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HISTORICAL 



ENCYCLOPEDIA 



OF 



ILLINOIS 

EDITED BY 

Newton Bateman, LL. D. Paul Selby, A. M. 




AND HISTORY OF 



OGLE COUNTY 



EDITED BY 

Horace G. Kauffman Rebecca H. Kauffman 



Volume I 



ILLUSTRATED 



CHICAGO 

MUNSELL PUBLISHING COMPANY 
PUBLISHERS 
\\- 1909 



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Entered accoridng to act of Congress in the years 
i8gcj and tgoo by. 

WILLIAM W. MUNSELL 

In the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington 



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TERRITORY DRAINED BY THE ILLINOIS RIVER. 



PREFACE. 



Why publish this book? There should be many and strong reasons to warrant such an 
undertaking. Are there such reasons? "What considerations are weighty enough to have 
induced the publishers to make this venture? and what special claims has Illinois to such a 
distinction? These are reasonable and inevitable inquiries, and it is fitting they should 
receive attention. 

In the first place, good State Histories are of great importance and value, and there is 
abundant and cheering evidence of an increasing popular interest in them. This is true of 
all such works, whatever States may be their subjects; and it is conspicuously true of Illi- 
nois, for the following, among many other reasons : Because of its great prominence in the 
early history of the West as the seat of the first settlements of Europeans northwest of the 
Ohio River — the unique character of its early civilization, due to or resulting from its early 
French population brought in contact with the aborigines — its political, military, and educa- 
tional prominence — its steadfast loyalty and patriotism — the marvelous development of its 
vast resources — the number of distinguished statesmen, generals, and jurists whom it has 
furnished to the Government, and its grand record in the exciting and perilous conflicts on 
the Slavery question. 

This is the magnificent Commonwealth, the setting forth of whose history, in all of its 
essential departments and features, seemed to warrant the bringing out of another volume 
devoted to that end. Its material has been gathered from every available source, and most 
carefully examined and sifted before acceptance. Especial care has been taken in collecting 
material of a biographical character ; facts and incidents in the personal history of men identi- 
fied with the life of the State in its Territorial and later periods. This material has been 
gathered from a great variety of sources widely scattered, and much of it quite inaccessible 
to the ordinary inquirer. The encyclopedic form of the work favors conciseness and com- 
pactness, and was adopted with a view to condensing the largest amount of information 
within the smallest practicable space. 

And so the Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois was conceived and planned in the belief 
that it was needed; that no other book filled the place it was designed to occupy, or fur- 
nished the amount, variety and scope of information touching the infancy and later life of 
Illinois, that would be found in its pages. In that belief, and in furtherance of those ends, 
the book has been constructed and its topics selected and written. Simplicity, perspicuity, 
conciseness and accuracy have been the dominant aims and rules of its editors and writers. 
The supreme mission of the book is to record, fairly and truthfully, historical- facts ; facts of 
the earlier and later history of the State, and drawn from the almost innumerable source? 
connected with that history ; facts of interest to the great body of our people, as well as to 
scholars, officials, and other special classes; a book convenient for reference in the school, 
the office, and the home. Hence, no attempt at fine writing, no labored, irrelevant and 

3 



4 PKEFACE. 

long-drawn accounts of matters, persons or things, which, really need but a few plain words 
for their adequate elucidation, will be found in its pages. On the other hand, perspicuity 
and fitting development are never intentionally sacrificed to mere conciseness and brevity. 
Whenever a subject, from its nature, demands a more elaborate treatment — and there are 
many of this character — it is handled accordingly. 

As a rule, the method pursued is the separate and topical, rather than the chronological, 
as being more satisfactory and convenient for reference. That is, each topic is considered 
separately and exhaustively, instead of being blended, chronologically, with others. To pass 
from subject to subject, in the mere arbitrary order of time, is to sacrifice simplicity and 
order to complexity and confusion. 

Absolute freedom from error or defect in all cases, in handling so many thousands of 
items, is not claimed, and could not reasonably be expected of any finite intelligence ; since, 
in complicated cases, some element may possibly elude its sharpest scrutiny. But every 
statement of fact, made herein without qualification, is believed to be strictly correct, and 
the statistics of the volume, as a whole, are submitted to its readers with entire confidence. 

Considerable space is also devoted to biographical sketches of persons deemed worthy of 
mention, for their close relations to the State in some of its varied interests, political, gov- 
ernmental, financial, social, religious, educational, industrial, commercial, economical, mili- 
tary, judicial or otherwise; or for their supposed personal deservings in other respects. It 
is believed that the extensive recognition of such individuals, by the publishers, will not be 
disapproved or regretted by the public ; that personal biography has an honored, useful and 
legitimate place in such a history of Illinois as this volume aims to be, and that the omission 
of such a department would seriously detract from the completeness and value of the book. 
Perhaps no more delicate and difficult task has confronted the editors and publishers than 
the selection of names for this part of the work. 

While it is believed that no unworthy name has a place in the list, it is freely admitted 
that there may be many others, equally or possibly even more worthy, whose names do not 
appear, partly for lack of definite and adequate information, and partly because it was not 
deemed best to materially increase the space devoted to this class of topics. 

And so, with cordial thanks to the publishers for the risks they have so cheerfully 
assumed in this enterprise, for their business energy, integrity, and determination, and their 
uniform kindness and courtesy ; to the many who have bo generously and helpfully promoted 
the success of the work, by their contributions of valuable information, interesting reminis- 
cences, and rare incidents; to Mr. Paul Selby, the very able associate editor, to whom 
especial honor and credit are due for his most efficient, intelligent and scholarly services; to 
Hon. Harvey B. Hurd, Walter B. Wines, and to all others who have, by word or act, 
encouraged us in this enterprise — with grateful recognition of all these friends and helpers, 
the Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois, with its thousands of topics and many thousands of 
details, items and incidents, is now respectfully submitted to the good people of the State, 
for whom it has been prepared, in the earnest hope and confident belief that it will be found 
instructive, convenient and useful for the purposes for which it was designed. 





«• As\s\^ 



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PREFATORY STATEMENT 



Since the bulk of the matter contained in this volume was practically completed and 
ready for the press, Dr. Newton Bateman, who occupied the relation to it of editor-in-chief, 
has passed beyond the sphere of mortal existence. In placing the work before the public, it 
therefore devolves upon the undersigned to make this last prefatory statement. 

As explained by Dr. Bateman in his preface, the object had in view in the preparation 
of a "Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois" has been to present, in compact and concise form, 
the leading facts of Territorial and State history, from the arrival of the earliest French 
explorers in Illinois to the present time. This has included an outline history of the State, 
under the title, "Illinois," supplemented by special articles relating to various crises and eras 
in State history ; changes in form of government and administration ; the history of Consti- 
tutional Conventions and Legislative Assemblies ; the various wars in which Illinoisans have 
taken part, with a summary of the principal events in the history of individual military 
organizations engaged in the Civil War of 1861-65, and the War of 1898 with Spain; lists of 
State officers, United States Senators and Members of Congress, with the terms of each ; the 
organization and development of political divisions; the establishment of charitable and 
educational institutions ; the growth of public improvements and other enterprises which 
have marked the progress of the State ; natural features and resources ; the history of early 
newspapers, and the growth of religious denominations, together with general statistical 
information and unusual or extraordinary occurrences of a local or general State character — 
all arranged under topical heads, and convenient for ready reference by all seeking informa- 
tion on these subjects, whether in the family, in the office of the professional or business 
man, in the teacher's study and the school-room, or in the public library. 

While individual or collected biographies of the public men of Illinois have not been 
wholly lacking or few in number — and those already in existence have a present and con- 
stantly increasing value — they have been limited, for the most part, to special localities and 
particular periods or classes. Rich as the annals of Illinois are in the records and character 
of its distinguished citizens who, by their services in the public councils, upon the judicial 
bench and in the executive chair, in the forum and in the field, have reflected honor upon 
the State and the Nation, there has been hitherto no comprehensive attempt to gather 
together, in one volume, sketches of those who have been conspicuous in the creation and 
upbuilding of the State. The collection of material of this sort has been a task requiring 
patient and laborious research ; and, while all may not have been achieved in this direction 
that was desirable, owing to the insufficiency or total absence of data relating to the lives of 
many men most prominent in public affairs during the period to which they belonged, it is 
still believed that what has been accomplished will be found of permanent value and be 
appreciated by those most deeply interested in this phase of State history. 

The large number of topics treated has made brevity and conciseness an indispensable 
feature of the work; consequently there has been no attempt to indulge in graces of style or 

5 



6 PKEFATOKY STATEMENT. 

elaboration of narrative. The object has been to present, in simple language and concise 
form, facts of history of interest or value to those who may choose to consult its pages. 
Absolute inerrancy is not claimed for every detail of the work, but no pains has been 
spared, and every available authority consulted, to arrive at complete accuracy of statement. 

In view of the important bearing which railroad enterprises have had upon the extraor- 
dinary development of the State within the past fifty years, considerable space has been given 
to this department, especially with reference to the older lines of railroad whose history has 
been intimately interwoven with that of the State, and its progress in wealth and population. 

In addition to the acknowledgments made by Dr. Bateman, it is but proper that I 
should express -my persona] obligations to the late Prof. Samuel M. Inglis, State Superin- 
tendent of Public Instruction, and his assistant, Prof. J. H. Freeman; to ex-Senator John 
M. Palmer, of Springfield; to the late Hon. Joseph Medill, editor of "The Chicago Tribune" ; 
to the Hon. James B. Bradwell, of "The Chicago Legal News"; to Gen. Green B. Raum, 
Dr. Samuel Willard, and Dr. Garrett Newkirk, of Chicago (the latter as author of the prin- 
cipal portions of the article on the "Underground Railroad") ; to the Librarians of the State 
Historical Library, the Chicago Historical Library, and the Chicago Public Library, for 
special and valuable aid rendered, as well as to a large circle of correspondents in different 
parts of the State who have courteously responded to requests for information on special 
topics, and have thereby materially aided in securing whatever success may have been 
attained in the work. 

In conclusion, I cannot omit to pay this final tribute to the memory of my friend and 
associate, Dr. Bateman, whose death, at his home in Galesburg, elsewhere recorded, was 
deplored, not only by his associates in the Faculty of Knox College, his former pupils and 
immediate neighbors, but by a large circle of friends in all parts of the State. 

Although his labors as editor of this volume had been substantially finished at the time 
of his death (and they included the reading and revision of every line of copy at that time 
prepared, comprising the larger proportion of the volume as it now goes into the hands of 
the public) , the enthusiasm, zeal and kindly appreciation of the labor of others which he 
brought to the discharge of his duties, have been sadly missed in the last stages of prepara- 
tion of the work for the press. In the estimation of many who have held his scholarship 
and his splendid endowments of mind and character in the highest admiration, his con- 
nection with the work will be its strongest commendation and the surest evidence of its 
merit. 

With myself, the most substantial satisfaction I have in dismissing the volume from my 
hands and submitting it to the judgment of the public, exists in the fact that, in its prepara- 
tion, I have been associated with such a co-laborer — one whose abilities commanded uni- 
versal respect, and whose genial, scholarly character and noble qualities of mind and heart 
won the love and confidence of all with whom he came in contact, and whom it had been my 
privilege to count as a friend from an early period in his long and useful career. 




*~4^a^ ty <z^£7' ^u^y 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



PAGE 

Abraham Lincoln {Frontispiece) 1 

Annex Central Hospital for Insane, Jacksonville 84 

Asylum for Feeble-Minded Children, Lincoln 237 

Bateman, Newton (Portrait ) 3 

Board of Trade Building, Chicago 277 

"Chenn Mansion," Kaskaskia (1898), where La Fayette was entcrtai 1 in 1825 .... 315 

Chicago Academy of Sciences • 394 

Chicago Drainage Canal 94 

Chicago Historical Society Building 394 

Chicago Post Office (U. S. Gov. Building) 88 

Chicago Public Buildings 395 

Chicago Thoroughfares 89 

Chicago Thoroughfares 9:5 

Chief Chicagou (Portrait) 246 

Comparative Size of Great Canals 95 

Day after Chicago Fire 92 

Early Historic Scenes, Chicago 170 

Early Historic Scenes, Chicago (No. 2) 171 

Engineering Hall, University of Illinois 280 

Experiment Farm, University of Illinois 12 

Experiment Farm, University of Illinois — The Vineyard 13 

Experiment Farm, University of Illinois — Orchard Cultivation 13 

First Illinois State House, Kaskaskia (1818) 314 

Fort Dearborn from the West (1808) 246 

Fort Dearborn from Southeast (1808) 247 

Fort Dearborn (1853) . . . -. 247 

General John Edgar's House, Kaskasia , 315 

Henry de Tonty (Portrait) 240 

House of Governor Bond, Old Kaskaskia (1891) 315 

House of Chief Ducoign, the last of the Kaskaskias (1893) 314 

Home for Juvenile Female Offenders, Geneva. 23fi 

Illinois Eastern Hospital for Insane, Kankakee 85 

Illinois Soldiers' and Sailors' Home, Quincy 438 

Illinois State Normal University, Normal 504 

Illinois State Capitol (First), Kaskaskia 240 

Illinois State Capitol (Second), Vandalia 240 

Illinois State Capitol (Third), Springfield 240 

Illinois State Capitol (Present), Springfield 241 

Illinois State Building, World's Columbian Exposition, 1893 601 

Illinois State Penitentiary, Joliet 306 

Illinois State Penitentiary — Cell House and Women's Prison 307 

Illinois State Reformatory, Pontiac 493 

7 



8 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAGE 

Institution for Deaf and Dumb, Jacksonville 300 

Interior of Room, Kaskaskia Hotel (1893) where La Fayette Banquet was held in 1825 314 

Institution for the Blind, Jacksonville 301 

Kaskaskia Hotel, where La Fayette was feted in 1825 (as it appeared, 1893) 314 

La Salle (Portrait) : 246 

Library Building, University of Illinois 334 

Library Building — Main Floor — University of Illinois 335 

Lincoln Park Vistas, Chicago 120 

Map of Burned District, Chicago Fire, 1871 276 

Map of Grounds, World's Columbian Exposition, 1893 600 

Map of Illinois Following Title Page 

Map of Illinois River Valley " " " 

McCormick Seminary, Chicago 362 

Monuments in Lincoln Park, Chicago 90 

Monuments in Lincoln Park, Chicago 206 

Monuments in Lincoln Park, Chicago 207 

Natural History Hall, University of Illinois 151 

Newberry Library, Chicago , 394 

Northern Hospital for the Insane, Elgin 402 

Old Kaskaskia, from Garrison Hill (as it appeared in 1893) 314 

Old State House, Kaskaskia (1900) 315 

Pierre Menard Mansion, Kaskaskia (1893) 314 

Remnant of Old Kaskaskia (as it appeared in 1898) 315 

Scenes in South Park, Chicago 604 

Selby, Paul (Protrait) 5 

bheridan Road and on the Boulevards, Chicago 121 

Soldiers' Widows' Home, Wilmington , 439 

Southern Hlinois Normal, Carbondale 505 

Southern Illinois Penitentiary and Asylum for Incurable Insane, Chester 492 

University Hall, University of Illinois 150 

University of Chicago 363 

University of Illinois, Urbana. (Group of Buildings) 540 

University of Illinois, Urbana. (Group of Buildings) 541 

View from Engineering Hall, University of Illinois 281 

View on Principal Street, Old Kaskaskia (1891) 315 

Views in Lincoln Park, Chicago 91 

Views of Drainage Canal , 96 

Views of Drainage Canal 97 

War Eagle (Portrait) 246 

Western Hospital for the Insane, Watertown „ 403 

World's Fair Buildings 605 



Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois. 



ABBOTT, (Lieut.-Gov.) Edward, a British 
officer, who was commandant at Post Vincennes 
(called by the British, Fort Sackville) at the 
time Col. George Rogers Clark captured Kaskas- 
kia in 1778. Abbott's jurisdiction extended, at 
least nominally, over a part of the "Illinois 
Country. " Ten days after the occupation of Kas- 
kaskia, Colonel Clark, having learned that 
Abbott had gone to the British headquarters at 
Detroit, leaving the Post without any guard 
except that furnished by the inhabitants of the 
village, took advantage of his absence to send 
Pierre Gibault. the Catholic V T icar-General of Illi- 
nois, to win over the people to the American 
cause, which he did so successfully that they at 
once took the oath of allegiance, and the Ameri- 
can flag was run up over the fort. Although 
Fort Sackville afterwards fell into the hands of 
the British for a time, the manner of its occupa- 
tion was as much of a surprise to the British as 
that of Kaskaskia itself, and contributed to the 
completeness of Clark's triumph. (See Clark, 
Col. George Rogers, also, Gibault, Pierre.) Gov- 
ernor Abbott seems to have been of a more 
humane character than the mass of British 
officers of his day, as he wrote a letter to General 
Carleton about this time, protesting strongly 
against the employment of Indians in carrying 
on warfare against the colonists on the frontier, 
on the ground of humanity, claiming that it was 
a detriment to the British cause, although he 
was overruled by his superior officer, Colonel 
Hamilton, in the steps soon after taken to recap- 
ture Vincennes. 

ABINGDON, second city in size in KnoxCounty, 
at the junction of the Iowa Central and the 
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroads; 10 
miles south of Galesburg, with which it is con- 
nected by electric car line ; has city waterworks, 
electric light plant, wagon works, brick and tile 
works, sash, blind and swing factories, two banks, 



three weekly papers, public library, fine high 
school building and two ward schools. Hedding 
College, a flourishing institution, under auspices 
of the M. E. Church, is located here. Population 
(1900), 2,022; (est. 1904), 3,000. 

ACCAULT, Michael (Ak-ko), French explorer 
and companion of La Salle, who came to the 
"Illinois Country" in 1780, and accompanied 
Hennepin when the latter descended the Illinois 
River to its mouth and then ascended the Mis- 
sissippi to the vicinity of the present city of St. 
Paul, where they were captured by Sioux. They 
were rescued by Greysolon Dulhut (for whom 
the city of Duluth was named), and having dis- 
covered the Falls of St. Anthony, returned to 
Green Bay. (See Hennepin.) 

ACKERMAN, William K., Railway President 
and financier, was born in New York City, Jan. 
29, 1832, of Knickerbocker and Revolutionary 
ancestry, his grandfather, Abraham D. Acker- 
man, having served as Captain of a company of 
the famous "Jersey Blues," participating with 
"Mad" Anthony Wayne in the storming of Stony 
Point during the Revolutionary War, while his 
father served as Lieutenant of Artillery in the 
War of 1812. After receiving a high school edu- 
cation in New York, Mr. Ackerman engaged in 
mercantile business, but in 1852 became a clerk 
in the financial department of the Illinois Central 
Railroad. Coming to Chicago in the service of 
the Company in 1860, he successively filled the 
positions of Secretary, Auditor and Treasurer, 
until July, 1876, when he was elected Vice-Presi- 
dent and a year later promoted to the Presidency, 
voluntarily retiring from this position in August, 
1883. though serving some time longer in the 
capacity of Vice-President. During the progress 
of the World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago 
(1892-93) Mr. Ackerman served as Auditor of the 
Exposition, and was City Comptroller of Chicago 
under the administration of Mayor Hopkins 



9 



10 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



(1893-95). He is an active member of the Chicago 
Historical Society, and has rendered valuable 
service to railroad history by the issue of two bro- 
chures on the "Early History of Illinois Rail- 
roads," and a "Historical Sketch of the Illinois 
Central Railroad." 

ADAMS, John, LL.D., educator and philan- 
thropist, was born at Canterbury, Conn. , Sept. 18, 
1772; graduated at Yale College in 1795; taught 
for several years in his native place, in Plain- 
field, N. J., and at Colchester, Conn. In 1810 he 
became Principal of Phillips Academy at An- 
dover, Mass., remaining there twenty-three 
years. In addition to his educational duties he 
participated in the organization of several great 
charitable associations which attained national 
importance. On retiring from Phillips Academy 
in 1833, he removed to Jacksonville, 111., where, 
four years afterward, he became the third Prin- 
cipal of Jacksonville Female Academy, remaining 
six years. He then became Agent of the Ameri- 
can Sunday School Union, in the course of the 
next few years founding several hundred Sunday 
Schools in different parts of the State. He re- 
ceived the degree of LL. D. from Yale College in 
1854. Died in Jacksonville, April 24, 1863. The 
subject of this sketch was father of Dr. William 
Adams, for forty years a prominent Presbyterian 
clergyman of New York and for seven years (1873- 
80) President of Union Theological Seminary. 

ADAMS, John McGregor, manufacturer, was 
born at Londonderry, N. H., March 11, 1834, the 
son of Rev. John R. Adams, who served as Chap- 
lain of the Fifth Maine and One Hundred and 
Twenty-first New York Volunteers during the 
Civil War. Mr. Adams was educated at Gorham, 
Me., and Andover, Mass., after which, going to 
New York City, he engaged as clerk in a dry- 
goods house at 8150 a year. He next entered the 
office of Clark & Jessup, hardware manufacturers, 
and in 1858 came to Chicago to represent the 
house of Morris K. Jessup & Co. He thus became 
associated with the late John Crerar, the firm of 
Jessup & Co. being finally merged into that of 
Crerar, Adams & Co. , which, with the Adams & 
West lake Co., have done a large business in the 
manufacture of railway supplies. Since the 
death of Mr. Crerar, Mr. Adams has been princi- 
pal manager of the concern's vast manufacturing 
business. 

ADAMS, (Dr.) Samuel, physician and edu- 
cator, was born at Brunswick, Me., Dec. 19, 1806, 
and educated at Bowdoin College, where lie 
graduated in both the departments of literature 
and of medicine. Then, having practiced as a 



physician several years, in 1838 he assumed the 
chair of Natural Philosophy, Chemistry and 
Natural History in Illinois College at Jackson- 
ville, 111. From 1843 to 1845 he was also Pro- 
fessor of Materia Medica and Therapeutics in the 
Medical Department of the same institution, and, 
during his connection with the College, gave 
instruction at different times in nearly every 
branch embraced in the college curriculum, 
including the French and German languages. 
Of uncompromising firmness and invincible cour- 
age in his adherence to principle, he was a man 
of singular modesty, refinement and amiability 
in private life, winning the confidence and esteem 
of all with whom he came in contact, especially 
the students who came under his instruction. A 
profound and thorough scholar, he possessed a 
refined and exalted literary taste, which was 
illustrated in occasional contributions to scien- 
tific and literary periodicals. Among productions 
of his pen on philosophic topics may be enumer- 
ated articles on "The Natural History of Man in 
his Scriptural Relations;" contributions to the 
"Biblical Repository" (1844); "Auguste Comte 
and Positivism" ("New Englander," 1873), and 
"Herbert Spencer's Proposed Reconciliation be- 
tween Religion and Science" ("New Englander," 
1875). His connection with Illinois College con- 
tinued until his death, April, 1877 — a period of 
more than thirty-eight years. A monument to 
his memory has been erected through the grate- 
ful donations of his former pupils. 

ADAMS, George Everett, lawyer and ex-Con- 
gressman, born at Keene, N. H., June 18, 1840; 
was educated at Harvard College, and at Dane 
Law School, Cambridge, Mass. , graduating at the 
former in 1860. Early in life he settled in Chi- 
cago, where, after some time spent as a teacher 
in the Chicago High School, he engaged in the 
practice of his profession. His first post of pub- 
lic responsibility was that of State Senator, to 
which he was elected in 1880. . In 1882 he was 
chosen, as a Republican, to represent the Fourth 
Illinois District in Congress, and re-elected in 
1884, '86 and '88. In 1890 he was again a candi- 
date, but was defeated by Walter C. Newberry. 
He is one of the Trustees of the Newberry 
Library. 

ADAMS, James, pioneer lawyer, was born in 
Hartford, Conn., Jan. 26, 1803; taken to Oswego 
County, N. Y., in 1809, and, in 1821, removed to 
Springfield, 111., being the first lawyer to locate 
in the future State capital. He enjoyed an ex- 
tensive practice for the time; in 1823 was elected 
a Justice of the Peace, took part in the Winne- 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



11 



bago and Black Hawk wars, was elected Probate 
Judge in 1841, and died in office, August 11, 1843. 

ADAMS COUNTY, an extreme westerly county 
of tbe State, situated about midway between its 
northern and southern extremities, and bounded 
on the west by the Mississippi River. It was 
organized in 1825 and named in honor of John 
Quincy Adams, the name of Quincy being given 
to the county seat. The United States Census of 
1890 places its area at 830 sq. m. and its popula- 
tion at 61,888. The soil of the county is fertile 
and well watered, the surface diversified and 
Mlly, especially along the Mississippi bluffs, and 
its climate equable. The wealth of the county is 
largely derived from agriculture, although a 
large amount of manufacturing is carried on in 
Quincy. Population (1900), 67,058. 

ADDAMS, John Huy, legislator, was born at 
Sinking Springs, Berks County, Pa., July 12, 
1822 ; educated at Trappe and Upper Dublin, Pa. , 
and learned the trade of a miller in his youth, 
which he followed in later life. In 1844, Mr. 
Addams came to Illinois, settling at Cedarville, 
Stephenson County, purchased a tract of land 
and built a saw and grist mill on Cedar Creek. 
In 1854 he was elected to the State Senate from 
Stephenson County, serving continuously in that 
body by successive re-elections until 1870 — first as 
a Whig and afterwards as a Republican. In 1865 
he established the Second National Bank of Free- 
port, of which he continued to be the president 
until his death, August 17, 1881. — Miss Jane 
(Addams), philanthropist, the founder of the "Hull 
House," Chicago, is a daughter of Mr. Addams. 

ADDISON, village, Du Page County; seat of 
Evangelical Lutheran College, Normal School 
and Orphan Asylum ; has State Bank, stores and 
public school. Pop. (1900), 591; (1904), 614. 

ADJUTANTS-GENERAL. The office of Adju- 
tant-General for the State of Illinois was first 
created by Act of the Legislature, Feb. 2, 1865. 
Previous to the War of the Rebellion the position 
was rather honorary than otherwise, its duties 
(except during the Black Hawk War) and its 
emoluments being alike unimportant. The in- 
cumbent was simply the Chief of the Governor's 
Staff. In 1861, the post became one of no small 
importance. Those who held the office during 
the Territorial period were: Elias Rector, Robert 
Morrison, Benjamin Stephenson and Wm. Alex- 
ander. After the admission of Illinois as a State 
up to the beginning of the Civil War, the duties 
(which were almost wholly nominal) were dis- 
charged by Wm. Alexander, 1819-21; Elijah C. 
Berry, 1821-28; James W. Berrv, 1828-39; Moses 



K. Anderson, 1839-57; Thomas S. Mather, 1858-61. 
In November. 1861, Col. T. S. Mather, who had held 
the position for three years previous, n-si^ned to 
enter active service, and Judge Allen C. Fuller 
was appointed, remaining in office until January 
1, 1865. The first appointee, under the act of 
1865, was Isham N. Haynie, who held office 
until his death in 1869. The Legislature of 1869, 
taking into consideration that all the Illinois 
volunteers had been mustered out, and that the 
duties of the Adjutant-General had been materi- 
ally lessened, reduced the proportions of the 
department and curtailed the appropriation for 
its support. Since the adoption of the military 
code of 1877, the Adjutant-General's office has 
occupied a more important and conspicuous posi- 
tion among the departments of the State govern- 
ment. The following is a list of those who have 
held office since General Haynie, with the date 
and duration of their respective terms of office: 
Hubert Dilger, 1869-73; Edwin L. Higgins, 
1873-75; Hiram Hilliard, 1875-81; Isaac H. Elliot, 
1881-84; Joseph W. Vance, 1884-93; Albert Oren- 
dorff, 1893-96; C. C. Hilton, 1896-97; Jasper N. 
Reece, 1897 — . 

AGRICULTURE. Illinois ranks high as an 
agricultural State. A large area in the eastern 
portion of the State, because of the absence of 
timber, was called by the early settlers "the 
Grand Prairie." Upon and along a low ridge 
beginning in Jackson County and running across 
the State is the prolific fruit-growing district of 
Southern Illinois. The bottom lands extending 
from Cairo to the mouth of the Illinois River are 
of a fertility seemingly inexhaustible. The cen- 
tral portion of the State is best adapted to corn, 
and the southern and southwestern to the culti- 
vation of winter wheat. Nearly three-fourths of 
the entire State — some 42,000 square miles — is up- 
land prairie, well suited to the raising of cereals. 
In the value of its oat crop Illinois leads all the 
States, that for 1891 being §31,106,674, with 3,068,- 
930 acres under cultivation. In the production 
of corn it ranks next to Iowa, the last census 
(1890) showing 7,014,336 acres under cultivation. 
and the value of the crop being estimated at 
$86,905,510. In wheat-raising it ranked seventh, 
although the annual average value of the crop 
from 1880 to 1890 was a little less than $29,000,- 
000. As a live-stock State it leads in the value of 
horses ($83,000,000), ranks second in the produc- 
tion of swine ($30,000,000), third in cattle-growing 
(*:!•_>, 000, 000), and fourth in dairy products, the 
value of milch cows being estimated at 824.000,- 
000. (See also Farmers' Institute.) 



12 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



AGRICULTURE, DEPARTMENT OF. A 

department of the State administration which 
grew out of the organization of the Illinois Agri- 
cultural Society, incorporated by Act of the 
Legislature in 1853. The first appropriation from 
the State treasury for its maintenance was §1,000 
per annum, "to be expended in the promotion of 
mechanical and agricultural arts." The first 
President was James N. Brown, of Sangamon 
County. Simeon Francis, also of Sangamon, was 
the first Recording Secretary ; John A. Kennicott 
of Cook, first Corresponding Secretary ; and John 
"Williams of Sangamon, first Treasurer. Some 
thirty volumes of reports have been issued, cover- 
ing a variety of topics of vital interest to agri- 
culturists. The department has well equipped 
offices in the State House, and is charged with 
the conduct of State Fairs and the management 
of annual exhibitions of fat stock, besides the 
collection and dissemination of statistical and 
other information relative to the State's agri- 
cultural interests. It receives annual reports 
from all County Agricultural Societies. The 
State Board consists of three general officers 
(President, Secretary and Treasurer) and one 
representative from each Congressional district. 
The State appropriates some §20,000 annually for 
the prosecution of its work, besides which there 
is a considerable income from receipts at State 
Fairs and fat stock shows. Between §20,000 and 
§25,000 per annum is disbursed in premiums to 
competing exhibitors at the State Fairs, and some 
§10,000 divided among County Agricultural 
Societies holding fairs. 

AKERS, Peter, D. D., Methodist Episcopal 
clergyman, born of Presbyterian parentage, in 
Campbell County, Va., Sept. 1, 1790; was edu- 
cated in the common schools, and, at the age 
of 16, began teaching, later pursuing a classical 
course in institutions of Virginia and North 
Carolina. Having removed to Kentucky, after a 
brief season spent in teaching at Mount Sterling 
in that State, he began the study of law and was 
admitted to the bar in 1817. Two years later he 
began the publication of a paper called "The 
Star," which was continued for a short time. In 
1821 he was converted and joined the Methodist 
church, and a few months later began preaching. 
In 1832 he removed to Illinois, and, after a year 
spent in work as an evangelist, he assumed the 
Presidency of McKendree College at Lebanon, 
remaining during 1833-34; then established a 
"manual labor school" near Jacksonville, which 
he maintained for a few years. From 1837 to 
1852 was spent as stationed minister or Presiding 



Elder at Springfield, Quincy and Jacksonville. In 
the latter year he was again appointed to the 
Presidency of McKendree College, where he 
remained five years. He was then (1857) trans- 
ferred to the Minnesota Conference, but a year 
later was compelled by declining health to assume 
a superannuated relation. Returning to Illinois 
about 1865, he served as Presiding Elder of the 
Jacksonville and Pleasant Plains Districts, but 
was again compelled to accept a superannuated 
relation, making Jacksonville his home, where 
he died, Feb. 21, 1886. While President of Mc- 
Kendree College, he published his work on "Bib- 
lical Chronology," to which he had devoted many 
previous years of his life, and which gave evi- 
dence of great learning and vast research. Dr. 
Akers was a man of profound convictions, exten- 
sive learning and great eloquence. As a pulpit 
orator and logician he probably had no superior 
in the State during the time of his most active 
service in the denomination to which he belonged. 

AKIN, Edward C, lawyer and Attorney-Gen- 
eral, was born in Will County, 111., in 1852, and 
educated in the public schools of Joliet and at Ann 
Arbor, Mich. For four years he was paying and 
receiving teller in the First National Bank of 
Joliet, but was admitted to the bar in 1878 and 
has continued in active practice since. In 1887 he 
entered upon his political career as the Republi- 
can candidate for City Attorney of Joliet, and was 
elected by a majority of over 700 votes, although 
the city was usually Democratic. The follow- 
ing year he was the candidate of his party for 
State's Attorney of Will County, and was again 
elected, leading the State and county ticket by 
800 votes — being re-elected to the same office in 
1892. In 1895 he was the Republican nominee 
for Mayor of Joliet, and, although opposed by a 
citizen's ticket headed by a Republican, was 
elected over his Democratic competitor by a deci- 
sive majority. His greatest popular triumph was 
in 1896, when he was elected Attorney-General 
on the Republican State ticket by a plurality 
over his Democratic opponent of 132,248 and a 
majority over all competitors of 111,255. His 
legal abilities are recognized as of a very high 
order, while his personal popularity is indicated 
by his uniform success as a candidate, in the 
face, at times, of strong political majorities. 

ALBANY, a village of Whiteside County, lo- 
cated on the Mississippi River and the Chicago, 
Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway (Rock Island 
branch). Population (1890), 611; (1900), 621. 

ALBION, county-seat of Edwards County, 
on Southern Railway, midway between St. Louis 









X 



73 



O 



_ 

73 





EXPERIMENT FARM (THE VINEYARD) UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS. 




EXPERIMENT FARM (ORCHARD CULTIVATION) UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS. 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



L3 



and Louisville; seat of Southern Collegiate In- 
stitute; has plant for manufacture of vitrified 
shale paving brick, two newspapers, creamery, 
flouring mills, and is important shipping point 
for live stock; is in a rich fruit-growing district; 
has five churches and splendid public schools. 
Population (1900), 1,162; (est. 1904), 1,500. 

ALCORN, James Lusk, was born near Gol- 
oonda, 111., Nov. 4, 1816; early went South and 
held various offices in Kentucky and Mississippi, 
including member of the Legislature in each; 
was a member of the Mississippi State Conven- 
tions of 1851 and 1861, and by the latter appointed 
a Brigadier-General in the Confederate service, 
but refused a commission by Jefferson Davis 
because his fidelity to the rebel cause was 
doubted. At the close of the war he was one of 
the first to accept the reconstruction policy ; was 
elected United States Senator from Mississippi in 
1865, but not admitted to his seat. In 1869 he 
was chosen Governor as a Republican, and two 
years later elected United States Senator, serving 
until 1877. Died, Dec. 20, 1894. 

ALDRICH, J. Frank, Congressman, was born 
at Two Rivers, Wis.. April 6, 1853, the son of 
William Aldrich, who afterwards became Con- 
grassman from Chicago ; was brought to Chicago 
in 1861, attended the public schools and the Chi- 
cago University, and graduated from the Rensse- 
laer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, N. Y., in 1877, 
receiving the degree of Civil Engineer. Later he 
engaged in the linseed oil business in Chicago. 
Becoming interested in politics, he was elected a 
member of the Board of County Commissioners 
of Cook County, serving as President of that body 
during the reform period of 1887; was also a 
member of the County Board of Education and 
Chairman of the Chicago Citizens' Committee, 
appointed from the various clubs and commer- 
cial organizations of the city, to promote the for- 
mation of the Chicago Sanitary District. From 
May 1, 1891, to Jan. 1, 1893, he was Commissioner 
of Public Works for Chicago, when he resigned 
his office, having been elected (Nov., 1892) a 
member of the Fifty -third Congress, on the 
Republican ticket, from the First Congressional 
District; was re-elected in 1894, retiring at the 
close of the Fifty-fourth Congress. In 1898 he 
was appointed to a position in connection with 
the office of Comptroller of the Currency at 
Washington. 

ALDRICH, William, merchant and Congress- 
man, was born at Greenfield, N. Y., Jan. 20, 1820. 
His early common school training was supple- 
mented by private tuition in higher branches of 



mathematics and in surveying, and by a term in 
an academy. Until he had reached the age of 26 
years he was engaged in farming and teaching, 
but, in 1846, turned his attention to mercantile 
pursuits. In 1851 he removed to Wisconsin, 
where, in addition to merchandising, he engaged 
in the manufacture of furniture and woodenware, 
and where he also held several important offices, 
being Superintendent of Schools for three years, 
Chairman of the County Board of Supervisors 
one year, besides serving one term in the Legisla- 
ture. In 1860 he removed to Chicago, where he 
embarked in the wholesale grocery business. In 
1875 he was elected to the City Council, and, in 
1876, chosen to represent his district (the First) in 
Congress, as a Republican, being re-elected in 1878, 
and again in 1880. Died in Fond du Lao, Wis., 
Dec. 3, 1885. 

ALEDO, county-seat of Mercer County; is in 
the midst of a rich farming and bituminous coal 
region; fruit-growing and stock-raising are also 
extensively carried on, and large quantities of 
these commodities are shipped here; has two 
newspapers and ample school facilities. Popula- 
tion (1890), 1,601; (1900), 2,081. 

ALEXANDER, John T., agriculturist and 
stock-grower, was born in Western Virginia, 
Sept. 15, 1820; removed with his father, at six 
years of age, to Ohio, and to Illinois in 1848. 
Here he bought a tract of several thousand acres 
of land on the Wabash Railroad, 10 miles east of 
Jacksonville, which finally developed into one of 
the richest stock-farms in the State. After the 
war he became the owner of the celebrated 
"Sullivant farm," comprising some 20,000 acres 
on the Toledo, Peoria & Western Railroad in 
Champaign County, to which he transferred his 
stock interests, and although overtaken by re- 
verses, left a large estate. Died, August 22, 1876. 
ALEXANDER, Milton K., pioneer, was born in 
Elbert County, Ga., Jan. 23, 179G; emigrated 
with his father, in 1804, to Tennessee, and, while 
still a boy, enlisted as a soldier in the War of 1812, 
serving under the command of General Jackson 
until the capture of Pensacola, when he entered 
upon the campaign against the Seminoles in 
Florida. In 1823 he removed to Edgar County. 
111., and engaged in mercantile and agricultural 
pursuits at Paris; serving also as Postmaster 
there some twenty-five years, and as Clerk of the 
County Commissioners' Court from 1826 to "37. 
In 1826 he was commissioned by Governor Coles, 
Colonel of the Nineteenth Regiment. Illinois 
State Militia: in 1830 was Aide-de-Camp to Gov- 
ernor Reynolds, and. inl832, took part in the Black 



14 



HISTOEICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



Hawk War as Brigadier-General of the Second 
Brigade, Illinois Volunteers. On the inception of 
the internal improvement scheme in 1837 he was 
elected by the Legislature a member of the first 
Board of Commissioners of Public Works, serving 
until the Board was abolished. Died, July 7, 1856. 
ALEXANDER, (Dr.) William M., pioneer, 
came to Southern Illinois previous to the organi- 
zation of Union County (1818), and for some time, 
while practicing his profession as a physician, 
acted as agent of the proprietors of the town of 
America, which was located on the Ohio River, 
on the first high ground above its junction with 
the Mississippi. It became the first county-seat 
of Alexander County, which was organized in 

1819, and named in his honor. In 1820 we find 
him a Representative in the Second General 
Assembly from Pope County, and two years later 
Representative from Alexander County, when he 
became Speaker of the House during the session 
of the Third General Assembly. Later, he 
removed to Kaskaskia, but finally went South, 
where he died, though the date and place of his 
death are unknown. 

ALEXANDER COUNTY, the extreme southern 
county of the State, being bounded on the west 
by the Mississipppi, and south and east by the 
Ohio and Cache rivers. Its area is about 230 
square miles and its population, in 1890, was 16,- 
563. The first American settlers were Tennessee- 
ans named Bird, who occupied the delta and gave 
it the name of Bird's Point, which, at the date of 
the Civil War (1861-65), had been transferred to 
the Missouri shore opposite the mouth of the Ohio. 
Other early settlers were Clark, Kennedy and 
Philips (at Mounds), Conyer and Terrel (at Amer- 
ica), and Humphreys (near Caledonia). In 1818 
Shadrach Bond (afterwards Governor), John G. 
Corny ges and others entered a claim for 1800 acres 
in the central and northern part of the county, 
and incorporated the "City and Bank of Cairo." 
The history of this enterprise is interesting. In 
1818 (on Comyges' death) the land reverted to the 
Government; but in 1835 Sidney Breese, David J. 
Baker and Miles A. Gilbert re-entered the for- 
feited bank tract and the title thereto became 
vested in the "Cairo City and Canal Company," 
which was chartered in 1837, and, by purchase, 
extended its holdings to 10,000 acres. The 
county was organized in 1819; the first county- 
seat being America, which was incorporated in 

1820. Population (1900), 19,384. 

ALEXIAN BROTHERS' HOSPITAL, located 
at Chicago; established in 1860, and under the 
management of the Alexian Brothers, a monastic 



order of the Roman Catholic Church. It was 
originally opened in a small frame building, but a 
better edifice was erected in 1868, only to be de- 
stroyed in the great fire of 1871. The following 
year, through the aid of private benefactions and 
an appropriation of $18,000 from the Chicago Re- 
lief and Aid Society, a larger and better hospital 
was built. In 1888 an addition was made, increas- 
ing the accommodation to 150 beds. Only poor 
male patients are admitted, and these are received 
without reference to nationality or religion, and 
absolutely without charge. The present medical 
staff (1896) comprises fourteen physicians and sur- 
geons. In 1895 the close approach of an intra- 
mural transit line having rendered the building 
unfit for hospital purposes, a street railway com- 
pany purchased the site and buildings for $250,- 
000 and a new location has been selected. 

ALEXIS, a village of Warren County, on the 
Rock Island & St. Louis Division of the Chicago, 
Burlington & Quincy Railway, 12 miles east of 
north from Monmouth. It has manufactures of 
brick, drain-tile, pottery and agricultural imple- 
ments; is also noted for its Clydesdale horses. 
Population (1880), 398; (1890), 562; (1900), 915. 

ALGONQUINS, a group of Indian tribes. 
Originally their territory extended from about 
latitude 37° to 53° north, and from longitude 25° 
east to 15° west of the meridian of Washington. 
Branches of the stock were found by Cartier in 
Canada, by Smith in Virginia, by the Puritans in 
New England and by Catholic missionaries in the 
great basin of the Mississippi. One of the prin- 
cipal of their five confederacies embraced the 
Illinois Indians, who were found within the 
State by the French when the latter discovered 
the country in 1673. They were hereditary foes 
of the warlike Iroquois, by whom their territory 
was repeatedly invaded. Besides the Illinois, 
other tribes of the Algonquin family who origi- 
nally dwelt within the present limits of Illinois, 
were the Foxes, Kickapoos, Miamis, Menominees, 
and Sacs. Although nomadic in their mode of 
life, and subsisting largely on the spoils of the 
chase, the Algonquins were to some extent tillers 
of the soil and cultivated large tracts of maize. 
Various dialects of their language have been 
reduced to grammatical rules, and Eliot's Indian 
Bible is published in their tongue. The entire 
Algonquin stock extant is estimated at about 
95,000, of whom some 35,000 are within the United 
States. 

ALLEN, William Joshua, jurist, was born 
June 9, 1829, in Wilson County, Tenn. ; of Vir- 
ginia ancestry of Scotch-Irish descent. In early 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



15 



infancy he was brought by his parents to South 
ern Illinois, where his father, Willis Allen, be- 
came a Judge and member of Congress. After 
reading law with his father and at the Louisville 
Law School, young Allen was admitted to the 
bar, settling at Metropolis and afterward (1853) 
at his old home, Marion, in Williamson County. 
In 1855 he was appointed United States District 
Attorney for Illinois, but resigned in 1859 and re- 
sumed private practice as partner of John A. 
Logan. The same year he was elected Circuit 
Judge to succeed his father, who had died, but lie 
declined a re-election. He was a member of the 
Constitutional Conventions of 18G2 and 1869, serv- 
ing in both bodies on the Judicial Committee and 
as Chairman of the Committee on the Bill of 
Rights. From 1864 to 1888 he was a delegate to 
every National Democratic Convention, being 
chairman of the Illinois delegation in 1876. He 
has been four times a candidate for Congress, and 
twice elected, serving from 1862 to 1865. During 
this period he was an ardent opponent of the wai 
policy of the Government. In 1874-75, at the 
solicitation of Governor Beveridge, he undertook 
the prosecution of the leaders of a bloody "ven- 
detta" which had broken out among his former 
neighbors in Williamson County, and, by his fear- 
less and impartial efforts, brought the offenders to 
justice and assisted in restoring order. In 1886, 
Judge Allen removed to Springfield, and in 1887 
was appointed by President Cleveland to succeed 
Judge Samuel H. Tr,eat (deceased) as Judge of the 
United States District Court for the Southern 
District of Illinois. Died Jan. 26, 1901. 

ALLEN, Willis, a native of Tennessee, who 
removed to Williamson County, 111., in 1829 and 
engaged in farming. In 1834 he was chosen 
Sheriff of Franklin County, in 1838 elected Rep- 
resentative in the Eleventh General Assembly, 
and, in 1844, became State Senator. In 1841, 
although not yet a licensed lawyer, he was chosen 
Prosecuting Attorney for the old Third District, 
and was shortly afterward admitted to the bar. 
He was chosen Presidential Elector in 1844, a 
member of the Constitutional Convention of 1847, 
and served two terms in Congress (1851-55). On 
March 2, 1859, he was commissioned Judge of the 
Twenty-sixth Judicial Circuit, but died three 
months later. His son, William Joshua, suc- 
ceeded him in the latter office. 

ALLERTON, Samuel Waters, stock-dealer and 
capitalist, was born of Pilgrim ancestry in 
Dutchess County, N. Y., May 26, 1829. His 
youth was spent with his father on a farm in 
Yates County, N. Y. , but about 1852 he engaged 



in the live-stock business in Central and Western 
New York. In 1856 he transferred his operations 
to Illinois, shipping stock from various points to 
New York City, finally locating in Chicago. He 
was one of the earliest projectors of the Chicago 
Stock-Yards, later securing control of the Pitts- 
burg Stock-Yards, also becoming interested in 
yards at Baltimore, Philadelphia, Jersey City ami 
Omaha. Mr. Allerton is one of the founders and 
a Director of the First National Bank of Chicago, 
a Director and stockholder of the Chicago City 
Railway (the first cable line in that city), the 
owner of an extensive area of highly improved 
farming lands in Central Illinois, as also of large 
tracts in Nebraska and Wyoming, and of valuable 
and productive mining properties in the Black 
Hills. A zealous Republican in jxditics, he is a 
liberal supporter of the measures of that party, 
and, in 1893, was the unsuccessful Republican can- 
didate for Mayor of Chicago in opposition to 
Carter H. Harrison. 

ALLOUEZ, Claude Jean, sometimes called 
"The Apostle of the West," a Jesuit priest, was 
born in France in 1620. He reached Quebec in 
1658, and later explored the country around 
Lakes Superior and Michigan, establishing the 
mission of La Pointe, near where Ashland, Wis. , 
now stands, in 1665, and St. Xavier, near Green 
Bay, in 1669. He learned from the Indians the 
existence and direction of the upper Mississippi, 
and was the first to communicate the informa- 
tion to the authorities at Montreal, which report 
was the primary cause of Joliet's expedition. He 
succeeded Marquette in charge of the mission at 
Kaskaskia, on the Illinois, in 1677, where he 
preached to eight tribes. From that date to 1690 
he labored among the aborigines of Illinois and 
Wisconsin. Died at Fort St. Joseph, in 1690. 

ALLTN, (Rev.) Robert, clergyman and edu- 
cator, was born at Ledyard, New London County, 
Conn., Jan. 25, 1817, being a direct descend- 
ant in the eighth generation of Captain Robert 
Allyn, who was one of the first settlers of New 
London. He grew up on a farm, receiving his 
early education in a country school, supple- 
mented by access to a small public librarv, from 
which he acquired a good degree of familiarity 
with standard English writers. In 1837 he 
entered the Wesleyan University at Middletown, 
Conn., where he distinguished himself as a 
mathematician and took a high rank as a linguist 
and rhetorician, graduating in 1841. He im- 
mediately engaged as a teacher of mathematics 
in the Wesleyan Academy at Wilbraham. Mass., 
and, in 1846, was elected principal of the school, 



16 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



meanwhile (1843) becoming a licentiate of the 
Providence Conference of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church. From 1848 to 1854 he served as Princi- 
pal of the Providence Conference Seminary at 
East Greenwich, R. I., when he was appointed 
Commissioner of Public Schools of Rhode Island 
— also serving the same year as a Visitor to West 
Point Military Academy. Between 1857 and 1859 
he filled the chair of Ancient Languages in the 
State University at Athens, Ohio, when he ac- 
cepted the Presidency of the Wesleyan Female 
College at Cincinnati, four years later (1863) 
becoming President of McKendree College at 
Lebanon, 111., where he remained until 1874. 
That position he resigned to accept the Presi- 
dency of the Southern Illinois Normal University 
at Carbondale, whence he retired in 1892. Died 
at Carbondale, Jan. 7, 1894. 

ALTAMONT, Effingham County, is intersecting 
point of the Vandalia, Chicago & Eastern Illinois, 
Baltimore & Ohio S. W., and Wabash Railroads, 
being midway and highest point between St. 
Louis and Terre Haute, Ind. ; was laid out in 
1870. The town is in the center of a grain, fruit- 
growing and stock-raising district ; has a bank, 
two grain elevators, flouring mill, tile works, a 
large creamery, wagon, furniture and other fac- 
tories, besides churches and good schools. Popu- 
lation (1890), 1,044; (1900), 1,335. 

ALTGELD, John Peter, ex-Judge and ex-Gov- 
ernor, was born in Prussia in 1848, and in boy- 
hood accompanied his parents to America, the 
family settling in Ohio. At the age of 16 he 
enlisted in the One Hundred and Sixty-fourth 
Ohio Infantry, serving until the close of the war. 
His legal education was acquired at St. Louis and 
Savannah, Mo., and from 1874 to '78 he was 
Prosecuting Attorney for Andrew County in that 
State. In 1878 he removed to Chicago, where he 
devoted himself to professional work. In 1884 he 
led the Democratic forlorn hope as candidate for 
Congress in a strong Republican Congressional 
district, and in 1886 was elected to the bench of 
the Superior Court of Cook County, but resigned 
in August, 1891. The Democratic State conven- 
tion of 1892 nominated him for Governor, and he 
was elected the following November, being the 
first foreign-born citizen to hold that office in the 
history of the State, and the first Democrat 
elected since 1852. In 1896 he was a prominent 
factor in the Democratic National Convention 
which nominated William J. Bryan for Presi- 
dent, and was also a candidate for re-election to 
the office of Governor, but was defeated by John 
R. Tanner, the Republican nominee. 



ALTON, principal city in Madison County 
and important commercial and manufacturing 
point on Mississippi River, 25 miles north of 
St. Louis; site was first occupied as a French 
trading-post about 1807, the town proper being 
laid out by Col. Rufus Easton in 1817 ; principal 
business houses are located in the valley along 
the river, while the residence portion occupies 
the bluffs overlooking the river, sometimes rising 
to the height of nearly 250 feet. The city has 
extensive glass works employ : ng (1903) 4,000 
hands, flouring mills, iron foundries, manufac- 
tories of agricultural implements, coal cars, min- 
ers' tools, shoes, tobacco, lime, etc., besides 
several banks, numerous churches, schools, and 
four newspapers, three of them daily. A monu- 
ment to the memory of Elijah P. Lovejoy, who 
fell while defending his press against a pro-slav- 
ery mob in 1837, was erected in Alton Cemetery, 
1896-7, at a cost of §30,000, contributed by the 
State and citizens of Alton. Population (1890), 
10,294; (1900), 14,210. 

ALTON PENITENTIARY. The earliest pun- 
ishments imposed upon public offenders in Illi- 
nois were by public flogging or imprisonment for 
a short time in jails rudely constructed of logs, 
from which escape was not difficult for a prisoner 
of nerve, strength and mental resource. The 
inadequacy of such places of confinement was 
soon perceived, but popular antipathy to any 
increase of taxation prevented the adoption of 
any other policy until 1827. A grant of 40,000 
acres of saline lands was made to the State by 
Congress, and a considerable portion of the money 
received from their sale was appropriated to the 
establishment of a State penitentiary at Alton. 
The sum set apart proved insufficient, and, in 1831, 
an additional appropriation of $10,000 was made 
from the State treasury. In 1833 the prison was 
ready to receive its first inmates. It was built of 
stone and had but twenty-four cells. Additions 
were made from time to time, but by 1857 the 
State determined upon building a new peniten- 
tiary, which was located at Joliet (see Northern 
Penitentiary), and, in 1860, the last convicts were 
transferred thither from Alton. The Alton prison 
was conducted on what is known as ' 'the Auburn 
plan" — associated labor in silence by day and 
separate confinement by night. The manage- 
ment was in the hands of a "lessee," who fur- 
nished supplies, employed guards and exercised 
the general powers of a warden under the super- 
vision of a Commissioner appointed by the State, 
and who handled all the products of convict 
labor. 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



17 



ALTON RIOTS. (See Lovejoy, Elijah Par- 
rish.) 

ALTONA, town of Knox County, on C, B. & Q. 
R. R., 16 miles northeast of Galesburg; has an 
endowed public library, electric light system, 
cement sidewalks, four churches and good school 
system. Population (1900), 633. 

ALTON & SANGAMON RAILROAD. (See 
Chicago & Alton Railroad.) 

AM BOY, city in Lee County on Green River, at 
junction of Illinois Central and C, B. & Q. Rail- 
roads, 95 miles south by west from Chicago ; has 
artesian water with waterworks and fire protec- 
tion, city park, two telephone systems, electric 
lights, railroad repair shops, two banks, two 
newspapers, seven churches, graded and high 
schools; is on line of Northern Illinois Electric 
Ry. from De Kalb to Dixon; extensive bridge 
and iron works located here. Pop. (1900), 1,826. 

AMES, Edward Raymond, Methodist Episcopal 
Bishop, born at Amesville, Athens County, Ohio, 
May 30, 1806; was educated at the Ohio State 
University, where he joined the M. E. Church. 
In 1828 he left college and became Principal of 
the Seminary at Lebanon, 111. , which afterwards 
became McKendree College. While there he 
received a license to preach, and, after holding 
various charges and positions in the church, in- 
cluding membership in the General Conference 
of 1840, '44 and '52, in the latter year was elected 
Bishop, serving until his death, which occurred 
in Baltimore, April 25, 1879. 

ANDERSON, Galusha, clergyman and edu- 
cator, was born at Bergen, N. Y., March 7, 1632; 
graduated at Rochester University in 1854 and at 
the Theological Seminary there in 1856; spent 
ten years in Baptist pastoral work at Janesville, 
Wis. , and at St. Louis, and seven as Professor in 
Newton Theological Institute, Mass. From 1873 
to '80 he preached in Brooklyn and Chicago; was 
then chosen President of the old Chicago Univer- 
sity, remaining eight years, when he again be- 
came a pastor at Salem, Mass., but soon after 
assumed the Presidency of Denison University, 
Ohio. On the organization of the new Chicago 
University, he accepted the chair of Homiletics 
and Pastoral Theology, which he now holds 

ANDERSON, George A., lawyer and Congress- 
man, was born in Botetourt County, Va., March 
11, 1853. When two years old he was brought by 
his parents to Hancock County, 111 He re- 
ceived a collegiate education, and, after studying 
law at Lincoln, Neb., and at Sedalia, Mo., settled 
at Quincy, Til., where he began practice in 1880. 
In 1884 he was elected City Attorney on the 



Democratic ticket, and re-elected in 1885 without 
opposition. The following year he was the suc- 
cessful candidate of his party for Congress, which 
was his last public service. Died at Quincy, 
Jan. 31, 1896. 

ANDERSON, James C, legislator, was born in 
Henderson County, 111., August 1, 1845; raised on 
a farm, and after receiving a common -school 
education, entered Monmouth College, but left 
early in the Civil War to enlist in the Twentieth 
Illinois Volunteer Infantry, in which he attained 
the rank of Second Lieutenant. After the war he 
served ten years as Sheriff of Henderson Count}-, 
was elected Representative in the General 
Assembly in 1888, '90, '92 and '96, and served on 
the Republican "steering committee" during the 
session of 1893. He also served as Sergeant-at- 
Arms of the Senate for the session of 1895, and 
was a delegate to the Republican National Con- 
vention of 1896. His home is at Decorra. 

ANDERSON, Stinson H., Lieutenant-Gover- 
nor, was born in Sumner County, Tenn., in 1800; 
came to Jefferson County, 111., in his youth, and, 
at an early age, began to devote his attention to 
breeding fine stock; served in the Black Hawk 
War as a Lieutenant in 1832, and the same year 
was elected to the lower branch of the Eighth 
General Assembly, being re-elected in 1834. In 
1838 he was chosen Lieutenant-Governor on the 
ticket with Gov. Thomas Carlin, and soon after 
the close of his term entered the United States 
Army as Captain of Dragoons, in this capacity 
taking part in the Seminole War in Florida. 
Still later he served under President Polk as 
United States Marshal for Illinois, and also held 
the position of Warden of the State Penitentiary 
at Alton for several years. Died,September,1857. — 
William B. (Anderson), son of the preceding, 
was born at Mount Vernon, 111., April 30, 1830; 
attended the common schools and later studied 
surveying, being elected Surveyor of Jefferson 
County, in 1851. He studied law and was admit- 
ted to the bar in 1858, but never practiced, pre- 
ferring the more quiet life of a farmer. In 1856 
he was elected to the lower house of the General 
Assembly and re-elected in 1858. In 1861 he 
entered the volunteer service as a private, was 
promoted through the grades of Captain and 
Lieutenant-Colonel to a Colonelcy, and, at the 
close of the war, was brevetted Brigadier-Gen- 
eral. In 1868 he was a candidate for Presidential 
Elector on the Democratic ticket, was a member 
of the State Constitutional Convention of 1869-70, 
and, in 1871, was elected to the State Senate, to 
fill a vacancy. In 1874 he was elected to the Forty • 



18 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



fourth Congress on the Democratic ticket. In 
1893 General Anderson was appointed by Presi- 
dent Cleveland Pension Agent for Illinois, con- 
tinuing in that position four years, when he 
retired to private life. 

ANDRUS, Rev. Reuben, clergyman and edu- 
cator, was born at Rutland, Jefferson County, 
N. Y., Jan. 29, 1824; early came to Fulton 
County, 111., and spent three years (1844-47) as a 
student at Illinois College, Jacksonville, but 
graduated at McKendree College, Lebanon, in 
1849 ; taught for a time at Greenfield, entered the 
Methodist ministry, and, in 1850, founded the Illi- 
nois Wesleyan University at Bloomington, of 
which he became a Professor; later re-entered 
the ministry and held charges at Beardstown, 
Decatur, Quincy, Springfield and Bloomington, 
meanwhile for a time being President of Illinois 
Conference Female College at Jacksonville, and 
temporary President of Quincy College. In 1867 
he was transferred to the Indiana Conference and 
stationed at Evansville and Indianapolis; from 
1872 to '75 was President of Indiana Asbury Uni- 
versity at Greencastle. Died at Indianapolis, 
Jan. 17, 1887. 

ANNA, a city in Union County, on the Illinois 
Central Railroad, 36 miles from Cairo ; is center 
of extensive fruit and vegetable-growing district, 
and largest shipping-point for these commodities 
on the Illinois Central Railroad. It has an ice 
plant, pottery and lime manufactories, two banks 
and two newspapers. The Southern '(HI. ) Hos- 
pital for the Insane is located here. Population 
(1890), 2,295; (1900), 2,618; (est. 1904), 3,000. 

