mr. Watkins" occupation was the real estate
business, in which he was engaged for a number of years
at Fairfield, Illinois. He was a member of the Methodist
Church and of the Odd Fellows Lodge.
MRS. IVA WISE BROWN
Iva Lee Wise, a daughter of Adam H. and Julia A Wise,
was born at Lebanon, Illinois, June 9, i860. Her youth was
spent in her native town and she became a student in Mc-
Kendree in 1874. She graduated in the class of 1878 with
the degree of B. S. She was a member of Clio. She was
married September 14, 1881, to George L. Brown, of Leb-
anon, who was a member of the same graduating class. They
have three sons and two daughters, all living. Their residence
was at Newton, Illinois and Lebanon until 1887, when they
moved to Arkansas City, Kansas, where they have lived
ever since. She is a member of the Methodist Church.
Two Huticired and F\jty-Four
^MC KENDREE"^^^^^^:^;^.^,;.^^.^^
CHAPTER XX.
College Papers in hicKendree
'he first college paper published at McKendree was
known as '"The Lebanon Journal." As early as 1836
It was proposed in the Illinois Conference that a
semimonthly paper be published at the college, that would
serve both as a college paper and a conference paper. The
members of the conference pledged themselves to act as
agents for the paper but not to be financially responsible
for It. However, this proposal was not carried out until
1847, when Rev. Erastus Wentworth was president of the
college. At the annual meeting of the Board in 1847, legis-
lation was passed authorizing the college to publish a semi-
monthly paper, beginning with the first week of November.
As a matter of fact the first issue was dated December 9^
1847. The delay was on account of securing the means nec-
essary to start the enterprise. The explanation given by the
publication committee in the first issue was that they had
to build a printing office and procure a press, type, fixtures
and other equipment. For the means of securing all these
things they were entirely dependent on the donations of
friends of the enterprise. The announcement says, "We now
have a good office, pre.ss, and new type." It ought to be
stated that for the labor of erecting the office building thev
were chiefly indebted to Rev. G. W. Robbins, then presid-
ing elder of the Lebanon District, and who was a carpenter
before he became a preacher. The Journal was not a student
publication, as were most of the later papers issued at Mc-
Kendree, but was edited by the faculty, and published by
the Joint Board through a committee appointed for the pur-
pose. Only the printer was a student. His name was Thomas
G. Weeden. He was a practical printer, having served his
apprenticeship in the employ of the Garrollton Gazette, in
Green County, Illinois. At McKendree he divided his time
between the paper and his college studies. His work was
creditable tn both lines.
The editor-in-chief was Dr. Wentworth, president of the
college, with all the rest of the faculty as his assistants.
However, after the first issue, the president's many duties
took him away from home so much that the editorial work
was mostly done by other members of the faculty. The
assistants whose names appear with Dr. Wentworth's in
the first issue, were Professors Cummmgs, Mattison, Good-
fellow and Goheen. It appears that the editorial responsi-
bilities fell chiefly upon Professor Cummings during the re-
mainder of Dr. Wentworth's term and after Dr. Cummings
became president. Professor James Leaton did the most of
the editorial work. After carefully looking through the twen-
ty-six numbers which constitute volume one of the Lebanon
Journal, one is led to the conclusion that it is not only a
college paper but a church and family paper as well. It is a
folio sheet with four pages, twelve by eighteen inches, care-
fully edited, and containing not only church news but articles
of a literary and scientific nature, such as you might expect
to find m a good magazine, and would be interesting not
only to college students but also to intelligent people m
general. The editor's salutatory m the first number contains
the following: "If it be asked by what authority we assume
the responsible office of conductor of a public print, be it
known that among the multiplied ex-officio relations of our
present position (President of McKendree College) some
prying genius has discovered that of editor, or rather chair-
man of a corps of editors, of the Lebanon Journal. ******
The Journal will be devoted to local news, general mtelli'
gence, literature, science, moraUty and religion. If we shall
succeed in our present intent of gathering up and condensing
for our little sheet, a suitable variety of entertaining and
useful matter for the pleasure and profit of our readers, we
shall not only congratulate ourselves upon our success, but
shall feel that without boasting we may apply to our sheet
the lines of one of the old poets,
'The bee is little among such as fly.
But her fruit is the chief of sweet things'."
From the publishers' address we quote the following:
"The Lebanon Journal will be published semi-monthly at
the rate of one dollar per annum, in advance, or one dollar
and twenty-five cents if not paid till the expiration of six
months.* * * * * * No labor will be spared to make it a
good family paper and an efficient .luxiliary m the promotion
of useful intelligence, science, literature, sound morality, and
pure religion. It will eschew the ultraism of the day, party
in politics, and bigotry in religion."
There is a brief description of Lebanon under the caption,
"Our Village." There is reference to its location and climate;
then the statement that "the high road from Vincennes to
the principal commercial mart of the far west passes directly
through the place. The amount of daily travel usually sur-
passes the estimate of those who have not witnessed the
hourly passage of teams of every description wending their
way to market, to swell the business of the capital of the
Two Hundred and F./tv-Fiie
^#MC KENDREE''^^^^^:^^^..^.^^,..-^
Great Valley. This will one day he the route of railroad
communication between Cincinnati and St. Louis. The tele-
graph line already passes along our principal thoroughfare.
Some four hundred people inhabiting the rolling ridge which
bears the popular name of the ancient land of cedars, deem
themselves particularly fortunate. For a place of its size ours
does its share of the country's business. In addition to its
stores and machine shops, it has a steam flour mill and
a site has been selected for the erection of a steam saw mill.
Living is cheap, the climate healthy, and work abundant.
What more can any people wish, with the blessing of Provi-
dence, to make them wealthy and happy?"
Belleville is referred to as "a thrifty village, destined to
become a city." It had at that time three thousand inhab-
itants, of whom one-half were German. Chicago had a pop-
ulation of twenty thousand and St. Louis had sixty thousand.
So that at the middle of the last century, St. Louis was three
times as large as Chicago, while now the ratio of the two
cities is just the reverse. Illinois had just ratified her new
constitution. It was stated that a justice of the peace in
Pike County was opposed to the new constitution because
he had sworn to support the old one when he entered upon
the duties of his office. The paper philosophizes upon political
situations and announces candidates, but does not side with
any particular party. Questions of church policy are discussed
and even the opinion of a Methodist bishop is boldly and
freely controverted. An item entitled, "Literary Societies of
McKendree College" s.iys, "The Philosophian has been re-
suscitated and a new one created with the name 'McKendree
College Lyceum.' Both are in a flourishing condition."
There is a column of college news which tells, .unong
other things, that the Wesleyan University at that time
had one hundred and nineteen students, under the direc-
tion of a president, four professors and two tutors. Dick-
inson had a student body of one hundred and seventy-five
and a faculty of eleven.
Professor Stoddard of Middlebury College (Vermont) had
resigned his position on account of ill health. Indiana As-
bury University expected more of its teachers than Dick-
inson for it had two hundred and thirty-seven students in
charge of five professors.
Nearly two columns of the paper are devoted to adver-
tisements. Among them is one for the college. An announce-
ment signed by E. Wentworth, president, states that "The
next quarter of McKendree College will begin Wednesday,
December 2j. For terms see advertisement." It seems a little
strange to us of the present day that the new quarter should
begin just two days before Christmas. In these times it
would be impracticable to get the students to begin any-
thing but a hohday so near the great international festival.
The advertisement states that the fees are to be paid in
advance. For the quarter of twelve weeks, the fees were:
Tuition, $6.00; Room rent, $i2.')0: Library fee, twenty-five
cents; Contingent fee, sixty-two and a half cents. No de-
duction or refund in any of these except in case of sickness.
Board in the Commons, $1.25 a week. Students furnish their
own fuel and lights at about twelve and a half cents per
week for each; and all room furniture except stoves. Indi-
viduals board themselves at about fifty or seventy-five cents
per week. Books furnished at less than St. Louis retail prices.
There was also a "Funny Column" from which we quote
two samples:
"ShaJ^espeare Modernized — As two loafers, sitting m
front of a ten pm alley, were exchanging hopes and
sympathies, one drew his wallet from his pocket and
said, 'He who steals my purse steals trash.' "Yes,' replied
the other, 'and he who filches from you your good name,
takes from you what you never had'. "
"'Curious Excise Entry — Alexander Gun, an officer in
Scotland, being dismissed from employment for making an
error in his returns, an entry was made in a book kept
for that purpose, as follows: 'A gun, discharged for
making a false report'."
It gives news, local, national, and international. The editor
comments on the fact that a telegraph line is being construct-
ed from the east to St. Louis, and right thru Lebanon, but
regrets the fact that his town cannot afford a station on the
line, but news going over the wires must go through to St.
Louis and then back to Lebanon by stage coach. But he
consoles himself with the prediction that it will not be many
years till there will be a railroad to St. Louis. He also refers
to and most heartily approves the construction of macadam
roads between Belleville and St. Louis, and part way between
Belleville and Lebanon. The paper also contained announce'
ment of steamship sailings and arrivals at the Atlantic sea-
board; congressional news; an article in the scientific column
on the theory of hailstones; an account of a railroad meeting,
held for the purpose of trying to induce the Ohio and Miss-
issippi Railroad Company to build their proposed railroad
through the town of Lebanon, which they eventually did,
or at least near it; funerals and weddings thruout the terri-
tory, and in case of a wedding, sometimes an acknowledg-
ment that cake had been received by the editor; accounts
of temperance meetings and Sunday School conventions and
Two Hundred and F.ftv-S:
MC KENDREE
camp meetings; a warning to be prepared for a cholera epi-
demic ; a discussion of the new republic in South Africa •
the story of an encounter with an alligator in South Carolina ;
an anecdote of Dr. Chalmers; arguments on the importance
of Sabbath observance; and many other things, similar and
dissimilar. It gives a much fuller account of the session of
the Illinois Conference, held in Belleville in September, 1848,
than can be found in the conference minutes. It was presided
over by Bishop Morris. It began on Thursday and continued
till a week from the following Friday and the appointments
were read late that night. So that it lasted fully nine days.
The appointments are published for the eight districts of
the Illinois Conference; also for the four districts of the
German Missions, and the three districts of the Missouri
Conference.
Peter Akers was appointed presiding elder of the Qumcy
District, Peter Cartwnght of the Springfield District, and
Colin D. James of the Lebanon District. The last named was
the son-in-law of Dr. A. W. Casad, of Lebanon, and the
father of Dr. Edmund J. James, late president of the Uni-
versity of Illinois. Dr. Casad was a long time resident of
Lebanon and one of the founders of McKendree. His pro-
fessional card as a physician is found in the advertisement
column of the "Journal." The pastor appointed to Lebanon
was Rev. William ClifFe, with Daniel Fairbank as his assist-
ant. Four men were appointed to McKendree College, name-
ly: Erastus Wentworth, president, and Anson W. Cum-
mings, Spencer Mattison, and William Goodfellow, pro-
fessors. The other member of the faculty at that time, Dr.
S. M. E. Goheen, was a physician instead of a preacher and
not a member of the conference. The next issue of the paper
gave the reports in full of the various conference committees,
and a two and a half column account of the bishop's sermon.
In one issue is a long article discussing, "Objections to Sus-
taining Colleges." It sets forth that some have objected to
making contributions to McKendree on the ground that it
"was established for the education of rich men's sons." A
bit of statistical information is found, that there are thirty
thousand clergymen of all denominations in the United
States at that time, which was doubtless interesting to many
readers, since it was before the day of the "World's Al-
manac." There are biographical sketches of some of the early
Methodist pioneers, letters of Peter Cartwright, and sto ries
of Jesse Walker. There is a vigorous article on the subj ect
of fencing, cleaning up, and beautifying College Hill Cem-
etery; and a suggestion that like treatment ought to be
given Shiloh Cemetery.
One issue contains the story of a Frenchman who was
exhibiting some sacred relics to wondering tourists. Among
other things, he showed a sword which he claimed was
"the sword which Balaam had when he would have slain
the ass." A spectator remarked that Balaam did not have
any sword on that occasion, but merely wished for one.
"Very well," replied the Frenchman, "this is the one he
wished for." That Frenchman must have many direct de-
scendants in the European countries today.
One article quotes from the Northern Christian Advocate .
That paper, giving a review of the Illinois Conference min -
utes, calls attention to the preachers' salaries m Illinois,
stating that the largest salary received m that conference
was three hundred and forty-four dollars, by Dr. Akers.
The others ranged from one hundred to two hundred and
fifty. "The Northern" concluded with the remark that "The
preachers of Illinois are not likely to become rich, though
they live m a rich country." "The Journal" points out that
the minutes only report cash payments and take no account
of other items received by the preachers, such as donations
for the table, house rent, fuel, horse feed, etc., and concludes
with the statement that "Illinois preachers are as well sup-
ported, if all Items are considered, as the average of those in
the east. Though it is rare for a Methodist preacher to get
rich, it IS equally rare for a faithful and efficient laborer
to Starve."
From occasional references to that point, we conclude
that "The Journal" had about one thousand subscribers;
but many of these did not pay promptly and some not at
all. It was issued continuously from the college press for
five years. But by 1852 its debts had accumulated to a point
where they were embarrassing. So the Board of Trustees
decided to abandon the publication of a paper. During its
later years, it had changed its title somewhat and was called
"The Illinois Advocate and Journal." This indicated that
It was becoming more of a church paper, and the leaders
of the Illinois and Missouri Conferences felt that it was
needed in their work. Therefore, retaining so much as pos-
sible of the subscription list, the printing office was closed
in Lebanon, and another opened in St. Louis, and the paper
was moved to that city under the name "Central Christian
Advocate." The General Conference of 1852, held in Boston,
failed to adopt it as one of the oilicial papers of the church,
so it was conducted for four years as an unofficial church
paper in the interest of the conferences contiguous to St.
Louis. During these years it was edited by Rev. W. D. R.
Trotter, 1852-1854, and by Rev. John L. Conklin, 1854-
Two Hundred and F./tv-Set
LEBANON JOURNAL .
, S. Maituos, W. Gooon
8; M. E. GoBE
LEBANON, ILLINOIS, THURSDAY, OCTOBER IS,
Rev. Davhs GTohli
Sonia} at ( «Df('rea(«— BbbopS Sermon,
_. ii^- t«|Ai.-l fliuKO m BcUtnUemu cruwdeil a
u Mriy hnor, Iho aides wore doealj r^liol, imoj
r tbe forlorn bow of the U'va oo i
as ablr. is a
!Tcr. He hi
' David (or >i
lling to do Ihc 1 Krolher Jiiiics, ol UrcenviUo circuit, said—
ened a fountain There is a vow upon me. I must speak. When
'Ev.rrlne'of "Uu
j 4)oy ; but his g
the reason of the deluge. Come dowh to | now ? God i
Psalmist's day — " God looked down from l Wbrk now, hi
en upon the children of men to see if there in the house
did understand, that did seek U is ijujrhaus
gone back — they j ed. But bow shall we, know that we are sane- 1
art- allugethcr become filthy — there is none that i tified,? By the direct vjitnefs of the Spirit, the i
d..elh good, no not one"'! Listen to Isaiah, deep, powerful injj^resMpn ' which amounts to Brothf^ Jesse Renfro, a local pr«3iCher, re-
"Hcar, 0.beavens,andg;ireear,Oaiirth, I have consciousnHs&^C^'s Vrocbunation of hkoselfllTlftHted— lfe«l,it to be a great prirUege to be
nounshedAndbroughtupcbildren,ft]idtheTh^Tobjasilcnt, yet uriteislakaBle influence. TTuits [ in the Cijmpany of" so many n ' "
rebelled agaiiist me ", " ITm'wboIe head is 1 should follow. In cdnfmna '
IB grace conquered me. l have sul-
a£iction,butoutofaU God has'de.
, feared for the ebtjit^. tjrinkiojr. i
Reduced facsimile of Lebanon Journal which later became the Central Christian Adv
1856. The General Conference of 1856 took it over into
the family of advocates anid since that time it has been one
of the official papers of Methodism. Its editor for the quad-
renium 1856-60 was Joseph Brooks; for the next four years
it was edited by Charles Elliott. In 1864 Dr. Benjamin F.
Crary was elected editor and held the office for eight years.
In 1872 Dr. Benjamin St. James Fry was chosen editor and
continued in that important position until the end of his
life, which occurred only a few months before he had finished
four quadreniums of service. The Book Committee appointed
Dr. Samuel W. Williams, of the Cincinnati Book Concern
and one time professor m McKendree, to take care of the
editorship until the meeting of the General Conference in
1892. That body elected Dr. Jesse Bowman Young, who
continued at the helm for eight years, and then the General
Conference of 1900 elected Dr. Claudius B. Spencer, who,
at this writing, is just completing his twenty-eighth year of
faithful service in this important field. In 1900 the "Central
was moved from St. Louis to Kansas City, where it is now
located. All of these editors, from Dr. McCrary to Dr. Spen-
cer, have been Trustees of McKendree. In closing up the
affairs of the paper at Lebanon, Benjamin Hypes, treasurer
of the college and member of the Board, was instructed to
sell the printing outfit and apply the proceeds on the debts
of the paper. The debts not covered by this sale were prob-
ably absorbed into the larger debt carried by the Board of
Trustees. Thus ended the first journalistic venture of Mc-
Kendree College. While it did not continue in the form in
which it started, it set in motion an influence for the good of
hum;inity which is still going and still increasing in power.
Another "Lebanon Journal" was established some time
after the Civil War, which was for about half a century
the local city paper of Lebanon. This was not strictly a
college publication, yet it was quite closely associated with
McKendree. Professor O. V. Jones was its editor during
the last few years of his life, and after h's death in 1885,
the paper was conducted by his son, William L. Jones, until
1913. For this period of twenty -eight years. Editor Jones,
of the class of 1879, recorded many college events in this
semi-college paper. In 191 j, the paper passed to the hands
of Rev. J. G. Dee, who had been a classmate of Mr. Jones
in McKendree. He also made it somewhat of a college paper.
About 1920 the Journal was destroyed by fire, and since
Lebanon already had another paper, it was never resurrected.
THE McKENDREE REPOSITORY
One of the most successful journalistic ventures ever
undertaken at McKendree was the "McKendree Reposi-
tory." It first appeared in the fall of 1867 and lasted about
a decade. In its early years it was an eight page periodical
published semi-monthly by the students of the college. The
price was two dollars a year. The first plan of publication
was that the work was to be done by editors and publishers
elected by the "College Meeting," which was an association
of all the students in the institution who cared to be present
and vote. After a time there was some dissatisfaction and
the senior class was entrusted with the task of editing and
publishing the paper, but this method did not prove any
more satisfactory, and so they soon returned to the first
plan. An article published in the issue for December, 1871,
set forth many arguments for having the work done by
representatives of the literary societies. So some time later
that plan was adopted. In April, 1871, under the College
Two Huyuhed and F<ftyBght
MC KENDREE
Meeting plan, we find the following officers m charge.
Editors: W. H. Steward, G. W. Hill, T. C. McFarland, and
O. M. Edwards. Publishers: W. M. Essex and T. J. Porter.
Board of Control: J. M. Brooks, L. A. Berger, J. P. Lytle.
It IS difficult to give any brief description of so varied
and versatile a periodical as this was. In the main, its pages
are filled with serious thoughts, though each issue had its
column of jokes. There are extensive quotations from ex-
changes or from other sources, when the editors thought
they had found something worth quoting. There is also
much that appears to be the product of the campus, that is,
articles of student authorship, but a marked tendency to
conceal the actual author's name. We also find occasional
contributions from the members of the faculty. For example,
a history of McKendree College, prepared by Dr. Allyn for
the educational convention of 1868, was published as a serial.
It ran through nearly a whole year. Every number had edi-
torials of more or less merit, and some of them were really
excellent, though the identity of the writer is rarely revealed.
There are long lists of personals which must have been inter-
esting reading for the students of that day. It was probably
easier to keep track of former students at that time than it
is now, because they occupied a relatively larger position of
leadership in the outside world than they do in the much
larger and more complex public life of today. There were
also accounts of special events, such as the County Teachers'
Institute m Belleville, in which McKendree seems to have
been well represented, both in attendance and on the pro-
gram; or the passage of the "Temperance Bill" by the Legis-
lature of Illinois. Of course important happenings about the
campus were reported, such as the open sessions of the lit-
erary societies and their semi-annual exhibitions. The last
page and some space previous to that was devoted to paid
advertisements. The paper was maintained by its advertise-
ments and its subscription list, and the main dependence
was the latter. Therefore the paper contained frequent ref-
erences to its need of money and exhortations to those who
were in arrears to pay up. There is evidence that an occa-
sional issue was omitted for lack of means to pay for the
printing. And probably the chief reason for its final demise
was a financial one.
There is an occasional bit of high grade philosophy m
its columns, though in many cases it was obtained from
some exchange. The paper had a fine list of exchanges, and
must have obtained the favorable recognition of many of
the best college papers in the land, as well as some of a more
general character.
We find the following list of "Regular Exchanges" m
the issue dated April 20, 1S72: "College Argus," "Lafayette
Monthly," "College Courant," "Yale Courant," "Cornell
Era," "Targum," "Williams Vidette," "Madisoniensis,"
"Southern Collegian," "Harvard Advocate," "Western Col-
legian," "Irving Union," "Miami Student," "Notre Dame
Scholastic," "Bethany Guardian," "Chronicle," "Monmouth
Courier," "Acorn," "Simpsonian," "Collegian," "Tripod,"
"College World," "College Review," "Beloit Monthly,"
"Brunonian," "The Nation," "Newspaper Reporter," "Har'
pers Weekly," "Qui Vive," "St. Louis Home Journal,"
"Lebanon Journal," and "Edwardsville Republican." Also
In May, 1872, is published an account of the demolition
of the row of brick houses along the eastern edge of the
campus, which had long served as rooming quarters for
students. The article is entitled "Our Classic Bricks." The
writer does not lament their passing, but says it is a mark
of progress. Although they have served a useful purpose in
their day, he hints that now they would be more useful
converted into brick walks in various parts of the campus.
There is a sket;h of the founding of the Philosophian Society.
The majority of the orgiinal members were still living m
1872. In the June number of that year is an account of the
reunion of the diss of 1862, on the tenth anniversary of
their graduation. Of the twelve members of the class, eight
were present, as follows: Nelson S. Cobleigh, Cleveland,
Ohio; Joseph Harris, Mt. Vernon; William Wallis, Brighton;
James E. Marshall, Centralia; John N. Gwin, Effingham;
Henry A. Castle, St. Paul, Mmn.: James H. Lowe, Bslleville;
and Daniel W. Phillips, Nashville. Tnis was a fine showing,
since two of the class, Boone Griffin and John S. Fitzgerrell,
were already dead, and Peachy T. Wilson was a missionary
in India; leaving only William A. Young, of Hillsboro, who
might have been expected to be there and was not. In all
probability he had some good excuse but did not send it.
In this same issue other commencement events are chron-
icled. There is a vivid and detailed account of the society
exhibitions, as well as the prize declamation contest, which
was won by William W. Edwards, afterwards for ten years
a professor m McKendree. On Wednesday afternoon, the
Hon. Jehu Baker delivered an address which was highly
commended by the Repository reporter. There is also an
account of the presentation of the flag, which passed from
the custody of the Junior class to that of the Sophomore.
Both the speech of presentation by W. V. Wilbanks and
that of reception by T. C. Watkins, are represented as un'
usually worthy efforts of these flag day orators. A full page
Tu'O Hundred and Fifty-X'
is given to the graduating exercises of the class of 1872.
There were twenty -four members of the class, and each de-
hvered an oration. There were two sessions of the program,
with an interval of two hours between for luncheon and
sociability among the commencement guests. Each of the
orators and his oration is given separate treatment in the
report. Of this large class, only two, W. A. Kelsoe and Z.
T. Remick, are still living. The Latin Salutatory was deliv-
ered by William M. Essex and the valedictory by Thomas
C. McFarland, both of whom have passed from earth. We
quote a couple of remarks with which the interesting article
is brought to a close. "The addresses of the young lady
graduates were on the whole better than those of the young
men." "The bouquet nuisance should be abated at once."
At this distance in time we are unable to explain just why
it was regarded as a nuisance to "say it with flowers." Space
will not permit anything like a complete account of the
entire file of this great old college paper, but it may give
the reader some idea of what the series was like if we give
a rather detailed description of a single issue. For this pur-
pose we have chosen what seems to be a representative num-
ber toward the latter part of the series. It is number 4 of
Volume VIII, dated February, 1875. The front cover page
contains only the name of the paper in large Old English
letters. The second page or the inside of the cover is devoted
to advertisements. The literary material begins on page three.
Under the title "McKendree Repository" is the motto,
"Devoted to Literature, Science, and the Interests of Mc-
Kendree College." The first article on the page is a poem
entitled, "Be not the First." It is labelled "Selected " The
first stanza reads,
"Oh be not the first to discover
A blot on the name of a friend,
A flaw in the heart of a lover.
Whose faith may be true to the end."
There are eight stanzas in the poem. The next article is
entitled, "Incorporation of McKendree." It is a brief and
not very accurate account of the granting of McKendree's
first charter in 1835. It is written from Jacksonville, Illinois,
and signed "Alumnus."
The fourth page contains a column and a half account of
the exhibitions of the three literary societies, which had
been presented just before the Christmas vacation on the
14th, 15th and i6th of December. It is a lump criticism,
mostly favorable, of the essayists, declaimers, and orators,
in three groups, according to the class of performance rather
than the society which furnished it. The report is signed.
"Auditor." Next is an account of the celebration of the
Clio Anniversary, December 10. The chief feature of the
program was an address by Mrs. Hattie McCoy North,
which set forth at length some of the achievements of mod-
ern woman, and some of the things she may be expected to
accomplish in the future. On page five is an essay on "Secrets
of Success." It is signed with the initials of E. H. Parkinson.
We might infer that he is its author.
Page six contains a well written article on "The Beautiful,"
which occupies three -fourths of the page. The remainder
contains a dozen or so brief quotations of which this is a
sample: "An unjust accusation is like a barbed arrow, which
must be drawn backward with horrible anguish, or else will
be your destruction." Jeremy Taylor.
Page seven contains an article of highly religious tone on
the nature of "The Christian Sabbath," and the remainder
of the page is taken up with an obituary sketch of William
Monroe Essex, of the class of '72, together with a set of
resolutions signed by a committee from the Philo Society,
of which he was a member.
The eighth page has the business announcement of the
editors and publishers. We note that the publishers at that
time were George D. Phillips from Philo and C. W. Parkin-
son from Plato. The editors were Robert Casey and Orla
S. Casad from Philo, T. C. Watkins and E. B. Waggoner
from Plato, and Minnie Lane and Laura Hughey from Clio.
The subscription price at this time was $1.50 a year. Then
follows somewhat more than a page of "McKendriana,"
made up of personals and current news, a large part of it
relating to the policies of the institution; for example, the
statement that more written examinations are being required
than formerly. Then are mentioned the titles of some lectures
which had already been delivered at the college : "The Man
for the Times," by President Locke; "The True Man above
Price," by Rev. Lyman Marshall, then pastor of the Pres-
byterian Church in Lebanon; "Difficulties and their Lessons,"
by Professor S. H. Deneen. During this year, for the first time
the students had been seated in chapel according to classes;
the four college classes occupying the center, with the sen-
iors in front, and preparatory students on the sides. Also
there was an announcement that the much talked of brick
walks were soon to be built on the campus. Then follows
a highly philosophical and ethical article, entitled, "The
Highest Motive." This is quoted from an exchange, "The
College Transcript." Then there is a little extract from Eng-
lish history, characterizing Sir Robert Peel. The most of
page ten is taken up with what appears to be a prize essay,
Two Hundred and Sixty
c KENDReE^^^^&s;S^^:^s^
with the title "Pearl-handled Sickles," and signed, "Emilie."
It may he that the readers of that time could recognize the
writer from that name. The rest of the page is chiefly "Col-
lege News" gleaned from exchanges and containing such
Items as these: "Drew Theological Seminary has one hundred
and eighteen students;" "Dr. Marvin has accepted the Chan-
cellorship of Kansas University:" "Since last June, Syracuse
University has receivedcontributions amounting to$i75,ooo."
"President Allyn and the students of the Southern Illinois
Normal are engaged in the collection of a museum of natural
history."
On p;ige eleven we find a column of personals, chiefly
about former students, including the announcement of three
marriages, in which one or both the parties were old Mc-
Kendreans. Then an article on "How to Educate," signed
(N). On the next page is a column of humor. We quote a
sample: Student to Professor of Geology, "To what age do
I belong, Professor?" "I don't know. I have only learned to
classify rocks, not bricks." This is followed by a highly
philosophical article on "Practical vs. Disciplinary." On page
thirteen appears the directory of the "College Meeting" and
Literary Societies. Some of these names might awaken pleas-
ant recollections in the mind of some old time McKendrean,
so we reproduce them here :
OFFICERS OF THE COLLEGE MEETING
President, E. H. Parkinson; Vice-president, R. P. Robbins;
Secretary, Lottie Dressor.
SOCIETY OFFICERS
PHILOSOPHIAN
President, Thomas E. Green; Vice-president, Joe Lindly;
Recording Secretary, W. H. Phillips; Corresponding Secre-
tary, O. M. Edwards; First Critic, Lee Harrison; Second
Critic, O. Barnickol; Librarian, J. W. Vandeveer; Janitor,
A. S. Hamill.
PLATONIAN
President, C. W. Parkinson; Vice-president, A. H. Car,
ter; Recording Secretary, W. Westbrook; Corresponding
Secretary, J. G. Pearn; First Critic, P. T. Chapman; Second
Critic, T. C. Watkins; Librarian, T. H. Jones; Janitor, J.
T. Handsacker.
CLIONIAN
President, Hattie Sargent; Vice-president, Ida Blanck;
Recording Secretary, Zie Robertson; Corresponding Secrc
tary. Belle Hawley; First Critic, Lottie Dressor; Second
Critic, Liz2ie Meyer; Librarian, Mary McKee; Janitor, Julia
Nichols.
The remainder of the page is filled with a travel letter
from Italy, by Mack Swiveler, who was at that time tra'
veiling m Europe. Page fourteen is devoted to exchanges
and a few quotations from standard writers, including one
from Plato, the Philosopher. Page fifteen has its first column
tilled with a directory of the Lebanon churches and lodges.
The rest of the page, as well as all of page sixteen, is de-
voted to advertisements, mostly of Lebanon business firms.
A few names appear which may still be found in a business
directory of Lebanon, such as Grauel, Hoffman, Remhardt.
This completes the survey of a single copy of the "Re-
pository." Many of the others are quite similar. They are
still interesting reading to the person who is acquainted
with the McKendree of that period, or who has friends or
relatives who were in McKendree at that time.
THE McKENDREE SKETCHBOOK
For a considerable period McKendree was without a col-
lege paper. Then during the presidency of Dr. Herdman, a
paper was published for a short time, called the "Sketch
Book." It was a small quarto published monthly by the stu-
dents, under the supervision of a member of the faculty. It
was short-lived and seems to have passed into such a state
of oblivion that we have not been able to bring to light a
single copy of the paper. But nevertheless it was a real
paper and has a clear place m the memory of some of the
students of that period.
THE McKENDREAN
Again in the early part of Dr. Chamberlin's administra-
tion, a paper was published which was called "The Mc-
Kendrean." It was edited and published by two students
of that day, W. L. Cunningham, 96, and T. P. Brannum,
"97. These young men edited and published the paper, gave
the subscribers the best they could for their money, and
assumed all the financial deficits. Of course there were no
profits. Yet there may have been perquisites. According to
the custom of that day, they secured the privilege of pub-
lishing the local time table of the B. 6? O. railroad, and
in return for this, the editor received the courtesy of a pass
on the railroad. Mr. Cunningham, being the senior member
of the firm, enjoyed the privilege of the pass. Since it was
not transferable and could be used by only one person, Mr.
Brannum had to pay his fare on the railroad. The literary
societies each had its contributor to the McKendrean. Philo
was represented by Mr. J. H. Land, Plato by Mr. C. E.
Neil, and Clio by Miss Josie M. Otwell. Charles Page An-
drews was also a frequent contributor. The first number of
the McKendrean appeared in the fall of 1894, and during
the spring of 1895 the whole enterprise was relinquished
by its energetic founders, and turned over to the students
Two Hundred and SixtyOn
IVIC KENDREE^
of the college. It was conducted by them for about a year
and then allowed to lapse, because another local city paper
was started by John M. Chamberlain, Jr., called the Lebanon
Leader, which offered sufficient space in its columns to take
care of all college needs in that line. This seemed better than
to run an independent paper which was always a financial
liabihty to its sponsors. The two editors of the McKendrean
both entered the ministry. Brief sketches of them appear in
connection with their college classes. The senior, Mr. Cun-
ningham, died recently, but Mr. Brannum lives now at Red-
lands, California.
THE McKENDREE HEADLIGHT
The next journalistic venture was "The McKendree
Headlight." This differed from the other papers which pre
ceded it, except the very first one, in that it was not a stu-
dent publication. But it was edited and published by Pres-
ident John F. Harmon, with occasional contributions from
other members of the faculty and some of the students.
The first issue is dated October, 1909. It was published
monthly, at fifty cents a year. The motto on the first page,
right under the heading, reads, "We shall endeavor to treat
all better than they treat us." The salutatory editorial is
reproduced here.
"The McKendree Headlight comes to occupy a vacant
field and to speak where silence has long reigned. Knowledge
and righteousness shall feed her fires, and her aim shall be
to point our youth to the highest heights and noblest attain-
ments possible. A good education is the birthright of every
American. 'When wisdom entereth- into' _thine heart, and
knowledge is pleasant to thy soul; discretion shall preserve
thee' and thy living shall be to the sufferings and^^needs of hu-
manity as rain to the parched earth or as showers to droop-
ing plants. Even though your purposes be not high nor the
aim of your ambitions beyond personal gain or happiness,
still we entreat you to get knowledge, for 'happy is the man
that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understand-
ing; for the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise
of silver and the gain thereof than fine gold.' Then why be
ignorant when the path of knowledge lies wide open and
leads to every good thing. In all thy getting, get a thorough
education — get a good understanding — get wisdom. The
Headlight will not speak with the language of the learned,
nor in words hard of understanding, neither will she dwell
on the mountiiin where knowledge is enthroned; but her
dwelling shall be with the humble and her language that
of the field and forest."
Another article on the second page tells of the paper's
financial basis. "This paper is published in the interest of
McKendree College and is entirely dependent upon sub-
scriptions for support. The paper will be issued monthly.
Price fifty cents per year. Four paid up subscriptions from
each pastoral charge in the conference will support the pa'
per and put us in touch with every pastor and leading lay
men in every charge. Please send your subscription to the
editor at Lebanon, Illinois. We also solicit your advertising."
Still another article in the first issue referring to the paper's
future is entitled, "Help us solve the problem." It reads as
follows; "For many years McKendree has greatly felt the
need of a college paper, but no funds have been available
for that purpose. A college paper seems absolutely essential
to the highest success of the college. So without money we
are taking the risk, personally, and with this issue of the
"Headlight" we put an eight page monthly in the field.
Price fifty cents per year. If every one who reads this issue
will send fifty cents for a year's subscription, its financial
problems will be settled, and we will be put in touch with
the alumni, with present and prospective students and their
parents, with all our ministers, with the trustees, with lead'
ing laymen of the conference, and with the citizens of Leb-
anon. There are a few laymen in every charge in Southern
Illinois who would subscribe for the paper if they knew
its mission. Readers, help us to get started and then when
you get in a close place, call on us and we will give you a lift."
A whole column is given to the account of how Lebanon
set the pace for raising money to pay the conference note.
This was a note for $jo,ooo, given by the conference to the
endowment fund of McKendree. According to the appor-
tionment to the charges, Lebanon's share was $229, or $22.90
a year for ten years. The matter was presented in the church
on Sunday morning. When the meeting closed, the subscrip-
tions totaled over $2,000, and a committee was appointed to
see those who could not be reached at church and raise the
total to $j,ooo.
In the eight pages of this first issue there are forty-seven
separate articles and a quite complete announcement of the
Conservatory of Music. At that time, Professor F. M.
Church was Musical Director and teacher of piano, and
Miss Amy Pinkerton was teacher of Voice. The Headlight
was an efficient news organ for the period it covered. It
made frequent mention of former McKendreans, and since
Hundred and Sixty-Two
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^s^
its editor, President Harmon, spent much time m the field
and among the charges where students might he turned
toward McKendree, he naturally brought to the paper many
Items of news from all parts of the conference. In this way
many interesting events have been put on record which
otherwise would have passed into oblivion. There were also
many contributed articles, but the editor had one rule which
he always insisted upon — they must be short. If any writer
was too lengthy, his article had to be cut in sections and
appear as a serial. However, an exception to that rule occurs
in the number dated February, igio, when a letter from
William J. Ross, of Hutchinson, Kansas, full of reminiscences
of the period when he was a student in McKendree in 1837
and following. In the catalogue for 1837 a"'^ also i8j8, we
find Mr. Ross" name. His address was Burlington, Iowa Ter.
We quote a few extracts from the letter :
"Professors Merrill and Sunderland occupied a room on
the ground floor of the east wing ot the college building
until Prof. Merrill got married, which I think was during
the vacation of 183,7, after which he lived m town, leaving
Sunderland to 'batch it' alone, which he continued to do
as long as I remained m school. President Merrill, a brother
of the Professor, was a sparely built, small, weakly man,
a diligent student and an able minister.
"In 1838 the trustees had a long one story frame building
erected just north of where the new college was to be built,
and It was used as a dormitory." [This was the building
that later became the residence of the president of the
college, and many years later it became the residence of
the head janitor. |
"It was President Merrill who at prayers one morning
m commenting on Proverbs, 22, 11, pitched the key note of
my life. I remember once hearing Rev. John S. Barger, prin-
cipal of the Preparatory Department, preach from eleven
o'clock, A. M. until three P. M. — a four hour sermon."
In the issue tor May, 1910, we find this little poem,
written by Arthur H. Mueller, then a member of the sen-
ior class. He IS now a physician, practicing his profession
m Denver, Colorado.
Some may shout for grand old Harvard
Some may root for Tennessee
But give me old McKendree
For she's good enough for me.
Through many a hard fought battle
She has won the victory;
She's the first among the winners.
So she's good enough for me.
After two years, m the fall of 191 1, the "Headlight" was
turned over to the Y. M. C. A., and that body appointed
the editorial staff from among the students. The subscription
price remained at fifty cents. The first editorial staff under
the new plan was as follows :
Editor-in-Chief, Clark W. Hoar; Literary Editor, Clark
R. Yost; Religious Editor, Robert M. Peters; Social Editor,
T. Ralph Isaacs; Business Manager, H. Warren Bullington;
Assistant Business Manager, Ernest M. Fisher. At the be-
ginning of the year 191 3, the form was changed somewhat.
The page was folded once more and a cover of heavier paper
put on it, giving it a magazine form.
After a time the idea that the Y. M. C. A. was publishing
the paper dropped out of the public mind. The announce-
ment on the editorial page in January, 1914, is as follows:
"The Headlight is published by the students of McKendree
She doth bless the world with heroes
Yes, the best the world will see;
She's earnest, kind and faithful
And she's good enough for me.
Then three cheers for "Old McKendree,"
Yes we'll give her three times three;
To her our hearts beat loyal.
And she's good enough for me.
College at the College Press Hall, and entered at the Post
Office at Lebanon, Illinois, as second class mail matter. Sub-
scription price, 50C per year."
At that time the following students constituted the edi-
torial staff: I. G. Moorman, Editor-in-Chief; G. F. Cummins,
Business Manager; C. Trueb, Circulation Manager; E. E.
Reisner, Literary Editor; P. A. Shields, Athletic Editor;
Mrs. L. D. Wiggins, Religious Editor; Mabel Crump, Social
Editor; Emma Berry, Intercollegiate Editor.
In the same issue is the announcement that Cyrus Stokes
Gentry had received the appointment to the Rhodes Scholar-
ship at Oxford University. This was to cover a three year
period, beginning in the fail of 1914. It carried at that time,
a cash stipend of $1,500 a year, which with reasonable econ-
omy, would meet the expenses of a student in Oxford. Since
the war, the stipend has been increased to $2,000.
Two Hundred and S^xty■Three
|mc kendree"^^^^^^^...^^^^
We quote from the ""Headlight's" characterization of Mr.
Gentry: ""As a student. Gentry approached the ideal. Not
only did he excel in his class room and literary work, but
also he was a brilliant athlete and a genuine 'good fellow" on
the campus. Although he was never a 'grind,' he was always
a good student and equally popular with faculty and fellow
students. He was a star member of the basket ball and gym-
nastic teams, his work in the gymnasium perfectly equipping
him for his present position as director of athletics."
It may be appropriate to say here that Mr. Gentry went
to Oxford and entered upon his scholarship, taking up the
study of law. However, the breaking out of the World War
affected the work of the university so much that his scholar-
ship was suspended and he went into war work in France,
and then returned to Oxford and finished his law course
after the close of the war. He is now practicing law in
Houston, Texas. He was the second McKendrean to secure
a Rhodes Scholarship. The first was Newton E. Ensign, of
the class of 1904. A sketch of him is found elsewhere m
this history.
THE McKENDREE ECHO
At the close of Dr. John Harmon's administration, the
Headlight was allowed to lapse for a time and there was
no college paper. But some time in the fall of 191 5, the matter
of a paper began to be agitated. In due time, arrangements
were made to publish a paper semi-monthly. A contest was
put on and a prize offered for the best name for the new
paper. Many were proposed, but the one finally chosen was
"McKendree Echo." The Echo was a four page paper, but
the pages were just twice the size of the original form of
the Headlight, so that gave the same amount of space. How-
ever, sometimes an extra leaf was put in and that made it
50 per cent larger. It was about the same type of paper the
Headlight had been. In an editorial in the first issue in the
fall of 1916, we find this statement:
"It is our purpose to present the news of College Hill in
an interesting and impartial fashion, and to make our college
paper truly representative of college life. To do this we
must have the support of the students as a whole. It is
your paper we are endeavoring to publish, and if it is to
be made an expression of the spirit of McKendree College,
you must get behind it with your enthusiasm and energy,
and boost. Help us with your contributions. If you know
a good joke on your fellow student, let us know about it.
If some amusing incident has happened under your obser-
vation, write it up and hand it to a member of the staff.
Help us by paying your subscription promptly and by work-
ing to enlarge our circulation. If each one would do just a
little toward the making of a real college paper, the sum
total of work done would insure success. To print all the
news all the time, we recognize as an impossible achieve-
ment. To print all the news part of the time is too hard a
job for most papers. But with your assistance we expect to
print a good share of the news most of the time."
From this it will be seen that the "Echo" was primarily
a newspaper. In the main it lived up to that ideal fairly
well. In the fall of 1Q16, the Editorial Staff was as follows:
Editor, Homer C. Bower; Assistant Editor, Leone Pixley;
Business Manager, G. Orville Greer; Assistant Business
Manager, Guy E. Tucker; Circulation Manager, Roscoe B.
Early; Assistant Circulation Manager, Lura Witherspoon.
The price of the paper at this time was seventy-five cents
a year. We give a few brief extracts from the paper which
may prove interesting to the later reader. There is an article
advocating the establishment of intercollegiate debates. It
has taken more than ten years to reach this ideal. Here is
a little suggestion in the line of athletics. "All those who
find foot -ball a little rough and who are interested in a nice
gentle game, please come out at 4 o'clock for a tiddle-de-
winks rehearsal. And, we might add, if any one player gets
the idea that he can run the athletics of a college, he had
better go to the Sahara desert where he can be monarch
of all he surveys."
There is an account of a special meeting of Plato held in
honor of Captain Fike, who was one of the founders of
Plato, and was at that time in Lebanon attending the reunion
of the McKendree Regiment, the 117th Illinois, who fought
in the Civil War. The program was chiefly impromptu, and
is given as follows : Selection by the orchestra. Solo by Pavey.
Declamation by Merkel. Then a debate on the question.
Resolved, That the Democratic party is more entitled to
the suffrage of the voters at the coming election than the
Republican party. The affirmative speakers were Professor
Gentry, Professor Thrall, and V. S. Morriss. The negative,
Professor Waggoner, J. B. Sager, and St. Clare Flint. It is
stated that the speeches were all "funny," but special men-
tion is made of th'at of Professor Waggoner, because he held
the Democratic party responsible for the bad weather, the
high prices, and the war.
The College Directory, giving the officials of the various
organizations found in the institution requires more than a
full column in the paper. It gives the list of officers of the
Athletic Association, The Carnegie House Council, The
Clark House Council, Clio, Plato, Philo, Y. M. C. A.,
Hundred and SixtyFo
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^e^^S:^
Y. W. C. A., International Prohibition Association, Katter
Keule, Gamma Kappa Nu, and Phi Beta Kappa.
There is an announcement of the Music Recital of the Con-
servatory Faculty. On this program, a specially interesting
trio was to appear — Professor Fransee, Violinist; Professor
Zinkeisen, Cellist; and Professor Moore, Pianist. This trio
pl.iyed at the session of the Southern Illinois Conference at
Robinson in iqi6, and received high commendation.
THE McKENDREE REVIEW
The latest of McKendree's group of college papers is the
"McKendree Review." It started on its career November
IS, 1921, and is still going strong. Its seven years of history
indicate that it is already past the worst dangers of infancy
and bids fair to become the longest lived of all McKendree's
periodicals. Unlike its predecessors, it is a weekly. It has
four pages and sometimes six, according to the demands
that may be made from time to time for more or less of
news space. When some important event occurs, like the
home-coming, or the high school meet, or a basket ball tour-
nament, the two extra pages are inserted. Just beneath the
title of each issue appears the motto, "Devoted to the Inter-
ests of McKendree." The editorial announcements indicate
that from the very beginning, it was published by the class
m journalism. In fact, it is probable that it first had its
existence for the sake of the class in journalism, in order
that they might have opportunities to practice the journal-
istic art. But even then it was necessary to have editors
and officers in order to fix certain responsibilities in the
diversified work of publishing a college paper. The first
staff consisted of only four members: Mabel Bower, Editor;
Mildred Wilton, Assistant Editor; Violet Glenn, Circula-
tion Manager; and Fred Faverty, Business Manager. The
same plan of publication has been followed down to the
present time, but now it carries a more elaborate staff than
in its first year. In the issue of January 19, 1928, we find
the following staff announced : Editor-in-Chief, Edna Kinsey;
Managing Editor, John Oster; Business Manager, Emery
Martin; Advertising Manager, William Gillespie; Cir-
culation Manager, James Stuart; Assistant Circulation
Manager, James Hortin ; Sports Editor, Stephen Tedor ; Society
Editor, Geneva Grieve; Feature Writer, Lucille Hadfield;
Exchange Editor, Clifton Oxendine; Faculty Advisor, Belle
M. Nixon; Reporters, Nina May Harmon and Frank C.
Brown.
In the earlier years of the Review, one of its editors who
deserves special mention was Mr. Milburn P. Akers, who
was a student in McKendree at the time. He served as
editor and general manager of the paper and did much to
promote its interests until after his graduation. When later
he went into the newspaper work himself as publisher of
the Wood River Journal, he did not lose interest in the
Review, but gave the stiff the benefit of his experience
whenever possible. For some time the Review was printed
in the office of the Wood River Journal under the direct
supervision of its former editor. But of course there were
difficulties in having the editorial office and the printing
office so far apart, and sometimes there were delays in trans,
portation which prevented the paper from being distributed
to the students on time. So m recent years it has been
printed in Lebanon.
In its early years the subscription price was Si.'jo a year.
Then it was raised to one dollar a semester, or two dollars
a year. Of course it is not published during the summer
vacation nor in the Christmas recess, and usually the pub-
lication IS omitted in examination week, when the staff is
too busy to get out the paper and the students are too busy
to read it if it should be printed. Perhaps on the average,
there are thirty issues a year. In 1926, the incidental fee
was raised one dollar a semester, and seventy-five cents of
that was applied to a subscription to the Review for every
student. This is collected by the fiscal agent of the college
and paid over to the business manager of the Review. This
relieves the management of the task of making a canvass
among the students, and since by this plan every student
is a subscriber, it became possible to reduce the price to
$1.50 a year. This, with the income from advertisements,
meets the necessary expense of the paper. It is primarily
a muis paper, having for its aim to record the principal
events of the campus from week to week. Of course there
are editorials also in every issue. Some of these very faith-
fully reflect student sentiment on important questions of
the campus, and others represent such ideas as the editorial
writer wishes the students to entertain. A glance at one
of the early copies may give some idea of the character of
the paper. The second number of Volume I takes a whole
column to set forth the very important announcement that
the General Education Board had appropriated $150,000 to
become a part of McKendree's endowment on condition
that the college raise $350,000 more from its own constit-
uency. This was in the midst of the "McKendree Move-
ment" and of course aroused great enthusiasm. The same
issue contains an account of the joint-meeting of the Young
Men's and Young Women's Christian Associations, a basket
ball game between the Freshmen and the Juniors, in which
Two Hundred and Sm
the Freshmen were victorious; an account of a convocation
of colleges and universities held in Chicago to consider the
question of World Peace, in which McKendree was repre-
sented by President McCammon and Hon. Charles S. Den-
een. The big headline article on the front page declared that
by defeating Shurtleff in the last game of the season Mc-
Kendree had won the foot ball championship of Southern
Illinois for that year. There are two columns of editorials,
chiefly concerning the "McKendree Movement" for new
endowment. There is a long article on methods of caring
for a cold, as advocated by various members of the faculty
and student body. There are a few jokes and a column and
a half of personals, in which we are informed, among other
things, that Professor McClure entertained the "Bachelors'
Club" at a dinner Monday evening, and the Clio Quartette
sang at a banquet at Union Church, St. Louis. On the last
page is a two column report of an evening entertainment
in Singer Hall given by the McKendree players of the Ex-
pression Department, under the direction of Miss Chese-
man. The performers in the first play, "The Beauty and
the Beast," were chiefly from the Public School. The names
mentioned are John DoUey, Grace Renner, Orena Mowe,
and Robert McCammon. In the play "Suppressed Desires,"
the principal actors were Alice Walton, Mildred Wilton,
and Fred Faverty. The last play, "The Brink of Silence,"
was presented by Alonzo Catt, Harold Van Dyke, and
George McCammon.
There is also a sonnet by Gladys Parker, which seems
worthy of reproduction here.
SONNET
When I do look about me in this age
And see the turmoil, strife, and envying of man,
When I behold the war of industry that's waged,
And see the greed of all on every hand;
When hard men seem barren of love
Toward bleeding, torn, toil-worn humanity.
And mankind's soul all shriveled up whereof
Is born a hate for toil and honesty;
Then of Thy strength, Oh God, I remind me;
That Thou among the hearts of men must go,
And show each one himself as Thou dost see;
And help him know that love of toil will grow
Into a satisfying happiness
Which will defend him from all restlessness.
Now let us glance through a quite recent issue of the
Review, dated January 19. We find the following items:
A report of Senator Williams' chapel address; an account
of Dr. Harmon's visit to Atlantic City where he attended
the annual meeting of the Association of American Colleges;
the story of the "open house" held recently in each of the
dormitories; announcement that the McKendree quartette
sang at the Billy Sunday meeting in St. Louis; and that the
McKendree basket ball team had lost the game with Evans-
viUe.
On the second page are several brief editorials, a review
of an article by Professor Walton on McKendree History,
which was published lately in the magazine. The Christian
Student; and the usual column of "The Campus Owl." Page
three contains an account of a recital given by the Music
and Expression Departments and an open session of Clio,
a list of new books just received by the library, and the
report of the monthly meeting of the Dames Club.
The last page is filled with miscellaneous matter and ad-
vertisements. The Review is a member of the Illinois College
Press Association. It is not only a medium of transmission
of college news among the students themselves and the col-
lege community, but it goes out into all parts of the con-
ference and into the high school and thus keeps the patron-
izing territory of McKendree to some extent informed on
the progress of affairs at McKendree.
THE COLLEGE BULLETIN
Another publication which has been published with more
or less regularity since 191 3 is entitled McKendree College
Bulletin. This is published monthly unless an issue is omitted
for some good reason. When the president has some message
for the preachers of the conference and the general public,
the College Bulletin becomes the means of its conveyance.
The annual catalogue is issued as a number of the bulletin
and therefore it can be mailed at the second class postal
rate, which is a considerable saving to the college in the
matter of postage. Also the Summer School announcement
is issued as a number of the college bulletin for economic
reasons as well as for reasons of convenience.
Two Hundred and StxtySix
CHAPTER XXI.
President Houghton s Administration
'-^^'\ R- Locke was succeeded m the presidency by Rev.
jLj Ross Clark Houghton, D. D., then of the Missouri
Conference. He was born in Turin, New York, July
9, 1839. He was educated at Union College, Syracuse Uni-
versity, and Boston University School of Theology. He re
ceived the degree of D. D. from McKendree in 1878, and
L. H. D. from Willamette University in 1889. He served
Methodist churches in several cities in New York State, in
St. Louis, in Indianapolis, and in Portland, Oregon. In 1895,
he transferred to the Congregational Church and became
pastor in Chelsea, Massachusetts. Here he remained till
1902, when he retired from pastoral work. He died at Mai-
den, Massachusetts, December 10, 1904. He was married
September 25, 1862, to Adelaide R. Wilcox, who with one
of their three children, survived him. He was a member of
the Society of American Authors, and several other learned
societies. He was the author of several books with the fol-
lowing titles: "Christian Education and its Relation to
Christian Work," 1871; "Novels, and How to Read Them,"
1872; "The Social Evil," 1872; "Future Punishment," 1877;
"Women of the Orient," 1877; "At the Threshold," 1881;
"Ruth the Moabitess," 1882; "John the Baptist," 1889.
When he came to McKendree it was as a sort of experi-
ment. He had a plan for relieving the financial stress of the
college, but it did not seem to bring the expected results,
for at the end of the first year he relinquished the work.
His report to the Board at commencement indicates that he
was the pastor of some church which took much of his time
during the year that he was President of McKendree. There
was no other change in the faculty of the college proper,
that year. Professors Jones, Deneen, Swahlen, and Edwards
remained at their posts in spite of the increasing deficits in
salaries. In addition to these regular college teachers. Pro-
fessor James H. Brownlee was the teacher of elocution; Pro-
fessor J. W. Whittlesey was in charge of the Commercial
Department; and the Law faculty consisted of Henry H.
Homer as Dean, and Gustavus Koerner, Joseph Gillespie,
and James M. Hamill as lecturers.
The year was a hard one. The enrollment suffered a fur-
ther slight decrease, and the income from the endowment
was meager. At the meeting of the Board that year, a com-
mittee was appointed to secure the legal release of all claims
against the Athleton. We find no further record of the
matter but we may infer that the object was accomplished
by the committee working on the sympathies of the claim-
ants until they were wiUing to relinquish all claims.
At the end of the year Dr. Houghton did not wish to
carry the experiment further and presented his resignation
at the same time with his report, and again gave his time
to the pastorate and the writing of books. Although he
was in charge of the institution only one year, the class
which graduated that year was an important one. As they
went out into the world, they doubtless carried with them
the impress of his teaching and example, and thus through
this class he wielded an influence in the world which eter-
nity alone can completely measure. Brief sketches of the
members of the class follow:
THE CLASS OF 1879
JAMES H. ATTERBURY
James Hardin Atterbury was born at Litchfield, Illinois,
March 7, 1858. His parents were A. D. and Julia Atterbury.
He enrolled in McKendree in September, 1874 and grad-
uated in 1879, receiving the degree of A. B. He was a mem-
ber of the Philosophian Society.
After leaving McKendree he took a law course in the
University of Michigan and received the degree of LL. B.
from that institution. He has been engaged in the practice
of law at Litchfield for many years. He is married and has
one son, James H. Atterbury, Jr.
WILLIAM COSTELLO
William Costello was born near Fayetteville, St. Clair
County, 111., December 26, 1839. His inspiration to secure
an education came rather late in life, but after suitable pre-
liminary education, he entered McKendree and graduated
in the class of 1879. He was a member of Philo. He was
married February 9, 1865, before his college days, to Miss
Nancy S. Turner. Their two children are Don Costello,
undertaker and furniture dealer in Litchfield, Illinois, and
Lizzie Costello Kennett, who also resides in Litchfield. Mr.
Costello was engaged in various occupations during his life-
time, among which might be mentioned those of farmer,
teacher, and bookkeeper. He was engaged in business in
the city of Nashville, Illinois, for some years, and was a
member of the City Council of that city. Later he moved
to Freeburg, Illinois, where his death occurred February
21, 1897. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity.
Two Hundred and SixtySevi
|mc kendree-^^^^^^^....^^.^^
JAMES A. BISHOP
James Alonzo Bishop was born near Mascoutah, Illinois,
in January, 1854. His parents were George B. and Malvina
Bishop. He grew up in the neighborhood where he was
born and after completing the home schools, he entered Mc-
Kendree College, where he graduated in the Scientific Course
and received the degree of B. S. in 1879. He was a member
of the Platonian Literary Society. He has spent much of his
life since graduation in educational work. Among the positions
he has held in that line of work are the following: Principal
of a ward school in Moline, Illinois; Principal of the high
school at Rock Island; Professor of Chemistry in Harvey
Medical College of Chicago; and a similar position in a
Chicago Dental College. In recent years he was a travelling
salesman. He was married in 1887 to Miss Lulu Liebrock,
of Mascoutah, Illinois. They have one daughter, Amie
Louise, who with her mother resides at the family home
at Mascoutah, though the husband and father, owing to
the nature of his business, of necessity spent much of his
time away from home. He was a member of the Masonic
Order. He died in January, 1928.
REV. JAMES G. DEE, D. D.
James Godfrey Dee was born March 19, 185 1, only a
few miles from the city of Lebanon, which has been his
permanent home since 191 j. His parents, Hiram and Mary
(Walker) Dee, were both native Americans. Mr. Dee grew
up on a farm, and after finishing the country school, he
entered the Preparatory Department of McKendree College
in 1870. He was an active member of the Platonian Society.
He alternately attended college and taught school, thus
working his way to the attainment of an education. He
graduated in the class of 1879, receiving the degree of B.
S., and later, M. S. In 1898, his Alma Mater conferred
upon him the honorary degree of A. M., and in the Cen-
tennial year that of D. D. On August 14 of the year he
finished college, he was married to Miss Fannie M. Norman,
whose home was in Clinton County, near Carlyle. He joined
the Southern Illinois Conference in September of the same
year, and therefore Mrs. Dee has been his partner in the
work of the ministry for almost a half century. Of their
children, five grew to maturity. Norman Bliss, the oldest,
is a graduate of McKendree, and therefore a sketch of him
will be found elsewhere in this history. Paul, the second
son, was a student in McKendree, but did not graduate.
He came to an untimely death in the army training camp
during the World War. He left a young widow and a little
son only a few weeks old, whom he had never seen. He
lies boned in College Hill Cemetery. The three daughters
are all graduates of McKendree. They are Mrs. Nelle Kruh,
of St. Louis, Mrs. Lois Dolley, of Berkeley, California, and
Mrs. Dorothy Adair, of St. Louis.
During his half century in the ministry, Dr. Dee has been
an active and enthusiastic worker in the interest of the
kingdom and the churches which he served. He was for
six years Presiding Elder of the Mt. Carmel District, and
during that time published a District Advocate to promote
the interests of the work in his district. He was also the
editor of The Lebanon Journal for several years after he
came to Lebanon.
He holds the retired relation in the conference, but that
does not keep him from preaching. He has supplied some
nearby charge nearly all the time since he has lived in Leb'
anon, except the two years that he was pastor of the Leb-
anon Church. He has always been an ardent friend of
McKendree College, and was for ten years a member of
its Joint Board.
In recent years he has served his community m civil as
well as in religious affairs by holding the office of Police
Magistrate. No delinquent ever leaves Judge Dee's court
without feeling that he has received justice, and sometimes
mercy as well, at the hands of this officer of the law. He
always imposes the penalty provided by law when the guilt
of the individual is clearly established, but sometimes stays
the fine and remits his own fee, on condition of good be
havior in the future. The offender also gets sound advice
administered freely, and this is sometimes more effective
than the strict penalties of the law.
DR. SAMUEL E. EARP
Samuel Evingston Earp, son of Rev. Joseph Earp of the
Southern Illinois Conference, was born at Lebanon, Decem-
ber 19, 1858, while his father was pastor at Lebanon. In
1876, when his father was pastor at Alton, he became a
student in Shurtleff, but in 1877 he transferred to McKen-
dree and graduated in the class of 1879, receiving the degree
of B. S. He was a member of the Platonian Society. He then
entered the Central College of Physicians and Surgeons at
Indianapolis, from which he graduated in 1882 with the
degree of M. D. and the highest honors of his class. He
also won the "Waters Gold Medal" and the first prize in
obstetrics. Besides his general medical practice, he was for
many years a member of the faculty of the medical college,
and for several years Dean of the Faculty. Since 1886, he
has been consultant in one or more of the hospitals in In-
dianapolis, and for eight years he was surgeon of the Police
Two Hundred and Sixty-Eight
MC KENDREE
and Fire Departments. In 1908 he was the founder of a
medical journal called the "Medical and Surgical Monitor."
The name was afterward changed to "Indianapolis Medical
Journal." Of this Dr. Earp has been Editor-in-chief for many
years. He is a member of the Indianapolis Historical Society
and was for five years its president. He is a member of the
County, State, and National Medical Associations. He has
been for thirty years Medical Examiner for the Knights of
Pythias. He is a frequent contributor to the current liter
ature of the medical science. He was for .1 term of years
Mayor of the city of Indianapolis.
Dr. Earp was married m 1897 to Miss Evelyn P. Byers.
They have two sons, Leon and Evanson. In politics he is a
Republican; in religion a Methodist. He is a thirty-second
degree Mason, and Noble of Murat Temple Mystic Shrine.
WILLIAM L. JONES
William Lucius Jones was born in Lebanon, Illinois, June
7, iS-jg. His parents were Professor Oliver V. Jones, a native
of Kentucky, and Mary E. Crocker, who was born in Mass-
achusetts. He entered McKendree in 1S74 and graduated in
1879, receiving the degree of A. B. He was a Philo. In 1881
he became editor of the Lebanon Journal and continued as
editor and proprietor of that paper until 1913, when he sold
out to his McKendree classmate, Rev. J. G. Dee, and went
to Colorado for the benefit of his health. In 1891 he was
elected president of the Southern Illinois Press Association.
Every year for twenty years he was a delegate to the Na-
tional Editorial Association, and for sixteen years a member
of the Executive Committee of that body. He became a
member of the Republican County Central Committee of
St. Clair County in 1892. In 191 1 he was appointed by
President Taft to the position of Postmaster of the city of
Lebanon. His death occurred m Colorado Springs, Colo.,
September i";, 1915. His funeral was held m the Lebanon
Methodist Church, and he was laid to rest in the College
Hill Cemetery.
MRS. MARTHA LIGGETT CARTER
Martha Elizabeth Liggett was born in December, i860,
at Lebanon, 111. Her parents were William Carr Liggett, a
native of St. Louis, and Ellen O. Whitney, of Williston,
Vermont. She entered McKendree in 1876 and graduated in
1879, with the degree of A. B. In 1890 she received a Chau-
tauqua diploma. She was a member of Clio. She was married
in i88j, to Atkins Harrison Carter, who is also a graduate
of McKendree. Since then Mrs. Carter's chief occupation
has been that of home maker, with side lines as church and
club worker. She is a member of Central Methodist Church,
of Fort Smith, Arkansas, where her home has been since 1887.
IRA W. MARSHALL
Ira Waldron Marshall was born m Manchester, New
Hampshire, May 3, 1857. He was a son of Rev. Lyman Mar-
shall, who was for many years pastor of the Presbyterian
Church in Lebanon, and m honor of whom the church is
called "Marshall Memorial Church." He entered McKen-
dree in 1874 and graduated in 1879, receiving the degree of
A. B. He was a member of the Platonian Literary Society.
Since his graduation he has been engaged in various occu-
pations. He was long in the printing and stationery business
in Philadelphia; for years a professional musician; and for
ten years he was a prison missionary in New York City, to
which work he was enthusiastically devoted. He was a mem-
ber of the Presbyterian Church. His death occurred in New
York City, March j, 191 j.
OLIVE B, SHEPARD
Olive Belle Shepard was born m Orio, Illinois, March 14,
1859. She is a daughter of the Rev. Morrill A. and Mary
(Moorhead) Shepard. Her father was a Baptist preacher, but
spent a large part of his life in business in St. Louis while
he resided in Lebanon. So that Olive Belle had Lebanon for
her home during her youth and much of her later life. She
entered McKendree in 1875 and graduated in 1879, with the
degree of A. B. She was a prominent member of Clio. She
pursued a post graduate course in Boston University, but
did not take a degree there. She has interested herself m an
amateur way in both art and music. She is a member of the
Methodist Church and for many years was a member of the
choir of the Lebanon Church. She is spending her declining
years in the "Old Folks Home" at Lawrenceville, Illinois.
REV. JOSEPH W. VAN CLEVE, D. D.
Joseph William Van Cleve was born m Macoupin County,
Illinois, February 19, 1859. His parents were Rev. William
and Sarah (Calaway) Van
Cleve. His father was born in
Bergen County, New Jersey,
of Dutch ancestry; his mother
was born in Jersey County,
Illinois, and was of Scotch-Irish
descent. He entered McKen-
dree in 1876 and graduated in
1879 as the valedictorian of his
class, receiving the degree of
A. B. Later he received the
following degrees from Mc-
Kendree: A. M., 1882, Ph.D.,
1894, and D.D.m igoo.Hewas dR J. W. VAN CLEVE
Two Hundred and Sixty-]^.
MC KENDREE
a member of the Platonian Literary Society. He was married
September 17, 1882, to Miss Rachel Annis Talley. They have
four children — Luella May, Ethel Annis, Arthur Talley, and
Edith Joy. He joined the Southern Illinois Conference in
1880 and served pastoral charges until 1902. He v,'as Statis-
tician of the conference during the years 1887-1891, and sec-
retary 1892-1900. In 1902 he transferred to the Illinois Con-
ference, where he held several important charges and was
Superintendent of the Decatur District. He was a member of
the General Conferences of 1896, 1900, 1908, 1912, 1916, and
1920. He was a member of the Board of Control of the Ep-
worth League, 1896 to 1904. He was elected a member of the
General Board of Conference Claimants in 1908. He was in
demand as a lecturer, temperance worker, and orator for
special occasions. He was a Mason and a Knight Templar. Dur-
ing the last years of his effective service, he was secretary of
the commission on finance, with headquarters in Chicago. He
retired in 1922 and made his home in Evanston, where he
died June 29, 1926.
^jr/jr-jc?.
/6S6
A century of building and endowment growth. In addition to this amount the Southern IMinois Conference gives the college $10,000 a year
which is the equivalent of $200,000 of added endowment.
Two Hundred and Seventy
MC KENDREE
HT THE MEETING of the Boafd 111 Juiic, 1S79, It wds found
th.it Dr. Houghton's special plan with reference to
college finances had not been a complete success.
What this plan was we do not know, for it is buried in the
committee reports which were not copied into the record
and the papers have been lost, and the Board members of
that day have all without exception passed into the great
beyond. But whatever it was. Dr. Houghton himself con-
sidered it a failure and therefore, with his report, presented
his resignation as president. Professor E. E. Edwards of the
Science Department also resigned at the same time. Before
the session was over, the Board requested all the other mem-
bers of the faculty to resign also. Then with the slate clear,
they proceeded to elect a faculty one at a time by ballot.
Dr. Houghton's name was placed m nomination for president
for another year, and was elected by a vote of sixteen to
nine. But this vote was not satisfactory to Dr. Houghton
himself. If there were nine members of the Board who were
against him, he did not want the office. He therefore "did
not choose" to accept. Then the name of Rev. Daniel W.
Phillips was placed m nomination and he was unanimously
elected. He was a graduate of McKendree of the class of
1862. A sketch of his life will be found in connection with
that class. He had been for nearly twenty years a member
of the conference, and for a number of years a member of
the Joint Board. He was therefore acquainted with the sit-
uation, and tho recognizing the difficulty of the task, he
accepted the responsibility of guiding the progress of the
institution for a year at least. As a matter of fact, his term
of office proved to be four years. In selecting the remainder
of the faculty, the Board suspended the ballot rule in the case
of Professor Deneen and reelected him by acclamation with a
unanimous vote. In case of each of the other positions to be
filled, two candidates were nominated and one chosen by a
majority vote. Professor Swahlen was reelected to the Chair
of Greek and German, which he had long held, and Professor
Harris was elected for the second year to the Chair of Math-
ematics. In Professor Edwards case, his resignation was the
result of a genuine desire to change his field of work, so it
was accepted by the Board and his efficient service commend-
ed. The position was filled by the election of Miss Lucy
Jane Rider, who afterward became so well-known to the
church at large in connection with the Chicago Training
School. This group composed President Phillips' faculty of
'Editor's Note — His picture appears on page one hundred and ninety.
CHAPTER XXII.
President P/nllip's Administration
liberal arts, which remained the same for his four year period,
except that Miss Rider left after two years and was suc-
ceeded by Professor E. B. Waggoner, In addition to these,
the faculty page in the catalogue shows the names of Ida
Maria Miller, Professor of Elocution and Phonetics; Frank-
lin F. Roose, Professor of Book-keeping and Penmanship;
Henry H. Horner, Gustavus Koerner, and James M. Hamill,
Professors m the Law Department; and George H. Farwell,
Professor of Instrumental and Vocal Music. Sketches of the
other members of the mam college faculty have already been
given except Miss Rider, so a brief biography of her is pre-
sented here.
Lucy Jane Rider was born m New Haven, Vermont, Sep-
tember 9, 1849. She graduated from Oberlin College in 1872
with the degree of A. B., and received the degree of A. M.
from the same college in 1880. She long cherished the ambi-
tion to become a foreign missionary. This led her to take a
medical course in Philadelphia. She afterward studied in the
Medical School of Northwestern University and received
the degree of M. D. from that institution. She was also a
student for two years in the Boston School of Technology
and for some time a student m the School of Divinity of
Chicago University.
After her two years at McKendree, she devoted herself
to the great Sunday School movement of that day, under the
inspiration of John H. Vincent. She was associated m this
enterprise with the well-known Illinois leader in Sunday
School work, B. F. Jacobs. In 1885 she was married to Mr.
Josiah Shelley Meyer, and the next year they together started
the enterprise afterward known as the Chicago Training
School, which in the succeeding years has achieved such
wonderful results in preparing thousands of young women
for various lines of Christian work. After devoting thirty-
seven years of her life to this work, she passed to her reward
March 16, 1922.
During Dr. Phillips' four years, the financial affairs of
the college drifted along about the same. There were still
shortages in the salary payments, but the spirit of sacri-
fice was still strong in the faculty and there was less said
about deficits in the records of the Board. One great achieve-
ment of this administration was the payment of the note
of $5,000 to the heirs of Governor French. This obliga-
tion had been hanging over the college ever since the death
of Governor French in T864. The enrollment of students was
Two Hundred and Seventy-One
MC KENDREE
slightly larger at the end than at the beginning of his term.
The four graduating classes whose diplomas were signed by
him were at least up to the average in size. The class ot 1880
had nine members, 1881 had twenty -one, 1882 had twenty
five, an unusually large class, and the class of i88j dropped
to seventeen. Brief sketches of the members of these four
classes follow.
THE CLASS OF ISM)
SHELBY C. BROWN
Shelby Cullom Brown was born at Mt. Vernon, Illinois,
March 4, 1855. His father, Russell Brown, was born in the
state of New York and his mother, Nellie Brown, was born
in Illinois. He entered McKendree as a student in 1877, and
after completing the required courses, received the following
degrees: B. S., 1880; LL. B., 1882; and M. S. in 1883. He
was married December 22, 1887, to Miss Ella O. Heller. They
have two sons, Shelby Gale and John Russell, born in 1889
and 1897 respectively. Since his graduation Mr. Brown has
followed the profession of law, practicing in Chanute, Kan-
sas. He has held the position of City Attorney of Chanute
and County Attorney of Neosho County. He has been active
in politics in the interest of his friends, but never sought
political preferment for himself. He is a member of the
Methodist Church and the following fraternal orders: Ma-
sons, A. O. U. W., and Elks.
PROF. THOMAS H. JONES
Thomas Henry Jones was born September 8, 1855, at
Middleport, Meigs County, Ohio. His parents were Moses
Jones, a Virginian of Welsh-American descent, and Aurilia
A. (Shaug) Jones, a native of Ohio, of German-American
ancestry. When he was quite young, his parents came to
Illinois. He entered McKendree in 1874 and graduated in
June, 1880 with the degree of A. B. In i88j he received the
degree of A. M. He was a member of the Platonian Literary
Society. He was married August 8, 1882, to Laura L. John-
son, daughter of Dr. Wm. M. Johnson, of Johnsonville,
Wayne County, Illinois. Their children are Shelby Corwin,
a graduate of the Missouri Botanical Garden; Hubert Mel-
vin, deceased; Theodore Raymond; and Ralph Waldo. Prof.
Jones spent twelve years in public school and college work.
He was associate principal of the Wayne County Normal,
principal of the Odin Public Schools, Superintendent of
Schools, Yates Center, Kansas, Dean of Normal Department
and Professor of English Literature in Kansas Wesleyan
University, President of Eldorado (Kan.) Normal and Busi-
ness College, President of Orchard City College, Flora, 111.
and President of Jennings Seminary, Aurora, lUinois. He
spent about twenty years as manager of a large horticultural
company in Kansas. He spent several years as Horticultural
Editor of the Farm, Field, and Fireside, published in Chicago,
and was also Editor-in-chief of the American Fruit and Veg-
etable Journal. In recent years he has been at the head of a
land investment company in St. Louis. He is a member of
the Methodist Church, the Masons, and the order of Knights
and Ladies of Security. He is a Republican in poHtics. His
home is in St. Louis.
MADISON M. LINDLV
Madison Monroe Lindly was born in Illinois, June 10,
i8';6. His parents were John J. and Amanda Lindly, who
were both native Americans. He graduated from McKendree
in June, 1880, receiving the degree of LL. B. He was a mem-
ber of the Philosophian Literary Society. From 1890 to 1894
and from 1900 to 190J he was Deputy United States Marshall
in charge of the United States Court at McAlester, Indian
Territory — now Oklahoma. Except in those periods, he prac-
ticed law at McAlester from 1890 until his death. He was
married December 5, 1883, to Miss Laura I. Mousley, of
Shipman, Illinois, also a graduate of McKendree, of the class
of 1882. They have three children — John M., Mary M., and
Charles M. He was a member of the orders Knights of Py-
thias and Odd Fellows. He died in September, 1920. at
McAlester, Oklahoma.
MRS. MARY LINDLY TAYLOR
Mary Agnes Lindly was born in Lebanon, Illinois, Sep-
tember 19, 1859. She was the daughter of John J. and Aman-
da Lindly, who were both Americans. She was educated in
the Lebanon Public Schools and McKendree College, from
which she graduated in the class of 1880, receiving the de-
gree of B. S. She was a member of the Clionian Literary
Society. Before her graduation, October 5, 1878, she was
married to John A. Taylor, who was also a student in Mc-
Kendree. They lived successively at Freeburg, Illinois, Terre
Haute, Indiana, and on a farm in Dakota. In 1889 they re-
turned to Illinois and Mr. Taylor entered the Methodist
ministry and became a member of the Southern Illinois Con-
ference. She constantly shared her husband's labors in the
ministry. Of their three children, one died in infancy. The
others are Mrs. Blanche Hake, of Cairo, 111. and Fred L.
Taylor, who studied law but is now engaged in business.
For the last four years of her life Mrs. Taylor's home was
in Carbondale. She died September 26, 191 3, and was buried
in College Hill Cemetery.
REBECCA J. LOUDEN
Rebecca Jane Louden was born near Trenton, Illinois,
February, i8'>9. Her parents were John and Rosanna (Craig)
Two Hundred and So.
<.^:^^^^^^^^^^;^^^^^^^^^^S^^s:^
Louden, who were both natives of Ireland, coming to Amer-
ica m early life. She entered McKendree in 1877 and grad-
uated m 1880, receiving the degree of B. S., and later. M. S.
She was a member of the Clionian Literary Society. Her life
was very largely spent in ministering to others, especially
the inmates of her own home. After her father's death, she
was faithfully devoted to her mother, with whom she lived
to the end of her life. She was for twelve years assistant
Postmaster at Lebanon, while her brother, John C. Louden,
was Postmaster. She served faithfully for many years as a
member of the executive committee and treasurer of the
Alumni Association of McKendree College. She belonged
to the Methodist Church and the order of the Eastern Star.
She died March 12, iQij, at La JoUa, California, and was
buried m College Hill Cemetery.
MRS. IDA MILLER WEIR
Ida Maria Miller graduated in the class of 1880, receiving
the degree of M. S. She is registered in the catalogue as com-
ing from Neosho, Missouri. She taught expression, or elocu-
tion, as it was then called, for several years in McKendree.
Later she went to Kansas where she was married to Mr. Ar-
thur J. Weir. We have no recent information concerning her.
P£RRY W. THATCHER
Perry Wells Thatcher was born at Mt. Vernon, Illinois,
March 5, iS-ig. He was a son of Rev. John and Virginia
(Bolls) Thatcher, who were both native Americans. He en-
tered McKendree m the fall of 1877 and graduated in 1880,
receiving the degree of A. B., and later, A. M. He was the
valedictorian of his class. He was a member of the Philosoph-
lan Literary Society. He was married in 1886 and had one
daughter, Clementine. He was a great lover of music. His life
business was teaching music, and several pieces of his own
composition were published. He was a member of the Meth-
odist Episcopal Church. He died at Chicago, October 25, 1904.
LOUIS ZERWECK
Louis Zerweck was born in Cleveland, Ohio, January 26,
1844. His parents were John Philip and Anna Margaret
Zerweck, who were Germans. He entered the Law Depart-
ment of McKendree in January, 1877, and graduated in
June, 1880, receiving the degree of LL. B. He was a member
of the Platonian Literary Society. He was married December
26, 1872, to Miss Mary E. Thomas. Their children are
Clara L., Nellie M., Louis P., and Susie, all of whom have
been students in McKendree. They are now all married.
Mr. Zerweck practiced law in Lebanon for many years. He
has held the office of Public Administrator of St. Clair
County; member of the County Board of Supervisors; Jus-
tice of the Peace; and was Mayor of Lebanon two terms.
He was United States Revenue Collector during the Cleve-
land administration. He was a member of the Masonic Or-
der, the Odd Fellows, and the Modern Woodmen of Amer-
ica. He died January 12. 1920.
THE CLASS OF LSSI
MRS. JULIA ALEXANDER NAY
Julia Estelle Alexander was born m St. Louis, Missouri,
June 2s, 1861. She is the daughter of Charles H. and Kate
Alexander, who were both born in Ohio. She entered Mc-
Kendree in 1879 and graduated in the class of 1881, receiving
the degree of B. S. She was a member of the Clionian Literary
Society. She was married December ji, 1881, to Rev. C. S.
Uzzell, of the Methodist Church, at Trinidad, Colorado.
Their three children are George, Thomas, and Ruth. Mr.
Uzzell died in May, 1889. September 9, 1891, Mrs. Uzzell
was married to Mr. Frank Nay, of St. Louis. They h,ive
three children, Lucile, Lloyd, and John. Mr. Nay is now
Comptroller of all the Rock Island Railway lines. Mrs. Nay
is a member of the Methodist Church, and of the Royal
Neighbors. She has devoted much time to home missionary
work, temperance work, and Christian work in general, es-
pecially among the young people of the church.
MRS. JOSEPHINE AMOS ALVORD
Josephine Mary Amos was born near Carlyle, Illinois,
March 4, 1861. She was the daughter of Peter H. and Mary
S. Amos, who were both native Americans. She became a
student in McKendree in September, 1S77, and graduated
in the class of 1881, receiving the degree of B. S. She was
a member of Clio. She was married December 27, 1883, to
Horace H. Alvord. They lived several years m Houston,
Texas, where Mrs. Alvord died June 25, 1886, leaving one
daughter, Edith Nina, who also died August 7, 1890. Mrs.
Alvord was a faithful member of the Methodist Church.
PROF. SANDERS W BLACK
Sanders Whiting Black was born m St. Clair County,
Illinois, November 7, 185'). His parents, William M. and
Milly G. Black, were both native born Americans. He en-
tered McKendree in the fall of 1876 and graduated m the
class of 1881, with the degree of B. L. He was a member of
the Platonian Society. Since his graduation, he has done
graduate work in several institutions, chiefly the University
of Missouri and Chicago. He was married m June, 1886, to
Ida L. Collins, at Monmouth, Kansas. His career as an edu-
cator has included the following positions: Teaching in dis-
trict schools two years; Principal of Schools at Monmouth,
Kansas two years ; Superintendent of City School at Chanute
Two Hundred and Se
<:s:S:^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^g^^S:^
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MUSIC.
BENEDICTION.
MUSIC.
Facsimile of commencement programme under Dr. Phillip's administration
Kansas five years; Superintendent City Schools, Pittsburg,
Kansas six years: occupied Chair of Latin, German, and
Agriculture in the Cherokee County High School for nine
years; and for many years he has been President of the Pan-
handle School of Agriculture and Mechanics, at Goodwell,
Oklahoma. He is a member of the Christian Science Church,
and of the following fraternal orders : Masons, Odd Fellows,
Knights of Pythias, Maccabees, and A. O. U. W. He is also
a member of the National Educational Association.
JOHN H. G. BRINKERHOFF
John H.G.Brinkerhoff was born in Hackensack, New Jer
sey, December 14, 1844. His parents were Phillip and Sarah
(Scott) BrinkerhofF, who were both American born, though
the former was of Holland Dutch descent, and the latter of
Scotch and Holland Dutch ancestry. He became a student
in McKendree in 1878 and graduated from the Law Depart-
ment in 1881, receiving the degree of LL. B. He was not
a member of either literary society. He was married to Miss
Amanda Clark at Mascoutah, Illinois, December 25, 1872.
They have two daughters, Jennie and Amy, and four sons,
Clarence M., Roland C, John P., and Richmond H. Mr.
BrinkerhofF was Superintendent of Schools at Lebanon for
ten years, and held a similar position at Salem for ten years.
He was Deputy Treasurer of Marion County for five years
and Police Magistrate for two years. He was an elder and
preacher in the Christian Church, a Mason, and an Odd
Fellow. He is author of a History of Marion County, also
of several poems, one of which entitled, "Just as their Dad-
dies Did," has been used extensively by Professor Brownlee
in his public readings. He was President of the Old Settlers
Association of Marion County. He died in 1915.
MRS. ANNA BROOKS FREARK
Anna Mary Brooks was born at Bentonsport, fowa, Feb'
ruary 28, 1858. She is the daughter of Rev. Strange Brooks,
a Methodist preacher. She entered McKendree in September,
1878, and graduated in the class of 188 1, receiving the degree
of B. S. She was a member of the Clionian Literary Society.
She was married September 4, 1882, to Rev. C. S. Freark,
who was her classmate at McKendree. Their living children
are Winona, who graduated from Baker University in 1906
and has since been a teacher in the Clay County (Kansas)
High School; Christine B., who graduated from the Kansas
State University; Clinton Joyce; and Christian S. Three
daughters, Maude, Frances, and Ruth, died in childhood.
Mrs. Freark is a member of the First Methodist Church at
Lawrence, Kansas, is always anxious to do what she can to
help every good work, and believes that women ought to
be permitted toexercise the right of suffrage always. She avails
herself of this privilege whenever the opportunity is offered.
'Ywo Hv.n'ired, atiJ Setent>-FouT
ffMC KENDREE
DR. JAMES M. G. CARTER
James Madison Gore Carter was born in Johnson County,
Illinois, April !<;, 1843. He was educated chiefly at the State
Normal University of Normal, Illinois, St. John's College,
and the Medical Department of the Northwestern Univer-
sity, from which he received the degree of M. D., 1880. He
received from McKendree the honorary degree of A. M. in
1881, and therefore he is listed in the class of 1881. He was
married to Eunice Northrop in 187},. She died in 1887. He
was married a second time in 1887, to Mrs. E. P. Earle, of
Chicago. He served in the Civil War. He is .1 member ot
the G. A. R., a Knight Templar, an Odd Fellow, and has
been President of the Chicago Medical Society. He is the
author of several books. Among them are : "Outlines of Med-
ical Botany m the United States," "Catarrhal Diseases of
the Respiratory Organs," and "Diseases of the Stomach."
He has had a long and successful medical career, having re-
sided for many years at Waukegan, Illinois.
PETER T. ENTREKIN
Peter Thomas Etrekin was born at Carlyle, Illinois, July
11, 1858. He was the son of Andrew J. and Sarah A. (Amos)
Entrekin. He entered McKendree in 1878 and graduated in
the class of 1881, receiving the degree of B. S. He was a
member of the Platonian Literary Society. He then entered
the St. Louis School of Pharmacy, from which he graduated
in 1886. He spent his life as a druggist, following this pro-
fession for many years m Dallas, Texas. He was married in
March, 1884, to Miss Virginia Belle Cooper, of Alton. She.
died in Dallas, Texas, April 21, 1907 and her husband died
March 28, 1908. They left no children. Mr. Entrekin was
a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and voted
with the Democratic party.
REV. JACKSON C. HALL
Jackson Caleb Hall was born at Nashville, Illinois, January
2";, 1862. His parents were Dr. A. A. and Lucretia (Goodner)
Hall. He entered McKendree in 1877, completed the Classical
Course, and received the degree of A. B. in 1881. He was
a member of the Philosophian Society. He was a Republican
in politics and a member of the Christian Church, of which
he became a minister and served m that capacity for many
years. He lived for .some time at Albion, Illinois, and after-
ward moved to Los Angeles, California.
HON. ALLEN G. FISHER
Allen GaskiU Fisher was born at Bakersville, Ohio, Sep-
tember 16, i86j. His parents were Rev. G. W. and Mary
Jane Fisher. His father was a Presbyterian minister and was
stationed for some years at Trenton, 111. Allen G. graduated
from McKendree in the class of 188 1, receiving the degree
of A. B., and in 1884 from the Washington University Law
School, where he received the degree of LL. B. He located
m Chadron, Nebraska, for the practice of law, and that place
has been his home during his entire professional career. He
has been City Attorney, Mayor, member of the Board of
Education and of the Nebraska Legislature. He is a Meth-
odist, a Mason, Shriner, an Odd Fellow, and belongs to the
Eagles, Elks, Knights of Pythias, Modern Woodmen, Royal
Neighbors, Royal Highlanders, and the Commercial Club.
He was married to Miss Flora R. Yanaway, of Toledo, Illi-
nois. They have seven children, though not all are living.
One of his daughters, Bessie V. Fisher, was a student in
McKendree a tew years ago.
MRS. CARRIE BROWN HOYT
Carrie Agnes Brown was born at Lebanon, Illinois, Feb-
ruary 5, 1863. She was a daughter of Luther and Carrie
(Baldwin) Brown, who were natives, the former of Vermont
and the latter of New York State. Her youth was spent in
Lebanon, where, after attending the public schools, she en-
tered McKendree in September, 1877, and graduated m the
class of 1881, receiving the degree of B. S., and later, M. S.
She was a member of the Clionian Literary Society. She was
married December 30, 1884, to Dr. John W. Hoyt, of the
class of 1875. They resided for some years m Olney, Illinois,
and later m Kansas City, Missouri, where Dr. Hoyt was
engaged in the practice of medicine, and where he died in
1892. Mrs. Hoyt's death occurred January 19, 1909, at Sioux
City, Iowa.
PROF. JAMES S. CARSON
James Sylvester Carson was born at Hoyleton, Illinois,
October 6, i8')9. His parents, K. L. and Catherine Carson,
are both native Americans. After completing the courses
offered by the home school, he entered McKendree and grad-
uated in 1 88 1 as the valedictorian of his class, with the degree
of A. B. He afterward received the degrees of A. M. and
LL. B. from McKendree, and has done graduate work in the
University of Chicago. While in McKendree he was a mem-
ber of the Platonian Literary Society. He was married August
16, 1883, to Anna F. Spies, of the class of 1882. They have
three sons: James W., Oliver J., and Charles L. Professor
Carson has been employed in educational work in the state
of Kansas for the last twenty-five years. For many years his
work has been in Wichita, where he has been employed as
Ward Principal, Department Teacher, High School Principal,
and Superintendent. He was a candidate for County Super-
intendent of Schools in Sedgwick County, of which Wichita
is the County Seat. In May, 191 3, when he was delivering
Two Hundred and Seventy-Fne
.^r^^r-^^^^i^C^^^^MC KENDREE^^fe^r^.^.....^^.^^
the Commencement address for the Valley Center High
School, he was stricken with apoplexy and died four days
later. He is survived by his wife and three sons.
JOSEPH C. CREIGHTON
Joseph C. Creighton was born in Wayne County, Illinois,
in 1854, and died at Salt Lake City, Utah, in January, 1899.
His parents were John M. and Mary Ann (Crews) Creigh-
ton. He graduated from the Law Department of McKendree
in 1881, receiving the degree of LL. B. He was a member of
the Philosophian Literary Society. He was married in 1883,,
to Miss Cordelia Allen. They had no children. Mr. Creigh-
ton followed the profession of law during his active life with
good success and was recognized as an able and honorable
lawyer. He served two terms as State's Attorney of Christian
County. He was a member of the Methodist Church.
REV. CHRISTIAN S. FREARK
Christian Simon Freark was born December 29, 1854, at
Fosterburg, Illinois. His father. Christian Freark, was a farm-
er in Madison County, Illinois. He became a student m
McKendree in September, 1877, and after completing the
Classical Cour.se, graduated in 1881, receiving the degree of
A. B. He was a member of the Platonian Literary Society.
He entered Garrett Biblical Institute, but before he had com-
pleted his course, his health failed and he was obliged to
abandon his Theological Course. He was admitted to the
Kansas Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church in
1882. He served charges in this conference in the Atchison
and Kansas City Districts until 191 j, when he took the
supernumerary relation, and resides at Lawrence, Kansas-
He was a very earnest, and according to the testimony of
his members, a very acceptable pastor and preacher. He was
married September 4, 1882, to Miss Anna M. Brooks, who
graduated from McKendree in the same class with himself.
Of their seven children, four are now living. He is a member
of the Masonic and Odd Fellows Lodges m L.iwrence.
WILLIAM W. FLINT
William Wmterton Flint was born at Lebanon, Illinois,
March 23,, 1858, and died at Lebanon, January 25, 1896. His
parents, William and Mary Flint, were both English, and
came to Lebanon in 1842. He became a student in McKen-
dree in 1875 and graduated in the class of 1881, receiving
the degree of B. S. In 1884 he received the degrees of M. S.
and LL. B. He was a member of the Platonian Literary So-
ciety. He was married September 7, 1887, to Miss Carrie
Beck, of Lebanon. Their only son, Charles William, is a
graduate of the Lebanon High School and is now employed
in mercantile business in Chicago. Mr. Flint spent some
years in farming, several as a lumber dealer in Lebanon, was
m the real estate business tor a while m Pratt, Kansas, and
editor of a paper m Trenton, Illinois. For some time before
his death his health was too frail to permit him to engage in
any active occupation. He was a member of the Methodist
Episcopal Church.
PROF. JOHN W. HENNINGER
John Wesley Henninger was born December 21, 1857, '^^
Hagarstown, Illinois. His parents were John B. and Amanda
E. Henninger, the former a native of Virginia and the latter
of Kentucky. He entered McKendree in 1878, having pre-
viously been a student in the Wesleyan University. He grad-
uated with the class of 1881, receiving the degree of B. S.
Three years later he received the degree of M. S., and in
1892, after finishing the Law Course, he was granted the
degree of LL. B. In 1906 he received the degree of Ph. M.
from the University of Chicago. While in McKendree he
was a member of the Platonian Literary Society. He was
married in 1890, to Miss Clara K. Kimlin, of Quincy, Illi-
nois. They have three children: Ellen Louise, Thomas, and
Julia. The following are some of the principal positions held
by Professor Henninger since leaving McKendree: Principal
of the Bloomington High School four years; Superintendent
of the Charleston city schools six years; Assistant Superin-
tendent of Public Instruction of the State of Illinois two
years; Superintendent of the Jacksonville city schools four
years; President of the Macomb Stiite Normal four years.
During all these years he was an active member of the Illinois
State Teachers' Association and the National Educational
Association. He was also one of the organizers of the South-
ern Illinois Teachers' Association. He was a Knight Templar
and a member of the Knights of Pythias. He was a life long
Methodist and active Christian worker. He was a member
of the Illinois Conference and pastor of Methodist churches
for several years. In 1914 he was elected Professor of Phil-
osophy in the Illinois Wesleyan University. He died at
Bloomington, July 25, 1918.
ELIZABETH E. HOLDING
Eliz.iheth Ella Holding was born at Virden, Macoupin
County, Illinois, September i, 1858. Her father. Rev. Rich-
ard Holding, after spending about forty years in the Meth
odist ministry — mostly in the state of Kentucky, died in
1868, leaving five children, of whom Elizabeth was the young-
est. Her mother died in 1866. She made her home for a time
with her brother. Rev. Carlisle B Holding, in Carbondale,
Illinois, and attended the Southern Illinois Normal School.
L.iter she entered McKendree College, where she gradixited
Twn Hundred and Sev
c KENDREE^^^^^^^:^^^,^.^.,.^^
Facsimile of the programme of the music soiree by the scholars of the Conservatory of Music of McKendree College held on June
in 1881. receiving the degree of A. B., and later, A. M. She
was a member of the Clionian Literary Society. While in
McKendree she became an intimate friend of Lucy J. Rider —
afterward Mrs. Meyer, who was then a teacher there. Soon
after graduation she went to teach in a mission school in
Santiago, Chili, South America. In 1885 she returned to the
United States and taught in Salt Lake City as a home mis-
sionary under the direction of Dr. Iliff until the opening of
the Chicago Training School for missionaries under the direc-
tion of Mrs. Meyer. After about four years of efficient service
m the Chicago Training School, she was chosen on the recom-
mendation of Mrs. Meyer herself as instructor in Bible in the
Scarritt Training School in Kansas City. After a career of
notable success in this institution, she was called from labor
to reward, August 28, 1896. "Her Hfe was an inspiration
to nobler thought and action, to all who came under her
influence."
WILBUR N. HORNER
Wilbur Nathan Horner was born at Lebanon, St. Clair
County, Illinois, May 2, i860. He is a son of Henry Hypes
Horner, who was a member of the first class that graduated
from McKendree. He graduated m the class of 1881, receiv-
ing the degree of A. B. The following year he received the
degree of LL. B., and m 1884, A. M. He was the salutatorian
of his class, and was a member of the Philosophian Literary
Society. His education was completed by taking a post grad-
uate course at Columbia University, New York. For seven
years he engaged in the practice of law in Belleville, Illi-
nois, being associated with ex-Governor Gustavus Koerner.
He removed to Chicago in 1893, and shortly after formed
a law partnership with ex-United States Senator Lyman
Trumbull, of Chicago, and continued in this partnership
until Senator Trumbull's death; since which time he has
practiced law alone and has made a specialty of corporation
work. He has travelled extensively in Europe and is a member
of numerous clubs in Chicago, New York, and other cities.
For several years, having retired from active service, he
has lived with his two younger sisters at the old Horner
homestead in Lebanon.
MARY E. LEONARD
Mary Emma Leonard was born May 16, iS-vv. Her parents
were George Leonard, who was of Irish descent, and Harriet
M. (Parker) Leonard, who was of English ancestry. She en-
tered McKendree in 1878 and graduated in 1881 with the
degree of B. S. In 1893 she received the degree of Ph. D.
from McKendree, which was earned by resident graduate
Two Hundred and Seientv-Sei-eii
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^s^
work. In 1894 she received the degree of M. L. from Cornell
University, at Ithaca, N. Y. This also was secured by resi-
dent graduate study. While at McKendree she was a mem-
ber of the Clionian Society. In 1886 she graduated from the
Kansas State Normal School and therefore holds a life cer-
tificate to teach in the public schools of Kansas. She taught
two years in that state as high school principal, one at Lone
and the other at Osage City. She was principal of the schools
at Palms, CaHfornia from 1889 to 1893, and in 1894-95 she
held a similar position at Escondido, California. December
27, 1890, she was granted a life certificate in the schools of
that state. She taught English and Latin in the high school
at Elsinore, California, 1898-99. She compiled a set of abstract
books for Sangamon County, Illinois and built up a good
abstract business in the years 1903-1912. In March, 1912,
she returned to California and went into the real estate
business in the city of Los Angeles. She is a member of
the Methodist Episcopal Church, belongs to the Founder's
Chapter of the American Women's League, and is a mem
ber of the American Women's Republic.
MRS. CARRIE PADON PHELPS
Carrie Olive Padon was born at Summerfield, February
3, 1862. She graduated from McKendree in the class of 1881,
receiving the degree of B. S. She was a member of Clio. She
was married to George L. Phelps, of Columbia, December
17, 1884. Mr. Phelps was also educated at McKendree, but
died in 1899, leaving Mrs. Phelps with six children. She
bravely undertook the task of rearing and educating these
children; all of whom grew to maturity, though three of
them succumbed to the influenza epidemic in 1917. Mrs.
Phelps taught m the public schools of Illinois and Missouri
for several years, served eight ye;irs as County Superintend-
ent of Schools of Howell County, Missouri, taught in the
Agricultural College of New Mexico, served as Postmistress
of State College, New Mexico, and as Home Demonstration
Agent for the College. She is now serving a two year contract
as House Manager of a Boys' School in Honolulu, Hawaiian
Islands. In June, 1928, she expects to return to her home in
State College, New Mexico. She is a member of the Royal
Neighbors and the Knights and Ladies of Security.
OSCAR R. SILLIMAN
Oscar Rudolph Silliman was born at Carmi, Illinois, April
12, i86i. He graduated from McKendree in 1881 with the
degree of B. S. He w.is a member of the Philo Society. Later
he took a law course in the Illinois Wesleyan, though he
did not practice law. He taught school for some years in
Illinois, and then went to Colorado in the hope of improving
his health, which had not been good from the time of his
recovery from a severe case of typhoid fever. He went to
Durango, Colorado, in 1892 and engaged in mercantile busi-
ness until 1909, when the state of his health became such
that he was compelled to sell his business and take up work
in the open air. He bought a fruit and dairy ranch near
Durango and lived on it with a fair degree of health until
his death, which occurred December 26, 1921, as the result
of a tumor on the brain. He was married in 1902 to Miss
Etta Hornady, of McCune, Kansas, who was at that time
teaching school in Animas City, Colorado. Their one daugh-
ter IS now married and lives in Denver, which is also the
present home of Mrs. Silliman.
JACOB A. SPIES
Jacob Alfred Spies was born at Marine, Illinois, March
14, iS-ig. He is a son of Jacob and Katherine Spies, who were
natives of Germany. He entered McKendree in January,
1878, and graduated in June, 1881, receiving the degrees of
B. S. and LL. B., both at the same time. He was a member
of the Philosophian Society. He was married to Anna Spies,
June 17, 1886. They have four children: Anna Agnes, Eliza-
beth, Charles, and Adolph. When Mr. Spies finished his
college course, having carried the Law Course at the same
time, his health was broken ; so for two years after his grad-
uation he travelled in Europe and succeeded in regaining
his health. In 1885 he came to Palo Alto County, Iowa,
then a vast praine, and invested in land, and engaged in
farming for a period of five years. When the country de-
veloped, he built and operated a line of grain elevators and
lumber yards, which he operated till 1904, when he sold
the business. About the same time the American Savings
Bank of Graettinger was organized, of which Mr. Spies be-
came president, and which position he still holds. In 191 1
he purchased a controlling interest in the Union Dairy Com-
pany, of St. Louis.
He then moved to St. Louis and lived in that city until
1917, when he moved back to his Iowa home, where he
now lives and is engaged in the practice of law.
Two Hundred and Sex'cntyEight
^MC KENDREE K^^^^s:^:^-s^g^>.r^^
THE CLASS OF 1SS2
MRS, CAROLINE THRALL CAMPBELL
Caroline H. Thrall was horn m Edwards County, Illinois,
January i8, 1845. Her parents were Worthy Thrall, a native
of Vermont, of English descent, and Hannah James, who was
born in Ohio, of Welsh ancestry. She entered McKendree in
1869, but failing health, two years later, necessitated the
abandonment of school work for some years. Returning to
Lebanon in 1881, she completed her course and was graduated
in 1882, receiving the degree of B. S. She was one of the
founders of Clio, and a member of the committee which
drafted the constitution and by-laws. She was reared
in a Methodist home and united with the church at the age
of nine. September 2, 1875, she was united in marriage to Rev.
C. W. Campbell, a Methodist preacher. Their children are
Mrs. Ettie C. Marshall, of Jennings, La., and Leo F., for
some time a student in McKendree. Mrs. Campbell taught
four years in Houston Seminary while her husband was prin-
cipal of that institution. Since that time, in addition to her
household duties, she has been "assistant pastor" in the var-
ious charges her husband has held. She died at Lake Charles,
Louisiana, December ji, 1924.
SENATOR CHARLES S. DENEEN
One of the most highly respected names to be
found in the long history of McKendree College
and the city of Lebanon, is that of Deneen. That
name seems to have reached its climax of renown
m the present senior United States Senator from
Illinois, Charles S. Deneen. His ancestry can be
traced back to the founders of the American
Republic. His grand-father. Rev. William L.
Deneen, was born in Pennsylvania in 1798 and
came to Illinois in his early manhood. He married
Verlinder Moore, the daughter of Risdon Moore,
who was a soldier in the Revolutionary war.
After helping to win the war of Independence, Moore went
to Georgia, then came to Illinois in time to help lay the found -
ations and formulate the policies of the great prairie state.
The three children of William and Verlinder Deneen were
Risdon M., Samuel H., and their sister, who married Judge
Metcalf of Edwardsville. Samuel Hedding Deneen married
Sarah Ashley, daughter of Hiram K. Ashley. Of their four
children, Charles Samuel was the second, born May 4, 1863.
He thus comes of pioneer stock, eminent for both their
piety and their patriotism. His ancestors helped to make this
country what it is, and he is using his abilities in an effort
to maintain the high ideals which his ancestors helped to
SENATOR DENEEN
establish. His people were also closely identified with Mc-
Kendree College. His great grandfather, Nathan Horner, was
one of the founders, its iirst treasurer, and for thirty-eight
years a trustee. Henry Hypes Horner, his great uncle, was
a member of the first graduating class, and for twenty-four
years. Dean of the Law Department. Benjamin Hypes, another
great uncle, was treasurer for thirty-five years, and a trustee
for sixty years, which is the longest official connection on
record. William L. Deneen, his grandfather, received a degree
from McKendree and was a trustee for eight years. Hiram
K. Ashley, his other grandfather, was a charter trustee and
served until 1851. Risdon Marshall Moore, his second cousin,
graduated m 1850 and served in the faculty from that time
until 1866, except the time he was m the Cn'il War as
Colonel of the 117th Illinois, known as the McKendree
Regiment. Risdon M. Deneen, his uncle, graduated from
McKendree in 1854. Samuel H, Deneen, his father, graduated
m the same year and taught Latin in McKendree for thirty
years. Charles Samuel is the second of his father's four
children, all of whom graduated from McKendree. Mr.
Deneen feels that he owes much of his life's success to the
college. His early home was adjoining the camp-
us, and he grew up m the college atmosphere.
He became a student there as soon as he was
old enough, under the rules. In McKendree's
class rooms he learned habits of close and thorough
study, and in the Philosophian Society he learned
to think on his feet. In his contacts with both
te.ichers and students he received the inspiration
that made him ambitious to serve his fellowmen.
He completed the course and graduated in 1882,
receiving the degree of A. B. Of the twenty-five
members of his class, one other attained emin-
ence m public life, both in the state and nation.
This is . Ex-Senator Lawrence Y. Sherman. In
1885 Mr. Deneen received the degrees of A. M. and LL.
B. from McKendree, and m 190'; that of LL.D.
In recognition of the debt he owes his Alma Mater he has
rendered eminent service to her in many ways. He became
a trustee in 1900 and has therefore served for twenty-eight
consecutive years. For ten years he was president of the
Board and a member of the Executive Committee. He has
contributed liberally to the endowment fund, besides being
the sole donor of the ten acre experiment field, adjoining the
city limits of Lebanon, which is owned by the college but
conducted by the University of Illinois. When McKendree
was in an endowment campaign he gave several days of his
Two Hundred and S:
^Sl^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^g^^s^
valuable time, speaking in important centers ,ind presenting
the claims of the oldest Methodist College in Illinois. Jn fact
but few men in all her century of history can show a record
of service to the institution equal to his.
Mr. Deneen began the practice of law in Chicago a few
years after he left McKendree, and has considered that city
his home ever since. He served a term in the legislature of
Illinois, two terms as State's Attorney of Cook County, and
two terms as Governor of Illinois. He then returned to his
law practice in Chicago until he was elected United States
Senator. But his public life is a matter of common knowledge
and need not be repeated here. He was married May lo,
1891 to Miss Bina Day Maloney of Mt. Carroll, Illinois.
They have four children — Edward Ashley, Dorothy, Frances
and Bina.
EXHIBITION!
^MlQSQPHIAN $ SOCIETY, ^ \
pf 1 President o( the E
'"^ CHARLES S. DENEEN
Facsimile of Philo programme with Senator Deneen"s name
MRS. CORA DUNSDON McKEE
Cor.i Irene Dunsdon was born at Jerseyville, Illinois, Feb'
ruary 11, 1862. She graduated from McKendree in the class
of 1882, with the degree of B. S. She was a member of Clio.
Soon after her graduation she was married to Horace N.
McKee, who was also a McKendrean. She died at Lebanon,
Illinois, May jo, 1884.
JAMES R. LARGE
James Robert Large was born at Freedom, Ohio, Novem-
ber 13,, 1854. He IS the son of Samuel and Mariah Large, the
former of whom was horn in Queen's County, Ireland, and
the latter was of Scotch-Irish descent. He entered McKen-
dree in September, 1875, and graduated in the class of 1882,
receiving the degree of A. B., and later, A. M. He was a
member of the Platonian Literary Society. In addition to his
college course, he took a course in the Bryant and Stratton
Business College, in Chicago. He has spent the years since
graduation in various occupations — among them, teaching in
the public schools, travelling salesman, book-keeper, clerk,
and some lines of literary work. On the day of his graduation
he delivered the Latin salutatory, and gained distinction as a
student by his high grades in Greek. He is a member of the
Methodist Episcopal Church, and of the order of Knights of
Pythias. He is unmarried and lives at Agnew, California.
MRS. SUSANNA LARGE McGAW
Susanna Hunter Large was born at Owaneco, lUinois,
March 7, 1858. She is the younger sister of James Robert
Large, but graduated in the same class with him in 1882,
receiving the degree of B. S. She was a member of the Clionian
Literary Society. She was a teacher in the public schools until
1890, when she was married to Mr. William McGaw. They
have one son and three daughters. Mrs. McGaw is a member
of the Methodist Church and active in religious work. She
has served as class leader and Sunday School Superintendent.
Her home is still at Owaneco.
JUDGE WILLIAM H. LITTICK
William Littick was born near Vandalia, Illinois, February
4, 1859. He is a son of Marcus A. and Mary Littick, who
were both native Americans. He graduated from McKendree
in the class of 1882, receiving the degrees of B. S. and LL. B ,
both at the same commencement. He was a member of the
Philosophian Literary Society. He was married in October,
1885, and has one son, George S. Littick. He has been engaged
in the practice of law ever since his graduation and for many
years has been located in Kansas City, Kansas, where he is
still in the active practice of his profession. He was Munici-
pal Judge of Kansas City one term. He is a member of sev-
eral fraternal orders.
JUDGE J. McCABE MOORE
John McCabe Moore was born at Carlyle, Illinois, June
II, 1862. His parents were David A. and Matilda J. Moore,
,ind his father belonged to the numerous family of Moores,
whose ancestors came to Illinois from Virginia. He graduated
from McKendree in the class of 1882, receiving the degree of
B. S., and later, M. S. He was a member of the Philosophian
Society. After leaving McKendree, he read law in Carlyle,
Decatur, and Chicago. He was admitted to the bar in 1886.
Two Hiitidred and Eight;
MC KENDREE
He settled m Kansas City, Kansas for the practice of law m
1886. For live years he held the office of Judge of the District
Court of Wyandotte County, Kansas. He was first assistant
United States District Attorney for the District of Kansas
for two years, when he resigned and resumed the practice
of law in Kansas City, Missouri, where he has ever since
been located in business, though he resides m Kansas City,
Kansas. He was married June 20, 1894, to Miss Nellie Mc-
Cracken. of Nashville, Illinois, who was one ot his school
mates in McKendree. He is a thirty-second degree Scottish
Rite Mason.
MRS. LAURA MOUSLEV LINDLY
Laura Irene Mousley was born at Shipman, Illinois, in the
year i86j. She is the daughter of John R. and Thyrza Mous-
ley, who were both native Americans. She became a student
in McKendree in September, 1878, and graduated m June,
1882, receiving the degree of B. S. and a diploma in Elocution.
She was a member of the Clionian Literary Society. She was
married December 5, i88j, to Madison M. Lindly, who grad-
uated from McKendree in the class of 1880. They have three
children — John M., Mary M., and Charles M. Mrs. Lindly
taught music for some time in Illinois, and also after moving
to Oklahoma. She is a member of the- Episcopalian Church,
the Order of the Eastern Star, and the Rebekah Lodge, No.
I';, McAlester, Oklahoma. Her home was in McAlester
from 1890 until after the death of her husband, when she
moved to Lafayette, Indiana.
HON. FRED MOESER
Frederick Moeser was born near the village of Smithton,
in St. Clair County, lUinois, September 13, 1857. He is a son
of Henry and Christina (Stephens) Moeser, who were both
natives of Germany, but came to America and settled in St.
Clair County about the middle of the nineteenth century.
After preliminary education in the public schools of his own
township and in Belleville, he entered McKendree College,
from which he graduated in 1882, receiving the degree of
B. S. He was a member of the Philosophian Literary Society.
He then entered the Law Department of the University of
Missouri, from which he graduated in 1883 with the degree
of LL. B. He was afterward admitted to the bar, both in
Illinois and Missouri. He located in Freeburg, Illinois, where
he served as City Attorney and Principal of the Public School
until 1905, when he moved to East St. Louis. In the fall of
1912 he was elected County Auditor of St. Clair County,
which position he held till his death. At the old homestead
near Tamaroa, Illinois, he was married, April 26, 1883, to
Miss Melissa J. Smith. They have three children, all grown —
Ralph E. Moeser, M. D., now in the employ of Armour and
Co. of Chicago as Assistant Physician; F. Adolph Moe-
ser, a commercial graduate, now employed as book-keeper for
Texas Motor Car and Supply Company of Cuero, Texas; and
Miss Geneva Moeser, a graduate of the East St. Louis High
School, who, since her graduation, has been employed as a
teacher in the public schools of that city. She has talent in
music and took up a special course in that subject m the Mc-
Kendree Music Conservatory in 191 3. Mr. Moeser died at
his home in East St. Louis, December 22, 191 5.
REV. REUBEN E. PIERCE
Reuben Edward Pierce was born near Harrisburg, Illinois.
He IS the oldest son of Rev. Dr. Benjamin R. Pierce, who
was for fifty years a member of the Southern Illinois Confer'
ence. Both he and the mother, Mrs. Elizabeth H. Pierce, were
of Puritan stock and Revolutionary parentage. After consid-
erable preliminary training elsewhere, he entered McKendree
in 1880 and graduated in 1882 with the degree of A. B. Later,
he received the degree of Master of Arts. He was a member
of the Platonian Literary Society. He took a full course at
Garrett Biblical Institute and received the degree of B. D. in
1887. He was received on trial in the Southern Illinois Con-
ference in 1882. He served pastoral charges in that conference
until 1899, except three years that he was a missionary in
New Mexico. In 1899 he was transferred to the Illinois Con-
ference and m 1908 to the Colorado Conference, and was
made Superintendent of the Colorado Children's Home So-
ciety. In 1914 he was transferred to the Rock River Confer-
ence. He was married in 1886, to Miss Fannie F. Gillham, of
Edwardsville, Illinois. They have three children — Raymond
Clark, who graduated from the University of Illinois; a
daughter, Mary Pierce, and the youngest son were educated
in the University of Denver. Mr. Pierce is a member of the
Odd Fellows Lodge. After his retirement, he lived m St.
Louis for a time, but now resides at Manatee, Florida.
HUBERT W. REYNOLDS
Hubert Winfield Reynolds was born at Mascoutah, lUi
nois, July 7, 1861. He was a son of Nathan J. and Mary J.
Reynolds, who lived at Belleville when their children at-
tended McKendree. He entered college in September, 1878,
and graduated in the class of 1S82, receiving the degree of
B. S., and later, M. S. He was a member of the Platonian
Literary Society. He spent most of his life after graduation
in the employ of the railroad, for a time as telegraph operator,
but for the last twenty-one years of his life he was a bridge
collector for the Terminal Railroad Company of St. Louis.
He died October 26, 1906. One who knew him in his college
Two Hundred and Eighty-0.
MC KENDREE
days says of him that he was "an exemplary young man."
He was a Methodist, and in politics, a Republican.
MRS. ANNIE REYNOLDS MULLEN
Annie Catherine Reynolds was born August 29, 186a, at
Mexico, Missouri. She is a daughter of Nathan J. and Mary
J. Reynolds. She entered McKendree as a student in the fall
of 1878 and graduated in June, 1882, with the degree of
A. B. She was a member of the Clionian Literary Society.
She was married in December, 1884, to Chas. T. Mullen.
Their home has been at Belleville, Illinois, for many years.
Mrs. Mullen is a member of the Methodist Episcopal
Church.
GEORGE P. RAMSEY
George Price Ramsey was born near Xenia, Clay County,
Illinois, January 19, 1863. He is a son of George D. and Mary
Ann (Price) Ramsey, of whom the former was a native of
Ohio, of Scotch descent, and the latter was born in Indiana,
of Scotch-Irish ancestry. He entered McKendree in the Spring
of 1880 and graduated in the class of 1882, with the degree of
B. S., later receiving that of M. S. He was a member of the
Platonian Literary Society. He studied law and has made
that his profession since 1885. He served two terms as City
Attorney of Mt. Carmel, Illinois, and an equal period as
State's Attorney of Wabash County. In 19 ij he became
Assistant Attorney General for the state of Illinois. He is a
member of the B. P. O. E., the K. of P., and of the Episcopal
Church. He was married July 16, 1884, to Miss Amanda L.
Phillips. They have two children — Mary Ethelyn Bellaire,
born in 1885; and Edgar Phillips Ramsey, born in 1887.
PROF. FRANKLIN F. ROOSE
Franklin Frederick Roose was born July 3, 1855, in Mo'
line, 111. He attended the Rock Island Public Schools. Later
he spent two years at the Illinois Wesleyan University. He
then went to Quincy, Illinois, where he taught certain
branches in Chaddock College and continued his studies in
a business course which he had begun at Curriers Business
College. He graduated at the Gem City Business College at
Quincy in 1880. The following September he entered Mc-
Kendree, and while pursuing his studies in the Scientific
Course, he paid expenses by running a business department
in McKendree. He graduated in 1882 with the degree of
B. S. In 1885 he received the degree of M. S., and in i886
he received the degree of A. M. from the Iowa Wesleyan
University. June 20, 1882, he and his wife sailed for South
America to teach in the American College at Pernambuco,
Brazil. As the climate did not agree with him, he returned
after a year and established the Lincoln Business College
at Lincoln, Neb., of which he continued to be the head till
1891, when It had an enrollment of about one thousand stu-
dents. He then became the founder of the Lincoln Normal
University, which is one of the leading institutions of its
class. For six years he was editor of the Western Workman,
the official organ of the A. O. U. W. He has held the office
of Head Adviser m the M. W. A. He was past master Work-
man of the A. O. U. W. and past Chancellor Commander
of the K. of P. He was one of the founders of the Woodmen
of the World, and for nine years supreme treasurer of that
body. He was also one of the founders of the Fraternal Union
of America, and has been supreme president of the order.
He was a member of the Masonic Fraternity, both York and
Scottish Rite, and a Shriner. He was Fraternal Commissioner
for the Trans-Mississippi Exposition in 1898, and has held
numerous other offices and positions of honor and trust. His
home was in Denver at the time of his death in 1921.
MRS. ELIZABETH MORRISON ROOSE
Elizabeth Morrison was born at Wapella, Illinois, October
21, 1858. She is a daughter of H. B. Morrison, of Scotch-Irish
descent, and Caroline Sears Morrison, whose ancestors were
English and German. She became a student in McKendree
in 1880 and graduated in 1882 with the degree of B. S. She
was a member of the Clionian Society. She was married to
Prof. F. F. Roose in 1880. To them were born two children —
a son, Samuel Morrison, now deceased; and a daughter, Car-
lotta Estelle. In addition to her home duties, Mrs. Roose has
devoted some years to professional occupation in connection
with her husband's work. She was one year a teacher in
Pernambuco, Brazil, S. A., and one year Principal of the
Shorthand Department of the Omaha Business College, of
Omaha, Nebraska. She has been a member of the Methodist
Church since 1877, and belongs to the Woodman Circle,
R. W. A., F. U. of A., and the Eastern Star. She lives in
Denver, Colorado.
JUDGE WILLIAM M. SCHUWERK
William Martin Schuwerk was born April 12, 1856, at
Cleveland, Ohio. His father, Peter Paul Schuwerk, was born
in Wurtemburg, Germany, and his mother, Elizabeth Mosser,
was born in Switzerland. He entered college in the fall of
1876 and graduated in June, 1882, receiving the degree of
B. S., and later, M. S. He was a member of the Platonian
Literary Society. For three ye;irs after graduating, he was
Principal of the Evansville Public Schools. Since that time
he has devoted himself wholly to the legal profession. In
1889 he was elected to the Illinois Legislature. In 1904 he
was appointed Master in Chancery of Randolph County,
Two Hundred and EtghtyTwo
^I^^^^^^^^^^^^^s:^
which position he held for six years. In iqio he was elected
County Judge of the same county, and is still serving in
that office. He has always been active in politics and belongs
to the Democratic party. He is a member of Kaskaskia Lodge
No. 86, A. F. &? A. M.; Elwood Lodge No. 895, located
at Evansville, Illinois; Hercules Lodge No. 285, Knights of
Pythias, at Chester, Illinois; Stayley Chapter No. loj, Royal
Arch Masons, at Sparta, Illinois; and to Murphysboro Lodge
No. 572, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He was
married June 7, 1883, to Miss Mary M. Hoffman. They have
four children: Mrs. Myrtle Schuwerk Sauer, William H.,
Walter J., and Paul E. Schuwerk. All have been students
at McKendree.
JOHN A. SHEPARD
John Adams Shepard was born August 14, 1861, m Wa-
bash County, Illinois. He is the only son of Morrill A.
Shepard, of English- American descent, and
Mary (Moorhead) Shepard, of Scotch-Irish
descent. He removed with his parents from
Evansville, Indiana to Lebanon, Illinois, m
the year 187 1. He received a portion of his
education in the public schools of Lebanon.
He entered McKendree College in 1877 and
graduated m 1882 with the degree of A. B.
Later he received the degree of A. M. He
was a member of the Philosophian Society.
From the date of his graduation till 1901 he
was engaged in mercantile business. Since that
time he has been a real estate dealer in the
city of St. Louis. He was married m 1902,
to Miss Mary E. Todd, of Jackson, Tennessee.
MRS. ANNA SPIES CARSON
Anna Frances Spies was born at Maunie, Illinois, April
'), 1863. Her parents, Jacob and Catherine Spies, were both
German. She entered McKendree m September, 1879, and
graduated in June, 1882, receiving the degree of B. S. Two
years later she received the degree of M. S. She was a member
of the Clionian Literary Society. She was married August
16, i88j, to James S. Carson. Their three sons are James
Waldo, Oliver J., and Charles L. The last is now in the
employ of the government at Washington, D. C. Mrs. Car-
son IS a member of the St. Paul's Methodist Church in
Wichita, Kansas, where her home has been for the last
quarter of a century.
HON. LAWRENCE Y. SHERMAN
The birthplace of Lawrence Yates Sherman, former United
States Senator from Illinois, is Miami County, Ohio, where
EX-SENATOR SHERMAN
he was born November 8, 1858. His parents, Nelson and
Maria (Yates) Sherman, moved to Illinois when he was less
than a year old. He grew to maturity, was educated, engaged
in his profession, and in public life in the Prairie State. His
early education was in the common country schools near his
parents' farm and in Lee's Academy, in Coles County, Illi-
nois. At about twenty he first attended McKendree College.
Previous to that time he had taught in the district schools of
Jasper County. He was dependent entirely on his own efforts
to improve his condition and pay his way. He earned the
money to educate himself at McKendree by teaching the
Emerald Mound School north of Lebanon for three years,
pursuing, during that time —evenings and Saturdays — the
Law Course m McKendree
He did not complete the regular college course, though
the records show he attained the rank of
junior, and he takes satisfaction in knowing
he studied Latin and History under Professor
Samuel H. Deneen in McKendree. His name
appears as a member of the Philosophian Soci-
ety and on certain programs of the Philo Ex-
hibitions given in the college chapel. However,
his chief interest was in the Law Course,
which he completed satisfactorily and grad-
uated in the law class of 1882, receiving the
degree of LL. B. He was a classmate of
Hon. Charles S. Deneen, former Governor
of Illinois and now Senior United States
Senator.
Mr. Sherman was admitted to the bar m 1882 and began
the practice of law at Macomb, Illinois, where he continued
to reside and practice for twenty-three years, while serving
the people of his county and state in various public capaci-
ties. He was City Attorney of Macomb from 188'; to 1887,
County Judge of McDonough County from 1886 to 1890.
In 1896 he was elected to the Lower House in the Illinois
Legislature, in which he served continuously until he was
elected Lieutenant-Governor in 1904. During his second and
third terms he was elected Speaker of the House. As Lieu-
tenant-Governor he was Ex-Officio president of the State
Senate. He therefore had the distinction and privileges of
presiding over both houses of the Illinois Legislature.
In 1904 the so-called deadlocked Convention occurred.
After a long and spirited contest in that State Convention,
his classmate, Charles S. Deneen, was nominated for Gover-
nor and Lawrence Y. Sherman for Lieutenant-Governor on
Two Hundred and ExghtyThrec
^%MC KENDREE^^^^^^:^^^.....^..^^
the Republican ticket. There were also several McKendreans
serving in the Legislature while those two loyal sons of Mc-
Kendree were at the head of the state government. Mr.
Sherman was not a candidate for a second term in the office
of Lieutenant-Governor. About that time he was appointed
by the President a member of Spanish Treaty Claims Com-
mission and was confirmed by the Senate, but declined the
honor. In 1909 he was appointed by Governor Deneen as
President of the Illinois Board of Administration, which had
control of seventeen state charities. Those institutions were
united under one head with their management unified and
improved. The plan of this Board was afterward expanded
and applied to all the state's executive departments in the
statute known as the Civil Administration Act. He remained
Chairman of this Board until March, 1913, when after a long
and lively contest, he was elected by the Illinois Legislature,
United States Senator, to complete the unexpired term of
William Lorimer, who was removed from the Senate because
of irregularities in his election.
Soon after this the Seventeenth Amendment to the Federal
Constitution was ratified by three-fourths of the states, pro-
viding for the election of United States Senators by direct
vote of the people. In 1914 he was renominated at the Re-
publican State Primary and was a candidate on that ticket
for the full term of six years, beginning March 4, 1915, and
was re-elected in a campaign of much opposition. Roger C.
Sullivan, of Chicago, was his opponent on the Democratic
ticket. Roosevelt's "Bull Moose" party put a candidate m
the field, also from Chicago. Ex-President Roosevelt person-
ally engaged in the Illinois campaign, making numerous plat-
form addresses favoring his Bull Moose candidate and assail-
ing Senator Sherman, and reflecting on him in very bitter
terms without success. His candidate was defeated, running
third in the race. Mr. Sherman was re-elected with the entire
Illinois Republican ticket that carried his name at its head.
He was in the Senate during the whole period of the World
War. On March 4, 1919, he was one of the thirty-nine Sen-
ators who signed a public statement opposing the ratification
of the League of Nations, thus assuring its defeat. In the
opposition and long discussions of that measure, in the Sen-
ate, he took part, the Congressional Record discloses, until
the last roll call and its final rejection. At the close of his
second term, he voluntarily retired from public life and re-
sumed the practice of law in Springfield, which had been
his residence since 1905.
During the period from September, 1921, to February,
1922, he served without compensation, under appointment
by President Harding, as Special Adviser to Hon. Charles
G. Dawes in the installation of the Federal Bureau of Budget
at Washington, D. C.
Mr. Sherman had two law partners at Macomb. The first
was Lyman B. Vose, during the period before he became
County Judge. After leaving that office in 1890, he formed
a partnership with George D. Tunnicliff which continued
for twenty years. He retired from practice during the years
he was in Washington, but on his return to Springfield, he
entered into a partnership with Noah C. Bainum, at Spring-
field, Illinois, and at Daytona Beach, Florida, where he had
established his winter home. At Daytona, a business enter-
prise absorbed a portion of Senator Sherman's almost exhaust-
less energy. He, with several associates, organized the First
National Bank of Daytona Beach, which was opened Decem-
ber 2j, 1924. He served as president of this institution the
first year, and since that time as Chairman of the Board
of Directors.
In Senator Sherman's home life, he has been called to pass
through some peculiarly sad experiences. He was married to
Miss Ella M. Crews in 1891, but this happy union was
brought to an untimely end by the death of Mrs. Sherman
only two years later. His second marriage occurred March
4, 1908, when Miss Estelle Spitler, of Montrose, Effingham
County, Illinois, became his bride. But death claimed her in
1910. She left a little daughter, Virginia, now grown to
womanhood. Mr. Sherman is a Mason and has attained the
thirty-second degree in the Oriental Consistory of Chicago,
and the honorary thirty-third degree in Boston.
REV. ALBERT N, SIMMONS
Albert Nelson Simmons was born in Jersey County, Illi-
nois, December 22, iS^8. He is a son of Samuel C. and Lor-
enda (Miles) Simmons. The father was born in Maryland
and the mother in Kentucky. This was one of the pioneer
families of Illinois, having settled in Jersey County about
1 8 JO. Albert N. entered McKendree College in 1878 and
graduated in 1882, receiving the degree of A. B., and in
1885, A. M. In 1888 he graduated from Garrett Biblical
Institute with the degree of B. D. While in McKendree he
was a member of the Platonian Society. He was married
April 23,, 1884, to Miss Etta R. Hoyt, of Lebanon. They have
one son, Harold Hoyt, born in 1888, at St. Joseph, Ilhnois. He
graduated from the University of Illinois in 1909 and later
became Associate Editor of the Railway Age-Gazette, of
Chicago. Mr. Simmons taught school in Shiloh Valley one
year after his graduation and then joined the Illinois Con-
ference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and spent the
1828cMNH928
Two Hundred and Eight>-Fo»r
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active years of his life as a faithful and diligent preacher of
the Gospel. He retired m ig26 and now resides at Cerro
Gordo, Illinois, where he was once pastor.
MRS. ANNA VIRGIN REAGEL
Anna Miscinda Virgin was horn on a farm near St. Jacob,
Illinois, March 24, 1861. Her parents were Thomas J. and
Anna Lindly Virgin, who were both natives of Illinois. She
graduated from McKendree m the class of 1882, receiving
the degree of B. S. She was a member of the Clionian Literary
Society. She was married July 20, 1892, to Ausben Wyle
Reagel, who is now president of the First National Bank of
Waverly, Illinois. They have three children: Elizabeth M.,
Fred V., and Edgar A. Mrs. Reagel is a member of the Bap'
tist Church and of the Minerva Literary Club, of which
she has been president for many years. Her home is at
Waverly.
WILLIAM H. WILSON
William H. Wilson was born m Wayne County, Illinois,
111 1858. His parents were John and Eliza J. (Harper) Wilson,
the father being born in England and the mother in Illinois.
He became a student in McKendree in 1880 and graduated
from the Law Department in 1882, receiving the degree of
LL. B. He was a member of the Philosophian Literary Society.
Shortly after his graduation, he went to the State of Oregon,
which has been his home ever since. He taught school for a
time to get a start and then engaged in the practice of law,
in which vocation he has been very successful. He was twice
elected District Attorney. He was married after going to
Oregon, and has one daughter. He has an elegant home and
IS a highly respected citizen of The Dalles, where he has
long resided. He is a member of the Benevolent and Pro-
tective Order of Elks.
THE CLASS OF I!Ss:i
WILLIAM T. BONHAM
William Thomas Bonham was born at Fairfield, Illinois,
in April, 1865. He graduated from the Law Department of
McKendree at the early age of eighteen, as a member of the
class of 1883. He was a member of the Philosophian Literary
Society. During the years since his graduation, he has been
engaged in the practice of law m his native town, where with
his family he still resides. He is a Republican in politics.
ALFRED E. COUGHENOUR
Alfred Edwin Coughenour was born at Jeffersonville, Illi-
nois, August 18, 1859. After finishing the public schools he
entered McKendree and became a member of the Philosoph-
ian Literary Society. He graduated in the class of i88j with
the degree of A. B. He has been an educator for the most
part since that time, but has many side lines He has studied
law; is well posted in drugs, materia medica, and therapeu-
tics; writes for various periodicals; and is a veterinary bio-
chemic. He is a member of the Baptist Church, unmarried,
and resides at Jeffersonville.
MRS. JULIETTE FERGUSON WILLIAMS
Juliette Emma Ferguson was born at Mt. Vernon, lUinois,
September 18, 1863, and died at the same place, February
1 8, 1890. After attending the public schools, she became a
student in McKendree and a Clio. She graduated in 1883,
with the degree of B. S. She was married at Mt. Vernon,
January 18, 1886, to Mr. J. Hill Williams. The ceremony
was performed by Dr. Swahlen, who was then President of
McKendree. Her death occurred only four years later and
she left no children. She was a member of the Methodist
Church.
MRS. lONA ECKERT NUNNELLV
lona May Eckert was born at Lebanon, Illinois, February
15, 1863. Her death occurred in Kay County, Oklahoma,
December 20, 1894. She was buried at Arkansas City, Kansas.
Her parents were John H. and Fannie H. (Sager) Eckert, who
were both Americans of German lineage. She entered Mc-
Kendree in 1878 and graduated in June, 1883, receiving the
degree of B. S. She also completed a course in Elocution. She
was a member of the Clionian Literary Society. She was also
a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and of the
"Select Friends." She was married December 24, 1883, to
George R. Nunnelly. To them was born one daughter, Ethel
Estell.
MRS. EUNICE FIELD MARLATT
Eunice Lydia Field was born in 1861. Her father, James
A. Field, was a native of Ohio, but for many years was a
prominent business man in St. Louis and a member of the
McKendree Board of Trustees. Eunice graduated from Mc-
Kendree m the class of 1883, receiving the degree of B. S.
She was a member of Clio. In April, 1884, she was married
to Rev. J. P. Marlatt, of the Puget Sound Conference. They
have SIX children: Edith L., the wife of Rev. Harry L. Aller,
a missionary in South America; Adin E.; Leola J.; Elmer M.;
Lydia A.; and Joseph Paul, Jr. Mrs. Marlatt was for several
years District President of the Woman's Foreign Missionary
Society for the Seattle District.
MRS. FANNIE GLASGOW LYNCH
Fannie Primm Glasgow was born near Belleville, Illinois,
November 24, 1863. Her father was James Nathaniel Glas-
gow, of Scottish descent, whose father moved from Kentucky
to Illinois in 1824 and pre-empted the farm on which James
N. and, a generation later, his children were born. Her
mother was Lydia Margaret Primm, descended from Alex-
ander De La Pryme, a French gentleman who was granted
a patent of nobility by the Roman Pontiff for meritorious
services under Philip of Alsace in the second crusade. Fannie
P. Glasgow entered McKendree College in September, 1879,
and graduated June 14, 1883, receiving the degree of B. S.
She was a member of the Clionian Literary Society. For the
next five years after her graduation she was in turn school
teacher, book-keeper, and milliner. Then on July 11, 1888
she was married to Mr. William F. Lynch. To them were
born two daughters, Edith Lucile, and Inez Dena. Besides
her work as housekeeper, she has been prominent in the
work of the local Methodist Episcopal Church of Welling'
ton, Kansas, where she lived with her family for nearly thirty
years. She was a member of the official board for twenty-five
years, and superintendent of the primary department in the
Sunday School for twelve years. For many years she was
Conference President of the Woman's Home Missionary So-
ciety of the Southwest Kansas Conference. In September,
1912, the family moved to Winfield, Kansas, that the two
daughters might attend the Southwestern College. Their
mother is as busy as ever in church and Sunday School work;
the C. L. S. C; and the work so dear to her heart, that of
the Woman's Home Missionary Society. Six times she has
attended the national meeting of this organization.
SEYMOUR H. HARMON
Seymour Heins Harmon was born at Palmyra, Pennsyl-
vania, November 14, 1864. After spending three and a half
years in McKendree, he graduated in the class of 1883, re-
ceiving the degree of B. S. He was a member of the Philosoph-
lan Literary Society. He was inclined to the profession of
law, but finally turned to other pursuits and has been for
many years employed as a postal clerk in St. Louis. At the
time of his graduation, he was a Democrat in politics.
REV. JOHN D. HENNESSEY
John Dollahan Hennessey was born near Evansville, Indi-
ana, in 1857. He is of Scotch-Irish descent. He entered Mc-
Kendree in 1879 and graduated in 1883, receiving the degree
of A. B. In 1886, he received his A. M., and in 1896, after
completing a post graduate course, he was granted the degree
of Ph D. from McKendree. He was a member of Plato. He
joined the Southern Illinois Conference in 1884 and was an
effective minister of the gospel in this field for twenty years.
He then transferred to the Illinois Conference and served
ten years in that field, retiring in 1914. He now hves at
Danville. He was married November 20, 1884, to Miss Ella
May Peeples, of Summerfield. They have three sons, Clark
H., Bert K., and W. Paul.
GEORGE W. LITTICK
George Winfield Littick was born at Taylorville, Illinois,
in the year 1861. He is a son of Marcus A. and Mary Littick,
who were both native Americans. He entered McKendree
m the fall of 1879 and graduated in 1883, with the degree
of LL. B. He was a member of the Philosophian Society. He
was married in 1892, to Miss Katherine D. Lewis. Mr. Lit-
Two Hundred and EighlySi>
MC KENDREE
tick has made the practice of law his Hte work, and is now
a successful lawyer in Kansas City, Kansas. He is a Christian
Scientist, and believes in prohibition and progress, and a
"chanty that will establish forever the brotherhood of man."
WILLARD P. SEARS
Willard Prentice Sears was born at Godfrey, Illinois, No
vember 4, 1859. His father was Rev. Hiram Sears, who was
long a member of the Southern Illinois Conference, and
served for years as financial agent for McKendree College.
He entered McKendree in 1878 and joined the Philosophian
Society. After taking a good part of the Literary Course,
he turned to the Law, and graduated from McKendree's
Law Department in 1883, receiving the degree of LL. B. He
did not find the work of the law congenial to his tastes, so
he found other employment in the city of St. Louis tor some
years. Afterward he was in the employ of the Street Railway
Company of Cleveland, Ohio, for some years. He died in
September, 1927, and was buried at Vandalia, Illinois, which
had been one ot his boyhood homes.
REV. DR. WILLIAM H. PIERCE
William Halford Pierce was born at Equality, Illinois, No-
vember 12, 1862. He is the second son of Rev. Dr. Benjamin
R. Pierce, who was for fifty years a member of the Southern
Illinois Conference. His mother was Elizabeth (Church)
Pierce, and both his parents were of the old Puritan stock.
He entered McKendree in 1879 and graduated in 1883, re-
ceiving the degree of A. B. He was the valedictorian of his
class. He was a member of the Platonian Literary Society.
In 1886 he received from his Alma Mater the degree of
A. M., and in 1905, that of Doctor of Divinity. In 1887, he
graduated from Garrett Biblical Institute, receiving the de-
gree of B. D. He was married October 16, 1888, to Miss
Gertrude Johnson, of Wauconda, lUinois. To them were
born four daughters: lola, Wilma, Gertrude, and Gladys.
His second marriage was to Miss Luella E. Morris, of Piano,
Illinois. To this union were born three children: Morris,
Muriel, and Halford. Dr. Pierce became a member of the
Southern Illinois Conference in 1883, and some years after
transferred to the Rock River Conference, of which he is
now a member, though he spent three years of his ministry
in the west, and in Evanston, Wyoming, had the strange
experience of being pastor of both a Methodist and a Pres-
byterian Church at the same time. He organized an Institu-
tional Church in Chicago and built the first Parish House
in that city under the auspices of the Methodist Church.
He was pastor of Embury Methodist Episcopal Church in
Freeport, Illinois, and led m building a $7=1,000.00 church
edifice in that city. He is a member of the Albert Pike Com-
mandery of the Masonic Order.
JABEZ H. POSEY
Jabez Hix Posey was born in Clinton County, Illinois, June
18, 1 86 1. He was the seventh child and second son of Rev.
Bennett M. and Celui Ann (Watts) Posey. His father was a
pioneer farmer of Clinton County and a local preacher in the
Methodist Church. Both his parents were natives of Illinois,
while the ancestors of both of them came to Illinois from
Georgia. He entered McKendree in 1879 and graduated in
1883, receiving the degree of B. S. He was a member of the
Philosophian Literary Society. He secured a first grade teach-
er's certificate and taught in the public schools of Clinton
County for three years, spending the vacations studying law
with Judge Watts, of Nashville, Illinois. Faihng health com-
pelled him to abandon this line of work. He spent some
months m Texas, and then m Colorado, seeking to recover
his health, but without avail. He eventually became a vic-
tim of tuberculosis, his death occurring at his father's home
February 19, 1888. In religion he was a Methodist; m pol-
itics a Republican; and belonged to the Independent Order
of Odd Fellows. He was a close student; delighted in good
books; and was a favorite socially wherever he was known.
DR. WILLIAM A. STOKER
William Allen Stoker was born at Centralia, Illinois, Au-
gust 18, 1864. He IS a son of Judge William and Mrs. Martha
Stoker, who were both native Americans. After finishing
the public schools, he entered McKendree College and grad-
uated in the class of 1883, receiving the degree of B. S. He
was a member of the Platonian Literary Society. After leav-
ing McKendree, he took a Medical Course in the "Medical
College of Ohio," at Cincinnati, where he received the
degree of M. D. in 188-;. He has practiced medicine con-
tinuously since that time —the greater part of the time in
his native town of Centralia. However, during this period,
under appointment of the Governor of the state, he spent
two years as physician of the Chester Penitentiary; four
years as Physician in the State Hospital for the Insane at
Anna; and for three years he held a similar position at
Evansville, Indiana. Since 1921, he has been Superintendent
of the State Hospital at Kankakee. He was married m 1890,
to Miss Lillian B. Tucker, of Denver, Colorado. They have
one daughter, Anna E., and one son, Eugene T. Stoker.
Dr. Stoker is a thirty-second degree Mason.
JOSHUA WILSON
Joshua Wilson was born April i, i860, at Columbia,
Illinois. He entered McKendree in 1879 and graduated in
Two Hundred and Eighty-Seven
<^:^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^B^^s^
the class of 1883, receivii-(g the degree of B. S. He was a
member of the Philosophian Society. He chose the law as
his profession, bufrhas also followed other lines. He has
spent the most of his hfe in his native city. He is a Dem-
ocrat in politics.
JULIUS POSTEL
Closely associated with the development of the immense
Postel Mills in Mascoutah, during the past fifty years,
are the names of the three brothers : Philip, George, and Julius
Postel, the sons of Philip Henry Postel, the founder and
original pwne*" jf this great industry. It is the purpose of
this article t .utUne, briefly, the life of the youngest of
these three brothers, Julius Postel. A short biography of
his father, of his brother, George, and of his nephew, Philip
Postel, will be found in another article with- in this volume,
under the title, "Philip H. Postel."
Julius Postel was bom in Mascoutah, the city in which
he has spent practically all his life, and toward whose wel-
fare and material development he has greatly contributed,
on November 29th, 1862. Like his brothers, he secured
about the best education his time afforded, first in the pub-
lic schools of his home city, and later, in McKendree College
and in the University of Illinois. And like his brothers, also,
he brought this fine educational equipment into the milling
business, and made it practical in its application to the
growth and success of this industry. He began his work in
the office of the Milling Company, and was here but a few
years before he was made the secretary and treasurer of the
company in 1890. On Dec. 7th, three years previous to this
time, he was married to Miss Amalia Postel, the daughter
of John Ph. Postel. To them were born three children:
Allen J., on Sept. 21st, 1889; Mertie Amalia, on June iith,
1891; Urban S., on Feb. 28th, 1895. All were given the
advantages of a good education, being graduates of the Uni-
versity of Illinois. The two sons have married, but the daugh-
ter has remained single. She graduated from the University
of Illinois in 191 4, and since that time has pursued post
graduate studies in that institution. In January, 1921, Allen,
the older son, was married to Alma Hucke, of Mascoutah,
and on the same day. Urban was married to Miss Erna Hucke.
After holding, for a number of years, the position of
secretary and treasurer of the Milling Company, Mr. Postel
was chosen to be the president of the company, which posi-
tion he held until 1921, when he resigned, and his nephew,
Philip Postel, was placed in this position. In this same year,
Julius Postel retired from active participation in the busi-
ness, but was still interested in the company, and was re-
tained as one of the directors of the firm. About two years
after retiring from milling, he' organized the State Bank of
Marissa, and in July, 192J, became the president of this
bank, which position he still retains. He is actively directing
the affairs of the bank, and spends most of his time there.
Julius Postel inherited from his father a rare business
ability, and has met with success in his business under-
takings. For a time he was a member of the Stock Exchange,
and demonstrated here a keen knowledge of its manipula-
tions. Besides his holdings of a large portion of the shares
in the Postel Mills, he is the owner of a considerable amount
of bank and insurance stocks, as well as of real estate in
various parts of the country. He has been the Mayor of his
city, and served on the Mascoutah School Board for four
terms. He has a first hand knowledge of the lands and peoples
of many parts of the world, for he has travelled extensively.
He has always been interested in our great national sport;
his choice diversion has been the witnessing of a good base-
ball game In religious belief and practice he is a Methodist.
To the Postels of Mascoutah belong a great deal of credit
for the growth and prosperity of this progressive little city
Their mills have, for years, been classed among the greatest
in the county. They have a capacity for turning out more
than six hundred barrels of flour per day, and their brands
are known to be among the highest grades in the country.
Practically all of the wheat raised in the eastern part of St.
Clair County is ground in the Postel Mills, and this is only
about half the amount which the mills use. These men have
been primarily millers of the highest type; they thoroughly
learned the milling business, mastered the details in con-
nection with the production of wheat products, and have
kept up to date in their equipment and manufacturing
processes. Our subject, Julius Postel, owns one of the most
spacious residences to be seen in this part of the county.
His brothers also live in beautiful homes, which are pointed
out with pride by the loyal citizens of Mascoutah.
Two Hundred and Eighty-Eight
CHAPTER XXIII.
President Swahlens Administration
y^ w'lLLiAM Fletcher Swahlen was horn April 19, 1839,
ill at Wheeling, West Virginia. He came of one of the
old German Methodist families where worship was
strictly observed and duty
took precedence over pleasure.
He received a thorough educa-
tion which involved much'
cheerful sacritjc& ©in the p->n
of his parents. He receiv^-'-'"
A. B. degree from the Un. f
sity of Pennsylvania, in i!^
In the fall of the same year
he came to McKendree as
Assistant Professor in the
Department of Greek and
German. His term of service
DR. W. F, SWAHLEN m McKendree began at the
same time with that of Dr.
AUyn. After four years he was made head of the Depart-
ment of Greek and German. In 1S66 McKendree gave him
the degree of A. M., and in 1S77, he received the degree
of Ph. D. from the Iowa Wesleyan University. He was m
continuous service in McKendree's faculty for twenty-three
years. Aside from his regular duties, he served as Librarian
a number of years, and for a long time was Secretary of the
Joint Board of Trustees and Visitors. He was also active m
the work of the local church. He was licensed as a local
preacher, tho never joined the conference or served as pastor.
He had musical training as well as literary. He was a good
pianist and worked in close harmony with Professor Pesold
in building up the Music Department of McKendree. He
occasionally supplied pulpits, delivered special addresses,
and conducted funerals. Even after he had gone to teach
at DePauw, he was occasionally called back to Lebanon or
vicinity to conduct the funeral of some former McKendrean.
The story is told that he went to preach one Sunday morn-
ing in one of the prominent churches of the Southern Illinois
Conference. The pastor was away. That was why Dr. Swah-
len was there. It so happened that the organist was absent
also. He announced the opening hymn. There was no one
at the organ to play. He read it thru. Still no one appeared.
Dr. Swahlen immediately stepped to the organ, and in his
usual efficient way, played the hymn and led the congre-
gation in the singing. He then preached a fine sermon and
the people went home impressed with the versatility and
capability of the preacher of the day. A few days later. Dr.
Swahlen received a letter from a lady who was a member
of that church, which closed with these lines:
You can preach and you can pray,
You can sing and you can play;
Now if you could only pay , ^
We would want you for our pastor
hen he first came to Lebanon, it was a case of immigra-
-on. He made it his permanent home. After ten years of
earnest and efficient work had established his character and
reputation m the community, he married Caroline V. Hypes,
one of the daughters of Uncle Ben Hypes, the old time friend
of the college. And thus he became a member of one of the
best families in Lebanon. Their marriage occurred in June,
1873. Their three children are: Mrs. Blanche Allen, of
Greencastle, Indiana; Dr. Percy Swahlen, of St. Louis; and
the youngest, Benjamin.
In 1883 Dr. Swahlen was elected President of McKendree,
and continued in the position three years. He signed the
diplomas of three graduating classes, aggregating forty mem'
hers. Sketches of them will follow. He had several handicaps
m the administration of that difficult office. He had been
chosen from the members of the fiiculty with whom he had
been associated for years m the same great task. Naturally
there may have been some jealousy on the part of other
teachers. Then, too, this was a period of general decline in
the affairs of the college. The debts were increasing and the
students were growing fewer. This condition of affairs con-
tinued for several years longer before the turning point
came. In 1886, Dr. Swahlen declined a re-election and, a
year later, secured a position as Professor of Greek in De
Pauw University, at Greencastle, Indiana. He remained in
that institution until the time of his death, which occurred
in 191 5. The body was brought back to Lebanon, a funeral
was held in the Methodist Church, and he was buried in
College Hill Cemetery. His widow still lives in Greencastle.
DR. PERCY H. SWAHLEN
Dr. Percy H. Swahlen, the second of the children named
above, is now a prominent physician in St. Louis, with offices
at the Metropolitan Building. He was born at Lebanon, Illi-
nois, June 4, 1877, and received his early education in the
Lebanon public schools. His secondary and college education
was received at De Pauw University, Greencastle, Indiana,
Two Hundred and Eighty?{ine
MC KEN^REE^^^^^^^g^^;:^s:g>
where his father was Professor of Greek. His professional
education was secured at the Marion Simms-Beaumont Col-
lege of Medicine, which is now the Medical Department of
St. Louis University. He then spent two years as an interne
at the St. Louis City Hospital. In 1905 he went to Europe
and spent somewhat more than two years in special studies
in obstetrics and gynecology. So that he became master of
whatever knowledge of these subjects could be obtained in
the best universities in the world. Doubtless his uncle, Dr.
B. M. Hypes, was his great inspiration in these unusual
educational achievements. He also had specialized in the
same field and was a member of the faculty in the medic. iL
college where the nephew was a student. He had this young
student in his own home and helped him not only by advice
and inspiration, but also financially to whatever extent was
necessary to enable him to get the best medical training the
world afforded. After Dr. Swahlen's return from Europe, he
became Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology in
St. Louis University, which position he still holds. He is
also obstetrician at St. Anne's Maternity Hospital, and gyn-
ecologist at St. John's and St. Louis City Hospital, and
Mount St. Rose Hospital. Dr. Swahlen is a leader in his
field, and is so fully absorbed in his professional work that
he gives very little time to social or club life. He is not
married. After the death of Dr. Hypes, Dr. Swahlen was
elected in his place on McKendree's Board of Trustees.
THE CLASS OF 1SS4
ALBERT L. BERGER
Albert Lincoln Berger was born in Lebanon, Illinois, Feb-
ruary 2, 1865. His father was Dr. Adolph Berger, a native
of Manheim, Germany, and his mother was Cecelia Adams,
a daughter of Captain Lyman Adams, who was a near
relative of John Quincy Adams, and for one year the pro-
prietor of the "Mermaid Hotel," where Charles Dickens
was once entertained when he visited Lebanon. Mr. Berger
graduated from McKendree in 1884, receiving the degree
of A. B., and in 1886 he graduated from the St. Louis Law
School with the degree of LL. B. He was a member of the
Platonian Literary Society. He was married November 10,
1887, to Miss Estella Hecker, a granddaughter of Colonel
Fred Hecker, of Summerfield. She also was a student in Mc-
Kendree for several years. Their children were Homer
Hecker Berger, who graduated at the University of Kansas
and the Harvard Law School; and Cecelia Berger, who
died in 1910, at the age of sixteen. Mr. Berger located in
Kansas City, Kansas, where he has been engaged in the
practice of law ever since. He is a public spirited citizen
and a Republican m politics. He h.is .'served as County
Auditor, and director of the Exchange State Bank, as well
as director of a number of other important corporations.
He has served as legal counselor for a number of important
organizations in the course of his extensive law practice.
ELMER BISHOP
Elmer Bishop was born near Mascoutah. Illinois, in the
year 1862. He is the younger son of George and Malvina
Bishop, both now deceased. He grew up at Mascoutah, and
«in due, course entered McKendree, where he took the Law
Course and graduated in 1884, receiving the degree of LL. B.
/as a member of the Platonian Literary Society. He
\vS- .named in 1890, to Miss Anna Holmes, of Duquoin,
Illinois. They have two sons — Raymond and Elmer. Mr.
Bishop located in Chicago after his graduation, where he
engaged in the practice of law for a period of fifteen years.
He IS now employed as a travelling salesman, with his ter-
ritory m the west. He is a member of the Masonic Fra-
ternity.
DR. EDWARD W. BURRL'SS
Edward W. Burruss was born June 14, 1S64, at Carrollton,
Illinois. His parents, George L. and Mariah (Wood) Burruss,
were natives of Kentucky. He entered McKendree in the
fall of 1882, and after completing the Scientific Course,
graduated in the class of 1884, receiving the degree of B. S.,
and later, M. S. He was a member of the Philosophian Lit-
erary Society. After leaving McKendree, he entered the
College of Physicians and Surgeons in St. Louis, from which
he graduated in 1886, receiving the degree of M. D. Since
then, he has been engaged in the practice of medicine. He
was located for many years at Holly Grove, Arkansas,
where he also held the office of postmaster for twelve years.
He was for some time United States Pension Examining
Surgeon, at Helena, Arkansas. In 1910, he moved to Den-
ver, Colorado, where he is now engaged in the practice of
medicine, and is a member of the Denver City and County
Medical Society. He was married June 2, 1891, to Johnetta
J. Hodge. They have four children — Helen H., Nellie H.,
Edward W., and Mary. Dr. Burruss is a member of the
Congregational Church.
MRS. IDA CAPEN FLEMING
Ida M.iy Capen was born at Alton, Illinois, July 19,
i86j. Her father, Alonzo Capen, was born m Massachu-
setts, and her mother, Phebe Capen, in New York State.
She entered McKendree in the fall of 1877 and received
the degree of A. B. in June, 1884. Three years later she
was granted the degree of A. M. She has done graduate
Two Hundred and ,\mctv
work in the University ot Chicago. In McKendree, she was
a Clio. She was married January ii, i88S, to Samuel G.
Fleming. They have one son, Capen A. Fleming. In her
case, marriage was not a bar to a professional career. She
taught several years as grade teacher in the schools of Mas-
coutah and Lebanon, Illinois. From 1896 to 1905, she was
employed in school work at El Dorado, Kansas — first as
Assistant Principal, then Principal of the high school; then
as Superintendent of City Schools; then as Assistant m
Brumback Academy. In 1905 she was elected to the Chair
of Latin and Greek in the Southwestern College, at Win-
tield, Kansas. After one year, a readjustment was made, and
she was assigned to the Chair of Greek and French. She
was Dean of Women and Secretary of the Faculty of the
Southwestern College for many years. She is a member of
Grace Methodist Church in Winfield.
REV. NATHANIEL C. CHILDS
Nathaniel C. Childs was born at Chester, Illinois, March
13, 185 S. While employed in the Internal Revenue service
at Lebanon, he entered McKendree as a student in 1883,
and finished the Law Course in 1884, receiving the degree
of LL. B. He was a member of the Philosophian Literary
Society. Before coming to McKendree, he had taught school
several years, and published the Coulterville Headlight. Fol-
lowing his graduation, he practiced law and edited the Coul-
terville Republican at that place until 1891. After the death
of his first wife, he decided to enter the ministry. Accor-
dingly, in October, 1891, he entered the Theological Sem-
inary of the United Presbyterian Church, at Xenia, Ohio,
from which he graduated m 1894. Then for a term of five
years, he was pastor of a United Presbyterian Church near
Sparta, Illinois; then for eight years at Paxton, Illinois;
then for three years at Fairfield, Iowa. He then came to
Pinckneyville, Illinois, in 1910, to serve as pastor. On his
first charge, he built a new parsonage, and in each of the
next two, he built a new church. He does much evangelistic
work outside of his own charge; and occasionally occupies
the lecture platform. He has been Clerk and Moderator of
the Presbytery, and Moderator of the Synod of Illinois. He
was married first to Miss Maggie McMillan, June 4, 1890.
She died the following year, leaving a daughter, Alice May,
who IS now a high school teacher at Piper City, Illinois.
His second marriage was to Emma R. Bliss, December 2,
1896. Of this union, there are two daughters — Florence E.
and Hazel M.
MRS. SADIE DENEEN DICKSON
Sadie Alice Deneen was born in Lebanon, Illinois, August
24, 1865. She is a daughter of Professor Samuel H. and Mary
F. (Ashley) Deneen. She grew up in the town of Lebanon
and received her education in McKendree College where
her father was Professor of Latin for thirty years. She was
a member of the Clionian Literary Society and was active
in the work of the society. She graduated from McKendree
in 1884, receiving at that time the degree of A. B,, and
some time afterward, the degree of A. M. On June 12,
1889, she was married to Frederick J. Dickson, whose father
was a member of the Southern Illinois Conference. Mr. and
Mrs. Dickson were both reared as Methodists and were
actively connected with the work ot the church from child-
hood. For many ye.irs they lived m New York City, where
Mr. Dickson was connected with the New York Life In-
surance Company. For some years past Mr. Dickson has
served as bank examiner for the State of Illinois, and so
the family now resides m Evanston. They have two daugh-
ters and one son.
MRS. ETTA HERDMAN DOUD
Etta Herdman was born at Mt. Vernon, Illinois, Septem
ber 26, 1864. She is the daughter of William H. Herdman
who was born in Noblestown, Pennsylvania, and Mary A,
(Kirby) Herdman, who was a native of Louisville, Kentucky,
After receiving her preliminary education in Mt. Vernon,
Miss Herdman became a student in McKendree in Septem
ber, 1882, and graduated in June, 1884, receiving the de-
gree of B. S. She was a member of the Clionian Literary
Society. After her graduation, she taught a year in the
Bethany School near Godfrey, Illinois, and a year in the
Mt. Vernon public schools. In 1886 she was married to
Mr. M. F. Doud. For many years, their residence has been
in St. Louis. They have three daughters — Grace, Margery,
and Virginia. Mrs. Doud is a member of the Church of
the Ascension, Episcopal, at Cates and Goodfellow Ave-
nues, St. Louis.
JACOB P. HIRSCHLER
Jacob Peter Hirschler was born January 30, 1856, in Lee
County, Iowa, though at the time he was a student in Mc-
Kendree, his home was at Summerfield, Illinois. His father
was a farmer. He took the Law Course, and received the
degree of LL. B. He w.is married in July, 1884, to Miss Eda
Burke. We have no recent information concerning him.
HENRY W. LOUIS
Henry William Louis was born in Columbus, Ohio, Au-
gust 23, i860. His father, William Louis, was born and
reared near "Bingen on the Rhine," and his mother, Eliza-
beth Wentzel, at Giesin, Germany. When he was eight
years of age, his parents moved to Illinois and settled near
Two Hundred and ?\inetyOn
Newton, in Jasper County. He secured what education
could be obtained in the country schools and taught until
he had saved enough money to enter McKendree College
in 1882. He never completed the regular college course, but
graduated from the Law Department in 1884, receiving the
degree of LL. B. He was a member of the Philosophian
Society. He was married to Miss Elizabeth Jane Virgin,
June 3, 1885. Of their three children, only two are living —
Elizabeth Beatrice and Howard Ellis. Henry William, Jr.
died in infancy. After his graduation, Mr. Louis became
Principal of the O'Fallon public school, which position he
held until 1890, when he entered the employ of the Amer-
ican Book Company. He is now the general representative
of that company for the state of Tennessee. His residence
is at Jackson, Tennessee. He is a Knight Templar and a
thirty-third degree Scottish Rite Mason, an Odd Fellow,
an Elk, and belongs to several of the leading fraternal bene-
fit associations.
JUDGE ROBERT J. McELVAlN
Robert J. McElvain was born at Duquoin, Illinois, March
20, 1849. His father was of Scotch-Irish descent, and his
mother was a native of North Carolina. He entered Mc-
Kendree in the fall of 1883 and graduated in June, 1884,
with the degree of LL. B. He was a member of the Philo
Society. He was married in January, 1874, and has one son.
He has made the profession of law his chief business ever
since he was admitted to the bar. He was States Attorney
of Jackson County, for four years and County Judge for
eight years. He has served one term in the lower house
of the lUinois Legislature, and four terms as State Senator.
He is a member of the Christian Church, the Elks, and the
Knights of Pythias, of which last he was Grand Chancellor
in 1900.
WILLIAM W. McKEE
William Wmthrop McKee was born January 16, 1863,
at Bunker Hill, Illinois. He was a son of William W. and
Mary (Snedeker) McKee. His father was a teacher. He was
in McKendree for four full years and completed the Classical
Course, receiving the degree of A. B. He was a Plato, a
Republican, and a Methodist. He intended to make the
law his profession, but planned to spend a few years in
teaching first. He was one year Adjunct Professor of English
in McKendree. His promising career was cut short by an
early death only a few years after his graduation.
DR. HOSEA H. MOORE
Hosea Hartwell Moore was born in Washington County,
Illinois, November 18, 1842. He graduated from the Medical
Department of the University of Michigan in iS6i. He
then practiced medicine for a number of years in Washington
County. He then moved to Lebanon, and although he was
a middle aged man with a family, enrolled as a student in
McKendree. After completing the Scientific Course, he grad-
uated in 1884, receiving the degree of B. S., and later, M. S.
He was a member of the Philosophian Literary Society. The
greater part of the time since then, he has been located at
Fairfield, Illinois, having a number of other interests in addi-
tion to his medical practice. He was a director of the First
National Bank of Fairfield. He owned a large farm in Wayne
' County, where he put into effect some advanced ideas in
agriculture and stock raising. In i8qo he was elected to the
Illinois Legislature on the F. M. B. A. ticket, and was one
of the three members of the Farmer's Mutual Benefit Asso-
ciation who held the balance of power in the Legislature
during the famous "deadlock" which resulted in the elec-
tion of General John M. Palmer to the United States Senate.
He was married in 1865 to Miss Ellen Walker, of Wash-
ington County. Three of their children are living — Mrs.
Mary E. Moats and William E. Moore, of Fairfield, and
Dalton P. Moore, editor of the Olney Times, of Olney,
Illinois. Dr. Moore died at his home in Fairfield, January
7, 191 3, and his funeral was conducted by the Masonic
Order, of which he had been Worshipful Master for many
years.
JAMES F. TRIBBLE
James F. Tribble was born in Ray County, Missouri,
Aug. 4, 1858. His parents were English. He became a stu-
dent in McKendree College in 1882 and graduated in 1884,
receiving the degree of LL. B. He was a member of the
Philosophian Literary Society. He was twice married — in
1881 and in 1901. The children of the first marriage are
Maud, Herbert, and Joe; of the second, Foster and Mary.
He was for twenty-five years principal of the school at
Batchtown, Illinois, but resigned in 1908 to become cashier
of the Bank of Richwoods, at Batchtown. He is a member
of the Methodist Church, the Masonic Lodge, the Modern
Woodmen of America, and the Mutual Protective League.
THOMAS H. TUTTLE
Thomas Henry Tattle was born May 10, 18';';, in Jeffer-
son County, Illinois. At the time he was m McKendree,
his home was at Ashley. He took a law course and received
the degree of LL. B. He was a Plato, a Republican, and a
Methodist. After graduation, he went west and began the
practice of law m Chanute, Kansas. We have no recent in-
formation concerning him.
Two Hundred and \metyTu
DANIEL Z^ VERNOR
Daniel Zenas Vernor was born at Nashville, Illinois, Feb-
ruary 14, 1864. His parents were Daniel H. and Jane L.
(Mitchell) Vernor, who both died while their son was still
in his youth. He became a student m McKendree in Sep-
tember, 1880, and graduated m 1884, receiving the degree
of B. S., and later, M. S. He was married December 25,
1888 He has been m business for many years in Olney,
Illinois. He was vice-president of the Illinois State Sunday
School Association for four years, and president of that body
one year. He is an Elder in the Presbyterian Church at Ol-
ney, Illinois. While at McKendree. he was a member of the
Philosophian Literary Society.
THE CLASS OF 1SS5
THOMAS N. CAMP
Thomas Nathaniel Camp was born near Troy, Illinois,
March II, 1859. He was a son of Thomas and Elizabeth
(Johnson) Camp, who were both native Americans, of Eng-
lish ancestry. His mother died only three days after his birth,
and his father when he was only three years old. His home
during the years of his youth was with his maternal grand-
mother, Mrs. Eleanora Johnson, who with her son and daugh-
ter, William and Amanda Johnson, moved to Lebanon about
the year 1865, in order to be within reach of good educa-
tional advantages. He entered McKendree in 1881 and grad-
uated m 1885, receiving the degree of A. B., and later, A. M.
He was a member of the Platonian Literary Society. He
taught in the public schools for a year after his graduation,
and then secured a position as reporter for the St. Louis
Republic. He was afterward employed in the same capacity
by the St. Louis Chronicle and other journals in the same
city. According to the testimony of a prominent newspaper
man of St. Louis, he became an expert in his chosen line
of work. He retired from newspaper work in 1899. He is a
member of the Presbyterian Church. In 1888 he was united
m marriage to Mary A. Brand, of Summerfield. They have
four children: Walter M., Martha E., Estella A., and Elea-
nora L. Camp. The last is a graduate of McKendree.
WILLIAM J. CLUCAS
William John Clucas was born on the Isle of Man, south
of England, March 10, i8j8. He came to America with his
parents at the age of ten, and lived for a time in St. Louis.
A few years later he came to Lebanon, which place was his
home for the remainder of his life. He was married to Mary
Scott. To them were born two sons and three daughters, of
whom all except one were students at McKendree. After
passing middle life, he entered the Law Department of Mc-
Kendree and received the degree of LL. B. m 188';. He has
held the offices of Justice of the Peace, City Attorney, and
Postmaster of Lebanon. He was a member of the I. O. O. F.
and was prominent in lodge work. He died at Lebanon,
April 21, 1899.
CHAS. F^ DEW
Charles Frank Dew w.is born in Kansas City, Missouri,
March 20, 1866. He is a son of H. B. and Sarah E. Dew, who
were of English ancestry. He entered McKendree in 1883
and graduated in 1885, receiving the degree of B. S., and
later, M. S. He was a member of the Platonian Society.
After his graduation, he spent a number of years in educa-
tional work, having taught in Illinois, Missouri, and Minn'
esota. He occupied the position of superintendent in several
places. He then studied law and was admitted to the bar in
189J. He has for a number of years past been practicing law
in Centralia, Illinois. He has been three times elected to the
office of City Attorney in that city. He was married No-
vember 25, 1908, to Miss Hattie Porter. He belongs to the
Masonic Fraternity, and to the Modern Woodmen.
REV. LOUIS M. FLOCKEN
Louis Michael Flocken was born at Cincinnati, Ohio,
April II, 1861. He entered McKendree in 1879, and com-
pleted the course in iSS^;, receiving the degree of A. B., and
three years later, A. M. He entered Boston University
School of Theology in 1886, graduated in 1889 with the de-
gree of S. T. B. While in McKendree, he was a member of
Plato. He was married to Miss Myrtie Anna Carter, of New-
ton, Illinois, September 9, 1885. Their two sons are Louis Car-
ter and Robert Hinckley. They are both graduates of the
Wesleyan University. Mr. Flocken has been at work contin-
uously in the work of the pastorate in the New England Con-
ference. In 1904 he enjoyed an extensive trip abroad as a
delegate to the World's Sunday School Convention, at Jeru-
salem. The itinerary included the Madiera Islands, Gibraltar,
Algiers, Malta, Athens, Constantinople, Smyrna, Ephesus,
Damascus, Palestine, Egypt, Naples, Rome, Venice, Flor-
ence, Milan, Switzerland, Paris, London, etc. He has given
many illustrated lectures on his travels. He has also written
numerous magazine articles on religious and philosophical
subjects, such as "The Place of Philosophy in Bible Study"
and "The Influence of Greek Philosophy on the Formation
of Christian Doctrine."
GEORGE E. LEHMAN
George Ethan Lehman was born in Lebanon, Illinois, May
28, 1864. He is the son of John H. and Mary (Burton) Leh-
man. His mother is still living at her home in Lebanon.
Two Hiuiiired and j\inet_v-Tliree
^MC KENDREE ^^^^^s:^^-^g^>,r^^
After finishing the pubhc schools, he entered McKendree
and graduated in 1885, with the degree of B. S. He was an
active member of the Philosophian Literary Society. For a
number of years he taught school, and then went into busi-
ness as a retail merchant in St. Louis. In 1896 he organized
the St. Louis Delivery Company and operated this hne until
1904, when he went into business as a building contractor.
He followed this till 1909, when he went into the hardware
business, in which he is still engaged. He was married July
14, 1887, to Miss Sallie Whittaker, a St. Clair County girl.
They have two daughters, Ruth A. and Marie L. The latter
is now Mrs. Walter L Moon. She lives in St. Louis, and
Mr. Moon assists his father-in-law in the hardware business.
The family are all Methodists and attend the Waggoner
Memorial Church in St. Louis. Mr. Lehman belongs to the
Retail Hardware Dealers Association of St. Louis. Besides his
business property, he owns a splendid residence in St. Louis.
ROBERT C. NOLEMAN
Robert Casey Noleman was born at Centralia, Illinois,
November 12, 1861. His parents, Edward S. and Mary
(Casey) Noleman, were early pioneers of Illinois. He entered
McKendree in 1880 and graduated in 1885, receiving the
degrees of B. S. and LL. B. He was a member of Philo. After
his graduation, he went to Nebraska and practiced law for
twenty years, a part of which time he held the office of
County Attorney. He then went to California, and for a
number of years maintained a law office in Los Angeles. He
later returned to his native city, Centralia, where he prac-
ticed law until his retirement from active business only a
short time ago. He was married in 1888, to Miss Julia
Hickey. They have four sons and one daughter. Mr. Nole-
man is a member of the Masons, the Odd Fellows, and the
Elks.
HORACE N. McKEE
Horace Napoleon McKee graduated in 1885, receiving
the degree of A. B., and later, that of A. M. He was a
member of the Platonian Society. Some time after his grad-
uation, he went to Chicago and engaged in the real estate
business. We have no recent information concerning him.
EDDY RANSOM
Eddy Ransom was born at Spring Garden, Illinois, No-
vember 29, 1864. He was a son of Rev. Albert and Catherine
Ransom, who were both native Americans, but of Scotch
ancestry. His father was a member of the Southern Illinois
Conference. He became a student in McKendree in 1883
and graduated in 1885, receiving the degree of B. S., and
later, M. S. He was a member of the Philosophian Literary
Society. He was gifted m music and made that his principal
occupation for some years. He traveled for a time with a
theatrical troup, was married, had one child, and in 1892
mysteriously disappeared. His relatives have not heard from
him, nor have they been able to secure any trace of his
whereabouts since that time.
REV. ARTHUR P. SHARP
Arthur Page Sharp was born at Meridan, Warwickshire,
England, March 26, 1858. He is a son of Henry and Eliza
Sharp, who are of English nationality. He came to America
in his eighteenth year and settled in Mt. Carmel, Illinois.
He entered McKendree College in September, 1881, and
graduated in 1885 with the degree of A. B. Three years
later he received the degree of A. M. He graduated from
Boston University School of Theology in 1888 with the
degree of S. T. B. He was Jacob Sleeper Fellow at Halle an
der Salle, Germany, in 1895-1896. He graduated D. D. (cum
laude) from the Chicago Seminar of Sciences in 1906. While
in McKendree, he was a member of the Platonian Society.
He was married June 30, 1887, to May Louise Harris, daugh-
ter of Rev. Joseph Harris, who was many years professor
of Mathematics at McKendree College. They have four
children: Harold Harris, Marjorie May, Otto Page, and
Arthur Norman. He joined the New England Conference
in 1888 and has served eight pastoral charges, and was
Superintendent of the Lynn District. He retired several
years ago, and his death occurred in September, 1927.
ETHAN F. STAATS
Ethen Freeman Staats was born m West Virginia, August
22, 1857. His father, Lewis Staats, was a farmer near Sumner,
Illinois. He entered McKendree in 1878 and completed the
course and graduated in 1885, receiving the degree of A. B.
He was a member of Philo. He entered the ministry for a
while, but not finding the work of a Methodist preacher
congenial, he studied medicine, and has followed that pro-
fession during his active life, at Beman, Missouri.
WILLIAM O. THOMPSON
William Owen Thompson was born May 8, 1865, '"
Johnson County, Illinois. He is a son of Rev. F. L. Thomp-
son, who was for many years a prominent member of the
Southern Illinois Conference. He graduated from McKen-
dree in the class of 1885, receiving the degree of A. B. He
was a member of the Platonian Literary Society. He was a
Methodist and a Republican. He followed various occupa-
tions after his graduation. He was for a time a druggist; he
was in the business of photography in Alton, Illinois; and
was engaged in the publishing business in Chicago. He was
Two Hundred and ?{,mety-Fi
MC KENDREE
married to Miss Minnie Hendrickson, of Lebanon. They have
one son, Charles O. Thompson, who is a dentist in St. Louis.
MRS. ELIZABETH VIRGIN LOUIS
Elizabeth Jane Virgin was born near St. Jacob, Illinois,
May 12, 1863. She was reared on a farm, attended the pub-
lic schools, and then entered McKendree in the fall of 1882.
She graduated in the class of 1885, receiving the degree of
B. S. She also received a diploma in Elocution. She was a
member of Clio. She was married June j, 1885, to Henry
W. Louis, of the class of 1884. They have two children
living — Elizabeth Beatrice and Howard Ellis. She is a mem-
ber of the First Baptist Church in Jackson, Tennessee, where
they have lived for many years. She is also an active member
of the Order of the Eastern Star.
THE CLASS OF 18S6
CHARLES U. ARMSTRONG
Charles Union Armstrong was born near Piasa, Macoupin
County, Illinois, Feb. 27, 1864. His parents, Louis P. and
Mary Allen Armstrong, born respectively in Pennsylvania
and Delaware, were of English descent. After spending his
youth on the farm and attending the public schools, he
entered McKendree m the fall of 1881. He graduated in
1886 with the degree B. S., and two years later, received
the degree LL. B. He was an active Philo during his college
years. He was married December 3, 1896, to Miss Mary E.
ChaiEn. They have two children, a son and a daughter. Mr.
Armstrong has been practicing law almost ever since his
graduation, and is a prominent member of the profession
at Santa Maria, California, where he now resides. He is a
member of both the Odd Fellow and Masonic Fraternities.
CHARLES L. BROWN
Charles Lincoln Brown was born on a flirm near Lebanon,
Illinois, July 25, 1865. He is a son of Luther and Caroline
E. Brown. He was educated in the public schools of Lebanon
and then entered McKendree, and after finishing the Scien-
tific Course, he graduated in 1886, receiving the degree of
B. S., and later, M. S. He immediately entered McKendree's
Law Department and graduated from it in 1888. He was a
member of the Philosophian Literary Society. He was mar-
ried October 19, 1892, and has one son living — Kenneth D.
Brown. He has spent his professional life thus fiir in the
practice of law. He was employed in the Law Department
of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad Company
from October, 1889, to July, 1912. He is now a member
of the firm of Brown and Baer, engaged in general law prac-
tice, in San Francisco, California.
REV. JOHN N. GEISLER
John Nicholas Geisler was born in a log house in the
town of Lukin, Lawrence County, Illinois, m the year 1858.
His flither was German and his mother Scotch. His father
was one of the three m the village who voted for Abraham
Lincoln at his first election, and one of the ten who voted
for him at his second election. The father's politics being
unpopular, the son had many political contentions among
his school fellows, which sometimes led to blows. For this
reason, his preparation for college was largely obtained at
home. He came to McKendree with little besides his great
thirst for learning; and after five years of struggle with
adversity and deep draughts from the fountains of knowl'
edge, he graduated in 1886, with the degree of A. B. The
same year he entered Boston University School of Theology
and there received the degree of S. T. B. m 1889. He en-
tered the New England Southern Conference m 1890, and
since that time has labored faithfully as pastor of the Chris-
tian flock wherever the authority of the Church has placed
him. He was a member of the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows — Encampment, Royal Purple Degree. His death
occurred m 1924.
IRA D. KINGSBURY
Ira Dale Kingsbury was born at Carlyle, Illinois, Novem-
ber 12, 1866. His father was Darius Kingsbury, a lawyer,
and Mary E. Hazard, both born in America, and descend-
ants of old New England families. He entered McKendree
College in 1883 and graduated in June, 1886, receiving the
degree of B. S., and the corresponding master's degree in
1889. He was a member of the Platonian Literary Society.
He was married April 27, 1897, to Miss Sibyl Lee Capelle,
of Carlyle, Illinois. After graduation, he studied law, but
did not enter upon the practice of this profession. In 1891
he moved to Rochester, New York, where for two years he
was engaged in the wholesale fruit business. In April, 1893,
he entered the employ of the Lawyers' Co-operative Publish-
ing Company. In July, 1895, he engaged with the Bausch and
Lomb Optical Company as credit man, which position he
held until October 15, 1907, when he resigned to accept
the position of financial manager for L. Adler, Brothers and
Company, manufecturers of men's fine clothing, which posi-
tion he now holds, and since November, 191 1, he has been
a member of the company. He is a member of the Protestant
Episcopal Church and has belonged to the Masonic Frater-
nity since 1889. He was secretary of the Rochester Public
Health Association from 1899 to 1907, and while holding
this office, he was prominent in the first public efforts for
Two Hundred and T^inety-Five
organized preventative work against the spread of tubercu-
losis. For many years he has been an active member of the
National Credit Men's Association and the Rochester Asso-
ciation of Credit Men, being an ex-president of the latter
body, and at present, a director in the former. He is a mem-
ber of the Rochester Club, the Automobile Club of Roch-
ester, and the Oak Hill Country Club.
JOHN S. C, NICHOLS
John Strong Curtis Nichols was born near Noble, Illinois,
January 6, 1864. His parents were Joshua D. and Esther
(Curtis) Nichols, both natives of New York. He entered
McKendree in 1884 and graduated in 1886, with the degree
of LL. B. He was a member of the Platonian Literary Society.
In 1892 he was united in marriage to Miss Ruby McMurtry.
They have five children — three boys and two girls. Since
leaving college, he has been engaged in a variety of occupa-
tions, among which are law practice, farming and merchan-
dising. For a number of years he has been president and
cashier of the First National Bank of Noble, Illinois. He is
a member of the order of A. F. 6s? A. M.
GEORGE W. PRESTON
George William Preston was born in Mercer County,
Pennsylvania, November 7, 1867. He is a son of S. H. and
Mary J. Preston. He came to Illinois in early youth and
entered McKendree College in 1882. He graduated in the
class of 1886, receiving the degree of B. S. The next year
he received the master's degree from his alma mater. He was
a member of the Philosophian Literary Society. He later
attended Kenyon College, where he received the degree of
B. D. in 1893. In 1902 he received the degree of LL. B. from
the University of Buffalo (N. Y.). He has successfully filled
the following positions: Clerk of the State Board of Health
of Illinois, 1884-1887; then for a year he was Professor of
English Language and Literature in Hillsboro College (Ohio) ;
the next year he was Superintendent of Schools, Loveland,
Ohio; then for two years he was President of Georgetown
College (Ohio); in 189 j he was ordained a priest in the
Episcopal Church and served as rector of parishes in Ohio
and Pennsylvania until 1899; he was then for some years
General Missionary of his Church for Southern Illinois and
Dean of Chester: later he lived for some years in St. Louis,
but in 191 4 he moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado, where
he now resides. He was married to Clara Louise Day m 1901.
Their children are William Day, Mary Louise, and George.
SAMUEL SLADE
Samuel Slade was born at Pana, Illinois, March 35, 1865,
and was accidentally killed at San Luis Obispo Bay, on the
Pacific Coast, being thrown against a rock by an ocean wave,
February ij, 1898. He was a son of Samuel and Martha
Slade, who were both native Americans, though the father
was of French and the mother of English ancestry. From
early childhood until he went to college, he lived near Piasa,
Macoupin County, Illinois. He became a student in Mc-
Kendree in 1881 and graduated in 1886 with the degree of
B. S. In 1888 he completed the Law Course in McKendree
and received the degree of LL. B. He was married to Miss
Elizabeth Blevins, of Oskaloosa, Kansas, May 2j, 1889. Their
son, Marshall, and daughter, Esther, both died in early
childhood. Their youngest daughter, Maria, graduated from
the University of Kansas, at Lawrence. After teaching school
two years, Mr. Slade began the practice of law at Eads,
Colorado. He was elected County Attorney of Kiowa Coun-
ty, Colorado, in 1889, and District Attorney in 1891. He
resigned this office and moved to Pueblo, Colorado, where
he practiced law until failing health induced him to move
to Santa, Maria, California, where in 1895 he became a mem-
ber of the law firm of Slade and Armstrong, which was
dissolved by his death in 1898. In 1893 he held the position
of Clerk of the Judiciary Committee in the Colorado Legis-
lature. In California, he was Clerk of the Senate Committee
of Education and Public Morals. He held the highest office
in the Knights of Pythias Lodge, and was a member of the
Finance Committee of the Grand Lodge of California. He
also belonged to the Masonic Order, the Independent Order
of Forresters, and the Order of Eastern Star. He was a
trustee of the City Library Association. He was a Repub-
lican in politics and doubtless, had he lived, would have
exerted a wide influence in that field. A published History
of the City of Pueblo says of him: "Mr. Slade, though not
numbered among the pioneer lawyers of Pueblo, yet by strict
application to his chosen profession, has written his name
high up on the list of the city's able attorneys, securing the
reputation of being an able lawyer and a true gentleman,
thorough, careful, and conscientious."
Two Huiidrec! and \inetySix
MC KENDREE
CHAPTER XXIV.
The Literary Societies
J0HN50N PIERSON
A Philo Founder
THE PHILOSOPHIAN SOCIETY
fficKENDREE College had completed nearly ten ye.irs
of history as an educational institution before there
was any attempt to organize a literary society. But
early m January, i8j7, a public invitation was issued to the
students, or to as many of them as were interested in the
organization of a debating soci-
ety, to meet in Professor Mer-
rill's room on the evening of
January lo. This room was in
the old frame building long
since gone. When the stated
time arrived, there were just
seven young men present. The
catalogue of that year shows
that there were seventy-three
students enrolled. Twenty-
two were college students and
fifty-one in the Preparatory De-
partment; and all were eligible
to join the society, but thru indifference or ignorance, or
some other cause, the others did not appear. These seven
were less than ten per cent of the student body. They cer,
tainly deserve to have their names inscribed on the honor
roll as the pioneers in the field of literary and forensic work.
So far as we have been able to learn, up to this time there
was no such organization in the Mississippi Valley. But
many a great movement has had as humble a beginning.
The names of these seven men were Asahel Brown, Samuel
K. Casey, Jeremiah Johnson, Harvey C. Lasley, Elihu Mc-
Kendree Peters, Johnson Pierson, and Joseph Harris Tam.
But when it became evident that only seven were to be
present, they proceeded, nevertheless, to carry out the an-
nounced purpose of the meeting. J. H. Tam was made tem-
porary chairman and Johnson Pierson, secretary. A com-
mittee was appointed, consisting of Pierson, Lasley, and
Casey, to draft a constitution and report at the next meeting,
January 17. The matter of a name for the new organization
was discussed, and among those proposed, the name "Philo-
mathian" was favored by the majority. It was agreed, how-
ever, to consult Professor Sunderland, in whose judgment
the students had the highest confidence. When informed
that the name Philomathian had been provisionally chosen,
the Professor said, "Young men, let me exhort you to be
'Lovers of Wisdom' rather than mere 'Lovers of Learning.' I
suggest that you adopt the name 'Philosophian' rather than
'Philomathian'." The boys readily accepted his suggestion
and the constitution which was adopted provided, among
other things, "that this society be known as the Philosophian
Society of McKendree College." Professor Sunderland was
a Iso consulted about the motto,
and he suggested the motto
of the one to which he had be-
longed at the Wesleyan L'ni-
versity, at Middletown, Con-
necticut, and where he had
but recently graduated. And
so "Detur Digniori," signifying
"Let It be given to the more
worthy," became the motto
of Philo. In after years John
Lupton, who was for years
Lebanon's well known photog-
rapher and portrait painter,
painted this motto on a large canvas which was placed in
a dignified frame and hung on the walls of Philo hall for
years. On the occasions of the annual exhibitions, it was
moved over to the chapel and hung over the stage while
the program was being rendered. In recent years, through
the influence of Timothy I. McKnight, a new motto was
painted which also gives the date of the founding of the
organization. The object of the society, as stated in the
original constitution, was "the mutual improvement of its
members m oratorical attainments and in scientific and lit-
erary pursuits."
By the end of the first year of the society's existence,
there were thirty-one members. It seems appropriate here
to give their names as found m an old Philo catalogue pub-
lished in 1850. The original seven are marked with a *.
JOS. H. TAM
A Founder of Philo
Amos, Abraham
Bennet, Wesley
*Brown, Asahel
*Casey, Samuel K.
Clemson, James Y.
Cossitt, David B.
Crouch, Lloyd
Edgar, William
Hunt, Ralph
Alton
Clarksburg, Va.
Brownsville, Mo.
Benton
Caledonia
Lebanon
McLeansboro
St. Augustine, Tex.
Buffalo, N. Y.
Two Hundred and Mmety-Seve
Jeter, WiUi^mi T.
*Johnson, Jeremiah
Johnson, John
Johnson, P. W.
Jones, John W.
*Lasley, Harvey C.
Leonard, Thomas
Lucky, William T.
Moore, Jesse H.
Norman, B.
Neal, Thomas L.
Padon, Alfred
*Peters, Elihu McKendree
*Pierson, Johnson
Renfro, James J.
Robinson, Eli
Scarritt, Nathan
The hall of the
Louisville, Ky.
Lebanon
Amity
Nashville
Alton
Galliopolis, Ohio
Lebanon
Fayette, Mo.
Paris
Sugar Creek
Carrolton
Ridge Prairie
White Hall
Burlington, Iowa
Troy
Benton, Wisconsin
Westport, Mo.
Phtlosophian Literary Society
*Tam, Joseph H.
Wakefield, Ira
Wall, Finley W.
Weer, William
Williams, Abraham
Logansport, Iowa
Lebanon
Owensboro, Ky.
Carlinville
Amity
The post office addresses given above are the ones they
had in 1850, rather than when they entered college. The
constitution provided that all members of the college faculty
should be ex-officio honorary members. And in addition to
these, they occasionally elected some prominent man who
would be considered an honor to their membership roll.
Among those chosen before 1850 were Rev. John Mason
Peck, the great pioneer of the Illinois Baptists, and founder
of Rock Springs Seminary, and Hon. Lyman Trumbull, who
was afterward a member of the United States Senate. The
first public exhibition of the society was held September 4,
i8j8. It was a tedious program of argumentation. There
Two Hundred and H'netyEight
were eight questions for debate, one of which was a dis-
cussion of the United States banking system. The tedium
was reheved only by one odd number entitled, "A Lecture
on Phrenology." It was supposed to be delivered by Dr.
Bump Monger, President of the Phrenological Academy of
Kamchatka. This important personage was represented by
Jeremiah Johnson, afterward a member of the first graduating
class. The learned lecturer was followed by Cuff and Jumbo,
who were slated to hold a colloquy on the subject of Phre-
nology. On this program appeared the names of William T.
Lucky, who afterward became the founder of at least two
colleges in the west. And Jesse Haile Moore, afterwards a
general in the Civil War, a minister, a college president, a
member of Congress, and finally Consul-general to Peru. For
several years the Society held its meeting in a recitation
room in the old building, but after the erection of the present
building known as "Old Main," which was begun in 1850,
the societies were given quarters in the new building. There
were two of them at that time, the Platonian Society having
been organized m 1849. I''' ^854 '^he Philo Society moved
into its new quarters, which at that time included only the
south half of the present hall. That much space was ample
at that time to accommodate the Society. But by 1856 it
became evident that more room was necessary, and so the
partition was removed and the Philo Hall acquired its present
proportions. In 1847, Silas L. Bryan, afterwards a Circuit
Judge m Illinois, was secretary of the Society. Sixty-two
years later, m 190Q, his son, William Jennings Bryan, was
elected to honorary membership in Philo. This occurred at
a banquet held m honor of Silas LiUard Bryan, at which
Hon. William E. Trautmann presided as toastmaster, and
William Jennings Bryan was present and spoke to the toast
"Faith." The history of Philo furnishes many examples of
how faith may be transformed into works. Of the seven
founders, there should be special mention. Two of them,
Jeremiah Johnson and Johnson Pierson, later became grad'
uates of McKendree as members of the class of 1S41. Biog'
raphies of them appear in that connection. Asahel Brown
r
P B D fl a A j)J M
MUSIC.
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MUSIC.
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Pop U LA,. I'.V.L..
G. J Gluu,.
W I'. EAT...V
MUSIC.
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QUESTION — lathe Light of Nature, unassisted by
Eevelaiion, sufScient to prove the existence and
attributes of a God ?
MUSIC.
C> R .\ T I O N S .
L, H Utt.
J. K, ^^B„,^c^ON
J,.s..,„ Ha„b,.
MUSIC,
ORICINALPLAY--H. r..r.-ainl al'tti- I'.li^i-l ion
[DRAMATIS PERSONS ]
Pat .AUnniv, (Fresh fiom ilie "ould iod.") C..s>,N..„,,i.
Simon D...,.i,rACE, (Candidalu for Congress. ; J. Wii.or.v,
Mb. P,,vcKN£v, (Pai-siigtd Employer,) - G, J.Georce,
Haxs WrNixTEif.,(Dtvoied 10 lieir, bread, m.) W. P, Eaton,
Mn. Hawkins, ^ - - H,\V. McCoy.
Mn, Pu.t Dnur,:,^' "'"'"'""' - Howard.
Biddy, (The genlle „,fe of I'al) • - WUR.
MUSIC.
,^m*
Facsimile of Philo programme dated March i<r, i86i
Ttvo Hundred and ?iinety?{me
\ '^(^i!i)\\n of (trercisfs.^5
SAT.l'TATOnV.
»ECLAMlTIO>S.
ESSAVS.
TOIL ON, VO*?' SOOX WIM. FlItD A REST. T. J. CiLDwr.ix
- - - - R. M. DtNF.F.^.
Mi;.NTAr, HEROISM,
(j^tTIO!kS.
CARKKR OF MIND. - " - - ► |.''.>(i;i.i(uv
ONWARD, FOREVER ONWARD,. - r. . D,4.H»co'
UErLAMATIOXS.
BKSTl.NV OF AMF.RIC A. C. IIo
THH SOl'TH A>«D THE I'MON, - v ^ c. A.
Music.
ESSAVS.
ADVANCEMENT OF THE AOE, - - - C. W,
TRIUMPHS OF INTELLECT, - - - - I. St.
ORATIOSS.
OIR RESOLRCES AND RESPONSIBILITIES, F. J. Helup.
IMMORTALITV OF GENII'S. . . . s. H. Dbi<«».
Music.
Hrrfhait (f Vfniff.— A Tragedy iu 3 .Vets.
SHVI.OCK, S. L. Fo.ni..
BASSARriJ, F. J. Hr.!Lor.
ANTONIO, A. .M. Ji:Bn.Mt.
PORTIA, F. NtLsoN.
SALARINU, T. A. PtRiitR.
-.<R-%
SALANIO,
TUBAL, . . . .
DUKE, - - - ■ -
NERISSA, . . - .
CLERK OF THE COURT,
JAILER, - - . .
bECLAlIATrONS.
MISSION OF SCIENCE,
The Dead Shot,— .\ Builesriuo.
CAPTAIN CANNON, S. L.
HECTOR TIMID,
WISEMAN. - -
FRED. THORNTON,
LOUISA, - - -
CHATTER, - -
Music.
Box and C»x, -A Fiiico.
co.x, -
BO.X,
BOUNCER,
.M. JunoM
J. Havde
A. .M. J I
F. Nelso
D. J. Ha
V.\LEDICTORY, ■ - - - D. H. Pos
Mvfk.
BEKEDiCTIOIV.
APR. 5TH. 1853
'±i£P:>^. .^Q^U
Facsimile of programme of joint-exhibition
entered the Methodist ministry, and was for a time a meiiT
ber of the Illinois Conference. He afterward transferred to
the Missouri Conference and gave his later life to the build-
ing up of the newer country west of Illinois. The town of
Brownsville, Missouri was named after him. Samuel K. Casey
was the son of Zadoc and Rachel Casey, born in Tennessee
in 1817. His father came to Illinois soon after that time and
was a prominent lawyer and judge, having served one term
as Lieutenant-governor of Illinois. Samuel K. left McKendree
before finishing his course, studied law, served as County
Judge in Franklin County for a number of years, was receiver
of public moneys at Shawneetown for a period, and was for
five years warden of the Sfcite Penitentiary at Joliet. During
this period he superintended the erection of a new state
prison building which was accomplished in a manner demon-
strating his fidelity to a public trust. In 1S6S he was elected
It the
«3£)^~ .. .. „.., tfOS*
held by Philo and Plato on April 5, 185J
State Senator from his district and held this office
time of his death May 3,1, 1871.
Harvey C. Lasley was the only one of the seven founders
who was in the Preparatory rather than the College De-
partment. His home was in Galliopolis, Ohio when he came
to college and he died at that place some time before 1850.
Elihu McKendree Peters was born in Virginia in 181 1.
He came to Greene County, Illinois in an early day. He
entered McKendree in 1836 and in 1837 became the first
president of Philo under the constitution. He did not finish
his college course, but after leaving school he engaged in
farming and was also a local preacher in the Methodist
Church. He was married in 1841, to Miss Ann Condell at
Carrollton, 111. His death occurred at White Hall, Illinois,
in 1849, when he was still under forty years of age.
Joseph Harris Tam was born in Delaware in 1816. He
was enrolled in McKendree at the time of the organization
Three HmidreJ
of Philo, from Logansport, low.i. He did not finish his college
course, but after he left McKendree, he went to New Or-
leans and later enlisted in the Texas Rangers serving in the
Mexican War. After the close of the war, he returned to Illi-
nois and married Miss Sarah Glassford, of Monticello. In
1848 he went to California, and settled in Amador County
in 1849. He remained there several years and engaged m
mining with a good degree of success. In 1852 he moved
with his family to San Joaquin County, where he was one of
the earliest settlers at the town of Woodbridge. He acquired
a large area of land in that vicinity. He had the first orchard
m the later famous San Joaquin Valley. He was the father
of four sons and two daughters. Those surviving him are:
Mrs. J. A. Stewart, of Stockton, California; Mrs. Agusta
E. Richards, San Jose, California; and one son, the Hon.
J. H. Tarn, of San Francisco. The elder Tam died at Wood-
bridge, California, in 1867.
The work of the Society now includes readings, essays,
orations, extemporaneous speaking, parliamentary drill, and
debate. It also affords opportunity for practice in acquiring
self possession in difficult situations, thinking while on your
feet, and the ability to exercise sound critical judgment in
literary and forensic matters. In the years past, the literary
societies hive been largely of the n.iture of fniternities, as
well as literary forums. Some students have valued the ex-
periences of the society hall more highly than those of the
class room. The "society spirit" was an influence far more
evident in the old days than at present. At times, it ran so
high as to cause a dangerous rivalry between the two mens'
societies. Sometimes there were serious clashes between the
organizations, not only of words and feelings, but sometimes
of physical force that might result in actual bruises and
bloodshed. But these conflicts are soon forgotten after stU'
dents get out into the world. The reasons that seemed abun-
dantly sufficient to justify extreme conduct on the part of
the student, seem very small indeed to the man of the world.
The fraternal spirit often caused the boys to prolong their
session until far into the night, and sometimes the order of
exercises would entirely lose its literary character and be
come chiefly social. In the days when the buildings were
heated with stoves, and of course there was a stove in each
society hall, the drawers under the book cases in Philo
always contained some cooking utensils. Sometimes after the
program was over on a winter night, a committee might be
appointed to visit some convenient hen-house and procure
a chicken to form the basis of an informal banquet; which,
IDEXUR, 3DIC3-rJIOK,I. ^
^jr~- OF THE -"T^
COLLEOE CHA-FEL,
^cdiie.'id.ui ffirni 11^. t): iciiibtr lo
MUSIC. nsrvoGA-xipisr, music.
DECLAMATION', . . Tlie Voluntoor soldier
.1. A. SllErilERD.
O. K. SiLLIMAN.
'^"fc*?
j
FR 0 GR Aivr 3S^ E .
OKATIc.N
C. S. DKJiKKN.
Energy.
OKATIO.V
1
. Coliimbi:i's I!
«MI. LirncK.
itlle Fields.
MUSIC,
Oh, Lord, Hiiw Exc«lIeW is
Tliv Name.
1 Missts LEEPEit and McCkacken,
1
MESsRe. Hkrvet a
nd MOOBE-
DKCl.AMATION, . . . Tlie
•olish Boy.
CaueHall.
OUVTION
I'.lcmcnt
.I.e. Mo.. HE.
or Power.
MUSIC, (S
olo) . . . "ThcU
W. S. IIERVEV.
aterMill-
01!.\TI0N
L. Y. Sherman.
Now.
OliATIOX,
W. S HOHNER.
.MUSIC.
Action.
OUATION,
J. A. SPIES.
or Thought
MUSIC.
liE.VEDICTION.
MUSIC.
President of ti'e Evciiin;,', J. C. Creighton. | |
■USHERS.
W. H.
Wilson, I. N. Errismak. ||
'^^^J'
1 of a Philo exhibition programm? datjd December 15, 1879
rhrce Hundred and On
if it did not promote the primary purpose of the organization,
at least had a strong tendency to arouse good fellowship,
which was likely to be cherished in the years to come.
The first few weeks of each school year were marked by
strenuous efforts to secure new members, on the part of
both societies. They used every possible argument and device
to influence the new men to make the right choice and not
ruin their college life by joining the wrong society. The
first few meetings of the year were specially interesting,
when the literary program was over, and taking up the busi-
ness session, the president called for propositions for mem-
bership. The formal proposal of the name of some new stu-
dent was often written out at great length and in extravagant
terms praised the good qualities of the individual and dwelt
upon his capacity to bring glory to the society in the years
to come. Then after a motion was duly made to receive the
candidate into the membership of the society, there was a
tremendous affirmative vote. No one thought of voting in
the negative, and the object of the loud affirmative was to
advertise the fact to their opponents across the hall that
they had received a new member. So the doors and windows
were opened, various noise making devices were employed,
voices were keyed to their fullest capacity, and such a volume
of noise would smite the quiet evening atmosphere as was
well calculated to awake the dead. But if it did not actually
produce that effect, it did awake the members of the other
society to the fact that some unsophisticated freshman had
been inviegjed into joining the opposite society, and there-
fore, in their estimation, had ruined his chances of success
in life forever.
In the period of the eighties and nineties, it was customary
about once a term to hold a college social in the two society
halls. In those days there were two doors in each hall, just
opposite the two in the other.
With these all thrown open.
It was a fine place to play the
social games that were common
in those days. After several
hours of social enjoyment, in
which the boys and girls asso-
ciated freely with each other
without violating any of the
ordinary rules of propriety, at
10:3,0, the president or vice-
president of the college would
GEORGE W. SMITH ""''^^ ^ ^^^ general remarks
Who was a member of Philo and announce that it was time
SAMUEL K. CASEY
One of the Founders of Philo
to adjourn. This suggestion
was promptly and cheerfully
obeyed and the boys and girls
went to their boarding houses
feeling that they had been re-
ceiving a kind of training that
was both pleasant and useful,
tho not found in the printed
curriculum. The coming of the
dormitories with many stu-
dents living on the hill, and
the wider interest in athletics
and various other college activ-
ities, have conspired together
to change these conditions of the former years. CksUege stu-
dents probably enjoy social contacts as much as ever, but
the forms and methods of these change as the years go by.
For many years there hung on the west wall of Philo Hall
a painting by John Lupton which represented a pioneer scene,
showing two Indians in the primeval forest with their wea'
pons prepared either for a hunt or warfare against their
enemies. One of the favorite jokes to play on a new member
of the society was to show him this picture and tell him to
find three Indians in it. There were the two in plain sight,
and he would usually search long and diligently for the third.
But no one was ever able to find a third. After he had finally
given up the search and acknowledged his failure, he was
told that the third Indian was behind one of the big trees
and therefore out of sight. Of course he would keep the
whereabouts of the third Indian a profound secret in order
that he might enjoy seeing the next new member fooled
as he had been.
At the same time with these pleasurable activities, much
serious work was undertaken by the Philos. They were re-
quired to pay fees and dues, and sometimes fines. Most of
them spent many hours in preparation for assigned tasks,
the performance of which was a splendid means of develop-
ing certain talents, and preparing the student to meet cer-
t;nn obligations that are likely to come in later life Philo
feels especially proud of her record in certain lines. It is
claimed that there have been only two sessions of the Illinois
Legislature since 1849 without one or more Philos in their
membership. The society has been continuously represented
on the Circuit Bench of Illinois since 1857. The present Chief
Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court, Judge William M.
Farmer, is a Philo. Only two sessions of Congress since the
Three Hundred and Two
Civil War have been held
without Philo hemsj represent
ed either m the Senate or
the House.
The Philos are also proud of
their record m the matter of
the Bryan Essay Contest. This
was a prize established by
William J. Bryan, to be given
annually for the best essay on
some question of government.
It was first offered in i8q8,
JUDGE WILLIAM A. FARMER ^nj ^.,5 ^on by a Philo m the
One ot Philo's Honored Members ' , ^ ,,
years mentioned rollowmg:
1898 W. DuffPiercy 1910 Edmund J. Burgard
1899 Ben G. Scott 1911 Timothy I. McKnight
igoo Harold P. Barnes 1912 Clark R. Yost
1902 Edward D. Krehbiel 191 3, Samuel W. Eaton
1903 Robert E. Choisser 1914 John Stewart
1904 Arthur L. Weber 191 5 Norman M. Moss
1905 Leonard Carson 1916 Roger W. Valentine
1906 Charles E. Combe 1917 Arthur F. Zimmerman
1907 William F. Borders 1918 Lloyd J. Voyles
1908 W. D. P. Farthing 1919 Ray E. Winter
1909 Russel E. Townsend iqii John B. Zimmerman
After 1921, the Bryan Prize was no longer offered.
The Brown Oratorical Contest was established by Mr.
Charles W. Brown, of Chicago, and was maintained by him
during the years 1902 to 1910. The first prize m this contest
was awarded to Philos as follows;
1902 John W. Borah 1907 Russel E. Townsend
1904 Henry Eaton 1908 William J. Eaton
1905 Edward D. Krehbiel 1909 W. D. P. Farthing
1906 Charles Herbert Miller 1910 Silas J. Rees
In the old days, the semi-annual exhibitions were great
occasions. Before the days of the picture show and cheap
vaudeville, the college chapel was crowded to the doors and
the gallery full of people anxious to hear what the budding
orators had to present. We reproduce some of the Philo
programs as they were actually given.
There was always a vigorous rivalry as to which of the
three societies presented the best exhibition. Of course the
decision was usually a matter of individual opinion, and that
was usually colored by personal preference and traditional
associations. For a long time it was a common custom for
the friends and admirers of the performers to send them
cards, by the ushers, containing written congratulations and
compliments on the excellence of their performance. These
cards were treasured by some, to look over in after years as
pleasant reminders of the successful achievements of college
days. In the early history of Philo, and this was true of
both the men's societies, the exercises consisted chiefly of
debates and orations. Later, essays and extemporaneous
speeches were introduced. Still later came music and par-
liamentary drill. These changes usually occurred in both or-
ganizations about the same time. They both bought pianos,
each without the other's knowledge, so near the same time
that when one of them was delivered, boys from both so-
cieties helped to carry it upstairs, each thinking it belonged
to his society.
The Philo boys tike special interest m tlie exercise known
as parliamentary drill. Skill m this exercise involves a good
knowledge of Roberts' Rules of Order, and a keenly analytic
mind to enable one, on the spur of the moment, to determine
the proper application of the rules to a given case. When
Philos graduate from college they are presented with a form
of diploma from the society, which certifies that they are
sufficiently acquainted with parliamentary law to be com'
petent to preside over assemblies. In 1850 a catalogue of
Philo was pubhshed, giving a brief account of the organiza-
tion in 1837 and the names of those who had been members
of It up to that date. None of those mentioned m that list
are now living. Along m the nineties of the nineteenth cen-
tury, a roster of the entire membership was prepared, though
it was not printed, but left m neatly written form to be
useful to the future historian. This piece of work was done
by John L. Hobbs, who was appointed to the task by the
Society, because of his skill in penmanship. Mr. Hobbs after-
ward became a physician, and after many years of successful
practice, he retired from professional work and is now living
in Los Angeles, California. La-
ter a history of the Society
was compiled by Paul and
Chester Farthing, brothers who
graduated in the class of 1909.
This was published m 191 1
and contains a complete rost-
er of the membership up to
that time. A form of activity
which has been greatly en-
joyed by many of the members
and friends for a dozen years
or more, is the Philo Chautau- ^^^^^^ ^ ROBERTS
qua. It is a burlesque on the a former Philo
Three Hundred and Three
Hall of th; Platonian Literary Society
community Chautauqua, which has been so common in the
middle west in recent years. A program is prepared, con'
sisting of SIX numbers to represent the six days of the usual
Chautauqua, including a performance for each night of Chau-
tauqua week. Each performance represents a f;ike lecturer
with a long name, or a pseudo concert troupe in fantastic
costume and improvised instruments, or the impersonation
of some fiimous magician with a bit of magic which the
audience can easily see through. Even a "sermon" of a sort
of vaudeville type is provided for the Sunday night at Chau-
tauqua. The platform manager gets off jokes on various peo-
ple in the audience, frequent telegrams are received and read
from the platform. Even the faculty come in for their share
of jokes, and the audience is kept in a roar of laughter for
the most of the evening. Printed tickets are issued by way
of invitation to the chautauqua and there is always a
crowded house.
THE PLATONIAN SOCIETY
The Platonian Literary Society dates its origin from 1849,
though there is a question in the minds of some as to whether
or not an older organization was merged into Plato at that
time. There was evidently an organization of some kind be-
sides Philo, as early as 1847. The McKendree catalogues of
1S47 and 1848 contain the statement, '"The Philosophian
Society and McKendree College Lyceum offer every facility
for improvement in discussion and general literature." Th.it
of 1849 has almost the same statement, with "The Platonian
Society" substituted for "McKendree Lyceum," also the
clause inserted, "with well furnished rooms and growing
libraries." Professor W. F. Thrall, of the University of North
Carolina, who is.a member of the Platonian Society, has in-
vestigated this point of history carefully and secured the
testimony of several of the men who were students of Mc-
Kendree in that period and original members of Plato
Three Hundred ani Four
-L MVSIC. FKAYER. MUSIC. A,. \.
■Ji Oiation, Shadows of the Moment,
C T. H Jones, Johnsonville
J Oration, N.ght,
f. C. S. Freark Fost^iburg. jC l
The Age of Mind, Cl
W. M Schiiwerk, Baldwin ^ Jf
II
I
;«-^^^-^^i«^^>,&-^v^^^5-*-^
Oration, Power
A. N. Simmons, Brighton
Oration, Incarnation of Thought
W. W. Flint, Lebanon
Oration, Education
J S. Carson, Hovleton,
Oration I.ovalt\
I R I..:irge. Millcrsvi I,-,
V.VI.KDUTOUV VI)1>11ESS,
S. E. EAKP.
Positions chosen bv lot
JUNE 10^" 1879
I
\v.^
M'KENDREE COLLEGE,
W. W Flini, president.
Candidates for Degrees :
MASTER OF LITERATVRK :
Guilielmus Costello, B. i^., Freebure.
Ira Waldron Marshall, A. B,, Lebanon.
Jacobus Alphonsus Bishop, B W.i "
tamuelis Evingston Earp, B. S ,
Jacobus Godfridus Dee, B.d., Mulberry
Grove.
Joscpiius Gailielmuo Van Cleve, A. B ,
iiferring o( Degrees.
ItKNKiMCTlUN.
