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HISTORIC MORGAN

AND

JL

ASSIC JACKSONfl

COMPILED IN 1884-'8.'i BY

CHARLES M, EAMES

(Editor and Proprietor of the Daily and Weekly ,Journal,)

WITH INTRODUCTION BY

Prof, Harvey W, Milligan, A M, M, D„

OF ILLINOIS COLLEGE.

ILLXISTR^TED.

JACKSONVILLE, ILL.:
PRINTED AT THE DAILY JOURNAL STEAM JOB PRINTING OFFICE.
1885.

BIRD'S EYE VIEW OF THE CITY OF JACKSONVILLE, LOOKING EAST FROM COLLEGE HILL.

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THIS BDDK
RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED
TU THE MEMiJliY <>F
THE OLD SETTLERS OE :\I(.)r.(4AX COEXTY
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BY THE COMPILER.
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HiSTOKIC Mono AN .\ND ClASSIG JACKSONVILLE.
PREFACE.

I am reminded by the date of these final words, as the last form of "Historic Morgan"
goes to press, that just a year has passed since, in a quiet way, I began the pleasant,
self-imposed task of gathering material to supply, of course, "a long-felt want." The
Journal files, extending back a quarter-of -century — not quite one-half the time, I wished
to cover by an unpretentious historic compilation — occupied attention for months, and
then came researches into other newspapers, stray copies of old-time Patriots, Sentinels,
etc., records of societies and public meetings, interviews with the few surviving rescuers
of this fair portion of Illinois, from aboriginal owners, rudeness and wild, un
broken prairie condition. Written recollections of early times claimed due considerar
tion next. Encouragement came from the "Old Settlers' Associations " of Morgan and
Cass and the "Jacksonville Historical Society." The material accumulated rapidly,
for the field was fruitful, and the work grew more fascinating as it progressed. The
size of the volume does not, to a casual observer, indicate extensive contents ; but when
the size of type used and the "solid" character of many pages are properly considered,
even without perusal, the examiner will realize that a vast amount of information is
contained in its fourteen chapters. There has been no attempt at ornate writing, no
space wasted in opinion-giving, and we lay no claim and take no credit for authorship.
The honor of painstaking in research and collecting, and faithfulness in chronicling
all the noteworthy steps in the sixty years' progressive history of " my own, my native"
city and county, the credit of publishing the most complete and accurate compilation
of historical notes pertaining to "Old Morgan," is all that I ask of the present or future
readers of the volume, if the work should have more than a transient existence.
One fact will, I hope, be evident, viz., that there is nothing of a money-making or
advertising character to the editing or publishing of the book. Of course many enter-
prises and individuals have been complimented, but no pecuniary consideration has
biased a single line or sentence. Even the illustrations of business houses were insert
ed gratuitously, that there might be no charge of " paid pufE" connected with the book.
I am well aware, too, there must have been some omissions and possible misstatements,
as it is absolutely impossible to furnish a perfect history of long past times with meager
resources at command. My original plan, of strict chronological order from first to
last, had to be abandoned, on account of the late securing of matetial bearing upon early
times. Due acknowledgement is made elsewhere of my indebtedness to various persons
and papers for valuable aid.
It will be observed that I have made no attempt to follow up the history of the
towns of the county, except Jacksonville, since the date of the incorporation of that
place. I have not had access to the necessary information.
"My task is done."
" The torch shaU be extinguished which has lit "
"The midnight lamp; and what Is writ is writ."
" Would it were worthier 1"
JacrsontiijLK, March 81, 1885, THE COMPILER,

HiSTOKIC MOKGAN AND CLASSIC JACKSONVILLE.

INTRODUCTION.

Every community is born into an inheritance. This inheritance may be one of vir
tue or one of vice, of prudence or of folly, of health or of disease, of wealth or of
poverty. The possession of wealth, health, prudence or virtue, or of an inherited ten
dency to secure those blessings, involves an obligation to those from whom such in
clination comes ; while poverty, or vice, or folly, or disease, or even a tendency to
those conditions, connects us no less intimately with our predecessors.
How may we cancel this obligation which has come down to us from the past ';'
Our ancestors are not here. If they were they would need no pay from us. But they
are careless alike of praise or blame, of profit or of loss. It only remains to us to pay
their heirs, who, fortunately, are also our heirs.
By what means shall we pay this debt to posterity '?
We may do this by informing those who are to come of the causes of present and
past prosperity. We may show them that man in his political and social relations is
subject to laws which are as imperative as the laws of the ishysical world. We may
tell them that the greatest individual liberty wliich is consistent with the good of soci
ety must be allowed. We may prove to them that individual production of wealth
must not be checked. .We may declare that intelligence is one of the greatest causes
of prosperity, and that morality and piety exalt any people. To enforce and illustrate
such teachings we may refer to the contents of this volume.
We should also tell of the mistakes of the fathers to the end that similar errors
may be avoided. Show that neglect of education postpones prosperity, that intemperance
increases taxation, that natural obstructions to trade diminish profits, that unprofitable
industries destroy wealth, that debt discourages enterprise. By such teachings, both
in the way of encouragement and of warning, in things industrial, social, political,
intellectual, moral and religious, we may, perhaps, cancel the debt we owe to our ances
tors by conferring a favor on posterity. To this end," Historic Morgan" is a means.
The following pages also have the advantage of teaching these principles by exam
ple, which is the most effective method ipf conveying truth. When we read that the
Morganian Society, founded in 1833, ano consisting of one hundred and twenty-five
persons, adopted a constitution containing these words : " It is the declared design
and intention of this society to promote the public good by using all honorable means
to prevent the introduction of slavery in this state," we feel little surprise that, forty
years later, a citizen of Illinois, from the National office in Washington, should have
signed the Emancipation Proclamation. What reform of political methods, or what
attainment of political good is impossible to a community which organized a Mor
ganian society, and sustained an Abi^ham Lincoln ?
As we read in these pages the romantic and thrilling story of the " Regulators of
the Valley," we are reminded that justice is the end of society, and law ia but one of

6 Historic Morgan and Classic Jacksonville.
its means ; and that, in the emergencies of a new country, a short cut to the end may
be both allowable and advisable.
It is hard for us, who order through a telephone, from a mile away, flour of the
finest of wheat, to realize that sixty-five years ago, the nearest flour-mill was eighty-
five long miles away. It is just as difficult to conceive of Huram Reeve's blacksmith-
shop, or of Roe & Webster's grist-mill, or of the substitutes for cassimeres and broad
cloth, which, only three generations ago, our fathers and mothers made and wore.
It is bewildering to compare our present methods in agriculture with those de
scribed in this book. Our planters, our cultivators, pur reapers are not only sources of
wealth, but their invention constitutes our titles of nobility. But the log cabins, the
linsey garments and the hand grist-mills were for our fathers as clear a title to as proud
a nobility. Their industry and frugality, as herein portrayed, laid the foundation of
our wealth and leisure and culture.
There are economical lessons to be learned from " Historic Morgan" concernine the
development of manufactures among us. From the data given we may learn the foL
lowing principles : 1st, That a successful industry must have unsurpassed facilities
for obtaining raw materials, 3nd, It must command a market second to none, for its
manufactured goods. 3rd, It must be able to compete successfully with all other
places in cheapness of labor. If, in the aggregate of these three elements of produc
tion, Morgan should fall behind other counties, it is inevitable that manufactures
should fail here, and that the money invested should be lost. Unless we wish to be
continually heaving our money into bottomless coal-holes, or wasting our wealth upon
moribund car-works, we must heed these principles, and their illustrations as found in
this volume.
And here also the record comes to our aid to show us what enterprises are profita
ble,— for that there are profitable industries here, five flourishing banks bear witness.
As we are living history, day by day ; so also must we daily record that history for
the benefit of posterity. " Historic Morgan" as it now appears, should be but the
beginning of a series of recorded events to which some future historian, with a broader
horizon than we behold, shall furnish the key. Without this record, enlarged and
continued as it will be, a true history, showing the relation of causes and effects, would
be impossible, and to a great degree past and present generations would have lived in
vain. With it, posterity can profit both by our successes and by our mistakes. With
it as data " They may discern— unseen before—
" A path to higher destinies."
Let us greet then " Historic Morgan" as a means of utilizing the past for the bene
fit of the future. H. W. MILLIGAN.

Historic Morgan and Classic .Taoksdnville.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

CEIAPTEE I.— 1819-'24.
The First White Settlers— The Original Log-Gahins—The Explorers from New Tork—
First Ground Broken — Birthplace of Methodism in Morgan— Sixty Miles to Mill—
An, Anti-Slavery Society in 1823— Its Gonstitution and Signers— The Gounty Gre-
ated^-The First Birth and First Death, First Sermon and First Sunday -School—
The First Courts and Elections According to Judge Thomas and Gen. McGonnel—
Old Time Justices — Judge Lockwood, Got. Joseph Morton, Judge Solomon, Uncle
Johnny Jordan — Recollections — Beardstown and Meredosia Fonnded. Page 9.
CHAPTEK II.— I9,l%-^'^24r.— Continued.
''The Regulators of the Valley" — A Tragedy in Real Life — A Chapter of the Da/rk Side
of Pioneer Days in the Mauvaisterre Country — Captain Pistol — The Wild Hunter —
The First Grave on the Banks of Magee's Greek — The First Settlers of Gass — Sales
of Public Lands in 1833 — Venison, Blackberries and Milk. Page 30.
CHAPTEEIIL— 1819-'24.— 6VMcZw?efZ.
Covering the same Period as Chapters I and II, but with Greater Detail. Annals of
the Earliest Years in Morgan, as Published in the Illinois Sentinel in 1867, by J. R.
Bailey, now deceased, and vouched for in 1884 by Huram Reeve, Esq., the oldest male
resident of the county now living therein — Log GaMn Raising — Meal Grinding in
Hand-mills — Honey Hunters — Tlie First Tavern, Bridge and Steamboat — Greene
and Sangamon Gounty Settlements. Page 37.
CHAPTER IV,— 1825-'29.
The Infant Town of Jacksonville — Locating the Gounty Seat — The Early Settlers Arriv
ing — Churches, Schools and Colleges Founded — Judge Thomas' Arrival and Experi
ences — The Winnebago War — County Officers — Liquor in the Harvest Field — The
First License — Recollections of early times by Dr. Sturtevant, Anderson Foremam,
John R. Harney, Murray McGonnel and Judge Samuel Woods — First Court House,
Jail and Poor Farm. Page 41
CHAPTER Y— 1830-'36.
''College" ana "Academy" Chartered and in Full Blast — Faculty and Graduate — Wed
dings in Ye Olden Tyme — The Black HoAck War — Methodist, Presbyterian and
Episcopal Church Growths-Old Settler's Testimony as to Business, Transportation,
Crime, (be. — The Deep Snow and the t^iick Freeze. Page 68.
CHAPTER YI.— 1837-'43.
The First Secret Societies— Prospering Schools and Churches— Crime and Criminals—
The Ea/rliest Railroading in the West— The Incipient Wabash— Gounty and Town
Officers—The First State Charitable Institutions. Page 93.
CHAPTER YIL— 1844:-'57.
Illinois Provides for her Deaf and Dumb, Blind and Insane— Illinois College Fire-
Illinois Female College Founded^Arriml of Portuguese Colonists from Madeira—
"The Forty-Niners" Start for California— City and County Officers— Church and
Secret Society News— Tlie Mexican War Volunteers— Death of Col. John J. Hardin
-"Phi Alpha" Founded— The Northern Gross Railroad. Page 114.

8 Historic Morgan and Classic Jacksonville.
CHAPTER YIII.
Devoted to Polities in Old Morgan— The Early Political Career of Hon. RicJiard
Yates— The Election Returns in \S56— Rocking the Cradle of Liberty in the West—
Lovejoy, Beecher <fe Co.— "The Underground Railroad" had a Station at Jackson
ville, Oondueiors Snedeker, Irving, Henderson, Spencer, and others. Directors
Wolcott, Reed, Carter, Willard, Melendy, et al.— Old Time Abolitionists— Forma
tion of the First Republican Club in the Nation— The "Free Democracy" o/1858
—The Missouri Compromise Discussion, Prince, McGonnd, Dickens, Adams,
Sturtevant, et at. Pige 133,
CHAPTER IX.— 1858-'65.
I'he Business Men — Institution Appropriations — Churches and Preachers — Colleges
and Sabbath Schools- Criminal Cases— Local Journalism— Epitomes of News—
"Just Before ihe Battle"— Grant's Regiment— Recruiting for the Union Army—
The Pension Roll. Page 151 ,
CHAPTER X,— 1866-'73.
Jacksonville Incorporated as a City — Conservatory of Music and Oak Lawn Retreat
Founded— City Waterworks' Constructed— The Murder of Gen. McGonnel— Mur
der Trials— New Societies— School for Feeble Minded. ' Page 171.
CHAPTER XI,— 1874-'80.
A Glance at what Jacksonville was Ten Years Ago — A City of Churches, Colleges,
Schools and Benevolent Institutions — Also a Business and Manufacturing Center
of Present and Prospective Importance — Literary and Aesthetic Societies — Munici
pal Statistics — Public Improvements — A live Railroad Point, a good Stock Market, a
Great Place for Marrying and a Place where some People die — The Original Oar-
den of Eden, with all the Modern Improvements. Page 192,
CHAPTER XII,— 1881-'84.
The Present Condition and .Prospects — City and Gounty Officials — Churches and Schools
— Criminal — Meteorology of 1883, Including the Disastrous Liter Tornado — Realty
and Personal Property Values — Manufactures — Public Improvements. Page 309.
CHAPTER XIII.
Composed of a Series of Appendices — The Kelloggs.and their Cabin — Postal Facilities in
the Thirties — David Manchester's Life — Death of Dr. Willard with a Sketch of Ms
Life — Reminiscences of 1837 by Miss Fayerweather — First Things by Anderson Fore
man — History of the Baptist Church — Roll of Honor of Old Settlers— The Pioneer
Sewing Society — Its Benevolent Work — The Jacksonville Library — Mere Mention 
¦Graphic Sketch of Judge John Leeper — Coming West Fifty Years Ago — A few
Manufacturing Interests — School Matters in 1833 — Correction of Errors, by Dr
Sturtevant and tlie Compiler — Jacksonville News 1854-59. Page 235.
CHAPTER XIY.
Cass County since the Separation from Morgans-Its Officials and Legislators— Laying
off of Towns— Modern Virginia^Its Officers, Schools, Opera Houses, Ete.—Sketelies
of Old Settlers— "The Three Mile Contest"— Population Growth. Page 271.
CHAPTER XY.
Biographical Sketches, with some Portraits of Prominent Citizens of Morgan County,
including many now numbered with the dead. The Pioneers, the Cattle Kings, the
Educators, the State Officials, the Politicians and the Business Men, such as Strawn,
Alexander, King, Smith, Gillett, Garriel, Phillips, Bullard, Morrison, Duncan, Kirhy,
Tanner, Bailey, Yates, Glover, Turner, Thomas, Sturtevant, Morse, Short, Sanders,
Moore, Tomlinson, Munroe, et al. Page 281.

HISTORIC MORGAN

AND

CLASSIC JACKSONVILLE,

CDMPILEn IN 1BE4 BY
CHARLES M. EAMES,
Editor and Pboprietor of the Daily akd Weekly Journat,

CHAPTER I.— 1819-'24.

The First White Settlers — The Original Log-Cabins— The Explorers from New York —
First Ground Broken — Birthplace of Methodism in Morgan — Sixty Miles to Mill—
An Anti-Slavery Society in 1823— Its Gonstitution and Signers—The County Crem
ated — The First Birth and First Death, First Sermon and First Sunday-School —
The First Courts and Elections According to Judge Thomas and Gen. McGonnel —
Old Time Justices — Judge Lockwood, Col. Joseph Morton, Judge Solmnon, Uncle
Johnny Jordan — Recollections of Old Settlers — Beardstown and Meredosia Founded.
"Should auld acquaintance he forgot
And never brought to mind?
Should old acquaintance be forget
And days o' lang syne ?"
^ S early as 1818, when the now great commonwealth of Illinois was admitted into
the Union, most of the white inhabitants of this then emphatically Prairie State
lived south of a line between the mouths of the Wabash and Illinois Rivers. That
year Seymour KeHagj^MHjo was born on the 21st of March, 1779, and died April
13th, 1837 — moved from New York State to Illinois. He had been in the war
of 1812, and was familiarly knovra as Col. Kellogg. In the fall of 1819, with liis
brother Elisha, he moved to near the head of the Mauvaisterre, and thus, to the best of
the knowledge of any living "oldest inhabitant," the Kellogg brothers became the fli st
white settlers of Morgan. They built their log-cabin^the pioneer home in this county—
on the land later owned by Col. Samuel T. Matthews, in township 1.5 N., range 9 W.
A grand-son of Elisha Kellogg afterwards married Mary Chamberlain and is now living
at Santa Barbara, California. Another grand-son married Fannie Foster of this city.

10 The First Cabin Homes.
Mrs. .^senath K. Mundy, daughter of Seymour Kellogg, writing from Brighton In
1879, says of her father and their frontier home :
"He then built a log cabin, clapboard roof and ground floor and no doors or win
dows, and twenty miles to any neighbors, Indians, wolves, wild turkeys and hogs
were all around us. He stayed there one winter and came near freezing to death,
having gone with two yoke of oxen twenty miles for a load of corn, A severe snow
storm came and losing his way he lay out one night, and turned his oxen loose. They
found iheir way home. Search was made at once by an uncle, who came out with U3
and my brother then 13 years old. They found my father with his feet frozen and had
hard work getting him home, where he laid for months unable to walk. That spring we
moved west of Jacksonville, near the creek. We caught fish from the Mauvaisterre,
that ran over the prairie out near the high mound, where Mr. Strawn located a beauti
ful pUce. My father was appointed State surveyor, and he laid out the towns of Jack
sonville, Exeter, Naples, Beardstown, Meredosia, Perry, Griggsville and many other
places. He kept the first store of Exeter, was P. M,, J, P., and held other positions.
While living at Exeter he went to St. Louis for goods, going in a wagon, for there was
no rail in those days. One week after airiving there he was buried from the residence
of Mr. Charles Collins, his son-in-law. ******* The first
preaching in Morgan county was at our bouse. The first school taught was by my sis
ter in a log cabin without any doors or windows, in 1831."
In January, 1820, the Kelloggs entertained three explorers from New York,
David Berdan, (father of Judge James Berdan,) George N ixon, and Isaac Fort Roe ; and
sold them corn for their horses, which had been wagoned from Madison county. Then
there were neither churches or schools. People lived in tents and cabins. There were
no roads or bridges, and most of the land was held by the general government. The
man who settled on it did so at his peril of being tried for trespass. People risked
considerable in those days, but no jury would find for the government in such a suit be
cause they thought the government should sell the land. The army was small then, and
couldn't be sent to remove settlers.
On the 12th of October, 1819, an emigration society, organized in the city of New
York, had appointed the three pioneers named above, a committee to explore the wes
tern states and select homesteads for its members. They left that city on the 15th of
October, crossed the Wabash at Vincennes on the 36th of December and arrived at St.
Louis January 1st, 1820, passed and named Diamond Grove, January 28d, in which Mr,
Roe selected a place of residence, and in February he built a log cabin, in which he re
sided until his death, October 12, 1831, aged forty-eight years. He was the son of the
Rev. Doctor Ozel Roe, of Woodbridge, N. J., and was never married. The county of
Morgan has since removed the remains of Mr, Roe, as the first person who died in the
county, to the Diamond Grove Cemetery, and placed a monument on the grave. The
city of Jacksonville donated a suitable lot.
The venerable Judge Thomas, of our city, says thathe has "often heard Jeddediah
Webster, a soldier in the war of 1813, who had passed up the Illinois River to the
mouth of the Mauvaisterre in the keel boat with his family, say, that he assisted in
building the first log cabin in the county, (referring to this built by Roe,) Whilst at
Kellogg's these three pioneers learned that a man named Stephen Olmstead was en
gaged building a shanty at the point of timber, afterwards called Swinnerton's Point,
They employed him to pilot them to the mouth of the Mauvaisterre— there was a deep
snow then on the ground— then passed from Kellogg's around the head of Mauvaisterre
Creek to Diamond Grove, thence to Swinnerton's Point, and then followiDg,.<^if pilot
they set out for the Illinois River. After reaching the timber and hills soutb of the
Mauvaisterre; their pilot said he was lost, that he could not recognize the locations
around him — they then returned to the shanty, where they remained until the next das',
and from thence returned, by way of Kellogg to the head of Lick Creek, and from
thence to Bdwardsville."
The ranks of those who date back their residence in Morgan county "before the
deep snow" are sadly thinned. Still fewer in number are those who can celebrate the
"golden" anniversary of their location upon these prairies. Remarkable, then, was that
social reunion, in 1877, of the Reeve family, the dining together of six out of a family

The Settlers of 1820, 11
of nine, who came to this "neck of the woods" in 1830, fifty-seven years previous. The
party consisted of Messrs. Lazarus, John, Isaac and Huram, and Miss Keren Ree\'e
and their sister, Mrs. Martha Reeve Crain, It was at the house of the latter that they
met and recalled the days gone by. Only three of the family now are living.
One of the little company tells us that in 1830, when Isaac Reeve, Sr., came to this
locality with his wife and nine children, the county boundaries covered what is now
Madison and all that lies between that county and this, and was called Madison. In
coming, the party followed an Indian trail, they being about the first white people to
track the prairies between what is now Alton and Jacksonville. They drove ahead of
them, all the way, a sow and her shoats and two cows having bells upon them that they
might not be lost in the wild wood>s. Reaching here a halt was made, their property
dumped upon the ground, while Mr. Reeve, Sr., started at once to return to Edvvards-
ville for provisions. With the second load he brought a blacksmith's bellows, anvil and
hammer. The former was swung between two saplings, a tree was felled and an anvil
block made of the stump, logs were rolled up for the furnace and tlius they began life
in "Old Morgan." This first blacksmith shop was of great service to the emigi-ants, who
began to settle in this region, for the sharpening of the plows with which the virgin sod
of the "Prairie State" was to be upheaved. All provisions then had to be hauled one
hundred miles.
Of Mr. Reeve's place of business. Rev. N. P. Heath has said in an historical address :
"It was a mammoth structure, as big as all out doors. Talk about your modern
watch factories, and reaper factories, why the outside walls of Reeve's blacksmith
shop extended as far as the lines of creation, to say nothing of the interior arrange
ments. This shop was the first for some time, and the only one in the county, in fact,
it embraced all the county and more too. This soon became the headquarters of the
county Here, like the Athenians of old, the settlers would meet from all parts, in
order to tell and hear the news, and I have been informed that the first post ofiice was
opened at or near this place. And, from all that I can learn, they only lacked one
thing of having a full grown town out on Sandy, and that was a doggery. However,
tbe size. of the blacksmith shop may account for that deficiency."
The first ground broken in the county for purposes of cultivation was in the spring
of 1820. We have been furnished with the following names of persons who settled in
the county during that spring : John Wyatt, William Wyatt, Isaac F. Roe, Jeddediah
Webster, Isaac Reeve, James B. Cruni, Isaac Dial, Thomas Smith, James Deaton, Robert
James, .lesse Ruble, Ancil Cox, Joseph Buchanan, Samuel Scott, Isaac Edwards, Arch
ibald Job, Stephen Olmstead, Michael Arthur, ,Iames Buckley, Aaron Wilson, Isaac
Smith. Mr. Olmstead settled at a point now known as Allison's Mound. A settlement was
made the same year on the north fork of the Mauvaisterre by Samuel Scott, and .Tames
Kerr. General McConnel came into the county the same year.
In 1819, when the Kelloggs located their humble and now historic cabin on the
banks of the Mauvaisterre, their nearest white neighbors were thirty miles distant,
where Illinois' capital city is now growing so vigorously.
In the spring of 1820, James Deaton, Isaac Reeve, Sr., and family, Robert R.
James and others settled north-west of the present site of Jacksonville. In the fall of
the same year John Bradshaw, Joseph Morton, Joseph Buchanan, Ancil Cox and Michfel
Antyl settled south and east of -the same. In 1821, Lott Luttrell, Johnston Shelton and
Francis Petree became residents within the present bounds of Morgan county. In 1822,
William. C. Verry, Thomas Wiswall, Adam Allison and a few Others were added to the
sparsely inhabited settlement. From this time emigration poured into this golden land
of promise. The wild prairies were fenced, plowed and sown, rank wild grass yielded
to corn, wheat, oats, etc. Homes were established, fruit trees planted, live stock im
ported and the savages' hunting ground converted into as charming a farming region as
beautifies this earth.
The act of Congress reducing the price of the public lands from |3.00 to $1.25 per

12 The Church in the Jordan Cabin.
acre, was passed on the 24th day of April 1820, and took effect on the first day of July
thereafter. Very little land, if any, had been sold in Morgan county before this time.
Levi Deaton, one of the first settlers in Morgan county, has, in answer to an inquiry,
written the following about the introduction of Methodism into this county:
"The first sermon preached in the county, so far as I know, was by Rev. John
Glanville. at my father's house, in 1823. A class was then and there organized, con
sisting of my father and mother, and a brother named Johnson and his wife. The
first quarterly meeting was held the same year at Father Jordan's — father of John and
Wm. Jordan, in the east part of Jacksonville. The first camp meeting in the county
was held on Walnut Creek, near Lynnville, by Peter Cartwright."
The statement is undisputed that the first Morgan county church was organized in
1833 by a few persons who held their meetings for worship in this famous large log
cabin of "Father" Jordan. It stood just back of the old Berean College building and
was erected before Morgan county was created. Its members were scattered over the
country, many of them coming many miles to attend service. The Methodists continued
to hold meetings in this cabin until the completion of the school house in which Judge
Thomas held the first school in Jacksonville. They worshiped here until 1833 when
they erected a brick church on East Morgan street, which was the first brick church in
the county. It was in 1833 that "Uncle John" Jordan, now living in Jacksonville, removed with
his father to this county, but he Went back to Missouri and did not finally settle here
until 1833. That year cholera prevailed, and he and his brother spent nearly their
whole time during the season in caring for the sick. They settled on the Hardin farm,
in the east part of town and the first Methodist meetings were held at their house, as
stated above, and since that time the home of the Jordan's has been the place of religion.
He has been married three times and has survived all. Considering his age he is still
very strong and hardly a day passes but that he is seen upon our streets. He does all
his work, even to sawing the wood. During his whole life he has been a staunch Chris
tian and one of the most honored members of Grace M. E. church. Ever since there
was a Journal, or an ancestor to the Journal, published in Jacksonville, he has been a
subscriber and now reads his Daily Journal thoroughly and regularly. Mr. Jordan is
one of the few men now living who took part in the war of 1812 which forever decided
the strength of our claims. He was in the most disagreeable part of that war, because
those troops who went out against the Indians experienced unspeakable hardsnips and
many died from exposure. After the treaty was made they moved back to Buffalo
creek and engaged in the more peaceful pursuits of farming. The principal crop was
corn and not much wheat was planted. At that early day Uncle John tells us he went
sixty miles to mill, and that many people used the hand-mills to keep from going so
great a distance. They had plenty of meat, corn-bread, butter, wild honey and milk, but
coffee, sugar, etc., were very scarce. Coffee 75c per lb.
In a book entitled the "Annals of the West" we learn that there were in 1833 in
Morgan county about seventy-two families. In 1821 there were but twenty families in
(now) Morgan, Cass and Scott.
One of the most valuable historical documents of these earliest Morganian days is
the constitution of a political society "to prevent the introduction of slavery into this
state." Its supposed date is A. D. 1823. For, in February 1823, the Legislature passed
an act authorizing the people to vote at the next election for and against calling a con
vention to adopt a new constitution, the object being to create the institution of slavery.
The election was held in August 1824. A society in Morgan county was organized
against the call, and of the one hundred and forty signers or members of this society,
so far as is known, Lazarus Reeve and Alfred Mills, are the only survivors. Honor to
tiie memory of their colleagues ! And all honor to the living, who rejoice with us to
day in being citizens of a country that is f ree^the asylum of all the oppressed !
Constitution op the Morganian Society.— Under a free government, public
opinion gives energy to the laws, happiness and security of the community being the

Anti-Slavery Society in 1823. 13
legitimate end. Every good citizen thereof has an interest in its support. Under its
fostering wing his moral, his religious and his political rights are maintained. Virtue
and intelligence should be its bond of union.
But as man is naturally prone to abuse power, it is rendered necessary for the se
curity of the whole, that this dangerous propensity should be guarded against.
"Therefore, we, citizens of Morgan county, have thought it advisable to form a so
ciety for the purpose of concentrating public opinion, and by a frequent interchange
thereof, to enlighten and direct each other.
When entering into association it becomes an indispensable duty to adopt a regu
lar system of establishing order. It is the declared design and intention of this socie
ty to promote the public good, by using all honorable means to prevent the introduction
of slavery into this State, by maintaining the purity of elections; by cherishing political
harmony, and by restraining vice and immorality.
The ijetter to secure these objects, we, the undersigned, citizens of Morgan county,
agree to the following constitution:
Art. 1. The style of this society shall be The Morganian Society for the dissemi
nation of political knowledge and the maintenance of the unalienable rights of man.
Art. 2. No person shall be admitted a member of this society unless he has at
tained the age of eighteen years, is averse to slavery and is a citizen of this county.
Art. 3. The officers of this society shall be a president, vice-president, treasurer,
a corresponding and a recording secretary, and a standing committee of twelve mem
bers. Art. 4. The President shall preside at all regular meetings, preserve order repeat
the question proposed by any member and perform such other duties as from time to
time the society may require of him.
Art. 5. The Vice-President shall preside at the committee meetings and he shall
in case of a tie have a casting vote; moreover, in the event of a vacancy, perform such
duties as may be annexed to the fourth article.
Art. 6. The duties of the Treasurer shall be to receive and account for all moneys
paid in by the society.
Art. 7. The secretaries shall keep a register of the transactions of this society
and correspond with any others that may be formed in this state for similar purposes;
they shall, moreover, exhibit the records at any regular or call meeting when request
ed by the President.
Art. 8. The standing committee shall individually and collectively promote the
views of this society, by procuring qualified subscribers to this constitution, by using
efforts to disseminate the principles of liberty, by striving to expose the views of those
who are hostile to the natural and political rights of man; and by using all lawful
means to prevent the introduction of slavery into this State.
Art. 9. There shall be neither local or political distinction of parties in the selec
tion of candidates for office, save one, which requireth that he shall be decidedly op
posed to slavery; nevertheless, it is expected that he shall inherit morality, integrity
and capacity.
Art. 10. There shall be four regular meetings annually, viz: on the last Saturday
in July, at the county seat, the last Saturday in October at the house of Col. Kellogg,
on Plumb Creek, the last Saturday in January at the house of  , on Mau
vaisterre, on the last Saturday of April at the bouse of  , on Indian.
Art. 1 1. All ofiicers of the society shall be elected for one year and by ballot, sub
ject to removal by the concurrent vote of four-fifths of the members present at any of
the quarterly meetings.
Art. 13. On the first meeting after the adoption of this constitution there shall be
a code of by-laws framed, which to enact or amend shall require a majority of votes
at a quarterly meeting.
Art. 13. On the application and previeus to the admission of new members, the
president, or in his absence, the vice-president shall exact the following pledge:
"You, A. B., do solemnly pledge your word and sacred honor that you are friendly
to the natural and political rights of man and will use all honorable means to prevent
the introduction of slavery into this state."
Art. 14. This constitution may be altered or amended at any quarterly meeting,
provided two-thirds of the members present agree to the same.
Archibald Job, Moses Nash, Peter Conover, Thomas Arnett, Stephen W. Spen
cer, Elisha Kellogg, Elijah Wiswall, Eli Redding, Moses Keelock, Page Blake, David
C. Blair, Robert Henry, Israel Robertson, Abram Johnson, Peleg Sweet, Robert Sweet,
Charles W. Horrell, David Beebe, Andrew Reed, Wm. C. Verry, Joseph Sweet, David
Shelby, Constant Olaxton, Wm. B. Burritt, Peter Smith, Alfred Mills, Elisha Henry,
Wm. S. Jordan, Andrew V. Patten, H. G. Taylor, Curtis Cadwell, John Weatherman,
Joseph T. Leonard, Zachariah Cockburne, Bennett Smart, Robert Eckler, G. Cadwell,
John Adams, Alford Carpenter, Samuel Bristow, Dennis Rockwell, Roswell Parmerlee,
Lewis Allen, Thomas Blair, Timothy Harris, Alex. Blair, Nathan Eels, John Box,
Martin Dyer, Simeon Herron, James Hills, Stephen Langworthy, James Arnett, Wm.

14 The County Created — Yirgin Sod Broken.
L. Morse, Daniel Lieb, James Gillham, Wiley Green, Samuel Bogart, Aaron Robertson,
Charles Self, Orris McCartney, Obadiah Waddell, Nelson McDowell, Timothy Demars,
Phillip Mallett, Abram S Bergen, Rowland Shepherd, Ephraim Lisles, Henry Robley,
.Tohn P. Teftt, Wm Robertson. Forrest Fisher, Aquilla Clarkston, William Samples,
Horatio Eddy, Abram B Dewitt, Jonathan C. Bergen, Jesse Bellamy, Noah Wiswall,.
Stephen Olmstedt, Anthony Thomas, Levi Newman, James Jenkins, John Edwards,
Isaac B. Reeve, Lazarus Reeve, David Casebar, Myron Bronson, Joel Reeve, Levi
Conover, Guinn Porter, John Angelo, James Deaton, Sr., James Deaton, Jr , George
Hackett, Samuel Shepherd, Isaac Dial, Alexander Robertson, Robert James, Joseph 1
Basey, Stephen Nash, Baxter Broadwell, Patrick Lynch, Olney Ticknor, Seymour
Kellogg, Charles Troy, Hiram Duff, Henry H, Snow, Joseph Stanley, Andrew Arnett,
Joseph Carter, Thomas B, Arnett, Levi Deaton, Patrick Mullett, Thomas Kinnett,
Benj. Selmitz, Nicholas Jones, Joseph Milstead, Henry Kettner, Robert Bowen, James
Redmond, Andrew Bowen, Levi Scott, Samuel Matthews, Richard Matthews, Sr.,
Richard Matthews, Jr., Robert Morgan, George Bristow, John Rusk, Armsted Cox
In January, A. D. 1833, when Morgan county was established, not a human being
lived where now are the hundreds of handsome residences of our city — the homes of
thousands of happy hearts ; elegant business blocks — ^the every day haunt of enterpris
ing and energetic merchants — and scores of schools, churches and charitable institu
tions — elevating the mind, ennobling the heart and kindly caring for the dependent —
comprising what has endeared itself to the hearts of all her citizens, under the com
prehensive name of .lacksonville.
The county was created by an act of the Legislature of date of January 31st, 1833,
and named after the revolutionary general. The territory then included what is now
Morgan, Cass and Scott counties, and was attached to the senatorial district composed
of the counties of Greene and Pike, and of the representative district composed of
Greene county. Dr. George Cadwell was elected to the Senate and Archibald Job to
the House. Of Mr. Job his friend Judge Thomas writes to the Daily Journal :
"Though humble and retiring in his pretensions, yet his mind — well stored with in
formation upon all questions relating to the history of the country, the powers and
practical operations of the government, the rights and duties of citizens, and above
all, his stern integrity and persistent advocacy of the right, in connection with sound
practical judgment — constituted him in the early settlement of the Sangamon country
and for years afterwards a man of mark. He settled in the grove, which' he called
Sylvan Grove*, near the present site of Virginia, in Cass county, in the year 1820. In
1833 he was elected to the Legislature from the district composed of the county of
Greene and the territory afterward included in the county of Morgan."
In 1831 Greene county was formed from Madison, in 1823 Morgan came from
Greene, in 1837 Cass from Morgan, in 1839 Scott was set off.
In 1823, and the years following, the brave and hardy hunters, trappers, and pioneers
gathered together, one by one, for mutual protection and for the cultivation of the fertile
soil. There fortunately happened to be a higher culture among them than was usual
for that class of men, in those days. Both the north and south contributed in about
equal proportions their sons and daughters to form the society of the embryo city, and
Jacksonville may owe, to some extent, her honorable and influential position in the
state to this fact, since she avoided the vices and clung to the virtues of both sections.
To the energy and enterprise of the Yankee she joined the generosity and hospitality
of the Southron ; and her sons and daughters grew up an educated, industrious and open.
hearted race. To come more slowly up the plane of time we find the virgin sod of the
prairie where Jacksonville now stands first furrowed in 1834, and the man who planted
the first crop of corn lived in the county until 1881 — Mr. John Reeve. Mr. "Jacky"
Smith, deceased, is another claimant of the honor of breaking the sod here. At this
time the county was much larger than at present, and the location of the county seat
had not been decided upon, and the sessions of the circuit court were held temporarily
at the house of James G. Swinnerton, some six miles west of the city, at Swinnerton's
Point. The discussion as to the permanent location of the seat of justice came up in
the autumn of 1824, and the geographical centre of the county was found to be on the
* Surrounded by Kickapoo and Pottawatomie Indians.

The First Election and Court. lo
"Mound," about three miles west of the present site of the court house. This land,
however, was already "entered," while the present site of Jacksonville wii.s what was
then called "congress land," and on account of its cheapness was accordingly purchased.
The first court was held on the level prairie in the open air.
In a paper prepared for the Old Settlers' Meeting in 1873, and subsiequently pub
lished in the Daily Journal, Judge Thomas says :
"The county of Morgan was created with the following boundary:
Beginning at the northwest corner of Greene county, thence east to the range line
between seven and eight west of the third principal meridian, thence northerly along
the middle of the prairie that divides the waters of the Sangamon from those of Apple
Creek, Mauvaisterre and Indian Creek, until it arrives at the middle of range eight,
thence north to the middle of the main channel of the Illinois river, thence down said
last mentioned channel to the place of beginning.
An election of county officers was required to be held on the first Monday in March,
1823, at the house of James G. Swinnerton. Joseph Klein, John Clark and Daniel Lieb
were appointed judges of the election. Samuel Bristow, John Clark and Henry
Fahnestock were appointed commissioners to fix on a place for a temporary seat of
justice. Milton Ladd, a member of the legislature from Johnson county, was elected
i'udge of the court of probate, and was appointed clerk of the circuit court Dennis
lockwell was appointed recorder. I believe Ladd made one visit to the counly, and
declined accepting the offices to which he had been elected and appointed. Dennis
Rockwell was then appointed clerk, and Aaron Wilson, judge.
The county was attached to the first judicial circuit of which John Reynolds (elect
ed governor in 1830) was judge — and was made to constitute a part Of the senat'irial
and representative district with Greene county.
Jonathan Piper, Stephen Pierce, James Deaton, John Clark, Daniel Lieb, Thomas
Arnett, Samuel Bristow, Aquilla Hall, David Blain, John Green, Joseph Buchanan,
and Seymour Kellogg were appointed justices of thepeace; Johnston Shelton, survey
or — all deceased.
At the election of county officers Daniel Lieb, Peter Conover, and Samuel Bristow
were elected county commissioners, and Wiley B. Green, sherilf. Dennis Rockwell
was subsequently appointed clerk of the county commissioners' court — all of whom
are dead. The cofnmissioners appointed for that purpose agreed upon the house of James
G. Swinnerton as the temporary seat of justice.
The first circuit court was held by Judge John Reynolds on the third Monday of
April, 1823, in a log cabin owned by Dr. Cadwell, near Swinnerton's house.
At the election in 1824, Daniel Lieb, Peter Conover, and Seymour Kellogg were
elected county commissioners, and Joseph M. Fairfield, sheriff.
Thomas Carlin, (elected Governor in 1836,) and Isaac N. Piggott, (now a resident
of St Louis, over ninety years old,) were candidates for the Senate, Carlin obtained
the certificate of election, but Piggott contested his right to the seat, and upon inves
tigation the question was referred back to the people, when Carlin was elected. Mr.
Job was re-elected to the House from the counties of Morgan and Greene."
Gen. Murray McConnel's account of these first courts and elections varies a little
from Judge Thomas'. In May '68 Gen. McConnel said in a speech at the laying of the
corner stone of the present Court House :
In January, 1823, the legislature by law created Morgan county, and included
therein all the country before described as attached to Greene county for judicial and
political purposes, now composing the counties of Morgan, Scott and Cass. This, the
attached parts of Greene county, then included about fifteen hundred inhabitants.
The county was organized on the first Monday of March, 1823, and oh that day the
first election was held therein, at a place called Swinnerton's Point, a mile and a half
north-east of where the town of Lynnville now stands. At that election, .loseph Klein,
John Clark and Daniel Leib, acted as judges, and Dennis Rockwell and Joseph M.
Fairfield were the clerks. Seymour Kellogg, Thomas Arnett and Peter Conover, were
elected county commissioners, and Wiley B. Green, sheriff.
Three persons— Samuel Bristow, John Clark and Henry Fahnestock, had been
appointed by the legislature to fix the county seat of the county, and, on the third
Monday of March, 1838, they located the same at a place called Olmstead Mound, now
called Allison's Mound, about one and a half miles north of the present town of
Lynnville, and now near the eastern boundary of Scott county. In the fall of 1823,
the first circuit court was held at that place. John Reynolds, afterwards governor,
was the judge. Milton Ladd was Dhe clerk, Wiley B. Green, the sherift, and James
Turney, then of Carrollton, Greene county, was state's attorney. The persons present

16 Juries in the Open Air,
claiming to be lawyers, in addition to James Turney, were Alfred W. Caverly, then
of Greene county; Murray McConnel, of Morgan county; Benjamin Mills, ot Vandalia;
Jonathan H. Pugh, and William S. Hamilton, then of Sangamon county
There was but one building at the place, that was made of round logs, a single
room of about sixteen feet each way, with an addition, leaned up against one side of
ii, about half as big as the main building. This was the dwelling-house of Mi, Olm
stead and family, who turned out, lived in a camp, and gave up his house to the court.
In ihat camp, by a big log-heap fire, the females of Mr. Olmstead's family cooked for
the judge and lawyers, and other attendants upon the court, and set the table, barbe
cue fashion, between the camp and the house, and all slept on a bed made on the
floor in the mum where the court was held. This was called field-bed — the sleepers
liiid across the bed, not lengthwise. There was about room enough in this house for
the court, clerk, sheriff and lawyers, and one jury at a time— the grand jury was
called in, and sworn, and sent out to deliberate under some forest trees near by. The
bystanders gathered around the jury and all hands took part in thft proceeding. The
travis jury, when trying a case, was accommodated with seats, made of split logs, in
side the house, and when the trial closed, they were seat out into the grove, under
the ch.irge of a constable, to make up their verdict, and the constal)le often had much
trouble lo prevent the parties and witnesses .from participating in the deliberations.
In one instance he entirely failed, and the contending parties got into a rough and
tumble fight, and Ihp constable called on the jury to aid in keeping the peace, and in
their attempting lo do so, all parties, jury, bystanders and constables, got into a gen
eral row, the lawyers and people left the court, and the grand jury left their shade
trees, and all riii to the scene of action; several fights were g ling on at the Siime time,
and all this int-reased the cimfusion, which grew hotter and louder, until the judge
him.fflf and Ihe sheriff also, repaired to the jury room, alins, the field of battle, and by
an effort quelled the Iray. The idea of imprisoning the offenders was out of the ques
tion, as there was no prison within eighty miles, and to punish them by a fine would
have been fully as useless, as in nine cases out of ten, the offenders had no property
but a gun, and as the law then was, that could not be taken for debt or fine any more
than you could lawfully take a piece of the owner's ear for the same purpose.
During this court a newly made justice of the peace, claiming the right to call up
on the jud^e to advise him in the line of his duty as a squire, came bolting into the
court room, saying, "Mr Judge, I am a squire, and I want to ax you a question about
tbe law." The judge said to him, "why sir, you had better enquire ot some of those
lawyers, or Mr. Turney, who is the state's attorney." "Oh! shaw, now judge," said
the squire, "1 know about as much law as any of them ar fellows, and I begin to find
6ut Ihat I don't know much, and now, I want you, old feller, to tell me if a squire
cHn divorce a couple?" "Why no," said the judge, "a justice of the peace has no
jurisdiction over such a case " The newly made justice then stretched out his big
fist towards the judge, and with a stentorian voice said, "now look here, old feller, I
know better nor that myself, I know a squire can divorce a couple, for I done did it
yesterday, and the ooman has gone back to her mammy, and the fellow started to
Packinsack this morning, so he did." The judge at once submitted to the superior
experience of the squire, and admitted that he must be wrong in his law, and the
squire right.
There was but one more court held at Olmstead's Mound,
Of the funny things done by the squires of this county in an early day, we are told
the following : Esquire Fanning had been justice of the peace for several years and
he kept his docket on separate pieces of paper, which were stuck up over the laps of
the board roof of his cabin. Each case was carefully kept by itself, and a strange mass
of summonses, warrants, estray notices, etc., and docket entries could be found there.
Manning Mayfield was elected his successor and, according to law. Esquire Fanning
prepared to turn over his docket. He carefully Jiut all these papers into and filled a
two bushel sack and took them over to Mayfield. "Now," says he, "here is my docket
all made up and in good shape, except an execution which I believe, is not quite paid
up." They looked through the lot and finally found it, and Mayfield sat down and
made a calculation of the credits and reported that he had been overpaid by some |15.
"Is that so ? All right, then, let it go with the balance," and Mayfield tossed the sack
up into the loft of his cabin.
Rev. J. E. Roach, of Virginia, Cass county, once said at an Old Settlers' Reunion :
"I do not feel fully prepared for the work of representing Cass county. I will
speak about what the country was then and now. When Cass, Morgan and Scott
counties were first formed they blossomed then, but they were wild, and now they are
tamed. The people who then occupied the county were just the ones to hand down

Meredosi.v Discovered — -An Old Plow. 17
the, coiuiliy in its present condition. Mr Job was among the first. He settled about
1832, when there wns nothing but wild flowers. In one respect we are all kin and
come here to have what may be called a family reunion. It is not necessary to de
scribe the people that settled these oounlies and are here to-day, because we all know
them. In the olden dnys we came very hear having nothing but a grand and glorious
country. The first man thnt built a mill was a Mr. Sweet, and we have a man (Mr. Gallon)
lh:il WHS Hi that mill waiting to get his grain ground when the deep snow began to
full. The first mill was built on a slump. Now we have a ditt'erent kind of milling
husmess. The first place of business in Cass county was in a log cabin, now near
Little Indian, and was kept by Mr, Gallon. Soon after this Beardstown became a
place of considerable business, and even competed with Chicago, and for a long time
we held it at arm's length in the packing business. Ashland is on the other end of the
counly, and was named for Henry Clay."
In the west part of the county, situated on the east bank of the Illinois River, is
the , thriving town of Meredosia. In 1819 Gen. Murray McConnel, in passing up the
river, found one man residing near the present site of the town. This is the earliest
mention that we have of the town. This man was a priest by the name of Antoine
D'Osia, and the town was named from the circumstance of a man by this name living
on a lake ^Mere). In 1883 Mr. Pickett opened the first school in that town.
Col. Joseph Morton, recently deceased, was once called upon and gave a lengthy
and interesting account of his experience in the daj's of the first settlement of this
county-^coming to the neighborhood of Alton in 1819, and raising a corn crop the first
year in Madison county, in 1821, in company with Mr. Bradshaw, he came to the
new settlement in Morgan county, or what was afterwards called Morgan county. Here
he made rails to enclose thirty acres — quite a farm in those days. They went seventy-
five miles to mill, and hauled wheat to St. Louis and sold it at fifty cents per bushel,
which was thought a good price.
Judge Lewis Solomon, of Macoupin county, in 1874, gave a history of the queer old
plow which his father brought from Kentucky in 1824, and which was placed on the
table before him. The speaker had used that plow many a day. It was drawn by a
horse named Pace, (a voice, "Where is the horse ?") "He has gone where all good horses
go. There were ten children, besides, father and mother, and the old plow, and they
all moved from Kentucky in a cart." He asked them to look at this plow and compare
it with what they now used, and they would have an idea of the progress made sinoe
then. He told the difficulties they had in carrying their grain two days' journey to
mill, sometimes getting entirely out of provisions and nearly starving, and illustrated
the hospitality of the settlers to each other. Flies, wolves, panthers and everything of
the kind obstructed their path, and almost every fall they had to look for at least twenty-
five shakes of ague. The country was entirely destitute of the arts and sciences, and
liad to do without them. They endeavored to make all the corn and pork they could,
and that was their salvation. It took from three trf five yoke of cattle to break the
tough sod so that they could cultivate the soil. They had to labor hard to secure homes
— and every dollar went to the land office to pay for them. The young men of to-day
ought to cut wheat with the sickle as they did. He bore one of the marks of the sickle
on his hand now. Several in the audience showed scars obtained in the same way. And
one said, "I'd rather liave the hook now."
After they got the wheat cut they had to thrash it on the ground, and then hold it
up in the air so that the winds would take the chaff out. Finally they got a horse-mill
started, and he never knew it to stop as long as the team could keep going. The young
folks don't know anything about it now.
When they got to raising more wheat than they could consume they had to carry it
off, and he had hauled it to Alton and got twenty-five cents a bushel. "And now you
grumble when you get a dollar." It just about took a load of wheat to get a bolt of
domestic. They were a set of energetic, industrious men, who brought us to where
we are now. They had no bridges ; they crossed the streams by fording or in canoes.

18 First Births, Deaths and Sermons.
To-day within the limits of this county nearly all agricultural products are raised
with profit. Corn is one of the principal crops, although wheat, oats, rye and barley
are raised. In the days of Strawn and Alexander cattle raising was followed very ex
tensively and grazing was one of the principal uses to which the land was put.
The Hon. Samuel D. Lockwood, in January, 1831, was elected, by the Legislature,
Attorney General of the State, which office he resigned in December, 1832— having
been nominated by Gov. <;!oles for' Secretary of State, and confirmed by the unanimous
vote of the Senate, This office he resigned during the same or succeeding year, and
accepted the office of Receiver of public monies at the land office at Edwardsville. In
1835 he was elected by the Legislature, Associate-justice of the Supreme court, which
office he held until after the election of judges under the constittltion of 1847, when he
resigned before his term expired.
By the act incorporating the Illinois Central Railroad Company, he was appointed
one of the trustees of the road, and continued in that position until his death. He re
sided in Jacksonville more than twenty years, during which time he served as trustee
of each of the State institutions located here.
According to Elder D. Pat Henderson:
The first death in Morgan county was Isaac Fort Roe,
The first death in Jacksonville was David Ditson.
The first marriage in Jacksonville was John Smith and Deborah Thornton.
The first sermon preached in Morgan county was by Rev. Jos. Basey a minister of
the Methodist Episcopal Church.
The first Sunday-school in the county was organized in Jersey Prairie, at or near
Princeton, by a Mr. Leonard, whose widow is still living, having married a gentleman
of the name of Rucker.
The Methodists and Baptists held meetings at different places in the county in
1821. The house of James Deaton was one of the places where the Methodists held
their worship.
The Baptists held meetings for worship at the house of Major Peter Conover, in
Jersey Prairie, and at one or two more places in that part of the county. All of these
meetings were held in private houses, after the apostolic example, there being no pub
lic houses erected for tiiat purpose-.
Peter Conover was the first President of the Morgan County Bible Society. He
was a native of New Jersey, removed to the neighborhood of Lexington, Ky., and from
there to this State. He was a man of more than ordinary information and intelligence
and an active member of the Baptist church.
Other authorities inform us that :
The mother of the first white feinalo child born in the county was Mrs. Crain, the
wife of James Crain, who settled near Diamond Grove in 1820. Sarah Crain was the
name. The first physician was Dr. Ero Chandler.
The first preacher was Rev. Joseph Basey, of the M. E. Church ; the next was Rev.
N. Pickett, who is now living in St. Louis. Joseph Basey is living in Pittsville, Wis., a
worthy man.
The first bridge was built in 1821.
The first tavern was opened by a Mr. Brown.
The first mill was put up in 1821, by Rowland Shepherd.
According to Mr. Anderson Foreman :
Rev. Wm. Drinkwater was the first Baptist minister — about the year 1822.
Rev. John Glanville was the first Methodist preacher who travelled this circuit —
about 1823.
Rev. Thomas J. Starr was the first Methodist pastor to be stationed in Jacksonville.
He came from North Carolina.
Rev. Mr. Brich was the first Presbyterian sermonizer, coming in 1834.

Old Time Personals. 10
Mrs. Martha Davenport and Mrs. Charles Chappell are the only living members of
the Methodist church, now living here, that were here when the first M. E. society was
organized, Joseph Coddington was the father of the first white male child born in the county.
Its birth occurred in a tent in Diamond Grove.
Of the Wyatt's mentioned in the first part of this chapter, John was the father of
Ciil Wm. J. Wyatt, now of Franklin and William the parental ancestor of Col. W. D.
AVyatt, of Lincoln, Logan county, Illinois, who was born near Diamond Grove Septem
ber 1821. Tliere seems to be no certainty as to the exact year in which Gen. McConnel came
to Morgan as a settler. His account as given in this chapter of the first court and the
jury deliberations is, of course, quite entertaining, but is quite indignantly denied by
tlie only settler of '30 that is now living here — Mr. Huram Reeve, whose brother Laza
rus, still living but not in tliis county, was on the first jury impannelled.
Florentine E. Kellogg, who came to this county in 1818 with his father Elisha, one
of the original Kellogg brothers, lived in that pioneer log cabin with him a year and
then moved some three miles northwest of Jacksonville, where he resided seven years.
He and his father moved to Rushville, Schuyler county, and built the second house in
that place. They lived there one year when they returned to Morgan county. In 1833
they moved to Galena where the younger man married in 1837. In 1846 he moved to
California where he resided twenty-five years, engaged in raising fruit, grain and stock
and carrying on a machine shop. In 1871 a second time he returned to Morgan where
he now resides.
Of those whose arrival in the county dates between 1820 and '24 and whose names
have not been already mentioned are Wm. H. Broadwell, '23, Mrs. Catherine F. Barton,
'27, W. S. McPherson, '22, Mrs. Minerva J. Rector, '34, John Robertson, '28, B. B. Rich
ardson, '21, Charles Sample, '33, C. R. Wilson, '30, Thomas and Joseph P. Deaton, '30,
S. B. Smith, '34, John Smith, '34, Patterson Hall, '21, S. J. Mattingly, '24, J. M. Wilson,
'24, Clayborn Coker, '23, George Curts, '32, H. R. Green, '24, Michail Huffaker, '28,
Samuel Magill, '21, A. K. Barber, now living here, '24. The Bartons, three families,
came together ; also, Verian Daniels and wife, the latter a Barton — in all twenty persons.

CRAPTERll.— 1819-^24:.— Co ii,ti7med.
'The Regulators of the Valley" — A Tragedy in Real Life— A Chapter of the Dark Side
of Pioneer Days in the Mauvaisterre Country — Captain Pistol — The Wild Hunter —
The First Grave on the Banks of Magee's Greek— The BHrst Settlers of Gass (then
Morgan) County — Sales of Public Lands in 1823— Venison, Blackberries and Milk.
"Across the stretching scene, where years had died.
The spirit of the past swept to my side :
Silent and sad and haggard, for to him
Earth's visage had been dark and cold and grim."
"The good and bad ha kindly laid away
In one dark fold to wait the judgment day ;
And spread the turf, and with paternal care.
Wept o'er the dead and planted flowers there."
N view of the commendable and continually increasing desire to rake up from
among the ashes of the dead past all the incidents and legends of the early set
tlement of this county manifesting itself everywhere in our midst, we are en
couraged to give to our readers a sketch of a thrilling scene which occurred in
our county at a very early date, and although it may read much like a fictitious
narrative of border life, yet we are assured that every part of the following narrative
is a literal fact. The whole story in much fuller details than we have room for was
once before made public ; in February, 1882, a communication appeared in the Illinois
Patriot, chronicling at considerable length these stirring events. The article was sign
ed "J. G. R." but was from the pen of Gen. Murray McConnel, who was himself cogni
zant of many of the doings of these "regulators."
At that time it was not prudent or discreet to reveal the true names of any of the
parties, hence false ones were used throughout the article, but now, as none of the
relatives of any concerned are living hereabout, we give their proper appellations, and
the facts, as given by the general.
The hero of this story was one of a gang of desperadoes and renegades from good
society, which infested our county at a very early period of its existence.
The persons who now emigrate to Illinois have but a faint idea of the hardships,
privations and troubles of the first settlers. Few have been the years which have rolled
away since the county of Morgan, now so populous and flourishing, was a frontier
county. The settlers were few and far between; many of them were without dwellinirs
to shelter them and their families from the storms, and none of them had more than a
cabin of round logs thrown together in the rudest manner. Provisions of every kind
were scarce and very dear ; the means of the inhabitants were small and their wants
great. The county was infested by a set of unprincipled renegades from a more civil- .
ized society, who equally disregarded the rights of the citizens and the laws of the land.
We, who are living now in a county teaming with life, and under codes of laws,
(executed by multitudinous officers,) which guarantee protection to our lives and proper
ty, can have but a faint idea of the hardships and privations of the first settlers in Mor
gan. Yet comparatively few have been the years since ours was one of the frontier
counties with inhabitants few and far between. Many were without a shelterino- roof
of any kind, and society was troubled by unprincipled men.

The Outlaw and the Wild Hunter. 21
Of one of these uneasy spirits we propose to unfold a "tale," his name was Abra
ham Williams Keller, but for reasons best known to himself, he dropped his proper
surname before he came to our county and was known liere as Alie Williams. In the
fall of the year 1830, a small cart bearing this man and his family pushed forward into
the wilds of the valley of the Illinois. Then all was wild and dreary here, the site of
our flourishing and beautiful city was surrounded and inhabited only by the wild beasts.
"Westward, ho!" was this traveler's cry until he reached a romantically beautiful grove
in a small prairie at the extreme west end of what is now Morgan county. There was
his first "squatting ground," that was the first sod breaking in the valley of our little
Mauvaisterre. Williams' trail was soon followed, until, within a year, a settlement of
six families was made, all choice spirits for frontier life, ready for cabin raising, bear
hunting, or Indian fighting. All was then peace and quietness in the colonies.
The next season brought other families, until enough were living within helping
distance to rear up new cabins with ease. This mutual help was a great blessing, but
we have "no rose without a thorn," so this blessing brought evil in its train. Among
the new comers came "certain lewd fellows of the baser sort" as St. Paul says. With
only three of these will we deal particularly, John Cotrill, Henry Percifield and his
brother Jerry, were of the very worst of men, and settling near Williams, (south of
the Mauvaisterre,) in a short time became his intimate friends and associates. During
that autumn Jerry Percifield, the eldest and by far the worst of the lot, brought up to
the little settlement two barrels of whisky, the first of the cursed stuff brought to the
county after its settlement by the whites. Williams', the depot of the liquor, soon be
came the headquarters of the male portion of the colony, and from this date the down
fall of Williams and others began. Robberies occured in this and neighboring counties,
and the goods from plundered stores were by rumor said to be secreted near or in Wil
liams' grove, and he and his trio ot cronies were suspected. The law-abiding citizens
were anxious to have their settlement retain a fair name for honesty and good order,
hence warrants were issued, the suspected parties searched and some stolen goods were
found. Upon examination by the magistrate however, they were allowed to testify in
8t!Ch other's favor, so all were acquitted.
Soon after, horse theft, house breaking, store robbing, and other depredations began
to multiply. Williams became suddenly rich, having horses, cattle, and household goods
in abundance. To his house came all the idle and profligate of the region. Their
daily occupations were drinking, gambling, horse racing, pocket picking and horse
stealing, with all their concomitants.
At this time two new characters appeared upon the scene of action, one a respecta
bly wealthy old gentleman, who settled near the mouth of the Mauvaisterre. As his
house was said to contain much money, it was soon visited by Williams and his crew
who laid plans to ascertain how much money the owner of the house had, where it was
concealed, when he would be absent from home, when he would return, &c.
The other emigrated here from Kentucky, whence Williams had come, a singular
sort of a man, yet a good type of the daring backwoods scouts of those days. He was
clad in a leather hunting shirt which trailed almost to his knees, (decorated with fringes
of various lengths,), and in pantaloons of the same material. Deer skin mocaasins were
on his feet, and an enormous catamount skin upon his head. His weapons were an un
erring Kentucky rifle and a knife of a frightful length. The "wild hunter of the
prairie," was the only name by which he was known. Mwmovements were mysterious ;
one day he would be seen in one part of the settlement, the next in another. He visited
every house in the little colony except Williams'.
Our characters being introduced, we proceed:
One evening as Williams and Percifield were returning from a visit at the house of
this wealthy and aged gentleman, (whose name was Lewis G. Newell,) they perceived
by the aid of the moon's bright rays which were adding beauty to tlie already charming
Illinois prairies the form of a man moving towards them.

22 Kewell*s House RobbeC.
"There," said Jerry, "is the wild hunter— did you ever see him ?"
Before Williams could reply, the mysterious man stepped up, exclaiming, "Abraham,
do you know me ?"
The stern glance and thrilling voice chilled the very heart of the cowardly Williams ;
his cheek paled, his knees smote together, and he trembled like a leaf. "What's the
matter ?" asked Jerry, "do you know the man ? If so, come forward and speak for your
self." No reply was needed, for the stranger continued to address the scoundrel, using^
these words :
"Abraham, you know me well; you know, too, that I am acquainted with your un
natural deeds; your ill-gotten wealth shall avail you little. Before many days pass by
I will see you again, when circumstances are different, and times more favorable than
now." Immediately he was out of sight, having fied to an adjoining grove.
Percifield was astonished, and Williams troubled, especially by the threat "I will
see you again," but the latter obstinately refused to impart any information as to the
stranger, moreover immediately began to dispose of his property, and shortly removed
with his family to the west side of the Illinois River, not far from the spot where his
bones were shortly laid to moulder back to their native dust.
A few days before Willianis moved away, Newell, who was supposed to have so
much money, also left his home on business, leaving his wife and a small boy to guard
their treasures. A few nights after this man's departure, the roof of his liouse was
broken open, and the dwelling robbed of ail the money and valuables that could be
found. This glaring robbery alarmed and aroused the citizens of the whole settlement.
"Something must be done," was the cry. A public meeting was held, and among other
things, a company was formed, consisting of ten law-abiding men of well known courage,
who bound themselves together, under the name of the Regulators of tbe Valley, to rid
thecountry of horse thieves and robbers, and not to cease their operations untilthey
had accomplished that great object. A regular constitution was drawn up and subscrib
ed to, and this paper is still in existence.
Tliere was another man in the community at this time, who needs introducing. By
his vain boasting and braggadocio, he had induced his fellow-citizens to believe that
he was a man of great courage, a daring warrior. He lived, at tliat time, near the place
where now is built the town of Exeter, in Scott oounty. By his own bold-facedness he
was chosen the captain of this little band who were taking the law into their own hands.
He was dubbed Captain Pistol. (James H. Pistol was his ordinary appellation.) Or
ganization being completed, tlie party resolved to perform their first operations on
Williams himself.
The plan agreed upon was to go to his house in disguise, seize him by force, tie
him to a tree and scourge him with whips, until he should surrender the money and
goods which they believed were in his possession unlawfully, and also disclose to them
his associates and accomplices, but by no means or under any circumstances to take his
life. This arrangement was known to none but this little band of associated law pre
servers. The little band proceeded immediately to the Illinois River for the purpose
of commencing the work of reform with Williams, but before they proceeded far.
Captain Pistol became very sick ; it was totally impossible for him to proceed any fur
ther on this enterprise, and down he laid himself on the prairie. He entreated his
soldiers, however, to go on and not wait for him. He instructed them that if he did not
overtake them before they crossed the river, to appoint some one as leader in his stead.
They were no sooner beyond his sight than he rapidly recovered, and with 8 :40 speed
made for his home, and within an hour he was by his wife's side, armed with a spoon
and filling his empty stomach, with hominy. Thus ended the valorous feats of this
"twilight glory" hero of ye olden times. Would that such men were confined to those
s. The band of regulators marched on — crossing the Illinois River near the mouth of

"Stand Back or I'll Blow you Down." 23
the Mauvaisterre, and having arrived in the vicinity of Williams' house, halted to make
further arrangements. Several fruitless eflorts were made to elect another captain, but
no one seemed to wish to take this responsibility upon himself. While thus debating
and vviiiting their sentinel gave the warning cry, "Who is there ?" "A friend !" was the
answer, and the Wild Hunter appeared upon the scene. Grant-like, his speech was
short and to the point, as follows: "My friends, I know all your intentions. I have
overheard your conversation. There is nothing hid from me — Williams is my enemy
— I am his. Why it is so, is not material for you to know, suffice it to say that he has
years gone by planted a dagger in the heart of my domestic peace, and did me an injury
I am bound to avenge. You, I have discovered, are without a leader, will you accept
the services of a true soldier?"
The animated words and prepossessing manner of the speaker gained for him im
mediately the coveted command. They chose him their captain, and under him marclied
directly to Williams' house, which they surrounded. They selected two of the band to
force their way into the cabin, with the hunter captain, and seize their victim. Before
the encircling lines could be formed, however, and the outposts stationed, the family
became alarmed by the noise, and the fierce barking of the dogs. One of the house
hold cautiously opened the door, and by means of the light proceeding from the room,
discovered one of the attacking party. The immediate cry was, "Indians I Indians !"
supposing that the liouse was surrounded by the savages, Williams, seizing his rifie,
rushed out of the house, and the first object that met his eye was the mysterious captain.
He immediately exclaimed, "Thomas G  , stand back, or I will blow you down," and
presenting his rifie, attempted to suit his actions to his words. By some unaccountable
accident, the weapon snapped but missed fire. He was again making ready, when, from
all sides came the shouts, "fire ! fire !" One single report was heard, and Williams fell,
exclaiming, "I am a dead man, Thomas G  . You have taken my life." The regu
lators gathered around their leader and his victim, and stood in speechless astonishment
gazing at the convulsed limbs and twinging muscles of the dying man. It was an un
expected event, but they did not remain long in this silence. Their reveries were in
terrupted by the screams of a woman, who, running from the house in her night dress,
with disheveled hair, and crying piteously, exclaimed at the top of her voice, "Oh, you
devils! — you devils! — you have killed my husband. I knew it would come to this. It
all comes by associating with them drunken thieves, Henry and .lerry. Murder ! mur
der! Stand back, you black-looking monsters. I will see my husband. O, dear, O,
dear." Two of the party, in order to frighten her back into the house, discharged their
gunsi near her head, but all in vain. She pressed on until arrested by the strong arm
of the hunter (it seems she liad seen him before) ; he forced her back into the house
and closed the door upon her. Now, the question arose quickly, what was to be done ?
Many asked, but none answered. Williams' rifie was picked up, and the adjoining hills
echoed back the sharp, keen crack, for so near were the preparations completed for a
second shot at the revenging hunter. "Retreat, retreat," was now the reply of all to the
query, "What shall be done ?"
Quickly the line of march for the higher lands was taken. As soon as the place of
blood was fairly out of sight, upon a hillside overlooking an extensive plain, they called
a halt. The captain again addressed them as follows: .'.'My friends, the deed is done.
We cannot now recall it. I did it in self-defense. I have rid the world of a monster
and myself of an inveterate foe. My conscience acquits me ; so I regret not the act.
My advice to eacli of you is to go your way and I will mine. You never will see me
again ; let every man guard well his secret, and none other will know you were here."
In the language of the sensation novelist, we might now say that, "then with the elastic
bound of a buck, he darted down the hill, was in a moment out of sight, and has never
been lieard from in this country since." We suppose that, his object accomplished, he
retraced his steps to Kentucky, where some of his descendants may still be residing,
and for this reason we think it best to still preserve the mystery, as to name and motive.

24 Tjie First Cass County Land Entry.
(for of this we have been apprised,) which in those days hung about the "Wild Hunter of
the Prairie." The news of the murder of Williams was speedily noised about. It went like the
wind, but found each one of that little band safe in his respective home as innocent
and ignorant as you please. Cotrill and the Percifield left the county with haste, and
Morgan county has never been troubled with such desperadoes since. Friends and
neighbors performed the last services of burial for Williams. Near the spot where he
was shot the body was laid, and there was the grave of "the first man that ever settled
'n the valley of the Mauvaisterre." As near as we can learn, tlie site of the grave was
on the left bank of Magee's Creek, in the county of Pike. Around that grave the weeds
and grass grow in rich profusion. The winds of heaven sweep over it, and the wolf,
unconscious of its existence, sets up his midnight howl by its side. No gaudy pillar oi
flattering epitaph points out to the traveler the spot of earth where lie the bones of the
pioneer of the Mauvaisterre. This man was dreaded by the people of the county in
which he lived, and was feared by his family, and was also a terror to his enemies.
His death was attended by circumstances of a truly tragical and very singular nature, a
detail of which has been given above.
Before taking up again the regular thread of our historic narrative we append to
this tragic picture of pioneer life a quotation from Judge J, Henry Shaw's "Historical
Sketch of Cass county," an oration delivered July 4, 1876, as it covers a period when
that region was included in the bounds of Morgan county.
In 1831, there were but twenty families within the present limits of Morgan, Cuss
and Scott counties.
In the early years of the white settlements here, wheat was unknown, and Indian
corn, the only breadstuff, was exceedingly hard to obtain, as mills were scarce.
Jarvoe's Mill, on Cahokia Creek, was for along time the only one accessible lo our
pioneers. In 1831, a small horse-mill was erected on Indian Creek by one Richard
bhepard. Then a horse-mill was put up at Clary's Grove, Menard county. To these
mills the boys of the families had to make frequent and tedious journeys to procure
corn meal for bread.
The public lands were first ofl'ered for sale in November, 1823; so thai ull those
who settled here previous to that time were only squatters on the public lands, and
could hardly be termed permanent settlers. In fact, Thomas Beard, and his friends
who lived with the Indians at Kickapoo village, were merely squatters, dependent uji-
on the Indians for the privilege of erecting their huts.
The first land entry was made by Thomas Beard and Enoch C. March, jiintly, whu
entered the northeast quarter of 15, 18, 12, September 38, 1836. It was upon this
quarter section that Mr, Beard's cabin was built. On the 38th day of Oclnbf r, 18i7.
Beard and March entered the northwest quarter of 15, 18, 12, which extended Iheir
river front down below the mound. Thomas Beard individually eniered the wf si half,
southwest, 15, 18, 12, October 10, 1827; and John Knight entered the east half, south
west 15, 18, 12, July 17, 1838, Thus there were three men who entered the entire si clion
upon which the original town of Beardstown was located, in the years 1826, 1837 and
1828. So you will see that the stories current that Beardstown was laid out in 1824,
and that the site was bought by Beard and March for twenty-five dollars, are not
founded on record evidence.
The fact is, that the original town of Beardstown consisting of twenty-three blocks,
fronting on the river, three blocks deep, reaching from Clay to Jackson Street, of
which block ten, lying between the Park and Main Street, is the centre one, was laid
out and platted by Enoch C. Mjirch and Thomas Beard, and acknowledged before
Thomas B Arnett, a justice of the peace ^ Jacksonville, September 9, 1829, and is
recorded on page 228 of Book B of the Morgkp opunty records
Among the first settlers in Beardstown, after it became a town site, were Francis
Arenz and Nathaniel Ware, who purchased an interest and became joint landed pro
prietors with Beard and March The town was named after Thomas Beard
The very first deed from March and Beard upon record, of lands within the present
limits of Beardstown, was made before the town was laid out, and is dated August 81,
1838, to "Charles Robinson, of New Orleans," for the consideration of $100, being for
a "part of the fractional part of the northwest quarter of section 15, in town 18, 12;
beginning at a forked birch tree on theTllinois River bank, maiked as a corner, run
ning thence down the river meanders thereof, so as to make two hundred yards on a
straight line, and from thence running out from the river at both ends of the above
line by two parallel lines, until they strike the north line to the east half of the south
west quarter of section 15, 1§, 12, supposed to eontain 12 acres."

Cass County And The Sangamo Country. 2(3
And immediately following this deed upon the record is this singular "deed of
defeasance," executed by Charles Robinson.
Deed of Defeasance. — "I having this day bought of Enoch C. March and Thomas
Beard and his wife Sarah a piece of land on the river below the ferry of the above
Beard and having this day received frotp them a deed for the same I hereby declare thil
it is my intention to do a public business on the said land between this date and the
first day of October next year and if I have not upon the land by that date persons
and property to effect the same, or actually upon the way to do so, I will return llie
above deed and transfer back the land to ihem upon receiving the consideration given
them for the same. The above public business means, a steam mill, distillery^ i-opi-
walk or store. Witness my hand and seal this 21 day of August 1838
(Signed) "CHARLES ROBINSON. [seal.]"
Acknowledged August 31, 1828, before Dennis Rockwell, Clerk of Morgan Circuii
Court; recorded June 29, 1829, Book B, deeds 180. This land is part of the origiiml
town of Beardstown.
Mr Charles Robinson, party to these deeds, still lives in this county, near Arenz-
ville. On the 8th of February, 1872, he wrote a letter to the Chicago Journal, from
which I make this extract:
"Fifty years ago, or in the summer of 1821, there was not a bushel of corn to be
h3,d in Central Illinois. My father settled in that year twenty-three miles west ol
Springfield. We had to live for a time on venison, blackberries and milk, vvhile the
men were gone to Egypt to harvest and procure breadstutt's The land we improved
was surveyed that summer, and afterwards bought of the government, the money being
raised by sending beeswax down the Illinois River lo St. Louis in an Indian canoe
Dressed deer skins and tanned hides were then in use, and we made one piece of cloth
out of nettles instead of flax. Colton matured well for a decade, until the deep snow
of 1830." The southern part of the Stale, referred to by Mr. Robinson as Egypt, received
this appellation, as here indicated, because, being older, better settled and cultivated,
it "gathered corn as the sand of the sea," and the immigrants of the central pari of
the State, after the manner of the children of Israel, in their wants, went "thither to
buy and bring from thence that they might live and not die."
The section of country drained by streams heading in the Grand Prairie, and em]5-
tying into the Illinois River between Alton and Peoria, ^vas known as the Sangamo
country. By this name it was known in the south and east, and at the time of the set
tlement of the part comprised in Morgan county, it was the destination of all emi.grants
to the central or southern part of the State.
Emigration was great to the Sangamo country during the intervening years betT\'een
1833 and the "Deep Snow." To give the names of all who located during that time is
impossible. The principal families, however, were those of Jonathan Atherton, Thorn
ton Shepherd, Rev. John Brich, .lames Mears, George Hackett, Elijah Wiswall and sons
Noah, Thomas and Henrj', Jacob Deeds, Daniel Daniels, William Jackson, Elijah
Bacon, Jacob Redding, Montgomery Pitner, William C. Posey, John Redfern, Aaron
Wilson, Daniel Richardson, William Hays, Jacob Huffaker, Sr., Mr. Buckingham,
William Scott, Mr. Scroggin, Sr., Abner Vanwinkle, James Evans, Sr., James Green,
Andrew Karns, Elder Sweet, and Peleg Sweet.
The settlers of 1819, '30, '31 and '22 have now been mentioned. Some further ae-
count of their privations should be given, and the difficulties they encountered in foundina'
their homes. For this see next chapter.

ILLINOIS INSTITUTION FOR THE BLIND AT JACKSONVILLE.

CHAPTER III.— lSli)-'24. V,>v,finlrd.
Covering tlie saoie period an chitpters I and If, hut willi. ynaler detail. AnimU of
thf earliest years in Morgan,, us publisheil in the Tllinoix Sfnlinel in 7W;, hy .1 . I!.
Bailey, mnp deceased, and rouchi'd fur in ls.s4 hi/ Ilurnni Ueroi', Ksq., the oldest mule
resident of the county now living therein — Log Viihin Uiiisimj — Meal (I rinding in
Hand-inilU — Honey Hunters — The First Tavern, Briiiije ami Htiiiinhoiit-d nene
and Hitnyuinon (Joiintii Settlements. tVw avc the men wim ll\-e to-day
-And l)y experif-nci- know
The toils and ills of frontier life
<.lf ai-Kty years iigo,
TliH iiiint, the shot, tlip [glorious ohasn
And the captured elk and deer.
The camps, the hi^ bright fire, and then
The rich and wholesome clieer.
How sound is our sh-e]) at dead of ni!.;lit,
By our camj) tire blazing high,
I'nljFoken by the wolfs low growl,
And the panther^e ringing cry.
And so merrily pass the time, despite
Onr wary Indian ±o(^;
In tbe days when we were pioneers,
Si.\'ty years ago.
IjHILE the early gener.al liistor}' of the state of Illinois, comprising its first ex
ploration by the French, the settlements of Ka.skaskia and Peoria, and its sub
sequent organization as a territory ami settlement by the hardy pioneers from
{3 Kentucky and otlier states; while tlie.se incidents of the early history of our
^ oj state are familiar to the reading public, there is yet much historical detail con
nected with the first settlement, organization and gTowtli of each county of the state
that is unwritten, existing only in the memory of the remaining' pioneers, or in the
traditions preserved by their descendants.
Each county has had its local history, spiced witli interesting detail and varied in
cident, tlie collection of which in the shape of local liistorical annals, would afford
valuable and correct data to the future historian, and prove an interesting beqiiest to
the generations to come after us in the possession of tliis lieautiful and fertile land,
the vast wealth and future resources of which are now just lieninning to lie developed.
To this end, in part, a meeting of the early settlers of the county was held in
this city on the last Saturday of the month of May, 1867, for social re-union, oi-u;ani7,a-
tion, and to t;ike steps for the collection of statistics, historical details and local incidents
as data from which correct annals of the county might be compiled for preservation
and transmission to posterity.
In aid of this object we have been courteously furnished by Jlr. Huram Reeve
and others, with a correct account, based upon the personal knowledge of our informant,
of the first settlement made by white men in this county, with the leading incidents
connected with such settlement during the tir.st season.
At that early day the face of the country, although attra(-tive in its wild beauty,
presented an appearance different from that which now strikes the eye under its i-on-
dition of cultivation and improvement. The surface of the (-ountiy, prairie and timber,
was covered with a luxuriant and rank vegetation. On low grounds anil flat ]ir;iirie the

28 Prairie Fires — ^The Settlers of 1820.
wild grass grew to a considerable height. The "hazel roughs" that crept out on tlie
dry prairie knolls near the timber, and the young timber skirting the prairies, had a
hard struggle for life with the autumnal fires, lighted by the Indians for hunting pur
poses, and, after the passage of such fires in the fall, presented a blackened and stunted
appearance ; and among this timber, already flre-girdled to his hand, the settler subse
quently opened up his first five acre field, and planted his first patch of corn.
The traveler exploring the country found the grassy surface unbroken except by a
rarely met Indian trail, and in skirting the timber of the Mauvaisterre, Sandy or Apple
Creek, he saw attractive points of timber, and enticing locations for settlement, but no
smoke was rising where the house should stand ; no bark of dog or low of cattle to be
heard ; naught but nature clothed in the grand robes of her virginity, breathing solemn
silence. During the spring of 1820 the first settlement of white men (after the Kelloggs') was
made in Morgan county, in the vicinity of where Jacksonville now stands. This settle
ment was made by Mr. Roe, who located his claim and commenced work on what is now
known as the Becraft place, west of Diamond Grove.
Next came Messrs. John Wyatt and Wm. Wyatt, who commenced their improve
ment on the farm later owned and occupied by Cyrus Matthews, Esq., formerly sheriff
of Morgan county. These settlements -were made about the 1st of March, 1820, and soon
after, during the same month, Isaac Reeve, Joel Reeve, Lazarus Reeve Jno. Reeve,
James B. Crain, Martin Dial, James Deaton and his son Levi, and Robert James pitched
their tents and selected their claims.
Mr. Reeve settled on Sandy, southwest of the Diamond Grove" on what has since
been known as the Deed's farm. Being a blacksmith he brought with him his anvil,
hammers and bellows. As the season advanced and the plows of the infant settlement
began to need sharpening, Mr, Reeve extemporized the first blacksmith shop in the
open air, the interlocking stumps of two saplings being his anvil block, the bellows rig
ged to stakes driven in the ground, the fire place of the most primeval Construction.
This airy shop became at once a public institution, and from far and near the settlers
trudged there through the high grass, to get their little jobs of smithing done.
The persons above named made their settlements in the immediate vicinity of the
present location of Jacksonville, scattered around as attractive locations had caught
their fancy. Mr. Deaton and his son made their claim about four miles west, on what
is now called the McCormack place, on the Meredosia road, and Mr. James also settled
in the same neighborhood.
During the same spring, 1820, but somewhat later, settlements were made in two
other neighborhoods. Mr. Swinnerton, Mr. Olmstead and Mr. Pierce fixed their loca
tion and commenced improvements at Olmstead's Mound, since known aS Allison's
Mound ; and on the north fork of the Mauvaisterre settlement was made by Samuel
Scott. The Messrs. Kellogg vhre on the north side of the creek, and the first improve
ment was commenced on what is known as the Huffaker place, by Isaac Edwards.
Mr. Buchanan settled on the head ot south fork of the Mauvaisterre the same spring •
also Mr. Roberts and sons at Island Grove.
Thus the first settlements of white men made in Morgan county in the spring of
1830, were in three distinct neighborhoods, the pioneers who first attacked the primeval
forests with the all conquering axe and turned the first furrow in the virgin soil having
chiefly emigrated from Madison, St. Clair and other southern counties.
The little band of pioneers during this first spring, comprised, with a single excep
tion, only males — the pioneers and their sons ; the women and smaller children not be
ing removed to their new homes until late in the fall. Jas. B. Crain, however brought
his family with him, and Mrs. Crain was the only white woman in the settlement dur
ing the first summer, being, it is claimed, also, the mother of the first white child born
in the county.

Building the Log Cabin Home — Eighty-five Miles to Mill. 29
The first steps and subsequent proceedings of the pioneers in making their settle
ment, are well worthy of record. After selecting a location suited to his fancy, the
first act of the settler was to pitch his camp. For this a site was selected under shelter
of the timber, near a spring or running branch. The team was unhitched from the
wagon, and after being carefully belled, was turned out to browse upon the swelling
[buds. The next care was to provide a camp for protection from the weather during
the season. The ringing sound of the axe then awoke the forest echoes, and rails were
split for the erection of a rail cabin. A "board tree" was selected, felled, and in the
absence of a cross cut saw, butted off with the axe into four feet cuts. These being
opened and hearted with the maul and wedge, were rived into clapboards for covering
the rail pen cabin, the boards being held to their place by weight poles laid on them
as each layer was placed, the eave pole being pinned fast and each succeeding weight
pole, up to the comb, being kept from slipping toward the eaves by blocks placed at
each end and in the centre between them.
The rail cabin being raised and covered, a door was cut out, jams pinned on and a
clapboard door made and hung with wooden or leather hinges, to be fastened when
closed, with a wooden pin. Dry grass was then collected for underbedding, clapboards
nailed over the cracks between the rails, or bed quilts hung up over the walls to keep
out the driving rain. The summer camp was then completed.
The settler next proceeded to mark off the boundaries of his claim, each settler
being entitled to claim, under the rules of the frontier, three hundred and twenty acres.
The claim lines were marked by blazing the trees with an axe through the timber, and
driving stakes into the ground at short distances through the prairie. The lines thus
established were respected by new comers, and if they did not happen to correspond
with the government surveys when made, the claim title of the settler, to parcels cut
off or divided was not affected, and transfers were often made between neighbors after.
the land had been entered, in order to make the old claim lines good to each particular
owner. The next step was to mark out five or ten acres of ground, as the help of the settler
might justify, in the young timber skirting the prairie, as a patch for the first croiJ of
corn. The timber land was selected as being better fitted for immediate cultivation
and more easily broken than the tough, wild prairie sod. The work of making rails
for fencing was now commenced, to be followed by the clearing, grubbing and break
ing of the ground, and planting of the crop. The corn having been planted in the fresh
soil required but little further attention for some time, enabling the settler to finish
his fencing, which was usually done at this period and during the intervals of working
the crop. This was the experience of the pioneer settlers of Morgan during the first
season. The provisions brought with them by the settlers were intended to last till fall-
when the corn crop would be made ; but it happened that Mr. Deaton and his son ex
hausted their supply of corn-meal and bacon sometime about the first of June, compell
ing them to leave their partly made crop and travel a distance of eighty-five miles, to
Edwardsville, to renew their supply. The journey had to be made chiefiy in the night
to avoid the green-head flies of the prairie, which at this season would in the day time
almost bleed a team to death. Shaping their course by the stars, and without a road or
trail, they started on the trip, provisionless and hungry. Their first camping place
was on Apple Creek. The country had been pretty well cleared of game by Indians
but here they were fortunate enough to kill a squirrel, which they roasted at their camp
fire. During the next day they succeeded in killing a deer near where the town of Jer-
seyville now stands, and thus they were enabled to reach Edwardsville in excellent
time and good spirits.
Although at this period game was exceedingly scarce, having been killed out or
driven off by Indians, bees were abundant, and in the fall after the corn crop had been
made, the first settlers reaped a rich harvest in honey and wax, the latter constituting

30 Bee Hunting, Cabin Raising, Meal Grinding.
at that time, in connection with furs, the circulating currency of the frontier. An
average of from six to eight bee trees a day was considered ordinary luck by the bee
hunters, and the Messrs. Wyatt, who appear to have excelled in this line of woodcraft,
were known to have found as many as twelve bee trees in a day. Diamond Grove was
a favorite haunt of the wild bee, the surrounding prairies blooming with a succession
of wild flowers, affording them a rich fleld for the collection of wax and honey. If the
land did not literally flow with honey, it afforded a convenient and welcome source of
revenue to the pioneer settlers.
As the fall approached, house logs were chopped, clapboards rived, puncheons for
flooring split, and preparations made for erecting log cabins to shelter the families of
the settlers during the coming winter. In raising the cabins the entire force of the
little colony would be assembled, thus lightening the work of "raising," and each set
tler soon found himself the proud possessor of a log cabin prepared to shelter his wife
and little ones in their new wilderness home.
The patch of corn having been safely "laid by," the cabin built and a good supply
of honey and wax collected — the latter to be bartered at Edwardsville for necessaries,
the team was hitched up, the trackless prairies and unbridged streams again traversed
and the family safely landed at their new home.
As the new corn began to harden it was made into coarse meal for family use by
rubbing the ear on a tin grater until the grains were rasped off close to the cob. This
meal made a bread very sweet and palatable, but the work of gi-ating was very laborious
When the new corn became hard enough to grind, a small hand mill was put up at Dia
mond Grove, by Isaac Fort Roe and Jedediah Webster, and upon this "mill privilege"
the surrounding neighbors depended mainly for grinding their meal during the first win
ter, the nearest regular mill being eighty-five miles. The hand mill was primitive in
construction and its manipulation was tiresome work, as some of the youngsters of that
day, now grown gray-headed, will doubtless remember. Two stones of the kind known
as "lost stone," some two feet in diameter, were procured. These were dressed into
millstone shape and a hole drilled through the centre of the one intended for the upper
stone. With a simple contrivance by which to regulate the grinding space betweenthe
two stones the upper stone was made to revolve on a pivot. A hole was drilled on the
top side and near the outer circle of the upper stone and in this hole a wooden peg was
driven. This was the handle by which the stone was revolved, being thus turned exactly
like an ordinary millstone with the right hand, while the left hand managed the shelled
corn and represented the hopper, dropping the grains slowly into the hole in the centre
of the stone, to be ground into meal. The labor involved in grinding a bushel of meal
by the above manual process can only be correctly appreciated by those who have
tried it.
We have already described the first hand-mill. We might add that it could be
changed into a horse mill by fixing it firmly between two posts and attaching a sweep
to it. Another contrivance for making meal was the mortar ; this was made by burn
ing or excavating the end of a stump or log. As the hole in the stump or log became
deeper, it was narrowed until it came to a point. A pestle was made to fit closely into
this aperture ; in the end of the pestle an irpn wedge was fixed. When the pestles
were made of great weight they were attached to a sweep, made like a well sweep ; by
this means they could be raised and dropped into mortars. Meal was made in this
manner by simply breaking or pounding the corn until it was thoroughly pulverized.
The mortar in this country was probably the invention of the Indians, as it was in use
when discovered by the white men. The hand-mill is spoken of in the Bible and is
probably as old as the world.
After the hand-mill and mortar came the horse-mill, made after various plans >
which, in its day, was considered a great improvement on its primitive predecessors.
During the first years of the settlement of Morgan county, the pioneers of that time.

Correcting Misrepresentations of Pioneer Life, 31
did they desire better accommodations than that furnished at Diamond Grove, were
compelled to go to Edwardsville, eighty-five miles away. The settlers were greatly
dependent on each other during this period, and were noted for their hospitality and
kindness toward one another ancl to strangers. Their latch-strings were always out,
and though frugal their fare and humble their accommodations no one was allowed to
go away hungry or uncared for. During this early period the settlers were much de
pendent on each other, in illustration of which it is related that one of them during the
first summer, trudged eighteen miles in the tall prairie grass to borrow an iron wedgo
of his neighbor. Long journeys would have to be made to procure tools to use in theh-
daily avocations. It was not uncommon for men to go fifteen or twenty miles for an ax,
a chain, or any such article when needed.
During the fall of 1830, sometime in December, Mr. John Bradshaw visited tho
settlement and marked out his claim on what was known later as tlie Warner farm,
and still later as the Chestnut place, adjoining this city on the southeast. He did not,
however, remain during the winter or make any improvements until the following spring.
Gen. Murray McConnel, a gentleman who has since occupied no mean position
among the noted men of the state, also paid his first visit to Morgan county during the
fall of 1820. He made his settlement on the place now owned and occupied by Mr.
Riggs, in what is at present known as the Gilham neighborhood, within the present lim
its ot Scott oounty, but did not commence improvements or remove his family to hij
claim until the following spring.
Thus the early annals of Morgan county have been opened up, and details of it.;
history given, based upon the personal knowledge of persons who were upon the spot
and themselves witnessed what has been described, the facts .given covering the period
of the first year of the settlement of the country within the present limit of the county.
Some of the first settlers of that period yet remain, and numerous descendants of
others of them who have passed away, yet live in the county, some of them on the very
spot first settled by their father or grandfather.
The Kerr place was settled in 1820 liy Mr. Jesse Ruble. He sold his first improve
ment and claim to Mr. Kerr, who came the following year. Mr. Bailey says:
"The delineation of the early western frontier character has become hackneyed, yet
many of the writers upon this subject have picked up their information in every possi
ble way, except that afforded by a long personal experience and observation. Hence
much of error has naturally crept into published descriptions of pioneer character and
its early primitive surrounding.
"This fact is illustrated in a recent article of considerable length in the Atlnntie
Monthly, giving a descriptive account of the early settlement of Sangamon county, Illi
nois, purporting to be from the pen of an eastern guest of A^in. H. Herndon, of Spring
field, upon whose authority many of the incidents embodied are given. While the ar
ticle referred to gives some true descriptions, there is also interwoven much that the
early pioneer will recognize as exaggeration and absurdity; and the writer's deductions
and conclusions in reference to the pioneer character as a class, are iu some isarticu-
lars little short of positive slander. For instance, he pictures the early settlers of Illi
nois as characterized by looseness of morals in the relations ancl intercourse of the
sexes, ascribing the cause to the absence of the enlightened social refinement of a more
advanced civilization.
"Never were the pioneers of Illinois more grossly misrepresented. In honesty and
purity of morals they were the peers of the men of Massachusetts, and in openness of
character, kindly hospitality, neighborly fraternity and some other noble qualities,
their superiors ; because uncontaminated with the vices of a refined and advanced east
ern civilization. Female purity was a marked social feature among the early settlers.
A majority of them were newly married people who came to establish homes. Of the
unmarried the young men outnumbered the young women, and as the girls grew to ma
turity they were early sought in marriage, few remaining single to the age of twenty

32 Xeighborly Courtesies — Another "First Baby."
years. Incentives to vice that are incident to densely populated communities in the
east, were not to be found in the scattered s€ft|lements of a new country ; hence purity
in the social and domestic relations was a ruliiig characteristic among the pioneers.
"The early settlers were especially noted for kindly fraternity of feeling. They
were much dependent upon each other, having, to borrow and lend and the strong bonds
of fellowship were cemented by mutual interests and necessities. The visit of a neigh
bor always awakened pleasurable emotions, and the stranger was welcomed to the
homely cabin with an open hospitality unknown and unfelt amid the surroundings of
an old settled country. The settler would cheerfully leave his own work and walk five,
ten or fifteen miles to assist his neighbor in' rearing his cabin or the performance of
any heavy labor requiring help, regarding it as a pleasant duty which his neighbor
would, if required, perform for him with equal cheerfulness.
"There was no law in those days, nor need for any, the rule of kindly fellowship
governing in the intercourse and business relations of the settlers, while politics as a
disturbing element was unknown. It was several years later when disreputable char
acters began to straggle into the settlements, rendering the organization of "regulators"
necessary. "As the supply of clothing which the settlers brought with them began to wear
out, they were driven to shift.in the best way they could to supply that want. Many of
them had brought with them their spinning wheels, and those who were so fortunate
as to own a few head of sheep were in a measure independent, the women being able
to spin and weave linsey and jeans for the family wear, the weaving being done on
home-made wooden looms. The game beginning to multiply after the first season, the
rifle was brought into requisition and the skins of the deer were dressed and converted
into warm and comfortable clothing.
"The Corrington farm on the Mauvaisterre, was settled in 1821, by Mr. W. Miller.
Stephen Jones settled the Cassell place, and Joseph Slattern made the first improve
ments on the O'rear place.
"Billy Robinson, an old, white-haired hunter, made an improvement north of Anti-
och Church, on which Bennett Jones afterward settled. Isaac Edwards and Mr. Scott
located north of the Ciirts and Reeve places.
"John Anderson settled on the Layton place; James Taylor taking the farm west
of the Stephen Dunlap place, on the northern side of the north fork. Mr. Murray was
the first settler on the Dunlap farm, and Mr. S. Berey took possession of the quarter
section east of it.
"Mr. Olmstead settled on the quarter-section east of Colonel Matthews. All of the
above settlements were m^le in 1821.
"Rev. Peter R. Boranau was one of the early Methodist preachers in the county!
he became a noted revivalist, and died in Chicago, some forty years ago."
'"Martin Lindley settled at Camp Hollow, since known as the Fisher Place, near
Beardstown; and Timothy Harris and John Oatrough accompanied him. Harris set
tled on the north side of the creek opposite the Bluff House; but Catrough remained
with Lindley for some time afterward, and during a prairie fire came near losing his
life, his jeans clothing being burned to a- crisp.' On December 20, 1820, Julia A
Lindley, daughter of Martin Lindley, was born; supposed to be the first white child
born in the counly. In 1831 Mr. Lindley moved to Peoria, where he remained one
season, then proceeded down the river and slopped for a time at the mouth of the
Mauvaisterre, from thence returning to Canjp Hollow, He was killed by the caving
in of a well in the year 1830; his family remained at Camp Hollow until 18.55.
"Mr Thomas Beard came to Beardstown in 1820, but did not commence improving
until 1822 It is related that he built his cabin over a den of snakes, and for some
time the inmates were annoyed by the reptiles crawling through the crevices of the
puncheon floor. In 1836 he married Miss Sarah Bell, I. R. Bennett, Esq., of Emerald
Point performing. the ceremony. After the .location of the seat of justice at Beards
town, it became an important shipping point, and Mr. Beard became wealthy. Elisha
Lenn, Mr. Waggoner, Simeon Lenn, Solomon Bery, John Baker and Nathaniel Herring
were among the earliest citizens of Beardstown,

The First Steam Boat — Mrs. Job and the Indians. 33
"The first steamboat ascended the Illinois River in 1836, the river being naviga,ted,
prior to that time, only by keel-boats, flat-boats and canoes,
"Bees were very plenty, and two of the settlers, Messrs. Buckleman and Robinson,
collected in 1837 fourteen barrels of honey, selling the wax for money enough to enter
their claims.
"Mauvaisterre Creek is said to have been named by the early French voyagers on
the Illinois River. Indian Creek;is supposed to have been named by the early rangers
under General Whitesides, from the fact that while pursuing a marauding band they
killed an Indian on that stieain, in 1814 Archibald Job, subsequently, for many
years a nottd public man, settled on Job Creek, in Cass county, in 1830 With his
family he left Pittsburg on a keel boat, on the 80th of October, 1819, and landed at St.
Ijouis early in February, 1830, having been detained some time by ice. Leaving
the keel-boat in charge of his wife and children, Mr, Job came up the river located
his claim and built a cabin. He' broke twelve acres the first season, fencing it by fell
ing saplings with their tops inl'erlocked. About the 12lh of May, 1830, David and
Thomas Blair settled in Mr, Job's neighborhood, and during the same season went for
Iheir families. On the authority of Mr Job, it is understood that the first Baptist
preacher was Rev Samuel Bristow; Rev. William Sims and Rev. William Crow being
next in order.
When Hon. Archibald Job came to Morgan county, as mentioned above, he left
his wife on the west side of the Illinois River, alone in camp by a log fire, while he
came over into the Sangamo country to meet a brother-in-law. During his absence
twelve Indians came to Mrs. Job's tent and demanded whiskey. She told them her
husband had taken it all away with him, but they refused to believe her or to leave and
she had to remain there all night alone, with those savages lying upon the ground on
the opposite side of the camp-fire. How few matrons of the present day could stand
such a trial of nerve !
'Alexander Wells, .Tames Gillham and Alexander Bell were the first settlers in the
'Gillham neighborhood.'
"Mr. Keller was one of the settlers of 1831, and was killed by the Regulators.
"In the year 1830, Mr. Thomas Arnett settled near the present reservoir for the
Insane; he was the first justice of the peace in the county, and one of the proprietors
of Jacksonville. He sold his first claim to John Leeper aud moved to the Loar place.
"Col. Joseph Morton and John Bradshaw came to Morgan counly in 1830, and
located claims, but did not remain. Thev returned the next season and commenced
improvements Col. Morton used a wooden cart — in which there was no iron to be
found — when hauling his rails and doing farm work They fenced eighteen acres the
first season. Mrs Minnie Conover settled on Indian Creek about 1831 The public
lands in this section were surveyed in 1831 and brought into market in 1833.
Mr. <;harles Robinson settled at the head of the southern fork of Mauvaisterre Creek
in 1820; his money capital was twenty-five cents, and he invested that in whisky to
make bitters for curing the ague. He hunted bees for a time, and sold wax enough to
enter the first eighty acres. He afterwards became wealthy.
"Miles Wood settled the Posey place, adjoining Jacksonville on the east.
"The first school taught regularly in the county was held at Isaac Edwards' farm,
on the Springfield road — now owned by John Shuff— Mr. Palmer being its teacher.
"Afler Rev. Joseph Basey, Rev. John Miller was the first local Methodist preacher,
but Rev. Newton Pickett rode the first Methodist circuit established in the county.
Rev. Levi Springer traveled trom Indiana to Morgan counly, Illinois, in company with
his wife, each on horseback, in' the fall of 1823 From Pans they started on the 'lost
trace,' crossing the Grand Prairie to the head of the Sangamon River, They were two
nights on the prairie, sleeping on the grass, with no protection save the blankets
which they carried, the wolves howling all about them. Reaching Springfield they
found only a few cabins, and thence proceeded to Crow's Point, on Indian Creek, near
which place they settled.
"Abel Richardson, and his sons Daniel and Benjamin, settled on the Mauvaisterre
in 1821, on the place now owned by Benjamin Richardson, three miles east of Jackson
ville. During the same year Judge I R. Bennett located at Emerald Point, He was
one of the early justices, and peiformed the ceremony between Mr. Beard and his first
wife. He afterward served in the legislature, and as associate county judge.
"Joseph Slattern settled in 1821, on the Orear place. In the year 1828 Enoch C.
March came, and afterward built the Exeter mills, being one of the proprietors of Ex
eter, and held the first sale of lots, in the fall of 1828
"Roland Shepherd came to the county about 1821, and in 1833 built a band-mill,
which was run by horse or ox power. It was located on what ia now the William
'Taylor farm, situated on Indian Creek.

34 Frozen to .Death — A Cotton Gin.
"Deaton's mill was the next built, and Magill's mill was afterward erected on the
northern fork of the Mauvaisterre. John Wyatt afterward built a horse-mill.
"Rev. John Brich came to the county al a very early day, and left it many years
ago He perished in a winter storm in the wilds of one of the norlhern countries,
while pursuing his missionary labors. Finding himself overcome by the cold, he took
his will from his saddle-bags, signed it, and hung the saddle-bags on a bush. He was
afterward found dead near the bush, the saddle-bags leading to the discovery
"The first census of Morgan county was taken by General Murray McConnel, in
1834; but the returns were lost with other county records by the burning of the first
court-house. At that lime, in a northeasterly direction from Crow's Point, the coun
try was wilderness. Led by the barking of a dog in that direction. General McConnel
found a family encamped; but upon inquiry, and examination of a blazed line and
witness-tree, he found he was on the line of Sangamon county, and that the camp was
in Sangamon "
The Cumberland Presbyterians were also among the pioneers in religious organiza
tions in the settlements. They had a camp-ground and church six or eight miles north
east of Jacksonville, and here they maintained regular religious services for many years.
No records of their organization can now be found, nor can any one now living remem
ber the year when this church was founded. Mr. Huram Reeve remembers they were
holding camp-meetings in 1834, and thinks their organization had been in existence but
a short time. Others concur in this view, although some maintain that this church is
as old as any in the county. The latter view is in all probability incorrect, for had such
a church existed in 1831 or 1832, it would have been well remembered by the settlei-s
of that time. This church was probably organized about the year 1828, and though it'
does not exist at present was one of the oldest in the county.
About the same time that Col. Morton and Mr. Bradshaw settled on their claims
in this county, the Rev. Samuel Bristow, a Baptist minister, brought a colony, composed
of the Box, Reid, Curlock and Boyer families. These were organized -into a
church, which was in all probability, the second religious organization in what afterward
became Morgan county. This little colony settled about three miles northwest of the
present city of Jacksonville, in the vicinity of Bdx Creek, which derived its name from
one of the families who settled, near its ba,nks, on what now is known as the McDonald
farm. This Baptist Church continued in existence for many years, but tlie organization
has for some time been disbanded. The preaching of the Rev. Samuel Bristow was
probably the first religious services of this kind, held in that settlement. The Methodist
ministers are generally found with the advent of settlements, and are almost always
among the pioneers, proclaiming the good news of salvation. It is not definitely known
whether any were here during the years of 1830 or 1831. Mr. Huram Reeve, says, that
the first Methodist preacher that he remembers being in the settlement, was the Rev,
Joseph Basey. Rev. Samuel Thompson was the first presiding elder here, and held a
camp meeting on Walnut Creek, within the present limits of Scott county, in 1822 or
1823. Mr. Reeve remembers attending this camp-meeting and thinks his recollection
is correct. The season of 1820 is remembered as being remarkably dry. One of the settlers
remembers that no considerable fall of rain occurred from April, 1820, to the same date
the following year. A good crop of corn and other field products, owing to the ricliness
of the soil, and the heavy dews, was however grown. The next season considerable
cotton was raised, and a cotton gin erected by Mr. Johnson, on the farm later owned by
C. M. Dewey, Esq., on the Meredosia road. To this gin the neighbors from far and
near brought their raw cotton to have it ginned. Esquire Sears, who with Mr. Johnson
and some others settled early this year, is reported to have raised one thousand pounds
of cotton on four acres. The cotton when woven with hemp or flax made an excellent
article of clothing. Until cotton and flax were raised the clothing of the settlers in
some cases gave out, and they were compelled to supply the deficiency as best they
could. Deer skins, when properly tanned, made a good article of clothing, much worn
by the early pioneers. As soon as cotton and fiax could be raised they were spun and
woven into cloth by the women, who used the spinning wheels, often brought from their
former homes, and the old-fashioned wooden loom.
During the spring of 1821, a storm occurred, in which a tree was blown down upon
the roof of the cabin of James Crain. The roof was crushed in, and Jehu Reeve killed.
Mrs. Crain was badly injured. One of her arms was broken and one Slj^oulder was jiut
out of place. The broken arm was set by a man named Langworthy, but his limited
medical knowledge did not lead him to discover that the shoulder was out of place, and
in consequence Mrs. Crain remained ever afterward a cripple.
It was during the summer of 1821, that Dr. Ero Chandler located and began his
practice. He erected his house and office on the ground now occupied by the Grace M.
E. Church, in Jacksonville. He proved a useful man in his profession, and in after
years accumulated considerable property. It is related of him that he came into the

First Medical Fees — D'Osia Lake and Village. 35
settlement on a broken down horse, and with but the single suit of clothes he was wear
ing. When in his pedestrian visits to his patients his clothes were rent by underbrush
or briars, he was accustomed to borrow a needle and thread and repair the damage
himself. His medical fees would be regarded as exceeding moderate these times, his
charge for a visit made on foot and not occupying a whole day being seventy-five cents.
When the visit occupied a day, and he had to borrow a horse to accomplish the distance,
his charge was a dollar. But the doctor prospered with the growth of the country, and
he afterward owned the eighty acres of ground in Jacksonville on which the Academy
stands, and on which Chandler's Addition, now occupied by many of the most valuable
residences in the city, was platted; and by him the Rockwell house was built. His
memory is warmly cherished, and his usefulness remembered by the early settlers.
"Point or Turn-round" Bfown built the first tavern in the county in 1821, at a place
about seven miles south of the present county seat, on what was then the St. Louis road,
afterward the upper road. The accommodations afforded by this tavern would not
compare favorably with those furnished by the hotels of to-day. The sleeping arrange
ments consisted of two beds, one of which was occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Brown, and
the other a large square bedstead, in which the children slept. The children were
placed with their feet to the center and their heads out on the four sides, thus enabling
them to economize sleeping space. Travelers of that day usually carried a few bed
quilts with which they "turned in" on the floor; but when a bed was called for at the
tavern, the old folks gave up their bed and crowded in with the children.
The first bridge in the county was built this summer (1821) over the Mauvaisterre
Creek, at a place east of the city on the Springfield road, where Rock bridge now stands,
by Col, Joseph Morton, Mr. Levi Deaton and a few others. The long sills intended to
span the creeli, were drawn to the bank by cattle, and the work of getting them to their
place was accomplished by splicing together a suflBcient length of log chain to reach
aci'oss the creek, one end being attached to the sill and the other stretched to the oppo
site bank, where the oxen were hitched to it and the sill drawn over to its place. Split
puncheons were then pinned on the sills for fiooring, and the bridge was finished to be
used until the next flood carried it off, when the work had to be repeated.
When the Robertson family came to Morgan county, in 1821, and struck the north
ern fork of the Mauvaisterre, where they settled, the only white men living on Indian
Creek, were Roland Shepherd, who was settled at Taylor's Point, and his son, Peter
Shepherd, who had made an improvement at Adams' Point. The Kelloggs had built
two cabins in the neighborhood, in 1820, one on what is now known as the Roach place,
and the other on the place settled by Alexander Robertson. They vacated these cabins
and claims, for a location further west, in the Gilham neighborhood.
During the period between 1823 and 1827, there was a constant increase of emigra
tion to Morgan county, principally from the southern counties of the state.
But little trouble with the Indians was experienced by the early settlers of Morgan
county. There were none in its limits, after the white men entered, save straggling
hunters or small roving bands who came to some parts, especially those near the riven
to flsh and hunt. The western part of the county contains several Indian mounds of
great antiquity. Just above Meredosia, on the east bank of the river, is a beautiful
level plateau containing about fifteen acres. This was the village home of a tribe of
Indians, and it was here that Antoine D'Osia, a French priest from whom the lake and
present town of Meredosia received its name, labored for the good of these sons of the
forest. The Indian village and its dusky inhabitants have long since gone, but the
name of D'Osia will live as long as Meredosia and its lake remain. During a visit of
some Indians to Washington City, not many years ago, they stopped at Meredosia while
on their way, where one of them, nearly ninety years of age, related how he had roamed
over various parts of the county, and pointed out many objects of interest to his com
panions. He also related to one of the citizens of Jacksonville, while they were en
camped at the fair grounds, many interesting stories of his youthful days. He had

36 The Kelloggs Again — Their JotiRNEY West.
hunted and fished in the woods and streams near the present city, when no thoughts of
the white man existed in his mind, and when he and his comrades were sovereigns of
this country.
No depredations by the Indians were ever committed among the settlers of Mor
gan county, and no record of the killing of any white men, after the settling of the
county, is known to have occurred. The settlers north of the Illinois River were, how
ever, not so fortunate.
The Kelloggs with their families, being the first permanent settlers within what
is now Morgan county, deserve a more extended notice. When the erection of the
monument to the memory of Isaac Fort Roe, took place, in 1869, it was supposed that
he was one of the first three settlers in the territory of which we are writing. He was
one of the first three explorers passing through this region, as narrated, and was the
third settler in the present limits of the county. Mrs. Minerva Richards, now living in
Jacksonville, a daughter of Ambrose Collins, distinctly remembers the settlement of
the Kelloggs. She states that in the Summer of 1818, her father, a native of Ontario
county, New York, left his home with his family, a few articles of household furniture
and provisions enough to last some time, came with two wagons to the Alleghany River,
above its junction with the Susquehanna, where he procured a fiat-boat on which he
embarked his possessions, and proceeded down the Ohio River. His destination was
the southern part of Illinois. On the way down the river he fell in with Seymour and
Elisha Kellogg, who with their families were proceeding in a similar conveyance to
the same destination. Mr. Collins and Seymour Kellogg had been acquainted in their
native state. The latter had been a Colonel in the war of 1812, and was known by that
title. At Shawneetown they disembarked and proceeded in their wagons to Carmi, on
the little Wabash River. They remained here during the winter and the following
summer. Early in the autumn of 1819 they loaded their effects again into their wagons,
and went on westward to Edwardsville. Here Mr. Collins was taken sick and was
compelled to remain through the winter. The Messrs. Kellogg with their families and
Charles Collins, a son of Ambrose Collins, with their teams, some, cattle and provisions
for the winter, started for the Sangamo country. They followed a more northern route
than that generally adopted by emigiants. Their only guide was the compass and a
few indistinct trails, made by roving Indians or adventurous bee hunters. Late in the
Fall of 1819, they arrived near the head of Mauvaisterre Creek, erected two cabins and
made provisions for the winter, now rapidly approaching. The country lay about them
in all its native wildness. No signs of life were seen, save foot-prints in the brown
paths, worn by Indian feet ; and the shy, frightened birds, squirrels, or deer, that darted
away into the wildwood, at the approach of the emigrants. No foot of white men save
that of the adventurous scout, or wandering hunter, had pressed the sod of these wild
prairies, or roamed through the trackless forests. Mauvaisterre Creek had not known
the abode of a white man. Anxious to build homes where they could rest secure, and
where they could gather the fruits of a life-time, these pioneers braved tSie dangers of
a frontier life and founded their homes where now are:
"-^ — spacious mansionB firm and strong,
In place of forests dark and dense :
And now instead of underbrush
Runs many a line of even fence.
"But times will change ! The verdant hills
Are covered o'er with growing grain ;
And .white men till the fertile soil.
Where once the red man used to reign.
"The Indian's voice is hushed and still ;
Existing but in Mem'ry's hall,
Where now with echoes of the Past
We hear his Mor-M)/ioop rise and fall!"