ANTHONY, Elliott, jurist, was born of New 
England Quaker ancestry at Spafford, Onondaga 
County, N. Y., June 10, 1827; was related on 
the maternal side to the Chases and Phelps (dis- 
tinguished lawyers) of Vermont. His early years 
were spent in labor on a farm, but after a course 
of preparatory study at Cortland Academy, in 
1847 he entered the sophomore class in Hamilton 
College at Clinton, graduating with honors in 
1850. The next year he began the study of law, 
at the same time giving instruction in an Acad- 
emy at Clinton, where he had President Cleve- 
land as one of his pupils. After admission to the 
bar at Oswego, in 1851, he removed West, stop- 
ping for a time at Sterling, 111., but the following 
year located in Chicago. Here he compiled "A 
Digest of Illinois Reports"; in 1858 was elected 
City Attorney, and, in 1863, became solicitor of 
the Galena & Chicago Union Railroad (now the 
Chicago & Northwestern). Judge Anthony 
served in two State Constitutional Conventions — 



those of 1862 and 1869-70 — being chairman of the 
Committee on Executive Department and mem- 
ber of the Committee on Judiciary in the latter. 
He was delegate to the National Republican Con- 
vention of 1880, and was the same year elected a 
Judge of the Superior Court of Chicago, and was 
re-elected in 1886, retiring in 1892, after which he 
resumed the practice of his profession, being 
chiefly employed as consulting counsel. Judge 
Anthony was one of the founders and incorpo- 
rators of the Chicago Law Institute and a member 
of the first Board of Directors of the Chicago 
Public Library; also served as President of the 
State Bar Association (1894-95), and delivered 
several important historical addresses before that 
body. His other most important productions 
are volumes on "The Constitutional History of 
Illinois," "The Story of the Empire State" and 
"Sanitation and Navigation." Near the close of 
his last term upon the bench, he spent several 
months in an extended tour through the princi- 
pal countries of Europe. His death occurred, 
after a protracted illness, at his home at Evans- 
ton, Feb. 24, 1898. 

ANTI-NEBRASKA EDITORIAL CONVEN- 
TION, a political body, which convened at 
Decatur, Feb. 22, 1856, pursuant to the suggestion 
of "The Morgan Journal," then a weekly paper 
published at Jacksonville, for the purpose of for- 
mulating a policy in opposition to the principles 
of the Kansas-Nebraska bill. Twelve editors 
were in attendance, as follows : Charles H. Ray 
of "The Chicago Tribune"; V. Y. Ralston of 
"The Quincy Whig"; O. P. Wharton of "The 
Rock Island Advertiser"; T. J. Pickett of "The 
Peoria Republican"; George Schneider of "The 
Chicago Staats Zeitung" ; Charles Faxon of "The 
Princeton Post"; A. N. Ford of "The Lacon Ga- 
zette"; B. F. Shaw of "The Dixon Telegraph" ; E. 
C. Daugherty of "The Rockford Register" ; E. W. 
Blaisdell of "The Rockford Gazette"; W. J. 
Usrey of "The Decatur Chronicle"; and Paul 
Selby of ' 'The Jacksonville Journal. " Paul Selby 
was chosen Chairman and W. J. Usrey, Secre- 
tary. The convention adopted a platform and 
recommended the calling of a State convention 
at Bloomington on May 29, following, appointing 
the following State Central Committee to take the 
matter in charge: W. B. Ogden, Chicago; S. M. 
Church, Rockford; G. D. A. Parks, Joliet; T. J 
Pickett, Peoria; E. A. Dudley, Quincy; William 
H. Herndon, Springfield; R. J. Oglesby, Deca- 
tur; Joseph Gillespie, Edwardsville ; D. L. Phil- 
lips, Jonesboro; and Ira O. Wilkinson and 
Gustavus Koerner for the State-at-large. Abra- 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



19 



nam Lincoln was present and participated in the 
consultations of the committees. All of these 
served except Messrs. Ogden, Oglesby and Koer- 
ner, the two former declining on account of ab- 
sence from the State. Ogden was succeeded by 
the late Dr. John Evans, afterwards Territorial 
Governor of Colorado, and Oglesby by Col. Isaac 
C. Pugh of Decatur. (See Bloomington Conven- 
tion of 1856. ) 

APPLE RIVER, a village of Jo Daviess 
County, on the Illinois Central Railroad, 21 miles 
east-northeast from Galena. Population (1880), 
626; (1890), 572; (1900), 576. 

APPLINUTON, (Maj.) Zenas, soldier, was born 
in Broome County, N. Y., Dec. 24, 1815; in 1837 
emigrated to Ogle County, 111., where he fol- 
lowed successively the occupations of farmer, 
blacksmith, carpenter and merchant, finally 
becoming the founder of the town of Polo. Here 
he became wealthy, but lost much of his property 
in the financial revulsion of 1857. In 1858 he 
was elected to the State Senate, and, during the 
session of 1859, was one of the members of that 
body appointed to investigate the "canal scrip 
fraud" (which see), and two years later was one of 
the earnest supporters of the Government in its 
preparation for the War of the Rebellion. The 
latter year he assisted in organizing the Seventh 
Illinois Cavalry, of which he was commissioned 
Major, being some time in command at Bird's 
Point, and later rendering important service to 
General Pope at New Madrid and Island No. 10. 
He was killed at Corinth, Miss., May 8, 1862, 
while obeying an order to charge upon a band of 
rebels concealed in a wood. 

APPORTIONMENT, a mode of distribution of 
the counties of the State into Districts for the 
election of members of the General Assembly 
and of Congress, which will be treated under 
separate heads : 

Legislative. — The first legislative apportion- 
ment was provided for by the Constitution of 
1818. That instrument vested the Legislature 
with power to divide the State as follows: To 
create districts for the election of Representatives 
not less than twenty-seven nor more than thirty- 
six in number, until the population of the State 
should amount to 100,000; and to create sena- 
torial districts, in number not less than one-third 
nor more than one-half of the representative dis- 
tricts at the time of organization. 

The schedule appended to the first Constitution 
contained the first legal apportionment of Sena- 
tors and Representatives. The first fifteen 
counties were allowed fourteen Senators and 



twenty-nine Representatives. Each county 
formed a distinct legislative district for repre- 
sentation in the lower house, with the number of 
members for each varying from one to three; 
while Johnson and Franklin were combined in 
one Senatorial district, the other counties being 
entitled to one Senator each. Later apportion- 
ments were made in 1821, '26, '31, '36, '41 and "47. 
Before an election was held under the last, how- 
ever, the Constitution of 1848 went into effect, 
and considerable changes were effected in this 
regard. The number of Senators was fixed at 
twenty-five and of Representatives at seventy 
five, until the entire population should equal 
1,000. 000, when i'we members of the House were 
added and five additional members for each 500,- 
000 increase in population until the whole num- 
ber of Representatives reached 100. Thereafter 
the number was neither increased nor dimin- 
ished, but apportioned among the several coun- 
ties according to the number of white inhabit- 
ants. Should it be found necessary, a single 
district might be formed out of two or more 
counties. 

The Constitution of 1848 established fifty-four 
Representative and tw-enty-five Senatorial dis- 
tricts. By the apportionment law of 1854, the 
number of the former was increased to fifty-eight, 
and, in 1861, to sixty-one. The number of Sen- 
atorial districts remained unchanged, but their 
geographical limits varied under each act, while 
the number of members from Representative 
districts varied according to population. 

The Constitution of 1870 provided for an im- 
mediate reapportionment (subsequent to its 
adoption) by the Governor and Secretary of 
State upon the basis of the United States Census 
of 1870. Under the apportionment thus made, 
as prescribed by the schedule, the State was 
divided into twenty-five Senatorial districts (each 
electing two Senators) and ninety-seven Repre- 
sentative districts, with an aggregate of 177 mem- 
bers varying from one to ten for the several 
districts, according to population. This arrange- 
ment continued in force for only one Legislature 
— that chosen in 1S70. 

In 1872 this Legislature proceeded to reappor- 
tion the State in accordance with the principle of 
"•minority representation." which, had been sub- 
mitted as an independent section of the Constitu- 
tion and adopted on a separate vote. This 
provided for apportioning the State into fifty-one 
districts, each being entitled to one Senator and 
three Representatives. The ratio of representa- 
tion in the lower house was ascertained by divid- 



20 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



ing the entire population by 153 and each county 
to be allowed one Representative, provided its 
population reached three-fifths of the ratio ; coun- 
ties having a population equivalent to one and 
three-fifths times the ratio were entitled to two 
Representatives ; while each county with a larger 
population was entitled to one additional Repre- 
sentative for each time the full ratio was repeated 
in the number of inhabitants. Apportionments 
were made on this principle in 1872, '82 and '93. 
Members of the lower house are elected bienni- 
ally; Senators for four years, those in odd and 
even districts being chosen at each alternate 
legislative election. The election of Senators for 
the even (numbered) districts takes place at the 
same time with that of Governor and other State 
officers, and that for the odd districts at the inter- 
mediate periods. 

Congressional. — For the first fourteen years 
of the State's history, Illinois constituted but one 
Congressional district. The census of 1830 show- 
ing sufficient population, the Legislature of 1831 
(by act, approved Feb. 13) divided the State into 
three districts, the first election under this law 
being held on the first Monday in August, 1832. 
At that time Illinois comprised fifty-five coun- 
ties, which were apportioned among the districts 
as follows: First — Gallatin, Pope, Johnson, 
Alexander, Union, Jackson, Franklin, Perry, 
Randolph, Monroe, Washington, St. Clair, Clin- 
ton, Bond, Madison, Macoupin; Second — White, 
Hamilton, Jefferson, Wayne, Edwards, Wabash, 
Clay, Marion, Lawrence, Fayette, Montgomery, 
Shelby, Vermilion, Edgar, Coles, Clark, Craw- 
ford; Third — Greene, Morgan, Sangamon, 
Macon, Tazewell, McLean, Cook, Henry, La 
Salle, Putnam, Peoria, Knox, Jo Daviess, Mercer, 
McDonough, Warren, Fulton, Hancock, Pike, 
Schuyler, Adams, Calhoun. 

The reapportionment following the census of 
1840 was made by Act of March 1, 1843, and the 
first election of Representatives thereunder 
occurred on the first Monday of the following 
August. Forty -one new counties had been cre- 
ated (making ninety-six in all) and the number 
of districts was increased to seven as follows: 
First — Alexander, Union, Jackson, Monroe, 
Perry, Randolph, St. Clair, Bond, Washington, 
Madison; Second — Johnson, Pope, Hardin, 
Williamson, Gallatin, Franklin, White, Wayne, 
Hamilton, Wabash, Massac, Jefferson, Edwards, 
Marion; Third — Lawrence, Richland, Jasper, 
Fayette, Crawford, Effingham, Christian, Mont- 
gomery, Shelby, Moultrie, Coles, Clark, Clay, 
Edgar, Piatt, Macon, De Witt; Fourth — Lake, 



McHenry, Boone, Cook, Kane, De Kalb, Du Page, 
Kendall, Will, Grundy, La Salle, Iroquois, 
Livingston, Champaign, Vermilion, McLean, 
Bureau; Fifth — Greene, Jersey, Calhoun, Pike, 
Adams, Marquette (a part of Adams never fully 
organized), Brown, Schuyler, Fulton Peoria, 
Macoupin; Sixth — Jo Daviess, Stephenson, 
Winnebago, Carroll, Ogle, Whiteside, Henry, 
Lee, Rock Island, Stark, Mercer, Henderson, 
Warren, Knox, McDonough, Hancock; Seventh 
— Putnam, Marshall, Woodford, Cass, Tazewell, 
Mason, Menard, Scott, Morgan, Logan, Sangamon. 

The next Congressional apportionment (August 
22, 1852) divided the State into nine districts, as 
follows — the first election under it being held the 
following November: First — Lake, McHenry, 
Boone, Winnebago, Stephenson, Jo Daviess, Car- 
roll, Ogle ; Second — Cook, Du Page, Kane, De 
Kalb, Lee, Whiteside, Rock Island; Third — 
Will, Kendall, Grundy, Livingston, La Salle, 
Putnam, Bureau, Vermilion, Iroquois, Cham- 
paign, McLean, De Witt; Fourth — Fulton, 
Peoria, Knox, Henry, Stark, Warren, Mercer, 
Marshall, Mason, Woodford, Tazewell; Fifth 
— Adams, Calhoun, Brown, Schuyler, Pike, Mc- 
Donough, Hancock, Henderson; Sixth — Morgan, 
Scott, Sangamon, Greene, Macoupin, Montgom- 
ery, Shelby, Christian, Cass, Menard, Jersey; 
Seventh — Logan, Macon, Piatt, Coles, Edgar, 
Moultrie, Cumberland, Crawford, Clark, Effing- 
ham, Jasper, Clay, Lawrence, Richland, Fayette; 
Eighth — Randolph, Monroe, St. Clair, Bond, 
Madison, Clinton, Washington, Jefferson, Mar- 
ion; Ninth — Alexander, Pulaski, Massac, Union, 
Johnson, Pope, Hardin, Gallatin, Saline, Jack- 
son, Perry, Franklin, Williamson, Hamilton, 
Edwards, White, Wayne, Wabash. 

The census of 1860 showed that Illinois was 
entitled to fourteen Representatives, but through 
an error the apportionment law of April 24, 1861, 
created only thirteen districts. This was com- 
pensated for by providing for the election of one 
Congressman for the State-at- large. The districts 
were as follows: First — Cook, Lake; Second — 
McHenry, Boone, Winnebago, De Kalb, and 
Kane; Third — Jo Daviess, Stephenson, White- 
side, Carroll, Ogle, Lee; Fourth — Adams, Han- 
cock, Warren, Mercer, Henderson, Rock Island; 
Fifth— Peoria, Knox, Stark, Marshall, Putnam, 
Bureau, Henry; Sixth— La Salle, Grundy, Ken- 
dall, Du Page, Will, Kankakee; Seventh — 
Macon, Piatt, Champaign, Douglas, Moultrie, 
Cumberland, Vermilion, Coles, Edgar, Iroquois, 
Ford; Eighth — Sangamon, Logan, De Witt, Mc- 
Lean, Tazewell, Woodford, Livingston; Ninth — 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



21 



Fulton, Mason, Menard, Cass, Pike, McDonough, 
Schuyler, Brown; Tenth — Bond, Morgan, Cal- 
houn, Macoupin, Scott, Jersey, Greene, Christian, 
Montgomery, Shelby ; Eleventh — Marion, Fay- 
ette, Richland, Jasper, Clay, Clark, Crawford, 
Franklin, Lawrence, Hamilton, Effingham, 
Wayne, Jefferson; Twelfth — St. Clair. Madison, 
Clinton, Monroe, Washington, Randolph; 
Thirteenth — Alexander, Pulaski, Union, Perry, 
Johnson, Williamson, Jackson, Massac, Pope, 
Hardin, Gallatin, Saline, White, Edwards, 
Wabash. 

The next reapportionment was made July 1, 
1872. The Act created nineteen districts, as fol- 
lows: First — The first seven wards in Chicago 
and thirteen towns in Cook County, with the 
county of Du Page; Second — Wards Eighth to 
Fifteenth (inclusive) in Chicago; Third — Wards 
Sixteenth to Twentieth in Chicago, the remainder 
of Cook County, and Lake County; Fourth — 
Kane, De Kalb, McHenry, Boone, and Winne- 
bago; Fifth — Jo Daviess, Stephenson, Carroll, 
Ogle, Whiteside; Sixth — Henry, Rock Island, 
Putnam, Bureau, Lee; Seventh — La Salle, Ken- 
dall, Grundy, Will ; Eighth — Kankakee, Iroquois, 
Ford, Marshall, Livingston, Woodford; Ninth — 
Stark, Peoria, Knox, Fulton; Tenth — Mercer, 
Henderson, Warren, McDonough, Hancock, 
Schuyler; Eleventh — Adams, Brown, Calhoun, 
Greene, Pike, Jersey; Twelfth — Scott, Morgan, 
Menard, Sangamon, Cass, Christian ; Thirteenth — 
Mason, Tazewell, McLean, Logan, De Witt ; Four- 
teenth — Macon, Piatt, Champaign, Douglas, Coles, 
Vermilion; Fifteenth — Edgar, Clark, Cumber- 
land, Shelby, Moultrie, Effingham, Lawrence, 
Jasper, Crawford; Sixteenth — Montgomery, 
Fayette, Washington, Bond, Clinton, Marion, 
Clay; Seventeenth — Macoupin, Madison, St. 
Clair, Monroe ; Eighteenth — Randolph, Perry, 
Jackson, Union, Johnson, Williamson, Alex- 
ander, Pope, Massac, Pulaski; Nineteenth — 
Richland, Wayne, Edwards, White, Wabash, 
Saline, Gallatin, Hardin, Jefferson, Franklin, 
Hamilton. 

In 1882 (by Act of April 29) the number of dis- 
tricts was increased to twenty, and the bound- 
aries determined as follows : First — Wards First 
to Fourth (inclusive) in Chicago and thirteen 
towns in Cook County; Second — Wards 5th to 
7th and part of 8th in Chicago; Third — Wards 
'.ith to 14th and part of 8th in Chicago; Fourth 
— The remainder of the City of Chicago and of 
the county of Cook; Fifth — Lake, McHenry, 
Boone, Kane, and DeKalb; Sixth — Winnebago, 
Stephenson, Jo Daviess, Ogle, and Carroll; 



Seventh — Lee, Whiteside, Henry, Bureau, Put- 
nam; Eighth — La Salle, Kendall Grundy, Du 
Page, and Will; Ninth — Kankakee, Iroquois, 
Ford, Livingston, Woodford. Marshall; Tenth — 
Peoria, Knox, Stark, Fulton ; Eleventh — Rock 
Island, Mercer, Henderson. Warren, Hancock, 
McDonough, Schuyler; Twelfth — Cass, Brown. 
Adams, Pike, Scott. Greene, Calhoun, Jersey; 
Thirteenth — Tazewell, Mason, Menard, Sanga- 
mon, Morgan, Christian; Fourteenth — McLean, 
De Witt, Piatt, Macon, Logan; Fifteenth — 
Coles, Edgar, Douglas, Vermilion, Champaign ; 
Sixteenth — Cumberland. Clark, Jasper, Clay, 
Crawford, Richland, Lawrence, Wayne, Edwards, 
Wabash ; Seventeenth — Macoupin, Montgomery, 
Moultrie, Shelby, Effingham, Fayette; Eight- 
eenth — Bond, Madison, St. Clair, Monroe, Wash- 
ington; Nineteenth — Marion, Clinton Jefferson, 
Saline, Franklin, Hamilton, White, Gallatin, Har- 
din ; Twentieth — Perry, Randolph, Jackson, 
Union, Williamson, Johnson, Alexander, Pope, 
Pulaski, Massac. 

The census of 1890 showed the State to be entit- 
led to twenty-two Representatives. No reap- 
portionment, however, was made until June, 
1893, two members from the State-at-large being 
elected in 1892. The existing twenty-two Con- 
gressional districts are as follows: The first 
seven districts comprise the counties of Cook and 
Lake, the latter lying wholly in the Seventh dis- 
trict ; Eighth — McHenry, De Kalb, Kane, Du 
Page, Kendall, Grundy; Ninth — Boone, Winne- 
bago, Stephenson, Jo Daviess, Carroll, Ogle, Lee; 
Tenth — Whiteside, Rock Island, Mercer, Henry, 
Stark, Knox ; Eleventh — Bureau, La Salle, 
Livingston, Woodford; Twelfth — Will, Kanka- 
kee, Iroquois, Vermilion; Thirteenth — Ford, Mc- 
Lean, DeWitt, Piatt, Champaign, Douglas; Four- 
teenth — Putnam. Marshall, Peoria, Fulton, 
Tazewell, Mason ; Fifteenth — Henderson, War- 
ren, Hancock, McDonough, Adams, Brown, 
Schuyler ; Sixteenth — Cass. Morgan, Scott, 
Pike. Greene, Macoupin, Calhoun, Jersey 
Seventeenth — Menard, Logan, Sangamon, Macon, 
Christian; Eighteenth — Madison, Montgomery. 
Bond, Fayette, Shelby, Moultrie: Nineteenth — 
Coles, Edgar. Clark. Cumberland, Effingham. 
Jasper, Crawford. Richland, Lawrence; Twenti- 
eth — Clay, Jefferson, Wayne, Hamilton, Ed- 
wards. Wabash, Franklin, White, Gallatin, 
Hardin; Twenty first —Marion, Clinton, Wash- 
ington, St. Clair. Monroe, Randolph, Perry; 
Twenty second — Jackson, Union, Alexander, 
Pulaski, Johnson, Williamson, Saline, Pope. 
Massac. (See also Representatives iv Congress • 



22 



HISTOKICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



ARCHER, William B., pioneer, was born in 
"Warren County, Ohio, in 1792, and taken to Ken- 
tucky at an early day, where he remained until 
1817, when his family removed to Illinois, finally 
settling in what is now Clark County. Although 
pursuing the avocation of a farmer, he became 
one of the most prominent and influential men in 
that part of the State. On the organization of 
Clark County in 1819, he was appointed the first 
County and Circuit Clerk, resigning the former 
office in 1820 and the latter in 1822. In 1824 he 
was elected to the lower branch of the General 
Assembly, and two years later to the State 
Senate, serving continuously in the latter eight 
years. He was thus a Senator on the breaking 
out of the Black Hawk War (1832), in which he 
served as a Captain of militia. In 1834 he was an 
unsuccessful candidate for Lieutenant-Governor ; 
was appointed by Governor Duncan, in 1835, a 
member of the first Board of Commissioners of 
ehe Illinois & Michigan Canal; in 1838 was 
returned a second time to the House of Repre- 
sentatives and re-elected in 1840 and '46 to the 
same body. Two years later (1848) he was again 
elected Circuit Clerk, remaining until 1852, and 
in 1854 was an Anti-Nebraska Whig candidate 
for Congress in opposition to James C. Allen. 
Although Allen received the certificate of elec- 
tion, Archer contested his right to the seat, with 
the result that Congress declared the seat vacant 
and referred the question back to the people. In 
a new election held in August, 1856, Archer was 
defeated and Allen elected. He held no public 
office of importance after this date, but in 1856 
was a delegate to the first Republican National 
Convention at Philadelphia, and in that body was 
an enthusiastic supporter of Abraham Lincoln, 
whose zealous friend and admirer he was, for the 
office of Vice-President. He was also one of the 
active promoters of various railroad enterprises 
in that section of the State, especially the old 
Chicago & Vincennes Road, the first projected 
•southward from the City of Chicago. His con- 
nection with the Illinois & Michigan Canal was 
the means of giving his name to Archer Avenue, 
a somewhat famous thoroughfare in Chicago 
He was of tall stature and great energy of char- 
acter, with a tendency to enthusiasm that com- 
municated itself to others. A local history has 
said of him that "he did more for Clark County 
than any man in his day or since," although "no 
consideration, pecuniary or otherwise, was ever 
given him for his services." Colonel Archer was 
one of the founders of Marshall, the county-seat 
of Clark County, Governor Duncan being associ- 



ated with him in the ownership of the land on 
which the town was laid out. His death oc- 
curred in Clark County, August 9, 1870, at the 
age of 78 years. 

ARCOL A, incorporated city in Douglas County, 
158 miles south of Chicago, at junction of Illinois 
Central and Terre Haute branch Vandalia Rail- 
road ; is center of largest broom-corn producing 
region i a the world ; has city waterworks, with 
efficient volunteer fire department, electric lights, 
telephone system, grain elevators and broom- 
corn warehouses, two banks, three newspapers, 
nine churches, library building and excellent free 
school system. Pop. (1890), 1,733; (1900), 1,995. 

AREJJZ, Francis A., pioneer, was born at 
Blankenberg, in the Province of the Rhein, 
Prussia, Oct. 31, 1800 ; obtained a good education' 
and, while a young man, engaged in mercantile 
business in his native country. In 1827 he came 
to the United States and, after spending two 
years in Kentucky, in 1829 went to Galena, where 
he was engaged for a short time in the lead 
trade. He took an early opportunity to become 
naturalized, and coming to Beardstown a few 
months later, went into merchandising and real 
estate; also became a contractor for furnishing 
supplies to the State troops during the Black Hawk 
War, Beardstown being at the time a rendezvous 
and shipping point. In 1834 he began the publi- 
cation of ' 'The Beardstown Chronicle and Illinois 
Bounty Land Register," and was the projector of 
the Beardstown & Sangamon Canal, extending 
from the Illinois River at Beardstown to Miller's 
Ferry on the Sangamon, for which he secured a 
special charter from the Legislature in 1836. He 
had a survey of the line made, but the hard times 
prevented the beginning of the work and it was 
finally abandoned. Retiring from the mercantile 
business in 1835, he located on a farm six miles 
southeast of Beardstown, but in 1839 removed to 
a tract of land near the Morgan County line 
which he had bought in 1833, and on which the 
present village of Arenzville now stands. This 
became the center of a thrifty agricultural com- 
munity composed largely of Germans, among 
whom he exercised a large influence. Resuming 
the mercantile business here, he continued it 
until about 1853, when he sold out a considerable 
part of his possessions. An ardent Whig, he was 
elected as such to the lower branch of the Four- 
teenth General Assembly (1844) from Morgan 
County, and during the following session suc- 
ceeded in securing the passage of an act by which 
a strip of territory three miles wide in the north- 
ern part of Morgan County, including the village 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



23 



of Arenzville, and which had been in dispute, 
was transferred by vote of the citizens to Cass 
County. In 1852 Mr. Arenz visited his native 
land, by appointment of President Fillmore, as 
bearer of dispatches to the American legations at 
Berlin and Vienna. He was one of the founders 
of the Illinois State Agricultural Society of 1853, 
and served as the Vice-President for his district 
until his death, and was also the founder and 
President of the Cass County Agricultural Soci- 
ety. Died, April 2, 1856. 

ARLINGTON, a village of Bureau County, on 
the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, 92 
miles west of Chicago. Population (1880), 447; 
(1890), 436; (1900), 400. 

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS (formerly Dunton), a 
village of Cook County, on the Chicago & North- 
western Railway, 22 miles northwest of Chicago ; 
is in a dairying district and has several cheese 
factories, besides a sewing machine factory, 
hotels and churches, a graded school, a bank and 
one newspaper. Population (1880), 995; (1890), 
1,424; (1900), 1,380. 

ARMOUR, Philip Danforth, packer, Board of 
Trade operator and capitalist, was born at Stock- 
bridge, Madison County, N. Y., May 16, 1832. 
After receiving the benefits of such education as 
the village academy afforded, in 1852 he set out 
across the Plains to California, where he re- 
mained four years, achieving only moderate suc- 
cess as a miner. Returning east in 1856, he soon 
after embarked in the commission business in 
Milwaukee, continuing until 1863, when he 
formed a partnership with Mr. John Plankinton 
in the meat-packing business. Later, in conjunc- 
tion with his brothers — H. O. Armour having 
already built up an extensive grain commission 
trade in Chicago — he organized the extensive 
packing and commission firm of Armour & 
Co., with branches in New York, Kansas City 
and Chicago, their headquarters being removed 
to the latter place from Milwaukee in 1875. 
Mr. Armour is a most industrious and me- 
thodical business man, giving as many hours 
to the superintendence of business details as the 
most industrious day-laborer, the result being 
seen in the creation of one of the most extensive 
and prosperous firms in the country. Mr. 
Armour's practical benevolence has been demon- 
strated in a munificent manner by his establish- 
ment and endowment of the Armour Institute 
(a manual training school) in Chicago, at a cost 
of over $2,250,000, as an offshoot of the Armour 
Mission founded on the bequest of his deceased 
brother, Joseph F. Armour. Died Jan. 6, 1901. 



ARMSTRONG, John Strawn, pioneer, born in 
Somerset County, Pa., May 29, 1810, the oldest of 
a family of nine sons ; was taken by his parents 
in 1811 to Licking County, Ohio, where he spent 
his childhood and early youth. His father was a 
native of Ireland and liis mother a sister of Jacob 
Strawn, afterwards a wealthy stock-grower and 
dealer in Morgan County. In 1829, John S. came 
to Tazewell County, 111., but two years later 
joined the rest of his family in Putnam (now 
Marshall) County, all finally removing to La 
Salle County, where they were among the earli- 
est settlers. Here he settled on a farm in 1834, 
where he continued to reside over fifty years, 
when he located in the village of Sheridan, but 
early in 1897 went to reside with a daughter in 
Ottawa. He was a soldier in the Black Hawk 
War, has been a prominent and influential farm- 
er, and, in the later years of his life, has been 
a leader in "Granger" politics, being Master of his 
local "Grange," and also serving as Treasurer of 
the State Grange. — George Washington (Arm- 
strong), brother of the preceding, was born upon 
the farm of his parents, Joseph and Elsie (Strawn) 
Armstrong, in Licking County, Ohio, Dec. 9, 
1812; learned the trade of a weaver with his 
father (who was a woolen manufacturer), and at 
the age of 18 was in charge of the factory, 
Early in 1831 he came with his mother's family 
to Illinois, locating a few months later in La 
Salle County. In 1*32 he served with his older 
brother as a soldier in the Black Hawk War, was 
identified with the early steps for the construc- 
tion of the Illinois & Michigan Canal, finally be- 
coming a contractor upon the section at Utica, 
where he resided several years. He then returned 
to the farm near the present village of Seneca, 
where he had located in 1833, and where (with 
the exception of his residence at Utica) he has 
resided continuously over sixty-five years. In 
1844 Mr. Armstrong was elected to the lower 
branch of the Fourteenth General Assembly, 
also served in the Constitutional Convention of 
1847 and, in 1858, was the unsuccessful Democratic 
candidate for Congress in opposition to Owen 
Lovejoy. Re-entering the Legislature in 1860 as 
Representative from La Salle County, he served 
in that body by successive re-elections until isos. 
proving one of its ablest and most influential 
members, as well as an accomplished parliamen- 
tarian. Mr. Armstrong was one of the original 
promoters of the Kankakee & Seneca Railroad. — 
William E. (Armstrong), third brother of this 
family, was born in Licking County, Ohio, Oct. 
25, 1814; came to Illinois with the rest of the 



24 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



family in 1831, and resided in La Salle County 
until 1841, meanwhile serving two or three terms 
as Sheriff of the county. The latter year he was 
appointed one of the Commissioners to locate the 
county-seat of the newly-organized county of 
Grundy, finally becoming one of the founders and 
the first permanent settler of the town of Grundy 
— later called Morris, in honor of Hon. I. N. Mor- 
ris, of Quincy, 111, at that time one of the Com- 
missioners of the Illinois & Michigan Canal. 
Here Mr. Armstrong was again elected to the 
office of Sheriff, serving several terms. So ex- 
tensive was his influence in Grundy County, that 
he was popularly known as "The Emperor of 
Grundy." Died, Nov. 1, 1850.— Joel W. (Arm- 
strong), a fourth brother, was born in Licking 
County, Ohio, Jan. 6, 1817 ; emigrated in boyhood 
to La Salle County, 111. ; served one term as 
County Recorder, was member of the Board of 
Supervisors for a number of years and the first 
Postmaster of his town. Died, Dec. 3, 1871. — 
Perry A. (Armstrong), the seventh brother of 
this historic family, was born near Newark, Lick- 
ing County, Ohio, April 15, 1823, and came to La 
Salle County, 111., in 1831. His opportunities for 
acquiring an education in a new country were 
limited, but between work on the farm and serv- 
ice as a clerk of his brother George, aided by a 
short term in an academy and as a teacher in 
Kendall County, he managed to prepare himself 
for college, entering Illinois College at Jackson- 
ville in 1843. Owing to failure of health, he was 
compelled to abandon his plan of obtaining a col- 
legiate education and returned home at the end 
of his Freshman year, but continued his studies, 
meanwhile teaching district schools in the winter 
and working on his mother's farm during the 
crop season, until 1845, when he located in Mor- 
ris, Grundy County, opened a general store and 
was appointed Postmaster. He has been in pub- 
lic position of some sort ever since he reached his 
majority, including the offices of School Trustee, 
Postmaster, Justice of the Peace, Supervisor, 
County Clerk (two terms), Delegate to the Con- 
stitutional Convention of 1862, and two terms as 
Representative in the General Assembly (1862-64 
and 1872-74). During his last session in the Gen- 
eral Assembly he took a conspicuous part in the 
revision of the statutes under the Constitution of 
1870, framing some of the most important laws 
on the statute book, while participating in the 
preparation of others. At an earlier date it fell 
io his lot to draw up the original charters of the 
Chicago & Rock Island, the Illinois Central, and 
the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroads. He 



has also been prominent in Odd Fellow and 
Masonic circles, having been Grand Master of the 
first named order in the State and being the old- 
est 32d degree Mason in Illinois ; was admitted to 
the State bar in 1864 and to that of the Supreme 
Court of the United States in 1868, and has been 
Master in Chancery for over twenty consecutive 
years. Mr. Armstrong has also found time to do 
some literary work, as shown by his history of 
"The Sauks and Black Hawk War," and a num- 
ber of poems. He takes much pleasure in relat- 
ing reminiscences of pioneer life in Illinois, one 
of which is the story of his first trip from 
Ottawa to Chicago, in December, 1831, when he 
accompanied his oldest brother (William E. 
Armstrong) to Chicago with a sled and ox- 
team for salt to cure their mast-fed pork, the 
trip requiring ten days. His recollection is, that 
there were but three white families in Chicago 
at that time, but a large number of Indians 
mixed with half-breeds of French and Indian 
origin. 

ARNOLD, Isaac IV., lawyer and Congressman, 
was born near Cooperstown, N. Y., Nov. 30, 1813, 
being descended from one of the companions of 
Roger Williams. Thrown upon his own resources 
at an early age, he was largely "self-made." 
He read law at Cooperstown, and was admitted 
to the bar in 1835. The next year he removed to 
Chicago, was elected the first City Clerk in 1837, 
but resigned before the close of the year and was 
admitted to the bar of Illinois in 1841. He soon 
established a reputation as a lawyer, and served 
for three terms (the Thirteenth, Fourteenth and 
Twentieth) in the lower house of the Legisla- 
ture. In 1844 he was a Presidential Elector on 
the Polk ticket, but the repeal of the Missouri 
Compromise, with the legislation regarding Kan- 
sas and Nebraska, logically forced him, as a free- 
soiler, into the ranks of the Republican party, by 
which he was sent to Congress from 1861 to 1865. 
While in Congress he prepared and delivered an 
exhaustive argument in support of the right of 
confiscation by the General Government. After 
the expiration of his last Congressional term, Mr. 
Arnold returned to Chicago, where he resided 
until his death, April 24, 1884. He was of schol- 
arly instincts, fond of literature and an author of 
repute. Among his best known works are his 
"Life of Abraham Lincoln" and his "Life of 
Benedict Arnold." 

ARRINGTON, Alfred W., clergyman, lawyer 
and author, was born in Iredell County, N. C, 
September, 1810, being the son of a Whig mem- 
ber of Congress from that State. In 1829 he was 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS 



25 



received on trial as a Methodist preacher and 
became a circuit-rider in Indiana; during 1832-33 
served as an itinerant in Missouri, gaining much 
celebrity by his eloquence. In 1834 he began the 
study of law, and having been admitted to the 
bar, practiced for several years in Arkansas, 
where he was sent to the Legislature, and, in 1844, 
was the Whig candidate for Presidential Elec- 
tor. Later he removed to Texas, where he served 
as Judge for six years. In 1856 he removed to 
Madison, Wis. , but a year later came to Chicago, 
where he attained distinction as a lawyer, dying 
in that city Dec. 31, 1867. He was an accom- 
plished scholar and gifted writer, having written 
much for "The Democratic Review" and "The 
Southern Literary Messenger, " over the signature 
of "Charles Summerfield, " and was author of an 
"Apostrophe to Water," which he put in the 
mouth of an itinerant Methodist preacher, and 
which John B. Gough was accustomed to quote 
with great effect. A volume of his poems with a 
memoir was published in Chicago in 1869. 

ARROWSMITH, a village of McLean County, 
on the Lake Erie & Western Railway, 20 miles 
east of Bloomington; is in an agricultural and 
stock region; has one newspaper. Population 
(1890), 420; (1900), 317. 

ARTHUR, village in Moultrie and Douglas 
Counties, at junction of Chicago & Eastern Illi- 
nois and Terre Haute & Peoria Division Vandalia 
Line; is center of broom-corn belt; has two 
banks, a weekly newspaper. Population (1900), 
858; (est. 1904), 1,000. 

ASAY, Edward (*., lawyer, was born in Phila- 
delphia, Sept. 17, 1825; was educated in private 
schools and entered the ministry of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church ; later spent some time in the 
South, but in 1853 retired from the ministry and 
began the study of law, meantime devoting a part 
of his time to mercantile business in New York 
City. He was admitted to the bar in 1856, remov- 
ing the same year to Chicago, where he built up 
a lucrative practice. He was a brilliant speaker 
and became eminent, especially as a criminal 
lawyer. Politically he was a zealous Democrat 
and was the chief attorney of Buckner S. Morris 
and others during their trial for conspiracy in 
connection with the Camp Douglas affair of No- 
vember, 1864. During 1871-72 he made an ex- 
tended trip to Europe, occupying some eighteen 
months, making a second visit in 1882. His later 
years were spent chiefly on a farm in Ogle 
County. Died in Chicago, Nov. 24, 1898. 

ASBURY, Henry, lawyer, was born in Harri- 
son (now Robertson) County, Ky., August 10, 



1810; came to Illinois in 1834, making the jour- 
ney on horseback and finally locating in Quincy, 
where he soon after began the study of law witli 
the Hon. O. H. Brovning; was admitted to the 
bar in 1837, being ror a time the partner of Col. 
Edward D. Baker, afterwards United States 
Senator from Oregon and finally killed at Ball's 
Bluff in 1862. In 1849 Mr. Asbury was appointed 
by President Taylor Register of the Quincy Land 
Office, and, in 1864-65, served by appointment of 
President Lincoln (who was his close personal 
friend) as Provost-Marshal of the Quincy dis- 
trict, thereby obtaining the title of "Captain,"' 
by which he was widely known among his 
friends. Later he served for several years as 
Registrar in Bankruptcy at Quincy, which was 
his last official position. Originally a Kentucky 
Whig, Captain Asbury was one of the founders 
of the Republican party in Illinois, acting in co- 
operation with Abram Jonas, Archibald Williams, 
Nehemiah Bushnell, O. H. Browning and others 
of his immediate neighbors, and with Abraham 
Lincoln, with whom he was a frequent corre- 
spondent at that period. Messrs. Nicolay and 
Hay, in their Life of Lincoln, award him the 
credit of having suggested one of the famous 
questions propounded by Lincoln to Douglas 
which gave the latter so much trouble during 
the memorable debates of 1858. In 1886 Captain 
Asbury removed to Chicago, where he continued 
to reside until his death, Nov. 19, 1896. 

ASHLAND, a town in Cass County, at the 
intersection of the Chicago & Alton and the 
Baltimore & Ohio South-Western Railroad, 21 
miles west-northwest of Springfield and 200 
miles southwest of Chicago. It is in the midst of 
a rich agricultural region, and is an important 
shipping point for grain and stock. It has a 
bank, three churches and a weekly newspaper. 
Coal is mined in the vicinity. Population (1880), 
609; (1890), 1,045; (1900), 1,201. 

ASHLEY, a city of Washington County, at 
intersection of Illinois Central and Louisville & 
Nashville Railways, 62 miles east by southeast of 
St. Louis; is in an agricultural and fruit growing 
region; has some manufactures, electric light 
plant and excellent granitoid sidewalks. Popu- 
lation (1890), 1,035; (1900), 953. 

ASHMORE, a village of Coles County, on the 
Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Rail- 
way, 9 miles east of Charleston; lias a newspaper 
and considerable local trade. Population (1890), 
446, (1900), 487; (1903), 520. 

ASHTON, a village of Lee County, on the Chi- 
cago & North- Western Railroad, 84 miles west of 



26 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OP ILLINOIS. 



Chicago ; has one newspaper. Population (1880), 
646; (1890), 680; (1900), 776. 

ASPINWALL, Homer F., farmer and legisla- 
tor, was born in Stephenson County, 111., Nov. 15, 
1846, educated in the Freeport high school, and, 
in early life, spent two years in a wholesale 
notion store, later resuming the occupation of a 
farmer. After holding various local offices, in- 
cluding that of member of the Board of Supervis- 
ors of Stephenson County, in 1892 Mr. Aspinwall 
was elected to the State Senate and re-elected in 
1896. Soon after the beginning of the Spanish- 
American War in 1898, he was appointed by 
President McKinley Captain and Assistant 
Quartermaster in the Volunteer Army, but 
before being assigned to duty accepted the Lieu- 
tenant-Colonelcy of the Twelfth Illinois Pro- 
visional Regiment. When it became evident that 
the regiment would not be called into the service, 
he was assigned to the command of the "Mani- 
toba," a large transport steamer, which carried 
some 12,000 soldiers to Cuba and Porto Rico with- 
out a single accident. In view of the approach- 
ing session of the Forty-first General Assembly, 
it being apparent that the war was over, Mr. 
Aspinwall applied for a discharge, which was 
refused, a 20-days' leave of absence being granted 
instead. A discharge was finally granted about 
the middle of February, when he resumed his 
seat in the Senate. Mr. Aspinwall owns and 
operates a large farm near Freeport. 

ASSUMPTION, a town in Christian County, on 
the Illinois Central Railroad, 23 miles south by 
west from Decatur and 9 miles north of Pana. 
It is situated in a rich agricultural and coal min- 
ing district, and has two banks, five churches, a 
public school, two weekly papers and coal mines. 
Population (1880), 706; (1890), 1,076; (1900), 1,702. 
ASTORIA, town in Fulton County, on Rock 
Island & St. Louis Division C, B. & Q. R. R. ; 
has city waterworks, electric light plant, tele- 
phone exchange, three large grain elevators, 
pressed brick works; six churches, two banks, 
two weekly papers, city hall and park, and good 
schools; is in a coal region; business portion is 
built of brick. Pop. (1890), 1,357; (1900), 1,684. 

ATCHISON, TOPEKA & SANTA FE RAIL- 
WAY COMPANY. This Company operates three 
subsidiary lines in Illinois — the Chicago, Santa 
Fe & California, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa 
Fe in Chicago, and the Mississippi River Rail- 
road & Toll Bridge, which are operated as a 
through line between Chicago and Kansas City, 
with a branch from Ancona to Pekin, 111., hav- 
ing an aggregate operated mileage of 515 miles, of 



which 295 are in Illinois. The total earnings and 
income for the year ending June 30, 1895, were 
$1,298,600, while the operating expenses and fixed 
charges amounted to §2,360,706. The accumu- 
lated deficit on the whole line amounted, June 30, 
1894, to more than $4,500,000. The total capitali- 
zation of the whole line in 1895 was $52,775,251. 
The parent road was chartered in 1859 under the 
name of the Atchison & Topeka Railroad ; but in 
1863 was changed to the Atchison, Topeka & 
Santa Fe Railroad. The construction of the main 
line was begun in 1859 and completed in 1873. 
The largest number of miles operated was in 
1893, being 7,481.65. January 1, 1896, the road 
was reorganized under the name of The Atchison, 
Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company (its present 
name), which succeeded by purchase under fore- 
closure (Dec. 10, 1895) to the property and fran- 
chises of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe 
Railroad Company. Its mileage, in 1895, was 
6,481.65 miles. The executive and general officers 
of the system (1898) are: 

Aldace F. Walker, Chairman of the Board, 
New York ; E. P. Ripley, President, Chicago ; C. 
M. Higginson, Ass't to the President, Chicago; 
E. D. Kenna, 1st Vice-President and General 
Solicitor, Chicago; Paul Morton, 2d Vice-Presi- 
dent, Chicago; E. Wilder, Secretary and Treas- 
urer, Topeka; L. C. Deming, Assistant Secretary, 
New York ; H. W. Gardner, Assistant Treasurer, 
New York; Victor Morawetz, General Counsel, 
New York; Jno. P. Whitehead, Comptroller, 
New York; H. C. Whitehead, General Auditor, 
Chicago ; W. B. Biddle, Freight Traffic Manager, 
Chicago; J. J. Frey, General Manager, Topeka; 
H. W. Mudge, General Superintendent, Topeka; 
W. A. Bissell, Assistant Freight Traffic Manager, 
Chicago; W. F. White, Passenger Traffic 
Manager, Chicago; Geo. T. Nicholson, Assistant 
Passenger Traffic Manager, Chicago; W. E. 
Hodges, General Purchasing Agent, Chicago; 
James A. Davis, Industrial Commissioner, Chi- 
cago ; James Dun, Chief Engineer, Topeka, Kan. ; 
John Player, Superintendent of Machinery, 
Topeka, Kan. ; C. W. Kouns, Superintendent Car 
Service, Topeka, Kan. ; J. S. Hobson, Signal 
Engineer, Topeka; C. G. Sholes, Superintendent 
of Telegraph, Topeka, Kan. ; C. W. Ryus, General 
Claim Agent, Topeka ; F. C. Gay, General Freight 
Agent, Topeka; C. R. Hudson, Assistant General 
Freight Agent, Topeka; W. J. Black, General 
Passenger Agent, Chicago; P. Walsh, General 
Baggage Agent, Chicago. 

ATHENS, an incorporated city and coal-mining 
town in Menard County, on the Chicago, Peoria 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



27 



& St. Louis R. R., north by northwest of Spring- 
field. It is also the center of a prosperous agri- 
cultural and stock-raising district, and large 
numbers of cattle are shipped there for the Chi- 
cago market. The place has an electric lighting 
plant, brickyards, two machine shops, two grain 
elevators, five churches, one newspaper, and good 
schools. Athens is one of the oldest towns in 
Central Illinois. Pop. (1890), 944; (1900), 1,535. 

ATKINS, Smith D., soldier and journalist, was 
born near Elmira, N. Y., June 9, 1836; came with 
his father to Illinois in 1846, and lived on a farm 
till 1850 ; was educated at Rock River Seminary, 
Mount Morris, meanwhile learning the printer's 
trade, and afterwards established "The Savanna 
Register" in Carroll County. In 1854 he began 
the study of law, and in 1860, while practicing at 
Freeport, was elected Prosecuting Attorney, but 
resigned in 1861, being the first man to enlist as a 
private soldier in Stephenson County. He served 
as a Captain of the Eleventh Illinois Volunteers 
(three-months' men), re-enlisted with the same 
rank for three years and took part in the capture 
of Fort Donelson and the battle of Shiloh, serv- 
ing at the latter on the staff of General Hurlbut. 
Forced to retire temporarily on account of his 
health, he next engaged in raising volunteers in 
Northern Illinois, was finally commissioned Col- 
onel of the Ninety-second Illinois, and, in June, 
1863, was assigned to command of a brigade in 
the Army of Kentucky, later serving in the Army 
of the Cumberland. On the organization of Sher- 
man's great "March to the Sea," he efficiently 
cooperated in it, was brevetted Brigadier-General 
for gallantry at Savannah, and at the close of the 
war, by special order of President Lincoln, was 
brevetted Major-General. Since the war, Gen- 
eral Atkins' chief occupation has been that of 
editor of "The Freeport Journal," though, for 
nearly twenty-four years, he served as Post- 
master of that city. He took a prominent part 
in the erection of the Stephenson County Sol- 
diers' Monument at Freeport, has been President 
of the Freeport Public Library since its organiza- 
tion, member of the Board of Education, and since 
1895, by appointment of the Governor of Illinois, 
one of the Illinois Commissioners of the Chicka- 
mauga and Chattanooga Military Park. 

ATKINSON, village of Henry C6unty, on the 
Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway, 39 miles 
east of Rock Island; has an electric light plant, a 
bank and a newspaper. Pop. (1890), 534; (1900), 763. 

ATLANTA, a city of Logan County, on the 
Chicago & Alton Railroad, 20 miles southwest of 
Bloomington. It stands on a high, fertile prairie 



and the surrounding region is rich in coal, as. 
well as a productive agricultural and stock-rais- 
ing district. It has a water-works system, elec- 
tric light plant, five churches, a graded school, a 
weekly paper, two banks, a flouring mill, and is 
the headquarters of the Union Agricultural So- 
ciety established in 1860. Population (1900) 1 271 1. 

ATLAS, a hamlet in the southwestern part of 
Pike County. 1" miles southwest of Pittsfield and 
three miles from Rockport, the nearest station on 
the Quincy & Louisiana Division of the Chicago, 
Burlington & Quincy Railroad. Atlas has an in- 
teresting history. It was settled by Col. William 
Ross and four brothers, who came here from 
Pittsfield, Mass., in the latter part of 1819, or 
early in 1820, making there the first settlement 
within the present limits of Pike County. The 
town was laid out by the Rosses in 1823, and the 
next year the county-seat was removed thither 
from Coles Grove — now in Calhoun County — but 
which had been the first county-seat of Pike 
County, when it comprised all the territory lying 
north and west of the Illinois River to the Mis- 
sissippi River and the Wisconsin State line. 
Atlas remained the county-seat until 1833, when 
the seat of justice was removed to Pittsfield. 
During a part of that time it was one of the 
most important points in the western part of the 
State, and was, for a time, a rival of Quincy. 
It now has only a postoffice and general store. 
The population, according to the census of 1890, 
was 52. 

ATTORNEYS-GENERAL. The following is a 
list of the Attorneys-General of Illinois under the 
Territorial and State Governments, down to the 
present time (1899), with the date and duration of 
the term of each incumbent: 

Territorial— Benjamin II. Doyle, July to De- 
cember, 1809; John J. Crittenden, Dec. 30 to 
April, 1810; Thomas T. Crittenden, April to 
October, 1810; Benj. M. Piatt, October, 1810-13; 
William Mears, 1813-18. 

State — Daniel Pope Cook, March 5 to Dec. 14, 
1819 ; William Mears, 1819-21 ; Samuel D. Lock- 
wood, 1821-23; .lames Turney. L823-29; George 
Forquer. 1829-33; .lames Semple, 1833-34; Ninia-n 
W. Edwards, 1834 35; Jesse B. Thomas, Jr., 
1835-36; Walter B. Scates, 1836-37; Usher F. 
Linder, L837 38; George W. Olney, 1838-39; Wick- 
liffe Kitchell, 1839-40; Josiah Lamborn, ism L3; 
James Allen McDougal, 1813-46; David B. Camp- 
bell, 1846-48. 

The Constitution of 1848 made no provision for 
the continuance of the office, and for nineteen 
years it remained vacant. It was re-created, 



2S 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



however, by legislative enactment in 1867, and 
on Feb. 28 of that year Governor Oglesby 
appointed Robert G. Ingersoll, of Peoria, to dis 
charge the duties of the position, which he con- 
tinued to do until 1869. Subsequent incumbents 
of the office have been: Washington Bushnell, 
1869-73; James K. Edsall, 1873-81; James McCart- 
ney, 1881-85; George Hunt, 1885-93; M. T. Moloney, 
1893-97; Edward C. Akin, 1897 — . Under the 
first Constitution (1818) the office of Attorney- 
General was filled by appointment by the Legisla- 
ture; under the Constitution of 1848, as already 
stated, it ceased to exist until created by act of 
the Legislature of 1867, but, in 1870, it was made 
a constitutional office to be filled by popular 
election for a term of four years. 

ATWOOD, a village lying partly in Piatt and 
partly in Douglas County, on the Cincinnati, 
Hamilton & Dayton R. R., 27 miles east of Deca- 
tur. The region is agricultural and fruit-grow- 
ing; the town has two banks, an excellent school 
and a newspaper. Pop. (1890), 530; (1900), 698. 

ATWOOD, Charles B., architect, was born at 
Millbury, Mass., May 18, 1849; at 17 began a full 
course in architecture at Harvard Scientific 
School, and, after graduation, received prizes for 
public buildings at San Francisco, Hartford and 
a number of other cities, besides furnishing 
designs for some of the finest private residences 
in the country. He was associated with D. H. 
Burnham in preparing plans for the Columbian 
Exposition buildings, at Chicago, for the World's 
Fair of 1893, and distinguished himself by pro- 
ducing plans for the "Art Building," the "Peri- 
style," the "Terminal Station" and other 
prominent structures. Died, in the midst of his 
highest successes as an architect, at Chicago, 
Dec. 19, 1895. 

AUBURN, a village of Sangamon County, on 
the Chicago & Alton Railroad, 15 miles south of 
Springfield ; has some manufactories of flour and 
farm implements, besides tile and brick works, 
two coal mines, electric light plant, two banks, 
several churches, a graded school and a weekly 
newspaper. Pop. (1890), 874; (1900), 1,281. 

AUDITORS OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS. The 
Auditors of Public Accounts under the Terri- 
torial Government were H. H. Maxwell, 1812-16; 
Daniel P. Cook, 1816-17; Robert Blackwell, (April 
to August), 1817; Elijah C. Berry, 1817-18. Under 
the Constitution of 1818 the Auditor of Public 
Accounts was made appointive by the legislature, 
without limitation of term ; but by the Constitu- 
tions of 1848 and 1870 the office was made 
elective by the people for a term of four years. 



The following is a list of the State Auditors 
from the date of the admission of the State into 
the Union down to the present time (1899), with 
the date and duration of the term of each: 
Elijah C. Berry, 1818-31; James T. B. Stapp, 
1831-35; Levi Davis, 1835-41; James Shields, 
1841-43; William Lee D. Ewing. x843-46; Thomas 
H Campbell, 1846-57; Jesse K. Dubois, 1857-64; 
Orlin H. Miner, 1864-69; Charles E. Lippincott, 
1869-77; Thomas B. Needles, 1877-81; Charles P. 
Swigert, 1881-89- C. W. Pavey, 1889-93; David 
Gore, 1893-97; James S. McCullough, 1897 — . 

AUGUSTA, a village in Augusta township, 
Hancock County, on the Chicago, Burlington & 
Quincy Railroad, 36 miles northeast of Quincy. 
Wagons and brick are the principal manufac- 
tures. The town has one newspaper, two banks, 
three churches and a graded school. The sur 
rounding country is a fertile agricultural region 
and abounds in a good quality of bituminous 
coal. Fine qualities of potter's clay and mineral 
paint are obtained here. Population (1890), 
1,077; (1900), 1,149. 

AUGUSTAN A COLLEGE, an educational insti- 
tution controlled by the Evangelical Lutheran 
denomination, located at Rock Island and founded 
in 1863. Besides preparatory and collegiate de- 
partments, a theological school is connected with 
the institution. To the two first named, young 
women are admitted on an equality with 
men. More than 500 students were reported in 
attendance in 1896, about one-fourth being 
women. A majority of the latter were in the 
preparatory (or academic) department. The col- 
lege is not endowed, but owns property (real 
and personal) to the value of $250,000. It has a 
library of 12,000 volumes. 

AURORA, a city and important railroad cen- 
ter, Kane County, on Fox River, 39 miles south- 
west of Chicago ; is location of principal shops of 
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy R. R., has fine 
water-power and many successful manufactories, 
including extensive boiler works, iron foundries, 
cotton and woolen mills, flour mills, silver-plat- 
ing works, corset, sash and door and carriage 
factories, stove and smelting works, establish- 
ments for turning out road-scrapers, buggy tops, 
and wood-working machinery. The city owns 
water-works and electric light plant; has six 
banks, four daily and several weekly papers, 
some twenty-five churches, excellent schools and 
handsome public library building; is connected 
by interurban electric lines with the principal 
towns and villages in the Fox River valley. 
Population (1890), 19,688; (1900), 24,147. 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



29 



AUSTIN, a suburb of Chicago, in Cook County. 
It is accessible from that city by either the Chi- 
cago & Northwestern Railway, or by street 
railway lines. A weekly newspaper is issued, a 
graded school is supported (including a high 
school department) and there are numerous 
churches, representing the various religious 
denominations. Population (1880), 1,359; (1890), 
4,031. Annexed to City of Chicago, 1899. 

AUSTIN COLLEGE, a mixed school at Effing- 
ham, 111., founded in 1890. It has eleven teachers 
and reports a total of 312 pupils for 1897-98 — 162 
males and 150 females. It has a library of 2,000 
volumes and reports property valued at $37,000. 

AUSTRALIAN BALLOT, a form of ballot for 
popular elections, thus named because it was 
first brought into use in Australia. It was 
adopted by act of the Legislature of Illinois in 
1891, and is applicable to the election of all public 
officers except Trustees of Schools, School Direct- 
ors, members of Boards of Education and officers 
of road districts in counties not under township 
organization. Under it, all ballots for the elec- 
tion of c fficers (except those just enumerated) 
are required to be printed and distributed to the 
election officers for use on the day of election, at 
public cost. These ballots contain the names, 
on the same sheet, of all candidates to be voted 
for at such election, such names having been 
formally certified previously to the Secretary of 
State (in the case of candidates for offices to be 
voted for by electors of the entire State or any 
district greater than a single county) or to the 
County Clerk (as to all others), by the presiding 
officer and secretary of the convention or caucus 
making such nominations, when the party repre- 
sented cast at least two per cent of the aggregate 
vote of the State or district at the preceding gen- 
eral election. Other names may be added to the 
ballot on the petition of a specified number of the 
legal voters under certain prescribed conditions 
named in the act. The duly registered voter, on 
presenting himself at the poll, is given a copy of 
the official ticket by one of the judges of election, 
upon which he proceeds to indicate his prefer- 
ence in a temporary booth or closet set apart for 
his use, by making a cross at the head of the col- 
umn of candidates for whom he wishes to vote, if 
he desires to vote for all of the candidates of the 
same party, or by a similar mark before the name 
of each individual for whom he wishes to vote, in 
case he desires to distribute his support among 
the candidates of different parties. The object of 
the law is to secure for the voter secrecy of the 
ballot, with independence and freedom from dic- 



tation or interference by others in the exercise of 
his right of suffrage. 

AVA, a town in Jackson County (incorporated 
as a city, 1901), on the Mobile & Ohio Railroad 
(Cairo & St. Louis Division), 75 miles south- 
southeast from St. Louis. It has two banks and 
two newspapers. Pop. (1890), 807; (1900), 984. 

AVON, village of Fulton County, on C, B & Q. 
R. R. , 20 miles south of Galesburg; has drain- 
pipe works, two factories for manufacture of 
steam- and hot-%vater heaters, two banks and two 
newspapers; agricultural fair held here annu- 
ally. Population (1900), 809; (1904, est.), 1,000. 

AYER, Benjamin F., lawyer, was born in 
Kingston, N. H., April 22, 1825, graduated at 
Dartmouth College in 1846, studied law at Dane 
Law School (Harvard University), was admitted 
to the bar and began practice at Manchester, 
N. H. After serving one term in the New Hamp- 
shire Legislature, and as Prosecuting Attorney 
for Hillsborough County, in 1857 he came to Chica- 
go, soon advancing to the front rank of lawyers 
then in practice there ; became Corporation Counsel 
in 1861, and, two years later, drafted the revised 
city charter. After the close of his official career, 
he was a member for eight years of the law firm of 
Beckwith, Ayer & Kales, and afterwards of the 
firm of Ayer & Kales, until, retiring from general 
practice, Mr. Ayer became Solicitor of the Illinois 
Central Railroad, then a Director of the Company, 
and is at present its General Counsel and a potent 
factor in its management. 