Exact reproduction ot
■ of undergraduates exhibition of Plato, held June lo, 1879
After a careful reading of the results of his investigation,
we are inclined to the opinion that there was an organization
known as the McKendree Lyceum during the two years pre-
ceding the founding of Plato. Whether it was a mere debating
club or a regular literary society, we have no means of know-
ing after so great a lapse of time, with no member of the
Lyceum now living and no records of the organization itself
still in existence. However, the most reasonable hypothesis
seems to be that the Lyceum was disbanded and ceased to
exist some time between the date of the publication of the
catalogue of 1848 and April 1849. Still the question of what
may have preceded the Platonian Society is not one of great
importance in a work of this kind. We will leave that to the
specialist and attempt to record as carefully as possible the
outline at least of the actual and unquestioned records, leav-
ing to the specialist the determination of hypothetical ques-
tions which are more or less clouded by the conflicting mem-
ories of those who try to recall the deeds of long ago.
Some of the facts concerning the founding and early his-
tory of the Platonian Society have been furnished by Mr.
Thomas O. Springer, deceased, who was its first president,
and Judge Thomas Casey, who was also one of the sixteen
founders. The date of organization is April 20, 1849. ^
committee was appointed to ask President Wentworth for
the use of a room in the college building, which request was
readily granted. A committee consisting of C. W. Jerome,
T. O. Springer, and T. S. Casey, was appointed to draft a
constitution and by-laws, and to select a name and motto
for the new organization. The motto selected w:is "Via
Sapentiae," signifying "Way of wisdom." The first officers
elected were as follows; President, Thomas O. Springer;
Vice-president, William Schwartz; Recording Secretary,
Thomas S. Casey; Corresponding Secretary, Charles W.
Jerome; Treasurer, Isaac B. Jack. Judge Casey tells how
the furniture was secured to make the original meeting place
attractive. "There we were in that bleak and desolate room.
Three Hundred and Five
MC KENDREir^^^^^:^^^...^.^.^
THREE FOUNDERS OF PLATO
Fike VanWinkle Thompson
The dust of generations was on its walls, three or four tal-
low candles in wooden holders adorned the walls, a two
dollar table was in front of the president, and a like piece
of furniture before the secretary, while wooden and back'
less benches were around against the walls. The above, along
with a paper bound ledger costing forty cents, and a few
sheets of foolscap, constituted our furniture and property.
We had about thirty dollars in the treasury. From the small
amount we were each allowed as spending money, contri-
butions were freely made to the good cause and we soon
increased our capital to fifty-five dollars and seventy-five
cents. With this amount we sent Jerome to St. Louis. Our
confidence in his taste was unbounded. In those days it
took one day to make the trip to St. Louis, one to do the
shopping, and one for the return journey, so that in three
days he was back again, and very soon thereafter we had
paper on the walls, twenty chairs, and what seemed more
than all, a carpet on the floor. That was a luxury the Philos
did not have. Before the end of May the carpet was down,
the old benches removed, new chairs in their places, new
paper on the walls and the ceiling freshly whitewashed. Tin
candlesticks had taken the place of the old wooden ones.
We were in this happy condition when it was determined
to have a library. Again we became beggars. We wrote
home, we importuned publishing houses, we elected a num-
ber of prominent gentlemen honorary members and politely
and delicately informed them of the honor that had been
bestowed upon them and suggested that any spare books
they might have would be gratefully received. By commence-
ment we had laid the foundations of a library. During the
summer we gathered books for the library, and were all
early on the ground m the tall to induce the new students
to join Plato. With us this was a critical time. Each Plato
became a politician in a small way. There was no noise
made, but by sunlight and by starlight the work went on.
In a few weeks we had gathered in most of the new stu-
dents. From that time the success of our society was assured."
The names of the sixteen founders are here given :
Charles W. Jerome St. Louis
David W. Bryant Waterloo
George W. Caldwell Franklin
Joseph W. Drury Waterloo
Henry C. Fike Mascoutah
Thomas O. Springer Edwardsville
Alonzo Thompson High Prairie
Alexander Van Winkle Franklin
Thomas S. Casey Mt. Vernon
William Chance Waterloo
Isaac B. Jack Nashville
Michael Mummert Waterloo
James H. Riggin Lebanon
William Schwartz Duquoin
William McK. Springer Edwardsville
William K. Thomas Belleville
Nine of this number pursued their course to graduation
and sketches of them will be found in connection with the
other members of their respective classes. Of the others we
will give brief sketches here. David W. Bryant was born
November i8, 183 1, in Jefferson County, Missouri. He re-
ceived his education in the common schools and McKendree
College. On leaving college he engaged in farming in Mon-
roe County until 1862, when he enlisted in the Eightieth
Regiment Missouri Volunteer Infantry, in which he served
for a while as First Lieutenant, then as Captain of Company
B, and later as Major of his
regiment. After the war he
again engaged in farming and
trading in land, in which his
success was such that he felt
able to retire in 1886. Attci
that time his residence was in
Pevely, Missouri. He spent
much of his time in his later
years in travel.
William Chance was born
in Monroe County, Illinois,
January 26, 1 831. He attended
the common schools and
Three Hundred and Si.v
MC KENDREE
entered McKendree m 1.S48. He continued m college for
three years, .ifter which he taught school in Columbia, Illi-
nois. In i8';4 he was married to Miss Lucinda Eckert and
removing to Lebanon, he engaged in the clothing business
during the years 1855 and 1856. He died at Lebanon, Illinois,
May II, 1857, and is buried in College Hill Cemetery. Judge
Casey said of him: "William Chance was a bright and in-
teUigent young man. He was delicate in health, but always
ready to perform any duty assigned to him."
Isaac B. Jack was born m Maury County, Tennessee, July
26, 1824. He came to Illinois in 1832 and was engaged in
farming at the outbreak of the Mexican War. He entered
the army and served as Lieutenant till the end of the war.
He then entered McKendree, tho did not stay to finish a
college course. He then taught school for a while and was
later elected Sheriff of Washington County. He had an inter-
est in the local paper of his home town, the Nashville Dem-
ocrat. He lived a consistent Christian life until his death
in 1852. One of his college friends said of him: "Isaac B.
Jack was a jolly good natured fellow, well met with all who
believed in taking the world easy. He was strong mentally
and physically. He was a true friend, unpretentious, thor-
oughly good, honest and always reliable."
Michael Mummert was born December 18, 1826, in Ger-
many, and came to America with his parents in 183,6, settling
in Monroe County, Illinois. He worked on a farm until the
beginning of the Mexican War, when he enlisted m the
company commanded by William R. Morrison, who after-
ward became Colonel Morrison. After serving one year he
came home, having been wounded at the battle of Buena
Vista. He then went to McKendree for two years. While
himself a student, he taught German classes in McKendree,
and was thus the first German teacher in the college. Later
he read law under Thomas
Quick, of Waterloo, for two
years and then he went to
Cincinnati and studied law for
a time in the office of Salmon
P. Chase, who afterward be-
came Chief Justice of the U-
S. Supreme Court. He then
returned to Waterloo and
practiced law until 1854,
when he died after a brief
illness.
COL. JONATHAN MERRIAM ^^"^^"" ^^^^'^"' ^^* '^°''"
One of Plato's distinguished sons m Jackson County, Illinois
J. Nick Perrin, well known lecturer and historian, and Charles P.
Johnson, famous criminal lawyer — both members of Plato
Feb. 7, 1826. He attended his home school and then entered
McKendree, where he helped to found the Platonian Society
in 1849, but he did not stay in school long after that. He was
married to Miss Sarah Kimmel in September, 1850, and some
time after located on a farm near Elk Prairie, where he spent
the remainder of his life. He spent several years as a teacher
in the public schools. Later he was a trustee of the Southern
Normal at Carbondale. He also held the office of Justice of
the Peace and School Treasurer. He was a Republican in
politics and was elected to the Illinois Legislature in 1870.
He was an influential member of that body, and was active
m securing the establishment of the Railroad and Warehouse
Commission. He was an active Christian and church worker.
He died September 22, 1871, at his home near Elkville. He
was survived by three children, Mrs. Hays, of Elkville, and
George and William A. Schwartz, of Carbondale.
William McKendree Springer was born in Madison Coun-
ty, Illinois, August 31, 1828. He attended the public schools
of his neighborhood and in 1848 entered McKendree. At
the end of the school year closing in 1849, he left school,
not to return because of failing health. In 1850, he went
overland to California, but in the summer of 1851 he re-
turned and resumed the business of farming. However, he
soon left the farm and engaged in running a saw mill. In
1875 he left the saw mill, moved to Edwardsville, and en-
gaged in selling hardware and farm machinery. He was a
Republican in politics and a member of the Methodist
Church. For many years he served as Sunday School Super-
intendent. He was a member of the Masonic Order and of
the Knights of Honor. In 1881 he started to Colorado for
the improvement of his health. At Lawrence, Kansas, where
he stopped to visit his sister, he was taken sick and died
Three HuriiireJ and Seie
there in October of that year. He was married to Miss
Margaret Barber in 1857, who with four of their six chil-
dren survived him.
Wilham Kinney Thomas was born in Ridge Prairie, May
8, 1829. His boyhood was spent on the farm where he got
what education the district school afforded. He entered Mc-
Kendree in 1847, but left in i8';o to go to the gold fields
of California. In 1855 he returned to Illinois and the next
year was married to Miss Mary E. Simpson. None of their
five children grew to maturity. In the spring of 1866 he
and his little son started for Montana and were both killed
by the Indians at the Yellowstone River.
A PLATO EXHIBITION
(From the McKendree Repository, December, 1870)
The gentlemen of the Platonian Society gave their quar-
terly exhibition to an audience that nearly filled the College
Chapel, Tuesday evening, the 20th inst. After the usual
opening ceremonies, a declamation, "Damon and Pythias,"
■'-— " 1
PROGRAMME.
ANNUAL EXHIBITION
OF THK
PLATONIAN LITERARY SOCIETl.
WEDMSCAY EVEMNG, JILY 9, 1861.
PBATEB.
sACBtD Mcs:c,-" Sherbume-
Prolofue C. W. Jekome, St.
Louh, iln.
swo,— " Loved OnK at Home."
DECLAMATIONS.
Byro
n, W. H. McKee, BellnUk. \
"Un
on Forever:" A. 0. Gates,
sour,,,-" Railroad Chorus,"
CoUinsulk.
Adv
smcemenl of the Age F. B. Ahbuls,
Jkrnadollf.
L.le
epleasures-Howtrinsiem! . . . H, C. Fike,
soyG,-"Prairle Lea."
Marcoulah.
Vlil
ly of College- A. Thompsos. Hig^ Pramr.
Panorama of ihe Post, . . J. A. IIaldeiiman, Lexingwn. Ky. \
soM-.,— 'Farme's' Glee."
Viileiiiclory, T. ;•. Casey,
Mt. Yernor,.
1
so,o,_"01d House at Home."
1
BENEDICTION.
Reduced facsimile of Plato exhibition programme of iSsi. This
programme «,-as pres3nted to Plato in lyoi by H. C. Fike
was delivered by Tetherington. At first Mr. Tethenngton
spoke too rapidly, and in consequence his words were not
all distinct; however, as he proceeded he gained self-pos-
session and greatly improved his delivery. His gestures were
graceful, and for the most part, appropriate, although not
always "suited to the word." E. B. Waggoner followed with
an oration; subject, "A Pure Character." His delivery was
graceful and pleasing, and the oration itself was of high
merit. "Impulse and Principle" was the theme of an oration
by C. T. Moore. The speaker's tone was not quite natural
at first, and the total want of gestures seemed to show a
want of feeling and earnestness. D. H. Delzell chose for his
subject, "Public Opinion," which he discussed in a practical
manner. In speaking, he was evidently laboring under some
disadvantage — perhaps a cold. The oration on "Triumphs
of Intellect" by J. H. Blume, was well received and well
merited the applause it obtained. The gentleman occasionally
lowered his voice rather more than the size of the audience
would allow. With the oration, including delivery, he has
reason to be satisfied. Mr. G. W. Flint's essay, "The Spirit
of Inquiry," would take a place among the best productions
of the evening. However, his reading was rather indifferent.
Mr. Berger showed in a clear and pleasing manner, "The
Uses of Adversity." This was Mr. Berger's first appearance
in public, and we congratulate him heartily upon his success.
O. M. Edwards' declamation, "Parody on the Old Oaken
Bucket," was well delivered and the speaker was fairly en-
titled to the applause he received. The "Curiosity Bag," by
Lane, was not mentioned on the programme. Of its merits.
It IS sufficient to say that it had one or two good points in
It. Music opened and closed the programme, and followed
every second speaker. It was entirely vocal and was fur-
nished by members of the society, assisted by the ladies.
With the exhibition as a whole, the audience seemed more
than pleased. We would be glad if some one could devise
means by which some of the "small boys" that attend these
performances could be silenced. They applaud every speaker
without regard for merit. Boys, hereafter, when you go
among gentlemen, try to act like them whether you belong
to that class or not.
It may be observed that E. B. Waggoner, mentioned in
the above account without any adverse criticism, is Professor
Waggoner, of Lebanon, Illinois, who has just retired at the
age of seventy-five from active educational work after a full
half century of service in that field. The greater portion of
this long career was spent at McKendree. As far as known
.it this writing, no other member of the group of entertainers
on that evening nearly sixty years ago, is still alive.
The Platonian Society, during most of its history, has
occupied a hall in the third story of "Old Mam," just oppo-
Three H.aiJreJ and Eigli
^EE^I^^^^^^^^^^^^S:^
site the Philo hall and the same size. The Platos have always
prided themselves on the excellent equipment of their hall.
They have it furnished in good taste with high grade fur-
niture, without regard to expense. The walls are decorated
with a number of portraits of former members who have
attained distinction in the outside world, or else are especially
beloved for their devotion to "Plato" in the years gone by.
Perhaps two decades ago, a series of inter-society debates
were held between Philo and Plato. In these contests, Plato
came off victorious more than half the time, and still feels
proud of that forensic achievement. At one time, perhaps m
the eighties of the last century, Plato was noted as the min-
isterial society of the college.
For a while, every student who was intending to make
the ministry his vocation, was a member of Plato. But of
course these unnatural situations which occasionally arise
are only temporary. As an illustration of their enterprise,
Plato was the first of the societies to have electric lights in
their hall. They had them installed before the college itself
had electric lights.
Among the men of distinction whom the society feels
honored to have enrolled in her membership, to mention
only a few, are General James H. Wilson, of the United
States Army; General Wesley Merritt, who saw service not
only in the Civil War, but also in the Spanish-American
War, John H. Halderman, American minister to Siam; Ex-
Governor Charles P. Johnson, who was a noted lawyer in
St. Louis; Dr. Augustus C. Bernays, who at the time of
his death had a national and perhaps an international rep-
utation in the field of surgery; Hon. Henry A. Castle, of
St. Paul; General John I. Rinaker, of Carlmville; Judge J.
W. Wilkm, of the Illinois Supreme Court; Judge Oliver A.
Harker, of the Law School of the University of Illinois; Nel'
son S. Cobleigh, for more than thirty years on the editorial
Staff of the New York World; Dr. Daniel B. Parkinson
former president of the Southern Normal; Rev. Dr. Joseph
W. Van Cleve, for years a connectional officer in the Meth,
odist Church, and many others.
The public exhibition programs of the societies were quite-
serious matters in the early days. The students usually felt
that the society work was of equal importance, if not greater
than the college course itself. As the years have passed, the
programs have gradually become less instructive and more
entertaining in their aims. We find a Plato program in 1889,
consisting of eight orations, all on serious subjects, with an
invocation and a benediction, but without any music. In
recent times there may be one, or possibly two orations.
while the rest ot the program is made up mainly ot things
that entertain, such as readings, music, both instrumental
and vocal, and occasionally a dialogue or play. But since
these entertaining performances are usually of an uplifting
character, who shall say that the evening spent with one
of these is not as profitable as the one years ago with the
more Puntan-like form of service? For more than half a cen-
tury, these public exhibitions were given twice a year, as
regularly as the seasons ot the year, and they were always
held in the chapel and presented before large audiences. But
in recent years, the mid-year entertainments were changed
to come after the Christmas holidays instead of before, and
then they were omitted altogether. In the old days, each
society gave an open session once a month or once a term
m Its own hall. On occasions of that kind the other two
societies adjourned their own meeting and all went to the
open session. In these days the open session is held at 8
o'clock and the others meet at 6:jo and finish their meeting
in time to attend the other. In both the men's societies, an
innovation of recent years is the practice of initiating the
new members by having a dozen or so athletic upper class'
men sieze the new member bodily and toss him up a few
times, sometimes so high that his feet will touch the ceiling,
being careful, of course, not to let him fall as he comes down.
For more than seventy-five years the society meetings were
always held on Friday night. It was the end of the school
week and the boys were in a meeting by themselves and
did not hesitate to stay as long as they felt disposed, not-
withstanding the rule requiring them to adjourn at 10:3,0
o'clock in the winter and 11 P. M. in the spring term. The
irregular debate after the regular discussion often took an
hour, or even two, if all the members saw fit to exercise
their privilege of speaking. And then came the business
session. If no business actually presented itself, it was easy
to produce some ready to hand which took much time for
discussion. So it was often midnight or later when they
actually adjourned. For many decades, Friday night was the
night of meeting for the societies. But in recent years, after
the advent of the trolley car and paved roads and automo-
biles, many of the students live at their own homes and
come every day or stay till Friday night and go home for
week ends. That plan did not permit them to attend the
Friday night society meetings. For this reason, and perhaps
some others, the society night was changed from Friday to
Monday, in 1926. The plan works well in these days. The
program is more definite and briefer. The business session
is not so long drawn out. They are more inclined to finish
Three Hundred and K
IMC KENDREE^^^^^^:^:^^:..^^^...^
" I'ia Sapieutioi "
I'lANO DUET •Sonatinc.'
Misses Cakbik Sahoent and Eva I'h illii>.
—•—IN VOCATION.—^—
' PLVNOSOLO "Fantaeic De Marlha,"
Miss May Hakris.
ORATION Music of Nature,
W. H. Gardenhike, tir.eenvi'llc, 111.
5 0UATI0N Mail was made to Mourn,
J. A. J. Wright, Cliester,-Ill.
OK ATION .Bismark,
A. L. Berger, Lebanon, 111.
'VOCAL SOLO •■Clnehette,"
Miss JULIA Kichols,
ORATION Pnblic Opinion,
W, H. Pierce, Brighton, 111.
'I ORATION Mutations o( Time,
J. N. GeTSLER, Lancaster, 111.
BASS SOLO "Song of the Sea,"
A. P. Shart.
'ORATION ...,.-. -...Unfolding,
W. A. Stoker, Centralia, iiT.
I ORATION The Imperishability «f Truth,
A. P. SHARP, Mt. Carmel, 111.
'PLVNOSOLO, MISS STELLA HECKER,
'EgKommt ein I'ogel ye/io^en, A'Biirlesqueotm.popHja
melody.''
Exact reproduction of Plato undergradu
the program and go home, for they will have classes to attend
the next day. Some of the older Platos remember and speak
with great satisfaction of the society paper called "The Plato
Gem." It was not printed, but written by certain appointed
editors and read by the same at an open session perhaps
once a term. Its purpose was not instruction but entertain-
ment. It abounded in personals and especially such as would
be regarded in the nature of a joke. The "Gem" long ago
suspended publication, but there are a few copies still in
existence.
The Triennial reunions of the societies have always been
regarded as great occasions, usually observed by holding a
formal banquet with toasts by the former members. In former
years they were largely attended and were occasions of many
pleasant reminiscences and the renewal of the fellowships
of other days. But in the recent years the most of the old
McKendreans — Platos and Philos alike — are too busy with
the affairs of life to take time to come back to the scene of
their college days and renew the fellowships of those hal-
cyon days which can never come to a man again, even if
he should live to be as old as Methuselah. At this point,
there might be instituted a reform among the old McKen-
dreans that would lengthen the days of life and increase
their happiness in large measure.
VALEUICTOKV AnOKKSS A. N. SIMMON.'^.
W M. St'H I' WEBK,... PRESIDENT OF THE EVENING.
" Prffuiiti post Proelia."
SEVENTH /NPL COMMEfiCEMEHT,
l?-^ t)K THE -5--I)
W H. PIERCE Preside
' CA-KriDir)A.TES FOB IDEGK.EES 'i
<• 'o f:o ,
- n Master of X,it©sat*ar©.--n ■
JacDbus RohETtus Large, A. B., Lecar.cn.
ReuhenusEdvardus Pierce, A. B Brighton.
Jeorglus Price Ramsey, B. S., Xenia.
Hubertus Windfleld Reynnlds, B. S.. BelleviUe.
GLLLielmus Martinus Schuwerk, B. S., Evaneville
■ JUhertus Nelson Simmcns, A. B Brighton.
_.,<j..-,^CONrERRLNG OF DEGREES.^^.o—
lUAKTET "Joys of Spring,"
Misses Nichols ana^Shepard,
Messrs. Sharp snd Large.
es exhibition progamme for June 6, 1882
THE CLIONIAN SOCIETY
One logical result of the admission of women to McKen-
dree was the organization of a women's literary society. Of
course the girls needed this kind of training and were equally
entitled to it with the boys. Some might have supposed that
they would be permitted to join the boys' societies, but the
idea of equality had not yet gone that far. In those days it
was customary in many churches to have the men and women
sit on opposite sides of the house during the hour of worship.
That plan was adopted in the college chapel, and it is one
of the ancient customs that has not yet been abandoned. It
IS likely that the girls insisted on having their own separate
society. Even if they did not, had they been permitted to
join the existing societies, it is likely that they would have
become social clubs rather than literary societies, and the
competition to secure lady members would have increased
the rivalry between Philo and Plato, which sometimes ran
too high without that additional incentive.
Only a few weeks after women were admitted as stu-
dents, the women's literary society was organized. This im-
portant event took place on December 6, 1869. Of the twenty
women who are named in the catalogue as students for that
year, fifteen are given as charter members of Clio. It is
possible that the other five were not students the first term.
Three Hundred and Ten
|ro9iiainm({. Ifogr^amm^
MUSIC. Invocation. MUSIC.
D-iclamation, Carrie Eckert,
The Last Praver of Marv,
Qiiecii of .Scotts
Oration. Emma McKee,
Tlie Triumph of Truth.
Declamation. Marian McKee.
The Maiilet' Martyr.
O'atioii. Belle ShepanI,
Seen and Unseen.
r -^ MLSic _- ,
DEC.I6TH.
Facsimile of Clio exhibit
Oration, Mattie Liggett,
Which, Democratic or Theocratic
Equal itjr?
.-^.^MtisiO ^:^
Declamation, Abbie McKee,
The Ride ol Collins Grave:*
f)ration Ida Capen.
The Old and the New
MUSIC. Rrneillctloii. MUSIC.
1878
ion programme
At this meeting, a constitution and bylaws were adopted
and officers elected. A little later, other details of organiza-
tion were cared for. The initiation fee was fixed at one del'
lar. The motto first selected was "Jure Divins," but this
was soon after changed to the present motto, "Virtute et
Labore." A badge was designed in the form of an arrow
with a scroll on which the motto is inscribed. This was
first made in the form of a silver pin. Later a smaller design
m gold took the place of the original silver one.
The name selected for the new organization was "Clio,"
or "The Clionian Literary Society." Thus it was named
after the first of the nine muses of Greek Mythology. This
was the muse of History. The names of the fifteen charter
members are as follows: Edith Maria Flint, Carrie Hannah
Thrall, Kate Leonora Parker, Martha Jane Toney, Eliza
Maria Hypes, Adeline Floyd, Georgiana Floyd, Maggie
Elizabeth Gilbert, Louisa Alice Vollintine, Jeanette Ross,
Elvira Robinson, Nellie Frances Raymond, Harriet Floyd,
Virginia Leonora Roberts, and Virginia Laura Thatcher.
Of these, some had earned college credits elsewhere and
were permitted to take advanced standing. Edith Flint was
able to enter the senior class, and so was in McKendree and
in Clio, as an active member, for only one year. It was
probably because she was a senior that she was elected the
first president of the society. Martha Toney, also a Lebanon
girl, was a sophomore. In the freshman class were Adeline
and Georgiana Floyd, Eliza M. Hypes, commonly known
as "Pet," Kate L. Parker, and Carrie H. Thrall. All of the
freshmen were Lebanon girls except Carrie Thrall, who was
from Bone Gap. The other seven were in the Preparatory
Department. Their names were Maggie Gilbert, of Summer'
field; Elvira Robinson, Jeanette Ross, and Alice Vollintine,
of Cottonwood Springs; and Harriet Floyd, Virginia Rob'
erts, Nellie Raymond, and Virginia Thatcher, of Lebanon.
It appears that ten of the fifteen original members were
Lebanon girls. Oi the fifteen, only four eventually completed
the college course and received degrees. These were Edith
Flint, class of 70, Virginia Roberts and Virginia Thatcher,
class of '72, and Carrie H. Thrall, class of '82. In the mean'
time, before receiving her degree, she had become Mrs. C.
W. Campbell. Of the others, we have no recent information.
But this one great fact we can record concerning them, that
every one of the original members of Clio has passed into
the "great beyond." But they have had many hundreds of
successors m the years that have come and gone.
The first public entertainment that Clio presented was
given in the college chapel May 6, 1870. The following was
the program:
Tliree Hundred and Eleven
CLIO QUARTETTE 190.5
Enola Kiesling Thrall, Elsie Bradley Sager
Blanche Fox Wynn, Dora Dougherty Pfeffer
CLIONIAN ENTERTAINMENT
"ViRTUTE ET Labors"
Friday evening. May 6, 1870
PROGEIAMME
PRAYER
Music "Heavenly Father"
Salutatory
Nellie F. Raymond, Lebanon
MUSIC
Reading Mr. Bumble's Visit
Jennie L. Thatcher, Lebanon
Essay ''Those who live in glass houses
should never throu' stones"
Celia E. Jewett, Lebanon
Quartette "Pilgrim Fathers"
Misses Hvpes and Parker; Messrs. Brownlee and Dickson
Reading "The Sleeper"
Sallie I. Seaman, Lebanon
Poem "Mmisteniig Spirit"
Edith M. Flint, Lebanon
MUSIC
"Eighty Years Ago"
Essay "O nens"
Carrie H. Thrall, Albion
Essay "Das Deutche Maehrchen"
Thecla M. Bernays, Lebanon
MUSIC
Essay Controt'ersia/
Misses Allyn and Gilbert
Subject :
"What are the conditions of progress in art, wealth and genius?"
Essay "Say not good-night, but m some
brighter clime bid nie good morning"
Jennie L. Roberts, Lebanon
MUSIC
"O Summer 7s(ight"
BENEDICTION
That Clio at this early date was largely a local organiza-
tion is evident from the tact that of the twelve girls whose
n.imes appear on the program, all but one are from Lebanon.
In the Washington's Birthday entertainment of 1870,
when Cho was only a few weeks old, she was represented
on the program by Miss Edith Flint, who read an essay
entitled "Washington." The comment on this in the college
paper was that it was "the rarest treat of the evening."
When Miss Flint graduated the following June, instead of
the usual oration, she presented as her graduating perform-
ance, an original poem entitled "True Living."
The "McKendree Repository" has preserved for us some
records of Clio. From its old files we learn that in 1872 and
following, the paper was edited by a staff made up of repre-
sentatives from each of the three literary societies. That
year the Clio members of the staff were Virginia L. Roberts
and Alice I. Radefelt.
The room designated for the use of Clio when it was
first organized was only half as large as the one it has now.
In fact, it was the east half of the present Clio hall. It was
furnished with plain wooden chairs and tables, the floor was
covered with hemp matting, an old-fashioned wood stove
furnished the heat, and it was lighted, when necessary, with
a few coal oil lamps. At first, the regular meetings were held
in the afternoon, after the last recitation period of Friday.
By this arrangement it was not necessary for the girls to
make a trip after dark from their homes or boarding houses
through the dark campus to Clio Hall. But when the short
days of winter came, they often prolonged their sessions far
beyond the twilight hour, so that they had to have the
lamps lighted in their h.ill.
Only a few years elapsed until the society had grown so
much that it needed more room. The partition was removed
and the size of the hall was doubled. Clio Hall is now a
room full forty feet long, and elegantly furnished with suit-
able rugs, chairs, bookcase, desk, piano, lights, and nicely
papered walls, adorned with beautiful pictures. Over the
door hangs a painting of exquisite American Beauty roses,
the work of Miss Ethel Horner, done while she was an
active member of Clio. When electric lights came to the
city of Lebanon, and of course, the college also, they were
at first considered a special luxury, and the Clio girls pre-
ferred to meet in the evening instead of the afternoon, so
they might get more use of their electric lights. Accordingly
they presented a petition to the faculty, requesting permis-
sion to change their meeting hour to the evening. It was
promptly refused by the faculty, on the ground they would
Three Hundred and Twelve
MC KENDREE
not he properly safeguarding the interests of the college
girls whose parents had intrusted them to their care, if they
should allow them to have a night meeting every week, to
which they must go through the unlighted pathways of Mc-
Kendree's campus. For many years, this presentation of the
petition and its refusal was an annual affair. The faculty
were supported m their position by the sentiment of many
of the good people of Lebanon, and probably most ot the
parents of the Clios. But after the dormitories were built
and the majority of the Clios lived on the hill all the time,
there was no reason why they should not meet ,it the even
mg hour. So for many years the three societies have all met
at the same hour except when open sessions come. Then the
one giving the open session meets at eight, and the others
at SIX thirty. To show their good will, the men's societies
sometimes rendered material aid to Clio in the days when
she was trying to accumulate some much needed equipment.
Philo gave them a nice Bible for the use of the chaplain at
the regular sessions. Then Plato gave them an equally nice
Bible stand on which to keep it. On another occasion Plato
took the initiative and gave to Clio a cash present of $ioo.
Philo, in order to outdo her old time rival, immediately sent
over a gift of $iso. These two gifts enabled the Clios to
substantially increase their library.
Clio has had a career of notable success in the field of
literary endeavor. In the days ot a quarter a century ago,
when public exhibitions were given by each society twice
a year, there was always much discussion, both among the
students and the gener.il public, as to which gave the best
entertainment. In many instances, it was freely admitted
that the palm should go to Clio m preference to either of
the men's societies. Very often through the nearly seven
decades of Clio's history, some of her members have won
various honors in competition with the superior element in
1^ -
/
■■■■■lig:' , . r .firm .
_j ...Jufl^^Hi^^BI
MiiiiTiMr i
1
r 1
jjir*™"™^"""' '
"^Hife
F^'^
P^'
Three Hundred and Thirteen
Three old Clionians
Thekla Bernays Agnes Pace Alice Radefelt
^ules aad Meplashuas,
FINES FUR mn.
CHAf-T^JK 1 Every women who kuinS
must ware a knlikei dress & apron or
something ekel) aproperate .S: leve ther
pougliillc doYfr to lium.
CuAi'iEK II, Every gt^m must ware
thare ole close an namiil shirts. No gent
with -I' l>ile() shirt an dude koUer will be |
fine uv 5 cts. \ OiJcd hare, er wacksed niustash,
BlacKed butes, i ct. Sigars ni poclcet
A VAUtu^uE prize:
will be given lo the man & woman hevin
the worst lookin rig m the rumc.
These Rules ..will be inforccd to the
letter -A kompetent kommittee will inter-
duce strangers & look arter bashful fellers.
id lo kum unless he pays
exTRA GOOD yittue:s
will be et trom ate til ton o'klock.
Tickets tu git in will be twenty cts.
takes in the suppur & the hull thing.
Facsimile of rules and regulations for Clio's poverty party which helped to pay for their piano
the McKendree student body. They have won class honors,
oratorical prizes, essay prizes, or almost any kind of a medal
which has ever been offered at McKendree. Of course Clio
has done the major part of the music work at McKendree
and at least an equal, if not greater part of the amateur
theatricals which have been a part of college activities. The
Clios have been prominent in glee club and quartette work.
There have been a number of Clio Quartettes which have
won distinction. One was organized m September, 1902,
composed of Enola Keisling, Elsie Bradley, Blanche Fox, and
Dora Daugherty. This quartette sang together for several
years, not only on the Clio public programs, but also they
rendered frequent service at funerals, conventions, and other
occasions where good music was in demand. These girls
finally all graduated and now are all married. At the pres-
ent time this quartette furnishes an illustration of how Clio
organizations get scattered. In the same order in which their
names are mentioned above, they are now Mrs. W. F.
Thrall, of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Mrs. J. B. Sager,
of St. Louis, Mrs. Fred Wynn, of Palestine, Illinois, and
Mrs. W. C. Pfeffer, of Lebanon.
Another of the Clio quartettes that held together longer
than usual, began to sing together in 1921. It consisted of
Edith Pyle, Lois Dee, Alice Walton, and Ruth Behymer
Ulbright. In their enter-
tainment itineraries they
usually took Ruth Wal-
ton with them as accom-
panist. They not only
sang on Clio programs
and other programs at
home, but they were fre-
quently called to other
places to sing at high
school commencements,
banquets,and other spec-
ial occasions where that
kind of entertainment
was desired. They some-
times went to the charges
of some of the student
pastors and gave a real
entertainment lasting
through a whole evening.
Several of them could
do solo work, while Miss
Dee and Miss Walton
fine:s fur uadie:s.
No apurn, r cent.. Hat with flouri er
fcthcrs. i cts. Ear rings (plate) i cent.
Eoar rings (dimund) 2 cts. Wool dress
(old) 2 cts. Triracd apurn. 2 cts. Gold
fr.iun glasses, 2 cts. Finger rings (dimund)
3 cts. Wool dress (new) 5 cts. Bokey
'(koisaigs) 3 cts. Hokey (hand) $1.00.
ct.
I ct.
each sigar. Pipes fe.xenipl Watches (not
Wat.erberry) 1 ct. .Slove pipe hat. i ct.
Chuiiig gum m ineetin, i ct. Klerical ties,
I ct. Ken ying a kane, 1 ct. Stand up
kolkrs, 3 cts Patent Icther shuse, 2 cts.
|Died mnstash. 4 cts Button whole bokey,
1 ECKSTReS,
1 Lcxunearun, 2 sense. Fluitin, 3 sense.
This 1'^'''^'" '"^' "^ sense. Spoonin, 25 sense.
Tellin sekrits, hi sense.
Tliree Hundred iinJ Fourteen
MC KENDREE
gave variety to the entertainment with readings. They also
broadcasted their songs over the radio from station KSD of
the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. After some of these girls had
left college, they were reassembled for special occasions
at times and even after they were all gone from the ranks
of the active members of Clio, they were called back to
sing at Clio reunions. But now that two of them are mar-
ried and Mrs. Lois Dee Dolley lives in California, it is im-
practicable to reassemble them for any ordinary occasion.
In the constitution of Clio, the purpose of the organiza-
tion is said to be for the literary and social development of
its members. Therefore, at one time some ot its members, at
least, regarded the annual banquets and other social organ-
izations of as great importance as the literary work. Ordi-
narily It requires no urging to get the Clios to participate
in social functions; but one year some of the girls objected
to what seemed to them to be certain extravagances of the
banquet committee and announced their intention to not
attend the banquet at all. The society had no power to
compel them to go, but they were required by a vote of
the society to patronize the affair to the extent of buying
one ticket, under penalty of a tine which would much more
than buy a banquet ticket.
So even the Clios have had their little disagreements at
times. On one occasion there was a difference ot opinion so
"Hope March'
ind Edna Can-igiis.
1. Tnsiriimental Trio
Misses Etiiyle and Tate Douche
INVOCATION.
2. Piano Qua-lo 'Imps and Sprites at Work"
Phoebe Lewis, Kathtryn Lehman, txtiiie ^esold. Sadie Gelly.
3. Hecitalion . . • 'The Old SeillPr's Story"
Eva H. Burton.
4. Oration . .- "The March of Liberty"
My.-llc T. Loj-.
r>. Vocal Solo Selected
Effle B. McKinney.
K. Recitation "'I'he Martyrs of the Maine"
Carrie M-. .Magee.
7. Oration. "Night Brinsrs Out t>ie Stars"
Lizzie O. Kirk.
5. Recitation "Jimmy Brown's Prompt Obedience"
Myrtle A. Griffen.
9. Vocal Solo Selected
V. Estella Spies.
10. Oration - "Leadership''
Ina B. Anderson,
11. Recitation "The Schoolmaster's Gue.sts"
Katheryn I. Lehman.
12. Clio Quartet ".lack and .lill"
JUNE 7^"- 1898
Facsimile of Clio programme
Three Hundred and Fifteen
<.^:^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^s:^
sharp as to cause certain members to threaten to withdraw
and start a new girls" society in competition with Cho. But
that trouble was smoothed over and Clio still has the whole
field among the women at McKendree.
An interesting glimpse of Clio is found m a 19 lo copy
of the McKendree Headlight which describes in detail how
an ordinary session is held. We quote it here: '" 'Clio! Clio!'
resounds through the hall and even out on the campus on
Friday afternoon, and we recognize the voice of our new
janitor, Abbie Walrath. The girls flock into the hall, and
then assisted by Harriet Carlin, she closes and locks the
door in the face of all men. Then the girls are very still, and
our worthy president, Addie Louden, says the customary
but useless word, 'Will the society please come to order?"
Next, with Mabel McCormack at the piano, the girls sing
some old familiar song, that they all know. After that there
is the reading of the Scriptures and prayer by Nellie Loy,
the new chaplain. The regular program follows. Over in the
corner by the little table piled with letters is Flo Dougherty,
the corresponding secretary. At the desk recording the pro-
ceedings of the meeting we find Amy Turner. At the critics"
table are found two of the best "critics in the society, Grace
Harmon and Sadie McBride. The other new officers are
vice-president Laura Burgard, and treasurer, Alice Loy. Amy
Turner and Nellie Loy were delegates to the Y. W. C. A.
at Shurtleff College last Friday and Saturday. We are making
good use of the seniors this term and are often reminded
that this is their last term. There are ten senior girls on
Clio's roll, four in music and six in the regular course. Next
year we expect many more girls on account of the new dor-
mitory and the much-tilked-of course m Domestic Science.
In 1910 Clio had fifty-six active members."
In a paper presented at a Clio reunion in 1888, Mrs.
Edith Flint Thrall, the first president, gives some interesting
reminiscences concerning some of the early Clios. She speaks
of Thekla Bernays, then of St. Louis, but now of New York
City. She did not finish her college course, but nevertheless
made her influence felt in literary circles wherever she lived.
In later years she was housekeeper and companion for her
bachelor brother, the famous surgeon, Dr. A. C. Bernays,
who did the greater part of his remarkable work in St. Louis.
When his health was failing, she accompanied him on long,
and leisurely journeys abroad, and they lingered in favored
climes like Italy and Japan for weeks or months in the hope
that It would prolong his life. And when it was all over
and she had cared for her distinguished brother to the end
of his life, she then wrote and published his biography in
a three hundred page book and presented a copy to the
McKendree library. In recognition of her ability and achieve-
ment, McKendree bestowed upon her the honorary degree
of A. M. in 1902.
Miss Elizabeth Holding spent some years after her grad-
uation as a foreign missionary in South America, and after
that she gave her energies to the work of the Deaconess
Home in Chicago. She visited Clio once in the later years
of her work and gave the Clio girls a great inspiration by
her presence and her words. Her brother. Rev. Carlisle B.
Holding, was for several years a member of the Southern
Illinois Conference. He wrote a number of wholesome pieces
of fiction for young people of the Epworth League age.
Three Hundred and Sixie(
^ES^^^^^^^^^^^^^s^
CHAPTER XXV.
Preside?!! Whitwayns Adynimstrdtion
IN iS86 there were marked changes made m the faculty.
Dr. Swahlen left to enter a more inviting field. At the
same time Dr. Deneen laid down the responsibilities
which he had carried as a member of the McKendree faculty
since 1856, and thus closed a career of thirty years of college
work. However, the reason for this change in his case was
the condition of his health rather than being weary of well-
doing as a burden-hearer m the old institution which had
long been dear to his heart — the institution from w-hich his
father had graduated, from which he had graduated, and
from which all his children had graduated, except the young-
est, and she was then on the way to the degree which she
received in 1890. Professor Waggoner left to accept a sim-
ilar position in the Southwest Kansas College, at Winfield.
Professor Harris, of the Mathematics Chair, left the work
of the class room to return to the pastorate. Of the liberal
arts faculty, only Professor Edwards was left. The Board
had a gloomy session, and after much deliberation placed
Rev. Edward A. Whitwam, A. M., in the president's
chair and at the same time permitted him to take Professor
Waggoner's place in the Science Department. Professor Ed-
wards, who had been for a year Assistant Professor of
Latin, became the Head Professor of both Latin and His-
tory without any assistant at all. Rev. Edwin C. Ferguson,
A. M., Ph. D., was secured for the Department of Greek
and German, and Professor Albert G. Jepson, A. M., was
placed in charge of the Department of Mathematics and
Astronomy. Mrs. Whitwam, the president's wife, was
made "preceptress" to assist in whichever department need-
ed her most. Henry H. Horner continued m charge of the
Law Department, which was so reduced that he needed no
assistant, so the other law professors were dispensed with.
Miss Jessie L Gates had charge of the Music Department,
and Miss Emily Conant was Professor of Art. Oi' these nine
professors, all were new except Professor Edwards, and he
had been with the institution only one year.
The student body was reduced as well as the faculty.
Conditions were discouraging in every way. The buildings
were going into decay and there was no money to repair
them. Students are not attracted toward an institution that
IS on the decline, so there was a gradual exodus. Some ad-
vised their friends not to go to McKendree. The enrollment
for the year 1886-87 showed only thirty-three students m
the college proper and fifty-four in the Preparatory Depart-
ment. That was for the whole year. But in the spring term
of that year the registration reached its lowest ebb. There
were m that term, only thirty-five students enrolled in both
college and preparatory. When commencement came, there
were only two students receiving degrees m arts and science.
Franklin Benjamin Carson received the degree of A. B. and
Esther Viola Rockwell received a B. S. There were also
three young men, two of whom had already received Bach-
elor's degrees, who graduated from the Law Department
and received the degree of LL B. However, these three men
were not present at commencement. It was customary in
those days for the graduates to deliver orations as a part
of the graduating exercises. That year there were not enough
graduates to make up a program. So several undergraduate
students were placed on the program just to make it a
respectable length. Mr. Whitwam was discouraged, and so
was the Board. He refused to try to "carry on" for another
year. It was difficult to find a president. But after casting
about for some time, a head for the institution was found
m the person of Rev. Isaiah ViUars, D. D., who was a man
of mature experience in the pastorate, some recognition on
the lecture platform, and was the author of several books.
At that time there was much talk of the college closing its
doors permanently for lack of means to finance it. There
was a heavy mortgage on the property, and the holder
talked of foreclosing. But when Dr. Villars agreed to take
hold of the enterprise, John M. Chamberlin, Henry Seiter,
and a few others of the friends of the college aroused a bit
of enthusiasm, put up some money for repairs, made the
students feel as tho there was still a future for the institu-
tion, and the prospects for the next year began to look a
little better.
The graduating class for the year in which Mr. Whitwam
had charge was as follows:
FRANKLIN n. CARSON
Franklin Benjamin Carson was born at Hoyleton. Illinois,
October 10, 1866. His home was at Richview during the
years he was at McKendree. He was a member of the Pla-
tonian Society. He received the A. B. degree. After his
graduation, he engaged in teaching and taught for a number
of years in Chicago, where he has since resided. He is a
member of the Methodist Church and unmarried.
Three Hundred and Seventeen
MRS. ESTHER ROf^KWELL MAUCK
Esther Viola Rockwell was born at Alhambra, Illinois,
August 15, i86i. She entered McKendree in 1884 and re-
ceived her B. S. degree in 1887. She was a member of Clio.
Her sister and three brothers were all students in McKen-
dree. Two of her brothers graduated. She taught school for
a time and then was married to J. G. Young, of Pueblo,
Colorado, in January, 1891. She was widowed by his death
in June, 1898. Her second marriage was to Marshall Mauck,
of Poseyville, Indiana, in February, 1904. Her home has
been at Poseyville ever since. She has one son, James Wilson
Young, born in 1897. She was reared in the Methodist
Church, but is now a member of the Presbyterian.
The law graduates of that year were Ira W. Foltz, Samuel
Slade, and Fernando E. Torbut. As stated above, these men
were not at the commencement of 1887. All except one had
previously received Bachelor's degrees and their sketches
are given elsewhere.
There were also three D. D. degrees given that year:
one to Rev. J. C. Buel, of the Michigan Conference; one to
Rev. Thomas A. Eaton, a member of the Southern Illinois
Conference and a graduate of McKendree. His sketch ap-
pears elsewhere m this work. The ether was to Rev. James
L. Wallar, who was born in Vermont in 1819. He entered
the ministry in 1866 and after a long and useful career in the
Southern Illinois Conference, died at Centralia in 1901.
At the commencement of 1887, there was an address by
Rev. Dr. Adna B. Leonard, who was long Missionary Sec
retary of the Methodist Church. The following year he was
a candidate for Governor of Ohio on the Prohibition ticket.
He was a man of great influence in the Methodist Church
and his son became a bishop. And another address was de-
livered by Dr. Arthur Edwards, editor of the Northwestern
Christian Advocate. The most of the faculty left at the close
of this year, as it had the preceding. In order to get teachers
at all, it became necessary to gi anntee the small salary which
they promised to pay. That meant a strong probability of
running the institution still further in debt, but it seemed
the only practical way. The new faculty consisted of Rev.
Isaiah ViUars, D. D., President, and Professors Albert G
Jepson, Edwin C. Ferguson, William W. Edwards, and Ed'
ward B. Waggoner. The last two, who were graduates of
McKendree, are already written up in this work. The others
will be presented in the next chapter.
Benson-Wood Library
Three Hundred cnnl Eighteen
MC KENDREE
CHAPTER XXVI.
President Villafs Administration
ISAIAH ViLLARs was bom March 5, iSjg,
in Clinton County, Ohio, and died at
his home in New Lenox, lUinois, in June,
191 5. He came to lUinois in 18^8 and located
at Catlin, in Vermillion County. When the
war broke out he joined an Illinois regiment
of volunteers and served his country faith-
fully till the close of the war. He entered
the ministry and joined the Illinois Con-
ference in 186'). His ministerial career cover-
ed just a half century. His early education
was very limited, but great industry and
will-power, coupled with his native ability,
enabled him to reach a prominent place in
the work of the ministry. He was an ar-
dent advocate of prohibition and a worker for the Anti-
saloon League. He was well-received as a lecturer. His
book entitled "The Irrepressible Conflict" was an able dis-
cussion of the temperance question as it was related to pol-
itics. His books, "The Resurrection" and "Ministerial Mis-
fits" were in the field of Theology, rather than politics.
Shortly before his death he published another interesting
volume entitled "Souvenirs of Friendship." From letters
which he wrote himself, we have some interesting informa-
tion about his becoming President of McKendree in 1887.
On account of the deficiencies in his school education, he
always hesitated to claim a place among those in high places.
But his successful accomplishment of some of the hard tasks
assigned to him by the Church attracted the attention of
those who were looking for men who could do things. De
Pauw University conferred upon him the degree of D. D.,
and the first he knew of it was when a friend called his
attention to the announcement of it in a Chicago paper.
When elected as President of McKendree, he was notified and
then he came to look over the situation and decide whether
he would accept. After a three-day investigation, he went
to John M. Chamberlin, a member of the executive com-
mittee and said, "Mr. Chamberlin, after a thoro investiga-
tion, I feel that I cannot accept the honor, much less the
responsibility of the office." "All right," replied Chamberlin,
"All we will have to do is to nail up the doors and windows
of the old college and send out a notice that it will not be
open to students this fall. For if the word goes out that
after you were unanimously elected, and after looking over
PRESIDENT VILLARS
the situation you decline to accept, the only
thing to do 15 to close the institution and
let this be the end of its history." "Well,"
said Dr. Villars, "get the executive com-
mittee together and let us talk this over."
It V. 13 done. They met in the private office
of Henry Seiter's bank. There were just three
members of the committee, Chamberlain,
Seiter, and Luther Brown. Dr. Villars spoke
of some of the great presidents McKendree
had had in the days of yore — Merrill,
Wentworth, Cobleigh, Allyn, Locke. He
said, "Those are the men that have made
McKendree great and no other kind will do."
Henry Seiter said, "We want that kind again."
Said Dr. Villars, "If that is the kind you want, they come
by prayer. Let us pray." They got on their knees in the
banker's office and Dr. Villars prayed. In telling of it after-
ward, he said, "I do not know what I said, but I opened
my heart as freely and my voice as loudly as I ever did at
a camp-meeting, and when we arose from our knees, I noticed
that Henry's eyes needed his handkerchief, and 'by that
sign' I was conquered. When Henry wept, I surrendered,
and said, 'Gentlemen, I accept.' Again Henry put his hand-
kerchief to his face and shouted thru his tears, 'Gentlemen,
the old college will go' "
Immediately Dr. Villars took the field in Southern Illinois
and told the story of McKendree and what she could do
for the youth of Methodism if only they would come and
accept her services. One of his addresses that he delivered
many times was entitled "What God hath joined together,
let no man put asunder." The title was attractive to young
people because it suggested an interesting event. The point
he made in the lecture was that the head and heart belong
together, religion and education should be found in the
same college, therefore you should go to a church college
like McKendree, instead of one of the state schools. Of
course there was much ill-feeling and prejudice to over-
come, and one man could not cover the whole field in one
season. When school opened there was a gratifying increase
in the enrollment. Still it was not large enough to produce
sufficient income to pay expenses. But the faculty all had
the spirit of sacrifice and of hard work. The students recog-
nized this and began to catch it themselves. Dr. Villars
went into the ckiss room and taught the classes in moral
philosophy. He had had no experience in that line. Ac-
cording to the theories of modern education, his methods
were not up to standard, but as far as results in character
building were concerned, he was very efficient. After his
best efforts in the iirst summer, the enrollment in college
and preparatory together did not reach a hundred. The
next summer he started out with this goal in view. Mr.
Seiter told him whenever he got a hundred on the roll, he
might come down and hold a prayer-and-praise meeting m
his bank. The hundred was not reached the first week, but
in those days, students from the farm often waited till after
the wheat was sown before they could leave home. The
first week in October the hundred mark was reached and
passed. Dr. Villars explained the situation in chapel and
said he would like to invite all the students to the meeting,
but as there was not room at the bank for so many, he had
to restrict the invitation to members of the faculty. So they
went down to the bank one day at the noon hour and held
the meeting. That was the second prayer meeting that was
held in Mr. Seiter's bank.
The Board was very anxious to stop the .mnual deficit, so
a resolution was passed providing that the Board would not
be obligated for the payment of the salaries beyond the
amount of the fiscal and endowment funds, after the other
necessary running expenses had been paid. And, in order
that there might be a better chance of paying in full, the
president was relieved entirely from teaching work, that he
might do more field work, soliciting students and raising
endowment, and incidentally was to raise his own salary of
$1,500, in order that it might not have to be paid out of
the fees collected at the college. That left the president's
income entirely problematical. It was a fair salary at that
time, if he could raise it, but if he did not succeed in collect-
ing it, he would never receive it. The first year that Dr.
Villars was at McKendree, he suffered a severe bereavement
in the death of his wife, who was a very estimable woman,
not only a church worker, but a pulpit worker and lecturer
of real merit. In fact, some thought that on the public plat-
form, she was the equal or superior of her husband. He
had no children except a married son, so after her death,
Dr. VilLirs did not try to miintam a home of his own m
Leb.mon. Therefore the idea of living in the college are.i
here and there did not discourage him when it was first
presented. But soon after the college year opened, he was
married to Mrs. W. C. Dickson, who was the widow of a
Methodist preacher who had died about ten years before.
This change m his state of life put a different face on the
question of his support as college president. With only him-
self to support, he might collect his own salary, or get along
without it if he did not collect it. But with a home to main-
tain and a family to support, it was another matter. Accord-
ingly, he resigned his position without warning and left the
college without a president and without a field agent. It did
not affect the work of instruction in the college, as he had
already been relieved of all teaching duties. Dr. Albert G.
Jepson, the vice-president, assumed control and performed
the duties of the president in a very acceptable manner for
the remainder of the year.
.ALBERT G. JEPSON, PH D.
Albert Gillette Jepson was born in Hammond, New York,
June 2, 1S42. He graduated from the Wesleyan, at Middle-
town, Connecticut, where so many of McKendree's early
presidents and professors were educated, in the class of
1869. For some years he was engaged in the drug business
m Muskegon, Michigan, afterward entering the teaching
profession, and came to McKendree in 1886, when she was
in great need of help. He was a man of high moral ideals
and very active in religious work. He took hold of the work
in McKendree with the same spirit of zeal and sacrifice that
some of the fathers had shown in the early days. With the
help of his efficient wife, he lived on the small salary which
McKendree paid him, and maintained his family of five
daughters and enabled them to secure an education. They
were all students in McKendree and all graduated except
the youngest, who accidentally lost her life while a student
there. He spent ten of the best years of his life in McKen-
dree, and spared neither time nor strength in his efforts to
promote the interests of the students whom it was his great
desire to serve. After his connection with McKendree ceased,
he taught for a time in the Orchard City College, at Flora,
Illinois, and later m the East St. Louis High School. His
death from pneumonia occurred in East St. Louis in February,
iQoo. He was buried in College Hill Cemetery.
PROF. EDWIN C. FERGUSON, PH. D.
One of the most scholarly and saintly men ever on the
McKendree faculty was Dr. E. C Ferguson. He was a
product of the old New England Puritan stock, and was
educated at the University of Vermont, where he received
the degree of A. B. in 1869, and the Master's degree in
1S72. He did his graduate work in Boston University, where
he received the B. D. from the School of Theology in 1874,
,ind Ph. D. from the graduate school in 1879. From 1874 to
1879 he was a member of the New England Conference in
Three Hundred and Twenty
MC KENDREE
the regular work of the ministry. He then turned to educa-
tional work, and coming out to Illinois, he taught L.itin,
Greek and German m the Chaddock College, at Quincy,
until 1886. He then came to McKendree, where he taught
Greek and German until 1890, when he went to the Athens
Tennessee School of the U. S. Grant University. Later the
name was changed to University of Chattanooga, and the
Athens School was known as Tennessee Wesleyan. Here he
taught Greek and Modern Languages for two years, and then
his work was changed to Latin and History. This varied
line of work indicates his unusual versatility. He seemed to
be equipped for every line of duty to which he was called.
He continued steadily at work without intermission until
1925, when on account of failing health, he retired from
active work. He sought the restoration of his health for a
few months in Florida and Asheville, N. C, and then went
to Jacksonville, Illinois, which was Mrs. Ferguson's former
home. Here his death occurred March 28, 1926. He was
buried at Quincy. One of his associates at Athens said of
him, "He was rigidly faithful to every duty up to the time
of his retirement and allowed nothing to prevent his attend'
ance upon his classes. He was loved and respected by all
of his students through the years, as well as by all others
who knew him. He was ever modest and retiring. He was
quite content to be permitted to invest his life in endeavoring
to give an upward touch to the young people with whom
he came in contact. He asked nothing of the world except
a place to serve. He so exemplified the teachings of the Master
that his most effective teaching was by example, rather than
precept."
He made a similar impression upon his fellow-workers at
McKendree. He was the author of several books. One was
entitled "An Aid to Greek at Sight." He had the same sacri-
ficial spirit as the other professors who were in the McKen-
dree faculty of that period. Further mention is made of him
in the account of the college prayer meeting at McKendree •
An extract from the report of the Ways and Means Com'
mittee at the Board meeting of 1889 gives some idea of the
progress made during the early part of the ViUars adminis'
tration. We give it here:
"While we find a mortgaged debt of $3,314 and a deficit
for the present year of $r,8oo, yet we are thankful it is no
worse, and we are grateful for the flattering prospects for
the future success of the college. Two years ago the insti-
tution was turned over to the executive committee in a
deplorable condition. Their was no money, no faculty, few
students, and some of them in bad temper, writing home
discouraging letters. The buildings and grounds were in bad
condition. The trustees were discouraged. Rumors were
afloat that the college must soon close forever, and 'Old
McKendree' will be no more.
"What have we today for our encouragement? A live,
working faculty of Christian gentlemen; students more in
number than we have had for several years and they are
writing home cheering news. The prospects are flattering
for a still larger increase m the attendance for next year.
The trustees are taking courage. The buildings have been
repaired, the fences rebuilt, grounds beautified, and rumors
are afloat that 'Old McKendree' is still alive and getting
better."
The last term of the year 1889-90 was characterized by a
wonderful enthusiasm for improvement m the appearance
of the buildings and grounds. The report of the committee
to the Joint Board that year seems worthy of reproduction
here. It was presented and adopted as follows;
"Your committee on buildings and grounds find it easy
and pleasant to perform the duty assigned them. Easy, be
cause your minds and hearts have already been delighted by
the condition of things which we now briefly rehearse in
your ears; and pleasant, because we may record the best
condition of buildings and grounds ever known in the long
and eventful life of this historic institution. This gratifying
fact is true, not only in general, but also in detail.
"The park, with its elegant fence, its neatly trimmed trees,
and its carpet of green, has become indeed a 'thing of beauty,"
and we hope it may continue to be a 'joy forever.' The build-
ings, always ample and commodious, have taken on a new
dress, without and within, and in every hall and every room
there is evidence of neatness, care, and good taste. This satis-
factory showing has evidently been secured by the united
efi^orts of friends, faculty, and students. It is significant, and
fitly expresses the spirit of 1890. Among many items that are
observable, we mention as especially notable, the recent im'
provement and embellishment of the college chapel. Your
eyes have beheld the transformation and no words from us
are needed to gladden your hearts. We will, however, make
and record honorable mention of the enterprise and gener-
osity by which these results have been secured. The citizens
of Lebanon, the Executive Committee, the Faculty, and the
Students, deserve your thanks. The Senior Class and the Lit-
erary Societies have been especially active and efficient in this
work, and we take the liberty here and now to thank them
one and all in your behalf.
Three Hundred and TwentyO)
^^:^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^l^^s^
"The veterans in the Board will doubtless call to mind
some objects once familiar, but not now conspicuous. The
recitation rooms are not festooned with cobwebs above, nor
variegated below with a combination of free soil, coal oil, and
tobacco juice. Possibly the Joint Board may share in the glory
of this last. The walls, doors, and ceilings are not covered
with hieroglyphics, readable and unreadable, some wise,
mostly otherwise. The background of the campus is no longer
noted for its cast-off stoves, rusty pipe, old boots and broken
crockery. The stalwart and odoriferous jimpson weeds no
longer enter into the college bouquet. The ghostly mullein
stalk no longer stands sentinel at the corner of chapel or hall,
and the festive cockle-burr has given place to the sweet-
scented clover. It is sometimes hard to part with old associa-
tions. 'Twas hard to part with these, especially the cockle-
burrs. All hail to the new order! And long live McKendree'"
Respectfully submitted,
J. A. ScARRiTT, Chairman
It will be observed that this report especially commends
the activity of the senior class in the program of improve-
ment. This class of 1890 was a rather remarkable aggregation
for the size of it. It consisted of five young women, three of
whom were daughters of McKendree professors, and the
other two, daughters of McKendree trustees, and cousins to
each other. Of the men, two were preparing to enter the
field of law, and the other, the ministry. They were all full
of zeal, and did good team work in the improvement enter-
prise. They chose for their special tisk the purchase and
installation of opera chairs for the center portion of the
chapel, to displace a part of the old wooden benches which
had done service ever since the chapel was built in 1858.
They raised the money by giving public entertainments, by
soliciting their friends, and in every honorable way they
could devise. And when they delivered their commencement
orations, they proudly addressed people sitting in chairs
which their industry and enterprise had provided.
An incident that occurred during the year Dr. Jepson
had charge of affairs was the burial of "Physics." The winter
term closed in March, 1889, and the course in Physics, under
Professor Waggoner, was completed. Some of the members
of the class felt that as far as they were concerned. Physics
was dead and ought to be buried. A meeting of the class
was held outside of the regular class period, and plans were
discussed and committees appointed to make all arrange-
ments for a first-class funeral. J. L. Hobbs was appointed to
be the undertaker, pall bearers were chosen and certain mem-
bers were designated as chief mourners, but the list of names
on the various committees has not been preserved But the
day and hour was appointed for the funeral and to certain
members was committed the responsibiHty of furnishing the
corpse. These boys, with shameless disregard of the conse-
quences, surreptitiously procured the Professor's text book
for that purpose. A suitable box was secured for a coffin,
with a glass window in the lid through which the remains
Three Hundred and TwentyT
|mc KENDREE^^^^^^:^^:^.,,,,.,..^^
might be viewed. Preliminary to the funeral, the deceased
lay in state on a black-draped bier in Plato Hall, where
friends might quietly slip in and pay their respects. Promptly
at 4 o'clock P. M., according to previous arrangement, the
procession tiled out of the hall, down the long flights of
stairs, out onto the campus where the grave had been dug.
The chief mourners were arrayed in costumes which would
have been the envy of the hired mourners of the days of
Jairus' daughter. In the midst of great lamentation and
demonstrations of grief, and much hilarity on the part of
unsympathetic onlookers, the procession reached the grave-
Before the casket was lowered, W. C. Walton, who had
been appointed to deliver the funeral oration, mounted a
convenient stump to deliver the eulogy. In the hush of
expectation, he began his speech with an adaptation of
the words of Mark Anthony m the presence of Caesar's
dead body: "Friends, McKendreans, Countrymen! Lend
me your ears. I come to bury Physics, not to praise him."
He then portrayed the long period of companionship many
of those present had enjoyed (?) with the deceased (tears
and groans) and how their devotion to him had led to long
hours of strenuous toil and the burning of barrels of mid-
night oil in the effort to get better acquainted, but now
their hopes of future fellowship were suddenly blasted by
the untimely death of the object of their devotion (groans
and wailing by the mourners). After pausing for the wail-
ing to subside, he proceeded to portray the brilliant pros-
pects which Physics had and the hopes he might have
indulged in, to eventually conquer the world when he had
such followers as the members of this class. But now those
hopes and ambitions are swept away by one tremendous
blow of the hand of fate and Physics is dead (more wailing).
After continuing in this strain for some minutes, the oration
was concluded, the casket lowered in the grave under the
careful direction of undertaker Hobbs and a mound of fresh
earth was heaped over the sacred spot. The photographer,
knowing the hour of the funeral, took advantage of the oppor-
tunity to make a picture of the group, of which he sold many
copies. Before many days there was a resurrection and Pro-
fessor Waggoner received his Physics book whole and
sound, although it had lam in the grave almost as long as
Lazarus did.
THE CLASS OF 1S88
REV. GEORGE BERNREUTER
George Bernreuter was born at Nashville, Illinois, in the
year 1861. He was a son of Dr. Conrad and Mrs. Catherine
Bernreuter, who were both Germans. After receiving pre-
liminary education in the home schools, he became a student
in McKendree College, and having completed the Classical
Course, he graduated with the degree of A. B. in 1888. He
was a member of the Platonian Literary Society. After his
graduation, he entered the ministry and spent the remainder
of his life m that profession. He died at Tampico, Illinois,
in 1934. He left a widow, Mrs. Edith Bernreuter, and two
children, Gertrude and George, who now reside at Wood'
stock, Illinois. He was a Modern Woodman and a member
of the Masonic Order.
LEROY E. MILLER
Leroy E. Miller was a student in the Literary Department
of the college for several terms and then took the Law Course.
He finished it in 1888 and received the degree of LL. B.
He taught school for a number of years both before and
after his graduation. He was for some time principal of the
Lebanon schools. He practiced law for some years in Chicago,
and for some ye<irs has been located in Minneapolis, Minn.
' PROF. CHARLES L. MANNERS
Charles L. Manners was born at Highland, Illinois, June
6, i860. His father, Joseph C. Manners, was born in Indiana;
while his mother, Susan E. Proctor, was a native of Illinois.
In 1866 he moved to East St. Louis, which has been his
home since then to the present time. He became a student
in McKendree in September, 1886, and graduated from the
Law Department in 1888, receiving the degree of LL. B.
Although he received a legal education, he has devoted his
life to educational work. After three years in a book store,
he began teaching, first in the country, then in the city
schools, where after various promotions, he became Principal
of the East St. Louis High School from which he had grad-
uated in 1877. After twenty-seven years of service in this
position, he accepted the principalship of the Webster school,
where his duties would be less taxing. He was married June
25, 1885, to Miss Susan Rachel Farris, of East St. Louis
Their children are Laura M. (now Mrs. Elmer Overlin),
Jennie E., Susie E., and Charles F. Professor Manners was
for many years a member of the First M. E. Church and
an active worker in various lines of church and Sunday School
work. He has been P. G. of Golden Rule Lodge No. 374,
I. O. O. F., and Patriarch in Harmony Encampment, No.
102, 1. O. O. F. He died Sept. 29, 191J.
REV^ JAMES W^ MORRIS, PH. D.
James Walter Morris was born in the state of Missouri,
in the year 1859. His preliminary education was received at
Carleton College, Farmington, Mo. He entered McKendree
in the fall of 1884 and graduated in June, 1888, with the
Three Hundred and Tw
^^MC KENDREE ^^^^^::^^:^^..^>..^.^
degree of A. B. In 1890 he received the degree of A. M.,
as a result of graduate work done in connection with Mc-
Kendree. He also did one year of graduate work in Philosophy
under Dr. Bowne, at Boston University. He was granted
the degree of Ph. D. on examination by Taylor University.
While at McKendree, he was a member of the Platonian
Literary Society. He was received into the Southern Illinois
Conference in 1883 and transferred to the California Con-
ference in 1888. From there he was transferred to the New
England Conference in 1896 and served as pastor at Brockton
and Lynn, Massachusetts. He was elected President of the
Montana Wesleyan University in 1901. After three years
in this institution, he was transferred to the West Nebraska
Conference and was pastor at North Platte and Gothenburg.
In 1910 he was appointed Superintendent of Holdrege Dis-
trict. He represented his conference in the General Confer-
ence of 1912, and was leader of the delegation. He is a mem-
ber of the Masonic Order. He is now retired and lives at
VictorviUe, California.
DANIEL G. RAMSAY
Daniel G. Ramsay was born near Martinsville, Illinois.
He is the son of William and Eliza Ramsay. After receiving
preliminary training in the public schools, he entered Mc-
Kendree College and graduated from the Law Department,
receiving the degree of LL. B., June 7, 1888. He has followed
the profession of law and has done special service in various
cipacities. He was a member of the thirty-seventh General
Assembly of the Illinois Legislature, having been elected in
1891. From 1894 to 1897 he was Assistant State's Attorney
of Cook County. He was a candidate for Judge of the Super-
ior Court of Cook County in 1912 and lacked only a few
votes of being elected. At present he is Assistant State's
Attorney of Cook County. He is past president of the order of
Railroad Telegraphers. He was married October 10, 1894,
to Miss Estella Humes Watson, of Vinton, Iowa. They have
two children — Samuel Watson and Estella Kathleen.
THE CLASS OF 18S9
REV. GEO. W. BABCOCK, PH. D , D D.
George Washington Bibcock was born at C.ipe M ly. New
Jersey, August 11, 1862. He graduated from the University
of Pennsylvania in 1890, receiving the degree of A. B. He
also took a year and a half of post graduate work in the sams
institution. He took a non-resident course in Philosophy in
McKendree and received the degree of Ph. D. in 1894. He
received the degree of D. D. from Dickinson College in 1911.
He was married July 8, 1890, to Miss Lydia R. Hubbs, of
Bridgeton, New Jersey They have one daughter, Helen Os-
borne Babcock, born m 1901. Mr. Babcock's professional
career has been in the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal
Church He is a member of the Philadelphia Conference.
He has held some of the leading pastorates in that conference
and is now pastor of Centenary Church, Philadelphia, which
is one of the most important in that city. In 191 3 he was
president of the Methodist Episcopal Social Union of Phil-
adelphia and vicinity. He is a member of the Phi Delta Theta
fraternity, and of the Masonic Order.
CHAS. B. CARROLL
Charles B. Carroll was born in Wood River Township,
Madison County, Illinois, September 19, 1856. His father,
John B. Carroll, was a European war veteran and a member
of the famous Light Brigade which made the heroic charge
at Balaklava in the Crimean War. Charles B. attended the
old Sand Ridge School and was called upon to make the
fiftieth anniversary speech for the old school when the new
big school at Wood River had its opening. He came to East
St. Louis in 1871, and learned the printing business at the
Gazette office. He taught school for a year, and then went
to McKendree and studied law. He graduated in 1889, re
ceiving the degree of LL. B. He then began the practice of
law in East St. Louis, in which business he is still engaged.
He was elected City Attorney of East St. Louis in 1891 and
served four years. He published the first City Directory of
East St. Louis, and published others till 1905, when he sold
out to the Gould Directory people of St. Louis. He was mar-
ried in 1880, to Miss Mary Barron, of St Louis. They have
an interesting family of six children. Mr. Carroll and his
family are members of the Catholic Church. He now resides
in St. Louis.
S. BARTLETT KERR
Seward Bartlett Kerr was born at Burnham, Maine, Oc-
tober 18, 1863, but during the greater portion of his life his
home has been where it is now, at Metropolis, Illinois. His
parents, David and Addie C. Kerr, were both Americans.
He took the Law Course in McKendree, graduating in 1889
with the degree of LL. B. He was a member of the Platonian
Literary Society. He was married December 22, 1889, to
Miss Eva Gowan. They have two children — Virgil and
Harriet. Since his graduation, Mr. Kerr has been engaged
in the practice of law in Metropolis, Illinois, and has en-
joyed the confidence of his fellow citizens, as evidenced by
the fict that he has constantly held one or more elective
offices. He has been City Attorney of Metropolis, City
Clerk, Circuit Clerk of Massac County, member of the Illi-
nois Legislature, Supervisor of the Census for the loth Illinois
Three HiuiJred and Twenty-Four
MC KENDREE
District 111 1910, Mtister in Chancery six years, Public
Guardian and Public Administrator each seven years, mem-
ber of the Board of Education, and has held other minor offic-
es. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and
of the three fraternal orders, namely; K. of P., I. O. O. F.,
and I. O. R. M.
HATTIE H^ HORNER
Hattie Hypes Horner was born in Lebanon, Illinois, in
the year 1868. She is the eldest daughter of Henry Hypes
Horner, who was a member of McKendree's first graduating
class, and thus belongs to a family which has been prominent
in McKendree's history ever since its founding. She grad-
uated in 1889, receiving the degree of A. B. She was the
valedictorian of her class. She has identified herself with a
number of church circles and literary organizations. A dis
tinguished line of ancestors makes her eligible to membership
in the D. A. R. organization. Her home has always been
in Lebanon.
ETHAR E- LEWIS
Ethar E. Lewis became a student in McKendree in 1885,
and soon after, a member of the Platonian Society. He en'
rolled from Hamletsburg. He was quiet, inoffensive, studious-
He took both the Law and the College Course. He finished
the former in 1888 and received the degree of LL- B. He fin-
ished the Scientific Course in 1889 and was granted the
degree of B. S. Tho he had qualified for the vocation of the
law, professional life did not appeal to him very strongly,
and he did not follow professional work to any great extent.
The latest information we have states that he was farming
at New Liberty, Illinois.
JOSEPH D. ROCKWELL
Joseph Dorsen Rockwell was born near Alhambra, Mad-
ison County, LlinDis, July 4, 1863. He is the second son of
G. W. and Catherine Rockwell, who were long time residents
of that community. He attended the public schools and then
entered McKendree, where he graduated in the class of 1889,
receiving the degree of B. S. He was a member of the Philo-
sophian Literary Society. After his graduation, he engaged
in teaching. He was for many years a member of the faculty
of the Lebanon High School and was for two years principal
of that school. He was also for some years principal of the
Brighton (111.) High School. After a long career of successful
teaching, he retired to engage in farming in the vicinity of
his old home at Alhambra, where he now resides. He was
married August 29, 1894, to Miss Nelle E. Beedle, of O'Fal-
lon, who died a few years later, leaving one son, Jean H.
Rockwell, who still lives with his father. Mr. Rockwell is
a Methodist and a Republican, but does not belong to any
secret order.
LARKEN A. ROCKWELL
Larken A. Rockwell was born at Alhambra, Illinois, Feb
ruary i, 1866. After finishing the public schools, he entered
McKendree and graduated in the class of 1889, receiving
the degree of B. S. He was a member of the Philosophian
Liteniry Society. After graduation, he was employed for a
number of years m business in Chicago. He was at the same
time much interested in religious work, was admitted to the
Methodist ministry and served with good success as pastor
of several churches in the city of Chicago; but at length he
yielded to a long felt call to return to the business world.
He IS now engaged m the real estate business in Kansas City,
Mo. He IS an expert on leases and land values. Besides being
a member of the Methodist Church, he belongs to the Ma-
sonic Order. He was married in 1892 to Miss Eva Ruff, of
Lebanon, who was his fellow student at McKendree. Their
children are Raymond C, born October 7, 1893, and Esther
Lucile, born February 21, 1896. Mrs. Rockwell died in 1897.
Some years later he was married to his present wife.
JEAN F. WEBB, JR.
Few McKendreans have had a more interesting career than
Jean Francis Webb, Jr., of New York City. He was born in
Lebanon, March i, 1869 and was educated in the Lebanon
Public Schools and McKendree College. He was deeply inter-
ested in all college activities, whether athletic or literary.
He was a loyal Philo, a leader in base ball, the organizer and
captain of the first foot ball team that ever officially repre-
sented McKendree, and was a
member and business managet
of the McKendree Glee Club
He graduated in the class of
1889, receiving the degree of
A. B. and later A. M. In 1893,
he received the degree of LL
B. from Washington Univer
sity. Though legally qualified
as a lawyer he never confined
his energies to the practice
of law. He taught school in
Summerfield, then engaged in
the operation of coal properties JEAN WEBB, JR.
in Texas, then went to California and for two years was con'
nected with the gold mining industry, then for six years he
was engaged in the same line of business in Colorado, during
which time he assisted in the introduction and establishment
of the pneumatic cyanide process of gold extraction. Since
1905 he has been actively engaged in the field of automatic
Three Hundred and Twentv-Fn
__^^^.^^^^^^M^ KENDREE^^^^^:^^:....^..^^
train control. This has really been his life work. He is the
inventor of many devices for the safety of train traffic. The
number reaches almost a hundred. He has taken out many
patents, not only at Washington, D. C, but in all the coun-
tries in the world having any appreciable railroad mileage,
on the apparatus known as the "Webb automatic train con,
trol". Mr. Webb is the secretary-treasurer of the Interna-
tional Signal Company, with offices in the Grand Central
Terminal, New York City, which makes and sells this safety
device. He frequently represents the company as a lawyer
in hearings before the Interstate Commerce Commission,
as well as in drawing legal documents and contracts. He also
supervises the selling campaigns and looks after the interests
of the company in general.
He was married December 30, 1908 to Miss Ethel HamiU
Morrison of Denver, Colorado. They have one son, Jean
Francis Webb, III, who is now a college student. They re-
side in White Plains, a suburb of New York City.
THE CLASS OF 1890
ROBERT J. BROWN
Robert John Brown was born July 16, 1864, m Venice,
Illinois. He graduated in 1890, receiving the degree of LL. B.
He engaged in the practice of law in Venice, Illinois and
for four years was State's Attorney of Madison County.
He was married July 16, 1891, to Miss Mabel J. Paul, of
Venice. Of this marriage there were three children — Robert
J., Ralph E.,and Charlotte. He died at his home in Venice,
April 8, 1910.
MRS. IDA BURTON HAMMEN
Ida May Burton was born at Trenton, Illinois, December
28, 1868. She is the oldest daughter of John and Helen J.
Burton, her father being of English descent. She graduated
from McKendree in the class of 1890, receiving the degree
of B. S., and in 189J, M. S. She was a member of the Clionian
Literary Society. She was married October 19, 1893, to Dr.
E. C. Hammen, who was then practicing dentistry in No-
komis, Illinois, but a few years later moved to Lebanon,
where he continued his practice till 1908, when they moved
to Redlands, California where they now reside and where
the doctor is still practicing his profession. They have one
son, Lewis Burton Hammen, who was born in Lebanon,
April 21, 1904. Mrs. Hammen is a member of the Methodist
Episcopal Church and was an active worker in the Sunday
School and other church activities before her marriage, and
has continued these since, so far as her other obligations
would permit.
FLORENCE DENEEN
Florence Deneen, youngest daughter of Dr. Samuel H.
and Mary Ashley Deneen, was born at Lebanon, Illinois,
December 30, 1870. At the age of sixteen she became a
student in McKendree where her father was a member of
the faculty for thirty years. She was a prominent member
of the Clionian Society. She graduated from college in the
class of 1890, receiving the degree of B. S. After her grad-
uation, she taught in the public schools of Lebanon for two
and a half years, and since that time in Chicago, where she
is still engaged in educational work. She has devoted several
summers to graduate work and has sometimes carried courses
during the school year. She is at present assistant principal
of the John P. Altgeld School of Chicago. She has taken an
active interest in educational matters and is now an officer
in three teachers' organizations. She has devoted much time
to the subject of pensions for teachers. She has also taken
an active interest in the Daughters of the American Revo-
lution and has been a member of several important com-
mittees in that organization. She has travelled extensively
in the United States and spent one summer m Europe.
GENEVIEVE JEP50N
Julia Genevieve Jepson was born at NorthviUe, Michigan,
June 11, 187 1. She is a daughter of Professor Albert G. Jepson
and Mrs. Nina (Ormiston) Jepson, who were both natives of
New York State. Her father was of English and her mother
of Scotch ancestry. She became a student in McKendree in
1886 and graduated in 1890, receiving the degree of A. B.,
and later, A. M. She was a member of the Clionian Literary
Society. During most of the years since her graduation she
has been engaged in the profession of teaching. She was for
a time tutor in McKendree, and has been employed in high
school work in Flora, East St. Louis, and Alton; she now
teaches in the East St. Louis High School. She is a member
of the First M. E. Church at East St. Louis and an active
worker in the Sunday School.
MRS. MARY JONES MORRISS
Mary A. Jones was born in Lebanon, Illinois, December
8, 1870. Her parents were Prof. Oliver V. Jones, who was
born in Kentucky, and Mary E. (Crocker) Jones, who was
a native of Massachusetts. She was first enrolled as a student
in McKendree in the spring term of 1886 and graduated
June 5, 1890, receiving the degree of A. B. She also spent
a year in Syracuse University and is a graduate of the Na-
tional Summer School of Music, of Chicago. Her father was
for many years a Professor in McKendree, and also a member
of the Southern Illinois Conference. While in McKendree,
Three Hundred and TwentyS\x
she was a member of the Clionian Literary Society. She is a
member ot the Methodist Church, having held her mem-
bership m the Lebanon church for twenty years before
moving to St. Louis. In that city she has been a member
and an officer in some of the leading musical clubs and the D.
A. R.; also a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma Alumni
Association. Before her marriage she taught in the Lynn
School, in the country, near Lebanon; also in the Lebanon
Public School. She was married December 17, 1891, to Her-
bert S. Morriss, of Lebanon. A few years later they moved
to St. Louis. They have no children. For some years she
taught vocal music in St. Louis; and has been director of
singing societies and soprano soloist in various churches.
Some years ago, because her health required a change of
climate, she went to Colorado to live. For the past several
years her home has been at Colorado Springs.
MRS. NELLIE LEHMAN FAULKNER
Nellie Florence Lehman was born at Lebanon, Illinois,
May 28, 1869. She is a daughter of John H. and Mary (Bur-
ton) Lehman, who are both native Americans, though the
father's ancestors were German and the mother's English.
She was reared in Lebanon, attended the public schools, and
then took the full college course, graduating in 1890 with the
degree of B. S., and later received that of M. S. She was a
member of the Clionian Literary Society. After graduation,
she became a teacher in the Lebanon public schools and con-
tinued in this work for thirteen consecutive years. She was
married July 9, 1907, to John S. Faulkner, of Johnson County,
Illinois. They now reside in Lebanon, Illinois. Mrs. Faulkner
has been an active member and worker in the Methodist
Church since the time of her girlhood.
ROBERT STEELE
Robert Steele was born on a farm m Jasper County, Illi-
nois, February 14, 1865. His parents were Robert and Jennie
(Forsyth) Steele, who were of Scotch-Irish descent, but both
natives of Ireland. They came to America in early life, were
married at Keokuk, Iowa, in i860, and reared six children.
Robert entered college in 1884 and joined the Philosophian
Society. After one year he returned to the farm and school
teaching. In 1889, he re-entered college and graduated in the
class of 1890, receiving the degree of B. S. During the next
three years after graduation, he served as principal of public
schools at O'Fallon and Belleville, Illinois, and read law at
the same time, in connection with the Law Department of
McKendree. In 1895, he graduated from the Law Depart-
ment as valedictorian of the class, receiving the degree of
LL. B., and at the same time, the degree of M. S. In 1894 he
went to Chicago, where he practiced law for some years, .md
then moved to Cordell, Oklahoma, where he has since been
engaged as a Bonded Abstractor of Land Titles. On May
16, 1906, he was married to Miss Kate Lee, at Cordell, Okla.,
who comes of the well known
Lee family of Virginia. To
them was born one son, who
lived only five months. Mr.
Steele has served his home city
as Mayor for three years, dur-
ing which time the electric light
plant was installed, the water
system enlarged, and many
other public improvements
made. He is a member of the
Methodist Church South and
has been active m church ,ind
Sunday School work for many ROBERT STEELE
years.
REV. SHERMAN P. YOUNG
Sherman Pomeroy Young was born December 26, 1867, at
Woodburn, Macoupin County, Illinois. His parents were
John Henry and Sarah E. Young, who were both native
Americans. He grew up in Illinois, and after receiving the
usual training m the public schools, entered McKendree in
1886. He was a member of the Platonian Literary Society.
He graduated in the class of 1890, receiving the degree of
A. B. He also received from his alma mater the degree of
A. M. in 1892 and Ph. D. in 1896. He did post-graduate
work m several institutions and received the degree of B. D.
from Yale and S. T. B. from Boston University. He received
the honorary degree of D. D. from the Ohio Wesleyan Uni-
versity. He entered the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal
Church before he had finished his college course, and for a
time belonged to the Southern Illinois Conference, but has
since belonged to several different conferences. Among the
important charges he has served are: Salem, lUinois; Lake
Geneva, Wis.; Summerfield Church, Milwaukee; Broadway
Church, Dayton, Ohio; Mt. Auburn Church, Cincinnati;
and First Church, Beaver, Penn. He was married in 1898, to
Miss Bessie Thompson, daughter of Rev. Dr. J. B. Thomp-
son, who was a member of the Southern Illinois Conference.
They have four children. He is a thirty-second degree Ma-
son and belongs to the Shrine. He travelled in Europe dur-
ing the summer of 1913. For some years he has been a mem-
ber of Dr. Hancher's organization to raise money for colleges
and other religious institutions.
CHAPTER XXVII.
President Herdmans Administration
yy I'HEN DR. HERDMAN became
ill president in 1890, there were no
other important changes in the fac-
ulty. Tho there was some readjustment of
the teaching work, since Dr. Herdman was
to be a teacher as well as president, while
Dr. ViUars had been relieved of class room
work before he left the college. He had long
been a member of the Board and was well-
acquainted with the ideals of the institution.
He was himself a man of the highest Christian
ideals, and had long been in the business of
guiding young people in the higher things
of life.
Thomas Hanson Herdman was born July 8,
1829, at Noblestown, Pennsylvania, twelve miles from Pitts-
burg. His father was of Scotch-Irish and his mother of English
descent. Thomas was one ofthe six children ofthe family that
grew to maturity. In 1848 he entered Muskingum College,
at New Concord, Ohio, where he remained for three years.
Later he attended Madison College, at Antrim, Ohio, where
he received his A. B. degree in 1856. In after years he received
two degrees from McKendree — A. M. in 1876 and D. D. in
1889. After his graduation, he made teaching his profession
for some years. He was Superintendent of Schools at Green-
field, Ohio for eight years. In 1864 he entered the Cincinnati
Conference and served one year as pastor of Highland Cir-
cuit. About that time he was unexpectedly called to Mount
Vernon, Illinois, on some important business, and while
there was elected President of Mt. Vernon Seminary, which
position he accepted and held for four years. He then re-
sumed the work ofthe ministry in the Southern Illinois Con-
ference, where the remainder of his life was spent. He served
a number of the important charges, such as Vandalia, Mt.
Carmel, and Effingham, and one term as presiding elder of
the Lebanon District. He was twice pastor at Lebanon and
lived at Lebanon while on the district, while president of
the college, and after his retirement. So that his home was in
Lebanon altogether for a period of thirty-five years. After
his three years as President of McKendree, he served as Dean
of the Theological and Post-graduate Departments until 1898 .
He then served nearby charges and still lived in Lebanon for
a few years. In 1902 he was appointed Conference Historian
for the Southern Illinois Conference, which appointment he
REV. T. H. HERDMAN
held until his retirement in 191 1. While in
this office, he copied with his own hands the
minutes of the Illinois Conference from its or-
ganization in 1824 until the establishment of
the Southern Illinois in 1852. Besides that great
task, he wrote a history of Illinois Methodism
prior to the formation of the Illinois Confer-
ence, and he collected much historical mater-
ial for the use of the future historian of the
Southern Illinois Conference. None of this
work was published because of lack of funds.
He was a delegate to the General Confer-
ence of 1880 which met in Cincinnati. He was
married September 29, 1852, to Miss Celia
Joseph, of Chandlersville, Ohio. She died Jan-
uary 5, 1869. He was married to Miss Eliza H. Peck, at
Duquoin, Illinois, December 20, 1870. Her death occurred
Feb. 4, 191 5, only a brief period before his own, which
occurred April 8, 1916.
Dr. Herdman's position was not always a "bed of roses"
while he was president. The attendance of students was
maintained about the same, but the chief difficulties were
financial ones. There was a mortgaged debt against the col-
lege of $5,500 and the holder was demanding payment and
threatening foreclosure. It was Dr. Herdman's task to keep
this creditor pacified and thus postpone foreclosure until in
some way the money could be raised to clear the debt. This
he did with great adroitness, tho his efforts to raise the
money were not successful. During all the time of Dr. Herd-
man's term, the chapel services were held in what was known
as the study hall. This was the building formerly known as
the Athleteon. During the years when the enrollment ran
low. It did not seem worth while to use the chapel which
was large enough for five hundred for the assembly place of
less than a hundred, especially in the winter when it had to
be heated. So the Athleteon, which had never appealed very
strongly to the student body in general, probably because
they did not have a director of physical training, was fitted
with school desks and used by the students as a place ot
study when not attending classes. There were accommoda-
tions for one hundred. For a number of years the chapel ser-
vices were held in this study hall. The faculty felt that since
there were no dormitories and there was no reading room
connected with the library, that this study hall was a great
MC KENDREE
convenience to the students. There were no dormitories and
some of the students roomed at boarding houses possibly a
half mile from the college. They needed a place to study or
wait between classes. There was always a professor m charge
of the hall to maintain order, and sometimes he conducted a
recitation at the same time. This was somewhat of a distrac-
tion to some of the students. The chapel exercises were held
at eight o'clock and recitations began immediately following.
The faculty felt that it was profitable for students not in
class to spend the time in study, each at his own individual
desk m the study-hall. Then a plan was devised by the
faculty whereby each student was expected to put in at least
two hours each evening m his own room. Then each student
was required to attend chapel each morning and church twice
on Sunday. It was customary for the president to call the
roll every Monday morning and each student whose attend-
ance at church and chapel for the week previous had been
perfect and who had observed the evening study hours,
would answer, "Five-two-ten." Or if his record fell short,
he was to respond accordingly. The study hour proposition
was resented by many of the students and that portion of
the plan was abandoned, but the church and chapel record
was kept for years and grades recorded for each student in
those subjects, the same as for Latin or Mathematics. The
church and chapel attendance are still nominal requirements
of all regular students unless officially excused, which may
be done when there are good reasons. In the days of the
study-hall chapel, there was an organ in the room and a
chapel choir made up of students, and some times special
music was rendered m a very creditable manner. The major-
ity of the faculty were preachers and all took turns in con-
ducting the devotions. There were seme interesting meetings
held in that hall before it was cut up into smaller rooms for
the benefit of the Science Department. In Dr. Villars' day
there was once a Thanksgiving service held there. A week
beforehand. Dr. Villars issued a challenge to the students
and faculty, agreeing to sing a song in chapel if any other
member of the chapel assembly would furnish either a mus-
ical or rhetorical number. The students all let the week slip
by, but on the last morning Professor Edwards came forward
with an essay on the subject of Thanksgiving, beginning
with the fifteen day thanksgiving decreed by Julius Caesar
in celebration of a victory over the Helvetians. Then Dr.
Villars came forward, and with powerful voice, sang the
"Battle Hymn of the Republic." He was not a trained singer^
but he sang with feeling, and with great acceptability to a
group of students.
In this room m 1890 was held the last meeting of the
organization known as the "College Association." Its osten-
sible purpose was to give a public entert.unment each year
m celebration of Washington's birthday. The performers in
this entertainment were to be representatives of each of the
literary societies and the Law Department But the real pur-
pose was to give opportunity for a contest of popularity
between the literary societies at the election of officers. A
Philo and a Plato were nominated for president. Each re-
ceived the full vote of his own society and the one who
could draw the most votes from Clio would be elected. On
the occasion referred to, a question of representation on the
entertainment program arose. It happened at that time that
every member of the Law Department belonged to Philo.
The Platos claimed that the plan to be followed would give
Philo a double representation. To this they objected. Then
much fiery oratory went to waste and much ill feeling was
engendered. After the stormy session had lasted till the
hour for adjournment had arrived, the meeting adjourned
with the understanding that anct'aer session should be held
at the call of the president to complete the business. But to
avoid a repetition of the clash of sentiment and hot words
between the members of the two societies, the president
refused to call another meeting and the organization died
a natural death.
In this hall it was customary to meet on the last morning
or afternoon of each term to hear the reading of grades.
Visitors were often present for this interesting exercise. One
day a special meeting was held to hear the public confession
and apology of three students who had been guilty of indul-
gence in strong drink. They promised the college author-
ities that they would reform. And they did. To make this
confession in chapel was their only punishment. They kept
their promise. Two of them are now successful lawyers and
living useful lives.
During this administration there were not many changes
in the faculty. However, one that ought to be mentioned
was the resignation of Professor Edwin C. Ferguson, A. M.,
Ph. D. He succeeded Dr. Swahlen in the chair of Greek and
German in 1886, and gave four years of faithful and efficient
service, and showed the same spirit of sacrifice which char-
acterized some other members of the faculty. He was well
prepared for his work, both in school training and teaching
experience. He was the author of several text-books and a
constant reader and student. He was a single man, tho per-
haps nearing forty years of age. But in the summer of 1890
he took to himself a wife. He was a prudent man and did
Three Hundred and Tw
<:^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^:^
not believe that the meager pittance which the faculty re-
ceived at that time and which the Board called a salary, was
sufficient for the proper support of a family. The author
ities were carefully living up to the resolution passed by
the Board in 1886, to the etfect that no debt should be in-
curred by the institution for current expenses, and that the
Board would be responsible for the payment of salaries only
to the extent of the income produced by the fiscal fund and
the interest on the endowment, after the necessary running
expenses were met. Accordingly, Professor Ferguson gave
up his position here and secured a similar one at Athens,
Tennessee. He spent the remainder of his active years in
that institution. To succeed him in McKendree, the Board
secured Professor Bertrand P. Judd, A. B. He was a young
man of high ideals but not specially adapted to the position
he was expected to fill here. So after one year he decided
to enter the ministry, and went to take a course in Boston
University School of Theology. In the fall of 1891 another
young man just out of college came to take the chair of
Greek and German. He was Professor Morris L. Barr, A. B.
He had taken his degree at the Ohio Wesleyan University.
He proved to be a good teacher and a good leader of young
folks in the college, and also in the Epworth League and
church circles. He was a good public reader, and that also
made him popular. It was soon discovered that he was well
fitted for the position he held. He was an unmarried man
and still young, but old enough to be prudent and circum-
spect in his conduct. His boarding place was at "Aunty
Hoffman's" and to board there always gave a person good
standing in the town. Mrs. Hoffman was then the proprietor
of the old French mansion, that is, the former home of
Governor French. She has been known to have as many as
nineteen boarders at once. Professor Barr gave two years of
good service during Dr. Herdman's administration. By that
time he had become so popular with the students that at
the commencement of 1893,, a request came from some of
the students that Professor Barr be made president. The
Board became obsessed with the idea that his popularity
with youth might be a means of drawing great numbers of
students to McKendree; and after long deliberation they
provided another position for Dr. Herdman and made Pro-
fessor Barr president Dr. Herdman was a very sweet-spirited
man and was always willing to make any sacrifice which his
brethren believed would advance the cause of the Kingdom
of Heaven on earth. Therefore he cheerfully surrendered
the Presidency and became Dean of the Post-graduate and
Theological Departments of McKendree. The enrollment
during the three years of his presidency made a very slight
gain, increasing from one hundred and eighty-six to two
hundred and two. This included the college, academy, music,
art, etc. The three classes who graduated during his admin-
istration are here given.
THE CLASS OF 1S91
CHARLES B. BROWN
Charles Burdette Brown was born in Venice Township,
Madison County, Illinois. March 26, 1870. His parents were
Robert J. and Martha J. Brown. After attending the public
schools, he went to McKendree, where he took work in the
Literary Department of the college and also in the Law De-
partment, from which latter he graduated in June 1891. He
was a member of the Platonian Literary Society. He was a
member of the Methodist Church and of the Order of
Knights and Ladies of Honor. His early death cut off a
promising career before it was well begun. He never entered
upon the practice of law, though he did teach school for a
time. His death occurred December 5, 1891, at the home of
his mother, in Warrensburg, Missouri.
JOHN M. CHAMBERLIN, Jr.
John McLean Chamberlain, Jr. was born at Lebanon, Illi-
nois, August ig, 1872. His father, John M. Chamberlin, is
also a native of Lebanon, of EngHsh and German descent.
His mother, Maggie E. (Royse) Chamberlin, was of Scotch-
Irish ancestry. He grew up in Lebanon, entered McKendree
in the fall of 1887, and graduated in the class of 1891, receiv-
ing the degree of B. S. He was a member of the Philosophian
Literary Society. For five years after his graduation, he was
employed as a telegraph operator. Then for about the same
period he published a weekly newspaper, the "Lebanon
Leader," at Lebanon, Illinois. In 1900 he was elected to the
forty-second General Assembly of Illinois, as a representative
of the forty-ninth Senatorial District. He served one term. In
1901 he entered the real estate business in E. St. Louis. In
iqio he was elected State Senator for the forty-ninth Sena-
torial District and was re-elected in 191 2. He has served as
president of the E. St Louis Board of Education; also of the
Real Estate Exchange and the Commercial Club, both of that
city. He was for one term Mayor of East St. Louis. He is
a member of the Masonic Order, the Elks, Knights of Py-
thias, and Modern Woodmen. He was married November
26, iqoj, to Miss Lulu Mildred Farthing, of Odin, Illinois.
They have three children — John McLean the third, Will-
iam Farthing, and a younger son. Their little daughter, Mil-
dred, died as the result of an accident. For several years Mr.
Chamberlin has been in business at Mineral Wells, Texas.
Three Hundred and Thirty
..^^^^^^^^^^^^Sl^^^^^^^^^^^^^S:^
PROGRAM.
PROGRAM.
■-■ '_ ., .-. M
2 -J 'J P f.;
MUSIC
ORATION
International Law
MUSIC
INVOCATION MUSIC.
♦@HARl.ES BURDEUTE BRO'.VN
ORATION
Evils Of Immigration.
ORATION
Law Defined.
SKILLMAN PARKER SHAW.
ORATION
GEORGE LEMIMG <oOR'..;5.
Capital an-1 Labor
ORPHEUS r.J, SMlllH.
MUSIC
ORATION
Political Parties
HtNRV M. KASSERMAN.
ORATION
ORATION
The Ideal Citizen
WAb7ER SGOTt? QArOII.
The Higher Revelation of Nature
ORATION
Legal Ethics
CLARENCE ALONZO COMBS.
JAMES f{. miLIiER.
ORATION
:r.e Coming Victory
VIOLIN SOLO
Concerto I by C D, Benot.
CHARLES HENRY DORRIS
COASTER PRWOLD RESOLD
ORATION:
Womans Influence.
UU..U
©HOMAS PRANHljlM CDOORB.
ORATION:
The Imagination in Literature
ORATION:
The Living Present.
JOHN WESLEr HENNINGER.
50HH ffiGliEAN @HAMBERlilN.
MUSIC
Achievements of Politics,
ORATION
Valedictions
ORATION
ELMER ELLSWORTH WAGGONER.
Wm. Wilson.
MUSIC
ORATION
Value of Univertal Legal Training
LlEW 03. fflASOW
CONFEHRING DEGREES
MUSIC
MUSIC
BENEDICTION.
•Excused.
BENEDICTION,
-:- ... -:- ■:- ■:• .:• ■:• •.- •: -:- •:- -:. ... .:. ... ... ... ... .;. .:. .:. .:■ .:. .. :- ■:- :: :■ :■ ■■ .- ■
E.xact reproduction ot commencem;
CLARENCE A. COMBS
Clarence Alonzo Combs was born at CoUmsville, Illinois,
June 2,0, 1869. He was the son of William S. and Sarah
(McCormick) Combs, the former of Scotch and the latter of
Irish descent. After being trained in the public schools of
CoUinsville, he entered McKendree in the fall of 1889 and
graduated from the Law Department in 1891, receiving the
degree of LL. B. He was a member of the Platonian Literary
Society. He was married to Miss Bertha Hadley, of CoUins-
ville, June 9, 1903. He practiced law only a short time and
then became cashier of the Northwestern Mutual Life In-
surance Company, of East St. Louis. His death occurred
August 29, 1903, as the result of an accidental fall from a
trolley car. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal
Church and the Knights of Pythias. In politics he was a
Republican.
GEORGE L. CORLIS
George Leming Corhs was born in MetropoHs, Illinois, in
1873. His parents were Edwin and Sarah Corhs, the father
being of English and the mother of English and Scotch an-
cestry. He entered McKendree in 1889 and graduated in
1891 with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. He was a member
it programme for the year 1891
of the Platonian Literary Society. He was married October
15, 1895, to Miss Bird Trevathan, of Union City, Tennessee.
They have two daughters — Marian and Catherine. After
his graduation, Mr. Corlis was engaged for some years in
general practice of law, and then he became Dean of the
Benton College of Law, of St. Louis, which position he still
holds. In addition to his work as Dean, he maintains a law
office in a suite of rooms in the Times Building, St. Louis.
He is a member of the Masonic Fraternity.
JUDGE HENRY M. KASSERMAN
Henry M. Kasserman was born in Monroe County, Ohio,
January 4, 1864. His parents, Stephen and Anna E. Kasser-
man, were natives of Switzerland. After receiving prelim-
inary education elsewhere, he entered the Law Department
of McKendree in September, 1890, and graduated in the class
of 1891, receiving the degree of LL. B. He was a member of
the Philosophian Literary Society. After his graduation, he
began the practice of law at Newton, Illinois, where he is
still located. He has served as City Attorney and Mayor of
Newton, and is now in his third term as County Judge of
Jasper County. He is a member of the Baptist Church, the
Three Hundred and ThiVt^-O:
Odd Fellows, and the Modern Woodmen of America. He
was married March 21, 1889. His children are: Frederic D.,
Don H., Lulu B., Ruth Agnes, John J., James Stephen, and
Woodrow Wilson.
L. W. MASON
Lew Wallace Mason was born at Boaz, Kentucky, May
12, 1867. His parents are William H. and Susanna (Adams)
Mason, both native Americans. He and his twin brother,
Walter Scott Mason, were in college at the same time, en-
tering the Law Department in 1889 and graduating in the
same class in 1891, receiving the degree of LL. B. He was a
member of the Platonian Literary Society. He was married
June 6, 1909, to Miss Clara L. Zerweck, of Lebanon, who
graduated from McKendree in the class of 1894. They have
one son, Lew Wallace Mason, Jr. Ever since his graduation,
Mr. Mason has been engaged in the practice of law in May-
field, Kentucky. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal
Church. About 1912 he opened a law office in Tulsa, Okla-
homa, and since that time has been spending much of his
time building up a law practice in that new field.
W. S. MASON
Walter Scott Mason was born at Boaz, Graves County,
Kentucky, May 12, 1867. His parents were William H. and
Susan M. Mason. His father was born in Robertson County,
Tennessee, and his mother in Graves County, Kentucky.
Though he did not enter McKendree till January, 1890, he
completed the work of the Law Course from September,
1889, and graduated in June, 1891, with the degree of LL. B.
Before coming to McKendree he attended the West Ken-
tucky College, but did not finish the course. While at Mc-
Kendree, he was a member of the Platonian Society. Since
his graduation, he has been engaged chiefly in the practice
of law, though he was principal of the Mayfield, Kentucky,
schools for a time and was Postmaster of Mayfield for four
years (1898 to 1902). He was married January 26, 1897, to
Miss Ellen Rebecca Hocker. They have two children — Mir-
iam Rebecca, born in 1902, and Walter Scott, born in 1906.
Mr. Mason is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
WILLIAM WILSON
William Wilson was born at Alma (now Carbon), St.
Clair County, Illinois, March 28, 1866. He is a son of William
and Janet Wilson, who came to America from Scotland and
settled in Illinois in 1856. He grew up in the vicinity of
Brighton, Illinois, and graduated from the Brighton High
School in 1886. He attended Blackburn College, at Carlinville
one year and then entered the Law Department of McKen-
dree, graduating in 1891 with the degree of LL. B. Soon after
his graduation, he began the practice of law in Greenfield,
Illinois, but in 1893 he came to Alton and engaged in various
lines of mercantile business until 1899, when he began the
practice of law in Alton, where he is still located and pros-
pering in his profession. He held the position of City Attor-
ney of Alton for three terms, and has been Assistant State's
Attorney a number of years. He was a member of the Alton
Board of Education for five years. He belongs to the Modern
American Fraternal Order and is secretary of the lodge. He
is a member of the Alton Mutual Society and is one of the
trustees. He also belongs to the Junior Order of American
Mechanics and is State Councilor of that order. He was
married to Miss Jennie E. Tuller, of Alton, July 4, 1898.
Both he and Mrs. Wilson were members of the Methodist
Episcopal Church, but now they both belong to the Pente-
costal Church of Alton.
REV. ELMER E. WAGGONER
Elmer Ellsworth Waggoner was born at Godfrey, Illinois,
November 24, 1862, and died at Staunton, Illinois, August
17, 1894. He was a nephew of Rev. G. W. Waggoner, who
was one of the charter members of the Southern Illinois
Conference. He was educated in the public schools and Mc-
Kendree College, from which he graduated in the class of
1891, receiving the degree of A. B. He was a member of the
Platonian Literary Society. He joined the Southern Illinois
Conference in 1891, and was pastor of three charges — Ven-
ice, Grafton, and Staunton; at which last named place his
life was completed. He was married March 22, 1892, to
Miss Belle Linhoff, of St. Elmo, who with one child sur-
vives him.
There were four other members of this class :
James Russell Miller, B. S. Biography appears in class of 1893.
Thomas Franklin Moore, LL. B. See sketch page 373.
SkiUman Parker Shaw, LL. B. Went to the Phillipine Islands.
Orpheus W. Smith, LL. B. Lawyer and Judge, Decatur, Illinois.
THE CLASS OF 1S92
JUDGE S. P. CHAPIN
Silas P. Ch.ipin was born at SomerviUe, Ohio, June 6, 1857.
After coming to Illinois he spent some years as a Methodist
preacher. He then studied law at McKendree and graduated
in 1892 with the degree of LL. B. After practicing law at E.
St. Louis for a time he was appointed Judge in the territory
of Alaska. He returned to E. St. Louis about 191^ and died
there a few years later.
LOUIS A. MARCOOT
Louis A. Marcoot was born at Highland, 111., December
9, 1867. He received the degree of LL. B. from McKendree
in 1892. He was a member of Plato. He practiced law at Ven-
ice, Illinois until 1897, when he went to Texas and became
a travelling salesman.
ThirtyTu
MC KENDREE
REV^ S- S. SMITH
Samuel Stephen Smith was born m White County, Ilhnois,
January 14, 1870. He graduated from McKendree m the cl.iss
of i8q2 with the degree of B. S. He was a loyal Plato. He
immediately joined the Southern Illinois Conference and has
been m continuous service as a pastor ever since, except one
year that he was Field Agent for the Anti-Saloon League.
In 1894 he was married to Miss Carrie Gott, of Norris City.
They have five sons and three daughters. Mrs. Smith died
m 1920.
PROF. CHARLES H- DORRIS. D. LITT,
Charles Henry Dorns, one ot the le.idmg educators m
this part of the state, was born at Okawville, Illinois, August
10, 1867. His parents were August and Harriet (Cantrell)
Dorris. His father died in 1874. In order to give her two
sons an opportunity to secure an education, his widowed
mother moved to Lebanon in 1887 and kept boarders while
her sons went through McKendree. After they had com-
pleted their college course and gone out into the business
of life, she continued to make her home m Lebanon until
the end of her life in 1921. Mr. Dorris became a student in
McKendree and a member of the Platonian Literary Society
in 1887. He pursued both the Law Course and the regular
college course, finishing the former in 1891 with the degree
of LL. B., and the latter m 1892 with the degree of B. S.
Five years later he received the degree of M. S., and in the
Centennial year that of D. Litt. The profession of law never
appealed strongly to him after finishing the law course, but
immediately after his graduation he entered upon an educa-
tional career, in which he is still active. From 1892 to 1900
he was in charge of the Lebanon public schools. It was under
his leadership that the Lebanon High School was first organ-
ized. Since 1900, with the exception of one year, he has been
in charge of the schools of the city of CoUmsville. He is
superintendent, both of the city schools and the Township
High School. In addition to his work in his home city, he
has frequently been called upon to do institute work in his
own and other counties, and deliver special lectures on cer-
tain occasions. He has taught in the summer sessions a num-
ber of years, both in the Southern Normal, at Carbondale,
and the Normal University, at Normal, Illinois. He has
been a life-long Methodist and is active in various lines of
church work, having served many years as Sunday School
Superintendent. He is also a thirty-second degree Mason, a
Shrmer, an Odd Fellow, a member of the Lion's Club, and
a Trustee of the Madison County Tuberculosis Sanitarium.
Mrs. Dorris was a Lebanon girl, whose maiden name was
Susie Mae Peach, the daughter of James S. and Mary (Wake-
field) Peach, both of whom died in Lebanon. She received
her education in the public schools of Lebanon and McKen-
dree College, where she graduated in 1893, receiving the
degree of B. S. In August, 1895, she was married to Professor
Dorris, who was then superintendent of the Lebanon schools.
They have two sons and one daughter. The eldest, Charles
Lester, is married and is m the employ of the Roxana Oil
Company, of Chicago. The other son has been for the past
four years an engineer for the Braden Copper Company, in
Rancagua, Chile, S. A., while the daughter, Dorothy A., is
now a teacher m the schools of Collinsville. Mrs. Dorris is
also a prominent church and community worker, is Past
Matron of the Eastern Star, President of the Household
Science Club, and a member of the Cahokia Chapter of the
Daughters of the American Revolution. While in McKen-
dree, she was an active Clio, and occasionally comes back
to participate in the Clio reunions.
JOHN M. HAMPTON
John Miles Hampton was born on a farm near Donnellson,
Montgomery County, Illinois, November i, 1870 He is the
son of Rev. J. A. and Jane (De Sart) Hampton. His father
was for many years a member of the Southern Illinois Con-
ference. He became a student m McKendree m the fall of
1889 and graduated from the Law Department m June, 1892,
receiving the degree of LL. B. He was a member of the
Platonian Literary Society. He was married to Miss Eva.
M. Meriwether, of Shipman, Illinois, November 26, 1903.
They have two children, John Hadley and Helen Jane. For
three years after his graduation, Mr. Hampton published a
newspaper m connection with his law practice at Gillespie,
Illinois. He was compelled to give up this work because of
ill health. After three winters of travel in the South, he
recovered his health sufficiently to resume professional work.
In 1900 he purchased a paper in Cerro Gordo, Illinois. A
year of this kind of work caused another physical breakdown,
which made it necessary to again abandon his work and go
South. He spent the next two years in Texas, Mexico, and
California. He returned m 1903 and purchased the old home-
stead on which he was born, and where he now lives, near
Donnellson, Illinois. He now has a well-stocked farm of three
hundred and eighty acres and is a progressive agriculturist.
He is a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Indepen-
dent Order of Odd Fellows.
Three Hundred and Thirty-Three
Standing, left to right — Marcoot, Hampton, Smith, Walton
Seated, left to right — Dorris, Steele, Chapin
DR. WILLIAM J. STEELE
In the history of Nassau County, New York, we find the
following statement concerning Dr. Steele, "He is held in
high esteem for his benefactions and philanthropies as well
as for his ability in the practice of medicine and surgery".
That is exactly what we would expect of one who has really
imbibed the "McKendree Spirit".
William John Steele was born near Newton, in Jasper
County, Illinois. He attended the public schools and at one
time had Charles S. Deneen, now United States Senator, for
his teacher. After making use of the home educational oppor-
tunities and teaching several years in the district schools, he
became a student in McKendree in 1889 and was graduated
in 1892, receiving the degree of B. S. He received the second
honors of the class and delivered the Latin salutatory on
commencement day. He was a member of Philo and served
as president of that organization. After another period of
teaching he decided to make the medical profession his per-
manent vocation. Accordingly he entered the Medical De-
partment of the University of Illinois, which is located in
Chicago. From this institution he was graduated in 1898,
with the degree of M. D. After serving a year as interne in
the Joseph D. Lee Hospital in Chicago, he located in Baldwin,
N. Y. for the practice of his profession. By faithful and skil-
ful service he established a reputation which has given him an
extensive and lucrative general practice in which he is still
engaged. He is a member of the Nassau County Medical
Society, the Associated Physicians of Long Island, and the
New York State Medical Society. He is on the staff of the
Nassau and Mercy hospitals, the South Side Community
Hospital, and the Rockville Center Sanatorium, a trustee of
the South Side Community Hospital and attending physician
of the Freeport Sanatorium. Dr. Steele has also been active in
various civic, educational, financial, and fraternal organiza-
tions which are carried on mainly for the welfare of the citi-
zens of the community. He has been president of the School
Board in his home town for twenty-five years. His enthusiasm
and force of character have been moving factors in the adop-
tion of progressive methods in many fields of activity. He is
a member of the Civic Association, President of the Baldwin
National Bank, Vice-president of the Columbia Bronze Cor-
poration, President of Throat Specialties Laboratories, Direc-
tor of Long Island Bankers, Inc., and Director of Long Island
Title Guaranty Company. Fraternally he is a member of the
Masonic Order, Freeport Chapter Royal Arch Masons, Nas-
sau Commandery Knights Templar, Ancient Arabic Order
of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, the Benevolent and Protect-
ive Order of Elks, Junior United American Mechanics, and
the Knights of Pythias. In his religious affiHations he is a
member of the Methodist Church. He is a most helpful mem-
ber of the community in
which he lives. In his exten'
sive medical practice he often
renders professional service
where his only reward is the
satisfaction of having relieved
human suffering. Dr. Steele
lives in a fine stone residence
on Merrick Road, which hos-
pitable home is presided over
by his dignified and capable
wife. Before her marriage,
Mrs. Steele was Miss Ora
MacArthur of Brooklyn,
New York. Dr. and Mrs.
Steele have two children, Donald M., a student in the Law
School of New York University, and Elizabeth N., who is
still m the high school. It is claimed that America is the
"Land of Opportunity" though many American youths fail
to see any chance to rise in the world. However, the story
of Dr. Steele's life is a good illustration of what may be
accomplished by a poor boy who has ambition together with
energy and perseverance enough to carry out his ideals.
DR. W. J. STEELE
Thr.-e Humired and TluriyFour
PROF. WILLIAM C. WALTON, D. D.
William Clarence Walton was born m Lincoln County,
Missouri, July lo, 1866. His parents were Edward W. and
Hester C. (Eberman) Walton, who were both natives of
Illinois. When he was only a few weeks old, the family
moved back to Brighton, Illinois, and in that vicinity he
grew up and received his elementary education, mostly m
the country schools. He graduated from the Brighton High
School in 1886, and after teaching two years m the country
schools, he entered McKendree College in the fall of 1888.
He completed the Classical Course and received the degree
of A. B. m iSq2. He was the valedictorian of the class. In
1894 he received the degree of A. M. from McKendree; in
1897, Ph. D.; and m the Centennial year, D. D. He was a
member of the Philo Society. In September, 1892, he was
admitted on trial to the Southern Illinois Conference and
was appointed to the Huey Circuit, where he served two
years, and during that time led the enterprise of building
a new church at Shattuc. It was dedicated by Bishop Bow-
man m the summer of i8qj. In the fall of 1894 he became
a member of the faculty m McKendree and has been in con-
tinuous service ever since that time. He has taught in sev-
eral different departments. Until 191 ■; he had charge of the
Department of Greek Language and Literature. After that
he had charge of Philosophy and Education. As a side line
he taught Bible for a number of years before the establish-
ment of the Religious Education Department. Aside from
the regular work of teaching, he has given evening courses
and extension courses, and has served the college as Fiscal
Agent for about ten years. He has also served short terms
as pastor — several times in addition to college work. These
were at Sandoval, Ashley, Waterloo for seven years, and
Caseyville for five years. He has also frequently supplied
pulpits in emergencies, given educational addresses, com-
mencement addresses, Memorial Day addresses, and speeches
on various special occasions He did graduate work for several
summers in the University of Illinois and the University of
Chicago, and for a number of years has served as Director
of the McKendree Summer School, and other years has taught
in summer sessions. He served as Vice-president of McKen-
dree for twelve years during the administration of Dr. Cham-
berlin. He also served in the Lebanon City Council for
eight years.
He was married June 30, 1897, to Miss Mabel Hadley,
of Hoffman, Illinois. She is the daughter of Mr. S. S. Hadley,
who came of a prominent Quaker family of Wilmington,
Ohio. Miss Hadley attended school at the Southern Normal
JLA %
The Walton Family in 1925
and taught school for two years before her marriage. They
have four children — Ruth Catherine, Alice Hester, Emma
Irene, and Clarence Hadley. The two older daughters are
graduates of McKendree, and have both rendered several
years of teaching service, Ruth Catherine as teacher of Home
Economics in the Mascoutah High School and two years in
McKendree College. Alice Hester has taught English in the
high schools of Crossville, Mascoutah, and Lebanon. Emma
and Clarence are both students in the Lebanon High School.
Professor Walton has travelled widely in the home country,
having visited thirty-nine of the states in the Union, Can-
ada, and Mexico, and spent one summer touring Europe.
THE CLASS OF 1893
REV. JOHN M. ADAMS, D. D.
John Martin Adams was born on a farm near Mayfield,
Kentucky, February 25, 1864. His parents were John W.
and Mary E. Adams, who were both of American ancestry.
After a youth spent in the "Blue Grass" state, he became
a student in McKendree in January, 1889. He graduated in
June, 189J with the degree of A. B. He was a member of the
Platonian Society, but he was of such a friendly temperament
and so fair minded in his estimates of others that he always
had friends in the rival society. In September, after his grad-
uation, he joined the Southern Illinois Conference at the
session held in Flora, m 1893,. Ever since that time he has
been continuously engaged in the work of the pastorate. He
has served several of the important charges of the confer-
ence, such as Cairo, and Fairfield, where he is now located
and where the 1928 session of the conference is to be held.
In March, 1894, Mr. Adams was married to Miss Mary
Brownlee, of Kentucky. To them were born three children —
Ethel Louise, now Mrs. Norman Moss, of Irasburg, Vermont;
Harold Brownlee, who was a student in McKendree several
Three Hundred and Thnty-Fne
cs:^^^^^^^^^^;^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
years, but when the Great War came on, entered the service
of his country; while still in the training camp, he fell a
victim of disease in the course of the great influenza epidemic
which swept the country, and the youngest, Paul Stanley,
who has also been a student in McKendree, but now is em-
ployed with a business firm in St. Louis. Rev. Adams was
one of the group to receive honorary degrees during the
McKendree Centennial, when he was admitted to the degree
of Doctor of Divinity. Dr. Adams is a member of the Modern
Woodmen, the Masonic Fraternity, and the Rotary Club.
PHILIP BAER
Philip Baer was born at St. Jacob, Illinois, February 13,
1870. He is a son of Rudolph and Louisa Baer, who are of
German descent. He graduated from the Law Department
of McKendree in 1893, receiving the degree of LL. B. He
was a member of the Philosophian Literary Society. He was
married October 18, 1894, to Miss Emma Harges. They
have two children — Harold and Alice. Mr. Baer is an attor-
ney at law now located in his home city, though he was
in the real estate business for some time in Denver, Colorado.
He served for two years as Tax Collector of St. Jacob Town-
ship. In politics he is a Democrat. He is a member of the
Evangelical Protestant Church, the Masonic Order, the Odd
Fellows, the Turnverein, and the Modern Woodmen of
America.
GEORGE S. CAUGHLAN
George Sidney Caughlan was born in St. Louis, Missouri,
January 22, 1865. His father. Rev. David Caughlan, was for
many years a Methodist preacher and a member of the South-
ern Illinois Conference. He was for several years a student
in McKendree and graduated from the Liw Department in
the class of 1893, receiving
the degree of LL. B. He
was a member of the Phil-
osophian Literary Society.
He was admitted to the bar
and for many years has
practiced law in East St.
Louis. He was also engag-
ed in the leal estate and in-
surance business. He served
one term in the Illinois Leg-
islature. He was married,
and at his death was sur-
vived by his widow, Mrs.
Dora Caughlan, and three
grown children— Ralph, JUDGE C. E. CHAMBERLIN
Nellie, and George. His death occurred December 29, 1913,
at Douglas, Arizona, where he had gone in the attempt to re-
cover his health. He was a member of the Masonic Order.
JUDGE C. E. CHAMBERLIN
One ot the time honored names in the history of McKen-
dree College and the city of Lebanon is that of Chamberlin.
David Chamberlin was one of the founders of McKendree
and his son John M. was a trustee for over forty years. Of
the four sons of the latter, the only one still living in Lebanon
is Charles Earl Chamberlin who was born September 26,
1874 and has been a citizen of Lebanon all his life. His mother,
before her marriage was Miss Maggie E. Royse. Charles
Earl was educated in the public schools and McKendree
College, from which institution he was graduated in the class
of 1893 receiving the degree of A. B. In 1895 he completed
the law course in McKendree and received the degree of LL.
B. He was a member cf Philo and took an active part in the
various phases of the college life of his day. Soon after leaving
college he began the practice of law in his home town, at the
same time engaging in the real estate and insurance business.
His fellow citizens expressed their confidence in him by elect,
ing him City Attorney, which office he held for three terms.
He was also supervisor of Lebanon Township for four terms-
He was Circuit Clerk of St. Clair County for four years,
and Master in Chancery for two years. In 1926 he was
elected Probate Judge of St. Clair County. Since that time
he has had his office in Belleville, but still lives in Lebanon,
and has one of the most cozy and comfortable homes in the
town, presided over by his capable wife, who before her
marriage was Miss Ruth E. Case of Carlyle, Illinois. Her
parents, Mr. and Mrs. Edward Case, were for many years
well-known citizens of Clinton County, but late in life,
moved to Texas in order to spend their declining years in a
more congenial climate. Mrs. Chamberlin graduated from
McKendree in 1898 receiving the degree of A. B. She was
a member of Clio and occasionally assists the more recent
Clios in their various social enterprises. Judge and Mrs.
Chamberlin are both members of the Methodist Church, and
she is an active worker in the various organizations connected
with It, such as the Ladies' Aid and the Woman's Foreign
Missionary Society. She is also a Charter member of the
Woman's Club of Lebanon. The Chamberlin's have three
daughters. They are, Mrs. Ruth Mautz of Effingham, Illinois,
Mrs. Virginia Pfeffer of Lebanon, and Mary who still lives
with her parents and is a student in the high school. Judge
Chamberlin is a member of several fraternal orders, such as
theMasons, Knights of Pythias, Modern Woodmen, and the
Three Hundred and Th
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^S:£>
Improved Order of Red Men. In the last n.imed order he
has held the office of Great Sachem of Illinois.
WILLIAM O- EDW.ARDS
William Ozro Edwards was horn February 28, i86q, at
Pmckneyville, Illinois. His parents, Mortimer C. and Har-
riet M. Edwards, were both native Americans. He entered
McKendree in September, i888, and completed both the
Classical Course and the Law Course in 1893. At that time
he received the two degrees of A. B. and LL. B. In 1898 he
received the degree of A. M. from McKendree. He was a
member of the Philosophian Literary Society. He taught
school m his own county for a time after his graduation,
and then began the practice of law m Pmckneyville, the
County Seat of Perry County, m which occupation he is
still engaged. He is a member and an active worker in the
Methodist Episcopal Church. He has served the church as
teacher and Superintendent of the Sunday School, as record'
ing steward of the church since 1903, as trustee, as district
president of the Epworth League, as president of the County
Sunday School Association, and as secretary of the Laymen's
Association of the Southern Illinois Conference. He is also
a member of the Masonic Fraternity. He was married in
June, 1899, to Miss Etta L. Root, of Lebanon, who was
his classmate in McKendree. They have two children —
Margaret Corinne and Gilbert Harold
MRS^ THERESA JEPSON HARDING
Nina Theresa Jepson was born in Roscoe, Illinois, July
21, 1873. She is a daughter of Professor Albert G. and Nina
E. (Ormiston) Jepson, who were both natives of New York
State. Her father was for ten years Professor of Mathematics
in McKendree College. She entered college in September,
1888, and graduated in June, 1893, receiving the degree of
A. B., and m 1896, that of A. M. She was a member of the
Clionian Literary Society. She was married March 8, 1898,
to Robert H. Harding, also a graduate of McKendree. They
have three children — Harold W., Nina Ruth, and Robert J.
She is a member of the Methodist Church, the Ladies' Lit-
erary Club, and the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society.
She was twice elected president of the Literary Club, and
three times secretary. She is now serving her second term
as District Secretary of the W. F. M. S. Since her marriage,
her home has been in East St. Louis, Illinois. Her daughter,
Nina Ruth, died m 1925 while a student m the University
of Illinois.
SUSIE M. PEACH
Susie Mae Peach, B. S. Biography appears with her hus-
band's in the class of 1892.
ORLEY E. LAIRD
Orley Egbert Laird was born at Mt. Vernon, Illinois, July
21, 1868. His parents were Samuel and Charity C. (Leonard)
Laird. They were both of Scotch-Irish descent, but their
ancestors came to America before the French and Indian
War. After preliminary training at another institution, he
entered McKendree m September, 1891, and graduated in
1893 with the degree of A, B. After pursuing post-graduate
studies, he received the degree of A. M. m 1894. He was a
member of the Philosophian Literary Society. After his grad-
uation he joined the Southern Illinois Conference and served
pastoral charges for several years, but afterward decided to
make the law his life work. He practiced law for some years
at Mt. Vernon and then moved to Springfield, lUinois, where
he engaged in abstracting as well as in the general practice of
law. He was also lecturer on Abstracts in the Lincoln College
of Law, in Springfield.
About 191 5 he moved to Lebanon, where he lived until
his son, Samuel Niles, had finished college in 1920. He then
entered the ministry of the M. E. Church, South, and served
pastorates at Cairo and Centralia. After that he transferred
to California and is now pastor at Isleton.
Mr. Laird was married February 3, 1897, to Miss Mary
L Niles, of Henderson, Kentucky. Of their children, only
two are now living — Samuel Niles and Orley Egbert, Jr.
PROF. J. R. MILLER
James Russell Miller, son of Dr. Lloyd T. and Margaret
(Blake) Miller, was born near Caseyville, November 3, 1870.
He entered McKendree and became a member of the Philo-
sophian Literary Society in 1885. He eventually received the
following degrees from the institution: B. S. in 1891, A. B.
in 1893, and A. M. in 1896. After some experience teaching
m the public schools, he taught English in McKendree duf
ing the two years 1895-97. At this time he realized that a
more active occupation would probably improve his health,
so he sought work of this kind. He became one of the or-
ganizers of the Rinard Grain and Lumber Company, of
Rinard, lUinois. He was also at this time a member of the
Chaney Mercantile Company, and with H. C. Chaffin, a
manager of the John Kindle Farm, one of the finest four-
hundred-acre tracts in Wayne County. He then purchased,
improved, and personally managed a fruit and poultry farm
near Collinsville, where for ten years he lived chiefly the
outdoor life and thus built up his health to a point of efficiency
that enabled him to again engage in school work. For a time
he was one of the proprietors and a regular instructor in the
Summers' Commercial College, of Collinsville. In 1912 he
Three Hundred and ThxrtySev
ffMC KENDREE"^^^^^:^^^...^^..^^
PROF J. R. MILLER
accepted a position as teacher
of English, Economics, and
Commercial Law intheCollins-
ville Township High School,
which he still holds.
He was married in igo2 to
Clara Elizabeth Hearn, of Balti-
more, Maryland, who, prior to
her marriage, was a teacher in
the schools of Baltimore. Their
two children are Margaret,
now a teacher in the East St.
Louis schools, and Lloyd, a
student in Washington Uni-
versity. In 1912, Mrs. Miller, while on a visit to her old
home in Baltimore, contracted an illness from which she did
not recover. In 1920, Mr. Miller was married to Miss Marie
Lloyd, of Collinsville, a former teacher in the schools of St.
Clair County.
Since his college days, Mr. Miller has been a member of
the Methodist Church, and for years was active in Sunday
School work. He was for some time president of the St. Clair
County Sunday School Association, and developed that or-
ganization to a higher point of efficiency than it had pre-
viously attained.
He has travelled extensively in the middle west, has vis-
ited Canada and lived in the East for more than a year.
He has always been interested in good books, works of
art, and whatever tends to the uplift of his fellow-men.
MRS. ETTA ROOT EDWARDS
Luella Root was born November 7, 1867, at Bone
Etta
Gap, Illinois. She is a daughter of Rev. Edmund and Mary
A. (Rhoads) Root, who were both native Americans. She
became a student in McKendree in 1888 and graduated in
the Classical Course in 1893, receiving the degree of A. B.
She was a member of the Clionian Society and was an active
worker in that organization. She taught school for several
years after her graduation, one year as instructor in English in
McKendree. She was married in June, 1899, to ^- O. Ed-
wards, of Pinckneyville, who graduated in the same class
with her at McKendree They have two children — Margaret
Corinne and Gilbert Harold. In addition to her home duties,
Mrs. Edwards has found time for much active service m
various lines of work for the cause of humanity. She has
been an active worker in the Methodist Church since early
youth. Her father was a minister of the gospel in that de-
nomination, and she has served the Sunday School and Ep-
worth League in various capacities as the years have passed
by. In 1908 she was a lay delegate from the Southern Illinois
Conference to the General Conference, which convened at
Baltimore, Maryland. In temperance work she has been
equally prominent. She was recording secretary of the
lUinois State W. C. T. U. from 1907 to 1912, and is now
vice-president of that body. She won the first Matron's
Grand Diamond Medal ever presented by the W. C. T. U.
She also belongs to both the Woman's Foreign Missionary
Society and the Woman's Home Missionary Society of the
Methodist Church.
MRS. MARGUERITE STEELE DOTY
Marguerite Steele was born in Jasper County, Illinois,
where she spent the years of her youth. In 1890 her mother,
then a widow, moved to Lebanon in order that it might be
more convenient for her daughter and her two sons, Robert
and William, to attend college. Maggie first became a student
in McKendree in September, 1890, and graduated in the class
of 189 J, receiving the degree of B. S. She was a member of the
Clionian Literary Society. After teaching school one year,
she was married to Mr. S. O. Doty, who was also a student
at McKendree for several terms. They made their home in
the state of Arkansas, where Mrs. Doty died in 1902, leaving
her husband and four children. She was a member of the
Methodist Church.
OTTO C. PFENNIGHAUSEN
Otto Charles Pfennighausen was born in St. Louis Coun-
ty, Missouri, October 11, 1869. He is the youngest son of
Captain Reinhold von Pfennighausen and Louise Gallen,
who were both natives of Germany, and came to America
in 1848. Otto was trained in the elementary schools of St.
Louis and entered McKendree in 1887, and became a mem-
ber of the Philosophian Society. In 1889 he began teaching
in the Lebanon schools, but returned to his college course
and graduated in 1893, receiving the degree of B. S., and
M. S. in 1896. His teaching career in Lebanon, Lenzburg,
and Belleville covered a period of twenty-three years. After
Three Hundred and TlurtyEtght
that he went to Maplewood, Missouri ,ind estabhshed the
Pfennighausen Realty and Construction Company, at which
he is president and manager.
June 24, 1896 he was married to Miss Sara Evelyn Jones,
eldest daughter of Alfred C. and Cornelia (Houser) Jones,
of O'Fallon. He and Miss Jones were fellow-students at
McKendree. They have five daughters and three sons. The
eldest daughter is Mrs. Cornelia Phinney, of Kansas City.
George, the oldest son, is married and lives in Webster
Groves. Louise and Ida are employed in St. Louis, Belle is
a Junior in McKendree, while Alfred, Emma, and Blair are
still under the home roof. Mr. Pfennighausen belongs to the
Masonic Order, and his whole family are Methodists. He
can trace his ancestry through five generations of soldiers,
yet he prefers to fight for the Prince of Peace.
HON. FRED J. TECKLENBURG
Fred J. Tecklenburg was born in St. Clair County, Illinois,
June 6, 1869. His parents, Henry and Johanna (Bader) Teck-
lenburg, were both natives of Germany. He entered the Law
Department of McKendree m the fall of 189 1 and graduated
in the class of 1893, receiving the degree of LL. B. He was
a member of the Philosophian Literary Society. He began the
practice of law m Belleville in 1894 and is still engaged in
the same business. In 1897 he was elected City Attorney
of Belleville and held that office for six years. In 1904 he was
elected State's Attorney of St. Clair County on the Repub-
lican ticket. In 1908 he was re-elected and thus held this
important office for eight years. While in this office the esteem
in which he was held by his brother attorneys was evidenced
by the fact that he was elected president of the Illinois
State's Attorneys' Association at a meeting of that body
held in Chicago. He is a thirty-second degree Mason, a
Knight Templar, and a Shriner.
MRS^ MAUD WATTS BURT
Maud Anna Watts was born in Lawrence County, Illi-
nois, July 28, 1868. She is the eldest daughter of David A.
Watts, a native of Illinois, and Mary A. (Greer) Watts, who
was born in Ohio. The father was of Scotch descent and the
mother of Irish ancestry. Mr. Watts was for a number of
years a trustee of McKendree, and held that post at the time
of his death. Maude became a student in McKendree in 1889
and graduated in the class of 1893, receiving the degree of
B. S. In 1897 she received the degree of M. S. She was a mem-
ber of the Clionian Literary Society. She taught school for a
time in Lawrence County and m August, 1894, was married
to W. C. Burt, who was then engaged in teaching but is now
employed in newspaper work. Both Mrs. Burt and her hus-
band are active members of the Methodist Church. They
lived for some years in the state of Alabama, but now reside
in AsheviUe, N. C.
REV. FRANCIS M. VAN TREESE, D. D.
Rev. Francis Marion Van Treese, D. D., a veteran of the
Civil War and of the Gospel Ministry, was born January 29,
1844, in Hendricks County, Indiana, and died at the home of
his son, in California, in October, 1927. His funeral was held
in the Methodist Church of Lebanon and his remains laid to
rest in College Hill Cemetery beside the grave of his wife,
who had preceded him to the better world by less than a year.
His early educational opportunities were limited, but he
made the best use of what advantages he had and formed
careful habits of study, which served him well m later life.
At the opening of the Civil War, he enlisted in the Fifth Illi-
nois Cavalry Regiment and served full four years. For two
years after the war he was engaged in business at Willow
Hill, Illinois, and then entered the ministry and joined the
Southern Illinois Conference. He served continuously in the
field of Southern Illinois until 1922, when he took the retired
relation and lived through the few years of his retirement in
East St. Louis. He served two terms as District Superintend-
ent; six years each on the Vandalia and Alton Districts. In
1915 he was appointed Executive Secretary of the Conference
Endowment Fund. In this work he raised $125,000 of per-
manent endowment for the retired preachers' fund. He was a
great friend of Education and served for nearly forty years as
a member of the Joint Board of McKendree College. In 1893
the College bestowed upon him the degree of D. D.
He was married September 20, 1868, to Miss Avis Cheek,
who was his faithful helpmeet until her death November 3,
1926. They had six sons and one daughter, all now living
except Harry, who died about twenty years ago at Douglas,
Arizona. The daughter is Mrs. Blanche McMackin, of Chau-
tauqua, Illinois, and the sons are; William O., of Redondo
Beach, California; George, of Chicago; Melville, of Los An-
geles; Marion, of San Francisco; and Charles, of Robinson,
Illinois. Four of these — William, Blanche, Harry, and Marion
were all some-time students in McKendree, though none of
them graduated. Dr. Van Treese, at different times during
his long ministry, served some of the leading churches of the
conference, and was always regarded as a leader among the
preachers. He had attractive offers from churches in other
conferences, but preferred to devote his life to the service of
the church in Southern Illinois. After the death of Mrs. Van
Treese, he set his house in order by closing up his business
affairs and giving his library to McKendree College, with
instructions to distribute it among the ministerial students
in the institution; and then he went to California. He spent
the last few months of his life enjoying the climate and scen-
ery of California, and visiting in the families of his three sons
who live in that state.
Three Hundred and ThntyK"
CHAPTER XXVIII.
President Barr's Administration
(D
ORRIS Lincoln Barr was born on a
farm near Monmouth, Warren
County, Illinois. He was educated
in the country schools, the Preparatory De-
partment of Monmouth College, and Ohio
Wesleyan University, from which he was
graduated in the class of 1890, receiving the
degree of A. B. For one year he was prin-
cipal of the high school in Dixie, Kentucky.
In 1891 he was elected Professor of Greek
and German in McKendree. At the end of
two years of successful work he decided to
leave McKendree to enter some university
for the purpose of earning a doctor's degree.
But this plan was not immediately carried
out. Instead, he sUud another year as president of the
college.
Professor Barr became President of McKendree in 1893
under very unusual circumstances. He did not ask for the
place, but through the influence of his student friends, it
was offered to him. He was under thirty years of age and
was probably at that time the youngest college president in
America. William A. Quayle had formerly held that distinc-
tion, having been president of Baker University at the age
of twenty-nine. But he soon passed on to wider fields. Pro-
fessor Barr had come to his place on a wave of popularity
and therefore much was expected of him. That made his
position unusually hard to fill. He immediately took the field
to make a canvass for new students. He spoke at the Epworth
League conventions and visited some of the more prominent
churches, as well as the less prominent ones whenever he
or his friends thought there was a chance to get students.
He spent the most of his vacation in this way and made a
faithful effort to increase the attendance at McKendree.
But when September came, the college opened with about
the usual number of students. At the end of the year, the
total enrollment in all departments was two hundred and
eight, which was a gain of six over the previous year. The
gain was in the Preparatory Department, but it was so
slight that it did not indicate that the young people were
flocking to McKendree in any considerable number because
there was a young man at the head of the institution. Of
course there was much disappointment in cert.nn circles,
probably more than was ever expressed by any of the friends
PRESIDENT BARR
of the institution, for even those who were
disappointed were ready to admit that Presi-
dent Barr had done his best and that it was
not his fault that the student body had not
made a great increase. The year's work was
ordinarily successful, but as usual the most
of the enthusiasm of commencement week
which carried him into a diflicult situation
had vanished into thin air before college
opened in the fall, but of course it left him
in that situation. He made the best of it,
worked hard, and accomplished results as
great as his employers had a right to expect.
The debt that was hanging like a pall over
the institution was neither increased nor
diminished during the year. The Board was careful to
see that it did not increase by strictly observing the resolu'
tion mentioned above in regard to the salaries of the faculty.
And President Barr did not feel well enough acquainted
with the constituency to undertake to raise money, even if
his talent had lain in that direction. However, one important
improvement was made in the physical equipment of the
institution during his one year in charge. The old study hall
was divided up into three rooms and devoted to the uses of
the Science Department. A laboratory and two lecture rooms
was more than the department had ever had before, and
additional equipment for the laboratory was also secured.
The credit for this advance belongs to President Barr and
Professor Waggoner. They both devoted much of their va-
cation in the summer of 189J to this important expansion of
the Science Department, which in later years led to still
greater expansion of that department. Of course that ended
the plan of holding chapel services in the old study hall.
From that time on they were held in the chapel. It was not
many years later that a steam heat plant was installed and
that made the chapel habitable even in cold weather.
Another good thing President Barr did for McKendree was
to secure the services of Professor Edwin P. Baker to take
charge of the Latin and German work in the fall of 189J.
He has been in charge of the German Department ever since
that time, except one year that he spent in Germany per-
fecting his knowledge of the German language. At the end
of the year President B.irr felt that he should not delay his
graduate work any longer, and therefore decided to leave
Three Hundred arui FoHy
MC KENDREE
McKendree, and by several years of thorough university
training, make further preparation for his educational career.
Accordingly he entered Johns Hopkins University. But be-
fore completing the work leading to the doctor's degree, he
accepted a position as professor of English in the high school
at Newark, New Jersey. In this city he has given over thirty
years to the cause of education, and is still in the service.
At present he is Head Assistant of the Barringer High
School in Newark, which was the third pubhc high school
to be opened in the United States; and also Principal of
the Barringer Evening High School, a fully accredited sec-
ondary school.
The year that President Barr was McKendree's chief
officer. Miss Olive E. Harrison was in charge of the De-
partment of Instrumental Music. She afterward became Mrs.
Morris L. Barr.
Mrs. Kate G. Broaddus was the vocal teacher, as she
had been for several years before. She taught voice in St.
Louis for some years before she came to McKendree, but
afterward moved to Lebanon with her family. One of her
sons became a Captain in the Salvation Army.
Since Professor Baker first came into the faculty at this
time, we give a sketch of him here.
DEAN EDWIN P. BAKER, LL. D.
Edwin Percy Baker was born at Mechanicsville, Ohio,
October ij, 1868. His parents were Rev. Edwin S. and
Maria Anne (Norton) Baker, who were both native Amer-
icans. His father was a member of the East Ohio Conference
of the Methodist Church and served continuously for twen-
ty-seven years in the pastorate until his retirement in 1902.
His death occurred only two years later, in 1904. Edwin
attended the public schools in the various communities where
he lived, the Preparatory School at Austinburg, the Canfield
Normal College, and Ohio Wesleyan University, where he
was graduated in 1893 with the degree of A. B. In the fol-
lowing September he became a member of the faculty at
McKendree as Professor of Latin and German. In the summer
of 1896 he attended the Amherst College School of Lan-
guages, and in the autumn he went to Europe for a year of
travel and study. He spent the year chiefly in Berlin, where
he was perfecting his knowledge of the German Language.
He also visited Rome and other important cities. The fol-
lowing year he resumed his work in McKendree with Ger-
man as his principal subject of instruction, and in this de-
partment his work has been continuous to the present time.
After his year in Europe, McKendree conferred upon him
the degree of A. M., and in the Centennial year that of
LL. D. In addition to his teaching, he served many years
as secretary of the faculty. In 1917 during Dr. Hurt's admin-
istration. Professor Baker was made Dean and Acting Pres-
ident of the college, which position he held for two years.
During the first of these. Dr. Hurt was Nominal President,
but was not present at the institution. He has continued
in the office of Dean under the presidency of Dr. McCam-
mon, and later under Dr. Harmon, to the present time.
Dean Baker was married in December, 1897, to Miss
Mary S. King, of Canfield, Ohio. She was his efficient help-
meet and cheerful homemaker for the remainder of her life,
which closed with her untimely death in June, 1919. She
was educated in the Normal College, at Canfield. In Leb-
anon she was an active worker in the Methodist Church
and the various organizations connected with it. She left
one son, Lee Robert, who is now a Junior in McKendree.
Dean Baker's mother, after the death of her husband, made
her home with her son for a period of more than twenty
years, until her death in December, 1927. Dean Baker has
always shown a commendable public spirit, and is ever ready
to lend his assistance to any community enterprise that is of
the useful sort. He has been a member of the official Board
of the Methodist Church for more than a quarter of a
century. He served a term in the City Council and is a
prominent member of the Masonic Fraternity.
THE CLASS OF 1,S94
REV. WILLIAM C. BABCOCK
William C. Babcock was born July 11, i860, at Cape
May, New Jersey. He was educated in the public schools
and Pennington Seminary, which prepared him for entrance
to Princeton. At the age of eighteen, he held teacher's
licenses in three counties. Later he became the author of
two text-books for secondary schools. He received the degree
of A. B. in 1882, and several years later enrolled for post-
graduate work in McKendree, receiving the degree of A. M.
in 1893 and Ph. D. m 1894. He also took a course in the
study of law but has spent his professional life in the work
of the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He
became a member of the church at twelve years of age and
joined the Baltimore Conference in 1886. He was married
June II, 1889, and has two sons — Homer Eugene and Paul
Milton. He is a member of the order of A. F. &? A. M. and
of the Knights of Pythias. Besides his regular work in the
ministry he has attended special lectures at Johns Hopkins
University, and has done tutoring work in preparing stu-
Hundred and FortyOne
MC KENDREE
dents for entrance to Johns Hopkins, Goucher, Allegheny,
Cornell, and University of Virginia. He has been a Ufelong
total abstainer and an active worker in the cause of Pro-
hibition.
PROF. GEORGE V. BUCHANAN
George Victor Buchanan was born February 4, 1859, near
Bellmont, Wabash County, Illinois. His parents were Hiram
B. and Helen (Blood) Buchanan. He graduated from the
Southern Illinois Normal University while Dr. AUyn was
president. Some years later, after completing a non-residence
course in History and Philosophy, McKendree conferred
upon him the degree of A. M. in 1894. At that time he was
Superintendent of Schools at Sedalia, Missouri. After fifteen
years in this position, he occupied a similar one at Joplin,
Mo. for five years, and was then elected Superintendent of
Schools of Oklahoma City, Okla. He is a member of the
Methodist Church, a Knight Templar, a Master Mason,
and Scottish Rite Mason; he is also an Elk. He is a
charter member of the National Society for the Scientific
Study of Education, an active member of the Na-
tional Educational Society, and the National Superinten-
dents' Association. He was married in December, 1887,
to Miss Hattie Starr, daughter of Judge C. R. Starr, of
Kankakee, Illinois. They have two sons and five daughters.
LEMUEL L. CRAMP
Lemuel L. Cramp, son of Rev. Lemuel and Susanna (Reed)
Cramp, was bom at Mason, Illinois, September 29, 1867.
He entered McKendree in 1888, and after attending at inter-
vals as circumstances permitted, he graduated in 1894, re-
ceiving the degree of LL. B. He was a member of the Philo-
sophian Literary Society. After having studied law, he did
not find the practice of it a congenial occupation. He was
engaged for some years in mercantile pursuits, but for several
years past has been engaged in teaching in the west. He is
married and now lives in Colorado.
GEORGE E. CROSBY
George Edward Crosby was born near O'Fallon, Illinois,
July 18, 1869. He is the son of George T. and Hannah Crosby,
who formerly conducted a nursery farm between O'Fallon
and Lebanon. After attending the public schools, he entered
McKendree and completed the Scientific Course in June,
1894, receiving the degree of B. S. He was a member of the
Philosophian Society. Since his graduation, he has been for
a great portion of the time in the employ of the International
Coal and Mining Company. He was married November 9,
1907, to Miss Meta Ochs. They reside in O'F.iUon.
REV. JOHN W. CUMMINS, D. D.
John Wesley Cummins was bom on a farm in Johnson
County, Illinois, September i, 1866. He is a son of Daniel
Thomas and Elizabeth Cummins. His father's people came
from Wales to Virginia in an early day, and from there
emigrated by way of Kentucky to Illinois. His mother's
people came from England. As a boy, he attended the public
schools. As a youth, before entering college, he began to
exercise his gifts as a preacher. In fact, it seems to be a
family characteristic. Five of his mother's sons are ministers
of the gospel. He entered McKendree in 1888. After com-
pleting the Academic and College Courses, he graduated in
1894 with the degree of B. S. He was a member of the Pk'
tonian Literary Society. He was married November 10, 1891,
to Miss Katie Key, of Mayfield, Kentucky. Their two daugh-
ters have already passed on to the better world. Their three
sons are Wendall, Wallace, and John. Mr. Cummins joined
the Southern Illinois Conference in 189J. He had already
served several charges before his graduation, among them
Grayville and Enfield. After finishing his college course, he
served the following important charges in the order named:
McLeansboro, Olney, Mt. Carmel, and East St. Louis. He
is now in the ninth year of a successful pastorate at Marion.
In both Mt. Carmel and East St. Louis, he has entertained
sessions of the Annual Conference. He is a member of the
Masonic Fraternity. In 1910 his Alma Mater conferred upon
him the degree of Doctor of Divinity. Dr. Cummins is in
demand as a baccaleaureate preacher, Chautauqua lecturer,
and other similar lines of service. He has been for many
years Chairman of the Board of Examiners of the Southern
Illinois Conference, and Dean of the Conference School of
Theology, which meets at McKendree each summer.
WILLIAM R. DORRIS
William Robert Dorris was born at Greencastle, Missouri.
He IS a son of August and Elizabeth Dorris, the former being
a native of Bremen, Germany, and the latter of Tennessee.
He entered McKendree in 1888 and graduated in the class
of 1894, receiving the degree of B. S. He was a member of
the Platonian Literary Society. He was married December
28, 1899, to Miss Alice Louden, of Lebanon, who was also
a student in McKendree for some years. Their only son
died in infancy. Mr. Dorris taught in the rural schools of
St. Clair County from the time of his graduation till 1898.
He was principal of the Okawville Schools for one year; and
then became principal of the O'Fallon Schools, which posi-
tion he held till 1903,, when he became cashier of the First
National Bank of O'Fallon, where he is still employed. He
Three Hutidred and FiyrtyTwo
was for some years a member of the O'Fallon Board of Edu-
cation, and has been president of that body. He has for
many years been secretary of the O'Fallon Building and Loan
Association; and has been president of the O'Fallon Com-
mercial Club. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal
Church. He belongs to the A. F. 6? A. M., the R. A. M.,
and the I. O. O. F. lodges. He and Mrs. Dorris spent a
summer touring Europe a few years ago.
JUDGE LEANDER O. EAGLETON
Leander Oscar Eagleton was born February 22, 1868. He
is a son of William and Sarah Eagleton, both native Amer-
icans. His father is of Scotch descent, and his mother's
ancestors were Hollanders. He became a student in McKen-
dree in 1890, and graduated in 1894, with the degree of
B. S. He was a member of the Platonian Literary Society.
In 1897 he graduated from the Law School of the North-
western University, receiving the degree of LL. B. Mr.
Eagleton was principal of the public schools at Enfield one
year, but entered upon the practice of law in 1897, in the
city of Peoria, which has been his business ever since. He
was elected to the office of Supervisor in 1900, and Probate
Judge in 1906. Judge Eagleton is now associated with Con-
gressman Stone in the practice of law. He is a member of
the Arcadia Presbyterian Church, the Masonic Order,
K. of P., D. O. O. K., M. W. A., Court of Honor, Mystic
Workers, L O. O. F., Creve Coeur Club, and Peoria Bar
Association. He was married to Miss Minnie Pierce, who
graduated from McKendree in the same class with him, June
14, 1894, just a few days after they had received their
diplomas. They have four sons — Benjamin, William, Lee,
and Clifford.
REV. ELLIS F. FOWLER, D. D.
Ellis Frankhn Fowler was born in Newark, New Jersey.
In addition to his general education, he received technical
training in civil engineering and followed that line of work
for a time. He also served as instructor in telegraphy and
has held positions as mechanical engineer and locomotive
engineer. Later he became a minister of the gospel, which
profession he has followed for the past thirty years. He has
been a member of the Newark Conference of the Methodist
Episcopal Church for the last twenty-five years. He received
the degree of Ph. B. from McKendree in 1894. He also
received from other institutions the degrees of Ph. D. and
D. D. He was married November 12, 1879, to Miss Sarah
D. Nichols. They have two sons, Elwood F. and Albert
K. Dr. Fowler is a thirty-second degree Mason and a member
of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
HARRY F. GADEKY
Harry F. Gadeky was born at Trenton, Illinois. His par-
ents were Louis and Alice Gadeky. He entered the Law
Department of McKendree in 1892 and graduated in the
class of 1894. receiving the degree of LL. B. He was a member
of the Platonian Literary Society. He was married January
I, 1907, and has one daughter, Margaret, who was born
April 6, 1909. After his graduation he was engaged for some
time in mercantile business; was several years editor of the
"Lebanon Leader." After that he went to CaUfornia and
engaged in the real estate business. For a number of years
he has been located in Los Angeles. He is a member of
B. P. O. E., and the "Loyal Order of the Moose."
FREDERIC B. HARDING
Frederic Benjamin Harding was born at Belleville, Illinois.
His parents, William and Elizabeth Harding, were of English
nationality. They were residents of Lebanon when Fred
entered McKendree College in the fall of 1889. He graduated
in 1894, receiving the degree of B. S., and in 1897, M. S.
He was a member of the Philosophian Literary Society.
While still a student he took great interest in civic reforms
and in 1890 was a candidate for Congress on the Prohibition
ticket. He took a law course in Washington University and
received the degree of LL. B. from that institution. He
practiced law for some years in East St. Louis, and was
a member of the firm of Harding Brothers, real estate dealers
in that city. He was married in 1900 to Miss Mary E. Gohn.
They have one daughter, Marion E. Harding. He died in
E. St. Louis in 1924.
WALTER C. HARDING
Walter Charles Harding was born in Belleville, lUinois,
January 14, 1873. He was a son of William and Elizabeth
Harding, who were natives of England. He entered McKeO'
dree in 1889 and graduated in 1894, receiving the degree of
B. S. He was a member of the Philosophian Literary Society,
and was full back on the McKendree foot ball team. After
his graduation, he obtained a position as clerk in Danville,
Illinois, which he held until the summer of 1897, when he
was stricken with typhoid fever, which after a lingering
illness proved fatal. His funeral was held at the First M. E.
Church, Belleville, on Sunday, August 29, 1897. The inter-
ment was at Green Mount Cemetery.
ROBERT H. HARDING
Robert Henry Harding was born at Belleville, Illinois, Jan-
uary II, 1871 He is a son of William and Elizabeth Harding
who were natives of Tomsbury, England. He became a
student in McKendree in March 1889 and graduated in
Three Hundred and Forty-Three
June 1894, receiving the degree of A. B. In iSgi, on
completion of the law course he was granted the degree
of LL. B. and in 1897, A. M. He was a member of the
Philosophian Literary Society. He was married March 8, 1898
to Miss Nina Theresa Jepson of Lebanon, also a graduate of
McKendree in the class of 1893,. They have three children,
Harold W., Nina Ruth (deceased 1925), and Robert J. Mr.
Harding practiced law in East St. Louis from 1895 until 1902.
Since that time he has been engaged in the real estate business
as a member of the firm of Harding Brothers 6? Company.
He has been an active worker in the cause of prohibition. In
1902 he was a candidate for the office of Clerk of the Supreme
Court of Illinois, on the Prohibition ticket. From 1904 to
1908 he was a member of the State Central Committee of the
Prohibition Party. He is a member of the Methodist Episcc
pal Church.
JUDGE JOHN E. HILLSKOETTER
John E. Hillskoetter was born at East Framington, Polk
County, Wisconsin. His parents were natives of Germany.
He became a student in the Law School of McKendree
College in 1892 and after completing the course received
the degree of LL. B. in 1894. He was a member of the
Platonian Literary Society. He was admitted to the bar
and began the practice of law in Edwardsville, Illinois in
1894. He held the office of City Attorney of Edwardsville
for two terms. In 1902 he was elected County Judge of
Madison County and was re-elected in 1906 and 1910 by
large majorities. He has held the office of president of the
Association of County and Probate Judges of Illinois. He is
a member of the following lodges: Masons, Odd Fellows,
Red Men, Elks, and Knights of Pythias. He is a Republican
in politics; and a member of the Edwardsville Commercial
Club. He was married June 2j, 1903 to Miss Medora A.
Judd. Their home is in Edwardsville.
REV. GEORGE E. McCAMMON, D. D.
George Edward McCammon was born at Metropolis.
Illinois, March 18, 1867. He is a son of M. E. and Mary
E. McCammon who are both native Americans of Scotch'
Irish descent. He entered McKendree in the fall of 1891
and graduated in 1894 receiving the degree of A. B. In 1910
he received the honorary degree of D. D. He was a member
of the Platonian Literary Society. He has been for many
years a member of McKendree's Joint Board as a Con-
ference Visitor and in 1913 he was elected a Trustee of the
college. After his graduation he, having already been received
in full membership in the Southern Illinois Conference, was
appointed pastor at Mound City where he continued for five
years. He then spent a year at school in Garrett Biblical In-
stitute. Then beginning 1900, he served the following
charges: Du Quoin three years; Carbondale five years; East
St. Louis one year; and Mount Vernon four years. In 19 13,
he was appointed field secretary of the Wesley Foundation
to provide for the religious welfare of the Methodist students
at the University of Illinois. He was married to his present
wife September 20, 1901. They have five children. He was
elected president of McKendree in 1919. He will be further
mentioned in the account of his administration.
MRS. MINNIE PIERCE EAGLETON
Minnie Augusta Pierce was born at Mt. Vernon, Illinois,
November 9, 1870. By reason of having attended other
schools, she was able to take advanced standing when she
entered McKendree in 1892. and therefore graduated in
1894 with the degree of B. S. She was a member of the
Clionian Literary Society. A few days after graduation, she
wa= married to her classmate, L. O. Eagleton, June 14, 1894.
PROF. ERWIN H. RUNKWITZ
PROF, and MRS. RUNKWITZ
Erwin Herman Runkwitz was born on a farm near Leb-
anon, where he now lives, February 16, 1872. He is the
son of Herman Runkwitz, who died in 1897 and Aurelia
Budina who lives in California. Mr. Runkwitz attended
the country schools when a boy and then the Carbondale
Normal for a time, after which he was a student in
McKendree for several years, and a member of the Philo
Society. He graduated in the class of 1894, receiving the de-
gree of B. S. Three years later he received the degree of Mas-
ter of Science from McKendree. Since 1895, Mr. Runkwitz
has spent his life in educational work in the vicinity of his
own home. For as much as a quarter of a century he has
taught in the schools of O'Fallon, though for a while he
taught in Lebanon. At present he is a member of the faculty
Three Hundred diid Fortv-Fom
in the O'Fallon Township High School. In his years of edu-
cational work, more than eight hundred pupils have come
under his instruction. During all these years he has also
supervised and managed his form which has been his pet'
manent residence. He is a lover of nature and has made a
number of interesting collections, such as birds" eggs, miner'
als, etc., scientifically classified.
Mrs. Runkwitz was formerly Caroline Reuss, a daughter
of Julius and Sophia (Engelman) Reuss, both of whom are
still living at the old Reuss homestead. Caroline was born
April 20, 1878, went through the public schools and attended
McKendree College. She was graduated from the Music
Department of McKendree in 1897, receiving the degree of
Bachelor of Music. She was married to Prof. Runkwitz, July
20, 1898. Their three children are Alice, Erwin Herman, Jr ,
and Julius. The first two are both graduates of McKendree
and the youngest has attended McKendree for one year.
PROF, ANDREW D. WARDE
Andrew Daniel Warde was born at Hartwick, New
York, January 20, 1864. He received his preliminary edu,
cation in his native state, receiving his bachelor's degree
in 1892. He did graduate work in McKendree, receiving
the degree of M. S. in 1894 and some time later. Ph. D.
He married Mary Ida Amos of Chicago. They have one
son. Professor Warde has devoted his life to educational
work, having taught for twelve years in his native state,
several years in Scio College, and in recent years in Buena
Vista College at Storm Lake, Iowa. He is a member of the
Episcopal Church.
REV. FLETCHER L. WEST, Ph. D.
Fletcher Lummis West was born in the State of New
Jersey m the year 1861. He is one of the four sons of John
and Rebecca M. (Read) West, who were both both Ameri-
cans. He took a teachers' course in a New Jersey State
Normal School and spent some years in teaching.
In the early eighties, he came to Illinois. In 1884, he joined
the Southern Illinois Conference. It was after he had preach-
ed several years that he took his courses at McKendree. He
received the degree of B. S. in 1893 and later the degree of
M. S. and Ph. D. He was for many years a member of Mc,
Kendree's Joint Board of Trustees and Visitors, and served
long as secretary of that body. He was an honorary member
of both the Philosophian and Platonian Literary Societies,
having been elected while he was pastor of the Lebanon M.
E. Church. Other important pastorates were East St. Louis,
Centralia, and Mt. Carmel. At the last named place he se-
cured the erection of one of the best church buildings m the
conference. He was also secretary of the Southern Illinois
Conference. While still holding this position he was trans-
ferred in 190 1 to the Newark Conference. He entered the
retired relation in 1927. He was married in 188s: to Miss
Laura J. Howell. Their only son died in early childhood.
REV. DR. CHARLES W. WYNANT
Charles Wesley Wynant was born at Urbana, Ohio,
October 2, 1862. He was the son of Rev. John Wesley
and Hannah Wynant. He received his college education
principally at Denison University, Granville, Ohio, a Bap-
tist Institution. But the last year of his college course was
taken at McKendree and he received the degree of B. S. in
1894. He was converted and joined the Baptist Church at
the age of eighteen; but when he was twenty-three, became
a member of the Methodist church, and after teaching several
years he entered the ministry. He was a member of the
Southern Illinois Conference six years. In May 1899, ^^ was
transferred to the Northwest Kansas Conference and gave
the remaining ten years of his life to the service of God and
the church in that field. He was appointed by Bishop Joyce,
presiding elder of the Concordia District. He was m his
fourth year on the district when death ended his labors while
at Ocean Grove, N. J., where he had gone as a member of
the committee on the Ecumenical Conference, July 24, 1909.
MRS. CLARA ZERWECK MASON
Clara Lee Zerweck was born at Lebanon, Illinois, Feb-
ruary J, 1874. She is the eldest daughter of Louis and Mary
E. (Thomas) Zerweck, who are both native Americans. Her
father was born in Cleveland, Ohio. After passing through
the pubUc schools of Lebanon she entered McKendree
in 1889. She graduated m 1894, receiving the degree of
B. S. She was a member of the Clionian Literary Society.
She taught music for some years, and in January, 1909,
she was married to Mr. L. W. Mason of Mayfield, Ken-
tucky. They have one son. Lew Wallace Mason, Jr.
Mrs. Mason is a member of the Presbyterian church and
the Rebekah Lodge of the I. O. O. F. Mrs. Mason has been
for a number of years a teacher m the Lebanon Public Schools.
Her son is a pupil in the high school.
The members of Dean Edwards evening classes in East St.
Louis, which at that time constituted a regular division of
the Law Department, were members of the graduating class
of 1894 and all received the degree of LL. B. They all resided
in East St. Louis at that time. Their names were as follows:
J. Leon Benwell; Jesse W. Blythe; William Bott; Charles T.
Gibson; William K. Hays; Andrew E. Henderson; Anthony
A. Hunt; W. Fish McGinnitie; Thomas C. McHale; Mau-
rice F. Tissier; Daniel G. Wuersch.
Three Hundred and FortyFn
CHAPTER XXIX.
President Chamher]ins Administration
>HE Board met in June, 1894, with
serious problems before it. The presi-
dent had resigned; there had been
nothing paid on the debt: and the first mort-
gage note, held by Mrs. Rebecca Forman of
O'Fallon, was due July 19. She had already
notified them that there would be no further
extension of time, and that unless it was paid
she would institute foreclosure proceedings.
There was no candidate for the presidency.
There seemed to be no one wanting a posi-
tion so full of difficulty. The old college was
like a ship on the rocks, with the tide re-
ceding and the pilot gone. After much delib-
eration, the Board elected Dr. Thomas A. Parker as presi-
dent. He was a McKendree graduate of superior ability and
ripe experience, who had already achieved things worth while.
He had attained high distinction as a preacher, and in the
educational field had held the office of Superintendent of Public
Instruction in the state of Missouri. He was elected without
his knowledge and immediately informed of the action of
the Board. He came and looked over the ground and con-
sidered the situation carefully and decided not to accept
either the honor or the responsibility. This of course
was after the Board had adjourned. The Executive Commit'
tee immediately assembled to consider what must be done-
They decided that the man for this difficult place was the
Hon. McKendree H. Chamberlin. He had never been engaged
in educational work, but the committee thought that under
the circumstances the best man for the place was one that
could raise the money to pay the debt. When first approached
on the subject, Mr. Chamberlin refused to consider it. But
Mr. Alexander W. Morriss, the only man of means on the
committee, declared that he would not stand for another
dollar unless "Mac would take hold and pull the old college
out of the mire" So he agreed to think it over. After center'
ing his thought on the matter for a few days he began to see
in it a Providential call. He had a very close natural connec
tion with the college. His father. Rev. David Chamberlin,
was one of the subscribers to the original fund for the found-
ing of the institution in 1828. He had been for a time a
Methodist itinerant, and later he was a local preacher and
lived in Lebanon. In the late thirties, when Dr. Merrill was
president, David Chamberlin was in charge of the boarding
DR. M. H. CHAMBERLIN
department of the college and with his family
lived m the original college building. It was
at this time that his youngest son was born.
November 17, i8j8. He was named McKen-
dree Hypes Chamberlin. Thus it came about
that he was born in the college, and named
after Bishop McKendree and Uncle Ben Hypes.
He grew up in the college atmosphere, en-
tered the preparatory department as early as
the rules would permit, and was graduated
m 1859 with the A. B. degree and the first
honors of his class. He then went to the
Harvard Law School, completed the course,
and received the degree of Bachelor of Laws.
In later years he received the honorary degree of LL. D. from
Grant University at Chattanooga, Tennessee, and in 1906
the same degree from the University of Illinois. He was mar-
ried to Miss Helen L. Dana at Kansas City, June 8, 1869.
Their only son is Cliffiard Dana Chamberlin, who grad-
uated from McKendree in 1898. He practiced law in
Kansas City for some time and later in Beardstown,
Illinois. In 1872 he was a Republican candidate for
Congress in the Springfield district which had been over-
whelmingly Democratic. He was defeated by a very small
majority. He tried various other enterprises but did not meet
with what the world calls success, though he was a man of
sound judgment, keen intelligence, excellent social qualities,
polished manners, and unusual tact and urbanity in his con-
tact with both friend and stranger. He was a man of vision
and saw in his mind so many great things which he hoped to
accomplish, that he was accused by some of being visionary.
For almost half a century he had been cherishing dreams of
what McKendree should become in the years ahead. He had
been the leading spirit of the Educational Convention in 1868
which commemorated the fortieth anniversary of McKen-
dree's founding, and which he hoped would result in the
liberal endowment of the institution. He had tried the gold
fields of the west and the stock markets of the east in the
hope of making a fortune that he might bestow it upon his
alma mater as an endowment. Up to this time none of his
efforts had attained any considerable degree of success finan-
cially. But now he was offered the presidency and he got a
new vision. It occurred to him that here was a Divine call to
task through which he might accomplish the dream of his
Three Hundred and Forty-Six
MC KENDREE
lite to endow McKendree. If he could not make the money
himself, perhaps he could induce others who had met with
fin.mcial success, to furnish the money that would place the
old college on a firm foundation and assure her future for all
time to come.
With this view of the case he accepted the offer of the
presidency, feeling that he was herein answering a divine
call. One of his friends said that he beUeved "Mac" had been
fighting a call to the ministry during all the years since youth
and that was why he had not succeeded any better in any
of his many undertakings; but that the presidency of a
Christian college was so near the equivalent of the ministry
that the Lord would compromise with him and grant him
success in this laudable undertaking.
The Board was called together in a special session on July
i8 and confirmed the action of the Executive Committee in
electing Mr. Chamberlm, president. The note was due the
next day. Mrs. Forman was interviewed and consented to
postpone foreclosure long enough to see what the new presi-
dent could do. Here was the situation. The institution was
under a burden of debt of $5,500 with no resources for its
liquidation. It had less than $25,000 of productive endow-
ment. The interest on the debt would counterbalance enough
to bring it under $20,000. The institution was about to go
under the sheriff's hammer to be sold for debt. The dismal
financial situation would probably have its effect on the
attendance. The rumors that floated about were not at all
conservative. Financial matters so absorbed the energy of the
President that he could not give much attention to a canvass
for students. The vacancies m the fliculty were filled by the
election of William C. Walton to the chair of Greek and
Professor Fred Pesold to the head of the music department,
with his daughter OtiUia as assistant in piano. It so happened
that when the enrollment was complete there was no slump,
but a shght increase. President Chamberlin went to confer-
ence, made an enthusiastic speech, and aroused the interest
of many of the preachers. But for the first year his efforts
were chiefly financial. After thinking the situation over long
and carefully he reached this conclusion. The college must
have at least $100,000 of new endowment to make its founda-
tion safe. But he could not ask for endowment until the old
debt was paid. Therefore he announced that he would expect
the people of Lebanon to pay the debt, then he would ask a
wider constituency to furnish the endowment. So he began
his canvass of the citizens of Lebanon. It was necessary to
give many of them a larger vision of what the college was
worth to Lebanon, in order to induce them to get under the
load with large enough contributions to lift the debt.
President Chamberlin was of a very emotional tempera-
ment. On the subiect of McKendree he always felt deeply.
And when he was protraying the sacrifices which the fathers
had made for McKendree in the days gone by, the tears often
flowed freely. One good German lady, after hearing his pre-
sentation of McKendree's claims, and noting the earnestness
of his speech and the tears in his eyes, suggested that she
would like to engage him on the spot, to preach her funeral
when the time came. The debt raising was a tremendous task.
It took the greater part of the year. The difficulty of the task
was increased many fold when just before Chirstmas came
the failure of Henry Seller's bank. This not only cancelled
Mr. Seiter's subscription of five hundred dollars, which
headed the list, but also entailed upon the people of Lebanon
who were depositors in the bank, a loss of over sixty thousand
dollars. The undertaking seemed almost hopeless; but Presi-
dent Chamberlin was fired with an enthusiasm which was
equal to that of some of the old prophets of Israel ; so he kept
on in the face of discouragements. The winter passed and
spring came. Still he lacked one thousand dollars of reaching
the goal. One day in May he went to O'Fallon to see Mrs.
Forman and tell her of his success or the lack of it. He found
her at home with Miss Jennie Scott who lived with her.
She seemed to think that the payment of this loan was merely
a matter of business and did not call for any sentiment. But
Dr. Chamberlin began to tell her the story of McKendree
and the sacrifice of its founders, and what they had endured
that the college might exist to bless the world, and how many
parents had sacrificed that their children might get an educa-
tion, and thus be more useful to humanity and the age in
which they lived. As the subject grew upon him the Spirit
of the Lord possessed him and he became as truly inspired as
Amos the preacher of righteousness or Jeremiah the weeping
prophet. The old lady's heart was touched as it had never
been before. She sat amazed at the fiery enthusiasm of the
man of God before her. She had thought of the college before
as a borrower who was honest but unfortunate and slow to
pay. Now she looked upon its representative as a messenger
of Jehovah sent to reveal to her the truth which she had
never even suspected before. She saw McKendree College
in a new light and began to realize how important it was that
the institution should live on and continue the work it had
been doing. She now saw that money invested in that kind
of an enterprise might go on forever bringing in returns in
the form of world betterment and the development of human
character and talent for usefulness, instead of a paltry six per
cent. After a while she looked through her tears at this spirit-
Three Hundred and Forty-Seven
MC KENDREE
tilled prophet who stood before her with a divine light in his
eye, and said, "How much do you need?" Immediately he
replied, "One thousand dollars will clear the debt and enable
us to go on with our program". Turning to Miss Scott she
said, "Jennie, get out that box". Miss Scott pulled a sort of
treasure chest from under the bed and unlocked it. Then
from its contents Mrs. Forman carefully counted out one
thousand dollars in cold cash and gave it to President Cham-
berlin. "Take this", she said, "and use it in the Lord's work".
Thus the debt which had clouded McKendree's horizon for
years was paid off. Later, in the fall of 1895, Mrs. Forman
gave two thousand dollars more to install a steam heating
plant in the three buildings which the college had at that
time. Dr. Chamberlin had a marble tablet commemorating
the donor placed in the brick chimney at the north end of the
Science Hall. The system is still in service, tho it has been
enlarged as new conditions required.
The paying of this debt was such an important factor in
the subsequent expansion of the college that we insert here
the names of the donors with the amounts contributed by
each. The total was $5550.00.
Dr. B. M. Hypes
$500.00
Henry W. Blanck
100.00
Charles P. Johnson
3,00.00
W. Lee Nichols
500.00
Charles T. Wise
100.00
John D. Johnson
200.00
J. M. ChamberHn
250.00
Herbert S. Morriss
100.00
Wm. C. Jones
250.00
A. W. Morriss
250.00
Young Turner
100.00
Pfeffer Milling Co.
100.00
C. fe? H. Reinhardt
125.00
J. J. Lysakowski
100.00
Hamilton Brown Shoe Co.
25.00
T. A. Wilson
100.00
C. H. Sager
100.00
G. W. Remick
50.00
E. L. Waggoner
100.00
C. L. Walrath
100.00
J. C. Eisenmayer
50.00
Wm. Harding
100.00
John Burton
100.00
M. H. Presley
50.00
Fred Pesold
100.00
John S. Harris
100.00
Hiram Sears
10.00
Charles Reinhardt, Sr.
100.00
Dr. A. C. Bernays
500.00
Mrs. Rebecca Forman
1,000.00
The commencement of 1895 was full of enthusiasm. Pres-
ident Chamberlin had proved his ability to handle a difficult
situation. He had accomplished what no president had for a
score of years before. The Board did not know just what to
expect of him, but they gave him free rein and they had
suspicions that great things might happen.
Dr. Chamberlin felt that now with the debt out of the
way, one thing more was necessary before the college would
have sufficient self-respect to ask men of means for the money
it needed for endowment, and that was to repair and re-
habilitate the run-down buildings. So during the vacation
of 1895, he turned his attention to that matter. He again
appealed to the people of Lebanon for the means to restore
the old buildings to a condition which would be attractive
to students. Lebanon did not fail him. A larger number took
part in this than in the debt-paying because smaller amounts
would be acceptable. Since this improvement was another
important step in McKendree's expansion, we give here a
list of the donors as found in the records of the Joint Board.
Mrs. Rebecca Forman
$2,000.00
H. S. Morriss
10.00
W. I. Pond
5.00
Fred Guerin
50.00
J. M. Chamberlin,
Jr.
10.00
William Brownlee
5.00
Rev. J. F. Corrington
25.00
0. C. Pfennighausen
10.00
W. J. Goings
5.00
Reinhardt &■ Peach
25.00
John Rollo
10.00
Joseph D. Rockwell
5.00
Ernst Grauel
10.00
W. E. Berger
10.00
Stephen Bailey
2.00
Louden &? Chamberlin
10.00
J. S. Duncan
10.00
John Padfield
2.00
Herman J. Blanck
10.00
Fred Pesold
10.00
Drew Glass Co.
1. 00
Dr. E. C. Hammen
10.00
C. H. Sager Hdwe
.Co
10.00
McK. L. Cole
1. 00
Adolphus North
10.00
10.00
College Faculty
Henry Traband
12.00
5.00
Rev. J. W. Van Cleve
Total
1. 00
James S. Gedney
$2,284.00
^3u828flil
l9gj^A^
Three Hundred and Forty-Eight
^MC KENDREE ^^fe^^^^^...^^.-„
Professor Fred Pesold, head of the Music Department under
Chamberlin's Administration and his son, Arnold
F. Pesold, who taught violin
Besides these cash donations, Mr. J. C. SomerviUe, of St.
Louis, furnished window glass to the amount of about three
hundred dollars. The windows of "Old Main" were changed
so that they had two panes of glass instead of twenty-four.
The windows of the other buildings were likewise modern-
ized. Another gift at this time was a portrait of Dr. Akers,
a fine oil painting by John Lupton. A suitable frame for it
was donated by Fred Guerin, of St. Louis. The preliminary
work having been accomplished, Dr. Chamberlm set out to
find a hundred thousand dollars of new endowment for Mc-
Kendree. He had a considerable acquaintance in St. Louis,
and naturally tried to cultivate that field. But the moneyed
men of that city had scarcely ever heard of McKendree Col'
lege; however, recognizing the fact that it must be a worthy
cause which he represented, would offer him a pledge of fifty
or a hundred dollars. But these he steadfastly refused as being
too small a scale on which to initiate so great an enterprise.
He was greatly handicapped in his work by lack of means to
pay expenses. His salary, after the first year, was fixed at
twelve hundred dollars, but the old rule was strictly en-
forced that the salaries should be paid pro rata to the extent
of the income of the college, and that any unpaid balance
should not stand as a debt against the college. During the
early years of Dr. Chamberlin's term, the members of the
faculty actually received from sixty to eighty per cent of
their small salaries. As the college seemed unable to provide
an expense fund. Dr. Chamberlin spent a good part of his
paying the expenses of his college work, and his family lived
the best they could on the balance. He frequently compared
himself with the Israelites in Egypt, compelled to "make
bricks without straw."
Finally Mrs. Henrietta Cramp, of Bloommgton, through
the influence of her brother-in-law. Rev. Lemuel Cramp,
who was one of Dr. Chamberhn's classmates in McKendree,
provided about two thousand dollars as an expense fund.
With this his sphere of operation was enlarged. He reso'
lutely adhered to his plan of getting a subscription of not
less than $20,000 to head the list. After many months of
effort, he finally secured a pledge of that amount from Dr.
D. K. Pearsons, of Chicago. The Doctor was an eccentric
individual, well-advanced m years at that time. He had re-
tired from medical practice and was spending his last years
in giving away the fortune which he had acquired through
the rise in value of Chicago real estate. His idea was to help
small colleges. He declared that it was "the best fun in the
world." His benefactions to colleges before his death amount-
ed to more than four milUons of dollars; and this was dis-
tributed among scores of struggling institutions which ap-
preciated it more than the big universities did the larger
gifts of the multi-millionaires. Even with this good start. Dr.
Chamberlin had a Herculean task. There were not many
really wealthy men in Southern Illinois at that time, and
those who had wealth were not trained to give in thousands.
Dr. Pearsons' pledge was conditioned on raising the remain-
der of the $100,000 by a certain time. But the time limit
had to be moved forward several times before it could be
said that the conditions were really met. It was not until
in April, igo-i:, that Dr. Chamberlin announced in chapel
one morning that every dollar of the hundred thousand of
new endowment had been subscribed. The students went
wild with enthusiasm. A holiday was declared and they
proceeded to celebrate. How a group of students hitched
themselves to a carriage and hauled the faculty around over
town has been told in another place.
That evening scores of the citizens called at Dr. Chamber-
lin's home and offered their congratulations. Many speeches
were made, indicating the high degree of loyalty and good-
will for the college and its president that was to be found
in the hearts of many of the people. Also the boys rang
the old college bell as another outlet for their enthusiasm.
Its tones of victory floated out on the night air hour after
hour the whole night long, and the ringing did not cease
till break of day. We have not at hand a complete list of
the subscribers to this first real endowment fund the college
ever had; but a few of the principal givers, those whose
subscriptions amounted to one thousand dollars or more,
were: Dr. Pearsons, Preston M. Johnston, John M. Mitchell,
Charles S. Deneen, Mrs. Lucia I. Priest, Mrs. J. F. Robinson,
Three Hundred and Forty]^i
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
J. T. Keplinger, Dr. P. G. Manley, M. B. Woodworth, James
E. Kelsey, and Judge Ethelbert Callahan. Dr. Chamberlin
realized that this was only the beginning of what ought to
be done in this field. No church college can run successfully
and maintain proper standards without more than a hundred
thousand dollars of endowment. However, this seemed such
a vast sum compared with any endowment that McKendree
had ever had before that some felt that everybody ought to
be satisfied with it and let the matter rest. But Dr. Chamber-
lin fully intended to continue his efforts until there should
be at least a half million of productive endowment. The
Board provided him an expense fund, and like some of the
college agents in the early days, he went East where there
IS supposed to be a surplus of wealth merely waiting for a
chance to be invested in some benevolent enterprise. He
did not find it an easy matter but he did gain access to
some of the agencies of benevolence and secured a subscrip-
tion of $25,000 from the Clark Brothers, of Philadelphia, and
the same amount from Andrew Carnegie, conditioned on
the completion of another hundred thousand to be used
either for endowment or new buildings. He later induced
Dr. Pearsons to subscribe $10,000 more and there the matter
rested for a while.
In his report to the Board at their meeting in 1906, Dr.
Chamberlin gave his idea of the functions of a college, which
seems worth quoting here: "The function of a college is not
to guarantee perfect scholarship nor a complete knowledge
of the subjects offered to and pursued by its students, even
though they may have been passed to graduation. It is
rather to furnish such knowledge of the various subjects
pursued as will give the student a proper conception of
their import; and the power to compare and correlate, that
he may be intelligently fitted of himself to continue, by
original research, along any of the lines to which he has
given the four years of study incident to a college course;
or to adequately equip him for successfully continuing his
investigation in the best schools of technology."
He also had very definite convictions on the subject of
college athletics. We quote again from the same report: "In
what we have said concerning the college curricula, it will
be noticed that no mention is made of athletics, for the
reason that it has no proper place in that category. It is a
mere incident to college life. While that should be its true
status, it is nevertheless a fact that, in some of the larger
universities, as well as many of the colleges, the incident is
fast becoming the dominant factor with a large portion of the
students in such institutions. The pretext used by the ad-
herents of the more strenuous sports in college life, are as
fallacious as the sports are reprehensible. The plea, long since
used in defense of that most indefensible game, football, to
the effect that it gives the needed exercise for the promotion
of the highest type of physical development, and is the most
successful method of creating college spirit, was very effec-
tively ventilated during the discussion of that subject last
fall by the public press, as well as college authorities. In spite
of the fact that the tendency of the press, the country over,
was emphatically adverse to the game, and its barbarities
were so mercilessly exposed, there were no good-faith ameli-
orative rules adopted for the government of the gridiron;
the season closing with twenty-seven deaths and one hun-
dred and forty persons seriously disabled by broken limbs
and kindred occurrences. Granting for the sake of argument
that this particular type of exercise does promote the highest
type of physical development, an institution which permits
it is placed in the stultifying position of giving special priv-
ileges to the welfare of eleven of its students, at the expense
of all the others who have greater need of its advantages
than the stalwart few who have been gathered together as
a team, by some ambitious high-priced coach, after raking
the entire country, as with a fine-toothed comb, to secure
the most effective material for his team. It must be admitted
that the argument in favor of such a cruel sport is well-
grounded, if the chief object of an institution of learning is
to promote so-called physical culture at the expense of human
life and the broken bodies of the contestants. Serious as are
the consequences named in connection with this so-called
sport. President Eliot, of Harvard, names the above indicated
evils as the smallest part of the objectionable features of
football, stating in substance, that it is a fight, and that it
promotes commerciahsm, professionalism, coupled with bad
faith, deceit, and anything-to-win tactics, thereby giving to
both the prize fight and the bull fight a place of moral respec-
tability above that of the college game we are discussing.
"To localize our remarks, at the opening of the fall term,
we exacted from the members of the McKendree team that
they should, within a given time, obtain the written consent
of their parents before being permitted to play the game.
This it seemed difficult for them to secure, judging from the
time it took many of them to meet the requirement. On
personal consultation with the parents in four separate fam-
ilies, living in Lebanon, whose sons were on the McKendree
team, it was found that in each case they were strenuously
opposed to the game. Notwithstanding that fiict, through
the importunity of their sons, coupled with the quasi-endorse-
Three Hundred dnd F>(ty
JMC KENDREE .^^^^^:s:^:rs^^>r^^
ment of the game by the college in permitting it, written
consent was given. I pause to ask the question 'Can any
institution of learning justify its attitude, by either sustain-
ing or permitting a condition of things which teaches dis-
loyalty to the precepts taught at the hearth-stone?' The
above suggestions touching football are our warrant for
recommending its unconditional abolishment. It might be
said in this connection that the abuses found in all college
games may be traced very largely to their intercollegiate
character. The stimulus of rivalry in contests purely physical,
between teams of different institutions, where less than a
dozen contestants are engaged on each side, infects the whole
body of students. Trainloads, in many places, go as 'rooters'
and representatives of their respective institutions, until
demoralization in college work proper naturally follows,
while the victors are welcomed home with demonstrations
which, in many instances, are a violation of state and mu-
nicipal laws, both civil and criminal.
"It is no extravagance to say that many of our institutions
of learning are schools of anarchy. Anarchy is disobedience
to law, and as before stated, the infraction by students of
both the civil and criminal code is not uncommon. If our
colleges are to be schools where sound learning is to be dis-
pensed and character made, all such lawlessness must be
uprooted. The interdiction of inter-collegiate games would
go far toward curing all these evils, and their abrogation
before they become established factors in our college life
would prove fruitful of beneficial results. Some institutions
have already adopted the policy with the very best results,
and have made themselves popular in the homes of the peo-
ple, for the reason that the parents feel that their children
will be safeguarded, under such regulations, from many of
the dangerous influences with which some of our colleges
are compelled to contend because of these reprehensible
practices.
"I do not wish to be understood as being opposed to
athletics. Physical culture is important, and field sports on
a home field are not to be discouraged. Some plan should
be devised whereby our gymnasium might be well-equipped
and a physical culture teacher employed to take in hand the
training of the students. In like manner he should have the
control of the field sports, and stand for a system of phy-
sical culture leading to healthful bodily development, with
the strenuous and demoraHzing games, requiring itineration,
entirely eliminated."
Dr. Chamberlin found the majority of the Board in sym-
pathy with his views at that time. So foot ball was officially
prohibited, as well as all intercollegiate contests. A physical
director was employed to take charge of gymnasium classes
and home field sports. Professor Bertram E. Wiggins was
the teacher employed for this work. He organized regular
classes in various lines of gymnasium work, such as tumbling,
trapeze work, parallel bars, Indian clubs, etc. In order to
secure a spirit of competition, he organized basket ball teams
in Philo and Plato and had them play against each other.
The spirit of competition was excellent. They had cultivated
that sort of thing in the literary societies until some of them
had a rather strong spirit of animosity toward each other,
but in the basket ball contests their contact was much closer
and the feeling of opposition developed was correspondingly
more intense until it was closely akin to hatred. After two
years of this policy without any football and without inter'
collegiate games of any kind, it was felt by many people of
the community that there was too much of division in the
school itself. Instead of all uniting against some other school,
they were inclined to fight each other and lose the real college
spirit. Then, too, there was much dissatisfaction among the
students, and petitions were presented to the Board, asking
for the restoration of intercollegiate games, and, of course,
foot ball. At the meeting of 1908, feeling ran high. There
was an inclination m the minds of many of the Board to
reverse the athletic policy. By the second day of the meet'
ing, without having taken a vote, it was evident to the
minds of some who were able to feel the pulse of the assem'
bly that this would be done. Dr. Chamberlin had already
indicated to some of his intimate friends that he would not
attempt to "carry on" as president if his athletic policy
should be set aside. One of his close friends in the Board
said to him, "We must elect a president at this session. Say
that you will accept and we will re-elect you." But while
the Doctor did not plainly say that he would refuse, he
would not say that he would accept. From this, the im-
pression prevailed in the Board that he would not serve
longer if re-elected. So the motion was, to take a ballot for
president without nomination. When the ballots were count'
ed there was not a majority for any person, but there was
a plurahty of five votes for Dr. John F. Harmon, and he
was declared elected. Thus Dr. Chamberlin's term as Pres-
ident of McKendree College was ended. He had completed
fourteen years of service, which was the longest term that
any president of McKendree had ever served, and it is still
the longest that has been served in the century of McKen-
dree's history. In some ways the results were the greatest
achieved in anv administration either before or since.
Three Hundred and FiftyOn
..^.c^^^^^^c^^^^M^ KENDREE-^^fe^^^^....^^^
The enrollment was not greatly increased during the per-
iod. The total was two hundred and eight the year before
he began and two hundred and forty-six the year he finished.
Though at one time the total was slightly more than three
hundred, yet it was made up largely of music and art stu-
dents. It was not Dr. Chamberlin's usual policy to encourage
the "side lines," but he emphasized the plain four-year college
course, including plenty of work in the Classic Languages
and Philosophy. During his term one building was erected.
This was the gymnasium, built in 1902. The greater part
of the money for its construction was given by Andrew
Eisenmayer, of Trenton, so it was called the Eisenmayer
Gymnasium. It was originally a plain, rectangular building,
forty by eighty feet in dimensions, and equipped with a
bowling alley. But later this was removed to give room to
play basket ball. Some years afterward, wings were added
on each side to furnish seating capacity for the crowds at
the basket ball games.
During the Chamberlin administration, the endowment
was increased from twenty-four thousand to one hundred
and thirty-seven thousand. At the same time the salaries of
the professors were increased from about seven hundred
dollars annually to one thousand two hundred, paid in full.
He also secured the subscription of $60,000 of the $100,000
that was later put into the dormitories and dining hall. He
did much to secure the recognition of McKendree College
in educational circles and in the councils of the church. He
was able to utilize the services of the bishops and other
prominent leaders of the church for baccalaureate sermons
to a greater extent than any of his predecessors had done.
Among the bishops who came to McKendree during that
period were. Berry, Walden, FitzGerald, McDowell, Ander-
son, and Luccock. When Bishop FitzGerald was the resident
bishop at St. Louis, he used to come out to Dr. Chamberlin's
home occasionally, just to rest up a little. He also used his
influence generously to assist in promoting Dr. Chamberlin's
plans and the interests of McKendree. President Chamberlin
was a Lay Delegate from the Southern Illinois Conference
to the General Conference at Cleveland in 1896, and again
to the one in Chicago in 1900. He was chosen a delegate to
the Ecumenical Conference held in London in 1901. He was
a member of the Rhodes Scholarship Commission for Illinois
during the years 1904-1908, and a trustee of the Illinois State
Historical Society, 1904-1910. While connected with the last-
named organization, he secured the inclusion of the main facts
concerning the early history of McKendree in one of their
publications, and thus made them accessible to the later his-
torian for all time to come.
In 1905, the year that he tinished the tisk of raising the
hundred thousand dollar endowment fund, a number of his
friends and friends of the college made up a sum sufficient
to buy the Herbert Morriss home, in which Dr. Chamberlin
had already been living for some time and which was then
the property of Dr. Hypes. It was valued at $4,000 or more,
but Dr. Hypes himself made a big contribution by a big
reduction in the price. By previous arrangement, on Com-
mencement Day, at the close of the graduation exercises and
the conferring of the degrees and prizes, while the chapel
was filled to its capacity with a crowd of interested people,
Bishop FitzGerald, who was on the platform at the time,
arose and, addressing Dr. Chamberlin, made a brief but
appropriate presentation speech and handed him the deed
to his own home. It was a melting occasion. Dr. Chamberlin
was by nature very emotional, and he was so overcome by
this unexpected evidence of good will that he was unable
to utter a word for a little time. The Bishop started the old
song, "Blest be the tie that binds," and the audience joined
in. After singing a few verses, the nervous tension was re-
lieved, and then Dr. Chamberlin expressed his gratitude in
a few fitting words, and the people went home feeling that
they had been present on a great and historic occasion.
In 1908, at the time of his retirement. Dr. Chamberlin
was seventy years old and his health more or less impaired
by the strenuous life he had lived for fourteen years in the
service of the college. It was not likely that he would be
able to take up a new job. The Board designated him as
President-Emeritus of McKendree, with a salary of six hun-
dred dollars a year. They also made him a Trustee, and he
was thus a member of the Board. This was soon after the
establishment of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advance-
ment of Teaching. One of the functions of this organization
was to furnish retiring allowances for teachers in higher
institutions of learning. Earnest efforts were made by his
friends, both in Lebanon and St. Louis, to have him placed
on the list for a retiring allowance. But there were two
rules in the code of the Carnegie Foundation which it was
impossible to get by. One was to exclude all denominational
colleges from their list. That kept McKendree out as a col-
lege. The other was that fifteen years of service was the
minimum that would make an individual teacher eligible,
provided all other conditions were met. Dr. Chamberlin had
served only fourteen years, and so all efforts to secure a
pension failed. About two years after becoming President-
Emeritus, he sold his home and went to live in the sunny
land of Southern California. His home for the rest of his
Three Hundred and Fifty-Two
i
life was m Los Angeles. Even m this new field, he made
many friends in the evening time of life. His death occurred
July 28, 1914. His body was cremated and the ashes shipped
to Lebanon. With very simple funeral rites conducted by
Prof. W. C. Walton, who had been his Vice-president at
McKendree, they were laid to rest in College Hill Cemetery,
a spot which he had regarded as sacred during the whole
span of his earthly life. Mrs. Chamberlin still lives (1928)
in California with her son and grandson. She was her hus-
band's great inspiration during all their married lite, and
now IS only waiting to join him again in the life to come.
A resolution expressing appreciation of Dr. Chamberlin's
work m behalf of the college was presented by Rev. F. W.
Loy, D. D., and was unanimously adopted. It reads as follows :
To McKendree Hypes Chamberlin, A. M., LL. D., Pres-
ident-Emeritus of McKendree College,
Sir:
The Joint Board of Trustees and Visitors of McKendree
College, in annual session assembled, June 11, 1908, as an
expression of appreciation of the enthusiastic and able ser-
vices rendered by you to McKendree College in its time of
need, unanimously adopted the following resolution:
Whereas, Doctor M. H. Chamberlin, as President of Mc-
Kendree College for the past fourteen years, has by his un-
tiring efforts and disinterested service, rendered to the cause
of Higher Christian Education, relieved the college from em-
barrassing indebtedness, improved and increased its prop-
erty, and added a hundred thousand dollars to its permanent
endowment; and
Whereas, by his wise counsel, the courses of study have
been improved, and the standards of the college elevated,
and by his invigorating personality, its influence has been
extended;
Therefore, be it resolved. That we gratefully record and
heartily express our appreciation of the devotion of his
exceptional powers of mind and soul, for so long a period
of his life, to the upbuilding and administration of the col-
lege; and our belief that whatever advancement McKendree
makes in the future has been made possible by the work of
Dr. M. H. Chamberlin, whose Hfe has been built into its
structure, and whose name is inseparably connected with
its history; and therefore, we pray upon him and upon his
noble wife, and upon all who are near and dear to them by
the ties of nature and of love, the benediction of our Gracious
Heavenly Father, who knows the hearts of men, and who
alone can reward each according to his merit.
By order of the Joint Board of Trustees and Visitors of
McKendree College.
The following is ,1 list of instructors in McKendree who
became members of the faculty during the presidency of
Dr. Chamberhn. Biographies of some of these will be found
elsewhere in the history : Fred Pesold, Director of the Music
Department; Otillia Pesold Fulgham, Piano; Arnold Pesold,
VioHn; William C. Walton, Greek; George C. Worth, Law;
M. Edwin Johnson, Voice; C. Munro Sandoval, Spanish;
Edward P. Perry, Expression; George A. Crow, Law; Charles
R. Forster, Latin; William Earl Stilson, Mathematics; CHf-
ford D. Chamberlin, Spanish; George W. Greenwood, Math-
ematics; Leroy T. Weeks, English; William E. Lugenbeel,
Mathematics; Frank W. Cady, English; Bertram E. Wiggins,
Director of Athletics; James C. Dolley, Latin.
PROF. JAMES C. DOLLEY, D^ Litt.
James Clay Dolley was born m New Hampton, Virginia,
August 7, 1865. His father was Rev. Saul B. Dolley, a mem-
ber of the Baltimore Conference of the M. E. Church, South.
He was a product of the "Old Dominion," born in the year
McKendree College was founded, and was a Methodist
before the time of the division of the church over the slavery
question. James C. graduated from Randolph-Macon College
in Virginia, receiving his A. B. degree in 1888, and m 1898
the same institution granted him the degree of A. M. He
also received the same degree from the University of Wis-
consin in 1918. Immediately after his graduation, he took up
educational work and has been engaged in teaching ever
since, except for brief periods devoted to further preparation.
Among the positions he has held are the following : President
of Allegheny Collegiate Institute, Dean of Hogsett Military
Academy, and Principal of Kentucky Wesleyan Academy.
He has been Professor of Latin in McKendree since 1899,
and by a readjustment of the work in.1915, he has also been
Professor of Greek since that time. He was Vice-president
of McKendree for a period of four years, and registrar for
the last five years, and still holds the office. He was secretary
of the faculty for many years and has long been the official
editor of the catalogue. He belongs to the Classic Association
of the Middle West, The Classical League of America, The
National Education Association, the American Philological
Association, and the Archaeological Institute of America,
Chicago Branch. He has done summer graduate work in the
universities of Wisconsin and Michigan. In the summer of
1924 he spent a term in the American Academy at Rome,
and travelled for some time in Greece before returning home
In the summer of 1926 he made a second trip abroad, during
which he spent most of the time in France. He was married
June 7, 1896, to Miss Mary Turnley, of Spottsylvania Court
Three Hundred and Fifty-Three
House, Virginia, who was his most etBcient helpmeet m
every good work until her death in July, 1925. Three of
their four sons have graduated from McKendree and are
married. They are: Paul T., of Los Angeles, California;
James C, of Berkeley, California; and Robert D., of Jack-
sonville, Florida. The youngest son, John Seiver, is now a
Junior in McKendree.
Professor Dolley has also been active in religious work.
Though not an ordained minister, he has frequently filled
pulpits in various places on special occasions. He was treas-
urer of the Lebanon Methodist Church for many years.
He has also been a leader in Prohibition and Anti-Saloon
League work in this section, and has served several terms
in the Lebanon City Council.
PROF. FRED PESOLD
A remarkable musical genius, identified with the Lebanon
community for more than a half century, was Professor Fred
Pesold. He may well be regarded as the founder of the music
department of McKendree, though he himself was willing
to share the honor with his close friend of many years. Dr.
William F. Swahlen. His name does not appear in the records
as the first music teacher in McKendree, but he was the
inspiration back of the movement. Mr. Pesold came to
Lebanon from Germany in 1869 when he was only nineteen
years old, and was closely associated with Lebanon interests
for the rest of his life, and when his career was closed in 1926
his body was laid to rest in College Hill cemetery.
For many years he conducted a jewelry store in Lebanon,
but on the floor above, was his music studio and that was
his real vocation. He received his musical training largely
in Germany from his maternal grandfather who was a friend
of Richard Wagner, the great composer. Professor Pesold's
Music School in McKendree reached its highest peak under
the presidency of Dr. Chamberlin. During that period many
of his students attained the degree of Bachelor of Music. In
1909 he withdrew from the work of teaching and went to
St. Louis to live, but he never ceased to be interested in
Lebanon. He continued to own property there and held it
as his voting place to the end of his Ufe. He served the
Lebanon community not only in connection with the college,
but he had something to do with improving the music of
every church in Lebanon, and for many years was Director
of the Lebanon Singing Society. He also served as a member
of the City Council, as City Treasurer and as a member of
the School Board. He was married in 1873 to Miss Louise
Reinhardt, of Lebanon. All their children had musical talent,
but two must receive special mention here.
MRS. OTTILIA PESOLD FULGHAM
His daughter Ottilia became an expert in piano and for
years was his assistant as teacher of piano in McKendree.
She married Dr. John H. Fulgham who was for years a
prominent physician in Lebanon, and a member of the Board
of Trustees of McKendree, but afterward moved to East
St. Louis and is now the Coroner of St. Clair County.
PROF. ARNOLD PESOLD
Arnold F., the younger son of Professor Fred Pesold,
born in Lebanon, very early in life manifested superior
musical talent. At the age of eight he was playing the violin
in the McKendree Orchestra. He delighted large audiences
with his violin solos. Later when he was of suitable age he
was the teacher of violin in McKendree for some years. He
went to Europe and studied under the master violinists in
Berlin. About that time he composed the well known "Mc-
Kendree March" which for years was frequently heard about
McKendree's campus. After returning from Europe he was
married to Miss Irma Quante and they established their
home in St. Louis. Since that time Professor Pesold has been
teaching violin in St. Louis and playing for some of the
large churches of the city. For fifteen years he has been a
member of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, one of the
best known musical organizations in the Mississippi Valley.
For two periods he has been the violin soloist of that body.
He now has a large class of violin pupils in his St, Louis
Studio.
THE CLASS OF LS9.5
ALONZO R. ANDERSON
Alonzo R. Anderson was born at Belleville, Illinois. His
parents are Abraham and Henrietta F. Anderson. He took
the course in the Law Department of McKendree, receiving
the degree of LL. B. in June, 1895. He did not engage in
the practice of law, but at once resumed his work in the
service of the International Harvester Company, in whose
employ he has been ever since, according to our latest in-
formation. He was married in February, 1895, to Miss K.
Morris Brown, of St. Louis, Missouri. They have two chil-
dren— Alonzo R., Jr., and Margaret. He is a member of
the Masonic Order.
ROBERT V. GUSTIN
Robert Vernon Gustin was born at Andersonville, Indi-
ana, November i, 1874. He became a student in McKendree
in September, 1892, and graduated from the Law Department
in 1895, receiving the degree of LL. B. He was a member of
the Philosophian Society. He was married July 18, 1899, to
Miss Anna B. Lewis, of Lebanon, who was also a student
in McKendree for several years. After his graduation, Mr.
Three Hundred and Fifty-Four
c KENDRE^^^^^^gs:^^-^^^^^^
Gustui was Principal of the Summerfield School from 1896
to 1900 He then began the practice of law in East St. Louis,
where he is still one of the prominent attorneys. He served
in the World War, holding the office of Lieutenant. He is
a member of the following lodges: Masons, Elks, Redmen,
and Woodmen. Mrs. Gustin died in 1916.
MRS. JESSIE JEPSON RITCHER
Jessie Ormiston Jepson was born at Romeo, Michigan,
January 15, 1875. She came to Lebanon in 1887 when her
father became a professor in McKendree. She became a stu'
dent in the Academy in 1889, and completed the Collegiate
Course in 1895, receiving the degree of A. B. She was an
active member of Clio. After her graduation, she taught
school for five years — three years in Troy, Illinois, and two
years in Lebanon. She was married June 25, 1902, to Charles
E. Ritcher, an attorney-at-law in East St. Louis. After living
in that city for some years, they went West and located m
Omaha, Nebraska, where she died in 1918, leaving her
husband and three children.
REV. PETER R. KEPLINGER
Peter Russell Keplinger was born at Hornsby, Illinois,
July 23, 1871. He entered McKendree in the fall of 1888
and graduated in the class of 1895, receiving the degree of
A. B. He was a member of the Platonian Literary Society.
His two brothers and sister were all students at McKendree
for some time, but none of the others graduated. After fin-
ishing his course at McKendree, he entered Garrett Biblical
Institute and received the degree of S. T. B. from that insti'
tution. He was married in 1901 and has two sons and one
daughter. He preached for several years as a member of the
Southern Illinois Conference, then in Michigan for several
years. Then he went West and served for several years in
the mission fields of Wyoming. In 1912 he moved to Denver,
where he remained for some years. In 1924 he was pastor
of a Presbyterian Church at Brush, Colorado.
REV. J. ARTHUR LARGE
James Arthur Large was born at Dundas, Richland Coun-
ty, Illinois, October 17, 1867. His parents were both natives
of Ohio. His father was of Irish descent, and his mother,
whose maiden name was Kirk, was of Scotch-Irish and Penn-
sylvania Dutch ancestry. In 1872, his parents moved to a
farm near Newton, Illinois. He graduated from the Newton
High School in 1885, and from Hayward Collegiate Institute
in 1890. He entered McKendree in 1892 and graduated in
1895, receiving the degree of A. B. He received the degree
of A. M. from the University of Denver in 1910. While in
McKendree, he was a member of the Platonian Literary
Society. During his last year in college, he served as supply
pastor at Glen Carbon, Illinois. He then joined the Southern
Illinois Conference and served regular pastorates until 1905.
He was then transferred to the Colorado Conference and
spent the remainder of his life in that field. He was married
in October, 1895, to Miss Lulu May Love. They have six
children: Robert Walter, Grace Evelyn, Roy Vernon, Mary
Lois, Ruth Elizabeth, and Agnes May. He died at Alamosa,
Colorado, September 4, 1922.
ROBERT S, LOUDEN
Robert S. Louden was born near Trenton, Illinois, Octo-
ber 26, 1866. He is a son of John and Rosanna (Craig)
Louden, who were both natives of Ireland coming to Amer-
ica m early life. He took several terms of regular college
work in McKendree and completed the Law Course m 1895,
receiving the degree of LL. B. He was a member of the Phil-
osophian Literary Society. After graduation he practiced
law and engaged in the real estate and insurance business
in Lebanon for several years; he then served as assistant
postmaster in Lebanon for three years; then engaged in
mercantile business in CoUinsville. He was a member of the
Masonic Order. He was married in June, 1899, to Miss
Alice Hadley, of Collinsville. They have two children, Mary
and Robert. He died at Denver, Colorado, Dec. 31, 191 5.
CHARLES J. MAURER
Charles J. Maurer was born m St. Louis, Missouri, Aug-
ust 8, 1868. While living at St. Jacob, Illinois, he came to
McKendree as a student. He took only a part of the Literary
Course, but completed the Law Course. He graduated in
1895, receiving the degree of LL. B. He was a member of
the Plato Society. He was admitted to the bar of the state
of Missouri and practiced law for some years in the city of
St. Louis with good success. In 191 3 he moved to St. Peters-
burg, Florida, where in addition to his law business, he is
engaged in raising citrus fruits. He was married August 15,
1900. He is a Mason.
MRS. OLIVE MILLER CHAFFIN
Olive Irene Miller was born near Caseyville, Illinois,
December 7, 1875. She is a daughter of Dr. Lloyd T. Miller,
who is of German ancestry, and Mrs. Margaret (Blake)
Miller, American. She became a student in McKendree in
September, 1891, and graduated in June, 189'i, receiving the
degree of B. S. She was a member of the Clionian Literary
Society. She was married September 6, 1899, to H. C. Chaffin,
of the class of 1897. Their only son died at the age of twenty.
They now Hve on the Miller farm near Caseyville.
Three Hundred and Fifty-Five
HON. WILLIAM E TRAUTMANN
William Emil Trautmann was born near CaseyviUe. Illi-
nois, August 16, 1872. He first became a student in McKen-
dree in the fall of 1889 and completed the Law Course m
1895, receiving the degree of LL. B. In 1895 he completed
the Scientific Course and received the degree of B. S. In 1898
he was granted the degree of Master of Science. He was a
member of the Philosophian Society. He began the practice
of law in East St. Louis in 1897. In 1898 he was elected to
the Illinois Legislature from the forty-ninth Senatorial District.
He was re-elected in 1900, 1902. and 1904. In May, 1905,
he was appointed by President Roosevelt to the office of
United States District Attorney for the Eastern District of
Illinois. He was re-appointed to the same position by President
Taft in 1910. He was married November 25, 1910, to Miss
Evelyn L. Kinne. They reside in East St. Louis. Mr.
Trautmann is a member of the Masons, Odd Fellows, Knights
of Pythias, Elks, and Modern Woodmen ; he also belongs to
the East St. Louis Commercial Club and the St. Clair
Country Club.
DR. HERBERT A. MORRISS
Herbert Alexander Morriss was born in Chicago, De-
cember ji, 1875. Later his parents moved to Lebanon and
he became a student in McKendree in 1889. He graduated
in 1895, receiving the degree of B. S. He was a member of
Plato. He then took a Medical Course in St. Louis Univer-
sity, and received the degree of M. D. in 1898. He then
went abroad and pursued graduate studies in Medicine in
Berlin and in London. From 1902 to 1904 he was Professor
of Surgery in the College of Physicians and Surgeons, in St.
Louis. For many years he has been practicing his profession
'n Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is a member of the Elks and
Masonic Lodges. He was married January 10, 1912, to Miss
Lillian Dingle, of Louisiana. They have one son, Herbert
Alexander, Jr.
REV. WILLIAM MORROW, A. M.
William Morrow was born in Guernsey County, Ohio.
He attended Madison College, at Antrim, Ohio, where he
graduated in 1857. He was a Presbyterian minister, and
after spending many years in the pastorate, he was employed
in his later years as agent for a home for the aged in Chi-
cago. McKendree conferred upon him the degree of Master
of Arts in 189'i.
MRS. KATE OTWELL KARNES
Kate Otwell was born at Plainview, Illinois, October 21,
1872. Her parents are William H. and Frances (Brown) Ot-
well, who are both American for many generations back.
She entered McKendree in the fall of 1889 and graduated
WILLIAM E. TRAUTMANN
m 1895, receiving the degree
of A. B. She immediately took
up post graduate work and se-
cured the degree of A. M. in
1896, and Ph. D. in 1898. She
was a member of the Clionian
Society. She taught school four
years — two near Plainview,
Illinois, and two in Montana,
at Fridley and Chico. June
5, 1901, she was married to
Francis M. Karnes, of Fridley,
Montana. They have one son
and two daughters. They
lived on a ranch about one mile from the Yellowstone River
and within five miles of Yellowstone National Park. Mrs.
Karnes has been a member of the Methodist Church since
early youth.
When their oldest son, Guy, was old enough to enter
McKendree, the Karnes" moved to Lebanon to give their
children an education. Guy and Christine both graduated
from McKendree. Marie finished her Junior year and then
went to another institution to get some special work she
wanted.
MRS. ELLA SURGUY BAINBRIDGE
Ella Surguy was born at New Haven, Illinois, in 1874.