A Hard Winter — The First Physician. 37
The winter of 1819 and '20 proved to be an unusually severe one. The long grass
of the prairies had been destroyed by fires lighted by the Indians or hunters, and much
of the undergrowth in the woods was destroyed by the same element. Before the close
of the winter, the provisions gathered by them for their stock, from places where it had
escaped the ravages of the fire, gave out and they were compelled to cut down trees,
from the boughs of which the cattle and horses could procure a scanty supply of food.
Many of these wandered away and were lost, while several of them died from the effects
of cold and hunger. The supply of food for themselves and families proved to be suf
ficient, yet their suffering from the cold was often intense.
Early in the spring Charles Collins returned to Edwardsville with his wagon and
team, to aid his father, should he be sufticiently recovered, in bringing his family to
the new settlement. It was just before his start to Edwardsville, that the three explor
ers, whose names and exploration we have already recorded, came, and one of them,
Mr. Roe, settled at the place to which he gave the name "Diamond Grove." Mr. Col
lins with his family started on their journey about the first of March. On the way they
were compelled to camp out two nights, there being no settlers between Edwardsville
and their destination. On their arrival, they remained one night with Seymour Kel
logg, and then went to an unfinished cabin, erected by Mr. Olmstead who had been ex
ploring this country, and had built the cabin entered temporarily by Mr. Collins.
The location not being a desirable one, Mr. Collins selected his claim, erected a cabin
thereon as soon as possible, and moved his family to it. When Mr. Olmstead returned
with his family, he was not satisfied with the claim he had selected, and chose another,
afterwards known as "Olmstead Mound," where he made his permanent home.
In 1820 Dr. George Cadwell, the first physician located in the county.
We have now fully described the earliest settlement in what is now Morgan county
We have also stated the names of others who came here during the spring of 1820, and
noted the places of their settlement. We have described at some length the settlement
of the Kelloggs (Charles Collins being then a young man, not making a claim or found
ing a home for himself, can hardly be termed one of the early settlers) because they
were the first settlers of the county, and deserve more than a passing notice. The in
formation can be relied on as correct, as Mrs. Richards distinctly remembers the emi
gration and settlement of these families.
These and the other pioneers came from the southern part of the state, generally
about Edwardsville, where some had remained but a short time on their journey to a
western home. They came in emigrant wagons over the unbroken prairies, through
the wild forests, fording unbridged streams, and encamping wherever the shades of
night overtook them. They were seeking a home that in old age would afford them
protection and comfort. Upon reaching their destination, their first care was the erec
tion of a cabin in which to shelter themselves and their families. As these primitive
abodes were generally built alike by all pioneers, we will give an old writer's account
of their construction, in addition to what we have written already about them.
The cabins of the pioneers were of various sizes, and generally made of round
logs. Some of the more favored ones, however, had hewed log cabins, and were re
garded by their neighbors as more fortunate than themselves. These round-log
cabins were made by taking two logs, generally about one foot in diameter, and, we
will suppose, thirty and twenty feet lone. This length of logs would build a tolera
bly sized cabin. The logs were notched in near tbe ends, tbe shorter laid upon tbe
longer, forming the first round, and leaving a small space between the first tier and
the second, which was laid in the same manner on these. In this way round after
round was laid, until the sides of the cabin were ten or twelve rounds high, as the
owner might desire. The last two end logs laid were made long enough to project
over the corner three or four feet, thereby forming eaves to carry the water, during a
rain, that distance from the cabin. This projection also afforded a diminutive porch,
aud in the summer kept the hoi rays ot the sun from the side of the house. After
these logs were laid on, completing the walls of the cabin, two logs, cut slanting at
the ends, and just long enough lo fit between the notches, were laid on at each end of
the cabin; two more, cut in the same manner, and shorter than the first, were laid on
these, and so on until an apex was reached. On the last one, generally about one foot

38 Cabin-Raising — The Latch-String — Protecting Stock.
in length, a long log, smaller than those laid in the sides of the building, was placed
from one to the other, and also projecting over each, some three or four feet. To se
cure these short, slant pieces, forming the apex of the cabin, a cleft of a small tree
was placed on the outside and securely pegged on, and also fastened to the last men
tioned log or pole. One or two poles of the same length as that forming the "comb of
the roof," as it was called, were generally laid between, the eaves and the comb, sup
plying the place of rafters. On these, clapboards— split boards about four feet in
length— were laid nearly double, so as to cover the joints; the boards at the top of the
cabin projecting a little over those on the other side. When the roof is thus covered,
some poles were laid along the building to keep the shingles on . These poles were kept
at about three feet distance from each other by pieces^ot wood laid on the roof be
tween them These poles were called weight poles, and sometimes stones were used
in their atead. When all this was complete, the cabin was "raised," and where sev
eral neighbors joined in a day's work for some new comer, or some newly married per
sons, such a cabin would be constructed in one day. It was simply now a pen without
any openings, save the cracks between the logs. A door was made by sawing out a
section in the logs to the lower one, which was generally sawn about half through and
cut out to form a door-step. The top of the door was made in the same manner, and
secured closeness. A stout piece of wood was pegged on each side, forming a jam, as
it was termed, wooden hinges were made, and a door, made of split puncheon, hung
thereon. A wooden latch, with a leathern string hung outside, fastened it. This old
fusbioned latch string was always out, and owing to the known hospitality of the pi
oneer, has given rise to a very suggestive aphorism. A. door was often made on each
side of the cabin. Windows, after glass came into use, were made in the same manner,
though smaller, and instead of being capable of raisiiig and lowering, as in modern
times, were hung on hinges, made to slide, or taken entirely out in warm weather.
The fioors were made of split puncheon, in most cases joined neatly and closely to
gether, and laid on the ground, or on cross pieces. The chimney was generally placed
at the end of the building, and made as follows: first, .four or five logs were cut out,
as for a door or window place, of whatever width the occupant chose. It was gener
ally four or five feet in width, and often wider. Then some logs were cleft and placed
so that tbe ends came just inside the cabin wall, and; projecting outward formed a
square pen. These were placed one on the other until they rose as high as the open
ing in the wall The chimney was carried up, as was the cabin, until it reached the
top, when it was drawn in and constiucted of sticks. It was drawn in gradually from
the bottom upwards, until the top was generally about one fo it square. It was then
thoroughly chunked and "daubed;" often stones wel-e placed at the bottom and some
distance up the sides, so as to effectually prevent the action of fire. Next the cabin
itself was 6hunked and daubed — that is, the cracks between the logs were filled with
split pieced of wood, held in with pegs, and securely Closed by daubing with mud It
was also plastered with loam or clay, and sometimes the inside was covered with well
made split boards, pegged on. It was often whitewashed where lime could be ob
tained, A ceiling was made by taking stout poles >in4,'Iaying them on tbe upper tier
of logs, their ends projecting through under the eavesj and being placed from two to
four feet apart. On these split boards were laid, forming a floor. Sometimes the
chimneys were walled several feet in height, and were always so carefullj' construc
ted that fires seldom occurred.
This completed the cabin. It was now ready for occupancy, and iu it, many who
now live in opulence, the fruit of years of labor', stoutly affirm they passed their hap
piest days. One room served all purposes, and when friends or travelers came, a bed
was made on the floor, and every convenience offered in their power. Two cabins
were often built near together, between them a space of ten or twelve feet was left,
covered with a roof, and under this cover the pioneer stored many articles. One side
of it was generally walled up, leaving the front open^ A covered porch was also often
seen in front of the cabins. Here the farmer could rest at noontide, and a common
sight was the busy house-wife spinning under this. porch on a warm summer's day.
These cabins are yet used in many parts of the state, especially in the southern
and western portion. Some have more modern conveniences, and are equal to many
frame dwellings now built. But in the early days of the country, none other could be
made. There were no mills for sawing lumber ; the pioneer was almost always poor,
and was compelled to endure many privations. Yet these dwellings were comfortable,
and healthy, such diseases as consumption and bronchial affections being entirely un
known. Building for stock and for the protection of farming macliinery were the result of
after days. Says an old writer : "When pigs are shut up for fattening, it is common to
make a fence for them of rails, in the same manner as for fields ; sometimes one corn
er is covered over to make a lodging for them, but it is more common for them to be

Kelly Locates the First Springfield Home. 39
left to the mercy of the winds and weather ; but as they are hardy animals, and accus
tomed to hard living and lodging, it does not appear to hurt them. There are but few
cattle yards and sheds. The cattle are most left abroad in the winter, and no other
shelter but what the leafless trees afford. There were few granaries, except corn-cribs,
and a few poultry houses, built generally the same as cabins, as were the stables also.
The stables were often carried higher, to provide for a hay-loft ; some had a rack made
out of a hollow log, which answered for a manger. These out-houses were built in the
forest — as well as were all the cabins — and were sheltered from the blasts of the winter
thereby." As the country improved, the buildings were made better, and after the ad
vent of the railroads good substantial buildings were erected, which now appear on
every hand. It is doubtful if many counties in the state excel Morgan in the fine
dwellings and barns scattered over her prairies.
Before we leave this epoch, so fruitful of pioneer settlements in Morgan, we may
be pardoned for glancing at our county neighbors upon the east, within whose bounds
towers up the great State House, of which, although unfinished, Illinois is so justly proud.
A Springfield "Visitor's Guide" says:
"In 1818, there were no white inhabitants north of Edwardsville. In the same year
an old bachelor, named Elisha Kelly, a hunter from North Carolina, emigrated to this
locality, and was much pleased with the country and the abundance of game.
He returned to his native state and induced his brothers to move with their families
to this point. In 1819 his brother, John Kelly, built a log cabin north of the t<iwn
branch, near what is now the corner of Jefferson and Klein streets. Another brother,
William Kelly, built bis cabin further north, on the grounds where the beautiful resi
dence of C. A. Gehrmann now stands. Other families settled around them on the edge of
the limber, as all early settlers thought the prairie lands would never be settled, but
would remain free pasture for those along their edge for all time.
In 1821 Ihe county of Sangamon was formed by an act of the legislature, including
what now comprises the counties of Sangamon, Logan, Mason, Menard, Tazewell, Cass
and parts of Morgan, Christian, McLean, Marshall, Woodford and Putnam. The same
act provided for the appointment^of three commissioners to select a temporary seat of
justice for the new county. After thorough investigation they learned that besides the
Kelly settlement, no other neighborhood contained a sufllcient number of inhabitants to
board and lodge the members of the court, and those who would attend its sessions. At
a meeting held iu John Kelly's cabin, the proper action was taken settling the question
of a temporary county seal, and on account of its proximity to Spring Creek it was
named 'Springfield.' Notwithstanding the efforts made at different times to change its
name to Calhoun, Sangamo and Ulini the name of Springfield has clung to the settlement,
village and city through all its hardships and successes, until it is now a name at the
mention of which its citizens feel a thrill of worthy pride, and which has achieved not
only a local and state, but also a national and world-wide reputation.
The first court in the new county was held in John Kelly's cabin in May, 1831. A
log court house and jail were built in the latter part of the year, at corner of Second and
Jefferson streets. In 1835 the county seat was permanently located in Springfield, and a
frame court house was built corner Sixth and Adams street, where the clothing house of
Hall ~&,,I^eirick now stands. This was in turn abandoned upon the building of a brick
court house in the center of the present square in 1831. This was demohshed in 1837 to
give place lo the State Capitol, which was that year located here and for which the citi
zens donated the ground and f 50,000. The court was held in the Edwards building, at
109 North Fifth street, now occupied by Thomas DePleaux, until 1845 when the court
house was built on the corner of Sixth and Washington streets, which was used until the
county oflices were moved into the old state house, which had been purchased from the
State for $200,000 and interest for eight years. Upon the site of the old court house a
beautiful three story stone front block of four stores was erected, an ornament to the
city. We have given the different steps taken in building of court houses as showing the
rapid and steady growth of wealth and cultivation ' in the community, from the simple
log court house costing $84 to the substantial stone structure costing over $300,000.
Springfield obtained a village charter in 1833, and, prospering under its village organiza
tion .secured a city charter in 1840.
Few cities have been honored as the home of so many illustrious men— Abraham
Lincoln, Stephen A, Douglas, E D, Baker, Stephen T. Logan, James Shields and many
others whose names havs been inscribed high on the roll of fame and will be handed down
as undying legacies to generation yet unborn. While Springfield has been maligned and
misrepresented on all sides, and burdened almost beyond endurance by a municipal in
debtedness, she has ever, Job-like, retained her integrity, and now, re-organized under the

40 Sangamon and Greene County Items.
general law. her bonds refunded at low interest, her streets paved, business blocks and
comfortable homes building in every direction, new qianufacturing enterprises clustering
about her, she can proudly point to her past record, of obligations honestly met and her
garments free from even the slightest taint ot repudiation
In these days of railroad progress, when towns spring up as if by magic, we fail to
realize the difficulties under which our fathers labored and the obstacles an inland town
had to contend with in early days.
High hopes were raised and much excitement was created in Springfleld in 1833
when it was announced that the Steamer Talisman, would leave Cincionaii for Spring
field. 111., and inlerraediale points. The arrival of the boat was anxiously awaited and
in due time arrived in the Sangamon River near Springfield, but the problem of cheaper
freights was not yet solved, as owing to the narrow clj^nnel the boat had to back down
stream, and the inhabitants still had to rely on hauling their goods and produce until re
lieved by the building of railroads
Richard Matthews, Sr., and his sons Samuel, Cyrus, John and Richard, his wife,
his daughter and Samuel's family, came to this county in 1821, settling on what is still
known as the Matthews farm some eight miles northeast of Jacksonville, and his de
scendants are still living there and in other parts of the county.
Mr. Edward Harvey, one of the old settlers of this county, is still living in Lynnville
precinct and claims that he went to school to Mr. A. K. Barber in 1821.
From a historical sketch of Jersey county, delivered at Jerseyville, July 4, 1876,
by Elder B. B. Hamilton, postmaster of White Hall, we learn as to Greene county,
which was organized by act of legislature in 1821, that
The first session of the county commissioner's court was held in Carrollton on the
first day of May, 1831, and there were present John Allen, Jehu Brown aud Seymour
Kellogg as commissioners, and Samuel Lee, Jr., was appointed clerk At this session
the commissioners to locate the seat of justice reported, under date of February 30,
1821. This report was signed by Thomas Carlin, John Allen, Thomas Rattan and
John Huitt, Of these, John Huitt is the sole survivor. The county-seat was located
at Carrollton, on land donated to the new county by Thomas Carlin At this session
John Wilkins was licensed to keep a tavern on the Piaga, about one milesouth of Delhi.
In later times Mr, Wilkins was known to many of the citizens of this countv as the
father-in-law of Perley Silloway, one of our early sheriffs. Twenty lots owned by the
county in the town of Carrollton were ordered to be sold. *****
Hon. .loseph Philips was judge of the circuit court at the spring term of 1822 At
the October term of that year Thomas Reynolds wa^ judge, and again at the spring
term of 1823. In the September term of 1823. and then until the May term of 1835,
John Reynolds was judge. From the latter date until the April term of 1837, John
York Sawyer was judge. From this date until Jersey county was organized, Samuel
D. Lockwood was judge. John G, Lofton was the first probate judge, as I find an
allowance made him of $30.13i, in full for his service as judge of probate until he
went out of office, and $5 for recording deeds. This was atthe r)ecemher term of ihe
county court in 1822. fie had been in that year a candidate for lieutenant-governor.
Elder Hamilton tells us that Greene county records show that Seymour Kellogg,
when commissioner was allowed |1 extra pay because of having to travel so far 
from Apple Creek to Carrollton,
The spot where the town of Manchester now is was first settled in 1821 by Mr.
Marks, The place was called at that time; "Burnt Hay Stack Spring," from the char
red remains of a stack of prairie hay that was burned by the side of the passing trail,
aud was afterwards known as Marsh's Point,

CHAPTEIi IV.— 1825-'29,
The Infant Town of Jacksonville — Locating tlie Gounty Seat — The Early Settlers Arriv
ing — Churches, Schools and Colleges Founded — Judge Thomas' Arrival and Experi
ences — The Winnebago War^-County Officers — Liquor in the Harvest Field — The
First License — Recollections of early times by Dr. Sturtevant, Anderson Foreman,
John R. Ilitrney, Murray McConnel and Judge Samiiel Woods — First Court House,
Jail and Poor Farm — John J. Hardin's Death.
"The world moves on.
The years roll slowly by ;
Youth comes of age,
The aged droop and die.
New faces crowd the ever bustling scene.
And tell to me what I have been."
OOKING back with justifiable pride over a life covering more than half a cen
tury ,Iacksonville may well be thought to have forgotten not only her appear
ance, but many of her deeds during the infantile period of her history. For
n !^ the benefit of the Present and the Future let us recall all that we can of those
^ } days of small beginnings.
In 1825, two years after the creation of Morgan county, by Legislature, and five
years later than the arrival in this region of some — two at least, Mr. Huram and Miss
Keren Reeve — who are still here, after 64 years of residence, the town of Jacksonville
was duly laid out. To the great disappointment of a rival town, older in years, the em
bryo city was selected as the seat of justice instead of Naples, Scott county, then in-
Morgan. Our city, the county seat of one of the wealthiest, and most fertile counties of the
noblest state of the Union, has not been in a hurry to climb the hill of fame ; the increase
in her population has been slow until within a year or two. Her citizens have been
attracted to the place by beautiful rolling prairies adjacent, and later by the unusually
good school privileges of the town. Thus the villagers were gradually increased by the
addition of such as came to educate their children, and who, allured by its attractions,
remained; others came to enjoy and dwell in the midst of the growing circle of literati
which was gathering in the embryo "Athens." Speculators, with no settling intentions,
sordid business men, and the riff-raff of society, on the contrary, found no attractions in
the place. A truly fortunate fact.
We say that the growth of Jacksonville was slow, we mean slow in comparison
with the cities, which, like Jonah's gourd, have arisen in a night, for although now
numbering over twelve thousand inhabitants it is yet young in history. The time does
not seem far distant when the Indian chose his hunting grounds upon the banks of the
Mauvaisterre, and the rich soil of the county furnished a tempting pasture to the roam
ing herds of deer and buffalo. Not being near a navigable river the present site of the
city was not early chosen as a home by the hardy pioneers of the great west. Many
towns were in full vigor, and Illinois had entered the sisterhood of states while yet the
twang of the bow by day and howl of the wolf by night were the only sounds heard
here. Only a few years have passed away since the aboriginal chieftains paid their
adoration to the rising "orb of light," -where now on every Sabbath so many church bells
summon Christians to the worship of the true God.

42 Jacksonville Surveyed and Named.
It was in January, 1825, that the legislature passed the act appointing John How
ard, John Lusk and Abraham Pickett commissioners to select a permanent seat of jus
tice for Morgan. The government then owned the land selected — now the site of Jack
sonville, but two shrewd gentlemen, learning of the commissioners' decision, immedi
ately purchased the land from the government, and were at once ready to lay out the
new town. The act providing for the location of the permanent seat of justice stipulated
that the owners of the land selected should donate not less than twenty acres to be
laid out into lots and sold for the erection of the necessary county buildings.
On the 10th of March, Mr, Johnston Shelton, the county surveyor, began the sur
vey by laying out a public square of little more than five acres, directly in the centre of
the site, partly on the land of Isaac Dial, partly on land owned by Jacky Anderson, and
partly on the land of Thomas Arnett, the three who had bought in the "quarter" selected
by the commissioners.
Previous to that time there had been a public road laid out from Springfield, the
then recently located county seat of Sangamon county, to the town of Naples, on the
Illinois River, in Morgan county. This road, by way of eminence and distinction, was
called the State road. This State road passed east and west on top of the ridge of land
directly over the spot selected for said county seat. The surveyor began the survey by
laying out the square directly in the center of the said one hundred and sixty acre tract,
the State road running through the square. Upon this State road he located a street,
sixty feet wide, intending it to run due east and west across said one hundred and sixty
acres, and on the north line of the land belonging to the proprietors. Thus locating
one-half of said square and one-half of the width of the street on the land of said private
owners, and the other half on the land of the county. This street was called State
street. A street was then laid out running north and south through the center of said land
and said central square, of the same width, and it was called Main street. Takingthose
two streets as base lines, the town was laid out into square blocks, of one hundred and
eighty feet nine inches on each side, which blocks were divided into three lots, each of
equal size. All other streets, except those two, were made forty feet wide, and the al
leys twenty feet wide, all running at right angles with each other.
There are several stories as to the origin of the name of our city, but the most gen
erally accepted one is, that it was named after, and in honor of "Old Hickory" — Gen.
Andrew Jackson — the hero of that day. The other generally circulated tale is that it was
named directly after a colored boy, the first negi'o ever seen in the county — a
slave at the time, of Thomas P. Clark. This boy is living here to-day and preaching
the Gospel, being no other than the venerable Rev. A. W. Jackson who informs
us that when a boy he was living with a man named Clark, about ten miles west
of the city, and was sent to some parties located near Diamond Grove to get some
seed corn. Losing his way he wandered across the unbroken prairie until he reached
a spot about where the Dunlap House now stands. Here he saw some men, evi
dently surveyors, driving stakes among the grass and inquired of them the way.
They gave him the desired information and then asked him how he, a colored boy,
happened to be there. He told them, whereupon they inquired his name and being
told it was A. W. Jackson they remarked that Jackson, or Jacksonville, would be a
good name for the place they were laying out. They said to him: "Young man,
we have entered this land and are staking off lots for a town which we are going to
name after you ; do you understand ?" He replied that he did, little thinking that he
would live here sixty years after and see such great changes.
The streets thus and then laid out were afterwards abundantly lined with the shade-
trees which make them now the crowning glory of an unsurpassably handsome resi
dence city.
The only human habitation on the selected town site was that of a man named
Alexander Cox, a hatter by trade. It was located near where Trinity (Episcopal)

Carson's Log-Cabin ILotel and Jail. 43
church now stands, though just over the ea.stern boundary of the town was the double
log cabin of Father .lordan, within tlie walls of which was formed the first class of
Methodists — the germ from which the Centenary, Grace and Brooklyn M. E. churches
have since sprung. The site having been decided upon, houses and occupants soon
made their appearance. Joseph Fairfield and George Hackett were the first merchants
in the new town, though George Rearick, whose widow is still living here, followed
them so closely that he may be said to co-e{|ual with them, all locating nearly at the
same time in the summer of 183.'). Tlie first tavern in the town was under the super
vision of Thomas Carson, who bought the log cabin formerly occupied by ]Mr. Cox, for
tavern purposes, and to which before a year he made a large addition. His wife, for
many years known as "Mother Carson," carried the frames for the doors and windows
on her arm, from Jersey Prairie, where they were made, making the journey on horse
back. As the county was incorporated in a municipal capacity, Carson was recjuired to
procure a license. In all licenses to keep public houses, or ferries, at that date, the
rates of charges were establ'shed. By the destruction of the court-house and records
in the Autumn of 1827, all such records were destroyed, and we have no means of de
termining such charges save by those prescribed after that event. It is probably cor
rect to suppose that the prices allowed for entertainment did not change much in that
short interval, and we can very safely assume that Mr. Carson received for rum, brandy
gin, and wine twenty-five cents per half pint; for whisky, half that sum for the same
quantity ; for a meal ot victuals or keeping a horse over night, twenty-five cents ; for
lodging twelve and one-half cents, and for feeding a horse six and one-fourth cents,
Mr. Huram Reeve and some others think that Mr. Da-vid TeSt opened a tavern in a
small building sixteen feet square, erected by him on the east side of the square pre\'i-
ous to the opening of Mr. Carson's. Mrs. Carson, however, once stated to Mr. J. K.
Bailey that her husband procured his license first, and was the flrsttavern-keeper in the
town. This opinion was confirmed by Mr. Dennis Rockwell, the first county clerk, and
is probably correct.
The cabin tavern of Mr. Carson was removed to East Morgan street to give place
for the erection of the Congregational church, which was afterward known as the
"Union Hall." The old building is partly standing at this time.
Mr. Carson has the lienor of being also at the same time the first jailor. He w-as the
custodian of that supposedly safe institution whose new and strong doors were hung upon
common wrought hinges, which fact the inmates were not slow to discover, and Samp
son-like, lifted them up, and went off with them — at least so the old legend runs.
Mr. Carson remained in Jacksonville during his life-time, and was always an ex
cellent citizen, doing much toward the prosperity of the city. His old log jail,
fcough uncouth in appearance, was probably as safe a repository for criminals as its more
pretentious successors. Mrs. Carson was more widely known than any woman in the
county. "Mother" Carson, as she was called, was known in St. Louis, Springfield, and
equally distant places. She followed the profession of mid-wife, and so extensive -ft'as
her practice, and so remarkable her success, that she was often called to these and
equally distant places in the practice of her profession. She seldom lost a patient, and
it has been confidently asserted by many that she was present atthe birth of fully three
thousand children. She died while court was in session, and so respected was
she by all, that, upon motion of Judge William Thomas, court adjourned to attend her
funeral. The immediate descendantsof this pioneer family are located in Jacksonville to
day (1884.) It is said that the Carson log cabin hotel was eighteen feet square and con
sisted ot two rooms.
Mr. Michrcl Huffaker, deceased, is another of Morgan county's pioneer settlers.
He reached Illinois in 1823 and located in Mauvaisterre precinct in the spring of 1834.
Land could then be purchased for |1.25 per acre — the choicest pieces only bringing

44 Wolves, Buffalo and Rear. — The First Store.
that amount at private or public sale. Jacksonville had no existence and the hunter
roamed over the present site of the city for deer and other game. Wolves prowled
around the sheep-fold and greatly disturbed Mr. H. by preying upon his stock and ren
dering the night hideous with their barking. Here and there upon the prairie huge
piles of buffalo bones could be perceived. Now and then a black bear would make its
appearance, and the hunters would gather together and have a jolly and long hunt after
Bruin. The hunting stories of those days cause the modern tales of sportto sink into in
significance. As to produce prices, he reports that the very best wheat brought only-
twenty-five cents per bushel ; corn from eight to ten cents, and pork one dollar per one
hundred pounds. Even at these low prices very little could be sold. There was a very
limited amount of gold in tlie country, and this was controlled for purposes of circula
tion by a very few men.
In those days, substantiality rather than elegance, comfort rather than fashion was '
looked after in the construction of the settler's cabin homes. When Jacksonville was
laid out it became the point to which all arrivals came, and Mother Carson's hostelry,
over which she presided with satisfaction to all, was generally filled by the immigrants.
Springfield was then but a small village where they kept the land ofiice, Vandalia be
ing the state capital. For nearly fifty years Mr. Huffaker exercised a great infiuence
upon the surrounding country. He was a type of those sterling characters of the past
generation. Through weal and woe he kept the even tenor of his way and won a solid
reputation for honesty, industry and public spirit. When he came to Illinois, his prop
erty consisted of $200.25. and what household goods could be packed upon the back of
a horse. He rode one horse and his wife another. His $200 was all invested in land,
leaving the twenty-five cents for food and other necessities — an illustration of the pov
erty of our early citizens, and a marked contrast to the wealth, refinement and luxuries
possessed by the farming community of to-day. Mr. Huffaker died in 1888.
The laying out of the city, and its selection as the seat of justice, brought immedi
ately a number of families thither. Dennis Rockwell, the first recorder, clerk of court,
and the first post-master here, was without doubt among the first settlers.
Mr. Rockwell was a native of Vermont. He resided for some time at Edwardsville,
Illinois, and when Morgan county was organized, he was appointed clerk of the Circuit
and County Commissioner, Court, and recorder, and, upon the location of the county
seat at Jacksonville, post-master. In 1854 he removed to Chicago, where he was en
gaged in the lumber business until 1867, when, his health failing, he returned to Jack
sonville. He was one of the first directors of the Institution for the Deaf and Dumb
and, with Colonel Geo. M. Chambers, superintended the erection of that building. He
was also one of the trustees of the Institution for the Blind. For a time he held a
position as cashier in the Branch of the State Bank, located in Jacksonville. He donated
to the Episcopal church, of which he was a member, the block of ground on which that
church now stands, and gave largely toward the erection of the house and support of
the minister. After his return from Chicago, in 1867, his health failed him and he
died shortly thereafter.
The first store in the county was opened soon after the town was laid out, by Hackett
& Fairfield. Before opening this store in town, they peddled through the settlements
exchanging goods for furs, beeswax, and honey, the only money found in the settle
ments at that time. Town property, for the first three or four years of the growth of
the town, was very low. A lot on the southwest corner of the square, was offered to
Mr. Dennis Rockwell for a cow and calf, worth at that time ten dollars, and Mr. Rock
well sold at one time eight acres of land, just north and west of the square, now in the
heart of the city, for eighty dollars — to be paid in blacksmithing.
The first improvements on the west side of the square were a row of small frame
houses. In one of these houses the first barber shop was opened, by a colored man
named Ball, and in one of these buildings Colonel John J. Hardin held his oflSce.

II-vedin's Funeral — First Jjriok Buildixh. 45
General Hardin, one of the most prominent men in Morgan county, was born iu
Frankfort, Kentucky, on the 6th day of June, 1810. lie came to this part of Illinois
at an early day, and at once entered actively into the practice of his profession — the
law. He was a member of different legislative bodies, and held other and various
oflices of trust. He was elected a general of militia, and, on the breaking out of the
Mexican -n'ar, was the first one in the county to enlist. He was immediately chosen
captain of a company raised here. After leaving for the seat of war, he was clioseu
colonel of a regiment ; and, while gallantly leading his men at the battle of Buena Vista,
on the 23d of February, 1847, received a death wound. In July, bis body was brought
home, and deposited in the old cemetery. His funeral was one of the largest ever held
in this city, being attended by many state ofilcials and others from abroad.
At the time of the building of Illinois College, all the large tract of land lying be
tween that institution and the public square, -was in its primitive condition, or cultiva
ted as a farm. Where now are the finest residences, the most beautiful yards, and the
best shaded streets, was then open prairie, or used for farm purposes. ^Vhat cliuiiges
time produces! Then all buildings in town were small, almost entirely frame or built
of logs, the former being pointed out to tlie traveler as the home of elegance and ¦v\'eallh.
Tlie business of the time was proportionate to the residences. No large stores graced
the public scjuare, or stood as monuments of the industry of the o^^•ners, in other strc-ets.
The houses of that day are succeeded now by more elegant affairs, though no iiiore
homelike than their predecessors. Their owners have grown -s\ith the town, and can
look over the scenes of their labors with feelings of pride at the results obtained, and
know that the passing years have been those of care and toil, though s^^¦eetened by tlie
thoughts of the rest and comfort sure to follow.
The early log stores speedily gave way.to frame buildings, which in their time be
came too small and insecure, and were replaced by more substantial brick structures.
The first of these was erected in 1828, by John P. Wilkinson, Esq., and occupied the
lot of ground where is now the store of Hoffman Bros. Another was built on tlie south
side of the square, and one on the north, by Cornelius Hook, Esq., and in 1831 or '32,
the late bank building of M. P. Ayers & Co. Like its population, the liusincss of
Jacksonville was growing. New and more substantial stores were appearing about the
public square, while in the residence portion, better dwellings were being erected.
Streets were accurately defined ; pavements took the place of mud sidewalks; fences
were built before the door-yards, and a finer and more elegant life was becoming mani
fest. During the summer of 1825 and 1826, building progressed rapidly in the new town.
Mr. Carson's tavern was always full, and more than once the traveler was glad of a
chance to shelter himself and enjoy the luxury of a bed on the puncheon floor, with
his traveling cloak for a covering. Hospitality^ was a reigning virtue among the early
pioneers of Illinois, and no one in search of a home on these western prairies went un
sheltered or hungry.
In the fall of 1826 Jacksonville had a mail from St. Louis, via Alton and Carrollton,
once in two weeks, and also a like mail from Springfield ; so arranged as to give a
weekly mail.
One of the few survivors of this foundation age is our honored fello"w citizen, lion.
William Thomas. From his recollections and contributions to the J onr mil, from time
to time in later years, has been gleaned much of the information compiled in this un-
' pretentious history. The judge came to this county from Bowling Green, Ky., in the
fall of 1826, traveling on horseback (the only way of journeying at that time) and visit
ing on the route some of the settlements wliich had been made at that time in various
sections of the country, although they were very small. The judge gives as his reason
for settling in Jacksonville in preference to other places, that he had traveled about as
far as his money and horse would take him, and there is no one that would not consider
that a sufficient reason for stopping. But besides this reason he says that he was pleased

46 Judge Thomas Arrives — Church and Schools,
with this section of country and with the location of the town, and taking all these
reasons together, he consented to make this his home, which was no doubt a very wise
choice, both for his own personal welfare and for that of the town. He reports that the
population of the town consisted of the families of Dennis Rockwell, Murray McCon
nel, Thos. Carson, John Handy, David Tefft, Samuel Blair, George M. Richards, George
Rearick, Joseph M. Fairfield, John Laughrey, John P. Tefft, and the brothers, Savage.
The men without families were George Hackett, John Turney, Benjamin Cox, Samuel
C. Richards, Moses Atwood ( ?) Orson Cobb, Rice Dunbar and Joseph Coddington.
John Handy was the "Buckeye" carpenter ; Fairfield, Rearick and Moses Atwood were
merchants ; Richards was deputy county surveyor ; Blair and Dunbar were carpenters ;
Laughrey was a brickmaker, John P. Tefft was' a plasterer, Rockwell was clerk of the
two courts, postmaster and notary public ; McConnel, Turney and Cox were attorneys ;
John Savage was a carpenter ; Peter Savage was a teamster ; and was a tailor as was
Orson Cobb. This shows something of the occupations of our forefathers in the early
days when it was necessary for one man to follow several trades.
The judge himself soon after landing in this county began attending the courts and
got his start in law practice in this section, and from these beginnings rose to the high
positiim he afterwards occupied and the estimation in which he is now held by his fel-
low-to-wnsmen. His active practice extended over forty-five years.
We quote as follows from Judge Thomas' "Recollections of Early Times," as con
tributed to the Journal:
"In September, 1826, I started from my home in Kentucky for Peoria, but after
reaching this state I changed my destination to this place, where I landed on the 13th of
October thereafter. The first court that I attended was held in Jacksonville by the Hon.
John York Sawyer, circuit judge, in November, 1826.
There were about forty cases on the docket, all told. The attorneys present were
James Tracy, attorney general of the state, and Alfred W. Caverly, of Carrollton,
Thomas W. Neely, Isaac W. Steele and Jonathan H. Pugh, of Springfleld, John Rey
nolds, of Kankakee, William H. Brown, Benjamin Mills and George Parqueir, of Van
dalia; Murray McConnel, John Turney, Benjamin Cox and myself, of Jacksonville — of
whom Mr. Caverly and myself ate the only survivors, this 12lh of October 1883; he
eighty-one years old, and I near seventy-two.
In November, 1836, I first saw the Illinois river. The state of the water was too low
for the navigation of loaded flat-boats. Grass had grown up from the bottom so thick
and strong that ferry-boats could not be used without mowing the grass and opening the
way. Except in a channel, occupying a narrow space, I could not discover any current.
A short time after I reached Jacksonville I heard of the lime of the sales of the per
sonal property of Rev. Mr. Byrne, who had died in January previous. I went to that
sale expecting to meet some acquaintances from Kentucky. I met Mr. Thomas Gallon
and went home with him, and by him I was introduced to most of the settlers in that
prairie. The log buildings and unfinished frames, were at that day, as houses of wor
ship, few and far between. I am confident that during the winter of 1836-7 there was
not a comfortable meeting house in the county. Religious meetings were held in log and
unplastered frames, school houses and private dwellinj,s. In warm weather such meet
ings were often beld in barns and under arbours in ihe woods. The first sermon that I
ever heard in Jacksonville was in the fall of 1836, in the frame court house (subsequent
ly burnt), preached by a Baptist minister named Kenney, prepared for mothers, when
the only female in attendance was Mrs. Joseph Fairfield, who had no child. During the
winter of 182(i-7 and previous, as well as subsequently to that time, the meetings of the
Methodist Society were held at Mr. John Jordan's, who was well-known as Father Jor
dan. He occupied a double logcabin east of town, where now stands the building form
erly called "Berean College." During the service the females occupied one room and
the males the other, the beds being used for seals. During that winter the society of
Presbyterians, with Rev, John Brich, as their minister, met in the log school house oc
cupied by me during the week in the south side of the town, I acted as sexton, sweep
ing the house in the morning and building fires.
Father Brich, as he was called, though a bachelor, was an educated Scotchman,
but like many others was never able to make his learning avail him much as a public
speaker, but he was a devoted Christian.
Among the public improvements in the county designed for public benefit and
convenience, was the grist and saw mill at Exeter, owned by Enoch C. March; a band
horse mill for grinding corn, ownedby Capt. John Wyatt; also one owned by Mr Reeder,
and one tread wheel mill, owned by James Overton, Esq.; a grist and saw mill on

County Yolunteers for the Winnebago Indian War. 47
Indian Creek, owned by William Harrison and James Dinwiddle; a horse mill, owned
by Mr. A. Hall, near the head of Indian Creek; a saw mill, owned by Mr. James McGill,
on the Mauvaisterre. Mr. Abraham Johnson owned a cotton gin north of town.
I soon found two classes in society. Those from the north and east were called
"yankees" and those from the south and west "white people." The political division
was between the supporters of John Quincy Adams and General Andrew Jackson,
the yankees supporting Adams and the while people, Jackson. Most of those who had
voted for Mr. Clay supported Mr. Adams. "The election of August, 1826, had been
warmly contestedi between Gov. Edwards and Mr. Sloo for governor, and Daniel P.
Cook and Joseph Duncan for Congress. Edwards and Duncan were elected by a small
majority, though differing in politics. Duncan was one of the few public men who
never had credit for what he was worth.
In the summer of 1836, a young man named Carson, had been employed to teach
school in the court house, but" not meeting with such encouragement as he thought
would pay, abandoned his employers and left that neighborhood.
In July, 1827, Gov. Edwards received information on which he relied and acted,
that the Indians of the north-west, led by the Winnbagos intended to make war upon
the settlers and miners in the vicinity of Galena. He therefore authorized Col.
Thomas Neely, of Springfield, to accept of the services of any, number of mounted
volunteers, not exceeding six hundred, who would equip themselves and find their
own substance and continue iu service thirty days, unless sooner discharged. Upon
this call upwards of three hundred volunteers were obtained in the counties of Sanga
mon and Morgan, among whom I was one When the volunteers from Morgan reach
ed Peoria, the place of rendezvous, I was appointed quartermaster sergeant. I ac
companied the regiment to White Oak Springs, some ten or twelve miles from Galena,
where I remained several days, when the Colonel being satisfied that the further ser
vice of the regiment was not required, ordered the return home.
The regiment, composed of independent farmers and mechanics, was raised, organ
ized, marched to the White Oak Springs, and returned home in not exceeding thirty
days. Two of our Morgan County men were drowned in a branch of Crooked Creek
returning home. We had no baggage wagon from this county. My mess had a very
good tent, which very few of the other messes had. Having no baggage wagons, and
having to carry our provisions, arms, and equipments on horseback, we had but little
room for tents, even if they had been supplied. We slept on saddle-blankets, with
our heads on saddles, and for covering had overcoats and blankets; but during that
season of the year we had but little use for covering other than overcoats,
* * * "The question of pay was not considered of much consequence; it was
well understood that this depended on the action of Congress, and no fears were enter
tained of the success of General Duncan, our representative in Congress, in obtaining
the necessary appropriation. We were not disappointed, for appropriations were made
by the Congress of 1827-'38, and we were paid iu the Spring of 1828, the following
rates: Each sergeant major and quartermaster-sergeant, $9 per month; each drum and
fife major, $8.38 per month; sergeants, $8; each corporal, drummer, fifer and teamster,
$7.83; each farrier, saddler and artificer included as a private, $8; each gunner, bom
bardier, and private, $6.66. In addition to which we were paid for the use of horses,
arms a,nd accoutrements, and for the risk thereof, except for horses killed inaction,
ten cents per day. For rations, twenty-five cents per day, and one day's pay for fifteen
miles travel to the place of rendezvous and returning home." * * * *
Three companies were raised jn this county, one commanded by Wiley B. Green,
then sheriff of the county, numbering nearly one hundred, with John Wyatt first, and
James Evans second lieutenant. Jesse Ruble was orderly sergeant. The second
company was commanded by William Gordon, and numbered not more than forty.
Nathan Winter was first lieutenant. Captain Rodgers' command numbered the same
as Captain Gordon's. The names of the other officers I do not now remember I was
a volunteer in Captain Green's company. My messmates were Doct. H. G. Taylor,
McHenry Johnson, Enoch C. March, Samuel Blair, and a man uamed Biggs, a visitor
from Kentucky, Of these I am the only survivor. We were required lo take ten
days' provisions, during which time it was expected we would make Galena, where
additional supplies could be obtained. During our preparations to start we had con-
slant, heavy rains, which raised the livers, creeks, and branches to an unusual height.
The companies from this county made their way to Peoria in messes and squads,
swimming the streams not bridged. Upon the arrival of all the companies at Peoria,
Colonel Samuel "T. Matthews was elected lieutenant-colonel, and Elijah lies, of Spring-
field, major, who, because he rode a mule, was called the 'mule major.' So soon as
organized we left Peoria. James D. Henry (afterward General Henry), was appointed
adjutant. Dr. G. Jayne, of Springfield, surgeon, and Dr. Taylor assistant.
By the action of the Legislature in 1826- '37, the State was divided into four circuits .
To the first circuit, composed of counties bordering on the Illinois and Mississippi,
the Hon. Samuel D, Lockwood, of Jacksonville, was assigned. In the spring of 1827,
I attended all the counties in this circuit, Greene, Morgan, Sangamon, Peoria, Fulton,

48 The First School — Jurors in 1828 — First Court House.
Schuyler, Adams, Pike and Calhoun. The judges and lawyers traveled on horseback
and visited all the county seats After leaving Peoria we either took our dinners in
our saddle-bags or traveled all day without dinner. This circuit included all
the organized counties in the northwestern part of the State, including Jo Daviess,
I continued to attend the courts in this circuit until additional circuits were cre
ated. The rides were rather sources of pleasure and amusement than labor. Our li
braries consisted of Digests, Chilly's Pleading and Blackstone. I could relate many
incidents of trials, of travels, of swimming creeks, and the like.
Through the exertions of Mr. Thomas, coupled with those of other enterprising
citizens, an unfinished log cabin, originally intended for such a purpose, was so far
completed, and furnished in a primitive style, that it could be occupied as a school
house, and in it he taught the first school in the town. This identical one-story log
school house, located in the southeast part of the town, thus was the legitimate prede
cessor of all the halls of learning that Jacksonville can now boast of and Judge Thomas
the veritable professional ancestor of all the more than three hundred school teachers of
"the Athens of the West."
This cabin was also used as a place of worship by the Methodists ; and other denom
inations occasionally sent ministers to preach witliin its walls.
Mr. Atwood, already referred to, in July, 1883, when in his 79th year, wrote to the
postmaster of Jacksonville in regard to his arrival in this place, as follows:
"I removed from St Louis in June, 1825, and located myself in a corner of a dou
ble log cabin cm the east side of the common with a stock of goods fiu- a variety store;
lit that lime there were but eleven buildings in the place, a court house in the center
of the common, two taverns, three stores and a hall, all built of logs. I built the first
frame with a brick chimney inside of the house, located on the northeast corner of
Ihe common. I assisted in forming the Lodge of Free Masons, in a small hall on the
northwest side of the common, by singing, and at that time 1 assisted in singing for
the congregation at their communion season, although I was not a member of the church .
Father Brich was the minister at that time My first partner was E. C. March, ot Exe
ter, sixteen miles west of you; my next partner was H. G, Taylor; his wife and a daugh
ter, Louisa, then about two years old, was living at Jacksonville. I remember the names
of Hackett, Fairfield. Nicely. Rockwell (clerk of the county. I went to hie house to
board at first. ) McConnel, Cobb, Wiswall and others."
We here will quote the following record of county affairs as given in Donnelly,
Loyd & Go's. History:
The care of the poor, review of roads, justices' districts, and such matters, engaged
the attention of Ihe county court at its first sessions. As the county increased in popu
lation, its division into smaller road and justice's districts was made The first jury
lists are now lost. The first one preserved is that drawn for the April term of court in
18'28. The grand jury was composed of the following gentlemen: William Wood, Wil
liam Rodgers Frederick Bolinger. Samuel B. Jones, David Marks George M, Richards,
Allen B. Hughes, Larkin Brown, Matthew Elder, Nathan Compton. Joshua Crow, Solo
mon Penny, William Miller, George Camp, William Sharon. Ira A Hooker, William B.
Sclioit, Thomas Cowhick, Mariin Humphries, and Thomas Allen. Those composing
the "travers" jury, as it was called, were Richard Beall, Samuel Holloway. Charles W.
Horrell, Samuel Berry, Ellas Williams, James Mariin, Stephen Burrows, James D. Mor
rison, William Jarrod, Benjamin Shartzer, Peter Dew, Samuel White, David Hibbard,
Thomas Wiswall, Richard P. Carter, John Box, John Wilson, Andrew Armstrong,
James Taylor, Benjamin Case, William Wyatt, Solomon Perkins, Samuel Matthews, and
James Redman.
At the meeting of tbe county court on March 4, 1828, the county was divided into
seven road districts, which number was shortly greatly increased, so rapidly did the
counly fill with settlers. On the 6lh of the same month, the cr>urt ordered the clerk to
give notice that on the 10th of April following, the building of a court house would be
let to lesponsible bidders. At first the plan was to construct a brick building, two stor
ies high, forty feet square. On the 22d a special meeting of the commissioners was
called, and the plan altered, making the building fifty feet long and forty feet wide.
None of the bids offered for its construction were accepted, and no contracts made that
year. The next year the county commissioners were Joseph M. Pairfleld John Wyatt,
and Samuel Rogers, and at a meeting of this court on January 81, 1839, it was decided
to let tbe work in separate bide, and these were accordingly advertised. On the 14th of
March, the contracts for its construction were lei; the brick and stone work to Garrison
W. Berry and Henry Robley, for $1,730: tbe carpenter work to Rice Dunbar and Henry
Robley, for $1,350, and a few minor contracts to other individuals. On March 5, 1830,

Old Coukt-House, Jail and Poor-House. 49
contracts for finishing the court house, putting in windows, placing window-shutters in
place, with many other articles needed, was let to Rice Dunbar and Henry Blandford,
for $1,350; for lathing and plastering to Henry Robley and Isham Dallon, for $336. 63J;
lor painting to John Challon, for $389, and lo James Hurst, for tbe fioors $41. The
court house was accepted by the county commissioners al their meeting on September 8,
1830 The contractors and builders were paid in installments, as bad been agreed. The
total cost, when complete, was about $4,000. The building was the first brick house in
the counly, and occupied the central square of land on the south side of State street and
west of Main street. To meet the expense in the erection of this edifice, and for the
county revenue, a tax was ordered levied at the meeting of March 4tn, 1839, on all slaves,
indentured or registered, j.iegro or mulatto servants, on pleasure carriages, on distilleries,
on stock in trade, on live stock, and on all personal properly, except household furniture
— the ratio being one-half per cent. One per cent, was also established for the erection
of public buildings, in accordance with an act passed by the General Assembly.
This court house remained in use urtil it was superseded by the present commodious
sliurture, completed m 1868. It bad served theccunty thirty-eight years, and then gave
way to its handsome i-ucceFi-or. It had for some time been the desire of the citizens gen
erally that it should be removed trom its position, and the square left for an ornament
lo the town. The "old court house," as it was called, was also inadequate to the increas
ing demands of tbe countj', and was, when the "new courthouse" was erected, pulled
down and the material used elsewhere. The present structure is one of the finest in the
West, and is unusually safe from fire. It is constructed almost entirely of stone and
iron; the fir-it named material being obtained from the quarrit-s at Joliet.
The old jail was built of hewed limbers, each was about one foot square, and every
w;-ill ,fas made double. Between these double walls, upright pieces of limber, of the
same dimensions as that used in tbe wall, were placed, so that if a criminal attempted to
escape by culling through the wall, these inner pieces would, when a section was cut out
of one ot them, drop down, and thus the process would have lobe repeated until the
whole would be cut away 1 his would take more lime than any criminal could ute
wilhoul being detected, and it is doubtful if tbe process was ever attempted. Al the
meeting of the county court, cm March 9, 1883, it was decided to erect a new jail, and
the clerk of thai court was ordered lo advertise in the Illinois Patriot, for sealed propos
als from builders for its construction. It w-as determined it should be built of brick and
stone, and the (ontract for that part of the construction was, at a subsequent meeting,
awarded to Abram DeWitt, for about eighteen hundred dollars. The carpenter work
to Ebenezer Miller, for nearly fifteen hundred dollars The jail was completed in 1833,
its entire cost being about thirty-five hundred dollars.
This jail was the stronghold of detaining criminals many years. It, in turn, also be
came unsafe through the lapse ot years, and was declared unfit for use In the spring of
1864 steps were taken for the erection of a more substaniial jail. The old one was pro
nounced unsafe and uncomfortable by the county commibsioners, who decided to erect a
new one. After mature deliberation, it was decided to construct the building with iron
cells, and Hon. Stephen Dunlap, a member of the court, was instructed to proceed to
Cincinnati, Ohio, with a compi lent mechanic, and make arrangements for its construc
tion. Mr. Jesse T. Newman had offered $3,000 for the old lot and jail. It was decided lo
accept this offer, auo purchase another site. Ait-r exami-dng various offered sites, a lot
owned by Mr. John Tiabue was selected and he was paid for the same $3,500. Work on
Ihe jail was soon after begun, and prosecuted until its completion. The building cost
$37,500, and is yet in use
The keeping of the counly poor has always been a serious question in the manage
ment of county affairs At first they were '-farmed out," as it was termed, that is given
to suitable persons to keep. These were obligated to provide a reasonable maintenance.
In case the person kept was able to work, the one keeping him could obtain a partial
recompense in that manner, and in addition was given an allowance from the county
treasury. Minors were bound out until of age, and the person lo whom they were given
was requiied to provide for Ihem schooling a reasonable length of time during the year.
These and various methods were tried in the early days of the West, but did not at all
times prove satisfactory. With all due diligence, in some cases the poor would fall into
the hands of those who only desired gain by their labors, and who cared nothing for their
moral advancement. Minors would often be mistreated and unprovided with the means
of education, and the moral training wholly neglected.
The earliest attempts to keep this class of people by the county were made about
1840. A poor-farm was established a few miles north of Jacksonville, and many of them
sent there for keeping. The house was not built expressly for this purpose, having been
a residence, but was used. Additions were made lo it in 1847, when Joseph Heslop wa9
superintendent, as the accommodations were not such as were desired. At this time insane
persons were kept by the county. Miss Dix, a woman who devoted her life to this un
fortunate class of humanity, and whose history is given in connection with that of the

50 Miss Dix and the County's Poor — The First School District.
Insane Asylum, elsewhere in this volume, came about this time to Morgan county and
visited the'poor-house. Finding all classes of the poor kept together, and no provision
for the insane, she rigorously set to work to remedy the evil. She visited the county
commissioners and urgently importuned them to sell the property and purchase elsewhere.
She selected a site just east of the city, and succeeded in her purpose. t)n July 13, 1847,
James H. Lurton was appointed agent, on behalf of the county, to purchase fourteen
acres at a price not to exceed fifty dollars per acre. Before the purchase was made the
number of acres was increased to thirty. On September 10th the old poor-house, and
property belonging thereto, was ordered to be sold. An addition to the new location was
purchased of W. B. Warren, in 1854, for four thousand dollars. In accordance with the
views of Miss Dix, a building for the use and care of the insane was erected, in addition
to the building intended for the paupers, and new and improved methods adopted in the
treatment of all.
¦ The farm was occupied until 1867. The city's growth had reached the grounds, and
advantageous offers were made to the county for the property. As the population of the
county had increased, the number of poor augmented until more land and more accom
modations were necessary. Land adjoining the farm was too valuable for such purposes,
and the county commissioners decided to sell the properly, and, by going farther from
the city, purchase more land. On January 27, 1866, in accordance with an order of this
court, the county farm, and all property therewith, was sold at public sale to Joseph R
Askew and John T. Springer for $13,375. These persons soon after Isid the farm out in
town lots, and as such it is now known as Askew and Springer's addition to Jacksonville.
This sale necessitated a new location. The most eligible site, offering timber for fuel,
was the farm of Cornelius Goltra, about three miles northwest of tbe city. This farm, of
two hundred acres, was purchased for about $18,000, and the present poor-house built
thereon. It is a good structure, capable of accommodating all those who may call upon
the county for keeping, and is excellently managed. In ordinary years the farm bears a
large share of tbe expense, and furnishes employment to all inmates able to work.
The erection of the several county buildings has now been conclusively stated, and
it will be well before closing this chapter to note the various divisions of the county.
From its earliest existence, as settlements increased, the justices' and road districts were
set off, and their boundaries determined. On June 30, 1828, the county was divided into
five election precincts, known as Jacksonville, Exeter, Sandy, Apple Creek, and Clay
Creek precincts. The judges appointed foreach district were: Joseph Klein, John Leep
er, Aaron Wilson, Jacksonville; Daniel Lieb, Baxter Broadwell, and Daniel Burbank,
Exeter. James Hatchiu, Alexander Walls, and Alvin Coe, Sandy; John Lappington,
John Williams, aud Thomas Luttrell, Apple Creek; Thomas Gallon, William Summers,
Joshua Crow, Clay Creek. Indian Creek precinct was nol long after added, and William
Lager, Isaac R. Bennett, and Aquilla Hall appointed judges of election. AU those
named were to serve two years from the dates of the appointments. On the next day
after the division of the county into election precincts, the trustees for the school sections
were appointed. On June 8, 1831, William Thomas was appointed school agent on be
half of the county to sell these sections, and thereby create a school lund. His bond was
$12,000, and he, with his characteristic honesty, discharged his duties faithfully. It is
doubtful if the National Congress ever passed an act, which resulted in equal benefit to
the people, as this one. Three years before Judge Thomas' appointment, on Sept. 2,
1838, the Mound school district was established; probably the first school district, at least
the first on record, in the counly. At this time no bridges were built for the accommo
dation of travelers. All crossing of streams was done by ferries, the owners of which
were allowed to charge a fee, regulated, like tavern licenses, by the county court. On
the day the trustees for the school sections were appointed, the rates of ferriage over the
Illinois River were established as follows:
'¦For each four-horse or ox team and carriage, seventy-five cents; for each two-horse
or ox team and carriage, fifty cents; for each one-horse and carriage, thirty-seven and
one-half cents; for each man and horse, twelve and a half cents; for each footman, six
and a fourth cents; for each head of loose horses or cattle, six and a fourth cents; for
each head of hogs, sheep or goats, three cents, " These were the common rates charged.
The price of license was according to the location. At Beard's ferry it was four dollars ;
at Green's, two dollars, and at Phillips', three. Others were charged like amounts.
Enough has now been told to give an intelligent idea of the acts of the counly as a
corporate body. At every meeting of tbe county court new tavern and terry licenses
were issued. Prominent among the names appearing on the records are those of Joseph
Bently, Nathan H, Gest, Abraham Vance, Abraham DeWitt, and Thomas Bently, all of
whom were licensed to "keep tavern" in the county seat, and the majority of whom paid
five dollars fee. Ira Kelley was licensed to open a house of entertainment in Exeter,
Thomas Beard at his ferry, Archibald J. Hiie at a mill on Sandy Creek, Jacob Ekel-
burner at Naples, and others at different places, as the county filled with settlers, and the
needs of the country required. These persons' rales of charges were all fixed, and, as

Cows Worth $5.00 Each — Corn Five Cents Per Bushel. 51
will be seen by the reader in those quoted elsewhere, included wine, gin, rum, cordial and
whisky. The increase in population also demanded new road districts, which from time to
time were made. New polling places were also established, and we find as early as 1830,
Jacksonville had so increased in inhabitants, that on June 8th of that year an additional
voting place was made therein. The next year Stephen R. Bartlett and Isaac Negus
were licensed to sell clocks. The former, being a nonresident, was charged twenty-five
dollars for the privilege, while the latter, a resident, was charged half that sum, Knapp
& Pogue, B. Ayers and Francis Arenz paid ten dollars for the privilege of opening a store
and doing businessin the county seat. At the meeting of the commissioners' court on March
9. 1831, the following firms were licensed lo sell goods in the county. From the number
the reader will readily perceive the increase in population and commerce a lapse of five
years had produced in Morgan county. The list with the rates of charges for the license
is herewith appended as given on thai day:
Alexander T. Douglas, five dollars; James Dunlap & Co., twelve dollars and fifty
cents; Nathan H. Gest, seven dollars and fifty cents; N. and N. H. Johnson and Joshua
D. Austin, five dollars each; John P. Wilkinson, the same as James Dunlap & Co.;
Archibald T. Hite, Joseph M. Fairfield, William Hunter, and Davenport & Henderson,
each five dollars; Hook & Wiswall and James P. Coddington & Co., seven dollars and
fifty cents each, and Gillett & Gordon, fifteen dollars, making a total amount received
that day from this source, ninety-seven dollars and fifty cents. Tavern licenses had by
this time raised, as we find F, C. Maupin was charged eleven dollars lo open such a house
on Apple Creek, and five dollars to 'vend merchandise therein."
By an act of the legislature, approved April 23, 1831. James Green, John Henderson,
and Joseph Cloud were appointed commissioners "to survey and lay out" a stale road
from Henderson's Grove in Montgomery county to Jacksonville, and afterward John
Green and Abraham Vance were appointed to lay out this road through the county to
Naples on the river. This road was reviewed from Jacksonville to Naples by Abraham
Vance, John Green and Alexander Wells, and thereby finally established. 'Throughout
the county's existence its several acts as a corporate body have be similar to those nar
rated, being cbanged as the exigencies required, and as the increase in population, wealth
and commerce demanded. The counly is yet under the old form of government, the
township form not being adopted. Three commissioners comprise the county court, and
attend to all business relating to the commonwealth.
Gen. Murray McConnel, in a historical address delivered at the laying of the cor
ner stone of the present Morgan county court house. May 12, 1868, (see cut next page)
made the following reference to the first seat of justice, its successor and the leading
lawyers of those early daj's :
"The first court house was built in Jacksonville, in the year 1826, and in that day
it was as good a court house as the stale of the county finances could afford. It was
a frame building set on blocks sawed from a round log, and of course, we laid no cor
ner stone under it, as we are now doing with this great building. That house was
located on the northwest corner of the public square in Jacksonville, and cost about
four hundred and fifty dollars, and although it was a cheap court house, I have no
doubt but that as pure justice was administered therein as ever will be in this great,
costly and magnificent building.
In connection with this low priced court house, it should be remembered, that our
people were new settlers and poor, and that our counly revenue that year was but
$758 00, and out of that we had to pay $55.75 collector's fees, and to lose a pretty large
delinquent list, as our inhabitants were constantly on the move, and, as I told you,
generally poor people. We should remember, too, thai a good horse in those days in
this county, was only worth about thirty dollars in trade. A good cow was worth
four or five dollars. Pork from sixty lo seventy-five cents per hundred, and beef was
not generally sold at all. Corn, where it was sold at all, brought five cents per bushel,
seller delivering it in the purchaser's crib. Wheat about thirty cents per bushel.
Potatoes were worth from five to ten cents per bushel, and everything raised by the
farmers bore about such prices, and this was not generally paid in monej', but in
other property called trade, such as honey, beeswax, furs, &c., &c. The truth is
that there was no market for anything the farmer raised, nearly everybody raised their
own provisions and only a few had anything to sell, and if they had, there was nobody
to purchase it. Every dollar that was brought to the country was paid into the land
office for land, and thereby the country was constantly kept drained of money, and if
any one had more money than they wanted to lay out in land, it could be loaned at
one hundred lo one hundred and fifty per cent, per annum I loaned a part of the
money to enter the land at one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre whereon this city
is laid out, at one hundred aijd twenty-five per cent, per annum.

MORGAN COUNTY OOUHT HOUSE, ERECTED

1868.

The Local Bar from 182-5 to 1845. 53
But to return to the subject of the court houses, about which I was speaking — the
first court house was burned on the sixth of December, 1837, and with it was destroy
ed all the records of the circuit and county courts of the county, and some deeds for
lands belonging to citizens in the recorder's office. To supply its place another court
house was built in 1839, of brick, and costing about four thousand dollars. In this
house, the people of Morgan county have met and held court, discussed public matters
and nominated candidates for nearly forty years. In it some of the great men of the
nation made their first debut. There one of our greatest statesmen and orators, Stephen
A. Douglas, made his first law-argument, and presided as one of the judges of the su
preme and circuit courts of this state, and in that house, by a meeting of his friends,
he was first nominated for congress, where he did honor to the state that elected him,
and by his powerful talent rose to be an equal to the greatest man of the nation.
In that court house the energetic and talented John J. Hardin commenced his
brilliant career. There he, too, was first nominated to congress, where, by his energy,
tact, and talent in an uncommonly short space of time, he rose to eminence in the
councils of the nation. His bright and promising future was brought to an untimely
end on the bloody field of Buena Vista in Mexico. There he fell with McKee, Clay,
and other brave men, bravely fighting the battles of his country.
In that old court house, also, did the kind-hearted and polished gentleman, the
highly talented statesman, and profound lawyer, James A. McDougal, late senator in
congress from California, but now deceased, commence his career as a practicing
ing lawyer. In that house, too, the young man of brilliant mind, a good lawyer and a polished
writer, John L McConnel, born and educated in Morgan county, made his maiden
speech as an attorney at the bar, but like the memorable Hardin, he, too, fought and
was wounded at the battle of Buena Vista, and although he was not, like Hardin, left
dead upon the fleld, yet, that most painful wound brought him to an untimely grave,
in the midst of his youth and usefulness.
In addition lo these, I could mention Governor Joseph Duncan, Judge John Tur
ney, John W. Evans, Josiah Lamborn, Myron Leslie, Waller Jones, Jesse B. Thomas,
Governor Thomas Ford, and Abraham Lincoln, and many others whose names are
intimately connected in memory with the old and crumbling walls of that old court
house, but whose bones are now mouldering in the dust and whose names are written
among the dead. But I will not pursue the mournful subject further. I will only ask
that the dust of the falling edifice may be respected for the good it has done, and for
the noble and honorable heads it has sheltered in by-gone years.
Since that court house was built, there have been two powerful and wealthy coun
ties made out of Morgan county, and the people of the county as the same is now cur
tailed, have risen from a few hundred in number lo many thousands, and from an an
nual county revenue of six or seven hundred dollars to near eighty-four thousand,
and our county collector, instead of getting fifty or sixty dollars, as then, when the
three counties were all Morgan county, now receives overfive thousand dollars in fees
per annum from the county with its present boundaries, for collecting the revenue
including the school fund. Notwithstanding all this great advancement and increase
of wealth, our county is yet comparatively new, there not being one-half the tillable
land in the county in useful and profitable cultivation, and, I assert the fact here now,
that more improvements are being made in this county than in any former period.
I will read to you a list of the various judges who have presided in the circuit
courts of this county, and also a list of the names of the lawyers who have resided in
this counly from its organization to the year 1845. I do this to put their names on
record if anyone should desire to refer to the list:
Judges— John Reynolds, John York Sawyer, Samuel D. Lockwood, Stephen T,
Logan, Jesse B. Thomas, Thomas Ford, Stephen A Douglas, William Thomas, Wil
liam Brown, David M. Woodson, Charles D. Hodges.
Lawyers— John Turney, Murray McConnel, J. Quimby, Benjamin Cox, William
Thomas, James Berdan, P M. Irwin, John J Hardin, Waller Jones, David Evans,
John W. Evans, Josiah Lamborn, James A. McDougal, Stephen A Douglas, A. H.
Buckner, Myron Leslie, Henry B McClure, William Brown, S. G. Anderson, A. S.
Manning, T. J. Deumus, C. J. Drake, Charles Jones.
Of the first school teaching in this city, Judge Thomas has said :
Not being able to obtain other employment, out of which to pay for board, and be
ing ou*of funds, I engaged to teach school for three months, upon the old plan of
obtaining subscribers for scholars. A log building had been erected, and used for a
school house, in the south part of town, having no floor, chimney, doors, windows or
loft, which I was to occupy. In the month of November the house was finished, with
an unjointed floor and loft, a sod and stick chimney, one window in the east and two
in the north, with slabs for seats and wide plank for writing tables, and on the first
Monday in December my school was opened in due form. About twenty-five scholars
had been, subscribed, with the understanding that each subscriber might send all the

54 A Double Wedding — Judge Woods and D. G. Henderson,
children that he could spare from service at home, I agreed to teach reading, writing,
and the ground rules of arithmetic. I had scholars to learn A, B, C's, spelling, read
ing, writing and arithmetic, and two only to study English grammar. I attended
punctually every morning by seven o'clock, made a fire and had the room warm by
the time the children arrived. Very soon I found that the Kentucky lawyer was giv
ing general satisfaction, and the house was filled with children from the town and
neighborhood, several families sending their children in the winter. I was to receive
my pay in cash or produce, pork, cattle or hogs at cash prices. I bargained with
Mr. Bentley with whom I boarded to receive the pay from my subscribers for my
board, and my three months school enabled me to pay for a year's board, besides
furnishing money to pay postage and immediate expenses. My board cost me only
$1.00 per week, including washing, food and lights. Mr., Bentley had two log cabins,
one was given up to Dr. Chandler and myself, and the other was occupied by his fami
ly. The winter was cold, in the east rain, but here more snow than has been usual
since. loftenhad as many as fif ty children in the school, and scarce ever less than thir
ty. It required about 10 hours any day to hear the routine of lessons and frequently 12.
As an illustration of manners, customs, food, etc., at this time we are tempted to
give a traditional report of a double wedding in the county, in the year 1835.
It was, it is said, a double affair. Nancy Cole and Joe Cole were married lo Joe
Porter and Nancy Porter respectively. The first day Joe Cole and Nancy Porter were
married. On the next day .Toe Porter and Nancy Cole were married On the third
day an "infare" was given by Guinn Porter, who lived at what is now known as the
Dr. Lurton place, in Arcadia township, Morgan counly, at his residence (consisting of
a cabin of one room), A puncheon-table groaned beneath the weight of the good
things that day. The menu was: Lye hominy, dried venison, boiled venison, fried
venison, wild turkey, prairie chickens, pork in every style, wild honey, dried pump
kin, turnips boiled and raw, the latter being a substitute for apples, of which they
had none, hickory nuts, walnuts, pecans, and whisky, (brought from Naples on horse
back.) All were invited for miles around, and nobody sent their regrets, but turned
out en masse to the number of twenty or thirty, Sam Bristow, a "forty gallon Bap
tist,'' performed the marriage rites at the weddings and was on hand at the "infare."
Before we pass beyond the year 1826, we must note the arrival of Samuel Woods
afterwards a member of the legislature and judge of the county court of commission
ers, and in 1884 one of the largest land owners and heaviest tax-payers in Morgan.
In an address at one of the annual meetings of the "Old Settlers' Association," he said :
"We came to this county in 1826, and settled nearly in the same place that we how
live. There was only one business building in town and that was a small log cabin with
a door so low that a man had to stoop to enter, "there was neither school house nor
church in the county. But we always managed to go to church. We nearly always had
to go in ox carts. We had no nails, pins or needles There were four families thai only
baa one needle between them. Thorns were used for pins and pieces of gourds covered
with cloth for buttons. Now we have everything that man can desire, and if we are not
happy it is our own fault. We had to go to St, Louis to do our trading, and it took two
weeks to make the trip one way and now I can go to St, Louis and back in one day, and
do more business than I could do then,
I never had a great deal of schooling. I graduated at Sulphur Springs. My mother
and father went once a month to the head of Indian Creek to church."
Another settler of '26, but one who passed away in 1882 — Mr. David G. Henderson
— came from Apple Creek, Greene county, to Jersey prairie in Morgan, in April of that
year. He purchased a cabin giving in payment a cow valued at $10, He rented some
land but his first corn crop proved a failure. At harvest time he returned to Apple
Creek, a distance of over forty miles, with a sickle in his hand to reap a patch of wheat.
Said wheat was threshed the old way, and carried to a tread mill near Alton, -where it
was ground, and then taken home, where it delighted the family, who had been so long
without good bread, and "Uncle Davie" was wont to say "it was delicious, and tasted
better than any sweet cake that he had ever eaten since that time." Mr. Henderson
held the office of constable for eight years, ju.stice of the peace for sixteen years, <and
township treasurer for twenty-eight years, without a single doubt as to his honor and
integrity as a public official. In 1847 we notice his name as county commissioner,
which position brought him in contact with many of the leading citizens of the county.

The First Babies — The Revs. Ellis and Liupinoott. 55
In fact nearly all the time from his arrival in '26 to the end of his long and successful
career, he served the people in some official capacity.
An arrival in the family of Mr. Dennis Rockwell the county clerk, during the same
eventful year made William Rockwell, of this city, the oldest native resident of Jack
sonville. Buker Daniels another present resident, was born a little later, making them
the first two males born in the village and now living in it. The first child, however,
born in Jacksonville, was a daughter in the family of Mr. and Mrs. George Rearick.
Mrs. Catherine Carson was the mother of the first male child born in Jacksonville.
She named him Alexander Woffendall. He was born December 21, '25, and died
August 10, '33.
A history of .laolisonville with the rise and progress of her institutions of learning
omitted, would indeed be like the great play of Shiikespeare with the title role omitted.
So in this chapter we must chronicle the founding of both Illinois College and .lack
sonville Female Academy — twin sisters in a bright galaxy of mind-training stars. The
thought from which both sprang maybe ascribed to Rev- John M. Ellis, of whom it has
been well said — he "came to Illinois — a messenger inspired and sent of God to cry
throughout the land 'prepare the way to build churches and schools for the incoming
population that will flood these rich prairies.' "
The late Dr. L. M. Glover, in an historical address, described him as
"A man not at all distinguished except with a wise foresight of the needs of form
ing society, and a singular zeal in iirojecting educational schemes with which he had no
thought of sustaining any personal relation whatever. He had the genius which proposes
good things and successfully invites co operation in realizing them. His thoughts were
not seemingly great, but they were such as might not occur to others, and they proved to
be seed thoughts in not a few instances. His mission was that of a fore-runner; his
specific work was not with superstructures, but with foundations; when he had staked
out one enterprise and assured himself that it would go forward, he passed on to another;
and his life was fruitful in suggestions that did not vanish with the breath that uttered
them, but took form and have become incorporated among the influences which will
prove a permanent blessing lo society, the land, and world."
Mr. Ellis came to Illinois to labor as a minister under the direction of the Ameri
can Home Missionary Society. For two years, amid other duties, he was maturing a
plan for a seminary of learning, and was exploring the counties of Randolph, Bond,
Madison, Greene and other counties for the best location.
At Edwardsville, at Kaskaskia, everywhere his constant effort was to awaken in
the hearts of others an interest in the subject like that which glowed in his own. Nor
did he allow the indifference or the incredulity which he often met, to cool his zeal or
hinder his eflorts. Through the press, in the pulpit, at the fireside, with unfiagging
zeal he pressed the question, "how shall the means of education be furnished to meet
the wants of this growing state V" In Bond county, where the first Presbyterian church
organized in the state was located, he found sympathy and awakened interest, and ef
forts were made for the location of a seminary there, but before any decisive -steps were
taken Judge LockMood, of Jacksonville, and Dr. Todd, of Springfield, dining witli Rev.
T. Lippincott, the friend and helper of Mr. Ellis, suggested that the new counties of
Morgan and Sangamon should be visited before a location for the school should be
finally decided upon. From this hint resulted a visit to Jacksonville from Messrs. El
lis and Lippincott and the selection of College Hill in our city, where, soon after, the
first building was erected, and within five or six years after the walls of the south half of
what is now known as the "library building" were lifted up, all the land within three
miles of Jacksonville rose in value at least a thousand per cent., and has never since de
preciated. Previous to closing the contract securing the college site, an association
>of young men in New Haven, Conn., bound themselves together for an effort to build a
college in the opening West. Correspondence with Mr. Ellis decided them to operate
in Jacksonville. Pledges to the amount of nearly $2,000 and two valuable tracts of
land had been secured here, and Rev. Julian M. Sturtevant came from New Haven
with assurances of $1,000 more.

56 Illinois College Founded.
Those young men, then studying theology at Yale College, were Mason Grosvenor,
Theron Baldwin, John F. Brooks, Elisha Jenney, William Kirby, Asa Turner and J.
M. Sturtevant. They were planning to go west, as home missionaries, and to establish a
christian college wherever their lot was cast, and to-day, nearly sixty years later, one of
them — ex-president Sturtevant — is in the faculty of Illinois College, whicli, since its
foundation, by him and his fellow students, has sent forth its hundreds of gi-aduates
to adorn the highest places in the religious, political and intellectual kingdoms of this
great country and to carry the Gospel of Jesus Christ into the remotest corners of the

According to Dr. Sturtevant in his quarter-century celebration discourse in 1855,
Messrs. John M. Ellis and Thomas Lippincott were acting as a committee of the Pres
bytery of Missouri (^ which, by a stretch of territorial jurisdiction which now looks
rather grasping, then embraced the whole state of Illinois as well as Missouri) when
they selected the site now owned and occupied by Illinois College. The next spring
(1828) they reported their plan to that presbytery, and that body rejected their report,
and refused to give the scheme any support or countenance.
Their "outline of a plan for the institution of a seminary in Illinois" was circulated
through Bond, Sangamon, Morgan and other counties ; also a subscription paper in which
the articles solicited in subscription, etc., were, besides cash, building materials, land,
stock, wheat, books, bedding, furniture, etc. The subscribers promised to pay to Sam
uel D. Lockwood, John Leeper, Hector G. Taylor, Ero Chandler, Dennis Rockwell,
William C. Posey, Enoch C. March, Archibald Job, Nathan Compton, Morgan county —
John Allen, Greene county — James McClung, Bond county — John Tilson, Jr., Montgom
ery county — John Todd, Sangamon county, and William Collins, Madison county, the
Trustees of said Seminary, or tlieir agent, the sums set opposite their names respective
ly, in aid of the institution. This instrument was dated May 1st, 1828.
To this plan about $8,000, was subscribed. Then the Yale students heretofore men
tioned, says one of them, (Dr. Sturtevant :)
"Offered to furnish the proposed institution the sum of $1,000, provided the pre
vious subscribers would consent to certain modifications of their plans, deemed by
the New Haven men necessary to the perm^ent prosperity of the institution." The
subscribers were seen personally, and the written consent of every one of them ob
tained to the proposed modifications of the plan to which they subscribed, on certain
conditions. On the 18th of December, 1829, in the south half of the old college building now
standing, and known in 1884 as Phi Alpha Hall, at that time in process of erection,
amid carpenter's benches, shavings and piles of lumber, a meeting was held of the
original subscribers, and two gentlemen, Theron Baldwin and J. M. Sturtevant, rep
resenting the young men at Yale College. The conditions on which the proposed
modifications of the plan had been agreed to were formally fulfilled.
A board of trust was organized, and the institution was christened "Illinois College.''
The first Monday of the following January saw nine students assembled, with J. M.
Sturtevant the only instructor.
Of the origin of the name "Illinois College," and Mr. Ellis' connection. Dr. Sturte
vant says :
"On motion of Hon. James Hall, of Vandalia, well known in the literary world
both before and since that time, it has unanimously resolved that the institution be
called Illinois College.
'"'*'* The proposed institution had up to that time always been called the sem
inary at Jacksonville, or the Jacksonville seminary, or as it was generally pronounced
in the speech of the time, "siroinery." It was never called the college, much less
Illinois College. To me, and I think to all present, Judge Hall's motion was a sur
prise. I saw no objection to it and it passed unanimously without any discussion. ¦*
* ¦* '" Mr. Ellis did not first conceive the idea of founding a college at Jacksonville.
That idea originated with the association. It was distinctly in their minds to found a
college before they ever heard of Mr Ellis. Their attention was turned to Illinois
and to Jacksonville by correspondence with him. ****** The reason that
Mr Ellis was not conspicuously associated with the management of Illinois College
in after years was, that he soon after these events ceased to be the pastor of the First
Presbyterian church of Jacksonville, and for that reason lefl the place and State."

The Academy and the Common Schools. 57
Turning now to the founding of the Female Academy, we quote from the semi
centennial address of Dr. Glover :
"Almost every enterprise begins somewhat before the recorded beginning; begins
in the original thought, the incipient suggestion, the pregnant inquiry, from which at
length it starts into form and becomes fact Somewhere, in some single mind, by
some unknown process, in some moment of solitary reflection, or in some season of
earnest prayer, there springs the idea of a project which seems worthy, and, with the
idea, a desire to realize it. Thus secretly and silently, divine providence often plants
the seed of something valuable in the mind of an humble person not intent upon am
bitious ends except as ambition is worthily related to the best interests of the human
race and the glory of God, This seminary is no exception to> such an origin. The
thought from which it sprang is confidently ascribed to Rev, John M, Ellis, the first
Presbyterian pastor in this place,"
One of the first meeting houses erected for the worship of Almighty God was about
eight miles east of Jacksonville, near Col. Samuel T. Matthews', by the Cumberland
Presbyterians, and Needham Roach was the preaclier. In 1829 the Presbyterians erected
the first meeting house or church in Jacksonville, onthe corner of West State and Church
streets, and Rev. John M. Ellis was the preacher. He was installed in 1828.
In. 1828 John P. Wilkinson built the first brick house or store in Jacksonville, on
the southeast corner of East State street (then called Springfield street), which, -with
slight changes stands there to-day. The Carson tavern, already referred to, was a two
story log house on the east cjuarter of the public square, and now stands on East Mor
gan street and is occupied as a dwelling house by his daughter, Mrs. Vail.
In another portion of this chapter will be found Judge William Thomas' experi
ence as a teacher, during tlie winter of 1826 and '27. He states that at that time there
was an unfinished log house, situated in the south part of town, which had been built
for what had always been known as the "West Disti ict School." The building was
used as a school house, the upper story being used by the Masonic fraternity as a lodge
room. When the growth of the district demanded more school room, the Masons with
drew from the room occupied by them, and it was used for school purposes.
A few years after the erection of this building, the east district, or that part of the
town lying east of the pubjic square, built two school houses, in which' school was at
once opened. Under the formation of these two districts the schools of Jacksonville
were maintained until the adoption of the city charter in 1867. When tha buildings
already mentioned became too small for the school populatian of the growing town,
rooms were rented in various parts of the town, so that all who desired the benefit of a
free scliool could be accommodated. Private schools were also opened at different
times and were generally well patronized.
On January 22, 1829, the General Assembly passed an act providing for a Commis
sioner in each county to sell each sixteenth section therein, that funds for common
school purposes might be established. In accordance with the provisions of this act.
Judge Thomas was appointed Commissioner for Morgan county. This duty the .Judge
faithfully discharged. About 1883 or '34, a public meeting of the citizens of Jackson
ville was held to take action in regard to the establishment of a school in their midst.
This being prior to the act of 1839, and no provision being made for township organiza
tion, it was decided to support the school by private subscription. This method of sup
port was used for some time.
Returning again to political matters, we learn from Judge Thomas, that in 1826,
Archibald Job, who died in 1874, after passing his 90th year, was elected to the sen.ate
from this district then composed of the counties of Morgan, Pike, Adams, Schuyler,
Fulton and Peoria. During a service of eight years, his constituents never had cause
to regret his election, nor to complain of his want of devotion to their interest. He
maintained the character of an honest, fearless, intelligent and industrious representa
tive. Jn 1820 he was again a candidate for the senate, but was defeated, not because of

58 Taxes from 1826 to '36 — Dram Shop License.
any complaint of his previous action, or any want of confidence in his ability and integrity,
but because the Whig party, with which he was identified, was in the minority. -Upon
the passage of the law providing for the building of the State house at Springfield, be
cause of his known integrity and intelligence, he was appointed one of the State house
commissioners. A new court house was erected in 1829-'30, and was the second brick building in the
county. The early records having been destroyed by fire, we can give no list of county
officers earlier than 1828, viz :
Representative in Congress, Joseph Duncan ; Representatives in State Legislature,
William L. May, Wiley B. Green, William Thomas; County Commissioners, Joseph M.
Fairfield, Samuel Rogers, John Wyatt; Sheriff, Samuel T, Matthews; Coroner, William
Jarred, As to taxes in these primeval days, one of our old settlers, D. G. Henderson, writes
to the Journal in 1875, that his tax receipts show as follows:
1826 50 cents; 1827 50 cents, J, M. Fairfield, sheriff; 1828 55 cents, Wiley B. Green
sheriff; 1829, $3, Cyrus Matthews, sheriff; 1830, 87}^ cents, Samuel T. Matthews, sher
iff; 1832 $1, 1833 $2.20, 1834 $2.40, 1885 $2,40, William Orear, sheriff; 1836 $3.40, Alex
ander Dunlap sheriff.
He adds : Now I could go on for forty years more, for I have every one neatly filed
away. No other man could have kept the first receipts, for they are written on old
newspaper not more than two or three inches square. Since paying these heavy tax bills,
the real estate that I have accumulated and given to my children is now worth $80,000
or more, all being in Morgan county except one farm, which is in Menard county.
The entire amount paid in for taxes in the then county of Morgan, in 1827, was
$753.20, the population was then 7,000. Fifty years later in the same territory it was
45,000. In view of these latter day discussions of the dram-shop and license question we
here copy a document which is preserved in record in the county clerk's office — the
third tavern and liquor license ever issued by our county commissioners. The date is
1827. George M. Richards having this day applied to this court for a license to keep a
tavern : It is ordered that said Richards be licensed to keep a tavern in the town of
Jacksonville for the term of one year, from the date hereof, upon paying to the coun
ly $5.00. Whereupon he executed his bond, with Chas. Luttrell as his security, and the
court established his rates for selling as foUpws, to wit:
For rum, brandy, gin, wine and whisky i35 cents per half pint; for meal of victuals
25 cents; for lodging 6i cents; for horse f^'ed, corn or oats 18i cents; keeping horse
over night, 25 cents.
As will be readily seen lodging, feed and drinks in the ancient days when Jackson
ville was but a hamlet upon theijirairies cost considerably less money than they do now.
As to the use of intoxicating liquor in harvest fields, Mr. J. Gorham, father of Josiah
Gorham, now of Champaign county, claims ^he credit of being the first farmer in this
county who refused to furnish ardent spirits to laborers employed in the harvest field
and in raising a barn ; he furnished as a substitute ginger beer and butter milk.
Mr. Silas Massey, who bought land here in 1826 and lived here from 1832, was
another farmer, if not the first in Morgan county, who succeeded in having his harvest
ing done without whisky, and when the men declined to work without it, told teem he
could just turn in his hogs, and they would take care of the wheat, and not say whisky
once ; but they thought better of it, and the wheat was harvested in good condition, and
from that time no liquor was allowed in his fleld.
In 1833 Mr. Timotliy Chamberlain refused to give his farm hands liquor, substituting
• ginger beer and coffee.
We cannot give a better description of the appearance of the place in 1827 than by
quoting from the Journal a report of a speech made to the old settlers of Morgan coun
ty at one of their annual love feasts, by Hon. Newton Cloud, since deceased :

"Before the Deep Snow." 59
He said he located here in 1837, three years before the great snow. When he set
tled here the great prairies were covered with flowers, in their native luxuriance, and
were untrodden by the foot of the white man. They were but a vast bone-yard, in
which thousands of buffaloes killed by the Indians lay bleaching in the sun. He far
from realized then the developments which would be made in this country, and remem
bered to have told a visitor from Kentucky that he could give him a deed to all that
vast arm of prairie which they were viewing, but that it was so far from market as to
be without value. He did not forsee the change which a few years would bring about.
Then, deer could be seen in herds on the prairie, so tame that they were evidently un
acquainted with the murderous rifle of the white man. Wolves would come up to the
cabins seeking food. He said that on his arrival he pitched his tent on the same quar
ter section where.he then lived, and his circumstances had not m.aterially altered since,
as he was as poor now as then. But he was glad that he had come to this county, where
food and raiment had always been provided in plenty, and thanked God that he was
permitted to see such a day. Friends had differed with friends in politi(-s and religion ;
yet warm friendships had ever marked the way, and he was glad to take them all by
the hand and wish them, if may be, long lives, and joy even in their decline. It might now
seem that shadows would come upon them, but the clear sunlight always shines upon
the virtuous life. Ours was indeed a good country and never was there a better promise
for crops. Egypt, in her palmiest days of plenty, did not excel it; perhaps it is to pro
tect us by its bounty against some approaching contingency. The young of the present
day would be astonished to know of the hardships endured by the pioneers of Morgan
county. When they wanted flour or meal they were obliged to travel over bad roads,
or no roads at all, twenty miles to Allen's mill on Apple Creek. Sometimes they were
obliged to cr.ack or grate the grain themselves, and subsist on such food as Armstrong's
mill, which was a very primitive machine indeed, could provide,
"The little patches of a few acres have given way to wide-spreading fields of growing
corn, and golden harvest. The rail pens and log cabins have now moldered away, and
splendid mansions like kings' palaces have taken their places,
Tbe hand-mill, the mortar, and the old graters, which some of you remember, have
all gone by the board. Steam has taken the place of elbow power, and the smoke of a
thousand chimneys point out the spots where bread stuffs are manufactured from the finest
wheat in abundance for home consumption, and to feed the nations beyond the seas. The
hum of the spinning wheel, the clatter of the hand-loom have disappeared, and ten thous
and noiseless spindles have come instead. The single shuttle, thrown by the fair hand
of a mother or loving sister, is superseded by a thousand shuttles that fiy by stea.m. The
development and prosperity of this beautiful country is owing in a great measure to the
noble men and women who first settled here."
He made a very happy allusion, by way of contrast with the present, to the socia
bility of the early settlers; their readiness to assist one -another, &c., enumerating many
of his early day experiences, and closing his remarks with the admonition to the
young present to imitate the example of their ancestors.
The Jacksonville of to-day, is as emphatically a city of churches as of schools. The
religious element has been prominent in her population from the first. The christian
izing idea has been in the mind of the founders of all her institutions— rcducational and
eleemosynary, as well as strictly religious. The existence of two church societies and
two educational institutions before 1830, proves that the old settlers thought with sol
emn earnestness, of laying the foundation of a christian civilization among those rude
beginnings; that there were prayers and hopes, and endeavors, which looked towards a
great destiny for this place in the near future. In Morgan county, churches and sem
inaries of learning, are not recent novelties. They hold by pre-emption right.
Looking back to the little flocks that were first gathered together under care of
faithful pastors, we find that the first Presbyterian church organized, was by Rev. John
Brich, in Judge Jolm Leeper's barn, which stood until July 1883, about a mile east of
the present Illinois Central Hospital for the Insane. Seven men and five women con
stituted this little church, and from this small beginning have grown three large Pres-

60 The First Presbyterian Church.
byterian churches in the town besides several in the county. Like their Methodist
brethren, the Presbyterians at first occupied private houses or the log school house,
until 1831.
At the founding of this church, officially known as "The Presbyterian Church of
Jacksonville," the following persons presented their certificates : John Leeper and Fi
delia, his wife, Edwin A. Mears and Sarah, his wife, James Mears and Polly, his wife,
Hervey McClung— all from Shoal Creek church ; James Kerr and Janet, his wife, from
Reformed church in the city of New York ; William C. Posey and Sarah, his wife,
from Winchester and Paris churches in Kentucky ; and Hector G. Taylor from Kings
bury, Vt,
This church being duly constituted, William C. Posey and John' Leeper were
elected elders, James Kerr and Hector G, Taylor trustees for one year. John M. Ellis,
moderator. On July 28, 1837 and July 26, 1838, there were additions by certificate and
profession that made up the total membership to twenty-two. February 29, 1830, there
were forty-seven members, March 29, 1831, there were eighty-seven, October 39, 1831, there
were one hundred and twenty-five, August 19, 1833, there were one hundred and sixty-
six. Of the piety and principle of the early settlers of this vicinity, Dr. Sturtevant on
one occasion well said :
"We began to build the church of God when we began to build our own houses
And we iiave generally tried to build as well for the Lord as for ourselves. There have
always been those here in the midst of us, and in the darkest times, who regarded the
privileges of christian institutions and worship as among the necessaries of life, and to be
provided for as they provided shelter and food and clothing for their children. Such
men were John Leeper and James Deaton and Wm, C. Posey, and the two Hedenbergs,
(Peter and James V,,) and James Kerr, and David B. Ayers, Elihu Wolcott,
Hector G. Taylor, and many more whom we cannot name. Such men could not
dwell in their ceiled houses while the house of God was lying waste. They must plan
and act for the moral and spiritual wants of themselves and their fellows, and even of
distant posterity. Wherever such men make their homes in any wilderness there the
church of Christ will be."
Of this period and the first churches and preaching here the same authority said
in an historical address delivered in 1871.
"Before the deep snow!" What was Jacksonville — what was old Morgan then?
For the most part old Morgan was covered by primeval forests, or else the prime
val prairie grass waved in its breezes. I have not the means of making exact statements,
probably the data are not in existence; but it is my opinion that at least nineteen-twenti-
eths, probably a much larger proportion of the soil of this country, was then unmodified
by the hand (>f cultivation. I could have traveled from the spot where Illinois College
now is, seven or eight miles to the southeast :without being obstructed by a single fence
or a single acre of cultivated land. Cultivation was confied to a very narrow belt along
the groves of timber. Human dwellings were but the rudest structure of logs, designed
only for the most temporary purposes. Schopl-houses and churches can scarcely be said
to have had any existence. In Jacksonville tliere was one log school-house about twenty
or twenty- five feet square. That was generally used as a place of worship on the Sab
bath. No other church or school-house existed. The Methodist society generally wor
shipped at a private house, John Jordan's double log- cabin, but sometimes at the old
court house, whiCh, a few months ago, disappeared from the public square. The Presby
terians generally met at the log school-house just referred to.
In that house I preached my first sermon in Illinois, on the 15th day of November
1829. It was without pulpit, table, or stand of any description. The only distinction
enjoyed by the preacher was that he had a split bottomed chair while the rest of the peo
ple sat for the most part on fence rails. You may be sure that this did not seem a very
satisfactory arrangement to one who felt that he must depend on reading his sermon
from a manuscript. I was not satisfied. I think the people were still less so. The next
Sabbath things were still worse. The chimney of sticks had been pulled down for the
purpose of arranging to warm the house with a stove, and a hole in the logs some eight
feet by six, marked the place where the chimney had been. The chair had disappeared,
and I might sit on a rail and lay my book on the rail by my side. A little such experi
ence cured me of reading sermons from a manuscript, for a log time. Such were the rude
beginnings of things in Jacksonville before the deep snow. And yet two of our churches
and two of our institutions of education are old settlers. They antedate the deep snow.

Pioneer Preachers — Brich, Eads, Crow, Elder. 61
A Methodist church was here, now the Centenary church, and the First Presbyterian
church, now Dr. Glover's, though neither of them had houses of worship.
The first church to be started by the Baptists, was in 1824 or 25 in Diamond Grove,
but it was short lived.
Mr. Anderson Foreman, one of the few survivors of the period covered by this chap
ter, writes to the Illinois Courier as follows:
On the Sth of November 1828, I arrived in Morgan comity and stopped with Mr.
Humphrey, about a mile south of the town of Winchester, his residence being near what
was then known as Rattlesnake Springs. Here I made my first acquaintance in "old Mor
gan," embracing at that early day the territory or slips of land now known as Scott and
Cass counties. In this neighborhood there were no public houses in which to worship
Almighty God or "teach the young ideas how to shoot." Two weeks after my arrival,
in company with Mr. Humphrey, I visited the little village of Exeter where there were
several dwelling houses, a shoe shop and a grist mill, the latter owned by Enoch C.
March. Being here introduced to Mr, Mills I was by him invited to settle there, but
anxious to see the country, I left on the 19th of November, 1828, and reached the town
(now city) of Jacksonville; put up at a tavern on the northeast corner of the public
square kept by Mr. Hull and his father-in-law, Bentley. Soon thereafter I formed the
acquaintance of nearly every one in the town.
Many of the citizens were not intellectual giants, still there were among them
some moral heroes — good and true men, who gave tone and direction to the moral and
religious sentiments of the community. Here brother John Eads lived, a man of great
moral worth, loved and respected by all; being a preacher of the Christian denomination,
he was in the habit of calling onthe boys in the stores and shop^ saying, "come, boys, this
is /rayer meeting night," and the boys attended the meeting out of respect for the man of
God, and in that way the moral and religious sentiments of the people were built up and
extended. This godly man lived to be 85 years old, and joyfully entered into rest" hav
ing been born in Snowhill, Delaware. About that time Rev. Mr. Brich (a Presbyterian
minister), born in Scotland, spent the greater part of his life preaching lo the people and
doing good as opportunity offered; traveling a circuit from Edwardsville to Galena, and
when well stricken in years was found on the prairie in the northwestern part of the state,
frozen to death. Here, also, Mr. Drinkwater (a Wesleyan Methodist), devoted his life
to preaching the gospel and doing good; whose example and good life were long remem
bered by the old settlers; he had his residence in a hole on the bank of Indian Creek
about a mile and a half above Babb & Horn's mill. Afterwards for many years he lived
below the mill; and on his way to the distant territory of Oregon died, and sleeps with
the early pioneer preachers.
Rev. Wm. Crow, also a preacher of the Baptist (regular') church, lived here, whom
many knew and kindly remember. His life and character, striking and proverbially
good, and his power and fame as a man and preacher extended far and near, and having
achieved a grand, good work, at a ripe age was gathered to his fathers, and "his good
works follow him." Here, too, lived the venerable Thomas White (member of the Pres
byterian church), whose good example and pure life were known and loved by all, hav
ing wrought a good work in the community where he resided, he departed this life, full
of years and the respect of the people of the county, having been born in North Carolina,
The Rev. John Green (a preacher of the Christian denomination), some of whose chil
dren live here, lived and spent his life, like the other old veterans of the cross, in teach
ing his neighbors and friends to live good and useful lives, and when, like the grain fully
ripe, was gathered into God's granary above, loved and esteemed by all. Elder Matthew El
der, a compeer of Fathers Eads and Green, settled in Jersey Prairie (a strip of territory cut
off from old Morgan in 1839, when Scott also became separated and formed a county), and
after a long life of usefulness and kindness to his many friends and neighbors, joined the
silent throng to that bourne whence no traveler returns! Pausing here to drop a tear
for the good old men long dead and gone to their reward, let me turn aside and mention
one who sat in justice and dispensed the law in solid chunks to his neighbors — Father
James Deaton, who, born in old Virginia ("the mother of presidents") settled not far
from Jacksonville in 1819, The first class meeting was organized and held in his house,
and it is said of him that, during forty years as justice of the peace, he never gave judg
ment against any of his neighbors. Being a man of peace, he settled all his disputes and
suits by compromise; and falling from one of his apple trees, full of years, honors and
the good-will of all, he fell asleep. At the beginning I said there were no giants then!
I forgot the venerable man of God, the Rev. Peter Cartwright— the hero of "the battle-
axe and saddle-bags" — the grandest pioneer, the well-known Methodist minister and el
der of the west and south. Wherever Methodism has gone, the wide world over, the
fame, eccentricities and wonderful preaching of Cartwright will be known and remem
bered. He was to Methodism, everywhere, what Daniel Boone was to Kentucky and
the great Northwest! His field of operations was the world, his great heart, pluck and

62 Peter Cartwright — -Elder Osborn — Dr. Akeks — Scott Kiggs.
unfiagging zeal in his Master's cause, having reached four score years of hardshipB and
self-sacrifices, battle-scarred and his soul made happy and radiant with numberless hu
man souls borne to God by his herculean labors in the Lord's vineyard. He died as he had
lived, with bis face to the foe of humanity, and his faith in God and the salvation of sin
ners clear and unshaken. In this county lived and died my good old friend, Thornton
Shepherd (regular Baptist or Hardshell), who, after preaching every Sunday fifty-five
years, told me, not long since, ' that he had not, for all his services as a preacher, received
so much as $5 from any of his brethren," And yet the Lord blessed and prospered him;
and having done what he could to serve and honor God, far advanced in years fell asleep,
and the quaint old man and preacher will be remembered by his neighbors as faithful
and true to God and humanity. Who in old Morgan will forget that good little old man
eloquent, Elder Harrison W. Osborn. with a manner so meek, a voice so gentle and lov
ing; who, for nearly three-quarters of a century, broke to thousands in this and other
states, the bread of eternal life. The compeer of the venerable and saintly Barton W.
Stone (the leader and founder of the people known as "New Lights" in Kentucky), he
was active in forming the union of the New Lights or followers of Stone, and Campbel-
lites or Christians, and these united in Jacksonville in 1831 formed one body of disciples
known and called the Church of Christ or Christian Church. He continued actively in
his Master's work until a little while ago he fell asleep in Jesus, and his memory and life
work none will ever forget to love and honor.
Of these grand old heroes I might fill a book, but time flies, my space and the read
er's patience all admonish me to hasten to the end. Having said so much of the dead,
both good and great, what shall I say of even great men still living? Rev, Peter Akers,
LL, D. , who, in his younger days, lacked only one vote of being knighted a bishop of
the M. E. Church, He is the Boanerges of Methodism in the nineteenth century. Who
shall sketch this grand life or compass his colossal intellect? Although a nonogenarian, he
still walks our streets, and at times the old time fire and force of fifty years ago lights up
his face— flashes from his eagle eyes and rings in his stentorian voice like thunder, or the
roar of Niagara! His life work is about done. What pen so trenchant or historian so
truthful can tell of his power and usefulness, or even do justice to the grand old man,
learned and eloquent, by writing his wonderful life, the most remarkable in the history
of Methodism in the great Northwest?
Then, too, there is the Christian statesman (if that can be), Ihe Rev. Newton Cloud,
No man in this community stood higher in the state and church than he. Nature and
grace combined to make him good and great.
His wise counsels in the organic laws of church and state will live and keep his
name and memory bright and honored as long as time shall last or civil and religious
government endures. Having reached that serene and honorable round in life's fair
temple and Christian exaltation, he passed gently down the steps of time, and now
sleeps with the pure, noble, honored and loved of earth.
I shall speak only too biiefly of my friend and neighbor, John P, Wilkinson. He
was a gentleman in the highest sense, the young man's friend and the widow's hope
in time of need. Few, if any, knew him but to love and praise. He has gone to his
reward, and his precious memory and good deeds will follow on.
What shall 1 say of old Father Scott Riggs, that good old man? He was an earnest,
active Christian, and contributed to unite the two bodies of Christians in the old court
house in Jacksonville in 1831. Father Riggs, octogenarian though he was, achieved
much good and lived a useful life, and, dying, left a grand, rich legacy, a Christian
life, for his children and friends to imitate and cherish his memory.
"What visions of the inhabitants of Jacksonville forty-eight years ago. Where are
they now? Why some have risen high, aiming their arrows even at the sky. Some
have been wayward and gone astray, some hold the even tenor of their way. Some
are recording an immortal name, with gilded letters on the scroll of fa,me. Many
have departed hence, and some remain of forty-eight years since. I will give the names
of all the heads of families, and the young men that were then living and doing for
themselves in the then town of Jacksonville, In giving names and business followed
by each family and person, I may not be able to give all their given names correctly,
but their surnames I can, I hope some citizens now living may recall their names and
give a more correct list:
"Dennis Rockwell, circuit clerk and county clerk; Mrs. Kellogg; John Handy,
carpenter; Mr. Bunnell, carpenter; Samuel Titus, teamster, first colored man; Murray
McConnel, lawyer; Matthew Stacy, saddler and harness maker; Geo, Rearick, merchant;
Joseph Fairfield, merchant; Abram Vance, merchant; Nathan Gest, merchant, Thomas
Carson, hatter and hotel keeper; George Nicely, hatter; Mr. Robinson, school teacher;
Verien Daniels, gunsmith; S. H. Henderson, grocer; John P. Wilkinson, merchant;
Rice Dunbar, carpenter. Thomas Church, farmer; John Buckingham, brick mason and
plasterer; Ero Chandler, doctor; Doctor Allen, old practice; Basnleel Gillett, doctor
and merchant; Ranson Cordell, constable; Mr. ShuU, hotel keeper; Mrs. Palmer; Wm,

A List of Old Timers — Father Harney's Eecollections. 63
S. Jordan, farmer; Mr, Robley, farmer and brick maker; Hervey McClung, tanner and
currier; E, T. Miller, carpenter; George Graves, cabinet workman; .lohn Savage, car
penter; Edward Durant, carpenter; James Mariin Eads, blacksmith; John Eads, Jr.,
blacksmith; John Eads, Sr., blacksmith; Simeon McOuUough, tailor; Levi Church,
tailor. John Laughrey, laborer, David Tefft, carpenter; Joseph Coddington, merchant;
Enoch 0, March, miller and merchant; Thomas Arnett; William L, May, Representa
tive in the Legislature; Mrs. Joiner; Josiah Gorham, Sr , carpenter; Samuel Rixford,
noemployment; John Henry, cabinetmaker; Dr. H G.Taylor, merchant and postmastei ;
James Parkinson, wood-cording machine; 'William Thomas, lawyer; Jacob W. Barton,
tanner; J^mes Blair, dry goods clerk; James Leeper, dry goods clerk; Joseph Robin
son, dry goods clerk; James Buckingham, plasterer; Daniel Busey, saddler and harness
maker; Thomas Carson, Jr , brick mason; James Carson, cabinet workman; John Car
son, brick mason; Rev, J. M. Ellis, Presbyterian preacher; Aquilla Hutchins, farmer;
George Richards, surveyor; Emanuel Metcalf, chair maker; Mrs. Buckingham; Phillip
Haines; Darius Ingalls; Wm, Conn; Garrison W. Berry, brick maker; McHenry John
son, blacksmith; Mr. Grimsly, blacksmith; Nelson ,Johnson, dry goods clerk; Enos
Hobbs, mail carrier; Mrs. George Rearick, Mrs George Richards, Mrs. John P. Wil
kinson, Mrs. Simeon McCullough, Mrs. Martin Eads, Mrs. John Eads, Mrs Verien
Daniels, Mrs. Doctor Taylor, Mrs. George Nicely, Mrs Matthew Stacy, Mrs. Handy,
Mrs. Bunnell, Mrs. Emanuel Metcalf, Mrs. Robley, Mrs. Garrison W Berry, Mrs.
James Parkinson, Mrs. E. T. Miller, Mrs. Thomas Church, Mrs. Charles Chappell,
Miss Ann Robison, Miss Hester Kellogg, Mrs. Thomas Carson, Mrs. Nathan Gest, Mrs.
Abram Vance, Mrs. William L. May, Mrs. Conn, Mrs. Ero Chandler, Mrs. Jacob Bar
ton, Mr, John Savage, Mrs. John Henry, Mrs. Dennis Rockwell, Mrs. McClung, Mrs.
Ranson Cordell. Mrs. Joseph Fairfield, Mrs John Buckingham, Mrs. Dr Allen,
Mrs. John Laughrey, Mrs, Samuel Titus, (colored,) Mrs. Grimsley, Mrs. McHenry
Johnson, Mrs. Aquilla Hutchins, Mrs. Darius Ingals, Mrs. Phillip Haines, Mrs.
Thomas Arnett.
In 1829 John R. Harney, now living in Woodson, came with his family toJ;he then
new state of Illinois and located near Jacksonville, Morgan county, where he has ever
since resided. Coming to the state at so early a period he tasted of the contents
of the pioneer cup of tribulation; and being a man of but moderate means has often been
compelled to drink deep draughts from its unpropitious ebullitions. As for instance,
going to mill thirty miles away through the most inclement weather and over roads
blockaded with almost insurmountable depths of snow; through interminable prairies
and dense forests whose wild depths were rendered still more frightful and hideous by
the howling winter blasts and the distant and ominous yelp of the wolf; breaking the
stubborn glebe, as yet untamed by the kindly hand of agriculture, and all the while
bracing against the miasmatic poisons infesting all the land and resulting in low fevers
and chills. But why in this biographical sketch need we speak of these trials ; the abid
ing friendships formed and never to be broken only by death ; the bitter adversities and
the unsophisticated manners of those times, since they were the common experience of
all who lived in those never to be forgotten pioneer days.
John R. Harney has been married sixty years the 13th day of next February. Per
haps but few of the old settlers are ahead of him in this particular. He has reared ten
children all of whom are still living in Morgan county
When Mr. Harney came to Jacksonville, in 1839, there were but two brick building
in the town — the old court house and Wilkinson's — and no houses more than one story
high, except two log houses, which were story and a half buildings, occupied by Mr.
Church and Thomas Carson. John P. Wilkinson was the first man who built a brick
dwelling house. The first dry goods mechant remembered was James McAllister, and
among the first grocers Chambers, Rearick, Taggart and Israel, the last of whom was a
brother of Miss Hettie Israel, who died but recently. Some of the above grocers also kept
a saloon in connection with the grocery store. So we see we are making some advance
steps after all. The first tavern keepers were Wm. Miller and Thomas Church. The
first cabinet maker was Capt. John Henry. The first harness makers were Mat Stacy
and Peter Hedenburg. The first school was kept by the late Mr. Spalding in the south
eastern part of the town. The first doctors were Drs. Prosser and Chandler. The first
lawyers. Judge Thomas, Murray McConnel, John J. Hardin, Stephen A. Douglas, etc.

64 TflE First Cyclone— *Old Settlers of OasS.
The first postmaster was Dennis Rockwell, who used to go over the town delivering
letters which he carried in his hat, and in those primitive days the receiver paid 35
cents for each letter received. The iirst druggist was David B. Ayers, father of the
bankers, and the first blacksmith was Seth Weatherby, father-in-law of Mr. A. C. Wads-
worth, the hardware man.
Among the old and cherished friends and acquaintances of Mr. Harney were Dr.
Reed, Mr. Milburn, Mr. Ayers, the Stevensons, Coffmans, Humphreys, David Cole, T,
D. Fames, the Rockwells, David A, Smith, Richard Yates, Jacob Strawn, the Masseys,
Thomas Wiswall and many others! Some have passed over the stream and some yet
linger on this side.
The following account of the earliest known destructive cyclone in this county was
obtained by the editor from the venerable A, K, Barber:
It is stated, on page 40, that Mr, Edward Harvey went to school to Mr, Barber in
1831. Mr. Barber is still living in Jacksonville, although he has not been here all of
the time since he came to Morgan in 1834. He taught school before as well as
after coming here and it was probably in Greene county that Mr. Harvey was his pupil,
Mr. Barber tells us that upon first locating here he rented land a few miles west of
town ; did not raise a profitable crop the first year, and footing it to Bond county taught
school there in the winter of 1825. In the spring he was teaching in Morgan, in a log
cabin school house on the Johnson farm, a few miles west of where stakes were being
set for the future Jacksonville,
He described to us a cyclone, or as they called it then "hurrycane," which burst
upon tliis vicinity in April, 1825. The school-house had a puncheon floor, and under
neath an excavation which had been used for mixing mortar. There was a terrible rain,
hail and wind storm, so that everything in the cabin was wet. The books were put
away where they could be best protected, and teacher and scholars went outdoors to
gather up hail and watch the storm. Mr. Barber looked south towards Lynn Grove,
now Lynnville, and saw a funnel-shaped cloud approaching. He had read enough of
such to know what it meant to all in its path, so they re-entered the house and he and
his one big scholar put all the little ones down into the mortar hole under the floor.
The cyclone struck the neighborhood with great force, but not the schoolhouse. Among
the houses unroofed of their clapboard coverings were those of Abraham Johnson
(oAvner of the cotton gin, whose farm is now owned by Cortez M. Dewey) Robert James
and Father Deaton. 'The cotton gin of Mr, Johnson and the cabin of Stephen Gorham
— one and a half miles due west of the Mound — were blown down. Dr. Cadwell's house
near Swinnerton's Point, the only one in the vicinity with a shingle roof — lost one-half
its roof, and a house standing about where the county poor house now is was demolish
ed. Many fences and trees were levelled to the ground, especially on the Johnson farm
and the storm cloud went on north and west until finally scattered. No lives were lost
that Mr, Barber knows of.
The following is a partial list of the early settlers of "Old Morgan", that located in
that part which is now Cass county, with the date of their coming into the county :
Mrs. Elizabeth Hopkins, 1826 ; Mrs. Mahala Brady, 1827 ; Mrs. Maria Cunningham,
1824; John S. Clark,* 1826; Arthur Loughary, 1828; J. E. Roach, 1828; W. T. Treadway,
1829; W. S. Huffaker, 1830; Franklin Bridgeman, 1830; Francis Ryan, 1825; Mrs, M,
A. F. Carpenter, 1828; Mrs, D, B. Hunt, 1880; Mrs, A, Cox, 1830; Alexander Pitner,
1827; Mrs. G. Shirrill, 1830; Mrs. H. McClure, 1828; Mrs. M. J.Tureman, 1880; Charles
Cox, 1828 ; Mrs. Elizabeth Davis, 1833 ; J, A. Davis, 1834 ; S, B, Jones, 1838 ; R. D. Thomp
son, 1829 ; Jacob Epler, 1829 ; John Yaple, 1824 ; Levi Dick, 1829 ; Wm. Clark, 1826 ; Jas.
A, Dick, 1829; Mrs. Mary Dick, 1829; Mrs. S, H. Petefish. 1827; Zack Hash, 1822; Dr,
J. M. Wilson, 1828 ; Mrs. John E. Haskell, 1828.
The following are the names of others who were there previous to 1830, but the ex-

*Mr. Clark freighted salt to Beardstown, on the "Mechanic" — the first boat that came up the river.
Salt shipped from Washington county, Ohio.

Personals, Corrections, Etc. , 65
act year of their coming we do not know; Zack W. Gatton, Mrs. C. H. Oliver, Mrs.
Mark Buckley, Mrs. Andrew Gale.
Among the mercantile and other licenses issued by the county commissioners in
1831, besides those given on page 51, might have been named those to George P. Bris
tow, Stephen Mallory, Erasmus Elliott, Zeph Judson, A. and M. Collins ($7.50.)
Judge Thomas says, that in 1826, when he came to Jacksonville there were but
twelve or fourteen families here, none of them had a separate room for him to occupy ;
the entire family slept together in one room. The coimtry was quite naked, yet still
beautiful. In Morgan, Scott, and Cass there were then perhaps 1,000 voters, all told.
The county did not fill up rapidly between 1820 and 1826, but after that people com
menced to roll in, but were forced to live in tents and rail pens. In 1827 vvas the Win
nebago war, a war few remember or know anything about, because it did not amount to
much. . In 1826 most of the milling was done In Greene county, though there was a
mill in Exeter which, however, had no water part of the year to run it. They were de
pendant on ox or horse mills, and Allen's, on Apple Creek, was the most prominent.
One man would go for the neighborhoond, and stay a week.
Col. W. D. Wyatt, of Lincoln, master in chancery for Logan county, was born in
Morgan county September 1st, 1821, his father was a Virginian, and moved to Nashville,
Tenn., and afterward to Kentucky, and settled on-the Ohio River. He relates how his
father and many other men of his neighborhood were brought to Ill'nois to fight the
Indians, and in this way were brought to settle in this state and in this county.
Before passing into the 1830's we will add a few names of settlers of 1819 to '29 not
already mentioned— John Gorham, '24 ; M. R. Foster,' '23 ; Mary Smith, '23 ; Minerva
Smith, '28 ; Aaron Phillips, '29 ; Amanda Reeve, '24 ; Mary Humphrey, '38 ; Mrs. P. W.
Vail, '35 ; Amanda M. Harney, '21 ; G. L. Gilhapii, '23 ; Eliza W. Foreman, '29 ; Jacob
Stout, '35; Mrs. Sarah J. Turley, '39; Wm. H. Markley, '29; Capt. Wm. Patterson, '29;
Mrs. Edward Harney, '19; J. R. Clark, '28; Mrs. Mary Hinrichsen, '35; John F. Jordan,
'24; W. W. Riggs, '25; Elizabeth Smith, '29; Elizabeth Freeman, '29; Matil
da Wilhoit, '22; Rachel King, '29; J. G. Babbitt, '39; Stephen Shepard, '29; Mahala
Turley, '28; James Edmonson, '38; G. W. Smith, '25; William James, '22; Palmer
Holmes, '21; J. M. Filson, '29; Mrs. Sarah Fay, '29; William Clark, '35; Eliza Clark,
'23 ; Elizabeth Moss, '21 ; J. D. Jaywood, '23 ; W. C. Johnson, '29 ; A. C. Woods, '27 ; Mrs.
A. C. Woods, '24; Charles Rockwell, '25; William Rockwell, '37; John T. Robertson,
'23 ; Wm. C. Stevenson, '39 ; Edward Scott, '29 ; John Carter, '27 ; Joseph Cooley, '25 ;
Wm. H. Broadwell, '23. EI^I^.-A-'T A..
The amount of money offered by the Yale students for the founding of Illinois Col
lege, see pages 55 and 56, was $10,000 not $1,000 as stated — a typographic error.
Mrs. Emma F., widow of George D. Rearick, and sister of Mrs. Joseph Codding
ton, informs us since the first chapter was put into type that her sister's child was not
born "in a tent in Diamond Grove," (see page 19) but in a log cabin. Mr. Coddington
was postmaster at one time. She states further that "Mr. Roe built the first hewed log
cabin that was built here, there were other rough log cabins before his. Mr. and Mrs.
Coddington lived in this cabin, Mr. Roe boarding with them and it was in this log cabin
Mr. Roe died."
Michael Antyl and Michael Arthur mentioned on page 11, are probably the same
persons, but which is the correct name the compiler cannot decide.

JACKSONVILLE FEMALE ACADEMY. FOUNDED 1880.

/a Z'^.

ILLINOIS COLLEGE. FOUNDED 1830.

y 'v ''-/ -

CHAPTEK v.— 1830-'36.
"College" and "Academy" Chartered and in Full Blast — Faculty and Graduate — Wed
dings in Ye Olden Tyme— The Black Hamk War — Methodist, Presbyterian, and
Episcopal Church Growth — Old Settler's Testimony as to Business, Transportation,
' Grime, &c. — The Deep Snow and the C)yi.ick Freeze.
Co/jlf HE interesting period of which we propose to write in this chapter, begins with
"-> ill the actual opening of those two educational institutions, the foundations of which
were laid in the previous year — Illinois College and the Female Academy, pio-
«neer schools of the modern Athens — the Western New Haven, As we have re-
¦'corded, the place was laid out in 1825, It was incorporated as a town in 1826,
and made the county seat of Morgan, then embracing the territory now included in sev-
eral counties, viz : Cass, Scott, Greene.
The population had slowly increased until in 1830, it is said to have numbered 446,
The board of trust for Illinois College had been organized in December, 1829, among
the carpenters' benches and shavings of its unfinished building; and on the 4th of Jan-
nary 1830, nine students assembled to receive instruction.
Dr, Sturtevant says; "'It was said that morning. We are met to-day to open a foun
tain for future generations to drink at, May God prosper the omen,' The deep snow
fell upon and around the building, now known as the library building. I remember as
though it was but yesterday, how the snow lay around it An area of a few feet in
breadth all around the building was blown quite bare. Beyond that stood the frowning
wall of snow three feet high, as if forbidding our escape lo the outside world. That
building is by many years the oldest brick building now standing in this town.
There are names among the early founders and friends of this college that ought to
beheld in lasting remem'orance. Among them are the names of William Collins,the donor
of i500 on its original subscription list, John Tilson, Thomas Lippincott, John M. Ellis
and Theron Baldwin. In the mind of Mr. Ellis the idea originated, and the site on which
it stands was selected by him and Thomas Lippincott, after an extensive tour of explora
tion for the best place; both of thera pooriu this world, but rich in faith, and caring for
the welfare of this great people with self-sacrificing solicitude for generations yet lo be.
Such men are the true founders of states and empires.
More than half a century has passed since those consecrating prayers dedicated
that school. Clouds have gathered, winds have shifted, tempests have beaten, supplies
have been uncertain at times, frowning rocks have threatened a wreck, but through all
he has stood erect in his place, and with a firin, faithful hand guided the craft he then
launched. After the school was in actual operation funds were procured, students were
gathered, and an able faculty secured. Families looking to the best advantages for the
mental and moral training of their children, came in increasing numbers from the east
and south, and our village in the prairie became the nucleus, around which was to
gather, not only many other schools of learning, but also three ot the great eleemosy
nary institutions of a state holding a "proud place in the union.
The erection in 1832 of the large dormitory building, which was burned in 1853,
involved the institution in a hea-vy debt. To relieve that, and to provide for a more
numerous faculty, subscriptions amounting to more than $100,000 were obtained,
chiefly in this state, in 1835 and 1836.
The first application for a charter was unsuccessful, on account of the prejudice
then existing against such institutions. But at the session of 1834^35, by a combined
effort, Illinois, McKendree, Jonesboro and Shurtlefl colleges were each granted a char-

Illinois College and Jacksonville Female Academy. 69
ter and upon the same day, February 9, 1835. Illinois College was founded as a col
lege proper, and as such is the oldest in the state. Its first president, Edward Beecher,
D, D., was appointed in 1832, holding the position until 1844. The year of the granting
of the charter was also tliat of the sending forth of the first graduate — Richard Yates,
in later years the brilliant orator, the patriotic war governor of Illinois, and the state's
representative in the House and Senate of the Congress of the United States. Since
that graduation in 1835, four hundred and ten have been added to the alumni of
"Old Illinois," and three hundred and forty are still in tlie land of the living.
The school's founders were undoubtedly wholly influenced in their eflorts in its be
half by motives of patriotism, philanthropy and piety. They recognized liberal learn
ing as indispensable to national and general prosperity, to the maintenance of civil and
reli.gious liberty and the highest influence of Christianity, over the minds and hearts of
men. They meant, in the infancy of this State, the future greatness of which was al
ready foreseen, to found an institution which should be a fountain of generous culture
to the mighty people that should soon inhabit these fertile plains, and to millions that
are yet unborn. They had no religious ends to subserve except to jiromote the king
dom of God among men; and no political ambitions except to extend the dominion of
liberty over a vast and fertile region, then a wilderness. The ends and aims of the in
stitution are still the same ; and the ends will be strictly pursued by the men who now
have it in charge, and by them will be transmitted in sacred trust to their successors.
In the courses of instruction provided, the trustees and faculty always aim at thor
oughness. They seek to extend the course over as -wide a fleld as practicable. But
they believe it is better to know a few things well, than many things superficially.
Turning to the sister institution, now known as the .Jacksonville Female Academy,
we find the origin due to the same Christian pioneer and Presbyterian preacher. Rev.
Jno. M. Ellis. The seminary was organized the same year (1830), and simultaneously
chartered by the Legislature (1835.)
The earliest proceedings with reference to the Academy, took place September
39tli, 1880, when "a meeting of gentlemen favorable to the establishment of a Female
Seminary in the town of Jacksonville, was held at the house of Mr. John P. Wilkinson."
The record does not give the names of those who were present, but it states that "Hon.
Samuel D. Lockwood was called to the chair and Rev. J. M. Sturtevant appointed clerk."
What the spirit of the occasion was may be inferred from the fact that a committee
was appointed to report upon the subject at a subsequent meeting. That committee
consisted of Judge Lockwood, Rev. Mr. Ellis, and Professor Sturtevant. The adjourned
meeting was at the same place, three days afterwards, i. e., October 3d, 1830, when the
committee reported the following preamble and resolution, which appears to have been
unanimously adopted, viz :
"Whkbbas, The vast importance and urgent necessity of extending the blessing of
education to all classes of American citizens are felt and acknowledged by all enlightened
patriots and christians, and
"Whrrbas, Tbe power of female influence over the intellectual and moral char
acter of the community must ever be too great for any or all other causes entirely to coun
teract, commencing as it does with the flrst dawn of infant intelligence, and forming
perhaps the most important, certainly the most desirable part of that character before
any other causes can begin to act upon it, and accompanying it through all the subsequent
stages of its developments; considering too that in the present important crisis ot our be
loved republic not one effort ought to be withheld which can tend to give permanency to
its foundations— the intelligence and virtue of the people; wherefore
'•Resolved, That an Academy ought to be immediately established in this State, to be
devoted lo female education; and that Jacksonville, in Morgan county, is, in our opinion,
a situation highly favorable for the successful operation of such an institution."
In the language ol Dr, L, M, Glover (1880), we can but mark and admire the breadth
of these views, the patriotic and christian sentiments they embody, the directness and
energy of purpose they exhibit; and it is impossible to overestimate the value of the rec
ord containing Ihem, occupying the place it does at the very outset of an important edu
cational movement, and so cleaily outlining the motives to such a work and the objects it
was designed to subserve. That record will be to the friends of this institution, in all the

70 First Trustees and Charter for the Academy.
future, a reminder of tlie principles on which It was founded, and a covenant against its
perversion to bad or unworthy purposes.
At Ihe same meeting, and in immediate connection with the aclionjust referred to. an
organization was effected by choosing a board of trust, consisting of thirteen members,
whose names are as follows:
"Bazaleel Gillett, Joseph Duncan. David B Ayers. Dennis Rockwell, John M.
Ellis. Elihu Wolcott, Ero Chandler, Joseph M, Fairfield, James G Edwards, .lohn P.
Wilkinson, Samuel D Lockwood, Ignatus R Simms, and Julian M Sturtevant," all of
whom, except two, have passed away from earth— Dr. Chandler, of Warsaw, III, and
Dr. Sturtevant, who is permitted in his fresh old age to witness with satisfaction ao much
good fruit of educational enterprises to which his early and later life has been wholly de
voted: It would be difficult to find in any community, large or small, especially In one just
forming, a body of men more intelligent, cultured, and wise, thanthose to whom this
important interest was first committed. Taken together, they were persons of mark in
the professional, nusiness, and social cirqles in which they moved. All of them were well
educated, and some of them liberally educated; several of them belonged to the learned
professions and reached high rank in them. As religiously distributed, two of them were
Episcopalians, two Baptists, while the remaining nine were by profession or sympathy,
at that time connected with the Presbyterian church. Other denominations were after
wards represented in the board; but though the institution was designed to be broad in
principle and unseclarian in spirit, its principal management was always without ques
tion and without jealcmsy conceded to those who took the leading part in founding and
rearing it. No denominational name found a place in its legal title, it was and is simply
the "Jacksonville Female Academy," though in common speech designated as the "Pres
byterian Academy."
It is a noticeable fact that no sooner had the enterprise been organized by the ap
pointment of Trustees, than a piece of ground was donated upon which to locate the
new institution, and to be forever consecrated to the sacred purpose of female educa
tion. This was the gift o,f Dr. Ero Chandler, and is the magnificent block on which
the Academy now stands. ****** This ground, when thus donated, was of
small comparative value, being then some distance from the business centre and the
platted limits of the town, and embraced in fields that were used for farming purposes.
Here grew the tall corn, here cattle grazed, rude fences enclosed these outlying prair
ie regions and not a tree was seen, as one looked westward from where we stand,
nearer than Wilson's grove in the rear of Illinois College, almost a mile away But
what shall we say of its value now, near the heart of a beautiful and thriving cily,
surrounded by costly residences and by public buildings that are regarded as fortunate
because of their proximity to it; charming too in itself, with its fascination of vener
able treesftind shaded lawn; nature and art vying in the efl'ort to clothe it with attrac
tions and to bring it into complete harmony with the purpose to which it is devoted.
******' An act of incorporation was secured in January, 1835, and it receiv
ed approval on the 27th of that month. It was prepared by Hon. James Berdan and
introduced into the Legislature iby Hon. John Henry and advocated by Hon. Wm.
Thomas. The corporators were the original Trustees with the exception of John M
Ellis, Joseph M. Fairfield, Ignatus R. Simms and James G. Edwards, whose names
disappear and are supplied by new appointments as follows: Benjamin Godfrey,
Ebenezer T. Miller, Matthew Stacy and "William Brown. The provisions of the act
were for the most part liberal and wise, though exhibiting a rather unnecessary fear
of monied monopolies as appears in Section 6lh, which limits the amount of land to
be held in perpetuity for the uses of the Institution to twelve acres, and requires that
lands donated to it at any lime "shall be sold within three years from Ihe date of such
donation," and "in failure whereof, the lands so given shall revert to the donor;" fur
ther, the trustees were forbidden "to lease or rent out any lands so held in trust."
The charier, however, was gladly accepted and it was entirely acceptable with the ex
ception of the following rider which was attached to it: '"That all the real and per
sonal property of each of the trustees shall be bound for the payment of all contracts
which they shall enter into for the said institution," a proviso which was subsequently
repealed on motion of the late Col. John J, Hardin, Among the good things in the
charter which there can never be a niotive or desire to change, is the provision of sec
tion 2d, that the trustees "shall hold the property of the institution solely fof the pur
poses of female education and not as stock for the individual benefit of themselves
or of any contributor to the endowment of the same, and no particular religious faith
shall be required of those who become trustees or students of the institution."
It is worthy of notice that this seminary is the first of the kind established in this
State, and the first of any kind to be chartered by the Legislature, though three col
leges Illinois, Shurlleff and McKendree, were subsequently incorporated by that body,
during the same session. It is a still more interesting fact that in all the vast lerritoiy
covered by the ordinance of 1787, excepting only tho State of Ohio, this is the earliest
school of high grade having exclusive reference to the education of woman. This

-Mr. and Mrs. J. M. Ellis and Dk. Ero Chandler. 71
circumstance may be mentioned in honor of our commonwealth, and it confers a pre
cedence upon this seminary of which it may justly be proud. In the wide region re
ferred to, many institutions now share in the work begun here, but Jacksonville Fe
male Academy antedates most of them by many years, and in the generous sense of
the words, it will be admitted that she is the mother of Ihem all.
The trustees were no sooner organized than they began to agitate the subject of
building. They had suitable ground, but there was no structure of any kind upon it.
The plan of an edifice was soon projected and adopted, though by no means with the
hope of realizing it in full except in the course of years. 'The plan contemplated a
centre building 40x50 feel on the ground, with wings 30x40 teeteach, respectively two
stories and one and one-half stories above the basement, all fronting the north, the
main entrance covered with a lofty portico supported by heavy columns. It was cal
culated that the building when completed would cost something more than twenty
thousand dollars, but what it actually did cost we have no means of ascertaining. The
first thing undertaken was the erection of the east wing and subscriptions for that
purpose were at once taken.
It sliould be noted here that the actual founding of the Academy was due, in great
measure, to the efforts of Mrs. John M. Ellis, who had been preceptress of a boarding
school for young ladies for some years, the church parsonage being used for that pur
pose, as well as that of home for the pastor and liis family.
It was owing to the prejudice then existing in the popular mind against institutions
with educational, charitable or religious aims that the Legislature refused to grant any
charters until the session of 1834r-'35, when this feeling was measurably overcome. No
regular classes were graduated until the year 1844; but that year Catherine Murdock
and Juliana Wolcott, (afterwards Jlrs. Prof. James B. Smith and Mrs. W. Chauncey
Carter, both living in Jacksonville at the present writing,) received the first diplomas
of the institution, and from that time there has not been u year without a class ranging
from three to twenty-six graduates, the wliole number now (1884) in the alunmai being
about 400.
The history of the Academy speaks for itself — a history of constant growth, advanc
ing reputation and prosperity. Over three thousand young ladies have been connected
with the school since its establishment. It is and always has been the aim to make its
course of study equal' to the best. It already requires four years, or three for the scien.
tific, not including the preparatory course. The system of classification is that usually
adopted in American institutions. It ranks first in age amongthe nownumerous schools
of high grades for young ladies in the west, and is second to none in point of excellence.
But to resume our extracts from Dr Glover's remarkably complete and able historical ad
dress upon the occasion of the celebration of the Academy's semi-centennial in June 1880 :
There is still in existence the original subscription paper containing the names of
those who first contributed to this object and the respective amounts contributed by
them. The heading is printed and embodies the preamble and resolution previously
adopted by the board and already referred to. '*'*** Dr Ero Chandler leads
with $150, and others follow in smaller amounts, but with marked liberality for the
times and circumstances when the effort was undertaken. The wing went slowly up,
for the necessary funds came slowly. But there was an unflagging zeal in the work.
As might be supposed, the women of Jacksonville heartily shared in it. At length,
after much struggling, that part of the building was ready for use, probably during
the year 1835. Meantime the school was kept in rooms elsewhere, rented for the pur
pose. It was not until 1843 that the original plan was carried out and the entire build
ing completed. Since then, various changes have been made and but few features
remain by which one who only remembers it as it was twenty or thirty years ago
could recognize it now. The chapel is much as it was and the columns at its front are
just as they were, but a pupil of the early time would not be able without help to find
the old east wing which was all there was of the Academy for several years.
The Academy was not opened lo the reception of pupils until two years and a half
after the organization of the board A private school foryoung ladies, however, had for
several years been kept by Mrs. Ellis, wife of Rev. John M. Ellis, which measurably sup
plied the needs of the community, and though never having any organic connection with
the Academy, may properly be regarded as a precursor of it, and as having had not a lit
tle to do with stimulating the enterprise and moulding pubhc sentiment in its favor. Mrs.
Ellis was a woman of high character and culture, zealously devoted, as was lia^husband,
to the cause of education, and eminently qualified to give instruction and in other respects
to manage a boarding school. Some who were under her care still survive and they uni.