AYERS, Marshall Paul, banker, Jacksonville, 
was born in Philadelphia, Pa., July 27, 1823; 
came to Jacksonville, 111., with his parents, in 
1830, and was educated there, graduating from 
Illinois College, in 1843, as the classmate of Dr. 
Newton Bateman, afterwards President of Knox 
College at Galesburg, and Rev. Thomas K. 
Beecher, now of Elmira, N. Y. After leaving col- 
lege he became the partner of his father (David 
B. Ayers) as agent of Mr. John Grigg, of Philadel- 
phia, who was the owner of a large body of Illi- 
nois lands. His father dying in 1850, Mr. Ayers 
succeeded to the management of the business, 
about 75,000 acres of Mr. Grigg's unsold lands 
coming under his charge. In December, 1852, 
with the assistance of Messrs. Page & Bacon, bank- 
ers, of St. Louis, he opened the first bank in Jack- 
sonville, for the sale of exchange, but which 
finally grew into a bank of deposit and has been 
continued ever since, being recognized as one of 
the most solid institutions in Central Illinois. In 
1870-71, aided by Philadelphia and New York 
capitalists, he built the "Illinois Farmers' Rail- 



30 



HISTOBICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



road" between Jacksonville and. Waverly, after- 
wards extended to Virden and finally to Centralia 
and Mount Vernon. This was the nucleus of the 
Jacksonville Southeastern Railway, though Mr. 
Ayers has had no connection with it for several 
years. Other business enterprises with which he 
has been connected are the Jacksonville Gas Com- 
pany (now including an electric light and power 
plant), of which he has been President for forty 
years; the "Home Woolen Mills" (early wiped 
out by fire), sugar and paper-barrel manufacture, 
coal-mining, etc. About 1877 he purchased a 
body of 23, 600 acres of land in Champaign County, 
known as "Broadlands, " from John T. Alexander, 
an extensive cattle-dealer, who had become 
heavily involved during the years of financial 
revulsion. As a result of this transaction, Mr. 
Alexander's debts, which aggregated $1,000,000, 
were discharged within the next two years. Mr. 
Ayers has been an earnest Republican since the 
organization of that party and, during the war, 
rendered valuable service in assisting to raise 
funds for the support of the operations of the 
Christian Commission in the field. He has also 
been active in Sunday School, benevolent and 
educational work, having been, for twenty years, 
a Trustee of Illinois College, of which he has 
been an ardent friend. In 1846 he was married 
to Miss Laura Allen, daughter of Rev. John 
Allen, D. D., of Huntsville, Ala., and is the father 
of four sons and four daughters, all living. 

BABCOCK, Amos C, was born at Penn Yan, 
N. Y., Jan. 20, 1828, the son of a member of Con- 
gress from that State ; at the age of 18, having 
lost his father by death, came West, and soon 
after engaged in mercantile business in partner- 
ship with a brother at Canton, 111. In 1854 he 
was elected by a majority of one vote, as an Anti- 
Nebraska Whig, to the lower branch of the Nine- 
teenth General Assembly, and, in the following 
session, took part in the election of United States 
Senator which resulted in the choice of Lyman 
Trumbull. Although a personal and political 
friend of Mr. Lincoln, Mr. Babcock, as a matter 
of policy, cast his vote for his townsman, William 
Kellogg, afterwards Congressman from that dis- 
trict, until it was apparent that a concentration 
of the Anti-Nebraska vote on Trumbull was 
necessary to defeat the election of a Democrat. 
In 1862 he was appointed by President Lincoln 
the first Assessor of Internal Revenue for the 
Fourth District, and, in 1863, was commissioned 
by Governor Yates Colonel of the One Hundred 
and Third Illinois Volunteers, but soon resigned. 
Colonel Babcock served as Delegate-at-large in 



the Republican National Convention of 1868, 
which nominated General Grant for the Presi- 
dency, and the same year was made Chairman of 
the Republican State Central Committee, also 
conducting the campaign two years later. He 
identified himself with the Greeley movement in 
1872, but, in 1876, was again in line with his 
party and restored to his old position on the State 
Central Committee, serving until 1878. Among 
business enterprises with which he was con- 
nected was the extension, about 1854, of the Buda 
branch of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy 
Railroad from Yates City to Canton, and the 
erection of the State Capitol at Austin, Tex., 
which was undertaken, in conjunction with 
Abner Taylor and J. V. and C. B. Farwell, about 
1881 and completed in 1888, for which the firm 
received over 3,000,000 acres of State lands in the 
"Pan Handle" portion of Texas. In 1889 Colonel 
Babcock took up his residence in Chicago, which 
continued to be his home until his death from 
apoplexy, Feb. 25, 1899. 

BABCOCK, Andrew J., soldier, was born at 
Dorchester, Norfolk County, Mass., July 19, 1830; 
began life as a coppersmith at Lowell; in 1851 
went to Concord, N. H., and, in 1856, removed to 
Springfield, 111., where, in 1859, he joined a mili- 
tary company called the Springfield Greys, com- 
manded by Capt. (afterwards Gen. ) John Cook, of 
which he was First Lieutenant. This company 
became the nucleus of Company I, Seventh Illi- 
nois Volunteers, which enlisted on Mr. Lincoln's 
first call for troops in April, 1861. Captain Cook 
having been elected Colonel, Babcock succeeded 
him as Captain, on the re-enlistment of the regi- 
ment in July following becoming Lieutenant- 
Colonel, and, in March, 1862, being promoted to 
the Colonelcy "for gallant and meritorious service 
rendered at Fort Donelson." A year later he was 
compelled to resign on account of impaired 
health. His home is at Springfield. 

BACON, George E., lawyer and legislator, born 
at Madison, Ind., Feb. 4, 1851; was brought to 
Illinois by his parents at three years of age, and, 
in 1876, located at Paris, Edgar County; in 1879 
was admitted to the bar and held various minor 
offices, including one term as State's Attorney. 
In 1886 he was elected as a Republican to the 
State Senate and re-elected four years later, but 
finally removed to Aurora, where, he died, July 
6, 1896. Mr. Bacon was a man of recognized 
ability, as shown by the fact that, after the death 
of Senator John A. Logan, he was selected by his 
colleagues of the Senate to pronounce the eulogy 
on the deceased statesman. 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



31 



BAGBY, John C, jurist and Congressman, was 
born at Glasgow, Ky., Jan. 24, 1819. After pas- 
sing through the common schools of Barren 
County, Ky., he studied civil engineering at 
Bacon College, graduating in 1840. Later he 
read law and was admitted to the bar in 1845. 
In 1840 he commenced practice at Rushville, 111., 
confining himself exclusively to professional work 
until nominated and elected to Congress in 1874, 
by t lie Democrats of the (old) Tenth District. In 
1885 he was elected to the Circuit Bench for the 
Sixth Circuit. Died, April 4, 189G. 

BAILEY, Joseph Mead, legislator and jurist, 
was born at Middlebury, Wyoming County, N. Y., 
June 22, 1833, graduated from Rochester (N. Y.) 
University in 1854, ami was admitted to the 
bar in that city in 1855. In August, 1856, he 
removed to Freeport, 111., where he soon built up 
a profitable practice. In 1866 he was elected a 
Representative in the Twenty-fifth General 
Assembly, being re-elected in 1868. Here he was 
especially prominent in securing restrictive legis- 
lation concerning railroads. In 1876 he was 
chosen a Presidential Elector for his district on 
the Republican ticket. In 1877 he was elected a 
Judge of the Thirteenth judicial district, and 
re-elected in 1879 and in 1885. In January, 
1878, and again in June, 1879, he was assigned to 
the bench of the Appellate Court, being presiding 
Justice from June, 1879. to June, 1880, and from 
June, 1881, to June. 1882. In 1879 he received 
the degree of LL.D. from the Universities of 
Rochester and Chicago. In 1888 he was elected 
to the bench of the Supreme Court. Died in 
office, Oct. 16, 1895. 

BAILHACHE, John, pioneer journalist, was 
born in the Island of Jersey, May 8, 1787 ; after 
gaining the rudiments of an education in his 
mother tongue (the French), he acquired a knowl- 
edge of English and some proficiency in Greek 
and Latin in an academy near his paternal home, 
when he spent five years as a printer's apprentice. 
In 1810 he came to the United States, first locat- 
ing at Cambridge, Ohio, but, in 1812, purchased a 
half interest in "The Fredonian" at Chillicotbe 
(then the State Capital), soon after becoming sole 
owner. In 1815 he purchased "The Scioto Ga- 
zette" and consolidated the two papers under the 
name of "The Scioto Gazette and Fredonian 
Chronicle." Here he remained until 1828, mean- 
time engaging temporarily in the banking busi- 
ness, also serving one term in the Legislature 
(1820), and being elected Associate Justice of the 
Court of Common Pleas for Ross County. In 
1828 he removed to Columbus, assuming charge 



of "The Ohio State Journal," served one term as 
Mayor of the city, and for three consecutive 
years was State Printer. Selling out "The Jour- 
nal" in 1836, he came west, the next year becom- 
ing part owner, and finally sole proprietor, of "The 
Telegraph" at Alton, 111., which he conducted 
alone or in association witli various partners until 
1854, when he retired, giving his attention to the 
book and job branch of the business. Heservedas 
Representative from Madison County in the Thir- 
teenth General Assembly (1842-44). As a man 
and a journalist Judge Bailhache commanded the 
highest respect, and did much to elevate the 
standard of journalism in Illinois. "The Tele- 
graph," during the period of his connection with 
it, being one of the leading papers of the State. 
His death occurred at Alton, Sept. 3, 1857, as the 
result of injuries received the day previous, by 
being thrown from a carriage in which lie was 
riding. — Maj. William Henry (Bailhache), son of 
the preceding, was born at Chillicotbe, Ohio, 
August 14, 1826, removed with his father to Alton, 
111., in 1836, was educated at Shurtleff College, 
and learned the printing trade in tl^e office of 
"The Telegraph," under the direction of his 
father, afterwards being associated with the 
business department. In 1855, in partnership 
with Edward L. Baker, he became one of the 
proprietors and business manager of "The State 
Journal" at Springfield. During the Civil War 
he received from President Lincoln the appoint- 
ment of Captain and Assistant Quartermaster, 
serving to its close and receiving the brevet rank 
of Major. After the war he returned to journal- 
ism and was associated at different times with 
"The State Journal" and "The Quincy Whig," 
as business manager of each, but retired in 1873 ; 
in 1881 was appointed by President Arthur, 
Receiver of Public Moneys at Santa Fe., N. M., 
remaining four years. He is now (1899) a resi- 
dent of San Diego, Cal., where he has been 
engaged in newspaper work, and, under the 
administration of President McKinley, has been 
a Special Agent of the Treasury Department. — 
Preston Heath (Bailhache), another son, was 
born in Columbus, Ohio, Feb. 21, 1835, served as 
a Surgeon during the Civil War, later became a 
Surgeon in the regular army and has held posi- 
tions in marine hospitals at Baltimore, Washing- 
ton and New York, and has visited Europe in the 
interest of sanitary and hospital service. At 
present (1899) he occupies a prominent position 
at the headquarters of the United States Marine 
Hospital Service in Washington. — Arthur Lee 
(Bailhache). a third son, born at Alton, 111., April 



32 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



12, 1839 ; at the beginning of the Civil War was 
employed in the State commissary service at 
Camp Yates and Cairo, became Adjutant of the 
Thirty-eighth Illinois Volunteers, and died at 
Pilot Knob, Mo., Jan. 9, 1862, as the result of 
disease and exposure in the service. 

BAKER, David Jewett, lawyer and United 
States Senator, was born at East Haddam, Conn. , 
Sept. 7, 1792. His family removed to New York 
in 1800, where he worked on a farm during boy- 
hood, but graduated from Hamilton College in 
1816, and three years later was admitted to the 
bar. In 1819 he came to Illinois and began prac- 
tice at Kaskaskia, where he attained prominence 
in his profession and was made Probate Judge of 
Randolph County. His opposition to the intro- 
duction of slavery into the State was so aggres- 
sive that his life was frequently threatened. In 
1830 Governor Edwards appointed him United 
States Senator, to fill the unexpired term of 
Senator McLean, but he served only one month 
when he was succeeded by John M. Robinson, 
who was elected by the Legislature. He was 
United States District Attorney from 1833 
to 1841 (the State then constituting but 
one district), and thereafter resumed private 
practice. Died at Alton, August 6, 1869. 
—Henry Southard (Baker), son of the pre- 
ceding, was born at Kaskaskia, 111., Nov. 10, 
1824, received his preparatory education at Shurt- 
leff College, Upper Alton, and, in 1843, entered 
Brown University, R. I., graduating therefrom 
in 1847; was admitted to the bar in 1849, begin- 
ning practice at Alton, the home of his father, 
Hon. David J. Baker. In 1854 he was elected as an 
Anti-Nebraska candidate to the lower branch of 
the Nineteenth General Assembly, and, at the 
subsequent session of the General Assembly, was 
one of the five Anti -Nebraska members whose 
uncompromising fidelity to Hon. Lyman Trum- 
bull resulted in the election of the latter to the 
United States Senate for the first time — the others 
being his colleague, Dr. George T. Allen of the 
House, and Hon. John M. Palmer, afterwards 
United States Senator, Burton C. Cook and Nor- 
man B. Judd in the Senate. He served as one of the 
Secretaries of the Republican State Convention 
held at Bloomington in May, 1856, was a Repub- 
lican Presidential Elector in 1864, and, in 1865, 
became Judge of the Alton City Court, serving 
until 1881. In 1876 he presided over the Repub- 
lican State Convention, served as delegate to the 
Republican National Convention of the same 
year and was an unsuccessful candidate for 
Congress in opposition to William R. Morrison. 



Judge Baker was the orator selected to deliver 
the address on occasion of the unveiling of the 
statue of Lieut. -Gov. Pierre Menard, on the 
capitol grounds at Springfield, in January, 1888. 
About 1888 he retired from practice, dying at 
Alton, March 5, 1897. — Edward L. (Baker), 
second son of David Jewett Baker, was born at 
Kaskaskia, 111., June 3, 1829; graduated at Shurt- 
leff College in 1847; read law with his father two 
years, after which he entered Harvard Law 
School and was admitted to the bar at Spring- 
field in 1855. Previous to this date Mr. Baker had 
become associated with William H. Bailhache, in 
the management of "The Alton Daily Telegraph," 
and, in July, 1855, they purchased "The Illinois 
State Journal," at Springfield, of which Mr. 
Baker assumed the editorship, remaining until 
1874. In 1869 he was appointed United States 
Assessor for the Eighth District, serving until 
the abolition of the office. In 1873 he received 
the appointment from President Grant of Consul 
to Buenos Ayres, South America, and, assuming 
the duties of the office in 1874, remained there 
for twenty-three years, proving himself one of 
the most capable and efficient officers in the con- 
sular service. On the evening of the 20th of 
June, 1897, when Mr. Baker was about to enter a 
railway train already in motion at the station in 
the city of Buenos Ayres, he fell under the cars, 
receiving injuries which necessitated the ampu- 
tation of his right arm, finally resulting in his 
death in the hospital at Buenos Ayres, July 8, 
following. His remains were brought home at 
the Government expense and interred in Oak 
Ridge Cemetery, at Springfield, where a monu- 
ment has since been erected in his honor, bearing 
a tablet contributed by citizens of Buenos Ayres 
and foreign representatives in that city express- 
ive of their respect for his memory. — David 
Jewett (Baker), Jr. , a third son of David Jewett 
Baker, Sr., was born at Kaskaskia, Nov. 20,1834; 
graduated from Shurtleff College in 1854, and was 
admitted to the bar in 1856. In November of 
that year he removed to Cairo and began prac- 
tice. He was Mayor of that city in 1864-65, and, 
in 1869, was elected to the bench of the Nineteenth 
Judicial Circuit. The Legislature of 1873 (by Act 
of March 28) having divided the State into 
twenty-six circuits, he was elected Judge of the 
Twenty-sixth, on June 2, 1873. In August, 1878, 
he resigned to accept an appointment on the 
Supreme Bench as successor to Judge Breese, 
deceased, but at the close of his term on the 
Supreme Bench (1879), was re-elected Circuit 
Judge, and again in 1885. During this period he 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



o3 



served for several years on the Appellate Bench. 
In 1888 he retired from the Circuit Bench by 
resignation and was elected a Justice of the 
Supreme Court for a term of nine years. Again, 
in 1897, he was a candidate for re-election, but 
was defeated by Carroll C. Boggs. Soon after 
retiring from the Supreme Bench he removed to 
Chicago and engaged in general practice, in 
partnership with his son, John W. Baker. He 
fell dead almost instantly in his office, March 13, 
1899. In all, Judge Baker had spent some thirty 
years almost continuously on the bench, and had 
attained eminent distinction both as a lawyer and 
a jurist. 

BAKER, Edward Dickinson, soldier and 
United States Senator, was born in London, 
Eng., Feb. 24, 1811; emigrated to Illinois while 
yet in his minority, first locating at Belleville, 
afterwards removing to Carrollton and finally to 
Sangamon County, the last of which he repre- 
sented in the lower house of the Tenth General 
Assembly, and as State Senator in the Twelfth 
and Thirteenth. He was elected to Congress as 
a Whig from the Springfield District, but resigned 
in December, 1846, to accept the colonelcy of the 
Fourth Regiment, Illinois Volunteers, in the 
Mexican War, and succeeded General Shields in 
command of the brigade, when the latter was 
wounded at Cerro Gordo. In 1848 he was elected 
to Congress from the Galena District; was also 
identified with the construction of the Panama 
Railroad; went to San Francisco in 1852, but 
J ater removed to Oregon, where he was elected 
to the United States Senate in 1860. In 1861 he 
resigned the Senatorship to enter the Union 
army, commanding a brigade at the battle of 
Ball's Bluff, where he was killed, October 21, 1861. 

BAKER, Jehn, lawyer and Congressman, was 
born in Fayette County, Ky., Nov. 4, 1822. At 
an early age he removed to Illinois, making his 
home in Belleville, St. Clair County. He re- 
ceived his early education in the common schools 
and at McKendree College. Although he did 
not graduate from the latter institution, he 
received therefrom the honorary degree of A. M. 
in 1858, and that of LL. D. in 1882. For a time 
he studied medicine, but abandoned it for the 
study of law. From 1861 to 1865 he was Master 
in Chancery for St. Clair County. From 1865 to 
1869 he represented the Belleville District as a 
Republican in Congress. From 1876 to 1881 and 
from 1882 to 1885 he was Minister Resident in 
Venezuela, during the latter portion of his term 
of service acting also as Consul-General. Return- 
ing home, he was again elected to Congress (1886) 



from the Eighteenth District, but was defeated 
for re-election, in 1888, by William S. Forman, 
Democrat. Again, in 1896, having identified 
himself with the Free Silver Democracy and 
People's Party, he was elected to Congress from 
the Twentieth District over Everett J. Murphy, 
the Republican nominee, serving until March 3, 
1899. He is the author of an annotated edition 
of Montesquieu's "Grandeur and Decadence of 
the Romans." 

BALDWIN, Elmer, agriculturist and legisla- 
tor, was born in Litchfield County, Conn., Marcli 
8, 1806; at 16 years of age began teaching a coun- 
try school, continuing this occupation for several 
years during the winter months, while working 
on his father's farm in the summer. He then 
started a store at New Milford, which he man- 
aged for three years, when he sold out on account 
of his health and began farming. In 1833 he 
came west and purchased a considerable tract of 
Government land in La Salle County, where the 
village of Farm Ridge is now situated, removing 
thither with his family the following year. He 
served as Justice of the Peace for fourteen con- 
secutive terms, as Postmaster twenty years and 
as a member of the Board of Supervisors of La 
Salle County six years. In 1856 he was elected 
as a Republican to the House of Representatives, 
was re-elected to the same office in 1866, and to 
the State Senate in 1872, serving two years. He 
was also appointed, in 1869, a member of the first 
Board of Public Charities, serving as President of 
the Board. Mr. Baldwin is author of a "His- 
tory of La Salle County," which contains much 
local and biographical history. Died, Nov. 18, 
1895. 

BALDWIN, Theron, clergyman and educa- 
tor, was born in Goshen, Conn., July 21, 1801; 
graduated at Yale College in 1827; after two 
years' study in the theological school there, was 
ordained a home missionary in 1829, becoming 
one of the celebrated "Yale College Band," or 
"Western College Society," of which he was Cor- 
responding Secretary during most of his life. He 
was settled as a Congregationalist minister at 
Vandalia for two years, and was active in pro- 
curing the charter of Illinois College at Jackson- 
ville, of which he was a Trustee from its 
organization to his death. He served for a 
number of years, from 1831, as Agent of the 
Home Missionary Society for Illinois, and, in 
1838, became the first Principal of Monticello 
Female Seminary, near Alton, which lie con- 
ducted five years. Died at Orange, N. J., April 
10. 1870. 



34 



HISTOKICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



BALLARD, Addison, merchant, was born of 
Quaker parentage in Warren County, Ohio, No- 
vember, 1822. He located at La Porte, Ind., 
about 1841, where he learned and pursued the 
carpenter's trade; in 1849 went to California, 
remaining two years, when he returned to La 
Porte ; in 1853 removed to Chicago and embarked 
in the lumber trade, which he prosecuted until 
1887, retiring with a competency. Mr. Ballard 
served several years as one of the Commissioners 
of Cook County, and, from 1876 to 1882, as Alder- 
man of the City of Chicago, and again in the 
latter office, 1894-96. 

BALTES, Peter Joseph, Roman Catholic Bishop 
of Alton, was born at Ensheim, Rhenish Ba- 
varia, April 7, 1827 ; was educated at the colleges 
of the Holy Cross, at Worcester, Mass. , and of St. 
Ignatius, at Chicago, and at Lavalle University, 
Montreal, and was ordained a priest in 1853, and 
consecrated Bishop in 1870. His diocesan admin- 
istration was successful, but regarded by his 
priests as somewhat arbitrary. He wrote numer- 
ous pastoral letters and brochures for the guidance 
of clergy and laity. His most important literary 
work was entitled "Pastoral Instruction," first 
edition, N. Y., 1875; second edition (revised and 
enlarged), 1880. Died at Alton, Feb. 15, 1886. 

BALTIMORE & OHIO SOUTHWESTERN 
RAILWAY. This road (constituting a part of the 
Baltimore & Ohio system) is made up of two 
principal divisions, the first extending across the 
State from East St. Louis to Belpre, Ohio, and the 
second (known as the Springfield Division) extend- 
ing from Beardstown to Shawneetown. The total 
mileage of the former (or main line) is 537 
miles, of which 147^ are in Illinois, and of the 
latter (wholly within Illinois) 228 miles. The 
main line (originally known as the Ohio & Mis- 
sissippi Railway) was chartered in Indiana in 
1848, in Ohio in 1849, and in Illinois in 1851. It 
was constructed by two companies, the section 
from Cincinnati to the Indiana and Illinois State 
line being known as the Eastern Division, and 
that in Illinois as the Western Division, the 
gauge, as originally built, being six feet, but 
reduced in 1871 to standard. The banking firm 
of Page & Bacon, of St. Louis and San Francisco, 
were the principal financial backers of the enter- 
prise. The line was completed and opened for 
traffic, May 1, 1857. The following year the road 
became financially embarrassed ; the Eastern Di- 
vision was placed in the hands of a receiver in 
1860. while the Western Division was sold under 
foreclosure, in 1862, and reorganized as the Ohio 
& Mississippi Railway under act of the Illinois 



Legislature passed in February, 1861. The East- 
ern Division was sold in January, 1867; and, in 
November of the same year, the two divisions 
were consolidated under the title of the Ohio & 
Mississippi Railway. — The Springfield Division 
was the result of the consolidation, in December, 
1869, of the Pana, Springfield & Northwestern 
and the Illinois & Southeastern Railroad — each 
having been chartered in 1867 — the new corpo- 
ration taking the name of the Springfield & Illi- 
nois Southeastern Railroad, under which name 
the road was built and opened in March, 1871. In 
1873, it was placed in the hands of receivers ; in 
1874 was sold under foreclosure, and, on March 
1, 1875, passed into the hands of the Ohio & Mis- 
sissippi Railway Company. In November, 1876, 
the road was again placed in the hands of a 
receiver, but was restored to the Company in 1884. 
— In November, 1893, the Ohio & Mississippi was 
consolidated with the Baltimore & Ohio South- 
western Railroad, which was the successor of the 
Cincinnati, Washington & Baltimore Railroad, 
the reorganized Company taking the name of the 
Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern Railway Com- 
pany. The total capitalization of the road, as 
organized in 1898, was $84,770,531. Several 
branches of the main line in Indiana and Ohio go 
to increase the aggregate mileage, but being 
wholly outside of Illinois are not taken into ac- 
count in this statement. 

BALTIMORE & OHIO & CHICAGO RAIL- 
ROAD, part of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad 
System, of which only 8.21 out of 265 miles are in 
Illinois. The principal object of the company's 
incorporation was to secure entrance for the 
Baltimore & Ohio into Chicago. The capital 
stock outstanding exceeds $1,500,000. The total 
capital (including stock, funded and floating debt) 
is $20,329,166 or $76,728 per mile. The gross 
earnings for the year ending June 30, 1898, were 
$3,383,016 and the operating expenses $2,493,452. 
The income and earnings for the portion of the 
line in Illinois for the same period were $209,208 
and the expenses $208,096. 

BANGS, Mark, lawyer, was born in Franklin 
County, Mass., Jan. 9, 1822; spent his boy- 
hood on a farm in Western New York, and, after 
a year in an institution at Rochester, came to 
Chicago in 1844, later spending two years in farm 
work and teaching in Central Illinois. Return- 
ing east in 1847, he engaged in teaching for 
two years at Springfield, Mass., then spent 
a year in a dry goods store at Lacon, 111., 
meanwhile prosecuting his legal studies. la 
1851 he began practice, was elected a Judg* 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



35 



of the Circuit Court in 1859 ; served one session 
as State Senator (1870-72); in 1873 was ap- 
pointed Circuit Judge to fill the unexpired 
term of Judge Richmond, deceased, and, in 1875, 
was appointed by President Grant United States 
District Attorney for the Northern District, 
remaining in office four years. Judge Bangs was 
also a member of the first Anti-Nebraska State 
Convention of Illinois, held at Springfield in 1851; 
in 1862 presided over the Congressional Conven- 
tion which nominated Owen Lovejoy for Congress 
for the first time ; was one of the charter members 
of the "Union League of America," serving as its 
President, and, in 1868, was a delegate to the 
National Convention which nominated General 
Grant for President for the first time. After 
retiring from the office of District Attorney in 
1879, he removed to Chicago, where he is still 
(1898) engaged in the practice of his profession. 

BANKS0> T , Andrew, pioneer and early legis- 
lator, a native of Tennessee, settled on Silver 
Creek, in St. Clair County, 111., four miles south 
of Lebanon, about 1808 or 1810, and subsequently 
removed to Washington County. He was a Col- 
onel of "Rangers" during the War of 1813, and a 
Captain in the Black Hawk War of 1832. In 
1822 he was elected to the State Senate from 
Washington County, serving four years, and at 
the session of 1822-23 was one of those who voted 
against the Convention resolution which had for 
its object to make Illinois a slave State. He sub- 
sequently removed to Iowa Territory, but died, in 
1853, while visiting a son-in-law in Wisconsin. 

BAPTISTS. The first Baptist minister to set- 
tle in Illinois was Elder James Smith, who 
located at New Design, in 1787. He was fol- 
lowed, about 1796-97, by Revs. David Badgley and 
Joseph Chance, who organized the first Baptist 
church within the limits of the State. Five 
churches, having four ministers and 111 mem- 
bers, formed an association in 1807. Several 
causes, among them a difference of views on the 
slavery question, resulted in the division of the 
denomination into factions. Of these perhaps 
the most numerous was the Regular (or Mission- 
ary) Baptists, at the head of which was Rev. John 
M. Peck, a resident of the State from 1822 until 
his death (1858). By 1835 the sect had grown, 
until it had some 250 churches, with about 7,500 
members. These were under the ecclesiastical 
care of twenty-two Associations. Rev. Isaac 
McCoy, a Baptist Indian missionary, preached at 
Fort Dearborn on Oct. 9, 1825, and, eight years 
later, Rev. Allen B. Freeman organized the first 
Baptist society in what was then an infant set- 



tlement. By 1890 the number of Associations 
had grown to forty, witli 1010 churches. 891 
ministers and 8S,ss.j members. A Baptist Theo- 
logical Seminary was for some time supported at 
Morgan Park, but, in 1895, was absorbed by the 
University of Chicago, becoming the divinity 
school of that institution. The chief organ of the 
denomination in Illinois is "The Standard." pub- 
lished at Chicago. 

BARBER, Hiram, was born in Warren County, 
N. Y., March 24, 1835. At 11 years of age he 
accompanied his family to Wisconsin, of which 
State he was a resident until 1866. After gradu- 
ating at the State University of Wisconsin, at 
Madison, he studied law at the Albany Law- 
School, and was admitted to practice. After 
serving one term as District Attorney of his 
county in Wisconsin (1861-62), and Assistant 
Attorney-General of the State for 1865-66, in 
the latter year he came to Chicago and, in 1878, 
was elected to Congress by the Republicans of 
the old Second Illinois District. His home is in 
Chicago, where he holds the position of Master in 
Chancery of the Superior Court of Cook County. 

BARDOLPH, a village of McDonough County, 
on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, 7 
miles northeast of Macomb; has a local paper. 
Population (1880), 409; (1890), 447; (1900), 387. 

BARNSBACK, George Frederick Julins, pio- 
neer, was born in Germany, July 25, 1781; came 
to Philadelphia in 1797, and soon after to Ken- 
tucky, where he became an overseer; two or 
three years later visited his native country, suf- 
fering shipwreck en route in the English Channel ; 
returned to Kentucky in 1802, remaining until 
1809, when he removed to what is now Madison 
(then a part of St. Clair) County, 111. ; served in 
the War of 1812, farmed and raised stock until 
1824, when, after a second visit to Germany, he 
bought a plantation in St. Francois County, Mo. 
Subsequently becoming disgusted with slavery, 
he manumitted his slaves and returned to Illinois, 
locating on a farm near Edwardsville, where he 
resided until his death in 1869. Mr. Barnsback 
served as Representative in the Fourteenth Gen- 
eral Assembly (1844-46) and, after returning from 
Springfield, distributed his salary among the poor 
of Madison County. — Julius A. (Barnsback), his 
son, was born in St. Francois County, Mo., May 
14, 1820; in 1846 became a mei'chant at Troy, 
Madison County; was elected Sheriff in 1860; in 
1864 entered the service as Captain of a Company 
in the One Hundred and Fortieth Illinois Volun- 
teers (100-days' men); also served as a member of 
the Twenty-fourth General Assembly (1865). 



36 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



BARNUM, William H., lawyer and ex-Judge, 
was born in Onondaga County, N. Y., Feb. 13, 
1840. When he was but two years old his family 
removed to St. Clair County, 111. , where he passed 
his boyhood and youth. His preliminary educa- 
tion was obtained at Belleville, 111., Ypsilanti, 
Mich., and at the Michigan State University at 
Ann Arbor. After leaving the institution last 
named at the end of the sophomore year, he 
taught school at Belleville, still pursuing his clas- 
sical studies. In 1862 he was admitted to the bar 
at Belleville, and soon afterward opened an office 
at Chester, where, for a time, he held the office 
of Master in Chancery. He removed to Chicago 
in 1867, and, in 1879, was elevated to the bench 
of the Cook County Circuit Court. At the expi- 
ration of his term he resumed prh^ate practice. 

BARRERE, Granville, was born in Highland 
County, Ohio. After attending the common 
schools, he acquired a higher education at Au- 
gusta, Ky . , and Marietta, Ohio. He was admitted 
to the bar in his native State, but began the prac- 
tice of law in Fulton County, 111., in 1856. In 
1872 he received the Republican nomination for 
Congress and was elected, representing his dis- 
trict from 1873 to 1875, at the conclusion of his 
term retiring to private life. Died at Canton, 
HI., Jan. 13, 1889. 

BARRINGT01V, a village located on the north- 
ern border of Cook County, and partly in Lake, 
at the intersection of the Chicago & Northwestern 
and the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway, 32 miles 
northwest of Chicago. It has banks, a local paper, 
and several cheese factories, being in a dairying 
district. Population (1890), 848; (1900), 1,162. 

BARROWS, John Henry, D. D., clergyman 
and educator, was born at Medina, Mich., July 
11, 1847; graduated at Mount Olivet College in 
1867, and studied theology at Yale, Union and 
Andover Seminaries. In 1869 he went to Kansas, 
where he spent two and a half years in mission- 
ary and educational work. He then (in 1872) 
accepted a call to the First Congregational 
Church at Springfield, 111. , where he remained a 
year, after which he gave a year to foreign travel, 
visiting Europe, Egypt and Palestine, during a 
part of the time supplying the American chapel 
in Paris. On his return to the United States he 
spent six years in pastoral work at Lawrence and 
East Boston, Mass., when (in November, 1881) he 
assumed the pastorate of the First Presbyterian 
Church of Chicago. Dr. Barrows achieved a 
world-wide celebrity by his services as Chairman 
of the "Parliament of Religions," a branch of the 
"World's Congress Auxiliary," held during the 



World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 
1893. Later, he was appointed Professorial Lec- 
turer on Comparative Religions, under lectureships 
in connection with the University of Chicago en- 
dowed by Mrs. Caroline E. Haskell. One of these, 
established in Dr. Barrows' name, contemplated 
a series of lectures in India, to be delivered on 
alternate years with a similar course at the Uni- 
versity. Courses were delivered at the University 
in 1895-96, and, in order to carry out the purposes 
of the foreign lectureship, Dr. Barrows found it 
necessary to resign his pastorate, which he did in 
the spring of 1896. After spending the summer 
in Germany, the regular itinerary of the round- 
the-world tour began at London in the latter part 
of November, 1896, ending with his return to the 
United States by way of San Francisco in May, 
1897. Dr. Barrows was accompanied by a party 
of personal friends from Chicago and elsewhere, 
the tour embracing visits to the principal cities 
of Southern Europe, Egypt, Palestine, China and 
Japan, with a somewhat protracted stay in India 
during the winter of 1896-97. After his return to 
the United States he lectured at the University 
of Chicago and in many of the principal cities of 
the country, on the moral and religious condition 
of Oriental nations, but, in 1898, was offered 
the Presidency of Oberlin College, Ohio, which 
he accepted, entering upon his duties early in 
1899. 

BARRY, a city in Pike County, founded in 
1836, on the Wabash Railroad, 18 miles east of 
Hannibal, Mo., and 30 miles southeast of Quincy. 
The surrounding country is agricultural. The 
city contains flouring mills, porkpacking and 
poultry establishments, etc. It has two local 
papers, two banks, three churches and a high 
school, besides schools of lower grade. Popula- 
tion (1880), 1,392; (1890), 1,354; (1900), 1,643. 

BARTLETT, Adolphns Clay, merchant, was 
born of Revolutionary ancestry at Stratford, 
Fulton County, N. Y., June 22, 1844; was educated 
in the common schools and at Danville Academy 
and Clinton Liberal Institute, N. Y., and, coming 
to Chicago in 1863, entered into the employment 
of the hardware firm of Tuttle, Hibbard & Co., 
now Hibbard, Spencer, Bartlett & Co., of which, 
a few years later, he became a partner, and later 
Vice-President of the Company. Mr. Bartlett 
has also been a Trustee of Beloit College, Presi- 
dent of the Chicago Home for the Friendless and 
a Director of the Chicago & Alton Railroad and 
the Metropolitan National Bank, besides being 
identified with various other business and benevo- 
lent associations. 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



37 



BASCOM, (Rev.) Flavel, D. D., clergyman, 
was born at Lebanon, Conn., June 8, 1804; spent 
bis boyhood on a farm until 17 years of age, mean- 
while attending the common schools; prepared 
for college under a private tutor, and, in 1824, 
entered Yale College, graduating in 1828. After a 
year as Principal of the Academy at New Canaan, 
Conn., he entered upon the study of theology 
at Yale, was licensed to preach in 1831 and, for 
the next two years, served as a tutor in the liter- 
ary department of the college. Then coming to 
Illinois (1833), he cast his lot with the "Yale 
Band," organized at Yale College a few years 
previous ; spent five years in missionary work in 
Tazewell County and two years in Northern Illi- 
nois as Agent of the Home Missionary Society, 
exploring new settlements, founding churches 
and introducing missionaries to new fields of 
labor. In 1839 he became pastor of the First 
Presbyterian Church of Chicago, remaining until 
1849, when he assumed the pastorship of the First 
Presbyterian Church at Galesburg, this relation 
continuing until 1856. Then, after a year's serv- 
ice as the Agent of the American Missionary 
Association of the Congregational Church, he 
accepted a call to the Congregational Church at 
Princeton, where he remained until 1869, when 
he took charge of the Congregational Church at 
Hinsdale. From 1878 he served for a consider- 
able period as a member of the Executive Com- 
mittee of the Illinois Home Missionary Society; 
was also prominent in educational work, being 
one of the founders and, for over twenty -five 
years, an officer of the Chicago • Theological 
Seminary, a Trustee of Knox College and one of 
the founders and a Trustee of Beloit College, 
Wis. , from which he received the degree of D. D. 
in 1869. Dr. Bascom died at Princeton, 111., 
August 8, 1890. 

BAT AVI A, a city in Kane County, on Fox 
River and branch lines of the Chicago & North- 
western and the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy 
Railroads, 35 miles west of Chicago ; has water 
power and several prosperous manufacturing 
establishments employing over 1,000 operatives. 
The city has fine water-works supplied from an 
artesian well, electric lighting plant, electric 
street car lines with interarban connections, two 
weekly papers, eight churches, two public 
schools, and private hospital for insane women. 
Population (1900), 3,871; (1903, est.), 4,400. 

BATEMAN, Newton, A. M., LL.D., educator 
and Editor-in-Chief of the "Historical Encyclo- 
pedia of Illinois," was born at Fairfield, N. J., 
July 27, 1822, of mixed English and Scotch an- 



cestry ; was brought by his parents to Illinois in 
1833; in his youth enjoyed only limited educa- 
tional advantages, but graduated from Illinois 
College at Jacksonville in 1843, supporting him- 
self during his college course who'ly by his own 
labor. Having contemplated entering the Chris- 
tian ministry, he spent the following year at Lane 
Theological Seminary, but was compelled to 
withdraw on account of failing health, when he 
gave a year to travel. He then entered upon his 
life-work as a teacher by engaging as Principal 
of an English and Classical School in St. Louis, 
remaining there two years, when he accepted the 
Professorship of Mathematics in St. Charles Col- 
lege, at St. Charles, Mo., continuing in that 
position four years (1847-51). Returning to Jack- 
sonville, 111., in the latter year, he assumed the 
principalship of the main public school of that 
city. Here he remained seven years, during four 
of them discharging the duties of County Super- 
intendent of Schools for Morgan County. In the 
fall of 1857 he became Principal of Jacksonville 
Female Academy, but the following year was 
elected State Superintendent of Public Instruc- 
tion, having been nominated for the office by the 
Republican State Convention of 1858, which put 
Abraham Lincoln in nomination for the United 
States Senate. By successive re-elections he con- 
tinued in this office fourteen years, serving con- 
tinuously from 1859 to 1875, except two years 
(1863-65), as the result of his defeat for re-election 
in 1862. He was also endorsed for the same office 
by the State Teachers' Association in 1856, but 
was not formally nominated by a State Conven- 
tion. During his incumbency the Illinois com- 
mon school system was developed and brought to 
the state of efficiency which it has so well main- 
tained. He also prepa red some seven volumes of 
biennial reports, portions of which have been 
republished in five different languages of Europe, 
besides a volume of "Common School Decisions," 
originally published by authority of the General 
Assembly, and of which several editions have 
since been issued. This volume has been recog- 
nized by the courts, and is still regarded as 
authoritative on the subjects to which it relates. 
In addition to his official duties during a part of 
this period, for three years he served as editor of 
"The Illinois Teacher," and was one of a com- 
mittee of three which prepared the bill adopted 
by Congress creating the National Bureau of 
Education. Occupying a room in the old State 
Capitol at Springfield adjoining that used as an 
office by Abraham Lincoln during the first candi- 
dacy of the latter for the Presidency, in 1860, a 



38 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



close intimacy sprang up between the two men, 
which enabled the "School-master," as Mr. Lin- 
coln playfully called the Doctor, to acquire an 
insight into the character of the future emanci- 
pator of a race, enjoyed by few men of that time, 
and of which he gave evidence by his lectures 
full of interesting reminiscence and eloquent 
appreciation of the high character of the ' 'Martyr 
President." A few months after his retirement 
from the State Superintendency (1875), Dr. Bate- 
man was offered and accepted the Presidency of 
Knox College at Galesburg, remaining until 1893, 
when he voluntarily tendered his resignation. 
This, after having been repeatedly urged upon 
the Board, was finally accepted ; but that body 
immediately, and by unanimous vote, appointed 
him President Emeritus and Professor of Mental 
and Moral Science, under which he continued to 
discharge his duties as a special lecturer as his 
health enabled him to do so. During his incum- 
bency as President of Knox College, he twice 
received a tender of the Presidency of Iowa State 
University and the Chancellorship of two other 
important State institutions. He also served, by 
appointment of successive Governors between 1877 
and 1891, as a member of the State Board of 
Health, for four years of this period being Presi- 
dent of the Board. In February, 1878, Dr. Bate- 
man, unexpectedly and without solicitation on his 
part, received from President Hayes an appoint- 
ment as "Assay Commissioner" to examine and 
test the fineness and weight of United States 
coins, in accordance with the provisions of the 
act of Congress of June 22, 1874, and discharged 
the duties assigned at the mint in Philadelphia. 
Never of a very strong physique, which was 
rather weakened by his privations while a stu- 
dent and Ms many years of close confinement to 
mental labor, towards the close of his life Dr. 
Bateman suffered much from a chest trouble 
which finally developed into "angina pectoris," 
or heart disease, from which, as the result of a 
most painful attack, he died at his home in Gales- 
burg, Oct. 21, 1897. The event produced the 
most profound sorrow, not only among his associ- 
ates in the Faculty and among the students of 
Knox College, but a large number of friends 
throughout the State, who had known him offi- 
cially or personally, and had learned to admire 
his many noble and beautiful traits of character. 
His funeral, which occurred at Galesburg on 
Oct. 25, called out an immense concoui'se of 
sorrowing friends. Almost the last labors per- 
formed by Dr. Bateman were in the revision of 
matter for this volume, in which he manifested 



the deepest interest from the time of his assump- 
tion of the duties of its Editor-in-Chief. At the 
time of his death he had the satisfaction of know- 
ing that his work in this field was practically 
complete. Dr. Bateman had been twice married, 
first in 1850 to Miss Sarah Dayton of Jacksonville, 
who died in 1857, and a second time in October, 
1859, to Miss Annie N. Tyler, of Massachusetts 
(but for some time a teacher in Jacksonville 
Female Academy), who died, May 28, 1878.— 
Clifford Rush (Bateman), a son of Dr. Bateman 
by his first marriage, was born at Jacksonville, 
March 7, 1854, graduated at Amherst College and 
later from the law department of Columbia Col- 
lege, New York, afterwards prosecuting his 
studies at Berlin, Heidelberg and Paris, finally 
becoming Professor of Administrative Law and 
Government in Columbia College — a position 
especially created for him. He had filled this 
position a little over one year when his career — 
which was one of great promise — was cut short by 
death, Feb. 6, 1883. Three daughters of Dr. Bate- 
man survive — all the wives of clergymen. — P. S. 

BATES, Clara Doty, author, was born at Ann 
Arbor, Mich., Dec. 22, 1838; published her first 
book in 1868; the next year married Morgan 
Bates, a Chicago publisher; wrote much for 
juvenile periodicals, besides stories and poems, 
some of the most popular among the latter being 
"Blind Jakey" (1868) and "^sop's Fables" in 
verse (1873). She was the collector of a model 
library for children, for the World's Columbian 
Exposition, 1893. Died in Chicago, Oct. 14, 1895. 

BATES, Erastus Newton, soldier and State 
Treasurer, was born at Plainfield, Mass., Feb. 29, 
1828, being descended from Pilgrims of the May- 
flower. When 8 years of age he was brought by 
his father to Ohio, where the latter soon after- 
ward died. For several years he lived with an 
uncle, preparing himself for college and earning 
money by teaching and manual labor. He gradu- 
ated from Williams College, Mass., in 1853, and 
commenced the study of law in New York City, 
but later removed to Minnesota, where he served 
as a member of the Constitutional Convention of 
1856 and was elected to the State Senate in 1857. 
In 1859 he removed to Centralia, 111., and com- 
menced practice there in August, 1862 ; was com- 
missioned Major of the Eightieth Illinois 
Volunteers, being successively promoted to the 
rank of Lieutenant-Colonel and Colonel, and 
finally brevetted Brigadier-General. For fifteen 
months he was a prisoner of war, escaping from 
Libby Prison only to be recaptured and later 
exposed to the fire of the Union batteries at Mor- 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



39 



ris Island, Charleston harbor. In 1866 he was 
elected to the Legislature, and, in 1868, State 
Treasurer, being re-elected to the latter office 
under the new Constitution of 1870, and serving 
until January, 1873. Died at Minneapolis, 
Minn., May 29, 1898, and was buried at Spring- 
field. 

BATES, George C, lawyer and politician, was 
born in Canandaigua, N. Y., anil removed to 
Michigan in 1834; in 1849 was appointed United 
States District Attorney for that State, but re- 
moved to California in 1800, where he became a 
member of the celebrated "Vigilance Committee" 
at San Francisco, and, in 1856, delivered the first 
Republican speech there. From 1861 to 1871, he 
practiced law in Chicago; the latter year was 
appointed District Attorney for Utah, serving 
two years, in 1878 removing to Denver, Colo., 
where he died, Feb. 11, 1886. Mr. Bates was an 
orator of much reputation, and was selected to 
express the thanks of the citizens of Chicago to 
Gen. B. J. Sweet, commandant of Camp Douglas, 
after the detection and defeat of the Camp Doug- 
las conspiracy in November, 1864 — a duty which 
he performed in an address of great eloquence. 
At an early day he married the widow of Dr. 
Alexander Wolcott, for a number of years previ- 
ous to 1830 Indian Agent at Chicago, his wife 
being a daughter of John Kinzie, the first white 
settler of Chicago. 

BATH, a village of Mason County, on the 
Jacksonville branch of the Chicago, Peoria & St. 
Louis Railway, 8 miles south of Havana. Popu- 
lation (1880), 439; (1890), 384; (1900), 830. 

BAYLIS, a corporate village of Pike County, 
on the main line of the Wabash Railway, 40 miles 
southeast of Quincy ; has one newspaper. Popu- 
lation (1890), 368; (1900), 340. 

BAYLISS, Alfred, Superintendent of Public 
Instruction, was born about 1846, served as a 
private in the First Michigan Cavalry the last 
two years of the Civil War, and graduated from 
Hillsdale College (Mich.), in 1870, supporting 
himself during his college course by work upon a 
farm and teaching. After serving three years as 
County Superintendent of Schools in La Grange 
County, Ind., in 1874 he came to Illinois and 
entered upon the vocation of a teacher in the 
northern part of the State. He served for some 
time as Superintendent of Schools for the city of 
Sterling, afterwards becoming Principal of the 
Township High School at Streator, where he was, 
in 1898, when he received the nomination for the 
office of State Superintendent of Public Instruc- 
tion, to which he was elected in November follow- 



ing by a plurality over his Democratic opponent 
of nearly 70,000 votes. 

BEARD, Thomas, pioneer and founder of the 
city of Beardstown, 111., was born in Granville, 
Washington County, X. Y., in 179."), taken to 
Northeastern Ohio in 1800, and, in 1818, removed 
to Illinois, living for a time about Edwardsville 
and Alton. In 1820 he went to the locality of 
the present city of Beardstown, ami later estab- 
lished there the first ferry across the Illinois 
River. In 1827, in conjunction with Enoch 
March of Morgan County, he entered the land on 
which Beardstown was platted in 1829. Died, at 
Beardstown, in November, 1849. 

BEARDSTOWN, a city in Cass County, on the 
Illinois River, being the intersecting point for 
the Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern and the Chi- 
cago, Burlington & Quincy Railways, and the 
northwestern terminus of the former. It is 111 
miles north of St. Louis and 90 miles south of 
Peoria. Thomas Beard, for whom the town was 
named, settled here about 1820 and soon after- 
wards established the first ferry across the Illi- 
nois River. In 1827 the land was patented by 
Beard and Enoch March, and the town platted, 
and, duriug the Black Hawk War of 1832, it 
became a principal base of supplies for the Illi- 
nois volunteers. The city has six churches and 
three schools (including a high school), two banks 
and two daily newspapers. Several branches of 
manufacturing are carried on here — flouring and 
saw mills, cooperage works, an axe-handle fac- 
tory, two button factories, two stave factories, 
one shoe factory, large machine shops, and others 
of less importance. The river is spanned here by 
a fine railroad bridge, costing some 8300,000. 
Population (1890), 4,226; (1900), 4,827. 

BEAUBIEN, Jean Baptiste, the second per- 
manent settler on the site of Chicago, was bora 
at Detroit in 1780, became clerk of a fur-trader on 
Grand River, married an Ottawa woman for Ins 
first wife, and, in 1800, had a trading-post at Mil- 
waukee, which he maintained until 1818. Ho 
visited Chicago as early as 1804, bought a cabin 
there soon after the Fort Dearborn massacre of 
1812, married the daughter of Francis La Fram- 
boise, a French trader, and, in 1818, becama 
agent of the American Fur Company, having; 
charge of trading posts at Mackinaw and else- 
where. After 1823 he occupied the building 
known as "the factory," just outside of Fort Dear* 
born, which had belonged to the Government, 
but removed to a farm on the DesPlaines in 1840. 
Out of the ownership of tliis building grew his 
claim to the right, in 1835, to enter seventy-five 



40 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



acres of land belonging to the Fort Dearborn 
reservation. The claim was allowed by the Land 
Office officials and sustained by the State courts, 
but disallowed by the Supreme Court of the 
United States after long litigation. An attempt 
was made to revive this claim in Congress in 
1878, but it was reported upon adversely by a 
Senate Committee of which the late Senator 
Thomas F. Bayard was chairman. Mr. Beaubien 
was evidently a man of no little prominence in 
his day. He led a company of Chicago citizens 
to the Black Hawk War in 1832, was appointed 
by the Governor the first Colonel of Militia for 
Cook County, and, in 1850, was commissioned 
Brigadier-General. In 1858 he removed to Nash- 
ville, Tenn., and died there, Jan. 5, 1863. — Mark 
(Beaubien), a younger brother of Gen. Beaubien, 
was born in Detroit in 1800, came to Chicago in 
1826, and bought a log house of James Kinzie, in 
which he kept a hotel for some time. Later, he 
erected the first frame building in Chicago, which 
was known as the "Sauganash," and in which he 
kept a hotel until 1834. He also engaged in mer- 
chandising, but was not successful, ran the first 
ferry across the South Branch of the Chicago 
River, and served for many years as lighthouse 
keeper at Chicago. About 1834 the Indians trans- 
ferred to him a reservation of 640 acres of land on 
the Calumet, for which, some forty years after- 
wards, he received a patent which had been 
signed by Martin Van Buren — he having previ- 
ously been ignorant of its existence. He was 
married twice and had a family of twent} r -two 
children. Died, at Kankakee, 111., April 16, 1881. 
— Madore B. (Beaubien), the second son of 
General Beaubien by his Indian wife, was born 
on Grand River in Michigan, July 15, 1809, joined 
his father in Chicago, was educated in a Baptist 
Mission School where Niles, Mich., now stands; 
was licensed as a merchant in Chicago in 1831, 
but failed as a business man; served as Second 
Lieutenant of the ISIaperville Company in the 
Black Hawk War, and later was First Lieutenant 
of a Chicago Company. His first wife was a 
■white woman, from whom he separatod, after- 
wards marrying an Indian woman. He left Illi- 
nois with the Pottawatomies in 1840, resided at 
Council Bluffs and, later, in Kansas, being for 
many years the official interpreter of the tribe 
and, for some time, one of six Commissioners 
employed by the Indians to look after their 
affairs with the United States Government. — 
Alexander (Beaubien), son of General Beau- 
bien by his white wife, was born in one of the 
buildings belonging to Fort Dearborn, Jan. 28, 



1822. In 1840 he accompanied his father to his 
farm on the Des Plaines, but returned to Chicago 
in 1862, and for years past has been employed on 
the Chicago police force. 

BEBB, William, Governor of Ohio, was born 
in Hamilton C&unty in that State in 1802 ; taught 
school at North Bend, the home of William Henry 
Harrison, studied law and practiced at Hamilton ; 
served as Governor of Ohio, 1846-48 ; later led a 
Welsh colony to Tennessee, but left at the out- 
break of the Civil War, removing to Winnebago 
County, 111., where he had purchased a large 
body of land. He was a man of uncompromising 
loyalty and high principle ; served as Examiner 
of Pensions by appointment of President Lincoln 
and, in 1868, took a prominent part in the cam- 
paign which resulted in Grant's first election to 
the Presidency. Died at Rockford, Oct. 23, 1873. 
A daughter of Governor Bebb married Hon. 
John P. Reynolds, for many years the Secretary 
of the Illinois State Agricultural Society, and, 
during the World's Columbian Exposition, 
Director-in-Chief of the Illinois Board of World's 
Fair Commissioners. 

BECKER, Charles St. N., ex-State Treasurer, 
was born in Germany, June 14, 1840, and brought 
to this country by his parents at the age of 11 
years, the family settling in St. Clair County, 111. 
Early in the Civil War he enlisted in the Twelfth 
Missouri regiment, and, at the battle of Pea 
Ridge, was so severely wounded that it was 
found necessary to amputate one of his legs. In 
1866 he was elected Sheriff of St. Clair County, 
and, from 1872 to 1880, he served as clerk of the 
St. Clair Circuit Court. He also served several 
terms as a City Councilman of Belleville. In 1888 
he was elected State Treasurer on the Republican 
ticket, serving from Jan. 14, 1889, to Jan. 12, 1891. 

BECKWITH, Corydon, lawyer and jurist, was 
born in Vermont in 1823, and educated at Provi- 
dence, R. I., and Wrentham, Mass. He read law 
and was admitted to the bar in St. Albans, Vt., 
where he practiced for two years. In 1853 he 
removed to Chicago, and, in January, 1864, was 
appointed by Governor Yates a Justice of the 
Supreme Court, to fill the five remaining months 
of the unexpired term of Judge Caton, who had 
resigned. On retiring from the bench he re- 
sumed private practice. Died, August 18, 1890. 

BECKWITH, Hiram Williams, lawyer and 
author, was born at Danville, 111., March 5, 1833. 
Mr. Beckwith's father, Dan W. Beckwith, a pio- 
neer settler of Eastern Illinois and one of the 
founders of the city of Danville, was a native of 
Wyalusing, Pa., where he was born about 1789, 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



41 



his mother heing, in her girlhood, Hannah York, 
one of the survivors of the famous Wyoming 
massacre of 1778. In 1817, the senior Beckwith, 
in company with his brother George, descend*'.! 
the Ohio River, afterwards ascending the Wabash 
to where Terre Haute now stands, but finally 
locating in what is now a part of Edgar County, 
111. A year later he removed to the vicinity of 
the present site of the city of Danville. Having 
been employed for a time in a surveyor's 
corps, he finally became a surveyor himself, and, 
on the organization of Vermilion County, served 
for a time as County Surveyor by appointment of 
the Governor, and was also employed by the 
General Government in surveying lands in the 
eastern part of the State, some of the Indian 
reservations in that section of the State being 
set off by him. In connection with Guy W. 
Smith, then Receiver of Public Moneys in the 
Land Office at Palestine, 111., he donated the 
ground on wliich the county-seat of Vermilion 
County was located, and it took the name of Dan- 
ville from his first name— "Dan." In 1830 he 
was elected Representative in the State Legisla- 
ture for the District composed of Clark, Edgar, 
and Vermilion Counties, then including all that 
section of the State between Crawford County 
and the Kankakee River. He died in 1835. 
Hiram, the subject of this sketch, thus left 
fatherless at less than three years of age, received 
only such education as was afforded in the com- 
mon schools of that period. Nevertheless, he 
began the study of law in the Danville office of 
Lincoln & Lamon, and w T as admitted to practice 
in 1854, about the time of reaching his majority. 
He continued in their office and, on the removal 
of Lamon to Bloomington in 1859, he succeeded 
to the business of the firm at Danville. Mr. 
Lamon — who, on Mr. Lincoln's accession to the 
Presidency in 1861, became Marshal of the Dis- 
trict of Columbia — was distantly related to Mr. 
Beckwith by a second marriage of the mother of 
the latter. While engaged in the practice of his 
profession, Mr. Beckwith has been over thirty 
years a zealous collector of records and other 
material bearing upon the early history of Illinois 
and the Northwest, and is probably now the 
owner of one of the most complete and valuable 
collections of Americana in Illinois. He is also 
the author of several monographs on historic 
themes, including "The Winnebago War, " "The 
Illinois and Indiana Indians," and "Historic 
Notes of the Northwest," published in the "Fer- 
gus Series," besides having edited an edition of 
"Reynolds' History of Illinois" (published by the 



same firm), wliich he has enriched by the addition 
of valuable notes. During 1895-96 he contributed 
a series of valuable articles to "The Chicago 
Tribune" on various features of early Illinois and 
Northwest history. In 1890 he was appointed by 
Governor Fifer a member of the first Board of* 
Trustees of the Illinois State Historical Library, 
serving until the expiration of his term in 1894, 
and was re-appointed to the same position by 
Governor Tanner in 1897, in each case being 
chosen President of the Board. 

BEECHER, Charles A., attorney and railway 
solicitor, was born in Herkimer County, N. Y., 
August 27, 1829, but, in 1836, removed with his 
family to Licking County, Ohio, where he lived 
upon a farm until he reached the age of 18 years. 
Having taken a course in the Ohio Wesleyan 
University at Delaware, in 1854 he removed to 
Illinois, locating at Fairfield, Wayne County, 
and began the study of law in the office of his 
bi-other, Edwin Beecher, being admitted to prac- 
tice in 1855. In 1867 he united with others in the 
organization of the Illinois Southeastern Rail- 
road projected from Shawneetown to Edge wood 
on the Illinois Central in Effingham County. 
This enterprise was consolidated, a year or two 
later, with the Pana, Springfield & Northwest- 
ern, taking the name of the Springfield & Illinois 
Southeastern, under which name it was con- 
structed and opened for traffic in 1871. (This 
line — which Mr. Beecher served for some time 
as Vice-President — now constitutes the Beards 
town & Shawneetown Division of the Baltimore 
& Ohio Southwestern.) The Springfield & Illi- 
nois Southeastern Company having fallen into 
financial difficulty in 1873, Mr. Beecher was 
appointed receiver of the road, and, for a time, 
had control of its operation as agent for the bond- 
holders. In 1875 the line was conveyed to the 
Ohio & Mississippi Railroad (now a part of the 
Baltimore & Ohio), when Mr. Beecher became 
General Counsel of the controlling corporation, 
so remaining until 1888. Since that date he has 
been one of the assistant counsel of the Baltimore 
& Ohio system. His present home is in Cincin- 
nati, although for over a quarter of a century he 
has been prominently identified with one of the 
most important railway enterprises in Southern 
Illinois. In politics Mr. Beecher has always been 
a Republican, and was one of the few in Wayne 
County who voted for Fremont in 1856, and for 
Lincoln in 1860. He was also a member of 
the Republican State Central Committee of 
Illinois from 1*60 for a period of ten or twelve 
vears 



42 



HISTOEIGAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



BEECHER, Edward, D. D., clergyman and 
educator, was born at East Hampton, L. I., 
August 27, 1803 — the son of Rev. Lyman Beech er 
and the elder brother of Henry "Ward ; graduated 
at Yale College in 1822, taught for over a year at 
Hartford, Conn., studied theology, and after a 
year's service as tutor in Yale College, in 
1826 was ordained pastor of the Park Street 
Congregational Church in Boston. In 1830 
he became President of Illinois College at 
Jacksonville, remaining until 1844, when he 
resigned and returned to Boston, serving as 
pastor of the Salem Street Church in that 
city until 1856, also acting as senior editor of 
"The Congregationalist' ' for four years. In 1856 
he returned to Illinois as pastor of the First Con- 
gregational Church at Galesburg, continuing 
until 1871, when he removed to Brooklyn, where 
he resided without pastoral charge, except 1885- 
89, when he was pastor of the Parkville Congre- 
gational Church. While President of Illinois 
College, that institution was exposed to much 
hostile criticism on account of his outspoken 
opposition to slavery, as shown by his participa- 
tion in founding the first Illinois State Anti- 
Slavery Society and his eloquent denunciation of 
the murder of Elijah P. Lovejoy. Next to his 
brother Henry Ward, he was probably the most 
powerful orator belonging to that gifted family, 
and, in connection with his able associates in the 
faculty of the Illinois College, assisted to give 
that institution a wide reputation as a nursery 
of independent thought. Up to a short time 
before his death, he was a prolific writer, his 
productions (besides editorials, reviews and con- 
tributions on a variety of subjects) including 
nine or ten volumes, of which the most impor- 
tant are: "Statement of Anti-Slavery Principles 
and Address to the People of Illinois" (1837); 
"A Plea for Illinois College"; "History of the 
Alton Riots" (1838); "The Concord of Ages" 
(1853); "The Conflict of Ages" (1854); "Papal 
Conspiracy Exposed" (1854), besides a number 
of others invariably on religious or anti-slavery 
topics. Died in Brooklyn, July 28, 1895. 