She is a daughter of James and Sarah E. Surguy. After com-
pleting her general education, she came to McKendree and
entered the Music Department, from which she graduated
in 1895, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Music. She
afterward took a course at the Beethoven Conservatory, in
St. Louis. She is a member of the Presbyterian Church. She
was married in 1899, to Mr. C. W. Bainbridge, a banker of
Norris City, Illinois. They have one daughter, Beatrice
Louise, born in June, 1909. They later moved to Pana, Illinois.
PROF. C. EDMUND NEIL
One of the McKendreans who has attained high standing
in his chosen field is Charles Edmund Neil, Professor of
Public Speaking in Boston University. He was born in Clin-
ton County, Illinois, October 12, 1871. He took his A. B.
at McKendree in 189'; with the first honors of the class. He
then went to Ohio Wesleyan University, where he graduated
from the School of Oratory in 1897 and received the degree
of A. M. in 1898. He was then for two years a special student
m the psychology of speech and character interpretation.
After these years of deliberate thorough preparation he
was ready for the highest type of service in his chosen field
Three Hundred and F./ly-S...
PROF. C- E. NEIL
of Speech. He has held the
following positions: Assistant
Professor of Oratory in Ohio
Wesleyan, Professor of Oratory
in Denison University, Profess-
or of Public Speaking in West
Virginia University, and Pro-
fessor of Public Speaking m
Newton Theological Institute
and Boston University, which
is his present position. Besides
this work of teaching he has
been doing public platform
work for thirty years, covering
the greater part of the United States and Canada, and por-
tions of the Far East. He is author of "Sources of Effective-
ness in Public Speaking". He has travelled extensively in
Europe and the Orient. He was speaker and organizer for
the various patriotic causes during the World War, and m
1918-19 was special commissioner for the Centenary in the
Far East. He is a member of the following organizations.
Platonian Society at McKendree, Amphictyonian at Ohio
Wesleyan; the Sigma Chi, Theta Nu Epsilon, and Masonic
Fraternities; Square and Compass Club, Boston City Club,
Twentieth Century Club, Appalachian Mountain Club,
and English Speaking Union. He was married in 1901 to
Miss Grace Gardner of Delaware, Ohio. They had one son
who died in infancy.
THOMAS O'HARA
Thomas O'Hara completed the Law Course in McKen-
dree College and graduated in the class of 1895, receiving
the degree of LL. B. He afterward practiced law in St. Louis.
AVIS P. O'NEAL
Avis Patience O'Neal was a member of the class of iSgi .
She received the degree of B. S. Her father was a retired
steamboat captain who made his home in Lebanon. He died
before his daughter finished her college course. After her
graduation, she and her mother left Lebanon and we have
not been able to trace their history since that time.
EDITH L. THRALL
Edith Laura Thrall was born at Freeburg, Illinois, July
I, 1874. She IS the daughter of Rev. L. W. and Edith (Flint)
Thrall. Her parents are native Americans, of Welsh and
English ancestry. She entered McKendree College in 1889
and graduated with the degree of A. B. in 1895. She imme-
diately entered upon a course of post-graduate study and
was granted the degree of A. M. in i8g6, and Ph. D. in
1898 by her Alm.i Mater. She was a member of the Clionian
Literary Society. She is a graduate of the Chicago Training
School and she attended Chicago University one summer.
She has held the following positions in educational work:
one year assistant principal of the Marissa High School; two
years teacher in the Lebanon public schools; one year assist-
ant principal of the Morrison High School; four years teacher
of English in Jennings Seminary, at Aurora, Illinois. She is
still a member of the faculty in Jennings. She has been a
member of the Methodist Episcopal Church since early
youth and besides her teaching, she engages in deaconess
work.
ROBERT L. MERKER
Robert L. Merker, of East St. Louis, enrolled in the Mc-
Kendree College Law Department, from which he graduated
in 1895, receiving the degree of LL. B. In 191 3 he was em-
ployed in the interest of the International Harvester Com-
pany, with headquarters at Atlanta, Georgia. Since then
we have failed to get any information concerning him. He has
not reported recently to the college.
FREDERICK F. MILLER
Frederick F Miller was born at Troy, Illinois, October
28, 1867. After having had some previous preparation, he
entered McKendree in 1893, to take a law course. He grad'
uated in 1895 with the degree of LL. B. He was a member
of Philo. He immediately entered upon the practice of his
profession in Troy, and continued in this line until his
death, which occurred March 5, 1907. He was a member
and active worker in the Methodist Church. He also he-
longed to the Odd Fellows. He was married July 2, 1897,
to Miss Mayme Joseph, of Troy. To them were born five
sons — Melvin,Elwood, Orator, Frederick, and Ray.
MRS. MAMIE TURNER RHODES
Mamie Elaine Turner was born near Lebanon, Illinois,
June 22, 1874. Her parents are Young and Mary Turner,
who are both American born. They were both slaves before
the Civil War. She became a student in McKendree in Sep-
tember, 1891, and graduated in June, 189^, receiving the
degree of A. B. She attended Oberlm College in Ohio for
some time before entering McKendree. She taught school
one year at Gallatin, Missouri, and two years at Pittsburg,
Texas. She was married December 30, 1897, to James Henry
Rhodes. They have two children — Vernice and Amy Belle.
Mrs. Rhodes is a Methodist and has been an active Sunday
School worker a good part of her life time. She and her hus-
band resided near Lebanon for some years till the husband
Three Hundred and Fi/ty-Se:
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^s^
died. Mrs. Rhodes then engaged in teaching, which is still
her vocation. She works in one of the colored schools in East
St. Louis. Both her daughters are high school graduates. She
has the distinction of being the only colored graduate Mc-
Kendree has ever sent out.
JENNIE O. WATTS
Jennie Olive Watts was born in Lawrence County, Illi.
nois, July 24, 1871. She became a student in McKendree in
1889 and graduated in 1895, receiving the degree of B. S.
She was a member of Clio. She has been engaged in various
lines of art work, chiefly photography, ever since her grad-
uation. She conducted a studio for some years in Lebanon,
and for many years was employed in the Strauss Studio, m
St. Louis. For the past few years she has been living with
her sister in Asheville, North Carolina. She is a member of
the Methodist Church.
ORRIN N. YINGST
Orrin Nevin Yingst was born at Carlyle, Illinois, No-
vember 9, 1871. He is a son of Rev. Adam and Nancy
(Johnston) Yingst, who are both natives of Clinton County,
lUinois. His father was for many years in the active work
of the ministry and is a member of the Southern Illinois Con-
ference. Orrin entered McKendree as a student in September,
1890, and graduated in June, 1895, receiving the degree of
B. S. He was a member of the Platonian Literary Society.
Since his graduation he has taught school eight years, part
of the time in Illinois and part in Colorado, and spent four
years as a general contractor in Denver, Colorado. He home-
steaded one hundred and sixty acres of government land in
Garfield County, Colorado, in the Grand River Valley, twen-
ty miles from Glenwood Springs, in the great fruit belt of
Colorado. In addition to looking after the interests of his
ranch, he is teaching at Silt, Colorado, his present home. He
was married June i, 1898, at Waterloo, Illinois, to Miss May
E. Akers, of Bluffton, Iowa. They have two daughters and
one son.
THE CLASS OF 1S96
REV. CHARLES P. ANDREWS
Charles Page Andrews was born at Byron, Illinois, July
5, 1867. His father. Dr. C. N. Andrews, was a native of
New York Stite, of Scotch and German ancestry. His mother,
Mary A. Page, was a native of Connecticut, and of Puritan-
English stock. He entered McKendree in the spring term of
1893, having already spent a year in Rockford Academy,
and two years at Blackburn College. He was a member of
the Presbyterian Church and before coming to McKendree
had been licensed to preach by that body. During the entire
period of his student life at McKendree, he was pastor of
the Presbyterian Church at Lebanon, and at the same time
preached alternate Sundays at Carlyle, 111. In addition to his
college and pastoral duties, he found time to do society work
as a member of Plato. He graduated in June, 1896, with the
degree A. B. He then entered the McCormick Theological
Seminary, of Chicago, where he received the degree of B. D
in 1899. During vacations while in the seminary, he was pas
tor of the Presbyterian Churches at Blair and Steelville, 111
and Wausaukee, Wis. He has since served churches at Gar
den Plain, 111., and Amberg, Abbotsford, and Beloit, WiS'
consin, and at Holt, Michigan. He was married May 10,
1899, to Miss Josie M. Otwell, who was a classmate at Mc
Kendree. They have two sons, Wilbur and Leonard.
REV. WILLIAM L. CUNNINGHAM
William Littleton Cunningham was born at Mulberry
Grove, Illinois, February 26, 1869. His parents were Henry
Pyatt and Elizabeth Jane Cunn-
ingham, both native Amer-
icans. He grew up on a farm,
joined the church at the age
of 14, became a Sunday School
Superintendent the following
summer, and has been active in
church work ever since. He
entered McKendree in March,
1892, and graduated with the
degree of B. S. in 1896. He was
a member of the Platonian
Literary Society. With the
assistance of a fellow student, J- P- CARTER
Mr. T. P. Brannum, he edited a college paper known as the
"McKendrean." He was baritone singer in a McKendree
quartette which did much entertaining throughout the con-
ference. Before coming to McKendree he had completed
courses in two business colleges and, with the aid of this
equipment, he paid a part of his college expenses by giving
instruction in shorthand and typewriting. In 1896 he joined
the Southern Illinois Conference, and has been continuously
in the pastorate ever since, except one year that he sustained
a supernumerary relation, that he might recuperate his health.
During that year he was engaged in newspaper work. During
this time he has served five years in the Illinois Conference,
and one year in the Austin (Texas) Conference, but in 1911
he returned to the Southern Illinois Conference. He was
married September 25, 1896, to Miss Myrta Sproul, of
Sparta, Illinois. They have three sons and three daughters.
He died in 1927.
Three Hundred and Fifty-Eight
c KENDRE^^^^^^^ig^.,,^^.^^
JOHN C. HARDER
John C. Harder, while Uving in East St. Louis, entered
the Law Department of McKendree in 1894 and graduated
in 1896, receiving the degree of LL. B. His career was cut
short by an early death only a few years after his graduation.
AUGUSTUS H. BAER
Augustus H. Baer was born January 7, 1875. He is the
son of Aaron and Adelaide Baer, who were both of German
descent. He entered McKendree in the fall of 1895, and
after completing his Law Course, graduated in 1896, receiv
ing the degree of LL. B. from McKendree He afterward took
a course in law at the University of Michigan and also ob'
tained the degree of Bachelor of Laws from that institution.
Besides his general practice in the city of Belleville, he has
been City Attorney of Belleville for two years, corporation
counsel for Belleville for many years, and has been special
counsel for a great number of cities in the matter of street
improvements and paving ordinances, as he has made a spec-
ialty of that line of legal work. Mr. Baer is a thirtysecond
degree Mason and a member of the Order of Elks.
J. P. CARTER
John Paul Carter was born at Nashville, Illinois, January
8, 1876. He entered McKendree in 1892 and graduated in
1896, receiving the degree of A. B. He was a member of the
Platonian Society. After his graduation he took a Law Course
in Washington University, St. Louis, and received the degree
of LL. B. from that institution in 1899. He then entered upon
the practice of law in his native city, Nashville, which is
the county seat of Washington County. He is still pursuing
the same vocation in the same city. He has held the office of
City Attorney for several terms and has an extensive private
practice. He is a member of the Methodist Church, the
Modern Woodmen, and the Masonic Order. He was mat'
ried June 25, 190J, to Miss Nellie M. Zerweck, of Lebanon.
MRS. MINNIE HERDMAN CLEMENS
Minnie E. Herdman was born near California, Missouri,
September 12, 1873. Her father was James Lynch, formerly
of Lebanon, Illinois. Her mother died when Minnie was an
infant. She was adopted January i2, 1875, by Rev. and Mrs.
T. H. Herdman and was reared and educated in their family.
She became a student in the Academic Department of
McKendree College in 1890 and graduated from the Music
Department in 1896, receiving the degree of Bachelor of
Music. She was a member of the Clionian Literary Society.
She was married November 2, 1898, to Mr. Charles E.
Clemens, of Lebanon, Illinois. Their residence was in or
near Lebanon — part of the time at Trenton, Caseyville, and
Collinsville — till July, 191 3, when they removed to Walsen-
burg, Colorado, where Mr. Clemens has a position as elec-
trical engineer. Mrs. Clemens was from her youth a member
of the Methodist Church, but some time after her marriage
she united with the Baptist Church, with which her hus-
band was affiliated. She died in Colorado a few years ago.
DANIEL McGLYNN
Daniel McGlynn was born at Nilwood, Macoupin Couit
ty, Illinois, September 11, 1865;. He graduated from the Law
Department of McKendree in 1896, receiving the degree of
LL. B. After his admission to the bar, he practiced law
in East St. Louis. For six years he held the position of City
Attorney. He is a member of the following organizations.
St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church, B. P. O. E., Knights
of Columbus, and the East St. Louis Chamber of Commerce.
He has been twice married and has five children.
PROF. WILLIAM V. JONES
William V. Jones was born in West Fulton, New York,
October 24, 1842. He graduated from the Albany Normal
School, which is now the New York State Normal College,
and later received the degree of A. B. from Washington and
Jefferson College. He received the degree of Ph. D. on exam'
ination from McKendree in 1896. He taught for many years
in the New York Normal College, holding various positions,
among them the professorship of German until 191 2, when
he was retired on a pension. Two of his daughters are college
graduates, and his youngest son, a graduate of Cornell, is
Professor of German at Dartmouth College. Professor Jones
is a member of the Methodist Church and of the Grand
Army of the Republic, having served three and a half years
in the Civil War.
JOSEPH B. McCULLAGH
Joseph Burbridge McCullagh was born in Dublin, Ireland,
in November, 1842. He came to New York in 1853 and
became an apprentice in the office of the Freeman's Journal.
In 1858 he came to St. Louis and was employed by the Chris'
tian Advocate, one of the official papers of the Methodist
Church. The next year he became a reporter for the St. Louis
"Democrat." At the opening of the Civil War he enlisted
in the Union Army and served as Lieutenant under General
Fremont. He was also army correspondent for the "Cincin-
nati Commercial," and after the war was Washington cor-
respondent for the same paper. In this difficult and delicate
position he made a national reputation. In this period he
was working in competition with Carl Schurz, Whitelaw
Reid, and other notable newspaper men. He is said to have
been the originator of the practice of publishing interviews
Three Hundred and Fifty-T^i
with prominent men. In 1870 he founded the ■"Republicm"
in Chicago. It was destroyed by fare m 187 1. He then c.ime
to St. Louis to edit the "Democrat," later the "Globe," and
finally the "Globe-Democrat." This position he held at the
time of his death, December 31, 1896. He was recognized
as an unusually able editorial writer. He established the
McCullagh Prize in McKendree College in 1896, and the
same year received the degree of LL. D. from McKendree.
REV. ROBERT L. NUCKOLLS
Robert L. Nuckolls was born at Fulton, Kentucky, June
29, 1865. His parents, John W. and Nancy A. Nuckolls,
were both native Americans. He became a student in the
Law Department of McKendree in 189";, and graduated m
1896, receiving the degree of LL. B. He was a member of
the Platonian Literary Society. After his graduation, he prac-
ticed law in the city of Metropolis, Illinois, for several years
and served one term as City Attorney. In 1900 he left the
profession of Law and entered the ministry of the Methodist
Episcopal Church, and became a member of the Southern
Illinois Conference. A year later he was transferred to the
Oklahoma Conference and labored m this field for ten years.
He was appointed Superintendent of the McAlester District
but after one year was compelled to give up district work
on account of his health. By the advice of his physician he
transferred to the Colorado Conference. He was married
in November, 1884, to Miss Idora Cummins. They have
one son, George L. Nuckolls, who is a member of the Colo-
rado Conference, and two daughters, Lennie A. and Flora.
Mr. Nuckolls is a member of the Knights of Pythias and
I. O. O. F., having taken the higher degrees of Oddfellow-
ship. He died in Colorado many years ago.
MRS. LULU PATTERSON NELSON
Lulu Patterson was born at Beaucoup, Illinois, June 14,
1875. She IS the daughter of Ed. A. and M. J. Patterson,
both of whom are native Americans. After having acquired
sufficient Hterary training in other schools, she came to Mc-
Kendree in September, 189J, and graduated from the Music
Department in June, 1896, receiving the degree of B. M.
She occupied a position as governess of children in Chicago
from December 20, 1899 to July 10, 1904. From that time
until the date of her marriage she taught music in Nashville,
Illinois. She was married January 6, 1909, to Mr. Herbert
J. Nelson. They have two children — William Edwin and
Lena Irene. Mrs. Nelson is a member of the Methodist Epis-
copal Church wheri she resides at Lake Villa, Illinois.
MRS. ORA POWELL McTEER
Ora Powell was born at O'Fallon, Illinois, September 14,
1877. Her parents were William H. and Mary E. Powell -
both Americans. She entered McKendree in 1893, and grad-
uated from the Music Department in June, 1896, receiving
the degree of Bachelor of Music. She was married July 28,
1900, to John McTeer, of CoUinsville, Illinois. To them
were born two children — Harold and Beulah, of whom only
the former is now living. Mrs. McTeer taught music for
about four years before her marriage. She was a member of
the Baptist Church and active in various lines of church
work. She was Superintendent of the Baptist Sunday School
for two years, and also served as president of the Ladies
Aid Society for some time. She died December 7, 1910, and
her husband followed her to the better world about two
years later.
MRS. JOSEPHINE OTWELL ANDREWS
Josephine M. Otwell was born at Plainview, Macoupin
County, Illinois, October 29, 1874. Her parents, Wm. H.
and Frances Brown Otwell, were both born in Illinois, of a
mingled ancestry which includes representatives of the Eng-
lish, Irish, and French, among them John Alden, of Puritan
fame. She entered McKendree in the fall of 1890 and com-
pleted the Classical Course in 1896, receiving the A. B.
degree. She was a member of the Clionian Society. She was
valedictorian of her class, while her future husband was
salutatorian of the same class. She was married May 10,
1899, to Rev. C. P. Andrews, and since that time has been
mistress of the manse in the various pastorates which her
husband has held. She has utilized her college education in
the discharge of the various duties of a pastor's wife and
the training of her two sons, Wilbur and Leonard.
HOMER L. RICHEY
Homer Leroy Richey was born near Flat Rock, Illinois,
September 19, 1874. After a preliminary education in the
public schools, he entered McKendree and became a mem-
ber of the Philosophian Society. He graduated from the Law
Department in the class of 1896, receiving the degree of
LL. B. He was married in 1900 to Miss Ella Cunningham,
of Palestine, Illinois. They resided for many years on a
farm near Flat Rock. He is a member of the Methodist
Episcopal Church.
MRS. ESTELLE SPIES SEITER
Vera Estelle Spies was born at St. Jacob, Illinois, February
19, 1876 Her parents are Charles and Emma (Blanke) Spies,
who are both native Americans but of German ancestry.
Her f ither graduated from McKendree in the class of 1872.
She entered college in September, 1891. and graduated in
June, 1896, receiving the degree of B. S. She was a member
of the Clionian Literary Society. She was married June 22,
|U828iMNii928
:c^^ENDREEj^^^^^^^^^^rs:g>
1898, .It St. J.icoh, 111., to Victor M. Seiter, of LeKinon,
and for several years a student in McKendree. Shortly after-
ward, Mr. Seiter went into business in Kansas City, Mo-
and their home has been in that city ever since. They have
two children, Eugene Spies, born m 1901, and Dorothy
Florence, born in 1906. Mrs. Seiter is a prominent social
leader where she lives; is a teacher of both vocal and instru-
mental music; a popular soloist and professional accompanist.
She IS the originator and an active worker m a "Mother's
Club" in Kansas City, which has for its object the aesthetic
training of children
ROBERT W. SIKKING
Robert W. Sikking was born in East St. Louis, Illinois,
May 25, 1876. He was educated in the schools of his native
city and then took a course m the McKendree Law Depart-
ment, graduating in 1896 with the degree of LL. B. Most
of the time since then he has been engaged in the real estate
business, though he has served the public in various capac-
ities in his own city. He was clerk of the South Side Levee
and Sanitary District Commission and had charge of the
work of the commission. At present he holds the office ot
City Comptroller of East St. Louis. He was married in
1900 and has one daughter — Miss Marion Sikking. He has
been a member of the Illinois Legislature.
HON. JOHN R. THOMAS
John Robert Thomas was born at Mt. Vernon, Illinois,
October 11, 1846. He was educated principally at Hunter
Collegiate Institute at Princeton, Indiana; and received the
honorary degree of LL. D. from McKendree in 1896. He
was a captain of volunteers during the Civil War. After
the war he studied law and was City Attorney of Metrop-
ohs, Illinois for two terms and State's Attorney four years.
He was then a member of Congress for five terms in suc-
cession and served on various important committees, includ-
ing the committee on naval affairs. He has been called the
"Father of the modern American Navy." He was Judge
of U. S. Courts in Indian Territory for one term, at the
close of which he resumed the practice of law and located
in what is now Muskogee, Oklahoma. He has been Grand
Master of the Masonic Lodge in Illinois, and a member of
the G. A. R. He was shot and killed January 19, 1914,
by an escaping convict at the state penitentiary at McAles-
ter, Oklahoma.
MARTHA C. WEAVER
Martha C. Weaver was Dean at the Illinois Woman's
College, at Jacksonville, from 1893 to 1897. She then spent
a year at the University of Chicago; was then Instructor
in History and Dean of Women in Upper Iowa University,
Fayette, Iowa, for some years. She was again Dean of Women
at the Illinois Woman's College from 1903 to 1913. She is
now teaching in the Cumnock School in Los Angeles, Cal-
ifornia. She received the honorary degree of Master of Arts
from McKendree in 1896.
DR. MARSHALL W. WEiR
Marshall W. Weir, Jr., was born in Belleville, Illinois,
September 3, 1873. After being educated in the schools of
his native city, he entered the McKendree Law Department,
and after completing the course, he graduated in 1896, re-
ceiving the degree of LL. B. He was not a member of either
literary society. After several years he decided to make
medicine his profession instead of the law; and entered the
Medical Department of Washington University, St. Louis,
from which he graduated in 1906 with the degree of M. D.
The following summer he did graduate work in New York
City. Also the same year he successfully passed examinations
before the Board of Medical Examiners of the State of Illi-
nois, and also of Oklahoma. He located in Oklahoma City,
where he is an influential member of the medical fraternity
of that state. He is a member of the Oklahoma County
Medical Society; the Oklahoma State Medical Association;
the American Medical Association ; and is a member of the
staff of the Wesley Hospital and City Hospital of Oklahoma
City, and a member of the faculty of the Post-Graduate
Medical School of the Southwest. He is a member of the
Baptist Church, Yoemen and Mutual Protective League, and
the Phi Beta Pi Medical Fraternity. He was married Decem-
ber 23, 1909, to Miss Jessie M Watson, of Oklahoma City.
They have one son, Marshall W Weir, III, who was born
January 4, 1913.
C. M. WILTON
Charles Melvin Wilton was born at Huey, Illinois, Sep-
tember 23, 1873. His father, William F. Wilton, was a soldier
in the Civil War and a student in McKendree for a time
after the close of the war. His mother, Sarah (Chard) Wilton,
who died a few years ago, was a member of one of the pioneer
families of Clinton County. While Mr. Wilton was a student
in McKendree, he was an active member of Plato and much
interested in music and expression. Even in his early years
he was a good singer and song leader, and a competent ac-
companist. He was prominent in various lines of entertain-
ment work and a member of one of the best male quartettes
McKendree ever sent out. He graduated in 1896, receiving
the degree of B. S. He was married in 1900 to Miss Lola
Townsend, of Lebanon. They have one daughter, Mildred
Three Hundred and Sixty-One
|mc KENDREE~^^te^-^^...^^_^_
Maurine, who was a student in McKendree several years.
She is now Mrs. H. G. Price, of Ogden, Utah. After his
graduation, Mr. Wilton engaged in teaching for some years.
He was Superintendent of
Schools at O'Fallon for five
years. He then spent a few years
in the business world. He was
cashier for the Campbell, Reid,
and Western Sales Stables,
of East St. Louis, and later
office manager of the Horse and
Mule Commission Company,
of Ogden, Utah. He has been
a life-long Methodist and al'
ways engaged in church work
as a side line; but he enjoyed
C. M. WILTON that work so much that he
decided to make it the main job. He accepted a position as
Choir Director and Financial Secretary of the First Meth-
odist Church, of Enid, Okla. After a year there, he came
to his present position as Church Secretary and Director of
Music and Religious Education in Union M. E. Church, of
St. Louis. He has twice served as Instructor in Hymnology
at the McKendree Epworth League Institute. Mr. Wilton
is still youthful in spirit and is therefore a popular leader
in young peoples' work.
MRS. NELLIE 2ERWECK CARTER
Nellie Mabel Zerweck was born at Lebanon, Illinois, July
28, 1876. She is a daughter of Louis and Eleanor (Thomas)
Zerweck, who are both native Americans. She entered Mc-
Kendree in September, 1891, and graduated in June, 1896,
receiving the degree of B. S. She was a member of the Clion
ian Literary Society. After teaching several years in the
Lebanon public school, she was married June 25, 1903, to
Mr. J. Paul Carter, of Nashville, Illinois. Their only son
died in early childhood. Mrs. Carter is a leader in social
circles, is a member of the Presbyterian Church and of the
Order of the Rebeccas and prominent in the Women's
Club.
Other members of this class of whom we have not been
able to secure any recent information nor suitable data
for a sketch are.
Nettie M. Dalley, educator, Chicago.
James H. Land, LL. B., deceased.
Myrtle I. Vernon, B. Mus., Olney.
THE CLASS OF 1897
REV. THOMAS P. BRANNUM
Thomas Perry Brannum was born at Nashville, Illinois,
June 19, 1874. His parents, William Thomas Brannum and
Sarah J. Scott, were both born in St. Clair County, Illinois.
His father was a Methodist preacher and a member of the
Southern Illinois Conference. He first enrolled as a student
in McKendree in 1893. He was a member of the Platonian
Society. While a student he was associated with a fellow
student, Mr. W. L. Cunningham, in the enterprise of editing
and publishing a college paper known as the McKendrean.
He received the degree of A. B. from McKendree in 1897.
The same year he became a probationer in the Southern
Illinois Conference, and two years later was received in full
connection. His first charge was Villa Ridge, Illinois, where
he remained continuously for six years. He then entered
Garrett Biblical Institute and in 1905 received from that
institution the degree of S. T. B. In 1904 he transferred to
the Rock River Conference and has served pastoral charges
continually in that conference until a few years ago when
he went to Redlands, California. He was married to Miss
Miriam E. Roberts, September 5, 1907. They have one son,
Hugh R. Brannum.
MRS. JENNIE BLANCK EISENMAYER
Jennie E. Blanck was born at Lebanon, Illinois, June 26,
1897. She is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry W. Blanck
who have long resided in Lebanon. Her father was bom in
Germany but her mother is a native American. After com'
pleting the public schools in Lebanon she entered McKen-
dree and graduated June 12, 1897, receiving the degree of
B. S. She was a member of the Clionian Literary Society.
She was gifted with an excellent voice which she developed
by special training. She was for several years Instructor in
Vocal Music in McKendree College. She has also held the
position of Supervisor of Music in the Lebanon public
schools. She was married February 13, 1909, to Homer C.
Eisenmayer, who was a student in McKendree for some time,
and who was cashier of the State Bank of Lebanon for many
years. They have one daughter, Elizabeth Blanck Eisen'
mayer. Mrs. Eisenmayer and her husband were both mem'
bers of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Her death occurred
in February 1919.
HORATIO C. CHAFFIN
Horatio Clarence Chaffin was born at Clay City Illinois,
January 4, 1873. He is a son of John Milton and Mary E.
Chafiin who were of American parentage. He became a stu-
dent in McKendree in September 1890, but his course was
Three Hundred and Sixty-Two
^MC KENDREE ^^^^^^:^;g^^^;^^^
interrupted by several intervals of teaching. He graduated
from the Law Department in 1894 with the degree of LL. B.
and in 1897 completed the Scientific course and received the
degree of B. S. He was a member of the Philosophian Literary
Society. He was Principal of the Clay City School 1898-99,
and Superintendent of the Flora Schools 1900-1901. Since
that time he has been cashier of the "Bank of Flora" at
Flora, Illinois. He was married September 6, 1899 to Miss
Olive L Miller of Caseyville, Illinois. They had one son,
H. C. Chaffin, Jr., who died when about twenty years of
age. Mr. ChatEn is a member of the Methodist Episcopal
church and of the fraternal orders, A. F. 6? A. M. and M.
W. of A. They now reside on the old Miller homestead
near Caseyville, while Mr. Chaffin is in business in Granite
City.
REV. LOUIS G. CUMMINS
Louis G. Cummins, son of Daniel T. and Elizabeth
Cummins, was born at Reevesville, Illinois, September 20,
1870. He grew up on a farm and attended the public schools.
He entered McKendree in the fall of 1891 and completed
the classical course in 1897 receiving the degree of A. B-
He was a member of the Platonian Literary Society. He
joined the Southern Illinois Conference in 1896, and since
his graduation has worked in the pastorate continuously.
The last charge he served in Illinois was Carlyle. In 1903
he was transferred to the Iowa Conference, and for several
years he was stationed at Eldon, Iowa. He was married
December 18, 1899 to Miss Jennie Clark. Their children are
Mildred, Edna, and Paul. After some years he transferred
to the Illinois Conference, and a few years ago retired. He
is now living in Danville, Illinois.
MRS. VIOLA CROSBY MOORE
M. Viola Crosby was born April 28, 1881 at Rock Spring
nursery which is situated three miles west of Lebanon. She
entered McKendree in 1892 and graduated in 1897 with the
degree of Bachelor of Music. After her graduation she taught
music for a number of years. She is a member of the order of
the Eastern Star, O'Fallon Chapter No. 487. After being
employed by a commercial firm for a few years she was
married to Mr. George Moore of O'Fallon. They still reside
in that city. They have one son.
PROF. ALFRED EWINGTON
Alfred Ewington was born in the city of Chicago in the
year 1862. He took the greater part of his college course at
Illinois College, but spent his senior year in McKendree and
graduated in 1897 receiving the degree of A. B. He was a
member of the Philosophian Literary Society. He taught
school for a number of years before taking his college course,
and after graduating continued to teach, study, and travel.
He travelled in Europe in order to perfect his knowledge of
the modern languages, studied in Paris, Madrid and Florence.
He taught French in Washington University, St. Louis, and
Modern Languages in the University of Missouri at Colum-
bia. He has been for many years employed in the high school
of Los Angeles, California.
NORMA J. HOFFMAN
Norma J. Hoffman was born in Lebanon, Illinois, February
13, 1879. After attending the public schools of Lebanon she
spent a year in Monticello Seminary at Godfrey, Illinois.
She then entered McKendree where she pursued literary
studies for two years and finished the course in instrumental
music, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Music in 1897.
She has been a life-long member of the Roman Catholic
Church in Lebanon.
WILLIAM HUTCHINSON
William Hutchinson of Belleville enrolled in the McKen-
dree Law Department in 1895 and completed the course in
1897, receiving the degree of LL. B. Later he lived in East
St. Louis.
JAMES C. JONES
James CHnton Jones was born at Coulterville, Illinois,
January 22, 1877 and died at Denver, Colorado, March 29,
1899. He was the youngest son of Mr. and Mrs. J. M. Jones
of Coulterville, Illinois. He was educated in the public
schools of his home town, the Coulterville Academy, the
Marissa Academy, the Normal School at Dixon, Illinois, and
McKendree College. He entered the Law Department of
McKendree in 1895 and graduated in 1897, receiving the
degree of LL. B. He was a member of the Platonian Literary
Society. He was an able young man with the promise of a
bright future before him; but about the time of his gradua-
tion his health began to fail, and after receiving the best
medical attention without avail, he tried the effect of the
climate in New Mexico and Colorado, in which latter place
he finally gave up the struggle against disease as stated above.
CARRIE F. JONES, A. B.
(See Mrs. V. W. Thrall, Class of 1899.)
REV. CLARENCE O. KIMBALL
Clarence Oliver Kimball was born at Golconda, Illinois,
August 23, 1868. He received his education at the home
schools, Anna Academy, Austin College of Effingham, and
McKendree. Austin College, which gave him his A. B. has
long since disappeared from the educational field. His work
at McKendree was graduate work entirely. He received the
Three Hundred and Sixty-Three
degree of Ph. D. on examination in 1897. In 1909 Willam-
ette University conferred upon him the degree of D. D.
Previous to his coming to McKendree he had studied law
and had been admitted to the bar. But he afterward changed
his mind and entered the ministry. He served pastorates m
the Southern Illinois Conference until 1902, when he was
tran.sferred to the Colorado Conference, and in 1906 to the
Columbia River Conference. He has served on the Board of
Trustees of McKendree, of Denver University, and of
Willammette University. He was a member of the General
Conference of 191 2. He has been pastor of several prominent
churches in the west. He now lives in Southern California.
PHEBE E. LEWIS, B. S.
See Mrs. Phebe Lewis Peterson, class of 1902.
ADOLPHUS S. NELSON
Adolphus S. Nelson of Belleville, took the regular course
in the Law Department of McKendree College and graduated
in 1897. Some time afterward he was engaged in the law
business in East St. Louis.
CHARLES D. McCAMMON
Charles D. McCammon was born and reared in Cairo,
Illinois. After completing the home schools and studying for
a time in the Anna Academy, he came to McKendree, com-
pleted the classical course and received the degree of A. B.
in 1897. He was a member of Plato. He immediately joined
the Southern Illinois Conference. He served in this field for
some years and then transferred to the Rock River Confer-
ence. For some years he was stationed in Joliet. Later he
went to Wisconsin and decided to exchange pastoral work
for agricultural. Our latest information indicates that he is
located at Mills Lake, Wisconsin.
MRS. MAGGIE PACE MEAD
Maggie Pace was born at Huey, Illinois, October 17, 1882.
She is the daughter of Dr. Joseph F. Pace who was a native
of Mount Vernon, Illinois, and Georgia A. (Cooper) Pace
of Huey, Illinois. When she attended McKendree her home
was at Breese, Illinois where her father was engaged in the
practice of medicine. She graduated from the Music Depart-
ment of McKendree College in 1897 receiving the degree of
Bachelor of Music. She afterward studied music under Prof.
George Buddens, and Prof. Ernest Kroeger of St. Louis.
After teaching music for some time she was married to Mr.
Grover Mead of Alhambra. Their home is now at Cirlyle,
Illinois.
JAMES S. PORTER
James Scott Porter was born in Caseyville Township, St.
Clair County, Illinois, May 10, 1874. He is a son of Mr. and
Mrs. Joseph Porter of O'Fallon. He studied law at McKen-
dree together with a part of the regular college course. He
graduated from the Law Department receiving the degree of
LL. B. in 1897. He was a member of the Platonian Literary
Society. He has been for many years in business as a member
of the General Roofing Company of East St. Louis. He is
vice-president of the company. He was married in 1903 to
Miss May Ritcher of St. Louis. They have one daughter,
Jane, born in 1912. They reside in the city of St. Louis. Mr
Porter is a member of the Masonic Fraternity.
JOHN J. RALEIGH
John J. Raleigh took the Law Course in McKendree Col-
lege and graduated in 1897 receiving the degree of LL. B.
Later he was in the employ of the John Hancock Insurance
Company of St. Louis. He was a member of the Platonian
Literary Society. He is now deceased.
CAROLINE RUESS, B. Mus.
See Mrs. Erwin Runkwitz, class of 1894.
HON. ERASTUS D. TELFORD
Erastus Dolson Telford was born on a farm near Salem in
Marion County, Illinois. His parents are James D. and Sarah
A. Telford who are both Americans. He entered McKen-
dree in 1894 and graduated in 1897 with the degree of B. S.
He was a member of the Platonian Literary Society. After
taking courses in the Law Department of the Georgetown
University he received the degrees of LL. B. and LL. M.
from that institution. He was clerk in the Treasury Depart-
ment at Washington, D. C. from 1899 to 1906. Since 1906
he has been practicing law at Salem, Illinois. He held the
office of City Attorney of Salem for one term. In 191 1 he
was elected State Senator from the 42nd Senatorial District.
Mr. Telford, though a Republican was elected by a good
majority in a Democratic district. He was married November
1, 1900 to Miss Coral B. Wright of Lincoln, Nebraska. They
have three children, Elbridge W., Dorothy Margaret, and
Evelyn Alice. Mr. Telford is a member and an active worker
in the Methodist Church at Salem, and belongs to the
Masonic Lodge — Chapter and Commandery; he is also a
member of the Modern Woodmen of America.
REV. ROBERT S. YOUNG
Robert S. Young, son of John and Sarah E. Young, was
born in Illinois, and entered McKendree in 1889. His course
was interrupted through no fault of his own in such a way
that he did not graduate until 1897. In that year he received
the degree of A. B. He was a member of the Platonian Liter-
ary Society. He entered the ministry and joined the Southern
Illinois Conference in 1897, but after a few years was trans-
Three Hundred and Si.vtv-Foui
MC KENDREE
ferred to the Newark Conference, o{ which he is still a
member. After leaving McKendree he went to Yale where
he won a $ioo prize for research work in philosophy and
obtained the Master's degree. In 1899 he went to Drew
Theological Seminary where he pursued courses m N. T.
Greek, Hebrew, and the Philosophy of Religion. He also
took graduate courses in Sociological Science m the Univer-
sity of New York, from which institution he received the
degree of Ph. D. In the fall of 1906 he organized the first
Preventorium movement in the great antituberculosis cam-
paign. To the end of the year 1913 over 1900 unfortunate
mothers and their children had been brought from the tene-
ment districts of New York City to the beautiful and health-
giving quarters of the Preventorium in the Shawanga moun-
tains near Otisville. The work of Dr. Young and his wife
has been highly commended by Ella Wheeler Wilcox. Dr.
Young was married August 6, 1897 to Miss Lena Caldwell
of St. Louis. They have four children, Sherman Plato; Sara
Roberta; Helen Lynette; and Lena Dorothy.
HON. WILLIAM J. BRYAN
William Jennings Bryan was born at Salem, Illinois, March
19, i860. His father. Judge Silas Lillard Bryan, was a graduate
of McKendree. William J. graduated from Illinois College
at Jacksonville, Illinois, in 1881 and received the degree of
A. M. from the same institution in 1884. He graduated from
the Union College of Law in Chicago in 1883; and received
the degree of LL. D. from McKendree in 1897. He was
married in 1884 to Miss Mary E. Baird of Perry, Illinois.
He practiced law at Jacksonville, Illinois, and then at Lincoln,
Nebraska. He was a member of Congress 1891-1895; Editor
of the "Omaha World" 1894-1896. In 1896 he was a member
of the National Democratic Convention at Chicago, where
after making his famous "Cross of Gold" speech he was
nominated for President of the United States. In the cam-
paign that followed, on the Free Silver platform, he travelled
over 18,000 miles and spoke in every important town in the
United States. In 1898 he was Colonel of a Nebraska Regi-
ment in the Spanish War. In 1900 he was again the Demo-
cratic Candidate for the presidency, and was again defeated
by William McKinley. He was candidate of the same party
for the third time in 1908 when he was defeated by Theodore
Roosevelt. He is author of several books; was editor of the
"Commoner" published at Lincoln, Nebraska; world-wide
traveller, and popular lecturer. In 191 3 he was appointed
Secretary of State by President Woodrow Wilson.
When Mr. Bryan saw that war with Germany was in-
evitable he resigned his office. In his latter years his home
was in Florida. He died in July, 1925.
MAJOR WILLIAM McKINLEY
William McKinley was born at Niles, Ohio, January 29,
1843, and died at Buffalo, New York, September 14, 1901.
He was educated at Union Seminary, Poland, Ohio, and
Allegheny College at Meadville, Pennsylvania, though on
account of ill health he did not finish his college course. He
taught in the public schools, clerked in the post-office, and
served in the Civil War, having reached the rank of Major.
After the war he studied law at Youngstown, Ohio and
Albany, New York, and was admitted to the bar at Warren,
Ohio in 1867. He practiced law at Canton, Ohio; was a mem-
ber of congress three terms; was author and advocate of the
"McKinley Tariff Bill" which won for him an international
reputation and eventually the presidency. He was elected in
1896 and again in 1900. He was assasinated by an anarchist
while attending the Pan-American Exposition at Buffalo,
New York in 1901. In 1897 McKendree conferred upon him
the degree of LL. D. He was a member of the Methodist
Episcopal Church.
THE CLASS OF 1S98
REV. CHARLES W. CAMPBELL
Charles Wesley Campbell was born near Newport,
Indiana, January 15, 1851. His parents were Silas Campbell
of Scotch-Irish descent, and Phebe Young of Irish ancestry.
He entered McKendree m 1870 but was not able to continue
his course to graduation. Later he completed a course in the
Illinois Wesleyan University and received the degree of Ph.
B. in 1880. He took a graduate course in McKendree and
received the degree of Ph. M. in 1898.
While in McKendree he was a member of the Philosophian
Society. He was married September 2, 1875 to Miss Caroline
H. Thrall of Edwards County, Illinois. Their children are
Mrs. Ettie C. Marshall of Jennings, La., and Leo F. Mr.
Campbell became a member of.the Methodist Church while
a student at McKendree during the pastorate of Dr. G. W.
Hughey at Lebanon. He did not enter the ministry until
some years later. He was a teacher for a number of years.
He was principal of the Houston (Tex.) Seminary from 1882
to 1886. Since entering the ministry he has been a member
of the Austin, Missouri, Gulf Mission, Arkansas, and South-
ern Illinois Conferences. He died in 1922.
CLIFFORD D. CHAMBERLIN
Clifford Dana Chamberlin was born in Beardstown, Illi-
nois, December 12, 1870. He is the son of McKendree H. and
Helen (Dana) Chamberlin, of whom the former is a native of
Lebanon, Illinois, and the latter of Kansas City, Missouri.
After receiving training in the public schools of Springfield,
Three Hundred and Sixty-Five
Illinois and Denver, Colorado, he became a student in Mc
Kendree College in 1887. Owing to various interruptions in
his course he did not graduate until 1898 when he received
the degree of A. B. He was a member of the Philosophian
Literary Society. In the intervals of his college course he was
engaged in electrical construction work and pursuing courses
in the BerHtz School of Languages of St. Louis. In 1895 he
made a trip around the world. He travelled in England,
Egypt, India, Australia, and returned home by way of San
Francisco. The year before he graduated he tutored in Span-
ish and the year following was made Professor of the Spanish
and French Languages in McKendree, at the same time, as
in the previous year he was acting as private secretary to the
President. Portions of the years 1899 and 1900 he spent in
Brazil and Argentina, South America, on mining business
for a St. Louis syndicate. He was married August 13, 1901
to Miss Hilda Hayes of Denver, Colorado. Their only son,
Vincent Hayes, was born in 1903. During the years 1902-
1909 he was connected with the International Correspond'
ence Schools of Scranton, Pennsylvania. He occupied suc-
cessively the positions of field agent; division superintendent
in Colorado; special representative and organizer for the
Rocky Mountain States; superintendent of Mexico, where
he created district educational centers in all the leading
cities of the Republic as well as in Cuba and was then made
General Superintendent of the Latin-American countries.
Failing health by reason of overwork in tropical climate com-
pelled him to resign this position. He then opened a school
of modern languages in Long Beach, Cahfornia, with one
hundred and fifteen students. This was suspended on account
of the protracted illness of his wife, then in Denver, resulting
in her death in 1910. Since that time he has travelled in the
Pacific states and Canada, has been engaged in literary work
relating to child-welfare, and has in preparation a "Nut-shell
Series of Studies" on the subject of child training. He is now
teaching in the High School at Santa Ana, California.
E. C. CHAMBERLIN
Edgar Clinton Chamberlin was born in Lebanon, Illinois,
May 21, 1879. He is a son of John M. and Margaret Ellen
Chamberlin, both of American nativity. He grew up in
Lebanon, attended the public school, and entered McKen-
dree at the early age of fourteen, which was the minimum
age limit required by the rules of the college. He completed
the classical course, graduating in 1898. While a student he
won a first prize in declamation, also one of the McCullagh
journalistic prizes. He was a member of the Philosophian
Society. He was married to Miss Euj.ilie Reinhardt of Colo-
rado Springs, Colorado, June 11, 1910. Immediately after
their marriage they spent some months travelling in Europe.
They have one daughter, Margaret Louise. After his gradua'
tion, Mr. Chamberlin was for some time Principal of the
public school at Hutsonville, Illinois. He next taught Latin
in the Mt. Vernon High School; then became Principal of
the Greenville High School; then taught English in the East
St. Louis High School. He then accepted a position as field
representative of the firm of Allyn and Bacon in the High
School and College Text-book business. He is a member of
the Methodist Church and, with his family, now resides in
Chicago.
RUTH E. CASE
See Mrs. C. E. Chamberlin, class of 1893.
REV. ORLIN F. CULVER
Orlin Frank Culver was born near Vienna, Johnson
County, Illinois, April 12, 1865. His father. Dr. H. W. Cul-
ver, was of Irish ancestry, while his mother, Eliza (Curtis)
Culver came from a New England family. His grandfather
Curtis was born in Boston and graduated from Dartmouth
College. Orlin received his early education in the public
schools and in 1893 found his way to McKendree College.
He became a probationer in the annual conference the same
year he entered college. He gave attention alternately to
preaching and college work till in 1898 he graduated with
the degree of B. S. While in college he was a member of the
Platonian Society. He was married October 25, 1899 to Miss
Minnie E. Barringer of Anna, Illinois, who was a student
in McKendree a part of the same period that Mr. Culver was.
Of their six children, only two are now living, Harold and
Paul. Since his graduation Brother Culver has served suc-
cessful pastorates in a number of important charges in the
Southern Illinois Conference. He is now stationed at Pales-
tine. Both his sons are students in McKendree.
WILLIAM L. CLUCAS
William Lyman Clucas was born in Lebanon, Illinois,
October 4, 1872. His father, William J. Clucas, was a
Manxman and his mother, Mary Clucas, was of Scotch
nationality. He received his early education in the public
schools of Lebanon, and entered McKendree College in 1890.
He left college two years later to engage in the hardware
business, but re-entered McKendree in 1896 and graduated
in 1898 with the degree of LL. B. While in college he was a
member of the Platonian Literary Society; the Plato Quar-
tette; and President of the McKendree Glee Club. He was
graduate manager of the Foot Ball Team, in 1900, 1901 and
1902. Soon after graduation he entered the employ of the
Three Hundred and S..>
^MC KENDREE"^^^^^^:^:^:^.^,^.,,,^,^
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company and became Superin-
tendent of the Lincoln, Illinois district. He moved to Chicago
in 1906 and entered the service of the State of Illinois, in the
grain inspection department. In 1908 he entered the Chicago
Law School, and received the degree of LL. B. in 1909. He
was admitted to the bar of Illinois in April 191 1. He was a
member of the Republican Central Committee of Cook
County, 1910 to 1912. He is a member of the Methodist
Episcopal Church, and served as Treasurer of the Methodist
Brotherhood of the Rock River Conference in 1909, and
Vice President m 1910. He was married February 14, 1907
to Miss Maizie T. Creager of Bloomington, Illinois, and they
now reside in Chicago where Mr. Clucas is practicing law.
MRS. CORA DAVIS McDOWELL
Cora B. Davis was born at O'Fallon, Illinois, in the year
1880. She is the daughter of Evan and Angeline Davis. She
was educated in the O'Fallon public schools and then entered
the Music Department of McKendree, from which she grad-
uated in 1898 receiving the degree of Bachelor of Music-
She taught music for a time in her native city. She was
married in 1901 to Mr. McDowell. They have one son
Claude. Her home is still at O'Fallon though she spends
much of her time travelling with a concert troupe as pro-
fessional pianist.
REV. JOHN L. DONOVAN
John L. Donovan was born near Georgetown, Illinois, in
the year 1857. His parents, Thomas J. and Mary M. (Lyon)
Donovan, were both of Scotch-Irish descent. After having
received a good general education he studied law, was ad-
mitted to the bar in Illinois and practiced several years. He
then entered the ministry and joined the Southern lUinois
Conference. While serving as a pastor he enrolled in McKen-
dree and did the work required for the degree of Bachelor of
Literature which he received in 1898 and Master of Litera-
ture in 1899. Later he left the Methodist church and entered
the ministry of the Congregational church. He studied several
years in the University of Chicago and in 1910 received the
degrees of Bachelor of Philosophy and Bachelor of Divinity
at the same convocation. He served as pastor of a Congrega-
tional church at Jerome, Arizona, where he died some years
ago.
MRS. CATHERINE GAFFNER HENDERSON
Catherine Gaffner was born at Trenton, Illinois, January
14, i88j. She is a daughter of Dr. T. and Emily (Emig)
Gaffner. After attending the public schools in her native
town she enrolled in the Music Department of McKendree
from which she graduated in 1898 receiving the degree of
B. Mus. She was a student four years at the Kroeger Music
Conservatory in St. Louis studying Piano and Voice under
Mr. Fellows and Mr. Geer. She was also a student four
years in Oberlin College, Ohio. She was married October 2,
1906 to Mr. D. M. Henderson of Cleveland, Ohio. They
have one child, Gertrude Elizabeth. They reside at Hudson,
Ohio.
MRS. BERTHA JEPSON RITCHER
Bertha Evelyn Jepson was born at Muskegon, Michigan,
January 10, 1877. She is a duaghter of Albert G. and Nina
(Ormiston) Jepson, who were both natives of New York
State, but of Scottish ancestry. Her father was for ten years
Professor of Mathematics in McKendree. She became a stu-
dent in the preparatory department in 1892 and graduated
from the college of Liberal Arts in June 1898, receiving the
degree of Bachelor of Science. She was a member of the
Clionian Literary Society. In 1900 she became a teacher in
the public schools of East St. Louis, where she served suc-
cessfully for many years. She is a member of the First Methc
dist Church of that city. Some time after the death of her
older sister, Mrs. Jessie Jepson Ritcher, she was married to
Mr. Ritcher and became the foster mother of her sisters'
children. Their home is in East St. Louis.
SAMUEL D. RUTH
Samuel Daniel Ruth was born at Summerfield, Illinois,
March 39, 1873. He graduated from McKendree in the class
of 1898, receiving the degree of B. S. He was a member of
the Philo Society. The same year he accepted a position with
a prominent lumber and manufacturing company at Beat-
rice, Nebraska. After eight years of service he was elected
secretary of the company. He was married in 1904 to Miss
Marie C. Dueck of St. Louis. They have two children, Clin-
ton Howard and Mildred Dorothy. Mr. Ruth is an active
member of the Mennonite Church.
Alexander Vein of East St. Louis took the Law Course
in McKendree and graduated in 1898, receiving the degree
of LL. B.
Miss Ora Evans of O'Fallon received the degree of B.
Mus. as a member of this class, but we have no recent in-
formation concerning her.
Rev. J. M. Correll received the degree of Ph. M.
Rev. WiUiam C. Templeton received the degree of Ph.
D. with this class.
Neither of these men was an under-graduate student in
McKendree.
Three Hundred and Sixty-Sevt
|MC KENDREE ^^^^fes^^....^^..^^
HON. ETHELBERT CALLAHAN, LL. D.
Ethelbert Callahan was born in Licking County, Ohio^
December 17, 1829. He came to Illinois in March, 1849. He
was chiefly self-educated and has achieved success by reason
of his native ability, industry, and perseverance. He received
the degree of LL. D. from McKendree in 1898. During his
long professional career as a lawyer he has made an honorable
record. He has served four terms in the Illinois Legislature,
and twice as Presidential Elector. He has during all the years
been a devoted member of the Methodist Church. He was
a member of the General Conference of 1872 which was the
first to admit Lay Delegates. He was for many years a
Trustee of McKendree. He was married June 27, 1854 to
Mrs. Mary Barlow Jones of Hutsonville, Illinois. He died
about twelve years ago.
DR. EUGENE L. WAGGONER
Eugene Lathy Waggoner was born near Godfrey, Illinois,
February 26, 1858. He was educated in the public schools of
his home community, and then attended the Northern
Indiana Normal school where he graduated in 1882. After
teaching a number of years in the public schools in his own
and other counties, and for several years serving as principal
of the Lebanon public schools, he decided to follow the voca-
tion of physician. He entered the Chicago Homeopathic
Medical College from which he received the degree of M.
D. in 1889. He then practiced medicine in Lebanon for a
period of seventeen years. A large part of that time he was
a member of McKendree 's Board of trustees, and also a
member of the Executive Committee. In 1898 the college
conferred upon him the honorary degree of A. M. While
teaching in Lebanon he was married to Miss Carrie Sargent
who was a student in McKendree and received a diploma in
Elocution in 1883. They have three sons. In 1906 Dr.
Waggoner moved with his family to Los Angeles, California.
He continued his medical practice there until the time of his
death which occurred August 14, 192J. He served during
the World War as Examining Surgeon in the Volunteer
Medical Corps. From 1917 to 1922 he served as a member
of the Housing Commission in the City of Los Angeles.
THE CLASS OF 1899
EMIL C. HAAGEN
Emil C. Haagen was born at Alton, Illinois, November
30, 1876. He was educated in the public schools of his native
city and then studied law in Washington University. Later
he came to McKendree, entered the Law Department and
graduated in 1899, receiving the degree of LL. B. He was
admitted to the B.ir of Illinois and has since been practicing
law in Alton. He has been Assistant State s Attorney of
Madison County.
WILLIAM A. KOENIGSTEIN
William A. Koenigstein was born at Watertown, Wiscon-
sin, November 10, 1872. He attended Walther College in
St. Louis in 1889-90 and then went to Nebraska for a few
years. Later he returned and entered McKendree in 1896.
He graduated in 1899 with the degree of LL. B. However he
did not practice law, but engaged in the mercantile business
for a time in O'Fallon. Later he became a real estate broker
in the same place. He laid out and sold an addition to the
city of O'Fallon. He also held the position of postmaster
and for a term was president of the Board of Education of
that city. He left O'Fallon many years ago and we have no
recent information concerning him.
MRS. AUGUSTA KREHBIEL RUTH
Augusta Krehbiel was born at Summerfield, Illinois,
December 12, 1877. Her parents, Jacob and Katherine
Krehbiel, were both natives of Germany. She attended the
public schools of Summerfield, and entered McKendree Col-
lege in 1895. She graduated in 1899, receiving the degree of
Bachelor of Music. During much of the interval between
her graduation and her marriage she was engaged in com-
mercial pursuits. She was married to Mr. J. E. Ruth, October
31, 1912. They reside at Kingfisher, Oklahoma. Mrs. Ruth
is a member of the Mennonite Church.
MISHIO OSAWA, PH. D.
Mishio Osawa was born at Yanagawa, Fukuokaken, Japan,
June 25, 1870. His parents are Japanese and belong to the
Samurai class. Their names are Yukuye and Yoshiko Osawa.
Mishio came to this country to secure a thorough American
education. He made money to pay his expenses by lecturing
on Japan. He took a regular college course at Hedding College,
receiving the degree of A. B. He then took post-graduate work
in Philosophy and Economics in McKendree and received
the degree of Ph. D. in 1899. He then returned to his na-
tive country where he secured a position in educational
work under government appointment. By reason ot excel-
lent service he has been "raised to the Junior Grade of
the Seventh Rank by the Emperor". He was married in
1900 to Miss TsutakoShimidsu. They have three sons and
two daughters. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal
Church in Japan.
REV. STEPHEN A. D. ROGERS
Stephen A. Douglass Rogers was born in McLean County,
Illinois, April 2'i, 1861. He took the greater part of his college
Three Hundred and Sixt\-Eight
MC KENDREE
course in the Illinois Wesleyan University, but the last year
was done at McKendree and he graduated with the class of
1899, receiving the degree of B. S. A few years later the
Illinois Wesleyan conferred upon hini the degree of D. D.
He was received on trial in the Southern Illinois Conference
in 1896. His promotion was steady and he held some of the
important charges in the Conference. He was twice District
Superintendent, first of the Olney district and then the
Vandalia district. He was a delegate to the General Confer-
ence of 1912 which convened at Minneapolis. In 1919 he
transferred to the Northwest Kansas Conference where his
death occurred a few years later.
THOMAS C. STALLINGS
Thomas C. Stallmgs wao born in Madison County, Illi-
nois, May 22, 1868. He attended Shurtleff College, Univer-
sity of Illinois, St. Louis Law School, and then McKendree,
where he received the degree of LL. B. in 1899. He was
admitted to the bar in 1900 in the State of Illinois and also
in Missouri. He located in Granite City, lUinois for the
practice of his profession. He has held several important
positions in that city. He is a member of the Masonic Order.
PROF. PAUL E. SABINE, Ph. D.
Paul Earl Sabine was born at Albion, Illinois, January 22,
1879. He is a son of Rev. Chas. W. and Rebecca L. Sabine,
who are both native Americans. His father was for many
years a pastor in the Southern Illinois Conference. He first
became a student in McKendree in 1894 and graduated in
1899 with the degree of A. B. He was a member of the
Platonian Literary Society. Later he took a course in Harvard
and received the degree of A. B. from that institution in
1903. During the years 1903-1906 he was Instructor in Phy-
sics and Chemistry in Worcester Academy at Worcester,
Massachusetts. From 1906 to 1910 he was Master in Science
in the same institution. During the year 1910-ri he was a
graduate student in Harvard from which institution he re-
ceived the degree of A. M. in 191 1, and some years later,
Ph. D. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
He was married December 27, 1906 to Miss Mabel Johnson,
daughter of Hon. Hale Johnson of Newton, Illinois. They
have a son. Hale Johnson Sabine, born in October 1909. He
is now employed in the Geneva Institute at Geneva, Illinois.
REV. AND MRS. VICTOR W. THRALL
Among the influential preachers of the Methodism of the
middle west is Rev. Victor Worthy Thrall, whose father
and mother were both graduates of McKendree. He was
born at Hartford, Kansas, April 19, 1877, but grew up in a
Southern Illinois parsonage. At McKendree he was a member
REV. AND MRS. VICTOR W. THRALL
of the Platonian Society and salutatonan of the class of 1899.
After a year m the pastorate he entered Garrett Biblical
Institute and received the degree of B. D. from that institu-
tion m 1903. He also received the degree of Ph. D. from Mc-
Kendree. On Christmas day 1903, Dr. Thrall was married to
Miss Carrie Frances Jones, whose parents were Alfred C.
and Cornelia (Houser) Jones, both of whose families were
among the early pioneers. Carrie Frances was the youngest
of four children. She was educated at McKendree and was
an active member of Clio. She was the valedictorian of the
class of 1897 and received the degree of A. B. Doctor and
Mrs. Thrall served pastorates in the Southern Illinois Con-
ference for ten years. Four of these years were at Lebanon
where Dr. Thrall was a most acceptable preacher at the
College Church. In 1914 they moved to Wesley Church,
Chicago. They also served at First Church, Chicago; Cov-
enant Church, Evanston; and Dixon, m the Rock River Con-
ference, and then transferred to Knoxville, Tennessee. At
present they reside in Albion, Michigan, where Dr. Thrall
is the pastor of the College Church. During the Centenary
he was the manager of the Chicago campaign in which
$3,200,000 were raised. He is also much in demand as a
speaker at Epworth League Institutes and other young peo-
ples' assemblies. Dr. and Mrs. Thrall have three children.
Edith, the eldest, a graduate of Albion College, is the wife
of Rev. George A. Mooers of Reading, Michigan. Evelyn
is a senior in Albion College, and Victor, at the age of ten
is in the fifth grade of the public schools.
REV. OWEN WRIGHT
Dr. Owen Wright, physician and surgeon, and his wife
Margaret, lived for many years at Mason, Illinois. He served
in the Civil War and was with Sherman on the famous
March to the Sea. His wife, formerly Margaret Wallis, was
Three Hiiiicired and Stxty-Tiu
born in Ireland and was a relative of Lord Ross, the maker
of the famous telescope which at that time was the largest
in the world. She was also related to Dr. McKay, at one tmie
President of the University of Belfast. Their only son Owen
Wright, Jr., was born at Mason in the late seventies, attend-
ed the public schools, and the preparatory department of
De Pauw University, and then entered McKendree College,
where he was graduated in 1899, receiving the degree of
A. B. He was a member of the Platonian Society. He did
graduate work at the Ohio Wesleyan University where he
received the degree of A. M. Early in life he chose the min-
istry for his vocation. He was licensed to exhort at the age
of seventeen, to preach at nineteen, and began his first pas-
torate at twenty-two. He served pastorates in the Southern
Illinois Conference until 1901 when he was transferred to
the Northwest Indiana Conference. After eighteen years of
service there he returned to the Southern Illinois Conference
in 1919. He is now stationed at First Church, Nashville.
He is philosophical in his trend of thought, oratorical in
style, and always an attractive speaker. He is the author of
a book entitled "Postulates of Life". In addition to his work
as a preacher he sometimes occupies the lecture platform.
He was married in 1920 to Miss Isabel Cheshier of Vandalia,
Illinois.
REV. CHARLES C. WOODS, Ph. D.
Charles Coke Woods was born near Springfield, Illinois,
October 8, i860. He received his bachelor's degree from
Lewis College at Glasgow, Missouri in 1885. He received
the degree of B. D. from Garrett in 1889. After completing
the required graduate work in McKendree he was granted
the degree of Ph. D. in 1899.
Dr. Woods has spent his life as a Methodist minister,
for many years in Kansas, and then in California. But besides
the usual work of the minister, he has done much work as a
writer and lecturer. He has written for the Epworth Herald,
The Central Advocate, The Sunday School Journal, and
The Methodist Review. He is the author of several books
of which the titles are "A Pilgrim Jew", "A Harp of the
Heart", "The Reign of Reason in Religion", and "In the
Beauty of Meadow and Mountain".
REV. ARTHUR J. WHEELER, Ph. D.
Arthur J. Wheeler was born at Staits Lake, Michigan,
September 25, 1841. He received his college education at the
Northwestern University, which institution granted him
the degrees of A. B. and A. M. Later he completed the
course in Garrett Biblical Institute and received the degree
of S. T. B. He has long been a member of the Michigan Con-
ference. After taking the required courses in McKendree,
he was granted the degree of Ph. D. on examination.
WALTER A. ORR
Walter A. Orr was a member of this class and received
the degree of LL. B. He enrolled from Greenville. We have
no information as to his present address.
THE CLASS OF 1900
WILLIAM B. EATON
William Burke Eaton was born near Edwardsville, Illinois,
November 28, 1875. He is a son of Henry A. and Margaret
(Burke) Eaton. They are both native Americans but the
former is of English- Welsh and the latter of Irish ancestry.
William B. entered McKendree in September, 189J, and grad-
uated in June, 1900, receiving the degree of B. S. He was a
member of the Philosophian Literary Society. He was married
May J I, 1905 to Miss Mary Edith Smith. After devoting a
few years to agricultural interests he left Illinois and went
to the far northwest. For some years he was engaged in gold
mining and prospecting in Alaska. For a time he held the
position of City Clerk in Nome, Alaska. He is now an
orchardist, residing near Brogan, Oregon. He is a member of
the Knights of Pythias.
ANDREW J. FLETCHER
Andrew Jackson Fletcher lived in Harrisburg, Illinois,
before he came to McKendree in 1898 to take a law course.
He graduated in the class of 1900, receiving the degree of
LL. B. He was a member of Plato. He practiced law for
awhile in his home city and held the office of City Attorney.
Later he went to St. Louis and engaged in the restaurant
business. He subsequently went to Chicago and engaged in
the same business. He died in Chicago in 19 12.
MRS. GERTRUDE GAFFNER REINHARDT
Gertrude Gaffner was born at Trenton, Illinois, October
2, 1884. She entered McKendree in 1896 and graduated in
1900, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Music. She taught
school five years — four of these in her home town. She was
married July 22, 1908 to Dr. O. F. Reinhardt of New Baden,
Illinois. They lived in Aviston for some years, but now reside
m Mascoutah where the Doctor is practicing his profession.
JUDGE WILLIAM STOKER
William Stoker, son of Isaac and Nancy Stoker, was born
at Dayton, Ohio, November 8, 1822, and died at Centralia,
Illinois in the year 190J. He came to Illinois with his parents
about the year 1836. After his general education was finished
he studied law under the direction of Hon. Benjamin Bond
of Carlyle and was admitted to the bar of Illinois. He prac-
ticed law first for a few years at Louisville, Illinois; then in
Three Hundred and Seventy
MC KENDREE
1854 he moved to Centralia, Illinois, where he devoted the
remainder of his long life to the legal profession. He was a
trustee of McKendree College from 1870 until the time of
his death. In iqoo the college honored him with the degree
of LL. D. He was noted for his faithful attendance of the
meetings of the Board. His two sons both graduated from
McKendree. He was a member of the Methodist Church.
MRS. JESSIE HOUSAM BEHRENS
Jessie Mae Housam is a native of O'Fallon and a daughter
of Mr. and Mrs. William Housam. After passing through
the public schools of OTallon, she entered the Music De-
partment of McKendree College and completed the course,
graduating in 1900 with the degree of Bachelor of Music.
She taught music for some time. She was married October
16, 1909 to Dr. Charles F. Behrens, a veterinary Surgeon,
who has an extensive practice m O'Fallon and vicinity.
MRS. AMY HOLDERBY McQUEEN
Amy Holderby was born at Carmi, Illinois, November
29, 1879. She came to McKendree m 1898 and became a
member of the Clionian Society. She graduated with the
class of 1900, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Music.
She took additional training in Music at the Cincinnati Con-
servatory of Music and for several years following was en-
gaged in teaching music. She was married October 10, 1908
to Dr. David McQueen, a native of North Carolina. They
made their home at Punta Gordo, Florida, where Dr. Mc-
Queen has practiced his profession for many years. They
have three children. Mrs. McQueen has been a member of
the Methodist Church since early youth and is a member of
the Order of the Eastern Star.
LIZZIE O. KIRK
Lizzie O. Kirk was born at Robinson, Illinois, February
19, 1879. Her parents are Thomas J. and Selina (Holmes)
Kirk, the former of Scotch-Irish, and the latter of Irish
descent. She entered McKendree in September, 1894 and
graduated in June, 1900. She received the degree of B. S.
She was a member of the Clionian Literary Society. After
graduation she taught three years in the country schools of
Crawford County; then two years in the Robinson schools;
and is now teaching in the Oblong schools. Her father having
died some years ago she resides with her mother in Oblong.
She is a member of the Methodist Church and the Order of
the Eastern Star.
WILLIAM H. NIX, M. D.
William H. Nix was born near EdwardsviUe, Illinois,
April 4, 187";. He entered McKendree in 1896 and graduated
in 1900, receiving the degree of B. S. He was a member of
Philo. He took a course in the Jefferson Medical College of
Philadelphia, and from that institution, received the degree
of M. D. m 1905. He was married to Laura M. Dickie of
Indiana, Pennsylvania, in 1907. They have a son, Robert.
Dr. Nix practiced his profession one year at EdwardsviUe;
then several years at Homer, Pennsylvania; and then he
became surgeon for the Lackawanna Coal and Coke Com-
pany. He IS a member of the Methodist Church.
BEN G. SCOTT
Ben Guy Scott was born near OTallon, Illinois, January
15, 1881, the son of William S. and Mary E. (Rader) Scott.
He became a student m McKendree in the fell of 1896 and
graduated in the class of 1900, receiving the degree of B. S.
He was a member of Philo.
After his graduation he obtained a position m the Post
Office in St. Louis, and in 1906 he was in the employ of the
Frisco Railroad Company. After that he sought the recov-
ery of his health in Texas, but a career that promised much
was cut off almost at its beginning by that dread scourge,
tuberculosis. He died December i, 1909.
JAMES F. TUCKER
James F. Tucker received the degree of LL. B. m 1900.
He was a member of Plato. We have no late information
concerning him.
OTIS W. WILTON
Otis Wilbur Wilton was born at Huey, Illinois, Decem-
ber 5, 1876. He IS a son of William F. and Sarah (Chard)
Wilton. He entered McKen*
dree as a student in the fall
of 1893 and graduated June
14, 1900, with the degree of
A. B. He was a member of the
Platonian Literary Society. He
was married October 20, 1901,
to Miss May A. Waggoner,
of Godfrey, Illinois. Their chil-
dren are Dorris William, Lor-
raine Mason, Floyd Wesley,
and Paul Wilbur. The last
named is now deceased. Mr.
OTIS WILTON Wilton taught the Clinton
School in Clinton County for one year after his graduation,
and was principal of the Huey School for two years. In April,
1903, he accepted a position with the Prudential Insurance
Company. He is now engaged in the insurance business at
Alton. He IS a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Three Hundred and SeientyOn
MC KENDREE
THE CLASS OF HKll
MRS. AMY BACHMANN STONECIPHER
Amy Bachmann was born in Salem, Illinois, September 4,
1881. Her parents were Adam H. and Mary Bachmann, who
were of German descent. Miss Bachmann entered McKen-
dree in the fall of 1898 and joined the Clionian Society. She
graduated in June, 1901 with the degree of Bachelor ot
Music. She was married August 17, 1904, to Mr. John S.
Stonecipher, lawyer and banker of Salem, Illinois. Their
children are Frank George, born in 1905, and Maude Louise,
in 1907. Mrs. Stonecipher is a member of the Methodist
Church and the Order of Eastern Star.
MRS. BLANCHE BEGOLE PATTERSON
Blanche Begole was born near O'Fallon, Illinois, Decem-
ber 16, 1882. She entered the music department of McKen-
dree College in 1896 and graduated in 1901, receiving the
degree of Bachelor of Music. After teaching music a few
years she was married November j, 1910 to Frank W.
Patterson of Sidell, Illinois. They reside near Collinsville.
REV. JOHN W. DUNDAS, S. T. B.
John Wesley Dundas was born near Johnsonville, Illinois,
August 29, 1870. He first became a student in McKendree
in 1890 and graduated in igoi with the degree of A. B.
However he was not in col-
lege for this whole period, hut
was out serving pastoral char-
ges several years. While in Mc-
Kendree he was a member of
Philo. After his graduation he
served charges in the Southern
Illinois Conference until IQ04
when he was transferred to the
Illinois Conference. In iqc6
he entered Boston University
School of Theology and in
1909 received the degree of S.
T. B. from that institution. J ^ ^^INDAS
Since then he has been in the regular work of the pastorate
in the Illinois Conference. He belongs to the Masonic Order,
the Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen.
He was married December 15, 1897 t;o Mary Frances
Thacker of Vienna, Illinois. They have one daughter, Emma
Leona, who is a high school teacher
WILLIAM V. BYARS
William Vincent Byars was born in Covington, Tennes'
see, June 21, i8';7. He is the son of James and Mary (Vin-
cent) Byars. He received a thorough classical education
chiefly under his father's tutelage. He has been employed
for many years in editorial and literary work. He has been
on the editorjal staff of a number of the leading St. Louis
papers, among them the Times, the Globe-Democrat, the
Repubhc, and the Chronicle. He was four years with the
New York World and a contributor to Harper's Weekly.
He is author of various works both poetry and prose, and
editor of "A Handbook of Oratory", "The World's Best
Essays", "The World's Best Orations", and the most com-
pletely annotated edition of Shakespear ever published. He
served several years as a trustee of McKendree and received
the degree of A. M. in 1901. He was married June i-i, 1880
to Miss Loula C. Collins of Brownsville, Tennessee. Their
home is at Kirkwood, Missouri.
MRS. GERTRUDE GERKING THRALL
Gertrude Gerking was born at Ingraham, Illinois, July 22,
1 88 1. She is a daughter of George W. and Kate (Jones)
Gerking who are both natives of Illinois. She entered Mc-
Kendree in the fall of 1899 and graduated in 1901, receiving
the degree of Bachelor of Music. She was a member of the
Clionian Society. She was a student one year in the Chicago
Training School and one year in Garrett Biblical Institute.
She taught music for a time in Lebanon and is recognized as
an excellent vocalist. She has been a member of the Metho-
dist Episcopal Church from her early youth. She was married
August 27, 1907 to Rev. Chas. H. Thrall, then of the
Southern Illinois Conference, but now a member of the
Illinois Conference.
PROF. JULIUS C. HERBSMAN
Julius C. Herbsman was born in 1879 at Summertield,
Illinois. He graduated from McKendree in 1901 with the
degree of A. B. He was a member of the Philosophian Society.
After teaching a few years he entered the law school of the
University of Illinois, where he graduated in 1909 with the
degree of LL. B. He has been for many years employed in
the Department of Public Speaking of the University of
W.ishington, at Seattle. He has also been connected with
the Redpath Lyceum Bureau as a lecturer and reader. He
was married in 1901 to Miss Anna Stark of Lebanon. They
have one daughter, Virginia. Mr. Herbsman belongs to the
Modern Woodmen, the Knights of Pythias, the Masons, and
the Methodist Church.
MRS. EDITH LEMEN LOWIS
Edith Lemen was born near Collinsville, Illinois, Decem-
ber JO, i88j. She is the daughter of Frank B. and Lydia A.
(Coleman) Lemen. After attending the public schools, she
entered the Music Department of McKendree College from
Three Hi.ndred and Set-
which she graduated in June, 1901, receiving the degree of
Bachelor of Music. She was engaged for a number of years
m teaching music. She is a member of the Baptist Church,
and for many years was a prominent worker in the Sunday
School. She was married December 30, 191 j to Mr. Charles
E. Lowis, a prominent farmer of Macoupin County, Illinois.
Their home is now near Piasa, Illinois.
THOMAS F. MOORE
Thomas Franklin Moore was born in Jefferson County,
Illinois, February 11, 1871. After being educated m the pub-
lic schools he came to McKendree and took a law course
which he completed m 1891, receiving the degree of LL. B.
He was a member of the Platonian Literary Society. Since
his graduation he has been engaged chiefly in the real estate
and mercantile business. He is now located at Wayne City,
Illinois. He was married in 1894 to Miss Cora B. Carnes of
Shelby County, Illinois. They have five children, Loren B.,
Forest F., Bernice M., Lester G., and Noel C. Moore. Mr.
Moore is a member of the Christian Church.
MIGUEL PLANELLAS, LL. B.
Miguel Planellas was one of a group of Porto Rican boys
who were brought to the United States, from the newly
acquired Island, under the auspices of the American govern'
ment and distributed among the colleges who would allow
them free tuition as a patriotic contribution to the welfare
of our newly-acquired possessions. These youths were to
receive some Americanizing influences m order that they
might assist in Americanizing their fellow citizens in these
new possessions of the United States. Mr. Planellas had
already studied in Spain and had a fair knowledge of the
Spanish law and Spanish language. He was in McKendree
for two years. He was kindly received by the students. He
became a member of Philo, acquired a knowledge of English,
and learned some American ways. In 1901 he received the
degree of LL. B. and then went back to practice law m his
own city of Cayey, Porto Rico.
WILLIAM C. PFEFFER
One of the oldest and most highly respected names in
Lebanon is that of PfefFer. For many years the Pfeffer Mill-
ing Company was composed of the three PfefFer Brothers,
Christian J., Louis, and Edward. The death of two of these
brothers in recent years has left the business largely in the
hands of the younger generation. These younger members
of the firm, with their courteous and business-like ways,
have demonstrated their ability to carry on the business in
a highly successful manner. One of these younger members
is William Christian PfefFer, who was born in Lebanon,
MR AND MRS W C PFEFFER
August ji, 1882. He is the only son of Christian J. and
Anna (Bachmann) Pfeffer, though he has one sister who was
also a student in McKendree. His father, who was the senior
member of the Milling Company, died January 10, 1924.
He was not only one of Lebanon's most successful business
men, but he was a public -spirited citizen, as shown by the
fact that he served several terms as mayor of the city and
for many years president of the Board of Education. He was
also for some years a trustee of McKendree. William C. re-
ceived his education in the public schools, both grade and
high school, of Lebanon, and in McKendree College, where
he became a student in 1899. During the three years he was
in college he took both musical and literary work. He com-
pleted the music course under Professor Pesold in 1901 and
received the degree of B. Mus. He pursued literary courses
for another year and attained junior standing but did not
complete the college course. He was a member of the Platon-
ian Society. Upon leaving school he immediately took up
work with the milling company and soon made his own
place in the extensive business which that company carries
on, including not only the flour, feed, and grain business, but
also one of the largest lumber yards m Southern Illinois.
Mr. Pfeffer is now Secretary and Treasurer of this company,
which easily does the largest business of any firm in Lebanon.
He was reared in the Evangelical Church, tho he frequent-
ly attends the Methodist Church to which the other mem-
bers of his family belong. He gives liberal financial support
to both churches. He has for some years been a trustee of
the Methodist Church. He is a member of the Rotary Club
and of the Lebanon School Board. He is a trustee of McKen-
dree College and has for many years been treasurer of the
McKendree Alumni Association. He is interested in com-
munity enterprises and is a liberal supporter of every one
that he regards as a worthy cause.
Three Hundred and Seuentv-Th
^MC KENDREE ^^^^^^s^^^^^^..^^..^
He was married November 19, 1907 to Miss Dora Dough-
erty of Mound City, Illinois. She is one of the four daughters
of Mr. and Mrs. Andrew J. Dougherty who were among
the prominent citizens of their city. Mr. Dougherty was
engaged in several lines of manufacturing and was interested
in the light and water company of the city. Both he and Mrs.
Dougherty have been dead for a number of years. Dora
graduated from the Mound City High School in 1901 and
from McKendree College in 1905, receiving the degree of
A. B. She was a Clio and a member of one of the Clio Quar-
tettes. Some account of this quartette is given in the history
of Clio, found elsewhere in this volume. Since her marriage
she has hved in one of the fine homes of Lebanon, which is
now enlivened by the presence of three wide-awake young
people, the children of the Pfeffer family. They are all mem-
bers of the Lebanon High School. Dorothy, the eldest, is a
member of the class of '28 and has won honors as a vocalist.
She sings regularly in the Methodist choir. The two sons,
Jackson and William, commonly known as "Jack" and "Bill"
are both interested in athletics and play on the Lebanon
High School basket ball team.
Mrs. Pfeffer is a woman of liberal culture and high ideals.
She IS intensely interested in the welfare of her own children,
but beside that she is also interested in the other children
of the community. She served for several years as a member
of the School Board, and is now the teacher of a class of boys
in Sunday School. She is also an active worker in other organ-
izations of the Church — notably the Ladies Aid. Whenever
the Aid Society undertakes some diflBcult enterprise they
feel that success is assured if they can induce Mrs. Pfeffer
to help them "put it over". However, notwithstanding her
interest in community enterprises, Mrs. Pfeffer feels that her
most important work in life is to provide a happy and
attractive home for her children, and to help them develop
the strong and useful character that they will be sure to need
in later life.
HON. W. DUFF PIERCY
Willis Duff Piercy was born at Belle City, Hamilton
County, Ilhnois, April 28, 1874. He was the son of Dr. and
Mrs. Sherwood Piercy. He attended the public schools, and
Ewing College, studied law and was admitted to the bar, all
before he came to McKendree. He entered in September,
1896 and graduated in 1901, receiving the degree of A. B.
He was the valedictorian of his class. He was a member of
Philo. After his graduation he was superintendent of schools
at Greenville, lUinois for two years. He then entered the
graduate department of Harvard University and received a
W. D. PIERCY
Master's Degree in 1904. For
several years he travelled as
representative of the Charles
E. Merrill Company, publish-
ers, of New York City. He aft-
erwards became editor of the
Mt. Vernon Daily News. He
also entered the field of politics
to some extent. He was a mem-
ber of the lower house of the
Illinois Legislature and later
represented the forty -sixth dis-
trict as State Senator. He is the
author of two books, "Death
and its Sorrows", published in 1908 and "Great Inventions
and Discoveries", published in 1911. He was frequently
called into ser\'ice as a lecturer, commencement orator, and
in other lines of public speaking. He was married April 3 ,
1895 to EulaliaWhitson of Mt. Vernon. Their one daughter
was born January 15, 1904. Mr. Piercy's death occurred at
Mt. Vernon, November 11, 1918.
FRED W. REINHARDT
Fred W. Reinhardt was born in Lebanon, Illinois, Septem-
ber 25, 1880. He is a son of Charles and Ellen (Williams)
Reinhardt who are natives of Illinois. After completing the
work of the public schools of Lebanon, he entered McKen-
dree in the fall of 1894 and graduated in June, 1901 with the
degree of A. B. He was the salutatorian of his class. He was
a member of the Platonian Literary Society. He took the law
course in Washington University, St. Louis, and received
from that institution the degree of LL. B. He then entered
upon the practice of law in Chicago where he maintains an
office in the First National Bank Building. He was married
August 25, 1909 to Miss Osie Helen Ritter of Chicago.
PROF. WILLIAM F. THRALL, Ph. D.
One of the many successful educators among McKendree
alumni is Professor William Flint Thrall (A. B., 1901; A.
M., 1902). He is a son of the late Dr. L. W. Thrall, a pro-
minent member of the Southern Illinois Conference, and
Mrs. Edith Flint Thrall, first woman graduate of McKen-
dree. He was born in Ashley, Illinois, December 15, 1880,
and entered McKendree in 1896. He was a member of Mc-
Kendree Glee Club for three years, Plato Quartette one year,
and was co-author, with James A. Finch, of "Plato Souvenir
Catalog" (1901). After graduation, he taught school in
Arizona, later entering high school work in Illinois. He
specialized in English in the Universities of Illinois and
Three Hundred and SexentyFour
MC KENDREE
PROFESSOR THRALL
Chicago and received from
the latter institution two ad-
vanced degrees (A. M., 191 1;
Ph. D., 1920). He was pro-
fessor of English in McKen-
dree from 1909 to 1920, serving
two years as librarian and five
years as registrar. In 1920 he
transferred to the University
of North Carolina, where he
now holds the rank of Profess-
or. At present he is an advisory
editor of'StudiesinPhilology",
one of the leading technical
magazines in its iield. To this journal and to "Modern
Philology" and the "Manly Anniversary Studies m Philo-
logy and Literature" he has contributed several technical
papers on topics drawn from his field of special study, early
Irish literature and church history. He is a member of the
American Association of University Professors, the Medie-
val Academy of America, the Modern Language Associa-
tion, the Modern Humanities Research Association, and the
National Council of Teachers of English. Last year he was
president of the North Carolina Council of English Teachers.
In 1906 he married Miss Enola Keisling, daughter of Rev.
Willard Keisling, now a retired member of the Southern
Illinois Conference. Miss Keisling, before her graduation
from McKendree in 1905, was an active member of Clio, and
since her marriage beside devoting herself to her home has
been interested in musical and artistic activities, being at
present a member of the A Capella choir and the Art Club
in Chapel Hill. She and her husband have been life-long
members of the Methodist Church. They have one daughter,
Rosalie, who has attained the rank of Senior in the Univer-
sity and who won her Phi Beta Kappa scholarship key in
her Junior year. At present she is employed in the catalogu-
ing department in the University Library, and after com-
pleting her college course expects to specialize in library
science.
THE CLASS OF 1902
REV. J. P. CUMMINS
Joyce Peter Cummins was born at Reevesville, Illinois,
October 7, 1875. He was brought up on a farm. He entered
McKendree in 1896 and graduated in June, 1902 with the
degree of A. B. He was a member of Plato. Later he pursued
theological courses at Evanston and Boston. He received the
degree of S. T. B. from Boston University School of Theo-
logy. He was married November 26, 1903 to Ellen E. Up-
church of Galatia, Illinois. They have three children. He has
been continuously employed in the work of the pastorate,
tho not all the time in the same conference. He has served
in Minnesota and Iowa, but for many years he has been a
member of the Illinois Conference.
MRS. CARRIE DAUSMAN YARBROUGH
Carrie Dausmann was born near Lebanon, January 21,
1885. She was educated in the Lebanon public schools and
McKendree. She finished the music course and graduated
with the class of 1902, receiving the degree of Bachelor of
Music. She later attended the Weltner Conservatory in St.
Louis and graduated there in 190';. After that she taught
music for several years until her marriage to Mr. S. C. Yar-
brough of Corydon, Kentucky. They live at Highwood,
Illinois.
MRS. ETHEL DOUGHERTY DICKSON
Ethel E. Dougherty was born June 14, 1880, at Mound
City, Illinois. She entered McKendree in the fall of 1897 and
graduated in 1902 with the degree of B. S. She was a member
of the Clionian Society. For six years after her graduation
she taught in the schools of her home town. In September
1908 she was married to Mr. William A. Dickson. A little
later they moved to the state of Oregon; their home is now
in the city of Portland where they are both engaged in
educational work.
MRS. LULU FARTHING CHAMBERLIN
Lulu Mildred Farthing was born at Odin, Illinois, July
22, 1876. She became a student in McKendree in the fall of
1898 and in June, 1899, she graduated from the music depart-
ment. She then continued the regular college course and
graduated in 1902 with the degree of A. B. She was the
salutatorian of her class. She was a very active member of
Clio. She was the winner of the Bryan Medal in 1901 and
also of the Brown Oratorical prize in the same year. She
taught in the public schools of her home town for a year and
in November, 1903, she was married to John M. Chamberlin
of the class of 1891. They have three children. Their home
for several years has been at Mineral Wells, Texas.
MRS. CORA GEDNEY BERRY
Cora Florence Gedney was born in Lebanon, Illinois,
October ii, 1883. She graduated from the Lebanon high
school and entered McKendree in 1898. She graduated in
1902 with the degree of Bachelor of Music. She was a mem-
ber of Clio. She was married February 14, 1911 to Dr. Roy
C. Berry of Harrisburg, who was formerly a student at Mc-
Kendree. For many years their home has been in Livingston,
Three Hundred and Se
c KENDREE^^^^^:^^:..^,^^.^^
Illinois, where Dr. Berry is engaged in the pnictice of medi-
cine. Before her marriage Mrs. Berry was an active worker
in the Methodist Church.
MRS. MAE HOBBS BURGARD
Mae E. Hobbs was born in Clinton County, Illinois, May
2j, 1880. She spent the greater part of her youth in Lebanon
to which place her parents moved to educate their children.
She was first enrolled in McKendree in 1898. She took a part
of the Literary Course and completed the Music Course,
receiving the degree of Bachelor of Music in 1902. She was
married July 3, 1905 to Hugo V. Burgard who was also a
student in McKendree for several years. They have one son,
Maynard H. Burgard. Their home for many years has been
in Hollywood, California, where Mr. Burgard is engaged m
insurance business. She was a Clio and belongs to the
Methodist Church.
GRACE MORRIS
Grace Morris, youngest daughter of John and Jane Morris,
was born in Cornwall, England. While still a child she came
with her parents to America, and her home has been in
Lebanon nearly ever since. After completing the courses in
the Music department of McKendree, both vocal and instru-
mental, she graduated in June, 1902, receiving the degree of
Bachelor of Music. She is popular as a vocalist and has given
much time to various lines of music since her graduation.
She teaches piano to private pupils. Since the death of her
parents she has made her home with her sisters in Lebanon.
She belongs to the Methodist Church, and is Assistant
Chorister.
MRS. AGNES PFEFFER GORDLEY
Agnes PfefFer was born in Lebanon, Illinois, July 28, 1886.
Her father was several times Mayor of Lebanon. She grad-
uated from the Music Department of McKendree in 1902,
receiving the degree of Bachelor of Music. Some years ago
she was married to Mr. W. P. Gordley of Beardstown. Their
home is in that city, where Mr. Gordley practices law.
REV. CHARLES L. PETERSON, D. D.
There are several cases in McKendree's history where
whole families are McKendreans. That will doubtless be
true of the Peterson family as soon as the youngest member
has finished his high school course. Charles Logan Peterson,
himself a preacher's son, had already decided to enter the
ministry before he came to McKendree, and all his prepara-
tion was directed to that end. He was born at Sanburn,
Illinois, December 11, 1878. After receiving his preliminary
education he came to McKendree in 1898 and graduated in
1902 with the degree of A. B. Twenty-one years later his
Alma Mater conferred upon him the degree of D. D. He
THE PETERSON FAMILY
joined the conference in the same year that he graduated and
was a successful pastor from the very start. In his early min-
istry he led in the building of new churches at Washington
Street, Alton, and at East Alton. He also remodelled, and
almost rebuilt, the church at Marissa. He has been pastor of
some of the leading churches in the conference — as Murphys-
boro, Mt. Carmel, and Mt. Vernon. Since 1924 he has been
superintendent of the Mt. Carmel District. He was a dele-
gate to the General Conferences of 1920 and 1924, and an
alternate in 1928. During the World War he was a member
of the draft board, and a "Minute Man" in the Liberty
Loan drives. He is President of the Board of Hospitals and
Homes in the Southern Illinois Conference, and has been a
member of McKendree's Joint Board for the last twenty
years. He has had an active part in every campaign for raising
money that has been put on for the college in all those years.
He has also served on the Board of Directors of the Wesley
Foundation at the University of Illinois during the whole
history of the movement. He is a thirty-second degree
Mason, an Odd Fellow, and a member of Plato in McKendree.
He was married November 26, 1903 to Miss Phebe Elsie
Lewis of Lebanon. Indeed there is more than a suspicion that
she is largely responsible for Dr. Peterson's unusual success
m the ministry. Her mother was a soldier's widow with but
Httle financial resources. So Phebe partly paid her own way
through McKendree by teaching music and kindergarten.
She completed the Music Course in McKendree in 189^
and the regular college course in 1897, receiving the degree
of B. S. She then pursued graduate courses in Beethoven
Conservatory of Music in St. Louis, and graduated there in
1900. For years she was a very active worker in the Lebanon
Church. When she became a pastor's wife, it merely enlarged
the sphere of her activities. She has been the inspiration of
the musical and young peoples' activites in the various corn-
Three Hu?idred and Set eiit;y-Si.'
MC KENDREE
munities where she has hved. She has been for ten years
Conference Superintendent of the Children's work m W. F.
M. S. and has several times served on the faculty of the
McKendree Epworth League Institute. She has also been
prominent in the field of musical drama and opera. For church-
es, women's qlubs and other organizations she has directed the
presentation of "Queen Esther", "King Saul", "Elijah" and
''William Tell". But with all these extra claims on her time
she does not neglect her home or the training of her two sons,
Lewis Vincent and Paul Quayle. The elder of these graduated
from McKendree in 1927 with the degree of A. B. And hav-
ing secured the McKendree Scholarship at the University of
Illinois, he is pursuing graduate work m that institution.
At McKendree he was noted for the number of extra-curri-
cular activities he could carry on and still maintain good
standing in his classes. He has been president of Plato,
President of Pi Kappa Delta, President of the Glee Club,
Editor m -Chief of The McKendrean, and a member of the
"M" Club, of the Debate Team, and of the McKendree
Quartette. He was active in dramatics and was on the track
team. Notwithstanding all these outside activities, he gradu-
ated as one of the honor men of his class.
The younger brother, Paul Quayle, is now a sophomore in
the Mt. Vernon High School, and is popular among his
fellow-students. He was president of the Freshman class.
He IS now a cheer leader for the school, is on the track team,
and is a member of the editorial staff of the High School
annual. As soon as he finishes the high school he too will be
a McKendrean, Uke all the other members of the family.
MRS. EULALIA WHITSON PIERCY
Eulalia Whitson was born in Kinmundy, Illinois, Novem-
ber 20, 1873. She is the daughter of L. B. and Emelme Whit-
son who are both natives of Illinois. After receiving her pre-
] iminary education in the pubhc schools and Ewing College,
she was married April 3, 1895 to W. Duff Piercy of Mt.
Vernon. The next year they came to McKendree together
and both pursued the regular classical course. He, having
had more preliminary work was able to finish the course one
year sooner. Mrs. Piercy graduated in June, 1902, receiving
the degree of A. B. She was a member of the Clionian Liter-
ary Society. Since graduation she has been largely occupied
with home duties and the training of her only daughter,
Helen Whitson Piercy, who was born in 1904.
ROBERT WALLIS, D. D. S.
Robert WaUis was born at Centralia, Illinois, December
31, 1879. He completed the high school course at Olney and
then entered McKendree. He graduated in the class of 1902
receiving the degree ot B. S. He was a member of Philo. In
1905 he graduated from the Dental Department of Washing-
ton University, St. Louis, receiving the degree of D. D S.
He practiced his profession a few years in Urbana, Illinois,
and then changed his location to Peoria, where he is now
located. He was married some years ago. He belongs to the
Masons, the Elks, and the Modern Woodmen. He also
belongs to the Illinois State Dental Society, and served for
several years in the Illinois National Guard. He also served
m the Illinois Infantry during the Spanish- American War.
CHARLES W. BROWN
Charles Walter Brown was born in St. Louis, Missouri,
June 23, 1866. He is a son of Professor Isaac Hinton Brown
and Mrs Esther L .(Quin) Brown, who were both native
Americans. He was educated in the Edwardsville High
School and the University of Missouri, though he did not
graduate at the latter. He received the honorary degree of
A. M. from McKendree College in 1902. He has been em-
ployed for many years in Chicago as editor, lecturer, and
author. He is the author of "Nathan Hale", "John Paul
Jones", "Ethan Allen", and a number of other books. He
has written, edited, or compiled more than thirty volumes.
For many years he maintained the "Brown Oratorical Con-
test" in McKendree College. He was married September 14,
1904 to Miss Mary N. Matson, daughter of Congressman
C. C. Matson of Indiana.
THEKLA BERNAYS
Thekla Bernays was born at Highland, Madison County,
Illinois, sometime in the fifties. She is the daughter of Dr.
George J. and Minna (Doering) Bernays, and a younger sister
of Dr. A. C. Bernays, the famous surgeon. Her ancestors
were both French and German; among them were both
Jewish Rabbis and French Huguenots. The family moved to
Lebanon in 1866 where her brother and later she herself be-
came students in McKendree. But immediately after the
graduation of the brother the family moved to Heidelberg,
Germany where he pursued a medical course in Heidelberg
University. Thus Thekla was prevented from finishing her
course at McKendree, but was known as an efficient student
while there. She was an active member of the Clionian Liter-
ary Society and was twice elected president of that organiza-
tion. In 1902, McKendree conferred upon her the degree of
A. M. honoris causa, in recognition of her achievements in
literary work as a writer for various papers and magazines.
She is also the author of a well-written biography of her
brother, published in 1912. She has travelled extensively in
Europe and other parts of the world, and is a hnguist of no
Three Hundred and Seventy-Seve
mean attainments. She is well known in St. Louis, her home
city, as a public speaker and lecturer before various literary
organizations and culture clubs. She now lives in New York
City.
REV. JOTHAM A. SCARRITT, D. D.
Jotham All Scarritt was born in Madison County, near
the present site of Godfrey, June 23, 1827. He was a younger
brother of Nathan Scarritt who graduated from McKendree
in 1842, also of Isaac Scarritt who was for half a century a
member of the Illinois Conference. His father's home was
headquarters for the- Methodist Circuit riders. At the age
of twenty-two he was licensed to preach and in the same
year was married to Rebecca Meldrum who was his life
partner for fifty-six years. They had three children. Two died
in infancy. The other, Ada V., became the wife of Hon.
George Parsons of Cairo. Brother Scarritt was admitted on
trial in the Illinois Conference in 185 1. As the Southern
Illinois Conference was organized the next year he became
a charter member of it. He was for sixty-four years a member.
When the Conference celebrated its semi-centennial in 1902
at Fairfield, he delivered the address of the occasion. At that
time he was the only one of the original members still in the
effective relation. He was for a full half century a member of
McKendree's Joint Board, either as a Conference Visitor or
a Trustee. In 1902, McKendree conferred upon him the
degree of D. D. After taking the retired relation in 1906, he
spent the remaining ten years of his life in Alton, and from
that city passed to the Celestial City, February 28, 1916.
THE CLASS OF 1903
DR. ANGUS J. BARTER
Angus J. Barter was born in Williamson County, Illinois,
March 21, 1875. His parents were William and Margaret
Barter, the former of English and the latter of Scotch descent.
He grew up on a farm and after receiving his early education
in the public schools entered McKendree in September 1898.
He graduated in the class of 1903, receiving the degree of A.
B. He was a member of the Platonian Literary Society. He
was active in the Y. M. C. A. work and was a local preacher
in the Methodist Church. While still a student he decided
to give his life to missionary work and joined the student
volunteer band. In this work he was a leader as well as in
organizing mission study classes among the students. After
mature deliberation he decided to become a medical mission-
ary, accordingly he entered the Medical College of Wash-
ington University, St. Louis and from this institution re-
ceived the degree of M. D. in 1908. In October of the same
year he sailed with his family under appointment from the
Canadian Methodist Church to engage in missionary work
in the Orient. He was located at Pen Hsien, West China,
where for many years he engaged in the work of a medical
missionary. He was married August 31, 1904 to Miss Kate
R. Gould of Mount Carmel, Illinois, who was a student at
McKendree for several years.
Dr. Barter has written some very interesting letters de-
scribing his work and the people among whom he labors.
He is a member of the Masonic Order. In 1924, he came
home on a furlough, and is spending a few years in the home
country for the sake of educating his children.
HAROLD P. BARNES
Harrisburg, Illinois is very fortunate in having for one of
its citizens Harold Phillips Barnes, lumber merchant. He has
supplied the material for sev-
eral hundred homes, and has
contributed to the develop-
ment of his city in many
ways. Mr. Barnes entered the
lumber business following his
graduation from McKendree
College in 1903. His high
school training was obtained
m Harrisburg.
During the World War, Mr.
Barnes served as Fuel Ad-
ministrator of Saline County.
For the past twenty years, he
has been a member of the Board of Education of the Harris-
burg Township High School. He is a charter member of the
Rotary Club, and a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite
Mason. While in McKendree, he was a Philo. He was born
in Turner, Maine in 1880, and was married to Miss Gertrude
Scott in 1907. Two children, Juliet and George D., are a
result of the union.
Owner of the Barnes Lumber Company, Mr. Barnes is
intensely interested in the conservation of forests. He is a
staunch supporter for the advancement of agriculture and
the protection of wild life, and is at present devoting con-
siderable time to his interests in agricultural and forest lands
in Southern Illinois. He firmly believes that the best interests
of sound government are assured by school development.
MRS. ELSIE BRADLEY SAGER
Elsie May Bradley was born at luka, Illinois, September
13, 1881. She is a daughter of Rev. W. R. and Mary L.
Bradley, who are both native Americans. Her father has
been for many years a member of the Southern Illinois Con-
HAROLD BARNES
ference. She graduated from the Staunton, lUinois High
School as salutatonan of the class of 1900. She entered Mc-
Kendree in the fall of 1901 and graduated in June, 1903,
receiving the degree of Bachelor of Music. She was a member
of the Clionian Literary Society and of one of the Clio quar-
tettes. December 22, 1903, she was married to Mr. Jesse B.
Sager of Lebanon, Illinois, who was also for some years a
student at McKendree, and then secretary of the Sager
Hardware Company which was one of Lebanon's oldest
business houses. They have one daughter, Alice Louise, and
one son, Richard. Mrs. Sager is a member of the Order of
the Eastern Star, and a beneficiary member of the Royal
Neighbors of America. The Sagers now live in St. Louis.
MRS. FLOSSIE BUNDY ENSIGN
Flossie Bundy was born at Carterville, Illinois, December
28, 1884. She IS a daughter of S. H. and Sarah (Carter) Bundy.
After completing the high school course in her home town
and having attended Shurtleff College for a time, she entered
McKendree in September 1902. She completed the course in
the Department of Instrumental Music in 1903 and received
the degree of Bachelor of Music. She was a member of the
Clionian Literary Society. For two years, 1906 to 1908, she
studied music in Hanover, Germany. In July, 1908, she was
married to Newton E. Ensign at Oxford, England. They
have one son, Richard Bundy Ensign, born February 22,
191 1. For many years past their home has been in Champaign,
where Professor Ensign is employed as an Instructor in the
University of Illinois.
MRS. NELLIE DARE SKAGGS
Nellie E. Dare was born July i, 1885 at Lenzburg, Illinois.
She entered the Music Department of McKendree in March,
1902 and graduated in June, 1903 with the degree of Bachelor
of Music.
She taught music for three years and then December 24,
1906, was married to Dr. C. S. Skaggs, who is still practicing
his profession in East St. Louis. She is a member of the First
Methodist Church of East St. Louis and uses her musical
talent in the interest of the church. She was for two years
organist for the Plymouth Congregational church in her home
city, and was a charter member of the Schubert Club, a mus^
ical organization of East St. Louis.
MRS. MARY FLINT MORGAN
Mary F. Flint was born at Mt. Vernon, Illinois, June 9,
1881. She is a daughter of Rev. Dr. J. W. Flint, a prominent
member of the Southern Illinois Conference, and Mrs.
Minerva E. (Robertson) Flint, both of whom are native
Americans. She entered McKendree in September, 1899 and
graduated in June, 1903, with the degree of A. B. She was
a member of the Clionian Literary Society. For two years
after her graduation she was a teacher occupying a position
as assistant principal of the Trenton (Illinois) high school.
June 26, 1906, she was married to Mr. E. Lon Morgan of
the class of 1904 at McKendree. They have two daughters,
Elizabeth born November <;, 1908, and Esther, born May
18, 1910. She and her husband are both members of the
Methodist Episcopal Church. They now reside at Columbia,
Missouri, where Professor Morgan has a position in the
State College of Agriculture.
NELLIE B. GORRELL
Nellie B. Gorrell was born at Newton, Illinois, but when
she entered McKendree in 1898, her home was at Louisville,
where her father was editor of the "Louisville Republican."
She graduated in 1903 with the degree of A. B. She was a
member of Clio. After teaching some years she took a special
course in the State Normal School at Normal, Illinois, and
received the degree of B. E. from that institution. She has
made teaching her vocation. She is also an accomplished
musician and teacher of violin. She is a member of the Meth'
odist Church and the Order of the Eastern Star.
CAMERON HARMON
He graduated m the class of 1903, receiving the degree of
A. B. A sketch of his life will appear in connection with the
account of his administration as president of McKendree.
REV. SILAS H. HOAR
Silas Hayes Hoar was born at St. Elmo, Illinois, October
17, 1877. He is a son of Rev. B. A. and Lydia A. (Sapp)
Hoar. His father was for many years a member of the South-
ern Illinois Conference. He entered McKendree in 1899 and
graduated in 1903, receiving the degree of A. B. He was a
member of the Platonian Literary Society. He was licensed
to preach in 1903 and admitted in full connection into the
Southern Illinois Conference in 1907. He attended Garrett
Biblical Institute for several terms and while a student there
was pastor of several student charges. In the Southern IlHnois
Conference he served a number of charges. In 1920 he was
transferred to the Illinois Conference which is now his field
of labor. He was married September 19, 1905 to Miss Nelle
DeWiers of Harrisburg, who was a teacher in the City
Schools of that place. They have four children.
ETHEL E. HORNER
Ethel Eugenia Horner was born July 2, 1887 in Denver,
Colorado, but she was reared in Lebanon where her home
has been for the most of her life. She is a direct descendant of
Nicholas, Nathan, and Henry Horner, down to her father
Three Hundred and Sev
Roland H. Horner, all of whom have in some way been con-
nected with McKendree College. She was a student in Mc-
Kendree for some years and finished the Music Course in
1903, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Music. She was a
member of Clio. After many years of teaching by utilizing
summer terms and credits which she had earned in the Nor-
mal schools, she finished the required number of credits to
graduate in the regular course in McKendree, which she did,
receiving the degree of A. B. in 1927. She has been for some
years a teacher in the Hillsboro High School.
MAGDALENA MILLER
Magdalena Miller was born near Carmi, White County,
Illinois, November 20, 1884. Her father, Leonard Miller, is a
native of White County, Illinois. Her mother, Caroline
(Wohlmeter) Miller, came to Illinois from Elsas, Germany.
She entered the music department of McKendree College in
October, 1902. She had already had considerable musical
training and therefore was able to graduate in June, 190J,
with the degree of Bachelor of Music. After graduation, she
taught music for two years; then took another course of in-
struction under Professor Arthur Lieber of St. Louis. Since
that time she has been one of the popular music teachers of
that part of the country. She is an active member of the
Evangelical Church of Carmi, of which she is pianist. She is
also a teacher in the Sunday School. She belongs to the
"Helping Hand", a society formed for aiding the poor, is
recording secretary of the W. C. T. U., and a member of the
Ben Hur Lodge.
MRS. MYRTLE LOY DANTE
Myrtle Thread Loy was born at Clay City, Illinois, No'
vember 2, 1883. She entered McKendree in 1898 and grad-
uated in 1903, receiving the degree of B. S. She was a member
of Clio. She was married September 17, 1907 to Harris
Dante, at Centralia, where her father was at that time pastor
of the Methodist Church. Mr. Dante was for some years
editor of the Piatt County Republican at Monticello, Illinois.
Mrs. Dante has devoted much time to the study of the
piano and pipe organ, and uses her talent wherever practica-
ble for the benefit of the church of which she is a member.
She has a son named Harris Loy Dante.
MRS. EVA OTWELL KORTKAMP
Eva M.iud Otwell was born at Plainview, Illinois, July
27, 1879. Her father is a direct descendant of John Alden
and Priscilla. Her parents had twelve children and for
twenty-six years had one or more children in McKendree as
students continuously. Eva was an active member of Clio.
She graduated in 1903, receiving the degree of A. B. She
taught school for several years and then on June 30, 1908 she
was married to Alfred Warren Kortkamp of Alton, who later
entered the ministry of the "Pentecostal" Church and he is
now pastor of the church of that denomination in Alton.
MRS. MABEL SHARP COURTER
Mabel Alice Sharp was born at Mt. Carmel, Illinois,
November 23, 1880. Her father, George W. Sharp, was an
Englishman, her mother a native American. She entered Mc-
Kendree in September, 1897, a"'^ graduated in June, 1903,
with the degree of B. S. She was a member of the Clionian
Literary Society. She was married November 30, 190s to
Mr. Clinton E. Courter. Mrs. Courier claims her occupation
as "house-keeping" and regards it as a noble calling. She is a
member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and the Order
of the Eastern Star.
DR. RALPH S. SABINE
Ralph Stottart Sabine was born at Bridgeport, Illinois,
June 17, 1881. His parents. Rev. Chas. W. and Mrs. Rebecca
Sabine, were both American. He entered McKendree in
1899 and graduated in 1903, receiving the degree of A. B.
He was a member of the Platonian Literary Society, and also
of a Plato Quartette of long standing, which even to the
present time occasionally gets together and sings the old
songs at college re-unions. The other members of the quar-
tette are Messrs. Van Cleve, Clucas, and Sager. After grad-
uating at McKendree, Mr. Sabine took a medical course in
the St. Louis University College of Medicine and received
the degree of M. D. from that institution. After a year as
interne in the city hospital of St. Louis, he began the prac-
tice of medicine and surgery in Murphysboro, Illinois, where
he is now located. He was married in 1908 to Miss Myrtle
Stephens. He is a member of the Methodist Church and the
Knights of Pythias.
REV. CHARLES H. THRALL
Charles Haven Thrall was born at Grayville, Illinois,
October 20, 1883. His parents were Rev. L. W. Thrall of the
Southern Illinois Conference and Edith (Flint) Thrall, both
now deceased. He became a student in McKendree in 1896
and graduated in 1903, with the degree of A. B. He was a
member of the Philosophian Literary Society. After teaching
m the public schools two years, he entered Garrett Biblical
Institute and graduated in 1908 with the degree of S. T. B.
He was then for two years Professor of Greek and Hebrew
in the Central Holiness University of Oskaloosa, Iowa. From
1910 to 1912 he was pastor of the Methodist Episcopal
Church in St. Francisville, Illinois. He joined the South-
ern Illinois Conference in 1905 and in 191 2 was transferred
Three Hundred and £ig(il>
ffMC KENDREE ^^^^fe^^:.^..^^...-^
to the Illinois Conference. He was married August 27, 190^
to Miss Gertrude Gerking of Lebanon, Illinois, who is also
a graduate of McKendree. They have one son, Robert. He
recently led an important church building enterprise to a sue
cessful conclusion at Qumcy, Illinois.
GILBERT H. VAN CLEVE
Gilbert Haven Van Cleve was horn ,it Staunton, Illinois,
December 15, 1880. His father. Rev. William Van Cleve,
was of Dutch ancestry and was a member ot the Southern
Illinois Conference. His mother, Sarah E. Galloway, was of
English descent. He entered McKendree in the fall of 1899
and graduated m June, 1902 with the degree ot A. B. He
was a member of the Platonian Literary Society. He was
married February 4, 1904 to Miss Mary L. Hale of Topeka,
Kansas, the daughter of a Methodist minister. They have
two sons and one daughter. After graduation, he taught a
year at Rantoul, Illinois; then for three years he was city
manager of the wholesale hardware company, Hibbard,
Spencer, Bartlett ii Co. of Chicago. Since then he has been
a dealer in stocks and bonds, with offices in Chicago. He is
a member of the Masonic Order and the "Elks".
REV. FRANK O. WILSON, D. D.
Frank Oscar Wilson was born near Alma, Marion County,
Illinois, February 25, 1S75. He is a son of G. C. and Mary J.
(Leckrone) Wilson, of whom the former is of English and
Scotch, and the latter of English and Dutch ancestry. He
entered McKendree in 1899 and graduated in 190J, receiving
the degree of A. B. and he was granted the degree of A. M.
on examination m 1904. He was a member of the Platonian
Literary Society. He was married October j, 1906 to Miss
Carrie A. Combes of Plamview, Illinois.
Mr. Wilson was reared on a farm, taught school four
years before attending college, joined the Methodist church
when fifteen years of age, was received into the Southern
Illinois Conference on probation at Fairfield in 1902, was or-
dained Deacon by Bishop McCabe and Elder by Bishop
Goodsell. He is now Superintendent of the Olney District
of the Southern Illinois Conference. A few years ago Mc-
Kendree conferred upon him the degree of D. D. His daugh-
ter, Julia, is a member of the Centennial Class in McKendree.
THE CLASS OF 1904
REV. FRANCIS M. CALAME
Francis Marion Calame was born near Alton, Illinois,
February 5, 1871, and died in Oklahoma, January 29, 1911.
His parents were Zelim Herculae and Lucinda (Walker)
Calame. He grew up on his father's farm and after attending
the public schools, came to McKendree where his course was
much broken up by the necessity of making his own way. He
was for several years the principal j.initor of the college while
at the same time a student. He finished theclassical course and
received the degree of A. B. in 1904. He was a member of the
Platonian Literary Society. After graduating he at once en-
tered the ministry of the Methodist Church in the Oklahoma
Conference. Here he labored in the Master's cause for the
remainder of his brief career. He was a successful pastor and
besides the ordinary work of a Methodist preacher, he
carried on the enterprise of building a new church at Krem-
lin, Oklahoma, while he was pastor at that place. He was
married December 30, 1894 to Mary H. Calame who with
five children survive him.
REV. MARSHALL CAMPBELL
Marshall Campbell was born in Hamilton County, Illi-
nois, October 6, 1878. He is a son of James M. and Eliza E.
(Mitchell) Campbell who are both natives of Illinois. He
entered McKendree September, 1899 and graduated in June,
1904, receiving the degree of A. B. He then took a theolog-
ical course in Garrett Biblical Institute from which he grad-
uated in May, 1908, receiving the degree of Bachelor of
Divinity. While in McKendree he was a member of the
Platonian Literary Society. He was a member of the Rock
River Conference of the M. E. Church and has held several
pastorates there. He was a member of the Modern Woodmen
of America. He was married July 21, 1908 to Miss Ethel
Large of Longmont, Colorado, who was formerly a student
in McKendree. They have a son, Wayne R. Campbell, born
April 17, 191 1. Mr. Campbell died of the influenza in the
great epidemic of 1917.
PROF, EUGENE CORRIE
Eugene Come was born in Lancaster, Illinois, March 10,
1883. He entered McKendree in 1900 and graduated in 1904,
with the degree of B. S. He was a member of the Platonian
Society. He represented McKendree in athletics as a member
of the foot ball, track, and tennis teams. Since his graduation
Mr. Corrie has had a varied experience. He was instructor
in Bradley Polytechnic for three years. He has held a position
with the National Biscuit Company, and for many years
past has been instructor in Geology and Mathematics in the
Butte, Montana High School. He has also had vacation
employment in such enterprises as the Virginia State Geo'
logical Survey, and was Geologist for the Golden Surprise
Mining Company. He has also done summer study in the
University of Chicago and University of California.
GILBERT R. FLINT
Gilbert Roy Flint was born in Chester, Illinois, January
21, 1883. He entered McKendree in September, 1900 and
Three Hundred and Eighty-O
graduated in 1904, with the degree of A. B. He was a mem-
ber of the Platonian Society to which his father had belonged
before him. He was married June 34, 1908 to Margaret Stein.
They have four children. Mr. Flint's occupation since his
graduation has been characterized by great variety. He taught
school; worked in the silver mines of Idaho; was chief clerk
in one of the offices of the Mobile and Ohio Railroad; was
car inspector for the same railroad; spent a few years in the
insurance business in Murphysboro; and now is a travelling
salesman with his residence at Fairfield, Illinois.
EARL W. DONOHO
Earl WiUoughby Donoho was born at Storm Lake, Iowa.
Later his parents moved to Troy, Illinois, where his youth
was spent and where his mother, then a widow lived while
he was a student in McKendree. He entered college in
September, 1900 and graduated in 1904, receiving the degree
of A. B. He was a member of the Platonian Literary Society.
He took a course in engineering at the University of Illinois,
and received from that institution the degree B. S. in igo8-
He is married and lives in Chicago, where he is city repre-
sentative for the Hot Point Electric Heating Company.
MRS. BLANCHE FOX WYNN
Blanche Fox was born at Palestine, Illinois, February 23,
1883,. She entered the Music Department of McKendree
College in 1902 and graduated in 1904, with the degree of
Bachelor of Music. She was a member of the Clionian Liter-
ary Society and a member of one of the Clio Quartettes.
For some years after her graduation she made her home with
her aunt, Mrs. Mary E. Woodworth, of Palestine and then
she was married to Fred Wynn. Her home is still m Palestine.
MRS. MAE HUSSONG RITCHER
Mary Mae Hussong was born near Alhambra, Madison
County, Illinois, February 29, 1880. She is the youngest
daughter of George J. and Mary M. (Rosson) Hussong. She
is one of a large family of children, several of whom were
students in McKendree but no others received a degree-
Her father died April 17, 1896. In 1897 the family moved
to Lebanon, where Mae attended the Lebanon High School
and graduated as valedictorian of the class of 1899. The
same year she entered McKendree, and after completing the
classical course, she received the degree of A. B. in 1904.
She was an active member of the Clionian Literary Society.
After leaving McKendree she engaged in the profession of
teaching and taught continuously in various grades, in the
schools of St. Clair County, for eight years. August 14,
1912, she was married to Prof. George C. Ritcher, instructor
in Mathematics and Manual Training in the Alton High
School. Their home at present is in Alton, Illinois. They
have one son. Mrs. Ritcher has been a member of the
Methodist Church since 1897, ^nd was for years a very
successful Sunday School worker.
PROF. E. LON MORGAN
E. Lon Morgan was born at Bone Gap, Illinois, August
22, 1879. His parents were A. T. and Rosina (Smith) Mor-
gan, both American. After completing the home schools and
several terms at the collegiate institute at Albion, Illinois,
he entered McKendree in the spring term of 1901. He grad-
uated in 1904, receiving the degree of A. B. In 1912, he re-
ceived the degree of A. M. from the University of Wiscon-
sin after doing two years of graduate work in the department
of Agricultural Economics. While in McKendree he was a
member of the Platonian Literary Society. After his gradua-
tion he was for four years secretary of the Y. M. C. A. of
Ford County, lUinois. Then for two years he was State
Department Secretary of the Y. M. C. A. for the State of
Kansas. During the summer of 1912 he was employed as
lecturer for the National Lincoln Chautauqua System. He
delivered addresses at one hundred and twenty Chautauquas
in seven different states. Two of his most popular lectures
are "Conservation of the People and the Rural Community"
and "Conservation of the Soil and Corn Culture". In 191 j,
he was elected to a position in the State Agricultural College
at Amherst, Massachusetts, in charge of the department of
Applied Sociology. For several years he has held a similar
position in the University of Missouri. He was married
June 26, 1906 to Miss Mary F. Flint, also a graduate of
McKendree. See class of 190J.
ALEXANDER W. MORRISS, Jr.
Alexander William Morriss, Jr., was born in the year
1885 in St. Louis, Missouri. He is of English descent, his
father, Alex W. Morriss having been born in London, Eng-
land, and his mother, Julia (Burton) Morriss, in Montreal,
Canada. His parents moved to Lebanon when he was a small
child and that place was his home until he had completed
his education and gone into business. He entered McKendree
in 1899 and graduated in 1904, with the degree of B. S. He
then spent a year in Princeton University and received a
degree from that institution. While in McKendree he was
a member of the Platonian Literary Society. He is now a
member of the firm known as the Morriss Realty Company,
which is engaged in real estate and general construction
business in Granite City, Illinois. He belongs to the Granite
City Lodge of the B. P. O.E. He was married March 19, 191 J to
Miss Sarah Brown of St. Louis. They have three children.
Three Hundred and Eighty-Two
frjvic KENDREE"^^^^^:^:^^-^^^.^.,:^^
MRS. FLORENCE REINHARDT NICHOLS
Florence Remhardt was born at Lebanon, Illinois m 1885.
She IS a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Reinhardt who
have long been well-known citizens of Lebanon. She was
educated in the public schools of Lebanon and in McKendree
College. She graduated from the Music Department in 1904,
receiving the degree of B. M. She then entered the Perry
School of Oratory and Dramatic Art of St. Louis, from which
she graduated in 1906. While m McKendree she was a mem-
ber of the Clionian Literary Society. She was married April
22, 1909 to Dr. Claude Nichols, who was also for some
years a student m McKendree. They now reside at El Paso,
Illinois, where Dr. Nichols is practicing medicine.
FLORENCE E. SCHMALE
Florence Emilie Schmale was horn at Hamel, Illinios,
March 3, 1885. She is a daughter of Rev. Ernst F. Schmale
who was for many years pastor of the Evangelical Church
at Trenton, Illinois. She graduated in 1904, with the first
honors of her class. She was a member of Clio. After her
graduation she studied music for three years and then after
teaching several years in the high schools of Trenton and
CoUinsville, she took a post-graduate course m Chicago Uni-
versity. She has been for a number of years teacher of English
in the East St. Louis High School. She spent the summer of
1927 travelling in Europe.
MRS. FAITH WATTS HERSHEY
Faith Watts was born m Lawrence County, Illinois, April
II, 1885. She is the youngest daughter of David A. and Mary
A. (Greer) Watts. Her father was a native of Illinois and her
mother of Ohio. Having completed the course of the Lebanon
High School, she entered the Music Department of McKen-
dree and completed the course in 1904, receiving the degree
of Bachelor of Music. She was a member of the Clionian
Literary Society. She taught piano to private pupils in
Lebanon and East St. Louis for several years. She is a member
of the Methodist Episcopal Church and while in Lebanon
was a leader in Epworth League work. In June 1909, she was
married to Mr. Frank Hershey, who was also a student in
McKendree for a time. They went to Miles City, Montana,
where Mr. Hershey engaged in mercantile business. They
still live in the far west.
THE CLASS OF 1905
CHARLES C. BALDWIN
Charles Claude Baldwin was born on a farm near Irving-
ton, Illinois, September 5, 1880. His parents are Richard D.
and Mary E. (Kerr) Baldwin, who are both Americans. He
entered McKendree in September 1898 and graduated in
1905, receiving the degree of A. B. He was a member of the
Philosophian Literary Society. After graduation he spent a
year in the west. He travelled as representative of an eastern
publishing company, in Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona,
and other western states. He was principal of the Irvington
public schools for two years. He then engaged in various
commercial enterprises for several years. He was for years
manager of the Centralia Traction Company, of which he
was one of the directors and secretary of the company. He
resides in Nashville, Illinois.
PROF. DAVID G. CALVERT
David Greenlee Calvert was born June 10, 1880, near
Newton, Illinois. He was a son of Rev. Greenlee Calvert of
the Southern Illinois Conference. He entered McKendree in
the fall of 1899 and graduated in June, 1905, with the degree
of A. B. He was a member of Plato. The next year after his
graduation he began teaching in high school and continued
this line of work without a cessation until the time of his
death, which occurred while he was still a young man in
1922. He was married February 25, 191 1 to Miss Pheonia
Wilson of Thebes, Illinois, who was a teacher in the schools
of Odin, Illinois when he was superintendent there. She
with one son survives her husband.
DORA D. DOUGHERTY
See Mrs. W. C. Pfetfer, class of 1901.
PROF. NEWTON E. ENSIGN
Newton Edward Ensign was born at Altamont, Illinois,
June 3, 1882. He is a son of F. D. and Jennie (Young) Ensign,
both of whose ancesters were American as far back as known.
He became a student in McKendree in September, 1901 and
graduated in June, 1905, receiving the degree of A. B. He
was a member of the Platonian Literary Society. The same
year of his graduation he was assigned to one of the Rhodes
Scholarships in Oxford University by the Rhodes Scholar'
ship Committee for the state of Illinois. After spending the
ensuing three years in Oxford University, he received the
degree of B. A. in Mathematics from that institution in 1908.
He then took a course in Civil Engineering in the University
of Illinois and received the degree of B. S. from that univer'
sity in 191 1. He was Instructor in Mathematics in the Acad-
emy of the University of Illinois 1909-1910, and Instructor
in Theoretical and Applied Mathematics in the University
from 1910 to the present time. He was married July 25-, 1908
at Oxford, England to Miss Flossie Bundy, who was his
fellow student at McKendree. They have one son, Richard
Bundy Ensign, born February 22, 191 1.
ENOLA L. KEISLING, B. S.
See Mrs. W. F. Thrall, class of 1901.
Three Hundred and Eighty-Three
MC KENDREE
EDWARD D. KREHBIEL
Edward David Krehbiel was born at Summerfield, Illinois,
January 26, 1883. His parents were Rev. Jacob E. and
Kathrine (Ruth) Krehbiel. They were both German. He
entered McKendree in the fall of 1898 and graduated in
June, 1905, receiving the degree of A. B. He was a member
of the Philosophian Literary Society. He was a leader in
college circles, both literary and athletic. He won the Bryan
Medal in 1902 and the Brown Oratorical prize in 1905. He
was a star player in foot-ball, base-ball and tennis. From
September, 1905 to 191 1, he was engaged in the real estate
business in St. Louis, being connected with the John S.
Blake and Brother Realty Company. At that time failing
health made it necessary to seek a change of climate. He
went to Reedley, Cahfornia, but the hoped for recovery was
not destined to be reahzed. The disease, tuberculosis, made
steady progress until his death, June 14, 191?,. He was a
member of the Mennonite Church.
LEWIS McDonald
Lewis McDonald was born at Brownstown, Illinois, OctC'
ber 19, 1884. He entered McKendree in the fall of 1900 and
graduated in the class of 1905, with the first honors of his
class, receiving the degree of A. B. He was a member of the
Platonian Society. He entered the Engineering School of the
University of Illinois where he completed a course in Civil
Engineering in 1908. For two years he taught in the Engineer-
ing School of the University, and then secured a position in
the Engineering Department of the Chicago Bridge and Iron
Works. He is a member of the Bethany Union Church of
Chicago.
REV. HAROLD L. THRALL
Harold Leonidas Thrall was born at Metropolis, Illinois,
November ij, 1885. His parents were Rev. L. W. Thrall of
the Southern Illinois Conference and Edith (Flint) Thrall,
both of whom were natives of Illinois. Among their ances-
tors were both Scotch and English. He entered McKendree
College in the fall of 1899 and graduated in 1905, receiving
the degree of A. B. After teaching a year he entered Garrett
Biblical Institute. There he completed his theological course
and received the degree of S. T. B. in 190Q. While he was in
McKendree he was a member of the Philosophian Society.
In 1907 he joined the Southern Illinois Conference and was
received into full membership in 1909. He was pastor at
Noble, Illinois for two years and in 191 1 he was transferred
to the Illinois Conference and has since been pastor of
various charges in that Conference. He was married May 9,
1911 to Miss Elizabeth Schreiher of Chicago.
PROF, ALBERT E. STEVENSON
Albert Eldon Stevenson was born at Brownstown, Illinois,
October 29, 1876. He entered McKendree in 1900 and grad-
uated in 1905, with the degree of A. B. He was a member of
the Platonian Society. In June, 1905 he was married to Miss
Marcia Hanson, who was also for several years a student in
McKendree. They have two children, Helen Maurine and
Maurice H. Mr. Stevenson went west the following year
and has been engaged in educational work in Colorado and
Nebraska for many years. He has also been active in Y. M.
C. A. and Boy Scout work. He is a member of the Methodist
Church and of the Oddfellows Lodge.
EDWARD WALLIS
Edward Wallis was born at Olney, Illinois, August 4,
1881. His parents were Rev. William and Eva (Hain) Wallis.
His father was a native of Ireland but brought up chiefly in
Illinois and was for many years a member of the Southern
Illinois Conference. Edward was the youngest of five chil-
dren. After being educated in the public schools and the
Olney High School, he entered McKendree and graduated
m the class of 1905, receiving the degree of B. S. He was a
member of the Philosophian Literary Society. Soon after
graduation he began the study of dentistry and graduated
from the College of Dentistry of Washington University,
St. Louis, in 1908. He practiced his profession for some time
in Centralia, and later at Monmouth, Illinois; but at last
was compelled to give up all professional work on account
of ill health. He lived for a time in San Antonio, Texas, and
then in Los Angeles, California, where he, to some extent,
recovered his health in the salubrious climate of that region.
He has been practicing dentistry for some years in Chicago.
More recently he has been working with his brother, Dr.
Marshall Wallis, of Houston, Texas.
THE CLASS OF 1906
MRS. GERTRUDE BEEDLE SNODGRASS
Gertrude Beedle was born near O'Fallon, Illinois, May
2j, 1887. Her parents are Walter and Cynthia (Begole)
Beedle, both of English descent. She entered the Music
Department of McKendree in 1904, and after completing
the course, received the degree of Bachelor of Music in 1906.
She is a member of the Baptist Church. She resided with her
parents near O'Fallon, Illinois, until her marriage to Mr.
Snodgrass. They now live in Kansas City, Missouri.
MRS. MYRTLE DUNCAN BLANCK
Myrtle Idell Duncan was born at Odin, Illinois, October
27, 1884. Her parents, Mr. and Mrs. J. S. Duncan, were
natives of Illinois, but of Scotch-Irish descent. She came with
Three Hundred and EightyF,
MC KENDREE
her parents to Leb;:ncn when only a small child and after
passing through the Lebanon public schools she became a
student m McKendree m September, igoo, and graduated in
June, igc6, receiving the degree of B. S. One year of that
period she was out of school. She was a member of the Clio-
nian Literary Society. She was married November 24, 1906,
to Dr. Walter H. Blanck of Lebanon, who was also a student
in McKendree for several years. They have one son, Walter
Duncan Blanck. Their heme is in Lebanon where Dr Blanck
practices his profession of dentistry. Mrs. Blanck is a mem-
ber of the Presbyterian Church. She is also active in various
lines of community work, such as the Woman's Club and
the Red Cross.
CHARLES E. COMBE
Charles Emile Combe was born May 23, 1885 at High-
land, Illinois. His father, Louis Combe, was of Swiss nation-
ality; his mother, Marie E. Rogier, was French. After attend-
ing the schools of his native place, he entered McKendree in
September, 1901. After completing the classical course, he
graduated in 1906. After leaving McKendree, he took a law
course in the University of Michigan, receiving the degree
LL. B., June 3,0, 1910. He then practiced law for a year at
Des Moines, Iowa, and since that time at Harrisburg, Illinois.
While in McKendree he was a Philo. He is also a member of
the Masonic Fraternity, the Order of Elks, and the Modern
Woodmen of America.
ROBERT E. CHOISSER
Robert Edmond Choisser was born at Harrisburg, Illinois
in 1882. His father William V. Choisser, graduated from Mc-
Kendree in the class of 1S74. Robert graduated from the
high school in his home town and then entered McKendree
m igo2. He graduated in the class of 1906, receiving the
degree of A. B. He was a member of the Philo Society.
After his graduation he read law in his father's office for
three years and was then admitted to the bar in 1909. Dur-
ing the years since he has been practicing law in Harrisburg.
PROF. NORMAN B. DEE
Norman Bliss Dee was born at Kinmundy, Illinois, Decem-
ber 19, 1886. His parents are Rev. James G. and Fanny
(Norman) Dee. His father is a retired member of the South-
ern Illinois Conference and lives at Lebanon. Mr. Dee grad-
uated from McKendree in 1906 as valedictorian of his class,
receiving the degree of A. B. He also received the same degree
from Harvard in 1911, and A. M. from Washington Uni-
versity in 1925. At McKendree he was a member of the
Platonian Society. At Harvard he belonged to The Trident
and Pi Eta, and was a member of the Harvard Glee Club.
PROFESSOR DEE
In igii he was appointed by
the Foreign Missionary Board
of the Methodist Church to
teach English in the North
American Academy at Monte
Video, Uraguay, South
America. In August of that
year he was married to Miss
Loubelle Jolly of Collinsville.
Soon after the wedding they
sailed for Monte Video, go
ing by way of London. After
tour years in the Missionary
work. It was found that the
climate did not agree with Mrs. Dee's health, so they de-
cided to come back to the United States. Mr. Dee's experi-
ence in South America was an excellent preparation for
teaching the Spanish language, and he was employed for
that work by the Central High School m St. Louis. He con-
tinued in this position for ten years. For the last two years
he has been Professor of Foreign Languages in Harris
Teachers' College in St. Louis. True to his training in the
Methodist parsonage, he is active m the work of the church.
He has for some years been superintendent of the Sunday
School at Grace Church in St. Louis. He has a son, William
Louis, and a daughter. Norma Belle.
MRS, CELIA FARMER WEBER
Celia Albm Farmer was born in St. Clair County, Illinois,
March 10, 1883. She is the eldest daughter of Rev. Z. J. and
Celia L. Farmer, who are both native Americans. She first
became a student in McKendree m September, 1901 and
graduated in June, 1906, receiving the degrees of Bachelor of
Arts and Bachelor of Music at the same time. She was a
member of the Clionian Literary Society. After her gradua-
tion she taught in the Collinsville high school for two years,
and in the Township high school of Collinsville for one year.
She was married at Collinsville, Illinois, March 23, 1910 to
Dr. A. L. Weber. They went to Cucamonga, California,
where Dr. Weber is still engaged in the practice of medicine.
They are both Methodists. Mrs. Weber died a few years
ago, leaving a son Paul Edward, who was born April 2, i9r3,
HAROLD F. HECKER
St. Louis has a number of successful business and pro-
fessional men who were born and reared in St. Clair County.
Harold Frederick Hecker, Attorney-at-Law, belongs to this
group. He is a grandson of the well-known German patriot.
Colonel Frederick Hecker, after whom the Hecker post of
Three Hundred and E\ghtyFive
<^:^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^S^
the G. A. R. at Belleville, was named. Ckslonel Meeker came
to America after the failure of the revolutionary movement
of 1848, and adopted the free America as his country. He
settled near Summerfield and his home was noted far and
near for its all-inclusive hospitality as hundreds of people of
all classes came to pay their respects to this revolutionist
and philosopher. Cblonel Hecker died March 24, 1881 and
his funeral was said to be the largest ever held in St. Clair
County, with delegations from a dozen different states.
Arthur Hecker, a son of this patriot, who came to America
with his father at the age of seven, married Maria Eisen-
mayer, who was also a member of a prominent German-
American family. Their daughter Estella became the wife of
Albert Lincoln Berger, now of Kansas City. They became
acquainted while both were students in McKendree.
Harold Frederick, the son of Arthur Hecker, was born
near Summeriield, December 19, 1886. After finishing the
public schools he entered McKendree and became a member
of Philo Society. He graduated in the class of 1906, receiving
the degree of A. B. He then entered the Law School of the
University of Chicago, and graduated from that institution
in 1909 with the degree of J. D. Soon after that he began
the practice of law in St. Louis
and is now a member of the
firm of Leahy, Saunders and
Walther, of that city. He was
married September 5, 19 14 to
Miss Leona Sprake. They have
four children. Mr. Hecker is
a member of the Delta Chi
Fraternity; of the St. Louis,
the Missouri, and the Amer-
ican Bar Associations; and of
the City Club. He is also a
member of the Board of Trus-
H. F. HECKER tees of McKendree College.
JOSEPHINE HUECKEL
Josephine Hueckel was born September 19, 1887 at Casey,
ville, Illinois. She entered McKendree in 1904 and graduated
from the Music Department in 1906, receiving the degree
of Bachelor of Music. She was a member of Clio. Her home
is still in Caseyville, tho she has been teaching music m
her own community and also in East St. Louis through all
the years since her graduation. She is a member of the
Methodist Church and very active in the various lines of
church work in her home town.
MRS. GRACE ISDELL GARRETT
Grace Isdell was born at Lawrenceburg, Indiana in the
year 1886. Her father, L. S. Isdell was of Scotch descent, and
her mother, Julia A. (Webster) Isdell, of French and German
ancestry. Miss Isdell's youthful days were spent at Flora,
Illinois where she graduated from the high school. Later she
entered McKendree and after completing the required
courses, received the degree of Bachelor of Music in 1906.
She was married at Lebanon, Illinois, November 26, 1907 to
Richard Lee Garrett. They made their home in the state of
Texas where Mr. Garrett's business interests were located.
They later moved to Chicago.
JUDGE CHARLES H. MILLER
Charles Herbert Miller was born at Cobden, lUinios,
August 26, 1884. After graduating from the Cobden high
school he entered McKendree College and after completing
the classical course he graduated in the class of 1906, receiv-
ing the degree of A. B. He was a member of the Philosophian
Society. He won the Brown Oratorical prize in 1906. After
leaving McKendree, he took a law course at Harvard and
then located in Benton, Illinois for the practice of law. He
is married and has several children. He is now in his second
term as circuit judge. He is a member of the Presbyterian
Church, a Mason and a Shriner. He is a member of the
Board of Trustees of McKendree. It has fallen to him to pre-
side over a number of important cases in the Illinois Courts,
as the trial of several of the infamous "Birger gangsters".
In fact it became his duty to pronounce sentence upon the
leader of the gang.
EUGENE MILLER
Eugene Miller carried a boy's name, but that was only
because her fither had no son. She was born at Willard,
Illinois, where her father was an influential citizen and pro-
minent in church work.
She was educated in the home schools, in Illinois Women's
College at Jacksonville, and in McKendree. She devoted the
most of her time to music while in McKendree and com-
pleted the course leading to the degree of Bachelor of Music
in 1906 and received her degree. However she did not long
survive her graduation, as death claimed her about five years
later.
EDWIN E. STRALEY
Edwin Everett Straley was a Fairfield boy. He enrolled in
McKendree and joined the Platonian Society. He was a quiet
studious lad who had perseverance rather than brilliancy.
But in due time he reached the goal of graduation and re-
ceived his degree of B. S. as a member of the class of 1906.
Three Hundred and Eightv-S...
MC KENDREE
He entered upon a career m the educational tield and taught
school in Clay City for some time but we have no informa-
tion concerning him later than 191 2.
JUDGE ELBERT H. GARY
Elhert Henry Gary was born at Wheaton, Illinois, October
8, 1846. He was educated in the public schools, Wheaton
College and Chicago University. He graduated from the
Law Department of the Chicago University. He was ad-
mitted to the bar in 1867. He received the degree of LL. D.
from McKendree in 1906. He was Mayor of Wheaton two
terms; County Judge of DuPage County two terms; prac,
ticed law in Chicago twenty-five years; President of the
Chicago Bar Association 1893,-1894; retired from law prac
tice to become President of the Federal Steel Company m
1898; later he became Chairman of the Board of Directors of
the United States Steel Corporation, which position he held
until his death. He was Chairman of the Board of Directors
of the Federal Trust and Savings Bank of Chicago; Director
of several other banks in Chicago and New York; President
of the Gary- Wheaton Bank of Wheaton. He was a Trustee
of the Northwestern University; and built the Gary Memo-
rial Church in memory of his parents who were pioneer
members of the Wheaton Methodist Episcopal Church. He
was married in 1869 to Miss Julia E. Graves of Aurora, who
died in 1902. Judge Gary died in August 1927.
THE CLASS OF 1907
LEONARD CARSON
A "son of McKendree", still young in years but whose
influence has already been widely felt is Matthew Leonard
Carson of Granite City, Illinois. However, he has largely
abandoned the cognomen of the Publican Gospel writer and
goes by the simple well balanced title of Leonard Carson.
He was born at Mt. Erie, Illinois, October i, 1883 and edu-
cated in the home schools and McKendree College, where
he was graduated in the class of 1907, receiving the degree
of A. B. He was a member of Philo while in McKendree and
has never lost interest in the old society nor in his alma mater
for he has for a number of years been a membzr of the Board
of Trustees of McKendree and at present holds the office of
Secretary of the Board. He was married June 12, 1913 to
Miss Alice Seneff of Westerville, Ohio. They have three
children, Mary Margaret, Richard Jennings, and Alma
Katherine. Mr. Carson's business and professional career has
been one of great variety. He was for three years a teacher
in the High School at Mattoon, Illinois. He then entered the
service of the government as post-master of his home town,
but after two years he changed over to another line and
LEONARD CARSON
became cashier of the Mt. Erie
bank. He then followed the
banking business for a period
of eight years, in Mt. Erie,
Flora, and Granite City. After
that he changed from banking
to other lines of corporation
work. He was for three years
the assistant treasurer of the
Howe Safety Appliance Com-
pany of Granite City; and then
became secretary-treasurer
of the firm of Holsinger, Theis
and Company, Inc. of Granite
City, which does an extensive real estate and insurance busi-
ness in that growing city. This position he still holds. Along
with these important financial activities he has pursued a
line of religious and civic endeavors which run parallel with
the work out of which he makes his living. He has been four
times secretary of the Laymen's Association of the Southern
Illinois Conference. Of course, he would not have received
this recognition from his associates had he not been an active
worker in his own home church which is the Neidringhaus
Memorial of Granite City. In 1927, he was a delegate to the
National Council of the Boy Scouts of America held in New
York City. In the same year he was president of the Illinois
Council of ReHgious Education, formerly the Illinois State
Sunday School Association, an honor that is rarely ever
bestowed but once upon any individual. He is now First
Vice-president of that body. He is also for the present year
president of the Madison County Sunday School Associa-
tion. He is vice-president of the Cahokia Mound Council of
Boy Scouts, and a Trustee of the Neidringhaus Memorial
Church.
CLEON C. CARTER
Cleon Churchill Carter was born at Hornsby, Illinois,
November 19, 1884. He is a son of A. Stanley and Amanda
(Churchill) Carter. He was educated in the public schools
of his native place and in McKendree College, where he
graduated in the class of 1907, receiving the degree of B. S.
He was a member of the Platonian Literary Society. He was
employed for some time after his graduation in the state of
New York, but for several years past he has been in Califor-
nia, being located mostly in the vicinity of Los Angeles. He
was married January 21, 1914 to Miss Edna Hazel Divilbiss.
PROF. CHARLES H. ELLIOTT
Charles Herbert Elliott was born at Normal, Illinois in
1877. He IS the only son of Prof. David S. Elliott who died
Three Hundred and E.ghtv-Seve
in 1912 and was of Scotch-Irish descent, and Emily A. Muil-
berger, of French-German ancestry. After graduating at the
Illinois State Normal University at Normal, Illinois, and
teaching several years, he became a student in McKendree
in February, 1906. He graduated in 1907, receiving the degree
of B. S. He was a member of the Philosophian Literary
Society. After doing graduate work in Columbia University
of New York, he received the degree of A. M. from that
institution. His occupation has been that of teaching. He
was Student Assistant in Science in the Illinois State Normal
University two years; principal of the Centralia city high
school one year; Superintendent of Centralia Township
High School five years; and for several years he was Director
of the Training School of the Southern Illinois Normal Uni-
versity. He was a member of the faculty of the State Normal
School at Normal Illinois, during four summer sessions, and
has been an Institute Instructor for six years. He is a member
of the Methodist Church, a Knight Templar, and a
Knight of Pythias. He was married in August, 1912 to
Miss Helen Peters of Carbondale.
WILLIAM R. FARMER, D. D. S.
William Roy Farmer was born at Lebanon, Illinois, Janu-
ary 29, 1885. He is a son of Rev. Zelah J. and Celia L.
Farmer, who are both of American parentage. His father has
for many years been a member of the Southern Illinois Con-
ference. Mr. Farmer entered McKendree in the fall of 1902,
and graduated in 1907 with the degree of A. B. He was a
member of the Platonian Literary Society. After graduation
he taught school for a period of five years. One year in the
public schools of O'Fallon, one year in the Grant School in
St. Clair County, and three years principal of the Columbian
School of Collinsville, Illinois. He is a member of the Metho-
dist Church, and the Masonic Lodge.
Mr. Farmer is at present practicing dentistry in a suburb
of Los Angeles.
MRS. HARRIET GARRIGUS FARTHING
Harriet Helen Garrigus was born September 14, 1885 at
Trenton, Illinois. She is the youngest daughter of Joseph and
Mary E. Garrigus, who were both native Americans. After
completing the public schools at Trenton, she entered Mc-
Kendree in the flill of 1902. She graduated in the class of 1907
receiving the degree of B. S. She was a member of the Clionian
Literary Society. For three years she taught in the Trenton
Public School. She is a member of the Presbyterian Church
at Trenton, Illinois. In 191 2, she went to California and
spent some months with her sister, Mrs. J. M. Fisher, at
Mendocino. In 1914 she was married to W. D. P. Farthing
of the class ot 1909. They have one daughter. They live at
Signal Hill and Mr. Farthing practices law in East St. Louis.
REV. PHILIP R. GLOTFELTY. D. D.
Philip Rutherford Glotfelty was born at Elkville, Jackson
County, Illinois, August 10, 1877. His parents were Henry
and Eliza Ellen (North) Glotfelty. The father was of Penn-
sylvania German stock; the mother of English descent. Her
brother. Judge James M. North, was an alumnus of Mc'
Kendree. Philip entered McKendree in the fall of 1899 and
graduated with the class of 1907, receiving the degree of
Bachelor of Arts. This period was not all spent in attendance
at college, but having entered the Southern Illinois Confer-
ence in 1901, he spent several years in the pastorate before
he finished his college course. He was a member of the Pla-
tonian Literary Society. He was married September 26, 1901
to Annie Laurie Burbank of Elkville, Illinois. Their four chil-
dren are Henry Fitzgerald, Walden McKendree, Philip
Rutherford, Jr., and Marjorie Ellen.
During the years 1910 to 191 }, he was a student in Garrett
Biblical Institute at Evanston, Illinois. He received the de-
gree of B. D. in 191 5. During his attendance at "Garrett"
he was pastor of Chandler Methodist Church in Chicago.
For six years he was pastor at Herrin, Illinois during the
period of the coal strike and the warfare between Ku Klux
Klan and the infamous gangsters. McKendree gave him the
degree of D D. during the Centennial year.
REV. .^ND MRS. P, R. GLOTFELTV
CHESTER F. MILLER. D Litt.
Chester Frederick Miller was horn July 14, 1886 at Van-
dalia, Illinois. His father. Rev. Daniel R. Miller, was a mem-
ber of the Southern Illinois Conference, but died when his
son was only six years old. He entered McKendree in 1901
and graduated in the class of 1907, receiving the degree of
A. B. and in 1909 A. M. He was a member of the Platonian
Three Hundred and £ig)it\-£iglil
W^^^^m^^^^^^^^B^^^:^
CHESTER MILLER
summer-term instructor
Society. In 1917 he received
the degree of A. M. from
Teachers' College of Columbia
University. He has been en-
gaged continuously in educa-
tional work for the last twenty
years and the greater part of
the time in administrative
positions. He has been Superin-
tendent of Schools at Tiskilwa.
Polo, Normal and Galesburg-
He has been in the last named
position since 1922. July 1,1928
he will become Superintend-
ent at Saginaw, Michigan. He
at the Illinois State Normal University for several summers.
He is a lecturer at Knox College and also at Lombard College.
He is author of "The March of Democracy" and "The Con-
stitutional Gift Book"; and co-author of the Chadsey-Wem-
berg-Miller History Series. He is inventor of the Miller-
Turner Teacher's Portfolio, and co-author of the Miller-
Turner series of class records. In addition to this he has
written numerous articles for various educational periodicals.
He belongs to Phi Kappa Phi and Pi Gamma Mu, Academy
of Sciences, and the National Society for the Study of Edu-
cation. He IS a member of the Illinois Pupils' Reading Circle
Board, and a former member of the Advisory Board of the
Illinois Parent-Teachers Association. He is a Rotarian and a
Shriner. He was married June 22, 1913 to Miss Florence
Hedrick of Polo. They have two daughters, Florence Louise
and Jeanne Elizabeth.
REV. CLAIR W. MOORMAN
Clair West Moorman was born at Ypsilanti, Michigan,
January 17, 1881. His father, Enos West Moorman, was of
Scotch-English descent, his mother, May Arabell (Alger)
Moorman is of English and German ancestry. He entered
McKendree in 1902 and graduated in 1907, receiving the
degree of A. B. Mr. Moorman early felt the call to preach
and was a student pastor a part of the time while taking his
college course. After graduation he engaged in Evangelistic
work for a time; then served as pastor at Hollis, Kansas, in
the North-West Kansas Conference for two years. He then
returned to Illinois and was appointed pastor of the Hamburg
charge in the Alton District.
He was married to Irene Mary Otwell of Plainview, Illi-
nois, November 15, 1906, Dr. John F. Harmon performing
the ceremony. They have four children; Vernon Percy, Alm<i
Mae, Wynant Clair and Ruth Irma. Some years ago he left
the work of the pastorate to engage in Y. M. C. A. work.
MRS. SUSIE SCHULZE DUNCAN
Susie Schulze was born at OkawviUe, Illinois, August 11,
188^. She attended the schools ot her home town and then
came to McKendree College where she took work in the
Literary Department and specialized in music. She graduated
from the Music Department in 1907, receiving the degree of
Bachelor of Music. Before her graduation she was married
to Rev. Charles M. Duncan, then a member of the Southern
Illinois Conference, September 12, 1906. Later while her
husband was attending Garrett Biblical Institute she also
took work m that institution. She became a member of the
Methodist Church m early life and has been her husband's
active assistant in the work of the ministry.
PROF. NEWTON N. STEVENSON
Newton Newman Stevenson was born near Vandalia^
Illinois, September 23, 187S. He is a son of J. M. and Jane
(Turner) Stevenson who are both native Americans. He en-
tered McKendree in 1903 and graduated in 1907, with the
degree of A. B. He was a member of the Platonian Literary
Society. He has been continuously engaged in educational
work since his graduation. He was one year principal of the
high school and one year superintendent of the city schools
of Newton, Illinois; two years superintendent of the schools
of Flora, Illinois; one year principal of the Township high
school of Tiskilwa, Illinois; and later superintendent of the
city schools of Bement, Illinois. He was married August 17.
1902 to Miss Sarah J. McConkey. They have two children,
Wendell and Marjone. Mr. and Mrs. Stevenson are both
members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. For some years
past he has been engaged in educational work m Colorado.
DR. ARTHUR L. WEBER
Arthur Leo Weber was born in St. Clair County, Illinois,
April 14, 1883. He is a son of August J, and Elizabeth Weber
who are of German nationality. After finishing the course at
the Trenton high school, he entered McKendree in SepteiiT
ber, 1903. He graduated in June, 1907, with the degree of
A. B. He was a member of the Philosophian Literary Society.
He at once entered the Medical Department of the North-
western University at Chicago and in 1910, received the
degree of M. D. from that institution. Since that time he has
been engaged in the pr xtice of medicine m Cucamonga,
California. He was married March 23, 1910 to Miss Albin
Farmer, a daughter of Rev. Z. J. Farmer of the Southern
Illinois Conference. They have one son, Paul Edward, born
April 2, 191 3. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal
Three Hundred and EtghtyH'
^^MC KENDREE"^^^^^^^,....^^,..^
MAUDE ALEXANDER
Church and the Medical Fraternity Nu Sigma Nu. He also
belongs to the Honorary Medical Fraternity, Alpha Omega
Alpha. Mrs. Weber died a few years ago.
THE CLASS OF 1908
MAUDE ALEXANDER
Maude Alexander was born in Randolph Cbunty, Mis-
souri, August 8, 1884. She received her elementary education
m the public schools of Arkansas and Illinois. She entered
McKendree in 1901 and after completing both the Academy
and College courses she grad'
uated in 1908, receiving the
degree of A. B. She was a
Cho. She taught in the public
schools of Illinois for a num-
ber of years, but after her
mother's death, she devoted
herselfto the filial task of keep
ing house for her father and
taking care of her invalid sister.
She was always an active
church and Sunday School
worker. She was a member of
the Lebanon Baptist Church
for twenty years, and is now a member of the First Baptist
Church of Colorado Springs. She is a member of the Belle-
ville Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
MRS. ADA BIGLER BIGGERSTAFF
Ada Belle Bigler was born at Gypsum City, Kansas some'
time in the eighties, though her home has been at Amster-
dam, Missouri for the most of her life. Her parents are
Frank and Alice Bigler, the former of German and the latter
of English ancestry. She entered McKendree in 1904 and
graduated from the music department in 1908, receiving the
degree of Bachelor of Music. She was a member of the Clion-
ian Literary Society. She took post graduate work in music
one year at the Missouri Wesleyan University and since then
has been engaged continuously in teaching music. For some-
time she taught that subject in Menins College at Menins,
Missouri. She is a member of the Methodist Church and an
active worker in the Epworth League and the general work
of the Church. She also belongs to the Rebekahs and the
Royal Neighbors.
She was married July 30, 191 3 to T. A. Biggerstaff of
Amsterdam, Missouri. They live in Mena, Arkansas.
ROBERT B. CROIX
Robert Benjamin Croix was born near Kaskaskia, Illinois,
but in Monroe County, January 24, 1882. His flither was
born in Germany, hut came to America in early Ufe and
served in the Union Army during the Civil War. His mother
was born in Monroe County, Illinois, her people having
immigrated from Virginia in the early forties. He became a
student in McKendree in September 1903 and graduated in
June, 1908, receiving the degree of A. B. He was a member
of the Philosophian Literary Society. He received the degree
of A. M. from the University of Denver in 1910, and LL.
B. from the same institution in 1912. While making his way
through the law school, he paid a large part of his expenses
by working in the law offices of Davis and Whitney in
Denver. He was admitted to the bar and practiced law in
Denver for a brief period. He was a member of the Trinity
Methodist Episcopal Church in Denver. His death occurred
in 191^.
REV. CHARLES M. DUNCAN
Charles Morris Duncan was born in Crawford County,
Illinois, March 14, 1879. He is a son of John S. and Martha
A. Duncan who are of Scotch ancestry. After an intense
religious awakening, believing himself to be called to the
work of the ministry, he entered McKendree in the fall of
1902. He graduated in 1908, receiving the degree of A. B.
He was a member of the Platonian Literary Society. Before
his graduation, he had joined the Southern Illinois Confer-
ence, and partly supported himself in college by serving as
a student pastor. After finishing at McKendree he spent two
years in Garrett Biblical Institute. He was then transferred
to the Illinois Conference. He served on two districts and
is now a member of Dr. Hancher's money raising team. He
belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the
Modern Woodmen of America. He was married in 1900 and
has one son, Paul. His wife died in 1903. In 1906 he was
married to Miss Susie Schulze of Okawville, who graduated
from the Music Department of McKendree in 1907.
REV. JOHN F. GLOTFELTY
John Franklin Glotfelty is a son of Henry and Ellen (North)
Glotfelty. The father is of German and the mother of English
descent. He entered McKendree as a student in the academic
department in 1899, and after being out of school for several
intervals of longer or shorter duration, he graduated in 1908,
receiving the degree of A. B. He was a member of the Pla-
tonian Literary Society. He joined the Southern Illinois Con-
ference in September 1908 and was appointed pastor at
Pocahontas. After one year in this charge and two at Ewing,
Illinois, he became a student in Garrett Biblical Institute at
Evanston, where he graduated in the class of 1914. While a
Three Hundred and Timely
flVlC KENDREE"^^^^^^:^..,^^^.-^^
student there he did supply work in several charges m the
Rock River Conference and mission work in Chicago. He
was also an officer in the Y. M. C. A. at Garrett.
He did war work in France during the World War. He
was transferred back to the Southern Illinois Conference
in 1924.
JAMES H. HEWITT
James Herbert Hewitt was born at Summerfield, Illinois,
December i j, 1888. He is the son of Dr. J. H. and Bertha
(Widicus) Hewitt. His father practiced medicine for many
years in Summerfield, and for several years before his death
in Lebanon. James Herbert entered McKendree when quite
young and graduated in 1908 when he was not yet twenty
with the first honors of his class, receiving the degree of A.
B. He was a member of the Philosophian Literary Society.
After finishing at McKendree he entered the Engineering
Department of the University of Illinois, and in 191 2 received
from that institution the degree of B. S. m Civil Engineering.
After that he was employed as Civil Engineer m the depart-
ment of bridges by the Missouri Pacific Railway for some
time. For several years he has been doing a very successful
contracting business, having his headquarters at Little Rock,
Arkansas. He married Miss Carrie Brown of Lebanon.
CLARA O. SCHMALE
Clara Olivia Schmale was born at Hamel, Illinois, Decem-
ber 12, 1887, and died in St. Louis, January 20, 191 3. She
was the youngest daughter of Rev. Ernst F. and Catherine
(Bohle) Schmale, who are both natives of Germany. Her
father has for many years been pastor of the German Evan-
gelical Church at Trenton, Illinois. After graduating at the
Trenton High School, she entered McKendree in 1904 and
graduated in 1908 as salutatorian of her class, receiving the
degree of A. B. She was a member of the Clionian Literary
Society and has served as president of that organization.
Since graduation she has devoted herself to home duties so
far as her health would permit. Never very strong physically,
she did not fully recover from a surgical operation she under-
went in the summer of 191 2. But after a temporary improve-
ment she was obliged to return to the hospital in St. Louis
where the grim reaper soon claimed her in his harvest. Her
funeral was held from the Trenton Evangelical of which she
was a member and her father was pastor.
FRANK HADLEY
Frank Hadley was born near Centralia, Illinois, June 30,
1882. His father, Seth S. Hadley, is a native of Ohio and a
member of a large family of Quakers who can trace their
lineage back to some of the early English colonists. He en-
tered McKendree in the fall of 1900. By dropping out severa
years to teach school he paid his way and eventually finished
his college course in 1908, receiving the degree of A. B. He
was a Philo. After leaving McKendree he spent two years
in the Engineering School of the University of Illinois. In
1910 he secured a position with the Prairie Oil and Gas Com-
pany of Independence, Kansas, as engineer. He worked for
this company and the Prairie Pipe Line Company for six
years. In this period he supervised the construction of a
number of important pipe lines for the transportation of
crude oil to the refining cen'
ters. In 1916 he became Chief
Engineer for the Sinclair Pipe
Line Company, with head-
quarters at Tulsa, Oklahoma.
He is still in this position.
He was married August
14, 1918 to Miss Lena Leota
Kidd of Corder, Missouri.
They have two children, Eliza-
beth Lee, and James FrankUn.
He is a member of the Masonic
Fraternity, having completed
all the degrees, the York Rite,
Hadley are both members of
FRANK HADLEY
and the Shrine. He and Mrs.
the Methodist Church m Tulsa.
REV. EDWIN O. SMITH
Edwin Oscar Smith was born in Evanston, Illinois, though
he grew to manhood chiefly in the city of St. Louis. He is the
eldest son of Rev. R. T. Smith and Florence Amelia Thomp'
son. He was already well advanced in several lines of study
when he came to McKendree. He completed the classical
course and received the degree of A. B. in 1908, and A. M.
in 1909. He was a member of the Platonian Literary Society.
He joined the St. Louis Conference but feeling that better
fields of labor were open to him elsewhere he availed himself
of the privilege of transfer. In 1910 he became pastor of the
M. E. Church at Plamview, Minnesota. The next year he
was transferred to West Avenue Church, Lacrosse, Wiscon-
sin. In September 191 2, he became pastor of the Methodist
Church at Kiefer, Oklahoma, which is located m the centre
of the greatest oil field in the world. He was married Septem'
ber 27, 1910 to Miss Verene Stephan of Plainview, Minne-
sota. They have several children. He was pastor for a time
at Marshall, Missouri, Price, Utah, and in several towns in
California. Later he became a member of the faculty in a
Three Hundred and Hmety-0
college in Pasadena, under control of the Church of the
Nazarenes. He has since done graduate work in the Leland-
Stanford University.
REV. VAN B. SULLINS
Van Buren SuUins was born at New Burnside, Johnson
Cbunty, Illinois, February 22, 1875. His parents were Madi-
son M. and Josephine SuUins, both of Scotch-Irish descent.
He entered McKendree College in 1899 and graduated in
June, 1908, with the degree of A. B. He was out of school
several years of that period, and was in school two years at
Valparaiso, Indiana. While m McKendree he was a member
of the Platonian Literary Society. He was married November
8, 1905 to Miss Jennie LeGrand of Freeburg, Illinois, who
was formerly a student in McKendree. They have three sons
and one daughter. Mr. Sullins became a member of the
Southern Illinois Conference while still a student in college
and after serving in this field for a number of years was trans-
ferred to the Central Illinois Conference. A few years ago
he published a volume of poems entitled '"Echoes of Egypt".
There is a copy in the College Library.
OWEN WRIGHT
Class of "99
GEORGE E. LEHMAN
Class of 'S";
Three Hundred and K'netyTwo
MC KENDREE
CHAPTER XXX.
The Christian Associations
'HESE two organizations have worked together for
more than a quarter of a century to promote the
rehgious interests of the students m McKendree. But
even before they existed, reUgious influences were not want-
ing in the college. In the early days of McKendree's history the
students were summoned by the bell that hung m the little
belfry on the roof of the first college building, to six o'clock
prayers every morning; which of course in winter comes long
before daylight. After that building was burned m i8^6, and
the row of small buildings known as the "College Commons"
had disappeared from the campus, there were no students
living on the hill, and so the prayers before breakfast were
abandoned. But down to about 1890, the daily chapel service
was held before any classes, and generally not later than
eight o'clock. For many years, notably during the administra-
tions of Dr. Allyn and Dr. Locke, Sunday afternoon lectures
were given throughout the school year, for the special benefit
of the students, tho they were open to the public if any
others desired to attend. These were delivered in the college
chapel by the President or some member of the faculty, or
the pastor of the church, or by some outside speaker of
distinction.
Revival meetings were often held m the college and some-
times an intensive religious campaign was carried on to secure
the conversion of every student in the college who was not
already a Christian. According to the traditions handed
down by members of the faculty of those days there were
times in more than one year when the very last student m
the institution had yielded to the Christianizing influence
that were so abundant on college hill.
During the Eighties and the Nineties a prominent feature
of the religious life of the institution was the "College
Prayer-meeting". This meeting was held every Tuesday even-
ing throughout the school year and was a mighty influence
for good in the lives of many of the students. They were
usually held m one of the recitation rooms and were attended
We give here a list of the lectures and the lecturers for the
By President John W. Locke:
Individual Responsibility.
The Holy Scripture — Inspiration.
Philosophy of Faith.
This life an Earnest of Our Immortality.
Relation of the Open Bible to Free Thought.
Piety to God, the Guaranty of Success in Life.
Christ — the Life.
How We Conquer.
By Professor O. V. Jones :
Life an Ascent.
Intellectual Culture.
Heroic Women. '
Choosing a Profession.
True Greatness of Character.
Some Dangers of the Times.
By Professor S. H. Deneen:
Work as an Educator of Character.
Head and Heart.
Reaction against the English Puritans.
Compensations.
Castelar's Byron.
By Rev. Benjamin F. Crary:
The Mountains of Colorado.
;ollege year, 1876- 1877.
By Professor W. F. Swahlen;
Thought.
Success in Life.
Life and Character of Neander.
The World within and its Discoverer.
Our Centennial.
What Shall We Read.
By Professor E. E. Edwards:
Ethics of Decorum.
Friendship.
Heart Culture.
Christ in Literature.
John Milton.
The Contest in Servia.
By Rev. John W. Phillips:
The Sure Triumph of Christianity.
By Rev. Lyman Marshall:
Go Up Higher.
By Major J. B. Merwin:
What of It?
By Rev. C. A. Van Anda:
The Bible, the Basis of Civilization.
By Rev. Benjamin St. James Fry :
The Law of Man's Life in Relation to the Universe.
Three Hundred and HmetyTh
frjVlc KENDREE-^^^^^rs^:^:^^^.,...^
by anywhere from twenty to fifty students. The man chiefly
responsible for this meeting during the ten years of his con-
nection with the college was Dr. Albert G. Jepson, Professor
of Mathematics. Occasionally a student was the leader of
the meeting, but usually it was led by Dr. Jepson or Dr.
Ferguson, or the President. Professor Jepson had served for
years as a Methodist Class Leader, and Sunday School Super-
intendent, and he loved to help young people who were in-
quiring the way of the religious life. He often held private
conferences with young men who were troubled about their
religious experience, and none ever appealed to him for reli-
gious advice without receiving real help.
Dr. Ferguson, the Professor of Greek, was always at the
meeting during the years of his connection with the college
and was a great help to it. He often led the singing. There
was never a musical instrument in the room for the meeting
was held in a class room. Dr. Jepson never made any attempt
to sing at all, but Dr. Ferguson, while not much of a singer
from the professional standpoint, was acquainted with many
familiar devotional songs and could usually start them at the
proper pitch; so that he was very useful to this group of
spontaneous worshippers. When he was to lead the meeting
he would sometimes have neither Bible nor hymn book in the
room, but when the time arrived would start a familiar song.
After that without naming any individual he would ask some
one to lead in prayer. There were plenty of volunteers. Then
another song would be sung without any special selection,
tho sometimes some one called for a favorite. After a little
while spent in prayer and song he would call for testimonies.
They usually came in quick succession interspersed with an
occasional verse of song, until the hour had passed and then
the meeting was promptly dismissed. Students, and some-
times teachers, frequently told of their religious difficulties,
and their success and failures in dealing with the snares and
temptations of college life. There were boys and girls both in
these meetings. Usually a group of thirty or forty live young
Christians, some of whom were rather anxious to give ex-
pression to their earnest desires and aspirations would bring
about a real lively and interesting religious meeting. It may
be that some of the boys came to the meetings only for the
opportunity of taking the girls home, but it often happened
that the boy who first came for other reasons, afterward
came because he was interested in the meeting. Many a stu-
dent testified that his religious awakening was due to the
influence of the college prayer meeting.
In the fall of 1897 there was talk of organizing a Young
Men's Christian Association. A number of the Colleges of
the state already had them and some members of the faculty
thought that McKendree should get in line. Shortly after
the Christmas holidays a meeting of the students and faculty
was held, in which it was voted to organize the Y. M. C. A.
and a committee, representing both faculty and students,
was appointed to nominate officers. The first president was
William E. Stilson, professor of Mathematics. He was a
young unmarried man, not much older than some of the stu-
dents, and had already had some experience with the College
Y. M. C. A. For these reasons it was thought that he could
more successfully pilot the new organization thru the first
uncertain period until it was well established. The first stu-
dent president was Duff Piercy who was elected the next
year. Ever since that time its officers have been students,
tho some of the faculty members have been active in the
work and usually one or more men from the faculty have been
designated as faculty advisers. After the first year the prac-
tice was begun of sending delegates to the student conference
at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Our chapter never fails to have
representatives there. It is really a great privilege to spend
ten days on a trip to that famous summer resort and get
the inspiration resulting from contact with some of the great
leaders of young men such as Mott and Speer, and McDowell
and others, and to be a part of that great gathering of several
hundred earnest active young men, bent on having a good
time both physically and spiritually.
At least the greater part of these men are willing to avail
themselves of the spiritual benefits of the conference; tho it
must be admitted that some are more interested in the sports
that occupy the afternoons at Geneva, such as baseball,
swimming, boating, a chance to visit the great observatory,
and the matchless fellowships that are always possible in a
group of that kind even tho most of them have never seen
each other before. However, there is a well-grounded sus-
picion that even from McKendree some men have been sent
as delegates who were not at all noted for their religious
inclinations, but who were men of good ability and the idea
was to give them a real religious inspiration and induce them
to consecrate their superior ability to some field of service
in the cause of Christianity.
In those early years it was more common to choose upper
classmen as delegates because of their greater capability, and
then they usually had only a year or two to give back to the
home organization the benefits of their Geneva experience.
In iqoi the delegation to Lake Geneva included Cameron
Harmon who was then a student in McKendree. The next
year he insisted that some member of the faculty who would
Three Hundred and >{mety-Four
c KENDREE"^^^^^^s:^^^g::>^^^
not be so likely to leave the college in a year or two, should
be a member of McKendree's delegation. So Prof. W. C.
Walton was one of the delegates that year, and several times
since then faculty members have represented McKendree at
Lake Geneva. In fact in the later years a considerable number
of college professors are found mingling with the students
at Geneva's great assembly.
About a year later, or to be exact, February 3, 1899, the
girls of McKendree were organized into a Y. W. C. A. There
were only nine members in the original group and the first
president was Miss Anna Love of Edwardsville. In fact, it
was largely thru her influence that the organization was
effected. In those days the proportion of girls at McKendree
was very much smaller than at present. But the Y. W. soon
caught up with the Y. M. in numbers, and occupied the
field of religious work, perhaps more thoroughly than the
men's organization did. During all the years they have sent
their delegates to Lake Geneva, and have taken their full
share of the religious activities and responsibilities of the
college life. It has been the custom most of the time for the
two organizations to have a joint meeting once a month, and
sometimes oftener when a speaker of special interest could
be secured. For many years the two societies have had their
budget in common. A joint budgetary committee would esti'
mate the amount that should be appropriated for each line
of work for the current year. Then some morning in chapel
the cause would be presented by a member of the faculty or
some student leader, and the subscriptions taken on the spot
for several hundred dollars, or else a canvassing committee
appointed to see every student and teacher and get their
pledges in the next few days.
McKendree has never been able to have a "Y" building,
and the associations have never had very definite quarters
which they could call their own. There was a time when a
room in the lower story of the chapel was used for that pur-
pose, and since in those years the girls met in the afternoon
and the boys in the evening, the same room was sufficient for
the needs of both, and both their charters hung on its walls.
Chairs were purchased to furnish comfortable seating and
both faculty and students joined their contributions for the
purchase of an organ to be used in the meetings. While the
room was not large, it was usually sufficient for the group
who attended these meetings. In this room some very im-
pressive meetings have been held and perhaps several revivals
have had their origin. Also some important speakers have
dehvered their messages to the small group who could assem'
ble in this small auditorium, such as returned missionaries
like Isaac Taylor Headland, who once spoke there, and when
leaders of their professions in the law, medicine, and minis-
try, and perhaps other lines, have dehvered vocational ad-
dresses to enable students to better decide the great question
of the choice of a vocation.
But as the years passed, in one of the periods of expansion
that came to McKendree, it became necessary to use the room
for other purposes. So in recent years the girls have held
their meetings in Clio Hall. Since largely the same girls be-
longed to Clio and the Y. W. C. A. it was an easy matter
for the former to grant the use of the hall to the latter. In
the very recent years the attendance of Y. W. has been
larger in proportion to their numbers than that of the Y. M.
In fact the attendance of the girls who live in Clark Hall is
almost one hundred per cent.
The boys have been permitted to hold their meetings in
the chapel and when the room seems so much larger than
the crowd that they seem lost in the greater space they
change to the Bible room or the reception room of the boys'
dormitory.
At the opening of school each year these two organiza-
tions, through their committees, render much service to the
new students, by meeting them as they arrive in Lebanon,
showing them around the college, introducing them to their
fellow students, assisting in the activities of freshman week,
holding acquaintance socials and making themselves gener-
ally useful in every possible way. It is generally recognized
now that the social life of the college is as much a field for
the properly directed activities of the "Y" organizations as
is the rehgious life.
In addition to what has already been set forth m this
chapter, the religious influences of the college include a series
of addresses or sermons each year by some recognized and
outstanding preacher or religious leader, who conducts a
systematic campaign for a week or more speaking twice each
day in the chapel and holding personal conferences with the
students in the meantime. By these, many students have been
started in the religious life or had their hazy and unsatisfac-
tory religious experience clarified and made a part of their
natural and rational thinking and acting in the every day
walks of life.
Three Hundred and ?iinecyFivi
CHAPTER XXXI.
President John F. Harmon's Administration
m
ToHN Francis Harmon was elect-
president at the session of the
Board, June lo, 1908. He was then in
the sixth year of a successful pastorate at
First Church, East St. Louis, and it seemed
appropriate for him to finish the year. He there-
fore remained in East St. Louis until Con-
ference time and closed up the year's work.
Tho he made frequent trips to Lebanon dur
ing the summer, conferring with the faculty
and directing various activities in preparation
for the opening of the new college year. Be-
fore recording the story of his administration
at McKendree, we will give a brief sketch
of his hfe. He was born near Olney, May i, 185S. He was
one of a large family of sturdy Puritan stock. He grew up
on the farm in Clay County, and attended the district
schools there. Later he was a student for several years at
the Southern Illinois Normal at Carbondale and the Cen-
tral Normal School at Danville, Indiana. He was admitted
on trial into the Southern Illinois Conference in 1882 and
received into full connection in 1884. He then spent four
years in Garrett Biblical Institute at Evanston and graduated
from that institution in 1888. He received the degree of
Doctor of Divinity from McKendree in 1900. He served
pastorates at Metropolis, Mt. Carmel, Mt. Vernon, and
East St. Louis, in each of which he had good success. He was
markedly evangelistic in his church work, and was noted for
his zeal in prohibition work. After serving seven years, 1908
to 191 5 as president of McKendree, he became president of
the Kansas Wesleyan at Salina, Kansas, where he served
three years.
When he went to Kansas, he transferred his Conference
membership to the Northwest Kansas Conference, of which
he is still a member. He spent the years from 1918 to his re-
tirement in 1927 in church efficiency work throughout several
states in the west. He was constantly engaged in conducting
revival meetings, dedicating churches, raising money for
churches and colleges, and delivering numerous special ad-
dresses of various kinds. He was a member of five general
Conferences of the Methodist Church, and was a member
of the Book Committee from 1904 to 1912. In September 1882
he was married to Mary C. Mervin of Louisville. Their two
sons and four daughters ,ire all living except the oldest son.
PRESIDENT JOHN HARMON
Richard, who was killed by accident after he
was twenty. His d.iughter Grace graduated
from McKendree and spent several years as
a missionary in Korea. Dr. Harmon now lives
on his farm in Clay County, where he is enjoy-
ing a well-earned rest from the nervous strain
and worry of public life in which he served
the church for more than forty years. Dur-
ing the year 1927 he was called to the unus
ual duty of conducting the funeral service of
two of his brothers who had spent their lives
in the home community and whose deaths
occurred with only a short interval between.
He performed these services at the special re-
quest of the deceased. When he was placed in charge of
McKendree College, he was fifty years old and in the prime
of efficiency as a leader of men. He moved with his family
into the former home of Uncle Ben Hypes, where he lived
during the entire seven years of his term at McKendree.
All his children were students at McKendree, tho only two
received degrees. These were Grace and Marian.
He found the college in the best condition that any presi-
dent ever had in all its history. It had more than a hundred
thousand dollars of productive endowment and sixty thou-
sand more subscribed but conditioned on the completion of
the second hundred thousand. The attendance of students
was good and growing. He managed to keep it growing dur-
ing the entire period of his presidency. But of course while
conditions were good there was still much room for im-
provement.
In his first report to the Board after a year in the office, he
enumerates some of the needs of the college, as dormitories,
endowment, charges for preacher students, and some indus-
trial enterprise, as a factory which would give employment
to students who were trying to make their own way through
college. The fiiculty associated with President Harmon at the
beginning of his term were, William C. Walton, James C.
Dolley, Edwin P. Baker, Edward B. Waggoner, Frank W.
Cady, Thomas S. Hewerdine, and Bertram E. Wiggins. The
Director of the Music Department was Professor Fred Pesold.
Other members of the music faculty were Miss Otilla Pesold
and Miss Cleda Lindly, teachers of Piano; Arnold Pesold,
teacher of Violin; and Miss Jennie Blanck, teacher of Vocal
Music. After a year Professor Cady went to the English
Three Hundred and J^inetyStx
^^KE^^^^^^^^^^^^^s:^
Department m Middlebury College, Vermont, which was
his Alma Mater, and he was succeeded by Professor William
F. Thrall. Also at the same time Professor Hewerdine went
to a new position in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Robert A.
Giles became Professor of Mathematics. Professor Pesold re-
tired and Professor Frank M. Church became the head of
the Music Department. At the same time Miss Amy Pink-
erton became teacher of Voice, though she was succeeded
after a year by Miss Latchipell Myrick. Miss Rhoda Brock-
man became instructor m Expression. Her successor was Mrs.
Morfyg F. Miller, who only staid one year and was suc-
ceeded by Miss Marian McCray.
In igii two new departments were established. Agricul-
ture and Home Economics. In charge of the former was
Prof. Frank C. Grannis, assisted later by Prof. George R.
New. The Home Economics Department was placed under
the direction of Miss Villa M. Sprague. A little later Miss
Alexa C. Sligh became instructor in Violin and Miss Sarah
C. Seabrook instructor in Art. Some years later Prof. George
A. Crossthwait was in charge of the Agriculture work and
Prof. New taught Chemistry and Physics.
At the end of Dr. Harmon's term, Cyrus S. Gentry was
Director of Athletics, tho Homer T. Osborn had occupied
the position before him. Miss Edna McCay was teacher of
Home Economics; Miss Frances Berry taught Expression;
David Morris Hardy was instructor in Violin ; and Miss Anne
E. Wilkinson was the Art teacher. Professor Milton S. Cush-
man substituted a year for Professor Thrall while he was on
leave of absence to do graduate work.
The big thing in Dr. Harmon's administration was the
erection of the dormitories and dining hall. These three build-
ings, with their equipment cost the college a little more than
a hundred thousand dollars, and their addition to the equip
ment of the college wrought a great change in the institution
Itself. Before that time none of the students had lived on the
hill, but after that nearly all of them did. That greatly in-
creased the problems of discipline and administration and
made a great difference in the social life of the students. Of
the money thus invested, sixty thousand dollars had been
subscribed before Dr. Harmon took charge. To this was
added ten thousand from Mr. P. M. Johnston, who had
already subscribed an equal amount during Dr. Chamberlin's
administration, and five hundred dollars from John A. Patten
of Chattanooga, Tennessee. When the Southern Illinois Con-
ference met in Centralia in September 1909, Dr. Harmon in-
duced that body to subscribe thirty thousand dollars to
complete the hundred thousand, and thus meet the condi-
tions necessary to claim the contributions of the Clark
Brothers of Philadelphia, Mr. Carnegie, and Dr. Pearsons.
The Conference subscription was in the form of a note signed
by the officers of the corporation and it was to be paid by
the regular educational collections. Since it drew six per cent
interest, it was as good as that much endowment. The Board
met in special session and with careful deliberation, discussed
the possibilities of one or more new buildings. The largest
donors had expressed a willingness to have their money in-
vested in new buildings instead of endowment if that were
preferable to the authorities of the college. A building com-
mittee was appointed, consisting of President Harmon, T.
A. Wilson, Frank Condrey, J. B. Messick, and J. C. Eisen-
mayer. Mr. W. C. Zimmerman, of Springfield, the state
architect, was employed to draw the plans. The specifications
were advertised and competitive bids received, and contract
was finally let to the Simmons Construction Company of
Chicago. The work was begun m the spring of 1910. It was
supposed that the buildings could be finished and ready for
use in the fall of that year. But the weather was not always
favorable and labor was not abundant. A considerable por-
tion of the unskilled work was done by McKendree students.
Some of them quit and entered college as soon as the fall term
opened and some kept on with part time work. James A.
Landis had been an engineer before he came to college. He
ran the hoisting engine for the construction company until
late in the fall and had a book handy in order to utilize every
minute in study when his duty as engineer did not require
his whole attention. It took the greater part of the winter as
as well as the summer to get the buildings ready for use.
They were actually occupied by students first in the spring
term 191 1. At first the rates charged students was seventy
five cents a week for room and two dollars and a quarter for
board, or three dollars a week for both room and board in
buildings equipped with all modern conveniences and every
thing new. The Girls' Dormitory was named Clark Hall, the
Boys', Carnegie Hall, and their common eating place was
called Pearsons Hall, thus commemorating the names of the
chief donors of the three buildings. Each dormitory has a
capacity sufficient for housing seventy-two students, and the
dining hall can accommodate as many as tables are provided
for, up to three hundred.
Carnegie Hall was fully occupied after the first year, but
Clark Hall did not have its rooms all full until 1927. Of course
some of the students always prefer to board out in town.
Other important developments during Dr. Harmon's term
were the Departments of Agriculture and Home Economics.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^g^^S£>
These departments were both established about the same
time, but neither of them proved to have permanent place
in the college course.
Professor Frank C. Grannis was employed by the Execu-
tive Committee in the spring of 191 1 to take charge of the
work in Agriculture which they were planning to establish.
He was a graduate of the School of Agriculture of the Uni-
versity of Illinois. Some equipment was secured during the
summer and plans were made for beginning the work with
the opening of the school year 1911-1912. A small tract of
land, donated by Dr. B. M. Hypes, was used as an experiment
field. Three horses were provided and a stable was rented
near enough to the college for convenience. A wagon and
some farming implements were also purchased with dona-
tions made to the department by friends of the college. The
total of the gifts for equipment amounted to one thousand,
seven hundred and sixty dollars. This was all from Lebanon
or St. Clair County, except five hundred dollars which was
given by Governor Deneen. There were sixty-seven students
enrolled in Agriculture that first year. An Agricultural
"Short Course" was also given during the year, chiefly for
the benefit of the farmers in the vicinity of Lebanon, or main'
ly those living close enough to Lebanon to attend to their
home work and attend daily lectures at the same time. The
course lasted ten days, and there were several lecturers from
the State University. There were one hundred enrolled in
the "Short Course" the first year, though some of them were
regular students in the college. The Agriculture Course was
designed to cover two years work which might be covered
in a regular college course if the student should so elect. But
if he wanted a full four-year course in Agriculture, it was
necessary for him to transfer his credits to some University,
where he could finish his course. In the nature of the case, a
college like McKendree could not hope to maintain an agri-
culture equipment equal to that of the tax-supported state
university. So the time came when the students who really
wanted agriculture would go to the university in the first
place. The experimental work only lasted a few years. The
student who started field or garden work in the spring would
go home about the first of June and therefore could not com-
plete his experiment. So the work became chiefly class room
and theory work which any student might elect. In 1919, the
Agriculture professor, H. Reese Brentzel, was offered a better
salary in another institution and resigned. The college author-
ities did not see fit to fill the vacancy, and so that was the end
of the Agriculture Department. Its career covered a period
of eight years, from 191 1 to 1919.
About the same time the Agriculture department was
initiated, an Agriculture Experiment Station was established
at Lebanon. It was the result of an agreement between Mc-
Kendree College and the University of IlHnois, to the effect
that if McKendree would furnish a suitable field, the Uni-
versity would maintain a regular agriculture experiment sta-
tion similar to a number already established in various parts
of the state. The college authorities negotiated the purchase
of twenty acres of land, adjoining the city limits on the south,
from Mr. C. J. Pfeffer for two thousand five hundred dollars.
The money was furnished by Governor Deneen as a donation
to the college. The land was deeded to the University of
Illinois with the provision that if the University ever ceasei
to use it for agriculture experiments, the title shall revert to
McKendree College.
Up to the present time the University has maintained
platted experiment fields which are calculated to illustrate
certain principles in scientific farming, and the farmers of the
community may freely observe the results of these experi-
ments.
The Home Economics Department was inaugurated in the
fall of 191 1 with Miss Villa M. Sprague as teacher. She was
educated at the University of Illinois and was full of enthu-
siasm for the new department. Attractive rooms were fitted
up in the basement of the dining hall. There was a sewing
room, a dining room, and a kitchen. The sewing room was
equipped with built-in shelves and drawers, a good number of
sewing machines, dress models, mirrors, and whatever else
was necessary for the art of dressmaking. The dining room was
nicely furnished with the usual furniture for that important
part of a modern home. Many delightful dinners were served
there to the faculty and other small groups of people, in order
that the girls who were acquiring skill in the arts of serving
might have opportunity for practice. The kitchen was equip-
ped as a cooking laboratory with a separate gas stove for
each girl and the various utensils needed in the development
of this important science. Between the kitchen and dining
room was the butler's pantry, which also served as a store-
house for the jellies, jams, and canned goods which were pre
duced as a result of the students exercise of these household
arts.
The Home Economics equipment was mostly secured by
donation from many friends of the institution. The gifts re-
corded in the minutes, given by twenty-six individuals or
firms, amounted to one thousand, three hundred and sixty
dollars. Of this one thousand dollars was in hundred dollar
gifts. Among these good friends, special mention should be
;i828i^iiNll928
Three Hundred and ?^metv-£iglit
ffMC KENDREE .^^^^^s:s^^s:g^^:g>
made of Mr. and Mrs. T. A. Wilson, who were not only
among the largest givers, but also used their influence to se-
cure many other gifts, and served on the committee that
purchased a large part of the equipment in St. Louis. Dr.
Wilson was primarily responsible for the gas plant which
gave the girls an opportunity to "cook with gas" which was
a privilege enjoyed by nobody else in town. In fact, it was
thought by some that the name Wilson should be placed on
the front door of the department.
The first year there were thirty-seven students enrolled
in Home Economics, besides forty-three who took the short
course which was given at the same time with the "Short
Course" in Agriculture. Miss Sprague was also the advisor
and leader of the "Domestic Science Club", which was com-
posed of a group of Lebanon house-keepers who held regular
meetings and discussed many of the problems which came up
in their home life. They were thus permitted to utilize the
knowledge and training of the Home Economics teacher and
have the advantage of the latest university research in this
important field. In fact, it was a sort of continuation course
of education in their own particular line, for these practical
house-keepers.
After two years of service Miss Sprague abandoned teach-
ing for matrimony and became a home-maker for a teacher in
one of our state institutions. She was succeeded by Miss
Maude Willard who was in the position only one year until
she became the wife of Professor Frank M. Church, head of
McKendree's Music Department. The next teacher was Miss
Edna McCay. She staid only one year and was succeeded by
Miss Mabel R. Stiffey of Ohio. The next year the teacher in
this department was Miss Mary Sumpter Garth, a southern
lady. She was followed by Miss E. Grace Brown who staid
a year and a half and married the Chemistry teacher, Pro'
fessor E. E. Holmes. She was succeeded by Miss Carrie Bell
Robertson who finished out the year and served until the
middle of the next year, when she had an opportunity to
take charge of a tea room in a large western city and pre-
ferred that work. That year was finished out by Miss
Margaret George who was elected for the ensuing year, but
had an attractive offer in a southern school which she pre-
ferred to accept. The next year the department was reorgan-
ized and Miss Kathleen Taylor was placed in charge of the
foods' courses and served as dietitian for the dining hall, while
Miss Esther Burnette had charge of the sewing and house
courses. This was a nice arrangement for the teachers, but
the number of students in the department would scarcely
justify the employment of two teachers. So after two years.
Miss Taylor was married and the work was readjusted so
that Miss Burnette could handle all that was necessary. After
another year she too forsook teaching for matrimony, and her
successor was Miss Ruth Walton, a McKendree graduate,
who had had two years experience teaching this same line
in high school. She occupied the position two years and by
that time, 1925, it became evident that the physical equip-
ment of the department had not kept pace with the progress
of the science for the last ten or fifteen years. In fact, m all
these years very little had been added to the original equip-
ment which was quite sufficient in 191 1, but not at all ade-
quate in 1925. Some of the high schools had better facilities
for teaching this work than McKendree. The tax-supported
institutions could easily secure new equipment as it was
needed, but with a church school, it was more difficult. But
it was evident that the time had come when it was necessary
to invest a considerable sum in a new outfit or abandon the
department and let the girls who desired this particular
training go to the state schools. As it was the tuition fees of
the department did not even approximately provide for the
salary of the teacher. So under the financial pressure of the
college with insufficient endowment and with many pro-
blems hard to solve, the authorities decided to abandon the
department which thus came to the end of its career after
fourteen years, from 1911 to 1925.
Not all of the narrative just given of the departments of
Agriculture and Home Economics belong to the administra-
tion of President Harmon, but it seemed best to complete at
least the outline of the story before leaving it.
Another enterprise initiated by him was the "College
Press". There had long been a feeHng that the College should
have a printing press. It had not owned one since the one it
sold in 1852. A machine of that kind could be used not only
for printing the college paper, but also for printing programs,
cards, examination questions and various miscellaneous jobs
which otherwise the college would hire done at considerable
expense or leave undone altogether. Dr. Harmon made a deal
with Mrs. Sarah Watson of Mt. Vernon by which he pur-
chased from her two used printing presses, with an outfit of
type and tools, all of which was said by a disinterested printer
to be worth not less than nine hundred dollars, yet he secured
the complete outfit for four hundred dollars, which sum was
to be paid in tuition fees for her grandchildren, two of whom
were about ready to enter college at that time. By the terms
of the agreement, if her grandchildren did not use all this
amount in tuition the college was under no further obligation
to pay the debt. As a matter of fact, only a portion of it was
^^^^.^..^^c^^^^M^ KENDREE^^^^^S;^^^^,^^
so used. About this time the college had acquired the T. A.
Wilson property which adjoined the campus and for several
years served as a home for the Music department. In the rear
of the brick residence was a frame building which served very
nicely as a printing office and press room, and also as a book
store. Here for several years the "McKendree Headlight",
the college paper of the time, was printed, and job work was
done, both for the college and sometimes for some of the
people in town. Mr. James E. Rymer was placed in charge
of both, the press and the book store. He was a capable
young man who had had experience as a practical printer and
was anxious to get in touch with the college in the hope that
he might be at least a part-time student in the college course.
He did do some college work but never finished the course
because the "Press" kept him too busy most of the time to
think of doing anything else. Also occasionally one or two
other students found part-time work in the printing office.
In the book store, Mr. Rymer handled the text books for the
college students, both new and second-hand, stationery sup-
plies and even athletic goods. This was a very convenient
arrangement while it lasted, but it was found that if the
printer was to have a living out of his work, the college would
have a deficit to make up, for the college paper with a small
subscription list, a low price, and no advertisements, was not
much of a money maker. After a few years the "College
Press" was closed down and Mr. Rymer took over and
edited the "Lebanon Journal", which was the older of the
two Lebanon papers at that time. Some months later the
Lebanon Journal was destroyed by fire, building, equipment,
files of the paper, and the entire plant. That was the finale
of a historic paper.
Another important enterprise m the H.irmon administra-
tion was the raising of enough endowment to complete a
total of $200,000. To do this, required $66,000. Dr. John W.
Hancher of the Board of Education came to the assistance of
the college and engineered the campaign. It was not a large
sum compared with what he had raised at many other places,
but the difficulty of the field made him feel that it was a seri-
ous undertaking. He called in several educators and college
men from various parts of the country to assist in the work.
Among them were Dr. Carl M. Doney, then president of the
West Virginia Wesleyan, and Dr. Alfred E. Craig, then pre-
sident of Morningside College at Sioux City, Iowa. Some
inspirational rallies were held and the canvass was made. The
full quota of subscriptions was reached, tho some of it was
subscribed in very small amounts which made it difficult and
expensive to collect, but the full amount was raised and
eventually collected. McKendree now had $200,000 of pro-
ductive endowment. The most it had ever had. But even
with this, the financial pressure was not relieved in the least,
for the growth of the institution increased expenses faster
than the new endowment increased income. Additional
teachers were needed and salaries needed to be raised, so that
it was just as much of a problem as ever to make ends meet.
The material resources were increased considerably during
Dr. Harmon's administration. Besides the increase in the en-
dowment mentioned above, the buildings increased from four
to eight and tho they were just doubled in number, they
were more than doubled in value. The land holdings increas-
ed by the addition of Hypes Field and the Swearingen forty
acres in Crawford County. The attendance of students also
made a substantial advance. The total unrepeated enrollment
the year before he came was two hundred and twenty-six.
The year he left it was exactly three hundred according to
the record m the catalogues. Tho in some of his years, the en-
rollment had been even higher.
Dr. Harmon did not leave McKendree on account of any
lack of success in the work or because the Board wanted
him to leave, but because the door was open to what seemed
to him to be a larger field of usefulness. The authorities of
the Kansas Wesleyan felt that he was just the man their
institution needed and they were so determined to have him
that they offered him a salary just about double what he was
receiving at McKendree. In addition to this inducement, they
sent a committee who tried to convince him that it was his
moral duty to leave McKendree, now well-established, and
put this newer institution on her feet. He therefore closed
his relations with McKendree with the end of the school
year 1914-1011 and went to the Kansas Wesleyan.
Beginning with the group that graduated during the presi-
dency of Dr. John Harmon, we are no longer attempting to
give biographical sketches, unless it may be of some who
have paid for space in the book and have furnished the data
for a sketch. But the earliest of these left McKendree less
than twenty years ago and probably m.my of them have not
yet reached the climax of their usefulness and it is therefore
too soon to write their history. Therefore from this point on
we will merely give a list of the names of each class with
their occupation and post-office address where we have the
information.
THE CLASS OF UH19
Barco, Arthur Udell, A. B., Lawyer . Edwardsville
Britton, William Everett, Law Teacher University of Illinois
Brown, Joseph Charles, A. B., Pastor Springlield
Carlin, Charles Russell, A. B., Pastor Quincy
Collins, Dan D., A. B., Teacher Rapid City, N. D.
Eaton, Charles Alexander, B. S., Lawyer, Long Beach, Cal.
Faires, Leland Stanford, B. S., Veterinary St. Jacob
Farthing, Nelle Minerva, B. S. (Mrs. Dr. Jones) E. St. Louis
Farthing, William Dudley Paul, B. S., Lawyer E. St. Louis
Farthing, Chester Harold, B. S., Lawyer E. St. Louis
Hamilton, Albert WilHam, A. B., Pastor Freeport
Sayre, Rollo Clifton, B. S., Educator Decatur
Sayre, Eunice Randall, B. S., Auto Dealer Lebanon
Shepard, McPherson, A. B., Farm Manager Crossville
Shick, Vega Reverdy, A. B., Business Van Wert, Ohio
Townsend, Russell Ernest, A. B., Lawyer Cobden
THE CLASS OF 1910
Albin, Grover Cleveland, A. B., Pastor Nebraska Conference
Birkhead, Leon Milton, A. B., Pastor Kansas City, Mo.
Burgard, Edmund J., A. B., Business, Webster Groves, Mo.
Cummins, Wesley Erett, A. B., Lawyer Cairo
Eaton, William John, B. S., Educator Edwardsville
Harmon, Grace Luella, B. S., (Mrs. McGary) St. Louis
Horner, Helen Louise, B. Mus., Educator Deceased
Hough, William A., B. S., Educator Belleville
Jones, Rudolph Nathan, A. B., Pastor Carthage, Mo.
Large, Aaron Buford, A. B., Educator Deceased
Louden, Addie L., A. B., Educator E. St. Louis
Massey, Kenneth Waldo, B. S., Business New York City
Moore, Harold J., A. B., Salesman Houston, Texas
Mueller, Arthur Henry, A. B., Physician Denver, Colo.
Raglin, Nellie Ins, A. B., (Mrs. Wilton), Carmi
Rees, Silas, A. B., Theological Teacher New York City
Schmidt, H. Galen, B. S., Educator Belleville
Sullivan, Charles Andrew, B. S., Pastor Dallas City, 111.
Waggoner, Mabel Ella, A. B., (Mrs. R. C. Sayre) Decatur
Walrath, Abbie J., A. B. (Mrs. Smith) Seattle, Wash.
Warren, Fount Grover, A. B., Educator, Carbondale
Wilton, St. John William, A. B., Educator Carmi, 111.
THE CLASS OF 1911
Gentry, Cyrus Stokes. A. B., Lawyer Houston, Tex.
Hall, Charles Wesley, A. B., Pastor ■ Kane, 111.
LeCrone, George Montgomery, B. S., Business Effingham
Markman, Frank Herman, A. B., Educator Jerseyville
Ray, Julian David, A. B., Educator Mulberry Grove
THE CLASS OF 191 'J
Benton, Thomas Harold, B. S., Educator Green Coves
Springs, Fla.
Brede, Elfrieda Marie, A. B., Educator CoUinsville
Gates, Jennie Ophelia, A. B., Educator Alton
Foulk, Madeleine, B. S., (Mrs. C. R. Yost) Lebanon
Gauger, Marguerite Elston, B. S., Educator Berea, Ohio
Johnson, Ellen Victoria, B. S., Educator Belvidere
Karns, John Marshall, A. B., Lawyer E. St. Louis
Loy, Alice Elisabeth, A. B., (Mrs. C. W. Howard)
Afton, Iowa
Otwell, Irma Day, A. B. (Mrs. Bulhngton) Deceased
Rentfro, Joseph Logan, A. B., Pastor Cheney, Wash,
Smith, Lewis Wilburn, A. B., Educator Joppa
Weiss, Allen Samuel, A. B., Pastor Illinois Conference
THE CLASS OF 1913
Condrey, Ralph Smith, A. B., Educator Mt. Carmel
Crisp, Ernest Rayner, A. B., Educator St. Louis, Mo.
Glenn, Daisy Leonora, A. B., (Mrs. C. H. Walrath)
Seattle, Wash.
Hill, Agnes, A. B., Educator (Mrs. E. P. Wilson) Florida
Graham, William Moreland, B. S., Educator Greenville
Howard, Clark Webster, A. B., Pastor Afton, Iowa
Isaacs, Thomas Ralph, B. S., Farm Adviser Havana
Markman, Bess, A. B., Educator Deceased
Pesold, Gertrude, B. S., (Mrs. E. Reutner) St. Louis
Myers, Richard Clyde, A. B., Pastor Chenoa
Stokes, Claude Newton, A. B., Educator
Minneapolis, Minn.
Yost, Clark Roland, A. B., Pastor Lebanon
THE CLASS OF 1914
Berry, "Emma Alta, B. S., (Mrs. Ivan Moorman) Deceased
Brewbaker, Charles Earl, A. B., Business Akron, Ohio
Crump, Mabel Belle, B. S. (Mrs. Frank Stroud) E. St. Louis
Deffenbaugh, Roy, B. S., Educator Springfield
Eaton, Samuel West, A. B., Business Gary, Ind.
Evers, William Clarence, A. B., Pastor Indiana
Giles, Sara Verla, B. S., Wataga
Hartman, Milton Miles, B. S., Dairyman Mounds
Hogan, George W., B, S., Lawyer McLeansboro
Moorman, Ivan Glen, A. B., Aviator Edwardsville
Peters, Robert Millington, A. B., Pastor Delta, Colo.
Rice, Ruby, B. S., Educator Harrisburg
Wait, Bernice Cornelia, B. S., Educator Greenville
Wiggins, Lelia Dukes, B. S., Educator Camden, N. J.
THE CLASS OF 191.5
Ball, Mary Blanche, A. B., Educator (Mrs. Wm. Beedle)
Monrovia, Calif.
FfMC KENDREE .^^^^^^:^:^-^.^>^^^
Brainard, Margaret, B. S., Educator Fresno, Calif.
Bundy, Cecil George, A. B., Business Mt. Carmel
Clapp, Eleanor Catherine, B. S., (Mrs. M. S. Cushman)
Athens, W. Va.
Dee, Nelle Lehman, B. S. (Mrs. Frank O. Kruh) St. Louis
DoUey, Paul Turnley, B. S., Chemist Los Angeles
Douthit, Noah, A. B., Pastor
Ebbler, William Edward, A. B., Edu:ator West Frankfort
Hardy, David Morris, A. B., Business St. Louis
Horner, Benjamin Roland, A. B., Business Kansas Conf.
San Juan, Porto Rico
Johnson, Dorothea Pearl, A. B., Educator Belleville
Kinison, John William Andrew, A. B., Educator Lebanon
McCormack, Leo Glen, B. S., Educator Deceased
McKnight, Harry Everett, A. B., Pastor Deceased
Miller, Nora Marie, B. S., Educator Metropolis
Moss, Norman McAnally, B. S., Pa;
Petty, Bert M., A. B., Pastor
Pfeffer, Louis Herman, B. S., Farmer
Reisner, Earl Ephraim, A. B., Past-or
Roberts, Frances Ella, A. B.,
Rogers, Bernard Adlai, A. B.,
Shields, Paul Austin, A. B., Pastor
Stewart, Alice Victoria
Smith, Charles, A. B.
Stansfield, Frank Akin, B. S., Business
Stice, Earl Franklin, B. S., Business
Turner, Frank Clayton, A. B., Educator
Van Dyke, Seth Howard, B. S., Educator
Walrath, Arthur Miller, A. B., Dentist
Irashurg, Vt.
Mahomet
Lebanon
Arlington, Wash.
ThompsonviUe
Kansas
Lamar, Colo.
S., (Mrs. Jackson)
Greenwood, S. C.
Rock River Conf.
Mt. Carmel
St. Elmo
Ridge Farm
Flora
Seattle, Wash
Willi, Clayton August, B. S., Educator Torrington, Wyo.
SSfe
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Four Hundred and Twv
CHAPTER XXXII.
Administration of Dr. Hurt and Dean Bdl{er
5./^ RESIDENT JoHN F. Harmon's transfer
1^ to the Kansas Wesleyan in the spring
of iQi'i left McKendree again without
a president. The Board, taken unawares, had
not had opportunity to cast about in search
of a suitable man before commencement. Pro-
fessor J. C. DoUey had been serving as vice-
president for several years, so they placed
him in charge of the institution as acting
president, until such time as a president
could he found. On commencement day of
that year, Dr. Harmon presided at the grad-
uating exercises as usual, and after the
degrees had been conferred, he made his
farewell address and in the presence of the entire assembly
turned the keys of the institution over to Acting-President
Dolley. Professor DoUey looked after the interests of the col-
lege during the summer. He held several meetings of the
executive committee, saw that the vacancies in the faculty
were filled, directed the campaign for new students and had
things m readiness for the opening in September. In the
meantime. Governor Deneen and some other members of the
Board were on the look-out for a man for president. About
the first of September, Dr. H. W. Hurt was suggested to
him as a suitable man for the place. After a personal inter-
view with him. Governor Deneen called the Board together
in a special session September 15, for the purpose of consid-
ering the candidacy of Dr. Hurt for president of McKendree.
At the meeting, Dr. Hurt was present and freely expressed
his views as to how a college should be conducted. After due
deliberation the Board elected Dr. Hurt to the position at a
salary of three thousand five hundred dollars, which was the
largest salary ever granted to a president of McKendree up
to that time. Dr. Hurt was still a young man, not quite
thirty-two years of age. A brief sketch of him follows here-
with.
Huber William Hurt was born at Princeton, Missouri and
educated in the public schools and the Iowa Wesleyan Uni-
versity from which institution he graduated in 1Q04, receiv-
ing the degree of A. B. He did graduate work in Chicago
University and also spent a year at the Royal University of
Berlin. Before taking up the work of the college presidency,
he had spent several years as high school principal, first in
Oskaloosa, Iowa, and then at Lockport, Illinois. In 191 2, he
RESIDENT HIRT
had received the honorary degree of LL. D.
from his alma mater. During the years 1912-
191 5, he had been president of Lombard
College at Galesburg, Illinois. So that he
came to McKendree with some experience
m solving such problems as he was about to
face. He was a man of fine physique, well
trained in body and mind, an ardent advocate
of athletics, a good mixer, a ready and at
tractive platform speaker, and reared as a
Methodist. So that all in all he seemed pe-
culiarly well fitted for the position he was
to take at McKendree. Also Mrs. Hurt
was a woman of fine appearance and good
social qualities, an excellent vocalist and for years a teacher
of voice. These two, with their two small daughters made a
dehghtful family, not only suitable to occupy the home of
the president of the college, but also a real addition to the
social and literary circles of the city of Lebanon. Dr. Hurt
immediately brought his family to Lebanon and took up his
duties as president. He studied the situation and the history
of the institution carefully during his first year and began to
put his plans into effect the second. At the meeting ot the
Board in 1916, Dr. O. H. Clark paid the new president a very
high compliment by the statement, which found its way into
the records of the Board, that he had been attending meetings
of the Board for forty-four years and had never heard so com-
plete and thorough a representation of the condition and
needs of the college as was set forth in President Hurt's
report, which was printed and a copy placed in the hands of
every member of the Board.
He enlarged the faculty, did expert advertising, and pre-
pared for expansion along all lines. The list of the members
of the faculty in the first catalogue published by President
Hurt is as follows : James C. Dolley, Latin and Greek ; William
Flint Thrall, English; Edwin P. Baker, German; William C.
Walton, Philosophy and Education; George R. New, Chem-
istry and Physics; Henry Reece Brentzell, Agriculture; Ar-
thur E. Brooks, Mathematics; Marvin W. Kruger, Physical
Director; Walter Hugh Whitlock, Bible; Edna G. Bacon,
Dean of Women; Frank M. Church, Director of Music
Department; Latchipell Myrick, Voice; Waclav F. Fransee,
Violin; Mabel R. Stiffey, Home Economics; Helen Horner,
Expression; Anne E. Wilkinson, Art. The faculty of the
Four Hundred and Thri
Academy for that year included the following: Edward B.
Waggoner, Principal, History and Science; C. Grouse, Eng-
lish and Pedagogy; Joel H. Swartz, Chemistry and Physics;
J. W. A. Kinison, Latin; Alice E. Hitch, French and Mathe-
matics.
The next year the following new names are found in the
faculty hst: James Rees Ewing, Social Science; Harold P.
Kean, Mathematics; William Zinkeisen, Chemistry; N. L-
T. Nelson, Biology; Horace Gunthorp, Biology; Mary S.
Garth, Home Economics; Mary Funfar, Dean of Women and
Home Economics; W. H. A. Moore, Director of Music; and
Agnes Horton, Art. Some of these were in place of some
who went to other positions and others were additions to
the number of the faculty. In the Academy faculty we note
the following new names: William York Critchley, English;
W. C. Levan, Science; Cyrus Gentry, Latin and German;
and Mrs. Clara Mason, Home Economics.
People seemed to expect great things of Dr. Hurt's admin-
istration. No one could say that he did not perform his duties
well, both in the institution and in the wide field of the
patronizing territory. He wrought with the hand of a master.
He was a veritable bundle of energy and seemed abundantly
able to endure the strongest strain that incessant travel and
speech-making could place upon him.
But notwithstanding the skillful advertising and the ener-
getic field work, the attendance of students did not increase
as rapidly as the president and his helpers had hoped it
would. It was about this time that the Wesley Foundation
was established at the University of Illinois. Its secretary
was a member of the Southern Illinois Conference, and doubt-
less some Methodists sent their sons to the University who
otherwise would have sent them to McKendree. Doctor
Hurt was a Methodist and educated at a Methodist college,
yet for the three years preceding his coming to McKendree,
he had been president of a college sponsored by the Uni-
versalists. Very naturally rumors were afloat throughout the
conference, that he was tinged with the doctrines of Uni-
versalism. And for that reason some Methodists hesitated
about sending their sons to McKendree. As a result of these
various influences the increase of the student enrollment did
not keep pace with the increase of the faculty and the ex-
penses of the institution. So it became harder each year for
the college to meet its financial obligations. Dr. Hurt's strong
point as a college executive was "standards". Previous to
this time the standard by which the faculty members were
measured was efficiency, rather than the degrees they held
or the number of years of training. And students were
granted degrees when they had earned enough credits with-
out regard to the time it took to earn them. A considerable
number of McKendree graduates went to the University of
Illinois to do their graduate work. The authorities of the
university, investigating their qualifications, found that many
of our students earned their degrees in three years or a httle
more. This led to the university requiring additional work
of McKendree graduates before giving them full graduate
standing. Dr. Hurt undertook the difficult task of reforming
all these irregularities and bringing our standards into con-
formity with the criterions of the university. This he did
quite successfully; and when the time was ripe he invited
an inspector from the University. A group of them came
and looked over the institution very thoroughly, and gave us
a rating of class B in the list of recognized colleges. This was
quite satisfactory to McKendree since there were only a very
few class A colleges in the state.
This standardization was the great service which Dr. Hurt
rendered to the college during his administration as president.
He also made and published a survey of McKendree which
was one of the most thorough and elaborate pieces of work
in the field of statistics to be found anywhere. Dr. Hurt re-
ceived many compliments' upon his skill in preparing it and
other college presidents asked for copies of it as a model of
its kind. But its publication cost a large sum of money and
there were other expenses whose total far exceeded the in -
come of the college ; so that when the Board met in June, 1917
they were facing a big deficit, and it was felt by all the more
conservative members that there must be retrenchment of
some kind. Dr. Hurt wanted to take a year off to do the
additional school work required for him to secure the degree
of Doctor of Philosophy. So after much conference it was de-
cided to allow the president a year's leave of absence, though
continuing as nominal president of the college he was with-
out specific duty in relation to it, and without salary. At
the same time Professor E. P. Baker was made Dean and
Acting-president. Dean Baker immediately assumed the re-
sponsibilities of the institution and continued in the position
of acting-president until the election of Dr. McCammon in
1 91 9. One improvement should be mentioned which was
made in the physical plane during Dr. Hurt's presidency.
That is the enlargement of the science hall. Up to this time
It had only one floor. By means of a piece of careful mechan-
ical engineering, the roof was raised and the walls built up
sufficiently to put in two additional floors and make it a
three story building. This gave much more laboratory room.
Foiij- Hundred iind Four
frlVlc KENDREE"^^^^^::^^:^^,^.,..^^
The first floor is used for class lecture rooms, the second, for
biology laboratory, and the third for chemical laboratory.