72 First Teachers and Pupils in the Academy.
formly speak with enthusiasm of her as a teacher, a friend, and a christian woman, nor
can they forget the sorrow by which they and the whole community were stricken when
she fell a victim to the cholera in 1833, the year of its first visitation in this country when
few places escaped and Jacksonville lost sixty of its six hundred inhabitants. Among
these were Mrs Ellis and her two children, all three being laid in the grave at the same
time. On the 22d of May, 1833, the board made arrangements for the formal opening ot
the Academy. A room was procured aud fitted np with suitable furniture and apparatus
for school purposes, with a view of accommodating day pupils, such as might come from
abroad, securing board in private families The location during the first year was on the
lot now (1880) occupied by the First Presbyterian Church ; ihen it was removed to West
Court Street, just east of Church Street, in a house then owned by Mr. Ebenezer T. Miller,
afterwards and for a long time a trustee of the institution, and -till living among us at an
advanced age since deceased.
The first teacher and principal of the Academy was Miss Sarah C. Ciocker, from
New Hampshire She had been preceptress of the Academy at Boscawen, in that Rl.alc.
and was recommended by the celebrated Miss Lyon, of South Hadley, as a suitable per
son to take charge of this institution Fortunately, the roll of the school during her
term of service and during part of that of her successor is preserved, with the amount of
tuition received for each pupil. The scholars enrolled for tne first term of about ten
weeks, beginning May 22d, 1838, were thirry-one in number, and for a manifold reason.
their names are worthy of a place in this historical discourse. I thereiore give them just
as they are preserved in I'ue hand writing of Miss Crocker, as follows: E. C. Bill, .lane
E, Clark, F. B. Dulaney, Mary Haskins, A. E Johnston, M. Leeper, Cordelia Parkinson,
Laura Parkinson. H, M. Ross, H. Spencer, S. Spencer, R Spencer, M, Spencer, M.
Street, L Street, P. Scolt. M Collins, 8. Graves, J, Graves. H. Alears, J. Symms, E.
White, S. J, Israel, M. S. Stiles, E. A. Conn, S. Conwell, M. McConnel, Minerva McCon
nel, Louisa Taylor, H. P. Melendy, M. E. Melendy. With these the fountain started, ;aiid
it has been flowing ever since with a widening, deepening current, quieily refreshing in
its course. Miss Crocker proved a very successful teacher aud manager, the school con
tinuing to increase under her care, so much so that during her last term.ending in April,
1885 forty nine pupils enrolled Her services would no doubt have been gladly retained,
but they were required in another relation and she was married to Mr. E ibu Wolcott,
one of the trustees of the Academy, and who as special superintendent of the school, had
opportunity for observing her good qualities, and was so favorably imprr^ssed by them
that he deemed it a pleasure to call her up higher, and she became his wife, performing
the duties of that position well until her death, August 4th, 1844.
The next preceptress was Miss Emily P. Price, of Boscawen, New Hampshire, who
was recommended "for the position by Miss Z. P. Grant, (afterwards Mrs. Bannister;,
herself a distinguished educator, and at that time in charge i/f the Female Seminary al
Ipswich, Maes. During her first term, commencing May 35th, 1835, twenty-two pupils
were enrolled and no further record of the kind has reached us while the school was
under her care. We know, however, ihat her services were satisfactory to the patrons of
the institution and much appreciated by the trustees, who upon receiying her resignation
recorded a vote of thanks "for the fidelity with which she had discharged her duties."
Having completed two years as preceptress, she retired and was subsequently married lo
Rey. 2. K. Hawley, a Congregational mirister, to whom she was a helper indeed in the
various offices of christian work as well as in those of wife and mother. Her death oc
curred in 1878.
During Miss Price's administration the school was brought into the Academy build
ing, the old east wing, and a boarding department wa^ organized. Then first appeared
the domestic feature of the institution, and' pupils A^ho were beginning to come from
abroad found there a home, and it is worthy of remark that the school room and dormi
tory rooms were to a considerable extent provided with needed furniture, desks, tables,
bedsteads, &c., from ihe workshops of Illinois College, and we have a bill for the same
amounting to $113 25, and receipted January ?6, 1836, by Joel Catlin, then college agent.
Those workshops are things of the past, but Ihey established friendly relations between
the two setninaries which have ever since been cultivated, and were never more demon
strative than in our day; may they never be leas sincere and timid than they now are.
The record of the assistant teachers is rich in goodly names and characters, and yei
the record is so largely traditional and unwritten it would be impossible to produce it in
full, and so to characterize any part as not to run the risk of doing injustice to the rest.
The earliest item in regard to helping in the school room is dated August 15th, 1835, and
is a receipt in full of Miss Sarah Camp, "for services as assistant teacher in the Acade
my." This was in the time of the second preceptress. Miss Price.
The subject of female education as illustrated in the history of the Academy,
brings us ^turallyto another organization of Jacksonville identified from its inception
with this and other schools. A recently published annual report of the Secretary, M'rs,

The Ladies' Education Society. 7B
Joseph H, Bancroft, daughter of one of the earliest principals of the Academy, contains
tlie following record :
In 1833, a few ladies, who had come from various parts of the country to reside,
with hearts full of love, and wishing to be helpers in the cause of truth and knowl
edge, held preliminary meetings for the purpose of organizing in some benevolent en
terprise, "rhey were oppressed with thoughts of the future destiny of this Western
Valley, and of the millions of souls to occupy it, and of the future influence of pres
ent exertion; also that upon the moral and intellectual character of the rising genera
tion, depended the decision of the momentous question; Shall our civil and religious
liberty be perpetuated, or shall this Land of Promise become the stronghold of error?
The first year, five were aided, receiving tuition and books, assisting in some fam
ily as part compensation for board. The third year, forty-five were assisted in differ
ent parts of the State. The association met with favor wherever known. It was a
common object, the emancipation of the female mind, which ignorance had too long
bound. Friends and means were raised up, not bounded by rivers, or hemmed in by
mountains. Auxiliaries were formed in New York City, Rochester, New York; Mad
ison, Wisconsin; Davenport, Iowa; Chicago, Galesburg, Springfield, Canton, Peoria
and Waverly, Illinois. Sewing circles in New Haven, Connecticut; Brooklyn, New
York, and in various other places, contributed to the treasury.
Feeble and insignificant the effort they might put forth, yet they rejoiced in add
ing to the infiuences which would decide the future destiny of this country. With
these thoughts burning in their souls, they assembled October 4th, 1833, in the school
room occupied by Miss Crocker, afterwards Mrs. Wolcott, on the spot where the First
Presbyterian Church now stands in ruins. Mrs. Ellis who taught the first school for
girls, and was deeply interested in anything pertaining to their welfare, had fallen a
victim to the cholera,' which swept over this prairie during the summer.
At this meeting a constitution was adopted. Article 1st reads thus: This Asso
ciation shall be called, "The Ladies' Association for Educating Females," the princi
pal object of which shall be to encourage and assist young ladies to qualify themselves
for teatjhing, and to aid in supporting teachers in those places, where they cannot
otherwise be sustained.
These young women after receiving instruction, were to return to their homes,
gather the children together, teaching them to read, for in some homes not one could
read. Often in a settlement, parents were found unable to read and indifferent to the
improvement of their children. *****
The first money received by the society was October 1833, being a donation
from Mrs. Duncan of  $ 5 00
Total receipts the first year  246 40
fiftieth year  -  280 00
Expended in the education of five young ladies the first year  29 58
" " " " six " " " fiftieth year  138 00
* * * In 1853 the name was changed, and now bears the title "Ladies' Educa
tion Society of Jacksonville, Illinois."
In July, 1872, it was incorporated, thereby enabling it to hold bequests in a legal
manner. Several legacies have since been given, which, with all financial matters
will be presented by the treasurer. The business is transacted by twelye managers
who meet each month.
Passing from educational chronicles to the history of the churches of Jacksonville
from 1830 to '3,6 inclusive, we find that in 1831 the Presbyterians erected a frame build
ing, in place of the famous log cabin, their pastor, the Rev. John M. Ellis, laboring
earnestly to accomplish this desirable end.
The following is the pastoral call given to Mr. Ellis and the subscription list of his
supporters in the year 1830 :
"The congregation of the Jacksonville church being on sufficient grounds well sat
isfied of the qualifications of you — John M. Ellis — and having good lessons from our
experience of your labors, that your ministrations in the Gospel will be justifiable to
our spiritual interests do earnestly call and desire you to undertake the pastoral office
in said congregation, promising you in the discharge of your duty all proper support,
encouragement and obedience in the Lord. And that you may be free from worldly
cares and avocations, we hereby promise and oblige ourselves to pay to you the sum of
four hundred dollars, and rely upon the Home Missionary Society to pay one hundred
and fifty of the same, promising to relieve the said society in -whole or in part as soon
as our circumstances will admit, in yearly payments, during the time of your being and
continuing the regular pastor of this church. In testimony whereof we have respec-
tively subscribed our names this 15th day of March, 1830."

74

Old Time Subscription Lists.

SUBSOKIPTION.

William C.Stevenson 
J. G. Edwards 
Bedford Brown 
-Tames Kerr 
John Leeper 
.lames Mears 
Edwin A. Mears 
Robert Smith 
.Tohn Scrogin 
Elliot Stevenson 
Hervey McClung 
Thomas White.'. 
To rent of house and lot 
W. C. Posey 
Thomas Prentice 
Joseph M. Fairfield 
Waller Jones 
S.T.Matthews 
Dennis Rockwell 
John Ayers 
Henry Stanford 
J. P. Wilkinson 
J. R. Broming 
C Hook 
Miller & Thomas 
Samuel D. Lockwood
Bazaleel Gillett (in store goods) .
Ero Chandler 

10 00
10 00
5 00
10 00
800 5 00
500 500
5 00
8005 00
3 50
5 00
a 50
3 50
5 00
3 50
3 50
5 00
13 00
5 00
10 Ct)

500
2 50

10 qO
10 00
5 00
13 00
20 00
8 00
8 00
8005 00
5005 00
10 00
60 00
12 00
10 Og
5 00
3 50
2 50
5 00
3 50
2 50
5 00
3 50
3 50
5 00
13 00
5 00
10 00

Making a total in rent, cash and produce of $250.00.
"And here is another subscription list dated 1831." .
We, the undersigned, being desirous that the worship of God should be maintained
in this town, and placing implicit confidence in the Rev. J. M. Ellis, as a faithful min
ister of the Gospel, do agree to pay the sum set opposite our respective names, towards
his support, for the year commencing March 15th, 1831 :
James Kerr, $13.00; Jas. G. Edwards, $13.00; David B. Ayers, $30.00; Edwin A.
Mears, 5.00; Alex. Robertson, $10.00; John Leeper, $30.00; Wm. Sewall, $10.00;
James Mears, $8.00; Elihu Wolcott, $35.00; Hervey McClung, $5.00; B. Brown, $8.00;
MaroM. L. Reed, $5.00; Elliot Stevenson, $5.00; Ero Chandler, $10.00; H. C. Wis
wall, $3.00 ; Thos. White, $5.00 ; C.H.Perry, $2.00; C. Hook, $2.50; L.W.Graham,
$3.00; A.M. Clark, $5.00; Jacob Barton, $3.00 ; Wm. C. Posey, $13.00; J. M. Sturte
vant, $3.00; W. C, Stevenson, $10.00; Lancelot Clark, $5.00; John Hill, $3.00; Jno. J,
Hardin, $5.00; Thos. B. Prentice, $10.00; B. Gillett, $8.00; Jos. Duncan, $15.00; Jer.
Graves, $5.00 ; S. D. Lockwood, $12.00,
And to show that this congregation were not unmindful of those less able to pro
vide for regular Gospel ministration, we append a home mission collection taken up in
1832, J. P. Wilkinson, $10.00; J. M. Sturtevant, $10.00; Elihu Wolcott, $15,00; M, A,
Wilkinson, $10.00; Jas. G. Edwards, $13.00 ; M, M, L. Reed, $6.00 ; C.H.Leonard,
$5.00; L. Hardin, $5,00; Joel Catlin, $5.00; Bedford Brown, $5.00; Mary B. January,
$1.00; Joseph S. Graves, $1.00; R. McCormick, $1.00; P. W, January, $1,00; M. Tur
ner, $1,00; E. Sewall, $1.00; Eliza Tovm, $1.00; Annie Ellis, $3.00; Alvin M, Dickson,
$3.35; Edward Beecher, $13,00; Ero and E, Chandler, $16.00; David B, Ayers, $10,00;
Mary Lockwood, $10,00; Tim. Chamberlain, $10,00; Coleman Gibson, $6,50; James
Mears, $5,00; B. Gillett, $5.00; T, Beecher, $5.00; Salem Town, $3.00; H. C, Wiswall,
$3.50; Martha Hackett, $3.50; Allen Hitchcock, $3.00; Ralph Perry, $3,00; Stephen
Nash, $3.00; C. E. Blood, $2.50; Lancelot Clark, $2.00; Eleanor Edwards, $2,00; total
$195.75 all in cash; also Wm. Sewall one-third part of the production of three acres in
wheat. Rev. Alfred H. Dashiel was installed as pastor in December 1835,

Founding The Congregational Church. 7-5
The Congregationalists of Jacksonville, like others of their faith in the west, wor
shipped with the Presbyterians up to the last of the year 1833, under the arrangement
entered into by the highest judicatories of the two denominations in 1801 — known as
"The Plan of Union,"
The Jacksonville Congregational Church was organized in the jNIethodist Episcopal
Church, then located on East Morgan Street, on Sunday, December 15, 1833. "The ser
mon was preached by Rev. Wm. Carter, a young licentiate, w-ho was already engaged
to be their pastor, but who was not yet ordained" says Rev. J. M. Sturtevant, in his his
torical discourse delivered December 15, 1883, on the fiftieth anniversary^ of the church .
Prof. Sturtevant propounded the creed and covenant to the members of the new church
and now gives their names as follows :
Timothy Chamberlain, Abraham Clark, Melicent Clark, Elihu Wolcott, Jeremiah
Graves, Mary Ann Graves, Benjamin AUyn, Cynthia M. AUyn, Edwin A. Mears, Sarah
Mears, Maro M. L. Reed, Elizabeth L, Reed, Daniel Mann, Benjamin B, (Jhamberlain,
Asa Talcolt, Maria Talcott, Salem Town, Joseph Town, Eliza Town, Jesse B. Clark,
Ralph Perry, Robert B. Lord, James K. Morse, Edwin Scofield, George B. Hitchcock,
Elizabeth Scott, Mary Chamberlain, Abigail Chenery, Eliza Hart, Lucy Town, Frances
J. Wolcott, Abigail Graves; three days afterwards the following names were added:
George T. Purkitt, Calvin S. Beach.
In September 1835, less than two years after the organization, its flrst house for
worship — the first Congregational church in Illinois — was dedicated. At the request
of the beloved pastor. Rev. William Carter, Prof. Sturtevant preached the sermon, and
he ^ays, forty-eiglit years later — "It was then much the most commodious religious edi
fice in the place. It was on the east side of the square, a few doors soutli of East State
Street." Previous to building this wooden structure, the society occupied for a time a
house where the Athenaeum now stands, and then one on West State Street, where
Williamson's store now is.
In 1883 at the "Golden" anniversary of the church, the venerable Dr. Post, of St.
Louis, is his sermon referred to the organization as follows :
"The year 1833, the birth year of this church, calls up the landscape under the skies
of the far-away mgrning; the morning of this land and its people, of its settlements, its
institutions, its churches, its schools, its colleges and of my own life also. It was morn
ing with the freshness and hope, the ideals and possibilities that hover over it like the
many hued cloud around the sunrise; the morning that comes but once to a land or
to a human life, and then drifts away into the Eternal past to return no more. The per
sonages of that far off morning have most of them drifted with it into climes beyond our
mortal horizon. Of the few that remain, the faces remembered as once so smooth and
fair, are written over now with the legend of life's history, and the prophecies of the
transfiguration; themselves changed and in a changed world, and with look toward the
setting sun. 'The hour calls up my own first coming to this place, then a frontier settle
ment, toward the great northwestern wilderness. My coming from St. Louis here, most
of the way by a walk through a lone blazed or bridle path, through solitary wilds, where
the red man had gone and the pale face had not yet eniered. It calls up my first entrance
and early career here, my first public solemn gonfession of Christ, with visible union and
communion with His people, in the presence of a little band of disciples gathered in the
upper chamber of a small printing office not far from the place where we are now as
sembled. So far had I come from the cities and churches of the east and from the com
panionship of my early lite, to make my first formal public christian confession in these
wilds in the ends of the earth, and with a little band of belieyers far away from the
knowledge of the great world and with postal communication with it measured by
moons rather than days, separate from its thought and care, and to the extent that they
were known in their purpose to establish a Congregational Church, largely regarded with
coldness and positive disapproval rather than sympathy, by the eastern churches, to
whose principles of church order they adhered. ******
The little band which gathered in that upper chamber contained elements of strong
character for the enterprise it had undertaken. It numbered among its members, earnest,
intelligent, true-hearted, devoted, stalwart men, some bringing much of the granite of
the Old Rock, some with something of the metal of the Cromwellian Ironsides in their
veins, to blend with the charm of gentle, cultivated, brave and saintly womanhood, in
the composition of the infant church. Their names are this moment on my lips, as their
memory is in my heart, but time forbids my beginning with names, when I shall not
know where to stop, only let me record my grateful remembrance as due from me to the

76 The First Episcopalian Church.
Rev. William Carter, to whose christian intelligence and good sense I owe it that I was
able to unite with the church with no false commitments in the form and terms of my
acceptance of its creed,"
According to a copy of a memorandum made by the Rev. John Batchelder in 1884,
and by him deposited in the corner stone of the church, laid the same year. "The
parish of Trinity Church, Jacksonville, was organized by a few individuals, on the 11th
of August, 1832." This was the flrst parish belonging to the Protestant Episcopal
church, that was organized in the- state of Illinois. Previous to the organization of this
parish, no Episcopal clergyman had labored within the limits of the state, and so far as
can be ascertained, but few sermons had ever been preached by Episcopal clergymen
in tlie state. As it may be a matter of interest to know something more of the early
history of a parish which, in this land of yesterday, has already become venerable for
antiquity, we venture to make a few extracts from the record, carefully preserved, of
those feeble beginnings.
"Trinity Church was destitute of a minister, till the summer of the year 1833, when
the Rev. John Batchelder, from Providence, R. I., took charge of it. In the autumn of
this year, 1833, the wardens and vestry of the parish determined to take immediate meas
ures for the erection of a house of public worship. The following spring, the erection of
the church was commenced, Ebenezer T. Miller being the architect. On the 7th of June
the corner stone was laid with suitable religious exercises by the Rt. Rev. Bishop Smith,
of Kentucky, he being then on a visit to Illinois, At the time of laying the corner stone
of this church Andrew Jackson was president of the United States, and John Reynolds
was governor of the state of Illinois. Jeremiah Barker and Bazaleel Gillett were the
wardens of Trinity Church, and Joseph Coddington. Ebenezer T. Miller, Samuel^M.
Prosser, Dennis Rockwell, Ignatus R. Simms, Richard W. Dummer, Aylet H. Buckner,
and Austin Brockenbrough were the vestry. At the time when this parish was organized
the number of famflies of which it was composed was about twelve. The year after the
rector commenced his labors among them, more than one-half of this membership was
separated from the parish by death or removals.
The number of the families now (August 1834) attached to the society is fourteen.
In audition to this, the English settlement at Lynnville is included within the rector's
charge. The number of communicants has never exceeded five; that is the present num
ber. During the first year of the present (then) rector's labors the sacrament of the
Lord's Supper was administered but once. "Two children were baptized by him. There
were four burials and one marriage. *
January 9th, 1836, the church being completed, it was consecrated to the worship
and service of Almighty God, by the Rt. Rev, Jackson Kemper, D. D., missionary bishop
of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the atates of Indiana and Missouri, and having in
charge the diocese of Illinois, in absence of its bishop, the Rt. Rev. Philander Chase, D, D. "
It ought to be added to the foregoing statement of the Rev. John Batchelder, that
the church was erected fin land donated by Dennis Rockwell, Esq. Revs. Messrs.
Batchelder, Hyer, Darken, Worthington, and Morrison, were successively in charge of
the parish in its earlier years. The last named gentleman, now of Chicago, remained
true to his charge during fifteen years of patient, unobtrusive usefulness, and it must
be exceedingly gratifying to him to contemplate the elegant and tasteful result of his
long and faithful labor in the now flourishing parish, worshiping (1884) regularly in a
neat and commodious church, under the care of the Rev, Dr. Easter.
When the city was platted, in 1825, the Methodists were holding meetings in a
cabin, and continued to occupy it until the completion of the log school house in which
Judge Thomas taught the first school in Jacksonville. They worshiped in this log
structure when not occupied by other denominations, until about 1830, when they
erected a brick church, which stood on East Morgan Street, near East Street, This was
the first brick church in the county.
The successive M, E. preachers of this period, at "Jacksonville Station," were as
follows :
1831, Wm. Askins and J. T, Mitchell; 1832, W, S. Crissy; 1838, Thomas J. Starr,
(dead); 1834, S. T. Robinson, (dead); 1835, J. T. Berger, (dead); 1836, J. T. Mitchell'
(dead.)

Dr. Sturtevant — Father Dickens — Carrying Double. 77
The presiding elders were :
1831, Peter Cartwright; 1833-'84, Simon Peter; 1835, J. Sinclair.
In 1883 the semi-centennial of Jacksonville Methodism was celebrated in the
spacious M. E. Church. Among the speakers was the venerable Dr. Sturtevant, who
had then lived in the city fifty-four years. He said :
I am glad to remember that the city of Jacksonville did not have its origin in the
horse race, gambling hell, or other rascality. It was in the church. When I came here
(in 1829) there were two churches — the First Presbyterian and the Methodist, and in less
than four hours after my arrival in this city, I was preaching in the former one of these
two churches. Clear back to the beginning of this town there was a religious atmos
phere. The foundation of this church is entitled to a glorious record with the first.
This town has always been a sort of a Jerusalem where great things were to be done for
the christian cause. This is the cause of the peculiar past history of the place, and the
reason that the Institutions for the Blind, Deaf andDumb and Insane are here, and that
so many iuslitutions of learning are located in this city.
There is far more christian kindred in this town now than there was in those early
days. Let the same improvement go on and on still. I want to say before I sit down
that the work which I have been connected with owes a debt of gratitude lo this church
for its kindness and accommodation in the past, and I desire to return my most hearty
thanks for past favors.
Among the pioneer Methodist preachers of that day and this vicinity was Father
Dickens, lately deceased, who was at the time of his death the oldest effective pastor in
the old Illinois Conference — the mother and grand-mother of all the other conferences.
Mr. Dickens tells of himself and those times, as follows :
"I was raised in the old Tennessee state, right under the shadow of General Jackson's
hermitage; in 1829 concluded could do better; took rib from the south and came north,
in 1830, just before that ever memorable great snow; lived within two miles of Jackson
ville that hard winter. We had eaten all the potatoes, and had drawn heavily on old hog
and hominy, and thought we must have someCmeal. A long journey waa made to find
a mill that had not been frozen up, and a terrible time had in getting through the snow
in the bitter cold, nearly freezing to death.
He told also about ferrying a bride over a swollen stream in a hog trouj,h, about
eight feet long and- fourteen inches wide. They got him to do it because they said he
was the best prepared to die. Once he attended a camp meeting in a log building, when
a dog was disturbed by one of the congregation. This dog howled and every dog about
— and there were about a hundred of them — set up a howling and fighting, and it seemed
as if pandemonium was let loose. The congregation rushed out and drove them off, and
the rest of the services were sadly interrupted. He says;
"Those days were such as tried men's souls, their mettle, their nature. 1 would
like to take some of the young preachers around some of those circuits — one of them
was 300 miles round— flies terrible; mud bottomless; no bridges, no ferries, no canoes;
sometimes they would swim; sometimes swim their horses; and in winter cross on the ice.
Those were times of trial, but some of them were the happiest days I ever spent. They
thought they were laying the foundation for some grand future, but they never expected
to see what we see to-day,"
At an "Old Settlers' Picnic" — an annual feature of modern Morgan county life —
Mr. Larkin was called out and said :
"I came to Morgan county in 1836, The county was entirely new. The first time
I was ever in Jacksonville I came in town, stayed over night, and in the morning I took
breakfast at the mound. The jail when I first came to this state stood about where
the Park House now is, and any man could go through it with a jack knife."
Mr. John File, of the northwestern part of the county, was called on and (ontrib-
uted some remarks of which we give a few :
"I came to this state in 1831 and was in a store. They thought I was about sharp
enough to make a peddler. I followed that business two years with several others, now
citizens of this city. In those days if you would go to a house and ask to put up they
would say certainly, if you can put up with what we have. The hospitality al every
house was almost always very warm. One of the questions that was always asked in
buying a horse was 'will he carry double;' because we always took the girls on behind us
on the horse. Things are very different now-a-days, and young people enjoy themselves
in different ways." .
Mr. T. Shepherd bought a farm of Levi Fanning, and moved to it ]\Iarcli 8tli, 1831.

78 A Hardshell Preacher — County Officials.
He made his first well bucket, by chopping off a section of a log, boring an auger hole
through it, and lengthening and enlarging the hole with a chisel until nothing remained
of the block but a thin rim. He then fitted in a bottom. A split appearing in the side
he was compelled to take his bucket to Fielding Grimsley, the nearest blacksmith, to
get it ironed. That individual, when questioned as to what he was doing, dryly replied
that he was "hooping Shepherd's folly." Mr. Shepherd was a "hardshell" Baptist
preacher, and was highly esteemed for noble traits of character and strict rectitude.
He remained on Big Sandy until his death, a few years since, and left a large family.
In 1830 a meeting of the citizens of Jacksonville, was held in the "cabinet shop of
Jolm Henry, in pursuance of a public call, to make arrangements for the celebra
tion of the Fourth of July. The usual committee was appointed with the venerable
John Eads as chairman. The committee met in Henry's cabin to make the necessary
arrangements. It turned out to be a successful observance of the day, and the first cel
ebration in this county of the Nation's birth that there is any account or recollection of.
It is worthy of mention here that in 1833 Stephen Arnold Douglas, afterwards of
state and national reputation as statesman and patriot, came to Illinois. He was born
April 13, 1813, at Brandon, Vermont. He landed at Meredosia in 1833, and tried to se
cure a school to teach, but was unsuccessful, so he went on foot to Naples and from
there to Jacksonville. At both these places he was unable to get a school. He then
went to Winchester, where he succeeded in getting a school of forty pupils at a salary
of $3 per quarter.
In 1834 Mr. Isaac D. Rawlings opened shop in the tailoring business in this city.
Subsequently he abandoned custom work and devoted himself to ready ' made clothing
exclusively. Steadily but constantly the business grew on his hands, through the strict
est adherence to his upright business principles. In the year 1863, his sons Isaac and
Daniel were taken into the firm but the business continued under the old name. In
1868, however, the senior member retired but is still living as one of our honored citi
zens, represented in our business circles by his two merchant sons.
As indicative of merchandise prices here in olden times, the following document
is of interest. Mr. Stevenson thinks this was about the first credit he ever had in a
store in Jacksonville :
Mr. Elliot Stevenson, To Hook & Wiswall, Dr.
March.2d, 1832, for 1 Curry Comb  $ 38
" " " for 1 pair Cards  50
Sept. 29th, " for 12 lbs. Iron, at 81^  ' '" i 03
Oct. 13th, " for 5 lbs. Coffee  '. i.oo
$2.90
The following were the trustees of the town of Jacksonville during these years :
1834.— A. Brockenbrough, Jas. Dunlap, William Thomas, T. Thornton, Jno. T. Cassell.
1835.— John Hurst, Jacob Cassell, Thos. T. January, James J. Tilton, John J. Hardin.
1836.— William Brown, William W. Happy, Thomas W. Melendy, William P. War
ren, Murray McConnel.
The county officials. Representatives, Congressmen, &c., were as follows :
1830-'32.— Sheriff, Samuel T. Mathews; Coroner, Wm. Jarred; County Commission
ers, Wm. Gillham, Jas. Green, Wm. Woods; Representatives, N. Cloud, J. M. Fairfield;
State Senator, James Evans.
1832-'34.— Congressman, Joseph Duncan; State Senator, Waller Jones; Representa
tives, Murray McConnel, Samuel T. Matthews, John Henry, John Wyatt ; Sheriff, Wm.
Orear ; County Commissioners, William Gillham, Wm. Woods, James Green ; Coroner,
Jacob Redding.
1834-'36.— Congressman, Wm. L. May ; State Senator, Wm. Thomas ; Representatives,
Newton Cloud, John Henry, Wm. Gordon, John Wyatt ; Sheriff, William Orear ; Coroner'
Anthony Arnold ; County Commissioners, Jacob Redding, Jacob Ward, James Green.

Corn Dodger and Coffee — Business in 1832. 79
1836-'38. — Sheriff, Alexander Dunlap ; Coroner, Anthony Arnold ; County Commis
sioners, Jacob Redding, Jacob Ward, James Ethel ; Representatives, Stephen A. Douglas,
W, W. Happy, John J. Hardin ; State Senator, William Orear.
L. F, Stoddard, no-w of Ramsey, III,, wrote in 1883, to a friend in Jacksonville, of
these times, thus : \
"Fifty years ago, when you and I were young men, these prairies were sparsely
settled, in fact but few farms were found except alone; the edges of the timber. Then
houses were of logs, covered with boards and floored with puncheons, chimneys of
sticks and mortar, inhabited b}' as whole-souled, hospitable set of people as ever lived.
The benighted stranger was never turned away, 'The entertainment was primitive
but generous — corn dodger, jerked venison and coffee the staple diet; the scaffold
bedstead or a pallet upon the floor, was the couch.
Our mode of transportation was in the saddle, or if by wheels it was in a wagon
drawn by oxen. During the summer if we crossed the prairies we necessarily traveled
by night, on account of the flies (green heads). Now how changed! The cabins are
all gone, and with them, I fear, much of the sociability. The prairies are all in culti
vation, railroads and telegraph lines crossing them in every direction. Villages and
various industries have sprung up on every hand * » * *
Camp meetings are conducted so diflerent from what they used to be when you
and I were boys.
Then we had no young man to gather and report a synopsis of all that passed —
arrivals, departures; who preached and his discourse, and who was to lead the meet
ing the following day, nor had we a Journal to publish his reports.
As already noted. Judge Thomas of our city, served as quartermaster-sergeant, in
the Winnebago War under Col. Neale. From 1828 he served two years by appointment
of Gov. Edwards, as State's Attorney for the (then) fifth circuit. He was one of a com
mission to inquire into the relations of the government and Black Hawk, and served as
quartermaster under Gov. Duncan in the Black Hawk War.
He was twice elected to the State Senate — in 1834 and '38 and then elected as
judge of the first circuit. He was the author of the first bill which became a law about
1839, to authorize free public schools.
The Church of Christ was organized in January, 1832, with seventeen members,
prominent among whom were Josephus Hewett, John T. Jones, Jacob Cassell, and
Peter Hedenberg. Of these Mr, Hewett became the first preacher. In October, Mr.
Stone was instrumental in effecting a union of this and a similar organization which had
been organized some time previously. In 1835, Elder Gates, of Louisville, became pastor.
But no glimpses of "auld lang syne" are quite so vivid as those gained from the
weekly newspaper of the time. From copies of The Illinois Patriot, James G. Edwards,
editor, issued in January and February 1832, we glean the following facts :
Among those who were in business and who advertised, were John Ament, Joseph
McKee, cabinet makers; James Fally, N. H. Gest, butchers; Gillian & Long, merchants.
Upper Alton; Knapp & Pogue hardware merchants, Beardstown; Drs. Chandler and
Jones, Jacksonville; Gillett & Gordon, who "want all accounts settled either in pork,
wheat or cash;" Wm, Manning, jr., cooper, &c., &c.
Among the agents of the Patriot announced are Gershom Jayne, M, D., Spring
field; Wm. R. Smith, Esq., Naples; C. H. Perry, Exeter; F. Arenz, P. M., Beardstown;
H, Fellows, P,M,, Rushville; Postmaster, Quincy; B. W. Holliday. P. M., White Hall;
Justus Rider, Esq., Carrollton; Wm, H. Brown, Esq., Vandalia; W. Manning, jr., Al
ton; Levi Harlan, Winchester, and a score of others in the region between St. Louis
and Galena.
The issue of January 7th opens with a grand New Tear's address, knocking the
kings and queens of the old world right and left, and, in dealing with domestic afl'airs,
hits "Old Hickory" a severe blow in these lines:
"He has his failings, which we think
Should not he passed without a wink—
His wicked system of reform
Has gather'd o'er him a dark storm."
Of the cabinet of that time, the poet says:
"The cabinet, of late turned out.
Have kicked up a confounded rout,"
He laudeth Henry Clav, at the expense of "Old Hickory," in this style:
"Old Hickory," in our estimation.
Has lost the people's approbation —
His brightest laurels fade away
Before the blaze of Henry Clay."

80 The Patriot in 1832 — Jacksonville in 1834.
It is an elegant effusion, and we wonder why Cheever overlooked it in his "Poets
and Poetry of America."
Next comes a long memorial to congress, gotten up at Quincy, to locate and con
struct a railroad from Buffalo in the state of New York, to the Mississippi River.
Stories and miscellaneous items follow: A letter from Joseph Duncan, at Washing
ton, to Col. John J. Hardin, concerning the pay due "Capt, Edmonson's company.'
The proposals of Benjamin McCary, to publish the "Beardstown Chronicle. A
long "list of letters," signed by Dennis Rockwell, postmaster. Then come numerous
advertisements— among the names we notice Gillett & Gordon; William Thomas,
school commissioner, the same as attorney at law; Jesse Barber, and Alton and Beards
town business cards.
In another copy of this same paper— one of the issues of October, 1838— we find at
the head of the editorial columns the name of the same James G. Edwards, once of the
Burlington Hawkeye. The Patriot was published weekly, and as in 1832,at $3.50 in ad
vance, $3 00 if not paid within six months, and $3.50 if not paid within a year. And
yet it was a four page paper, and to-day men are unreasonable enough to grumble at
$1.50 for a ten page paper. From the advertisements we learn that John S. Clark
"wishes to sell his farm lying seven miles north of Jacksonville, and one-half mile east
of New Lexington in the Jersey Prairie."
Gillett & Gordon advertise that they "will pay fifty ceWts per bushel, of sixty pounds)
in goods, for good, clean, dry, merchantable wheat delivered at the Exeter Mills."
A large cutting from a Sentinel of August, 1835, gives us the name of William H.
Coyle as editor and proprietor, and the name of Hugh Lawson White as "the people's
candidate" for president. In the advertising columns R. William Dummer's card ap
pears as attorney at law, Frederick Collins prints a notice as executor of Anson Collins'
estate, Carleton H. Perry as administrator of the estate of David Dinsmore, and John
White as administrator of Thomas Smith. The leading editorial is in relation to the
Jacksonville Female Academy, of which Miss E. P. Price was then "superintendent."
The writer says : "The Academy is yet in its infancy, having only been incorporated
at the last session of the legislature, and this being its first chartered term. The pres
ent number of pupils is from twenty to thirty," etc., etc. "A superior seminary for the
instruction of young ladies in a sound and refined education we may safely say exists
not in our state."
Among the memorable personages of those days we must not forget "Grandma
Conn." She was born in one of the West India Islands, educated in New York. She
married Mr. Conn and afterward emigrated to Cincinnati, thence to the vicinity of Kas
kaskia, but later removed to Jacksonville in 1829, with Rev. Mr, Ellis, who married her
half sister. Mrs. Ellis died with cholera in June 1833. Mrs. Elizabeth Conn was the
mother of eight children, Richard, Matilda, Julia, William, Curtis, Eliza, Samuel and
Eunice. She was always cheerful and as full of life as many, much her junior.
Mrs. Conn was raised a Catholic, and after removing to Kaskaskia she formed the
acquaintance of the leading Protestant families there, among others an intelligent Prot
estant lady. They had freciuent discussions upon the subject of their faith, and ulti
mately agreed to discuss the various points. Says a friend : In relating this to me she
asked me what 1 thought was the result. I replied that I supposed she was made a
Protestant, as she was then a very zealous one. She replied "Yes, but the other be
came as zealous a Catholic."
From a "Gazetteer of Illinois" written by J, M, Peck, and published at Jackson
ville by R. Goudy, 1834, a copy of which is in the Free Library, we learn that then
"Jacksonville has sixteen stores, six groceries, (?) two druggists shops, two taverns or
hotels, one baker, two saddlers, three hatters, one silversmith, one watchmaker, two
tinners, three cabinet makers, one machinist, one house and sign painter, six tailors,
two cordwainers, four blacksmiths, three chair makers, one coach maker, one wagon
maker, one wheelwright, eleven lawyers and ten physicians. It has one steam flour
and one saw mill, a manufactory for cotton yarn, a distillery, two oil mills, two card
ing factories, a tannery, and three brickyards, with a proportion of various mechanics
in the building line to other trades.

Illinois College in 1834 — Waverly Founded. 81
The public houses are, a spacious Court House, of brick, a neat frame building
for Ihe Presbyterian house of worship; a large brick building for the Methodist socie
ty, and a handsome edifice, also of brick, for the Episcopalian denomination; a female
academy, a brick market house, and a counly jail.
The college edifices are one mile west of town. There are two printing oflices
thai publish weekly papers, the "Patriot" and the "Qaiette," and also a book and job
printing oflBce, with a book bindery attached.
The present population is about 1,800, exclusive of the college students Situated
near Ihe center of the county, and in the midst of one of the finest tracts of land,
densely populated with industrious and enterprising farmers, with the advantages of
good water, health and good society. Jacksonville must continue to prosper, and
doubtless will attract many emigrants, who are seeking an agreeable home in the far
West." Of those then engaged in trade or business in this town, how many and who are
still so engaged ? The watch-maker was Mr. Nolan. Of the lawyers, probably Judge
Thomas is the only one now living here. And of the physicians. Dr. Henry Jones.
So many lawyers were credited to the town, we presume some must have been enumer
ated who did not reside, but only practiced here.
In an appendix is a table giving the counties in the State (60,) "vote in 1834," and
estimated population — Morgan is credited with a population of 22,950, being 1,350 more
than Sangamon, and the largest in the State. This was before Scott and Cass were
sliced off. Cook county is credited with 3,265.
Of Illinois College it is stated that the buildings consist of a brick edifice 104 feet
in length, 40 feet wide, five stories high including the basement. To this are attached
two wings, each 38 feet long and 28 feet wide, three stories high, including basement.
The chapel is a separate building, 65 feet long, and 36 feet wide, two stories high.
There are also upon the premises a farm house, barn, bake-house, workshops for stu
dents who wish to perform manual labor, and other buildings. The farm consists of
300 acres of land all under fence.
Students who choose are allowed to employ a portion of each day in manual labor,
either upon the farm or in the workshop. Some individuals earned each $150 during
the year. The library consists of about 1,500 volumes. There are 16 students connected
with the college classes, and 60 students in the preparatory department. The faculty
consisted of Rev. Edward Beecher, Rev. J. M. Sturtevant, Truman M. Post, J. B. Tur
ner, Erastus Colton, and Dr. Henry Jones, lecturer on chemistry.
Other places in the near vicinity of Jacksonville are "Deaton's Mill," one of the
first settlements in Morgan county, on the Mauvaisterre, three miles northwest fron:
Jacksonville. Here is a mill and a large and fiourishing settlement.
"English Settlement" is ip Morgan county, west of Jacksonville, on Cadwell, Wal
nut and Plum Creeks. There are about one hundred families, mostly from Yorkshire,
England, and farmers. They appear to be well pleased with the country, and to be ac
cumulating property.
Of the Mauvaisterre it is said, "for beauty of situation, fertility of soil, salubrity
of climate, a due proportion of timber and prairie, good water, and almost every other
advantage for agricultural purposes, no country in Ihe widespread valley of the west
excels this; and yet, by a most singular misnomer, the French, who explored the Illi
nois River, called it the ' Mauvaise-terre' — poor land."
The year 1834 witnessed the arrival of Cleveland J. Salter whose death nearly fifty
years later was a sore loss not only to Waverly, but to our county. The year after his
first visit to Jacksonville, Mr. Salter invested largely in Morgan county lands, purchas
ing some 5,000 acres in the southeastern portion. In 1836 the town of Waverly was
laid out by him and Messrs. D. B. Salter, A. C. Twining and J. A. Tanner. They dona
ted the land for the public square and also 640 acres for educational purposes. A $5,000
building was put up and a fiourishing high school established.
Crime was not unknown or unpunished in these primeval days, although churches
had been planted and a God-fearing sentiment prevailed. In an old and time-worn book

82 Public Flogging for Forgery.
in the Morgan county court house "A," p. 343, Law Record) can still be found the fol
lowing recorded as a proceeding of the September term of court, 1881, Samuel D. Lock-
wood, judge, Samuel T. Matthews, sheriff.
The People of Illinois )
vs. [-Upon indictment for forgery.
Charles King. )
The said Charles King being brought to the bar in custody of the sheriff and being
inquired of whether he had anything to say why the court should not now proceed to
pronounce sentence of the law against him, and replied that he had not, whereupon it
is ordered by the court that defendant be fined in the sum of fifty dollars, that he be
imprisoned for the term of four months in the jail of the county of Morgan, that he
receive on his bare back twenty-five lashes for the offense of forgery, whereof he stands
convicted by the verdict of the jury. And it is ordered that the sheriff inflict the
punishment of stripes on the defendant on the flrst day of December, next, between
the hours of ten o'clock and two o'clock, of that day, on the public square of Jack
sonville. It is further ordered that the defendant pay the costs of this prosecution
and be imprisoned until the fine and costs be paid and the costs of imprisonment.
There are citizens now living who saw the sentence of the court carried out. The
man. King, was soundly flogged. An old citizen asserts, however, that the report that
in this public flogging blood was drawn is incorrect. He states that the whipping was
administered in the mildest degree consistent with the carrying out of the sentence,
and that the kind-hearted sheriff was moved to tears when he was ordered to administer ,
the punishment. There are other instances of public fiogging; one of Benjamin Crisp,
for larceny, and others.
Mr. J. W. Lathrop -writes to the Courier: "It seems too that some rascality went un
punished. In 1833, and previous to that time, a man named Holmes lived on what is
known as the Claybourne Coker farm, a few miles east of this city. Holmes had an excel
lent wife, and though a hard worker himself, he was looked upon with suspicion by
many of his neig'nbors as a man not to be trusted, and altogether as "slippery" in his
dealings with other men — ever ready to make a dollar, no matter by what way. It was
at length thought by some that he was regularly making counterfeit Mexican dollars,
and he was closely watched. His wife was not in sympathy with his wicked ways, and
protested strongly against his pursuit of them. At length he became alarmed lest she
should expose more than he would have the public know, and he decided to circum
vent arrest should exposure be made. On the 3d of July, 1833, he went to Naples, tak
ing his wife, to spend the Fourth. Next day he disappeared, and was never seen in
this part of the country afterward.
In 1875, Mr. Atterbury, who now lives on the same farm occupied by Holmes at
the time given above, was plowing a field near the site of the old house, when his plow
turned up an iron concern, that at once invited his scrutiny. It proved to be a pair of
iron moulds for Mexican dollars. The iron was, of course, rusted and eaten from long
burial in the ground, but the inside of the moulds was as bright as though new, and
stamps were perfect. Mr. Atterbury now has the moulds in his possession, and they
have been examined by persons among whom were many old residents who knew
Holmes well, and remember the cirumstances surrounding his disappearance, and fur
thermore, they are re-assured in their belief, by this last indisputable evidence, of
Holmes' guilt.
On the flrst Sabbath in April, 1830, Rev. John M. Ellis was installed pastor of the
First Presbyterian Church of Jacksonville.
Mr. Ellis resigned his pastorate about 1832, but his family remained in this village
until the terrible cholera year of 1838, when they all died during his absence from
home, and he learned of the fate of all at the same moment, en route homeward.
Of Mr. and Mrs. Ellis, Father Lippincott -writes in 1859 :
To those of us who knew the worth of the extraordinary woman whom the Lord
thus snatched from, him and the strength and tenderness of his affections, there was in his
behavior a delightful proof of the supporting power of faith. My first acquaintance
with him was made as they stopped at my house when removing to Jacksonville. With

Asiatic Cholera — Burning "Witches. 83
the politeness of a French lady, she combined the sobriety of the serious christian. If I
mil-judged not, her intellect was more carefully cultivated than her manners, elegant as
they were Her influence over Uft pupils was gentle but powerful. I have never known
any one who could unite so perfectly the mild and the flrm in the training of the young.
Mr. James S. Anderson, of our city, now believed to be the oldest undertaker in
America, having begun business in that line in 1832, gives his recollections of the chol
era period of 1833 as follows :
"The first case made its appearance in May or June of the year 1833. A mover
traveling by wagon through the country slopped here and bis wife was taken sick. The
citizens wenl to his assistance and the woman's disease was pronounced a case of genuine
Asiatic cholera. The citizens conveyed the sick woman and the others lo a log cabin
(lutside of town, so as nol to spread the infection. This cabin was on the ground now
owned by George Mauzy, and where he lives at present. The woman died and the peo
ple Ijurned the clothing, &c., supplied the man with money and sent him on I saw this
woman just before ghe died. Myself and several companions went to see her out of
curiosity. Two weelis afterward the second case appeared, being that of a young man
from Exeter, who was visiting relatives who kept a boarding house where Marble Block
now stands. He died, and the disease began to spread rapidly. The town at that time
CI mtained about 500 inhabitants, fully half of whom fied to the country. Of those who
remained about seventy-five were attacked with the epidemic, of whom about fifty-five
died. It was very malignant. Besides these quite a number who fled to the country
died; some of Ihem, I actually believe, were scared to death. When the disease first ap
peared my brother Robert, my partner Ross and myself were all working together.
Robert became alarmed, and wenl to father's, on the farm near Murrayville. The next
day he returned for Ross and I, but we concluded to take our chances and stay in town.
We were both young, unmarried men, and we left our shop and commenced to nurse the
sick, and we were almost the only ones who devoted our lime lo it. We went from house
lo house, sitting up night after night and day after day, waiting on the sick, preparing
the dead for burial and doing what .we could, The whole community seemed paralyzed,
and hut little business was done. I don't believe that a man would have picked up a dol
lar if he had seen it in the street. We had a hard time getting anything lo eat. Our
boarding house was broken up, and no one could take us regularly, as all were either
afflicted or waiting on those who were; but we were always welcome to a meal wherever
we could find it. The scourge lasted six weeks, and was the most terrible that ever vis
ited Jacksonville The disease usually lasted from six to twenty-four hoars before the
sufferer died. Some curious cures were effected. Occasionally, after the doctors had
given a patient up, one of what they called steam doctors would come in and cure him "
"What about coffine?"
•Well, coffins are usually made to order. We never thought of keeping a ftock on
hand; when a person died the measure ot the body was sent us and we made the coffin
out of cherry wood and lined it with domestic, but it was very seldom that any attempt
at any ornamentation was made."
•'Were funerals as expensive in those days as now?"
'•You can judge fur yourself; a good cherry coffin for a flrst class funeral cost from
$9 to S12 I kept a hearse myself and the charge for it was a dollar a funeral and some
times nothing. It was not customary to provide a string of carriages for the use of the
))ublic. My hearse was my own invention. It was a kind of buggy with a long bed and
movable seal with a truck to hold the coffin. I used lo hire it to the boys to drive around
in when not in use at a funeral. It costs more to bury a pauper now than it did in those
days to bury the owner of a thousand acres of land."
From 1824 to 1885 paupers were sold in the county, and some time in 1835 a poor-
hoiise was built.
In 1834, near Middle Creek, in Cass county, now, but in Morgan, then, a religious
society of fanatics was organized, who not only believed in witchcraft, but actually
made offerings of themselves, and were burned at the stake, to appease and propitiate,
as they believed, their offended Deity, and cast lots who of their members should be
burned at the stake. Once the lot fell to an old lady, whom the others tied and
bound to the stake, and when she began to burn she screamed so loud and pitifully that
Mr. Elmore, hunting near by, broke the door open with a fence rail, released the burn
ing woman from the stake, broke up the meetings, and the gi-and jury of Morgan
county indicted many of the members, and the religious fanatics left the country.
Noohing of interest occurred in the history of the county from the close of the

84 The Famous "Deep Snow" of 1830-'31.
Winnebago war until the fall of the "deep snow," which happened in the winter of
1830-'31. Quite a number of persons had settled iqj^the county during this interval,
and population and improvements had largely increased. This fall of snow was indeed
a remarkable event. Nothing like it had ever occurred in the annals of the northwest.
The Indians relate that years before the discovery of the Mississippi River, a great
snow fell to the depth of a man's waist. Wild animals perished in great numbers, and
the suffering among the Indians, which followed the loss of so much game, was severe
ly felt. In the early days of Kentucky a snow fell to a depth of more than a foot,
causing great privation among the settlers ; it however did not equal the "deep snow"
of 1880-'81. No meteorological events of this century are so deeply flxed in the memories of
"the oldest inhabitants" as "the deep snow" of 1831, and "the quick freeze" of 1886.
Dr. Sturtevant says of the first named :
In the interval between Christmas. 1830 and new year, 1831, snow fell over all Central
Illinois lo the depth of fully three feet on a level Then came a rain, with weather so
cold thai it froze as it tell, forming a crust of ice over Ihis three feet of snow, nearly,
but not quite, strong enough to bear a man, and finally over Ihis crust of ice there was
a few inches of very liglil snow. The clouiis passed away and the wind came down from
the northwest with extraordinary ferocity. For weeks, certainly for not less than two
weeks, the mercury in the thermometer tube was not. on any one morning, higher than
twelve degrees below zero. Tbe wind was a steady, fierce gale from the northwest, day
and night. The air was filled with flying snow, which blinded the eyes and almost
.stopped the breath of any one who attempted to face it. No man could, for any consid
erable length of lime, make his way on foot against it.
The story of such a winter may be pleasant enough to hear, to one who hopes never
to experience it; but the situation of the inhabitans of this county was certainly rather
alarming. The people were almost wholly from regions more southern than this, and
knew nothing by experience of dealing with such a depth of snow, and puch cold. In
deed I had then had some experience of New England winter, and have had some since, but
I have to this day never seen any other which bore any comparison with that. Jackson
ville had then about four hundred people We were dependent chiefly for keeping warm
on having plenty of wood, for our houses were certainly far enough from being warmly
built; and yet our supply of fuel for the winter was not, as is more commonly the case
now, piled at our doors before tne beginning of winter. It was in the forest, and must
be brought us, through thatunow, and by people who were quite unac iustomed to it.
Could it be done? It was at flrst not quite apparent that it could Our corn was in the
fields over which this covering of snow was spread, and to a great extent the wheat for
our bread was in slacks in hke condition. Snow paths could not be broken alter the
New England fashion. There, a few hours of wind blows all the snow from exposed
places, and deposits it in valleys and bebiml hills where the wind cannot reach it. A
little energy with ox teams and sleds will break out a road and there will be no more
trouble till the next snow storm. There is no truer picture than that given by Whittier
in his "Snow Bound" of the frolic of breaking the roads after a great snow storm Bui
nothing of the sort would have been of much use in our case In this level country there
is no end to the drifting as long as the snow lasts, and the wind blows There are no
covered places into which the enow can be driven, consequently the path would flll be
hind a team, or any number of teams, in a few minutes, so that the track could not be
seen. The only way in which snow paths were made was by going as nearly as we could
in the same place till the snow was finally trodden hard and rounded up like a turn pike.
This snow-fall produced constant sleighing for nine weeks, and when at last warm rains
and sunshine prevailed, about the first of March, melting the snow from fields and un
trodden places, the roads remained as lines of ice which disappeared but gradually. The
New Englander has scarcely any such experience of winter as this, certainly not unless
it be quite in northern New England. We had no railways then, nor indeed any dream
of having them. But our mail communications with the rest of the world were in
terrupted for several weeks continuously. We, in those days, had only one mail a week,
and that on horseback from Springfield, and to bring that through that snow lequired
more energy than mail boys in those days were masters of. ¦*'*'''''' •'
I cannot say, after all, that in town there was any very serious amount of suffer
ing — we did get food and fuel, and a good deal of fun and frolic out of the deep snow;
though at the expense of not a few frozen ears, noses and faces. But the loss to the
farms in stock and crops are very considerable. Some varieties of wild game were
nearly exterminated. Deer were entirely unable to protect themselves from the dogs
and the huntsmen.

The Quick Freeze — Death to Man and Beast. 85
Mr. Anderson Foreman another living resident of Jacksonville at that time writes
to the Courier, as follows :
The famous historic "deep snow" occured in the winter of 1830-'31. On the
30th of December, 1830, sleeting and snowing began and continued throughout Dec
ember. Through January and February, 1831, snow fell and in many places drifted
to the depth of .six feel and more The snow, on an average all over the country, was
three feet deep It was indeed a season of great hardships and sufl'ering to men and
beasts and birds throughout the country.
In 1836 the cold wave and quick freeze occurred. The cold wave traveled at the
rate of 70 miles an hour. Before the wave came it had been thawing and raining, and
the geese and ducks, swimming and bathing in the ponds and puddles of water, when
struck by the cold wave, froze, and were taken into the house and their wings, feet and
feathers relieved of the icicles. The wagon wheels, when they ceased to roll, froze
to the firound; and all the animals, and birds of all kinds froze "to death far and near.
Men killed their horses, and after disemboweling them crawled in and thus saved their
own lives.
Mr. Jolm W. Lathrop describes the sudden freeze thusly :
I was, at the time, boarding with Prof. Turner, who lived in a one-story frame
dwelling on the lot where now stands the fine brick dwelling of Mr. Henry Hall, on
College Avenue.
During the previous night snow fell to the depth of about eight inches, and at
sunrise the next mornine it was raining and very warm and foggy, and continued rain
ing until nearly noon. I spent the forenoon in writing, and after dinner starled to the
postofiice, which was then in the old brick court house situated on the public square.
The snow was completely saturated with the rain, so that in walking my feet went to
the bottom of the snow until I passed the Female Academy; then the cold wave struck
me, and as I drew my feet up the ice would form on my boots until I made a track
that looked more like that of a Jumbo than a No 7 boot. When I reached the square
the ice bore me up, and when I returned to Mr. Turner's, a half hour afterwards, I saw
his chickens and ducks frozen into the ice — some on one leg and some on both.
Two young men who were traveling for Philadelphia merchants were frozen to
death not far from Rushville One of them was found sitting with his back against a
tree with his horse's bridle over his arm and his horse frozen in front of him The
other young man was partly in a kneeling position, with a tinder box in one hand and
a flint in the other — with both eyes open, as though attempting to light the tinder in
the box— that being the usual mode of lighting a flre before the days of friction
matches These young men were here only a few days before, calling on the mer
chants, and, as was the custom then, traveled on horseback
The only other person who was frozen to death, who was known here, I think was
a minister known as Father Brich, then living near Galena.
According to Mr. Ensley Moore's epitome of local affairs in 1830 : The State of
Illinois had a population of 155,447, and Morgan county then included what is now Cass
and Scott counties, making about 1,114 square miles.
In 1831, Morgan county contained only 31 families; in 1835, its population was
4,053; in 1830, it was 13,381.
Dr. J. T. Cassell made his first tour to Jacksonville in 1830,and bought two lots on
the west side of the square, for $100 each. One of them is now occupied by T. J. Hook
& Co.'s store.
In the county there are "thirty mills for sawing and grinding, propelled by ani
mal or water power. Seven large steam mills are in operation, and two more have been
commenced and will be finished the present year," wrote Peck, in 1834.
Land was worth about $8 to $15 per acre, and villages were about to spring up all
around Jacksonville.
The Western Observer was published every Saturday, by James G. Edwards ; terms
$3.50 a year, if paid in advance.
"Mrs. Ellis' school re-opened on Monday, the 20th day of September; tuition per
quarter, elementary branches $8.00, higher branches $4.00, boarding per week $1.00,
washing 25 cents. Needle work is carefully taught ; the French language is spoken in
the family. Members of the school will have access to an excellent library without ad
ditional charge," says an advertisement in the Western Observer, the advertisement
bearing the date of Sept. 17, 1830.

86 Town and County Affairs in 1830.
David B, Ayers says: "The subscriber has just received, principally from Phila
delphia, the following articles, viz." (Then follows a list of paints, glass, drugs and
patent medicines, at wholesale and retail.)
The Jacksonville School Association having gone to pieces, William Sewall adver
tises his school to open under his own direction ; terms $2.50 per quarter.
"An apprentice is wanted at this office."
Capt. John Wyatt was a prominent citizen, who farmed about six miles south-east
of town. He was the father of Col. Wm. J. Wyatt, now also a prominent citizen.
Col. Joseph Morton took the census of Morgan county this year, 1880.
The Court House, which was taken out of the southwest corner of the city park in
1870, was accepted from the contractors September 8, 1830. It cost about $4,000 dollars ;
our present Court House cost about $204,000 — a slight difference.
The contracts for the "old court bouse" were made March 14th, 1839, by Joseph M,
Fairfield, John Wyatt and Samuel Rogers, county commissioners. Garrison W. Barry
and Henry Robley took the brick work for $1,720, Rice Dunbar and Henry Robley the
carpentering for 1,350, besides minor contracts to others. Henry Blanford, Isham
Dalton, John Challon and Jas. Hurst, were also employed in constructing the building.
It was the first' "brick" in the county, as at present bounded. To meet the expense of
this improvement, and for county revenue, a tax was levied on all slaves, indentured or
registered, negro or mullatto servants, on pleasure carriages, distilleries, or stock in
trade, on live stock, and all personal property except furniture.
The "old jail" was built of hewed timbers, each about one foot square, and every
wall was made double. This jail was followed by another, built in 1833, succeeded in
time by the present one on South Main street.
Minors were "bound out" until of age, when tlirown upon the county for support,
and in 1830 there was neither a "poor farm" nor "poor house."
William Gilham, James Green and William Woods were elected county commis
sioners in this year.
Venison was a favorite article of food, and, during the "deep snow" one man cap
tured thirteen deer in one day — to the best of our remembrance.
Marshall P. Ayers came to Morgan county in 1830 and Augustus E. Ayers was in
the same party.
Samuel Bateman came the same year as did Robt. L. Caldwell, Edward Craig,
James Craig, J. R. Chambers, Jesse Gunn, A. S. Gunn, Elijah Henry, George Loar, Har
rison Osborn, A. C. Patterson, F. H. Patterson, Preston Spates, John Spires, J. J. Sliep-
herd, W. D. R. Trotter, S. Turner, Elizur Wolcott, Dudley Young, and Wesley Mathers.
No trouble with Indians is known of as occurring in Morgan county, but in 1829- '30
the trouble began along the Rock River, which culminated in the Black Hawk War,
to which many of our citizens went in 1831.
One of the Jacksonville volunteers in that war has recently narrated briefiy his ex
perience in the following language :
"My experience was not a very exciting one. There had been a call for troops, the
first term of service having expired, but it was in the spring of the year and the farmers
would not volunteer. The town boys were ready to go, but the order was for cavalry
and they bad no money to buy horses, James Deaton, who was the chief military man
of this neighborhood, called out every able-bodied citizen and the first draft we had ever
experienced occurred. Somehow the thing did not work right, and a compromise was
make by which we agreed to furnish a company of infantry instead of cavalry. Cyrus
Matthews was our captain and Col. Samuel Matthews was commander of the regiment.
We marched to Beardstown and went by boat from there to Fort Welburn, opposite La
Salle on the Illinois River, where we were mustered iuto the service by General Gaines, of
the regular army. Our regiment, by reason of its being partly infantry, was stationed at
this fort, which was the base of supplies for the expedition. We stayed there until the
war was over (seventy-two days) and then came home, having never had a scratch'. If
the bill to pension the survivors of the Black Hawk war is passed our regiment ought to
be excepted, for not one of us ever received a wound or contracted any disease while in

Old Time Wedding Ceremonies. 87
the service, although some of us were badly scared by the report of the cholera amongst
Gen. Scott's troops at Chicago.
Among those from Morgan in this war, with their age in 1879 when a "Reunion"
was held, were the following :
Anderson Foreman, 70, Jacksonville; Thomas Wright, 74, Franklin; A. W. Slice,
— , Jacksonville; Arch. P. Riggs, 69, Franklin; Richard Seymour, 71, Franklin; Wil
liam Wright, 72, Waverly ; Lee T. Morris, 69, Jacksonville ; James Morrison, 80, Jack
sonville. Governor Duncan, then major general of militia, was in command of the
mounted brigade sent by Governor Reynolds to this "war." Judge Thomas went as
quartermaster of the brigade.
Commencing May 1st, 1834, there were frosts and freezes for ten consecutive
nights killing all vegetation. Even forest trees were injured so as to soon die.
"The marriage ceremony, in those days, was a very unceremonious affair," says
.lohn McConnel, whose excellent description in his "Western Sketches" we quote in full :
"The parelits never made a 'parade' about anything— marriage, least of all. They
usually gave the bride — not the 'blushing' bride — a bed, a lean horse, and some good ad
vice; and. having thus discharged their duty in the premises, returned to their work, and
the business was done. The parade and drill which now attend it.jwould have been as ridic
ulous as a Chinese dance; and the finery and ornament, at present understood to be indis
pensable on such occasions, then bore no sway in fashion. Bridal wreaths and dresses
were not known, and white kid gloves and satin slippers never heard of. Orange blos
soms — natural and artificial — were as pretty then as now; but the people were more oc
cupied with substance than with emblem.
"The ancients decked their victims for the sacrifice with gaudy colors flags and
streamers; the modems do tbe eame, and tbe cffeiings are sometimes made to quite as
barbarous deities. But the bride of the pioneer was clothed in linsey-wolsey, with hose
of woolen yarn ; and moccasins of deerskin — or, as an extra piece of finery, high-quar
tered shoes of calf -skin — preceded satin slippers. The bride-groom came in copperas col
ored jeans — domestic manufactuie — as a holiday suit; or, perhaps, a hunting shirt of
buck-skin, all fringed around the skirt and cape, a 'coon-skin' cap, with moccasins. In
stead of a dainty walking stick, with an opera- dancer's leg, in ivory, for a head, he al
ways brought his rifle, with a solid maple steck; and often, during the whole ceremony,
he did not divest himself of powder-horn and bullet-pouch.
"Ministers of the gospel were few in those days, and the words of form were usu
ally spoken by a missionary. Or. if the pioneer had no objections to Catholicism— as
many had — his place was supplied by some justice of the peace, of doubtful powers and
mythical appointment. If neither of these could be procured, the father of the bride,
himself, sometimes assumed the functions pro hcK vice, or pro tempore, of minister or jus
tice. ¦ It was al ways understood, however, that such left-handed maWiages were to be
conflrmed by the flrst minister who wandered to the frontier; and, even when the oppor
tunity did not offer for several months, no scandal ever arose — the marriage vow was
never broken. The pioneers were simple people; the refinements of high cultivation had
not yet penetrated the forests or crossed the prairies, and good faith and virtue were as
common as courage and sagacity.
"When the brief, but allsufflcient ceremony was over, tbe bride-groom resumed his
rifle, helped the bride into the saddle — or, more frequently, to the pillion behind him—
and they calmly rode away together.
"On some pleasant spot — surrounded by a shady grove, or point of timber — a new
log cabin has been built; its rough logs notched across each other at the corners, a roof
of oaken clapboards, held firmly down by long poles along each course, its floor of heavy
'puncheons.' its broad, cheerful flre-place, large as a modern bed-room- all are in the
style of the frontier architecture. Within— excepting some anomalies, such as putting
the skillet and tea-kettle in the little cupboard, along with the blue-edged plates and yel
low-figured tea-cups— for the whole has been arranged by the hands of the bride-groom
himself— everything is neatly and properly disposed. "The oaken bedstead, with low,
square posts, stands in one corner, and the bed is covered with a pure white counterpane,
with fringe— an heir-loom in the family of the bride. At the foot of this is seen a large,
heavy chest — like a camp-chest— to serve for bureau, safe, and dressing-case.
"In the middle of the floor— directly above the trap-door which leads to a 'potato
hole' beneath, stands a ponderous walnut table, and on it sits a nest of wooden trays,
while, flanking these, on one side, is a nicely folded tablecloth, and, on the other, a
wooden handled butcher knife and a well worn bible. Around the room are ranged a
few 'split-bottomed' chairs, exclusively for use, nol ornament. In the chimney corners,
or under the table, are several three-legged stools, made for the children, who— as the
bride-groom laughingly insinuates, while he points to the uncouth specimens of his

88 The Park Family — The First Printing and Binding.
handiwork — 'will be coming in due time ' The wife laughs in her turn — replies 'no doubt'
— and, taking one of the graceful tripods in her hand, carries it forth to sit upon while
she milks the cow — for she understands what she is expected to do, and does it wilhoul
delay, in one corner near the flre-place, the aforesaid cupboard is erected — being a few
oaken shelves neatly pinned lo tbe logs with hickory forks — and in this arranged the
plates and cups; not as the honest pride of the housewife would arrange them, to display
them to the best advantage, but piled away one within another, without leference to
show. As yet there is no sign of female taste or presence.
"But now the house receives its mistress. The 'happy couples' ride up to the low
rail fence in front, the bride springs off without assistance, affeciaiion, or delay. The
husband leads away tje horse, or horses, and the wife enters the dominion where, thence
forward, she is queen."
In August, 1884, the Park family had a pleasant reunion in Jacksonville after a
separation of many years. Of six brothers and one sister, the youngest born in 1828,
all were living and most of them in good health. - Altogether they made an interesting
group of substantial citizens of whom any county might well be proud. Five of them
lived in this county and two at a distance. Thomas Park, the father, came to the state
in 1838, and -ivith a wife, six boys and one girl, moved to Morgan county in the spring
of 1831. He died in 1852 and Mrs. Park died in 1873. This year the seven children
are still living and met in this city and were photographed in a group. Their ages
were as follows: John J., 69; H. M., 67; J. A., 65; Elijah H., 63; Wm. R., 60; Robt.
Y., 56 and Sarah J., 54. They all met at the Old Settlers' Reunion, August 7th, 1884.
and ate dinner together, and on the next Thursday they had a reunion at the old Park,
homestead, eight miles northwest of the city, and now the residence of J. A. Park.
This is probably one of the most remarkable reunions which was ever held in this
county. They were all born as early as 1828 and have lived to meet at the end of fifty-
three years residence in the county, a complete family of children, — the father and
mother both having died.
As to the first printing, publishing and book-binding in this city and county, we
extract as follows from the scrap-book of Capt. John Henry, deceased, preserved in the
Free Reading Room of the Jacksonville Y''. M. C. A. :
"The flrst editor was an old gentleman by the name of Robert Goudy. He was a
book-binder by trade and his office was in a little frame building in the west part of
the city. He established a printing office in connection with his bindery. His was the
first book-bindery established in Illinois, but owing to his advanced age he did not suc
ceed well in business. He had three sons, all of whom were good business men, and
one is now living in Chicago and is a leading lawyer and politician of the democratic
party. This bindery and printing office was established about 1830. The next paper
established in Jacksonville was by James G. Edwards in the same year. He came to
Illinois as one of the company to establish the Illinois College at Jacksonville but soon
after he opened in a wider field, becoming tired of being confined to one organization.
He soon adapted himself to the western people and their customs, and launched out
boldly for himself (with the assistance of his wife) in the printing business and his
paper soon had a respectable circulation. He continued to publish the paper for about
eighteen months or two years, and then moved to Iowa, and there established
the Burlington Hamkeye. By his ability, energy and pluck his paper soon became the
leading one of the state, and still retains its popularity. He proved himself to be a
valuable citizen, but he died young, leaving no heir. His paper was published in
the interest of the old whig party,
"The next paper in Jacksonville was published by Samuel S. Brooks, a man of much
independence. He was quiet and pleasant in his manners and an able writer and pos
sessed of great determination. He published one of the ablest democratic papers in
the state and advocated the claims of Gen. Jackson for the presidency. He labored
hard to bring Stephen A. Douglas before the people of Illinois and he was a great
favorite with Douglas in the great contest between Lincoln and Douglas in 1858. No
man that I know figured so largely as an editor as did Brooks. He was at different

Josiah M. Lucas— The Patriot in 1832. >iU
times connected with several papers, among which were the Quincy Whig and the
State Register. He died between the age of 65 to 70 years after leading a busy and use
ful life. Mr. Josiah M. Lucas emigrated from Maryland to Illinois and settled in Jackson
ville in 1830 and after being here a short time he conceived the idea of establishing a
weekly paper. He was a single man. He ventured out -west on his own hook without
friends, but it -^'as only a short time before he comprehended the situation of the coun
try and people. He was w-ell calculated to adapt himself to a mixed community and soon
brought warm friends to his aid. He established his paper in the interest of the old
Whig flag and rallied for Henry Clay for president. He ranked among such men as
J. J. Hardin, Wm. Thomas, Richard Yates and others of the same class. He proved
himself equal to the task of conducting his paper in the proper manner, always keep
ing in sight of it himself and never allowing anything to enter its columns which was
mean or disrespectful. They were always open to friend or foe for fair and honorable
debate. Mr. Lucas retired from newspaper life and went to Washington where he was
elected postmaster of the House of Representatives. He filled many positions, both civil
and military, and was a ITnited States Consul for several years. Those positions he filled
with credit to himself, the government, and those whom he served.
We ha-e been told that the first straw bonnet for ladies wear ever brought to town
for sale "was by Mr. T. D. Fames, who began mercantile life here in 1835.
In illustration of the difficulty of obtaining news promptly in olden times, we
quote as follows from tho editorial columns of Tlie Illinois Patriot, predecessor of The
Journal, of date of Thursday, February 28d, 1832, and flying the name of Henry Clay
for president. Tnn Old Stouy.— The mail, which was due on Tuesday, arrived yesterday, bringing
us no news east of Springfield, We learn by the Springfield papers that a gentleman who
arrived at that place from St, Louis, informed the editors that the nomination of Mr.
Vail Ruren had been rejected. We await with great anxiety for some official news which
will confirm this statement.
Thai the protection of American industries was then as now a question of political
discussion is shown by the following editorial:
"With nothing on hand hut old papers, we are glad to have it in our power to lay
Mr. Clay's speech on tbe tariff before the public this week. We have seen Mr Hayne's
reply — it is an eloquent speech, but the doctrines it inculcates aim a death blow al the
American system, and would, it adopted, prostrate the energies of the manufacturer,
choke the avenues by which our farmers are to realize a compensation for their labors
and throw out ot employment many industrious citizens."
We have already made frequent reference to the Rev. John M. Ellis and his pi
oneer work here as preacher and founder of educational institutions, but feel that all
the readers of "Historic Morgan" will be glad to know more of this saintly man and his
early labors. Hence we extract as follows from the Presbytery Reporter, Dr. A. T.
Norton, editor, of September 1859: "Furnished with a hundred dollars as an outfit, the
young minister made his way in six weeks (for the Ohio was low) to Illinois. There
were then but three Presbyterian ministers in the state. Rev. John Brich, who resided
near Jacksonville, and who perished by cold a few years after ; Rev. Stephen Bliss in
the southeast part of the state, and Rev. B. F. Spillman in the southwest part of the
state, who lived until the present year," ***** "Mr, Ellis was that type of
mind and from that stock of mankind, with whom it is an instinct to build colleges.
From Ellas Cornelius he had received the charge 'to build up an institution of learning
which should bless the West for all time.' He gave instruction himself to a select class
near his residence, and in all journeys and intercourse it was a prominent subject of
his conversation. In Presbytery he obtained the appointment of a committee to advise
on the subject. Of this committee Mr. Giddings was removed by death. Mr. Cham
berlain was averse to the movement and Elder (now Rev.) Thomas Lippincott gave his
cordial aid to Mr. Ellis." ****** "The earliest considerable subscription
was $400, made by Deacon William Collins, Sr., of Collinsville."

90 Morgan, Greene and Sangamon in 1828.
"In January 1838, Mr. Ellis and Mr. Lippincott went on a tour of inquiry and ob
servation to the Sangamon country, the latter having an extensive acquaintance with
the public men in that region. At Jacksonville so charming was the landscape, so rich
the soil around and so enterprising the people who settled there that Mr. Ellis appears
to have concluded at once that this was the place for a seminary in preference to other
towns he visited. Within a few days with characteristic promptitude, he purchased
eighty acres of land and set the stakes for a building. It remained to secure the ap
probation of Presbytery (Missouri) to this location, and the sanction of those who had
subscribed money. The latter point alone was obtained. Mr. Ellis appears to have
determined to remove to Jacksonville and in the summer he took up his residence there.
The following extracts from his letters to the A. H. M. S , will be read with interest:"
January 6, Caekollton.— This is in Greene, one of the three most important coun
ties in the state. A few Presbyterians, perhaps twenty, are in a church, weak and faint,
I told the people of the Home Missionary Society, and gave them what encouragement I
could, and this relieved their spirits a little; but they must have something more.
January 13.— Preached in Jacksonville Sabbath and week-day, as in Greene county.
Morgan is an interesting county. There is a little church in it, trying to do what they
can, and with good prospects.
Januaky 20, Speingeibld, Sangamon county.— Audiences full and attentive. When
I inquired whether any Presbyterian Church existed here, no one could tell me. During
the two weeks spent here, however, a church of twenty members was formed, to which
additions have since been made.
In passing from Springfield to Hillsboro, I swam two creeks with my horse in the
winter season. But this should be no terror to the missionary coming from the east.
This and other like trials and exposures are no more than lawyers, judges, and all men
of business are occasionally exposed to; and if one cannot do as much for the souls of
men, how can he be called a missionary of the cross. Still as the country improves these
hardships disappear.
Mr. Lippincott accompanied him on this journey, and his recollections of it are re
corded in a letter which follows. The meeting of Presbytery was one in which a vote
passed adverse to Mr. Ellis' plans. It is no wonder that a Presbytery in Missouri
should think Jacksonville out of the center. His visits to Shoal Creek and Collinsville
were necessary to secure their ratification of his purchase and confirmation of their
subscriptions. His marriage occurred the day following the date of the letter preceding :
August 1, 1828 —The church at Jacksonville, onthe last Lord's day, received an ac
cession equal to the whole number of members, making now twenty-eight. There -Seems
to be a rich blessing in store for this section of the state, if we can obtain laborers.
These counties, Morgan, Sangamon and Greene, are populating with unexampled rapidity,
having doubled their inhabitants in three years. The market on the Illinois River was
opened this year by team, and eight or ten steamboats have visited the Morgan landing
this spring, and more expected.
Sbptbmbbe, 25, 1828. — The church here are engaged in building a parsonage, and is
perfectly unanimous in all its proceedings. Nothing can exceed the kind attention paid
lo me and my family. The sum engagedfor my support is $150 or more, principally in
produce. Building the house is a heavy burden.
In the engagement made with the people I have reserved one Sabbath in four to
preach occasionally in other parts of the county, and to visit churches abroad. In com
pliance with repeated solicitations, I went on the 8th of September to Canton, Fulton
county, seventy-five miles northwest of Springfield, and returned in seventeen days, dur
ing which I rode in all 234 miles, preached thirteen sermons, constituted a church in Ful
ton of nine members, administered the sacrament three limes, baptized six adults and five
children, and attended six prayer meetings. The anxiety to obtain preaching of our de
nomination is expressed in language of earnest entreaty. In Fulton county two men are
ready to engage $50 each for the first year. It is a desirable place. Half the people are
from New England and New York, and the health is excellent. At least five or six mis
sionaries are imperiously needed in Illinois.
A seminary of learning is projected to go into operation next fall. The subscription
now stands al $2,000 or $3,000. The site is in this county. The half-quarter section
purchased for it is certainly the most delightful spot I have ever seen. It is about one
mile north of the celebrated Diamond Grove, and overlooks the town and country for
miles around. The object of tne seminary is popular, and it is my deliberate opinion
that there never was in our country a more promising opporlunily to bestow a few thou
sand dollars in the cause of education and of missions.

Father Ellis' Travels in 1829-'31. 91
Fbbeuaet 16, 1829, — -We have occupied for several weeks the house built for ns by
the church here; a convenient frame house with three rooms. They are now adding out
buildings. Everything goes on harmoniously. What is most needed now is a suitable
meeting house. Preaching is held in a school house, but on common occasions it is usual
to see numbers going home unable to gain admittance. Few towns have risen as rapidly
as Jacksonville, About a dozen frame buildings finished in good style have gone up the
last year. I have not counted the temporary log buildings going up daily almost.
God is sending forth laborers in answer to prayer. Another young man, licensed
October 8th, by our Presbytery, now offers his services to your society. In January a
Presbytery was organized in this state, having been set off from Missouri by Synod of
Indiana last October. We have eight ministers and two licentiates.
(The ministers were John G. Bergen, Springfield; Solomon Hardy, Greenville; John
Matthews, Kaskaskia; John Brich, Jacksonville; Stephen Bliss, Centreville; B. F. Spill-
man, Shawneetown; J. A. Spillman, Hillsboro; and Mr. Ellis. The licentiates, C. L.
Watson and Thomas Lippincott.)
As the result of the correspondence between Mr. Ellis and the young gentlemen at
Yale College, having been sent commissioner to General Assembly he spent the sum
mer of 1829 at the east, aiding them in raising a fund of $10,000 for the college and in
maturing their plans. Two of them Rev. Messrs. Sturtevant and Baldwin arrived in
Jacksonville in November, and the instruction in the college began the first of Jan
uary. The origiu:d stockholders passed resolutions of thanks to the young men of Yale
College who had ai.'cd in their enterprise, and placed them in the Board of Trustees;
of thanks also to Mr. Ellis, and to donors to the college.
Makoh 8, 1830. — Wiih no small degree of satisfaction I again address you from "my
honie in the west." The object of my late tour to the eastern states has been accom
plished beyond what we hill dared to anticipate. And since we returned Providence
has accommodated every occairence so as lo promote and not to hinder its interests by
conciliating prejudice, disarming opposition and securing public favor. The number of
students is seventeen; others are expected, and we fear we shall not have sufficient ac
commodations. The present building contains, besides school room, only four rooms for
students. On the last week in January, I aided in the formation of a church in Schuyler
county of twelve members. A year ago last luly the church in Jacksonville consisted
of fourteen members; now there are more than fifty,
June 1830 — The pastoral charge of this church was committed to me by installation
on the first Sabbath in April, We have a very promising Sunday School. There is a
good spirit in relation to the Bible cause. I hope to have something interesting lo state
concerning temperance. On the last Sabbath in April a church of fourteen members was
formed in Jersey Prairie, ten miles from here, to which we dismissed six members, leav
ing our number fifty-one. We had received at the two preceding communions eighteen
members. July 1831. — I am happy to state that our meeting house (30 feet by 40) is completed,
and was dedicated June 19. No other Protestant church is finished with pews in the
slate. For more than one-third of the means of erecting this house we are indebted to
friends in Philadelphia, New York and Boston, On common occasions it is filled lo
overflowing. Our meetings are solemn, and the church is increasing. At our next com
munion we expect to receive additions which will make our number exceed one hundred.
I preach every week from three to six miles from town to interesting audiences.
October (?) 1831. — A new church has recently organized six miles east of this place,
consisting of thirty members, mostly from our church, with prospect of great good. We
have had several four days' meetings in this part of the state, but have not realized all
the permanent good effects which we had fondly hoped. There are circumstances in a
newly settled country doubtless less favorable to a continued revival than in the older
states. This brings down his history till the close of 1831, when his pastorate in Jackson
ville ended. He had projected the college and procured it real estate. The designs
which resulted in the Female Seminary at Jacksonville and procured its beautiful
grounds were formed in his house. This institution continues to be a monument in
honor of him and his accomplished wife. He entered at once upon the service of the
American Education Society in Illinois. In a short time he wrote as follows : "I have
been engaged for two months — February and March, 1832 — as agent for the American
Education Society, and as I am about to engage in the Indiana Branch of the Presby
terian Education Society at New York, I report the result of these t^Yo months, viz :

92 Educational Subscriptions — Cholera in Ellis Family.
an addition of more than one hundred members to the State Society, ten of whom are
life members at $10; the rest pay one dollar annually. I have collected money in the
following places, viz : Bond County, $27 ; Montgomery, $34; Vandalia, $35. Madison
County, $76; Greenville, $16 ; Jacksonville, $70; Collinsville, $38. The winter has
been severe, traveling difficult, meetings small.
The next year 1833, he was prosecuting his agency in Indiana, his family residing
meantime at Jacksonville. The town was visited during July and August by the chol
era ; and Mrs. Ellis and their two children were swept away at once. The husband and
father, constantly traveling, had not heard from them for two months. Having heard
that the pestilence had reached Jacksonville he started homeward at once, alone and
on horseback, his anxiety increasing every hour. He was just setting forward one day
after dinner, when a man rode up whom he recognized as a townsman. "How long
have you been from home ?" inquired Mr. E, "About two days." "Do you know any
thing of my family, sir ?" "Mr. Ellis, your wife and children are all dead and buried 1"
Years after, in relating it, the stricken man said, "Oh, I can never express the
loneliness, the unearthly abstractedness, and finally the sweet submissiveness of that
afternoon. At first I was staggered and stunned, but before night God seemed nearer
to me and Christ dearer than ever before." Such a crushing calamity might well break
down the strongest man. Those who saw him then seem to have been divided between
sympathy for his unspeakable sorrow, and wonder at the faith and fortitude which he
exhibited under it.
Among these coming to Jacksonville in 1831, was a promising boy of fifteen named
Robert T. Cassell. He came with his father's family and here pursued a common-
school education for five years and then was married to Miss Nancy Butler of Sanga
mon County. After his father's death that year, 1835, he lived in Woodford County until
1868, acquiring as well as inheriting much property and gaining quite a reputation as
a lawyer. In 1866 he was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives, and in 1868
received the appointment of United States special agent, making his home in Chicago
and Philadelphia,

CHAPTEK YI,— 1837-'43.
The First Secret Societies — Prospering Schools and Churches — Grime and C'riminnls —
The Earliest Railroading in the West — The Incipient Wabash — Gounty and Town
Officers — The First State Charitable Institutions.
"Gather up each foot-fall of the trodden way
All the tender lisplnga of the by-gone day."
"I hear the tread of pioneers.
Of nations yet to be.
The flrst low wash of waves, where soon
ShaU roll a human sea."
HE first ramification of any secret order in Jacksonville was established in July,
1837, mini Lodge, No. 4, I. O. O. F., being then founded, before there was any
Grand Lodge in the State, by Thomas Wildey, Past Grand Sire of the United
States, from whom a dispensation was received, and by whom, in person, the
lodge was instituted.
Thus "Illini" is one of the oldest and has since become one of the largest Odd
Fellows' lodges in the State of Illinois, The charter members were George Hamilton,
George Darlington, Josiah M. Lucas, Matthew McBride, Wm. Davis, Mike Rapp, J,
Burns and Sam Michael. This lodge was instituted in the old jail building on North
Main street, where it met for some three years.
From the old jail the lodge was removed to a room over what was then known as
Wilkinson & Bancroft's store, on the north side of the square. Before the year was out
some trouble arose, the charter was surrendered, and meetings suspended. July Ist
1839, the lodge was revived, a new charter being granted, dated August 1st, to the same
parties. Then the members moved to the third story of the building now occupied by
Wm, Russel on the west side of the square. From there it was removed to the old
Coffiaan building, now occupied by F, H. Stebbins. The next change was to Chambers'
building, on the north side of the square. In 1868 they took possession of a Ci:e large
third story hall in the Adams-Smith building. Lastly, all the Odd Fellows societies
moved into their new hall in the McDonald Block, north side of the square, which is
one of the finest, largest and best furnished lodge rooms in the State. This new hall is
rented and furnished jointly by all the bodies, and is leased for a period of fifteen years.
Since its organization, Illini lodge has expended for charities (sick benefits, and
death benefits for widows and orphans) about $40,000. During this time the lodge
has lost only forty-seven members by death. From its organization over 800 candidates
have been initiated, and there are at present over 240 active members. The members
embrace many leading and reputable citizens, some of whom have been honored with
high positions both in the order and in the State.
Harmony Lodge, No. 3, A. F. and A. M., was the second secret organization form
ed in Jacksonville, and from its birth to the present time has had a pleasant and pros
perous career. It was instituted October 4, 1841, the first officers being as follows :
John Gregory, Master ; Matthew Stacy, Senior Warden, and George Hackett, Junior
Warden. In giving the places of meeting of this lodge the other Masonic bodies are
included from their organization— all using the same hall.
The flrst lodge room was the third story of Goltra's building, on the southwest cor
ner of the square, occupying the same from 1841 to 1850. This lodge then joined with
the town and placed the third story on what is now the second ward school house. This

94 "Father Adams" and the Female Academy.
hall they continued to occupy for eight or ten years, when they sold their interest in
said third story to the city and moved their hall to the third story of the building now
occupied by Eppinger & Lehman. From there, in 1868, they removed to Gallaher's
Block, on West State street, -which they occupied ten years. In 1879 they changed
their hall to Broadwell's Block, on South Main street. There they are now located, and
have one of the best, most convenient and handsomely furnished lodge rooms in the
state. This lodge has now an active membership of 100.
At the Jacksonville Female Academy Miss Price was succeeded, as principal, by
Mr. John Adams, afterwards LL. D., who had had a long and successful career as a
teacher at the east, flrst for flfteen years in the Academies of Canterbury, Plainfleld
and Colchester, Connecticut, his native State, and then for twenty-two years as head of
Phillips' Academy, at Andover, Mass., an institution of high grade, designed to give
preparation for the colleges of New England and even for advanced standing in them,
therefore requiring the best scholarship ; and, as well, the highest qualities of a cultur
ed Christian manhood ; likewise rendering necessary the utmost skill and prudence in
the exercise ot government and discipline. All these qualiflcations Mr. Adams had, in
an unusual degree. The great work of his life was done at Andover. While connected
with that school he had under his care an aggregate of more than eleven hundred pu
pils, of whom about one-half afterwards graduated from colleges; and, to say nothing
of other learned professions, more than two hundred of that number entered the minis
try. Mr. Adams came west, preceded by a great reputation as an educator of youth.
Dr. Glover says of him: Already advanced beyond the age of threescore, it is pre
sumable that he thought his work nearly done, and was meditating only what might
concern the welfare of his family in the coming evening of his days; but on his arrival
in Illinois he found that he was still in demand, and that opportunities of special use
fulness and of giving to his life-work a more rounded fulness, were by no means want
ing The principalship of this Academy was offered him. He accepted it in February,
1837, and his school opened May 17th, with twenty-three pupils. He entered upon the
work with much of the enthusiasm of his youth, being assisted in it by his cultured
daughters, Emily and Phebe, teachers brought up under his hand, and readily second
ing his views and methods, Mr, Adams had a long experience in educating, but he
had no experience of the sort that was dawning upon him. He had taught in male,
but not in female Academies. Girls direct from the prairie, the timber, and the creeks,
and about as wild as any of the creatures which in the early days had their homes in
those haunts crowded about him. Their manners were ungainly, their provincialisms
were barbarous, and it was a question whether the venerable pedagogue from the neigh
borhood of Boston would understand such material or be able to make anything of it.
But he saw the situation at once, and, unlike some in their profession, had the good
sense and grace to adapt himself toil. He perceived no difference between the youth of
the east and of the west, but such as resulted from circumstantial causes, and he
well knew that the work upon which he was entering was the very work by which
alone the scale could be re-adjusted and the equal balance restored. His policy in
dealing with wild girls was first of all to win their hearts, then he had them secure
and could mould them to any form he pleased. Love was the power by which he sub
dued them; this was his only threat, this his only penalty; he had no occasion to call
in parents or trustees to help enforce authority. Often the wrong-doer was melted by
his tender manner and tearful eye, often she threw her arms about his neck in token
of unqualified and happy submission. His will was like iron, but his heart had all the
soft tenderness of childhood. His law was like that of the Medes and Persians, but it
was law in the hands of a mediator.
The school greatly fiourished under his care, but as catalogues were not published
and records are missing, it is impossible to give any exact statistics of that part of our
history. But it is known that the numbers in attendance were such as rendered the
completion of the building necessary, and it was accordingly completed and made
ready for use toward the close of Mr. Adams' administration. The Academy under
him was still in its forming period; struggling toward shape, and order, and classifica
tion; aiming at a regular curriculum, and a higher standard; also beginning to venture
in the direction of artistic and ornamental branches; but the transition was slow, and
Mr. Adams had the honor of laboring at the problem where its difficulties were great
est His term of service continued six years, or until the spring of 1843, when he re
tired from the work of teaching in which he had been almost continuously engaged
for forty-eight years. But even then his work was not done, but for ten years he
traveled and labored incessantly in an agency for the American Sunday School Union

Mrs. Bancroft's Keminiscences of 1837. 9-5
accomplishing what would have been marvellous had he been in his prime, and not al
ready past the boundary of human life. It is meet that they who live thus should live
long, and we cannot be surprised that where there was such wisdom there should have
been such length of days. Mr. Adams died in the 91st year of his age, April 24th, 1863.
Rev. W, H. Williams, A. M., succeeded to the principalship of the Academy in
1843. He had been for a short time pastor of the First Presbyterian church and was a
gentleman of liberal culture and finished manners, and, aided by his accomplished wife,
he did much, during his five years of service, by way of promoting classification with
reference to required courses of study looking to graduation, thus stimulating the am
bition of pupils and encouraging them in the pursuit of a more lengthened, systematic
and thorough training. Primary and advanced departments were organized, the latter
including junior, middle and senior classes with distinct lines of study running
through three years, with the promiie of honorable testimonials at the end of that
period. Painting and music were more formally introduced than before. Daily records
of scholarship, manners, deportment, -were kept and the result disclosed at the end of
each term Regular study hours were appointed and enjoined. Catalogues were pub
lished and scattered abroad; public examinations were held.
Mr. Adams was aided by his two daughers, one of whom, Mrs. J. H. Bancroft,
survives, Mr Williams was aided by his wife, Mrs. Abby L. Williams, MissLucretia
H, Kimball, Miss Catherine Murdock and Miss Marie P. Fitch.
At the Academy semi-centennial celebration in June, 1880, Mrs. Emily Adams
Bancroft, who came in 1837 and is still spared to a life of usefulness and honor among
us, gave some interesting reminiscences from which we ciuote as far as they relate to
the period considered in this chapter :
As one of the early settlers, and a witness to the many trials through which pioneers
are called to pass, you will permit me to pay a tribute of love and affection to that noble
band of men and women, who stood so firmly for truth and battled for the right- per
sons of enlarged views and generous with their means, laying the foundations of society-
broad and deep. A few of these are still spared and are with us to-day; their children
and other residents are enjoying the benefits of their labors. The thousands who now
live in this city do not and cannot realize the struggles of the few hundred, who came to
this place to establish institutitions of learning and build our churches. They laid their
plans not on the narrow scale of that age and this world, but with a wise reference to all
coming time. They were thinking of the millions of immortal souls who were to occupy
this western valley, of the luture influence of their exertions, and that other generations
would soon sit in judgment upon their works. I am thankful that I am present on this
occasion, and can testify lo the earnest, self-denying efforts of those to whom we owe so
much. Many of the customs, habits and fashions have passed away, and of some of these
we are glad. We shall never forget our feelings as we approached this building forty-
three years ago. It was standing solitary and alone, with but one house between it and
Illinois College. No trees, or grass, or shadows. Our parlor was in the basement. The
second story was the school and recitation rooms; the third sleeping apartments; the
fourth the attic. We could roam and ride over this prairie with not a house or fence to
obstruct our passage. We were homesick and sad, but as we had been four weeks travel-,
ing day and night, we did nol care to retrace our steps. Our mirrors (in whose face we
had often gazed) were crushed, our tables and chairs broken; all for a few days seemed
desolate Soon the furniture was mended, the Brussels carpel (the third brought to this
town), was spread, and happiness and cheerfulness fllled the place. We are glad to-day
that the old east wing has given place to this large and commodious building. We never
passed this spot without admiring it; for the taste and neatness displayed, for the beauti
ful lawn, and the dear old trees, but dearer than all is the old basement. It was there,
morning and evening, we gathered around the family altar, while the dear old father
read from the book he loved so much. There, we spent our evenings in social chat with
the young gentlemen, (now the grey-headed men of our city). There, in her youth and
beauty, my sister was married. There the farewell word was spoken. Though all else be
removed, let not the tender associations connected with the old basement ever pass away.
We found here some educated, reflned persons. The people generally were hospitable,
free, easy, sociable; in some localities a fear was expressed at the importation of so many
Yankees. All were on an equality as to houses. Log cabins, basements, smoke houses,
were occupied; anything, which would afford- a shelter. Some of the most pleasant par
ties were in those good old times. Friendships were formed, which have continued,
cemented by age, severed only by death.
The style of the dress of the western people was peculiar, in size shape, quality, etc.
Six yards of calico were ample for a dress, no trails or overskirts were worn. The old
fashion has given place to the new, the plain skirl to the polonaise, with its ruflles and
plaits, its loops and bows and fringes. Its beads and bugles and jets, its velvet and pas-
simentary trimmings, until we lose sight of the wearer and gaze upon what is worn.

96 The First Piano — Music Teaching — Flowers.
The sun bonnet, so universally worn, was made of calico or gingham, with pieces of
pasteboard, in size and snape like a lath, removed at pleasure. This has given place to
the turban, or to the crown, with a front turned up at one side, or both, worn either on
the front or the back of the head, or sideways, or to the almost invisible hat. Barely
"the fashion of this world passeth away."
It was very difficult to arrange or organize a school, there was such a diversity as to
what and when certain studies should be pursued; a restlessness and uneasiness for fear of
too much or too little taught. One instance on this point will suffice. A man called one
morning, saying to my father as he entered the room, I have came to see if you are qual-
ifled to teach my daughter. "What do you vvish her to study?" "I don't want no arith
metic, I don't want no grammar, 1 want geometry, geology, philosophy, and rhetoric."
'•Well," says my father, "I will examine her, and see what she is prepared to study." "V
don't want her examined," he said, "I have came to examine you." "Well, please pro
ceed." After asking a few questions and receiving ready replies, he said, "I think upon
the whole, you will do." About two weeks after, two ladies called. "We hear you are
about lo form a class in Natural Philosophy?" "Yes," was the reply, "We do not think
young ladies should study the sciences; if they can read and spell, write and count, it is
all they need to know," We thought the examination of teachers had passed away, but
we hear that in the public schools of our city, they are examined and re-examined quite
frequently. We take pride in the musical taste and the appreciation of art, high art in our city,
and justly too; but this is not all new. We had music aud drawing in those old times.
When we came here there were six pianos in the place. Dr. Beecher brought the first.
The one rented by the Academy was from London, small, having five octaves. Its
legs resembled in size and general appearance, a modern stick of candy. It gave
forth uncertain sounds, sometimes discordant but never in harmony. With all our
tuning, we could not get it up to concert pitch without snapping first one, then another
of the strings. I say we, for we then did our own tuning. The first music teacher
was a young lady from Philadelphia, Miss Dwight, now Mrs Wolcott, who is with us
t*-day. She taught classical music, too, Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn and other
music so popular at the present time. My sister gave some lessons in drawing, but
tbe first one who organized a class was Mrs, B. F. Stevenson, who, with some of its
members, is present. The first geranium brought here adorned the basement window
of the old building. This can be proved by Mrs. Wadsworlh, who has since shown
her fondness for flowers. A slip was given her, with the injunction to watch it, and
see it put forth little tendrils. She was faithful and pulled it up each night to see
how much it had grown through the day. The flrst calla lily was brought by Mr. J,
I). King. The musical circles, the Art Association and Horticultural Society, must
remember that they are enjoying what was commenced years ago in this Academy.
The subject of female education was agitating the public mind then as now. We
have neither time or inclination to dwell upon this theme only as it relates to the estab
lishment of this Academy and the formation of the Ladies' Education Society. That
we may fully appreciate the motives, which brought them into being, we must invert
the telescope and take a view of this town and surrounding as it then stood. These
prairies, covered with flowers which bloomed and faded, had but recently been trod
den by the foot of civilization. Five years before, the logs were drawn to erect the
first building in this place. Illinois College was in its infancy. Small communities,
which could not boast the name of villages, were found here and there indifferent
parts of the Sate. Influenced by social feelings, they had brought their houses near
together, while their farms were scattered far and wide. Moral dearth was visible
amid the luxuriance of an earthly paradise No Sabbath, no sanctuary, no school.
Families were found with four and five adults; not one could read. There were in the
Southern and Western Slates not less than 1,400,000 children destitute of common
school instruction; forty-six counties in one of our Western States, in which there
was not a single female teacher It needed no prophetic eye, as they glanced over
those boundless fields and saw the tide of emigration pouring in to see the rise of towns
and cities, and to imagine the time when they would be surrounded by a dense and
still increasing population. With the exception of Carrollton, an unbroken prairie
lay between this place and St. Louis— the northern part of the State was then the home
of the Indian, The Catholics were selecting places where to establish institutions. A
few benevolent ladies were aroused to action, resolved to labor 'till the cloud of mental
darkness was rolled away.
In Illinois College new teachers were employed and new hopes were entertained.
Then followed the financial crash of 1837, ruining most of the subscribers and making
their paper worthless. For ten years the struggle continued, the college became more
and more involved financially, until, in 1838, it cleared itself from debt, by giving up
the larger part of its property. Rev. Edward Beecher, D. D., served as president from
1821 to 1844.

Town Trustees and Legislators — The First Newspaper, 97
This panic of 1837 was the greatest money panic that ever occurred. The banks all sus
pended, and until 1840 there was no money seen. But they lived through it, and we
honor the energy and enterprise which survived it all. It yet remains with the young,
er men of to-day to occupy the land with equal energy. They should say that they are
chips off the old block, and determined to do as well as their fathers did.
By 1840, according to the United States census, and notwithstanding serious draw
backs the population of Jacksonville numbered 1900.
The town trustees during this period 1837-'43 inclusive, were :
William Miller, 1837 ; Wm. P. Warren, 1837 ; George Mc Henry, 1837-'88 ; Garrison
W. Berry, 1837-'38 ; James Dunlap, 1837 ; Samuel W. Prosser, 1838 ; Philip Coffman, 1838 ;
Nathan Gest, 1888 ; Matthew Stacy, 1839-'40-'41 ; John Hurst, 1839-'40-'41-'43 ; E. T
Miller, 1839-'40— '41-'43-'43 ; *Wm. Branson, 1839; Robert T. McNeely, 1839 ; *Isaa8
D. Rawlings, 1840-'41-'42-'43 ; Cornelius Hook, 1840-'41-'42-'43 ; Peter Hedenburg,
1845 ; John Henry, 1843.
The result of the elections during the period embraced in this chapter was as
follows ;
1837. — For creating Cass county, 500 ; against creating Cass county, 479. For Repre
sentative to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Stephen A. Douglas — John
Wyatt. 1838-'40. — For Congress, Jonn T. Stuart beats Stephen A. Douglas 119 votes. For
State Senator, *Wm. Thomas. For Representatives, John Henry, John J. Hardin, Wm,
Gilham, N. Cloud, W. W. Happy. For Sheriff, A. Dunlap. Coroner, Anthony Arnold.
County Commissioners, W. L. Seargent, John White, Wm. Woods.
1889, — For Probate Justice, D. Pat Henderson; County Recorder, James MoKinne}';
County Clerk, Joseph Heslep ; County Treasurer, John Green ; County Surveyor, H.
Saunderson; County Commissioner, Isaac Ward.
1840-'42. — For State Senator, Jolm Henry ; Representatives, Jeremiah Cox, J. Park
inson, J. J. Hardin; Sheriff, Ira Davenport; Coroner, Robert Saunderson; County Com
missioner, George Englebach.
1841. — Congress, John T. Stuart, re-elected; County Commissioner, Harvey Routt.
1842-'44. — State Senator John Henry; Representatives, Newton Cloud, Wm
Weatherford, David Epler, Richard Yates; Sheriff, A. Dunlap; Coroner, Samuel
Reaugh ;' County Commissioner Jacob Ward.
. 1843. — County Recorder, Josiah M. Lucas.
Newspapers and periodicals have not been supported with the degree of patronage
that we would naturally expect from such an educated centre. It was not until long
after the population was large enough to need a local press that the flrst attempt to
establish a weekly newspajier was made. Afterwards quite a number of efforts were
made, and proved failures. But the flrst paper of which we can hear that continued
any length of time was the Illinois Patriot, with J. G. Edwards as editor and proprie
tor. In the latter relationship he was succeeded by Gov. Duncan. In 1838 Josiah M.
Lucas became the owner. He changed the name of the sheet to the Illinoisan, and
for a while Buckner & I-Iardin (Col. John J.) were the editors, afterwards Lucas him
self. Cotemporaneous with the Illinoisan was the Jacksonville Standnrd, a democratic
sheet, published and edited by S. S. Brooks, of the Quincy Hercdd. It ran a course
of two years and fainted away for want of circulation, but afterwards revived for a
spell only to soon die sine die.
Mr. Lucas continued in control of the Illinoisan until about 1843, when he was
elected recorder of Morgan county, which office he resigned. He was re-elected that
same year and retired from the Illinoisan.
Major Lucas, later in life, became the representative of his government in Foreign
lands as United States Consul at Tunstall, England, and to-day is a resident of St. Louis,
Missouri.

*Now Hying here.

98 State News in 1838 — The Lincoln-Shields Duel
As giving an insight into affairs in 1838 we will quote from an issue of his paper,
of November 10th, when A. H. Buckner, was associated with him as editor. The flrst
editorial is to the familiar tune of "Pay Up," The patrons are informed that it takes
no small amount of cash to buy paper, ink, etc., and "to pay our journeymen." It seems
that the paper then had a weekly circulation of 1,200.
A quotation is made from the Springfleld Journal announcing "the departure of
the postmaster at Pekin for Texas," with $600 of the people's money.
"Is not this," says the iWiraoiare, "carrying out the sub treasury scheme? What
a glorious band of fellow laborers against the bank will be found in the young repub
lic of Texas; all boasting how they have profited by this experiment of the 'powers
that are!'"
And is it at all surprising that such fellows should be warm in the support of Van
Buren, etc. There is also considerable denunciation of "Loco-foco" leaders and presses.
In State news we find that Mr. Goug has been elected to the Lower House from
Macon county, vice Dr. Roddick, deceased ; that Gen. James Turney, of Greene county,
has been appointed to the Galena land office, vice H. B. Truett, resigned ; that Bishop
Chase has located a college on the Vermillion river, LaSalle county, near Ottawa, styled
the "Jubilee College;" and that a branch of the State bank has been located at Belleville,
Reference is made editorially to "a rencontre at Burlington, Iowa Territory," to the
election of Hon. S. S. Phelps as United States Senator from Vermont, and of Jennison,
the Whig candidate, for Governor by 5,507 majority.
Nathaniel Coffin has a column communication in regard to Illinois College, in re
ply to an article previously published, with manifest tendency to injure the College in
its pecuniary concerns as well as its general character." He gives this scrap of history ;
"This seminary was opened January, 1830. It was then a mere school for young
men and boys and was opened for all, without regard to age, and almost without re
gard to qualifications. It began wiih nine and gradually increased in numbers till
1835; it then had become a college," etc., etc. He says also ihat "Catalogues havo
been yearly published in the month of January, commencing in 1835, and on examin
ation of them I find the number of regular college students, commencing with that
year and ending in 1838, to have been eight, sixteen, twenty-six, thirty, thirty-three,
and thirty-seven."
It might properly be mentioned that Major Lucas is the only man now living who
was an eye-witness of the alleged duel Mr. Lincoln and J, W. Shields, across the Mis
sissippi River, at Alton, in 1842. Details of that now almost forgotten "affair of honor"
are still present to his mind, although he is rather reluctant to call it up out of the past,
where, as he says, it is as well it should be buried. The idea of Abraham Lincoln going
to the field armed with a broadsword to fight a duel seems to those who knew him in
his later days, so inconsistent with his pacific character, that many have dopbted the
authenticity of the story. But it verily did occur, says Major Lucas, who rode down to
the spot, and was there when the affair was amicably adjusted.
The challenge of Shields arose out of a quizzical newspaper article, which was
written by the sister of Mrs. Lincoln, who yielded a peppery pen. This gave such of
fense to Mr. Shields that he went to the editor and demanded to know who the writer
was. The editor of the paper was in a quandary, and, meeting Lincoln on the street,
asked him what he had better do. "O," said Lincoln, "just tell Shields that it was me."
The editor sent a cliallenge to Lincoln, who had just gone to Tazewell county to attend
a lawsuit. Lincoln accepted the challenge, and the weapons selected were broadswords, which
Uncle Abe knew well how to handle, having been thoroughly drilled in its use by Maj-
Duncan, a brother-inJaw of Maj. Lucas. The field selected for the combat was near
Alton. Major Lucas possesses a great many letters of Lincoln, written in a free, off hand
spirit, and full of spirit and anecdote, which would be quite interesting to read now,
only they are of a private nature, and the major would not be induced to give them
publicity. Before we leave the political field we should note the fact that Jacksonville was

Abolitionists here in 1837 — More Churches. 99
peopled by many who were in conscientious and hearty sympathy with the earliest ef
forts to rid this land of the curse of human bondage. An anti-slavery society was in
existence in the county in 1822, and the "underground railroad" had an oft used elation
in this vicinity. At the famous Lovejoy convention held in upper Alton, October 26-'28,
1837, among the members enrolled were the following from Morgan county : Edward
Beecher, Elihu Wolcott, Wm. Carter, B. Jenney, A. B. Wliitlock, and J. B. Turner.
The convention was broken up by a mob of outsiders, but next day a State anti-slavery
society was formed. In the election of officers Mr. Elihu Wolcott was chosen as presi
dent. An "address" to the people of the State was issued, prepared by Messrs. Wolcott,
Beecher and Carter, all of Morgan county. ,
In regard to the first day's proceedings, with charming innocence the newspaper
report, at the time, reads :
"In consequence of a number of disorderly persons, the convention did not duly
organize until the afternoon." There is nothing more about martyrdom than this,
which seems to have been a full enough statement that the rioters broke up the meet
ing at one time. The call for the convention, signed by Elijah P. Lovejoy, touched on
the fact that the Observer press had been three times destroyed in Alton in the space of a
little more than a year, calling thus to the mind the history of that series of abuses
whicli culminated in the tragical death of Lovejoy.
In May, 1842, Rev. Wm. H. Williams was installed as pastor of the First Presby
terian church, succeeding Rev. Ralph W. Gridley who had been installed April 25, 1837.
The Methodist churches during these years were under the care of the eccentric
but consecrated backwoods preacher Peter Cartwright, who was presiding elder from
1836 to '43. The pastors in charge of Jacksonville station were : 1837, J. T. Mitchell ;
1838, John P. Richmond; 1839, W. D. R. Trotter: 1840, Thomas W. Chandler; 1841-'43;
W. M. Grubbs; 1843, Chauncy Hobart.
They worshiped in their first brick church until 1838 or '39, when they sold it to
be used as a chair factory, and erected a more commodious church on the south side of
East State street, where the marble front now stands. This church was dedicated by
Peter Akers, D. D., who preached the dedication sermon from the words, "This is the
house of God, this is the gate of heaven." This house they occupied until the centen
nial year of Methodism in America, 1866, when they dedicated their present house of
worship, at a cost of $35,000.
The congregation, small at flrst, grew in numbers during all these years, and it was
known as the Methodist church of Jacksonville. When the Grace church was organ
ized, being on the west side of the city, it was called the West Charge, and the church
of which we are writing was called the East Charge. By this name it was known until
the erection of the present church, when it was, in commemoration of the year of its
erection, called the "Centenary Methodist Church."
In 1836, for the Church of Christ, a house of worship was erected, and from this
date until 1850 some of the prominent ministers were D. P. Henderson, ,Jphn T. Jones
Jerry Lancaster, Bryson Pyatt and Elder Trimble. In 1850, a larger house of worship
was erected on North Main street. The first pastor there was Elder A. J. Kane, now at
Springfleld. His successors were Elder Jonathan Atkinson, AY. S. Russell, John Under
wood, -Dr. Cox, and Enos Campbell. The congregation began to hold meetings in its
present church, on East State street, under Elder Campbell, wdio remained until 1873,
when he was succeeded by Rev. J. W. Allen, and he by J. Mad Williams, L. W. Welch
and A. N. Gilbert. The membership is now four hundred and fifty, and the Sunday-
school two hundred and fifty.
In 1838 occurred the division in the Presbyterian church in the United States result
ing in what was known as the "Old School" and "New School" organizations. The
Jacksonville Presbyterian church, like many others throughout the land, was rent in
twain by this division. There were three elders in the church at the time of the division :
Wm. C. Posey, David B. Ayers and Daniel C. Pierson. ]Mr. Posey and a minority in

100 Second Presbyterian Church — ^"Wedding in 1838.
the church sympathising strongly with the Old School Assembly, adhered to that body,
and carried their cause before the Synod of Illinois, which met in Peoria that year
We learn from the Rev. Dr. Harsha's historical discourse delivered April 36, 1874,
that "this church was found, after the division, to embrace forty-two members, only three
of whom are living, viz; Huram Reeve, Jane Branson (Mrs. Wm.) and Eleanor E.
Chambers (Mrs. George M.) The church secured the services of Rev, Andrew Todd,
(who died in 1850) of Flemingsburg, Kentucky, who entered upon his labors in the
autumn of 1888." They worshiped first, for a few months, in a frame building which
stood on the north end of the lot on the square on which the Park House now stands,
the use of which was given by Gov. Duncan without charge, afterward the Congrega,
tional church edifice was secured at a nominal rent. This edifice then formed the rear
portion of the building on the east side of the square, used by Messrs. Johnson & Son
as a furniture store, afterwards known as Union Hall and finally destroyed by fire. In
the mean time preparations -were made for the erection of a sanctuary for themselves.
In the year 1840, about two years after the division of the church, a frame building
on West State street was completed — the lot having been donated by Colonel John J,
Hardin, as his subscription — at a cost of eighteen hundred dollars. In this sanctuary
the congregation worshiped for nearly thirty years, leaving it only a few months before
entering the lecture room of the present building, in 1871.
Dr. Harsha summed up in 1874, as to the church's growth : "In the thirty-eight years
that this church has maintained its separate existence, 688 persons have connected
themselves with it, and enjoyed its privileges and fellowship. Of these, 342 have been
brought to Christ through its instrumentality."
Since the division in 1888, this church has had four settled pastors. Rev. Andrew
Todd, labored with great zeal, earnestness and self-denial, from November, 1838, until
failing health compelled him, in the autumn of 1849 to seek a warmer climate. The
hopes of his greatly attached people, of his immediate family, and of his wide circle of
friends and admirers, were not, however, to be realized. He continued to fail, until on
the 2d day of September, 1850, in the 51st year of his age, he fell asleep in Jesus, at
Casa Bianca, near Monticello, Florida.
Rev. Truman M. Post, D. D., was pastor of the Congregational church from 1840-'47,
as well as professor in Illinois College. He was their second pastor succeeding Rev.
Wm. Carter.
Before we leave the year of grace, 1838, we must give a pen picture by "Father"
James Hussey, to the Journal:
In the fall of the year 1838, as I was standing between the then court house and
the market house, a young man put his hand on my s-houlder and said; 'Old man, wc
want you to go lo old man  and splice a couple." He led me lo a log cabin; an
elderly lady met me at the door and said: "You will lose no time, for supper is now
ready." I took a look at the room, and saw an elderly couple, and three young ladies,
and as many young gentlemen Bach lady had a dress made partly of wool, and partly
of colton, home manufactured; the gentlemen were dressed in a similar way. The
room was furnished with a table and three benches, (home made,) an iron spoon (filled
with lard and a shred of cotton) that was stuck in a crack in one of the logs, supplied
the place of a lamp.
I took oft' my hat and said: "You that wish to be joined in wedlock, stand up and
join your right hands." One of the ladies and gentlemen arose. The splicing aud
kissing were soon over, we then sat down to supper. We had a nice corn cake baked
in the skillet, ham and eggs nicely fried, coffee make of corn, no sugar, plenty of nice
sweet cream, a clean cloth on the table We had a merry time; and I think I never
enjoyed a supper better. As I was retiring the young bridegroom followed me to the
door, and in a whisper said: "I cannot pay you to-night, it took all the money I had
lo pay for the license; but I will pay you as soon as I can." In a few days I met him;
he smiled and gave me a dollar, and said: "I got this with chopping." Thus, the
bridegroom went on his wedding tour chopping, and the bride went playing music, on
that musical instrument, the spinning wheel.
I lost all trace of them from 1838 until 1873. As I was traveling on the road I met
a splendid carriage, a fine pair of horses. A gentleman and lady and a pretty girl sat
in the carriage. I was gazing at the carriage, thinking what a pretty turn out it was.