BEECHER, William H., clergyman — oldest 
son of Rev. Lyman Beecher and brother of 
Edward and Henry Ward — was born at East 
Bampton, N. Y., educated at home and at An- 
dover, became a Congregationalist clergyman, 
occupying pulpits at Newport, R. I., Batavia, 
N. Y., and Cleveland, Ohio ; came to Chicago in 
his later years, dying at the home of his daugh- 
ters in that city, June 23, 1889. 

BEGGS, (Rev.) Stephen R., pioneer Methodist 



Episcopal preacher, was born in Buckingham 
County, Va., March 30, 1801. His father, who 
was opposed to slavery, moved to Kentucky in 
1805, but remained there only two years, when he 
removed to Clark County, Ind. The son enjoyed 
but poor educational advantages here, obtaining 
his education chiefly by his own efforts in what 
he called "Brush College." At the age of 21 he 
entered the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, during the next ten years traveling 
different circuits in Indiana. In 1831 he was 
appointed to Chicago, but the Black Hawk War 
coming on immediately thereafter, he retired to 
Plainfield. Later he traveled various circuits in 
Illinois, until 1868, when he was superannuated, 
occupying his time thereafter in writing remi- 
niscences of his early history. A volume of this 
character published by him, was entitled "Pages 
from the Early History of the West and North- 
west." He died at Plainfield, 111., Sept. 9, 1895, 
in the 95th year of his age. 

BEIDLER, Henry, early settler, was born of 
German extraction in Bucks County, Pa., Nov. 
27, 1812 ; came to Illinois in 1843, settling first at 
Springfield, where he carried on the grocery 
business for five years, then removed to Chicago 
and engaged in the lumber trade in connection 
with a brother, afterwards carrying on a large 
lumber manufacturing business at Muskegon, 
Mich., which proved very profitable. In 1871 
Mr. Beidler retired from the lumber trade, in- 
vesting largely in west side real estate in the city 
of Chicago, which appreciated rapidly in value, 
making him one of the most wealthy real estate 
owners in Chicago. Died, March 16, 1893. — Jacob 
(Beidler), brother of the preceding, was born in 
Bucks County, Penn., in 1815; came west in 
1842, first began working as a carpenter, but 
later engaged in the grocery business with his 
brother at Springfield, 111. ; in 1844 removed to 
Chicago, where he was joined by his brother four 
years later, when they engaged largely in the 
lumber trade. Mr. Beidler retired from business 
in 1891, devoting his attention to large real estate 
investments. He was a liberal contributor to 
religious, educational and benevolent institutions. 
Died in Chicago, March 15, 1898. 

BELFIELD, Henry Holmes, educator, was 
born in Philadelphia, Nov. 17, 1837; was educated 
at an Iowa College, and for a time was tutor in 
the same ; during the War of the Rebellion served 
in the army of the Cumberland, first as Lieuten- 
ant and afterwards as Adjutant of the Eighth 
Iowa Cavalry, still later being upon the staff of 
Gen. E. M. McCook, and taking part in the 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



43 



Atlanta and Nashville campaigns. While a 
prisoner in the hands of the rebels lie was placed 
under fire of the Union batteries at Charleston. 
Coming to Chicago in I860, he served as Principal 
in various public schools, including the North 
Division High School. He was one of the earli- 
est advocates of manual training, and, on the 
establishment of the Chicago Manual Training 
School in 1884, was appointed its Director — a 
position which he has continued to occupy. 
During 1891-92 he made a trip to Europe by- 
appointment of the Government, to investigate 
the school systems in European countries. 

BELKNAP, Hugh Keid, ex-Member of Congress, 
was born in Keokuk, Iowa, Sept. 1, 1800, being 
the son of W. W. Belknap, for some time Secre- 
tary of War under President Grant. After 
attending the public schools of his native city, 
he took a course at Adams Academy, Quincy, 
Mass., and at Phillips Academy, Andover, when 
he entered the service of the Baltimore & Ohio 
Railroad, where he remained twelve years in 
various departments, finally becoming Chief 
Clerk of the General Manager. In 1892 he retired 
from this position to become Superintendent of 
the South Side Elevated Railroad of Chicago. 
He never held any political position until nomi- 
nated (1894) as a Republican for the Fifty-fourth 
Congress, in the strongly Democratic Third Dis- 
trict of Chicago. Although the returns showed 
a plurality of thirty -one votes for his Democratic 
opponent (Lawrence McGann), a recount proved 
him elected, when, Mr. McGann having vohm- 
tarily withdrawn, Mr. Belknap was unanimously 
awarded the seat. In 1896 he was re-elected 
from a District usually strongly Democratic, 
receiving a plurality of 590 votes, but was 
defeated by his Democratic opponent in 1898, retir- 
ing from Congress, March 3, 1899, when he re- 
ceived an appointment as Paymaster in the Army 
from President McKinley, with the rank of Major. 

BELL, Robert, lawyer, was born in Lawrence 
County, 111., in 1829, educated at Mount Carmel 
and Indiana State University at Bloomington, 
graduating from the law department of the 
latter in 1855; while yet in his minority edited 
"The Mount Carmel Register," during 1851-52 
becoming joint owner and editor of the same 
with his brother, Victor D. Bell. After gradu- 
ation he opened an office at Fairfield, Wayne 
County, but, in 1857, returned to Mount Carmel 
and from 1864 was the partner of Judge E. B. 
Green, until the appointment of the latter Chief 
Justice of Oklahoma by President Harrison in 
1890. In 1869 Mr. Bell was appointed County 



Judge of Lawrence County, being elected to the 
same office in 189-4. He was also President 
of the Illinois Southern Railroad Company 
until it was merged into the Cairo & Vincennes 
Road in 1867; later became President of the St. 
Louis & Mt. Carmel Railroad, now a part of the 
Louisville, Evansville & St. Louis line, and 
secured the construction of the division from 
Princeton, Ind.. to Albion, 111. In 1876 he visited 
California as Special Agent of the Treasury 
Department to investigate alleged frauds in the 
Revenue Districts on the Pacific Coast; in 1878 
was an unsuccessful candidate for Congress on 
the Republican ticket in the strong Democratic 
Nineteenth District; was appointed, the same 
year, a member of the Republican State Central 
Committee for the State-at-large, and, in 1881, 
officiated by appointment of President Garfield, 
as Commissioner to examiiwe a section of the 
Atlantic & Pacific Railroad in New Mexico. 
Judge Bell is a gifted stump-speaker and is known 
in the southeastern part of the State as the 
"Silver-tongued Orator of the Wabash." 

BELLEVILLE, the county-seat of St. Clair 
County, a city and railroad center, 14 miles south 
of east from St. Louis. It is one of the oldest 
towns in the State, having been selected as the 
county-seat in 1814 and platted in 1815. It lies 
in the center of a rich agricultural and coal-bear- 
ing district and contains numerous factories of 
various descriptions, including flouring mills, a 
nail mill, glass works and shoe factories. It has 
five newspaper establishments, two being Ger- 
man, which issue daily editions. Its commercial 
and educational facilities are exceptionally good. 
Its population is largely of German descent. 
Population (1890), 15,361; (1900), 17,484. 

BELLEVILLE, CENTBALIA & EASTERN 
RAILROAD. (See Louisville, Evansville & St. 
Louis (Consolidated) Railroad.) 

BELLEVILLE & CARONDELET RAILROAD, 
a short line of road extending from Belleville to 
East Carondelet, 111., 17.3 miles. It was chartered 
Feb. 20, 1881, and leased to the St. Louis, Alton 
& Terre Haute Railroad Company, June 1, 1883. 
The annual rental is §30,000, a sum equivalent to 
the interest on the bonded debt. The capital 
stock 1 1895) is $500,000 and the bonded debt $485,- 
000. In addition to these sums the floating debt 
swells the entire capitalization to *9!).">,054 or $57,- 
317 per mile. 

BELLEVILLE & ELDORADO RAILROAD, 
a road 50.4 miles in length running from Belle- 
ville to Duquoin, 111. it was chartered Feb. 22, 
1861, and completed Oct, 31, 1871. On July 1, 



44 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



1880, it was leased to the St Louis, Alton & 
Terre Haute Railroad Company for 486 years, and 
has since been operated by that corporation in 
connection with its Belleville branch, from East 
St. Louis to Belleville. At Eldorado the road 
intersects the Cairo & Vincennes Railroad and 
the Shawneetown branch of the St. Louis & 
Southeastern Railroad, operated by the Louisville 
& N?shville Railroad Company. Its capital 
stock (1895) is $1,000,000 and its bonded debt 
$550,000. The corporate office is at Belleville. 

BELLEYILLE & ILL1NOISTOWN RAILROAD. 
(See St. Louis, Alton & Terre Haute Railroad.) 

BELLEVILLE & SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 
RAILROAD, a road (laid with steel rails) run- 
ning from Belleville to Duquoin, 111., 56.4 miles 
in length. It was chartered Feb. 15, 1857, and 
completed Dec. 15, 1873. At Duquoin it connects 
with the Illinois Central and forms a short line 
between St. Louis and Cairo. Oct. 1, 1866, it was 
leased to the St. Louis, Alton & Terre Haute 
Railroad Company for 999 years. The capital 
stock is $1,692,000 and the bonded debt $1,000,- 
000. The corporate office is at Belleville. 

BELLMONT, a village of Wabash County, on 
the Louisville, Evansville & St. Louis Railway, 9 
miles west of Mount Carmel. Population (1880), 
350; (1890), 487; (1900), 624 

BELT RAILWAY COMPANY OF CHICAGO, 
THE, a corporation chartered, Nov. 22, 1882, and 
the lessee of the Belt Division of the Chicago & 
Western Indiana Railroad (which see). Its total 
trackage (all of standard gauge and laid with 66- 
pound steel rails) is 93.26 miles, distributed as fol- 
lows : Auburn Junction to Chicago, Milwaukee & 
St. PaulJunction, 15.9 miles; branches from Pull- 
man Junction to Irondale, 111., etc., 5.41 miles; 
second track, 14.1 miles; sidings, 57.85 miles. 
The cost of construction has been $524, 549 ; capi- 
tal stock, $1,200,000. It has no funded debt. 
The earnings for the year ending June 30, 1895, 
were $556,847, the operating expenses $378,012, 
and the taxes $51,009. 

BELYIDERE,an incorporated city, the county- 
seat of Boone County, situated on the Kishwau- 
kee River, and on two divisions of the Chicago & 
Northwestern Railroad, 78 miles west-northwest 
of Chicago and 14 miles east of Rockford; is con- 
nected with the latter city by electric railroad. 
The city has twelve churches, five graded schools, 
and three banks (two national). Two daily and 
two semi-weekly papers are published here. Bel- 
videre also has very considerable manufacturing 
interests, including manufactories of sewing ma- 
chines, bicycles, automobiles, besides a large 



milk-condensing factory and two creameries. 
Population (1890), 3,867; (1900), 6,937. 

BEMENT, a village in Piatt County, at inter- 
section of main line and Chicago Division of 
Wabash Railroad, 20 miles east of Decatur and 
166 miles south-southwest of Chicago; in agri- 
cultural and stock-raising district; has three 
grain elevators, broom factory, water- works, elec- 
tric-light plant, four churches, two banks and 
weekly paper. Pop. (1890), 1,129; (1900), 1,484. 

BENJAMIN, Reuben Moore, lawyer, born at 
Chatham Centre, Columbia County, N. Y., June 
29, 1833; was educated at Amherst College, Am- 
herst, Mass. ; spent one year in the law depart- 
ment of Harvard, another as tutor at Amherst 
and, in 1856, came to Bloomington, 111. , where, on 
an examination certificate furnished by Abraham 
Lincoln, he was licensed to practice. The first 
public office held by Mr. Benjamin was that of 
Delegate to the State Constitutional Convention 
of 1869-70, in which he took a prominent part in 
shaping the provisions of the new Constitution 
relating to corporations. In 1873 he was chosen 
County Judge of McLean County, by repeated 
re-elections holding the position until 1886, when 
he resumed private practice. For more than 
twenty years he has been connected with the law 
department of Wesleyan University at Blooming- 
ton, a part of the time being Dean of the Faculty ; 
is also the author of several volumes of legal 
text-books. 

BENNETT MEDICAL COLLEGE, an Eclectic 
Medical School of Chicago, incorporated by 
special charter and opened in the autumn of 
1868. Its first sessions were held in two large 
rooms; its faculty consisted of seven professors, 
and there were thirty matriculates. More com- 
modious quarters were secured the following 
year, and a still better home after the fire of 1871, 
in which all the college property was destroyed. 
Another change of location was made in 1874. 
In 1890 the property then owned was sold and a 
new college building, in connection with a hos- 
pital, erected in a more quiet quarter of the city. 
A free dispensary is conducted by the college. 
The teaching faculty (1896) consists of nineteen 
professors, with four assistants and demonstra- 
tors. Women are admitted as pupils on equal 
terms with men. 

BENT, Charles, journalist, was born in Chi- 
cago, Dec. 8, 1844, but removed with his family, 
in 1856, to Morrison, Whiteside County, where, 
two years later, he became an apprentice to the 
printing business in the office of "The Whiteside 
Sentinel." In June, 1864, he enlisted as a soldier 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OE ILLINOIS. 



45 



in the One Hundred and Fortieth Illinois (100- 
days' regiment) and, on the expiration of his term 
of service, re-enlisted in the One Hundred and 
Forty -seventh Illinois, being mustered out at 
Savannah, Ga., in January, 1866, with the rank 
of Second Lieutenant. Then resuming his voca- 
tion as a printer, in July, 1867, he purchased the 
office of "The Whiteside Sentinel," in which he 
learned his trade, and has since been the editor of 
that paper, except during 1877-79 while engaged 
in writing a "History of Whiteside County." 
He is a charter member of the local Grand Army 
Post and served on the staff of the Department 
Commander ; was Assistant Assessor of Internal 
Revenue during 1870-73, and, in 1878, was elected 
as a Republican to the State Senate for White- 
side and Carroll Counties, serving four years. 
Other positions held by him include the office of 
City Alderman, member of the State Board of 
Canal Commissioners (1883-85) and Commissioner 
of the Joliet Penitentiary (1889-93). He has also 
been a member of the Republican State Central 
Committee and served as its Chairman 1886-88. 

BEXTON, county-seat of Franklin County, on 
111. Cent, and Chi. & E. 111. Railroads; has electric- 
light plant, water-works, saddle and harness fac- 
tor}', two banks, two flouring mills, shale brick 
and tile works (projected), four churches and 
three weekly papers. Pop. (1890), 939; (1900), 1,341. 

BERDAN, James, lawyer and County Judge, 
was born in New York City, July 4, 1805, and 
educated at Columbia and Yale Colleges, gradu- 
ating from the latter in the class of 1824. His 
father, James Berdan, Sr. , came west in the fall 
of 1819 as one of the agents of a New York 
Emigration Society, and, in January, 1820, visited 
the vicinity of the present site of Jacksonville, 
111., but died soon after his return, in part from 
exposure incurred during his long and arduous 
winter journey. Thirteen years later (1832) his 
son, the subject of this sketch, came to the same 
region, and Jacksonville became his home for the 
remainder of his life. Mr. Berdan was a well- 
read lawyer, as well as a man of high principle 
and sound culture, with pure literary and social 
tastes. Although possessing unusual capabilities, 
his refinement of character and dislike of osten- 
tation made him seek rather the association and 
esteem of friends than public office. In 1849 he 
was elected County Judge of Morgan County, 
serving by a second election until 1857. Later 
he was Secretary for several years of the Tonica 
& Petersburg Railroad (at that time in course of 
construction), serving until it was merged into 
the St. Louis, Jacksonville & Chicago Railroad, 



now constituting a part of the Jacksonville di- 
vision of the Chicago & Alton Railroad; also 
served for many years as a Trustee of Illinois 
College. In the latter years of his life he was, for 
a considerable period, the law partner of ex-Gov- 
ernor and ex-Senator Richard Yates. Judge 
Berdan was the ardent political friend and 
admirer of Abraham Lincoln, as well as an inti- 
mate friend and frequent correspondent of the 
poet Longfellow, besides being the correspondent, 
during a long period of his life, of a number of 
other prominent literary men. Pierre Irving, 
the nephew and biographer of Washington Irving, 
was his brother-in-law through the marriage of a 
favorite sister. Judge Berdan died at Jackson- 
ville, August 24, 1884. 

BERGEN, (Rev.) John G., pioneer clergyman, 
was born at Hightstown, N. J., Nov. 27, 1790; 
studied theology, and, after two years' service as 
tutor at Princeton and sixteen years as pastor of 
a Presbyterian church at Madison, N. J., in 1828 
came to Springfield, 111., and assisted in the 
erection of the first Protestant church in the 
central part of the State, of which he remained 
pastor until 1848. Died, at Springfield, Jan. 
17, 1872. 

BERGGREN, Augustus W., legislator, born in 
Sweden, August 17, 1840; came to the United 
States at 16 years of age and located at Oneida, 
Knox County, 111., afterwards removing to Gales- 
burg; held various offices, including that of 
Sheriff oi Knox County (1873-81), State Senator 
(1881-89) — serving as President pro tern, of the 
Senate 1887-89, and was Warden of the Stale 
penitentiary at Joliet, 1SSS-91. He was for many 
years the very able and efficient President of the 
Covenant Mutual Life Association of Illinois, and 
is now its Treasurer. 

BERGIER, (Rev.) J, a secular priest, born in 
France, and an early missionary in Illinois. He 
labored among the Taniaroas. being in chargeof 1 1 le 
mission at Cahokia from 1700 to his death in 1710. 

BERRY, Orville P., lawyer and legislator, was 
born in McDonough County. 111., Feb. 16, L852; 
early left an orphan and, 'after working for some 
time on a farm, removed to Carthage, Hancock 
County, where he read law and was admitted to 
the bar in 1S77; in l*s:{ was elected Mayor of 
Carthage and twice re-elected; was elected to the 
State Senate in 1SSS and '92, and, in 1S91. took a 
prominent part in securing the enactment of the 
compulsory education clause in the common 
school law. Mr. Berry presided over the Repub- 
lican State Convent ion of 1896, the same year was 
a candidate for re-election to the State Senate, 



46 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



but the certificate was awarded to his Democratic 
competitor, who was declared elected by 164 
plurality. On a contest before the Senate at the 
first session of the Fortieth General Assembly, 
the seat was awarded to Mr. Berry on the ground 
of illegality in the rulings of the Secretary of 
State affecting the vote of his opponent. 

BERRY, (Col.) William W., lawyer and sol- 
dier, was born in Kentucky, Feb. 22, 1834, and 
educated at Oxford, Ohio. His home being then 
in Covington, he studied law in Cincinnati, and, 
at the age of 23, began practice at Louisville, Ky . , 
being married two years later to Miss Georgie 
Hewitt of Frankfort. Early in 1861 he entered 
the Civil War on the Union side as Major of the 
Louisville Legion, and subsequently served in 
the Army of the Cumberland, marching to the 
sea with Sherman and, during the period of his 
service, receiving four wounds. After the close 
of the war he was offered the position of Gov- 
ernor of one of the Territories, but, determining 
not to go further west than Illinois, declined. 
For three years he was located and in practice at 
Winchester, 111. , but removed to Quincy in 1874, 
where he afterwards resided. He always took a 
warm interest in politics and, in local affairs, 
was a leader of his party. He was an organizer of 
the G. A. R. Post at Quincy and its first Com- 
mander, and, in 1884-85, served as Commander of 
the State Department of the G. A. R. He organ- 
ized a Young Men's Republican Club, as he 
believed that the young minds should take an 
active part in politics. He was one of the com- 
mittee of seven appointed by the Governor to 
locate the Soldiers' and Sailors' Home for Illinois, 
and, after spending six months inspecting vari- 
ous sites offered, the institution was finally 
located at Quincy; was also Trustee of Knox 
College, at Galesburg, for several years. He was 
frequently urged by his party friends to run for 
public office, but it was so much against his 
nature to ask for even one vote, that he would 
not consent. He died at his home in Quincy, 
much regretted, May 6, 1895. 

BESTOR, George C, legislator, born in Wash- 
ington City, April 11, 1811; was assistant docu- 
ment clerk in the House of Representatives eight 
years; came to Illinois in 1835 and engaged in 
real-estate business at Peoria; was twice ap- 
pointed Postmaster of that city (1842 and 1861) 
and three times elected Mayor ; served as finan- 
cial agent of the Peoria & Oquawka (now Chicago, 
Burlington & Quincy Railroad), and a Director of 
the Toledo, Peoria & Warsaw ; a delegate to the 
Whig National Convention of 1852; a State 



Senator (1858-62), and an ardent friend of Abra- 
ham Lincoln. Died, in Washington, May 14, 

1872, while prosecuting a claim against the 
Government for the construction of gunboats 
during the war. 

BETHALTO, a village of Madison County, on 
the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis 
Railway, 25 miles north of St. Louis. Popula- 
tion (1880), 628; (1890), 879; (1900), 477. 

BETHANY, a village of Moultrie County, on 
Peoria Division 111. Cent. Railroad, 18 miles south- 
east of Decatur ; in farming district ; has one news- 
paper and four churches. Pop. , mostly American 
born, (1890), 688; (1900), 873; (1903, est.), 900. 

BETTIE STUART INSTITUTE, an institu- 
tion for young ladies at Springfield, 111., founded 
in 1868 by Mrs. Mary McKee Homes, who con- 
ducted it for some twenty years, until her death. 
Its report for 1898 shows a faculty of ten instruct- 
ors and 125 pupils. Its property is valued at 
$23,500. Its course of instruction embraces the 
preparatory and classical branches, together with 
music, oratory and fine arts. 

BEYERIDGE, James H., State Treasurer, 
was born in Washington County, N. Y., in 1828; 
served as State Treasurer, 1865-67, later acted as 
Secretary of the Commission which built the 
State Capitol. His later years were spent in 
superintending a large dairy farm near Sandwich, 
De Kalb County, where he died in January, 1896. 

BEYERIDGE, John L., ex-Governor, was born 
in Greenwich, N. Y., July 6, 1824; came to Illi- 
nois, 1842, and, after spending some two years in 
Granville Academy and Rock River Seminary, 
went to Tennessee, where he engaged in teaching 
while studying law. Having been admitted to 
the bar, he returned to Illinois in 1851, first locat- 
ing at Sycamore, but three years later established 
himself in Chicago. During the first year of the 
war he assisted to raise the Eighth Regiment Illi- 
nois Cavalry, and was commissioned first as Cap- 
tain and still later Major; two years later 
became Colonel of the Seventeenth Cavalry, 
which he commanded to the close of the war, 
being mustered out, February, 1866, with the 
rank of brevet Brigadier- General. After the war 
he held the office of Sheriff of Cook County four 
years; in 1870 was elected to the State Senate, 
and, in the following year, Congressrnan-at-large 
to succeed General Logan, elected to the United 
States Senate; resigned this office in January, 

1873, having been elected Lieutenant-Governor, 
and a few weeks later succeeded to the govern- 
orship by the election of Governor Oglesby to the 
United States Senate. In 1881 he was appointed. 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



47 



by President Arthur, Assistant United States 
Treasurer for Chicago, serving until after Cleve- 
land's first election. His present home (189N), is 
near Los Angeles, Cal. 

BIENVILLE, Jean Baptiste le Moyne, Sieur 
de, was born at Montreal, Canada, Feb. 23, 1(580, 
and was the French Governor of Louisiana at the 
time the Illinois country was included in that 
province. He had several brothers, a number of 
whom played important parts in the early history 
of the province. Bienville first visited Louisi- 
ana, in company with his brother Iberville, in 
1698, their object being to establish a French 
colony near the mouth of the Mississippi. The 
first settlement was made at Biloxi, Dec. 6, 1691), 
and Sanvolle, another brother, was placed in 
charge. The latter was afterward made Governor 
of Louisiana, and, at his death (1701), he was 
succeeded by Bienville, who transferred the seat 
of government to Mobile. Iu 1704 he was joined 
by his brother Chateaugay, who brought seven- 
teen settlers from Canada. Soon afterwards 
Iberville died, and Bienville was recalled to 
France in 1707, but was reinstated the following 
year. Finding the Indians worthless as tillers of 
the soil, he seriously suggested to the home gov- 
ernment the expediency of trading off the copper- 
colored aborigines for negroes from the West 
Indies, three Indians to be reckoned as equiva- 
lent to two blacks. In 1713 Cadillac was sent out 
as Governor, Bienville being made Lieutenant- 
Governor. The two quarreled. Cadillac was 
superseded by Epinay in 1717, and, in 1718, Law's 
first expedition arrived (see Company of the 
West), and brought a Governor's commission for 
Bienville. The latter soon after founded New 
Orleans, which became the seat of government 
for the province (which then included Illinois), in 
1723. In January, 1724, he was again summoned 
to France to answer charges; was removed in 
disgrace in 1726, but reinstated in 1733 and given 
the rank of Lieutenant-General. Failing in vari- 
ous expeditions against the Chickasaw Indians, 
he was again superseded in 1743, returning to 
France, where he died in 1768. 

BIGGS, William, pioneer, Judge and legislator, 
was born in Maryland in 1753, enlisted in the 
Revolutionary army, and served as an offiper 
under Colonel George Rogers Clark in the expe- 
dition for the capture of Illinois from the British 
in 1778. He settled in Bellefontaine (now Monroe 
County) soon after the close of the war. He was 
Sheriff of St. Clair County for many years, and 
later Justice of the Peace and Judge of the Court 
of Common Pleas. He also represented his 



county in the Territorial Legislatures of In- 
diana and Illinois. Died, in St. Clair County, 
in 1827. 

BIGGSYILLE, a village of Henderson County, 
on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, 
15 miles northeast, of Burlington; lias a bank and 
two newspapers; considerable grain and live- 
stock are shipped here Population (1880), 358; 
(1890), 487; (1900), 417. 

BNJ MUDDY RIVER, a stream formed by the 
union of two branches which rise in Jefferson 
County. It runs south and southwest through 
Franklin and Jackson Counties, and enters the 
Mississippi about five miles below Grand Tower. 
Its length is estimated at 140 miles. 

BILLINGS, Albert Merritt, capitalist, was 
born in New Hampshire, April 19, 1814, educated 
in the common schools of his native State and 
Vermont, and, at the age of 22, became Sheriff of 
Windsor County, Vt., Later he was proprietor 
for a time of the mail stage-coach line between 
Concord, N. H., and Boston, but, having sold out, 
invested his means in the securities of the Chi- 
cago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway and became 
identified with the business interests of Chicago. 
In the '50's he became associated with Cornelius 
K. Garrison in the People's Gas Company of Chi- 
cago, of which he served as President from 1859 
to 1888. In 1890 Mr. Billings became extensively 
interested in the street railway enterprises of Mr. 
C. B. Holmes, resulting in his becoming the pro- 
prietor of the street railway system at Memphis, 
Tenn., valued, in 1897, at $3,000,000. In early 
life he had been associated with Commodore 
Vanderbilt in the operation of the Hudson River 
steamboat lines of the latter. In addition to his 
other business enterprises, he was principal 
owner and, during the last twenty-five years of 
Ins life, President of the Home National and 
, Home Savings Banks of Chicago. Died, Feb. 7, 
1897, leaving an estate valued at several millions 
of dollars. 

BILLINGS, Henry W., was born at Conway, 
Mass., July 11, 1814, graduated at Amherst Col- 
lege at twenty years of age, and began the study 
of law with Judge Foote, of Cleveland, Ohio, was 
admitted to the bar two years later and practiced 
there some two years longer. He then removed 
to St. Louis, Mo., later resided for a time at 
Waterloo and Cairo, 111., but, in 1845, settled at 
Alton; was elected Mayor of that city in 1851, 
and the first Judge of the newly organized City 
Court, in 1859, serving in this position six years. 
In 1869 he was elected a Delegate from Madison 
County to the State Constitutional Convention of 



48 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



1869-70, but died before tbe expiration of the ses- 
sion, on April 19, 1870. 

BIRKBECK, Morris, early colonist, was born 
in England about 1762 or 1763, emigrated to 
.America in 1817, and settled in Edwards County, 
111. He purchased a large tract of land and in- 
duced a large colony of English artisans, laborers 
and farmers to settle upon the same, founding 
the town of New Albion. He was an active, un- 
compromising opponent of slavery, and "was an 
important factor in defeating the scheme to make 
Illinois a slave State. He was appointed Secre- 
tary of State by Governor Coles in October, 1824, 
but resigned at the end of three months, a hostile 
Legislature having refused to confirm him. A 
strong writer and a frequent contributor to the 
press, his letters and published works attracted 
attention both in this country and in Europe. 
Principal among the latter were: "Notes on a 
Journey Through France" (1815); "Notes on a 
Journey Through America" (1818), and "Letters 
from Illinois" (1818). Died from drowning in 
1825, aged about 63 years. (See Slavery and 
Slave Laics.) 

BISSELL, William H., first Republican Gov- 
ernor of Illinois, was born near Cooperstown, 
N. Y., on April 25, 1811, graduated in medicine at 
Philadelphia in 1835, and, after practicing a short 
time in Steuben County, N. Y., removed to Mon- 
roe County, 111. In 1840 he was elected a Repre- 
sentative in the General Assembly, where he soon 
attained high rank as a debater. He studied law 
and practiced in Belleville, St. Clair County, be- 
coming Prosecuting Attorney for that county in 
1844. He served as Colonel of the Second Illinois 
Volunteers during the Mexican War, and achieved 
distinction at Buena Vista. He represented Illi- 
nois in Congress from 1849 to 1855, being first 
elected as an Independent Democrat. On the pas- 
sage of the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, he left the Demo- 
cratic party and, in 1856, was elected Governor on 
the Republican ticket. While in Congress he was 
challenged by Jefferson Davis after an inter- 
change of heated words respecting the relative 
courage of Northern and Southern soldiers, 
spoken in debate. Bissell accepted the challenge, 
naming muskets at thirty paces. Mr. Davis's 
friends objected, and the duel never occurred. 
Died in office, at Springfield, 111., March 18, 1860. 

BLACK, John Charles, lawyer and soldier, 
born at Lexington, Miss., Jan. 29, 1839, at eight 
years of age came with his widowed mother to 
Illinois; while a student at Wabash College, Ind., 
in April, 1861, enlisted in the Union army, serv- 
ing gallantly and with distinction until Aug. 15, 



1865, when, as Colonel of the 37th 111. Vol. Inf., he 
retired with the rank of BrevetBrigadier-General ; 
was admitted to the bar in 1857, and after practic- 
ing at Danville, Champaign and Urbana, in 1885 
was appointed Commissioner of Pensions, serving 
until 1889, when he removed to Chicago ; served as 
Congressman-at-large (1893-95), and U. S. District 
Attorney (1895-99); Commander of the Loyal 
Legion and of the G. A. R. (Department of 
Illinois) ; was elected Commander-in-Chief of the 
Grand Army at the Grand Encampment, 1903. 
Gen. Black received the honorary degree of A.M. 
from his Alma Mater and that of LL. D. from Knox 
College; in January, 1904, was appointed by 
President Roosevelt member of the U. S. Civil 
Service Commission, and chosen its President. 

BLACKBURN UNIVERSITY, located at Car- 
linville, Macoupin County. It owes its origin to 
the efforts of Dr. Gideon Blackburn, who, having 
induced friends in the East to unite with him in 
the purchase of Illinois lands at Government 
price, in 1837 conveyed 16,656 acres of these 
lands, situated in ten different counties, in trust 
for the founding of an institution of learning, 
intended particularly "to qualify young men for 
the gospel ministry. ' ' The citizens of Carlinville 
donated funds wherewith to purchase eighty 
acres of land, near that city, as a site, which was 
included in the deed of trust. The enterprise 
lay dormant for many years, and it was not until 
1857 that the institution was formally incorpo- 
rated, and ten years later it was little more than 
a high school, giving one course of instruction 
considered particularly adapted to prospective 
students of theology. At present (1898) there 
are about 110 students in attendance, a faculty 
of twelve instructors, and a theological, as well as 
preparatory and collegiate departments. The 
institution owns property valued at 8110,000, of 
which §50,000 is represented by real estate and 
$40,000 by endowment funds. 

BLACK HAWK, a Chief of the Sac tribe of 
Indians, reputed to have been born at Kaskaskia 
in 1767. (It is also claimed that he was born on 
Rock River, as well as within the present limits 
of Hancock County.) Conceiving that his people 
had been wrongfully despoiled of lands belonging 
to them, in 1832 he inaugurated what is com- 
monly known as the Black Hawk War. His 
Indian name was Makabaimishekiakiak, signify- 
ing Black Sparrow Hawk. He was ambitious, but 
susceptible to flattery, and while having many of 
the qualities of leadership, was lacking in moral 
force. He was always attached to British inter- 
ests, and unquestionably received British aid of a 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OE ILLINOIS. 



49 



substantial sort. After his defeat lie was made 
the ward of Keokuk, another Chief, which 
humiliation of his pride broke his heart. He died 
on a reservation set apart for him in Iowa, in 
1838, aged 71. His body is said to have been 
exhumed nine months after death, and his articu- 
lated skeleton is alleged to have been preserved 
in the rooms of the Burlington (la.) Historical 
Society until 1855, when it was destroyed by fire. 
(See also Black Hawk War: Appendix.) 

BLACKSTONE, Timothy B., Railway Presi- 
dent, was born at Branford, Conn., March 28, 
1829. After receiving a common school educa- 
tion, supplemented by a course in a neighboring 
academy, at 18 he began the practical study of 
engineering in a corps employed by the New 
York & New Hampshire Railway Company, and 
the same year became assistant engineer on the 
Stockbridge & Pittsfield Railway. While thus 
employed he applied himself diligently to the 
study of the theoretical science of engineering, 
and, on coming to Illinois in 1851, was qualified 
to accept and fill the position of division engineer 
(from Bloomington to Dixon) on the Illinois Cen- 
tral Railway. On the completion of the main 
line of that road in 1855, he was appointed Chief 
Engineer of the Joliet & Chicago Railroad, later 
becoming financially interested therein, and 
being chosen President of the corporation on the 
completion of the line. In January, 1864, the 
Chicago & Joliet was leased in perpetuity to the 
Chicago & Alton Railroad Company. Mr. Black- 
stone then became a Director in the latter organi- 
zation and, in April following, was chosen its 
President. This office he filled uninterruptedly 
until April 1,1899, when the road passed into the 
hands of a syndicate of other lines. He was also 
one of the original incorporators of the Union 
Stock Yards Company, and was its President from 
1864 to 1868. His career as a railroad man was con- 
spicuous for its long service, the uninterrupted 
success of his management of the enterprises 
entrusted to his hands and his studious regard for 
the interests of stockholders. This was illustrated 
by the fact that, for some thirty years, the Chicago 
& Alton Railroad paid dividends on its preferred 
and common stock, ranging from 6 to 8% per cent 
per annum, and, on disposing of his stock conse- 
quent on the transfer of the line to a new corpora- 
tion in 1899, Mr. Blackstone rejected offers for his 
stock — aggregating nearly one-third of the whole 
—which would have netted him $1,000,000 in 
excess of the amount received, because he was 
unwilling to use his position to reap an advantage 
over smaller stockholders. Died, May 26, 1900. 



BLACKWELL, Robert S., lawyer, was born 
at Belleville, 111., in 1823. He belonged to a 
prominent family in the early history of the 
State, his father, David Blackwell, who was also 
a lawyer and settled in Belleville about 1^19, 
having been a member of the Second General 
Assembly (1820) from St. Clair County, and also 
of the Fourth and Fifth. In April, 1823, he was 
appointed by Governor Coles Secretary of State, 
succeeding Judge Samuel D. Lockwood, after- 
wards a Justice of the Supreme Court, who had 
just received from President Monroe the appoint- 
ment of Receiver of Public Moneys at the 
Edwardsville Land Office. Mr. Blackwell served 
in the Secretary's office to October, 1824, during 
a part of the time acting as editor of "The Illinois 
Intelligencer," which had been removed from 
Kaskaskia to Vandalia, and in which he strongly 
opposed the policy of making Illinois a slave 
State. He finally died in Belleville. Robert 
Blackwell, a brother of David and the uncle of 
the subject of this sketch, was joint owner with 
Daniel P. Cook, of "The Illinois Herald"— after- 
wards "The Intelligencer" — at Kaskaskia, in 
1816, and in April, 1817, succeeded Cook in the 
office of Territorial Auditor of Public Accounts, 
being himself succeeded by Elijah C. Berry, who 
had become his partner on "The Intelligencer," 
and served as Auditor until the organization of 
the State Government in 1818. Blackwell & Berry 
were chosen State Printers after the removal of 
the State capital to Vandalia in 1820, serving in 
this capacity for some years. Robert Blackwell 
located at Vandalia and served as a member of 
the House from Fayette County in the Eighth 
and Ninth General Assemblies (1832-36) and in 
the Senate, 1840-42. Robert S. — the son of David, 
and the younger member of this somewhat 
famous and historic family — whose name stands at 
the head of this paragraph, attended the common 
schools at Belleville in his boyhood, but in early 
manhood removed to Galena, where he engaged 
in mercantile pursuits. He later studied law 
with Hon. O. H. Browning at Quincy, beginning 
practice at Rushville, where he was associated 
for a time with Judge Minshall. In 1852 he 
removed to Chicago, having for his first partner 
Corydon Beckwith, afterwards of the Supreme 
Court, still later being associated with a number 
of prominent lawyers of that day. He is de- 
scribed by his biographers as "an able lawyer, an 
eloquent advocate and a brilliant scholar." 
"Blackwell on Tax Titles," from his pen, has been 
accepted by the profession as a high authority on 
that branch of law. He also published a revision 



50 



HISTOEICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



of the Statutes in 1858, and began an "Abstract 
of Decisions of the Supreme Court," which had 
reached the third or fourth volume at his death, 
May 16, 1863. 

BLAIR, William, merchant, was born at 
Homer, Cortland County, N. Y., May 20, 1818, 
being descended through five generations of New 
England ancestors. After attending school in 
the town of Cortland, which became his father's 
residence, at the age of 14 he obtained employ- 
ment in a stove and hardware store, four years 
later (1836) coming to Joliet, 111., to take charge 
of a branch store which the firm had established 
there. The next year he purchased the stock and 
continued the business on his own account. In 
August, 1842, he removed to Chicago, where he 
established the earliest and one of the most 
extensive wholesale hardware concerns in that 
city, with which he remained connected nearly 
fifty years. During this period he was associated 
with various partners, including C. B. Nelson, 
E. G. Hall, O. W. Belden, James H. Horton and 
others, besides, at times, conducting the business 
alone. He suffered by the fire of 1871 in common 
with other business men of Chicago, but promptly 
resumed business and, within the next two or 
three years, had erected business blocks, succes- 
sively, on Lake and Randolph Streets, but retired 
from business in 1888. He was a Director of the 
Merchants' National Bank of Chicago from its 
organization in 1865, as also for a time of the 
Atlantic & Pacific Telegraph Company and the 
Chicago Gaslight & Coke Company, a Trustee of 
Lake Forest University, one of the Managers of 
the Presbyterian Hospital and a member of the 
Chicago Historical Society. Died in Chicago, 
May 10, 1899. 

BLAKELY, David, journalist, was born in 
Franklin County, Vt., in 1834; learned the print- 
er's trade and graduated from the University of 
Vermont in 1857. He was a member of a musical 
family which, under the name of "The Blakely 
Family," made several successful tours of the 
West. He engaged in journalism at Rochester, 
Minn., and, in 1862, was elected Secretary of 
State and ex-officio Superintendent of Schools, 
serving until 1865, when he resigned and, in 
partnership with a brother, bought "The Chicago 
Evening Post," with which he was connected at 
the time of the great fire and for some time after- 
ward. Later, he returned to Minnesota and 
became one of the proprietors and a member of 
the editorial staff of "The St. Paul Pioneer-Press." 
In his later years Mr. Blakely was President of 
the Blakely Printing Company, of Chicago, also 



conducting a large printing business in New 
York, which was his residence. He was manager 
for several years of the celebrated Gilmore Band 
of musicians, and also instrumental in organizing 
the celebrated Sousa's Band, of which he was 
manager up to the time of his decease in New 
York, Nov. 7, 1896. 

BLAKEMAN, Curtiss, sea-captain, and pioneer 
settler, came from New England to Madison 
County, 111., in 1819, and settled in what was 
afterwards known as the "Marine Settlement," of 
which he was one of the founders. This settle- 
ment, of which the present town of Marine (first 
called Madison) was the outcome, took its name 
from the fact that several of the early settlers, like 
Captain Blakeman, were sea- faring men. Captain 
Blakeman became a prominent citizen and repre- 
sented Madison County in the lower branch of 
the Third and Fourth General Assemblies (1822 
and 1824), in the former being one of the opponents 
of the pro-slavery amendment of the Constitution. 
A son of his, of the same name, was a Represent- 
ative in the Thirteenth, Fifteenth and Sixteenth 
General Assemblies from Madison County. 

BLANC HARD, Jonathan, clergyman and edu 
cator, was born in Rockingham, Vt., Jan. 19, 
1811; graduated at Middlebury College in 1832; 
then, after teaching some time, spent two years 
in Andover Theological Seminary, finally gradu- 
ating in theology at Lane Seminary, Cincinnati, 
in 1838, where he remained nine years as pastor 
of the Sixth Presbyterian Church of that city. 
Before this time he had become interested in 
various reforms, and, in 1843, was sent as a 
delegate to the second World's Anti-Slavery 
Convention in London, serving as the American 
Vice-President of that body. In 1846 he assumed 
the Presidency of Knox College at Galesburg, 
remaining until 1858, during his connection 
with that institution doing much to increase its 
capacity and resources. After two years spent in 
pastoral work, he accepted (1860) the Presidency 
of Wheaton College, which he continued to fill 
until 1882, when he was chosen President Emer- 
itus, remaining in this position until his death, 
May 14, 1892. 

BLAKDINSTILLE, a town in McDonough 
County, on the Toledo, Peoria & Warsaw Rail- 
road, 26 miles southeast of Burlington, Iowa, and 
64 miles west by south from Peoria. It is a ship- 
ping point for the grain grown in the surround- 
ing country, and has a grain elevatoi and steam 
flour and saw mills. It also has banks, two 
weekly newspapers and several churches. Popu- 
lation (l* 20 ^ 877; (1900). 995. 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



51 



BLANEY, Jerome Van Zandt, early physician, 
born at Newcastle, Del., May 1, 1820; was edu- 
cated at Princeton and graduated in medicine at 
Philadelphia when too young to receive his 
diploma ; in 1842 came west and joined Dr. Daniel 
Brainard in founding Rush Medical College at 
Chicago, for a time filling three chairs in that 
institution; also, for a time, occupied the chair of 
Chemistry and Natural Philosophy in Northwest- 
ern University. In 1861 he was appointed Sur- 
geon, and afterwards Medical Director, in the 
army, and was Surgeon -in-Chief on the staff of 
General Sheridan at the time "of the battle of 
Winchester ; after the war was delegated by the 
Government to pay off medical officers in the 
Northwest, in this capacity disbursing over $600,- 
000 ; finally retiring with the rank of Lieutenant- 
Colonel. Died, Dec. 11, 1874. 

BLATCHFORD, Eliphalet Wickes, LL.D., 
son of Dr. John Blatchford, was born at Stillwater, 
N. Y., May 31, 1826; being a grandson of Samuel 
Blatchford, D.D., who came to New York from 
England, in 1795. He prepared for college at Lan- 
singburg Academy. New York, and at Marion 
College, Mo. , finally graduating at Illinois College, 
Jacksonville, in the class of 1845. After graduat- 
ing, he was employed for several years in the law 
offices of his uncles, R. M. and E. H. Blatchford, 
New York. For considerations of health he re- 
turned to the West, and, in 1850, engaged in busi- 
ness for himself as a lead manufacturer in St. 
Louis, Mo. , afterwards associating with him the 
late Morris Collins, under the firm name of Blatch- 
ford & Collins. In 1854 a branch was established 
in Chicago, known as Collins & Blatchford. After 
a few years the firm was dissolved, Mr. Blatch- 
ford taking the Chicago business, which has 
continued as E. W. Blatchford & Co. to the pres- 
ent time. While Mr. Blatchford has invariably 
declined political offices, he has been recognized 
as a staunch Republican, and the services of few 
men have been in more frequent request for 
positions of trust in connection with educational 
and benevolent enterprises. Among the numer- 
ous positions of this character which he has been 
called to fill are those of Treasurer of the North- 
western Branch of the United States Sanitary 
Commission, during the Civil War, to which he 
devoted a large part of his time ; Trustee of Illi- 
nois College (1866-75); President of the Chicago 
Academy of Sciences ; a member, and for seven- 
teen years President, of the Board of Trustees of 
the Chicago Eye and Ear Infirmary ; Trustee of 
the Chicago Art Institute; Executor and Trustee 
of the late Walter L. Newberry, and, since its 



incorporation, President of the Board of Trustees 
of The Newberry Library; Trustee of the John 
Crerar Library; one of the founders and Presi- 
dent of the Board of Trustees of the Chicago 
Manual Training School; life member of the 
Chicago Historical Society; for nearly forty 
years President of the Board of Directors of the 
Chicago Theological Seminary; during liis resi- 
dence in Chicago an officer of the New England 
Congregational Church; a corporate member of 
the American Board of Commissioners for For- 
eign Missions, and for fourteen years its Vice- 
President; a charter member of the City 
Missionary Society, and of the Congregational 
Club of Chicago; a member of the Chicago 
Union League, the University, the Literary and 
the Commercial Clubs, of which latter he lias 
been President. Oct. 7, 1858, Mr. Blatchford was 
married to Miss Mary Emily Williams, daughter 
of John C.Williams, of Chicago. Seven children — 
four sons and three daughters — have blessed this 
union, the eldest son, Paul, being to-day one of 
Chicago's valued business men. Mr. Blatchford's 
life has been one of ceaseless and successful 
activity in business, and to him Chicago owes 
much of its prosperity. In the giving of time 
and money for Christian, educational and benevo- 
lent enterprises, he has been conspicuous for his 
generosity, and noted for his valuable counsel and 
executive ability in carrying these enterprises to 
success. 

BLATCHFORD, John, D.D., was born at New- 
field (now Bridgeport), Conn., May 24, 1799; 
removed in childhood to Lansingburg, N. Y.. 
and was educated at Cambridge Academy and 
Union College in that State, graduating in 1820. 
He finished his theological course at Princeton, 
N. J., in 1823, after which he ministered succes- 
sively to Presbyterian churches at Pittstown and 
Stillwater, N. Y., in 1830 accepting the pastorate 
of the First Congregational Church of Bridge- 
port, Conn. In 1836 he came to the West, spend- 
ing the following winter at Jacksonville, 111. , and, 
in 1837, was installed the first pastor of the First 
Presbyterian Church of Chicago, where he 
remained until compelled by failing health to 
resign and return to the East. In 1841 he ac- 
cepted the chair of Intellectual and Moral Phi- 
losophy at Marion College, Mo., subsequently 
assuming the 1 'residency. The institution having 
been purchased by the Free Masons, in 1844, he 
removed to West Ely, Mo., and thence, in 1847, 
to Quincy, 111., where he resided during the 
remainder of his life. His death occurred in St. 
Louis. April 8, 1855. The churches he served 



52 



HISTOKICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



testified strongly to Dr. Blatchford's faithful, 
acceptable and successful performance of his 
ministerial duties. He was married in 1825 to 
Frances Wickes, daughter of Eliphalet Wickes, 
Esq. , of Jamaica, Long Island, N. Y. 

BLEDSOE, Albert Taylor, teacher and law- 
yer, was born in Frankfort, Ky., Nov. 9, 1809; 
graduated at West Point Military Academy in 
1830, and, after two years' service at Fort Gib- 
son, Indian Territory, retired from the army in 
1832. During 1833-34 he was Adjunct Professor 
of Mathematics and teacher of French at Kenyon 
College, Ohio, and, in 1835-36, Professor of 
Mathematics at Miami University. Then, hav- 
ing studied theology, he served for several years 
as rector of Episcopal churches in Ohio. In 1838 
he settled at Springfield, 111. , and began the prac- 
tice of law, remaining several years, when he 
removed to "Washington, D. C. Later he became 
Professor of Mathematics, first (1848-54) in the 
University of Mississippi, and (1854-61) in the 
University of Virginia. He then entered the 
Confederate service with the rank of Colonel, 
but soon became Acting Assistant Secretary of 
War ; in 1863 visited England to collect material 
for a •work on the Constitution, which was pub- 
lished in 1866, when he settled at Baltimore, 
where he began the publication of "The Southern 
Review," which became the recognized organ of 
the Methodist Episcopal Church South. Later 
he became a minister of the Methodist Church. 
He gained considerable reputation for eloquence 
during his residence in Illinois, and was the 
author of a number of works on religious and 
political subjects, the latter maintaining the 
right of secession; was a man of recognized 
ability, but lacked stability of character. Died 
at Alexandria, Ya., Dec. 8, 1877. 

BLODGETT, Henry Williams, jurist, was born 
at Amherst, Mass., in 1821. At the age of 10 
years he removed with his parents to Illinois, 
where he attended the district schools, later 
returning to Amherst to spend a year at the 
Academy. Returning home, he spent the years 
1839-42 in teaching and surveying. In 1842 he 
began the study of law at Chicago, being 
admitted to the bar in 1845, and beginning prac- 
tice at Waukegan, 111., where he has continued 
to reside. In 1852 he was elected to the lower 
house of the Legislature from Lake County, as 
an anti-slavery candidate, and, in 1858, to the 
State Senate, in the latter serving four years. 
He gained distinction as a railroad solicitor, being 
employed at different times by the Chicago & 
Northwestern, the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. 



Paul, the Michigan Southern and the Pittsburg 
& Fort Wayne Companies. Of the second named 
road he was one of the projectors, procuring its 
charter, and being identified with it in the sev- 
eral capacities of Attorney, Director and Presi- 
dent. In 1870 President Grant appointed him 
Judge of the United States District Court for the 
Northern District of Illinois. This position he 
continued to occupy for twenty-two years, resign- 
ing it in 1892 to accept an appointment by Presi- 
dent Cleveland as one of the counsel for the 
United States before the Behring Sea Arbitrators 
at Paris, which was his last official service. 

BLOOMINGDALE, a village of Du Page County, 
30 miles west by north from Chicago. Population 
(1880), 226; (1890), 463; (1900), 235. 

BLOOMINGTON, the county-seat of McLean 
County, a flourishing city and railroad center, 59 
miles northeast of Springfield ; is in a rich agri- 
cultural and coal-mining district. Besides car 
shops and repair works employing some 2,000 
hands, there are manufactories of stoves, fur- 
naces, plows, flour, etc. Nurseries are numerous 
in the vicinity and horse breeding receives much 
attention. The city is the seat of Illinois Wes- 
leyan University, has fine public schools, several 
newspapers (two published daily), besides educa- 
tional and other publications. The business sec- 
tion suffered a disastrous fire in 1900, but has been 
rebuilt more substantially than before. The prin- 
cipal streets are paved and electric street cars con- 
nect with Normal (two miles distant), the site of 
the "State Normal University" and "Soldiers' Or- 
phans' Home." Pop. (1890), 20,284; (1900), 23,286. 

BLOOMINGTON CONVENTION OF 1856. 
Although not formally called as such, this was 
the first Republican State Convention held in 
Illinois, out of which grew a permanent Repub- 
lican organization in the State. A mass conven- 
tion of those opposed to the repeal of the Missouri 
Compromise (known as an "Anti-Nebraska 
Convention") was held at Springfield during the 
week of the State Fair of 1854 (on Oct. 4 and 5), 
and, although it adopted a platform in harmony 
with the principles which afterwards became the 
foundation of the Republican party, and appointed 
a State Central Committee, besides putting in 
nomination a candidate for State Treasurer — the 
only State officer elected that year — the organi- 
zation was not perpetuated, the State Central 
Committee failing to organize. The Bloomington 
Convention of 1856 met in accordance with a call 
issued by a State Central Committee appointed 
by the Convention of Anti-Nebraska editors held 
at Decatur on February 22, 1856. (See Anti-Neb- 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



53 



raska Editorial Convention.) The call did not 
even contain the word "Republican," but was 
addressed to those opposed to the principles of 
the Nebraska Bill and the policy of the existing 
Democratic administration. The Convention 
met on May 29, 1856, the date designated by the 
Editorial Convention at Decatur, but was rather 
in the nature of a mass than a delegate conven- 
tion, as party organizations existed in few coun- 
ties of the State at that time. Consequently 
representation was very unequal and followed no 
systematic rule. Out of one hundred counties 
into which the State was then divided, only 
seventy were represented by delegates, ranging 
from one to twenty-five each, leaving thirty 
counties (embracing nearly the whole of the 
southern part of the State) entirely unrepre- 
sented. Lee County had the largest representa- 
tion (twenty-five), Morgan County (the home of 
Richard Yates) coming next with twenty dele- 
gates, while Cook County had seventeen and 
Sangamon had five. The whole number of 
delegates, as shown by the contemporaneous 
record, was 269. Among the leading spirits in 
the Convention were Abraham Lincoln, Archi- 
bald Williams, O. H. Browning, Richard Yates, 
John M. Palmer, Owen Lovejoy, Norman B. 
Judd, Burton C. Cook and others who afterwards 
became prominent in State politics. The delega- 
tion from Cook County included the names of 
John Wentworth, Grant Goodrich, George 
Schneider, Mark Skinner, Charles H. Ray and 
Charles L. Wilson. The temporary organization 
was effected with Archibald Williams of Adams 
County in the chair, followed by the election of 
John M. Palmer of Macoupin, as Permanent 
President. The other officers were: Vice-Presi- 
dents — John A. Davis of Stephenson; William 
Ross of Pike; James McKee of Cook; John H. 
Bryant of Bureau; A. C. Harding of Warren; 
Richard Yates of Morgan; Dr. H. C. Johns of 
Macon; D. L. Phillips of Union; George Smith 
of Madison; Thomas A. Marshall of Coles ; J. M. 
Ruggles of Mason ; G. D. A. Parks of Will, and John 
Clark of Schuyler. Secretaries — Henry S. Baker 
of Madison; Charles L. Wilson of Cook; Jobn 
Tillson of Adams; Washington Bushnell of La 
Salle, and B. J. F. Hanna of Randolph. A State 
ticket was put in nomination consisting of 
William H. Bissell for Governor (by acclama- 
tion); Francis A. Hoffman of Du Page County, 
for Lieutenant-Governor; Ozias M. Hatch of 
Pike, for Secretary of State; Jesse K. Dubois of 
Lawrence, for Auditor; James Miller of McLean, 
for Treasurer, and William H. Powell of Peoria, 



for Superintendent of Public Instruction. Hoff- 
man, having been found ineligible by lack of resi- 
dence after the date of naturalization, withdrew, 
and his place was subsequently filled by the 
nomination of John Wood of (^uincy. The plat- 
form adopted was outspoken in its pledges of 
unswerving loyalty to the Union and opposition 
to the extension of slavery into new territory. A 
delegation was appointed to the National Con- 
vention to be held in Philadelphia on June 17, 
following, and a State Central Committee was 
named to conduct the State campaign, consisting 
of James C. Conkling of Sangamon County ; 
Asahel Gridley of McLean; Burton C. Cook of 
La Salle, and Charles H. Ray and Norman B. 
Judd of Cook. The principal speakers of the 
occasion, before the convention or in popular 
meetings held while the members were present in 
Bloomington, included the names of O. H. Brown- 
ing, Owen Lovejoy, Abraham Lincoln, Burton 
C. Cook, Richard Yates, the venerable John 
Dixon, founder of the city bearing his name, and 
Governor Reeder of Pennsylvania, who had been 
Territorial Governor of Kansas by appointment 
of President Pierce, but had refused to carry out 
the policy of the administration for making 
Kansas a slave State. None of the speeches 
were fully reported, but that of Mr. Lincoln has 
been universally regarded by those who heard it 
as the gem of the occasion and the most brilliant 
of his life, foreshadowing his celebrated "house- 
divided-against-itself" speech of June 17, 1858. 
John L. Scripps, editor of "The Chicago Demo- 
cratic Press," writing of it, at the time, to his 
paper, said: "Never has it been our fortune to 
listen to a more eloquent and masterly presenta- 
tion of a subject. . . . For an hour and a half he 
(Mr. Lincoln) held the assemblage spellbound by 
the power of his argument, the intense irony of 
his invective, and the deep earnestness and fervid 
brilliancy of his eloquence. When he concluded, 
the audience sprang to their feet and cheer after 
cheer told how deeply their hearts had been 
touched and their souls warmed up to a generous 
enthusiasm." At the election, in November 
following, although the Democratic candidate 
for President carried the State by a plurality of 
over 9,000 votes, the entire State ticket put in 
nomination at Bloomington was successful by 
majorities ranging from 3.000 to 20,000 for the 
several candidates. 

BLUE ISLAM), a village of Cook County, on 
the Calumet River and the Chicago, Rock Island 
& Pacific, the Chicago & Grand Trunk and 
the Illinois Central Railways, 15 miles south of 



54 



HISTOKICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



Chicago. It has a high school, churches and two 
newspapers, besides brick, smelting and oil works. 
Population (1890), 2,521; (1900), 6,114. 

BLUE ISLAND RAILROAD, a short line 3.96 
miles in length, lying wholly within Illinois; 
capital stock $25,000; operated by the Illinois 
Central Railroad Company. Its funded debt 
(1895) was §100,000 and its floating debt, §3,779. 

BLUE MOUND, a town of Macon County, on 
the Wabash Railway, 14 miles southeast of De- 
catur;.; in rich grain and live-stock region; has 
three grain elevators, two banks, tile factory and 
one newspaper. Pop. (1890), 696; (1900), 714. 

BLUFFS, a village of Scott County, at the 
junction of the Quincy and Hannibal branches of 
the Wabash Railway, 52 miles west of Spring- 
field; has a bank and a newspaper. Population 
(1880), 162; (1890), 421; (1900), 539. 

BOAL, Robert, M.D., physician and legis- 
lator, born near Harrisburg, Pa., in 1806; was 
brought by his parents to Ohio when five years 
old and educated at Cincinnati, graduating from 
the Ohio Medical College in 1828; settled at 
Lacon, 111., in 1836, practicing there until 1862, 
when, having been appointed Surgeon of the 
Board of Enrollment for that District, he re- 
moved to Peoria. Other public positions held by 
Dr. Boal have been those of Senator in the 
Fourteenth and Fifteenth General Assemblies 
(1844-48), Representative in the Nineteenth and 
Twentieth (1854-58), and Trustee of the Institu- 
tion for the Deaf and Dumb at Jacksonville, 
remaining in the latter position seventeen years 
under the successive administrations of Gov- 
ernors Bissell, Yates, Oglesby, Palmer and Bever- 
idge — the last five years of his service being 
President of the Board. He was also President 
of the State Medical Board in 1882. Dr. Boal 
continued to practice at Peoria until about 1890, 
when he retired, and, in 1893, returned to Lacon 
to reside with his daughter, the widow of the 
late Colonel Greenbury L. Fort, for eight years 
Representative in Congress from the Eighth 
District. 