It was about this tmie that an effort was made to secure,
by legislative enactment, a dry zone about McKendree Col-
lege. This was before the time of national prohibition and
no one knew how near we were to it at that time. The Joint
Board appointed a committee consisting of Dr. Hurt, Rev.
W. H. Whitlock, and Rev. Cameron Harmon to secure the
passage of a suitable bill by the Illinois Legislature. The bill
was prepared and a petition asking for the passage of it, was
circulated throughout the patronizing territory of McKen-
dree, and many thousand signatures of voters were obtained.
This was sent up to the Legislature with the bill. Dr. Hurt
secured the services of Hon. Charles L. Wood, a member of
the State Senate, to engineer the bill through that body. It
successfully passed the Senate, but in the House the situation
was different. No dry legislation whatever was permitted to
pass the lower house of the legislature that year and so the
Dry Zone bill was lost. At the meeting of the college Board
in January, 1917, Dr. Hurt reported to that body that Mrs.
Benson Wood of Effingham had promised a gift of $12,500 to
build a library for McKendree in memory of her late husband.
The Board approved the site which Dr. Hurt had selected
for the proposed new building and appointed a building com-
mittee to cause its erection. The committee was composed
of the following members of the Board, Ira Blackstock, L. C.
Haynes, L. C. Wilkm, Frank Condrey, and W. H. Whitlock.
But because funds were not immediately available, nothing
was done toward the building until later in the year.
At the commencement exercises of 1917, after the degrees
had been conferred upon the graduating class, Dr. Hurt in-
troduced Professor E. P. Baker, who had been elected Dean
and Acting-President, as the officer to whom had been in-
trusted the responsibility of guiding the affairs of the college
during his year's leave of absence. In a few well chosen words
Dean Baker acknowledged the honor as well as the obligation
which had been placed upon him, declared his loyalty to the
institution and his purpose to "carry on" the work of the
college, even in the face of the difficult conditions caused by
the World War, and declared his willingness to be known
m the years to come as the "War Dean" of McKendree.
The year was one of peculiar difficulty. The college was
cramped for means. It was difficult to raise money for any
purpose, except war activities. Teachers could be obtained
only at war time salaries, and McKendree had no means of
increasing pay in proportion to the increase of living expenses.
One teacher in the faculty at that time demanded and re-
ceived the same salary as that paid to the acting president.
Dean Baker secured the filling of the vacancies m the faculty
before the opening of the new school year and as soon as the
funds became available he began to push the building of the
new library. The contract was let to Mr. Fred Ganschinietz
of East St. Louis for $14,706 to be built according to the
specifications drawn by Mr. Rinaker of Carlinville, Illinois.
Although he is a professional architect, he did not charge the
college for his services on condition that he be permitted to
place in the building a memorial tablet in honor of his father,
General John Irving Rinaker, who was a graduate of Mc-
Kendree m the class of iS^i. This tablet may be seen now
just mside the front entrance of the building. The work of
building was pushed as rapidly as the weather would permit
during the winter and the structure was complete, ready for
dedication at the commencement of 1918. On account of war
conditions McKendree, like many other colleges, held her
commencement a week earlier than it was advertised in the
catalogue. The dedication of the library occurred the day
before commencement, that is, June 5, at three o'clock P. M.
Rev. J. W. Webster was appointed to officiate because he
was Mrs. Wood's pastor. Dr. C. B. Spencer, Editor of the
Central Christian Advocate, also made an address. The state
of Mrs. Wood's health did not permit her to be present.
She gave $3,000 additional on the annuity plan to finish pay
ing for the library. Mr. Ira Blackstock had also contributed
$1,000 to help make up the deficit.
The building is of smooth red brick, one story and base
ment, with slate roof. It has a large well equipped reading
room, besides the stack room on the main floor and abundance
of storage room in the basement for less used books. The
library is now catalogued and in charge of a competent libra'
rian and a sufficient number of assistants to keep it open for
the use of students from 8 A. M. until 9. P. M. every day in
the week. A library fee of two dollars a semester is charged
each student and this furnishes approximately a thousand
dollars a year for the upkeep of the library. For ninety years
McKendree was handicapped by the lack of adequate library
facilities, but now she is able to furnish her students a most
excellent opportunity for research in the various fields of
literature and science.
S. A. T. C.
In the fall of 1918 in order to have more soldiers in
readiness if they should be needed in the near future, and
yet not cut them off entirely from the opportunity of
getting a college education, the government provided
that the boys of eighteen, just out of high school, might
Four Hundred and Five
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^s^
go to college instead of to the training camp, wherever
a unit of a hundred or more students in that class could
be assembled. McKendree secured a unit of that kind.
The organization was known as the Students Army Training
Corps, and usually referred to as the S. A. T. C. Major
Anderson of the United States Army was appointed to take
charge of our S. A. T. C, with the assistance of two lieu-
tenants. The course of study was in part prescribed by the
government and courses were offered in certain departments
of the college which were supposed to be useful to soldiers.
Of course miHtary training was a large part of the work of
these students. A rigid physical examination was given to
each man. All but a very few passed this successfully, but
those who did not were rejected from the training corps. They
could either return home or enter college as an ordinary stu'
dent. The doors were removed from all the rooms in Carnegie
Hall and the dormitory was made into a military barracks.
The college campus became a parade ground and the soldier's
uniform was in evidence in the college class room. The war
seemed to be coming to our very doors. Even the members
of the faculty felt that in some way they were doing war
work, and endured the meatless and wheatless days with
philosophic cheerfulness. Things were just getting adjusted
and we were becoming accustomed to the military regime
when the armistice was signed. The whole country except
the profiteers, drew a long breath of relief and looked about
to see what was the next thing. Without consulting the
colleges the government suddenly decided to reduce expenses
by ceasing to support the S. A. T. C. When the government
pay checks ceased to come the most of the army training
students took their departure.
The classes which graduated during this administration
follow, with the degree received, and where we could get
the information, the occupation and residence of each.
THE CLASS OF V.m
Adams, Ethel Louise, A. B., (Mrs. Moss), Irasburg, Vt.
Brown, Harry C, A. B., Pastor Belvidere
Butts, Louis Andrew, B. S., Educator Belleville
Carson, Paul Elbert, A. B., Pastor Champaign
Doelling, George Louis, B. S., Chemist St. Louis
Friedli, Ferdinand Jacob, B. S., Educator Belleville
Greer, Velma Loy, B. S., Educator Ft. Smith, Ark.
Hexter, Edward George, A. B., Educator Belleville
Kessler, Henry Clay, B. S., Deceased
Landis, James Arthur, A. B., Pastor, Rock River Conf
Miller, Adell Erline, B. S., (Mrs. Saxon),
Birmingham, Ala.
Maxey, James Roy, A. B., Dentist Daton Rapid, Mich.
McPherson, William Henry, A. B., Pastor Sparta
Trueb, Charles, A. B., California
Valentine, Roger Wendell, A. B , Educator Urbana
Waggoner, Marian Eugene, A. C, Educator Kankakee
Warren, John Albert Logan, A. B., Lisurance Rockford
Wilder, Ethel May, A. B., (Mrs. Crabbe) E. St. Louis
Wilkins, Ruth Elizabeth, A. B. (Mrs. Apple)
Greeley, Colo.
THE CLASS OF 1017
Campbell, John Wiley, A. B., Pastor Kansas Conf.
Condrey, Hamlin Goggin, B. S., Agriculture Oblong
Grouse, Eli, A. B., Pastor Rosewell, N. M.
Greer, Garth OrviUe, A. B. Urbana
Griffith, Isabelle Emily, A. B., (Mrs. Arthur Brooks)
Hatten, Charles, A. B., Missionary
Seward, Alaska
Nave, Julian Walter, A. B., Missionary Budaon, India
Parker, Theodore, B. S., Business
Los Angeles, Cal.
Winter, Louis Edward, A. B., Pastor Durand
Witherspoon, Lura Jane, A. B. Danville
Zimmerman, Arthur, A. B., Missionary
Valparaiso, Chile
THE CLASS OF 191.S
Brent, Jewell Allen, A. B., Educator St. Charles, Mo.
Borah, Marjorie, B. S., (Mrs. Billings) Maplewood, Mo.
Fos, Reyburn Charles, A. B., Educator Shelbyville
Gould, Howard Woodham, B. S., Educator De Kalb
Mason, Clara Zerweck, B. S., Educator Lebanon
Michels, Eva Mabel, A. B. Albion
Waggoner, Morris Edward, Educator Geneva
THE CLASS OF 1919
Chapman, David Elmer, A. B., Business Indianapolis, Ind.
DoUey, James Clay, Jr., A. B., Educator Berkeley, Calif.
Harper, Thomas Edward, B. S., Pastor St. Francisville
Lippert, Ella, B. S., (Mrs. Victor Gould)
Belleville
Skelton, Neva, B. S., Physician Eldorado
Spragg, Avis Blanche, A. B., Educator Wood River
Vickrey, Aden Cobb, B. S., Physician St. Louis, Mo.
Whittaker, Ethel Lucile, B. S., (Mrs. Urban Harris)
Montgomery, Ind.
Winter, Ray Ellsworth, B. S., Business Oblong
Four Hundred and Six
CHAPTER XXXIII.
Athletics m McKendree
IN THE EARLY DAYS of the school there was no organized
form of athletics, and probably but little indulgence
in physical sports of any kind. The majority of the stu-
dents were from the farm where in most cases a good degree
of physical development had already been attained by them-
In those days going to college was such a serious business
that many of the students would not think of spending their
time in mere games, but felt that they must employ their time
in the acquisition of mental equipment or in earning a meager
livelihood while getting their education. An authority on
history of education in the United States tells us that there
was scarcely any organized athletics in the colleges until after
the Civil War. But for years before that period out-door
sports of various kinds were enjoyed by some of the students
in McKendree, tho without the feature of intercollegiate
competition, which is so important an element in modern
college athletics.
Captain Henry C. Fike, in an article written for the
"■McKendree Pigskin", published in 1905, has given a good
account of some of these early sports which we reproduce in
abridged form.
Among the games he described is shmney, the predecessor
of the present popular game of golf. This game was played
on the college campus by from twenty to forty students, at
a time, who were divided into two teams, chosen by two
captains previously agreed upon. No special make or size of
ball was prescribed. Though the kind most generally used
was a small rubber ball on which had been wound the ravel-
lings of some student's cast off woolen sock, and covered with
leather from the lining of a discarded boot leg. This crudely
constructed ball answered well the purpose and withstood
many a vigorous blow from the contesting players.
The "shinney stick" usually consisted of a hickory sprout
about the size of an ordinary broom stick, procured from the
nearby forest. It was bent to the proper curve at the larger
end by heating or steaming it and then it could be given the
desired shape. This implement answered the double purpose
of driving the ball when opportunity was given, or parrying
the blow of an adversary. The fence at the east boundary of
the campus formed the east goal, and a line ranging with the
east wall of "Old Main" was the west goal. At the com-
mencement of a game the two captains took their stand at a
point midway between these two goals. Facing each other,
the one who had the ball would call out, "High buck or low
doe?" If his opponent replied "high buck" the ball was tossed
a few feet above their heads and the game was on. But if the
reply was "low doe", the ball was dropped between the two
captains, but neither could strike it until after the ball had
touched the ground. In the contest to drive the ball to oppos-
ing goals, no one was allowed to sieze and throw it. It must
be propelled only by the shinney stick. However, it was per-
missible to intercept the flight of the ball by interposing one's
body or the open hand.
This game was played after class hours or on Saturday
during the fall of the year, but the cold weather of winter
closed the season, except when it was sometimes played on
the ice with the players all on skates. Skating was never a
very popular sport in those days on account of the fact that
there were no convenient bodies of water of sufficient area
to furnish a good ice field for skating.
When the warm days of early spring began to appear and
the boys felt that winter was gone, they would assemble for
a consultation and perhaps a plan would be devised for the
erection of a swing. A fund was contributed for the purchase
of the necessary rope, iron rings and hooks, and soon a strong
beam would be hoisted and made to span the space between
two stately trees, perhaps forty feet from the ground. From
this beam was suspended the rope swing. In the swing a
notched board was placed on which two boys would stand.
After receiving a starter they would "work up" until the
"pendulum" with two venturesome fellows for a bob would
reach almost a horizontal position. This was considered great
fun, but one swing would not accommodate a large group of
boys. Sometimes the use of the swing was varied by shorten-
ing the rope somewhat and then using it for a jumping exer-
cise. A boy would sieze the lower end of the rope, run as far
as the length of the rope would permit, and then draw up
his feet and swing back. With this momentum he would let
go the rope and light on the ground as far out as the acquired
momentum would carry him. This was an exercise in which
many of the boys became proficient and it was very healthful
as a lung and chest expander.
Under the head of jumping there were several varieties
practiced, such as the standing jump, the running long jump,
the high jump, and the hop, skip and jump. Quite a number
of the students were proficient in this exercise. Records of
the best jumping were kept from year to year; and an epoch
was reached when, at any time a new student would break
Four Hundred and Seven
the record made by some victor in the contest of the previous
year. The record was usually preserved by driving a long
iron pin in the ground, the jump having been made from
some fixed base. The stone step at the south front entrance
of the main college building, was the base from which many
a student of that day made his spring and measured the
length of his standing jump.
Another spring game was town hall. This game was the
predecessor of base ball. There were no "town ball clubs"
and "picked nines" were unknown at that day. The game
was played by two teams made up of an indefinite number
of players chosen in the same manner as the shinney teams
described above. The game was declared won by the side
that made the greater number of runs in an even number of
innings; and a side was not out until every member of that
side was put out by the rules of the game, which provided
for crossing out or catching out. When all of the side at the
bat were out except one, the rules provided that if he could
strike and make a home run that would restore to the bat
one player on his side who had previously been declared out.
The game was not very extensively played and was not as
popular as shinney.
As the warm weather came on and the college year was
in its closing term the "swimming holes" furnished oppor-
tunity for the delightful sport of swimming, diving, and slid-
ing down the slick "otter slides". The most popular resort
for this purpose was the pool in Silver Creek, a half mile or
more west of the college, known as the "big hole". This was
a place where a sharp curve in the stream had caused a widen-
ing and deepening of the channel, and the water was fifteen
or more feet in depth. To this spot in warm afternoons at the
close of the daily school work, perhaps twenty to fifty of the
students would repair, and swim and dive and duck one
another to their hearts" content. The diving was mostly
from a spring board, or from a swaying willow tree which
projected its body horizontally out over the water. To a limb
of this tree, twenty or thirty feet from the surface of the
water, was attached a long rope. The swimmer by taking
hold of this rope while standing on the high bank and draw-
ing up his feet, was projected out over the water; and when
he reached the end of the arc described, by letting loose the
rope, was plunged to the depths reached by McGinty in
his deep sea bathing — he went to the bottom.
In addition to the sports named above it might be men-
tioned incidentally that there were several other games and
amusements of minor importance entered into occasionally
by the younger boys, such as leap frog, roly poly, marbles
and mumble peg. But these were looked upon rather as side
dishes to be indulged in only in warm weather and under the
cool shade of the trees.
The students in McKendree three quarters of a century
ago were largely from the farm, the sturdy sons of rustic life,
and they would naturally, if opportunity was afforded, enter
heartily into the various forms of amusement enumerated
above. It might be stated also that in some cases less rugged
young men with muscles flabby from a life of ease, could later
show a well developed chest, sinewy limbs, and robust phy-
sique, all on account of these healthful games and sports.
The above account gives some idea of the physical activi-
ties of the students in the early fifties. Conditions were prob-
ably not much different until after the Civil War. About
that time sentiments began to take form in the minds of the
students in favor of some sort of systematic physical training.
They seemed to feel that there should be some sort of a gym-
nasium building. They agitated the idea among themselves
and finally took it to the Joint Board.
At the meeting of the Board in 1867 there was a committee
appointed to consider the matter of the "Athleteon". This
was the name the students proposed for the building they
hoped to see erected. This committee, after considering the
matter and conferring with a committee from the student
body, presented the following report to the Board, which
was promptly adopted.:
"Resolved by the Joint Board in session; First, that the
statement and appeal of the president of the McKendree
College Athleteon Association is received with especial
pleasure, and that we heartily approve of the organization.
"Second, that this movement is unmistakable evidence that
the present corps of students is unusually progressive in spirit
and in the language of their appeal we "hail with unmingled
pleasure" the spontaneous character of the enterprise and
heartily appreciate their kind thoughtfulness touching the
embarrassments of the college.
"Third, that this effort greatly increases our courage and
faith to labor for the interests of McKendree, and that we
will render the young gentlemen of the association our indi-
vidual assistance, to the extent of our abiUty.
"Fourth, that these resolutions be sent to the organization
through their president."
Immediately after this a committee was appointed from
the Board to confer with the Athleteon Association con-
cerning the building to be erected by them. However, this
committee was carefully instructed to not involve the Board
in any expense. After this the records of the Board show
Four Hundred and Eight
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^S^^s^
that every year for some time after, a committee on Athleteon
was appointed with the regular standing committees of the
Board. But there is no record to show what the committee
did.
However, we do know that in the years 1867 and 1868,
the building was erected and that it was used for a time for
athletic purposes. A student, Mr. Wm. F. Ratcliff, was em-
ployed by the college as the teacher of physical training,
though they did not give him that title. The Board did not
give any assistance in the erection of the building, unless
possibly some did as individuals. Tho it may be that the
president of the college. Dr. Allyn, may have helped the
students somewhat in the enterprise, for there is reference to
certain claims which he had upon the building even after he
had left McKendree. In 1879, a committee was appointed to
examine the building and report as to whether it would be
suitable for housing the commercial department. The com-
mittee reported first that it was unable to gain access to the
building, since none of the college authorities had a key to
It, and it was kept locked. However, they later reported that
it would be quite suitable for the purpose named, but that
it was not available until certain financial claims could be
released.
These claims were somehow adjusted and the college took
over the title to the building. It was used for a time for the
Commercial Department. Later it was fitted up with school
desks and used for a study hall until 1893, when it was parti-
tioned off and transformed into a Science Hall.
The students were without any athletic building from
187Q until 190J, when the Eisenmayer gymnasium was built.
THE EISENMAYER GYMNASIUM IN 1903
This building was so named because Mr. Andrew Eisen-
mayer of Trenton contributed the major portion of the
money with which it was built. He was a native of Germany
who came to America in an early day and by diligence in
business and righteousness m life became one of the most
highly respected citizens of his home town. His son, J. C.
Eisenmayer was a student in McKendree and later was a
trustee for many years. Also three of his grandsons have
been students m McKendree.
The building was originally of rectangular shape, forty
by eighty feet. At first it was without a floor, except saw
dust. Later a concrete floor was put in and tumblers, trapeze
performers, etc., used rugs and mats for protection from the
hard floor. Later when they began to play basket ball, the
concrete was found to be dangerous, so a board floor was laid
over the concrete. The floor afforded sufficient room for the
games but there was not room enough for visitors. So during
Dr. McCammon's administration a wing was built on the
west side and provided with seats for spectators. This took
care of the crowd for some years, but during Dr. Harmon's
administration another wing was built on the other side and
furnished with seats m amphitheatre style. The gymnasium
will now seat as large a crowd as Lebanon can usually furnish
to see a basket ball game.
THE ATHLETEON AND GYMNASTIC ACTIVITIES
We have been fortunate in securing from Mr. W. A,
Kelsoe a record of some of his personal recollections of activi-
ties connected with the Athleteon, which was McKendree's
first gymnasium. Mr. Kelsoe's memory covers about half the
entire history of McKendree and he has always been so in-
tensely interested in every thing connected with his alma mater
that he has been of immeasurable assistance in collecting the
material for the "Centennial History". The following is Mr.
Kelsoe's accoant.
The spring of 1867 was notable in McKendree History for
the special attention given to physical culture. In outdoor
sports, base ball took the place of foot ball, and the old time
town ball. Indoor athletics recognized the need of a gymna-
sium. President Allyn called a meeting of interested students
in his recitation room, second floor of "Old Main", southeast
corner. After much deliberation, subscriptions were taken
for the erection of a building and eventually something like
$1,500 was subscribed. The name "Athleteon" was given to
the proposed building, and "Athleteon Association" to the
organization. Warren Truitt of the class of 1868 was chosen
president; Professor F. O. Blair, vice-president; Professor S.
H. Deneen, secretary; and President Allyn, treasurer. The
four officers were made ex-officio members of the Board of
Control, to which were added D. B. Parkinson, T. J. Judy,
T. B. Stelle, and H. C. Fiske. The first three named were
classmates of Mr. Truitt while the fourth was a member of
the class of 1869. These men constituted the managing board
Four Hundred and AJir
<.^:^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^s^
until the death, early in 1868, of Mr. Fiske, an exceptionally
fine man. More funds were needed and if I am not mistaken.
President Allyn advanced the amount necessary to complete
the building. In the first issue of the McKendree Repository,
December 19, 1867, I find a call for further funds, but that
was before Dr. Allyn came to the aid of the association.
President Truitt, of the association, will be remembered
as the McKendrean who many years later was Judge of a
Federal District that embraced all Alaska, and Mr. Parkin-
son, his classmate, the second president of the Athleteon, as
the successor of Dr. Allyn as president of the Southern Illi-
nois Teachers" College at Carbondale. Vice-president Blair's
successor on the official staff was W. H. Tyner, a theological
classmate of the four original members of the Athleteon
Board. Stelle, who was to win honors, both at the bar and
on the bench, retained his seat on the Athleteon Board, the
other members being Prof. W. F. Swahlen and two students,
Hezekiah M. Short, who did not graduate until 1874, and
Charles Cannady, my roommate then, for whom many years
later the Charles Cannady School of East St. Louis was named.
In the Repository of March 26, 1868 we read: "The zeal of
the students is a most hopeful indication. Out of their slender
means they have built a handsome gymnasium". We began
to use the apparatus as soon as it came and I can recall no
formal opening or anything of that kind. Along the east side
wall were racks for dumb bells, wands, and Indian clubs; and
calisthenic drills were given late in the spring of 1868, at
stated times during the day. There was no head teacher. Only
leaders for the time chosen from the classes. Near the wall
on the west side was a row of swinging rings hanging from
the rafters, and at the southwest corner of the big room was
the ever popular horizontal bar, or turning pole in ccmmon
parlance. It was here that many of the students learned the
various gyrations familiar to circus goers, including the giant
swing backwards and forwards. The members of the third
Athleteon board were new with the exception of the secre-
tary and treasurer. The new president was S. P. Sparks, and
the new vice-president was Oscar B. Griffen, both seniors
then, though neither graduated until 1870, and the other
members were C. W. Bliss and J. M. Hamill of the class of
1869, M. P. Wilkin and L. D. Turner of '70, and W. A. Kel-
soe of '71, who later dropped back to '7a. An expert gymnast
was needed. One who had proved himself to be an all-round
athlete and also well fitted for teaching gymnastics generally,
including calisthenics. President Allyn thought he had found
just such a man in W. F. Ratcliff of Olney. Mr. Wilkin, also
of Olney, and Rev. Thomas Houts, the Methodist pastor
W. F. RATCLIFF
McKendree's first directoi
physical training (1868]
there, had recommend-
ed him, and so had D.
H. and J. C. Delzell of
the class of "7 1 . Mr. Rat-
cliff's athletic training
had been largely in his
mother's back y.ird;
though he had already
been out on the road
with a circus once or
twice and had further
aspirations in that di-
rection; but he also de-
sired to "top off" his
Olney High School edu-
cation with a course at
McKendree College
President Allyn took
a likmg to the young
man, just turned twenty, at their first meeting, and
the liking was mutual. Terms were soon agreed upon. Our
gymnasium teacher was to be enrolled in college as a student
and was to live in Lebanon as a member of President Allyn 's
family, who were then occupying the palatial residence which
was the former home of Governor French. From September
18, 1868 to June 2, 1869, Mr. Ratcliff shared a room in that
home with Joseph G. Allyn, class of '70, son of the college
president. He studied Latin under Professor Deneen, botany
under Prof. Blair, and mathematics under Prof. Jones. I think
Mr. Ratcliff has told me he was in a class under Dr. Allyn
for one term, but I do not recall what the subject was. For
his service as athletic director and janitor of the gymnasium,
he was to receive $75 per month. But out of this he was
to pay his tuition, board and room.
I distinctly remember Mr. Ratcliff's first presentation to
the students assembled in the gymnasium. He gave a splendid
exhibition of his athletic skill as an all-round gymnast; includ-
ing ground tumbling as an acrobat, difficult feats on the hori'
zontal and parallel bars, exercises with the wands, Indian
clubs, dumb-bells and swinging rings, and several stunts that
stamped him as an expert trapeze performer.
I don't think we had a spring board then or climbing lad-
ders and such things. The entire performance was fine and
we all liked our teacher from the start. Here is a quotation
from the McKendree Repository of October ji, 1868. "The
gymnasium, under the control of the gentlemanly conductor,
Mr. Ratcliff, presents quite an interesting appearance. Every-
Hundred and Ten
thing IS in Its place — a decided improvement over last term
when dumb-bells, clubs, wands, etc. lay strewn about the
building. The addition of his single and double trapeze to the
apparatus affords greater variety to the exercises, and this is
highly appreciated by all the boys. They enter upon this new
drill with a zest before unknown. That Mr. Ratcliff is an
accomplished gymnast, they all agree."
Two weeks later, November 14, the paper was pleased to
say; "It is wonderful how much proficiency some of the mem-
bers have made in this term under the training of their in-
structor, Mr. Ratcliff. The performance on the double trap-
eze is especially interesting. It almost makes the hair stand on
one's head to see the daring performance of some of the boys".
Here is a quotation from the paper's report ot our first public
exhibition, November 2-,: "The members who performed
were Krekel, Kelsoe, Allyn, Shepherd, Bernays, and Masters
Willie Jones and Erwin Blair. The most daring feats were
performed on the double trapeze, and Mr. Ratcliff's feats on
the flying trapeze."
Of the second exhibition the paper says: "C. W. Bliss
acted as ringmaster, and the performers were Messrs. Rat'
cliff, Krekel, Kelsoe, Cannady, Harrison, Sumner, Stewart,
and Bernays. All displayed a limberness truly astonishing.
There was no clovv n, which omission stripped it somewhat
of the appearance of a regular circus. ****** Mr. Ratcliff
performed on the side trapeze and while it was swinging
almost the entire length of the hall, he executed many diffi-
cult and dangerous feats. The grand final drop by Ratcliff con-
sisted of turning from the upper trapeze, more than twenty
feet high, to the ground. The boys then did some lofty tumb-
ling from the spring board. A few succeeded in coming down
on the wrong end but no damage was done". The wind up
reads: "We doubt that any other college in the country can
turn out an equal number of skilled gymnasts as McKendree."
The trapeze partners billed for public exhibitions as the
"Krekelsoe Brothers", were of course, Alfred Krekel, then
of Jefferson City, Missouri, and Kelsoe. Mr. Krekel is now
living on a farm near Farmington, Missouri. After he left
McKendree in the spring of 1869, Hugh Harrison of Belle-
ville took Krekel's place with me on the double trapeze.
My Repository report of our last exhibition that college
year is missing, but we thought it the best of all, and so did
the spectators. We had one accident then, the only mishap
of the year, and I was responsible for it. Our teacher's final
big trapeze feat was to swing from the top of a wooden
tower and catch a flying trapeze, and while swinging on that,
drop and light right side up on a straw mattress. After plac-
ing the mattress, my partner and I neglected to smooth out
the surface so as to leave no holes or dangerous lumps in it
for the performer to light on. Mr. Ratcliff came down all
right but one foot struck a bad place in the mattress and his
ankle was badly sprained. However, with the lame leg he
climbed the tower at the south end again and repeated the
performance on the flying trapeze. This time the performance
was entirely successful and won the vociferous applause of
the spectators, but later he was laid up at his home in Olney
for several weeks with that sprained ankle. He never re-
turned to McKendree, at least not m the capacity of a teacher
of athletics. Tho we have made several visits to the college
together in late years as visitors and "home comers".
We missed Mr. Ratcliff very much the next ye.ir and
many of the students lost about all their interest in the gym-
nasium. A few of us gave an exhibition at the close of the
college year. One ot the members of the graduating class was
to write a report tor the Repository, but it was forgotten and
we had to be content with a paragraph I wrote for the college
paper, set up in the Journal printing office, and had it inserted
in the last form that went to press, to the effect that the gym-
nasium exhibition given by Messrs. John Hoit, Charley
West, Hugh Harrison, and W. A. Kelsoe was a big success.
The building continued to be used as a gymnasium for
several years, but that was the last public exhibition given
m It. Mr. West died m the summer of 187 1 at his home in
Edwardsville. He was to graduate with me in 1872. Mr.
Hoit, a resident of Lebanon, could not well attend college
regularly and did not graduate until 1875. He then studied
medicine, married, located in Kansas City, and had a large
medical practice when death claimed him in 1892. Mr Harri-
son, oldest brother of Charley and Lee Harrison, died a pros-
perous business man in Los Angeles, California, a couple of
years ago.
Mr. William Fay Ratcliff, our athletic teacher, got his
second name at McKendree College. He arrived at Lebanon
September 18, 1868, as William F. Ratcliff. When he came
to register. President Allyn asked him his middle name. He
replied that he had never had any except the letter F. "Well",
said Dr. Allyn, "then we'll give you one", and he wrote
down the word Fay, and said. "Now you are William Fay
Ratcliff". And William Fay Ratcliff he has continued to be
to this day. I have seen a good deal of Mr. Ratcliff during
the last seven or eight years, and the more I see of him the
better I like him. Here is what I wrote about the gentleman
for the "St. Louis Reference Record" late in 1927.
Four Hundred and Eleien
cs^^^^^^S^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^B^^SS.
GIRLS' BASKETBALL TEAM, 1903-04
Top row left to right — Mabel Duncan, Lulu Large, Dora Dougherty,
Florence Reinhardt, Myrtle Duncan (Capt.), Lydia Malernee.
"One of the few octogenarians of St. Louis Typographical
Union No. 8 is WiUiam F. RatcHff, born in Olney, lUinois,
September 5, 1847. He learned the printing business in boy-
hood and when a young man was the editor and publisher of
the "Olney News" and also of "ready made print news-
papers" (patent insides) for one hundr d and seven country
editors, and kept it up for ten years. In 1877-78, Ratcliff
worked for a printing house in Hannibal, Missouri, which
had a large business in printing blank books for public offices
and also for private use. It was in 1891 that he came to St.
Louis and became a member of No. 8, thirty-six years ago.
Mr. Ratcliff and I have been close friends for nearly sixty
years. While learning the printing business he had also spent
a good deal of his time in a gymnasium, and in 1868, he be-
came a teacher of athletics in McKendree College, Lebanon,
Illinois. It was from Professor Ratcliff that I learned to turn
back somersaults, for which I am best remembered in Lebanon.
Later he became a professional gymnast and travelled with
S. B. Howe's London Circus and other shows for several
years in the summer time, and performed in vaudeville shows
throughout the country in the winter. My old teacher was
a frequent visitor at the Deaconess Hospital, St. Louis, when
I was a patient there in 1925, and has since spent a part of
every Sunday afternoon with me."
Mr. RatchfF's wife, formerly Miss Ruby M. Martin of
Olney, Illinois, died a few years ago. Their only child. Dr.
Ernest Ratcliff is a resident physician at the Lincoln, Illinois
Institution for the Feeble Minded. Mr. Ratcliff is also a
grandfather.
BASEBALL IN McKENDREE
There is a well-founded tradition that W. A. Kelsoe organ-
ized the first baseball team that ever played in McKendree,
during his student days in the sixties. Mr. Kelsoe gives some
account of his experiences of that day in an article published
in the "Pigskin" in 1905. We give here a condensation of that
article. Kelsoe kept a diary in those days and by consulting
it he found that the first base ball club in McKendree was
organized April i, 1867. The club was composed mostly of
Freshmen and it was called "Mazeppa". The first game was
played Saturday, April 6, 1867 on a vacant lot in the east end
of town. Another game was played on the nth and a third
on the 1 2th. The names mentioned as members of the organ-
ization besides Kelsoe, are Frank Freeman, Joseph G. Allyn,
Frank A. McConaughy, Eugene L. Stoker, James P. Lytle,
Lyman T. Berger, George Lane, and Augustus C. Bernays.
Mr. Freeman lived in St. Louis and had learned the game
there. Since he had had more previous experience he was
made president of the club and captain of the team, and
pitcher. Joseph G. Allyn was the secretary.
A little later, Thomas B. Stelle, class of '68, organized
another club, known as the "Olympics", and the club be-
came so large the first day that a number of the members
withdrew and formed a separate club who called themselves
the "Winonas". There were now three clubs and each had
two full nines. It was considered an honor to be on the first
nine of either club. The first nine of the Olympics were, T.
B. Stelle, Elam Ramsay, F. A. Affleck, W. F. L. Hadley, J.
H. Cockrell, J. M. North, C. W. Bliss, H. E. Hobbs, and O.
B. GrifBn. The first nine of the Winonas were, R. D. Adams,
J. H. Wilson, Henry Seiter, H. C. Fisk, Parmly, S. G. Bryan,
S. M. Irwin, Charles Black and W. P. Bradshaw. Herbert E.
Hobbs of St. Louis was the star player of the Olympics, while
the honors among the Winonas were divided between Adams
and Wilson. In club rank the Winonas stood first, defeating
the Olympics several times. The latter won two games from
the "Stripplings" as the Mazeppas were called, and these
also suffered defeat at the hands of the "Unions", a team from
Four Hundred and Twelve
MC KENDREE
Centr.ilia. The Mazeppas, however, bided their time. The
next fall the Olympics and Winonas united and formed the
"Wauneta" club, but even then, were not strong enough
for the "Striphngs", now grown to manhood. After being
defeated twice by the Mazeppas and once by the "Athletics"
of Trenton, the Waunetas disbanded. The "Striplings" took
them in, gave up the name Mazeppa and christened the re-
organized club, "McKendree". After that the college had
but one base ball club, the honor of McKendree being de-
fended by that club against all comers. One of the first vic-
tories scored by the new organization was from the "Eclipse"
of St. Louis, McKendree winning by a score of 79 to 3,4. The
star players of McKendree at that time were E. B. Condit
and William L. Hallam, who had both played with the
Centralia "Unions" the year before, W. W. Mabry of Van-
dalia, and J. W. Tipton of Elizabeth town, Tennessee. On
November 4, 1871, McKendree defeated the "Sooners" of
Carlyle by a score of no to 27. The winning team m that
contest consisted of D. C. Kelly, W. H. Horine, J. W. Scott,
J. W. Wilson, Frank Remick, T. J. Porter,
Walter Watson, Z. T. Remick and W. A.
Kelsoe. The last four named were seniors
of the class of 1872. A few days before
that, McKendree had been slaughtered by
the "Athletics" of Trenton, with a score
of 61 to 45. The Remick Brothers lived m
Trenton and belonged to both teams, but
they played with the Athletics when the
college club opposed them. In that game
W. L. Hallam was the catcher, and Hugh
W. Harrison the pitcher. McKendree gen-
erally won when they played against the
O'Fallon "Comets". In one game with them
the score was 53 to 42 and in another 44 to
14. Other prominent players besides these
mentioned were, A. G. Gordon, J. H.
Blume, J. C. Delzell, J. C. Edwards, J. A.
Baird, C. A. Keller, J. A. Cockrell, George
S. Liggett, Charles Morrison, James Gil-
bert, J. W. Wilson, Ben Bond, Bruce In-
man, O. M. Edwards, W. W. Bruce, W.
S. Curtis, D. B. Parkinson, J. H. Brown-
lee, G. W. Smith, L. D. Turner, Charles
Cannady, J. M. Dickson and R. D. W.
Holder.
A little glimpse of base ball in 1901
, , , , . , Type of football unif<
shows that the game aroused interest but part of this
not such absorbing interest as in the sixties, probably be-
cause it was overshadowed by foot ball in the latter period.
However, there was an organized team. They were defeated
by Shurtleff in a close game with a score of 14 to 13. In the
same season they defeated the East St. Louis High School
twice. The first time by a score of 30 to o and in the second
game the score was 8 to o, which at least showed that the
defense was improving. The men who were given honorable
mention in this season's games are August Beckemeyer and
Gilbert Van Cleve. Since that time, base ball has not been
maintained continuously, but in most of the years there has
been a team organized m the Spring which has afforded excel-
lent practice on the home field between the first and second
teams, and usually a few intercollegiate games have been
played, but it has not been a strong competitor of foot ball
in the interest it arouses.
FOOT BALL
As early as r888 the McKendree boys played among them-
selves a game they called foot ball. As many as desired parti-
cipated in the game. The players were di-
vided into two companies about equal. It
was the aim of each group to force the ball
to the opposite goal, but it was not done
as in the modern football, for the ball was
only propelled by kicking. It was not
touched with hands.
But the first real foot ball team m Mc-
Kendree was organized in 1892 with Jean
F. Webb as Captain. He graduated from
McKendree three years before but still liv-
ed in Lebanon and in those days the rules
were not so strict as to who should be per-
mitted to play. This first team was lined up
as follows: "Irish" Wallace, center; John
M. Hampton and John Galbreath, guards;
R. H. Harding and R. V. Gustin, tackles;
Ned Crosby and W. E. Trautman, ends;
Scott Porter, quarter back ; Jean Webb and
Orley Laird, halfbacks; and Walter Hard-
ing, full back. This team played one game
that year with Smith Academy and suffer-
ed an overwhelming defeat. The score was
66 to o. This was due to the fact that St.
Louis had several foot ball stars in those
years who played with about all the lead-
ing teams of the city. This was possible,
worn in the early
(Fred Hunter) because the rules of eligibility were neither
Four Hundred and Thirteen
McKENDREE-S FIRST FOOTBALL TEAM, 1892
Begin top row, left to right: Gustin, E. Pfeffer, Hampton, Crosby, Calbreath, D. Wallace, O. Wallace; second row, Trautminn, Webb,
Edwards, W. Harding, R. Harding; bDttom row, P. Carter, S. Porter, Gideky, and Laird.
SO definite nor so well enforced as in these days. In 1893,
McKendree was defeated by Drury College 14 to o. In 1894,
a return game was played with Smith Academy at Lebanon,
in which McKendree won by a score of 22 to o. This shows
that the McKendree team had been strengthened somewhat
in the two years, but this line of sport was maintained with
difficulty since there was no enclosed park and no admission
fee could be charged, and therefore there was no fund with
which to purchase equipment. Whatever funds were raised
for the cause had to be by voluntary contributions of the
students and the citizens of the town. The students had but
little money and therefore could not give much. The mer-
chants were as generous as could be expected, but the
fund was very inadequate.
In 1895, several new members were added to the team.
William B. Eaton was Captain and among the players were
W. H. Nix, J. F. Webb, Cameron Harmon, O. C. Dake and
"Irish" Wallace. Two games were played that year, one with
the Belleville Tigers, and the other with Blackburn. The
former was a tie and the latter a victory for Blackburn with
a score of 60 to o. A third was scheduled with the "Rain-
water Rifles" of St. Louis. They brought with them two of
the same old ringers or semi-professionals with whom Mc-
Kendree had played in former years. Captain Eaton gave the
Captain of the visiting team ten minutes to remove them.
This he failed to do and several of the McKendree players
went home and the game was called off. In 1896, no team was
organized until November when Ed Gedney gathered to-
gether a team to play against the Belleville "Tigers" on
Thanksgiving Day. Cameron Harmon and Will McKnight,
who were both teaching near Flora, left their schools and
journeyed to Lebanon to participate. A hurried practice was
held in Wallace's barn and the team started for Belleville in
a pouring rain. McKendree lost, which was not strange under
the circumstances. The next year the team consisted of Louis
Zerweck, Walter Blanck, C. M. Wilton, O. W. Wilton,
Austin Kirk, James Patterson, Russell Brown, Irish Wallace.
R. V. Gustin, Omar Farris. and Charles Bevis.
In 1899, Cameron Harmon returned to school and again
joined the team. Internal difficulties came up which threat'
ened the total disruption of the team. Then, as Captain
Harmon used to say. took place the historic and patriotic act
by which W. L. Clucas mounted the chapel steps, and in the
presence of fully four people, nominated, voted for, and de-
clared Cameron Harmon elected foot ball Captain at Mc-
Kendree and assumed the office of manager himself.
Four Hundnd and Fouruen
FOOTBALL TEAM OF 1SM6
Begin top row, left to right; N. B. Tha\er Broun C Firthing A HubbOng U Burguard; second row, F. Nichols, Morrison, A. Kirk,
J. Trahand, Patterson; bottom row, L. Zerweck, Blanck, Capt., Edmondson, and O. Wilton.
Captain Harmon settled the ill feeling among the members
of the old team, reorganized it, and won every game played
during the remainder of the season. Captain Harmon was
re-elected for the next year and W. L. Clucas was elected
manager. When the fall term of 1900 opened, Captain Har-
mon brought with him Marshall and Edward Wallis, Ralph
Sabine, and Gilbert Van Cleve, who with Captain Harmon,
Zerweck and Flint, made McKendree College prominent in
football circles, for in their respective positions they had no
superiors in and around St. Louis. Nap Bon Thayer an ex-
Harvard man who lived in Lebanon, volunteered his services,
as coach and the team made rapid progress. Then for the
first time, McKendree's team was able to battle successfully
with the teams of other large colleges. That year was the
first that a full schedule was played. The Lebanon park was
enclosed and the old method of raising money by subscription
was abolished. During that season, McKendree played a tie
game with Western Military Academy, defeated Barnes
Medical 17 to o, St. Louis High 22 to 11, Southern Illinois
Normal 25 to o, and was defeated by Christian Brothers
College 17 to 5.
For the season of 1901, Captain Harmon was again chosen
leader, and W. L. Clucas manager, and an executive com-
mittee was appointed, consisting of Professor Waggoner, Van
Cleve and Clucas. This committee, together with Captain
Harmon, worked diligently during the summer and when
school opened in the fall, there were many candidates for
each position and so each player won his position by superior
work on the field. Out of the eight games played that season,
only three were lost. McKendree scored 109 points against
her opponents 58. From a financial standpoint, the year was a
success. A complete outfit for the team, such as jerseys, head-
gear, etc., was purchased and the season closed with $75.00
in the treasury. In 1902 the same plan was followed. Almost
the entire team returned to school and the same officers were
still in service. In that year McKendree had the best football
season m her history up to that time. Several minor games
were disposed of, and then came the great game with Marion-
Simms-Beaumont College of St. Louis. Lebanon took on a real
football spirit. The advance sale of tickets was larger than for
any previous game. The executive committee prepared print-
ed programs, containing a score or more of yells and songs.
The students met each night at the college and practiced.
Yell leaders were appointed. Megaphones, pennants, horns,
and ribbons galore greeted the six hundred visitors who
arrived on their special train, with a brass band and drum
Four Hi.ndred and F./te
FOOTBALL TEAM OF 1902
Begin top row, left to right: E. Donoho, Carson, L. Zerweck. M. Wallis, E. Corrie; second row, S. Gould, R. Flint, Harmon, Capt.,
E. Wallis, T. McBride, C. Baldwin; bottom row, R. Sabine, G. Van Cleve
corps. A larger crowd was never seen on a McKendree grid-
iron, and though the game was played evenly, McKendree
lost by a small margin in the score, but the team had increased
its bank account by $103.00. That day will be long remem-
bered by those who witnessed the game. Later a most suc-
cessful trip was made to the city of Olney, where they played
a stiff and hard fought game. After it was over, the score was
1 1 to o in favor of McKendree. The team had to stay over to
return the next morning. The city threw open her doors and
entertained the McKendree boys right royally. The public
reception that night was enjoyed by all.
In 1903 McKendree was minus several of her old and tried
warriors. Harmon, Van Cleve, Sabine and Zerweck had all
finished their college course and gone. Yet a successful team
was organized, and except the very first, with a St. Louis
High School, they won the entire schedule. It was with
especial satisfaction that they defeated Shurtleff by a score
of 51 to 6. Coach Delaney of St. Louis University, in writing
the history of foot ball in the middle west said that if Mc-
Kendree had played a full schedule she would have been the
champion of the middle west for the year 1903. McKendree
has maintained a foot ball team ever since, except the years
in which it was forbidden by action of the Board of Trustees.
TENNIS
A tennis court appeared on McKendree's campus as early
as 1890. It was not prepared by the college, but by individual
interest and effort with the permission of the college authori-
ties. The first one was located near the present corner en-
trance to the campus. Within the next two or three years,
two more courts appeared near the first one. These were all
supposed to be owned by the students who had prepared
them. Only they or their friends were permitted to use them.
It was more than a dozen years later that the college authori-
ties decided that tennis courts in the front yard were not
dignified and were somewhat of a disfigurement to the cam-
pus and therefore ordered them all to the back campus. There
are now three excellent courts just back of Carnegie Hall,
which are for the general use of the students and in vacation
time they are often used by persons who are not students,
and this is approved by the authorities on the ground that
the college is intended to be so far as possible the servant of
the whole community.
But in the years while the courts were still in the front,
there were pleasant hours spent by the boys and girls of the
college, playing purely for pleasure and pastime without the
slightest idea of professionalism. In course of time, some few
Four Hundred and Si
<:s:^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^S^
McKENDREE SECOND TEAM, 1903
Begin top row, left to right: W. Burroughs L. Stark, N. Ensign, A. Vickery, R. Flint, H. Miller, V. Morriss, R. Munoz;
cond row, H. Carlin, C. McKnight, Link, L. Perrin, Capt., P. Carr, R. Berry; bottom row, Porter C. Miller, L. McDonald
individuals attained a degree of skill which inclined them to
play match games and hold tournaments. In 1897, a series of
games were played to determine a championship. Two young
men of Edwardsville, Bradshaw and Kirkpatrick, claimed to
be the champions of Southern lUinios. Some of the McKen-
dree students were not convinced on this point, and in order
to settle the matter it was arranged to play a series of match
games. The boys representing McKendree were Samuel J.
Clucas and Walter H. Blanck. The first match was played at
Edwardsville and the McKendree boys won. The second was
at McKendree and the Edwardsville boys won. The third
game which was to determine the title to the championship
was played at Edwardsville and was fairly and clearly won
by the McKendree boys who thus proved their claim to the
title of champions of Southern Illinois. They maintained this
record for a number of years, playing all comers and suffering
only one defeat. That was at the hands of Arthur Wear and
Clarence Gamble of Smith Academy, which of course was
outside of Southern Illinois. In 1900, S. J. Clucas won new
laurels in East St. Louis by defeating in singles the best player
that city could produce. In the Spring of 1901, the first Ten-
nis Club was organized with a membership of fourteen. The
officers of the club were. President, V. S. Morriss, vice-
president, A. W. Morriss, Jr., secretary, treasurer and man-
ager, J. Paul Edwards. The object of the club was to arouse
interest in the game on the part of McKendree students and
the citizens of Lebanon. With this thought in mind it was
voted to hold a tennis tournament during the commencement
week of that year. Two loving cups were offered by the club
for the winners of the doubles, and Mrs. A. W. Morriss
donated a third cup for the winner of the singles. After some
very fast tennis m the preliminaries and semi-finals, E. W.
Donoho and J. P. Edwards were left to battle against Marion
Van Treese and A. W. Morriss, Jr., for the doubles cham'
pionship and the grand prize. Donoho and Edwards won.
Then m the singles, Donoho won over A. W. Morriss, Jr.
by a narrow margin. After the conclusion of the tournament
Dr. M. H. Chamberlin, then president of the college, pre-
sented the cups to the winners with suitable words of con-
gratulation in the presence of a large crowd of spectators
assembled about the tennis court.
The next year the club increased its membership to sixteen
members. The officers were the same, except that W. C.
Pfeffer was chosen secretary and manager, instead of Edwards
who was no longer a student in the college. Another tourna-
ment was held m 1902 which aroused as much interest as did
Four Hundred and Se
<^:^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^:e>
the one of the preceding year. In the finals of this contest.
Van Tresse and A. W. Morriss, Jr. won over Donoho and
Pfeffer. In the Spring of 1903, the membership of the club
numbered twenty-five. A. W. Morriss, Jr. was elected presi-
dent, Eugene Corrie, vice-president, and E. W. Donoho,
secretary and manager. This year Morriss and Donoho were
the undisputed champions, having no trouble to defeat all
TENNIS CHAMPIONS, 1903
A. W. Morriss Jr., E. W. Donoho
comers. So they were chosen to represent McKendree in
several matches during the season. They defeated Reeder and
Adams of East St. Louis High School in the doubles, and
Morriss easily defeated Watson of East St. Louis in the
singles. Morriss and Donoho also went to Carbondale and
won first honors in a contest at the Southern Normal. The
tennis club was still growing in 1904 when it had thirty
members. When the courts were removed from the front
campus, interest in the game waned for some years. Chiefly
for the reason that there was no opportunity to play about
the college. There were no courts on the campus until after
the dormitories were built which was in 191 1. In recent years
there have seldom been tournaments except at the Inter-
scholastic or high school meet which comes to our campus
every year. But in the Spring, as well as in the pleasant
weather of the autumn, the students engage in tennis very
freely as a means of wholesome exercise and pleasant pastime.
ATHLETICS IN THE LAST DECADE
By John W. Oster
The past decade has been one of great athletic achievement
for McKendree teams. In this period, wearers of the purple
and white have won state championships in foot ball, basket
ball, and tennis, while few poor seasons have been experi-
enced. Foot ball has long been the major sport of the college.
Old records fairly bristle with the feats of the pigskin war-
riors. Proud as the institution is of the records made when
Dr. Harmon was "Cap", it has equal reason to be proud of
those made in the last decade. Grid activities in 1918 were
much abbreviated, due to the arrival of the "flu" epidemic.
Professor C. N. Stokes of the mathematics department, who
was also the coach, was looking for a good season, but most
of the games had to be postponed. In only one contest did
the "bear cats" put their full line up in the field. On this
occasion Shurtleff was defeated 1 3, to 6. Due to the illness of
the Coach, "Fritz" FriedH, an old McKendree star who was
at that time just beginning the successful coaching in the
Belleville High School which has since caused him to be
recognized as one of the best coaches in Illinois, was secured
as an assistant. After a poor start, eleven of the eighteen
games were won and the team finished second in the state
tournament. Two men, Jim Dolley, forward, and Fritz Wag-
ener, guard, were selected as members of the first all-state
team of the tournament. Spring athletics were very success-
ful. The veteran base ball team was undefeated, while the
"cinder men" were victorious in a dual meet, thus keeping
the record intact of not losing a dual meet since 1916, when
Washington University won, in spite of McKendree's taking
seven of the thirteen first places. The foot ball season of 1919
was unsuccessful. After a close defeat by Illinois College,
demoralization set in and the season was disastrous to the
end. Continuing the success of the past season in basket ball,
the Bear Cats made an enviable record in 1919-20. In playing
twenty games, fifteen successful verdicts were gained over
the best teams in Illinois and Missouri. The defeats suffered
were by narrow margins, except the one at Charleston.
Wagener, Weineke, Garrett, Collard, Sayre, and Canedy,
formed the line up. The success of the cagers was continued
in base ball and track. The track team was undefeated, while
the diamond men won a majority of their games. A new
coach, "Shorty" Lawrence, took charge of athletics the fol-
lowing year. Lawrence accomplished little in foot ball in the
Four Hundred and Eighteen
MC KENDREE
way of winning. The team did not win a game, hut they
always went down fighting. They had the proverhi.il "Mc-
Kendree fight". In basket ball, the quintet that should h.ive
been the fostest in McKendree's history, was hurt by the
ineligibility of three of its best men. Only nine games were
played. Of these, five were victories. The 1921 base ball team
was a peppy aggregation and though bad weather abbre-
viated the season, the games played resulted favorably. Two
victories were gained over the Union Methodists of St.
Louis, one from ShurtlefF, and one from Eden Seminary, while
Western Military Academy proved too strong. Coach Hall,
formerly of Earlham College, was secured m 1921. He re-
ceived as a heritage the oft-trod-on gridders of the year be-
fore. Believing that the team was capable of better things
he set to work in earnest. His efforts were rewarded with a
team that was undefeated during the season, and scored on
but once, when Carbondale registered two points. This was
one of McKendree's greatest championship teams. Six Mc-
Kendreans, Carvel, Lizenby, Catt, Miller, Sayre, and Adams
gained positions on the all-star team of Southern Illinois.
Two others, Cralley and Maxey were on the second squad.
In basket ball, they gained six victories in nine starts. The
most impressive ones were a 14-9 win over Carbondale and
a rough and tumble 41-13 verdict over Shurtleff. The base
ball team lost all of its games except one. Enough batting
punch was discovered in the last game to beat Shurtleff with
a score of 4 to 3. Despite good offers from other schools,
Coach Hall remained at McKendree another year. His team
was hurt much by losses from graduation. Six games were
played. Two fell in the winning column, two were tie games,
and two fell on the wrong side. Three men, full back Ben
Hall and tackles Cralley and Rhiel were on the Egyptian all'
star team. McKendree won the Egyptian basket ball cham-
pionship in 1922-33, with a record of five victories in six
starts. Four of seven non-conference games were also won.
In the Spring of 1923 a new coach put in his appearance.
Earl (Lefty) Davis. The following September Davis found a
wealth of material with which to work. Letter men and high
school stars were here in abundance. An expert in the hand-
ling of men, and a master strategist, Davis soon made the
Bear Cats much-feared opponents. Even tho he was develop-
ing a new system, his eleven won four games, lost four and
tied two. With a schedule that included St. Louis University,
Illinois Wesleyan, Charleston and Concordia, the Davis-men
had the stiffest schedule a bear cat team had ever played. St.
Louis University was defeated once, and ten victories were
gained in fifteen games. Spring Athletics were fairly success-
ful. The track team won the three cornered Shurtleff, West'
ern Military, and McKendree meet, and gained a close second
in the Washington U., RoUa, and McKendree meet. Ray
Goode, javelin thrower, broke the state record with a 180
foot toss m that event. The Medley relay team did well in
the Drake relays. Newcom and Hardy made a strong tennis
combination. The following year the effectiveness of the
Davis system was demonstrated. Victories were achieved in
all sports. The climax of gridiron development was reached
in 1924, when the purple and white won the "Little NmC'
teen" title with seven victories and one tie game. The team
had weight, ability and teamwork. In points scored the Bear
Cats made 252 and their opponents 49. Three non-conference
tilts were played. Of these they won one, lost one and one
was a tie. The teams defeated were Charleston, Blackburn,
Lincoln, Carthage, Carbondale, Shurtleff, and Ewing. Scott
Field and Illinois College tied the Bear Cats, while Rolla
defeated them m a non-conference game at the opening of
the season. Fullback Holsinger made the all-state team, and
several others made the second and third teams.
Filled with the spirit of winning, the Davis-men went onto
the basket ball floor, led by the brilliant Newcom, one of the
greatest cagers that ever stepped on a McKendree floor. The
Bear Cats romped off with eight of ten conference starts, and
four non-conference victories against one defeat. The track
men, not to be out done by the other teams, won dual meets
from Shurtleff and Ewing. Goode again broke the conference
record in the javelin event, placed second at the Drake re-
lays, and third at the national meet. The tennis team of
Newcom and Allen easily won the doubles championship of
the state. The only losing team of the year was the Nine
which dropped games to Washington, Eden, Concordia, and
Shurtleff, winning the final game from Ewing with a score of
28 to I. After this year. Coach Davis packed his belongings
for Shreveport, Louisiana, where he coached the nationally
famous Centenary College team. To take his place, Glen
Filley of Cameron, Missouri was secured. Filley was an out'
standing player on the Missouri Wesleyan teams, captain
of the foot ball, basket ball, and track teams. He had good
success as a high school coach at Grand Island, Nebraska. In
the short time he was there he developed the champion high
school track team of the state. As he had played under Davis
there were few innovations in methods under him as the
new coach at McKendree. The first three games of the season
were dropped to Knox, the Illinois state champions. Spring'
field (Mo.) and Rolla. The next five conference opponents
were defeated, as was Scott Field. Cape Girardeau held the
Four Hundred and .\ineteen
Bear Cats to a o-o score. This was an exceptionally good
record, as the season started with only seven letter men.
Sixteen opposing teams were met on the basket ball floor
that season. Of these ten were defeated by the McKendree
team. Half of the games played and half of the victories won
were conference contests. A shooting slump while on a tour
in the north part of the state resulted in three successive
defeats, thus marring an otherwise good record. However
the Southern Illinois title was won by virtue of dual victories
over ShurtlefF and Carbondale. The tracksters did good work.
At the A. A. U. Meet in St. Louis, the relay team defeated
that of Washington University. The only defeat was a dual
meet with Washington. Shurtleff and Millikin were defeated
in dual meets while the fifth place was won at the state meet.
For the third successive year, Ray Goode broke the state
javelin record, with a toss of 192 feet and five and one half
inches. Allen and Mowe won the third place in the doubles
event at the State Tennis Meet, while Allen won third in
the singles. Handicapped by a poor diamond and practice
stopped by rain, the base ball team won but a single game
in seven starts.
The reason of 1926-27 was disastrous. Only five men
answered the call for grid candidates. A good back field could
not function because of a sieve-like line. Eight games were
played with but one victory and one tie game resulting.
Lincoln was defeated i j to o, and Carbondale was held to a
scoreless game. Although a small team, the quintet played at
lightning speed. With the season half over, but two games
were won. Suddenly hitting its proper form in mid-season, the
five defeated such formidable opponents as Carbondale,
Springfield, Lincoln, Macomb, and Charleston. The track
team had fair success. The relay event was again won at the
A. A. U. Meet. Washington administered a severe drubbing
in a dual meet, and then the first place was won by McKen.
dree in a triangular meet with Shurtleff and Western Military
Academy at Alton. Later she won second place in meets with
Shurtleff, with Carbondale, and with Millikin. Also several
places were won at the state meet. Although but four of
eleven base ball games were won, the base ball team was suc-
cessful, when we consider the handicaps. The athletic field
was in process of improvement and so the team had no dia-
mond on which to practice. But in spite of this, victories
were gained over Western Military, Shurtleff, and Eden
Seminary. Washington University was held to a 2 to i score,
Concordia to a j-o verdict, Monmouth 3 to i, and Macomb
6 to 3. In the last mentioned game, two infielders were in-
jured. In the tennis season, McKendree's squad twice de-
feated the Shurtleff netsters. This closed the athletic activi-
ties for the year. The records for the year 1927-2S will be
found in the annual for 1928.
THE INTERSCHOLASTIC
Ever since the Spring of 1916, with the exception of 1918
when the United States was engaged in the World War, the
Interscholastic or High School Meet has been one of the
annual features of the activities on McKendree's campus.
The affiiir attracts several hundred high school students, with
a good many of their teachers, from thirty or forty high
schools throughout Southern Illinois, and while interested
spectators look on, they compete with much zeal and energy
for the medals offered by the college for superiority in the
various contests that are staged, both athletic and intellec-
tual. The forenoon is devoted to preliminaries which elimi-
nate from the contests all but the best; the afternoon is taken
up with the athletic events, and the intellectual contests
occur in the college chapel in the evening.
Looking over one of the printed schedules, we enumerate
the various contests mentioned there as an example of what
the affair is like. The athletic events are: ist, 220 yard low
hurdle race; 2nd, pole vault; 3rd, mile run; 4th, shot put;
5th, 100 yard dash; 6th, running high jump; 7th, 440 yard
dash; 8th, running broad jump; 9th, 220 yard dash; 10th,
throwing discus; nth, half mile run; 12th, running hop,
step and jump; 13th, three mile race, across country; 14th,
standing broad jump; 15th, mile relay race. Also in the fore-
noon was the tennis tournament with thirteen high schools
entered. In the evening there were the intellectual contests
in music and expression. Medals were awarded in the follow-
ing events. Girls' solo, boys' solo, girls' quartette, boys' quar-
tette, girls' reading, boys' reading, boys' oration. It is a difii-
cult task for the judges but finally they reach their decisions,
while the audience is entertained by some special perform-
ances, and then the president of the college bestows the
medals.
Not only the winners of the intellectual events, a gold,
silver, and bronze medal for the first, second, and third rank
in each event, but also the winners of the medals in the athlet-
ic events receive them from the chapel stage in the evening.
It takes some time to confer the medals, for there are nearly
a hundred of them some years, but it is always an interesting
hour. Nobody gets sleepy while one after another is called
forward in the presence of a large crowd of high school peo-
ple and others, and publicly receives the testimonial of
worthy achievement in some special line. It is doubtless a
means of inspiring some to intenser efforts than they have
Four Hundred and Twenty
ever made before m some worthy field of endeavor. It is a
long and tiresome as well as interesting day. Probably one
of the great values of it is that it promotes acquaintance and
friendly rivalry among the various schools, as well as a slight
introduction to McKendree College. Even a little whiff of
college atmosphere sometimes originates in the mind of a boy
or girl a desire to some day become a college student and a
college graduate.
HYPES FIELD
A sketch of athletics m McKendree would not be com-
plete without some reference to the field which has been the
scene of so many interesting conflicts for nearly twenty years.
In 1909, Dr. Beniamin M. Hypes, desiring to promote a
deeper interest m physical education gave the land for the
Athletic Field which from that time has borne his name. It
is conveniently located, just across the street from the gym-
nasium and separated from the main college grounds
only by Alton street. It contains five acres as originally in-
closed for athletic purposes, with an additional area at the
north which on account of a ravine could not be included in
the field. The ground naturally sloped a little to the north.
In fact it was too much of a grade to be ideal for some athletic
purposes. Several attempts have been made to level it. One
summer the college bought a tractor, a plow and a scraper
and employed several students to work on the big problem.
The result of this effort was some improvement but it was not
sufficient and only made the boys feel the need of more per-
fect adjustment along the same line. In the meantime an
additional area about one hundred feet wide on the east was
secured by purchase from Mrs. Mary C. Fitz-Gerrell, whose
husband was a member of the class of 1862 in McKendree.
It should be stated also that Doctor Hypes paid for this addi'
tion to the area. The board fence was extended to include it
and then .i contract was let to a construction company to
really grade the field. It took this company, with a large
equipment such as they would employ in grading for a rail-
road or paved highway, several weeks to do the job. It cost
the college over $3,000 besides the many hundreds which had
been invested in the previous efforts. In the early history of
the field a grand stand had been built on the north end which
would accommodate three or tour hundred people, but in the
last grading, a part of the plan was to make a "straight-away"
race course which ran right through the place where the
grand stand stood. It was removed. Then in the summer of
1927, concrete bleachers were built along nearly the whole
west side of the field, which will furnish seating for more than
a thousand people and that is an adequate provision, unless
in the coming years our crowds grow larger. With a well
equipped gymnasium, a well improved athletic field, and a
competent coach, McKendree is prepared to take care of the
physical culture of her students if she has even a moderate
degree of co-operation on the part of the students themselves.
The list of athletic directors since there has been one
who was a member of the faculty is as follows: Bertram E.
Wiggins, Homer T. Osborn, Cyrus S. Gentry, Milton S.
Cushman, Marvin W. Krieger, W. C. LeVan, Claude N.
Stokes, Frank Lawrence, Orville Hall, Earl A. Davis, and
Glen F. Filley.
Four Hundred and Twenty-One
CHAPTER XXXIV.
Preside?!! McCammons Administration
t./'^ R. McCammon came to the presidency of McKendree
JLf 'It a time when there was great emphasis placed upon
standards among the colleges of the land. The college
had been without a president for a year. The Board felt that
they had waited long enough for the right man to come along
and since he had not come, they decided to appoint a com-
mittee to go out and find him. At a called meeting of the
Board May i, 1919, the committee of five recommended the
election of Rev. George Edward McCammon, D. D., who
had already been a member of the Joint Board for many years,
and was himself a graduate of McKendree in the class of
1894. A brief biography of him will be found in connection
with the members of that class. At the time of his election
he was Executive Secretary of the Wesley Foundation at the
University of Illinois. But since the Centenary had taken
over the remainder of the task of raising the money to estab-
lish this enterprise on a safe financial basis, it was possible
for him to lay down that task without feehng that he was
neglecting duty. When elected he asked for a little time to
consider whether he would accept the position or not. After
due deliberation he decided to accept. When the Board came
together again at their regular meeting in June, he asked them
to confirm his election which had taken place a month before
in the special meeting, which they did. At this time the
Board decided to utilize the T A. Wilson home, which the
college had acquired several years before, as a home for the
president. It had been used before this to house a part of the
music department, but was not specially well-adapted for
this purpose. So during the summer of 1919 it was thoroughly
overhauled and modernized. A new furnace and modern
plumbing were installed, and the walls were redecorated. It
was originally a well-built brick house and with these modern
improvements installed it became a very desirable home and
altogether appropriate for a college president. Dr. McCam-
mon and his family took possession and here they had ade-
quate accommodations for the family, as well as for enter-
taining guests as occasion required. It was about this time
that the college first acquired and maintained an automobile
for the use of the president. As might be suspected, it was
a Ford. It proved very useful even if not long-lived. In more
recent years the idea has expanded and the college has owned
and operated as many as seven at one time of Henry Ford's
creations. They have proven very useful for the economic
transportation of athletic teams, glee clubs, etc. Among the
new faculty members who came to the institution during
Dr. McCammon 's term and in most cases through his influ-
ence, were Prof. S. M. McClure, Chemistry, Prof Wallace
B. Stearns, Religious Education, Miss Pearl McCoy, Biology,
Miss Hazel E. Schoonmaker, Mathematics, Miss Margaret
George, Home Economics, Prof. Thomas E. Wiggins, English,
Prof. Charles J. Stowell, Mathematics, Prof. J. W. A. Kini-
son, Bible, Prof. William C. Knapp, Biology, Miss Kathleen
Taylor, Home Economics and Dietitian, Miss Esther B.
Burnette, Home Economics (sewing). Miss Lillian Grace
Cheeseman, Expression, OrviUe A. Hall, Athletic Coach,
Harry E. Mueller, Violin, and Mrs. Effie Sheridan, Dean of
Women. Of these only three are still here and seem to be
permanent acquisitions. These are Prof. McClure, Prof. Sto-
well and Prof. Kinison.
One of the problems of this period was that of standard-
ization as It had been in the former administration. Dr. Hurt
had secured recognition and a favorable standing with the
State University, and now came the question of our standing
with the Methodist Board of Education. There was a feeling
m many quarters that Methodism had too many colleges and
there was a strong feeling in official circles of the church in
favor of reducing the number by combination or elimination
as might seem wise after a thorough survey of the educational
institutions of the whole church. There was a feeling for a
time that it would be McKendree 's fate to be absorbed.
There was talk of combining McKendree, Hedding, and
Illinois Wesleyan into one institution located somewhere in
the Illinois Conference. There were meetings of various com-
missions held, at some of which McKendree's Board was
represented. But finally, after a survey by a commission
appointed by the Methodist Board of Education, consisting
of Bishop Nicholson, Dr. John L. Seaton, and Dr. Harker,
though the Bishop was not present, a recommendation was
made by the Board of Education that McKendree remain at
its present location as an independent institution, and the
Board pledged themselves to use their influence for the main-
tenance and development of McKendree to the extent that
the circumstances permitted. This of course, gave new cour-
age to the people who were carrying the burdens of Mc-
Kendree.
Another problem of this period was the water supply.
When the dormitories were built in 1910-11, some hundreds
of dollars were spent in the effort to provide a. suitable water
Four Hundred and Ti
^^^^^^^^^^^^^g^^s^
supply, but tho a deep well was bored right near the build-
ings, no adequate supply was found. And since there seemed
no better plan that was feasible the diminutive lake on the
north campus was allowed to stand as the source of water
for the dormitories except for drinking, and for that purpose
the old well of which Dr. Merrill sang in his poem was still
suiEcient as it had been for three-quarters of a century. But
in a long cold spell the pond was likely to run low and then
freeze up, and in a long drought it might give out entirely.
Both of these have actually happened. To remedy the latter
case, a pipe line was laid to Silver Creek and with a steam
pump, water was transferred from the creek to the pond and
thus the dormitories were kept supplied. This process of fill-
ing the pond was resorted to many times, but it was expen-
sive and the quality of the water was not always satisfactory.
In the summer when the Epworth Leaguers were here at
the Institute, the water was stagnant and foul-smelling, and
of course gave the college an unsavory reputation with some
prospective students. In view of all these considerations Dr.
McCammon brought the water problem to the attention of
the Board. After much discussion and long deliberation, it
was decided to employ a firm from Memphis, Tennessee, to
provide a water supply by means of deep wells. Many weeks
and much money were spent in the effort. A number of wells
were bored in different places, and while each one afforded
some water, not one would furnish an unfailing supply. After
more than $3,500 had been sunk in the enterprise, we were
still with out an adequate water supply. But the best well
of the group was fitted with a pump and when it gave out,
the pump would be switched to the pond. And sometimes
it would draw from both at once and produce a mixture that
sometimes deceived the students into thinking they had good
water. As a matter of fact, the water problem was not really
solved until 1927, when we were able to connect with the
newly installed water system of the city of Lebanon, which
thus far has proven sufEcient, tho the institution uses about
10,000 gallons a day. While the interest was strong m the
water question, drinking fountains were installed in each
dormitory, supplied from the old college well. But they soon
got out of order and now are only ornamental instead of use-
ful. Another change in the business administration about this
time was the abandonment of the college light plant, which
had been installed when the dormitories were built. The
dynamos were sold and the college was connected with the
lines of the Illinois Power and Light Company, which also
furnishes current to light the city of Lebanon.
But the big thing m Dr. McCammon 's administration was
the "McKendree Movement". This is too big a thing to
describe in detail here but we will attempt to give the out-
line of the story of the greatest effort yet made to provide a
really adequate endowment for McKendree. The plan was
agitated and discussed for many months before hand, and was
finally approved by the Joint Board and the Conference.
A campaign was put on to raise $1,500,000 for endowment,
equipment, improvements, betterments, maintenance, and
current expenses, including the expense of carrying on the
campaign. Dr. John W. Hancher, who at that time held the
official title of Councillor in Finance, was employed to direct
the campaign and of course he used his corps of expert work-
ers, who had long experience m this line of work. Besides
these experts, a large force of preachers and other canvassers
from various parts of the country were summoned and even
some of the college faculty were put on the job at certain
times. The plan involved much preliminary publicity work.
A "booster" meeting was held, August 2, 1921, in the col-
lege chapel at which there were approximately four hundred
laymen present and ninety members of the Southern Illinois
Conference. Speeches were made by Governor Deneen and
Bishop Quayle, and others. Both laymen and ministers vot-
ing separately, pledged their approval and support to the
undertaking. Soon after that Dr. Hanchers men came and
began gathering constituency lists. To the names on these
lists, vast quantities of mail matter were sent to prepare
them for the solicitors. Many rallies were held at important
centers and much speech -making was indulged in. And then
when the "psychological moment" came, a systematic can-
vass was made of the entire territory. Also the alumni and
former students all over the United States and in some for-
eign countries were canvassed by mail. The churches thru-
out the conference were exhorted to observe Launching Sun-
day, October 9, Review Sunday, October 30, Gleaning Sun-
day, November 27, and Closing date, November 30, at which
date the job was supposed to be done. The last date was
afterward changed to December 21. Frequent reports and
announcements were made throughout the conference, and
in some instances they were quite encouraging, but million-
aires were scarce in Southern Illinois. The poor people did
well according to their ability but the failure was in the lack
of big subscriptions from the wealthy. When the end of the
campaign came, the million and a half had not been sub-
scribed. On the night of December 21, the Joint Board held
a meeting at the college, which did not adjourn until 2:30
a. m. on the 22nd, to review the situation and consider the
Four Hundred and TwentyTk
question of "What Next?". The pledges were all made con-
ditional on the full amount being raised, and therefore none
of them was binding in its present form. According to
the reports presented at that time the total of the pledges
was, in round numbers, $8oo,ood. Dr. Hancher was present
and made a lengthy report which is on record in the minutes
of the Joint Board. He said the thing to do was to face the
facts as they are and not to waste time trying to fix the re-
sponsibility for the failure. He also insisted that he had
believed from the start that the amount asked was tOD large
for the territory involved, and he felt that his judgment was
vindicated by the results. He recommended that in order to
save as much as possible of the result of the work already
done, a recanvass be made and each subscriber, if possible,
be induced to sign a waiver of the condition that the full
amount should be raised, and thus make each pledge valid
for the amount of its face. Six weeks were allowed for this
task. Some refused to sign the waiver, but many did and thus
enough of the subscriptions were saved to secure the pay-
ment of the $1 50,000 pledge of the General Education Board
of New York City. While the result of the "Movement" was
disappointing to those who had high hopes that the million
and a half would be realized, yet it did bring results that have
proved the salvation of the college finances until such time
as these results can be supplemented by the contributions of
wealthy friends who can make large investments in the cause
of Christian Education. About a year after the canvas was
finished up and the pledges placed in the hands of Mr.
Mitchell, the treasurer of the Endowment Fund for collec-
tion. Dr. McCammon presented his resignation to the Board
of Trustees assembled at their mid-year meeting in February
1923. Dean Baker was again placed at the helm until such
time as a new president should be elected, which in this case
did not prove to be a long time.
McKeesport, Pa.
Summerfield
Alton
Belleville
Camden. N. T-
Lebanon
West Frankfort
We give here a list of the three classes of graduates who
received their diplomas from the hand of President Mc-
Cammon.
THE CLASS OF 192.)
Bower, Homer Clark, A. B. Educator
Camp, Eleanor Brandt, A. B., Educator
Hall, Benjamin Henry, B. S., Business
Kraemer, Isabelle Esther, A. B., Educator
Laird, Samule Niles, A. B., Business
McClure, Beulah Mayme, A. B., fMrs. M. P Akers}
Wood River
Neulmg, Leha, B. S., Educator Cold Water. Mich.
Neulmg, Sylvia, B. S., fMrs. R. C. Fox]} ShelbyviUe
Rawlings, William A., A. B., Educator Berkeley, Calif.
Rawlings, Wyatt, A. B., Educator
Tucker, Guy Emmett, B. S., Educator
THE CLASS OF 19
Day, Lois Inez, B. S.
East, Laurence John, B. S., Educator
Everett, Alice Lois, B. S., fMrs. H. W. GouldJ DeKalb
Flesh, Orin, A. B. Marine
Gould, Edwin Malcom, B. S., Band Teacher Asheville, N. C.
Harrell, Joseph Morton, A. B., Educator Lebanon
Walton, Ruth Citherine, B. S., Educator Mascoutah
THE CLASS OF 1922
Carvel, Mayo, A. B., Educator Vienna
Catt, Orval Alonzo, B. S., Educator Willow Hill
Darrow, Mary Irene, B. S., Dietition St. Louis, Mo.
Dee, Lois, B. S., fMrs. J. C. Dolleyl Berkeley, Cal.
Hanbaum, Winfield Scott, A. B., Minister Columbia, N. J.
Harmon, John Bertram, B. S., Educator Crossville
Mueller, Luella Lydia, B. S., Educator Lebanon
Montgomery, Burtis, B. S., Educator West Frankfort
Porter, Margaret Virginia, B. S., fMrs. L. J. Easti' Springfield
White, Robert Fulton, A. B., Lawyer Granite City
Mansfield
Springfield
Four Hundred and Twent\-Four
^K^^^X^^^^^^^^^^s^
CHAPTER XXXV.
President Cameron Harmon s Administration
^^w'hen Rev. Cameron Harmon was elected President
ill of McKendree, March 28, 1923, it was the fourth
time that one of her own sons had been called to
the helm to guide the destinies of the old college. The other
McKendree graduates who became presidents were Daniel
W. Phillips, class of "62, McKendree H. Chamberlin, '=;g,
and George E. McCammon, "94. The present incumbent is a
member of the class of 1903,. Cameron Harmon is a member
of a pioneer family whose ancestry can be traced back on
his father's side to the German Moravians, and on his moth'
er"s, to the old Scotch Covenanters. He was born m City
County, Ilhnois, April 17, 1876. He grew up on a farm,
where he developed a splendid physique and where so many
of our national leaders originated. He first entered McKen-
dree in 1895, but did not find it practicable to pursue his
college course to the end without interruption. He dropped
out to teach a district school in order to pay expenses. He
also took time out to serve eighteen months in the Spanish-
American War. After many interesting experiences in Cuba,
when the war was over he returned home, by way of New
York City, and the next fall he resumed his work at Mc-
Kendree. He was interested in athletics and was captain of
the McKendree foot ball team for four seasons, and was also
active in the work of the Platonian Literary Society. He was
graduated in the class of 1903, receiving the degree of A. B.
In 1916 his Alma Mater conferred upon him the degree of
D. D., and in 1927, that of LL. D. Probably he had in mind
to enter the ministry even before he ever came to McKen-
dree. At any rate, he was serving student charges before he
was through his college course, and in September after his
graduation, he joined the Southern Illinois Conference. On
the 23rd of December the same year, he was married to Miss
Nina May Large, of Lebanon, who was his fellow student
in McKendree for some time. She was his helper in the min-
istry until her death in October, 1908. She left two daugh-
ters, Dorothy Elizabeth and Nina May. The elder of these
IS now a teacher in the Belleville High School and the other
is a Student in McKendree. Two years later, Mr. Harmon
was married to Miss Ruby Wilson, daughter of Judge Wil-
son, of McLeansboro. They have one daughter, Marian, who
IS a student in the Lebanon High School. While a pastor, he
led in a number of church building enterprises, notably at
Granite City, McLeansboro, and Murphysboro. He also se-
cured the payment of the long standing debt on First Church,
East St. Louis. He entertained the Annual Conference at
McLeansboro in 1908, and at Murphysboro in 1913. He was
president of the Mt. Carmel District Epworth League, and
for four years was Conference League President. He was also
a member of the Illinois State League Cabinet, and several
years superintendent of the Quiver Lake Chautauqua, at
Havana, Illinois. He is a member of the following fraternal
orders: Masons, Odd Fellows, and Knights of Pythias. He
IS a prominent Rotanan and the founder ot the Lebanon
Rotary Club. He was elected District Governor in 1928. He
was a delegate to the National Democratic Convention at
San Francisco in 1920, and was offered the nomination as a
candidate for Congress, but "did not choose to run." He
was chosen at the head of the delegation to represent his
conference in the general conference at Springfield, Massa-
chusetts, in 1924, and was again chosen as a delegate to the
one of 1928 at Kansas City. His career as a college president
began when he was chosen President of the Missouri Wes-
leyan, at Cameron, Missouri, in 1917. That institution ex-
perienced a great expansion during the five year period that
he was in charge of it. When McKendree's Board met in
March, 1923, to elect a president, other names were men-
tioned as possibilities, but Dr. Harmon was chosen by an
almost unanimous vote on the first ballot. He had already
resigned from the Missouri Wesleyan and was serving as
pastor of First Church, St. Joseph, Missouri, when he was
chosen President of McKendree. He had always held his
Alma Mater in great reverence and considered it an oppor-
tunity to serve her interests if he should become president.
He therefore immediately accepted the position and in a few
days was on duty.
When Dr. Harmon took charge, the Academy had already
been abolished the year before, on account of the fact that
Southern Illinois had become so well supplied with high
schools that there was not enough demand for secondary
work at the college to enable the academy to pay the expense
of its maintenance. The enrollment at the close of the year
1922-23 showed a total of 116 students in the regular college
classes, and twenty-one in music. In Dr. Harmon's third
year, the number in the college classes was exactly twice
what It was when he came, while the summary for the year
1927-28, the centennial year shows a total of 408, including
the music students. Dr. Harmon took charge of affairs imme-
diately and proceeded as a veteran m the service, but when
Four Hundred and Twent\-Fv
the Board met in June they arranged to hold an installation
service some time near the opening of the next school year.
PRESIDENT HARMON-S INAUGURATION
It was held in October, 1933, and was a "Home Coming
Day" for old McKendreans. It was ideal autumn weather
and McKendree's campus was gorgeous in its many tinted
autumn leaves. There was a foot ball game on Hypes Field
in the forenoon, in which McKendree defeated Lincoln. The
inauguration service was at two p. m. Dr. Claude C. Hall,
president of the Board of Trustees, presided. After the open-
ing devotions, Dr. Hall gave his official charge to Dr. Harmon
as president of the college. He charged the new president
to make the college form the minds and lives of the young
people so they will be returned to practical life, an asset to
our constituency, an honor to the college. Said he, "Mc-
Kendree must not fail. To you we commit the youth of
Southern Illinois, and may God bless you and the college."
With a few other remarks of similar import he concluded
his address and called for the response from the president-
elect. Dr. Harmon came forward, being greeted with a rous-
ing welcome, in which fluttering handkerchiefs were notice-
able. He began with a rapid reference to the mighty men of
the past and the place of the institution in the history of
the West and beyond. He said in part: "The great souls
who toiled earnestly in the founding of McKendree —
Casad, Cartwright, McKendree, Ames, Akers, Hypes, Hor-
ner, and Merrill, would not despair of the wilderness. They
had courage to believe that through the trackless wastes
there would run highways for industry and commerce; that
great states would be carved out of the boundless tracts;
that populous cities would rise upon the plains and in the
valley; that the wilderness would become subdued to the
uses of ordered society; that homes, schools, and churches
would penetrate the untutored West with the finest tradi-
tions of stability, culture, and religion. So on the very edge
of civilization they founded this institution to further the
ends of progress and Christian faith, trusting that future
generations would be loyal enough to promote what they
were brave enough to begin.
"Founded thus in the faith and courage of these pioneers,
the college has contributed in no small degree to develop-
ing life of the great Middle West, and throughout its more
than ninety-five years of existence has justified the sacrifices
of its founders. They had in mind the perpetuation among
their descendants of the traditions of culture, the promotion
of good citizenship and more especially the enthroning of
Christ in the lives of the leaders of church and state. These
ends have been met in a large degree. Among the thousands
of students who have attended the college, and more espe-
cially among the hundreds of the alumni, are many who have
distinguished themselves as citizens and leaders in the various
professions. The world around where human hearts have
sought m darkness to find the light, McKendreans have been
present to teach and lead in the way. At the call of Illinois,
McKendree furnished leaders tried and true from the su-
preme bench to the executive chair; from the County Board
to Legislative halls. At the call of our nation, McKendree's
sons fought and led the way on the far-flung battle line
where freedom's cause was weighed in the balances; others
at our capitoi stood in the senate chamber and lower house,
contributing out of hearts loyal and true to the enactment
of laws for the betterment of mankind. So vast has been her
contribution to the advancement of human weal, until surely
in the court of the redeemed, multitudes shall rise up to call
her blessed.
"In assuming the presidency of such an institution, I feel
that I am under obligation to share with you, trustees, alum-
ni, faculty, students, and friends, the consideration of some
of the ideals which will help to shape the policies of the
college of the future. * * * * * *
"There are hundreds of graduates and former students
scattered over the world, who recall with tender memories
the Christian lives and winsome personalities of the mighty
souls who here lived and taught under the guidance of the
Great Teacher of the centuries. Their splendid lives shall live
and grow in the hearts of others long after they shall be no
more. Surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, I can do
none other than to emphasize one of the guiding principles for
the future — loyalty and fidelity to the past. This leads nat-
urally to a kindred ideal without which no college could long
survive, and that is loyalty and fidelity to the present. *** ***
"The founders of this college did not imagine that Chris-
tian education was a fixed quantum, but they did believe
that however much the quantum might be increased, the
quality would still be Christian. This I maintain above every-
thing, our McKendree must be Christian. Warren G. Harding
said, 'Christian education is essential to Christian citizenship
and right civic leadership." President Eliot said, 'Exclude reli-
gion from education and you have no foundation upon which
to build moral character.' Henry Churchill King said, 'Edu-
cation and religion should be so woven together that each
becomes a part of the other.' These and scores of other pres-
ent, day leaders, thus speaking, speak wisely. The product of
Christian education proves the contention. Hush every voice
Four Hundred and TwentySu
MC KENDREE
that has been heard m college halls, and silence would reign
in the pulpit; the problems of men would be unsolved m the
courts of our land; Congress Halls and Executive Chairs
would silent stand without a message; the voice of command
would be almost unheard on our battlefields and humanity
would be undone for untold centuries to come. The travail
of many generations would be upon us again ere the heights
of this day should again be our own. The time has never been
since God spoke this world into existence, that humanity so
greatly needed the college man. *** *** ***
"Just at this time there rests on the college a responsibility
which no tongue can tell. We have solicited and received the
task of guiding over a perilous way, souls immortal, who are
destined to mould and shape for weal or woe the tomorrow
of a nation which occupies such a position of prominence as
has never been before delegated to a single commonwealth.
"The serious question of this hour as I see it is simply
this, have we produced and are we producing men and women
capable, Atlas like, to bear the burdens of the whole world in
this troubled hour? I maintain that the Christian College has
bent its every effort to produce just such men and women as
the world so needs this day, and the yesterday has not been
in vain. May we note where the Christian College places em-
phasis touching the lives and activities of men in support of
our high contentions. While we acknowledge that man must
work in order to live, yet we maintain that living is not the
chief aim of life, we teach that it is not a question of how long
we live, but how well we live. In the development of life we
should not go to money grubbing all the day long. That the
daisied meadow adds as materially to life as the field of corn,
that the orchard at full bloom carries value as truly as the
orchard burdened with fruit; that we do not live by bread
alone. That part of man which is destined to bless mankind,
cannot feed and fatten through the food we eat. The real
man lives in a field whose dome is more vast than one self-
ish life."
The above quotations are only brief extracts from Dr.
Harmon's inaugural address. After he had finished, Bishop
McDowell spoke. He said he was present because the "au-
burn-haired orator," Bishop Quayle, could not come, though
he himself was a long-time friend of McKendree and was
glad to be here on his own account. He had been here when
President McKendree H. Chamberlin had put on his twen-
tieth century campaign and many times since. Then turning
to the new president, he said, "God bless you, President
Harmon, in the sweetest occupation on earth, the guidance
of the youth of the world." The Bishop's very interesting
address closed with these words, "What has the community
a right to expect from the college? The college must make a
rich return in fine citizenship, without which the Republic
cannot exist. The college must make the piety of the people
vital. The college must keep the soul alive; it must keep the
youth of the land loyal to Christ. It must set out to make
the world richer — a rich place to live in. Southern Illinois is
a thousand years in advance of what it was fifty years ago.
Southern Illinois has a world duty. She must have the sense
of civic duty. Southern Illinois must come to the help of
God Almighty to make this a better world. May God make
you. President Harmon, adequate to the great new day in
which you live." After this there were a few closing remarks
by Dr. Hall, the presiding officer, a prayer of dismissal by
Dr. Spencer, Editor of the "Central Advocate," and another
great day at McKendree was finished.
During Dr. Harmon's term, which has been about five
years up to the present time, more than thirty new teachers
have come into the faculty. Which means that almost that
number have also gone out for one reason or another, for the
faculty is not much larger than it was in 1923. There seems
to be two elements in the McKendree teaching force. One
of more or less permanence and the other transient. In the
former class we might mention Professor E. B. Waggoner,
who spent forty years in McKendree's faculty. Then there
IS a trio in the faculty at present whose combined terms of
service at McKendree amounts to ninety-eight years. If they
all live and serve another year, they will pass the century
mark. These are E. P. Baker, J. C. Dolley, and W. C. Walton.
The other class may be found, to some extent at least, in the
list we are about to give of teachers who have come into
the faculty in the last five years. Of course some of these
are still in the faculty and may belong to the permanent list,
but many of them have already gone on to other fields. The
list IS as follows. Constantine D. Calogeris, Mathematics;
Belle M. Nixon, English; William E. Burns, Biology; Ruth
C. Walton, Home Economics; Ross L. Large, Social Science;
Noble P. Newsum, Social Science; J. Purdy Neel, History;
Earl A. Davis, Athletic Director; Grant McDonald, Piano;
Pauline Harper, Voice; Angela Buzard, Expression; Claude
E. Vick, Education; Alleen Wilson, Librarian; David W.
Shipp, English; Olive E. Patmore, Expression; Ernest R.
Crisp, Spanish and English; Zella V. Brown, English; Wesley
Charles Kettelkamp, History; J. Wendell Dunn, Physics,
Glen F. Filley, Athletic Director; John George Rogers,
Assistant Coach; Everett Jordan, Assistant Coach;
Mrs. Minnie Phillips, House Mother; Maeryta D. Poole,
^^^^^^^^^^^^^g^^S:g>
Voice; Mrs. Earl Davis, Voice; Edwin R. Spencer, Biology;
C. J. Bitner, Social Science; Lennie B. LaRue, French and
Spanish; Evelyn McNeely, English; Luella Mueller, Educa-
tion; Irvin R. Nelson, Assistant in History; Oliver C. Wahl,
Violin; Ada B. Carroll, Voice; Exean Woodard, English;
Sophia Parker, French and Spanish.
HOMECOMINGS
A prominent and enjoyable feature of the recent years
has been the annual homecoming which is generally held on
some Saturday in October. Many McKendreans of other
days assemble in the old chapel and recount the experiences
of olden days when they were young and the future looked
rosyhued to most of them. Then those who have only been
away a year or two and will be sure to find some of their
college chums still here, always enjoy coming back for a day.
All the younger ones and some of the old ones take pleasure
in watching the football game which always comes m the
afternoon. And after that, those who do not feel that their
obligations require them to hurry home at once, gather in
their respective society halls and have a reunion of society
fellowship and tell of the wonderful things that happened
there in the days long gone and, in the eyes of some, time
always adds luster to the achievements of the former days.
Some of the old McKendree men have long careers following
their college days. In the reunion of 1927 there were several
whose college days began in the sixties, as E. B. Waggoner,
W. F. Wilton, C. W. Bliss, and others. At the meeting of
1926, John D. Johnson, of St. Louis, was present and pre-
sented a receipt for tuition paid by him to the fiscal agent
of McKendree, dated September, 1856, showing without
question that he had been a student in the institution sev-
enty years before.
A McKENDREE RE-UNION
by W. A. Kelsoe
Permit me to make a report of a little reunion of McKen-
dreans in St. Louis last fall (1927). I had been down town
and upon returning, I noticed a man on the sidewalk near
the doorway whose face reminded me of an old college chum,
a roommate of mine in the late sixties, at McKendree, whose
name was Frank White. Yes, it was Frank, Mr. F. A. White,
now of Los Angeles, California. He had already made flying
visits to his old home towns in St. Clair County, Lebanon,
Belleville, and Millstadt; and expected to start back to Cal-
ifornia the next day. He wanted to meet some of his old
college friends in St. Louis, but might not be able to, as he
was in the hands of other friends and relatives, notably the
Wyllies, his wife having been a sister of John A. Wyllie, a
noted leader among McKendree students sixty and more
years ago, and later the head of the public schools of Leb-
anon, and the father of Dr. Barnett D. Wyllie, also a Mc-
Kendrean and now the medical head of the St. Louis Public
Schools.
Mr. White wanted to see his old friend, Louis Landau,
the wholesale grocer, and it was arranged that he should
make that visit immediately and come back to my office
(workshop) the next afternoon. Later I called Mr. Landau
on the phone and found that the two had spent a half hour
together talking over their McKendree days.
At the appointed hour next day White arrived at my
workshop and met there three other fellow students, friends
of sixty, or nearly sixty, years ago — Robert W. Gartside,
John C. McCoy, and William F. Ratcliff. I had twelve
roommates in all at McKendree, and only two are now liv-
ing. White and Gartside, and this was the only time I had
ever met them together since we were all three in college
together. One was a Plato, and the other a Philo, but I
loved them both at McKendree and have never ceased to
love them since. Gartside and I roomed together here in St.
Louis in 1875. He and White have prospered and they look
it. Both now have children and grandchildren. When they
roomed with me in Lebanon, our home was at the Julia
Wise boarding house, now occupied by the Eicher family.
Mrs. Wise's three children all attended the college and the
girls, Ella and Iva, married McKendreans, respectively,
Charles Cannady and George Luther Brown. Charley Wise,
the son, is now an Olney, 111. merchant. Mr. and Mrs.
Brown graduated in the same class in 1878.
White and Gartside had other roommates at McKendree.
White boarded with the Rankin family, the young ladies
of the house being Kate and Annie (Mrs. J. S. Peach), and
among White's roommates were Hon. J. Nick Perrin, who
married a Lebanon girl, Miss McCoy, and Henry Ferguson,
who married one of the founders of the Clionian Society —
Miss Robinson, I think it was — from Bond County. Gart-
side had Mark Brady and Jim Bozza for roommates. The
latter married Eva Lowery, the landlady's daughter, related
by marriage to Llewelyn Calhoun, of the class of '76. James
Primm White, Frank's brother, of Millstadt, was a McKen-
dree student in the years 1863-1865. Mr. McCoy, now at
the head of a prominent St. Louis jewelry store, never tires
telling of the good old days at McKendree when he roomed
at the famous "Buzzard's Roost," with Columbus Alonzo
Keller, later Judge Keller, of Mt. Vernon, Illinois, and San
Antonio, Texas. McCoy has had a wonderful career, be-
Four Hundred and Twenty-Eight
^:s^^^^^^ftM£i£NDREE
ginning down m Egypt, in Pope County, I believe. When
he was a McKendree student late in the sixties, his home
was at Godfrey, Illinois, which was also represented m Mc-
Kendree by E. B. Waggoner, later for many years a teacher
of Science in McKendree, and now in charge of the college
museum. Mr. McCoy is seventy-eight now, but the honor
of being the oldest member of our McKendree party fell to
Mr. Ratcliff, born at OIney, Illinois, September 5, 1847. He
was therefore nearly eight years older than the youngest,
Mr. Gartside, who was born in St. Louis, May 18, iS-fi.
Sixty years ago he lived at Alma, m St. Clair County. For
his roommate at McKendree, Mr. Ratcliff had the president's
son, Joe Allyn, of the class of 1870. Ratclitf was both student
and teacher, having charge of the gymnasium and all indoor
athletics. The president's family then occupied the old home
of Governor French, on Belleville Street. Probably no reunion
was ever more enjoyed than was ours that afternoon m a
celebration of our college days at McKendree
PUBLICITY METHODS
In his efforts to give the college abundant publicity, Pres-
ident Harmon travels thousands of miles every year, mostly
by auto — and usually the auto is a Ford — visiting high
schools, delivering commencement addresses, holding revival
meetings, speaking at Teachers Institutes, dedicating church-
es, speaking on special occasions, and interviewing personally
many hundreds of prospective students. There is a monthly
bulletin published by the college and sent out free to a wide
constituency, composed of Alumni, old students, friends,
and those whom the college wishes to become its friends.
The annual catalogue is one issue of this bulletin and it is
issued in a large edition and sent out each year to every
prospect whose name can be secured.
For some years a student who has had some experience
in newspaper work, has been employed to furnish college
news to many of the leading newspapers in the bounds of
the Conference and in St. Louis. Each year about a hundred
copies of the college annual, commonly known as "The Mc-
Kendrean," are sent out to the principal high schools in our
territory. During the summer vacation some special workers
are always employed to cover our patronizing territory. Dur-
ing the summer of 1923, a male quartette of college graduates,
who were former students in the Missouri Wesleyan, were
employed for this purpose. They were excellent singers, and
two of them readers. They travelled in a Ford and sang in
the churches, at picnics, and various kinds of public gather'
ings all over the conference.
The next summer .1 similar work was done by a McKen-
dree quartette, composed of Harold Brown, Kenneth Rippel,
Earl Hussong, and Lewis Peterson. This quartette gave
splendid entertainments. They were regularly employed for
two summers and did some work in a third. One summer
some McKendree lady entertainers took the field. This team
consisted of Miss Harper, who was the College Voice
Teacher; Helen Colwell, pianist and organist; Mildred
Adams, Vocalist; and Dorothy Harmon, Reader. One sum-
mer Paul Schuwerk, who had just been graduated from
McKendree, spent the entire vacation period travelling
around in a Ford and interviewing prospects. In the sum-
mer of 1927, a similar plan was followed, except that there
were five canvassers, one for each of the five districts in
the conference.
IMPROVEMENTS ABOUT THE COLLEGE
Many improvements have been made in the last five years.
We take space to mention a few of them. One is a second
addition to the gymnasium, adding a seating capacity of
about four hundred, to accommodate the crowds who wish
to see the basket ball games. Another is the enlargement of
the athletic field by the addition of an acre of ground on
the east, and the field was graded nearly to a level at a cost
of about $4,000, and a new track built with a "straightaway"
of two hundred and twenty yards. Also concrete bleachers
have been constructed of sufficient capacity to accommodate
the crowds that come to see the football games even on
"Homecoming" days. A new concrete walk has been built
on the campus, following the short cut of the busy people
to the new corner entrance to the campus, which has been
erected as a part of the Centennial observance.
A new heating furnace has been installed with greater
capacity than any that has ever been on the campus before,
and additional storage room for coal.
Another much needed improvement was made at the
Christmas vacation when new seats were installed in the
chapel. It is now seated with high grade opera chairs, which
were the gift of a comparatively recent McKendrean who
has been successful in business, but modestly refuses to
allow his name to be mentioned in connection with the
matter. The college museum which had attained respectable
proportions as an interesting collection some years ago, but
when the many changes in the buildings occurred about
1911, the space occupied by the museum was needed for
other purposes. It was therefore dispossessed and scattered
about in inconspicuous nooks and corners. Professor Wag-
goner has been appointed curator and is still engaged in
Four Hundred and Twentv-.Nn
[IMC KENDREE
the task of reassembling the scattered specimens, and arrang-
ing and classifying them in a room set apart for the purpose
in the library building.
Another feature of the Centennial year has been a series
of chapel lectures, held on the average once a week, usually
on Tuesday mornings. On that day the class schedule is so
modified as to allow an hour for chapel instead of the usual
twenty minutes. The list of speakers so far as we have them
at this writing is as follows: Warden Woelfle, of the Chester
Penitentiary ; Rev. W. H. Whitlock, District Superintendent;
Judge Albert Watson, of Mt. Vernon; Elder Jewell Howard,
of First Christian Church, St. Louis; Branch Rickey, Business
Manager of the Cardinals; Homer Rodeheaver, Billy Sunday's
singer; Dr. Whitchurch, of Garrett Biblical Institute; Miss
Doris Smith, Travelling Secretary of the Student Volunteer
Movement; Rev. H. G. Beck, Pastor First M. E. Church,
Mattoon; Rev. Merritt Souers, Pastor First Church, Alton;
President W. J. Davidson, Illinois Wesleyan University;
President E. E. Cutshall, of Iliff School of Theology; Rev.
Carl Fritz, pastor at Mascoutah ; President Elliott, of Purdue
University; Dr. N. P. Horn, of Epworth League Headquar-
ters, Chicago; Bishop Frederick D. Leete, Indianapolis; Mr.
George Elias, of Damascus, Syria; Ex-Senator Williams, of
St. Louis; Ex-Congressman William D. Upshaw, of Atlanta,
Georgia; Rev. Antonio Sartorio, of New York.
A list of the graduates during Dr. Harmon's presidency
up to the present time:
THE CLASS OF 192.3
Andrews, Raymond Dorlaque, A. B., Business Alton
Bower, Mabel, A. B. Chicago
Clements, Jesse Leonard, B. S., Educator Chebanse
Cralley, Lawrence William, A. B., Pastor Carlyle
Glenn, Juniata Violet, A. B., [Mrs. Chauncey Rockwelll
Chicago
Grantham, Winifred Ware, B. S., Educator Bradford
Hailing, Milton Edward, B S., Educator La MoiUe
Kean, Roy Newman, A. B., Pastor Staunton
Mabuce, John Oberlin, A. B., Pastor Addison, N. Y.
Mathis, Ernest Laverne, A. B., Boston, Mass.
Maxey, Benjamin Collins, B. S., Educator Chrisman
Shurtleff, Marie, B. S., fMrs. L. A. Cotter! Asheville, N. C.
Waggoner, Beatrice Cowan, A. B., fMrs. Bertarm JonesJ
Decatur
THE CLASS OF 1921
Britton, Ernest Raymond, B. S., Educator Mound City
Corlew, Cecil Otto, A. B., fMrs. Lester Albery}
Valparaiso, Ind.
Cralley, John William, B. S., Educator Carmi
Davis, Mrs. Lily Cotton, A. B., Educator Florida
Fain, Ruth Agnes, B. S., Business Lebanon
Grauel, George Warren, A. B., Educator Gillespie
Haase, George Karl Adolph, A. B., Pastor Central 111. Conf.
Harmon, Marion Irene, A. B., fMrs. PlaterJ Milwaukee,Wis.
Hendrix, Arthur Warren, A. B., Pastor Toledo
Hughes, Martha, A. B., fMrs. Ernest Britton} Mound City
Runkwitz, Erwin Herman, Jr., B. S., Educator Odin
Shipp, David Warner, A. B., Educator Seabright, N. J.
Spreckelmeyer, Orville Richard, A. B., Pastor Evanston
Tressler, Mary Agnes, A. B., Educator Creal Springs
Van Houten, Scranton Coit, B. S., Educator O'Fallon
Walton, Alice Hester, A. B., Educator Lebanon
Whitlock, Omer Floyd, A. B., Pastor Wood River
THE CLASS OF 1925
Akers, Milburn Peter, A. B., Editor Wood River
Calhoun, Harold Verne, A. B., Educator Belleville
Dunn, James Wendell, B. S., Educator Lebanon
Freeman, Lawrence E., B. S., Educator Anna
Frey, Sidney William, B. S., Educator Mound City
Harris, Frank Ellworth, A. B., Pastor Ashley
Hartline, Opal Cameron, B. S., Educator Norris City
Jessop, Delta Olive, A. B., Educator Madison
Karnes, Guy Otwell, B. S., Educator Faribault, Minn.
Mais, Henry George, A. B., Pastor Centerport, N. Y.
Newcom, James Royce, A. B., Educator Evansville, Ind.
Stelzriede, Frederick Carl, A. B., Pastor Equality
Van Ness, Fern, A. B., [Mrs. L. E. Freeman] Anna
Young, Helen, A. B. Pittsburgh, Pa.
Zimmerman, John Bahr, A. B., Educator Godfrey
THE CLASS OF 1926
Adair, Robert Carmon, A. B., Pastor St. Louis
Bailey, Walter Louis, A. B., Grad. Student Boston
Bergmann, Emma Katherine, B. S., Educator O'Fallon
Brown, Wendell Wilhite, B. S., Medical Student St. Louis
Carter, Raphael Verne, A. B., Educator Crossville
Crabbs, Barbara Leone, A. B., Educator Altamont
Darrow, George Green, A. B., Salesman O'Fallon
Dolley, Wilma Denbeaux, A. B., [Mrs. Robert Dolleyl
Jacksonville, Fla.
Harmon, Dorothy Elizabeth, A. B., Educator Belleville
Harris, St. Clair Madison, B. S., Fuller Brush Co. St. Louis
Hill, Percy James, B. S., Educator Staunton
HoUis, Roscoe Raymond, A. B., Educator Alpena, Mich.
Karnes, Christine Morris, B. S., Educator Oblong
Mowe, Wilburn Lewis, B. S., Chemist E. St. Louis
Four Hundred and Tlurtv
<^:^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^s^
Morgan, Thelma, A. B., Educator Freehurg
Mueller, Harry Edgar, B. S., Educator Salem
Rogers, John George, A. B., Educator Marengo, la.
Sawyer, William Thomas, A. B., Merchant Nashville
Schafer, Louis Arthur, A. B., Educator Mascoutah
Schuwerk, Paul Edward, A. B., Law Student Chicago
Smith, Mary Opal, A. B., Educator Brownstown
Waggoner, Kenneth, A. B., Educator Owensboro, Ky.
Wahl, Edmund David, A. B., Educator Summertield
Walker, James Wendell, A. B., Pastor Maple Park
Willis, Albert, B. S., Educator Flat Rock
Zimmerman, Mrs. Grace, Educator St. Elmo
THE CLASS OF 1927
Adair, Dorothy Dee, B. S., [Mrs. Robert Adair] St. Louis
Adams, Mildred Ann, A. B., Voice Student E. St. Louis
Brown, Harry Edwin, A. B., Pastor Windsor, N. J.
Brown, Harold Melroy, A. B., Educator Centralia
Brown, Wensel Langley, A. B., Grad. Student Urbana
Fleming, David Ross, A. B., Pastor Hindsboro
Gerlach, Daniel Stewart, A. B., Pastor Elsah
Grieve, Jesselyn Louise, A. B., Educator Creal Springs
Hall, John Crow, A. B., Educator
Hopper, William Edward, B. S., Educator
Horner, Ethel Eugenia, A. B., Educator
Hortin, Loren Jos-ph, A. B., Educator
Hoye, Alice Gertrude, A. B., Educator
Isom, John Malvern, A. B., Educator
Liu, Pinghon Chang, A. B., Student
Magill, Guy Nelson, B. S., Educator
Magill, Luther Mayo, A. B., Educator
McGeehon, Evelyn Elizabeth, A. B., fMrs. Julius Schalter]
O'Fallon
McKnight, Noble Wiles, A. B., Business Evanston
Peterson, Lewis Vincent, A. B., Grad. Student Urbana
Walker, Charles, A. B., Educator Bible Grove
THE SENIOR CLASS 1928
Baker, Lee Robert Lebanon
Bass, Ray Lebanon
Benner, Dale Allen Alton
Brennan, Clarence Rosso E. St. Louis
Brown, Frank Carl Lebanon
Correll, Verdie Beatrice Lebanon
Cralley, Elza M Mt. Olive
Crossley, Alfred O'Fallon
Lebanon
Walton ville
HiUsboro
Livingston
West Frankfort
Christopher
New York City
Kinmundy
Rosiclare
Douglas, Helen Alice Oblong
Glotfelty, Phihp Rutherford Granite City
Gould, Homer Clifton Lebanon
Gould, Paul Glenwood Freeburg
Grupe, Marvin McKendree Lebanon
Guandolo, Joseph Conway, Pa.
Hardy, Vernal Richard Ellis Grove
Haskin, Glenn Arthur Robinson
Henry, Ruth Olive Oblong
Hood, Tate Dougherty Portland, Ore.
Hortin, Paul Robley Albion
Hussong, Daniel Earl Roxana
Jack, Charles Kenneth Opdyke
Kinsey, Edna Lucille Altamont
Kirkbride, Marian Elizabeth Cairo
Kotelly, Sam Dhori Chautauqua, N. Y.
Kratzer, William Earnhardt Jamestown, Mo.
Lacquement, Delbert SuUms Sparta
Martin, Emery Herschel Sumner
Metcalf, Henry Leonard CaseyviUe
Metcalf, Mrs. Helen Colwell CaseyviUe
Miller, Earl William Lebanon
Mitchell, Lorin Olney
Morris, Lossie E O'Fallon
Mowe, Ronald John . . .Lebanon
Nelson, Irvin Raymond Williamsville, Mo.
Oxendine, Clifton Pates, N. C.
Peach, Robert Hershey ... Lebanon
Ragland, Fay Greenville
Ragland, May Greenville
Ragland, Viola Belle . Greenville
Richards, Mary Lovina . . Newton
Robinson, Margaret Jean Lebanon
Sigillito, Anthony St. Louis, Mo.
Sites, Lela Grace ... Salem
Smith, Eugene J E. St. Louis
Stout, John Henry Mascoutah
Stuart, James Granite City
Taylor, Golda Eugenia Lebanon
Teague, Margaret Alberta West Frankfort
Todd, Samuel Erie Rochester, Pa.
Wahl, Ohver Carl Edwardsville
Whitlock, Walter Peterson E. St. Louis
Wilson, Elza Dale Newton
Young, Vivian C Marissa
1828
[1928
MC KENDREE
HONORARY DEGREES
All the degrees indicated in this list were conferred by
McKendree except M. D., which is inserted to indicate the
holder's occupation. The date before the name is the year
the degree was conferred. A star after a name indicates
deceased.
1867
1867
1867
1839
1839
1840
1840
1841
1844
1845
1847
1847
1848
1848
1850
1850
1851
1851
1852
1852
1852
1853
1854
1854
1855
1855
1856
1856
1857
1857
1857
1858
1858
1858
1858
1859
1861
1863
1865
1865
1866
Rev. Peter Akers, D. D.*
Rev. William Dailey, A. M.*
Rev. William D. R. Trotter, A. 1
Rev. Lewis Dwight, A. M.*
Bishop Thomas A. Morris, D. D.*
Rev. John W. Merrill, D. D.*
Rev. Peter Cartwright, D. D.*
Rev. D. D. Lore, A. M.*
Rev. Wm. Nast, D. D.*
Rev. John Dempster, D. D.*
Gov. Augustus C. French, LL. D.'
Prof. John Johnson, LL. D.*
Rev. James Leaton, A. M.*
Rev. J. C. Berryman, A. M.*
Rev. Daniel P. Kidder, D. D.*
Rev. William C. Larrabee, LL. D.
Rev. W. W. Mitchell, A. M.*
D. M. Cooper, M. D., A. M.*
Rev. John Eul, A. M.*
Rev. Edward Cook, D. D.*
Prof. John Russell, A. M.*
Rev. James G. Blair, D. D.*
J. S. Harrison, M. D., A. M.*
Rev. James Porter, D. D.*
Rev. W. H. Sampson, A. M.*
Gov. William H. Bissell, LL. D.*
Rev. John Arrell, A. M.*
H. R. Smith, A. M.*
Hon. Jehu Baker, A. M.*
Rev. James B. Corrington, D. D.*
Rev. Thomas Williams, D. D.*
Rev. John Van Cleve, D. D.*
D. Y. Kilgore, a. M.*
Rev. H. p. Torsey, LL. D.*
A. C. Hillman, a. M.*
Rev. Chas. Adams, D. D.*
Rev. T. B. Taylor, A. M.*
Rev. O. W. Pollard, A. M.
Rev. Joseph Denison, D. D.*
Rev. Thomas F. Houts, A. M.*
1869
1869
1869
1870
1870
1870
1871
1871
1871
187 1
1871
1871
1872
1872
1873
1873
1873
1874
1875
1875
187";
1876
1876
1876
1877
1877
1877
1877
1877
1878
1879
1879
187Q
Rev. H. p. H. Bromwell. A. M.*
Rev. M. L. Scudder, A. M.*
Rev. J. P. D. John, A. M., Lecturer
Rev. Reuben Andrus, D. D.*
Rev. Henry E. Whipple, D. D.*
Rev. F. P. Cleveland, A. M.*
Rev. J. Wesley Johnsno, A. M.*
Thomas W. Eckert, M. D., A. M.*
Rev. John Luccock, D. D.*
Rev. William T. Lucky, D. D.*
Rev. Peter W. Blair, A. M.*
Hon. Jonathan Merriam, A. M.*
Rev. Edward M. West, A. M.*
Rev. Jairus J. Bentley, A. M.*
Hon. Allen W. Metcalf, A. M.*
Mary Julia Jewett, A. B.*
Rev. J. H. Cross, A. M.*
Rev. W. G. Campbell, A. M.*
Robert Kidd, A. M.*
Hon. Jesse Haile Moore, LL. D.*
Rev. M. Sorin, D. D.
Rev. Herman Koch, D. D.*
James L. Perryman, M. D., A. M.*
Rev. Nathan Shumate, D. D.*
Col. W. H. Heath, A. M.*
Rev. Cyrus E. Felton, D. D.*
Rev. S. a. W. Jewett, D. D.*
Geo. F. Center, M. S.*
Rev. James A. Robinson, D. D.*
Henry Z. Gill, M. D., A. M.*
John D. Johnson, A. M.
Rev. C. a. Vananda, D. D.*
Rev. Nathan Scarritt, D. D.*
Prof. James H. Brownlee, A. M.
Geo. F. Center, M. D., A. M.
F. H. PiEPER, LL. B.
Rev. E. M. Boring, D. D.*
Rev. William L. Hypes, D. D.*
Rev. Robert Allyn, LL. D.*
Rev. Jasper A. Smith, A. M.
Rev. W. F. Cowles, D. D.
Rev. Ross C. Houghton, D. D.*
Bishop John M. Walden, LL. D.*
Capt. Thomas L Spencer, A. M.
Prof. J. D. Dow, Ph. D.
Prof. J. J. Brown, LL. D.
Rev. Geo. W. Miller. A. M.
MC KENDREE
1880
1881
1 88 1
1 88 1
1 88 1
1882
1882
1882
1882
1882
1884
1884
1884
1885
L887
1887
1887
1889
1892
1892
1893
1894
1894
1894
Prof. Robert F. H. Weyher, A. M.
James Madison Gore Carter, M. D., A M.
George Jasper George, A. M.
Prof. Thomas Rees Vickroy, Ph. D.
Rev. George W. Hughey, D. D.*
Hon. Henry A. Castle, A. M.*
Rev. Thomas E. Robinson, A. M
Victor E. Phillips, M. S.
Rev. Robert Newton Davis, D. D.
Hon. Jehu Baker, LL. D.*
Prof. David S. Elliott, A. M.*
Prof. Granville F. Foster, A. M.
Rev. Daniel W. Phillips, D. D.*
Rev. Thomas A. Parker, D D.*
Hon. Henry Seiter, A. M.
Rev. O. H. Clark, D. D.*
Rev. a. H. Tevis, D. D.*
General Wesley Merritt, LL. D.*
Gov. Richard J. Oglesby, LL. D.*
Rev. Richard T. Tracy, A. M.
Prof. John F. Arnold, A. M.*
Hon. James Neville, A. M.
Prof. E. M. Wollank, A. M.
James Madison Gore Carter, M. D., Ph. D.
Rev. J. I. Buel, D. D.*
Rev. James L. Wallar, D. D.*
Rev. Thomas A. Eaton, D. D.*
Rev. Benjamin R. Pierce, D. D.*
Rev. Thomas H. Herdman, D. D.*
Rev. Thomas C. Watkins, D. D.*
Rev. G. R. Van Horn, D. D.
John H. Mitchell, M. D., A. M.
William W. Edwards, LL. B.
Rev. Alfred Noon, Ph. D.
Prof. Robert Pence, A. M.
Rev. John D. Gillham, D. D.*
Morris St. P. Thomas, A. M.
Rev. Edward H. Parkinson, D. D.*
Gen. John L Rinaker, LL. D.*
Rev. W. J. Martindale, D. D.*
Rev. Callaway Nash, D. D.*
Rev. Francis M. Van Treese, D. D.*
Rev. William C. Babcock, A. B.
Prof. George D. Buchanan, A. M.
Rev. John Leeper, D. D.*
Rev. Joshua S. Akers, D. D.*
Rev. W. F. Shedd, D. D.
Rev. Leonidas W. Thrall, D. D.*
Gen. James H. Wilson, LL. D.*
Judge William C. Jones, LL. D.*
Judge Leo Rassieur, LL. D.*
Hon. Charles P. Johnson, LL. D.*
Colonel Risdon M. Moore, Ph. D.*
Judge Thomas Berry Wall, A. M.*
Rev. William Morrow, A. M.*
Rev. Asher R. Cronce, D. Mus.
Rev. James F. Corrington, D. D.*
Joseph B. McCullagh, LL. D.*
Hon. Annis Merrill, LL. D.*
Hon. John R. Thomas, LL. D.*
Young H. Bond, M. D., A. M.*
Rev. James W. Caldwell, A. M.
Rev. Allison F. Clark, A. M.
Prof. Martha C. Weaver, A. M.
Rev. William McKendree McElfresh, D. D.
Hon. William McKinley, LL. D.*
Hon. William Jennings Bryan, LL. D.*
Prof. Daniel B. Parkinson, Ph. D.*
Frank Lyman Marshall, D. Mus.*
Rev. William Wirt King, D. D.
Hon. Ethelbert Callahan, LL. D.*
Rev. Leon Harrison, Ph. D.
Hon. W. F. L. Hadley, A. M.*
Eugene L. Wagoner, M. D., A. M.*
Rev. James G. Dee, A. M.
Rev. Lemuel Cramp, A. M.
Rev. James S. Bitler, D. D.
Hon. William R. Morrison, LL. D.*
Rev. John W. Flint, D. D.*
Rev. William Wallis, D. D.*
Rev. John F. Harmon, D. D.
Rev. Joseph W. Van Cleve, D. D.*
Hon. W. a. J. Sparks, LL. D.*
Judge William Stoker, LL. D.*
Hon. William B. Choisser, A. M.*
Rev. Charles A. Crane, D. D.*
William Vincent Byars, A. M.
Rev. Jotham A. Scarritt, D. D.*
Charles Walter Brown, A. M.
Thekla Bernays, a. M.
David D. Thompson, LL. D.*
General Peter Joseph Osterhaus, LL. D.*
Hon. Charles S. Deneen, LL. D.
Prof. Samuel W. Williams, LL. D.*
Four Hundred and Tfiinv-Thn
ftMC KENDREE ^^^^^:^:^:^-..^.>.^^
1905 Johnson Pierson, LL. D.*
1905 Rev. Frank W. Loy, D. D.
1905 Rev. William H. Pierce, D. D.
1906 Judge Elbert Henry Gary, LL. D.*
1907 Pres. Edmund J. James, LL. D.*
1907 Rev. Charles J. Steuckemann, D. D.
1908 Henry E. Chapin, Sc. D.
1908 Gilbert Preston Randle, M. S.
1908 Dean Oliver Albert Harker, LL. D.
1908 Rev. Charles A. Beckett, D. D.*
1908 Rev. Theodore Copeland, D. D.
1910 Rev. Nathaniel Crow, D. D.*
1911 Rev. Charles D. Shumard, D. D.
1912 Rev. Claude Caleb Hall, D. D.
19x2 Rev. Frederick Henry Knight, D. D.
1914 Judge James A. Creighton, LL. D.*
igif Rev. James G. Tucker, D. D.
1916 Rev. Cameron Harmon, D. D.
1917 Bishop William A. Quayle, L. H. D."*
1925 Rev. G. R. Goodman, D. D.
1923, Rev. Charles L. Peterson, D. D.
1924 Rev. Ressho Robertson, D. D.
1924 Rev. Frank O. Wilson, D. D.
1927 Rev. Cameron Harmon, LL. D.
Four Hundred and ThntyF
BOOK III
A
Brief History
of
St. Clair
County
By
W. C. Walton, Ph. D.
Preface
vn.
'dny readers pass over a preface with but a cursory glance,
yet It frequently contains important information. This one is inserted
for the purpose of explaining certain matters concerning the histor-
ical record contained in the hoo}{. One important point is the greatly
reduced content of the history of the county. After the wor}{ was well
along and a prospectus had been published, indicating many inter-
esting things that were to be included in it, the committee in charge
of the business management of the Centennial History, for good and
sufficient reasons, changed the plan of the boo}{and reduced the space
allowed for St. Clair County to less than half of what was originally
intended. This necessitated the omission of many pages of subject
matter which we believe would have been of interest to ynany readers.
The early history of the county, which is almost identical with the
early history of the state of Illinois, is presented with some degree of
thoroughness, but the later records had to be so much abbreviated
that there was not space even to mention some of the smaller towns
and villages which St. Clair County contains, though it is a matter
of regret that any of them should be omitted. The writer does not
claim any originality in presenting this brief story, for he has made
free use of all the records available which have been left by previous
historians.
We here record our gratitude to those ivho have so \indly assisted
us in gathering material. We have endeavored to be accurate in the
statement of facts, but sometimes authorities were in conflict and
we were compelled to choose between them. We therefore bespeak^ the
\indly judgment of the critical reader of history.
W. C. Walton
A Brief History
of
St. Clair County
CHAPTER I,
Under French Rule
ST. Clair County was the first organized, and there-
fore IS the oldest county m the state of Illinois. It was
named for General St. Clair, who was the governor
of the Northwest Territory under President Washington and
came to Illinois under his instruction to effect certain changes
in the territorial government. The early history of St. Clair
County is largely that of the State of Illinois. According to
the assertions of early explorers who made extravagant claims
in behalf of the countries they represented, Illinois once be-
longed to Florida, and at another time to Virginia. It was
first explored chiefly by the French Jesuit missionaries, and
was under French rule until the close of the French and
Indian War. It was under British rule from that time till the
Revolutionary War. After the establishment of American
independence, it became part of the Northwest Territory.
When the territory of Indiana was organized in 1800, it was
under control of that government until the Illinois Territory
was organized in 1809, the year of the birth of Abraham
Lincoln, who afterward had such a large part in the history
of the Prairie State. St. Clair County as an organization was
already more than a quarter of a century old when Illinois
became a state in 18 18. The early exploration and settlement
of the Illinois country is a romantic story, bound up with
missionary enterprise in which the explorers considered them-
selves real apostles carrying the gospel message to benighted
heathens in the western wilderness. In relating the outlines
of this interesting story we make no claim of originality but
will merely follow the footsteps of those who have gone be-
fore and told the story more fully than we have space to tell
It here. From the abundance of records of this early period
we take only such portions as we judge to be most interesting
to the modern reader, and which seem to make the best intro-
duction for the story of the later achievements of the men and
women who have lived and wrought as citizens of St. Clair
County. We acknowledge our indebtedness to many histor-
ians of Illinois, and without mentioning all of them it is only
fair to say that we have received special help from Governor
Reynolds' "Pioneer History of Illinois," as well as from later
writers, such as Mather, Perrin, and others.
In June, 1673, Fathers Marquette and Joliet started on
their canoe voyage down the Mississippi River, during which
they passed along the whole western border of the Illinois
country and made landings at various points. In commem-
oration of some of these first contacts of white men with
Illinois territory, an annual pageant is held at a suitable point
in Calhoun County along the Mississippi River, under the
direction of Mr. J. Nick Perrin, whose work in the field of
Illinois history deserves the gratitude of all her citizens. These
Jesuit missionaries went as tar south as Arkansas and from
there they retraced their steps, returning to Green Bay in
September, having seen vast reaches of new country and hav-
ing become aware that numerous tribes of Indians, numbering
thousands, inhabited these wild regions and furnished a large,
tho difficult field for Christian missionary work. Among other
explorers of Illinois whose names should be mentioned here
are La Salle, whose name has been commemorated by both a
county and a city in our state, as well as a prominent street in
Chicago; and Tonti, after whom a village in Marion County
has been named. La Salle's explorations include not only the
Great Lakes region, but south as far as the Gulf of Mexico.
He reached the mouth of the Mississippi in 1682, and having
erected there a column, he decorated it with the Arms of
France and placed on it the following inscription: "Louis
le Grand, Roi de France et de J^lavarre, Regne; le T^jiivieme,
Four Hundred and ThntyS:
April, 1682." Thus France lay claim to the Missis-
sippi Valley, which has been characterized as "The
fairest portion of the globe, an empire in extent,"
stretching from the lakes to the gulf, and from the sources of
the Ohio to where the head waters of the Missouri are lost
in the wild solitudes of the Rocky Mountains. La Salle be-
stowed upon this vast indefinite region the name "Louisiana,"
in honor of Louis XIV, King of France. In 1680, he built a
fort on the Illinois River, not far from the present site of
Peoria and called it Creveceur. Two years later he fortified
the rocky promontory on the Illinois River, later known as
"Starved Rock," and called it Fort St. Louis. He did not
establish any permanent settlements in the country but they
would not have been possible without his work. The settle-
ments were made later by those for whom he opened the way
into the wilderness. He was a man born to command, where
he could wield despotic authority, but he did not possess the
faculty of winning the love or confidence of his followers. He
never was popular with the men under his command, and
finally he was shot from an ambush by some of his own men
when he was still in the prime of his strength, only forty-
three years old. His murderers were not punished, but they
themselves were killed soon afterward in a quarrel with other
members of the expedition. As early as 1675, Father Mar-
quette carried out his purpose to establish a mission to the
Illinois Indians. The pious priest went to the chief town of
the tribe, located on the river which bears their name. This
was near the present site of the town of Utica, in La Salle
County. The priest called it Kaskaskia, a name that was after-
ward transferred to the southern part of the state and given
to the town which became its first capital. He showed the
Indians the pictures of the Virgin Mary, established an altar,
and said mass. He was received by them as a celestial visitor,
and there was great sadness among his savage friends when
on account of failing health the old priest felt that he must
leave them and return to Green Bay. However he did not live
to reach the comparative comfort of the mission station at
Green Bay, but perished on the way, tho cared for by his
companions to the best of their ability. He did not regret his
fate but felt that he had given his life to the cause of the
Gospel in heathen lands, and had made an honest effort to
carry out "The Great Commission." Other Jesuit priests
took his place with the Indians. Toward the close of the
century, probably about 1690, the Illinois Indians, on ac-
count of the attacks of the warlike Iroquois Indians, were
compelled to abandon their village and move south-
ward. The mission, under the charge of the Jesuit Fathers,
was moved with them. The new location was a beautiful
valley about six miles in width at the confluence of the Miss-
issippi and Kaskaskia Rivers. Between these two rivers, but
SIX miles above their junction, was the site chosen for the new
village. Row after row of Indian lodges soon covered the
plain. A log chapel and a house for the priests were built and
inclosed in a neat stockade. French settlers came in and with
the help of the Indians the land adjoining the mission was
cultivated. About the same time Father Pinet established a
mission along the Tamaroa Indians at Cahokia, about four
Cahokia in 181S
miles south of the present city of East St. Louis. French set-
tlers also came to this village. Houses were erected and each
settler was given a piece of land three hundred feet square.
Cahokia became a village of importance and in 1795 was made
the county seat of St. Clair County. Many French immi-
grants were attracted from Canada to the Illinois country
and these two new towns, by reports of mild climate and
fertile soil. After New Orleans and other French colonies
were planted in Louisiana, numbers of settlers came to Kas-
kaskia and Cahokia by the less laborious route of the Miss-
issippi River. Among the French settlers whose names have
been found in the old records at Kaskaskia are the names,
Bazyl La Chapelle, Michael Derouse, Jean Baptiste Beauvais,
Baptiste Montreal, Boucher de Montbrun, Charles Danie,
Francois Charlesville, Antoine Bienvenu, Louis Bruyat, Jos-
eph Paget, Langlois De Lisle, and many others whose names
identify their nationality. Before many years had passed, a
regular trade was established between "Upper and Lower
Louisiana." Cargoes of flour, tallow, bacon, hides and leather
were floated down the river to New Orleans where they were
shipped to the West Indies or to France. The boatmen brought
back sugar, rice, indigo, and other articles manufactured in
Europe. By the middle of the eighteenth century, several
thousand Frenchmen and their descendants were living on
the banks of the Mississippi and its tributaries. Kaskaskia
Four Hundred and Thirty-Eight
MC KENDREE
weis then the "metropolis of Northern Louisiana." Mather's
History of lUinois represents the houses as quaint in appear'
ance and of pecuHar construction. In some cases the walls
were formed by planting deep in the ground, framework of
posts held together by cross strips. The whole was strongly
braced at the corners. This framework was then filled in with
straw and mortar. The walls were then given many coats of
white wash, both inside and out. The roof was thatched and
quite steep. The floors were of slabs hewn from logs. These
dwellings gave the village an air of peace, comfort and con-
tentment, in keeping with the simple lives of the people.
Longfellow describes such a town in Evangeline :
'"Strongly huilt were their houses, with frames of od}{ and of
heynloc\. Such as the peasants of J<lormandy built m the reign
of the Henrys. Thatched were the roofs, with dormer windows,
while gables, projecting over the basement beloiv, protected and
shaded the doorway.''
Mather describes the dress of these people as simple and
quaint. "Coarse blue shirts were covered with vests and
pantaloons of homespun. A long blue coat with pointed hood
was a common outdoor garment. Upon hunting expeditions
and in winter, coon skin caps and deer skin trousers were
worn. The dress of the women was of blue cotton or Span-
ish cloth, made with a short waist and full skirt. A blue hand'
kerchief was a common head covering for both sexes. Both
men and women wore buckskin moccasins, decorated with
sheels and beads." Their agricultural activities were quite
primitive. Their plows had wooden mold boards and were
drawn by oxen. They raised tobacco, hops, oats and wheat.
Also they raised corn to feed their stock or to make hominy,
but the French did not eat corn bread. Neither do they today,
and that is why we had certain "wheatless days" during the
World War, in order that the French might have wheat
bread. They did not have spinning wheels or looms as did
the English who came later. They made butter by beating
the cream with a spoon or shaking it in a bottle. Their homely
tasks occupied much of their time, but the monotony of life
was relieved at times by amusements, holidays, and festivals.
These French were by nature a merry people. Both young
and middk'aged enjoyed dancing, while the old men and
priests looked on with approval. Even the Indians and slaves
joined in this simple revelry. As agriculture was the chief
occupation of the settlers, some of the young men entered
the employ of the fur companies, or on their own account
went on long trading expeditions among the Indians who
dwelt on the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. Others found
employment in running the flat boats which carried the furs
and farm products down the river to New Orleans. The voy
age usually required months and was attended by many dan'
gers. Returning upstream the oarsmen were assisted by large
sails. When the wind failed, they sometimes walked on the
shore and pulled the barge slowly and with great difficulty,
so that the upstream voyage was one of exceeding toil. The
relations of these French settlers with the Indians by whom
they were surrounded was usually friendly. Thus by tact
and fair dealing, they escaped the wars and massacres which
frequently harassed the settlers on the Atlantic coast. For
nearly a century in this Illinois country the white man and
the red man, native owner of the soil, dwelt together in peace
and confidence with but little civil government <ind no courts
of law. All differences were settled by the leaders of the
church. The French seemed to have a genius for friendly
dealing with the Indian tribes that was not possessed by the
English. In the French and Indian War, the French and the
Indians were lined up as allies on one side against the English
on the other. The following incident from Reynolds' Pioneer
History illustrates the relations existing between the French
and the Indians of the Illinois country. "For a murder that
had been committed m a broil, three young Indians were
given up by the Illinois chiefs to the newly constituted aU'
thority for punishment. The sympathy of the Kaskaskia peo'
pie, especially the women, was with the Indians, and they
desired that they should be received into the true church and
publicly baptised before their execution. Accordingly each
of the young Indians was adopted by a French woman who
gave him a Christian name and was to stand as his godmother
during the ceremony of baptism. The entire female popula'
tion of the town was engaged for a number of days in prep'
aration for the occasion. Needles were plied incessantly and
finally the preparations were completed. The evening before
the execution was to take place, the Indians escaped, as some
believed, thru the assistance of their fair sympathizers. When
the danger blew over, the young Indians returned and were
permitted to remain unmolested."
The population of Kaskaskia continued to increase
and in 1725 it became an incorporated town and was
granted special privileges by Louis XV, King of France.
Cahokia never became as large a town as Kaskaskia.
It was settled by whites about as early, and like the
other town, it was first an Indian mission, and afterward
French settlers came in and in a few years it was a thriving
village. It carried on more commerce with the north, and
Kaskaskia more with the south. Being wholly a French town,
its growth and prosperity were somewhat checked by the
Four Hundred and ThrtyH
results of the French and Indian War, which caused the
French territory to pass to the control of the English. In a
work entitled "The State of the European Settlements on
the Mississippi," published in London in 1770, the following
description is given of Cahokia at the beginning of the Revo-
lutionary War: "The village of Cahokia is generally reckoned
fifteen leagues from Fort Chartres and six below the mouth
of the Missouri River. It stands near the side of the Miss-
issippi and is marked from the river by an island two leagues
long. The village is opposite the center of this island." This
town, unlike its old neighbor, is still in existence and lies
within the present boundaries of St. Clair County. The name
is also borne by a creek which empties into the Mississippi
River at East St. Louis; and also by the largest of the mounds
left by the Mound Builders. These mounds, many of which
are in St. Clair County, are the evidence of the civilization
of the people who occupied this country just prior to the
Indians. Two distinct races are said to have inhabited the
Western Hemisphere before the Indians. The earlier was the
more civilized. The ruins of extensive palaces and spacious
temples in Mexico and Central America are sufficient proof
that they lived in magnificent and populous cities. The sec-
ond was the Mound Builders, an ingenious and peaceful, tho
less civilized race of people who left their mounds in various
parts of the United States, but no larger group anywhere
than in St. Clair County. The Indians were still less civilized,
and following a law of nature, have given place to a more
intelligent people who are making better use of the abundant
natural resources of this great country. The Indians who
occupied this part of the Mississippi Valley belonged to the
Algonquin branch of the great Indian family. The Illinois
Indians were a confederacy of five tribes, the Tamaroas,
Michiganies, Kaskaskias, Cahokias, and Peorias. In 1675,
these tribes lived chiefly in the country of the Illinois River.
A little later the warlike Iroquois burned their principal town
and the tribes were driven down the Illinois to the Missis-
sippi. The Cahokia and Tamaroa tribes united and had their
village at Cahokia. The Michiganies chose a location near
Fort Chartres. The efforts of the Jesuits to convert these
tribes to Christianity led to the establishment of the French
villages of Kaskaskia and Cahokia. The Tamaroas at one time
had a town at Turkey Hill, which also is in St. Clair County,
but were nearly exterminated in a terrific battle with the
Shawnees near the eastern limits of what is now Randolph
County. At the time of the earliest French settlements, the
Illinois Indians numbered about twelve thousand. In revenge
for the death of the Chief Pontiac, who was killed by ,in
Illinois Indian at Ciihokia in 176'i, the Illinois Indians were
almost exterminated by the Sacs, Foxes, and Pottawatamies.
In the year i8oo they could muster only one hundred and
fifty warriers. Their chief was a half breed named Du Quoin
who wore a medal that had been presented to him by George
Washington. Soon after i8oo Da Quoin and his tribes emi-
grated to the south-west. In 1850 the last remnant of the
once populous tribes which composed the Illinois Indians
were in the Indian Territory and numbered in all eighty-
four persons.
The story of the French period would not be complete
without some account of Fort Chartres, which was the mil-
itary stronghold of the Mississippi Valley at that time, and
was erected on a scale of magnificence unequalled by any
other in the new world at that time. It was erected under
the supervision of the young Pierre Duque Boisbriant, who
came to Kaskaskia in 1718, just a century before Illinois be-
came a state. A site was chosen about twenty miles above
Kaskaskia and a mile from the river. Here the soldiers of
France cleared the virgin forest, hewed out timber for the
walls, and with much toil brought the stone for the founda-
tion from the bluffs four miles away. After two years of labor
and at a cost of one million crowns, the fort was completed
and named in honor of the Due de Chartres, son of the regent
of France. It immediately became the seat of French military
power, and under its protection the village of New Chartres
sprang into life. Some time later Philip Renault, secretary of
the French Trading Company, came to the fort bringing with
him mechanics, slaves, settlers, and miners, for the French
expected to find precious ore in the bluffs that Uned the Miss-
issippi River. The valley lands between Kaskaskia and Ca-
hokia were cleared and planted to farm crops; and the French
villages of St. Phillippe and Prairie du Rocher were founded
and grew into thriving settlements. Renault's name was per-
petuated in the village named for him, which is now one of
the towns of Monroe County, situated on the bluffs not far
from Fort Chartres. According to Mather's account, the peo-
ple of the fort and villages led a merry life. Gay hunting par-
ties issued from the gates of the fort and returned at night
hiden with the spoils of the chase. Roman Catholic worship
was popular and lordly processions of dignified gentlemen
and richly dressed ladies marched into the chapel to hear
m.iss. Stately receptions were given where officers in uni-
forms covered with gold lace danced with ladies robed in
velvet and siitin. The fashions of Paris were reproduced in
this military station on the distant Mississippi. The fame of
Fort Chartres spread to every settlement in the new world.
Four Hundred and Forty
^i^^^^^^^^^^^^^^s^
It became a common saying of the early day, "All roads lead
to Fort Chartres." When France and Spain were at war m
Europe, an attack upon the fort was planned by the Spaniards
ot distant Santa Fe. The soldiers of Spain marched across the
mountains of Colorado and the plains of Kansas, but in Mis-
souri they were betrayed and murdered by the Indians who
were friendly to the French. In 1750 a new commander, the
Chevalier Makarty, was sent to Fort Chartres with orders
to reconstruct the fort of stone. Accordingly the wooden
walls were torn down and at an incredible expenditure of
labor and treasure the new fort was erected. When completed
It was the strongest and most pretentious fortress m the new
world. We can hardly realize the difficulties attending the
building of so great a structure in the heart of the western
wilderness. The iron that entered into its structure and the
skilled workmen had to he brought from the old world.
Wagon roads were built, over which rude oxcarts hauled
stones prepared at distant quarries. The walls of the fort
were eighteen feet high and inclosed four acres of land. The
four bastions of masonry each contained eight embrasures,
forty-eight loopholes and a sentry box. Above the arched
gateway, fifteen feet in height, was a platform of cut-stone
reached by a stairway of nineteen stone steps. Withm the
walls stood the great stone house, ninety feet long by thirty
feet wide, and a guard house, with chapel and rooms for
the priests on the second floor. The government house was
eighty-tour by thirty-two feet, with a great stone porch run-
ning across the front, and the coach house and pigeon loft
near by. The two rows of barracks measure each one hundred
and thirty-five feet long by thirty -six in breadth. In one angle
of the fort was situated a bake house and a well near by.
Apart from the other buildings was located the magazine, a
building of stone thirty feet square and thirteen feet high,
the roof ,ind door also being made of stone. In after years
when the fort was in ruins, it furnished material for the
walls and chimneys of many farm houses m the vicinity.
Under the brave commandant, Makarty, the soldiers of Fort
Chartres issued forth to fight the battles of France and actu-
ally fought on many battlefields in the French and Indian
War. To the soldiers of Fort Chartres, Washington surren-
dered at Fort Necessity, and they were present at the over-
throw of General Braddock. When Canada was won for the
English by General Wolfe, m the famous battle beneath the
walls of old Quebec, it was thought that the territory con-
trolled by Fort Chartres might be retained by the French.
But by the treaty of 1763,, all the French territory of the
new world, east of the Mississippi River, was ceded to Eng-
land. By a secret treaty about the same time, the territory
west of the Mississippi was given to Spam. The French com-
mander kept possession of the fort till the arrival of the Eng-
lish, and then in October, 1765, he formally delivered it to
the new commander, Captain Thomas Stirling. The French
soldiers and even some of the Indians wept as they saw the
"Lilies of France" hauled down and the "Cross of St. George"
flung to the breeze instead. The little garrison, believing that
they would there be upon French soil, withdrew to St. Louis.
Some of the French inhabitants, unwilling to dwell in a coun-
try ruled by men of a different race and creed, whom they
had been taught to hate for generations, sold their possessions
and left the country. Others withdrew to the settlements of
St. Genevieve and St. Louis on the other side of the Miss-
issippi Still others went down the river to Natche:, Baton
Rouge, or New Orleans.
Kaskaskia in 1818
I
CHAPTER II.
Under British Rule
BROM October, 1765, Fort Churtres was an English
stronghold instead of a French one. The English did
not acquire it by conquest on the premises, but by
conquests elsewhere. The victories that gave them Fort Char-
tres were won, some of them, on the other side of the ocean.
The colonies of France and England in the new world had
merely taken up a quarrel that started in the old, and fought
for their respective mother countries. The French had always
succeeded better in getting along with the Indians, so they
utilized them as allies to a considerable extent. The British
called it the French and Indian War because it was waged
against the French and Indians. In the period of colonization
of the new world, England had acquired control, by right of
discovery and settlement, purchase, or other means, of the
colonies along the middle and southern Atlantic coast, leav-
ing to the French only those on the far north. But while
England was becoming estabHshed east of the Alleghenies,
the French slipped around behind them, so to speak, coming
down from Canada, and took possession of that great fertile
region, the Mississippi Valley. This the English never really
conquered, but by the treaty of Fontainebleau the French
possessions in America, at least all east of the Mississippi
River, were ceded to England. Illinois was so remote and
insignificant in the eyes of the English that they were slow
to take actual possession. The treaty ceding New France to
England was signed Feb. 10, 1763, but it was not till October,
1765, that Captain Stirling, with a small force of Royal High-
landers, came to take actual possession of Fort Chartres,
which represented the seat of government so far as there
was one in the Illinois country.
The French commander, M. St. Ange, promptly surren-
dered the fort to its new master and retired to St. Louis. It
is stated that all the population of Illinois before the cession
did not exceed three thousand and it is estimated that at
least one third of these left the country on account of the
change in government. The mission of St. Sulspice had a
plantation at Prairie Dupont, near Cahokia, together with
a saw mill and grist mill for grinding corn. They sold out to
a Frenchman, M. Gerardine, who remained under the British
government, while the people of the mission returned to
France. Capt. Stirling brought with him the proclamation
of Gen. Gage, who was Commander-in-chief of all the British
forces in North America. It was dated at New York, Dec.
JO, 1764, and was a kind of constitution for the government
of Ilhnois. It granted the right of worship to Catholics and
many other salutary regulations. Capt. Stirling died a short
time after he came to Illinois and was succeeded by Major
Frazier, and he by Colonel Reed, who was notorious for his
military oppressions. In September, 1768, Colonel Reed ar-
rived at Kaskaskia with authority from General Gage and
took charge of the government. He established a Court of
Justice and appointed seven judges, and arranged that courts
should be held once a month. This was the first court of
common law established in the Mississippi Valley. In 176s
the Indian Chief Pontiac was assassinated at Cahokia by an
Illinois Indian who was supposed to have been hired by the
English, who saw that the powerful influence of the great
Indian leader was in the way of British progress. Pontiac was
a chief of the Ottawas and probably the greatest Indian
leader and organizer who ever lived in North America. It
IS not strange that a modern motor car company should
name their car the Pontiac if they believed in its superiority.
Pontiac was born and reared near Detroit. It is said that he
had some French blood in his veins and was imbued with
deadly hostility to the English. He declared before the Great
Spirit, the Master of Life, eternal enmity against the English,
as Hannibal of old did against the Romans. Both he and
Hannibal were fighting in a most holy cause, the defense of
their country; but in each case it proved to be a lost cause
and the country was wrested from a helpless people by a
merciless enemy. After the French had ceded the country
to the English and they were making preparations to occupy
It with military force from the Alleghenies to the Mississippi,
Pontiac saw at once that the Indians must either defend their
country or lose it entirely. He saw that the methods of the
English in colonizing the country was different from those
of the French. The British drove the Indians out of their
homes and hunting grounds, while the French merely shared
them with the natives and lived in peace with them. His
soul, like that of Patrick Henry, was fired with true patriot-
ism and he conceived the idea of uniting all the Indian tribes
in the whole country, at least east of the Mississippi, into
one great league, an Indian "League of Nations" for the de-
fense of their common country against the encroachments of
the English. It was not an idle dream but the most effective
combination of the Indian people ever made upon the con-
tinent. It seems wonderful how it could have been carried
out to the extent that it was, without the means of rapid
Four Hu.idreJ d,iJ F,
^^^^^^^^^S:£>
communicition which the organizers of today have at their
command. Pontiac was a master spirit among the Indians.
He had military experience at Fort Duquense, in Braddock's
defeat, and other occasions during the French and Indian
War. He visited all the different tribes in the vast territory
concerned, reconciled all the old feuds that existed between
the tribes, for the sake of their common interest, and told
them what he believed was his message of inspiration from
the Great Spirit, who had appeared in a dream and said,
"Why do you allow these dogs in red coats to enter your coun-
try and take the lands I have given to you? Drive them out, and
when you are in trouble I will help you."" This Indian Bona-
parte was well-acquainted with the country and with the
Indian character. He had acquired and well deserved the
name of "Emperor" among the Indian nations. He knew the
leading warriors of the various tribes, and by the sheer force
of his genius and personality without educational training,
and without even writing, had organized these widely scat-
tered savages into a wonderfully effective machine of destruc-
tion to the English. He knew the situation at each of the
English forts and devised the plan of attack accordingly, and
in some cases he even appointed the individuals who were
to lead in carrying out the plan. The general plan was for
the Indians to rise and take all the English forts on the same
day, some by open attack and others by stratagem. And this
was kept a profound secret except in one instance where a
squaw divulged it. Just another case of where a woman
could not keep a secret. There were sixteen forts m the whole
British territory, all of which were slated for destruction
except Niagara, which the Indians considered too strong for
their means of attack. All these forts fell according to the
plan of Pontiac except three. It is likely that many of the
tribes did not learn of Pontiac's death until after the day
appointed for the attack. The degree of success attained by
this enterprise under the difficult circumstances involved,
would seem to entitle Pontiac to a high place in the temple
of fame. If he had a Homer to sing his praises for his war-like
achievements, his name would be transmitted to posterity
with as much honor and glory as any of the heroes of the
Trojan War. The Greeks fought to conquer, but Pontiac
fought to defend his country. The English feared Napoleon,
so they sent him to St. Helena. They feared Pontiac, and
they had him shot, by bribing a savage to murder him in
the streets of Cahokia.
Thus fell one of nature's noblemen. His bones now rest
near the old deserted village. The Northern Indians held
him in the highest estimation. They knew their loss was ir-
reparable. His murder so enraged them that they almost ex-
terminated the whole tribe of Illinois Indians, because it was
one of their number who did the deed, and thus robbed them
of their friend and protector, the Great Pontiac
An English trader named Hervey was at Mackinaw when
that fort was taken and tells how they did it. It was a strong
garrison and provided with cannon. The Indians assembled
in large numbers and staged a big ball game, of course accord-
ing to their own ways of playing. It was a game in which
many could take part. They said it was to celebrate the birth-
day of the English king. They played hilariously for a while
and the soldiers of the garrison looked on as interested spec-
tators, unsuspicious of anything unusual about to happen.
After a while the ball was thrown over the walls of the fort
as if by accident. Immediately a large number of the Indians
rushed into the fort to recover the ball. After they were once
inside they drew forth their concealed weapons and began
a fearful massacre in which all the whites in the fort were
slain and scalped except a few French. At Detroit, a friendly
squaw revealed the plan of Pontiac to the commander. Major
Gladwin, so he was on his guard and the stratagem failed.
These narratives indicate that the few English settlers in
Illinois during the years immediately following the occupa-
tion of the country by the British government had to endure
conditions which almost amounted to a state of war with
the Indians. The pioneer population did not increase much
in the fifteen years of English rule. In the Illinois territory
It was considerably decreased by reason of so many French
leaving to get away from British rule, and at the same
time many of the early settlers retreated to the safer regions
in the east on account of the hostility of the Indians against
the British.
At the time the English troops came to take possession of
Fort Chartres, two young officers, one French and the other
English, had a misunderstanding, which led to a bitter quar-
rel. The trouble arose as in the case of the Trojan War, on
account of a lady. In this case they did not have ten years
of war first and then let Hector and Achilles fight it out
individually, but they had the duel first. It occurred early
one Sunday morning just outside the fort. They fought with
swords and one of them was killed. The other took a hasty
departure down the river and was heard from no more.
This was probably the first duel fought on Illinois soil. Un-
fortunately this method of settling differences was resorted
to at intervals in subsequent times until the constitution of
1848 went into effect and this prohibited duelling absolutely.
ur Hundred and Fortv-Tliree
In the spring of 1772 the Mississippi River, as if to avenge
the defeat of the French, overflowed its banks and swept in
a mighty flood across the bottom lands. The fort had been
built a mile from the shore, but the raging river came after
it and the western wall crumbled into the swirling water.
The place was now abandoned and the British moved their
military stores to the fort opposite Kaskaskia, which was
named in honor of the British commander in America, Fort
Gage. Kaskaskia continued to be the center of British power
and influence until the entire territory passed to the Amer-
icans thru the successful expedition of conquest by Col.
George Rogers Clarke in 1778. Thus Illinois and St. Clair
County were under British rule for a period of fifteen years,
from 1763 to 1778. The policy of the English government
was to prevent colonists from settling in the newly acquired
territory. They desired to turn the vast region into a hunting
ground where only British agents could purchase the large
quantities of furs that were annually sold by the Indians.
In a proclamation dated Oct. 7, 176J, King George forbade
''making any purchases or settlements whatever, or taking
possession of any lands beyond the sources of any rivers
which fall into the Atlantic Ocean from the north or north-
west." This policy would have made a perpetual wilderness
of a vast region unsurpassed for fertility. However, in viola-
of the King's proclamation, the British governors permitted
companies to purchase lands from the Indians. The Illinois
Land Company, composed of English traders and meTChants,
obtained two vast tracts of land from an Indian council, rep-
resenting the Kaskaskias, Peorias, and Cahokias, held at Kas-
kaskia on July 5, 177},. The deed, signed by ten chiefs, each
making his mark, gave the white men an immense tract of
land embracing many counties of Illinois according to their
present boundaries. The consideration paid for this princely
domain was, "Two hundred fifty blankets, two hundred
sixty stroudes, three hundred fifty shirts, one hundred fifty
pairs of stroud and half-thick stockings, one hundred fifty
breech cloths, five hundred pounds of gun powder, one thou-
sand pounds of lead, one gross knives, thirty pounds ver-
million, two thousand gunflints, two hundred pounds brass
kettles, two thousand pounds tobacco, three dozen gilt look-
ing glasses, one gross gunworms, two gross awls, one gross
fire steels, sixteen dozen of gartering, ten thousand pounds
of flour, five hundred bushels of Indian corn, twelve horses,
twelve horned cattle, twenty bushels salt, twenty guns, and
five shillings in money."
This deed was recorded in the office of a notary public
at Kaskaskia, September 2, 1773. This is merely a sample of
many such deeds made in this period, and but for the estab-
lishing of an independent government by the colonists, the
titles might have been sustained by the British government.
Colonel Wilkins, a British commander at Kaskaskia, made
many grants of Indian lands to his friends. One of these
grants, consisting of thirty thousand acres, came into the
possession of John Edgar, a British officer who had come to
Kaskaskia to engage in mercantile business. This grant was
afterward confirmed by Congress and made Mr. Edgar the
richest land owner in Illinois and the possessor of a large
part of what was afterward Edgar County.
Hundred and Forty-Four
MC KENDREE
CHAPTER III.
The Transition to American Rule
HE Illinois Country was a part ot the
British possessions in America from the
tmie of the treaty of Fountainebleau
m 1765 until, as a result of the Revolutionary
War, the American colonies wrested from
Great Britain all the American territory she
possessed south of the Great Lakes. The trans-
fer of the Illinois country from British to
American control occurred 177S, after only
fifteen years of British rule, as a result ot the
expedition of Colonel George Rogers Clarke.
It seems appropriate here to give a brief ac-
count of this remarkable achievement, con-
densed from the various histories of those
times. The British garrison at Kaskaskia, or Fort Gage, which
had been the military stronghold instead of Fort Chartres
since 1772, was probably withdrawn early in the war because
the soldiers were needed elsewhere. The place was left in
charge of a commandant with perhaps a few soldiers for body
servants. Illinois was so remote from the theatre of action
and means of communication so imperfect that the people ot
these villages were but little disturbed by the rumors ot war
that occasionally came from the Atlantic coast. The French
inhabitants were in sympathy with the Americans rather
than the English, but probably understood very imperfectly
the nature of the struggle. According to the theory of the
Colonial Government at Philadelphia, Illinois was under the
jurisdiction of Virginia. Colonel George Rogers Clarke, who
had visited Kentucky in 1775, tirst saw the great advantage
of having the Illinois settlements actually m the hands of
the Americans.
So he visited Patrick Henry, then Governor of Virginia,
and laid before him a plan for the capture and possession of
these colonies. The Governor was pleased with the idea and
gave Clarke authority to raise seven companies of men with
which to carry out this bold project. However he succeeded
in enlisting only four companies, which were commanded
by Captains Montgomery, Bowman, Helm, and Harrod.
With these men Clarke started for the west. At Corn Island,
opposite Louisville on the Ohio, he announced his destina-
tion to his men. At the mouth of the Tennessee River they
encountered a man who had recently visited Kaskaskia. He
told them that the commander at that place was a French
Canadian named Rocheblave, that he kept what few soldiers
COLONEL
GEORGE ROGERS CLARKE
he had well-drilled and sentinels posted to
w.itch for the "Long Knives," as the Vir-
ginians were called, of whom the inhabitants
were m mortal terror. Securing his boats at
Fort Massacre, afterwards called Massac, he
undertook the lourney across the country,
one hundred and twenty miles, to Kaskaskia.
It was a ditBcult march thru an unbroken
wilderness. On the afternoon of July 4, 1778,
the exhausted band of invaders came to the
vicinity of Kaskaskia, and concealed them-
selves m the hills east of the town. After
dark Clarke called his men together and
laid his plans before them. He divided them
into three divisions, two of which were to take the
town, entering from different directions, while the third,
under Clarke himself, was to take the Fort. The plan
worked out perfectly. Kaskaskia was at that time a village
of about two hundred and fifty houses. The British com-
mander last m charge had instilled m the minds of the people
the idea that the Virginians, otherwise the "Long Knives,"
were a ferocious band of murderers, plundering houses,
slaughtering women and children, and committing acts ot
greatest atrocity. Clarke determined to take advantage ot
this and frighten them into submission without resistance.
He and his men affected an entrance into the fort without
ditEculty. The other parties entered the town at opposite
sides at a given signal, and with terrible noises and hideous
shouts aroused the sleeping inhabitants who shrieked in
their alarm, "The Long Knives! The Long Knives are here!"
The panic stricken townsmen delivered up their arms and
the victory was accomplished without shedding a drop of
blood. Rocheblave, the British commandant, was unaware
of the presence ot the enemy until an officer entered his bed
chamber and claimed him as a prisoner. The next day Clarke
withdrew his forces from the town and sternly forbade all
communication between it and his soldiers. Also some ot the
principal officers and citizens were put in irons. The terror
now reached its height. A deputation consisting of the priest
and several elderly men of the village called on Clarke and
humbly requested permission to assemble m the church and
take leave of each other and commend their future lives to
the protection of a merciful God, since they expected to be
separated, perhaps never to meet again. Clarke gruffly granted
Four Hundred and Fortv-Fiv
IMC KENDREE
f
wk
■"-11
^
IV ^H
i^^
> \ m
GOV ST. CLAIR
For whom the county wa;
the privilege. The whole
population convened at the
church and after remaining
together a long time, the
priest and a few others again
waited on the commander
of the American forces, pre-
senting thanks for the priv-
ilege they had enjoyed and
desiring to know what fate
awaited them. Clarke now
determined to lift them
from their despair and win
their gratitude by a show
of mercy. "What!" said he,
"Do you take us for savages? Do you think Americans will
strip women and children and take bread from their mouths'"
My countrymen disdain to make war on helpless inno-
cents." He further reminded them that the King of France,
their former ruler, was the ally ofthe Americans and was now
fighting their battles. He told them to choose whichever side
they preferred and they should be respected in their liberty
of choice and in their rights of property. The revulsion of
feeling was complete. The good news spread rapidly through-
out the village. The church bell rang a merry peal and the
delighted inhabitants gathered at the chapel where thanks
were offered to God for their happy and unexpected deliv-
erance. The loyalty of the inhabitants was assured and ever
after they remained faithful to the American cause. The
French inhabitants of Kaskaskia never did admire the English
and so were readily reconciled to a change of government.
In October, 1778, the Virginia Assembly erected the con-
quered territory into the "County of Illinois." This new
county embraced all the territory north-west of the Ohio,
and five large states have since been formed from it. Colonel
Clarke was appointed military commander of all the western
territory, both north and south of the Ohio, and Colonel
John Todd, one of Clarke's soldiers, who had been the next
man after Clarke to enter Fort Gage, was made Lieutenant-
Commandant of Illinois. In the spring of 1779 Colonel Todd
visited Kaskaskia and made arrangements for the organiza-
tion of a temporary government. Many of the French inhab-
itants of St. Phillippe, Prairie Du Rocher, and the other
villages willingly took the oath of allegiance to Virginia.
Colonel Todd was killed in the famous battle of Blue Licks
in Kentucky, August, 1782, and Timothy de Montbrun, a
Frenchman, succeeded him as commandant of the Illinois
County. Ot his administration but little is known. Colonel
Clarke's further achievement, marching across Illinois, ford-
ing swollen streams, suffering from the cold and other hard-
ships, besieging and capturing Vincennes for the Americans
IS a story that is well told by Theodore Roosevelt in "The
Winning of the West."
Illinois did not long remain a county of Virginia. The
several states agreed on adoption of the Articles of Confed-
eration, to cede all their claims to western lands to the general
government. Virginia executed her deed of cession March
I, 1784. This left Illinois a part ofthe Northwest Territory,
which by the ordinance of 1787 was organized into one dis-
trict for purposes of government and General Arthur St.
Clair was selected by Congress as the governor. Marietta,
Ohio was the seat of government. In the year 1790 Governor
St. Clair organized the first county in the Illinois country and
named it after himself. We quote a portion of his proclama-
tion, which shows the original boundaries of this county.
"Know ye that, it appearing to me to be necessary for
the purposes above mentioned, a county should be imme-
diately laid out, I have ordained and ordered, and by these
presents do ordain and order that all and singular, the lands
lying and being within the following boundaries, namely:
Beginning at the mouth of the Little Michilliakinack River,
running thence southerly in a direct line to the mouth of
the little river above Fort Massac upon the Ohio River;
thence with the said river to its junction with the Missis-
sippi; thence up the Mississippi to the mouth of the Illinois
River, and so up the Illinois River to the place of beginning,
with all the adjacent islands of said rivers, Illinois and Miss-
issippi: shall be a county and the same is hereby erected into
a county, named and hereafter to be called the County of
St. Clair, and the said County of St. Clair shall have and
enjoy all and singular the jurisdiction, rights, privileges, and
immunities whatsoever to a county belonging and pertaining
and which any other county that may hereafter be erected
and laid out shall or ought to enjoy conformably to the ordi-
nance of Congress before mentioned. In witness whereof I
have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal ofthe territory
to be affixed this 27th day of April in the fourteenth year of
the Independence of the United States, and in the year of
our Lord, 1790.
Arthur St. C/air
Countersigned by His Excellency's Command.
Wmthrop Sargent, Secretary"
These boundaries made the original St. Clair County in-
clude about two-thirds of the State of Illinois, but with a
FcuT HmidTcd and FortySi)
MC KENDREE"^^^^^£^:^;^^^^r>^^^
population of only a few thousand, both whites and Indians,
In the year 179'?, Governor St. Clair divided the county into
two. All south of a line running thru the New Design settle-
ment, which is in the present county of Monroe, was erected
into the County of Randolph. It was so named in honor of
Edmund Randolph, of Virginia. This division left Kaskaskia
the original county seat in the new county of Randolph, and
Cahokia became the new county seat of St. Clair. It remained
there until it was moved to Belleville m 1S14. Up to the
time when it fell into the hands of the Americans, thru the
conquest by Colonel Clarke, it was inhabited almost solely
by French people or the native Indians. In fact it was a sort
of "New France" being set up in the Illinois wilderness. In
the main, the settlers lived on friendly terms with the Indians-
They frequently mingled with them, not only in their hunt,
ing enterprises, but sometimes in a social way many of them
were quite at home beside the Indian camp fire. They adopted
many of the native modes of life, imitated his dress in some
particulars, and some of the settlers even took wives from
.imong the dusky squaws of the aborigines, and married them
according to the rites of the Roman Catholic Church, which
thru Its missionaries wielded a strong influence upon the
native tribes. The record of the "Salem Witchcraft" in 1692
IS a sort of blot on American history. An echo ot it appears
about a century later out m the Mississippi Valley. In Ca-
hokia about the year 1790 superstition got the upper hand
of reason and several negroes were put to death for this
imaginary offense. An African slave called Moreau was hung
for this crime on a tree not far southeast of the village. It
is stated that he said that he "poisoned his master hut his
mistress was too strong" tor his powers of necromancy.
Another slave, Emanuel, was shot at Cahokia for the same
reason. An old woman named Jeannette was believed to
have power to destroy persons and property by her incan-
tations. The children as well as many grown up people were
terrified at her approach. And all this withm the present
bounds of St. Clair County.
Four Hundred d.id Fortv-Ser
MC KENDREE
CHAPTER IV.
Settlers of the Early Period
HE Old French Records contdin some interesting
data concerning some of the early citizens of both
Cahokia and Kaskaskia who were prominent in the
community in their day. They are entitled to a place in this
record because they were citizens of St. Clair County.
Charles Gratiot was born in Switzerland of a Huguenot
family, educated in London, went to Canada at the age of
eighteen, and in 1774 came to the Illinois country to make
his fortune. He soon became the master spirit in commerce
thruout a vast region of country. He was the John Wana-
maker of the Illinois country in that early day. His trade
employed a large capital and extended over several of the
states of the Mississippi Valley. He had stores at both Kas-
kaskia and Cahokia, but his grand depot of trade for many
years was at the latter place. Altho he had been educated
in England, yet he was born in the country of William Tell,
and the spirit of freedom was the great passion ot his life.
When George Rogers Clarke undertook the conquest of the
Illinois country for the cause of the American colonies, Gra-
tiot supported him to the full extent of his vast fortune;
and without his aid it is doubtful whether Clarke's enter-
prise would have succeeded . He used many thousands of dol -
lars in purchasing supplies for the patriot army. He made this
sacrifice voluntarily and the government failed to reimburse
him for the expenditure, but under the protection of the
new government he was able to accumulate a new fortune.
His joy at seeing the colonists free was his most satisfactory
reward for the thousands he invested in the enterprise. In
the year 1781 he married the sister of Pierre Choteau, one
of the founders of St. Louis. After his marriage he made his
home in St. Louis and died there in 1817. A street m St.
Louis bears his name.
Another was Dominique Ducherme, a French-Canadian,
who made his home at Cahokia at intervals. He possessed
great influence with the Indian tribes. It was he who led
the famous attempt to capture St. Louis in 1780. It was then
a Spanish trading post His enmity was aroused against the
Spanish because a party of Spanish soldiers from the garrison
of St. Louis had captured and confiscated a boat load of goods
which he was carrying up the Missouri River to trade with
the Indians.
Another was Julien Dubuque, after whom the city of
Dubuque, Iowa was named, and near which he was buried
He purchased a tract of land from the Indians extending
eighteen miles along the Mississippi and nine miles back
from the river. It was supposed to contun valuable lead
mines. It made him seem to be a large land owner with a
holding of one hundred and sixty-two square miles, but later
governments were organized and his claim was not recog-
nized.
William Arundel was an Irishman by birth, who came to
Cahokia in 1783. He was well-educated and among the old
records of St. Clair and Randolph Counties his excellent
hand writing frequently appears. He and Mrs. Thomas
Brady were said to be the only persons not French who
lived in Cahokia until after the Revolutionary War.
William Morrison came to Illinois from Philadelphia in
1790. He located in Kaskaskia, which at that time was the
county seat of St. Clair County. He was one of the most
influential characters in the country at that early day. He
was what is called a self-made man. Like a few other prom-
inent leaders, he never went thru the drudgery of acquiring
a scholastic education, but his natural talents were of a high
order and he studied in "Nature's great academy" and be-
came eminent in the circles in which he moved, whether in
society or in business. He was ambitious and enterprising
and succeeded in acquiring large possessions, both in land
and merchandise. His commercial activities extended from
Pittsburg to the Rocky Mountains, and from Prairie Du
Chien to New Orleans. About 1800 he established a store
in Cahokia and placed it in charge of an eccentric Irishman
named William Atchison. This store manager, by reason ot
the excessively high prices he asked for his goods, acquired
in derision the nickname "Chape Wollie," which clung to
him as long as he remained in the business. One of the stories
told of this Irishman is that when Rev. Benjamin Young was
a Methodist circuit rider in this region, "Chape Wollie" in-
vited him to preach in his store. It turned out that Mr. Young
had a very small congregation. Atchison tried to explain why
his French neighbors did not attend the meeting. "For my
part," said he, "I would walk miles, thru briars and Hell, to
hear such a sermon as that ye prached; but these blarsted
French love dancing better nor preaching. And Misther
Young, couldn't ye stay with us tonight and go to the ball
this avenmg?" But the Methodist preacher very courteously
declined Mr. Atchison's invitation to stay for the dancing
party on Sunday evening. In 1801 Morrison built a fine stone
house in Kaskaskia, which at that time was the finest resi'
MC KENDREE
dence m the country. He lived in it m princely style, and
with his family displayed the generous hospitality and ele-
gant bearing of a well-bred gentleman. He was exemplary
in his morals and never indulged in light and frivolous amuse-
ments. Gambling and drunkenness he abhorred. Horce-racing
was the most popular amusement of that day and it is said
that he used to sometimes bet a suit of clothes on a horse
just for the sake of sociability, but he cared little whether
he lost or won. Reynolds describes his personal appearance
as dignified and prepossessing. Energy and zest were dis-
cernible in his walk and all his actions. He made it a matter
of principle to dress well, with taste and even elegance. He
often said that a man sometimes made a fortune by a decent
appearance. He was always extremely gallant and polite to
the ladies. He always claimed that intelligent and correct
female society was a very great influence for the control of
human conduct and for the promotion of morals and religion.
He always showed a high moral character, but toward the
close of his life he became interested in religion and joined
the Roman Catholic Church. He died in 183,7 and was buried
m the old graveyard at Kaskaskia.
William Morrison's brother, Robert, came west some
years later. His wife was one of the most remarkable women
who lived in Illinois. She came of a wealthy and cultured
family m Baltimore. Nature gave her a romantic turn of
mind and for this reason she accompanied her brother. Col-
onel Donaldson, to St. Louis m 180';. He was a commissioner
to investigate land titles. Here she met and married Robert
Morrison, after which her home was in Kaskaskia. She was
well-educated, a classic scholar, and possessed great energy
of mind. Her deUght was in the field of poetry. Her verses
were considered by critics to be hr above medium, and many
of them belonged in the higher order of poetry. She trans-
lated the Psalms of David into English verse; and she wrote
for the scientific publications of Mr. Walsh in Philadelphia.
Her pen was never idle. Her contributions to periodicals
were numerous and highly prized. Her assistance was fre-
quently enlisted by the politicians of the day, and at the
request of her political friends, she formulated many memor-
ials and petitions to Congress and to the President, all of
which were chaste and classic in their composition and at
the same time sound in their appeal to the government. For
this class of writing she was very popular with her western
friends. She lived to an advanced age and died at Belleville
in 1843. She left three sons, all of whom became prominent
lawyers.
MADAME LA COMPT
Another remarkable woman came to Cahokia about the
year 1770. She was born of French parents at St. Joseph on
Lake Michigan. Her maiden name was La Flamme. Her first
husband's name was St. Ange. He died after a few years and
she married Monsieur La Compt, a French-Canadian, at
Cahokia, in 1780. From this marriage proceeded one of the
largest French families in Illinois. This female pioneer, had
the courage and energy of a heroine. She was also blessed
with an extraordinary physical constitution. She was scarcely
ever sick, tho often exposed in travelling or otherwise to
the inclemency of the weather and other hardships which
are the common lot of pioneers. After the death of her second
husband, she seemed to come into unusual prominence and
was one of the most influential women m all the Illinois
country. She was exceedingly popular with the Indians. They
were her neighbors and friends. She knew the language of
many of the tribes. By wise and careful deahngs with these
wild men, and by sage counsel to promote their interests,
she acquired a great influence over the Pottawatamies, Kick-
apoos, and other Indian nations. In the early American settle-
ments from 17S1 down to the peace m 1795, this lady pre-
vented many an Indian attack on the white population. The
Indians often became hostile to the French during the Revo-
lutionary War on account of the intrigues of the English since
the French had loined Clarke in the conquest of the British
garrisons of the west. On many occasions this lady was
awakened in the dead hours of the night, by her Indian
friends among the hostile warriors, informing her of the in-
tended attack, that she might leave Cahokia. The following
account given by Governor Reynolds is a good example of
the way she warded off Indian raids. One night after receiv-
ing a warning she started out to meet some hundreds of
warriors who were camped near the Quentine mound at the
foot of the blufl^ near the present French Village. Some of
her friends took her on horseback to a point near the Indian
camp; then she dismissed her company and proceeded on foot
to the Indian camp. No one knew the Indian character better
than she. A woman on foot and alone approaching several
hundred armed warriors produced a sympathy which she
followed up with wise counsels which were well-nigh irre-
sistible to the Indians who had such a high opinion of her
wisdom and friendship. Early the next morning she W3s seen
escorting a band of warriors into the village where the men
of the town had their fire arms all ready for defense. But
now the program was changed from war to peace. The red
paint of the Indians was removed and they were painted
Four Hundred and FortyX'
MC KENDREE
black to indicate their repentince for the hostile intentions
they had entertained in their minds against the friends of
Mrs. La Compt. Then the Indians were feasted in the village
for days in celebration of the averted warfare. After one of
these reconciliations, they would remain peaceful for a good
while. Mrs. La Compt's Hfe lasted far beyond the usual span.
She died in Cahokia in 1843, at the age of one hundred and
nine years. Governor Reynolds says he knew this lady per-
sonally, and ventures the opinion that her unusual health
and longevity was the result of her hardy and frugal mode
of living. He thinks the health of more people is injured by
walking on fine carpets between the piano and the air-tight
stove than by walking on ice and snow in the open air.
Another prominent woman was Madame Beaulieu. She
was a native cf Illnois, born at St. Phillippe, a village near
Fort Chartres. Her father was an officer in the French troops
named Chouvin. He later settled at Cahokia where his daugh-
ter married. Before that, however, she went to Canada and
secured a medical education. She was the first woman doctor
in Illinois. She was a devout Roman Catholic.
Nicholas Jarrot came to Cahokia in 1794, where he resided
all the rest of his life. He was a man of intense activity and
industry. He came to Cahokia without means, but obtained
a small supply of Indian goods and became a trader. In this
business he succeeded in amassing a large fortune. Every
year he sent a boat load of goods to the upper Mississippi,
where such things as the natives needed were bartered for
furs and pelts at an immense profit to the trader. He also
kept a retail store at Cahokia. For many years he held the
offices of Justice of the Peace and Judge of the County Court.
He erected in Cahokia a brick house, which, when built,
was one of the finest in Illinois. He was a strict and zealous
member of the Roman Catholic Church. He died in 1828
and was buried in the old grave yard at Cahokia.
In the year 1793 John Hays became a citizen of Cahokia.
He was born in New York City in 1770; and while still a
young man entered the Indian trade in the Northwest. At
one time he and two Canadians were caught in a severe
snowstorm on the prairie and were compelled to lie in the
snow for three days, with only their blankets for shelter and
a little dried meat for food. This is an illustration of what
men could endure in those times. After he settled at Ca-
hokia he was both a trader and a farmer. For many years
he held the office of postmaster, with no profit to himself,
but merely to accommodate his neighbors. In 1798 Governor
St. Clair appointed him Sheriff of St. Clair County, which
office he held until 1818, when the state government was
organized.
Another prominent citizen, whose name was similar but
not the same, was John Hay. He was born in Detroit in
1769 and came to Cahokia in 1793. His father was the last
British governor of Upper Canada, and his mother was a
lady of French descent, a native of Detroit. In 1797 he mar-
ried Miss Margaret Pouport, a beautiful young Creole of
Cahokia. Gen. Arthur St. Clair, then governor of the North-
west Territory, commissioned him Clerk of the Court of
Quarter Sessions, Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas,
Clerk of the Orphans' Court, and Treasurer of the County
of St. Clair. He held these four positions at the same time.
He was also at different times Notary Public, Justice of the
Peace, Probate Judge, and Recorder. He retained the confi-
dence of the people in a rare degree and remained in office
thru successive changes of administration till his death.
When the county seat was moved to Belleville in 1814, it
was a severe blow to Mr. Hay and his family. His duties
demanded his presence at the county seat, and yet he was
reluctant to leave the French people at Cahokia, to whom
he was attached by many years of warm friendship.
Jean Francois Perry was born in Lyons, France, of a
wealthy and aristocratic family, received a liberal classic
education, and studied and practiced law in his own coun-
try. The French Revolution caused his emigration to Amer-
ica. He formed a partnership with another Frenchman, M.
Claudius, to carry on mercantile business, and the two
started from Philadelphia for the west They reached Ca-
hokui and soon after settled at Prairie Du Pont. A few years
later Claudius was killed by accident and Perry bought the
old mill site on the Prairie Du Pont creek and built a new
mill which he carried on with profit. Near the mill was his
dwelling. In the year 1794 he married the beautiful daughter
of Jean Saucier, of Cahokia. In a few years he amassed a
large fortune. He carried on both the mill and the store, but
perhaps the greater part of his fortune was acquired through
profitable land speculations. He was a man of unostentitious
manners and lived and dressed in true democratic style. He
paid due regard to economy and yet displayed much hospi-
tality in the entertainment of all classes of people. He was
held in high esteem in the community. He was proficient
in the use of both the French and English languages and
served as Justice of the Peace during almost the whole per-
iod of his life after coming to Illinois.
Philip Creamer settled a short distance east of Prairie
Du Pont in the year 1805. He was born in Maryland and
learned the trade of gunsmith at Harper's Ferry. He had
unusual mechanical genius. In those times it was a proverb
among the settlers, "He is as sure as a Creamer lock."
He lived to a good old age.
Foi.T- Hundred and Fi/l:
Earliest Settlements of the country were so thor-
oughly French that up to the beginning of the nine-
teenth century only one American settlement was to
be found within the limits of the present St. Clair County.
This was the Turkey Hill colony, numbering about twenty
people. A little later a number of American families settled
in Ridge Prairie, west of O'Fallon. Soon the log cabin of
the pioneer made its appearance beyond Silver Creek and
in a few years more every part of the county was brought
under the domain of the adventurous frontiersman. It seems
appropriate to mention some of these vaHant leaders who
did their share in taking the country for civilization. Turkey
Hill IS a beautiful eminence a few miles southeast of Belle-
ville. Tradition says that the Tamaroa Indians once had a
large town on this hill, and that the Great Spirit sent an
old Indian, a wise and good man, with seeds of all good
vegetables, such as corn, beans, peas, and potatoes, and that
he taught the Indians how to plant them. He also advised
them to be peaceful and never to go to war. As long as this
counsel was followed, the Tamaroas did well and were a
happy and prosperous people. But at last they disregarded
the sage instruction and disaster followed.
William Scott, the first American settler in Turkey Hill,
was born in Virginia of Irish parents, in the year 174s.
He grew up and was married in his native state. All his
children, six sons and one daughter, were born m Virgini.i.
He then moved to Kentucky, and in 1797 he moved with
his family to Illinois and became a permanent resident. The
family included, besides his six sons, his daughter, Elizabeth
and son-in-law, Franklin Jarvis. They made the journey by
wagon from Fort Massac on the Ohio River to the New
Design settlement, where they arrived late in the fall. About
Christmas they located at Turkey Hill and made the begin-
ning of what afterward became a prosperous community of
white people. Scott located several claims in the present
counties of Monroe and St. Clair, one of which included
Turkey Hill, where he established his home. Jarvis, the son-
in-law settled a little further north, at the foot of the hill.
At the time the Scotts came to Turkey Hill the Indians were
numerous in the vicinity. Some of them hunted and lived
near him for most of the year, but exhibited only a friendly
spirit. The Kickapoos were the nearest neighbors. Mr. Scott's
large family of sons were of assistance in enabling him to
sustain himself in a location so far in advance of other white
CHAPTER V.
Early American Settlers of St. Clair County
settlers. Eventually they all married and settled in the neigh-
borhood and the family resided together for many years in
that part of the county. He was known far and near as
'Turkey Hill Scott." He was a man of high character, and
for many years a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
He possessed sound judgment and much practical experience,
and was ambitious for neither wealth nor worldly distinction.
He served some years as Justice of the Peace. Toward the
close of his life, after the business of making a living ceased
to occupy so much of his time, he turned his attention to
books and study and passed his advanced years m the pleas-
ures of meditation and reflection. He was intelligent and
communicative, and was fond of discoursing on philosophical
subjects. He died in Shiloh Valley in the year 1828, at the
age of eighty-four. His sons became useful citizens, and many
of his descendants still reside in the county.
Joseph Scott, one of the sons of William, began the manu-
facture of powder in the year 1809, four miles and a half
east of Belleville. For many years he furnished the best pow-
der made in the west. He supplied the rangers in the War
of 1812. He procured the nitre which he used in its manu-
facture from the caves on the Gasconade River in Missouri.
He spent much time during the winter months exploring
that country, then filled with Indians, with Joseph Dixon
as his sole companion. The next year, after William Scott
and family started the Turkey Hill settlement, Hosea Rigg,
Samuel Shook, and some others joined them there. By 1800
there were about twenty persons living in the settlement.
Hosea Rigg came from Kentucky and settled first m the
American Bottom in 1796. But after two years he moved to
Turkey Hill. He was born in West Virginia in 1760 and had
been a soldier in the Revolutionary War. He was deeply
interested in Methodism. He was an exhorter and later a
local preacher in the Methodist Church. In 1803, he went
to Kentucky to attend the Western Conference and solicit
a preacher for the Illinois country. Rev. Benjamin Young
was sent. Rigg lived in St. Clair County until his death in
October, 1841, at eighty-one years of age. At that time he
was said to be the oldest man in the county. Among the
other American settlers were Samuel Shook, George Stout,
Moses and Jacob Short, and Joseph Carr.
The Shook family was from Virginia. They located about
a mile from the home of William Scott. Samuel Shook was
a good farmer and a useful citizen. He died in the year 1827.
MC KENDREE"^^^^^::^^:^.,,^.,.:^^
The Short brothers were sons of John Short, who came
from Kentucky and died soon after setthng in Illinois. Jacob
Short was a man of some influence. He was captain of a
company of rangers during the War of 1812, and was also
elected to the Legislature under the territorial government.
In his later years he moved to Morgan County. Moses Short
for a number of years held the office of Justice of the Peace,
and also served against the Indians in his brother's company
of rangers. He is said to have built the first hand mill in
that part of the country.
The Carr family, Joseph, Henry, Conrad, and Abner,
settled in Turkey Hill Prairie, two or three miles to the
southeast of the original settlement, m 1803. They were
from Virginia, and before commg to this locality had lived
for a time in the New Design settlement in Monroe County.
Joseph Carr died in the year 1817 and his sons lived in the
same neighborhood for many years after.
David Phillips became a resident of the county in the
year iBoj. He was born in Orange County, North Carolina,
in 1755. After serving thru the Revolutionary War, he
moved with his family to Kentucky in the year 1800. After
three years he emigrated to Illinois and settled on Richland
Creek, a short distance south of the present city of Belleville.
He was a natural mechanic and possessed great genius for
working in wood. It was said that he could make anything
that was to be made of wood from a "fiddle" to a farm wagon.
He supplied his neighbors with furniture and implements of
many kinds. A chair made by him over a century ago is still
in the possession of one of his descendants now living in
Belleville.
In the year 1806 the settlements were increased by the
arrival of the families of Elijah Rittenhouse, Isaac Quick,
and John Woods. The Rittenhouse family settled on Turkey
Hill, which up to that time had been occupied only by
William Scott. There were four sons in the family, Cornelius,
Peter, William, and Elijah. The elder Rittenhouse enter-
tained the idea that his location would be an ideal place for
the county seat when its removal from Cahokia was agitated.
He laid out his farm in town lots and invited the cooperation
of the county authorities, but eventually the site of Belleville
was chosen instead. He served as constable and was a good
and loyal citizen.
Issac Quick had a son, Moses, who was an enterprising
young man. In company with Major Jacob Short he built a
flat boat, below the present town of New Athens, which
was loaded with beef cattle and successfully floated down
to New Orleans. This is said to have been the first flat boat
that ever navigated the Okaw River.
John Woods and John Jarvis, a brother of Franklin Jarvis,
both settled in the Turkey Hill community, in the year 1806.
After that year there were no considerable additions to the
settlement for some time. It was considered one of the best
in the county and was generally composed of good, honest
and industrious citizens. The Scott family was connected
with the Methodist Church, while the Shorts and Carrs
were Baptists. Baptist meetings were held one month at the
home of Squire Moses Short, and the next at Joseph Carr's
house. One of the earliest Baptist preachers was the Rev.
Joseph Chance.
In the years 1801 and 1802, settlements were made south-
west of Belleville by John Teter, Abraham Eyman, William
Miller, Martin Randleman and Daniel Stookey. The founders
of this colony were of Pennsylvania Dutch descent, and were
industrious, moral upright citizens. Stookey and Eyman, in
company with some others, came to Illinois in 1796 to explore
the country, with a view to selecting a future location for
their families. Traversing the country in the vicinity of the
present city of Belleville, Stookey and Eyman selected the
locations where afterward they settled in the prairie west
and southwest of Belleville. Abraham Eyman brought his
family to Illinois the next year. He first lived in the American
Bottom, near Piggott's Station, then moved to New Design,
and in the spring of the year 1801 settled four miles west
of Belleville. He was a good citizen and once represented the
county in the Legislature. He died in the neighborhood
where he settled. He was preceded a few months by John
Teter, who had a house already built when Eyman arrived.
Teter once served as County Commissioner. Daniel Stookey,
who was a brother-in-law of Eyman, came to the county in
1802 and settled on what is now the Stookey farm, two miles
west of Belleville. He died in i8j5, leaving nine children.
John Primm, a native of Stafford County, Virginia, came
to Illinois in the year 1803, and about a year afterward
settled seven miles west of Belleville. In 1817 he moved
to a new location three miles southwest of the county seat.
He died in 1836, at the age of eighty-seven. For a time he
carried the mail between Cahokia and Edwardsville. In
August, 1814, one of his sona, while carrying mail from
Cahokia to Clinton Hill, was struck by lightning in the
Derush hollow. He and his horse were both instantly killed.
His body was burnt black by the electricity. Mr. Primm
had been a soldier in the Revolutionary War and was pres-
ent at the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktovvn. During
Hundred and Fi/tv-Tu
MC KENDREE
the Litter part ot his life he received a Federal pension. The
year 1802 was marked by general prosperity of the colonists
in Illinois. Accessions were made to the population and new
settlements were formed.
THE OGLE FAMILY
Prominent among the pioneers was the Ogle family. Cap-
tain Joseph Ogle was born m Virginia in 1741. He command
ed a company of Virginia troops during the Revolutionary
War, holding his commission from Governor Patrick Henry.
He came to Illinois in 1785 and first settled in what is now
Monroe County. In 1802 he moved to Ridge Prairie and
located a short distance west of where O'Fallon now stands.
He is said to have been the first Methodist in Illinois. During
the early years of his residence here he took part m several
Indian fights. In May, 1791, John Dempsey was attacked by
the Indians, but escaped. Captain Ogle and his son, Benjamin,
were two of the eight who went in pursuit of the Indians.
The others were Captain Nathaniel Hull, James Lemen,
James Ryan, William Bryson, John Porter, and Daniel Roper.
The Indians were double the number of the Whites. A hot
battle was fought m the timber at the big spring in Monroe
County, not far east of the road which ran from Waterloo
to Whiteside Station, which was about midway between
the present towns of Waterloo and Columbia. A running
fight was kept up till dark, from tree to tree, the Indians
running and the whites pursuing. Five Indians were killed,
but the whites all escaped unharmed. Captain Ogle died on
his farm in Ridge Prairie in 1821, at the age of eighty. He
left several children, and many of his descendants are still
in St. Clair County.
Benjamin Ogle, his oldest son, took part in several of the
early Indian contests, in one of which he was wounded. He
lived on a farm near the present town of O'Fallon, and died
at a good old age.
Another son, Joseph, married Lucmda PuUiam, daughter
of John PuUiam, in 1804. They lived on a farm east of O'Fal-
lon. He served in the Blackhawk War, He died in 1846.
Still another son, Jacob, married Elizabeth Teter and set-
tled west of O'Fallon. He was a man of considerable intelli-
gence and popularity and served for a number of years as
Justice of the Peace. He and the Rev. James Lemen built
a mill for grinding wheat and corn. This mill was situated
on Ogle's creek, three miles north of O'Fallon and was run
by water power. Owing to the scant supply of water, the
milling business was carried on for only a short time. Later
he had a mill on his farm which was run by horse power.
Of the daughters of Captain Ogle, Nancy married Larkin
Rutherford, Prudence was the wife of Peter Casterline,
Drusilla married William Porter, Polly bec.ime the wife of
General J.imes Moore, and Jemima married the Rev. Charles
Matheny, a resident of St. Clair County and a member of
the Methodist ministry. He afterward moved to Springfield,
where he occupied several responsible public positions.
Among the settlers in Ridge Prairie were Robert, Joseph,
and James Lemen, sons of the Rev. James Lemen, one of the
pioneer Baptist preachers of Illinois.
James Lemen, Senior, was born m Berkley County, Vir-
ginia, m the year 1760. He served two years m the war of
the Revolution, after which he went to the vicinity of
Wheeling, West Virginia, where he married Catharine Ogle,
an older daughter of Captain Joseph Ogle. He came to Illinois
m 1786, the year after his father-in law. His trip to the new
country was an eventful one. He came down the Ohio River
with his family and household goods on a flat boat. One
night while the boat was tied to the shore, the river fell
considerably, and the boat lodging on a stump, was over-
turned and sunk, and thus all his provisions and goods were
lost. His oldest son, Robert, then three years old, floated
out in the stream on the bed on which he lay. By strenuous
effort he was rescued and his life was saved. Notwithstanding
this discouraging misfortune, the family proceeded on their
journey, and arrived at Kaskaskia, July 10, 1786, and shortly
afterward settled at New Design, in the present county of
Monroe. In after years he was a citizen of prominence and
usefulness. He served in the office of Justice of the Peace
and County Judge. He was also a prominent religious leader
among the Baptists. His religious labors are referred to
elsewhere.
Robert Lemen, the oldest son of James, was reared at New
Design. In the year 1805 he married Hester Tolin, and settled
m Ridge Prairie, about four miles north of where O'Fallon
now IS. Under the administration of John Quincy Adams
he acted as Marshall for the State of Illinois. He also served
as Justice of the Peace. In early times he acted as clerk of
the Richland Baptist Church, and he was an original member
of the Bethel Church, organized in 1809, of which he was
clerk until 184"). He died in i860.
Rev. Joseph Lemen was born in September, 178';, and
was less than a year old when the family came to Illinois.
He became a minister of the Baptist Church and settled in
Ridge Prairie, north of the site of O'Fallon, and near his
brother, Robert. His wife was Mary Kinney, the youngest
daughter of Joseph Kinney, and a sister of William Kinney,
Four Hundred and Fifty-Three
who was once Lieutenant-Governor of Illinois. It is said
that she went to school and learned to read and write after
she was married, but these educational efforts did not hinder
her from rearing a large and respectable family. Joseph Lemen
was active in ministerial labors. He travelled over this part
of the country extensively, and organized a number of Baptist
churches. He died in 1861.
Rev. James Lemen, Jr., was born in the New Design
settlement, in 1787, and received a good education for that
time, under the instruction of Rev. John Clark, who was
one of the most active and useful of the pioneer preachers
of Illinois. Mr. Lemen was said to be the first ordained
preacher in Illinois, born in the territory. He married Mary
Pulliam in 1813, and settled in Ridge Prairie. He was a
member of the Territorial Legislature at Kaskaskia, and also
filled the same oflBce after the organization of the state govern-
ment. Twice he was a member of the state senate. He was also
a member of the convention which framed the first constitu-
tion of the state. He died in February, 1870.
It should be mentioned that one cause of the removal of
the Ogle and Lemen families to Illinois was their opposition
to slavery. This was also the case with a number of other
prominent families of the county who came at a later date.
At that early day, half a century before there was any general
agitation of the question, they became opposed to the system,
liberated their slaves, and moved to a place where they be-
lieved they would be forever free from the curse of slavery.
JOHN PULLIAM
John Pulliam who emigrated to Illinois in 1795 was the
head of a large family, many of the descendants of whom are
still to be found living in the county. He was born in Virginia
and removed to Kentucky immediately after the Revolution-
ary War, and came to the New Design settlement a few years
later. In 1797 he crossed into Missouri and settled at Floris-
sant, west of St. Louis. Two years later he returned to Illinois
and lived for a time in the northern part of Randolph county.
From there he moved to what is now Monroe county and
established a farm home on the Prairie Du Long Creek, in
1802. He sold this farm in 1808 and moved to another location
on the Kaskaskia river near the present site of Fayetteville
in St. Clair county. Here he finished his varied career and
died in the year 1812. His nine children were Robert, Nancy,
Elizabeth, John, Lucinda, James, Thomas, Ruth and Mary.
Several of these lived and died in St. Clair county. Nancy
married William Lot Whitesides, who shortly after 1800
settled three miles east of Belleville. John Pulliam settled near
the present city of Belleville at an early day. Lucinda became
the wife of Joseph Ogle, son of Captain Joseph Ogle. James
Pulliam who was about nine years of age when he came with
the family to Illinois, married Judith Whitesides and settled
two miles east of Belleville. He was a well-informed man for
his day, and an able Baptist preacher. He was liberal in his
support to religious and educational institutions. He died in
i8';4-
THOMAS PULLIAM
Thomas Pulliam became a minister in the Methodist
Church, but was also a farmer. He was the founder of the
present town of Fayetteville where he was hving at the time
of his death in 1852. Mary the youngest daughter of John
Pulliam was about a year old when she came with the family
to lUinois. Her mother died when she was but a child and
she was reared by her sister Nancy, the wife of William Lot
Whitesides, who lived east of Belleville. In December, 1813,
she became the wife of Rev. James Lemen, Jr., previously
mentioned. They established their home on Ridge Prairie
where she died in 1876 at the age of eighty -one, having spent
eighty years of her long hfe in St. Clair county.
LARKEN RUTHERFORD
Larken Rutherford was one of the soldiers under Colonel
Clark who took part in the conquest of Illinois. He was a
large man of athletie frame and was bold and fearless. He re-
turned to Illinois in 1781 in company with James Moore,
Shadrach Bond, Robert Kidd and James Garrison. This was
the first colony of American families to settle in Illinois.
Moore and Rutherford chose a location near Bellefontaine, a
short distance southwest of the present town of Waterloo in
Monroe county. Bond, Kidd and Garrison settled in the
Bottom.
Soon after 1800, Rutherford moved to St. Clair county and
settled north of Belleville. He was a good citizen and a zealous
member of the Baptist Church.
WILLIAM BIGGS
One of the gallant soldiers of Colonel Clark who lived a
long and eventful life in Illinois was William Biggs. He was
born in Maryland in 1755. At the age of twenty-three, he
enlisted as a soldier in the Revolutionary War and became a
member of Clark's famous expedition. He was hardy, energet-
ic and brave. He withstood the perils and hairbreadth escapes
incident to the Clark campaign with the heroism of a veteran
warrior. He received no bounty in land in the grant made to
Clark and his soldiers, but later the Congress of the United
States, recognizing the valuable services rendered to the
colonies by Lieutenant Biggs, granted him in the year 1826
three sections of land. This was tardy justice rendered so late
in life that it could be of little use to him for he was then
Four Hundred and FxftyFour
IMC KENDREE
seventy years of age. But it was no doubt a great satisfaction
to him that the U. S. Government had finally recognized his
eminent service.
Soon after the close of the war he went back to his old
home in the east and married a wife who formerly lived in
Virginia. Soon after his marriage he, with his two brothers,
emigrated to Illinois and settled at Bellefontaine. In the spring
of 1788 he and a neighbor named Vallis started one morning
on horseback to take a supply of beaver fur which they had
caught to Cahokia to market They were proceeding along
the road which is now route three of the Illinois road system,
but at that time much of the way was a trail through the
wood, tho the main road to Cahokia. When they were near
Piggot's Fort in the Bottom, they heard the report of two
guns. Biggs supposed the shots to be fared by some hunters,
but in a few minutes they saw sixteen Indians armed with
guns. Biggs and Vallis immediately whipped up their horses,
but It was too late. The Indians fired a volley at them and
several of the bullets took effect, tho it might have been ex-
pected that both the men and horses would be killed imme-
diately, yet It did not so happen. Vallis' horse carried him
to the Fort with a severe wound of which he died after
lingering six weeks. Biggs' horse was shot dead and four
bullets went thru the rider's coat but he himself did not re-
ceive a single wound. Abandoning his horse and his furs he
started to run. But with his winter over coat and boots he
was not equipped for racing and the Indians soon caught him
and made him prisoner. When Vallis reached the Fort, signal
guns were fired to alarm the community, and the Indians
hearing it began a hurried march to get away with their
prisoner. They started on a run and kept their prisoner going
at that gait for five or six miles. They were Kickapoos and
started at once for their village called Weastown on the
Wabash river, a long distance above Vincennes. They trav-
elled about forty miles the first day and that seems a good
record for travellers on foot with no well-established road.
They must have passed near where the towns of Belleville
and Lebanon are now, but at that time there was not even a
settlement at either place. The whole distance was some-
where about three hundred miles but they reached the village
in ten days, with their prisoner. One of the Indians tried to
kill Biggs, but the others seeming to have in mind a large
ransom which they hoped to obtain kept the prisoner safe
and killed the Indian who seemed to want to deprive them
of the benefit of their successful capture. The Indians were
rather severe in their treatment of him and tied him at night
so securely that he had no chance of escape. Biggs was a fine
specimen of physical manhood and unusually handsome. His
manly beauty had its attraction for the feminine portion of
this group of untutored savages. He claims that several of
the Indian Belles of the Wabash offered him their hearts m
wedlock, but he, hoping to return some time to his fimily
remained true to the wife who was suffering the agonies of
uncertainty as to the f ite of her husband for she only knew
that the Indians had carried him off and she had no means of
knowing whether he was dead or alive. But he had been in
the camp only a short time when negotiations were begun at
Vincennes for his ransom. These negotiations were carried
on partly by John Rice Jones, who is mentioned elsewhere
in this history and was then hving at Vincennes. An agree-
ment was finally reached by which the Indians received the
equivalent of two hundred and sixty dollars for the freedom
of the prisoner, besides which Biggs had to promise thirty-
seven dollars more for the means necessary to accomplish the
journey back to Bellefontaine. He went down the Wabash in
a canoe to the Ohio and thence to the Mississippi and up
that river to Kaskaskia, whence he had only a few miles to
travel overland to reach his home. His return to his family
can better be imagined than described. They had mourned
him as dead. At that day there was no way of sending word
that he was coming so he walked unannounced one day into
this grief-stricken home and brought hope and happiness and
restored lasting-good cheer to his loved ones who had been
sitting in the shadow of a great sorrow. Years afterward Mr.
Biggs wrote an account of his experiences in captivity and had
It published in the year 1826. In 1790 when St. Clair county
was organized. Governor St. Clair appointed him sheriff, and
he held the office for many years, as the records testify. He
had received a common school education which had been
supplemented by much experience including the dangers of
war and pioneer life. He was popular with his fellow citizens
and was twice elected to represent St. Clair County in the
Legislature of the North West Territory. At the time when
he and Shadrach Bond were serving together in Clark's expe-
dition they said in a joke one day that they would like to
represent this country in the legislature. Twelve years later
their dreams were realized for they were both members of the
first General Assembly of the North West Territory. Biggs
also served as Justice of the Peace and Judge of the Court of
Common Pleas, for many years and made a pafe and accept'
able officer of Justice. In 1808 he was elected to the Legisla-
ture of the Indiana Territory, and helped to secure the divi-
sion of the Territory which was effected in the following
year. In 181 i Biggs was elected to the Legislature of the
Four Hundred and F./tv-Fu
Illinois Territory and held the office for four years. He made
a solid and useful member of the Legislative Body as long as
he was a member. Few men have had the good fortune to
live in an age when they had so many opportunities to serve
their fellow-men as he had. But in all these years of public
service he did not allow his private interests to interfere with
his duties to his country. He was never wealthy, but pos-
sessed only a reasonable competence. Towards the close of his
life he engaged in an enterprise of manufacturing salt on
Silver Creek within the present limits of Madison county.
He died in 1827, at the home of Colonel Judy, an aged and
well-respected pioneer of the first county of the great state
of Illinois.
GEORGE BLAIR
George Blair came to Illinois in 1796. He first lived between
the old Whitesides station and the town of Waterloo, m the
present county of Monroe, and had a distillery there. He was
appointed sheriff of St. Clair county and held that office for
several years. In 1802, he moved with his family to the site
of the present city of Belleville where he owned two hundred
acres of land. On his land the town of Belleville was located
in 1814. He is said to have suggested the name Belleville for
the new town and county seat. The "Sugar Loaf" tract of
land south of Cahokia near the Monroe county line was first
improved by George Lunceford and Samuel Judy. Shortly
after the year 1800, Judy sold out to Lunceford and went to
Madison county where he spent the remainder of his life.
The "Sugar Loaf was a well-known land mark in the early
settlement of the country. A small mound rises on top of the
rocky bluff. In early times a peach tree stood on the summit
of the mound which had the reputation of never failing to
bear fruit. Its resemblance to a sugar loaf gives the name to
the place. It is about five miles south of Cahokia.
WILLIAM KINNEY
Among the distinguished citizens of St. Clair county m
the early days was William Kinney, who was elected Lieu-
tenant-Governor of the state in 1826. He was born in Ken-
tucky in 1781 and in 1793 came with his father Joseph Kinney
to the New Design settlement in Monroe county. He was
gay and social in his disposition and a leader in the festivities
and amusements then common on the frontier. He inherited
a strong well-balanced mind and sound judgment. He had a
retentive memory and boundless energy and activity, but his
opportunities for school training were very limited. It is said
that he went to school regularly only three months. After he
was married at nineteen, he received private instruction in
the common branches from John Messinger. For a short time
he attended a school located at the junction of the Collinsville
road with the Belleville and Lebanon plank road, which was
held in a log house with a wooden chimney without ceiling
or windows and without a glass in the house. The floor was
of puncheons and the door made of clap boards. With this
foundation and a large inheritance of native intelligence and
energy, he became a well-informed man and was one of the
most influential characters of his day. He possessed a fund
of wit, excelled in satire and sarcasm, was always ready with
a pertinent and appropriate anecdote, while his sound judg-
ment and accurate knowledge of human nature taught him
how to use these gifts in the most effective manner. At the
time of his marriage he was practically destitute of worldly
goods, and had little disposition to accumulate property. But
he soon adopted a more sober and industrious course of con-
duct. In the year 1803 he settled on a beautiful eminence a
few miles northeast of Belleville and devoted himself ener-
getically to the task of improving his farm and making a
desirable home. In this undertaking he was ably assisted by
his wife, who was an excellent and amiable woman. The sur-
plus produce from his farm he sold in Cahokia or St. Louis.
One day a merchant in St. Louis named Von Phul persuaded
Kinney to take a few articles of merchandise home with him
and try to sell them, promising that if he could not sell them
he might return them. After some hesitation Kinney took
the goods, consisting of a few bolts of cotton cloth which
he carried on his horse from St. Louis to his farm. At that
time he could barely write, and knew nothing whatever of
bookkeeping, but his strong natural talents enabled him to
invent a system of bookkeeping of his own. With this humble
beginning he embarked in a prosperous business career, in
which he acquired a large fortune. He also traded in lands,
as well as in merchandise, and in everything was successful.
He erected a comfortable house which was almost always
crowded with his friends, and in which he exercised an un-
sparing hospitality. In 1809 he joined the Baptist Church.
He was later authorized to preach the gospel, and became a
distinguished and influential Baptist minister. After reaching
middle life he entered the field of politics. He was a staunch
and uncompromising Democrat, and at all times maintained
the doctrines of his party with sincere enthusiasm. He was
elected a member of the first general assembly after the organ-
ization of the state government and assisted in putting the
political machinery of the state in operation. He was several
times subsequently chosen to represent St. Clair County in
the State Legislature, and always acquitted himself with
credit as an efficient business member. In 1826 he was a
candidate for Lieutenant-Governor against Samuel H. Thomp'
Foi.r Hundred and FxftySu
son, a minister in the Methodist Church. Both candidates
were good men, with character .ihove reproach, hut Mr.
Thompson had scruples about electioneering and refused as
a matter of conscience to make any effort to secure votes,
therefore the strange result of the election was that Ninian
Edwards was elected Governor, as a representative of the
Whig party, William Kinney was elected Lieutenant-Gover-
nor from the Democratic party. In 1830 Kinney was a can-
didate for Governor, in opposition to John Reynolds, of
Belleville. Both were Democrats, but Kinney was supported
by the ultra-Democrats, or followers of Andrew Jackson,
while Reynolds was fiivored by the more conservative ele-
ments in the Democratic party, and also received in general
the vote of the Whigs, who preferred his election to that of
such an uncompromising Democrat as Kinney. The campaign
was a spirited one and resulted in the election of Reynolds.
During the administration of President Jackson, Mr. Kinney
had much political influence in the west, and was regarded
as the chief representative m Illinois of the straight-out
Jackson party. Toward the close of his life he was appointed
Commissioner of Internal Improvements, a position which
gave him much trouble and caused serious injury to his pri-
vate fortune. He died in 1843 on his farm where he had lived
for forty years. This place later became the home of Hon.
James L. D. Morrison, who erected on it a residence which
m grandeur might almost rank with some of the baronial
castles of the old world, and called it "Glen Addie." In
recent years it has become the property of the Catholic
Church, and the commodious buildings and grounds are util-
ized as an orphanage.
JOHN MESSINGER
John Messinger, who was an early settler at Clinton Hill,
two and a half miles north of Belleville, kept the first post
office in the county outside of Cahokia. Messinger was an
accomplished surveyor and surveyed a large portion of the
land in this and adjoining counties. He was born m West
Stockbridge, Massachusetts, in 1771. He was raised on a
farm and was taught the science and practice of agriculture,
and at the same time was able to secure a good education.
He was particularly fond of the study of mathematics. In
1783 he removed to Vermont and learned the carpenter's
trade and also became a millwright. He had a high degree
of energy and activity and much aptitude for mechanical
pursuits, but It is said that in his maturer life his chief
delight was found in the science of mathematics and the
various branches arising out of it. His whole life seemed to
be "tinctured with mathematics" and for many years he
was believed to be the most profound mathematician and
the best l.md surveyor in Illinois. He came to Kentucky in
1799, and from there to New Design, where he lived a few
years and then settled permanently at Clinton Hill. There
were few men m the country at that time as well educated
as he. He was an excellent English scholar and gave instruc
tion m surveying to a number of young men who had no
other opportunity for education in this line. He was one of
the surveyors who, m 1806, surveyed this section of the
state into townships. He surveyed much of the public domain
m both St. Clair and Randolph Counties. He wrote and
published m 1821 a book entitled, "A Manual or Hand-Book
of Practical Surveying." It is claimed that he taught math-
ematics m Dr. Peck's Seminary at Rock Spring. In 181 "i he
was made a deputy under the Surveyor-Genenil of Ohio,
with authority to survey the military tract m the forks of
the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers. He did survey much of
this tract. Later he was appointed to assist m the survey
of the northern limits of this state, and he made a part of
the astronomical and mathematical calculations by which
the line dividing the states of Illinois and Wisconsin was
located. He and Philip Creamer, whose skill as a mechanic
has already been referred to, made surveyors' compasses
that were as well calculated and as well finished in workman-
ship as any made in the United States. He did not care to
take any part in political affairs, but was several times pre-
vailed upon to represent St. Clair County in the Legislature.
He was a member of the convention that met at Kaskaskia
and framed the first constitution of Illinois. He was also a
member of the first general assembly of this state, which
convened in 1818, and on its organization was elected speaker
of the House of Representatives. His death occurred in the
year 1846. He had no enemies, but a large number of friends
mourned his departure.
THE BADGLEYS
The Badgleys, who were among the early settlers of St.
Clair County, are the descendants of Anthony Badgley, of
New Jersey, who later settled in Virginia and died there
about 1800. Rev. David Badgley, a Baptist preacher, visited
Illinois in 1796. He preached in the New Design settlement
and founded there the first Baptist church in Illinois. He
also visited Missouri, and on his return from there he
preached a sermon from a rock in the Mississippi River,
the people gathering to hear him from either shore. This
was a most unique way of dispensing the gospel. Returning
to Virginia, he gave such a favorable account of the country
that his sons and a number of other people decided to emi'
Four Hundred and FiftySei
grate to Illinois. The colony which came to Illinois at that
time included a large number of families, among whom were
the Teters, Carrs, Millers, Strouds, and Eymans. They
floated down the Ohio River from Brownsville, Pennsyl-
vania, to Shawneetown, and thence made their way across
the country to Kaskaskia, where they arrived on July 4,
1797. Their journey across Southern Illinois was full of
difficulties. Nothing but an Indian trail at that time led
from Shawneetown to Kaskaskia. They were compelled to
swim streams swollen with recent rains. Their household
goods, with the women and children, were ferried over on
temporary rafts. No trace of a white man was seen till they
reached Kaskaskia. They saw animals running off in the
distance which they thought to be buffalo. David Badgley
settled in the American Bottom, west of Moredock Lake,
in the present county of Monroe, in the year 1797, but
after a few years, he moved in 1804 to a place a few miles
north of Belleville, where he improved the farm on which
he spent the remainder of his life and died December 16,
1824, at the age of seventy -six. Anthony Badgley, a younger
brother of David, came with him from Virginia and settled
first at New Design, but about the same time that David
moved to St. Clair County, he also came and the two brothers
settled near each other a few miles north of Belleville, in
the year 1804. At that time he built a log house which was
for many years a well-known land mark in the country. One
of his sons, Hiram, was a soldier in the war of 1812. His son,
Simeon, lived on the same farm where his father settled until
his death, near the close of the nineteenth century. Aaron
Badgley, one of the sons of David, came with the original
colony to Illinois in 1797 and settled in Horse Prairie, west
of Red Bud. There his wife and two children died. In 1800
he married Catherine Stroud and settled on the bluff south
of Waterloo. But in 1804 he moved to the neighborhood of
the other Badgleys, north of Belleville. In 1812 he became
a ranger and was an orderly sergeant thru Edward's cam-
paign. On his return he visited Virginia in company with
his father, but coming back to Illinois he rejoined the army
under Captain Stuntz and served till peace was declared.
In 1830 he was chosen Justice of the Peace, and afterwards
reelected. He and his son, Adam, hauled the first goods
from Belleville to Springfield for Governor Edwards. It was
in winter and they were obliged to sleep out on the prairie
and came near perishing with cold and exposure. Aaron
Badgley died in 1858 at the age of eighty-five. His wife
survived him several years and died at ninety-one. His three
sons, Elijah, Adam, and Strander all lived to a good old
age in St. Clair County. Aaron Badgley "s four brothers,
Ichabod, David, Job, and Abraham, all sons of Rev. David
Badgley, were among the early pioneers of the Illinois coun-
try. Ichabod had a farm north of Belleville, and served as
Justice of the Peace; David was killed by accident while
riding horse back; Job built an ox mill near Unity Church;
and Abraham repeatedly held the office of Assessor, Treas-
urer, and County Commissioner.