LiYiNG Settlers of Fifty-Five Years Ago 101
ft when lo! it stopped. The man spoke to me; I got out of my buggy, took the slate
from my pocket and said, "I am quite deaf," He wrote on my slate, "What is your
name?" I told him my name; he then wrote, "I thought it was you, but you look old."
We had ten or fifteen minutes' chat. He gave me to understand that they were the
couple that were spliced in the log cabin in 1888, I said, "Is that your daughter?"
He said, "No, she is a grand-daughter." He gave me a present and we parted. I
have not seen him since, but I have often thought since I saw him how truly did Dr.
Franklin say, "He that by the plow would thrive, himself must either hold or drive."
As to his coming to Morgan county, Mr. Hussey writes :
In the year 1838, I with five other Englishmen, saw Jacksonville for the first time.
We all traveled from the north of Jacksonville twelve miles in a wagon, we got into
the square, we tied np our horses, my companions looked around, and began to laugh
and said "Is this Jacksonville? Why it's nearly as small as a village." They went in
to the grog-shop and I into the market house. It was empty at the time, and with
my pencil I wrote these lines while sitting on a bench in the market house. When
they came out of the hell hole I let them see the lines. They said I was a softy.
Here are the lines: Jnst pause a moment when you look at me,
And think what I was thirty years ago ;
Can you imagine what I then must be.
Known only as hunting ground for who ?
Savage tribes then only tread my plain.
Or howling wolf and wild beasts of prey-
Now look and think what you can find to say.
View me when thirty more years are gone ;
I then may stand a monument of wonder.
Like some great city I may become
Loaded with wealth, but not with plunder.
Even I may then be called a city.
At present, 1884, there are living in Jacksonville seven persons who have been
residents of the city since 1828, and in October 1883 one of their number, Mr. Foreman,
published the following lines entitled : "Reminiscences of 54 Years and 10 Months."
The World moves on.
The years roll slowly by ;
Youth comes of age.
The aged droop and die.
New faces crowd the ever bustling scene
And tell to one what I have been.
My old friends are wrinkled, bald and grey.
And I advancing grow old as they.
Yet my thoughts oft backward flow.
To memories of 54 years 10 months ago.
Ah, oft when busy recollection plays.
Mid by gone scenes.
What fancies rise familiar to the call?
What memories all my faculties enthrall ?
What various visions of Jacksonville 54 years, 10 months ago ?
Where are they now ?
Some have risen high.
Aiming their arrows even at the sky ;
Some have been wayward and gone astray;
Some hold the even tenor of their way.
Some are recorded with immortal name.
With gilded letters on the scroll of fame.
Many have departed; a few remain, of 54 years, 10 months ago.-
The names of the seven referred to are Matthew Stacy, William Thomas, Smiley
Henderson, Anderson Foreman, Mrs. George Richards, Mrs. Charlotte Chappel, Mrs. E.
T. Miller. Writing of old settlers we should refer to Philip Stringham, born 1794. He came
to Ohio from New York in 1836, and two years later reached Jacksonville, and found
lodging in one part of a house occupied by Mr. James Cooper, who was postmaster
then. Joseph McCaslin was the first man he became acquainted with. Mr. McCaslin
was one of Jacksonville's oldest citizens and a fine, genial man. His second acquaint
ance was the late Dr. Reed, whose life still stands out grandly in our midst. Murdock,
Coffman, Milburn, Bancroft and, we might mention a score of others, were also among
his old and highly esteemed friends and acquaintances. Some of his old friends still

102 First Murder Trials in Morgan 1839-'4l.
survive, while most of them have gone to the echoless shore of great Eternity. He be
came affiicted with asthma about the year 1845, and continued to grow worse until 1856.
Dr. Reed, his physician, advised him to go over the "plains," which he did the same
year. He reached Salt Lake City with his family in September and found himself per
fectly free from his old trouble, asthma, but environed by such a state of things as soon
resolved him to return to the states again. He landed again in Jacksonville early in
September, 1859, where he is now residing in 1884.
The first indictment for murder in Morgan county was found in 1839, at the June
term of the circuit court. It was against John A. Hall for killing Robert Denny, by
stabbing him in the left breast with a large pair of shears. He was tried in Novem
ber, 1839 and found "not guilty." Wm. Brown was State's Attorney, Wm. Thomas, Judge,
and Josiah Lamborn, Attorney for the defendant.
The second murder case tried in the county was George Gardner indicted in Scott
county in May, 1841, for killing Philip W. Nash by shooting him in the heart ¦5\-ith a
shot gun. The case came to this county by a change of venue. John S. Greathouse
was state's attorney and the defendant had John P. Jordan as his attorney. The case
was tried in July, 1841, and the defendant was found guilty by a jury and sentenced by
Judge S. A. Douglas to be "hung by the neck until dead," on the 28rd day of July, 1841,
between the hours of twelve o'clock noon and three o'clock p. m. This is the only
person ever sentenced to be hung in this county. The execution did not take place,
however, as the prisoner escaped from jail a few days before the time of his execution
and has never been heard of since.
Among "old settlers" reminiscences we might quote Mr. A. J. Thompson, as follows :
There has been a great improvement in many things in this country. I was not
here in the earliest times, but I was here in time to have seen many and great changes
in this country. I have been idmost persuaded to believe that this part of thecountry
has been more highly favored than other sections, bnl it is probably because I am
more intimately acquainted here. In the olden times a man would rig out a plow,
harness and all necessary rigging to go to work, and the only iron used was Ihe bridle
bits and the plowshare, and sometimes they used lopefor bridle bits. One of the
greatest meetings that was ever held in this county was that assembled to consider
the piopriety ol putting through a railroad in this county. In the olden limes there
was everything to encourage us if it was rude.
Mr. Thompson, as noted above, refers to the railroad meeting, a subject which we
must now consider at some length, because the laying of those rails was indeed an his
toric occurrence of much more than local interest.
Mr. Thompson came to Morgan in 1834, and says :
They had no wagon roads, no railroads, except those they made by taking some
of Uncle Sam's timber lo lay in the mud. There was a little railroad laid before that
from Jacksonville to Meredosia. It was built in 1836, about a mile out from Naples,
and there was a tremendous ado made about it. He supposed it could make that mile
out and back in less than half an hour! It was about that time Ijiat the first steam
boat came np the Illinois River to Naples, and when she blowed off her steam every
horse all over this country broke loose and ran, and it was three weeks before some of
them got back.
Of this railroad the four men taking prominent part in the laying of the first rail
were Col. James Dunlap, Prof. J. B. Turner and Senator Richard Yates, of Jackson
ville, and George B. Plants, of St. Louis. Mr. Plants and of the Jacksonville gentle
men drove the first spike, and Senator Yates made an address upon that occasion.
Rev. Levi Crawford, of Bloomington, formerly an Illinois College student, in 1881
contributed to the Lincoln (111.) Herald, the following about this and connected occur
rences :
In the year 1836-'87, one Charles Collins, an enterprising but somewhat visionary
citizen of St. Louis, took in hand to build a railroad from Naples on the Illinois River
to Jacksonville. I am not sure but his plan took in Springfield as the terminus.
Well, the survey was made and the forces gathered lo build the road. We begtni at
Naples, threw up a road bed as far as the slough, about two miles east of town, then we
put down lies and laid upon them rails of while oak, six inches fquare. These wire fast-

First Railroad Excursion in Illinois. 103
ened to the ties by oak or hickory pins. Not a particU of iron was used in the construc
tion. In this way the road was built until we reached the slough; and that is as far as it
ever wenl, under the corporation of Charles Collins.
Upon this railroad there ran bul ono car, and it was not a locomotive, but a simple
four wheeler, drawn by gray horses. Poor fellows, they are dead and gone long ago!
Well, the road was finished, as I have said, to the slough, and was in readiness for the
grand Fourth July celebration in 1837. Let me tell you something about that celebra
tion. It was a grand affair. The celebration was held in a grove of "black jacks" up
on a sand ridge in the northeast part of the town. The stage was built under one of the
trees, the tree being used as a support.
Early in the morning, the people began to gather from all quarters, making a great
crowd. There was a cavalry company, I believe from Jacksonville, I am not sure, but
think John J. Hardin was the captain. Well do I remember their gay appearance as
they came prancing out upon the green where stood the old church, built by the Collins
brothers. They came at the call of a bugle blown by a little man dressed in a red suit
and mounted upon a bay horse. Afler the company had galloped around for awhile, the
little man in red with the bugle, got off his horse and came and stood on the platform
where the band was. Then they gave us "Hail Columbia" in grand style. Then some
one got up and read the Declaration of Independence. Then the band gave another tune.
Then the orator of the day was introduced. I remember just how he looked — a slender
boy without beard, blushing like a girl and with his knees smiting together like that old
Babylonian king's.
Well, I did nol know much about oratory then and have learned bul little since; but
I made up my mind that he had done "first rate," for a boy; and I think all the people
thought so, loo, for they swung their hats and yelled like Indians. Some of the men on
the stage took him by the hand and congratulated him on his success. I remember of
hearing some one ask who that boy was. The answer was, "Dick Yates, a young chap
from Jacksonville."
Afler the speech the great ones went down to the hotel where dinner was prepared
for the select few. Afler dinner there was music, speeches and toasts. I was outside,
bul remember one toast given by Gen. Hardin: "Naples— the great commercial empori
um of Illinois The time is not distant when she will cover the plain to the Bluffs, which
will not be able lo confine her; but she will burst the bounds and unite with Jacksonville
and they shall become, in fact, what they are to-day in heart," I do not give the exact
words, bul such was the sentiment. Alas! the prophecy was never fulfilled. Naples
had reached her pinnacle of glory on that day.
In the afternoon the grays were put to the car, upon which had been constructed a
frame work for seating the magnates. The band was put aboard and also the president
of the road — I believe — and the orator and a few others and away they sped across the
prairie for two whole miles with banners flying and music filling the air. As I walked
home through the dust, I met the returning excursionists, and it was a grand sight — such
as Illinois had never before seen. And I venture the assertion that it was the first rail
road excursion ever given in Illinois, made on Illinois' first railroad. As I have said, the
railroad was never built further than the slough, under the Collins management; for that
same year the company, which was made np of one man, failed and left the laborers in
the lurch. Sure am I that I am one of the creditors of the concern still; the last pay I
received wa* twenty pounds of soap grease, weighed out to me by the boss after the
laborers had all left. This I turned over to my mother, and quit railroading.
The Hannibal branch of the Wabash uses the old Collins road bed. If that corpora-
lion wishes to confer any favors upon the laborers who built that first road and never got
their pay, or if they feel that they inherited the obligations with the property, 1 would
say, '•Gentlemen, please send me a tickel for a free ride over your road, and you shall
have a receipt in full!"
Mr. Editor I have some very distinct recollections about that other road, built after
tho same pattern with a strap on top of the oak rail. Well do I remember seeing the
flrst locomotive ever brought to Illinois make its trial trip from Meredosia to "Dickinson
Lake," as it was then called; filling the tender with a hand pump. ******
Almost every one whom I have heard speak of this matter "the flrst railroad in the
west" has insisted that it was the old road, built by the state from Meredosia, on the Illi
nois River, to Springfleld, and that it was built in 1839. In fact I have just read an ac
count of the arrival of the flrst train to Jacksonvile, furnished by some of the old resi
dents of that city. *****
That was not the flrst railroad in this Sucker state, I claim the honor of having
helped build the flrst railroad that was laid down or thrown up, in this great state.
Thd following is probably some such account as Mr. C. refers to, which went the
rounds of the press:
•'The first railroad train ever run in Illinois made its appearance on the first railroad
in the slate, which extended from Jacksonville to Meredosia. This was in the fall of

104 The First Rairoad Train in Morgan.
1839, and the day was a memirable one. Nearly all Morgan County h-id, according to
accounts, assembled in the public square to witness the arrival of that woaderful firi-t
train. School children had been given a holiday and the daily labor was everywhere
neglected except in the shops in the town.
The public square was filled with teams, and when the engine steamed into the square
making all the noise possible, there was such a stampede of horses as was never before
heard of, nearly every team breaking loose, and at least one-third of the vehicles in the
county were broken, and many of the people were as much scared as the horses at the
steaming monster as it came rushing up into the square."
There were then 23 miles of railroad in Illinois. Now the county is crossed by
the Chicago & Alton, the Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific with theP eoria branch, the Jack-
sonuille Southeastern and the C. B. & Q., which goes through Chaiiin. Two have their
termini in Jacksonville, and there are several trains run for the accommodation of
this city.
But of this old road, the track took its course down what is now known as West
- State Street, and directly through the center of our public square. Those who have
made Jacksonville their home for many years remember well the sensation which was
created when the iron horse first came pnfflng and blowing down State Street. Not
such a locomotive, to be sure, as we have now, but for all that a novelty, and the same
persons doubtless remember when the engine was discarded and mules took its place,
and also, when the road was abandoned, and the rails extending through town were
torn up. Many of the ties, which were left in their places and covered with dirt were
unearthed by the men who were digging the trench for the sewer, on State Street in
1880. They were but a short distance below the surface of the earth, and -were, of
course, so badly decayed that they fell to pieces when struck by the pick-axe. They
were arranged in as regular order as when first laid down, and for some distance not
one was missing.
An eye witness reports that when the Jacksonville & Meredosia road was first com
pleted, an excursion was planned from this place to Meredosia, the railroad men prom
ising to return the train by sundown. The train, by the way, consisted of two common
passenger cars and several sand cars. The excursionists had a merry time at the river,
and in fact were enjoying themselves so much that they did not get started on the re
turn voyage until about sundown. Then came the tug of war — the engine was by no
means a powerful one, the grade was rather steep, and in the language of our inform
ant, "every time they came to a leaf or a twig on the track, the engine couldn't pull
them over, and all hands were obliged to get out and push." Of course they made but
little headway, and when midnight came they had accomplished but half the distance
At this juncture the conductor -slyly unfastened the coupling which joined the cars, and
away went the engine with the two passenger cars, leaving a terribly enraged crowd
upon the platform cars. The engine and favored few arrived in Jacksonville about
daylight, and then it started back after the remainder of the load. When they reached
the place where the remaining cars had been left, the engineer found that they had all
been pried off the track, and thrown into a ditch by the maddened passengers, who
were, in consequence, obliged to walk home.
Gov. Duncan, in his message to the general assembly in 1835, uttered this signifi
cant thought : "It is yet to be determined whether railroaids will be more benefit to the
state than the Illinois and Michigan Canal."
At that session Wm. J. Gatewood, a state senator from Gallatin County, and a man
of eminent ability, was one of many who earnestly opposed legislation in favor of rail
roads, but, nevertheless, the agitation continued, and in 1889 the completion of the first
railroad in the state, known as the Northern Cross Railroad, was celebrated. It ex
tended from Jacksonville to Meredosia, a distance of twenty .four miles ; it was built
by the state and laid with flat iron. In 1841 it was extended from Jacksonville to
Springfleld. In 1847, or later, the road was changed from the square to its present lo
cation. As to the construction and operation of this incipient Wabash system, known flrst

Seeing "Zb Wheels go Wound." 10-5
as the Northern Cross Railroad. The contractors to whom were awarded the bids for
the construction of this road were Miron Leslie, T. T. January, Charles Collins and
James Dunlap. Ground was first broken in Meredosia in 1837, with great ceremony
and in the presence of a vast concourse of citizens. Speeches were made by Mr. J. E.
Waldo and Hon. O. M. Long. Mr. Daniel Waldo was selected to dig the first shovel
ful of dirt, which he did amidst the shouts of the multitude. This labor so e-\hausted
himself and the multitude that no more work was done that day. On the 9th of May
1838, the first rail was laid at Meredosia, and the first engine was put on in October, set
up and on the Sth of November tlie first puff of a locomotive was heard in the great
Mississippi Valley, and the first turn of a wheel made, eight miles of the track were
completed, and the first tra'n ran to the extent of the completed track and back, cai-ry-
ing Daniel Waldo, Joseph E. Thompson, Engineer Fields and Joseph Higgins. This
trip greatly delighted those interested in the road and as greatly astonished the dwellers
along the line and all day wondering crowds of gaping rustics, stood and gazed on the
"thing" and wondered what made "ze wheels go wound." Among the first engineers
was the late Verien Daniels, whose encounter with a belligerent Taurus, is quite amus
ing. In February 1842, the first train of carsfromhere went into Springfield, and the San.
gamo Journal of March 11th, of that year, boasts of the immense utility to its citizens
and tlie traveling community of getting from Springfield to St. Louis in a day and ii
night! Wagons were a thing of the past, so far as speed of travel was concerned. The
route to St. Louis was from Springfield to Meredosia by the train and from Meredosia
by steamer to St. Louis. Tlie road, though accommodating, would not pay and when
at one time the engineer ran the engine off the track, east of Jacksonville, it was aban
doned and lay there nearly a year. It was afterward bought by Gen. Semples, of Alton,
and a new set of wheels, with tires about two feet wide placed thereon, and it made one
trip from Alton to Springfield as a steam road wagon. The two broad parallel tracks
over the prairies were thought to be the tracks of some huge serpent and two men actu
ally followed it to Springfield to see "what kind of a critter it might be."
Mr. J. W. Lathrop relates of this road:
The first engine used on this road was called the "Pioneer," and was about as power
ful as a good-sized tea-kettle, and frequently got stalled with one freight and one passen
ger car. The road was finished only from Meredosia to Jacksonville, and sometimes
they made a round trip in twenty-four hours and sometimes in forty eight hours.
Many of the country people called it the "bullgine."' I never knew the reason why
unless it was because a two-year-old bull, owned by a family who lived about three miles
west of town, would some times dispute the right of the way, bul was finally oversow
ered and killed, which so exasperated its owner and his wife that they put soft soap on
the track, which effectually stopped the train.
After the abandonment of tlie engine, mule power was brought into requisition to
haul the cars, but the travel on stage line surpassed the "mule railroad," and the road
bed went unrepaired, the strap rails were stolen for sled soles, aud in 1847 the road was
sold, at the door of the State Capitol, to Col. T.Mather, N. H. Ridgely, James Dunlap
and ex-Gov. Joel Matteson for $100,000 — one-tenth its original cost. The purchase
money was paid in state bonds issued in aid of its construction, which the state was
obliged to accept, though not worth twenty cents on the dollar. The new organization
went -vigorously to work, repaired the road-bed, put down the "U" rail, purchased tl.ree
new engines, new and better cars, removed the track from our public square and State
Street to the present site, north of the city, and by the autumn of 1849 daily trips were
made between Meredosia and Springfield. From this primitive beginning, the differ
ent sections of the now Wabash road started, and finally came the mergement of them
all into the great Gould system, one of the main thoroughfares of the commerce of the
nation, A railroad incident of those days now under consideration is as follows :
At one time the Great Western Railroad wished to pay off its hands on the section
west of Jacksonville. Early one fine morning the pay car was furnished with funds
and started on its mission. Soon after its departure the morning mail was opened at

106 Hard Times — Wild Cat Money — Land Prices.
the office and the "detector" at once sent for. It revealed the rather startling fact that
nearly all the funds in the pay car were worthless. Nothing remained but to telegraph
to Jacksonville, stop the car and order its return to Springfield, and the workmen went
without their pay, that time at least.
The people who live in this day of greenbacks and National bank notes, have little
idea of the trials and tribulations of the unfortunates who existed during the reign of
wild cat banks. A business man was required to keep his "detector" at his elbow, and
frequent editions of this book were required to keep pace with the failures. It fre
quently happened that a farmer would board a train at a way station, offer his fare to
the conductor, who, on consulting his book, found that the bill was worthless, and the
unfortunate agriculturist, having no other funds, had to be carried free.
Elder E, G. Rice, still living a few miles west of our city, once said in a public ad
dress :
^ifty years ago, and I for the first time gazed on the tall wild grass of our prairies.
In the olden times if a man got three or four miles from the timber he thought he had an
everlasting fortune, but how is it to-day? I saw the firat engine that was plied between
Springfield and Naples. They started it with the crow-bar, before they would try the
strength of the steam on the machinery. If in the short space of forty-five years so much
has been accomplished, what may we expect in the next fifty years? I dreamed last night
that I was standing with some friends when I saw a huge eagle pass far above us and
smoke was coming from the top of its head. I asked my friend what that was and they
said that there were three men in that machine. It was an aerial conveyance. This was
only a dream, but such a thing in the next fifty years would be no more wonderful than
what has been done in the last fifty.
Col, George M. Chambers, one of the few earliest settlers of the city still living here,
said, in 1884, to an interviewer of the Illinois Courier:
"In 1837-'38 real estate in and near the city was about as follows: Farm from $20 to
$40 per acre; after the crash, owners still held on in hopes of better times. The same
lands sold in from 1840 to near 1848 for whatever was offered. The Bradshaw estate
was sold in 1846, from $7 to $15 per acre; Chestnut farha is part of it, and the Rector
homestead is also part of it. The estate of Smedley was sold about 1848. The home
stead, now the Insane, brought about $20 per acre. I had offered him $40, he wanting
$50. His other lands, on Sandy, brought from seventy-five cents to $1 per acre. Vacant
lots, and lots with small houses, nearly worthless, owners leaving them vacant and they
were destroyed by others. One instance; a house and lot on East Street sold for about
$45. The buyer afterwards burned up the flooring and joists, and left it. One more;
the eighty acres north of town, adjoining Capps's old factory, was mortgaged to the
Stale Bank for $8,000. After the bank's failure the Certificates were worth, first, about
twelve and one-half cents; went up to forty cents; I was offered it for $80 per acre in
certificates; tried to get my father-in-law to buy it; he declined. Well, you ask, why
did you not buy it? Because I had all I could do to pay my own indebtedness. As for
other things, being in business, we put out our bill of prices in 1841: $1.75 for hogs
weighing 250 lbs.'; $1.50 for 225 lbs.; $1.25 for 30O lbs.; $1 for 150 lbs. It being a bad
crop year many small ones were bought as low as.seventy-five cents per 100; these, if we
had thrown them into the river when weiglied, would have made us money. Dewees,
west, the Cassell neighborhood, east, and the Routt neighborhood, south, refused the
offer, and drove to Alton and sold at our offer there, and even at these prices, all lost
heavily." Question.— "What was the general condition of business here when you came to the
country?" "Everything was flush and on a boom, every man bought all the land he could get
hold of, and many of them did in this way: At that time the State Bank was permitted
to loan money on land, at, say, one-half its value. A man would enter land at $1.35 per
acre, handle the appraisers so that they would call it worth $5, and then take the money
borrowed, and enter more lands. Of course this kind of business assisted in the destruc
tion of the bank. The crash commenced in the east in 1837, and soon came west, and
was the result of over trading. Everything soon became flat. Unimproved lands dropped
from $16 per acre to nothing, and other things in proportion. For several years money
was very scarce and people had a very hard time. Everything was done by barter and a
silver dollar looked as big as a grindstone, and it was, too. People had enough to eat
and wear, such as it was, but the man who was in debt had a hard time."

GrAME IN 1838 — Grain Shipping — A Millerite, lOT
Mr. J. W. Lathrop has also contributed to the local press recollections of those days
from which we extract as follows:
When I came to Illinois game was quite plenty. Deer were often seen grazing with
the cattle south of the mound, where Mr, Rice and Mr, Samuel Killam now live, their
range being in the timber of Sandy Creek south, and the Mauvaisterre and Indian Creek
north. At one time— I think in 1838 or '39—1 was riding with J. O. King to Manchester,
our horses walking leisurely along in Sandy timber, when within gunshot at our right,
we counted fourteen flue deer feeding quietly upon the early spring grass. On our re
turn in the afternoon they were still feeding nearer the road, and a pari of them crossed
the road just before us. Venison was sold at seventy-flve cents to one dollar for the
loin and two hind quarters; wild turkeys, twenty five cents each: prairie chickens, flfty
to seventy-flve cents per dozen; quails were usually sold at Iwenty-flve cents per dozen,
although I have known them sold three dozen for fifty cents, and wild pigeons the same
price. Potatoes, twelve and one-half cents; turnips, ten cents; corn, ten cents; pork,
two cents; eggs, three cents; butter, eight to ten cents.
For many years prairie chickens were very abundant quite near town. I have .been
out to where the Insane Hospital now is located and shot as many as three or four birds,
and got back to seven o'clock breakfast, I usually shot from my horse and never killed
more than three at a shot. In tbe winter of 1886, and '37 they used to come from what
was then called "Duncan's big field," northwest of town, to the College Grove, aud to
Elm Grove (as Gov, Duncan then called his residence) to roost. Gov. Duncan, who was
a good shot, once saw a lot of prairie chickens silting on a rail fence, and returning to
nis house, took his shotgun and killed fourteen at a single shot.
In 1843 we bought wheat at thirty-five to thirty-seven and one-half cents delivered
in Jacksonville; forty cents delivered at Naples, Meredosia, Beardstown, Bath and
Havana. We bought one thousand barrels of flour of Ira Davenport and C. Mathews,
at $3.25 per barrel, delivered at Naples. We also bought quite a lot of pecan nuts, all of
which we shipped to New York, having chartered a steamboat which we loaded on the
Illinois River for New Orleans, where we re shipped on vessel for New York, where we
sold the entire cargo, and, counting our exchange at ten per cent, premium, we made
$23 proflt on the entire lot, and considered ourselves lucky, as we had paid our debts
east previously, paying twenty-flve per cent premium for exchange. At that time we
could get no sacks to ship our grain in; there was no railroad with grain cars as now, and
we had to get barrels to ship in. I think we bought one thousand from Mr, Hinrichsen
and one thousand from a Mr, Arnold, of Exeter, recently deceased. Some years we
bought hemp and wool, to make our payments in New York and Philadephia with, and
even up to the time of the Mexican war, at which time Mr, J, H, Bancroft and I were in
business together, we bought hemp and wool to ship to meet our payments, which we
always did, one hundred cents per dollar, though we sometimes lost money on what we
shipped. As an incident of these times it is narrated that:
In the year 1843 a Mr, H, A, Crittenden came here and lectured on Millerism, and
quite a number were made to believe that the world would be destroved by flre that year,
A man by the name of Phillip Hq,ynes, who lived just northwest of town, heard
about it and, as his reputation was not above reproach, he was very much worried about
hia prospects in the hereafter. About that time a large bell had been placed in the lower
of the Congregational Church, and on Saturday night it was all ready to be rung. Sev
eral of those present tried it, but no one but J, O. King could "set the bell," and of course
a terrible clatter followed, as one after another tried to set it as King had done.
Haynes heard the bell aud, with his family, was terribly frightened, so much so that
he could not sleep.
The next morning at nine. King rang the bell again for Sabbath School and just at
that time, Haynes was mounting his horse to go out deer hunting. He was frightened
worse than before, dropped his rifle, ran his horse to the nearest neighbor, 'oy the name of
Darius Ingalls, and asked him if he heard the strange noises in the air, and if so, what it
meant? Ingalls, who was something of a joker, told him the day of judgment had come, and
the sound was to wake up the dead.
Haynes believed it, and early Monday morning was in town trying to sell his farm,
but would take nothing but gold or silver. He sold out and moved to St Joseph, Mo.,
then a new settlement, squatted on Congress land, and in a few years the town had be
come so large that churches were built and bells placed upon them.
The Sigma Pi Society of Illinois College, has the honor of being the flrst literary
society to be organized not only in that institution, but in "the Athens of the West,"
since then so proliflc of such associations.
Samuel Willard and Henry Wing entered college in 1840 and became room-mates.

108 Personals and Prices in 1840.
Their apartment became the centre of spontaneous conversational gatherings of mem
bers of classes of '43 to '46, wherein topics of literature, theology, politics, philosophy,
&c., were discussed. These informal meetings led to the formation of "Sigma Pi"
just at the close of the school year '43-'48. The constitution was a paper originally
prepared by Willard and Wing. From its official catalogue issued in 1883, we learn
that its membership to that date, 663, includes 87 of the then alumni of the college. Its
roll of patriot dead during the war for the union, numbered 10, out of the 104 that were
in the volunteer service of their country.
The following items of the "Tip and Tyler" year, were compiled for the Journal
by Mr. Ensley Moore, of our city.
Wm. Hamilton kept a bakery, Joseph Capps had recently established himself in the
wool-carding business, E. T. Miller was a prominent carpenter, David . Cole and James
Coegrove were blacksmiths, B. F. Gass was a carpenter, J. S. Anderson was a cabinet
maker as was Wm. Branson, D. B. Ayers kept a drug store, Robert HockeahuU was
clerking for Reed & King (J. O.) druggists, Thos. W. Melendy was a carpenter, Mat
thew Stacy sold harness, 'Talma Smith came to town with his father, Thomas Smith,
who was a shoemaker, James Buckingham was a plasterer, David C. Creamer, Samuel
Hunt and William Lewis were tailors, Cornelius Hook was a merchant, Israel, Taggart
& Smith were another flrm. Col. Jas. Dunlap, of tbe flrm of January & Dunlap, was
building the railroad, as contractor, Jonathan Neely was in the same line, Edward Scott
was farming near town, and Wm. H. Broadwell was learning his trade as blacksmith.
Josiah M. Lucas was editor of the Illinoisian and the Goudy's had a job office.
Rev. T, M, Post was in charge of the Congregational Church; Rev, R. W. Gridley
was pastor, (and succeeded by Rev. Wm, H, Williams,) of the First Presbyterian Church,
and Rev, Andrew Todd, of the Second Presbyterian, which flnished its church building
this year, (1840 )
The First Baptist Church was organized in 1841, by Rev. Alvin Bailey,
John T. Jones was, probably, elder in charge of the Christian Church,
The Methodist society worshipped in a brick church on Morgan Street, near East
Street, Rev. W. G. Heyer was rector of the Episcopal Church.
John Cooper was postmaster, and charged 13^ cents per quarter year for box rent.
A. F, and A. M,, Harmony Lodge, No, 3, was chartered.
The Jacksonville Mechanics Union loaned money at 13 per cent, per annum in 1841.
E. T, Goudy and Miss Catherine McMackin were united in marriage, July 1st, 1840,
by Rev. L. Lyons.
Drs. M, M, L, Reed, Nathaniel English, Thomas Munroe, Archimedes Smith and
Henry Jones were prominent physicians.
Reed & King's store was in Goltra & Stryker's building, southwest corner of the
square. Hard times were very fashionable. One house and lot purchased in 1840 depre
ciated one half in value during next two years.
John Adams, LL. D., since known as "Father Adams," was principal ol the Female
Academy. The following boys entered Illinois College, in September: D. 8. Baker, Rochester;
N. Bateman, College Hill; T. K, Beecher, Walnut Hills, O ; Wm, C. Merrit. Winches
ter; John T. Morton, Quincy; Wicklitfe Price, and W. H. Sigler, Jacksonville; H. W.
Starr, Alton; C. F. Thayer, Springfield.
Board was furnished students at from $1 to $3 per week. Those who desired it
could "get plainer board at a cheaper rate." Washing cost 50 cents per dozen. The
total annual expense of a student was estimated at $103, excluding clothes and books.
John T. Pierce offered his services in preparing young men for college, terms $5 per
quarter. His vacations were to be six weeks from August 1, one from February 14, and
one week from May 11,
Jacksonville luxuriated in a daily mail, and people paid 35 cents postage on a letter
from Philadelphia, and 13 cents from Quincy. Postage was paid by sender, or recipient,
according to the sender's notion or pocket. "¦
There was a branch of the State Bank of Illinois situated in Jacksonville, of which
Henry D. Town was teller. In 1840 Mr. Town was married to an estimable young lady
of this place.
Imperial tea sold at $1.50 per lb., butter 13^ cents per lb , molasses 50 cents per gal
lon, candles 19 cents a lb., flour $4 per bbl., in 1840.
In 1841, oak wood was cut for house use at 63 cents per cord, white lead sold at 12J
cents per lb., chickens 13 cents each, domestic at 12J cents per yard, a horse was used
three days for $1.60, calico cost 31 cents per yard, sugar 12J cents per lb., one venison
ham, cured, cost 75 cents, spool cotton 8 cents, black satin ribbon 19 cents per yard

Old Time Prices — A Fire Company. 109
pearl buttons 10 cents per dozen, bleached shirting 25 cents per yard, cotton velvet 75
cents per yard, eggs 6 cents der dozen, "1 dozen bunches Loco Focos 68 cents," bacon G^
cents per lb,, coffee 20 cents per lb , brown Holland 38 cents per yard, black bombazine
$1 per yard, flgured bobinet '76 cents per yard, skein silk 12 cents, 1 pair boot lacings 6
cents, starch 19 cents per lb., Seidlitz powders 50 cents per box, linseed oil $1 per gallon,
arrow root 74 cents per lb., British lustre 13 cents, castile soap 38 cents per lb., 1 corn
broom 25 cents, whisky 40 cents per gallon, sperm candles 62 cents per lb,, eggs 5 cents
per dozen, "The Morgan House" was what is called the Park now, and it was a ' stage office "
The Western House, corner West State Street and the square, on Central Bank location,
was also a favorite stopping place
Dennis Rockwell's residence, now occupied by his son Charles, was the only noticea
ble house between the Ellis House now Mrs. C. McDonald's, and Governor Duncan's
"seat." Duncan's house, Mrs. McDonald's and Mrs, Dr. Cassell's, were all built about
1836. John B. A. Reid's father owned most of the land between Rockwell's and Caldwell
Street, and there was a 'run" across State Street between L. W. Chambers' and W, S,
Hook's houses.
Boys going to college from town had to climb the fence to get into the college lot,
opposite O, D. Filzsimmons' house,
Wm, C, Swell had a printing office in the town.
August 18th, Ira Davenport was elected sheriff and Robert S. Anderson, coroner.
This was at the general election, which occurred earlier in the year than now.
Before the building of the present admirable system of water works, Jacksonville
was without an adequate supply of this most necessary article in case of an extensive
conflagration. Volunteer flremen and other citizens promptly turned out when a fire
alarm was given, and generally subdued the flames and saved their homes from de
struction. The legislative act of 1835 for the incorporation of flre companies led to the
formation of the first regularly organized fire company, on the 23d of April, 1840.
The names of its members show that its numbers were composed of some of the
best citizens of the place. , The buildings were generally of wood, mostly of a small
size, and but few disastrous fires occurred. Their equipment consisted of a double-
decked hand-engine. It was a very heavy "machine," and required quite a number of
hands to work it. The same engine, with some improvements, is still used when occa
sion require. In addition to the old "Union" engine, the company had several hun
dred feet of hose, buckets, ladders, axes, and other necessary equipments. As the list
of members comprising this company will be of interest to the readers of these pages,
it is here inserted. Since that company was organized one of its members has been a
United States Senator, another a member of Congress, several mayors, two judges, several
town trustees and aldermen, two postmasters, one sheriff, several county assessors or
clerks, one United States consul-general, several trustees of state and educational insti
tutions, while nearly, if not all, have been prominent and useful citizens. We doubt
whether any community ever had a better fire company. Those marked * are now num
bered with the great company in the Silent Land :
James Berdan,* Morris Collins,* J. D. Stone, A. V. Putman,* Stafford Smith, Jos. O.
King, James H. Lurton, B. B. Chamberlain,* Robert Hockenhull, Thcsmas Anderson,*
James Stark, William French,* William Branson, John Hurst.* D. P. Palmer, Orlando
C. Cole, John Fisher, J. A. McDougall,* Nicholas Milburn,* Patrick Cresap,* J. John
son, Samuel Galbraith,* F. Campbell, J. McAlister,* John W. Goltra,* C. B. Clarke, I.
D. Rawlings, Timothy D. Fames,* Henry Keener, J. Harris, Morton Mallory, F. Stev
enson,* I. S. Hicks,* William S. Hurst,* G. A. Dunlap,* J. S. Anderson, Benjamin F.
Gass, B. F. Stevenson, D. A. Balkley,* A. C. Dickson, B. R. Houghton,* S. Hunt,* James
Hurst,* William G. Wilson, Geo. Henry,* S. H. Henderson, Moore C. Goltra,* Phillip
Coffman,* R. S. Anderson,* John Mathers,* J. W. McAlister, R. Bibb,* Michael Rapp,*
Geo. M. Chambers, William H. Corcoran,* J. A. Graves, L Berry, John W. Chambers,
H. S. Carson,* J. Harkness * David Smalley, M. A. J. Hunter, A. Smith, William Smal
ley, W. W. Happy,* J. T. Jones,* Cornelius Goltra, Stephen Sutton,* W. Patterson,* F.
C. Sutton, A. Lohr,* J. Cosgrove,* William C. Gwin, W. Akins,* E. T. Miller,* John
Henry,* John Gregory,* L. Filson, Eli Harp,* W. B. Warren,* W. Braidwood,* A. W.

110 Postal Facilities — Institution for Deaf and Dumb.
Tilford,* J. M, Lucas, J, J. Cassell,* C, Ogle,* J, B, McKinney, W. C, Swett,i= W, B.
Lewis,* Joseph Gledhill,* W. C. Scott, A. B. Hathaway, M. Dulany, John Freeman.*
The earliest facilities of Jacksonville were quite meager compared with those of
to-day. When the town was created, and a few families had established themselves
therein, a postofflce was of necessity required, for people loved to -write then as well as
now, and were only deterred in the number of letters by the rates of postage and the
facilities for transmission. The postage on a letter was twenty-flve cents, and gener
ally paid by the receiver. Money was a scarcer article then than now. The United
States Government did not receive "coon skins" or beeswax" in payment for postage,
and it was not an uncommon affair for a letter to lie several months in the office before
the person to whom it was addressed could raise the required twenty-flve cents. 'Wlien
the express companies came into existence, they began to carry letters for a less rate
than the United States mails, which department lowered the price of postage gradu
ally until it reached ten cents per letter. This was thought to be a great reduction by
the people, and the number of letters began to increase very rapidly. Jacksonville re
ceived, at first, a mail from St. Louis, brought by stages once in two weeks. Another
route was established from Springfield west through Jacksonville to Meredosia, and
thence on to Quincy. By the alternation of these mails, a weekly budget of letters and
papers was received in town, and the people thought themselves well provided for in
this way.
Tne postofflce in town was kept in various stores, shops, or offlces, removed from
time to time, as a change in administration and postmasters occurred. As time passed
on, a semi-weekly mail was secured, then a tri- weekly, and, finally, by the time the flrst
railroad was built, a daily mail had been firmly established. The number of daily mails
increased as facilities for transportation were furnished.
With one more topic we close this chapter. It is a subject vitally connected with
the history of the city, the location here of the state charitable institutions of Illinois,
which to-day add more than 1,000 to our population.
In 1838-'39 the representatives from Morgan oounty in the legislature consisted of
William Thomas, "William Weatherford, and William Orear, senators, and J. J. Hardin,
Newton Cloud, John Henry, John Wyatt, William Gilham, R. Walker, representatives.
Judge Thomas says :
Hon. O. H, Browning, senator from Adams County, having prepared a bill for the
establishment of a Deaf and Dumb Asylum, leaving a blank for the place of location,
presented it to me for examination, and to secure my assistance in its passage. Ap
proving of the object as well as the bill, I proposed filling the blank with "Jackson
ville," assuring Mr. Browning that all the delegation from Morgan would give the meas
ure a hearty support; relying on members and supposed influence, he consented to my
propo^ition. The bill required as a condition to the location, "a donation of five acres of ground
suitable for the use oE the institution." It appropriated, in aid of the institution, one
per cent, annually on the interest of the school, college and seminary funds, amounting
then to about $6,000. Tne bill was introduced by Mr. Browning and read at length (not
by the title) on three days, and passed the Senate without one word of debate or discus
sion, or even the calling of the yeas and nays.
In the House it met with considerable opposition. The appropriation was reduced
three-fourths, making it equal to about $1,500, And, out of abundant caution, a clause
was inserted that the legislature might repeal the section making the appropriation.
Thomas Carlin, Daniel G. Whitney and Thomas Cole, of Adams County; Ottawa
Wilkinson, Samuel D. Lockwood, Joseph Duncan, Dennis Rockwell, William Thomas,
Julian M. Sturtevant, George M. Chambers, Samuel M. Prosser, Porter Clay and Mat
thew Stacy of Morgan County, Richard F. Barrett and Samuel H. Trent, of Sangamon
County; Cyrus Walker, of McDonough; B. F. Morris, of Hancock; William E. With-
•¦ow and James M. McCutchen, of Schuyler County; and Thomas Worthington, of Pike
County, were appointed directors.
The citizens of Morgan Cbunty purchased and donated to the institution about six
acres of ground, on which the building now stands, at a cost of about eleven hundred
dollars. Subsequent to the organization of the board of directors and the election of o£-
flcers, all the directors residing out of Morgan County resigned. The annual appropria
tions being too small to justify the contracting for a building, the money as received
from the state treasurer was deposited in the branch of the State Bank of Illinois at this

First Illinois Blind Asylum — Stephen A. Douglas, 111
place, until it accumulated to a sum deemed sufficient to justify the commencement of a
building. In 1843 a contract was made for the erection and enclosure of what is now the
south wing of the building.
The nucleus of the Illinois Institution for the Education of the Blind, was a school
for the sightless unfortunates, organized by a few citizens of Jacksonville, and sup
ported by private donations for one year, when the state legislature placed it on a per
manent basis by an act of incorporation, approved January 13, 1843.
Mr. Samuel Bacon was the flrst principal ; though blind himself, he was engaged
to teach the blind in this city.
Dr, Joshua Rhoads was elected superintendent in August, 1850, and continued in
office until his resignation, in August, 1874, a period of twenty-four years. He was suc
ceeded by the present superintendent. Dr. F. W. Phillips.
The school was first opened in the house of Col. J. Dunlap, which was rented for
that purpose until the buildings for which the legislature had made provisions could
be erected. This building was placed on ground purchased by Col. Hardin ; it was
burned, however, in April, 1869. A new building was immediately erected by Messrs.
Bruce & Loar, contractors. The present building will accommodate one hundred and
fifty pupils, but the present number in attendance is 130.
Dr. Phillips, the present superintendent, has been well chosen for his present posi
tion, and from the flourishing condition of the school, it speaks well of his management.
Stephen A. Douglas, of this city, was secretary of state of Illinois from November
30th, 1840, until his resignation February 27th, 1841 ; was appointed judge of the su
preme court of the state of Illinois February 15th, 1841, resigned June 28th, 1843 ; was
elected member of Congress that year and served through that term (the 28th) ; was
elected for the 29th term, and resigned his seat April 7th, 1847, and was elected to the
United States Senate that year to succeed James Semple, and served in the Senate by
re-elections till 1860. He died June 3, 1861. He never was in the Illinois State Legis
lature but once and tliat was 1836-'38.
"The little giant," was one of our best known citizens for several years. Having
attended academy and studied law in Cansmdaigua, N, Y., until in 1833 the mighty west
with all its vast opportunities opened out on his vision. On his journey westward, he
stopped at Cincinnati, Louisville and St. Louis then on to Jacksonville. Casting about
for occupation, he received and accepted a call to teach school at Winchester, obtaining
, forty ]pupils for a three months tutelage at $3.00 each per quarter. He devoted his
evenings and spare time to perfecting his law knowledge, and at the close of the school
term he was admitted to practice by the supreme court of the state and opened his law
office in Jacksonville. In 1834, when not quite 22 years old, he was elected Attorney
General of the state by the Illinois Legislature, and in 1836 was elected to a seat in
that body from Morgan County and first met president-to-be Lincoln at the opening of
thesession in Vandalia in December of that year. After the adjournment of the Legis
lature in 1837, he was appointed register of the land office in Springfield, and removing
there he and Abraham Lincoln became neighbors.
In preparing matter for this volume, we have endeavored to strictly follow chronolog
ical order, but have found it impossible, because after the opening chapters were in type
and advance or proof sheets read, much additional information came to us, which we in
sert at the close of a chapter regardless ot date in order not to have it omitted,
Mrs, Frederick King, now of Austin, Minn., who formerly resided here as Miss
Julia M. Eddy, daughter of the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, writes to us
of 1844-'46 as follows :
"My father came in 1844 — he mowed a path from our house back of church to the
church. W. C. Goudy, Talmage Collins and J. B. Shaw graduated in 1846."
And Mrs. B. F. Stevenson, formerly of our city, writes as follows from York, Neb. .
"I would say I had the first sewing mctcliine in a private family brought to the
place. Mr. Goodrick, the tailor, had one in his shop but did not like it, and I believe
did not use it long. He told my husband sewing machines were of no account, and in

112 First Cookng Stoves — Diamond Grove Baptists.
a short time mine would be thrown away with the rubbish. But he proved a false
prophet, as I used it for many years and have never since been without ; am now using
the third one. I think I brought the first collection of house plants, but of this am not
sure. Unfortunately they were short lived,
"The firm of F. & B, F. Stevenson was established some five years before Mr. Eames
sold goods. They sold all sorts ; dry goodsi groceries, hardware, boots and shoes, &c,,
&c. They brought the first piece of alpaca dress goods. There are many things that
might be interesting to future generations, if he were with you to speak about them.
His recollections of the cholera are very vivid as he was one of a number that bound
themselves together to stay in town and nurse the sick should the scourge visit the
place. Since coming to York he has found one who often watched with him and
helped bury many victims."
Not later than the fall of 1835, M. Stephen Gorham with four horses and a wagon
and his oldest brother, J. Harvey Gorham with a wagon and five horses went to Chicago
from Jacksonville and brought from there a load of cooking stoves for our citizens — ^the
fi rst that has been brought here. The Gorham's kept one apiece and delivered the rest to
those that had ordered the new f angled things. Among them Matthew Stacy and Seth
Weatherbee. Joel Headington, D, W. Osborne and Phil Coffman, bought cooking stoves in the year
1837 brought by Phil Coffman,at a cost $75 apiece.
Included in the "Springfleld Baptist Association" are not only the Baptist churches of
Jacksonville, Waverly and Berlin, of this vicinity, but the Diamond Grove Society — one
of the oldest organizations in Illinois, It was constituted April 26, 1823, with twelve
members. It is the oldest church connected with the Springfield Baptist Association
and was one ot the constituent churches of that organization. Among its earliest pastors
were Rev. Jonathan Sweet and Rev, Joel Sweet, the former having been the first modera
tor of the association, and the latter one of its earliest missionaries, as early as 1839, Rev.
Thomas Taylor was pastor in 1848 and the two years following.
From 1848 to 1856 the church was supplied with preaching irregularly.
In 1856 the Diamond Grove Baptist Church completed the erection of a house of
worship. In 1859 Rev. D. Lewis was engaged to preach one-half of the time, and served two
years. These were years of more than usual progress in the church.
In 1862 Daniel D. Holmes was licensed by the church to preach, and was not long
afterward ordained to the worlt of the ministry. He has served the church as pastor with
great acceptance, and without interruption from 1865 to the present time, at which time
the membership has reached the number of fifty.

CHAPTER VII.— 1844-'57.
Illinois Provides for her Deaf and Dumb, Blind and Insane— Illinois College Fire.—
Illinois Female College Founded— Arrival of Portuguese Colonists from Madeiror—
"The Forty-Niners" Start for Oalifomia^City and Gounty Officers-Church and
Stcret Society News— The Mexican War Volunteers— Death of Col. John J. Hardin
—"Phi Alpha" founded^-The Northern Cross Railroad.
But this— ia present ! On the f argone past.
Time's Iron fingers pinned the curtains fast.
Shutting all human tracery from the page
Which mortals gaze on, in the present age.
Backward we turn us, with a timid look.
But the hand of ages had locked the book.
And laid the key in eternity's urn.
HE nexf, six years — 1844 to 1850 — were marked with such an increase of business
and population as might be expected of a place with its railroad connections,
State Institutions and growing school reputation. At their close the census
showed a population of 2,745. During the period town affairs were managed by
' the following named, as trustees :
Philip Coffman, 1844-'45-'46 ; Wm. Branson, 1846-'47-'48-'49 ; George A, Dunlap,
1844^'45; John W, Lathrop, 1846 and 1849; Michael Rapp, 1844 and 1850; Benjamin F.
Gass, 1846 ; Richard Bibb, 1844 ; J, R, Simms, 1847 ; William G. Johnson, 1844, '46 '48-'49 ;
Benjamin Pyatt, 1847 ; David A, Smith, 1845 ; John W, Goltra, 1847 ; Andrew Newcomb,
1845; James Hurst, 1847-'48; Joseph 0, King, 1845-'48; Wm. N, Ross, 1848; Joseph H.
Bancroft, 1849-'50; Andrew F.Wilson, 1849; Martin H. Cassell, 1850; Jonathan Neely,
1850; William Ratekin, 1850.
The results of the county elections are shown in the following :
1814 '46 — Congress, B, D, Baker; State Senator, John Henry; Representatives,
Francis Arenz; Richard Yates, Samuel T, Matthews, Isaac D. Rawlings; Sheriff, Win.
Green; Coroner, James Holmes; County Commissioners, H. Saunderson, Wm, Crow.
1845 — Sheriff, Ira Davenport: Coroner, D, C, Creamer; Surveyor, Wm. B, Warren;
County Commissioners, John Samples, D. G, Henderson,
1846_'48 — Congress, Abraham Lincoln; Representatives, Newton Cloud, Wm. H.
Long, Joseph Morton, Wm. Thomas; Sheriff, Ira Davenport; Coroner, D. C, Creamer;
County Commissioner, A, Becraft,
1847 — Probate Justice, Matthew Stacy ; County Commissioner, Henry Saunderson ;
County Clerk, Joseph Heslep; County Recorder, Josiah M, Lucas; Assessor, James H.
Lurton; Surveyor, George M, Richards,
1848-'50 — Congress, Thomas L, Harris; Senator, Newton Cloud; Representatives,
George Waller, Richard Yates ; Sheriff, Ira Davenport ; Coroner, David C, Creamer ;
County Commissioner, David L, Hodges,
1850-'52 — Congress, Richard Yates ; Represeintatives, Wm. Thomas, B. F. Bristow ;
Sheriff, Jonathan Neely; Coroner, Timothy Chamberlain; School Commissioner, H
Spaulding, In 1844 Dr. Edward Beecher resigned the presidency of Illinois College to Prof,
Julian M. Sturtevant, identified with it from the very incipiency, and a member of its
faculty to this day — forty years later. He served with the greatest acceptability as

Illinois Female College — Arrival of Rev. L. M. Glover. 115
president for thirty-two years, that is from 1844 to 1876 and since then has been con
nected with the institution as professor of Mental Science and Science of Government.
In the autumn of 1846 the first steps were taken for the founding ot the third edu
cational institution of Jacksonville of high rank — the seminary for young ladies now
known as Illinois Female College, It was established and is still successfully conduct
ed under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Conference of this State. A commit
tee composed of Revs. Peter Cartwright, Peter Akers, W, D, R. Ti'otter, Messrs, Mat
thew Stacy, Nicholas Milburn, Sr., Wm. Brown and Wm. Thomas, (previously appoint
ed by the Conference,) met for the purpose of superintending the "establishment of a
Female Academy," on the 10th day of October, 1846, and selected as a location a piece
of gi^ound on the south side of East State Street, in Jacksonville. The work of securing
the necessary funds by donation and subscription had progressed so successfully that,
in the fall of the following year, the contracts for erecting the college building were let.
About the same time the school was opened in the basement of the Methodist Church,
with N. S. Bastion, M. D., as principal. He fllled the position until August, 1848. The
building was completed in 1850 ; it was built of stone and brick, substantial and com
modious — one hundred feet in length, fifty feet in width, and four stories in height.
The "Female Academy" was opened for scholars in the fall of 1848, with Rev. J. F.
Jacquess as principal, he filling this position for some years. The original charter be
ing for an "academy" sifciply, it was decided, on account of the growth of the school, to
apply for more extended powers, and accordingly, in 1863 a charter for the Illinois
Female College was obtained, -ivith full college powers.
The institution has suffered many times and severely from the effects of fire, the
whole building having been at one time or another virtually destroyed in this way.
The many friends of the college came promptly forward, however, and in each instance
the damages were fully repaired.
The courses of study, classical, scientific and in music, vocal and instrumental, the
fine arts, etc., are arranged and pursued with special reference to the wants of young
ladies, and are equal to the same in similar institutions elsewhere. The domestic reg
ime is on the home plan, the president and his family, and teachers living in the Col
lege and having charge, not merely of the intellectual, but the social and religious in
struction of the students. Marked success has attended tne operations of this institution
from the flrst.
Over the sister female seminary, the Jacksonville Female Academy, the Rev. W.
H. Williams, A. M., was Principal from 1843 to 1848. In 1845 the regular graduation
of classes began ; and never, for a single year, has failed from that time to this, a period
of thirty-nine years. Mr. Williams died but a few years since at a good old age.
•'MissLucretia H. Kimball, who had taught under Mr. Williams, succeeded him al
his retirement in 1848, and had charge of the school two years, 1848-'49 and 1850-'51,
the intervening year 1849-'50, being supplied by Miss Elizabeth Mead, as preceptress, dur
ing which, nothing special occurred, but the Academy moved prosperously on. Miss
Kimball was equal lo the place, exhibiting marked ability as well in managing as in
teaching. She gave entire satisfaction lo her employers, and was universally beloved by
her pupils. All things prospered under her oversight, and she would doubtless have been
continued in charge for many .years bul for the fact that personal charms so commended
her to a young professor in Illinois College, Rev. Reuben S. Kendall, that he took her to
himself, thus completing the good understanding of the two institutions which was begun
in the days of the workshops, as above referred to. Prof. Kendall, as a kind of Prince
Consort, for a lime assisted his wife in the management of the school."
The above are the words of Dr. L. M. Glover, the Academy's life long friend, bene
factor, chaplain, trustee, historian and President of Board of Trust for many years. In
July 1848 the First Presbyterian society, which in the previous year had superceded its
frame meeting-house with a more commodious brick structure, invited young Glover to
visit them as a pulpit candidate. He was then preaching in Michigan, but came in
October and began his ministry, being installed in November.
In 1873 he said of his coming: The journey hither, occupying the best part of a
week, accomplished partly by rail, partly by coach, partly by canal packet and partly

116 Presbyterian and Methodist Pastors.
by steamer is quite in contrast to the journey now between the same points, all by rail,
and occupying only twenty-four hours. At that time there was not a foot of railroad
in active operation in this State, which now may boast from three to four thousand
miles. In going to the meeting of Illinois Synod in the fall of 1849, which was held
that year in the extreme eastern part of the State, the route lay acrosswhat seemed an
almost interminable and uncultivated prairie, and the time occupied in going and re
turning was three days each, or a full week of working days; the same region is now
traversed by numerous lines of steam travel, sprinkled over with fine farms and vil
lages, and rapidly receiving its quota of a thriving and happy population. The State
then had some eight hundred thousand inhabitants. Chicago, then as now, the gate
way of the west, had a population of about forty thousand. Numerous little villages
have become large towns and some of them respectable cities, Jacksonville, now
numbering twelve thousand, then had about two, I will tell you how the place ap
peared to me at first sight. It appeared a very pleasant but a veiy unpretentious vil
lage. Among the public buildings there was not one that had any claims to architect
ural attractions. The old Court House, the old College, and the old Academy were
very ill-looking as compared with the stiuctures which have . replaced them. The
houses of worship were models of unstudied art, built to serve all needs but those of
cultured taste, except our own, then new, which made some pretensions to style, but
which, a dozen years after, the flre swept away. At present, however, we have to say
that no town of the size east or west can boast of more spacious or beautiful church
edifices than our own. Twenty five years ago the private residences of the place were
with few exceptions small, low, unplanned, without the ornament even of a cornice,
creations of necessity not of wealth or fancy, and yet many of them were really beau
tiful with the attractions of tree, and vine, and flowers, and green-sward without, and
of neatness, comfort, intelligence, industry, good taste, and CRristian hospitality with
in, the recollection of which in the midst "of growing splendor with the usual deca
dence of early simplicity makes us almost sigh for what we have lost rather than boast
of what we have gained. Jacksonville was called an Athens twenty-flve years ago,
and yet its whole stock of literary institutions consisted of Illinois College, Jackson
ville Female Academy and one public school. ******* Twenty-five years
ago this church had a nominal membership of about one hundred and flfty persons,
one-third males and two-third females, which is about the usual proportion in the
churches generally.
The Presbyterians of the "New School" Church had the ministerial services of
Rev, L, M, Glover, In the "Old School" organization, after the death of their gifted
pastor. Dr. Andrew Todd, who, under God, laid such a good foundation for their spirit
ual ediflce, the Rev. J. V, Dodge was called to the pastorate. Mr. Dodge continued
his labors but fom^ years and a half; from the autumn of 1850 until the spring of 1855,
when wholly at his own desire, the pastoral relation -was disolved, greatly to the grief
of the church. Mr. Dodge's ministry was efficient and faithful, and highly appreci
ated by the church and community. He still lives at Evansville, Indiana, a highly re
spected minister of the gospel in connection with the Presbyterian Church.
After the resignation of Mr. Dodge, the Rev. John H. Brown, D. D., afterward
pastor for some years of the First Presbyterian Church, Springfield, III., acted as stated
supply for one year. From September 1856, until the following spring, the pulpit
was supplied by different persons, chiefly by Rev. Dr. Bergen of Springfleld. In 1857
Rev. R. W, Allen, formerly pastor of the Pisgah Presbyterian Church of Kentucky,
took charge of the church as stated supply. Having received a unanimous call to the
pastorate, Mr. Allen was installed December 5th, 1858, and continued his efficient and
faithful labors until May, 1867, when he resigned. It will be seen that Bro. Allen's
pastorate embraced the period covered by the late civil war — a period most distracting
and highly unfavorable.
Passing from Presb3rterians to Methodists, we can only record names of the shep
herds of their fast growing flock. The honored and venerable Peter Akers still living
with us and still able to preach his annual sermon, although 94 years of age, was pre
siding elder from 1844 to '47, succeeding Dr. Peter Cartwright and being followed by
Rev. W, D, R. Trotter, now gone to his Heavenly charge.
The preachers for Jacksonville station were :
1844, Chauncy Hobart; 1845, W. J. Rutledge; 1846, W.J. Rutledge; 1847, J, B.
Corrington; 1848, W. A. Bastain; 1849, C. M. Holiday.
Bast Chakge.— 1850, B. C.Woods; 1851, Harvey Brown; 1852, R. E, Guthrie;

Church and Society News. 117
1853, C, D, James; 1854, C, D, James; 1855, Wm, Stevenson ; 1856, Wm, Stevenson;
1857, S, Elliott, (dead,)
West CiiABGE,— 1850-'51, J. L, Crane; 1855, S. Elliott; 1858-'54, R. W.Travis;
1855, J. E. Wilson; 1856, W. S. Prentice; 18.57-'58, J. R. Locke.
Presiding Elders. — 1851-'53, John S. Barger ; 1854^'57, Geo. Rutledge.
The German M. E. Church was constituted in 1856, with thirty-two members. They
met in the Grace M. E. Church, where they had divine services about six months, when
they purchased a church of the Baptists, which they now occupy. Tliey have now
about forty members.
The Grace M. E. Church, flrst called M. E. Church of West Jacksonville, was or
ganized in the fall of 1850, with five classes; James L. Crane was appointed flrst
preacher. Rev. W. D. R. Trotter was the flrst presiding elder, Joseph Capjis and Wil
liam Thomas, stewards. First rented the old frame church built by the Presbyterians,
on the northwest corner of Church and West State Streets, building afterward owned
by Universalist Society. Central Presbyterian Church now stands upon the spot. Re
moved to the southwest corner of same streets when the brick church was completed,
which cost $6,000. While undergoing repairs, six years ago, a strong gale of wind
blew down the west gable and damaged the building so much that it was taken to the
ground and an entire new ediflce was erected, at a cost of about $17,000. The new
church is built in form of a cross, and is flnely frescoed and is provided with handsome
stained glass windows.
The Rev. Edwin Johnson served the Congregational Church as the pastor from
1851-'58. The Catholic Church of our Saviour — Roman Catholic — has at present a very large
membership. In 1851 the Rev. Gifford, the priest at Springfield, came to Jacksonville
and finding four or five families professing that faith, held divine service, and appoint
ed George Eberhard, Edward Keyes and Henry McDonnell as collectors to raise funds
and assist in the establishment of a church here. The meetings for services were held
in a private house at first, but soon the increase of the congregation demanded more
room and the old court house was occupied. Murray McConnel donated the society a
lot near the railroad depot, on which a house of worship was erected. This, however,
became too small, and during the war tbe present fine structure was commenced.
As to the benevolent fraternities, Jacksonville Chapter, No. 3, Royal Arch Masons
was instituted July 25, 1845. The charter members were as follows : Wm. B. Warren,
Philip Coffman, John T. Jones, Horace Spalding, Levi Lusk, E. M. M. Clark, NaUi,
Coffin, C, W. Chatterton and A. R. Robinson. The first officers were W, B, Warren, H.
P. ; Philip Coffman, K., and John T. Jones, Scribe. In 1882 this body had 138 active
men here and was one of the most flourishing chapters in the state. The fees for mem
bership were $42 for the degrees and $2.00 yearly dues. Meetings were held on the
second and fourth Monday evenings of each month. Stephen Ellis was H. P., Dr. C,
G, Brown, secretary and C, M, Eames, treasurer.
In the great mining excitement of 1848 and '49, the city and county contributed its
quota to the host that hurried to California to seek their fortunes in the gold fields.
There were some forty-five from Morgan, and among them were Cyrus Epler, William
Rockwell, A. C, Patterson, E. M, Rees, Wash. Graff, Joseph Heslep (who led one com
pany across the plains,) John Hill, Abram Grimsley,
From a copy of the Morgan Journal, a four page weekly paper, of February 28,
1845, then in its flrst volume, under that name, "edited by an association" and pub
lished by Wm. C. Swett, we learn that among the lawyers of the town that year (but
now sleeping in the silent city,) were Gen. E. D, Baker, Senator Richard Yates, Judge
William Brown, John L. McConnel, Esq,, Col, John J. Hardin and Hon. David A,
Smith. In the advertising columns are the following named business and professional
men that were still residents of Jacksonville in 1878— thirty-three years later :

118 The Mexican War Volunteers — Buena Vista.
William Tliomas, 3 a.me& Bferdan, Robert Hockenhull, T. D. Eames, Michael Rapp,
J. H. Bancroft, Jos. W. King, William N. Ross, David Prince and John W. Goltra.
Those italicized are living with nis at this vrriting — six years later.
For the Mexican War, under Gov. Ford's call, a company was raised in Jackson
ville by J. S. Roberts, editor of the Jacksonville Standard. Jacob Zabriski was elected
first lieutenant, J. L. McConnel, second lieutenant, and James Dunlap, third lieuten
ant. Another company was raised at Waverly, Morgan County, by Col. Wm. Weather
ford, who had figured in the Black Hawk War. Jacob Brooks was organizing a com
pany at Bethel. Neither this company nor capt. Roberts' was quite up to the mini
mum when the day arrived to start to Alton, the place of rendezvous, and it was decided
that the company that was full should be accepted and go. Both companies were
marched around the square in Jacksonville with an understanding that a part at least
of one of the companies would break and go with the other. The wagons which were
to take them to Alton were drawn up in South St. Louis Street. The companies started
from thence to march around the square. After in motion Lieut. MpConnel passed
back along the line and asked the men to preserve their organization, and when back to
South St. Louis Street to make a break and take possession of the wagons. The other
company preserved its organization, not a man faltered, but when Roberts' company
reached the wagons and made a break and climbed into them, they stood for a minute
in a dazed sort of a way, when about one-third of them broke ranks and joined Roberts'
and moved off with them in triumph for Alton.
The first night the boys stayed at 'White Hall. They received an address of welcome
at Carrollton, and reached Alton at the end of the second day, and were quartered for
night in an old stone packing house on front row by the wharf or levee. The next
morning they were marched out to Frytown, where they were incorporated into the
first regiment Illinois volunteers. Colonel J. J. Hardin commanding. Roberts' com- .
pany being designated as D. The drill, both company and regimental, began in earn
est. Captain Roberts was compelled to resign in consequence of a diseased limb, and
Lieut, Zabriski was elected captain. The other lieutenants went up one step, and S.
Black was elected third lieutenant.
By copies of the same paper dated in April and May, 1847, we find extracts from
letters -written by Maj. Warren, detailing the incidents of the bloody battle of Buena
Vista, at which Col. Hardin, Capt. Zabriski and privates Emerson and Connaught, of
Jacksonville, were killed, also a report of a meeting held in Alton "for the purpose of
adopting measures expressive of their gratification on account of the recent victory of
American a/rms on the field of Buena Vista. Also a statement that the population of
the world is 812,553,731 ; that Jersey City has elected the Whig ticket by 283 majority;
that the fashionable color in Paris is amaranth ; that the Camden (N, J,) Phoenix, an
administration paper, has declared for General Taylor as the democratic candidate for
the presidency, and another paper for Hon. John Sergeant for vice president on the
same ticket with him. The Jou/rnal, by the way, has the name of Gen. Zachary Tay
lor at its mast-head, to which N. M. Knapp, in a communication, objects as "prema
ture." In another column are election returns, and among other things these show
that N. M, Knapp and his Whig colleague. Daniel Dinsmore, were elected in Scott
County over their "Locofoco" antagonists; that A. R. Knapp (Whig) carried Jersey;
W, A, Grimshaw (Whig) Pike; J: M, Palmer (Loco) Macoupin; Col, Singleton i;Whig)
Brown, and B, F, Northcutt (Whig) Menard. Editorially the Journal declares that
"everything looks favorably for the Whigs," the Whig gains since the gubernatorial
election being remarkable,
"Details of the battle of Buena Vista," from the New Orleans Delta, occupy three
and a half columns. On the editorial page we find the names of S. D, Lockwood, Wm,
Thomas, Jas, Dunlap and Jas, Gordon on the "Union Ticket" for the convention. Be
low is a card from "A Whig," who seems to bolt the nomination of the Union candi
dates, and set up the names of Newton Cloud and J. W. Evans in opposition to Dunlap

Jacksonville ISTewspaper News in 1847. 119
and Gordon, Then follows a few editorial squibs, something about the "Virginia Acad
emy," As items of local news, we notice the dedication of "the new Presbyterian meeting
house," on May 11th, 1847; a public meeting with speeches and resolutions in respect
for the late Col. John Hardin ; a call for mounted volunteers by Capt. Joseph Heslep,
also a call for a Sunday School convention, signed by John Adams, president of the as
sociation, and the following superintendents: H. Spaulding, Wm. Ratekin, Wm.
Storer, J. W, Goltra, W. H. Holland, E, T. Doane and D. B. Ayers. It seems, too, that
the Illinois College catalogue is just out and the Journal is pleased to announce 111
students — 39 medical, 88 collegiate, 12 irregular, and 22 preparatory. But a comparison
of the advertising columns with the Journal's of to-day shows the ravages of time. To
be sure W. H. Broadwell sells "ploughs," Robert Hockenhull is in the drug business, B.
& J. Pyatt are in the tobacco trade and William Thomas is land commissioner, but no
other modern signs appear.
H. Spalding advertises "photographic miniature;'' Rev, Chauncey Eddy has lost a
pair of spectacles ; Cheeseman and Lucas are blacksmiths ; D. Robb is a liberal adver
tiser of his store, (dry good, boots and shoes, nails, salt, school books, bonnets, furs,
whips, carpets, &c., &c.,) Kibbe & Lathrop (groceries and dry goods) hold forth under
the Morgan House, afterwards Mansion and now Park Hotel); J. W. King has gold pens
at his jewelry establishment; E. & W. Hamilton have a bakery and confectionery;
Scott & McDonald are also in the dry goods and notion field, as are Jackson & Gillett,
P. Coffman & Son, T. D. Eames, R. Bibb, Ottawa Wilkinson and Cornelius Hook.
Nathaniel Coffin is agent for the Northeastern Mutual Life Insurance Company and
William A. Conn is pork and beef packer,
Wm, R, Williams has a daguerreotype gallery, McDonald, & Chambers deal in
cloths, satinets and jeans; J. B, C, Smith has "new goods and a new store' — sign of the
"Beehive;" D. B, Ayers & Co, are druggists and booksellers; David Prince, Nathaniel
English, G. Y. Shirley and O, M. Long are the M, D's,; Hardin & Smith, Brown &
Yates, Wm. Thomas, H. B. McClure, James Berdan, John W, Evans and Wm. H. Sig
ler are the lawyers; W. Catlin sells watches, clocks and jewelry; E. Corcoran sells
books, stationery, quills, &c. ; Conn & Chambers are commission and forwarding mer
chants ; Matthew Stacy, Michael Rapp and Thomas Ford are saddle and harness men ;
C. P. Dunbaugh keeps the Morgan House, and J. H. Finch announces his stage routes
— three times a week to Alton, via Athensville, and three times a week to Quincy, via
Meredosia. The Morgan Journal was then (May 21st, 1847,) in its third volume. The paper
was then a six column quarto weekly sheet, two columns to a page smaller than the
present Daily Journal, "published every Saturday morning, in the building over O.
Wilkinson's store, on' the southwest corner of the square." The editors and publishers
were W. C. Swett and J. B.'Shaw." ^'Terms, $1.50 in advance, $2.50 at the end of the
year." Wm. C. Swett in 1843 had succeeded the retiring publisher and changed the name
of the paper to the Morgan Journal, %i\th Wm. H. Sigler, editor. John B. Shaw also
edited the paper for a short period in 1847. It should have been remarked before
that the paper was an advocate of the Whig party.
We find in this paper the resolutions adopted at a mass meeting of citizens on re
ceipt of the news of the battle and death of Col. Hardin. Also the proceedings of a
meeting of the Scott county bar on receipt of similar news. Army operations take up
two-thirds of the paper, and but little space is given to home or local matters except
reports of meetings.
In the proceedings of a "Union mass meeting" to nominate candidates to the con
stitutional convention, regardless of party and of politics, we find the following parlia
mentary flllibustering on the part of the old wheel-horse of democracy. Gen. Murray
McConnel, Esq., who offered the following resolution, viz :

120 Phi Alpha Founded — The Insane Hospital.
Resolved, That in the opinion of this meetuig we, now present, have not the right to
select the candidates for the whole county, and that we have no power to sell out the
votes of the free voters of Morgan County, be they Whigs or Democrats.
To which resolution, N- Coffin, Esq., offered the following amendment, viz:
"But that we haye a right to make our own selection, and recommend that selection
to our fellow citizens, which is all this meeting intends to do."
Which amendment was accepted by Mr. McConnel, who then moved further to
amend said resolution by the following: "But nobody is bound by our actions, not even
ourselves ; which last amendment being put to the meeting by the chair, was by vote
laid upon the table, and the original resolution as offered by Mr. McConnel and amend
ed by Mr. Coffin, was adopted.
On the evening of September 30, 1845, in the room of G. R. Henry, then a student
of Illinois College was born the Phi Alpha Society. The founders were only eight in
number. The object of the organization was the improvement of their literary tastes
and the acquirement of readiness in debate and extempore speaking. The founders
were (Dr.) Wm. Jayne, Springfleld, 111., (Congi^essman) H. S. Van Eaton, Woodville,
Miss., (State Senator) Eugene Baldwin,  , Minn., Robert Wilkinson,  ,
Colo., (Dr.) G. R. Henry, Burlington, Iowa, (Dr.) P. C. Ross, Fulton county. 111., (Prof.)
Robt. D. Wilson,  , Cal., (Dr.) N. Wright, Springfield, 111,
In the first 25 years of its history 500 members were enrolled.
In 1848 t-wo State eleemosynary institutions were "on their feet," established
by the State or by private munificence and enterprise. The institution for the Deaf
and Dumb had just been opened on a small scale, the foundation of the Hospital for
the Insane were being laid, and a class of blind was being taught by a blind man.
The building for the Deaf and Dumb was so far completed as to be open for the re
ception of pupils January 1846. Committees of the board of directors superintended
the building in person without charge to the State. In December, 1846, there were
thirteen pupils in the school. Since that time, as the number of pupils has increased,
additions have been made to the buildings, and improvements, until now about two hun
dred and fifty can be accommodated. The trustees residing in Morgan county have al
ways served without compensation. Those from other counties are paid their traveling
and personal expenses in attending the meetings of the board. The treasurer makes no
charge for his services.
Mr. Thomas Officer, formerly of the Ohio institution, was appointed superintendent
and the school continued under his efficient management until 1855,
By the act of incorporation indigent pupils alone are allowed to be educated at the
expense of the State. By an act passed in 1847 the board and education of all of suita
ble age is made free. After the establishment of this institution. General Hardin and
Judge Thomas, consulting about future action in the Legislature, agreed to next en
deavor to secure a hospital for insane; but in March, Thomas was elected circuit judge,
and left the Senate, and before another session of the Legislature the State, for the time
being, became bankrupt, so that Gen, Hardin, though remaining a member of the House,
never moved in the matter.
During the winter of 1845-'46, several public meetings were held in this place at
the instance of Dr, Meade, then connected with Illinois College, who made speeches on
the subject to secure action on the part of the people and the establishment of a hospi
tal. The doctor had collected information from almost every county in the Stale as to
the number and condition of the insane. Gen. Hardin also took part in the discussion.
The result was that a committee was appointed consisting of Samuel D. Lockwood,
Dennis Rockwell, James Dunlap, Nathaniel English, William Thomas, David Prince,
John J, Hardin, Samuel Adams and Edward Meade, to take charge of the subject and to
inquire and ascertain what could be done. It was supposed to be possible to obtain by
donation a tract of land on which to place a hospital, and that by private contributions
sufficient funds could b§ obtained to erect buildings for those having means to pay for
care and support.

Miss Dix before the Legislature. 121
These gentlemen subsequently met as a board of trustees and appointed Dr. N.
English president, William Thomas secretary, and Dennis Rockwell treasurer.
James Dunlap, John J. Hardin, Dr. N. English and Dr. D. Prince were appointed
a committee to select a location for the institution. Dr. Samuel Adams was appointed
to obtain information in regard to the construction of buildings, laying out of grounds,
the treatment ot the insane, and the general management of such institutions.
The committees had several meetings, made divisions of labors, assigning to each
division specific duties. This was a time of great pecuniary embarrassment through
out tte State ; the State government was being supported on credit ; auditor's warrants
selling at 74 to 80 cents on the dollar ; property and produce selling at great sacrifices,
and the people acting under fearful apprehensions of the future. This committee soon
found that the people, though willing to aid in such an enterprise, were unable to con
tribute sufficient means even to purchase 160 acres of land. If they had been asked
for corn or pork, or cattle or hogs, which could not be sold for much more than the cost
of transportation to market, tliey would have given liberally In kind.
In the spring of 1846 Miss Dix, upon the earnest solicitation of a citizen of .lack
sonville, Mr J. O. King, changed her intended programme for that season and visited
this place, and after several conferences with our citizens agreed to traverse the State,
visit the penitentiary, the county poor houses and jails, and make an appeal to the suc
ceeding Legislature in behalf of the insane. She made a trip through several counties
north of the Illinois River and returned. She then visited some parts of Jlissouri, and
then went into the counties south to Belleville, and probably to Nashville, and from
thence in pursuance of some previous engagement she went across the State to Indiana
and from thence to Columbus, Ohio, wliere she was taken sick and remained until De
cember. Our State Legislature met the flrst Monday in December — Morgan eounty had
one Senator (Hon. John Henry) and four Representatives, Newton Cloud, (who was
elected speaker of the House) Joseph Morton, William H. Long and William Thomas.
Soon after the organization of the House the latter introduced a bill to establish a re
treat for the insane, with no provision for any appropriation ; it passed the House, went
to the Senate and was referred to a committee, and before it was reported ]\Iiss Dix ar
rived in Springfleld, in very feeble health ; by special invitation she made the house of
Col. Thomas Mather her home during the session of the Legislature. Wm. Thomas
was the only member of the Legislature with whom she was acquainted. He introduced
her to Senator Henry who had charge of the bill, and he introduced all the senators
who were willing to see her, after which Thomas introduced all the members of the
House, by companies of from ten to twelve.
She thus had the opportunity of presenting the object of her mission. She very
soon presented a memorial to the Legislature asking for the establishment of a hospi
tal for insane. The Senate committee instead of reporting the bill which had passed
the House, reported a new bill, prepared by the late Judge Constable, under the direc
tion and supervision of Mfss Dix, entitled "An act to establish the Illinois State Hospi
tal for the Insane," accompanied by a report prepared by Dr. Meade. About this time
Senator Henry was elected to Congress to flll a vacancy and left the Senate. The bill
provided for levying a special tax of one-fifth of a mill on the dollar for three years
for the purposes of the institution It passed the Senate, 23 to 8, locating the hospital
at Peoria. When it came up for consideration in the House, on motion "Peoria" was
stricken out and "Jacksonville" was inserted. The rules were dispensed with and the
bill passed. The Senate on the same day concurred in the amendments.
The trustees purchased 1 60 acres of land at about $21 per acre for the use of the
institution, and during the summer and fall had the foundation of the building nearly
or quite laid. Judge Thomas says : Miss Dix informed the board that the plan of the
hospital building then in the process of erection in Indiana was the best in the United
States, and in consequence the board obtained a copy of that plan, which upon examin
ation was adopted. The plan of heating at that day was by furnaces with hot air.

ILLINOIS INSTITUTION FOR THE DEAF AND DUMB AT JACKSONVILLE. POUNDED 1846.

Blind Teaching the Blind — Judge Thomas. 123
Of the Insane Hospital the flrst board of trustees was composed of Judge Thomas
as president, Samuel D. Lockwood, Joseph Morton, O-n-en M. Limg, Nathaniel English,
William W. Happy, James Dunlap, James Gordon and Aquila Becraft. Dr. James -M.
Higgins was the flrst medical superintendent, and served until about 1854.
The real credit for the legislation which secured the Hospital is perhaps due to a
greater extent than to any body else to the venerable -Judge Thomas, oi' .Jacksonville,
who prepared the original bill for the location of the Hospital for the Insane ; to Richard
Yates who introduced it in the House, and to the late .Joseph Morton, who, as a mem
ber of the House, zealously supported it. We accord this credit to Judge Thomas be
cause he not only framed the bill locating the fir.st State institution at Jacksonville, but
afterwards, as a member of the House, was the leading and influential champion of sim
ilar measures as to other institutions, although he was zealously aided by other citizens
of Jacksonville. Gov. French approved the Thomas bill on the 1st of March, 1847, it passed the
House February 27, by a vote of 67 to 17. Jacksonville was selected as the site of the
future institution — the twenty-eighth in number in the country.
The bill appropriated $60,000 to erect the centre building and one section on eaeli
side, Tlie capacity of the institution was then rated at 250 patients.
In 1847 a blind man named Bacon, visited .Jacksonville and proposed the opening
of a school for the blind, with a view to tlie location of such a school by the State. A
number of the citizens of Jacksonville agreed that if he could secure and teach a small
class for six months as an experiment, that they would pay the expenses, to which he
assented. He secured a class of six and opened the school, during the summer of 1848,
which was continued at the expense of the citizens until relieved by the State, more
than a year later. The Legislature met in January, 1849, and early in the session a bill
which Judge Thomas had prepared "was introduced in tlie House by Mr. Yates, for "an
act to establish the Illinois Institution for the Education of the Blind."
The six scholars were taken to Springfield and had an e.xhibition before the Legis
lature to satisfy the members that the blind could and ought to be educated. The bill
appropriated the proceeds of a tax of one-tenth of a mill on tlie dollar to aid in the
establishment of the school, and also $3,000 in advance to enable the trustees to com
mence building. This tax was required to be set apart as a separate fund, to be known
as the fund for the blind. The last section of the act, i^rovides "that the blind of this
State, who are of suitable age and capacity, shall be raised and taught in the school, and
enjoy all the benefits and privileges of the same, free of charge." Samuel D. Lockwood,
Dennis Rockwell, James Dunlap, William W. HapjDy and Samuel Elunt were appointed
trustees. The names were agreed on by the members of the Legislature from this coun
ty, and were inserted after the bill was proposed. The school was superintended cliiefly
by Dr. Nathaniel English and Mr. Jos. O. King, neither of whose names ever afterwards
appeared in connection with the institution.
The trustees organized by electing Mr. Lockwood president, James Berdan secreta
ry, and Mr. Rockwell treasurer. The school, under their control was opened for the re
ception of pupils the April following, (1849).
Mr. Bacon was engaged as principal of the institution. The number of pupils,
quite small at flrst, gradually increased. No vacation occurred in the school until the
10th of Jply, when the first term was closed, and the pupils, then numbering twenty-
three, after a public examination, were dismissed until the first Wednesday of October.
Mr. Bacon opened his flrst school in a building on North Main Street, now known as
the John McConnel property. After the incorporation of the school, it was remo^-ed to
the Wilson farm, west of the city, which place is now known as the Robb place.
Mr. Bacon having resigned at the close of the term in July, the board deputed one
of their number to visit similar institutions, in other States, for the purpose of engag
ing a competent superintendent. The result of this visit was the selection of Dr. Joshua
Rhoads, former superintendent of the Pennsylvania Institution for the Blind, as princi-

124 Eailroad to Naples — Banking in 1850-'52.
pal, and Mrs. Rosanna Rhoads as matron. Under their direction the school opened on
the flrst Wednesday of October, 1850, with twenty-three pupils, this number being all
that could be accommodated at this time.
In May and June, 1844, there was more rain and higher waters, throughout the
State, than ever known by the oldest inhabitant.
In 1845 the Northern Cross R. R., was extended from Jacksonville to Naples, The
State operated the road until 1847, when the Legislature passed an act, February 16th,
authorizing the sale of the sale of the road between the Illinois River and Springfleld,
fifty-two miles in length, at public vendue. One of the peculiar features of this law
was that it provided for a forty years' lien upon the road in order to secure the amount
for which it might be sold. The sale took place soon after the approval of the act, and
Nicholas H. Ridgely, of Springfield, became the purchaser, paying $21,100 in state in
debtedness. Mr. Ridgely afterwards sold Thomas Mather, of Springfield, and James
Dunlap, of Jacksonville, each an interest. They changed its name to the Sangamon &
Morgan railroad. During the time the State had operated it but one engine had been
obtained, and when the new owners took possession they found the engine so worn as
to be unfit for use, and for nine months they were compelled to run their trains with
mules. The trains consisted of two cars, drawn by two mules. There were two trains
daily, one of which left Springfield in the morning for Naples, and the other Naples
for Springfield. About the close of 1847 the company received three new 'engines, when the services
of the mules were dispensed with. The Legislature passed an act extending the char
ter of the road to the Indiana line, and in 1857 Mr. Mather visited New York and nego
tiated a sale of the road to Robert Schuyler, who was then deemed the great railroad
manager of the country, for $100,000. Mather and Ridgely continued stockholders,
and were elected local directors. In the same year Mr. Schuyler became the purchaser
of the thirty-three miles of railway between Meredosia and Camp Point, which had
been built through the influence of Gen. James W. Singleton. In 1859 the name was
changed to the Great Western Railway, and the work of extending it eastward was be
gun in earnest. In 1865 it was consolidated with the Toledo & Wabash railway, Jan
uary 6. 1877, the Wabash railway company was organized and acquired the property of
the Toledo, Wabash & Western railway at foreclosure sale in February, 1877, and in
1879 the name was changed to the Wabash, St. Louis & Paciflc railway.
Now that insignificant cwenty-four miles of flat railroad is a part of what is known
as the Gould system, which has business connections from the Atlantic to the Paciflc
ocean, and is one of the greatest railroad combinations in the world. The company
owns in fee simple, or operates by lease, 1,598 miles of railway in Illinois,
Of the banking business in 1850-'52, Mr. Marshall P. Ayers, more than thirty years
later said to a Courier interviewer :
"My father, David B. Ayers, was agent for John Grigg, the famous book pub
lisher of Philadelphia, and as such agent entered 130,000 acres of land for him, and
sold the same as opportunity offered a profit. My father died in 1850, and I succeeded
him as agent for Mr. Grigg of such lands as remained unsold. I would say right here
that Ihe bulk of these lands sold for $3 to $5 per acre, and the same lands now will
bring from $60 lo $75 per acre At that time there was no bank here, the Shawnee
town and State Banks having gone out of existence. Owing to the difficulty of pro
curing exchange with which to make my remittances, I interviewed Mr, Bacon, of
Page & Bacon, St. Louis, and they placed to my credit the sum of $2,000, with the
American Exchange Bank of New 'York, and thus ojjened my account with them This
was on December 20th, 1852, and was the beginning of my banking, I opened an
office in the rear of a wooden building where Ayers's block now stands, on about the
spot where Jenkinson keeps his butter and eggs. All the money received for exchange
was kept in a tin box under my bed and was sent to St. Louis by express as fast as
possible." "What was the rate of exchange in those days?"
"One-fourth of one per cent, on St. Louis and one-half of one per cent, on New
York on gold and one per cent, on currency,"

Political, Religious and Personal. 12.j
"What was the circulating medium at that time?"
"Gold, silver, eastern Ohio and Indiana State money, and the notes of the Wis
consin Marine and Fire Insurance Company, and Page & Bacon scrip, of which there
was a large amount."
From Mr. Ensley Moore's local epitomes contributed to the Daily Journal in 1879,
we glean the following paragraphs about the city in 1840 :
Hon. D. M. Woodson was circuit judge, James Berdan was county judge of Mor
gan, Ira Davenport sheriff, G A. Dunlap clerk of county court, Henry Routt surveyor,
David C. Creamer coroner and Charles H. Hardin circuit clerk.
Richard Yates having served in the Legislature from his twenty-fifth year, in 1842,
is spoken of as a candidate for Congress.
AVhen people referred to "the war'," they meant that in Mexico, from wliich our
soldiers had but recently returned.
An epidemic called the "California fever" was very prevalent, and carried off many
of our citizens, across the Rocky Mountains to the new Eldorado.
Our Congregational brethren worshipped in a large one-story frame building with
brick basement, on the east side of the square, where King's & Johnson's stores are now.
The Methodist church, east charge, was a one-stor}'-and-basement brick, standing
where R. C. Smith's marble building now is.
Rev. L. M. Glover's First Presbyterian Church occupied the site of the present edi
fice, and was a large one-story and basement brick building, with a high wooden steeple
painted white.
The Episcopalians occupied a one-story-and-basement brick, upon the lot they now
hold, but the building fronted south, to Morgan street. This church had an organ, the
only one in the town at that time, we think.
A Methodist church was built and called the "West Charge," upon the present site
of Grace M. E. Church, but it was a one-story-and-basement brick, devoid of steeple,
fronting east on Church Street.
The present German M. E. Church was owned by the Baptists, aud a building sim
ilar in appearance was occupied by the Second Presbyterian Society, situated opposite
Dr. Glover's church, main entrance.
Bells called the people to meeting in the East Charge, First Presbyterian, Episco
pal and Congregational churches. A Portuguese Presbyterian church was just getting
itself in order.
Among the lawyers were D. A. Smith, Richard Yates, James Berdan, Wm. Thomas,
Wm. Brown and Murray McConnel, D. B. Ayers and Robert Hockenhull were druggists,
Jos. W, King had a one-story bo-w window jewelry store, where D. W. Ra-nlings now is.
I. D. Rawlings dealt in clothing. T. D. Eames had a dry goods store, on the east
side of the square, and S. Reynolds King also sold dry goods.
A boy named "Billy" D. Crowell, clerked for J. B. C. Smith, who sold dry goods in
a frame building where Dobyns & Co., now are.
Philip Price had a jewelry store on the north side, east half of the square. George
W. Pox kept the Mansion House. D. C. Creamer, known as the fashionable merchant
tailor, occupied the old one story frame on Hatfield's corner. Ebenezer T. Miller was
postmaster. Samuel Hunt kept the jail, in the house next south of the brick livery stable, on
North Main street.
N. English, O. M. Long and Henrj- Jones were among the prominent physicians.
The town trustees were Wm. Branson, Jos. H. Bancroft, Wm. G. Johnson, Andrew
F. Wilson and John W. Lathrop.
A one-story-and-a-half frame building, painted white, \\as one of the principal
stores on the south side, where Huntley now is.
Next door west of it, stood a large two and a half story frame house, with a yard in
front, where Johnson & Co., and King & Stebbins now ('79,) are. T-n'o or three long one

126 The Square in 1850 — Trustees, Graduates, Etc.
story frames occupied the site of Strawn's Opera House, and the only good brick in
that block is part of Metcalf & Fell's big dry goods store now.
On the west side, south half, the buildings were better, but three or four two story
frames were beginning to wear out, where the Central Bank, Fox and Rawlings now
are. The Ayers' building was most noticeable on the north half of the west side.
Two brick buildings of good size, besides the Mansion House, stood in that block,
McDonald's and two or three bricks east of it, were the ornamental part of the east
half of the north side.
Henderson's corner store was built, and Bancroft's good brick (now Walsh's) stood
opposite, and no other good stores till R. Hockenhull's and Eames' building, in north
half of east side.
Then came Stevenson's corner, a good building, succeeded by two two-story frames,
and the Congregational Church, then Branson's store, and a two-story frame on the corner,
Hamilton's corner, now Gill's, and the double Davenport building were the brick
improvements on the south side, east half, with some of the frames now standing to flll
up the spaces.
It need hardly be remarked that the old court house, with its cupola, stood in the
southwest corner of the public square.
David Robb, Willys Catlin, J. S. Anderson, Ben. F. Stevenson, Wm. Branson, Kibbe
& Lathrop, Goltra & Stryker, and Edward Lambert were dealers in their respective lines
of trade. In February, a new board of trustees was elected, consisting of Joseph H. Bancroft,
Michael Rapp, M. H. Cassell, Jonathan Neely and William Ratekin.
Among the persons having titles from the Mexican War were Col. James Dunlap
Capt. J. L. McConnel, Capt. Wyatt, Col. Chamliers, Major William Warren.
The old, original, Methodist Conference Female College, was completed this year,
Illinois College graduated the following persons : Wm, H. Collins, now of Quincy
and Edward Ruggles.
Jacksonville Female Academy gave diplomas to Mary A, Allison, Susan E. Church
Anna L. Holmes, Susan A. Holland, Electa M. Holland, Eliza Johnson, Malvina C. Me
lendy, Harriet P. Murdock, Harriet Reed and Elizabeth E. White.
Rev. J. F. Jaquess was principal of the Methodist College, and Rev. J, M. Sturte
vant of Illinois College.
Mr. Thomas Officer was Superintendent of the Deaf and Dumb Institute ; J. M
Higgins, M. D., of the Central Hospital for the Insane, then not completed, even on the
original plan; Dr. Joshua Rhoads was principal of the Institution for the Blind, which
occupied the house west of Jacksonville, known as the Robb place.
Revs. J. M. Sturtevant, Theoron Baldwin, J. F. Brooks, E. Jenny, William Kirby,
John G. Bergen, Thomas Lippincott, William Carter and Albert Hale, and Messrs. S. D.
Lockwood, John Tillson, Thos. Mather, Frederick Collins, David A. Smith and David
B. Ayers were trustees of Illinois College.
Among the boys going to college in September, were A. C. Clayton, W. B. Cowgill,
Phil Davis, A. N. Denny, Edward P. Kirby, J. A. Laurie, D. B. Nash, G. Magill, H. M.
Merriam, H. M. Miller, R. A. Ritter, H. C. Stephens, J. M. Sturtevant, Jr., Paul Selby,
R. M. Tunnell and A J. Van Deren.
The first board of trustees for the Blind Institution were S. D. Lockwood, Jas. Dun
lap, W. W. Happy, Dennis Rockwell and Samuel Hunt, with Lockwood as president,
James Berdan secretary, and Dennis Rockwell treasurer.
Moore C. Goltra was superintendent of construction at the Central Insane Hospital.
The Christian Church building on North Main street was erected this year. Elder
A. J. Kane being pastor in the new edifice.
Rev. Andrew Todd was pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church, dying at Casa
Bianca, near Monticello, Florida, in September, 1850.

1850 Personals — The Press — Poetuoukse Colo-\ists. 127
Urania Lodge, No. 243, I. O. O. F., was chartered, as was also Ridgely Encamp
ment No. 9.
Joseph Capps had a small wool carding establishment.
The population was 2,745.
During the campaign of 1850, this district was badly "tore up" by the race between
Col. Thos. L. Blarris and Richard Yates, for congress. Mr. Yates was elected, and found
himself the youngest member of the House of Representatives.
The Western House was a small hotel and boarding- house, on the w-est side of the
square, up stairs, where Rawlings & Fox now are.
Dennis Rockwell d"v\'elt in the house noiv occupied by his son, Charles Rock-well,
on West State street.
The first district school was built and opened in 1850, being the west district, now
called second ward, and Ne-wton Bateman was principal. The third .story of the school-
house was occupied b}- Masons for lodge rooms.
At the election, November 20th, Jonathan Neely was chosen sheriff, and Timothy
Chamberlain coroner.
A young man from New .Jersey, named S. Henry Thompson, came to town, bring-
bis trowel with him, and commenced lajdng foundations — for the mayoralty.
Joseph Morton, James Dunlap, John J. Hardin, John Henry, S. D. Lockwood,
Wm. Thomas, B. Gillett, N. English and O. M. Long were first trustees of the insane.
Judge Lockwood being president and Judge Thomas secretary.
Dr. E. R. Roe, U. S. Marshal for southern district of Illinois, was editor of the
Journal, vsre think.
Miss Elizabeth Mead was principal of the Academy during 1850-51.
Lastly but not leastly, as to the local press : William Swett established the Mo^nn
Journal in 1848, and from that time to the present it has been issued regularly as a
weekly, "Jacksonville" being substituted for "Morgan" in 1859. It has passed tlirough
the vicissitudes of fire and been under many different firms. But to return, in 1850
the Constitutionalist was started by E. R. Roe, who sold out to T. H. Kavenaugh, and
he to John M. Taggart. Under the latter's regime the first experiment of a daily was
made, and an edition of two hundred and fifty copies was printed off for six months
from a hand press, but it was found to be too unjirofltable to be continued longer.
Dr. E. R. Roe, who had been a professor in Shurtlefl College, succeeded Mr. Swett
as owner and editor of the Morgun Journal. Dr. Roe has since been county or circuit
clerk of McLean county ; and for eight years United States marshal for the soMhern
district of Illinois. He is now a resident of Springfield, this State.
Dr. Roe was succeeded in the proprietor.ship of the Morgan Journal, by Paul Sel
by, who had Mr. A. C. Clayton associated with him.
The year 1846 witnessed the arrival in this country of a band of from 300 to 500
men, women and children of Portuguese blood, exiles from the island of IMadeira.
They came to this country under the guidance of a missionary named Kally, \iho had
labored among them in the island. They were comparatively poor. They had been
converted, or proselyted, from Romanism by Presbyterian missionaries, Mr. Kally be
ing the chief instrument in the work. Their Catholic neighbors on the island perse
cuted and maltreated them for their desertion of the Holy Mother Church, and their
residence on the island was made particularly disagreeable. Under these circumstances
a happy thought occurred, to bring the little church to America and their co-religion
ists of Springfleld and Jacksonville gave them a cordial invitation to settle at these
points. Money was contributed and the little colony, like the Pilgrim Fathers, em-
barted for America, seeking a home where they might find freedom to ^^¦orship God.
They settled almost entirely in Springfield and Jacksonville. Occasionally their
numbers have been recruited by accessions from the mother country, but these lia\e
not been large.
As a rule, they came here poor in purse but rich in determination. They have

128 First Bank — Murder Trial — Insane and Blind.
prospered and many of them have become wealthy. They all manage as soon as possi
ble, to acquire a piece of ground, no matter how small, which they can call their ovVn,
and they cultivate this with all the care and diligence they formerly bestowed upon the
little patches of earth between the rocks and hills of their rugged native isle. As a
class, they are industrious, frugal, upright, peaceful, law-abiding citizens and may be
found in all trades and professions, to which they readily adapt themselves. Many
have been placed in offices of position and have faithfully discharged their trusts, and
filled the duties of their office acceptably.
Many ot the older class maintain the peculiarities of their native land, but the
younger portion more readily than any other of our foreign born citizens, adapt them
selves to the customs, manners and habits of their adopted land. They are for the
most part, exemplary christians, maintaining as they now do, in our city three churches
and three Sabbath schools. Their girls are for the most part sweet singers and many
of them quite beautiful ; their dark complexion betraying their Arab or Barber blood.
Their boys are bright and active, quick to learn and many of -them will make good
thrifty business men.
The first bank was established in Jacksonville in 1851, by M, P, & A, E. Ayers,
who, together with Mr, W, S. Hook are still carrying on the business of general ex
change banking, with four other banks in successful operation — The First National,
The Jacksonville National, the banking house of Hockenhull, King & Elliot, and the
Savings Bank.
William Brown was indicted at the March term, 1854, of the circuit court, for the
murder of Geo. Groves on November 27, 1858, by stabbing him with a knife, Cyras
Epler being State's Attorney. This case was stricken from the docket at the October
ter^,1854. We mention this merely because we intend this history of the city to be
a complete record of all trials for murder.
The sum of $6,000 was appropriated in 1851 for the completion of the building of
the Hospital for Insane, and $66,666 in 1857 for additional buildings. In 1854 Dr, Hig
gins resigned as superintendent when he was succeeded temporarily by Df , H. K, Jones,
and then by Dr, Andrew McFarland. The latter remained until July, 1870, when he
resigned, ^
The enlargement of the hospital by the addition of the east wing, was in accordance
with the recommendation of a joint committee of the legislature, of which Dr, Boal
was chairman, and who submitted the report of the committee during the session of
1857, The committee was authorized to, and did, act during the recess of the legisla
ture, or between two sessions. The citizens of Morgan county had no agency in the
subsequent enlargement of the building. This measure proceeded from the committee
acting for the whole state, and not for the county of Morgan. The first appropriation
tion on the report of the committee was $66,666.66, half payable in 1857, and half in
1858. With subsequent appropriations, including what was asked by the trustees, both
wings were completed for the reception and use of patients. Until 1857 the majority
of each of the State institution boards resided in the county of Morgan— all of them
without compensation. In 1857 an act was passed reducing the number of trustees in
each board except the blind, and provided that no person should be a member of more
than one board, and that not more than one member of any of the boards should be ap
pointed from any one county. Since that time Morgan has been represented by but
one person in each board. This provision is considered as essential to the successful
operation of the institutions.
The Blind Asylum board purchased an eligible site, comprising twenty-two agres
of ground, in the eastern part of the city, where the foundation of a building suitable
for the accommodation of the sightless was laid, and work on the walls progressed fav
orably; this building in an unfinished condition, was occupied for the first time in Jan
uary, 1854; it was entirely completed January, 1855. The course of instruction was en
larged, so as to include the various trades, and some of the fine arts. The buildings

Dr. p. 6. Gillett — Berean College — The Academy. 129
completed January 1, 1855, were with various additions and improvements, occupied
without interruption, until the morning of the 20th of April, 1869, when the main build
ing with its contents, was entirely destroyed by flre.
At the close of the year 1855 the number of pupils who had been in attendance at
the State Institution for the Deaf and Dumb was 162. At this time Mr. Officer pre--
sented his resignation to the board of directors, which was accepted.
The board were fortunate in securing as the successor of Jlr. Officer, Phillip G.
Gillett, A.M., a graduate of Asbury University, at Greencastle, Indiana. Mr. Gillett
having taught for four years in the Indiana Deaf Mute Institution, came to preside
over this one with an experience which was of incalculable value to the institution at
that time. The board of directors who were instrumental in procuring the services of
Mr. Gillett, in their report for the years 1855-'56, say : "The board of directors deem
themselves fortunate in having procured the services of Mr. Gillett. He is a g«ntle-
man of strong and vigorous mind, an accomplished scholar, and experienced in teach
ing the sign language; Indeed he has made this his occupation for life, and with him
it is as much a labor of love as duty."
The number of pupils in actual attendance at this t'me was one hundred. There
Were but two trades taught ; shoemaking and cabinet making. The school flourished
from this time forward, new buildings were erected, more land was purchased, and
needed improvements were added from time to time, as necessity required.
About 1853 or '54 the Christian denomination began the erection of a building
known as the Berean College. A charter was received dated February 12, 1855, soon
after which the building was completed, and the following year school was opened,
with Dr. Jonathan Atkinson as president. The school was opened under very favora
ble auspices, and for several years was continued very successfully. The college re-
oeived its name from "Berea," a place mentioned by the apostle Paul, in the seven
teenth chapter of the book of Acts where the following language is used: "And the
brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea : * * * these
were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all
readiness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so."
The college continued until about 1858 or '59, when a division in the church occurred,
and soon after the school was discontinued. A few years after, the property was sold
to Mrs. Eliza Ayers for twelve thousand dollars. Its original cost was over thirty
thousand dollars. Mrs. Ayers has since deeded the property to a board of trustees, to
be used as an Orphan's Home and City Hospital. The frame building immediately in
the rear of the college is occupied by the orphans, while the college itself is used as
the hospital. The frame building was formerly the home of Col. John J. Hardin, so
well known throughout this portion of the State, and who lost his life at the battle of
Beuna Vista. The home is conducted on the "Muller plan," by Rev. Dr. Passavant,
who has charge of eight similar institutions in different parts of the United States.
The home and hospital are each well managed, and are institutions worthy the at
tention of the citizens of Jacksonville.
For all of the six years, 1851-'57, Rev. Chas. G. Selleck, A. M., had charge of the
Presbyterian Academy, He brought to the position much of fitness for it, knowledge,
culture, zeal in education, love for the 3-oung, and considerable experience in teaching ;
but in the person of the beloved Mrs. Selleck, be brought, in addition, other helpful
qualities rarely so combined in a single individual. It is seldom that the law of com
pensation is better illustrated than in' their case; seldom that a man is so fortunate in
the wifely supplement as he. They were as truly counterparts as the wax and the seal.
In the one was found what was essential to the completeness of the other, and after her
death, which preceded his many years, old friends sympathizingly thought of him in his
loneliness as a bird with a broken wing, drooping where once he soared. The union of
their gifts and graces brought to the service of the Academy more of what is essential
to the completeness and prosperity of a boarding school for young ladies than can ordi
narily be contributed by any single individual, male or female.