BOARD OF ARBITRATION, a Bureau of the 
State Government, created by an act of the Legis- 
lature, approved August 2, 1895. It is appointed 
by the Executive and is composed of three mem- 
bers (not more than two of whom can belong to 
the same political party), one of whom must be 
an employer of labor and one a member of some 
labor organization. The term of office for the 
members first named was fixed at two years; 
after March 1, 1897, it is to be three years, one 
member retiring annually. A compensation of 



$1,500 per annum is allowed to each member of 
the Board, while the Secretary, who must also be 
a stenographer, receives a salary of §1,200 per 
annum. When a controversy arises between an 
individual, firm or corporation employing not less 
than twenty-five persons, and his or its employes, 
application may be made by the aggrieved 
party to the Board for an inquiry into the 
nature of the disagreement, or both parties may 
unite in the submission of a case. The Board is 
required to visit the locality, carefully investi- 
gate the cause of the dispute and render a deci- 
sion as soon as practicable, the same to be at once 
made public. If the application be filed by the 
employer, it must be accompanied by a stipula- 
tion to continue in business, and order no lock-out 
for the space of three weeks after its date. In 
like manner, complaining employes must promise 
to continue peacefully at work, under existing 
conditions, for a like period. The Board is 
granted power to send for persons and papers and 
to administer oaths to witnesses. Its decisions 
are binding upon applicants for six months after 
rendition, or until either party shall have given 
the other sixty days' notice in writing of his or 
their intention not to be bound thereby. In case 
the Board shall learn that a disagreement exists 
between employes and an employer having less 
than twenty-five persons in his employ, and that 
a strike or lock-out is seriously threatened, it is 
made the duty of the body to put itself into 
communication with both employer and employes 
and endeavor to effect an amicable settlement 
between them by mediation. The absence of any 
provision in the law prescribing penalties for its 
violation leaves the observance of the law, in its 
present form, dependent upon the voluntary 
' action of the parties interested. 

BOARD OF EQUALIZATION, a body organ- 
ized under act of the General Assembly, approved 
March 8, 1867. It first consisted of twenty-five 
members, one from each Senatorial District. 
The first Board was appointed by the Governor, 
holding office two years, afterwards becoming 
elective for a term of four years. In 1872 the 
law was amended, reducing the number of mem- 
bers to one for each Congressional District, the 
whole number at that time becoming nineteen, 
with the Auditor as a member ex-officio, who 
usually presides. From 18S4 to 1897 it consisted 
of twenty elective members, but, in 1897, it was 
increased to twenty-two. The Board meets 
annually on the second Tuesday of August. The 
abstracts of the property assessed for taxation in 
the several counties of the State are laid before 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OE ILLINOIS. 



55 



it for examination and equalization, but it may 
not reduce the aggregate valuation nor increase 
it more than one per cent. Its powers over the 
returns of the assessors do not extend beyond 
equalization of assessments between counties. 
The Board is required to consider the various 
classes of property separately, and determine 
such rates of addition to or deduction from the 
listed, or assessed, valuation of each class as it 
may deem equitable and just. The statutes pre- 
scribe rules for determining the value of all the 
classes of property enumerated — personal, real, 
railroad, telegraph, etc. The valuation of the 
capital stock of railroads, telegraph and other 
corporations (except newspapers) is fixed by the 
Board. Its consideration having been completed, 
the Board is required to summarize the results of 
its labors in a comparative table, which must be 
again examined, compared and perfected. 
Reports of each annual meeting, with the results 
reached, are printed at the expense of the State 
and distributed as are other public documents. 
The present Board (1897-1901) consists by dis- 
tricts of (1) George F. McKnight, (2) John J. 
McKenna, (3) Solomon Simon, (4) Andrew Mc- 
Ansh, (5) Albert Oberndorf, (6) Henry Severin, 
(7) Edward S. Taylor, (8) Theodore S. Rogers, 
(9) Charles A. Works, (10) Thorrias P. Pierce, (11) 
Samuel M. Barnes, (12) Frank P. Martin, (13) 
Frank K. Robeson, (14) W. O. Cadwallader, (15) 
J. S. Cruttenden, (16) H. D. Hirshheimer, (17) 
Thomas N. Leavitt, (18) Joseph F. Long, (19) 
Richard Cadle, (20) Charles Emerson, (21) John 
W. Larimer, (22) William A. Wall, besides the 
Auditor of Public Accounts as ex-officio member 
— the District members being divided politically 
in the proportion of eighteen Republicans to four 
Democrats. 

BOARD OF PUBLIC CHARITIES, a State 
Bureau, created by act of the Legislature in 
1869, upon the recommendation of Governor 
Oglesby. The act creating the Board gives the 
Commissioners supervisory oversight of the 
financial and administrative conduct of all the 
charitable and correctional institutions of the 
State, with the exception of the penitentiaries, 
and they are especially charged with looking 
after and caring for the condition of the paupers 
and the insane. As originally constituted the 
Board consisted of five male members who em- 
ployed a Secretary. Later provision was made 
for the appointment of a female Commissioner. 
The office is not elective. The Board has always 
carefully scrutinized the accounts of the various 
State charitable institutions, and, under its man- 



agement, no charge of peculation against any 
official connected with the same has ever been 
substantiated; there have been no scandals, and 
only one or two isolated charges of cruelty to 
inmates. Its supervision of the county jails and 
almshouses has been careful and conscientious, 
and has resulted in benefit alike to the tax-payers 
and the inmates. The Board, at the close of the 
year 1898, consisted of the following live mem- 
bers, their terms ending as indicated in paren- 
thesis: J. C. Corbus (1898), R. D. Lawrence 
(1899), Julia C. Lathrop (1900), William J. Cal 
houn (1901), Ephraim Banning (1902). J. C. Cor- 
bus was President and Frederick H. Wines, 
Secretary. 

BOGARDUS, Charles, legislator, was born 
in Cayuga County, N. Y., March 28, 1841, and 
left an orphan at six years of age ; was educated 
in the common schools, began working in a store 
at 12, and, in 1862, enlisted in the One Hundred 
and Fifty-first New York Infantry, being elected 
First Lieutenant, and retiring from the service 
as Lieutenant-Colonel "for gallant and meritori- 
ous service" before Petersburg. While in the 
service he participated in some of the most 
important battles in Virginia, and was once 
wounded and once captured. In 1872 he located 
in Ford County, 111., where he has been a success- 
ful operator in real estate. He has been twice 
elected to the House of Representatives (1884 and 
'86) and three times to the State Senate (1888, 
'92 and '96), and has served on the most important 
committees in each house, and has proved him- 
self one of the most useful members. At the 
session of 1895 he was chosen President pro tern. 
of the Senate. 

BOGOS, Carroll C, Justice of the Supreme 
Court, was born in Fairfield, Wayne County. 
111., Oct. 19, 1844, and still resides in his native 
town; has held the offices of State's Attorney, 
County Judge of Wayne County, and Judge of 
the Circuit Court for the Second Judicial Circuit, 
being assigned also to Appellate Court duty. In 
June, 1897, Judge Boggs was elected a Justice of 
the Supreme Court to succeed Judge David J. 
Baker, his term to continue until 1906. 

BOLT WOOD, Henry L., the son of William 
and Electa (Stetson) Boltwood, was born at Am- 
herst, Mass., Jan. 17, 1831; fitted for college at 
Amherst Academy and graduated from Amherst 
College in 1853. While in college he taught 
school every winter, commencing on a salary of 
84 per week and "boarding round" among the 
scholars. After graduating he taught in acad- 
emies at Limerick. Me., and at Pembroke and 



56 



HISTOEICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



Derry, N. H., and in the high school at Law- 
rence, Mass. ; also served as School Commissioner 
for Rockingham County, N. H. In 1864 lie went 
into the service of the Sanitary Commission in 
the Department of the Gulf, remaining until the 
close of the war ; was also ordained Chaplain of a 
colored regiment, but was not regularly mustered 
in. After the close of the war he was employed 
as Superintendent of Schools at Griggsville, 111., 
for two years, and, while there, in 1867, organ- 
ized the first township high school ever organized 
in the State, where he remained eleven years. He 
afterwards organized the township high school at 
Ottawa, remaining there five years, after which, 
in 1883, he organized and took charge of the 
township high school at Evanston, where he has 
since been employed in his profession as a teacher. 
Professor Boltwood has been a member of the State 
Board of Education and has served as President 
of the State Teachers' Association. As a teacher 
he has given special attention to English language 
and literature, and to history, being the author 
of an English Grammar, a High School Speller 
and "Topical Outlines of General History," 
besides many contributions to educational jour- 
nals. He has done a great deal of institute work, 
both in Illinois and Iowa, and has been known 
somewhat as a tariff reformer. 

BOND, Lester L., lawyer, was born at Raven- 
na, Ohio, Oct. 27, 1829 ; educated in the common 
schools and at an academy, meanwhile laboring 
in local factories ; studied law and was admitted 
to the bar in 1853, the following year coming to 
Chicago, where he has given his attention chiefly 
to practice in connection with patent laws. Mr. 
Bond served several terms in the Chicago City 
Council, was Republican Presidential Elector in 
1868, and served two terms in the General Assem- 
bly— 1866-70. 

BOND, Shadrach, first Territorial Delegate in 
Congress from Illinois and first Governor of the 
State, was born in Maryland, and, after being 
liberally educated, removed to Kaskaskia while 
Illinois was a part of the Northwest Territory. 
He served as a member of the first Territorial 
Legislature (of Indiana Territory) and was the 
first Delegate from the Territory of Illinois in 
Congress, serving from 1812 to 1814. In the 
latter year he was appointed Receiver of Public 
Moneys ; he also held a commission as Captain in 
the War of 1812. On the admission of the State, 
in 1818, he was elected Governor, and occupied 
the executive chair until 1822. Died at Kaskas- 
kia. April 13, 1832.— Shadrach Bond, Sr., an uncle 
of the preceding, came to Illinois in 1781 and was 



elected Delegate from St. Clair County (then 
comprehending all Illinois) to the Territorial 
Legislature of Northwest Territory, in 1799, and, 
in 1804, to the Legislative Council of the newly 
organized Territory of Indiana. 

BOND COUNTY, a small county lying north- 
east from St. Louis, having an area of 380 square 
miles and a population 1900) of 16,078. The 
first American settlers located here in 1807, com- 
ing from the South, and building Hill's and 
Jones's forts for protection from the Indians. 
Settlement was slow, in 1816 there being scarcely 
twenty-five log cabins in the county. The 
county-seat is Greenville, where the first cabin 
was erected in 1815 by George Davidson. The 
county was organized in 1818, and named in 
honor of Gov. Shadrach Bond. Its original 
limits included the present counties of Clinton, 
Fayette and Montgomery. The first court was 
held at Perryville, and, in May, 1817, Judge 
Jesse B. Thomas presided over the first Circuit 
Court at Hill's Station. The first court house 
was erected at Greenville in 1822. The county 
contains good timber and farming lands, and at 
some points, coal is found near the surface. 

BONNET, Charles Carroll, lawyer and re- 
former, was born in Hamilton, N. Y., Sept. 4, 
1831 ; educated at Hamilton Academy and settled 
in Peoria, 111., in 1850, where he pursued the 
avocation of a teacher while studying law ; was 
admitted to the bar in 1852, but removed to Chi- 
cago in 1860, where he has since been engaged in 
practice; served as President of the National 
Law and Order League in New York in 1885, 
being repeatedly re-elected, and has also been 
President of the Illinois State Bar Association, as 
well as a member of the American Bar Associa- 
tion. Among the reforms which he has advo- 
cated are constitutional prohibition of special 
legislation; an extension of equity practice to 
bankruptcy and other law proceedings ; civil serv- 
ice pensions ; State Boards of labor and capital, 
etc. He has also published some treatises in book 
form, chiefly on legal questions, besides editing 
a volume of "Poems by Alfred W. Arrington, 
with a sketch of his Character" (1869. ) As Presi- 
dent of the World's Congresses Auxiliary, in 1893, 
Mr. Bonney contributed largely to the success of 
that very interesting and important feature of 
the great Columbian Exposition in Chicago. 

BOONE, Levi D., M. D., early physician, was 
born near Lexington, Ky., December, 1808 — a 
descendant of the celebrated Daniel Boone; re- 
ceived the degree of M. D. from Transylvania 
University and came to Edwardsville, 111., at an 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



5; 



early day, afterwards locating at Hillsboro and 
taking part in the Black Hawk War as Captain of 
a cavalry company ; came to Chicago in 1836 and 
engaged in the insurance business, later resuming 
the practice of his profession; served several 
terms as Alderman and was elected Mayor in 
1855 by a combination of temperance men and 
Know- Nothings; acquired a large property by 
operations in real estate. Died, February, 

ISS'J 

BOOXE COUNTY, the smallest of the "north- 
ern tier" of counties, having an area of only 290 
square miles, and a population (1900) of 15,791. 
Its surface is chiefly rolling prairie, and the 
principal products are oats and corn. The earli- 
est settlers came from New York and New Eng- 
land, and among them were included Medkiff, 
Dunham, Caswell, Cline, Towner, Doty and 
Whitney. Later (after the Pottawattomies had 
evacuated the country), came the Shattuck 
brothers, Maria Hollenbeck and Mrs. Bullard, 
Oliver Hale, Nathaniel Crosby, Dr. Whiting, H. 
C. Walker, and the Neeley and Mahoney families. 
Boone County was cut off from Winnebago, and 
organized in 1837, being named in honor of Ken- 
tucky's pioneer. The first frame house in the 
county was erected by S. F. Doty and stood for 
fifty years in the village of Belvidere on the north 
side of the Kishwaukee River. The county-seat 
(Belvidere) was platted in 1837, and an academy 
built soon after. The first Protestant church 
was a Baptist society under the pastorate of Rev. 
Dr. King. 

BOURBONN AIS, a village of Kankakee County, 
on the Illinois Central Railroad, 5 miles north of 
Kankakee. Population (1890), 510; (1900), 595. 

BOUTELL, Henry Sherman, lawyer and Con- 
gressman, was born in Boston, Mass., March 14, 
1856, graduated from the Northwestern Univer- 
sity at Evanston, 111., in 1874, and from Harvard 
in 1876; was admitted to the bar in Illinois in 
1879, and to that of the Supreme Court of the 
United States in 1885. In 1884 Mr. Boutell was 
elected to the lower branch of the Thirty -fourth 
General Assembly and was one of the "103" who, 
in the long struggle during the following session, 
participated in the election of Gen. John A. 
Logan to the United States Senate for the last 
time. At a special election held in the Sixth 
Illinois District in November, 1897, he was 
elected Representative in Congress to fill the 
vacancy caused by the sudden death of his pred- 
ecessor, Congressman Edward D. Cooke, and at 
the regular election of 1898 was re-elected to the 
same position, receiving a plurality of 1,116 over 



his Democratic competitor and a majority of 719 
over all. 

BOUTOX, Nathaniel S., manufacturer, was 
born in Concord, N. II., May 11, l s \! s : in his 
youth farmed ami taught school in Connecticut, 
but in 1*52 came to Chicago and was employed 
in a foundry firm, of which he soon afterwards 
became a partner, in the manufacture of car- 
wheels and railway castings. Later he became 
associated with the American Bridge Company's 
works, which was sold to the Illinois Central 
Railroad Company in 1857, when he bought the 
Union Car Works, which he operated until 1863 
He then became the head of the Union Foundry 
Works, which having been consolidated with 
the Pullman Car Works in 1886, he retired, 
organizing the Bouton Foundry Company. Mr. 
Bouton is a Republican, was Commissioner of 
Public Works for the city of Chicago two terms 
before the Civil War, and served as Assistant 
Quartermaster in the Eighty-eighth Illinois 
Infantry (Second Board of Trade Regiment) 
from 1862 until after the battle of Chickamauga. 

BOYD, Thomas A., was born in Adams County, 
Pa., June 25, 1830, and graduated at Marshall 
College, Mercersburg, Pa. , at the age of I s , 
studied law at Chambersburg and was admitted 
to the bar at Bedford in his native State, where 
he practiced until 1856, when he removed to Illi- 
nois. In 1861 he abandoned his practice to enlist 
in the Seventeenth Illinois Infantry, in which he 
held the position of Captain. At the close of t lie 
war he returned to his home at Lewistown, and 
in 1866, was elected State Senator and re-elected 
at the expiration of his term in 1870, serving in 
the Twenty-fifth, Twenty-sixth and Twenty- 
seventh General Assemblies. He was also a 
Republican Representative from his District in 
the Forty-fifth and Forty-sixth Congresses 
(1877-81). Died, at Lewistown, May 28, 1897. 

BRACEYILLE, a town in Grundy County, 61 
miles by rail southwest of Chicago. Coal mining 
is the principal industry. The town has two 
banks, two churches and good public schools. 
Population (1890), 2,150; (1900), 1,669. 

BRADFORD, village of Stark County, on Buda 
and Rushville branch Chicago, Burlington & 
Quincy Railway; is in excellent farming region 
and has large grain and live-stock trade, excel- 
lent high school building, fine churches, good 
hotels and one newspaper. Pop. (1900), 773. 

BRADSHY. William H., pioneer and Judge, 
was born in Bedford County, Va. , July 12, ITS?. 
He removed to Illinois early in life, and was the 
first postmaster in Washington County (at Cov- 



58 



HISTOKICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



ington), the first school-teacher and the first 
Circuit and County Clerk and Recorder. At the 
time of his death he was Probate and County 
Judge. Besides being Clerk of all the courts, he 
was virtually County Treasurer, as he had cus- 
tody of all the county's money. For several 
years he was also Deputy United States Surveyor, 
and in that capacity surveyed much of the south 
part of the State, as far east as Wayne and Clay 
Counties. Died at Nashville, 111, August 21, 
1839. 

BRADWELL, James Bolesworth, lawyer and 
editor, was born at Loughborough, England, April 
16, 1828, and brought to America in infancy, his 
parents locating in 1829 or '30 at Utica, N. Y. In 
1833 they emigrated to Jacksonville, 111., but the 
following year removed to Wheeling, Cook 
County, settling on a farm, where the younger 
Bradwell received his first lessons in breaking 
prairie, splitting rails and tilling the soil. His 
first schooling was obtained in a country log- 
school-house, but, later, he attended the Wilson 
Academy in Chicago, where he had Judge Lo- 
renzo Sawyer for an instructor. He also took a 
course in Knox College at Galesburg, then a 
manual-labor school, supporting himself by work- 
ing in a wagon and plow shop, sawing wood, 
etc. In May, 1852, he was married to Miss Myra 
Colby, a teacher, with whom he went to Mem- 
phis, Tenn., the same year, where they engaged 
in teaching a select school, the subject of this 
sketch meanwhile devoting some attention to 
reading law. He was admitted to the bar there, 
but after a stay of less than two years in Mem- 
phis, returned to Chicago and began practice. 
In 1861 he was elected County Judge of Cook 
County, and re-elected four years later, but 
declined a re-election in 1869. The first half of 
his term occurring during the progress of the 
Civil War, he had the opportunity of rendering 
some vigorous decisions which won for him the 
reputation of a man of courage and inflexible 
independence, as well as an incorruptible cham- 
pion of justice. In 1872 he was elected to the 
lower branch of the Twenty-eighth General 
Assembly from Cook County, and re-elected in 
1874. He was again a candidate in 1882, and by 
many believed to have been honestly elected, 
though his opponent received the certificate. He 
made a contest for the seat, and the majority of 
the Committee on Elections reported in his 
favor ; but he was defeated through the treach- 
ery and suspected corruption of a professed polit- 
ical friend. He is the author of the law making 
women eligible to school offices in Illinois and 



allowing them to become Notaries Public, and 
has always been a champion for equal rights for 
women in the professions and as citizens. He 
was a Second Lieutenant of the One Hundred and 
Fifth Regiment, Illinois Militia, in 1848 ; presided 
over the American Woman's Suffrage Associa- 
tion at its organization in Cleveland; has been 
President of the Chicago Press Club, of the Chi- 
cago Bar Association, and, for a number of years, 
the Historian of the latter ; one of the founders 
and President of the Union League Club, besides 
being associated with many other social and 
business organizations. At present (1899) he is 
editor of "The Chicago Legal News," founded by 
his wife thirty years ago, and with which he has 
been identified in a business capacity from its 
establishment. — Myra Colby (Bradwell), the wife 
of Judge Bradwell, was born at Manchester, Vt. , 
Feb. 12, 1831 — being descended on her mother's 
side from the Chase family to which Bishop 
Philander Chase and Salmon P. Chase, the latter 
Secretary of the Treasury and Chief Justice of 
the Supreme Court by appointment of Abraham 
Lincoln, belonged. In infancy she was brought 
to Portage, N. Y. , where she remained until she 
was twelve years of age, when her family re- 
moved west. She attended school in Kenosha, 
Wis. , and a seminary at Elgin, afterwards being 
engaged in teaching. On May 18, 1852, she was 
married to Judge Bradwell, almost immediately 
going to Memphis, Tenn. , where, with the assist- 
ance of her husband, she conducted a select school 
for some time, also teaching in the public schools, 
when they returned to Chicago. In the early 
part of the Civil War she took a deep interest in 
the welfare of the soldiers in the field and their 
families at home, becoming President of the 
Soldiers' Aid Society, and was a leading spirit in 
the Sanitary Fairs held in Chicago in 1863 and in 
1865. After the war she commenced the study 
of law and, in 1868, began the publication of 
"The Chicago Legal News," with which she re- 
mained identified until her death — also publishing 
biennially an edition of the session laws after 
each session of the General Assembly. After 
passing a most creditable examination, applica- 
tion was made for her admission to the bar in 
1871, but denied in an elaborate decision rendered 
by Judge C. B. Lawrence of the Supreme Court 
of the State, on the sole ground of sex, as 
was also done by the Supreme Court of the 
United States in 1873, on the latter occasion 
Chief Justice Chase dissenting. She was finally 
admitted to the bar on March 28, 1892, and was 
the first lady member of the State Bar Associ- 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



59 



ation. Other organizations with which she was 

identified embraced the Illinois Stale Press 
Association, the Board of Managers of the Sol- 
diers' Home (in war time), the "Illinois Industrial 
School for Girls" at Evanston, the Washington ian 
Home, the Board of Lady Managers of the 
World's Columbian Exposition, and Chairman of 
the Woman's Committee on Jurisprudence of the 
World's Congress Auxiliary of 1893. Although 
much before the public during the latter years of 
her life, she never lost the refinement and graces 
which belong to a true woman. Died, at her 
home in Chicago, Feb. 14, 1894. 

BRAIDWOOD, a city in Will County, incorpo- 
rated in 1860 ; is 58 miles from Chicago, on the 
Chicago & Alton Railroad; an important coal- 
mining point, and in the heart of a rich 
agricultural region. It has a bank and a weekly 
newspaper. Population (1890), 4,641 ; (1900), 8,279. 

BRANSON, Nathaniel W., lawyer, was born in 
Jacksonville, 111., May 29, 1837; was educated in 
the private and public schools of that city and at 
Illinois College, graduating from the latter in 
1857 ; studied law with David A. Smith, a promi- 
nent and able lawyer of Jacksonville, and was 
admitted to the bar in January, 1860, soon after 
establishing himself in practice at Petersburg, 
Menard County, where he has ever since resided. 
In 1867 Mr. Branson was appointed Register in 
Bankruptcy for the Springfield District — a po- 
sition which he held thirteen years. He was also 
elected Representative in the General Assembly 
in 1872, by re-election in 1874 serving four years 
in the stormy Twenty-eighth and Twenty-ninth 
General Assemblies ; was a Delegate from Illinois 
to the National Republican Convention of 1876, 
and served for several years most efficiently as a 
Trustee of the State Institution for the Blind at 
Jacksonville, part of the time as President of the 
Board. Politically a conservative Republican, 
and in no sense an office-seeker, the official po- 
sitions which he has occupied have come to him 
unsought and in recognition of his fitness and 
capacity for the proper discharge of their duties. 

BRAYMAN, Mason, lawyer and soldier, was 
born in Buffalo, N. Y., May 23, 1813; brought up 
as "a farmer, became a printer and edited "The 
Buffalo Bulletin," 1834-35; studied law and was 
admitted to the bar in 1836; removed west in 
1837, was City Attorney of Monroe, Mich., in 1838 
and became editor of "The Louisville Adver- 
tiser" in 1841. In 1842 he opened a law office in 
Springfield, 111., and the following year was 
appointed by Governor Ford a commissioner to 
adjust the Mormon troubles, in which capacitj 



he rendered valuable service. In 1844-45 he was 

appointed to revise the statutes of the State 
Later he devoted much attention to railroad 
enterprises, being attorney of the Illinois Cent ral 
Railroad, 1851-55; then projected the construc- 
tion of a railroad from Bird's Point, opposite 
Cairo, into Arkansas, which was partially com- 
pleted before the war, and almost wholly de- 
stroyed during that period. In 1861 he entered 
the service as Major of the Twenty-ninth Illinois 
Volunteers, taking part in a number of the early 
battles, including Fort Donelson and Shiloh; 
was promoted to a colonelcy for meritorious eon- 
duet at the latter, and for a time served as 
Adjutant-General on the staff of General McCler- 
nahd; was promoted Brigadier-General in Sep- 
tember, 1862, at the close of the war receiving 
the brevet rank of Major-General . After the 
close of the war he devoted considerable atten- 
tion to reviving his railroad enterprises in the 
South; edited "The Illinois State Journal," 
1872 73; removed to Wisconsin and was ap- 
pointed Governor of Idaho in 1876, serving four 
years, after which he returned to Ripon, Wis. 
Died, in Kansas City, Feb. 27, 1895. 

BREESE, a village in Clinton County, on 
Baltimore & Ohio S. W. Railway, 39 miles east of 
St. Louis; has coal mines, water system, bank and 
weekly newspaper. Pop. (1890), 808. (1900), 1,571. 

BREESE, Sidney, statesman and jurist, was 
born at Whitesboro, N. Y., (according to the 
generally accepted authority) July 15, 1800. 
Owing to a certain sensitiveness about his age in 
his later years, it has been exceedingly difficult 
to secure authentic data on the subject; but his 
arrival at Kaskaskia in 1818, after graduating at 
Union College, and his admission to the bar in 
1820, have induced many to believe that the date 
of his birth should be placed somewhat earlier. 
He was related to some of the most prominent 
families in New York, including the Livingstons 
and the Morses, and, after his arrival at Kaskas- 
kia, began the study of law with his friend Elias 
Kent Kane, afterwards United States Senator. 
Meanwhile, having served as Postmaster at Kas- 
kaskia, he became Assistant Secretary of Stale. 
and, in December, 1820, superintended the re- 
moval of the archives of that office to Vandalia, 
the new State capital. Later he was appointed 
Prosecuting Attorney, serving in that position 
from 1822 till 1827, when he became United 
States District Attorney for Illinois. He was 
the first official reporter of the Supreme Court, 
issuing its first volume of decisions; served as 
Lieutenant-Colonel of volunteers during the 



60 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



Black Hawk War (1832) ; in 1835 was elected to 
the circuit bench, and, in 1841, was advanced to 
the Supreme bench, serving less than two years, 
when he resigned to accept a seat in the United 
States Senate, to which he was elected in 1843 as 
the successor of Richard M. Young, defeating 
Stephen A. Douglas in the first race of the latter 
for the office. While in the Senate (1843-49) he 
served as Chairman of the Committee on Public 
Lands, and was one of the first to suggest the 
construction o* a transcontinental railway to the 
Pacific. He was also one of the originators and 
active promoters in Congress of the Illinois Cen- 
tral Railroad enterprise. He was Speaker of the 
Illinois House of Representatives in 1851 ; again 
became Circuit Judge in 1855 and returned to 
the Supreme bench in 1857 and served more than 
one term as Chief Justice, the last being in 
1873-74. His home during most of his public life 
in Illinois was at Carlyle. His death occurred 
at Pinckneyville, June 28, 1878. 

BRENTANO, Lorenzo, was born at Mannheim, 
in the Grand Duchy of Baden, Germany, Nov. 
14, 1813; was educated at the Universities of 
Heidelberg and Freiburg, receiving the degree of 
LL.D., and attaining high honors, both profes- 
sional and political. He was successively a 
member of the Baden Chamber of Deputies and 
of the Frankfort Parliament, and always a leader 
of the revolutionist party. In 1849 he became 
President of the Provisional Republican Gov- 
ernment of Baden, but was, before long, forced 
to find an asylum in the United States. He first 
settled in Kalamazoo County, Mich., as a farmer, 
but, in 1859, removed to Chicago, where he was 
admitted to the Illinois bar, but soon entered the 
field of journalism, becoming editor and part 
proprietor of "The Illinois Staats Zeitung." He 
held various public offices, being elected to the 
Legislature in 1862, serving five years as Presi- 
dent of the Chicago Board of Education, was a 
Republican Presidential Elector in 1868, and 
United States Consul at Dresden in 1872 (a gen- 
eral amnesty having been granted to the 
participants in the revolution of 1848), and 
Representative in Congress from 1877 to 1879. 
Died, in Chicago, Sept. 17, 1891. 

BRIDGEPORT, a town of Lawrence County, 
on the Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern Railroad, 
14 miles west of Vincennes, Ind. It has a bank 
and one weekly paper. Population (1900), 487. 

BRIDGEPORT, a former suburb (now a part of 
the city) of Chicago, located at the junction of 
the Illinois & Michigan Canal with the South 
Branch of the Chicago River. It is now the 



center of the large slaughtering and packing 
industry. 

BRIDGEPORT & SOUTH CHICAGO RAIL- 
WAY. (See Chicago & Northern Pacific Railroad.) 

BRIGHTON, a village of Macoupin County, at 
the intersection of the Chicago & Alton and the 
Rock Island and St. Louis branch of the Chicago, 
Burlington & Quincy Railways; coal is mined 
here; has a newspaper. Population (1880), 691; 
(1890), 697; (1900), 660. 

BRIMFIELD, a town of Peoria County, on the 
Buda and Rushville branch of the Chicago, Bur- 
lington & Quincy Railway, 38 miles south of 
Buda; coal-mining and farming are the chief 
industries. It has one weekly paper and a bank. 
Population (1880), 832; (1890), 719; (1900), 677. 

BRISTOL, Frank Milton, clergyman, was born 
in Orleans County, N. Y., Jan. 4, 1851; came 
to Kankakee, 111., in boyhood, and having lost 
his father at 12 years of age, spent the following 
years in various manual occupations until about 
nineteen years of age, when, having been con- 
verted, he determined to devote his life to the 
ministry. Through the aid of a benevolent lady, 
he was enabled to get two years' (1870-72) instruc- 
tion at the Northwestern University, at Evans- 
ton, afterwards supporting himself by preaching 
at various points, meanwhile continuing his 
studies at the University until 1877. After com- 
pleting his course he served as pastor of some of 
the most prominent Methodist churches in Chi- 
cago, his last charge in the State being at Evans- 
ton. In 1897 he was transferred to Washington 
City, becoming pastor of the Metropolitan M. E. 
Church, attended by President McKinley. Dr. 
Bristol is an author of some repute and an orator 
of recognized ability. 

BROADWELL, Norman M., lawyer, was born 
in Morgan County, 111., August 1, 1825; was edu- 
cated in the common schools and at McKendree 
and Illinois Colleges, but compelled by failing 
health to leave college without graduating ; spent 
some time in the book business, then began the 
study of medicine with a view to benefiting his 
own health, but finally abandoned this and, about 
1850, commenced the study of law in the office of 
Lincoln & Herndon at Springfield. Having been 
admitted to the bar, he practiced for a time at 
Pekin, but, in 1854, returned to Springfield, 
where he spent the remainder of his life. In 1860 
he was elected as a Democrat to the House of 
Representatives from Sangamon County, serving 
in the Twenty -second General Assembly. Other 
offices held by him included those of County 
Judge (1863-65) and Mayor of the city of Spring- 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



Gl 



field, to which last position he was twice elected 
(1867 and again in 1869). Judge Broadwell was 
one of the most genial of men, popular, high- 
minded and honorahle in all his dealings. Died, 
in Springfield, Feb. 28, 1893. 

BROOKS, John Havel, educator, was born 
in Oneida County, New York, Dec. 3, 1801 ; 
graduated at Hamilton College, 1828; studied 
three years in the theological department of Yale 
College; was ordained to the Presbyterian min- 
istry in 1831, and came to Illinois in the service 
of the American Home Missionary Society. 
After preaching at Collinsville, Belleville and 
other points, Mr. Brooks, who was a member of 
the celebrated "Yale Band," in 1837 assumed the 
principalship of a Teachers' Seminary at Waverly, 
Morgan County, but three years later removed to 
Springfield, where he established an academy for 
both sexes. Although finally compelled to 
abandon this, he continued teaching with some 
interruptions to within a few years of his death, 
which occurred in 1886. He was one of the Trus- 
tees of Illinois College from its foundation up to 
his death. 

BROSS, William, journalist, was born in Sus- 
sex County, N. J., Nov. 14, 1813, and graduated 
with honors from Williams College in 1838, hav- 
ing previously developed his physical strength 
by much hard work upon the Delaware and 
Hudson Canal, and in the lumbering trade. For 
five years after graduating he was a teacher, and 
settled in Chicago in 1848. Tli3re he first engaged 
in bookselling, but later embarked in journalism. 
His first publication was "The Prairie Herald," a 
religious paper, which was discontinued after 
two years. In 1852, in connection with John L. 
Scripps, he founded "The Democratic Press," 
which was consolidated with "The Tribune" in 
1858, Mr. Bross retaining his connection with the 
new concern. He was always an ardent free- 
soiler, and a firm believer in the great future of 
Chicago and the Noi-thwest. He was an enthusi- 
astic Republican, and, in 1856 and 1860, served as 
an effective campaign orator. In 1864 he was 
the successful nominee of his party for Lieuten- 
ant-Governor. This was his only official position 
outside of a membership in the Chicago Common 
Council in 1855. As a presiding officer, he was 
dignified yet affable, and his impartiality was 
shown by the fact that no appeals were taken 
from his decisions. After quitting public life he 
devoted much time to literary pursuits, deliver- 
ing lectures in various parts of the country. 
Among his best known works are a brief "His- 
tory of Chicago," "History of Camp Douglas," 



and "Tom Quick." Died, in Chicago, Jan. 27, 
1890. 

BROWN, Henry, lawyer and historian, was 
born at Hebron, Tolland County, Conn., May 13, 
1789 — the son of a commissary in the army of 
General Greene of Revolutionary fame; gradu- 
ated at Yale College, and. when of age, removed 
to New York, later studying law at Albany, 
Canandaigua and Batavia, and being admitted to 
the bar about 1813, when he settled down in 
practice at Cooperstown ; in 1*10 was appointed 
Judge of Herkimer County, remaining on the 
bench until about 1824. He then resumed, prac- 
tice at, Cooperstown, continuing until 1836, when 
he removed to Chicago. The following year he 
was elected a Justice of the Peace, serving two 
years, and, in 1842, became Prosecuting Attorney 
of Cook County. During this period he was 
engaged in writing a "History of Illinois," which 
was published in New York in 1844 This was 
regarded at the time as the most voluminous and 
best digested work on Illinois history that had as 
yet been published. In 1846, on assuming the 
Presidency of the Chicago Lyceum, he delivered 
an inaugural entitled "Chicago, Present and 
Future," which is still preserved as a striking 
prediction of Chicago's future greatness. Origi- 
nally a Democrat, he became a Freesoiler in 1848. 
Died of cholera, in Chicago, May 16, 1849. 

BROWN, James B., journalist, was born in 
Gilmanton, Belknap County, N. H., Sept. 1, 
1833 — his father being a member of the Legisla- 
ture and Selectman for his town. The son was 
educated at Gilmanton Academy, after which he 
studied medicine for a time, but did not gradu- 
ate. In 1857 he removed West, first settling at 
Dunleith, Jo Daviess County, 111., where he 
became Principal of the public schools; in 1861 
was elected County Superintendent of Schools 
for Jo Daviess County, removing to Galena two 
years later and assuming the editorship of "The 
Gazette" of that city. Mr. Brown also served as 
Postmaster of Galena for several years. Died, 
Feb. 13, 1896. 

BROWN, James N., agriculturist and stock- 
man, was born in Fayette County, Ky., Oct. 1, 
1806; came to Sangamon County, 111., in 1833, 
locating at Island Grove, where he engaged 
extensively in farming and stock-raising. He 
served as Representative in the General Assem- 
blies of 1840, '42, '46, and '52, and in the last was 
instrumental in securing the incorporation of the 
Illinois State Agricultural Society, of which he 
was chosen the first President, being re-elected in 
1*54. He was one of the most enterprising grow- 



62 



HISTOEICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OE ILLINOIS 



ers of blooded cattle in the State and did much to 
introduce them in Central Illinois ; was also an 
earnest and influential advocate of scientific 
education for the agricultural classes and an 
efficient colaborer with Prof. J. B. Turner, of 
Jacksonville, in securing the enactment by Con- 
gress, in 1863; of the law granting lands for the 
endowment of Industrial Colleges, out of which 
grew the Illinois State University and institu- 
tions of like character in other States. Died. 
Nov. 16, 1S6S. 

BEOW>~. "William, lawyer and jurist, was born 
June 1, 1819.. in Cumberland. England, his par- 
ents emigrating to this country when he was 
eight years old, and settling in "Western Xew 
York. He was admitted to the bar at Eochester, 
in October. 1845, and at once removed to Rock- 
ford, HI, where he commenced practice. In 1852 
he was elected State's Attorney for the Four- 
teenth Judicial Circuit, and. in 1857, was chosen 
Mayor of Eockford. In 1ST0 he was elected to 
the bench of the Circuit Court as successor to 
Judge Sheldon, later was promoted to the Su- 
preme Court, and was re-elected successively in 
1873, in '79 and "So. Died, at Eockford, Jan. 15, 
1891. 

BROWN, "William H.. lawyer and financier, 
was born in Connecticut. Dec. 20, 1T96 ; spent- 
his boyhood at Auburn. X. Y. . studied law. and, 
in 1818, came to Illinois with Samuel D. Lock- 
wood (afterwards a Justice of the State Supreme 
Court), descending the Ohio Eiver to Shawnee- 
town in a flat-boat. Mr, Brown visited Kaskas- 
kia and was soon after appointed Clerk of the 
United States District Court by Judge Nathaniel 
Pope, removing, in 1820. to Yandalia. the new 
State capital, where he remained until 1835. He 
then removed to Chicago to accept the position of 
Cashier of the Chicago branch of the State Bank 
of Illinois, which he continued to fill for many 
years. He served the city as School Agent for 
thirteen years (1840-53), managing the city's 
school fund through a critical period with great 
discretion and success. He was one of the group 
of early patriots who successfully resisted the 
attempt to plant slavery in Illinois in 1823-24; 
was also one of the projectors of the Chicago & 
Galena Union Eailroad, was President of the 
Chicago Historical Society for seven years and 
connected with many other local enterprise:-. 
He was an ardent personal friend of President 
Lincoln and served as Eepresentative in the 
Twenty-second General Assembly (1860-62). 
While making a tour of Europe he died of paraly- 
sis at Amsterdam, June 17. 1867. 



BEOWN COFNTT, situated in the western 
part of the State, with an area of 300 square 
miles, and a population (1890) of 11.951: was cut 
off from Schuyler and made a separate county in 
May, 1S39, being named in honor of Gen. Jacob 
Brown. Among the pioneer settlers were the 
Yandeventers and Hanibaugbs. John and David 
Six, William McDaniel, Jeremiah Walker, 
Willis O'Xeil, Harry Lester, John Ausmus and 
Eobert H. Curry. The county-seat is Mount 
Sterling, a town of no little attractiveness. 
Other prosperous villages are Mound Station and 
Eipley. The chief occupation of the people is 
farming, although there is some manufacturing 
of lumber and a few potteries along the Illinois 
Eiver. Population 1 1900 >, 11.557. 

BE0W>T. Francis Fisher, editor and author, 
was born in South Halifax. Vt., Dec. 1, 1843, the 
son of Williani Goldsmith Browne, who was a 
teacher, editor and author of the song "A Hun- 
dred Years to Come." In childhood he was 
brought by his parents to Western Massachusetts, 
where he attended the public schools and learned 
the printing trade in his father's newspaper 
office at Chicopee. Mass. Leaving school in 1863, 
he enlisted in the Forty-sixth Eegiment Massa- 
chusetts Volunteers, in which he served one 
year, chiefly in North Carolina and in the Arrnv 
of the Potomac. On the discharge of his regi- 
ment he engaged in the study of law at Eoches- 
ter. X. Y=, entering the law department of the 
University of Michigan in 1866, but abandoning 
his intenton of entering the legal profession, 
removed to Chicago in 1867, where he engaged in 
journalistic and literary pursuits. Between 1869 
and '71 he was editor of "The Lakeside Monthly, " 
when he became fit erary editor of "The Alliance." 
but, in 1880, he established and assumed the 
editorship of "The Dial," a purely literary pub- 
lication which has gained a high reputation, and 
of which he has remained in control continuously 
ever since, meanwhile serving as the literary 
adviser, for many years, of the well-known pub- 
lishing house of McClurg & Co. Besides his 
journalistic work, Mr. Browne has contributed 
to the magazines and literary anthologies a num- 
ber of short lyrics, and is the author of "The 
Everyday Life of Abraham Lincoln" (1S86), and 
a volume of poems entitled, 'Yolunteer Grain" 
(1893). He also compiled and edited "Golden 
Poems by British and American Authors" (1881); 
"The Golden Treasury of Poetry and Prose" 
(1886), anrl the "Laurel Crowned' 'series of stand- 
ard poetry (1891-92). Mr. Browne was Chairman 
of the Committee of the Congress of Authors in 



HISTORICAL KXi V* Ij'I'EDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



63 



the World's e ss Auxiliary held in 

nection with The Columbian Exposition in 

BROWNE, Thoiua- 1 .. was i>orn in 

Kentucky, studied law there and. coming 

- . - in the lower branch 

of the Second Territorial Legislature <l s 14-10 
and in the Council - 18 eing ;'.ie tir>t law- 
yer to enter that body. In 1815 he was a; 
Prosecuting Atton I, on the admission of 

Illii is as Stal was promoted to the Supreme 
bench, being re-el y joint ballot of the 

L - - iture in 1825, and serving continuously 
until the reorganizati the Su] reme Court 

under the Constitution oi 3 1 period of over 
thirty v. its Browne's judicial character 

and abilities have been differently estimated. 
Though lacking in industry as a student, he is 
represented by the lal - John D. Caton, 

knew him personally, as a close thinker 
. _ idg men. Whil - I :n, if ever, 

stions in the conference 

room or write out his opinions, he had a capacity 

a himseb short, pungent 

- which indicated that he was a man of con- 

rable ability and had clear and distinct \ 

of his own. An attempt was made to impeach 

him before the Legislature of 1843 '"for want of 

the duties of his off. 

but it failed by an almost unanimous He 

ig in politics, but had some - 2 sup- 

• -rs among Democrats. In 1822 Judge Browne 

- one of the four candi lates for Governor — in 

a third on the list and, by 
dividing the vote of th< - »f a pro-slavery 

clause in tl. S Constitution, contributing 

the election of Governor Coles and the defeat 1 »f 
the pro-slavery party. See Coles, Edward, and 
try and Slave Lairs. In the latter part of 
fficial term Judge Brow si led at Ga- 

lena, but. in 1853, removed with his son-in-law, 
a ss man Joseph P. H oge San Fran- 

- . Cal.. where he died a few years la; — 
probably about 1S56 or 1858 

BROWNING, Orrffle Hickman, lawyer. United 
Stat-- S ktor and Attorney-General, was born 
in Ha it. inty. Ky. . in 1810. After receiv- 

ing a classical education at Augusta in his native 
he removed to Quincy, 111., and was 
r in 18 
in the Black Hawk War. and from 18 

1 member of the Legislatui 
houses. A personal friend and political adherent 
of Abraham Lincoln, he aided in the organization 
of the Republican party at the memorable 



n Convention of 1856. As a delegate 
to the Chi. nvention i: 31 he aided in 

ring Mr. Lincoln's nominati 
spicuous supporter of the Government in the 
Civil War. In 1861 he was appointed by ' 

■ - ted S - r to till Senator 

Douglas" unexpired term, serving until lN'>:i In 

3 i he became Secretary of the Interior by ap- 

itment of President John- r a time 

discharging the duties of Attorney-General 

Returning to Illinois, he was elected a membt 

the Constitutional Convention ot - . which 

was his last participation in public affairs, his 

time thereafter bei - his profession. 

lied at his home in Quincy, 111.. August 1". 

38 

BRYAN, >ilas Lillar.l. legislator and jivrist, 

in Culpepper County, Va.. Nov. 4. 1832; was 

rphan at an early age, and came west in 

a time with a brother near Troy, 

The following year he came to Marion 

111., where he attended school and 

work a farm; in 1845 entered McKen 

a bduating in 1849, and two years later 
was admitted to the bar. supi>orting himself 
meanwhile by teaching. He settled at Salem 
111., and. in l s ""2. was elecl - a Democrat to 

the Stab 3 ite, in which body he served for 
being re-elected in 1856. In 1861 he 
was elecl the bench of t S nd Judicial 

Circuit, and again chosen in 1867 5 s 

. expiring in 1873. While serving as Ju 

he was also elected a Delegate to the Constitu- 

J Convention of 18 He was an unsuc- 

ul candidate for Congress on the Gre 

tick- 372. Died at Salem, March 30, 1880.— 

William Jennings Bryan), son of the preceding, 

- born at Salem, 111.. March 19, 1860. The & 
life of young Bryan \ :it on his father's 

farm, but at the age of ten years he began to 
attend the public school in town: later .-jM^nt two 
a Whipple Academy, the preparatory 
department of Illi Liege at Jacksonville, 

and. in 188 iduated from the college proper as 

the valedictorian of his Then lie dev< 

two years to the study of law in the Union Law 
olatCl meanwhile acting as clerk and 

studying in the law office of • - itor Lyman 
Trumbull. Ila . in law in 1883, he 

soon entered upon the practice of his profe.— 
at Jacksonville as the j»artner of Judge E. P. 
Kirby, a well-known lawyer and prominent 

• hat city. Four years Liter | ' 
found him a citizen of Lincoln, Neb., which has 
home He took a prominent part 



64 



HISTOEICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



in the politics of Nebraska, stumping the State 
for the Democratic nominees in 1888 and '89, and 
in 1890 received the Democratic nomination for 
Congress in a district which had been regarded 
as strongly Republican, and was elected by a 
large majority. Again, in 1892, he was elected 
by a reduced majority, but two years later 
declined a renomination, though proclaiming 
himself a free-silver candidate for the United 
States Senate, meanwhile officiating as editor of 
"The Omaha World-Herald." In July, 1896, he 
received the nomination for President from the 
Democratic National Convention at Chicago, on 
a platform declaring for the "free and unlimited 
coinage of silver" at the ratio of sixteen of silver 
(in weight) to one of gold, and a few weeks later 
was nominated by the "Populists" at St. Louis 
for the same office — being the youngest man ever 
put in nomination for the Presidency in the his- 
tory of the Government. He conducted an 
active personal campaign, speaking in nearly 
every Northern and Middle Western State, but 
was defeated by his Republican opponent, Maj. 
William McKinley. Mr. Bryan is an easy and 
fluent speaker, possessing a voice of unusual 
compass and power, and is recognized, even by 
his political opponents, as a man of pure personal 
character. 

BRYAN, Thomas Barbour, lawyer and real 
estate operator, was born at Alexandria, Va., 
Dec. 22, 1828, being descended on the maternal 
side from the noted Barbour family of that 
State ; graduated in law at Harvard, and, at the 
age of twenty-one, settled in Cincinnati. In 
1852 he came to Chicago, where he acquired ex- 
tensive real estate interests and built Bryan 
Hall, which became a popular place for en- 
tertainments. Being a gifted speaker, as well 
as a zealous Unionist, Mr. Bryan was chosen 
to deliver the address of welcome to Senator 
Douglas, when that statesman returned to 
Chicago a few weeks before his death in 1861. 
During the progress of the war he devoted his 
time and his means most generously to fitting out 
soldiers for the field and caring for the sick and 
wounded. His services as President of the great 
Sanitary Fair in Chicago (1865), where some 
8300,000 were cleared for disabled soldiers, were 
especially conspicuous. At this time he became 
the purchaser (at S3, 000) of the original copy of 
President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, 
which had been donated to the cause. He also 
rendered valuable service after the fire of 1871, 
though a heavy sufferer from that event, and was 
a leading factor in securing the location of the 



World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1890, 
later becoming Vice-President of the Board of 
Directors and making a visit to Europe in the 
interest of the Fair. After the war Mr. Bryan 
resided in Washington for some time, and, by 
appointment of President Hayes, served as Com- 
missioner of the District of Columbia. Possessing 
refined literary and artistic tastes, he has done 
much for the encouragement of literature and 
art in Chicago. His home is in the suburban 
village of Elmhurst. — Charles Page (Bryan), son 
of the preceding, lawyer and foreign minister, 
was born in Chicago, Oct. 2, 1855, and educated 
at the University of Virginia and Columbia Law 
School; was admitted to practice in 1878, and 
the following year removed to Colorado, where 
he remained four years, while there serving in 
both Houses of the State Legislature. In 1883 he 
returned to Chicago and became a member of the 
First Regiment of the Illinois National Guard, 
serving upon the staff of both Governor Oglesby 
and Governor Fifer; in 1890, was elected to the 
State Legislature from Cook County, being re- 
elected in 1892, and in 1894; was also the first 
Commissioner to visit Europe in the interest of 
the World's Columbian Exposition, on his return 
serving as Secretary of the Exposition Commis- 
sioners in 1891-92. In the latter part of 1897 he 
was appointed by President McKinley Minister 
to China, but before being confirmed, early in 
1898, was assigned to the United States mission to 
the Republic of Brazil, where he now is, Hon. 
E. H. Conger of Iowa, who had previously been 
appointed to the Brazilian mission, being trans- 
ferred to Pekin. 

BRYAJJT, John Howard, pioneer, brother of 
William Cullen Bryant, the poet, was born in 
Cummington, Mass., July 22, 1807, educated at 
the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, 
N. Y, ; removed to Illinois in 1831, and held vari- 
ous offices in Bureau County, including that of 
Representative in the General Assembly, to which 
he was elected in 1842, and again in 1858. A 
practical and enterprising farmer, he was identi- 
fied with the Illinois State Agricultural Society 
in its early history, as also with the movement 
which resulted in the establishment of industrial 
colleges in the various States. He was one of the 
founders of the Republican party and a warm 
personal friend of President Lincoln, being a 
member of the first Republican State Convention 
at Bloomington in 1856, and serving as Collector 
of Internal Revenue by appointment of Mr. Lin- 
coln in 1862-64. In 1872 Mr. Bryant joined in the 
Liberal Republican movement at Cincinnati, two 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



65 



years later was identified with the "Independent 
Reform" party, but has since cooperated with 
the Democratic party. He has produced two 
volumes of poems, published, respectively, in 1855 
and 1885, besides a number of public addresses. 
His home is at Princeton, Bureau County. 

BUCK, Hiram, clergyman, was born in Steu- 
ben County, N. Y., in 1818; joined the Illinois 
Methodist Episcopal Conference in 1843, and con- 
tinued in its service for nearly fifty years, being 
much of the time a Presiding Elder. At his 
death he bequeathed a considerable sum to the 
endowment funds of the "Wesleyan University at 
Bloomington and the Illinois Conference College 
at Jacksonville Died at Decatur, 111., August 
22, 1892. 

BUDA,a village in Bureau County, at the junc- 
tion of the main line with the Buda and Rush- 
ville branch of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy 
Railroad, and the Sterling and Peoria branch of 
the Chicago & Northwestern, 12 miles southwest 
of Princeton and 117 miles west-southwest of 
Chicago; has excellent water-works, electric- 
light plant, brick and tile factory, fine churches, 
graded school, a bank and one newspaper 
Dairying is carried on quite extensively and a 
good-sized creamery is located here. Population 
(1890), 990; (1900), 873. 

BUFORI), Napoleon Bonaparte, banker and 
soldier, was born in Woodford County, Ky., Jan. 
13, 1807 ; graduated at West Point Military Acad- 
emy, 1827, and served for some time as Lieutenant 
of Artillery; entered Harvard Law School in 
1831, served as Assistant Professor of Natural and 
Experimental Philosophy there (1834-35), then 
resigned his commission, and, after some service 
as an engineer upon public works in Kentucky, 
established himself as an iron-founder and banker 
at Rock Island, 111., in 1857 becoming President 
of the Rock Island & Peoria Railroad. In 18G1 
he entered the volunteer service, as Colonel of 
the Twenty-seventh Illinois, serving at various 
points in Western Kentucky and Tennessee, as 
also in the siege of Vicksburg, and at Helena, 
Ark., where he was in command from Septem- 
ber, 1863, to March, 1865. In the meantime, by 
promotion, he attained to the rank of Major- 
General by brevet, being mustered out in August . 
1865. He subsequently held the post of Special 
United States Commissioner of Indian Affairs 
(1868), and that of Inspector of the Union Pacific 
Railroad (1867-69). Died, March 28, 1883. 

BULKLEY, (Rev.) Justus, educator, was born 
at Leicester, Livingston County, N. Y., July 23, 
1819, taken to Allegany County, N. Y., at 3 



years of age, where he remained until 17, attend- 
ing school in a log school-house in the winter and 
working on a farm in the summer. His family 
then removed to Illinois, finally locating at 
Barry, Pike County. In 1842 he entered the 
preparatory department of Shurtleff College at 
Upper Alton, graduating there in 1847. He was 
immediately made Principal of the preparatory 
department, remaining two years, when he was 
ordained to the Baptist ministry and became 
pastor of a church at Jerseyville. Four years 
later he was appointed Professor of Mathematics 
in Shurtleff College, but remained only two 
years, when he accepted the pastorship of a 
church at Carrollton, which he continued to fill 
nine years, when, in 1864, he was called to a 
church at Upper Alton. At the expiration of 
one year he was again called to a professorship 
in Shurtleff College, this time taking the chair of 
Church History and Church Polity, which he 
continued to fill for a period of thirty-four years; 
also serving for a time as Acting President dur 
ing a vacancy in that office. During this period 
he was frequently called upon to preside as Mod- 
erator at General Associations of the Baptist 
Church, and he became widely known, not only 
in that denomination, but elsewhere. Died at 
Upper Alton, Jan. 16, 1899. 

BULL, Lorenzo, banker, Quincy, 111., was born 
in Hartford, Conn., March 21, 1819, being the 
eldest son of Lorenzo and Elizabeth Goodwin 
Bull. His ancestors on both sides were of the 
party who, under Thomas Hooker, moved from 
the vicinity of Boston and settled Hartford in 
1634. Leaving Hartford in the spring of 1833, he 
arrived at Quincy, 111., entirely without means, 
but soon after secured a position with Judge 
Henry H. Snow, who then held most of the 
county offices, being Clerk of the County Com- 
missioners' Court, Clerk of the Circuit Court, 
Recorder, Judge of Probate, Notary Public and 
Justice of the Peace. Here the young clerk 
made himself acquainted with the people of the 
county (at that time few in number), with the 
land-system of the country and with the legal 
forms and methods of procedure in the courts. 
He remained with Judge Snow over two years. 
receiving for his services, the first year, six dol- 
lars per month, ami, for the second, ten dollars 
per month, besides his board in Judge Snow's 
family. He next accepted a situation with 
Messrs. Holmes, Brown & Co., then one of the 
most prominent mercantile houses of the city, 
remaining through various changes of the firm 
until 1S44, when he formed a partnership with 



66 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



his brother under the firm name of L. & C. II. 
Bull, and opened a store for the sale of hardware 
and crockery, which was the first attempt made 
in Quincy to separate the mercantile business 
into different departments. Disposing of their 
business in 1861, the firm of L. & C. H. Bull 
embarked in the private banking business, which 
they continued in one location for about thirty 
years, when they organized the State Savings 
Loan & Trust Company, in which he held the 
position of President until 1898, when he retired. 
Mr. Bull has always been active in promoting the 
improvement and growth of the city ; was one of 
the five persons who built most of the horse rail- 
roads in Quincy, and was, for about twenty years, 
President of the Company. The Quincy water- 
works are now (1898) owned entirely by himself 
and his son. He has never sought or held political 
office, but at one time was the active President of 
five distinct business corporations. He was also 
for some five years one of the Trustees of Illinois 
College at Jacksonville. He was married in 1844 
to Miss Margaret H. Benedict, daughter of Dr. 
Wm. M. Benedict, of Milbury, Mass., and they 
have five children now living. In politics he is a 
Republican, and his religious associations are with 
the Congregational Church. — Charles Henry 
(Bull), brother of the preceding, was born in 
Hartford, Conn., Dec. 16. 1822, and removed 
to Quincy, 111., in June, 1837. He commenced 
business as a clerk in a general store, where 
he remained for seven years, when he entered 
into partnership with his brother, Lorenzo Bull, 
in the hardware and crockery business, to 
which was subsequently added dealing in 
agricultural implements. This business was 
continued until the year 1861, when it was 
sold out, and the brothers established them- 
selves as private bankers under the same firm 
name. A few years later they organized the 
Merchants' and Farmers' National Bank, which 
was mainly owned and altogether managed by 
them. Five or six years later this bank was 
wound up, when they returned to private bank- 
ing, continuing in this business until 1891, when 
it was merged in the State Savings Loan & 
Trust Company, organized under the laws of 
Illinois with a capital of $300,000, held equally 
by Lorenzo Bull, Charles H. Bull and Edward J. 
Parker, respectively, as President, Vice-Presi- 
dent and Cashier. Near the close of 1898 the 
First National Bank of Quincy was merged into 
the State Savings Loan & Trust Company with 
J. H. Warfield, the President of the former, as 
President of the consolidated concern. Mr. Bull 



was one of the parties who originally organized 
the Quincy, Missouri & Pacific Railroad Com- 
pany in 1869 —a road intended to be built from 
Quincy, 111., across the State of Missouri to 
Brownsville, Neb., and of which he is now 
(1898) the President, the name having been 
changed to the Quincy, Omaha & Kansas City 
Railway. He was also identified with the con- 
struction of the system of street railways in 
Quincy, and continued active in their manage- 
ment for about twenty years. He has been 
active in various other public and private enter- 
prises, and has done much to advance the growth 
and prosperity of the city. 

BUNKER HILL, a city of Macoupin County, on 
the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis 
Railroad, 37 miles northeast of St. Louis; has 
electric-lighting plant, telephone service, coal 
mine, flouring mill, wagon and various other 
manufactories, two banks, two newspapers, opera 
house, numerous churches, public library, a mili- 
tary academy and fine public schools, and many 
handsome residences ; is situated on high ground 
in a rich agricultural and dairying region and an 
important shipping-point. Pop. (1900), 1,279. 

BUNN, Jacob, banker and manufacturer, was 
born in Hunterdon County, N. J., in 1814; came 
to Springfield in 1836, and, four years later, began 
business as a grocer, to which he afterwards 
added that of private banking, continuing until 
1878. During a part of this time his bank was 
one of the best known and widely regarded as 
one of the most solid institutions of its kind in 
the State. Though crippled by the financial 
revulsion of 1873-74 and forced investments in 
depreciated real estate, he paid dollar for dollar. 
After retiring from banking in 187S, he assumed 
charge of the Springfield Watch Factoiy, in 
which he was a large stockholder, and of which 
he became the President. Mr. Bunn was, be- 
tween 1866 and 1870, a principal stockholder in 
"The Chicago Republican" (the predecessor of 
"The Inter-Ocean"), and was one of the bankers 
who came to the aid of the State Government with 
financial assistance at the beginning of the Civil 
War. Died at Springfield, Oct. 16, 1897.— John W. 
(Bunn), brother of the preceding and successor 
to the grocery business of J. & J. W. Bunn, has 
been a prominent business man of Springfield, 
and served as Treasurer of the State Agricultural 
Board from 1858 to 1898, and of the Illinois Uni- 
versity from its establishment to 1S93. 