THE HARRISON FAMILY
Among the early settlers connected with the development
of manufacturing interests m the county is the Harrison
family. Thomas Harrison was born m South Carolina in
1779. His father emigrated to North Carolina and later
came with some others to Illinois, arriving in July, 1804,
and settled about four miles southwest of Belleville. Here
he improved his farm, and in 181J erected a cotton gin,
which was one of the first in Illinois. It was propelled by
horse power. At that time a considerable amount of cotton
was raised in lUinois, but the price became so low that both
the gin and the cotton business were abandoned. It is claimed
that the first cotton gin in the Illinois country was built
by James Gilbreath, who settled on Silver Creek where it
IS crossed by the road from Belleville to Shawneetown. Mr.
Harrison afterward purchased an ox-tread mill in Belleville:
then built a small steam mill, and then later a larger one
which finally burnt, and with it more than sixty thousand
bushels of wheat. It was a heavy loss but did not discourage
him. His unfailing enterprise gave the first impulse of growth
to the milling interests of Belleville, which afterwards became
very important. His descendants are still largely connected
with the manufacturing interests of the town.
A farming community was started near the mouth of
Silver Creek when Abraham Teter, his sister, Mrs. Shook,
and Peter Mitchell settled there in 1804. Mitchell after-
wards served as Justice of the Peace and County Commis-
sioner. Another settlement on Silver Creek was made by
the Bradsby family about three miles north of the present
town of Lebanon, at the edge of Looking Glass Prairie. Wil-
liam H. Bradsby, the oldest son, came from Kentucky with
two other young men and raised a crop of corn in the spring
of 1804 on the land which they entered. The rest of the
family followed them from Kentucky in the fall. Mr. Bradsby
taught school for several years. In 1806 he had a school in the
American Bottom, almost west of the present town of Col'
linsville. The next year he taught in the Turkey Hill settle-
ment. His two sons, William H. and James, were in the
ranger service during the War of 1812, and made good sol'
Four Hundred and Fi/tv-Ei
MC KENDREE
diers. William H. returned to Kentucky and qualified himself
for the practice ot medicine and then came back to Illinois.
He was elected to the Territorial Legislature m 1814. He
was a resident ot Washington County when it was organized
and filled a number of public offices in that county. Among
the settlers on Silver Creek was Thomas Higgms. His name
deserves a place in history for his heroic adventure with the
Indians m 1814 ,it a block house on Shoal Creek, about
eight miles south of the present town of Greenville. This
story is told in another chapter. Higgms was related to the
Bradsbys and settled near them north of Lebanon on com-
ing to Illinois.
Abraham Varner settled east ot Belleville about the year
1804. He established himself in the blacksmithing business
on the main road leading from Vincennes to Cahokia and
St. Louis. His shop was four miles east ot Belleville.
RISDON MOORE
Risdon Moore was one of the early settlers and one of
the prominent citizens of St. Clair County in the early day.
He was born m Sussex County, Delaware, Nov. 20, 1760.
He was the son of Charles and Mary Cooper Moore. At
the beginning of the Revolutionary War, the father and
three sons, William, Thomas, and Risdon enlisted in the
colonial service in 1776. Thomas was killed in battle, William
was captured and died on a prison ship at New York, but
Risdon went thru the war unharmed. The father served
thru the war and became paymaster before its close. The
Moores had been engaged in the carrying trade on the high
seas. Their three vessels were captured during the war and
they were financially ruined. After the Revolutionary War
the family, attracted by the stories of new lands being opened
up in Georgia, sent Risdon on horseback to explore them.
The next year, 1790, the family moved to Hancock County,
Georgia, where they remained for twenty-two years. On
his way to Georgia, Risdon had visited the home of a cousin
at Guilford Court House, North Carolina, where he met
Anna Dent, daughter of Colonel William Dent and Virlina
Bell, natives of Maryland. In 1790, as the family were on
the way to Georgia to make their home, Risdon Moore and
Anna Dent were united in marriage at Guilford Court House.
They reared a family of nine children. Moore engaged in
farming during his twenty -two years' stay m Georgia. He
was quite successful and acquired several large plantations.
He was also active in the political life of Georgia, and served
two terms as a member of the Legislature. He was an ardent
opponent of the institution of slavery, and because he saw
no prospect of its abolition at any near date, he decided to
leave his Georgia home and move to some tree state. Ac-
cordingly, in 1811, he sent his son to the Northwest Terri-
tory to find a suitable home for the family on free soil. The
result ot that quest was the determination to locate m the
Illinois Territory, and the son selected the beautiful Shiloh
Valley as the most desirable location. They came to Illinois
m the spring of 1812, a company of thirty three persons,
seventeen white people and sixteen negroes, for they brought
their slaves with them, in order that they might set them
free. He purchased land of John Jarvis and settled on the
farm four miles east of Belleville, where he spent the re-
maining sixteen years of his eventful life. His death occurred
in 1828, when he was seventy years of age. Mr. Moore
served two terms in the Territorial Legislature and three
after Illinois became a state. The enduring services of Mr.
Moore to our state relate to the question of slavery. He
opposed It with all his might. The following address to the
citizens was prepared by him and published in i8i8. "The
undersigned, happening to meet at the St. Clair Circuit
Court, have united m submitting the following address to
the friends of freedom in Illinois: Feeling it a duty to those
who are sincere in their opposition to the toleration of slavery
m this territory, to use all fair and laudable means to effect
that object, we therefore beg leave to present to our fellow-
citizens at large the sentiments which prevail in this section
of our country on that subject. In the counties of Madison
and St. Clair, the most populous counties in the territory, a
sentiment approaching that of unanimity against it seems to
prevail. In the counties of Bond, Washington, and Monroe,
a similar sentiment seems also to prevail. We are informed
that strong efforts will be made in the convention to give
sanction to that deplorable evil in our state. Lest such should
be the result at too late a period for anything like concert
to take place among the friends of freedom in trying to defeat
It; we therefore earnestly solicit all true friends of freedom
in every section of the territory to unite in opposing it,
both by the election of a delegate to Congress who will
oppose It, and by forming meetings and preparing remon-
strances to Congress against it. Indeed so important is this
question considered that no exertion of a fair character should
he omitted, to defeat the plan of those who wish either a
temporary or unlimited slavery. Let us also select men to
the Legislature who will unite in remonstrating with the gen-
eral government against ratifying such a constitution. At a
crisis like this, thinking will not do. Acting is necessary.
Signed Risdon Moore, Benjamin Watts, Jacob Ogle, Joshua
Four Hioulred and Fi/tv.\,ne
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^s^
Oglesby, William Scott, Sr., William Biggs, George Blair,
Charles Matheny, James Garrettson, William Kinney, from
St. Clair County."
Mr. Moore was a man of strong religious faith. He was
a Methodist and during his sixteen years of residence in
Illinois was a member of the church at Shiloh, which was
organized five years before he came to Illinois and has main-
tained a continuous existence up to the present time. Both
he and his wife found their last resting place in the beautiful
Shiloh Cemetery. In 1925 the Daughters of the American
Revolution erected a tablet to his memory, which was un-
veiled with suitable ceremonies and an address by Hon.
Charles S. Deneen, who is one of the direct descendants of
this remarkable man.
Wilham Moore was the eldest son of Risdon and carried
on well his father's reputation for service, efficiency, and
loyalty. He was a soldier in the Blackhawk War, with the
rank of Captain. He also served in the Legislature and was
a local preacher in the Methodist Church. When he died
in 1849 he was the President of the Board of Trustees of
McKendree College. Another son of Risdon Moore was
Jonathan, who married Elizabeth, daughter of George Lunce-
ford, and for some time resided on the "Sugar Loaf" farm,
south of Cahokia. In i8jj he purchased his father's farm
east of Belleville, and in 1850 he moved to Lebanon. He
also served in the Blackhawk War and was an officer in the
same company of which his brother was Captain. One of
his sons was Colonel Risdon Moore, who was Professor of
Mathematics in McKendree College at the opening of the
Civil War and was the Commander of the McKendree Reg-
iment. A further account of him is given in the History of
McKendree College. One of the daughters of Jonathan
Moore, Mrs. Mary Fitzgerald is still living at an advanced
age at her home in Lebanon.
Another Risdon Moore, very distantly related, if at all,
to the one before mentioned, came to St. Clair County in
1817, and settled in the east side of the county, not far
from the other Moores. This family were Baptists, instead
of Methodists, and like the others, furnished some of the
leaders in the community, both pohtically and religiously.
One of the sons. Atlas Moore, was for many years a Mis-
sionary Baptist preacher, while another, Daniel T., repre-
sented St. Clair County in the Legislature.
JOHN BEAIRD
John Beaird was a prominent citizen of Knox County,
Tennessee, which county he represented in the Tennessee
Legislature. He was usually selected as leader when the
community had trouble with the Indians. He w.is br.ive,
energetic, and a successful Indian fighter. He came with his
family to Illinois in 1801 and settled four miles from Kas-
kaskia. His son, Joseph, lived for some years in Cahokia,
and was a member of the Legislature for several terms. The
family was related to that of Governor Reynolds, and when
John Reynolds, afterward Governor, started out to practice
law, he made his home for a time with Joseph Beaird, at
Cahokia. William A. Beaird, another son of John Beaird,
naturally possessed a good mind, but obstinately refused to
get an education or to receive any information thru the
medium of books. However, by observation and experience,
he did acquire much practical knowledge. He never married.
He served as Sheriff of St. Clair County from 1815 to 183,0.
He died at Belleville in 1843.
DR. JOHN M. PECK
One of the most prominent citizens of St. Clair County
for nearly four decades was Rev. John Mason Peck, who
occupied a distinctive position of leadership among Illinois
Baptists. He was born in Litchfield, Connecticut, in the year
1778. His early education was limited. In 1809 he joined the
Baptist Church. In 1813 he was licensed to preach, and a
little later ordained to the Baptist ministry. A few years
later he spent a year in a theological seminary at Philadelphia.
In May, 1817, he was chosen a missionary of the General
Baptist Convention for the West. He set out with his family
in a one-horse covered wagon, and reached St. Louis in
December of that year. For the next nine years he was an
itinerant missionary ranging thru Missouri and Illinois, resid-
ing in St. Louis, then in St. Charles, and ultimately fixing
his home at Rock Spring, in St. Clair County, Illinois. He
was a man of deep convictions and determined disposition.
Rev. Justus Bulkley, long a professor in Shurtleff College, in
a sketch of Dr. Peck, characterizes him as follows: "Tall,
athletic, bright-eyed, very energetic in speech and manner,
he was a marvel of strength and endurance, possessing im-
plicit faith in God, fearless self-reliance, and an absolutely
invincible will; so that his very presence was a recognized
power and inspiration among men. When addressing the Illi-
nois Baptist General Convention or any other august body,
John M. Peck might be rung down repeatedly, but he never
failed to keep the floor till he had presented his cause and
finished his speech, however long it might be." In 1820,
when the Missionary Board ordered him to move to Fort
Wayne, Indiana, he did not comply, but with his character-
istic independence decided to choose his own field of labor.
In April, 1822, he moved to Rock Spring, where he acquired
Four Hundred and Si
a considerable tract of land, on which he made his home for
the remainder of his life, and where he died March is, iSsS.
He was buried in Bellefontaine Cemetery, in St. Louis. In
1852 he received the degree of Doctor of Divinity trom Har-
vard College. April 25th, 1829 was the date of the tirst issue
of "The Pioneer," which was the first religious paper pub-
lished in Illinois. This was edited and published by Dr.
Peck, at Rock Spring. His frequent travels over the country
brought him into such prominence that he received many
inquiries by letter from persons who proposed to emigrate
to the west and desired definite knowledge of certain local-
ities. To meet this demand for information he published the
"Guide for Emigrants." In 1834 he published the "Gazeteer
of Illinois," m which was contained a concise and accurate
description of each county, town, settlement, stream, and
prairie in the state. He was also the author of several other
volumes. All this time he was busy with his ministerial
labors. He was the founder of Rock Spring Seminary, which
will receive more extended notice elsewhere in this volume.
He organized Sunday Schools, established churches, and
preached the gospel continually. He was gifted by nature
with a strong and vigorous intellect, and in addition pos-
sessed an indomitable energy that shrank from no labor. He
was admirably fitted for western pioneer life. He was hardy,
self-denying, courageous, and independent. Few men of his
day were more influential in guiding the thoughts and form-
ing the institutions of the West. He gave his whole power,
physical and intellectual, to his work. His devotion to his
work seemed at times to take precedence over everything
else, even his love for his family. A story is told of him to
the effect that having been absent from his family several
months while serving as Secretary of the American Baptist
Publication Society in Philadelphia, he reached home by
stage one morning, and unnoticed by any of the family, went
into his study. There he found a great accumulation of letters
and papers which the mail had brought during his absence.
He at once became absorbed in their examination, and late
in the afternoon some member of the family was surprised
to find him in his study peering over his papers.
Among the settlers who came about the time Illinois be-
came a state were the Mitchell brothers, Edward and Sam-
uel. They were born in Maryland, served in the Revolu-
tionary War, lived in Virginia for a time and were among
the early Methodists of that region. They both became
Methodist preachers. Samuel settled about where Rentchler
Station was afterward located, and Edward at Turkey Hill
and lived there till his death in 1837, at the age of seventy-
eight. Samuel later moved to Galena and lived to a good old
age. It IS said that he still sometimes preached .ifter he was
eighty years old. Three of his sons were preachers. When
the brothers came to Illinois they found religion much ne-
glected, so they, with the help of a few neighbors, built a
house of worship that was used tor many years both as a
church and a school house. Here the ordinances of religion
were administered without money and without price. Ed-
ward Mitchell brought with him to Illinois his two sons-in-
law, John Henry Dennis and Major Washington West, and
a number of negro slaves, the whole group constituting a
colony of fifty -seven people. Dennis settled in 1883 on a farm
three miles south of Belleville. He was a gentleman of the old
school and had obtained a thorough education at Hampden-
Sidney College, in Virginia. He abandoned his farm in 1824
and moved to Belleville. At the request of Governor Ninian
Edwards, a great patron of learning, he engaged in teaching,
to which profession he devoted the remainder of his lite.
Many of his pupils attained distinction at the bar and m
different walks of life. The school which he started m Belle-
ville in 1824 was the first m the state m which there was
opportunity for the study of the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin
languages and the higher mathematics. In this it antedated
McKendree College by four years. For a number of years
it continued to draw students from St. Louis, and as far
east as the Wabash, but it was only a private school and
never became permanently established. Mr. Dennis later
served as County Superintendent of Schools.
Major West, who settled in what is known as West
Prairie, a mile south of Belleville, was the son of Benjamin
West, a native of Maryland and for seven years a soldier
in the Revolutionary War. After the Revolution the family
moved to Virginia. On coming to Illinois, Major West was
accompanied by his parents, then nearly eighty years of age.
He had acquired his military title by service in the War of
1812. He commanded a company of Virginia troops stationed
for a while at Norfolk. He died in 1863, at the age of eighty-
five. Several of his descendants have since been prominent
citizens of Belleville. Joseph McClintock, a native of Bourbon
County, Kentucky, reached St. Clair County with his family,
including eight children, in November, 1818. He settled four
miles south of Belleville and died there in 1846. Among his
sons, William and James have held office in St. Clair County,
and were always well-respected citizens. The southeast part
of the county was settled in 1810 by the families of Hecox,
Stubblefield, Perkins, Beasley, Nat Hill, and James and Reu-
ben Lively. When the Indian troubles began during the
Four Hundred and Sixtv-Oi
^MC KENDREE^^^^^:^^^...^^...^
War of 1812, they built a block house for protection against
the dangers of Indian warfare. Other early settlers in this
part of the county, who came about the year 1817 were
William Pendleton, Andrew Free, and Isaac Rainey. The
Lands, Dials, and Ckxjks came about the same time. Isaac
Rainey laid out the town of Darmstadt, made his home
there while he hved and died there in 1871. Jefferson Rainey,
bom in this county in 1820, was elected to the State Senate
in 1875. A number of families came from the East and settled
in the county in 1817 and 1818. Among them were those
of Caleb Barker, William Fowler, Abel Thompson, Timothy
Higgins and Deacon Samuel Smith. Caleb Barker settled in
what is now West Belleville, and William Fowler on the
east branch of Richland Creek, three miles south of Belleville.
He afterward engaged in the carpenter's business and did
the wood work for the first brick Court House at Belleville.
Later his health failed and he moved to California. Deacon
Samuel Smith settled on Richland Creek, and lived and died
there, leaving numerous descendants in the county. In the
year 1817 the English settlement of Prairie du Long was
formed by the families of Bamber, Winstanley, Threlfell,
Coop, Newsham, and others. The Woods came to that part
of the county in 1806 and the Wildermans in 1808. Samuel
Ogle, the father of David and Joseph Ogle, settled in 1819
four miles northwest of Belleville, purchasing an improve-
ment first made by George Blair. The farm which he im'
proved is now along the paved road leading from Belleville to
St. Louis. For several years he served as County Commissioner.
When Illinois became a state in 1818 the settlements were
still sparse. There were barely forty thousand people in the
territory, which was the number necessary for statehood.
Indeed it is claimed that in some cases transients passing
thru were counted in order to make up the required number,
so anxious were the people for Illinois to become a state.
It was not always easy for the immigrants to become accli-
matized sufficiently to maintain good health in the new
country. Many of the people from Virginia and Kentucky
had been accustomed to abundance of cold spring water and
the invigorating air of the mountains. To them the change
to the indifferent water from shallow wells, or sometimes
stiignant pools was neither agreeable nor healthful. In sum-
mer the suffocating heat, and especially in the American
Bottom, the air laden with malaria from the decay of the
season's growth of exuberant vegetation caused sickness to
hold its enervating sway in almost every household till the
frosts of autumn and the snows of winter could restore the
conditions of good health. The best physicians had difficulty
in dealing successfully with the malarial malady known as
"fever and ague." For years parts of Illinois had the repu-
tation of being unhealthy regions.
But later science solved the problem and now malaria is
almost unknown, even in the American Bottom. The prairies
that were still unsettled were of vast extent, and in the
summer season were covered with native prairie grass, which
often grew as high as the head of a man on horseback. When
the frosts of autumn had followed the bleaching rains and
heat of summer, the prairie fire often swept over vast areas
with the speed of the wind, leaving them black and desolate.
Often the wild animals and sometimes people had their lives
endangered by the raging death-dealing pr.urie fire. But that
danger, too, has disappeared. Wild game was still abundant.
In fact, some of the early settlers came to the country chiefly
that they might enjoy the pleasures of hunting. Altho there
were very few, if any, buffaloes east of the Mississippi, bears
had not entirely disappeared, and deer sometimes in droves
of half a hundred could be seen in the Spring, feeding on
the luxuriant wild prairie grass. Wild turkeys were plentiful
and grouse or prairie chickens were evident in such countless
numbers that when they would fly into the fields of an
evening, in lighting or rising they would produce a sound
like distant thunder. Also in the autumn wild pigeons in
countless myriads would visit the settlements. Sometimes
flocks in their flight could be seen extending more than five
miles long, as they passed to other feeding grounds or to
their nightly roosting places. In those days the settler who
was so inclined could easily furnish meat for his table the
whole year thru, with no other implement than his gun and
a little of his time both used in a way that the modern
resident would regard as the finest kind of sport. In fact,
the city man of these days has been known to travel thou-
sands of miles and spend hundreds of dollars for the priv-
ilege of shooting a single deer or bear and thought it was
well worth the outlay. This is merely one of the changes
that a century of development has wrought.
GOV. SHADRACH BOND
Shadrach Bond was born in Frederick County, Maryland,
in the year 1773. He was the son of a pious father who gave
scriptural names to his boys. Shadrach's brothers were named
Nicodemus and Joshua. He was reared on a plantation and
educated as a practical farmer, and farming was his business
in life except when he was engaged in public service for
his country. His school training was very limited, but he
was a close observer and in the school of life he acquired
a good knowledge of mankind and the various springs of
Four Hundred and Sixtv-Tmo
human action. In mature .ige
he was an intelligent practi-
cal citizen and servant of his
fellow men. Governor Rey-
nolds says of him, "He was
not a lady parlor scholar who
read the novels of love sick
swains and fainting girls, nor
did he ever wash his face m
cologne water, but he was
nature's nobleman, educated
in the wide world of the hu-
man family, and his con-
science and sound judgment GOVERNOR BOND
were his unerring preceptors. The whole creation should be
a man's school house and nature his teacher. Bond studied
in this college and Providence gave him a diploma."
He came to Illinois in 1794 and lived with his uncle, Shad-
rach Bond, senior, for some years, and then purchased a farm
for himself in the American Bottom and improved it well.
By his example and influence he was a leader m a movement
for the improvement of farming and social conditions among
the farm people, that began about 1800. He labored on his
farm with his own hands, with such help as he could obtain
in that early day. He felt an honest pride in being dependent
on no one for support except Mother Earth and "God that
giveth the increase." He spent the happiest part of his life
on the farm. He possessed warm and ardent feelings and
when in the society of his friends around the festive hoard
he was not only happy himself but m.ide all around him
happy also. In personal appearance he was large and portly,
SIX feet tall and weighed over two hundred pounds, erect
and symmetrical, in manner and bearing noble, dignified,
and commanding: his features were regular but strong and
masculine, his hair a glossy jet black, he had large brilliant
hazel eyes, his forehead was prominent and his countenance
indicated superior intellect. Such was the person of "Farmer
Bond." In early life he was a member of the General Assem-
bly of the Indiana Territory, which met at Vincennes and
he was a good, substantial member. In 1812 he was the first
delegate to our national Congress. There he secured the
passage of a law to grant the right of preemption to early
settlers so that they might acquire a clear title to the land
they occupied, and thus secure the improvements they had
made upon it. This proved a great stimulus to the settlement
of Illinois lands. When the settlers felt that they could hold
the improvements they made, they were encouraged to make
more. This brought public lands into market and started a
stream of immigration which was strong, deep and constant.
It was the keystone to the arch of prosperity in Illinois. This
one achievement entitles Bond to the lasting gratitude of his
fellow-countrymen. He remained in Congress only one term.
In 1814 he was appointed Receiver of Public Moneys at
Kaskaskia. He then moved from his farm in the American
Bottom to Kaskaskia and established a farm near that town.
In 1818, when the first state officers were chosen for Illinois,
he was elected Governor without opposition. The office of
Governor was especially important during that first term m
the time of transition from Territorial to State government.
He performed the duties of the office in a satisfactory manner
and retired with the good will of the people. Some time later
he was appointed Registrar of the land office at Kaskaskia,
m which office he continued till his death in 1830.
JOHN EDGAR
John Edgar was a native of Ireland and a subject of King
George III. In 1776 he was m the British naval service and
commander of a vessel on the Great Lakes. When the colonies
raised their standard of freedom and independence, he was
in full sympathy with them. His own people had chafed un-
der English oppressions. He could not bring himself to fight
for a country which m his heart he despised, and against a
people that he admired and loved. He considered the mat-
ter carefully and made his decision to cast his lot with the
Americans. He resigned from the army of King George, and
in 1784 he came to Kaskaskia with a stock of merchandise
and established a store in that town. He lived there almost
half a century, until his death in 183,2. He was an active bus-
iness man, extensively engaged in land trade, and also in the
milling business. He erected a fine flour mill on the same site
on which M. Paget had built one sixty years before. This
mill was a great benefit to the public and very profitable to
the proprietor. Before the year 1800 he manufactured large
quantities of flour for the New Orleans market, which would
compare favorably with the flour made on the Atlantic coast.
Mr. Edgar was the owner of a splendid mansion in Kas-
kaskia, where the traveller and the stranger always found
a hearty welcome. No one ever displayed more real hos-
pitality than he did m his home. For many years he was
the wealthiest man in Illinois. He held real estate in many
quarters and paid more taxes than any man in the terri-
tory. But with all his wealth he was kind and benevolent.
Nor did it ever change his deportment from that of a true
American gentleman.
He was elected from Illinois as a member of the Legis-
lature of the Northwest Territory. This General Assem-
bly convened at Chilicothe, Ohio, and was held under the
administration of Governor Arthur St. Clair. At home he
served as Justice of the Peace and Judge of the Court of
Common Pleas. Edgar County, Illinois was named m his
honor.
CHAPTER VI.
French Customs and Pioneer Life
'he French settlers of Illinois in the early times were
mostly agriculturists, but their implements were
neither well made nor of the proper kind. Their
plows were a curiosity. They had an iron point, but a
wooden mold-board with a straight beam and almost per-
pendicular handles. They seldom plowed with horses, but
used oxen. They also had a strange custom of yoking their
oxen by the horns instead of the neck. Sometimes they used
oxen to draw their carts, but generally horses were used
for this. Reynolds says a wagon was not seen in Illinois for
nearly a hundred years after its settlement. The French ox
cart was called "bare-footed," because it had no iron tires
on the wheels. In a country where there were no rocks to
travel over, these all wood wheels answered the purpose
quite well. They had no tanned leather for any purpose
whatever. They made harness out of raw hide. The French
houses were usually one story high and made of wood, tho
some were built of stone. There was not a brick house in
the country for a hundred years or more after the first
settlement. Roofs were sometimes thatched with straw or
prairie grass. This sort of roof looked well, and if properly
put on, lasted longer than shingles. When shingles were
used, they were fastened on with pegs or weights. They
were generally made of white oak and were very durable.
The doors were plain baton work, mostly of walnut. The
windows generally had some glass in them and opened on
hinges, according to the French custom. In those days they
usually had neat clean wells walled with rock and provided
with a windlass for drawing water, so that their water
supply was convenient and clean. The costume of the French
of that day, hke most of their other characteristics, was
rather peculiar. It seems that the masses of this nationality
whether in the old world or the new, have a strong pref-
erence for the color blue. Blue handkerchiefs were frequently
worn on the head by both sexes in place of a hat. It was
tastefully tied on and seemed rather becoming, even to men.
The capot, made of a white blanket, was the universal dress
for the laboring class of people. A kind of cap was attached
behind, at the cape, which in cold weather was raised over
the head; in the house or in good weather it was permitted
to rest on the shoulders like an ordinary cape. The men
wore pantaloons of coarse blue stuff in the summer and
buckskin in winter. The women did not work as hard as
the men and therefore dressed neater and better than the
male part of the community. The French fashions from New
Orleans or Pans were promptly adopted to the extent of
their means and ability. The women generally and the men
largely wore buckskin moccasins. Reynolds' history calls
this article of foot wear a "mawkawsin." Both men and
women were usually provided with some more tasty and
attractive apparel for the church and the ball room. With
sentiments of true piety it afforded them great pleasure to
attend church and perform their religious devotions. After
the duties of their religion were discharged, various forms
of recreation and amusement were indulged in, even on the
same day that they attended church. But it was in the ball
room where these merry and innocent people really enjoyed
themselves. All care was cast aside for the pleasures of the
dance. The French ball room seemed to afford an intense
degree of excitement and animation to all classes of the peo-
ple. The young and old, the rich and poor, all met together
in good feeling and hearts overflowing with ecstasies of mer-
riment. They had an ancient custom by which several young
men about the last of the year would go around to various
houses in the village disguised as beggars, they would enter
a house, dancing what they called the Gionie, which was an
invitation for them to meet and have a ball to dance away
the old year. Then on New Year's eve, both young and old
would assemble, each bringing some kind of refreshment,
and in good earnest they would dance away the old year.
About the sixth of January they were accustomed to hold
a celebration called "Le Jour de Rais." A party was held
and four beans baked in a large cake. The cake was distrib-
uted among the gentlemen and each one who received a
bean was proclaimed King. These four kings would give
the next ball. These kings each selected a queen and gave
her a suitable present, then these eight arranged everything
necessary for the dancing party. In these merry parties, no
formal dinner was indulged in. The purpose was not to eat,
but to make merry. They had refreshments of cake and coffee
served at intervals which were sufficient for their needs.
Sometimes bouillon took the place of coffee. Towards the
close of the party each queen selected a new king and kissed
him to qualify him for office. Then each new king chose a
new queen and the whole performance was repeated. In
this manner the king balls were kept up until the carnival
was ended.
In the ball room order and decorum were strictly observed.
Two aged and discreet persons were chosen, called provosts,
one to select the ladies for the dance and the other the gen-
tlemen, so that each h.id the opportunity to dance in his
proper turn. The older people regulated the whole affair,
the time to go home and the time to meet again. By this
regulation much of the excesses and hirmtul results com-
monly attributed to dancing parties, were avoided.
HISTORIC INCIDENTS OF PIONEER LIFE
The "Annals of the West" tells the following incident
that occurred in March, 1813, partly in St. Clair County.
Rev. David McLain, having started tor Kentucky, had
crossed the Kaskaskia at "Hill's Ferry," m the present
county ot Clinton, when without warning they were tired
upon by a party ot Indians. Young was killed and scalped.
McLain's horse was shot from under him, but he, being a
good runner, tried to escape by flight thru the thick woods
of the river bottom with several Indians m pursuit. He
soon outdistanced all but one who was an athletic tellow
and seemed determined not to lose his prey. McLain was
encumbered with a heavy overcoat, leggings, and spurs.
The Indian fired, missed him, and stopped to reload. This
gave McLain a chance to throw otF his overcoat, thinking
the Indian might be attracted by that and give up the chase.
When he was nearing exhaustion and the Indian was about
to overtake him he stopped, made' signs of surrender, and
then as the Indian came near he assumed an attitude ot
defiance and watched the motions ot his enemy. As he was
about to fire he dodged quickly and the ball went astray.
Then he exerted all his energy to escape until the Indian
was about to overtake him again, when he would repeat
the performance. He kept up this running contest for more
than an hour, during which the Indian shot at him seven
times and once wounded him m the arm. He now decided
as a last resort to swim the river, and tho he was almost
tired out he jumped in and started across diagonally down
stream. He watched the Indian, and just as he was about
to shoot again he dived into the deep water of the stream
and came up close to the other side. At this the disgusted
Indian gave up the chase and probably told his fellow braves
that he had pursued a "great medicine," who was so charmed
that a musket ball could not kill him. After strenuous effort
and much suffering from his wound, he reached the Badgley
settlement, thirty-five miles away, by the next morning.
ADVENTURE OF THOlvIAS HIGGINS
A frontier settlement on Shoal Creek, a few miles east
of the present border of St. Clair, had a block house which
was one of the stations for the rangers m the War of 1S12,
One morning m the summer of 1S14, a company of 12
rangers, including Higgms, started out m pursuit of a band
ot Indians who had been seen prowling .iround the fort the
day before. They had not gone tar enough to be out of
sight of the block house when they were ambuscade J and
surrounded by a party of 70 or 80 Indians. At the first fire
the commander and three men were killed. Six fled to the
fort, but Higgins tarried, as he said, "to have one more
pull at the enemy." His horse was shot m the neck, and as
he supposed, mortally wounded, so he took to a tree, resolv-
ing to avenge the loss of his comrades. When the smoke
had cleared away a little, he fired at the Indians ,ind the
foremost fell dead. By this time his horse had recovered his
feet and Higgins mounted him to ride to the fort. Just then
a familiar voice from the tall grass said, "Tom, you won't
leave me, will you?" Turning, he s.iw a tellow soldier named
Burgess, lying wounded and helpless. "Come along," said
Higgins. "I can't," replied Burgess, "My leg is smashed."
Higgms instantly dismounted, but while he was trying to
get the wounded man on the horse, the animal took fright
and ran away, leaving Higgins with the wounded man. He
directed him to crawl thru the grass on his hands and one
leg while he remained behind to protect him from the In'
dians. In this way Burgess reached the Fort. Higgins took
another direction to toll the Indians away from his friend.
Several of the savages saw and followed him. In the running
fight that followed, Higgins killed several of the Indians,
but received four bullets into his own body and a blow
from a tomahawk had severed one ear and laid bare the
skull on one side of his head. The soldiers watched the fight
from the fort but were afraid to venture out to help him.
At this point a woman in the fort, named Mrs. Pursley,
urged the rangers to the rescue, and when they objected,
taunted them with cowardice. She then snatched her hus-
band's rifle from his hands, declaring that "so fine a fellow
as Tom Higgins should not be lost for want of help," and
mounting a horse, she sallied forth to the rescue. Some of
the men, ashamed to be outdone by a woman, mounted
and followed at full gallop. They reached the spot where
Higgins had vanquished his immediate opponents, but had
fallen fainting in the deathly struggle, and before the main
body of Indians came up, they brought the wounded ranger
into the fort. For many days his life was despaired of.
There was no surgeon. Some of his friends cut two of the
bullets out of his body, and by careful nursing, he recov
ered. Some years after, he extracted another of the bullets
Four Hwuired and S.xlv-Fuf
|mc KENDREE"^^fe^.^^...^^_,„
from his thigh with his own hands and a razor. But he
lived many years after and died at a good old age in Fay
ette County.
JOHN MOREDOCK
John Moredock came to the American Bottom with his
brother, Barney, and his step-fiither, Mr. Huff, in 1786.
Barney died in early life, and the step-father was killed by
the Indians, so John inherited a considerable estate in early
life, and without much opportunity for education and de-
velopment of character. He had little opportunity for edu-
cation in the schools, therefore his book learning was limited.
He could merely read and write, and was acquainted with
a few calculations in arithmetic. Making a living in the
American Bottom was not difficult and he did not pay much
attention to it. His youthful days were spent in a kind of
poetic action. He possessed a mind of good ability and let it
loose like Childe Harold "He vexed with mirth the drowsy
ear of night." But few individuals in any country possessed
the vigorous intellect that nature bestowed upon him. But
the situation in the country rendered this gift of nature of
little use, and possibly even injurious. Physically he was a
model of symmetry and masculine beauty. He was above
the ordinary size, and rather corpulent. His complexion dark,
his eyes were large and black and displayed uncommon bril-
liancy. In all social circles, among the young or old, with
the wild or rehgious, he was always the center of attraction,
and the commanding spirit of the circle. He acquired among
the French their language and their accomplishments in the
dance. He possessed an excellent natural talent for music
and performed well on the violin. The necessities of the
country taught him the use of the gun and he became an
excellent marksman and hunter. Horse racing was a sport
in which he took great delight. He was also enamored of
various games of cards, the love of which grew upon him
and finally ruined him.
He was benevolent and kind, and possessed no malice in
his heart. He had no gall in his makeup and was firm and
warm in his attachments. Had he been reared under different
conditions and had received a competent education, he would
have been a great man.
Nature did much for him, so he depended on these natural
gifts and did nothing for himself. He was indolent in the
extreme in everything except the pursuit of pleasure. Never-
theless, when he reached a mature age, he was frequently
called upon to serve the public. In 1803 he was elected to
represent St. Clair County in the Territorial Legislature at
Vincennes. He acquitted himself in the Legislature to the
satisfaction of the public. He was very popular with the
ladies. He married a Miss Garrison, who was a step-daughter
of Judge Bond. She was an amiable lady and of an excellent
family. Moredock and his family lived on his farm in the
American Bottom until his death in 1830. He had some talent
for military tactics. He served in the War of 1812, first as
a captain and later as a major. In 1814 he was elected to
represent St. Clair County in the Territorial Legislature of
Illinois, at Kaskaskia. He had his foibles and frailties, but
on the whole he was a noble pioneer and should be remem-
bered for the service he rendered to his adopted state rather
than by the failings he may have had.
The first American school teacher who ever taught in
Illinois was John Seely, who taught a school at New De-
sign in 1783, in the present county of Monroe, but that
was before any county had been organized. The next was
Francis Clark, who appeared later in the same year. He has
been accused of not being a prohibitionist. The next was
an Irishman named Halfpenny, who taught school in many
sections of Illinois for many years. He taught almost all the
American children in Illinois in his day, who received any
education at all. He might be styled the schoolmaster-general
of Illinois at that day. It seems unfortunate that we have
no further record, either of the man or his work.
JOHN MURDICK
John Murdick was a natural born humorist. If he had
lived in a later period and had a good education he would
probably have been a writer in the class of Bill Nye or
Josh Billings. But living in the pioneer period and without
education, he found vent for his native tendency in a con-
tinual succession of practical jokes.
He was born in Kentucky in 1790 and came to New De-
sign with his parents in 1796. Soon after that time his
father died. His mother tried to send him to school, but she
seemed to have very little control over him, and there were
no truant officers in that day. So John seldom even went
to the school house. After a few years his Mother married
George Blair, who owned the present site of Belleville.
John took great delight in playing tricks on his step-
f ither. He would slyly pin some sort of appendage to Mr.
Blair's coat tail and when the prank was discovered he never
laughed or showed the least degree of emotion. But still
everybody understood who was the perpetrator. He shaved
the hair off the manes and tails of his step-father's horses,
so as to "have a joke on the old man." As he grew older,
this habit of playing tricks grew on him till not only his
step-father, but the whole community grew thoroughly tired
Four Ht<T.drfd and Si
of him. He seemed to h.ive been horn with an .mtipathy to
anything Hke useful work, and from his childhood to man-
hood, it cost more m coaxing and threatening to make him
work than the work he did was worth. But he would labor
for days and even weeks to accomplish some prank in which
he was interested, such as to carry rails half a mile in the
night to make a fence around some man's front door. He
would get up in the night when the rest of the family were
asleep, ride many miles to play some prank and be back m
bed again before the family were awake. But when it came
to work he obstinately refused. At church one day he slyly
slipped a deck of cards into the preacher's pocket.
He had little love for a certain Baptist preacher in the
neighborhood where he lived. One day during the church
services, while the good man was diligently preaching the
gospel, Murdick slipped out, and while all the others were
interested in the sermon so there were none to watch him,
he found the preacher's horse hitched near by m the woods.
He took the saddle and bridle off the horse and put them
on an old muly ox. The horse ran home, but when the ser-
vice closed and the people came out to go home there stood
the old ox all saddled and bridled and ready for the preacher
to ride. The people had a good idea who did these tricks,
but they were unable to prove it on him.
He got married, but lived with his wife only at intervals.
He made a sorry attempt at being a husband as he did almost
everything else. During the War of 1812 he entered the
military service and joined the rangers, but he "ranged"
with the other soldiers or staid at home almost at his pleas-
ure. The oiEcers couldn't do much with him. While he was
still connected with the army, being in camp at Peoria, he
provided himself with two black bottles and went to the
sutler, the army store keeper, and asked for a quart of whis-
key. He had already filled one bottle with water and left
the other empty. The sutler put the whiskey in the empty
bottle and stood waiting for his pay. Murdick observed m
a very grave and serious manner that he was now away
from home and had no money, so he wished it charged to
his account. The sutler refused. Then Murdick pulled out
of his pocket the bottle containing the water and said, "Well,
you'll have to pour it back in the barrel then." The sutler
put the neck of the black bottle in the bung hole of the
barrel and poured the water into the barrel of whiskey. Thus
Murdick traded water for whiskey.
On another occasion, at Rattan's prairie, near Edwards-
ville, he and some of his boon companions played what they
regarded as a great joke on a landlord who sold drinks. They
had not money to buy ,is much liquor as they wanted.
Murdick had but one bit, a small coin used in those days
which was worth twelve and a half cents. With this he
bought a halt pint ot whiskey. He watched where the pro
prietor put the money, and observed that his money recep-
tacle was an old teacup which sat on a high shelf. The land-
lord, having but little business m the bar room, frequently
went to the kitchen to help with the work going on there.
In his absence Murdick recovered the bit from the teacup,
and when the landlord returned, bought another drink with
It. Again the process was repeated in order that Murdick's
friends might get drinks. It was kept up at intervals all the
day. In the evening the proprietor thought he must have
his teacup about full and took it down to count his day's
receipts, and found only the one lone coin in it. Murdick
and his companions were in high glee over the success of
their prank, and they had enough whiskey to make them
hilarious. It was the law that the United States Rangers
were to furnish their own provisions and outfit. So they
were permitted at times to go home, fix themselves up, and
return with necessary supplies. Murdick made a visit home.
When he returned to Camp Russell, near Edwardsville, he
caught a ground hog and put it alive in his saddle bags.
When he had hitched his horse near the fort and began
greeting his friends, he told one of them that he had "some-
thing out in his saddle bags." The friend, who was of the
thirsty kind, inferred that it was a bottle of whiskey, so he,
alone and on the sly, went out to Murdick's horse and thrust
his hand in the saddle bags to get the bottle. Forthwith
the ground hog bit him. He jerked his bleeding hand away,
and stifling his pain, resolved that since misery loves com-
pany. It would be some satisfaction to get some one else
into the same difficulty. So he went and told another ranger
in an undertone that he got a fine dram out of Murdick's
saddlebags. This one, also desiring to quench his thirst,
quietly and quickly repaired to Murdick's horse and thrust
his hand into the saddle bags. The ground hog, doubtless
feeling that he was having his private rights rudely invaded,
grasped the hand in his sharp teeth and held on. The ranger,
unable to withdraw his hand and suffering from the pain-
ful contact, roared for help. This attracted the attention
of the camp. Some friends came to his assistance, and Mur-
dick and his friends enjoyed the joke hugely.
Murdick was a man of medium size and erect in bearing,
but exceedingly spare-built and almost as thin as a skeleton.
He seemed to possess no great passions or ambitions, but
the energies of his mind were inclined to such feats as
MC KENDREE
those related above. The pranks of his life would fill a vol-
ume. After the close of the War of 1812, he enlisted in the
regular army and not long after died in the service.
DUTCH PETES AMEN
In the early days, before the end of the eighteenth cen-
tury, religious privileges were rare in the Illinois countr>'.
There were no organized churches and only an occasional
preacher of the gospel wandered thru the newly-formed
settlements and preached to small groups assembled at the
cabin of a neighbor. When there was no preacher in the
community, sometimes an elderly layman would hold a meet-
ing for prayer and song and religious conference. It was
probably in December, 1793,, that Shadrach Bond, Senior,
the uncle of Governor Bond, and commonly known as Judge
Bond, was holding a meeting of this kind at some house in
the New Design settlement. While the Judge was officiating
in an informal manner, a stranger came into the meeting.
He was a large portly man with dark hair, a florid complexion
and regular features. His dress was somewhat superior to
the deer skin hunting shirts and Indian moccasins of the
settlers. His countenance was grave and his aspect so serious
that the mind of the leader was impressed with the idea
that he might perhaps be a preacher. So without any infor-
mation as to his name or standing, he was invited to close
the exercises of the hour "if he was a praying man." The
stranger accepted the invitation, knelt on the floor and made
a fluent, solemn and impressive prayer. There was a man
in the group, of small talents and rather narrow views, who
on account of his nationality bore the sobriquet of "Dutch
Pete. " In the land office his name appeared as Peter Smith.
Pete was a zealous Methodist, and when his own brethren
or preachers prayed he felt moved by the Spirit to utter
"Amen" at the close of every sentence. On this occasion,
while the people were on their knees or with heads bowed
during the earnest prayer of the stranger, Pete manifested
great uneasiness. He fidgeted one way and then another,
uttered a low but audible groan and to those near him he
seemed in trouble. The very earnest and impressive prayer
of the strange gentleman was exciting his feelings beyond
suppression. He might not be a Methodist, but Pete thought
that he prayed like one. At last he reached a point of fervor
where he could hold in no longer, and bawled out at the
top of his voice, ^'Amm, at a wenture!" The stranger
proved to be Rev. Josiah Dodge, of Kentucky, who was on
a visit to his brother. Dr. Israel Dodge, of St. Genevieve,
and he was the father of Hon. Henry S. Dodge, who was
at one time Governor of Wisconsin, and later United States
Senator from that state. Hearing of these religious people
being entirely destitute of ministerial instruction, he had
come to visit them, and if they wished it, to preach to
them. He spent some time in the settlement, preached fre-
quently, and awakened a new interest in religion. In Feb'
ruary, the ice was cut in Fountain Creek and he baptised
James Lemen, Senior, and Catharine, his wife, John Gibbons
and Isaac Enochs. These ^'ere the first persons ever baptised
in the Illinois Territory.
Four Hundred and Sixtv-EiRlit
Fmc kendreeT
CHAPTER VII.
Some Early St. Clair County Physicians
^'^ovERNOR Reynolds mentions a long list ot the phy-
^V 1 sicians of this early period. Among them was Dr.
Truman Turtle, who came to Kaskaski.i m 1S02 as
a surgeon in the United States Army. After resigning his
position m the army, he practiced in Kaskaskia for a time
and then came to Cahokia. Later he was appointed Judge
of the Court of Common Pleas and Justice of the Peace.
Another was Dr. Lyle, of whom we have scant record,
but the statement that "He was a good physician," which
is more than can be truthfully said of some more modern
practitioners.
Dr. George Fisher was considered one ot the best m his
day. He came from Hardy County, Virginia, m very early
times and settled in Kaskaskia, but he did not continue long
in his profession. He possessed a well trained active mind
and was an agreeable and benevolent character. Soon after
the Territory of Indiana was established. Governor Harrison
appointed Dr. Fisher the Sheriff of Randolph County. He
performed the duties of this office to the satisfaction of the
people for- many years. He was elected to the first General
Assembly of the Illinois Territory and became Speaker of
the House of Representatives. This is a position of dignity,
no matter where the assembly may be. He was also elected
to the Convention of 1818, which drafted the first consti-
tution of our great state. He died on his farm at the foot
of the bluffs in 1820.
Dr. William L. Reynolds came from Bracken County,
Kentucky, and settled in Kaskaskia in 1809. He possessed
talents of a high order and integrity of character that digni-
fies human nature in any situation of life. He had received
a college education and was well-versed in the medical
science. For many years he reigned triumphant in his pro-
fession in the community as Dr. Fisher had retired to his
farm. He also practiced some years in Cahokia. He was elected
to the Territorial Legislature in 181 5 and was instrumental
in establishing Jackson County and naming it in honor of
the great general of the War of rSii.
There was a Dr. Wallace who rendered professional ser-
vice to the people of New Design in their terrible epidemic
sickness in the year 1797. He was a skillful physician, but
there is little on record in reference to his character.
Dr. James Rose came from Kentucky to Kaskaskia m the
year 1805. He possessed talents and made a good physician
in his early life. He was a little lame, but before he forgot
himself in his friendship for alcohol, his mind was not lame.
He enjoyed a good practice in Kaskaskia and vicinity. Later
he moved to Belleville. Toward the close of his career he
neglected his profession, and of course it neglected him.
Dr. Caldwell Cairnes was a physician good and true in
olden times in Illinois. He came from Pennsylvania about
the beginning of the eighteenth century. He was caught in
the great tornado of i&o=^, but escaped with his life. Late
in life he acquired a splendid farm which he called "Walnut
Grove." He both farmed on a large scale and pursued his
profession. He served as Justice of the Peace and County
Judge in St. Clair County. When Monroe County was or-
ganized he was one of its representatives in the convention
which formed the first constitution, and made a good mem-
ber of that body.
Dr. Estes is said to have been the first physician who
settled m Belleville. He built a residence a short distance
south of the public square in 181 5. This also served as his
office. Reynolds says of him that he had a strong mind, but
It was not properly balanced. He was the captain of a hand
of "regulators" organized m 18 15 to protect the country
from horse thieves and other criminals. It was generally be-
lieved that they dealt out justice in a very effective manner.
After a few years Dr. Estes moved away.
Dr. Joseph Green, who married the widow of Alphonso
C. Stuart, was a man of quiet and peaceable disposition, and
for a long time practiced his profession in the Belleville com-
munity. He was reasonable in his charges, regulating his fees
by his judgment of human nature and the wealth of his
patients. He was remarkably humane and kind m his treat'
ment of dumb animals. He would frequently get off his horse
and lead him, merely to rest the horse. For many years an
old sorrel horse carried him on his visits to his patients, and
he would ride no other. Sometimes persons would come for
him in a buggy, in order to secure his presence quickly, but to
no avail; for if the old sorrel was not at hand he would walk.
He possessed unusual caution and would always dismount
and lead his horse across a bridge. One day a neighbor bor-
rowed the horse, and not being acquainted with the doctor's
habit, he endeavored to cross a bridge without dismounting.
The horse refused to go, even resisting the application of
whip and spur. At length the rider dismounted, secured
hickory withe, and again mounting, beat the old horse un-
mercifully till he forced him across. The next time the good
Four Hundred and Sixtv-Nme
t^^ ^ENDR^E^^^^^^^^^^^
doctor travelled that road, he was greatly surprised when
old sorrel bolted across the bridge at headlong speed without
giving him a chance to get off. This shows the influence of
discipline, even upon dumb brutes. Dr. Green had spent his
early life among the Pennsylvania Germans and was ac-
quainted with their language. So that he and Lewis and
Jacob Myers were the first persons in Belleville who could
speak the German language. He was also acquainted with
French. He was elected to the Legislature in 1837. He was
an ardent Whig in politics, and a strong advocate of internal
improvements, particularly of building railroads. He became
interested in silk culture, procured silk worms and erected
a cocoonery. His wife made the silk into thread on an ordi-
nary spinning wheel and then wove the thread into a kind
of cloth. The doctor died in 1842.
Dr. William G. Goforth settled in the county seat in 1816
and practiced his profession till his death in 1835. He is said
to have been a singular man, both in mental and physical
characteristics. He looked and acted like no one else. He
practiced medicine successfully, tho perhaps he relied as
much on his natural genius and experience as on scientific
knowledge of the profession. He felt the patient's pulse,
looked at his tongue, and immediately adopted a course of
treatment. Governor Reynolds always consulted him when
he needed medical advice. He was very tall, with a long
and slender neck. He had the reputation of being the home-
liest man in all the country round.
A story is current that a man of very unattractive appear-
ance once came to Belleville from an eastern state, carrying
a jack knife which had been presented to him in consideration
of his ugliness. Meeting Dr. Goforth's brother then visiting
in Belleville, and who resembled the doctor in appearance,
the stranger stopped him and wanted to hand over the knife,
remarking that it had been given him with instructions to
carry it till he found a homelier man than himself, and he
thought he had now succeeded. "No," replied Goforth, "I
am not the man you are looking for. It is my brother." So
the doctor was found and promptly presented with the
knife. He carried it for a long time, but finally met a man
from Madison County, to whom it was awarded. Years later
the doctor took to drinking. He then reformed and began
delivering temperance lectures, but later fell a victim to his
old habits, and finally met his death by accident when he
was thrown from his horse one day while intoxicated.
Dr. William Heath was another early physician. He was
a Virginian by birth. He was a Methodist preacher also and
preached at occasional intervals. He held that a physician
must live by his fees, so when practice was light he charged
high fees, and vice versa. He had the reputation of making
long prayers and big bills. He charged the McClintock family
one hundred and twenty dollars for his services during one
spell of sickness, and that was a large sum in those days.
He moved to St. Louis, and later to Alton, where he died
some years after.
Dr. Francis J. Crabb was one of the early medical prac-
titioners in St. Clair County. His first wife was a daughter
of Edward Mitchell and his second wife was a member of
the Ogle family.
Dr. Woodworth settled in Belleville about the year 1820,
but after practicing his profession for a number of years,
moved to another city.
DR. ADOLPHUS REUSS
Adolphus Reuss was one of the old citizens in the vicinity
of Shiloh. He was born in Frankfort-on-the-Main, in Ger-
many, November 28, 1804. He was the youngest of a family
of eight children. He early manifested an inclination to lit-
erary pursuits, and as soon as he had finished the necessary
preparatory studies, he entered the University of Gottingen,
from which institution he graduated in 1825 with the degree
of M. D. He took graduate work in Paris and Berlin and
thereby secured as thorough an education as could be ob-
tained at that time in the field of medicine. After completing
his studies he practiced his profession in Frankfort, his native
city, as long as he lived in Europe. Like many of the educated
young men of that day in Germany, he took an active interest
in politics. He was not in sympathy with the existing form
of government in Germany, but desired to live in a land of
freedom, free institutions and independence. Accordingly he
bade farewell to his native land and came to America in
1834. He came west as far as the Mississippi Valley and
after traveUing extensively through IlUnois, Iowa, and Mis-
souri, he chose St. Clair County, Illinois, as the most desir-
able place of residence. Accordingly he purchased two hun-
dred acres of land near Shiloh, which at that time was mostly
covered with timber. Upon this he settled and made his
home for the remainder of his life. This was in a day when
there were but few German immigrants, in comparison with
the multitudes who came later. His former professional and
city life were not calculated to fit him for the work of the
pioneer. Yet in spite of these handicaps he successfully
adapted himself to the conditions of the early settler, pro-
vided a good home for his family, and diligently practiced
his profession. He succeeded in building up a large medical
practice and was recognized as one of the ablest physicians
Four Hundred and Ssv^
in all this region. He took an interest in the affairs of his
country and the political movements of the times. He was
associated with the Democratic party until slavery became
the absorbing topic of the day, and since he was strongly
opposed to human slavery he allied himself with the party
of Abraham Lincoln and was a Republican the rest of his
life. While he was interested in politics he never would con-
sent to become a candidate for any office, preferring to give
his entire energies to his profession and the interests of his
home. He was a man of literary attainments and culture. In
his youth he was a diligent student of the languages. He
was fond of reading and accumulated a large library of books
in Greek, Latin, Italian, French, German, and English. He
was acquainted with all these languages. This library is
mostly intact m the old fimily home and cont.uns many
rare volumes that would be counted as treasures by the
bibliophile. He erected a fine country mansion of spacious
proportions and provided with all the comforts that could
be had in a country home m those days, and here abundant
hospitality was dispensed by the doctor and his large family.
His wife was also a native of Frankfort. They were the par-
ents of nine children, all of whom grew to maturity. All
but three are still hving, and of the living, all but one are
residents of St. Clair County. The doctor lived a long and
useful life which ended May 7, 1878. His wife died a few
years before. His youngest son, Ferdinand, with his family
now lives in the old home and is ever ready to exhibit its
treasures to all who are interested.
Four Hundred and Sc,
CHAPTER VIII.
Some Lawyers of St. Clair County
tr^HE Fi
(^andl
"iRST Lawyer to practice the profession in Illinois,
hence the first in St. Clair County, was John Rice
Jones. He was born in Wales, February lo, 1759. He
received a thorough classical education and studied law in
England. He was a good linguist, being well-acquainted with
Greek, Latin, and French, besides the English. His sound
logical mind also enabled him to become an excellent math-
ematician, and he preferred mathematics to any other science.
He was, in fact, an accomplished scholar, and with his thor-
ough preparation soon became a scientific and profound law-
yer, and throughout his life he was an able and enlightened
expounder of the law. In 1780 he came to Philadelphia and
practiced law there a few years. In 1787, the year the North-
west Territory was organized, he located in Vincennes. In
1788 he assisted William Biggs in effecting a release from
captivity with the Indians and returning to his family at
the New Design settlement. In 1790 Jones left Vincennes
and settled in Kaskaskia, which was then in St. Clair County.
In f<ict that was the same year the county was organized.
He was a man of strong passions which sometimes swept
over his reason like a tornado. His friendships were ardent
and sincere, and his hatred and anger were excessively scath-
ing for the moment. When his feelings of ire were excited,
his words burned his victim like drops of molten lead on
the naked skin. He was mild and amiable until some injury
or insult was offered him, then he burst asunder all restraints
and stood out the fearless champion of his rights, bidding
defiance to all opposition. He practiced law in important
cases at different times in various courts of the western
country. At Louisville, Ky., Vincennes, Indiana, and later,
in many of the courts of Missouri. In 1810 he left Illinois
and settled in St. Louis. The remainder of his life was spent
in Missouri, and he finally became a member of the Supreme
Court of that state.
His decisions in the Supreme Court were always much
respected by the bar and the public. He died in St. Louis
in 1824, in the sixty-fifth year of his age. On his death bed
he said he "did not desire to live any longer, as he could
be of no further service to his family or his country, and
might be a source of trouble if he should live longer." He
was perfectly resigned to his fate and died with that calm
composure which naturally attends the exit of that "noblest
work of God," an honest man. In person, Judge Jones was
small, but erect and active. His complexion was dark and
his hair and eyes very black. When excited, his eye was
very severe and piercing. His integrity and honor were
above suspicion. He was exemplary in his moral habits and
lived a temperate and orderly life in all things. He left a
large and respectable family, and several of his sons have
held important offices in the country. One of them became
a United States Senator from Iowa.
It seems proper here to give a brief sketch of his oldest
son. Rice Jones. He was a young man of great ability and
promise, educated for the medical profession but afterwards
changing to the law, he had finished his legal education and
began the practice of law at Kaskaskia while his father was
located at that place. He entered the field of politics and
immediately attained a position of leadership in his own
party. Party spirit raged in Kaskaskia at that time with a
violence scarcely equalled at any time since. Young Jones
caught the mania and became excessively zealous. He had
been elected to the Legislature, and reaching such a position
of prominence at so early an age, he naturally aroused the
jealousy of some other politicians. A controversy, growing
out of politics, arose between him and Shadrach Bond, who
afterward became Governor of Illinois. A duel was arranged
for as a means of settling the matter. The two men, with
their seconds, met on an island in the Mississippi between
Kaskaskia and St. Genevieve. When they had their positions,
but before the signal to fire had been given, Jones' pistol,
having a hair trigger, went off by accident. Dunlap, the
second of Bond, said that was Jones' fire and that now Bond
should be permitted to fire at Jones. But Bond, with that
greatness of soul that appeared in all his actions, said, "It
was an accident." Then after some friendly discussion, Jones
and Bond settled their controversy without further appeal
to arms, and went away friends. But a bitter quarrel arose
between Jones and Dunlap. This controversy waxed warmer
and more malignant until at last Dunlap shot Jones on the
public streets of Kaskaskia. Jones was standing in the street
talking with a lady when Dunlap came up behind him and
shot him dead with a pistol. This horrible murder shocked
the community and to some extent quieted the party feuds
for a time. This murder occurred in 1809 when Jones was
in the twenty-eighth year of his age. Dunlap escaped to
Texas and was never punished by the temporal courts.
Four Hundred and Snentv-Tu
MC KENDREE
ISAAC DARNIELLE
In the year 1794 Isaac Darnielle arrived in Cahokia, and
remained m the west for several years. He practiced law,
having settled m Cahokia six years later than John Rice
Jones came to Kaskaskia, and was therefore the second lawyer
who practiced in the courts of Illinois. He was a classic
scholar and was in person very genteel, with agreeable and
polished manners. He was large and portly and always made
it a point to be extremely neat in dress, and very attentive
to his personal appearance. The material for this sketch was
taken from Governor Reynolds' account of Mr. Darnielle,
and the Governor seems to pride himself on being a sort ot
scripture biographer, who tells the whole truth about his
subject, whether it is complimentary or not. He says that
Mr. Darnielle studied all the arts and mysteries of gallantry,
and thereby made a deep and lasting impression on his lady
friends. Rumor said that he had been educated in Maryland
for the ministry, but that his gallantry was too strong for
the proper observance of gospel precepts. It was even said
that he studied the ladies more than he did the law. It was
also rumored that he had been in charge of a church as
pastor for some time, but one day took French leave of his
congregation, and next appeared in Cahokia. He possessed
a strong intellect, and was well disciphned in things intel-
lectual. With these advantages, it did not take him long to
gain a fair knowledge of the law. He was an easy agreeable
speaker and made a fine personal appearance. These qualities
made him conspicuous and popular as a professional barrister.
The courts and juries of that day were not remarkably well-
versed m technical learning and therefore he could practice
his profession with easy confidence before these tribunals.
He was said to be rather indolent except in the pursuit of
the pleasures of gallantry, and in this pursuit he spared
neither time nor effort. When in a frenzied state of love for
a married lady of Cahokia, and the lady in the same deHghtful
state of mind, they took a snap judgment on the husband
and escaped to Peoria, where it is said they "lived on love"
for many years, while the husband, instead of pursuing
them, remained in Cahokia in sullen silence. It is claimed
that, altho this gentleman had numerous love affairs, yet he
never married according to the laws of Illinois. It was also
rumored that he left a married wife in Maryland who was
an obstacle to a second marriage in this country. He had
no malice or bitterness m his composition, but seemed to
believe that the summum bonum, according to his philoso-
phy, was an easy, luxurious life. He was moral and correct
in his behavior, except m the one point above referred to.
He never indulged m drinking or gambling, but frequently
slept all day and made the evenings extend all night in the
sight or hearing of his "terrestrial angel." At one time he
was the beau ideal of Cahokia. His talents, his gay and
graceful manners, together with his penchant for this sort
of life, m some measure justified his being called the "Lord
Chesterfield" of Cahokia. As long as he retained his youthful
vigor and vivacity, this sort of life passed off very pleasantly,
but when old age crept upon him and his former pursuits
were abandoned from necessity, he suddenly found himself
an old man without sincere friends or means of support. In
his old age he went to Kentucky and engaged m teaching
school. He died in i8jo.
Reynolds makes brief mention of a number of other law-
yers who belong to the early history of St. Clair County.
BENJAMIN H. DOYLE
Benjamin H. Doyle, an Attorney-at-Law, emigrated from
Knox County, Tennessee and settled in Kaskaskia m the
year iSo'?. He practiced m the courts of both St. Clair and
Randolph Counties. He possessed good natural qualifica'
tions and would have made a good lawyer if he had given
more attention to study. He was appointed Attorney-Gen-
eral, but resigned the office m 1S09 and left the country.
JAMES HAGGIN
James Haggin was born in Kentucky and emigrated to
Illinois in 1804. He settled near Kaskaskia and built a house
in the wilderness, as it was then, several miles from town,
and the head of Gravelly Creek. He practiced law for some
years in the courts of both Randolph and St. Clair Counties,
and was a very promising young man. He then went back
to Kentucky, where he eventually reached a position of con-
siderable promise.
JOHN RECTOR
John Rector located in Kaskaskia in 1806. He opened a
law office and practiced in the courts of both counties. He
belonged to a prominent family among the early settlers of
Illinois. He practiced his profession for a few years attend-
ing court both m Kaskaskia and Cahokia, and then left the
country.
WILLIAM MEARS
William Mears was the first attorney who made Cahokia
his permanent residence after Darnielle. He came to the
village in 1808 and commenced the practice of law. He was
born in Ireland in 176S and after receiving his education in
his native land, came to America. He landed in Philadelphia
and taught school for some years in Pennsylvania. At the
age of forty he decided to go west, and came into Cahokia
as if he had dropped from the clouds, without a horse, books.
Four Hundred and Se:
MC KENDREE
letters, surplus clothes, or anything except himself, a mther
singular and uncouth looking Irishman. He had read law
while he was teaching school, so he was now ready to enter
upon the practice of his profession. He possessed a strong
mind and a retentive memory, and by close application and
severe study, he acquired a profound knowledge of the law,
and was intelligent and well-informed in other lines also.
He was appointed Attorney General for the Territory of
IlHnois in 1814 and made an able and efficient officer. When
the county seat was moved to Belleville, he changed his
residence to that place and made that his home for the re-
mainder of his life. He died in 1824.
SAMUEL DAVIDSON
In 1809 Samuel Davidson, a lawyer from Kentucky, came
and settled in Cahokia. He was a decently behaved young
man, and generally correct in conduct, but did not exhibit
much force of character or make much impression on his
fellow citizens in the ancient county seat. He wrote a beau-
tiful hand, which seemed to be the chief of his accomplish-
ments. He taught school for a time in Cahokia and made a
living that way, since his services as a lawyer did not seem
to be much appreciated. At the beginning of the War of
18 1 2, he entered the military service and held some office in
the Quartermaster's Department. Soon after the close of the
war he left Cahokia and Illinois.
RUSSELL HEACOCK
Russell Heacock began the practice of law in St. Clair
County in 1808. Cahokia was the logical place for a lawyer
at that time, since it was the county seat of the oldest and
most important county in the state. A fews years later he
married a lady from Jonesboro, a new settlement farther
south than Kaskaskia. He then moved to that place for a
few years, but either because the demand for legal advice
was not sufficient there, or else he wanted to get into a
smaller town, he moved to Chicago. We are told that Chi'
cago did not have more than one hundred people as late as
1830. Here he acquired a considerable amount of property
while it was cheap and afterward became wealthy.
GUSTAVUS KOERNER
Of the many prominent citizens who have claimed the
city of Belleville as their home, perhaps none has been more
highly honored than Gustavus Koerner, who lived there for
more than sixty years.
He was born at Frankfort-on-the-Main, in Germany,
November 20, 1809. He was educated at the Universities
of Jena, Munich, and Heidelberg, graduating in law from
the last named in 1831, at the age of twenty -two. Two
years later it became necessary for him to leave his native
country because he had participated in a petty political in-
surrection which had for its aim the enlargement of the
liberties of the common people. This movement was doomed
to failure from the start, because large standing armies are
not overthrown by resolutions, however eloquent they may
be. After its failure, those who had participated were subject
to arrest and imprisonment. So Mr. Koerner remained in
hiding for some time with some of his friends, and then,
dressed as a woman, and in company with his sister, Augusta,
he passed the gates of Frankfort without being recognized
and escaped to France. He was joined here by his college
friend, Theodore Engelmann, who had also taken part in the
uprising. They reached Havre just as the Englemann family
were about to sail for America, as emigrants. He joined the
group of emigrants and they reached New York June 17,
1833. Here in the Marine Court of New York City he
registered his intention to become a citizen of the United
States. Many others of the party did likewise among whom
were Frederick Engelmann and his son, Theodore, Henry
Abend and John Scheel, all of whom afterwards became
citizens of St. Clair County.
It might be stated here that before they reached New
York young Koerner and Sophia Engelmann, Theodore's sis-
ter, were engaged to be married. This plan was carried out
in 1836, after the young man's financial outlook was such as
to justify his assuming the responsibiUties of a family.
In order to secure admission to the bar in Illinois he at-
tended a law school for a year at Lexington, Kentucky. In
June, 1835, he successfully passed the examination before
the Supreme Court in Vandalia, which was then the capital
of the state. Having had a thorough university training be-
fore he came to America, being able to speak fluently either
English, French, or German, having great native ability, and
a patriotic love for his adopted country, he soon became a
very popular citizen and at once stepped into a position of
leadership in his own city and state. In the presidential
campaign of 1840 he spoke at public meetings in all parts of
the state. After their vote was cast, the presidential electors
of Illinois selected him as their messenger to carry their vote
to Washington, D. C. His journey from Belleville to Wash'
ington took fourteen days of continuous travel. That was
twice as long as it would take now to go from Belleville to
London. While he was in Washington, Governor Reynolds,
who was then a member of Congress, but Koerner's fellow-
citizen in Belleville, introduced him to President Van Buren,
John Quincy Adams, Daniel Webster, John C. Calhoun,
Four Hundred and SeventyFou
MC KENDREE
Henry Clay, and Thomas H. Benton. To meet these famous
men was a great privilege to a rising young lawyer and one
that he very much appreciated. During his career in the law
at Belleville, he was for some years a member of the firm of
Snyder, Koerner and Shields. When political appointment
and death had dissolved this iirm, he formed a partnership
with William H. Bissell, who afterward became Governor
of Ilhnois. At another time he was the law partner of Colonel
William R. Morrison. In 1852 he was elected Lieutenant-
Governor of Illinois, and served a term in that office with
the Hon. Joel Matteson as Governor. He was a personal
friend of Abraham Lincoln. Early m the Civil War days he
was instrumental in getting Ulysses S. Grant appointed to
a position in the army of Illinois, which gave him a chance
to start on his wonderful military career which made him
the most conspicuous figure in the nation after the death of
Lincoln. President Lincoln was anxious to appoint Judge
Koerner to some position of honor and trust under the gov
ernment. He offered him a place in the United States Supreme
Court. But at that time the salary of the supreme Justices
was so small that Mr. Koerner felt that it would not be
sufficient to support his large family in Washington City,
where living has always been expensive. So he was compelled
to decline the honor. Later the president appointed him
United States Minister to the Court of Sp.iin. He accepted
this appointment, and while there wrote a book on "Spain,"
giving excellent descriptions of her great buildings and art
works. He is also author of several other books and numerous
pamphlets on various subjects. He was also a success on the
lecture platform, and he was one of the founders of the Belle
ville Public Library. His home life was beautiful. His wife
travelled the journey of life with him for fifty-two years.
She and five of their eight children preceded him to the
spirit world. Then after eight more busy years here, he too
passed on, April 9, i8q6, having spent eighty-seven years
in this world, of which more than sixty were patriotically
devoted to the land of his adoption.
Four Hundred and SeventyFn
^MC KENDREE
CHAPTER IX.
Governors of r!!i?ioi5 from St. Clair County
OF The twenty-four governors of Illinois, six, or one
fourth of the whole number, have been residents for
d considerable portion of their life, in St. Clair Cbun-
ty. This fact is a remarkable testimony to the importance
of St. Clair County in the great State of Illinois. We have
thought it worth while to devote a chapter to these six
chief executives of Illinois as a group of St. Clair County
citizens.
Their names, in the order m which they served, are.
Ninian Edwards, John Reynolds, Thomas Ford, Augustus
C. French, William H. Bissell, and Charles S. Deneen.
GOV. NINIAN EDWARDS
Ninian Edwards was born in Montgomery County, Mary
land, in the year 1775. His parents were wealthy and respect'
able, and his education was commenced under favorable
auspices. One of his schoolmates was the Hon. William
Wirt, the great legal authority. He was prepared for college
under the tuition of the Reverend Mr. Hunt, a respectable
clergyman of his native state. He was then matriculated at
Dickinson College, at Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He did not
graduate, but left college at the age of nineteen. He also
left his home at the same time to try his fortune in the state
of Kentucky. Nature bestowed upon Mr. Edwards some of
her rarest gifts. He had a mind of extraordinary compass
and an industry that utilized every spark of talent with
which nature had endowed him. His intellect was naturally
strong and vigorous, and the development he had achieved
by reason of diligent application to study, made him a really
superior man.
Of his career in Kentucky we have scant record but it is
stated that he achieved a position of prominence in legal cir-
cles before he left that state. He came to Illinois some time
prior to the year 1809. On the twenty-third of February,
1809 only a few days after the birth of Abraham Lincoln, the
territory of Illinois was established. The boundaries of this
territory were the same as the present boundaries of the state
except that on the north, Illinois extended as far as the north-
ern boundary of the United States. The Federal Government
organized the territorial government and appointed officers to
administer the laws. Ninian Edwards was appointed Govern-
or, Nathaniel Pope, Secretary, and William Sprig, Jesse B.
Thomas, and Alexander Stuart, judges. These officers for the
most part were men of talent and loyalty, and so gave char-
acter and standing to the new government. The separate
organization of the Illinois country gave a great impulse to
immigration. The new Governor did much to encourage peo-
ple to come to the new country. Among the advertising
agencies which he encouraged was a newspaper called the
"Illinois Herald", which was started at Kaskaskia in the fall
of 1809. It was the first newspaper published in Illinois. Its
first editor and proprietor was Matthew Duncan from Ken-
tucky. In 1815 the paper was purchased by Robert Blackwell
and Daniel P. Cook who continued it for a number of years.
Governor Edwards was appointed by President Madison and
continued in office until Illinois became a state in 1818. He
established by proclamation four new counties in 1812, name-
ly, Madison, Johnson, Pope and Gallatin. He ordered an
election for the sixteenth day of September of that year to
elect members of the legislature. By his proclamation this
Assembly was convened at Kaskaskia on November 25, 1812.
This was the first legislative body elected by the people, that
ever assembled in Illinois. The Territory contained six organ-
ized counties, since St. Clair and Randolph had been organ-
ized previous to the four by Governor Edwards. The General
Assembly had twelve members, five in the council and seven
in the house of representatives. It seems that Pope County
had no member in the council at that session. John Thomas
of St. Clair County was elected clerk of the Council and
William C. Greenup of Randolph, clerk of the House. One
door-keeper served for both houses, and each branch occupied
a room in the same house. It is said that the whole assembly
boarded at one house and slept in the same room in Kaskaskia.
The members of the Council were, William Biggs of St.
Clair, Samuel Judy of Madison, Pierre Menard of Randolph,
Thomas Ferguson of Johnson, and Benjamin Talbot of Galla-
tin. The members of the House were, Joshua Oglesby and
Jacob Short of St. Clair, William Jones of Madison, George
Fisher of Randolph, Phillip Trammel and Alexander Wilson
of Gallatin, and John Grammar of Johnson. This legislature
did much and finished in record time so that it was not a long
session and did not consume any great amount of the tax-
payers' money.
Edwards was very active and energetic in his youthful
days and the War of 1812 gave him ample opportunity for the
exercise of his talents and energies. The country was weak
and by reason of the scattered condition of the settlements
was difficult to defend against the numerous attacks and
annoyances of the Indians who were aided and assisted in
Four Hundrei and Siimt\-St>
MC KENDREE
their marauding type of
warfare by the British. But
Governor Edwards seemed
equal to the emergency and
performed his duties in a
very satisfactory manner.
He attended to the defense
ot the country m person ,ind
was present in person m
ahnost every important
transaction of the war. He
remained at home with his
family a very small part of
the time during the whole GOVERNOR EDWARDS
period in which the country was m a state of war. In 1818
he was elected to the United States Senate, and he per-
formed the duties of this high office with an ability and
force of character that was very acceptable both to that
dignified body, the Senate, and the state which he repre-
sented. In 1826 he was elected Governor of the State of Illi-
nois and gave to this important trust all his experience,
talents, and energies, and made one of the best governors the
state has had. In after years his son, Ninian Edwards, Jr.,
became the first Superintendent of Public Instruction in the
State of Illinois. When Governor Edwards retired from office
at the close of his term in 1830 he made his home in Belleville
where he owned property and had many friends. When the
cholera was raging in Belleville m 183 j, he was out night and
day attending to the wants of those who were afflicted with
that terrible plague, and relieving suffering wherever he
found It possible. His knowledge of medicine and his true
benevolence made him a most effective helper of the sick and
suffering. By reason of his great anxiety and his efforts to
save the sick, he himself contracted the fell disease and died
in the city of Belleville only a few hours after it seized upon
him, July 20, 1833,.
JOHN REYNOLDS
John Reynolds, later governor of Illinois, became a resident
of St. Clair county in 1814, at which time he opened a law
office in Cahokia. He was born in Montgomery County,
Pennsylvania, February 6, 1788. His father. Robert Reynolds
and his mother, Margaret Moore, were natives of Ireland.
When he was six months old his parents moved to east Ten-
nessee and settled near where Knoxville was founded three
years later. In 1800 the family left Tennessee with the inten-
tion of settling in Missouri, then under Spanish rule, but
when they reached Kaskaskia they were induced to settle
there, because west of the Mississippi river the children
must be trained m the Catholic faith ;,md the Reynolds' were
Protestants. Robert Reynolds was a member of the Indiana
Territorial Legislature and served as Justice ot the Peace. In
1807 the family moved to a location in the Goshen settlement
It the foot of the Mississippi bluff three or four miles south-
v^e^t of EdwardsviUe. In 1809 John went to east Tennessee
md studied law in Knox County near the residence of his
uncle, John. He was back in lUinois at the time of the breaking
out of the war of 1812 and enlisted as a private in a company
of ringers. He began the practice of law in 1814 and on the
orgmizition of the State Government in 181S he was chosen
by the Legislature as one of the Associate Judges of the
Supreme Court. He held this position until 1824. He was
several times a member of the Legislature and in 1830 after
an exciting canvass with William Kinney as his opponent he
was elected Governor. During his administration occurred
the Black Hawk War. In 1834 he was elected to Congress
from Illinois, but was defeated for the same office in 1836.
In 1837 he was engaged in building a railroad from the foot
of the bluff to the Mississippi opposite St. Louis. It was
built for the purpose of conveying coal to market. This was
the first railroad constructed m Illinois and was six miles long.
In 1830 Reynolds was appointed by Governor Carlm as
Commissioner to secure a loan for the completion of the
Illinois and Michigan canal, and in the summer of that year
he made a trip to Europe. Later he was twice chosen a member
of the Legislature, in 1846 and in 1852, and when last a
member he was made Speaker of the House of Representa-
tives. Professor John Russell, speaking of Reynolds, to show
how well known he was, said, "Deposit a letter m any Post
Office in Illinois, however remote or obscure, with no other
superscription than these three words, 'The Old Ranger,'
and It would go straight to him at Belleville." Again he
says, "There is hardly an office within the gift of our people
which he has not filled, and with distinguished honor. For
several years past he has decUned all public employment, and
with an ample fortune has retired into the shades of private
life, but not a life of idleness. The mind of Governor Rey-
nolds is much too active, both by nature and habit, to con-
tent Itself with listless inanity. It is a remarkable fact that
St. Clair County contains (1857) the only two Uving writers
of the state whose productions have the slightest chance to
outlive the passing hour and descend to other times. The
Rev. Dr. Peck and Ex-Governor Reynolds, each in his own
appropriate field, has collected and in part published a series
of important facts in connection with the history of this
Four Hundred and Sex
MC KENDREE
state, which but for their labors would have perished forever.
For this the future sons and daughters of Illinois will hold
them in grateful remembrance."
Mr. Reynolds was married in 1817, at the age of twenty
nine, to a handsome Creole widow, the daughter of Julien
Dubuque. She was born in Cahokia in 1789 and was first
married to a Canadian Indian trader named La Croix. At
the beginning of the War of 1812 he left his wife, Httle son,
and daughter, and went to Canada. Nothing more was heard
of him at Cahokia for more than three years. He was supposed
to be dead; and then Mrs. La Croix married another Cana-
dian, Joseph Manegle, who was a widower with one daugh-
ter. Soon after this marriage. La Croix, like Enoch Arden,
reappeared with a story that he had been "pressed" into
the British military service, and had no means of communi-
cating with his family. Mrs. Manegle, however, remained
with her second husband until his death, which occurred
about a year later. Then she did not return to her first
husband, but some time afterward married John Reynolds.
She was an attractive woman, graceful and charming in
manner, a Catholic in religion, and possessed many noble
qualities of heart and mind, but had very little education,
and almost no knowledge of the English language. Accord-
ingly, her husband learned the Creole dialect that was com-
monly used in Cahokia, and later acquired a reading knowl-
edge of French. They lived in or near Cahokia until 183 1,
when during his term of ofiice as governor, Mr. Reynolds
changed his residence to Belleville. There Mrs. Reynolds
died in 1834 and was buried in Cahokia. The governor's
second marriage was to Miss Sarah Wilson, of Georgetown,
D. C, while he was a member of Congress. She was a tall,
stately and highly cultured lady, more than twenty years his
junior. He brought her back to lUinois with him and pur-
chased an elegant residence where he and his beautiful and
cultured wife lived happily together for nearly thirty years.
Neither of the governor's marriages was blessed with chil-
dren, but he reared and provided for his three step-children
with as much affectionate care as a real father might lavish
upon them. Having acquired a competence, he devoted his
declining years to the management of his private business
and the writing of several books. The first one was "The
Pioneer History of Illinois." This was published in 1852.
His method of writing, according to his friend. Dr. John
F. Snyder, was peculiarly his own. He used no desk or table,
but with a pencil tablet resting on his knee, he wrote con-
tinuously, regardless of the conversation of those about him.
He rarely ever revised or rewrote a single word or sentence.
When the book was finished he did not have strong confi-
dence in it as a best seller, so he decided to publish it with
as little expense as possible. He bought an old hand press
and a lot of type, installed them in his law office, and hired
printers who were out of work to print the book for him.
The volume is not logically arranged, but contains much
valuable information. Its quaint but vivid pictures of pioneer
life cannot be found elsewhere. Dr. Snyder says that if he
had been otherwise unknown, this volume alone would have
rendered his name imperishable as long as the name of Illinois
endures. In 1854 he made an adventure into the field of fiction
and wrote "The Adventures of John Kelly." It was a flat
failure. In 1855 he published from his own printing office
the "History of My Own Times." In contrast with the
Pioneer History, the book is divided into one hundred and
twenty-five short chapters. As might be expected, the me-
chanical work was poor and the book was outwardly un-
attractive. Only four hundred copies were printed. In the
fall of that year only a few copies had been sold, so the author
loaded up almost the entire edition and hauled them in a
wagon to Chicago where he left them with D. B. Cooke, a
leading book dealer, to be sold. Two years later a fire in
Chicago destroyed the book store, and with it the whole
stock of Reynolds' books. There were then perhaps not
more than a dozen copies in existence. It was reprinted in
1879 by the Chicago Historical Society, but copies of the
original edition are so rare that a bibliophile has been known
to offer as much as seventy-five dollars for one.
In 1857 he published a little book entitled "An Essay on
the. Mind and its Education." It is supposed that the timely
appearance of this book so full of educational wisdom caused
his party to select him as a candidate for State Superintendent
of Schools in 1858. Another Ex-Governor, Augustus C.
French, was also running for the same office that year. But
when the votes were counted, Newton Bateman had defeated
them both. Another product of his pen was a sketch of Rev.
John Mason Peck, issued in May, 1858, soon after the death
of Dr. Peck. It was entitled "Friendship's Offering" and
contained twenty-five chapters in thirty-four pages. It was
not a biography but a piece of fulsome praise, intended as
an evidence of regard for an old friend. With very few traits
in common and many points of difference. Dr. Peck and
Governor Reynolds were, nevertheless, for many years
strangely attached to each other. They were as one in the
advocacy of a high type of patriotism, national and personal
honor, temperance, and education. Both were opposed to
disturbing the institution of slavery where it existed, and
Four Hundred and Setentv-Eig(.t
MC KENDREE
they both believed the condition of the southern negro was
better as a slave than if free. Doctor Peck was a Yankee, a
Whig, opposed to the extension of slavery, a religious en-
thusiast, almost fanatical in his support of Sunday School
and Foreign Missionary work, and detested profanity, im-
morality, and vulgarity. Reynolds was a Democrat, despised
Yankees, favored extension of slavery to every state and
terntory, held Sunday Schools, missionaries and ministers
in utmost contempt, was an infidel, profane, and sometimes
vulgar. Yet each sought the companionship of the other and
held each other in high esteem. The governor's last literary
production appeared in i860 when the country was in the
throes of excitement and bitter discussion that immediately
preceded the Civil War. Perhaps in a spirit of irony he
labeled it "The Balm of Gilead," and gave it the sub-title
"An Inquiry into the Right of American Slavery." It con-
tained forty-eight pages and was a vigorous defense of the
institution of slavery. He was himself a slave-holder until
after the adoption of the Constitution of 1848, which finally
extinguished the slave-holding which had existed at some
points in the state before that time. He then employed none
but negro servants in his home, to whom he was very kind,
as he had always been to his slaves. In his old age the Gov-
ernor, followed by a little colored boy, whom he called Veto,
were familiar figures about the streets of Belleville. Veto and
his mother were formerly the Governor's slaves and chose
to remain with him after their emancipation. In the four
years of the Civil War his sympathies were largely for the
Southern cause. Conscious that he was beyond the pale of
further office holding, he was no longer restrained by the
fear of public censure, and he therefore gave free expression
to his real sentiments. Only his advanced age and respect
for his past services to the state saved him from arrest and
imprisonment for his constant criticisms of the North and
vehement laudation of the South. In the history of Illinois,
he alone holds the distinction of having held the highest
position in each of the three coordinate branches of state
government. He was Governor, Chief Justice of the Supreme
Court, and Speaker of the House of Representatives. He
was a character full of contradictions. He was an Irishman,
yet did not have any of the usual Irish traits. He never
cared to fish or hunt. He had no music in his soul. He could
not play any instrument, or sing, nor could he distinguish
one tune from another. His father frequently drank to excess.
The son never touched liquor or tobacco. He was strictly
honest and honorable in all his dealings, but he ignored
Christianity and favored negro slavery. In personal appear-
ance he was full six feet tall and muscular, hut not fleshy-
He was always well and neatly dressed. One biographer
says of him, "On the rostrum he was neither commanding
nor graceful. His gestures were few and awkward. He was
voluble without the slightest approach to eloquence. He
spoke 111 an earnest hut conversational strain. His speeches
were rambling and disconnected, but attractive because of
their originality and witty illustrations." He died at his
home in Belleville, May 8, 1865, at the age of seventy-seven.
His wife survived him only a few months. They were both
laid to rest in Walnut Hill Cemetery, where a suitable mon-
ument has been erected to their memory.
GOV. THOMAS FORD
Thomas Ford was born at Uniontown, Pennsylvania, in
the year 1800. When he was only two years old his father
was killed m the mountains. In 1804, his mother, with her
family of several children, set out for St. Louis, hoping to
obtain a share in the free land grants which the Spanish
government was making at that time to actual settlers. When
she arrived, she found that the Spanish territory had been
ceded to the United States, and there was no free land.
After a brief period of indecision, she took her children and
went to New Design, in Illinois, and located about three
miles from the present town of Waterloo. Later they moved
nearer the bluff where the family made their permanent
home. It was within the bounds of St. Clair County until
Monroe County was organized in 1816. So for twelve years
Mr. Ford was a resident of St. Clair County. His mother
was very anxious that her sons should receive a good edu-
cation, and to this end practiced the most rigid economy
with her slender means. Ford's half-brother, George Forquer,
was a surveyor and laid out the town of Waterloo, which
IS now the county seat of Monroe County. In 1823, Thomas
Ford was admitted to the bar and practiced law for some
years, was appointed Prosecuting Attorney by Governor
Edwards and again by Governor Reynolds. Later he was
elected Judge, and in 1842 was elected Governor of lUinois.
He was a man of sound courage, a high sense of honor, and
good judgment. The Mormon trouble in Illinois occurred
during his term of office. He is the author of a history of
Illinois which was published after his death, which occurred
at Peoria, November 3, 1850.
GOV. AUGUSTUS C. FRENCH
Augustus Chaplin French was born in the village of Hill,
New Hampshire, August 2, 1808. He had good early training
by a Christian mother, was educated in the common schools
and Dartmouth College, tho he did not graduate. He studied
Four Hundred and Sei
law in the office of Judge
Moody, of Gillmanton, N.
H., and was admitted to the
bar in 183 1. In 1832 he came
west and began the practice
of his profession in Illinois.
He first settled at Paris, in
Edgar County. The same
year Stephen A. Douglas
moved from Vermont to
Illinois. They both belong-
ed to the same political
party and soon became in-
timate friendsandwere GOVERNOR FRENCH
life-long associates in the Formerly President of McKendree
affairs of government. For ^™^^ °^' "^^"^'^^
two consecutive terms, from 1S36 to 1840, he was a member
of the Illinois Legislature. He was also United States District
Attorney in the Fourth District for some years. In 1839 he
was appointed to take charge of the United States Land
Office and was located at Palestine, Illinois. In 1844 he was
presidential elector for his party and cast his ballot for James
K. Polk. By 1846 he had become a well-known character in
his part of the state and was talked of as a candidate for
Congress to succeed Hon. O. B. Ficklin. However Mr. Ficklin
desired to continue in the office, and in order to get Mr.
French out of the way, suggested to his friends that they
make him their candidate for governor. This plan was talked
up and at the Democratic State Convention he was duly
nominated. The Democratic Party was much the stronger
at that time and he was elected by a large majority in
November, 1846. The great problem of that state at that
time was the financial one. Governor French was skillful in
that field. It was the testimony of Reynolds in his Pioneer
History that Governor French was a "prudent and discreet
executive officer." His administration stands preeminent
above that of any other governor in several particulars.
Before this time the State Auditor frequently issued orders
beyond the appropriations or the ability of the state to pay.
This compelled creditors to submit to large discounts and
long delays in obtaining the money due them. Governor
French made it his special aim to reduce the state finances
to an orderly system. He so far succeeded that ever since
that time the credit of the State of Illinois has been abso-
lutely unquestioned, no matter what catastrophes might
overtake the banks, or what financial crises might come to
the country at large. He found the state carrying a burden
of debt amounting to many millions and reduced it by one
fourth while he was in office. He also took a keen interest
in education and the cause of the common schools. He con-
sidered the universal education of the people the noblest
heritage which a generation may bequeath to its descendants.
In every message to the Legislature he emphasized the im-
portance of this great interest. The new constitution
adopted in 1848 required that a governor be elected in
November of that year and take the office in January, 1849.
Mr. French had served only about half of his term, and
since the new constitution prevented him from serving more
of the term for which he was elected, it seemed only fair
that he should be re-elected. This was done with great
unanimity. It was the first time that any governor had been
elected for the second time in Illinois. He therefore served
from December, 1846, to January, 1853, or a little more
than six years. After completing his service as chief execu-
tive of the state, he retired from public life and devoted
himself to the interests of his family, and especially the
education of his children. When he was a youth of nineteen
he was left an orphan by the death of his mother, to whom
he gave his promise that he would take care of his four
younger brothers. This pledge he faithfully carried out, and
on account of this obligation, he did not marry till late in
life. He was thirty-five years old when he was united in
marriage to Lucy M. South worth, a native of New York
State. They had five children, three sons and two daughters.
The sons were educated at McKendree and the daughters
at Monticello Seminary, at Godfrey, Illinois, since at that
time McKendree did not admit women as students. The
oldest son, William Richmond, died August 4, 1864, when
he was only twenty years old and just after he had completed
his course at McKendree. He was a Christian boy and died
a triumphant death, which greatly impressed the youth of
the community. Exactly one month later, his father passed
into the great beyond. The memorial sermon delivered by
Dr. Allyn, then president of the college, has been preserved
in print. The second son, Edward Livingston, graduated
from McKendree in 1866. His college course was interrupted
by his service in the Civil War, where he ranked as Lieu-
tenant. He also studied law, but spent most of his life as
a teacher in New York State and later in California. He was
married in 1870, to Miss Mary Wells, of St. Louis. They
had four children, three of whom grew up. Mrs. French
died in 1904 and her husband spent his last years in the
Soldiers' Home at Sawtelle, near Los Angeles, where he died
only recently. The third son, Charles, attended McKendree
Four Hundred and Eighty
MC KENDREE
and then a theological seminary in the east. He eventually
became an Episcopal Minister and has held pastorates in
New York.
The elder daughter, Augusta Carroll, married Mr. C. M.
Wicker, of Chicago, and the younger. May, married Dr.
John L. Hodgeman, who lived at that time in Colorado,
but later they moved to Brownsville, Texas. Both these
daughters, the eldest son, and the parents now lie buried in
the family lot in College Hill Cemetery. Governor French
was the founder of the Law Department in McKendree and
Its head until his death. He was also a member of the Board
of Trustees almost from the time he came to Lebanon, and
the president of that body at the time of his death, which
occurred September 4, 1864. His monument bears a remark-
able inscription which appropriately characterizes the man
and his career. It reads as follows: "A man, true, kind and
noble; a citizen, just, generous and honorable; a public
officer, upright, philanthropic, energetic and faithful; a hus-
band and father, affectionate, wise, and good; a Christian,
humble, charitable and trusting." He endeavored to live as a
Christian from his early youth, as a result of the teachings
of his mother, but he did not join the Methodist Church
until after his marriage, and even then he rarely participated
in the sacrament of the Lord's Supper because his great
humihty of spirit led him to doubt whether he was worthy
of that high privilege. The old French residence is still one
of the most attractive looking homes on Belleville Street in
the city of Lebanon.
GOV. WILLIAM H. BISSELL
William H. Bissell was born in Yates County, New York,
in April, 181 1. His early associations led him to choose the
medical profession for his life work. After completing his
elementary education he attended the Jefferson Medical Col-
lege in Philadelphia, where he graduated in 1834. In those
days the Great West was looked upon by most young men
of the East as the place to seek their fortunes. As a matter
of course, he was poor, so he decided to try his fortunes m
Illinois. He came to this state m 1837 and first went to
Jefferson County, but there he suffered a long and severe
illness, which not only used up his small supply of money,
but so discouraged him that he decided to enlist in the
United States Army. With this intention he went to Jeffer-
son Barracks, but his bodily vigor was so reduced by his
long illness that he was unable to pass the physical examina-
tion. He then returned to IHinois, but stopped in Monroe
County and engaged in school teaching for a time, in the
American Bottom. But this work did not appeal to him, so
he soon abandoned it ,ind began to practice his profession.
In a short time he had a lucrative medical practice. He had
good social qualities, w.is well-educated for that time, and
was naturally thrown in company more or less with the
leading politicians of the community where he lived. It was
not long until he was making political speeches himself, and
increasing his acquaintance and popularity among the people.
His gifts as an orator soon gave him precedence over many
other aspiring young men, and in 1840 he was nominated
for the Legislature on the Democratic ticket and was elected.
In this position he had his first real opportunity to show
his ability as a political leader. At the end of his term he
decided to study law and make that his profession. He at-
tended the Law school at Lexington, Kentucky, and after
graduating he located at Belleville for the practice of his
profession. Not long afterward he was elected to the office
of Prosecuting Attorney. He filled this office with great
efficiency. He never prosecuted unless convinced of the guilt
of the accused, and then he rarely failed to convince the
jury also that he was guilty. His powers of oratory were such
that his closing address nearly always overcame the efforts
ot the ablest attorneys. When the Mexican War broke out
he enlisted as a private soldier in the Second Regiment of
Illinois Infantry. He was soon made a captain and later
colonel of the regiment, which he commanded with great
credit, both to himself and his men. Especially at the battle
of Buena Vista did he show himself a gallant leader. The
odds were heavy. There were twenty thousand Mexicans
against less than five thousand Americans. Yet the Mexicans
were utterly routed and suffered heavy losses. When the
Second Regiment returned home the people of St. Clair
County gave them such a welcome as had never been seen
before in Illinois. A great barbecue was held on July 28,
1847. A" immense crowd assembled. The address of wel-
come was delivered by Judge Koerner in his usual able and
eloquent manner. The response was by Colonel Bissell. It
was a masterpiece of oratory. His war record made him the
most popular man in the Congressional District, so he was
elected to Congress in 1848, and again in 1850. In 1852 he
refused to accept the nomination of the Democratic Con-
vention as before, but ran as an independent candidate and
was elected for a third term. In this session of Congress the
fierce warfare for the extension of slavery which was waged
by certain Democratic leaders of the South drove many
former adherents away from that party forever, among them
Colonel Bissell. During this session he was challenged to a
duel with Jefferson Davis because he defended the prowess
d and Eighty-One
of his Illinois regiment at Beuna Vista, to the detriment, as
Davis thought, of the Mississippi regiment, which he was
trying to glorify. He promptly accepted and chose as the
weapons, muskets loaded with buckshot, at forty paces,
with the privilege of advancing to ten before firing. His
war record made it pretty clear that he would advance to
ten and that it would likely mean death to both parties.
President Taylor felt called upon to interfere in behalf of
the safety of his son-in-law, and was able to secure an
amicable adjustment without compromising the honor of
either party.
At a convention of all parties opposed to slavery, at
Bloomington, Illinois, on May 29, 1856, he was nominated
for governor oflUinois. Such men as Lincoln, Yates, Oglesby,
Koerner, and others of similar rank were delegates at the
convention. He was elected in the following November and
thus became the first Republican governor of Illinois. He did
not live to finish his term, but died at Springfield, March 18,
i860, while he was still under fifty years of age.
One of his biographers says, "Of all the great men I have
met, the one most prodigally dowered with eminent qualities
was William H. Bissell. Nature lavished upon him many of
her choicest gifts of both brain and heart, but envious fate
prescribed a cruel limitation to their matured use and enjoy-
ment, for death claimed him when he was still in the prime
vigor of his remarkable endowments."
GOV. CHARLES S. DENEEN
Of all the St. Clair County governors, Charles Samuel
Deneen has been the most closely identified with the county
and with McKendree College, though Governor French was
actually a member of the faculty.
An adequate biography of him appears elsewhere in this
work, so we give here only a brief sketch and mention some
facts which probably do not appear in the other place. He
belongs to an old and honorable family reaching back to the
days of the Revolutionary War. He is a lineal descendant
of Risdon Moore, a native of Delaware, who after serving
in the Revolutionary War until its close, moved to Georgia,
but after twenty years of residence, influenced by an increas-
ing dislike to the institution of slavery, he came with his
family to Illinois that he might spend the remainder of his
days on free soil. He was a citizen of St. Clair County for
the rest of his life and now lies buried in the beautiful Shiloh
Cemetery, where the Daughters of the American Revolution
unveiled a monument to his honor in 1825. His daughter
was the wife of Rev. William L. Deneen, who came from
Pennsylvania to Illinois in an early day and became a Meth-
odist circuit rider and a member of the Illinois Conference.
He was a graduate of McKendree, having received the first
B. S. degree which the college conferred. He was also a
member of the Board of Trustees, and after he retired from
the Itinerancy he was the official surveyor of St. Clair County
for many years. His son, Samuel H. Deneen, the father of
our subject, was a graduate of McKendree and for thirty
years a member of the faculty. He spent the greater part
of his life in St. Clair County. Of his four children, Charles
S. was the second, but all were graduates of McKendree.
Another great-grandfather was Nathan Horner, who was
one of the founders of McKendree and its first treasurer.
His grandfather, Hiram K. Ashley, was a prominent citizen
of Lebanon and a trustee of McKendree. Mr. Deneen's
connection with McKendree College is therefore a close
relation involving various members of the family during the
entire history of the college. He himself graduated in the
class of 1882 and became a trustee in 1900, so that he has
held that relationship for twenty-eight years, and for a num-
ber of years he was president of the Board of Trustees.
Mr. Deneen began the practice of law in Chicago in the
eighties. In 1895 he was elected attorney for the Sanitary
District of Chicago. In 1896 he was chosen state's attorney
for Cook County and again in 1900. He was elected governor
of Illinois in 1904 and again in 1908. Even while he was gov-
ernor and had his strength taxed by the burdens of the office,
he did not neglect his alma mater. He used his influence in
her behalf wherever he could and attended the commence-
ment occasions whenever it was at all possible. McKendree
very properly gave him the degree of Doctor of Laws in 1905.
After completing his two terms as Governor he again engaged
in the practice of law in Chicago until he was elected United
States Senator in 1924
Four Himdred and Eighty-Two
^TZr^ HEN THE great novelist Charles Dickens made his tour
III of America in 1842 he included St. Louis in his
Itinerary. While there he expressed desire to see a
prairie. He was just across the river from the "Prairie State"
so some friends of his who knew the way volunteered to take
him to see the famous "Looking Glass Prairie" which lies in
the eastern edge of St. Clair County. Dickens gives a vivid
and partly humorous description of this journey in his
"American Notes".
The party left St. Louis one morning in early spring when
in this section the climate is so variable and the temperature
is subject to sudden changes and it is difficult to forecast
from one day to the next whether the traveller will need a
fan or an overcoat. They crossed the river on a ferry boat and
took special carriages for the trip driving first to Belleville.
There had been recent rams and Dickens complains of the
muddy roads He says, "We had a pair of very strong horses,
but travelled at the rate of little more than a couple of miles
an hour, through one unbroken slough of black mud and
water. It had no variety but in depth. Now it was only half
over the wheels, now it hid the axletree, and now the coach
sank down in it almost to the windows. The air resounded in
all directions with the loud croaking of the frogs. *** ***
Here and there we passed a log hut, but the wretched cabins
were wide apart and thinly scattered. For tho the soil is very
rich in this place, few people can exist in such a deadly atmos-
phere." They reached Belleville about noon and stopped for
lunch at the hotel known as the "Belleville House"
The following is a part of his description of Belleville and
his visit there. "Belleville was a small collection of wooden
houses huddled together in the very heart of the bush and
swamp. Many of them had singularly bright doors of red and
yellow; for the place had been lately visited by a travelling
painter, who got along, I was told, by 'eating his way'. The
criminal court was sitting and was at that moment trying
some criminals for horse-stealing; with whom it would most
likely go hard. Live-stock of all kinds, being necessarily very
much exposed in the woods, is held by the community in
rather higher value than human life; and for this reason juries
generally make a point of finding all men indicted for horse-
stealing, guilty whether or no.
The horses belonging to the bar, the judge, and the wit-
nesses were tied to temporary racks set up roughly in the
road; by which is to be understood a forest path, nearly knee
deep in mud and slime.
CHAPTER X.
Charles Dic/^eiis vxsxXs St. C\a\y County
There was a hotel in this place which, like all hotels m
had its large dining room for the public table. It is
Americ
an odd shambling, low-roofed outhouse, half cow-shed and
half kitchen, with a coarse brown canvas table cloth, and tin
sconces stuck against the walls to hold candles at supper time.
Our horseman had gone forward to have coffee and some eat-
ables prepared, and they were by this time nearly ready. He
had ordered 'wheat bread and chicken fixings' in preference
to 'corn bread and common doings'. From Belleville we went
on thru the same desolate kind of waste, and constantly
attended, without the interval of a moment by the same
music, namely the croaking of the frogs. At three o'clock in
the afternoon we halted at a village called Lebanon to give
the horses some needed refreshment. Pending this ceremony
I walked into the village, where I met a tuU-sized dwelling
house coming down hill at a round trot drawn by a score or
more of oxen. The public house was so very clean and good
a one that the managers of the jaunt resolved to return to it
and put up there tor the night if possible. This course being
decided on and the horses being well refreshed, we again
pushed on and came to the prairie at sunset. It would be
difficult to say why or how, but the effect upon me was dis'
appointing. Looking toward the setting sun, there lay stretch-
ed out before my view, a vast expanse of level ground, un-
broken save by one thin line of trees which scarcely amounted
to a scratch upon the great blank, until it met the sky wherein
it seemed to dip, mingling with its rich colors, and mellowing
in its distant blue. There it lay a tranquil sea, or lake without
water, if such a simile is permissible, with the day going
down upon it. A few birds were wheeling here and there,
and solitude and silence were reigning paramount around.
But the grass was not yet high. There were bare black patches
on the ground. And the few wild flowers that the eye could
see were poor and scanty. Great as the picture was its very
flatness and extent which left nothing to imagination, tamed
down and cramped its interest. I felt little of that sense of
freedom and exhilaration which a Scottish heath inspires, or
even our English downs awaken. It was lonely and wild, but
oppressive in its barren monotony. *** It is not a scene to be
forgotten, but it is scarcely one I think to remember with
much pleasure, or to covet the looking on again in after life.
We encamped near a solitary log house, for the sake of its
water, and dined upon the plain. The baskets contained roast
fowls, buffalo's tongue (an exquisite dainty by the way), ham
Four Hundred and EightyThr
bread, cheese and butter; biscuits, champagne, sherry, lemons
and sugar for punch, and abundance of rough ice. The meal
was delicious and the entertainers were the soul of kindness
and good humor. I have often recalled that cheerful party to
my pleasant recollection since, and shall not easily forget my
boon companions on the prairie. Returning to Lebanon that
night we slept at the little inn at which we had halted in the
afternoon. In point of cleanliness and comfort it would have
suffered by no comparison with an English ale house of a
homely kind in England".
This house is still standing, on St. Louis street in Lebanon,
tho it is no longer used as a hotel, but is a private residence.
The present proprietor points with pride to the room where
Charles Dickens once slept. It seems that Lebanon has no
complaint against him for the way he treated her in his write-
up, but Belleville feels that he has brought her into unde-
served ridicule among readers of his "American Notes". True
he did not mention McKendree College, but probably no one
told him there was a college there, and at that time there
were tall forest trees between the "Mermaid Inn" and the
college. The present chapel building with its tall spire had
not yet been built and so Dickens did not discover the infant
college in the west, or he would most likely have mentioned
it and perhaps compared it with some of the English schools
which he characterizes in some of his stories.
William Kinney, a former Lieutenant-Governor of Illinois,
lived near Belleville at that time and he so resented Dickens"
representations that he wrote a pamphlet in reply. Mr.
Kinney died in 1843 soon after his book was written, but it
was published in 1857 by Robert K. Fleming at Richview,
Illinois. A copy of it may now be found in the library of the
Illinois State Historical Society at Springfield.
In 1910 Alfred Tennyson Dickens, son of Charles, visited
St. Louis and was entertained by the Dickens Fellowship of
that city. They took him on a trip to Looking-glass prairie;
he visited McKendree College and made a talk to the students
in the chapel; he was taken to Belleville and banqueted in
royal style; and of course he smoothed over in large measure
the errors of his father, which were made probably not be-
cause he had anything against this country, but he wanted
to furnish entertainment for his English readers.
REV. JOHN CLARK
Among the useful and successful pioneer preachers of Illi-
nois and St. Clair County we must not overlook the Rev.
John Clark. He was by birth a Scotchman, and was well edu-
cated. In his youth he followed the seaman's life for some
years. He was impressed on board a British man-of-war which
in 1 78 1 was lying for a few days off Charleston harbor. Being
an intelligent and patriotic lover of liberty and conscientious-
ly opposed to being compelled to fight the Americans, one
night he jumped overboard at the risk of his life and with one
of his comrades succeeded in swimming ashore. He made his
way inland some distance and for a time engaged in teaching
school. For about a year he was in much distress religiously
because of his feeling that he was a guilty sinner. But at last
by the exercise of saving faith he was dehvered from this
state of mind and found peace in believing. From that time
on he was a consistent Christian. An old Scotch divine being
asked for the best evidence of a state of grace, replied, "Forty
years of close walk with God". At the close of his life Clark
could have born this testimony and made it fifty. While he
was passing thru this special Christian experience he was
living on Broad River and joined a Methodist class, under
the preaching of John Major and Thomas Humphries who
were among the first Methodist preachers in that part of
South Carolina. Some time after this he made a voyage to
his native country, visited one of his sisters, and received a
small legacy left by his pious mother with her dying bene
diction. It was the amount of his wages which, while at sea,
he had ordered to be sent to her. He visited London, heard
John Wesley preach and became more thoroughly confirmed
in his peculiar doctrines. When he came back to South Caro-
lina he entered the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal
Church. He was received on trial in 1791 and at once became
a circuit rider.
In due time he was admitted to full connection and or-
dained. Some years later, being conscientiously opposed to
slavery and not being entirely satisfied with the forms of
government of the Methodist Church, he withdrew from
the travelling connection in a perfectly orderly way, in
1796, and travelled on foot into Kentucky, where for several
months he made his home with Elder Joliff, a Baptist preach-
er, who was the father of Colonel James Joliff, of Marion
County, Illinois. All his pilgrimages were made on foot, as
he travelled his circuits, and in this way he arrived in Illinois
in 1797. Here he found abundant opportunity for the exercise
of his gifts as a preacher, and he ministered acceptably to
various communities, as New Design and others in the Amer-
ican Bottom. He not only preached, but formed some sort
of school classes and taught the youth both science and liter-
ature. Among those who are indebted to him for the best
part of their education are Robert, Joseph, and James Lemen,
who were all influential men in their day. At that time Mis-
souri was called Upper Louisiana and was under the dominion
Hundred and EightyFo,
of Spam. And of course only the Roman Catholic rehi^ion
was tolerated hy law. But the commandants and other officers
were disposed to encourage mimigration to their territory,
and therefore permitted Protestants, after a vague and formal
examination, to settle in the country. A large number had
thus expatriated themselves to obtain liberal grants of land.
However it was the general opinion of the settlers ot that
day that the country would some day be under the rule ot
the United States, and they or their children would some
day enjoy a fuller religious liberty. "Father Clark," as he
was called, was the first preacher to cross the Mississippi
and bring the Gospel to the Americans on the west of the
great river. He first did this in 1798. After that his excursions
were regular and frequent, each trip occupying two or three
weeks. There were three settlements in the neighborhood
of St. Louis that he regularly visited. He was a man of great
simplicity of manners and disinterested piety. He made no
effort to conceal the object of his visits in the Spanish coun-
try. Zeno Trudeau, the commandant at St. Louis, knew his
character, his habits, and his purpose in crossing the river.
He was friendly to the American residents and not disposed
to molest them or their religion; but since he was responsible
to authorities higher up in the Spanish government, he must
make a show of enforcing the law. So about the time Clark's
appointments were finished he would send a threatening
letter warning Mr. Clark that he must leave the Spanish
Territory or he would put him in the calabozo (the prison).
However no personal molestation was ever offered. After
the country passed into the hands of the United States, Mr.
Clark made his home on that side of the river, but he con-
tinued to make visits to the Illinois churches up to the end
of his life, which occurred in 1833, when he was seventy-
five years of age.
GEN. ARTHUR ST. CLAIR
Arthur St. Clair was born in Edinburgh in the year 173,4.
He came to America as an officer in the British Army m
1755- He served as Lieutenant under General Wolfe m Can-
ada during the French and Indian War. At the close of that
war he came to Pennsylvania. It is not known when he left
the British Army, but in December, 1775, he was married
and some time after that it was noted that he held six offices
under the government — Clerk of the Court, Prothonotary
of a Court, Judge of Probate, Register of Wills, Recorder
of Deeds, and surveyor of the largest county in the province.
He became well known and at this period was quite popular.
In January, 1776, without solicitation he was appointed
colonel in the Continental Army, with orders to raise a
regiment, which he did m six weeks" time. He was appointed
Bngadier-Genend m August, 1776, and ordered to join Gen-
eral Washington's army. He rendered efficient service in the
battles of Princeton and Trenton. In Febru.iry, 1777, Con-
gress made him a Major-General, and m June sent him to
take command of Fort Ticonderoga. He later abandoned this
fort, and altho it was done after a consultation of the officers,
yet the public disapproved it. A court martial sustained the
movement, and Congress m 1778 confirmed it. But still the
wound was not healed in the public estimation. Washington
always retained his first confidence in Gen. St. Clair and
considered him a faithful servant to the end of the war.
After the peace he resided in Pennsylvania and was elected
to Congress in 1786. The Northwest Territory was estab-
lished in 1787 and he was appointed governor of it in 1788,
and held the office till the state of Ohio was organized in
1802. He did not desire this appointment but acted on the
principle recognized hy General Jackson that he would
"neither ask for nor refuse office." St. Clair is reported to
have said, "to accept the office of governor was the most
imprudent act of my life."
Governor St. Clair and Winthrop Sargeant, his secretary,
arrived in Kaskaskia in February, 1790, and organized the
County of St. Clair, which was named after the governor.
He also appointed the various officers necessary to the ad-
ministration of justice in the new county. The original boun-
daries of the county were as follows: "Beginning at the
mouth of the little Mackinaw Creek where it empties into
the Illinois River and running a direct line to the mouth of
a creek which empties into the Ohio not far above Fort
Massacre (Wabash River), then down the Ohio to the Miss-
issippi, then up that river and the Illinois to the place of
beginning." St. Clair is the "Mother of counties" in Illinois,
being the first organized of her one hundred and two coun-
ties. "Virginia had attempted to organize the Illinois country
into a county in 1779, which continued a sort of obsolete
existence down to 1790, when St. Clair County was or-
ganized.
General St. Clair died August 31, 1818, on top of the
Allegheny Mountains in Pennsylvania.
About the year 1810 a colony of the Monks of La Trappe
estiiblished themselves at the big mound in the American
Bottom, now officially known as Cahokia Mound. This order
is a branch of the Cistercian Monks and was first founded
by Rotrou, Count of Perche, in the year 1140. After a time
the order relaxed its severe discipline until Abba Ranee
reinstated it in all its vigor in the year 1664. The order was
Four Hundred and Eightv-Fu
situated at first in the most gloomy and wildest province of
France, that of Perche. Its last founder, Ranee, got soured
on the world, and particularly against his mistress, who dis-
missed him for another lover, and so he commenced a war
against himself. He lay on a rock for his couch, lived on
bread and water alone, and removed a handful of earth each
day from his grave, in order to have it ready dug by the
time he had need of it. And what is strange, he had followers.
The main characteristic of the order was that the members
carried on a crusade against nature in their own persons.
We hear of the "bravest of the brave," but these were the
most rigid of the rigid. They carried out the ne plus ultra
of fanaticism. Two of their vows were celibacy and per-
petual silence. One writer says it is strange they did not
declare against eating also. And in fact they did, except just
enough to keep body and soul together. Female persons were
not permitted to enter their premises, and if by mistake
some woman happened to traverse one of their walks, they
took a broom and swept her tracks away. Their vow of
silence was also rigidly kept except when there was absolute
necessity for communication. Governor Reynolds says he
has addressed many of them courteously and to him they
were always silent as the grave. He claims that the New
Testament teaches no such doctrine as that.
The revolution in France removed them from that nation,
and public opinion, which is stronger than a revolution,
removed them from the American Bottom about 1813. But
the mound is still called "Monk's Mound."
Old State House, Kaskaskia
Four Hundred and EightySv
CHAPTER XI.
Mlevilk - The County Seat
^y^ ELLEViLLE, which IS bv etvmologv the "City Beautiful,"
JL^ was founded primarily to he the county seat of St.
Clair County, the oldest and the second lart^est m
the state. In 1790 General Arthur St. Clair, who was then
governor of the Northwest Territory, formed all the settle-
ments on the Mississippi River into a separate county, of
which he established Cahokia as the seat of justice, and it
was named by him the County of St. Clair. The population
of St. Clair County from this time continued to increase by
a steady influx from the south and from the European coun-
tries, of enterprising people seeking new homes. Of course,
in proportion as they pressed back the Indians and encroached
upon their hunting grounds, the Indian troubles increased,
until they finally culminated in the Black Hawk War. But
nothing could stay the tide of incoming settlers. The earliest
settlements had been m the bottoms along the river, but
after a few years the highlands began to be populous, and
in time they could outvote the French settlers along the
river. It was then that the idea was first broached of moving
the county seat from the French village of Cahokia to some
more desirable and central point in the county. In the sum-
mer of 181 3 the subject was generally discussed, and a vote
was taken which showed a majority in favor of moving the
seat of government to some more suitable point. In the record
of the Court of Common Pleas of St. Clair County for De-
cember, 1813, IS an order that the clerk notify the com-
missioners appointed by the Legislature to fix upon a place
for the seat of lustice for the county, that they must reach
their decision and make return to the court m February.
Later the report of this commission was found in the
records. The commission consisted of Isaac Enochs, James
Lemen, Jacob Short, Nathan Chambers, John Hay, William
Scott, Jr., and Caldwell Cains. The report states that after
holding several meetings they had finally reached an agree-
ment at their meeting of March 10, 1814, to fix the county
seat for St. Clair County on the land of George Blair, and
had marked the place for that purpose about twenty-five
rods from the dwelling of said Blair, in his cornfield. And
that Mr. Blair had agreed to donate one acre of ground for
a public square and a site for public buildings, and to permit
to be laid out in lots a tract of twenty-five acres around the
square, donating every fifth lot for the use and benefit of
the county. There is also a record that Blair came into court
and promised that he would have conveniences for holding
court there m time for the next term. It is recorded also
that Blair received six dollars for hauling the benches, seats
and tables from the court house at Cahokia. In accordance
with this plan it was ordered at the same term that "a court
house and jail be erected at the new county seat." And so
Belleville was started in a cornfield m 1814. Before that time
the spot was known as Compton Hill. The location was
ideal as far as the gifts of nature were concerned. And since
naturally many people desired to live at the county seat, it
has had a steady and continuous growth. A survey was
made in the summer of 1814 by John Messenger and this
was completed and placed on record by Governor Edwards
some years later. Several of the original streets were laid
out and named. The one running north and south through
the square was called Illinois Street, and the one running
east and west was named St. Clair, but by common usage
It became known as Main Street. This and Illinois street
were laid out sixty -six feet wide; the others were forty-nine
and a half.
George Blair, the original proprietor of the land, was a
pioneer citizen. For some years he kept a hotel. Governor
Reynolds says of him: "The first time I saw Mr. Blair was
in the fall of 1806, and I was well acquainted with him
from that time till his death. He then resided in a log cabin
covered with split boards and weight poles, and occupied
a point just north of Hinckley's mill. This log cabin and
this man were somewhat similar in their humble position at
this time, m 1806, and were the primitive specimens of men
and houses that then appeared in Belleville. Mr. Blair located
at this place to enjoy the fine spring water that at this time
IS used in Mr. Hinckley's steam mill. In 1814 he was a man
of middle size and medium age, and possessed nothing at-
tractive about him. He was not wealthy at the time, but he
had purchased two militia rights of one hundred acres each,
and located them on the land whereon Belleville is built.
He had a small farm extending from his log cabin to about
the north side of the public square, and it was not well
cultivated. Mr. Blair, like many other persons, had a natural
and inborn hatred of work, and scarcely ever permitted his
peace of mind to be disturbed by any kind of labor whatever.
He immigrated with his father to Illinois in 1796, and had
not the means of any or much education. He was no scholar,
but supposed he was, and he had the imprudence on all
occasions, in and out of order, to use words of wondrous
Four Hundred and EightySei
MC KENDREE
The Post Office— Belleville
length and mostly inapplicable. I was always a guest of Mr.
Blair's hotel, when there was no other; and I can testify
that the landlord was blessed with a good nature and a
benevolent spirit, but 'mine hostess' was pretty much the
reverse of her husband, as the truth of history will not per-
mit me to call him 'her lord and master'."
Belleville has had three court houses, and at the present
time needs another, for certainly the dignity of the second
county in the great state of Illinois, the most populous of
any outside of the one containing the city of Chicago, re-
quires a better court house than was sufficient for its need
sixty years ago. The first one was built in the summer of
1814 by Etienne Pensoneau. It was a two story, unpainted
building and stood just north of the present court house.
The court room occupied the lower floor and the upper floor
contained the clerks' offices and jury rooms. A new brick
court house was begun in 1829 and finished in 183 1. This
in turn gave way to the present court house, which was
completed in 1859. Among the earliest settlers in Belleville
were Henry Miller, who had been Blair's nearest neighbor
on the west, and William Phillips, in what is now South
Belleville. John Hay, as a county officer, came to the new
county seat to work, but his family remained in Cahokia
for several years and he regularly spent his Sundays with
them. The first store in Belleville was opened in the summer
of 18 1 4 by Joseph Kerr. Among the other early merchants
were the Messrs. Lindell, Ringgold, Wilkinson, and Pen-
soneau. In 181 5 Reuben Anderson moved from Cahokia to
Belleville and started a hotel. He was later elected constable,
and often served as deputy sheriff.
Among the most noted of the early citizens was James
Tannehill. He was a native of South Carolina, of large sta-
ture, he was six feet four in height and stoutly built. He
was a wagon-maker by trade, but when he came to Belleville
in 1817 he started a hotel. It was probably the largest in
Southern Illinois at that time, and many prominent men
have been entertained there and many stirring scenes en-
acted. The building stood for about forty years till the Na-
tional Hotel was built on the site. Tannehill was a kind
and attentive landlord, anxious to afford his guests every
accommodation in his power, but he was not a good business
man. So although he did a thriving business, he could not
accumulate any reserve. After a few years he passed the
hotel to other management and opened the first distillery
in Belleville. Grain was cheap at that time and so was the
whiskey. Almost the entire product of the distillery was
consumed at the hotel. The whiskey was used in its virgin
purity, brought from the still one day and drank the next.
It was no rare circumstance for the guests at the hotel on
some public occasion to empty three or four barrels of
whiskey in a single day. A few dried apples, roasted brown
and put in a barrel of whiskey, gave it a very rich color.
By substituting peaches for apples, a very fair article of
peach brandy was said to be made for which there was
always a ready sale. About 1830 Tannehill's distillery burned
down and he undertook to run a grain mill. For motive
power he planned to use a wind-mill. He succeeded in con-
structing one that would run successfully, but he was unable
to devise a regulator. One day a storm came up with a strong
wind and his wind-mill ran away with itself and toppled
over. It was a total wreck beyond hope of repair. He then
bought a mill site in what is now West Belleville and tried
water power. But neither the distillery nor the mill seemed
to bring him any more money than the hotel, so he sold his
mill to Thomas Harrison and bought a farm in the American
Bottom, where he ended his days. In an early day Governor
Ninian Edwards, who then lived at Edwardsville, purchased
from Etienne Pensoneau the land which George Blair had
sold him, and established a store in Belleville with a fine
stock of goods. Later he moved there himself and took per-
sonal charge of the store. He helped to build up the town
by offering building lots very cheap and upon easy terms.
A few others of the many noted men who have lived at
Belleville are Governor John Reynolds, Judge Adam W.
Snyder, who doubtless would have been governor had he
not died just before election. Governor William H. Bissell,
Lieutenant-Governor Kinney, Lieutenant-Governor Gustave
Koerner, Senator Lyman Trumbull, Col. J. L. D. Morrison,
and Congressman Jehu Baker. The list might be extended
indefinitely if space permitted. In 1836 a hbrary organization
was effected. A group of the citizens who were interested
in reading as a means of culture came together and agreed
to pay three dollars apiece the first year and one dollar and
Four Hundred atid £ight\-£ight
MC KENDREE
a halt a year thereafter for books for the common use of
the group. The hooks were kept at the home ot Dr. Schott,
the appointed custodian, until iSfi, when they were moved
to a building provided for the purpose and became the nucleus
of the present magnificent city library, which is now housed
in an excellent building provided by Andrew Carnegie.
The county seat was primarily the "Seat of Justice," where
justice is meted out to the offenders against the law, first by
giving them a fair trial in the court house and then punishing
with imprisonment or otherwise. In these days the serious
offender has the pain of his penalty distributed over a period
of years, it may be, in the penitentiary. But in the early days
Illinois had no penitentiary and the jail was not adapted to
the needs of the long-time prisoner. Therefore some form of
switt justice or intensified penalty was sought by the dis-
pensers of justice in the early days. It is on record that this
aim was sometimes met in Belleville by means of the whipping
post or the pillory. The former method was employed in a
number of cases. Several walnut trees then standing on the
public square saved the city the expense of erecting a regular
whipping post. It IS said that only one criminal was ever
punished there by the pillory. His crime was forgery. The
pillory was erected in the center ot the square and the con-
demned man was exposed in it for only one hour, and requir-
ed to pay a heavy fine in addition. This was in 1822. The only
use ever made of the pillory after that was for a hitching
rack for the farmers who drove horses to town. When John
Reynolds was a member of the Legislature he used his influ-
ence toward having the criminal code of the state reformed.
Belleville was incorporated as a town in 18 19 and as a
city m 1850. The charter of the city of Springfield was taken
as a model for her fundamental law. Theodore Krafft was the
first mayor. There are now seven wards represented in the
council, over which the present mayor presides.
In the days before there were any railroads, mails were
carried by stage coach or on horseback. In the rainy seasons
of the year the town was largely isolated from the rest of
the world by the impassable conditions of the road, especially
through the bottoms between the bluff and the river. This
demonstrated the necessity of road-building. The first ma
cadamized road in the state was begun in 1846 and built from
Belleville to St. Louis, a distance of fourteen miles. Since
then three trunk line railroads have been built through the
city, a trolley line to St. Louis, and two lines of paved road,
numbers thirteen and fifteen, run through Belleville.
The first newspaper published in the county seat was the
"Western News," started in 1826. It was called a weekly
paper, but an early historian says, "It would be more accurate
to say. It was a weekly sheet issued semi-occasionally." It
did not live long and was followed by the "St. Clair Gazette."
Other papers were the "St. Clair Banner," "The Belleville
Times," and "The Illinois Republican." The first daily paper
published in Belleville was "The Advocate," dating from
1849. In 1857 the weekly "Sun" appeared. Later both it and
the "Republican" were absorbed by the Advocate.' In 1853
the daily "Eagle" was started under the editorial manage-
ment of John Reynolds. But in a short time it was changed
to a weekly and called the "St. Clair Tribune." This was
printed on the first power press ever brought to the city
In 1858 the "Democrat" was started. This became the official
organ of the city council and the leading paper of the county.
Also in 1858 another campaign paper was started by J. W.
Hughes and Governor Reynolds. It was called the "Star of
Egypt" and was devoted to the interests of the Buchanan
wing of the Democratic party. It did not live long. In i86j
John Hmchcliffe began publishing the "Miner and Work-
man's Advocate" long before the day of labor unionism. It
was later moved to St. Louis. In 184S appeared the "Belle-
viller Zeitung," which was the first German newspaper.
Another was the "Volksblatt." At present the city has two
modern city dailies, "The Advocate" and the "News-Dem-
ocrat." Belleville, like much of southern Illinois, has the
reputation of being filled with a population largely of German
origin. We are told that there were no Germans there prior
1830, but about that time political and economical conditions
in Germany caused a great migration to America. Cheap
land and easy living conditions in St. Clair County attracted
the thrifty Germans. They came in by hundreds and they
and their descendants had become an important part of
the permanent and well-established citizenry. They are pre
verbially industrious, thrifty, and prosperous. It is claimed
that Belleville is now a city of beautiful homes of which
eighty-five percent are owned by their occupants.
County Court House— Belleville
Four Hundred and EightyJ<line
There are more than a dozen denominations of churches
in the city. The largest and wealthiest is the Roman Catholic,
with a million dollar cathedral, a resident bishop, and two
hospitals. The Methodists have six churches, of which one
IS a Free Methodist and one African. There are three Baptist,
two Evangelical, two Divine Science, and one each of Epis-
copal, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Pentecostal, Christian Science,
Latter Day Saints, and a Jewish Synagogue.
The following fraternal orders have chapters in the city :
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Catholic Knights
and Ladies of Illinois, Fraternal Order of Eagles, International
Order of Odd Fellows, Independent Order of Red Men,
Knights of Pythias, Knights of Columbus, Loyal Americans,
Loyal Order of Moose, Maccabees, Masonic Orders, Mod-
ern Woodmen of America, Western Catholic Union, and
Woodmen of the World.
Among the recreational facilities afforded by the city are
the Municipal Park known as Bellvue, containing twenty-six
acres, and the Fair Grounds, containing forty acres. Two
golf courses, that of the Belleville Golf Club, and the St.
Clair Country Club. There are three theatres, the Lincoln
with a seating capacity of i,8oo, the Rex seating 550, and
Washington, which will accommodate 1,400. The Belleville
Turners operate two concrete swimming pools during the
summer season in connection with their picnic grounds. They
have a locker capacity of twelve hundred. Boating, fishing,
and swimming may be enjoyed at Stolberg's Lake or the St.
Clair Amusement Park.
Public utilities are available in the East St. Louis and
Interurban Water Company, which supplies Belleville with
filtered water taken from the Mississippi some distance above
East St. Louis. This system supplies water for ten cities.
The supply is unlimited. There are two supply pipes running
to Belleville, so that in case of the failure of one the other
will be sufficient until repairs can be made. The other public
utility is the Illinois Power and Light Corporation, which
supplies electricity for all purposes, and gas for those who
prefer it, from a plant in Belleville, which has a capacity of
one million cubic feet per day with no winter shortage.
Belleville has sixty-two miles of paved streets and paved
roads come into the city from almost every direction. There
are one hundred and fifteen miles of paved road in the county,
and most of these roads run through the county seat.
The manufacturing interests of Belleville are unusual for
a city of its size. For instance, there is a factory of the
International Shoe Company, with a weekly pay-roll of
$10,000, and the Orbon Stove Company, with $7,000. These
are the largest, but there are a large number of factories of
different kinds running steadily, which furnish e.mployment
to literal thousands of daily workers who thereby support
themselves and their families. It is estimated that the pay-
roll for the various lines of industry combined, that center in
and about the city of Belleville, would amount to a total
running into the millions every week in the year.
Scott Field is but a short distance outside the city limits
and connected with Belleville by a paved road. This is the chief
center of balloon and airship activities of the United States
Air Service at the present time. The field, which was pur-
chased by the government during the World War, occupies
a square mile except for twenty acres out of one corner.
There are in the field more than sixty separate buildings,
including an immense airship hangar. This hangar is as high
as a fifteen story building, is three city blocks in length, and
a city block in width. It is capable of housing the largest
dirigible airship ever built. It is one of the largest buildings
of Its kind in the world, having a floor space of more than
Four Hundred and .\mrty
five acres under roof. Durinti the war, Scott Field was a
training place tor airplane tliers. Now it is a training school
for airship pilots and observers. In addition to being a train-
ing school It IS the central supply depot for the entire lighter-
than-air division of the air service. Balloon and airship sup-
plies and equipment valued at millions of dollars are stored
at Scott Field. The field has an enlisted population, commis-
sioned and civilian of eight hundred, with a monthly payroll
in excess of $50,000. The field represents an investment on
the part of the government of more than $60,000,000.
This IS also one of the most important points m the system
of aerial highways charted by the War Department. Com-
plete facilities for fueling, reconditioning, and housing air-
planes are maintained at the field, day and night. It is a
regular stopping place for cross-country fliers, both army
and commercial. Lindbergh has visited this field. After the
war. It was chosen in 1921 as the center of all the army's
lighter-than-air activities because of its location in the heart
of the Mississippi Valley. Thousands of persons visit this
exceedingly interesting place every year.
Four Hundred and \meu-One
CHAPTER XII.
East St. Loms-
Bv Pal-
STUDENTS delving into the mystery of the prehistoric
past found on the eastern shore of the Mississippi
River remnants of an unknown age which point to
the existence of a great metropoUs of the race known as the
Mound Builders.
Today East St. Louis is fast encompassing that area which
formed the site of this great prehistoric city. It is becoming
a metropolis with gigantic industries and commercial enter-
prises that rival in this age of machinery the metropolis that
existed in the age of the Mound Builders.
East St. Louis is on the threshold of a tremendous develop-
ment. It faces a commercial and industrial future that exceeds
in promise that of the majority of cities its size in America.
Materially aiding its growth is the East St. Louis Chamber
of Commerce. It is this organization which provides infor-
mation concerning its advantages, resources and transporta-
tion facilities. It is the Chamber of Commerce that institutes
and carries out projects of large magnitude that are bound
to play an increasingly important part in the development
of the city.
Under the leadership of L. H. Forman, its manager, the
civic forces of the city have been consolidated under the
leadership of the Chamber of Commerce. Unquestionably
there is a feeling in East St. Louis that the city will soon
undergo a period of unprecedented expansion.
East St. Louis has experienced in the past a development
more rapid and certain than any other city in the state out-
side of Chicago. When the city of East St. Louis was incor-
porated in 1865 it had a population of approximately 5,000.
In 1890 there were but 15,000 residents. The population
doubled itself by 1900 and again in the next decade. East
St. Louis civic leaders expect that by 1930 the city will easily
pass the 100,000 mark.
During the past year East St. Louis has undergone one
of the greatest changes in years. It has seen the new Broad-
view Hotel, a metropolitan fireproof structure, become a
reality; its first skyscraper, the Spivey Building; and the
construction of the new million-dollar Majestic Theatre are
the most notable changes wrought in the downtown district.
The handsome Goldman Building is replacing the historic
lUmo Hotel. The new First National Bank Building is a
large factor in the changing skyline of the city.
-The Metro pohs
B. CORR
In civic development the East St. Louis Park District
within the past decade has made ample provision for the
recreational needs of the city's grown-ups and children. There
are parks with an aggregate acreage of 1,333. Of these the
most notable are Lake Park and Jones Park, both of which
are built to serve the entire city, while there are neighbor-
hood parks scattered throughout the residential sections.
In Lake Park, East St. Louis has a notable example of the
constructive spirit of the city. Its transformation is without
parallel in municipal park history for it is perhaps the third
largest municipal park in the United States, and is the largest
owned by a city under 100,000 population. In its transfor-
mation, 1 1 30 acres of marsh and lake will be converted into
a veritable paradise with three lakes, a network of driveways
and provision made for all forms of recreation. In its develop-
ment, $500,000 will be expended, in addition to the cost
of the ground.
East St. Louis enjoys industrial diversification. It has many
major industries and there are a dozen or more that have
annual payrolls exceeding $1,000,000. It occupies a prom-
inent place in the manufacture of meat products, building
materials, roofing, paint, chemicals, iron and steel products,
and foodstuffs.
Its utilities are preparing to serve a city with a population
by 1950 of at least 500,000. Students of municipal develop-
ment predict a gigantic urban development in all directions
from East St. Louis on the Illinois side of the river.
Outstanding factors are responsible for a growing faith
on the part of outsiders in the future of East St. Louis — its
excellent railroad facilities, the development of waterway
transportation on the Mississippi River, nearness to limitless
supplies of coal, ideal sites for the location of large industries,
unlimited supply of electrical energy at a minimum cost,
nearness to raw materials, and the ideal location of East St.
Louis in the center of the United States.
It IS for these reasons that major industries have elected
to locate and will continue to locate in the East St. Louis
district. While its industrial future is certain, steps are now
under way for the development of Southern Illinois, the
oldest settled section of the state and the least developed.
East St. Louis and the East St. Louis Chamber of Commerce
are taking a prominent part in this development.
Four Hundred and H'netyTu
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^s^
East St. Louis was in reality born in the post-Revolution'
ary War period. The site of the present Southern Illinois
metropolis was the scene of one of the most important battles
of the Revolutionary War west of the Atlantic seaboard.
In 1780, General George Rogers Clark, at the urgent request
of the Spanish governor of St. Louis, hurried to Cahokia,
parent of the present city, and there on the Cahokia Common-
fields north of the ancient village decisively defeated Captain
Hesse and his army of British and Indians which formed one
of the three expeditions designed to recapture the Northwest
Territory from the Virginians under Clark. This victory shat-
tered the hopes of the British of ever recapturing the territory
that was lost to them through Clark's conquest, and brought
about the failure of two other expeditions without an en-
gagement.
In 1796 Captain James Piggott built the first house in
what IS now East St. Louis. A few years later the French
at Cahokia, following a flood, platted the town of Illinois
City and had the plat approved by an act of Congress.
Cahokia was established m 1699 with the arrival of two
missionary priests from Quebec, and is the oldest permanent
white settlement west of the Allegheny Mountains. It was
from Cahokia that the Illinois city, and the settlements that
later became integral parts of East St. Louis, drew their first
inhabitants. In addition there were the soldiers of the Revo-
lutionary War who had come west and found in this place
opportunity. Most of the present city of East St. Louis is
built upon the Cahokia Commonfields and the Cahokia
Commons.
In 1825 the original John Jacob Astor, seeing the possi-
bilities of this section, bought for $3,684 a tract of the Caho-
kia Commons, 1600 feet wide, running from the river about
six miles across the American Bottoms, and containing about
800 acres. The west end of this tract now contains the most
valuable business property of East St. Louis, and realtors
still refer to it as the "Astor tract."
Due to the advantageous location of Illinois City it bec.ime
the gateway of travel overland to the vast wilderness that
stretched beyond the Father of Waters, it was here that these
hardy pioneers in their covered wagons rested after journey,
ing across the prairie and before they ventured into that land of
uncertainty which the United States had purchased from
France.
In coming to what is now East St. Louis they made use of
the ferry which Captain James Piggott had established and
which later was owned by the Wiggins family. It was this
ferry that first gave employment to residents of Illinoistown.
Illinois Town, now East St. Louis, in 1818
Railroads of the nation found at East St. Louis great possi'
bilities and built there the second greatest railroad center in
the world. They selected East St. Louis primarily because it
was the logical gateway to the west; secondly, because the
level land in and about the city offered good foothold for
track-laying, roadbed-making and future industrial sites;
lastly, because at this point below the mouth of the Mis-
souri River they could advantageously reach the shores of
that great waterway, the Mississippi.
It is at East St. Louis that twenty-eight railroads meet at
bridges which span the Father of Waters. It is the largest
package freight center m the United States. Every night
limited freight trains leave for the far corners of the nation,
and from this central industrial district manufactured goods
can be sent to the most distant points in the shortest pos-
sible time.
Four bridges form arteries of rail and highway traffic to the
west. The first of these, the Eads Bridge, the second structure
to span the river, was completed in 1874. Then followed in
turn the Merchants' Bridge, the McKinley Bridge and the
Municipal or Free Bridge. A railroad bridge at Alton, and
ferries operated by the Wiggins Ferry Company, owned by
the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis and the Mis-
souri Pacific, assist in the transfer of carload freight.
Coal was first discovered in the United States at Ottawa,
Illinois, in the latter part of the seventeenth century, and
almost simultaneously at a point that is now just outside of
the East St. Louis city limits. It has only been m the last
half century that any steps were taken to develop the enor-
mous coal fields at this city's very door. Geologists say that
there is a limitless supply of coal within short hauling dis'
tance of East St Louis.
The first railroad west of Pittsburg was built from the bank
of the river just below the Free Bridge to the bluffs in 1837
MMlU
THE SPIVEY BUILDING
An East St. Louis Skyscraper
and was used for the hauling of coal to the Mississippi shore.
Its rails were of wood and horses were used instead of steam.
The Ohio and Mississippi River Railroad began building
its western terminus here in 1852. The Cairo Short Line was
started in 1854. It was the coming of the railroads that added
sufficiently to the negligible population of Illinoistown to
cause the citizens to incorporate in 18^9. In 1865 the name
was changed to East St. Louis.
East St. Louis, while favored with natural advantages, has
surmounted difficulties that have been detrimental to its
growth and prosperity. So it is that the story of East St. Louis
is the story of an undet'privileged community rising to an
outstanding position among the cities of the middle west.
Located on the old bed of the Mississippi River, the
American Bottoms, subjected to overflow from the Father of
Waters, the inhabitants suffered severely from malaria in the
early days and St. Louisans and those living on the higher
ground in this section of Illinois looked down upon the pio-
neers of the municipality as residents of a fever-blighted city.
About 1800 there was formed in the middle of the river an
island which for a time became known as Bloody Island. It
was a rendezvous for gamblers, and here were held the cock
Its and other sporting events of the time, by adventurous
St. Louisans. Several notorious duels were fought on Bloody
Island.
After Father Mississippi had showed a tendency to leave
St. Louis without a harbor and shift its course eastward of
Bloody Island, St. Louisans appealed to the Missouri Legis-
lature who obtained an agreement with the Illinois Legisla-
ture for the building of a dike on the Illinois side to keep
the river in its course. The building of the dike began in
1837 under the direction of Robert E. Lee, army engineer,
who later became famous as the military leader of the South
during the Civil War.
Building of this dike caused Bloody Island to pass out of
existence as an island, and when railroads began to build their
lines to the shores of the Mississippi River, this once notor-
ious spot became the location of the greatest cluster of rail-
road terminals in America.
Upon this dike were located the first two raised streets in
East St. Louis, Front Street and Broadway. In 1877 Mayor
M. M. Stephens inaugurated the greatest public work that
has ever been accomplished in East St. Louis, the raising of
street levels throughout the downtown area. This great work
focused attention upon the city, people flocked to it, outside
money became available for improvements, and a real city
developed.
In 1910 the building of a comprehensive system of levees
to protect practically the entire American Bottoms was
started. By the expenditure of more than $10,000,000 this
great gateway to the west, formed by the concentration of
twenty-eight trunk line railways converging at the crossings of
the Mississippi, has been made safe from inroads of the river.
It has had great struggles with river floods, the most recent
of which were in 1892 and 1903. Two tornadoes have left
paths of destruction here, one in 1871, and another in 1896,
costing more than 100 lives.
It has had more than its share of fires, pestilence, racial
troubles, and other vicissitudes; but it has arisen from these,
stronger and better equipped to cope with the future.
In 1872 the National Stockyards was established at East
St. Louis. It was the first major industry to be located in the
American Bottoms. The annual value of its products is esti-
mated to be in excess of $200,000,000 a year. Here is located
the world's largest horse and mule market, the second largest
hog market, and is accredited with being the third largest
clearing house for livestock in the world.
Since 1874, when the first packing house began its opera-
tions, the growth of the business has been constant, until
Hundred and ?{mety-Fmn
MC KENDREE
now the volume of receipts and shipments reaches an enor-
mous figure. Morris and Company established the first large
packing house at the National Stockyards in 1887. In 1893
It was followed by Swift and Company, Armour and Com-
pany came in 1903, and the East Side Packing Company in 190';.
But lest It appear that East St. Louis is a one-industry
city, the following list will show the highly diversified na-
ture of Its industrial products:
Aluminum, roofing, paints, building material, varnishes,
linoleum, railway cars, railway frogs and switches, foundry
products, bags, ranges and stove parts, flour, mill and poultry
feeds, boilers, sheet iron, fireworks, lumber and millwork, gas-
oline and oils, storage batteries, barrels, kegs and casks, artifi-
cial stone, chemicals, rope and twine, textiles, brick and tile,
quarry products, serums, cooking utensils, malleable castings,
steel mills, steel products, structural steel and iron, bottles
and glassware, baking powder, railway springs, railway
equipment, shoes, motor trucks, wagons, radio cabinets, can-
vas products, food products, fences, harvesting machines,
railroad ties, electric steel castings, tank cars, oil field equip-
ment, sheet steel, cotton, meat products, hides, grease and
tallow, clothing, oleomargarine, silicia, concrete products,
tools and machinery.
East St. Louis is conceded to be the largest aluminum man-
ufacturing center. The plants of the Aluminum Ore Company
and the Aluminum Cooking Utensil Company cover a large
area. It is one of the largest users of the Mississippi Warrior
barge line service, and controls a railroad recently valued by
the Interstate Commerce Commission at upwards of a million
and a quarter dollars.
East St. Louis enjoys the lowest rates for electrical power
of any district in the Mississippi Valley. The energy is pro-
vided by the mammoth Cahokia power plant of the Union
Electric Company of Illinois which now produces more than
the year-round capacity of Muscle Shoals, and when com-
pleted, will furnish four times the energy of the widely known
Tennessee plant. In addition, it is served by the power plant
at Venice and the.Keokuk plant, both of which are controlled
by the North American Company.
The East St. Louis and Interurban Water Company is now
prepared to meet the most exacting residential and industrial
demands for water, following completion of its Chouteau
Island intake. Gas for industrial purposes in any amount
can be furnished by the Illinois Power and Light Corpora-
tion, which has its headquarters in East St. Louis.
Some of the organizations that are helping to build East
St. Louis are Rotary, Kiwanis, Lions, and Optimist Clubs,
Business and Professional Women's Club, Community Fund,
Downtown Business Men's Association, Retail Merchants'
Association, various neighborhood improvement associations.
Junior Chamber of Commerce, Automobile Club, Medical,
Dental and Bar Associations, Master Builders, Bakers and
Painters Association, and Employers' Association.
In the Community Fund which has its headquarters m the
Chamber of Commerce are grouped together fourteen agen-
cies to meet the charity, social service, character building and
educational needs of the city. The list includes the Young
Women's Christian Association, the National Catholic Com-
munity House, the Queen's Daughters, Protestant Women's
Welfare League, Visiting Nurses Association, the East St.
Louis Settlement House, Salvation Army, Humane Society,
Illinois Children's Home and Aid Society, Red Cross, Tu-
berculosis Society, Colored Old Folks' Home, Boy Scouts
and Girl Scouts.
The Ainad Shrine Temple is a handsome building in the
heart of the city. With its annual Pageant of Progress, in
which every interest of East St. Louis cooperates, it estab-
lishes a desirable contact with all parts of Southern Illinois
and is an exhibition of the city's prowess as Little Egypt's
metropolis. The Knights of Columbus clubhouse is a center
for social and athletic events. Its architectural beauty has
added to the general attractiveness of the city.
From East St. Louis paved roads radiate to all parts of
Illinois, and westward across Missouri extend good roads
which eventually lead to the great southwest and far west.
East St. Louis IS on two United States trunk highways and
is but a short distance from two others.
East St. Louis residents are convinced of its possibilities
and Its inevitable future as one of the nation's leading cities.
It stands today on the threshold of a new and greater expan-
sion, an expansion that promises to make it not only a bigger
city numerically but also promises to add to it a greater force
as a leader in the development of Southern Illinois.
iii
'1 -.
First M. E Church. East St L-i
Hundred and AJnietv-Fir.
CHAPTER XIII.
Lebanon — Seat of McKendree College
'he City is situated on a beautiful elevation between
Silver Creek on the west and the Little Silver on the
east, which joins the larger creek a few miles south
of town. It is on the Baltimore and Ohio Southwestern Rail-
road twenty-four miles from St. Louis. This road was built
in 1854 and originally known as the Ohio and Mississippi.
Lebanon is also connected with St. Louis by an interurban
trolley line which was built in 1902. When first settled it
was on the old Indian trail which connected Vincennes and
St. Louis. This has been replaced by route twelve of the
Illinois highway system, which in the main follows the old
trail and provides bus service, both to St. Louis and east-
ward, and brings St. Louis within an hour's drive by auto-
mobile. The southeast quarter of section nineteen, on which
Lebanon was originally laid out, was obtained from the
government by original grant, being entered by Henry
White, September 24, 1814. The first house was built by
Gillis Middeaux. It was made of logs and located in the
southeast part of the present town, but has long since dis-
appeared. The next was built by Joseph Akin near the pres-
ent site of the Presbyterian church. Joseph Hathaway built
a two-story log house, on what is now St. Louis Street, and
another was erected by Thomas Ray, who is referred to by
Dr. Allyn in one instance as "the founder of the town,"
with the additional statement that at nearly fifty years of
age he claimed he "had never heard the Lord's prayer." A
little later another house was built on the same street by
Nathan Horner. This street was merely the old road running
through. Another early home builder was Adam Vinyard.
The first store in the town was established as early as 1818
by William Kinney, who was Lieutenant-Governor of Illinois,
1826-1830. Mr. Kinney lived about eight miles from Lebanon
on the road to Belleville and did not conduct the store him-
self, but placed it in charge of his nephew, Abraham Kinney.
Not much later other stores were started by Thomas Ray,
Nathan Horner, MuUigan and Sublett, Samuel and Andy
Christy, and James Riggin. These and a few more log build-
ings were erected on the present site of Lebanon prior to
1820. In that year William Kinney built the hotel "Veranda,"
which was a brick building and was considered a handsome
structure for that day. It was first kept by Jeremiah Johnson,
who was an experienced hotel keeper, having been for many
years proprietor of the old "Missouri Hotel," in St. Louis.
He conducted this hotel for the remainder of his life. It
afterward became a part of the "Bishop House" and stood
till about the year 1905, when it was removed to make a
place for the handsome residence of Mr. E. S. Pfeffer. This
was a regular station on the stage line running between St.
Louis and Vincennes. Also about 1820 a post office was
established and mails were received by stage twice a day.
One of the early post-masters, whether the very first or not
cannot now be determined, was Colonel Eli B. Clemson. He
built the first frame house in Lebanon in the year 1821. It
later became a part of the residence of Henry H. Horner and
stood till 1925, when it was replaced by a modern bungalow
now occupied by the daughters of Judge Horner. Dr. Addi-
son Fillo and a Mr. Morse erected a building and kept the
first drug store. The town was laid out by Governor Kinney
and Thomas Ray. It was surveyed and platted by Aaron
Reed, Jr., and the plat was filed in the office of the county
recorder July 27, 1825. Since then there have been twenty-
two additions made to the original town. In 1828, at the
time of the founding of Lebanon Seminary, there were not
more than thirty houses in the place and a population of less
than two hundred. In 183,2 a large general store was opened
by Horner and Hypes. These men represented two of the
most prominent families of the village, both of whom will
be mentioned elsewhere. Thomas Williams built a tannery
here in 1829 and operated it successfully fof many years.
Thomas W. Gray, a native of Maryland, came here in 1824
and engaged in the tailoring business. Lyman Adams, a
retired sea captain, built a hotel here in 1830 and called it
the "Mermaid House." At this hostelry Charles Dickens
was entertained over night when he visited Lebanon on his
way to see "Looking Glass Prairie" in 1846. The building
is still standing, tho somewhat changed in appearance. It
is now a private residence, but the owner is proud to show
the room in which Charles Dickens once slept. The "Illinois
Gazeteer," published in 1837 t>y Rev. John M. Peck, contains
this statement about Lebanon at that date, "Lebanon has a
steam mill and an ox mill, a post office, two public houses,
seven stores, one grocery, three physicians, mechanics' shops
of various kinds, and about sixty families." It was incorpor'
ated as a town under special charter in May, 1857. The first
officers were: Joseph Hypes, president; Charles Blanck, regis'
ter; Samuel Hypes, treasurer; Henry H. Horner, assessor;
Adam W. Wise, constable; J. L. Sargent, street inspector;
and the town trustees were Hugo Wangelin, Richard F.
Four Hundred and ?imetySv
MC KENDREE
Cunningham, James Padon, and Thomas Jordan. After seven-
teen years of this form of government, it was organized as
a city, under the general law, August, 1874, and the follow-
ing men were selected as the first city offi:ers: Henry H.
Horner, mayor; Louis Zerweck, clerk; D. R. Lasley, treasurer;
Jean F. Webb, attorney; and Addison Pyle, street commis-
sioner and city marshal. The city council at that time was
composed of nine aldermen, three from each of the three
wards into which the city was divided. The representation
has since been changed so that now there are only two alder-
men from each ward.
Following IS a complete list of the mayors, m the order
in which they served down to the present. James Rankin,
Jean F. Webb, James D. Baker, Louis Zerweck, Edwin L
Robinson, Thomas A. Wilson, Roland H. Horner, Christian
J. Pfeffer, Dr. John H. Fulgham, James S. Gedney, Frank
W. Robinson, Homer C. Eisenmayer, Frank J. Betten, John
E. North, and Benjamin Reibold. Rankin and Zerweck each
served three terms, and H. H. Horner, Webb, R, H. Horner,
Pfeffer, Gedney, F. W. Robinson, Eisenmayer, and North
have each served two terms. During all these years the
mayor's office has had a very small salary attached to it and
the man who holds the office usually gives much time to
the interests of the city without pay. In the clerk's office
there has not been such a long list. One man, Mr. Cicero
L. Robinson, served continuously for a period of thirty-four
years and was succeeded by his son, Charles W. Robinson,
who is the present incumbent. The city installed an electric
light plant in 1890, when but few towns of its size had this
modern method of lighting. This municipal plant was main-
tained until 1921, when the rising cost of fuel and labor
made it so expensive to furnish light from a small plant ot
that type, that in the interest of economy the plant was
sold to the Illinois Power and Light Corporation, and Leb-
anon became one of the patrons of that great corporation
which lights many of the cities in southern Illinois. Several
attempts were made thru the years to install waterworks,
but various hindering causes prevented the accomplishment
of this desirable end until very recent times. But finally, dur-
ing the term of Mayor North, a municipal water and sanitary
sewer system were installed in the years 1926-27.
The most important streets were paved during the mayor-
alty of James S. Gedney, in the summer of 1908 and later,
St. Louis Street with brick and Belleville and Alton Streets
with macadam and tarvia finish. Since the close of the war
Lebanon has maintained an annual "Homecoming" celebra-
tion held in September. This was initiated by the American
Legion. There is usually a crowd of from five to ten thousand
people at this event. There are contests and various forms
of amusement during the day, with a grand parade in the
evening which includes floats representing many of the busi'
ness firms of the city.
SCHOOLS
The first school m Lebanon was taught in a log school
house eighteen by twenty, in 1818. About four years later
a small frame school house was erected, which was also used
for religious meetings by all denominations who so desired.
A school for girls was maintained for some years m the
basement of the Methodist church. The building stood on
the present site of the Presbyterian church, and was burned
m i860. This school was designed to accommodate girls m
the days when they were not admitted to McKendree. One
pupil of this school, Mrs. Mary FitzGerrell, is still fiving
in Lebanon. There was also an elementary school taught in
the basement of the Baptist church. Some of the pupils of
that school are now living in Lebanon. A large three-story
brick school house was built in 1874, but before it was quite
finished it was destroyed by fire, and there was no insurance.
It was a heavy blow to the community, but the people of
Lebanon would not allow any ordinary misfortune to defeat
a good purpose, so a new loan was raised and another school
house erected immediately, which served the community
well and is still in use. When a high school was organized
about 1895 it was housed in this same building, together
with the grades, but as the years passed by and the school
population increased, the building was no longer adequate
for both schools, and so a movement was started for the
erection of a new high school building. After the necessary
preliminaries were arranged and an election held, a commu-
nity high school was established which includes the village
of Summerfield and a part of Mascoutah township. A new
^.^^-^^^^^^^MCIKENDREE
building was erected at a cost of $80,000, which represents
the latest ideas in the modern high school. Professor C.
Grouse was superintendent during the construction period
and was succeeded by Professor E. M. Schuenemann, and
he by Prof. Vernon G. Mays, the present incumbent.
CHURCHES
The religious history of the town may be said to have
begun when in 1821 the Rev. John M. Peck organized a
Sunday School in the little log school house. According to
an old Quarterly Conference record, a Methodist preaching
place was established m 182},. It was a part of the Shoal
Creek Circuit. When the first McKendree building was
erected in 1828, it was specified that the assembly room in
the building might be used as a place of worship. In the
minutes of the Illinois Conference, Lebanon first appears in
the list of appointments in 1829. The Methodist Church
has had a continuous run here ever since that time. The
first building of the Methodists had stood where the Pres-
byterian church now stands and had a basement which was
used for school purposes, as stated elsewhere. This building
was destroyed by fire in i860. The Methodists probably
worshipped in the college chapel for a few years after that
until they felt able to build again. The new building was
erected on St. Louis Street, where the present church stands.
It was one of the best buildings Lebanon has ever had, of
the rectangular type with a tall spire which out-classed the
one on the college chapel. The Annual Conference was held
in it in 1870. Early one Sunday morning in the spring of
1898 this took fire and was soon in ruins. The work of
rebuilding was immediately begun and in December of the
same year the present church was dedicated free of debt by
^
^P^^l
Wki
^IBhs^t^h^ *' ..^hK^bSB^Bi
■il '
w
hHI
_3
The College Church
Bishop J. N. FitzGerald. In 1927 an extensive addition was
built and other improvements made. The substantial brick
parsonage was built in the early seventies, and recently
improved and modernized.
There has been a Baptist church in Lebanon since an
early day, tho the records of the earliest organization seem
to have been lost. Their present house of worship was built
in 1856. It is a substantial brick building with a basement,
all well furnished. The membership has never been large,
but has always contained some of the substantial citizens
who have kept ahve the faith and kept their house of wor-
ship in repair.
The Presbyterian Church was organized April 8, 1866,
by Rev. A. T. Norton, of Alton. The original organization
contained nine members. Dr. F. W. Lytle, Miss F. M. Lytle,
Miss Amanda Johnson, Mrs. Margaret H. Woodworth,
Mrs. Sarah J. Seaman, Miss Ruth Danforth, Mrs. Helen
M. Horner, Miss Helen Atwood, and Mrs. Elizabeth
Wheeler. Their house of worship is a neat frame building
which was erected in 1867. The most prominent pastor was
the Rev. Lyman Marshall, who was in charge of the church
for about thirty years. It is now known as the Marshall
Memorial Church.
The German Evangelical Church may be regarded as an
ofF-shoot of the Presbyterian Church. The organization took
place in February, 1868. A number of families of German
descent desired to be in a separate organization where, if
they so desired, they might have the satisfaction of wor-
shipping in their mother tongue. The original records contain
the names of many well-known Lebanon families, such as
Bachman, Buhr, Guenther, Schmelzer, Reinhardt, Campe.
Traband, Blanck, and many others. At first they worshipped
by permission in the same church building with the regular
Presbyterians, tho of course at a different hour. Their first
pastor was the Rev. C. W. Seaman. Under his leadership
the money was raised to erect a frame house of worship of
very modest pretensions, and costing about $i,')00. This is
the oldest part of the present church building. It was begun
in September, 1869, finished in the spring of 1871, and dedi-
cated on April 16, of that year. Additions and improvements
have been made at different times and now the church will
accommodate as many as five hundred people on special
occasions. All the pastors after Rev. C. W. Seaman have
been members of the Evangelical Church, and so they natur-
ally began to be called by that name and so regarded by its
own membership, but it did not become in fact a part of
that denomination until January i. iq2.-;, when thru the
Four Hunirei and .\itiet\-Eiglit
^MC KENDREE ^^^^^^^^-^^^>,:^^
influence of the present pastor, Rev. R, Hohiivmn, it was
admitted to the Synod of North America of the German
Evangehcal Church.
The first Catholic people came to Lebanon about iS^o.
Among them were such names as Mees, Schwab, Ward,
Shannon, Curran, and Phillips. In an early day the Rev. A.
Reineke, ot Breese, celebrated mass at the Ward home. In
1862 William Mees circulated a subscription paper and
raised money to build a church. It was a small frame building
able to seat about a hundred. The first resident priest was
the Rev. F. Trojan, 1879-1881. He died in the service of
the church and is buried in the local cemetery. The present
building was erected under the leadership of Rev. James
Gillen, who was pastor from 1886 to 1897. It is a beautiful
Gothic structure and cost at that time about $10,000. The
present rectory was built during the pastorate of Rev. A.
Huesman. The school building was erected by Rev. A.
Kamann. The school is taught by a Sister of "The Precious
Blood." The sisters reside in a two-story dwelling on the
same block with the church and school. Societies of the
parish are: "Holy Name," " Altar Society," "Young Ladies'
Sodality," and "Catholic Knights of Illinois." The parish
has had its own cemetery since 1864.
There are two colored churches in Lebanon, a Baptist and
a Methodist. The former has a neat frame building for a
house of worship which was erected on Dee Street about
forty years ago. It is seated with some of the wooden benches
with backs which were originally used in the college chapel,
but were removed m 1890 when the chapel was seated with
opera chairs. This church does not maintain a steady pastor,
but secures one at intervals.
The Methodist belongs to the denomination known as
the African Methodist Episcopal Church. It was organized
soon after the Civil War and has maintained a continuous
history since that time. The financial backbone of the church
for many years was Young Turner, an ex-slave who was
successful in business and accumulated a considerable fortune
before his death in 1916. One of their leading members at
the present time is Henry Turner, who is no kin to the
Turner just mentioned. This church has a commodious house
of worship on Monroe Street and a good-sized parsonage
on the same grounds, though at present they do not have
a resident pastor. They have part time preaching by a
preacher from East St. Louis.
In Its equipment for serving the community in a business
way Lebanon has four general stores, one dry goods store,
one clothing store, a furniture and undertaking establish-
ment, two bakeries, two meat markets, a fruit and vegetable
market, one Kroger store, six garages and auto sales agencies,
two drug stores, two doctors, two dentists, one mill and
lumber yard, one coal dealer, two ice dealers, one soft drink
factory, one hat factory, two blacksmith and repair shops,
one jewelry store, one music and gift shop, one variety store,
three restaurants, one hotel, four barber shops, one picture
show, two cigar factories, one newspaper and printing office,
a commercial club, a Rotary club, lodges of the Masons, Odd
Fellows, Knights of Pythias, and Modern Woodmen, and
possibly a few other minor businesses or organizations which
a more exhaustive survey might include.
THE DENEEN FAMILY
The Rev. William L. Deneen was born m Bedford County,
Pennsylvania, October 50, 1798. One of his ancestors was
captain of a ship which traded from a French port. The
family name is of French origin and was originally spelled
Denesne. When he was two and a half years old his parents
moved to Trumbull County, Ohio, and there he grew to
manhood. His opportunities for obtaining an education were
limited, but being gifted with a rare natural aptitude for
mathematical studies he mastered all branches of the science
of mathematics from arithmetic to calculus, with but little
help from others. At the age of twenty he went to Vevay,
Indiana, where he learned the hatting business, at which he
worked for the four following years. Subsequently he taught
school. In 1827 he was converted under the ministry of Rev .
George Locke and received a call to preach the gospel. In
1828 he was received on trial in the Illinois Conference,
which at that time included the two states of Illinois and
Indiana. His first appointment was to Shoal Creek Circuit,
which at that time included not less than half a dozen present
Illinois counties. His other appointments were Salt Creek
Circuit, Lebanon Circuit, Kaskaskia Circuit, Brownsville
Mission, Waterloo Circuit, Edwardsville, Belleville, Upper
Four Hundred and .\nietv.Ni
|mc KENDREE ^^^^^s^^^..^;..^-^
Alton, Alton, Belleville a second time, Waterloo, and Leb-
anon. For nineteen consecutive years he carried the burdens
of an itinerant Methodist preacher. Then a severe attack of
throat trouble induced him to give up public speaking, so
he retired from the active ministry. In the year 1847 he
took advantage of a provision in the by-laws of McKendree
College whereby a person might receive a degree by success-
fully passing an examination on the entire college course
without spending the usual years in class attendance. Mr.
Deneen took the examination and received the degree of B. S.
in 1847. Jri fact he was the whole class for that year. His
was the first degree of Bachelor of Science that was ever
conferred by McKendree College. Prior to that time all dc
grees in regular courses had been Bachelor of Arts. As soon
as his health permitted, Mr. Deneen engaged in the business
of surveying lands, into which he was led by his strong
predilection for the science of mathematics which had grown
upon him with the passing years. He was County Surveyor
of St. Clair County during the years 1849-185 1 and again
1853-1855. His unusual proficiency in mathematics and the
remarkable accuracy of his work as a surveyor received the
highest testimonials from those most conversant with the
business in which he was employed. In repeated instances
the decisions of the courts were determined by the weight
of his testimony and the reputation of his work. His services
were constantly in demand until he had reached his four
score years. Mr. Deneen was an able preacher, a profound
theologian, and a true Christian. As a minister and as a
surveyor he was strictly conscientious in all his labors. He
did much work in Lebanon surveying the various additions
that were made from time to time. Mr. R. H. Horner, who
frequently does surveying, has in his possession a little book
of records made by Mr. Deneen. It is the best authority to
be found anywhere for settling questions of boundary lines
or corners in the town of Lebanon.
He was married in 18 ji to Miss Verlinder B. Moore,
daughter of Risdon Moore, of Revolutionary fame. She was
born June jo, 1802 and died on her birthday, June 30, 1855.
There were three children of this marriage, Risdon Moore
Deneen, who was born in 1833 and died in 1864, Samuel H.,
who was born in 1835 and died in 1895, and Sarah A., who
became the wife of Hon. A. W. Metcalf, of Edwardsville.
Mr. Deneen lived in Lebanon after his retirement from the
ministry. He died in 1879 and was buried in the cemetery
at Shiloh.
Samuel Hedding Deneen was born near Belleville, De-
cember 20, 1835. He entered McKendree College in 1850
and graduated in the class of 1854. In the following year
he taught school and continued his studies in the ancient
languages. In 1855 he was elected tutor in the Classics in
McKendree College, and in 1858 he was made adjunct pro-
fessor of Ancient Languages. His studies now took a wide
range over the field of ancient, and more especially, of the
Roman Literature, and he read carefully and critically the
entire existing works of the principal Latin authors. In 1862
he was elected professor of the Latin Language and Litera-
ture. However, at this time the Civil War, now in its second
year, was demanding the attention of men of every walk of
life and even the colleges felt the pressure of the one great
One of Lebanon's residence streets
demand of the time. So Professor Deneen enlisted in the
Union Army, and was commissioned Adjutant of the 1 17th
Regiment, of which Professor Risdon Moore, of the Math-
ematic Department of McKendree was the Colonel. This
was known as the McKendree Regiment, since many of the
students were found in its ranks. This regiment saw service
in Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Ala-
bama. Mr. Deneen participated in the marches, skirmishes,
and battles of his regiment until November, 1864, when on
account of sickness he was granted an honorable discharge
from the service and returned home. In 1865 he resumed his
work in the college as professor of Latin. He engaged in this
task with new vigor. Through his agency the Latin course
in the college was extended and intensified. He was a most
efficient leader in this field. His high scholastic attainments
were recognized not only in the institution where he labored,
but in much wider circles. In recognition of this, Indiana
Asbury University gave him the degree of Doctor of Phil-
osophy in 1876. On account of faiHng health he was obliged
to give up his college work in 1886. After a few years of
rest and recuperation he was appointed by President Har-
rison in 1890 to the position of United States Consul at
Belleville, Ontario. He resigned in 1893 to go into business
in Chicago. His death occurred in that city April 13, 1895.
His remains were brought hack and laid to rest in College
Hill Cemetery, Mr. Deneen was married in 1859, to Mary
F. Ashley, a daughter of Hiram K. Ashley, who was one of
the early trustees of McKendree. She was also a grand-
daughter of Nathan Horner. She was educated at the Illinois
Female College, at Jacksonville and the Wesleyan Female
College, at Cincinnati. She graduated from the latter insti-
tution. Their oldest son, Edward Ashley, died soon after
graduating from McKendree. Their second son, Charles
Samuel, after serving two terms as governor of his state, is
now a member of the United States Senate. He will receive
more adequate mention elsewhere in this book. Their two
daughters graduated from McKendree. Mrs. Sarah A. Dick-
son now lives in Chicago; Florence Deneen also lives m
the same city where for many years she has been a teacher
in the public schools.
THE HORNER FAMILY
The Horner family is one of the oldest in Lebanon.
Nicholas Horner, with his family, moved from near Baltimore
in 1812 to Ohio and thence in 181 <; to Illinois, and settled
about two miles north of where Lebanon now stands. He
purchased about five hundred acres of land, which of course
at that time was very cheap. A part of it was somewhat
improved, and for this he paid ten dollars an acre. The rest
he obtained at the usual government price. He was much
interested m the welfare and improvement of the pioneer
community, as evidenced by the fact that he was the largest
contributor to the fund raised in 1828 for the founding of
Lebanon Seminary. Thomas Ray, who had a part m the early
affairs of the town, was his son-in-law. He lived on his farm
until his death, which occurred about 1840.
Nathan Horner, son of Nicholas, was born in Maryland
in the year 1790. He came with his father to Ohio in 1812,
and while living there he was united in marriage to Nancy
Hypes, who was a native of Virginia, and a daughter of
Henry Hypes. She was a woman of fine intelligence and
remarkable energy. Mr. Horner, with his young wife, came
to Illinois at the same time his father did and engaged m
farming for a time, but as early as 1819 he moved to the
village and started a store, which was among the earliest in
Lebanon. From that time on he spent the remainder of his
active life in the mercantile business. He died in 1867, at
the age of seventy-seven. In 1832 he formed a partnership
with Benjamin Hypes, his brother-in-law, and they con-
ducted a large general store on the south side of St. Louis
Street, near the square. In 183,'; he erected a large brick
house on what is now the corner of St. Louis and Pearl
Streets. At that time it was one of the finest residences in
the county. It was in this house that he extended his hos-
pitality to John W. Merrill when he first came to Lebanon
m 183,7, 'i"d there Dr. Merrill had his long illness, and there
the college boys brought him water to drink from the college
well. The house is still standing, and is a comfortable and
commodious residence. Mr. Horner was a warm friend of
education ,ind one of the staunch supporters of the strug-
gling college m the community which he himself had helped
to found. Likewise he was a leading member of the Meth'
odist Church.
Henry Hypes Horner, the oldest son of Nathan, was born
in Lebanon, February 22, 1821. He grew up in his native
town and was educated in the college which his father and
grandfather had helped to establish. A sketch of him appears
elsewhere in this work as a member of the first class that
graduated from McKendree. His four children, Roland H.,
Wilbur N., Hattie H., and Bertha, were all educated at
McKendree and all graduated except the youngest daughter.
They all live m Lebanon at present. The sons are both law
yers. The oldest has served several terms as mayor of Leb'
anon, and many years as Justice of the Peace, which office
he still holds. The second son practiced law for many years
in Chicago, but recently retired from active work.
THE HYPES FAMILY
The Hypes family is the offspring of a sturdy German
immigrant who came to America before the Revolutionary
War. Several members of the family have been of such great
importance to Lebanon and McKendree College that it seems
appropriate to record here at least an outline of the family
history. The greater part of this information was furnished
by Mrs. J. F. Webb, of Denver, Colorado, who is the daugh'
ter of Joseph Hypes.
Nicholas Hypes was born in Oberstien, Germany, March
8, 1728. He was educated for a Lutheran minister and served
in that capacity for a while, but becoming dissatisfied m that
field of work, he learned the trade of machinist and later that
of cabinet-maker. He came to America in 1760, bringing with
him his wife and two children. His wife sickened and died on
ship-board and was buried at sea. He reached Philadelphia at
the end of his sad voyage and found there a home for his
motherless children, and finally found employment as super-
intendent of Col. Zane's iron foundry. In time he became a
personal friend of George Washington, and when the war
broke out he wanted to join the army, but Washington told
him to stay with the iron foundry and turn out all the ord-
nance for the use of the patriot army, and assured him that
Fire Hundred and One
MC KENDREE
he would best serve his adopted country in this way. He
complied with Washington's request and after the war was
rewarded with a title from the government to one thousand
acres of land near Fincastle, Virginia. His service record was
burned in the raid of Sheridan's army during the Civil War.
About this time he married a wealthy widow of Philadelphia,
whose two daughters objected to sharing their wealth with
a stepfather. So their mother divided the wealth between the
daughters and went to live with Nicholas Hypes on a farm
near Winchester, Virginia, where six children came to bless
their union. Of these, the oldest son, Henry, married Patience
Reynolds and lived on a farm near Fincastle, Virginia for six-
teen years and there seven of their eight children were born.
In 1811 they moved to a farm near Dayton, Ohio, and later
to a farm on which a part of the city of Xenia, Ohio, now
stands. Here their youngest son was born in 1812. The eldest
daughter, Nancy, married Nathan Horner, and later they
moved to the village of Lebanon, Illinois, and purchased
property there. Mr. Horner is further mentioned in the story
of the Horner family.
The oldest son, Joseph, was born March 24, 1798, and in
1821 he came to Lebanon to assist his brother-in-law, Nathan
Homer, in running his mill, which was the first to be built
and run in Lebanon. In 1823 he became a mail carrier between
Carlyle and St. Louis. Later in 1824-25 his line was extended
from Salem to St. Louis. August 21, 1826, he joined the first
regiment of the Illinois State Militia and was commissioned
captain of his company. His commission, signed by Governor
Cole, is still in possession of his daughter, Mrs. Webb. Abra-
ham Lincoln was also a captain in the same regiment, and they
became close friends. The regiment was only called out occa-
sionally for special service, but in 1832 they began a longer
period of service in suppressing the ravages of the hostile
Indians in northern Illinois. This was known as the Black-
hawk War. In 1833 he was in the employ of the W. H. Gale
Company, of Carrollton, Illinois, as a millwright until an
epidemic of cholera closed the business and he returned to
Lebanon. When the Illinois Conference took action at Mt.
Carmel in 1827, looking to the founding of a conference sem-
inary, Joseph Hypes and David Chamberlin immediately be-
gan efforts to secure its location in Lebanon. How well they
succeeded has been told elsewhere in this volume. In 1837 he
made a trip to Texas on horseback to bring a widow and her
httle son back to her family in Lebanon. On the return trip he
walked while the widow rode the horse, as he was unable to
secure another horse. In 1838, when a campaign was on for
the supposed endowment of McKendree, he purchased a $500
scholarship which is still in existence, though it has never
been used. This shows his continued interest in McKendree.
In 1840 he formed a partnership with John McDonald in
the wagon making and wheelwright business, which was
continued until 1856, when he withdrew from the business
and retired on a competency.
December 12, 1844, he was married to Mrs. Elizabeth
Thomas Padfield, of Dayton, Ohio. She died July 24, 1849,
leaving two children, James and Mary Hypes. In 1850 he
married Mrs. Helen Turner Belt, who died April 13, 1873.
In June, 1850, he was one of twenty-five delegates to attend a
convention held in Salem to promote the building of a railroad
from Cincinnati to St. Louis. It was built in 1854. Iri 1851 he
became a member of the Masonic Order and for many years
was chaplain of the Royal Arch Masons of Lebanon. He was
a trustee of the Methodist Church from 1851 until his death
and for many years a trustee of McKendree. In 1857 the town
of Lebanon was incorporated and he was elected the first
president of the Board. He held the office for four years. In
early life he was a Whig in politics, and in i860 he was a dele-
gate to the National Republican Convention at Chicago,
which nominated his friend, Abraham Lincoln, for President
of the United States. He always maintained a keen interest in
the community, the church, and the college to the end of his
life. He sacrificed much for McKendree. He paid fees for a
number of worthy youths who could not have gone other-
wise. His own son and his son-in-law, Jean F. Webb, were
students in McKendree in the Civil War period and both left
college to join the army. He lived in Lebanon to the end of
his life and died May 3, 1886, at the age of eighty -eight.
George Washington Hypes was educated as a physician,
but joined the Navy in 1835 and never returned. From that
time on his relatives have no further record of him.
Sarah Hypes died in infancy, and James Davison at the
age of fifteen.
Benjamin Hypes was born at his father's Virginia home,
February 10, 1805. He came to Lebanon some time in the
twenties, and for two years operated an ox mill which at that
time was the only power available with which to run a mill.
The list of tuition bills of Lebanon for its first session in 1828
contains the name of Benjamin Hypes. This is evidence that
he was himself a student in the seminary for a time at least
while he was a young man and before his marriage. In 1832
he became a partner in the mercantile business with Nathan
Horner, his brother-in-law, with whom he was associated
until 1840. He then engaged in farming for three years, after
which he opened a store of his own in Lebanon which he
Fne Hundred and Tu
MC KENDREE
earned on until 1863. Soon after the inauguration
of President Lincoln he was appointed postmaster
of Lebanon and retained the office during Lm
coin's administration.
He was married in i8j4 to Caroline Murriy,
who was born in Baltimore, in 1814. Her father,
Daniel Murray, was one of the early settlers of
the county, having become a resident of Belleville
in an early day. Their six children were : Cornelia
Maria; Adelaide Victoria, wife of Thomas Essex
William Henry; Mary Julia, wife of Abijah S
Meguire; Benjamin Murray; and Caroline Vir
ginia, wife of Professor William F. Swahlen,
who was for twenty years a member of the Mc-
Kendree faculty. These are all now deceased except Mrs.
Swahlen, who lives in Greencastle, Indiana. Mr. Hypes was
formerly a Whig in poUtics and cast his first vote for president
for Henry Clay. After the organization of the Republican
party he gave his allegiance to it. In religion he was a life-long
Methodist. He was for a generation one of the pillars of the
church in Lebanon. He contributed freely to its support, and
his house was always a home for ministers. He was a class
leader for thirty-five years. He was a delegate to the first Lay
Conference held in the Southern Illinois Conference, in 1871,
at Cairo. There he was elected a Lay Delegate to the General
Conference of 1872, held at Brooklyn. He was one of the char-
ter trustees of McKendree College, was a liberal supporter of
the institution financially, morally, and in every otherway. He
served sixty-one years as a trustee, thirty-seven years as treas-
urer and for two years was president of the Joint Board of
Trustees and Visitors. His son, Benjamin Murray Hypes,
was born and reared in Lebanon, and graduated from McKen-
dree in the class of 1866. He then studied medicine and prac-
ticed his profession in St. Louis during his whole medical
career, which was the remainder of his life. He was for many
years a member of the faculty of the Medical Department of
St. Louis University. He was quite successful in his profes-
sional career and accumulated a considerable fortune. He
never got quite away from his home town, and owned prop-
erty there almost to the end of his life. He was never married,
but after his father's death in 1896 he took his mother to St.
Louis, where he maintained a comfortable home, over which
she presided for the remainder of her long life. She never
moved her membership from the Methodist church at Leb-
anon. Her son made an annual contribution to the church for
her as long as she lived, and after her death he kept it up m
UNCLE BEN HYPES
her name as long as he lived. And before his
death he established a trust fund of $5,000
for the benefit of the Lebanon Methodist
Church, to be known as the Hypes Memorial
Fund. He also donated a beautiful memorial win-
dow in honor of his father and mother when the
present Church building was erected. He also
erected a fine monument in College Hill Cem-
etery for the Hypes family where the mortal
remains of most of them were laid to rest.
John Wesley Hypes was born May 12, 1810,
and came to Lebanon in 1836. For many years he
was engaged m the saddlery and harnessmakmg
business m Lebanon. In 1849 he married Mary
Ann Murray, of Baltimore. They had one daughter, who
afterward married Mr. Keet, of Springfield, Missouri. At
her home both her parents died very close to the end of the
century. Mr. Hypes was an earnest church worker and for
many years a trustee of McKendree.
Francis Asbury Hypes, youngest of the group of children
to which he belonged, was born in Ohio, June 30, 1812. He
married and came to Lebanon in early life. He was a trustee
of McKendree for a time, but after a few years he went back
to Ohio and died there m 1847.
Mrs. P.itience Reynolds Hypes, mother of the eight chil-
dren mentioned above, died in Ohio, September 11, 1823.
The next year her husband, Henry Hypes, and Mrs. Sarah
N. Wright, were married. Mrs. Wright already had two sons
by her first marriage. One of these afterward became the
father of the Wright Brothers, Wilbur and OrviUe, of air-
plane fame. Oi the four children of Henry and Sarah Hypes,
the oldest, Susan Maria, married Tobias Drees and was the
mother of Rev. Charles W. Drees, who was so long a mission-
ary in South America.
Samuel Henry Hypes, born in 1826, made his home in
Lebanon for a few years and then returned to Ohio for the
remainder of his life.
William Lewis Hypes was born July 14, 1828, in Xenia,
Ohio, and became a prominent minister in the Cincinnati
Conference.
Nicholas Fletcher Hypes, the youngest of the family, was
born at Xenia in 183 1. He was a minister in the Cincinnati
Conference and was noted for his fine ministerial work.
Henry Hypes, the father of these twelve children, died
in Ohio in 1854.
CHAPTER XIV.
Other Cities and Towns
OTALLON
SOME of the earliest settlers of St. Clair County had their
homes within a short distance of the present town of
O'Fallon, as the Ogles, the Lemens, the Scotts, and
others. But the town itself had its origin with the building of
the Ohio and Mississippi Railway, which is now known as
the Baltimore and Ohio. This enterprise was completed in
1854. Colonel John O'Fallon, of St. Louis, was an officer in
the railroad company and also was an extensive land holder in
St. Clair County. So when the railroad authorities decided to
establish a water tank there, a station was planned and it was
named O'Fallon, in honor of the gentleman named above.
Town lots were platted and an auction sale was held in i8'i4,
though not many lots were disposed of in this manner. Ander-
son Umbarger erected the first dwelling in 1855. The post'
office was established the same year and Mr. Umbarger was
the first postmaster. He was also the agent for the railroad.
Among the early residents are such names as Simmons, Peach,
Daily, Salter, Farr, Distler, Powell, Stocker, Schildknecht,
Orcutt, Mace, and Rawson. The first school was established
in 1861. The Baptist Church was organized in 1865 and a
house of worship built the same year. The Methodist Church
was built in 1866, the Catholic in 1867 and another to replace
it in more recent years, the Evangelical in 1879. Today O'Fal-
lon has a population of about two thousand five hundred
The O'Fallon High School
people, a splendid township high school and a well-equipped
grade school. It is well supplied with stores, markets, garages,
and shops of various kinds. It has the Willard Range Factory,
which employs several scores of men. There are numerous
coal mines in the vicinity which furnish employment to sev,
eral hundred men. For connection with the city of St. Louis,
it has besides the B 6? O Railroad, the trolley line and route
Dr. H. T. Bechtold
Vice-President
A. E. TlEDEM.\NN
Assistant Cashier
twelve of the Illinois road system. It also has a hard road to
Belleville and a bus line operating over it.
The officials of the city of O'Fallon, Illinois, who were
elected and appointed for the coming year, are:
Mayor
Ralph K.\mpmeyer
Aldermen Other Officials
Fred E. Budina Henry L. Siekmann, City Clerk
Fred K. Gill C. W. Beckmann, City Treasurer
Thomas M. Meehan J. R. McMurdo, City Attorney
John J. Quinn John E. Tiley, Chief of Police
George Schobert Henry Schiebel, Street Supt.
John W. Streck Herman Hemmen, Fire Chief
Dr. E. Trippel, Health Officer
FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF O'FALLON
Officers
E. H. Smiley Geo. W. Tiedemann
President Vice-President
W. R. DoRRis G. B. Gieser
Cashier Assistant Cashier
Board of Directors
E. H. Smiley Dr. H. T. Bechtold
George W. Tiedemann W. R. Dorris
C. E. Tiedemann H. E. Tiedemann
Frank B. Smiley Julius A. Schalter
Charles T. Smiley
It IS quite true that a bank is as efficient as its officials. As
the president of the First National Bank, Ernest H. Smiley is
recognized as one of the important factors in the financial
circles of O'Fallon. After attending the township schools,
Smith Academy, and St. Louis College of Pharmacy, from
which he was graduated, he conducted O'Fallon's only drug
store for a number of years before becoming a banker. In
addition to the presidency of the bank, his business integrity
and honesty have won for him other extensive interests. He
IS a director and treasurer of the O'Fallon Building and Loan
Association, and manager and part owner of the Smiley
Brothers Telephone Exchange. Mr. Smiley, who is keenly
interested in the welfare of his city, is a member of the Meth-
odist Church. Fraternally, he holds membership in the A. F.
and A. M.; O. E. S. Chapter, Knight Templars, Consistory,
and the Shrine.
Five Hundred and Foitr
Another officer ot the bank,
who has contributed consid-
arable energy for its develop-
ment, IS William R. Dorris,
the cashier. He was graduated
from McKendree College m
1894, then studied m the
University of Illinois, came to
O'Fallon in 1889, and served
as the superintendent of his
schools until 1903, when he
became cashier of the bank, of
which he IS also a director Mr
Dorris IS a member of the A
F. and A. M., O. E. S., The
Chapter, Knight Tempi ir-.
Shrine, Consistory, I.O. O F
and the K. of P. He is an ic
tive member of the Methodist
Church and has always been
interested in the civic affairs of
his city. Mr. Dorris has served
as chairman of Group Nine,
and on important committees in the Illinois Bankers' Asso-
ciation. At present he is serving as vice-president for the
state of Illinois in the American Bankers' Association.
A vice-president of the bank, and one of its directors, is
George W. Tiedemann. He was born in O'Fallon on Decem-
ber I, 1873. Mr. Tiedemann received an education m the
O'Fallon schools and Smith Academy, of St. Louis, from
which he was graduated m 1895. He is president of the
Tiedemann Milling Company, of O'Fallon, and a member
of the Evangelical Church.
Another important member of this bank is Dr. Herman
T. Bechtold, a vice-president, whose complete biographical
sketch appears m another section of this volume.
But let us dwell on some of the interesting facts regarding
the bank itself. It was organized in 190}, with a capital stock
of $25,000. Its first quarters were in a small room in the
building now occupied by Nold's Drug Store. The first board
of directors were: A. B. Smiley, Dr. H. T. Bechtold, Chas.
T. Smiley, George W. Tiedemann, E. H. Smiley, Joseph
Taylor, and S. C. Smiley. The first officers, who are still
active, are: E. H. Smiley, George W. Tiedemann, Dr. H. T.
Bechtold, and W. R. Dorris. This force has been increased
by two assistant cashiers — G. B. Gieser, elected in 1918, and
A. E. Tiedemann in 1919; and Elsie M. Schaefer and Irma
S. Schachner, as bookkeepers.
First National Bank, O'Fallon
This institution enjoys a reputation of being one of the
soundest banks in Southern Illinois. The conservatism in its
management and the high financial standing of its directors
and stockholders establish a fine foundation that spells safety
for those who are connected with the institution.
Some of the most prominent farmers and business men in
this section are numbered among the stockholders. The re-
sources show an amount in excess of $i,')00,ooo, and includes,
besides the $100,000 capital, a surplus fund of $100,000, and
substantial individual profits in addition, with deposits in
excess of $1,100,000.
The management of the bank has endeavored to keep pace
with the growth and requirements of the community, and
Its equipment and facilities are equal to those offered by
banks in much larger cities. The safe deposit vault is pro-
tected by a steel door ten inches in thickness and weighing
nine and one-half tons, and reinforced concrete walls eighteen
inches in thickness, all protected by an electric burglar alarm
system. The large banking room equipped with modern book-
keeping machines and labor-saving devices enables them to
conduct their business with promptness and efficiency.
Besides conducting a general banking business, the bank
operates a Trust Department, which acts as executor, ad-
ministrator, guardian, conservator, and in all other fiduciary
Fne Hundred ami Fn
capacities authorized by the Federal Reserve Act. The man-
agement has always endeavored to serve the people of
O'Fallon in every vs/ay possible. As its success proves, it
has done this, not only with profit to the institution, but
what is more, to the people.
TIEDEMANN MILLING COMPANY
One of the most important business enterprises in O'Fallon
is the Tiedemann Milling Company, a firm that has done
more for this city than any other industry. The two men
who have control of the organization, and have done so much
to make it successful, are Charles E. Tiedemann, secretary
and treasurer, and George W. Tiedemann, president. Both
of them thoroughly understand their business because of a
life-time experience that has made them capable and efficient.
Charles E. Tiedemann is one of the best-known men in
O'Fallon. He is a son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles A. Tiede-
mann, and was born in the same city where his interests
are today. After attending the public schools of this city he
entered Smith Academy, in St. Louis, and was graduated
from that institution in 1892, after he had studied in Wash-
ington University. Immediately after graduation he was em-
ployed by his father in the Tiedemann Milling Company,
where he began at the bottom, worked his way up, and was
soon elected vice-president and treasurer. Since he loves out-
door hfe he is an enthusiastic sportsman and motorist, and
finds his pleasure and recreation in such pursuits. As a
traveller he has journeyed extensively, both in America and
Europe.
The president of this huge milling concern, George W.
Tiedemann, the brother of Charles E., was born on Decem-
ber I, 1873, in O'Fallon. He attended the school here, con-
tinued his education in Smith Academy, and later oecured
a practical business education in a business college. As his
father was engaged in the miUing business, it was quite
natural that his son should follow this vocation. Therefore,
after leaving school, he was employed in the Richland Mills,
became well acquainted with every defciil, and in 1891, when
the business was incorporated, he became a stockholder. In
1901 he succeeded L'. F. Fischer as treasurer and general
manager, and has since been elected president of the cor-
poration. He has rendered valuable service to O'Fallon by
serving on school boards. He holds membership in several
social organizations and is a member of the Evangelical
Church.
The company over which the above gentlemen hold such
importiint offices was founded by two progressive and en-
terprising men, Col. Charles A. Raith and Charles A.
Tiedemann Mills, O'Fallon
Tiedemann, in i86o. The former was killed m the Battle
of Shiloh, but the latter successfully carried on. The com-
pany has grown to such an extent that its products are ship-
ped not only to many parts of the United States, but also
to foreign countries. The mills are modern in every respect,
and have all forms of time and labor-saving devices. Effi-
ciency and economy have been attained through the skill
and ability of the two subjects of this sketch — George W.
and Charles E. Tiedemann.
SHILOH
Shiloh as a town does not seem to be much older than 1845,
but the immediate vicinity was the site of some of the very
early settlements of St. Clair County. Among the first people
to locate in this region were several families of Scotts, some
of whom settled in Shiloh Valley about the beginning of the
nineteenth century. These were sons of WiUiam Scott, who
came from Virginia to this state and settled at Turkey Hill in
1797. He had six sons, and three of them made homes for
themselves near Shiloh. James Scott married Sarah Teter soon
after coming to Illinois and they made their home just south
of Shiloh as early as 1802. William Scott, Jr., son of the Tur-
key Hill pioneer, married Mississippi Biggs, a daughter of
Judge William Biggs, of pioneer fame, settled half a mile west
of the present village of Shiloh, and reared a large family.
Joseph Scott, another son of the same family, married Nancy
Harrison, a niece of General Harrison, of Ohio. She came to
Illinois with her parents, who located at New Design about
1800. This family located about two miles south of the pres'
ent village of Shiloh in 1805. In 1809 Mr. Scott erected a small
grist mill on a branch of Silver Creek, which ran through his
land. It was a log building and the motive power was an
undershot water wheel. This mill was also a powder mill,
which was the first in Illinois. For a number of years he manu-
factured a fine grade of powder for the local market. He pro-
cured nitre for his powder from the caves of the Gasconade
River, in Missouri, making expeditions for this purpose in the
^MC KENDREE"^^^^^^^^.,,.^^,.^^
winter months with only a single companion, Joseph Dixon,
when the country was more or less infested with hostile In-
dians. Mr. Scott supplied the rangers and hunters of Illinois
and St. Louis with powder, but never sold it to the Indians.
In 1825 he erected a wool carding machine m Belleville, the
first in that town, which he successfully operated tor some
years. He moved to Belleville in i8j8 and became a justice of
the peace. Some of his descendants still live in St. Clair County .
Joseph Dixon settled near Shiloh as early as 1806. He was
a great hunter and often made long trips for that purpose in
Illinois and Missouri, and usually came home loaded with
peltries. Later he moved to Sangamon County. Hugh and
William Alexander settled a Uttle south'west of Shiloh in 1 8 1 1 .
The village of Shiloh did not have its origin until 184^,
when the first house was built by Edwin Pierce. A store and
the post office were estabhshed the same year. A little later
other houses were built, a blacksmith shop was established,
and in 1847 a steam sawmill was erected by Edwin Pierce,
Philip Scott, and Charles Alexander. The village was laid out
by Martin Stites and James Atkins. Most of the village still
lies on a single street which has several stores and shops to
supply the need of the inhabitants.
But the most important thing in Shiloh is its ancient church .
The site was selected for a camp meeting ground, because of
the three abundant springs at the foot of the hill, and a good
water supply was important for a camp meeting in summer
time. The place was then called "Three Springs." But geolog-
ical changes that have taken place since then have eliminated
two of the springs and the other is no longer a gusher. The
Rev. Jesse Walker and Rev. William McKendree, who was
presiding elder at the time, held a camp meeting there m the
summer of 1807, which lasted eleven days and resulted in
many conversions. At the close of the meeting, Mr. McKen-
dree organized a church composed of the nineteen members of
the class that existed already, and as many of the new con-
verts as chose to become members of the Methodist Church.
That was the beginning of the Shiloh church which has had
a continuous existence of a hundred and twenty-one years
and IS without question the oldest Methodist church in the
state of Illinois. A log church was built there in the summer
of 1807 which served as their house of worship until 1819. An
annual conference was held there in 1816, under the presi-
dency of Bishop McKendree, who had been raised to the
episcopacy the year after he organized the church at Shiloh.
Several houses of worship have been built on this consecrated
spot. The one which stands there now is a substantial brick
with a dignified steeple pointing heavenward, after the man-
ner ot the churches of the nineteenth century. It was dedi .
cated by Bishop Thomas Bowman m 1875. Since that time
foreigners have come m largely and taken the place ot the
early Methodists ot this region, but a taithtul tew have main-
tained the church in Shiloh through all the years, in the face
of many ditficulties. The fires have never died on the altars of
Methodism in Shiloh. We cannot mention all who deserve
credit for this sacrificial devotion to a sacred cause, but per-
haps none deserves it more than Mrs. Henry Rentchler, who
has proven herself to be one of the elect ladies mentioned by
the apostle. The old cemetery across the street is also a spot
of historic interest. It contains memorials of many Illinois pio-
neers from Risdon Moore, a soldier in the Revolutionary
War, to the more modern heroes of the present century.
Shiloh also has a Catholic Church which cares for the spir-
itual interests ot many of the immigrants who have more
recently come into the community.
SUMMERFIELD
There is much important history clustering about this vil-
lage located in the extreme northeast part of the county. The
earliest settlements were made prior to 1810, about a mile
south of the present site of the village, at a place called Union
Grove. The Summerfield we know now is located there be-
cause the railroad ran through. The earliest settler was Na-
than Chambers, who was there as early as 1806, located on
section thirty-three. In 1811-12 he built a fort on his place
which was known as Chambers' Fort, where neighboring
families gathered when they needed protection from Indian
depredations. We cannot more than mention by name some
of the early settlers at Union Grove, some of whom are well
known in Methodist circles. There were Robert and James
Moore, John Broom, William Padfield, Robert Farrar, Samuel
and Alfred Ryle, Henry Hutton, Rev. John Dew, Rev.
Thornton Peeples, Dr. Anthony W. Casad, Edmond Randle,
Malcom Johnson, Peter Wright, William Lunceford, and
Rev. Samuel H. Thompson. The last named was prominent
in the early history of Methodism in this section and was for
years president of the Board of Trustees of McKendree Col-
lege. Rev. John Dew was once president of McKendree, and
Dr. A. W. Casad was prominently connected with its found-
ing and early history. He was also the grandfather of Dr. E.
J. James, formerly president of the University of Illinois. Mr .
Padfield mentioned above had a camp meeting ground on his
farm and frequently opened his house as a preaching place for
the Methodist itinerants when the camp ground was not
suitable. In fact, the Illinois Conference was organized at his
house in 1824. It was a historic meeting, with Bishops Mc-
Kendree, Soule, and Roberts, all present at the conference .
Five Hundred and Seien
|mc KENDREE ^^^^^15^^:^^...^^..^^
William Padfield built a mill in 1826. It was the largest of its
kind in that day. It was both a saw and grist mill and was
propelled by ten oxen. Padfield's mill was known and patron-
ized by the settlers for thirty miles around. In later years,
Philip Eisenmayer conducted a more modern mill there which
was destroyed by fire many years ago. Colonel Fred Hecker,
the well-known German patriot, settled in the very midst of
the Union Grove neighborhood in 1849 and spent the rest of
his life there. His home was known for its hospitality far and
wide, and many from farther than state boundaries came to
converse with this philosopher patriot. The railroad deter-
mined the location of the present village. It was laid out in
1854. At that time there was not a house within its Umits.
The first one was built by Samuel Casad, who was the first
merchant in the place. He soon erected a second house and
in the following fall John Wakefield, Rev. Thornton Peeples,
and Dr. Walker each erected residences. Dr. Walker was the
first resident physician. A quarter of a century later Dr. J. H.
Hewitt settled there and practiced many years, but later
moved to Lebanon. The first school was taught by Miss Lucy
Dew. It was a subscription school. The first public school
building was erected in i860 and the present one in 1874.
The Methodists built the first church in the place in 1857.
The Mennonites built one in 1858, the German Methodists
in 1864 and the Evangelicals in 1865. The Methodists of both
kinds have long since disappeared from the community. The
Mennonite is the only real active church in the village at
the present time.
Summerfield was incorporated as a village under the gen-
eral law in 1866. There is a grain elevator which is in opera-
tion a part of the year. Several stores and shops supply the
commercial needs of the people though the automobile has
been hard on the small town, and probably there is not as
much business done there as there was many years ago.
Route twelve runs just north of the village. Summerfield is
included in the Lebanon Community High School District
and it is well represented in the school. Summerfield has
also furnished many students to McKendree College.
CASEYVILLE
This town was named in honor of Zadock Casey, who
has held many high offices in the state. He served several
terms in the State Legislature and in 1830 was elected Lieu-
tenant-Governor of Illinois. He also served several terms in
Congress. Before the laying out of the village, Charles Har-
bour, a wealthy Frenchman, erected a large brick residence
and a steam saw mill which he operated for several years near
where the town is now located. The mill was erected in 184^.
It was laid out as a village in 1849, by the Ilhnois Coal Com-
pany, consisting of the following named persons : Hon. Zadock
Casey, Judge Walter B. Scates, Charles Harbour, Malcomb
Robinson, Dr. Charles Barrett, and John Roy. The company
began the operation of coal mining on a rather extensive scale
about this time. Until 185 1 the coal was hauled to St. Louis
by ox and mule teams, across the bottoms. In February, 185 1
the company completed a railroad from Casey ville to Brook-
lyn on which they immediately placed a locomotive and roll-
ing stock, and by this means large quantities of coal were
daily transported to St. Louis. The first house erected in the
village after it was laid out was built by Jameson Robinson
in the spring of 1849. Soon after that a number of houses were
built and the village grew. By the end of the year forty per-
sons were living there and the year that the railroad was com.
pleted brought about one hundred and fifty more. In 1854
the Ohio and Mississippi railroad was built through Casey-
ville and that gave the place another impulse to growth. In
1856 a post-office was established and Major E. M. Mallory
was the first postmaster, and also the first Justice of the
Peace. Its first church was "Union Chapel" erected in 1879
by popular subscription and intended for the use of any
denomination who desired to hold exercises of worship in it .
For the last quarter of a century or thereabout the Metho-
dists have had a regularly organized church there and use the
chapel as their house of worship. In 1928, almost a half cen-
tury after the building was erected two of the original
trustees are still Hving. These are Charles Thilman and
Emanuel Webb. The village was incorporated in i86g and
the first president was C. L. Muilberger. The present brick
school house was erected in 1872. At present there is a
population of about eight hundred. These people are served
by four general stores. There is also a bakery and a meat
market. An artificial leather factory gives employment to a
number of men, while many of the Caseyville men find em-
ployment in the coal mines that are in easy reach of the place.
Besides the railroad to St. Louis it is on a line of the Inter-
urban trolley road, and a state paved road. Besides the Union
Chapel there are two other churches. Catholic and Evangel-
ical, tho neither has had a regular pastor for some time. There
are also several lodges maintained in the village.
FREEBURG
This town was formerly in Fayetteville Precinct, but since
the adoption of township organization it is in Freeburg
Township. It is a few miles south of Belleville on the Illinois
Central railroad. An important fact in its early history is that
it was first platted by John T. Lemen in t8j6. Its name at
Fnc Hundred and Eight
iiiii'' _
Freeburg Cummunity High School
first was Urbana, but in 1859 '' was changed to Freeburg in
honor of a European city which had been the early home of
many of the immigrants who settled in this growing city.
The original plat consisted of one hundred and twenty-eight
lots, but more than a score of additions have been pl.itted
since and now the town covers an area of more than half a
square mile. A post-office was first established m 185 1 with
George W. Smith as postmaster. It is on route 13 Illinois
highways, and is surrounded by a rich agricultural region
which supports numerous business enterprises in the town,
such as general stores, hardware, furniture, dry goods, drug
store, lumber yard, bank, garages, and other shops such as
the needs of the people require. Perhaps the biggest business
enterprise of the place is that of the manufacture of fine flour.
Years ago there were two large mills with a capacity of near
a thousand barrels a day. Also the coal mining industry has
been a means of livelihood to many of the citizens. The pro-
gressive character of the town is shown by the fact that it
had an excellent water and light system before some of the
larger towns had provided themselves with these modern
conveniences. There are four churches represented in Free-
burg. The Catholic, Evangelical, Baptist, and Methodist.
Much attention had been given to education as well as reli-
gion. Besides an efficient grade school there is a four year
recognized community high school, housed in one of the best
high school buildings in the county. Freeburg high school is
nearly always represented among the students in McKen-
dree College.
MASCOUTAH
Samuel Dixon built the first house withm the limits of the
present town of Mascoutah. Dixon was a hunter and lived
just south of where the Postel Mills now stand. The town
was laid out on the sixth of April, i8j7 by T. J. Krafft and
John Flanagan. It contained six blocks of different sizes and
was called Mechanicsburg. After the town was laid out
Samuel Mitchell built a log cabin and established a saw mill .
In 1839 an addition was made containing seventy-two lots,
by Hilgard, Krafft, and Benjamin West. At this time the
name was changed to Mascoutah. Many other additions have
been laid out since then. Dr. Smith, a son-in-law of Major
Brown, was the first physician in the place. The first school
house was erected just north of the Postel mill. Nathan Fike
was the first postmaster. Conrad and Philip Eisenmayer pur-
chased the mill property in 1839. They soon took in as a
partner Philip H. Postel. They enlarged the mill and became
exporters of flour. The second mill, erected near the old site
was built by Andrew Eisenmayer and Philip Postel in 1848
and now known as the Postel Mills. It has been enlarged and
improved until now it is one of the largest mills in this section
of the country, having a capacity of three hundred and fifty
barrels of flour a day. The growth was slow until the German
immigrants began to come about 1840 and later. Since then
the growth of the town has been steady and now Mascoutah
is one of the fine towns of the county. It has six churches,
a fine public school system, including a community high
school, a hat factory, a rubber goods factory, a municipal
Fire Hundred and K"
St. John's Evangelical Church, Masc3utah
water works and lighting system. Good hotels, some fine
stores and business houses of various kinds. Illinois State high-
way No. 1 5 runs right through the principal street and there
is bus service to St. Louis.
NEW ATHENS
This Httle city is situated on the Kaskaskia River and once
had hopes of being an important river town. Several times
small steamboats ascended the Kaskaskia as far as New
Athens, and in fact the "Wild Duck" once went as far as
Carlyle. But it often happened that the waters navigable in
early spring were not in late summer or in frozen winter.
And before water transportation was well established m the
smaller rivers it was supplanted by the railroads.
New Athens was first laid out by Narcisse Pensoneau m
1836. The plat consisted of forty -eight blocks comprising
four hundred and sixty-one lots and a public square. The
streets are of uniform width, sixty-six feet, except Water
street which is ninety-nine. The Illinois Central railroad
formerly known as the "Cairo Short Line" crosses the river
at this point. The first train crossed the bridge there on New
Year's day 1870. It is also on route thirteen of the Illinois
State highway system. The first business house was Pen-
soneau's general store. A school was taught there in 1836 by
John Irwin, and a brick kiln was burned in 1838 by William
Brock. The town has had several booms and subsequent re-
verses. Twice the place was almost deserted and at other
times it has had as many as 1,500 inhabitants. Its first post-
ofEce was established in 1852. In 1866 the town was incor-
porated and the first Board of Trustees elected and in 1868
a newspaper called the "Era" was started. The first church
was the Methodist, which was built in 1869. This was fol-
lowed by the Catholic in 1870, the Lutheran in 1878 and the
Evangelical in 187Q. These churches are still functioning, and
Mascoutah Community High School
the sentiment for education as well as religion has increased
to the extent that there has been established a recognized
four year high school.
MARISSA
The original town of Marissa was laid out by James
Stewart in December, 1867. It soon became a village with a
few dwellings, a general store, a blacksmith shop, and a mill
which could turn out a hundred barrels of flour a day. In
1870 when the railroad, known as the "Cairo Short Line"
ran through, it left the village a little to one side. Of course
since the railroad would not come to the town, the town had
to go to the railroad. Accordingly a site was chosen for a
station and a new town was laid out by M. E. and J. C.
Hamilton.
The old and the new towns were not too far apart to
grow together, and now they are connected by a continuous
street and together have a population probably about two
thousand. The name was selected by James Wilson, the first
postmaster, who showed his love for classic lore by choosing
a name preserved only in Latin records. It was the name of a
city destroyed, and afterwards rebuilt, by Gabinius, and our
St. Clair County city is now believed to be the only place
in the world by that name. One of the founders, John Hamil-
ton, came to this county from South Carolina in 1834. M. E.
Hamilton erected the first business house; the mill was built
and operated for many years by A. J. Meek; and the Wyllie
brothers ran a store. The town was not incorporated until
1882 but it has easily outgrown some of its older neighbors.
It has the usual type of business houses, stores, banks, gar-
ages, and electric light plant, and the coal mining interests
are a strong rival to the agricultural in that community. The
public school employs twelve teachers, and the excellent
Township high school has eight. There are churches of sev-
Hnndred and Tc
MC KENDREE
eral denominations. The leading one is the United Presby-
terian. There are also Methodists, Baptists, and Evangehcals.
Marissa had the distinction of being a prohibition town long
before the days of the eighteenth amendment.
In 1906 when the Missouri Pacific railroad company lo-
cated its shops at a point seven miles south of East St. Louis
in the American Bottom, it laid the foundation of a thriving
town called Dupo. The name is probably an abridgement of
the name Prairie Du Pont which was anciently given to a
settlement a short distance north of where Dupo now stands.
The site selected is said to be the highest in the river valley
for many miles. In all the high waters for the last half century
It has not been overflowed and it is therefore considered free
from all danger of flood. The railroad yards brought many
employees and it was necessary for them to have homes and
hence a town soon sprang up. In 1907 it was incorporated as
a village with Louis J. Dyroff as president of the Board. Mr.
Dyroff held the office for some years and then for a time lived
elsewhere, but a few years ago he returned to Dupo and was
again placed in a position of leadership as president of the
Board. During his recent administration concrete walks were
built on all the principal streets of the town. He then took
up the matter of municipal waterworks, and has that enter-
prise so well under way that the contract has alre.idy been
let tor the installation of a modern municipal water plant.
The first plat of the town covered one hundred acres sub-
divided into city lots and additions made since then bring
the total area to one hundred and twenty acres. There is a
thrifty population of about two thousand people and the
town IS well supplied with schools and churches. There are
two excellent school buildings. The grade school employs
ten teachers and a superintendent. The upper grades are
conducted on the departmental plan. The Community high
school IS housed in a magnificient brick building which cost
more than $140,000 including equipment. This was com-
pleted in 1926. In that year the taxable property in the com-
munity district was valued at more than six million dollars.
The enrollment is more than a hundred and still growing.
There are four churches in Dupo — the Baptist, Catholic,
Congregationalist and Evangelical. The Missouri Pacific rail-
road maintains a vast plant, employing switchmen, trackmen,
round house workmen, engineers, firemen, and clerks to the
number of six hundred as an approximate total. These men
do not all live in Dupo at present but they probably will as
soon as the new water works plant is installed and in full
operation.
Residence Street in Marissa
Veranda of Marissa Country Club
Fire Hundred and Elev
CHAPTER XV.
Education in St. Clair County
HE Chicago Historical Society locates the cradle of the
great free-school system of Illinois in the now almost
"deserted village" of Cahokia, in St. Clair County.
On May 6, 1794, the citizens of Cahokia requested "the
judges of the honorable court of Cahokia" to allow them to
hold the first public school in the old courthouse, said to be
the oldest in the west, now on Wooded Island, in Jackson
Park, Chicago.
This old document which fixes the time and place of the
founding of Illinois schools was discovered after it had been
hidden from human eyes for almost a hundred years. It was
written in French. Translated, it reads as follows:
"To the Gentlemen, the Judges of the Honorable Court of
Cahokia.
"The inhabitants of the parish of the Holy Family of
Cahokia have the honor to express to you at their assembly
that they have the desire to establish a school at their said
parish (or town) for the instruction of their children.
"As they are obliged to do many necessary public works
in the parish, they can not at once undertake the construc-
tion of a building to hold the said school, so these represen-
tatives ask you gentlemen to allow them to hold the said
school in the audience room of the courthouse until they
construct a building which will oblige all the inhabitants
whose children have their instruction in the school, and, in
which case, should there arise any defacement of the said
audience room, they will leave it in the best condition which
you judge necessary and proper.
"That is why they supplicate you to accord them this
request as being necessary for the public good. In this cause
they submit themselves to your good will and have the
honor to be very respectfully,
"Your very humble and very obedient servants,
Louis Sebrun
"Cahokia, May 6, i7q4 Louis Grand."
This, according to historians, was the first request for a
public school in Illinois. This school was established soon
after the Revolutionary War, under the "Old French" laws.
Virginia ceded a vast region, including Illinois, to the
general government in 1784. On May 20, 1785, Congress
passed "An ordinance for ascertaining the mode of disposing
of the lands in the Western Territory," and thus provided
for the township method of surveying and designating lands.
In this ordinance the sixteenth section was reserved for the
maintenance of public schools in the several townships. This
act was the foundation for the educational thoughts in the
Ordinance of 1787 and the often repeated words: "Religion,
morality and knowledge being necessary to good government
and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means ot
education shall forever be encouraged." The school or "Town-
ship Fund" would be a princely sum today had we carefully
preserved the sixteenth section or the proceeds from its sale.