130 Public Officials — -Illinois College Fire.
Dr, Glover afterwaids said ;
"I do not think their administration wanting in intellect Ufility, but it was distin
guished for realizing Ihe spirit of family and h'mie in an unusual degiee, and yet nol
in such degree as to produce c.intemptby familiarity and Ihu-i lo mar the effi -.ieiicy
of rules and discipline Teachers and pupils were brought into ti.c m isl iniiiiiMie re
lations, and the truly paieuUl regards on one side were rewm-ded wiih inily nii"l re
gards on the other, and those regards which at the lime were Si> tend- r, iiiovel >ilhO
abiding The scho.d under Mr. and ,Vlrs Selleck enjoyed such increise ih.-it niiMe
room was demanded and another story was added to the main building, nt n cost ol
about two thousand six hundred dollars
In 1855, a large and commodious wing was added to the Illinois Female College.
The Morgan county lepresentatives in the United States Congress, Illinois Legisla
ture and county offlces were; .
1851 — ^Treasurer, Wm. G. Johnson; Surveyor, Harvey Routt.
1853-^54 — Congress, Richard Yates ; Senator, Joseph Morton ; Representati\'es, Wm.
Brown, Edward Lusk; Sheriff Martin H. Cassell; Circuit Clerk, Charles H:u-diu; Pros
ecuting Attorney, Cyrus Epler; Coroner, Timothy Chamberlain,
1853— County Judge, James Berdan; County Clerk, Matthew Stacy; Treasui-er,
Wm, G. Johnson; Surveyor, Geo. M. Richards; School Commissioner, Willys Catlin.
1854r-'56 — Congress, Richard Yates; Senate, Joseph Morton; Representatives, Hor
ace A. Brown, Isaac R. Bennet ; Sheriff, Cyrus Matthews.
1855— Treasurer, Wm. G, Johnson; Surveyor, Charles Packard; For Pi-ohibition
1,571, against 1,416.
1856-'58 — Congress, John Williams ; States Attorney, Albert G. Burr ; Senator, Cyrus
Vanderen; Representatives, Cyrus Epler, E. B. Hitt; Sheriff, Charles Sample, Coroner,
James E. Mitchell ; School Commissioner, Newton Bateman.
1857 — County Judge, Joseph T. Cassell; County Clerk, Matthew Stacy; County
Treasurer, Wm. G. Johnson; Surveyor, Wm. S. McPherson; School Commis'-^ioner,
NcMJton Bateman.
On December 30th of the year 1852, the principal edifice of Illinois College, a
building 104 by 40 feet, and four stories high, was destroyed by fire; and through the
neglect either of college agents or insurance agents, or both, with only three thousand
dollars insurance ; and many believed that thai must be the end of the institution.
That it was greatly depressed could not be denied. The whole value of its endowment
at that time was not much over $20,000, and all its property of all kinds could not have
been estimated so liigh as $50,000; $30,000 would have been nearer to its real value.
Since that time the trustees have never rested many months at a time, from efforts
to increase its resources. A new building was erected and finished in 1857 at an ex
pense of more than $20,000 at a time when the cost of building was not more than half
as great as now. In 18.58 a subscription for the endowment of the college and dis
charging a debt incurred in erecting the new building was completed, amounting in
round numbers to $50,000. This subscription was payable in installments running
through several years; and, owing to the disasters of the times, some of it remains yet
unpaid, but esteemed good. Another portion of it will never be paid. But more than
$30,000 has been paid and the sum ultimately realized from it will be more than $40,-
000. In 1855 the college graduates numbered 130, of whom 118 -were living. Over
1,000 pupils had been taught in the college during the first twenty-five years of its
existence. The following named represented their fellow citizens in the town board of trust
ees, during the years named. Only those italicized are living to-day (1884) :
Michael Rapp, '51 to '55 and '57; William Ratekin, '51 to '54; Fleming Stevenson,
'51 ; David A. Smith, '51 ; Stephen Sutton, '51 to '54 and '56 to 57 ; Joseph Capps, '52
and '54; William Branson, '52 and '55; Alexander McDonald, '53 and '.54; Ninirod De-
wees, '55; Joel Goodriek, '55; Benjamin Cassell, '55; Timithy D. Eames, '55; James

Baily and Selby as Editors and Publishers, 131
S. Anderson, '56; Edward Elliott, '56; Cyrus Matthews, '56; Edward Lambert, '57;
William H. Broadwell, '57; Lewis Hatfield, '57.
In 1857 Illini Lodge, No. 4 of Odd Fellows, had a membership of 125, and certain
members thereof, thinking it had growth large enough, and that there was room in this
city for another similar organization concluded to withdraw and found a second lodge.
This was done on the night of October 7, 1857, the lodge being instituted by R. W.
Grand Secretary, Saml. Williams. It was christened Urania Lodge No, 243, with the
following charter members: P. B. Price, R. D. Landers, G. W. 8. Gallon, B. F. Bristow,
W. D. Crowell, G. S. Smith, W. T. Dunlap, J, B. Dunlap, "W. D. R. Trotter, Henry Rice,
P. G. Gillett, Pres. Spates and S. Dewees.
The first officers elected were as follows : B. F. Bristow, N. G. ; W. D. Crowell,
V. G. ; Henry Rice, Recording Secretary ; and G. W. S. Gallon, Treasurer. The best ol
feeling has always existed between the t-wo lodges, and they have jointly occupied the
same lodge room. For some five years Urania Lodge grew and prospered, when re
verses came, and for two or three years a quorum could be got together with difficulty,
and several times the members came within a few votes of surrendering their charter.
New life being given the lodge by the initiation of some active and earnest men, a
fresh start was taken and prosperity has since attended its existence. It now is the sec
ond lodge in size in the state, having an active membership of 220.
In Odd Fellowship a "camp" is a higher degree to which only third degree mem
bers can be admitted. It is to Odd Fellowship what the Knights Templar are to Ma
sonry. In this city Ridgely Encampment, No. 9, was organized October 14, 1857, with
Jacob McFarland, E. W. Roberts, G. W. S. Gallon, M. Rapp, James H. Lurton, Wash.
Allen, Lewis Hatfield, Aug. E. Ayers, Mortimer Stout and John Pyatt as charter mem
bers. This encampment has always been in fiourishing and prosperous condition.
In 1855 the Sentinel came into existence as the organ of the Democratic party, and
for many years it manfully and ably stood up for the doctrines and interests of the par
ty. It was established by Mr. J. R. Bailey, who removed to this ,city from Mt. Sterling,
where he had been for three years both publisher and postmaster. He continued as
editor and proprietor for seventeen years.
Mr. Paul Selby conducted the Journal during the hot, exciting times of "Kansas-
Nebraska," and other discussions preliminary to the war, and he made it a Republican
newspaper. It was during Mr. Selby's ownership, that the office was burned out of its home,
over the east end of what was then B. F. Stevenson's store, now the "Standard" store.
The scattered material and books were moved into one of the upper rooms nearly oppo
site its present stand, and the Morgan Journal continued at a new stand.
Mr. Selby has since been employed, editorially, upon the State Journal, been an
editorial proprietor of the Quincy Whig, served on a Minnesota paper, and is now one
of the proprietors of the State Journal, besides holding the lucrative position of post
master at Springfield. He has fought a long fight, seen the triumph of principles that
he advocated at personal risk, and deserves his success.
We get a glimpse into Jacksonville business affairs in 1855 through the columns of
the Jacksonville Constitutionalist, ''Democratic) "a weekly paper for the people, devoted
to tbe best interests of Illinois." Under date of May 25, the editor, J. M. Taggart, says :
"We have authorized Mr. Wm. M. Springer (not then M. C.) to receive subscriptions
and receipt for same."
Other agents of the paper are announced, among them John Gordon, Lynnville, D.
C. Gallon, P. M., Bethel.
Hon. S. T. Logan is advertised for a temperance speech, at the Court House. The
annual session of the Grand Temple of Illinois had been meeting at "Grierson's Grove,"
and Rev. Jonathan Atkinson, president of Berean College, and Hon. Wm. H. Herndon,
of Springfield, had made addresses. The marriage of McLean F. Wood and the death

132 Business Items in 1855.
of Charles, infant son of Charles and Elizabeth Hardin, are announced. Note is made
of the expedition in search of Dr. Kane — the vessels being named "The Release," and
"The Arctic."
As to advertisements, G. M. Chambers is to have a sale of Short Horn Cattle, on his
farm ; John Selby gives notice of his fine assortment of dry goods, groceries, &c : Dr.
Wm. S, Edgar is in the drug business ; J. W. King and J. N, Kayser in partnership in
watch-making ; Alderman & Tomlinson in clothing ; Bristow & Bros, in dry goods, etc.,
Stewarts is the leading millinery house ; the law partnership of Wm. Brown & H. B,
McClure is dissolved and Richard Yates (not then governor, or senator) and Mr. McClure
form a co-partnership; S. A. Corneau is a candidate for clerk of the Supreme Court;
Alex. McDonald sells dry goods, and A. C. Dickson & Son lumber and grain ; Edward
I. Eno is also a grain dealer; Edwin Clement has marble works on West State street; I.
L. Morrison & M, P. Ayers are in partnership in real estate business ; W, H, Hartley
has imported horses; R, & J. Hockenhull as druggists dissolve partnership, and Thos.
C. Routt has opened a new stock of groceries.
Among the doctors are C, K. Sawyer, G. Y. Shirley and Owen M, Long, Rivers
has a daguerrean room, and Corcoran & Austin are grocers. B. F. & W. S. Ford are
associated as brother harnessmakers. J. H. Lurton has carpets to sell, and E. Hamilton
holiday presents. Galbraith & Cassell keep stoves and tinware, and P. B, Price adver
tises "time keeper^," Ayers & Co, are in the hardware line, and Hamilton & Sutton
are a new dry goods firm. From the secret society cards we see that Dr, N. English
was W. M. of Harmony, No, 3, and W, S, Hurst of Jacksonville, No. 570. A. C. Dickson
was secretary of the latter and R. D. Landers of Illini, No. 4, of which Wm. H. Bowen
was N. G., Wm, Ratekin was C. P, and Lewis Hatfield Scribe of Ridgely Encampment
and James Berdan W. P. of Excelsior Division Sons of Temperance, and W, B, War
ren Grand Master of the Grand Lodge A. F, & A. M. of Illinois,

CHAPTER VIII.
Devoted to Politics in Old Morgan — The Early Political Career of Hon. Richard
Yates — The Election Returns in 1856— Rocking the Cradle of Liberty in tlie West —
Lovejoy, Beecher cfe Co. — "The Underground Railroad" had a Station at Jackson
ville, Conductors Snedeker, Irving, Henderson, Spencer, and others. Directors
Wolcott, Reed, Carter, Willard. Melendy, et al. — Old Time Abolitionists— Forma
tion of the First Republican Club in the Nation — The "Free Democracy" of 1853
— The Missouri Compromise Discussion, Prince, McConnel, Dickens, Adams,
Sturtevant, et al.
'.ISTORIC MORGAN and Classic Jacksonville have their political history as
well as religious, social, educational, etc.
As stated in the flrst chapter the flrst election in the county was in March
1828. In August, 1824, was the election for and against a constitutional conven-
^ e) tion, and as this would settle the" slavery question in this State it roused much
feeling as is shown by the Morganian Society, whose constitution is recorded in that chajj-
ter. Mr, A. K. Barber, now living in Jacksonville, and who came here in 1824, well re
members the party feeling then between Whigs and Democrats and the charges of cor.
ruption made against Henry Clay. He voted then for John Quincy Adams, and voted
this fall for James G. Blaine.
Rev. D. Pat Henderson insists that the first abolition newspaper (called the States
man) ever published -vs'est of the mountains, even before Lovejoy's time, was published
in this city, over Goltra's hat store, by himself ; and edited by Prof. Turner. Of this
Turner cannot himself affirm, as he does not distinctly remember the dates, as Hender
son does. Turner says : "Even that tame little sheet was regarded as a menace to the
church and the state and a danger to the college. I have not seen a copy of it since
those days. I have no doubt I should now be heartily ashamed of its stupid conserva
tisms." From 1851 to '57 the most honored political representative claimed by Jacksonville
as peculiarly her own, Hon. Richard Yates, was making for himself a reputation as
orator and statesman extending all over and beyond this State. In 1852 he was a can
didate for congressional honors from the then sixth district on the same ticket with
Gen. Winfield Scott, for President. The latter was not elected as our readers know, the
latter was chosen first in 1850 and re-elected jn 1852 and 1854. Of his canvass of his
district in 1852, the Carlinville correspondent of the Carrolton Gazette of that year says :
"Triumph is the only word in our language that will give you a full idea of the
eft'ecl of Richard "Yates' progress round about us, and also in Carlinville, on Monday
last. True, Mr. Calhoun acquitted himself with his usual ability, but Mr. Yates re
plied in an unusual strain of eloquence and power, and left an impression among our
people, such as no man, not a member of the Democratic party, could possibly attain.
While Democrats here grant to Mr, Calhoun all they can grant in ability an energy,
still Dick Yates accomplished, from a cause which none of us can describe, in the
HEARTS of the masses, that which will lead to his election in November next.
The meeting here was well attended by members of both parties, and I hear of no
man who lakes exception to the eloquence, the power, the ability, earnestness, energy,
and honesty of Richard Yates."
In 1856 when the national Republican party was organized, upon an anti-slavery
platform, Mr. Yates heartily espoused its cause and stumped the State in favor of John
C. Fremont and the Republican party. During the campaign in the court house at
Virginia, Cass county, he made an appeal to his old Whig friends and acquaintances

134 Yates and the Whigs — Election of 1856.
and to the Democrats present to induce them to cut loose from the old parties. He
urged that there was no issue between Whigs and Democrats, and that the question of
human slavery was the great issue before the American people.
The Whigs present. Dr. Allard and others, were indignant, and greeted the speaker
with groans and hisses, while the Democrats laughed in his face and treated the matter
as a huge joke.
When Richard Yates earnestly declared to this sneering audience that the Republi
can party would yet be the ruling party of the nation, the statement was received with
an incredulous smile of contempt.
At the close, Mr. Yates, not daunted by the unmanly and contemptible manner in
which his arguments had been received, asked those in the audience who were in favor
of the Republican party — opposed to the further extension of slavery — to rise to their
feet. In the entire audience there were only eight persons who had the manhood,
moral courage and genuine nerve to face the sneers and scoffs of the crowd, and stand
up in favor of human liberty.
Among these brave men and women who so nobly placed themselves on record, was
Horace Spaulding, the well-known school teacher. Rev. Wm. Collins and the wife and
daughter of Mr. Spaulding.
The' Whigs who at that time called Dick Yates a "fool and fanatic," afterwards as
sisted in electing him governor of Illinois. The men who at that time abused Dick
Yates for drawing votes from the Whig party, to-day abuse Prohibitionists for drawing
votes from the Republican party.
Apropos of politicsand Jacksonville lawyers of 1852, we will quote further from
, the Gazette letter already referred to. The writer from Carlinville says :
"We have had in connection with our court and bar several old members who have
long stood by the law and its administration. There is Judge Woodson, who gets
younger in good looks and intpllectual strength as he advances in years; David A. Smith,
of Jacksonville, belonging to an age that is past, but who nevertheless, still keeps the ca
pacity of holding his own in corpulency; Charles D, Hodges, whom Greene county ought
to be proud of, besides our own Palmer, Weer, etc. These men have long officiated in
courts of justice to the advancement of equity and good order.
Both the interest manifested in hearing the returns from the election of 1856 — the
first national struggle by the ever since victorious republicans, and also the meagreness
of the news received the day after the balloting as compared with the completeness of
returns of later campaigns, is shown by a Springfield Journal extra, dated November
6th, 1856 :
The following dispatches have been received at this office this a. m. :
Chicago, 9 p, m.
Messrs. Bailhaohb & Baker:
We shall go to Springfied with 28,800 majority for Fremont. Chicago, 5th, 9J p. m.
Editors Jottenal:
Cook county gives Fremont 3,600 majority. The First and Second Congressional
Districts give 18,000 majority for Fremont The counties of Cook, Carroll, Kane. Kan
kakee, Joe Daviess, DeKalb Boone and seventeen towns in Bureau county show 18,179
majority for Fremont; being a gain of 967 on vpte ot 1854, The indications are that the
Republican State ticket is elected.
Louisiana — Parishes show steady gains for the Democrats, The State is doubtful.
Mississippi. — Scattering reports show Democratic gains.
Georgia. — Meagre returns show gains for the Democrats.
Alabama. — Scatterins; returns show Democratic gains.
Tennessee. — Nashville — Buchanan gains on Johnson's vote
Illinois.^ St. Clair county reported 300 majority for Fremont. Morrison, Demo
crat lor Congress about 800.
KcBrner, Republican, beaten for Senate.
Madison county. —About half heard from gives Fremont 705, Fillmore 908, Buchan
an 1,088. Bissell 695, Richardson, 735 Morris 53.
Si. Clair counly.—Belleville.— Fremont 331, Fillmore 196, Buchanan 338
Rushville.— The full returns from all townships except five, are in, Buchanan's
majority is about 1,100 over Fremont. This will be increased by the five townships to

First Republican Club in the United States. 135
hem from which are all Democratic, but one. which gives a small Republican majority.
As far as heard from Richardson 897. Bissell 560. Morris 24.
In July 1884, Richard Vates, Jr., a talented young lawyer just entering zealously
into political life and the practice of law, prepared for the Daily Journal of this city,
an article entitled "Rocking the Cradle" and showing the difficulties contended with
by local Republican party in the days of its formation, the story of Abolitionism and
its agitation here and the liberty movement. It appears from the writer's interviews
with Mr. J. O. King, Mr. Anderson Foreman and Mr. Henry Irving, as published in
this article that Jac-ksonville has the honor of organizing the first Republican club in-
the nation in 1853.
Mr. Yates writes in introducing this matter as follows :
But in 1840 a party organiz>ilion was effected, a national convention held and candi
dates iiomiiiaied. Jas. G Biruey for president. The war was bep,un. The small parly
jirappled with slavery and from the first the slave power winced at the force of its grip.
Birney polled 7,000 votes. In 1844 he was again a candidate and polled 62,0u0 votes, of
which Jacksonville furnished seventeen
The year 1848 saw ilie orgamzalion of the ' Liberty Parly," composed of a combina
tion of all anti (.lavery elements. Il held aNalicmal convention at Buffalo in June, 1848.
and nominated Martin Van Buren for president vs the Whig candidate. Gen. "Taylor.
Among ihe auii-slaveiy Whg-i who fiupporltd Taylor and voted agaiusl both Van Buren,
the Liberty candidaie. and (iass, ihe Je nocralic candidate, were New England's great
statesman- Daniel Webstei-, New York's popular leader, Wrn. H. Seward, and the 'West's
favorite, Abraham Lincoln — not then an Abolitionist, though a swo-n enemy to slavery.
Compromise measures of 1850 made California afree state, permitted slavery in New
Mexico and Utah, gave, Texas 90 000 tquaie miles of free soil, abolished the slave trade
in the District of I. olum'Dia and humiliaied the free states by a more stringent fugitive
slave law The demise of the old VViiig pany followed in 1852.
The Kansas JNebrai-kabill repealing the Missouri compromise and establishing "squat
ter sovereignly" in the two new territories of Kans s and Nebraska, was forced through
Congress by the slave power in 1854, Bissell, Yates and Washburne opposed il. The
result was that this district refused to re-elect Yates to Congress that year and he retired
lo private life ' to come up again later," as he said in a speech at the old court house in
Jacksonville that year, "on the very same principles he then went down on," But
though the slavery semiment was thus sirong in this vicinity, the people were startled
and alarmed by the pa=sage of that act, and it led to the organization of the new parly,
lo prevent the introduction of slavery into the territories, which afterwards became
known as the Republican party.
The writer is convinced that the first club or society for that purpose was organized
in the cily of Jacksonville. A great many clubs aud societies had been organized pre
vious to tuat. all over Ihe country, for the abolition of slavery, but so far as known the
first club ever organized for the same purpose that the Republican parly espoused when
organized, was a socieiy of seven citizens of Jacksonville,
Mr. Foreman says it was held at Mr. King's store on the north side of the square
in this city, where Chamber's & Co.'s grocery store is now located. There were only
seven persons present, namely: Elihu Wolcott, Joseph O. King, Anderson Foreman,
.John Mathers, William Harrison, Chas. Chappel and James Johnson.
•'How and by whom was the meeting called?"
'•By the mutual consent of ell the seven named. There was a simple under
standing between them to the effect that they would meet and organize at that place."
'•Had these seven men ever held any conferences together before that meeting?"
' Oh, yes, they had often talked of the necessity of making the curbing of the
slave power, a political issue; but they had never formally met together or organized in
any way."
••Tuere had been a great deal of Abolition agitation all over the country, includ
ing Illinois, before that lime, had there not?"
••Yes, and Ihe feeling had aroused not a few of our citizens. Elihu Wolcott had
been president of the Illinois State Anti-Slavery Society, which first met at Upper Alton,
October 28, 1838, and of which Elijah P Lovejoy was secretary, Dr, Edward Beecher
drew up Ihe preamble and declaration of sentiments of that socieiy and it was a docu
ment of singular solemnity and force Yes, the Abolition spirit was abroad in Illinois
long 'oefore 1853 "
¦'Well, Elihu VVolcott was called to the chair and presided. Joseph O. King was
appointed clerk of the meeting. The seven men mentioned above enrolled their names
as members of the organization. The prime object of the society was lo use all honor
able political means to prevent the extension of African slavery into states and territor-

136 The First Republicans.
ies, now known as free states and territories; this we continued to do as long as the in
stitution o;E slavery existed."
"Did vour organization grow fast?"
'•No; there was too much pro slavery feeling united against for us to increase in
members rapidly at first, but the time came, I tell you, when no house was large enough
to hold our meetings, and our membership was immense."
"Did you make public the fact that .you had organized?"
"Not right away. But in the course of a year or two we had begun to have public
addresses. Richard Yates made one of our first speeches. Not long after our organiza
tion we had to meet in the old tavern hall on the east side of the square, second door
south of East State street. We held a great many meetings and conferences there,"
"Was there ever any violence or turbulence at these meetings of yours?"
"No violence, but the excitement was often intense."
"How long was it before you began as an organization to figure in conventions and
State politics?"
"Well the anti-slavery Whigs ran a candidate for State treasurer in 1854 as an anti-
Kansas- Nebraska man. From that time on the Republican party began to make itself
felt." "When was the name Republican party first used?"
"By a convention at Bloomington in 1854 The new party was formally organized
in May, 1856, at Bloomington Paul Selby, of the Jacksonville Weekly Journal, had
called a conference of anti-Kansas Nebraska editors at Decatur in February, 1856, and
that conference called the Bloomington convention, of which John M Palmer was presi
dent and Richard Yates one of the vice presidents. Though Buchanan carried Illinois
that year by 9,100 majority over Fremont, Bissell. the Republican candidate for gover
nor, and the whole State ticket were elected by 4,700 majority,"
"Was the Republican organization pretty strong in Morgan county in 1856?"
"Yes; we were firmly established long before that. The pro slavery element, though
it abused and despised us, could no longer bring to bear the pressure that they did upon
the Abolitionists." "Did any of the charter members of your club ever hold office at the hands of the
Republican party?"
"No; they were not office seekers. King and Mathers were long afterwards each
elected mayor of the city of Jacksonville, but they were all content and well satisfied
with the assistance they had rendered to the grand party of freedom during its earliest
struggles. We were the first club in Illinois to avow the same principles afterwards
championed by the national Republican party."
Mr. King was found at his office, at the Jacksonville Gas Company's works, and
interrogated as follows :
"Mr. King, were you the clerk of a meeting, held at your store, in this city, in 1853,
for the purpose of organizing a political agitation for the exclusion of slavery from the
free territories ?"
"I was."
"Were all of the seven men, spoken of above, abolitionists ?"
"I think so. I am certain that Wolcott, Mathers, Foreman and myself were. Per
haps all were not so active as some of us."
"Were the active ones known by the public to be such ?"
"Yes ; and we were the most hated and despised of men. We were the most un
popular people in town for a long time, and were almost socially ostracised. Although
there was a New England settlement here, which in the main sympathised fully with
the abolition movement, still the element of southern descent and feelings predomin
ated, and the best and otherwise worthiest people of the town united in deeming us
fanatics and revolutionists. The churches were all ag*inst us with the exception of the
Congregational church, of which a number of abolitionists were members. We could
get no other church when we wished to have a lecture or an address by any eminent
agitator like Wm. T. Allen or Owen Lovejoy,'?
"Will you please mention some of the Jacksonville abolitionists ?"
"Well besides those already named there were Thomas Melendy, J, B, Turner,
Samuel Adams, Timothy Chamberlain, William Kirby, William Carter, Julius and
Samuel Willard, Azel Pierson, William Holland and Henry Irving, William H. Williams
and William Strawn."
"Sometimes our opponents created disturbance^ at these abolition meetings. I re-

Underground Railroad Times. 137
member once when Wm. Allen, a noted preacher, was addressing us, at the Congrega
tional church, some malicious person threw a black rag baby straight at his head. As
you may imagine we were all very indignant. The feeling against us was intense.
Men came to my store — old customers — and refused to deal any longer with me because
I was an abolitionist. The fact that Richard Yates, then a Whig, dined at the house of
Willard, created a great commotion and was used against him. But such opposition
deterred neither him nor us."
"Was there any abolition organization here ':"'
"No formal organization, but we were firmly united and known to be so. As I said,
the New Englanders in general sympathized with us, but their cautiousness and con
servatism didn't permit some of them to admit it publicly."
"Did the underground railroad run through here ':"'
"Well, there was an occasional passenger. One night when I went home my wife
informed me there was company to be entertained, and surely enough I found them in
the bam — ^three fugitive slave women from Missouri. We clothed, fed and cheered
them, and while a musical party were gathered at our house, the three women (clad in
the well-known garments of the three daughters of Wm. Holland, who had come to the
house as invited guests) were quietly moved, escorted by Mr. Holland, Prof. Turner and
myself to the house of Azel Pierson, thence to Mrs. Kirby's, whence after a stay of ten
days, Benj. Henderson took them in a closed carriage to Lyman's at Pleasant Plains, and
Lyman sent them on their way rejoicing. They had been tracked to Jacksonville bj'
officials acting under the odious Fugitive Slave law, and at the time of their conceal
ment at Mrs. Kirby's they were advertised all over town and rewards offered for them.
This was the only case of fugitives I was connected with. But I have no doubt there
were many others. Timothy Chamberlain was a particularly active 'underground rail
road man.' As it was a penitentiary offense in those days to harbor or assist a fugitive
slave, you may rest assured not very many were ever connected with the enterprise and
the few that were, didn't talk much about it."
"As for Wolcott and me and the others named, we never denied the charge, and I
consider it one of the greai;est compliments I ever received, that when the colored peo
ple of Jacksonville held their first emancipation celebration, they chose me, a white
man, to be their chairman. It was a gi^eat and a memorable honor."
"The survivors of your original band are very few in number, Mr. King ?"
"Very few. They are almost all dead. Turner, Chamberlain, Irving, Henderson,
Foreman and myself are all that are alive now ; and of the eight, who formed that flrst
Republican club Foreman and I alone survive."
"Tell me about that flrst meeting of that club."
"Well, Elihu Wolcott, a noble pioneer in that movement, presided at that meeting,
and we organized such a club. We met quietly for a time in my store, and afterwards
held meetings in a room in a building owned by John Mathers, on the square, two doors
south of East State street, where I now own a storeroom, occupied by Phelps & Osborne,
a dry goods flrm."
"The object of your organization being as stated, what kind of work did you set
out to do f"
"Well, we flrst turned our attention to the 'sinews of war' and went quietly to rais
ing money. Our membership being so small, you can imagine that our subscriptions
were not very numerous. All gave what they could. There were not many, in addition
to the original eight, who contributed anything. Our next step was to purchase and
disseminate literature. We procured and distributed a large number of pamphlets.
They served to awaken no little feeling and prepared the way for a still more effective
campaign document. — Uncle Tom's Cabin."
"Immediately upon its publication we determined to procure a number of copies
of that soul stirring production and circulate them gratis in the interest of our cause."
"We had to send to Cleveland, Ohio, to get the books. Wolcott, Mathers and myself

138 ''Uncle Tom" — Aiding Fugitive Slaves.
supplied the funds and we bought pve hund/red copies. We scattered them, discreetly
and judiciously, far and wide. They did more to increase the hostility to slavery than
any other agency, in this vicinity. They were read and re-read by man, woman and
child in every neighborhood, and at the very mention of 'Uncle Tom' the blood boiled
in every just man's veins."
"Several Methodist ministers and other friends helped us circulate them. The
Rev. Mr. Hindall, a circuit rider, was especially active in the work. Rev. James H,
Dickens was also full of enthusiasm. A German friend, too, at Beardstown, helped us
in the good work."
"We had only a few real Republican addresses before the Fremont campaign. One
of the first strong anti-slavery speeches made here was by Abraham Lincoln. He
spoke in the court house park, and when he came out sharp and strong against slavery
I threw up my hat and shouted 'Hurrah for Abe Lincoln for president of the United
States'." "Members of your organization took prominent parts, I suppose, in the flrst Repub
lican conventions in this region ?"
"Yes ; we were many of us members of the conventions here and of the state con
ventions during all that period."
Mr. Henry Irving was one of the bravest men connected with the underground rail
road and did good service on it from 1843 until the war. Though his principal work
was that of conducting he always did what he could in the way of entertaining fugitives.
Once he kept a man in the garret of his house for a week, the roads being so closely
watched that it was unsafe for anyone to start away with his guest, and so cleverly did
he manage the affair that he flnally got away with him in spite of the vigilance of the
slave catchers. He and William Strawn once took a runaway on horse-back to Pleasant
Plains. Returning with the extra horse they were alarmed at meeting Judge Lockwood,
who they feared would suspect what they had been doing, but if he did, he never spoke
of it. The man had been steward on a steamboat and was quite valuable which caused
the owner to pursue him hotly, but he was a bright active fellow and declared he would
never be taken alive.
The darkest nights were chosen for the trips which Mr, Irving made, Farmington
being the station to whicn he generally drove, and he still speaks highly of the good
people in that village who were always so willing to aid the cause. One trip is especi
ally impressed on his memory, which he undertook one very dark disagreeable night.
There were something near a dozen persons aboard and the station was between thirty-
five and forty miles distant. The darkness could almost be felt and the roads being
none of the best, no time was to be lost. Frequently he had to get out of the wagon
and feel for the track when passing over the prairie. Once the sound of approaching
hoofs caused the hearts of the whole company to stand still. Stopping the team he re.
quested perfect silence, but they were soon relieved by finding that two stray horses
had caused their fright. The road was bad and they frequently strayed from the track,
and nothing but the excellence of Ebenezer Carter's team brought them through. Day
light appeared when they were yet some miles from Farmington and then from behind
every bush they looked for an enemy to appear and every sound seemed to be that of
pursuers. Their destination was safely reached, however, and after resting the next
day the fugitives went on and their brave conductor returned.
This is but one of a host of adventures through which he passed, never once being
apprehended by the officers of the law though often suspected and pursued. He still
vividly recalls the early abolition meetings when so much disorder was created by the
enemies of freedom, causing Prof, Turner on one occasion at the court house to pound
on the platform with his cane and shout, in the language of Gen. Jackson, "By the Eter
nal, we will have order here."
These were times in which political excitement ran high. The anti-slavery senti
ment was developing and men were risking proscription, persecution and punishment

Irving and Turner as R, R. Conductors. 139
for aiding fellow-beings to escape from the unrighteous slave-masters with which the
nation was accursed. The laws of the State made its citizens slave catchers and against
this the souls of the freedom-loving rebelled. Prof. Turner, one of the old time aboli
tionists of Jacksonville, narrates in the Daily Journal August 2, 1884, the following in
cident of 1846 :
One bitterly cold night in December, the fall after we so nobly welcomed the Portu
guese to our city, Mr. Irving came to me while in my barn feeding my horse and said
that there were three colored women escaped from the St. Louis slave market which
their friends had escorted and concealed in an old abandoned cabin, southwest of Negro-
town in the fields. If left there they would freeze to death or be captured, as their
pursuers and our police were close after them. He wished me to go to their rescue
while he returned to the city to watch the police. The man was deeply in earnest,
quite up to sobbing and trembling. What could I do? But one thing was possible.
I at once cut me a heavy hickory bludgeon from the woodpile — which I could tlien
wield far more fearlessly and unscrupulously than now — hid it under my camblet cloak
and proceeded to the rescue, while he returned to town to attend to matters there. Ar
riving at the cabin door I rapped, no one stirred, I repeated my raps but all was still,
and I supposed my birds had been captured or had fied from fear. I bethought me to
say "I am your friend." At once there was slight rustle and soon the crack of the door
was cautiously opened. I quickly reassured them and three trembling, frozen and half
dead women stood around me, all, as I afterwards learned, regular members of the or
thodox Methodist church in St. Louis, who had been out of doors for a week, trying to
escape from a sale down south, away from all their families and friends, which they
deemed far worse in those days than death. Seeing the lanterns of the police glancing
about "Negro-town," as we called it, I told them to follow me, one after the other, with
in sight of each other as I led them out of the bright starlight under the shadows of
the trees and fences ; and if anything happened to me or them, to scatter and hide in
the cornfields. By this time my blood was up. I was ready for business, and determin
ed to defend my charge at all hazards. But it soon occurred to me that I had "got an
elephant on my hands," and that it would be impossible to conceal them at my house, or
in that of any known anti-slavery man.
Dr. Pierson then lived on the old Post place, one mile or more west of town. He
was an elder in the Presbyterian church, a good Christian man, but regai ded as pro-
slavery in his sympathies. I resolved to take them to him. For I thought I knew the
bottom of the old man's heart better than he did himself. So I proceeded to pilot them
to the gate that leads to his house, and waited for them to come up. Only two of the
three came. I supposed the last one had been nabbed, or from her excessively frozen
feet had missed her way. I therefore hid the two under the shelter of a fence and
brush, and ran back toward town at full speed for the third. I found she had fallen
behind and missed her way from excessive lameness. I then took them up to Dr.
Pierson's door, rapped and called for the doctor, and said to him : "Here we all are,
doctor. I found these strangers, so and so. You know I cannot protect them. I have
brought them to you. You must either protect or betray us." "Come in, come in, Mr.
Turner. We won't betray you. We will do the best we can for them. Wife, these
people need some hot coffee and something to eat." On went the tea kettle, open flew
the larder as though the king himself had knocked at the door, as indeed he had. The
Lord's children got their supper and left the devil out doors to feed on creeds, ortho
doxies, conservatisms and wind, to his heart's content. They were kept and carefully
nursed for a week or two in Dr. Pierson's barn, and a man took my horses and old
sleigh and shot them off towards the Canada line. This is all I know about the affair.
I heard they got through safely. How those women got to that old cabin I never knew
till I read it in the Journal last week, I do not remember to have spoken with any of
the parties about it since, as gassing with each other has been no part of our business.
But all who really know anything about it will confirm this general statement.

l40 Prof. Turner at an "Orthodox" Praybe-meeting.
The first of January after this, on another bitterly cold night, we had one Of our old-
fashioned annual union dress-parade prayer meetings, in the basement of the same
church in which we had before welcomed the Portuguese. In these meetings all the
sects united except the Campbellites, who had not then got fully on their orthodox pina
fores. For, then as now, no faith was deemed orthodox that had not been salted down
long enough to begin to petrify and turn to stone. Any true description of those union
prayer meetings would now be resented as a caricature.
On this occasion a most excellent Christian man, now in Heaven, but then too or
thodox for either Heaven or earth, quoted freely from the Assembly's catechism, to
show the exceeding danger and peril of all heretics and especially of all Unitarians, or
men so inclined. I stood the first round very comfortably in silence. But when
he again renewed the assault so vigorously that all eyes were turned over to my corner,
I could not resist the temptation to reply. I quoted from Christ's creed instead of thfe
church creeds ; narrated my experience in detail, as given above, in an effort to conform
to Christ's creed, only taking care to implicate no one in it but myself ; commended
them for their noble reception of the Portuguese in that church but little before, who
had been deprived by the tyrrany of the Portuguese of the privilege of reading only
one book — the Bible. But here were American-born citizens, orthodox church mem
bers whom the tyrrany of our laws and votes and churches had deprived of the privil
ege of reading all books whatever, from God or man ; sealed their immortal souls in
total midnight darkness ; denying them the right to their own wages, husbands and
children, nay to their own souls and bodies ; and when about to be sold from all these,
fleeing from lusts more dreadful to them than death, with frozen feet and starved bodies,
they appealed to me for aid, I was compelled to skulk away, through the darkness of
midnight, from all our court houses and officers, our churches and creeds and ortho
doxies, as though I were a whipped dog, or was perpetrating some infamous crime.
We have had enough of creeds that never were anything but the bastard and lep
rous progeny of the old Papists and despots of Europe. Let us Americans return to the
creed of Him who alone is son of man, son of God and savior of tlie world, and alone
competent to give us a creed.
Of course I do not remember the words of this little speech, but its spirit I can
never forget ; for at the time I felt that more fines than all my property was then worth
and a possible term in the state's prison, in which my old and much beloved classmate
Torry gloriously died, hung on every word of its utterance.
The next morning the town was of course astir. Esquire Smith, a southern man,
our leading lawyer, one of our grandest old men, was at the prayer meeting. and heard,
all that was said. The pro-slavery party naturally went to him to get ont writs for me,
on my own confession.
He Said to them : "You go home and keep quiet. The less you have to say about
that meeting the better it will be for you and for us all."
So these poor old slaves are, I suppose, in heaven, with nearly all the others who
bore any part in those transactions, while we are still here to thank God every day and
every hour that even the lowest and meanest of our citizens cannot now be tempted
with crimes and infamies that in those days sorely beset, if they did not overcome the
wisest and the best of us, and that all other creeds are so rapidly giving way to the
creed of the Christ of God.
The early days of the underground railroad were fraught with great hardship for
those who conducted the enterprise. It meant for them social ostracism, great labor
and expense as well as the risk of heavy flnes and imprisonment ; but caring for none
of these things these brave souls went forward unflinchingly in the path of duty. No
monument can now be reared to their memory which will begin to do them justice ;
their reward is the gratitude of 4,000,000 liberated slaves, and their monument the
grand fact that in our country all men are really free and equal before the law.
At one time a slave girl had escaped, and it was suspected that she was hidden at

Chauncey Carter and Timothy Chamberlain, 141
Ebenezer Carter's, two miles south of the city. Immediately a band of southern sym
pathizers rode out there, and driving up to the house, the leader inquired of Chauncey :
"Where's your father ?"
"He's not at home just now."
"Where's yom^ mother ?"
"She's gone away, too."
"Isn't there anybody at home ?"
"Yes ; I'm here."
"Is that nigger girl about the place ?"
"Well, really, I don't believe I can say."
"You'd better say, for we've got a warrant and are going to search the house."
"All right, if you've legal authority go ahead."
The two daughters were much alarmed, but the boy stood his ground and the
crowd left without a clew and cursing the lad for his nonchalance.
At one time a citizen of this county bought a boy in the south and brought him
here to work on his farm for a number of months. 'When his master was taking him
back to the south some one in St. Louis told him he was entitled to his freedom and
legal proceedings were at once instituted in his behalf. Ebenezer Carter was request
ed to go down and testify, but being busy sent his son Chauncej'. The slaveholder met
the boy on his arrival, and, shotgun in hand, said :
"'What are you doing down here ?"
"I came down to look around a little,"
"Well, you'd better make tracks for home and that in a hurry."
"I thought I wouldn't go until I'd seen something of the city."
"Well, I tell you you'd better leave or you'll flnd it a very unhealthy place."
"I guess I won't go to.day, anyhow,"
Nor did he go until he had given his testimony, which we are informed, resulted in
the freedom of the slave.
A number of persons now living were acquainted with the history of these days.
Among others Mr. Timothy Chamberlain, who says, "I had no active part in the under
ground road, but when Mr. Henderson or some other person would come to me for
money or clothes, I knew where to go for them. A good many persons now claim
always to have been avowed abolitionists who were certainly not very outspoken then.
When I was living in Macoupin county a man from Jacksonville came down there to
tell a slave boy who had been brought there from Missouri, that he was entitled to his
freedom. He ate dinner with me, but suspecting an armed mob, I urged him to flee
for his life, which he did, and none too soon. The next day the mob compelled the
slave boy to swear that I had put him up to running away, and they came to my house
with him. The leader drew his pistol and said, "Mr. Chamberlain, you have been put
ting this boy up to running away, and we are going to settle with you for it." Backing
up against the house I drew a knife and said, "If you attack me I don't expect to live
ten minutes, but when I go to heaven I will take several of you with me as witnesses.
Your accusation is wholly false, but I now say to the boy in the presence of you all
that he is entitled to his freedom and can get it in any court in the land. You came
here to find an abolitionist, and there was none here, but you see one now right be
fore you."
"Several of the company began to sympathize with me and the crowd left. When a
second attack was contemplated some time later several of these same persons secreted
themselves near by without my knowledge so as to be ready to help me if necessary.
From that time forward my opinions were pronounced and everybody had a chance to
know what they were. My friends thought it safer for me to move back to Jackson
ville which I did, going into the hack business. Sometimes my hack would be missing
for a day or two but I had a very good idea where it had gone."
Mr. .Jos. H. Bancroft says he took no part directly in aiding fugitive slaves to escape

142 Sympathy for Slave Owners in 1843.
but when he was mysteriously asked for a pair of shoes or other articles he handed
them out gladly. Public attention was much, aroused by a visit of E. P, Lovejoy to this
place about the year 1835 or 1836, It was yery detrimental to any man to be known as
an Abolitionist. One old lady was looking at some -black and white straw bonnets at
his store and remarking that they were Abolition bonnets said she wanted none of them,
A customer once called him aside very privately and wanted to know it he was an
Abolitionist as he had determined to have nothing to do with any such person.
Alderman W. C. Carter being asked at what time 'underground railroad' work was
systematically undertaken in this place, answered :
"About the year 1838 or '39, Though but a boy at that time the stirring scenes then
enacted have left a vivid impression on my memory, Elihu Wolcott was at that time
the head and front of the enterprise, bestowing his money and energies on the cause
with a devotion that never wavered and a courage that never faltered. Immediately
associated with him were T. W. Melendy, Ebenezer Carter, my father, Benjamin Hen
derson, D. B. Ayers, Dr. M. M. L. Reed, and later, Samuel Willard and his father and
some others."
Mr. Carter has in his possession two documents, yellow with age, dated February
22d and 23d, 1843, which we present herewith,
Nbws—bxtba— NOTICE. — The citizens of Jacksonville are requested to assemble at
the court house on Thursday, the 28d inst. at 1 o'clock p. m,, for the purpose of express
ing their feeling in relation to the late outrage committed upon the property of a widow
lady visiting our town by one of our citizens.
Here followed a list of thirty names of prominent citizens. The meeting was
largely attended and the following resolutions unanimously adopted :
"Whereas, An outrage having been committed some short time since by two citi
zens of this place upon the property of a stranger and that stranger a widowed lady, the
injury was promptly repaired so far as the lady was concerned, arid time having now
been given that all excitement and intemperance of action might subside, the citizens of
.lacksonville believe that it is due to themselves, to tbe people at large and to their friends
at a distance that the public mind should be disabused of all prejudice against the town
by publishing to the world a full, fair and unvarnished state of facts, authorized, indorsed
and accredited as the act of the town.
"Some short time since a widow lady by the name of Lisle, a resident of Louisiana,
on her way home from Kentucky, came to this place to visit a couple of sisters residing
here. She was accompanied by her child and nurse and a female slave about 18 years of
age, Mrs Lisle was unexpectedly detained here longer than she bad anticipated by the
closing of the river. On Thursday night of week before last, the night before she intend
ed starting, and did start home in the stage, the negro girl was stolen off by a certain
Samuel Willard and conveyed to the house of Ebenezer Carter, two miles south of this
place where she was concealed until Saturday evening, when she was run off by J. A.
Willard, the father of the former. Many ot the citizens promptly volunteered to look
for the girl and on Saturday night made the above discovery with the addition that the
elder Willard would carry the girl to a Mr, Gushing, one mile south of Greenfield, and
from this place she would be conveyed by some other person toward Canada. The pur
suit was so prompt that the girl was taken while in possession of Willard and both
brought back to this place when the girl was sent to her mistress, and the two Willards
were immediately arraigned, and afler a full hearing of the case, defended by N, Coflln,
they were admitted to bail in the sum of $2,500 to answer to our penal code at the next
March term of our court.
These being the facts, therefore
Resolved, 'That although a judicial investigation will be had upon the matter, we feel
it our privilege and duty to say that we do not consider this a question of slavery or anti-
slavery, abolition or anti-abolition, but a flagrant aud high hand infraction upon one of
the penal laws of our land."
Then followed an admission of the evils of slavery, but since it is protected by laws
and honored by many good men, the meeting doesn't know how it is to be put down,
but certainly not in this way.
, Resolaed, That the citizens of Jacksonville will at all times extend the hand of
friendship and hospitality to their acquaintances of the south, and will be pleased to re
ciprocate the friendly acquaintance of neighbors, ready at all times and on all occasions,
promptly and efficiently to aid and protect them in the enjoytnent of their property.

"Anti-Xegro Stealing Society" — Mrs. Verry, 143
And to that end, having reason to believe that there are bands of abolitionists, organized
with depots or relays of horses to run negroes through our state lo Canada, and that one
of them' is in this town we will form an Anti Negro Stealing Society, as we heretofore
formed an Ami Horse Stealing Society, and that we will, in this neighborhood, break up
the one as we broke up ihe other.
Resolved, That although young Willard, who stole the negro, and young W, C, Car-
te'^, who assisted lo conceal the negro, and Coleman, who pursued the men who were re
turning her to her mistress, are all students of Illinois College, and as yet have not been
dealt with by said college; yet it maybe proper for this meeting to abstain from any
action in the case, leaving the college to defend its own reputation.
Resolved, That these proceedings be signed by the president and secretary, aud that
they be published in the Illinoisan and the Missouri Republican, and that the southern
papers generally be requested to copy it.
A hand bill is still in the possession of Miss Melendy, calling attention to the
wants of a slave buyer for the southern market, who desired to buy one hundred ne
groes. Though it was issued in Missouri it is a document of much interest.
Mr. Carter was asked: "Were there any stations of the underground railroad near
here?" and answered:
"My father's house was long a stopping place on the route. until it became so well
known that it was impossible to avoid the slave catchers and then another place w as
chosen. Mrs. W. C. Verry was always ready to harbor the fugitives, and was a remark
ably fearless woman. So far as I know none of the Abolitionists about here ever went
from home to encourage slaves to run away, but when they knew of any already on the
road they were ready to help them. Mr. Isaac Snedeker used to bring a great many
fugitive slaves throngh here and the amount of work he did in this way, purely from
a love for his fellow men, was truly wonderful. He was a total stranger to fear, though
his life was repeatedly threatened, while abuse and calumny were heaped upon him
without measure. Living near Jerseyville, he had to come to this place through a part
of the country inhabited almost entirely by southerners, who were on the watch for
him. He always went well armed, and it was by no means safe to attack him.
Through all those perilous years, although very frequently on the road with his human
freight, he was never once taken himself, nor did he ever lose a fugitive. Sometimes
his pursuers would flre at him, and sometimes they would try to overpower him, but
he was both too brave and too smart for them. When closely pressed he has been
known to put his passengers on the horses and leave the wagon.
"From this place Benjamin Henderson use to run the trains for some time, and
more than once he has started out in the night with liis freedom seekers, followed by
the prayers of the lovers of freedom he left behind. C. E. Lippincott had a great deal
to do in this work, and was always ready for business.
"At one time a citizen of this place brought here from Kentucky, a boy and girl
named Bob and Emily Logan. Coming under such circumstances they were entitled
to their freedom and when they found that preparations were being made to take them
back south they appealed for help to their anti-slavery friends, and so one night they
were missing. They were secreted in the town for some days, but one day Bob incau
tiously ventured on the street, when he was caught, gagged, bound, hurried into a car
riage and conveyed to the river and there shipped for the south and never heard from
afterwards. Emily undertook -legal proceedings to gain her liberty, Elihu Wolcott, D.
B. Ayers and T. W. Melendy going on her bond. The case was fought up to the
Supreme Court of the State and there decided in the girl's favor."
"How long was the underground railroad kept up in this place';"'
"Until about 1855 or '57, though with intermissions, as the slave catchers would
sometimes watch my father's house so closely that some other place had to be chosen
for a depot for a while.
"One afternoon I saw a colored man whom I at once believed to be a runaway
slave. I aSked hini in and in the evening started off with him on horseback. It was
raining hard aniJ was very dark with occasional vivid flashes of lightning. We soon
iieard steps behind us, and I told my companion to lie down on his horse and conceal

144 Ben. Henderson's Help to his Colored Friends.
himself, which he did so completely that when the next flash of lightning came I
thought he had dropped off entirely.. Our pursuer turned out to be a cow and we were
much relieved.
"I remember after the southerners had been busy looking elsewhere for a time a
large party of fugitives was brought to my father's barn about the year 1853. I shall
never forget the sight ; strong men and women hungering for freedom, boys and girls
hardly realizing the situation, and one infant in its mother's arms, looked around in be
wilderment at its strange surroundings. They were in due time successfully removed
and sent on their way to the north star."
From Benjamin Henderson, (colored) some very interesting reminiscences are ob
tained. "Mr. Henderson, in what year did you begin your labors in the cause of freedom ?"
"I came here to live in the year 1841 and was soon at work on the underground
railroad and kept it up more or less until 1857 or '58. My house was a regular stop
ping place for fugitives, though at intervals it had to be abandoned as it would be
watched too closely by the slave catchers. I did a great deal of teaming in those days
and so was called on to transport the fugitives frequently. Sometimes I made two
trips a week, carrying all the way from one to sixteen,"
"Where was your next depot ?"
"We generally went to Springfleld, Farmington and other places,"
"Who were your 'best friends here ?"
•'Elihu Wolcott and Ebenezer Carter were always the main pillars of the enterprise,
sparing neither trouble nor expense, always acting as though they knew nothing of
fear. Next to them came T. W, Melendy, Dr, Reed and several others who have been
previously mentioned, 'When we wanted supplies for the fugitives we always found
friends in Joseph and Horace Bancroft, J, W, Lathrop, T, D, Eames, Asa Talcott, Mr,
Hoyt, Mr. Burdette and others, Henry Irving was always ready to go on the road or
entertain parties, and Rev. Mr. Kirby often proved himself a friend in need,
"Considerable driving was also done by Washington Price, of this place,"
"Please tell me some of your adventures,"
"My first experience was in a small way. A fugitive came in one Saturday even
ing and we carefully secreted him a short time and then put him on the road for the
next station. Next, a man came to my house from Mississippi and as I was not well
acquainted with the road to Springfield I tried for two days to get some one else to go
but couldn't ; so I got a buggy one night and started. Indications of day appeared be
fore we reached the city and my man began to get uneasy. I lost the way and hardly
knew where to go, but finally made a successful turn and found the town. Daniel Cal
lahan and Wm. Butler were our station keepers, and without very much trouble I found
the latter and left my charge with him.
"At one time a man hotly pursued came to my house. He was valuable and the
main roads were closely watched. I took him by a round about way and got him
through all right.
"Once two girls were brought to my house, one of them dressed in men's clothes.
I kept them several days till two others came and then took all off.
"Three women and two men were left at my house when I was away from home.
My wife and Mr. Price made up a team and took them on. At Berlin one of the men
let the buffalo robe get tangled in the wagon wheel and the driver had to stop in front
of the tavern and loosen it. Fortunately no one heard them. A few years ago I had
the pleasure of meeting one of these women in Chicago and we had a pleasant time
talking over those days of terror and danger.
"Walden Stewart, Mr. Snedeker and Mr. Pitman used to operate below here and
for a time the fugitives they sent north to the house of a colored man whom they trust
ed were never heard from. One night they sent two men on to this man who received
therh all right and started on with them the next night... They were soon met by white

Adventures with Fugitive Slaves. 145
men who halted them, handcuffed all three and started toward St, Louis. The man
who received the fugitives was sent off by himself and the other two taken on to St.
Louis and thrown into the slave pen. One was sold to a party who took him to New
Orleans, but he managed to escape and return to St Louis on the very boat which had
taken him away. Meanwhile his comrade escaped from the slave pen, and the two
made another start for the north. On their way up they met their old friends and told
them of the treachery of the man who had been trusted and he was severely let alone.
The city of St, Louis offered a reward of $100 for each fugitive returned and the own
ers generally gave an equal amount and for this paltry sum, or a part of it, these and
others had been betrayed. We were always very much troubled by men working to se
cure these rewards.
"Once Stewart brought three women and one man to my house. I took the man
in and sent the women to a neighbor. The next morning as we were talking over the
best means of escape, a man came in boldly and arrested my guest. I went down stairs
and met a comrade of the intruder who inquired for the women. Meanwhile their
host had heard of what was going on and in a cowardly manner turned them out of
doors as I was standing there. I engaged the attention of the man who was after them
and though but a few rods away they succeeded in climbing the fence and escaping to
J, O. King's barn. One of them, a large woman, broke the top rail in getting over and
fell back but the next attempt was successful. The remainder of their story has been
told by Mr, King. The man was taken back to St. Louis but got away for good about
a year afterward.
"From that time forward my house was closely watched day and night and I had
to be very cautious. Not long after I was called on one evening to shelter six runa
ways, but I was afraid to do so as it was not prudent. I first went to Henry Irving's,
but found him away from home and his wife sick. As she had company I found it
very hard to state my errand. Finally I edged up to the bedside and told her what I
wanted. As Mr. Irving was away she told me to go to Rev. Mr. Kirby's which I did.
He had company in one of the front rooms at the time, but when he came to the door to
me he fortunately shut the door from the hall to the parlor and so I was able to speak
freely. He said at once, "Bring them along." He built a fire for them up stairs and I
brought them in through the hall, right by the parlor full of people without being sus
pected. Mr. Irving took this load away, as it was not safe fori me to do it. This com
pany consisted of a one legged man, another man who was lame, a sound man, a woman
and two children. When they left Springfield they were joined by two young women
who had been waiting for a chance to go on.
"Before they had gone many miles they were captured by two white men, who
were after the usual reward, and brought back. On the way the one-legged man made
an excuse to get out of the wagon, the drivers getting out with him. When all were
on the ground, quick as thought the fugitive knocked down both his captors. The well
man and the young women took to their heels and escaped, leaving the cripple on the
ground to fight alone, which he did for some time, knocking both white men down as-
fast as they could get up, until one of them grabbed away his crutch and then he was
helpless. The next morning the one-legged man said he was sick and couldn't travel,
so one of the captors loaded the other cripple, the old woman and the two children info
a hack to take them to St. Louis. Under the seat was a jug of whisky which the man
got hold of and as the driver -was getting into the hack his prisoner attacked him with
it and after a vigorous fight made his escape, so that at last only the woman and two
children were returned. For these the owner refused to pay more than $10 instead of
the $800 as he said he didn't care a cuss for the old woman anyhow.
"A fine looking couple once asked me for shelter in great haste. The hunters
were hard after them and $1,000 reward was offered for their capture and return. I
was then closely watched and hardly knew what to do. Finally I made an excuse to
take some hemp cradles to Springfield, so I laid some hay in the bottom of the wagon.

146 Conductor Freeman — Dr, Reed's Anti-Slavery Work.
put my passengers on it, more hay over them, and my cradles on top of it and drove
leisurely through town about the middle of the afternoon and got through all right,
"There was a man named Freeman who frequently used to undertake to conduct
parties of fugitives from St. Louis to Chicago, and he often passed through here. He
was a brave fellow, often courting danger from a love of it. At one time he had the
lines of the team he was driving shot out of his hands but he pushed right on. Once
he brought a party of sixteen to this place and the next night started away with two
teams he had hired. A few miles out one of the wagons broke down and so he put his
whole company into the other and returned to Ebenezer Carter's. The next morning
Mr. Carter came to town for me and said I must take this crowd in hand myself. I
told him it would never do to take my team, and beside I very much feared to go to
Springfield. Finally he said I should take his, a fine one by the way, and go to Farming-
ton. At dark that night he put them and Freeman aboard the wagon and drove to the
corner of Morton avenue and St. Louis street where I met them and took charge. I
had never been to Farmington but had an idea of the route to take, but along toward
morning we lost our way. Finally Freeman ventured to arouse the people in a house
we were passing, and so we were righted and in time found the house of Dr, Lyman, a
friend to the cause. We called him up and stated our wants. He said he was sick and
couldn't possibly take us in, but directed us to the house of Mr. Burt, a quarter of a
mile distant. By this time indications of day began to appear and we were quite un
easy. When we aroused Mr, Burt and stated our errand, he refused to receive us also,
although Freeman begged and protested. Finally his wife called out from the bed
room, "How many are there ?"
"Sixteen, Madame," I replied,
"Bring them in."
"She at once arose, and after dressing, fixed the parlor for us and we all lay down
on the carpet to get a little much needed rest. About noon I started for home, arri
ving safely that night.
"This was one of my later adventures : I have had many others, but these will give
you an idea of the work. I became so well known to the slave catchers, who used to
congregate about St, Louis, that for years I would not have visited that city for any
amount of money. It is now rather a matter of pride to be reckoned among the aboli
tionists of those days, but it was not so then. A good many now lay claim to the title
whom I never knew as such until after the war. It maybe said we were law-breakers,
and perhaps we were, but I am sure no one to my knowledge ever crossed the line into
a slave state to advise any slaves to run away, yet who could resist the entreaties of the
poor creatures struggling for liberty ? To my mind it was fearing God rather than
man. I think if any of the men who refused to help us had been captured by another
nation and legally held as slaves they would have escaped as soon as possible and show
ered blessings on the heads of those who helped them get away."
Dr. M. M. L. Reed was another fearless member of that little band never afraid to
avow his sentiments though it cost him daily in a financial way beside endangering his
life and greatly destroying the peace of his family. Coming to this state in 1880 he
had a fine opening ready for him in St. Louis, but he would not live in a slave state,
no matter what inducements might be offered. While going his professional rounds
he used many oisportunities to learn the movements of the enemy and to assist the
conductors and often he went in disguise to flnd out what course the slave catchers were
pursuing that he might at once report it at headquarters, and frequently he would not
return until two o'clock in the morning. So cordially was he hated by the pro-slavery
party that for years he seldom felt safe in walking on the side-walk at night, taking
the street to avoid a possible unseen enemy. His family were always startled by a
knock at the door fearing it might be some one to arrest him instead of a messenger to
ask his presence at the bedside of a patient. One morning while in the midst of farai-

Master and Slave in same Car — Missouri Compromise, 147
ly devotions, a furious summons was heard at the door which caused the hearts of each
member of the household to beat almost audibly. Calmly flnishing his supplications
the doctor went to the door where he found three angry men demanding to know the
whereabouts of Bob and Emily Logan. Neither threats nor persuasion were sufficient
to overcome the courage which had suddenly possessed the mind of the man wlio was not
afraid to do right, and the earty callers had to go elsewhere.
One night during his absence his family had reason to believe an unsuccessful at
tempt was made to set his house on flre. His wife and oldest daughter became very
brave through such frequent exposure to danger. One night a man under the influ
ence of liquor called quite late and asked Mrs. Reed for the doctor, saying his child
was sick. She told him the doctor was at Waverly and proceeded to shut the door.
The man was not satisfied and persisted in coming in. Placing a chair in his way she
called her daughter who seized a pair of tongs and brandishing them alofttold the in
truder he would be a dead man if he put his head inside that door, which he very
wisely concluded not to do.
David Spencer, another prominent colored citizen said : "I came to this country
in 1835 and have seen much of the underground railroad. At that time or soon after,
it involved a penalty of $1,000 and six months imprisonment to aid a fugitive slave. If
a man freed a slave in this state he had to file a bond of $1,000 for the good behavior
for the freedman. Such a document for my benefit, signed by J. T. Holmes, is at the
court house in this place; 1 became of age in 1854 and moved to Jacksonville and then
determined to help my race in bondage. From the flrst the prime leaders in the work
were Ebenezer Carter and Elihu Wolcott. These good men seemed to fear neither
man nor devil when helping a slave to his liberty. Dr. Reed, T. W. Melendy and D.
B. Ayers were also pronounced abolitionists. Benj. Henderson and Henry Irving did
most of the driving. There were many other good friends to the cause who helped
more or less, though mostly in secret. My flrst exploit was in the memorable winter
of 1853-54. One night a wagon drove up to Wm. Olmstead's, on Grove street, with
eight runaways. The signal was given and the party unloaded and cared for. Money
and supplies were raised and I was appointed to start with them on the Great Western
railroad. We boarded the rear of the train just before daylight. When asked several
times who my companions were I replied that they were friends from Chicago who had
been here to spend the holidays. Soon after we started one of the men whispered in
my ear that his ol-d master was in the car a few seats ahead of us, no doubt on the hunt
for his property. I told him not to be afraid, for I had a revolver with me and would
use it if I had to do so. To our great relief the slaveholder left the train at Springfleld,
little thinking who had been riding with him. This is one of the experiences I had."
We have tried by diligent inquiry to do justice to all the bra^e men who took the
lead in this work, though it is possible that some names have been omitted which
should have been mentioned. We have heard the name of Mr. Lowry in connection
with the work, but have been unable to obtain particulars of the part he took.
At the time of the discussion and excitement over the Missouri compromise,
spirited public meetings were held in Jacksonville for consideration of this question
and the place was pretty effectually waked up. The flrst meeting was called as a meet
ing of those opposed to the repeal of the compromise, by a card signed by more than
100 names, published in the papers and by a hand-bill, to take place at the court house.
The court room was densely crowded at an early hour and Dr. N. English was made
chairman and J. W. Galbraith secretary. Dr. David Prince presented a set of resolu
tions and was about to proceed with a speech, when Gen. Murray McConnel asked per
mission to read some resolutions which he should offer as an amendment. Immediately
after the reading of these, his son Mr. John L. McConnel read another set of resolu
tions. Both of the latter sets were in favor of Douglas and his repeal measures, while
those offered by Dr. Prince were against the repeal.
¦ ¦ Much conf vision prevailed and it was charged that the repeal party came there to

148 The Slavery Agitation — Free DEMOCRACt.
break up the meeting. The chair decided that it was a meeting at which any were
free to speak. Confusion grew worse and finally the repeal folks announced another
free-for-aU meeting for the next evening and the Anti-Repealers remained, called Dr,
Russel to the chair, made J, O, King, Esq., secretary and una,nimously passed the Prince
resolutions also others introduced by Dr. Adams and Mr. John Mathers. The discus
sion upon them was participated in by Mr, Isaac D. Rawlings, Prof, J, B, Turner, Pres.
J. M, Sturtevant, Mr, Mathers and others.
The resolutions were as follows :
Resolved, That it is inexpedient to repeal directly or otherwise, the act admitting
Missouri, known as the Missouri Compromise, which section reads as follows :
"Sec. 8. Be it farther enacted, that in all that territory ceded bj; France to the United States, under
the name of Louieiana, which is north of thirty-six degrees and thirty minutes north latitude, not in
cluded in the limits of the state contemplated in this act, slavery and involuntary servitude otherwise
than as the punishment of crime, shall be and is hereby forever prohibited."
Resolved, That as good citizens we wish to abide by the second clause of the second
Section of the fourth Article of the Constitution which says :
"Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all needful rules and regulations respecting the
territory or other property belonging to the United States-"
On the next evening there was "a dense crowd assembled" according to the Morgan
Journal's report. Dr. Cassell was called to the chair and Cyrus Epler, Esq., made sec
retary. Mr, John McConnel re-offered his resolutions (of which we cannot procure a
copy now,) of the night before and Dr, Prince offered his as a substitute. Gen, M,
McConnel made a Repeal speech of an hour's length and Dr, Prince followed in oppo
sition. Prof. J, B. Turner and John L, McConnel, Esq,, also spoke, the latter for and
the former against the repeal. Both sets of resolutions were voted upon amid great
confusion and excitement. If sound alone could have been taken as a guide, says a
"Spectator," both sets were lost, but the chair declared ttie McConnel ones carried, and
refused to accede to a strong call for a "division of the house,"
According to the reports published at the time in the Morgan Journal, a meeting
of the "Free Democracy" was held in Jacksonville, Thursday, Feb, 10th, 1853, for the
purpose of taking some steps -with a view to permanent organization in this county and
congressional district. Rev. James H. Dickens was called to the chair and Hon. John
Mathers appointed secretary. The object of the meeting having been stated as above,
the following named gentlemen were appointed a committee to prepare and submit to
an adjourned meeting a plan of organization, viz : Hon. John Mathers, Prof, J. B,
Turner, J, 0, King, Esq., Dr. David Prince and Rev. J. H. Dickens.
After which the meeting adjourned to meet again the next Thursday evening, Feb-
17, At this adjourned meeting, the committee reported as follows and the report was
unanimously adopted:
Whbkbas : Past experience has proven to use the necessity of a permanent organ-
iza*ion of the Free Democratic party in this county in order to success, therefore.
Resolved, That we members of said party, do hereby form ourselves into such an
organization for the Jacksonville precinct, and will do all we can to advance our cause
for the next four years.
Resolved, That the Pittsburg platform as adopted by the Free Democratic National
Convention, meets with our approbation, and by it our principles and objects must be
judged and not by the false representati(ms of our enemies.
Resolved, That an executive committee of five be appointed whose duty it shall be
to raise funds for the purpose of purcliasing documents, and to use their influence to
have similar organizations established in each precinct in the county and to take steps
with the view to a county convention of delegates from each precinct.
Resolved, That a committee of correspondence for the congressional district be ap
pointed for the purpose of obtaining the views and feelings of the other counties as to
the propriety of holding a district convention and the establishment of a district paper.

Anti-Slavery Rkshlutions in 1853. 149
Resolved, Thas a notice of our organization be published in the Western Citizen,
National Era and all political papers published in the Congressional District.
Resolved, Tliat in future we will vote for no pro-slavery, illiberal, prescriptive Whig
or Democrat for any office, if we know it.
After a full discussion this meeting also unanimously adopted the following pream
ble and resolutions, and then adjourned :
Whereas, The General Assembly of Illinois, did, on the 12th of Feb. 1853, pass
an act entitled "An act to prevent the immigration of free negroes into this state, and
Whbbbas, This act is open and shameless violation of Articles II and VI of the or
dinance of 1787 — of the preamble and entire spirit of the constitution of the United
States, especially of Art. 1 Sec. 8, clause 18, and Art. 4, Sec. 2, clause 1, and to the
spirit of Articles V, VI, and VIII of the amendment,' and also of that provision of the
constitution of this state which "prohibits slavery or involuntary servitude, except in
punishment for crime," and
Whereas, Said attempt to inflict upon all free citizens of this state, heavy pains
and penalties by flne and imprisonment, for acts in themselves always innocent, and in
some cases highly meritorious, reduces all colored persons, bond and free, (even though
legal voters in this state) attempting to reside in this state to a condition of perpetual
slavery, without crime, thereby making this state, in fact, a slave state, giving to petty
magistrates the power of holding courts for cleaving down the liberty of free men and
throwing the most shameless obstacles in tlie way of an appeal from their decision,
when made in favor of the inalienable rights of the freeman, and taunting these magis
trates themselves with accusations and impeachments for crime should they refuse to
commit this greatest of all crimes against the constitution of this state and of the United
States, and the laws of both God and man and ^hereby attempting to force them to its
commission — ^throwing the whole powers of the state at all points against the natural
and inalienable rights of the poor and oppressed and pandering with the most disgust
ing servility and meanness, to the viles and most corrupt despotism on earth that of the
Amekican Oppbessob, and having thus extorted its price of treason from the innocent
and helpless, as if in impudent derision of mockery and both God and man, it denom
inates this "price of blood," a "charity fund ! !" for the relief of the poor ! ! In other
words, it enables our counties to sell the free black citizens of other states to pay their
own pauper tax ! !
We think such a law containing the above and many more odious features, was fitly
denounced by able senators on the fioor of the Senate as "making Illinois a slave state"
and being in itself "monstrous, inhuman and unconstitutional."
We, therefore, unanimously resolve. That we regard it with utter loathing and de
testation in whole and in all its parts, and hereby solemnly enter our indignant pro.
test against such unrighteous, shameless and disgraceful legislation.

WASHINGTON HIGH SCHOOL, JACKSONVILLE, ILLINOIS.

CHAPTER IX. -1858-'65.
The Business Men — Institution Appropriations — Churches and Preachers — Colleges
and Sabbath Schools— Criminal Cases — Local Journalism — Epitomes of News —
"Just Before the Battle" — Grant's Regiment— Recruiting for the Union Army —
The Pension Roll.
MONG the firms doing business in our city in 1858 were Dobyns & Co., W. K.
Dewey, Kaiser & Russell, Catlin & Co., Scott & Fitch, David Sterrett, P. T.
Gillett, D. Robb, B. F. Stevenson, Wm. M. Mayo, Dayton & Co., Hamilton &
:,^y^ Jones, J. W. King, A. Bulkley, J. M. Snyder & Co., Wm. H. Collins, A. & C.
^^ McDonald, J. Mitchell, W. C. Woodman, Lightfoot & Easton, E. C. Lax, Tra-
bue & Chambers, Wm. Love, Rosenhaupt & Co., C. K. Sawyer, Flack & Risley, F. G.
Farrell, Samuel Wolfe, Robert Hockenhull, Wm. H. Corcoran, John Pyatt, Myers &
Knollenberg. It will be seen that many of these have been gone from the business circle of our
city a number of years, many are dead, and only a few are still among our merchants
and business men.
At the opening of the session of tlie Illinois Institution for Deaf-Mutes in '56, re
peated applications were received to admit persons who, though mute, were not deaf ;
their inability to articulate being the result of imbecility of mind. Dr. Gillett in his
report for that year, urged the establishment of an institution where this class of chil
dren might be cared for. But it was not until 1865, that the General Assembly incor
porated the "Asylum for Feeble Minded Children." A building near the Deaf and
Dumb Institution — ^the Governor Duncan property — was rented, and placed under the
supervision of Dr. Gillett. Having thoroughly organized the school. Dr. Gillett resign
ed the superintendency and recommended as his successor. Dr. Chas. T. Wilbur, who
was accordingly appointed.
In 1859 the Legislature appropriated $75,000 for the completion of Insane Hospi
tal buildings. The most important appropriations since then have been $84,000 for
the east wing, $75,000 for the east and west extensions and the furnishing of the same,
and further amounts from time to time for boilers, laundry, kitchen, chapel, amusement
hall, shops, stables, and a variety of other outside buildings. The general style of the
original structure has been adhered to, and both the old and new buildings to-day pre
sent as uniform and liarmonious an appearance as if thej' had been erected at one time
and by one contractor.
Recalling the churches and pastors of this period we find that during Rev. Robert
Allen's pastorate of ten years, from 1857 to 1867, over the Central Presbyterian Church,
including the unpropitious era of the war, 128 were admitted to membership, an average
of more that 12 per year. Of these 56 were received on profession, an average of nearly
six each year.
The Methodist Episcopal preachers were :
East Charge— J. R. Locke, 18.58; W. J. Rutledge, 1859-'60; J. L. Crane, 1861 ; L.
C. Pitner, 1862-'63; A. Semple, 1864^'65.
West Charge— J. H. Moore, 1859-'60; H. Buck, 1861-'62; R. E. Guthrie, 1863-'64.
The presiding elders were: Peter Cartwright, 1858-'60; W. S. Prentice, 1861-'64.
The First German Lutheran Church was organized in 1858, with eight members,
among whom were John Knollenberg, P^ed. Walker, Edward Beyer, Henry Peckloeffel
and Joseph C. Kackman. The organization was effected in the Christian Church, then

152 Churches Sabbath-schools and Christian Commission.
situated on North Main Street. They met for divine services in various places, until
1863, when they completed their present house of worship. This was used until 1877,
when they purchased their present church, selling their old one.
In 1858, the Congregational Church, on the East side of the square, was sold prepar
atory to erecting the commodious brick structure now occupied by them on West Col
lege Avenue, At a comparatively recent date the old church — afterwards "Union Hall"
— was used as a furniture wareroom. The new church was dedicated in December,
1860, In 1860, Rev, C. H. Marshall, late of Hudson, Wis., was the pastor.
On Sunday, May 14, 1860, about forty members of the First Presbyterian Church
were organized into a separate society known as the Westminster Presbyterian Church.
The services were held in the Congregational Church, the sermon being preached by
Rev, Cyrus L. Watson, of Farmington, in pursuance of order of Presbytery, From that
day there have been six churches of this denomination — three American and three
Portuguese, The Westminster congregation soon erected a substantial and comfortable
brick house of worship, in the western part of the city, and their membership has been
gradually increasing under the faithful ministration of Rev, Dr. David H. Hamilton,
deceased and Rev. Samuel M. Morton, the present incumbent.
The first day of December, 1861, was a sad one to many a soul in Jacksonville, but
especially to the First Presbyterian Church. Twenty-four hours before a large church
and congregation had felt that they had a holy and beautiful house where they could
worship God, and which for fourteen years had been their spiritual home. It was a
a plain, but commodious structure of brick, built in 1847, just at this time, 1861, re-fur
nished with cushions, carpeting, paint, and a new organ. Now, nothing remained but
ashes and smouldering ruins. It was awful, though grand, to see in the darkness of
that first night of winter, the steeple, seemingly a fretwork of living gold, still point
ing as the finger of the church to heaven ; and to hear the groans (if we may so speak)
of that short-lived organ as the pent-up air rushed through its pipes, while the consum
ing element devoured all about it.
Strawn's Hall, but recently erected, proved a needed place of refuge for the home
less people, which they occupied for some time for all Sabbath exercises, while
the week-day meetings were held at the Female Academy, After waiting two
years and a half for more prosperous times to come, the corner-stone of a new and still
greater temple was laid, in 1864, and the work of erection proceeded steadily, though
slowly, until the finishing touches of the upholsterer and painter rendered the whole
fabric ready for its intended use, a goal so long waited for by so many praying, work
ing ones, in that large churchless company.
The Sabbath-school cause in Morgan county was earnestly espoused by many
zealous workers Annual county conventions of those actively engaged in the work
were held, also numerous precinct meetings of similar character. We notice append
ed to the call for the annual county convention of 1863, the names of "Father" Stephen
Faxson, the veteran S. S, organizer and missionary. Prof, B, F, Mitchell, principal of
the Academy, Judge William Brown, W. W, Jones and Rev, D. D, Holmes. These
conventions have been held every year since, but a new generation has arisen to take
charge. The pupils of 1863 are the leaders and teachers of 1884. There are now 81
Sabbath-schools in the county and over 6,000 in attendance.
During the War for the 'Union tbe cause of the sick and suffering soldiers biougbt
into existence that grand organization, representative of the whole church, the Chris
tian Commission. Morgan county not only gave her citizens in defence of country, but
also liberally donated of her means to relieve the wants of tlie wounded and sick. The
magnificently liberal oft'er, in 1864, of Mr, Jacob Strawn, Sr,, to give ten thousand
dollars to the Christian Commission if the citizens of this county would give a like
sum met with a most liberal and praiseworthy, response. Through the efforts of a
few of our prominent citizens aided by Mr, Reynolds and Rev, McCabe, something
over the ten thousand was raised, Mr. Strawn gave his check for the amount of his

The Academy Under Mitchell and Thay'er, 153
offer, and if nothing more was done, Morgan county is entitled to rank as the banner
county of the banner State of the Union. Jacksonville gave her proportion of this gen
erous offering.
Mrs. Phebe Thompson had charge of the Jacksonville Female Academy for one
year, 1857-'58, and was succeeded by Newton Bateman, afterwards L.L. D., who had al
ready acquired a solid reputation as an educator, so that his appointment to his office
gave great satisfaction ; but soon after entering upon his duties in the fall of 1 858, he
was elected superintendent of public instruction for the State, which position he ac
cepted and filled with gi-eat honor to himself and with great advantage to the cause of gen
eral education in Illinois. The vacancy thus occurring in the principalship of the Acade
my was then supplied by the appointment of Miss Hattie P. Murdock, then and for sev
eral years previously, a successful and beloved teacher in the school, a graduate of the
class of 1850, and the only one of the alumnse ever raised to the office of preceptress
in this institution. That academical year, during which she was at the head, is remem
bered as one of unusual prosperity, and the catalogue shows a larger enrollment at any
previous time, the aggregate of pupils being 171. The trustees desired to continue Miss
Murdock in the position for which she had shown marked ability, but she declined,
though willing still to serve as teacher, which she did for a year or two under her suc
cessor. In 1864 she was married to Mr. D. C, Whitwood, of Detroit, but the happy re
lation was cut short by her death which occurred September 1865, A discourse in
memory of her, delivered by the Rev. Dr. Glover, and entitled "No waste in the be-
sto-wment of piety" was published and widely circulated among the alumnae and friends
of the institution.
From 1859 to 1865, Prof. B, F. Mitchell, A, M,, served as principal. He was a
graduate of Bowdoin College, a thorough scholar, and excellent teacher, a man of mild
and gentle bearing, as humble as he was learned, and whose piety was as fervent as it was
simple and child-like. His life was that of an educator and he gave to his position the
benefit of much experience acquired at the east, the south and the west. His pupils
remember with lively feelings his goodness of heart, the affectionate mildness of his
rule, and the tenderness of his interest in their spiritual welfare. And if, as is likely,
they often took advantage of his unsuspicious and yielding disposition, they uniformly
found that such sinning re-acted in the way of regrets, which made it both hard and
unprofitable. The period of his service covered that of the civil war, during which, by
reason of the general diversion of thought and means to a great national issue, educa
tional interests suffered muc^ ; and yet, during all that time, the academy enjoyed
reasonable prosperity, regularly graduating good classes, though diminished somewhat
in size. It will, however, long be remembered as a period of marked spiritual mani
festations in the school, considerable numbers of the day and boarding scholars,
through the personal influence of the principal being led to Christ and the formal con
secration of themselves to his service.
Resigning in 1865, Prof. Mitchell went south and taught again, as he had before,
in Tennessee, but was soon released from labor and went to the rest which remained
and the crown which was -waiting in heaven. "Blessed are the dead which die in the
Lord." Prof, Gilbert Thayer, A, M., took charge of the institution, boarding department
and all, in 1865, by virtue of a lease entered into with the trustees, in which the term
of ten years was named. He had just completed seven years of similar service at
Bloomington, 111., and previously had taught for some time at Keesville, N. Y. The
record of his success in those places was a sufficient recommendation. He came with
the repute of an accomplished instructor and of a shrewd and successful business man
ager. In this latter respect particularly, he was believed to be the man for the place.
The trustees were prepared the more to appreciate flnancial talent in him, from having
seen the want of it in some of his predecessors, and especially as they were anxious to
resign to his hands all care and responsibility in regard to the domestic arrangements

154 Murder Trials — "The Literary Union."
of the institution which during much of the previous time they had found it difficult
to manage satisfactorily and without the annoyance of debt.
In 1865, a public spirited individual made a donation to the trustees of Illinois Col
lege in partial endowment of the professorship of Latin, of $5,000. In 1866 a few in
dividuals contributed a fund of $25,000 for the endowment of the presidency of the
college, nearly all of which is either paid in and invested, or bearing interest in the
hands of the subscribers.
In the autumn of 1862, a disastrous conflagration destroyed the whole west wing
of the Illinois Female College, It was promptly rebuilt and the school continued with
unchecked prosperity. Dr. Charles Adams, principal.
The court records of "the war period" show that at the August term of the circuit
court for the County of Greene, 1858, an indictment was found against Jacob Theby
and James Markham for the murder of Cyrus Lake on July 1st, 1858, by striking him
upon the head with a deadly weapon. The case was tried in this county at the October
term, 1858, and the defendants found not guilty,
Patrick Waters had a "true bill" fOund against him at the March term, 1861, for
the murder of Michael Hawkins on the 14th of January, 1861, by striking him on the
head with a bar of iron. The jury found the defendant not guilty.
Wm. P. Chrisman was indicted at the October term, 1860, for the murder of Chas,
Kreiger on Sept. 1st, 1860, by shooting with a shotgun. This case was stricken from
the docket. Miles Gibbons was indicted in Greene county in 1859, for the murder on the 23d
of February, 1859, of William Swift by striking him on the head with a stick of wood.
Change of venue to Morgan; case tried, defendant found guilty of manslaughter and
sentenced to the penitentiary for five years ; case taken to supreme court ; reversed ;
brought back, and case nolle prosed,
Benjamin F, Church was indicted by the grand jury at the September term, 1864,
for the murder of Hugh M. Campbell by shooting him with a pistol on July 4, 1864,
Defendant found guilty of manslaughter and sent up for two years. This killing grew
out of the excitement of the war and created considerable feeling. He was pardoned
by the governor before being taken to Joliet,
David Hutchinson was indicted at the September term, 1864, for the murder of Hugh
M. Campbell, by shooting him in the breast wifh a revolver. This case was stricken
from the docket in 1866.
William Gordon had an indictment for murder found against him at the March
term, 1863, for the killing of Frank Sherry on the 20th of January, 1868, by striking
him in the breast with a knife. This case was also stricken from the docket in 1866.
Robert Pile was indicted in Brown county, in November, 1864, for the killing of
John Murphy by shooting him with a shot-gun, and brought to Morgan county by a
change of venue. Defendant plead guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to the
penitentiary for ten years.
Passing from bloody records to those of quiet, care and culture we record the birth
of one of the most venerable and best known associations of Jacksonville literati — The
Jacksonville Literary Union,
On April 14, 1864, the following gentlemen met at the residence of Judge Willitoi
Brown to consider the propriety and practicability of forming a literary association.
The late Dr, L, M. Glover, Messrs, Wm, Brown,* Elisha Brown,''' William Brown, Jr,,
Prof, B, F. Mitchell,'* Dr. C. Fisher, Prof, William Dod,=* Rev. R. W, Allen,* Dr. H. K.
Jones, Prof, P, G, Gillett, Prof, J. Loomis, J, H, Wood, Esq,, and Prof, John H, Woods,
After a free interchange of opinions as to ways and methods, a committee was appoint
ed to prepare the necessary rules and regulations, and at a meeting held on April 21,
1864, and at the same place, the organization was perfected and the first officers were
chosen as follows : Judge William Brown, president ; Dr, L, M Glover, vice president ;

?Deceased.

Young Ladies Athenaeum — Local Journalism. 155
Philip G. Gillett, secretary. Thus was organized a society, which for more than twenty
years has kept the even tenor of its way, and is to-day thriving and vigorous as at the start.
Although its component parts have thus been continually changing, year by year,
the Union has preserved its original distinctive character throughout. This fact, while
not detracting, in the least, from the reputation of the society for progressiveness, is a
high compliment to the wisdom and sound judgment of its founders.
The membership is limited to twenty, A unanimous vote is necessary to an elec
tion. Meetings are held weekly, on Monday evenings, at the residences of the mem
bers. The exercises consist of essays, debates, conversations and selected readings, on
alternate evenings. A leader, or leaders in debate, opens the discussion of the subject,
which is then further ventilated by others, at greater or less length. Oratorical dis
play is never cultivated and finds no favor. The conversational style is almost uni
formly followed — the conversation not being promiscuous, however, but each speaker
having his say and then subsiding into silence.
In 1864, the Young Ladies Athenseum was added to tlie roll of city educational in
stitutions. It was founded by the Rev. Wm. D. Sanders, D, D., who for many years so
successfully filled the chair of rhetoric, elocution and English literature in Illinois
College. The Athenseum, early in its career, banished sectarianism. By its organic
act of incorporation, not more than three of its twenty-one trustees are members of the
same religious denomination. The aim of its founder. Prof, William D, Sanders, was
not merely to add another to the list of schools for young ladies ; but to found an insti
tution on sounder principles, and to be conducted on a method at once more philosoph
ical and more practical than the generally accepted principles and methods. It grew
out of the conviction of the grave defects inseparable from common system and the be
lief that there was a better way. It was a practical protest against the cast-iron routine
and superflcialness of the accepted method. Among its chief peculiarities, the Athe
nseum, 1st, Prescribes no arbitrary and infiexible course of study, 2nd, It classifies on a
new system, 3rd, It is not sectarian.
Tracing up the history of the Morgan Journal we find that Wm. H. Collins, a
former minister, and a graduate of Illinois College, bought out Mr. Selby about Sep
tember, 1858. He changed the name of the paper, then an eight column weeekly, to
Jacksonville Journal.
Mr. Collins left the paper September 26, 1861, to accept a chaplaincy in the army.
He afterwards became a captain of volunteers, went to Quincy, became a plow manu
facturer, is now sound in body, witty in speech, and probably, plethoric of purse — al
ways welcomed by his friends in this, city. And now a member of Illinois Legislature.
Mr. Collins, in his valedictory, announced that he left the business management in
the hands of Mr. W. C, Brown,
H, Barden soon became the publisher, and moved the concern into a room or two
in the second story of McDonald's block, on North Main street, Barden continued the
publication until November 17, 1864, Hon, H, J, Atkins, Mr, Wm. W, Jones, and per
haps others, acted as editors under Mr, Barden's management,
Mr, Atkins was a brilliant young lawyer from Maine, who was afterwairds member
of the Constitutional Convention of 1870, and died soon after,
Wm, W. Jones was a well known Jacksonville boy, son of Henry Jones, M. D,, and
a young man of much literary taste and promise. He edited the Journal during the
political campaign of 1864, and was afterwards an assistant editor of the Illinois State
Journal. He died, in that position, in September, 1867.
Ironmonger and Mendenhall bought out the establishment at the time Mr. Barden
retired, and, both being practical printers, put the paper and office upon a business
basis, improving the appearance of the sheet, Mr, J, J, Ironmonger had begun his
typographical life in the Morgan Journal office with Mr, Selby, going afterward to
Peoria, whence he returned with Mr, Amos H, Mendenhall, to become a proprietor.
The latter had been foreman of the Peoria Transcript office, and was an experienced

156 The State Fair — Politics, Personals, Etc.
printer. He withdrew from the Journal in about a year, and went, eventually, to Lin
coln, Nebraska, where he is now one of the proprietors of the Nebraska State Journal.
In the year 1860, as condensed in Moore's "Local Epitomes :"
Edward P. Kirby, was appointed Principal of the West Jacksonville District School,
succeeding R. M, Tunnell, and began his duties in September,
The great State Fair began September 11th, Hon, Schuyler Colfax delivered the
opening address, Mr, C, S. Goltra was Superintendent of the grounds. The hall for
textile fabrics was built 40x84 feet, that for power and machinery 24x60 feet, flne arts
24x98 feet, and natural history 24x36 feet. The floral and agricultural hall in the shape
of a Greek cross, was 104 feet each way, by 32 feet in width, all these halls were 18 feet
between joints. In addition, the editors hall was 16x32 feet, the business office 34x80
and the president's headquarters 24x60 feet. Two large eating houses were provided
and about 600 large stalls for animals, besides other preparations being made. The fair
was held at our present fair grounds, which presented a beautiful appearance, the am
phitheatre being estimated to have held 8,000 people at one time, A steam plow was,
perhaps, the most noticeable feature of the show.
March 15th, 1860, the Jackson/oille Journal flung the names of Lincoln and Yates,
for president and governor, to the breeze, and editorially began talking up its men.
Richard Yates was nominated governor, at Decatur, May 9, by the Republicans.
On the flrst informal ballot Yates had 183 votes, N, B. Judd 345, Len Swett 191, and
Mr, Knox 12, On the fourth formal ballot Judd .had 337 votes, Yates 363, and Sweet
86, giving Yates the majority, Yates was called for, then Judd and then Swett, the
two latter congratulating their successful competitor.
Among the objections made by political opponents of Mr. Yates, was the statement
that he was too old for governor. The fact bSing he was only 43 years of age and look
ed young. November 6, Abraham Lincoln was elected president, and Richard Yates governor.
November 6, Sam. P, Thompson, E, L, Ryland and Ben, H, Grierson, of Meredosia,
came up on the night train to proclaim Yates' election with music. The band, followed
by a crowd, went up to Yates & Berdan's office. West State street, upon the awning of
which Mr, Yates appeared and thanked his friends. As Yates stood uncovered the
first snow fell, touching his head with the silver which ten succeeding years of public
life thereafter made plentier.
Rev, C, H, Marshall was pastor at the Congregational church. Rev, Jesse H,
Moore, of the West Charge M, E, church ; Rev, L, M, Glover, of the First Presbyterian ;
Rev. R. W. Allen, of the Second Presbyterian ; Rev, W, S, Russell, of a Christian church.
The Tonica & Petersburg railroad was being pushed rapidly.
"Considerable progress is being made with Mr, Strawn's building" — ^that meant the
present Opera House,
Mr. J. J. Cassell erected four flne stores on St, Louis street, directly; south of Coff
man & Bruce's corner.
The early part of the year 1860 was very dry, injuring early vegetables,
Westminster church was organized, at the Congregational church. May 13, Rev,
A, T. Norton, President Sturtevant, Profs, Sanders and R, Nutting, and Rev, Wm, Gal-
laher taking part in the exercises. About forty-flve persons "entered into covenant re
lationship." D. A, Smith and Dr, Henry Jones were unanimously elected as elders,
Westminster Presbyterian church was dedicated in September, and Rev, D. H,
Hamilton, of New Haven, Connecticut, became pastor in October,
The Jacksonville Journal was a weekly newspaper, published by Wm, H, Collins,
now of Quincy, the office being on North Main street.
J. R. Bailey was editor of the Sentinel, also weekly, which was printed in the second
or third story of Goltra and Stryker's building, now Goltra's,
In the Jacksonville market, Upham & Snyder quote wheat at 80@$1 ; flour, best,
$6; oats 30c; corn30@35c; shelled 40c ; lard 10@12i^c; eggs 15c; potatoes 30@50c

Jacksontille in 1860 — Town Trustees 157
chickens $1,50 per doz. ; bacon 12}^c; hams 13c; country do 10c; hay $8@10; sugar,
brown, 10@llc ; crushed 14@15c.
H, J, Atkins, B, Lewis and B, D, Dawson, advertise themselves as attorneys-at-law,
Josiah Day as a practical watchmaker, Robt, Hockenhull was a wholesale and retail
druggist, Wm. Brown succeeds Elliott & Brown as a banker, Ayers & Co., were in the
same line, W. S. Edgar had a drug store, U, C. Edgerton sold dry goods, George Mader
sold clothing assisted by Preston Spates, W. O. Brooks dealt in farm machinery. Flack
& Risley sold dry goods, E. M, Sanford had marble works, Stevenson & Tompkins
sold stoves and tinware, S. H, Hamilton had a new bakery, probably in opposition to
the older one of E, Hamilton. C. H. Dunbrack kept seeds and agricultural implements,
F. & E. B. Eno were grain commission merchants, David Prince, M. D., had "office and
residence" on West State street, C. K. Sawyer was a surgical and mechanical dentist,
Massey, King, Neely & Co., dealt in lumber and had a planing mill, Catlin & Co., were
booksellers, Adams & Trover kept a news depot, and David Robb sold dry goods.
June 21st, the commencement of Illinois College was held in College Grove. The
graduates were Franklin Adams, John A. Ballard, Thos. Booth, Chas. S. Brown, Robt.
H. Buckley, Wm. H. Edgar, Wm. L. English, B. B. Hamilton, David B. Smith, John A.
Smith, J, B, Turner and Wm. H. Turner.
J. J. Ironmonger, opened a news depot in the "little brick," between Union Hall
and Wm, Branson's.
A lodge of Good Templars was organized at the "Sons of Temperance Hall."
Murrayville was called latan.
Julia D. Jones, Louisa Long and Louisa M, Warren, were graduated from ths
Academy, Deborah Cramer, Mary O, Edwards, Caroline R, Hurst, Anna Kerr, M. F. Little-
M. B. Maupin, G, Martin, M, C, Moore, Emily Parker, M, G, Snyder, Anna M. Thomp,
son, M. V. Thorp, and Mary Yates, were graduated from the Methodist Conference Fe
male College, Rev. Charles Adams, president.
Johnson & Richards sold stoves and tinware,
June 18th, at a meeting of the Ladies Education Society, Judge Brown presided
and addresses were made by Prof, Haven, of Chicago, and Dr, Edgar. The officers of
the society were Mrs, Tillson, Quincy, president; Mrs, Sturtevant, vice-president; Mrs.
S. Brown, secretary, and Mrs. A. E. King, treasurer. The executive committee were
Mrs. Reed, Bancroft, Sturtevant, B. F. Stevenson, Brown, Moore, Gillett, A. B, King and
Wadsworth, D, A, & T. W. Smith were attorneys-at-law.
Mr. Springer reports 83 schools in the county. Highest monthly wages to males,
$80, do., to females, $40, Amount raised by special district tax for all purposes,
$25,792.52; whole amount received, $38,793.95.
One hundred and twenty-six persons were buried in our cemeteries in 1859, eighty-
eight persons having resided in the corporation.
S, Hunt signs the letter list as postmaster.
The scarlet fever was quite prevalent.
The population of Jacksonville reached 5,528 according to the census of 1860.
Among the town trustees were : B. T. Miller, 1858, Wm. G. Gallaher, 1858, Chas.
Dalton, 1858, Jonathan Neely, 1858-'61, Henry C. Coffman, 1858, I. D. Rawlings, 1859,
Michael Rapp, 1859-'65, Jesse W. Galbraith, 1859, R. C. Bruce, 1859-'60, Isaac L. Mor
rison, 1859, William Ratekin, 1860, T. W, Wright, 1860, Wesley Mathers, 1860, Edward
R. Elliott, 1860, C, H. Knight, 1861, Chas. Sample, 1861, A. G, Link, 1861, Isaac S.
Sierer, 1861, Elizur Wolcott, 1863-'68, O. D, Fitzsimmons, 1862-'63-'64, Wm. Branson,
1863-'63-'64, Benj. F, Gass, 1863-'63-'64, Edward Lambert, 1862-'63, A. Edgmon, 1864,
Chas, H. Howard, 1864, Chas. McDonald, 1865, Stephen Ellis, 1865, A. C. Wadsworth,
1865,, Wm. C, Woodman, 1865,

158 Officials — Hotels — ^Ne^wspapers — Quincy Guards.
County Officers — 1858 — Congress, Thomas L. Harris; Representatives, Cyrus
Epler, E. B. Hitt, Cyrus Matthews; Sheriff, Isaac S. Hicks; Coroner, John Selby.
1859— Congress, John A. McClernard; Assessor, Thomas J. Caldwell; Surveyor,
Zenas F. Moody ; School Commissioner, John T. Springer,
1860 — Senator, Murray McConnel; Representatives, Isaiah Turney, A, G, Burr;
Sheriff, Edward Scott; C'rcuit Clerk, Charles Hardin; Coroner, Samuel 8. Davis,
1861 — Treasurer, James H. Lurton ; Surveyor, Wm, S, McPherson ; School Commis
sioner, John T, Springer ; County Clerk, John Trabue ; County Judge, Sidney 8, Duncan,
1862— Senator, Cyrus Epler ; Representative, John T, Springer ; Sheriff, Andrew J.
Bradshaw ; Coroner, Edwin C, Drew.
1868 — Circuit Clerk, B, F, Bristow ; Treasurer, J. H, Lurton ; School Commissioner,
S, M, Martin; Surveyor, W. 8, McPherson,
1864 — State's Attorney, Wm, Brown ; Sheriff, S, M, Palmer ; Circuit Clerk, Stephen
Sutton; Coroner, Field Sample; Senator, Murray McConnel; Representative, J. T.
Springer, 1865 — County Judge, H, G, Whitlock ; County Clerk, John Trabue ; School Super
intendent, S, M. Martin; Treasurer, J, H. Lurton; Surveyor, W, S, McPherson.
The hotel accommodations in Jacksonville were always sufficient for the demand of
the traveling public or transient boarders needs. The community has always been pe
culiarly a settled-in-housekeeping-one. In 1850 Mr, George W. Fox, Sr,, and wife be
came host and hostess at the "Morgan House," corner of North Main street and the
square. They changed its name to "Mansion," which title afterwards became "Park
Hotel," The Fox's managed the hostelry for eleven years leaving it with an unblem
ished record. The rival hotel on the square was the "Western''' on the west side of the
square, kept by the Chenery family, later of Springfield, until 1852, In 1857 Col, James
Dunlap's private dwelling on West State street was remodelled into a hotel and christ
ened "The Dunlap House," since then it has been the hotel of the city.
As to the local newspapers N. B. Walker attempted to publish a paper called the
Argus in 1859, but it soon breathed its last. During the presidential contest in 1860,
the Campaign Argument was edited by C, J, Sellon, In 1861-'62, Edward Trover, now
deceased, published a weekly paper called the Dispatch, but it was not long-lived.
From 1863 to 1867, Ifr. H, L, Clay, of the Carrolton Gazette was in our city as chief
clerk in the Provost Marshal's office, and ten years later was here as editor and part
owner of the Courier.
Gov, Bissell died March 18tli, 1860, and was succeeded by lieutenant-governor John
Wood, of Quincy,
En route home from the funeral of Gov, Bissell, the Quincy Guard, under command
of Capt, Morgan, stopped on the cars for a few minutes to visit the grave of Col, John
J. Hardin, The company marched through our streets to the Bast Cemetery, where ad
dresses were made by Capts, Morgan and Prentiss and Mr. Yates, The sash worn by
Prentiss was stained by the blood of Hardin, when he with Morgan, had assisted in pre
paring Hardin's body for burial, at Buena Vista, Upon returning to the depot to re-
embark, for Quincy, Capt, McConnel (Jno, L.) presented the Guard a handsome bouquet,
on behalf of some ladies. Our citizens then gave three cheers each for Morgan, Pren
tiss and the Guard, when the soldiers departed homeward.
As a sequence, probably, of the visit referred to above, the young men of Jackson
ville began to organize some military companies. The flrst was called the Hardin
Light Guards and chose C. H, Adams as captain, Tho second, or Union Guards, chose
James Dunlap as captain.
The Quincy Guard was here March 22d, 1860, our companies were organized the
week after, April 21, 1881, the Quincy Guard passed through Jacksonville to Spring
fleld, April 23, our two companies, the Hardin and Union Guards, foUowed, and all
three companies were at once sent to occupy Cairo, where, with others, they were or
ganized into the 10th Illinois infantry, with B. M, Prentiss as colonel, Jas, D. Morgan

Volunteers for the War for the Union, 159
as lieutenant-colonel, and Chas, H, Adams as major, Prentiss came home a major
general, as did Morgan : Adams became lieutenant-colonel, and many others from the
three companies were promoted rapidly and deservedly. Many of the boys went forth
never to return, but tears still are shed at mention of the names of our heroes, God
bless their memory!
The stories of the war of the Rebellion are always fresh, no matter how many times
they are told. The stories of the hardships and privations which they endured for
their country, and the glorious victories gained, have a charm which holds every true
American and makes him wish to hear them repeated again and again.
Morgan county was by no means deflcient in the number or bravery of her soldiers.
And among them are many who held high rank and did splendid service for their
country. The Daily Journal in 1883 gave its readers some extremely interesting in
terviews with veteran soldiers who took very prominent and interesting parts during
the war, and passed through many hairbreath escapes, and only by the best of good
fortune are with us to-day to do good work in civil life.
When the war flrst began there were six regiments mustered from this state for
three months' service. The first of these in which we find the name of an officer from
Morgan county is the Tenth Infantry Regiment of Illinois Volunteers, in which the
name of Charles H. Adams is enrolled as Captain of Company B. He was successively
promoted to Major and Lieutenant-colonel of the First Illinois Artillery. John W.
King, entered Company B of the same regiment as First Lieutenant and was promoted
to Captain. Thos. W, Smith entered as Second Lieutenant and was promoted to the
rank of First Lieutenant. McLean F. Wood was Captain of Company G, and re-entered
the three years service. James Mitchell was First Lieutenant and James F, Longley
was Second Lieutenant of the same company.
The Tenth Regiment was mustered into the United States service for three years
July 39, 1861, by Captain T, G, Pitcher, In Jan., 1862, it took part in a movement made
by General Grant to the rear of Columbus. On January 1, 1864, the regiment re-enlist
ed as veterans, and left Illinois for the field again in February, 1864, under command of
Col, John Tillson, They were mustered out of the United States service in July, 1865,
The first Morgan county man whose name appears on the roster of the Tenth Illinois
Volunteers after they were re-enlisted is that of McLean F. Wood, as Lieutenant-colonel,
his term expired January 12, 1865. Following this are the names of Oliver S. Pyatt,
Quartermaster, mustered out October 9, 1864; B. F. Price, of Meredosia, mustered out
July 4, 1865; John W. Craig, Asst. Surgeon; Chaplains Wm. H. Collins, resigned June
21, 1862, and Wm. B. Linell, resigned July 12, 1863; Captains of Company A, James F.
Longley, who was promoted to that position from First Lieutenant, and resigned Dec.
81, 1863; Charles Carpenter, of Meredosia, promoted from First Lieutenant and mus
tered out October 31, 1864, and Henry McGrath also promoted from First Lieutenant,
and mustered out July 5, 1865 ; First Lieutenants Robert Cromwell, of Meredosia, pro
moted from Second Lieutenant and mustered out July 4, 1865 ; Second Lieutenants
Otho D, Critzer, of Meredosia, resigned June 17, 1862, and James M. Swales, mustered
out (as Sergeant) July 5, 1865,
Company B Captains, Thomas W. Smith resigned June 3, 1862, Charles P. McEn-
ally, promoted from Second Lieutenant and mustered out October 28, 1864, and James
B, Shaw mustered out July 4, 1865 ; First Lieutenants, Wm. D. Green appointed A. A.
G, April 21, 1868 ; James B, Tait, promoted from Second Lieutenant and resigned Sep
tember 15, 1864; James A, Shaw, promoted from Second Lieutenant to Captain; Rob
ert Brown on detached service June 4, 1865 ; Second Lieutenant, James R, Graves mus
tered out June 4 1865.
The following extracts from a recent communication to a Springfield newspaper
by a member of the 10th, gives some facts as to the flrst Illinois Volunteers in the
War for the Union and Jacksonville's promptness in responding to the Governor's call :

160 The 10th, 14th, 27th, Regiments I. Y. Infantry.
On the 17th of April, 186 J , the Springfleld Grays' muster roll was Increased from 30
men by some 70 or 75 men and the organization completed.
On the 18th, a portion of the company and quartermaster's stores were transported
to Camp fates and a detachment of Springfleld Grays detailed to mount guard for the
night. On the 19th, Capt. Wyatt's company of Lincoln, (afterwards of the Seventh Regi
ment) arrived at Camp Yates.
On the 31st, two companies from Quincy (afterwards of the Tenth Regiment) ar
rived at Camp Yates.
On the 22d, two companies from Jacksonville (afterwards of the 10th regiment) ar
rived at Camp "JTates. On the afternoon of the same day Companies A and B, Quifflcy
Guards, the nardin Light Guards, of Jacksonville, the Union Guards, of Jacksonville
and Hopkins battery of light artillery departed for Cairo, after having been duly mus
tered into the state service by Adj-Gen. Mather, The Hardin Light Guards, of Jackson
ville, mentioned above, Capt, Chas. H, Adams, (afterwards Co, B, 10 111. Infy.) every
man of them enlisted on April 16, 1861, aud it is within tbe knowledge ot the undersigned
that on the next day (April 17th) Capt. Adams tendered the full company to the governor.
At the time of the departure of the Quincy and Jacksonville companies and Hopkins'
battery, the only troops left in Camp Yates was the company of Capt. Wyatt from Lin
coln. The companies named arrived at Cairo on the night of the 23d,; and at once entered
into active service — that is such active service as was demanded at, the post at that time —
which, however, was not very arduous, consisting principally of standing guard on the
levee, making cartridges (we had left Springfleld without a round of ammunition) and
trying to crowd about 25 meninto an eight-man wall tent.
'Within two days after we reached Cairo, a regimental organization was completed
and fleld officers chosen, and everything was ready for muster. But Capt. Pope came to
Springfleld and mustered thejregiments that were in camp there before going to Cairo, and
so we lost the number that priority of entry into service should have given us simply be
cause of such priority.
Wm. Cam, of Winchester, subsequently of this county, was lieutenant colonel in
Fourteenth Infantry, and Jas. H. Stewart was quartermaster of the same regiment and
was mustered out at consolidation. Wm, J, Rutledge was chaplain of the regiment ; he
is now chaplain of Joliet Penitentiary, Company I of the Fourteenth was made up at
Waverly and the following are the names of the officers : Captains, Jonathan Morris,
afterward promoted to major; John W, Meacham promoted from flrst lieutenant and
dismissed November 11, 1872 ; E, D, Ward promoted from first lieutenant and was
mustered out at consolidation ; L, W, Coe was first lieutenant and was mustered out at
consolidation. In Company K of the same regiment William Mason, of Exeter, was
second lieutenant and was mustered out at consolidation. The regiment was flrst
called into service for thirty days under the "Ten Regiment BiU" on May 4th, 1861,
For a time it rendezvoused in this city until it was mustered into the three years' ser
vice. They afterwards proceeded to Quincy and from there to Missouri. They took
an active part in the siege of Corinth, They also took an active part in the siege of
Vicksburg, The regiment was finally mustered out at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., Sept,
17, 1865, arriving at Springfield, 111,, Sept. 22d, where it received final payment and dis
charge. The aggregate number of men who belonged to this organization was
1,980, and the aggregate mustered out at Fort Leavenworth was 480, During its four
years and four months of arduous service, the regiment marched 4,490 miles, traveled
by rail 2,330, and by river 4,490 miles — making an aggregate of 11,670 miles.
The Twenty-seventh Infantry was organized with only seven companies, at Camp
Butler, 111,, Aug, 10, 1861, and ordered to Jacksonville as part of Brig. Gen, John A.
McClernand's Brigade, Sept. 1, 1861, ordered to Cairo, where the three remaining
companies joined.
Under Gen. McClernand it was engaged in the battle of Belmont, Nov, 7, 1861,
where it bore quite a prominent part, and lost severely. On the evacuation of Colum
bus, Ky., the regiment was sent to that point. On March 14, 1863, in company with the
Forty-second Illinois, Eighteenth Wisconsin, and part of the Second Illinois Light Ar
tillery, and Second Illinois Cavalry, it formed the "Mississsppi Flotilla," and started
down the Mississippi River, and remained during the siege of Island No, 10. The

The 27th, 33d, 34th and 101st Regiments I. Y, Inf. 161
Twenty-seventh was the flrst to land on the island. Was engaged in the siege of Cor
inth, and battle of Farmington, May 9, 1862,
It was with the advance from Nashville, and engaged in the battle of Stone River,
where it distinguished itself.
Sept, 3, 1863, the corps crossed the Tennessee and moved down towards Rome,
Georgia, below Chattanooga, and returned in time to take part in the battle of Chicka-
mauga, where the Twenty-seventh suffered severely. Was in Chattanooga during its
investment, and was engaged in storming of Mission Ridge, where it was noticed for its
good conduct. From Mission Riige, it went upon a forced march to the relief of
Knoxville, then closely pressed by Longstreet's corps.
Was engaged at Rock Face Ridge, May 9th, 1864 ; at Resaca, May 14th ; near Cal.
houn May 16th ; Adairsville May 17th ; near Dallas from May 26th to June 4th ; near
Pine Top Mountain from June 10th to 14th ; battle of Mud Creek June 18th ; in as
sault on Kenesaw Mountain June 27th ; skirmished about the vicinity of Chattanoochie
River ; was in the battle of Peach Tree Creek July 20th, and in the skirmishes around
Atlanta. The regiment was relieved from duty at the front August 25, 1864, and ordered to
Springfield, 111,, for muster out.
During its term of service the regiment had the following casualties : Killed
or died of wounds, 102; died by disease, 80; number of wounded, 328; discharged and
resigned, 209,
In Company K are the names of A, T, Bozarth and Lewis Hanback ; First Lieuten
ants, E, 8, Jones and Isaac Nash, both of Concord.
In the roster of the 29th Infantry is the name of James E. Dunlap as lieutenant
colonel of the regiment. He was mustered in August 19, 1861, and resigned March 14,
1862. The next names appear in the 83d Infantry, in Company K — Captains E, H, Twin
ing and Franklin Adams,
The Thirty-fourth Infantry was organized at Camp Butler by Col, E, N, Kirk, Sep
tember 7th, 1861, and moved to Lexington, Ky., and from thereto Louisville. December
22d they were mustered as a veteran organization. July 12th, 1865, they were mustered
out at Louisville, Ky, In this regiment Company G was partially composed of Morgan
county men: Captains — M, G. Greenwood, killed at Murphysboro, December 31, 1863 ;
Isaac Rawlings resigned June 19, 1863 ; James Hindman, of Liberty, entered as a sec
ond lieutenant and was promoted to captain and afterwards to major ; James Perkins,
of Arcadia, was promoted from flrst lieutenant to captain. The flrst lieutenants were
John Hindman, of Cross Roads, T, J. Carney, of Jacksonville, and I. V, Moore, of Liberty.
The second lieutenants were S. R. Cavender, of Arcadia, 8. C. Rawlings, of Jackson
ville, A. S. Crisler, of Shiloh Hill, and Henry Pratt of Monroe, In the Forty-fourth
Infantry the name of Wm. H, Miner appears as second lieutenant. He was mustered
out September 25th, 1865,
The 101st Illinois Infantry contained the largest number of Morgan county men.
It was recruited entirely in the county under the call made in the summer of 1862 ;
was mustered in Sept, 2, 1863, at Jacksonville; remained at Fair Grounds drilling, &c.,
until Oct, 6th when marching orders were received. On the 6th Cairo was reached
where guard duty was performed until the 35th.
Nov, 38th, it started on its flrst march, and on the 30th reached Lumpkins Mills,
six miles south of Holly Springs, where the regiment first heard the "clash of contend
ing arms" from the Tallahatchie River, six miles beyond. The regiment remained at
Lumpkin's Mills three days, when it received orders to return to Holly Springs, Mis-
issippi, for provost and garrison duty.
Dec. 13th, Co, A, Capt. John B. Lesage, was sent to Cairo with rebel prisoners.
Dec, 30th, Holly Springs was captured, and Companies B, C,.E, F, I, and the sick men
of Co. A, who had been left behind were taken prisoners and paroled. Soon after they

162 The Morgan Co. Regiment in the "War.
were sent to Memphis, thence to Benton Barracks, Mo,, where they remained until ex
changed in June 1868,
At the Holly Springs disaster, the men of this regiment on duty did all they
could under the circumstances. Another regiment was doing the picket duty, while
the One Hundred and First was in the town doing provost duty, and divided *bout the
town in squads, too small to make resistance to the overpowering numbers that sur
rounded them. Wherever the blame of this disaster shall rest, it surely should not at
tach itself to the One Hundred and First Illinois,
Sept, 24, 1863, the regiment received orders transferring it to the department of
the Cumberland, and started at once for Louisville, Ky., via Cairo and Sandoval, 111,,
and Mitchell and New Albany, Ind,, arriving in Louisville Sept. 27th, On the 30th,
it left Louisville via Nashville, and arrived at Bridgeport, Ala,, Oct. 2d, and remained
there until the 27th. This period of service is always referred to as a hard time, owing
to the severe rains and destitution of tents. In fact, most of the regiment was tentless
until the first of January following.
Oct, 37th, the regiment was temporarily assigned to the First Brigade, Third Di
vision, Eleventh Army Corps, and started on the march to the front, arriving next day
at Lookout Valley, where, on the night of its arrival, it participated in the night battle
of Wauhatchie, where by singular good fortune not a man was hurt. For nearly a
month following, the regiment lay encamped in the valley, exposed to a daily shelling
from Lookout Mountain, which, during that time, killed one man and wounded another,
Nov, 37th the regiment received marching, orders and proceeded to Chattanooga,
where it participated in the battle of Chattanooga, losing one man, killed. Immediate
ly after the battle, it was ordered to the relief of Knoxville and participated in that se
vere march ; and finally returned to Lookout Valley, Dec. 17th. Many of the men were
bare-footed, and in that condition had marched many a weary mile, over the frozen
ground and sharp rocks, even as their forefathers had done in revolutionary times,
leaving their blood to mark their steps.
Recruiting its strength in the valley for a few days, the regiment was then set to
work building corduroy roads ; after which, on the 1st of June, 1864, they were sent to
Kelley's ferry, to relieve tne Sixteenth Illinois, then about to return home on veteran
furlough. Here the regiment remained until the last of January, when upon the com
pletion of the railroad to Chattanooga, they were ordered to Bridgeport where they
went into camp, and quietly remained there until the 3d of May, when they started for
the front. May 10th it marched for Snake Creek gap, reached it next day and. held it
two days. On the 13th, having marched through the gap, the troups were ready for
^tion near Resaca, but were held in reserve all day. On the 14th, were again held in
reserve until 3 p. m., when they started on the double-quick for the left, which was
reached just in time for the brigade to render important service in the action then pro
gressing. During this engagement, it is said the One Hundred and First was ordered
to take a hill in front of it, which it did in so gallant a style as to win the admiration
of Gen, Hooker, who happened to be standing near, and who cheered the troops with
the encouraging shout of "go in, my Illinois boys," The next day afternoon it was or
dered forward, and at four o'clock while in column, was charged by a rebel force. Both
officers and men of the regiment conducted themselves gallantly and rendered valuable
services, losing one man killed, six mortally wounded, and forty wounded left. Again
on the 35th it got into a heavy fight at the New Hope church. Among the wounded
at this place, were Adj. Padgett, Lieut. Hardin, and Lieut, (afterward Capt.) Belt, who
subsequently died of wounds.
After this the regiment bore an honorable part in the various manoeuvers around
Kenesaw and Pine mountains, losing one killed and five or six wounded. After the
rebels evacuated Kenesa-w, was engaged in the pursuit, and on the 6th of July, took
possession on Chattahoochie Heights, where the regiment remained eleven days,
July 17th, crossed the river, and on the 30th just after crossing Peach Tree Creek,

Col. Grant's Soldiers in 1861. 163
the rebels assailed the corps with terrible force. Forming line under flre, the enemy
was held at bay, and their charges repelled until 8 p, m,, when he abandoned the attack
and returned to their f ortiflcations. In this engagement flve were killed and forty-flve
wounded. Among the killed was Capt, Thos. B. Woof, The morning report next
morning, showed only one hundred and twenty effective men for duty, having left
Bridgeport with three hundred and sixty-five men, August 25th, it was ordered back
to Chattahoochie bridge, which the corps was to guard, while the rest of the army
swung into the rear of Atlanta, Sept, 2d, the regiment was on a reconnoissance, and claims
the honor of having been the first regiment that entered Atlanta, Ga., after its fall, which
occurred on the second anniversary of its muster into service. It remained in Atlanta
until the destruction of the place — most of the time having charge of the fire department.
Nov. 15th, started on the "grand march," and participated in all its glories, its
trials and its triumphs ; and whether as an advance guard, driving rebel cavalry before
it, or as rear guard pulling wagons out of the mud, or corduroying roads, or unfathom
able mud-holes, the One Hundred and First Illinois always did its duty so well as to
win high commendations from its brigade and division commanders. The story of
that march is about the same for all regiments, and need hardly be repeated. The reg
iment reached Savannah and entered the place Dec. 22d, 1864,
Jan. 17th, 1865, crossed over into South Carolina, and went through the great cam
paign of the Carolinas, participating in the battles of Ayersboro and Bentonville, losing
only one man, wounded, March 24th, entered Goldsboro, and on the 18th of April en
tered Raleigh, where the regiment remained until the final surrender of the rebel army
after which, on the 30th, it started overland for Richmond, Va , which was reached
May Sth; there it remained until the 11th, when it marched through Richmond and
took up the line of march for Alexandria, where it arrived on the 19th,
May 24th, participated in the "grand review," and then went into camp at Bladens-
burg, where on the 7th of June it was mustered out, and started for Springfield, where,
on the 31st of June, it was paid off and disbanded,
Morgan county furnished 2,732 soldiers for the Union Army, as shown by official
records in the State Adjutant General's office.
Among the regiments in which were volunteer soldiers from Morgan were the 10th,
14th, 16th, 18th, 20th, 21st, 23d, 26th, 27th, 28th, 39th, 31st, 32d, 38d, 34th 36th, 38th,
39th, 41st, 43d, 44th, 45th, 50th, 53d, 54th, 56th, 57th, 58th, 61st, 68th, 74th, 76th, 87th,
91st, 94th, 95th, 101st, 105th, 113th, 115th, 129th, 133d, 145th, 154th, 155th, Infantry; .Sd,
6th, 8th, 9th, 13th, 16th, cavalry; 1st, 2d, artillery; 29th (colored) infantry; 13th colored
infantry. There were 179 volunteers from this county in Missouri regiments, and 152
in regiments of other states.
Up to March, 1864, the county had a surplus credit of 141 over all calls for volun
teer defenders of the Union.
As one of the incidents of the war period, was the passage through the city of an
Illinois regiment with that brave and loyal, but stern, little man at its head, who had
just received his colonel's commission from Governor Yates, but who afterwards re
ceived at Appomattox the swords, whose surrender indicated the collapse of the great
rebellion. July 3d, 1861, the 21st Illinois Infantry, with Colonel Ulysses S. Grant in command,
broke camp at Springfleld, Illinois, and took up the line of march for Quincy, Illinois.
Transportation by rail had been offered, but Colonel Grant said his men would
soon have to learn to march, and the arts and sciences of camp life, etc.,
had also to be learned, and the sooner they were properly initiated the better, for the
boys will all remember the new accoutrements and knapsacks had been issued the day
before, and notwithstanding tbe knapsacks were large, still not one of them would con
tain half the accumulations of the forty flve days previous, and right well Col, Grant
knew this; hence the easiest, and in fact the only way to teach the boys tbe flrst princi
ples and proper condition of a soldier in perfect marching order was to put him on the
road, when a very little experience would soon induce him to dispense with all extras,
confining himself to the smallest amount of wants as a soldier, and they are few, espe
cially on the march. How light and comfortable apparently were these knapsacks at

164 Grant's Discipline — Mexico's Whisky.
2 o'clock in the afternoon, and how heavy at 5 o'clock that evening, after a march of
only four miles from Camp Yates, at Springfleld,
Transportation wagons gathered up all over the country and driven by their owners
were in abundance; and it was well, for when the regiment halted but few soldiers had
their knapsacks on, but the wagons as they came in looked more like the baggage wagons
of a first-class circus or menagerie than anything else. The lesson was taught All ex
tra clothing, etc,,— ^and almost every soldier had a spare suit, with several changes of
shirts — was bundled, labeled and sent to friends at home.
The next day was the glorious old Fourth. 'The boys were feeling good and marched
along lively. The people along the road and far in advance, had heard of their coming.
A great dinner was spread with all the delicacies of the season, fit only for the lords of
creation and not for soldiers; so thought Col. Grant. A committee appointed for the
purpose met the advance column and informed the colonel what had been done for the
"soldier boys," but Grant thanked them kindly, and said his men might be permitted to
march on either side of the long lines of tables and see what good things tbe kind ladies
of the country had brought them, but not one mouthful should they eat. Imagine, if
you please, the feelings of a thousand half-fed soldiers, who had not seen or tasted a
good square meal for nearly two months. Deep and bitter curses were uttered by those
new made soldiers, and at one time it was thought they would rebel and disobey their
commander; but a sober second thought convinced them that their colonel was right, for
as he told the committee, "If I permit these men to go to those tables they will not exer
cise proper discretion, but will fill themselves with the good things, and the result will
be that I shall be unable to move the regiment at all to-morrow, as they will all be sick, "
The regiment went into camp on our fair grounds on the evening of the Fourth.
Col. Grant took a position at the entrance gate to watch the soldiers as they passed
through and to see that none of tliem carried whisky with them. The first to be halted
was old Johnny Hanks, or more familiarly known as "Uncle Johnny." who was a boon
companion of ex President Lincoln in his rail- splitting days. "Uncle Johnny" was
seated high on one of the wagons and feeling unusually good, when Col. Grant said,
"Uncle Johnny, you have a bottle of whisky up there, I want it." Uncle Johnny looked
at the colonel but a moment, when he discovered that famous determination visible upon
his countenance, and at once brought forth the treasured prize and handed it reluctantly
to him, when he immediately dashed it against the post on the opposite side breaking it
to pieces. The next to run the gauntlet was an old Mexican soldier who went by the
name of "Mexico," and who had gone through the Mexican war with Grant, and was
well-known by him. When he arrived at the gate he brought his gun from a "right
shoulder shift arms" to a "shoulder," and saluted the colonel in the usual manner as he
attempted to pass, but the colonel halted him and said: "Mexico, you have whisky;
hand it over." Mexico denied the charge, but Col. Grant insisted that he had, and told
to give him his gun, which he did. The colonel pulled the tampion out, turned the gun
up, and sure enough it was full of Jacksonville's best. The gun was passed back by the
colonel, with the remark, quietly, that the trick was an old one, and would do to play on
new soldiers but not on old ones. Mexico proved a source of annoyance, aud Grant sum
marily and without warning discharged bim, at Quincy, 111,, and told him if he was ever
found within the lines of the Twenty-flrst again he would have him arrested and confined
to the end of hostilities. This was the last of Old Mexico.
On the 5th, being Saturday, they reached Naples, remaining in camp over Sunday,
and on Monday crossed the river and went beyond some five miles, when orders were re
ceived to return and take the cars for Quincy, 111., landing there on the 9th, crossing the
Mississippi that evening. On the 33d, the regiment went by rail to Mexico, Mo., and re
mained until the 6th of August, when Col, Grant was commissioned Brig. Gen.
No better idea can be given of the part the county played in the bloody drama of
the War for the Union than by the roll of pensioners — the names of those who incurred
disease, lost limb, or whose near relatives laid down their lives for their country. This
list was furnished the Journal by Public Printer Rounds in October, 1883.
ALEXANDER,
Spencer, Major W,, wounded left thigh $2.
Baker, Francis M,, wounded left breast, $4,
Brown, Richard, wounded right foot, $18,
Ferguson, Anthony, chronic diarrhoea, $4, June, 1882,
Carter, Wm. D,, pneumonia pleurisy, adhesion, $8, July, 1882,
Harris, John, wounded left shoulder, $6, August, 1879.
ARCADIA.
Diover, Joseph, wounded left foot, $6,

The Roll of Honor. 165
Angeline, Henderson, widow, $8,
Saffley, Elizabeth, dependent mother, $8, April, 1865.
Bridgeman, Virginia, widow, $8.
Rodgers, Catharine, widow, $8.
bethel.
Sullius, Mary L., dependent mother, $8, July, 1864.
CHAPIN
Osgood, Charles H., wounded right shoulder, $8.50.
Cunningham, James D., disorder of stomach and rheumatism, $6, January, 188J
McCormick, James, gun-shot wound left leg, $2, December, 1881.
Ayers, Theophilus, gun-shot wound left thigh, $4, June, 1882.
Vance, Nancy, dependent mother, $8, June, 1879.
West, Jane, widow, $8.
Evans, Rebecca Jane, widow, $8.
Heiser, John, gun-shot wound riglit thigh, $6.
Perkins, Caroline W., widow, $8. CONCORD.
Whorton, Joseph W,, wounded left shoulder, f8
Wise, Frederick, chronic rheumatism, $6.
Lewis, Joseph B,, wounded right side, $4
Moss, Benjamin F,, loss left leg, S24
Hatfield, William M,, disorder of throat and lungs, $6, June, 1882,
Hickel, Charles, chronic diarrhoea and disorder of liver, $4, April, 1883.
Ater, John J., injury to abdomen, $8, February, 1880.
Roach, Harriet, dependent mother, f 8
Mulligan, Nancy C, widow $13, July, 1880.
Leonard, Levina R., widow, $8, January, 1879,
PBANKLIN,
Anderton, Margaret, widow, $8.
Duncan, Adahne G., widow, $30,
Wright, Keziah, widow, $8, March, 1879.
Weatherford, Mary A,, $15, June, 1859.
McKeen, Amanda, widow, $8.
Hill, James H., chronic diarrhcea, disorder of abdomen vis., $17, November 1881,
Snyder, Geo. W., gunshot wound left shoulder, $2, April, 1883.
Wyatt, James L., chronic diarrhoea, dyspepsia, $4, August, 1880.
Jones, Curtis J., gun shot wound left clavicle, $4, June, 1883.
Roberts, James A,, injury to left knee, $2, December, }881.
Suflet, James W., disorder of eyes, $12, April, 1879,
Whitlock, Alexander, disorder of lungs, $8, May, 1881,
Bunch. Benj. H,, chronic diarrhoea, rheumatism, disorder heart, $4, March, 1882,
Dougherty, James R , partial blindness, $8
Sargent, John T , loss right leg, $18.
Dougherty, John C, gun-shot wound left leg, $8, December, 1877.
JAOKSONVILLB,
Gibbons, Julia A,, widow, $8.
Babbitt, Sarah, dependent mother, $8, June, 1881,
Davenport, Sally, dependent mother, October, 1867,
Dalton, Mehitable, dependent mother, $8, July, 1866,
DeFrates, Joaquina, dependent mother, $8, June, 1880.
Vasconcellos, Maria, widow, $8.
Seegar, Sarah A., widow, $8.