BTJNSEN, George, German patriot and educa- 
tor, was born at Frankfort-on-the-Maine, Ger- 
many, Feb. 18, 1794, and educated in his native 



HISTORICAL EXCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



city and at Berlin University; while still a 
student took part in the Peninsular War which 
resulted in the downfall of Napoleon, but resum- 
ing his studies in 1816, graduated three years 
later. He then founded a boys' school at Frank- 
fort, which he maintained fourteen years, when, 
having been implicated in the republican revolu 
tion of 1S33. he was forced to leave the country, 
locating the following year on a farm in St. Clair 
County, 111. Here he finally became a teacher in 
the public schools, served in the State Constitu- 
tional Convention of 1847. was elected School 
Commissioner of St. Clair County, and, having 
removed to Belleville in 1855, there conducted a 
private school for the instruction of teachers 
while discharging the duties of his office; later 
was appointed a member of the first State School 
Board, serving until i860, and taking part in the 
establishment of the Illinois State Normal Uni 
versity, of which he was a zealous advocate. He 
was also a contributor to "The Illinois Teacher.*' 
and, for several years prior to his death, served 
as Superintendent of Schools at Belleville without 
compensation. Died, November, 1872. 

BURCHARD, Horatio C, ex -Congressman, was 
born at Marshall, Oneida County. N. Y., Sept. 22, 
1825; graduated at Hamilton College, N. Y., in 
1850, and later removed to Stephenson County, 
111., making his home at Freeport. By profes- 
sion he is a lawyer, but he has been also largely 
interested in mercantile pursuits. From 1857 to 
1860 he was School Commissioner of Stephenson 
County ; from 1863 to 1866 a member of the State 
Legislature, and from 1869 to 1879 a Representa- 
tive in Congress, being each time elected as a 
Republican, for the first time as the successor of 
E. B. "Washburne. After retiring from Congress, 
he served for six years (1879-85) as Director of the 
United States Mint at Philadelphia, with marked 
ability. During the "World's Columbian Exposi- 
tion at Chicago (1893), Mr. Burchard was in 
charge of the Bureau of Awards in connection 
with the Mining Department, afterwards resum- 
ing the practice of his profession at Freeport. 

BURDETTE, Robert Jones, journalist and 
humorist, was born in Greensborough, Pa., July 
30, 1844. and taken to Peoria. 111., in early life, 
where he was educated in the public schools. In 
1862 he enlisted as a private in the Forty-seventh 
Illinois Volunteers and served to the end of the 
war; adopted journalism in 1869, being employ, 1 
upon "The Peoria Transcript" and other papers 
of that city. Later he became associated with 
"The Burlington (Iowa) Hawkeye." upon which 
he gained a wide reputation as a genial humor- 



ist. Several volumes of his sketches have beer 
published, but in recent years he has devoted hi- 
attention chiefly to lecturing, with occasional 
contributions to the literary press 

BUREAU COUNTY, set off from Putnam 
County in 1*37. near the center of the northern 
half of the State, Princeton being made the 
county-seat. Coal had been discovered in 1834, 
there being considerable quantities mined at 
Mineral and Selby. Sheffield also has an impor- 
tant coal trade. Public lands were offered t'.ir sale 
as early as 1835, and by l s 44 liad been nearly all 
sold. Princeton was platted in 1832, and. in I - 
contained a population of 3,396. The county has 
an area of 870 square miles, and. according to the 
census of 1900, a population of 41,112. The pio- 
neer settler was Henry Thomas, who erected the 
first cabin, in Bureau township, in 1828. He was 
soon followed by the Ament brothers (Edward. 
Justus and John L. ) , and for a time settlers came 
in rapid succession, among the earliest being 
Amos Leonard, Daniel Dimmick, John Hall. 
William Hoskins, Timothy Perkins, Leonard 

Roth, Bulbona and John Dixon. Serious 

Indian disturbances in 1831 caused a hegira of 
the settlers, some of whom never returned. In 
1833 a fort was erected for the protection of the 
whites, and, in 1836, there began a new and large 
influx of immigrants. Among other early set- 
tlers were John H. and Arthur Bryant, brothers 
of the poet. "William Cullen Bryant. 

BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS, estab- 
lished in 1^79, being an outgrowth of the agitation 
and discontent among the laboring classes, which 
culminated in 1 ^TT-TS. The Board consists of 
five Commissioners, who serve for a nominal 
compensation, their term of office being two 
years. They are nominated by the Executive 
and confirmed by the Senate. The law requires 
that three of them shall be manual laborers and 
two employers of manual labor. The Bureau is 
charged with the collection, compilation and 
tabulation of statistics relative to labor in Illi- 
nois, particularly in its relation to the commer- 
cial, industrial, social, educational and sanitary 
conditions of the working classes. The Com- 
mission is required to submit biennial reports. 
Those already published contain much informa- 
tion of value concerning coal and lead mines, 
convict labor, manufactures, strikes and lock- 
outs, wages, rent, cost of living, mortgage 
indebtedness, and kindred topics. 

BURGESS. Alexander. Protestant Episcopal 
Bishop of the diocese of Quincy, was born at 
Providence. R. I.. Oct. 31. 1819 He graduated 



68 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



from Brown University in 1838 and from the 
General Theological Seminary (New York) in 
1841. He was made a Deacon, Nov. 3, 1842, and 
ordained a priest, Nov. 1, 1843. Prior to his ele- 
vation to the episcopate he was rector of various 
parishes in Maine, at Brooklyn, N. Y., and at 
Springfield, Mass. He represented the dioceses 
of Maine, Long Island and Massachusetts in the 
General Conventions of the Protestant Episcopal 
Church from 1844 to 1877, and, in the latter year, 
was President of the House of Deputies. Upon 
the death of his brother George, Bishop of Maine, 
he was chosen by the clergy of the diocese to suc- 
ceed him but declined. When the diocese of 
Quincy. 111. was created, he was elected its first 
Bishop, and consecrated at Christ Church, Spring- 
field, Mass., on May 15, 1878. Besides publishing 
a memoir of his brother. Bishop Burgess is the 
author of several Sunday-school question books, 
carols and hymns, and has been a contributor to 
periodical church literature. His residence is at 
Peoria. 

BURLEY, Arthur Oilman, merchant, was born 
at Exeter, N. H., Oct. 4, 1812, received his edu- 
cation in the local schools, and, in 1835, came 
West, locating in Chicago. For some two years 
he served as clerk in the boot, shoe and clothing 
store of John Holbrook, after which he accepted 
a position with his half-brother, Stephen F. Gale, 
the proprietor of the first book and stationery 
store in Chicago. In 1838 he invested his savings 
in a bankrupt stock of crockery, purchased from 
the old State Bank, and entered upon a business 
career which was continued uninterruptedly for 
nearly sixty years. In that time Mr. Burley 
built up a business which, for its extent and 
success, was unsurpassed in its time in the West. 
His brother in-law, Mr. John Tyrrell, became a 
member of the firm in 1852, the business there- 
after being conducted under the name of Burley 
& Tyrrell, with Mr. Burley as President of the 
Company until his death, which occurred, August 

27, 1897.— Augustus Harris (Burley), brother of 
the preceding, was born at Exeter, N. H., March 

28, 1819 ; was educated in the schools of his native 
State, and, in his youth, was employed for a 
time as a clerk in Boston. In 1837 he came to 
Chicago and took a position as clerk or salesman 
in the book and stationery store of his half- 
brother, Stephen F. Gale, subsequently became a 
partner, and, on the retirement of Mr. Gale a 
few years later, succeeded to the control of the 
business. In 1857 he disposed of his book and 
stationery business, and about the same time 
became one of the founders of the Merchants' 



Loan and Trust Company, with which he has 
been connected as a Director ever since. Mr. 
Burley was a member of the volunteer fire depart- 
ment organized in Chicago in 1841 Among the 
numerous public positions held by him may be 
mentioned, member of the Board of PublicWorks 
(1867-70), the first Superintendent of Lincoln Park 
(1869), Representative from Cook County in the 
Twenty-seventh General Assembly (1870-72), City 
Comptroller during the administration of Mayor 
Medill (1872-73), and again under Mayor Roche 
(1887), and member of the City Council (1881-82). 
Politically, Mr. Burley has been a zealous Repub- 
lican and served on the Chicago Union Defense 
Committee in the first year of the Civil War, and 
was a delegate from the State-at-large to the 
National Republican Convention at Baltimore in 
1864, which nominated Abraham Lincoln for the 
Presidency a second time. 

BTJRNHAM, Daniel Hudson, architect, was 
born at Henderson, N. Y., Sept. 4, 1846; came to 
Chicago at 9 years of age; attended private 
schools and the Chicago High School, after which 
he spent two years at Waltham, Mass. , receiving 
special instruction ; returning to Chicago in 1867, 
he was afterwards associated with various firms. 
About 1873 he formed a business connection with 
J. W. Root, architect, which extended to the 
death of the latter in 1891. The firm of Burnham 
& Root furnished the plans of a large number of 
the most conspicuous business buildings in Chi- 
cago, but won their greatest distinction in con- 
nection with the construction of buildings for the 
World's Columbian Exposition, of which Mr. 
Root was Supervising Architect previous to his 
death, while Mr. Burnham was made Chief of 
Construction and, later, Director of Works. In 
this capacity his authority was almost absolute, 
but was used with a discretion that contributed 
greatly to the success of the enterprise. 

BURR, Albert G., former Congressman, was 
born in Genesee County, N. Y., Nov. 8, 1829; 
came to Illinois about 1832 with his widowed 
mother, who settled in Springfield. In early life 
he became a citizen of Winchester, where he read 
law and was admitted to the bar, also, for a time, 
following the occupation of a printer. Here he 
was twice elected to the lower house of the Gen- 
eral Assembly (1860 and 1862), meanwhile serving 
as a member of the State Constitutional Conven- 
tion of 1862. Having removed to Carrollton, 
Greene County, he was elected as a Democrat to 
the Fortieth and Forty-first Congresses (1866 and 
1868), serving until March 4, 1871. In August, 
1877, he was elected Circuit Judge to fill a 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



G9 



vacancy and was re-elected for the regular term 
in June, 1879, but died in office, June 10, 1882. 

BURRELL, Orlando, member of Congress, was 
born in Bradford County, Pa.; removed with his 
parents to White County, 111., in 1834, growing 
up on a farm near Carmi; received a common 
school education; in 1850 went to California, 
driving an ox-team across the plains. Soon after 
the beginning of the Civil War (1861) he raised a 
company of cavalry, of which he was elected 
Captain, and which became a part of the First 
Regiment Illinois Cavalry; served as County 
Judge from 1873 to 1881, and was elected Sheriff 
in 1886. In 1894 he was elected Representative 
in Congress as a Republican from the Twentieth 
District, composed of counties which formerly 
constituted a large part of the old Nineteenth 
District, and which had uniformly been repre- 
sented by a Democrat. He suffered defeat as a 
candidate for re-election in 1896. 

BURROUGHS, John Curtis, clergyman and 
educator, was born in Stamford, N. Y. , Dec. 7, 
1818; graduated at Yale College in 1842, and 
Madison Theological Seminary in 1846. After 
five years spent as pastor of Baptist churches at 
Waterford and West Troy, N. Y., in 1852 he 
assumed the pastorate of the First Baptist Church 
of Chicago ; about 1856. was elected to the presi- 
dency of the Chicago University, then just 
established, having previously declined the 
presidency of Shurtleff College at Upper Alton. 
Resigning his position in 1874, he soon after 
became a member of the Chicago Board of Edu- 
cation, and, in 1884, was elected Assistant Super- 
intendent of Public Schools of that city, serving 
until his death, April 21, 1892. 

BUSEY, Samuel T., banker and ex-Congress- 
man, was born at Greencastle, Ind., Nov. 16, 
1835; in infancy was brought by his parents to 
Urbana, 111., where he was educated and has 
since resided. From 1857 to 1859 he was engaged 
in mercantile pursuits, but during 1860-61 
attended a commercial college and read law. In 
1862 he was chosen Town Collector, but resigned 
to enter the Union Army, being commissioned 
Second Lieutenant by Governor Yates, and 
assigned to recruiting service. Having aided in 
the organization of the Seventy-sixth Illinois 
Volunteers, he was commissioned its Lieutenant- 
Colonel, August 12, 1862 ; was afterward promoted 
to the colonelcy, and mustered out of service at 
Chicago, August 6, 1865, with the rank of Brevet 
Brigadier-General. In 1866 he was an unsuccess- 
ful candidate for the General Assembly on the 
Democratic ticket and for Trustee of the State 



University in 1888. From 1880 to 1889 he was 
Mayor and President of the Board of Education 
of Urbana. In 1867 he opened a private bank, 
which he conducted for twenty-one years. In 
1890 he was elected to Congress from the Fif- 
teenth Illinois District, defeating Joseph G. Can 
non, Republican, by whom he was in turn 
defeated for the same office in 1892. 

BUSHNELL, a flourishing city and manufac- 
turing center in McDonough County, 11 miles 
northeast of Macomb, at the junction or" two 
branches of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy 
with the Toledo, Peoria & Western Railroads ; &as 
numerous manufactories, including wooden 
pumps, flour, agricultural implements, wagons 
and carriages, tank and fence-work, rural mail- 
boxes, mattresses, brick, besides egg and poultry 
packing houses; also has water- works and elec- 
tric lights, grain elevators, three banks, several 
churches, graded public and high schools, two 
newspapers and a public library. Pop. (1900), 2,490. 

BUSHNELL, Nehemiah, lawyer, was born in 
the town of Westbrook, Conn., Oct. 9, 1813; 
graduated at Yale College in 1835, studied law 
and was admitted to the bar in 1837, coming in 
December of the same year to Quincy, 111. , where, 
for a time, he assisted in editing "The Whig" 
of that city, later forming a partnership witli 
O. H. Browning, which was never fully broken 
until his death. In his practice he gave much 
attention to land titles in the "Military Tract" ; 
in 1851 was President of the portion of the North- 
ern Cross Railroad between Quincy and Gales- 
burg (now a part of the Chicago, Burlington & 
Quincy), and later of the Quincy Bridge Company 
and the Quincy & Palmyra (Mo.) Railroad. In 
1872 he was elected by the Republicans the 
"minority" Representative from Adams County 
in the Twenty-eighth General Assembly,, but 
died during the succeeding session, Jan. 31, 1873. 
He was able, high-minded and honorable in public 
and private life. 

BUSHNELL, Washington, lawyer and Attor- 
ney-General, was born in Madison County, N. Y., 
Sept. 30, 1825; in 1837 came with his father to 
Lisbon, Kendall County, 111., where he worked on 
a farm and taught at times ; studied law at Pough- 
keepsie, N. Y., was admitted to the bar and 
established himself in practice at Ottawa, 111. 
The public positions held by him were those of 
State Senator for La Salle County (1861-69) and 
Attorney-General (1869-73) ; was also a member 
of the Republican National Convention of 1S64, 
besides being identified with various business 
enterprises at Ottawa. Died, June 30, 1885. 



70 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



BUTLER, William, State Treasurer, was born 
in Adair County, Ky., Dec. 15, 1797; during the 
war of 1812, at the age of 16 years, served as the 
messenger of the Governor of Kentucky, carrying 
dispatches to Gen. William Henry Harrison in 
the field; removed to Sangamon County, 111., in 
1828, and, in 1836, was appointed Clerk of the 
Circuit Court by Judge Stephen T. Logan. In 
1859 he served as foreman of the Grand Jury 
which investigated the "canal scrip frauds" 
charged against ex-Governor Matteson, and it 
was largely through his influence that the pro- 
ceedings of that body were subsequently pub- 
lished in an official form. During the same year 
Governor Bissell appointed him State Treasurer 
to fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of 
James Miller, and he was elected to the same 
office in 1860. Mr. Butler was an ardent sup- 
porter of Abraham Lincoln, whom he efficiently 
befriended in the early struggles of the latter 
in Springfield. He died in Springfield, Jan. 11, 
1876. 

BUTTERFIELD, Justin, early lawyer, was 
born at Keene, N. H., in 1790. He studied at 
Williams College, and was admitted to the bar 
at Watertown, N. Y.,.in 1812. After some years 
devoted to practice at Adams and at Sackett's 
Harbor, N. Y. , he removed to New Orleans, where 
he attained a high rank at the bar. In 1835 he 
settled in Chicago and soon became a leader in 
his profession there also. In 1841 he was appointed 
by President Harrison United States District At- 
torney for the District of Illinois, and, in 1849, by 
President Taylor Commissioner of the General 
Land Office, one of his chief competitors for the 
latter place being Abraham Lincoln. This dis- 
tinction he probably owed to the personal influ- 
ence of Daniel Webster, then Secretary of State, 
of whom Mr. Butterfield was a personal friend 
and warm admirer. While Commissioner, he 
rendered valuable service to the State in securing 
the canal land grant. As a lawyer he was logical 
and resourceful, as well as witty and quick at 
repartee, yet his chief strength lay before the 
Court rather than the jury. Numerous stories 
are told of his brilliant sallies at the bar and 
elsewhere. One of the former relates to his 
address before Judge Nathaniel Pope, of the 
United States Court at Springfield, in a habeas- 
corpus case to secure the release of Joseph Smith, 
the Mormon prophet, who was under arrest under 
the charge of complicity in an attempt to assassin- 
ate Governor Boggs of Missouri. Rising to begin 
his argument, Mr. Butterfield said: "I am to 
address the Pope" (bowing to the Court), "sur- 



rounded by angels" (bowing still lower to a party 
of ladies in the audience), "in the presence of 
the holy apostles, in behalf of the prophet of 
the Lord." On another occasion, being asked if 
he was opposed to the war with Mexico, he 
replied, "I opposed one war" — meaning his 
opposition as a Federalist to the War of 1812 — 
"but learned the folly of it. Henceforth I am for 
war, pestilence and famine." He died, Oct. 25, 
1855. 

BTFORD, William H., physician and author, 
was born at Eaton, Ohio, March 20, 1817; in 1830 
came with his widowed mother to Crawford 
County, 111., and began learning the tailor's 
trade at Palestine; later studied medicine at 
Vincennes and practiced at different points in 
Indiana. Meanwhile, having graduated at the 
Ohio Medical College, Cincinnati, in 1850, he 
assumed a professorship in a Medical College at 
Evansville, Ind., also editing a medical journal. 
In 1857 he removed to Chicago, where he ac- 
cepted a chair in Rush Medical College, but two 
years later became one of the founders of the 
Chicago Medical College, where he remained 
twenty years. He then (1879) returned to Rush, 
assuming the chair of Gynecology. In 1870 he 
assisted in founding the Woman's Medical Col- 
lege of Chicago, remaining President of the 
Faculty and Board of Trustees until his death, 
May 21, 1890. He published a number of medical 
works which are regarded as standard by the 
profession, besides acting as associate of Dr. N. S. 
Davis in the editorship of "The Chicago Medical 
Journal" and as editor-in-chief of "The Medical 
Journal and Examiner," the successor of the 
former. Dr. Byford was held in the highest 
esteem as a physician and a man, both by the 
general public and his professional associates. 

BYRON, a village of Ogle County, in a pictur- 
esque region on Rock River, at junction of the 
Chicago Great Western and the Chicago, Mil- 
waukee & St. Paul Railways, 83 miles west-north- 
west from Chicago ; is in rich farming and dairy- 
ing district; has two banks and two weekly 
papers. Population (1890), 698; (1900), 1,015. 

CABLE, a town in Mercer County, on the Rock 
Island & Peoria Railroad, 26 miles south by east 
from Rock Island. Coal-mining is the principal 
industry, but there are also tile works, a good 
quality of clay for manufacturing purposes being" 
found in abundance. Population (1880), 572; 
(1890), 1,276; (1900). 697. 

CABLE, Benjamin T., capitalist and politician, 
was born in Georgetown. Scott County, Ky.. 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



71 



August 11, 1853. When he was three years old 
his father's family removed to Rock Island, 111., 
where he has since resided. After passing 
through the Rock Island public schools, he matric- 
ulated at the University of Michigan, graduating 
in June, 1876. He owns extensive ranch and 
manufacturing property, and is reputed wealthy ; 
is also an active Democratic politician, and influ- 
ential in his party, having been a member of both 
the National and State Central Committees. In 
1890 he was elected to Congress from the Eleventh 
Illinois District, but since 1893 has held no public 
office. 

C AISLE, Ransom R., railway manager, was 
born in Athens County, Ohio, Sept. 23, 1834. 
His early training was mainly of the practical 
sort, and by the time he was 17 years old he was 
actively employed as a lumberman. In 1857 he 
removed to Illinois, first devoting his attention 
to coal mining in the neighborhood of Rock 
Island. Later he became interested in the pro- 
jection and management of railroads, being in 
turn Superintendent, Vice-President and Presi- 
dent of the Rock Island & Peoria Railroad. His 
next position was that of General Manager of the 
Rockford, Rock Island & St. Louis Railroad. His 
experience in these positions rendered him famil- 
iar with both the scope and the details of railroad 
management, while his success brought him to 
the favorable notice of those who controlled rail- 
way interests all over the country. In 1876 he 
was elected a Director of the Chicago, Rock 
Island & Pacific Railway. In connection with 
this company he has held, successively, the 
offices of Vice-President, Assistant to the Presi- 
dent, General Manager and President, being chief 
executive officer since 1880. (See Chicago, Rock 
Island & Pacific Railway.) 

CAHOKIA, the first permanent white settle- 
ment in Illinois, and, in French colonial times, 
one of its principal towns. French Jesuit mis- 
sionaries established the mission of the Tamaroas 
here in 1700, to which they gave the name of 
"Sainte Famille de Caoquias," antedating the 
settlement at Kaskaskia of the same year by a 
few months. Cahokia and Kaskaskia were 
jointly made the county -seats of St. Clair Count}-, 
when that county was organized by Governor St. 
Clair in 1790. Five years later, when Randolph 
County was set off from St. Clair, Cahokia was 
continued as the county-seat of the parent 
county, so remaining until the removal of the 
seat of justice to Belleville in 1814. Like its 
early rival. Kaskaskia, it has dwindled in impor- 
tance until, in 1890, its population was estimated 



at 100. Descendants of the early French settlers 
make up a considerable portion of the present 
population. The site of the old town is on the 
line of the Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern Rail- 
road, about four miles from East St. Louis. 
Some of the most remarkable Indian mounds in 
the Mississippi Valley, known as "the Cahokia 
Mounds." are located in the vicinity. (See Momnl- 
Builders, Works of the.) 

CAIRXES, Abraham, a native of Kentucky, in 
1816 settled in that part of Crawford County, 111., 
which was embraced in Lawrence County on the 
organization of the latter in 1821. Mr. Cairnes 
was a member of the House for Crawford County 
in the Second General Assembly (1820-22), and 
for Lawrence County in the Third (1822-24), in 
the latter voting against the pro-slavery Conven- 
tion scheme. He removed from Lawrence 
County to some point on the Mississippi River in 
1826, but further details of his history are un- 
known. 

CAIRO, the county-seat of Alexander County, 
and the most important river point between St. 
Louis and Memphis. Its first charter was ob- 
tained from the Territorial Legislature by Shad- 
rach Bond (afterwards Governor of Illinois), John 
G. Comyges and others, who incorporated the 
"City and Bank of Cairo. " The company entered 
about 1,800 acres, but upon the death of Mr. Comy- 
ges, the land reverted to the Government. The 
forfeited tract was re-entered in 1835 by Sidney 
Breese and others, who later transferred it to the 
"Cairo City and Canal Company," a corporation 
chartered in 1837, which, by purchase, increased 
its holdings to 10,000 acres. Peter Stapleton is 
said to have erected the first house, and John 
Hawley the second, within the town limits. In 
consideration of certain privileges, the Illinois 
Central Railroad has erected around the wain 
front a substantial levee, eighty feet wide. Dur- 
ing the Civil War Cairo was an important base 
for military operations. Its population, according 
to the census of 1900, was 12,566. (See also Ah ■>■- 
ander Comity.) 

CAIRO IJRIlXiE, THE, one of the triumphs of 
modern engineering, erected by the Illinois Cen- 
tral Railroad Company across the Ohio River, 
opposite the city of Cairo. It is the longest 
metallic bridge across a river in the world, being 
thirtj three feet longer than the Tay Bridge, in 
Scotland. The work of construction was begun. 
July 1, 1887, and uninterruptedly prosecuted for 
twenty-seven months, being completed, Oct. 29, 
1889. The firs! train to cross it was made up of 
ten locomotives coupled together. The ap- 



72 



HISTOEICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



proaches from both the Illinois and Kentucky 
shores consist of iron viaducts and well-braced 
timber trestles. The Illinois viaduct approach 
consists of seventeen spans of 150 feet each, and 
one span of 106^ feet. All these rest on cylin- 
der piers filled with concrete, and are additionally 
supported by piles driven within the cylinders. 
The viaduct on the Kentucky shore is of similar 
general construction. The total number of spans 
is twenty-two — twenty-one being of 150 feet each, 
and one of 106^ feet. The total length of the 
metal work, from end to end, is 10,650 feet, 
including that of the bridge proper, which is 
4.644 feet. The latter consists of nine through 
spans and three deck spans. The through spans 
rest on ten first-class masonry piers on pneumatic 
foundations. The total length of the bridge, 
including the timber trestles, is 20,461 feet — about 
Zyi miles. Four-fifths of the Illinois trestle 
work has been filled in with earth, while that on 
the southern shore has been virtually replaced by 
an embankment since the completion of the 
bridge. The bridge proper stands 104.42 feet in 
the clear above low water, and from the deepest 
foundation to the top of the highest iron work is 
248.94 feet. The total cost of the work, including 
the filling and embankment of the trestles, has 
been (1895) between $3,250,000 and $3,500,000. 

CAIRO, VINCENNES & CHICAGO RAIL- 
ROAD, a division of the Cleveland, Cincinnati, 
Chicago & St. Louis Railway, extending from 
Danville to Cairo (261 miles), with a branch nine 
miles in length from St. Francisville, 111., to Vin- 
cennes, Ind. It was chartered as the Cairo & 
Vincennes Railroad in 1867, completed in 1872, 
placed in the hands of a receiver in 1874, sold 
under foreclosure in January, 1880, and for some 
time operated as the Cairo Division of the 
Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific Railway. In 1889, 
having been surrendered by the Wabash, St. 
Louis & Pacific Railway, it was united with the 
Danville & Southwestern Railroad, reorganized as 
the Cairo, Vincennes & Chicago Railroad, and, 
in 1890, leased to the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chi- 
cago & St. Louis Railway, of which it is known 
as the "Cairo Division." (See Cleveland, Cincin- 
nati, Chicago & St. Louis Railway.) 

CAIRO & ST. LOUIS RAILROAD. (See St. 
Louis & Cairo Railroad and Mobile & Ohio Rail- 
way. ) 

CAIRO & VINCENNES RAILROAD. (See 
Cairo, Vincennes & Chicago Railroad.) 

CALDWELL, (Dr.) George, early physician 
and legislator (the name is spelled both Cadwell 
and Caldwell in the early records), was born at 



Wethersfield, Conn., Feb. 21, 1773, and received 
his literary education at Hartford, and his pro- 
fessional at Rutland, Vt. He married a daughter 
of Hon. Matthew Lyon, who was a native of 
Ireland, and who served two terms in Congress 
from Vermont, four from Kentucky (1803-11), 
and was elected the first Delegate in Congress 
from Arkansas Territory, but died before taking 
his seat in August, 1822. Lyon was also a resi- 
dent for a time of St. Louis, and was a candidate 
for Delegate to Congress from Missouri Territory, 
but defeated by Edward Hempstead (see Hemp- 
stead, Edward). Dr. Caldwell descended the 
Ohio River in 1799 in company with Lyon's 
family and his brother-in-law, John Messinger 
(see Messinger, John), who afterwards became a 
prominent citizen of St. Clair County, the party 
locating at Eddyville, Ky. In 1802, Caldwell 
and Messinger removed to Illinois, landing near 
old Fort Chartres, and remained some time in 
the American Bottom. The former finally 
located on the banks of the Mississippi a few 
miles above St. Louis, where he practiced his 
profession and held various public offices, includ- 
ing those of Justice of the Peace and County 
Judge for St. Clair County, as also for Madison 
County after the organization of the latter. He 
served as State Senator from Madison County 
in the First and Second General Assemblies 
(1818-22), and, having removed in 1820 within the 
limits of what is now Morgan County (but still 
earlier embraced in Greene), in 1822 was elected 
to the Senate for Greene and Pike Counties — 
the latter at that time embracing all the northern 
and northwestern part of the State, including 
the county of Cook. During the following ses- 
sion of the Legislature he was a sturdy opponent 
of the scheme to make Illinois a slave State. His 
home in Morgan County was in a locality known 
as "Swinerton's Point," a few miles west of 
Jacksonville, where he died, August 1, 1826. 
(See Slavery and Slave Laws. ) Dr. Caldwell (or 
Cadwell, as he was widely known) commanded 
a high degree of respect among early residents of 
Illinois. Governor Reynolds, in his "Pioneer 
History of Illinois," says of him: "He was 
moral and correct in his public and private life, 
. . . was a respectable physician, and always 
maintained an unblemished character. " 

CALHOUN, John, pioneer printer and editor, 
was born at Watertown, N. Y., April 14, 1808; 
learned the printing trade and practiced it in his 
native town, also working in a type-foundry in 
Albany and as a compositor in Troy. In the fall 
of 1833 he came to Chicago, bringing with him 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



73 



an outfit for the publication of a weekly paper, 
and, on Nov. 26, began the issue of "The Chicago 
Democrat"— the first paper ever published in that 
city. Mr. Calhoun retained the management of 
the paper three years, transferring it in Novem- 
ber, 1836, to John Wentworth, who conducted it 
until its absorption by "The Tribune" in July, 
1861. Mr. Calhoun afterwards served as County 
Treasurer, still later as Collector, and, finally, as 
agent of the Illinois Central Railroad in procur- 
ing right of way for the construction of its lines. 
Died in Chicago, Feb. 20, 1859. 

CALHOUN, John, surveyor and politician, was 
born in Boston, Mass., Oct. 14, 1806; removed to 
Springfield, 111., in 1830, served in the Black 
Hawk War and was soon after appointed County 
Surveyor. It was under Mr. Calhoun, and by his 
appointment, that Abraham Lincoln served for 
some time as Deputy Surveyor of Sangamon 
County. In 1838 Calhoun was chosen Represent- 
ative in the General Assembly, but was defeated 
in 1840, though elected Clerk of the House at the 
following session. He was a Democratic Presi- 
dential Elector in 1844, was an unsuccessful 
candidate for the nomination for Governor in 
1846, and, for three terms (1849, '50 and '51), 
served as Mayor of the city of Springfield. In 
1852 he was defeated by Richard Yates (after- 
wards Governor and United States Senator) , as a 
candidate for Congress, but two years later was 
appointed by President Pierce Surveyor-General 
of Kansas, where he became discreditably con- 
spicuous by his zeal in attempting to carry out 
the policy of the Buchanan administration for 
making Kansas a slave State — especially in con- 
nection with the Lecompton Constitutional Con- 
vention, with the election of which he had much 
to do, and over which he presided. Died at St. 
Joseph, Mo., Oct. 25, 1859. 

CALHOUN, William J., lawyer, was born in 
Pittsburg, Pa., Oct. 5, 1847. After residing at 
various points in that State, his family removed 
to Ohio, where he worked on a farm until 1864, 
when he enlisted as a private in the Nineteenth 
Ohio Volunteer Infantry, serving to the end of 
the war. He participated in a number of severe 
battles while with Sherman on the march against 
Atlanta, returning with General Thomas to Nash- 
ville, Tenn. During the last few months of the 
war he served in Texas, being mustered out at 
San Antonio in that State, though receiving his 
final discharge at Columbus, Ohio. After the 
war he entered the Poland Union Seminary, 
where he became the intimate personal friend of 
Maj. William McKinley, who was elected to the 



Presidency in 1*96. Having graduated at the 
seminary, he came to Areola, Douglas County, 
111., and began the study of law, later taking a 
course in a law school in Chicago, after which he 
was admitted to the bar (1ST5) and established 
himself in practice at Danville as the partner of 
the Hon. Joseph B. Mann. In 1882 Mr. Calhoun 
was elected as a Republican to the lower branch 
of the Thirty-third General Assembly and, during 
the following session, proved himself one of the 
ablest members of that body. In May, 1897, Mr. 
Calhoun was appointed by President McKinley a 
special envoy to investigate the circumstances 
attending the death of Dr. Ricardo Ruiz, a nat- 
uralized citizen of the United States who had 
died while a prisoner in the hands of the Spaniards 
during the rebellion then in progress in Cuba. 
In 1898 he was appointed a member of the Inter- 
State Commerce Commission to succeed William 
R. Morrison, whose term had expired. 

CALHOUN COUNTY, situated between the 
Mississippi and Illinois Rivers, just above their 
junction. It has an area of 260 square miles, 
with a population (1900) of 8,917; was organized 
in 1825 and named for John C. Calhoun. Origi- 
nally, the county was well timbered and the 
earh- settlers were largely engaged in lumbering, 
which tended to give the population more or less 
of a migratory character. Much of the timber 
has been cleared off, and the principal business 
in later years has been agriculture, although coal 
is found and mined in paying quantities along 
Silver Creek. Tradition has it that the aborig- 
ines found the precious metals in the bed of this 
stream. It was originally included within the 
limits of the Military Tract set apart for the 
veterans of the War of 1812. The physical con- 
formation of the county's surface exhibits some 
peculiarities. Limestone blutfs, rising some- 
times to the height of 200 feet, skirt the banks of 
both rivers, while through the center of the 
county runs a ridge dividing the two watersheds. 
The side valleys and the top of the central ridge 
are alike fertile. The bottom lands are very 
rich, but are liable to inundation. The county- 
seat and principal town is Hardin, with a popula- 
tion (1890) of 311. 

CALLAHAN, Ethelbert, lawyer and legislator, 
was born near Newark, Ohio, Dec. 17, 1829; 
came to Crawford County, 111. , in 1849, where he 
farmed, taught school and edited, at different 
times, "The Wabash Sentinel" and "The Marshall 
Telegraph." He early identified himself with 
the Republican party, and, in 1864, was the 
Republican candidate for Congress in his dis- 



74 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



trict ; became a member of the first State Board 
of Equalization by appointment of Governor 
Oglesby in 1867 ; served in the lower house of the 
General Assembly during the sessions of 1875, '91, 
93 and '95, and, in 1893-95, on a Joint Committee 
to revise the State Revenue Laws. He was also 
Presidential Elector in 1880, and again in 1888. 
Mr. Callahan was admitted to the bar when past 
30 years of age, and was President of the State 
Bar Association in 1889. His home is at Robinson. 
CALUMET RIVER, a short stream the main 
body of which is formed by the union of two 
branches which come together at the southern 
boundary of the city of Chicago, and which flows 
into Lake Michigan a short distance north of the 
Indiana State line. The eastern branch, known 
as the Grand Calumet, flows in a westerly direc- 
tion from Northwestern Indiana and unites with 
the Little Calumet from the west, %]/ z miles from 
the mouth of the main stream. From the south- 
ern limit of Chicago the general course of the 
stream is north between Lake Calumet and Wolf 
Lake, which it serves to drain. At its mouth, 
Calumet Harbor has been constructed, which 
admits of the entrance of vessels of heavy 
draught, and is a shipping and receiving 
point of importance for heavy freight for 
the Illinois Steel Works, the Pullman Palace 
Car Works and other manufacturing establish- 
ments in that vicinity. The river is regarded as 
a navigable stream, and has been dredged by the 
General Government to a depth of twenty feet 
and 200 feet wide for a distance of two miles, 
with a depth of sixteen feet for the remainder of 
the distance to the forks. The Calumet feeder 
for the Illinois and Michigan Canal extends from 
the west branch (or Little Calumet) to the canal 
in the vicinity of Willow Springs. The stream 
was known to the early French explorers as "the 
Calimic," and was sometimes confounded by 
them with the Chicago River. 

CALUMET RIVER RAILROAD, a short line, 
4.43 miles in length, lying wholly within Cook 
County. The Pennsylvania Railroad Company 
is the lessee, but the line is not operated at present 
(1898). Its outstanding capital stock is §68,700. 
It has no funded debt, but has a floating debt of 
Si 16, 357, making a total capitalization of $185,087. 
This road extends from One Hundredth Street in 
Chicago to Hegewisch, and was chartered in 1883. 
(See Pennsylvania Railroad. ) 

CAMBRIDGE, the county-seat of Henry 
County, about 160 miles southwest of Chicago, 
on the Rock Island & Peoria Railroad. It is situ- 
ated in a fertile region chiefly devoted to 



agriculture and stock-raising. The city is a con- 
siderable grain market and has some manufac- 
tories. Some coal is also mined. It has a public 
library, two newspapers, three banks, good 
schools, and handsome public (county) buildings. 
Population (1880), 1,203; (1890), United States 
census report, 940; (1900), 1,345. 

CAMERON, James, Cumberland Presbyterian 
minister and pioneer, was born in Kentucky in 
1791, came to Illinois in 1815, and, in 1818, settled 
in Sangamon County. In 1829 he is said to have 
located where the town of New Salem (after- 
wards associated with the early history of Abra- 
ham Lincoln) was built, and of which he and 
James Rutledge were the founders. He is also 
said to have officiated at the funeral of Ann 
Rutledge, with whose memory Mr. Lincoln's 
name has been tenderly associated by his biog- 
raphers. Mr. Cameron subsequently removed 
successively to Fulton County, 111., to Iowa and 
to California, dying at a ripe old age, in the latter 
State, about 1878. 

CAMP DOUGLAS, a Federal military camp 
established at Chicago early in the War of the 
Rebellion, located between Thirty -first Street and 
College Place, and Cottage Grove and Forest 
Avenues. It was originally designed and solely 
used as a camp of instruction for new recruits. 
Afterwards it was utilized as a place of confine- 
ment for Confederate prisoners of war. (For 
plot to liberate the latter, together with other 
similar prisoners in Illinois, see Camp Douglas 
Conspiracy. ) 

CAMP DOUGLAS CONSPIRACY, a plot formed 
in 1864 for the liberation of the Confederate 
prisoners of war at Chicago (in Camp Douglas), 
Rock Island, Alton and Springfield. It was to be 
but a preliminary step in the execution of a 
design long cherished by the Confederate Gov- 
ernment, viz., the seizing of the organized gov- 
ernments of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, and the 
formation of a Northwestern Confederacy, 
through the cooperation of the "Sons of Lib- 
erty. ' ' (See Secret Treasonable Societies. ) Three 
peace commissioners (Jacob Thompson, C. C. 
Clay and J. P. Holcomb), who had been sent 
from Richmond to Canada, held frequent 
conferences with leaders of the treasonable 
organizations in the North, including Clement L. 
Vallandigham, Bowles, of Indiana, and one 
Charles Walsh, who was head of the movement 
in Chicago, with a large number of allies in that 
city and scattered throughout the States. The 
general management of the affair was entrusted 
to Capt. Thomas H. Hines, who had been second 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA <>F ILLINOIS. 



75 



in command to the rebel Gen. John Morgan dur- 
ing his raid north of the Ohio River, while Col. 
Vincent Marmaduke, of Missouri, and G. St. Leger 
Grenfell (an Englishman) were selected to 
carry out the military program. Hines followed 
out his instructions with great zeal and labored 
indefatigably. Thompson's duty was to dis- 
seminate incendiary treasonable literature, and 
strengthen the timorous "Sons of Liberty" by 
the use of argument and money, both he and his 
agents being lavishly supplied with the latter. 
There was to be a draft in July, 1864, and it was 
determined to arm the "Sons of Liberty" for 
resistance, the date of uprising being fixed for 
July 20. This part of the scheme, however, was 
finally abandoned. Captain Hines located him- 
self at Chicago, and personally attended to the 
distribution of funds and the purchase of arms. 
The date finally fixed for the attempt to liberate 
the Southern prisoners was August 29, 1864, when 
the National Democratic Convention was to 
assemble at Chicago. On that date it whs 
expected the city would be so crowded that the 
presence of the promised force of "Sons" would 
not excite comment. The program also included 
an attack on the city by water, for which pur- 
pose reliance was placed upon a horde of Cana- 
dian refugees, under Capt. John B. Castleman. 
There were some 26,500 Southern prisoners in the 
State at this time, of whom about 8,000 were at 
Chicago, 6,000 at Rock Island, 7,500 at Spring- 
field, and 5,000 at Alton. It was estimated that 
there were 4,000 "Sons of Liberty" in Chicago, 
who would be largely reenforced. With these 
and the Canadian refugees the prisoners at Camp 
Douglas were to be liberated, and the army thus 
formed was to march upon Rock Island, Spring- 
field and Alton. But suspicions were aroused, 
and the Camp was reenforced by a regiment of 
infantry and a battery. The organization of the 
proposed assailing force was very imperfect, and 
the great majority of those who were to compose 
it were lacking in courage. Not enough of the 
latter reported for service to justify an attack, 
and the project was postponed. In the meantime 
a preliminary part of the plot, at least indirectly 
connected with the Camp Douglas conspiracy, 
and which contemplated the release of the rein! 
officers confined on Johnson's Island in Lake 
Erie, had been "nipped in the bud*' by the arrest 
of Capt. C. H. Cole, a Confederate officer in dis- 
guise, on the 19th of September, just as lie was 
on the point of putting in execution a scheme for 
seizing the United States steamer Michigan at 
Sandusky, and putting on board of it a Confeder- 



ate crew. November 8 was the date next selected 
to carry out the Chicago >< -heme — the day of Presi- 
dent Lincoln's second election. The same pre- 
liminaries were arranged, except that no water 
attack was to be made. But Chicago was to be 
burned and flooded, and its banks pillaged. 
Detachments were designated to apply the torch, 
to open fire plugs, to levy anus, and to attack 
banks. But representatives of the United States 
Secret Service had been initiated into the "Son- 
of Liberty," anil the plans of Captain Hines and 
his associates were well known to the authori- 
ties. An efficient body of detectives was put 
upon their track by Gen. B. J. Sweet, the com- 
mandant at Camp Douglas, although some of the 
most valuable service in running down the con- 
spiracy and capturing its agents, was rendered 
by Dr. T. Winslow Aver of Chicago, a Colonel 
Langhorne (an ex-Confederate who had taken 
the oath of allegiance without the knowledge of 
some of the parties to the plot), and Col. J. T. 
Shanks, a Confederate prisoner who was known 
as "The Texan." Both Langhorne and Shanks 
were appalled at the horrible nature of the plot 
as it was unfolded to them, and entered with 
zeal into the effort to defeat it. Shanks was 
permitted to escape from Camp Douglas, thereby 
getting in communication with the leaders of the 
plot who assisted to conceal him, while he faith- 
fully apprised General Sweet of their plans. On 
the night of Nov. 6 — or rather after midnight on 
the morning of the 7th — General Sweet caused 
simultaneous arrests of the leaders to be made at 
their hiding-places. Captain Hines was not 
captured, but the following conspirators were 
taken into custody: Captains Cantrill and Trav- 
erse; Charles "Walsh, the Brigadier-General of 
the "Sons of Liberty," who was sheltering them, 
and in whose barn and house was found a large 
quantity of arms and military stores; Cols. St. 
Leger Grenfell, W. R. Anderson and J. T. 
Shanks; R. T. Semmes, Vincent Marmaduke. 
Charles T. Daniel and Buckner S. Morris, the 
Treasurer of the order. They were tried by 
Military Commission at Cincinnati for conspir- 
acy. Marmaduke and Morris were acquitted; 
Anderson committed suicide during the trial; 
Walsh. Semmes and Daniels were sentenced to 
the penitentiary, and ('renfell was sentenced to 
be hung, although bis sentence was afterward 
commuted to life imprisonment at the Dry Tortu- 
gas, when- he mysteriously disappeared some 

years afterward, but whether he escaped or was 
drowned in the attempt to do so has never been 
known. The British Government had made 



76 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



repeated attempts to secure his release, a brother 
of his being a General in the British Army. 
Daniels managed to escape, and was never recap- 
tured, while Walsh and Semmes, after under- 
going brief terms of imprisonment, were 
pardoned by President Johnson. The subsequent 
history of Shanks, who played so prominent a 
part in defeating the scheme of wholesale arson, 
pillage and assassination, is interesting. While 
in prison he had been detailed for service as a 
clerk in one of the offices under the direction of 
General Sweet, and, while thus employed, made 
the acquaintance of a young lady member of a 
loyal family, whom he afterwards married. 
After the exposure of the contemplated uprising, 
the rebel agents in Canada offered a reward of 
$1,000 in gold for the taking of his life, and he 
was bitterly persecuted. The attention of Presi- 
dent Lincoln was called to the .service rendered 
by him, and sometime during 1865 he received a 
commission as Captain and engaged in fighting 
the Indians upon the Plains. The efficiency 
shown by Colonel Sweet in ferreting out the con- 
spiracy and defeating its consummation won for 
him the gratitude of the people of Chicago and 
the whole nation, and was recognized by the 
Government in awarding him a commission as 
Brigadier-General. (See Benjamin J. Sweet, 
Camp Douglas and Secret Treasonable Societies.) 

CAMPBELL, Alexander, legislator and Con- 
gressman, was born at Concord, Pa., Oct. 4, 1814. 
After obtaining a limited education in the com- 
mon schools, at an early age he secured employ- 
ment as a clerk in an iron manufactory. He soon 
rose to the position of superintendent, managing 
iron-works in Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Mis- 
souri, until 1850, when he removed to Illinois, 
settling at La Salle. He was twice (1852 and 
1853) elected Mayor of that city, and represented 
his county in the Twenty-first General Assembly 
(1859). He was also a member of the State 
Constitutional Convention of 1862, and served 
one term (1875-77) as Representative in Congress, 
being elected as an Independent, but, in 1878, was 
defeated for re-election by Philip C. Hayes, 
Republican. Mr. Campbell was a zealous friend 
of Abraham Lincoln, and, in 1858, contributed 
liberally to the expenses of the latter in making 
the tour of the State during the debate with 
Douglas. He broke with the Republican party 
in 1874 on the greenback issue, which won for 
him the title of "Father of the Greenback." His 
death occurred at La Salle, August 9, 1898. 

CAMPBELL, Antrim, early lawyer, was born 
in New Jersey in 1814; came to Springfield, 111., 



in 1838; was appointed Master in Chancery for 
Sangamon County in 1849, and, in 1861, to a 
similar position by the United States District 
Court for that district. Died, August 11, 1868. 

CAMPBELL, James R., Congressman and sol- 
dier, was born in Hamilton County, 111., May 4, 
1853, his ancestors being among the first settlers 
in that section of the State; was educated at 
Notre Dame University, Ind., read law and was 
admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court in 1877 ; 
in 1878 purchased "The McLeansboro Times," 
which he has since conducted ; was elected to the 
lower house of the General Assembly in 1884, and 
again in '86, advanced to the Senate in 1888, and 
re-elected in '92. During his twelve years' 
experience in the Legislature he participated, as 
a Democrat, in the celebrated Logan-Morrison 
contest for the United States Senate, in 1885, and 
assisted in the election of Gen. John M. Palmer 
to the Senate in 1891. At the close of his last 
term in the Senate (1896) he was elected to Con- 
gress from the Twentieth District, receiving a 
plurality of 2,851 over Orlando Burrell, Repub- 
lican, who had been elected in 1894. On the 
second call for troops issued by the President 
during the Spanish-American War, Mr. Camp- 
bell organized a regiment which was mustered in 
as the Ninth Regiment Illinois Volunteers, of 
which he was commissioned Colonel and assigned 
to the corps of Gen. Fitzhugh Lee at Jackson- 
ville, Fla. Although his regiment saw no active 
service during the war, it was held in readiness 
for that purpose, and, on the occupation of Cuba 
in December, 1898, it became a part of the army 
of occupation. As Colonel Campbell remained 
with his regiment, he took no part in the pro- 
ceedings of the last term of the Fifty -fifth Con- 
gress, and was not a candidate for re-election in 
1898. 

CAMPBELL, Thompson, Secretary of State 
and Congressman, was born in Chester County, 
Pa., in 1811 ; removed in childhood to the western 
part of the State and was educated at Jefferson 
College, afterwards reading law at Pittsburg. 
Soon after being admitted to the bar he removed 
to Galena, 111., where he had acquired some min- 
ing interests, and, in 1843, was appointed Secre- 
tary of State by Governor Ford, but resigned in 
1846, and became a Delegate to the Constitutional 
Convention of 1847; in 1850 was elected as a 
Democrat to Congress from the Galena District, 
but defeated for re-election in 1852 by E. B. 
Washburne. He was then appointed by President 
Pierce Commissioner to look after certain land 
grants by the Mexican Government in California, 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



77 



removing to that State in 1853, but resigned this 
position about 1855 to engage in general practice. 
In 1859 he made an extended visit to Europe 
with his family, and, on his return, located in 
Chicago, the following year becoming a candidate 
for Presidential Elector-at-large on the Breckin- 
ridge ticket; in 18(51 returned to California, and. 
on the breaking out of the Civil War, became a 
zealous champion of the Union cause, by his 
speeches exerting a powerful influence upon the 
destiny of the State. He also served in the Cali- 
fornia Legislature during the war. and, in 1864, 
was a member of the Baltimore Convention 
which nominated Mr. Lincoln for the Presidency 
a second time, assisting most ably in the subse- 
quent campaign to carry the State for the Repub- 
lican ticket. Died in San Francisco, Dec. 6, 1868. 

CAMPBELL, William J., lawyer and politi- 
cian, was born in Philadelphia in 1850. When 
he was two years old his father removed to 
Illinois, settling in Cook County. After passing 
through the Chicago public schools, Mr. Camp- 
bell attended the University of Pennsylvania, for 
two years, after which he studied law, and was 
admitted to the bar in 1875. From that date he 
was in active practice and attained prominence 
at the Chicago bar. In 18T8 he was elected State 
Senator, and was re-elected in 1882, serving in all 
eight years. At the sessions of 1881, '83 and '85 
he was chosen President pro tempore of the 
Senate, and, on Feb. 6, 1883, he became Lieuten- 
ant-Governor upon the accession of Lieutenant- 
Governor Hamilton to the executive office to 
succeed Shelby M. Cullom, who had been elected 
United States Senator. In 1888 he represented 
the First Illinois District in the National Repub- 
lican Convention, and was the same year chosen 
a member of the Republican National Committee 
for Illinois and was re-elected in 1882. Died in 
Chicago, March 4, 1896. For several years 
immediately preceding his death, Mr. Campbell 
was the chief attorney of the Armour Packing 
Company of Chicago. 

CAMP POINT, a village in Adams County, at 
the intersection of the Chicago, Burlington & 
Quincy and the Wabash Railroads, 22 miles east- 
northeast of Quincy. It is a grain center, has 
one flour mill, two feed mills, one elevator, a 
pressed brick plant, two banks, four churches, a 
high school, and one newspaper. Population 
(1890). 1,150; (1900), 1,260. 

CANAL SCRIP FRAUD. During the session 
of the Illinois General Assembly of 1859, Gen. 
Jacob Fry. who, as Commissioner or Trustee, had 
been associated with the construction of the 



Illinois & Michigan Canal from 1837 to 1845, 
had his attention called to a check purporting to 
have been issued by the Commissioners in 1839, 
which, upon investigation, he became convinced 
was counterfeit, or had been fraudulently issued. 
Having communicated Ins conclusions to Hon. 
Jesse K. Dubois, the State Auditor, in charge of 
the work of refunding the State indebtedness, an 
inquiry was instituted in the office of the Fund 
Commissioner — a position attached to the Gov- 
ernor's office, but in the charge of a secretary — 
which developed the fact that a large amount of 
these evidences of indebtedness had been taken 
up through that office and bonds issued therefor 
by the State Auditor under the laws for funding 
the State debt. A subsequent investigation by the 
Finance Committee of the State Senate, ordered 
by vote of that body, resulted in the discovery 
that, in May and August, 1839, two series of 
canal "scrip" (or checks) had been issued by the 
Canal Board, to meet temporary demands in the 
work of construction — the sum aggregating 
8209.059— of winch all but 8316 had been redeemed 
within a few years at the Chicago branch of the 
Illinois State Bank. The bank officers testified 
that this scrip (or a large part of it) had, after 
redemption, been held by them in the bank vaults 
without cancellation until settlement was had 
with the Canal Board, when it was packed in 
boxes and turned over to the Board. After hav- 
ing lain in the canal office for several years in 
this condition, and a new "Trustee" (as the 
officer in charge was now called) having come 
into the canal office in 1853, this scrip, with other 
papers, was repacked in a shoe-box and a trunk 
and placed in charge of Joel A. Matteson, then 
( iovernor, to be taken by him to Springfield and 
deposited there. Nothing further was known of 
these papers until October, 1854, when 8300 of the 
scrip was presented to the Secretary of the Fund 
Commissioner by a Springfield banker, and bond 
issued thereon. This was followed in 1856 and 
1857 by larger sums, until, at the time the legis- 
lative investigation was instituted, it was found 
that bonds to the amount of $223,182.66 had been 
issued on account of principal and interest. 
With the exception of the 8300 first presented, it 
was shown that all the scrip so funded had been 
presented by Governor Matteson, either while in 
office or subsequent to his retirement, and the 
bonds issued therefor delivered to him — although 
none of the persons in whose names the issue was 
made were known or ever afterward discovered. 
The developments made by the Senate Finance 
Committee led to an offer from Matteson to 



78 



HISTOKICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OE ILLINOIS. 



indemnify the State, in which he stated that he 
had "unconsciously and innocently been made 
the instrument through whom a gross fraud upon 
the State had been attempted." He therefore 
gave to the State mortgages and an indemnifying 
bond for the sum shown to have been funded by 
him of this class of indebtedness, upon which the 
State, on foreclosure a few years later, secured 
judgment for §255,000, although the property on 
being sold realized only §238,000. A further 
investigation by the Legislature, in 1861, revealed 
the fact that additional issues of bonds for similar 
scrip had been made amounting to §165,346, for 
which the State never received any compensa- 
tion. A search through the State House for the 
trunk and box placed in the hands of Governor 
Matteson in 1853, while the official investigation 
was in progress, resulted in the discovery of the 
trunk in a condition showing it had been opened, 
but the box was never found. The fraud was 
made the subject of a protracted investigation 
by the Grand Jury of Sangamon County in May, 
1859, and, although the jury twice voted to indict 
Governor Matteson for larceny, it as often voted 
to reconsider, and, on a third ballot, voted to 
"ignore the bill." 

CANBY, Richard Sprigg, jurist, was born in 
Green County, Ohio, Sept. 30, 1808 ; was educated 
at Miami University and admitted to the bar, 
afterwards serving as Prosecuting Attorney, 
member of the Legislature and one term (1847-49) 
in Congress. In 1863 he removed to Illinois, 
locating at Olney, was elected Judge of the 
Twenty-fifth Judicial Circuit in 1867, resuming 
practice at the expiration of his term in 1873. 
Died in Richland County, July 27, 1895. Judge 
Canby was a relative of Gen. Edward Richard 
Spriggs Canby, who was treacherously killed by 
the Modocs in California in 1873. 

CANNON, Joseph Gr., Congressman, was born 
at Guilford, N. C, May 7, 1836, and removed to 
Illinois in early youth, locating at Danville, Ver- 
milion County. By profession he is a lawyer, 
and served as State's Attorney of Vermilion 
County for two terms (1861-68). Incidentally, 
he is conducting a large banking business at 
Danville. In 1872 he was elected as a Republican 
to the Forty-third Congress for the Fifteenth Dis- 
trict, and has been re-elected biennially ever 
since, except in 1890, when he was defeated for 
the Fifty-second Congress by Samuel T. Busey, 
his Democratic opponent. He is now (1898) 
serving his twelfth term as the Representative 
for the Twelfth Congressional District, and has 
been re-elected for a thirteenth term in the Fifty- 



sixth Congress (1899-1901). Mr. Cannon has been 
an influential factor in State and National poli- 
tics, as shown by the fact that he has been Chair- 
man of the House Committee on Appropriations 
during the important sessions of the Fifty-fourth 
and Fifty -fifth Congresses. 

CANTON, a flourishing city in Fulton County, 
12 miles from the Illinois River, and 28 miles 
southwest of Peoria. It is the commercial me- 
tropolis of one of the largest and richest counties 
in the "corn belt"; also has abundant supplies 
of timber and clay for manufacturing purposes. 
There are coal mines within the municipal limits, 
and various manufacturing establishments. 
Among the principal outputs are agricultural 
implements, flour, brick and tile, cigars, cigar 
boxes, foundry and machine-shop products, fire- 
arms, brooms, and marble. The city is lighted 
by gas and electricity, has water- works, fire de- 
partment, a public library, six ward schools and 
one high school, and three newspapers. Popula- 
tion (1890), 5,604; (1900), 6,564. 

CAPPS, Jabez, pioneer, was born in London, 
England, Sept. 9, 1796 ; came to the United States 
in 1817, and to Sangamon County, 111., in 1819. 
For a time he taught school in what is now 
called Round Prairie, in the present County of 
Sangamon, and later in Calhoun (the original 
name of a part of the city of Springfield) , having 
among his pupils a number of those who after- 
wards became prominent citizens of Central 
Illinois. In 1836, in conjunction with two part- 
ners, he laid out the town of Mount Pulaski, the 
original county-seat of Logan County, where he 
continued to live for the remainder of his life, 
and where, during its later period, he served as 
Postmaster some fifteen years. He also served as 
Recorder of Logan County four years. Died, 
April 1, 1896, in the 100th year of his age. 

CARBONDALE, a city in Jackson County, 
founded in 1852, 57 miles north of Cairo, and 91 
miles from St. Louis. Three lines of railway 
center here. The chief industries are coal-min- 
ing, farming, stock-raising, fruit-growing and 
lumbering. It has two preserving plants, eight 
churches, two weekly papers, and four public 
schools, and is the seat of the Southern Illinois 
Normal University. Pop. (1890), 2,382; (1900), 3,318. 

CARBONDALE & SHAWNEETOWN RAIL- 
ROAD, a short line 17^ miles in length, ex- 
tending from Marion to Carbondale, and operated 
by the St. Louis, Alton & Terre Haute Railroad 
Company, as lessee. It was incorporated as the 
Murphysboro & Shawneetown Railroad in 1867; 
its name changed in 1869 to The Carbondale & 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA <>K ILLINOIS. 



79 



Shawneetown, was opened for business, Dec. 31, 
1871, and leased in 1886 for 980 years to the St. 
Louis Southern, through which it passed into the 
hands of the St. Louis, Alton & Terre Haute Rail- 
road, and by lease from the latter, in 1896, became 
apart of the Illinois Central System (which see). 
CAREY j William, lawyer, was born in the town 
of Turner, Maine, Dec. 29, 1826; studied law with 
(Jeneral Fessenden and at Yale Law School, was 
admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court of 
Maine in 1856, the Supreme Court of Illinois in 
1857, and the Supreme Court of the United 
States, on motion of Hon. Lyman Trumbull, in 
is?:!. .Judge Carey was a member of the State 
Constitutional Convention of 1869-70 from Jo 
Daviess County, and the choice of the Republicans 
in that body for temporary presiding officer; 
was elected to the next General Assembly (the 
Twenty-seventh), serving as Chairman of the 
House Judiciary Committee through its four ses- 
sions ; from 1873 to 1876 was United States Dis- 
trict Attorney for Utah, still later occupying 
various offices at Deadwood, Dakota, and in Reno 
County, Kan. The first office held by Judge 
Carey in Illinois (that of Superintendent of 
Schools for the city of Galena) was conferred 
upon him through the influence of John A. Raw- 
lins, afterwards General Grant's chief-of-staff 
during the war, and later Secretary of War — 
although at the time Mr. Rawlins and he were 
politically opposed. Mr. Carey's present resi- 
dence is in Chicago. 