Many of the first schools of St. Clair County are involved
in considerable obscurity. In the early times the Jesuit Broth-
ers had schools among the Indians who lived in our country.
These teachers sought to implant in the Red Man's bosom
a faith in the crucified Saviour and to train his intellect to
grasp something of the White Man's learning and the ways
of civilized life.
The French settlers of Cahokia also had schools in the early
days. They were managed in connection with the church affairs.
In late years the schools of Cahokia were conducted inde-
pendent of State aid under the old French law and were
liberally supplied by a fund derived from the rents of the
Cahokia Commonfields. A part of this fund has been pre'
served for the Cahokia School of District No. "io, by an act of
the General Assembly as a permanent district school fund.
Private schools were kept for a few months each year, or
a short time, and were sustained by subscriptions.
John Messenger, a surveyor, t;iught a night school near
Shiloh in 1S04. He made the map of Illinois known as the
Peck and Messenger Map.
John Bradsby taught a subscription school in Turkey Hill
in 1810. In the same year a surveyor by the name of Dimmick
taught school at the home of William Adams, one mile west
of Shiloh.
The first school house in the county was built in Shiloh
in 181 1. A teacher by the name of Sinclair taught at Turkey
Hill and Belleville about 181 5. In this same year John Boucher
taught m an old house on Silver Creek in the Fayetteville
precinct.
A married m.ui by the name of Gallop taught at the Kinney
Place m 1820 and at Shiloh in 1824. He accepted for his pay
any produce that could be used by his family.
Elihu Shepherd, a highly educated man from New York,
taught at Turkey Hill and at Belleville in iSiv
These were all subscription schools. Many teachers during
this and a later period were not well prepared tor the im-
portant work of teaching. Some had undesirable habits and
some had a very limited knowledge. Surveyors were in de-
mand. Some doctors taught and often a lawyer was county
school commissioner, and acted as the county superintendent.
Many farmers taught school in the winter and farmed in
the summer. A few came to the new country from the East
who were highly educated and inspired the country boys
and girls to higher ideals and better lives.
On January 15, 1825, just seven years after the admission
of Illinois into the Union, the "General Assembly" met at
the capital in Vandalia and passed the first school law.
The preamble to the first school law reads as follows:
"To enjoy our rights and liberties we must understand
them; their security and protection ought to be the first
object of a free people; and it is a well-established fact that
no nation has ever continued long in the enjoyment of civil
and political freedom, which was not both virtuous <ind en-
lightened; and believing that the advancement of literature
always has been, and ever will be, the means of developing
more fully the rights of man, that the mind of every citizen
in a republic is the common property of society, and consti-
tutes the basis of its strength and happiness; it is therefore
considered the peculiar duty of a free government like ours to
encourage and extend the improvement and cultivation of the
intellectual energies of the whole; therefore, a common school
or schools shall be established in each county of this state."
The first school districts organized under this law m St.
Clair County were Cherry Grove, Union Grove, Turkey
Hill, Sugar Creek, Ogle Creek, and Mount Pleasant. These
districts were organized m the June term of the County
Commissioners' Court in 1825. The three county commis-
sioners who signed the record for the establishment of the
first legal schools were John Stuntz, Abel Fike and William
Rutherford, "Esquires." These districts were laid out by the
Court on petition of several families praying for school priv-
ileges according to law. The districts were governed by three
trustees who examined and employed the teachers. No one
could be taxed to support the school without his consent,
which was "first had and obtained in writing."
The teachers received their salary "in cash or good mer-
chantable produce" from the citizens who had given their
consent in writing to support the school. They got but little
cash, often having to take produce, chickens, ducks, colts,
and calves for their labors. Most of them "boarded around"
and were paid in part by the board furnished them.
Under this law the rate ot taxation was ^ 2 ot i ^ and no
single individual could be taxed over ten dollars ($10.00) for
schools. The average salary tor men te.ichers as late as 1850
was about twenty-five dollars per month and for women
twelve dollars per month. This law was the basic school
law for thirty years, or until i8'i5.
At New Athens, William Baumann, one of the early Ger-
man settlers, opened a school m his own house and imparted
instruction to his own and his neighbors' children. In this
same precinct Mr. Isaac Hill taught a school of about jo
pupils in the year 183 1. The school house was located on
Section 34, about two miles southeast of New Athens. Mr.
Hill did not have to board around as he had a comfortable
home at the residence of Philip Lively.
Mrs. Martha Wilson taught in the same precinct on
Mud Creek in i8j6 in a log school house, which had panes
of glass instead of greased paper.
In 1830 Mr. James H. Lemen taught m a log school house
in Ridge Prairie.
Susan F. Connor, a Boston lady, afterwards taught m the
same school. She brought with her quite a collection of
school apparatus, which were novelties to the pupils and
patrons of her school.
In 1830 schools were kept at Bethel and old Vernon
Baptist Churches located m the same precinct.
Among the active workers m the cause of education be-
tween 1830 and 1840 were Rev. Mr. Brooks, C. G. Y.
Taylor and Henry Holbrook. John H. Dennis, a Virginian
by birth, came to Belleville in 1824. He taught private and
public schools in Belleville and vicinity for more than 30
years and held the office of county superintendent of schools
for four years. He was well prepared and a successful teacher.
The first schoolhouse in Belleville Township for St. Clair
precinct was built in 183 1 by Isaac Rainey, A. P. Free, Rich-
ard Beasley and a few others. The first teacher was John
Campbell. James Halliday afterwards taught there.
The first school house in Richland precinct was built about
the year 1830. John M. Scott, who afterwards became Su-
preme Judge of Illinois, taught in the Shiloh precinct in 1844.
George Bunsen, a devoted disciple of Pestalozzi, who came
to this country from Germany in the early days of free school
education in 1834, gave his talent and energy to the advance-
ment of the free school idea and the promotion of better
methods of teaching. He taught at Cherry Grove. After-
wards he opened a private training school in Belleville, where
he taught on Saturdays for the purpose of giving the teachers
of Belleville and vicinity an opportunity of observing and
Five Hundred and Th.
MC KENDREE^^^g^^^^....^^^^^
learning his method. He was a great favorite with old and
young. Teaching was his life work and he gave his hearty
support to the elevation of the human intellect. He was for
many years president and member of the Board of Education
of Belleville and ex-officio superintendent of the county
schools. He was a member of the State Board of Education.
He aided in the establishment of the Normal School at Nor-
mal, 111. The Bunsen school of Belleville is named in his honor.
Under the law of 1825 there were three trustees who
examined and employed teachers. There was also an assessor,
a collector and a clerk, who provided the salary for the teach-
ers in cash or good merchantable produce from the citizens of
the district who had given their consent to support the school.
The early school funds received from the state were in
state bank paper, which had to be disposed of by the recip-
ients at a great discount. In 1842 the sum of $120.40 in this
bank paper brought only $50.00. In 1837, Sylvester Merrills,
school commissioner of St. Clair County, received $829.26,
the quota of St. Clair County for the years 1834, 1835 and
1836. In 1840 the school fund received from the state was
$1432.31.
A more substantial school law was passed by the General
Assembly in 1855, during the time that the talented and able
Joel A. Matteson was governor of the state. This law pro-
vided that all the property in the state should be taxed for
the education of all the children in the state. There was much
opposition to this thought and to the law and the members of
the Legislature who voted for it were not returned to the suc-
ceeding sessions, but the law has never been changed.
You will observe that the inefficient law of 1825 stood for
a generation, or until the children who had been educated
under it became voters and members of the General Assem-
bly, when the more competent law of 1855 was enacted.
Under this law education was given a new impetus and the
citizens of the county organized many new districts and
many new school houses were built.
In 1855 there were in St. Clair County thirty-one schools.
Twenty-four were taught exclusively by women, six were
presumably taught by men and women at different times.
These thirty-one schools were attended by 1217 pupils. The
highest annual salary paid to male teachers was $202.00;
the lowest $85.00. The whole amount paid for teachers'
salaries in the county was $2820.00.
In i860, five years after the enactment of the 1855 school
law there were eighty-one school houses in St. Clair County,
with 138 teachers, and the amount of school district tax
collected was $21,000, with $13,330 of state school fund
paid through the state source of taxation.
In 1840 the number of persons from six to twenty-one,
entitled to school privileges, was 7,292; in i860 the number
grew to 11,235 persons between six and twenty-one.
When the Civil War came, a great many teachers left the
schools, in defense of their country. John H. Dennis was
County School Commissioner.
In 1864, only six months of school was required and many
schools were limited to that time. The teachers of this time
were described as a laborious, industrious and self-denying
body of men and women, yet many were lamentably lacking
in thoroughness in the elements of a good education. The
equipment of the schools was almost in a rude state. The
seats in most of the country schools of the county were
neither desks nor forms, but a sort of hybrid between a
work bench and a plasterer's trestle, and by using them,
hundreds of little feet dangled six inches from the floor, and
hundreds of little hands were daily lifted above the heads
of their owners, either to reach the top of the bench before
them, or to ask for better seats.
The law of 1855 brought to the schools of our county
many able and competent teachers that were greatly needed.
In 1857 James P. Slade came from New York to teach in
St. Clair County. He was a fine type of gentleman and
scholar and labored for almost fifty years in the cause of
education in St. Clair County. He was a county teacher, a
city teacher, a city superintendent of Belleville and East
St. Louis, county superintendent of schools and state super-
intendent of public instruction in 1878. The Slade School
in East St. Louis is named in his honor.
Henry Raab, a highly educated German philosopher, en-
tered the Belleville schools as a teacher in 1858, as assistant
teacher in West Belleville for a period of three months for
the sum of $75.00 for the entire time. He served as teacher
and city superintendent of Belleville and was twice elected
as state superintendent of public instruction in 1882 and
1890. The Raab School in Belleville is named in his honor.
He died March 13, igoi.
Many other noble men and women were engaged in the
schools of our county.
The Constitution of 1870 was the first to contain an edu-
cational article. It declared that the advantages of the school
are to be enjoyed by all the children of the state. This elim-
inated the word "white" from the school laws which had
been passed previous to this time. This constitution provided
that the child of the colored man is to receive the advantages
of public schools as well as the child of the white parent.
The school law of 1855, providing for the taxation of all
property for the support of the common schools led to severe
: Hundred and Fourtcci\
Wmo KENDREE-^^^^^^.^;....^^^,
criticism of parents who failed to send their children to school.
The man who had property and no children that was com-
pelled under this law to support the schools asked that the
man who had children and no property be compelled to
send his children to school.
This brought the next great movement m education in
the establishment of a "compulsory attendance" law passed
by the General Assembly m iS8q. This compulsory attend-
ance law was so unpopular that the members of the Legis-
lature who voted for it were defeated at the next election
and the entire state .idministration was turned over to the
opposing party. Governor Joseph Fifer was defeated and
John F. Altgeld was elected governor.
The law stood in a modified form and we now have a
compulsory attendance law, compelling the attendance at
school for the entire time that the school is in session of all
children between the ages of seven and sixteen.
Under these two laws the attendance of children in our
county increased rapidly and the number of schools were
multiplied.
The following statistics, taken from the various county superintendents" reports show the growth of the schools of the
county since the year 1873. During these 40 years there has been a steady increase in the figures showing the conditions of
the schools ;
Number ot Number
PubUc of Pupils
Schools
Number Number of
Number Number Number of Pupils in
of Male of Female of High Private Private
Teachers Teachers Schools Schools Schools
Number Number
of of Dis-
Teachers tricts
in Private Having
Schools Libraries
Number of
Vols, in
Libraries
Amount Paid to
Teachers as
Salaries
1873 128
1883 137
1893 137
1902 157
1913 185
9.172
11,966
12,659
16,269
19,129
73
105
162
241
411
2,082
1,579
2,972
2,981
5,436
42 9
36 18
63 16
69 67
135 116
434 $ 93,538.61
905 108,615.52
3,394 129,660.05
9,888 173,301.75
25,953 333,144-25
One of the duties conferred on the school commissioner
was to examine teachers and to certify that they were qual-
ified to "properly" teach. This was a heavy duty for our
early "school commissioner."
The examination of teachers previous to 1832 was placed
in the hands of the three school trustees or directors. The
examinations were often superficial and at times ludicrous.
One candidate received the right to teach by simply spelling
the word "phantasmagoria." One was asked if he was perfect
in his "orthography," he replied that his schooling had been
confined to the elementary school and not the higher branch-
es. One candidate was told to look the school commissioner
straight m the eye and tell him if he knew how to make
eggnog. The candidate replied, "I ain't never done it, but I
seen it did."
We have travelled a long way in professional preparation
since this early school time.
County Commissioner Dennis, who was elected in 1859
was required by law "to visit as often as practicable the
schools of the county and note the mode of instruction,"
but no compensation was provided for this outside visitation.
He was compelled to neglect this duty or to hire a horse at
his own expense. If he neglected his duty he was m danger
of dismissal from office by the state superintendent of public
instruction, or by the county court and if he incurred the
expense of hiring a horse to make the visits required by law
he would consume half or more of his salary.
The school law of 1855 allowed the county superintendent
of schools the additional compensation of $2.00 per day for
visiting schools for fifty days, which was afterward raised to
$3.00 per day, and in 1867 this allowance for visitation was
raised to $5.00 per day. The number of visiting days was lim-
ited. There was no adequate law for compensation for the
county superintendent till 1909, when the General Assembly
passed a "Fees and Salary" law for county superintendents.
The schools of St. Clair County owe a heavy debt to the
early county superintendents for their earnest loyalty to the
cause of education. These men worked continuously for bet-
ter school conditions and for better schools. Their compensa-
tion in money was small, but the reward in better schools for
the children ot our county was large.
Fire Hundred and F./teeri
MC KENDREE"^^^^^:^^^.....^^..^^
A list of the county superintendents who served St. Clair
County is given.
COUNTY SUPERINTENDENTS
William Moore 1832
Sylvester Merrill 1833
Smyth Moore 1843
George C. H:irt ... 1847
David McFarland 1849
Joseph Hypes 1853
George Bunsen 1855
John H. Dennis i8';q
E. H. Palmer 1863
August Whiting iSef
James P. Slade 1867
John P. Gwillim (died in office) 1873
James P. Slade (appointed to succeed Mr. Gwillim) 1875
James McQuilkin 1877
Emil Dapperich 1882
Charles A. Cannady 1886
Charles Hertel 1894
W. A. Hough 1910
John E. Miller 1922
The first chief school officer of the county was appointed
by the county commissioners and was called "county com-
missioner and agent for the county school fund."
In 1845 a law was passed by the General Assembly pro-
viding for the election of a county school commissioner who
shall be ex-officio superintendent of the common schools of
the county.
The following statistics are taken from the county super-
intendent's report for the year ending June 30, 1880:
Male persons under 21 years of age .... 15,956
Females 15,639
Total 31.59')
Males between 6 and 21 10,736
Females 10,685
Total
School Districts
Graded Schools
Ungraded Schools no
Average number of months schools were in session 8.08
Total enrollment of pupils 11,476
Male Teachers 134
Female 104
School-houses built during the year .... 3
Whole number of school-houses 138
Volumes in district libraries 938
21,421
116
26
Pupils in private schools 1460
Private Schools 22
Principal of Township Fund $65,803.32
Highest monthly wages paid any male teacher . 125.00
Highest monthly wages paid any female teacher 70.00
Lowest to any male teacher 25.00
Lowest to any female teacher 22.00
Amount of district tax levy .... 130,258.78
Estimated value of school property . 282,923.00
Total receipts from all sources .... 229,205.52
Total Expenditures 161,298.60
Salaries of teachers 100,121.45
Paid for new school-houses 4,831.98
Paid for repairs and improvements .... 7,209.56
Paid for school furniture 3,041.07
Paid for apparatus 5^9-57
Paid for fuel and incidentals . ... 11,761.67
The following table shows the growth of the schools of
our county during the past twenty years :
1907 1927
School Census (6 to 21) 37,827 39,735
Total Enrollment 18,326 26,175
Total Days Attendance 2,482,901 4,071,620
Av. Daily Attendance 15,120 21,738
High School Enrollment 830 3,549
Amt. State Distributive Fund $17,810.75 $149,998.49
Amt. Paid Teachers 250,7721.06 1,260,801.75
Av. Salaries of Teachers 549-93 1,476.34
No. Teachers Grad. of College 141
No. Normal School Graduates 202
Length of Term 8.5
Value of all School Property $1,443,762.00 $5,932,801.00
District Tax Collected 420,299.73 2,330,364.69
Total No. of Teachers 456 854
Amt. of Bonded Debt $469,900.00 $1,372,575.00
THE COUNTY TEACHERS' MEETINGS
In 1883 the first county teachers' institute law was passed
by the General Assembly. This was the first act that recog-
nized teachers' meetings. Teachers' meetings for St. Clair
County had been in existence since March, 1879. The first
president of the St. Clair County Teachers" Association was
John H. Brinkerhoff, of Lebanon, its second, George F.
Kenower, of Mascoutah. The meetings of this association
were held quarterly, beginning 1879 with 100 members.
The North St. Clair Teachers' Institute, composed of
teachers in the north end of the county, was organized at
O'Fallon in December, 1S79
Hundred und S;
The South St. CLur Teachers" Institute was organized at
Marissa, in January, i88o.
The Belleville and East St. Louis teachers met monthly
or bi-monthly.
The St. Clair County Teachers" Association and Institute
has been in existence continuously since 1S79. The member-
ship at present is more than twelve hundred.
The number of certificates issued or registered in the school
year beginning July i, 1927, was 1 j';6.
The programs of the St. Clair County Teachers" Asso-
ciation and Institute are instructive and interesting. The
instructors are able, competent and in every way qualified.
We secure the best.
There are 854 teaching positions m our county. Oi this
number, 107 are one room rural schools. There are n two
room schools and four three-room schools.
Shiloh has four teachers, with Armin L. Honnecker as
principal. The Lafayette school has nine teachers, with M.
F. Smith as principal and superintendent. This district in-
cludes the Garrison colored five-room school with J. M. D.
Brown as principal.
Casey ville has four teachers, with Leroy Randle as prin-
cipal.
Lenzburg has four teachers, with John Molles as principal.
Millstadt has five teachers, with George E. Dagit as
principal.
New Athens has six elementary and four high school
teachers with H. W. Krohn as principal and superintendent.
Freeburg has eight elementary teachers, with B. G. Mer-
kel as principal, and six high school teachers, with Charles
Barts as principal.
Lebanon has eight elementary and six high school teachers,
with Vernon G. Mays as superintendent and Minnie Niess
as principal of the high school.
Mascoutah has eight elementary and eight high school
teachers, with L. A. Schafer as principal and superintendent.
Marissa has fourteen elementary teachers, with E. A.
Grodeon as principal and superintendent; and eight high
school teachers, with George H. Thompson as principal.
O'Fallon has twelve elementary and nine high school
teachers, with J. Emmet Hinchcliff as principal and super-
intendent.
Dewey School has six teachers, with A. J. Germain as
principal.
Union School has seven teachers, with Jennie E. Hughes
as principal.
Signal Hill has eight teachers, with E. W. Schmalenberger
as principal.
Dupo Community High School
Rose Lake has nine teachers, with W. W. Sliva as principal.
Brooklyn or Lovejoy has fourteen teachers, with B. F.
Washington as principal and superintendent.
Dupo has thirteen elementary teachers, with E. F.
Schmelzel as principal and superintendent; and nine high
school teachers, with R. K. Purl as principal.
The first high schools in our county were established
about i8';8 m Belleville, 1870 in East St. Louis, and 1872
in Mascoutah.
In the revised school law of 1872, section 35 provides for
township high schools. In 1904, a decision of the Supreme
Court declared that "Any district may establish and main-
tain a high school department.""
The Marissa Township High School was established in
1907. The foundation for the sentiment of this high school
was builded in the Marissa Academy, which had existed
for several years before the organization of the Township
High School.
The Belleville Township High School was organized in
1914 and took the place of the Belleville city high school.
The present principal is H. G. Schmidt.
The O'Fallon Township High School was established in
1918 and was the natural result of the town high school,
which had grown to a four year high school.
The Dupo Community High School was organized in 1920.
The New Athens Community High School was instituted
in 1920. The sentiment for its adoption was created in the
town high school, which had been in operation for about
ten years.
The Freeburg Community High School was organized in
1921. This was also the natural result of a district or town
high school.
The Mascoutah Community High School was established
in 1 92 1. The Mascoutah town high school had been in
existence for almost fifty years. It was originated about 1872.
Fne Hundred and Se
^^MC KENDREE ^^^^^^^.■...^;...-_
The Lebanon Community High School was instituted in
1 92 1, and was also the result of many years of training given
to the community by the town high school.
Lenzburg and Millstadt each have a two year high school ,
established in 1921. Nearly all of these schools have modern
school buildings and all have adequate equipment.
EAST ST. LOUIS
The first town on the site of the city of East St. Louis
was laid out on the east bank of Cahokia Creek in 18 17.
In 1841 Capt. John Trendley, John Cames, Esq., and
their neighbors in lUinois Town, now East St. Louis,'started
a subscription hst to raise a fund for building a school house
and hiring a teacher. $175.00 was subscribed, a carpenter
was employed at $1.75 per day to erect a house. The site of
this building was on the pubhc square in Illinois Town,
afterwards the first ward of East St. Louis. This was a frame
building 14 by 16 feet in size. It had room for two short
rows of benches, a small desk for the teacher and a place
for the water bucket and broom. The first pedagogue who
presented himself was hired. No questions were asked as to
his preparation or ability as a teacher. He was expected to
keep the children out of mischief for six months of the year,
including the winter season.
In 1859 Illinois Town was incorporated. In the spring of
1861 a new charter was granted, increasing the boundaries
of the town and an election was held for or against changing
the name to East St. Louis. This election resulted in 183 in
favor of the change and 89 against.
In 1863 there were two schools, the upper and lower
school, each having two teachers.
In 1866 the following books were adopted by the board
of directors for use in the schools of the district: Webster's
Speller, McGuffey's Readers, Pinneo's Grammar, Ray's
Arithmetic, and Monteith's Geography, and rules were
adopted concerning the conduct of the schools.
Peter J. C. Marion was the first principal teacher elected
by the board of directors at a salary of $60.00 per month,
with two assistants, in 1865. He was the principal of the
upper school, which was conducted in the basement of St.
Patrick's church. The lower school has become the Franklin
School and there was a third school in the basement of St.
Henry's church.
In 1869 James J. Rafter was made the principal of the
St. Patrick's School. Mr. Marion and Mr. Rafter gave many
years of honored service to the city of East St. Louis as
teachers and upright citizens.
In 1869 Camp's series of Geography took the place of
Monteith's and Goodrich's History of the United States
and Kearney's History of the United States were added to
the list of books.
The first colored school was opened in 187 1, after the
adoption of the Constitution of 1870, which gave the right
for the first time in our state for the establishment of schools
for colored children. This school was held in the colored
Baptist Church on Brady Street. The first teacher was Francis
Moss, at a salary of $40.00 per month. This school was
established through the influence of John Robinson, a colored
man and an ex'slave, who was very active in the cause of
education for colored children.
Arthur O'Leary, who served for many years as a principal
and teacher, and the secretary of the board of education in
the city of East St. Louis, was appointed as a teacher in
October, 1S71. In 1872, Frank V. Rafter, a brilliant man
who became city superintendent of schools. Miss Kate E.
Conway, who is living in East St. Louis at the present time
as a retired teacher. Miss E. Gain, who later married a very
promising merchant, Mr. Oebike, and Dr. L. F. Morehead
were appointed as teachers.
The following is a summary of the report of the secretary
of the board of education for the year ending June jo, 1875 :
Number of schools in the district 6
Number of teachers 21
Average attendance during the year 1102
Number of boys 550
Number of girls 543
Average number of days taught 210
Total expense during the year $17,075.00
The middle school was held in the public school building
on the corner of St. Louis and Collins ville Ave. with four
teachers. The Broadway School was held in the basement
of St. Henry's Church on Broadway with four teachers.
The Franklin School was held in the public school building
in the first ward with four teachers. The upper school was
held in the basement of St. Patrick's Church with seven
teachers. The colored school was held in the colored Baptist
Church on Brady Street with one teacher, and the high
school was held in a private building on 6th Street between
Missouri and Division Ave. with one teacher and an average
attendance of 17 pupils. Prof. Frank V. Rafter was the
principal of the high school. Prof. A. J. Driscoll was the
principal of the upper school. Prof. Arthur O'Leary was
principal of the middle school and Prof. J. Ruhland was
principal of the Broadway School and Prof. B. Long was
principal of the Franklin School.
Five Hundred and Eighttfcii
^MC KENDREE ^^^^fe:^^:^^..^^...-^
In 187:-, the first board of education was elected, consisting
of SIX members. This above may be said to be the first part
of the East St. Louis school system. The second part began
with the erection of adequate school buildings.
In 1889 the Webster and Franklin Schools, which were
then considered modern brick buildings, with twelve rooms,
were built.
In 18S6 the Lincoln School building for colored children
was built on the corner of 6th and St. Louis Ave. This
building is now used as the offices of the East St. Louis
board of education.
In 1890 the Emmerson School, consisting of eight rooms,
was erected. In 1894 the high school, a beautiful stone build-
ing of eighteen rooms, was built. Other schools followed
rapidly, including the Monroe and the Douglas m 1S96, the
Irving in 1898, the Park, Washington, Longfellow, and Web-
ster Annex Schools m 1900, the Monroe Annex m 1904,
the Horace Mann m 1905, the Jefferson, Edgemont. and the
Lincoln in 1906, the Slade m 1907, the Froebel m 1912, the
Dunbar in 1916, the Manners and the Cannady m 1918,
the Hawthorne in 1923, the Morrison in 1922, the Woodrow
Wilson in 1927, the Harding Schools in 1928, and the new
high school building in 191 5.
This building campaign has given to the city of East St.
Louis permanent school buildings. At the time of the erec-
tion of these first permanent buildings, which were the
Webster and Franklin Schools, the board of education con-
sisted of G. Lehman, president and members W. A. Dill,
Thos. J. Canavan, John A. Joyce, Dennis Rush, D. SuUivan,
and Dr. J. L. Wiggins. The superintendent of schools and
the secretary of the board of education was Frank V. Rafter.
Mr. Al. Keechler spent many years as a member and
president of the East St. Louis board of education. T. Jeff
Daniel, J. M. Sullivan, Thomas L. Fekete, Rudolph Hun-
ninger, C. L. Gray, P. Joyce, Dr. I. D. Foulon, P. Carrigan,
D. A. Beeken, Geo. Coy, G. W. Thompson, Chas. Hissrich,
Geo. G. Heller, and Paul W. Abt were members of the
board. J. J. Reader was for seven years the secretary of the
board of education. This may be said to be the second epoch
in the schools of East St. Louis.
The third epoch began m 1901 in the consolidation of all
school districts in the city; the Douglas or Island District,
the Central or High School District, and the Illinois City
or Longfellow District, were combined in one district. The
Washington Park District was added in 1904 and the Alta
Sita and the Lansdowne Districts were later added to the
East St. Louis School District, and these together comprise
District 189, which is the East St. Lnuis School District
Mr. A. L. Keechler was the president of the board of edu-
cation during this combination of districts and Mr. James
P. Slade was the city superintendent of schools.
The fourth epoch in the history of the progressive school
system of East St. Louis was the introduction of the manual
arts department, Manual Training, Domestic Economy and
a special supervisor of Physical Education and a supervisor
of Drawing and Music for all the schools. This was during
the term of office of Mr. Rudesill, who served for one year,
and Mr. W. A. Moody, who was for many years the pres-
ident of the hoard of education. Paul W. Abt, P. P. Gaynord,
Harry Kraemer, Henry T. Renshaw, Horace J. Eggmann,
Geo. T. Smith, Fred Leber, W. B. Dodd, John W. Sanders,
Peter B. Cusack, Dr. Albert E. Reeves and Albert E. Memts
were the members of the board. John E. Miller was super-
intendent, J. S. Pidgeon, secretary, Frank L. Thrasher, supt.
of buildings, and Lela Eggleston, stenographer.
During this time the condition of the schools of the city
of East St. Louis improved in a remarkable degree and stood
among the best of the state. The teaching body consisted
of live, progressive, energetic men and women, with special
preparation and a varied experience. These teachers knew
what and how to teach. The following is a list of the prin-
cipals during this period
High School, Charles L. Manners; Horace Mann School,
D. Walter Potts; Franklin School, Bernard Guitues; Long-
fellow School, I. H. Todd; Webster School, W. G. Padfield;
Park School, C. G. Williams; Emmerson School, O. E.
Harper; Washington School, Charles Cannady; Monroe
School, F. F. Sams; Irving School, James P. Slade; Second
Street School, May E. Young; Douglas School, Julia Buckley;
and Lincoln School, colored, B. F. Bowles.
In 1911, D. Walter Potts was appointed city superin-
tendent of the East St. Louis School System and has con-
tinued in that office up to the present time, or for seventeen
years. The principals and supervising officers of the East St.
Louis schools for the year 1927-1928 are as follows:
High School, H. A. Kanzler, prin.; Junior High School, M.
E. Bruce; Alta Sita and Irving Schools, O. E. Harper; Bluff
View School, Edgemont School, Eighty-first Street School,
Oak Park School, Seventy-fourth Street School and Morrison
School, J. J. McGlynn; Cannady School and Longfellow
School, J. A. McCoUom; Emerson School and Froebel School,
Miss May E. Young; Franklin School and Washington
School, H. B. Hinckley; Hawthorne School and Wilson
School, J. E. Wesley; National City School, Charles Hertel;
Fne Hundred and ,\.
Jefferson and Manners Schcxil, W. L. Baughman; Monroe
School, W. G. Padfield; Park and Slade Schools, H. F. Thurs-
ton; Roosevelt School, Margaret Mulberry; Webster School,
C. G. Williams; Denverside School, Garfield and Rush City,
Dunbar, Twenty-sixty Street School, and McKinley School,
M. V. Lucas; Lincoln High School and Grade School, J. W.
Hughes; Frank F. Glasow, supervisor of physical education;
Bessie Sawyer, supervisor of penmanship ; Carmen A. Trimer,
supervisor of drawing; Julia R. Kelsey, supervisor of music;
E. C. Tillotson, supervisor of instrumental music; W. Morris
Jones, supervisor of manual training; Mary McGuire, super-
visor of home economics; Cecile C. Combs, assistant super-
visor of music and drawing; Frank L. Thrasher, supervisor
of properties and purchasing agent; Lela E. Krehmeyer, sec-
retary to superintendent of schools; Dorothy Reid, stenog-
rapher board of education.
A new high school was built in East St. Louis in 1915.
The list of the superintendents of schools, who have
served the city of East St. Louis, contains the names of
many able and worthy educators — James McQuiIkin, M.
A. Sullivan, T. J. McDonnough, Frank V. Rafter, James
P. Slade, an ex-county superintendent and ex-state superinten-
dent of public instruction, J. F. McCullough, John Richeson,
John E. Miller and D. Walter Potts.
John S. Pidgeon served for more than twenty-five years
as an efficient and competent secretary. This position is now
filled by Samuel Moore.
The presidents of the various boards of education since
the time of Mr. Al. Keechler, or 1903, are Mr. Rudesill,
Mr. W. A. Moody, Judge B. H. Canby, Thomas Knoeble,
Fred Kraft, Wallace Watkins and Dr. E. W. Cannady. At
the present time the president of the board is Dr. R. L.
Campbell.
Since the establishment of the East St. Louis High School
in 1872, the following principals have served: C. A. Single-
terry, Frank Rafter, Charles Manners, who served as the
principal of the high school for almost twenty-five years,
D. Walter Potts, served for one year, H. J. Alvis, served for
a number of years. The present principal is Herman A.
Kanzler.
Since 1896 the principals of the colored schools have been
Mr. Byron, Mr. Thompson, B. F. Bowles, who served as
principal for many years, and J. W. Hughes, who has been
the principal of the Lincoln High and Grade Schools since
1914. M. V. Lucas, the principal of the Paul Lawrence
Dunbar School, came to the East St. Louis system almost
forty years ago and has been continuously a teacher and
principal in the schools of his adopted city.
During the administration of D. Walter Potts, city super-
intendent of schools, the school system has grown in a
marked degree. The Roosevelt, or ungraded school for back-
ward children, was established in 1919. This is under the
direction of Miss Margaret Mulberry as principal. The
colored schools have a total enrollment of 2495, and the
white schools of 11, 275. The colored high school has 134
students and the white high school 1027. The colored Junior
High has 241 students and the white Junior High has 847.
In 1923 Parsons Field was purchased as an athletic field
for the East St. Louis Schools and in 1925 the old Y building,
at i^th and Bond, was purchased as a colored recreation
center. The Lincoln High School became a member of the
North Central Association of Schools and Colleges in 1928.
In the city of East St. Louis there are a total of 432 active
teachers, principals and supervising officers. They have a
body of sincere, progressive, well qualified teachers, with a
splendid physical equipment and every possible advantage
for the advancement of the children.
This system has competent medical inspection for all
school children with doctors and nurses continuously caring
for the health of the children. It also has installed a "thrift"
program which has been successfully practiced. The school
pupils of East St. Louis and surrounding communities now
have $160,724.12 on deposit in the East St. Louis banks.
The following history of the Belleville public schools was
written by the late A. M. Wolleson, a thorough gentleman,
a great student and a kind, lovable man. He worked for
many years in the public schools of Belleville as teacher, prin-
cipal and assistant to the county superintendent of schools.
THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF BELLEVILLE
The city of Belleville, Illinois, had its first beginning in
the year 1814, when, as authentic records inform us, it was
platted and laid out in George Blair's cornfield. The founders,
influenced, no doubt, by the early French settlers of the
county, gave it the euphonious French name "Belleville."
The writer's endeavors to obtain information concerning
schools and education in the new town during the first period
of Its existence has met with but meagre success. In the year
1 82 1 the "Belleville Academy" was incorporated by an act
of the Legislature. Its frame building was located on the
west side of South Jackson Street, south of Lincoln (formerly
Second) Street, about where the Jackson Street M. E. Church
is now standing. Its aim was to furnish young men with a
higher education. William Turner was among its first in-
structors. He was a cultured man and a student and lover of
Shakespeare, whose works he recited with all the eloquence
Fne HiuiJred ami Tw
MC KENDREE
and grace of an actor. This gave rise to the heUef among his
contemporaries m Belleville that he had formerly been con-
nected with the stage, though he never admitted this to
have been the fact.
In 182}, there was a school house standing where the
First M. E. Church is now located on East Washington
(formerly First) Street. It is known that a certain Mr. Gallop
taught school m that building in the year 1824.
In the same year, 1824, Mr. John H. Dennis, a native of
Virginia, came to Belleville. For the next thirty-five years
he was uninterruptedly engaged in educational work m pri-
vate and public schools in Belleville, and served four years
as county superintendent of schools. His first school was
opened 1824 or 1825 in the Mitchell Building, located on
the north side of the public square, where we now find the
Belleville Bank and Trust Company's building. It was called
the "Aristocratic" school, owing to the fact that the children
of wealthy families from St. Louis and other places attended
it. This able teacher died in Belleville in 1869.
In the year 1825 the first school law of Illinois was enacted.
Viewed m the light of today its many deficiencies are glar-
ingly revealed. For instance, no one could be taxed for the
support of a public school without his consent, and educa-
tion was provided for white children only. Yet it was a
beginning, and far better than no law at all. It brought schools
to a limited extent under some sort of public control, and
eventually paved the way for more effective legislation.
For the next thirty years the great majority of the children
of Belleville attended school in any available rooms rented
by teachers of varying efficiency who charged for each pupil
a certain amount agreed upon. We have learned that school
was "kept" in basements and other unsuitable and unsanitary
rooms sparingly equipped with furniture and educational
appliances, and most likely but slightly and only perfunctorily
controlled by legal authority.
Among the most prominent teachers of those years we
meet with the names of Mr. Edwards and Mr. John F.
Parks. These two men, and others, taught successfully in
schools located m the Odd Fellow's Hall on the northeast
corner of "A" and High Streets; in the basement of the old
Presbyterian Church on the site of the present Bell Telephone
Company's building, southeast corner "A" and Illinois
Street; in the Advocate Building on East Washington Street,
between Illinois and High Streets; in a building on West
"A" Street, between Second and Third Streets; and on South
First Street, between Main and Washington Streets.
And so by halt blindly groping our way through the mist
of a number of years we finally emerge into more recent
periods that are partly illuminated by scraps of minutes of
transactions of boards of directors preserved to us by the
school authorities of the present day. The oldest of these
records beings with an entry dated October ij, 1847. At
that time three directors were constituting the hoard, namely ;
Charles Ellis, William M. Parker, and C. G. Y. Taylor. On
October 20th, 1847, they met and elected Mr. Taylor treas-
urer. On October 2<;th he gave bond and entered upon his
duties.
On November i8th they in a body visited the various
schools taught by Mr. John Coleman, Mr. Beach, Miss
Hough, and Mrs. Avard. They found them all under good
regulations and tolerably well supplied with school-room
furniture.
On January 6th, 1848, they met and examined the sched-
ules of John Coleman, Mr. Holbrook, Mr. Beach, Mrs.
E. Avard, and Miss Hough. They corrected and certified
them and ordered the following sums paid to the respective
teachers: To Coleman, $4.65; to Holbrook, $1.05; to Beach,
$:v:-,o; to Mrs. E. H. Avard, $^.90; to Miss Hough, $6.0";.
There are no further minutes by this board.
Continuing quoting from the same book we find the fol-
lowing entries among many others :
February 15, 1851: The following named persons were
elected school directors for district number four, T. i N.,
R. 8 W.: David Swire, Theo K. Krafft, and William Lorey.
They met February 24th and elected W. Lorey Clerk.
This board served until January 14th, 1856, during which
time 19 meetings are recorded. They at first made visits to
the different schools taught by teachers named and found
them all satisfactorily conducted and well supplied with
furniture. On March nth, iS'ji, they expressed regret that
Mrs. Hyde's school room was almost too small for the num-
ber of scholars; "but she told us that m a short time she
would have the use of a more commodious room. This would
be very desirable."
The principal duties performed by them seems to have
been to examine and correct the teachers' schedules and
hand them over to the township treasurers. The following
teachers are named during their term of office : Mrs. Jenkins,
Mrs. Hyde, Mr. and Mrs. Edwards, Mr. Galbraith, Mr.
Rail, Mrs. Holbrook, Miss Hough, and Mrs. Johnson. In
1853, these new names appear: Messrs. Richards, Griffin,
Ha well, Loftus, Miss Martina, and Miss Hill; in 1854 Mr.
Thompson and Miss Granger are added.
On September i6th, 185 1, they employed Mr. Fried-
laender to take the number of all white persons under the
age of twenty-one years residing in our school district.
The following was the result: Males, 952; Females, 897.
School census was again taken in October, 1853. The total
number was then 2271.
The first election under the new school law of 1855 was
held January 14th, 1856, and the following were elected:
James Affleck, Henry Goedeking, and Will Kempff. They
organized January 22nd by electmg Henry Goedeking pres-
ident and Will Kempff secretary. Resolution passed: "That
the board of directors shall have a regular meeting on the
first Tuesday of every month, at early candleUght." It was
also resolved that the directors in a body visit and examine
the different schools of the district on next Thursday, Jan-
uary 24th.
January 28th: The directors, after having examined all the
schools of the district, which came to their knowledge, re-
solved: that the following report of our visit is hereby
recorded :
In accordance with a resolution of our last meeting we
proceeded on Thursday, January 24th, and visited :
1 . The school in the Protestant Church, under the man-
agement of Mr. M. Seitz. Number of scholars, 156, the
greater portion of which were German. The studies embrace
English and German. Mr. Seitz keeps a schedule and has a
certificate.
2. The school west of the Catholic Church, under the
management of Mr. Paul Anton Helmich. Number of schol-
ars, 90, the greater portion of which were German. Studies:
English and German. Mr. Helmich has a certificate and
keeps a schedule.
J. The school in the basement of the Catholic Church,
under the management of Mr. John Webster. Number of
scholars, 55, the majority of which are English. Studies alto-
gether English. Mr. Webster keeps a schedule and has a
certificate of qualifications.
4. The school in the basement of the Methodist Church,
under the management of Miss Granger and Miss Ash.
Number of scholars, about 70, all females. The schedules
were kept according to law and the teachers have certificates
of qualification.
5. The school in the Odd Fellow's Hall, under the man-
agement of Mrs. Edwards and Miss Edwards. Number of
scholars, about 100, male and female; two departments, the
first or primary department under the care of Miss Edwards.
Keep a schedule and have certificate of qualification.
Friday, January 25th, we continued and visited:
6. The school of F. M. Rail and W. Krech, in Abend's
Hall. Number of scholars, 77, of which number about 17
were not residents of the fourth district; the scholars were
all males, English and German, and the studies were also
English and German. Mr. Rail has a certificate of qualifica-
tion and promised to keep a schedule according to law.
7. The school in the German Brick Church, under the
management of Mr. Krauss. Number of scholars, about 50,
all German. Mr. Kraus keeps a schedule in German and has
no certificate.
8. The school in the Old Hall, under the management
of Miss Field. Number of scholars 12 to 14, male and female;
all small, just beginning. Has no certificate or schedule.
9. The school in the basement of the Presbyterian
Church, under the management of Mr. P. Roeder. Number
of scholars, about 20, all German, male and female. Studies
German and English. Mr. Roeder keeps no schedule and has
no certificate.
10. The school of Mr. Dennis. Number of scholars,
about 25, all males. The studies embrace the higher as well
as the common branches. Mr. Dennis keeps a schedule and
has a certificate of qualification.
11. The school in the West Belleville School-house, un-
der the management of Mr. Masbacher. Number of scholars,
25, all German. Keeps a schedule and has a certificate of
qualification.
The total number of pupils attending schools in the Fourth
District, 684.
Mr. Affleck was instructed to notify all the teachers to
keep their schedules in strict accordance with the law.
"Whereas the school taught by Mr. Seitz contains entirely
too many scholars for one teacher, therefore resolved : That
Mr. Seitz be authorized to employ an assistant teacher, for
teaching the various English branches, under the same con-
ditions, as said Seitz has taught heretofore."
At a meeting held March 13th, 1856, it was resolved
that inasmuch as the schools had not heretofore been taught
in strict accordance with the law, and inasmuch as the money
raised by taxation this year was sufficient to pay for only
six months' school, therefore the board would not certify
to the correctness of the schedules for the first half of the
year but see to it that everything was done hereafter accord-
ing to law so that the money coming to them for the year
could be used for the support of the schools for the last six
months of the year; by which arrangement they would keep
up the schools according to law.
Fne Hundred and Twenty-Two
^^^^^m^^^^^^^^g^^s:^-
Rules and regulations were ordered printed March 26th,
Resolved on April jrd, i8'i6: That we commence Free
Schools on next Monday, the seventh day of April, 1816,
under the following arrangements:
To keep in each ward a primary school and also a primary
school m West Belleville, all for boys and girls together,
and two grammar schools, one for boys and one for girls,
male department of grammar school to be kept by Messrs.
Dennis and Fuller, each with a salary of $450.00 per year,
female department of grammar school under the tuition of
Mrs. Edwards and Miss Hough, the first with ,1 salary of
$450.00, the latter with a salary of $350.00, to be kept in the
basement of the Methodist Church for the rent of $100.00.
First Ward primary school under the tuition of Miss
Edwards, with a salary of $250.00, to be kept in the basement
of the Presbyterian Church for the rent of $50.00 per year.
Second Ward primary school under the tuition of Messrs.
Seitz and Roman, the first with a salary of $400.00, the latter
with a salary of $3,50.00, to be kept in the German Protestant
Church for the rent of $50.00 per year.
Third Ward primary school under the tuition of Messrs.
Webster and Helmich, with a salary of $400.00 each, to be
kept in the school rooms ot Catholic Church Association.
Fourth Ward primary school under the tuition of Miss
GaskiU, for the salary of $300.00, to be kept in the old
Library Hall, for the rent of $72.00 per year.
West Belleville's School under the tuition of Mr. Roeder,
with a salary of $400.00, to be kept m the West Belleville
school house, for the rent of $ — .00 per year.
Also to employ Mr. Krech as teacher of the German lan-
guage for the male and female grammar departments with a
salary of $300.00 for teaching four hours daily.
On April i2th, 1856, the board and the teachers met and
selected uniform text-books as follows :
1 . McGufFey's Series of Readers, submitted to be gradually
replaced by Tawer's Readers.
2. Mitchel's Intermediate Geography.
3. Greenleaf's Common School Arithmetic and Colburn's
Mental Arithmetic.
4. Buttler's English Grammar.
5. Webster's Spelling Book and School Companion.
6. Goodrich's History of the United States.
7. Copy-books with copies set.
And so it seems that the Belleville public schools were
now, on April 7th, 1856, launched out under the school law
of 1855 in regular and approved form.
A summer vacation was declared by the board to begin
July 25th and end August 25th, iSsfi. The board encoun-
tered considerable trouble this first year. First Mr. Dennis
resigned soon after accepting his position. A certain Mr.
F. D. Halstead was hired to take his place June 24th; but
in July he handed m his resignation. Finally Mr. C. F.
Ncetling was engaged m his place.
The schedules were examined and certified to every six
months, and it seems th.it the teachers were paid only every
SIX months — twice a year. How the teachers got their pay
for the first six months, just before the schools became reg-
ular Free Schools, is not made clear. The board resolved to
see the township trustees about it, and if not successful in
getting them to pay them advised the teachers to petition
each for himself.
In order that free schools might be held the entire year it
became necessary to raise a larger amount of money by taxa-
tion than the board had power to levy, and therefore an
election was held in June, 1857, to determine by vote of
the people whether such schools should be held for twelve
months or not. The majority of the people voted in favor
of the proposition; 450 for and 147 against same.
Nine teachers were employed for the year 1857-1858,
namely: Mrs. L. D. C. Edwards, Miss Mary Edwards, Miss
Nancy S. Hough, Mrs. Johnson, Mr. Barnum, Mr. G. S.
Slade, and Mr. Miller. Salaries for these teachers were
$500.00 for the male teachers and $400.00 for the female
teachers. Mr. Parks was engaged at the same time as super-
intendent of schools, and in addition as manager of the
grammar department, with the condition to classify all the
scholars, visit the schools at least once a month, arrange the
examinations, and do and perform such duties as generally
were involved upon a school superintendent; his salary
was $1000.00 a year.
On November 9th, 1857, ^^^ following were elected mem-
bers of the board of directors: Messrs. O. B. Fauke, C. T.
Elles, and Jacob Lehr. Miss Julia Taylor was employed as
teacher on January 8th, 1858, with a salary ot $50.00 for
one quarter; if she gives satisfaction, she is to be paid $6o.oo.
On January i8th, the board resolved to pay the teachers
the first quarter due them, amounting to $1050.00.
January 29th, 1858: Resolved that we employ Mr. Raab
as assistant teacher to Mr. Wile in West Belleville, to com*
mence February ist, 1858, for the term of three months and
the sum of $75.00 for the three months.
February 22nd, 1858: Resolved, that as necessity requires
that we should have a high school in this district, that we
Fire Hundred and Tw.ntyTh
MC KENDREE
order forty double seats from Cincinnati, and prepare the
third story of the Literary Hall for a high school.
April 2nd, 1858: Teachers were paid. (Miss Taylor must
have given satisfaction, for she was paid $60.00)
May 19th, 1858: Resolved, that whereas complaint has
been made for punishing scholars, therefore resolved that we
visit every school and give each teacher the following written
notice: Resolved that corporal punishment be entirely abol-
ished, and that incorrigible scholars be referred to their
parents. June 7th, 1858: Summer vacation ordered to begin
June 1 8th to August 2nd. An election was ordered to be
held on June 21st to determine whether or not the school
term should be extended 1859, and also to submit to a vote
the building of a school house either in the 2nd, jrd, or 4th
Ward, and a two mill tax to erect the school house. June
i8th, 1858: This day was Picknick of all the free schools.
Result of the election held in the Court House the 21st of
June, 1858: 468 votes for the extension of the school term;
264 votes against the extension. 276 votes for the two mill
tax to build school house; 347 votes against a mill tax.
July 26th, 1858: Resolved that the weather being too hot
the free schools are to commence August 30th; notice to be
given. August 27th, 1858: Resolved that we pay Mr. Raab
$550.00 to take the West Belleville school alone and teach
one hour German every morning from 8:00 to 9:00 o'clock.
August 30th, 1858: Paul Roeder was employed to teach one
hour German extra every day with extra pay at the rate of
$600.00 per year. The third story of the Advocate Building
was fitted up for school purposes. October 29th, 1858; Vis-
ited Mrs. Edwards" and Miss H. school; present 78 scholars.
Visited Miss Mary Edward's school; present 44 scholars.
Visited Mr. Wile's school; present 37 scholars. Visited Miss
Taylor's school; 78 scholars. Visited Mrs. Weeden's school,
50 scholars. Mr. Slade's, 78 scholars. Mr. Parks' and Mrs.
Scott's, 59 scholars. (Remark; Mr. Slade ought to have an
assistant.)
Mr. Slade got his assistant in Mrs. Thwing at the rate
of $300.00 salary November 2nd.
October 30th, 1858: Resolved that whereas by visiting
the German classes we found only fourteen scholars at Mr.
Roeder's and only eleven at Mr. Raab's, therefore we do
not feel justifiable to continue the German classes after this
quarter expires.
A petition was received by the board November 12th,
1858, to continue the instruction in German. But the board
suspended said instruction until a new school house shall
have been built, affording more room.
November 2jrd, iSiS: Mr. Roeder having now thirty-two
German scholars he was allowed to continue instruction in
German until further notice be given him. December 7th,
1858: Singing in all the schools was recommended.
March 3rd, 1859: Resolved that the teachers of the public
schools in District 4, Township i N., R. 8 W., Belleville,
are permitted to suspend their respective schools during the
first week in April, 1859, in order to attend the Teachers'
Institute. Resolved that if any teacher thus suspending the
school does not attend the Teachers' Institute every day,
their time of absence be deducted from their wages.
The first Teachers' Institute held in Belleville opened
April 4th, 1859, under the charge of Mr. Merwin; full at-
tendance; very interesting; lectures every evening.
The question of extending the school term for i860 was
carried by but a small majority on May 14th, 1859. Building
a new school house and buying the Odd Fellows Hall for a
school were voted down on the same day. A tax levy of
35 cents per hundred dollars valuation was approved for
i860. August i2th, i8'i9: The clerk was authorized to notify
Mr. Parks that we do not need his services as teacher and
superintendent any longer. Resolved that we declare Mr.
Park's place vacant. August 22nd, 1859: Resolved that the
scholastic year commences on the 29th of August, in order
to close the school by the 4th of July next. An election was
ordered for September 5th for three directors. August 29th,
1859: Resolved that whereas we have no superintendent,
therefore the schools be suspended till after the election.
George Bunsen, Wm. Kempff and James Affleck were
duly elected directors on September 5th, 1859.
The above extracts are taken from the oldest minute book
now in the safe of the board of education of the Belleville
public schools. All through these minutes are evidences of
a sincere desire on the part of the directors to build up good
schools. They make frequent visits to the schools and watch
the progress made and the efficiency of the teachers. They
do their very best to solve the difficulties encountered in-
volving the question of housing the schools and providing
additional teachers whenever the number of pupils become
too unwieldy. This, in many cases, is not done until there
are 65 to 80 pupils to a teacher. It is seen that the public
is utterly opposed to providing new school buildings, al-
though there is a dire necessity for same. Surely these people
were serving the community under most adverse conditions,
and deserve credit for their noble activities.
Fne HuiiilreJ and Twenty-Four
Under date of November 9th, i860, we find the following
entry: The Catholic school rooms having been offered free
of rent for the establishment of schools under the rules for
the government of our public schools, it was resolved to
establish schools m said school rooms and engage the present
teachers, if they appear to be qualified. One year later the
board required that the teachers of the Catholic schools
abstain from such observance as with which Protestant chil-
dren could not consistently comply; also, it is expected that
they will only observe such holidays of the Catholic Church
as they and their scholars would feel compelled by their
religious convictions to observe.
In January, 1863, the board resolved that whereas the
schools near the Catholic Church are too much crowded,
Mr. Bunsen be authorized to inquire, whether an arrange-
ment can he made to send the small scholars to a preparatory
department under the care of one of the Sisters of the insti-
tute, subject, of course, to all rules of the common schools.
Mr. Bunsen a few days later reported that it was not practic-
able to establish a preparatory department at the school near
the Catholic Church — the Sisters of the institute being un-
willing to conform to the rules governing the teachers of
the Common schools.
The Civil War did not fail to leave its mark upon the
records of the Belleville public schools. We learn that on
August i6th, 1862, a petition of citizens was presented,
calling upon the directors to have the oath of allegiance ad-
ministered to the different teachers. It was temporarily dis-
posed of by laying it on the table till next meeting. At the
meeting held August 23rd, 1862, a motion to comply with
the request of the petitioners was lost, and a resolution
adopted which showed a disposition to pass the buck to the
county superintendent of schools. The petitioners seem to
have been dissatisfied with this action of the board of direc-
tors because on October nth they sent a committee to
appear before them relative to the said matter of adminis-
tering the oath of allegiance to all the teachers of the common
schools. At a meeting of the board held a week later the
clerk was instructed to inform the said committee of the
citizens in writing "That the board had been informed by
the superintendent, Mr. Slade, that the teachers of the
schools of District No. 4 have taken the oath of allegiance
on the 1 8th, of their own accord, without waiting for any
action of the directors in the premises." This matter was
thus effectively and satisfactorily settled.
Every year towards autumn a special election continued
to be held to vote for or against levying a special tax for
continuing school longer than six months during the ensuing
school year. The majority in favor of a long school term was
always decisive, sometimes almost unanimous. This shows
the general sentiment of the community in favor of educa-
tion. However, the proposition to purchase ground and erect
modern school buildings was repeatedly lost. Finally in Au-
gust, 1864, it was decided by a large majority of votes to buy
ground and build school buildings. As a result thereof Frank-
lin and Washington Schools were erected at a cost of about
$100,000. These schools could accommodate 1568 children
when all rooms were occupied to their capacity. The average
daily attendance had at that time never reached 1200. The
opinion was expressed that there would be ample accommo-
dations for four or five years to come.
The board now found itself confronted with the serious
problem of raising sufficient funds to defray the current ex-
penses of conducting the schools, paying interest on bonds
and providing a reasonable amount for the gradual retire-
ment of bonds. The bonds issued drew ten per cent interest,
making the financial burden doubly heavy. A business de-
pression had occurred in 1869 which induced the board to
lower the tax rate temporarily, and the teachers were the
ultimate sufferers. The salaries of the great majority of teach-
ers were, and remained, small. Only a few, the men at the
top, received fair salaries. Thus in the year 1871, of the 30
teachers employed, 24 received $87';o; the other six received
$7500.
The teachers' pay was small for reasons already explained.
In 1879, when the writer became a member of the corps, he
accepted his position as principal of the Lincoln School at
the annual salary of $500.00 The young girls who entered
upon the profession of teaching began with a salary of
$3,00.00. From such an insignificant beginning they advanced
at slow and gradual paces — $25.00 or $50.00 raise every two
years — until a maximum of $700.00 to $1000.00 was reached.
It must be remembered, however, that the purchasing power
of a dollar in those days was about twice what it is today.
But even so, the pay was but meagre and shamefully inade-
quate for the decent support of a married man and his family.
Many teachers were, therefore, obliged to supplement their
income by earning additional money outside of their school
hours, or during their summer vacations. Some taught sum-
mer school for a certain fixed amount per pupil, others went
out on a farm and helped in the harvest fields, others gave
private lessons in the evening during the school year.
The young girls who, as stated above, began with a salary
of $300.00, were not Normal graduates. They were intelli-
gent young ladies who had completed their studies in the
higher grades of the Belleville schools and now were given
employment on probation, under the immediate supervision
of superintendents Bunsen and Raab. Under their close and
careful guidance, they soon developed into good teachers,
unless they proved themselves naturally unfit for their
chosen calling, in which case they were, of course, not
re-employed.
Instruction in the higher branches was provided by the
board ever since the first year they took charge of the public
schools. In a comparatively short time a very able and effi-
cient corps of teachers were imparting instruction in all
branches usually termed high school branches. So thorough
was the instruction given there that the pupils graduated
therefrom went forth into the world very well prepared for
taking their positions in the ranks of the workers m the
various fields of activity. The business men of St. Louis in
those days were always on the look-out for graduates of the
Belleville Public Schools when they needed young men in
their stores or factories, and faculties of the State Normal
Schools greeted with pleasure the youth of Belleville to their
institutions as they always found them well grounded and
correctly trained.
For many years the name high school was not applied to
those higher grades, for the reason that there prevailed a
curious popular opposition to any public education higher
than the grammar grades. There came a time in the middle
seventies when the opposing elements were successful in
stealing a march upon the unsuspecting and easy-going major-
ity. On election day, when but a comparatively small vote
was registered, the opponents of higher education piled up
a large vote at a late hour of the day and elected two out
of three members. These two members created considerable
excitement and tried their best to reduce the efficiency and
cost of the schools, but without much success. They did
succeed for a year or two in cutting down the time allotted
to the higher branches, but eventually the high school,
proudly flourishing its name, was established on a firmer
basis than ever before.
And so the Belleville High School continued as an inte-
gral part of the public school system until in the year 1916
it became the Township High School, under another and
separate board of control, namely the Township High School
Board of Education.
The growth of Belleville has been regular and steady. And
as the population increased it became from time to time neces-
sary to build additional school buildings. The several build-
ings are here listed in the chronological order of their erection :
Lincoln School, bought from West Belleville, enlarged
1864; Franklin School erected in 1864; Washington School
erected in 1866; Bunsen School erected in 1879; Humbold
School erected in 1883; Central School erected in 1889;
Douglas School erected in 1894; Henry Raab School erected
in 1906; Jefferson School erected in 1912; Junior High School
erected in 1919.
After the resignation of Mr. Raab from the superintend'
ency in 1S90 he w..s succeeded in office by Mr. H. D. Up-
dike, who was promoted from his position of teacher in
the high school to that of superin tendency. Mr. Updike
served until the year 1902, when he was succeeded by Mr.
J. K. Light, who came here from the east. In 1904 George
H. Busiek took charge of the superintendency and served
until he resigned and retired from school work in 1916. Mr.
Oscar F. Weber succeeded him and served till 1921, when
he went to complete a university course at Urbana, at the
state university. He was followed in office by Arthur L.
Odenwaller, who after two years was succeeded by Wm.
A. Hough. In 1925 Mr. Harold V. Calhoun became the
superintendent and is still serving as such.
All of these men have worked earnestly, probably with
varying degree of success, to keep the Belleville public schools
abreast of the times and conducted according to the latest
and most modern educational ideas. Innovations of methods
have been introduced conforming to the view advanced by
the young enthusiastic school men of today, and a large corps
of supervisors employed.
A kindergarten system was established in 1916 and a
junior high created shortly thereafter. The praiseworthy
liberality aroused m our citizens during the stress and anxie-
ties of the World War is still alive, and fair and attractive
salaries are now paid all teachers. There are at present 99
teachers employed, including eight supervisors, and their
annual pay amounts to $136,021.66.
The people have just voted in favor of issuing bonds to
the amount of $275,000.00 and to erect one new school
building in the south end, and to raze three old buildings
and erect in their stead new buildings strictly up to date
in all respects. All this testifies to a commendable spirit of
liberality and a sincere desire to provide the children of the
city with the very best that can be had in the line of edu-
cation. May that spirit ever continue.
The first school was established in the town of Mascoutah
about 1840.
In 1872 Edwin Auerswald, as principal of the Mascoutah
public school was empowered to introduce a "system of im-
proved gradation and to adopt and fix a course of instruction
suitable to the requirements of a good school and commen-
surate with the demands of modern education."
F.ir Hundred and Tw
There were four hundred and fifty pupils m 1872 .md
according to Mr. Auerswald's records, not one knew a tnin-
sitive from an intransitive verb, neither could they distin-
guish the difference between the maps of Africa and South
America .
Reading, writing, arithmetic, geogmphy, and spelling were
the only branches taught prior to 1872 and there was no
course of study so that teachers could know what was being
taught in each room, Mr. Auerswald added United States
History, grammar, composition, algebra, geometry, book-
keeping, botany, zoology, physiology, and natural philosophy
to the high school course. Seven of the subjects then taught
in the high school are now taught in the grades.
Classes were graduated from this course, but we have no
written record of their names. Our first record of a graduating
class bears the date of 1888, sixteen years after the establish-
ment of the high school.
The course consisted of two years m 1888 and was changed
to three years in 1894. It remained a three year course untu
1914, when It was changed to a four-year course.
In igis the high school was accredited by the state, and
by the university m 1917.
In 1921 the district high school was changed to a commu-
nity high school and domestic science and manual training
were added to the course. Agriculture would also have been
made a part of the course had there been enough pupils
desiring it. We hope to add it later.
The following men have served as superintendent from
the organization of the school to the present time: Edwin
Auerswald, from September, 1872 to June, 1876; Charles
Cannady, from September, 1876, to June, 1886; Charles H.
Kammann, from September, 1886 to June, 1890; William A.
Hough, from September, 1890 to June, 1892; J. L. Landers,
from September, 1892 to June, 1895; P. O. Mortensen, from
September, 1895 to June ,1897; O. P. Klopsch, from Septem-
ber, 1897 to June, 1904; C. O. DuBios, from September, 1904
to June, 1909; Rupert R. Simpkins, from September, 1909 to
June, 191 1 ; Omar Caswell, from September, 191 1 to June,
1913,; L. A. Schafer, from September, 1913 to June, 1915;
Charles B. Klingelhoefer, from September, 1915 to June, 1921 ;
Arthur Moore, from September, 1920 to June, 1921; and L.
A. Schafer, from September, i92r to present time.
In 1850 the first public school was opened in the Marissa
School District. The building was constructed of hewn tim-
bers secured from the nearby forests and erected by the citi-
zens. The school furniture was crude and also prepared from
the same timber. On two sides of the building were openings
for window glass. These openings provided the Hght and the
ventilation. The building was located about one block east of
the present site of the Marissa Baptist Church. About 20
years later a small group of buildings became known as Marissa .
The second school building was opened during the early
days of the Civil War and located about one fourth of a mile
east of the first school. One of the early lady teachers was an
eastern lady of culture with a competent education. Her
name was Miss Post. She became the wife of Mr. Archibald
Coulter, one of the early settlers of the community and a
member of the Coulter family after whom Coulterville was
named. This school had exciting contests in spelling that
attracted the families m the neighborhood.
The third school building was erected in 1870 between
the towns of new and old Marissa. Two teachers were em-
ployed to instruct the increasing number of pupils. One of
the early teachers was John W. Wells.
In 1886 a brick building consisting of six rooms was con-
structed. The members of the board of directors who under-
took this work were J. W. Stewart, S. B. Curry and W.
M. K. Lyons. Mr. Lyons is still a resident of Marissa and
IS deeply interested in the advantages of education.
In 1896 two rooms were added and two more m 1906.
In 1924 the old academy building which had housed the
Marissa Academy for many years and which served as the
foundation of the Marissa Township High School, was re
modeled for class room use tor the elementary schools. The
museum m the basement of the mam building consists of a
large collection of antique and interesting specimens. This
was the work of Mr. Thomas Key worth, who was interested
in the work of the public schools and was the finest janitor
m the state of Illinois.
The Lenzburg School was originally a part of the Hickory
Grove School District. It was established in 1862, composed
of a part of the Hickory Grove District and a part of the
East Dutch Hill District. It was originally a one-room build-
ing until an addition was built and it became a two-room
building, which stands at the present time on the edge of the
town of Lenzburg.
This building became crowded and a part of the school
was held m the Methodist Church and in Stallman's Hall.
Early in the spring of 1909 the village of Lenzburg donated
a part of the village park to the school district and a modern
four room building was constructed m April, 1910. Attorney
John M. Chamberlin delivered the dedicatory address. This
school became the only Community Consolidated School in
St. Clair County and was changed to District No. 204, with
a two year high school, recognized by the university and the
State Department of Education. Mr. John Molles is the
principal and Mr. Wm. Muser, Sr., is the president of the
board of education, and Jerome Prediger is secretary.
Fur Hundred and Twent^-Sae
BOOK IV
Biographical
Sketches
Preface
Be
wo}{ IV includes biographies of some who have been grad-
uated from McKendree College since 1908, of some who have
enrolled in the college but have not been graduated, and of many
citizens of St. Clair County. These biographies were not written by
one author but b)' several different writers.
We have attempted in all cases to avoid error; we have endeav-
ored to ma\e the best use of the material at hand. If errors of
omission have bee?i made, they are generally the result of insufficient
data; if other mistakes have been made, which is undoubtedly the
case, we are sorry. In all cases we have sought accuracy in every
detail b)i submitting to our subjects completed sketches for correc-
tion or verification. Many of these were never returned to us, and,
consequently, we were forced to publish them ignorant of any pos-
sible inaccuracies. Many of our patrons failed to send pictures,
or else sent them too late for publication, and as a result these
were omitted from this volume.
We feel that an explanation is necessary for printing Boo\ IV
in two different sizes of type. We have adopted the smaller size
type for all those biographical sketches whose contents far exceeded
the space allotted, and rather than reduce the number of words
in these sketches, we felt that it ivould be more satisfactory to
reduce the size of the type and \eep the contents of the sl^etches
intact. There is a difference in the sizes of portraits and in the
relative lengths of s\etches, not because of editorial discrimination
or choice, but because of differences in the considerations of
contracts.
We feel deeply indebted to all those who have contributed to
the success of this publication — the subscribers, the photographers,
and all others. We expect criticism but we hope that our patrons
ta}{e into consideration all the difficulties that had to be overcome
in procuring and asseynbling this data, as a result of the death
of Mr. Jacob Kolf, the originator of the plan of this volume.
The Editor
Biographical
S\etches
CHAPTER I
PHILIP H. POSTEL
HMAN OF great integrity of character, of marked
executive ability, of generous impulses, Mr. Postel
has contributed much to the upbuilding of Mascou-
tah" — such is the statement made in the History of St. Clair
County, published in 1881, concerning the character of Philip
H. Postel, the grandfather of our subject. This eminent an-
cestor came from a long line of German farmers, was born at
Hassloch, Rhein Pfaltz, on July nth, 1818, and in 1841 real-
ized his long cherished ambition to see America and visit his
relatives here, the Eisenmayers, who were then living in
Mascoutah. In this place, which then comprised only eleven
houses, Conrad and Philip Eisenmayer were operating a grist
and saw mill, and Mr. Postel soon joined them in this busi-
ness. In 1842 on September 4, Mr. Postel was married to Maria
Eisenmayer, who was also born in Germany, and came to this
country in 1840. To them were born nine children, seven of
whom lived to maturity — three boys and four girls. These
three sons — Philip H., Jr., George, and Julius — took over
their father's prosperous milling business, upon the death of
the latter, and met with unusual success in its management.
George, the father of our subject, was born at Mascoutah,
on Oct. nth, 1852. After completing a public school course
he continued his studies m McKendree College and in
Washington University of St. Louis, after which he returned
to Mascoutah and worked for a time in his father's mill.
Afterwards he went to O'Fallon, where for five years he
worked in the Charles Tiedemann Mills, in which enterprise
his father had a half interest. Here he learned the miUing
business thoroughly, and upon his returning to Mascoutah,
took over the management of the Postel Mills, ably directing
this great and growing business during the rest of his active
life.
George Postel's wife, and the mother of our subject, was
Miss Medora T. Jansen of Quincy, 111., and was married to
Mr. Postel May 24th, 1882. To them were born two sons
and two daughters — Philip H., Fred Wm. (deceased), Amelia
J. (Mrs. George N. Souer) and Medora M. Postel. Mr. Postel
was still a young man when he was elected vice-president of
the Postel Milling Company, and after he retired from his
ofEce, he still maintained his interest in the business. He was
twice elected president of the Mascoutah School Board, and
for five years held the presidency of the Millers' Mutual
Fire Association of Illinois. He was long a faithful member of
the German Methodist Church, and of the Masonic Order.
He died June ^th, 191 5, several years after he retired. Mrs.
Postel is still living and in good health.
Their son Philip H. Postel was born m Mascoutah, on
August joth, 1889. His father, knowing the value of a liberal
education, gave to his son Philip the advantages offered in the
Mascoutah public schools, and added to this a technical and
higher training in a school of Manual Training in St. Louis,
and in Washington University. He returned to Mascoutah,
with this excellent equipment, and assumed responsibilities
in the Postel Mills, working under his father and his uncle.
His interest in the milling business, and his ability to perform
well the duties assigned to him,- enabled him soon to become
one of the important olEcers in the direction of this great
company.
On the 19th of June, 1916, Mr. Philip Postel was married
to Bessie M. Holnback, a native of Green County, 111., and
the daughter of Charles W. Holnback and Bena Achenbach.
Her father was one of the large land owners in Green County,
but retired many years ago (191 j) to Signal Hill, near East
St. Louis, 111., where he bought a residence and other prop-
erty. In 1919 he moved to Hollywood, California where he
lived until his death on March 19th, 1926. Mrs. Postel was
one of the three children of Charles and Mrs. Holnback. She
received a good education, a product of the Illinois Womans
College at Jacksonville, III. She is the mother of three child-
Fiie Hundred and Thirty-One
ALLEN T. SPIVEY
ren — Frances H., born August i8th, 1917, Philip H. (de-
ceased) born September 30th, 1922, and Charles W., born
July 13th, 1926.
In 1921 Mr. Postel was made president of the Philip H.
Postel Milling Company, a position which he holds today.
He is a Mason, enjoys auto driving and bowling for recrea-
tiorv, and values his friends.
ALLEN T. SPIVEY
<-/^ EGINNING his business career as a printer m a small
Ij town, at a salary of two dollars a week, Mr. Allen T.
Spivey of East St. Louis, by meritorious effort, native
ingenuity, hard work and honest dealing, has advanced to the
rank of one of the leading editors in Illinois and one of the
most successful and wealthiest business men in the southern
part of the State. He is the son of Thomas J. and Sally Ann
Spivey and was born on a farm in Bollsville Township, seven
miles west of Shawneetown, Illinois on April 5, 1875. His
mother died when he was a little over four years of age and
his father died in February 1897. The formal education of
Allen Spivey consisted of an elementary schooling, a three-
year course at Shawneetown High School and the completion
of a course at the Evansville Commercial College. In Septem-
ber iSgi he began his business career as a printer for the
Gallatin Democrat, published in Shawneetown, and for the
PHILIP H. POSTEL
first year received two dollars per week, working ten hours
per day. During the next few years he worked for the various
newspapers in the surrounding district, receiving a valuable
training which has aided him immensely in his career.
In 1901, he had his first political experience, being elected
city treasurer of Shawneetown. In November of that year he
established the third weekly newspaper in his home city,
called the Shawneetown Gleaner, which he consolidated with
the Shawnee News and developed it into one of the most
successful and influential Republican newspapers in southern
Illinois. This event was the beginning of his activity in Re-
publican politics. He served as Postmaster at Shawneetown
for two terms.
January 18, 191 5, Mr. Spivey moved to East St. Louis and
established the Spivey Printing Company and the East St.
Louis Tribune, a weekly newspaper. On February i, 1918,
he purchased the East St. Louis Journal, now a prosperous
and widely-read daily.
Mr. Spivey has taken a prominent part in politics. He has
been superintendent of the Finance Department, Assistant
Commerce Commissioner and a member of the Illinois Tax
Commission. During the twelve years that he has been in
business in East St. Louis, he has made a great fortune, he
owns considerable real estate and in 1927 completed the first
Fne Hundred and Thirty-Two
MC KENDREE
twelve-story office building m East St. Louis. He is prominent
m banking circles, being a stockholder and director ot the
Union Trust Bank and owning stock in the First National
Bank.
On Christmas Day, m iqoi, Mr. Spivey was married to
Mary O'Neal Wright of McLeansboro, Illinois. Two chil-
dren were born to them, Mittase Wright Spivey, born Sep-
tember ID, 1902, and Allen Thomas, Jr., born October 2,
iQii, and died in East St. Louis on August 11, 1920. The
mother died March 2, 1922 and Mr. Spivey was married to
Miss Carrie Briedy in the spring of 192J. She was born in
New Orleans on January 6, 1896 and was the daughter ot
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Briedy. On August 7, 1927, a daugh-
ter, Elizabeth Ann, was born to them.
The activities of Mr. Spivey are by no means confined to
his newspaper and politics. He has always been active in the
work of his church. More space is given to church news m
the East St. Louis Daily Journal today than in any other
Illinois newspaper. In directing the policy of his paper, Mr.
Spivey has been fearless m his stand for that which he con-
sidered to be clean, moral and right, not with a negative will
to avoid what was wrong, but with a positive determination
to uphold that which is right. An active member of news-
paper associations, he is now president of the Republican
Editorial Association of Illinois, and is associated with other
editorial organizations. He is a 32nd Degree Mason, a Modern
Woodman, an Elk, a Rotarian and a member of the Missouri
Athletic Association and St. Clair Country Club.
ROBERT D. W. HOLDER
QOW AT THE age of eighty (1927), the Hon. Robt.
D. W. Holder, of Belleville, is still an active member
of the Illinois Bar, and carries on his legal practice
with much of the energy of former days. Mr. Holder's life
has been one of hardship and struggle, from boyhood, to
secure an education and to establish his practice as a law-
yer. He is a native of Jefferson County, 111., born on Feb.
22nd, 1847. His parents — Willis and Fariba Cook Holder —
came to Illinois from Tennessee in the early settlement days.
The father had been born in Georgia, and was but ten years
of age when his parents moved to Tennessee. When war
with Mexico threatened, he enlisted for service, at Mt.
Vernon, 111., was made a Second Lieutenant, departed with
his company for Mexico, where he died the following year
(1848), a victim of camp fever. Robert was then less than
a year old, and his mother and the seven children were
left to manage the 200 acre farm as best they could. She
received a pension of eight dollars a month from the govern'
ment, and this, with what additional income the fimily
could receive trom the farm, enabled them to improve their
land and, later, to pay off all indebtedness .igainst it. The
family remained on this farm until 1857, when Mrs. Holder
married again, to Levi Sh.irp, of Mascoutah, and soon after-
wards moved to this town. Here Robert had an opportunity
to attend the public school, continuing his studies until he
was fifteen, when he began working {"or his stepfather, haul-
ing flour from Mascoutah to Belleville and to St. Louis.
After several years at this work, he secured employment
on <i farm, worked and saved all he could until he was
twenty-one, when he entered McKendree College to re-
sume his studies in preparation for the calling for which
he had long desired to prepare himself At the end of a
year, his savings exhausted, he was compelled to leave col-
lege in order to secure means for further educition, and
after teaching for three years, he was able to enter the Law
School of Michigan University, in 1S72. He remained here
for two years, graduating in 1874. During the three years
which he had spent m teaching, he had studied law at home,
and in the office of Judge White, of Carlyle, Illinois, and later
under the direction of the Hon. F. A. Lietze, of Carlyle, 111.
After his graduation, he again entered the teaching ranks for
one year, in a school south of Mascoutah, known as the Barth
School, and the next year opened a law office in Mascoutah.
Here he conducted a practice for two years, during which
time he held the offices of Town Clerk and of City Attorney,
and in March cf 1877, came to Belleville. Until 1880 he
was employed by the law firm of James M. Hay and Chas.
E. Knispel (both now deceased^ when he was elected to
the office of State's Attorney, and reelected m 1884. In 1882
he formed a partnership with Mr. L. D. Turner, a former
classmate in McKendree College. Between them a warm
friendship had grown while they were students together,
and this friendship continued until the death of Mr. Turner,
in April, 1918. The law partnership was unbroken during
all this time except for the six years, from 190 j to 1909,
when Mr. Holder held the office of Circuit Judge. From
1900 to 1902 he served as Master m Chancery, which office
was also once filled by his law partner.
After the death of Mr. Turner, his son, Lucius D. Turner,
Jr., became Mr. Holder's law partner, and they now operate
under the name of Turner and Holder. A biography of Mr.
Turner and his father will be found within the pages of
this history.
Soon after establishing his practice in Belleville, Mr.
Holder was married, on Aug. 23,rd, 1877, to Miss Anna
Five Hundred and Thirty-Three
MC KENDREE^^^^^^^^g....^^^^^^
ROBERT D. \V. HOLDER
E. Barth, a young lady from Mascoutah, where she was
born on Nov. ist, iS^-;, and where she was reared and edu'
cated. One daughter, Jessie May, was born to them, on
Oct. ist, 1878. She IS now the wife of Mr. T. J. Connell,
passenger agent for the St. Louis Division of the Southern
Railway System.
Mr. Holder, through a long career of close and careful
attention to business, has accumulated some of the material
benefits of life; he owns a splendid residence in Belleville,
as well as some farm land and other property. He is a mem-
ber of the Elks and of the K. of P; also of both State and
local Bar Associations. Both he and his good wife are in
the best of health.
JOHN MARSH.ML KARNS
IN THE SPRING of 1912 there graduated from McKendree
College a number of students who ranked among the
most talented and brilliant of those who had attended
the old school. John Marshall Karns, one of East St. Louis'
able lawyers, was the valedictorian of this graduating group.
He was born in the country, near Eldorado, Illinois, on
October 12th, 1889, the youngest of the six children of John
L. and Elizabeth F. Karns. The former is still living; the
mother died in 1917. His early education was secured in the
country school, near his home, after which he entered Ewing
Academy, completed its course in 1908, and in 1909 enrolled
in McKendree, from which he received his A. B. degree
three years later. From 191 2 to 1914 he was principal of the
Township High School, first at Pinckneyville, and afterwards
at Oblong, Illinois. For one year he was a student in the
Georgetown University Law School of Washington, D. C,
and in the fall of 1916, he was chosen as one of the "stump
speakers" advocating the election of Woodrow Wilson. Soon
after the death of his mother, in the spring of 1917, he en'
listed for service in the World War, and remained in the
service until the end of the war. In 1919 he resumed his law
studies in Georgetown University, graduating in 1921 with
the degree of LL. B., and ranked among the ten highest in
the class of 213 law graduates. When the law student body,
consisting of 1129 students, presented to the university a
memorial to the memory of their classmates, who had died
in the service, Mr. Karns delivered, before the entire univer-
sity body, the presentation oration.
The year following his graduation, Mr. Karns was a mem-
ber of the legal staff of the Federal Prohibition Commissioner
at Washington, D. C. He returned to his native city in 1922,
and opened a law office, and also served as City Attorney of
Eldorado, until 1925, when he came to East St. Louis, and
became a member of the law firm of Karns and Flanders, with
offices in the Metropolitan Building.
Attorney Karns is a member of the East St. Louis, the
Illinois, and the American Bar Association; of the American
Legion, and of the Forty and Eight; of the Phi Alpha Delta
Legal Fraternity; of the Eldorado Country Club; of the Lions
Club, the Elks, and the Masonic Order — a 32nd degree
Mason and a Shriner. In McKendree he belonged to Plato,
and in Georgetown University he was president of his senior
class, was a member of various law clubs and debating socie-
ties, and of the Illinois Society in the District of Columbia.
Mrs. Karns, formerly Alice G. Cape, to whom he was
married December 28th, 1923, was an Eldorado girl, the
daughter of F. F. and Charlotte Cape. She is a graduate of
the Eldorado High School and of the Southern Illinois Nor-
mal, and taught school before her marriage. She is a member
of the Eldorado Woman's Club, and of several teachers
organizations, and also of the Baptist Church. Mr. Karns is
affiliated with the Methodist denomination.
Fur Hundred and Th\nyFouT
-cs^^^^^^^^^MC^KENDREE
LOUIS J. DYROFF
ONE OF THE wealthiest and most influential men m the
county is Louis J. DyrofF, a real estate dealer at Dupo,
111. His father, Louis DyrofF, was a hard-working,
far-sighted German farmer, who before retiring from active
labor, succeeded in amassing a large fortune in land near
Dupo. He foresaw a great future for this part of the county.
The father was born in Germany, at Hessendarmstadt, on
February 2jrd, 1843, and was brought to this country by
his parents in 1848. The family settled on a farm in St. Clair
County, where the father soon acquired a large estate, and
here the son spent his childhood, attending the public school,
learning the art of farming, and in turn becoming a successful
farmer. He was married to Katherine Harres, who became
the mother of six children — four girls and two boys.
Louis J. Dyroff, one of their two sons, was born on the
farm in Sugar Loaf Township, on August 17th, 1872. He
He was sent to the public school and afterwards to the
high school at Columbia, 111., and this was followed with
a course in the Perkins &? Herpel Business College. His
schooling finished, he went back to his father's farm and
worked here until 1898, when he began farming for himself.
Ten years later he sold some of his land to the Railroad
Company and invested in other farm land in Monroe Coun
ty. In 1914 he was appointed Postmaster of Dupo, and held
this position until 1923; but in the meantime he had made
a venture in the general merchandise business, m 191 5, and
managed this until 1925, when he sold the business. For
many years he had been dealing in real estate, and after
selling out his store, he devoted his time more fully to this
interest, and even now makes the real estate business his
chief concern.
Perhaps no one has taken more interest in the civic affairs
of his town than has Mr. Dyroff. Back in 1906, when he
was yet in early middle life, Mr. Dyroff was elected the
first president of the Dupo Village Board, and even before
this time he began serving on the School Board, of which
he is still a member. For many years he held the position
of Town Collector, and also that of Police Magistrate. He
organized the first Light ii Power Company in Dupo, and
sold this to the Illinois Light 6? Power Corporation in 1922.
He assisted in the organization of the Dupo Building feP
Loan Association, was made its first president, and is now
vice-president of the same, as well as vice-president of the
Dupo State Savings Bank, which he also helped to establish.
In 1924 Mr. Dyroff was elected to the office of Super-
visor and in the following year was again placed at the
LOUIS J. DYROFF
head of his city government as Mayor. During his admin-
istration, sidewalks have been laid and waterworks have
been installed in the town. He lent his aid to the building
of the new Community High School m Dupo, and serves
at present on its Board of Education. Mr. Dyroff was ap-
pointed a Food Administrator in his locality during the late
war, and served both as Chairman of the Liberty Loan Com-
mittee and as a Committeeman of the State Council of
Defense.
Mr. Dyroff is married and has a family of four children,
all of whom are grown to manhood and womanhood. Mrs.
Dyroff was the daughter of George Doerr and Carohne
Kraus; her marriage to Louis Dyroff was solemnized on the
loth of November, 1898. She came from a family of six
children who were reared on a farm in Sugar Loaf Town-
ship. Her father, a prosperous farmer in this township, and
her mother, have both passed away. The first daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. Louis Dyroff, Hilda E., was born in 1901, on
the 26th of January, and is now the wife of Raymond Dod-
son, a public school principal. Esther A. was born July 7th,
1903, is a graduate of the Illinois State Normal University
and of the University of Illinois. She is engaged in the teach-
ing profession. The first son, Arthur J., who came into their
home on March 15th, 1904, and the youngest, Erwin, born
Five Hundred and ThirtyFixi
IMC KENDREE
DR. H. T. BECHTOLD
on January 25th, four yeiirs later, are both attending the
James Millikin University in this state. Verily they have
reared and educated a goodly family.
As previously stated, Mr. Dyroff is reputed one of the
richest men in his community. He is the owner of more
than three hundred acres of land around Dupo, and besides,
holds valuable land in Texas. But he has always been a
hard worker, a good business man and an efficient manager.
He belongs to the Shriners of the Masonic Order, and, also,
is an Odd Fellow.
DR. H. T. BECHTOLD
SINCE the year 1880, Dr. H. T. Bechtold, one of the
senior physicians in St. Clair County, has been located
in O'Fallon, 111. When he first came to this city, it
had about one thousand inhabitants, and he has lived and
worked and served here, and grown into the life of the city,
until he seems indeed a part of it. The good doctor comes
from a staunch German family. His parents, Fred Bechtold
and Eugenia De Basompiere, were born in Europe, the father
in Meintz, Germany, and the mother in Lige, Belgium, came
to America soon after their marriage, and settled in Belleville.
where they reared and educated their large family of thirteen
children. Only three of these are. now living. Dr. Bechtold's
father died in 1895, and his mother twelve years earlier.
He, whose life's history we will attempt briefly to relate,
was born in Belleville, on Nov. loth, 185J. As a boy he
attended the public schools of his native city, but he quit
school at the age of fourteen and began working in a drug
store in Belleville. In 1S70, two years later, he came to
O'Fallon and took charge of a drug store here as manager,
which was quite a responsible position for a young man of
his age to fill. Soon he began the study of pharmacy in
Washington University, and continued his studies for two
years, after which he worked one year as a drug clerk for
Henry Steingoetter of Belleville, 111. Then he took a position
in a St. Louis drug store, and at the same time continued
his studies in pharmacy, this time in the St. Louis College
of Pharmacy, from which school he was graduated in 1875.
Fifty years afterwards, when that institution was celebrating
its Golden Jubilee, the trustees conferred upon Dr. Bechtold,
and upon the other seven surviving members of that mem-
orable class of 1875, the degree of Master of Pharmacy. To
this class belongs the distinction of organizing the Alumni
Association of the St. Louis College of Pharmacy. There
were, at first, sixteen members in the class.
Mr. Bechtold continued working as a pharmacist until
1877, when he was enrolled to study medicine in the Mis-
souri Medical College, and was graduated three years later.
During this time he acted as assistant to Dr. O. A. Wall in
the Chemistry Department of the medical school. This med-
ical college is now a department of Washington University
in St. Louis. Soon after the completion of his course in
medicine. Dr. Bechtold returned to O'Fallon to begin his
practice, and here he has rendered service as a minister to
the sick and the suffering in his community for nearly half
a century.
Three years after beginning his practice. Dr. Bechtold
was married, on Sept. 3rd, 1883, to Miss Kate Pfeffer, the
daughter of a prominent family in Lebanon, 111., who was
born Mar. 4th, i860, and who lived as a faithful companion
to her husband until her death on Dec. 8th, 1904. Later the
doctor married Mrs. Ella Merk Bechtold, the widow of his
brother, Adolph Bechtold, for the sake of whose memory,
and because of a sacred sense of obligation to assume the
responsibilities which death prevented his brother in ful-
filling, he obeyed the mandate of the old Hebraic Law which
laid upon a man the charge to care for his brother's widow.
His son, William G. Bechtold, is now a machinist, and lives
in O'Fallon. His daughter is Mrs. Crosby, and lives in Fes-
tus. Mo. Both were given the advantages of a good education
in McKendree College.
F.ie Hundred and Thirtv-Si
In 1906, Dr. Bechtold had an opportunity to take a four
months trip abroad, when he visited the many cities of
England, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, and Switzerland,
among them the native cities of his father and mother.
Mr Bechtold has contributed greatly to the civic and
educational interests of his city. For twenty-five years he
served as president of the O'Fallon Board of Education, and
was, for a time, one of the trustees of McKendree College.
He helped to organize the First National Bank of O'Fallon,
and has been the second vice-president of this bank for
many years. When he began his practice here, he often
found It necessary to go from eight to ten miles out of the
city to minister to the suffering. Beginning his working car-
eer with practically nothing, the doctor has been enabled,
by careful business management, to accumulate some wealth.
He owns city property, a very nice residence, and also some
farm land.
Dr. Bechtold is a thirty-second degree Knight Templar
and Shriner in the Mason fraternity.
LOUIS LANDAU
ONE OF St. Louis" successful and contented merchants
is Louis Landau, a wholesale grocer, who operates a
thriving business at 407-409 South Seventh St.,
known as the Landau Grocery Co., and who controls branch
grocery stores in Belleville, 111. and in Alton. Mr. Landau
resides at 5231 Washington Blvd.; here he owns a fine home,
and here he spends the greater portion of his time which is
not consumed with business duties.
Mr. Landau's father came to this country in 1854, from
Posen, Germany, and after six years, settled in Lebanon,
111., where he started in the general merchandise business.
In 1872 he sold this business and moved to St. Louis where
he established a hide and fur house, and took his son, Louis,
into the business with him as a partner, incorporating under
the name of Landau 6? Son. The father died in i88j, but
Louis continued to manage the enterprise for a while, and
then sold out to his brother, Alexander Landau, and ven-
tured into the wholesale grocery business as a partner with
Mr. Bodenheimer. He bought out his partner in 1897, 2nd
ran the business under his own name until 1904, when he
organized the Landau Grocery Co. Mr. Landau has five sons
old enough to take an interest in their father's prosperous
enterprise. The company has had an encouraging growth, so
that in 1916 Mr. Landau was enabled to extend his business
to nearby cities, and then he organized the Landau Grocery
Branch Houses in Belleville and Alton.
LOUIS LANDAU
Before establishing himself m business, Mr. Landau se-
cured a common school education, and entered McKendree
College. But he was not permitted to complete his college
education; he had to quit school and go to work. Even with
this apparent handicap, he has been unusually successful.
He has exercised sound judgment in his business manage-
ment, and has proved himself a man of rare business acumen.
Their were five children in his father's home, and at that
time, industry, frugality, and hard work were necessary to
success. Mr. Louis Landau was endowed with all these qual-
ities, which have made him successful in the business world,
and enabled him to accumulate a substantial fortune. He is
now one of St. Louis' senior business men, but he is still
actively engaged in directing the affairs of the company,
and although his sons have assumed the general management
of the business, their father takes upon himself the respon-
sibility for most of the buying. In 1922 Mr. Landau cele-
brated his fiftieth year in business. Five years have passed
since then, and it would appear that he shall continue to
take an active interest jn his stores for many years to come.
He enjoys two of the greatest blessings which business men
of his age covet — plenty of money and good health. But
above this, his greatest satisfaction is derived from his seven
grand-children, of whom he is very proud. He secures much
Five Hundred and ThmySei'e
IMC KENDREET^^^^^zs^:^.....^...^-^
CHARLES A. NIEMEYER
enjoyment from his home life, and from his happy associa-
tions with his children and grandchildren.
In 1914, Mr. Landau moved his business to the building
on South Seventh Street, and he has continued to operate
his store here up to the present time. He is a member of
the Masonic Order, and of the Chamber of Commerce of
St. Louis.
CHARLES A. NIEMEYER
SUBSTANTIAL cxpansion of his business interests places
Charles A. Niemeyer in control of extensive enter-
prises, and investigation into his record shows that
the business policy he has followed has ever commended
him to the generous support of the public and to the con-
fidence of his colleagues and contemporaries.
Charles A. Niemeyer was born in Lebanon, Illinois, De-
cember 14, 1873, and received his elementary and high school
training in his native city. In 1887 and '88, he attended
McKendree College, and following this, his name appeared
upon the roils of the St. Louis College of Pharmacy, from
which he was graduated in 1893.
Upon completing his formal education, Mr. Niemeyer
turned his attention to the building of a business career,
fully representative of his abilities and ambitions. He entered
the drug business of Herman Pockels, remaining until 1897,
when he branched out for himself, forming the Niemeyer
Drug a Paint Company, of which he is president. In 1899,
he also became president of the Vane-Calvert Paint Com-
pany. In 1901, the Vane-Calvert Paint Company absorbed
the Buehler-Phelan Paint Company and in 1904 they ab-
sorbed the Wieder Paint Company. Mr. Niemeyer is also
treasurer of the Eberson-Lindsley Paint Company, secretary
of the Warner- Jenkinson Mfg. Company and a director in
the First National Bank of St. Louis.
On April 15, 1905, Charles Niemeyer was married to
Julia A. Dieckman, a St. Louisan by birth. Mrs. Niemeyer
is a graduate of Mary Institute. They now have one child-
born on February 28, 191 1 — Elizabeth by name, who, at the
present, is attending Mary Institute. The Niemeyer fam-
ily is very fond of travelling. Their recent European tour
unfolded to them the beauties and the historical scenes of
England, France, Belgium, Holland, Italy, and Germany. In
addition, many of their summer vacations are spent touring
by motor car through various parts of the U. S.
While the career of Mr. Niemeyer is pre-eminently that
of a successful business man, and while he devotes the
greater part of his time to the advancement of his business
interests, he, nevertheless, has not neglected his associations
with his fellowmen, well realizing the value of friendship,
of social pleasures and of intellectual progress. As a result,
he has been president of the Paint, Oil and Varnish Club,
is a member of the Missouri Historical Society, the Sunset
Country Club and the Missouri Pharmaceutical Society.
Thus, through careful attention to business details,
through hard labor, Mr. Niemeyer is now recognized as
the leader of the paint and varnish business of the Middle
West.
DON TURNER
'HE SUBJECT of this biography, Don Turner, Jr.,
belongs to the third generation of one of St. Clair
County's most prominent families. His father, the
Hon. Lucius Don Turner, held, for more than forty years,
a conspicuous place in the political, social and business life
of Belleville, and in fact, of the whole county. The grand-
father of our subject, a native of Virginia, migrated to Illi-
nois in 1830. Lucius D. Turner was born on a farm near
Freeburg, Oct. 5th, 1849. His education was secured in the
public schools of his community, in McKendree College,
Washington University, and at the University of Michigan,
where he graduated from the Law School in 1873. After
graduating, he located in Belleville, where he conducted his
legal practice alone, until 1885, when he formed, with Judge
R. D. W. Holder, a partnership which lasted until Mr.
?wt Hundrea and Thirt>'£ight
Turner's death in 1918, on the 2qth of April. He was for
many years a director of the Belleville Savings Bank, Master
in Chancery, and a member of the Southern Illinois Pub-
lishing Company, which directed the publication, for some
time, of the News-Democrat and the Belleviller Zeitung. He
rendered service to his city as an Alderman, and to the
county as chairman of the Board of Supervisors, and as a
member of the Liederkranz, the Kronthal-Liedertafel, the
Philharmonics, and of the Methodist Church, he made a
definite contribution to the social and religious life of the
community. He and his good wife, Josephine Eckert Turner,
reared a family of five children — Waldo, Don, Jr., Zilphia,
Josephine, and Mary. The mother was born at Waterloo,
Monroe County, Nov. 14th, 185 1, and was married to Mr.
Turner in 1875. Her father, Leonard Eckert, was for a time
the Sheriff of Monroe County. The following is a paragraph
from the beautiful tribute adopted by the Belleville Civic
League (of which she was a member) shortly after her death
on Sept. 21, 1914: "Hers was a hfe full of labor and self-
denial for her family. She was scrupulously mindful of her
obligations as a wife and mother, and permitted nothing
to interfere with the faithful discharge of her duties as she
saw them."
Of such honored parents, Don Turner, Jr. was born on
March i8th, 1879, in the city of Belleville. After completing
the public school courses, he attended the Smith Academy,
a department of Washington University, and the Law School
of Columbia University, New York City, from which he
was graduated in 1901. He began his law practice in East
St. Louis, in an oiEce with William Forman and Judge D.
M. Browning, where he remained until 1904, when he came
to Belleville. Here he practiced alone for fifteen years. Li
1919 he became a member of the firm Turner and Holder,
taking the place left vacant by his father's death.
On Dec. 19th, 1904, he was married to Alice Tittman,
the daughter of E. C. Tittman, a prominent attorney of St.
Louis, Missouri. Two children have been born to them —
Marie Josephine, on Nov. i8th, 1906; and L. Don, Jr., on
March 12th, 1911. The daughter is a student in Washington
University, and the Vice-President of her class.
Mr. Turner helped to organize the Belleville Chamber of
Commerce, and was for many years a director in this body.
Through his influence, and by his efforts through legal cor-
respondence, largely, an option was secured for the location
of Scott Field, the government aviation ground near Belle-
ville. He helped in directing the Belleville House Building
Association, and is a director of the Belleville Industrial
DON TURNER
Loan Co., for which he acts as attorney. He has served as
the secretary and treasurer of the following companies : The
Belleville Gas i^ Electric Co., the Muskogee Electric 5? Gas
Co , the Ada (Okla.) Gas and Electric Co.; and was the
secretary of the Enid Gas &? Electric Co., and of the Cen-
tralia Gas Company. But with all the duties required of Mr.
Turner from these many positions, he found time to devote
to his general law practice. He held, for two terms, the
olEce of Master in Chancery, which position his honored
father filled for a number of years. He is a director of the
Home Building &? Loan Association of Belleville, and Vice-
president and director of the Belleville Savings Bank.
MALCOLM PERCEVAL ANDREWS, M. D.
H GREAT DEAL OF coutage, hard work, fearlessness and
perseverance have won success for Dr. Andrews, now
a prosperous physician and surgeon, and specialist of
the eye, ear nose and throat, of Manitowoc, Wisconsin. Dr.
Andrews is an absolutely self-made man. He earned his way
through every one of the many schools that he has attended,
nursed his boyhood ambitions, and finally reached his goal.
Dr. Andrews was born on April i, 1879, in Lebanon, lUi'
nois. He first attended the country school of DeKalb County.
In the town of Lebanon, Dr. Andrews received his elemen'
tary school education. At an early age, when he needed help.
Fire Hundred and rhntyHme
DR- M. P. ANDREWS
encouragement and care, he was stricken by the loss of his
beloved parents. Left to face the world alone, penniless and
heart-broken, the orphan let nothing interfere with his life
plans. He immediately secured work in the shop of Mr. J.
Lysakowski. Some time later, Mrs. H. F. Eicher, a kind lady,
who had five children of her own, became interested in him.
He was invited to accept a place in their home — an invitation
which he eagerly accepted. Since that time. Dr. Andrews
has been a "son" of Mr. and Mrs. Eicher.
With money earned by doing various odd jobs. Dr.
Andrews paid his way through an academic course and three
years of regular collegiate work in McKendree College. At
the college. Dr. Andrews' musical talents — both vocal and
instrumental — were developed under Professor Pesold. He
was a member of the college orchestra, the Plato, quartette,
and the city band. His greatest inspirations were received
from "Mac" Chamberlin and Dr. Fulgham. The training in
mechanics obtained from Mr. J. Lysakowski was of ines-
timable value, later in doing surgery. Encouragement from
the Presbyterian mothers — who were all mothers to him —
and the fine example set by his older brother kept him from
sacrificing his life to manual labor and ignorance. While a
Junior in the college. Dr. Andrews fell a victim to typhoid
fever, a disease that forced him to quit McKendree. Mrs.
Eicher tenderly nursed him to health through his sickness.
He still regrets that he was not able to finish in McKendree.
Dr. Andrews subsequently pursued the two-year course
in English of the Home Correspondence School, of Spring-
field, Massachusetts. Continuing his study, he attended for
two years Marion-Simms-Beaumont School of Medicine of
St. Louis University. In 1905, after completing two years of
study in the Medical Department of the University of Illi-
nois, he received his M. D. degree. He continued his medical
training by studying in Chicago, Rochester and Philadelphia.
Dr. Andrews practiced medicine and surgery from 1905
to 1912 m Abbotsford, Wisconsin. Taking up specialized
work, he practiced in Beloit, Wisconsin, until the beginning
of the World War. He was accepted for service, and served
as Surgeon of the United States Medical Reserve Corps.
After the war, in 1919, he re-located in Manitowac, Wis-
consin, as a specialist, eye, ear, nose and throat surgeon. At
one time he was a local surgeon of the Soo Line Railroad
Company. Besides being a pioneer in the field of the use of the
X-ray and radium in treatment of conditions of the head. Dr.
Andrews was one of the first users and advocates of the use
of Ultra-violet radiation for treatment.
Dr. Andrews holds membership in many societies. He is
a member of the American Academy of Opthalmology, a
life member of the Rochester Surgeons' Club, a member of
the Oto-Opthalmic Society of Milwaukee, Radiological Soci'
ety of North America, American Medical Society, and the
Wisconsin State Medical Society.
While in college. Dr. Andrews was consistent in his
studies, was graduated with high honors. Besides being
skilled in surgery and medicine. Dr. Andrews shows a re-
markable versatility. He is talented in music and plays prac-
tically every instrument — the cornet especially — unusually
well, and besides, he sings in a male quartet and in the choir.
Dr. Andrews is also an athlete of no mean ability. In golf,
he has won the State Championship of the Wisconsin Medi-
cal Society tournament and twice the Club Championship
of Beloit.
In the spring of 1910, Dr. Andrews was united in marriage
with Miss Mabel Belle Downey, a lady of keen business
ability. Their son, Edson James, who is now attending the
academy in Mercersburg, is following in his father's foot-
steps to a remarkable degree. He, too, has a love for surgery.
Edson also has talent in music.
The brother of Dr. Andrews, Charles Page, now at Holt,
Michigan, is a minister of the Presbyterian Church. His bio-
graphical sketch also appears in this history.
Five Hundred and Forty
MC KENDREE
Summing up the life of Dr. Andrews, it may he said that
he succeeded m ahnost anything that he took up. He did not
know the meaning of defeat — he never accepted it. With
his magnetic personaHty, love for work and study, and am-
bition, he paved his way to success.
FRANK DOYLE
QANY OF Ohio's native sons have come to Illinois,
and afterwards have developed into leaders with re-
markable ability in the business and political life of
their adopted state. Mayor Doyle of East St. Louis has en-
joyed such an experience. Both parents, Maurice and Anna
Doyle, came to this country from Ireland. His father was once
a foreman for the Gravison Store Company, of Cincinnati, the
city in which Frank Doyle was born on August 25th, 1876.
Orphaned in early childhood, he was placed in the St. Joseph's
Orphanage, at Cumminsville, Ohio, where he remained until
he was thirteen, when he was taken into a farmer's home, at
Morning View, Ky., as a member of the family. Here he
lived and assisted with the farm duties until he was nineteen,
when he went to Chicago, and secured employment with the
Swift Packing Company, continued with this firm, m Chicago
for nine years, steadily advancing to higher positions, and in
1904 was sent to the Swift Plant m East St. Louis, as one of
the Division Superintendents. This position he held until
191 3, when he severed his connection with the company, and
established a business for himself — The East St. Louis Home
Ice Cream &? Ice Company, at Twentieth and Ridge Streets,
of which company he is still president.
In the meantime, Mr. Doyle had married, on Nov. 14th,
1907, Miss Myrtle Meyers, of East St. Louis, the daughter
of John Meyers and Anna Meyers. Mrs. Doyle was born on
February 19, 1886, and educated at Boonville, Ind. Frank and
Myrtle Doyle have one daughter, Mildred, born on Dec. if,
1910. Mr. Doyle is very fond of his family and, in spite of his
many business and political activities, never neglects his
home life.
On the 5th of April, 1927, Mr. Frank Doyle was elected
Mayor of East St. Louis. This was his first venture into poli-
tics; his interests, previous to this time, had been primarily
in business, to which he had devoted most of his time and
talents. He has been, for some time, a director of the Arctic
Ice Cream Company of St. Louis, of the Granite City Ice
Cream Company, in Granite City, of the Beck-Doyle Extract
Company of East St. Louis, and of the Coca Cola Bottling
Company of St. Louis. In addition to these, he has interests
in other business enterprises.
Frank Doyle's hobby is sports. He enjoys watching athletic
contests of various sorts.
FRANK DOYLE
Mayor ot East St. Louis
Mr. Doyle was trained in the Catholic fiiith, and has re-
mained a member of the Catholic Church. He belongs to that
rather small group of rare individuals, who have overcome the
many handicaps and surmounted the stubborn obstacles of
early life, and by persistent struggle and determination, have
made for themselves remarkable and successful careers. From
an obscure orphanage to the Mayoralty of a great industrial
city, via the packing house route, is an achievement of which
few can boast. It is a hard, rough road over which Mayor
Doyle has traveled. Now that he has been honored with the
highest oflSce which his city can confer upon any of its sub-
jects, with four years ahead of him in which to render service
to that city, he takes his obligations seriously, and desires to
fulfill conscientiously the duties of his oiEce. In his own
words, he "is in love with his city and aims to serve."
HON. WILLIAM N. BALTZ
When a man can run for public office twenty-two times
and can win eighteen such elections, as did Hon. William
N. Baltz, it undoubtedly proves that the people have utmost
confidence and trust in him. Only his efficiency and honesty
while an official could have rewarded him with success, time
and time again. Hon. Baltz, who was born on February 5, i86o>
m Millstadt, Illinois, was a son of Philip and Henrietta
Fire Hundred and Fort\-Oii
<.^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^:^
WILLIAM N. BALTZ
Baltz. He received an education in the schools of his home
city. His love for farming induced his father to purchase the
Glass farm, on which William began his career as a farmer.
By virtue of hard and consistent work, and an increase of
his knowledge of the science of agriculture by close obser-
vation, he brought the farm to a remarkable state of culti-
vation, surpassed by none in the county. He was married
on August 2, 1883, to Katherine Diesel, of Millstadt, who
was born on August 23, 1861. This couple were blessed
with seven children, two of whom are now dead. The living
are: William R., married to Ohria Feurrhan; Frieda, married
to Edward Seib; Russel, married to Ida Mueller; Ottillia
M; and Eugenie.
Hon. Baltz has a fine record as a public official. He has
been on the board of education for many years, and is at
present the president, an office that he has held for five
years. His first position for the city was that of constable.
He did his duty well, and literally cleaned out the rougher
and unnecessary element for his community. He has been
the supervisor of the township for sixteen years, and was
chairman of the board of supervisors for three years. Dur-
ing the same time he has been chairman of the county
board. Hon. Baltz is now serving his third term as mayor
of Millstadt. The efficiency and honesty of his administra-
tions have placed him on a high pedestal in the eyes of the
people of his city.
In 191 2, Hon. Baltz reached one of the highest levels in
his rise. He became the Democratic candidate for Congress
to represent the Twenty-second District of Illinois in the
Sixty-third Congress at the national capital. He was elected
by a huge majority, and was soon exercising his ability as a
debater and a forceful speaker. He won recognition by ex-
pressing his views on a tariff bill, taking an active part in
the discussion with much older and more experienced politi-
cians. Held in high esteem by his colleagues in Congress,
he enjoyed unlimited popularity.
Hon. Baltz has rendered invaluable service to his county
m many ways. Some years ago, his unrelentless drive against
officials who took advantage of the treasury resulted in the
replacement of a sum of $25,000.00. As supervisor, he per-
formed a great service for the tax-payers of St. Clair County.
When Hon. Baltz was the president of the Commercial
Club, he contributed considerably to the building of a hard
road through his town. In business, he is the superintendent
and secretary and treasurer of the Millstadt Milling Com-
pany; as a farmer, he cultivates a two-hundred acre piece of
land; and as a citizen, he is loved by all of Millstadt's citi^
zenry, who greatly appreciate his noble work for them.
GEORGE WIRTH, SR.
<Y^ Y SHEER industry, intelHgence and business ability,
^U Mr. George Wirth, Sr. has risen to the high position
which he now holds, president and general manager
of the Auto Stove Works, a great manufacturing concern
located at New Athens, 111. This plant has a national rep-
utation, manufactures a fine quality of stoves and ranges,
and ships its products to all parts of the United States. It
was established in T906, and is directed by practically the
same stockholders who originally became interested in the
factory. In 1908 Mr. Wirth was made its manager, and two
years later, upon his agreement to devote his full time to
this business, he was chosen its secretary fe? treasurer and
its general manager, and held this office until 1925, when
he was advanced to the position which he now holds. Under
his wise management the company has met with success,
the business has been kept up-to-date, and wide-awake im-
provements and new methods in the manufacturing of stoves
have been introduced. Over two hundred people are em-
ployed in the plant.
Mr. Wirth comes of good German ancestry; both of his
parents were born m Bavaria, came to this land when they
Fne Hundred and Forty-Two
MC KENDREE
were quite young, and finally settled at a place known as
Dutch Hill, in St. Clair County. Here George was born
on the I'jth of July, 1867. Two other children were also
born into the home. George attended school until he was
fifteen, and then went to Lenzburg, where he learned the
harness making business, worked here for four years, and
went to St. Louis, working in the same business for five
years more. In 1891 he went to New Athens, established
a harness manufacturing business and operated the same
until 191 1, when he sold out the business in order to give
his entire time to the Auto Stove Works.
Mr. George Wirth is married and has three children —
two boys and one girl. Mrs. Wirth is the daughter of Adam
Metzler and Mary Perchbacher, to whom were born three
other children besides Louisa (^Mrs. Wirth). The oldest child
of Mr. and Mrs. George Wirth is George Wirth, Jr., and
was born December ist, i8qi. He is the third Wirth m
the direct line of descent to bear the name of George, since
his grandfather was also called George Wirth. A sketch of
George Wirth, Jr. will be found on another page of this
county history. Minnie, the second child of George Wirth,
Sr., IS now the wife of Edward Schmelzel; she was born on
April 3rd, 1895. Edgar O., the youngest child, was born on
the 8th day of June, 190'i.
George Wirth, Sr. was eighteen years of age when he
lost his father by death in iSSf, on the loth of July. But
long ere this time he had learned to work hard and to apply
himself diHgently to whatever task his hands found to do.
Starting out as a young man with practically nothing, he
has not only risen to a place of prominence in the industrial
life of his county, but he has acquired some property, and
is now able to enjoy the comforts of life to which his con-
stant labors through many years now entitle him. He owns
a fine residence in New Athens. In many ways he has shown
an interest in his community in its religious and commer-
cial life. He is a member of the Evangelical Church and for
ten years has been a past elder in this denomination. He
IS interested in the State Bank of his city, of which he is
the vice-president, and was one of the organizers of the
local Mechanics Building and Loan Association in 1904,
has been a director in this association ever since it was
organized, and the secretary of the same for five years.
During the years 1903 and 1904, he held the o&ce of pres-
ident of the Town Board in New Athens. Mr. Wirth is
an Odd Fellow and votes the Republican ticket.
GEORGE WIRTH, SR,
HERMAN E, SPITZNASS, JR.
The life history of the subject of this sketch centers around
the farm where he still lives. His life, which he has spent so
quietly, was not marked with anything sensational or bois-
terous, but with hard, conscientious work that has made him
a credit to the community. He was born on a farm near
Belleville, on March 5, 1914, a son of Herman Spitznass, a
native of Germany, who came to this country when only
eleven years of age, grew into manhood, married Rachel
Funk, by whom there was one child. At the death of this
lady he married her sister, Mary, by which union there
were nine children, one of whom is the subject of this sketch.
Mr. Spitznass received his education in the public schools.
After graduation he took up employment with his hither,
and worked for him until his retirement m 1916, when the
farm was placed under the supervision of him and his two
brothers, Theodore and Ervin. Ervm served in the army
and died while in Camp Custer, on Oct. 5, 1918. In 1924
the two brothers bought the farm, which covers some two
hundred and four acres, and have been raising crops on it
ever since.
Mr. Spitznass was married to Minnie K. Stolle, on March
5, 1914. She has proven herself to be a fine companion of her
husband, always giving encouragement, and helping him in
' Hundred and Ff>rt\-Tliree
ARTHUR EIDMAN
time of need. This couple have made a specialty of dairying.
For the past twenty-four years they have delivered dairy
products in Belleville, and since 1920 their business has
grown to such an extent that they began to sell their prod-
ucts wholesale only. The hobby of the subject of this sketch
is work. His hands are always occupied with some portion
of his business. He is a popular man, holding the respect and
friendship of all who know him.
ARTHUR EIDMAN
BEW MEN in Belleville have so many things to do, so
many things to take care of, as has Arthur Eidman, a
man whose recreation is truly work. He was born on
July 14, 1880, in Belleville. After graduating from Belleville
High, he studied in the Bryant and Stratton Commercial Col-
lege, of St. Louis. Upon graduation, he worked in the employ-
ment of his father, and spent five years as a travelling sales-
man. In 1903, Mr. Eidman was employed as head bookkeeper
and assistant-teller of the Belleville Savings Bank. He was
made assistant-cashier in 191 j. His banking ability prompted
him to resign in 1919, in order to organize the St. Clair Nat'l
Bank, in which he now holds the position of cashier and the
office of director.
Mr. Eidman is a member, and the past vice-president, of
the Chamber of Commerce. He was a commander of the
Knight Templars, is the present president of the Community
Service, on the executive board of the Boy Scouts. He served
on the Belleville school board, as president, from 1923 to
1926. The subject of this sketch is president of the Travellers'
Protective Association. To him must be given the credit for
the organization of the Rotary Club in his city. At that time
he was elected secretary, but his ability to lead placed him in
the presidency five years later. He takes an active interest in
the Elks, an organization of which he is a member. In the
Masonic Order he has had practically everything in both the
Scottish and York Rite, and is also a Shriner. During the
World War he did his full share. As a four-minute man he
gave burning, patriotic speeches that inspired. He took part
in practically every Liberty Bond drive, and he was chair-
man of several.
When yet a young man, Mr. Eidman felt the somewhat
depressing spirits of bachelorhood. Therefore, after a beau-
tiful courtship, he was united in marriage on Jan. 30, 190";,
with Artie Berry Orear, of Kansas City, Mo. The couple
have two children. These are: Mary Ann, born on July 19,
1908, who is now a Junior in the University of Illinois; and
Arthur Orear, born on February 2, 191 3, a splendid young
fellow who is a "chip off the old block."
In the past years of his life, Mr. Eidman has travelled many
miles, both for business and recreational purposes. These trips
have been responsible for his broad-minded view of life. As a
banker, he is known to be a "square-shooter," always straight-
forward and honest in his business dealings, courteous, and
ever willing to oblige without asking anything in return.
During McKendree College's drive for funds, Mr. Eidman
was chairman of the Belleville district. Although he has
achieved success from a financial stand-point, this has been
extended to everything that he ever cared to take a hand
in. There are few citizens in Belleville who have contributed
more to her success than Arthur Eidman.
CHAS. C. AHRENS
In the historic town of Lebanon, 111., the present sheriff
of St. Clair County, Chas. C. Ahrens, was born on the 9th
of December, 1875. He was but eleven years of age when
his father died at O'Fallon, to which city the family had
moved in 1882. He quit school at the age of fourteen to
begin work in the mines. Shortly before this time he worked
Five Hundred and Forty-Four
for a while on the form of S. C. Smiley, near O'Fallon. Many
years were spent in the mines ,ind here he gained a thorough
knowledge of the coal industry, and gradually worked his
way up to a better position, hi 1916 Governor Deneen ap-
pointed him State Humane Officer, with his station on the
Eads Bridge, in E. St. Louis. This office he held for four
years, and then went hack into the mines for a time. In igio
he was m.ide deputy sheriff under Ed. Petri, and was reap-
pointed to this office when Mr. Schnipper became sheriff, and
served m this capacity until 1926, when he was elected, by
a large majority, sheriff of the county.
Mr. Ahrens is the father of three children. His wife,
Victoria (Russell) Ahrens, was an O'Fallon lady, born on
Feb. 17, 1876, at Arcadia, Mo., and was married to Mr.
Ahrens on Nov. 28, when she was twenty years old. Vir-
ginia M., their oldest, died at the age of twenty-one. She was
then the wife of Ernest Bernhardt. Their older son, Maurice
R., IS a college graduate and has his home in Denver, Colo-
rado, where he is employed as a salesman. Floyd C. is their
younger son; he is now attending the Belleville Township
High School.
Mr. Ahrens has rendered much service to O'Fallon. He
has served for three terms as city treasurer, and as alderman
for two terms; he was the secretary of the township high
school board for four years, and of the city school board for
an equal period; and for two years he was tax collector m
O'Fallon Township. The miners" union selected him for their
secretary and treasurer, which office he held for four years.
For two years he was the secretary of the Masonic Lodge
m O'Fallon. He is a Shriner in this lodge, and belongs also
to the Eagles and to the Redman Lodge.
FREDERICK E. MERRILLS
B REDBRICK E. Merrills, one of Belleville's successful
attorneys, was born in this same city on January 14,
1889, a son of Fred B. and Virginia Badgley Merrills.
Frederick has two brothers, Marshall C. and Wayne, and one
sister, Virginia. One of the early ancestors of this family was
John Merrills, who came to America from England in 1640
and settled first m Newport, Massachusetts, and later in
New Town, Connecticut. After the Revolutionary War the
Merrills family came to St. Clair County, and here Sylvester
Merrills was made county superintendent of schools — one
of the very first in this section of the state.
FREDERICK E. MERRILLS
The subject of this sketch, after attending the grade and
the high school in Belleville, studied in a private academy m
St. Louis and was graduated in 1907. Four years later he
received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard University,
and in 191 2, a Master's Degree from the University ot Illi-
nois. Since 191 3, the year he was admitted to the bar, Mr.
Merrills has been practicing law.
On August 14, 191^, he was married to Mary E. Turner,
a native of Belleville. Mrs. Merrills was born on January 9,
1890, was graduated from the local public schools, and, in
1909, from Mary Institute, of St. Louis. Mr. and Mrs. Mer-
rills have two children — Mary J., born on April 6, 1917,
and Virginia T., born on February 10, 1920.
Mr. Merrills is an Elk, and a Knight Templar in the
Masonic Order. He is also a member of the Optimist Club,
the University Club, the Harvard Club, and the St. Clair
Country Club, having been president of the latter in 1924.
He furthermore takes an active interest m the educational
activities of his community, being at present the secretary
of the board of education ot the township high school.
Five Hundred and Forty-Five
-CSI^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^g^^S^
^SOHE FA(
I7 1 has beer
GEORGE C. LINDEMANN
GEORGE C. LINDEMANN
».CT that George Christian Lindemann,
been the president of the Dupo State Savings
Bank for the past fifteen years easily proves that
he is the acme of efficiency and honesty. The people
of this city have had much confidence in his integrity in the
past, and will undoubtedly continue to hold him in high
esteem in years to come. Mr. Lindemann was ushered into
the world on March 10, 1877. He was born in Dupo, Sugar
Loaf County, and was the son of Conrad and Catherine
Lindemann — parents who carefully moulded his character.
The elementary school training of this sketch was acquired
in the grade school of Columbia, Illinois; a few years later
he attended the Perkins and Herpel College, situated in the
city of St. Louis. For the next twelve years, after his school
work was completed, he did office work. In 1905 he came to
Dupo and started in the real estate and insurance business,
in which he is still interested.
In the winter of 1906, December 6, Mr. Lindemann was
united in the holy bonds of matrimony with Laura M. Dyroff.
She was born on February 20, 1884, in the Sugar Loaf Town-
ship. This lady, who was a daughter of Louis Dyroff, is a
splendid woman who has won the respect and admiration
of not only her husband but of all who know her.
It was in 191 5 that Mr Lindemann organized the Dupo
State Savings Bank, capitalized at $25,000.00. He was imme-
diately made president of the institution, and has held this
office ever since. His business activities are not limited to
banking only, for his abilities have been recognized to such
an extent that he has been appointed the treasurer and a
director of the Dupo Building and Loan Association, an
organization that has made possible the building of many
homes by the people of Dupo. He laid out the Lindemann
first sub'division of one hundred and thirteen acres, which
was part of the old homestead, and on which Dupo's prin-
cipal business houses now stand. For three years he has also
been engaged as levee commissioner. Along educational lines
Mr. Lindemann has rendered invaluable service to his com-
munity. He has acted in the capacity of school treasurer for
five districts for a period of years extending from 191 4. He
has also held the same office over the Dupo Community
High School.
Although he is occupied with his regular work during
the greater part of his time, the subject of this sketch takes
an interest in the social side of life. He is a Shriner in the
Masonic Order, an Odd Fellow, and a member of the Order
of the Eastern Star. Mr. Lindemann has travelled many miles
in his lifetime, chiefly for recreation. This travelling has
helped him materially and intellectually in many ways. His
best loved outdoor sport is golf, at which he plays games
with a low score. He also finds much pleasure in hunting
and fishing. Mr. Lindemann's life has certainly exhibited
the qualities of a sturdy, vibrating manhood, which is cer-
tainly the result of the careful training on the part of his
parents, and his own personal ambitions.
ANHEUSER AND RUTH
HN IDEAL partnership is that of John L. Anheuser
and R. R. Ruth, who are dealers for the Chevrolet,
Pontiac, and Oakland cars, and who conduct a busi-
ness in automobile supplies. Both were born in Summerfield,
111., and both, after attending the public school in their home
town, took a course in the Rehe Mechanical School of Kansas
City, Mo. Afterwards both worked for Oliver C. Joseph,
an automobile dealer in O'Fallon.
Mr. J. L. Anheuser was born December 19th, 1899, a''"l
secured a high school education before entering the Rehe
School. From the age of sixteen he has been greatly inter-
ested in the automobile industry, and is surely one of the
best informed men on this business in this section of the
county. His marriage to Miss Lorene A. Daniel was solem-
nized September 14th, 1921, and one girl, Dorris M., was
Five Hundred and FortyS\x
born to them on M.irch 26th, 1924. Mr. Anheuser has been
quite .1 successful business man for one of his age. He has
been elected president of the O'Fallon Business Men's Asso-
ciation, belongs to the K. of C, and is a member of the
local Rotary Club.
Mr. Ruth was born on the first day of February, iSSS.
In iQiq he began a battery manufacturing business under
the name of the Rainbow Manufacturing Co., at 1422 Pine
Street. St. Louis, but sold this business in 192},, and came
to O'Fallon to devote all of his time to the enterprise he
had organized with Mr. Anheuser m 1919. He was married
to Louisa M. Daggit on March loth, 191 1. and is now the
father of two children — Dorris K. and Virginia R. Besides
his interests in the auto business, Mr. Ruth also has interests
in the Quality Dairy Products Co., of his city. He is a mem-
ber of the Methodist Church, a Mason, and a member of the
local Business Men's Association. Hunting is his hobby.
Messrs. Anheuser and Ruth are doing a large business m
O'Fallon and m adjoining territory. They do all kinds of auto
repair work m one of the most modernly equipped garages.
OLIVER C. JOSEPH
IN Belleville and its neighboring towns may often be
seen the name of Oliver C. Joseph on the rear of a
passing Dodge. Mr. Joseph secured this agency, m St.
Clair County, for the Dodge Bros, motor cars in 191=;, and
so successful has been his management of this agency that
hiS sales now amount to more than a half million dollars a
year. His offices and sales rooms are located at 220-226 West
Main St., Belleville, III., and are considered among the best
and most up-to-date in the county. His place of business, with
a frontage of no feet, gives ample space for displaying his
cars, and enables him to have a very attractive show room.
Before going into the automobile business Mr. Joseph was a
school teacher for six years, but during most ot this time he
was interested in autos and sold a number ot them. He is a
native of St. Clair County, was born near O'Fallon, on Sept.
2, 1890, and received his public school education in the O'Fal-
lon schools, graduating from the high school. He later entered
the University of Illinois where he studied for a while, and
also was a student m McKendree College. The first two years
ot his teaching career were spent in a rural school ot the coun-
ty, and the remaining four years he was the principal of the
Summerfield schools.
Mr. Joseph has been married since June 10, 1914. His wife,
formerly Miss Irma M. Seger, is the daughter of Fred and
Mary Seger. The latter died during the past year (1926). Into
OLIVER C JOSEPH
the home ot Mr. and Mrs. Joseph have come two children —
Elmo L., born on April 10, 1916, and Norma F., born on
May 5, 1921.
Three years after becoming an auto dealer, Mr. Joseph
found his building in O'Fallon inadequate for his growing
business, so he had his garage enlarged and brought up-to-
date. This was in 1918. A year before this time he had opened
an office and sales room in Belleville, and in 1926 he bought
the property where his large show rooms are now located, on
Main Street.
Not all of Mr. Joseph's time is taken up with his business;
he has time for recreation, and particularly for hunting, which
15 his preferred diversion. For his vacation he goes to the
Rocky Mountains, m Wyoming and Idaho, where he enjoys
the hunting and fishing opportunities offered by these regions.
Recently he procured one hundred acres of land north of
O'Fallon, and he proposes to make this one of the most de-
lightful places for hunting and fishing in the county. A lake,
two and a half acres in area, is to be stocked with several
species of game fish, and many kinds of wild game are to be in-
troduced upon this tract, such as pheasants, quails, foxes, etc.
In fraternal organizations, Mr. Joseph is prominent; he is a
Mason, a Shnnerand a Knight Templarof this order; an Elk,
and a member of the Optimist Club. He is also a member of
the National Automobile Dealers' Association of America.
Five Hundred and Fom-Seven
JOHN F. ADELSBERGER
ON THE FIRST of Fehrmry, 1927. Mr. John F. Adels-
berger, of Dupo, 111., celebrated his seventieth birth-
day. At this age he is still an active business man,
operating as a dealer of coal, sand, and macadam. He came to
St. Clair Ck)unty in 1880, from Tennessee, where he was
born at Como, Weekly County, on February i, 1857 — the
son of Joseph Theodore Adelsberger and Marguerite Hick-
man. His father was a native of the state of Maryland, born
at Emmetsburg on April 10, 1822. Joseph Adelsberger was
well educated for one of his day, and followed school teach'
ing for a while, and then took up farming, first in Weekly
County, Tenn., and afterwards in Franklin County, to
which he had moved in 1864. In 1880 he retired, moved to
Florida, and remained here until his death, which occurred
on November 2, 1906. Mrs. Adelsberger died over forty
years before this time — on January i, 1865.
There were born to them three sons and one daughter, one
of whom, John F., the date of whose birth was given above,
is the subject of this biography. He was given a good educa'
tion in the public schools, and afterwards at Ewing College,
in Jefferson County, 111. Upon leaving college he secured em-
ployment with Dr. Ray, who was engaged in the drug busi-
ness, and who was the owner of a farm. It was his duty to
collect for the doctor and manage the farm; this he did for
two years. His next position was that of superintendent of a
saw mill at Dresden. Tenn., a position which he held for six
months, until 1880, when he moved to St. Clair County and
began farming on rented land. Soon afterwards he bought a
small farm which he ran for some years, and sold in 1910, the
year he received the appointment as postmaster of Dupo. He
served in this capacity for four years and then went into
business as a dealer in sand, coal, and macadam.
It was on the 14th day of July, 1889, that he married Mane
M. Jung, and their two daughters have long since grown to
womanhood and married. Ida was born on July 2, 1891, and
is now the wife of Wm. Broberg, of Chicago, and Mabel,
who is married to John Fitzsimmons, of Dupo, was born on
November 18, 1892.
Many years ago Mr. Adelsberger anticipated a great future
for Dupo, and built for himself a good home there, and in addi-
tion bought much other property, and began dealing rather
extensively in real estate. He has ever been interested in the
welfare of his town; the record of his service to it makes this
evident. He was four years its mayor — 1921 to 1925; has been
a member of the school board from the time he first came to
this county; served as the first president of the first board of
education in Dupo; was the president of Sugar Loaf Town-
ship in 1916; has been Dupo's justice of the peace and its town
clerk ; was one of the organizers of the Dupo State Bank and of
the Building and Loan Association, in which latter organiza-
tion he has always been one of the directors and served as
chairman of its committee; was active in securing the first
post office for Dupo; and has done much to promote the edu-
cational interests in his locality, lending his influence to help
secure the new school building for his city. But his activities
have not been confined within the limits of his own city; he
held the office of supervisor of St. Clair County from 1888 to
1912 and was elected to that of highway commissioner in 1918.
At present he is one of the school trustees for his township.
Nor do his activities end here. Mr. Adelsberger learned
the construction business many years ago under W. B. Quily,
under whose direction he worked as foreman for a long time.
He constructed the first levee for the Prairie Dupont Levee fe?
Drainage District, a district comprising about 1,600 acres
lying one half in Sugar Loaf Township and the other half in
Monroe County. Mr. Adelsberger has had some experience
as a railroad building contractor, and has superintended con-
struction work in the Missouri yards for five years. A more
varied and more active career could hardly be found. His
fraternal associations are with the Odd Fellows.
JOHN. M. MITCHELL, D. F.
"^VoHN MiNTON Mitchell has been identified with the
I business life of Mount Carmel for over forty years, first
as a merchant and later as a banker. He is now president
of the American National Bank of that city. He has for many
years been one of the leading laymen in the Methodist Epis'
copal Church, having been prominently identified with the
work of the church, not merely in his home city, but through-
out the Southern Illinois Conference. Three generations of
the Mitchell family have lived in Southern Illinois, the resi-
dence of the family having been continuous since the admis-
sion of the state of Illinois into the union.
His grandfather, Sion F. Mitchell, was of Scotch-Irish
ancestry. His forefathers, on coming from England, first set-
tled in Connecticut, later went to North Carolina, and finally
to Tennessee. He left Tennessee in 1818 and came to Illinois,
settling in Franklin County. He was accompanied on that
migration by Braxton Parrish. Jesse G. Mitchell, son of Sion
F. and father of John M., was born in Franklin County in
1835, and spent his entire life there. At his wedding he gave
the minister who performed the ceremony the only dollar he
possessed. He was a school teacher before that time, later a
farmer, and subsequently conducted a general store at Locust
Grove, where he was a dealer in grain and tobacco, and for
Fv.e Hundred and Forty-Eight
many years postmaster of the community. He proved his
native ability by achieving a successful business c.ireer, and
was at the same time a natural leader of men. He was married
to Asenath E. Marvel, who was born in Posey County,
Indiana, m 1837. She was a daughter of George R. Marvel,
who served with the rank of colonel of the Forty-eighth Illi-
nois Cavalry, during the Civil War. Mr. Mitchell was op-
timistic, generous, and good-natured. He was a local preacher
m the Methodist Church and at all times exercised an influ-
ence for good. In 1880 he sold his farm and other business
interests and moved to Benton, where he spent the remainder
ot his lite, and died m 1894, at the age ot titty-nine.
John M. Mitchell, one of the five children of Jesse C, was
born on a farm in Franklin County, July 16, 1862. After com-
pleting a high school education, he attended the Southern
Normal University, at Carbondale, and m 1882 graduated
from the Central Normal College, at Danville, Indiana. His
experience outside of school had been acquired on his father's
farm and m the store at Locust Grove and at Benton. Mr.
Mitchell first engaged m business for himself m i88j, at Mt.
Carmel. For some years he conducted a dry goods and cloth-
ing store, but m 1894 he sold his mercantile business and
became a banker. He became president of the Wabash Savings
Bank, of Mt. Carmel, and then of its successor, the American
State Bank. In 1901 this became the American National Bank,
of which he has been president for more than a quarter of a
century. Other business enterprises have naturally attracted
some ot his time and attention, and he has been the moving
spirit of much constructive work in Mt. Carmel and vicinity.
In politics he is a Republican. Fraternally he is a Mason, a
Knight Templar, and a Shriner; a member of the Odd Fellows,
the Elks, the Moose, and the Woodmen. In religion he is a
Methodist. His influence in Methodism has not been confined
to his own church or conference. Besides being superintend-
ent of the Sunday School in his home church for more than
thirty years, he served for eight years on the board of the
World's Sunday School Association. He has also been a mem-
ber of the Board of Control of the Epworth League, and for
eight years he was on the Methodist Board of Foreign Mis-
sions. He IS a member of the General Conference of 1928,
which is the sixth time he has been a lay delegate to that great
ecclesiastical body. He has been for more than a quarter of a
century a member of the board of trustees of McKendree
College, and for eight years was president of that body. He
has been for many years treasurer of the college endowment
fund, and in this responsible position is the custodian of sev-
eral hundred thousand dollars. In recognition of his eminent
J, M, MITCHELL
service to the institution, McKendree College conferred upon
him, in the Centennial year, the degree of Doctor of Finance.
On June i, 1886, he was married to Miss Delia Russell, of
Mt. Carmel. She is a daughter of Charles R. and Frances
Russell. Her grandfather, Abraham Russell, was a pioneer of
Mt. Carmel, where he settled m 1817. The three daughters
of Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell are Grace, an instructor m the
Christian College, at Columbia, Missouri, Frances, who is
now Mrs. E. E. Fearheiley, of Mt. Vernon, and Elinor, wife
of Loren C. Hill, of Mt. Carmel.
03CAR HAGIST
H MERCANTILE establishment so well-known to the
people of Mascoutah Township is the Hagist General
Merchandise Store m Mascoutah. It is one of the
largest of its kind in the county, and one of the most complete
retail stores in this section of the state. This business was
established in i860 by E. F. Hagist, the grandfather of Oscar
Hagist, whose life history we propose to set forth briefly in
this article. The former was born in Baden, Germany, in 1828,
and grew to manhood and received his education m his native
land. At the age of twenty-three he left Germany to try his
fortune in a strange land, landed here in 185 1, and settled on
a farm near Belleville. A year later he bought some excellent
farm land about one mile west of Mascoutah, and here he
<.^:^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^s^
^^V4flt''''^
i
THE FAMILY OF PETER WAELTZ
lived and farmed for several years, until i860, when he moved
into Mascoutah, and began his long career as a merchant by
opening a general merchandise store. He had married, in iS-Tj,
Elizabeth Frey, and one son (E. R. Hagist) and one daughter
(later, Mrs. Minnie Sauter) were born to them. E. R. Hagist,
the father of Oscar Hagist, was born on the old home farm,
August 17, 1857, an'i was given the best education which the
schools of the community then offered. His schooling com-
pleted, he was taken into his father's store as a clerk, and
performed his duties so faithfully, and took such an active
interest in the business, that in 1880 the father made him a
partner in the store, and changed the firm name to that of
Hagist and Son. When the father died in 1906, E. R. Hagist
became the owner of the store which had grown into a
flourishing enterprise. In the same year that he became a
partner with his father he was married to Miss Mary Richter,
the daughter of a retired farmer who was then living in Mas-
coutah. By her he had five children, of whom our subject is
the oldest. The names of the other children are: Alma, Ar-
thur, Herman, and Theodore.
Oscar Hagist was born in Mascoutah, on Jan. 25, 1882. He
attended the schools in Mascoutah until he had finished the
high school, and then went into the store as did his other
three brothers. After working for a time, he was made a
partner with his father, and has continued in this relation
until the present time. On Sept. 20, 1906, Mr. Hagist married
Edna M. Rayhill, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles E.
Rayhili, whose biographies are recorded in this volume. The
father is a retired farmer, and both he and his good wife are
living in Mascoufcih, two of the city's senior and most re-
spected residents. Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Hagist have had two
sons. The elder, Rayhill O., was born June 20, 1910; the
younger, E. Richard (Dick) on May 16, 1916.
Mr. Hagist is one of the most alert business men in St.
Clair County, and has served his community well in many
capacities. Besides the large store which he helps to manage,
he has many other businesses, as well as social interests. He is
the vice-president of the First National Bank of Mascoutah;
treasurer of the local Building and Loan Association; owner
of the Hagist Produce Commission House, located on 209
North Fifth St., E. St. Louis; president of the Mascoutah
Brick Company, which company he himself organized ; secre'
tary of the Mutual Creamery Company; a director of the
Midland Rubber Goods Company, and one who assisted in
the organization of this company; and holds an interest in a
Mascoutah coal mine. To meet all the responsibilities con-
nected with these offices requires a business knowledge, and
a skill in managing men and affairs, which few possess. Mr.
Hagist is a hard worker, as well as a good business manager.
He is a member of the Masonic Order, and has, for ten years,
been honored with the highest position his city has to give —
the mayor of Mascoutah.
LOUIS H. WAELTZ
*T^ GUIS H. Waeltz was born on the old .Waeltz farm
I ^ (which was bought by his grandfather in 1864) near
Marissa, September 27, 1886. Peter Waeltz, the father
of Louis, was born on Dutch Hill, Jan. 12, i86o. After attend-
ing the public schools, he worked for his father until i88j,
when he started independent farming, renting some of his
father's 200 acres of land. Upon the death of his father in
1890, he took over the management of the entire farm. He
married, in 1883, Anna M. K. Wibbing; the latter was born
at Centralia, 111. on Sept. 3, 1865.
To Peter and Mrs. Waeltz were born seven children, on
the following dates: Louis H., mentioned at the beginning
of this sketch; Minnie C, April i, 1889, now the wife of
Peter Schmierbauch; Bertha M., March i, 1891, married to
George Browning; Anna C, March 2, 1893, now Mrs.
William Schmierbauch; Dorothea M., Feb. 13, 1896, the
Flic Hundred and Fifty
wife of Arthur Schmierhauch; Clara W. (Miss), August i,
1898; Emma D., Oct. i, 1903, who is married to Earl Schm
zing.
After securing a public school education, Louis Waeltz
remained on the farm helping his father until the retirement
of the latter m 1921. Then he rented the two hundred acres
from his father, and later rented other land besides, until
now he cultivates more land thar> any other farmer m the
township. He is married and is the father of five children.
Mrs. Waeltz was Caroline K. Grommet, the daughter of
Henry J. and Sophia Grommet, and was born at Smithton, 111.
on June 3, 1886, and was married to Mr. Waeltz on May 24,
1908. Lillian A. S., the oldest child of Louis and Mrs. Waeltz,
was born July 15, 1909; May C. E. was born the i6th of
May, 191 1 ; Albert P. H., on Nov. 3, 1913; Clifford W., on
Oct. I, 1914; and the youngest, Loretta D., on June 17, 1919.
Mr. Waeltz raises a great many chickens and fine hogs.
He owns a threshing machine and operates this himself. He
has always been an industrious farmer, and is well-respected
in his community. In 1914 he was elected clerk of the school
board of District No. 44, and has kept this position since
that time.
EDWARD W. PFINGSTEN
'HE OCCUPATION of the subject was farming, until
ig24, when he retired. But tanning was not the only
thing that this gentleman ever did, for his energy,
honesty, and integrity have associated him with many other
activities in several cities in southwestern Illinois.
Mr. Pfingsten was a son of Henry and Wilhelmina Liena'
mann Pfingsten, and was horn on May 8, 1868, m Stookey
Township, St. Clair County, Illinois. He attended the public
and religious evangelical schools, and, at the age of fourteen,
began his work on the farm.
In 1894 Mr. Pfingsten began tarmmg for himself". Just six
weeks later, on September q, he was united m the holy bonds
of matrimony with Miss Emma L. Burg. The happy couple
are parents of five children — two sons and three daughters.
The sons are George A. and Arthur H.; and the daughters
are Viola F., Ida E., and Florence L.
In church activities Mr. Pfingsten is a member and trus-
tee of the Concordia Evangelical Church. He is also a mem-
ber of the Bluff Grange Society.
In business lines the prominence of Mr. Pfingsten is ex-
celled by few around his section. He is a director of the
THE EDWARD W, ITINCSTHN FAXfiLV
five Hundred and FijtyO-
frMC KENDREE-^^^^^rs^p.....^^,.^-^
^"
First National Bank, of Millstadt, Illinois. For twenty-two
years he has been a director of the Millstadt Telephone Com-
pany, and for three years president of this same company. He
is also a stockholder in the Harrison Machine Works, of
Belleville. For the past thirty-two years he has been a member
of the school board, and a member of the high school board
for five years. Since 191 j Mr. Pfingsten has held membership
in the county board of supervisors of Stookey Township.
The present residence of Mr. Pfingsten, who has, indeed,
led a life full of variety — from an ordinary, everyday farmer
to the above mentioned activities — is Stookey Township, but
his P. O. address is Centerville Station, 111.
PARIS CLEANING &? DYEING CO.
>HE EFFICIENT MANAGER of the above firm, in
Belleville, is Frank Sadorf, a native of Austria, born
on Sept. 25, 1874. He secured his formal education in
Austria, left school with one year of high school training,
and began to learn the dyeing and cleaning business, working
in four different countries of Europe before coming to Amer-
ica in December, 1902. He brought with him his wife, Anna
Leber Sadorf, to whom he had been married shortly before,
on Oct. 30, 1902. For several years he worked at his trade
in St. Louis, and in 1905 opened, in Belleville, the business
which he is still running. To him and Mrs. Sadorf have
been born three children — two sons and one daughter. Frank
N. Sadorf was born on April 6, 1904; Matt Sadorf, on Dec.
II, 1906; and the daughter, Anna K. (now Mrs. Bert John-
son), on Dec. 26th, 1907. All three received a good educa-
tion ; the boys are high school graduates and both attended
the Belleville Business College. Frank was married on August
4, 1921, to Miss Cleo Erdman, and has one girl, Jean, born
on July 28, 1922. Matt was married to Miss Norma Meyer,
in Sept., 1923.
Mr. Sadorf learned thoroughly the art of cleaning and
dyeing in his native land, and since coming to this land has
studied to improve his knowledge of this trade. He taught
this art to his sons, and in 1926 took them into the business
with him, though he continues as the active manager of the
firm. His son-in-law, Mr. Johnson, to whom his daughter
was married on Sept. 2, 1924, is also a member of the firm.
Mr. and Mrs. Johnson have one son, whom they have
named Bert, Jr., and who was born on May 13, 1926. Be-
fore entering his father-in-law's business, Mr. Johnson was
employed as a clerk in a shoe store. He was born in Marissa,
on April 5, 1904, and here he received a high school edu-
cation. At present he takes care of the outside trade, and
is the secretary of the Paris Company.
The plant operated by Mr. Sadorf and his partners is one
of the most modern and best-equipped in the county, and
does a great amount of work for residents in Belleville and
for those in the towns of this vicinity, where there are many
agencies. The property on which the plant is located was
purchased in 1920, and the present building was constructed
soon thereafter.
Mr. Sadorf belongs to the Chamber of Commerce, to the
Business Men's Association, to the Turner Society, to the
I. O. O. F., the Moose Lodge, the Elks, and the Eagles. This
indicates a great capacity for social enjoyment. His choice
recreations are fishing, hunting and bowling.
WILLIAM H. BREUER
ONE OF THE first families to settle near Dupo, 111. and
actively engage in farming there, was that of Christian
Breuer. He was the father of William Breuer, the sub-
ject of this biographical sketch, and was born in Germany in
1836. William Breuer's mother, Sophia Kroeger Breuer, was
also born in Germany. Christian Breuer and his wife came
to this country many years ago, as did many other indus-
trious and ambitious German immigrants, and settled in St.
Louis County, Missouri. Later the family moved to Dupo,
and bought a small farm, adding more land to this farm as
soon as conditions permitted.
William was a member of a large family; his father had
eight children. He was born in St. Louis County on the
29th of July, in 1861, at a time when this country was on
the verge of a great civil war. No doubt these were anxious
days for his parents. After attending the school in Sugar
Loaf Township, he worked for his father on the farm until
1893. On the 27th of September of that year, he was married
to Miss Katie Diehl, the daughter of Christian Diehl and
Lazetta Young Diehl. Like her husband, Mrs. Breuer was also
from a large family; she was one of seven children, and her
father, too, was born in Germany, April i, 1832. Her mother,
however, was born in Sugar Loaf Township, on June 26,
1848. Both of Mrs. Breuer's parents are dead, the father hav-
ing passed away on the 9th of August, 1881, while he was
still in the prime of life, and the mother on November 16,
1916. Mr. Diehl was an industrious farmer, and owned 120
acres of land on the bluffs above Dupo. Mrs. Breuer was born
on January 4, 1870, in Sugar Loaf Township, the birthplace
of her mother, and there she attended the public schools.
Mr. and Mrs. Breuer have three children — Matilda E.
Breuer, born on July 5, 1894; Henry J. Breuer, born on Sep-
tember 22, 1896; and Charles William Breuer, born on June
24, 1899. Two of their children are now living, Charles
William having died on the i8th of September, 1920.
Fwe Hundred and Fifty-Two
WILLIAM H, BREUER
MRS. WILLIAM BREUER
EARL E, ASBIJRY
After his marriage, Mr. Breuer farmed on the Bluffs for six
years; afterwards he bought the twelve-acre farm belonging
to his father's estate and continued farming here, adding to
these twelve acres, after a time, seventeen acres more. Truck
farming was his specialty, and he continued trucking until
ig22. when he retired from active farm life. But though he
has retired and has rented his farm, Mr. Breuer has not lost
his interest m farming.
Mr. Breuer has been quite a successful farmer. By indus-
try, hard work, and careful management, he has been able to
accumulate enough to live in comfort the rest of his life. From
time to time he has purchased additional properties, and now
he is considered one of the affluent residents of his commu-
nity. He built, on his farm in 1902, a fine residence and mod-
ern substantial barns; and he increased his land holdings by
buying another forty acre farm, north of Dupo, in 1914. In
1923 he built the residence in which he now lives, within a
convenient distance from his farm, which is located m the
city limits of Dupo.
Mr. Breuer is a Modern Woodman. He has taken an inter-
est m the schools of his community, serving as a member of
the local school board for six years. He has been quite a
successful farmer, and after having spent more than forty
years at hard work on the farm he deserves to retire and
enjoy the fruits of his labors. He can well feel proud of the
fact that he is one of that great class of sturdy German
farmers who, by sheer hard work, by good habits of industry
and economy, have contributed so much to American agri-
culture and to our national wealth and prosperity.
EARL E. ASBURY
eARL E. AsBURY, of O'Fallon, IS the son of James W
Asbury, and a brother of Dr. E. C. Ashury of New
Baden, a sketch of whose life appears on another page
of this volume. Earl was born at Summerfield, in this county,
Nov. 14th, 1894. He studied in the grade schools and the high
school of O'Fallon, graduating in 1916, and in the fall of this
year entered McKendree College, where he remained for one
term. He served in the Army in 1917-1918, and after leaving
the service, settled in O'Fallon, and established himself in
the real estate and insurance business, in which business his
father had engaged.
He married a girl from his community. Miss Josephine
Lienesch, who was born near O'Fallon, on June 29th, 1899.
She is the daughter of George W. and Louise Lischer Lienesch,
who lived on a farm until the death of the father on Feb.
27th, 1Q22. Mrs. Lienesch now lives m O'Fallon. The daugh-
ter received her early education in the Shiloh schools, and
afterwards attended the O'Fallon High School, graduating m
1917. Then she made special preparation for teaching, studied
one term m the Normal University at Normal, 111., and one
summer m the Teachers College of St. Louis. Her first year
of teaching was in the Shiloh School, the following four years
in the Grassland School, and the year before her marriage to
Mr. Asbury, she taught in O'Fallon. She was married on
June 23, 1923, and has two boys. Earl E. Jr., born on May
jist, 1924 and James W., born Aug. 18, 1927.
Earl E. Asbury is an active citizen in his community, and
a member of a number of prominent organizations. He is a
Fne Hundred and Fifty-Three
MILBURN P. AKERS
MRS. M. P. AKERS
JOSHUA SOULE AKERS
Mason, and a Shriner in this Order; a member of the local
Business Men's Association, of the American Legion, of the
Rotary Club and of the Shiloh Valley Grange. For two years
he served as Tax Collector for the O'Fallon Township,
and since 1925 he has held the office of Justice of the Peace.
His father entered the real estate and insurance business in
O'Fallon in 1904, and his son Earl in 1918. He sells general
insurance of practically every kind. Owing to the activities
of O'Fallon's wide-awake and enterprising real estate men,
to which group Mr. Asbury belongs, this city has developed
noticeably, and built many fine homes during the last decade.
When Mr. Asbury has time for recreation, and when the
season is favorable, he enjoys fishing and hunting.
THE AKERS FAMILY
^HE SPAN of McKendree's history easily covers four
generations, as shown in the case of the Akers family.
Peter Akers, the pioneer preacher, born in Virginia in
1790, came to Illinois in i8j2 and spent the remaining fifty-
four years of his life as a member of the Illinois Conference.
Early in this volume is told the story of his intimate connec-
tion with McKendree, having been three times president of
the institution, and having received the first degree which the
college ever conferred — that of Doctor of Divinity.
There is also a sketch of his son, Joshua Soule Akers, who
was named after one of the early bishops of the church, and
who spent fifty-three years in the ministry, a large part of it
on the frontier borders of Methodism in Wisconsin and South
Dakota. He received his bachelor's degree from McKendree
in 1868, and that of D. D. in 1894.
His son, Edwin Wallace Akers, grew up largely amidst the
stirring influence of the pioneer conditions of the latter part
of the nineteenth century. He was educated at Yankton Col-
lege and the Dakota Wesleyan, at Mitchell, South Dakota,
and received his theological training at Garrett Biblical Insti'
tute. He entered the ministry in 1893 and is still in active
service. He has served pastorates in Chicago, St. Louis, Car-
thage, Missouri, and Wood River, Illinois. Therefore, the
venerable pioneer, his son, and grandson have together served
an aggregate of one hundred and thirty-three years in the
Christian ministry. The third of this line of preachers married
Miss Anna W. Wilson, of Massachusetts. They have six
children, two of whom, Milburn and Edwin, have been stu-
dents in McKendree. The elder of these, Milburn Peter, has
maintained the family traditions and earned a degree at Mc-
Kendree. He finished the course in the McKendree Academy
in 1919, and then took up the task of acquiring a college edu-
cation, which he successfully accomplished with little if any
financial aid from any source whatever. He had an inclination
toward journalism and paid his way a part of the time by
serving as reporter and press agent for the college. He was
editor-in-chief of the "McKendree Review" and set stand-
ards for that student publication which have doubtless had
their influence on the character of the paper ever since. While
in McKendree he was a member of Plato, and became partic-
ularly efficient in the field of forensics. He belonged to the
McKendree debating team, and attracted attention by his
skill in extemporaneous speaking. He was graduated in the
class of 1925, receiving the degree of A. B. He immediately
Fnc Hundred jnJ Fifty-Four
E. FRED GEROLD
MRS. L. G. JOSEPH
LOUIS G. JOSEPH
entered upon the business of journalism by becoming editor
and publisher of the Wood River Journal. He is now presi-
dent and manager of the Wood River Printing and Publishing
Company. He also serves his community as president of the
board of education in the city of Wood River. He belongs to
the Masonic fraternity and is a Royal Arch Mason.
He was married in 1925 to Miss Beulah McClure, who
was his fellow student in McKendree. She was a Clio and
a classical major in McKendree, receiving her A. B. degree
in 1920. Before her marriage she taught Latin five years m
the Edwardsville High School.
Thus the fourth generation of the Akers family has
changed from the ministry to other useful lines, but it is
a common belief among sociologists of the present day that
the press reaches a wider constituency than the pulpit. As
an editor Mr. Akers is using his influence for the betterment
of his fellow men and probably speaks through his paper
to more people than any preacher in his city.
E. FRED GEROLD
BEW MEN in Southern Illinois are better known for
their business and political activity and capacity for
leadership than is Mr. Fred Ceroid. As the president
of the Ceroid Storage, Packing and Moving Company, he is
recognized as a progressive, prosperous business man of East
St. Louis.
He was born in Clinton County, Illinois, on February 10,
1880, the son of George Ceroid and Mary E. Rodawald
Ceroid. In the year of 1891 his father moved to East St.
Louis, and three years later engaged in the drayage business.
At the age of eighteen, Mr. Ceroid entered his father's
business — a business to which he has since devoted his time
and energy, and today it is the largest of its kind in the
state, outside of Chicago.
In 1 901 Mr. Ceroid was united in marriage to Miss Mary
E. Draggon. The happy couple are blessed with six children.
They are: Winifred, now wife of F. C. Taylor, city clerk of
East St. Louis; Ida J., stenographer and bookkeeper of her
father's firm ; Ceorge, deputy county clerk of the Appellate
Court, located at Mt. Vernon, Illinois; E. Fred Ceroid, Jr.,
a St. Louis University sophomore in the Law School; Kath-
erine Lucille and Joseph Louis, who are attending high school.
LOUIS G. JOSEPH
^>y w* HEN a man can take as much interest in the welfare
■ I I of his children as did Louis C. Joseph, who gave his
two sons and three daughters a full college educa-
tion. It will undoubtedly be acknowledged that he made a
splendid father of himself. The fact that Mr. Joseph contrib-
uted as much, if not more, to the welfare of the community
ira which he now lives, as to his children, will be plainly
shown. Mr. Joseph was born on the old Joseph homestead,
near New Athens, on January 14, i860. He was a son of
John Joseph, one of the most prosperous, well-liked, and
highly respected farmers in his township. The latter was
owner of a very fertile farm, one of the best in this section
of the state, that yielded a great number of bushels of wheat
each year. Success crowned his honest efforts from year to
year. His residence was a wonderful home. The biography
of another son, Edward, brother to the subject of this sketch,
Fifty-Five
MC KENDREE
also appears in this volume. He, like his brother, is also a
prosperous gentleman, having some three hundred and fifty
acres of land under his supervision.
The subject of this sketch was highly devoted to the inter-
ests of his father's farm. With the exception of the time he
spent studying in the public schools in his vicinity for an
education, he worked for his parents. These years, even
though the work was hard, were happily spent. The marriage
of Mr. Joseph, on January 14, i860, to Laura Darmstatter, a
daughter of George Darmstatter, marked the close of his stay
with his parents. He and his excellent wife moved to a farm
in the New Athens Township and started in this occupation.
The happy couple, always busy, found time to bring up a
family of five children. These are: Doctor R. J., born on
December 27, 1887. He was married to Bess Carter. Clara E.,
the second child, was born on November 2, 1888. This young
lady proved to be very talented in the fine arts. She is a nor-
mal school graduate, and has studied art, music and painting
in St. Louis. Many beautiful paintings grace her home —
records of her artistic ability. She has also taught school in
the cities of O'Fallon and Freeburg. The third child, Edna,
was born on January 5, 1890. She was married on February
28, 1914, to Harrison Hartman, but was called to cross the
"land beyond" on April 12, 1925. Elmer was the fourth child,
he being born on December 19, 1894. When twenty-two
years of age, he married Bess Huber. The last and youngest of
the five children was Roy C, who was born on November
25, 1896. But the Grim Reaper, who respects no one, plucked
him from this earth when he was but a young fellow, just
blossoming into manhood. As stated at the beginning of this
sketch, each of these received a college education — a noble
contribution from their father.
Mr. Joseph retired in 1906, after many years of hard work
that brought him wonderful results. His residence, in Free-
burg, is surrounded by a lovely, five -acre plot of land. Much
of his time is spent in outside activities. He has been a Mason
for forty-three years. Besides being on the Blue Lodge school
board for many years, he is president of the Freeburg Com-
munity High School, an institution which he helped organize.
His life record makes a wonderful mark for the younger
generation to shoot at.
J AS. F. WHITE ROBERT H. WHITE
)he James F. White Lumber Company of Marissa is
under the management of Robert H. White, who is
one of the ten children born to James White and
Lucy Ellen Hamilton White. Four of the children died in
infancy, and of the rem;uning six, five are still living —William
Glenn, born Dec. 7th, 1S82, having died on Sept. 2-|th, 1900.
The surviving members are. Cora, now married to L. E.
McClintock, of Marissa; Mary A., Robert. H., Irene, and
Gail, the wife of Rev. John E. Simpson. All of the five now
living received a high school education, and all attended
Monmouth College. The father, James F. White, was born
on a farm near Marissa, April 25th, 1852, and received his
education in the grade schools and in the Academy at Coul'
terville, 111. Then he worked on a farm until 1874, on Nov.
18th of which year he was married to Miss Hamilton. After
nine years he retired from the soil, rented out his land, and
went into the lumber business in Marissa. This was at first
a partnership conducted under the name of Lyons and White,
and when Mr. White became sole owner, he devoted his
whole time to it.
He had a part m the organisation of the Marissa Building
and Loan Association, of which he was made a director.
He was one of the founders of Marissa 's first library, and
of the Marissa Academy. He always took an active interest
in the religious and educational affairs of his community,
having been, for over twenty years, treasurer of the United
Presbyterian Church, and also one of its first trustees and
a Sabbath School teacher. Mr. James White was a man of
energy, and contributed much useful service in his locality
during his lifetime; he died on the ijth of June, 1912.
The mother of our subject, Mrs James White, is the
daughter of Robert H. Hamilton and Lucy A. Thompson.
(Mr. Hamilton being a native of So. Carolina and his wife
being born in Illinois.) The father farmed near Marissa until
1897, when he retired. He died April 16th, 1910. The mother
is still very active in the affairs of her church though she
has passed her 96th birthday.
The son, Robert, present manager of the lumber company,
was made a partner with his father in this business in 191 1.
Three years previous to this time he was graduated from
Monmouth College, which he had entered after the com-
pletion of his studies in the Marissa High School. After the
death of his father, in 1912, he assumed the management of
the business, and since then has added to his Marissa com-
pany several branch companies — The Tilden Lumber &'
Hardware Co., in 1918, and the Sparta Lumber Co., in 192J.
Robert White was married, on Feb. 19th, 191 3, to Mary E.
Statler, the daughter of a prominent merchant of Oak Ridge,
Mo., the city of the daughter's birth, on Dec. 19th, 1888.
After her graduation from the Oak Ridge High School, she
entered Lindenwood College, and was graduated from this
institution in 1908. Her first child, Elizabeth E., was born
Fne Hundred and FiftySv
IMC KENDREE"^^^^^:^^:^...^...^^
JAMES F. WHITE
ROBERT H, WHITE
JEAN F. WEBB, SR.
March 26th, 1917; the second, James F., on Sept. 18, 1920;
and Gilbert S., the youngest, on March 12th, 1927.
Robert White, like his father, takes an active interest m
the business and educational affairs of his city. He has served
for five years on the Marissa School Board, is a director in
the Building and Loan Association, one of the directors of
the Forsyth Coal Company, and a stockholder m the Tilden
Bank.
Before closing this sketch it seems fitting and proper to
mention the lineage of the White family to which our
subject belongs. He is a direct descendant of William White,
one of the patriots who fought in the American Revolution.
William White was born in 1753, and died m iSjy He was
a native of Ireland, emigrated in 1765, with his father, John
White, to South Carolina, volunteered in January, 1776, and
between this time and 1780 fought in several engagements
against the Tories and the Indians of his native state. One
of these was the Battle of King's Mountain. This ancestor
was the great-grandfather of James F. White, the father of
our subject. He lies buried in Old Purity Cemetery, two
and one-half miles southeast of Chester, So. Carolina.
w
JEAN F. WEBB, SR.
'HE LIFE of Jean Francis Webb, Sr., furnishes a splen-
did example of what a man with vision and brains
can accomplish by ambition, persistence, and sagacity.
Practical results greeted his efforts in all the lines of work
that he has undertaken as a lawyer and inventor. Mr. Webb,
who now resides in Denver, Colorado, was born on January
27, 1848, in St. Louis. In 1864, he entered McKendree Col-
lege, but a little later, he enlisted m the army. After studying
for another year in this institution, he enrolled, in 1873, in
Washington University, of St. Louis, and was graduated two
years later with an LL. B. degree.
In 1875, Mr. Webb was elected city attorney of Leb-
anon— the first man to hold the office m this city. His effi-
ciency and honesty in law practice won for him the office
of mayor, in 1881, in which capacity he served for two
successive terms, until ill health forced him to go west and
to abandon law. Here he spent many years in the mining
business, engaging at different periods in the production of
gold, silver, coal, and rock salt.
Mr. Webb was married in 186S, to Mary Elizabeth
Hypes -a daughter of Joseph Hypes, one of the founders
of McKendree, whose sketch also appears in this volume.
A son, Jean F., was born to the couple. He is the inventor
of a well-known system of automatic tram controls for the
International Signal Company, of New York City. Mr.
Webb IS president of this and several other corporations.
In social activities he helped to organize the national council
of the Sons of the Revolution, representing the Colorado
society of the order. He is also a Knight Templar in the
Masonic Order.
Mr. Webb is the inventor of the "Pneumatic Cyanide
Process" for the extraction of gold from ores, which is used
the world over. He has also patented about forty improve-
ments in various industries.
Five Hundred and Fifty-Seven
|mc KENDREE"^^^^^:^^^...,.^^...-^
JOHN K. WHITE
"^['oHN K. White, a successful and well-known farmer in
ff I Marissa Township, is the son of John K. White, Sr.,
and Margaret Hamilton. He was born on the farm
which he now occupies, on Feb. 29, i860, received a public
school education, and began his life's work as a farmer at
an early age. His father, who followed farming all his life,
came to this county from Indiana in 1849, worked diligently,
and at his death in 1866 left a valuable estate of two hundred
and sixty acres to his wife and to the five of his six children
who were then living. His son, the subject of this sketch,
now owns two hundred acres of good land, all of which
is tillable.
On Nov. 14, 1889, he was married to Elizabeth Guthrie,
the daughter of George W. and Rebecca McClintock Guth-
rie. The father was born in this county, but the mother was
born in Ireland. They were Presbyterians, and respected
members in their community.
To Mr. and Mrs. J. K. White have been born three
children. Joseph G. White, the elder of the three, was born
Nov. 19, 1890, married Ella J. Brown, and to this union
were born three children. Joseph G. attended high school
and also spent a year at Illinois U. Since that time he has been
a prosperous farmer. John Kay White (the third) was born
Jan. 23, 1898, and is now married to Helen Lafferty. He is
now principal of a grade school. Florence Geneva, the young-
est, was bom Jan. 12th, 1901. All of the children have re-
ceived an excellent education; John Kay was graduated from
the Southern Illinois Normal, from which institution his
wife is also a graduate. Florence, after finishing the high
school, attended college, and is now a teacher in the public
schools of St. Clair County.
Mr. White has been the president of the township high
school board for twelve years. He has been greatly inter-
ested in the education of his children, which was with him
a real hobby. He also takes a decided interest in his church,
the United Presbyterian, of which he is an active member.
CHARLES EDWARD RAYHILL
IN 1818 the RayhiU family emigrated from Virginia to
St. Clair County, 111. and located three miles east of
Belleville on what is known as the John Ryder farm.
The father of this early emigrant family had served in the
War of i8ia, and had engaged for a time in teaching school.
In Engleman Township he bought land on Sections 2 and j.
At one time he owned over one thousand acres of land, most
of which had been granted to him by the Government. Mr.
RayhiU lived to the good old age of seventy-nine years; he
died on the 2nd of October, 1867, five years later his wife
died. They had four children, two girls and two boys.
John Jacob RayhiU, one of their two sons, was born on
the old home farm on the 4th of March, 1824. He was edu-
cated in the subscription schools of the county, and grew to
manhood on the farm. On the 7th of May, 1856, he married
Miss Adeline Pitts, the daughter of Pintcher and Elizabeth
Pitts, early settlers in this county. They began their domestic
life upon the farm, and here their four children were born.
Three of their children are deceased. Virginia, who became
the wife of Wm. H. Dugger, died in 1888; George died in
1880, and Sarah died in infancy. The father lived to the age
of seventy -five, his death occurring in 1899; but the mother
passed away thirty-three years before this date.
When John Jacob RayhiU died, his large farm estate, com-
prising more than "jje acres, passed to his son, Charles Ed-
ward. The father had devoted his entire active life to farm-
ing, except for the four years following 1850, when he went
to California and engaged in mining. In early manhood he
had been a Whig, but later he joined the Republican party
and remained an advocate of its principles until his death-
John Jacob RayhiU was indeed "one of the honored pioneers
of St. Clair County".
Charles Edward RayhiU, born on the 27th of April, 1857,
attended the public school, and then worked for his father a
number of years on the farm. In 1878, at the age of twenty-
one, he began farming on his own accord, renting a portion
of his father's farm. Three years later he married Miss Bertha
Eisenmayer, the daughter of Jacob Eisenmayer who was one
of the early settlers in Mascoutah. Unto Charles and his wife
were born two children, Wallace and Edna, but only the
daughter is now living. Wallace, who was born on the 25th
of August, 1882, died on January 15th, 1904, a few months
after reaching his twenty-first birthday. The daughter, born
on November 9, 1884, is married to Oscar Hagist, the present
mayor of Mascoutah, and one of the most prominent and
influential business men in the city. Mr. and Mrs. Hagist
have two boys, the older of whom is grown to young man-
hood; the younger is still in his early teens.
Mr. RayhiU remained on the farm until 1900, when he
moved his family into Mascoutah, bought property in the
city, and built a fine home there. He had continued to develop
and add to the farm left him by his father until it grew to six
hundred acres. The farm is located three miles southeast of
Mascoutah; it is now being cared for by tenants.
File Hundred and Fifty-Eight
CHARLES E RAVHILL
MRS. C E. RAVHILL
ROBERT SCHL BERT
Charles E. RayhiU is approaching his seventieth birthday,
but IS still an active man, has good health and enjoys life. If
he has any hobby it is driving his automobile from which he
derives a great deal of pleasure. Mrs. Rayhill is a member of
the Methodist Church in Mascoutah, to which church she
is greatly devoted and m which she is a faithful worker. At
present she is the Treasurer of the Ladies Aid Society m her
church.
Mr. and Mrs. Charles RayhiU are well known in and
about Mascoutah, where they have the respect <ind esteem
of their many friends, and where they are comfortably situ-
ated in an excellent home, enjoying the fruits of their early
strenuous labors on the farm. Mascoutah can well feel proud
of this happy couple !
ROBERT SCHUBERT
Robert Schubert, a contractor of Mascoutah, and the son
of Robert Schubert, Sr., comes from a family of seven chil-
dren. His father was born m Germany, m 1820, and came
with his family to this country m iSfV, and settled on a
flirm in Mascoutah Township where he remained until 1887,
when he bought a home in Mascoutah and moved from the
farm. He died on February 13, 1893,; Mrs. Schubert lived
until January 17, 1926. Robert was born on the farm on
July 23,, 1875.
After securing a public school education he took up car-
pentry and worked under contractors until 1900, when he
and his brother, William, formed a contractor partnership.
and continued under the name of Schubert Bros., until 1904.
In that year Robert moved to Mascoutah and started as an
independent contractor.
On June 8, 1898, he was married to Emma M. Monken,
who has borne to him four children —Ada, October 18,
1901; Roy, April i, iqo';; Robert, April 15, 1908; and Benny,
October 13, 1910. Mrs. Schubert is the daughter of Joseph
Monken and Amanda Reibold, and was born near Mascou-
tah on July 26, 1878. There were six children 111 this home.
Mr. Schubert is a member of the Commercial Club; he
has been on the school board m Mascoutah for fifteen years,
has served as president of the city schools for five years, and
of the Community High School for three years; he is a stock-
holder in the Mascoutah Brick Co. and is one of its directors;
he holds stock m both the First National Bank and the Bank
of Mascoutah; he helped organize the local Building and Loan
Association m 191 3, and has been a member of its board of
directors since. Mr. Schubert owns a great deal of property,
and takes a very active interest m the schools of his city, as it
IS clearly shown by his service as an official on the school
boards. All of his children have received a high school
education.
LOUIS F. TISSIER
HNOTHER man who has achieved his goal, especially
by his willingness and eagerness to work, his ambi-
tion, and his integrity, is Louis F. Tissier, of the
Tissier Brothers firm in East St. Louis. After trying his hand
in several different lines of business, he finally not only took
Five Hundred and Fifty\ine
LOUIS F. TISSIER
ARTHUR H. HU
an interest, but also succeeded, in the real estate, loan, and
insurance business. Mr. Tissier was escorted into the world
on August i8, 1876, in the city where he lives today — East
St. Louis. His early education was acquired in the public
schools of this city. Somewhat later, he attended the Parochial
School, and later, St. Vincent's College, in Cape Girardeau,
Missouri. Feeling a trend toward journalism, he accepted a
position in the newspaper business with his father, after leav-
ing school. But the sudden death of his father changed his
bend of mind from journalism to the grocery business, which
he entered with the guidance of his mother. No small amount
of success greeted him in this line, for Mr. Tissier, in 1901,
was elected secretary of the Retail Grocers' Association. He
has also been a director of the Illinois Retail Merchants for
fifteen years. In 1902, by swinging his ability into action, he
organized the Retail Merchants' Association, and was made
its first secretary. He held this office until 1907, when he re-
signed and accepted the position of teller and solicitor of the
City National Bank. In 1908, he went into business for him-
self again, and organized the Tissier Brothers Real Estate
Company. Established nineteen years ago, this company holds
its headquarters in the Murphy Building.
Mr. Tissier was married to Clara Metzger, on October iS,
1905. The couple have a fine, large family of ten children:
Louis E., Margaret, Bernadetta, Marie, Catherine, Aloysius,
Frances, Gregory, Clara, and Virginia. Mrs. Tissier is a
JUDGE H. G. MILLER
graduate of Ursuline College, of Springfield, and was grad-
uated in 1902. She was a daughter of Lambert Metzger.
The subject of this sketch is a member of the Knights of
Columbus. He is also one of the most active and highly re-
spected members of St. Elizabeth's parish. He has contributed
a great deal of his valuable time to his church. His enthusiasm
and interest in its welfare is unmatched. Mr. Tissier is well-
known in East St. Louis, for he has established a very credit-
able and deserving reputation in this city as the very able
manager of the Tissier Brothers Company.
ARTHUR HARRISON HULL
BOR THE PAST twenty-three years Mr. Arthur Har-
rison Hull has been a funeral director in New Athens,
Illinois. He was born in this city on January ao, 1871.
He was educated and began business here in 1905 and has
since been a real booster for New Athens. Mr. Hull is a son
of James Andrew Hull and Martha Emiline McFerron Hull.
On January 27, 1892, Mr. Hull was married to Miss
Sophia Koch. The happy couple were blessed with two sons
and two daughters: Lee, N., Jacob Y., Gladys, and Ella K.
(now Mrs. Campbell). Mr. Hull is a member of the Odd
Fellows, the Red Men, and the Modern Woodmen.
For many years Mr. Hull has been a close friend of Pres-
ident Harmon, of McKendree, and has often contributed to
the welfare of the college.
Fu f Hundred and Si.xlv
m
JUDGE HENRY G MILLER
'HE JUDICIAL ELECTION of June 6, 1927, took
trom his office at Mam and Broadway, East St. Louis,
Henry G. Miller, one of that city's outstanding
young lawyers and placed him upon the circuit bench of
the Third Judicial Circuit of Illinois, composed of the coun-
ties of Bond, Madison, Monroe, Perry, Randolph, St. Clair,
and Washington. Judge Miller comes of a family prominent
in the public affairs of the state of Illinois. He is a son of
Charles A. and the late Emma S. Miller. He was born on
May I'i, 1889, and moved to East St. Louis with his parents
in 1893- While securing his public school education in East
St. Louis, he worked after school hours and on Saturdays,
and also attended business college, studying stenography,
which later enabled him to hold positions that are largely
responsible for his present career. His legal education was
received at the National University, at Washington, D. C.
and at Cumberland University, at Lebanon, Tennessee, from
which institutions he graduated in 191J and 1914, respec-
tively, receiving from each the degree, LL. B.
Admitted to practice law in 1914, Judge Miller was first
associated with the firm of Boyle 6? Priest, St. Louis, Mis-
souri, for one year; thereafter he engaged in practice in his
home city, and later became a member of the firm of Keefe,
Baxter, is? Miller. In addition to his license to practice m
Illinois, Judge Miller has been admitted, by examination, to
practice law in Missouri and Tennessee, and holds also his
license to practice before the Supreme Court of the United
States.
He was married on February 11, 1918, to LiUa P. Mace,
a daughter of former state representative Brice M. Mace
and Ella Cook Mace. Mrs. Miller was born at Lebanon,
Tennessee, on November 11, 1891; was educated at Castle
Heights Preparatory School and at Cumberland University,
both at Lebanon, Tennessee, graduating from the latter insti-
tution in the department of music; later, she was an in-
structor there. This congenial couple have three children —
Anne Nicholson Miller, born November 15, 1922; Marshall
Mace Miller, born July 10, 192 "i; and Elma Lassiter Miller,
born March 9, 1927.
In his younger days, Judge Miller has acted as secretary
of prominent law firms, and for ten years, he was private
secretary to former Congressman William A. Rodenberg.
President Roosevelt, in May, 1908, commissioned him a mid-
shipman in the United States Navy, which commission he
held until October, 1909, when physical disabilities forced
him to resign. He was elected a member of the East St.
Louij bo.ird of education for the term i92t,-i926, and was re-
elected m the latter year for a second term of three years'
On April Q, 1927 Mr. Miller received the Republican nom-
ination for Circuit Judge by a unanimous vote, defeating
the then incumbent who had for eighteen years been a cir-
cuit judge. At the general election Mr. Miller defeated the
Non-Partisan ticket by a very handsome majority, and be-
came Circuit Judge.
Judge Miller is a member of St. Paul's Methodist Episcopal
Church of East St. Louis, and holds the good will and respect
of all with whom he has come in contact. It is written of
this young man that he is "a man of strong mental capacity,
of poise, of earnest intentions, and of good judgment," and
that "in his personal habits he is clean, and has no blemishes
on his record" — surely an enviable reputation and record
of accomplishment for one who has not yet reached his
fortieth year.
JULIUS D. MOLLMAN
"^i OHN D. MoLLMAN, the father of our subject, was born
ml in Hanover, Germany, December 20, 1854. -^.t the age
of sixteen, after receiving his early education, he came
to America, reaching our shores in 1850 and locating in St.
Louis. John, after working in St. Louis, came to Mascoutah
in i8'i7, where he established a business for himself as a
manufacturer of, and a dealer in saddles, harness, etc., and
continued in this business for more than forty years. In 1904
he sold out to his son Julius, and ten years later, when he
was approaching his 8oth birthday, John D. MoUman died.
The mother of Julius MoUman was Wilheminia Hagist,
the daughter of Andrew Hagist. She was married to Mr.
Mollman in 1861 and became the mother of nine children,
all of whom are still living. Julius, the youngest of the nine,
was born at Mascoutah on July 2nd, 1878. Here he received
his early education, including a full high school course. Upon
leaving school he began, under the direction of his father, to
learn the harness manufacturing business, as three of his
brothers before him had done and continued in this until
1917 when he permanently withdrew from this harness busi-
ness, and took over the agency for the Dodge Brothers auto-
mobile, and bought property suitable to his new occupation.
Today he has one of the most up-to-date garages in the city.
On the i6th of October, 1902, Mr. Mollman was married
to Miss Amalia A. Liebig, the daughter of Chas. Liebig.
Two years after his marriage he bought property in Mascou-
tah, and now is comfortably situated m his fine home. His
daughter, Maria L. is now fourteen years of age, having been
born on the 28th of April, 191},.
Five Hundred and SixU-On
JULIUS D. MOLLMAN
Mr. MoUman has taken a practical interest in the civic
affairs of his city, and has served it in two capacities — first
as alderman, to which office he was elected in 1908, and later
as mayor, from 1912 to 1916. He has been president of the
Commercial Club, and has long been on its Board of Direc-
tors. He is a director in the First National Bank of Mascoutah
and also a director of the local Building and Loan Association.
He is a member of the Southern Illinois Sportsman's League
and is one of the Board which directs the League. Mr. Moll-
man is particularly fond of hunting, and is considered one of
the best marksmen in the county.
MONK IMPLEMENT COMPANY
'HE COMBINED EFFORTS of the two suhjects of
lis sketch, George Niess and E. C. Roediger, have
made possible the success of their organization, the
Monk Implement Company. Their close co-operation in the
farm implement business has not only been a help to those
with whom they have had relations, but it has also rewarded
their efforts financially and otherwise. A chronological narra-
tive of the records of the life of each of these two men is
well worth recording.
George Niess, the president of the company, was born on
October 17, 1875, in Mascoutah, Illinois. He attended a coun-
try school in early life, but after a few years he entered the
Northern Normal University, where he studied for two
years. Mr. Niess then enrolled in the Northern Indiana Uni-
versity, of Valparaiso, Indiana, an institution from which he
was graduated. After his school training he taught school in
Smithton, and in Miilstadt, for eight years. In iqoj, he came
(9 th
ROEDIGER GEORGE NIESS
to Belleville, and, along with E. C. Roediger, bought out C.
A. Monk m the implement business, and incorporated it
under the name of the Monk Implement Company. Mr.
Niess was made president, and Mr. Roediger, the secretary
and treasurer of this firm. The former has devoted all his
time to this business since the first day it was established.
Mr. Niess was married on July is, 1900, to Lillie E. Lill.
The couple have a daughter, Netta V., born on May 10,
1902, who was graduated from the University of Illinois in
1923, and has since taught in the Bloomington High School.
Mrs. Niess, who is a daughter of Peter W. Lill, was a school
teacher in Shiloh, Mascoutah, and Grassland. Mr. Neiss is
a member of many organizations. He is the president of the
Rotary Club in Belleville, a member of the Chamber of Com-
merce, a director and the third vice-president of the Belleville
Bank and Trust Company, the past president of the Belleville
Commercial Club, and also president of the Belleville Turn-
verein for ten years (now a hfe member). During the war,
Mr. Neiss helped to organize the Four-Minute men, and
was made president of the same. For nine years he was pres-
ident of the board of education. Under his administration,
the beautiful Belleville High School was built.
The other subject of this sketch, E. C. Roediger, the sec-
retiry and treasurer of the company, was born on January
II, 1881, in Miilstadt, Illinois. He attended the public
schools, and later studied in the Northern State Normal and
the Southern Illinois Normal University. After graduation,
he taught school for three years, in the Sugar Loaf Township.
He also rendered service as a teacher in Millstidt, for two
Fnc Hu.idred and Sixty-Two
^^^^^^E^^^^^^^^^^s2>
years, and m Belleville, for fifteen years, where he was prin-
cipal of the Douglas School. He taught commercial work in
the Belleville High School for two years. In 1904, Mr. Roe-
diger, with Mr. Niess, bought and organized the company
m which he now holds his present office. He continued to
teach school until iqio, when he resigned, in order to devote
his entire interest to his business. Mr. Roediger was married
on February 21, 1925, to Ida L. Krug. Mrs. Roediger, who
is a daughter of Jacob Krug, taught school for seventeen
years in Belleville. Mr. Roediger is a Mason, an Elk, and a
member of the Lion's Club; he is also a member of the Evan-
gelical Church, and the secretary of the board of directors of
St. Paul's Evangelical Old Folk's Home. He also belongs to
the Chamber of Commerce.
The Monk Implement Company, so well established by
Mr. Niess and Mr. Roediger, is situated in a building that
is modern in every respect. It is a fitting monument to the
work of these two men who have contributed so substan-
tially to Belleville's success.
WILLIAM JONES
'he Jones Bros. Coal Mining Company, of Marissa,
has for its vice-president and general manager Mr.
William Jones, one of St. Clair County's expert coal
operators. This company now operates two mines, which,
when running at full force, employ from 350 to 400 men. In
1897 Jonathan Jones, St., the father of William, organized the
company, with his sons as partners in the venture, and for
seven years operated one mine. In 1904 they opened another
mine, known as Mine No. 2, and added this to the first. The
father began his mining career in the British Isles, where he
worked for a number of years before coming to the States. He
was born in Wales, on August 28, 1842, and was married in
England, to Kezia Davies, on May 8, 1864. Their first child,
William, and the subject of this sketch, was born in the old
country, March 24, 1865, and when he was about two years
of age the parents decided to immigrate to America. They
settled first in Duquoin, 111., in 1867, and here their other
children were born — Charles, on May 8, 1868; Jonathan, on
Oct. 18, 1870; Winifred Kezia, m December, 1874; John, on
the I'jth of March, 1879. In the same year that John was
born, Mr. Jones moved his family to Marissa, where the
father worked m the mines, and the sons followed their
father m this occupation as soon as they were old enough.
All of the sons are interested in the coal company, and the
daughter, now Mrs. Winifred Scott, has been made the secre-
tary of the company. Charles is the president, and was for-
merly its secretary; William is the vice-president and general
manager; and Jon.ithan is the treasurer. For many years after
the company's organization, the father was its president and
treasurer. His first wife died in 1891 (March 2), and on March
4th of the following year he was married to Rachel Bayley.
The latter bore him no children and died in April, 191 1. On
the 22nd of January, 1916, Mr. Jones married his third wife,
Laura Fischer, who is still living.
Mr. Jones entered the mines of his native land when he
was still a child, as so many did at that time. His son, William,
too began this work nither early in life, but secured a fair
education m the public schools before taking up this occupa-
tion. After the organization of the Jones Company, he with-
drew from active mine labor, and has devoted his time to the
management of the company and to other business. He is the
owner of the Jones Filling Station in Marissa ; is a director in
the Marissa Building £s? Loan Association; and one of the
stockholders in the Marissa State Bank.
William Jones was married, on Sept. 27, 1887, to Mary A.
Cooper, who was born at Caseyville, Ky., March 20, 1868,
and whose parents moved to Marissa about the year 1870.
Her father was John Cooper, for many years a mine manager
in Marissa. The mother, America (Adams) Cooper, bore to
her husband four children. Both parents were members of the
Methodist Church.
Mr. and Mrs. William Jones are parents of tour children.
Clara, the oldest, who is now Mrs. Walter Westwood, of St.
Louis, was born Oct. 20, 1889; Velda L., married to Edward
Potter, of St. Louis, was born in 1891, on Aug. 17; Lillian E.,
the wife of Edgar J. Davis, lives in Marissa, and was born on
August 29, 1899, and Monticella, the youngest, born March
16, 1905, is married to Luzel Smith, and lives at Alton, Illi-
nois. All of the children were given a high school education,
and Monticella was a student of McKendree College.
Mr. Jones for twelve years was the chief executive of his
city; served on his city's school board for fifteen years; and
rendered service to Marissa for many years as its alderman.
Mr. Jones is a Mason, an Odd Fellow, a Modern Woodman
and a member of the Methodist Church.
ARTHUR JONES
Shipping his patented furnace — the only one of its kind — •
all over the world, Arthur Jones, who is the very able and
excellent president of his own organization, has certainly
achieved success with his U. S. Smelting Furnace Company.
He was born m Denver, Colorado, on August 19, 1874, a
son of James Jones, who was born in Manchester, England.
The latter came to America in 1869, and established a repu-
tation as one of the first brass manufacturers in this country.
Fiie Hundred and Sixty-Three
IMC KENDREE^^^^^:^^...,^^^.^^
ARTHUR JONES FRANK G.
St. Louis was the scene of his activity in this hne. Later he
organized the James Jones Company in Belleville, 111. In
1892 he organized the James Jones Brass Works in Los
Angeles, Cal. He died in 1900, but left his family in a very
comfortable position. His wife, now seventy -nine years of
age, is still living.
The subject of this sketch received his education in St.
Louis. He took a great interest in the manufacturing busi-
ness, and accepted a position under his father in the brass
works. Here he began at the bottom, and by consistent
work, forged his way to the top. The death of his father
left no small amount of responsibility on Mr. Jones' shoul-
ders, but he was equal to the occasion by taking up the
management, in 1900, in Los Angeles. In 1917 he came to
Belleville, where he organized the U. S. Smelting Furnace
Company, a firm of which he is not only president, but also
general manager. Mr. Jones was married in 1909, to Georgia
A. Rogers. The couple have two children — Rogers D. and
Jane Lee.
Mr. Jones is a member of the Masons, the Elks, the Rotary
Club, the Chamber of Commerce, and president of the Union
school and the Township High School boards. He finds great
delight in the sport of fishing, is very popular among his
club members, as elsewhere.
FRANK G. TAYLOR
SUBJECT of this sketch, Mr. Frank G. Taylor,
fine young chap who is making a good start in
the political world. He was born in the city where
he still resides —East St. Louis, Illinois, on August i, 1902.
C^OHES
©sa
TAYLOR HENRY B. EATON
After acquiring elementary training in vanous public schools.
Mr. Taylor entered the East St. Louis High School, from
which he was graduated. Later, he was married to Miss
Winifred Ceroid, who is the daughter of Fred Ceroid, of
East St. Louis, head of the Ceroid Transfer Company.
Fred Ceroid is well known for his political activity and
capacity for leadership. His life manifests many sterling
characteristics of his Cerman ancestry. When only twenty-
two years of age, he became chairman of the Republican
Committee. This success was continued, for he held the
office of city treasurer of East St. Louis from 191 1 to 191 j.
For the past seven years he has been a member of the Illinois
Commerce Commission.
The young couple, Mr. and Mrs. Taylor, are the parents
of a daughter, Winifred Jeanne. Although Mr. Taylor is
still a young man, he is a member of many important organ-
izations, which clearly shows that he is very much interested
in the social, business, and political affairs in his community
He is a member of the First Methodist Episcopal Church,
the Gothic Lodge, No. 852, of A. F. &" A. M., the Missis-
sippi Valley Consistory, the Ainad Temple Shrine, the
Kiwanis Club, and the Junior Chamber of Commerce.
Mr. Taylor's interest in civic affairs, coupled with his
ability and energy, has won for him the important office of
city clerk of East St. Louis — an office to which he was ap-
pointed in M<iy, in 1927. This is, indeed, a rather fine posi-
tion with quite ,1 bit of responsibility, to be held by a man
at so early an age.
Five Hundred and Sixtv-Four
^^^^^M^^^^^^^^^s^
HENRY B, EATON
'HE NAME EATON is a very famihar one in the
history of McKendree College, for Mr. Henry Black-
burn Eaton, his father, and three brothers have at-
tended the College in the past, two of them graduating.
At present, Mr. Eaton is a very successful lawyer in Ed
wardsville, Illinois. He was born Aug. 22, 1SS4, m H.imel
Township, Madison County, Illinois. He attended the ele
mentary and high school of this city, and then entered Mc-
Kendree College, where he studied from 1903 to 1905. While
in the college, he won the Brown Oratorical Medal, an event
that marked a great day for Philo. Mr. Eaton was graduated
from the Illinois Wesleyan Law School m 1908, and was
County Judge of Madison County from 1914 to 191S. At
present he is the special assistant to the Attorney-General
of the state of Illinois, as an inheritance tax attorney for
Madison and St. Clair Counties.
In 1939 Mr. Eaton was married to Miss Emma King
They have three children; Mary E., who is a student at
McKendree College, Henry K., and Emma Rebecca.
Mr. Eaton is a grand-nephew of Rev. T. A. Eaton, who
was one of the leading ministers of the Southern Illinois
Conference, and who was a graduate of McKendree College
in 1849. In the same class was Judge Silas L. Bryan, father
of W. J. Bryan.
William P. Eaton, the father of Mr. Eaton, was graduated
from McKendree College m 1868. Immediately after the Civil
War he was elected County Superintendent of Schools of
Madison County. During the war he served m Company H
of the 117th Illinois Volunteer Infantry, commonly called
the "McKendree College Regiment." The Colonel of this
Regiment was Risdon M. Moore, a professor of Mathe-
matics in McKendree College, and the Adjutant was Samuel
H. Deneen, a Latin Professor of the College.
PHILIP FISCHER
HNOTHER man who has worked all his life without
complaint, but with a spirit that showed that he has
been willing to do his full share, is Philip Fischer. He
IS a farmer, and like most farmers, glories in the fruits of his
labor. Mr. Fischer was born on October 14, 1862, a son of
Philip and Anna M. Fischer. The former was born on June
26, 1826, and died on July 5, 1S90. The latter was born on
May 9, 1822, and died on May 9, 1904. This couple were
parents of seven children. Philip Fischer, Jr., attended the
public schools in early life, but after being graduated from
grammar school, he had to quit because of an abundance of
work on his father's farm. He worked for his parents until
the year iSqi, when he began to tarm on his own accord.
During these years he carefully protected and supported his
mother, who died in 1904.
Mr. Fischer was united 111 marriage with Emma M. Hogg,
on February !<;, 1904. Mrs. Fischer, who was born on April
9, 1884, near New Baden, Illinois, was a daughter of Friedelin
and Kathenne Weorner Hogg. There were twelve children in
this family. The father died on August 16, 1926, but the
mother is still living. Mrs. Fischer worked with her parents
on the farm until her marriage to Mr. Fischer. They have
four children. These are: Harvey, who was born on August
6, 1906; Lester G., February 26, 1909, now attending the
University of Illinois; Melba, February 26, 1910, a high
school student at present; and Alice, November i, 191 2, also
a high school student.
Mr. Fischer has been a member of the school board for
twenty-four years. Although he is sixty-six years of age, he
does not let Father Time hamper him in any way. He is still
very active, works hard every day, and has no immediate
plans for retirement.
*GEORGE H THOMPSON
/T^EORGE H. Thompson, principal of the Marissa Town-
\\9 ship High School, began teaching at the age of eigh-
teen m a country school about six miles north of
Coffeyville, Kansas. He was born in Missouri, near Fairplay
m Cedar County, March 6, 1869. Both of his parents were
natives of Tennessee, but moved to Missouri in 1850, and
then in 1877, to Independence, Kansas, The father, George
J. Thompson, served in the Union Army during the Civil
War. At the opening of the Civil War, he was conducting a
general store and serving as post-master at Fairplay. After
the war he followed farming. He died in December 1903, and
his wife, Mary (McNmch) Thompson, thirteen years later.
Their youngest son George attended school, first in Mis-
souri until he was eight, and then in Kansas, where he iinished
the high school work, and took a course in a normal school
preparatory to teaching. After teaching for four years he en-
tered Valparaiso University and alternated his studies here
with his teaching. In 1895 he took the principalship of the
high school at Hobart, Indiana, where he remained twenty-
three years, the last thirteen as supenntedent of schools.
From Hobart he came to Marissa in igi8. In 1907 he received
his B. S. degree from Valparaiso University, and six years
after the Bachelor of Pedagogy degree. Since then he has pur-
sued graduate studies in Washington University, St. Louis.
During his principalship in Marissa he has succeeded in se-
*Note — Portrait on page ^^7
curing new school buildings and in greatly improving the
facilities and standards of instruction.
On January i, 1895, Mr. Thompson married Miss Bertha
Stilwell of Wheeler, Indiana. She was the youngest of the
four daughters of Samuel S. and Jane (Gordon) Stilwell. Her
father was a soldier in the Union Army, was a carpenter and
builder by trade, though he lived for the last years of his life
on the farm. Mr. Stilwell died in 1921 and his wife died in
1904. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson have seven children: Ruth,
now Mrs. Wm. T. Douglas of Mobile, Alabama; Mary, now
Mrs. Frank Jones of Cairo, Illinois; Wynne Weir, who m
April, 1917 enhsted in the U. S. Coast Artillery, was over-
seas near Metz when the Armistice was signed and returned
to the United States in January, 1919; he is now in the mer-
chant marine; Milton McNinch, a student of civil engineer-
ing at Gary, Indiana; Ella, now Mrs. A. I. Madeira of
Hollywood, Florida; Maurice Seton, who served in the U.
S. Navy during 1925 and 1926, is now in Manssa; Kenneth
Reed, a junior in high school.
Mr. Thompson is a member of the Methodist Church, of
the Masonic Order, of the I O. O. F., and of Rotary Inter-
national. He holds memberships in the National Education
Association, the Illinois State Teachers' Association, and of
the High School Principals' Association of Illinois.
CONRAD REEB
eROMINENT among the men in the business life of
the city of East St. Louis and the surrounding district
who have worked their way in the strength of per-
sonal merit and sheer ability, from stations of comparative
obscurity to positions of influence is Conrad Reeb, who is
president of the Southern Illinois National Bank and of the
Southern Illinois Trust Company, both of East St. Louis. Mr.
Reeb is a native of East St. Louis. He was born November
25, 1868, and attended the parochial schools of that city,
and, later, the Mound City Commercial College, of St.
Louis. Upon being graduated from the latter, he entered the
field of banking by accepting the humble position of messen-
ger boy in the Workingmen's Bank of his native city. When
the Southern Illinois Bank opened its doors for the first time,
Mr. Reeb occupied the position at the teller's window, giv-
ing such satisfaction that he was promoted to assistant cash-
ier, and later, to cashier. At this post he remained fully ten
years. But his next step, in 1912, led him to the vice-presi-
dency of his bank, and two years later, to the most responsible
position which the hoard of directors could bestow upon
him — that of president. So marked is his ability m the field of
finance, that the board has constantly re-elected him to that
most important position.
The history of the growth and development of the South-
ern Illinois National Bank is inseparably interwoven with the
biography of Conrad Reeb. No banking establishment any-
where enjoys a higher reputation for solidity and strict integ-
rity. It was President Reeb's reputation as a safe and reliable
financier that caused his bank to finance more momentous
business enterprises in East St. Louis than possibly any other
institution; it was President Reeb's foresight and active inter-
est in even the most minute details of business that has con-
tributed so much towards the development of one of the most
important banking institutions m the middle west. The success
which has attended this enterprise and his close connection
therewith is the best evidence of his ability as a banker, and his
high standing in the world of business is the strongest testi-
monial to his upright character and unsullied business methods.
Mr. Reeb was married to Miss Ida Theresa Wilds, April
25, 1900. She was born in Columbia, III., September 13, 1874,
and attended the parochial school of her native town. Mr.
and Mrs. Reeb have two sons and three daughters, namely:
Carl H., born December 5, 1907; Roy W., bom March 9,
1910; Ruth E., born October 6, 1903; Esther L., born March,
1905; and Wilda E., born July 7, 1913. All of the children are
receiving a very excellent education. Mr. Reeb is very proud
of his family and, in spite of his business interests, is ever
attentive to his family obligations. Neither is he neglectful of
his role m society, for he is a member of the following organ-
izations : Elks, Knights of Columbus, Chamber of Commerce,
Retail Merchants' Association, East St. Louis Country Club,
Eagles, Business Men's League, Bankers' Club, and the Mis-
souri Athletic Association. Furthermore he has been a trustee
of St. Henry's parish for four years and president of the Wes-
tern Catholic Union for eight years. Mr. Reeb certainly holds
an enviable position among his fellow men. Beginning humbly
as a messenger boy and rising to the presidency of a large and
powerful financial institution has certainly required strict
honesty and fidelity, untiring energy and unwavering per-
severance on the part of Mr. Reeb.
Five HundTcd and Sixty-Six
GEORGE H^ THOMPSON
CONRAD REEB
DR, CARL L. GLENN
DR, CARL L. GLENN, DENTIST
«.y^\ R. C. L. Glenn was born at Manssa, 111., on Novem-
JLF tier 29th, 1882. His father, A. C. Glenn, was also
born in Illinois, at Preston (August 9th, 1858), and
was married to Rachel L. Borders the 7th of October, 1880.
Of their three children, Carl is the oldest, and the only son.
The two girls were Edna L. and Irma L. Glenn, the latter
now Mrs. Arthur Webster of Manssa, 111. The grandfather
of the dentist, James Wilson Glenn was born in Saratoga
County, New York in 1821, came to Southern Illinois in
1840, studied theology preparatory to entering the Presby-
terian ministry, and was licensed on April nth, i8<;';. On
the December following he was ordained and installed as
pastor of the Springfield Congregation (now Preston).
Dr. Glenn received his public school education in Marissa,
graduated from the high school and then entered the Dental
School of St. Louis University. Soon after graduating, m
1904, he began his practice at Pawnee, 111., from which place,
after two years, he moved to Marissa. A year later — De-
cember jist, 1907 — Dr. Glenn was married to Anna C.
Wagner, and on November 12th of the following year their
first child, Robert W., was born; their other boy, Myron
James, was born March 2nd, 191 1. Robert has graduated
from the Marissa High School, and is now a student at the
University of Illinois; Myron is still a pupil in the Town-
ship High School. Mrs. Glenn is one of the three children
of J. A. Wagner and Sophia Heimann, and was born m
Evansville, 111., on October 23rd, 1885. She received her high
school training at Marissa. Her father was engaged in the
general merchandise business until he retired in 1906, and
IS still living m Evansville, but Mrs. Wagner died many
years ago (March 19, 1895).
Not all of Dr. Glenn's time is taken up with his dental
practice, though he has a very large clientele here. He finds
time for social and business interests other than those di-
rectly connected with his profession. He is a Mason, a mem-
ber of the Rotary Club, and one of the directors of the
Marissa Country Club, as well as a stock holder in the
Building &' Loan Association and m the State Bank of Mar-
issa. Besides his residence he owns other property here.
PHILIP HERMAN
eHiLir Herman, a retired farmer, living on R. F. D. No.
2, near New Athens, 111., was born in New Athens
Township, on Dec. 22, 1844. He secured his education
in the public school of his neighborhood, and then assisted his
father with the farm work until he was twenty-three years of
age, when he rented some land from his father, and thereafter
worked for himself. Later he bought the eighty acres upon
which he now lives, and cultivated this until he was ready to
retire m 1902, and rented the land to one of his sons. On
August 18, when he was nearing his twenty-third birthday,
Philip Herman married Catherine Darmstatter, a New Ath-
ens Township girl, born on Oct. i, 1847, the daughter of
Louis Darmstatter. Of the six children born of this union, but
three are now living. Elizabeth, the oldest, born on Jan. 11,
1868, married Edward Joseph; Amanda was born on April
14, 1869, and was married, first to Philip Rush, and after his
Five Hundred and Sixty'Sei<
death, to George Schieferdecker; Charles, born in 1870, on
August 19, died on March 28, 1909; WiUiam Theodore was
born March 8, 1876, and died on July 15 of the following
year; Leonora L., later Mrs. Commodore Carr, born Jan. 25,
1879, died in 1902, on Feb. 22; and Clarence, a biography of
w.hom will be briefly given in the latter part of this article,
was born Sept. 18, 1880.
The parents of our subject, Mr. and Mrs. Peter Herm.mn,
reared a family of twelve children, of which Philip was the
oldest. The father was born in a village of Saxony, in Ger-
many, August I, 1820, attended school until he was fourteen
years of age, and then worked in his father's water power
mill until he was eighteen, when he decided to come to
America. Here, after many hardships, working at different
jobs to make a living, he finally located in Belleville, and fol-
lowed the turner's trade for nearly two years. In the mean-
time his father had left the old country, and reached Belleville
in 184J, and soon thereafter purchased five hundred acres of
land on Twelve Mile Prairie.
The father died the following year, but Peter reimined on
this farm the rest of his life. Before his death, which occurred
on July 9, 1904, he had retired from active farm life. His good
wife had passed away long before this time — on Dec. 14, 1876.
Philip Herman retired from the farm in 1902, and rented
out his land to his son, Clarence, but soon after retiring, he
began operating, in partnership with his son, Clarence, a saw
mill and threshing machine. The father still runs the saw mill,
and is able to work every day. He is well known throughout
his community, and belongs to the Masonic Order, which
he entered in 188 j.
His son, Clarence, secured a common school education and
began farming, first for his father until about 1901, and then
rented from his father and did independent farming. It was in
1905 that he and his father became owners of the saw mill and
threshing machine, and they are both still engaged in running
these. Clarence was married, on Feb. 20, 1912, to M;itilda
Barthel, the daughter of Adam Barthel. She was born in
Prairie du Long Township, on Jan. j, 1885.
On Nov. 19, i9i5,GladisE., the only daughter of Cl.irence
and Mrs. Herman, was born.
Mr. Herman has served as a director of the school board
of New Athens, District No. 64. He is a stockholder in the
First National Bank of Freeburg, and has been a member of
the Masonic Order since 1919. He is an advocate of hard, hon-
est labor, of which his own activities are a good example.
When he has leisure time he enjoys driving his .lutomobile.
L. A. SCHAFER
QR. L. A. ScHAFER, Superintendent of Schools at Mas-
coutah. 111., has been engaged in educational work
since 1902. He has supervised the schools in Creal
Springs, Carterville, O'Fallon, Christopher, Marissa, and
for nine years in Mascoutah, Illinois. Mr. Schafer received
his grade school, as well as his high school education, in the
schools of Creal Springs, Illinois, the place where he was
born on September 24, 1881.
His mother, Caroline McGowan Schafer, was also born
here on the 23rd of July, 1852, and his father, William Scha-
fer, was born at Munden, Germany, on February 12, 18 ji.
The latter came to the States in 1852, settled in Illinois, and
during the Civil War, joined the forces of the North, and
took part in the battles of Vicksburg, Forts Henry and
Donaldson. He accompanied General Sherman in his famous
march to the sea, and passed in review at Washington. Both
Mr. and Mrs. William Schafer have recently passed away —
the father in 1921, on the 2jrd of March; the mother on
the i2th day of October, 1924. There were born into their
home fourteen children.
Soon after his graduation from high school, Mr. Schafer
began his teaching career, and at the same time he continued
to study during the summers. For one year he was a student
in the University at Valparaiso, Indiana, and later he en-
rolled as a student in McKendree College, from which in-
stitution he received his A. B. degree in June, 1926.
The position which Superintendent Schafer now occupies
in the field of education has been achieved through hard
work and continuous study. Ever a student and a great
reader, he did not cease to study upon his graduation from
McKendree. During the summers of 1926 and 1927, he pur-
sued graduate work in the University of Colorado at Boul-
der, Colorado, where he expects to take a Master's Degree
in 1928. When not engaged m the duties of a school super-
visor, he is pretty sure to be found studying or attending
classes. He established the O'Fallon Township High School
in 1920 and had it accredited by the University of Illinois.
He also established the Community High School at Mas-
coutah, Illinois, in 1921.
Mr. Schafer is a married man, and has two daughters —
Caroline R., born on September 15, 191 1, and Ilda Jean, on
June 2'), 1914. Mrs. Schafer was Marian A. Hinchcliff, of
Cambria, Illinois, the daughter of William H. Hinchcliff
and Lou Mitchell Hinchcliff. She comes from ,1 family of
SIX children, was born on the jrd of September, 1888, and
was married to Mr. Schafer on August 10, 1910.
Five Hundred and Si,xt\-Eight
PROF. L, A. SCHAFER
JUDGE S. B. HODGDON
H. A. KANZLER
In politics Mr. Schafer is a Republican; fraternally he is
a 32nd degree Mason, and a member of the Mississippi
Valley Consistory at East St. Louis, Illinois. He has been
appointed Secretary of the Board of Education, has been
successful as a supervisor of education here, and is consid-
ered a good school man.
JUDGE HODGDON
fiROBATE Judge Samuel D. Hodgdon of Webster
Groves, St. Louis County, was born on a farm
near Summerfield in 1868. His father, Charles O.
Hodgdon' was a teacher and an advocate of public schools m
St. Louis County. At the age of eighteen Judge Hodgdon
was graduated from the Manual Training Dept. of Wash-
ington University, earning his livelihood by clerical work
for the Mutual Life Insurance Co., and by cleaning ofEces.
For some years Mr. Hodgdon worked in St. Louis and stud-
ied law at Washington University, from which school he
was graduated in 1895.
In 1896 he was elected Assistant Circuit Attorney in
St. Louis and held that position for ten years. In igia Mr.
Hodgdon was elected to the Legislature, and two years
later to the position of Probate Judge of St. Louis County.
This last position he now holds, and in 1926 he had no
opponent either in the primary or general elections.
Judge Hodgdon has been especially active m civic mat-
ters. For ten years he has been president of the Ozark Trail
Association, the organization responsible for the building
of an all-weather road from St. Louis to Albuquerque, New
Mexico. In 1924 he was chairman of a campaign division,
working in twelve counties for the passage of Proposition
No. 5, providing state gasoline and license taxes in order
to save the Good Roads program.
Judge Hodgdon was Chairman of a committee which
brought about the St. Charles toll bridge over the Miss-
ouri River. Within four years, b.ised upon the present m
come, the bridge will become the property of the state
without one cent having been expended and with no in-
crease in tolls.
Judge Hodgdon has always shown an enthusiastic inter-
est m the public schools. For many years he has been
chairman of a committee working for a constitutional amend-
ment, making it possible for every child in the state to
secure a high school education. He has been identified with
several successful movements for the improvement of rural
schools. In 191 5 he was one of the organizers of the Pro-
bate Judges' Association, and served as president and chair-
man of the Legislative Committee.
Recently Judge Hodgdon has announced his intention to
run for the governorship and his platform is evidence of
his sincere desire to make some changes for the better.
HERMAN A. KANZLER
H SCHOOLMAN of hberal education secured in the
universities of America and Europe, and a linguist of
unusual ability, is Herman A. Kanzler, principal of
the East St. Louis High School. Professor Kanzler was born
in Belleville, April 29th, 1880, the son of George F. Kanzler
and Minna Keil, both of whom were born and reared in
Belleville. George Kanzler died on May 2nd, 1912 and his
Fne Hundred arid S,xt',-\me
|mc kendr^^^^^^^^^^^
wife on July 19th, 1919. The grandparents of Herman Kan;-
ler came from Germany to America in 1850, and went almost
directly to St. Clair County to settle.
Herman Kanzler studied in the Belleville public schools,
through the high school, and received the Bachelor of Arts
Degree in 1900 from the Christian Brothers College of St.
Louis. Then he went abroad to continue his studies, spent
one year at the University in Toulouse, France and at Sar-
bone University (now the University of Paris), receiving
from the latter a degree equivalent to our Bachelor of Educa-
tion, studied one year in Spain and a year in Italy. During
the summers he has pursued graduate studies in the Univer-
sity of Illinois, Chicago University, and in Columbia Univer-
sity. He also holds his A. M. degree. From 1904 to 1908 he
was head of the Modern Language Department in Christian
Brothers College, and since 1908, has been teaching in East
St. Louis, as an instructor in German, French and Spanish
until 1917, when he was chosen assistant principal of the
High School, and as principal since 1922.
Mr. Kanzler married, on Sept. 9th, 1904, a prominent and
cultured young lady of St. Louis, Miss Clara E. Hassenduebel,
the daughter of Phillip Hassenduebel, the owner of a grocery
establishment in St. Louis. Her mother, Liza Goettler Hassen-
duebel, died in 1914. Mrs. Kanzler is a graduate of the former
Victoria Institute of St. Louis, and received, also, a musical
education before her marriage.
Professor Kanzler is a Republican, a member of the German
Evangelical Church, and a Mason. He has passed through all
the degrees in the latter, is Past Master of his lodge, Past High
Priest of Chapter 1 56, Past Illustrious Master of Council 161 ,
Past Patron of the Rob Morris Chapter of the Eastern Star,
and Past Watchman of the Sheppard Calvary White Shrine.
Mrs. Kanzler is a member of the Eastern Star, of the White
Shrine, and Past Queen of the Daughters of the Nile. Both
enjoy traveling, and Mr. Kanzler is especially addicted to
books and languages.
ROBERT F. WHITE
H YOUNG MAN of ability and promise came to McKen-
dree in the fall of 1917 who was destined to make his
personality quite vividly felt on the old campus which
is the arena in which so many youths have started to play
the great game of life. His parents were Frank and Etta L.
White of Murphysboro. There Robert Fulton White was
born September 8, 1899. In that city he grew up and received
his elementary education. His older brother Ralph was a stu-
dent in McKendree for a while but did not finish. However,
Robert was determined not to allow any ordinary cause to
turn him aside from his lofty purpose to secure a thorough
education. For some time he hesitated m the choice of his
profession between the law and the ministry. He finally de-
cided for the law, but that did not indicate any relaxation
of religious principle or practice. He was an active member
of the Y. M. C. A. and for one year president of that organ-
ization. During his presidency the Y. M. C. A. was a real
power on the campus. That statement would not apply to
every year of its history. He was a member of Plato Society,
and showed the same progressive spirit in that field also. He
was interested in dramatics and was the leading spirit in a
play known as the Minstrel Show, which was staged under
the direction of Miss Cheeseman, and proved a great success
as far as the patronage of the public was concerned. Mr.