166 U. S. Pensioners — tTACKSONviLLB List.
Stuart, Mary A,, widow, $8.
Seaver, Charlotte, widow, $13.
Smith, Annie E. widow, $30.
Brwin, Mary A., widow, $13, October, 1883.
English, Kate W., widow, $19, January, 1878.
Sprague, Joshua, $8, June, 1878.
Samuel, Lewis, $8, May, 1881.
Jordan, John, $8, August, 1877.
Graves, Lydia F,, widow, $8, January, 1879,
Denny, Phebe, widow, $8, February, 1879,
Sample, Sarah, widow, $8, March, 1879,
Rearick, EmmaF,, widow, $8, September, 1878.
Martin, Lucinda, widow, $10.
McElroy, Harriet, widow, $8,
Peebles, Elizabeth J,, widow, $8,
Wood, Emily E,, widow, $33.
Higgs, Susannah, dependent mother, $8, August, 1866.
Heimlick, Christina, widow, $8.
Bingham, John, minor of, $10.
Common, James, minor of, $13, May, 1880,
Martin, Bliza, dependent mother, $8, December, 1879,
McDaniel, Mary, dependent mother, $8, February, 1867.
Nishswonger, Louisa, dependent mother, $8, August, 1865.
Lane, MaryE., widow, $20, September, 1880,
Rodrigues, Antonia, dependent mother, $8, March, 1880,
Minnan, Ann, widow, $30, April, 1864,
Kislingbury, Annie J,, widow, $8, Novemiier, 1882.
Goodrick, Elijah A., gun-shot wound left arm, ankle, $4, September, 1882.
Glen, Geo. R., gun-shot, wouni left arm. right thigh, $4, July, 1883,
Angel, David, scurvy and disease of kidneys, $4, Octoljer, 1888.
Wingler, John, injury to abdomen, $6, December, 1882.
Keefe, Jeremiah O., injury right leg var. veins, $8, October, 1880
Cheeney, Samuel P., gun-shot wound right thigh, $4, February, 1883.
Peake, John W,, shell wound left thigh, $4,'Pebruary, 1881.
Ferguson, Champion, disease of right knee, f p, April, 1879.
Fox, Chas. H., typhoid fever, spinal irritation, $30, January, 1881.
DeFrates, Emanuel, gun-shot wound right leg, $4, September, 1878.
DeFrates, Justin, wound right side, $1, June, 1880.
Bruce, Robert C, disease of abdominal viscera, $7.50, November, 1882.
Doyle, Patrick, var. veins both legs, $18, March, 1878.
Panary, John, disease of lungs, $4, October, 1882.
King, Wm, H. H,, fractured left leg, $6, June, 1881.
Mosely, Frank A., exostotis right tibia, 4, July, 1883.
Cassell, Harrison O., injury to abdomen, $8.50, July, 1878
Clay, Henry, wound left leg, $1, April, 1880.
Cline, Henry, chronic diarrho»a, $3, January, 1882.
Spelman, Byron T,, chronic diarrhoia, $15, November, 1882.
Sample, Charles, chronic diarrhoea, $10, November, 1883.
Henderson, Oliver P., wound left shoulder, $6, July, 1880.
Humphrey, Wm. T,, disease of bowels, $8. June, 1880.
Lyons, Chas. C, g s wd right arm and shoulder, wd left forearm, $2, Oct , 1888,
Lamb, Lafayette, wound forearm, $4, July, 1879,
Swales, James M,, debility and disease of abdomen viscera, $6, May, 1883.
-Sorrels, James W,, injury hip, $2, June, 1878,
Brown, Daniel R,, gun-shot wound right forearm and elbow, $6, October, 1882,

U. S. Pensioners from Jacksonville. 167
Bohan. Dennis, wound right arm and left side of neck, $4, April, 1879.
Schoen, Egge, gun-shot wound left arm, $6, March, 1881,
Baptist, Sanders, gun-shot wound of back, part paral lower extremities, $8,
Donaldson, Richard, wound right hand, $4,
Reed, Thos. J., wound left hand, $4
May, Horace E., rheumatism right knee, $15.
Kershaw, Albert, gun-shot wound lower part spinal vertebra, $6.
Davenport, Wm, W., chronic rheumatism, $50, February, 1881,
DeSueza, Emanuel, fractured lefl side, $18.
DeFreitas, Gregory, wound right shoulder, $8
Fanning, Geo. W., disease of lungs, $20.
Dickens, Wash M., disease of eyes, $24.
Jackson, Jobn, wound left leg, $18,
Crain, Hiram, loss right leg, $18.
Cook, James, loss right leg, $18.
Stout, Jacob, wound right leg, $18.
Miner, wound left scalpula, injury to abdomen, $8.
Smith, Joseph, wound left leg, $4,
Barrick, Jesse, chronic diarrhoea and rheumatism, $8
Poe, Barney W., wd r arm an forearm, injury to abdomen, chronic diarrhoea, $13.
Nunes, Patrick, wound left groin and lefl leg, $6.
¦Windsor, Jesse, blindness, $73
Riggs, Taylor C, wound lefl side, $262f
Christian, John, total blindness, $72.
Poisal, Henry K., wound right hand, $2
Patterson, L. A,, fractured left leg, $4,
Harper, John S., sunstroke and nervous debility, $14,
Hamilton, James O,, chronic diarrhea, $6
Allen, Wm. H., wounded cranium, $18
Matthews, Lewis, wounded back and hip, $8
Metcalf, Marion L , wound left leg, disease of brain, result of sunstroke, $14.
Matthews, Richard T, , wound left shoulder and left breast, $6,
Sampson, John W., lumbago and chronic rheumatism, $6, June 1881.
Perry, Elzra H., chronic rheumatism, $15.
Smith, Wm., gun.shot wound right hip, $12.
Bates, Edwin D., gun-shot wound left hip, $8.
Warren, Charles, injury to abdomen, $8.
Atkins, Lizzie E., widow, $18, March 1880.
Bird, Samuel W , gun-shot wound left leg, $6, August 1875.
Shoulders, Wesley, chronic bronchitis, $15, September 1882,
liter.
Liter, George B,, wound of left leg, $10,
Petefish, Aaron W,, wound right thigh, $8, June 1880,
Johnson, John H., lumbago, $4, April 1880,
Coe, Alfred, gun-shot wound head and left ear and right foot, |4, December 1881.
Settle, Edward, variose veins of left leg, $4, June 1881.
Ratclifte, Richard A,, rheumatism and disorder of liver and kidneys, $6, Oct, 1888,
lynnville.
Murray, Alexander, wound left arm, $2,
meredosia,
Buckner, Charles P., gun-shot wound right shoulder blade and left arm, $(>.
Luger, John C, loss left a] r $34.
Hyatt, Thomas, loss third figure left hand, $2, June 1879.
Hawksham, James, wounded in face, $6, April 1878,

168 U. S. Pensioners from Morgan County.
Hillig, Frederick A., gun-shot wound thigh, $6, August 1882.
Watson, Lettitia, widow, $8, April 1866.
Weathers, Precious, widow $8.
Naylor, Elizabeth A., widow, $16, May 1881.
Mathews, Susannah, widow, $8, February 1879
Smith, Henry, gun-shot wound left leg, $4, May 1881.
Tauter, August, wound left leg, $6.
murrayville.
Slaughter, Silas 6., chronic diarrhea injury to abdomen, $10,
McKean, Samuel, chronic rheumatism, $8,
Bush, John G,, wound left leg, $2.
McNabb, David, disabled right eye, $4, February 1881.
Wade, Isaac R., injury to right hip, $2, December 1882.
Hopper, Eliza E., dependent mother, January 1865.
NEBLYVILLE.
Chapman, Christ C, wounded left forearm, $2, October 1876.
Rogers, Armilla A., widow, $8.
Lansing, Orrin, wounded right arm and breast, injured left arm, $8
ORLEANS.
Cox, Lucy H., $8, February 1879.
Cully, James, disease of lungs, $4, March 1881,
PRENTICB.
Tilford, Nancy, widow, $15, December 1864,
Williams, Edward, $8, February 1873,
Whitton, Jesse, minor of, $10,
Karney, Franklin, $4, May 1883, SINCLAIR,
Wilson, George, disease of lungs, $13, September 1881,
Fox, Elisha T,, wounded left buttock, $«,
Brown, James R,, wounded right hand, $4,
WAVERLY,
Hunt, Charles, wounded right leg, $8,
Hardin, John, loss left leg, $18.
Talkington, John W„ wounded right thigh, $6,
Weatherford, Jonas, wounded right arm, $18.
Narr, Henry, wounded left arm and left foot, $6,
Lindsay, Wm. D,, wounded chest and injury to abdomen.
Church, Thomas E,, chronic rheumatism, $6
PuUian, Maria, widow, $8; May 1881,
Vanhise, Catharine, widow, $8,
Brown, Cassandra, widow, $8, April 1879,
Anderson, Lucy, widow, $8, February 1879,
Gary, Lydia J., widow, $8.
Hazzard, Annette, widow, $12, May 1876.
Lybarger, Esther J., widow, $8, August, 1879,
Twiner, Isaac W,, chronic diarrhea, $4, July 1881.
Holmes, George T., disease of eyes, $2, December 1880,
Harris, James M,, disease of eyes, $6, June 1883,
Burnet, Moses, chronic diarrhea, $4, December 1882.
Maginn, John C, injury to left side, $8, July 1881,
Dikes, William, loss right index finger, $3, June 1878,
Henderson, John, gun-shot wound of right side head, $4, January 1882,
Ferguson, Francis M,, variose veins of right leg, $12, October 1879,

U. S. Pensioners — Unconditional Union Tickets.

169

Kimber, Aloozo L., chronic diarrhoea, $8 50, September 1879.
Hairgrove, Wm. J., chronic diarrhoea, $4, January 1881.
Bradway, James, chronic diarrhoea, $6, June 1883.
Van Winkle, Alexander, gun-shot wound right thigh, variose veins and dropsy, I
Jones, Timothy, injury to abdomen, $8,
Merwin, Isaac N., loss of eye, $4,
Rice, John F., disease of spine, $13,
Miller, Joseph K., disease of eyes, $8.
Roach, James F., injury to abdomen, $4,
Coard, Frank M., chronic diarrhoea, $6,

Shelton, Stephen G , chronic diarrhoea and disontery of abdominal viscera, $6.
Henry, Edwin R,, wound of head, $6,
Seegar, James W,, blindness, $73.
Butcher, John, gun shot wound of throat, $3, June 1882,
Self, James F„ chronic diarrhoea and dis. of abdominal vis. $4, September 1880.
Clerihan, James R,, chronic diarrhoea, $4, June 1882,
Sloan, Catharine, widow, $8, February 1867,
As illustrative of the home feeling in favor of the Union while the war was in
progress, and of rewarding the soldier boys by election to local offices after their return
from the war, we append two county tickets, (1861 and 1865) :

UNCONDITIONAL UNION CANDIDATES.
(Nominated by the Unconditional Union Con
vention, September 28, 1861.

For Congress,
MURRAY McCONNEL.
[Subject to tbe decision of the Unconditional
Union Convention to be held In the city ol Spring-
Held, October 16tb, 1S61.]
For Delegate to Convention,
ISAAC L, MORRISON,
For County Judge,
HARVEr ROUTT.
For Associate Justices,
D. C. CALLEN,
B. W. GUNN.
For County Clerk,
MATTHEW STACY,
For Assessor and Treasurer,
CHARLES SAMPLE,
For School Commissioner,
SAMUEL M, MARTEN.
For County Surveyor,
WILLIAM LYNN.

MORGAN COUNTY UNION TICKET-1866.

For Judge of County Court,
CAPTAIN H. G. WHITLOCK,
For Associate Justices,
CAPTAIN J. M. LANE,
LIEUT, JOHN HARDIN,
For County Clerk,
CAPTAIN HORACE CHAPIN.
For Assessor and Treasurer,
CAPTAIN WYLLY8 MEACHAM.
For School Commissioner,
LIEUT, WM. L ENGLISH.
For County Surveyor,
PRIVATE JOSIAH BARROWS

CHAPTER X,— 1866-'78,
Jacksonville Incorporated as a City — Conservatory of Music and Oak Lawn Retreat
Founded — City Waterworks Constructed — The Murder of Gen. McConnel — Mur
der Trials — New Societies— School for Feeble Minded.
HIS period was quite an interesting one to the churches, schools and business
interests of the city. The population reached over nine thousand, and the pres
ent city charter was adopted, (1867,) the Conservatory of Music, Oak Lawn
Retreat, the State Asylum for the Feeble Minded were founded and incorpora
ted, and our splendid system of city waterworks begun and completed.
In 1857, Rev. R. W. Allen, formerly pastor of the Pisgah Presbyterian Church, of
Kentucky, took charge of the Central Presbyterian church as stated supply. Having
received a unanimous call to the pastorate, Mr. Allen was installed December 5, 1858,
and continued his faithful labors until May, 1867, when he resigned. After Mr. Allen's
resignation, the church was without a pastor for two years, during which time they
were dependent upon transient supplies for preaching, with the exception of six months,
when they enjoyed the very efficient labors of Rev. R. J. L. Matthews, formerly of Van
dalia. Eleven persons were added to their membership in that time. The foundation
of their present church edifice was laid in the autumn of 1870, and the building was en
closed the following summer. The first Sabbath of January, 1871, they entered upiin
the occupancy of their new lecture room.
In May 1869, Rev. W. W. Harsha, D. D., was called from the South Presbyterian
Church, Chicago. He was born in West Hebron, Washington county, N, Y. He re
ceived his collegiate education in Union College, Schenectady, N. Y. He studied law,
but shortly after entering upon the practice, changed his profession and entered the
ministry, in connection with the Associate Presbyterian Church. Joined the Old
School Church in 1854. He commenced his ministry in Galena, in 1846. His pastoral
charges have been at Galena, Hanover, Savanna, Dixon, Chicago and Jacksonville. He
received the degree of Doctor of Divinity in 1872, from Fulton College, Missouri, of
which institution Rev. Dr. Price was at the time president. On going to Dixon, in
1855, he founded the presbyterian institution, known as the Dixon Collegiate Institute,
and acted for some years as its president. He continued as pastor of the Central
Church for fifteen years, resinging in June 1884 to accept the presidency of Belleview
College, Nebraska.
At the beginning of this term of years Rev. James G. Roberts was the pastor of the
Congregationalists. He was succeeded, in 1869, by Rev. Wm. H. Savage, now of Bos
ton, and he in turn, in 1875, by Rev. Eli Corwin, D. D., now in Racine, Wisconsin.
The First Presbyterian congregation lost their church edifice by fire in December,
1861. Its successor was dedicated January 5, 1867. In the interval, worship was held
in Strawn's Hall. Preparations to build were commenced in the Autumn of 1863. The
porner stone of the new edifice was laid with appropriate ceremonies Aug. 4, 1864. The
Lecture and Sunday School rooms were set apart to their appointed use June 28, 1866.
The dedication of the building, as a whole, took place as stated above. The day was
propitious, and the exercises appropriate and of great interest. The pastor was aided
by Rev. James G. Roberts of the Congregational Church, Rev. S. A. Kingsbury of the
Baptist Church, Rev. Robert W. Allen of the Second Presbyterian Church, and Rev. W.
F. 't'hi.llips of the Methodist Church. The dedicatory prayer was offered by Rev. Mr.
Allen, The music was of a high order of style and adaptation.

172 Churches and T. M. C. Association. / ^^ ^^
The building was of the Romanesque style of architecture, from designs by W. W.
Boyington, the masonry work and ornamental plastering were by Howard & Thompson.
the carpenter work by Hugh Wilson, the painting and graining by McDonnell & Right-
mire, the glazing by George A. Misch, the upholstering of seats by George W. Graves,
and the gothic chair for pulpit by Jacob Braun. The entire cost of the building,
including clock, (by the city) bell and furnishings (by the, Ladies' Sewing Circle,) was
$60,000, and the estimated value of the property, including ground, $75,000. A debt
of $6,000 was provided for before dedication.
The new and capacious cathedral for the Roman Catholics of the county was com
pleted about 1866, and including the school and convent property is worth about
$65,000. The church was dedicated by Archbishop Purcell, of Cincinnati, Ohio. The
parsonage, now used for the school, was built about two years after the completion of
the church. The school is under the control of the Sisters of the Order of St. Dominic
and is supported by the congregation. It is conducted ten months in the year.
In 1867, Trinity (Episcopal) Church edifice was remodeled and greatly improved,
at a cost of some $16,000, by the addition of a recess chancel at the south end and an
extension of thirty feet, with tower and spire to the north end, stained glass windows
and heightening of roof and ceiling.
Another "Christian" church was organized in the old Court House, in 1866, by
twelve persons, adherents of that denomination. Among them were Workman Cully,
L. B. Ross, Charles E. Russell and Hiram Smedley and their families. Rev. J. E,
Wright was the pastor, and continued to serve them until 1869 or 1870, They occupied
the Court House until the completion of their house of worship, on South Main Street,
in 1868. The pastors succeeding Rev. Wright were Revs. J. J. Summerbell, C, W.
Garoutte and P, W, Sinks.
As is well known pne of the most successful christian and philanthropic institutions
of the city is the Young Men's Christian Association, whose fine building attests the
estimation in which its usefulness is held by the public. Robert D. Russell tells the
story of its origin, or the first attempt to inaugurate the movement for a city Y. M. C. A. :
"During the month of May, 1870, the City of Jacksonville, Illinois, was visited by
Mr, Weidensall, agent of the National Young Men's Christian Association with a view to
the formation of a local branch," The first meeting was held on the 89th of May, 1870,
Up lo December 33d, 1870, four meetings was held. So far as the record discloses, the
only business transacted at these meetings was the adoption of a Constitution and By-
Laws, and the election of officers. This last item of business occurred at three different
meetings. First, temporary officers were elected at the organization meetings, then of
ficers to serve until November, then the annual election the flrst Thursday in November.
On the 23d of December, 1870, the last meeting of this first association was held. The
record reads as follows:
"A called meeting of tbe Association was held at C. M, Barnes' book-slore this morn
ing. President DeMotte presiding. On motion it was decided to have Prof. G, W. Brown
examine the subscription list for library and reading room, and after returning the por
tion to subscribers which he thought best, to pay the balance of money in the treasury to
the president of the Ladies Benevolent Association. On motion the Jacksonville Young
Men's Christian Association adjourned sine die."
For the history of this society's successful successor, see next chapter.
The Soule. Chapel Congregation (Methodist Episcopal South) is very small at, pres
ent and does not support a regular ministry. Among its constituent members were B.
B. Hitt, S. S. Spurgeon, Silas Veitch, Mrs: Becraft, James -Gravan and D. G, McCoy.
The congregation had a very neat house of worship on East College street which cOst
about $5.,000. .. ¦¦¦ ¦.•.¦¦¦, • ¦ -, , ¦¦¦¦.¦.¦.¦••
-The compilerof this volume,, then "Ye Local". of , the fiaily Journal, .said, in; April,
1867 of the churches of Jacksonville: , •-- - '¦ • .¦-,-•¦.  ¦• .....
"Hand in hand with a love of education goes the love of worshipping God. The
founders and patrons of institutions of learning are God fearing, God serving men and
women. The Athens ot the West almost deserves the title of the city of churches, for
her churches will attract any one's attention, from their number and prominence, seven-

The Churches in 1867 — The Daily Journal. 178
teen houses of worship are already erected, many of them beautiful in appearance, and
two more church societies are about to build sanctuaries for themselves,
Presbyterian. — This denomination has now five edifices completed. The First
church, (new school) which was organized in 1827, with only a dozen members, and now
has two hundred and fifty upon its rolls, with three hundred children in its Sabbath school,
has just dedicated the finest church building in the stale, a brick structure, built in mod
ern style, with organ, stained glass widows, immense auditorium, &c. Rev. Dr. L. M.
Glover, pastor. The Westminster church, (new school) has just been completed by the
erection of a bell tower, and furnished with organ, altar, frescoed walls, &c. The so
ciety wns organized in 1860, with thirty-five members, now has one huudred and forty-
one, with Dr. D. H. Hamilton as pastor and a flourishing Sabbath school of one hundred
scholars. The Second church, (old school) was organized in 1838, having then twenty-
one members, which have since increased in number to one hundred and twenty. Their
house of worship was erected in 1840, Rev. R, W, Allen is at present the pastor, with
T, G. Taylor, Esq,, as superintendent of the Sunday school of eighty pupils. The Por
tuguese colonists in Jacksonville have two Presbyterian societies, each with a neat and
commodious church. The flrst society was organized in 1849, built its church in 1852, and
now has one hundred and thirty members, with Rev, A DeMattos, pastor, Tbe second
congregation was originally with the former, but re-organized in 1858, erecting a house
in 1864, Rev. Robert Lennington is in charge. Over three hundred children are in their
two Sabbath schools.
The Methodists are the next in number of churches, having four flnished and one
soon to be constructed. The west charge now has three hundred and thirteen members
though organized only as far back as 1850, Rev. James Lealon, pastor. The east charge
have not yet moved into their new buiding, which is about finished, but are worshipping
in the house erected in 1839. They have two hundred and fifty members, with Rev, Dr,
Phillips as pastor. The south charge are now procuring subscriptions for the building of
a church. The German and African Methodists each have a meeting house, each socieiy
consisting of about sixty members, and carrying on Sabbath schools The former society
was organized in 1856, the latter in 1842,
The Baptists have two churches. The flrst was organized in June, 1841, dedicated
their large brick ediflce in 1857, and at present have over two hundred members. The
Rev. 8. A. Kingsbury is the pastor. One hundred and fifty scholars are in their Sunday
school. The other society is the African with one hundred and three members and Rev ¦
A. W. Jackson as pastor. Their Sabbath school consists of fifty members.
The Christian denomination have two societies, one with a commodious building,
erected in 1847 and two hundred and forty communicants. The church numbered eighty
when organized in 1832. Elder Enos Campbell is the present pastor. The other society
has lately organized, and is under the charge of the Rev. J. E. Wright. They are now
making efforts to erect a building for their Sabbath use.
The Congregationalists have a spacious church in a beautiful part of the city, well
furnished. Rev. James G. Roberts is their pastor. They have a membership of one hun
dred and ninety, with one hundred and fifty in the Sabbath school. Their present house
was dedicated in 1850. Their flrst place of worship (1833) was a log cabin, the flrst reg
ular church was built in 1835 and since known as Union Hall.
I'he Episcopalians have one ediflce. Trinity church. Dr. T. N . Morrison, rector.
Number of members, eighty. The society was organized in 1832, and the church erected
four years later. The building is to be entirely remodeled this spring.
The German Lutherans were organized into a church society eleven years ago. They
now have twenty members, a neat church and fifteen Sabbath school scholars. Rev.
Francis Lehman is the pastor.
The Catholic society was organized in 1856, and now numbers two thousand mem
bers. Rev. Joseph Costa is the priest and superintendent of the Sabbath school.
As to the local press, in 1866 Frank Martin published for a short time the daily Ad
vertiser, with also a weekly issue. Boih were short lived.
Col. George P. Smith became associated with Mr. J. J. Ironmonger, and editor of
the Journal in 1865. Under Ironmonger & Company the Journal took a great step for
ward and became quite a political power. April 14," 1866, the firm having purchased a
steam press, began the publication of the Daily Journal, with G. P. Smith as editor;
Mr. David M. Swales being foreman of the news-room. He is now foreman of the print
ing office of the Institution for the Deaf and Dumb.
In its first issue the firm advertised for a local editor of the paper, and Frank Mitch
ell was appointed. Mr. Mitchell was a son of Prof. B. F. Mitchell, principal of the
Female Academy from 1859 to 1865. Frank began work about April 17, 1866, also act
ing as night editor for a time.

174 The First Daily — -Other Journalistic Kews.
Incidentally it may be mentioned that, at the birth of the new daily, as its flrst
sheet canje from the press, there were present, G. P, Smith J, J, Ironmonger, R,,
B, Mitchell, John Oliverson, pressman, John K, Lathrop and Ensley Moore,
The young daily was a small, unpretentious sheet, compared with its present size
and appearance, but Jacksonville had a daily, and that daily has lived !
As before stated, Frank Mitchell became local editor, and his facile pen and keen
intelligence were employed about six months, when he went to Missouri, where he be
came an American Sunday School Missionary, and is no iv a Presbyterian minister in
Callaway county. Among Mr, Mitchell's special associates was Charles M, Eames, It
was, perhaps, owing to this circumstance that Eames succeeded Mitchell as local editor,
Mr. Eames resigned in 1867, to become city editor of the re-organized Quincy Daily
Whig. He was succeeded by Mr. Lyman B. Glover, then about 21 years of age, as
local of the Journal. Under Ironmonger & Co,, the Journal increased in job work,
and July 19, 1866, the Weekly was enlarged to nine columns. Soon after this Mr, Iron
monger retired from the Journal and purchased the Franklin Job Office from Franklin
J, Martin. Col, Smith was now sole proprietor of the Journal establishment, with L, B,
Glover as local editor and Mr, Robert Bradbury in charge of the job department. Ob
servant students of the list of income payers soon saw that the newspaper business ap
peared to be getting profitable, for Col, Smith reported a handsome income. It was,
therefore, not difficult for the gallant Colonel to dispose of his property at a large price.
Col. Smith was a native of Virginia, an original Republican in that state, a fine
public speaker and ambitious of political success. He sold Chapin & Glover the
paper and emigrated to Kansas.
Capt. Horace Chapin and L. B, Glover became proprietors April 14, 1869, Mr.
Glover being editor. Ensley Moore became their local editor for a short time. He
was subsequently local and assistant editor of the Jacksonville Independent.
Mr. Glover's management was noted, perhaps, most for the development of the job of
fice, with Mr. Bradbury, who has ever since continued in that capacity, as foreman.
Mr. Glover was but 23 years of age when he became editorial proprietor, and Capt.
Chapin was then postmaster of this city. Capt, Chapin had lived at Chapin, Morgan
county, before the war ; he entered the army and lost a leg at Chickamauga, after
which he made Jacksonville his home, Edward Dunn, afterward city attorney, suc
ceeded Moore as local editor. He was followed in turn by Jarvis G, Shaw formerly of
the Springfield (Mass.) Republican, and Shaw gave place to George N, Loomis, all dur
ing Chapin & Glover's ownership.
In 1872 Mr, J. R. Bailey, who for 17 years had edited and published the Jackson
ville Sentinel, was compelled, by failing eyesight, to dispose of all his newspaper inter
ests. He retired to farm life, remaining there in quiet retirement until his death. His
successors in newspaperdom, were Faij^ning, Paradice & Co., who also bought the Jack
sonville Independent, and added steam ^xtures and a power press. The latter had been
established April 29, 1869, by Ironmonger & Funk, Henry B, Funk being editor. Dur
ing its continuance under Mr, Funk, Ensley Moore was employed as assistant editor.
In 1873 the establishment was sold to Gersham Martin— W, T. Dowdall, of the Peoria
Democrat, afterward purchasing an interest. It was conducted by Martin & Co., until
purchased by T, D, Price & Co,
On a beautiful autumnal afternoon, in the month of September, 1869, a large con
course of people gathered to witness the dedication of Diamond Grove Cemetery, On
reaching the cemetery, the company gathered about a fine monument standing near the
entrance. It is of white Italian marble with a square base about three feet in diameter,
and about three feet high above the pedestal to the shaft, which is of the same material
and eight feet in height, surmounted with a wreajh, making the whole height of the
monument, from the foundation to the top of the shaft, thirteen feet. It is the flrst
monument which strikes the visitor as he enters the enclosure, and its historic inscrip-

The Roe Monument — M. E. Preachers. 175
tions at once explain the fact that the cemetery itself still bears the name given it by
the first pioneers of the county. On the eastern base of the monument appears the fol
lowing inscription : ISAAC FORT ROE,
SON OF
Rev. Ozbl Roe, of Woodbeidge, N. Y.
Left New York for the West October IS, 1819, settled iu
DIAMOND GROVE,
In February, 1820, Died October 12, 1821,
Aged Forty-eight YEAKa.
ROE.
The inscription on the western side reads :
1869.
Erected by the County of Morgan,
to the memory of
ISAAC FOET ROE,
One of three first settlers, and the first person
who died in this county.
Facing the drive- way, on the north side of the monument, is a bas-relief represen
tation of him who sleeps beneath, in his pioneer dress, with rifle on his left arm, and
broad-ax in his right hand, while in the distance the pioneer's cabin is seen.
On the south side of the monument the following historical sketch is engraved :
"An emigration society in the city of New York, October 12, 1819, appointed David
Berdan, Isaac Fort Roe and George Nixon, to explore the Western States and select
places of settlement for its members. They left the city October 15, 1819, crossed the
Wabash at Vincennes December 26, passed and named Diamond Grove January 23,
1820, in which he selected a place of residence, and in February built a log cabin and
became one of the first three settlers in the county."
Among the audience assembled were those who knew Mr. Roe, and could testify to
the facts narrated. Dr. Chandler, who attended him in his last illness, and Mr. Huram
. Reeve, who had in his possession the nails used in making the linn-tree coffin for Mr.
Roe, were there.
After appropriate exercises dedicating the cemetery and the monument. Judge
William Thomas read a paper, prepared by him from facts, mostly obtained from the
journal of Mr. Berdan, furnished by his son. Judge Berdan. All of especial interest
have already been given in condensed form in the first chapter of this book.
The Methodist Episcopal pastors of these years were :
Bast Chabgb— 1866, J. M. Lane; 1867-'68-'69, F. W. Phillips; 1870-'71-'72, N. P.
Heath; 1873, F. W. Phillips; 1873, A. 8. McCoy.
West Chaboe— 1865-'67, J. Leaton; 1868-'70, W. F. Short; 1871-'73, E. Cranston.
South Chakge— 1866, J, M. Lane; 1867, J. Harshman, 1868-'69, H. Wallace; 1870,
G. Barrett, 1871, W. W. Roberts ; 1872-'73-'74, J. W, Sinnock,
The presiding elders were; 1865-'68, Peter Akers; 1869-'73, George Rutledge.
In 1868 the terms Bast, West and South Charges were changed to Centenary, Grace
and Brooklyn and by these names have since been kno-wn.
The Brooklyn M. E. Church was organized in the fall of 1867, with about seventy
members. First held preaching in a private house, afterward in the school-house, until
the brick building now occupied by them was completed in 1868. First preacher. Rev.
John M. Lane, followed by S. R, Harshman, Hardin Wallace, George Barrett, W, W.

178 Murder Trials — 1)r. Oarriel's Arrival.
Roberts, J. W. Sinnock and W, H. H, Moore. In 1878 the membership was 130, while
Grace numbered 320.
The period under consideration was more prolific of murder trials tllan any one of
similar length in the history of the county.
John Buchin was indicted at the August term, 1871, for the murder of his son, Paul
Buchin, on the 27th day of May, 1871, by shooting him in the head with a gun. His
trial was had at the April term, 1872; he was found guilty of manslaughter and given
five years. Henry Henslee was indicted in Tazewell county for the murder of his wife, Caro
line Henslee, by mashing her head with a fiat iron. The case was brought to this
county by a change of venue. He was sentenced for twenty years.
John H. Douglas had a true bill presented against him at the May term, 1872, for
the murder, on May 33d, 1872, of Willis J. True, by striking him in the back with a hoe.
The jury found the defendant not guilty,
George W, DeWitt was indicted in Brown county for the murder of Edward
DeWitt by shooting him with a gun, on September 1st, 1870, Case brought here by a
change of venue. Defendant plead guilty to manslaughter and was given eight years,
Charles Atwood was indicted for the killing of Peter Hodin on the 13th day of
July, 1870, a little northeast of this city, by stabbing him with a knife. The defendant
was found guilty and sentenced to the penitentiary for a term of twenty-one years,
James F. Carpenter and Wesley Jones were indicted for the murder of Richard
Beatley, on July 20th, 1871. The defendants were found not guilty.
Henry R, Gillespie was indicted at the March term, 1868, for the murder of John
Ruschie by knocldng him in the head with a fence rail. The case was tried once With
a hung jury, after which the defendant gave bail, went away and never returned, on ac
count of which the case was stricken fi-om the docket,
Thomas Cantrall was indicted at the November term of the circuit court, 1869, for
killing Sampson Cantrall by cutting him in the stomach with a knife. He was found
gnilty of manslaughter and was given ten years.
John Minter had a bill found against him for the shooting of Samuel Newland on
August 11th, 1870, at the August term, 1870, The jury found the defendant not guilty,
Lewis Maddox, William Maddox and Willialto KnowleS were indicted in Scott
county for killing their father, William Maddox, by shooting him with a gun, on the
24th of November, 1870. A change of venue was taken to this county and the indict
ment nolle pressed,
Mahon Chapman had a "true bill" found against him for murder, at the August
term, 1869, for killing Jephemiah Rodgers, by killing him with a shot gun, south of
Neelyville, The defendant escaped to Missouri and was closely pursued by officers.
Knowing that he would be arrested he killed himself with a gun. His indictment was
stricken from the docket in November, 1869,
Isaac Berry et al. were indicted in Tazewell county for the murder of Henry Pratt,
a deputy sheriff of Tazewell county, on 30th of July, 1869, This case created much ex
citement in Tazewell county and brought many people from there here, Thejury sent
Isaac Berry up for life, Emanuel Berry for flfteen years, William Berry flfteen years,
Robert Britton fifteen years, Frank Daly flfteen years, and declared Simeon Berry not
guilty, Dr, Henry F. Carriel, who had been connected with the New Jersey Insane Asylum
at Trenton for thirteen years pre-viously, -was secured as Dr, McFarland's successor as
superintendent at the Central Hospital for the Insane, and is at the head of the institu
tion today. It is the unanimous verdict of those who have watched the growth and
continued success of the charity under Dr. Carriel's excellent supervision, that there
could hardly have been a wiser choice. The present trustees are R. W. Willett, of
Yorkville, David E. Beatty, of Jerseyville, and Judge Edward P. Kirby, of Jackson
ville, Dr, Carriers present medical assistants are Dr. Lewis A, Frost, who has charge

The State Institutions in 1868-'70. 177
of the female wards, and Dr. J. D. Waller, recently from the Cook county Hospital,
who has charge of the male department.
Dr. Carriers experience in the Bast stood him in good stead. The institution re
quired a course of renovation and remodeling, and the doctor, who is also an expert
civil engineer with the instincts and education of a first class builder, was the very man
for the work. He entered at once upon a series of changes which were judiciously
planned and have since been carried out both economically and well.
Although the institution to-day retains its venerable aspect throughout, the improve
ments are all in accordance with the more modern idea which have been utilized at Kan
kakee and Elgin, and an air of comfort permeates the place. The institution grounds
comprise 160 acres in one tract, including 40 acres in ornamental grounds, and a de
tached tract of 40 acres half a mile east. The farm produces corn, potatoes and vege
tables, hay from the meadow lands, and pasturage for the cows. The pasture land is
insufficient, however, to feed the number of cattle requisite to supply the institution
with all the milk it needs, and a considerable quantity of that article is necessarily
bought outside.
The general plan of the hospital comprises a centre building and two irregular
shaped wings — one on the east for the male inmates, and one on the west for the females
and each containing twelve wards. Between the main and rear buildings, which are
connected by a corridor, is a large open court, curving around to the roadway which
separates the hospital and the outside buildings. In the rear of the extreme wards at
the ends of either wing is an inclosed court in which even the more violent patients
take their occasional airing.
The method of treatment at the Jacksonville asylum is the same in all respects as
that at Elgin aud Kankakee, save that, having no detached wards, or cottages, the
patients are not accorded the same degree of freedom to roam at will which prevails at
those institutions. They have their periods for exercise in the courts and on the lawn,
however, and the convalescents and the better class of patients generally, enjoy fully
as many privileges as those at the average hospital. Their health and general appear
ance compare very favorably with those of the inmates ai Elgin and Kankakee.
In April, 1869, the main building of the Blind Asylum was destroyed by fire. The
pupils and teacherswere immediately removed to the Berean College building, situated
two squares west. Through the kindness of Mrs. E. Ayers, who owned the building,
school was again resumed, and continued until the institution could be rebuilt. The
new building was completed and opened January 26, 1870. The school has progressed
most favorably ever since.
During the fall term of 1868, two experimental classes in articulation were formed
at the Deaf and Dumb Asylum, and after a fair trial, it was found to be of such great
value to those tor whom it was intended, that it was continued, and there are now three
teachers devoting their time exclusively to that department. The General Assembly
of 1869-'70, appropriated $4,000 for procuring printing presses, and the necessary equip
ments ; since that time quite a number of the pupils have learned the trade, and after
quitting school have found themselves able to be self-supporting. An art department
has been added, and those of the pupils who evince talents in that direction, have the
benefit of instruction from a competent teacher. Drawing, painting, wood carving, and
scroll work, are taught in this department, A flne library— provided by the Legisla
ture — is an attractive feature of the institution.
The institution was for years unable to secure a sufficient supply of water, but this
difficulty was overcome in 1870, by building a reservoir on the grounds of the institu
tion, capable of holding three and a half million gallons of water, and here the ice for
the use of the household is procured in winter.
The buildings of this institution are all of brick, and are built in the most substan
tial manner. The number of pupils increased so rapidly that greater accommodations
were needed, and the General Assembly in 1873, made an appropriation for the erection

178 Katural History — Oak Lawn — Prof. Turner.
of a dining-room sufficiently large to seat five hundred pupils all at -one time ; this build
ing was soon after finished and is found to be all that could be desired. It is one of
the largest rooms used for this purpose in the State, being sixty-seven feet wide and
ninety feet long. An appropriation was made at the same time for the erection of a
school building, one of the largest detached buildings in the State used for school pur
poses. It contains besides the twenty-eight school rooms, a chapel, capable of holding
one thousand people. The gai^den is under the supervision of a competent gardener,
who instructs those .of the pupils who may be placed under his charge in this useful
employment. Jacksonville Natural History Society was organized 1870 for the study of natural
sciences. Among the earliest members were Mr. and Mrs. H, H. Hall, Prof, and Mrs,
Storrs, Prof, and Mrs. Bailey, Dr. Samuel Adams, Mr. Howard Turner, Miss Mary
Turner, (Mrs. Dr. Carriel) Miss 8. F. Ellis, Miss Mary Selby, Prof, and Mrs. Harris and
Dr. and Mrs. Milligan. The society studies subjects rather than books, drawing its
knowledge from difEerent text-books, from cyclopedias, from general literature, from
newspapers and from personal experience.
Dr. Andrew McFarland having resigned the superintendency of the State Hospital
for the Insane, founded a private institution for the treatment of the mentally disor
dered, calling it Oak Lawn Retreat, It was incorporated by charter in 1873, and is de
signed for the treatment of such cases of insanity as require more especial treatment
than can be oflered in most state institutions. It occupies a site of sixty acres fronting
on Morton avenue, about one and a fourth miles from the public square, in the city of
Jacksonville. The location, as regards picturesqueness, salubrity, water-supply, drain
age, etc., is everything that could be desired. It has accommodations for about twenty
patients, and is occupied to its full capacity, though early additions to its buildings are
contemplated. It has been successfully conducted ever since its establishment, Dr,
McFarland's sons, Dr's, George and Fletcher, being associated with him in the manage
ment, ¦
Passing from private to public institutions we note, during this period, the founding
of the Illinois Asylum for Feeble Minded Children. The growth of this charitable
and humane enterprise was remarkable. It was not custodial as its name im
plies, but was designed as a school for the education and training of idiots and
feeble minded children. Great good has already been accomplished by the
asylum, many of its pupils having been taught to read, write and comprehend
the first principles of arithmetic and geography. We were sorry to lose this charitable
enterprise from our midst, but our State legislature in 1875, saw fit to locate the asylum
at Lincoln, Logan county, making an appropriation of $185,000 for the construction of
buildings at that place. To the late Hon. Murray McConnel, of Jacksonville, State Sena
tor, is due the credit of introducing a nd carrying through the legislature in 1865, a bill ap
propriating $5,000 per annum for two years to make an experiment in the interest of this
most unfortunate class for whose benefit nothing had as yet been done by the State, Mrs. L,
P, Ross and Miss Walton were appointed matron and teacher., and on the 1st of June,
1865, the Institution for "Feeble Minded Children" was opened with four pupils. The
number had increased to twelve on the 31st of December following. Dr. Chas. T. Wil
bur was the superintendent.
In 1870 according to the census, Morgan county had 36,303 people. Of this num
ber, 13,335 were males, and 13,576 females.
In 1868, Prof. J, B, Turner, of our city, was selected by the Republicans as their
candidate for Congress from this district. Possessing abilities which his most bitter
opponents have been compelled to concede, though by no means a politician in the
ordinary acceptation of the term, he has ever been found in the front rank in all move
ments for political and educational reform. A Birney and Garrison abolitionist, a
free-soiler and Wilmot proviso man in 1848 and 1853, a Republican in 1856, and an

McConnel Murder Trial — City Water Works, 179
earnest supporter of the war for the Union, he has never taken any step backward, but
has always been abreast of the most advanced in all the important movements of the
day. To his individual and persevering efforts, more than to those of any other ten
men in the nation, is the country indebted to-day, for that broad and beneficent scheme
of industrial education which, by the aid of munificent grants of land by congress, has
now been adopted in most of the states of the Union, and is yet destined to become gen
eral. It IS to the eternal disgrace of Illinois that a man to whom, more than to any
other, the state owes this grant, should not have been recognized in carrying the plan,
which he was so largely instrumental in devising, into practical execution.
The famous trial of Wm. A. Robinson for the killing of Hon. Murray McConnel on
the 9th of February, 1869, took place in the Opera House, at a special term of the court,
held for that purpose. Judge Charles D. Hodges presiding, commencing on the 35th
of May, 1869, and ending June Sth, the house being crowded during the entire time.
One hundred and thirty-two jurors were examined. This was the most noted trial, and
created more excitement than any that ever took place in the county. Feeling ran very
high at the time against the prisoner.
William Brown, State's attorney, was assisted by I. J. Ketcham and H. J. Atkins,
and Hon. James Robinson, Judge Shaw, Judge Woodson and W, H. Barnes appeared for
the defendant. The jury consisted of Robert Jones, John Brace well, William T. Spires,
David Saunderson, William S. Lurton, William R. Dyer, Joseph Dyer, C. P. Johnson,
William Bacon, Albert Rouse, William A. Allcott and Henry Standley, and found the
defendant not guilty.
The agitation of the Water Works question and discussion of various plans for the
same, covered many years. Actual labor on the works began in October, 1873, but lit
tle was accomplished that season. The distributing reservoir was finished August,
1873, at a cost for excavation and embankment of $3,125, for paving, $2,175 ; total cost,
$6,308. The impounding reservoir was completed December 2d, 1873. Cubic yards of earth
to the number of 83,850 having been excavated at a cost of $16,586. The iron pipe cost
ing $52,000, furnished by Schickle, Harrison & Co., of St. Louis, was laid in August
and September by the contractor, M. W. Quan, at an expense of $6,089. Cost of waste
•iveir and sluice way, $2,000 ; cost of land for the impounding reservoir, 25 acres, $3,100 ;
.stoneware conduit pipe, 4,650 feet long, laid during November and December, cost
$2,800; building pumping works, $5,000; pumping engine, $3,000, from the Niagara
steam pump works, Brooklyn, N. Y. The capacity of this pump is about 700 gallons
per minute. Boiler made by J. M.Wilson, $2,000; 34 fire plugs, $1,000. Total ex
penditures for the construction of the water works $118,000.
The storage capacity of the two reservoirs is 62,500,000 gallons. And at the pres
ent time there are 5 feet 3 inches of water in the impounding reservoir, and several feet
in the distributing reservoir. Of the importance of this system, it would, of course, be
superfiuous to speak. All the public buildings of the city and most of the private resi
dences, are protected by the water mains. The supply of water is assured unless the
ocean of lakes go dry, and the rain no longer falls.
At an election held on June 15, 1869, in pursuance of a city ordinance, the legal
voters by a majority vote empowered and authorized the city council to issue bonds not
exceeding $150,000, said bonds having twenty years to run and drawing ten per cent in
terest. The funds arising from the negotiation to be expended by the council or their
agents in building the Water Works and procuring a supply of water.
As to the fraternities 1866-'73 they were all fiourishing like bay trees. As our city
grew in size, it became evident that there was room and a necessity for two Masonic
lodges here. The second one, called Jacksonville Lodge, No, 570, was organized June
13th, 1867. As charter members there were J. H. Hackett, D. W. Rawlings, J. C. Py
att, Thomas Scott, S. M. Palmer, Thomas Turley, B. S. Gordon, J. R. Foley, J. H.

i80 Knights Templars — Rebekahs — Sorosisters — Trustees.
McConnell, J. C, Smith, Wm, Johnson, C, H, Howard, L, Weil, Ed. Lambert and W. 8.
Hurst, The officers first elected were Ed. Scott, Master; T, J, Bronson, Sen. Warden,
and Ben. Pyatt, Jun, Warden. From the very first this lodge has succeeded beyond ex
pectation. The subordinate Masonic bodies here prospering and growing, a want was felt for
a higher degree in Masonry. A Knights Templar body became a necessity. On De
cember 30, 1868, a charter was applied for, and on November 9, 1869, one was granted,
establishing Hospitaler Commandery No, 31. The charter members were P. G, Gillett,
William S, Hurst, Thomas Hine, S, M, Palmer, C, M. Morse, G, W. Fanning, Charles
H. Howard, L, C, Barrett, H, W, Milligan, C, W, McLain, J, M. Dunlap, C, E. Broad
well and L. W, Chambers, The Past Commanders in the order of attaining this rank
in this Commandery are as follows : Philip G. Gillett, Charles M, Morse, Calvin W.
McLain, Leonard W, Chambers, Samuel M, Martin, Stephen H, Thompson, Edward C,
Kreider, Thomas J. Bronson, William H, Worrell, William H, Smith and W, C, Green,
This Commandei-y ranks as one of the best in the state. Most of its members are shin
ing lights in the order, and many of them have been chosen to positions of honor and
trust in both the state and national bodies.
In 1870 the Odd Fellows thinking there should be some branch of the order where
the wives and daughters of members could come together and enjoy pleasures and so
cial evenings, organized, some fifteen years ago, what they term a Rebekah lodge.
In these lodges all third degree Odd Fellows and their wives, daughters and sisters are
entitled to membership. Jacksonville Rebekah Lodge, No. 13, was organized in this
city October 11, 1870. As charter members we find John Rottger, J. C. Cox, J. C,
McBride, Amos Henderson, J. H, Gruber, Mary E, Gruber, Mary M, Lord, Mary E,
Keemer, Emma L, Rottger and Sophia Benson. This lodge meets twice a month. Has
a membership of 135, and its meetings are made enjoyable social gatherings. The suc
cess of this lodge was greatly due to the exertions of the late Bro, W, D, R. Trotter, in
whose death the lodge lost a valued and greatly missed member.
The Jacksonville Sorosis was organized November 30, 1868. At that date there
was no literary society for women in Jacksonville. The call to organize such a society
was responded to with eagerness and enthusiasm.
The membership at first was limited to twelve, but the candidates for admission
were numerous and the number was soon changed to eighteen, finally to twenty-five, at
which it now stands, Sorosis is governed by a constitution and by-laws similar to
those used by other societies of like interests.
The literary exercises consist of essays, conversations, debates, readings and bio
graphical and critical reviews of authors and their writings. One of these exercises is
presented at each meeting.
An alphabetical list of the members is kept by the secretary who makes the ap
pointment from this list in the order of their names. Those appointed are notified four
weeks in advance. The subjects considered are of the widest range, including e-:-ery-
thing that tends to the development — mental, moral or physical — of human beings.
The papers are of such length as to allow of sufficient time for a thorough discussion
of the subjects presented. The meetings are held weekly — Friday afternoons from
half-past two to half-past four o'clock at the houses of the difEerent members, taken in
alphabetical order. Anniversaries are held to which each member has the privilege of
inviting one guest. It has been the custom at these social meetings to present annual
reports, short literary exercises, music and the mqst esthetic viands the members are
able to prepare. Sixteen fruitful years bear witness to the interests and vitality of this
society. May it long live to be an honor and benefit to Jacksonville,
As a matter of record we append the names of the officials of Jacksonville, 1866-'73.
In 1866, the town trustees were Ralph Reynolds, Chas. H, Howard, Elizur Wolcott,
James H, Lurton, Isaac J. Ketcham.
In 1867, city airs and titles were assumed under the incorporation act.

City and County Officials — J. 8. E. R. R. 181
1867.1 — John Mathers, mayor ; Robert T. Osborne, Charles H. Howard, David M.
Simmons, Alexander Edgmon, aldermen; Harrison O. Cassell, city clerk; Ellis M. Al
len, marshal ; Wm. L. English, attorney ; Andrew N. McDonald, collector and assessor.
1868. — William P. Barr, mayor; James Redmond, Edward Lambert, David M.
Simmons, William Branson, aldermen; John C. Pyatt, city clerk; George W. Smith,
marshal ; Wm. G. Gallaher, Jr., attorney ; William W. Happy, collector and assessor.
James J. Rowen was appointed city clerk vice John C. Pyatt, resigned.
1869. — John Mathers, mayor; Irvin Dunlap, Leopold Weigand, George M. McCon-
nel, William Knox, Ebenezer T. Miller, William Hamilton, Jr., Alexander Edgmon,
Robert C. Bruce, aldermen; James H, Kellogg, city clerk; James McKay, marshal; Ed
ward Dunn, attorney ; William W. Happy, collector and assessor.
1870. — William Branson, mayor ; Irvin Dunlap, Daniel Redmond, Jonathan Neely,
Joseph Capps, John H. Fink, William Hamilton, Jr., John W. Hall, Joseph H. Ban
croft, aldermen; Andrew N. McDonald, city clerk; James M. Swales, marshal; James
H. Kellogg, attorney; William G. Johnson collector and assessor.
1871. — William Ratekin, mayor ; Richard M. Gregory, Ferdinand Schmalz, Jona
than Neely, Joseph Capps, James L. Montgomery, James M.Mitchell Josiah Gorham,
Charles K. Sawyer, aldermen; Andrew N. McDonald, city clerk; William Needham,
marshal ; Oscar A. DeLeuw, attorney ; William G. Johnson, collector and assessor.
1872. — George M. McConnel, mayor ; Michael H. Walsh, Leopold Weigand, Charles
E. Ross, Henry R. Johnson, John M. Ewing, Michael Rapp, D. W. Fairbank, Dr. Clin
ton Fisher, aldermen ; John N. Marsh, city clerk ; William Needham, marshal ; Ed
ward Dunn, attorney ; Bazzill Davenport, collector and assessor.
1873. — Matthew Stacy, mayor; Benjamin F. Gass, William S. Hurst, Charles E.
Ross, John I. Chambers, Barton W. Simmons, William S.Richards Dr. Clinton Fisher,
Andrew Jackson, aldermen; Benjamin R. Upham, city clerk; Francis M. Springer,
marshal; George J. Dod, attorney; Bazzill Davenport, collector and assessor.
The county contests at the November hustings resulted in the election of the fol
lowing :
1866 — SherifE, S. 8. Moore, declared elected, but the office given Milton Mayfield
after a contest ; Coroner, Field Sample ; Representative, Felix G. Farrell.
1867 — Treasurer, George W. Fanning ; Surveyor, W. S. McPherson.
1868 — States Attorney, Wm. Brown; Senator, James M. Epler; Representatives,
S,.M, Palmer, Jno. Gordon; Circuit Clerk, George W. Clark; Sherifl, Isaac 8. Sierer;
Coroner, John H. Gruber.
1869 — County Judge, Edward Scott; County Clerk, John Trabue; Treasurer, G. W.
Fanning ; School Superintendent, 8. M. Martin ; Surveyor, W. 8. McPherson.
1870 — Representatives, Newton Cloud, Wm. H. Barnes; Sheriff, Benjamin Pyatt;
Coroner, Henry Lawler; Surveyor, C, C. Robbins.
1871 — Treasurer, Wm. H. Wright; Surveyor, Charles B. Lewis.
1872 — Senator, Wm. Brown; Representatives, J. W. Meacham, J. B. Nulton, John
Gordon ; Circuit Clerk, Joseph W. Caldwell ; Sherifl, W. H. Broadwell ; States Attor
ney, H. O, Cassell ; Coroner, Michael Carney,
1873— County Judge, E, P, Kirby ; County Clerk, Samuel M. Martin ; Treasurer,
W- H- Wright ; School Superintendent, Henry Higgins ; County Commissioners, Daniel
Dietrick, John Virgin, J. H. Devore.
In 1869 the Jacksonville Southeastern Railway, then called the "Farmers' Road,"
was built from this city to the city of Waverly, eighteen miles, and in 1870 twelve miles
more were built giving us direct and profitable rail connection with Virden and i'nter-
-mediate points. For.a short line it was then one of the best, traversing sonie of the
best farming sections in the state, and affording an outlet for the vast amount of grain
and produce, as well as coal, for which this region is noted.
Jacksonville's most illustrious citizen, ex-governor, ex-senator Richard Yates died
in St. Louii, on November 28, 1873, at the age of flfty-flve years. He had been viewing

182 Oaeeee of Hon, Riohabd Yates,
the Cairo & Fulton railroad, as one of its commissioners, having been appointed to that
important position by the government. He had been to Little Rock, Arkansas, and
was on his way home, when, becoming too weak to travel, he stopped to rest in St. Louis,
where, in the midst of his many friends, he quietly passed away. His remains were
brought home the next evening, and, after being viewed in the parlor of his own house
by thousands, were carried to the grave, followed by an immense assembly.
Governor Yates' public career briefly resumed, shows : "Six years in the Legisla
ture of Illinois, four years in the Congress of the United States, four years governor of
Illinois, and six years senator of the United States ; twenty years in political public life,
with few men his superior, in any fleld of duty." He was born January 18, 1818, on
the banks of the Ohio River, at Warsaw, Gallatin county, Kentucky, In 1831, his
father removed to Illinois, and, after stopping at Springfleld, settled at Island Grove,
Sangamon county. After attending school awhile, Richard joined the family here.
Subsequently, he entered Illinois College, at Jacksonville, where, in 1835, he graduated
with flrst honors. He chose for his profession the law, and began at once its study
with General John J, Hardin as instructor. Gifted with a fluent and ready oratory, he
soon entered the arena of political life, and being an ardent admirer of Henry Clay, he
joined the political party of his leader. In 1840, he engaged with great ardor in the
"hard-cider campaign," for General Harrison. Two years after, he was elected to the
legislature from this county, then a Democratic stronghold. He served four years here,
and in 1850 was elected, after an exciting contest with Major Thomas L. Harris, to Con
gress. At the expiration of his term, he was re-elected, and coming into the political
field the third time, was defeated by a small majority, owing to his decided stand against
the repeal of the Missouri Compromise act, and his strong anti-slavery views, wliich, in
a speech of great power and brilliant oratory, he advanced, and Which gained for him a
national reputation. Six years afterward, he was elected to the chair of State, and
during the most critical period of the nation's history, held that important place. Here
his true patriotism shone with a brilliancy and strength of will, and saved the State in
the threatened crisis. He, like Governor Morton, of Indiana, earned the title of the
"War Governor." The fate of the nation was involved in the destiny of the State.
Governor Yates was equal to all emergencies ; and when a Democratic House attempted
to thwart his purposes and place the State where many of its members wanted it, he
promptly squelched that body by his famous act of prorogation. His loyalty was as
undoubted as true, and through all the long and bitter contest he was a close and inti
mate friend of President Lincoln, and one of his most earnest supporters.
Of the city's condition and prospects the Journal commented in April, 1867 :
The characteristic feature of Jacksonville has ever been the universal interest which
her citizens have felt in establishing and maintaining schools of learning of every
grade. Besides the numerous private schools, the city can boast of three flourishing
free schools, with the building for the fourth almost completed, three young ladies'
seminaries, two commercial colleges, and the well-known Illinois College, Of the lat
ter, as the oldest, we will speak flrst. It was the good fortune of the city to number
among its earliest inhabitants men of intelligence and education, who, while they were
rearing houses for their protection, were building school houses in which their child
ren might be taught. The city was but three years old when the site for Illinois Col
lege was selected. *****
The city has been known throughout the United States, and envied by the other
places of our state, as the location of the benevolent institutions of Illinois. Upon three
of the extreme limits of the corporation stand the immense buildings devoted to the
noble work of healing, teaching, training and caring for the afflicted ones of the broad
commonwealth of Illinois, In some respects they have been a real help to the place,
bringing custom to the dealers and visitors to the city, while the officers of the vari
ous institutions have been a great addition to the literati of the community. * * *
Of the private residences of Jackson-ville we might say much in praise, but want

A Bibds-Ete View or Jacksonville. 183
of space will forbid. Elegant mansions, the homes of the wealthy and learned, grace
our streets and half disclose their beauties among the countless shade trees of the city.
From year to year, as our houses have been erected, they have, fortunately, not been
built closely together, but have been scattered over the whole of the town, thus giving
to each one the advantage of large and pleasant site. The early planting of shade
trees and the cultivation of them and shrubbery, have made very many fine homesteads
delightful. *****
in our city there are all conceivable kinds of business transacted, in as many va
rieties of houses or rooms. Jacksonville boasts of twenty-nine bakeries and groceries,
has an even score of doctors ; thirteen firms deal in boots and shoes alone ; her guests
are entertained at six hotels and twelve boarding houses ; the members of her bar num
ber fourteen, while the number of her bar-tenders are twice that ; no wonder buildings
can be rapidly put up, for there are seventeen boss carpenters in the city ; the reading
public are supplied from five book and stationery stores ; there are fourteen dry goods
establishments here, many of them extensive and attractive ; ten live stock dealers have
homes here ; eight merchant tailors cut, fit and clothe the male portion of the commu
nity, while seven milliners get up duplicates of the famous "love of a bonnet;" right
in the business portion of the city may be found seven first-class drug stores, many deal
ing largely in hardware; one flourishing house attends exclusively to the hardware and
another to hide and leather business; two woolen factories, six insurance agencies,
three agricultural houses, two auction stores, flve barber shops, four billiard saloons,
five tin shops, four brick yards, four meat markets, flve carriage manufactories, three
cigar and four stove manufactories, six wagon shops, four flour mills, five jewelry
stores, three first-class livery stables, half a dozen saddler's shops, and a thousand (more
or less) other establishments of different natures may be found in Jacksonville. Three
fine cemeteries are now in use to receive the ashes of those citizens who are daily go
ing to their long resting place. One is beautifully located on high wooded ground west
of the city. It was opened for interments within a year, and will probably become the
most highly ornamented of the three. Already it contains a costly and elaborate work
of art commemorative of the greatest farmer of the world, our late fellow citizen, Jacob
Strawn. This new burying ground, called the "Diamond Grove Cemetery," was pur
chased last year by the board of trustees of the town, and inaugurated with appropriate
ceremonies. It has all been laid off regularly and will be handsomely fitted up by the
various lot owners. The College Grave Yard has now been abandoned, the space allotted
to it being filled and the situation of the land unfavorable to improvement and enlarge
ment, many bodies and monuments have been moved from it to the new one. The
East Grave Yard is the oldest cemetery in the city, situated a little over a mile from the
center of the square. The yard is very full at present, and parts of it much neglected,
yet it contains the graves of many honored men and women, among them Col. John J.
Hardin whose remains were brought back to his home here from the battle field of
Mexico. During the present year there will probably be much expended in improving
both the "Diamond Grove" and Bast cemetery by private citizens and the corpora-
+¦1(^1-^ ^ H^ 5H Jp ? 'P
The business blocks of Jacksonville are not to be passed by unnoticed. Especially
are those which have been erected within a year ornaments to the city, and monuments
of architectural merit. The main business of the city has from its start concentrated
around the court-house lawn and within a block of the public square. On the north
side Messrs. Dayton & Adams, Hatfield, Price, and Chambers have each erected three
story brick buildings, convenient and substantial structures which tower over the few of
their humbler neighbors which remain. The west side also boasts of a block of three
story brick stores occupied by seven different firms engaged in various occupations,
also' a flne structure owned and occupied by Messrs. Weil & Bro. which looks down
upon the surrounding stores.

184 The City's Business in 1867,
The erection of Strawn's Hall furnished our merchants with the finest business
block on the square at that time which was speedily occupied.
Its nearest neighbor is the handsome marble block which is now receiving its fin
ishing touches. The block is a stately structure of brick.
From the time that Jacksonville was incorporated as a town, she has had to under
go the annual ordeal of an election for town officers. The government of the place has
heretofore been confided to the keeping of a board of trustees, flve in number. These
city fathers have very seldom been elected on strict party tickets, but the issue at stake
has been license or antiJicense, and the voice of our citizens has always in all these
yearly balotings with but one solitary, sad, and not soon to be forgotten occasion, been
strongly against legalizing the traffic in death dealing liquor. The continued triumphs
of the "temperance tickets" in our town elections, have given Jacksonville a good name
throughout the state, and her citizens have been quoted for sobriety and good order,
Eowever, whenever a party issue was made, and in all the state and presidential elec
tions the town and precinct of Jacksonville have given rousing majorites for the nomi
nees of the Republican party, ever since the party of freedom has been known by that
title. The spring of 1860 was the one exception mentioned above, in which the license
men carried the town. During the year following, the place was visited by a series of
disastrous conflagrations, and as many of them were traceable to the liquor traffic, the
sentiment of the community was much intensifled against the license system. Our
flrst municipal election under the new charter, was held on the first Monday of April,
1867., Two rival tickets were in the field. The regular republican nominees and a
people's ticket made up from both parties, and generally understood to be a license
ticket. The result is well-known — the triumphant choice of our future rulers of every
candidate upon the Republican city ticket with the exception of the alderman of the
first ward, ******
.Jacksonville hes never taken a remarkable interest in manufactures. Of late years,
however, her capitalists have been investing more in that way.
Jacksonville Woolen Mills. — In the line of woolen products the factory of Messrs,
Capps, McDonald & Co., has been enlarged and other buildings erected, until it is an
- immense establishment, employing numerous hands and turning off daily a large
amount of goods, which would be creditable to any mills in the land.
Home Manufacturing Company. — The new woolen works of the Home Manufact
uring Company are now also in operation. The stock company interested in it have
carried the enterprise along briskly, erecting large and substantial buildings, employ
ing the best of workmen, and producing flannels, cassimeres, jeans, etc., of unrivalled
quality. Foundries, etc. — Farming implements of every description are furnished to the
agriculturists of the county from the many shops of the city. Iron foundries are now
in active operation, producing cast works of all patterns. Carriages, buggies and every
thing in that line, of superb style and the best of workmanship, are built in the shops
of the city. The specimens of skill which emanate from the marble yards of Jackson
ville in the shape of mantles and monuments are highly praiseworthy.
Banking Houses. — The city of Jacksonville now has four banking establishments,
the First National, and three private houses. The former the only bank of issue, was
organized under the national bank act of June 3rd; 1864, and opened for the transaction
of business during the September following, with an authorized capital of $100,000.
As to the schools, before the incorporation, the town was divided into four school
districts. Mr. Murray Martin, the school commissioner, had the oversight of all, while
each was governed by an annually elected board of directors, three- in number, - Each
school had its o-wn principal, who was assisted by male and female teachers for each of
the rooms in bis or her school. Only three of the districts had separate school houses
up to that time, but the fourth district, now the fourth ward, completed that spring a
magniflcent building, built in a grander scale than any of the others, furnished with an

The Public Schools of Jacksonville, 185
airy basement for a gymnasium and play ground in wet weather, in addition to all the
conveniences of the other school houses.
The West Jacksonville District School, now second ward, corner of Fayette and
West State streets, had flve hundred and flfty pupils that year, and was under the charge
of James L, Dyer, principal, with seven assistant preceptors. Directors, Messrs. I. L.
Morrison, M. P. Ayers, B. P. Kirby,
Locust Grove District School, now third ward, on the north side of East College
between Mauvaisterre and Bast streets, was superintended by Miss Rebecca Woods,
an experienced teacher, with a faculty of four lady teachers under her. The number
of pupils in attendance was two hundred. Messrs. W. Mathers, O. D. Fitzsimmons
and A. C. Woods were the directors. The building was amply large.
Walnut Grove District School, flrst ward, had for its principal that year Mr. J.
Warrick Prince, who had three assistant teachers. The board of directors consisted of
Messrs. J. N. Marsh, 8. Markoe and Frank Coulter. The school house stood on North
street between Mauvaisterre and East streets. The number of scholars in attendance
then is what the deponent knoweth not.
The Catholic Parochial School was the one carried on by the Roman Catholic de
nomination. The building was near the depot of the T, W. & W. R. R. One hundred
and eighty-flve pupils were attending. Rev. Joseph Costa, priest of the parish, was the
principal. Two other instructors were employed to assist him.
With the incoming city council that year an entire change came over the face of
school matters. The whole city was merged into one common school district, abandon
ing the former divisions altogether, under the management of a board of education,
consisting of the mayor and one member from each ward, the latter appointed by the
city council.
The present system of public schools in the city, has been in operation seventeen
years. During this period they have advanced to the front rank, and are among the
best in the State,
By 1867, the growth of the town had reached such proportions that a better form
of government, and a better system of schools, became necessary. Under the city
charter, gi-anted that year, the present system of graded schools was adopted. The city
was divided into four wards, and a school located in each. Mr. Israel Wilkinson was
appointed superintendent, which office he held until 1869, when he was succeeded by
Mr, J. M, Alcott, who held the office one year. He was followed by Mr, D. H. Harris,
the immediate predecessor of the present superintendent, Prof. H. M. Hamill. Each
ward maintains a separate district school, the grades in all being the same. The
Washington High School is situated in the fourth ward. Its course of instruction is
thorough and complete, and fits the pupil for the actual duties of life. Mr. Harris, in
his report for the year 1877, gives an interesting resume of the schools for the past ten
years, which we here append :
"Jacksonville has long been known as an educational center of great reputat'on,
whose influence is felt far and wide. The early establishment of the public schools is
due to the earnest efforts of two of our citizens — the late Gov. Duncan and Judge Wm,
Thomas. The latter survives to witness the success of the cause which he so ably advo
cated, "The honor of flrst popularizing the public schools in Jacksonville belongs to the
well-known educator, Hon. Newton Bateman, who, for several years, was principal of
the West Jacksonville school.
"Judge E, P. Kirby, of our city, immediately succeeded as principal of the same
school, which he conducted for three years with eminent success ; following him Mich -
ael Saunderson, Esq,, nobly sustained the well-deserved reputation of the school for three
years, when, in his valuable life-work, he fell at his post,
"Before the schools of Jacksonville were organized into a system under the present
city charter, there were several independent schools, sustained in part by the general

l86 Business College and Female Acade:my.
school fund of the State. A male teacher Avas employed as principal and superintend
dent of eacli of these district schools. The course of study in each of these schools
therefore comprised not only the common branches, but also Latin, Greek, Natural
Sciences, Higher English and Mathematics. The new school charter, in 1867, at once
introduced a new regime which centralized the general supervision in one superinten
dent, and abolished the extravagant idea of sustaining four high schoolsof small classes
by organizing one central high school for the accommodation of the entire city, which
was. found to be a great improvement in a pecuniary and educational point of view.
The success of this system has led to a more economical expenditure by the gradual
introduction of female principals, into the ward schools. The new organization also
led to a more careful and thorough classification of pupils, a more uniform course of
study, resulting in a more efficient preparation of the pupils in the advanced studies."
The condition of the schools shows a steady progress and increasing efficiency of
the public schools as an educational force in the community.
To meet a want, long and widely felt In this region, the Jacksonville Business' Col
lege was founded by Prof. R. C. Crampton, in May, 1866. The college was located in
Chambers' block, north side of public square, and was there successfully conducted for
several years, sending forth hundreds of young men well qualified to act their part
among the busy throngs of men in all the regions of the great West. Many of the
youths who attended the college in the early years of its existence, are already number
ed among the most successful business men of the State.
From the very first, the patronage of the college has been steadily increasing, and
its popularity among men of business, more and more decided. Since the college was
founded, it has instructed nearly three thousand students, and by them is honorably
represented in the various industrial and commercial pursuits, all over this broad land,
from Mexico to Maine.
The design of this college is to fit young men and women for the active duties of
successful business life. The aim is not to send out mere book-keepers or clerks, but
the course aims at symmetrical development, and is calculated to strengthen the men
tal power, and give a broad and substantial business training.
In the summer of 1869 the ownership of the Business College passed into the hands
of the trustees of Illinois College, and for several years it occupied part of Whipple
Academy building, a few blocks west of the public square.
As the principal of the Jacksonville Female Academy, Prof. Gilbert Thayer proved
gifted in management and since his day, the institution has been entirely self-support
ing, not in a single instance falling back, as it used frequently to do, on special sub
scriptions for its relief. Thus making it the duty and for the personal interest of the
principal to manage the finances well has been an important step in the direction of
permanent prosperity. We quote from Dr. Glover :
Besides the worldly wisdom which Mr. Thayer brought lo this work, he also con
tributed to it an engaging person, pleasing manners, fine social powers, the magnetism
of enthusiastic purpose, by all which he impressed friends and drew to him strangers
with remarkable facility. He took tours of observation in which he himself was as
much the observed as the observer, and ho seldom returned home without brijaging
with him a bevy of girls charmed by the beauty of his silver locks and more by the
fascinations of his laughing eye and sparkling speech, and thus he laid not only Illi
nois, but Indiana, Missouri, Iowa and Kansas and more distant regions, under contri
bution lo his purpose to build up Jacksonville Female Academy, and while making a
good thing of il for the community, to make a good thing of it also for himself. 'The
school was quite uniformly full as long as he continued in it, and the graduating
classes much larger than they had ever been before. One hundred and thirty-one
young ladies were added to the alumnsB during his period of service It was also dur
ing his term that the eastern pediment of the building was erected at an expense of
about $12,000. Prof. Thayer retired one year before the expiration of his lease, on
account of ill-health. He now bias charge of a female seminary at Morgan Park, near
Chicago. In 1873 Prof, W, D, Sanders established the Illinois Conservatory of Music, taking

Conservatory — Whipple Academy — Firk, 187
as his model the plan of the New England Conservatory of Music, wnich in turn re
ceived its origin in the conservatories in the old country. This institution is yet in
successful operation, with a full corps of able and experienced teachers, who are justly
appreciative of the responsibility resting upon them. Its founders and succeeding
managers have undertaken to sustain an institution that shall be inferior to no other in
the United States. From the beginning it has had a remarkable success. With a full
corps of distinguished European and American professors, it offers tlie very best instruc
tion in singing and on all the principal string and wind instruments, and in every de
partment of theory and practice. Its violinists, its pianists, its organists, its cornetists
and flutists, and its teachers of singing have been among the best. It receives pupils
of every grade, from mere beginners to those already far advanced. Among its pupils
are many who have been teachers, who come to perfect themselves in their art. Jack
sonville may well be proud of such an institution. It is an honor to the city and to the
State. Connected with Illinois college is a preparatory school, known as Whipple Acade
my, taking its name from its founder, 8. L. Whipple, who, in 1869, gave $10,000 to es
tablish it. The building first used by the trustees for academic purposes, is the one
now owned and occupied by Prof. George W. Brown for his Jacksonville Business Col
lege, and the Illinois College authorities have now erected and are using a large and
well arranged brick building upon the college campus, for the accommodation of the
academy students.
In February, 1870, the main building ot the Illinois Female College was destroyed
by fire ; but it has been replaced by a building of superior architectural pretensions.
On the resignation of Dr. Bastion in 1848, Rev. J. F. Jacques was appointed principal,
which position he held with marked success until June, 1855. From this date till 1858,
the position was filled successively by Rev. Reuben Andrus, D. D., and Rev. H. 8.
McCoy. In 1858, Rev. Charles Adams, D, D,, was elected principal, and continued in
that capacity until his resignation in 1868, when Rev. Wm. H. DeMotte, LL. D., was
appointed to the vacancy. Prof, DeMotte continued in office until July, 1875, when he
resigned to accept the position of Superintendent of the Wisconsin Deaf and Dumb
Institution, Jacksonville has never had much occasion to boast of her general manufacturing
and wholesale interests. But those which she does sustain would refiect credit upon
any city. The leading manufactory is known as the Jacksonville Woolen Mills, and
was founded in 1839 by Mr. Joseph Capps, who removed from the State of Kentucky
in the fall of 1838, locating in the town of Waverly, in this county, which place he
reached about the middle of October of that year. Mr. Capps was a practical machin
ist, having learned the trade in the city of Louisville. On his arrival in Waverly he
formed a co-partnership with the late Judge George Waller of Minnesota, for the pur
pose of carrying on a wool-carding and cloth finishing business, which business Mr,
Waller had already established in a small way. During that winter he was engaged in
building an engine and custom-carding machinery in the shops of his partner, and in
the following spring he located permanently in Jacksonville, where he established
what is now known as the "Jacksonville Woolen Mills," Having severed his connec
tion with Mr, Waller in the summer of 1839, he devoted his time and energies thence
forward in building up his business which, at the time of his death had grown to large
proportions. At flrst the business was conflned to custom-carding alone, and shortly
afterwards the fulling and flnishing of home-made cloths was added. When we reflect
that this enterprise was in the hands of a man who was not only capable of constructing
his own machinery and building the steam engine to drive it, but also possessed
in rare combination the requirementsof a flrst-class business manager in every respect,
it is not surprising the business of his choice prospered and attained rapid growth. In
the year 1843 he associated with himself Mr, Ambrose Wetherbee as a partner in the
business, which co-partnership lasted a number of years, A short time after the with-

188 Woolen and Flour Mill Industries.
drawal of Mr. Wetherbee, Mr. L. C. Haskell became identified as a partner. The lat
ter possessing some practical knowledge of the manufacture of woven fabrics, the firm
decided to add spinning and weaving machinery, and in the year 1852 the first piece of
goods in the history of the business was made and finished. At the expiration of a
year Mr. Haskell withdrew, and in 1857 Mr. Capps' eldest son, Stephen R., who is now
the senior member of the present flrm and Mr. Wm. J. Metcalf became partners. The
latter did not remain long in the business, when it was conducted under the flrm name
of Joseph Capps & Son. In 1862 the second son, Wm. B., was admitted, tlie flrm name
being known as Joseph Capps & Sons. In the year 1864 Mr. Alex. McDonald became
a partner, and in the following year his brother Charles also, the latter assuming the
superintendency of the mills. The Messrs. McDonald were extensive retail merchants
in the city of Jacksonville, and Messrs. Capps became mutually interested also in that
department of the business, the styles of the two flrms being "Capps, McDonald & Co.,"
and "McDonald, Capps & Co.," respectively. The large store of the latter was situated
on the site occupied at present by Messrs. Atwater & Pratt. During the year previous
on account of the rapid increase of trade, it was determined to make extensive addi
tions, both in machinery and buildings, and the present site of the mills was selected
and a new mill projected. The old structure which stood on tlie premises now oc
cupied by Mr. W. E. Capps as a dwelling place, was partially removed and most of the
works transferred to the new buildings. The two firms as above constituted lasted but
one year, when, on account ol failing health, Mr. Alex. McDonald retired, his brother
doing likewise soon after. Tlie business again came into the entire control of Messrs.
Capps & Sons, in whose hands it has ever since remained. The wisdom of an increase
of the productive capacity, and the adoption of greater facilities as noted, was verified
and sustained by the large and extended trade that was secured, and which, under pru
dent and safe management continued to spread as the years passed, until in the year
1872 it had become the largest manufacturing interest of the kind in this part of the
western country. On March 10th of the last named year, the senior partner passed
away. His untimely death, occurring as it did in the maturity of his plans and pur
poses for the further development of his business, did not, however, cripple or in any
way retard its onward progress, and to-day it stands a monument of the enterprise and
pluck of a class of men whose individual success and welfare is the welfare of the com
munity about them. There has been no further change in the firm and management
since Mr. Capps' death, excepting that in 1878 Mr. Joseph L. Capps, his third son, was
associated with his brothers, the new flrm still bearing the old firm name of "Joseph
Capps & Sons," thus perpetuating the name and memory of the founder in the wide
circle of business connections throughout the country of the great west.
It is a very false impression that Jacksonville has nothing but educational, reli
gious, literary or charitable institutions to boast of. The product of such an institution
as our "City Mills" is a real source and justifiable cause of local pride, reflecting credit
upon Jacksonville, Messrs. Fitzsimmons & Kreider, the well-known and enterprising
proprietors, in order to meet the demands of increased business, have this year pur
chased the extensive warehouses, elevators and cribs of T. & F. Keener, to enable them
to handle all classes of wheat and thus make better selections of grain for their milling.
The capacity of the mills has also been again largely increased by the addition of the
most improved roller mills, and another line of centrifugal machines, disintegrators,
etc. These improvements necessitated increased capacity in motive power. Messrs.
Fitzsimmons & Kreider have been in the floUr-mill business together since 1876, a pros
pering period of eight years. Before 1876 both were engaged separately in the same
business for several years. The City Mills, now in their control, has been in successful
operation for thirty years.
In this chapter we have already made reference to the trial of Robinson, accused
of the murder of Gen, McConnel, The tragedy itself occurred on the morning of the
9th of February, 1868, Mary Ryan, a domestic of the household, entered his office

The Murder of Gen. McConnel, 189
which was also his bed-room, located in an L of his home on North Main street. She
found the General lying on the fioor upon his face in the midst of a pool of clotted
blood. She testified that she had been in his room to make up his bed and that about
ten minutes after leaving it, while up stairs she heard a loud sudden noise like a fall.
Returning almost immediately, she found him murdered, and although it was broad
daylight, no person was seen by any of the family to enter or leave the room. There
was no evidence of a scuffle. The wounds were flve in number, all in the head, the
jaw bone was broken and the skull fractured in several places.
The general was in his usual health and had expected to go to Springfield that
very day on professional business. The coroner's jury found that he came to his deatli
"from and by reason of blows willfully and feloniously inflicted with some instrument
unknown to the jury, in the hands of W. A. Robinson," This emphatic verdict was
reached unanimously, flfteen minutes after the dismissal of the last witness. The ac
cused was 28 years old, only resident here a short time, and was keeping a small gro
cery store. To raise means for this he had borrowed |420 in gold of Gen. McConnel,
giving his note for the same. He was seen entering the General's premises that morn-
ing by W. H. Worrell, a milk-man, and the murdered man was evidently computing
interest at the time of liis death.
As to the deceased he has been already frequently referred to in these .pages. He
was born on the 15th of September, 1798, in Orange county in the western part of the
State of New York, his boyhood's days were spent there and in Chemung county,
near Blmira. At the early age of fifteen, he left the Empire State and his father's fami
ly for the great west — then so undeveloped, unpeopled, almost unknown. As early as
1815, he was in the boundarias of our own state, but not permanently settled until
about 1820 or 1821. At that time, his home was in or near what is now Scott county.
Soon after he removed to within the boundaries of what became the town of Jackson
ville. Dwelling in this locality for almost fifty years, he had, of course, been deep
ly interested and identified with the growth of the place. A man of indomitable en
ergy, of great endurance, addicted to no evil habits, always willing to contribute of the
ample means which he acquired in his long residence here, he came to be one ever
looked up to for advice in regard to matters pertaining to the interests of the place.
In his chosen profession of the law, he has been one of the most active and promi
nent members of the Morgan county bar.
In political life the General never swerved from his earliest attachments to the
Democratic party, and worked so acceptably, so indefatigably, for the advancement of
the principles which he advocated, that he well earned the soubriquet by which he was
so universally known as the "wheel-horse of the Democracy." He has often repre
sented his party in their national. State and county nominating conventions. For four
or five years, duiing the administrations of Presidents Pierce and Buchanan, he filled
the office of fifth auditor of the treasury. As early as 1838, he was a member of the
lower house of the Illinois Legislature, and near the same time, served as commissioner
of internal improvements.
A member of our general assembly for several successive terms, he became one of
the most active participants in the deliberations of that body and the acknowledged
leader of his party. His last service in political life was the filling of a term of two
years in the State Senate, representing this district. His title of general was acquired,
we believe, by his position ip connection with our State militia, though he also served
as a volunteer in the so-called "Black Hawk War."
During the darkened years of our country's history, when the pall of the rebellion
and civil war hung over the land, the general was always found among the compara
tively few of his party wlio followed in the lead of their lamented Douglas, and re
mained unflinchingly, a war Democrat, true to his country and to the real principles
of his party.
Too far advanced in life to take an active part in military life, he nevertheless,

190 General McConnel's Family — Morgan Mills.
¦with eloquent voice and stirring appeal, arrayed himself on the side of those who were
sustaining the government in those trying hours.
The deceased left a widow and four children, all well advanced in life, to follow
him to another world and mourn his loss while they survive him. Of the latter, one
son, George, was an active Republican and prominent citizen, serving as alderman and
mayor of the city. He is now the dramatic and musical editor of the Chicago Times.
The other son, Edward, is a brilliant writer for the press, and now master in chancery.
The two daughters are living in New York City, one the widow of the late Senator
James McDougal, of California, the other the wife of his brother John. The only other
child of the General, the talented lawyer and author, John L,, preceded his father to
the grave. Returning again to the subject of manufactures, we feel that reference should be
made to the long established flour-making industry now known as Morgan Roller Mills,
now owned by Messrs, Scott, Hackett & Chambers. The mills are located on the banks
of the Mauvaisterre, directly north of the city. They were first built in 1845 or '46 by
Messrs. James Dunlap, Jonathan Neely and John Holland, all now deceased. In 1847
the building was destroyed by fire ; Mr. Holland became sole proprietor and rebuilt
the mills. In 1853 Messrs 0. D. Fitzsimmons and Jonathan Neely bought interests.
Three years later Messrs. Davenport & Fitzsimmons bought out Holland ifc Neely. In
1865 Mr. P., then owning the City Mills, purchased his partner's interest in the Morgan
MiUs and thus controlled both. In 1868 the latter property was sold to Mr. Mapes, and
later became the property of the First National Bank through the failure of Mapes &
Sons. Litigation regarding the title continued for several years. During this period,
(in February, 1874) it passed into the hands of Messrs, Edward Scott & James H, Hack
ett, who in 1884 sold one-third interest to Mr, L, W, Chambers, In the fall of 1883, the
mills were almost entirely rebuilt and supplied with modern machinery, necessary for
the Hungarian system of gradual reduction.

CHAPTER XI.— 1874-'80.
A Glance at what Jacksonville was Ten Tears Ago— A City of Churches, Colleges,
Schools and Benevolent Institutions— Also a Business and Manufacturing Center
of Present Prospective and Importance — Literary and Aesthetic Societies — Munici
pal Statistics — Public Improvements — A live Railroad Point, a good Stock Market, a
Great Place for Marrying and a Place where some People die— The Original Gar
den of Eden, with all the Modern Improvements.
^,
^ff HE Chicago Daily Tribune of Jan. 6, 1875, editorially referred to our little city
of ten years ago as follows, basing its comments upon the annual review pub
lished in the Jacksonville Daily Journal:
^ , "Jacksonville, as everybody knows, is a city of State institutions, and, though
'Gr not containing much more than 10,000 inhabitants, has many metropolitan fea-
ures iiot usually found in places of greater pretentions, Ifs Insane Asylum contains 474
patients, and is one of the best conducted institutions in the country. .The Deaf and
Dumb AB.vlum has 341 pupils, who are taught reading and writing and the higher branch
es The Institution for the Education oi the Blind Has 107 pupils, and the Institution
for tbe Education of tbe Feeble Minded Children has 103 inmates. In addition to the
stale asylum, there is the Jacksonville Surgical Infirmary, the Oak Lawn Retreat, or
private asylum for tbe insane, and an Orphan's Home. It has musical and literary so
cieties in a fiourishing condition; a Free Public Library and Reading- Itoom; a Library
Association— quite a distinct organization — with industrial schools and benevolent socie
ties. There are seven public schools, with 1,500 pupils ahd 34 teachers; two private
schools for boys and three for girls; 21 churches and two parochial schools. The city
valuation for 1874 was: Real estate, $4,034,310; personal estate, $1,606,837; total, $6,-
631,047, The cily taxes for 1873 were at the rale of one and one halt per cent. Park
improvements for the year 1874 cost $9,768.45.
One of the important features of Jacksonville Is the Union Stock-Yards, for the
amount of business transacted in Jacksonville and the surrounding region is much greater
than one would think. The number of cars of stock received and shipped by the rail
roads was $3,527. At tbe Stock-Yards the receipts for the year were: Cattle, 28,366;
hogs. 16 723; sheep, 1,189; and horses and mules, 648. Jacksonville has also been at
work adding to its buildings during the year, which are, according to The Journal, of a
creditable description. In manufactures Jacksonville is still in its infancy, but The
Journal is a pretty newsy paper, well-flUed with advertisements, which tell more per
haps than the year's exhibit on the fourth page. For a town of 10,000 inhabitants,
Jacksonville can boast more business, life and enterprise, and backup its boast with facts
and figures, than many a city of double its size.
This was a very comprehensive summary of the Daily Journal's review, but for the
purpose of introducing more names, facts and figures, we quote more fully as follows:
"Jacksonville, a city ot about 10,000 inhabitants, the county seat of Morgan county,
is situated in the heart of the great corn-growing and stock-raising region of Central Illi
nois, about thirty five miles due west from the State Capital. The soil here is unsur
passed in richness and productiveness, aud its cultivators, as a class, are prosperous and
independent in circumstances. The city itself, as the result of the surrounding agricul
tural prosperity, and of the fact that its first settlers were imbued with the value of re
ligious and educational advantages, has attained an importance and a reputation quite
remarkable for a place of its size.
City valuation for 1874 is as follows: Real estate, $4,024,210; personal estate, $1,-
606,837; total, $5,631,047. The city taxes for 1873 were at the rate of one and one-half
per cent., and for last year will be only a little larger. This is very low compared with
most of the cities around us, whose taxation rates from two to five per cent.
The total receipts of the city treasury from April 1st, 1874, to January 1st, 1875,
were $173,189.33; total expenditures, $173,189.38. of which the principal were P., P. &
J. R. R. bonds, $50,000; water works account, $88,693; streets and alleys, $16,165.15;
park improvement, $8,468.45; extension Church street sewer, $3,907.99; street extenl
sion, $4,743.23; salaries, $5,668,80; police, $3,867.48; gas and gasoline, $6,874; board

Jaoksona-illk Ten Yi-;.\ks Ano. 193
of health, $833 33; water expense, $2,350.26; teachers' salaries, $15,654; other school
expenses, $5,418.
The number of marriages in the city last year were 318
The number of deaths about 180.
Jacksonville is yet in its infancy as a manufacturing town, but its infancy promises
a sturdy manhood. The splendid system of water worlis now in successful operation
has given a great impetus to manufacturing projects, and our list next year will be much
extended. We mention now some of the more noticeable enterprises.
First among these stands the Jacksonville Woolen Mills, Joseph Capps' Sons, pro
prietors These mills manufacture largely of all sorts of woolen goods, yarns, iSrc. , giv
ing employment to a force of about one hundred persons. The proprietors ship largely
to all parts of the country, doing an annual business of not less than $200,000.
A paper barrel factory, on,a large scale is about to begin operations, some of the
machinery having already arrived. 'This will form one of the most important manufac
turing interests in this part of the Slate
'The manufacture of fine carriages and buggies, and wagons of all kinds, light and
heavy, is carried on, on a large scale, by W. S. Richards, Samuel Cobb, Hellenthal, Vo-
gel & Co,, J, W. Hall, and B. Keemer, R, Waltbn, Day & Dunavan, Philip Lee, H, D-
Gouveia, largely manufacture wagons
J. L Padgett's Jacksonville Shirt Factory is a new inslilulion, that has sprung into
a surprising success. The business of manufacturing shirts, begun on a small scale, has
now assumed wide proportions, and already manufactured goodi are sent far and wide,
A laree force of hands are constantly employed lo meet the demands made.
Another new and important manufacturing enterprise is that of C. H. Dunbrack &
Co., who manufacture aents' furnishing goods. Their goods have a remarkable popu
larity, and are to-day sold from Iowa to Texas by agents. Orders come fast and thick.
Large shipments have been made of late, some lo the extreme south. The branches of
work embrace almost every kind of gents' wear save heavy clothing. The enterprise is on
an independent basis, sound and prosperous.
In the manufacture of flne candies of all kinds, and fine confectioneries, E. Hamil
ton & Son take the lead. Their arrangements are complete and their daily business very
large. The manufacture of cigars and of flne tobaccos in the city is immense. B. Pyatt &
Son bftve manufactured and sold during the year 415,600 cigars, an increase of 103,600
over 1873, Their sales of tobacco in other forms are fully as heavy. This flrm is one
of the most noted in the State.
Messrs. Myers & Knollenberg manufactured in 1874, 400,000 cigars, and their sales
in other tobaccos will amount to as much as their cigar trade.
Romerman, the West State street tobacconist, has manufactured 200,000 cigars, and
sold heavily of oiher tobaccos.
Flour is manufactured in large quantities and shipped to all parts of the country.
During the year just closed E. C. Kreider manufactured 12,800 barrels of flour, hand
ling 64,000 bushels of wheat.
Messrs. Scott & Hackett m-mufactured 10,000 barrels of flour since April, when
they began business.
Messrs. White & ShufE have manufactured 5,000 barrels of flour, and Messrs.
Schoonover nearly as much more.
Other manufacturing interest might with propriety be mentioned, the coopers, the
boot and shoe makers, harness makers, upholsterers, bottling establishments, where soda
pop, beer, ale, cider, &c., are put up, collar makers, hoop skirt and hair makers.
Under the lead of our far sighted and public-spirited Mayor, Hon J. O King, sup
ported by a progressive common council, many improvements have been inaugurated
and carried through, and our municipal affairs are in a very favorable condition-
During the year the public square has been made attractive by a handsome iron fence
and fountain, and by a complete system of brick walks, and in the coming spring and
summer will be an ornament and a joy. The total cost of the improvement was $9,-
768.45. An important improvement — the extension of Church street sewer a distance of 3,-
963 feet— has just been completed at a cost of $3,907.99.
A of number of street extensions have been carried through at a cost of .$4,750.23,
as follows: Mauvaisterre street, Versailles street. Clay avenue and Diamond street.
The expenditures for grading and draining streets, and building sidewalks and cross
ings for the eight months ending Nov. 30th, was $15,815. Several miles of brick walks
have been laid at a cost of $3,306.34 The number of bricks used was 289,900. Three
miles and six hundred and thirty-one feet of plank walks have been built since April 1st,
for which 65,884 feet of pine plank, and 10,292 feet of oak lumber were used, making a
total of 76,174 feet of lumber at a cost for material and labor of $1,563.23. 'Total cost
brick and plank sidewalks $4,869.57.

194 Private Residences ami Institutions.
In the way of new buildings, public and private, for the year, there have been many
marked improvements. Few years in the past have furnished more. Among the more
noticeable private residences that have been completed are those of L. W. Chambers, a
fine two story frame of modern design, on West State street; Prof. J. H. Woods, a splen
did frame and one of the most capacious in the cily, on West Lafayette street; Dr.
Joshua Rhoads, corner Prairie and Reed streets, a fine frame of handsome design; Wm.
E. Capps, a splendid brick, corner Westminster street and College avenue; Prof, R C.
Crampton, a frame residence on College hill; M, H, Carroll, a fine frame on South Main
street; Abner Yates, an imposing frame, flnished on East State street; A. N. McDonald,
a flne frame on East State street; Major W, P, Gallon, a costly frame on North Main
street north of the cily; Andrew Riissel, a large and expensive frame residence on
Mound avenue; Rev. Dr, Nevius, a large brick residence on West State street; Dr, Kel
logg, a flne frame residence on College avenue; E. W, Bradley, flue frame residence on
Diamond and Greenwood streets; James Scott, large frame on West North street, and
many others, all adding to the beauty of the place that we would gladly speak of at
length, but the list is long.
Many private residences in various parts of the city have been remodelled, added to
and so improved in appearance that they seem as if entirely new, and certainly stranger
eyes would so regard them.
Among the business houses erected, is Robert Buckthorpe's brick store building f n
East State street, 20 by 60 feet, two stories, with 14 feet ceilings, a neat building costing
$4,000, Among the public buildings that have been but recently completed, are the main
building of the Institution for the Education of the Blind, a noble structure costing $75,-
000, a full and minute description of which has heretofore appeared
Though the corner stone of the flue new dormitory bujluing of Illinois College on
College Hill, was laid in 1873, most of the construction and the completion of the work
were accomplished last year. The edifice is a handsome brick structure 100 feet by 50
feet, with three stories and basement, costing $21,000, though it has since been appraised
by good judges, at $30,000 The building furnishes accommodations for 36 students,
and is almost entirely paid for by the conlribui ions of citiaens of Jacksonville, alumni of
the college and others
The dining hall and hospital building, and engine house, at the State Institution
for Deaf and Dumb, the first a magniflcent building completely adapted for the purposes
for which it was built, A new and commodious school building is in course of erection,
but for the present is left severely alone.
New building, such as an engine house, ice house, shop, house for produce, filter, &c. ,
have been added to the State Hospital for Insane, while many internal improvements
necessary and important have been made.
At the Institution for Feeble Minded Children, one or two minor but much needed
frame buildings have been added.
The splendid new ediflce of the Central Presbyterian church congregation was fin
ished early in the year, and presents an imposing appearance. It is modest in style, but
pleasing. With the tower and bell yet to be added, and the lot, it will have cost $33,000.
Grace M. E. church, one of the handsomest church edifices in the city, was dedi
cated to the worship of God, January 4, 1874 It cost $28,000. ****«•*
Jacksonville has been remarkably favored in the location of Stale institutions, being
the site of four of the largest and best regulated of the kind in the country, as follows:
Illinois Institution for the Education of \he Blind— F. W. Phillips, M. D. , superin
tendent. Illinois Central Hospital for the Insane— H. F. Carriel, M D , superintendent.
Illinois Institution for the Education of Feeble Minded Children— C. T. Wilbur, M.
D., superintendent. Illinois Institution for the Education of the Deaf andDumb— P. G. Gillett, L.L. D.,
principal. The Insane Hospital has 474 patients, and is one ot the best arranged institutions of
the kind in the country. It is very pleasantly located about one mile south of the pub
lic square. The Institution for the Education of the Deaf and Dumb, is located about one mile
west of the public square and has 341 pupils.
The Institution for the Education of the Blind is located about three-quarters of a
mile east of the public square, and has 107 pupils.
The Institution for the Education of Feeble Minded Children, is located one mile
west of the square, on the property known as the Duncan estate, and has 103 pupils.
There are also three other benevolent institutions of note here, making seven in all.
The Jacksonville Surgical Infirmary is located on South Sandy street, three doors
south of the public squarfe, and is owned and managed by Dr. David Prince. It is sup
plied with large galvanic batteries, and all the apparatus appertaining to a thorough and

Schools and Colleges in 1871. 195
cornplete adaptation of electricity as a theraupetical agency. The establishment is also
designed especially for the management of cures requiring surgical operations, and is
supplied with ingenious apparatus for use in orthopedic and plastic surgery, in which
operations Dr. Prince is regarded as a rarely prominent and successful.
Oak Lawn Retreat is located about one mile and a half southeast of the public
square, is a nrivate hospital for the insane— arranged to accommodate about len or twelve
patients. It is managed by Dr, Andrew McFarland, for many years superintendent of
the State Hospital for the Insane, and is remarkably successful in his treatment ot the
insane. It is delightfully located — being one of the pleasantesl places in the cily which is
noted for its chai ming residences.
The Oiphan's Home, on East Stale street, established by Mrs. Bliza Ayers, has
tarted anew in its noble work under the charge of Rev. Dr. Passavant, * * * *
The following is a list of the numerous educational iuslitutions in the cily:
Illinois College — one of the oldest classical instUutions in the west — Rev, J, M. Stur
tevant, D. D., piesident,
Illinois Female College (Methodist) W. H. DeMotte, A. M., president.
Jacksonville Female Academy (Presbyterian) E, F. Bullard, A. M., principal.
Young Ladies' Athenseum, Rev. W, D Banders, D. D., superintendent,
Illinois Conservatory of Music, Rev. W. D. Sanders, D. D., superintendent; Prof
Poznanski, musical director.
Whipple Academy, (branch of Illinois College.)
Jacksonville Business College — This excellent and growing institution was founded
in 1866 by Prof. R C. Crampton. Its patronage has been steadily increasing from tbe
first. During the term which has just closed, its attendance numbered over 130 students
— both ladies and gentlemen. The course of study and business training is much more
thorough than that found in many similar inslilulions. An evening school of great value
to scores of young persons of our city is sustained for six months of the year. The prin
cipals. Prof. R. C. Crampton. and G. W. Brown, have put forth every effort lo make
this the leading busiuess college of the State and the west. Prof. W. R. Glen has charge
of the penmanship department.
Parochial school (Catholic,) Sister J, Meher, principal-
German Lutheran school — F. W. Knaach, principal. *********
In respect to public schools, also, Jacksonville ranks very high. Under the charge
of Prof. D. H. Harris, city superintendent, these institutions have reached a degree of
thoroughness and excellence truly admirable. They number seven separate schools,
with 84 teachers and about 1,500 pupils. The list is as follows:
Washinglon High School, Lewis J. Block, principal; First Ward School, MiS3 Han
nah Tobey, principal; Second Ward School, Miss Mary A. Selby, principal; branch
school (Second Ward) Miss Ellen Hammond, principal; Third Ward School, G, H, Lit-
tlefield, principal; branch school (Third Ward), Mrs. E. M. Caldwell, principal; Fourth
Ward school, M. S. Lincoln, principal; colored school, Mrs. F. C McLaughlin, principal.
The literary tone given by the numerous institutions of learning extends in a marked
degree into the socieiy of the place, and a number of private and social organizations for
purposes of culture — including many of our best citizens — are in fiourishing existence.
Among them we may barely mention The Jacksonville Literary Union, the Jacksonville
Club, The Art Society, The Home Musical Club, The Dramatic Club, The Phi Sigma
Literary Socieiy, The Plato Club, The Sorosis, The Jacksonville Library Association,
The Sigma Pi Socieiy and the Phi Alpha Society at Illinois College; The Belle Lettres
and Phi Nu Societies al Illinois Female College.
Amorg miscellaneous organizations may be named an Agricultural Society, Horti
cultural Society, a Poultry Association, a 'Trotting Association, a Turn Verein Society.
The Odd Fellows, the Masonic organization and Good Templars are represented by
numerous bodies.
Within a year the Jacksonville Free Library and Reading Room has commenced a
successful existence, and is doing much to raise and maintain the literary tone of the city.
The managers of the organiaalion are Messrs. E, Wolcott, Dr. H. W, Milligan, P,
G, Farrell, H, H, Hall, Mrs. Alex. McDjnald, Mrs. Morris Collins, Miss Altilla Raw
lings. The trustees of the Jacksonville Library Association, an entirely distinct organiza
tion from the above, and which possesses a choice library of the higher order of works,
are Messrs, H. W, Milligan, W, 8. Andras, E. P. Kirby, H. E. Dummer, J. H. Woods,
T. J. Pitner, M. P. Ayers.
Among the private benevolent societies are the Industrial School for girls. Miss Mag
gie Catlin, principal; the Women's Benevolent Society; the Women's Educational So ¦
ciety, and various chvu:ch benevolent societies. ***********
Although hitherto chiefly noted as a delightful home and an educational center, .Tack-

196 Hard Times — Frekjht Figures — Murder Trials.
sonville has been steadily growing in business importance, and promises to become ere
long a very important business and manufacturing center Situated in the heart of a
magnificent region, with railroads running lo all points of the compass, coal abundant
and close at hand, and a splendid system of water works, affording an unfailing supply
of water, and moreover possessing the advantage of the presence of an abundance of
capital, it needs only increased energy and enterprise lo double the population and busi
ness of our cily in a few years. And lo this our citizens are awakening. A new era,
we believe, has dawned upon Jacksonville, and our next annual review, we think, will
show a great increase in our prosperity as a city. ********
Whfie the year has not been one of great growth or unusual business, our city can
compare favorably, in that respect, with other places in the west, and indeed in passing
through the "hard times" has shown itself and its citizens lo be established on an excep
tionally safe and solid basis. Tnere are few cities in the west where s i much wealth is
concentrated in proportion to their size, and very few which contain so many attractions
as places of residence and such natural advantages for growth in business and manufac
tures and general prosperity. *********
The amount of business transacted in live stock, particularly in cattle, in Jackson
ville and the surrounding region, is far greater than most persons imagine. The number
of cars of stock received and shipped by the railroads during the year is 3,537 — repre
senting, probably, over 100,000 animals.
The shipments of stock over the Peoria, Pekin & Jacksonville railroad for the year
1874 were: Cattle, 490 cars, or about 6,850 head; hogs, 358 cars, or about 31,500 head;
sheep, horses and mules scattering.
The Chicago & Alton railroad shipments of various classes of freight, and also re
ceipts of stock for the year. Wheat, 1,353 bushels; corn, 39 505 bushels; rye, 5 790
bushels; barley 1,834 bushels; potatoes, 5.534 bushels; iron, 85,61f3 pounds; hides, '28.-
030 pounds; merchandise and sundries. 3 890,271 pounds; flour, 3.701 barrels; whisky,
1,829 barrels; lard, 151 barrels; salt, 185 barrels; ice, 3,073 tons. Cars of stock received
1,049; do shipped, 833; cars coal received (12 tons per car), 373; do sand received, 109;
do lumber received, 140; do lumber shipped, 130; collected on freight received, $91,800;
chargeson freight forwarded, $44 000.
Toledo, Wabash & Western railroad— 395 cars ot cattle, or 6,320 head, were received
on the road at this point during the year; during the same term six hundred cars of
grain were forwarded, and 600 cars of coal received; charges for freight received, amount
to $120,000; tickets sold $48,000.
The receipts at this point of the Jacksonville Northwestern & Southeastern railroad
were: Hogs, 177 cars, or 10,600 head; cattle, 225 cars, or 3,600 bead; one thousand
cars of coal from Virden, averaging 300 bushels each car, or a total of 30J,000 bushels.
Continuing our record of the criminal cases involving human life, which came up in
our courts during this period— 1874 to 1880, we flnd that Julius H. Elmore was indicted
at the January term, 1875, of the circuit court, for the murder of Claiborn Coker on
the 24th of December, 1874, by cutting him in the neck with a knife. He was found not
guilty by the jury.
Robert Mayes was indicted at the May term of the circuit court, 1875, for the mur
der of his wife, Mary Mayes, on the 5th of June, 1876, at Meredosia, by hitting her
over the head with a brick, and then throwing her into the cellar of his house. The
trial took place in August, 1876. This was a bad case, and the jury found the defend
ant guilty of murder, and sentenced him to the penitentiary for a period of 22 years.
Bion Shaw was indicted at the August term, 1876, by the circuit court of Cass
county for the killingof John Davis on the 10th of August, 1876, by shooting him with
a pistol. A change of venue was taken to this county and a trial had in May, 1877,
The defendant was found guilty of manslaughter and sent to the penitentiary for one year.
William T. Hannas, better known as "Tobe" Hannas, was indicted in May, 1878.
for the shooting and killing of William Baker and Clarence Hubbard, at the Baptist
(colored) church in Jacksonville on April 14th, 1878. This case created much excite
ment in Jacksonville, and public opinion ran high against the defendant. The juo'
found him guilty and sentenced him to the penitentiary for a period of twenty years. He
was afterwards transferred to the Insane Hospital where he died.
Samuel W. Mathews was indicted at May term, 1878, for the murder of his father,
Richard Mathews, on May 20th, 1878, by shooting him with a pistol. Trial in May!
1879. The jury found defendant guilty of manslaughter and he was given one year in
Joliet.

The Y. M. 0. A. Folnued— (^ity PAsroRS. 197
John Angelo and Theodore Angelo were indicted in August, 1878, for the murder
of Isaac Hammill. A trial was had and John Angelo was declared to be not guilty, in
sane, and the boy Theodore, sent to the reform school. Theodore's case was reversed
by the supreme court, brought back, dismissed and his discharge granted.
Albert DeFrates was indicted in May, 1879, for the killing of Antonio DeFrates on
the 25th of February, 1879, by shooting him with a musket. Trial was had and the
defendant was found not guilty.
Charles Van Wey was indicted by the grand jury in May, 1880, for the killing of
Ira Kimball at the depot in Chapin on the night of the 28th of February, 1880, by shoots
ing him witli a revolver. The trial took place May 20th, 1881, the defendant being
found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to one year in the penitentiary.
In the spring of 1874, the Christian churches of this city, united in a series of
evangelistic meetings under the leadership for two weeks of E. P. Hammond and after
wards continued for several months under the conduct of the pastors. The result of
this effort was the most thorough religious awakening the city liad experienced for
years if not the most thorough ever witnessed. The result was particularly notice
able among.st the young men, many of whom were born into the kingdom for the flrst
time, and many others set to work, who, although connected with the churches, had
hitherto been inactive. By this revival the young men were inspired with a strong de
sire for associated work for their fellows. In response to a call on the 12th of June,
1874, at the Illinois Female College, a meeting for re-organizing the city Y. M. C. A.
was held. The former organization was ignored and all present, forty-three in
number, were considered the founders of the society. The constitution and by-laws
of the old association were adopted ; and officers to serve until November 1st, were
elected. The choice for president fell on Dr. H. A. Oilman, who was successively
re-elected to the same position until Nov. 1st, 1877.
The first religious work undertaken was the young people's meeting, held in the
First Presbyterian and Central Presbyterian churches at diflerent times. The attend
ance at these meetings was very large ; sometimes as many as 400 or 500. Tracts and
religious papers have been circulated in large quantities. In the winter of 1875-'76, a
cheap restaurant, or as it was commonly called a "soup house," was carried on to meet
a pressing demand. Beginning in August, 1875, the Association paper Woi'k was pub
lished for two years ; this was a strong help in educating the people in the plans and
purposes of the society, informing them from month to month of what was being done
and making known the wants and desires. Healthful lectures and entertainments
have been furnished from time to time. The headquarters of the association for seven
years were any place that would temporarily accommodate.
The list of the churches of the city in the year 1874, shows the following denomi
national summary :
Baptist, 2 ; Congregational, 1 ; Catholic, 1 ; Christian, 2 ; Episcopal, 1 ; Lutheran,
2 ; Free Congregational, 1 ; Methodist, 7 ; Presbyterian, 5. Total 22.
The pastors of the leading churches -^'ere : L. M. Glover, First Presbyterian; C. W.
Garoutte, Chri-tian; L. Washington, Baptist; P. C. Cooper, African Methodist Epis
copal; R. Lennington, Portuguese; W. W. Harsha, Central Presbyterian; J. W. Sin
nock, Brooklyn ; E. N. Pires, Portuguese ; Earl Cranston, Grace ; W. H. Savage, Con
gregational ; A. J. McCoy, Centenary M. E. ; Jos. Cross, Trinity Episcopal ; J. A. Beagle,
Soule Chapel; Wm. Winter, German M. B.; R. W. Allen, Unity.
The M. E. preachers of these six years were :
Centenary— Geo. Stevens, 1874-'75-'76 ; D. W. English, 1877-'78; Horace Reed,
1879-'80. Grace— I. Crook, 1874-'75; R. M. Barns, 1877-'79.
Brooklyn— W. H. H. Moore, 1875-'77; W. F. T. Spruill, 1878-'80.
Presiding Elder— W. F. Short, 1873-'75 ; W. H. Webster, 1876 ; W. 8. Prentice,
1877-'79.

ins CriruciiES .\nd Stxday iSriiDoi.s.
The new church edifice, erected by the Central Presbyterian congregation on cor
ner of Church and West State street at a cost of $25,000, or with the lot $33,000, was
dedicated to Almighty God on Sabbath, April 19th, 1874. The sermon was preached
by Rev. N. L. Rice, D. D., from Romans, 3d chapter, 28th verse : "Therefore we con
clude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law."
There were present and taking part in the exercises the following clergymen of
the city: Rev. R. W. Allen, Rev. Geo. C. Wood, Rev. Wm. D. Sanders, D. D., Rev, H,
V. D. Nevius, D. D., and Rev. I. W. Ward, of the Presbyterian, and Rev. Earl Cranston
of the Methodist Episcopal and Rev. J. G. White of the Cumberland Presbyterian
church. The architects were Messrs. Dennis & Sutton, of Springfield, III., whose plans were
followed throughout with a few slight variations. Mr. Thomas Waddell, a member of
the church, was the efficient superintendent of the whole, and the carpenter in charge
of the woodwork. Messrs. Mount & Engles had the contract for the brickwork and
plastering. Mr. Peter Compton, also a member of the church, had the painting and
glazing. The frescoing was done by Shubert & Koenig, of Chicago. The chairs for
the lecture room, and pulpit and platform chairs (gothic) were obtained through Mr.
Wm. Branson, froni Henry Closterman, of Cincinnati. The pulpit and the comforta
ble pews were made by Mr. Hugh Wilson, and the cushions by Mr. Henry Higgins,
both of this city. The beautiful communion table was the donation of one of the
younger members, Mr. H. P. Huntsinger.
In 1875, Trinity church premises were -surrounded by a neat and substantial iron
fence, and in 1876 the interior of the church was greatly improved and an elegant pipe
organ of twenty-six stops put in. In 1878 the membership was 200.
The following will show the number of scholars in the Protestant Sabbath schools
of the city, as prepared and read at the county Sabbath school convention at Murray
ville, in 1875, by Charles M. Eames, county Sabbath-school statistician :
Presbyterian— First  275
Central  104
•' Westminster  117
" First Portuguese  193
" Second Portuguese  160
Methodist — Centenary  411
" Grace  300
Brooklyn  199
" Soule Chapel  164
" African  186
" German  78
Congregational  223
Baptist— First  .'  140
Mt. Emory  75
Christian — Church of Christ  300
" South Main street  148
Episcopal— Trinity  86
Zion Lutheran — German  35
Total  3,053
Rev, Eli Corwin, D. D,, was the pastor of the Congregationalists from 1876 to 1880,
succeeding Rev, W, H, Savage,
In June of the year 1880, the Jacksonville Female Academy celebrated its semi
centennial with appropriate and very interesting exercises. From Dr, Glover's histor
ical discourse upon that occasion we have liberally quoted for this book. We extract
further, as follows :
The number of graduates of the Academy up to this time is 329, not including
many who, previous to the year 1845, went forth from the Institution, well educated
but without any official testimonials of that fact. This mother institution is proud of
her children, their goodly number, their worthy character, their standing as educated
women, their excellent influence over all the wide field of their dispersion, the good
they have done, or are doing, as wives, mothers, teachers, members of Christian society.

.V('.M)E:\IY— AtIIEN.'EI M  IlfSINESiS CoLLEfiE, l99
and helpers in very desirable work. As a rule, wu have no reason to be ashamed of
the record they have made, or are now making. The Academy has a treasure in them
of increasing value, a treasure well secured, especially in the case ot those who have
already exchanged the cross for the crown.
As the mother institution of the great Northwest, Jacksonville Female Academy,
on this semi-centennial occasion, looks kindly upon the numerous enterprises with sim
ilar object that have sprung up around her, and sends cordial greeting to them all.
At the same time, she is free to confess that, as it is her honor lo be the first in point
of time, so it is her purpose lo be the best in point of character and worth. Prima
inter pares. Though admitting others to social and official equality, she claims for
herself primacy, in the aspects named.
Prof. E. F. Bullard, A. M., the present incumbent, entered upon his duties as prin
cipal in 1874. He had succeeded Prof. Thayer in an institution at Keesville, N. Y.,
and was warmly recommended by him as a suitable person to take charge of this Acad
emy. Prof. Bullard was unanimously elected to the position he fills with such satisfac
tion to the trustees and patrons of the school.
L^pon the retirement of Dr. Sturtevant from the presidency of Illinois College, in
1870, the management of the institution was in the excellent hands of Rufus C. Cramp
ton, LL. D., senior professor, who was continued as acting president until Prof. Edward
A. Tanner was chosen as president, by the unanimous vote of the trustees.
In 1878 the college had not yet completed its first half century. The best of our
American colleges have not been the creation of a day. They have had their origin
with the communities in which they were founded. They have often .struggled for
existence while material prosperity was being developed around them, until accumula
ted wealth should flow into them. This college is no exception to the rule. With the
struggles of the past the friends of the college are no-w concerned no further than to
know that they are safely passed, and that future prosperity seems well assured. Aside
from grounds, buildings, and other appliances, the invested endowment funds were
then about .|110,000, with from $10,000 to $15,000 available in the future.
The present faculty consists of ten earnest, faithful men, each of marked ability
and experience in his department, fully alive to the increasing demands of the times
upon those who would be found worthy to represent the higher culture.
As to the Young Ladies' Athenseum, I'see cut page 170,) Prof. Sanders continued
as superintendent up to the close of the school year, June, 1878, when the alumnae
numbered 103.
Prof. Rider succeeded as superintendent in September, 1878, continuing until Feb
ruary, 1879, when he retired, under a cloud, and Prof. Sanders took up the management
again, holding it until September, 1880, when Prof. Elmore Chase assumed the super
intendence. By the graduation of the class of 1880, in June of that year, the alumnaj
were increased to 125.
In 1876 the number of students in the Jacksonville Business College had become
so great that enlarged facilities became an absolute necessity, since which the college
has been conducted upon an enlarged plan, occupying the entire building on Kosciusko
street, with its commodious halls, recitation rooms and office.
Prof. G. W. Brown, who has been connected with the college since 1866, first as in
structor, but later as managing principal, purchased the institution, including its build
ing and grounds. The rooms were enlarged and improved, new and valuable features
added to the course of study, and every effort put forth to make this institution, in the
strictest sense, a business college, which shall thoroughly train its students for the
practical affairs of life.
No business college in America has a better array of talent in its faculty of instruc
tors and lecturers than this. The departments of the college are: 1, The English
training school; 3, the theoretical business department; 3, the actual business depart
ment; 4, the special penmanship department; 5, the telegraphic department. Each de
partment is in charge of a specially qualified teacher, by which arrangement the high
est grade of instruction is insured in all parts of the course of study.

200 Business Colleoje — Illinois Female College.
The course is short, practical and reasonable. It is just what every man needs and
will use, no matter what his calling or professson is to be.
In the number, experience and ability of its teachers, in the excellence of its
course of study, in the healthfulness and beauty of its location, and in its moderate ex
penses, this college is equal to any in the land.
The annual catalogue issued in 1878, showed an enrollment of two hundred and
flfty students for the year just closed. During the four years, 1875-'78, the institution
graduated more than one hundred and flfty students, representing ten diflerent states.
The thirteenth year of the college began September 2, 1878.
The faculty for 1876 and 1877 were R. C. Crampton, A. M., and G. W, Brown, Prin
cipals, I. J. 'Woodworth, superintendent of theoretical department, teacher of book
keeping, correspondence and business penmanship. C. B. Reynolds superintendent of
the English training school, and teacher of the English branches. H. B. Chicken, su
perintendent of the special penmanship department, and the teacher of plain and orna
mental penmanship. J. M. Sturtevant, D. D,, LL. D., lecturer on political economy.
H. K. Jones, A. M., M. D., lecturer on anatomy and physiology. J. M. North, Esq,,
member of Morgan county bar, lecturer on commercial law.
In July, 1875, Rev. W. F. Short, presiding elder of the Jacksonville district of the
Illinois Conference, for a number of years, was appointed to the vacancy occasioned by
the resignation of Rev. W. H. DeMotte, principal of Illinois Female College, and still
fills the office.
There were graduated from the college, up to 1878, about three hundred and twen
ty young ladies. The school continued in a very prosperous condition, a credit to its
founders, some of whom are still living, and may well feel proud of this noble institu
tion of learning. The course of study is as extensive and thorough as that usually pur
sued in first-class schools for young women, embracing all the branches of a solid and
ornamental education. It is so arranged that the student will have three studies each
term, which, with her other college and society duties, is as much literary work as
should be attempted. This arrangement will give every one sufficient time to devote to
some of the ornamental branches, as instrumental and vocal music, drawing, painting,
wax work, or other branches of art. Every young lady should give attention to this
part of polite education, both for the pleasure and profit to herself and her friends.
In order to meet the demands in the department of music, a corporation has been
formed, under the statute relating thereto, under the name of The Illinois Academy of
Music and Art. A course of musical study has been arranged similar to that of like
institutions. The rooms devoted to this department (fifteen in number), are of good size and
convenient location, under the same roof with the literary department ; and the pianos
and organs are sufficient in number and quality to meet the demands of a large class.
Musical recitals are frequently given in the chapel of the college.
In 1878 the faculty of the college consisted of the following persons : Rev. W. F,
Short, A. M., president, professor of mental, moral and political sciences ; Miss Mary
S. Pegram, preceptress, teacher of mathematics and astronomy ; Miss Mary A. McDonald,
teacher of Latin and modern languages ; James B. Smith, professor of natural sciences ;
Miss Lottie D, Short, teacher of preparatory department. Department of Music, A. E,
Wimmerstedt, director, professor of instrumental and vocal music, and harmony and
composition ; Mrs. Marion Phillips Wimmerstedt, teacher of instrumental and vocal
music ; Mrs, Kate Murdock Smith, teacher of instrumental and vocal music. Art, Mrs,
Mary S. Vigus, teacher of painting and drawing. Matron, Mrs. Sarah B, Short,
Our free graded public school system by this time was a success in every particu-
lar, and received honorable mention at the Vienna exposition of 1874. During the year
1875, our schools furnished instruction to about 1,700 pupils. Here were found
scholars of the higher walks of life, seeking knowledge at the same fount as those of
the most humble positions, all sharing the same privileges. The colored pupils have

Journalistic Changes from 1874 to 1884. 201
the same favors extended to them as children of white skins ; thus are the foundations
laid for permanent intelligence, which must ever be one of the main pillars of this
great and glorious republic. The schools are all graded, from the primary to the high
school department, as each pupil is examined upon his introduction and assigned to
the gi-ade he or she is best fitted for.
Of Journalistic changes from 1874 to 1880 Mr. Ensley Moore writes in 1881 as
follows :
Mr, Glover sold his interest to Mr, H, R, Hobart, of Chicago, in April, 1874, Capt.
Chapin remaining in the firm, Mr, Wm. L. Fay became foreman of the news room
under Chapin & Glover, a place he still fills in a creditable manner. L. B. Glover
then went to Chica.go, and, in connection with Major George M. McConnel and John
M, Dandy, started the Saturday Evening Herald, of which Glover & Dandy are now
the proprietors. Horace R. Hobart was an experienced newspaper man of metropolitan views and
independence. As editor and manager, he made the Journal more of a literary sheet,
and also took an active part in local politics on some occasions. He improved the ap
pearance of his paper, changing the weekly to an eight page form, and put it on a
good business basis. George N. Loomis was his local editor.
Hon. Milton F. Simmons, formerly of Mexico, Mo., bought out Mr. Hobart in
April, 1875, and Mr. Simmons became editor, Loomis continuing as local.
H. R. Hobart returned to Chicago, where he found a good thing in the Railway
Age of which he is now an editor, and he is also a "city father" of Hyde Park.
As the history of Jaclssonville covered by this chapter and since includes several
important business, editorial and location changes in the Journal — the only daily
paper then published — we may be pardoned if we occupy space enough in these records
to refer to them.
On the first of March, 1876, the writer purchased a half interest in the Journal of
Messrs Chapin & Simmons, the proprietors, Capt. Chapin retiring. The latter part of
the same month he took charge of the city editorial department, succeeding the popu
lar "local" Mr. George N. Loomis, now of the Duluth (Minn.) Tribune.
From the date of this change in the business the Journal has been in regular re
ceipt of the associated press reports, a feature of the paper greatly appreciated by the
community. The office of the paper remained in the McDonald block, on North Main
street, until July, 1877, when a removal was made to the Mathers building, on East
State street, one block from the square. Simmons & Eames continued as publishers un
til October 1st, 1878, when we bought out the interest of Mr. Simmons, to enable him
to buy into the Springfield Journal, in company with Paul Selby and Horace Chapin
both ex- Journalists. Having purchased new material, an enlarged sheet was issued
under the new management, October 3. The subscription list and business of the office
generally is growing continually and its prospect for enlargement and increasing infiu
ence was never more fiattering. The daily is published every morning in the week ex
cept Monday — the weekly on Wednesday. The encouragement received from the bus
iness community has been very great.
At first we associated with us in the editorial work Hon. Judge Moses, lately
of Winchester, who attended to the political and general departments, H. H. Palmer,
Esq., in the local. Prof. J. H. Woods in the literary. Prof. J. B. Smith in the musical de
partments, J, S. Hambaugh as general solicitor, Wm, Fay, Esq,, foreman of the news
room and Robert A. Bradbury, foreman of job-room.
Since then Prof. H. A. Allen in the editorial, George N, Loomis, Hiram H. Palmer,
Richard Yates Carl Black, and Samuel W, Nichols in the local, and Prof, James B. Smith
in the business departments, have been devoting their talents and time to the interests
of the Journal's readers and patrons.
In 1874, the Jacksonville Enterprise was established as a weekly paper by James
S, Hambaugh, who, in 1875, started a daily paper. After the Sentinel and Enterprise
offlces were purchased by T, D. Price & Co., in May, 1876, the offlces were united under
the name of Illinois Courier, the paper being published daily and weekly until January,
1877, when the daily was suspendedand a tri-weekly edition substituted.