CARLIN, Thomas, former Governor, was born 
of Irish ancestry in Fayette County, Ky., July 
18, 1789; emigrated to Illinois in 1811, and served 
as a private in the War of 1812, and as a Captain 
in the Black Hawk War. While not highly edu- 
cated, he was a man of strong common sense, 
high moral standard, great firmness of character 
and unfailing courage. In 1818 he settled in 
Greene County, of which he was the first Sheriff; 
was twice elected State Senator, and was Regis- 
ter of the Land Office at Quincy, when he was 
elected Governor on the Democratic ticket in 
1838. An uncompromising partisan, he never- 
theless commanded the respect and good-will of 
his political opponents. Died at his home in 
Carrollton, Feb. 14, 1852. 

CARLIN, William Passmore, soldier, nephew of 
Gov. Thomas Carlin, was born at Rich Woods, 
Greene County, 111., Nov. 24, 1829. At the age 
of 21 he graduated from the United States Mili- 
tary Academy at West Point, and, in 1855, was 
attached to the Sixth United States Infantry as 
Lieutenant. After several years spent in Indian 



lighting, he was ordered to California, where he 
was promoted to a captaincy and assigned to 
recruiting duty. On August 15, 1861, he was 
commissioned Colonel of the Thirty-eighth Illi- 
nois Volunteers. His record during the war was 
an exceptionally brilliant one. He defeated Gen. 
Jeff. Thompson at Fredericktown, Mo., Oct. 21, 
1861; commanded the District of Southeast Mis- 
souri for eighteen months; led a brigade under 
Slocum in the Arkansas campaign; served with 
marked distinction in Kentucky and Mississippi; 
took a prominent part in the battle of Stone 
River, was engaged in the Tullahoma campaign, 
at Chattanooga, Lookout Mountain and Mission- 
ary Ridge, and, on Feb. 8, 1*04, was commis- 
sioned Major in the Sixteenth Infantry. He also 
took part in the Georgia campaign, aiding in the 
capture of Atlanta, and marching with Sherman 
to the sea. For gallant service in the assault at 
Jonesboro, Tenn., Sept. 1, 1864, he was made 
Colonel in the regular army, and, on March 13, 
1865, was bre vetted Brigadier-General for meritori- 
ous service at Bentonville, N. C, and Major- 
General for services during the war. Colonel 
Carlin was retired with the rank of Brigadier- 
General in 1893. His home is at Carrollton. 

CARLINYILLE, the county-seat of Macoupin 
County; a city and railroad junction, 57 miles 
northeast of St. Louis, and 38 miles southwest of 
Springfield. Blackburn University (which see) 
is located here. Three coal mines are operated, 
and there are brick works, tile works, and one 
newspaper. The city has gas and electric light 
plants and water-works. Population (1880), 
3,117; (1890), 3,293; (1900), 3,502. 

CARLYLE, the county-seat of Clinton County, 
48 miles east of St. Louis, located on the Kaskas- 
kia River and the Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern 
Railroad. The town has churches, parochial and 
public schools, water-works, lighting plant, and 
manufactures. It has a flourishing seminary for 
young ladies, three weekly papers, and a public 
library connected with the high school. Popula- 
tion (1890), 1,784; (1900), 1,874. 

CARMI, the county-seat of White County, on 
the Little Wabash River, 124 miles east of St. 
Louis and 3* west of Kvansville, Ind. The sur- 
rounding country is fertile, yielding both cereals 
and fruit. Flouring mills and lumber manufac- 
turing, including the making of staves, are the 
chief industries, though the city has brick and 
tile works, a plow factory and foundry. Popula- 
tion (1880), 2,512; (1890), 2,785; (1900), 2,939. 

CARPENTER, Milton, legislator and State 
Treasurer; entered upon public life in Illinois as 



80 



HISTOEICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



Representative in the Ninth General Assembly 
(1834) from Hamilton County, serving by succes- 
sive re-elections in the Tenth, Eleventh and 
Twelfth. "While a member of the latter (1841) 
he was elected by the Legislature to the office of 
State Treasurer, retaining this position until the 
adoption of the Constitution of 1848, when he was 
chosen his own successor by popular vote, but 
died a few days after the election in August, 
1848. He was buried in what is now known as 
the "Old Hutchinson Cemetery" — a burying 
ground in the west part of the city of Springfield, 
long since abandoned — where his remains still lie 
(1897) in a grave unmarked by a tombstone. 

CARPENTER, Philo, pioneer and early drug- 
gist, was born of Puritan and Revolutionary 
ancestry in the town of Savoy, Mass., Feb. 27, 
1805 ; engaged as a druggist's clerk at Troy, N. Y. , 
in 1828, and came to Chicago in 1832, where he 
established himself in the drug business, which 
was later extended into other lines. Soon after 
his arrival, he began investing in lands, which 
have since become immensely valuable. Mr. 
Carpenter was associated with the late Rev. 
Jeremiah Porter in the organization of the First 
Presbyterian Church of Chicago, but, in 1851, 
withdrew on account of dissatisfaction with the 
attitude of some of the representatives of that 
denomination on the subject of slavery, identify- 
ing himself with the Congregationalist Church, 
in which he had been reared. He was one of the 
original founders and most liberal benefactors of 
the Chicago Theological Seminary, to which he 
gave in contributions, during his life-time, or in 
bequests after his death, sums aggregating not 
far from $100, 000. One of the Seminary build- 
ings was named in his honor, "Carpenter Hall." 
He was identified with various other organiza- 
tions, one of the most important being the Relief 
and Aid Society, which did such useful work 
after the fire of 1871. By a life of probity, liber- 
ality and benevolence, he won the respect of all 
classes, dying, August 7, 1886. 

CARPENTER, (Mrs.) Sarah L.Warren, pio- 
neer teacher, born in Fredonia, N. Y., Sept. 1, 
1818 ; at the age of 13 she began teaching at State 
Line, N. Y. ; in 1833 removed with her parents 
(Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Warren) to Chicago, and 
soon after began teaching in what was called the 
"Yankee settlement," now the town of Lockport, 
Will County. She came to Chicago the following 
year (1834) to take the place of assistant of Gran- 
ville T. Sproat in a school for boys, and is said to 
have been the first teacher paid out of the public 
funds in Chicago, though Miss Eliza Chappell 



(afterwards Mrs. Jeremiah Porter) began teach- 
ing the children about Fort Dearborn in 1833. 
Miss Warren married Abel E. Carpenter, whom 
she survived, dying at Aurora, Kane County, 
Jan. 10, 1897. 

CARPENTERSVILLE, a village of Kane 
County and manufacturing center, on Lake Ge- 
neva branch of the Chicago & Northwestern Rail- 
road, 6 miles north of East Elgin and about 48 
miles from Chicago. Pop. (1890), 754; (1900), 1,002. 

CARR, Clark E., lawyer, politician and diplo- 
mat, was born at Boston, Erie County, N. Y., 
May 20, 1836 ; at 13 years of age accompanied his 
father's family to Galesburg, 111. , where he spent 
several years at Knox College. In 1857 he gradu- 
ated from the Albany Law School, but on return- 
ing to Illinois, soon embarked in politics, his 
affiliations being uniformly with the Republican 
party. His first office was that of Postmaster at 
Galesburg, to which he was appointed by Presi- 
dent Lincoln in 1861 and which he held for 
twenty-four years. He was a tried and valued 
assistant of Governor Yates during the War of 
the Rebellion, serving on the staff of the latter 
with the rank of Colonel. He was a delegate to 
the National Convention of his party at Baltimore 
in 1864, which renominated Lincoln, and took an 
active part in the campaigns of that year, as well 
as those of 1868 and 1872. In 1869 he purchased 
"The Galesburg Republican," which he edited 
and published for two years. In 1880 he was an 
unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomi- 
nation for Governor ; in 1884 was a delegate to the 
Republican National Convention, from the State- 
at-large, and, in 1887, a candidate for the caucus 
nomination for United States Senator, which was 
given to Charles B. Farwell. In 1888 he was 
defeated in the Republican State Convention as 
candidate for Governor by Joseph W. Fifer. In 
1889 President Harrison appointed him Minister 
to Denmark, which post he filled with marked 
ability and credit to the country until his resig- 
nation was accepted by President Cleveland, 
when he returned to his former home at Gales- 
burg. While in Denmark he did much to 
promote American trade with that country, 
especially in the introduction of American corn 
as an article of food, which has led to a large 
increase in the annual exportation of this com- 
modity to Scandinavian markets. 

CARR, Eugene A., soldier, was born in Erie 
County, N. Y., May 20, 1830, and graduated at 
West Point in 1850, entering the Mounted Rifles. 
Until 1861 he was stationed in the Far West, and 
engaged in Indian fighting, earning a First Lieu- 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



81 



tenancy through his gallantry. In 1861 he 
entered upon active service under General Lyon, 
in Southwest Missouri, taking part in the engage- 
ments of Dug Springs and Wilson's Creek, 
winning the brevet of Lieutenant-Colonel. In 
September, 18G1, he was commissioned Colonel of 
the Third Illinois Cavalry He served as acting 
Brigadier-General in Fremont's hundred-day 
expedition, for a time commanding the Fourth 
Division of the Army of the Southwest. On the 
second day at Pea Ridge, although three times 
wounded, he remained on the field seven hours, 
and materially aided in securing a victory, for 
his bravery being made Brigadier-General of 
Volunteers. In the summer of 18G2 he was 
promoted to the rank of Major in the Regular 
Army. During the Vicksburg campaign he com- 
manded a division, leading the attack at Magnolia 
Church, at Port Gibson, and at Big Black River, 
and winning a brevet Lieutenant-Colonelcy in 
the United States Army. He also distinguished 
himself for a first and second assault upon taking 
Vicksburg, and, in the autumn of 1862, com- 
manded the left wing of the Sixteenth Corps at 
Corinth. In December of that year he was 
transferred to the Department of Arkansas, 
where he gained new laurels, being bre vetted 
Brigadier-General for gallantry at Little Rock, 
and Major-General for services during the war. 
After the close of the Civil War, he was stationed 
chiefly in the West, where he rendered good serv- 
ice in the Indian campaigns. In 1894 he was 
retired with the rank of Brigadier-General, and 
has since resided in New York. 

CARRIEL, Henry F., M.D., alienist, was born 
at Charlestown, N. EL, and educated at Marlow 
Academy, N. H., and W r esleyan Seminary, Vt. ; 
graduated from the College of Physicians and 
Surgeons, New York City, in 1857, and immedi- 
ately accepted the position of Assistant Physician 
in the New Jersey State Lunatic Asylum, 
remaining until 1870. Meanwhile, however, he 
visited a large number of the leading hospitals 
and asylums of Europe. In 1870, Dr. Carriel 
received the appointment of Superintendent of 
the Illinois Central Hospital for the Insane at 
Jacksonville, a position which he continued to 
fill until 1893, when he voluntarily tendered to 
Governor Altgeld his resignation, to take effect 
July 1 of that year.— Mrs. Mary Turner (Carriel), 
wife of Dr. Carriel, and a daughter of Prof. 
Jonathan B. Turner of Jacksonville, was elected 
a Trustee of the University of Illinois on the Repub- 
lican ticket in 1896, receiving a plurality of US, 039 
over Julia Holmes Smith, her highest competitor. 



CARROLL COUNTY, originally a pari of Jo 
Daviess County, hut set apart and organized in 
ls:j9, named for Charles Carroll of Carrollton. The 
first settlements were in and around Savanna, 
Cherry Grove and Arnold's Grove. The first 
County Commissioners were Messrs. L. II. Bor 
den, Garner Moffett and S. M. Jersey, who held 
their first court at Savanna, April 13, 1839. In 
1843 the county seat was changed from Savanna 
to Mount Carroll, where it yet remains. Town 
ships were first organized in 1850, and the 
development of the county has steadily pro 
gressed since that date. The surface of the land 
is rolling, and at certain points decidedly pictur- 
esque. The land is generally good for farming. 
It is well timbered, particularly along the Mis- 
sissippi. Area of the county, 440 square miles; 
population, 18,903. Mount Carroll is a pleasant, 
prosperous, wide-awake town, of about 2,000 
inhabitants, and noted for its excellent public 
ami private schools. 

CARROLLTON, the county-seat of Greene 
County, situated on the west branch of the Chi- 
cago & Alton and the Quincy, Carrollton & St. 
Louis Railroads, 33 miles north-northwest of 
Alton, and 34 miles south by west from Jackson- 
ville. The town has a foundry, carriage and 
wagon factory, two machine shops, two flour 
mills, two banks, six churches, a high school, and 
two weekly newspapers. Population (1890), 
2,258; (1900), 2,355. 

CARTER, Joseph N., Justice of the Supreme 
Court, was born in Hai-din County, Ky., March 
12, 1843; came to Illinois in boyhood, and. after 
attending school at Tuscola four years, engaged 
in teaching until lS(i3, when he entered Illinois 
College, graduating in 1866; in istjs graduated 
from the Law Department of the University of 
Michigan, the next year establishing himself in 
practice at Quincy, where he has since resided 
He was a member of the Thirty first and Thirty- 
second General Assemblies (1878-82), and, in 
June, 1894, was elected to the seat on the Supreme 
Bench, which he now occupies 

CARTER, Thomas Henry, United State's Sena 
tor, born in Scioto County, Ohio, Oct, 30, 1854; 
in his fifth year was brought to Illinois, his 
father locating at Pana, where he was educated 
in the public schools; was employed in farming, 
railroading and teaching several years, then 
studied law and was admitted to the bar, and, in 
1882, removed to Helena, Mont., where he en- 
gaged in practice; was elected, as a Republican 
the last Territorial Delegate to Congress from 
Idaho and the first Representative from the new 



82 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



State; was Commissioner of the General Land 
Office (1891-92), and, in 1895, was elected to the 
United States Senate for the term ending in 1901. 
In 1892 he was chosen Chairman of the Repub- 
lican National Committee, serving until the St. 
Louis Convention of 1896. 

CARTER VILLE, a city in Williamson County, 
10 miles by rail northwest of Marion. Coal min- 
ing is the principal industry. It has a bank, five 
churches, a public school, and a weekly news- 
paper. Population (1880), 692; (1890), 969; (1900), 
1,749; (1904, est.), 2,000. 

CARTHAGE, a city and the county-seat of 
Hancock County, 13 miles east of Keokuk, Iowa, 
on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy and the Wa- 
bash Railroads ; has water- works, electric lights, 
three banks, four trust companies, four weekly 
and two semi-weekly papers, and is the seat of a 
Lutheran College. Pop. (1890), 1,654; (1900), 2,104. 

CARTHAGE COLLEGE, at Carthage, Hancock 
County, incorporated in 1871 ; has a teaching 
faculty of twelve members, and reports 158 pupils 
— sixty-eight men and ninety women — for 1897-98. 
It has a library of 5,000 volumes and endowment 
of §32,000= Instruction is given in the classical, 
scientific, musical, fine arts and business depart- 
ments, as well as in preparatory studies. In 1898 
this institution reported a property valuation of 
§41,000, of which $35,000 was in real estate. 

CARTHAGE & BURLINGTON RAILROAD. 
(See Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad.) 

CARTWRIGHT, James Henry, Justice of the 
Supreme Court, was born at Maquoketa, Iowa, 
Dec. 1, 1842 — the son of a frontier Methodist 
clergyman; was educated at Rock River Semi- 
nary and the University of Michigan, graduating 
from the latter in 1867 ; began practice in 1870 at 
Oregon, Ogle County, which is still his home ; in 
1888 was elected Circuit Judge to succeed Judge 
Eustace, deceased, and in 1891 assigned to Appel- 
late Court duty ; in December, 1895, was elected 
Justice of the Supreme Court to succeed Justice 
John M. Bailey, deceased, and re-elected in 
1897. 

CARTWRIGHT, Peter, pioneer Methodist 
preacher, was born in Amherst County, Va., 
Sept. 1, 1785, and at the age of five years accom- 
panied his father (a Revolutionary veteran) to 
Logan County, Ky. The country was wild and 
unsettled, there were no schools, the nearest mill 
was 40 miles distant, the few residents wore 
homespun garments of flax or cotton ; and coffee, 
tea and sugar in domestic use were almost un- 
known. Methodist circuit riders soon invaded 
the district, and, at a camp meeting held at Cane 



Ridge in 1801, Peter received his first religious 
impressions. A few months later he abandoned 
his reckless life, sold his race-horse and abjured 
gambling. He began preaching immediately 
after his conversion, and, in 1803, was regularly 
received into the ministry of the Methodist Epis- 
copal Church, although only 18 years old. In 
1823 he removed to Illinois, locating in Sangamon 
County, then but sparsely settled. In 1828, and 
again in 1832, he was elected to the Legislature, 
where his homespun wit and undaunted courage 
stood him in good stead. For a long series of 
years he attended annual conferences (usually as 
a delegate), and was a conspicuous figure at 
camp-meetings. Although a Democrat all his 
life, he was an uncompromising antagonist of 
slavery, and rejoiced at the division of his 
denomination in 1844. He was also a zealous 
supporter of the Government during the Civil 
War. In 1846 he was a candidate for Congress 
on the Democratic ticket, but was defeated by 
Abraham Lincoln. He was a powerful preacher, 
a tireless worker, and for fifty years served as a 
Presiding Elder of his denomination. On the 
lecture platform, his quaintness and eccentricity, 
together with his inexhaustible fund of personal 
anecdotes, insured an interested audience. 
Numerous stories are told of his physical prowess 
in overcoming unruly characters whom he had 
failed to convince by moral suasion. Inside the 
church he was equally fearless and outspoken, 
and his strong common sense did much to pro- 
mote the success of the denomination in the 
West. He died at his home near Pleasant Plains, 
Sangamon County, Sept. 25, 1872. His principal 
published works are "A Controversy with the 
Devil" (1853), "Autobiography of Peter Cart- 
wright" (1856), "The Backwoods Preacher" 
(London, 1869), and several works on Methodism. 
CARY, Eugene, lawyer and insurance manager, 
was born at Boston, Erie County, N. Y., Feb. 20, 
1835; began teaching at sixteen, meanwhile 
attending a select school or academy at intervals ; 
studied law at Sheboygan, Wis., and Buffalo, 
N. Y., 1855-56; served as City Attorney and 
later as County Judge, and, in 1861, enlisted in 
the First Regiment Wisconsin Volunteers, serv- 
ing as a Captain in the Army of the Cumberland, 
and the last two years as Judge-Advocate on the 
staff of General Rousseau. After the war he 
settled at Nashville, Tenn., where he held the 
office of Judge of the First District, but in 1871 
he was elected to the City Council, and, in 1883, 
was the High-License candidate for Mayor in 
opposition to Mayor Harrison, and believed by 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



83 



many to have been honestly elected, but counts I 
out by the machine methods then in vogue. 

CASAD, Anthony Wayne, clergymen and phy- 
sician, was born in Wantage Township, Sussex 
County, X. J., May 2, 1791; died at Summerfield, 
111., Dec. 16, 1857. His father, Rev. Thomas 
Casad. was a Baptist minister, who, with his 
wife, Abigail Tingley, was among the early 
settlers of Sussex County. He was descended 
from Dutch-Huguenot ancestry, the family name 
being originally Cossart, the American branch 
having been founded by Jacques Cossart, who 
emigrated from Leyden to New York in 1C63. 
At the age of 19 Anthony removed to Greene 
County, Ohio, settling at Fairfield, near the site 
of the present city of Dayton, where some of his 
relatives were then residing. On Feb. 6, 1811, he 
married Anna, eldest daughter of Captain Samuel 
Stites and Martha Martin Stites, her mother's 
father and grandfather having been patriot sol- 
diers in the War of the Revolution. Anthony 
Wayne Casad served as a volunteer from Ohio in 
the War of 1S12, being a member of Captain 
Wm. Stephenson's Company. In 1818 he re- 
moved with his wife's father to Union Grove, St. 
Clair County, 111. A few years later he entered 
the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
and during 1821-23 was stationed at Kaskaskia 
and Buffalo, removing, in 1823, to Lebanon, 
where he taught school. Later he studied medi- 
cine and attained considerable prominence as a 
practitioner, being commissioned Surgeon of the 
Forty-ninth Illinois Infantry in 1835. He was 
one of the founders of MeKendree College and a 
liberal contributor to its support; was also for 
many years Deputy Superintendent of Schools at 
Lebanon, served as County Surveyor of St. 
Clair Count}*, and acted as agent for Harper 
Brothers in the sale of Southern Illinois lands. 
He was a prominent Free Mason and an influ- 
ential citizen. His youngest daughter, Amanda 
Keziah, married Rev. Colin D. James (which see). 

< ASEY, a village of Clark County, at the inter- 
section of the Vandalia Line and the Chicago & 
Ohio River Railroad. 35 miles southwest of Terre 
Haute. Population (,1800), S44 ; (1900), 1,500. 

CASEY, Zadoe, pioneer and early Congressman, 
was born in Georgia. March 17, 1796, the you 
est son of a soldier of the Revolutionary War who 
removed to Tennessee about 1800. The subject 
of this sketch came to Illinois in l s 17. brin^ 
with him his widowed mother, and settling in 
the vicinity of the present city of Mount Vernon, 
in Jefferson County, where he acquired great 
prominence as a politician and became the heal 



of an influential family. He began preaching at 
an early age, and continued to do so occasionally 
through his political career. In 1810, he took a 
prominent part in the , .r^anization of Jefferson 
County, serving on the first Board of County 
Commissioners; was an unsuccessful candidate 
for the Legislature in 1820, but was elected 
Representative in 1822 and re-elected two years 
later; in 1826 was advance,} to the Senate, serv- 
ing until 1830, when he was elected Lieutenant 
Governor, and during his incumbency took part 
in the Black Hawk War. On March 1, 1833, be 
resigned the Lieutenant-Governorship to accept 
a seat as one of the three Congressmen from 
Illinois, to which he had been elected a few 
months previous, being subsequently re-elected 
for four consecutive terms. In 1*42 he was 
again a candidate, but was defeated by John A. 
McClernand. Other public positions held by him 
included those of Delegate to the Constitutional 
Conventions of 1847 and 1862, Representative in 
the Sixteenth and Seventeenth General Assem- 
blies (184*-">2), serving as Speaker in the former. 
He was again elected to the Senate in 1860, but 
died before the expiration of his term, Sept. 4, 
1862. During the latter years of his life he was 
active in securing the right of way for the Ohio 
A" Mississippi Railroad, the original of the Mis- 
sissippi division of the Baltimore, Ohio & South- 
western. He commenced life in poverty, but 
acquired a considerable estate, and was the donor 
of the ground upon which the Supreme Court 
building for the Southern Division at Mount 
Vernon was erected. — Dr. Xewton R. (Casey), 
son of the preceding, was born in Jefferson 
County, 111., Jan. 27, 1826, received his pri- 
mary education in the local schools and at Hill-- 
boro and Mount Vernon Academies; in 1842 
entered the Ohio Lniversity at Athens in that 
State, remaining until 1845, when he com- 
menced the study of medicine, taking a course 
of lectures the following year at the Louisville 
Medical Institute: soon after began practice, 
and. in lb47, removed to Benton, 111., returning 
the following year to Mount Vernon. In 
1856-57 he attended a second course of lectures at 
the Missouri Medical College, St. Louis, the Latter 
r removing to Mound City, where he rilled a 
number of positions, including that of Mayor 
from 1859 to 1864, when he declined a re-election 
In 1860, Dr. Casey served as delegate from Illi- 
nois to the Democratic National Convention at 
Charleston. S. C, and. on the establishment of 
the United States Government Hospital at Mound 
City, in 1861 acted for some time as a volunteer 



84 



HISTOKICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



surgeon, later serving as Assistant Surgeon. In 
1866, he was elected Representative in the 
Twenty -fifth General Assembly and re-elected in 
1868, when he was an unsuccessful Democratic 
candidate for Speaker in opposition to Hon. S. M. 
Cullom; also again served as Representative in 
the Twenty-eighth General Assembly (1872-74). 
Since retiring from public life Dr. Casey has 
given his attention to the practice of his profes- 
sion. — Col. Thomas S. (Casey), another son, was 
born in Jefferson County, 111., April 6, 1832, 
educated in the common schools and at McKend- 
ree College, in due course receiving the degree of 
A.M. from the latter; studied law for three 
years, being admitted to the bar in 1854; in 1860, 
was elected State's Attorney for the Twelfth 
Judicial District; in September, 1862, was com- 
missioned Colonel of the One Hundred and Tenth 
Illinois Volunteer Infantry, but was mustered out 
May 16, 1863, having in the meantime taken part 
in the battle of Stone River and other important 
engagements in Western Tennessee. By this 
time his regiment, having been much reduced 
in numbers, was consolidated with the Sixtieth 
Illinois Volunteer Infantry. In 1864, he was 
again elected State's Attorney, serving until 
1868; in 1870, was chosen Representative, and, in 
1872, Senator for the Mount Vernon District for 
a term of four years. In 1879, he was elected Cir- 
cuit Judge and was immediately assigned to 
Appellate Court duty, soon after the expiration of 
his term, in 1885, removing to Springfield, where 
he died, March 1, 1891. 

CASS COUNTY, situated a little west of the 
center of the State, with an area of 360 square 
miles and a population (1900) of 17,222— named 
for Gen. Lewis Cass. French traders are believed 
to have made the locality of Beardstown their 
headquarters about the time of the discovery of 
the Illinois country. The earliest permanent 
white settlers came about 1820, and among them 
were Thomas Beard, Martin L. Lindsley, John 
Cetrough and Archibald Job. As early as 1821 
there was a horse-mill on Indian Creek, and, in 
1827, M. L Lindsley conducted a school on the 
bluffs. Peter Cartwright, the noted Methodist 
missionary and evangelist, was one of the earliest 
preachers, and among the pioneers may be named 
Messrs. Robertson, Toplo, McDonald, Downing, 
Davis, Shepherd, Penny, Bergen and Hopkins. 
Beardstown was the original county-seat, and 
during both the Black Hawk and Mormon 
troubles was a depot of supplies and rendezvous 
for troops. Here also Stephen A. Douglas made 
his first political speech. The site of the town, 



as at present laid out, was at one time sold by 
Mr. Downing for twenty-five dollars. The 
county was 'set off from Morgan in 1837. The 
principal towns are Beardstown, Virginia, Chand- 
lerville, Ashland and Arenzville. The county- 
seat, formerly at Beardstown, was later removed 
to Virginia, where it now is. Beardstown was 
incorporated in 1837, with about 700 inhabitants. 
Virginia was platted in 1836, but not incorporated 
until 1842. 

CASTLE, Orlando Lane, educator, was born at 
Jericho, Vt., July 26, 1822; graduated at Denison 
University, Ohio, 1846; spent one year as tutor 
there, and, for several years, had charge of the 
public schools of Zanesville, Ohio. In 1858, he 
accepted the chair of Rhetoric, Oratory and 
Belles- Lettres in Shurtleff College, at Upper 
Alton, 111., remaining until his death, Jan. 31, 
1892. Professor Castle received the degree of 
LL.D. from Denison University in 1877. 

CATHERWOOD, Mary Hartwell, author, was 
born (Hartwell) in Luray, Ohio, Dec. 16, 1844, 
educated at the Female College, Granville, Ohio, 
where she graduated, in 1868, and, in 1887, was 
married to James S. Catherwood, with whom she 
resides at Hoopeston, 111. Mrs. Catherwood is the 
author of a number of works of fiction, which 
have been accorded a high rank. Among her 
earlier productions are "Craque-o'-Doom" (1881), 
"Rocky Fork" (1882), "Old Caravan Days" 
(1884), "The Secrets at Roseladies" (1888), "The 
Romance of Dollard" and "The Bells of St. 
Anne" (1889). During the past few years she 
has shown a predilection for subjects connected 
with early Illinois history, and has published 
popular romances under the title of "The Story 
of Tonty," "The White Islander," "The Lady of 
Fort St. John," "Old Kaskaskia" and "The Chase 
of Sant Castin and other Stories of the French 
in the New World." 

CATON, John Dean, early lawyer and jurist, 
was born in Monroe County, N". Y., March 19, 
1S12. Left to the care of a widowed mother at 
an early age, his childhood was spent in poverty 
and manual labor. At 15 he was set to learn a 
trade, but an infirmity of sight compelled him to 
abandon it. After a brief attendance at an 
academy at Utica, where he studied law between 
the ages of 19 and 21, in 1833 he removed to 
Chicago, and shortly afterward, on a visit to 
Pekin, was examined and licensed to practice by 
Judge Stephen T. Logan. In 1834, he was elected 
Justice of the Peace, served as Alderman in 
1837-38, and sat upon the bench of the Supreme 
Court from 1842 to 1864, when he resigned, hav- 



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HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



85 



ing served nearly twenty-two years. During 
this period lit more than once occupied the posi- 
tion of Chief-Justice. Being embarrassed by the 
financial stringency of 1837-88, in the latter year 
lie entered a tract of land near Plainfield. ami. 
taking his family with him, began farming. 
Later in life, while a resident of Ottawa, he 
became interested in the construction of telegraph 
lines in the West, which for a time bore his name 
;;,1 were ultimately incorporated in the "West- 
ern Union," laying the foundation of a large 
fortune. On retiring from the bench, he devoted 
himself for the remainder of his life to his private 
a Hairs, to travel, and to literary labors. Among 
his published works are "The Antelope and Deer 
of America," "A Summer in Norway," "Miscel- 
lanies," and "Early Bench and Bar of Illinois." 
Died in Chicago, July 30, 1895. 

CAYARLY, Alfred W., early lawyer and legis- 
lator was born in Connecticut, Sept. 15, 1793; 
served as a soldier in the War of is 12, and, in 
1822, came to Illinois, first settling at Edwards- 
ville, and soon afterwards at Carrollton, Greene 
County. Here he was elected Representative in 
the Fifth General Assembly (1820), and again to 
the Twelfth (1840) ; also served as Senator in the 
Thirteenth, Fourteenth and Fifteenth Assemblies 
(1842-48), acting, in 1845, as one of the Commis- 
sioners to revise the statutes. In 1844, he was 
chosen a Presidential Elector, and, in 1846, was a 
prominent candidate for the Democratic nomi- 
nation for Governor, but was defeated in conven- 
tion by Augustus C. French. Mr. Cavarly was 
prominent both in his profession and in the 
Legislature while a member of that body. In 
1853, he removed to Ottawa, where he resided 
until his death, Oct. 25, 1876. 

CENTERVILLE (or Central City), a village in 
the coal-mining district of Grundy County, near 
Coal City. Population (1880), 673; (1900), 290. 

CENTRAL HOSPITAL FOR THE INSANE, 
established under act of the Legislature passed 
March 1, 1847, and located at Jacksonville, Mor- 
gan County. Its founding was largely due to the 
philanthropic efforts of Miss Dorothea L. Dix, 
who addressed the people from the platform and 
appeared before the General Assembly in behalf 
of this class of unfortunates. Const ruction of 
the building was begun in 1S4S. By L851 two 
wards were ready for occupancy, and the first 
patient was received in November of that year. 
The first Superintendent was Dr. J. M. Biggins, 
who served less than two years, when he was suc- 
ceeded by Dr. H. K. Jones, who had been Assist- 
ant Superintendent. Dr. Jones remained as 



Acting Superintendent for several months, when 
the place was filled by the appointment of Dr. 
Andrew McFarland of New Hampshire, his 
administration continuing until is7u i when he 
resigned on account of ill-health, bein^ su< iceeded 
by Dr. Henry F. Carriel of New .Jersey. I) r . 
Carriel tendered his resignation in 1893, and, 
after one or two further changes, in 1897 Dr. 
F. C. Winslow, who had been Assistant Superin- 
tendent under Dr. Carriel, was placed in charge 
of the institution. The original plan of construc- 
tion provided for a center building, five and a 
half stories high, and two wings with a rear 
extension in which were to be the chapel, kitchen 
and employes' quarters. Subsequently these 
win^s were greatly enlarged, permitting an 
increase in the number of wards, and as the 
exigencies of the institution demanded, appropri- 
ations have been made for the erection of addi- 
tional buildings. Numerous detached buildings 
have been erected within the past few years, and 
the capacity of the institution greatly increased 
— "The Annex" admitting of the introduction of 
many new and valuable features in the classifica- 
tion and treatment of patients. The number of 
inmates of late years has ranged from 1,200 to 
1,400. The counties from which patients are 
received in this institution embrace: Rock 
Island, Mercer, Henry, Bureau, Putnam, Mar- 
shall, Stark, Knox, Warren, Henderson, Hancock, 
McDonough, Fulton, Peoria, Tazewell, Logan, 
Mason, Menard, Cass, Schuyler, Adams, Pike, 
Calhoun, Brown, Scott, Morgan, Sangamon, 
Christian, Montgomery, Macoupin, Greene and 
Jersey. 

CEXTRALIA, a city and railway center of 
Marion County, 250 miles south of Chicago. It 
forms a trade center for the famous "fruit belt" 
of Southern Illinois; has a number of coal mines, 
a glass plant, an envelope factory, iron foundries, 
railroad repair shops, flour and rolling mills, ami 
an ice plant; also has water-works and sewerage 
system, a fire department, two daily papers, and 
excellent graded schools. Several parks afford 
splendid pleasure resorts. Population (1S90), 
4,763; (1900), 6.721; (1903, est.), 8,000. 

CENTRALIA & ALTAMONT RAILROAD. 
(See criitnilid <(• Chester Railroad I 

CENTRALIA & CHESTER RAILROAD, a rail- 
way line wholly within the State, extending 
from Salem, in Marion ( !ounty, to < !hester, on the 
Mississippi Liver (91.0 miles), with a lateral 
branch from Sparta to Koxborough I 5 miles), and 
trackage facilities over the Illinois Central from 
the branch junction to Centralis (2 9 miles) — 



86 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



total, 99.5 miles. The original line was chartered 
as the Centralia & Chester Railroad, in December, 
1887, completed from Sparta to Coulterville in 
1889, and consolidated the same year with the 
Sparta & Evansville and the Centralia & Alta- 
mont Railroads (projected); line completed 
from Centralia to Evansville early in 1894. The 
branch from Sparta to Rosborough was built in 
1895, the section of the main line from Centralia 
to Salem (14.9 miles) in 1896, and that from 
Evansville to Chester (17.6 miles) in 1897-98. 
The road was placed in the hands of a receiver, 
June 7, 1897, and the expenditures for extension 
and equipment made under, authority granted by 
the United States Court for the issue of Receiver's 
certificates. The total capitalization is §2,374,- 
841, of which $978,000 is in stocks and $948,000 in 
bonds. 

CENTRAL MILITARY TRACT RAILROAD. 
(See Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad.) 

CERRO GORDO, a town in Piatt County, 12 
miles by rail east-northeast of Decatur. The crop 
of cereals in the surrounding country is sufficient 
to support two elevators at Cerro Gordo, which 
has also a flouring mill, brick and tile factories, 
etc. There are three churches, graded schools, a 
bank and two newspaper offices. Population 
(1890), 939; (1900), 1,008. 

CHADDOCK COLLEGE, an institution under 
the patronage of the Methodist Episcopal Church 
at Quincy, III., incorporated in 1878; is co-educa- 
tional, has a faculty of ten instructors, and 
reports 127 students — 70 male and 57 female — in 
the classes of 1895-96. Besides the usual depart- 
ments in literature, science and the classics, 
instruction is given to classes in theology, music, 
the fine arts, oratory and preparatory studies. It 
has property valued at 8110,000, and reports an 
endowment fund of §8,000. 

CHAMBERLIN, Thomas Crowder, geologist 
and educator, was born near Mattoon, 111., Sept. 
25, 1845; graduated at Beloit College, Wisconsin, 
in 1866: took a course in Michigan University 
(1868-69); taught in various Wisconsin institu- 
tions, also discharged the duties of State 
Geologist, later filling the chair of Geology at 
Columbian University, Washington, D. C. In 
1878, he was sent to Paris, in charge of the edu- 
cational exhibits of Wisconsin, at the Interna- 
tional Exposition of that year — during his visit 
making a special study of the Alpine glaciers. 
In 1887, he was elected President of the Univer- 
sity of Wisconsin, serving until 1892, when he 
became Head Professor of Geology at the Univer- 
sity of Chicago, where he still remains. He is 



also editor of the University "Journal of Geol- 
ogy" and President of the Chicago Academy of 
Sciences. Professor Chamberlin is author of a 
number of volumes on educational and scientific 
subjects, chiefly in the line of geology. He 
received the degree of LL.D. from the Univer- 
sity of Michigan, Beloit College and Columbian 
University, all on the same date (1887). 

CHAMPAIGN, a flourishing city in Champaign 
County, 128 miles southwest of Chicago and 83 
miles northeast of Springfield ; is the intersecting 
point of three lines of railway and connected 
with the adjacent city of Urbana, the county- 
seat, by an electric railway. The University of 
Illinois, located in Urbana, is contiguous to the 
city. Champaign has an excellent system of 
water-works, well-paved streets, and is lighted by 
both gas and electricity. The surrounding coun- 
try is agricultural, but the city has manufac- 
tories of carriages and machines. Three papers 
are published here, besides a college weekly con- 
ducted by the students of the University. The 
Burnham Hospital and the Garwood Old Ladies' 
Home are located in Champaign. In the resi- 
dence portion of the city there is a handsome 
park, covering ten acres and containing a notable 
piece of bronze statuary, and several smaller parks 
in other sections. There are several handsome 
churches, and excellent schools, both public and 
private. Population (1890), 5,839; (1900), 9,098. 

CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, situated in the eastern 
half of the central belt of the State; area, 1,008 
square miles; population (1900), 47,622. The 
county was organized in 1833, and named for a 
county in Ohio. The physical conformation is 
flat, and the soil rich. The county lies in the 
heart of what was once called the "Grand 
Prairie." Workable seams of bituminous coal 
underlie the surface, but overlying quicksands 
interfere with their operation. The Sangamon 
and Kaskaskia Rivers have their sources in this 
region, and several railroads cross the county. 
The soil is a black muck underlaid by a yellow 
clay. Urbana (with a population of 5,708 in 
1900) is the county-seat. Other important points 
in the county are Champaign (9,000), Tolono 
(1,000), and Rantoul (1,200). Champaign and 
Urbana adjoin each other, and the grounds of the 
Illinois State University extend into each corpo- 
ration, being largely situated in Champaign. 
Large drifted masses of Niagara limestone are 
found, interspersed with coal measure limestone 
and sandstone. Alternating beds of clay, gravel 
and quicksand of the drift formation are found 
beneath the subsoil to the depth of 150 to 300 feet. 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS 



s: 



CHAMPAIGN, HAVANA & WESTERN RAIL- 
ROAD. (See Illinois Central Railroad.) 

CHANDLER, Charles, physician, was born at 
West Woodstock, Conn., .Inly 2, 1806; graduated 
with the degree of M.D. at Castleton, \ t., and, 
in 1829, located in Scituate, R. !. ; in 1832, started 
with the intention of settling at Fort Clark (now 
Peoria), 111., but was stopped at lieardstown by 
the "Black Hawk War," finally locating on the 
Sangamon River, in Cass County, where, in 1S4S, 
he laid out the town of Chandlerville — Abraham 
Lincoln being one of the surveyors who platted 
the town. Here he gained a large practice, 
which he was compelled, in his later years, par- 
tially to abandon in consequence of injuries 
received while prosecuting his profession, after- 
wards turning his attention to merchandising 
and encouraging the development of the locality 
in which he lived by promoting the construction 
of railroads and the building of schoolhouses and 
churches. Liberal and public-spirited, his influ- 
ence for good extended over a large region. 
Died, April 7, 1879. 

CHANDLER, Henry B., newspaper manager, 
was born at Frelighsburg, Quebec, July 12, 1836; 
at 18 he began teaching, and later took charge of 
the business department of "The Detroit Free 
Press"; in 1861, came to Chicago with Wilbur F. 
Storey and became business manager of "The 
Chicago Times"; in 1870, disagreed with Storey 
and retired from newspaper business. Died, at 
Yonkers, N. Y., Jan. 18, 1896. 

CHANDLERVILLE, a village in Cass County, 
on the Chicago, Peoria & St. Louis Railroad, 7 
miles north by east from Virginia, laid out in 
1848 by Dr. Charles Chandler, and platted by 
Abraham Lincoln. It has a bank, a creamery, 
four churches, a weekly newspaper, a tiour and a 
saw-mill. Population (1890), 910; (1900), 940. 

CHAPIN, a village of Morgan County, at the 
intersection of the Wabash and the Chicago, 
Burlington & Quincy Railroads, 10 miles west of 
Jacksonville. Population (1890), 450; (1900), 514. 

CHAPPELL, Charles H., railway manager, 
was born in Du Page County, 111. , March 3, 1841. 
With an ardent passion for the railroad business, 
at the age of 16 he obtained a position as freight 
brakeman on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy 
Railroad, being steadily promoted through the 
ranks of conductor, train-master and dispatcher, 
until, in 1865, at the age of 24, he was appointed 
General Agent of the Eastern Division of the 
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy. Other railroad 
positions -which Mr. Chappell lias since held are: 
Superintendent of a division of the Union Pacific 



(1869-70); Assistant or Division Superintendent 
of the Chicago, Burlington <S Quincy, or some of 
its branches (1870-74); General Superintendent 
of the Missouri, Kansas & Texas (1874 
Superintendent of the Western Division of the 
Wabash (1877-79). In 1880, he accepted the 
position of Assistant General Superintendent of 
the Chicago & Alton Railroad, being advanced in 
the next three years through the grades of 
General Superintendent and Assistant General 
Manager, to that of General Manager of the 
entire system, which he has continued to till for 
over twelve years. Quietly and without show or 
display. Mr. Chappell continues in the discharge 
of his duties, assisting to make the system with 
which he is identified one of the most successful 
and perfect in its operation in the whole country. 

CHARLESTON, the county-seat of Coles 
County, an incorporated city and a railway junc- 
tion, 46 miles west of Terre Haute, Ind. It lies 
in the center of a fanning region, yet has several 
factories, including woolen and flouring mills, 
broom, plow and carriage factories, a foundry 
and a canning factory. Three newspapers are 
published here, issuing daily editions. Population 
(1890), 4,135; (1900), 5.488. The Eastern State 
Normal School was located here in 1895. 

CHARLESTON, \E0UA & ST. LOUIS RAIL- 
ROAD. (See Toledo, St. Louis d- Kansas City 
Railroad.) 

CHARLEVOIX, Pierre Francois Xavier de, 
a celebrated French traveler and an early 
explorer of Illinois, born at St. Quentin, France, 
Oct. 29, 1682. He entered the Jesuit Society, 
and while a student was sent to Quebec 
( 16H5), where for four years he was instructor in 
the college, and completed his divinity studies. 
In ITO'.l he returned to France, but came again to 
Quebec a few years later. He ascended the St. 
Lawrence, sailed through Lakes Ontario and Erie, 
and finally reached the Mississippi by way of the 
Illinois River. After visiting ( 'ahokia and the 
surrounding county (1720-21), he continued down 
the Mississippi to New Orleans, and returned to 
France by way of Santo Domingo. Besides some 
works on religious subjects, he was the author of 
histories of Japan, Paraguay and San Domingo. 
His great work, however, was the "History of 
New France," which was not published until 
twenty years after his death. His journal of his 
\jnerican explorations appeared about the same 
time. His history has long been cited by 
scholars as authority, but no English translation 
was made until 1865, when it was undertaken bv 
Shea. Died in France, Feb. 1. 1761. 



88 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



CHASE, Philander, Protestant Episcopal 
Bishop, was born in Cornish, Vt., Dec. 14, 1775, 
and graduated at Dartmouth in 1795. Although 
reared as a Congregationalist, he adopted the 
Episcopal faith, and was ordained a priest in 
1799, for several years laboring as a missionary 
in Northern and Western New York. In 1805, 
he went to New Orleans, but returning North in 
1811, spent six years as a rector at New Haven, 
Conn. , then engaged in missionary work in Ohio, 
organizing a number of parishes and founding an 
academy at Worthington; was consecrated a 
Bishop in 1819, and after a visit to England to 
raise funds, laid the foundation of Kenyon 
College and Gambier Theological Seminary, 
named in honor of two English noblemen who 
had contributed i large portion of the funds. 
Differences arising with some of his clergy in 
reference to the proper use of the funds, he 
resigned both t ■ Bishopric and the Presidency 
of the college in 1831. and after three years of 
missionary labor in Michigan, in 1835 was chosen 
Bishop of Illinois. Making a second visit to 
England, he succeeded in raising additional 
funds, and, in 1838, founded Jubilee College at 
Robin's Nest, Peoria County, 111., for which a 
charter was obtained in 1847. He was a man of 
great religious zeal, of indomitable perseverance 
and the most successful pioneer of the Episcopal 
Church in the West. He was Presiding Bishop 
from 1843 until his death, which occurred Sept. 
20, 1852. Several volumes aj red from his pen, 
the most important being "/ \ for the West" 
(1826), and 'Reminiscences: . *i Autobiography, 
Comprising i Tistory of the Principal Events in 
the Author'? ^ife" (1848). 

CHATHAM, a village Of Sangamon County, on 
the Chicago & Alton Railroad, 9 miles south of 
Springfield. Population (1890), 482; (1900), 629, 

CHATSWORTH, town in Livingston County, 
on 111. Cent, and Toledo, Peoria & Western Rail- 
ways, 79 miles east of Peoria; in farming and 
stock-raising district ; has two banks, three grain 
elevators, five churches, a graded school, two 
weekly papers, water works, electric lights, paved 
streets, cement sidewalks, brick works, and other 
manufactories. Pop. (1890), 827; (1900), 1,038. 

CHEBANSE, a town in Iroquois and Kankakee 
Counties, on the Illinois Central Railroad, 64 
miles south-southwest from Chicago; the place 
has two banks and one newspaper. Population 
(1880), 728; (1890), 616; (1900), 555. 

CHENEY, Charles Edward, Bishop of the Re- 
formed Protestant Episcopal Church, was born in 
Canandaigua, N. Y., Feb. 12, 1836; gi-aduated at 



Hobart in 1857, and began study for the ministry 
of the Protestant Episcopal Church. Soon after 
ordination he became rector of Christ Church, 
Chicago, and was prominent among those who, 
under the leadership of Assistant Bishop Cum- 
mins of Kentucky, organized the Reformed Epis- 
copal Church in 1873. He was elected Missionary 
Bishop of the Northwest for the new organiza- 
tion, and was consecrated in Christ Church, 
Chicago, Dec. 14, 1873. 

CHENEY, John Vance, author and librarian, 
was born at Groveland, N. Y., Dec. 29, 1848, 
though the family home was at Dorset, Vt.. 
where he grew up and received his primary edu- 
cation. He acquired his academic training at 
Manchester, Vt., and Temple Hill Academy, 
Genesee, N. Y., graduating from the latter in 
1865, later becoming Assistant Principal of the 
same institution. Having studied law, he was 
admitted to the bar successively in Massachusetts 
and New York; but meanwhile having written 
considerably for the old "Scribner's Monthly" 
(now "Century Magazine"), while under the 
editorship of Dr. J. G. Holland, he gradually 
adopted literature as a profession. Removing to 
the Pacific Coast, he took charge, in 1887, of the 
Free Public Library at San Francisco, remaining 
until 1894, when he accepted the position of 
Librarian of the Newberry Library in Chicago, 
as successor to Dr. William F. Poole, deceased. 
Besides two or three volumes of verse, Mr. Cheney 
is the author of numerous essays on literary 
subjects. His published works include "Thistle- 
Drift," poems (1887); "Wood-Blooms," poems 
(1888), "Golden Guess," essays (1892); "That 
Dome in Air," essays (1895); "Queen Helen," 
poem (1895) and "Out of the Silence," poem 
(1897). He is also editor of "Wood Notes Wild, " 
by Simeon Pease Cheney (1892), and Caxton Club's 
edition of Derby's Phcenixiana. 

CHENOA, an incorporated city of McLean 
County, at the intersecting point of the Toledo, 
Peoria & Western and the Chicago & Alton Rail- 
roads, 48 miles east of Peoria, 23 miles northeast 
of Bloomington, and 102 miles south of Chicago. 
Agriculture, dairy farming, fruit-growing and 
coal-mining are the chief industries of the sur- 
rounding region. The city also has an electric 
light plant, water-works, canning works and tile 
works, besides two banks, seven churches, a 
graded school, two weekly papers, and telephone 
systems connecting with the surrounding coun- 
try. Population (1890), 1,226; (1900), 1,512. 

CHESBROUGH, Ellis Sylvester, civil engineer, 
was born in Baltimore, Md., July 6, 1813; at the 




CHICAGO THOROUGHFARES. 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OE ILLINOIS. 



S!< 



age of thirteen was chainman to an engineering 
party on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, being 
later employed on other roads. In 1837, he was 
appointed senior assistant engineer in the con- 
struction of the Louisville, Cincinnati & Charles- 
ton Railroad, and, in 1846, Chief Engineer of the 
Boston Waterworks, in 1850 becoming sole Com- 
missioner of the Water Department of that city. 
In 1855, he became engineer of the Chicago Board 
of Sewerage Commissioners, and in that capacity 
designed the sewerage system of the city — also 
planning the river tunnels. He resigned the 
office of Commissioner of Public Works of 
Chicago in 1879. He was regarded as an author- 
ity on water-supply and sewerage, and was con- 
sulted by the officials of New York, Boston, 
Toronto, Milwaukee and other cities. Died, 
August 19, 1886. 

CHESNUT, John A., lawyer, was born in Ken- 
tucky, Jan. 19, 1816, his father being a native of 
South Carolina, but of Irish descent. John A. 
was educated principally in his native State, but 
came to Illinois in 1836, read law with P. H. 
Winchester at Carlinville, was admitted to the 
bar in 1837, and practiced at Carlinville until 
1855, when he removed to Springfield and engaged 
in real estate and banking business. Mr. Ches- 
nut was associated with many local business 
enterprises, was for several years one of the 
Trustees of the Institution for the Deaf and 
Dumb at Jacksonville, also a Trustee of the 
Illinois Female College (Methodist) at the same 
place, and was Supervisor of the United States 
Census for the Sixth District of Illinois in 1880. 
Died, Jan. 14, 1898. 

CHESTER, the county-seat of Randolph 
County, situated on the Mississippi River, 76 
miles south of St. Louis. It is the seat of the 
Southern Illinois Penitentiary and of the State 
Asylum for Insane Convicts It stands in the 
heart of a region abounding in bituminous coal, 
and is a prominent shipping point for this com- 
modity ; also has quarries of building stone. It 
has a grain elevator, flouring mills, rolling mills 
and foundries. Population (1880), 2,580; (1890), 
2,708; (1900), 2,832. 

CHETLA1N, Augustus Louis, soldier, was born 
in St. Louis, Mo., Dec. 26, 1824, of French Hugue- 
not stock — his parents having emigrated from 
Switzerland in 1823, at first becoming members 
of the Selkirk colony on Red River, in Manitoba. 
Having received a common school education, he 
became a merchant at Galena, and was the first 
to volunteer there in response to the call for 
troops after the bombardment of Fort Sumter, in 



1861, being chosen to the captaincy of a company 
in the Twelfth Regiment of Illinois Volunteers, 
which General Grant had declined; participated 
in the campaign on the Tennessee River which 
resulted in the capture of Fort Donelson and the 
battle of Sliiluh, meanwhile being commissioned 
Lieutenant-Colonel; also distinguished himself at 
Corinth, where he remained in command until 
May, 1803, and organized the first colored regi- 
ment raised in the West. In December, 1863, he 
was promoted Brigadier-General and placed in 
charge of the organization of colored troops in 
Tennessee, serving later in Kentucky and being 
brevetted Major-General in January, 1864. From 
January to October, 1865, he commanded the 
post at Memphis, and later the District of Talla- 
dega, Ala., until January, 1866, when he was 
mustered out of the service. General Chetlain 
was Assessor of Internal Revenue for the District 
of Utah (1867-69), then appointed United States 
Consul at Brussels, serving until 1872, on his 
return to the United States establishing himself 
as a banker and broker in Chicago. 

CHICAGO, the county -seat of Cook County, 
chief city of Illinois and (1890) second city in 
population in the United States. 

Situation.— The city is situated at the south- 
west bend of Lake Michigan, 18 miles north of 
the extreme southern point of the lake, at the 
mouth of the Chicago River; 715 miles west of 
New York, 590 miles north of west from Wash- 
ington, and 260 miles northeast of St. Louis. 
From the Pacific Coast it is distant 2,417 miles. 
Latitude 41° 52' north; longitude 87° 35' west of 
Greenwich. Area (1898), 186 square miles. 

Topography.— Chicago stands on the dividing 
ridge between the Mississippi and St. Lawrence 
basins. It is 502 feet above sea-level, and its 
highest point is some 18 feet above Lake Michi- 
gan. The Chicago River is virtually a bayou, 
dividing into north and south branches about a 
half-mile west of the lake. The surrounding 
country is a low, flat prairie, but engineering 
science and skill have done much for it in the 
way of drainage. The Illinois & Michigan Canal 
terminates at a point on the south branch of 
the Chicago River, within the city limits, and 
unites the waters of Lake Michigan with those 
of the Illinois River. 

Commerce.— The Chicago River, with its 
branches, affords a water frontage of nearly 60 
miles, the greater part of which is utilized for 
the shipment and unloading of grain, lumber, 
stone, coal, merchandise, etc. Another navigable 
stream (the Calumet River) also lies within the 



90 



HISTOKICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



corporate limits. Dredging has made the Chi- 
cago River, with its branches, navigable for 
vessels of deep draft. The harbor has also been 
widened and deepened. Well constructed break- 
waters protect the vessels lying inside, and the 
port is as safe as any on the great lakes. The 
city is a port of entry, and the tonnage of vessels 
arriving there exceeds that of any other port in 
the United States. During 1897, 9,156 vessels 
arrived, with an aggregate tonnage of 7,209,442, 
while 9,201 cleared, representing a tonnage of 
7,185,324. It is the largest grain market in the 
world, its elevators (in 1897) having a capacity 
of 32, 550, 000 bushels. 

According to the reports of the Board of Trade, 
the total receipts and shipments of grain for 
the year 1898 — counting flour as its grain equiva- 
lent in bushels — amounted to 323,097,453 bushels 
of the former, to 289,920,028 bushels of the latter. 
The receipts and shipments of various products 
for the year (1898) were as follows: 



Flour (bbls.) 

Wheat (bu.) 

Corn " . 

Oats " . 

Rye " . 

Barley " . 

Cured Meats (lbs.) 

Dressed Beef " . 

Live-stock — Hogs 
Cattle 
Sheep 



Receipts. 

5,316,195 

35,741,555 

127,426,374 

110,293,647 

4,935,308 

18,116,594 

229,005,246 

110,286,652 

9,360,968 

2,480,632 

3,502,378 



Shipments. 

5,032,236 

38,094,900 

130,397,681 

85.057,636 

4,453,384 

6,755,247 

923,627,722 

1,060,859,808 

1,334,768 

864,408 

545,001 



Chicago is also an important lumber market, 
the receipts in 1895, including shingles, being 
1,562,527 M. feet. As a center for beef and pork- 
packing, the city is without a rival in the amount 
of its products, there having been 92,459 cattle 
and 760,514 hogs packed in 1894-95. In bank 
clearings and general mercantile business it 
ranks second only to New York, while it is also 
one of the chief manufacturing centers of the 
country. The census of 1890 shows 9,959 manu- 
facturing establishments, with a capital of $292,- 
477,038; employing 203,108 hands, and turning 
out products valued at §632,184,140. Of the out- 
put by far the largest was that of the slaughter- 
ing and meat-packing establishments, amounting 
to 8203,825,092; men's clothing came next ($32,- 
*f?,226) ; iron and steel, $31,419,854; foundry and 
machine shop products, $29,928,616; planed 
lumber, $17,604,494. Chicago is also the most 
important live-stock market in the United States. 
The Union Stock Yards (in the southwest part of 
the city) are connected with all railroad lines 
entering the city, and cover many hundreds of 



acres. In 1894, there were received 8,788,049 
animals (of all descriptions), valued at $148,057,- 
626. Chicago is also a primary market for hides 
and leather, the production and sales being both 
of large proportions, and the trade in manufac- 
tured leather (notably in boots and shoes) 
exceeds that of any other market in the country. 
Ship-building is a leading industry, as are also 
brick-making, distilling and brewing. 

Transportation, etc. — Besides being the chief 
port on the great lakes, Chicago ranks second to 
no other American city as a railway center. The 
old "Galena & Chicago Union," its first railroad, 
was operated in 1849, and within three years a 
substantial advance had been scored in the way 
of steam transportation. Since then the multi- 
plication of railroad lines focusing in or passing 
through Chicago has been rapid and steady. In 
1895 not less than thirty-eight distinct lines enter 
the city, although these are operated by only 
twenty-two companies. Some 2,600 miles of 
railroad track are laid within the city limits. 
The number of trains daily arriving and depart- 
ing (suburban and freight included) is about 
2,000. Intramural transportation is afforded by 
electric, steam, cable and horse-car lines. Four 
tunnels under the Chicago River and its branches, 
and numerous bridges connect the various divi- 
sions of the city. 

History.— Point du Sable (a native of San 
Domingo) was admittedly the first resident of 
Chicago other than the aborigines. The French 
missionaries and explorers — Marquette, Joliet, 
La Salle, Hennepin and others — came a century 
earlier, their explorations beginning in 1673. 
After the expulsion of the French at the close of 
the French and Indian War, the territory passed 
under British control, though French traders 
remained in this vicinity after the War of the 
Revolution. One of these named Le Mai followed 
Point du Sable about 1796, and was himself suc- 
ceeded by John Kinzie, the Indian trader, who 
came in 1803. Fort Dearborn was built near the 
mouth of the Chicago River in 1804 on land 
acquired from the Indians by the treaty of 
Greenville, concluded by Gen. Anthony Wayne 
in 1795, but was evacuated in 1812, when most of 
the garrison and the few inhabitants were massa- 
cred by the savages. (See Fort Dearborn. ) The 
fort was rebuilt in 1816, and another settlement 
established around it. The first Government 
survey was made, 1829-30. Early residents were 
the Kinzies, the Wolcotts, the Beaubiens and the 
Millers. The Black Hawk War (1832) rather 
aided in developing the resources and increasing 



CO 

p_ 

(? 
CO 
P 

c 

to 




HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



91 



the population of the infant settlement by draw- 
ing to it settlers from the interior for purposes of 
mutual protection. Town organization was 
effected on August 10, 1832, the total number of 
votes polled being 28. The town grew rapidly 
for a time, but received a set-back in the financial 
crisis of 1837. During May of that year, how- 



ever, a charter was obtained and Chicago became 
a < - ity. The total number of votes casl at that 
time was 703. The census of the city for the 1st 
of July of that year showed a population of 4,180. 

The following tabic shows the names and term 
of office of the chief city officers from 1837 to 
1899: 



Year. 



1837 
1838 
1839 
1840 
1841 
1842 
1843 
1844 
1845 
1846 
1847 
1848 
1849 
1850 
ISM 
1852 
1853 
1854 
1855 
1856 
1857 
1858 
1s.,:i 
1860 
1861 
1862 
1863 
1864 
1865 
18(i6 
1867 
1868 
1869 
1870 
1871 
1872 
1873 
1874 
1875 
1876 

1877-78 
1879-80 
1881-82 
1883-84 
1885-86 
1887-88 
1889-90 
1891-92 
1893 94 

1895-96 
1897-98 
1899 



Mayor. 