White was business manager of the College Annual for that
year, and he saw in the Minstrel Show a means of providing
for the deficit which usually occurred in the publication of
the Annual. He himself had a part in the play and impressed
the other members of the cast with its importance. It "went
over" in fine style. The next evening they took it to O'Fallon
and presented it to a full house there. Needless to say the
deficit in the "Annual" budget was met. He also took part
in other plays that were presented during the year, for
example, he played the part of Stephen Brewster, which is
the leading part, in "Suppressed Desires". He was also a
reader of ability and sometimes went out as a member of a
picked up quartette to give an entertainment in some near by
church, perhaps for the benefit of the Epworth League, or
sometimes because the pastor wanted to arouse a little fresh
interest in his people by giving them something out of the
ordinary. When Mr. White had completed his junior year
at McKendree, he went to the University of Illinois to take
his law course taking advantage of an arrangement then exist'
ing whereby a student could use credits earned in the law
school to meet the requirements of his senior year. He re
ceived his A. B. at McKendree in 1922 and LL. B. from the
University of Illinois in 1925. At Illinois, he belonged to the
Phi Delta Phi legal fraternity, and the Acacia social frater-
nity. After his graduation in 1925 he was admitted to the bar
and then located in Granite City, Illinois, for the practice of
his profession. He has already handled several important
cases in such a masterly way as to give him a favorable repu'
tation in legal circles this early in his career. He has a younger
brother, Frank, who spent a year at McKendree. In the
meantime his parents have moved to California and now
reside in Los Angeles.
Five Hundred and Seventy
ROBERT FULTON WHITE
HENRY W. SCHWARTZ
WILLIAM A HOUGH
HENRY W. SCHWARTZ
Henry Schwartz, the owner of a general merchandise busi-
ness in Dupo, Hhnois, has attained his success through per-
sistent hard labor. His stock of goods includes hardware,
paints, oils, dry-goods, shoes, and notions. The owner is the
son of John F. and Hannah (Pfeffer) Schwartz, and was born
in Twelve Mile Prairie, St. Clair County, Nov. 15th, 1872.
His father is the owner and operator of the Schwartz Bros.
Express Co., in East St. Louis.
Henry finished the public school, and then attended the
Carbondale Normal for six terms, after which he taught in
Prairie du Lang and Stookey Townships for seven years. In
1900 he went to Belleville, worked at life insurance for eigh-
teen months, and then managed a hotel for two years, until
190J, when he moved to East St. Louis, and here he contrac-
ted for carrying mail between East St. Louis and the Stock
Yards. He sold this contract to his father in 1904, and for
a year was engaged in the parcel delivery business at his pres-
ent location. In 191 1 his store burned and in 1912 he built the
present structure — a modern, up-to-date business house.
On Feb. 4, 1895, Mr. Schwartz married Emma Kochmann,
by whom he has two children — Sylvester W. Schwartz, at
present working in his father's store, born June 28, 1889;
Mamie Schwartz, now Mrs. Earl Kent, born Dec. 3, iqoi.
Emma Kochmann Schwartz died in 1904, on Jan. 18, and
on Oct. 15, 1906, Mr. Schwartz married Anna Breuer. The
latter lived until Nov. 23rd, 1926.
Henry Schwartz was the first mayor of Dupo and later
served as city alderman. From 1917 to 1920 he was super-
visor of Sugar Loaf Township. He was one of the organizers
and chairman of a league to improve the roads between East
St. Louis and Waterloo. For six years he served on the Dupo
Board of Education, was chosen the first president of the
community high school board. Since 1923 he has been post-
master in Dupo; he is a stockholder and a director m the
Dupo Savings Bank, as well as m the Dupo Building and
Loan Association. Mr. Schwartz is an Odd Fellow, and a
member of the Evangelical Church.
WILLIAM A. HOUGH
BOR MORE than forty years Mr. William A. Hough,
of Belleville, now secretary and treasurer of the Belle-
ville Finance Corporation, was a notable figure in the
educational development of this county. He entered the
teaching ranks in 1877, and labored continuously as a teacher
and supervisor until 1926, when he withdrew from the field
of education, and after the organization of the finance cor-
poration (Oct. I, 1926), took up the duties of his new office.
Mr. Hough was born in Mascoutah, on March 16, 1857,
one of the two sons of William Hough, a farmer. Since the
age of nine, William A. Hough has made his own way in
life. He received his early education in the Mascoutah
schools, and later attended McKendree College and Wash-
ington University, receiving from the former a degree of
Bachelor of Arts in 1910. Mr. Hough has taught in New
Memphis, 111. (5 years), rural schools (5 years), Mascoutah
High School (3 years), and Belleville (19 years). In 1910 Mr.
Hough was elected superintendent of schools for St. Clair
County, and served in this capacity for almost thirteen years.
Five Hundred and SeventyOne
It IS interesting to note that he was elected to this office on
the Democratic ticket in a county overwhelmingly Repub-
lican. Upon the termination of this service he was made
superintendent of the city schools of Belleville, and served
in this capacity until 1926 when he retired from active
school work.
Mr. Hough was married in November, 1878, to Di,xie
Fike, the daughter of Anderson and Sarah Jane Fike, of
Mascoutah, m which city Mrs. Hough was born on April
6, 1862, and where she was reared and educated. To this
congenial couple were born three children — Estella D., Dr.
Charles R., and Arthur Newton (deceased).
To the cause of education Mr. Hough has rendered, in
his city and county, much unselfish service. For fifteen years
he was a member of the Belleville Library Board, and for
three years the president of this board. He served on the
Carnegie Library Committee and for ten years on the Teach-
ers' Reading Circle Board. He has been president of the
Southern Illinois Teachers' Association and was a member
of the committee for the revision of the course of study
for the public schools of Illinois.
Mr. Hough is a Mason and a Shriner; he has held every
office in the Blue Lodge, for four years its Master; he has
been High Priest of the Royal Arch, and Eminent Com-
mander of the Tancred Commandery; and, for six years he
has acted as "Dad" of the DeMolay organization in his city.
Mr. Hough is also a member of the Modern Woodmen, of
the Elks, and of the Rotary Club. He has ever been a stu-
dent and greatly enjoys reading.
WILLIAM R. REISS
HFTER having been, during the greater part of his life,
a farmer, William R. Reiss, of Trenton, Illinois, is
almost ready to retire. His entire life is marked with
hard, conscientious work, and the long rest that he will soon
take will be well-earned. He was born in St. Clair County, on
November 15, 1867, a son of Charles J. Reiss and Eva Dintel-
mann. The former was born in Floraville, St. Clair County,
on February 17, i8jj. The latter was born in Germany, but
immigrated to this country at an early age. This couple were
parents of seven children. The subject of this sketch did not
have a very good opportunity to attend schools other than
the public school, but he overcame this handicap by his will-
ingness to learn what he could when not engaged in labor. He
contributed much work on his father's farm, which is situated
near O'Fallon. For several years he was busily engaged as a
hand on farms all over the county, but in 1893, after having
acquired all the important facts regarding the science of agri-
culture, he started fiirming for himself. He rented a farm near
O'Fallon, on which he produced fine crops, but in 1907, he
moved to the Nies farm, near Trenton. He rented land on this
farm until 1904, when he was able, by means of his thrift and
perseverance, to buy the farm. This fertile, verdant land,
which covers an area of two hundred and five acres, produces
good crops year after year.
Mr. Reiss was united in matrimony with Louisa B. Nies,
on January 10, 1894. She was born on July 10, 1866, on her
father's farm near O'Fallon. Her father, now deceased, was
Daniel Nies; her mother, who was born in Germany, on Jan-
uary 3, 183 1, came to this country in 1844. Mrs. Reiss was
truly a "home-girl" before her marriage, with the exception
of the term that she spent in the Catholic convent in Belle-
ville. Her hobby, Hke the true wife of a farmer, is the raising
of chickens. This happy couple have proved to be careful
parents of three children. These are: Edgar D., born on Jan-
uary 25, 1895; RoUand C, October •,, 1898, now married to
Edna Townsend; and Lucille, July 21, 1908, now a high
school graduate.
The subject of this sketch is a character of no mean im-
portance in Trenton. He holds the office of director of the
First National Bank; is the secretary of the Farmer's Co-
operative Elevator at Summerfield; and the president of the
North Grove Telephone Association. All of his work has not
been in his own interest by any means. He has contributed
to the welfare of his town — O'Fallon, as a member of the
board of education, and has been a school director ever since.
Mr. Reiss is not only interested in the raising of crops on
his farm, but he also makes a specialty of dairying. He is a
member of the Blue Wing Hunting and Fishing Club.
HERMAN E. 2IERATH
EARD WORK is the key to success in a great many
cases, and such may be said to be true in the case of
Herman E. Zierath. Always forging ahead, never re-
laxing, this gentleman has finally reached his present position
of secretary of the Oswald and Riechmann Motor Company.
His mind and body had a love for mechanical things even in
early childhood, and many of his dreams have been fulfilled.
He was born on September 7, 1882, in New Athens, Illinois.
His education was acquired in the public schools, and in the
Bryant and Stratton College. After school he was employed
by the firm of the Star Brewery, in Belleville, where he
worked his way up to the position of a salesman. His ability
and sagacity won for him the office of manager, in 1906, of the
Fire Hundred arid Se\er\ty-Two
HERMAN ZIERATH
East St. Louis plant and tn-city branch of this company. He
resigned in igii and started in the automobile business as a
member of the firm of Oswald and Reichmann Motor
Company.
On September 7, 1904, Mr. Zierath was married to Miss
Anna Roach, by which union the couple are parents of
three children: Margareth L., Murnel E., and Hermann
E., Junior.
Mr. Zierath is a Catholic m faith, a member of the Knights
of Columbus, the Elks, the Moose, and the Modern Wood-
men. He takes a great interest in the well-loved sports of
hunting and fishing. Along these lines he holds membership
in the East St. Louis Fishing and Hunting Club, and is a
member of the board of directors of the Illinois Sportsmen's
League. Mr. Zierath is the president of the East St. Louis
Automobile Dealers' Association. His interest in civic affair?,
his all-around popularity, and genial personaHty have won
for him the important offi;e of commissioner of public safety.
J. C. F. KUNZE
■^j» C. F. KuNZE, a farmer near Marissa, was born on the
I old Kunze homestead, March 11, 1875, one of the six
^■^ sons of G. William Kunze and Dorothea Schneidewind,
who had, m all, eight children. The father, born in Betterfeld,
Germany, on July 30, 1839, came to America at the age ot
fifteen, first went to Canada, then came to Pope County,
Illinois, and finally settled in St. Clair County, on a farm,
where he lived until his death, which occurred on July 18,
igii. Mrs. Kunze died September 24, 1926.
Their son, J. C. F., received his education in the public
school and in the Academy of Marissa, and helped his father
run the farm until 1901, when he started farming for himself.
And Mr. Kunze is one of those very few men who have been
able to make farming pay m the last two decades when con-
ditions have been so adverse. His fine residence, built in
1911, and his two hundred acre farm both speak of such a
success that is not the gift of fortune but the lust reward
of hard work, and skill in farming.
Although he has always been busy in his daily occupation,
Mr. Kunze has taken time to participate in the finer things
of life and to serve his fellow men. He is a member of the
Evangelical Church; was for fourteen years a school board
trustee, and served on the Marissa Township School Board.
He has traveled extensively.
HAROLD V. CALHOUN
'HE PERPETUATION and stimulation of learning
IS one of the most important of all tasks which con-
front the human race. The future growth or downfall
of civilization, the very destiny of nations, depends upon
the training which the children of today receive. In view of
these truths, the city of Belleville, with H. V. Calhoun as
a type of its educators, is destined to enjoy a future of
prosperity and intellectual progress.
Harold V. Calhoun, Superintendent of Schools in Belle-
ville, won his way to the position which he now holds, by
means of hard work, consistent achievement, and real merit.
He was born in Pekin, Illinois, July 7, 1891. His father was
Rev. J. D. Calhoun, and his mother, Mrs. Vina (Robinson)
Hundred and Sei
MC KENDREE
Calhoun. Rev. Calhoun was for fifty years a Methodist
Episcopal minister in the Central Illinois Conference. He
died April ii, 1924. Mr. Calhoun's mother is still living
and continuing in excellent health.
Mr. Calhoun is the youngest of six children, and one
of a family of educators, since all have been teachers.
In order to complete his education, Mr. Calhoun was
compelled to work his way through college chiefly by doing
farm work and by remaining out of school to teach. He
was graduated from the Wenona, Illinois, High School, and
then was enrolled in Bradley Polytechnic Institute, in Illi-
nois State Normal, and in McKendree College. He was grad'
uated from McKendree in 1925 with the degree of Bachelor
of Arts.
His teaching career has been remarkably successful. He
has taught and supervised schools in Marshall County, in
LaRose, in Bureau, and in Mackinaw — all in this state. In
1922 he became Principal of the Junior High School in
Belleville and in 1926 was made Superintendent of the Pub-
lic Schools of Belleville, which position he holds at the
present time.
He was married on October 3,0, 191 J. His wife was for-
merly Miss Gertrude M. Judd, the daughter of Alfred and
Anna Judd, of Wenona, Illinois. She was born March 5,
1890 and was given a musical education at Wesleyan Uni-
versity, of Bloomington.
Mr. Calhoun is an efficient and practical worker in his
chosen field; is popular with the Belleville school authori-
ties, well-liked by all whom he serves, and trusted, honored,
and respected by everyone who knows him. He is a Mason,
a member of the lodge of Modern Woodmen, and an active
worker in the Belleville Rotary Club.
EDWARD N. JOSEPH
OF ALL the occupations that one may choose from,
there is none that can take the place of farming — an
occupation in which the farmer enjoys the bounties of
Mother Nature, with her beautiful contributions of crops
and trees, two mighty factors on which this land of ours
depends. Such, then, is the very good reason why Edward N.
Joseph chose farming, by which he aimed to contribute his
share to humanity. Mr. Joseph was born on a farm, and such,
then, may be the cause of his love for it. The date of his birth
is October 7, 1861, while the place is the old Joseph home-
stead, near New Athens, Illinois. He was a son of John Jos-
eph, a successful farmer, who owned a piece land of five
hundred and sixty-one acres, all of which he kept in a good
state of cultivation. His principal crop was wheat, which
yielded wonderfully. He held the position of school director
in several districts. Among people of the township, he and
his wife held a high position of esteem. The couple were
crowned with success in a worldly sense, also. They were all
devoted members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church.
The education of the subject of this sketch was received in
the public schools near his home. He devoted his spare time
to work on his father's farm. Immediately after his school
training was completed, he worked for many years on the
farm of his father. In 1886, his spirit of independence being
stirred, he decided to shift for himself. He took up farming,
and by 1903, was cultivating two hundred acres. At this time
he became interested in the city of Belleville, to which he
moved after renting his farm. Here he built a fine residence,
then one of the finest in the city. Chiefly because of his busi-
ness ability, he organized the Joseph Clothing Company, a
firm that met with success.
The subject of this sketch was married to Elizabeth A.
Hermann, on October 27, 1886. This lady, who was born on
January 11, 1868, near the New Athens Township, was the
daughter of Philip Hermann and Catherina Darmstatter. The
couple, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph, were blessed with one child.
Alma Margareta, who was born on January 10, 1890. She
was married, on September 16, 1908, to Elmer Needles. A
son was born, but after the death of Mrs. Needles, he was
adopted by his grandparents.
After the death of his daughter, in April, 1918, Mr. Joseph
sold his residence and business in Belleville, and then, feeling
the call of the farm, he moved back to his old, beloved home-
stead. The land around his home consists of three hundred
and fifty acres. It is considered to be the most fertile and best
in St. Clair County, producing an abundance of crops each
year. The enormous size of the farm does not permit Mr.
Joseph to handle it alone; therefore, he has two renters on
it. The residence on the farm is a thing of beauty. With its
graceful lines, blending with the surrounding of the fruits of
Mother Nature, and its strictly modern improvements, it
indeed marks a place to be envied.
Mr. Joseph is one of the most devoted members of the
Evangelical Church. He was one of the directors of the school
board, an office that he has held for many years. In 1926, at
the urgent request of the St. Clair Democratic Central Com-
mittee, he made a run for county clerk on their ticket, and in
spite of the fact that this is normally a Republican county,
he made an excellent showing — one of the best ever made.
As becomes a true farmer, the recreation th.it Mr. Joseph
indulges in most is hunting. He and his wife are very highly
respected and well-loved by all who have come in contact
with their hospitality and friendship.
Fne Hundred and Seventy-Four
MC KENDREE
THE C^ C.
REV. CLAUDE C. HALL— D. D.
'HE POWERFUL personality, keen intellect, and vig-
orous service of Dr. C. C. Hall, one of the outstanding
Methodist clergymen of Southern Illinois, has won
the respect and confidence of all who know him. The faith
that his conference has in his ability was expressed when,
in 1916, 1920, 1924, and again in 1928, he was elected del-
egate to the General Conference, three times heading his
delegation. At the General Conferences of 1920 and 1924,
Dr. Hall was elected a member of the Book Committee of
the Methodist Episcopal Church.
While District Superintendent, Dr. Hall was a represen-
tative of the Centenary Missionary Campaign of the M. E.
Church. Under his leadership, the East St. Louis District
carried its full quota, the lone achievement of its kind in
Southern Illinois. In recognition of his ability, he was made
Special Representative of the Centenary Campaign for the
state of Arkansas, which also responded to his inspiration
and met its full quota.
Dr. Hall has been treasurer of the Mutual Preachers'
Benefit Association since its organization in 1911, as well
as chairman of the Orphanage Board for eleven years. He
is chairman of the Publishing Committee of the Southern
Illinois Conference, and chairman of the Conference Board
of Trustees.
As superintendent of the orphanage in Mt. Vernon, Dr.
Hall has rendered incalculable service. All indebtedness on
the new unit erected during his administration has been
erased. He has also been superintendent of the Mt. Carmel
District.
For the past twenty years. Dr. Hall has devoted much
HALL FAMILY
time and energy to McKendree College. At present, he is
President of the Joint Board of Trustees and Visitors,
which position he has held since 1923. He has been a
member of the Executive Committee since 1916, and he
served on the special committee for the building of the
college dormitories. In his time he has been connected
with the building or remodeling of all the buildings on
the campus.
Dr. Hall was born m Hopkins County, Kentucky, on
April 20, 1871. He was licensed to preach at the age of
twenty-three. Two years later he was married to Miss
Katherine Elizabeth Young. The union was blessed with
two sons and a daughter. The eldest son, Benjamin Henry,
was graduated from McKendree in 1920. He successfully
coached football, basketball, and track at Momence, and
Zeigler, Illinois, and Owatonna, Minnesota. The other son,
John Crow, is now the baseball coach and assistant football
and basketball coach of McKendree College. He received
his A. B. degree in 1927. The daughter, Ruth Lucille, a
Washington University graduate, is the wife of Dr. Clyde
McNeill, who is a graduate of Johns Hopkins, a physician
who did post graduate work in Berlin, Germany, and who,
at present, is an expert diagnostician of Louisville, Kentucky.
Mrs. Hall has always been very active in the missionary
society and church work. She has been Superintendent of
the Standard Bearers for five years at Mt. Vernon, and was
Superintendent of the same organization for several years at
East St. Louis when Dr. Hall was District Superintendent
there.
Dr. Hall is a Knight Templar Mason, a thirty-second de-
gree Scottish Rite and also a Shriner.
Fne Hundred and Sei'enCyFne
rfMc kendr"^e^^^^^^...^^_.„
FRED G. FISCHER
QR. Fred G. Fischer is one of the leading merchants
in Dupo, and has been engaged in the general mer-
chandise business here for fourteen years. Before
that time he was a teacher in St. Clair County for eight
years until he moved into Dupo and began dealing in real
estate and insurance. Mr. Fischer, the son of a farmer, was
born on a farm in Stookey Township on March 21st, 1885,
and received his early education in a public school of this
township. After completing the grade school course, he at-
tended Illinois State Normal University, at Normal, Illinois,
for four terms and prepared himself for the teaching pro-
fession, which he followed until 1912.
His father, Fred N. Fischer, was born on Feb. 24th, 1858,
and spent all of his active life on a farm in Stookey Township.
Since his retirement he has been living with his son, Fred,
in Dupo. His wife, Catherine Plugmacher Fischer, bore to
him three children, and died on June 5th, 1890.
While still teaching, Mr. Fischer married, on June i6th,
1907, Miss Carrie D. Doerr, who is now the mother of four
children — Harold, Mable, Raymond, and Warren — born
March 13th, 1908, March 10, 1914, November 24th, 1916,
and Sept. 5th, 1925, respectively. Mrs. Fischer was born in
Sugar Loaf Township on April 20th, 1886, and was one of
six children of George Doerr and Caroline Kraus, both of
whom have been dead for many years; the mother passed
away March 15th, 1903, and the father on June 4th, 1916.
Before her marriage to Mr. Fischer, Miss Doerr was given
a fair education in the public schools of her township.
The year after he located in Dupo, 111., Mr. Fischer made
his venture into the general merchandise business; this was
in 191 3. He met with encouraging success in this business,
and in 1917 bought property and had an up-to-date building
constructed, in which he now operates. In this modern
store building is to be found <i complete stock of general
merchandise — dry goods, shoes, notions, gents' furnishings,
etc. Besides this investment, he owns other property in
Dupo, as well as a citrus orchard in the lower Rio Grande
Valley. He is one of the stock holders in the local Building
and Loan Association. He served as a member of the Village
Board of Trustees for a number of years. For five years he
was president of the Dupo School Board, and is now the
president of the new Community High School Board, of
which he was also the secretary for one year. His interest
in education is clearly seen by the above record, and by
the further fact that he has been a member of the Board of
Education in his town for thirteen ye.irs. He was elected
Tax Collector for Sugar Loaf Township in 1926, and still
holds that office.
Mr. Fischer is more than a business man — he is an active
proponent of education and a fraternity man as well. He is
a member both of the Odd Fellows and the Masonic Order,
in the latter of which he has advanced to the degree of
Shriner. For the past twenty years, in connection with his
other business, he has dealt in real estate and insurance,
which experience has developed in him qualities of a com-
petent real estate and insurance salesman. He is considered
one of Dupo's most prominent citizens.
Mr. Fischer finds time from his many interests to enjoy
his particularly preferred sports, which are fishing and hunt-
ing. If he has a special hobby, it is participating in those
sports. He is greatly interested in the welfare of Dupo —
m its schools, in its business, in its material growth, and in
its general prosperity. Perhaps no one has worked harder
for his particular community than has Mr. Fischer for the
city of Dupo. And it is naturally to be expected that one
who has contributed so generously his interest and his time
to this community, and who is still in early middle life,
will live many years more to render useful service to the
same.
MRS. FANNIE E. JOLLY
QCKENDREE College is very fortunate in having
for her friend Mrs. Fannie E. Jolly, a noble woman
with such a love for humanity and with a heart so
generous that not only McKendree, but also Wesley Foun-
dation has substantially felt the effect of her philanthropy.
Mrs. Jolly was born on January 25, 1857, in Grayville, Illi-
nois. She received her elementary education in the public
school of Grayville, and in the term of '75-'76 attended South-
ern Illinois Normal University, at Carbondale. The following
five years were spent in teaching school. In 1890 she was mar-
ried to Mr. John B. Jolly. Two years later, a son. Mayo,
was born to them. After a few years of supreme happiness,
little Mayo, who was a brilliant, lovely lad, full of sunshine
and joy, passed into the Great Beyond. His loss was a terri-
ble blow to his mother, his father, and to his friends who
loved him so well. President Cameron Harmon preached the
funeral sermon, in which he expressed beautifully the ac-
tions of Mayo during his brief life. It was Reverend Har-
mon's first sermon, for Grayville was his first pastorate after
leaving college. A memorial, known as the Mayo Jolly
Memorial, at the Wesley Foundation, in Urbana, has been
erected in loving memory to the lad who died so soon.
Five Hundred and Sa'cntv-Si.t
^^^^^^^^^^^^^S^^^s:s>
During the p.ist years, Mrs.
Jolly has been actively engaged
m missionary work. She organiz-
ed the Foreign Missionary Socie-
ty of GrayviUe, and has always
been a capable leader in this so-
ciety. For eleven years Mrs. Jolly
held otRce as District Secretary,
w-hile, during the past years, she
has held other district offices. In
1919 she was a delegate to the Golden Jubilee of Foreign
Missions held at Boston.
Mrs. Fannie Jolly is now living with her sister, Mrs.
Margaret Lauterman. They are a very delightful and loving
pair of Grayville pioneers. McKendree College is deeply
indebted to them, for each of these kind sisters has given
this institution considerable gifts. During the presidency of
Dr. John Harmon, the subject of our sketch was a trustee of
the college, and has always been, m many ways, a staunch
supporter.
The life story of Mr. John B. Jolly, Mrs. Jolly's husband,
now deceased, is inspiring. His parents, Stephen and Mar-
garet Dunn Jolly, came from England in 1820, and settled first
in Evansville, Indiana, but later moved to Albion, Edwards
County. John was born in Albion on August 16, 1824. At
various intervals, for eleven years, he attended schools that
were kept up by subscription. On April i*;, 1847, he settled
in Grayville. Mr. Jolly went into the dry goods business in a
partnership with Mr. Walter Mayo, under the name of
Mayo and Jolly. The death of Mr. Mayo m 1878 dissolved
the partnership and Mr. Jolly then devoted his interests to
the lumber business.
After a few years John B. Jolly went to Georgia, where,
with Mr. Abner Carey, he was a dealer in wheat. When the
feeling in the South ran high, Mr. Jolly deemed it unwise and
unsafe to remain, so he returned to his large estate of approx-
imately seven hundred acres in the vicinity of Grayville.
Mr. Jolly was a consistent member of the Washington
Temperance Society; he belonged to the Republican party.
He always thought a great deal of his relatives and assisted
them in various ways. For one term he was president of Gray-
ville, an office in which he exerted splendid efforts. Although
he was not a member of any church, Mr. Jolly was a very
liberal supporter of the Methodist Episcopal Church, for he
was always interested in her welfare and prosperity. He was
indeed a man of lofty ideals, with a high degree of moral sen-
sibility. Always a gentleman, courteous, Mr. Jolly was a
splendid model of manhood, dignity, and propriety.
^jLJ)
FANNY E., MAYO AND JOHN B. JOLLY
As little girls often do, F.mny
(Mrs. Jolly) thought of Mr. Jolly
as her sweetheart because he
romped with her, although he was
then a grown man. He, on the
other hand, held great delight in
her girlhood admiration. Many
years later, after the death of two
former wives, each of whom he
had called his own for but .1 short
time, the early mutual admiration grew to something more
serious, and the childhood sweetheart became his loving
wife and companion.
The son of Mr. J. B. Jolly by his first marriage, John F.,
was a resident of Olney, Illinois, during the greater part of
his life. At one time he was mayor of Olney. Besides having
extensive orchard interests, he was in the hardware business.
Mr. J. F. Jolly survived the death of his father only four
months, leaving a wife and a daughter, Georgie Elizabeth,
who is now Mrs. G. E. McMahon, of Olney.
And now, until the happy reunion of the family m Hea-
ven, Mrs. Fanny Jolly waits patiently here cheering the un-
happy, helping the needy, and living a noble Christian life.
WILLIAM MUSER
iLn,'\M MusER was born m St. Louis on June 6th,
1862, one of the six children of Steven S. Muser
ind Anna M. Reiter, natives of Germany.
William Muser obtained an education in the public schools
and worked for his father until he was twenty-two, when he
married (October 9th, 1884), moved to Lenzburg and began
work in the coal mines. In 1887 he quit the mines and went
into the creamery business, first as an employee of Mr. W. M.
Lyons m Lenzburg until 1914, and then as owner of the busi-
ness for two years. He sold his creamery in 1916, and again
took up mining, in which he is still actively engaged.
Mrs. Muser, who was, before her marriage, Anna M.
Steinheimer, was the daughter of Daniel Steinheimer and
Mary Winter, and was born near Lenzburg, January 1 }, 1867.
Mr. and Mrs. Muser are the parents of nine children —
Mmnie M. born 1887, is married to R. J. Patton; William D.
born in 1889, is married to Louisa Deutchmann; Anna M.
was born m 1891 and is now Mrs. WiUiaiti Tetter; Rose B.,
now Mrs. Eugene Zerf, was born m 1893; Sophia C. and
Emma C, born m 1896 and 1902, respectively, are single
and both are teaching school; their seventh child, Arthur,
was born in 1904, and the next, OHver, m 1907. Both are
unmarried, and the latter is attending the Southern Illinois
at
University, at Carbondale. Luett.i, the youngest, was born
in 1909, and is nursing in a Jewish Hospital.
Mr. Muser owns a home in Lenzburg and some farm
property besides. He has been a member of his school board
for thirty years, and president of the Lenzburg Consolidated
Schools for five years. For twelve years he served on his
village board, and was for six years its president. He was
township assessor for ten years, collector in his township
for two years; postmaster for eight years, and has held the
office of Notary Public for twenty years. Mr. Muser is a
Modern Woodman and a chairman in this order for sixteen
years. He has been president of the Lenzburg Fire Depart-
ment from the time it was first organized. He has indeed
served his community well.
GEORGE F. WANGELIN
^vi^EORGE F. W.'^NGELiN, Well known and retired business
\^ man, lives at 1301 East B. Street, Belleville. Born
September 26, 1862 at Lebanon, Illinois, son of Chas.
F. and Lucinda A. Eckert Wangelin. His father was born in
Cleveland, Ohio in 1841; moved to Lebanon, Illinois, and
thence to St. Louis, where he engaged in the manufacture
and wholesale of hats and caps. From 1870 to 1875 he lived
in Jefferson City, Missouri, operating a furniture establish-
ment under the firm name of Mayberg and Wangelin. He
moved to Belleville in 1875, where he died in June 188'i: the
mother lived until 1915. Six children were born to them.
George was educated in the public schools, and in Mc-
Kendree College where he took a business course, and worked
as a railway mail clerk for six years. He started in business
in 1890, as a partner of his brother Harry, operating a whole-
sale and retail candy fruits establishment, but sold out in
1910 and retired to his present home. Until 1906, he lived
with his mother. On Dec. 6th, 1906 he married Florence C.
Schaefer, daughter of Philip and Catherine Fruth Schaefer of
Belleville. Florence was one of their four daughters, and was
born on August 20th, 1881.
Georgie Wangelin, only daughter.of Mr. and Mrs. George
Wangelin was born August 5th, 1907, was educated in the
Belleville public schools, graduated from the Lindenwood
Academy at St. Charles, Missouri and studied for a while
in McKendree College.
Mr. Wangelin is a Mason and a Shriner and Knight Temp-
lar of this order. Since 1906 he has served as treasurer of the
St. Clair Township. For twenty years, on his twelve and one
half acres adjoining his fine residence he has built a green
•i
f
<%
^^^^■■B
■■■■I^^H
THE G. F. WANGELIN FAMILY
house in which he raises a great variety of beautiful flowers.
His special hobby is the collecting of Indian relics and of old
and rare coins and paper money.
WILLIAM T. GLENN
HFTER spending a number of years m the teaching pro-
fession, Mr. Wm. T. Glenn bought the eighty acres
of land located on Rural Route No. 2, near O'Fallon,
111., and started farming, which occupation he still follows.
He was born in a family of seven children, the son of Thomas
Glenn and Hannah Phillips, on August 28th, 1864. It was
after he had reached middle life and had married, that his
parents died, the father on Oct. 7th, 1898, and the mother
on Feb. 27th, 1907.
Mr. Glenn, upon finishing a course in the grammar schools,
taught for five years in St. Clair County, and then entered
the Normal at Carbondale, continuing his studies here until
his graduation in 1893. Again he took up teaching, followed
this for a year, and then decided to study law, which, after
studying for one term in McKendree College, he gave up
to become a farmer. In 1895 he bought the eighty acres
which he now owns, and on August 28th of that year (his
birthday) he was married to Miss Grace Jones, whose par-
ents, Alfred Jones and Cornelia Houser, were descendants
of old and prominent fimilies, and who reared a family of
four children. It is interesting to note that the parents of
both Mr. and Mrs. Glenn are descendants of prominent
colonial families. Mrs. Glenn was born near O'Fallon on
April 7th, 1874, and received her education in the schools
of O'Fallon and in McKendree College. Mr. Jones gave to
all four of his children the advantages of an education in
McKendree. The father died on May 14th, 191?; and on
April 17th, two years Liter, his good wife followed him.
Fne Hundred and Saetitv-fiight
IfMC KENDREE
There have come into the home of Mr. and Mrs. Glenn
four children. Leroy was born on Oct. 20th, i8g6, and after
attending the O'Fallon public schools, studied for a time
in McKendree. Halcyon G., their second child, was born
on August 9th, iQoo. She is a graduate of the C.irbondale
Normal. Carrie, born on March 27th, 1904; and Constance,
the youngest daughter, born on Dec. 9th, 1907, have both
recently been students at McKendree. Mr. Glenn had to
work hard to obtain his education, and he and Mrs. Glenn
have shown their interest m education by giving to their
children the best schooling within their reach. They have
in this way rendered to their community and to society a
definite and valuable service.
THE W. T. GLENN FAMILY
WILLIAM B. SCHAUMLEFFEL
>HE SUBJECT of this sketch is another farmer who
has been well rewarded for his knowledge of ag-
riculture, and his practical application of this sci-
ence. He was born on the old Stookey farm in St. Clair
Township, on January 31, 1883, a son of William B. and
Nancy E. (McGuire) Schaumleffel. At the age of eighteen
the former began teaching. Five years later he studied
law, was admitted to the bar, and practiced his profession
in Belleville and East St. Louis. He rented a farm in 187S,
and lived on it until his death in 1927. There were two
children in this family, one of whom is the subject of this
sketch, William B., Jr. This gentleman received his education
in the public schools and in the Commercial College in Belle-
ville, from which he was graduated in 1900. Immediately
after graduation he worked on his parent's farm. In 1904,
he rented the old Stookey farm, where he worked for himself;
in 1932 he bought this farm, which has been extended to
one hundred and eighty acres. This piece of land is very
fertile and is recognized as one of the finest in this section
C^^HE PRO
\lj difficult
of the state. Mr. Schaumletfel was married on February 24,
1904, to Jessie Isabelle Hughes. She was born on December
12, 1890, and is a Belleville High School graduate; she also
attended the commercial college here. As a telephone oper-
ator she was made chief of the long distance board in her
city. This couple have proven themsslves to be the wonder-
ful parents of two sons. The first is Hubert L., born on July
13, 1911; the other is William B., Jr., born on January 18,
1 91 4. Both of these boys are high school students in Belleville.
Mr. Schaumleffel has served on school boards, on which
he was elected ten years ago. He is a stockholder in the St.
Clair National Bank, is the vice-president and a director in
the St. Clair County Farm Bureau, and a member of a Grange.
He is popular, well respected, and trusted by the people who
have come into his circle of acquaintance.
JAMES LEAHY
PROBLEM ot protecting the people is a very
one. In East St. Louis, one of Illinois' largest
cities, the care of the people has been entrusted to
James Leahy. As an officer of the law he has a fine record, hav-
ing received his present position through his courage and sa-
gacity when handling breakers of the law. He was born on
April 7, 1879, in East St. Louis, a son of Thomas and Katie
Leahy. After attending the public and parochial schools, he
started working for the Illinois Central, m 1898, as a locomo-
tive fireman. Six years later he resigned and accepted a position
as railroad clerk with the Big Four. In 1908, Chief Leahy
began duty as a patrolman, but the success of his efforts soon
greeted him with a position as detective-sergeant. While a
detective he studied finger prints, learned very rapidly, and
then received, m 1922, the position of Chief of Detectives.
Five years later his boyhood ambitions were realized when
he was appointed Chief of Police. Now he holds charge
over both the police and detective departments.
On April 30, 1918, Chief Leahy was united in marriage
with Nellie Horrigan, who was born m Erie, Pennsylvania,
on Nov. 17, 1879, a daughter of John and Elizabeth Horrigan.
Both were popular m St. Louis, having had a wide circle of
acquaintanceship. Mrs. Leahy attended the public and par-
ochial schools of St. Louis.
Throughout East St. Louis, Chief Leahy is known and
liked by all except those who are adverse to the law. He
has many friends, is popular, and highly respected. One
especially favorable thing about Chief Leahy is that he has
received his present position only on the strength of his
Fiie Hundred and Sn'enty-?{me
MC KENDREE
brilliant record, the pages of which are marked by a series
of deeds of courage that have rendered a splendid service
to the people of the city.
CHARLES T. HATTEN
BAR OUT in the wintery land of Alaska, where the
cold winds roar, and the snow is deep, lives Rev.
Charles Theodore Hatten, a missionary. He is super-
intendent over the Jesse Lee Home, in Seward, a family of
one hundred and thirty children, ranging from two to eight'
een years of age. Among these there are twenty-five Eskimo
children, twenty full blood Aleuts, and the rest are mixed
Eskimo, Aleut, and Indian, with English and Scandinavian.
Rev. Hatten was born in Noble, Illinois, December 21,
1891. He received his common and high school training in
Jasper and Vermillion Counties, Illinois. After attending
Olivet University, of Olivet, Illinois, he entered McKendree
and was graduated in 1917. During the war he served as
sergeant in Company A, i6ist Inf. He is a member of the
American Legion at Seward, Alaska, and of the International
Lodge, No. 1 218, L. O. O. M, at Hyder, Alaska, and of
Orchard Ledge, No. 2co, A. F. £s^ A. M., at Opportunity,
Washington.
In 1912, Rev. Hatten was married to Miss Myrtle Can-
terbury, of Newton, Illinois. The happy couple were blessed
with four children — Thoburn Weaver, Canterbury Thee,
Myrtle Hope, and Edith Ann.
Rev. Hatten entered the Southern Illinois Conference in
1912 and was transferred to the Columbia River Conference
in 1917, and then in 1924 to the Puget Sound Conference
and was appointed missionary at Hyder, Alaska.
The last six years of Rev. Hatten's life have been extended
along missionary lines. From 192 1 to 1924 his time was spent
at Nespelem, Washington, headquarters of the Colville In-
dian Reservation as missionary, working under the Joint
Committee on Indian Work of the Methodist Episcopal
Board of Home Missions and the Woman's Home Missionary
Society. During the following eighteen months he was at
Hyder, Alaska, a new mining camp at the head of the Port-
land Canal, in the extreme southern part of Alaska, joining
British Columbia, working under the Board of Home Mis-
sions and Church Extension. While here he collected pictures
and material at the request of the late D. D. Forsythe for
an illustrated lecture, portraying the work of the Methodist
Church in Alaska.
In June, 1926, he was appointed superintendent and Mrs.
Hatten assistant superintendent of the Jesse Lee Home, at
Seward. The Jesse Lee Home was established by the Wo-
man's Home Missionary Society, at Unalaska, Alaska, in
1890, and moved to Seward in 1925. New buildings were
erected at Seward at the cost of $107,000.00. Rev. Hatten
has added $10,000.00 in buildings and improvements to this
great institution in the past two years. The society owns
here 107 acres of land, 20 acres of which were donated by
the city of Seward, and the rest sold by the Federal govern-
ment to the society for homestead prices. Plans a'"e to make
Jesse Lee Home a great industrial home and school, teaching
the coming generation of Alaskans, as represented in these
1 3,0 orphan children, a number of essential and valuable in-
dustries, such as farming, stock-raising, poultry raising, dairy-
ing, carpentry, engineering, domestic science and household
arts. The annual budget of the home exceeds $30,000.00 The
Territory of Alaska has built this last year for the children
of the home a thoroughly modern public school at a cost of
$20,000.00 and furnished four grammar school teachers at a
cost of $5,000.00 annually. On the staff of the home there
are thirteen well-trained teachers that come from Kansas,
Indiana, Illinois, Oklahoma, California, Washington, Oregon
and New York, each a specialist in his line.
Mrs. Hatten has done work during her life very similar
to her husband's — preaching, teaching, and general mission-
ary work. She received her early schooling, including high
school, in Jasper and Vermillion Counties, Illinois. Her higher
education for two and one half years at Olivet University,
at Olivet, Illinois. She was graduated from the School of
Expression of McKendree College in 1917.
11928
Fiie Hundred and Eighty
w
Rev. and Mrs. Hatten find their work extremely inter-
esting. Although far from their original home, they are very
happy with their family of four children plus one hundred
and thirty of Alaska's children.
SCHWARZ BROS.
FURNITURE AND UNDERTAKING CO.
>HE ABOVE FIRM is under the management of
Leonard E., and Matt K. Their father, Mathias
Schwarz, bought this business of Charles Ruedlm m
1894, and ran it with success, first as its sole manager, and
later with his sons as partners, under the name of M.
Schwarz &" Sons. He had, by his wife, Carrie Huber, four
sons and two daughters. George N. Schwarz, the other son,
has his life briefly sketched on another page m this volume.
Henry Schwarz, an employee of the present firm, was
born Sept. 19, 1887, received his early education m the pub-
lic schools, and took up the study of embalming m the Mass-
achusetts College of Embalming in 1899, and graduated from
the National School of Embalming in 1902. He studied this
work also in the H. S. Eckles and in the Barnes Colleges.
At fourteen he was a licensed embalmer, and now holds
eight certificates for courses completed in this art. He was
married on June 7, 1908, to Louisa Schmidt, and has three
children — Helen, Henry M., and Edith. He is an Evangelical,
a good singer, and a member of the Odd Fellows.
Leonard E. Schwarz was born at Anna, 111., Sept. j, 1891,
was educated in the public schools and m the Columbia
Commercial College, married Hazel Verbeek, and by her
has two children — Nidra Hazel and La Dons Rose. He has
charge of the furniture department of the firm. He is a
Mason and a Knight of Pythias.
Matt K. Schwarz, an embalmer and funeral director, was
born April 19, 1896, educated in the public schools, in the
Rubicam Business College, and in the American School of
Embalming, graduating from the latter m 191 5. On Sept.
15, r92i he was married to Miss Lavina E. Pfeifer.
JULIUS T. WILDERMAN
"^i ULius T. WiLDERMAN IS another successful farmer of
^ 1 Freeburg. He was born near this city on the Wilderman
homestead on March 10, 1864, a son of John C. Wilder-
man, who was one of the prominent agriculturists of the
Freeburg Township, well-respected and known to be a pleas-
ant, genial man, with a host of friends. The subject of this
sketch attended the public schools and was graduated in 1886
from the Gem City Business College, of Quincy, Illinois. He
came back home, worked for his father, and, in 1887, started
THE J. T. WILDERMAN FAMILY
farming on land th.it he had purchased from his parents. On
December 20, 1887, Mr. Wilderman was married to a fine
young woman — Etta Belle Fnizier. She was born on October
23, i86<;, in Ursa, Illinois, a daughter of Lemuel G. and
Margaretta E. Ahalt Frazier. The couple were blessed with
three children: Lora M., was born on January jo, 1889, and
later was married to Sherman C. Stookey; Dovey E., August
29, 1890, married to Dr. John D. Stookey, who died in 1914;
and Lester G., October 22, 1900, married to Marione E.
Garvey, of lUiopoIis, Illinois.
Mr. Wilderman and his family are members of the Meth-
odist Church, and have always been good church-goers. He
is a member of the Modern Woodmen, and is known by his
acquaintances to be a hard-working, conscientious man with
a deep love for his family and an interest m the welfare of
his community.
HERMAN H. KUNZE
EERM./VN H. KuNZE IS One of the sons of G. William
Kunze (died July, 1911), and a brother of J. C. F.
Kunze, whose biography will he found elsewhere m
this history. Herman was born on the old Kunze farm near
Marissa on March 8, 1879, was educated in the public
schools, and after working for a short time on the farm, he
went to Colorado in iqo';, worked for a railroad company
for three months, and went to San Francisco and to many
other places in the West. He returned to St. Clair County,
secured employment as a plumber with the Carr Supply Co.,
of Belleville, and worked here five years, until 1912. On Sept.
1 2th of this year he married Miss Bena Metzenbacher, and
Five Hundred and Eighty-One
cs^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^g^^S^
their only daughter, Helen M., was born the following year,
on July 27. Mrs. Kunze is the daughter of Chas. Matzen-
bacher and Kate Yung; the former was born at Syracuse,
N. Y. in 1850, but the mother was born in this state, in Perry
County, in 1857. The father was a reputable farmer, and ran
a farm near Pinckneyville for many years; he retired in 1915,
and has since lived in Marissa. His daughter, Mrs. Kunze,
was born at Pinckneyville, on the 23rd of August, 188 j; six
other children were born in the home.
After his marriage, Mr. Kunze started as an independent
plumber in Marissa. He is the only plumber in this city, and
does work over an extensive territory within a ten mile
radius. For a time he was a partner of Mr. Campbell, and
operated under the firm name of Kunze and Campbell, as
building contractor, but withdrew from this work in 1924.
Mr. Kunze owns over two hundred acres of land which is
rented out. He owns residence property in Marissa. He is
a member of the Country Club and of the Evangelical
Church. His has been an active life.
ARTHUR J. MOLLMAN
HRTHUR J. MoLLMAN was bom on September 29, 1874,
m Mascoutah, Illinois. After graduation from the
public schools, he was employed for seven years in
the printing and publishing business by Carl Montag, the
publisher of the Mascoutah Herald. After serving another
year with Fred Kraft, publisher of the East St. Louis Demo-
crat, he and his brother, Fred Mollman, bought this firm.
One year later, in 1898, Mr. Mollman moved his plant to
Mascoutah and published the Mascoutah Times, a paper that
adhered to the principles of the Republican party. After four
years he sold out to Mr. Montag, went to St. Louis, and was
employed by the C. P. Curran Printing Company. In 1916,
he resigned, came to Millstadt and bought the Millstadt
Enterprise, of which he is now publisher.
Mr. Mollman married Alma C. Lill, on September 29,
1897. The couple have six children: Gilbert A., born on
August JO, 1898, a University of Illinois graduate of the
engineering school; Kenneth J., June 27, 1900, a Millstadt
High School graduate, who worked for his father many years,
serving five of these as manager, and who, in 1917, bought
the Prairie State Tribune, of Assumption, Illinois; Richard
A., April 8, 1902, a press and linotype operator for his father;
Carl E., March 14, 1904, a draftsman from the David Rankin
Trade School; Margaret E., July 11, 1905, an assistant post-
master; and Louise E., June 24, 1914. Mr. Mollman was the
president of the school board. He is one of the organizers and
charter members of the Commercial Club. He is a Mason, an
Odd Fellow, and has been the secretary of the Modern
Woodmen for twenty years. During the war he was chair-
man of the Red Cross of the Millstadt branch. Mr. Mollman
IS popular with and well -respected by his friends.
GEORGE M FEURER
^~^ EG. M. Feurer, of New Athens, is a twin brother of
IV I Grover Feurer, whose biographical sketch appears
elsewhere in this history, and also a brother to J. H.
Feurer. All the brothers were born on a farm near New
Athens, George on January 17, 1885. He attended the public
school of his neighborhood, and afterwards devoted his time
to farm work, helping his father and brothers on the old home
place. He continued running the farm after the other two
brothers had left it and gone into business in New Athens,
but in 1919 he too gave up farm Ufe and opened a soft drinks
parlor in New Athens, and is still engaged in this business,
although he has not disposed of the portion of the farm which
belongs to him. He has bought the property in which he
conducts his business.
Mr. Feurer was married, on June 11, 1913, to Caroline
Heinnch, the daughter of Joseph Hemrich and Catherine
Truttmann, and one of the four children, born in Monroe
County, 111., on Nov. 16, 1890. Her father was born in Belle-
ville, 111. in i8';7, but after his father's death in 1864, the
mother moved with her two sons to a farm in Monroe
County, and there Joseph received his early education and
worked on the farm until he was twenty-five when he mar-
ried and began to farm for himself. In 1891 he bought sixty
acres of land near New Athens, and farmed this until 1899,
when he went into business in New Athens, where he still
lives. His farm is rented out. He sold to his son-in-law, George
Feurer, the business property which the latter now owns.
The other children of Mr. and Mrs. Heinrich are: Mary E.,
now Mrs. Wm. Bennett, born June 27, 1882; Anna C, bom
Oct. 28, 1884; and Louisa, born July 22, 1887, and now mar-
ried to Theodore Probst. Mrs. Feurer is the youngest of their
children. Mr. and Mrs. George Feurer have three children —
Rose M. and Reta L.
Mr. Feurer is a stockholder in the Farmers" State Bank,
and one of the directors of this bank. He put up the building
which is being used for this bank, and also the Catholic
Church Convent building in New Athens.
f n c Hundred and Eightv-Tu-o
THE CARL TRITT FAMILY
w
CARL TRITT
Through earnest effort, the subject of this sketch
has placed himself in a very comfortable position as
contractor, a business in which he has met with splen'
did success. His integrity and business ability have enabled
him to form the firm of Tritt Brothers, a company that handles
big contracts with many different kinds of organizations.
Carl Tritt was born on November 22, 1883, in Sweet Water^
Nebraska. He was a son of Joseph M. and Mary E. (Gibson)
Tritt. The former was born in 1843, i" Ohio. He took a
homestead in Sweet Water, Nebraska, where he built a flour
mill. His success was cut short when, m 1888, a cyclone
destroyed not only the mill, but the village itself. He moved
his family in 1890, to East Carondelet, Sugar Loaf Township,
and settled here as a farmer. His knowledge of agriculture
enabled him to enlarge his farm to nine hundred acres, a
notable achievement for a man at that or any other time.
Besides his farm interests, he was also engaged in the busi-
ness of contracting. He built railroads and levees, one of
which is the East Carondolet Levee, which he built in 1902.
Three years later he moved to Belleville, where he continued
in his occupation. After a noble life so well filled with con-
structive work, he died. His death, which occurred on July
1, 190^, was the result of a railway accident. His wife, who
was formerly Mary E. Gibson, of Summerfield, Ohio, was
born there on January 2, 1848, and died on November 17,
1920. She was the mother of fourteen children, one of whom
is the subject of this sketch.
C:irl Tritt had little opportunity to acquire an education
other than that offered in the public schools, but he over-
came this handicap m later life by consistent study, obser-
vation, and experience. His family moved from Nebraska to
East Carondelet, where he attended school. At an early age
he began to work under the employment of his father in
the contracting business. When he was twenty-two years
of age he was employed by the Tritt and Vogt firm. He
worked until 191 1, and then started in this business under
the firm name of Vogt and Company.
On September 11, 1915, Mr. Tritt was married to Rose
Schmidt, a daughter of Carl and Amelia (Roeder) Schmidt.
Mr. Schmidt was born in Germany. He came to this country
in 1881 and settled m St. Clair County as a coal miner. He
died on May 20, 191 3. Mrs. Schmidt, who was born on
February 29, i860, is still living, in Mascoutah. Mrs. Tritt
was born on June 9, 1893, m St. Clair County. Mr. and
Mrs. Tritt are parents of two children — Howard C, born
on December 12, 1916, and Mary E., May 13, 1921. Both of
these children show promise of attaining success in later life.
In 1919, Mr. Tritt formed the Tritt Brothers Company.
This firm has met with amazing success because of its effi-
ciency and honesty when handling contracts. General road
work, highways, and railroads are built by this firm ; most
of these are built m Southern Illinois.
Fraternally, Mr. Tritt is a Shriner in the Masonic Order,
and an Elk. He has served on the school board for five years.
He owns much bunness and residence property. His favorite
sport IS hunting. As the employer of many people and a
builder of roads, Mr. Tritt is recognized as a man who enjoys
well-earned success and popularity.
Fne Hundred and E.ghtv-Th;
DR. GEO. R. HAVS
MRS. GEO. R. HAVS
J. H. FEURER
MRS. J. H. FEURER
DR. .AND MRS. GEORGE R, HAYS
IT IS interesting to note how many of the successful
men in the professions have been members of large
families. Dr. Hays, of Marissa, Illinois, belongs to this
class. His father, George Hays, a prominent Randolph
County farmer, died October 4, 1890, and his mother, Mrs.
Margaret Gray Cathcart Hays, some time later — January 7,
1917. Dr. Hays was born at Baldwin, Randolph County,
December 17, 1870, and, after obtaining his common and high
school education in the schools of Randolph County, Illinois,
he entered the Beaumont Hospital Medical College of St.
Louis, Missouri, and was graduated there in 1896.
On the 19th day of May, 1897, he was married to Miss
Rosetta McHatton and to them have been born four
children: Marguerite Ethel, Thomas George, Robert Paul,
and Mary Louise. Marguerite was graduated by the Univer-
sity of Illinois in 192J. Thomas G. attended the University
of Illinois and will be graduated by the University of Illinois
Medical College of Chicago, Illinois in June of 1928. Robert
P. and Mary L. are at present attending the public schools of
Marissa, Illinois.
Upon completing his medical course. Dr. Hays located at
Oakdale, lUinois, May 6, 1896, and remained at this place
until August, 1905, when he removed to Marissa, Illinois.
He now resides here as a practising physician. Besides his
practise. Dr. Hays has interests in the firm of Jensen and
Hays Drug Company.
Mrs. Hays, the daughter of Thomas McHatton and
Isabelle Rutherford McHatton, was born near Baldwin,
Illinois, August 16, 1874. Her father was a prominent farmer
and stock-raiser of Randolph County, Mrs. Hays, after com-
pleting her education, taught school for a number of years.
Dr. and Mrs. Hays have always manifested a great interest
in Church and School. The Doctor has served several terms
as a member of the board of trustees, in both the Oakdale and
Marissa United Presbyterian Congregations, and at present
is a member of this Board of the Marissa Congregation.
Doctor Hays was the first president of the Board of Educa-
tion of the Marissa Township High School, and was serving
in this capacity during the erection of the original Marissa
Township High School building. Mrs. Hays has always
shown a great interest in church work. She officiated as
Presbyterial Secretary of the Women's Missionary Society
of Southern Illinois for fifteen years. She has also been a
teacher in the Sabbath School for a number of years. Her
educational interests are still keen, and at the present time
she is serving as a member of the Board of Education of the
Marissa Public Schools.
J. H. FEURER
'WO FEURER BROTHERS are engaged in the auto-
mobile and garage business in New Athens. A sketch
of Grover, the brother of J. H. Feurer, appears also
in this county history. J. l\. Feurer was born near New
Athens, June i6th, 1878, the son of Martin Feurer and
Friedaricka Feurer, nee Forcade. He received a public school
education, and began the life of a farmer, working for his
father until 1900, when he rented his father's land and tilled
the same for fourteen years. In 1914 he opened a feed store
in New Athens, ran this for one year, and then took the
agency for the Ford, Chevrolet, and Studebaker cars, and
operated this with his two brothers as partners, under the
firm name of the Feurer Bros. He sold out to his brothers in
1919, and started the business which he now owns, the
J. H. Feurer Garage, and in connection with which he sells
Studebaker cars. After establishing himself in this business,
Fn e Hundred and EtghtyFow
J. A. CAMPBELL, M, D.
M. CAMPBELL, M. D
DARMSTATTER
MRS. DARMSTATTER
he sold the farm, bought residence property m addition to
his business place in New Athens, and is now running a
very successful business here.
Mr. Feurer was married August 22nd, iqoo to Magda-
lena Fischer, the daughter of Adam Fischer and Magdalena
Vogel Fischer. Her father came to the States in 1853, when
but three years old; her mother was born in this country.
The father is now retired from the farm and makes his home
with his children; the mother died on Nov. nth, igi";.
Mrs. Feurer has borne to her husband four children —
Fnedancka, who was born on Oct. 25th, iqgt; Viola, born
May 6th, 1904; Wilson, born Feb. 20th, 191:,; and Louisa,
born Jan. 28th, 1916.
In 1924 Mr. Feurer was elected Mayor of New Athens,
a position which he still holds. He is a member of the Evan-
gelical Church.
Although he is kept very busy with his duties as a gar-
age proprietor and as Mayor of a thriving town, Mr. Feurer
still finds time to engage in his choice sports — hunting and
fishing.
JOSEPH A. CAMPBELL, M. D.
<-/^ ORN ON August 15th, 1882, in Marissa, the city where
yyy he is now practicing, Dr. Joseph A. Campbell is the
son of Joseph M. Campbell, who was also a physician.
The father had his office in Marissa for many years, and when
he retired in 1919, the son took over his father's practice.
The latter now makes his home with his son. Joseph A.
Campbell received his education in the Marissa public
schools, and in the Marissa Academy, where he studied two
years, and in Ewing College in which he also spent two years.
His medical training was secured in St. Louis University,
from which he graduated in 1906, and from this time until
191 J he practiced with his father. Then he was appointed
superintendent of the Watertown State Hospital for the
Insane, and in 1916 and 1917, held a similar position m the
State Hospital at Anna, Illinois. Following this he served as
Captain of a Medical Corps m the United States Army until
1919, and upon being discharged from the Service, returned
to Marissa and took over the practice which his father had
just given up.
On the 8th of October, 1912, he was married to Elizabeth
Wallingford of Bloomington, Indiana, and from this marriage
he has one son, Joseph A. Campbell, Jr., who was born on
September ist, 1914. Dr. Campbell was married, the second
time, on June i6th, 1923 to Dixie G. Wakefield of Loveland,
Ohio, and from this marriage has a daughter, Dixie Ann, born
August 19, 1927.
In politics. Dr. Campbell is a Democrat, and has served as
a member of the County Central Democratic Committee. He
is prominent in several local fraternal organizations — he is a
Mason and a Shriner in this order; is a member of the Rotary
Club; and belongs to the Modern Woodmen fraternity. The
doctor is also a member of the American Legion, and of the
Marissa Country Club, of which club he has been president.
He IS one of the well-known and competent physicians of St.
Clair County.
LOUIS G. DARMSTATTER
JHE LITTLE CITY of New Athens, Illinois, is un-
doubtedly very fortunate m having for one of her
citizens Mr. Louis George Darmstatter, who has
contributed no small amount of energy toward her success.
He is a dealer in hardware and farm machinery, and has been
the very able manager of the Farmers' Supply Company,
of New Athens since 1912. Since 1894 — for thirty-four years-
he has held the position of school treasurer of his township.
B
Five Hundred and E.ghty-Fue
|mc ken pre E^^^^^:^^....^^.^^.
Mr. Darmstatter, a son of George and Elizabeth Reoder
Darmstatter, was bom on a farm on November 27, 1866.
He received his education in the Five Forks School of District
No. 64. On October 15, 1891, he was married to Miss Emma
Schaller. There are points regarding the life of Mrs. Darm-
statter's father, John Schaller, that are interesting. He held
a position of influence among the German- American citizens
of St. Clair County, and was considered one of the most
prosperous residents of Lenzburg Township. His good judg-
ment and determination to succeed, coupled with good busi-
ness, repaid his honest, unaided efforts with a large amount
of land — seven hundred acres. Mr. Schaller's education was
gained in the schools of St. Clair County. Although his
learning was quite thorough and complete, by subsequent
reading he became a well-informed man. His marriage oc-
curred in 1863. Seven children were born to Mr. Schaller
and his excellent wife, and one of these was Emma, now
Mrs. Darmstatter. Every one of the members of this fine,
large family proved to be active and progressive citizens of
their community. Mr. Schaller may surely be classed as a
man of enterprise, of zeal in his advocacy of the cause of
justice and right, and of prominence in good works. Such,
then, is Mrs. Darmstatter's family history.
Mr. and Mrs. Darmstatter have always believed in a
thoro education of their children and consequently we find
that their daughter, Helen O., attended the University of
Illinois in 191 5-16 where she met her husband. She is now
Mrs. R. J. Moore, of Griggsville, 111. Their son, Elias, is
now a Junior in the College of Commerce, University of
Illinois. He is a member of Phi Gamma Delta, one of the
oldest and most respected fraternities.
The family belongs to St. John's Evangelical Church, and
are all good church workers. For a great many years both
Mr. Darmstatter and his wife have contributed substantially
to their church and have exerted noble efforts that have
aided their church materially. No small amount of their lives
has been spent in such useful work. In politics, Mr. Darm-
statter is an adherent to the principles of the Democratic
party. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America.
GEORGE C. VOELKEL
One of those thrifty, industrious immigrants from north-
ern Europe who form a large percentage of the staunch citi-
zenry of today, was George C. Voelkel who came to this
country from Hasloch Rheinfels, Germany. After arriving in
St. Clair County he settled on a farm near Belleville, married
Miss Anna M. Moser and reared a family of two girls and
six boys. He died in Belleville at the :\f,e of eighty-two years.
GEORGE VOELKEL WALTER VOELKEL
George Voelkel, his son, was born on his father's farm near
Belleville, August 20, 1856. He attended the public schools
of Belleville and at the age of sixteen took employment in the
sheet metal business in St. Louis. On December 3, 1877, he
married Charlotte Pustmueller and this union was blessed
with eight children, two boys and six girls.
Mr. Voelkel worked with sheet metal until he was twenty-
four years old and then returned to Belleville to organize
with his brother the present firm of Voelkel Brothers under
the name which it now carries. Gustave Voelkel, George's
brother, was made president of the firm, and George acted
as secretary-treasurer, which position he still holds. The two
brothers managed the business, which was incorporated in
1913, until the death of Gustave Voelkel on September 5,
1919, after which Walter Voelkel, Gustave's nephew, was
made president of the firm.
George Voelkel has worked hard all of his life and is still
vigorous, enjoys perfect health, and is extremely industrious.
He is connected with many organizations of a religious,
patriotic, or fraternal nature, being secretary of the Belleville
chapter of the Loyal Americans, a member of the Retail
Merchants Association, a Modern Woodman, and for twen-
ty-two years a trustse in his church.
Walter Voelkel, president of the Voelkel Brothers Hard-
ware Company, was born in Belleville, May 20, 1882. He
attended the public schools of Belleville, and after graduat-
ing from the Belleville High School in 1900, worked in the
express company business in E. St. Louis, 111. for three years.
He then spent one year with a general construction company
in St. Louis, Mo., and in 1904 returned to Belleville to work
in the sheet metal department of the Voelkel Brothers Com-
pany. On November 22, 1911 he united in marriage with
Miss Olivia S. Busiek. Two children, one boy and one girl,
Fne Hundred and £iglit>-Si.x
have been horn to this union. In 1919, he was made president
and general manager of the firm, and since then has purchased
an interest in it as well as residence property in Belleville.
Walter Voelkel is a hard worker, is well known in Belleville,
and has been treasurer of the parish for nine years.
By being industrious, aggressive, and conscientious m
their business dealings, the members of the House of Voel-
kel have each done their part m bringing the Voelkel Bro-
thers Company to its present place of importance in the
commercial life of Belleville.
ERNEST C. ASBURY. M. D,
t.y'^ R. E. C. AsBURY, physician and surgeon, ot New
JLJ Baden, 111., was born near O'Fallon, Jan. 25th, 1889.
His father, James W. Asbury, who now lives in New
Baden, was engaged in the real estate and insurance business
in O'Fallon for a number of years, and previous to his entry
into business, he taught school for twenty-three years in St.
Clair County. The doctor's mother, Nellie G. Evans Asbury,
died on the first of January, 1924.
Dr. Asbury was graduated from the O'Fallon High School
in 1906, worked as a carpenter two years, and then went to
McKendree College for three years. In 191 f he was graduated
from the St. Louis University Medical School. He spent the
two following years in the City Hospital of St. Louis, and,
during the construction operations at Scott Field, in 1917, he
took care of the accident cases there. He enlisted in the Army
and was given the rank of First Lieutenant, and upon being
discharged in 1918, located in New Baden. While a student
in college and medical school. Dr. Asbury worked, during the
vacation periods, as a carpenter.
On June 30th, 1916, Dr. Asbury was married to Miss
Nellie E. Smith, of St. Louis, an attractive and cultured young
lady, the daughter of Charles and Ella Van Horn Smith. Her
father has since died (May 5th, 1921); the mother is still liv-
ing in St. Louis. Mrs. Asbury gradu.ited from the McKinley
High School, and studied music m the Weltner's Conserva-
tory of Music, in St. Louis. She is the mother of two fine
girls, Virginia Ray, and Ruth Ellen, born June 29th, 191S,
and May 2jrd, 1921, respectively. Both are enrolled in Mc-
Kendree's School of Expression, Ruth Ellen having entered
at the age of four, which gives to Dr. and Mrs. Asbury the
proud distinction of having sent to McKendree the youngest
pupil ever enrolled in this historic institution.
Dr. Asbury is a good mixer, and active in many fraternal,
social, and professional organizations. He is a Mason, an Odd
Fellow, a member of the Eastern St ir, the Phi Rho Chapter
ot the Phi Chi Medical Fraternity, the American Medical
Association, the Illinois and Clinton County Medical Socie-
ties, the Association of Surgeons for the Southern Railroad,
and has served several terms as president of Clinton County
Medical Society. While m college, he belonged to the Platon-
lan Literary Soceity. He is a Methodist, an alert, competent
physician and surgeon, a good father, and a staunch citizen ,
MILTON O. WILDERMAN
C^HE ROLLING, green fields, covered with their beau-
\T^ tiful vegetation, scent of fresh grass, droning insects,
and chirping birds all these lovely things th.it sur-
round a farmhouse— have highly appealed to Milton O.
Wilderm.m, and have caused him to choose farming as his
life's work. He was a son m a family of ten children. His
father, William A. Wilderman, now deceased, was a splendid
father to his large family, a highly respected citizen, and a
keen advocate of religious work m his community. At the age
of twenty-two, he enlisted and served for three years in the
Union Army as first sergeant He served in the army until
The subject of this sketch was born on October 19, 1867,
on a farm near Belleville, m St. Clair County. His education
was acquired in various public schools. After this, he worked
for his father — years of good work that were a fine contribu-
tion to the family. At the early age of twenty-two, Mr.
Wilderman was united m matrimony to Mary E. Johnson, a
fine young lady, who proved to be just as fine a mother to
three children. The first child, Grace A., was born on Decem-
ber 21, 1891. She died on November 21, 1918, after twenty-
seven years of beautiful living. The second child, Maud E.,
was born on September 22, 1893, and is now happily married
to Leonard Emery. The third child, a son, Roy J., was born
on July 16, 1895. He was married in 1921, to Anita M.
Niedenuehr.
Mrs. Wilderman, a daughter of Vincent G. Johnson, was
born on August 16, 1864. Her father, a descendant of old
Fne Hundred and Eighty-Seven
M. O. WILDERMAN MRS. M. O. WILDERMAN
and prominent American families, was reared on a farm; was
educated in Belleville High School; was married to Emily
Moore in 1862, and at her death, to Pinelda C. Breese. He
was, for a time, highway commissioner for his township.
Mrs. Wilderman attended, at one time, Almira College, of
Greenville, Illinois. Immediately after she and Mr. Wilder-
man were married, the couple rented a farm near Belleville.
In 1920, after several years of thriftiness and hard, conscien-
tious work, the couple became owners of the farm — one
hundred acres of verdant land. In addition to the above, the
couple have become owners of a seventy-eight acre farm
near Scott Field. Besides farming, the subject of this sketch
is a trustee in the St. Clair Township School of St. Clair
County, an office which he has held for the past twenty years.
Throughout his life, Mr. Wilderman has lived in a way to
be envied. Always kind-hearted, never harsh, he has securely
won the deep respect and admiration of all who ever came in
contact with him.
ORVILLE C FRESHOUR
ONE OF THE popular resorts for young people of Lebanon
IS the Lebanon Drug Co's. store owned by Pr. O. C.
Freshour. Mr. Freshour came to Lebanon in 1915,
and purchased from L. L. Pfeffer the business which he now
owns. He was born in St. Francisville, 111., on April ist,
1889. William Freshour, his father, died on April 6th, 1914;
his mother, Alice Revelette Freshour, is still living at her
home in St. Francisville. Mr. O. C. Freshour attended the
public schools in St. Francisville, through three years of high
school, and then entered the Valparaiso University, where
he studied Pharmacy, and received his Ph. G. degree in
1912. For about three years after his graduation he was em-
ployed in a drug store of his native city, and then he came
to Lebanon to take charge of the store which he now has.
ORVILLE C. FRESHOUR MRS. O. C. FRESHOUR
Two years after locating here, Mr. Freshour was married
to Miss Jennie Lyons, of St. Francisville, a young lady in
whom he had been interested for some time. She is the
daughter of Dr. W. A. Lyons (died in 1889), and of Elizabeth
Saums, who makes her home with Dr. and Mrs. Freshour.
After receiving her education in the schools of St. Francis-
ville ("she was graduated from the high school in 1908), Mrs.
Freshour studied one year in the Vincennes University of
Indiana, and one year in the Forest Park University, of St.
Louis. Two children have been born to this congenial couple.
The daughter, Eleanor E., was born August 3rd, 1918; the
son, William E., on August 31st, 1924. Eleanor attends the
grade school here, and is well advanced in her studies, and
shows marked ability for one of her age. The mother is a
member of the Christian Church, of the Eastern Star, of
which she is, at present, the Worthy Matron, and is an
active member of other women's organizations in Lebanon.
Mr. Freshour is active in several fraternities, business,
and other organizations. He is a Mason, an Odd Fellow, a
Modern Woodman, a Rotarian, a member of the local Com-
mercial Club, and a K. P. He worships in the Presbyterian
Church, of which he has long been a member. His pleasant
nature, his courteous and fair business dealings, have won
for him a host of patrons and friends.
MOLL FURNITURE &? UNDERTAKING COMPANY
I>HE Moll Furniture and Undertaking Company
of Mascoufcih was incorporated under its present
name in September, 1910, when three members of
the Moll family became the owners. This business was es-
tablished in iS^;! by the Dathan family, who operated it
for many years.
Albert D. Moll, who acted as manager of the company,
as well as secretary .md treasurer, until his death (Nov.
Fwe Hundred and Eighty-Eight
A. L. A. MOLL
E. G. L. MOLL
JAMES NEVIN
MRS. JAMES NEVIN
5th, 1924), was the father of the present owners ot this
company — A. L. A. Moll and Emmett G. L. Moll. He was
a native of Mascoutah, horn on August i6th, 1870, edu-
cated in the public schools, and began his working career
on the fiirm, first, under his father's direction, and after-
wards, from 1898 to 1910, as manager of his dairy farm.
After going into business, he continued to direct the man-
agement of his land. He learned the art of embalming in
St. Louis, under Prof. George H. Schneve, and received his
diploma in 1909. He was considered a skillful embalmer,
and a very pleasant and courteous business man.
His older son, A. L. A. Moll, was born in 1896, on the
2ist of October, secured his early education m the parochial
school, and his higher learning m the high school and in a
commercial college of St. Louis, after which he studied em-
balming m the Worshman School of Chicago, graduating in
1918. On Nov. 23rd, three years later, he married Mary J.
Weilbacher, by whom he has had six children, among these,
two pairs of twins. Their names and birthdates follow;
Josephine, Sept. 21st, 1922; Marcella and Albert, Feb. ist,
1924; Henry, March 14th, 1925; Leo and Dennis, May 15th,
1926. The father is a K. of C, C. K., L. of L, and a member
of the American Legion. He served in the army as a "buck
private," and was discharged Dec. 31st, 1918.
Emmett G. L. Moll was born June 9th, 1898, received
an education in the parochial and high school similar to
that of his brother and graduated from the Worsham School
of Embalming in 1920. He married, on Oct. ist, 1924, Bertha
G. Mittendorf, and one son has been born to them — Daniel
H., on July 7th, 192';. The father is a member of the Belle-
ville branch of the K. of C, C. K., and L. of L
JAMES NEVIN
ON THE 12th of May, 1912, Mr. George Nevin, one of
the oldest and most respected citizens of Marissa,
passed away at his home m this city. This good man
was born in Ireland on Dec. 20th, 1821, immigrated to
America with two brothers and two sisters in 1852, and
settled on a firm near Marissa. On April loth, 1856, he
was married to Mary Jane Hanna, a devoted Christian
woman, who bore to her husband nine children. Mr. Nev
m's first home in this country was a log house; soon after
his marriage he moved to the old Nevin farm, now known
as the James Nevin farm, and later to Nevin Hill, where
he remained until 1900, when he retired from active farm
labor and moved to Marissa, where he spent the last twelve
years of his life. Mr. George Nevin was a member of the
Presbyterian Church, and was reputed one of the happiest
Christians of his time.
His son, James Nevin, was born m Marissa, on Feb. 26th,
1857. After completing his education in the public schools,
he worked for many years on his father's farm, and in 1886
began farming for himself. On July 29th of this year he
was married to Maggie C. Hamill, the daughter of Archibald
and Mary (McKnight) Hamill, who lived on a farm near
Freeburg, 111. Maggie was born on Oct. 14th, 1866, one in
a family of three children. She received a public school edu'
cation, and afterwards attended the State Normal at Car-
bondale. 111. At the time of her marriage to Mr. Nevin, she
was but nineteen years of age. Both of her parents have
long since died, the father in March, 1875; the mother in
May, 1879.
James and Mrs. Nevin have one daughter. Pearl L., born
on July 3rd, 1892. She is now the wife of Dr. Reed M.
Shroyer, a dentist of Vincennes, Indiana .They have two boys.
Fiie Hundred and Bghty-H'
cs:^^g^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^s^
LOUIS E. McCLINTOCK ROBERT M>
Mr. Nevin left the farm in 1896, moved to Marissa, and
joined with Mr. Wolter in opening a farm implement estab-
lishment, which business he helped manage until 1902, when
he sold out his share and went on the road as a traveling
salesman of farm machinery. He has continued in this occu-
pation up to the present time. Mr. Nevin still owns the
old Nevin Farm, which he has rented out, and besides this,
is the owner of residence property in Marissa.
Mr. Nevin was elected Treasurer of Marissa Township
in 1918, and still holds this office. He served as a member of
School District No. 45 for a number of years.
He IS a Mason and a member of the Presbyterian Church.
LOUIS E. McCLINTOCK
SINCE 1906, Mr. L. E. McClintock has been the owner
of a planing mill at Marissa, Illinois, to which city
he first came in 1900. He was born in Olathe, Kansas,
April 15, 187 J, the son of Robert McClintock and Eliza
Jane Redpath.
David McClintock, the father of Robert McClintock,
was born in County Donegal, Ireland, about 1812. Leaving
Ireland, he spent part of a year in Glasgow, Scotland, then
came to America, landing at New Orleans in 1850, where
his mother died and was buried. Then he came up the Miss-
issippi to Illinois and settled in Randolph County near Jor-
dan's Grove in 185 1. His death occurred in 1867, his wife,
Anna (Grier) McClintock, having died in 1853.
Robert McClintock, who was born in 1844, enlisted m
early manhood as a soldier in the Civil War m the 8oth
Regiment Illinois Infantry and served m the Army ot the
Cumberland. Being discharged in July, 1865, he returned to
his home and followed his occupation of farmin;,' until 1904,
CLINTOCK P. C. OTWELL
when he retired to Marissa. His wife passed away on July
20, 191 1. To them were born thirteen children, three of
whom died in infancy.
Louis Edward McClintock secured a public school edu-
cation in Randolph County and then began working, first at
the carpenters' trade, and later in a planing mill at Sparta,
Illinois, where he was employed until 1900. From Sparta
he moved to Marissa and took employment in the mill of
Mr. A. C. Elder, remaining in his plant until 1906, when
he bought out the owner and began operating the mill
for himself.
Mrs. McClintock, to whom he was married on Febru-
ary 17, 1913, was formerly Miss Cora B. White, the daugh-
ter of James F. White and Ellen Hamilton, and was born
in this county on September 6. 1875. An historical sketch
of the White family appears on another page of this volume.
Mr. and Mrs. McClintock have one boy. Dale E. McClintock.
Besides the mill property, Mr. McClintock owns a fine
residence in Marissa; and in addition to operating the plan-
ing mill, he takes building contracts and engineers the con-
struction of buildings. He is an active member of the United
Presbyterian Church, a director in the Marissa Building and
Loan Association and a member of the Marissa Township
High School Board.
P. C. OTWELL
HE FATHER of P. C. Otwell was W. H. Otwell,
of Carlinville, 111., a former student in McKendree
College, a Civil War veteran, and a store-keeper in
Plainview, 111. He died Aug. 21, 1917. The mother, who
was formerly Miss Frances E. Brown, of Macoupin County,
111., studied in Monticello Seminary and afterwards taught
school for a number of years. She is now eighty-two years old.
Fne Hundred and A(met>
R W ROPIEQUET
MRS^ R, W. ROPIEQUET
CHRISTIAN KOLB
P. C. Otwell was born at Pl.iinview, 111., on the nth day
of October, 1888, and received his public school education
there. Then he studied in Valparaiso University for several
years, graduating from the school of science, with a B. S.
Degree, in 1880, and from the law school, with the degree
of LL. B. two years later. The following year he studied m
the law school of Yale University, and received a diploma
from this school also. After the completion of his law studies
he came to Belleville, 111. to begin his law practice, first
independently until 1Q14, and from that year until 1918 he
was a partner in the firm of Otwell and Lindauer. Mr. Lind-
auer is the present state's attorney of St. Clair County.
Since 1918 Mr. Otwell has carried on an independent practice.
On February 24, 191 3, Mr. Otwell was married to Clara
I. Sahlender, the daughter of a merchant in this city. Two
children have been born to them, the first, William G. on
July 3, 1914, and the second, Mary F., on June 6, 1919.
Both are attending school m Belleville.
Mr. Otwell takes his recreation on the golf links when-
ever weather conditions permit, and greatly enjoys this sport.
He holds a membership in a number of fraternal and business
organizations. He is a Mason, a Knight Templar, an Elk, a
member of the Lion's Club. He is a capable lawyer, well-
known and well-liked in Belleville, and enjoys a good prac-
tice m this county.
RICHARD W. ROPIEQUET
BiCHARD W. RopiEQUET was bom at Belleville, Illinois,
March 23, 1866. His father, Frederick Ropiequet, was
for years prominent in the public and political life of
St. Clair County, having been sheriff several times and coun-
ty treasurer, as well as mayor of Belleville. His mother,
Anna Wangelin, was a daughter of Col. Hugo Wangelm, a
prominent German pioneer resident of the county, who won
distinction in the Civil War. Mr. Ropiequet himself served
m the Spanish American War.
Educated m the public schools of Belleville and the Smith
Academy of Washington University, he "read law" in the
office of Charles W. Thomas and was admitted to the bar
on March 21, 1887. In active practice since that date, dur-
ing the Litter years Mr. Ropiequet has been specializing m
Interstate Commerce practice, m which he has gained an
enviable reputation throughout the country.
Mr. Ropiequet has for years been a leader m Southern
Illinois Methodism. He was the first president of the Belle-
ville Epworth League, of the Lebanon District and Southern
Illinois League, and served as president of the Illinois State
Epworth League. He also has been active m Sunday School
work, having been superintendent of the Belleville and East
St. Louis schools. He is now the teacher of a large Men's
Bible Class in the latter city. Mr. Ropiequet was also a
trustee of McKendree.
He was married April 14, 1889, to Mamie W. Crouch,
of Belleville, of which union there was born Wilfred C.
Ropiequet. On July 11, 1901, he married Florence W. Wag-
ner of Flagler, Iowa, their children being Harold W., Mil-
dred A., who attended McKendree, Marion F., the latter
two now attending the Ohio Wesleyan, and Arthur C.
Mrs. Ropiequet is a leader in Y. W. C. A. work. The family
now reside in East St. Louis.
KOLB BROTHERS, MERCHANTS
HE KoLB Mercantile Company of Lebanon, 111. is
under the management of two brothers, William Kolb
and Christian Kolb. They are the sons of Killian Kolb
and Marie Heilman, and both were born, reared and educated
m Mascoutah. William was born on Oct. 17, 1869. After
Fne Hundred and H'netyOne
MC KENDREE
attending the public schools, he went to O'Fallon, where he
clerked in the store of Ernst Tiedeman for four years, and
went from here to Venice and worked two years for Kohl
Niemann. At the age of twenty he came to Lebanon, started
in business here, and has continued in this business now for
more than thrity-seven years. He is married and has four
children. Mrs. Kolb, nee Elizabeth O. Bachmann, was born
in Salem, 111., Sept. 15, 1869, the daughter of A. H. Bach-
mann and Mary Bachmann, and was married to Mr. Kolb on
Dec. 25, 1896. Marie, their first child, was born New Year's
Day, 1898 and is now married to Glen Filley, athletic coach
at McKendree College; Katherine, born in June, 1900, was
graduated from the University of Illinois, and was recently
married to Dr. C. Kurz, a prominent dentist of Carlyle, 111.;
Charles W. was born Feb. 2, 1904; and the youngest, Pauline,
on Dec. 20, 1914. The three oldest have been students in Mc
Kendree College. Mr. Kolb is a member of the Lutheran
Church and belongs to the K. P. Order.
Christian Kolb was born May 28, 1876. After finishing
the grade schools, he spent one year in the Mascoutah High
School, and then six months in the Belleville Commercial Col-
lege. In 1896, he came to Lebanon and went into business
with his brother. He was married to Odelia Steidle of
Lebanon, on October 23, 1899. His wife was born on the 4th
of December, 1878, the daughter of Frank Steidle and Joan
Burhart, both of whom have died. To Christian Kolb and his
wife have been born two children — Edgar J., on June 7, 1906;
and Roy C, on July i, 1903. The older son has studied in
McKendree College about two years, and the younger son
one year. Mr. Kolb is a member of the Evangelical Church,
and one of the Deacons of his church and the secretary of the
Church Board. He and his brother are congenial business
men, and are well liked in Lebanon where they enjoy a large
patronage both from the townspeople and from those in the
surrounding country.
WILLIAM C. DAUMUELLER
Qo ONE CAN LIVE in Leb-
anon for very long
without becoming ac-
quainted with one of her most
progressive and most congeni,
business men, Mr. W. C.
Daumueller, the proprietor of
a music, gift and confectionery
store. His place of business is
the pleasant resort of college
and high school students in
See building adjoining his
music parlor for the display
YESTERDAY
particular. Here they gather to
take delightful refreshments, to
enjoy the best of music, or to
purchase choice gifts for their
friends. Mr. Daumuelier came
to Lebanon in 1902 and open-
ed his shop in the building
which he now occupies. He
has met with encouraging suc-
cess, enjoys the patronage of
scores of college students as
well as his townspeople, and
has recently been obliged to
secure more room for his busi-
ness, securing the old post ofl
store, and uses this space as a
and demonstration of his instruments
Mr. Daumueller came here from Belleville, where he was
born, and where he received his education. His father was
George Daumueller, who was born in Stuttgart Wuertten-
berg, Germany and came to this country on July 4th, i860 —
embarking in the mining business and later in the dry goods
and grocery business. He was married to Pauline Konzelman
on January 3rd, 1861. Mr. Daumueller died on June 8th,
1897 — Mrs. Daumueller is still living in Belleville.
On July 24th, 1906, W. C. Daumueller was married to
Miss Alma Howe, a trained nurse, who had come to Lebanon
in 1905 to take charge of a sanitarium here. She is the daugh-
ter of F. D. Howe and Mary Roe Howe, and was born at
Oswego, Kansas on November 27th, 1885. After the com-
pletion of the grade and high school courses, she took four
years in the training school for nurses in the Henrietta Hos-
pital of East St. Louis, after which she came to Lebanon.
Mrs. Daumueller takes delight in her home, in flowers and
in good books. She is the mother of two daughters — Mar-
guerite Mae, born August 27th, 1909 and Mary Pauline,
born August 17th, 1915.
Mr. Daumueller is a member of the Luthern Church and
of the Icc.il Rotary Club, having served the past year as
president of the Club. He is especially interested in good
music and athletics.
HON. BRUCE A. CAMPBELL
POINTS which stand out most prominently in the
ife history of Bruce Campbell are his renowned lea-
dership in the profession of law and his active public
service. He was born at Albion, Edwards County, Illinois,
October 28, 1879, a son of Joseph M. and Amabel (Thomp-
©Ife
Pne HiuiciT-ed and T^metyTwo
BRUCE A. CAMPBELL
son) Campbell, both deceased.
LIpon being graduated trom
the high school and from the
Southern Collegiate Institute,
both in his native town, Mr.
Campbell entered the Univer
sity of Illinois. Here, he was
elected to membership m the
Smna Alpha Epsilon Fraternity
and to Phi Bet i Kappa, and m
1900 he was graduated with
the degree of B.ichelor of Arts.
Taking up. then, the study of
law in his father's office, he
was admitted to the bar in 1901, and began practicing at
Albion. After serving as City Attorney and as a Repre-
sentative to the State Assembly, he came to East St. Louis
in 1905 and became associated which Judge E. C. Kramer
and R. J. Kramer, leading attorneys of St. Clair County,
under the firm name of Kramer, Kramer 6? Campbell, which
association has since continuously existed. Since then, m
politics and m the legal profession, he has gained honorable
distinction. He is a leader m the Democratic party, having
been since 1902 a delegate to every state convention, and
twice chairman of these conventions.
In igio he was the Democratic nominee for Congressman
of his district; he was a delegate to the Democratic National
Convention that nominated Woodrow Wilson for President;
and in 1924 he was delegate-at-large to his party's convention
held in New York City. He declined in igi j an appointment
by President Wilson to serve as Assistant Attorney-General
of the United States. During the war, he was a member of
the Elks National War Relief Commission, and at the present,
he is on a commission that recently built the $3,000,000 Elks'
War Memorial in Chicago. He is, and has been since its estab-
lishment, on the Board of Directors of the Elks' Maga2;ine.
Mr. Campbell belongs to the East St. Louis, Illinois State
and American Bar Associations, and has served as president
of the East St. Louis and State Associations. Fraternally, he
is a 32nd degree, Knight Templar and Shriner Mason, Mod-
ern Woodman, and a most active Elk, having been Grand
Exalted Ruler in 1018-1919 and president of the lUinois Elks
Association in 1911 and 1912. On June iq, 1906, Mr. Camp-
bell was married to Miss Beulah Wilson Campbell, a daugh-
ter of Dr. J. M. and Lucretia (Wilson) Campbell, of Marissa,
Illinois. The families are not related. One child, Joseph Bruce,
was born to them on March 8th, 1907, who, at the present.
IS a member of the Senior Class and the Sigma Alpha Epsi-
lon, honorary fraternity of lournahsm, at the University of
Illinois
The life of Bruce Campbell has been so varied m its activ-
ities, so honorable in its purpose, so far-reaching and bene-
ficial m Its aspects, that it has showed its effect not only
upon East St. Louis and Illinois, but upon the nation as
a whole.
JOHN E MILLER
For about forty years, John Elmer Miller has been engaged
in public education in St. Clair County, Illinois. He has occu-
pied many positions m the public schools, including rural
teacher, teaching m graded schools in the primary and gram-
mar grades, high school teacher of history and mathematics,
ward and village school principal, city superintendent of
schools of East St. Louis, and County Superintendent of
Schools.
He was born on a farm in Caseyville Township near the
close of the Civil War, being the second son of James R.
and Malinda (Nicholas) Miller, the former a nitive of Ohio
the latter of Tennessee.
After completing the curriculum of the village school at
Caseyville, he spent four years m the State Normal Univer-
sity, at Carbondale, trom which he was graduated. He con-
tinued his studies m the Bufflilo School of Pedagogy, Buffalo,
N. Y., and in Washington University and St. Louis Univef
sity, at St. Louis, Mo.
He was city librarian of the city of East St. Louis from
1902 to 1904. In this position he improved the service and
originated and installed the popular and serviceable Juvenile
department for boys and girls.
He assisted m the organization of the University Extension
lecture courses for East St. Louis.
He became city superintend-
ent of Schools in East St.
Louis in 1904 and continued
in this position until 19x1.
During these seven years he
reorganized the East St. Louis
Teachers' Lecture Course and
installed m the schools manual
training and household econo-
my, and put in operation the
first salary schedule for the
teachers of East St. Louis. As
city superintendent of schools
he took the initiative in es-
JOHN E. MILLER
Fwe Hundred and >{msI^-Tliree
csi^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^S^^s^
tablishing the first recreation centers and playgrounds for
his city.
As principal of the Jefferson School in East St. Louis he
was active in the organization of the Parent-Teacher Asso-
ciation, which has grown to several thousand members in
St. Clair County.
He was elected county superintendent of schools of St.
Clair County in November, 1922, and was re-elected in
November, 1926.
He has been a continuous member of the National Educa-
tion Association, the State Teachers' Association, and the
St. Clair County Teachers' Association for many years.
He has been for more than twenty-five years a member
of the State Historical Society, and has contributed various
articles on the history of the schools of East St. Louis and
St. Clair County.
In February, 1905 he was married to Miss Frances Eliza-
beth Coulter. In July, 1908, Catherine Elizabeth Miller,
their daughter, was born.
Mr. Miller resides at 3047 Audubon Place, East St. Louis,
Illinois.
P. R. GLOTFELTY and Family
Biographical sketch appears on page ji
Fwe Hundred and J^incty-Four
m
HERMAN SEMMELROTH
kAY 8th, 1926, Mr. Harmin S;mm--lroth
appointed postmaster in Belleville,
Illinois. Before that time he had been en-
gaged for many years in the printing and pub-
lishing business, having the management of the
Belleviller Post und Zeitung. the oldest German
publication in Illinois. His father, George Sem-
mekoth, came to America from Kurhessen, Ger-
many, in 1856, worked as a printer in Belleville
until the Civil War, enhsted for service in Jan-
uary, 1865, and at the close of the war, returned
to Belleville to resume his position as foreman
of the Belleviller Zeitung. About the same time
he bought a half interest in the Sterns des Wes-
tens (Star of the West), and later became owner
of this paper, which he published until 1872.
when he sold out, but retained his position as
business manager for two years. From 1874 to
1886 he was half owner of the Belleviller Zei-
tung, but sold his interest to become the man-
ager of the Post, in which he had purchased a
one-half interest with Gen. William C. Kueffner
as his partner. He remained manager until his
death in December, 1895. He was married to
Minnie Deeke, of Belleville (born in Germany,
1845), on Sept. I'ith, 1866, and by her had eight
children, one of whom, Herman, a brief account
of whose life will follow, was born on April
28th, 1875, and received his education in the
Belleville public schools, including the high
school, and in the Commercial College. His
schooling finished, he entered his father's plant,
worked here until he was twenty, and then
assumed the management of the business, of
which he also became the secretary and treasurer.
In 191 ■; Mr. Herman Semmelroth and his
brother, August, bought the Belleville Morning
Record, a morning newspaper, and published it
for about 3 years. They discontmued publishing
the German paper in 1916. They are still con-
ducting a general printing and bookbinding es-
tablishment at 1 1 3-1 1 5 South Illinois Street,
Belleville, Illinois, under the incorporated name
of Belleville Morning Record Printing 6? Pub-
lishing Company. Herman Semmelroth is pres-
ident, but not active, while August Semmelroth
is secretary and treasurer. The firm is better
known under the short name of Record Print-
ing Co.
Mr. Semmelroth chose for his wife. Miss
Lulu Goelitz, to whom he was married on Jan.
30th, 1901. She IS the daughter of Albert Goe-
htz. Mr. and Mrs. Semmelroth have two boys —
Arthur, born Nov. 19th, 1903, and Norman,
born June 13th, 1908. Both are graduates of the
Belleville Township High School.
Mr. Herman Semmelroth belongs to the Elks,
the Odd Fellows, is a charter member of the
Turner Society, and is greatly interested in the
Belleville Liederkranz (Choral Society). He has
always held an office in one or more of these
organizations, and is active in political affairs,
all of which have made him popular and well
liked by his fellowmen.
EDWARD C. HANKAMER
ONE OF THE most prosperous merchants
in the town of Dupo, Illinois, is Mr.
Edward C. Hankamer, who is the popular
proprietor of the Temper Ice Cream Parlor and
Sundry Shop. Mr. Hankamer was born on May
27, 1888, in Stookey Township, near MiUstadt,
Illinois. He is a son of Edward and Louise Han-
kamer, of East St. Louis. His education was re-
c eived in the various schools of MiUstadt and
East St. Louis.
CHAPTER II
In 1910, Mr. Hankamer was united in mar-
riage with Miss Marie Brengard. Of the union
there are seven children : Erwin, Lorine, Edward,
Norman, Louise, Walmer, and Rose-Mane.
At present, Mr. Hankamer is the president
of the board of education of District 193. He
also holds the office of village clerk, notary public
and local registrar. Mr. Hankamer is a member
of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the
Loyal Order of Moose, and the Brotherhood of
Evangelical Church.
CHARLES REINHARDT
CHARLES REINHARDT, one of Leba-
non's senior business men, the proprietor of
a clothing store, and a tailor by trade. His
father, Chas. Reinhardt, Sr., came to Lebanon in
1856, and operated a tailor shop here for many
years. He died in February, 1902. The mother,
Mary Blass Reinhardt, died in September, two
years earlier. Chas. Reinhardt, Jr., was born in
Lebanon, June 11, 1857, and here received a pub-
lic school education and two terms of instruction
in McKendree, before beginning his life's work
in 1872 as a tailor and clothier in Lebanon.
On Oct. 7, 1879, he married Ellen W. Williams,
who was born near Lebanon on Nov. 15, i8'i2,
daughter of Hampton and Indiana Bradsby
Williams, long since deceased. Mrs. Reinhardt
attended McKendree College for a time and was
an early member of the CUonian Literary Society.
She is the mother of three children: Fred W.,
graduated from McKendree as an honor student,
and from the law school of Washington Univer-
sity, now practicing law in Chicago; Florence A.
was graduated from McKendree's school of music
and the Perry School of Expression, and is mar-
ried to Mr. C. W, Nichols, insurance executive;
and Miss Retta M. Reinhardt received a musical
training in McKendree and now resides with
her parents.
Mr. Reinhardt served on the school board for
about twenty-four years, and was city alderman.
He is an Odd Fellow, a Woodman, and a member
of the Evangelical Church. In business he is ac-
commodating, cordial, and courteous.
J. B. WILLIAMSON
XN Binghampton, New York, on Oct. i,
1864, was born J. B. Williamson, a prom-
inent real estate dealer of East St. Louis. He
attended the public schools of his home city, and,
upon being graduated from them, he continued
his education by enrolling in the Cortland Nor-
mal University, of Cortland, New York. After
leaving the normal school, he taught for several
years, and it was during this time that he was
married to Miss Eunice Harton, of Oswego, New
York, the date cf their wedding being Nov.
28, 1884.
Mr. Williamson then established himself in
the bakery business, in which he continued for
eight years with marked success. In 1898 he
entered the grocery business, first as a successful
salesman for two wholesale houses, and later, in
191 5, as proprietor of a thriving store at 40th
and Waverly Place, in East St. Louis. In October
of 192^ he sold his grocery establishment and
entered into the real estate business, in which
he is now engaged.
Mr. Williamson is especially active in church
work, being one of the organizers of the St.
Paul M. E. Church, having been a trustee of it
since its founding, and acting as superintendent
of its Sunday School.
Mrs. Williamson was born in Oswego, New
York, May i, 1868. Music has always been her
hobby, and upon completing her education, she
taught in the public schools and as a private
teacher, prior to her marriage to Mr. Williamson.
Five children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Will-
iamson— three daughters: Eunice N., Mary L.,
and Ruth, all of whom are teachers; and two
sons: Lewis H., and James J. Mr. and Mrs.
Williamson provided all of their children with a
good education, each one having attended college.
Lewis, after completing high school, studied
under the best voice teachers in America. At
the present time, he is a well known concert
and church soloist in New York City. Eunice
IS a successful teacher in the department of
music of the Jefferson School.
Mrs. J. B. Williamson is a member of the
Shubert Club, president of the Bay view Literary
Club, and IS a member of the Daughters of the
Revolution. She was the organizer of the Cahokia
Mound Chapter, and is president of the Home
Missionary Society of St. Paul's M. E. Church.
THOMAS J. HAYES, JR.
CHOS- J. HAYES, Jr., at the time of this
writing (June, 1928), is traffic manager for
Renard Linoleum is' Rug Company, of
St. Louis, which position he has filled since
May, 1918. He is son of Thos. J. Hayes, St.,
veteran engineer on the Chicago 6? Alton Rail-
road. His mother, Anastasia (Doyle) Hayes, has
been dead since Oct. 15, 1921- Mr- Hayes, Jr.,
born Nov. 22, 1885, in East St. Louis. Mrs.
Hayes was formerly Ada L. Hendricks, daughter
of Samuel A. and Jane (Tansey) Hendricks, and
was born in East St. Louis, Aug. 15, 1886, and
was married on Sept. 17, 1912. Her son, Thos.
J. Hayes (the third), was born Jan. 18, 1911;
the daughter, Mary Ada, on her mother's birth-
day, in 1917.
Mr. Hayes, after a good education in the
parochial, grade, and high schools of East St.
Louis, secured employment in the L. 6? N. Rail-
road office, worked up to higher positions, and
in 1912 was made contracting freight agent. He
resigned in 1918 to take his present position.
In 191 2 and 191 3 he was a supervisor of St.
Clair County, and in 1923 was elected a member
of the East St. Louis board of education. At the
present he is a member of the East St. Louis
Board of Police and Fire Commissioners. He was
Grand Knight of the East St. Louis council of
the Knights of Columbus in 191 1- Mr. Hayes
is greatly interested in boys, as was shown by
his organization of a Boy Scout troop at the
Morrison School in 1926.
REV. J. B. CUMMINS
-f^EV. J. B. CUMMINS, pastor of Jersey-
Igr ville M. E. Church, of East St. Louis,
Illinois, has served as president of District
Conference for two years, president of Depart-
mental League, of Vandalia District, for five
years, and for two years was secretary of Car-
bondale District.
Rev. Cummins was born in Johnson County,
Illinois. July 12, 1868; attended public schools
and enrolled in Southern Illinois Normal Univer-
sity. Later he entered McKendree College. After
leaving McKendree, Rev. Cummins taught
school and then entered ministry.
October 5, 1892, Rev. Cummins married to
Emma E. Kirk, daughter of Samuel Kirk and
Almeeda Binkley Kirk.
Rev. Cummins is active Mason and member
of Odd Fellows.
Fu'e Hundred and }^mety-Five
MR, AND MRS. ADOLPH BAER
yfSR. ADOLPH BAER, ofSummerfield, con-
|JL| Jucts two very closely allied businesses-
lumber and furniture. He began this busi-
ness in 1906, when he moved to town from the
farm, and he and his brother bought out the Vogt
and the Pfeffer Lumber Companies, and operated
as a lumber company alone until igog, when they
added furniture, and had built a suitable struc-
ture for the enlarged business. Mr. Baer was born
near Summerlield, Sept. 30, 187";, the son of
Daniel and Catherine Bergdolt Baer, both ot
whom are dead. He finished the country school
and spent one year in the schools ofSummerfield,
after which he began working on his father's
farm, continuing this occupation until he went
into business in 1906.
He was married to Miss Ida Apple, on June
18, 1909, and by her has two children. Faith and
Hope, born on June 21, 1912 and Aug. g, igifi,
respectively. Mrs. Baer was born in Summerfield
on Oct. 7. 187J, received her education in the
Summerfield schools, and remained at home help-
ing with the housework until her marriage. Both
of the daughters are students of music in Mc-
Kendree College.
Mr. Baer has been a member of his school board
for four years, and the clerk of the board for three
years. He and his family worship in the Mennon-
ite Church ofSummerfield.
L. B. BUSCHER
ffiR. L. B. BUSCHER. proprietor of the
Bertram Hotel, in Lebanon, 111,, and a
building contractor, was born in Lebanon,
Aug. JO, 1886, the son of Edward J. Buscher
MC KENDREE
and Bertha Meyer, and the oldest of four chil-
dren—L. B. Buscher, Ora L., now Mrs. W. P.
Breuning, Francis, deceased, and Edward. His
father died in 1904; his mother is still living at
Bridgeton, New Jersey.
Mr. Buscher secured his education in the
Lebanon public schools, and took up carpentry,
working first in Springfield, 111. for about four
years, returned to Lebanon, and worked under
Mr. J. S. Gedney five or six years, entered the
dairy business, later the express business, in
which he was engaged for about ten years, and
then became agent for the Interurban Express
Company, kept this position for four years, until
1925, and returned to his old trade as a carpenter
and contractor. On Oct. 25, igij, he was married
to Miss Leonora Schmale, a Lebanon girl, born
Nov. 27, 1886, and a product of the Lebanon
High School. For a short time she attended the
public schools in St. Louis. Her parents, Balser
and Carrie (Rittenhouse) Schmale, are living in
Beloit, Wis. When in Lebanon, Mr. Schmale was
the street commissioner. He also engaged in con-
crete work. Mr. and Mrs. Buscher have no
children.
The hotel which Mr. Buscher manages was
forty-five years ago, operated by his grandmother
for twenty years, later by his father and aunt,
and then by his mother until 1924, when Mr.
Buscher took charge of it. Under his management
it has steadily improved. He is a member of the
East St. Louis Consistory, Ainad Temple, and
1.0. OF.
JACOB W. FRANTZ
TACOB W. FRANTZ, the proprietor of
ffL the New Athens Bakery, was born in
New Athens Township on the loth of
November, 1888. His father, Fred Frantz, a re-
tired farmer who lives in New Athens, is the
son of Louis Frantj and Katherine Wilhelm, and
was born in New Athens Township on Nov.
^, 1862. Fred worked for his father on the farm
until 1881, when he started farming for himself,
continuing this occupation until iq20, when he
left the farm, bought property in New Athens,
and moved into town. His wife was Miss Lizette
C. Held, the daughter of Jacob Held, a well-
known farmer of Fayetteville, 111., the place of
Lizette's birth, on December 21, 1861. She came
from a family of three children, and was married
to Mr. Frantz on Sept. 10, 1881. To Fred ,ind
Mrs. Frantz were born nine children — four are
Uving and five are dead; Kate, Oct. 14, 1882;
Charley, June 14, 1884, died April 27, 1888;
August, Aug. 16, 1886, died Aug. 17, 1886;
Jacob Wm., Nov. 10, 1887; Ida, Feb. 27, iSgo,
died Jan. 4, 1917; Albert, April jo, 1892; Dor-
othy, July 24, 1893; Robert, Dec. 23, iSg-;, died
July 18, 1896; Walter, May 18, 1903, died Aug.
18, 1903.
Mr. Frantz still owns 108 acres of land, which
IS under the management of his son, Albert.
The former served for three years as a member
of the New Athens School Board.
His son, Jacob, received his education in the
public school, and then worked for his father
until he was eighteen, when he went to St.
Louis, secured employment in a bakery, and
worked there for five years. In 191 1 he returned
to New Athens, bought the baker shop of Christ
Loesche, and continued running this bakery up
to the present time. He has built a new building
since, and now has an up-to-date plant and
store-room.
On April 23, 1916, he was married to Amelia
C. Stemheimer, w-ho has borne him two children:
Harold, on May 13, 1917; and Dorothy Mae, on
March 2, 1927. The mother is the daughter of
Oscar Steinheimer and Susanna Schreiber. The
former died in 1916, but the latter is still living.
Mrs. Frantz was born the 4th of February, 1899,
in New Athens, where she received a public
school education.
Mr. Frantz is a member of the Evangelical
Church, is an Odd Fellow and a Modern Wood-
man, and also a member of the Volunteer Fire
Department of New Athens.
MARTHA L. CONNOLE, LAWYER
XN THE METROPOLITAN BUILDING
of East St. Louis, Miss Martha L.Connole
conducts her law office. Miss Connole is a
native of Greene County, was horn at Carrollton,
III, Sept. 21, 1883. the daughter of Anthony
Connole and Mary Ann Markham. Her parents
had eight children. The father, well-known as a
squire and real estate man in Greene County,
died Feb. 22, 1919; the mother is one of the
senior members of the Carrollton M. E. Church.
Miss Connole, after completing a high school
course, attended the Illinois State Normal, and
at the age of nineteen began teaching, first in the
country schools of Greene County, then in the
seventh and eighth grades at White Hall, 111., and
finally in the White Hall High School, staying
four years at each place. In 1914, she resigned her
position as teacher, took a position with her
brother, Henry Connole, a real estate and insur-
ance agent at Madison, 111., and during this per-
iod of four years, studied law at nights and as a
student in St. Louis University. She was grad-
uated from the law school in igi?, and in 1918
came to East St. Louis, took charge of the Govern-
merit Fuel Administrator's office for one year.
and in 1919 began her law practice.
In 1921 Miss Connole was elected on the city
school board, and in 1924, appointed public ad-
ministrator for St. Clair County. She is a member
of the Y. W. C. A. Board, and holds a member-
ship in a number of other organizations — the
Eastern Star, Rebeccas, Royal Neighbors,
Women's Relief Corps, Protestant Women's
Welfare League, and the Methodist Church.
Miss Connole enjoys working with women's
organizations, is now National Legislative Chair-
man of the business and professional Women's
clubs of the United States.
FRED A, RENNER, M, D.
OR, FRED A. RENNER was born on Feb.
23, 1878, in Lebanon, 111. His father, Fred
Renner, was born in Germany in 1845,
came to America in 1848, followed farming for
many years, and is now retired and lives in Leb-
anon. Dr. Renner's mother, Mary Jane Ross
Renner, was born in St. Clair County in 1846,
and IS the daughter of the Reverend William
Ross, one of the early pioneer Baptist preachers
of the middle west. She, too, is still Uving.
Dr. Renner was graduated from the local high
school in 1897, after which he studied in Mc-
Kendree College for one term, and in 1899 and
1900 took teacher training courses at the West-
ern Normal, Bushnell, 111., and at the Illinois
State Normal, Normal, 111. He then taught for
tour years in St. Clair County. In 1906 he was
graduated from the medical school of St. Louis
University, and the next year was spent in the
U. S. Marine Hospital, St. Louis. Locating in
Benld, 111., he remained there until 1920, the year
he came to Lebanon. In this same year he com-
pleted a post graduate course at Washington
University.
Mrs. Renner, formerly Delia M. Midgley, is
a native of Lebanon, was born May 23,, 1880, and
was married on Aug. 4, 1906. She is the daughter
of William Midgley and Mary Jane Ezard; the
former, who conducted a butcher shop in Leb-
anon over forty years, died in 1908, and the latter
in 1921. Both were born in England. Dr. and
Mrs. Renner have one daughter, Delia Grace,
who is an honor student in McKendree College,
and an active member of the Clionian Literary
Society.
Dr. Renner is a member of the Lebanon Com-
munity High School board, which position he
has held since 1921. He owns one of the best
homes in Lebanon, located on Belleville Avenue.
He likes to fish, and is particularly interested
in fruits and bees.
H
ARTHUR SCHUBERT
ARMER, coal miner, carpenter, helper,
foreman, and finally, an independent con-
tractor— this has been the route over
which Mr. Arthur Schubert has gone. He was
born in Mascoutah Township, March 10, 1880,
the son of Robert Schubert and Anna Schmidt,
to whom reference is made on another page of
this history. After leaving the Mascoutah High
School, Arthur Schubert worked for a time on
the farm and in the mines, and then took up
carpentry, working for his brother, Robert, until
1923, when he started contracting for himself.
Mrs. Schubert is a product of the high school
of Mascoutah, in which city she was born on
May 28, 1889, the daughter of John Boos and
Mary Karch, both of whom were born here. The
father is a retired merchant, lives in Mascoutah,
and is one of her well-to-do citizens. Mrs. Schu-
bert, nee Alma M. Boos, is the mother of a
daughter, Carine M., who was born on the 23rd
of November, 1908, and who has been graduated
from the Mascoutah High School.
Mr. Schubert is well known here, and is the
owner of a nice residence, and of other property
in the city, as well as a stockholder and director
in a co-operative store. He does a great amount
of work as a building contractor in and around
Mascoutah. In 1926 he was elected a member
of the board of education. Mr. Schubert is an
Odd Fellow and also a member of the Moose
Fraternity.
HENRY J. SCHLESINGER, M. D. C.
0
VERY COMMUNITY needs a compe-
tent veterinarian, and New Athens has
such a one in Dr. Schlesinger. Born m
the city where he is now located, on April 13,
1886, he is one of the four sons of Michael
Schlesinger and Friedericka Oldenorph. Henry
J. Schlesinger obtained his early education in
the New Athens schools, and after leaving
school, worked for a time at different vocations.
In 1910, he was graduated from the Chicago
Veterinary College. Soon after finishing this
course, he returned to his native town, began
his practice, and has kept up this practice until
now. The year after his return from Chicago he
married, on June 6, 191 1, Bertha A. Bertholdt,
the daughter of Frederick Bertholdt and Eliza-
beth Kirchhoelfer. Mrs. Schlesinger was born in
FayetteviUe on June 20, 1890. She came from a
family of five children, and received a public
school education. She has borne to her husband
four children: Howard F., on Feb. 15, 1914;
MR .^ND MRS- S E, WILLIAMS
Blanch L., on Nov. i, 1915; Allen H., on July
29, 1920; and Ruth E., on Jan. 21, 1922.
Mr. Schlesinger not only treats diseases of all
domestic animals and poultry, but he carries a
full line of medicines for these animals. His prac-
tice and trade extends into four counties — St.
Clair, Monroe, Randolph and Washington. He
owns his home, as well as other property here,
has served as alderman of New Athens for two
terms and as a member of the school board for
three terms. Mr. Schlesinger has a love for
music, and all the members of his family are
musically inclined. He belongs to the Masonic
Fraternity.
SYLVAN E. WILLIAMS
/^YLVAN E. WILLIAMS, printer and pub-
J*jl lisher, was born in Douglas County, Illi-
nois, December 17, 1899. Both of his
parents, Silas and Rosezella Williams, are living
at Lebanon, Indiana.
In 1918 Sylvan was graduated from the high
school of Lebanon, Indiana, and the two years
following he spent in the U. S Navy. Upon his
discharge from the service, he entered a printing
office, and at the same time took a course in print-
ing and journalism, at Lebanon, Indiana. He
worked at his trade for five years in Indiana be-
fore coming to Illinois in 192"! to take charge of
the Advertiser, Lebanon's first class weekly pub-
lication. This paper had previously been pub-
lished by Gerking in 1911, Allen in 1917, and
Fire Hundred and J^mety-S:
<^r.^^^r^^<^^^^^X^^ KENDREE-^^S^^^3,^^_^_
DR. A. C. VICKREY
Bartlett in 1920. Soon after Mr. Williams took
charge, he moved the printing plant to the place
where it is now located, improved his equipment,
and built an up-to-date establishment, from which
he not only turns out a good weekly of from eight
to fourteen pages, but also prints the McKendree
Review and the Bulletin. He also does an excel-
lent grade of job printing.
Mrs. Wilhams assists in the newspaper office,
and her efforts have made the social news of the
publication one of the leading pages in Southern
Illinois newspapers. Mrs. Williams was formerly
Miss Myrtle Smith, a native of the Hoosier state.
Mr. Williams is a capable newspaper editor,
attends dihgently to his business, and is a booster
for civic and industrial improvement in his
community.
DR. A. C. VICKREY
He. VICKREY, M. D., prominent physi-
cian and surgeon of St. Louis, was born in
Louisville, Illinois January 50, 1886. He
attended the public schools of Louisville and
from 1903 to 1907 was a student in McKendree
College, Lebanon, Illinois. After leaving Mc-
Kendree, he entered the School of Medicine in
Washington University and was graduated from
it in 191 1. Dr. Vickrey was then employed in
the St. Louis City Hospital Department for six
years. On September i, 191';, he was married
to Miss Florence C. Estes, and to this union
two children — a girl, Florence C, and a boy.
Nelson C. — were born.
Dr. Vickrey has served as Assistant Superin-
tendent of the St. Louis city sanitarium and is
superintendent of the Missouri State Hospital
No. 2 at St. Joseph, Missouri. In his practise
from 191^ to 1917 he was the business associate
of Dr. Max Starkloff, city health commissioner.
From 1918 to 1922, he served as surgeon in the
U. S. pubhc health service.
Dr. Vickrey, in addition to filhng all of the
above listed important offices, has built up a
large medical practice in St. Louis. He specializes
in neuro-psychiatry and is a keen student of all
pha'^s of medical science. His office in St. Louis
is in the Paul Brown Building at Ninth and
Olive Streets.
Dr. Vickrey is well-liked by every one who
knows him and is prominent both in the medical
circles of St. Louis and of the state of Missouri,
and in all civic activities of his community. He
is a member of the St. Louis Medical Society and
of the American Medical Association and is,
also, a Mason and an Elk.
REV. FRANK E. HARRIS
^R. FRANK HARRIS, Methodist min-
ister, Ashley, Illinois, born in Sangamon
County, IMinois, June 18, 1890, received
public school education Springfield, graduated
McKendree Academy, 1921, and McKendree
College, A. B. degree, I92<;. Worked as clerk
for Wabash R. R. until marriage to Gladys V.
Morgan on March i, 1909. From 1909 to 1919
followed farming, then entered Methodist min-
istry. Was ordained Deacon, 1923; Elder, 1927.
His father, P. S. Harris, died m 1917; the mother,
Dora Valentine Harris, is at Springfield, Illinois.
Mrs. Harris was born at Mechanicsburg, Illi-
nois, August 29, 1891, daughter of C. W.
Morgan and Elizabeth Turley Morgan. Re-
ceived high school education. She and Mr.
Harris have four children — Joseph, Elizabeth,
Frank, Jr., and Dora Jean.
Mr. Harris has held the following pastoral
charges: Bunker Hill and Dorchester (1920),
Dorchester (1922), OTallon (1923 to 1926),
Ashley (1926 to the present). He is a member
of the Odd Fellows, of the A. F. ii A. M. of
the Royal Arch of the Masonic Order, and of
the Platonian Literary Society.
CHARLES H. BARTS
QROFESSOR CHARLES BARTS, the
principal of the Freeburg High School,
has been an active educator now for more
than thirty-seven years. He is a native of Indiana,
was born at Misha waka, on the 23rd of February,
1870. His education included a high school train-
ing, a preparatory and normal training in the
University of Valparaiso, from which institution
he was graduated with a B. S. degree in 1901,
and a course in the Indiana University, from
which he received his Bachelor of Arts degree
in 1920.
On Oct. 18, 1892, Mr. Barts was married to
Miss Zoula M. Brown, to whom has been born
six children— Ethyl M., Ada B , Clarice M.,
Valeria A., Ellwood E., and Irma E. Five of these
children have graduated from high school, and
Ethyl and Ada attended the Indiana University;
Clarice, the Indiana Teachers" College; Valeria,
the college of Butler, Indiana; Ellwood, the Y.
M. C. A. Automobile School, of St. Louis; Irma,
the youngest, is a Junior in the Freeburg High
School. The two oldest daughters taught five
years, before their marriage.
Mr. Barts is a member of the Methodist
Church and a Mason. He belongs to the Knights
of Pythias and to the Eastern Star Fraternity.
Mr. Barts is an exponent of Manual Training in
the high school, and an advocate of Industrial
Education; this seems to be his hobby. He has
been located at Freeburg for the past three
years, where he has taken an active hand in the
planning and erection of a fine new building.
MRS. GRACE HARMON McGARY
eRACE LUELLA HARMON, daughter
of Dr. John F. Harmon, noted minister
and former President of McKendree Col-
lege, whose biographical sketch appears in this
history, holds the unique distinction of being
the only woman ever elected to active mem-
bership in Plato. After completing her academic
course, Mrs. McGary was graduated from Mc-
Kendree College, attended the Chicago Training
School, and did post-graduate work in piano, in
St. Louis. At McKendree, she was president of
Clio and of the Y. W. C. A. several times.
A specialist in child training, Mrs. McGary
is connected with the American Educational
Society, of St. Louis. In 191 1. her work called
her as a missionary to Korea, Seoul, where for
REV. AND MRS FRANK E. HARRIS
PROF. C. H. BARTS
MRS GRACE H. McGARY
Flic HiiTidred and .\mct>Eight
eight years, she was the head of the Musical
Department of Ewha College, the largest girls'
school in Korea.
Mrs. McGary is the mother of three chil-
dren—Elizabeth R., Patricia K., and John E.
RICHARD H. MUSKOFF
J^HIS POPULAR and highly respected
IJ principal of the East Carondelet School,
District 54, was born at Prairie Dupo, on
Nov. 12, 1894, a son of Fred and Lena (Mittel-
statter) Muskoft, who were parents of eight
other children. He attended the public schools
at Prairie Dupo, the East St. Louis High School,
State Normal, at Normal, and the Southern Illi-
nois Normal University, at Carbondale, from
which he was graduated in 1926; for the next
nine years he taught school. Mr. Muskoff was
married to Gertrude C. Arnold, on April 11,1918.
She was born in St. Louis on Aug. 16, 1894, a
daughter of John and Sophia (Peterson) Arnold.
This family, in which there were three children,
moved from St. Louis to their homestead near
MiUstadt, where they are now living. Mrs.
MuskofF attended the public schools in St. Louis
and lived with her parents until her marriage.
Mr. and Mrs. Muskotf are parents of two chil-
dren. These are: Richard, Jr., born on July 26,
1920; and Gladis M., Feb. 25, 1925. During the
war Mr. Muskoif served as a private in France,
where he did his full duty. He was honorably
discharged on Sept. 25, 1919. He was made prin-
cipal of the East Carondelet School, and has held
that position since then. He is a member of the
American Legion; in religion he is a member of
the Evangelical Church. During the past years,
in his spare time, Mr. Muskoff has studied the
science of agriculture. His ability and love for
work, mixed with a pleasant personality, has
placed him in a position of high esteem among
all his friends.
CHARLES W. MARKS
B CLOSE FRIEND and former class-mate
of Dr. Cameron Harmon, now President
of McKendree College, is Mr. Charles
W. Marks, a successful undertaker of Edwards-
ville. 111. After receiving his elementary school-
ing in Bunker Hill, 111., Mr. Marks attended
McKendree College in 1901. He finished his
professional training in the Embalming School
of St. Louis, and is now connected with the
Marks and Weber Company. Harry F. Marksand
Bernard H. Weber are also members of the firm.
Mr. Marks is a member of Plato, is an Odd
Fellow and a Mason. He started in the Furniture
and Undertaking business in 1904. From 1920
MC KENDREE
to 192'; he was in the same Une of business at
White Hall, 111. He was married to Miss Edna
Kriege in 1910. Their children are: Arlyn
who will enter McKendree College m 1929,
Robert L., and Ray C.
The mother of Mr. Marks, and her folks,
have hved in America for generations. His
father, Mr. Peter Marks, was born in St. Louis.
Most of his childhood days were spent in the
vicinity of Alton.
®
W. M. K. LYONS
M. K. LYONS was born in Marissa
Township, St. Clair County, lUinois, in
the year 1847 and has resided there ever
since. His father, John R. Lyons, was born in
South Carolina and came to Illinois in 1835 and
resided in St. Clair County for more than eighty
years; his mother, Mary A. McKee, was a native
of Kentucky and came to Illinois in her early life.
At the age of fifteen years, Mr. Lyons entered
high school at the Union Academy, in Sparta.
The following year, i86j, he entered McKendree
College. Dr. AUyn was president at this time.
Professors Blair and Jones were leading instruct-
ors. Fairly good progress was made here until
near the close of the second year, when eye
trouble developed, causing a halt in school work
for a time. Later, he pursued his studies in Mon-
mouth College, and entered business in Marissa,
IlUnois, in 187J, and continued to operate this
successfully for a period of forty -five years.
He has always taken an active interest in ad-
vancing the welfare of the community, and gave
of his time and talents in fostering the highest
aims of life. He has repeatedly served as trustee
of the village board, and also as president of
same. He was a member of the board of education
at the time the first large public school building
was erected. Has been for several years president
of the township board of school trustees. He is
a member and an official director of the United
Presbyterian Church.
In the year iSvs he was united in marriage
to Miss Sarah J. Patton, a resident of near
Sparta, Randolph County. To this union were
born four children, one dying in infancy. The
youngest son died at the age of twenty-four
years — a short time after graduating from the
St. Louis School of Pharmacy. One son and
daughter are living; both are happily married.
REVEREND MELVIN LOAR
BREAL PREACHER, an optomist, and a
student who spends over five hours a
day in study, is Reverend Melvin Loar,
pastor of the Centralia First M. E. Church. As
REV. MELVIN LOAR
a preacher, he appeals to all classes; has always
been perfectly natural, spiritual, evangelistic,
practical and unemotional. When Reverend Loar
was Superintendent of the Carbondale District,
the First M. E. Church of Carbondale, one of
the finest in the Conference, was built. Many
other churches and parsonages were built under
his efficient superintendency. It was he who
organized and built the church in Alta Sita,
remodeled the church in Cairo, and built the
parsonage in Robinson.
In July, 1891, Reverend Loar was united in
marriage to Miss Olie Riley. The happy couple,
who have a great love for children, adopted
four orphans — Lottie Gibford, now assistant to
a surgeon in Detroit; Maud Gibford, who is
treasurer of Warren and Hardy, a great law
office in the same city; Opal Riley, a student
at McKendree Conservatory of Music ; another
child was adopted, but died in infancy.
Reverend Loar is a Royal Arch Mason, a
loving pastor and an energetic worker wherever
men need help. He was a student in McKen-
dree in 189} and '94, and entered the Southern
Illinois Conference in 1894.
REV. O. L. MARKMAN, D. D.
<f^EV. O. L. MARKMAN, pastor of the
I^f First M. E. Church, of East St. Louis,
"^ lUinois. For years he has been one of
prominent ministers in Southern IlUnois Con-
ference. Comes from family of six children, five
of whom are living. His brother, Frank Markman,
MR. WALTER LUCKNER
is superintendent of schools at Jerseyville, Illi-
nois. Mr. Markman was born November 20,
1876, at West Salem, Illinois, where he received
public school education. Afterwards he attended
Northwestern (now North Central) College, at
Naperville, Illinois, for one year, Valparaiso
University for two years, and Moody Bible
Institute one year. In June, 192 1, he was honored
with the title of Doctor of Divinity conferred
by Taylor Unu-ersity, of Upland, Indiana.
On October 11, 1898, he was married to Miss
Hulda K. Busefink, who, like her husband, was
born and educated in West Salem, her birth
occurring on December 18, 1877. After finishing
a high school course at home, she studied music
in Chicago. They have two children — Esther,
now Mrs. J. A. McCreery, who was born in
July, 1900, and Paul, who was born in Decem-
ber, 1902. Their daughter attended McKendree
College in 1919, and later was graduated from
the Southern Illinois Normal, at Carbondale.
Mrs. McCreery is the mother of two children.
Paul was graduated from the University of Illi-
nois in 1924, and is now a student of music in
New York City.
Rev. Markham has always been an active
member of the Southern Illinois Conference. His
record is as follows: two years pastor of First
M. E. Church at Mt. Vernon, Illinois; 1917-
1919, superintendent of Olney District; 1920
and 1924, delegate to Methodist General Con-
ferences; and at present he is president of the
Conference Deaconess Board, a member of the
board of directors for the Old Folks" Home, at
Lawrenceville, IMinois, a member of the Con-
ference Board of Examiners, president of the
MCKENDREE
Preachers' Benefit Association, and a trustee for
McKendree College.
He is a member of the Benton Lodge, No.
64, of the Masonic Order, of the Richland
Chapter Royal Arch Masons, Olney, lUinois,
of the consistory of East St. Louis, Illinois, and
of the Odd Fellows. He has served one term as
Grand Chaplain of the Grand Lodge of Odd
Fellows of Illinois. Rev. Markman now resides
at 666 North Thirteenth Street, East St. Louis.
WALTER LUCKNER
iy^ALTER LUCKNER, a farmer living near
fly Lebanon, 111., on Rural Route No. 2, was
born on the farm where he is now located,
on August 2, 1875. His father, before him, was
a farmer, Edward Luckner, by name, and died
on Jan. ji, 1908. His mother, Mrs. Kratch
Luckner, died April 28, 1916.
Mr. Luckner received a fair education in the
Rock Springs public school near Lebanon, and
early took up the vocation of farming as his
life's work. Most of his career as a farmer has
been spent on the old home farm, where he was
reared. He was thirty-one years of age when he
married Miss Hilda Kasel, on April 12, 1904.
To this union has been born one daughter, Ella
A. Luckner, on April 20, 1905. She is now the
wife of Mr. Gustave Koderhardt, and hves with
her parents. Mrs. Kasel Luckner was born at
Campbellton, Mo., on March 16, 1880, and re-
ceived her education in the public schools of her
community. Mr. Luckner is one of St. Clair
County's efficient farmers.
REV. CHARLES B. WHITESIDE, D. D.
(f^VEV. C. B. WHITESIDE, Superintendent
^J^ of Centralia District, is a man of sterling
worth — a man who has earned the way
to his position of honor and responsibility by
hard, conscientious efforts.
After taking normal training. Rev. Whiteside
spent six years teaching. In 189^ he entered the
Southern Illinois Conference. He served seven
charges as pastor, an average of four years to
the charge, and is now in his fifth year as Super-
intendent. He served two years as Conference
Treasurer, and several years as First Assistant
Conference Secretary. He has been honored
with a membership on nearly every board of
our conference institutions, and is now secre-
tary of the Conference Board of Hospitals and
Homes. At the last session of the conference.
Rev. Whiteside was elected a delegate to the
General Conference on the first ballot, receiving
10} of the 182 votes cast. During the World
War, Rev. Whiteside was chairman of the Red
Cross of Saline County, and chairman of the
Publicity Committee in the war drives.
In 1890 he was united in marriage to Miss
Alice Hart, of Pope County, Illinois. From this
union there are six children: Eula, Mabel, Ada,
Merrill (now deceased), Charles and Anna Faye.
REV. WALTER H. WHITLOCK, D. D.
y|>|R. WHITLOCK, prominent Methodist
^MJ minister and superintendent, was born in
Dickinson Countv, Kansas, on August
II, 1874, the son of F. S. and Sarah Clink Whit-
lock. Walter H. attended the Kinmundy High
School and the Carbondale Normal (four years)
and was graduated from the Garrett Biblical In-
stitute in 1906. From 1900 to 1906, he held stu-
dent pastorates, and since his graduation he has
had the following appointments: Herrin, Johnson
City, Altamont, Centralia, Olney, Lebanon
(while here, he organized and was head of the
department of religious education in McKendree
College), executive secretary of the Methodist
Missionary Society, of East St. Louis, pastor of
St. Paul's, of which he was the founder, Belleville.
Harrisburg, and at the present, superintendent
of East St. Louis district. In 1924, Mr. Whitlock
received the D. D. degree from McKendree.
Mrs. Whitlock, the daughter of Rev. T. G.
and Mary Jane Seay Peterson, of Tulsa, Okla-
homa, was born near Vienna, 111., on June 22.
1875. She attended the Creal Springs High School
and Carbondale Normal, and taught for ten years
before her marriage to Mr. Whitlock, on July 27,
1904. They have four children — Walter P., Cora
E., Vera E., and Harold T.
Mrs. Whitlock is an active member of the
Women's Foreign, and the Home Missionary
Societies. Mr. Whitlock is a Mason, a member
of the McKendree Board since 1909, and a mem-
ber of numerous boards and associations of the
Southern Illinois Conference and of state-wide
Methodism.
ALBERT WEBB
aLBERT WEBB, who has established him-
self in a thriving grocery business in
Caseyville, Illinois, is a man of innate
business abiUty.
His father, Emanuel Webb, forty-three years
ago established the general merchandise business
which his son, the subject of this sketch, now'
manages.
Albert Webb was born in Caseyville, Illinois,.
March 7, 1878. He attended the pubUc schools
of Caseyville, and, upon graduating from them,
he spent two years of study in McKendree
College. He also took a practical course in busi-
ness from Bryant and Stratton.
He then took employment in the office of the
Republican Iron and Steel Company, of St. Louis.
He remained associated with this company for
nine years and then for one year Mr. Webb
worked for Swift and Company.
In 1910, Albert returned to Casey viUe to go
into the grocery business with his father. Since
that time Albert Webb has lived in Caseyville.
He resides with and takes loving care of his
father and mother, both of whom are growing
old, but still enjoying good health. Mr. Webb's
mother was Sarah L. Mowe, prior to her mar-
riage to his father.
The elder Mr. Webb, in addition to establish-
ing his grocery business in Caseyville, has ac-
quired through a long life-time of conscientious
labor, much personal property and farm land.
Albert Webb is a member of the Modern
Woodmen.
m
REV. GEORGE H. BILLINGS
R. BILLINGS, minister of the M, E
Church, Lakewood, 111., born in Centralia,
Kans., July 4, 1896, educated in Kansas
public schools, graduated from the Downs, Kan-
sas, High School, attended McKendree one year
and one summer, and Lincoln College one term,
received an LL. B. degree from La Salle Extension
University. Preached one year, before War, at
Goodland, Kans., served seventeen months in
army, twelve months overseas, was pastor at
Blue Hill, Kans., 1919-20; student pastor. Signal
Hill, near Belleville, 1910-11; at Hamburg, 111.,
r 92 1 -22; traveling salesman, in Colorado, for
Brecht Candy Co., one year; returned to Illinois
in 1925, and preached at West Salem two years.
Married Sarah A. Root, Dec. 21, 1921, daughter
of J. E. and Mary Root, and born at Centralia,
111., March 7, 1899; attended McKendree Sum-
mer School, 1921. One son, Joseph H., was born
Nov. 30. 1923,.
Mr. Billings' parents were R. F. and Lucy R.
Billings; father died in 1922; mother still lives
in Kansas. He was a member of the Philosophian
Literary Society in McKendree.
SAMUEL J. WOODWARD
N THE CITY of New Athens, where he
has been employed as station agent for the
Illinois Central since 1911, Mr. Samuel
Woodward was born on November 10, 1877.
Mr. Woodward is the only son of Daniel W.
Woodward and Mary Wherle.
X
ffMC KENDREE'y
Samuel Woodward received his early educa-
tion in the New Athens public school, and after-
wards attended the business college at Dixon,
Illinois for two years (1896-97). Here he learned
telegraphy. In 1898 he took his first position
with the Illinois Central as telegraph operator
at New Athens; from here he went to Belleville,
and thence to Carbondale in the employ of this
same railroad company. On February 20, 1911,
he returned to New Athens, where he has re-
mained since.
Mrs. Woodward is Matilda, the daughter of
B. Haentzschel. She was born at New Athens
on October 16, 1879, and was married to Mr.
Woodward on the i6th of October, 1900. They
have a fine family of six boys and two girls —
Roy, Clarence, Lyle, Daniel, Earl, James, Mil-
dred and Mane. The interest of Mr. Woodward
in the welfare of his community is shown by the
tact that he served as mayor of New Athens for
two years (1917-18), was a city alderman for four
years, has been a member of the School Board
since 191 1, and was made president of the same
in igi6. He is also a member of the Community
High School Board. Mr. Woodward is a Metho-
dist (Sunday School Superintendent,', a Mason,
a Knight Templar and a Shnner.
n
HERMAN G. WANGELIN
ERMAN G. WANGELIN, automobile
dealer and owner of the Ford agency, in
Belleville, III, was born in this city on
the 5th of August, 1890. His father and a brother
were formerly also interested in this agency,
which was established in 1908. In igii Herman
bought out their interests and reincorporated
the business under the name of the Herman G.
Wangelin, Inc.
Mr. Wangehn received his common school
education and also his high school training in
Belleville. After graduating from the high school,
he studied for a time in the University of Illinois.
He was married on March 14, 1914, to Magda-
lena Heidinger. who is the mother of two boys —
Dan J. Wangelin, and Jack J. Wangelin. Both
are attending the public schools here.
In addition to his interest in his own business,
Mr. Wangelin takes a practical interest in the
schools of his city, and has served for two years
as president of the board of education. He has
been for some time prominent in the commercial
and fraternal organizations of Belleville. He was
the first president of the local Chamber of Com-
merce, and is one of the directors of the State
Chamber. He is a director of the Illinois Auto-
mobile Dealers' Ass'n, and also a member of
the Belleville Rotary Club, and a past president
of this club, a member of the Elks and of the
Belleville Turners Society.
Mr. Wangehn is a property owner here, both
of residential property and of business property.
His business location occupies 'ij.ooo square feet
of floor space.
Herman G. Wangehn is in the prime of life,
and IS ranked with the successful business men
of Belleville.
BARNETT D. S. WYLLIE, M. D.
J^:^H1S physician, educator, and musician of
V J recognized ability was horn near Marissa,
on November 5, 1877, the son of A.
Wyllie and Emily Coulter Wyllie. Dr. Wyllie
attended the public schools of Marissa and Leb-
anon, studied in the Marissa Academy two
years, in McKendree two years (1893-1895), in
Illinois College, at Jacksonville, from the fall of
"95 to December of '96, returned to McKendree
for the remainder of school year, and then went
to Shurtleff College one year. In 1900 he entered
Marion-Simms Medical School and was gradu-
ated in 1904. He practiced medicine at Union,
Mo. and in St. Louis until 1910, when he was
appointed to his present position as director of
health education for the St. Louis public schools.
On September 29, 1909, he married Emma Hein,
of Union, Mo., born November 12, 1884, the
daughter of J. W. and Emma Neiermeier Hein.
After she was graduated from Union Mo., High
School, she taught for six years, and was principal
Su Hundred and On
GEORGE WIRTH. JR.
of schools at Gerald, Mo. Then she was married
to Dr. Wyllie.
Dr. Wyllie is a member of the American Med-
ical Association, the American Public Health
Association, the St. Louis Medical Society, the
Lambda Chapter of the Phi Beta Pi Medical Fra-
ternity, and of the Kingshighway Presbyterian
Church. During the World War, he enlisted in
the Volunteer Medical Reser%-e Corps. He is an
old Plato, and a talented song writer and com-
poser, having had many of his productions pub-
hshed; he plays a number of instruments well.
the piano and violin in particular. His residence
s at 1389 Hamilton Ave., St. Louis.
VAL HIRTH
^R. VAL HIRTH, a Belleville printer, li%'es
at 219 S. Jackson Street, and conducts his
business at 7 South High Street. He was
born in Belleville, Sept. 7, 1882, secured a high
school education, obtained employment in a
printing shop, and worked at this trade until
Sept. I, 1912, when he went into business for
himself under the name of the Val Hirth Printing
Service. Mrs. Hirth, formerly Augusta Bender,
was married to our subject on Feb. i^, iQii,and
is the mother of two boys. Elmer F. was born in
191 1, the day after Christmas, and Carl E., on
August 29, 1916. Both are attending the public
schools; the older boy is in the high school.
Mr. Hirth is one of E?elleville"s most active
business men. He is a member of the Chamber
of Commerce, of the Retail Merchants' Assn.,
and a director in the Rotary Club. He is a mem-
ber of St. Paul's Evangelical Church, and for sev-
eral years has taught a Sunday School class, and
has been a director in Boy Scout work. He is now
serving his second term on the Belleville school
board, and is treasurer of the Belleville Turners.
Mr. Hirth owns his business and residence prop-
erty, besides other property in the city. The
Printing Service is an up-to-date establishment,
handles a good stock of office supplies, and turns
out printing work of high quality.
GEORGE WIRTH, Jr.
eEORGE WIRTH, Jr., who is secretary
and treasurer of the Auto Stove Works at
New Athens, Illinois is the son of George
Wirth, Sr., the president and general manager of
the same firm. A sketch of the father appears on
another page of this volume. The son was born
in St. Louis, Mo. on December i, 1891, and was
educated in the public schools, through the high
school, and in the Belleville Commercial College.
Upon finishing his studies he began working for
the above-named firm, and performed duties, at
one time or another, in all of its departments,
until he became thoroughly acquainted with the
business, and in 192'i was made the secretary
and treasurer of the firm.
He married Ada A. Hessick, October i, 1914.
She is the daughter of Henry Hessick, a prosper-
ous farmer in this part of the county, and of
Mary (Huth) Hessick. Mrs. Wirth is a high
school graduate. The one son who was born to
them on August 18th, 192J, has been named
George H.
Mr. Wirth was city treasurer for nine years,
and has been a member of the Community High
School Board since its organization, and further-
more, he is the secretary of the Village School
Board. In addition to these practical interests,
Mr. Wirth is particularly interested in baseball.
For five years he has been the manager of the
New Athens Baseball Team, and plays the posi-
tions of pitcher and catcher of this team. His
fraternal associations are with the Masonic
Order.
THEODORE E. REUSS
©ORN on the farm which he now occupies,
on Nov. 14, 188';. one of the four children
of Juhus Reuss and Sophia Engelmann,
Mr. Theodore Reuss is now one of St. Clair
County's leading farmers. His 104 acres of land
are situated near Belleville, on Rural Route No.
4 As a boy, Theodore attended the Cherry
Grove country school, completed its course, and
studied in McKendree Academy four years
(1901-1905), during the last year of which he
was ranked as a college freshman. He later took
a correspondence course in surveying, received
a diploma, but never followed this vocation.
Mrs. Reuss, formerly Meta Luckner, the
daughter of Chas. Luckner and Emily Runkwitz,
was born in O'Fallon Township, Dec. 31, 1886,
and was married to Mr. Reuss on Sept. 18, 1909.
Her parents are both living on a farm near Leb-
anon. She received her education in the Summer-
field schools, and remained at home with her
parents until her marriage. Their one daughter,
Anita M., was born Jan 5, 191 1.
Mr. Reuss has been an active participant in
farm organizations. He was a member of the
executive board of the Farm Bureau for three
years (1921-1924), was president of the Farmers'
Union for three years, and president of the
Farmers' Institute when it was held in Belleville
in 1925. He was the first Master of the Shiloh
Valley Grange, served one term on the Board of
Supervisors, and has been sixteen years a member
of the school board, and clerk of the board all
this time.
CHARLES W. ROBINSON
^R. CHARLES ROBINSON is one of Leb-
anon's efficient contractors, a careful and
painstaking carpenter. He was but three
years old when his parents moved to Lebanon
from near Ashley, 111., where Charles was born
July 22, 1870. His father, C. L. Robinson, was
also a contractor; his mother's name was Matilda
Mason. Both parents were horn and reared in
Virginia.
Charles Robinson received his education in
the Lebanon schools, and in 1896 took up con-
tracting work, in which he has since engaged.
Mr. Robinson is city clerk of Lebanon, which
position he has held for a number of years. He
was a member of the school board which super-
vised the erection of the new Community High
School, and remained on the hoard four years.
Clara E. Pesold, to whom Mr. Robinson was
married July 19, 190^, came from St. Louis, was
born on Aug. 17, 1879, the daughter of H. and
Clara Pesold . Both parents are hving in St. Louis,
where the father is engaged in the real estate
business. Mrs. Robinson attended the St. Louis
schools; also took a full course in a business college.
Margaret Jean Robinson, only daughter of Mr.
and Mrs. Robinson, was born in Lebanon, Dec.
12, 1906. She expects to graduate with the Cen-
tennial Class (1928) of McKendree College.
The family are active members of the Presby-
terian Church.
AUGUST M. EGGMANN
fri HEN only a youth, nineteen years of age'
\^/ the subject of this sketch showed his pa'
triotism by serving in the Spanish-Amer'
ican War. He was born in East St. Louis, on Feb.
4, 1880, a son of Emil J. Eggman, who died in
1924. His education consists of training in the
public school and the East St. Louis High School,
from which he was graduated in 1899. After
leaving school he took employment with his
brothers in the real estate business, but, in 1898,
when the war broke out, he enlisted and gave
faithful service. When the war ended he returned
and accepted a position in the ofEce of the Re-
public Iron and Steel Works, where he was em-
ployed for a year. In 1910 Mr. Eggman started in
the real estate line in a partnership, under the
title of Eggman and King. This was dissolved in
1921, when Mr. Eggman entered business on his
own accord. He himself is owner of much
property — especially residence.
On April 27, 190J, Mr. Eggman was married
to Frieda E. Summa, a daughter of Virginia
(Wurmb) and Dr. Henry H. Summa. She attended
high school and the Lachman Private School. The
subject of this sketch and his wife have two chil-
dren: Theodora A., born on June 8, 1904; and
Virginia M., born on Nov. i";, 1909. Mr. Egg-
man was elected treasurer of the Centerville
Township in 1916, and still holds this position.
He is a Shriner in the Masonic Order, a member
of the Kiwanis Club and the St. Clair Country
Club. His hobby is golf.
GROVER E. FEURER
yrVR. G. E. FEURER, the authorized Ford
^JL^ dealer in New Athens, bought in 1923
the New Athens Motor Co. from Mr.
Wangehn, of Belleville. Before this time he had
been the manager of the New Athens branch
of the Modern Auto and Garage Co. Mr. Feurer
was born in this county, at Point Lookout, on
Jan. 17, 1885, the son of Martin Feurer and
Frieda Forcade, the parents of five children. After
attending the public school near his home he
helped his father on the farm until the latter's
retirement in 191 1, when he began farming in
partnership with his brother. George M. In 191J
he sold his portion of the farm to his brother,
moved to New Athens, and secured employment
with the Geiger Store Co., with whom he stayed
two years, and then took over the management
of the automobile business mentioned above.
Mrs. Feurer, the daughter of Dietrich Wilking
and Sophia Bohmhake, and one of eight children,
was born in Fayetteville Township, Jan. 20,
MC KENDREE
1888. She received a public school and normal
school training, and taught school for five years
before her marriage to Mr. Feurer, Sept. 14,
191 1. Two children have come from this mar-
riage— Ruth S., May 2, 1913; and Alice K.,
Feb. 7, 1920.
Mr. Feurer owns, besides his business prop-
erty, a residence in New Athens and some farm
land. He is a stockholder in the Farmers' State
Bank; president of the New Athens Commercia
Club; served as township assessor for one term,
and for a term as alderman; and was a member of
the school board for six years. He is a Mason, a
Modern Woodman, and a baseball fan.
EDWARD A. CLASSEN
•g^INCE 190J, Mr. E. A. Classen has been
V^J the owner of a large lumber yard at Free-
hurg. 111. His father, C. A. Classen, a
native of Germany, established this business in
1876. His mother, Virginia M. Wilderman. a
member of one of the old families in this part of
the county, is now deceased.
Edward Classen was born at Freeburg, August
7, 1870, and was educated in the public schools of
his city. Afterwards he secured a business train-
ing in the Bryant and Stratton Commercial Col-
lege of St. Louis, and returned to Freeburg to
work for his father. He acquired so thorough a
knowledge of the business that when his father
retired he was able to manage it as successfully
as his father had done. His plant covers a wide
area of 26,000 square feet. He sells his goods over
a wide territory.
Mr. Classen has been twice married, first to
Margaret D. Helms, on December 19, 1900, and
after her death, to Lydia Ripley, on January 22,
191 3. He is the father of two children — Russell
and Alice — the former born on December 20,
1903, and the latter on January 31, 1906. Both
have been given a good education.
Mr. Classen derives a great deal of pleasure
from driving his automobile. In politics, he is a
Republican, and in religion, a Methodist.
THOS. W. GREGORY
XN THE QUAINT LITTLE TOWN of
Pomona, Jackson County, Illinois, the sub-
ject of tins sketch was born, September
30, 1872. He attended the public schools until
he was fourteen, and began his working career
as a telegraph operator for the Mobile and Ohio
Raikoad Co. In 1890 Mr. Gregory came to East
St. Louis, and continued working for the M. 6?
O. until 1902, when he resigned to take a posi-
GROVER E. FEURER
tion as accountant with the East St. Louis &?
Suburban Railway Company. The November
following, he was elected assistant secretary and
treasurer for the company, and in 1926, its
vice-president.
He was married to Miss Gertrude A. Hardy
on October 30, 1895, and has one daughter,
Helen J., born November 24, 1905. Helen com-
pleted the high school course in East St. Louis,
graduated from Stephens College, of Columbia,
Missouri, in 1924, and since, has taken extension
courses in History, Public Speaking, and Physical
Education from Washington University. She is
now attending the University of Illinois.
Mr. Gregory belongs to that commendable
class of self-made men. He has reached the prom-
inent position which he now holds through sheer
merit and hard labor. He has always taken a
keen interest in the affairs of his city and county ,
has long been a friend of McKendree, and has
served on the East St. Louis school board since
1924. He is also the treasurer of the Industrial
Building 6? Loan Assn. of his city. In fraternity
circles he is a 32nd degree Mason and an Elk.
Beginning his career as a telegraph operator,
Mr. Gregory has attained now an enviable posi-
tion among his fellow-c
WILLIAM H. EBERT
HOCATED two and one-half miles north-
east of OTallon is the 107 acres of well-
cultivated land owned by Mr. Wm. H.
Ebert. In Caseyville Township, where he was
born on Feb. 11, 1869, William received a com-
mon school education, and then began working
Si.-c Hundred and Three
REV. CLARK YOST
for his father on the farm. The latter, Albert
Ebert, died March 17, 1892; and the mother,
Chalista Rittenhouse Ebert, on April 7, nineteen
years later. Mr. Ebert farmed on the home place
with his brother for three years, and after his
marriage to Ella J. Badgley, on Dec. i, 189a,
moved to another farm in Caseyville Township,
cultivated this for ten years, and then moved to
the farm he now owns. Hi.s wife was the daugh-
ter of Alton Badgley and Lucy Sisson, both of
whom died in recent years, and was born on a
farm at Ridge Prairie, Caseyville Township, on
Aug. 1, 1869. She received a common school
education in her community schools, and a very
practical education in the home, assisting with
the domestic duties. She and Mr. Ebert have
two children— Cynthia E., born Sept. 8, 189},
now Mrs. Walter Bridges, of Lebanon; and
William Russell, born Nov. 2j, igo^.
Mr. Ebert has taken an active interest in the
Masonic Lodge, of which he is a member; al-
though his education in schools was limited, he
has shown himself anxious in the furtherance of
education, and during the past three years has
been a trustee on the school board. Mr. and
Mrs. Ebert are hard workers and have won the
respect of their friends by their earnestness and
sincerity. ..... :
WILLIAM J. BROWN
CHE ANCESTORS of William J. Brown,
a stock dealer of Marissa, came from
northern Ireland, his grandfather, David
Brown, having brought his family to our shores
in 1847. He was the father of ten children, the
youngest ot whom, Alexander Brown, was the
only son and the only one of the ten born in
America. Alexander, the father of William J.
Brown, was born in Philadelphia, April 20, 1848;
married Grace Allen, at Clinton, III, Dec. 22,
1869, and became the father of twelve children.
His son, William James, was born on a farm in
Randolph County, Illinois, Nov. 4, i88v; re-
c;ived his education in the public schools of
Randolph County and in the Marissa High
School, where he spent three years; worked on
his father's farm until 1897, when he began farm-
ing for himself; organized the lirm "Brown and
McHatton, Dealers in Live Stock," in 190";, with
headquarters on the farm near Marissa, and in
1910, bought the 150 acres where the stock is
now kept, and which is one of the great stock
show farms in the county. He also owns 180
acres in Randolph County.
Mr. Brown married, Oct. jo, 1912, Miss May
E. Hamilton, the daughter of Peter B. Hamilton.
She was horn at Marissa, Sept. jo, 1889; is a
graduate of Marissa High School and of the
Koeger School of Music, St. Louis (1910). She
has been the organist in the Marissa Presbyterian
Church since 1918. The one son, William H.,
was born April 7, 1915.
Mr. Brown is a member of the Marissa Coun-
try Club, and a director in the same; has been
on the Marissa Community High School board
nine years, and besides his live stock interests,
is a dealer in real estate.
REV. CLARK YOST
SEV. CLARK R. YOST, pastor of the
First Methodist Church of Lebanon, Illi-
nois, better know-n as the "College
Church," was born near Alma, Illinois, on
August 27, 1889. His father, John H. Yost, was
also horn at Alma and has lived there all of his
life, as a farmer and fruit-grower. Rev. Yost's
mother (1869-1897), nee Lynda Hard, was also
a native of Marion County.
Rev. C. R. Yost enrolled as a ministerial
student in McKendree College, from which he
received the Bachelor of Arts degree in 191 3.
He joined the Southern Illinois Conference in
191 }, and has been pastor of the College Church
in Lebanon for three years.
Mrs. Yost, formerly Madeleine Foulk, also
was graduated from McKendree College (B. S.
degree in 1912). She was born in Belle City,
Hamilton Cqunty, Illinois, on April 19, 1886.
Her father, who died in July of 1926, was the
well-known contractor and builder of McLeans-
boro; her mother still lives in McLeansboro.
Mrs. Yost, after graduating from McKendree
taught for several years in the McLeansboro
High School, and on June 8, ign, she and Rev.
Yost were married. Three children have been
horn to Rev. and Mrs. Yost— Gwendolyn Jose-
phine, Madeleine Dorothea, and Paul Wesley.
While in college, Mr. Yost was a Philo., and
won the Bryan medal for an essay on civil gov-
ernment. In 1923, he made a tour through Europe,
visiting all of the western countries except Spain
and Portugal. In 192^ he was made a state
trustee of the Anti-Saloon League.
Rev. Clark Yost is and always has been a
keen student, both of the Bible and religion and
of governmental and world problems.
FERDINAND L. REUSS
ON A FARM near Shiloh, where Dr.
Adolphus Reuss lived and labored until
his death, in 1878, his son, Ferdinand L.
Reuss is now living. He w^as lx)rn here, Oct.
28th, 1862, and has spent practically all his life
on the old home place. His father was both a
doctor and a farmer; his wife, Caroline Raith,
was the mother of ten children, of whom Fer-
dinand is the youngest. Two of his sisters are
now living with him.
Mr. Reuss completed a common school course
m the Cherry Grove School, and attended, for a
short time, the Toensfeldt Institute in St. Louis,
then returned to the farm and worked for his
father until the latter's death. On June i^th,
1S99, he married Minnie Runkwitz, a sister of
Erwin H. Runkwitz, whose biography is re-
corded in this history. Mrs. Reuss was born
near Lebanon, Sept. 27th, 1869, and was edu-
cated in the Rock Springs School. She and Mr.
Reuss have one daughter, Agnes, w^ho is now
Mrs. Walter F. Cox, of Troy, 111. She was born
on Oct. 22nd, 1901, attended the Shiloh public
schools, graduated from the O'Fallon High
School in 1920, and studied in the Browns
Business College of East St. Louis for one year,
after which she was employed as a stenogra-
pher in St. Louis until her marriage.
Since April 17th, 1905, Mr. Reuss has been
a member of the School Board, and Clerk of this
board for seventeen years. He served on the
Non-High School Board many years. Both he
and Mrs. Reuss are members of the Shiloh Val-
ley Grange. Their home on their 140 acre farm
IS one of the most modern of farm homes.
ARTHUR I. GERMAIN
J^ HE SUBJECT of this sketch is the popular
IJ principal of one of St. Clair County's
up-to-date township schools. He was
born in St. Clair County on July 3, 1885, a
son of Louis Germain, who was born in this
county and is still living. Arthur J. Germain
Si.x Hundred and Four
was one of a family of ten children, but by his
ambition and love for learning he forged his way
through school. After receiving his early educa-
tion in the public and high schools of Belleville,
he entered McKendree College. He then studied
in the Southern Illinois Normal University, in
Carbondale, and, later on, in the University of
Wisconsin. When not attending school, Mr.
Germain contributed no small amount of work
on his father's farm.
On April J, 1918, Mr. Germain was united
in matrimony with Miss Alma C. Meyer. She,
too, was born on a farm in this county, a daugh-
ter of John N. Meyer. Her mother is still living.
In 1919, Mr. Germain was made principal of
the Dewey School, a position that he still holds.
His hobby is fishing — a sport in which he thrills
when not engaged in his position of responsi-
bihty.
REV. THOMAS H. KELLY
©HARRY KELLY was born on the 24th
of Sept., 1887, in Peel, one of the principal
cities of the Isle of Man, in the Irish Sea.
His parents were Thomas Kelly and Jane Quil-
liam Kelly. In 1910, Mr. Kelly entered the
ministry, and three years later, on the last day
of December, he was married to Augusta A.
Moholt. To this couple two children have been
born — Mona Marsile and Patricia Jane.
Rev. Kelly attended Peel Wesleyan and Co-
lumbia University and was graduated from Drew
Theological Seminary in 191 5.
His ministerial record is as follows: 191 2- 15,
St. James M. E. Church, New York City; 1915-
17, Marshfield, Wis; 1917-22, Superior, Wis.;
1922-27, Ladysmith, Wis; at present. First M.
E. Church, Reedsburg, Wis.
Rev. Kelly is a member of the board of e.xam-
iners of the West Wisconsin Conference and of
the faculty of the Epworth League Summer In-
stitute. He is also the assistant secretary ot the
West Wisconsin Conference.
fi
FRED W. GROLLE
RED W. GROLLE. born m Lebanon
Township, Dec. 14, 1878. Attended
school, and then worked on farm for
mother. After marriage to Louisa O. Kraemer,
in 1909, of which union there are two chil-
dren (two having died), Roy John and Eileen
M., rented a two hundred and thirty acre farm
from B. and A. Barr. Mr. GroUe is president
of North Grove District No. 6 School Board.
Besides farming, he is also connected with New
York Life Insurance Company.
His son, Roy John, now attending high school .
RICHARD SCHAEFFER
gDJOINlNG OTallon on the south is the
seventy acre farm of Richard Schaelfer.
which land he purchased in 1924 from the
J. H. Atkinson estate. He moved to the Atkinson
farm in 1914, from Shiloh Valley, where he had
been a fruit grower for over twenty years, for
the first twelve years as manager of the Flora
Vista Farm, then owned by Mr. L. F. Fischer.
He was born in Lebanon, July 7, 1877, the son
of Dr. Hugo and Agata Schaeffer. His father
practiced in Lebanon forty-six years ago, and
afterwards moved to Belleville, where he con-
tinued his practice until his death. Mrs. Schaeffer,
now eighty -eight years old, still lives in Belleville,
and enjoys good health. Richard attended the
grades, and two years of high school in Shiloh
Valley, and then began his career as a fruit farmer.
After his marriage to Bertha Monken, on Jan.
12, 190';, he became an independent farmer. His
wife is the daughter of George Monken and
Christina Pannier Monken, and was born in St.
Clair Township, east of Belleville, Dec. 12, i88j.
She has four children — Richard, Robert G., H.
Eugene, and Harold — born Jan. 21, 1909; May
}, 191 1 ; August 5, 1912; and Feb. 8, 1917.
Richard attended McKendree College in 1926
and 1927.
Mr. Schaefl^er was a member of the city school
board for five years, and is serving his third term
on the Township High School board. He was
town clerk in Shiloh Valley Township for two
years, and in 19 10 took the census for the town-
ship. He IS a member of the Shiloh Valley Grange.
D. MORRIS HARDY
OAVID MORRIS HARDY, counts among
his ancestors seme of the early pioneers
cf Monroe County and of the state cf
Illinois. His father, David Mitchell Hardy, is
descended from the well-known Moore family
who settled in Monroe County in an early day.
His mother, Nancy Drury Hardy, is a daughter
of Joseph W. Drury, long a prominent citiien of
Waterloo, who graduated from McKendree in
1849 3nd was one of the founders of the Platon-
ian Society. David Morris was born and reared
in Waterloo where his parents still reside. He
received his elementary and high school educa-
tion in the schools of his native town and entered
McKendree in 1912. By attending summer ses-
sions he finished the college course in 191'i, re-
ceiving the degree of A. B. He was a member of
Plato and for some time was instructor in violin,
having previously received training in violin in
St. Louis. After finishing his work at McKen-
dree he went to Ames, Iowa, where he spent two
FRANK P. MEYER
years in the State Agricultural College and in
1917, received the degree of B. S. in Agriculture.
He IS a member of the social fraternity Tau
Kappa Epsilon, the scholastic fraternity Phi Kap-
pa Phi, and the honor society of Agriculture,
Gamma Sigma Delta. In 1917 he was employed
in the Federal Land Bank of St. Louis, as appraiser
of farm lands. In 1918 he was granted leave of
absence for military service. He was enrolled at
Camp Shelby in Mississippi, and later in the
Officers Training Camp at Camp Hancock, in
Georgia, where he remained until honorably dis-
charged from the service. In 1919 he returned to
his former position with the Land Bank. In 1922
he became identified with the St. Louis Joint
Stock Land Bank at the time of its organization.
He is a member of the Board of Directors and is
now Vice-president and Secretary of the in-
stitution.
FRANK P. MEYER
/t^R. frank MEYER is a native of Mis-
\IM souri, born m St. Louis, March 23, 1879.
His father, Edward Meyer, owned a farm
in Jefferson County, Missouri, and the son,
Frank, worked on this farm, after finishing his
education, until he was twenty-one, and then
went to St. Louis, where he was employed as a
cabinet maker, carpenter, and operator of wood-
working machines until iq2i, when he came to
New Athens and opened a furniture store, which
he now manages. In 1903, on Aug. 9, he was
married to Kate Frantz, and to them one daugh-
ter, Viola, was born, on June 10, 190';. who is
now the wife of Henry Bertholdt. In 1921 Mr.
^^^T ^ ^^^M
MR. AND MRS. RICHARD SCHAEFFER
DAVID M0RR13 HARDY
JOHN MOLLES
Si.v Hundred and Fne
CHARLES A. FRANKLIN
AT THE AGE OF 21
Meyer's parents came to New Athens to live
with the son, and here the mother died on Jan.
7, 1926; the father is Uving and is in good health.
Mr. Meyer purchased the store shortly after
coming to New Athens, and in 1926, built a
nice home near the store. He has a complete
stock of furniture and sells his goods over a large
territory. Also, he does all kinds of furniture
repair work.
He is an Odd Fellow; member of the Maca-
bees, and a member of the St. Louis Federal Aid
Union. Hunting and fishing are his preferred
JOHN MOLLES
^gSflNCE 1879 Mr. John Molles has been en-
J^y gaged in educational work in this county,
from 1921 to the present time (1927) he has
been principal of the Lenzburg schools. Born near
New Athens in Prairie Du Long Township on
August 12, 1878, he is the son of Ambrose
Molles and Dorothea A. Molles, nee Schwebel.
The father was born in Switzerland in 1842, and
the mother in Germany in 1845. Ambrose Molles
was five years of age when his parents left the
old country and came to America; Mrs. Molles
came here in 1868 at the age of twenty-three.
After serving his adopted country in the Civil
War, Mr. Molles married and settled on a farm
in Prairie Du Long Township, where he remain-
ed until his death in 1918 (August 12). The wife
died several years earlier, on March 21, 1909.
John Molles, whose birth was mentioned
above, was one of the three children of Ambrose
Molles. After going through the public schools,
John was sent to the Central Wesleyan College
at Warrenton, Missouri where he studied until
1897, and at the same time he worked to pay for
his education. Then followed a long period of
IMC KENDREE
teaching in St. Clair County, after which he
again took up his studies, this time at Harris
Teachers" College at St. Louis and later in the
State Normal University at Normal, Illinois from
which institution he was graduated in 1924. He
had been a teacher for six years when he married
Miss Eleonora Lindauer. Their only child. Min-
ora M. Molles, who was born on January 4,
1906, is a graduate of the New Athens High
School, and is now completing the junior year
of her studies (May 1927) in the State Univer-
sity at Champaign, Illinois.
Now for more than forty years Mr. John
Molles has been associated with school work
either as a teacher or as a student. The last six
years of his teaching career have been spent in
Lenzburg, where he holds the principalship of
the Community Consolidated Schools. He has
worked hard to attain his present position. It
would seem that he is to remain in Lenzburg for
many years more; here he has bought residence
property, and here he is aligned with the Mason-
ic Fraternity and with the Modern Woodmen
of America.
CHARLES ALFRED FRANKLIN
CHOSE WHO have studied in McKen-
dree's Classic Halls are found in every
occupation. Mr. Charles Franklin, a suc-
cessful farmer of Prairie Du Rocher, Illinois, was
born on February 21, 1888, in Renault, Illinois.
Having acquired his grammar school education
in the Renault Public School, he then attended
McKendree College from 1903 to 1905.
Leaving school, he taught for three years, and
then devoted two years to a General Merchan-
dise business. In 1916, he was married to Miss
Matha L. Sale. The children are Wanda G.,
George A., and Leona M. Mr. Franklin is a
Mason.
JOHN A. TAYLOR
^^=^HIS gentleman, who was born in Kentucky
L J in 1852, and who attended McKendree
College from 1876 to 1879, is now the
pastor of the Methodist Church at Opdyke, Illi-
nois. Mr. Taylor has held various charges, and
throughout the years he has been a consistent,
earnest minister. He was appointed by Bishop
Spellmeyer to the superintendency of the Mt.
Vernon District, where he served for six years,
and by Bishop Thirkield to the superintendency
of the Mt. Carmel District, where he likewise
served the full term.
On October 17, 1879, he was married to Miss
Mary Agnes Lindly, of Lebanon, a graduate of
McKendree College in 1880. Mr. Taylor's faith-
ful and talented wife passed out of this life
Sept. 26, 191J.
Rev. Taylor was a delegate to the General
Conference that was held in Minneapolis in
1912; he is a member of the M. W. C. A.; he is
a Mason of the thirty-second degree Scottish
Rite, belongs to the Mississippi Valley Consis-
tory of East St. Louis, and for several years has
been a member of the joint board of McKendree
College; was received into the Southern Illinois
Conference on trial, in 1900, and into full mem-
bership in 1902. Served the following places:
New Douglas, i year; Kane, 5 years; Brighton,
J years; Carmi, 4 years; Mt. Vernon, First
Church, 5 years; Vandalia, 2 years; Superinten-
dent Mt. Vernon District, 6 years: Superinten-
dent Mt. Carmel District, 6 years. At own
request too\ the retired relation m 1921. Was ap-
pointed to supply Tilden charge in 1925, and
at the close of that year was appointed to supply
the Opdyke charge. He is now in the second
year on this charge.
BLUMENSTEIN BROTHERS
XN LEBANON a first class, up-to-date
meat market, is that operated by the Blu-
menstein Brothers — Carl W. Blumenstein
and his brother, Robert. Both were born at St.
Jacobs, 111., Carl on the first of May, 1891, and
Robert on Sept. j, 189'i Their father, Rudolph
Blumenstein, who died June 2j, 1918, was for
many years the proprietor of an excellent meat
market here, in the same building where his sons
are now located. Their mother, Louise Beck-
mann Blumenstein, is still living in Lebanon.
Carl received his first year of schooling in St.
Jacobs, and the rest of his grade school training
in the Lebanon schools. He entered McKendree
Academy in 1913, and graduated in 1917. For
fourteen months thereafter he was in the U. S.
Army. After leaving the armv, he worked for a
short time at his trade in East St Louis, and then
returned to Lebanon to help manage the business
his father had left. He is an active member of the
Masonic Lodge, and takes an important part in
such organizations as the Odd Fellows, the
Rotary Club and the American Legion. Carl is
a member of the Evangelical Church.
Robert Blumenstein secured a public school
education in Lebanon, and early began working
in his father's market. Beginning in 1917, he
served for twelve months in the army, five
months overseas. He, likewise, is an active mem-
ber of the Masonic Lodge and the American
Legion. Robert is, furthermore, affiliated with the
Knights of Pythias and the Evangelical Church.
FRANK A. BEHYMER
•SSfTUDENTS of McKendree College, have a
r**^ real pal.
. great booster of the institution,
fine instructor, and a prominent news-
paper man, m Mr. Frank A. Behymer. For the
past fifteen years he has been teacher of the
college Sunday School classes, and if the students
REV. JOHN A. TAYLOR
ROBERT BLUMENSTEIN CARL BLUMENSTEIN FRANK A. BEHYMER
Six Hundred and Sv
have their way, he has a hfe task to perform
there. All McKendreans remember the happy
social hours spent at the Behymer home where
Mrs. Behymer is often their hostess.
Mr. Behymer taught the Junior Bible Class
of the First M. E. Church of Belleville for years
before moving to Lebanon. At the twenty-third
anniversary of this class some time ago, there
were eighty present.
For the past forty years, Mr. Behymer has
been with the St. Louis Post -Dispatch, where
he has held nearly every position from reporter
to editor. But by McKendreans he is most ad-
mired as the writer of many True Life feature
articles in the Sunday Post-Dispatch.
JOHN S. FAULKNER
gMONG LEBANON'S citizens no one is
more actively interested in converting old
houses into desirable homes and in beauti-
fying unsightly spots than is John S. Faulkner,
He is a teacher in active service but carpentering
Mr. Faulkner came to Lebanon in 1907 and
has resided here since, except six years spent in
grade and high school in the southern part of
this county (Lenzburg, Mascoutah and Bald-
win). He was the fourth child of Samuel H. and
Amanda Varner Faulkner and was born in John-
son County, Illinois, September 14, 1867. His
parents were Alabamaians who soon after their
marriage came to Johnson County, Illinois in
1 86 1. Here they hved and died — the father in
1900 and the mother in 191^.
Our subject obtained a country school educa-
tion and later went to Chattanooga, Tennessee
to visit an uncle. Here he entered the high school
from which he was graduated in 1887 with
second honors. The following five years he taught
at Mission Ridge, Georgia after which he re-
turned to Illinois on account of the ill health of
his mother. He entered the Illinois Normal at
Carbondale in the fall of 1892 and studied here
for one year.
He was engaged in various lines at Golconda,
Cypress and West Frankfort until 1907 when he
came to Lebanon. In the summer of 1908 he
attended the Normal University at Normal, Illi-
nois and in the spring of igo8 and in the summer
of 1910 he studied at McKendree College.
On July 9, 1907, Mr. Faulkner was married
to Miss Nelhe Lehman of Lebanon, the second
child of John H. Lehman (died July 21, 1904) and
Mary Burton Lehman, who is still living in
Lebanon and who is one of the most respected
residents of this city. Mrs. Faulkner was born
and reared in Lebanon and here she received her
education, first in the public schools, afterwards
in McKendree Academy and in the college, from
which institution she received a Bachelor of
Science degree in i8go and a Master of Science
three years later. Before her marriage, she taught
in the Lebanon Public Schools for fourteen con-
secutive years and was reputed an efficient
teacher. She resumed her teaching again in 1920
and IS still engaged in this work.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Faulkner are members of
the Methodist Church and its various organiza-
tions. Mrs. Faulkner is a worker in the Sunday
School, having had supervision of the Junior
Department for a number of years. She is also a
member of the Woman's Club.
Mr. Faulkner is a member of the I. O. O. F.
and K. of P. lodges. He has served as Church
Treasurer, OiEcial Board member of the Church
and as a member of the City Council from 1917
to 1920.
FRED C. DAAB
a MONO the prominent and influential resi-
dents of Smithton belong Mr. and Mrs.
Fred C. Daab. Mr. Daab was born in
Smithton Township on Jan. 2, 1876. He secured
a public school education, and labored on his
father's farm until he was twenty-four years old.
His father was George Daab, one of the early
settlers in this community, and his mother,
Louisa EtHng Daab. Fred C. married, on August
6, 1900, Miss Ella Woods, who was born in
Smithton, June 28, 1878, the daughter of Enos
J. Woods, a flour mill engineer, and of Cordelia
Phillips, both deceased. Ella received a good edu-
cation, and before her marriage, was employed
as a saleslady in St. Louis. She and Mr. Daab
have no children of their own, but have taken
into their home a foster child, Goldie Metzger.
In April, 1917, Mr. Daab moved into Smith-
ton, and began working as a salesman tor the
Belleville Implement and Motor Co., where he
is still employed. He is a director in the St. Clair
County Farmers Mutual Fire Insurance Com-
pany, and in the First State Bank, is president of
the Smithton Turner Society, one of the oldest
in the county, and is a member of the Broad
Hollow Grange. He was alderman of Smithton
three terms, and is serving his third term on the
school board. Fruit farming and poultry raising
are his hobbies. He is a member of the Evangel-
ical Church. Mrs. Daab is a member of the
Grange, and president of the Ladies' Section of
Smithton Turners, also member of the Royal
Neighbors, and of the M. E. Church.
WILLIAM E, DARROW
CHE DARROW FAMILY is well known
in and about O'Fallon. William E. Darrow
was born two miles east of this town, Jan-
uary 21, i860. He attended the country school
between O'Fallon and Lebanon, and McKendree
Academy for two years, and then began to study
DR. HARRY S. CHURCH
telegraphy; worked as a telegraph operator for
two years, and in 1886, moved to a farm which
his father had just purchased. His parents, now
deceased, were William M. and Lavina Darrow.
He remained on the farm until 1925, when he
retired from active farm labor, and moved into
O'Fallon, where he now resides.
Mr. Darrow has, by his wife, Martha Green
Darrow, two children — Mary Irene, born on
Sept. 29. 1900; George G., born on Aug. 25,
1904. Mrs. Darrow was born in Nashville, III,
Nov. 26, 1867, and received her education in the
Nashville public schools, including three and a
half years in the high school, and in Valparaiso
University and Carbondale Normal (summer
terms). Before her marriage to Mr. Darrow, she
had taught school for eight years. Her parents
were Hugh Green (deceased) and Mary Troutt;
the latter is now living with her children in
Nashville.
Their son, George, was graduated from O'Fal-
lon High School, and McKendree College (1926).
The last year he has been a teacher and coach in
the O'Fallon High School. Mary Irene also grad-
uated from high school and received a Bachelor
of Science degree from McKendree in 1921. Since
then she has taught in the Marissa Township
High School. She is now studying Dietetics at
Barnes Hospital, in St. Louis.
HARRY S. CHURCH, M. D.
nIVING IN a home where his parents re-
sided for sixty-five years. Dr. Harry Syl-
vester Church is a successful physician of
Renault, Illinois. In completing his education.
Dr. Church attended the Waterloo High School
for two years, Bushnell College for one year,
McKendree College for three years, and then
Si.x Hundred and Sei
WILLIAM H. BASSETT
was graduated from the Medical Department of
St. Louis University, after four more years, in
1906. His son, Harmon Deare, is now a student
at McKendree and in 18^9, his father, Harmon,
was also a McKendree student.
In politics, he is a Republican. He is a member
of the Masonic Lodge and of the M. E. Church.
SAM D. BARBER
}^HE SUBJECT of this sketch was born
lion Dec. ji, 187S, in Bond County, 111.,
a son of D. K. Barber, a Baptist minister,
who served in religious work from youth until
his death in April, 1908. After attending the
public schools, the subject entered Austin Col-
lege, of Effingham, Illinois. Following this, he
taught school for four years in Bond County,
resigned and was employed by Swift and Com-
pany as assistant time-keeper. In 190'; he aban-
doned this to accept a position as bookkeeper.
He worked energetically, learned the banking
business thoroughly, and in 1922 was appointed
assistant cashier.
He was married on June 29, 1910, to Catherine
Franklin. The couple are the parents of four
children: S. Lloyd, Stanley D., Hugh W,, and
Mary Winnefred. Mr. Barber is a Shrmer in the
Masonic Order, a Master of Finance of the
Knights of Pythias, and a member of the Kiwanis
Club. He was elected president of the Grant
School, District 106; and in 1927, the clerk of
his board. A Bantist, Mr. Barber is a trustee of
the Landsdown Baptist Church, in East St. Louis.
He is the chairman of the building board, and has
been the treasurer of the building fund.
In 1920, Mr. Barber bought eleven acres of
property at Fairview, on which he has built his
fine residence.
MC KENDREE
WILLIAM H. BASSETT
iir^ILLIAM BASSETT was born at Paris,
\^J Monroe County, Missouri, on Sept. 2,
i86j, the son of Samuel S. Bassett and
Fannie T. Giddings. His father died — 192J — at
the age of ninety. His mother, however, was
taken from him three years previous to this time,
in February, 1920.
William H. Bassett was one of their nine chil-
dren. He is a graduate of the Paris, Missouri,
High School, and of Missouri University. For
eleven years he was deputy county clerk of
Monroe County, and during this period served
several terms as mayor of Paris. In 189^ he re-
signed his clerkship to assume new duties as
assistant state treasurer, which position he filled
until 190J, when he resigned and became auditor
and traffic manager for the Kinloch Long Distance
Telephone Company. In 1922, when the com-
pany consolidated with the Bell Telephone Sys-
tem, Mr. Bassett was made connecting company
agent for Illinois, Missouri and Arkansas, for
Southwestern Bell System, which position he
now holds.
He has served as a director of the O'Fallon
school board, served as president of this board,
and as director of Township High board. His
religious affiliation is with the Christian Church,
of which he is an active member, and two frater-
nities count him among their members —the
Masonic Order and the Odd Fellows. In the
former he is a Shriner, and has held high offices
in this lodge; in the latter, he is also a past
officer. He is also a member of the Beta Theta
Pi fraternity in his college.
Mrs. Bassett, to whom he was married on
July 22, 1896, was formerly Miss Abbie Mc-
Daniel, the daughter of a minister of the Chris-
tian Church, Samuel McDaniel and of Elenore
Wood. Her father, who died October 8, 1926,
at the age of 82, attended McKendree College
for several terms. Mrs. Bassett is the mother of
four children — Howard, Jean, Keith, and Mil-
dred, born on July 16, 1897; July ij, 1899; Feb-
ruary 8, 1902; and June 8, 1906, respectively.
All were given a high school and a college train-
ing, Jean having been a student of McKendree
College two years. All of the children are now
married, with the exception of Keith, who is
now secretary-manager of a corporation in San
Salvador, Central America.
EDWARD S. HELMS
HOND of baseball and horse-racing, keenly
interested in literary societies, Mr. Ed-
ward S. Helms, of Belleville, is one of a few
farmers who have such a wide range of varied ac-
tivities. A son of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Helms, he
was born in Turkey Hill, lUinois, on February 2,
1868. Mr. Helms attended several public schools,
and later on studied at the S. 1. N. U.. Northern
Normal University, and the University of Illi-
nois. On January 21, 1922, he was united in
marriage with Mrs. Marie Herman, the mother
of a son, Floyd Herman. The couple adopted
another child, Edna Mav.
For many years Mr. Helms has been a director
of the Belleville Savings Bank. He is also the pres-
ident of the Grange Hall School Board. A great
many offices were held by Mr. Helms as a mem-
ber of the Turkey Hill Grange, an organization
in which he has gained the respect of all.
In politics, Mr. Helms is a Democrat. He
takes pride in the fact that throughout his entire
life he has always kept in close touch with all
sorts of activities and events of the day — from
baseball and horse-racing to deep political
problems.
During the World War, Mr. Helms rendered
a great deal of valuable service to his country as
a four-minute man. In this capacity, he gave a
great number of inspiring speeches, informing
and encouraging his fellow-men.
JAMES DANIELS
XT IS A WELL-KNOWN FACT that
mining is one of the most important in-
dustries in the state of Illinois — so im-
portant that a hundred thousand miners depend
on it for their means to earn a living. James
Daniels has devoted the greater part of his life
to this occupation, and an investigation into his
life record will indicate clearly that his efforts
have brought not only fine results to himself, but
also to others. He was born on Oct. 12, 1867, in
the city of Belleville, Illinois, St. Clair County, a
son of Samuel and Mary Daniels. After gradua-
tion from the elementary schools of Belleville, he
attended Jones Commercial College. On Oct. 18,
1890, Mr. Daniels was married to Miss Georgia
Daniels, a fine woman who proved to be a splen-
did mother to three healthy children : Mary, Dor-
othy, and Walter. The subject of this sketch is a
member of the Redmen and Knights of Pythias.
The fact that he has been a school director for
six years proves that he has much interest in edu-
cational work.
Mr. Daniels has been in the coal-mining busi-
ness for forty years. During this long period he
has worked conscientiously and energetically,
thus learning every phase of this business and
becoming a real cog in all mining enterprises. His
efforts enthusiastically applied towards the ex-
pansion and development of the Prairie Coal
Company, and his wide knowledge of coal mining
gained thru four decades of experience, have won
for him first the superintendency, and later, the
offices of secretary and of director of this company.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^S£>
ROBERT V. GUSTIN
gT ANDERSONVILLE, ILL., on Nov.,
1874, the subject of this sketch was born.
He obtained his early education in the
public schools of his neighborhood, and after-
wards entered McKendree College, as a student
of law, and was graduated from this school in
1895. From 1896 to 1900 he followed the pro-
fession of a teacher, and was located in Summer-
held, 111. His career as a lawyer began in East
St. Louis in 1900. Sixteen years later he was
appointed assistant to the State's Attorney of
St. Clair County, held this position for a year
and then enlisted as a private in the U. S. Army,
was placed in charge of a camp library, and when
discharged in 1919, had been promoted to the
rank of a major of infantry. He resumed his law
practice in East St. Louis and in 1923 was ap-
pointed corporation counsel for the city, which
position he still holds.
Mr. Gustin was married, on July 18, 1898,
to Anna Lewis, of Lebanon, the city of her
birth, and where she had attended the public
schools and McKendree College. She died Dec.
17, 1917, and sis. years later, Mr. Gustin married
Estelle Bernard, by whom he has one girl, Mary
Helen, born in 192';.
in September of igi"!, Mr. Gustin effected
the organization of the News Review Publishing
Company, and became the president, and later
the secretary and treasurer of this company. He
is an able editorial writer, and contributes most
of the editorials to this company's publication.
He also continues his practice of law, in which
he has been successful, and through which he
has become well known in the city. In poUtics
he is a Democrat, and for many years served as
chairman of the County Democratic Committee,
to which position he was chosen in 1916. He is
a jind degree Mason, a member of the K. of P.
Lodge, and of the I. O. O. F. The American
Army affairs greatly interested him, and he is
still a member of this great organization — a
Reserve Lieutenant and a Colonel of the army.
DAVID W. SHIPP
QMAN with a broad training, considerable
natural abiUty, and an educator with a
promising future is David W. Shipp, Su-
perintendent of Schools of Sea Bright, New
Jersey. Mrs. Agnes Shipp, his talented wife,
formerly an instructor of Expression at McKen-
dree College, is always in great demand as a
private teacher wherever her husband is located.
Professor Shipp received his high school train-
ing in the Olney High School. After completing
some work at McKendree College from 1915-
1917, he returned a few years later and received
his A. B. degree in 1924. In 1918 Mr. Shipp
entered the Drew Theological Seminary and
completed his three year course in 1920. In
1925 he received his B. D. degree. Mr. Shipp
studied at the University of Illinois in the sum-
mer of 1926. He spent the year of 1927 in study
of English and American Literature at Boston
University. From 192} to 192'; he was an Eng-
lish teacher in McKendree College, and in 1925
he taught in Albion High School.
In the year of 1917 Mr. Shipp was united in
marriage with Miss Agnes Clmesmith. Their
only child, Harold Warner, is now nine years
old.
Mrs. Shipp studied at McKendree College
under Miss Helen Horner, and is at present
studying in the Emerson College or Oratory, in
Boston, the only school of its kind that gives a
degree that is chartered by the state. She will
receive her degree in another year.
Mr. Shipp IS a Philo, a Mason, an Odd Fel-
low, a member of Pi Kappa Delta, and a member
of the Writer's Club of New York University.
LOUIS F. DINTELMAN
HOUIS F. DINTELMAN is another man
who has made the nursery business pay
him well. He was born in St. Clair County
on Nov. }o, 1861, a son of Henry and Anna
Elizabeth (Keller) Dintelman, who were natives
of Germany. The subject of this sketch received
his early education in the pubUc schools, but
some years later he started working on a farm. In
1891, he began in the nursery line, planting ap-
ples, peaches, pears, and other products. With
his father he cultivated about fifteen acres, but
has added many more since. He ships his products
to countries all over the world, has met with
amazing success and is building up an extensive
business. His apples, which were exhibited at the
World's Exposition in Paris, France, secured first
prizes in the Winesap variety. He also exhibited
several kinds of fruit at the St. Louis Exposition,
all of which were grown in his orchard. In poU-
tics, Mr. Dintelman leans toward the principles
of the Repubhcan party; he served as clerk of the
St. Clair Township from 1891 to 1901, inclusive.
He IS a member of St. Paul's Evangelical Church,
has been a trustee of the St. Clair County school
board for sixteen years. He holds membership in
the Turkey Hill Grange, the National Associa-
tion of Nursery Men, and has been a member of
the State Association for thirty years. Mr. Din-
telman's hobby is reading. He has travelled a
great deal and has attended many conventions.
When not at work, this genial man finds time to
indulge in his hobby of reading.
PHIL GRIESBAUM, M. D.
OR. PHIL GRIESBAUM was born near
New Baden on Dec. 31, 1883, the son of
Xavier Griesbaum and Mary Ripplinger
Griesbaum. His father was one of the early set-
DR. G. G BOCK
tiers of this county, and Uved until Dec . 3 1 , 1923 .
Mrs. Griesbaum died on May 15, 1915. Their
son, Phil, received his grade school education in
the New Baden schools, and then attended Mc-
Kendree College for a while. He was graduated
from the School of Pharmacy of Valparaiso Uni-
versity, in Indiana, in 1906. The following four
years he studied medicine in Washington Uni-
versity, of St. Louis, and soon after his gradua-
tion in 1910, began his practice in Lebanon.
On Jan. 2, 1913, he was married to Elizabeth
Glanzer, the daughter of Joseph Glanzer and
Louisa Dick Glanzer; her father was a furniture
dealer and undertaker at Trenton, 111., and here
Mrs. Griesbaum was born on Feb. 4, iSS"!, and
here she was reared and educated. Both of her
parents are dead.
Dr. Griesbaum has been a member of the
Lebanon High School board for over fifteen years,
and has served as president of this board for six
years. He holds memberships in the St. Clair
County Medical Society, in the Illinois State
Medical Society, and in the American Medical
Association. He is an Odd Fellow, a Mason, a
Rotarian, and a member of the Presbyterian
Church. He has distinct musical abihty, and
plays the piano and slide trombone well; he
also conducts a boys' orchestra.
GUSTAVIUS G. BOCK, M. D.
^R. GUSTAVIUS G. BOCK, M. D, a suc-
cessful physician and surgeon of Smithton,
St. Clair County, was born in Chillicothe,
Ohio, May 27, i8'j8, son of Dr. Gustavius C.
and Henrietta (Rindt) Bock, the mother also
being a native of that city and the father, of
MR. AND MRS. DAVID W. SHIPP
DR .^^•D MRS PHIL GRIESBAUM
DR, E, W. CANNADY
Germany. After attending the public schools,
Gustavius decided to study medicine, and en-
tered the St. Louis Medical College, from which
he was graduated in 1882, March 8. He then
began the practice of his profession at Smithton,
in partnership with his father. At that time they
were the only physicians of the place and their
partnership continued for two years. The death
of the father occurred July 12, igo2. With the
exception of the association mentioned. Dr. G. G.
Bock has continued his practice alone, and by
his industry and faithful devotion to his work
he has built up a large clientele.
Generally speaking. Dr. Bock has been a Pro-
gressive Republican, although he is an Indepen-
dent to a large extent in political and public
affairs, giving his support to the man who is
best qualified to fill the ofEce under consideration
He has served his village six years as alderman,
treasurer four years, and mayor twenty-four
years. He has also served as highway commis-
sioner three years, school director and other
minor offices.
He has always held that every man, irrespec-
tive of his calling, should identify himself with
some local problems, especially rural problems,
and work unselfishly for their solution. Believing
that good roads are the greatest blessing or boon
to rural communities, he has labored and agitated
incessantly twenty-five years for good or bet-
ter roads.
Socially he is a member of Modern Woodmen,
Georgetown Turnverein and Broad Hollow
Grange.
o
MC KENDREE
On May 27, 1884, Dr. Bock was married to
Lula Risser, of Troy, 111. There were four chil-
ion — Henrietta, who is at home; Edmund Alois,
accidentally killed near Salt Lake, Utah, Oct.
14, 1923; Lillian Pearl, wife of j. H. Senne,
architect and teacher in McKinley High School,
St. Louis, Mo.; and Florence Rowena, wife of
M. Lasersohn, M. D., Richmond, Va.
E. W. CANNADY, M. D.
R. E. W. CANNADY, of 600 Washington
Place, East St. Louis, was born at Lebanon,
the birthplace of so many men who have
rendered distinguished service in this county,
on September g, 187J, and received his early
education in the public schools of Mascoutah,
Illinois. Later he studied in Illinois College, at
Jacksonville, and for two years in the University
of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, after which he re-
turned to his native county and taught school
for three years. But he gave up the calling of the
pedagogue to become a phy.sician, entered Wash-
ington University as a student of medicine, and
graduated in 19^2.
Dr. Cannady's father, Chas. Cannady, a
native of Clinton County, Illinois, was born
March 3, 1844, and followed the vocation of
teaching during most of his active career. He died
November i^, 1914. He was married to Ella
Wise, a Monroe County girl (born Sapieniber
30, iSti), but who resided in Lebanon until her
marriage. To them were born four bays and
three girls. The mother passed away on July 28,
1920. The father was a member of th; Misanic
Order.
On the i-ith ot June, 1904, Dr. Cannady was
married to Ida B. Rose, born at Columbia, Illi-
nois August 22, 1877, the daughter of Dr. and
Mrs. William Rose. The only son of Dr. and
Mrs. Cannady was born on June 20, igj6.
Edward Jr., received his A. B. degree from
Washington University in 1927 and he is now
enrolled in the medical department of this same
school.
Dr. Cannady is a Mason, and a Shriner in this
fraternity; he also belongs to the Elks and to the
K. of P. The medical societies of which is he a
member are: The County Medical Society of
which he is president; the Southern Illinois
Medical Society; the State Medical Society; and
the American Medical Association. He is chief
of staff of the Deaconess Hospital in East St.
Louis. He has served for sixteen years on the
East St. Louis Board of Education, the last four
years as the president of the Board. For some
time he has tjeen the Plant Physician for the
Monsanto Chemical Plant, a large industrial
estabhshment on the East Side. Dr. Cannady has
travelled extensively in this country, and has
been very active in all movements for civic
betterment in th? city.
DAVID S. WAHL
^R. DAVID S. WAHL, field secretary for
McKendree College, and a much loved
minister for the past thirty-five years, was
a native of Berea, Ohio. His college work was
done in Iowa Wesleyan University and Central
Wesleyan College. Until 1925, Dr. Wahl was a
member of the St. Louis German Conference,
where he worked faithfully and persistently in
his calling.
In January of 1927. Dr. Wahl left on a trip
around the world. He made his plans to visit a
representative school in every country so far as
possible, and to visit and to learn more of the
missionary fields in the various countries.
On September 25, 1896, Dr. Wahl was married
to Miss Julia M. Jockisch. and four children
were born to this union. Ruth died some years
ago, Milton J. is doing graduate work in the
University of Chicago, Edmund D. is superin-
tendent of schools at Summerfield, and Oliver C.
is a senior and an instructor in violin at Mc-
Kendree.
REV. LOUIS S. McKOWN. D, D.
?D"^
L. S. McKOWN IS the son of the late
Milton C. McKown, for forty-five years
of M. E. Church, and Mrs.
Anna Sheets McKown, of Vincennes, Indiana.
He was born at Greenville, Indiana, Feb. 14,
1876. Was graduated from the high school at
Gosport, in 1896; entered DePauw University
in September, 1896, and during the three years
of his college course, served as a student minister.
In 1898, joined the Indiana Conference; 190J,
he was transferred to Southern Illinois Confer-
ence; now located in East St. Louis as pastor
of St. Paul's Methodist Episcopal Church.
United in marriage June 8, 1902, to Bertha
Edith Peek, daughter of Charles E. Peek and
Julia A. Thomas Peek, of Washington, Indiana.
Two children — Helen Norma and Mary Esther.
In his youth, worked in printing offices. Dur-
ing World War, while pastor in Benton, Illinois,
served as Federal Food Administrator for Frank-
lin County. For several years, member of Con-
ference quartette; in 1924. Conference secretary;
at other times, on boards and committees of
Conference and of institutions of Conference.
Is member of board of examiners and of board of
i and visitors of McKendree College.
Six Hundred and Ten
A J2nd degree Mason, a Shriner, an OJJ
Fellow, a member of the Eastern Star, ot the
Rebecca Lodge, and the Tribe ot Ben Hur, and
of the Sigma Nu Fraternity.
CHANDLER B. ABEND
CHE WORK of being a book-keeper, a
statistician, and an insurance man, always
keeps Mr. Chandler B, Abend, of St.
Louis, very busy. Mr. Abend attended the pub-
lic schools of Belleville, and spent the year 1881
in study at McKendree College, where he was
a member of Philo. In 1919 he was married to
Miss Mary Bean, who has been a real partner
in all affairs of life.
Mr. Abend began business in St. Louis in
iSS";; for many years he has been a thrifty
business man. He carefully supported his par-
ents until their death in 1914 and 191 5. His
brother, Adolph, who died in 192';, attended
McKendree College with him in 1881.
The father of Mr. Abend, Henry, was of
German parentage. His mother, who was Miss
Mary C. Buchanan, had lived in Belleville for
JESSE W. BLYTHE
©HERE ARE very few men in the City of
St. Louis who have contributed more to
the city's development than has Mr. Jesse
W. Blythe, Assistant Director of the Missouri
Committee on Public Utility Information.
For seven years, as a member of the advertis-
ing staff of the John Ring Jr. Advertising Co.,
Mr. Blythe conducted the research and wrote all
of the advertisements appearing in magazines and
newspapers throughout the country advertising
St. Louis for the St. Louis Chamber of Commerce.
Mr. Blythe handled all of the publicity and
advertising for the $87,500,000 bond issue for
general public improvements in St. Louis, and
contributed largely to the success of the campaign
For several years Mr. Blythe was City Hall
reporter for various St. Louis newspapers, and is
welt-versed in statewide politics. He has been
staff correspondent for St. Louis newspapers, and
has held editorial positions.
Mr. Blythe received his elementary school
training in Shelbyville, Illinois, and after grad-
uating from McKendree College in 1894, prac-
ticed law in East St. Louis. He was married in
1899 to Miss Georgie E. Carter. There were two
children: Donald W., deceased, and a daughter.
Mrs. Gladys Mitchell. His home is at 708 West
Bend Road, Webster Groves, Mi
R. KEITH PURL
4~\ KEITH PURL, principal of Dupo Com-
_|^ munity High School, born on Dec. 8,
iSi/), at CarroUton, Illinois, son of O. T.
and BLinche Scandrett Purl. Educated in CarroU-
ton public schools, lUinois State Normal Uni-
versity, University of Colorado, and University
of Illinois. Received bachelor's degree in 1922
from latter. Served in navy for one year. Has
taught in White Hall, CarroUton, Longview;
in 192J came to Dupo High School. On Aug.
8th of that same year, married to Miss Muriel
A. Thompson, of Rantoul, Illinois, daughter of
Theodore Thompson and Bessie Collins Thomp-
son. Mrs. Purl is graduate of Rantoul High
School, has been a student of Illinois Woman's
College and of University of Illinois. Is graduate
nurse from Walter Reed Hospital. Son of Mr.
and Mrs. Purl, Oliver Thomas, born at Dupo,
on June 5, 1924.
Golf and tennis are preferred sports of Mr.
Purl. He is a Shriner, Knight Templar, and Odd
Fellow.
CHARLES A. BEVIS
HAR OUT IN sunny California lives Mr.
Charles A. Bevis, a realtor in the city of
Van Nuys since 1913. He was born in
Olney, Illinois, received his high school training
in Newton, and attended McKendree from 1897-
18 pS, married, in 1902, to Miss Ada Lemay. The
couple are parents of three children — Margaret,
a University of California graduate; Albert L.,
and Emma. Mr. Bevis is a director of the Bank
of Van Nuys, and holds membership in the
Board of Governors, the Los Angeles Chamber
of Commerce and the San Fernando Valley
Branch.
JAMES M. AMES
J^=^ HERE are few people who can trace their
I) ancestry as far back as can James M . Ames,
^"^ a descendant of William Ames, who was
born m Somersetshire, England, on Oct. fi, 1605,
and who, in 1646, settled in Braintree, Massa-
chusetts. James M. Ames was born in East St.
Louis, Illinois, on March 21, 1876. His father was
well-known as miller and land-owner. He moved
his family from East St. Louis, in 1876, to Rose
Bud. Ten years later he removed to Chester,
where the subject of this sketch secured his edu-
cation. In 1890, he came to East St. Louis. Here
he worked in the store of J. P. Becker, and some-
time later, as a street car conductor. In the follow-
ing year Mr. Ames was married to Mary Ellen
McGrory, in East St. Louis.
In 1911, Mr. Ames was made a fireman. Since
then, he has held practically every position in
W. W. STINES
the fire department. Because of his courage and
bravery when fighting fires, and because of his
ability in handling men, he was made Fire Chief
in 1927, a position which he holds at present.
CHARITY A, LEE
^ISS CHARITY AMANDA LEE, the
winner of the Director's Medal in the
piano contest of the McKendree Con-
servatory of Music, in 1914, is a piano teacher
in Trenton, Illinois. After completing her gram-
mar school work in the Trenton Public School
and SIX months' work in the local high school,
which was thus shortened because of ill health,
she attended the Beethoven Conservatory of
Music in St. Louis. In 1916 she was graduated
from the McKendree Conservatory of Music.
Miss Lee was an organ student of McKen-
dree College in the term of 1927-1928. At pres-
ent she is the organist of the Trenton M. E.
Church.
CHARLES D. SHUMARD
CHIS GENTLEMAN, a member of the
joint board of McKendree for twenty-five
years and a minister who has built two
churches. Rev. Chas. D. Shumard has made for
himself an enviable record. He attended school
at Normal, Illinois, and received the honorary
degree of D. D. from McKendree College in
igio. The churches which were erected through
his inspiration and direction are the First Meth-
odist, at Alton, and at Marissa. In 1877, Mr.
Six Hundred and Eleven
MR. J. K. EWING
Shumard began teaching and followed that pro-
fession for eleven years, until he entered the
ministry.
On Dec. 4, 1879, Mr. Shumard and Miss E.
Funkhouser were married. Mrs. Mabel F. Ma-
hon, of Mt. Carmel, Illinois, is their only child.
Mrs. Shumard's people were formerly from
Prussia. Her grandfather Funkhouser was in the
Senate and Legislature at two different times.
Rev. Shumard has held the following charges:
1888, Freeburg; 1892, Trenton; 1894, Greenville;
1899, Belleville; 1902, Lebanon District; 1907,
Mt. Vernon; 1909, Mt. Carmel; 191J, Vandalia;
1917, Metropolis; 1920, Alton, First; 1926,
Albion.
W. W. STINES
yr^fR. STINES, who is a dealer in real estate,
^J[J and the proprietor of a service station at
3,101 State Street, East St. Louis, comes
from the state of Ohio. He was born at Dayton.
April 17, 1869. His father, W. W. Stines, died
in 1875, and the mother in the same year, and
left their two boys to make their way in the
world greatly handicapped. They went West and
worked at different occupations for some time.
At the age of seventeen, our subject was working
in St. Louis, but left this city and secured employ-
ment in the casting department of the Crystal
City Plate Glass Co., at Crystal City, Mo.; was
made foreman of the department two years later,
remained here until 1894, when he came to East
St. Louis and found employment with Morris
y Co. He worked in the mechanical department
of this plant for twelve years, resigned in 1907
to take a position as engineer with the East St.
Louis and Suburban Railway at their Winstanley
powerhouse, and remained here until the plant
was discontinued in 192J. Having acquired a
good amount of property, he now entered the
real estate business, and . later put up, on his
property, the Stines' Service Station.
He married on the day after Christmas, 1885,
Miss Anna Roussin, and has three children —
Elizabeth, Thomas, and WiUiam. The older boy
was graduated from the St. Louis Medical School
and is now a practicing physician. The daughter
is married to Mr. Dan O'Connell, and the
younger son is in business with his father. All
his children received a good education, in fact,
Mr. Stines came to East St. Louis for this pur-
pose, having learned of its excellent schools.
Mr. Stines is serving his fourth term on the
city school board; he was first elected in igi'j.
He is a Mason, a Modern Woodman, diligently
attends to business, and enjoys hunting for
recreation.
JAMES K. EWING
XN 191';, Mr. James K. Ewing, of East
St. Louis, was appointed Probation and
Humane Officer for the city and the sur-
rounding communities. Mr. Ewing was born at
Louisville, Kentucky, on Aug. 29, 1866, the son
of George W. and Elizabeth Dryden Ewing, both
Scotch.
James Ewing, after being graduated from the
Kenyon College, of Gambrier, Ohio, began rail-
roading in Louisville for the Baltimore and Ohio,
and later was employed by the Chicago and
Alton for about twenty years, during which
time he travelled extensively.
Mrs. Ewing was born at Cahokia 111., April
1^, 1869, the daughter of Calvin and Cordeha
McCready. Ada F. McCready was married to
Mr. Ewing on Jan. 27, 1886. They have two
children — James K., Jr., born Sept. 4, 1887, now
a live stock and commission man in Kansas City;
and George W., born July 4, 1889, who is em-
ployed in St. Louis as chief of the cleaning de-
partment for the Mobile and Ohio Railroad
Company. Mrs. Ewing acted as mother to two
other children — a niece, Stella McCready, now
Mrs. John Hancock, of Fort Worth, Texas, and
Mary McFarland. Mrs. Ewing is a graduate of
the East St. Louis High School and of the Bee-
thoven Conservatory of Music, in St. Louis; is
a member of the Excelsior Club and a charter
member of the Shubert Club.
Mr. Ewing was for four years a member of
the board of supervisors (:9i8-i92i), helped or-
ganize the Traveling Nurse Association in 1918.
cooperated with Judge Messick of the Juvenile
Court until the Judge's death, was chairman ot
the Dependent Children's Home Committee,
and has been president ot the Boy Scout organ-
ization for two years, during which time it has
grown from 400 to iioo members. He under-
stands youth, is greatly interested in young
people, and has always been unselfish in his
REV. GEORGE L. LOSH, D. D.
gLTHOUGH FOR the past four years he
has been pastor of the First Methodist
Episcopal Church of Urbana, Illinois, Rev.
G. L. Losh is best known to present McKen-
dreans as their beloved evangelist of the last two
years. Rev. Losh did all his academic work and
the most of his university work in the city of
Cincinnati and received his Bachelor of Arts de»
gree from the American University and an
honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity from Mc-
Kendree College in 1928. In 190^, he was married
to Miss Frances P. Finch of Cincinnati. He was
engaged in business until 191 4 when he entered
the ministry. Rev. Losh is a third degree Mason
and an Odd Fellow. He has been president of
the Chamber of Commerce, a member of different
school boards and is at present a member of the
Illinois Wesleyan Board and Chaddock Boys
School Board of Directors and is also the presi-
dent of the Epworth League Institute of the
Illinois Conference.
JAMES L. McCORMACK, M. D.
OR. JAMES LINCOLN McCORMACK,
a physician of great success at Bone Gap,
Illinois, was born at Newton on April 25,
1865. He attended McKendree, Rush Medical,
Chicago, and the College of Physicians and Sur-
geons of St. Louis, Missouri. He has been prac-
ticing his profession since 1892, all of which
time he has been located in Southern Illinois.
In i8gi. Dr. McCormack married Miss Al-
wilda Hocking, of West Liberty. Illinois. All of
their children were students of McKendree Col-
lege. Glen, their only son, who was graduated
in 191 ^. with a B. S. degree, died a hero's death
in the World War. Three daughters, Mabel,
Grace, and Dorothy, also attended McKendree.
The latter was at the college at the time of her
death. A few years ago. Dr. McCormack's
nephew, Virgil, attended McKendree. Dr. Mc-
Cormack has always been a friend of McKen-
dree, a capable physician, and a prominent
citizen of his county.
Six Hundred and Twelv
__^^^^^^^^^Mc KENDREE^^^^^S:^^^..:^^^^
REV. EDMUND F. WILLIAMS
0DMUND F. WILLIAMS, veteran of
Spanish-American War, pastor of Meth-
odist Church in Marissa since 1925- Bo^""
at West Frankfort, III, Sept. 2-;, 1880, son of
John M. Williams and Sarah E. Scarlett Williams.
Received public school education in native
city, attended university at Fort Worth, Texas.
Admitted to Oklahoma Conference in 1904,
transferred to the Columbia River Conference,
of Washington, to the Illinois, and later to the
Southern Illinois Conference. Has been pastor
of M. E. Church of Granite City, and Bond
Avenue Methodist Church of East St. Louis.
On Oct. 14, 1904, was married to Johanna
Blinka, born in Austria, January 18, 1880. Came
to Galveston, Texas, and received early educa-
tion. Attended Huntsville State Teachers" Nor-
mal, and Methodist School at Fort Worth.
Taught school for nine years, missionary for
three years, member of Fort Worth University
faculty. She speaks six languages.
REV. WM. M. LANE
yj^R- Wm. M. Lane, Methodist pastoral
tIJ Creal Springs since 192';, was born in
^^ CoU-ell County, Ky., April 17, 187J, and
was educated at Cave-in-Rock public schools,
and at the State Normal. He taught school sev-
eral years; worked for a number of years as
carpenter-contractor; pastor at Crab Orchard,
and at Karnak; attended summer school of The-
ology at McKendree; married to Minnie Belt,
of Hardin County. 111. They have two sons —
Enos and Radford. Mrs. Lane taught school five
years after her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Lane
are loved and respected by their many friends.
VERNON G. MAYS
>=|^R. VERNON GRIFFITH MAYS, super-
\IM intendent of Lebanon public schools, was
^^ born in Newburg, W. Va. He attended
pubhc school in Michigan, was graduated from
Albion College (Mich.) with degree of Ph. B,;
had more than three years of post-graduate study
in the Universities of Chicago, Michigan (from
which he received degree of Master of Arts),
and Columbia, New York City. In the last, he
held a scholarship for work in Teachers College,
in which he prepared one year for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy.
Mr. Mays has devoted his life to helping
young people attain the highest possible stand-
ards of mental and moral development. As an
educator, he has held important positions, climb-
ing from teacher in rural school, thru superin-
tcnJcncies and pnncipalships ot smaller cities
to that of Supt. of Schools of St. Joseph, Missouri.
He served as principal of the high school at Lin-
coln, Nebr. seven years, and at Lewistown and
Great Falls, Mont., each two years; of the Model
High School of the University of Nebraska one
summer; and taught in the University of Ne-
braska two summers, and has been engaged to
teach in McKendree College this summer, having
work in the Social Science department.
In each of the five states in which he has
served, he has been a member of the executive
committee of the State Teachers' Associations,
and in each held the otEce of district president.
Since early boyhood, Mr. Mays has been
active in church work, and that of its auxiliaries,
and has filled nearly every ofEce of each.
He has been a Rotarian for twelve years; a
Mason, both of the York Rite, and of the
Scottish Rite, including that of the Commandery
of Knights Templar, and of the Mystic Shrine;
a member-at-large of the National Social Science
Honor Society — Pi Gamma Mu. Also, a member
of the National Educational Association, the
National Association of School Superintendence,
the National Society for Scientific Study of Edu-
cation, a charter member of the National Asso-
ciation of Secondary School Principals, and a
charter member of the National Vocational
Guidance Association, and member of other
social and civic organizations.
Mr. Mays was married to Miss Mabel A.
Benham, of Ann Arbor, Michigan. Besides her
membership in local church, social, and literary
clubs, Mrs. Mays is a member of the Daughters
of the American Revolution, and of the national
P. E. O. sisterhood.
Their only daughter, Helen Isabelle, is a mem-
ber of the 1928 class in Lebanon Community
High School, and a student of voice in McKen-
dree College.
REVEREND WILLIAM SCHUTZ
HOR FIFTY-EIGHT years Rev. Schutz, of
Bunker Hill, Illinois, has devoted his ser-
vices to the ministry. He is the oldest
effective minister in the Mid-West, and has
missed his appointments only four times during
his ministry. When only seventeen years ot age
he enlisted as a volunteer in the 14th Illinois
Cavalry, serving for eighteen months.
Rev. Schutz was born in Prussia. Germany,
Feb. 22, 1847, ""id began the ministry in April,
1870. At the age of twenty-five he married Miss
Mary Mueller, of Belleville, III, and later, after
having been left a widower several years, he
was married again, (in 1915) to Mrs. Pauline
*DR. PERCY H. SWAHLEN
Jaenicken. Rev. Schutz's children are: H. W.
Schutz, an accountant in the Christian Mission-
ary Society, of St. Louis; John; H. J. Sheet, who
changed his name on account of the World War,
and who, for tw'enty-one years, has been a mis-
sionary in India; Mrs. J. A. New, Springfield,
111.; and Mrs. F. H. Jaenicken, Chicago. From
1891-97 Rev. Schutz was Superintendent of the
Quincy District, and in 1896 he was delegate
to General Conference, at Cleveland, Ohio.
The little gray Schutz Memorial Church at
Bunker Hill and the loving remembrance of his
people wherever he has served are both expres-
sions of Rev. Schutz's true Christian worth.
HARRY E. MUELLER
nARRY E. MUELLER, of Lebanon, young-
est of the four children of John and Mary
Weber Mueller, was born on a farm near
New Memphis, 111., August 14, 1893. Harry was
given his common school education at New
Memphis, and in 1918 was graduated from the
McKendree School of Music. After this, he
served in the Army, and worked for the Shap-
leigh Hardware Company, of St. Louis. In 1920,
he re-entered McKendree, completed the aca-
demic and college courses, and graduated with
a B. S. degree. During this time he taught Violin
in the College, directed the College Orchestra
(1923-1926), and was instructor of Violin in the
Heink Conservatory of Music in St. Louis
(1921-1923).
'NOTE— His biography
1 page 2
H. E. MUELLER REV. WILLIAM SCHUTZ REV. H. G BECK PROF. B, G. MERKEL
THOMAS MEEHAN
While in college, Harry was a Platonian, and
during the summer of 1924, he traveled with
the McKendree Quartet, assisting in advertising
the college.
Always a hard worker, a jolly good fellow, a
scientist, and an artist, Harry is one of McKen-
dree's noble sons.
REV. HARRIS G. BECK, D. D.
SEV. HARRIS G. BECK, D. D., is the
pastor of the First Methodist Episcopal
Church of Mattoon — a church which has
a membership of 0%'er two thousand. He was born
on July II, 1886, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. In
this city he attended high school. After gradua-
tion, he entered the old Epworth University, and
in igo8, was graduated with an A. B. degree. In
June, 1928, he received a degree of D. D. from
McKendree College.