202 The Courier — Microscopical — City Fathers.
The firm of T. D. Price & Co., as publishers of the Gouridr, was composed of T. D.
Price, M. N. Price, H. L. Clay and G. B, Doying, all practical printers — each giving
personal attention to its business — Mr. Clay as editor, Mr. Doying as manager. The
office is in Ayers' block, on West State street, in the business center of the city. In all
respects the office is fully equipped and equal to all demands upon it.
In 1876 the Jacksonville Microscopical Society was organized for scientific study
with the aid of the microscoiDe.
Its numbers include Drs. Black, D. Prince, A. E. Prince, H. K. Jones, C. G. Jones,
Frost, Freeman, Milligan, Pitner, Prof. Storrs, Mr, Bleuler, Prof, Hamill Miss Alice
Rhoads, Miss Fuller and Mrs, H. W. Milligan.
Eleven of these members have instruments which have cost, with their objects
from one hundred to eight hundred dollars.
At each meeting of the society some member announces a subject which he will
introduce in an essay at the succeeding meeting. The other members prepare speci
mens illustrative of this subject, and show them at the next meeting under their respec
tive instruments. The society occasionally holds a semi-public exhibition of the "infi
nitely little" through its instruments. The Free Reading Room, the Female Academy
and Illinois College has each invited and enjoyed exhibitions of this society within its
halls. It is doubtful if there is in the state of Illinois, outside of Chicago, a micro
scopical society so active and so thoroughly equipped as this.
The U. S. census of 1880 gave Morgan county a population of 33,520, Jacksonville
precinct 14,831, the city proper 10,938. By wards as follows : 1st, 2,343 ; 2d, 3,171 ; 3d,
2,913; 4th, 3,501.
On the i6th of March, 1874, the Womans' Christian Temperance Union, of Jack
sonville, was organized and the society is still meeting regularly and doing all it can to
uplift the fallen. The first officers were Mrs, Lucy Washington, president ; Mrs. Emily
Bancroft, secretary ; Miss Jennie Hockenhull, treasurer. A year later the president
and secretary were re-elected and the following vice presidents chosen : Mesdames
Glover, North, Craig, Gilman, Russell, Orear, DeMotte, Pierson and Capps,
The city officials of the years named were:
1874, — Joseph O, King, mayor ; William P, Gallon, V. Edward Higgins, Philip
Lee, Ensley Moore, Henry C. Stewart, William Hackman, Abram Wood, Andrew W,
Jackson, aldermen; Benjamin R. Upham, city clerk; James 8. Hurst, marshal; James
N. Brown, attorney ; Bazzill Davenport, collector and assessor.
1875. — Wesley Mathers, mayor; V. Edward Higgins, William P. Gallon, 8, Henry
Thompson, Edward S. Greenleaf, Emanuel Hamilton, Abraham R. Gregory, Abram
Wood, Joseph Tomlinson, aldermen; Benjamin R. Upham, city clerk; Charles O,
Sperry, marshal; Robert D. Russell, attorney; Bazzill Davenport, collector and assessor.
1876.— E. S. Greenleaf, mayor; L. 8. Olmstead, C, Widmayer, James Scott, W. C.
Carter, A. R. Gregory, T. J, Bronson, G, S. Russel, Geo, Hayden, alderman ; B, R, Up
ham, city clerk ; C. O. Sperry, marshal ; John G. Morrison, attorney.
1877.— E. S. Greenleaf, mayor ; G. W. Hobbs, N. Kitner, V. B. Higgins, James
Scott, J. P. Willard, W. S, Snyder, G. 8, Russel, Geo, Hayden, aldermen; Henry W,
Hunt, city clerk; C, 0. Sperry, marshal; Robert D, Russell, attorney ; John A. Schaub,
street commissioner.
1878. — S. H. Thompson, mayor ; Nathaniel Kitner, John H. Myers, John Hopper,
Michael H. Carroll, W, S. Snyder, John R, Loar, Geo, Hayden, D. B, Smith, aldermen ;
Henry W. Hunt, city clerk; David Schoonover, marshal ; John A, Bellatti, attorney;
William B. Veitch, treasurer,
1879.— H. C. Stewart, mayor; F. F. Schmalz, Chas. Widmayer, John Hopper, Wm.
E. Capps, B. W. Simmons, John R. Loar, Geo, Hayden, Abram Wood, aldermen; Henry
W. Hunt, city clerk; John Pyatt, marshal; Wm, A, Crawley, attorney; B, F, Beesley,
treasurer, 1880.— John R. Loar, mayor; Chas, Widmayer, M. H, Walsh, W. E. Capps, W, H.
Thompson, J. M. Goodrick, W, C. Wright,- Geo. Hayden, Abram Wood, aldermen;

City and County Officials — Mail Statistics. 203
John W, Melton, city clerk; John Pyatt, marshal; C. Harry Dummer, attorney; B. F.
Beesley, treasurer.
The county officers were elected as follows :
1874. — Senator, Chas. D. Hodges; Representative, .John Gordon, A. J. Thompson,
Sam Wood ; Sheriff, Irvin Dunlap ; Coroner, Theodore Allen ; County Commissioner,
Daniel Dietrick.
1875. — Treasurer, W. H. Wright; Surveyor, W. H. Rowe ; County Commissioner,
James H. Devore.
1876. — State's Attorney, James N. Brown ; Circuit Clerk, Jolm N. Marsh; Sheriff,
Irvin Dunlap; Coroner, Philip Braun; Commissioner, John Virgin.
1877.— County Judge, E. P. Kirby; County Clerk, B. R. Upham ; Treasurer, W. II.
Wright; School Superintendent, Henry Higgins, Commissioner, David H. Lollis; Sur
veyor, W. H. Rowe.
1878. — Sherifl, Irvin Dunlap; Coroner, Daniel Riley; Commissioner, M.S.Ken
nedy; States Attorney, B, L. McDonald; Senator, W. P. Gallon; Representative, Rich
ardson Vase}'.
1879. — Treasurer, W. H. Wright ; Commissioner, John H. Mathews.
1880.— Circuit Clerk, John N. Marsh; Sherifl, W. H. Hinrichsen; Coroner, Daniel
Riley; Commissioner, Charles Heinz; States Attorney, E. L. McDonald; Representa
tive, Oliver Coultas.
The number of arrests, great variety of offenses and amount of fines collected in
1879 show an efficiency in our police force highly commendable, and the general ver
dict is that Marshal Pyatt was deserving and had faithful officers. The number of ar
rests for all causes from April 15 to November 30, was 215.
Fines and costs collected on above  $737.57
For violations of Sunday liquor law (10 arrests,) fines collected  375.00
Gambling houses (5 arrested,) fines collected  175.00
This is the official statement of the business of the .lacksonville postofflce for the
twelve months ending Nov. 30th, 1879:
Letters mailed  378,191)
Letters received  410,072
Postal cards mailed  160,396
P(>stal cards received  72,710
Pieces second class matter mailed  106,756
" third " " "  45,084
" fourth " " "  4,U04
registered business.
Letters sent  1,032
Letters received  1,933
MONEY ORDER BUSINESS, '
Orders issued, 6,165, amounting to  $50,381.00
paid, 8,510, "  .5.'),391.24
In 1879 the schools had an enrollment of about 2,000 pupils. These were enrolled
in the eight buildings, as follows:
High School— Prof. L. J. Block, Principal  115
Seventh Grade — Miss Lyde Kent, "  70
First Ward— Miss Hannah Tobey, "  310
" " Branch,  50
Second Ward— Miss M. A. Selby, "  300
" " Branch,  105
Third Ward— Prof. J. B. Smith, "  450
" " Branch,  40
Fourth Ward, , ,,  2130
The average cost of tuition of each pupil, that year, including High School, if com

204 The Introduction of Gas into Jacksonville.
puted on the whole expenditure, was $18.46 ; if computed upon a basis excluding ex
penditure for permanent investment, it was $12,40 for each pupil.
The introduction of such an illuminating power as coal-gas into any community is
a matter worthy of especial place in historic data. For nearly forty years Jacksonville
had nothing better than the tallow dip, the sperm candle or the coal-oil lamp,
in 1852 or '53, a charter was obtained for speculative purposes by foreign capital
ists. The solidity of the document was conditioned upon stock subscriptions amount
ing to $5,000 on which $250 must be paid in to the treasurer. These speculators held
their charter for several years insisting upon the subscription by our citizens of $30,000,
This amount was not forthcoming and the charter was about to lapse, when some one
in the city discovered that these outsiders had given a draft to cover the paid up capi
tal required, but it had never been cashed as they had not made it payable to any one
who could draw the money. Messrs. J. O, King, M. P, Ayers and others who were
deeply interested in having such a forward step taken, were instrumental in having the
stock books re-opened. Jijst before they were closed, Mr, King appeared and subscribed
for $5,000 worth of stock for himself and Mr, Ayers, and paid down the $250, Another
year or so was consumed in futile efforts to form a stock company. Finally a Mr. Ed
ward Gwynn, from Cincinnati, Ohio, came here and took hold of the matter,
agreeing to erect the necessary works, furnish land for same, lay necessary ser
vice pipes, &c., for $45,000. Also to receive his pay as follows : $20,000 in bonds of the
company, $10,000 in stock, and the remaining $15,000 in cash. The bargain was sealed
and the works constructed, costing about $52,000, additional bonds being issued for the
surplus $7,000. After the works were in successful operation, Mr. Gwynn disposed of
all his bonds and stock that he had not hypothecated in construction, to Mr. Nimrod
Deweese, The street lamps were first lighted Jan. 9, 1858, and private residences dur
ing the same month. The Jacksonville Gas-light & Coke Co. started off with a debt of
$28,000, with eighty-three consumers of gas, besides the city, which used twenty street
lamps. The works did not pay running expenses for years, hence, of course there were
no dividends, and not even any meetings of the directors. It soon became necessary to
replace and rebuild everything connected with the business except the street pipes, be
cause of the imperfect original construction by the contractor. It was not until 1866
that dividends were paid and these in stock. The eflorts of Mr, King, Mr, Ayers and
others were purely disinterested and public spirited. Mr. King was induced to give up
his business in the lumber firm of Massey, King, Neely & Co, to become superintend
ent, and has faithfully served the company as superintendent since 1858 — an uninter
rupted period of twenty-six years. Consumers have increased and semi-annual cash
dividends have been declared for several years, but these have grown less for the last
year or two on account of reduced price of gas. It started here at $3,50 ; in war time
got up to $5.00 and meter rent and now is furnished through seventeen miles of service
pipe to 400 consumers at $2.00 per thousand feet, cash. The dividends of 1884 were less
than six per cent per annum. In 1883, the company spent $10,000 in improvements in
order to be able to produce gas at the reduced rate.
The same gentlemen and others like them who might be named, were as anxious
that Jacksonville should have the advantages of a water supply as of gas-light, A Mr,
Deiley who came to this city from Philadelphia on gas business, was induced to make
an examination of the country surrounding Jacksonville, He declared that there
would be no trouble in procuring an abundant supply. Messrs, J, 0. King, S. W, Nich
ols and R, C. Crampton made a survey for the reservoirs, &c, Mr, Diley went home
and prepared full plans and made a bid for constructing the works. His figures were
$170,000, but called for larger pipe than were needed, stand pipe, two Duplex en
gines, &c.
Mr, King and others went around among their fellow-citizens procuring their signa
tures to a petition for an election for and against an appropriation by the city council
of $150,000 for water works construction. The city fathers called the election in June

The City Water Works — Secret Societies. 205
1869, but its requirement was a majority of all votes cast at the last previous election,
which was on a presidential election year, viz : 1868,
There was much opposition to the project, excitement over it and wild talk to the
effect that it would cost the tax-payers a half million dollars. The opposers had no idea
that the required votes "for" could be obtained, but a few enterprising spirits, Messrs.
D. B. Smith, S, W, Nichols, J. O. King, Dr. Bibb and others made a "still hunt," got
carriages and drew out so large a vote of the friends that the measure carried by fifty
or sixty majority. It was two or three years, however, before the works were built.
The city issued ten per cent bonds, having twenty years to run, to pay the contractor,
and in 1876 refunded them at eight per cent.
The city water works were completed and put in operation January 20th, 1875, be
ing nearly flve and one-half years after the ordinance was passed by the city council
authorizing the appropriation.
The works, as constructed, consisted of an impounding reservoir, capacity 65,000,-
000 gallons; distributing reservoir, capacity 3,500,000 gallons; two medium working
pumps, one with a capacity of pumping 600 gallons, the other 280 gallons, per minute ;
eight and one-third miles of pipe and sixty-six hydrants, the cost of construction being
$150,000, including land, right of way, &c., &c. They afford every facility and conve
nience for the prevention of an extensive conflagration in the business portion of the
city. The high elevation of the distributing reservoir dispenses with the use of fire
engines in time of a conflagration ; the only auxiliary required being a bountiful sup
ply of hose attached to the hydrants, the force of water being sufficient to throw a
stream to the height of eighty feet or more.
For further reference, cost, &c., see page 179.
The year 1879 passed away famous, locally, for its remarkable weather. It
was a season never-to-be-forgotten for its sccrcity of water. The drouth continued
without a noticeable intermission from the opening of spring until the close of Autumn.
The exact measurement of the water-fall within those nine months we are not aware
of, but it is sufflcient to say that there was only an occasional shower — not enough to
keep the dust laid.
For the flrst time since their erection the water ivorks were put to a very severe
test. A long and unexpected drouth met us with an increased demand for water.
Without discussing the cause of failure, we know the fact — the water supply was insuf-
cient to withstand the terrible drouth.
During this period the older secret benevolent orders — I. O. O. F. and A. F. and A.
M, — reached their height of membership and means and were meeting in elegantly
furnished lodge rooms, asylums, &c.
Four new organizations, having as special features mutual insurance, were intro
duced, viz : A. O. U. W., I. O. M. A., R. T. of T. and K. of H.
The Ancient Order of United Workmen was founded at Meadville, Pa., in Novem
ber, 1868. The local lodge "Athens" No. 19, was instituted on the 19th day of October,
1876, There have been only two deaths of members in this city, Jonathan Gill and
John H, Myers ; in each case the beneflciary certificates being paid within twenty days
from death. Athens lodge has a nice and suitable lodge room, properly furnished, in
the third story of the Marble Block, where its regular meetings are held on Thursday
evening of each week. This lodge has a membership of 90, and has been honored by
the election of Hon. E. M. Sanford to the position of Grand Master Workman of the
State and Grand Representative to the Supreme Grand Lodge, and H. H. Palmer to the
offlce of Grand Recorder for two years. No society could be more sucoessftd than this
lodge has been.
Among the various organizations in the nature of both a brotherhood and a benefi
ciary institution, one of the best is the Knights of Honor. This institution has for its
main feature a cheap and safe mutual insurance. The heirs of any deceased member
are paid $2,000, which is made up by an assessment on the other members in the state.

206 K, OF H.— I, O. M. A.— E. T. of T.— W. C. A.
This order founded what is called Royal Lodge, No, 828, in this city, in 1876, On the
charter we find the following names : J, K, Sharpe, F, M, Doan, H, H. Palmer, Frank
Hine, W, A. Alcott, C. E. Flack, H, L. Clay, J, 8. Hambaugh, W, B. EUedge, A, W.
Cadman, John N, Ward, A, J, Ward, W. J, Moore and F, L, Sharpe. Among the first
officers elected were H. H. Palmer, P. Dictator ; J. H. Sharpe, Dictator, and H, L, Clay,
Reporter. There were in 1881 thirty-three active working members in this lodge, who had
nfluence sufflcient in the Grand Lodge to secure the meeting of that body in Jack
sonville in 1882.
Among the various organizations founded for mutual insurance one of the newest
is called the Independent Order of Mutual, Aid. This organization gives to the repre
sentatives of a deceased member $2,000 and all dues previously paid. This amount is
paid by a pro rata assessment on the other members. On February 7, 1879, a lodge of
this order was established in this city, called Morgan Lodge No. 28. The charter mem
bers of this body -were as follows: F. A. Stevens, C. G. Brown, N. W, Reid, C. L, Hast
ings, F. A. Mosely, J. S. Hambaugh, G. W, Clark, B, Woodman, A, W. Cadman, Hugh
Barr, G. E, Mathews, G. E. Doying, J, F, Hackman, Neil Matheson, Royal Oakes,
T. J. Mosely, D. W. Rawlings, Clinton Fisher, F, C, Taylor, J, A, Goltra, M. N,
Price, J. M, Ewing, T. Brennan, C, W. Stout, W, H, Worrell, C, M. Eames, 8, O, Barr,
Charles Henry, Henry Bretherick, M, H. Carroll, John Rottger, W, M, Phillips, W. C.
Ward, T, C. Michaels, J. Ellerts, E. Duncan, J, S. Barlow and H, A, Gilman.
The Royal Templars of Temperance is the latest fraternity to flnd a foot-hold in our
city. The order was organized in Buffalo, N, Y., February 3, 1877, with only a member
ship of seven men and three women. There are now over 400 Councils and about 30,-
000 members. The order is a strictly total abstinence organization, as no person can
pass its threshold and obtain its beneflts who will not sign and faithfully maintain a
pledge of total abstinence. The most rigid medical examination is required for bene
ficiary membership, every medical examination being carefully reviewed by the chief
medical examiner before a certificate can be issued. The benefit to active members is
limited to $3,000 in case of death or $1,000 in case of total disability for life; and to
ladies $1,000 in case of death and $500 in case of permanent disability. The admission
of ladies lends a social charm to the Council meetings which any similar beneflciary
order does not possess.
Among the charter members of Crystal Council, No. 41, which was instituted by J,
G. Shea, of Decatur, January 32, 1880, were Rev. Eli Corwin, D. D., and wife. Prof. E.
F. Bullard, Rev. Horace Read, Mr. and Mrs. J, H. Hackett, H. H. Palmer, L, A, Patter
son, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Buckthorpe, Mr. and Mrs. C. M. Eames, Dr. and Mrs, J. A,
Dougherty, S. Tefft Walker and Miss Kate R. Cassell.
To preserve the names of the christian women, of Jacksonville, most active in re
ligious and charitable labors at this period we give the names of the officers of the
Women's Christian Association for the year beginning May 4, 1876 : President, Mrs.
E. J. Bancroft; Vice-presidents, Mrs, I. L. Morrison and Mrs. P. Dummer; Recording
Secretary, Mrs. Clara Lippincott; Treasurer, Mrs, J, W, Lathrop,
Standing Committees. — Finance, Mesdames Delia Wadsworth, A. J. Link J, 8,
Morse, AV. N. Ross ; Mission Work, Miss E, F. Ryder, Mesdames L. M. Glover, B. L.
Reed, A. Hartt, E. J. Bancroft; Industrial School, Miss M. E. Catlin, Mesdames T. G.
Taylor, M. J. Harriott; Visiting, Mesdames Leanna Orear, C. Schermerhorn, Ellen
Ennis, C. Chadwick, Morris Collins, H. A. Gilman,
On Saturday, June 30th, 1877, the Presbyterians celebrated the fiftieth anniversary
of their first church in Morgan county. The speakers of the occasion were Drs, Glover,
Harsha and Allen, the city pastors of this faith and Revs, Lamb, Allen and Corwin of
sister churches. The twelve members of 1837 had grown to fourteen churches in the
half century, viz : Manchester, Winchester, Murrayville, Unity, Pisgah, Providence,
,Zion and Virginia. In Jacksonville three Portuguese churches — ^the First, Second and
Independent church, and three English speaking — the Westminster, First and Central,

County Property Statistics — Annual Expense. 207
nd in Beardstown, the German church. Altogether they had a membership of 1,600
with 1,500 children in the Sabbath-schools.
At this time, speaking for the Baptist brethren. Rev. M . T. Lamb reported 13 churches
of that denomination in existence in Morgan, representing a membershiiJ of 1,000, or 1
to every 30 of population. In Jacksonville there were, he said, between 350 and 400
including the colored brethren, who outnumbered the white Baptists.
We present below a table showing the assessed values of the different species of
property in Morgan county for the years 1875 and 1876, together with many other inter
esting facts and figures worthy of attention and study :
1875. 1876.

No. Av. VaL As. VaL No. Av. Val. As. Val.
Horses, all agee  6,4:38 $60.17 S .S87,.3M 6,059 S .5S.0'3 $ ;351,542
Cattle, all ages  17,879 19.81 :W3,670 17,398 18.27 318,000
Mules and asses, all agee  950 69.51 66,0:M 1,019 65.74 73,570
Sheep, all ages  7,786 1.91 14,982 6,743 2.26 15,284
Hogs,allages  23,753 3.05 72,681 19,487 3.50 68,060
Steam engines, iuchidinS boilers  10 545 00 .¦j,4.-,(i 9 644.44 5,8U0
Fire or burglar proof safes  18 300.00 ,5,400 23 234.43 5,38.-,
Carriages, -wagons, etc  2,508 37.07 92,98:3 2,347 :W.38 7H,;W6
Sewing and knitting machines  1,116 21.15 2:3,611 1,103 22.:35 24,fi61
Watches and clocks  922 8.05 7,4>37 904 7..52 6.7'JiJ
PianoFortes  233 111.60 26,005 -251 106.65 -;;6,771
MelodeouB and Organs  122 46.05 2,675 67 47 16 3,1H0
Annuities and Eoyaltles  1 ,000
Total assessed value of enumerated property  1,042,311 977,-268
UNENUMBEATED PROPERTY. 1875 1876
Merchandise  $ 273,955 $ 370,467
Materials and manufacturers' articles  12,470 11,425
Agricultural tools, implements and machinery  33,376 :34,671
Moneys of banks, bankers, etc  *  76,080 64,960
Credits of banks, bankers, etc  19,500 18,573
Credits of others than bankers, etc  735,587
Bonds and stocks  5,875 4,146
Household and offlce property  136,904 144,089
Shares of Stock, State and National Banks  :300,000 ;300,000

Total assessed value of unenumerated property  $1,593,747 $1,645,162
Total assessed value of personal property  2,636,057 2,622,430
RAILROAD PROPERTY. 1875 1876
Total assessment  ,t 80,275 $ 20,731
Real estate, lands ; total assessed value  7,419,730 7,212,828
Real estate, town property ; total assessed value  3,008,475 3,736,859

Total value of all taxable property assessed in county  $13,084,538 $12,592,248
ACRES IN CULTIVATION. 1875 1876
¦Wheat  9,687 11,800
Corn   79,600 81,200
Oats  8,987
Meadows  27,.570 28,480
Other field products  11,:300 20,494
Acres in enclosed pasture  1:33,766 131,280
In orchard  3,470 3,530
Inwoodland  79,972 77,068
To show what it cost yearly, about this time, to run this county, we record the fol
lowing, taken from the county clerk's report for 1880. It includes the total expense for
that year. It is about $30,000 less than the expenses of the previous year :
Charity  $1,843.56
Paupers   4,893.17
Roads  20,244.70
Bridges  9,:340.80
Supervising roads  731.75
Road viewers  :  120.00
County farm (current expenses)  ,.  5,-311.76
County farm repairs  ,  46.45
County farm permanent improvements   -2:33.28
Salaries  9,476.45
Stationery and printing  8,'379.92
Courthouse  1,918.43
Jail  4,716.40
Criminals  1,476.25
Elections  613.57
Inquests  -   168.10
Miscellaneous  1,347.10
Debt arid interest  9,946.17
Insurance  525.00

208 The Three State Institutions in 1880.
Wolf scalps  $145,00
Attorneys fees  1,625,00
Grandjury  64,35
Perdiem  669.48
State Institutions  701.06
Interest coupons on bonds  8,000.00
Jury warrants, circuit court  3,348,50
Jury warrants, county court  669.80
Total, 188o  $86,637.05
The Illinois Central Hospital for the Insane, located in our city, is not only the
oldest in the state, but the number of patients it cares for is the largest. On the 30th
of September, 1880, it had 633. The admissions up to October 1, 1883 — the close of the
biennial period — were 514. The number discharged during the period was as follows:
Recovered, 141, or 37 per cent, ; improved, 178 ; unimproved, 86 ; "eloped" — ^the Jack
sonville euphemism for "escaped" — 7; died, 95, or 8 per cent. The whole number
unaer treatment during the period was 1,147 ; remaining September 30, 1883, 639 ; re
maining to date 631 ; daily average presence, 639. The number of recoveries in the
cases of those deranged for a period of three months and less prior to their admission
was 70 per cent. — a fact which speaks volumes in favor of the management.
In 1878, at the Illinois Institution for the Education of Deaf Mutes the number
of pupils in actual attendance was four hundred and twenty-six. The value of the
property is estimated to be $335,000.
The present prosperity of the institution is owing in no small degree to the untir
ing labors of the present superintendent. Dr. Gillett. The State Board of Charities in
their report to Governor Beveridge, say: "With the advent of Mr. Phillip G. Gillett,
from Indiana, to the superintendency, in 1857, the institution entered upon a new career
of vigorous growth and expansion. His energetic spirit has driven the school, the pub
lic, and even the Legislature before him ; when this has been impossible, he has some
times gone in advance, himself, and waited for the rest to come up." Asbury Universi
ty, in Indiana, in 1871, conferred on Mr, Gillett the title LL. D. The institution has
grown to be an honor to the State of Illinois, and occupies a position second to none in
this country.
Dr. Rhoads, owing to failing health, resigned his position as Superintendent of the
Blind Asylum in 1874, and F. W. Phillips, M. D., for many years a prominent minister
in the Methodist Episcopal Church, was appointed to the vacancy. ' The school con
tinues to prosper. There were in 1876, 120 pupils in attendance. Additions and improve
ments have been made from time to time, as necessity demanded. It is hoped by the
friends of the institution, that the east wing will before many years be erected. 'When
this is completed, Illinois will have furnished ample provision for all this class of un
fortunates, within her borders. The inventory and appraisement of the buildings,
grounds and property belonging to the institution, on the 30th of September, 1876, was
$167,558,91, Dr. Rhoads continued as principal of the institution through a period of twenty-four
years ; during which time, many improvements were made, and the institution brought
to the front rank.
Dr, F. W. Phillips the present superintendent, speaking of Dr. Rhoads, says :
"Since my last report, my predecessor. Dr. Joshua Rhoads, has died. His health,
feeble at the time of his resignation, continued to fail until February 1, 1876, when
death relieved him of his sufferings. A graduate of the Pennsylvania University of
Medicine, he was engaged in the active practice of his profession for a number of years.
He was principal of the Pennsylvania Institution for the blind for four years. In 1850,
he was elected principal of this institution, which position he occupied for twenty-four
years. Possessed of a good mind, which was well cultivated, he was qualified both by
nature and habit, for the work to which he gave so much of his life. Methodical,
earnest, and in love with his work, the institution was well conducted and successful
under his administration. At the time of his death he had entered upon his seventieth
year."

CHAPTER XII.— 1881-'84.
The Present Condition and Prospects — City and County Officials — Churches and Schools
— Criminal — Meteorology of 1883, Including the Disastrous Liter Tornado — Realty
and Personal Property Values — Manufactures — Public Improvements.
S WE reach the present prosperous era in our city's history we find the work of
JL glancing over the whole fleld in a single chapter as difficult as it is delightful.
cOTlL The condensation necessary in such summarizing will destroy all attempts at
-J descriptive writing and all enlivening details, confining us to statistics and
e) briefest possible statements, although the period covered is less than three years,
or only one-half the time embraced in the other divisions of this historic view of Jack
sonville. The city government from April 1880 to 1881 was as follows : John R. Loar, mayor ;
J. W. Melton, city clerk; C. Harry Dummer, city attorney; John Pyatt, city marshal;
J. F. Nagle, street commissioner; William H. Beastall, keeper city prison; Dr. C. G.
Brown, health warden.
Aldermen— M. H. Walsh, Charles Widmayer, W. E. Capps, W. H. Thompson, J. M.
Goodrick, W. C. Wright, George Hayden and Abram Wood.
From April, 1881 to 1883, it was: John R. Loar, mayor; J. W. Melton, city clerk;
George J. Dod, city attorney; B. F. Beesley, treasurer; Peter Babbitt, city marshal;
Arch, Norris, street commissioner; Lee G. Minter, keeper city prison; Dr. C. G. Brown,
health warden.
Aldermen — M. H. Walsh, Charles Widmayer, Phillip Lee, Jonathan Neely, W. C.
Wright, D. M. Simmons, Abram Wood, Dr. C. K. Sawyer.
From April, 1882 to 1883, it was: Charles Widmayer, mayor; George E. Sybrant,
city clerk ; Peter Rabbitt, marshal ; Frank I. McDonald, treasurer ; C. A. Barnes, city
attorney; John F. Nagle, street commissioner; Lee Minter, keeper city prison; Dr. W.
H. H. King, health warden.
Aldermen — 'William Eppinger, James J. Murphy, Fred L. Sharpe, John E. Brad
bury, George Jameson, James Montgomery, W. Chauncey Carter, Felix G. Farrell.
From April, 1883 to 1884, it was : Edward S. Greenleaf, mayor ; George E. Sybrant,
clerk; Peter Rabbitt, marshal; John A. Ayers, treasurer; C. H. Dummer, attorney;
Lewis R. Mitchell, street commisioner ; Lee Minter, keeper city prison ; Dr. Morris H.
Goodrick, health warden.
Aldermen— William Eppinger, James J. Murphy, Robert D. Russell, William A.
Oliver, George Jameson, Wesley Snyder, John W. Hall, W. Chauncey Carter.
From April, 1884 to 1885, it is; Joseph Tomlinson, mayor, (Rep,); George E.
Sybrant, clerk, (Rep.); Charles E. Goodrick, marshal, (Rep.); D. M. Simmons, street
commissioner, (Rep.) ; John A. Ayers, treasurer, (Rep.) ; C. H. Dummer, attorney, (Rep.)
Aldermen— W. P. Gallon, (Dem.,) Wm. Eppinger, (Dem,.) M. H. Carroll, (Dem.,)
John Hopper, (Rep.,) W. Snyder, (Rep.,) Thomas Rapp, (Rep..) John W. Hall, (Rep.,)
W. C. Carter, (Rep.)
Fire department James Mitchell, chief ; Charles Meade, assistant. Health warden.
Dr. T. M. Cullimore. Sextons, Diamond Grove cemetery, E. R. Walters; Jacksonville
cemetery, Caleb Letton. Policemen, B. M. Allen, John Hoban, Joseph Vieria, James
Rutledge and Isaac Hicks. Board of Education, 1st ward George W. Smith (Dem.,) 2d
ward Ensley Moore, (Rep.,) 3d ward Thomas J. Bronson, (Dem,,) 4th ward Julian P.
Lippincott, (Rep,) Superintendent of Public Instruction, Prof. H. M. Hamill, (Dem.)

210 County Opfcials — Churches — Homicides.
Board of Water Commissioners, Felix G. Farrell, (Dem,,) W. Chauncey Carter, (Rep.,)
-Alex. Piatt, (Rep. ;) superintendent, D. C. Fry, (Rep.,) engineer, Alex. Armstrong, (Rep.)
It will be observed that the dominant political party of the nation, from 1860 to 1884,
have complete control of all branches of the municipal government. On the other hand
turning to the list of county officials we find the reins in Democratic hands.
1881-'82, — ^Sheriff and collector, W. H. Hinrichsen; assessor and treasurer, W. H.
Wright; circuit clerk and recorder, John N. Marsh; clerk of county court, Benjamin R,
Upham; superintendent of schools, C. M. Sevier; Surveyor, James Cain; Coroner
Daniel Riley ; commissioners, M, 8, Kennedy, Charles Heinz, John H. Matthews.
1883-'84— Representatives, I. L. Morrison, (R.,) E. M. Kinman, (D.) Sheriff, W, C.
Wright, (D.) Treasurer, Irvin Dunlap, (D.) County Clerk, B. R. Upham, (R.) County
Judge, M. T. Layman, (R.) School Superintendent, C. M. Sevier, (D,) Coroner, A, H.
Hocking, (D.) Commissioners, Job W, English, (D,,) M, S, Kennedy, i'D„) Charles
Heinz, (D,)
First Presbyterian church burned in 1861 and the brick building, taking its place,
having been dedicated January 6, 1867, was burned in 1883. Rev. L. M. Glover, for a
third of a century, was the faithful and beloved pastor of this church, and passed from
earthly scenes mourned and regretted by all regardless of church bias or sectarian creed.
The Rev. J, R. Sutherland D, D,, was the pastor for 1882-'84, resigning his charge June
22, 1884, to accept a call to Rockford, This people were for a second time made home
less through fire on the 26th of September, 1883, The work of rebuilding began in
July, 1884, upon what was known as the Dr. Cassell property corner of West State and
North Church streets, where, at present writing, a very handsome brick edifice is rap
idly i-ising. No steps have been taken towards filling the vacant pulpit.
Since January 1881, Rev. H E. Butler has been pastor of the Congregational
church with a growing church strongly attached to him.
The M. E, preachers have been as follows :
Brooklyn— George B, Wolfe, 1881-'82; D, Gay, 1883; James Leaton, 1884.
Centenary— Horace Read, 1881 ; M. D. Hawes, 1882-'83-'84.
Grace— W. H. Webster, 1880-'82; W. N. McElroy, 1883-'84.
Presiding elder, George Stevens, 1880-'83 ; J. A, Kumler, 1884,
As to the latest criminal cases affecting human life :
George Hutchinson was indicted for the murder of Miss McNamara by assisting in
performing an abortion, was indicted by the grand jury and plead guilty to manslaughter
May 15th, 1882, being given 18 months in the penitentiary,
Matheson Munday was indicted in Greene county for the murder of James Sheriffs,
but brought his case here by change of venue. McDonald and King prosecuted and
English and Carr defended. A trial was had in May 26th, 1883 ; the defendant being
found guilty and sentenced to Joliet for 14 years. This was a bad case and creai;ed
much excitement in Greene county.
George W. Cooper was the last person to be indicted and tried for murder, his trial
taking place November term of court 1883, He was charged with the murder of John
Stewart, E, L. McDonald, states attorney, prosecuting, and Wilson and Epler defending.
The jury found the defendant not guilty.
By a general review of the homicide trials of the sixty years under consideration
in this work we find that 43 persons have been charged with murder in Morgan county.
We are glad to state that none of the accused persons were women. Of the 43 indicted
13 were found "not guilty," and eight cases were stricken from the docket. The highest
penalty was death, though the escape of the prisoner prevented an execution. The
next most severe sentence was that of Isaac Berry, who was sent up for life. The other
periods run thus : one for 22 years ; one for 21 ; two for 20; three for 15; one for 14;
two for 10 ; one for 8 ; three for 5 ; one for 2 ; one for 18 months ; and three for 1 year.
Of these the average sentence is ten years and one month. Include in the average
those who were acquitted and the average punishment for all indicted is about five years

County Public Schools — President Tanner. 211
in the penitentiary. In conclusion, we might say that Morgan county, considering its
population, is much below most of the other counties in the state, in the number of in
dictments for murder, that have been found, and that the average sentence is above the
general average punishment. We can only hope, that this list will not be added to, in
many years.
To the people of Illinois there is, perhaps, nothing of more importance than the
public schools. They have grown into a vast agency — an agency that is attracting much
attention in the country. Illinois is spending yearly from $7,000,000 to $8,000,000 for
the maintenance of her public school system. The general verdict in intelligent circles
is that it is money well spent.
Hon. James P. Slade, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, ancl his assist
ants, were long and busily engaged recently in revising and reviewing the reports of coun
ty superintendents for the year 1881. The report from this county, prepared by Prof.
Henry Higgins, shows up as follows :
Persons under twenty-one  Ifi -^37
Persons between sixteen and twenty-one   .'..','.'..'!  .*.'.'.'.'.'" .'....'.'.'. 10 '338

Public Schools

110

Pupils enrolled  ['" g^ 
Teachers employed  .'  .'  ."..'........!.." 'i86
New school houses   ".  ....'....'..'.. 4
Illiteracy— Persons in the county between the ages of 12 and 21 unable to read and write  .... 8
FINANCIAL EXHIBIT — RECEIPTS.
Amount received during the year  $133 976 23
Amount expended  $8'I',917.63 '
Loan of dist. funds  65.00— 87,982.03
Balance.   -  $ 45,994.20
Amount paid teachers  ,  go 323.54
The present system of public schools has been in operation eighteen years. They
have constantly advanced until now they have reached the front rank of any in the
state. They have been under the most complete and thorough system and governed in
the most satisfactory manner. They have always held first rank for their thoroughness
and good scholarship, and have been a great blessing to the county.
A special meeting of the trustees of Illinois College was held in this city on Mon
day, March 6th, 1883, to take into consideration the question of filling the office of pres
ident of the college, rendered vacant by the resignation of Dr. J. M. Sturtevant. The
meeting was fully attended, all the trustees being present except two, and by a hearty
and unanimous vote, Rev. E. A. Tanner, D. D., the professor of Latin language and lit
erature in the college, was elected president, to assume the duties of the oflSce, at the
close of that scholastic year. Of the appointment the Journal, at the time, said :
Prof. Tanner is a graduate of Illinois College, of the class of 1857, and has been
engaged in teaching ever since his graduation, with more than ordinary success. In
1861 he was apoointed Professor of tbe Latin Language and Literature, in the Paciflc
University of Oregon, a position which he held until 1865, when he was elected to the
same chair in Illinois College, which he still holds. While teaching in Pacific Uni
versity Professor Tanner also studied theology and was ordained as a minister of the
Congregational church.
During his residence in Jacksonville he has often filled the pulpit in various
churches in this and other cities, and his success as a pulpit orator has been co-exten
sive with his experience. We venture to predict that Prof. Tanner will meet the de
mands of the presidential ofiice as fully, and with as much credit to himself and those
who have chosen him to this oflSce, as he has hitherto met the demands made upon
him as student, professor and preacher. We cannot ask that he should do more.
Throughout its history, like all other western institutions of learning, the college
has found its current expenses largely exceeding its income, and to balance its yearly
accounts, has felt forced to borrow from its principal. This has prevented its unpro
ductive property and endowment funds from increasing as rapidly as might have been
expected by those unacquainted with the situation. The trustees have, however, recently
adopted a rule to which they will rigidly adhere, namely : "The current expenses of the
college shall be kept within its income." This principle is vital to the prosperity of tlie
institution. Had there been no "Illinois" there would be in Jacksonville few, probably
none, of the female seminaries and state institutions. Its location here brought the

212 Illinois College, Its Resources and Faculty.
others in its train, by directing public attention throughout the state to this place, as a
center best suited to foster the interests of liberal learning and christian philanthropy.
Silent forces generated here have contributed not a little to the higher civilization
which is our delight. Strong men drawn this way by the college, directly or indirectly,
have developed all these resources, material and immaterial. Of its four hundred
graduates not a few have occupied, and still occupy, important positions in different
parts of the republic, while thousands of others, who have passed a shorter period within
these halls of learning, have aided greatly in elevating the standard of good citizenship
throughout the country. In short, Illinois College has been a better maker of history
than of money.
The resources of the college, in 1884, are as follows :
Interest bearing notes secured on real estate  $ 75,000
Interest bearing subscription notes  20,000
Farm yielding fair rent  6,1100
Farm taken on mortgage, probably yielding income next year   4,000
City lots yielding no income   3,000
Subscription notes, soon productive  17,000
Site  60,000
Buildings, libraries and apparatus  75,000
Total  $360,000
The college is free from debt, and we consider this a fair valuation ; but, to use
figures easily remembered, you may call the clean assets a quarter of a million, half in
productive and half in unproductive property. The income from endowments is about
$7,500; that from term bills about $4,500, total, $13,000,— the amount of current
expenses, Whipple Academy is the preparatory school of Illinois College, and it is under the
control of the same board of trust, and instruction is given by ttie same corps of
teachers. The college library numbers about 10,000 volumes. An extensive collection of
mechanical apparatus for the illustration of the principles of chemistry and physic,
has also been added to the college equipment.
The two literary societies -Sigma Pi and Phi Alpha— each possess valuable libra
ries and convenient halls.
Of Illinois College now at its highest point of prosperity with grounds and build
ings in best of condition, it should be mentioned that the members of faculty are the
following :
Edward A, Tanner, D. D , president and professor of the Latin language and litera
ture. Julian M. Sturtevant, D. D., LL. D., professor of mental science and science of gov
ernment, and instructor in political economy, moral philosophy and evidences of Chris
tianity, Rufus C, Crampton, LL, D., Hitchcock professor of mathematics and astronomy,
Henry E. Storrs, A, M,, PH. D., Hitchcock professor of natural sciences and in
structor in German.
Harvey W. Milligan, A, M., M. D., professor of history and English literature.
Edward B. Clapp, A. M., Collins professor of the Greek language and literature.
Harold W. Johnston, A. M., instructor in Latin.
Lieut. N, H. Barnes, U. 8. N., instructor in natural sciences and mathematics.
Joseph R. Harker, principal of Whipple Academy.
During the past few years the Jacksonville Female Academy has made rapid and
substantial gains in all that renders an institution of learning valuable to its patrons.
Its friends are justly proud of its record of fifty-four years of successful work. This,
in itself, with all its associations and memories, is a rich endow ment for any institution.
The present standing of the academy in excellence of appointments and instruction,
healthfulness and beauty of location, stability and independence of character has o-iven
it deserved command of a large and discriminating patronage.
The school year 1883-'84 was the most happy and successful in the history of the

Fkm.vle Acauemv — Illinois Female College. 213
institution. The entire capacity of the building was fllled from the opening of the
year, and many applicants declined for want of room. The excellence of instruction,
the high character of pupils in attendance, the spirit of earnestness that pervaded all
departments, the general good health and freedom from all forms of interruption, have
secured results highly satisfactory to all connected with the institution.
The institution is provided with a good library and reading room, furnished With
the best periodicals of the day, to which the pupils have daily access.
The government of the school is in the hands of the principal ; it is designed to be
mild and genial, but watchful and strict in the enforcement of all wholesome rules of
study and propriety. It aims to secure a prompt and cheerful obedience to rightful
authority; to lead pupils to act from right principle, and to discipline to truth and hon
esty in all the relations of life. This year a new building was erected, running directly
south of chapel, fifty -four feet in length by forty wide, with first story joined to walls of
main building. The basement room of the new building is divided north and south into
two divisions, the east division devoted to music rooms, the west division entire — forty-
tour feet in length by sixteen wide — devoted to play room and gymnasium. This room
is furnished with apparatus for physical exercise, and in care of a teacher skilled in
this department. It will also afford abundant room for roller skating.
The south wall of flrst story of main building has been removed, and the chapel
enlarged by an extension of ten feet south. The flrst floor, in addition to extension of
chapel, is divided into an entry-way and cloak room on each corner, east and west, a hall
running through center north and south, with two large recitation rooms on each side.
The second and third floors of new building are twelve large rooms for young la
dies, with spacious closets framed into the walls.
There is also an extension of the study and reading room, and an extension for
bath rooms, closets and water pipes, all outside of main walls of both buildings. The
total improvements aggregated a cost of $12,000.
The whole establishment, including new and present buildings, is now heated with
steam. A new and complete system of ventilation has been introduced in connection
wi'h the steam heat, which secures for the institution perfect sanitary regulation, and
all that can be desired for convenience, comfort and safety.
With these improvements completed, the academy is one of the best equipped in
stitutions in the country for the education of young ladies.
The Illinois Female College has been in successful operation since 1847, under the
auspices of the Methodist Episcopal denomination. The location of this institution —
in a town favorably known throughout the west for its social and literary advantages,
for the absence of most of the vices of larger cities and the presence of many virtues-
is an item worthy of consideration with those having daughters to educate.
Though this college has been partially destroyed by fire at three different times,
yet at present it is entirely free from financial embarrassment ; this and the foregoing
advantages should entitle it to the confidence of the entire community.
Rev. W. F. Short is the worthy president of the board of instruction at this time.
The accommodations of the Illinois Female College are as full and satisfactory as those
of any school of like grade in the west. The teachers have been selected, not alone for
their high qualifications as educators, but also for their worth as christian ladies. It
has its classical, scientific and musical departments, and is arranged on the President's
Home plan, with his family and the teachers living in the college, and having charge
not only of the intellectual, but of the social and religious instruction of the students.
The college has, without interruption, continued its prosperous career till its graduates
number /oM?- hundred and forty-three; and several thousandothers have received partial
education within its halls, many of whom are the first women in the church, in society,
and in usefulness in the communities where they reside.
The buildings are commodious and substantial, and are equipped with the most
modern facilities and appointments, such as suitable and completely furnished rooms.

214 Illinois Female College — Y. L. Ath. — Conservatory.
gas-light, water — ^hot and cold, &c., &c. There is hardly another school building in the
west that combines equal advantages for comfort, health and safety.
The president and teachers reside in the college, and exercise constant watchful
ness over the deportment, application and health of the pupils.
Mrs. Sarah B. Short, wife of the president, has entire charge of the household de
partment, and possesses the highest adaptation to the position of matron ; and, having
had experience in rearing daughters to womanhood, she is capable of that motherly and
christian sympathy and counsel which young ladies constantly require.
The Phi Nu and Belles-Lettres Societies are an important feature of the college.
They are sustained with great vigor and usefulness. ,
The reading room receives a large number of the best American and foreign
weekly, monthly and quarterly publications, and furnishes an agreeable recreation from
the routine of study.
To meet the demand for competent and trained teachers, as also, the necessities of
young ladies whose circumstances will not allow them to complete the collegiate or
English course, a normal course has been arranged, which includes such branches as
will prepare them for teaching in the public schools of the State. Multitudes of stu
dents, who received their education'in this institution, rank among the best educators
in the country. Provision has been made for lectures and attendance at teachers' insti
tutes, for the benefit of those in this department.
The Young Ladies' AthensBum continued under the charge of Prof. Elmore Chase
from Sept. 1880 until Dec, 1884, when its care was transferred to three lady teachers
owing to the superintendent's financial inability to further continue the management.
During the school year 1883-'84, a large brick addition was made to the building
for an art studio, this department of the school, under the accomplished artist. Prof. A.
T. 'VanLaer, being in a fiourishing condition. The lady teachers having charge of it at
present and since Prof. Chase's retirement, are Misses Merrill, Stickney and Fairbank.
The Illinois Conservatory of Music continued under the care of its founder from
its opening in September, 1872, as already noted, until June, 1883, when Prof. Sanders
had it incorporated with a board of directors, which board was duly organized by the
election of Hon. Edward P. Kirby as president, and Rev. J. D. Easter, D. D. and Ph. D.
as secretary, and Mr. B. F. Beesley as treasurer. The board elected Prof. Elmore Chase
as superintendent, and Prof. J. S. Barlow as musical director. This management con
tinued for the one school year that is until June, 1884, when Prof. Chase retired. The
Conservatory is now under the sole business management as well as musical direction
of Prof. Barlow with Professors Nutting and Rivaz, Mrs. Annie Smith and Misses
Stella Prince and Kate Sawyer as the faculty. Among the many graduates of the Con
servatory we might mention: Mrs. Marian Phillips Wimmerstedt, Mrs. Mary Berdan
Tiffany, Mrs. Jennie Marsh Dunlap, Mrs. Annie Thompson Brown, Mrs. Ida Alexander
Capps, Mrs. Virginia Rutledge Warren, Mrs. Virgie Gordon Vasey, Mrs. Kate Detrich
Sterrett, Miss May Beesley, Miss Allie Thompson, Miss Mabelle Ewing, Miss Emma
Meek, Miss Ellen Billings, Miss Carrie Whittlesey, Mrs. Fanny Rees Pierce, Mrs, Lil-
lie Tipton Coffin, Mrs. Effle DonCarlos Thompson, Miss Annie Tarbell, Miss Kate Saw
yer, Miss Emma Rider, Miss Stella Prince, Miss Kate Rider, Mrs. Nellie Loar Pendle
ton, Mrs. Fanny McCoy Brown, Mrs. Constance Barlow Smith, Miss Jennie Nutting and
Mrs. Hattie Nutting Burnham,
The coming to this country in 1846 of a band of Portuguese colonists has already
been noticed in Chapter "VII. They have increased quite rapidly, so that there are
now about 5,000 in Morgan, Sangamon, Cass, Menard and adjoining counties. We are
unable to ascertain the number of families in this county who were of the original col
ony. The number is, however, very small. Among them are the Vasconcellos, Vieria
and DeFrates families. The number of families sprung from them is very large.
Many have removed here from other points where they first located. The total
Portuguese population in this immediate vicinity is almost 1,200. The first

The Portuguese — Ice and "Wind Storms, 215
ship load from Madeira comprised 200 souls and the second 500. From this mere hand
ful of exiles has grown the important and extensive element of our population which
our Portuguese citizens comprise to-day.
They have a secret organization of a benevolent character which has a system of
sick and death benefits, similar to those of most secret benevolent societies. It was or
ganized in Springfleld as the Grande Sociedade Lusitania. This organization became
the parent lodge of the order and established another lodge in Jacksonville, August
3d, 1880, which became known as tne Grande Sociedade Philanthropica. The two
lodges have held a celebration each year since — those in 1881 and '83 being in Spring
fleld, in 1882 and '84 in Jacksonville. The order is made up of good, sound, reliable
and industrious men — the very flower of the Portuguese manhood of the two commu
nities and is in a prosperous condition. Its membership is not large but its infiuence is
great and its charitable acts are many. The order is very popular and its celebrations
are always well attended and very successful. The imposing appearance made by their
processions each year, as with music sounding and.banners waving, the members of the
order, clothed in suitable regalia, march steadily onward is noticeable. Two magnifl
cent banners are carried in the processions, one by each society.
The year 1883 was marked by two storms that will be long remembered. The ice
storm of Feb. 5tli and the tornado of May 18th.
On the 3d of February a storm of unusual severity was noted approaching from the
northwest. It swept down the -water-shed of the Missouri river spreading from the
mountains to the great lakes, increasing in intensity as ii came — blocking all the north
western railroads with snow, causing great delay of trains. The cold was intense.
AVhen the storm center had reached the region of Omaha, with its southern wing
stretching far down toward the Gulf of Mexico, it made the usual curve to the east and
northeast. The great whirl of winds being from right to left (against the hands of the
watch) the warmer air from the region of the Gulf was drawn into the storm area, and
great modiflcation of the character of the storm resulted. Very soon after reaching
this point on the 5th of the February, the snow, which prevailed in the regions west
and north ceased, giving place to, flrst a kind of hard balled snow gradually changing
to fine dry sleet and then to a mixture of sleet and rain which froze solid as fast as it
fell. It froze fast to everj'tliiiig. Every tree became a mass of ice, every twig an icicle.
Many flne trees were broken down by the mass of ice.
As the storm swept on eastward it continued to be modifled by the whirl of the
south winds until it become a driving rain which melted down the ten or twelve inches
of snow which then covered the ground in Indiana, Ohio, and Western Pennsylvania,
producing the greatest floods ever known in the Ohio river. The details of this terri
ble flood, however, are still fresh in the mind of the reader.
Here in Jacksonville and vicinity, the storm, though damaging trees, telephone
and telegraph wires, was a thing of beauty. Every tree and shrub was brilliant with
ice hanging in every conceivable form. No description can do justice to the scene.
This continued for nearly a week before there was sufficient thaw or wind to make the
ice drop from the trees. The telephone wires of the city were nearly all broken down
by the weight of the ice and that means of communication almost entirely destroyed
for the time. The telegraph was in but little better condition and the railroads were
blocked by the ice on the track. We are told that an engineer on the O. & M. road
found his engine blocked in Cass county. Gathering the train men to clear the rails in
front of him, he found, after digging awhile, that the wheels were several feet to one
side of the rails. His locomotive had actually been running on top of the crust of ice.
This fleld of ice, however, was not of very great extent — it seems not to have been
more than 100 miles across it in any direction. Jacksonville was very near its center.
In April, May and June of that year there were a number of lines of tornadoes de
veloped in different parts of the west. Two of these passed over this region.
On the 17th of May, a storm center passed down the eastern slope of the Rocky

216 GJrREASY Prairie and Liter Tornadoes.
Mountains and spread out into a long belt of low barometer extending from Yankton
to the Gulf of Mexico. On the morning of the 18th the center of this long belt of low
barometer changed its movement to the northeast passing to the north of an area ot
high barometer which lay over the Gnlf and Middle States During the day this entire
belt of low barometer passed around to the northeast and in this rapid movement a line
of tornadoes was developed extending from Springfield, Missouri, almost to Chicago.
Almost directly in this line then occurred no less than fifteen distinct tornadoes within
a space of about five hours. Jacksonville lay directly in the line, and two of the tornado
tracks passed near by. One about eight miles to the southeast, the other about five
miles to the northwest. These are now known as the Greasy Prairie and the Literberry
tornadoes, and will be long remembered by our citizens. They were each first-class
specimens of the western tornado.
The Greasy Prairie tornado first touched the ground in Greene connty, a few miles
east of Roodhouse, in section 31, township 12 north, range 11 west, and swept in a great
curve to the northeast, the concavity of the curve being to the northwest, and left the
ground in section 21, township 14 north, range 9 west, in Morgan county, forming a path
19 miles in length through a region of country most of which was thickly settled. Al
though no village was struck, the destruction of property was very great, and how the
people escaped with so little loss of life seems quite mysterious, when looking over the
ruins of their dwellings. There were 41 dwellings destroyed or badly wrecked, and
about the same number of barns and outhouses. Five persons were killed and fifteen
seriously hurt. A considerable number of families found shelter in out door cellars,
»nd we may say in passing, the out door cellar has proved to be a perfectly safe retreat.
A number of families who were not provided with such cellars resorted to thickets of
underbrush. All of these came out safely. In this tornado all injuries happened to
those who remained indoors. In some places this tornado spread out about one mile
wide ; in other parts it was much narrower but not often less than one-fourth of a mile.
It was very irregular in outline and in its effects. It sometimes happened that a part
of a house would be left standing while everything else about was torn to fragments
for a quarter of a mile on either side, and occasionally there was a point of destruction
that seemed to be to one side of the storm's track — out of its course This tornado, al
though much larger, and, on the whole, doing much more damage to property, seemed
to lack the compactness, certainty of movement and terrific force of the Literberry
tornado. The cloud accompanying it seems to have been continually changing its form, so
much so that no two observers of it give the same description of what they saw. The
time of the tornado was definitely fixed as it entered Greasy Prairie. Mr. A. S. Gunn
had very carefully corrected his clock the same day at noon. The part of the house in
which this clock sat was thrown out of plumb so that the clock stopped. This showed
the time to be 6 :15 p, m.
The Literberry tornado is especially memorable from the fact that it struck and
almost totallj' destroyed the village of Literberry. It first touched the ground in sec
tion 36, township 16 north, range 11 west, in Morgan county, at about 8 o'clock p. m.
Passed into Cass county about the center of the south line of section 31, township 17
north, range 9 west. It left Cass county and entered Menard county from section 33, town
ship 18 north, range 8 west, having pursued almost a straight course a distance of
twenty miles and how much farther we do not know. In its course it struck and de
stroyed nine dwellings, one church and one schoolhouse outside of Literberry, thirteen
dwellings, two churches, eight business houses, one depot, five freight cars and several
large corncribs, besides barns and out houses in Literberry. A few other buildings
were injured but not seriously.
This tornado was very compact and perfect in outline throughout its course. Its
power was irresistible ; everything that lay in its path was literally made into kindling
wood. To say houses were destroyed but partially expresses it. They were torn to
splinters. Even the fence posts were generally torn out of the ground or broken down.

Tornadoes. — Rainfall. — Wind. — Weather.

217

The large grain scales at Literberry were not simply destroyed, but the heavy irons
were taken out of the pit and carried away or broken up. The cloud accompanying it
was always definite in outline, a cone with its apex on the ground and base upward
during most of its course. Different observers agree substantially in their descriptions
of it. , In all, four tornadoes have been known to touch Morgan county in former years.
Two of these, which passed to the south of this city, are well remembered. One May
29th, 1859, and one May 7th, 1880. Another passed close to the site of Literberry,
(about three-quarters of a mile northwest) and passed through Little Indian creek tim
ber, in May 1845. It destroyed a log stable in Morgan county, the old Walnut Grove
schoolhouse and the cabin of Mr. Beard in Cass county. Its path through the timber
could be seen for many years. Perhaps some of our older citizens may remember it.
The fourth tornado was near the same region. It seems to have been a small affair, at
least we have been unable to learn anything very definite about it. This makes six torna
does in, say, sixty years, an average of one in ten years.
January and February, 1883, were very cold ; giving our ice men abundant oppor
tunity to harvest a crop of fine ice. The sleighing was good almost continuously up to
the 15th of February, at which time a great thaw set in causing floods which did much
damage to bridges and the like. At the beginning of the thaw there was about one foot
of snow and ice on the ground. The spring was wet and cold, interfering with early
planting so that as a rule our farmers were much belated with their farm work. The
temperature mild. There were very few days uncomfortably warm. There was enough
rain interspersed to prevent the drying up of the streams. The fall season was unusually
wet, delaying the ripening of the late corn ; at the same time the first frosts came early,
doing great injury. There was more injury done in this county by frost that year than
before for thirty years. The winter up to December 15th, 1883, was unusually mildl
there was not enough ice to afford skating, even for the small boys.

January . . . .
February. . .
March 
April 
May 
June 
July 
August 
September. October 
November .
December..

TEMPERA TURE.

Annual. ,

27.332 1

72.979.976.264.2.'6.5
40.7 27

53.5

-u

BAIN FALL

INCHES.

CD

iB8

g B
pi B

1 46

3,19

07

2.81

5.85

,S9

2.93

4.46

1 8,1

;-i.;i5

4.79

1.99

H.91

5.92

i,;w

4.96

8.70

2.47

2 87

6.77

1,52

:i 19

4 57

1.80

2 14

3.21

84

2.16

,1,22

28

2.79

6.12

1.13

1.68

2.88

1.10

34,2

m.8

30.4

Mean number of times in three dally obser
vations, the wind la found blowing from
the

1

o1

1

Oso

C/Jo3-

OP&CD

o•-Jp-
1

¦

12.6

6.3

1 5

10,5

24.5

10.6

12 5

12.5

1.0

8.5

4.7

R 0

9 0

16.0

9 6

13 0

16 3

1.2

12.0

9.5

8.5

12.0

5.5

5.7

6.0

24.7

H.O

13 5 6.4

9.0

8.0

19 4

8 2

7.0

17,6

l.,"!

7 6 9.6

14.0

10,0

30.6

n.o

3.0

6.5

1.0

9.5 8.0

11.0

7.0

21.5

15.6

12.5

3.5

1.5

9 3 9.0

8.5

6.2

17.5

20. S

9,4

10.0

3 0

12.6

11.5

6.5

12.3

23.0

10.3

6 6

6.6

4.3

10 7

6.3

4.0

9.5

24 5

7.2

7 0

16 0

1.3

11 5

7.2

2.7

11.0

25 6

13.0

8.5

13.6

5.2

6.0

1.5

4 3

8 5

'^5 4

13.0

10 0

18.0

3.0

7.5

6.0

8.0

8.0

17.0

6.5

16.0

22 0

3 0

131'

85

S6

111

250

129

112

166

27

KEDUCKD TO DAYS
28 37 83 43 37

We present above a tabulated report of the weather in this region taken from flve
years' observations. These observations were not all made in Jacksonville, but were
near enough to represent quite perfectly the weather here. In the temperature columns
we give first the mean temperature for five years as computed from the daily observa,
tions. Second the maximum temperature as ascertained by the self registering ther
mometer. Third the minimum temperature as ascertained by the self registering
thermometer. These last show the highest temperature observed in the month in any
one of the five years and the lowest observed in any one month. In the next column
we give the rainfall in the same way. In the succeeding columns we give the direction
of the wind, or rather the number of times it was observed blowing from the eight

218 Wind.— Real Estate.— Property Valuation.
principal points of the compass, or points nearest these in three observations daily. A
study of this will show the great variability of our winds contrasting strongly with
points north and south as may be seen by the following statement of the same class of
observations.Direction of wind-North. Northeast. East. Southeast South. Southwest, West. Northwest. Calm.
Jacksonville, Fla.. 58 342 105 166 93 176 39 87 42
Marquette, Mich... 106 69 69 91 110 168 178 271 25
During the year 1882, real estate transactions in Morgan county were quite brisk.
The entry book in the county recorder's oflSce shows that 2,061 instruments were filed
for record, with 1,994 during 1881,' and 1,805 during 1880. Those best posted in real
estate matters, think the prices of city property w^ere at the top, during that year. In
farm lands the prices and number of transfers were in 1882 about as in 1881. The fair
crops, with high prices of the last two years, gave a boom to farm lands, and they now
reached the top value for some time to come. Fancy farm lands sold from $75 to $95
an acre ; while the general price for the best farms ran from $60 to $75. The barren
and bottom lands brought from $30 to $45. We think this showing cannot be beat in any
county in the state. In fact, Morgan county is the garden spot of Illinois. In the
county there are 353,352 acres of farm land, which is worth an average' of at least $40
an acre, or $13,634,080. The amount of loans placed on the farm land of the County is
much smaller than for many previous years. Most of the loans are those made in taking
up and reducing former ones. The good crops have done much in the last few yearsin
reducing the farm indebtedness of the county. The best informed place the amount of
money now loaned on Morgan county farm land at $1,000,000.
In the city of Jacksonville, outside of the city school property and the state institu
tions, there is estimated to be $580,000 worth of church, school and charitable property
that is exempt from taxation.
As an item of interest we will state that the railroads passing through this county
paid taxes liere in 1881, as follows :
Chicago & Alton Railroad  $ 7.289.84
Wabash, St. Louis & Paciflc Railroad  6,356.70
Jacksonville Southeastern Railroad  2,341.45
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad  2,189,60
Peoria, Pekin & Jacksonville Rallroai]  1,120.10
Total  $17,266.59
The assessment of personal and real property, in the county in 1882, furnishes many
interesting facts. In Morgan county there are said to be 6,657 horses, worth $311,015,
an average of $46.72 a head. Of cattle there are 16,017 head, worth only $306,885 or
$19.16 each. There are 1,015 mules, worth $50,932 or $50.18 each. Of sheep 12,650 are
given, worth $1.94 each, or $24,541. Hogs appear 24,360 in number, worth $75,038 or
$3.08 each. Only 13 steam engines are given, worth $5,330, an average of $410 each.
Fire and burglar proof safes only count up 37 in number, averaging $180.16 each^
There are only 12 billiard or pigeon hole tables, averaging $70 each. Of carriages and
wagons 2,515 are listed, worth $22.18 each. Of watches and clocks 930 are given, worth
on an average $6.15 each. Sewing machines are given as 1,260, valued at only $10
each. Our people not loving music, only gave in 256 pianos, worth on an-average of
$115. 30. There are also 102 organs, averaging $51.06 each.
The total valuation of agricultural implements is placed at $35,360. No gold and
silver-plated ware or diamonds and jewelry appear, and it is therefore safe to presume
there are none in the county. No bonds and stocks appear, while the money on hand
is placed at $659,916. As a matter of praise to the county, we state that no saloon or
eating-house property appears. Household aud offlce property is given at $131 760 •
grain at $89,650; stock in national banks at $100,000,
Of improved lands, there are 293,140 acres, valued at $6,273,196, or $21.40 an acre.
Of unimproved there are 60,212 acres, valued at $307,809, or an average of $5.11. Of
improved city lots there are 3,570, averaging $599.82 each, and 1,920 unimproved lots
valued at $56.58 each. The total value of all property assessed in the county is given

Journalistic. — K. of Pi. — 1. 0. O. P. — Charities. 219
at $11,007,592. Of course the valuation is placed low, one-third its real value, and the
assessor probably failed to get or the taxpayer to give all the personal property.
H. H, Palmer, city editor of the daily Journal, retired in the summer of 1881, to
take editorial charge of the Roodhouse Journal. Judge Moses had been succeeded as
political writer by Captain N, C, A, Rayhouser, formerly of the Lafayette, Indiana,
Journal. This department was next conducted by Mr. Barnes in person. In the city
editor's place was soon found Mr. Richard Yates, whose nose for news and swift pencil
took in the daily situation. He was succeeded by Mr. Carl Black, and Mr. Eames as
general editor by Prof. H. A, Allen. In September, 1884, Messrs. Eames and Yates
did the editorial writing, and in November, 1884, Mr. Yates resumed his law practice,
and Mr, H. H, Palmer became "ye local," again to be succeeded after a few weeks by
Samuel W, Nichols,
March 1st, 1883, the tri-weekly Courier became a daily again and has so continued
to date, with Messrs. George L. Doying and William H. Hinrichsen as editors and pro
prietors. The Courier under their management is vastly superior as a newspaper to
any of its predecessors.
In 1881, two new secret orders were established in the city. During the meeting of
the Grand Lodge of Knights of Honor, in this city, on the 3d of September, 1881, many
of our citizens had their attention called to this order for the flrst time. The more
they learned about it the better pleased with its system they became. To accommodate
these a new lodge was instituted here on November 10, 1881, called Lyceum Lodge, No.
2,602, The credit of working up and founding this new lodge is due mainly to Mr. H.
L. Clay, now deceased. Twenty-two citizens of prominence composed the charter mem
bers of this lodge. Prof. E. F. Bullard was chosen past dictator ; Dr. W. F. Short, dic
tator, and E. M. Kinman reporter. Later it was consolidated with Royal Lodge.
Athens Chapter, No. 52, Order of the Eastern Star, was organized in the Masonic
Temple, Jacksonville, on May 24, 1881, by Brother J. M. Burch and Sister Lina N.
Young, officers of the Grand Chapter of Illinois. As a charter members we flnd Mr.
and Mrs. J. T, Bronson, Mr, and Mrs. W, H. Worrell, Mr, and Mrs, N, Matheson, Mr.
and Mrs. E. Keemer, Mr. and Mrs. W. M. Starr, Mr. and Mrs. H. A. Mayor, Mr. and
Mrs. F. G. Hocking, W. N. Ross and Hiram Ennis. This society occupies the same re
lation to Masonry that the Rebekah Lodges do to Odd Fellowship. This lodge has now
24 members, and its meetings are made exceedingly pleasant.
There are now in full membership in Ridgely Encampment, No. 9, I. O. O. P., 165
members. Up to this date 27 deaths have occurred among members. The fees for mem
bership are $10 for initiation, yearly dues $4.00 and $1.00 assessments on the death of
each member. As beneflts, the sum of $2.50 per week sick benefits are paid, and $1.00
per member to the personal representatives of a deceased member.
There have been 439 persons initiated as members of Urania, who are now classified
as follows :
Active members  220
Dropped (for non-payment of dues)  149
Withdrawn  46
Died  20
Expelled  ,  4
Total  439
The active membership can be classified, as regards rank, in the order as follows :
Past Grands  - 28
Degree of Faith  107
Degree of Brotherly Love  8
Degree of Friendship  27
Initiatory  60
Total  220
From 1857 to 1881, this lodge has expended for charitable purposes the following
amounts, and who can estimate the good done and suffering prevented thereby ?
Funeral beneflts  $4,16000
Sick benefits  7,140 00
Wldowsrelief  2,293,48
Orphans relief  614.08
Total  $14,107,46

220

Property Values in Morgan in 1881.

The assets on hand July 1, 1861, were $5,583.94, a sufflcient guarantee that all bene
fits will be paid.
In 1881 the J. S. E. R. R. was extended 24 miles, from Virden to Litchfield. The
next year it was continued on to Smithboro, 82 miles from Jacksonville, and in 1883
Centralia 29 miles further, was reached, and new territory opened up and railroad con
nections raade south and east.
The following is a true and correct statement of the valuations of property listed
for taxation in Morgan county as taken from the records of the county clerk, for the
year 1883, and the taxes charged : 

CLASS OP PROPBKTr,

Personal ,
Lands 
Lots.

o >, f Class 0, Personal .

Sg,-! Class D, Lots
'3 o I Class A, Track 
M£ [Class B, Rolling stock 
Gas Company and Western Union Telegraph Company. ,

Totals

1 p

.t2,169,2S3 6,651,326 2,314,932

$1,511,498 6 437,602
1,620,487

£24,296 126,146 22,8lO

1,243,761

KIND OP TAX.

State tax of 1883 
Forfeited, 1882 
Jacksonville city bonds .
Forfeited in 1882 
Morgan county bonds. . .
Forfeited in 1882 
Waverly bonds 
Forfeited in 1882 
County 
Forfeited in 1882 
Dog tax 
Koad tax 
JackBonville 
Forfeited in 1882 
Waverly 
Franklin 
Murrayville  ,
Lynnville 
Drainage 

$9,243,761 2,084,418
9,243,761 166,184
9 243,760
No levy.
•2,034,418 166,184 41,272
43.080 29,119

$ .32.4*.66
1.90 .75
2.20 .86.25.69,63

M o

$29,680,03 633.67
9,171.43 239,88
5,646,25 20.91
3,167 49
69,328.20 959.12

45,857.19 3,808.19 1,412.56 103 IS
254.17177.14

$30,112.70 9,460.81 5,567.163,167.49

70,287.32 1,409.10

49,665 38
1,412.66 103,1S
254 17
177,14
355.84

I'he following statistics from the assessor's books returned to the county clerk, give
the relative amounts and value of the personal property of Morgan county in 1883 :

Horses..Cattle..

Mules and asses..
Sheep 
Hogs..

Steam ens;ines including boilers 
Fire or biirglar-proof eaiee 
Billiard, pigeon-hole, bagatelle or other similar tables..
Carriages and wagons 
Watches and clocks 
Sewing and knitting machines 
Pianofortes 
Melodeons and organs 

Total value..

6,531
16,638 1,002
10,814
22,689 2452 7
2,637 1,2611,470

< b>
as

$ 298,556330,563 48,700 82,79678,277 10,015 5,580 179
74,845 9,165
14.524
29,090 12,640

$1,629,745

Assessment Values. — Churches and Pastors. 221
VALUES or nNBNOSIERATBD PBOPRRTT.
Mflrchandise  $259,445
Manufactured articles  9,110
Manufactured tools, implements and machinery  2,400
Agricultural implements  42,418
Gold and silver plate, and plate .ware  195
Moneys-of banks, bankers, brokers, etc  50,800
Other moneys.  569,650
Property of corporations  5,000
Property of saloons ami eating houses  1,090
Household property  151,389
Investments in R. E  2,400
Grain of all kinds  26,688
Shares of stock of State and National Banks  106,000
AU other personal property  4,808
Total assessed value  1,2:^,393
Total assessed value of personal property  2,160,560
Railroad property assessed in the county as personal property  l,:3:0O
REAL ESTATE LANDS Number of Acres. Assessed Value.
Improved lands  296,120 $ 6,257,812
Unimproved lands  57,282 293,600
Totals  353,-352 $ 6,,551,412
TOWN AND CITY LOTS
'' Number of Lots. Assessed Value.
Improved lots  3,620 $ 2,222,629
Unimp oved lots  1,890 106,974
Totals  5,610 $ 2,.329,6i«
Total assessed value of all taxable property in Morgan county  $11,041,475
NUMBER OP ACRES I.V CULTIVATION,
Wheat  3-,j96
Corn  118.784
Ou-tS  ,2,018
Meadows  30,180
Uther fleld products  8 oil
Number of acres Inclosed in pasture  86' 066
Number of acres inclosed In orchard  3'79()
Number of acres Inclosed in woodlaml  .'.' 57 1)32
Jacksonville to-day, January, 1885, contains twenty church organizations, viz :
German Evangelical Lutheran Salem, Rev. Edward Beck.
Mt. Zion (colored) Church, Rev. A. L. Stewart, pastor. No church edifice.
Baptist — First, West State near West ; B. F. Simpson, pastor, Mt. Emory (African),
Rev. J. O. Bonner, pastor.
Mbthodist — Brooklyn M. B., Rev. James Leaton, D D., pastor. Grace M. E., Rev. W.
N. McElroy, D. D., pastor. Centenary M. E., Rev. M. D. Hawes, pastor. German M. E.
Rev. H. Ellerbeck, pastor. African M. E., Rev. Mr. Jackson, pastor.
Presbyterian — Central, Rev. A. B. Morey, pastor. First, no pastor ; no church ed
ifice ; worship with Central congregation. Westminster, Rev. Samuel M. Morton, pastor.
First Portuguese, no pastor. Second Portuguese, Rev. C. B. Barton, pastor Central
Portuguese, Rev. E. N. Pires, pastor.
Christian — Church of Christ, Rev. A. N. Gilbert, pastor. Christian (colored), Rev.
W. S. Hancock, pastor, no church edifice.
Congregational, Rev. H, E, Butler, pastor.
Episcopal— Holy Trinity, Rev. J. D, Easter, rector,
Roman Catholic— Church of Our Savior, Rev, T. Hickey, pastor.
Of these twenty all but two have pastors and all but three have edifices for worship.
Some of these churches are among the finest in the West.
In addition to all other railroad facilities referred to elsewhere, the city is likely to
have another Western connection. On March 17th, last, the articles of association for
the organization of the Quincy, Jacksonville & Eastern Railway Company were filed in
the county recorder's office. The articles set out the name of the corporation thereby
created and organized as above, and the purpose and object of the said corporation shall
be to build, construct, own and operate a railroad through the counties of Adams, Pike,
Scott and Morgan to Jacksonville. Isaac L. Morrison, Lewis S. Olmsted and William
D. Sanders are the Jacksonville incorporators

222

The Death Roll.

THE FOLLOWING IS THE OLD SETTLERS NECBOLOGICAL RECORD FOB 1883-'84.

Pg.

September 28.
October 3 
December 4....
July 13 
Julys 
July 6 
August '27 
July 3 
August 10 
August 16 
August 16 
August 10 
August 8 
May 11 
May 14 
June 21 
February 23....
June 27 
June 17 
June 8 
March4 
March 16 
March 6 
August 1 
August 27 
August 29 
October 6 
July 4 
December 7 ...
Decembers....
December 18...
December 20..,
December 28...
October 18 
October 14 
October 14 
October 23 
Novembers...,November lo...
November 18..,
November22.„ Nov mber29..,
September 23,
November 11..,
February 12....
December—..September 5. ,
September 10,
September 12,
September IS...
September 23...
September 25...
May 24 
Ma'CbS 
April 2 
May 7 
Ap il6 
April 9 
April 7 
April 11 
April 28 
April 20 
March 26 
March 28 
March 26 
March 21 
March 1 
March 6 
January 16....
February 1....
January 17...,
January 31....
January 12....
March 6 
February 17..
February lo..
December 16.
September 14...
Septeirfber 18.

NAME.

Herbert Carpenter.. 
John Walker 
William Rlcnardson 
James B Spires 
John A J Carson 
Morris J. Olive 
Mrs, Mary Retd 
Mrs. Polly Embree 
Mrs. Anna Ainsworth 
Mis, Harriet Moore 
Talma Smith 
Mrs. Sarah Litton 
Mrs, Eliza J, Stringham..
John W. Goltra 
Stephen Sutton 
Jonathan Neely 
John M. Cole 
Joseph Liter 
Mrs. Hannah 8. Vasey 
John Gledhill 
T. J. Weatherford 
William Wright 
Samuel McKean 
John 0. Pfeil 
Mrs. B. F. Gass 
John D. Keedy 
Thomas C. Huckstep 
Mrs May Ann Hall 
Mrs. Mary Jacinto 
Edward Weil 
Leroy Shulty 
Mrs. Mary Fuster 
Thomas Hountree 
Morns H. Worcester 
B. P. Rynearson 
Mrs. Mary Stevenson 
Mrs. Maria Hussey 
Mrs. KUen Miles 
Mrs. Chastlna Simmons..
Henry W. Hunt  ,.
Miss Cornelia Trask ..
Mrs. PrlBoUia J. Hurst. .
George Hess 
Cyrus J. Tond 
Mrs. Ann Alexander 
Isaac N. West 
John Mapes 
WiliamS. Andras 
Jairus Kibbe 
Mrs. Elizabeth Berry 
Ebenezer T. Miller 
Mrs. Sarah P. Hurst 
Joseph W. King 
Peter Kirkman 
Mrs. Elizabeth B. Scott..
J oseph G. Hayden 
James H. Mack 
Mary F. Henderson 
Mrs. Hannah Fairbank, .
Mrs. Sarah A Myerd 
John H. Bohn 
Mrs, Helen V. Stout 
John Kdgar Ward 
Mrs. Hulda Carey 
James Burues 
Richardson Vasey 
John W. King
George B Daniels 
Ida Vasconcellos 
Mrs. Joaquin Smith 
Mrs. Eva H. Craven 
Richard Jordan 
Mrs Visenia Smith 
Samuel McKean 
Albert Price 
Miss Mary E, Allen. . ..
Robert P. Maoken 
Mrs. Hannah Edwards.. .
Mrs. Mary KiUiam 

386785 76
40 41 49
45 6936475247 63
35 32
42 356154

Illinois KentuckyEngland
IllinoisVirginia
Illinois VirsiinlaKentucky
EnglandIllinois KentuckyKentuckyMassachusetts
New Jersey
New Jersey
Pennsylvania
New Jersey
Kentucky Bngland
IllinoisIllinois KentuckyScotlandGermanyKentuckyMaryland
Virginia England
MaderlaGermanyOhioNew York
KentuckyIllinois Missouri
Ohio New York
New York
OhionilnolsConnecticut Kentucky
Germany Pennsylvania
IrelandOhio Missouri
England Connecticut
TennesseeKentuckyKentuckyConnecticutKentucky
IllinoisVirginiaIllinois Kentucky Connecticut
Illinois North Carolina
New Jersey
Illinois VirginiaIreland England Massachusetts
lUluois Maderla
Maderla Illinois
Illinois Maderla
ScotlandIllinois Illinois
Illinois IllinoisKentucky

A General Review and Outlook. 223
The State of Illinois has in the city three large institutions, the Central Hospital
for the Insane, the Institution for the Education of the Deaf and Dumb, and the Insti
tution for the Education of the Blind. Dr. H. F. Carriel has charge of the Hospital
for the Insane, Dr. P. G. Gillett that of the Deaf and Dumb Institution, and Rev. F. W.
Phillips that of the Blind, all gentlemen who are entirely competent to fulfill the duties
of the high positions which they have attained. These institutions now (1884) contain
about 1,300 inmates, officers, teachers, attendants, pupils and patients divided as follows:
Blind, 168 ; Insane, 633 ; Deaf and Dumb, 586.
The principal buildings are the Court House, Opera House, City Hospital, Y. M. C.
A, Hall, Sanitarium, Oak Lawn Retreat for Insane, State Institutions for Blind, Deaf
and Dumb, and Insane, Dunlap House, Rataichak Hotel, Illinois College, Jacksonville
Female Academy, Illinois Female College, Young Ladies' Athenaeum, Conservatory of
Music, Jacksonville Business College, Washington High School and five public school
houses. It has always been an educational center for the west, and so numerous are
its schools and so high the grade of scholarship that it has been dubbed "The Athens
of the West," It is equally proud of its other well deserved name of the "New Haven
of Illinois," on account of the gigantic size and great number of beautiful elms shading
its principal streets. The city is lighted with gas— streets and houses. It has never
had any rapid gi-owth in population nor done much in the manufacturing line, yet now
possesses a very large woolen mill, three brick yards, two carriage manufactories, four
flouring mills and some smaller industries.
A street railway line furnishes easy communication through the two principal
streets (State and Main) from depots to State institutions at western and southern city
limits. No running stream furnishes water power but an excellent system of reservoirs
supplies water abundantly for city and fire department use. There are no city steam
fire engines but four paid hose companies and a hook and ladder brigade. The
churches number over a score, including all the leading sects and many handsome and
commodious buildings. The Y. M. C. A. has a fine building — the best of its kind in the
State outside of Chicago and owned by the association — and takes charge of a Public
Library and Free Reading Room Illinois College and its literary societies have three
other libraries. A Library Association and the Deaf and Dumb Institution also possess
large book collections.
With the growth of our city has grown our capacity to entertain travelers, whether
brought to our place by business or pleasure. Our hotels are constantly being beauti
fied and enlarged, and passing into hands that understand their business. The patron
age annually received by our leading hotels from commercial travelers alone is a big
thing in itself. Take the Rataichak Hotel, on East State street, just completed, as an exam
ple. It is a large and elegant building, which not only adds much to the general appearance
of that part of the city, but is one of the permanent kind ot enterprises that we like to
see buUt up and encouraged in our community. It will doubtless prove a paying invest
ment. The hardware, stove and furniture trade has assumed large proportions in our city
within the last few years. Small rooms and meagre stocks have been supplanted by
commodious buildings and assortments rivaling in size those of metropolitan establish
ments. There is very little jobbing, but the retailers have customers that come from
great distances, and the Jacksonville market supplies a large territory.
The principal shipments are horses, cattle, sheep, hogs, fiour and walnut logs. Be
sides the Opera House there are three public halls, seating altogether 1,650 persons.
The assessed valuation of real aud personal property in 1882 was $2,827,320, reduced by
the State Board of Equalization to $1,979,224, The total bonded indebtedness is now
only $154,500.
There is nothing in the entire catalogue of a city's advantages so positive to ad
vance its commercial growth, and to raise it in the scale of mercantile importance
among cities, as its communications with the outside world. In this respect, Jackson-

224 Railroads — Soil — Banks — Street Paving.
ville is not wanting, but has the necessary railroad advantages, to meet the requirements
of all kinds of business. The extension of the Jacksonville Southeastern to Centralia,
recently, has its many advantages, and will eventually result in the bringing of a con
siderable amount of business to the city from the southeast, that has heretofore been
going elsewhere, while another avenue for competition on freights has been added.
Through the great Wabash line, Jacksonville has an outlet for traffic east and west, and
by the Peoria branch, north ; while the Chicago <fc Alton gives direct transportation
north, south and southwest. The sharp competition waged between these great corpor
ations, the C. & A. and the Wabash has the beneficial result of cheapening transporta
tion; hence no inland city of the size of Jacksonville, possesses such advantages in this
respect. The soil of the vicinity is a rich black loam, with an almost unbroken level surface
and only enough timber land to supply home consumption of wood. Two daily news
papers, with weekly editions, one Republican (Journal, Weekly established in 1831,
Daily in 1866,) and one Democratic (Courier) are published, besides two college news
papers. There are three job printing offices Hon, John Gordon is postmaster. The
city is now entitled to free mail delivery and expects soon to have the carrier system.
Tne United States and Paciflc Express and Western Union Telegraph Companies have
offlces. There are five solid banking and saving institutions. Three of these have capi
tal as follows: Jacksonville National, $260,000; First National, $200,000; Central
Savings, $100,000, and two private concerns, M, P, Ayers & Co,, and Hockenhull, King
& Elliott, which do not publish amount of capital, but do a very large business,
Jacksonville has often been famed for good "turnouts," Her smooth and well
shaded streets are splendid boulevards for pleasure driving, and hence a taste for fine
equipages has been cultivated. Of course many cannot afford the luxury of a team of
their own, and hence livery and feed stables have sprung up, wherein all classes of
vehicles and horses for driving, wedding or funeral purposes, can be procured.
In its proper place mention should have been made of the Young Men's Christian
Association, which for years has had a good organization here, and which lately has
completed a very handsome edifice on Morgan street, devoted to the fulfillment of the
aims and objects for which the association was organized. A public library and read
ing room find a home within the walls of the Association building, and are open day
and evening to all who are desirous of availing themselves of the benefits there to be
found. The health of the city has always been remarkable, the average death-rate being
much lower than in the majority of cities of the west. The U. S. census statistics puts
Jacksonville in the front rank in point of health.
With its admirable Fire Department, in connection with the abundant and conve
nient supply of water, a disastrous fire is almost impossible.
With its well officered and equipped Military Company, the Morgan Cadets, it vies
with neighbor cities in promoting and fostering this strong arm of security and defense,
a well-ordered and drilled militia. The number of brave boys in blue who volunteered
to stem the tide of treason in our late civil war, of which Jacksonville and Morgan
county furnished their full share, shows how fully we could rely on them in any hour
of danger. The initiatory steps in tlie matter of paving the principal streets with the best of
hard burned brick, have proven most conclusively that Jacksonvillians are awakening
to a most important sense of duty they owe to themselves and the business interests Of
the community and the enterprise will now be pushed forward until the principal
avenues for travel in our city are put in the best possible condition.
At no time in the history of Jacksonville, now 58 years old, have her various inter
ests been in a more satisfactory condition than at present, and it is with a considerable
degree of pride that she shows the world the onward march of progress and the pros
perity that has attended the efforts of her business community the past few years.

Churches — Schools — Clubs — Tobacco- 225
With some 13,000 inhabitants, her situation, surroundings, growth, improvements and
prospects, she is the peerless inland city of the west. Her position is commanding and
beautiful ; her broad streets and avenues are flnely shaded ; her palatial dwellings are
set in commodious lawns, dotted with evergreens and flowers ; her numerous public
buildings. are costly and rich in architectural finish; her halls and business houses are
solid, roomy and convenient. Gas works, water works and street cars, are in success
ful operation; railroads lead out in six difEerent directions. While noted for the three
State benevolent institutions which are elegantly situated within the city limits, giving
her a State-wide reputation, the city is no less renowned for her schools, academies and
colleges, the seat of learning and art.
In the political world it has exerted its full share of influence in moulding public
opinion and laws, resulting in the rapid advancement of our State to its present envia
ble position. It has furnished a Secretary of State, flve Judges of the Circuit and one
of the Supreme Court a State Superintendent of schools,; two Governors, two members
of Congress and a United States Senator ; in each case, men of distinguished ability,
who have reflected honor upon their State and Nation.
In the religious world, her church-going population is comfortably accommodated
in some twenty difEerent houses of worship, costing all the way from $2,000 up to $10,-
000, $20,000 and $40,000 each ; and while our city suffered the loss of the flnest one of
these church buildings, the First Presbyterian, in a recent fire, we have every assurance
that it will be rebuilt at no distant day — possibly more elegant and tasty in appearance
than before. Every shade of religious belief can find a home, as there are all kinds to
choose from.
In addition to the work of benevolence carried on in our churches, our citizens are
characterized for their activity and liberality in this direction through societies. We have
our Free Masons and Odd Fellows, United Workmen, Knights of Honor, Royal Templars,
Y. M. C, A., tne Woman's Christian Association, the Orphan's Home, City Hospital,
Woman's Christian Temperance Union, and other worthy organizations. Great and good
work is being effected by all these organizations.
Her citizens are also widely celebrated for the attention paid to music and the arts.
There is perhaps no city in the State with so many pianos, musical instruments and
able teachers of music, in proportion to the inhabitants. Her reputation in this regard
has attracted pupils from all porcions of the west to receive the benefit of the training
and instruction of her competent professors. Culture is indispensable to progress, and
that city which is not fully abreast of the times in all the varied requirements of art
and learning, will surely fall behind in the race for assured success.
In her numerous literary and scientific clubs, her citizens find time to exercise
their minds and improve their taste. D.D.'s, L.L. D.'s, A, M.'s, M.D.'s and gentlemen
with no titles to their names, all take a part and bear their portion of the labor, and
share equally in the enjoyment of its result. Tlie ability to contribute is only exceeded
by the desire to excel in literary attainments. The ladies, not to be behind, as they
never are indeed, in any good work, have their Sorosis, P. E. O., and other societies,
which afEord them ample room for discussion, for composition and general improve
ment. In addition to the educational establishments already spoken of, there are four
ward schools and a High School, appertaining to Jacksonville proper, which are under
the supervision of a school board, which has ample power in the selection of the city
superintendent of schools, the principals and subordinate teachers in the wai:d schools,
as well as in determining the course of study to be pursued in each.
Jacksonville has never been famous for the amount of capital and enterprise in
vested in manufacturing, yet this division of commerce is growing upon us, and few
realize the number of men now employed by our city manufacturers, and the number
of families supported by home industries. Take the tobacco trade alone. Three large
establishments, and several smaller ones are constantly turning out man's favorite weed

226 Manufactures — Election of 1884 — Historical Society.
in its various shapes, employing many hands and paying a large revenue to the govern
ment. The addition of an extensive tile factory, in 1883, to our manufacturing interests,
is one of great importance, and it should be the duty of every resident to use his
or her infiuence— let it be great or small— to induce other like institutions to settle
among lis. We need more manufactories.
The Woolen Mills of Capps & Sons, continues to be the chief manufacturing es
tablishment of the city, carrying on a business of half a million annually.
Two very large and two small flour mills do a very large business in that line, and
manufacturfe the very best flour in the western market.
Business stability is a fact that can easily be verified by the records. There
have been fewer business failures in our city and county, the past ten or twenty years,
than in any other section of the State. This speaks volumes for the management of
our financial and business institutions, and the ability to maintain themselves under all
circumstances in a prudent and careful manner. These are extremely encouraging facts,
that go to show that the business interests of Jacksonville and Morgan county are on a
solid basis, and that speculation and involvement in debt have not been indulged in to
the same extent as in other localities. With these facts before them, our citizens
should feel greatly stimulated and become aroused to renewed efEorts in the extension
of their business.
Jacksonville has a grand future before her. With no city of its size within 38
miles on the east, 80 miles on the south or west, or north, she can command the trade
of the intervening country — the most beautiful and productive of any in our glorious
State. To do this there mnst be enterprise, liberality, intelligent concentration and uni
versal interest among all her citizens. Manufactures will be increased, the jobbing and
retail trade enlarged, and every facility afforded for active growth and expansion.
The Central Presbyterian church, after the departure to Belleview College of Dr.
Harsha, gave a unanimous call to Rev. A. B. Morey, of Cincinnati, Ohio, who accepted
and is now ministering most acceptably to them as well as to the First church which
has continued to worship with them since September, 1883.
The election of November 4, 1884, resulted in a complete Democratic victory for
county and national tickets, Hon. Edward L. McDonald, states attorney, was elected as
Representative to the General Assembly and he took his seat in that body January 7tK,
1885. Mr. Charles A. Barnes was elected states attorney, Mr. John N. Marsh re-elected
circuit clerk, D H. Sorrells was elected county commissioner, John R. Knollenberg
coroner and T. D. Richardson surveyor. At this election the county again failed to give
the requisite majority to the proposition to adopt township organization.
On May 21, 1883, the hardest frosts and freeze ever known in the county occurred
in the night. Everything in the way of vegetables that had come-up was killed, potatoes,
beans and corn especially sufEered. On the 22d there was another frost finishing the
destruction of the little still undamaged. All grapes and tomatoes were destroyed.
The Jacksonville Historical Society was formed Tuesday, August 5th, 1884, and the
following officers were elected : Dr. Hiram K. Jones, president ; Dr, H. W. Milligan,
secretary; Samuel W. Nichols, historian; and the following managers, Messrs. M. P.
Ayers, W. F. Short, Henry H. Hall, Mesdames Edward Scott and Edward P, Kirby, and
the president and secretary. The society meets monthly and has already had intere.st.
ing papers read before it by Prof. Turner, Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Bancroft and Dr. Milligan.
January 5th, 1884, is said to have been the coldest day for fifteen years in this local
ity. Mercury ranged from 30 to 35 degrees below zero in Jacksonville.
On pages 185 and 195 we gave a few figures as to the city's schools. We can now
present later ones : For the year ending June 30th, 1883, the average attendance of
pupils was 1,288 ; the number enrolled 1,750. The average number attending was prob
ably not less then 1,400. There were 35 teachers employed, including the principal,
givlngan average Of 40 pupils to each teacher. The salarie-s were : 28 at $45 per tnontii.

School Revenues and Expenses. 227
$405 per year ; 2 at $50 per month, $450 per year ; 1 at $60 per month, $540 per year ;
4 at $70 per month, $630 per year ; 1 at $1,200 per year.
Certainly no less than thirty-five teachers were necessary to teach 1,400 children,
and when 1,500 were present the hands of the teachers were full. The salaries of the
teaching force amounted to $17,168.
Janitors (four main buildings and four branches)  $ 1,215.00
Fuel.:  1,000.00
Insurance (premium on $20,000 three years)  200.00
Salaries of members of board  200.00
Interest  -2,500 00
Repairs   1,000.00
Stationery  300.00
Contingent  200.00
For the year ending June 30, 1883, the entiree xpenses of the schools amounted to  $23,495.59
For the school year ending June 30, 1884, $2,864 was expended under the head of
building, including putting in of steam into the first ward, $2,077.79 under the head of
repairs $317.03 for furniture, $1,178 for fuel, and $2,549.15 for interest, the first two
items being unusually large, yet the tuitien in our public schools amounts to an outlay
of $20 per pupil, or exactly one-half that charged by private institutions of high grade-
The amount of annual revenue is about as follows :
Taxgrosslevy  $20,000.00
Shrinkage as follows ;— Cost of collecting two per cent  $400
Uncollectable taxes, not less than  400 800.00
$19,200.00
County superintendent  3,300.00
Interest on township fund  400.00
Total  $23,900.00
That is to say the expenses inevitable without reducing schools exceeds the revenue about  $913.00
A comparative exhibit of attendance and expenses for the years 1874, 1879 and 1884,
a period of ten years, is appended. The figures are taken from the records of each
school year, closing in August : Pupils Enrolled.

1874 1879 1884
High School  87 126 134
Seventh Grade  39 76 89
First Ward  340- 405 363
Second Ward  373 451 421
Third Ward  346 507 521
Fourth Ward  327 303 283
Colored School  152 discontinued.
Total  1664 1868 1811
Total expense account for 1874, $34,957.21 ; for 1879, $34 508.20 ; for 1884, $29,426.13.
In the comparison of expenditures, the items of building, repairs, furniture, &c.,
are all included.
Eighteen-Eighty-Four was a prosperous year to the Art Association, which now
numbers over fifty members. The meetings have been well attended and interesting.
The subjects considered have been: The History of Architecture, What an Art Asso
ciation may do, Japanese Art, Modeling in Clay (a lecture by Prof. E. A. Spring,) A
Utilitarian "View of Art, American Wood Engraving, The Old and New in Art, The
French Artist, French Sculpture.
There was a larger attendance at the art exhibition than ever before with one ex
ception, and the association had reason to be proud of what they had to exhibit. The
net proceeds were $80 and the sale of pictures amounted to over $300. The society
has made important additions to their library and have purchased two valuable pictures
one by Wm. Sartain and the other by Kiefer. Dr. Prince has presented them with a
valuable collection of autotypes. They have also received a charcoal study from Prof.
"Van'-Laer. The present officers are: Prof, J, H, Woods, president; Mrs. M. J. Dewees, Miss
M. E. Morse, vice presidents ; Mr: H. H. Hall, treasurer ; Miss L, E. Sturtevant, secre-

228 Art — Horticulture — Catholic — Turnverein.
tary ; Mrs. M. D. Wolcott, Mrs. M. L, D, Keiser, Mrs. David Prince, Dr. T, J, Pitner,
additional trustees.
The painting and charcoal club is a sturdy infant which has recently come into ex
istence, but is likely to be heard from in a most artistic manner in the future. Like all
model children it will be seen rather than heard.
The meetings of the Microscopical Society are held on the first Saturday of each
month, and continue throughout the year. Dr. Black has been presidentthis year — 1884.
The subjects studied and illustrated by home-made specimens are "Badena Husca
Comestica," "The Nose," "The Tongue," "Phylloxera," "A grain of corn," "The Heart,"
"Texture and Color of Corollas," "Plant Hairs," "Stomoxys Calatrans." The society
met with the Horticultural Society Nov. Ist, 1884, and exhibited specimens in the in
terest of horticulture. Probably the best work done this year is that in illustration of
the sprouting of a grain of corn from the flrst to the seventeenth day after planting, by
Dr. Black. The Horticultural Society was formed in 1868 and has met regularly once per
.month. The greatly distinguishing feature of the year has been the increased interest
taken in the meetings both by members and outsiders who attend, and this interest has
manifested itself in the greater display of fruits, flowers and plants at each meeting,
which proves that more attention is being devoted to the cultivation aud care of all hor
ticultural products, and more especially house plants. A union meeting of this society
n connection with the Microscopical Society in November was one of the most inter
esting and instructive meetings of the year. The present officers are Hon. Edward
Scott, president; A, L, Hay, secretary; Miss M, E, Catlin, treasurer.
The Young Men's Catholic Benevolent Association was organized in November,
1878, with twenty-three members, and has now sixty-five. Its officers are : President,
M, H. Murray ; vice-president, Geo. Buhre ; secretary, O. Weisenburg ; financial secretary,
Ed. Keating ; treasurer, M. S. Harmon.
The Ancient Order of Hibernians was organized September 18, 1883, which have
increased to ninety- five. Its officers are:
JohnBoylan, president; Chas. Develin, vice-president; E. A. CosgrifE, recording
secretary; W, A, Carroll, financial secretary; M, McGinnis, treasurer; Den. J. McCarty,
door-keeper ; M. S, Harmon, grand marshal ; John Develin, sergeant-at-arms.
Both the above societies are for benevolent purposes, paying weekly benefits to
sick and needy members. They report an usually prosperous year.
The Turnverein was organized February 3d, 1858, with seven members. Ph. Braun,
H, Lomb, L, Weil, Nat. Neuman, Fred. Fries, M. Rosenbach and H. Fitzenberger.
They first met in a barber shop under the Park House, afterward in a hall on a lot now
owned by Mrs. Fay, The membership increased until the war, when by volunteering
it was reduced to six. After the war it grew again and in time removed to its present
quarters on North Main street, which it bought for $6,500, and improved at a cost of
$3,000, The present membership is thirty. Meetings occur the first Sunday of each
month. Officers are elected in June and December. This society belongs to the
National "Bund" and has for its object the relief of needy and distressed members as
well as the practice of gymnastics. Its present officers are : President, A. Miller ; vice
president, L.Leurig; treasurer, H. Engel ; treasurer of sick fund, John Schafer; sec
retary. Ph. Schultz ; teacher of gymnastics, Wm. Kempf ; warden, H. Brune.
Our colored citizens have their fraternal lodges in our city. Among them are the
Knights of Tabor and Daughters of the Tabernacle which have kept on in the even
tenor of their way, trying to render assistance to the needy and elevate the race with
which they are identified, and to exalt the principle of the great brotherhood of man,
thus becoming a power for good. This is an auxiliary branch of the grand body, and
will no doubt be well represented in the grand session, to be held in the city of Louis-
yille, Ky., this year.
Also Fame Lodge, No. 3206, G. U. O. O. F., which was organized August 36th, 1881,

A. 0. U. W.-A. F. AND A. M.-I. 0. 0. F.-Institutions. 229
by H. Gorum, D. Hudson and Isham Hicks, in Hatfield's Hall, on the northwest corner
of the square. Also the Household of Ruth, No. 291, G. U. O. O. F., which was organ
ized April 28th, 1883, by R. S. Donalson and C. L. Wilson, of Quincy.
During the year 1884, the Ancient Order of United Workmen leased the room over
Jebb Bros', jewelry store, known as Music Hall, and remodelled the same, taking out
the old stage, &c., and now have one of the most comfortable secret society halls in the
city. There were twelve assessments during the year. The increase in membership
lias been limited for this year owing to the political campaign.
The Royal Templars paid fifteen assessments and gained one member.
The year 1884 for the Knights of Honor, was uneventful. They continued to do
and receive good according to the principles of the order. W. A. Oliver is now dictator.
The various Masonic lodges have met and labored for the benefit of their member's
and their dependent ones, doing good in truly scriptural way. The various bodies are
Hospitaler Commandery, No. 31, Knights Templar, Jacksonville Chapter, No, 3, Royal
Arch Masons, Harmony Lodge, No. 3, A. F. and A. Masons, Jacksonville Lodge, No.
690, A. F. and A. Masons, the Order of the Eastern Star and a lodge of Ancient York
Masons. The noble order of Odd Fellows had a prosperous year as its merits well deserve.
We are enabled to present the following statistics :
Illini — Members 243, accessions during the year 11, sick benefits paid $527, paid
¦•vidows and orphans $464, donations $42. Sick benefits are $5 per week. The lodge
pays to widows of deceased members an assessment of $2 per member at the time of
death and a quarterly allowance for tive years afterward.
Ridgely Encampment, No. 9, I. O. O. F., paid for the relief of sick brothers in 1884,
$160. Increase in membership very light, owing to a political campaign ; membership 156.
Urania Lodge, No. 243, I. O. 0. F., paid for relief of sick brothers $610; paid for
relief of widows of deceased brothers $160 ; paid for education of orphans of deceased
brothers $105 ; donated to needy brothers $40 ; paid funeral benefits $480 ; total relief
for the year $1,395. The receipts for the year to December 1st, were $2,038.90. The
lodge has a capital of about $6,000. The membership is 220.
The Illinois Institution for the Education of the Deaf and Dumb is increasing in
usefulness under the able management of Dr. P. 6. Gillett, who has been at its head so
long. It has at present 503 pupils, one superintendent, twenty-eight teachers, three
matrons, three clerks, one physician, four supervisors, two attendants, two engineers,
two firemen, one baker, four cooks and thirty-six other employes. All the improved
methods of teaching are employed, including the wonderful art of articulation, in addi
tion to which the pupils are instructed in gardening, cabinet making, printing and many
other useful and beautiful arts.
During the past year the Central Hospital for the Insane has gone on increasing
its facilities for usefulness. Numerous additions have been made to the shops, stables
and other out houses, while the great work has been the new and commodious detached
building, especially designed for the treatment of incurables. This is to cost, when
completed, $135,000 and will be a model structure of its kind when ready for occupa-
tion, which will probably be sometime during the coming year There were in the in
stitution, December 30th, a total of 633 patients, 315 males and 318 females, with a daily
average of 639 for the preceding two years. There have been admitted during the past
two years 480 patients and 486 discharged. Of these the gratifying number of 326
went away recovered and improved. Since the organization of the hospital 7,630 pa
tients have been treated. Great credit is due the present superintendent for his re
markably efficient management of this vast concern.
The Institution for the Education of the Blind has just passed through an unusually
prasperous year. The work which was done in its various departments was thorough,
and accomplished good results. The school has been better attended this year than
ever before, the roll showing an attendance of 168, 106 male and 62 female pupik.

^30 I'he Blind — Oak Lawn — City Hospital — Lyceum.
These pupils represent seventy-five counties of the state. The graduating class num
bered three young ladies and was composed of Joanna Gibbons and Alice Roberts of
Madison county and Minnie McCrea of Will county. Certificates of proficiency from
the mechanical department were given to William Appel, and James Hennessey of
Cook county, John Jennings of Logan county, John D, Marvin of DuPage county, Fritz
Schrage of Adams, and George D. Williams of McHenry county. These young men
liave mastered the trades taught in the workshops of the institution, and are now trying
to support themselves. The health of the inmates has been good. The corps of instruc
tors in the literary department consists of Misses Harriet Reed, Frances McGinnis,
Lizzie B. Simpson, Annie H. Martin, Lulu Nichols and Mrs. Mary H. Burr ; in the
musical department Miss Susie A. Draper, Prof. T. D. Nutting, Mrs. Katie Smith Dum
mer and Mrs. Annie Smith ; in the mechanical department Byron B. Gray and William
H. Smith ; in the domestic department Mrs. L. J. Phillips ; and in the organizing and
flnancial department Julian P. Lippincott treasurer, and F. W. Phillips superintendent.
And at this time the institution is better prepared to do its work than ever before.
The Oak Lawn Retreat for the Insane, founded in 1872 by Dr, Andrew McFarland,
for the past few years has been a success, for three hundred patients have been admitted.
The grounds consist of sixty acres of land in the southeastern part of the city, laid out
as only can be done by taste and money. The building has all the modern improve
ments. The great success this institution has had in the past few years is a pride to
Jacksonville people. At present thirty patients are at this institution, and applications
are often refused for want of room
The City Hospital continues its beneficent labors, the faithful, self-denying sisters
remaining at their posts without any remitting of their work. About flfty-flve unfortu
nates were received and cared for during the year 1884, most of whom have been sent
away cured or much improved. The entertainment for the benefit of the institution
given in February, 1884, when nearly a thousand dollars was realized, furnished most
acceptable help at a time when it was much needed. To Drs, Passavant and W. H. H.
King the beneficiaries of the hospital are under a lasting debt of gratitude for their
cheerful, self-denying labors.
The Jacksonville Lyceum was organized October 25th, under the auspices of the
Young Men's Christian Association. The object of the organization is for the social
intercourse and intellectual development of the young men who may become its
members. The Anti-Horse Stealing Society under the able management of Alderman W, C.
Carter, continues to be a terror to all evil-doers who would get a ride at the expense of
honest men. The assessments have been small the past year, but the members have
had the satisfaction of feeling that their valuable animals were in a measure protected.
¦ Among the literary societies of Jacksonville is one, composed of the younger pro
fessional men, literati and merchants, called "The Round Table." During 1884 it held
twenty-four meetings and discussed all conceivable subjects. The membership of the
club is limited to twenty, the present number being sixteen During the year the club
has lost one member, Frank I. McDonald, by death, and two, R. D. Russell and John G.
Morrison, by reason of their removal from town ; and within the same period, W. J.
Bryan, J, R, Harker and Richard Yates have become members.
The Benefit Building Association, established in 1872, and its newer rival the
Building and Loan Association, continue on in their good work.
The Young Men's Christian Association received and expended about $2,500 in
1884, It has maintained its regular weekly prayer meetings, lyceum and reading room,
besides doing a great deal of missionary work'. Its visitors have been many hundreds,
and the books, papers and periodicals always to be found there, have been read by a
large number of persons. Their building and its furnishing cost $14,000,
The most important event in the history of the Congregational church during the
past twelve months was the celebration of its fiftieth birthday during the month of

City Pastors — Catholic Societies — The Journal. ^31
December, 1883. An historical discourse was delivered by Dr, Sturtevant and the
next day Rev, T. M. Post, D. D., a former pastor, preached to the people with whom he
had once labored. Two evening services were held, in one of which the pastors of the
other churches participated, and in the other special mention was made of some of the
early members. The anniversary of the Sunday-school was also observed. The church
and Sunday-school have sustained the loss of Mr. R. D. Russell, whose absence causes
a vacancy not easily filled. Mr. Durfee and family have also removed to California.
There have been fifteen accessions during the year and nine admissions by letter.
During the past year the Brooklyn M. E. church has parted with its former diligent
pastor. Rev. David Gay, and has been exceptionally favored by receiving in his stead
Rev. James Leaton, D. D. The present membership is 125, with the same number
in the Sunday-school. There have been twenty accessions, two deaths and six baptisms
of children. Improvements on the building, including a $300 bell, have been made at
an expense of $1,200. For some time there has been a small debt owed by the church
but it was recently discharged.
At the Christian church, on East State street, a most successful meeting was held
in the month of March, 1884, by Prof. W. F. Black, of Tuscola, III., resulting in 140
additions. The present membership of the church is about 450. During the summer
the church was without a settled pastor for some months. Elder A. N. Gilbert, of Mays-
ville, Ky., accepted a call from the church and entered upon his duties the 1st of Octo
ber. Elder Gilbert's popularity as a preacher is becoming known in the community
and his audiences are increasing every week.
At the Church of Our Savior, Roman Catholic, from January 1st, 1884 to December,
1884, there were 58 baptisms, 34 funerals and 21 marriages. May 25, 1884, 114 persons
received the Sacrament of Confirmation at the hands of Right Rev. P. J. Baltes, bishop
of the diocese of Alton. There are 298 children enrolled at the Catholic school who are
instructed by the Sisters of St. Dominic. Mother Josephine is superioress of the
Dominican Sisters here and this is the mother house for the diocese of Alton. There
are now branches from the mother house Jerseyville, Carrollton, Mt. Sterling and
Beardstown. The school here is in a large three story brick building, containing four
spacious rooms and two smaller class rooms. A fine hall occupies the top story, in
which the society attached to the church meets and exhibitions are held.
The church has a seating accommodation for 800 persons. There is also standing
room on the fioor of the church and a large gallery. Two masses are celebrated every
Sunday. The first at 8 and the second 10 o'clock a. m. At one of the masses all the
seating space is occupied, and some persons are standing and many in the gallery. At
the other mass the church is more than three-fourths full. Catechism at 2 and vespers
at 3 o'clock p. m. The congregation owes only a little over $3,000.
There are two societies of ladies attached to the church. One the Altar Society,
the other the Young Ladies' Sodality of the Blessed Virgin. Their object is to help one
another by mutual prayer, and to supply the sacred vestments used at divine service.
Besides the Young Men's Catholic Benevolent Society, and the Ancient Order of Hi
bernians, there is also attached to the church an Orphan Society, whose holy object is
to provide for the orphans of the parish and get them good homes.
In a paragraph relating to the Daily Journal, on page 174 of this book, we discover,
after that form has gone to press, that through carelessness we have not done full justice
to the shrewd business management and editorial abilities of our old playmate, L. B.
Glover, now of Chicago. The advertising, the business and the editorial departments
of this office, and not the job-office only, were built up under his control. Perhaps
there has been no equal period in the history of this paper, when it was developed
more in every direction than from 1869 to 1874. He was young and inexperienced and
of course made mistakes, but the business was built up in every department, the office
was well equipped and the paper made itself felt in a number of important interests.
One was the establishment of the city water works, another a high license campaign

282 Manufactures. — Is^ecrology. — Street Paving.
that reduced the number of saloons from 55 to 26. The advertising patronage more
than doubled during his part-ownership.
Of all the business enterprises of our city, there are none more worthy of mention,
than are the manufacturing interests, and we are only sorry that we have not more of
them in our community. One of the most thriving of these is the Star Planing Mills,
located on the northeast corner of West and Court streets. This institution was started
two years ago by Messrs. Mathers, Buckingham & Ziegler, and ever since steam was
first started in their engine, business has been booming with them. Their machinery
is all of the most modern make — the very best that is now in use, and with the large
force of skilled workmen they are enabled to turn out an immense amount of work in
a day, and that too of a superior quality. The principal work turned out by these gen
tle man consists of sash, doors, blinds, frames, mouldings, stairs, railing, posts, balusters,
scroll sawing, wood-turning, etc. While the work is turned out rapidly, all is first-class.
A similar establishment of long-standing and large businessisthatof Hugh Wilson,
Esq., one of our most enterprising citizens and a leading -contractor for the erection of
buildings. His Steam Planing Mills, on North Main street, is a large brick building
and one of the valuable institutions of the city.
In 1884, as in all other years, the angel of death was reaping among the sheaves of
this field. Among those who have left us we note the names of Mrs, Jonas Scott, J, H,
Self, Mrs. Hannah Fairbank, Mrs. Mary Henderson, John Goltra, Stephen Sutton, Wm.
Wright, Sr., Joseph W. King, J. Neely, Judge James Berdan, Mrs. Ann Alexander,
John S. Russel, Dr. Grant and of those formerly identified with this community, J. A.
Willard, Mrs. Naomi Pierson, John Flack, Rev. C. G. Selleck and others ; nor has the
dark angel been content with calling away the aged, but many in the prime of life have
been summoned as well. Loving hearts have been called on to part with John W.
King, Frank I. McDonald, Miss Mary F. Allen, Hon. Richardson Vasey, Mrs. John N.
Marsh and many beside.
The principal work of our city fathers in addition to their routine duties the past
year has been the paving of a part of the square and short distances on East and West
State streets and West Court street. It is to be regretted that the tax voted to pave the
remainder of the square could not be legally levied, but we must endeavor to be grate
ful for the crust in the absence of the whole loaf.
Nearly 100,000,000 gallons of water have been raised for thirsty consumers, an
amount which is liable to be increased in future years.

CENTENARY j\E. E. OHURCII, EREOTED 18(;7.

TfT

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!,?,r ifif rririfir i ^^

YOVNI^ MEN'.S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION BUILDING.
Dedii-atpil (letnber lljtii, l.ssi, Dimonsions (iO by 60 feet, L'list slJ.ddd,

CHAPTER XIII.
Composed of a Series of Appendices — The Kelloggs and their Cabin — Postal Facilities in
the Thirties — David Manchester's Life — Death of Dr. Willard toith a Sketch of his
Life — Reminiscences of 1837 by Miss Fayerioeather — First things by Anderson Fore
man — History of the Baptist Church — Roll of Honor of Old Settlers — The Pioneer
Sewing Society — Its Benevolent Work — The Jacksonville Library — Mere Mention —
Graphic Sketch of Judge John Leeper — Coming West Fifty Years Ago — A few
Manufacturing Interests — School Matters in 1833 — Correction of Errors, hy Dr.
Sturtevant and the Compiler.
7 p WINCjt to the placing in the compiler's liaods of documents and letters relating
to periods of local history after the chapters covering the same time had gone
to press he is moved to close the volume with a salmagundi chapter, consist
ing of a series of disconnected articles or collections of items as follows :
First. — The Kelloggs' Cabin in 1819 and the Subsequent History op these
PlONEEKS.
We are permitted to make the following extracts from a private letter to Mr. Tim
othy Chamberlain, written from Golete, SantaBarbara county, California, by Florentine
Erwin Kellogg, a grandson of Elisha Kellogg, who, with his brother Seymour, built the
first white man's home in Morgan :
You ask me to pen some of my early remembrances of times, persons and things,
connected with the early settlement of our family in Morgan county. III., as my father
and uncle were the first to settle in Morgan county. I was quite young then, but still I
remember very well some of the earliest settlers, who came in soon after the families
of my father and uncle, who were the first. They left the State of New York in
the spring of 1818, and came down the rivers, Albany and Ohio, in a fiat boat of their
own construction, with their families and their few earthly goods ; and after many
weeks of hardships and dangers were landed at Shawneetown, near where the Ohio
joins the Mississippi. Here we bought four yoke of oxen and two wagons, and went to
a small town called Carmi.
We stopped at this place until the spring of the next year, when we again started
north. After many delays and stops at several places we finally came to a halt in what is
now Morgan county. About the 1st of September, 1819, we encamped on the head of Mau
vaisterre creek about ten miles east of the city of Jacksonville, that is where it now is,
but it did not look much like a city at that time. Our nearest neighbors were thirty
miles away upon Spring creek, near Springfleld, where Sangamon county now is.
While occupying our first camp in Morgan county, one afternoon about 3 o'clock, while
my father and uncle were out looking for a suitable place to build a house, we saw the
prairie fire coming with great rapidity towards the camp. That morning my father had
burned ofE a small piece of ground, about an acre in size, just to please the children, and
into this my mother, aunt and the children carried the goods of our camp, and then
rolled in the two wagons, just in time to escape the flames which encircled us on all
sides, and for a time almost suflocated us with smoke. Very soon after the fire had
passed away my father and uncle came hurrying to camp, almost frantic with appre
hension for what might have been the fate of the families, but found us all safe, though
somewhat frightened. The near approach of winter made us hurry up a cabin, and
soon we were as comfortable as circumstances would permit. Away from neighbors
and far from any place where we could get anything to supply our many wants, we had
to go ninety miles down to Edwardsville for corn, and then take it home and pound it in the

236 The Kelloggs — Pioneers in Morgan.
hominy block ; then boil and eat it, with water for sauce and little else. Only once
in a while our Indian neighbors would give us a piece of meat. My father and uncle
were not hunters. If they had been we could have lived much better ; and they did not
even have a gun, save a small shotgun, with which we sometimes succeeded in getting
squirrels, and they were a luxury in more ways than one. The squirrel made nice food
and the skin was seized upon by the nearest of the children and drawn over the foot,
wliere it did good service as both stockings and shoes, as we had no others. During
this winter there came to our house three men ; one was Dr. Roe, whois supposed by
some to be the first settler of Morgan county ; but he was later by nearly one year than
my father ; one was Thomas Beard, who afterwards settled where Beardstown now is,
the other was Billy Robinson, the old bee and deer hunter. These were the first white
men we saw after we settled here. One year afterwards my father sold his property to
Mr. Slattern and moved three miles northwest of where Jacksonville now is. Here my
uncle also settled. About this time or a little later, there came others and settled not far
awajf . James Deaton and Abram Johnson, and still later Judge Aaron Wilson and Isaac
Reeve, who had the first blacksmith shop that I can remember. Geo. Hackett came and
put up a small store. James Deaton built a small horse mill to run with a raw-hide band
twisted around the spindle. We now entered upon an era of comfort, and thought we
were able to have a school. My father, I think, taught the first school in the county ;
we also had a Sunday school at Uncle Jimmy Deaton's. Stephen Corban, John Car
penter, Mr. Hibbard, Moses Carlock, Benjamin Spartzen and others now came in; also
Adam Allison and the Holidays. About this time Jacksonville came into being as a
town ; with Rearick, Rockwell, Cobbs, Carson, Taylor and others. The flrst nurse was
Mrs. Carson ; I remember she was a lady with kind feelings.
Our first article of export from Morgan county was cotton. My father and uncle
made a large canoe, or perogue as they were called, and ran the freight down to St.
Louis, all joining together. About this time the lead mines of Galena were beginning
to attract attention and my father started in the midst of winter, with his team loaded
with feed, and drove the first team eyer driven to Galena; and eventually sold out his
place in Morgan to a man by the name of Isaac Dial. Finally in the spring of 1832 he
moved up to Jo Daviess county, again on the frontier, twelve miles from the nearest
neighbors. Here I lived for thirteen years ; the place became thickly settled, I was a
man grown and married the daughter of Blias Williams, of old Morgan county.
My father died and again I felt the pioneer spirit stir me for a newer country.
And in 1846, or 38 years ago, I left Illinois for the still farther west. I started with two
teams of oxen and a double buggy to carry my wife and babies. After braving the wild,
mountainous country, filled with wild beasts and still wilder Indians, for seven months
I finally reached Napa Valley, Cal. Again I was in a country wild enough to rejoice
the heart of any true pioneer ; here I found nature in her pi imitive grandeur and beauty ;
and unlike my father and uncle when they came to Illinois, when I came to California
I did not come without my trusty hunting rifie and with the hunter knowledge to use
it. It was my living here. It brought me my meat, shoes and clothes for a long time.
The mountains were full of elk, deer, grizzly bears and other game and I enjoyed this
hunter's paradise for many years. Every Saturday I went to the mountains to get my
supply of meat for the ensuing week. I have killed seventy-five grizzly bears, and deer
without number ; have seen elk by the thousand in droves and as many as 154 deer at
one sight in one place. So you see I consider myself a pioneer in the fullest sense.
But this is now the most thickly settled country in which I ever lived and I can scarce
ly tell where to turn to find another new country to go to. I expect I shall have
to be content nere the balance of my life. My health is excellent ; I can still do my
share in the hunt. Last year in one of our hunts we got nine deer and one bear. But
I must stop, though I have not told you a tithe of my frontier experience. I would like
to attend one of the Old Settlers' meetings, but hardly expect that of all things ; I don't
see it clear to do so now, and so I will bid you good-bye, asliing to be kindly remembered.