W r m. B. Ogden 

Buckner S. Morris 

Benj. W. Baymond 

Alexander Lloyd 

P. C. Sherman 

Benj. W. Baymond 

Augustus Garrett 

Aug. Garrett, Alson S.Shermant 4) 
Aug.Garrett.AIsonS.Sherman(4) 

John P. Chapin 

James Curtiss 

James H. Woodworth 

James H. Woodworth 

James Curtiss 

Walters. Gurnee 

Walters. Gurnee 

Charles M. Gray 

Ira L Milliken 

Levi D. Boone 

Thomas Dyer 

John Wentworth 

John C. Haines 

John C. Haines 

John Wentworth 

Julian S. Bumsey. , 

P. C. Sherman 

F C. Sherman 

P. C. Sherman 

John B. Rice 

John B. Rice 

John B. Bice 

John B. Bice 

John B. Bice (8) 

R. B. Mason 

R. B. Mason 

Joseph Medill 

Joseph Medill 

Harvey D. Colvin 

Harvey D. Colvin 

Monroe Heath, (9) H. D. Colvin, 

Thomas Hoyne 

Monroe Heath 

Carter H. Harrison 

Carter H. Harrison 

Carter H. Harrison 

Carter H. Harrison 

John A. Boche 

De witt C. Cregier 

Hempstead Washburne 

Carter H. Harrison, Geo. B. 

Swift/ll) John P. Hopkins.fll ) 

Geo. B. Swift 

Carter H. Harrison, Jr 

Carter H. Harrison, Jr 



City Clerk. 



C'TY ATTORNEY. 



I. N. Arnold, Geo. Davis (1). 

Geo. Davis 

Wm. H. Brackett 

Thomas Hoyne 

Thomas Hoyne 

J. Curtis 

James M. Lowe 

E. A. Bucker 

E. A. Bucker,Wm.S.Brown(5 1 

Henry B. Clarke 

Henry B. Clarke 

Sidney Abed 

Sidney Abell 

Sidney Abell 

Henry W. Zimmerman 

Henry W. Zimmerman 

Henry W. Zimmerman 

Henry W. Zimmerman 

Henry W. Zimmerman 

Henry W. Zimmerman 

H. Kreisman 

H. Kreisman 

H. Kreisman 

Abraham Kohn 

A. J. Marble 

A. J. Marble 

H.W.Zimmerman 

H. W. Zimmerman 

Albert H. Bodman 

Albert H. Bodman 

Albert H. Bodman 

Albert H. Bodman 

Albert H. Bodman 

Charles T. Hotchkiss 

Charles T. Hotchkiss 

Charles T. Hotchkiss 

Charles T. Hotchkiss 

Jos. K. C. Forrest 

Jos. K. C. Forrest 

Caspar Butz 

Caspar Butz .- 

P. J. Howard 

P. J. Howard 

John G. Neumeister 

C. Herman Plautz 

D. W. Nickerson 

Franz Amberg 

James R. B. Van Cleave 

Chas. D. Gastfield 

James R. B. Van Cleave 

William LoenMer 

William LoefHer 



N. B. Judd 

X B. Judd 

Samuel L. Smith 

Mark Skinner 

Geo. Manierre 

Henry Brown 

G. Manierre. Henry Brown. 3) 

Henry W. Clarke 

Henry W. Clarke 

Charles H . Larrabee 

Patrick Ballingall 

Giles Spring 

O. R. W. Lull 

Henry H. Clark 

Henry H. Clark 

Arno Voss 

Arno Voss 

Patrick Ballingall 

J. A. Thompson 

J. L Marsh 

John C. Miller 

Elliott Anthony 

Geo. F. Crocker 

John Lvle King 

Ira W. Buel 

Geo. A. Meech 

Francis Adams 

Francis Adams 

Daniel D. Driscoll 

Daniel D. Driscoll 

Hasbrouck Davis 

Hasbrouck Davis 

Hasbrouck Davis 

Israel N. Stiles 

Israel N. Stiles 

Israel N. Stiles 

Israel N. Stiles 

Egbert Jamieson 

Egbert Jamieson 

R. S. Tuthill 

R. S. Tuthill 

Julius S. Grinnell 

Julius S. Grinnell 

Julius S. Grinnell 

Hempstead Washburne 

Hemps!. :nl Washburne 

Geo. F. Sugg 

Jacob J. Kem.O.A.TrudeilO) 

Geo. A. Trude 

Roy O. West 

Miles J. Devine — 

Andrew J. Ryan 



City Treasurer. 



1 1 irnin Pearsons. 

Hiram Pearsons. 

Geo. W. Dole. 

W.S. Gurnee, N. H. Bolles(2) 

N. H. Bolles. 

F ( '. Sherman. 

Walter S. Gurnee. 

Walter S. Gurnee. 

Wm. l. Church. 

Wm. L. Church. 

Andrew < letzler. 

Wm. L. Church. 

Wm. I.. Church. 

Edward Manierre. 

Edward Manierre. 

Edward Manierre. 

Edward Manierre. 

Uriah 1'. Harris. 
Wm. F De Wolf. 

(). J. Bus" 

C. x Holden. 
Alonzo Harvey. 
Alonzo Harvey. 

AU. n/... Hurvey,C.W.Hunt(6) 

W. H. Bice. 

F. H. Cutting, W. H. Rice(7) 

David a. • lage. 

David A. Gage. 

A. G. Throop. 

A. G. Throop. 

Wm F. Wentworth. 

Wm. F. Wentworth. 

Wm F. Wentworth. 

David A. Gage. 

David A. Gage. 

David A. Gage. 

David A. Gage. 

Daniel O'Hara. 

Daniel O'Hara. 

Clinton BrlggS. 
(bus. B. Larrabee. 
w. c Seipp. 
Budolph Brand. 
John M. Dunphy. 
Win M. Devine. 
C Herman l'lautz. 
Bernard Roesing. 
Peter Kiolbassa. 

Michael J. Bransfield. 
Adam Wolf. 
Ernst Hummel. 
Adam Ortseifen. 



(1) 
(2. 
(3) 
(4) 
(5) 
(6) 
(7) 
(8) 

(9) 



(10) 
HI) 



I. N. Arnold resigned, and Geo. Davis appointed, October, 1837. 

Gurnee resigned, Bolles appointed his successor, April. 1840. 

Manierre resigned, Brown appointed his successor. July, 1843. 

Election of Garrett declared illegal, and Sherman elected at new election, held April, 1844. 

Brown appointed to fill vacancy caused by resignation of Rucker. 

Harvey resigned and Hunt appointed to fill vacancy. 

Cutting having failed to qualify, Rice, who was already in office, held over. 

Legislature changed date of election from April to November, the persons in office at beginning of 1869 remaining in office 
to December of that year. 

City organized under general Incorporation Act in 1875, and no city election held until April. 1876. The order for a new 
election omitted the office of Mayor.yet a popular vote was taken which gavea majority to Thomas Hoyne. The Council 
then in office refused to canvass this vote, but its successor, at its first meeting, did so. declaring Hoyne duly elected 
Colvin, the incumbent, refused to surrender the office, claiming the right to " bold over;" Hoyne then made a> contest 
for the office, which resulted In a derision bv the supreme Court denying the claims of both contestants when a new 
election was ordered by theCitv Council. July 12, 1876, at Which Monroe Heath was elected, serving out the term. 

City Attorney Kern, having resigned November 21, 1892, Geo. A. Trude was appointed to serve out the remainder of the 
term. 

Mayor Harrison, having been assassinated. October 28, 1893, the City Council at its next meeting ("November 6. 1893) 
elected Geo. B Swift .an Alderman from the Eleventh W ird Ma; Em. At a special election held December 19, 

1893, John P. Hopkins was elected to fill out tin? unexpired term .r Mayor Harrison. 



92 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



The Fire of 1871. — The city steadily grew in 
beauty, population and commercial importance 
until 1871. On Oct. 9 of that year occurred the 
"great fire" the story of which has passed into 
history. Recuperation was speedy, and the 2, 100 
acres burned over were rapidly being rebuilt, 
when, in 1874, occurred a second conflagration, 
although by no means so disastrous as that of 
1871. The city's recuperative power was again 
demonstrated, and its subsequent development 
has been phenomenal. The subjoined statement 



s growth 
1837 


in pc 


jpula 


,tion : 

4,179 


1840 






4,470 


1850 






28,269 


1860 






. 112,162 


1870 






. 298,977 


1880 






. 503,185 


1890 






. 1,099,850 


1900 


• 




. 1,698,575 



Notwithstanding a large foreign population and 
a constant army of unemployed men, Chicago 
has witnessed only three disturbances of the 
peace by mobs — the railroad riots of 1877, the 
Anarchist disturbance of 1886, and a strike of 
railroad employes in 1894. 

Municipal, Administration. — Chicago long 
since outgrew its special charter, and is now 
incorporated under the broader provisions of the 
law applicable to "cities of the first class," under 
which the city is virtually autonomous. The 
personnel, drill and equipment of the police and 
fire departments are second to none, if not supe- 
rior to any, to be found in other American cities. 
The Chicago River, with its branches, divides the 
city into three principal divisions, known respec- 
tively as North, South and West. Each division 
has its statutory geographical boundaries, and 
each retains its own distinct township organiza- 
tion. This system is anomalous; it has, how- 
ever, both assailants and defenders. 

Public Improvements. — Chicago has a fine 
system of parks and boulevards, well developed, 
well improved and well managed. One of the 
parks (Jackson in the South Division) was the 
site of the "World's Columbian Exposition. The 
water supply is obtained from Lake Michigan by 
means of cribs and tunnels. In this direction 
new and better facilities are being constantly 
introduced, and the existing water system will 
compare favorably with that of any other Ameri- 
can city. 

Architecture.— The public and office build- 
ings, as well as the business blocks, are in some 
instances classical, but generally severely plain. 



Granite and other varieties of stone are used in 
the City Hall, County Court House, the Board of 
Trade structure, and in a few commercial build- 
ings, as well as in many private residences. In 
the business part of the city, however, steel, 
iron, brick and fire clay are the materials most 
largely employed in construction, the exterior 
walls being of brick. The most approved 
methods of fire-proof building are followed, and 
the "Chicago construction" has been recognized 
and adopted (with modifications) all over the 
United States. Office buildings range from ten 
to sixteen, and even, as in the case of the Masonic 
Temple, twenty stories in height. Most of them 
are sumptuous as to the interior, and many of the 
largest will each accommodate 3,000 to 5,000 
occupants, including tenants and their employes. 
In the residence sections wide diversity may be 
seen ; the chaste and the ornate styles being about 
equally popular. Among the handsome public, 
or semi-public buildings may be mentioned the 
Public Library, the Newberry Library, the Art 
Institute, the Armour Institute, the Academy of 
Sciences, the Auditorium, the Board of Trade 
Building, the Masonic Temple, and several of the 
railroad depots. 

Education and Libraries. — Chicago has a 
public school system unsurpassed for excellence 
in any other city in the country. According to 
the report of the Board of Education for 1898, the 
city had a total of 221 primary and grammar 
schools, besides fourteen high schools, employing 
5,268 teachers and giving instruction to over 
236,000 pupils in the course of the year. The 
total expenditures during the year amounted to 
$6,785,601, of which nearly $4,500,000 was on 
account of teachers' salaries. The city has 
nearly $7,500,000 invested in school buildings. 
Besides pupils attending public schools there are 
about 100,000 in attendance on private and 
parochial schools, not reckoning students at 
higher institutions of learning, such as medical, 
law, theological, dental and pharmaceutical 
schools, and the great University of Chicago. 
Near the city are also the Northwestern and the 
Lake Forest Universities, the former at Evanston 
and the latter at Lake Forest. Besides an exten- 
sive Free Public Library for circulating and refer- 
ence purposes, maintained by public taxation, 
and embracing (in 1898) a total of over 235,000 
volumes and nearly 50,000 pamphlets, there 
are the Library of the Chicago Historical Society 
and the Newberry and Crerar Libraries — the last 
two the outgrowth of posthumous donations by 
public-spirited and liberal citizens — all open to 




DAY AFTER CHICAGO FIRE. 



,if»~ 




CHICAGO THOROUGHFARES. 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



93 



the public for purposes of reference under certain 
conditions. This list does not include the exten- 
sive library of the University of Chicago and those 
connected with the Armour Institute and the 
public schools, intended for the use of the pupils 
of these various institutions. 

CHICAGO BOARD OF TRADE, one of the 
leading commercial exchanges of the world. It 
was originally organized in the spring of 1843 as 
a voluntary association, with a membership of 
eighty -two. Its primary object was the promo- 
tion of the city's commercial interests by unity 
of action. On Feb. 8, 1849, the Legislature 
enacted a general law authorizing the establish- 
ment of Boards of Trade, and under its provisions 
an incorporation was effected — a second organi- 
zation being effected in April, 1850. For several 
years the association languished, and at times its 
existence seemed precarious. It was, however, 
largely instrumental in securing the introduction 
of the system of measuring grain by weight, 
which initial step opened the way for subsequent 
great improvements in the methods of handling, 
storing, inspecting and grading cereals and seeds. 
By the close of 1856, the association had overcome 
the difficulties incident to its earlier years, and 
the feasibility of erecting a permanent Exchange 
building began to be agitated, but the project lay 
dormant for several years. In 1856 was adopted 
the first system of classification and grading of 
wheat, which, though crude, formed the founda- 
tion of the elaborate modern system, which has 
proved of such benefit to the grain-growing 
States of the West, and has done so much to give 
Chicago its commanding influence in the grain 
markets of the world. In 1858, the privilege of 
trading on the floor of the Exchange was limited 
to members. The same year the Board began 
to receive and send out daily telegraphic market 
reports at a cost, for the first year, of $500,000, 
which was defrayed by private subscriptions. 
New York was the only city with which such 
communication was then maintained. In Febru- 
ary, 1859, a special charter was obtained, confer- 
ring more extensive powers upon the organization, 
and correspondingly increasing its efficiency. An 
important era in the Board's history was the 
Civil War of 1861-65. During this struggle its 
attitude was one of undeviating loyalty and gener- 
ous patriotism. Hundreds of thousands of dollars 
were contributed, by individual members and 
from the treasury of the organization, for the work 
of recruiting and equipping regiments, in caring 
for the wounded on Southern battlefields, and 
•Providing for the families of enlisted men. In 



1864, the Board waged to a successful issue a war 
upon the irredeemable currency with which the 
entire West was then flooded, and secured such 
action by the banks and by the railroad and 
express companies as compelled its replacement 
by United States legal-tender notes and national 
bank notes. In 1865, handsome, large (and. as 
then supposed, permanent) quarters were occu- 
pied in a new building erected by the Chicago 
Chamber of Commerce under an agreement with 
the Board of Trade. This structure was destroyed 
in the fire of October, 1871, but at once rebuilt, 
and made ready for re-occupancy in precisely 
one year after the destruction of its predecessor. 
Spacious and ample as these quarters were then 
considered, the growing membership and increas- 
ing business demonstrated their inadequacy 
before the close of 1877. Steps looking to the 
erection of a new building were taken in 1881, 
and, on May 1, 1885, the new edifice — then the 
largest and most ornate of its class in the world 
— was opened for occupancy. The membership 
of the Board for the year 1898 aggregated con- 
siderably in excess of 1,800. The influence of the 
association is felt in every quarter of the com- 
mercial world. 

CHICAGO, BURLINGTON & NORTHERN 
RAILROAD. (See Chicago, Burlington & 
Quincy Railroad. ) 

CHICAGO, BURLINGTON & QUINCY RAIL- 
ROAD (known as the "Burlington Route") is 
the parent organization of an extensive system 
which operates railroads in eleven Western and 
Northwestern States, furnishing connections 
from Chicago with Omaha, Denver, St. Paul and 
Minneapolis, St. Louis and Kansas City, Chey- 
enne (Wyo. ), Billings (Mont.), Deadwood (So. 
Dak,), and intermediate points, and having con- 
nections by affiliated roads with the Pacific Coast. 
The main line extends from Chicago to Denver 
(Colo.), 1,025.41 miles. The mileage of the 
various branches and leased proprietary lines 
(1898) aggregates 4,627.06 miles. The Company 
uses 207.23 miles in conjunction with other 
roads, besides subsidiary standard-gauge lines 
controlled through the ownership of securities 
amounting to 1,440 miles more. In addition to 
these the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy controls 
179 miles of narrow-gauge road. The whole 
number of miles of standard-gauge road operated 
by the Burlington system, and known as the 
Burlington Route, on June 30, 1899, is estimated 
at 7,419, of which 1,509 is in Illinois, all but 47 
miles being owned by the Company. The system 
in Illinois connects many important commercial 



94 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



points, including Chicago, Aurora, Galesburg, 
Quincy, Peoria, Streator, Sterling, Mendota, Ful- 
ton, Lewistown, Rushville, Geneva, Keitlisburg, 
Rock Island, Beardstown, Alton, etc. The entire 
capitalization of the line (including stock, bonds 
and floating debt) amounted, in 1898, to §234,884,- 
600, which was equivalent to about §33,000 per 
mile. The total earnings of the road in Illinois, 
during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1898, 
amounted to §8,724,997, and the total disburse- 
ments of the Company within the State, during 
the same period, to §7,469,456. Taxes paid in 
1898, §377,968.— (History). The first section of 
the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad was 
constructed under a charter granted, in 1849, to 
the Aurora Branch Railroad Company, the name 
being changed in 1852 to the Chicago & Aurora 
Railroad Company. The line was completed in 
1853, from the junction with the old Galena & 
Chicago Union Railroad, 30 miles west of Chi- 
cago, to Aurora, later being extended to Mendota. 
In 1855 the name of the Company was changed 
by act of the Legislature to the Chicago, Burling- 
ton & Quincy. The section between Mendota and 
Galesburg (80 miles) was built under a charter 
granted in 1851 to the Central Military Tract 
Railroad Company, and completed in 1854. July 
9, 1856, the two companies were consolidated 
under the name of the former. Previous to this 
consolidation the Company had extended aid to 
the Peoria & Oquawka Railroad (from Peoria to 
the Mississippi River, nearly opposite Burlington, 
Iowa), and to the Northern Cross Railroad from 
Quincy to Galesburg, both of which were com- 
pleted in 1855 and operated by the Chicago, Bur- 
lington & Quincy. In 1857 the name of the 
Northern Cross was changed to the Quincy & 
Chicago Railroad. In 1860 the latter was sold 
under foreclosure to the Chicago, Burlington & 
Quincy, and, in*1863, the Peoria & Oquawka was 
acquired in the same way — the former constitut- 
ing the Quincy branch of the main line and the 
latter giving it its Burlington connection. Up 
to 1863, the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy used 
the track of the Galena & Chicago Union Rail- 
road to enter the city of Chicago, but that year 
began the construction of its line from Aurora to 
Chicago, which was completed in 1864. In 1872 
it acquired control, by perpetual lease, of the 
Burlington & Missouri River Road in Iowa, 
and, in 1880, extended this line into Nebraska, 
now reaching Billings, Mont., with a lateral 
branch to Deadwood, So. Dak. Other branches 
in Illinois, built or acquired by this corporation, 
include the Peoria & Hannibal ; Carthage & Bur- 



lington ; Quincy & Warsaw ; Ottawa, Chicago & 
Fox River Valley; Quincy, Alton & St. Louis, 
and the St. Louis, Rock Island & Chicago. The 
Chicago, Burlington & Northern — known as the 
Northern Division of the Chicago, Burlington & 
Quincy — is an important part of the system, 
furnishing a connection between St. Louis on 
the south and St. Paul and Minneapolis on the 
north, of which more than half of the distance of 
583 miles between terminal points, is in Illinois. 
The latter division was originally chartered, Oct. 
21, 1885, and constructed from Oregon, 111., to St. 
Paul, Minn. (319 miles), and from Fulton to 
Savanna, 111. (16.72 miles), and opened, Nov. 1, 
1886. It was formally incorporated into the 
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy line in 1899. In 
June of the same year the Chicago, Burlington & 
Quincy also acquired by purchase the Keokuk & 
Western Railroad from Keokuk to Van Wert, 
Iowa (143 miles), and the Des Moines & Kansas 
City Railway, from Des Moines, Iowa, to Caines- 
ville, Mo. (112 miles). 

CHICAGO, DANYILLE & VINCENNES RAIL- 
ROAD. (See Chicago & Eastern Illinois Rail- 
road. ) 

CHICAGO DRAINAGE CANAL, a channel or 
waterway, in course of construction (1892-99) 
from the Chicago River, within the limits of the 
city of Chicago, to Joliet Lake, in the Des Plaines 
River, about 12 miles above the junction of the 
Des Plaines with the Illinois. The primary object 
of the channel is the removal of the sewage of 
the city of Chicago and the proper drainage of 
the region comprised within what is called the 
"Sanitary District of Chicago." The feasibility 
of connecting the waters of Lake Michigan by 
way of the Des Plaines River with those of the 
Illinois, attracted the attention of the earliest 
French explorers of this region, and was com- 
mented upon, from time to time, by them and 
their successors. As early as 1808 the subject of 
a canal uniting Lake Michigan with the Illinois 
was discussed in a report on roads and canals by 
Albert Gallatin, then Secretary of the Treasury, 
and the project was touched upon in a bill relat- 
ing to the Erie Canal and other enterprises, intro- 
duced in Congress in 1811. The measure continued 
to receive attention in the press, in Western 
Territorial Legislatures and in official reports, 
one of the latter being a report by John C. Cal- 
houn, as Secretary of War, in 1819, in which it is 
spoken of as "valuable for military purposes." 
In 1822 Congress passed an act granting the 
right of way to the State through the public 
lands for such an enterprise, which was followed, 



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COMPARATIVE SIZE OF NOTED CANALS. 






HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OE ILLINOIS. 



05 



five years later, by a grant of lands for the pur- 
pose of its construction. The work was begun in 
1836, and so far completed in 1848 as to admit of 
the passage of boats from the Chicago basin to La 
Salle. (See Illinois & Mivhiyun Canal.) Under 
an act passed by the Legislature in 1805, the work 
of deepening the canal was undertaken by the 
city of Chicago with a view to furnishing means 
to relieve the city of its sewage, the work being 
completed some time before the fire of 1871. This 
scheme having failed to accomplish the object 
designed, other measures began to be considered. 
Various remedies were proposed, but in all the 
authorities were confronted with the difficulty 
of providing a fund, under the provisions of the 
Constitution of 1870, to meet the necessary cost 
of construction. In the closing months of the 
year 1885, Hon. H. B. Hurd, who had been a 
member of a Board of "Drainage Commission- 
ers," organized in 1855, was induced to give 
attention to the subject. Having satisfied him- 
self and others that the difficulties were not 
insurmountable with proper action by the Legis- 
lature, the City Council, on Jan. 27, 1886, passed 
a resolution authorizing the Mayor to appoint a 
Commission, to consist of "one expert engineer of 
reputation and experience in engineering and 
sanitary matters," and two consulting engineers, 
to constitute a "drainage and water-supply com- 
mission" for the purpose of investigating and 
reporting upon the matter of water-supply and 
disposition of the sewage of the city. As a 
result of this action, Rudolph Hering, of Philadel- 
phia, was appointed expert engineer by Mayor 
Harrison, with Benezette Williams and S. G. 
Artingstall, of Chicago, as consulting engineers. 
At the succeeding session of the General Assem- 
bly (1887), two bills — one known as the "Hurd 
bill" and the other as the "Winston bill," but 
both drawn by Mr. Hurd, the first contemplating 
doing the work by general taxation and the issue 
of bonds, and the other by special assessment — 
were introduced in that body. As it was found 
that neither of these bills could be passed at that 
session, a new and shorter one, which became 
known as the "Roche-Winston bill," was intro- 
duced and passed near the close of the session. 
A resolution was also adopted creating a com- 
mission, consisting of two Senators, two Repre 
sentatives and Mayor Roche of Chicago, to further 
investigate the subject. The later act, just 
referred to, provided for the construction of a cut- 
off from the Des Plaines River, which would 
divert the flood- waters of that stream and the 
North Branch into Lake Michigan north of the 



city. Nothing was done under this act, however. 
At the next session (1*89) the commission made a 
favorable report, and a new law was enacted 
embracing the main features of the Hurd hill, 
though changing the title of the organization to 
be formed from the "Metropolitan Town,*' as 
proposed by Mr. Hard, to the "Sanitary Dis- 
trict." The act, as passed, provided for the 
election of a Board of nine Trustees, their powers 
being confined to "providing for the drainage of 
the district," both as to surplus water and sew 
age. Much opposition to the measure had been 
developed during the pendency of the legislation 
on the subject, especially in the Illinois valley, 
on sanitary grounds, as well as fear of midsum- 
mer flooding of the bottom lands which are 
cultivated to some extent: but this was overcome 
by the argument that the channel would, when 
the Des Plaines and Illinois Rivers were improved 
between Joliet and La Salle, furnish a new and 
enlarged waterway for the passage of vessels 
between the lake and the Mississippi River, and 
the enterprise was indorsed by conventions held 
at Peoria. Memphis and elsewhere, during the 
eighteen months preceding the passage of the 
act. The promise ultimately to furnish a flow of 
not less than 000,000 cubic feet per minute also 
excited alarm in cities situated upon the lakes, 
lest the taking of so large a volume of water from 
Lake Michigan should affect the lake-level 
injuriously to navigation; but these apprehen- 
sions were quieted by the assurance of expert 
engineers that the greatest reduction of the lake- 
level below the present minimum would not 
exceed three inches, and more likely would not 
produce a perceptible effect. 

At the genei - al election, held Nov. 5, 1889, 
the "Sanitary District of Chicago" was organ- 
ized by an almost unanimous popular vote 
— the returns showing 70,958 votes for the 
measure to 242 against. The District, as thus 
formed, embraces all of the city of Chicago 
north of Eighty-seventh Street, with forty- 
three square miles outside of the city limits 
but within the area to be benefited by the 
improvement. Though the channel is located 
partly in Will County, the district is wholly in 
Cook and hears the entire expense of construc- 
tion. The first election of Trustees was held at a 

special election. Dec. 12, 1889, the Trustees thee 
elected to hold their offices for live years and 
until the following November. The second 
election occurred. Nov. 5. 1895, when the Board, 
as now constituted (IS!)!)), was chosen, viz. • 
William Boldenweck, Joseph C. Braden, ZinaR. 



90 



HISTOKICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



Carter, Bernard A. Eckhart, Alexander J. Jones, 
Thomas Kelly, James P. Mallette, Thomas A. 
Smyth and Frank Wenter. The Trustees have 
power to sell bonds in order to procure funds to 
prosecute the work and to levy taxes upon prop- 
erty within the district, under certain limitations 
as to length of time the taxes run and the rate 
per cent imposed. Under an amendment of the 
Drainage Act adopted by the Legislature in 1897, 
the rate of assessment upon property within the 
Drainage District is limited to one and one-half 
per cent, up to and including the year 1899, but 
after that date becomes one-half of one per cent. 
The bed of the channel, as now in process of 
construction, commences at Robey Street and the 
South Branch of the Chicago River, 5.8 miles 
from Lake Michigan, and extends in a south- 
westerly direction to the vicinity of Summit, 
where it intersects the Des Plaines River. From 
this point it follows the bed of that stream to 
Lockport, in "Will County, where, in consequence 
of the sudden depression in the ground, the bed of 
the channel comes to the surface, and where the 
great controlling works are situated. This has made 
necessary the excavation of about thirteen miles 
of new channel for the river — which runs parallel 
with, and on the west side of, the drainage canal 
— besides the construction of about nineteen 
miles of levee to separate the waters of the 
canal from the river. The following statement 
of the quality of the material excavated and the 
dimensions of the work, is taken from a paper by 
Hon. H. B. Hurd, under the title, "The Chicago 
Drainage Channel and Waterway," published in 
the sixth volume of "Industrial Chicago" (1896): 
"Through that portion of the channel between 
Chicago and Summit, which is being constructed 
to produce a flow of 300, 000 cubic feet per minute, 
which is supposed to be sufficient to dilute sew- 
age for about the present population (of Chicago), 
the width of the channel is 110 feet on the bot- 
tom, with side slopes of two to one. This portion 
of the channel is ultimately to be enlarged to the 
capacity of 600,000 cubic feet per minute. The 
bottom of the channel, at Robey Street, is 24.448 
feet below Chicago datum. The width of the 
channel from Summit down to the neighborhood 
of Willow Springs is 202 feet on the bottom, with 
the same side slope. The cut through the rock, 
which extends from the neighborhood of Willow 
Springs to the point where the channel runs out 
of ground near Lockport, is 160 feet wide at the 
bottom. The entire depth of the channel is 
substantially the same as at Robey Street, with 
the addition of one. foot in 40,000 feet. The rock 



portion of the channel is constructed to the full 
capacity of 600,000 cubic feet per minute. From 
the point where the channel runs out of ground 
to Joliet Lake, there is a rapid fall; over- this 
slope works are to be constructed to let the water 
down in such a manner as not to damage Joliet. ; ' 

Ground was broken on the rock-cut near 
Lemont, on Sept. 3, 1892, and work has been in 
progress almost constantlv ever since. The prog- 
ress of the work was greatly obstructed during 
the year 1898, by difficulties encountered in secur- 
ing the right of way for the discharge of the 
waters of the canal through the city of Joliet, 
but these were compromised near the close of the 
year, and it was anticipated that the work would 
be prosecuted to completion during the year 
1899. From Feb. 1, 1890, to Dec. 31, 1898, the 
net receipts of the Board for the prosecution of 
the work aggregated §28,257,707, while the net 
expenditures had amounted to §28,221.864.57. Of 
the latter, $20,099,284.67 was charged to construc- 
tion account, $3,156,903.12 to "land account" 
(including right of way), and $1,222,092.82 to the 
cost of maintaining the engineering department. 
When finished, the cost will reach not less than 
$35,000,000. These figures indicate the stupen- 
dous character of the work, which bids fair to 
stand without a rival of its kind in modern 
engineering and in the results it is expected to 
achieve. 

CHICAGO GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY. 
The total mileage of this line, June 30, 1898, was 
1,008 miles, of which 152.52 miles are operated 
and owned in Illinois. The line in this State 
extends west from Chicago to East Dubuque, the 
extreme terminal points being Chicago and 
Minneapolis in the Northwest, and Kansas City 
in the Southwest. It has several branches in Illi 
nois, Iowa and Minnesota, and trackage arrange- 
ments with several lines, the most important 
being with the St. Paul & Northern Pacific (10.56 
miles), completing the connection between St. 
Paul and Minneapolis ; with the Illinois Central 
from East Dubuque to Portage (12.23 miles), and 
with the Chicago & Northern Pacific from Forest 
Home to the Grand Central Station in Chicago. 
The company's own track is single, of standard 
gauge, laid with sixty and seventy-five-pound 
steel rails. Grades and curvature are light, and 
the equipment well maintained. The outstand- 
ing capital stock (1898) was $52,019,054; total 
capitalization, including stock, bonds and miscel- 
laneous indebtedness, $57,144,245. (History). The 
road was chartered, Jan. 5, 1892, under the laws 
of Illinois, for the purpose of reorganization of 




VIEWS OF DRAINAGE CAXAL. 




VIEWS OF DRAINAGE CANAL. 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLol'KDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



97 



the Chicago, St. Paul & Kansas City Railway 
Company on a stock basis. During 1895, the 
De Kalb & Great Western Railroad (5.81 miles) 
was built from De Kalb to Sycamore as a feeder 
of this line. 

CHICAGO, HARLEM & BATAVIA RAIL- 
ROAD. (See Chicago & Northern Pacific Rail- 
road. ) 

CHICAGO, HAVANA & WESTERN RAIL- 
ROAD. (See Illinois Central Railroad.) 

CHICAGO HISTORICAL SOCIETY, organized, 
April 24, 1856, for the purposes of (1) establishing 
a library and a cabinet of antiquities, relics, etc. ; 
(2) the collection and preservation of historical 
manuscripts, documents, papers and tracts; (3) 
the encouragement of the discovery and investi- 
gation of aboriginal remains, particularly in Illi- 
nois; (4) the collection of material illustrating 
the growth and settlement of Chicago. By 1871 
the Society had accumulated much valuable 
material, but the entire collection was destroyed 
in the great Chicago fire of that year, among the 
manuscripts consumed being the original draft 
of the emancipation proclamation by Abraham 
Lincoln. The nucleus of a second collection was 
consumed by fire in 1874. Its loss in this second 
conflagration included many valuable manu- 
scripts. In 1877 a temporary building was 
erected, which was torn down in 1892 to make 
room for the erection, on the same lot, of a 
thoroughly fire-proof structure of granite, 
planned after the most approved modern systems. 
The new building was erected and dedicated 
under the direction of its late President, Ed- 
ward G. Mason, Esq., Dec. 12, 1896. The Society's 
third collection now embraces about twenty-five 
thousand volumes and nearly fifty thousand 
pamphlets; seventy-five portraits in oils, with 
other works of art; a valuable collection of 
mauuscript documents, and a large museum of 
local and miscellaneous antiquities. Mr. Charles 
Evans is Secretary and Librarian. 

CHICAGO HOMEOPATHIC MEDICAL COL- 
LEGE, organized in 1876, with a teaching faculty 
of nineteen and forty-five matriculates. Its first 
term opened October 4, of that year, in a leased 
building. By 1881 the college had outgrown its 
first quarters, and a commodious, well appointed 
structure was erected by the trustees, in a more 
desirable location. The institution was among 
the first to introduce a graded course of instruc- 
tion, extending over a period of eighteen vears. 
In 1897, the matriculating class numbered over 200. 

CHICAGO HOSPITAL FOR WOMEN AND 
CHILDREN, located at Chicago, and founded in 



1865 by Dr. Mary Harris Thompson. Its declared 
objects are: "To afford a home for women and 
children among the respectable poor in need of 
medical and surgical aid ; to treat the same 
classes at home by an assistant physician; to 
afford a free dispensary for the same, and to 
train competent nurses." At the outset the 
hospital was fairly well sustained through pri- 
vate benefactions, and, in 1870, largely through 
Dr. Thompson's efforts, a college was organized 
for the medical education of women exclusively. 
(See Northwestern University Woman's Medical 
School.) The hospital building was totally 
destroyed in the great fire of 1871, but temporary 
accommodations were provided in another sect i< m 
of the city. The following year, with the aid of 
$25,000 appropriated by the Chicago Relief and 
Aid Society, a permanent building was pur- 
chased, and, in 1885, a new, commodious and well 
planned building was erected on the same site, at 
a cost of about §75,000. 

CHICAGO, MADISON & NORTHERN RAIL- 
ROAD, a line of railway 231.3 miles in length, 140 
miles of which lie within Illinois. It is operated 
by the Illinois Central Railroad Company, and is 
known as its "Freeport Division." The par value 
of the capital stock outstanding is $50,000 and of 
bonds $2,500,000, while the floating debt is 
$3,620,698, making a total capitalization of 
$6,170,698, or $26,698 per mile. (See also Illinois 
Central Railroad. ) This road was opened from 
Chicago to Freeport in 1888. 

CHICAGO MEDICAL COLLEGE. (See North- 
western University Medical College.) 

CHICAGO, MILWAUKEE & ST. PAUL RAIL- 
WAY, one of the great trunk lines of the North- 
west, having a total mileage (1898) of 6,153.83 
miles, of which 317.94 are in Illinois. The main 
line extends from Chicago to Minneapolis. 420 
miles, although it has connections with Kansas 
City, Omaha, Sioux City and various points in 
Wisconsin, Iowa and the Dakotas. The Chicago, 
Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad Company enjoys 
the distinction of being the owner of all the lines 
operated by it, though it operates 245 miles of 
second tracks owned jointly with other lines. 
The greater part of its track is laid with 
60, 75 and 85-lb. steel rails. The total capital 
invested (1898) is $220,005,901, distributed as 
follows: capital stock, $77,845,000; bonded debt, 
$135,285,500; other forms of indebtedness, 
$5,572,401. Its total earnings in Illinois for 
189S were $5,205,244, and the total expendi- 
tures, $3,320,248. The total number of em- 
ployes in Illinois for 1898 was 2,293, receiving 



98 



HISTOKICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



§1,746,827.70 in aggregate compensation. Taxes 
paid for the same year amounted to $151,285. — 
(History). The Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul 
Railway was organized in 1863 under the name 
of the Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway. The Illi- 
nois portion of the main line was built under a 
charter granted to the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. 
Paul Railway Company, and the Wisconsin por- 
tion under charter to the Wisconsin Union Rail- 
road Company; the whole built and opened in 
1872 and purchased by the Milwaukee & St. Paul 
Railway Company. It subsequently acquired by 
purchase several lines in Wisconsin, the whole 
receiving the present name of the line by act of 
the Wisconsin Legislature, passed, Feb. 14, 1874. 
The Chicago & Evanston Railroad was chartered, 
Feb. 16, 1861, built from Chicago to Calvary (10.8 
miles), and opened, May 1, 1885; Avas consolidated 
with the Chicago & Lake Superior Railroad, 
under the title of the Chicago, Evanston & Lake 
Superior Railroad Company, Dec. 22, 1885, opened 
to Evanston, August 1, 1886, and purchased, in 
June, 1887, by the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. 
Paul Railway Company. The Road, as now 
organized, is made up of twenty-two divisions 
located in Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, 
North and South Dakota, Missouri and Michigan. 

CHICAGO, PADUCAH & MEMPHIS HAIL- 
ROAD (Projected), a road chartered, Dec. 19, 
1893, to run between Altamont and Metropolis, 
111., 152 miles, with a branch from Johnston City 
to Carbondale, 20 miles — total length, 172 miles. 
The gauge is standard, and the track laid with 
sixty-pound steel rails. By Feb. 1, 1895, the road 
from Altamont to Marion (100 miles) was com- 
pleted, and work on the remainder of the line has 
been in progress. It is intended to connect with 
the Wabash and the St. Louis Southern systems. 
Capital stock authorized and subscribed, $2,500,- 
000; bonds issued, 81,575,000. Funded debt, 
authorized, 815,000 per mile in five per cent first 
mortgage gold bonds. Cost of road up to Feb. 1, 
1895, 820,000 per mile ; estimated cost of the entire 
line, §2,000,000. In December, 1896, this road 
passed into the hands of the Chicago & Eastern 
Illinois Railroad Company, and is now operated to 
Marion, in Williamson County. (See Chicago cfc 
Eastern Illinois Railroad.) 

CHICAGO, PEKIN & SOUTHWESTERN RAIL- 
ROAD, a division of the Chicago & Alton Rail- 
road, chartered as the Chicago & Plainfield 
Railroad, in 1859; opened from Pekin to Streator 
in 1873, and to Mazon Bridge in 1876; sold under 
foreclosure in 1879, and now constitutes a part of 
the Chicago & Alton system. 



CHICAGO, PEORIA & ST. LOUIS RAILROAD 

COMPANY (of Illinois), a corporation operating 
tAvo lines of railroad, one extending from Peoria 
to Jacksonville, and the other from Peoria to 
Springfield, with a connection from the latter 
place (in 1895), over a leased line, with St. Louis. 
The total mileage, as officially reported in 1895, 
was 208.66 miles, of which 166 were owned by 
the corporation. (1) The original of the Jackson- 
ville Division of this line was the Illinois River 
Railroad, opened from Pekin to Virginia in 1859. 
In October, 1863, it was sold under foreclosure, 
and, early in 1864, was transferred by the pur- 
chasers to a new corporation called the Peoria, 
Pekin & Jacksonville Railroad Company, by 
whom it was extended the same year to Peoria, 
and, in 1869, to Jacksonville. Another fore- 
closure, in 1879, resulted in its sale to the 
creditors, followed by consolidation, in 1881, 
with the Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific Railway. 
(2) The Springfield Division was incorporated in 
1869 as the Springfield & Northwestern Railway ; 
construction was begun in 1872, and road opened 
from Springfield to Havana (45.20 miles) in 
December, 1874, and from Havana to Pekin and 
Peoria over the track of the Peoria, Pekin & 
Jacksonville line. The same year the road was 
leased to the Indianapolis, Bloomington & West- 
ern Railroad Company, but the lease was for- 
feited, in 1875, and the road placed in the hands 
of a receiver. In 1881, together with the 
Jacksonville Division, it was transferred to the 
Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific Railway, and by 
that company operated as the Peoria & Spring- 
field Railroad. The Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific 
having defaulted and gone into the hands of a 
receiver, both the Jacksonville and the Spring- 
field Divisions were reorganized in February, 
1887, under the name of the Chicago, Peoria & 
St. Louis Railroad, and placed under control of 
the Jacksonville Southeastern Railroad. A 
reorganization of the latter took place, in 1890, 
under the name of the Jacksonville, Louisville & 
St. Louis Railway, and, in 1893, it passed into the 
hands of receivers, and was severed from its 
allied lines. The Chicago, Peoria & St. Louis 
Railroad remained under the management of a 
separate receiver until January, 1896, when a 
reorganization was effected under its present 
name — "The Chicago, Peoria & St. Louis Rail- 
road of Illinois." The lease of the Springfield 
& St. Louis Division having expired in Decem- 
ber, 1895, it has also been reorganized as an 
independent corporation under the name of the 
St. Louis, Peoria & Northern Railway (which see)- 



HISTORICAL K\CY( LoPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



99 



CHICAGO RIVER, a sluggish stream, draining 
a narrow strip of land between Lake Michigan 
and the Des Plaines River, the entire watershed 
drained amounting to some 470 square miles. It 
is formed by the union of the "North" and 
the "South Branch," which unite less than a mile 
and a half from the mouth of the main stream. 
At an early day the former was known as the 
"Guarie" and the latter as "Portage River." The 
total length of the North Branch is about 20 miles, 
only a small fraction of which is navigable. The 
South Branch is shorter but offers greater facilities 
for navigation, being lined along its lower por- 
tions with grain-elevators, lumber-yards and 
manufactories. The Illinois Indians in early daj T s 
found an easy portage between it and the Des 
Plaines River. The Chicago River, with its 
branches, separates Chicago into three divisions, 
known, respectively, as the "North" the "South" 
and the "West Divisions." Drawbridges have 
been erected at the principal street crossings 
over the river and both branches, and four 
tunnels, connecting the various divisions of the 
city, have been constructed under the river bed. 

CHICAGO, ROCK ISLAND & PACIFIC RAIL- 
WAT, formed by the consolidation of various 
lines in 1880. The parent corporation (The 
Chicago & Rock Island Railroad) was chartered 
in Illinois in 1851, and the road opened from Chi- 
cago to the Mississippi River at Rock Island (181 
miles), July 10, 1854. In 1853 a company was 
chartered under the name of the Mississippi & 
Missouri Railroad for the extension of the road 
from the Mississippi to the Missouri River. The 
two roads were consolidated in 1866 as the Chi- 
cago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad, and the 
extension to the Missouri River and a junction 
with the Union Pacific completed in 1869. The 
Peoria & Bureau Valley Railroad (an important 
feeder from Peoria to Bureau Junction — 46.7 
miles) was incorporated in 1853, and completed 
and leased in perpetuity to the Chicago & Rock 
Island Railroad, in 1854. The St. Joseph & Iowa 
Railroad was purchased in 1889, and the Kansas 
City & Topeka Railway in 1891. The Company 
has financial and traffic agreements with the 
Chicago, Rock Island & Texas Railway, extending 
from Terral Station, Indian Territory, to Fort 
Worth, Texas. The road also has connections 
from Chicago with Peoria; St. Paul and Minne- 
apolis; Omaha and Lincoln (Neb.); Denver, Colo- 
rado Springs and Pueblo (Colo. ), besides various 
points in South Dakota, Iowa and Southwestern 
Kansas. The extent of the lines owned and 
operated by the Company ( "Poor's Manual, ' ' 1898) , 



is 3,568.15 miles, of which 236.. 11 miles are in 
Illinois, 189. 52 miles being owned by the corpo- 
ration. All of the Company's owned and 
leased lines are laid with steel rails. The total 
capitalization reported for the same year was 
$116,748,211, of which $50,000,000 was in stock 
and $58,830,000 in bonds. The total earnings and 
income of the line in Illinois, for the year ending 
June 30, 1898, was $5,851,875, and the I 
expenses $3,401,165, of which $233,129 was in the 
form of taxes. The Company has received under 
Congressional grants 550, l'.U acres of land, exclu- 
sive of State grants, of which there had been sold, 
up to March 31, 1894, 548,609 acres. 

CHICAGO, ST. PAUL A FOND DU LAC RAIL- 
ROAD. (See Chicago <V- Northwestern Railway.) 

CHICAGO, ST. PAIL & KANSAS (II V RAIL- 
WAY. (See Chicago Great Western Railway.) 

CHICAGO, ST. LOUIS A PADUCAH RAIL- 
WAY, a short road, of standard gauge, laid with 
steel rails, extending from Marion to Brooklyn, 
111., 53.64 miles. It was chartered, Feb. 7, 1887, 
and opened for traffic, Jan. 1, 1889. The St. 
Louis, Alton & Terre Haute Railroad Company is 
the lessee, having guaranteed principal and inter- 
est on its first mortgage bonds. Its capital stock 
is $1,000,000, and its bonded debt §2,000,000, 
making the total capitalization about $56,000 per 
mile. The cost of the road was $2,950,000; total 
incumbrance (1895), §3,016,715. 

CHICAGO TERMINAL TRANSFER RAIL- 
ROAD, the successor to the Chicago & Northern 
Pacific Railroad. The latter was organized in 
November, 1889, to acquire and lease facilities to 
other roads and transact a local business. The 
Road under its new name was chartered, June 4, 
1897, to purchase at foreclosure sale the property 
of the Chicago <fe Northern Pacific, soon after 
acquiring the property of the Chicago & Calumet 
Terminal Railway also. The combination gives 
it the control of 84.r>:5 miles of road, of which 
70.76 miles are in Illinois. The line is used for 
both passenger and freight terminal purposes, 
and also a belt line just outside the city limits. 
Its principal tenants are the Chicago Great West 
em, the Baltimore & Ohio, the Wisconsin Central 
Lines, and the Chicago, Hammond & Western 
Railroad. The Company also has control of the 
ground on which the Grand Central Depot is 
located. Its total capitalization (1898) was $44,- 
553,044, of winch $30, 000,000 was capital stock 
and $13,394,000 in the form of bonds. 

CHICAGO THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, organ- 
ized, Sept. 26, 1854, by a convention of Congre- 
gational ministers and laymen representing seven 



■ - 



100 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



Western States, among which was Illinois. A 
special and liberal charter was granted, Feb. 15, 
1855. The Seminary has always been under 
Congregational control and supervision, its 
twenty-four trustees being elected at Triennial 
Conventions, at which are represented all the 
churches of that denomination west of the Ohio 
and east of the Rocky Mountains. The institu- 
tion was formally opened to students, Oct. 6, 
1858, with two professors and twenty-nine 
matriculates. Since then it has steadily grown 
in both numbers and influence. Preparatory and 
linguistic schools have been added and the 
faculty (1896) includes eight professors and nine 
minor instructors. The Seminary is liberally 
endowed, its productive assets being nearly 
$1,000,000, and the value of its grounds, build- 
ings, library, etc., amounting to nearly $500,000 
more. No charge is made for tuition or room 
rent, and there are forty-two endowed scholar- 
ships, the income of which is devoted to the aid 
of needy students. The buildings, including the 
library and dormitories, are four in number, and 
are well constructed and arranged. 

CHICAGO & ALTON RAILROAD, an impor 
tant railway running in a southwesterly direc- 
tion from Chicago to St. Louis, with numerous 
branches, extending into Missouri, Kansas and 
Colorado. The Chicago & Alton Railroad proper 
was constructed under two charters — the first 
granted to the Alton & Sangamon Railroad Com- 
pany, in 1847, and the second to the Chicago & 
Mississippi Railroad Company, in 1852. Con- 
struction of the former was begun in 1852, and 
the line opened from Alton to Springfield in 
1853. Under the second corporation, the line was 
opened from Springfield to Bloomington in 1854, 
and to Joliet in 1856. In 1855 a line was con- 
structed from Chicago to Joliet under the name 
of the Joliet & Chicago Railroad, and leased in 
perpetuity to the present Company, which was 
reorganized in 1857 under the name of the St. 
Louis, Alton & Chicago Railroad Company. For 
some time connection was had between Alton 
and St. Louis by steam-packet boats running in 
connection with the railroad ; but later over the 
line of the Indianapolis & St. Louis Railroad — 
the first railway line connecting the two cities — 
and, finally, by the Company's own line, which 
was constructed in 1864, and formally opened 
Jan. 1, 1865. In 1861, a company with the 
present name (Chicago & Alton Railroad Com- 
pany) was organized, which, in 1862, purchased 
the St. Louis, Alton & Chicago Road at fore- 
closure sale. Several branch lines have since 



been acquired by purchase or lease, the most 
important in the State being the line from 
Bloomington to St. Louis by way of Jacksonville. 
This was chartered in 1851 under the name of the 
St. Louis, Jacksonville & Chicago Railroad, was 
opened for business in January, 1868, and having 
been diverted from the route upon which it was 
originally projected, was completed to Blooming- 
ton and leased to the Chicago & Alton in 1868. 
In 1884 this branch was absorbed by the main 
line. Other important branches are the Kansas 
City Branch from Roodhouse, crossing the Mis- 
sissippi at Louisiana, Mo. ; the Washington 
Branch from Dwight to Washington and Lacon, 
and the Chicago & Peoria, by which entrance is 
obtained into the city of Peoria over the tracks 
of the Toledo, Peoria & Western. The whole 
number of miles operated (1898; is 843.54, of 
which 580.73 lie in Illinois. Including double 
tracks and sidings, the Company has a total 
trackage of 1,186 miles. The total capitalization, 
in 1898, was $32,793,972, of which $22, 230, 600 was 
in stock, and $6,694,850 in bonds. The total 
earnings and income for the year, in Illinois, were 
$5,022,315, and the operating and other expenses, 
$4,272,207. This road, under its management as 
it existed up to 1898, has been one of the most uni- 
formly successful in the country. Dividends 
have been paid semiannually from 1863 to 1884, 
and quarterly from 1884 to 1896. For a number 
of years previous to 1897, the dividends had 
amounted to eight per cent per annum on both 
preferred and common stock, but later had been 
reduced to seven per cent on account of short 
crops along the line. The taxes paid in 1898 
were $341,040. The surplus, June 30, 1895, 
exceeded two and three-quarter million dollars. 
The Chicago & Alton was the first line in the 
world to put into service sleeping and dining cars 
of the Pullman model, which have since been so 
widely adopted, as well as the first to run free 
reclining chair-cars for the convenience and 
comfort of its passengers. At the time the 
matter embraced in this volume is undergoing 
final revision (1899), negotiations are in progress 
for the purchase of this historic line by a syndi- 
cate representing the Baltimore & Ohio, the 
Missouri Pacific, the Union Pacific, and the 
Missouri, Kansas & Texas systems, in whose 
interest it will hereafter be operated. 

CHICAGO & AURORA RAILROAD. (See 
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. ) 

CHICAGO & EASTERN ILLINOIS RAIL- 
ROAD. This company operates a line 516.3 miles 
in length, of which 278 miles are within Illinois. 



HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



10] 



The main line in this State extends southerly 
from Dolton Junction (17 miles south of Chicago) 
to Danville. Entrance to the Polk Street Depot 
in Chicago is secured over the tracks of the 
Western Indiana Railroad. The company owns 
several important branch lines, as follows: From 
Momence Junction to the Indiana State Line; 
from Cissna Junction to Cissna Park ; from Dan- 
ville Junction to Shelbyville, and from Sidell to 
Rossville. The system in Illinois is of standard 
gauge, about 108 miles being double track. The 
right of way is 100 feet wide and well fenced. 
The grades are light, and the construction 
(including rails, ties, ballast and bridges), is 
generally excellent. The capital stock outstand- 
ing (1895) is $13,594,400; funded debt, $18,018,000; 
floating debt, §916,381; total capital invested, 
$32,570,781; total earnings in Illinois, $2,592,072; 
expenditures in the State, $2,595,631. The com- 
pany paid the same year a dividend of six per 
cent on its common stock ($286,914), and reported 
a surplus of $1,484,762. The Chicago & Eastern 
Illinois was originally chartered in 1865 as the 
Chicago, Danville & Vincennes Railroad, its main 
line being completed in 1872. In 1873, it defaulted 
on interest, was sold under foreclosure in 1877, 
and reorganized as the Chicago & Nashville, but 
later in same year took its present name. In 
1894 it was consolidated with the Chicago & 
Indiana Coal Railway. Two spurs (5.27 miles in 
length) were added to the line in 1895. Early in 
1897 this line obtained control of the Chicago, 
Paducah & Memphis Railroad, which is now 
operated to Marion, in Williamson County, (See 
Chicago, Paducah & Memphis Railroad.) 

CHICAGO & GRAND TRUNK RAILWAY. Of 
the 335.27 miles of the Chicago & Grand Trunk 
Railroad, only 30.65 are in Illinois, and of the 
latter 9.7 miles are operated under lease. That 
portion of the line within the State extends from 
Chicago easterly to the Indiana State line. The 
Company is also lessee of the Grand Junction 
Railroad, four miles in length. The Road is 
capitalized at $6,600,000, lias a bonded debt of 
$12,000,000 and a floating debt (1895) of $2,271,425, 
making the total capital invested, $20,871,425. 
The total earnings in Illinois for 1895 amounted 
to $660,393; disbursements within the State for 
the same period, $345,233. The Chicago & Grand 
Trunk Railway, as now constituted, is a consoli- 
dation of various lines between Port Huron, 
Mich., and Chicago, operated in the interest of 
the Grand Trunk Railway of Canada. The Illi- 
nois section was built under a charter granted in 
1878 to the Chicago & State Line Railway Com- 



pany, to form a connection with Valparaiso, Ind. 
This corporation acquired the Chicago & South- 
ern Railroad (from Chicago to Dolton), and the 
Chicago & State Line Extension in Indiana, all 
being consolidated under the name of the North- 
western Grand Trunk Railroad. In 1880, a final 
consolidation of these lines with the eastward 
connections took place under the present name — 
the Chicago & Grand Trunk Railway. 

CHICAGO & GREAT EASTERN RAILWAY. 
(See Pittsburg, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis 
Railway.) 

CHICAGO & GREAT SOUTHERN RAILROAD. 
(See Peoria, Decatur & Evansville Railway. ) 

CHICAGO & ILLINOIS SOUTHERN RAIL- 
WAY. (See Peoria, Decatur & Evansville Rail- 
way. ) 

CHICAGO & MISSISSIPPI RAILROAD. (See 
Chicago & Alton Railroad.) 

CHICAGO A NASHVILLE RAILROAD. (See 
Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad.) 

CHICAGO & NORTHERN PACIFIC RAIL- 
ROAD. (See Chicago Terminal Transfer Rail- 
road. ) 

CHICAGO & NORTHWESTERN RAILWAY, 
one of the great trunk lines of the country, pene- 
trating the States of Illinois, Wisconsin, Michi- 
gan, Iowa, Minnesota and North and South 
Dakota. The total length of its main line, 
branches, proprietary and operated lines, on May 
1, 1899, was 5,076.89 miles, of which 594 miles are 
operated in Illinois, all owned by the company. 
Second and side tracks increase the mileage 
to a total of 7,217.91 miles. The Chicago & 
Northwestern Railway (proper) is operated in 
nine separate divisions, as follows: The Wis- 
consin, Galena, Iowa, Northern Iowa, Madison, 
Peninsula, Winona and St. Peter, Dakota and 
Ashland Divisions The principal or main lines 
of the "Northwestern System,*' in its entirety, 
are those which have Chicago, Omaha, St. Paul 
and Minneapolis for their termini, though their 
branches reach numerous important points 
within the States already named, from the shore 
of Lake Michigan on the east to Wyoming on the 
west, and from Kansas on the south to Lake 
Superior on the north. — (History.) The Chi- 
cago & Northwestern Railway Company was 
organized in 1859 under charters granted by the 
Legislatures of Illinois and Wisconsin during 
that year, under which the new company came 
into possession of the rights and franchises of the 
Chicago, St. Paul & Fond du Lac Railroad Com- 
pany. The latter road was the outgrowth of 
various railway enterprises which had been pro 



102 



HISTOEICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS. 



jected, chartered and partly constructed in Wis- 
consin and Illinois, between 1848 and 1855, 
including the Madison & Beloit Eailroad, the 
Rock River Valley Union Railroad, and the Illi- 
nois & Wisconsin Railroad — the last named com- 
pany being chartered by the Illinois Legislature 
in 1851, and authorized to build a railroad from 
Chicago to the Wisconsin line. The Wisconsin 
Legislature of 1855 authorized the consolidation 
of the Rock River Valley Union Railroad with the 
Illinois enterprise, and, in March, 1855, the con- 
solidation of these lines was perfected under the 
name of the Chicago, St. Paul & Fond du Lac 
Railroad. During the first four years of its exist- 
ence this company built 176 miles of the road, of 
which seventy miles were between Chicago and 
the Wisconsin State line, with the sections con- 
structed in Wisconsin completing the connection 
between Chicago and Fond du Lac. As the result 
of the financial revulsion of 1857, the corporation 
became financially embarrassed, and the sale of its 
property and franchises under the foreclosure of 
1859, already alluded to, followed. This marked 
the beginning of the present corporation, and, in 
the next few years, by the construction of new 
lines and the purchase of others in Wisconsin and 
Northern Illinois, it added largely to the extent 
of its lines, both constructed and projected. The 
most important of these was the union effected 
with the Galena & Chicago Union Railroad, 
which was formally consolidated with the Chi- 
cago & Northwestern in 1864. The history of 
the Galena & Chicago Union is interesting in 
view of the fact that it was one of the earliest 
railroads incorporated in Illinois, having been 
chartered by special act of the Legislature during 
the "internal improvement" excitement of 1836. 
Besides, its charter was the only one of that 
period under which an organization was effected, 
and although construction was not begun under 
it until 1847 (eleven years afterward), it was the 
second railroad constructed in the State and the 
first leading from the city of Chicago. In the 
forty years of its history the growth of the Chi- 
cago & Northwestern has been steady, and its 
success almost phenomenal. In that time it has 
not only added largely to its mileage by the con- 
struction of new lines, but has absorbed more 
lines than almost any other road in the country, 
until it now reaches almost every important city 
in the Northwest. Among the lines in Northern 
Illinois now constituting a part of it, were several 
which had become a part of the Galena & Chicago 
Union before the consolidation. These included 
a line from Belvidere to Beloit, Wis. ; the Fox 



River Valley Railroad, and the St. Charles & 
Mississippi Air Line Railroad — all Illinois enter- 
prises, and more or less closely connected with 
the development of the State. The total capi- 
talization of the line, on June 30, 1898, was 
$200,968,108, of which §66,408,821 was capi- 
tal stock and $101,603,000 in the form of 
bonds. The earnings in the State of Illinois, 
for the same period, aggregated $4,374,923, 
and the expenditures $3,712,593. At the present 
time (1899) the Chicago & Northwestern is build- 
ing eight or ten branch lines in Wisconsin, Iowa, 
Minnesota and South Dakota. The Northwestern 
System, as such, comprises nearly 3,000 miles of 
road not included in the preceding statements of 
mileage and financial condition. Although owned 
by the Chicago & Northwestern Company, they 
are managed by different officers and under other 
names. The mileage of the whole system covers 
nearly 8,000 miles of main line. 

CHICAGO & SPRINGFIELD RAILROAD. 
(See Illinois Central Railroad. ) 

CHICAGO & TEXAS RAILROAD, a line 
seventy-three miles in length, extending from 
Johnston City by way of Carbondale westerly to 
the Mississippi, thence southerly to Cape Girar- 
deau. The line was originally operated by two 
companies, under the names of the Grand Tower 
& Carbondale and the Grand Tower & Cape Girar- 
deau Railroad Companies. The former was 
chartered in 1882, and the road built in 1885 ; the 
latter, chartered in 1889 and the line opened the 
same year. They were consolidated in 1893, and 
operated under the name of the Chicago & Texas 
Railroad Company. In October, 1897, the last 
named line was transferred, under a twenty-five 
year lease, to the Illinois Central Railroad Com- 
pany, by whom it is operated as its St. Louis & 
Cap