In 1908, Rev. I5eck was married to Miss Jessie
Wheat — a happy union of which there are three
children: Roberta, Junior, and Emerson.
Rev. Beck joined the Illinois Conference in
1912, and was minister at Bellflower until 1914.
From 1914 to 1917, he was pastor at De Land.
During the Great War, he served as Chaplain-
First Lieutenant. He came to Mattoon in 1924,
after having served at Newman and Hoopeston.
Rev. Beck was the dean of the Illinois Conference
Epworth League Institute from 1922 to 1928.
BENJAMIN G. MERKEL
©ENJAMIN GEO., the son of Mr. and
Mrs. George Merkel, was born August
4, 1897, and obtained his education in the
public schools, in the Northern lUinois Normal,
and in the Southern Illinois Normal, from which
latter institution he graduated in 1925. Since
then he has pursued post graduate studies. Dur-
ing the period of his normal training he taught
school six years, and by this means paid the ex-
penses of his higher education. He came to Free-
burg to take the position of principal just after his
graduation, and has remained in this position.
Mr. Merkel has but recently married, on
November 6, 1926. Mrs. Merkel is one of Free-
burg's cultured young ladies, formerly Emma L.
Krauss, the daughter of a well-known merchant
and musician of this city — Theodore Krauss. She
was born in Freeburg on March 19, 1907, and
was given, in addition to a high school training,
a good musical education. She is a graduate in
music.
Professor Merkel was obliged to work hard
for his higher education and he is now one of the
able, though youngest, principals in this county.
ERNEST EVANS
^R. ERNEST EVANS, an O'Fallon miner,
born in Olney, Indiana, Oct. ij. 1878. son
of Horace and Amanda Evans. His father
IS living at Marissa, 111. Mr. Evans obtained
common school education in O'Fallon schools
and worked on farm for three years, and then
started mining, and has remained at this work.
Oct. 6, 1904, married Miss Mary Hooley, of
Collinsville, born on Dec. 18, 1882, daughter of
William and Ann HoUey. Mrs. Evans also re-
ceived education in O'Fallon public schools. One
son, Harold, born on July 8, 1907. The mother is
a member of the Pocahontas Society.
Mr. Evans is a member of Redmen, and holds
office of chief of records and secretary in this
fraternity. He is master of finance in the K. P.
Lodge. For the past four years he has been a
member of the city school board.
THOMAS M. MEEHAN
XN 1904. Mr. Thomas M. Meehan, repre-
sentative for the Mutual Life Insurance
Company of New York, came to O'Fallon.
He is a native of Indiana, was born at Paola, in
Orange County, on July 22, 1876. His parents,
J. W. Meehan and Rachel Froman, are living in
East St. Louis, where the father is employed as a
railroad man. Thomas attended the public schools
at Shoals, Ind. for two years, and at Winslow,
Ind. for two years. The rest of his education was
secured at Mt. Carmel, 111. His first employment
was with a raikoad company, as a clerk, which
position he kept until he was eighteen. Then he
entered the train service, remaining in this until
May, IQ20, and worked at several occupations,
including two ycirs at the mines, before entering
the insurance bus-.ness.
Miss Effle Neville, to whom he was married
on Christmas Eve in 1905, is an O'Fallon lady,
born on June 27, 1882, the daughter of Charles
and Bertha Neville. Her father died in 1917; the
mother is living in Detroit, Mich. Two children
have been born in the Meehan home — Opal F.,
on August ■;, 1907; and Garnett M, on August
10, 191 1. Opal graduated from the O'Fallon High
School, and is now attending McKendree, a Jun-
ior, and an honor student. Garnett is a sopho-
more in high school.
Mr. Meehan is a Mason and a Shriner. He
served as alderman in O'Fallon for two years,
and in the spring of 1927 was elected a member
of the city school board. Content with the in-
surance business, he is in it to stay.
HENRY TRABAND, Jr.
nENRY TRABAND, Jr. entered the cigar
manufacturing business of his father about
iSqo. He was born in Lebanon, the .'on
of Henry and Lena Campe Traband; received a
public school education, and spent two years in
McKendree College. Then he worked as a store
clerk. On January 22, 1894, he married Miss
Eliza Creed, a Lebanon girl, born August 28,
1874, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jos. Creed.
To them have been born four children, three
of whom are still living. Emmjtt, the youngest,
died on August ■;, 1919. Lena is now the wife
of Simon Wessel, a clerk of the Wabash Railroad
in St. Louis; William Henry, who is employed
by the Standard Oil Co. at Wood River, 111.,
married Leola Morton, of Bachtown, 111.; and
Luretta Irene is married to Mr. A. J. Schoene,
a garage proprietor and the Chevrolet agent in
Lebanon.
Mr. Traband is a Mason and an Odd Fellow,
and has been a member of the Lebanon Board of
Education for more than twenty years.
REV. DAVID FROESCHLE, D. D.
(f^EV. DAVID FROESCHLE, D. D., a
J^ minister of the Zion M. E. Church, of
Granite City, was born in 1864, in Cin-
cinnati, Ohio. At the age of nineteen, he re-
sponded to the call of the ministry. He was
HENRY TRABAND REV. DAVID FROESCHLE F. G. NUETZEL
F. A WALTON
Si.x Hundred and E
graduated in 1891 from the Theological Seminary
at Central Wesleyan College, of Warrenton,
Missouri. Rev. Foreschle served in the St. Louis
German Conference for thirty-four years, and, in
1925, was transferred to the Southern Illinois
Conference. At the Centennial Commencement
exercises of McKendree College, the honorary
degree of D. D. was conferred upon him.
FRED G. NUETZEL
HRED G. NUETZEL, born at CaseyviUe,
April 10, 1875. His father — also named
Fred G. Nuetzel — was born in Bavaria,
Germany, December 8, i8jj; came to this coun-
try at age of twenty-two; died December 7, 1922.
Fred G. Nuetzel, Jr., attended public schools
of CaseyviUe until he was fourteen years old;
in 189';, attended McKendree College for a short
while. In 1899, started farming for himself; now
owns a lucrative truck farm. Married Miss
Louisa M. Niebruegge, April 18, 1899. Three
children: Earl H., born January 7, 1901, now
married to Miss Pauline Gossman; Arnold P.,
born Sept. 25, 1905; and Irvin G., born Aug.
12, 1908, and died May 2, 1919.
Mr. Neutzel's hobby — music. He played drum
in Collinsville band. Member of Collinsville local
No. 350, A. F. of M.; treasurer and member of
board of directors of this organization for twelve
years.
F. A. WALTON
^R. F. A. WALTON has the distinction
of belonging to one of the good old fam-
ilies of Missouri. His parents, J. H. Wal-
ton and Mary E. Wyatt Walton, lived on a
farm at Hawk Point, Missouri, and here on the
25th of July, 1875, F. A. Walton was born.
Mr. Walton was educated in Buchanan High
School, at Troy. Mo., and at Central Wesleyan
College, Mo. After the completion of his studies,
he taught school in his native state tor three
years, and then turned his attention to farming
for a while. He left the farm to become the
manager of the Wm. PoUoch grain business, at
Hawk Point, and a Uttle later he assumed the
management of the elevator company at Troy,
and continued as the director of this company
for eight years. In 1920, he came to Belleville,
111., to assume similar duties here as manager of
the Belleville Cooperative Grain Company.
Miss Ehzabeth R. Ball, to whom Mr. Walton
was married on June 14, 1907, was born in Jones-
burg, Mo., in 188;, on Aug. 19. They have two
children, a son and a daughter. Their hoy,
William H., who is twenty years of age, is a
graduate ot the Belleville High School and also
of the College of Pharmacy, in St. Louis. He is
at present a student of medicine in the University
of Illinois, and is well-advanced for a young man
ot his age. Ester Lee, the daughter, is thirteen
years old and is attending Junior High, in Belle-
ville; She was born on Nov. 6, 1914, also in the
state ot Missouri.
Mr. Walton is a member of the Order of Odd
Fellows and of the Methodist Church. In the
latter he serves on the Board of Stewards.
THE HUSSONG FAMILY
I^KO THE RESIDENTS of Lebanon, and
L J to many former and present day teachers
and students of McKendree. members of
the Hussong family have been known for many
years. George J. Hussong (died 1896) and his
wife, Mary M. Hussong, lived for many years
on a farm near Alhambra, 111. At her husband's
death Mrs. Hussong moved to Lebanon, where
she died February 20, 190J. A brief account
of the children's lives follows: Thos. J. Hus-
song, born Sept. 25, 1863, attended public
schools, and McKendree, now teaching Manual
Training in Alton, 111. schools. Married to Lucy
Holoway, of Piasa, 111., also a former McKendree
student. Odd Fellow and member of Methodist
Church. Daniel W. Hussong, born Feb. 7, 1872,
completed grade schools, and two years in Car-
bondale Normal, taught five years, employed in
Granite City several years, entered Methodist
ministry 1908. Married Lura F. Gruver, Nov.
26, 1896. Six children — Harold, Gladys, Earl
and Richard are living. Earl is in the McKendree
Centennial Class. Mrs. Hussong died in May,
1927. Rev. Hussong is now pastor at Wood
River; attended McKendree Theological School
summers of 1924-25-26-27.
Sadie F. Hussong, now Mrs. Wm. Jackson,
of Godfrey, 111., born Oct. 1, 1875, educated,
in public schools and one year in McKendree,
taught many years. Has three children — Sadie,
Dorothy, and William.
Andrew J. Hussong, born Dec. 29, 1877,
attended public schools, and McKendree three
years; is married and is post office employee in
St. Louis. Has one daughter.
M. Mae Hussong, born Feb. 29, 1S80, married
to George Ritcher, of Alton, graduate of Leb-
anon High School and McKendree (1905). taught
in East St. Louis several years before her mar-
riage. Has one son. The entire family, including
the father, George J. Hussong, have always been
interested in education and are friends of Mc-
Kendree.
EDWARD F SCHMELZEL
GEORGE H. NUERNBERGER
eEORGE NUERNBERGER was born in
New Athens Township August 31, 1879,
and after receiving a public school educa-
tion, worked on his farmer's farm until 1906, the
year of his marriage to Anna E. Junk, the daugh-
ter of Herman Junk and Elizabeth Ritzel. She is
one of a family of eight children, and hke her
husband, received her education in the public
school. Mr. Nuernberger, too, comes from a fam-
ily of eight children. Louis Nuernberger, his
father, died July 27, 1910; and his mother,
Augusta (Kunze) Nuernberger, died February
II, 1905.
Mr. and Mrs. George Nuernberger have four
children — Herman P. was born February 22,
1907; Otto L. was born on July 9th of the fol-
lowing year; Wilbur D. on November 8, 1910;
and their daughter Virginia on August 6, 191 5.
After his marriage, Mr. Nuernberger began
farming for himself on his father's 280 acre
estate, on which his grand-parents located in
1840. He has bought additional land until he
now owns 424 acres. In 19:6, he was elected a
member of the Board of Supervisors for his to wn-
ship; has been the president of the New Athens
Community High School; and has served as a
Precinct Committeeman of New Athens Town-
ship. Mr. Nuernberger is by religion an Evan-
gelical, and has been a trustee in his church for
two years.
REV. GEO. R. GOODMAN
CONRAD A. KOLDITZ
GONRAD KOLDITZ, adopted son of
Charles A. Kolditz and Maria Kraemer,
born in New Athens, January 19, 1884,
received his education in pubhc school and in
Belleville Commercial College. First positions,
stock clerk for the Inland Type Foundry, St.
Louis, Mo., and employee of American Agricul-
tural Chemical Company, of East St. Louis. Since
1918, bookkeeper for Auto Stove Works, New
Athens.
Mrs. Conrad Kolditz, the daughter of John
Westrich and Johanna Siegfried, was born in
Belleville, Illinois, on April 12, x886, and was
married to Mr. Kolditz on July 7, 191 1.
Mr. Kolditz has served on New Athens school
board since 1921, is the secretary of the town
school board, as well as a village trustee. He has
been the secretary of the Evangelical Brother-
hood, is a member of the Commercial Club, is a
Shriner in the Masonic Lodge, and also a Knight
Templar. He enjoys hunting and fishing.
WILLIAM F. SIPFLE
SEVEREND WM. F. SIPFLE, the subject
of this sketch, was born in Peoria, Illinois,
on Sept. 16, 1857. He was educated at
Central Wesleyan College and at Iowa Wesleyan
University. He was received into the St. Louis
German Conference in 1882. In that conference
he served the following charges: Wellman, la.,
1882-84; Des Moines, la., 1884-87; Harper, la.,
1887-89; Mt. Pleasant, la., 1889-91; Dodgeville,
ja. (circuit), 1891-93; Petersburg, 111. (circuit),
1893-97; Emden and Hartsburg, 111. (circuit),
1897-1901; Mascoutah, 111., 1901-07; Edwards-
ville. 111. (Immanuel Church), 1907-13: Warsaw,
111., 1913-14. The Mascoutah church celebrated
its seventy-fifth anniversary in 1916.
On August 26, 1884, Rev. Sipfle married
Mathilda Miller, of Burlington, la. Three chil-
dren. Miller, Laura, and Philip, were born to
this happy union. Mrs. Sipfle went to her crown-
ing Sept. 6, 1915.
Rev. Sipfle has always been very greatly inter-
ested in history and has contributed a great deal
to the records of various churches. In the Blue
Book is to be found Rev. Sipfle's History of the
Mascoutah Congregation. He also wrote the His-
tory of the Edwardsville Congregation at the
fiftieth anniversary of the Immanuel Church. For
the past eighteen years Rev. Sipfle has been in
or near Edwardsville, where he now resides.
REV. SAMUEL THERO
/^AMUEL THERO was born January 10,
J~J 1871, in Farmington, Iowa. After being
graduated from high school, he studied
three years in Iowa Wesleyan University. At
21, he was ordained a minister in the Methodist
Church, and was a member of the Iowa Con-
ference for ten years.
His parents, William F. and Elizabeth Heine-
man Thero, are both deceased.
On Nov. I, 1893, he was married to Jennie
Owen- To them have been born two children —
Jennie, now Mrs. George M. Nessel, born Nov.
27, 1896; and Samuel Griffith, born April 24,
1899. principal of the Lucknow Christian School
of Commerce, in India, and warden and treas-
urer of the Warne, Hostel for boys.
In 1902, Rev. Thero transferred to the South-
ern Illinois Conference and was a member of
this conference for the remainder of his life.
From 1922 to 1924. he acted as superintendent
of the Mt. Vernon, Illinois Methodist Orphan-
age, and immediately preceding his death on
April 28, 1927, he was pastor of the Bond Ave-
nue Methodist Church and of the Settlement
House, both in East St. Louis.
The Western Christian Advocate of June 2.
1927 says of him, "As a minister, the quahty
of his work and his standing among his fellow
ministers has always been far above the grade
of appointments he held. He sought service
rather than personal advancement He
sacrificed to the very limit of bare necessities
for himself and wife, and has sent hundreds of
dollars to the missionarv work in India."
EDWARD F. SCHMELZEL
J^HE SUPERINTENDENT of the Dupo
V. J Schools was born on August 9, 1894, near
New Athens, Illinois. There his parents
moved m 1902, and there he received his gram-
mar and high school training.
His parents, both living, are John D. and
Anna M. Yoeckel Schmelzel.
In 192'; Edward Schmelzel was graduated
from the Illinois State Normal University, where
his scholarship had been rewarded, previous to
this, by his election to Kappa Delta Pi, honorary
scholarship fraternity.
Since his graduation, he has taught in the
Hertell School, near Freeburg, in New Athens,
and in Belleville — in the last named place as
principal of the Bunsen School. In 1921 he was
elected to his present position as supervisor of the
Dupo, the Sugar Loaf, and the Bixley Schools.
The introduction of a Lyceum Course in Dupo
was due to the efforts of Mr. Schmelzel.
On December 11, 1919, he was married to
Minnie A. Wirth, daughter of George Wirth,
of New Athens. She was born April 3, 1895,
received a high school education, and afterwards
was graduated from the Weltner Conservatory
of Music in St. Louis.
Mr. Schmelzel, during the late war, served
as field clerk in the Quartermaster's Corps.
He IS a member of the Odd Fellows. Hunt-
ing and fishing are his favorite recreations.
REV. GEORGE R. GOODMAN, D. D.
J^^^HE MEN are few who have inspired the
IJ building of more churches than has Rev.
George Robert Goodman, D. D. Under
his ministry, churches were built at Green Hill,
Zion and Benton. He rebuilt the Bridgeport
Church and enlarged the Eldorado Church. Par-
sonages were built at Eldorado, Benton (pur-
chased) and Mt. Vernon. Aided by his efforts
while Superintendent of the East St. Louis Dis-
trict, many splendid church buildings were
erected in this district.
Dr. Goodman attended McKendree College
in "95 and '96, but was unable to complete his
work because of ill health. In '98 he went to
Arizona, but later returned to the Southern
Illinois Conference, of which he is now a mem-
ber. Six years ago, along with Dr. Peterson, Dr.
Goodman received the degree of Doctor of Di-
vinity from McKendree College, the institution
in which he is now secretary of the Executive
Committee. Since 1913, he has been a member
of the Joint Board; in 1924 he was elected to
the General Conference, and is now the Secre-
Si.x Hundred and Sixteen
^MC KENDREE"^^^^^^^.....^^_„
tary of the Southern Illinois Conference. Dr.
Goodman is a Philo, a Mason, an OdU Fellow,
and a Mystic-Worker.
In 1896, Dr. Goodman was married to Carrie
A. Berkshire, of Lawrence County, Illinois, a
union that was blessed with live children: Ger-
ald M., Herald R,, Mildred E,, Pauline M., and
George, Junior.
WALTER J. GRODEON
ij^ ALTER GRODEON, mail carrier on R.
\iy R. No. I, lives on a farm west of Lebanon.
Born m O'Fallon Township, Jan. 15, 1886,
son of Fred and Margaret Meyer Grodeon (both
deceased).
Mr. Grodeon was educated in neighborhood
schools and in McKendree, year of 190}; he
taught school three years in Mascoutah Town-
ship, and four years in Lebanon Township, be-
fore his appointment on the mail route; was
married August 10, 19 10, to Wanda Luckner,
daughter of Charles and Emily Runkwitj Luck-
ner, born in O'Fallon Township, on December
31, 1886. Mrs. Grodeon received her education
in Summertield and Shiloh Valley public schools.
She and Mr. Grodeon have no children. Mem-
bers of Methodist Church.
REV. VIRGIL N. GOULD
^R. GOULD, pastor of the Union Meth-
odist Church at Freeburg, Illinois, was
born on a farm, Edwards County, Illinois,
attended the public schools, graduated from high
school, and worked on his father's farm until he
was twenty-one, when he began farming for him-
self. On May 11, 1893, he married Dora Sophia
Leighton, of Covington, Virginia. They have
four children: Edwin Malcom, born Sept. 11,
1894, McKendree graduate — now teacher of
music in Ashville, North Carolina, High School;
Victor, born Nov. 23, 1898, attended McKen-
dree two years, graduated from IlUnois Univer-
sity in 1922, and from Washington University
Medical School in 1926 — now an interne in the
new Maternity Hospital of Washington Uni-
versity, in St. Louis; Paul G., born Feb. 21, 1900,
spent four years in teaching, and is now a senior
in McKendree; the daughter, Areta H., born on
October 18, 1907, studied one year at Illinois
Wesleyan, Bloomington, Illinois, and one year
at McKendree — now teaching in the public
schools of Granite City.
Mr. Gould is a great reader and a writer,
and has been a member of the Southern Illinois
Conference since 1907.
JAMES G. WILKIN
/t\R JAMES GARLAND WILKIN, a mem-
^jI^ bcr of McKendree 's Board of Trustees,
was born in Crawford County, Illinois,
July 17, 188';, the younger son of Rev. L. C,
Wilkin. Mr. Wilkin has been connected with
such firms as the Woolson Spice Company of
Toledo, Ohio, and the B. F. Goodrich Rubber
Co., of Akron, Ohio (with the latter for more
than ten years). He is also part owner and mana-
ger of a large cotton plantation m Mississippi,
which furnishes work for thirty-three families.
He was married October 20, 1909 to Miss
Nellie Levering, Assistant Cashier of the First
National Bank of Olney. They have one daugh-
ter, Mildred Corinne, who is a junior in the
High School at Robinson, where the Wilkins
now reside. Mrs. Wilkin is an active worker in
various lines of church and club work and is
Conference Superintendent of the Y. P. for the
W. F. M. S. of Southern Illinois. She and Mr.
Wilkin are both members of the OiEcial Board
of their local church.
CHARLES M. MINTER
CHARLES M. MINTER, before coming
to East St. Louis, Illinois, had been the
publisher of a weekly newspaper, the
Campbell Hill Illinois EcUpse. Before going into
the newspaper business he followed farming for
several years m Randolph County, 111., in which
county, at Shiloh Hill, he was on Jan. 13, 1874.
Here he secured his common school and high
school education.
In 1904, after arriving in East St. Louis, he
began his career as a conductor for the East St.
Louis and Surburhan Railway Company, and
held this position for thirteen years, leaving it in
1917 to take up new duties as a foreman for the
Oertell Roofing Company, which position he
held until 1919. Then he bought out the coal
business which was being operated under the
firm name of Fred Koehler, at 21st and State
Streets, and which he changed to the name of
the Charles Minter Coal Company.
On Dec. 7, 1907, Mr. Minter married Miss
Gertrude M. Gardner. To Mr. and Mrs. Minter
there was born, on Aug. 13, 1909, a daughter,
Margaret G., who is a graduate of the East St.
Louis High School, and who since her graduation
has studied music in the Lieber Conservatory of
Music in her native city. She is a graduate of this
school. Now Margaret is a student of the pipe
organ and is also a teacher of music. For the last
SIX years she has been pianist for the Sunday
School of the First M. E. Church m East St.
Louis, of which church Miss Minter and her
parents are members.
LOUIS A. BUTTS
Mr. Minter is an active member of this church
and serves on its board of trustees. He is a 32nd
degree Mason, and a member of the Blue Lodge
No. 504. He is also an Odd Fellow.
ADAM SENSEL
a DAM SENSEL was born at Floraville,
Monroe County, on January 10, 1879,
the son of Henry Sensel and Mary Mat-
zenbacher Sensel. Mr. Sensel attended the schools
of Goeddeltown, Monroe County, III., and then
worked on his father's farm until he was twenty-
seven years of age.
He was married on November 8, 1905, to
Miss Rosalie Wietkamp, of Monroe County. In
1923, Mr. and Mrs. Sensel left Monroe County
and rented a farm of 172 acres in St. Clair Coun-
ty, one mile north of Scott Field.
Mrs. Sensel was born January 22, 1880, and
was educated in the Valmyer Central School,
Monroe County. She has borne Mr. Sensel two
children — Goldie E., and Elmer H., on Decem-
ber 13, 1906, and February 13, 1913.
Since 1924, Mr. Sensel has been president of
the School Board of District No. 86. He served
on the Board of East Carondelet for three years.
He belongs to the Woodmen and to the Evan-
gelical Church.
ROBERT P. MUNGER
XF A PERSON were to take a look into
the record of the various occupations in
the life of Robert P. Munger, he would
undoubtedly come to the conclusion that this
gentleman has indeed tried his hand with quite
Si.v Hundred and Seienteen
__^^^^^-^^^^MC KENDREE-^^^^^s^:.^.,.^..^^
G, L. OBERNAGEL
a few of them with some degree of success. Mr.
Munger was born on November 26, 1878, in
Moberly, Missouri. After attending various
grade schools, he entered the Southern IMinois
Normal University, of Carbondale, an institu-
tion from which he was graduated in 1898. In
this city, Mr. Munger served as an assistant
postmaster, and later on as a trainmaster on the
1. C. Railway Company. Next, he was appointed
assistant cashier in the Jackson State Bank, of
Carbondale. He then came to East St. Louis and
took employment with the Illinois State Trust
Company, and six months later was elected as-
sistant secretary of the treasury of this firm.
After reaching a still higher height, he resigned
and took a position in the All Roofing Manufac-
turing Company as assistant manager. In 1917,
he organized the Storm Cote Roofing Corpora-
tion, was made president, and then sold out to
the present company, the American Asphalt
Corporation, of which he is now manager, of
the East St. Louis plant. Mr. Munger is married,
and is the father of two children. He is a Shriner
in the Masonic Lodge, an Elk, and one of the
papular members of the St. Clair Country Club.
WILLIAM C. SPIES
nIS PARENTS— WiUiam Spies and Wil-
helmina Merkelbach Spies — both born in
Coblenz, Germany, came to America in
1856, and died here in 1905 and 1911, respect-
ively. Their son, William C. Spies, born in Belle-
ville, Oct. 24, 1858. Here received education in
the public schools. Dec. 12, 1883, Mr. Spies
married to Minnie C. Willman, who was born
Belleville, May 9, 1855, daughter of Rudolph
Willman and Johanna Stein Willman. Mr. and
Mrs. Spies have daughter, Mrs. Christ A.
DaumeuUer.
In 1904, Mr. Spies elected to school board;
re-elected since. He is a Modern Woodman and
an Eagle, but spends much time in reading.
Painter and paper hanger in Belleville for nearly
half a century.
LOUIS SCHAUBERT
HOUIS SCHAUBERT, retired farmer,
born near New Baden, Illinois, December
17, 1S79. Son of George Schaubert and
Elizabeth Perschbacher and one of ten children.
Mother died June 8, 1909, and father married
Margaret Riess May 8, 1912. George Schaubert
died May 31, 1914; Margaret Riess (Schaubert),
on Oct. n, 1918. Louis was educated in Mas-
coutah Township pubUc school, worked on
father's farm until his marriage to Katie Krausz,
daughter of Valentine and Katherine Weaver
Krausz, January 23, 1902. Independent farmer
1902-1913. Retired to Mascoutah 1913, but still
owns farm — 140 acres — which is rented. Mem-
ber of Evangelical Church, and six years on
church board. Elected alderman in 1921, and
member of Mascoutah school board in 1922. An
Odd Fellow, and advocate of city improvements.
Mrs. Schaubert, horn October 20, 1880, near
New Memphis, Clinton County, Illinois. Father
born in Germany; mother in Illinois. Both par-
ents are dead. One daughter, Aurelia E. Schau-
bert, born February 25, 1906; a graduate of the
Mascoutah Township High School.
LOUIS A. BUTTS
HOUIS ANDREW BUTTS, principal of
the Belleville Junior High School, was
born in the city of Belleville, June 30,
1894. His parents, both of whom are still living
and who but recently celebrated their forty-
eighth wedding anniversary, are A. W. Butts
and Laura Manning Butts, former St. Louisans.
His father, a farmer for twenty years and later a
brick manufacturer, was born there Feb. 27, 1855
and his mother on Jan. 27 of the same year.
Louis A. Butts comes from a large family ot
children; he has five brothers, all of whom are
older than he. He attended the public schools of
Belleville, was graduated from the Belleville High
School and in 1916 received his degree from Mc-
Kendree College. Since that time he has taken
graduate work in the University of Chicago.
The year following his graduation from Mc-
Kendree, Mr. Butts was made teacher and ath-
letic coach in the Farmer City, Illinois. High
School. Later he was made director of athletics
in the Carterville, Illinois, High School. He also
served in that capacity in the Benton High
School and in the DesPIaines High School before
he came to Belleville in 1926 as principal of the
Junior High School.
His hobby always has been athletics and he
was a basketball and baseball star while in high
school and college, at one time being captain of
the college baseball team.
GEORGE L. OBERNAGEL
POLICY ot honesty has contributed much
to the success of Mr. George Louis Ober-
a
agel, of 701 North lUinois Street, Belle-
ville, Illinois. This man is a representative of the
S. W. Straus Company, In%'estment Bankers,
with the Southern Illinois district as his field.
Mr. Obernagel, a son of Mr. and Mrs. F. W.
Obernagel, was born in Freeburg, Illinois, on
November 8, 1888. He received his high school
training in Freeburg. After attending the Belle-
ville and Commercial College, he entered Mc-
Kendree College. Mr. Obernagel next studied
in the Interstate Audit and Accounting Bureau,
of Chicago, Uhnois.
During the World War, Mr. Obernagel
served as a First Sergeant in the Medical Depart-
ment. He spent a year in Camp Dixon, New
Jersey. For six years, from igii to 1917, Mr.
Obernagel rendered excellent service as Assist-
ant County Treasurer of St. Clair County, 111.
When the war came, in 1917, he resigned this
position and entered the military service. Upon
his return to civil life, in 1920, Mr. Obernagel
was employed by the United States Department
of Commerce. The Illinois State Commerce Com-
mission employed him in 1922, but he resigned,
in 1923, to accept his present position.
Mr. Obernagel was married to Miss Martha
Kloess, in 1923. The happy couple are blessed
with a son, George William. With the same de-
votion to his business that he displayed for his
country when he served her, and with the atti-
tude of a student, which he developed while at
McKendree College, Mr. Obernagel is one of the
substantial citizens of his country.
FRANK J. STOFFEL
©ORN IN Mascoutah on January ';th, 1882,
received a high school education, and
learned the tinsmith's trade under his
father Julius W. Stoffel. At the present he takes
care of the tin work and the plumbing of his
father's business.
Six Hu'idreJ and Eight
^MC KEN PRE E^^^^^^^^.^...-^
April 12, 1902, he was married to Miss Anna
Eberlein, the daughter of George Eberlein, a
Mascoutah business man. Four children have
come into their home — George, February 22,
190J; Elva, October 4, 1904; Catherine, July 12,
1910; and Marie, September 29, 1915.
Mr. StofFel has been a member of the School
Board for about twelve years.
PROFESSOR W. G. PADFIELD
HOR MORE than forty years. Professor
W. G. Padfield has been instructor in East
St. Louis schools, most of this time, prin-
cipal. Born near Mascoutah, Jan. 21, iS'jS, son
of J. B. Padfield and Martha Fike Padfield, re-
ceived a liberal education in the public schools,
in McKendree College, in Valparaiso University
(summer term), and later, in the Harris Teacher's
College, and through extension courses of Wash-
ington University.
Professor Padfield came to East St. Louis in
18S7, taught one year as assistant principal, and
the remainder of his educational career as prin-
cipal— forty years thus far. Married, on Nov.
12, 1886, to Eva Cox, of Marine, Illinois. She
died ten years later, and on June 27, 1900, mar-
ried Kate Kelley. One son, Arthur (born Oct.
JO, 1901). Now student in Mexico Military
Academy, Mexico, Mo.
Professor Padfield traveled from coast to coast.
A }2nd degree Mason and a Shriner.
REV. CARL FRITZ
EV. CARL FRITZ was born April 17,
1 879, at Frankfort-on-the-Main, Germany .
In I90J he came to the United States and
lived in St. Louis for several years. In 191 1 he
was married to Miss Edna C. Lauenstein, of
St. Louis.
Rev. Carl Fritz received his earlier education
in Germany. In 1910 he was graduated from
Central Wesleyan College, at Warrenton, Mis-
souri, with the Greek Theological degree. In
1925 he received his B. D. degree from Milton
University. He also attended the Ohio Mechanic
Institute and a commercial school, and he has
done post graduate work in Philosophy for six
years in Milton University.
Rev. Fritz served in the following positions:
from 1909 until 1919 he was assistant editor of
the German Methodist Episcopal Sunday School
and Epworth League literature, and the monthly
magazine, Haus and Herd; from 19 19 to 192 1 he
was contributing editor of the M. E. Apologist.
He is a frequent contributor to religious period-
icals. He served the following pastorates: New
Melle, Mo., 1908; Emden, Illinois, 1919 to 1921;
Victor, Iowa, 1921 to 1925; Mascoutah, Illinois,
since September, 1925.
®
Rev. Fritz entered the St. Louis German Con-
ference in 1910, and in 192? he was transferred
to the Southern Illinois Conference.
Editor's Note — McKendree College will con-
fer the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Divinity
upon him Commencement Day, June, 1928.
REV. LOUIS E. WINTER
aNOTHER McKendree graduate and a
member of the Philosophian Literary So-
ciety, is Reverend Louis Edward Winter,
pastor of the Durand, lUinois. church. He was
born on January 21, i88i, in Rose Hill, Illinois.
Besides earning an A. B. degree from McKen-
dree, Rev. Winter was graduated from the Gar-
rett Biblical Institute with a B. D. degree.
On March 2, 1921, Rev. Winter was united
m marriage with Miss Delia Ellis. The couple
have one child.
Rev. Winter has been a member of the Rock
River Conference since 1920.
ADAM M HEINEMANN
>WR. ADAM HEINEMANN, a Belleville
\tf grocer, was born in Belleville, on Sept.
15, 1872, was educated in the pubUc
schools of the city, and then worked for four-
teen years as an employee of the Belleville Post
fe? Zeitung. He was a clerk for two years follow-
ing this, and in 1902 went into the grocery
business. In 1907 Adam and his brother, August,
bought property and built thereon a good modern
store building. For over twenty years now they
have been conducting a grocery business here.
The father of Adam Heinemann was Martin
Heinemann, and came to America with his par-
ents from Germany, where he was born in 1840.
He served three years in the Union Army, and
was wounded at the Battle of Vicksburg, on
July 3, 186}. His wife, Elizabeth Mueller Heine-
mann, was born in 1839, and died in 1903, and
shortly afterwards Mr. Heinemann retired from
his business as a brick contractor, which he had
followed in Belleville many years. He is still
hving and in good health.
Adam Heinemann has, by his wife, Elizabeth
Schwarz, one son and one daughter. Mrs. Heine-
mann was born in Highland, 111., Jan. 14, 1873,
and was married to Mr. Heinemann on May 14,
1901. Their son, Gustav, born Feb. 3, 190";, is
a graduate of the Belleville High School; the
daughter, Aurelia, now Mrs. Fred Lorenz, com-
pleted a high school course and studied two
years in a normal school. She was born on March
16, 1902.
In 1919 Mr. Heinemann became a member of
the Belleville school board, and served on its
E, R. SAYRE
THE Savre Motor Comp
building committee. He is a K. P. and a member
of the Men's Aid Society of the St. Paul's
Lutheran Church.
REV. E, E. MONTGOMERY
®EV. E. E, MONTGOMERY, pastor of
the First Methodist Episcopal Church,
of CarterviUe, Ilhnois, is not only a very
successful minister, hut also the father of a family
of seven children, all of whom show remarkable
abihty. The oldest son, Burtis E., is a McKendree
graduate, and at present is the assistant principal
of the West Frankfort High School. John Wesley,
1 student pastor, is now attending McKendree
College. Another son, Charles C, is foreman of
the Laboratory Department of Aluminum Ore, of
East St. Louis. The youngest son, Paul T., is a
high school student. There are three daughters:
Agnes A., now married; Ruth H., a Junior in the
high school of CarterviUe; and Mary M., a stu-
dent in the seventh grade.
Rev. Montgomery was born on a farm in
Indiana, in 1872. He attended Oakland City
College at one time, and, in 1896, after selling his
farm, he was married to Miss Etta McCleary. He
entered the ministry in 1912. In his revivals. Rev.
Montgomery has seen fifteen souls converted, and
he takes great pride in the fact that he has re-
ceived over one thousand converts into the
Methodist Church.
REV. E. E. MONTGOMERY PROF. H. F. THURSTON REV. J. S. CUMMINS
Six Hundred and \
"fMC KENDREE^^^^^^s:^;^.^.^,..^^
HOLLIDAY f. THURSTON
ffiR. HOLLIDAY F. THURSTON was
born at Lebanon, 111., October 6, 1864,
and here he went through puHic school
and two years in McKendree College. Since 1885
he taught and super\-ised schools in different
parts of state. In 1913 appointed to present posi-
tion— supervising principal of Slade and Park
Schools, East St. Louis.
Married Hettie H. Todd, who was born in
Highland, Illinois, November 21, 1867. Four
children: Ora Delle, born September 14, 1897,
graduated from East St. Louis High School, and
studied in Harris Teachers" College, of St. Louis,
and in Northwestern University. She is now
Mrs. Paul Ingram, of Sedalia, Mo. On December
12, 1902, Carol Electa was born, completed high
school course, graduated from Washington Uni-
versity, married to Clarence Moore, and lives
in East St. Louis; Kenneth Burdett, born on the
5th of May, 1909, now a student in Washington
University; Maynard died at the age of seven.
Mr. and Mrs. Thurston are members of First
M. E. Church in East St. Louis.
A Mason of the 1,2nd degree, a Shriner, an
Odd Fellow, and a Modern Woodman. Has held
all positions of honor in the Odd Fellows Lodge.
REV. J. S. CUMMINS
CHE PRESENT pastor of the Belleville First
M. E. Church, Jeremiah S. Cummins, was
born in Johnson County, Illinois, on June
8, 186}. After receiving a public school education,
he took a teacher's training course in the Normal
University of Paducah, Kentucky. He then
taught school for nine years, and at the same
time read law.
In 1893, Mr. Cummins began his long career
as a minister. After preaching seven years in
Arkansas, he transferred to the Southern Illinois
Conference.
A list of his services during his thirty-five
years as a minister would be too long for this
brief sketch. Suffice it to say that he is a member
of the Conference Board of Trustees, the Vice-
Chairman of the Conference Claimants Society,
and the Chairman of the Board for the Holden
Hospital, at Carbondale, Illinois. He was the first
to organize the Methodist Orphanage at Mt.
Vernon; has served as Superintendent of the
Mt. Carmel District; and was a member to the
1912 General Conference. As a result of his
faithful service, he has secured the largest ad-
vancement in salary of any minister in the con-
ference.
Mr. Cummins was married on September 20,
1886, to Miss Nancy Rice, of Masses County.
She is now the mother of five children, all of
whom have been given an excellent education.
Rev. Cummins is a 32nd degree Mason, and
also a member of the Royal Arch Chapter of
this fraternity.
C. E. SAVRE E. R SAYRE
CHE SAYRE MOTOR COMPANY, of
Lebanon, 111., is operated by Mr. C. E.
Sayre and his son, E. R. Sayre, authorized
agents for Buick, Pontiac, and Oakland cars. The
father is a native of West Virginia, was born at
Letart, on Feb. 28, 1864, and here he attended
the public schools until he was twelve years of
age, when his parents moved to Crawford Coun-
ty, 111., and located at Robinson, where he con-
tinued his education in the grade schools. At the
age of seventeen he began teaching, following
this vocation for several years, and then worked
in the hardware store of Richey, Duncan and Co.
at Flat Rock, 111. for four years, giving up this
position to become a travelling salesman for the
international Har\'ester Co. In 1921 he decided
to give up salesmanship and to go into the auto-
mobile business, in which he is still engaged.
Mr. Sayre was married, in 1884, to Miss
Halhe M. Richey, of Flat Rock, 111. Her parents
also came from the East. To them have been
born five children — RoUo, on Jan. 31, 1887;
Eunice (E. R.), on Jan. 24, 1889; Gladys, on
Aug. 9, 1892; Bernice, on Dec. i, 1895; and
Norris, on July 15, i8g8. The oldest and the
youngest sons are teaching school; E. R., now
in business with his father, taught for many
years; and one daughter, Bernice, is married to a
school teacher. All of the children are married.
The son, E. R. Sayre, was born at Flat Rock,
where he received his grade school education,
after which he entered the Mattoon High School,
graduating in 1906. He studied for three years in
McKendree College, and received his Bachelor of
Arts degree from this institution in 1909. The
following three years he held the principalship
of the Grayville, 111. High School, and then en-
tered the University of Illinois, from which he
received a Master of Arts Degree in 191 4. From
1914 to 1918 he was principal of the high school
at Chester, 111., and for the next four years he
taught at Alton as head of the Science Depart-
ment and principal of the night school. From
Alton he came to Lebanon to take charge of the
high school here. This position he held for three
years, until 1926, when he resigned in order to
give his full time to the business which he had
helped his father organize.
On Aug. 23, 1923, Mr. Sayre was married to
Edna Blanche Wolfe.'of Lebanon. His residence
located on Belleville Street, is one of the finest
in this city.
Mr. E. R. Sayre is a Mason, and belongs to
the Knight Templars and the Shriners; is a
member of the Rotary Club, and a trustee in
the First Methodist Church, of which he has
long been a member. He is greatly interested in
college sports, and particularly enjoys fishing.
MATHIAS RITHMAN
ffiATHIAS RITHMAN, of Lebanon, is
engaged in the manufacture of soft drinks.
He was born in this city, March 11, 1893,
and secured his education in the Lebanon paro-
chial schools. His father, Mathias Rithman, Sr.,
died on Jan. 12, 1919: his mother, Anna C.
Stamm Rithman, lives with her son, Mathias.
After completing his schooling, Mathias went
into business with his father, who taught his son
thoroughly the details of operating the factory,
so that upon the death of the father, the son was
competent to manage the business.
Mr. Rithman married, on October 10, 1916,
Miss Eleanora Scheibel, who was born in Belle-
ville, on July 9, 1897. the daughter of Edward
Scheibel and Sybilla Schaefer. Both parents are
living; the father is a miner. Mrs. Rithman re-
ceived her education in the parochial schools of
Belleville, and helped with the duties of the home
before her marriage. She is now the mother of
two children — Cecelia F., born Sept. 26, 1917;
and Gertrude R., born April 21, 1920.
Mr. Rithman and his family are communicants
in the Catholic Church. He is also treasurer of
the Lebanon Volunteer Fire Department. Mr.
and Mrs. Rithman are a happy and unselfish
couple, always wilHng to give a helping hand.
The business policy of Mathias Rithman is a
combination of faithful service and honest value,
thus giving him a wide field where he supplies
ice and soda water.
HENRY W. KROHN
nW. KROHN came to St. Clair County
in 1892, from Hanover, Germany, where
he was born on the 8th of July, 1873. He
was then nineteen years of age and had received
a good education in the public schools of his
native land. He secured employment on a farm,
and worked there for three years, saving enough
during that time to enter Central Wesleyan Col-
lege, at Warrenton, Mo., in which school he
studied for two years. He then taught a country
school in St. Clair County, resigning on account
MRS. RITHMAN MATHIAS RITHMAN HENRY W. KROHN
WILLIAM KIMBRELL
Six Hundred and Twenty
of ill health, and spent the following three years
working in the lumber camps and in the orange
groves of the West. In 1904 he returned to IIU-
nois, and once more took up teaching. Three
years later, he came to New Athens as principal.
This position he held until 1920, when the new
Community High School was built and organ-
ized, largely through Mr. Krohn's efforts. He is
now the superintendent of this large school.
During the summer vacations, Mr. Krohn has
attended the University of Chicago and, as a
result, will receive his B. S. degree in 1928.
On the i6th of September, 190}, Mr. Krohn
was married to Miss Rosalie A. Schubert, a
farmer's daughter, born at Turkey Hill, April
22, 1881. Her parents, Joseph Schubert and
Rosalie A. (Brosch) Schubert, are both dead.
Mr. Krohn has earned the reputation of being
one of the most capable school supervisors in
this county. He is a Master Mason, a member
of the Odd Fellows, and a Modern Woodman.
WILLIAM KIMBRELL
HIKE HIS father, William Kimbrell is a
shoemaker. The former, Joseph Kimbrell,
went to Kansas soon after the Civil War
and opened a shoemaker's shop at Peru. He is
now eighty-six years ot age, having been born
in 1841; but his wife, Fannie Jewel Kimbrell,
and the mother of William, died in 1886.
William Kimbrell w.'as born at Peru on May
2nd, 1879, one of the five children of Joseph
Kimbrell, and received his education in Kansas.
For a while after leaving school he was employed
in the shop of his father, but at the age of eigh-
teen he went to Atlanta, Georgia, spent one year
at the Chriton Sullivan Business College, then tc
Bedford, Indiana, after working at different occu-
pations for a short time, he went into the shoe
repair business in Burns City, Indiana. In 1910
he came to Dupo, lUinois, where he was em-
ployed by the Missouri Pacific Railroad Com-
pany as a motor car repair man until 1917, and
from that year until 1920, as a switchman. Then
he opened a shoe repair shop in Dupo, and has
operated the same since that time.
Mr. Kimbrell was married on October !■!,
1898 to Miss Myrtle A. Callahan, and the two
children from this union — Louis O. and Fannie
L., born in 1901 and 1906, respectively, are
now married. Both were given a high school and
a commercial, as well as musical education.
From 1918 to 1922 Mr. Kimbrell was a mem-
ber of the Dupo Village Board, and since 1920
he has served on the school board of his town.
He owns a good residence here, and enjoys the
best things of life; he is especially interested in
basket ball. His good wife is an active helper in
the community.
OLIVER J. KOEBEL
CHE PROPRIETOR of Lebanon's up-to-
date fruit and vegetable store is Oliver
J. Koebel, who has been in the retail busi-
ness since 1919. He was born in Madison Coun-
ty, three miles south of Troy, on June 11, 1895,
the son of Mike Koebel and Barbara Hirstein.
Both parents are living in Lebanon, and the
father is in business with his son.
Oliver Koebel obtained his education in the
schools near Summerfield, and then took up farm-
ing, which he followed four years before going
into business. For a while he conducted a meat
market in what is now the Kroger Store; later
he and his father built the Koebel Building, near
the square, and ran a meat market and grocery
here for about six years, sold out the business,
and soon afterwards established the business in
which they are now engaged. They still own
their former store building.
On Feb. 26, 1916, Mr. Koebel married Laura
Reiger, and by her has two children. Marjorie H.
was born Dec. 29, 1918; Delmar O., on Jan. 29,
1926. Mrs. Koebel is the daughter of Jacob and
Margaret Reiger, and was born in St. Louis,
March 4, 1894. She was educated in the public
schools of this county. Mrs. Koebel is a member
of the Rebeccas.
Mr. Koebel is an Odd Fellow, a member of the
local singing society, one of Lebanon's Volunteer
Firemen, and also a member of the Evangelical
Church. Business is his hobby, although he is
not averse to attending the lodge meetings and
enjoying himself there.
JULIUS HEINEMANN
f-ULIUS HEINEMANN, of Belleville, is
ff 1. one of the men who helped build the
school system of his city — a very credit-
able work. He was born in Belleville, on April
4, 1867, and attended the grammar schools there.
He then entered the Bryant and Stratton College,
of St. Louis, came home in 1885, and took employ-
ment with his father in the meat business. In
1852, he began in the butcher business, started
butchering, and made a great success.
Mr. Heinemann was married to Anna Semmel-
roth, on April 8, 1890. By this union there are
two children Gustav, a graduate of N. A. G.
University, in Indianapolis. This man was head
teacher in the Philadelphia Turnverein. His
classes took the highest honors in the National
Turnfest, in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1926. The
second child is Selma E., now Mrs. Kissel, wife
of the county clerk. At present she is conducting
a private school of fancy dancing.
The subject of this sketch has served on the
board of education in his city for twenty-two
years. He is a Shriner in the Masonic Order.
During his life-time, he has turned to hunting
and fishing for recreation. In these sports he
has found many hours of relief from his business,
for he IS, indeed, a very industrious and hard-
working man.
WILLIAM J, EBERHARDT
HUGUST EBERHARDT, the father of
William J., was born in Ottenhausen,
Germany, Jan. 21, 1829; came to America
in 1848; served three years in the Civil War;
married Ehzabeth Feter on March 22, 1866, and
settled on a farm. In 1874 he bought the sixty
acres of land on which William now lives Five
children — Sophia, John, William, Emma, and
Josephine — were born to them. August Eber-
hardt died June 29, 1895; Mrs. Eberhardt on
March 4, 1921.
William Eberhardt was born on the farm near
New Athens, on Nov. a, 1872; received his
education in the public school, and worked tor
his father until the latter's death; began inde-
pendent farming in 1898 on the old homestead
farm; married Laura E. Schwartz on March 20,
1904. Three children were born to them — Mar-
ion J., on March 22, 1905; Elonora E., on Jan.
9, 1907; Roland A., on May jo, 1909. All have
attended high school. The mother was born in
Prairie du Lang Township, Jan. 18, 188";, daugh-
ter of John F. Schwartz and Hanna PfefFer, and
received a public school education.
Mr. Eberhardt has been a member of the New
Athens Community High School Board since
its beginning; is a Modern Woodman; enjoys
baseball, and played on a team for many years.
LOUIS SCHEID
^^^JHERE are perhaps few people who are
1} better known to those living in or near
^"^ Freeburg than is Louis Scheid, who for
about forty years has followed the trade of a
carpenter and building contractor in the Free-
burg Township. His father, Charles Scheid, came
to this country from Germany many years ago,
and pursued the trade of builder and contractor
until 1890, when he retired. The father died in
1907, and the mother, Margaretha Heigle Scheid,
followed him four years later.
Six Hundred and Twenty-O
Louis Scheid was one of twelve children, and
was bom in Freeburg on the 19th of December,
1869. Here he secured his early education in the
grade schools, and then took a course in the
Scranton Correspondence Schools, following this
with a special course in architecture. Thus he
was well prepared for his vocation, and has thus
been a successful builder.
In 1895, five years after taking over his father's
business, Mr. Scheid was married to Louisa E.
Ross, who was born in Freeburg Township on
the 26th of June, 187^. They have three chil-
dren—Luella A. M., Hilda K. E., and Clarence
W. L., born on July 7, 1904, Jan. ;o, 1907, and
October 24, 1910, respectively.
Mr. Scheid has served on the board of edu-
cation in his city for many years, and has been,
for five years, one of the directors of the Com-
munity High School. He is a Mason, a member
of the Evangelical Church, and also a member
of the Freeburg Fire Department.
WILLIAM P. KUNZ
ONE OF SMITHTON'S most distin-
guished citizens is none other than Wil-
liam P. Kunz, who is the popular mayor
of this prosperous little town. He was born here
on March 28, 1874, a son of John A. Kunz and
Justince Suiter, who were the parents of twelve
children. The father, who died on September 30,
1897, was a cooper by trade. The subject of
this sketch was united in marriage with Christina
Stell on Jan. 12, 1897. She was born on Sept. 20,
1878, in the Prairie du Long Township. There
were eleven other children in this family. Mr.
and Mrs. Kunz are parents of three children:
Freda D., born on Aug. 11, 1898, who is now-
married to Fred Silch; Clara C, born on April
11, 1901, now married to Wilbur Taylor; and
Roy C., born on June 8, 1907.
Mr. Kunz had worked as a carpenter and a
painter in past years, having done work all over
the country in this line. Since then he has held
many civic offices. In addition to the fact that
he has been the village marshal and county
patrolman, he has served for sixteen years in the
capacity of township clerk. Since 1917 he has
filled the position of township commissioner of
Smithton Township. Mr. Kunz was elected
mayor of Smithton in 1924, an office which he
still holds. He has been clerk for the Modern
Woodmen in his community for twenty-five
years. Well liked and highly respected, Mr.
Kunz IS held in high esteem by Smithton's
citizens.
MC KENDREE
ELMER A. GRODEON
i^R. GRODEON, superintendent of schools
^J[^ at Marissa, was born on a farm near
Lebanon, Illinois, on October 10, 1894,
and here received his grammar and high school
training, and spent one term in McKendree
College. Afterwards ha attended Illinois Nor-
mal University, from which he was graduated
in 1923. However, before this time, he had
taught school for a number of years.
His father, Fred Grodeon, was well known
in and around Lebanon; his mother, Margaret
(Meyer) Grodeon, reared a family of seven chil-
dren. The latter passed away in February, 1908,
and the father in August, 1901.
Elmer A. Grodeon began his teaching career
in the North Grove School, in this county, in
1913. During the World War he did clerical
work in the army. Upon his discharge he again
resumed his teaching, first in the Lenzburg
schools, and later at Summerfield, where he re-
mained for three years. He took up his studies
again alter this, and finished his course in the
Normal in 1923. Since then he has been in Marissa.
He was married, on May 29, 1917, to Elsie
O. Luckner, who was born near Lebanon, one
of the tour children of Chas. Luckner and Emily
Runkwitz. On September i, 1926, she bore to
Mr. Grodeon a daughter, Doris Jean. Mrs.
Grodeon received a good education.
Mr. Grodeon is a member of the American
Legion. His people were Methodists. He is
fond of studies, and likes hunting and fishing
tor recreation.
KIRTLAND C. BARTON
HS THE general superintendent of the East
St. Louis Cotton Oil Company, the sub-
ject of this sketch has contributed no small
amount to the success of this firm. He was born
in Belleville, 111., on Oct. 16, 1889. After a public
school education he took employment with the
Aluminum Ore Company as an electrician. He
had learned this trade by consistent and conscien-
tious study in a correspondence course. In 1913
he resigned in order to accept a position as elec-
trician with the company with which he is still
affiliated. Only two years later, by virtue of his
natural ability, ambition, and efficiency, Mr.
Barton was appointed superintendent over the
entire plant, which has employed as many as
one thousand men. It is recognized as one of the
largest oil mines in the county. On April 26,
1911, Mr. Barton was married to Mamie C.
Hill, who is a daughter of W. L. and Belle D.
(Brooks) Hill. Mr. Hill, who is the owner of a
filling station, had worked for a railway company
as assistant yard master. In 1912 he bought the
resort known as "Hills. "There were five children
in this family, one of whom is Mrs. Barton. The
Bartons have adopted a son. Jack C, born on
Sept. I, 1916. Mr. Barton is a thirty-second
degree Mason, a Shriner, an Episcopalian, and
an alderman of National City. He was elected
president of the school board in 1926; has trav-
elled many miles throughout the South; and is a
member ot several hunting and fishing clubs.
FLORIAN A. NEUHOFF
Doctor of Dental Surgery
OR FLORIAN A. NEUHOFF, of Belle-
ville, is one of the leading members of his
protession in Southern Illinois. He served
three consecutive terms as president of the Board
of Education, and was one of the leaders in a
movement which resulted in the estabUshment
of a dental clinic in the public schools. Dr. Neu-
holF has taken an active interest in all worth-
while civic and educational movements in his
city. He is an active member of the Parent-
Teachers Association, a charter member of the
Chamber of Ckimmerce and the Lions Club. He
has served as a member of the board of directors
of the Lions Club since it was formed in 1920,
and is now its presiding officer. He has also served
as deputy district governor of the Lions Club.
He IS a member and a former president of the
North Side Improvement Association and holds
membership in three dental societies — the St.
Clair County Dental Society, the Illinois State
Dental Society, and the American Dental Asso-
ciation. He has held offices of president and sec-
retary of the St. Clair County Dental Society.
Dr. Neuhoif was born in Belleville, Dec. 20,
1884, the son of Adolph Neuhoif and Elizabeth
Bechtold Neuhoff. After receiving his grade and
high school education in the public schools of
Belleville, Dr. Neuhoif was graduated from
Washington University in igo'; with a degree
of D. D. S. While still a student in the university,
he served as assistant teacher of dental classes,
and later as full time demonstrator and also as
assistant in the clinic and operating room. He
worked in the school eight years, after which he
opened dental offices in St. Louis. He was married
to Miss Alice H. Strassberger, in St. Louis, on
April 12, 1909. They now have three children:
Alice Eleanore, born March 3, 1910; Carl Fred-
erick, born July 10, 1913; and Flore Alien, on
Jan. 18, 1920.
Dr. NeuhofF, in 1924, took into his office, as
associate. Miss Florence Kuhn, who had just
been graduated from the dental school of Wash-
ington University.
MRS WILLIAM KUNZ
WILLIAM P KCNZ ELMER A CRODEON DR. FLORIAN NEUHOFF
Six Hundred and TwentvTwo
FRANK B. ROGERS
XN 191 1 Frank B. Rogers became a stock
holder in the Excelsior Foundry Co. ot
Belleville, and at the same time was made
the president of the company. Mr. Rogers is the
son of E. P. Rogers, who was the president of
the above firm until his son took the office. Frank
Rogers was born in Belleville, on October 8, iSS^;
and received his education in the public schools
of his city and in the Manual Training High
School of St. Louis, from which he graduated in
1903. From the school room he entered the
foundry, worked under his father, and learned
the business thoroughly. He is the general man-
ager as well as the president of the company.
Mr. Rogers was married on Washington's
birthday, in 1910, to Miss Francis L. MiddlecofF,
and he is now the father of two children. The
son, Eddy J., was born August 19, 1912; the
daughter Jane Ellen on November i, 1916. Both
are attending school in Belleville, and Eddy is a
student in the high school.
In 1926, Mr. Rogers was elected a member of
the Belleville School Board. His father served on
the school board for fifteen years. He has taken
an active interest in the educational and civic
affairs of his city, has been placed on the School
Building Committee, and is an active member ot
the Chamber of Commerce. He belongs to the
Elk fraternity, and enjoys outdoor sports, hunt-
ing and fishing in particular. Mr. Rogers is in-
deed one of Belleville's alert, practical citizens.
LOUIS J. HAAS
GWO MILES east of Lebanon is located the
farm of Louis J. Haas, upon which he and
Mrs. Hass have lived since their marriage
on February 7, 1912. Mr. Haas was born and
reared on a farm. He was the son of John Haas
and Helena Trenj Haas. His father passed away
July 20, 1927, on the old home place, tour miles
northeast of Lebanon. His mother is still living
there. Louis Haas was born on August 25, 1886.
As a boy he attended the Emerald Mound Dis-
trict School, north of Lebanon. After finishing
schoof he worked for his father until he was
married.
The wife of Mr. Hass, formerly Miss Jennie
Haury, was born near Troy, Ilhnois. Her parents,
Henry Haury and Anna 'Voisin Haury. are now-
living in Summerfield. Mr. and Mrs. Haas have
two fine children. The daughter, Jessie J. Haas,
was born in 191 j, just two days before Christ-
mas; at present she is attending Lebanon High
School; their son, Amos J. Haas, was born on
February 5, 1910, and is attending the elemen-
tary school.
Mr. Haas has been a member of the District
No. 4 School Board for four years and has been
president of this board all this time. He has taken
an active part in society work, and is at present
a member of the Masonic Order, the Eastern
Star, and the Emerald Mound Grange, He is an
earnest w-orker and a leader in the educational
and social activities of his district.
c
GEORGE N. SCHWARZ
HE MAN back of the Quality Dairy
Products Co., of O'Fallon, is George N.
Schwarz, one of St. Clair County's self-
made business men, the son of Mathias Schwarz,
a well known furniture dealer and undertaker
in O'Fallon. Mr. Schwarz was born in O'Fallon,
Oct. 10, 1897, and here obtained a common
school education, after which he entered the
David Rankin Mechanical School and graduated
in 1916. For three years he worked in his father's
estabhshment, until 1919, when he became a
partner in the business, known then as the
Schwarz Bros. firm. In 1922 he sold his interest
in this company and bought the O'Fallon Cream-
ery from John Munier, and is devoting most of
his time to this business. He owns the plant in
which he manufactures a fine grade of ice cream
and ice, and has operated this plant with success.
He buys and distributes a great quantity of milk,
and enjoys an extensive trade in O'Fallon and in
the adjacent territory, and also in Belleville. His
good wife, Susie McFarland Schwarz, to whom
he was married on Nov. 10, 1910, has borne to
him three fine boys — Robert George, Jack Harry,
and William Edward. The family live in a sub-
stantial residence in O'Fallon, and are enabled
to enjoy many of the good things in life, due to
the success Mr. Schwarz has met with in his
business. The latter holds stock in a number of
companies other than his own. All that he has,
Mr. Schwarz obtained through hard work and
continuous labor; but this has not deprived him
of the faculty to enjoy wholesome recreations.
He is a lover of good sports — football, baseball,
basketball, and in fact, all athletic games.
REV. WILLIAM H. POOLE
HOVED, HONORED and respected by his
flock, whom he has served six years. Rev.
William Holmes Poole, of Collinsville, Illi-
nois, is another minister who has spent his life
well. He is well-known in McKendree College,
tor he was a member of the Board of Trustees of
this institution from 191 1 to 192';. He has also
been very active in other fields. From 1902 to
1911, and again from 1917 to 1920, he was a
member of the Conference Board of Examiners.
Since 1922, Rev. Poole has been Chairman of the
Conference Board of Stewards. He is also a
Mason and a Knight of Pythias. For four years,
Rev. Poole was editor of the "Olney District
Advocate"; from 191 1 to 1917, he was District
Superintendent of the Olney District; and in
1916 he was a delegate to the General Conference
which met in Saratoga, N. Y.
Rev. Poole was born in Fnendsville, Illinois.
on Janu.ir-, ' . I -:f - .A^t r receiving his education
in the 1 ; : \ ^my, an institution in
which h : • ■• h-jd for two years, he
taught ^.1,.. : ' r . . : vcirs. On July 26, 1892,
Rev. Poole was married to Miss Anna Malick.
Two children were born. The daughter, Helen,
is a' graduate of the Illinois Woman's College of
Jacksonville, and is married to Attorney L. G.
George of Edwardsville. The son, Foster, was
graduated from the University of Illinois in 1921.
On retirement Rev. Poole expects to live in
Helen Place, Collinsville, Illinois.
C. B. PEACH
GB. PEACH IS one of the most progressive
of this city's business men, and is an active
worker in the church.
Mr. Peach was born near Lebanon, November
16, 1870. After being graduated from the public
schools, he studied in McKendree College for
two years. He then took employment in whole-
sale and retail business establishments in St.
Louis, where he received ample training for his
later successful business career.
Leaving St. Louis in 1894, Mr. Peach returned
to Lebanon and married Sadie J. Hershey, of
Lancaster, Ilhnois, October 16, 1895. She was
graduated from the Lancaster public schools and
then attended McKendree College. Mr. and
Mrs. Peach have one child, a son, Robert, who
was born March 20, 1905, and who is now a
member of the Centennial Class of McKendree
College.
In 1807, Mr. Peach became half owner of the
Blanck Mercantile Company. The partnership
was dissolved in 1917 when the business was
destroyed by fire. Shortly after, Mr. Peach went
to Houston, Texas, but soon returned to Lebanon
and organized the establishment which he now
owns.
Mr. Peach has served three terms upon the
city council, is secretary of the Lebanon school
board, is trustee of McKendree College and of
the First Methodist Church, and is superinten-
dent of the Sunday School. He is a Mason and an
Odd Fellow. While in McKendree College, he
was a member of the Philosophian Literary Society .
Six Hundred and Twenty-Thr
JOHN ROCHELL
>^NOTHER fine cog in the machinery that
^ I feeds this nation is John Rochell, who is
intensely interested in farming. He was
born on Dec. lo, 1857, '" Westphalen, Germany,
and worked for his father, Frank Rochell, until
1880, when the family moved to America. This
family settled in Fayette County. In 1884 Mr.
Rochell started farming on a sixty acre farm in
Madison County, as a renter, but later he moved
again, to St. Clair County, in 1888. Six years
later he bought the one hundred and sixty acre
farm on which he now resides, near Trenton.
He also owns another farm of one hundred and
sixty acres. On Jan. ig, 1882, the subject of this
sketch married a native of Germany. She was
Mary Lohmann, a fine lady who proved to be
the good mother of eight healthy children, whose
names are: Herman H., Frank B., Mary T., Eliza-
beth, Anna A., Mathilda, John A., and Ella N.
Mr. Rochell has been a school director for
twenty years. During all the time that he has
spent as a farmer, he has worked like a true
farmer — with a spirit, vigor, and love that shows
he takes a keen interest in his occupation.
HENRY D. SEXTON
"|?<ENRY DANIEL SEXTON, the son of
I P Stephen D. Sexton and Minnesota Sexton,
was born in East St. Louis, Illinois, on the
nth day of August, 1891. He was named for
the late Henry D. Sexton, president of the South-
ern Illinois National Bank and the Southern Illi-
nois Trust Company.
Mr. Sexton attended the East St. Louis public
schools and was graduated from Blees Military
Academy at Macon, Missouri, in 1910.
In igu, Mr. Sexton went to New Mexico
and spent two years managing his ranch, which
adjoins the Apache and Navajo Indian reser-
For ten years, from 1913 to 1923, Mr. Sexton
was a member of the firm of Sexton and Sons, 21
North Main Street, East St. Louis, lUinois, com-
posed of the following members — Mr. Stephen
D. Sexton, Sr., Stephen D. Sexton, Jr., and Henry
D. Sexton. He severed his connection with this
firm in order to devote his time to dairy products
manufacturing, the Highland Ice Cream and Cold
Storage Company having been organized in 1922,
with Mr. Sexton as chief executive.
The Highland Ice Cream and Cold Storage
Company is located at 20th and St. Clair Ave-
nue; Mr. Sexton is president and general man-
ager of this company.
During the World War, Mr. Sexton served
in the British Transport Service, between New-
port News, Va., and Liverpool, England, and in
the U. S. Department of Operations of the
General Staff at Washington, D. C. He was
honorably discharged from this service Decem-
ber ig, igi8.
Mr. Sexton is a member of the board of edu-
cation, a Rotarian, a member of the Junior
Chamber of Commerce, an Elk, and J2nd degree
Mason, and a member of the St. Clair Country
Club.
HENRY G. VOGT
nERE AND THERE in this great state of
ours may be found quiet, unassuming
people, who care little for the whirl of
the city, but who delight in the quietness of
the farm. Such a man is the subject of this
sketch — Henry G. Vogt. He was born on a
farm near Centerville Station on July 2, 188';, a
son of Philip M. Vogt. The latter hailed from
Germany, where he was born in 1864. After his
arrival here he worked for his uncle. He married
Elizabeth Rehg, both of whom became parents
of six sons. The father of this family died in 1877.
His son, Henry, of whom we are writing, got
the best out of the public school education. He
quit school at an early age, took employment
with his brother, and worked for him for seven
years. In igo7 he started farming as a renter,
carefully saved the greater part of his profits,
with which he bought a farm of 112 acres near
Centerville Station. Mr. Vogt was married on
Sept. 7, 1908, to Mary M. Ferry, a daughter of
Olyseen Ferry and Susan A. Nadeau. Both of
her parents, for whom she worked until her
marriage, are now dead. The Vogts have seven
children. These are: Lillie C, born on June 2,
1910; Nellie J., Dec. 29, igii ; Clarence F., Sept.
17, 1913; Clinton W., Nov. 10, igi'i; Marie V.,
June 21, 1917; Alfred J., Oct. 27, igig; and
Pearl S., June 12, 1921. Mr. Vogt was elected
president of the District 117 school in 1925. He
IS known to be a hard worker.
BENJAMIN REIBOLD
y«R. REIBOLD, the Mayor of Lebanon, is
vlJ the representative of the Aetna Life Insur-
ance Company for Lebanon and the sur-
rounding territory. He is the son of Henry and
Augusta Burkart Reibold (both dead), and was
born on Dec. 6, 1880, received his education in
the Oak Grove School, near Lebanon, and also in
the Lebanon public schools, and began his work-
ing career on his uncle's farm, near this city. At
the age of eighteen, he left the farm to learn the
baker's trade, at which he spent five years in the
baker shop of Mr. Thomas Wolfe, of Lebanon.
In 1903 he began selling hfe insurance, in which
business he is still actively engaged.
The wife of Mr. Reibold, to whom he was
married on March 23, 1901, was formerly Cora
C. Howard, the daughter of Dr. Chas. E. How-
ard, who is still living here, and of Eleanor Clucas,
who died in March, 1923. Mrs. Reibold was born
in Lebanon, Sept. 18, 1880, received her educa-
tion m the Lebanon public schools, and learned
dressmaking, which vocation she followed until
her marriage. She has borne Mr. Reibold one
child, Benjamin, Jr., on Nov. 27, 1901, who is
located in Lebanon.
Mr. Reibold was appointed township clerk
in Jan., igi8, to fill the vacancy left by the injury
of Mr. E. C. Braun, and in April following was
elected to this office, which he held two years.
He was elected on the school board in 1924; he
is an Odd Fellow, a Rotarian, member of the
Commercial Club, of the Rebeccas, and of the
Evangelical Church.
READER MOTOR COMPANY
J^HE READER MOTOR COMPANY, of
\_J Lebanon, III, is under the management of
Fremont R. Reader and his brother. Earl
B. Reader. Another brother, Russell F. Reader,
cashier of the First National Bank of East St.
Louis, also has an interest in this company. They
are the sons of Fred Reader and Jennie Edding-
ton, and were born in Macoupin County, 111. —
Fremont on Feb. 19, 1892, Russell on Oct. 6,
1890, and Earl on April 26, 1894. Their parents
are dead.
Fremont was graduated from the Brighton, 111.,
High School, followed farming, and entered busi-
ness in Lebanon, 192';. On Feb. 2'!, 1915, he was
married to Mary L. Burk, who was born, reared,
and educated at Brighton. Mildred R. is their
only child.
Russell, a graduate of the Brighton High School,
has studied one year in the Gem City Business
College and three years in St. Louis University
College of Commerce and Finance. He was mar-
ried to Anna Gutwald, of East St. Louis, in
September, 1917.
Earl attended the pubhc schools of Miles City;
worked on the farm; entered business with his
brother. In February, 1916, he married the daugh-
ter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles W. Camp, of Piasa,
Illinois. Mrs. Earl Reader received a high school
education at Taylorville, 111. Two children have
been born to them — Jennie L. and Eleanor I.
Earl Reader is a Methodist; Russell is a Pres-
byterian, also a Mason. If the brothers have any
hobby, it is attending to business.
Si.x Huiidreci and Twent^-Foi
MC KENDREE
GEORGE B. RIPLEY
eEORGE B. RIPLEY, who resides at lyji
North Forty-second Street in East St.
Louis, has been a government employee
since 1899. He was born in Madison County, lUi-
nois, June 5, 1 871, and attended the public schools
of hiscommunity. After leaving the public schools
he took employment as a clerk in the clothing bus-
iness and in 1899 started working for the Post
Office Department of the government. Shortly
afterwards, April 18, 1900, he married Miss Mary
L. Mills. Miss Mills was born m Clay County,
Illinois, April i }, 1873. She had attended the pub-
lic schools of Clay County and later she attended
high school in East St. Louis, where she met Mr,
Ripley, to whom she was later married. A daugh-
ter, Florence M., was born to Mr. and Mrs.
Ripley, Jan. 17, 1901. Mrs. Ripley died March
■>, 1924.
Mr. Ripley worked hard and faithfully in his
position with the Post Office Department and
gradually worked up to his present position as
chief clerk. He has always been active in organiza-
tion and church work. He was one of the organ-
izers of the St. Paul's Methodist Episcopal
Church, and is now one of its trustees. He is
a Mason and makes his home and his church
work his hobby. He owns the residence property
on which he lives.
OTTO HOERDT
OTTO HOERDT was born in Mascoutah
November 24, i88j, son of Fred Hoerdt
and Cordula Fuchs, who died in 1907 and
iQi"!, respectively.
After receiving a high school education. Otto
began his career as a painter and decorator, and
followed this trade until he went into business
for himself in 1921.
Mr. Hoerdt married, on February 12, 191 1.
to Miss Matilda E. Justus, born on January 21,
i88fi, in Mascoutah, the daughter of Fred Justus
and Elizabeth Richter Justus. Mrs. Hoerdt. like
her husband, received a high school education.
She is the mother of one son, Frederick O..
born June 2t, 1912.
Mr. Hoerdt is an Odd Fellow. He served four
years on the city Board of Education, and has
been a member of the Community High School
Board since it was organized.
JOHN J. KOCH
yjV ANY good and useful men were born and
IfJ reared on a farm. John J. Koch, a mine
' electrician of O'Fallon, is one of this class.
Born near O'Fallon, on Oct. 2, 1880, the son of
John Koch (died, 1919) and Jacobina Schmidt
"(now living in Belleville), he secured a public
school education in OTallon, and for a number
of years before his marriage on Dec. 4, 1902, en-
gaged in farming on the home place. For three
years after his marriage he was employed at the
Willard Stove Works, and began mining in 193^.
Mrs Koch was Louise Fischer, daughter of Will-
iam and Elizabeth Freund Fischer, and was born
in St. Louis, on March 7, 1881. Her father was
a cigar manufacturer, and died July i8th, 1907-
but the mother is still Uving, in OTallon. Two
children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Koch-
Felton J., on Jan. 4, 1908: and William H,, now
attending high school, on May 17, ign- Felton
was a student in McKendree College, but is now
attending Washington University. Mr. Koch is
a member of the Masonic Order, of the Redmen,
and of the Evangelical Church. He has been
treasurer of the local fire department for sixteen
years, and has served on the city school board
for SIX years. He is one in the Brotherhood of
his church. Mrs. Koch belongs to the Eastern
Star, and to the Ladies Aid Society in her church,
of which societies she is the secretary.
REV, G W, HUMPHREY
eEORGE W. HUMPHREY, the son of
Edward and MiUe Sulzen Humphrey, was
born at Ellis Grove. III. on the joth of
May. 187";. He was educated in the public
schools, and in the Central Wesleyan College,
at Warrenton, Mo., where he received an A. B.
degree in 1902. He then joined the St. Louis Ger.
man Conference. He has served the following
pastorates: Bible Grove and FarinaCircuit, 1902-
03; (while here he was married to Elizabeth C.
Floreth, on April 22. 1903), Highland, III, 1904-
09; (in the year of 1909, he went to the island
of Cuba as a welfare worker, and as superin-
tendent of a citrus fruit plantation); Wesley
M. E. Church of St. Louis, 1918; Warsaw, III,
1919-21; Jackson Street M. E. Church of Belle-
ville, III. 1925 to the present.
Rev. and Mrs. Humphrey are parents to two
boys: Merrill George, an electrical engineer, born
on January 18, 1904, and Kenneth Edward, a
high school student, born June 27, 1911.
Rev. Humphrey is still a student and a hard
worker, and is well liked by all those who
know him.
GUS J- KUNZE
yf\K GUS I- KUNZE is a retired farmer, and
III lives near Marissa. on Rural Route No. 2.
^^ Born on the Kunze Farm, March ist. 188S,
he is the son of Frederick Ernst Kunze and Kath-
erine Hot:, both of whom were horn in Ger-
many. The father at one time owned a thousand
acres of land; at the time of his death in Oct..
1920, he left to his son, Gus. 240 acres, and the
latter has added sixty acres more to this.
The son attended the public schools for some
years, and w-orked for his father until 1907. when
he married Emma L. Schmidt, on April 6th. and
began farming for himself on a portion of his
father's land. In 1916, he took complete charge
of all his father's estate, managing this until his
retirement in 192'). Mrs. Kunze, the daughter
of Gotlieb and Catherine Dombach Schmidt,
was born at Hills Town, Manssa Township,
on Sept. 13th. 188?, and received a public school
education. Her father died June i6th, 1910; her
mother in Dec. 1891. They reared eight children.
Mr. and Mrs. Gus Kunze have five children,
whose names and birth dates follow: Viola. Feb.
24, 1910; Russell. Sept. 14. 1912; Harrold. May
13. 191ft, Leona, May 31. 1918; Willmer, July
12. 1920.
Mr. Kunze is serving his third term as Town-
ship Supervisor; is president of the School Board.
District No. 42, is a director in the State Bank
of Marissa; a member of the Farm Union; a
stockholder in the Forsythe Coal Co.; and a
stockholder in. and the District Agent of. the
St. Clair County Life and Casualty Company.
WALTER WISKAMP
iy^ ALTER WISKAMP was born on a farm
\\j in this county, Dec. ^. 1879. and had the
advantages of a public school education.
Walter first took up life insurance, which he
followed until 1902. when he opened the Wis-
kamp Laundry at Nos. 8 and 10 South First St.,
Belleville. This he continued running until 1922,
when he sold out the business, and in the follow-
ing year, opened the business which he now
manages at 108 S. Jackson St. He bought the
property, and had built here a well-equipped,
modern cleaning and dyeing plant. He is a good
business manager and has a wide patronage. He
belongs to several prominent organizations — the
Elks, the Good Fellowship Club, the Commercial
Club, and the Retail Merchants' Association.
REV. FRANK F. OTTO
eEV. FRANK F. OTTO was born in Ger-
many. He moved with his parents to St.
Louis, Mo., where he resided until he
became pastor of the Jackson St. M. E. Church,
at Belleville, 111, in 1919-
Sir Hundred and Twentv-Fu e
He was active in Epworth League work and
was electad to the position of president of the
Epworth League Federation.
For fifteen years he was connected with the
National EnameUng 6f Stamping Co. as produc-
tion manager of the St. Louis plant.
Reverend Otto is one of the many valuable
men who have become members of the Southern
Illinois Conference by the merger with the St.
Louis German Conference. At present. Rever-
end Otto is pastor of the Immanuel Church, at
Edwardsville, Illinois.
JOHN E. NORTH
^R. .AND MRS JOHN NORTH, of Leb-
anon, 111. both have come from prominent
and respected families of St. Clair County.
Mr. North, who was born at Lebanon on July
JO, 1868, is the son of Adolphus North and
Pauline Bradsby. His father spent most ot his
life on the farm, and died m Lebanon in 1917
and Pauline Bradsby North died in 1880.
Mr. John North attended his neighborhood
school, and afterwards studied in the Southern
Illinois Normal for one year, and in McKendree
College for two years.
He decided to be a farmer and followed this
vocation for many years, giving special attention
to stock-raising. In 1908 he retired, and ten
years later moved into Lebanon. But Mr. North
was not satisfied to live in idleness; he has gone
into the dairy business, and runs a branch receiv-
ing station for the St. Louis Dairy Company.
Mr. North has shown a practical interest in
the welfare of his city and community. He was
Highway Commissioner for four years (1912 to
1Q16); a member of the County Board from 1922
to 1925; Mayor of Lebanon from 1922 to 1926;
and has been a school director since 1918. His
father before him was one of the trustees of
the Lebanon Township Schools for twenty-
five years. Mr. North attends the Methodist
Church, IS a member of the I. O. O. F. Lodge,
and of the Rotary Club.
FATHER JOSEPH A. ROKEN
^^HE REVEREND ROKEN, rector of the
L J St. Joseph's Parish, in Lebanon, Illinois,
came to this city in 1925. Born m Phila-
delphia, June ^, 1869, he is the son of Henry
R. Roken, who was for fifty years a prominent
clothing manufacturer of Philadelphia, and ot
Mary Ann Coleman. His father, who was
born November 24, 1837, died on January j,
1919, some years after he had retired from busi-
ness; the mother was born June 9, 1837, and
passed away in 1909, on the 27th of November.
Rev. Roken received his early education in the
public and parochial schools of Philadelphia;
afterwards he studied at Mount St. Mary's Col-
lege, Emmetsburg, Maryland, and took his special
course, preparatory for the priesthood, at St. Bon-
aventia University, in Olean, New York. Soon
after his ordination on June 9, 1900, he was
assigned to the Murphysboro Parish as assistant
to the Reverend Schauerte; from here he went
to East St. Louis as assistant pastor of the St.
Patrick's Church; next, he was made pastor of
the St. Joseph's Church, at Equality, Illinois;
transferred from Equality to St. Joseph's Church,
Olney, Illinois, and in 1925 was appointed pastor
of St. Andrew's Parish, Murphysboro, Illinois,
from which he resigned after six months and
came to Lebanon, where he still resides.
Father Roken has made many friends in the
many places in Illinois where he has gone, and is
considered a "good fellow." He owns a fine bird
dog, and enjoys hunting which is his hobby.
C. C. MULKEY
GC. MULKEY, ticket agent for the
Illinois Central Railroad Company, at
Freeburg, Illinois, born at Mulkey Town
(named after his great grandfather), Franklin
County, Illinois. Attended publit school in na-
tive town, worked for father on farm until he
was twenty years old. Took employment in shops
of I. C. R. R. Company at Pinckney ville, Illinois,
and at various positions on St. Louis division of
same company. Later he began study of teleg-
raphy, and in 1 9 1 7 was made city ticket agent and
operator for Illinois Central at Freeburg,
At age of twenty-six, Mr. Mulkey was mar-
ried to Miss Ora Lou Means, then twenty-two.
Four children: Maud, born Aug. 9, 1901; Floyd,
born Nov. 27, 190J; Austin, July iiS, 1910; and
Inez, Dec. 12, 1912. Mr. Mulkey's parents — A.
H. Mulkey and Theodosia Austin Mulkey.
Mr. Mulkey has been member of local school
board for three years, and is a Mason.
■A'lLLIAM L. KNOEBEL
iif^ ILLIAM KNOEBEL was born on Jan-
\^J 8, 1885, and reared on a farm near
Lebanon. He was the son of Charles
Knoebel, who died March 2';, 1922, and Emma
Eberman Knoebel, who was residing in the city
of Belleville, but who died July 5, iQ^?. Mr.
Knoebel obtained his education in the Pleasant
Hill and Cherry Grove schools. After his school-
ing was completed, he began working on his
father's farm, and remained here for many years,
until 1919, when he was ready to be married.
His marriage to Miss Elizabeth Rochell took
place on the 19th of Feb., 1919. She is the daugh-
ter of John and Maria Lohmann Rochell, who
are now happily engaged in farming near Tren-
ton, Illinois. Elizabeth Knoebel was born near
Lebanon, 111., on Dec. ij, 1886, and received
her education in the Emerald Mound School,
situated near her birthplace. For a number of
years before her marriage she was engaged in
domestic work in St. Louis She and Mr. Knoebel
are the parents of three children: John C. was
born Jan. 22, 1920; Emma M., on March 28,
1922; and Wilma A., on Jan. ij, 1924.
After his marriage, Mr. Knoebel began farm-
ing for himself on the farm of eighty acres which
he now owns and which is situated near Belle-
ville, on Rural Route No. 4. He has been a
member of the Cherry Grove school board for
the past two years. He is very industrious and
his farm work engages most of his time.
DR. EDWARD S, ROSE, DENTIST
OR EDWARD S. ROSE was born at
Columbia, III, March 21, 1887. He was
one of a family often children. His father,
the well known Dr. Rose, of Monroe County,
died July 26, 189'i, and his mother, Mrs. Lena
Freckman Rose, was born on December 19, 1850,
in St. Louis, Mo., and is still living and enjoying
good health in Columbia. 111.
After attending the public schools. Dr. Rose
studied in Smith Academy and in the Bryant and
Stratton Business College, both in St. Louis, Mo.
He then took up the study of medicine in Wash-
ington University, St. Louis; hut atter a year he
shifted his studies to the dental school, from
which he was graduated in igi 1. .'\fter one year
of practice in MiUstadt. 111., he moved his office
to Columbia, 111., and continued his practice here
until 1921, in which year he came to Dupo. He
has been quite successful here and has worked up
a large business.
Mrs. Rose was, formerly. Miss Emma E. Lepp,
and was born in Columbia, 111. She is a daughter
of Mr. and Mrs. Albert Lepp. Dr. and Mrs. Rose
have a family of five children: Minnie M., who
was born in September, 1912; William F., born in
April, 1914; Edward F , in September, 1916;
Raymond, in January, 191S; and the youngest,
Margaretha, was born in October, 192J.
Dr. Rose is a Mason, an Odd Fellow, and a
Modern Woodman of America. He serves on the
board of council in Dupo, and he is also president
of the board of trustees of the Evangelical Church
of Dupo and a firm believer in the doctrine of
Christianity. Dr. Rose is somewhat of a sports-
man, and IS particularly interested in hunting.
Si.v Hundred and TwenlySv
WILLIAM HOUSAM
gFTER SPENDING more than thirty years
of his lite as a miner, Mr. Housam retired
from active mining in igog; since then he
has been taking life easy. He is the son of Jacob
Housam and Marguerite Penn, and was born in
St. Clair County, near OTallon, on February
14th, 1859. His father was a well known car-
penter in this city, and was one of the first to
settle in OTallon. The family comprised four
children — two boys and two girls. William was
but two years old when his mother died in 1861,
but his father lived until 1880, and died on
April ijth.
William Housam secured his education in the
public schools, and after finishing his school
work, found employment in the mines working
below for a number of years; at the age of thirty
he was given the position of hoisting engineer,
and held this place until he retired — altogether
for twenty years. He was twenty-two years of
age w^hen he married Miss Mary E. Dunkerly
on September 22nd, 1881. His wife was born in
England, and came across the waters with her
parents when she was but three years old. Her
father chose to settle in St. Clair County. Her
birth, like that of her husband, occurred in Feb-
ruary, on the 19th day of the month in the year
i85j, and by a strange coincidence, she died in
February, in 1909, just a few days before reach-
ing her forty-sixth year, and three days before
her husband's fiftieth birthday. She bore to Mr.
Housam three children — WiUiam, Jessie and
Edith. Both of the girls attended McKendree
College; Jessie graduated from the Department
of Music in I goo, and Edith studied in the college
in 1908. The latter died on the 28th of January,
191 J. Jessie was married on October 8th, igog,
to Chas. F. Behrens, and is now the mother of
three children — Ellen, Alice and William. Mr.
Housam makes his home with this daughter.
Mr. Housam has been active in the political
life of his community. Before OTallon became
incorporated as a city he was the president of
the Village Board for several years. It was during
this administration that OTallon was given the
city status. He became the first mayor of the new
city, and served in this capacity for two years.
For eleven years he was a member of the city
Council, and also served as a member of the first
Board of Education in OTallon Township for
three years.
At one time, Mr. Housam owned a great deal
of property in this county, and since his retire-
ment from mine work he has been attending to
this property, giving some of his time to caring
for his property near OTallon. Since 191";, he
has not been in very good health, and therefore
not able to take such an active interest in the
atfairs of his city. Mr. Housam holds a member-
ship in one fraternity, the Modern Woodmen.
PETER HERMAN, Jr.
QETER HERMAN, Jr., was born near
Freeburg, on July 24, 1848, the son of a
German immigrant who had settled on a
5"; 2 acre farm near Freeburg, lUinois, and who
had married in March, 1844, Miss Elizabeth
Lorty. He obtained a common school education
in a school near his home and afterwards attended
the Illinois State Normal University, at Normal,
Illinois, where he prepared himself for the teach-
ing profession, and taught for five years, until
1876, when he gave up teaching to become a
merchant. On December 14 of this same year
(1876) his mother died and his father followed
twenty -eight years later.
On June 21, 1874, Peter Herman was married
to Margaret E. Reinheimer, who was born in
Germany m 185}. Her father, Frederick Rein-
heimer, settled with his family near Freeburg,
and followed the vocation of farming. Her
mother's maiden name was Elizabeth Baltz. The
three children of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Herman
are grown and married. The oldest, Fred W.
Herman, was born on October ij, 187';, and is
married to Annabel Baker; the daughter, Clara,
born on March 2';, 1882, is now the wife of
Dr. R. F. Lischer; and Wm. Hamilton Herman,
the youngest, born on October u, 188}, married
to Clara L. Reichert, of Freeburg, daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. George Reichert.
Mr. Herman continued in the general mer-
chandise business until igoj, when he turned the
business over to his son, F. W. Herman, who
continued to operate it until the year 1912.
It has been a long and useful life that Mr.
Herman has spent in this county, first as a
teacher, and afterwards as a merchant. He has
traveled extensively over the United States and
Canada. He visited Philadelphia in 1876 when
the Centennial Exposition was held in that city.
Both he and Mrs. Herman are active members
of the Evangelical Church, of which they have
been members for many years. On Jan. 21, 1923
they celebrated their golden wedding.
Mr. Herman was, for eight years, a member or
the village board in Freeburg, and for four years
a county supervisor. He was first elected treas-
urer of the board of education on the 22nd of
November. 1883, and has served continuously in
this office to the present time — forty-four years.
He IS one of the oldest Masons in this countv.
of the M. !
ville, llliri.
capable m,
ence. He :
REV. RESSHO ROBERTSON. D. D.
gN ACTIVE ,,nJ efficient member of the
R,.,.i • .i T,:, I.. ' M r.nlree College
.Ml,' • ■ ; I '■ i' I-' ' 'itson, pastor
: ' I ''■;', 111 Liwrence-
- 1.1. '■iiiii -'/I 1 --.-.tul and very
nIxT ol the Southern llhnoB Confer-
a native of Illinois and comes of a
family of early immigrants from Scotland. His
great grandfather on his father's side of the
family was a Revolutionary soldier.
In 1887 Dr. Robertson was united in marriage
with Miss Eva B. Horrell of Frankfort, Illinois,
who has been his faithful companion and co-
worker throughout his ministerial career. As a
pastor. Dr. Robertson has served some of the
leading charges of the Southern Illinois Confer-
ence, including Carterville, Vergennes, Chester,
GrayviUe, Duquoin, Harrisburg, St. John's,
Edwardsville, Olney and Lawrenceville. From
1917 to 1923 he served as superintendent of
Centralia District.
He was honored by his brethren of the South-
ern Illinois Conference in his election to the
General Conference of 1920, and as first reserve
delegate in 1924.
At the General Conference in Des Moines in
1920 he was active in the committee on the
State of the Church, being a member of the sub-
committee on General Reference; and also was
active on the committee on Book Concern where
he was Vice Chairman of the sub-committee on
Property. He was a member of the Special Com-
mittee on Federation and was honored by that
Committee in his election to its chairmanship.
He is, perhaps, the only delegate from the South-
ern Illinois Conference who ever served as chair-
man of a General Conference committee.
At the commencement of 1924, McKendree
College conferred on Dr. Robertson the honorary
degree of Doctor of Divinity.
A careful financier as evidenced by the leader-
ship of his church in giving to benevolences, and
an excellent preacher, as shown by the standing
of the charges he has served. Dr. Robertson may
certainly be classed as a noble Christian minister.
RALPH B. RODE
yfVR. RALPH BECKER RODE, an expert
IJI in Exodontia and Dental Diagnosis, with
an ofEce at 519 Frisco Building, St. Louis,
Mo., received his early trainingm the Brownstown
public schools and m McKendree College. Dr.
Rode was graduated from St. Louis University
in 1016. was Chnical Instructor of Dental Dept.
in 1917, was Supt. of Operative Clinic of Denta
Six- Hundred and Tuienlv-Si
MC KENDREE
Dept. in 1918, and Vice-Dean of the Dental
Dept. — all of St. Louis University — in 1919-20.
While he attended McKendreeCoUege.Dr.Rode
was a member of the Platonian Literary Society,
and during his professional life has been a member
of the Delta Sigma Delta Fraternity, the Amer-
ican Dental Society, the Missouri State Organiza-
tion, the St. Louis Dental Society, and the St.
Louis Society of Dental Science.
During the World War, Dr. Rode was first
lieutenant in the Dental Reserve Corps, U. S. A.,
and was in training at Fort Sheridan, Illinois.
For the past eight years Dr. Rode has been
associated with Dr. George B. Winter, of St.
Louis, who has an international reputation as an
authority on Exodontia-Radiography and Dental
Diagnosis.
Mrs. Rode was Miss Bernice Brown, of Browns-
town. Illinois, and to this couple were born one
child, Georgia Ann Rode. Dr. Rode's parents
were Samuel William Rode, now deceased, and
Anntonette Clain Rode, who now resides in
St. Cloud, Florida.
Mcpherson shepard
>Y^cPHERSON SHEPARD, of Mt. Carmel,
^_|^ graduated in the classical course, cum
liiude, in the class of 1909, and attended
Harvard University the following year. He mar-
mied Zola Elizabeth Stum, Crossville, who is a
graduate of Illinois Womans" College and of
Chicago Musical College. At present Mr. Shep-
ard is associated with his father-in-law, A. M.
Stum, banker and extensive land owner. Since
leaving McKendree he has taken an active part
in Republican politics, and only recently was a
candidate of his party lor Congress.
GEORGE M. THOMAS
CHE THOMAS ELECTRIC SHOP m
OTallon, 111. is under the management of
George M. Thomas, who has been the
sole owner of this busmess since 1922. Mr.
Thomas was born in this city, the son of Nich-
olas Thomas and Louisa Huber, on the 29th of
April, 1889, and here he was educated in the
high school, after which he studied in the Colum-
bia Commercial College of St. Louis, Mo. Then
he first worked in the office of the Kinloch Tele-
phone Company, afterwards in a hardware es-
tablishment, and later as a travelling salesman.
In 1918, he started in business for himself as a
retailer of electrical goods, and, excepting a brief
partnership with his brother, Walter Thomas,
he has continued to manage the shop alone since
that time.
His wife was Miss Julia L. Braun, to whom
he was married August 12, 1914. They have
two girls — Alma and Marylynn— the first born
on March 29. 1917, and the other on November
9, 1922. Mrs. Thomas was born at Huey, III., in
1891, one of the eight children of Louis Braun
and Sarah Kluth.
Mr. Thomas takes an active interest in the
welfare of his community. He is a Mason, a
member of the O'Fallon Business Men's Asso-
ciation, and the Vice-president of the local
Rotary Club. Since 1920 he has served on the
School Board of District No. 92, and is now the
secretary of this Board. Mr. Thomas is affiliated
with the Evangelical Church, and has been a
trustee of its Board for several years.
R F TRAUTMAN, D. C, Ph C.
>«R. R F, TRAUTMAN, a chiropractic
\Jig physician at O'Fallon, Illinois, is a grad-
uate of the Palmer School of Chiropractic,
in Davenport, Iowa. He came to O'Fallon in
1923, from St. Louis, where he had practiced, at
J 147 Arsenal Street since his graduation from the
m
Palmer School in the spring of 1922, and succeed-
ed Dr. F. Sudhoff in the office which Dr. Traut-
man now occupies. Mr. Trautman was born in
St. Louis, on Feb. 12, 1896, and there he received
his pubUc school education, which included a
high school training. During the vacation periods
he worked to secure means for continuing his
studies in the high school, and later, in the
college. Thus Mr. Trautman is, in the true
meaning of that term, a self-made man.
Mrs. Trautman w?s also horn in St. Louis,
on Dec. 10, 1901. and was, before her marriage
to Mr. Trautman, on June 10, 1926, Miss Louisa
A. Oeters. the daughter of Edward A. Oeters,
and employee of the government in the Depart-
ment of Foreign Affairs. Mr. Trautman's step-
father. Dr. J. P. Herrmann, is also a chiropractic
doctor, and has his office in St. Louis.
Dr. Trautman has been quite successful as a
practitioner at O'Fallon; he enjoys a large patron-
age in his locality. He is a member of the Uni
versal Chiropractic Association, and acts as the
local examiner for the Universal Life Insurance
Company of Missouri. Mr. Trautman is a Mason
and a member of the Good Hope Lodge in
O'Fallon.
ABRAHAM HIRSTEIN
[R. ABRAHAM HIRSTEIN, of Summer-
field, is one of St. Clair County's success-
ful farmers. He was born in this county
on Sept. 2';, 186^, one of the twelve children ot
Abraham Hirstein and Barbara Gross, and re-
ceived his education in the public schools. Until
he was twenty-nine years of age he worked for
his father on the farm, and then began farming
for himself. Two years later, on Feb. 5, 1898, he
was married to Caroline Kruger, the daughter
of Nick Kruger and Sophia Elizabeth Upmeyer,
who had, besides Caroline, one other daughter.
Mrs. Hirstein was horn near Summerfield on
Oct. 16, 187}, and was educated in the public
schools. She is the mother of eight children,
whose names and birth dates follow: Dora, Dec.
■;, 1896; Alice, March 18, 1898; Carrie Anna,
Dec. 15, 1902; Theodore, Dec. 7, 1905; Alvina,
May 4, 1908; Robert, Sept. 10, 1910; Marie,
March 7, 1914; Adelle, Dec. 8. 1916. Their first
daughter. Dora, is married to Henry Peters, and
Alice IS the wife of Oliver Perschbacher.
In 190J, Mr. Hirstein settled on the large
farm which he now occupies, and which he still
manages. He has ever been an industrious, hard-
working farmer, and to this is attributed his
success. For many years he has been a member
of the school board in District No. 4. He is also
a member of the church, and is considered by
his neighbors a good man.
ED PETRI
/r?f D PETRI, who was born on January 15,
y^ 1884, in the New Athens Township, is
the son of Philip J. Petri and Margaretha
Winter Petri. The father was a farmer, and had,
besides Ed, four other children. After attending
the public school, Ed did the natural thing for
a farmer lad — he worked for his father on the
farm for several years. At the age of twenty-
three he quit working for his father, and fol-
lowed, from that time to the present time, differ-
ent vocations. In 1907 he came to Freeburg, and
was employed for a time by G. C. Huber, general
merchant, after which he was employed by the
I. C. R. R. Co., as a clerk. He went to Brookport
in 1917, and here worked for the same railroad,
as a cashier, and the following year he was made
chief clerk in the railroad freight office at Mat-
toon, III. For five years, previous to the year
192';, he went back to his boyhood occupation
and farmed for himself. But in 1925 he again
took up railroad clencil work in Freeburg with
the I. C. R. R., and is still with this company.
Mrs, Petri was born on Oct. 8, 1887, in Freeburg,
III. They have two children — Milton A., who
was nineteen years of age the i8th of this
May (1928); the second, Lillian M., was born
on December 5, 191J. Mr. Petri is a Mason. In
192 s he was elected president of the board of
education in his city, serving two years.
S. S. HILL
yiVORE than twenty-seven years ago, when
1^1 J Mr. S. S. Hill was a young man of nine-
teen, he began his career as a railroad
man, starting out as a clerk for the L. and N.
Railroad Company, at Ashley, 111. He has re-
mained in the employ of this railroad ever since,
advancing from the position ot clerk to that of
operator, and from operator to agent, in which
capacity he now serves at Belleville, 111., and to
which position he was promoted in 1920. Mr.
Hill was born at Ewing, 111., on the 2nd day of
June, 1880. After the completion of a grade
school course, he entered the Ashley High
School, and soon after his graduation from the
latter, he secured employment in the railroad
office in his home town. Six years later he was
married to Miss Edna L. Meyer, of Nashville,
III, in which city she was born on August 21,
188^, and where she was reared and educated.
She. like her husband, is a high school graduate.
Their two children — Reha M. and Charles E. —
were born at Mt. Vernon, Ind., the girl on
February i, 1906, and the boy on Oct. 9, 1908.
Both have graduated from the Belleville Town-
ship High School, and Reba, since her gradua-
tion, has taken a course in Washington Univer-
sity, of St. Louis. She is now a teacher in the
public schools at O'Fallon, III. Mr. and Mrs.
Hill have shown the wisdom of intelUgent par-
ents in the education of their children.
Although Mr. Hill spends much of his time
at work indoors, he is greatly interested in out-
door sports. He is a Mason, a Modern Woodman,
and a member of the Chamber of Commerce.
MAY E. YOUNG
/tVISS YOUNG is one of the well-known
jil J school supervisors in the East St. Louis
public schools. Since 1894 she has been
teaching in this city, and since 190'j has held
the position of principal, first as principal of the
Second Street School, and later of the Froebel
School, and finally, in 1918, as principal of the
Froebel and the Emerson Schools. She was born
at Waynetow-n, Ind., the daughter of Thos. D.
Young and Mary E. Harvey, and received her
grade school and high school education in this
city. Later she attended a normal university,
and after beginning her teaching in East St. Louis,
continued her studies in Washington University.
Teaching came natural for Miss Young, for both
of her grandfathers were educators. Her father,
however, was a cabinet maker; he was born in
Indiana, in i8<io, and died in 1908; the mother,
also a native of Indiana, was born in 18^4, and
died in 1917. There were seven children in the
family. When her family moved from Indiana to
Illinois, in 189J, Miss Young was still in her
girlhood. She had already made thorough prep-
aration for her future career, but has done much
studying during the years she has been teaching
here. She is a member of the First Christian
Church of East St. Louis, and a member of the
Eastern Star, of which order she is a past secre-
tary. Miss Young has traveled, and kept up with
the educational progress of her times.
Si.v HimiireJ and Tuietitv-Eight
M. F. KUEHN
Editor O'Fallon Progress
ffiR. KUEHN was horn in Mascoutah, Aug.
;, 1887, and secured his schooling in the
puhhc and parochial schools of that city.
He began his work as a printer and continued
therein tor many years, working for the Mascou-
tah Herald and the St. Louis Post Dispatch. In
191^, he assumed the ownership of the O'Fallon
Progress, and since then has devoted his time
and energy to this enterprise. Under Mr. Kuehn's
management, it has become the largest country
weekly in St. Clair County.
Mrs. Kuehn, who was, before her marriage in
Feb., 1910, Mary F. Meyer, was born near New
Baden, on March 17, 1887. She is the daughter
of the late Joe Meyer, a well known farmer and
one of the pioneer settlers of St. Clair County.
Three children have come from this union. The
first child, Russell, was born in March, 191^;
Stanley, their second boy, was born in Novem-
ber, igii; and their daughter, Katherine, in
May, 1923,.
Mr. Kuehn also does a great deal of business
as a 10b printer. He is active in the civic and
social organizations of his city, being instru-
mental in the organizition and in the directing
of the Rotary Club and the Business Men's
Ass'n. Mr. Kuehn is also a member of the board
of directors of the Building and Loan Ass'n and
a director of the St. Clair-Madison Regional
Planning Ass'n, an organization interested in
the development of the Great East Side of the
Mississippi River.
ROLAND WIECHERT
eOLAND C. WIECHERT, attorney, was
born on Feb. 26, 1892, in Belleville, 111.,
the son of A. C. Wiechert and Bertha
Steudle Wiechert. After attending the high
school, he entered Washington University, was
graduated in 1913, with an LL. B. degree, and
in 1914, started practice. He is associated with
Kramer, Kramer, and Campbell, and conducts a
general practice. He was elected a board member,
in 1920, of the Belleville High School. Mr.
Wiechert is an Elk, and a member of the Amer-
ican Legion. During the World War he enlisted
as a private, was made second lieutenant three
months later, and in 1918, a first lieutenant. He
was married on Dec. 3, 1919, to Aurelia I., the
daughter of Gustav Ludwig, of which union there
are two children: Melbacorinne E. and Cathleen
J., born Nov. 27, 1920 and Jan. 17, 1924.
JOHN HIRSTEIN
rOHN HIRSTEIN, a retired farmer, lives
ffl in Summerfield, m his substantial resi-
dence which he built after leaving the
farm m 1921. He is the son of Abraham Hirstein,
a successful farmer of St. Clair County, and of
Barbara Wittmer, and was born near Summerfield
on March 25, i8s8. His mother died when he
was quite young, and the father married Barbara
Gross, by whom he had twelve children. John
was the only child by his first wife. He received
a public school education, and then helped his
father on the farm until he was married in i88j,
on Feb. 2';. His wife was Catherine Baer, the
daughter of Jacob Baer and Elizabeth Langen-
walter, and was born in Madison County, Dec.
27, i8'i6. Until her marriage she remained w-ith
her parents, an efficient assistant in the duties
of the home.
After his marriage, Mr. Hirstein secured 120
acres of land, and began farming for himself, and
stayed on the farm for nearly forty years. He
always delighted in pure bred stock, and raised
many horses, cows, hogs, and chickens of this
kind on his farm. He has received many blue
ribbon premiums on his stock and poultry at the
state and county fairs.
Mr. and Mrs. Hirstein have had eight chil-
dren, five of whom are still living. Anna was
born Dec. 16, i88j, and married G. W. Ruth;
Selma, born Nov. 11, 1885, died June 4, 1911;
Emma, born Sept. 11, 1887, died Dec. 12, 1917;
Samuel, Sept. 8, 1889, is married to Alvina
Herbstreit; John, born Dec. 22, 1891, died on
Oct. 21, 1918, while on furlough from the U. S.
Army; Daniel, born Dec. ij, 1895, is married to
Frieda Berger; Edward, born Dec. 17, 1895, is
still single.
Mr. Hirstein was elected on the Lebanon
Township school board in 190?, and has served
as president of this board for many years. He
5tili enjoys helping on the farm.
JOSEPH A. MILLER
CHE FACT that Joseph A. Miller helped
to organize the bank with which he is
closely affiliated, having been president
of it since the first day of its opening, is sufficient
proof that he is a man of brains and ability, in
whose trust the people of the community place
their money. He was born on the old Miller
homestead on Aug. jo, 1S62, a son of Alexander
O. Miller, who was born on an adjoining farm
in 1826. The subject of this sketch, after attend-
ing the elementary schools near his home, en-
tered the Southern Illinois Normal University.
Later he taught school in Prairie du Long four
years, and in the Smithton Township one year.
During these years, in his spare time, Mr. Miller
found great delight in farming, an occupation
in which he started when quite young. He
rented the farm that his parents owned, cul-
tivated it, and got very gratifying results. This
fine piece of land, on which he still lives, is on
Rural Route No. 2, near Belleville. It was in
June, 192J, that he helped organize the State
Bank of Smithton, an institution that has met
with splendid success.
Mr. Miller has contributed, to the young
people, much constructive work as a trustee on
the school board, which has been under his super-
vision for fourteen years. He is president of the
Smithton Hunting and Fishing Club, the Free-
burg Hunting and Fishing Club, is very popular,
and IS recognized in his community as a leader
m the improvement of farming methods. In addi-
tion, he has been supervisor of Smithton Town-
ship since 1915.
WILLIAM ZOELLER
ONE OF THE best known of New Athens'
senior citizens is William Zoeller, a retired
farmer and the president of the New
Athens Township school board. Mr. Zoeller
was born in New Athens Township on Novem-
ber 5, i8';2, one of the six children of Charles
Zoeller and Katherine Schneider. Both parents,
now deceased, were born in Baden, Germany.
William Zoeller, upon completing his school-
ing, took up farming, for a time, in partnership
with his brother, Henry Zoeller, until th: death
of the latter in 1876, after which year he farmed
alone. In i88':> he married Louisa Sturm, who bxe
him two girls and one boy. Emma, born on Octo-
ber 28, 1882, IS now Mrs. Fred Schwartz; George
W., who later married Louisa Obernagel, was
born on January 7, 1884; and Frieda, born on
February 2, 1889, is now the wife of Walter
Huber. On the first of January, i 91';, Mrs.
Zoeller died, and two years later Mr. Zoeller
was married to Mrs. Oscar Steinheim;r, whose
husband had died in 1916, and to whom she had
borne one daughter, now Mrs. Jacob Frantz, on
February 4, 1897.
Mr. Zoeller has served on the school board
for nine years. He is a director in the Farmers
State Bank, of New Athens, in which bank he
is also a stockholder. He especially delights to
work in his garden.
CHARLES FREY
gFINE BAKER, an industrious and a good
man is Charles Frey, of Lebanon, Illinois.
Mr. Frey was born near Lebanon, the son
of Joseph Frey and Elizabeth Wernig. on June 27.
Si.v Hundred and TwentyJ^u
MC KENDREE i
1878. His father, who was a country shoemaker,
died in 1879; his mother in igoi. Mr. Frey re-
ceived a pubhc school education in the Union
Grove School and afterwards studied telegraphy
for six months. Until he was married he spent
most of his life on a farm. For two years after his
marriage he worked at the Pfeffer Milling Com-
pany, and the next two years at the Willard Stove
Works, in O'Fallon, Illinois. From 1908 to 1913
he was insurance agent for the Prudential, and
gave this up to enter the bakery business. In
1921 he moved to his present location, and has
remained here since.
Mr. Frey has been twice married, first to
Annie Wellen, on January 24, 1901, and after
her death, to Carrie Boyce, on August 23, 1923.
Mr. James Boyce, the father of his present wife,
has served on the Lebanon City Council for
many years. Mr. Frey is the father of six chil-
dren, whose names and birth dates are: Sidney,
July 20, 1902; Vera, September 23, 1905 (now
married to A. C. Naumer); Melba, May 2},
1909; Junealda, June 5, 1912; Mary Louise,
November 12, 1923; Carl, Jr., May 13, 1925.
Mr. Frey is a member of the E%'angelical
Church; is the financial secretary of the Odd
Fellows, and secretary of a singing society. He
has been the chief of the fire department in Leb-
anon since the department's organization in 1918.
CHARLES LENZ
CHARLES LENZ was born on August
7, 1868, in Belleville, Illinois; was em-
ployed on a Belleville tabloid in later life;
worked here all his life — forty-seven years; holds
office in Board of Education on Township High
School; is a Mason. Mr. Lenz was married to
Lena Jung, now dead, in 1892; one son, Peter.
Married again in 1901, to Miss Lena Wenzel;
one son from marriage. Mr. Lenz is president of
the West Side Building and Loan Association,
and is foreman at the Belleville Advocate.
JOSEPH J. ANTON
•^-rOSEPH J. ANTON was elected mayor
ffl of Belleville by a large majority in 1921,
and by a larger majority was re-elected
to this office in 192^. Mr. Anton is the son of
a German blacksmith, Joseph Anton, who came
to this country from Bavaria with his wife,
Sophia Enzenaur Anton, in 1877, and settled in
Stookey Township. The future mayor of Belle-
ville was born on the 19th of March, 1862, and
before he had reached the age of two, his father
died. Joseph attended the parochial schools until
he reached his fourteenth birthday and then was
put to work in the coal mines, where he labored
for many years. His mining career was broken
by a period of ten years, during which time he
was employed by the Belleville Gas, Light and
Coke Company. Then he went back to mining.
In 191 2 he was elected an alderman of Belleville
from the Fifth Ward, and was re-elected for
four successive terms, serving his city in this
capacity altogether for nine years. At the end
of this time he was a candidate for mayor of
Belleville, and was elected to this office, and is
still holding this office.
During Mr. Anton's administration, Belleville
has undergone marked improvements, and has
made noticeable material progress. A double
electric track has been put down in the city,
and street improvements to the value of half a
million dollars have been made. And the city
is now completing the second water line from
Edgemont to Belleville. Other improvements
have been made through Mr. Anton's efforts.
Mr. Anton has remained single. His time and
interests are devoted to his city's welfare.
HARRISON H. HARTMAN
EARRISON H. HARTMAN was born in
Belleville, on the 12th of May, 1883. the
son of Madlon R. Hartman and Mary
Rumer; was educated in the grade schools and
the high school of Freeburg, and afterwards at-
tended the State Normal at Normal, lUinois.
Following this, he taught school for six years in
St. Clair County. Soon after his marriage to Edna
I. Joseph, on February 28, 1914. Mr. Hartman
ventured farming for himself on land near Free-
burg, and here he has remained. Mrs. Hartman,
the daughter of Louis G. Joseph and Laura Darm-
statter, of Freeburg was born in New Athens
Township. January 5, 1891, and received both
a public school and a normal school training. She
died on April 12, 1925, leaving to her husband
three children: the first, Evelyn E., was born in
June, igi";; Harrison L., in February, 1919; and
the youngest, Mahlon Grant, in January, 1924.
Mr. Hartman has taken active interest in help-
ing promote agriculture in his county. From 1919
to 1926, he was secretary of the St. Clair County
Farm Bureau, and is now serving as treasurer of
this organization. In 1921 he was elected president
of the Freeburg Community High School Board,
retaining this position to the present day. Frater-
nally, he is a member of the Modern Woodmen.
CHRISTIAN HEER
^R. HEER, one of Lebanon's most enter-
prising merchants, was born at Mascou-
tah, Sept. 26, 1880, finished the grades
and one year of high school in Mascoutah, and
worked for six years on his father's farm near
New Baden. Then he clerked in a New Baden
store for one and one half years, and went to
Belleville, where he was employed for ten years
as a clerk for the Lorenzen Grocery Company.
In 1913 he came to Lebanon, bought out the
general merchandise business of Mr. Traband,
operated this at its former location until 1922,
when he moved to the building which he now
occupies. He has remodeled this building, and
has now a large up-to-date store, toxioo feet, in
which he carries quite a complete and high grade
line of general merchandise. His attractive and
tasty show windows always attract the atten-
tion of the passersby.
Mr. Heer's parents, Samuel and Rosa Baumen
Heer, are both dead. His wife, Elizabeth Baer
Heer, was born near Lebanon, Aug. 17, 1887,
and received her education in the public schools
of her community. Her parents, Samuel and
Elizabeth Baer, are still living at the old home
place. She was married to Mr. Heer on July
30, 191 1, and is the mother of four children —
Crystal E., born July 12, 1912; Eldon S,, on
March 31, 1914; Elfrieda V., on Nov. ■;, 1916;
and Carol C, on Dec. 11, 1922. Crystal is a stu-
dent of Piano in McKendree, and Eldon and El-
frieda are enrolled in the School of Expression.
Mr. Heer is a faithful member of the Mennon-
ite Church in Summerfield, 111.
BARNETT JOSEPH
O'FALLON has, in Mr. and Mrs. Barnctt
Joseph, two useful and dependable citi-
zens. Mr. Joseph, son of Sebastian Joseph
(died in 1884), and Anna Stark (died in 1907),
was born near O'Fallon, on March i^, 1868. His
father was a blacksmith and a wagon-maker by
trade, but followed farming during the latter
years of his life. Barnett secured his schooling in
the Enterprise School, north of O'Fallon, and
then worked on a farm until he was twenty-five,
clerked in a grocery for a year, after which he
entered the tinning business as a partner with
Mr John Cc:n:r. This partn.Tship la.steJ cigS
teen months, until Mr. Getner's death in 189";,
after which Mr. Joseph went into business for
himself. He had constructed, in igii, the busi-
ness building which he now owns.
Mrs. Joseph, formerly Sylvia Bode, was born
in Belleville, Jan. 21, i88o, the daughter of Peter
J. and Katherine Schaefer Bode. The father lives
in St. Louis; the mother died in 1917. The two
children of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph — Russell B.
and Hortense E. — were born on July 10, 1911,
and July 14, 191^. Russell is a Junior in the
O'Fallon High School. Mrs. Joseph is an active
church worker, was secretary of the Eastern Star,
i9i3-2<;, belongs to the Belleville White Shrine,
and was president of the Martha-Mary Society,
of her church, from 1923 to 192'!. Mr. Joseph is
a Mason and a Shriner, and Evangelical, and
has been a member of the O'Fallon School board
for about eighteen years, the last few years on
the high school board.
EDWARD H. SLIEPER
DEW ATHENS has one of the largest stores
of general merchandise in Southern Illi-
nois, and Mr. E. H. Slieper is the owner
and manager of this store. He went into this
business in 1918 as a partner with his father-in-
law, Mr. Fred Bertholdt, and continued as joint
owner with him until 1923, when the latter
retired from business and sold his part to Mr.
Slieper, who, since that time, has managed the
store alone.
Mr. Bertholdt was born near Lebanon, 111.,
on the 14th of December, 1861; he spent the
first thirty-five years of his life on the farm. His
education was secured in the public schools of
Fayetteville, 111., and in 1896 he went into busi-
ness in New Athens. Mr Bertholdt was one
of the six children of John Bertholdt and Eliza-
beth Baehr. He was married on January 5, 1888,
to Elizabeth Kirchhoefer, and four daughters
have come from this marriage. Bertha A. is the
oldest, and was horn January 20, 1890. She is
now the wife of Dr. H. J. Schlesinger. Edna M.,
who is the wife of Edward H. Slieper (mentioned
above), was born on June 2, 1894, and was mar-
ried to Mr. Slieper on February 24, 1916. She
is now the mother of three children — William,
Clyde and Meridene. Cora L., the third child
of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Bertholdt, born January
6, 189(1, is married to Mr. Christ G. Voelker.
The youngest daughter, Lillian C, is the wife
of Mr. E. J. Traut and lives in Battle Creek,
Michigan.
Mr. Edward Slieper, to whom reference was
made at the beginning of this sketch, is the son
of William Slieper and Emma Sauerwein, and
was born at New Athens on May 18, 1894. His
father was reared on a farm near New Athens,
but in 1892 he moved into the town and engaged
in the liquor business for a number of years,
until he retired in 1918. Edward, one of his two
children, received his education in the public
school and in Central Wesleyan College, where
he spent two years in study, after which he
returned to New Athens and took employment
with his father-in-law. Both Mr. Bertholdt and
his son-in-law, Mr. Sleiper, are members of the
Evangelical Church.
EDWARD W. SCHMALENBERGER
J^HROUGHOUT his life Edward W.
IJ Schmalenberger has rejoiced in the com-
pany of children. This, indeed, is a noble
hobby, and it is his best. Born in Millstadt,
Illinois, on March 3, 1880, he attended school
here, and in later life entered Western Normal,
of Bushnell, Illinois, from which he was gradu-
ated in 1899. He then taught school and studied
in the Southwestern Business College. Mr.
^IMC KENDREE
Schmalenherger was made an instructor in South-
western College. He soon resigned and accepted
a position as principal of the Dewey School, in
Belleville, and is now holding the same position
in the Signal High School, District i8i.
Mr. Schmalenherger was married twice. By
the first union, to Katherme Ruhman, there is one
daughter, Helen S. C, who is now a registered
nurse. He was married again in 1908, to Rose
Ruhman, a sister to his first wife. Four children
were born: Ruth M., Warren W., Roselyn L. E.,
and Edward, Jr.
Mr. Schmalenherger is much interested in reli-
gious w'ork. He was president of the Southern
Illinois Federation of Evangelical Brotherhoods.
At present, he is president of St. Paul's Evangel-
ical Old Folks' Home, in Belleville, and is a leader
of the young men's bihle class of St. Paul's
Church, well-liked and highly respected.
FRANK BOMAN
iflNCE 1921 Frank Boman has resided in
Mascoutah, where he owns and operates
market. He was born on August
30, 1892 at Pierce City, Mo., where he received
a common school education. After leaving school
he worked tor one year in St. Louis, and then
went to Freeburg. Illinois, where he secured
employment in the meat market of Joseph Linder.
and worked here for ten years , In 1 9 1 5 he opened
a shop of his own in Freeburg, and ran the same
\intil June 1921, when he sold out and moved to
Mascoutah. He now owns two meat markets in
Mascoutah, the second having been opened in
1923, and also a meat market in New Baden,
which has been operated under his management
since February, 1926.
Mr. Boman is married and has two children.
His wife, Maud Browning Boman, and the daugh-
ter of John Browning and Alice Mahan Brown-
ing, was born in Freeburg on April 18, 1894,
and was married to Mr, Boman on October 20,
1915. Her father was a miner and is well-known
in Freeburg. He died in 1909, on the 24th of
November; the mother is still living. Mrs.
Boman was one of seven children, and is a grad-
uate of the Freeburg High School. Their two
children — Howard and Alys were born June
20, 1917 and December jo, 1920, respectively.
In 1926, Mr. Boman was elected a member of
the Mascoutah School Board. He belongs to the
Moose Order, as well as to the Commercial
Club, the Turners Society and the Odd Fellows.
REV. M. C. FOLTZ, D. D.
ijiHEN REV. M. C. FOLTZ built his first
\\j church in Oblong, in 1914, Bishop Quayle.
who dedicated it, stated that it was the
finest Methodist Church in the world for the
sue ot the town it was to serve. In 1924 Rev.
Folt! built St. John's Church of EdwardsviUe,
one o( the finest churches in the Conference.
During all his ministry Dr. Foltz has been known
as a builder.
Reverend Foltj got his elementary training in
the public schools of Ohio. He received his A.
B. degree in Taylor University, of Upland, Ind.,
and his honorary Doctor's degree from McKen-
dree College in its Centennial year. For the past
eight years he has taught "Human Behavior"
and "Sunday School Work" in McKendree Col-
lege— in the Summer School of Theology.
In 1898 Rev. Foltz married Miss Mae Farmer,
ot Reynoldsburg, Ohio. The happy couple have
four children — Thetis M., who is owner of a
beauty parlor in Mount Carmel; Lucile, now
Mrs. J. C.Jarrell, of Mount Vernon; Francis A.,
who holds a position in the National Bank of
Commerce in St. Louis; and David B., a Junior
in the Mount Carmel High School.
RALPH COOK
^R. RALPH COOK, a successful lawyer
of East St. Louis, Illinois, was born June
I-;, 1887, at Shawneetown, Illinois. He
was a graduate of the East St. Louis High School
and attended the St. Louis College of Pharmacy.
For ten years Mr. Cook was a druggist, but later
studied law at Barnes University, St. Louis,
Missouri. He was admitted to the practice of
law, m the state of Missouri, in July, 1917, and
in the state of Illinois in July, 1919. In 1923 Mr.
Cook was elected commissioner of streets and
public works, East St. Louis, carrying the vote
of that city by an overwhelming majority.
Mr. Cook enlisted for service in the World
War in June, 1917, and served throughout. He
was captain in Battery F. of the 124th Field
Artillery. He is a member of the American Le-
gion, Masons, Odd Fellows, and Woodmen.
In high school Mr. Cook played football, and
at the present time is an enthusiastic football
fan. He enjoys quail and duck hunting, and is a
member of the Illinois Sportsman's League.
Mr. Cook's father. Silas Cook, was mayor of
East St. Louis tor four terms and a judge for six
terms. The mother, Sarilda Elizabeth Cook, nee
Kinsall, formerly of Omaha, Illinois, died five
years ago.
At present, Mr. Cook is practicing law in the
First National Bank Building, East St. Louis,
lUinois.
PRIN. H G. SCHMIDT, D, Litt.
ONE OF the leading educators of southern
Illinois IS Henry Galen Schmidt, principal
ot the Belleville Township High School.
Both his parents are descended from pioneer
families, and one of his grandfathers died at the
age of one hundred and five. Mr. Schmidt was
born May 9, 1878. at Drake. Missouri. He grew
up on a farm and received his elementary educa-
tion in the country schools. By his own earnest
efforts and persevering industry he made his way
through college, being graduated from the Cen-
tral Wesleyan, at Warrenton, Missouri, with
the degree of A. B. A few years later he took
work in the Science Department of McKendree
and received the degree of B. S. m 1909. Since
that time he has done graduate work at several
universities — among them, the University of
Illinois and the University of Chicago. He also
took a summer term at Harvard. He has been
connected with educational work at Belleville
for many years. He taught Latin, and later,
chemistry and physics, in the old Central High
School. In 1915 he became principal of the Town-
ship High School, which position he still holds.
However, his influence as an educator extends
much wider than the local community. He is a
member of the National Education Association,
as well as of the state and county associations,
and the Illinois High School Principals' Associa-
tion. In his religious affiliations he is a member
of the Methodist Church. Fraternally, he is a
Mason, a Knight Templar, and a Modern Wood-
man. He is a member of the board of trustees of
McKendree College, and received the degree of
Doctor of Literature from that institution during
the Centennial year. Mr. Schmidt was married
Aug. ■;, 1902, to Miss Anna A. Wolter. of
Fredericksburg, Missouri. She was educated in
her native town and m private schools in Mor-
rison, Mo., and in St. Louis. They have two
sons — Webster R. and Blaine. The older is now
a student in Washington University, while the
younger is still a pupil in the grades.
L. F. HEER
gFTER a great many years of hard work,
thrift, and service, L. F. Heer has retired
to enjoy the fruits of his labor. He was
born on June 7, 1858, in the Stookey Township,
a son of Adam and Pauline Heer. The, former
came to this country at the early age of fourteen.
He took up farming, got married after a few
years, and reared a family of five children. The
subject of this sketch was one of these children.
Like his brothers he rendered efficient work on
his father's farm, working industriously, without
JUDGE M. J, WHITE
complaint. Mr. Heer was married to Phoebe
Rhein, on April ij, 1887. The couple have five
children: Fred A., horn on Jan. 12, 1S88; Paula
E., Feb. I}, 1891; Ella, July 24, 1895; Bertha E.,
May }, 1899; and Louis, Sept. 22, 1901.
Mrs. Heer was born on July 13, i86j, in the
Smithton Township. Her parents were Fred
Rhein and Charlotte Lenninger. She has two
sisters and tour brothers. Immediately alter the
marriage, Mr. Heer rented a farm. In Feb., 1902,
he bought the 78 farm, near Belleville, and has
lived m It ever since. Mr. Heer was elected to
an office on the school board in 1897. He has
also been a school trustee for four years. Besides
farming, he holds the position of inspector, an
office that he has held for fifteen years. Around
his vicinity Mr. Heer is very popular and, al-
though old in years, he is still a young man
in spirit.
o
JUDGE MILBURN J. WHITE
NE OF THE clearest legal minds in the
field of Illinois jurisprudence is that of
Judge Milburn Judson White, of Mt.
Carmel. He was born at Beaucoup, Illinois,
March 24, 1873. His father was a physician,
and afterwards moved to Okawville, at which
place Milburn received his elementary educa-
tion, and from there he came to McKendree in
1890. He was a student in the academy and
college for a period of five years, during which
time he was a member of the Platonian Society.
He played football during the seasons of 1892,
1893, and 1894. In the last named year he was
captain of the team. His father. Dr. S. N. White,
was a student in McKendree in 1863, and a
member of Plato, as also his son, Gordon, in
recent years, so that three generations of the
White family are represented in McKendree and
in Plato. Mr. White did not quite complete the
college course, but dropped out while in his
senior year to take up educational work. Many
years afterwards the college granted him the
Bachelor's Degree. He was for three years prin-
cipal of the high school at Enfield, and for some
time superintendent of the schools in Eldorado.
Then for a time he was cashier of the American
National Bank, at Mt. Carmel. But after due
deliberation he reached the conclusion that the
law was his chosen profession, and changed to
that field of work. In 1912 he w-as elected County
Judge of Wabash County. After one term he
declined the nomination for a second term and
returned to the practice of law, to which he
devoted his energies until 1926, when he again
became County Judge. In 1921 he was nomi-
R. .^ND MRS. HOWARD ROGERS
nated for Circuit Judge, but his party happened
to be in the minority that year and he was not
elected.
In 1897 he was married to Miss Mary May.
They have four sons, namely: Lieut. Thomas
B. White, who is a graduate of the U. S. Naval
Academy, but now with the aviation corps in
China; Lyman D., who is a graduate of North-
western University, and at present, cashier of
the First National Bank, of Mt. Carmel; James
Gordon, who was one year a student in Mc-
Kendree; and Milburn, Jr., now in high school.
HOWARD R. ROGERS
CHE SUBJECT of this sketch was born in
Murphysboro, III, on March 11, 1892.
He was a son of Mathias G. Rogers, who
died on Dec. 13, 1918, and Mary Armstrong,
who IS still living in East St. Louis. He received
his elementary training in the East St. Louis
schools, and later entered the College of Com-
merce in this city. While m the employ of
Morris and Company, he utilized his spare time
by studying telegraphy. Later he moved to Han-
over, and finished his study while under the
employ of the Baltimore and Ohio Railway. He
worked in the dispatcher's office for some time,
and, in 1912, went into station work at Lebanon,
under Mr. Abernathy. Since then he has worked
on various points along the road. For the past
five years Mr. Rogers has worked in O'Fallon,
where he is under the employ of the Baltimore
and Ohio as railroad agent.
On Aug. 29, 1912, Mr. Rogers was married
to Miss Pearl Thompson. She was born on June
26, 1893, in Lebanon, Illinois, a daughter of
Robert and Emma Mueller Thompson, both of
whom are still living. After studying in the
business college m Belleville, she worked as a
stenographer. She is a member of the Eastern
Star and the Woman's Club of O'Fallon. Mr.
and Mrs. Rogers are parents of two children:
Howard R., horn on July u, 191 3. and Floyd
R., born on May 6, 1922, who is now in high
school.
Along educational lines, Mr. Rogers has done
some fine work as a member of the Board ot
Education, on which he has served for the past
three years. He is a member of the Methodist
Church, and is the present president of the
Men's Bible Class in his community. He is a
member of the Order of Railroad Telegraphers.
Fraternally, he is a M.ison.
REV. JOHN W. WEBSTER
--— rOHN W. WEBSTER, son of John H.
W L Webster and Rose A. Overcast, born
^^^ Bedford County, Tenn.. July 21, 1871.
-Attended public school, graduated from the
.■\nna, Illinois High School.
Entered ministry 1894 and since then has
been member of Southern Illinois Conference.
First Church, Mt. Vernon, Illinois. Since then,
pastor of thirteen churches in this conference.
Last appointment State Street M. E. Church of
East St. Louis, in 1926.
Rev. Webster married July 19, 1898, to Miss
Ethel Crews, daughter of Barton and S. Crews,
of Fairfield, Illinois. One son, John Vernon
Webster, born in April, 1899, studied in Mc-
Kendree College, and in 1922 graduated from
1 '.: Pauw University. Now with the National
Surety Company, St. Louis, Mo.
Rev. Webster is Mason of the 32nd degree,
.ind Knight of Pythias.
ELMER G. JOSEPH
©HERE are few merchants who can prove
as useful and necessary to the needs of the
community as a druggist. Perhaps this ex-
plains the reason why Elmer G. Joseph has chosen
this line. He was born near New Athens Town-
ship on Dec. 19, 1894, a son of Louis G. Joseph,
who was a successful farmer in St. Clair County.
The subject of this sketch has a good education.
He attended the grade and high school of Free-
burg, and in 1910, was graduated from McKen^
dree College. Some four years later, he was
graduated from the St. Louis College of Phar-
macy. After taking employment in a drug store
business in this city, he travelled for two years,
for the United Drug Company. He resigned in
1920, returned to Freeburg, and was employed
by C. G. Becker, druggist. Mr. Joseph was mar-
ried in 1916, to Bessie Huber. He was elected to
the high school board in 1924; is a Shriner in
the Masonic Order; and during one year he was
master of Freeburg Lodge. The recreation that
Mr. Joseph indulges in mostly is fishing and
hunting — a sport in which he spends many pleas-
ant hours when not engaged in his professional
pursuit.
JOSEPH OBERNUEFMANN
CWO AND ONE-HALF MILES west of
Lebanon is located one of St. Clair Coun-
ty's well-managed farms, the 120 acres
owned Ijy Mr. Joseph Obernuefmann, who has
lived here since 1920. Mr. Obernuefmann was
born in Caseyville Township, Dec. 13, 1875.
His father, Henry Obernuefmann, was a success-
ful farmer, and is still living, though retired, in
his home in O'Fallon. His wife, Mary Thomann
Obernuefmann, died on April 26, 1918. Joseph,
until he was thirteen, attended the parochial
schools in Caseyville, and then continued his
studies in the public schools until he was seven-
teen. He began working on his t.ither's land,
stayed here for ten years, and after his marriage
on Oct. 21, 1902, rented a farm for four years in
Caseyville Township, and for five years, farmed
on rented land near O'Fallon, then moved back
to Caseyville, rented from his father, and re-
mained here eight years, until 1920, when he
bought his present farm.
His wife was a farmer's daughter, Mary B.
Bechtlofft, born in O'Fallon Township, Sept. 28,
1879, and educated in the parochial school of
Black Jack, and in the Enterprise public school.
She and Mr. Obernuefmann have four children —
Esther, Mary Ann, Joseph, and Jerome — born
March 21, 190';; April 19, 1907; March 23, 1911;
and Jan. 26, 1917, respectively.
Mr. Obernuefmann is a member of the Cath-
olic Knights of Illinois. Stock-raising is his hobby.
S..X Hundred and ThrtyTwo
HENRY REUSS, JR.
nOCATED one and one fourth miles e.ist
of New Athens is the mine of the Pep
Coal Company, which supplies practically
all the coal consumed in New Athens. Henry
Reuss assisted in the organization of this comp.iiiy
in 1920, and has been secrct.ir\ -f th, - m ■ -iii.c
that time. Mr. Reuss, one of - • 11
of Henry Reuss,Sr., and Jul-.,i I i I ■ m
in St. Clair County, March : j iS< , a ,- .■lu-
cated in the public schools, and began his work
ing career in the shoe manufacturing business. He
soon gave this up, and went into the mines,
where he worked until the above company w-as
organized. He married, on Oct. jo, 1910, Matilda
Ritter, a young lady of New Athens, born Oct.
!■;, 1891, the daughter of Frank Ritter and Anna
Sarlouis. She has borne Mr. Reuss one daughter,
Ethel J., on Aug 27, 1911 . The latter is attending
the New Athens High School, and is a member
of the high school orchestra.
Mr. Reuss is an Evangelical, and is a member
of the New Athens Community High School
board, of which he was one of the first directors.
LOREN E. WILDERMAN
yi^R. LOREN E. WILDERMAN, of Free-
1|J burg, was born on the farm, the son of
M. F. Wilderman and Emma M. Herman,
on the 9th of January, 1884, attended the public
school and was graduated from Washington Uni-
versity in 1904. For a short time he worked for
the Bell Telephone Company as a draftsman, and
then returned to the farm of his father.
On the 3rd of December, 1912, Mr. Wilder-
man was married to Miss Ada M. Huber, and
on June 6, two years afterwards, their only
child, E. Lucile, was born.
Mr. Wijderman is a stockholder and a director
of the First National Bank of Freeburg. He has
interests in the Mulberry Hill Coal Mine and is
thoroughly acquainted with this business. He
was one of the board of directors of the Freeburg
schools for five years, and served as clerk of the
high school board for three years. Mr. Wilder-
man has the reputation of being a hard worker,
and he is a friend and proponent of education.
In politics he is a Republican.
WALTER FREUDENBERG
•iSflNCE the age of fourteen, Mr. Walter
jl^J Freudenberg, of Belleville, has either been
in the drug business, or studying to pre-
pare himself for the vocation of a pharmacist.
He was born in the city where he now conducts
his business, on Dec. 26, 189J. His father died
when Walter was quite young, and this deprived
the boy of some of the advantages which a father
can give to his son. But he secured a fair educa-
tion in the Belleville public schools, and at four-
teen began working in the drug store of A.
Kissel, at 1401 West Main Street, where Mr.
Freudenberg is now located. After four years he
was able to continue his education, and entered
the St. Louis College of Pharmacy, where he
studied for three years, graduating in 191 4. Dur-
ing the time he was a student here, he worked
as a druggist in St. Louis. He returned to Belle-
ville, and worked as a clerk until 1919, when he
bought out Mr. J. V. Simonds, the successor
to Mr. Kissel, and has continued as proprietor
of this store since.
Mr. Freudenberg is married and has two
daughters — Jane, born Aug. 23, 1922, and Amy,
born Dec. 4, 192J. His wife, formerly Meta A.
Kuntz, is the daughter of Louis J. Kuntz (died
Aug. II, 1914). who was engaged in the grape
growing business. Her mother, Fredericka Eckel
Kuntz, is still living. Her marriage to Mr. Freu-
denberg took place on June 21, 1917.
Mr. Freudenberg was elected on the Belleville
school board in 1926. He is a Mason and a
Shriner, a hard worker, and a congenial fellow.
He enjoys hunting.
VIRGINIA E. HUGHES
GHE SUBJECT of this sketch was born on
June 26, 1874, in Belleville, lUinois. She
was a daughter of Louis W. and Cecilia
Clement Hughes. The former was born on July
23, 1844, in Belleville. The latter was born on
March 30, 1846, at Three Rivers, Canada. This
couple were married on August 20, 1870, and
were parents of three children: Virginia E., the
subject of this sketch, born on June 26, 1874;
Edna L., March 1. 1877, now married to Dr.
George Rodemick of St. Louis; and Belle J., Dec.
12, 1882, married to William SchaumlefFel.
Miss Hughes received her education in the
public schools. After attending the high school
for two years she started to teach. She taught in
Grassland, Illinois, for fi%'e years; was principal
of the Rentchler Illinois School for five years,
and the Dewey School for five years. She came
to Union in 1912, was made principal, and has
been there since. Miss Hughes has held the
office of recording secretary for the county for
many years. She is recognized around the com-
munities as a fine teacher, is very popular and
highly respected by everyone who has ever come
under her pleasant personality.
REV. ROY KEAN
aP FROM thecoalmine to the ministry,
through struggle and sacrifice, is the route
Mr. Kean, M?thodist minister at Staun-
ton, has taken. Born at Marissa, June 11, 18S9,
he attended the Marissa grade schools; worked
as a barber and in the coal mines; was graduated
from Herrin High School and McKendree Col-
lege; was student pastor at Troy, Glen Carbon,
and Signal Hill; and was pastor at Mound City,
Altamont, and Staunton.
On March 23, 1913, he married Pearl E. Mar-
grave, of Mound City; they have two daughters:
Frances Jane and Joyce Ann . Mrs. Kean attended
Mound City High School, Carbondale Normal,
and McKendree College, and belongs to the
Eastern Star and White Shrine.
Mr. Kean is a Mason, an alert, successful
pastor, and a former member of the Platonian
Literary Society.
WILLIAM F. ZERBAN
gLTHOUGH the subject of this sketch,
William F. Zerban, has crossed the Great
Divide, some of the records of his life,
which was so well spent, are well worth men-
tioning. He was born in the Engleman Township
on Oct. 20, 187";, a son of William and Sophia
Lotz Zerban, who were the parents of six chil-
dren. Immediately after his school work was
over, he worked on his father's farm, and
for several years as fireman. In 1903 h; came
to Freeburg to accept a position as engineer
of the Famous Coal Mines. Two years later he
helped organize the Mulberry Hill Coal Com-
pany, and as a reward to his excellent work, he
was appointed secretary and engineer of the
Mulberry Mines. Mr. Zerban was married to
Katherine Feder on Jan. 16, 1903. There are two
children: Clarence W., a fine young fellow who
was born on Sept. i, 190';, and Carmiha, born
on Oct. 10, 1907. He helped to organize and
build the new Freeburg High School and was a
member of the board until his death on Jan. 3,
1927. Mr. Zerban's hobby was the growing of
flowers, which he greatly loved. When he died
many of his friends lost a real pal.
ALFRED J. STEIDEL
^R- ALFRED STEIDLL for tha last twenty-
seven years has been employed at the
Pfeffer Milling Company, in Lebanon. He
w:as born on a farm one and one-half miles south-
east of this city. May 22, 1S82, His tir.-it year of
schooling was in the Oak ( ir ■ . S 1, , i -..-.ir his
home, but in 1890 his pan ■ • ■ I .nun,
and here he finished hn I r : iti.m.
After working three or loir ;..irr ...n tlu t.irm,
he entered the mill in 1900, and has been here
since. His father, Frank Steidel, died on New-
Year's Day, 191 1 ; his mother, Johanna Burkhardt
Steidel, passed away on October 9, of the fol-
lowing year.
Mr. Steidel married Miss Anna Britt, July 3,
1915- She was born in Detroit, Minnesota, on
May 8, 1887, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. P.
Britt. Her mother died when Anna was quite
young, and she was taken into the home of her
uncle, Mr. and Mrs. Conrad Rieger, of Lebanon.
She received her education in the public schools
of Mascoutah Township. One daughter has been
born to Mr. and Mrs. Steidel, Stella Mae, on
June 25, 1919.
For five years Mr. Steidel was an alderman in
Lebanon, and for two years he has been a member
of the school board. He was elected city treasurer
in the spring of 1926. He belongs to the Odd
Fellows, to the Knights of Pythias (now secre-
tary), to the Evangelical Church, and to a local
singing society, of which he is the secretary.
Soon after his marriage, Mr. Steidel built the
beautiful home in which they now live.
FRED WILLIAM KLEIN
HRED WILLIAM KLEIN is one of Mar-
issa's most popular and well-liked citizens.
His modern drug store, with its complete
stock of goods, IS one of this town's most fre-
quented places of business. He was born in Lenz-
burg, Illinois, on July 13, 1889. Here he attended
the public schools, and later on, he studied in
the Commercial College, in East St. Louis. His
interest in pharmacy being stirred, Mr. Klein
entered the St. Louis College of Pharmacy, from
which he was graduated in 191 1. In the same
year, he passed the Illinois board examination.
Mr. Klein came to Marissa and was employed
by N. T. Jensen, druggist. With George Kunze,
in 1912, he bought out his employer's business.
This partnership was dissolved in 1921, for the
subject of this sketch took over his partner's
share, estaWishing the F. W. Klein Drug and
Jewelry Company, In his employ is E, E. Gibson,
ALFRED I. STEIDEL
.AND F.AMIIV
S.v Hundred and Tli
a well-known jewelry expert of thirty years'
experience. Mr. Klein, who is married, and has
one son, Fred W., is an Odd Fellow and a Wood-
man. He finds enough time to enjoy these great
sports: baseball, fishing, and swimming.
HENRY EBERLEIN
©OTH the father and the grandfather of
Henry Eberlein were engaged in the shoe
repair business, and Henry has followed
them in this business. His grandfather, George
Eberlein, came to this county from Germany
and established a shoe shop in 1864, and his
son, George, worked for him until the death of
the former, and then took over the father's busi-
ness. George Eberlein, Jr., was born in iSti. in
Mascoutah, was married to Katherine Mann, of
Clinton County on March 5, 1881, and became
the father of two children — Anna M., born
December s, 1881; and Henry, born July 26,
1886. The lather died on Sept. 12, 1926.
Henry Eberlein was born in Mascoutah, was
given a high school education, after which he
attended the Belleville Commercial College, and
then began working for his father. On August
18, 1908, he was married to Anna M. Bertholdt,
the daughter of Leonard Bertholdt, a reputable
miller and mine fireman of Mascoutah. Their
daughter, Ellen, was born on the jrd of May,
1912. Mr. Eberlem worked with his father until
the death of the latter, and then took charge of
the business which he still manages and in which
he has made up-to-date improvements. He is a
member of the Evangelical Church, an Odd
Fellow, a Moose, and a member of the Commer-
cial Club. In 1926 he was elected to the Mas-
coutah board of education.
WALTER W. THOMAS
ilrt ALTER W. THOMAS, of O'Fallon, 111.,
\Jy owner and operator of one of the largest
hardware establishments in St. Clair
County, IS the son of Nicholas Thomas, and
was born in Belleville, III, Nov. 12, 189J. After
attending school and Belleville Commercial Col-
lege, took employment in O'Fallon hardware
store. Then during World War, enlisted in army
and served overseas as corporal. In 1926, after
two other business ventures, Mr . Thomas bought
out the A. Ohlendorf hardware business in the
place where now located.
Two months after his discharge from the army,
Mr. Thomas was married to Frieda E. Weil,
daughter of Philip and Lena Weil, born near
Lebanon, 111, on Jan. ij, 1895. Their son, Warren
D. Thomas, was born Sept. 29, 1923,.
Mr. Thomas is Mason and Shriner. He is also
a member of the Knights of Pythias, of the
American Legion, of the O'Fallon Rotary Club,
and of the local Business Men's Association, of
which organization he has served as president.
GEORGE RAUSHKOLB
©ORN in Belleville, July 19, 1856; attended
public schools of that city; enrolled in
Central Wesleyan College, Warrenton,
Mo.; employed as clerk in book store, but soon
took up clerical work in manufacturing plant.
Was married to Pauline Hartnagel, 1879. On
April 18, i88j, entered retail grocery business,
and for the last forty-three years he has been
connected w^ith this same business.
His other activities: member of Retail Mer-
chants' Association (president for two terms);
member of M. E. Church and Sunday School for
fifty -five years (also chairman of board of trustees
of his church for many years). Mrs. Raushkolb
is also active in church work, being president of
Ladies' Aid Society. Mr. and Mrs. Raushkolb
are the proud parents of five children.
MC KENDREE fl
R. C. STOLTZ
ONE OF BELLEVILLE'S most alert, indus-
tnous. and up-to-date business men, one
who IS well known and universally liked
and who is busy in many civic and fraternal
activities and organizations is R. C. Stoltz, senior
member of the company of R. C. Stoltz 6? Son.
whose store is situated at 20J East Main Street.
R. C. Stoltz was born December 5, 1887, at
Belleville, 111. At an early age he chose business
as his field of occupation and, upon completing
his public school education, enrolled in a com-
mercial college.
After he had finished his commercial educa-
tion, Mr. Stoltz acted as bookkeeper and stenog-
rapher in the freight department of a large St.
Louis estabhshment for some time and later was
bookkeeper for the Herzler Heminger Company.
Not being content with working for other
companies, and wishing to venture into the busi-
ness world on his own initiative, Mr. Stoltz, in
1907, left his former occupation and opened a
grocery business at 10-12 North Jackson Street,
in Belleville. In 1921 he moved to his present
location and has been there since that time.
On Jan. 6, 1907, Mr. Stoltz was married to
Meta M. Wenzel and two children have been
born to this union — a son, Leroy R., being born
February 21, 1908, and a daughter, Vivian J.,
coming into the family July i?, 191J. Leroy
attended the public schools of Belleville and was
graduated from the township high school in
June of 1926. He was then taken into his father's
business as junior partner. He is now a Freshman
at the University of Illinois.
R. C. Stoltz is a member of the Retail Mer-
chants' Association, of the Belleville Board of
Trade, and of the Turner's St. Clair Lodge No.
24, Chapter 106, Sacred Commandery, No. ';2.
He is a Mason; a member of the Belleville Coun-
cil 67. Fishing and swimming are his hobbies.
CHRISTOPHER W. SIEGEL
CHE PROPRIETOR of the Lebanon Gar-
age-Dodge Ser\.'ice Station, in Lebanon,
111., is Mr, Christopher Siegel, known to
his friends as "Hoppy" Siegel. He is a native of
this community, was born near Lebanon, Sep-
tember 12, 1872, and received his education in
the Lebanon public schools. His father rented
a farm near Lebanon, and for a few years after
finishing his schooling, Christopher worked on
this farm. Afterwards he was employed as a
delivery-man for the Belleville Star Brewery.
He entered the garage business in 191 1 and in
1926 put up a new building, which his growing
business required. Just before opening his gar-
age here, Mr. Siegel worked in St. Louis for a
while for the Schrader Coal 6? Ice Company.
On May 22, 1907, he was married to Zula
McGuire, the daughter of John R. and Eliza
White McGuire, of Lebanon. She attended the
Lebanon schools, and for two years the Carlyle
High School. Before her marriage, she had lived
a short time in Denver. She is a member of the
Rebeccas. Her grandfather. Dr. John M. White,
and her great uncles, Hamilton and n.inicl
White, were among the first students ,it Mc-
Kendree Oillege, a significant fact at thi.-; time.
when the college is celebrating its Centennial
year.
Mr. Siegel is a member of the Evangelical
Church, and of the K. P. Lodge. Hunting and
fishing are his choice recreations.
EMIL J. WEBER
eMIL J. WEBER, one of the efficient busi-
ness men of Lebanon, 111., a plumber, tin-
smith, and sheet metal worker, and the
owner of a first class hardware store, was born
in this city June !•;, i88j. His father, Jo.seph
Weber, long a cooper at the Pfeffer Mill, died
May 18, igc;, and his mother on Nov. 25, 1895.
They were the parents of eleven children.
Mr. Weber finished the grades and spent
three years in high school, before beginning his
hfe's work in 1898 as an apprentice in the C. H.
Sager Hardware Company. With the exception
of one year (1901), when he worked at his trade
in Duquoin, 111., he was employed in the above
named business continuously for sixteen years,
until 1917. when he went into business for him-
self. In 1923, h; moved to his present location.
On Nov. 8, 1906, he married Odelia R. Schutz,
also born in Lebanon, Dec. 27, 1885, the daughter
of Louis and Rosa Schmidt Schutz. Her father
died on April 22, 1923; her mother is still living
and in good health.
Mr. and Mrs. Weber have three children —
Edgar, born March 8. 1911; Robert, May 19,
1917; and Gertrude, on July 1 j, 1920. All attend
the home schools.
Mr. Weber is a Mason, an Odd Fellow, a
Rotarian, and a member of the Evangelical
Church, in which he is a trustee. He enjoys
working in his garden and around his home. He
is a good citizen and well liked here.
GEORGE A. FISCHER
^R. GEORGE A. FISCHER, a hoisting
engineer, living in O'Fallon, was born at
Staunton, Dec. 29, 1870. His good wife,
Sarah Kerby Fischer, was born in Murphysboro,
111., Dec. 6, 1874, daughter of Isaac Kerby (died
190J), and Emeline Marsh (lives in Webb City,
Mo.) They were married Feb. 11, 189J, and
have had ten children, seven of whom still live.
Their names and birth dates follow— E. Matilda,
Dec. 8, 1893; Anna M., August 28, 1895; H.
Edward, July 13, 1897) killed overseas in the
World War); George Arnold, Feb. 17, igoo;
Katherine E., June 30, 1902; Lester D., Dec. 26,
1904 (died in infancy); Emil T., Jan. 15, 1906
(died at eight years); M. Estella, April 2^, 1908;
Walter F., Nov. 23, 1910; Lillie, July 23, 191 3.
The four oldest children, now living, have mar-
ried. Mr. Fischer received a public school edu-
cation at Staunton, and worked on the farm
until he was eighteen, when he began working
as an engineer, and has since remained at this
occupation; located at Litchfield for three years,
and the rest of the time, until 1897, '" Staunton.
Since 1897 he has worked in O'Fallon. He holds
memberships with the Odd Fellows, the Modern
Woodmen, and the German Evangelical Church,
and has been a member of the O'Fallon Town-
ship high school board for eight years. Mrs.
Fischer is a Royal Neighbor, and a member of
the Ladies" Aid Society of her church. Mr.
Fischer comes from staunch German parentage;
his parents, George Fischer and Mary Hugle,
came to America in 1843 from Bavaria, Germany.
MRS. FRANK STROUD
^RS. FRANK STROUD, of East St. Louis,
born at Washington, Indiana, on Sept.
6, 1892; received a part of her public
school education here. Family moved to Flora,
Illinois; graduated from McKendree College in
1914. One year, instructor in Flora High School.
On November 2^, 1916, was married to Mr.
Frank Stroud, of Altamont, Illinois, who attend-
ed McKendree three years — is at present head
salesman for H. J. Heinz Company, of St. Louis.
Mrs. Stroud is member of Methodist Church,
and of Schubert Club of her district. Is a great
lover of music.
Si.x Hundred and Thirtv-Four
ARTHUR ENGELHARDT
^R. J ARTHUR ENGELHARDT, in
partnership with his father, runs a black-
smith shop in Manssa. He is the only son
of John G. and Mary Hacker Engelhardt, was
born in Manssa. Sept. nth, 1890, graduated
from the high school in 1909, and went into his
father's shop, which was then operated under
the name of Engelhardt Bros., and worked here
until 191 1, when he was made a partner in the
business. In 1919, the name of the shop was
changed to Engelhardt and Son.
Mr. Engelhardt is married and has one son,
Arthur Paul, born July 6th, 1915. The mother,
formerly Edna F. Jones, is the daughter of Jon-
athan and Clara (Dial) Jones, and was born in
Manssa on Oct. 4th, 1893, was graduated from
high school in 191 1, and studied music for one
year in McKendree College. She was married
to Mr. Engelhardt on Oct. 21st, 1912. She is
a member of the Methodist Church, president
of the Ladies' Aid Society, a member of her
church choir, and of the Board of Education of
the Marissa public schools.
Mr. Engelhardt is a Methodist, and the treas-
urer of his church, a past Master of the Masonic
Lodge No. 881, and a member of the Eastern
Star. He owns a nice residence and other prop-
erty in Manssa.
JOHN D. JOHNSON
aOHN DAVIS JOHNSON was born at
Belleville, Illinois, April 19, 1844- He is
descended from English and Scotch an-
cestors, who settled in Virginia and Pennsyl-
vania. His father, Henry Johnson, was born in
Philadelphia, Jan. i, 1801, and his mother, Elvira
Fouke, was born at Kaskaskia, the capital of
Illinois Territory, March 26, 181}; they were
married in 1829, settled at Belleville, and in 1858
moved to St. Louis. Mr. Johnson was the sixth
and IS now the only surviving child born of that
union. He was educated in part in the public
schools of Belleville, and at McKendree College,
but quit the latter in 1861 for the purpose of
enlisting m the Union Army, in which he served
as a private and first lieutenant.
Mc KENDREE
He married his first wife while in the service,
m 1S64, and at the end of the Civil War, he
secured employment as a deputy court clerk at
St. Louis, and applied himself to the study of
law. After five years of persistent reading, he
was, in 1870, duly admitted to practice his
chosen profession in the Missouri courts, and
promptly began his career in the office of his
elder brother, Chas. P. Johnson, who at that
time was one of the leading criminal advocates
of the West. Later the two brothers formed a
copartnership, for the general law practice,
winch continued for more than twenty years,
to their mutual advantage and satisfaction. Mr.
Johnson was later associated with several other
able attorneys. He has, however, always confined
his efforts entirely to the civil and commercia'
branches of the law, and has earned for himself
an enviable reputation as a conscientious, able,
and successful practitioner. Of commanding pres-
ence, genial manners, and unfailing courtesy, a
hard student, thoroughly versed in all branches
of the law, an easy and convincing speaker and
a tireless worker; no man in the profession has
commanded more respect than he. McKendree
College in 1880 conferred upon him the honorary
degree of M. A.
Politically he has been a life long Republican,
but has never held a political office.
In 1897, Mr. Johnson married Miss Anne
Mclntyre, of Mexico, Mo., who still survives.
He through his entire life has lived cleanly. Good
health, which he and his wife attribute largely
to Christian Science, has been an important
factor in his life. He has forty-four living descend-
ants— that IS to say, seven sons and daughters,
all married and well settled in life, twenty-five
grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren.
ARTHUR SEIBERT
ON RURAL ROUTE NO. 4, out from
Belleville, is the farm of Mr. Arthur
Seibert, consisting of 122 acres. He located
on this farm in 1918, but began his career as a
farmer in the Shiloh Valley, in 191'!, after work-
ing at the molder's trade for a short time, and
FRED FISCHER
Dupo, III.
Biography appears on page ';76
in the mines for nine years. Mr. Seibert is the
son of a farmer, George Seibert, and of Lizzie
Fritz, both of whom are dead. He was born near
Shiloh Village, attended the Belleville Commer-
cial College one year, and the Highland Park
College, of Des Moines, Iowa, for six months.
On July 4, 1907, he was married to Anna Mutte,
a young lady of Shiloh Valley, the daughter of
Theodore Mutte and Katie Meyer, who was
born on March 13, 1884. She and Mr. Seibert
have two children, Valerie, born Nov. 9, 1910,
is now a Junior in the O'Fallon High School.
The younger child, Levi M., was born Nov.
16, 1915.
Mr. Seibert was formerly a member of the
K. P., and is now a member of the Shiloh Valley
Grange. He has been on the school board of
District 85 for seven years, and the president
of this board since the spring of 1927. Mrs.
Seibert is also a member of the Grange.
J. ARTHUR ENGELHARDT and Famil
Siv HiuidT-ed and Tlurty-Fn
The Chapel Stair
Happy reflection, sweet retrospection.
Of other days on a campus hill;
Of Autumn s brightness, of Winter's whiteness.
And Spring's neiv morning breathing stiU;
The buildings there erect and square.
The Chapel hall and its winding stair.
How I remember in late September
My first matriculation day:
Each grave professor we made confessor.
And half afraid awaited his say.
But we found him fan, forgot our scare
'Mong the chattering group by the Chapel stair.
""Twas a place of meeting and friendly greeting
The old stone steps by the Chapel door.
Here learned teachers, student preachers.
Seniors, and Juniors from class'room lore,
J'iow rid of care, with a joyous air
Together ascended the Chapel stair.
Hour of devotion, refreshing lotion
Wherein our weary souls did lave;
So timid-hearted ive ne'er departed
Less unprepared to-day to brave
For a simple prayer gave courage there
As we went our way from the Chapel stair.
In seasons festive the Seniors restive
Their contemplated fields to till.
Do here assemble, and looJ^ing tremble
Their new capacity to fill
For many a care is their's to share
When they finally leave the Chapel stair.
How oft, I wander, after sad blunder
Do others do as some have done
Who to place returning, its blessing yearning.
Have found themselves by the steps of stone
And lingered there in memory where
They had loitered before, by the Chapel stair.
When I no longer am grounng younger.
When e'er my long life's day is told;
Its sun still shinmg yet slow declining,
I would steer my bar}{ for McKendree old
For God is there and Heaven somewhere
J<[ot far from the head of the Chapel stair.
By F. C. Brown '28
INDEX
Abend, Chandler, B. . . .610,
Adams, Rev. John M.
Adelsberger, John F. .
Agriculture Dept., organized
Ahrens, Charles C. .
Akers, Joshua S.
Akers, M. p., and Family
Akers, Peter. . 101, Hit
Alexander, Julia Estelle
Alexander, Maude .
Allyn, Ellen S. .
Allyn, Joseph G. .
Ally'n, Robert, sketch and portra
Alpha Mu Omega .
Alpha Psi Omega
Alumni Roster (1916-1910)
Alumni Roster (1920-1922) .
Alumni Roster (1923-1928)
Alvord, Mrs. Josephine
Ames, Bishop E. R. .
Ames, James M. .
Amos, Josephine
Anderson, Alonzo R. .
Andrews, Dr. Malcolm Perce
Andrews, Rev. C. P. .
Andrus, Dr. Rueben
Anheuser and Ruth
Anton, Joseph J. .
Arnold, John F. . . .
Armstrong, Charles U. .
Articles of Confederation, Mo. and III
Conferences ....
Articles of Organiz.ation of Sem
Asbury, Bishop .
AsBURY, Earl E.
Asbury, Dr. Ernest C. .
AsBURY, portrait OF BiSHOP
Ash, Edwin L. ,
AsH, John F.
Athletics, College
Atterbury, Geo. W.
Atterbury, Jas. H. .
Augusta College
AxTELL, Benton
AxTELL, Ellen C.
Babcock, Rev. Geo. W
Babcock, Rev. Wm. C.
Bachelors
Bachman, Amy
Badgley Family .
Badley, William J. .
Baer, Philip
Bailey, Dr. G. O. .
Bailey, Stephen M.
Bainbridge, Mrs. Ella
Baird, John H. .
Baker, Edwin P.
Baker, Mrs. Ida Belle
Baker, Jehu, portrait
Baldwin, Chas. C.
Baltz, William N. .
Band,
Barber, Sam D.
Barger, Rev. James H.
Barnes, Harold P. .
Barr, Morris Lincoln
Barter, Dr. A. J. .
Barton, Kirtland C.
Barts, Charles H. .
108,
350, 407,
. 408,
324
341
55
372
457
251
336
200
249
356
216
341
249
306
383
541
61
378
622
baseball .
Basketball .
Bassett, William H.
Baer, Adolph
Beck, Rev. Harris G. .
Beckman, C. W. .
Beedle, Gertrude
Bechtold, Dr. H. T.
Behrens, Mrs. Jessie H. .
Begole, Blanche
Behymer, Frank A.
Bell, Charles P.
Bell, College
Belleville . 256
Bennwell, J. Leon
Berger, Albert L. .
Berger, Dr. Lyman A. .
Bernays, Dr. a. C. .
Bernays, Thekla
Bernreuter, Rev. George
Berry, Mrs. Cora G. .
Bevis, Charles A. .
Biggerstaff, Mrs. Ada B.
Biggs, Wm. .
Bigler, Ada
Billings, Rev. George H.
Bishop, Elmer
Bishop, James A.
BissELL, William H.
Black, Sanders W. .
Black, Wm. H. .
Blair, Prof. F. O. .
Blair, George .
Blair, Rev. James G.
Blanck, Mrs. Myrtle D.
Blanck, Jennie E. .
Bloody Island .
Blythe, Jesse W.
Blume, John H. .
Blume, Louise C.
Blumenstein Brothers
Board of Trustees .
Bock, Dr. G. G. .
BoHM, Louis F.
Boman, Frank
Bornman, Lewis C. ,
Bond, Gov. Shadrach
BoNHAM, William T.
Bonner, Stith Otwell
Bott, William
Bowman, Bishop.
Bradford, Thoklas A.
Bradley, Elsie .
Brannum, Rev. T. P.
Brentzell, H. R. .
Breuer, William H.
Brinkerhoff, J. G.
Briscoe, Thos. I.
Broaddus, Kate G.
Brock, John Wesley
Brooks, Anna Mary
Brooks, John M.
Brown, Asahel .
Brown, Carrie Agnes
Brown, Charles B.
Brown, Charles L. .
Brown, Judge E. D.
Brown, E. Grace .
Brown, George L.
Brown, Mrs. Iva Wisi
Brown, Dr. Lloyd W.
Brown Oratorical Contest
Brown, Robert J.
Brown, Shelby C.
Brown, Judge Will
. 504
384
. 536
371
. 372
606
. 245
175
489, 490
345
. 290
215
. 219
316,377
. 323
375
. 611
390
. 454
390
. 601
290
. 268
481
. 273
229
. 176
456
. 170
384
. 362
494
610, 611
215
. 245
606
. 18
609
. 219
631
. 205
462
. 285
180
. 345
106
. 142
378
. 362
398
. 552
274
. 226
341
300
275
Brown, William J. .
Brown, Wm, F. '
Brown, Chas. W. .
Brownlee, Jamfs H.
Bryant, David W. .
Bryan Essay Contest .
Bryan, Silas Lillard
Bryan, William Jennings
Buchanan, Prof. Geo. V.
BuDiNA, Fred E. .
BuEL, Rev. J. C.
Buildings, Growth of ,
BuNDY, Flossie
Burgard, Mrs. M.ae H.
BuRNETTE, Esther
Burroughs, Caleb C. .
BuRRuss, Dr. Edward W.
Burt, Mrs. Maud Watts
Burton, Ida May
BUSCHER, L. B.
Butler, Joseph
Butts, Louis A. .
Byars, W. V.
Cahokia
Cokesbury College
Calame, Rev. F. M.
Caldwell, Dr. George W.
Caldwell, Thomas J.
Calhoun, Harold V. .
Calhoun, Llewellyn
Callahan, Ethelbert .
Calvert, David G, .
Camp, Thomas N.
Campbell, Bruce A.
Campbell, Mrs. Carrie Thrall
Campbell, Rev. C. W.
Campbell, Drs. J. A. and J. M.
Campbell, Rev. Marshall
Cannady, Dr. E. W. .
Capen, Ida May
Capture of Kaskaskia .
Carnegie, Andrew .
Carnegie Hall .
Carr Family.
Carroll, Chas. B.
Carson, Franklin B.
Carson, Mrs. F. Spies .
Carson, James S. .
Carson, Leonard
Carter, Atkins H. .
Carter, Augustine P. .
Carter, Cleon C. .
Carter, Dr. 1. M. G. .
Carter, J. P..
Carter, Mrs. Martha Siggett
Carter, Mrs. Nellie Z. .
Cartwright's hat, picture .
Cartwright, Peter, portrait
Saddlebags
Casad, Orla S.
Case, Ruth E. .
Casey, Samuel K. .
Casey, Judge Thom.as .
Casey, Thomas S. .
Casey, Zadock .
Caseyville ...
Castle, Henry A.
C.astello, Wm. .
Caughlan, George S. .
Central Christian Advocate
Central Illinois Conference organized
Chaffin, Horatio C.
INDEX— Continued
Chaffin, Mrs. O. Miller
Choisser, Robert E. .
Choisser, Hon. W. V. .
Chamberlin, Clifford D. .
Chamberlin, Judge C. E.
Chamberlin, Edgar Clinton
Chamberlin, J. M.
Chamberlin, John M., Jr. .
Chamberlin, Mrs. Lula F.
Chamberlin, McKendree H.
Chambers, Nathan
Chance, William .
"Chape Wollie"
Chapin, Judge S. P. .
Chapman, Benjamin H.
Chapman, Hon. Pleasant T.
Charles, Geo. B.
Charter, first
Revised.
Childs, Rev. Nathaniel C.
Christian Associations
Christian, Wm.
Christmas Conference, Baltimore
Church, Dr. H. S. .
Churches, Lebanon
Church Influence in State Schools
Clark Brothers.
Clark Hall ....
Clark, Rev. John
Clarke, Col. George Rogers
Classen, Edward A. .
Class of 18ti9
Chautauqua, Philo
Clemens, Mrs. Minnie H. .
Clemson, Col. . . . .
Clionian Literary Society oU, 310,
Clock, College .
Clucas, William J. .
Clucas, William S.
COBLEIGH, PrES. NeLSON E.
Cobleigh, Nelson S.
College Association
College Church
College Papers
College Prayer Meeting
College Well, poem
Combe, Chas. E. .
Combs, Clarence A.
Commencement Day, first
Commencement Program, facsimile
Commercial Dep't.
Conference on Seminary .
CoNNOLE, Martha L. .
Cook, Ralph
255,
Copp, Capt. William H.
Corbett, Boston
CoRLis, George L.
CoRRELL, Rev. J. M.
Corrie, Eugene .
CORRINGTON, ReV. J. F.
Corrington, Stephen F.
CORRINGTON, ReV. WilLIAM H
CouGHENOR, Alfred E..
County Superintendents .
County Teachers" Meetings
CouRTER, Mrs. Mabel S. .
Cramp, Rev. Lemuel
Cramp, Lemuel L., Jr.
Crary, Rev. B. F.
Creamer, Philip
Creighton, Joseph C.
Crews, Franklin P. .
Critchley, W. Y.
Croix, Robert B.
Crosby, George E.
Crosby, Viola
Crouse, C.
Culver, Rev. O. F. .
CuMMiNGs, Pres. Anson W.
'Soo
385
229
305
336
306
183
330
375
346
507
306
448
332
226
246
203
131
133
291
92
349
. 397
484
. 445
003
. 210
303
. 359
119
313, 315
175
. 293
266,;
127
385
331
128
285
239
107
596
194
331
367
381
182
342
235
450
276
245
404
390
342
CuMMiNGS, Rev. Anson W.
Cummins, Rev. J. B. .
Cummins, Rev. J. P..
Cummins, Rev. John W.
Cummins, Rev. J. S..
Cummins, Rev. L. G.
Cunningham, Annie
Cunningham, Richard Frisbie
Cunningham, Rev. W. L. .
Curtis, Benjamin Moore
Daab, FredC. .
Dailev, Prof. Wm. M.
Dalley, Nettie M.
Daniels, James
Dante, Mrs. Myrtle L.
Dare, Nellie.
Darmstatter, Louis G. .
Darnielle, Isaac
Darrow. William E. .
Daumueller, William C.
Dausman, Carrie
Davidson, Samuel .
Davidson, Wesley
Davis, Cora B.
Davis, Rev. W. R.
Debate, Women's
Debate, Men's .
Dee, Rev. J. G.
Dee, Norman Bliss
Delzell, Daniel H. .
Delzell, John C.
Deneen Family
Deneen, Florence
Deneen, Charles S..
Deneen, Edward A.
Deneen, Risdon M. .
Deneen, Sadie Alice
Deneen, Prof. Samuel H.
Deneen, Rev. William L.
Denny, John S.
Dew, Chas. F. .
Dew, Rev. John
Dew, Jere T.
Dickens visits St. Clair County
Dickson, Mrs. Ethel D.
Dickson, Mrs. Sadie D.
DiNTELMAN, LoUIS F.
Dixon, Joseph
Dixon, Samuel .
Dollahon, Robert .
Dolley, Prof. James C. .
Donoho, Earl W. .
Donovan, Rev. J. S.
DoREY, Thomas S. .
DoRRis, Prof. Chas. H..
DoRRis, William R..
Doty, Mrs. M. Steele .
DouD, Mrs, Etta H.
Dougherty, Dora
Dougherty, Ethel .
Doyle, Benj. H. .
Doyle, Frank
Downs, Rev. Frank W.
Dressor, Charlotte A.
Dressor, Edwin W.
Drury, Joseph W. .
Dry Zone Bill
Dubuque, Julien
Duncan, Rev. C. M. .
Duncan, Myrtle
Duncan, Mrs. Susie Schui
DuNDAs, Rev. J. W..
Dunsdon, Cora .
Dupo .
Dupo High School
595
. 375
342
619, 620
303
. 251)
128
. 358
233
362
608
380
379
585
473
607
592
375
474
151
367
165
. 216
216
. 499
326
279, 482
251
. 168
291
. 160
148
. 107
293
99, 123
230
. 48:3
375
. 291
609
. 507
509
. 151
353
144
333
505
541
251
241
240
153
405
448
390
384
389
372
280
511
iH.
1868
Dutch Pete .
Dyroff, Louis j.
Eagleton, Judge Leander
Eagleton, Mrs. M. Pierce
Early Lawyers .
Early Physicians
Earp, Rev. John E.
Earp, Dr. Samuel E
East St. Louis, the Metropolis
E.aton, Henry B.
Eaton, Rev. ThoM;
Eaton, Wm. P.
Ebenezer Academy
Eberhardt, Wm. J.
Eberlein, Henry.
Ebert, William H.
EcKERT, John H..
EcKERT, Thomas W,
Edgar, John
Education in St. Clair Co.
Educational Convention,
Edwards, Geo. K. .
Edwards, John C.
Edwards, Ninian
Edwards, Oliver M. .
Edwards, Stephen G. H.
Edwards, Surry L.
Edwards, William O.
Edwards, Dean W. W..
Eggman, August M.
EiDMAN, Arthur
ElSENMAYER GyMNASIUM
ElSENMAYER, MrS. JeNNIE E
Elain, John .
Elain, Thomas .
Elipf, Wm. W.
Elliott. Charles Herbert
Embury, Philip's Horn
Endowment Campaign.
Endowment Certificate
Endowment Growth
Engelhardt, j. Arthur
Ensign, Mrs. Flossie B. .
Ensign, Newton E. .
Entrekin, Peter T.
Essex, Thomas
Essex, Wm. M. .
Evans, Ernest
Evans, Ora
Ewing, James K.
EwiNG, James R..
Ewington, Alfred .
Farmer, Celia Albin
Farmer, Judge William A
Farmer, William Roy
Farthing, Mrs. Harriet G
Farthing, Lulu M
Farthing, Paul fe? Chester
Faulkner, John S. .
Faulkner, Mrs. Neli
Ferguson, Prof. Edw
Ferguson, Juliette
Feurer, George M..
Feurer, Grover E.
Feurer, J. H..
Field, Eunice
FiKE, Henry Clay .
Finances, College
Fine Arts
FiNLEV, Pres. J. C.
First M. E. Church,
. 468
11, 535
343
. 344
472
. 469
200
. 268
492
. 565
153, 318
. 205
103
. 621
634
. 603
184
. 205
463
. 512
198
. 219
216
. 476
226
. 220
161
. 337
227
. 603
544
. 409
362
. 191
213
. 201
387
. 139
.349, 400
. 191
270
635
379
383
275
181
220
614
367
612
404
375
303
007
,607
320
285
582
603
584
East St. Louis
Six HundTcd and Tliirlv-Eiglil
MC KENDREE
INDEX— Continued
First Nat'l Bank, OTallon .
Fisher, Allen G.
Fischer, Fred G..
Fischer, George A.
Fischer, Philip .
FisK, Wilbur, as a Disciplinari/'
Fitzgerrell, John S.
Fleming,- Mrs. Ida C.
Fletcher, A. J. .
Flint, Edith M. .
Flint, Geo. W. .
Flint, Gilbert Roy .
Flint, Rev. John W.
Flint, Mary F.
Flint, Wm. W. .
Flocken, Rev. Louis M.
Foltz, Rev. M. C.
Football . 71,350,413,
Ford, Thomas .
Forensics
Forman, Mrs. Rebecca
Foster, John T.
Foster, Samuel Louis .
Fowler, Rev. Ellis F.
Fox, Blanche
Franklin, Charles Alfred
Frantz, Jacob W.
Freark, Mrs. Anna M. .
Freark, Rev. C. S.
Freeburg
French, Augustus C. .
French Customs
French, Edward S.
Freshmen
Freshour, Orville C. .
Freudenberg, Walter
Frey, Charles .
Fritz, Rev. Carl
Rroeschle, Rev. David.
Frost, Chas. S.
FuNFAR, Mary .
Fulgham, Mrs. O. Pesold .
rsP.
606
596
274
276
508, 509
479
- 464
201
44
588
. 633
629
618, 619
614
. 233
404
. 354
Gadeky, Harry F. .
Gaffner, Catherine
Gaffner, Gertrude .
Garrell, Nellie B.
Garrett, Mrs. Grace Isdel
Garrigus, Harriet
Garth, Mary S.
Gary, Judge Elbert H.
Gaskill, Dr. J. R. M.
Gedney, Cora F.
Gentry, Cyrus
George, Rev. A. C.
George, Margaret.
Gerking, Gertrude
Germain Arthur J.
Gerold, E. Fred
Gibson, Charles T.
Gilbert, Margaret
Geisler, Rev. John N. .
Gill, Fred K. . . .
Girls" Basketball Team (1903-1904)
Glasgow, Fannie Primm .
Glenn, Dr. Carl L. ,
Glenn, William T. .
Glotfelty, Rev. J. F. .
Glotfelty, P. R. .
Goethe, John G. .
Goforth, Mrs. Julia B.
GoFORTH, Walter C. .
Goheen, Dr. S. M. E.
GOODFELLOW, ReV. WrLIAM
Goodman, Rev. George
GooDNER, Madison M. .
Goodner, Dr. G. W.
343
367
370
604
, 564
345
220
Gordlfy, K
Gordon, Abram G. ,
Gould, Rev. Vergil N.
Governors op III. from St. Clai
Grannis, F. C. .
Gratrait, Charles .
Greathouse, Lucien
Green, Rev. Thos. E.
Gregory, Thomas W.
Griesbaum, Dr. Phil,
Griffin, Boone .
Griffin, Oscar B. .
Grodeon, Elmer A.
Grodeon, Walter J.
Grolle, Fred W.
Gunthorp, Horace .
GusTiN, Robert V.
Gwin, John N.
H
Haagen, Emil C. .
. 368
Haas, Louis J. .
623
Hadley, Frank
. 391
Hadley, W. F. S.
203
Haggin, James
. 473
Hagist, Oscar .
549
Haisley, Wm. P. .
. 185
Hall, Rev. Claude C. .
575
Hall, J. Caleb
. 275
Hammen, Mrs. IdaM..
326
Hallam, Dr. John L.
. 145
Hamilton, John
510
Hampton, John M..
. 333
Handsaker, Charles M.
182
Handsaker, Theodore
. 241
Hankamer, Edward C.
595
Happy, Cyrus
. 211
Happy, H.W. .
206
Harder, John C. .
. 359
Harding, Mrs. Nina Jepson .
337
Harding, Frederic B.
343
Harding, Robert H. .
343
Harding, Walter C.
. 343
Hardy, David Morris .
605
Harker, Judge O. A.
. 201
Harmon, Pres. Cameron
425
Harmon, Rev. J. F. .
. 396
Harmon, Seymour H. .
286
Harnsberger, Wm. A.
. 230
Harris, Rev. Frank .
598
Harris, Rev. Joseph,
. 187
Harrison Family
458
Harrison, Cornelius Gooding
- 150
Harrison, Hugh G. .
1.50
Harrison, Dr. J. S. .
. 170
Harrison, Olive E. .
341
Harrison, Thomas Oglesby
. 150
Harrison, Tom .
148
Hartman, Harrison H. .
. 630
Hartzell, William
182
Hastings, Samuel .
. 220
Hatten, Charles T. .
580
Hamill, James M. .
. 210
Hay, John
450
Hayes, Thomas J., Jr.
. 595
Hays, William K.
345
Hays, Dr. and Mrs. George R. .
. 584
Heacock, Russell
474
Hecker, Col, Fred .
. 508
Hecker, Harold F.
385
Heer, Christian .
. 630
Heer,L.F.
631
Heineman, Adam M.
. 619
Heinemann, Julius
621
Helms, Edward S. .
. 608
Hemmen, Herman
504
Henderson, Andrew E. .
. 345
Henderson, Mrs. Catherine G.
3ii7
Hennessey, Rev. John D.
Herbsman, Julius C.
Herdman, Etta
Herdman, Minnie E.
Herdman, Dr. Thomas H
Hereford, Hon. Francis
Herman, Peter, Jr..
Herman, Philip .
Herron, Mrs. Emma Car
Herron, Samuel P.
Herschey, Mrs. Faith W.
Henninger, John W. .
Hewitt, James Herbert
Hicks, Thomas .
Higgins, Dr. Isaac N.
HiGGiNS, Thomas
Hill, Geo. W.
Hill, John
Hill, S. S. .
HiLLSKOETTER, JuDGE J. E.
HiRscHLER, Jacob P. .
HiRSTEiN, Abraham
HiRSTEiN, John
HiRTH, VaL
Historic Incidents .
Hitch, Alice E. .
Hoar, Rev. S. H. .
Hobbs, John L. .
Hobbs, Mae .
HoDGDON, Judge S. D. .
Hoerdt, Otto
Hoffman, Norma J.
HoHMAN, Rev. Rudolph, portrait
Holbert, Capt. R. A- .
Holder, Robert D. W. .
HoLDERBY, Amy .
Holding, Elizabeth .
HoLLiDAY, George H. .
Homecomings
Home Economics Dep't orga
Homer, W. N.
Honorary Alumni Roster
Horner, Ethel E. .
Horner Family .
Horner, Hattie H. .
Horner, Henry Hypes .
Horner, Roland H.
HoRNiNE, Wm. H.
HoRTON, Agnes
Hough, William H. .
Houghton, Rev. Ross C.
Housam, Jessie .
HousAM, William .
HouTs, Rev. Thom.'^s F.
HOYT, Mrs. Carrie B.
HoYT, Rev. E. A.
HoYT, John W.
HuECKEL, Josephine
Huggins, Rev. John N.
Hughes, Virginia E.
Hughey, Laura A. .
HUGHEY, SaLLIE M.
Hull, Arthur Harrison
Humphrey, Rev. George W.
Hunt, Anthony A..
Hurt, Pres. H. W.
Hussong Family
Hussong, Mae .
Hutchinson, William
Hypes, Dr. Benjamin M
Hypes Family -
Hypes Field
Hypes, W.H..
Illinois Advocate &? Journa
Illinois Coal Company
Si.T Htmdred and ThwtyK'
_MC KENDREE
INDEX— Co7Uniued
Illinois Conference organized
Illinois Conference Session, ISi
Illinois Town in 1818
Impro\ements
Inauguration, Pres. Harmon
Indhna Conference organized
Interscholastic, The
Irwin, Syl\ ester M.
IsDELL, Grace
ACK, HaLLIE .
ACK, Isaac B.
AQUEss, Re\'. Jakies A
ARRAT, Nicholas
EPSON, Albert G. .
EPSON, Bertha .
EPSON, Genevieve .
EPSON, Jessie O. .
EPSON, Nina Theresa
EPSON, Ruth
erome, Charles Wesley
ohnson, Bert
OHNsoN, Charles P., portr
ohnson, John D.
OHNSON, John Davis
OHNSON, Jeremiah G.
, Fannie E.
loNES, Arthur .
loNEs, Carrie F.
[ones, James Clinton
[ones, John Rice
[ones, Mary A. .
[ones. Prof. Oliver \
[ones, Thos. H. .
ONES, Judge W. C
ONES, William .
ONES, William L.
ONES, William V.
OSEPH, Barnett
oseph, Elmer G. .
OSEPH, Edward N,
OSEPH, Louis G. .
OSEPH, Oliver C.
UDY, Thos. J. .
UNIORS
95
Klein. Fred W.
. 633
107
Knoebel, William L. .
626
493
Knox, Thos. E.
. 216
429
Koch, John J. .
625
42(;
Koebel, Oliver J. .
. 621
9n
Koenigstein, W. a.
368
420
Koerner, Gust.-lvas,
. 474
24li
KoLB Brothers .
591
3SH
Kolb, Christian
KoLB, William .
KoLDiTz, Conrad A.
Kortkamp, Mrs. Eva O.
. 591
592
615,616
380
,
Krehbiel, Augusta .
368
307
149
450
320
367
Krehbiel, Edward D. .
384
Krohn, Henry W. .
. 620
Krome, Judge W. H. .
191
Kuehn, M. F.
. 629
KuNZ, William P.
622
KUNZE, Gus J.
. 625
355
337
KuNZE, Herman H. .
581
KuNZE, J. C. F.
. 573
307
242
635
130
576
563
363
363
472
326
167
163
563
269
359
630
632
574
555
.547
206
34
Kampmeyer, Ralph .
. .504
Kanzler, Herman A. .
569
Karnes. Mrs. Kate O.
. 356
Karns, John Marshall
5:34
Kaskaskia in ISIS ,
. 441
Kasserman, Judge H. M.
331
Keach, Edwin P. .
. 242
Kean, Rev. Roy .
633
Kean, Harold P. .
. 404
Keeney, Dr. Joseph
182
Keet, John C.
. 221
Keller, Columbus A.
217
Kelly, Rev. Thomas H
604, 605
Kelsoe, Wm. a. ,
Kennedy, Dempsey S.
171
Keplinger, Rev. Peter
355
Kern, Rev. Ernest .
148
Kerr, Daniel
181
Kerr, S. Bartlett .
. 324
King, Rev. John .
93
King, Joseph N.
. 1.53
King, William W.
1.54
Kingsbury, Ira D. .
. 295
KiNISON, J. W. A.
.404, 422
Kimball, Rev. C. O.
. 363
Kimbrell, William
.620.621
Kinney, Wm..
. 4.56
Kirk, Lizzie O.
371
La Compte, Madame
Laird, Anna R..
Laird, Rev. John M.
Laird, Orley E. .
Land, Garrett, C.
Land. James H. .
Landau, Louis
Lane, Minerva E.
Lane, Rev. Wm.N..
Large, Rev. J. Arthu
Large, James R.
Large, Susannah Hunter
Lasley, Harvey C. .
Leahy, James.
Lebanon .
Lebanon Journal .
Lebanon Mayors
Lecturers, 1876 6? 1,877
Lecturers, Centennial Year
Leonard, Mary E
Lee, Charity A..
Leeper, Rev. John
Lehman, George E., portrait
Lehman, Nellie Florence
Levan, W. C. .
Lewis, E.E. .
Lewis, Phoebe E. .
Lemen, Edith.
Lemen Family
Lemen, John T.
Lemmon, W. W..
Lenz, Chas. .
Library, Benson Wood.
Liggett, Dr. Geo. S.
Liggett, Kate C.
Liggett, Martha E.
Lindemann Geo. C.
LiNDLY, Hon. Cicero J.
LiNDLY, Mrs. Laura M.
Lindly, Madison M.
Lindly, Mary Agnes .
LiTTicK, Geo. W.
LiTTicK. Judge W. H. .
Livesay, Dr. T N. .
Loar, Rev. Melvin
Locke, Dr. Edwin G
Locke, Geo. W. .
Locke. Rev. John W
Logan. David
Logan. Geo. H.
Lord. John W. .
Losh. Dr. Geo. L. .
Louden, Rebecca J.
Louden, Robert S. .
. 449
242
. 243
337
. 206
326
. 537
250
612, 613
355
. 208
280
. 300
. 579
496
164, 255
497
. 393
430
. 277
611
. 164
293
. 327
404
. 325
364
. 372
453
. 503
185
. 630
405
. 222
252
546
. 252
281
. 272
2,50
2.52
237
211
243
231
612
272
3.55
Lough, Norm.\n A
Louis, Mrs. Elizabeth
Louis, Henry W.
Lovely Lane Meeting House
Lowe, James H. .
Lowis, Mrs. Edith L.
LoY, Myrtle T. .
LucKNER, Walter
Lucky, Wm. T.
LupTON, John
Lyceum, McKendree College
Lyons, W. M. K.
Lynch, Isabel
Lynch, Mrs. Fannie
Lytle, James P.
M
Mallory. Major E. M. .
Manners, Prof. Chas. L.
Marcoot, Louis A. .
Marion, Francis M. .
Marissa
Marlott, Mrs. Eunice F.
Marshall, Frank W.
Marshall, Ira W.
Martin, Dr. Samuel M. .
Markman, Rev. O. L. .
Marks, Chas. W. .
Mascoutah
Mason, Mrs. Clara
Mason, L. W. .
Mason, Mrs. C. Zerweck.
Mathematics Club
Matthews, Jos. H. .
Mattison, Rev. Spencer
Mauck, Mrs. Esther
Maurer, Chas. J.
Mays, Vernon G. .
Mead, Mrs. Maggie
Mears, William .
Meehan, Thos. M.
Meguire, Abijah S..
Men's Glee Club
Merkel, Benjamin G.
Merker, Robert L.
Mermaid House
Merrill, Annis .
Merriam, Jonathan
Portrait
Merrills, Frederick E.
Merrill, Pres. John W.
Merritt, G. Wesley
Metcalf, Allan D.
Messenger. John
Mexican War, McKendreans in
Meyer. Frank P.
MClub ...
McAllilly. Marquis L.
McBride. Thos. H. .
McCammon, Chas. D. .
McCammon, Rev. Geo. E..
McCay, Edna ,
McClintock, L. E. 6? R.
McCoRKLE. Rev. Thos. N.
McCormack. Dr. J. L.
McCullagh. Jos. B. .
McCuRDY. Junius N.
McDonald, Lewis
McDowell, Bishop .
McDowell, Mrs. Cora E.
McElvain, Judge Robert J.
McElfresh, Rev. Wm. McKendree
McFarland, Rev. T. C. .
McGary, Grace Harmon
McGaw, Mrs. Susannah .
McGinnitie, W. Fish .
McGlynn. Daniel .
McHalf. Thos. C.
245
359
345
Si.x Hundred and Forty
INDEX— Co7Uinttea
McQueen, Mrs. Amy H.
McKee, Mrs. CoraD..
McKee, Horace N. .
McKee, Joseph W.
McKee, Sam P.
McKee, William W. .
McKendree, Poem .
McKendrean, The
Original Building .
McKendree Echo. The .
McKendree Headlight, The
McKendree Orchestra
McKendree Regiment, Cf
paigns of
McKendree Repository
McKendree Review, The
McKendree Sketch Book, Th
McKendree, William .
McKiNLEY, Hon. William .
McKowN, Rev. Louis S.
McClure, S. M.
McMuRDO, J. R.
McMuRPHY, Miss
MiLBURN, Rev. Wm. H
Miller, Chas. H. .
Miller, Chester F.
Miller, Eugene
Miller, Frederick F.
Miller, Judge Henry C
Miller, Ida Maria
Miller, John Elmer
Miller, Joseph A.
Miller, Proe. J. R. .
Miller, Leroy E.
Miller, Magdalena
Miller, Monroe J.
Miller, Olive I.
Mills, Sarah M.
MiLNOR, Mrs. Hattie M. .
MiNTER, Chas. M.
Minutes. Stockhold-
ers of Lebanon
Seminary, Fac-
similes. . 110,11
Mitchell Brothers.
Mitchell, John M.
Moeser, Frederick .
Moll, A. L. A. &? E. G. L.
Molles, John
Mollman, Julius D.
Mollman Arthur J.
Monk Implement Co.
Montgomery, Rev. E. E. .
Moore, Addie Viola .
Moore. Emma Carrie
Moore. Dr. Hosea H. .
Moore, Jacob S.
Moore. Judge J. M.
Moore, Gen. Jesse H.
Moore, Jonathon
Moore, Risdon
Moore. Mrs. Viola C.
Moore, W. H. A. .
Moore, Thos. F.
Moore, William
Moredock, John
Moorman, Rev. C. W. .
Morgan, E. L. .
Morgan, Mrs. Mary Flint
Morriss, a. W., Jr. .
Morris, Grace
Morris, Rev. James W.
Morriss, Dr. Herbert A. .
Morriss, Mrs. Mary Jones
Morrison, Elizabeth
Morrison, Hattie A. .
Morrison, Robert .
Morrison, William
Morrison, Col. Wm. R. .
PAGE
371
280
294
247
231
292
263
261
96
365
610
. 386
357
. 561
273
512, 593
629
337, 338
323
. 380
183
. 355
252
. 2.53
617
280
. 142
460
159, 459
363
. 404
373
. 460
466
376
323
3.56
326
282
253
449
448
159
Morrow, Re\ . William
MousLEY, Laura I. .
MuDGE, Thos. H.
Mueller, Arthur, poem
Mueller, Harry
muilberger, c. l. .
MULKEY, C. C. .
Mullen, Mrs. Annie R.
Mummert, Michael
MuNGER, Robert P. .
MuNSELL, Rev. Oliver S.
MuRDicK, John
MusER, Wm. .
MusKOEF, Richard H.
Nast, Dr. William
Nature Club
Nay, Mrs. Julia A.
Neil, Prof. C. E. .
Nelson, Adolphus
Nelson, Mrs. Lulu P.
Nelson, N. L.
Neuhoee, Dr. Floria>
Nevin, James
New Athens.
Nichols, Mrs. Florence R
Nichols, John S. C. .
Nichols, Julia Belle
Nicholson, John S. .
NiEMEYER, Charles A
NiEss, George
Nix, Wm. H. .
NoLEMAN, Robert C.
North, John E. .
North, Judge J. M.
Nuckolls, Robert S.
NuETZEL, Fred G.
Nuernberger, Geo. H
NUNNELLY, lONA EcKERT
o
Obernagel, G. L. .
Oberneufmann, Joseph
O'Fallon
O'Fallon, Col. John
Ogle Family .
Ogle, Joseph
O'Hara, Thomas .
Olden, Lt. B. F..
Olden, Lucius M. .
Olden, Maj. W. P.
O'Neal, Avis P. .
Orr, Walter A.
OSAWA, MiSHIO
Otto, Re\'. Frank F.
Otwell, Eva M.
Otwell, Kate .
Otwell, P. C.
Oxford Club
263
613
508
360
614, 615
Pace, Agnes, picture .
314
. 364
Padpield, Prof. W. G. .
618, 619
Padfield, William .
. 508
Padon, Carrie Olive .
278
Paris Cleaning and Dyeing Co.
. 552
Parker, Capt. J. T. .
184
Parker, Dr. Thomas A. .
171, 346
Parkinson, Augustus A.
232
Parkinson, Daniel B.
. 207
Parkinson, Rev. E. H. .
243
Parkinson, Geo. W.
Parkinson, Julia E.
Parkinson, Oscar L.
Patterson, Mrs. Blanche
Patterson, Lulu
Pearsons, D. K. .
Pearsons Hall
Peach, C. B. .
Peach, Susie M.
Pearn. Mrs. Annie C. .
Peck, John M.
Penrod, Andrew J. .
Pensoneau Narcisse
Perrin. Judge Frank .
Perrin, J. Nick, portrait
Perry, Jean Francis
Pesold, Prof. Arnold
Pesold. Prof. Fred
Pesold. Ottilia
Peters, Elihu McKendree
Peterson, Rev. C. L.
Peterson, Lewis V.
Peterson, Paul Q. .
Peterson, Mrs. Phoebe.
Petri, Ed. .
Pfeffer, Agnes
Pfeffer, Mrs. Dora D.
Pfeffer, W.C. .
Ppennighausen, Otto C, portrait
Pfingsten, Edward W..
Phelps, Mrs. Carrie P. .
Phelps, George L.
Phillips, David
Phillips, Rev. D. W.
Phillips, Geo. D.
Phillips, Lewis M.
Philo Hall, picture
Philosophian Literary Society
"Physics," The Burial of .
Pierce, Minnie A.
Pierce, Rev. Reuben E.
Pierce, Rev. William H.
PiERCY, Mrs. Eulalia
Piercy, W. Duff.
Pierson, Johnson
Pi Kapp.^" Delta .
Planellas, Miguel .
Platonian Literary Society
Poole, Rev. William H. .
Porter, J. Scott.
Pope. Major William S.
Porter, Judge David H
Porter, Thos. J.
Posey, Jabez H. .
PosTEL, Julius
PosTEL Mills
PosTEL, Philip H.
President's Home, Former
Press Club
Preston, George W. .
Pribble, Mrs. Sarah M.
Primm, John
Primm, Ninian Edwards .
Proclamation of Gov. St. Clair
Programs —
Facsimiles of Commencement;
1854
1857.
1862 ....
1869.
1881 ....
1882.
F.AcsiMiLEs OP Clio .311,312,
Conservatory op Music
Lebanon Female Institute
Philo . . 280,299
Plato . . .233,305,
Pulliam, John 6? Thomas
Purl, R. Keith
. 307
4.50
349, 354
349, 354
. 3.54
300
. 376
377
. 628
. 376
. 373
373
. 338
.551
. 278
1.50
. 4.52
190, 271
. 243
169
. 298
. '322
344
. 281
287
. 377
374
129, 297
509
531
130
48
296
. 236
300, .301
308, 310
454
Si.v Himdred and Forty-One
MC KENDREE
INDEX— Continued
Queen, Robert A. .
. 191
QuiNN, JohnJ. .
504
R
Radefelt, Alice.
314
Raleigh, John J. .
. 364
Ramsay, Daniel G. .
324
Ramsey, Elain S. .
. 207
Ramsey, Geo. P..
282
Ransom, Eddy
. 294
Ratcliff, Wm. F. . 4(19,
410,411
Raushkolb, George.
. 634
Rayhill, Charles Edward
55S
Raymond. Mary Alice
. 228
Reader Motor Company
624
Reagel, Mrs. Anna Virgin
. 284
Rector, John
473
Reeb, Conrad
. 566
Riebold, Benjamin
624
Reinhardt, Charles
. 595
Reinhardt, Florence .
3S;3
Reinhardt, Fred W.
. 374
Reinhardt, Mrs. Gertrude G.
370
Reiss, William R. .
Remick,Z.T. .
223
Renner, Fred A. (M. D.) .
. 597
Rentchler, Mrs. Henry
507
Reuss, Adolphus
. 470
Reuss, Caroline.
364
Reuss, Ferdinand L.
. 604
Reuss, Theodore E. .
602
Reuss, Henry, Jr. .
. 633
Reynolds, Annie C.
282
Rey-nolds, Hubert W. .
. 281
Reynolds, John .
476
Rhodes, Mrs. Mamie T. .
. 357
Rickey, Branch .
430
RigcHosea .
451
RiGGiN, James H. .
. 160
Riggi.n, Dr. Wm. B. .
161
Riley, Samuel B. .
. 186
Rinaker, Gen. John I. .
161
Ripley, George B. .
. 625
Ritcher, Mrs. Bertha J.
367
Ritcher, Mrs. J. Jepson
. 355
Ritcher, Mrs. Mae H..
382
Rithman, Mathias .
. 620
Robbins, Rev. G. W. . '
156
Roberts, George L. .
. 143
Portrait
303
Roberts, James H. .
. 150
Portrait
151
Roberts, Virginia S.
. 223
Robertson, Carrie B. .
399
Robertson, Rev. Ressho .
. 627
Robinson, Charles W..
602
Robinson, Cicero L.
. 497
Robinson, Eli .
130
Robinson, Nathaniel P. .
. 199
Robinson, Wm. M.
214
Rochpll, John
. 624
Rock River Conference organized
95
Rockwell, Esther Viola .
. 318
Rockwell, Joseph D. .
325
Rockwell. Larken A.
. 325
Rode, Dr. Ralph B.
627
ROEDIGER, E. C.
. 562
Rogers, Frank B.
623
Rogers, How^ard
. 632
Rogers, Rev. 5. A. D. .
368
Roken, F.«>thpr J. a.
RoosE. Mrs. Elizabeth M. .
282
RoosE, Prof. Franklin F. .
. 282
Root, Etta Luella
338
RopiEQUET, Richard W. .
. 591
Rose, Dr. Edw.^d S.
626
ROUNTREE, A. H.H.
. 162
RowEN, James J..
RoYSE, Rev. Chas. S.
RucKER, Val. C.
Runkwitz, Erwin H.
Runkwitz, Mrs. Caroline R.
Ruth, Mrs. Augusta K. .
Ruth, R. R.
Ruth, Samuel D
Rutherford, Larkin
Sabine, Paul E. .
Sabine, Ralph S.
S. A. T. C.
Sargent, Ella Lovell
Sadorf. Frank .
Sager, Mrs. Addie Moore
Sager, Mrs. Elsie B.
Sayre, E. R. 6? C. E.
Scarritt, Rev. J. A.
Scarritt, Dr. Nathan
Scott Field
Scott, Ben G.
Scott, William .
Scott, William
ScHAEFER, Judge M. W.
Schaeffer, Richard
SCHAFER, L. A. .
SCHAUBERT, LoUIS
SCHAUMLEFFEL, W. B. .
Scheid, Louis.
ScHiEBEL, Henry .
Schlesinger, Henry J.
ScHMALE, Clara O.
ScHMALE, Florence .
Schmalenberger, Edward W
SCHMELZEL, EdWARD F. .
Schmidt, H. G.
ScHOBERT, George
School Law, preamble to first
SCHOOL.S —
Belleville .
County Superintendents of
Early St. Clair County
East St. Louis.
Growth of
Lebanon
Lenzburg .
Marissa
Mascoutah
Number in St. Clair County
Schubert, Arthur
Schubert, Robert .
ScHULZE, Susie
ScHUTz. Rev. William
ScHWARZ Bros. Furniture Co.
ScHWARZ, George N.
Schuwerk, Judge William M.
Schwartz, Henry W.
Schwartz. William.
ScHWARZ, Leonard E.
ScHWARZ, Matt K.
ScHWARz, Henry
Scott, Joseph
Scripps, John Locke .
Sears, Rev. Hiram
Sears, Willard P. .
Seibert, Arthur
Seiter, Henry
Seiter, Mrs. Estella S.
Semmelroth, Herman
Seniors
Sensel, Adam
Sexton, Henry D.
Sharps, Rev. Arthur P.
Sharpe, Mabel Alice
Shepard, John A. .
Shepard, McPhcrson
243
201
344
364
;>46
367
4,54
369
. 380
197, 405
. 250
552
. 253
378
619, 620
322, 378
. 143
490
. 371
506
. 451
247
. 605
568
617, 618
579
. 621
504
. 597
516
512
518
515
497
527
527
526
517
597
559
389
613
635
14,319
360
. 595
Shepard, Olive B.
Shepard, Cornelia E.
Shepard, N. J. .
Shepard, Sarah A. .
Sherman, Hon. Lawrence
Shiloh .
Shiloh Church
Shipp, Da\ id W.
Shook Family
Short Brothers
Short, Hezekiah M.
Short, Rev. Wm.F..
Shuman, Charles
Shumard, Charles D.
Sieckmann, Henry L. .
Siegel, Christopher .
Sigma Zeta
Sikking, Robert W..
Silliman, Oscar R.
Simmons, Rev. Albert N.
Simpson, Bishop .
Sipfle, William F. .
Skaggs, Mrs. Nellie D.
Skillman, Parker Shaw
Slade, Samuel
Slieper, Edward H. .
Small, Chas. E. .
Smith, George W. .
Smith, Hon. George W.
Smith. Rev. E. O. .
Smiley, Ernest H.
Smith, Orpheus W. .
Smith, Rev. S. S..
Snodgrass, Mrs. Gertrude B.
Snyder, Frederick A. .
Snyder, Judge William H..
Societies, Literary
Sonnet by Gladys Parker .
Sophomores
Spanish War, McKendreans
Sparks, Samuel P.
Sparks, Hon. Wm. A. J.
Spencer, Calvin A.
Spencer, Claudius B.
Spies, Anna Frances
Spies, Charles
Spies, Florence .
Spies, Frederick
Spies, Jacob A. .
Spies, Vera Estella .
Spies, William C.
Spitznass, Herman E., Jr
Spivey, Allen T. .
Spivey Building, East St. Louis
Sprague, Villa M.
Springer, Thomas O.
Springer, William McK.
St. Clair, Gen. Arthur .
St. Clair Co. under British Ri
Staats, Ethan F.
Staff of McKendrean.
Stallings, Thomas C.
Starbird, Charles Nelson
Statement of Bills of Tuition,
Stearns, Wallace B. .
Steele, Marguerite.
Steele, Robert, portrait
Steele, Dr. William J.
Steidel, Alfred J.
Stevenson, Albert .
Stevenson, Newton N.
Steward, Wm. H. .
Stickel, Lieut. Isaiah
Stippey, Mabel
Stines, W. W. .
Stoffel, Frank J.
Stoker, Dr. E. L.
Stoker. Junor Wm.
PAGE
269
. 232
212
. 232
283
. 506
95, 507
. 609
451
. 452
232
. 173
224
. 611
504
. 634
56
284
105
,616
379
332
296
630
232
302
207
391
504
332
333
. 543
532
. 494
398
. 154
307
446, 485
442
. 294
49
. 369
160
MILE 122
422
338
327
334
633
384
611,612
. 618
Six Hundred drid Forty-Two
MC KENDREE
INDEX- Continued
Stoker, Dr. William A.
Stoltz R. C.
Stowell, Chas. J,
Stonecipher, Mrs. Amy B.
Stralev, Edwin E.
Streck. John W. .
Stroud, Mrs. Frank
Student Association
Students listed in first cat;
Subscribers to original fun
SuLLiNS, Van B.
summerfield .
Summerpeldt, John F. .
Sunderland, James Warren
SuRGUY, Ella
SwAHLEN, Dr. Percy H.
Portrait
SwAHLEN, William Fletcher
SwARTZ, Joel
Talbot, Henry C.
Tam, Joseph Harris
Tam, Joseph H., portrait
Taylor, Frank G,
Taylor, Re\ . John A.
Taylor, Kathleen
Taylor, Mrs. Mary Lindly
Tecklenburg, Hon. Fred J.
Telford, Erastus D.
Templeton, Rev. W. C.
Tetherington, John
Thatcher, Perry W.
Thatcher, Richard
Thatcher, Virginia S.
Thero, Rev. Samuel
Thrall, Edith Flint
Thrall, Prof. W.F.
TH1LM.AN, Charles
Thomas, George M.
Thom.as, Mrs. Hattie Sargea
Thomas, James H.
Thomas, John R.
Thomas, Samuel K.
Thomas, Walter W.
Thomas, William Kinney
Thompson, Alonzo
Thompson, George H. .
Portrait .
Thompson, Samuel H., sketch
Thompson, William O.
Thrall, Rev. C. H.
Thr.all, Mrs. Carrie J, .
Thrall, Edith S.
Thrall, Mrs. Gertrude G.
Thr.all, Rev. H. S
Thrall. Rev. L. W.
Thrall,Rev. V. W. ,
Thrall, Wm. F.
Thurston, Holliday F.
TiLEY, John E.
Tiedeman, Charles E. .
TiEDEMAN, George W.
Tiedeman Milling Co.
TissiER, Louis F.
TissiER, Maurice F.
Tomlin, Jeremiah T.
Topping, Ebenezer H.
Traband, Henry, Jr.
Transition to American Ruli
Treble Clef Club .
Trotter, Re\'. Wm. D. R,
Trautman, R. F. .
Trautman, Hon. W. E.
Tribble, James F.
Trippel, Dr. E.
Tritt, Carl
38t)
504
634
228
123, 124
SoC)
Truitt, IamfsM
Turkey Hill
Tucker, Jas. F.
Turner, Don
Turner, Mamie E.
TuTTLE, Thomas H.
V
Van Cleve, Gilbert H.
Van Cleve, John .
Van Cleve, Joseph Willia
Van Cleve, Rev. Jos. W.
Van Treese. Rev. Francis
Van Winkle, Ale.^ander
Veranda Hotel,
Vernor, Daniel Z. .
Vernon, Myrtle I.
ViCKREY, Dr. a. C.
ViEN, Alexander
ViLLARS, Pres. Isaiah, port
Virgin, Anna M.
Virgin, Elizabeth Jane
3311
VoELKER, George C. &? Wai
364
Vogt. Henry G.
. 367
226
. 273
w
. 193, 254
. 224
Waeltz, Louis H, .
615,616
Waeltz, Peter, Family of
316
Waggoner. E. B.
3114
W.aggoner, Prof, E. B.
Waggoner. Mrs. Ella L S.
628
Waggoner, Re\-. Elmer E.
243
Waggoner, Dr. E. L.
212
Wahl, David S.
361
Wallar, Rev. James L.
150
Wallis, Edward
. 634
Wallis, Robert
308
Wallis, William
168, 306
Walker, Prof. Henry D
565
Walker, Jesse, sketch
.167
Walton, F. A.
(HI
Walton. Prof. William C.
2!U
Wangelin, George F.
380
Wangelin, Herman G.
369
Ward, William E.
357
Warde, Prof. Andrew D,
372
Watkins, Rev.Thom.asC.
384
Watkins, William C.
225
Watson, Judge Albert
36H
Watson, Dr. Walter .
374
Watts, Faith
6U), 620
Watts, Jennie O.
504
Watts, Maud Anna
506
Weathersbee, Wilson .
505, 506
Weaver, Martha C.
506
Webb. Albert .
. 550
Wefs, Emanuel
345
Webb, Jean F., Sr.
lliS
Wfbf., Jean F., Jr.
184
Webfr, Mrs. Albin F.
614
Weber. Arthur S.
445
Weber, Emil J.
5S
Webster, Rev. John W.
127
Weeden, Rev. John
628
Weeden, Thom.as Coke
356
Weer, William .
292
Weer, Marsh.^ll W.
.504
Wfntworth, Pres. Erastus
5S3
West, Rev. Fletcher L.
Westcott, Wm. B.
West, Major
Wheeler, Rf\ . A. J.
White, Daniel
White, James F,,
White, John K.
White, Judgf M. J.
White, Robert Fulton
White, Robert H.
Whiteside, Rev. Charles B.
Whitlock, Rev. Walter H.
Whittlesey, Prof. J. W.
Whitwam, Rev. Edward A,
WiECHERT, Roland ,
Wiggins, Thos. E.
Wilderman, Julius T.
Wilderman, Loren E. .
Wilderman, Milton O.
Wilkin, Rev, Elias D,
Wilkin, James G,
Wilkin, Rev. M. P.
Willard, Maude
Williams, Rev. Edmund F.
Williams, Newton .
Williams, Sylvan E.
Williams, Prof. S. W.
Williamson, J. B.
Williams, Mrs. Juliette F.
WiLLOUGHBY, JaS. A,
Wilson, Rev. F. O.
Wilson, James
Wilson, Joshua
Wilson, T. A. .
Wilson, William
Wilson, William H,
Wilton, C, M.
Wilton, Otis W.
Winter. Rev. Louis E.
Wirth, George. Sr.
WiRTH, George, Jr.
Wise, Iva Lee .
Witchcraft in St. Clair Count
Wiskamp. Walter
Women in McKendree
Women Students, 1869
Woods, Rev. Chas. C.
Woodward, Samuel J..
Wright, Rev. Owen
WuERscH, Daniel G. .
Wyllie, Barnett D. S. .
Wyllie Brothers
Wynant, Rev. Charles W.
Wynn, Mrs. Blanche F, .
Zerweck, Clara Lee
Zerweck, Louis
Zerweck, Nellie M.
ZiERATH, Herman E,
ZiNKEISEN. Wm. .
ZoELLER, William .
236
370
601
254
Yarbrough, Mrs. Carrie
D
. 375
248
Y.M.C. A.
153, 394
225
Yost, Rev. Clark ,
604
383
Young, Benjamin
95
358
Young, May E.
, 628
339
Young, Rev. Robert .
364
229
Young, Samuel
212
361
Young, Rev. Sherman Pomeroy
327
liOO
Young, Wm. A. .
191
508
Y. W. C. A.
62, 395
557
Yingst, Orrin N. .
. 358
325
385
389
z
634
632
Zerban, William F
(i33
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