Postal Eoutes in 1882. 237
Second — Mail Facilities in 1832. Memorial to Congress on the Sub.ject.
The following article taken from the Illinois Patriot, formerly published in Jack
sonville, of the date of February 23d, 1833, is of interest in itself, and gives a vi\-id sug
gestion of the growth of the state and the wonderfully increased means and facilities of
communication since that period :
The following letter was received by a gentleman of this town :
QuiKCT, February 33d, 1833.
Sir : — The undersigned, a committee of correspondence appointed by a meeting of
the citizens of Quincy, take the liberty to enclose to you a copy of their proceedings,
hoping that your citizens cannot fail to perceive the interest they have in co-operating
with us. We understand that the inhabitants of Jacksonville have petitioned the post
master general upon the same subject. But believing as we do that he has no power
to establish such mail routes as these, we thought it better to apply at once to the press.
We respectfully request that you will procure the enclosed copy to be inserted in the
paper in your town, and that you will use your influence to get up a public meeting in
Jacksonville to take into consideration the propriety of petitioning Congress on the
same subject. If it shall be inconvenient for you to bestow your personal attention
upon this matter, we request that you will at least interest some of your personal friends
to take the matter in hand. We have the honor to be your obedient servants.
James H. Ralston,
Thomas Ford,
Robert Tilson.
A meeting of the citizens of Quincy was held on the 11th day of February, 1833,
when Adolphus F. Hubbard was appointed chairman and William G. Flood secretary.
On motion Resolved, That the chairman appoint a committee of flfteen members to draft a
memorial to Congress on the subject of the mails to and from this place.
Whereupon the chairman appointed Thomas Ford,  Williams, Robert Tilson,
Earl Pierce, O. H. Browning, Levi Wells, George Taylor, W. G. Flood, J. H. Ralston,
E. L. Pierson, J. M. Higbee, Arthur Anderson, H. H. Snow, E. S. Freeman and D. G.
Whitney. On motion
Ordered, Tiiat this meeting adjourn until the 13th inst., at 2 o'clock.
Mokdav, February 13.
The meeting convened pursuant to adjournment and Thomas Ford, from ihe com
mittee appointed on Saturday, reported the following memorial :
To the Honorable Senate and House of: Representatives of the United States Congress
assembled:Your memorialists, citizens of the town of Quincy, state of Illinois, in public meet
ing convened, respectfully represent :
That the transportation of the mail to and from this place is arranged in a manner
exceedingly inconvenient. That there is no direct mail to or from any place, but Mon-
tebeli and others, two of the least considerable points witli which we ha-\-e communica
tion. The great mail from Vandalia, by which alone we receive our eastern and most
of our southern intelligence, is so arranged as to come by Springfield, Jacksonville,
Carrollton and Atlas, making a distance of two hundred and forty miles. The distance
on a straight line, by Hillsboro and Jacksonville, is only one hundred and sixty miles,
and the mail might be transported on that route in four days ; whereas on the route
now established nine days are required.
Your memorialists further represent that the town of Quincy has lately grown into
considerable importance, and is improving with unusual rapidity. It contains about
eight hundred inhabitants, is the seat of justice of a county containing upwards of three
thousand, and is the principal place of deposit for a large district of country. Also a

238 Mail Facilities in 1832, 1878 and 1884.
land offlce where considerable business transacted. The town of Rushville contains
about six hundred inhabitants, and is about forty-six miles east of this. With that
place we have no mail communication except by way of Atlas, Gilead, Carrollton, Jack
sonville, Job's and Beardstown, making a circuit of two hundred miles and requiring
near two weeks to accomplish the route. With Lewiston, Peoria and Galesburg we
have no communication except by a route equally inconvenient and circuitous.
Your memorialists further represent that the town of Palmyra, in the state of Mis
souri, is situated eighteen miles west. To that place there is no mail except by way of
Atlas, Louisiana and New London, making a circuit of more than a hundred miles, and
requiring ten days for transportation. Our principal commercial intercourse is with
the city of St. Louis, from which place the mail is brought by way of Bowling Green,
New London, Palmyra, Louisiana and Atlas. At the latter place it is permitted to re
main six days before it is conveyed to Quincy. By establishing a route from Palmyra
here, we would receive intelligence from St. Louis and the greater part of Missouri,
seven days sooner than by the present arrangement.
Your memorialists represent that the arrangement of the mails for the military
tract in the state of Illinois is a real grievance to all its inhabitants, requiring the speedy
interposition of Congress. That the country north of the Illinois River is organized
into eleven counties, and by a reference to the late census, it will be perceived that it-
contained in 1830 seventeen thousand. This whole region is nearly destitute of mail
privileges. The alterations herein suggested could be made, not only without injury,
but with profit to the post offlce department, inasmuch as the revenue of the single
office at Quincy amounts to four hundred dollars annually, and would much increase if
we enjoyed more facilities of mail communication.
We earnestly solicit the attention of congress to the subject of this memorial, and
therefore pray your honorable bodies will establish a mail route from this place direct
to Vandalia by way of Jacksonville and Hillsboro ; also a route to Peoria by way of
Rushville and Lewiston ; and a route to Palmyra in Missouri. On motion.
Resolved, That the memorial be adopted.
Resolved, That James H. Ralston, Thomas Ford and Robert Tilson be a committee
of correspondence, and that they open a correspondence with citizens of such places as
may be interested in the objects of the meeting.
Resolved, That tbe proceedings of this meeting be signed by the chairman and
secretary, and a copy thereof be transmitted to each of our members of congress.
Adolphus F. Hubbard, Chairman,
William G. Flood, Secretary.
Now, in Jacksonville, there are more than a dozen daily mails received and forwarded.
During the twelve months, ending March 31, 1878, the number of mails received daily,
was fifteen, the same number being dispatched. Number of letters mailed during same
time, 510,000, and the number received was 540,000, The receipts from the sale of
stamps and envelopes was $16,000 ; number of money orders issued being 4,940, amount
ing to $45,000; number of money orders paid 7,890, amounting to $65,000. The num
ber of letters registered was 875.
As to the business df the Jacksonville postofflce for the year 1884 we are indebted
to Postmaster Gordon for the following information : Number of money orders issued
10,681, postal notes 1,500; money order business, paying and receiving, amounts to an
average of about $500 per diem. The receipts for stamps and envelopes $18,000.
Number of mails received daily 13, and sent out 15 ; pieces of mail matter letters and
papers going out over one million. Letters and packages sent out as registered matter
1,610. Number received or handled in transit 3,701. Total number handled 4,311

David Manchester.

23!l

Third — One of the Early Settlers — David M.vnchester.
One of the county's earliest settlers, David Manchester, was born by the side of
Lake George, in Warren county, N. Y., in 1798. As soon as he was old enough he en
gaged in the lumber business and often went to Quebec, Canada, Mith lumber and
brought back groceries, etc. When about twenty-one years old he left home and went to
Port Du Quoin, in Pennsylvania, bought a skift and rowed alone to Shawnetown then went
on foot from there to St. Louis and worked in a liverystable four months for $5 per month,
when he came to this county with less than one dollar, and settled where he now lives.
Times were hard then; provision scarce and no money in the countiy. He split over
500 rails for a pair of shoes, very poor ones at that. The leather was tanned in a trough,
and the hair not one-half removed, and to get clothes he raised cotton which he took
to Beardstown and traded for cloth.
They sufEered very much in the winter of 1830 from the deep snow. It commenced
snowing in November and snowed steadily forty days and nights in succession. They
were forced to dig the corn out of the snow and dry it by the fire when they took it to
Hall's Mill, where they had it ground. The only road they had was a sort of Indian trail
and once when he and his brother-in-law had been to mill, his horse stepped from
the path, and it was several hours before they could get him back, and get home ; and
they were nearly frozen when they got home. He was a fifer in the war of 1812 under
General Strong, and Captain Spencer, thirty days, saw the battle of Plattsburg and
thinks that our victory was owing to a quarrel between two English Generals ; was
through the Black Hawk War and was chief musician of Colonel Swing's spy batal-
lion with Captain Lindsay, and discharged from service by Major Anderson of Ft.
Sumpter fame. While in this campaign he often saw Gen. Taylor, Jefferson Davis and
A. Lincoln and was under the the immediate command of Gen. Atkinson. Enlisted as
musician under Gen. Hardin to go to the Mexican War. Went as far as Alton and was
taken sick, and sent back to Jacksonville where he was discharged, but was in the cam
paign against the Mormons. At the time he came here there were very few white peo
ple here, and the Indians were encamped all around here but they were friendly.

THE JdURNAL OFFICE, 1877 '8.-i. See page 201.
east state stpeet.

240 J. A. Willard. — House Plants in 1837.
Fourth. — A Pioneer Abolitionist of Morgan. Sketch of Mr. Willard's Life.
In September, 1884, the venerable J, A. Willard died at the advanced age of 91
years at the home of his son Samuel Willard, M. D,, in Chicago. Mr. Willard will be
remembered by many of the early settlers of this county as one, who, with his son above
mentioned, stood up so fearlessly for the cause of human rights in the perilous times
described in Chapter VIII.
Mr. Willard had a varied career during his life, but leaves a fragrant memory.
Coming from Vermont at an early day he flrst located at Carrollton, 111., but soon after
went to Alton. While there he made the acquaintance of the sainted Lovejoy and at
one time defended him with his gun from a furious mob. Soon after 1837 he removed
to this place and engaged in the dry goods business, keeping up his efEorts in the cause
of freedom. in 1843, while assisting a fugitive slave to escape, he was arrested and hardly treat
ed, narrowly escaping the vengeance of the mob. He waived trial, carrying his case to
the Supreme Court, and losing it there. Nothing daunted he continued to be a station
agent of the "underground railroad," where he did good service in helping fugitive
slaves to escape. He became so disgusted with the indifference and opposition of the
church in the cause of human rights that he withdrew in 1840, and never renewed his
membership. In 1845 he removed to Quincy, returning to Alton in 1850. Under Buck-
master he became clerk of the penitentiary. In 1864 he quit active work, and moved
to Springfield, busying himself with his garden and poultry. In 1871 he came to Chi
cago and lived with his son till his death. He lost his wife in October, 1875. At the
first appearance of spiritualism he began to take an interest in that phenomenon, and
in his last years he was as energetic in spiritualism as he had been in the church. He
passed away full of hope, rejoicing to go, feeling that his warfare was accomplished
and his work done.
Dr. Thomas of Chicago, at the funeral, referred to the services of Mr. Willard in
the cause of the oppressed negro, when to do so was to court social ostracism. A man
of that calibre could not be forced to say he believed what he did not belie-:'e. Grand
old Lyman Beecher was of the same stock. He would not change a chapter in his history
had he the power. ' He stood with the Lovejoys, the Lincolns, Garrisons and Phillipses.
Fifth. — Some Reminiscences of Early Times by Mary Jane Fayerweather.
Jacksonville, Oct. Gth, 1884,
Sir: — I have thought you might be interested in the following statement for your
History of Jacksonville : I came to Jacksonville in June, 1837, At my home in the
east, not far from New York City, I had some greenhouse plants. Desiring to bring
them with me to my new home, I employed a skillful gardener to pack them. Of the
geraniums there were the rose, beefsteak, nutmeg, silverleaf , horseshoe, &c, ; the pas
sion flower, coral honeysuckle, calacanthus or sweet-shrub, mountain daisy, &c,, were in
the collection. I was told by friends that called, these were the flrst greenhouse plants
brought to Jacksonville. I did not bring the flower-pots, and thoroughly hunted at all
the stores in the town for them and could not find one, I believed it was true ; the best
I could do was to purchase some "milk croclts," and with a gimlet pierce a hole in
the bottom and use pie plates for saucers. The plants all lived and thrived finely, in
the next two years I am unable to tell how many slips I cut and gave away. A young
lady friend from the Jacksonville Academy, dubbed the rose geranium the "Patriarch."
The coral honeysuckle and calacanthus in Dr. Sturtevant's yard are descendants from
some of the original plants. In hunting for fiower pots I was informed several times
that there was a pottery in Winchester, if I would send an order describing the article
I wanted, I might receive some in a month or so. We also brought a colored girl, about
12 years old, who was bound to my sister, (now Mrs. J. H. Chamberlain,) who, with my
brother, James R. Fayerweather, was laid under bonds of $1,000 that she should never
become an e ;pense to the State of Illinois. The girl died in 1845.

Other First Things.

241

Sixth. — First Things in Jacksonville, According to Mr. Anderson FoiiEMiVN.
John Eads first blacksmith.
John Handy first carpenter.
Joseph Meeker first tin-shop.
Richard Nelson first rope walk.
Tolbert Hite the first shoe shop.
Orsen Cobbs the first tailor shop.
Frank Reed the first silver-smith.
Mr. Hardwick the flrst bake shop.
Murray McConnel the first lawyer.
George Rearick kept the first store.
Thomas Carson kept the first tavern.
Mr. Terry first Windsor chair maker.
Caleb Breech the first carriage shop.
George Hackett had the flrst tan-yard.
The flrst blacksmith — Isaac Reeve, Sr.
Samuel Vanpelt made the first pumps.
John Henry kept the first cabinet shop.
Andy Newcomb first spinning wheel wright,
Sinclair & March manufactured spun cotton.
John P. Wilkinson built the first brick house.
Parkinson & Miller first wool-carding machine.
Thomas J. Starr first stationed Methodist minister.
The first school teacher — Judge Wm. Thomas, 1826.
The flrst ground was broken for cultivation in 1820.
James V. Hedenberg first manufactured linseed oil.
Smiley H. Henderson took out first license to sell whisky.
The first female born here was Mrs. Ellen Conn nee Rearick.
The first male born in Jacksonville was Archibald W. Carson.
The first man to plant a crop of corn was John Reeves in 1824.
The first sermon was preached by Rev. John Glanville in 1822.
The first church was organized in 1822 in Father Jordan's cabin.
The flrst circuit court was held by Judge Reynolds in April, 1823.
The first male child born in the city and now^iving here Wm. Rockwell.
The first white settlers in the county — Seymour and Elisha Kellogg, 1819.
The first marriage in Jacksonville was John Smith to Deborah Thornton.
The first to die in county was Isaac Fort Roe ; first in the city Daniel Ditson.
Lorenzo Dow preached on the ground where the Rataichak Hotel now stands, in 1830.

^llMl'Jllllllllllllll

WOOLEN MILLS OP JOS. CAPPS & SONS. See pages 187-8.

242

Baitist Church — Dr. Bateman — Key. Eddy.

Seventh. — History of the First Baptist Church of Jacksonville from 1841 to 1884.
The Jacksonville Baptist Church was constituted June 1st, 1841, at the house of M,
C, Goltra, lately deceased, who was one of its constituent members. Rev. Alvin Bailey
served as pastor for six years, from its organization ; the first two and a half years of
which he preached two Sabbaths each month, after that every Sabbath. Its first house
of worship was dedicated in 1845.
Rev. W. F. Boyakin assumed pastoral care of the church Jan. 1st, 1849, remaining
with the church for one year. In June, 1851, Rev. A. J. Bingham took charge of the
church and- continued a year and a half. During his ministry. Rev. Jacob Knapp held
a protracted meeting of six weeks, as the result of which, nearly one hundred persons
united with the church, few of wliom proved to be permanent members.
On the 1st of April, 1854, Rev. G. W. Pendleton entered upon his labor as pastor of
the church, and continued until 1858, when W. S. Goodno became pastor, serving two
years. Dedicated new house of worship at a cost of $15,000, April 9. 1858. Ii^ 1862,
Rev. W, T-. Nelson, and in 1863, Rev. Wm. G. Pratt served as pastor, one year each. In
1865, S. A. Kingsberry settled as pastor and continued to serve the church for three
years. In May, 1868, Rev. Wm. Green entered upon the pastorate of the church and
remained two years. Rev. S. Washington became pastor of the church, November,
1869, and served five years, until 1874. Rev. Hugh S. Marshall served as pastor from
October, 1875, to October, 1876. Rev. M. T. Lamb served as pastor from 1877, to July
10, 1879. Rev. C. C. Pierce supplied the church fromOct. 1st, 1879, until February, 1883,
when he resigned as pastor. Rev. B. F. Simpson was his successor until 1884.
Eighth — Personalities— President Bateman, Missionary Eddy.
Jacksonville was honored in 1860 and again in 1862 and 1864 by the election of
Prof. Bateman as State Superintendent of Public Instruction. His boyhood and early
manhood had been spent here, where he was graduated from Illinois College, and
where he was principal of one of the public schools and temporarily of the Jacksonville
Female Academy.
Newton Bateman, LL. D., for eight years Superintendent of Public Instruction, did
more than any other man for our noble system of public schools, and is now the second
of the graduates of Illinois College to become president of Knox College. But space
will not permit even the mere mention of names to show how much the college has
done to make Illinois what it is. The good work already accomplished would amply
repay its friends for all their labors and self-sacrifice in its behalf.
William Eddy, son of a former pastor in the First Presbyterian Church, is now
Rev. Wm, Eddy, D, D,, professor of the college in Beiroot, Syria, and editor of a paper
there ; and his son, William King Eddy, is also a missionary of the Presbyterian board
in Sidon, Syria, his daughter, Harriet M. Eddy, a teacher of the girls school there.
William Ireland also of Jacksonville has been in Africa, as missionary of the
American board, a long time.

A Few IjIying Pioneers.

243

Ninth— UotAj of Honor — Half Century or More in Morgan.
The following named present residents of Morgan county have lived here for a
half century or more, the figures attached to their names indicating the year of their
arrival or birth here. There are many more names, and we should have been glad to
have had them sent in, in order that the list might be made complete.

J. T. Taylor, 1833.
A. J. Ausemus, 1843.
Sarah J. Anderson, 1831.
William Gordon, 1833.
J. C. Spires, 1830.
J. S. Wenkle, 1830.
Ellen McClusky, 1832.
Mrs. Fannie Hunt, 1831.
Howard Turley, 1830.
C. Ferguson, 1832.
R. Y. Park, 1831.
Mrs. S. E. F. Barnes, 1830.
G. Gainer, 1830.
Mrs. S. E. Johnson, 1831.
Mrs. Wm. Hamilton, 1831.
Frank Patterson, 1830.
Spencer Taylor.
William D. Humphrey.
Col. George M. Chambers.
Isaac D. Rawlings,
James S. Anderson, 1830.
Mrs. George Richards.
Mrs. Cornelius Hook.
Mrs. John Lawson.
Smiley H. Henderson.
Mrs. Eliza B Ayers.
Mrs. Joseph Cassell.
B. F. Gass, 1833.
James H. Lurton, 1832.
A. C. Patterson, 1830.

William Groves, 1830.
Mrs. P. W. Vail, 1835.
Mrs. Mary Barr. 1830.
M. C. Pond, 1831.
Stephen S. Tunnel, 1830.
George W. Hackett, 1833.
John T. Henry, 1830.
J. H. Self, 1831.
James Wood, 1837.
L, D. Graham, 1830.
Mrs. W. A. Park, 1831,
Joseph Fry, 1831.
John W. Lathrop, 1830.
Marshal P. Ayers, 1830.
Mrs. Matthew Ashelby , 1832.
Mrs. Mary Campbell.
John Jordan.
Rev. Charles B. Barton.
Timothy Chamberlain.
Anderson Foreman.
Mrs. S. Wiswall.
Mrs. E. T. Miller.
Mrs. Robert Cassell.
Mrs. C. B. Barton.
Mrs. John Gorham.
Mrs. Dr. M. M. L. Reed.
Mrs. Hiram Smedley.
Mrs. Rachel King, 1831.
Mrs. E. Lawson, 1833.
David M. Simmons, 1830.

Judge H. G. Whitlock, 1831. Rev. J. M. Sturtevant, 1829.

James P. Young, 1830.
Mrs. Mary Hinrichsen, 1825.
Bliza J. Johnson, 1832.
Mrs. V. H. Ferguson, 1833.
Henry Rudisil, 1833.
Mary A. Langley, 1832.
John L. Dawson, 1832.
David M, Bryant, 1833.
W, T. Spires, 1831.
Samuel Sinclair, 1833.
William H. Wright, 1832.
Thomas M. Angelo, 1831.
Henry M. Park, 1831.
Augustus E. Ayers, 1830.
J. W. Graham, 1833.
Capt. Wm. Patterson, 1829.
Ira Mapes.
Robert T. Cassell.
Stephen H. Reed.
Prof. J. B. Turner, 1833.
Mrs. George D. Rearick.
Mrs. Benjamin Humphrey.
Mrs. George M. Chambers.
Mrs. Susan Rapp.
Mrs. Joseph Capps.
Judge William Thomas, 1826.
Rev. Peter Akers, 1832.
John R. Loar, 1833.
Milton Mayfield, 1830.
F. M. Springer, 1838,
Matthew Stacy.

SULKY PLOW WORKS AND THOMPSON'S FOUNDRY

244 The PiitsT Sewing Society.
Tenth — Womens' Work. — A Pioneer Benevolent and Industrial Association.
(Oiflciai Records.)
As the Jacksonville Sewing Society was the first organization of tbe ladies in Jack
sonville, and as most of the efforts, that have succeeded, have originated in and through
the sewing society, it is proposed that a regular history of the events, as they occurred,
be written and embodied for preservation in the fourteenth report of the Jacksonville
Sewing Society.
It may be thought that so trifiing and common an occurrence as the formation of a
sewing society, is not worth the mention and detail here given to it, also the account
here given of the formation of other societies ; but we would ask you to remember that
this organization has claims that none other in the state of Illinois can ha\-e. We
believe it to be the first female organization ; we know it to be the first that exerted any
influence on the state, and extended has that influence been in favor of education,
female enterprise, and active efforts,
A notice having been given by the Rev, J. M. Ellis, the Jacksonville Sewing
Society was organized the 10th day of August, 1830, in the log school house in the
southeast quarter of town, the only meeting house in the place. Materials of diflerent
kinds, collars, infant dresses, handsome needle-work, partly done, were brought from
Philadelphia, the remains of a sewing society there, and was the commencement of the
sewing society here.
Present at the formation, Mesdames Ellis, Taylor, Hackett, Ayers, Misses R. Bar
ton, Leonard.
The two objects recognized in the constitution, viz: "To assist in the building of
a Presbyterian Church," and the education of "poor and pious youth." (The second
object being changed some years after to "the cause of education,") were not the prom
inent objects for which the society was formed. It was designed as a central point,
where we might plan and purpose and agree to execute.
The antagonist of all that is good knowing our designs, that we were laying foun
dations for the future, that would defeat his purposes, and a sewing society being a
new thing to many, we were subjected to much ridicule from tbe gentleman here, and
also from the editor of the Springfield paper; but the name of John P. Wilkinson
should stand here, as one who at the flrst suggestion, encouraged and aided, and whose
last social hours were spent with us. This ridicule soon passed away, and these gentle
men became regular attendants at our meetings. This society was truly Catholic in its
spirit. October 1st, 1831, we flnd the following resolutlM: "That the funds of the
society be appropriated yearly to the payment of the tuition bills, of the six benefici
aries now in Illinois College." -One of these was a Baptist, another the lamented
Borien of the M. E. church. This was the first responsibility assumed by the ladies,
only one year after the formation of the society, we pledged ourselves, for the time of
four or five years, for the tuition bills of the six beneficiaries then in Illinois College.
This was not presumptuously done, we knew, v)e felt our weakness, and the opposition
and ridicule, that we might have to contend with; but we designed to test a principle
for future operations. May we not go forward trusting in God, was the question, and
when the resolution was oflered by one whose voice was soon heard no more among us,
Mrs. Julia Wolcott, the response was unanimous, we will ; we did go forward, and ful
filled our pledge. One of the six was soon rejected by the American Education Society.
We then divided equally; Mr. Borien did not go through, we then added room-rent to
tuition bills, for the remaining four who graduated.
December of 1831, a resolution was passed by the sewing society, to address letters
to the different towns, Hillsboro, Bdwardsville, Collinsville on the subject of education,
in behalf of the American Education Society, see letter No. I, and we presume it is
not saying too much, to say that it was the first time that the claims of that society had
been presented. St. Louis also was written to. The question may here be asked, why
those towns so distant and those with which we have now so much intercourse

Early Edui ational Helps. 245
passed by ? Those towns with which we have now so much intercourse were not. An
unbroken prairie excepting Carrollton lay between us and St. Louis, only a house where
the town of Manchester, Jerseyville, Monticello and Alton are now located ; Springfield
on the east much older than Jacksonville, Quincy onthe west somewhat older, Rushville
an infant town on the north ; here we must stop, as much of the northern part of the
state was in possession of the Indians, and the Indian War, the following summer, all of
us who were here at that time well remember.
AS the avails of the Jacksonville Sewing Society, eight hundred dollars paid to
Illinois College for the students, one hundred and ninety-two dollars for female education,
thirty-six dollars for furniture for Jacksonville Presbyterian Church, total one thousand
and twenty-eight dollars, was always pledged to students or objects named and specified,
consequently what was done for other students and the cause of education, was not
reported to the sewing society, and was the result of individual effort.
The first subscription made by the ladies in Jacksonville, was a few months after
the formation of this sewing society, a paper was passed and each lady subscribed one
dollar for an infant school apparatus, the expense to us was sixteen dollars and seventy-
five cents, a donation being obtained in Philadelphia to make it complete, a school was
for a long time successfully taught here.
November, 1831. — The agent of the American Bible Society, Rev. Solomon Hardy,
one of the first ministers in the state, suggested to a member of the sewing society, the
propriety of forming a female Bible society, which he did, and having presented the
subject, they agreed to meet at the residence of J. P. Wilkinson, for the purpose of
forming a society. The Jacksonville Female Bible Society was then organized, whose
efficient operations have been continued until the present time. See annual report.
In 1832, a Juvenile Sewing Society was formed by Mrs. C. Baldwin, which contin
ued until they were no longer juvenile. As the ladies through whose infiuence these
things had thus far progressed, looked over the unbroken prairies, on the north, south,
east and west, it took no prophetic eye, emigration pouring in as it then was, to see the
use of town and cities as they now are, or rather have been, and as those ladies, whose
motive and object in coming to the west was simply to do good, were so scattered in
consequence of the sparseness of the towns as they then were, it was thought advisable,
by consultation at the sewing society, to get together at college commencement, all the
ladies from abroad and confer with them, on the formation of an association, the object
of which should be to devise plans of usefulness, adapted to a new and rising state.
After conference with the ladies they met at the house of Rev. J. M. Ellis, August, 1832,
and there formed an association for said object, present Mesdames Baldwin, Ayers,
Misses Abiah Chapin, Laura Hitchcock, Elizabeth Wolcott. The plan of usefulness
devised, was the Female Education Society, by Mrs. C. Baldwin, and after much consul
tation was formed in 1833, in the Female Academy, standing on the lot owned by the
Jacksonville Presbyterian Church, present Mesdames Baldwin, Ayers, Misses S. Crocker,
A. Ellis, Fowler, C. Leonard. For the operations of this society, see printed reports.
June, 1833, by conference with ladies at sewing society the Maternal Association
was formed at the house of Rev. J. M. Ellis, as it is now, see records.
May, 1834. — "Trustees having been elected in 1831 for a Female Academy," they
commenced building the east wing, so embarrassed were they for funds, that they were
roofing a one-story building, a delay of twelve hours was asked for by a lady, with pro
posals for a second story, when she received the amount of four hundred dollars which was
pledged to the trustees in behalf of the ladies. In consequence of the change a second
contract was made, and the whole amount paid for second story by the ladies, was five
hundred and eighty-eight dollars ; two hundred and twenty was collected in Jackson
ville from the ladies, and thirty from students in Illinois College; forty-two was re
ceived by Mrs. Baldwin from the east, by Mrs. Crocker from the east twenty-five, the ^
remaining two hundred and seventy- one dollars by Mrs. Beecher from the east. Ex
pended for beds and pillows, $107; for bedding and table cloths, $40.75; a donation of

246 E.BC0RDS OF The First Sewing Society.
Expended for beds and pillows, $107; for bedding and table-cloths, $40.65; a do
nation of apparatus, $36; Paid for second story, $588; for apparatus, $60. Total,
$831.65. February 18th, 1837, the Sewing Society resolved that the funds for that year be
appropriated to the improvement of the lot of the Female Academy ; also painting and
white-washing the building ; the expense of which was one hundred and twelve dol
lars. A resolution the same year was passed to pay fifty dollars for rent owed by the
trustees, as they had no funds. Total for that year $163. Whole amount paid by the
ladies $1,003.65.
1835.— When the ladies in New York pledged themselves to the America,n Tract
Society for a given amount; we received a circular from them; a subscription was
taken at the Sewing Society, the amount of $70 forwarded to New York.
1836 —A circular received, subscription taken at the Sewing Society— the amount
of $80 forwarded to New York.
1835.— The first class graduated in Illinois College, two in number, these studied
law ; one had been assisted by the Sewing Society through college course.
1836.— Second class, four in number, three of these had been assisted through pre
paratory and college course by the Sewing Society ; they designed themselves for the
ministry. Assistance was oflered to one of the class for the three, to cancel their debts,
which were heavy, that they might pursue their theological studies if assistance could
be obtained. Twenty dollars was given each one of them to defray their expenses to
Lane Seminary— clothing, bedding and books to the amount of $100— a pledge also
given that the debt of $180 should be paid to college within one year ; one of these was
carried through Lane Seminary, amounting in all to $460.
1838.— Fourth class, one of these, being needy, received the amount of $35 through
Miss Phebe Adams.
1840. — Sixth class— six of these being destitute, were ready to pursue their theolog
ical course if assistance could be given them. One received a new suit of clothing,
cost $40 ; another $40 cash ; five $25 cash each to defray their expenses to the sem
inary ; clothing to the amount of $200, in all $405.
In 1840-'41 assistance was given by the Sewing Society to three of this class. See
minutes of Sewing Society. 1843. — Two of this class received cash $82, clothing to the
amount of $30, in all $112. Total $1,002,
It should here be distinctly stated that this is but a part of what has been done by
individuals not reported to any organization for the students of Illinois College, It must
be but a small proportion as all stated above, with the exception of the $35 by Miss P.
Adams has passed through the hands of one individual, and had been preserved —
very much has been indefinitely known to the writer, but as no statement could be made
with a certainty Of its being correct, prefer that none should be made.
Dec, 1844, an invitation was given to the ladies of the Jacksonville Presbyterian Church, to
meet at the house of David B, Ayers to confer on matters of interest to the churcli.
Present, Mesdames Fairbank, Mayhew, Buckley, Eames, Kerr, Ayers, Ayers and Miss B.
Adams. The object of the meeting was stated, that it had appeared in the providence of
God, that the time had come for us to arise and assist in building a house for the Lord ;
that the house that we now occupied could not be used much longer. Comfortable, it
never had been, as it was built of unseasoned timber and designed only for a temporary
building, (1830,) fourteen years ago. The floor soon shrunk, and the half-inch opening
between the boards of the floor had always made it cold and uncomfortable, but so
much better were we provided for than others all over the state, (as the house when
built was the largest and best Presbyterian Church in the state) that whenever the ques-
^tion was asked, "Ought we not to do something for ourselves?" The reply has been.
Not while our house will answer and others have none. We believe that time has now
come, as the sun has so shrunk the wliole house that no fire can warm it. The ques-

The WdMANLY Arguments.

247

tion had been asked of those who were disinterested at a distance, "Does the Lord re
quire this at our hands ?" The reply was, "A more acceptable oflering you could not
make." The question was still asked of one deeply interested in benevolent objects,
"What if the benevolent, systematic operations of the church be encroached upon by so
doing ?" The reply "Build, and you will do more three years hence than you ever have
done ; and if you do not build, three years hence you will do less." It was also stated
that when the subject was suggested to one whose name we may now mention, Hon.
Joseph Duncan, he immediately proposed that Mrs. D. should be one of five ladies to
pay the sum of two hundred dollars. So deeply interested, and so highly did he ap
prove of the undertaking, and to his advice and co-operation, more than any other one,
we are indebted for the present effort, although in three short weeks he was numbered
with the dead. It was asked, "in what way it was proposed to raise money?" as it had
been said that it must be done in some way, so as not to offend any other object or in
terest. The answer was, "By our own labor and self-denial, over and above what we
have been giving and doing for other objects."
January 3d, 1844. — Mrs. Barton, chairman of the meeting, Emily J. Adams, secre
tary, the following preamble and resolution was unanimously adopted.
After much consultation, advice and prayer, the ladies of the Jacksonville Presby
terian Church have unanimously decided that they can with "singleness of eye," for the
honor and glory of God, assist in the erection of a house to be called by his name, be
lieving as we do that he requires this obligation at our hands. Therefore,
Resolved, That we pledge ourselves to assist in the building of a church by our own
efforts, labor and self-denial to the amount of $2,000.
Amount reported to the Jacksonville Sewing Society for one year by committee, to
take charge of the fund $900.07.

248 The Colored Methodists.

I.— History of Bethel A, M, E, Church, Prepared by Samuel W. Nichols.
In the year 1846, Philip Ward, of Bloomington, found a number of faithful souls in
this place who were extremely desirous of worshiping God according to the rules and
doctrines of the African Methodist Church, and accordingly in November of that year
a formal organization was eflected. The flrst meeting was held in a house owned by
Rev. A. W.Jackson, situated on the lot now owned by him, but then inhabited by Frank
lin Davis,one of the flrst members. The little band consisted of Franklin Davis and
wife, Chloe Hayden, "Abby Allen and Judge Allen,
In the little room in which the organization first saw the light of the day, they con
tinued to meet for two years, after which they held service in the Mt. Emory Baptist
Church for the succeeding two years, when the room could be obtained, For one year
Rev. Philip Ward rode a circuit consisting of Bloomington, Springfield, Alton and Jack
sonville. The next conference year Rev. William Johnson occupied the fleld, but the
year after Philip Ward was again in charge. The little band continued to increase in
number under the faithful labors of these early pioneers, who sought nothing but the
salvation of souls.
In 1850 a heroic effort was made to get the building enclosed and flnished and
when the members of the church had exhausted their means, the citizens of the town
were asked to aid the enterprise. One of the best contributions was $20 worth of lum
ber from Judge Brown, \yhich in those days meant considerable. The women aided in
getting up suppers and festivals. By strenuous efforts the building was completed and
dedicated before time for conference. Never did a happier congregation assemble for
the worship of God than the little band which gathered in this humble ediflce, nor did
more fervent prayers or gladder songs of praise ever ascend to the throne of grace from
the worshiping throngs in lofty cathedrals and sumptuous churches, than those which
went up from this little room on Grove street This house of worship continued to be
used until its destruction by flre March 3, 1868, By the strenuous efforts of Lafayette
Allen, W, A. Hubbard, J. Duke, H. Givens, S. Bolden and some other friends, funds
were secured to erect the walls of the present building and furnish roof, windows and
doors. The work could go no farther for lack of funds and the old church building on
East State street was sold and must be torn down. Late one Saturday evening S. W.
Nichols bought some seats which had been removed from the opera house, and getting
Henry Reed to bring his team they were hauled to the church and services held there
the next day, and though enclosed by bare brick walls with naked rafters overhead, the
church and Sunday school were nevertheless at home, and thanking God, took courage.
The destruction of the records renders statistics out of the question, but it is safe
to say that hundreds have been brought to Christ through the instrumentality of this
organization and that it has dOne important work for the good of the community. The
present condition of the society will be shown by the following statistics taken from the
minutes of the last quarterly conference :
Members 127, books in Sunday school library 125, pastor's salary last year $610,
Sunday school collections $54.60, trustee's collections for three months $100.53.

Books and Book-lovers. 24iJ
Twelfth. — The Jacksonville Libkary — A Valuabi,e Organization and Book-
Collection.
Thirteen years ago a few persons, desiring the benefits of literature without unnec
essary expense, pooled their money, to the amount from each person of five dollars per
year, and expended it for books. These were placed in charge of Hon. S. M. Martin
as librarian, in his office of superintendent of schools in the court house. The books
purchased were solid in character, including history, biography, science, literature, phil
osophy, politics and religion. Poetry and novels were unknown to their shelves. An
objection by any member in committee of the whole, was fatal to the purchase of any
book. No book could be bought unless there was money to pay for it in the hands of
the treasurer, and unless an order for payment had been voted by the association and
signed by the president and secretary. Three American reviews and the five British
reprints were also taken by the society.
This experiment was a success. At the end of the year, tlie members were ready
to make the association permanent. The contributions were increased to ten dollars
per year from each member. The number of members -n-as increased to twenty-one.
The association was chartered under the law of the state. The management was com
mitted to a board of seven trustees elected annually by the share-holders. Messrs. An
dras, Dummer, Ayers, Kirby, Martin, Milligan and Woods constituted the flrst board of
trustees. The first two were re-elected annually as long as they lived.
To Judge Dummer the association is mainly indebted for its admirable Constitu
tion and By-Laws, under which success became easier than failure. Slore than to any
one else, the stock-holders are under obligations to the late president of the board, Mr.
Wm. S. Andras, for his wise oversight of its concerns and for the sum, $1,000, which he
gave to be expended for additions to the library.
Messrs. Ayers, Kirby, Milligan and Woods have been members of the board of trus
tees from the beginning. The other present members are J. C. Andras, Bullard and El
liott. The officers of the board are ; president, M. P. Ayers ; secretarj' and librarian, J. H.
Woods; treasurer, H. W. Milligan.
The stock of the association is divided into fifty-eight shares, held by twenty-nine
stock-holders. Each share represents a par value of sixty-seven dollars.
The regular annual income of the library is two hundred and ninety dollars; made
up by an annual assessment of five dollars on each share of stock, together with the
fees paid by readers, who may enjoy the privileges of the library for five dollars a year.
The association has a room for the library, and for an occasional Literary Social in
the second story of Ayers' Bank, where, on every Saturday afternoon, book-lovers do
congregate. The present number of volumes catalogued is twenty-one hundred and fifty. From
the manner in which the books are selected, one might suppose that the library was a
very choice selection, ana the supposition would be strictly in accordance with fact.

^oO Judge Leeper — A Pioneer's Liei!.
Thirteenth.— O-^^ of the First, Sketch of the Life and Character of JudUe
John Leeper, who Came to Morgan County in 1833.
John Leeper, or Judge Leeper, as he was called, one of the early settlers of Morgan
County, and whose residence was near where Jacksonville now stands, a man of some
note in his day, deserves more than passing notice by any who undertake to write a
satisfactory history of early days in this county.
He was born in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, August 33d, 1786. His father,
James Leeper, was brought from County Down, Ireland, by his father, Allen Leeper,
when he was but a child seven years old. They were of Scotch origin, and Presbyterians,
and fled from Scotland to Ireland in the days of religious persecution.
In an early day James Leeper moved from Pennsylvania to Georgia, where John
Leeper was married at the age of twenty to Fidelia McCord, who was but sixteen. They
were married October 38th, 1806. In the year 1809 he moved with his wife and two
children to Bradford county, Tennessee, and grubbed out a farm in the cane and cedar
woods on Rock Creek, near Duck River. Here Mr, Leeper remained until the spring
of 1816, when being pervaded by a desire to flnd a better country, and one in which
there was no human slavery— an institution he was bitterly opposed to from principle-
he started, with his wife and six children, on the 5th of April, 1816, for Illinois territory,
arriving at Edwardsville the 35th. of May. Remaining here a few days, he moved on
into Bond county, and located four miles south of Greenville on Beaver Creek. Onthe
first Sabbath after their arrival here— other emigrants being along with Mr. Leeper—
they drew their wagons up in a circle and herein w;orshipped the God of their fathers,
and called the place Bethel.
Mr. Leeper proceeded to open up a farm near this place, and also built a mill, and
set about building up good society by organizing the church and the school. In 1823
he moved to Morgan county, arriving the second day of November, and bought the
cabin then owned by ThDmas Arnett, one mile southeast of the public square in the
present city of Jacksonville. At that time there was no house in sight in any direction.
Here, by the help of his wife and ten children, Mr. Leeper soon made a large farm,
planted ten acres of orchard, built a large two-story double log house, and a large Penn
sylvania b.arn. Said barn was built in 1827, and is still standing at this writing (1884)
as an old landmark in the southeast part of the city.
Morgan county at this time was a wilderness of uncultivated land ; but very soon
emigration began to come in from the east and the south, and the lands were taken up
rapidly. The city of Jacksonville was laid out in 1825. The church and the school
soon became a felt want. A school was opened in a log house, built about 200 yards
south of the southeast corner of the public square, and the Hon. Judge William Thomas
was the first teacher. This was about the year 1827. A Presbyterian church was organ
ized June 30, 1837, in Judge Leeper's barn, the Rev. John Brich presiding at the organ
ization. Mr. Leeper and wife, and ten others constituted the church. John Leeper
and William C. Posey were elected ruling elders. The only surviving member of the
original church is Mrs. Polly Mears, now 83 years old, and living in Greenville, Bond
county. In the years 1828-'29 the idea of building Illinois College began to be agitated,
Mr. Leeper being a man of some wealth and feeling much interested in any movement
having a tendency to improve the country and elevate humanity, pushed this enterprise
forward, delivering on the ground the brick for the first building. The flrst day of
January, 1830, school began in this building with nine students. They were Alvin M,
Dixon, James P, Stuart, Merrill and Hampton Rattan, Samuel R, and Chatham H.
Simms, Rollin Mears, Charles B, Barton and William Miller,
Mr. Leeper was elected a member of the legislature in 1827. He was a Whig in
politics, of the Adams school, and his house was a kind of headquarters of the politicians
of those times. He also kept a kind of ministers hotel, where all of every denomina
tion felt free to come, and very often preaching meetings were held in his house before

The Leepers — From East to West in 1884. 2'>1
there was any church or school house. His horses and carriages were always ready
for the conveyance of those who traveled to and from their appointments in this way,
and his teams were ever at hand to haul wood to the poor and to the preacher, jMr.
Mr. Leeper had a farm of nearly 400 acres; but large as it was, he felt it was not sufii-
cient for the support of his growing family — being the father of fourteen children. In
October, 1831, he moved to Putnam county. III., and opened up another large farm ;
and two years after built mills on Bureau creek, which supplied flour and lumber and
carding for this new country for many miles around. He died the 14th of December,
1835, from an injury he received while working at his mills. Thus ended a most use
ful and active life, beloved and esteemed by all who knew him. Ex-President Sturte
vant thus speaks of this good man, in an historical address delivered in Jacksonville in
1855 : " John Leeper was a man whose strict integrity, enlarged public spirit, un
affected piety and comprehensive charity is worthy to be held in remembrance. His
removal from this community was a great loss. It was considered a privilege, in early
days, to hold meetings in Judge Leeper's barn."
Fourteenth— ConnisG West Fifty Years Ago — From New York to Jacksonville
IN 1834 — Read Before the Jacksonville Historical Society, December
4, 1884, By Joseph H. Bancroft, Esq,
Fifty years ago, when Gen, Jackson was President and Webster, Clay, Calhoun
and Benton ornamented the Senate, the tide of emigration was sweeping towards the
West. Then a young man, struck by the wave, like Cassius M. Clay as he was standing
on the bank of the troubled Tiber — he into the river, I into a steamboat — I was an
emigrant. " Then the glorious thoughts which, now to speak, would bring the blbod
into my cheeks, passed o'er me." I thought of — a governor, a member of Congress,
perchance a justice of the peace. But the highest flights of fancy, the highest aspira
tions of my ambitions, imagination's utmost stretch, in wonder died away without even
suggesting the possibility of being called on to narrate the incidents of that eventful
journey before an historical society in the Athens of the West. This was before Mr.
Greeley gave his advice to the young man, so often quoted. It was a raw and gu.9ty
day in March, in 1834; the parting words were said, we took the boat for New York,
glided quickly down the Connecticut and entered Long Island Sound, which seemed to
be holding high carnival with the elements. The " raging waves dashed high on bleak
New England's shore" that night. The torrents roared and we did buffet it. Our gal
lant steamer, with lusty screws dashing them aside and stemming it with heart of con
troversy, out-rode the storm, passed safely through Hell Gate and landed us safely at
the wharf in New York, then a thriving city of about 200,000 inhabitants, who were
just introducing gas for illuminating purposes. The storm continued all the next day
with unabated fury, and but few persons were seen on the streets. Here we met Mr.
E. Wolcott, a leading merchant of this place, and we journeyed together. The day fol
lowing we steamed down the bay to Amboy, where we flrst discovered a railroad, a fair
description of which I am quite sure would bring tears to the eyes of Brother Morse.
We were flve hours in getting under way, and were conveyed about thirty miles to a
point on the Delaware, whence a steamer took us to Philadelphia. We found comfort
able quarters at Mrs. Yohie's celebrated hotel on Chestnut street. Next morning we
took stage for Reading, where we spent the Sabbath. Monday morning found us
packed inside of a stage coach, having capacity for twelve passengers inside, and
every seat was occupied, all bound for Pittsburg, having the Alleghany mountains to
pass — and who that has ever made that trip in Winter has forgotten Sideling hill ? As
we were nearing that place, one of the passengers entertained us with his previous ex
perience. The stage was overturned, and rolled down an embankment sixty feet high
and lodged in the branches of a sturdy oak.
In due time the dreaded place was reached, and our driver shouted, " Hold on to the

252

Steamboating Fifty Years Ago.

upper side," and cracking his long whip, the horses fiew and the passengers, with beat
ing hearts and bated breath, held with all their might to the upper side.
At the end of three days' and nights' continuous travel we reached Pittsburg, some
what tired. Here we found two boats taking in cargoes, for St. Louis and intermediate
'ports, both of which, we were assured, would leave that day, and selecting the oUe vve
liked best, went on board. The night passed and we were at the wharf, and so on un-
'til the third day the boat was loaded, arid we vpere gliding down the beautiful Ohio.
We stopped at most of tbe landiiigs, spent a day and night at Cincinnati and Louisville,
where we lost much tirtie in getting through the canal. Our boat had a large number
of passengers, among whom were about the usual number of gamblers who plied their
vocation through the night, and money was freely wagered. After leaving Louisville
we made but few stops till we rounded into the turbid waters of the Mississippi.
Passing the Grand Chain and the Graveyard, we saw three steamboats which had
been wrecked by snags and sawyers in that dangerous locality, which place has since
been made comparatively safe and is no longer a terror to navigators of the Missis
sippi. Reaching St. Louis on the second day from Cairo, we found a city of about
6,000 inhabitants, and here for the first time met the institution of negro slavery.
There were still standing many of the old French residences, which gave it the appear
ance of a foreign city. Here we found an old schoolmate, who had been a resident
about two years, from whom we learned much about tbe city and the people. I re
member that a short walk west from Main street brought us into a timbered region,
probably where Fourth street is now situated. After waiting two days for a boat going
up the Illinois river, without success, we took the stage for Jacksonville. On tlio way
we were several times advised by our driver to get out and walk (,ver some place where
he thought it dangerous to ride. We reached here, having been three weeks on the
way, and found a small place with a population of about 600, it having been greatly
' reduced by the prevalence of Asiatic cholera during the previous year. Of all the men
who were then in business here, I can think ot but two who are now living, and out
of all the then residents but few are with us.
The old United States Bank furnished the entire circulation of paper money in this
state — noJ;, a bank within its borders; no railways in existence; no telegraph; letter
po-^tage fwenty-five cents.

AYERS' BLOCK, WEST STATE STREET, IN 1884.
Occupied by D. B. & II, B, Smith, Geo. H. Hnntoon, E. C. Siinms, Jenkineon Bro. and tlie Daily Courier.

Making Shirts, Brooms, Cloths, Cars and Sulky-Plows. 253
Fifteenth. — A Few Manufacturing Enterprises. — Some Defunct and Others
Still in Existence.
There should be due reference made in such a work as this to all eflorts to promote
industrial or manufacturing interests whether they have been financial successes or not.
The Shirt Manufactory of J. L. Padgett & Co., the Broom Factory of C. H. Dunbrack,
the Home Woolen Mills, the Jacksonville Car and Manufacturing Co., and the Jackson
ville Sulky Plow Works are among the number. All but the last are now defunct. As
to the Home Mills the in-opportune time of the fire alone smothered the scheme.
A company for the manufacture of woolen goods was organized in 1865, with a
paid up capital of $100,000. This was entirely invested in four acres of land adjacent
to the brook in the southern part of the city, in a large and convenient building, in a tene
ment block on South West Street and in necessary mill machinery. The incorporators
were Messrs. A. E. and M. P. Ayers, George M. McConnel, John Gordon, William T.
Beekman, William Richardson and Henry Staley. Mr. Beekman was elected president,
and McConnel secretary. The mills started with from 60 to 70 employes and a good
trade. The mill itself is said to have been the best constructed in the West. In Jan
uary, 1873, by the carelessness of a spinner, who allowed threads to be ignited in a gas
jet, burning in the early morning, and then to fall upon an oil-soaked floor, it was totally
destroyed by fire, and the loss was so heavy upon the stockholders, coming at the very
outset in their investment, that they have never rebuilt. They still hold the ownership
of the land and the Factory Block,
As to the Car Works, this enterprise was started in 1872, the company being incor
porated in March, 1873, by stock subscribers with a paid up capital of $40,000. The
most active promoters and original stockholders were E. C. Kreider, (president,) Wm.
E. Veitch, (secretary and treasurer,) Joseph O. King, A C. Wadsworth, Dr. David Prince,
Edward S. Greenleaf, John A. Ayers and others. Five acres of land in the southeastern
part of the city, on the line of the Jacksonville Southeastern Railroad, were purchased,
the needed building was erected, tools and machinery purchased and the "Jacksonville
Car Works" were in running order by August, 1873. A small contract was filled, then
the panic came on and the works shut down temporarily. Later an attempt was made
to manufacture agricultural implements, in the building, under tne management of
Joseph N. Taylor. This venture proved unsuccessful and was soon abandoned. The
fioating indebtedness of the company became quite large, but was taken up by a few
gentlemen who secured themselves by a second mortgage under which the property
had to be sold. It was bought in by the mortgagees and held until a sale was consum-
ated with Mr. T. C. Dutro, of St. Louis, Mo., at a price which gave them no profit.
Dutro organized the "Jacksonville Car Company," enlarged the capacity from two to
ten cars per diem, by additions to building and machinery, and operated it for a number
of years, building, many fiat, box and stock cars. This company in turn became involv
ed, got an extension of time on their paper, but finally were foreclosed under mortgage
held by the bank and individual creditors, all in Jacksonville, and thus the matter
stands to-day.
One other enterprise deserves mention, the Jacksonville Sulky Plow Works, with
a paid up capital of $20,000 was organized in January, 1881. The original stockholders
were Mr. A. C. Wadsworth, (president,) Dr. H. F. Carriel, .(vice-president,) Mr. James
H. Hackett, (secretary and manager,) Mr. William E. Veitch, (treasurer,) Messrs. S. B.
Gray, William D. Mathers and Mortimer Cahill. The company purchased the property
near the junction depot, known as the Russell & Akers foundry, added buildings, machin
ery, stock, etc., and proceeded to manufacture and wholesale a certain patented sulky
attachment for plows, harrows, etc. Their manufacture to date amounts to 1,500, none
of which have been retailed, but sales have been throughout Illinois and Missouri.
Price $40. The works do not run continuously, and| shut down last summer (1884.)
Some changes are contemplated before re-opening. A part of their building is now
rented and occupied by A. C. Thompson, iron founder and moulder. See cut page 243

254 Prop. Sturtevant and a Peace Society.
Sixteenth — Extracts From the "Patriot" — School Matters in 1833.
In a copy of the Illinois Patriot, published in this city February 1833, we flnd
the following : "The new school house at Linnville will be opened for Divine wor
ship to-morrow, when sermons will be preached as follows : At 1 1 o'clock a. m,, by
Rev, E. Beecher ; at 1 :30 p. m,, by the Rev, W. Spencer."
We also flnd a communication from (then) Prof. Sturtevant, dated January 17,
1833, copied from the Illinois Herald, then edited by Brooks, from which we extract
as follows ;
Sir: — In your paper of the 13th inst. is a paragraph purporting to be an extract
from a letter from some person in this town I observe with mingled emotions of ind'g-
uation and regret, some statements fitted, and I fear designed, to throw contempt upon
the institution in which I have the honor to be instructor. I should have allowed the
matter to pass by in merited neglect, but for two reasons — first, because, as the person
principally referred to in the above named letter is said to be a " Professor" in the col
lege in this place, and as I am at present the only instructor in the institution to whom
that appellation is appropriate — it bears the appearance of a personal attack on me ; and
such to a considerabl eextent must be the impression on the comtaunity — though I am
persuaded the writer should not so have intended it. And second, because, though it is not
my custom to turn aside to reply to every ill-natured remark which may be made in a
passion, about the literary institution of which I was the flrst instructor — and of which
I am now and ever will be a devoted friend, while it adheres to the enlightened, liberal
and truly republican principles upon which it is founded, yet there is a point beyond
which the friends of this institution will not endure in silence the propagation of the
most malignant slanders through the newspapers, but will avail themselves of that pub
lic vindication, which the unquestionable soundness of their principles will always ren
der easy. That point in the present case has been already reached, and we shall vindicate
ourselves, lest we prove traitors to that good cause— the cause of education — which we
are laboring with our whole strength to promote. Suffer me, therefore, to request that
you will insert this communication in your paper without delay — and I make this request
the more freely, as it is over my proper name, and I am therefore personally responsible
for the statements which it contains.
The letter above referred to relates to certain transactions which took place in the
Court House in this town on New Year's eve. A meeting of citizens had been called at
that place on that evening, to take into consideration the expediency of forming a
" Peace Society." Such societies have been in existence iu difEerent parts of the 'United
States and Great Britain for many years; and as they are all formed on the same princi
ples, there is fortunately no difficulty in obtaining "exact " information on the subject.
A Peace Society is a voluntary association of individuals, for the purpose of pro
moting the general prevalence ot peace among the nations of the earth. Its only means
for effecting this object is by operating on public opinion; and this again it seeks to
move only by free discussion, and the circulation of facts illustrative of the evils of war.
It neither inculcates on its members nor requires of them anything in the least inconsistent
with the justice and necessity of defensive war, but enrolls among its members those who
strenuously maintain both. Such is a Peace Society. The writer, whose words you
extract, says " The Presbyterians were about to form some kind of society." Here I
must correct a little. The Presbyterians here are not in the habit of doing such things
as a party— we ever assume the right individually of thinking for ourselves, and acting
according to our own private judgment. And in this case we differ in opinion, many
thinking a Peace Society a very good thing, and many others thinking it of little or no
use. Not one of the Presbyterian "clerical gentlemen" of the town and vicinity was
present at the meeting. The chairman, one of the oldest settlers, and most respected
citizens of this county, was never suspected of being a Presbyterian; and would not, I
presume, feel himself flattered by being placed at the head of a Presbyterian movement.
The secretary is a highly respected clergyman of the Methodist Church. * * * *

Jacksonville's Beauty, Topography and Water Supply. 255
Seventeenth — A Few General Remarks by Dr. Andrew McFarland, as Pub
lished in the Daily Journal, in 1875.
From its first settlement, Jacksonville has been pre-eminently favored in number
ing among its inhabitants men of great public spirit, combined with large insight of
the future. They left a stamp which can never be eflaced save through a most unpar
donable negligence. Their influence and efforts drew to it colleges, seminaries, and
State institutions of a high philanthropic character — these last an especial compliment
to the intelligence and standing of this community in the State. They showed their
appreciation of learning, in prompt efforts to promote a good system of common school
education in the State, and well fllled and well supported churches have always been
proof of their regard for religious interests. Indeed, from the very first, Jacksonville
took a position usually left till wealth and leisure give time for such undertakings.
In all they did this large foresight is now seen. Wide and well-shaded streets, ample
sidewalks and tasteful, well-ornamented dwellings, became an early characteristic, and
are now a distinguishing beauty. The city at once attracts the attention of strangers of
taste, who never leave it without encomiums upon its rare beauty.

Of the topography of Jacksonville, as the seat of a flourishing city, hardly too
.much can be said. It is, indeed, "beautiful for situation." Lying upon a gentle ele
vation, mostly sloping to the east and south, both the soil and aspect have the essen
tials of complete salubrity. However populous it may become, it can never be sickly,
if even common provision for drainage is made. There are no swamps, stagnant wa
ters, or other sources of noxious exhalation anywhere in its vicinity. These malarious
diseases are seldom met; and the mosquito, save in occasional seasons, rarely puts in an
appearance. The streets of the city have yet some of the faults incident to all rich
soils in wet weather. But pedestrians have nothing to complain of from the excellent
sidewalks, extending far into the suburbs of the city ; and pavements, in due season,
will remove the evil.
As before mentioned, strangers invariably comment on the luxuriance of the shade-
trees and ornamental shrubbery with which Jacksonville abounds. The early taste
that promoted this feature of the city was greatly aided by the soil itself. Every kind
of tree tolerated by the climate, whether evergreen or deciduous, flnds a congenial soil
here. It is a field where the landscape artist has everj^thing ready to his hand, and
some specimens of this most delightful art in the city deserve especial mention, if such
mention did not seem invidious. When larger lots are taken uj) in the suburbs of the
city, where an enlarged taste may have full scope, we hope to see ele,gant homes that
may vie with those in the environs of Boston and Philadelphia.
The crying evil of Jacksonville, up to a recent period, had been a scarcity of water
for extensive requirements. Important interests for a time suffered from this deficien
cy. After much discussion of plans and ways and means, active measures were set on
foot in 1873, which resulted in a most satisfactory accomplishment of the object, so
that is believed that the city will be abundantly supplied for all coming time. The
supply it gained, by surface impounding, and from the area of rain-fall at command,
is practically inexaustible. Except in the highest parts of the city, the water is carried
into the upper parts of dwellings by its pressure — a feat of untold value in its use.
Being essentially a rain water, it is soft, free from chemical impurities, sufficiently
clear for all mechanical purposes, and, by infiltration, absolutely so. The general plan
of the water-works was suggested by E. S. Chesbrough, Esq., the eminent hydraulic
engineer of Chicago. But large credit is due the water commissioners and resident
engineers in their employ, for carrying to completion, — under the estimated cost, and
contrai-y to tlie experience of most of our sister cities and the predictions of many at
home— this most eventful undertaking. We venture the assertion that never, since

256

Jacksonville's Eailroad and Other Advantages.

Moses took his celebrated water- works contract on Mt, Horeb, has any similar job been
done so cheaply, expeditiously aud substantially.
In its communication with the outer world, by means of railroads, Jacksonville has
nothing further, in reason, to desire. No less than six radiating lines fix their center
at this point. Several of these again branch within a short distance, forming a net
work so extensive that every considerable town in any direction is readily reached,
while several competing lines connect with the larger cities. These enterprises have
left no drawback whatever on the city, in the shape of taxes in aid of their construc
tion. In the beginning of this article it was pointed out that the progress of any people
in material and intellectual advancement is greatly influenced by its food supply. It
is not claimed that Jacksonville has any special pre-eminence over many other places
in the same latitude. But it is certain that it is surpassed by none. The great staples of
living, meat and grain, ought to reach here their very lowest minimum of cost. The
greatest wheat-producers and cattle-breeders on the continent liave long been found in
the immediate vicinity. The great multiplication of institutions has gradually created
a home market which for variety can nowhere be excelled. Here could fully be real
ized tbe wish of the great Henry of France, that every peasant in his dominion might have
a capon in his dinner-pot whenever he desired. This abundance of the good things of
life does away, in the greatest number, with anxiety as to the mere means of living,
and affords thought for things higher and beyond. Where abundance does not run
into an unworthy and useless luxury, it leads in this higher direction. And we hope
and believe that it is this very thing that has contributed much to give Jacksonville its
present enviable reputation.
From the foregoing summary the characteristics of Jacksonville as a city may readily
be gathered. Most favorably situated as to climate and topography ; suffering from
neither extreme of heat or cold ; favored by the State in a large inpouring of money at
unfailing periods ; having the example of many eminent and useful citizens now gone
to their rest, and feeling as we trust, the spur of others yet living, who are their not
unworthy successsors, there should and may be a yet greater future. The post is not
the superstructure, but merely the foundation. That the State has done so much by
establishing here so many of her enduring charities, is well. But also these must be
supplemented by a large measure of individual enterprise, or stagnation may follow, for
all that has gone before. And as a field of judicious enterprise, there is none superior.
Cheap fuel, free water, abundant labor, and ready communication, supply all the con
ditions of a varied and most successful system of manufactories.

THE DINLAP HOUSE, WEST STATE STREET, JACKSONVILLE, ILLINOIS.
remodeled and EE-OPENED in 188(1, Bl' CAPT. ALEX. SMITH.

258 The Hotels of Jacksonville.
Eighteenth. — Places for Eating and Sleeping, 1885,
The hotel accommodations of any city form quite an important feature of its pros
perity, especially in these days when so large a proportion of the commercial business
is transacted by traveling men. The "Dunlap" after prolonged litigation passed from
the hands of the founder Col. James Dunlap and in, the summer of 1880 Capt. Alex.
Smith purchased it of the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company. Both he
and his wife were experienced in hostelry business and have made a success of the
hotel (see cut on page 257) from that time to tne present. At the time of the transfer
it was closed for three months for changes, repairs and improvements. The building
was repainted inside and outside, handsomely repapered, furnished, many conveniences
added and the house almost entirely remodeled at a cost of over ten thousand dollars.
It was opened for business again September 22d, 1880. With the exception of ten
months, in 1882 and 1883, when Meservo & Kittredge were the temporary lessees. Cap.
Smith has been the landlord as well as proprietor. The house has seventy-five sleeping
apartments for guests, besides all the other rooms such as office, reading-room, parlors,
halls, dining-room, billiard-hall, sample-rooms, and bedrooms for help.
In November, 1883, Mr. Smith also became the owner of the Park Hotel, (see cut
page 247,) purchasing it at master-in-chancery sale. It is the successor of the old Man
sion House, and located on the north side of the public square. Since passing into his
control it has been used solely as an apartment house with restaurant attached, the
latter run by lessees.
The last addition to the hotels of the city was built in 1883, by Anton Rataichak,
and named after him — the Rataichak Hotel. He is sole proprietor and landlord with
Daniel Williams, Esq., as office clerk. The building is a plain, but substantial three
story brick, located on East State street in the same block as the Journal office. Ground
occupied by the hotel 60x180, sleeping rooms number sixty-one, besides parlors, halls
and usual hotel apartments. The steam-heating, wate&closet and general plumbing and
ventilating arrangements are especially commendable, and the new candidate for pub
lic favor is being well patronized.
The other large hotel of the city is the Southern, located on West College Ave,, two
blocks southwest of the square. It was built by Elijah Cobb. The successive man
agers have been Messrs. Cobb, Hume, Aspinwall, Irland (formerly of the Park House)
and the present landlord A. H. Hocking, ex-county coroner, who has been "mine host"
since September, 1876, The property is now owned by Mr. Julius E. Strawn. It was
at one time known as the Avenue House.
Among the smaller hotels are :
The Metropolitan, at the Junction, Mrs. E Sweeney, proprietress; established four
teen years ; accommodates fifty or more guests : over 4,000 registered in a year.
The Northeastern House, corner Bast and Court streets, Mrs. J. F. Dew, proprietress ;
accommodations for fifty or sixty ; established seven years ; over 3,000 registered in 1884.
Transit House, North Main and Washington streets, Mrs. Mary B, Faul, proprie
tress; established three years; accommodates twenty-five guests,
Morgan House, North Main street, Mrs, M. Guthrie, proprietress ; established eight
years ; accommodates twenty-five guests.
Central House, No. 231 North Main street, Mrs. D. Moss, proprietress ; accommo
dates thirty guests ; established seven years.
European Restaurant and boarding liouse, northeast corner of public square, estab
lished October, 1884, Mrs. Philip Braun, proprietress.
Hilligass' Restaurant and boarding house, north side East State Street, Capt. B, F.
Hilligass, proprietor.

Relief Society — -"The Hatchet" — -Father Adams. 259
Nineteenth. — Mere Mention of Various Matters of Interest,
To conclude this chapter we shall briefiy refer to a few local events which have
been omitted in the preceding pages covering their time.
In the early part of the year 1837, there was in existence in this community an
organization "for the purpose of affording relief to the sick and disabled members
thereof, and to the widows and orphans of deceased members, and for the promotion of
literature, science and the mechanic arts, and for no other purpose whatever." It had
its constitution and by-laws, and was regularly incorporated, the above quotation being
from its charter which was granted February 38, 1837. Hon. Newton Cloud, being
speaker of the house at that time, and Govornor Duncan, also of this county, signing it.
The first president was William W. Happy, the secretary was Calvin Goudy and among
the directors were Stephen Sutton, Michael Rapp, John Holland and John W. Goltra —
all now deceased. Among the members tbe following are still living : William Bran
son, Anderson Foreman, Cornelius Goltra, Benjamin F. Gass, W. D. Humphrey, Lewis
Hatfield, Samuel S. Cobbs, Josiah M. Lucas and Matthew Stacy.
Our well-known citizen Prof. J. B. Turner has twice been a candidate for congres
sional honors from this district, not as an office seeker but as representative of political
principles. In November, 1868, he was the candidate of the Republican party for a
seat in the lower house of the forty-first congress of the United States, and received
17,390 votes as against 31,430 for the late Judge Albert G. Burr. In 1874 he ran as an
Independent candidate for the forty-fourth congress. His support was 2,417, with 9,027
for Simpson, (Rep.) and 10,623 for Wm. M. Springer, (Dem.) Consequently Mr. Springer
was duly declared elected and has represented this district from that day to this, being
re-elected for his sixth two-year term November 4, 1884.
November, 1855, witnessed the publication of the Jacksonville Hatchet, by William
T. Davis. The paper was devoted to wit, humor, fancy, news, etc. It contained
four pages of four columns each,and had no advertisements. The paper contains some
of the standard jokes that are still current in the city. We are glad we have found
their source. By the way, how many people now living in Jacksonville remember the
Hatchet f It was before the time of most of the boys.
For a change Jacksonville tried the saloon license plan in 1861, but in April, 1862,
there was an anti-license triumph again and the next year the same ticket and cause
prevailed. The cause of education and religion hereabouts lost one of its pioneer and noblest
exponents in April, 1863, in the death of "Father Adams" — teacher, colporteur and Sun
day-school missionary.
In June, 1862, the annual convention of the State Sunday-school Association was
held in our city.
Near the close of the War for the Union, January, 1864, Morgan county's quotas for
the army had been 1,757 and she was duly credited upon the muster rolls of Illinois
and Missouri with 1,883 recruits or an excess over all demands of 126. In September,
1864, there was a draft of 110 men, and in April, 1865, ten more were drafted from this
city. So near was our cup of patriotism full to the brim.
The Chicago & Alton, or as it was then called the St. Louis, Jacksonville & Chicago,
Railroad was completed northward as far as Mason City, in August, 1867.
In the summer of that year Col. G. P. Smith, of the Journal, engineered through a
very enjoyable editorial excursion along the line of the Union Pacific Railway, then
being laid, as far as the base of the Rocky Mountains. Ralph Reynolds, Ed. C. Simms,
D. B. Smith, C. M. Eames and others, from Jacksonville, were of the party.
A local sensation of December, 1867, was the so-called legislative investigation in
re Mrs. Packard versus Dr. McFarland, of the Insane Hospital.
The year 1868 witnessed the laying of corner-stones of two of the largest buildings
in the city, the Court House and the "Church of Our Savior," (Roman Catholic) also
the organization of our city's great convenience the street railway company. In Sep-

260 Blue Ribbons — Old Settlers — Hail Storm.
tember at a special city election the vote for license was 400, for prohibition 507, for
railroad subscription 814 against 99. October and November of that year saw the
Daily Union in existence, in Jacksonville, with William T. Davis as editor, and I. J.
Ketcham and H, J. Atkins as its backers.
Water works election, June 17, 1869, for the subscription 674 votes, against the
proposition 61. In October, 1871, the water works were voted.
The Jacksonville Southeastern, then called the Farmers' road, was completed to
Franklin and Waverly during December, 1870, and the same month the street railway
was opened. In 1871 there were twenty-five licensed dram-shops in Jacksonville, and saloons
have been regulated by this system every year except one. The license fee grew much
larger in 1884, rising from $400 per annum to $550 and then to $800.
The Jacksonville Library Association was incorporated and library opened, in the
Court House, in October, 1871.
In December, 1873, occurred the funeral of ex-Governor and ex-Senator Yates.
For the second time the Illinois State Sunday-school Association held its annual
mass convention in Jacksonville, in May, 1876. The presence of the great evangelists.
Moody and Sankey, drew thousands to the meetings.
In December, 1877, the Murphy Blue Ribbon Temperance Movement reached the
city and county. At the close of the year the pledge signers numbered 5,000 and were
increased in spring of 1878 to 6,200 in Jacksonville, and 13,000 in Morgan county.
In the year 1877, on the 19th of October, it commenced raining and continued to
rain, more or less, every day up to December 27th. On Christmas day fish worms were
crawling on the sidewalks and the streets almost impassible for teams Scarcely any
person came into the city except by rail. Business almost suspended. Deep mud and
more or less rain continued until the middle of March, 1878.
At the annual meeting of the Old Settlers' Association of Morgan county, held in
August, 1884. Mr. Chamberlain, the secretary, read the following resolution which
was adopted :
Resolution, — William Richardson, one of our vice-presidents, was called to the
Spirit Land, December 4th, 1883. In the death of William Richardson this society
has lost one of its most efficient workers, as well as most social members, ever ready
to do all he could for the profit or pleasure of this association and to make our reunions
happy gatherings, long to be remembered. We miss his cheerful presence and mourn
his sudden departure, yet feel assured that he has but changed homes frota one where
sickness and age blight fond hopes to that pure existence where immortal youth and
endless happiness is his portion. May his mantle fall upon another as worthy.
This was unanimously adopted.
The first order of business of the afternoon session was the election of officers.
Only two changes were made. J. H. Tureman was elected in the place of William
Richardson as director and Rev. John Sargent was elected chaplain instead of Rev. B,
Roach. The officers are -now as follows :
President, M. P. Ayers; Vice-Presidents, Anderson Foreman, Charles Samples,
Huram Reeve, J. H. Tureman and William Stevenson; Secretary, T, Chamberlain;
Treasurer, John Robertson ; Marshal, Charles Sample ; Chaplain, Rev. John Sargent ;
Executive Committee, M. P. Ayers, Huram Reeve, A. J. Thompson, Charles French,
Zachary W. Gattan and J. H. Tureman; Finance Committee, Bazzill Davenport, Charles
French and Henry Johnson.
In June, 1884, occurred a most singular freak of nature in the shape of a tremen
dous hail storm a few miles west of the city. The storm extended over but a narrow
strip of territory, but with great violence. In one field containing a depression in the
center, a heavy rain following the . hail washed the latter down the declivity on both
sides until it was piled up to a depth of from one to four feet. After a lapse of twenty-
four hours 8. W, Nichols secured two negatives of what was left of the fallen ice,
prints from which have been given to the Historical Society. They show masses of

K. and L. of H. — Corrections. 261
hailstones as large as a man's body, and a heap as lai-ge as the pile of stones which
marked the resting place of the disobedient Absalom.
The most recent institution of a secret society in this city was in August, 1884 — a
local lodge of the Order of Knights and Ladies of Honor, This is a fraternal institu
tion of both social and beneficiary character, an offspring of the Knights of Honor, but
a distinctly separate organization. In Jacksonville there were eighty charter members
of both sexes. Crystal Lodge meets semi-monthly. J. W, Bowen, protector ; George
W. Fox, secretary ; Fred L. Sharpe, treasurer ; Lew H. Pratt, financial secretary. The
lodge meets in Osborne's Hall, northeast corner of the square.
Twentieth. — Errata, by Dr. J. M. Sturtevant.
To C. M. Eames :
Dear Sir: — The following errors seem to me to be important:
Page 55, you speak of an interview between "Dr. John Todd, of Springfield, Judge
Lockwood, of Jacksonville, dining with Rev. T. Lippincott, etc." Hon. Samuel D.
Lockwood was not then a resident of Jacksonville, but of Edwardsville, holding an
official position in the United States Land Offlce at that place. Mr Lippincott was not
then a minister of the gospel, but a clerk in .ludge Lockwood's office, though already
known as an able writer and an enlightened Christian patriot. The proposition that
he should accompany Mr. Ellis in an exploring tour in the region then known as "the
Sangamon Country" came from Judge Lockwood and was backed up by a gift of $25,
to pay expenses and other valuable assistance in aid of tne journey. Judge Lockwood
did not becon-e a resident of Jacksonville till the winter of 1829-'30.
On the same page you say "Rev. Julian M. Sturtevant came from New Haven with
assurances of $1,000 more." It should read. Rev. Theron Baldwin, and Rev. Julian M.
Sturtevant, arrived here in November, 1829, with assurances from the young men at
Yale College of $10,000 more.
Page 60, 25th line from bottom, "country" should be "county."
Page 68, 4th line from the bottom, "chiefiy in the State," should be "chiefly from
friends of the cause at the East."
Page 69, 4th line from tbe top, the impression is made of but one graduate. The
flrst graduating class was composed of two, Jonathan E. Spilman, now a Presbyterian
minister in southern Illinois, and Richard Yates,
Page 88. James G. Edwards came to Jacksonville in November, 1829. Never
had any connection with the college. He was a printer by trade, and came to Jackson
ville purely to establish a paper. Capt. John Henry must be mistaken as to there hav
ing been a printing press or paper in Jacksonville previous to Mr. Edwards.
I regret to say that in what has been published relative to the history of the college
sufficient honor has not been accorded to Hon. S. D. Lockwood This is to some extent
true in respect to what I myself have published. It has not resulted, however, from
any want of appreciation of his services or lack of affectionate reverence for his char,
acter. It has resulted from the fact that when I wrote he was still among the living.
I never can feel the same freedom in eulogising the living as I do in honoring the dead.
It may be a false delicacy, but I must confess to the fact of having been influenced by
it. Full justice never can be done to the grand services which Judge Lockwood ren
dered to the college during his long connection with it, from the first conception of the
idea of founding it till his death. J. M. Sturtevant.

iiG2 Errata and Authorities.
Twenty-first. — Corrections and Additions, by the Editor.
Page 10, six lines from bottom, "Kellogg" should be Kellogg's.
Page 14, thirteenth line from top, for "Kettner" read Keltner.
Page 40, last line, "Marsh's" Point should be Mark's.
Page 57, Rev. J. M. Ellis was installed 1830 not "1828."
Page 71. The Diamond Grove Baptist Church is still in existence, hence was not
"short lived."
Page 73, twenty-eighth line from top, for H. P. Melendy read S. P.
Page 85. This description of the quick freeze was not by Mr. Lathrop, but some
unknown old citizen.
Page 88, twelve lines from bottom, Mr. Edwards remained in Jacksonville six years
or more, not "two" as stated.
Page 96, eleventh line from bottom, for Carrollton read Manchester.
Page 97, town trustee William B. Warren, not "William P."
Page 125, sixth line from top, "1840" should be 1850.
Page 173. The first "Christian" Church here was organized in October, 1832, by
elders Barton W. Stone and Josephus Hewitt, with eighty-six members.
Twenty-second. — Authorities Consulted or Used.
The compiler of "Historic Morgan" would acknowledge his indebtedness, for valu
able data for this work to the following :
Dr. L. M. Glover's sermons 1873, 1877 and 1880, historical discourses upon twenty-
fifth and fiftieth anniversaries of First Presbyterian church and Jacksonville Female
Academy. Dr. W. W. Harsha's historical sermon 1864, at dedication of Central Presbyterian
church. Dr, J, M. Sturtevant's historical address, twenty-fifth anniversary of Illinois College
and fiftieth anniversary of Congregational church, October, 1883.
Judge William Thomas' communications to Journal during past twenty-five years.
J, W, Graham's "Jacksonville Illustrated" in Potter's American Monthly, Oct,, 1878,
Messrs, Huram Reeve, Timothy Chamberlain, Anderson Foreman, Keeling Berry
and Rev. William Clark — conversations and documents,
Charles A, Barnes' History of the Secret Societies of Jacksonville, in the Daily
Journal December 15, 1881.
Samuel W. Nichols' interviews with anti-slavery pioneers and underground rail
road conductors, in Daily Journal, 1884.
History of Morgan county, 1878, Donnelley, Loyd & Co., Chicago, publishers.
First annual report of Woman's Christian Temperance Union, of Jacksonville.
Recollections of old times, in Daily Courier, 1883, by Anderson Foreman, J. W.
Lathrop, James S. Anderson and Col. George M. Chambers.
J. R. Bailey's articles on Early Days, in files of Weekly Sentinel.
Historical Sketch of Cass county, by Hon. J. Henry Shaw, of Beardstown.
History of Cass county, 1882, edited by William Henry Perrin ; O. L. Baskin & Co.,
Chicago, publishers.
R. W. Ranson's Descriptions of State Institutions as printed in Chicago Tribune,
November, 1883.
Ensley Moore's "Local Epitomes," 1830, 1840, 1850 and 1860, as published in the
Daily Journal in 1879.
Rev. J. M. Ellis' diary in Presbytery Reporter, Alton.
Gen. Murray McConnel's Sketch of Jacksonville, in Nixon's Directory.
Capt. John Henry's Scrap Book; in Y. M. C. A. Reading-room.
Mrs. Joseph H, Bancroft's History of Ladies' Education Society, fiftieth anniversary,
October 6, 1883.
Dr, G. V. Black's Meteorological Articles, in Jacksonville Daily Journal.

A Imow More Items. 2()8
Twenty-third. — The New Centenary. — Electric Lights. — Tobacco Factories.
The new Centenary (formerly Bast Charge) M. E. church (see view on page 233)
was dedicated and occupied in November, 1868, but the movement for the erection
started in 1866, the centennial year of American Methodism, when the name was changed.
Rev. Alex. Semple, the pastor, undertook the work of securing the subscriptions for
the amount thought to be necessary, viz : $25,000. He succeeded in the laudable work
and the lot was purchased and foundation laid that year. The building was not com
pleted ready for use until November, 1868, costing about $40,000. Underwood, of Chi
cago, was the builder of all except the towers and spire and the interior finish of the
auditorium which was the work of Hugh Wilson, Esq., of this city.
In January, 1884, an effort was made by outside parties to introduce the Vander-
poele Electric Light into the city by the formation of a local joint stock company. This
venture failed, but Mr. George H. Huntoon, of our city, took up the matter and sixty-
eight subscriptions for lights were obtained, thirty-three to be used every niglit and the
others once a week. With this much encouragement the plant was put in — a forty-light
dynamo being attached to the engine at the Car Works. The first exhibition of the
lights was May 3d, 1884, a very satisfactory Park and store illumination being made.
The lights put into the places of business and hotels, etc., some forty in number, were
used several months, but the power was found to be too weak and the lights consequent
ly not sal isf actory. It was, therefore, impossible to sell stock in the enterprise and so
it rests ir. statu quo.
The cigar and tobacco manufacturing industry has hardly been referred to in our
work, but should have been as it represents a good deal of capital and the employment
of many men. We have not succeeded in obtaining any statistics as to the annual man
ufacture, but the following are the principal factories : Benjamin Pyatt & Sons, Henry
H. Knollenberg, Gotthelf & Kahn, Cassell Bros., Scott & Duckett, and Joseph Keeney.
In 1884, the veterans of the War for the Union organized a local branch of the well
known patriotic order — the Grand Army ot the Republic. It was named and numbered
Mat. Starr Post, No. 378. Present officers: Capt. Philip Lee, commander; Henry
Hoover, adjutant.
Twenty-fourth.— 'E.-K.Tv.ACii from a Letter from an Old Morganian.
Grand Island, Nebraska, December 24, 1884.
Mr. Editor: — Seeing of late in the Journal invitations to early settlers of Morgan
county to forward any reminiscences that might aid you in your forthcoming history
of the county and city, I thought of sending a few items, if it were not that much more
interesting matter will fill the book. True, I feel as much or more interest in the
subject than those still with you. Old people are apt to live much in the past, recon-
noirtering the paths of early life. I came and settled with my father and family at the
bead of Big Sandy in 1830 — before the deep snow, when the spring mornings boomed with
the prairie chicken and night was hideous with howling wolves. Sheep were scarce.
I am now past seventy-four, the only one remaining of my father's family; the rest, all
except my youngest sister, have their resting place in your county; I was thirty years
in Morgan, except three years in Springfield, tho years 1835, 1836 and 1837. Then I
spent twenty years in Urbana, Champaign county. Then, as all my children, except
the doctor at Arcadia, had taken Greeley's advice, I followed in the wake, stopping
not until I rounded the last part of the United States at the mouth of the Columbia,
and there tor thirteen months, within the ocean roar, paddling on the tide water, and
trapesing through the mountain trails amongst those old monarchs of the forest on
Louis and Clarke, some of them sixteen feet in diameter. Well, now I'm here to try
and encourage your noble enterprise. I was conversant with nearly every one of the
old folks lately noticed in your columns, and many others, many of whom have taken
their leave Happy lo know some of my particular friends still linger, among them
Judge William Thomas, Dr. Akers, Col. Chambers, Uncle Johny Jordan and Huram
Reeve. * * * * \ knew your father and grandfather well, for ten years
during my residence in Jacksonville, 1847 to 1857; knew your old veteran stock man
and financier, Jacob Strawn, for thirty years. I might give some rather amusing anec
dotes connected with our dealings. The only fault he ever found with me he said
that I was too honest. It didn't shock my nerves and we didn't quarrel about it. * *
William Craig.

ODD PELLCWS' BLOCK, NORTH SIDE SQUARE, .lACKSONVlLLE, ILLINOIS

Alumni of "Old Illinois." 265
Twmity-Fifth. — The Illinois College Alumni Association — The Oldest Socio-
LITERARY SOCIETY IN THE STATE — A RECORD OF OVER HaLF A CeNTURY.
Atthe annual "commencement" exercises, held in June, 1879, Illinois College cele
brated its fiftieth anniversary, and a part of the exercises were under the special charge
of its Alumni Society, On June 4th the exercises were held in the college chapel,
Hon. Newton Bateman being president of the occasion, Mr. Epler, secretary, and M.
P, Ayers, Esq., toast-master. Ex-President Sturtevant deliverod a lengthy address,
historical of the college, and Rev. Thos. K. Beecher, of Blmira N. Y., delivered an
eloquent speech to the Alumni — an unusual number of whom were present.
The society deserves more than passing notice from Illinoisans, and as no full his
torical sketch of it has ever been published, we lay it before our readers, who will note
that the portions quoted are from the society record.
" At a meeting of the Alumni of Illinois College, held at the office of Richard
Yates, Esq., on the 19th of September, 1839. Richard Yates was called to the chair-
and Joseph N. Porter was appointed secretary. The object of the meeting was made
known by Mr. Chairman, and on motion of Mr, Blood it was
"Resolved, That this meeting appoiat two persons, each with an alternate, to pro
nounce an oration and poem before the Alumni, on Thursday evening alter the next
annual commencement of Illinois College,
"T. E. Spilman, Esq., was appointed to deliver the oration, and R. Yates his alter
nate; R. Mears to deliver a poem, and Robt. W. Patterson his alternate. On motion
of J. P. Stewart, a committee of tliree was chosen to make arrangements for tho occa
sion, consisting of Messrs. Patterson, Blood and Goudy, and on motion the chairman
was added to said committee A committee was appointed to purchase a blank book
for keeping the record of tjie association, and the names, residence, etc., of the Alumni,
to be left in keepin.g of the chairman. On motion, the meeting adjourned.
"In 1840 Richard Yates was chosen president of the association, and Calvin Goudy
secretary for the ensuing year. J. Park Stewart was chosen orator, and A. M. Dixon
alternate; R. Goudy, jr., poet, and J. Chandler alternate. On motion of Mr. Blood it
was ordered that the meetings of the Alumni be hereafter opened with prayer."
Yates was re-elected president in 1841, with Wm. Coffin as secretar}'. In 1842
Richard Yates was re-elected, with Wm. 'P. Bradley secretary. The society made its
first necrological record, that of Robert Goudy, M. D. The secretary vi-as instructed to
correspond with graduates of other colleges, with a view to union with thera. The
society had been disappointed by their orators failing to appear, until June 30,1843,
when Rev. C. E. Blood delivered an address, and Rev. Rollin Mears a poem, in the
Methodist Episcopal Church. Yates was re-elected president in 1843, with R. Mears,
secretary, and Rev. Wm. Holmes delivered an address.
The society met at the house of D. B. Ayers, Esq., in 1844, when Samuel Willard
was chosen president, with M. P. Ayers secretary. In 1845 the day of meeting fixed
upon was that preceding commencement, and it was decided to have a vice-president,
"to supply the place of the president in his absence," and to act on the committee of
arrangements. Tlie committee were ordered to provide an annual dinner, at which
each member should offer a sentiment, and it was
"Resolved, fourth. That, as Alumni of Illinois College, we feel a deep and abiding
interest in the prosperity ot the institution, and that we believe that its success is inti
mately connected witli the future standing and advancement of Illinois."
The appointment of Prof. J. M. Sturtevant president of the college was endorsed,
after which Mr. Ayers was chosen president; Wm. Coffin, vice-president, and W, H.
Starr secretary for the next year. Rev, Wm, Coffin was chosen president, Chauncey
Carter, vice-president, and J, B. Shaw, secretary, in 1846. The deaths of Rev. G. W.
Pyle and J. K, Morse Esq., were reported. In 1847, Rev. C. E. Blood, president, J. B.
Shaw, vice-president, and M. P. Ayers, secretary, were chosen ; N. Bateman was con
stituted poet for the next year, and the society passed resolutions regretting the resig.

Illinois College Alumni Association.
nation of Prof. J. B. Turner, The society met in the Presbyterian Church in 1848, re
electing Messrs. Blood and Ayers, and making R. S. Kendall vice-president, Richard
Yates was selected to preside in 1849, with M, P, Ayers vice-president, and A, L. Har
rington, secretary, M, P. Ayers was made president ; J, B. Shaw, vice-president, and
Harrington, secretary, again, in 1850. The same were chosen again in 1851, except
Jas. W. English, vice-president.
Prof. Sturtevant invited the society to hold its next reunion at his residence, which
was agreed to, and the annual addresses for the next year were dispensed with. An
annual fee of fifty cents was ordered paid. Newton Bateman was chosen president in
1852; Cyrus Epler, vice-president, and J. W. English, secretary. R. Yates was chosen
orator and H. K. Jones, alternate, for the next year. Bateman, Bpler and English were
re-elected in 1853 ; and in 1854 Bateman was re-elected, with M. P. Ayers, vice-presi
dent, and Thos, W, Smith, secretary. These latter were re-elected in 1655, and the
death of Edward Ruggles was announced, Bateman, Ayers and Smith were again
elected in 1856, and the name of Rollin Mears was reported in the necrology. The
same officers were elected in 1857. J. D. Whitney, Daniel Brown and Edward Geyer
died that year. .M. P, Ayers, Esq,, introduced resolutions congratulating the Alumni
upon the increased encouragement afforded by liberal subscriptions to Illinois
College, No meeting is recorded in 1858, but in 1859 Hon. Cyrus Bpler was elected presi
dent. Rev, Chas, B. Barton, vice-president, and Thos. W. Smith, Esq., again secretary.
M. P. Ayers, John H. Wood, N, W. Branson, E. Dayton, and E, B. Eno were appointed
a committee to reorganize the annual reunion, with Messrs. N. Bateman, R. M, Tunnel
and E. P. Kirby in charge of the literary section of the plan.
In 1860 the society met in the Congregational Church, and N. Bateman was chosen
president; Jas, W. English, vice-president, and B. P. Kfrby secretary. Rev. G. C.
Noyes was chosen orator, and Rev. J. M. Sturtevant, jr., poet.
June 21st a literary and gustatory reunion was held at the college building, and it
was quite a success. The same officers were elected in 1861. Bateman, English and
Kirby were again re-elected in 1862, Richard Yates being elected orator and Henry M.
Post poet. The death of Prof. W. W. Happy was announced.
No meeting was held until June, 1866, when Dr. Samuel Willard was chosen pres
ident. Rev, J, M. Sturtevant, Jr,, vice-pregident, and E, P. Kirby, secretary. Bateman
and R, Wolcott were appointed oratqr and poet, and a number of class secretaries
elected. The incumbent officers were re-elected in 1807, and some reports received from
class secretaries.
In 1868 the officers were re-elected, B. W. Blatchford was chosen orator, and F. V. L.
Eno, poet.
Prof. B. A. Tanner succeeded B. P. il^irby as secretary, and the other officers were
re-elected in 1869. The death of Lieut.-CoL Frank Adams was announced. N, Bateman,
president ; H. K. Jones, vice-president, with E, A, Tanner, secretary, were chosen in
1870. A dollar fee was decided upon for the annual levy,
A committee was appointed to secure representation in the college government, con
sisting of Dr, H, K. Jones, Rev, J. M. Sturtevant, Jr,, N. W. Branson, Esq. At the
annual meeting, in 1871, a committee was appointed to publish an alumni register. The
trustees of Illinois College agreed to give the society three trusteeships and an alumni
professorship, provided the society raised an endowment fund of $25,000. The associa
tion re-elected its officers. Rev. James McLaughlin, Dr, E, Dayton and William Galla
gher Esq., were on the necrological roll.
In 1873, the meeting was held in Strawn's Opera House. A balance was reported
in the treasury, and the officers were re-elected.
Rev. T, K. Beecher was chosen orator, and Hon. F. V. L. Eno, poet. Rev. Eugene
Strode's death was reported.

The Boys of "Old Illinois." 267
Hon. N. Bateman, president, and H. K. Jones, M. D., vice president, w-ere re-elected,
and Ensley Moore chosen secretary and treasurer in 1873, and the latter has held this
position ever since.
Judge J. T. Morton was chosen orator and E. II. Bristow, Esq., poet. The necro
logy consisted of John S. Howell, J. Warren Sturtevant, John D. Fry, James D. Masters.
No meeting was held in 1874, but in 1875 the society met in tho Opera House, the
same officers being re-elected.
Dr. H K. Jones and Judge E. P. Kirby, on behalf of the trustees of Illinois College,
announced that hereafter the alumni might nominate three trustees of Illinois College,
as vacancies might occur, each such trustee to servo five years. The offer was accepted
by tlie alumni association, and it selected five names to be voted on as tho candidate
for 1876.
Richard Yates, John H. McClintock and A. J. Ellison were among the dead for the
previous year.
In 1876, the secretary announced that Julius B. Straw-n, Esq , had been chosen first
alumni trustee. R. S. Kendall and Frederick Brown had died. Messrs. N. Batemam
H. K. Jones and Enslej^ Moore were re-elected officers.
The same officers were re-elected in 1877, and it was moved that hereafter the two
literary societies and this association hold their respective reunions tri-ennially, instead
of annually. ' The motion was passed and a committee appointed to confer with tho
Sigma Pi and Phi Alpha societies, consisting of Messrs. W. D. Wood, E. L. McDonald
and J. E. Strawn. Calvin Goudy, M. D., was the only brother who died during the year.
Resolutions were adopted upon the recent death of Prof. Samuel Adams, M. D., long
time connected with the college and loved by all.
In June, 1878, Bateman, Jones an;l Moore were chosen officers, and a committee
appointed on semi-centennial celebration of Illinois College. Hon. N.^Bateman, H, K.
Jones, M. D., Ensley Moore, T. J. Pitner, M. D., and E. L. McDonald were charged with
this duty. The death of Lieut. Wm. L. English, 7th regiment, U. S A., was reported.
Messrs. M. P. Ayers, Carl Epler and J. P. Lippincott were appointed to raise funds
and arrange for a monument to Dr. Adams, and five persons were nominated for alumni
trustees for 1879.
At the great meeting held in 1879 it was announced th.it M. P. Ayers, Esq., had
been chosen alumni trustee. The same officers were again selected for the ensuing year,
and the committee on Dr. Adams' monument reported.
Dr. H. K. Jones w-as elected president in 1883, and E. L, McDonald, vice-president,
at the same time. Both were re-elected in 1884.
This completes the official record of the organiz.Ttion, but its members have written
their names high on the scroll of fume all through our land, and others have given
their lives to Christianizing other lands, where they have labored for years.
Richard Yates, war governor; Newton Bateman, the great educator; B. W. Blatch
ford and the Ayers brothers, prominent business men; Hons, James M. Epler, Wm. P.
Gallon, H. S. Van Baton, N. W. Branson, Judge J, T. C. Flagg, of Missouri; Hon. J. P.
Garlick, of Oregon; the Goudy brothers, of Illinois; Chas. E. Lippincott, argonaut to
California in 1849, hero in the war and twice state auditor ; Rev. Dr. R. W. Patterson,
the brothers Thomas W., John A., and D. B, Smith, of Jacksonville; Fairbank, Atkin
son and Bergen, foreign missionaries; Judge E. P, Kirby, Hon, J. M. Lansden, Judges
C. Epler and Lyman Lacey, Col. A. C. Matthews, James E. Munroe and J. Scott Stevens,
of Chicago; Hons J. N. Carter, W. H. Govert, W. II. Collins, Q. E. Brow-ning and Ed.
L. McDonald; Rev. Dr. W. S. Curtis, Judge Morton, of Kansas; Dr. Samuel Willard, of
Chicago; Dr. H. K. Jones, the Platonic philosopher; Gov. Wm. Jayne, Paul Selby, the
editor ; and President Tanner, are but representatives of the largo and increasing brother
hood, who love old Illinois College, as their Alma Mater, and have honored our great
state.

268 Jacksonville Items 1854-'56.
Twenty-Sixth — A Few More Items Pertaining to the Years 1854-9, Gleaned
From "Weekly Sentinel" Files by Mrs. M. T. Bailey.
The amount of expenditure for the Illinois State Hospital for the Insane, at Jack
sonville, was, according to the treasurer's fourth biennial report, ending November 30,
1854, $100,680.93, leaving a balance on hand of $4,015.66. From December 1, 1853, to the
above date, 340 patients had been admitted into the institution.
In 1855 a bill was presented to the Legislature to incorporate the Morgan county
Agricultural and Mechanical Association, and to amend the charter of Jacksonville.
In February, 1855 a snow storm prevailed all over the northern and middle por
tions of the Union and kept Jacksonville waiting for news for several weeks.
In 1846 an act was passed by the Nineteenth General Assembly of Illinois, to in
corporate the Jacksonville Gas Light and Coke Company ; also an act tc incorporate
the Jacksonville & Savanna Railroad Company.
In April and May, 1855, a portion of the pupils of the Blind Institution gave con
certs at Decatur, Clinton, Bloomington, Carlinville, Lower Alton and Upper Alton, for
the purpose of extending a knowledge of the institution and to induce the blind to ap
ply for admission.
In May 1855, a terrible cyclone swept through the central part of Morgan county,
killing stock and people and destroying property.
In the election in Illinois in 1855 for and against prohibition, Morgan county gave
a majority of fifty-five for prohibition.
The first Morgan County Fair held at Jacksonville was opened on Tuesday, Octo
ber 33, 1855, but owing to the unfavorable weather there was no exhibition until the
day following. A heavy, driving snow from the north, accompanied by a chilly wind,
made the fair-ground anything but a comfortable locality. One shed capable of shel
tering some twenty head of cattle had been erected. The balance of the stock were
exposed to the storm.
In August, 1855, the marshal's tables showed the population of Jacksonville to be
5,500, In 1850 Morgan county had 16,064 inhabitants; in 1855, 17,755.
On March 38, 1855, the officers of the Circuit Court of Morgan county and tlie
Grand Jury passed resolutions complimenting the retiring juijge, Hon. D. M. Wood
son, earnestly requesting that he be a candidate for re-election.
Illinois Female College was attended in its first year by 117 pupils; seven years
later by 383.
On the night of October 35, 1855, a fire broke out south of the square in Jackson
ville, destroying a whole block. Thirty-nine business men shared in the loss, which
aggregated $65,000. Seven horses and one man were burned in a livery stable.
In 1855 Hon, Newton Cloud was appointed temporary principal of the Illinois
Deaf and Dumb Institute, and in April 185« Mr. Edward Peet, of New York, was ap
pointed principal.
In March, 1856 Mr. Clayton, junior editor of the Journal, retired from the edit
orial chair and Mr. Selby conducted the Journal alone. At that time there were three
papers published in the city. Sentinel, Journal and Constitutionalist.
On the night of the 15th of April, 1856, a hurricane passed over the county, south
and southeast of Jacksonville, uprooting trees and destroying property in the same
path of the noted hurricanes which destroyed life and property in 1859 and 1880,
In 1856 a campaign sheet, called Buchanan Banner was published by Wm. T.
Davis, who had shortly before published the Jacksonville Hatchet.
Lots one mile south of the public square, in Lurton and Kedsie's addition to
Jacksonville were sold in November, 1856, at auction, bringing from $300 to $690, be
ing lots of two acres each.
During the month of November, 1856, there were shipped from Jacksonville 39,6Q4J^
bushels of wheat; hogs, 8,700 head. From July 1, 1856, to January 31, 1857, 151,38.7%
bushels of wheat were shipped ; hogs, 33,876 head.

Jacksonville IS'ews 1854-'59, 269
In the Hospital for the Insane, December 1st, 1854, there were 166 patients, and in
1856, 214.
In 1855 the municipal revenue of Jacksonville was $4,800.25, the salaries of town
officers amounted to $875, liquors bought by the corporation $1,428.70. In the begin
ning of the year 1857 the city charter was advocated, Hon. Cyrus Epler warmly advocating
the change, also the necessary appropriations to increase the size, furnish and properly
heat and light the Insane and Deaf and Dumb Institutions, The charter referred to
was voted upon by the people Monday, March 9th, and voted down by a majority of 198.
In 1857, Mr. J. T. Springer commenced the practice of law in Morgan county.
In January 1859, Rev, L. M. Glover commenced a series of free lectures in the
Presbyterian Church; subject: Europe, Asia and Africa,
. In 1844 a tract of eighty acres lying northwest of the square brought at public sale
$10.12>^ per acre. Two other twenty acre lots brought $17 and $20 per acre. In 1848
twenty acres east of the above was bought for $13.34 per acre, worth in 1857 $41.00 per
acre. Sixteen acres, north of railroad, sold in 1850 for $37.50 per acre, re-sold in 1855
for' $100 per acre, again in 1859 for $400 per acre. In 1843 the State Bank sold for its
notes, worth flfty cents on the dollar, forty acres east of Beardstown street, for $14.50 per
acre, re-sold in 1857 for $150 per acre. In 1854 twenty acres were bought for fair
ground at $100 per acre, sold in 1858 for $296 per acre. Off the same tract in 1857
twenty acres at $300 per acre. In 1847 a lot was purchased adjoining railroad for $27,
sold in 1856 for $2,500.
^ In May 18th, 1857, a letter from Waverly says : We have four churches, about fif
teen business houses, two fiour mills, several carriage manufactories, two monument or
grave-stone manufactories, five physicians and about nine hundred inhabitants. There
is one good hotel, kept by Joseph Challen, and a fine livery stable kept by J. W.
Meachem & Co., is filled with good horses, among which are "Andrew Hamet" raised
by, Dr. Warfield, of Lexington, Ky,, "Ned Forest" a Pemia draft horse and "Illinois" a
small pacer.
August 21st, 1857, Mr. John Hockenhull bought a lot on the east side of the square
in Jacksonville for $10,125, or $150 per foot. This was known as the Congregational
Church property ; that society bought a lot on College Avenue and built the same year
a brick edifice.
In 1858 there were in the county asylum for the poor thirty-three inmates.
I The Baptist Church was dedicated April 7th, 1858.
July, 1858, the lot on which Strawn's Opera House stands was bought for $225 per
foot. The two adjoining lots on the west of the above sold the same day for $175 per
foot. On Friday evening, February 3rd, 1859, Hon. Abraham Lincoln lectured before one
of the literary societies of Illinois College ; subject : Discoveries and Inventions. When
Prof. Sturtevant was soliciting aid for Illinois College he approached Jacob Strawn,
who immediately put down his name for five hundred dollars and paid it soon after.
July 15th, 1869, the thermometer stood 135.
November 14th, 1859, the Journal office with all its material, presses, accounts and
Journal files of many years was destroyed by fire, Wm. H. Collins was then proprietor.
The Congregational Church, on College Avenue, was dedicated Sunday, December
4th, 1859. The discourse was delivered by Rev. T. M. Post, of St, Louis.
From January 1st, 1859, to January 1st, 1860, there were eighty-eight deaths in the
town of Jacksonville.

CHAPTER XIV.
Gass County Since tlie Separation from Morgan — Its Officials and Legislators — Laying
off of Towns — Modern Virginia — Its Officers, Schools, Opera-House, Etc. — Sketches of
Old Settlers — "The Three Mile Contest" — Population Growth.
HE separation of Cass from old Morgan occurred in 1837. The first county
seat was Beardstown ; then Virginia had the honor. In 1843 Beardstown se
cured it again and kept it until 1872, when Virginia again received the prize and
still retains it.
The following are the names of the resident representatives of Cass county
in the Legislature, from the separation until the present date :
William Holmes, for the years 1838-'40; Amos S West, 1840-'43; David Bpler,
1843-'44; John W. Pratt, 1843-'46; Francis Arenz, 1844^'46; Edward W. Turner,
1846-'48; Richard S. Thomas, 1848-'50; Cyrus Wright, 1852-'54; Samuel Christy,
1856-58 ; Henry E. Dummer, senator, 1860-'64 ; Frederick Rearick, 1860-'62 ; James
M. Epler, 1862-'64; James M. Bpler, 1866-'68; James M. Epler, senator, 1868-'72; Wm.
W. Easley, 1870-'74; John F. Snyder, 1878-'80; Jolin W. Savage, 1878-'80; J. Henry
Shaw, 1880-'82; H. C, Thompson, 1882-'84; T. L, Matthews, 188^-J. Henry Shaw,
1884-'85, The principal officers of Cass county since its formation, are as follows :
County Commissioners — Joshua P, Crow, Amos Bonney, Geo. F. Miller, elected
August 7, 1837, Joshua P. Crow, Amos Bonney, Isaac C. Spence, elected August 6,
1838. Amos Bonney, John C. Scott, elected August 3, 1840, for three years ; Marcus
Chandler, for two years. John C, Scott, Marcus Chandler, W. J. DeHaven, elected.
August, 1841 ; John C. Scott, W. J. DeHaven. Robert Leeper, elected August, 1842 ;
John C. Scott, W. J. DeHaven, Henry McHenry, elected December 26, 1842;
W. J. DeHaven, Henry McHenry, Jesse B. Pence, elected August 7, 1843 ; Henry
McHenry, J. B. Pence, Geo. B. Thompson, elected August, 1844; J. B. Pence,
George B. Thompson, Wm. McHenry, elected flrst Monday of August, 1845; G. B.
Thompson, Wm. McHenry, Henry McHenry, elected flrst Monday of August,
1846. Wm. McHenry, Henry McHenrj', Geo. H. Nolle, elected flrst Monday of Au
gust, 1847. Henry McHenry, Geo. H. Nolte, Geo. W, Weaver elected flrst Monday of
August, 1848.
County Court, established 1849— James Shaw, judge; Wm. Taylor, associate;
Thomas Plaster, associate ; elected November 6,1849. James Shaw, judge; Thomas
Plaster, associate ; Jacob Ward, associate ; elected May 19, 1851. John A. Arenz,
judge; Isaac Bpler, associate ; Sylvester Paddock, associate ; elected November, 1853.
John A. Arenz, j udge ; Sylvester Paddock, associate ; John M, Short, associate ; elected No
vember, 1855. H. C. Havekluft, judge ; Wm, McHenry, associate ; G. W. Shawen, associ
ate ; elected November, 1857. F. H. Rearick, judge ; Wm. McHenry, associate ; G. W. Sha
wen, elected November, 1861. John A. Arenz, judge; Jennings G. Mathis, associate;
Samuel Smith, associate ; elected November, 1865. Alexander Huffman, judge, An_
drew Struble, associate; Jeistha Plaster, associate ; elected November, 1869. F. H
Rearick, judge; Andrew Struble, associate; Jeptha Plaster, associate ; elected Febru
ary 34, 1872; John W. Savage, judge; elected November, 1873. Jacob W. Rearick,
judge, elected November, 1877. ' Darius N. Walker, judge,, elected November, 1882. ¦
' - Gounty Commissioners-r7-Wm. Campbell, .John H. Malone, Robt. Fielden, elected
November, 1873. Wm. Campbell, John H. Malone, -Lukfe Dunn, elected November,

272 Cass County Officials.
1875. John H. Malone, Luke Dunn, Robert Crum, elected in 1876. Luke Dunn,
Robert Crum, Robert Clark, elected in 1877. Robert Crum, Robert Clark, Thomas
Knight, elected in 1878. Robert Clark, Thomas Knight, Robert Crum, re-elected in
1879. Thomas Knight, Robert Crum, Lewis C. Hackman, elected in 1880. Robert
Crum, Lewis C. Hackman, Luke Dunn, re-elected in 1881. Faulkner W. Gerdis.
elected in 1882. Lewis C. Hackman, re-elected in 1883. George A. Beard (to fill va
cancy), elected April, 1884. Henry Gann, elected November, 1884.
Probate Justices— 1837 to 1849— Jno. 8. Wiibourne, elected August 7,1837; Joshua
P. Crow, 1839; Alexander Huffman, 1841; H, B. Dummer, 1843; Hulett Clark, 1847;
H.B. Dummer, May 13, 1849.
Sheriffs — Lemon Plaster, elected August 7, 1837 ; John Savage, 1841 ; Joseph M.
McLean, 1848; J, B, Fulks, November, 1850; Wm. Pitner, 1852; James Taylor, 1854;
James A. Dick, 1856; Francis H. Rearick, 1858; James Taylor, 1860; Charles E. Yeck,
1862; James A. Dick, 1864;' Charles E. Yeck, 1866; Thomas Chapman, 1868; Horace
Cowan, 1870; George Volkmar, 1872; Wm. Epler, 1874; A. H. Seilschott, 1876; A. H.
Seilschott, elected November, 1878; re-elected in 1880 and 1882.
Clerks of County Commissioners' Court — John M. Pratt, elected in 1837 ; H. H.
Carpenter, 1845 ; Lewis F. Sanders, 1847 ; re elected in 1849 as county clerk.
Clerks of County Court— Allen J. Hill, 1857 ; James B. Black, 1873 ; James Frank
Robinson, 1883.
Clerks of the Circuit Court — Nathaniel B. Thompson, appointed by the judge in
1837. James Berry and Reddiclc Horn, appointed by the judge; date of appointment
not known. Thos. R. Sanders, elected in 1848; Silvester Emmons, 1852; James
Taylor, 1856; Henry Phillips, 1860; C. F. Diffenbacher, 1868; Albert F. Arenz, 1872;
Thomas V. Finney, 1876; Finis E. Downing, 1880; re-eleced in 1884.
Superintendents of Public Instruction— Richard S. Thomas, 1845; John B. Shaw,
1849; Frank HoUenger, 1857; James K. Vandemark, 1861; Harvey Tate, 1869; John
Gore, 1873; Allen J. Hill, 1877; Andrew L. Anderson, 1882.
Stale's Attorneys— Linus C. Chandler, elected in 1872; Arthur A. Leeper, 1876;
Reuben R. Hewitt, 1880; re-elected in 1884.
County Assessors and Treasurers — Thomas Wiibourne, Isaac W. Overall, Wm. W.
Babb, 1837-38; Wm. H. Helms, 1838 -'39; Robert G. Gaines, 1839-'47; John Craig,
1847-51; Martin F. Higgins, 1851-53; Phineas T. Underwood, 1853-57; Frank A.
Hammer, 1857-'S9; David C. Dilley, 1859-71; Philip H, Bailey, 1871-'73; John L, Cire,
1873-81; John Rahn, 1881; Henry Quigg, 1882.
By the plots, surveys aud legal instruments on file in the Recorder's office, we learn
that places were laid out into town lots, before the separation, as follows: Beardstown,
September 9, 1829; Princeton, February 19, 1833; Richmond, March 3, 1833; Virginia,
May 17, 18, 19, 1836; Philadelphia, July 11, 1836.
Princeton, on •• Jersey Prairie," was laid off by John G. Bergen. Richmond was in
the northeast part of the county, but is now out of existence. Johnston Shelton was
the surveyor of Virginia, in 1836, as well as of Jacksonville in 1825— eleven years before.
Since the separate existence of Cass, several other towns have been duly laid off,
viz: Monroe (since vacated), Lancaster, May 6, 1837 ; Arenzville, February .17, l840,
Chandlerville, April 29, 1848 ; Ashland, July, 1857; Newmanville, April 6, 1859. In
the latter case. Rev. Wm. Clark owned the land, and will sell no lots without a provi
sion in the deeds prohibiting the sale of liquor. This excilleat provision is also insisted
Note,— Thomaa Wiibourne was elected Treasurer August 7, 18:^7, and afterward resigned, aud Isaac
W-. (iverall was elected December 16, 1837, to fill the vacancy, and took possession of the oflice and en-
•tered upon its duties, but his election was contested by Wm. W, Babb, and Babb was declared the
rightful incunlbent. Martin F. Higgins was re-elected ^.asessor.'And Traasurer November fitlj, but died
shortly afterward, and Phineas T. Underwood was elected to flU the vacancy, and rSTelected in 1855.
John L. Cii-e died during his last term of offlce, and John Kahn Was oppointed by the County Commis*
signers to &1\ the vacancy, a,na he was elected by the pe6^jB NoVeinber 1881, to fill ii cbftstltuiional
interim of one year. FaUlkneT W. tj-erdjs diea Sebrilary 86, 16S4.

The City of Vibginia. 273
upon by Mr. William C. Stevenson, in the sale of Little Indian property, Francis Arenz
was the founder of the town bearing his name and Archibald, Job and Alexander
Beard laid out Philadelphia as School Trustees,
The compiler of this volume gave himself the pleasure, a few days since, of visit.
ing the city of Virginia, The courteous treatment received from merchants, bankers,
editors, county officers and old settlers was worthy of this sincere acknowledgment of
obligation. The little municipality did not seem to be feeling the hard times any
more than sister cities of much larger pretensions, and her business men were hopeful
and evidently enterprising. The burg's biggest item of the day was the formal dedica
tion of the new opera "house that Jack (Tureman) built," and that Charlie Tinney, of
the Gazette, with more than the average newspaper man's enterprise, has done so much
to secure for his home. After trying the road from tho depot to the square, both on
foot and in the ' bus, we were decidedly of the opinion that if Bro. Beatty, of the En
quirer, wants to get even with his rival in the way of public benefits, he should secure
the dedication of a street railroad for Virginia. After newspapers and an opera house,
the next " long-felt want" is a street raiload or well-paved highways.
At his old stand in the drug store we found our old friend, Mr. Will Wood,
busy in the calendar, almanac, pill and cigar business. He finds time, too, for his share
of Sunday-School work. Here we met the bibliopole and naturalist of the community.
Dr. Snyder, who was i^rompt to volunteer words of encouragement, and an order for
" Historic Morgan."
In the court house we found quite a number of friends and much assistance.
Circuit Clerk P. E. Downing obligingly searched the records for us for dates of the
laying out of the various towns of the county. The present county officials are D. N.
Walker, county judge ; J. F. Robinson, county clerk ; Finis E. Downing, circuit clerk ;
Henry Quigg, treasurer ; A. H. Sielschott, sheriff ; R. R. Hewitt, state's attorney ;• A.
L. Anderson, school superintendent; Joseph Wilson, surveyor; George L. AVarlow,
master in chancery. Under their management " Little Cass" seems to be waxing fat
and prospering.The city of Virginia we found to be governed by the following officials : Mayor,
Ernest P. Widmayer (a former Jacksonvillian and brother of its ex-mayor); clerk,
George Kelly (absent, but ruling by proxy in the person of S. W. Bailey); attorney,
A. A. Leeper; marshal, Thomas Finn ; aldermen, L. R. Simmons, Morrison Graves,
C. I. Haskell, Joseph F. Cherry, R, W, Rabourn, W. W. Bishop — two from each of
the three wards into which the city is divided.
There are three school buildings in Virginia, all located in one school district, and
managed by three directors, viz : J. N. Gridley, D. G. Smith, A. A. Leeper. The
instructors in their employ are: Prof. J. F. McCullough, superintendent; Samuel B.
Rach and R, P. Anderson, assistants, and the following teachers: Misses Rachael
Berry, Harmonia Tate, Adelia Snyder, Belle Rodgers, Marie Way, Jessie Wilson, and
Mr. George Schafer. As far as we could learn the schools are well governed and
attended, the pupils making very satisfactory progress. With a population of 1,800
Virginia sends 475 pupils to her schools.
The saloon license system prevails here, the fee being $720 per annum.
In the Circuit Court room we found Hon. Richard W. Mills, so well known
and whose aged mother, now living near Arcadia, in Morgan county, was among the
earliest settlers of this part of the state. Mills was trying a case before Esquire Keel
ing Berry, who addressed the last Old Settler's meeting so interestingly, and whose
mind as to old-time matters in Morgan and Cass is as clear as that of a man forty years
younger. He gave us much valuable information as to the pioneers and customs of
log cabin days- Before we write of a few others of the flrst settlers of Cass we should
speak df this old-timer and his recollections. He remembers making the flrst purchase
in the flrst store in Virginia — three pairs of shoes for his father's family— of Mr. Oli
ver, while the goods were being unpacked from the shipping-boxes.

274 Keeling Beery — County Seat Elections — Heeoines.
Mr. Berry informs us that he came to Morgan county in 1833, in the fall of the year,
from East Virginia, with his parents, two brothers and four sisters. One brother was
already out here. The family traveled 900 miles to reach their new home. The men
and boys footed it nearly the whole way. They settled one mile east of Little Indian
station, where his parents lived until their deaths in 1857 and 1861.
Mr. Berry, Sr,, had bought 130 acres of land, thirty-five under cultivation. Keel
ing had but little opportunity of education, not attending school more than eleven
months in his life-time. The boy was thoughtful and studious, and gained knowledge
by night-study at home. In his twenty-second year he began teaching in a log school-
house, one-fourth of a mile west of Little Indian, on what is now Henderson Massey's
farm, and there the identical old school house continues to stand to this day. Young Berry
continued there as teacher for three terms, in the years 1839 and 1840. Since then he
has followed the same occupation, up to 1876, in Cass or Macon county. In politics he
has always been identified with the Whig or Republican party. In 1856, in Macon
county, he was quite an active campaigner for Fremont. In 1867, as one of the commission
he adjudicated the county seat contest. It was one of the hottest ever known in the
State. The result was thatthe court house remained in Beardstown. In November, 1872,
there was another warm contest and vote on the same subject, but a fairer vote, Virginia
triumphed. Beardstown contested, but lost. A change of site cannot now be made until
a three-fifths majority for a change can be obtained, which is not likely. It might be
mentioned in this connection that in one of these county seat elections Virginia returned
a poll-book with 2,820 votes recorded, when at any preceding election she had never polled
over 750, Mr. Keeling Berry continued to make his home on a farm until he moved
Into Virginia in January, 1868. He was county surveyor for one term, not being phys;
ically able to work on a farm. Now he is filling for the third term the offlce of just
ice of the peace.
In writing of the pioneer settlers of old Morgan, now Cass, we are reminded that
there is a class often neglected by local historians that deserves the highest praise for
heroic endurance, self-sacrificing labor, and that permeating influence upon a com
munity that tended to mould and elevate character more than any others. Wo refer to
the devoted Christian women who came in tho prime of life, with husbands and chil
dren, from homes of comfort, to these unsettled regions where they toiled for their
families and labored and prayed for the advancement of the morals of the new settle
ments. At all hours of tho day or night they went at the call of Philanthropy to care
for the sick, to relieve the needy, to comfort tho afflicted and even to bury the dead.
There were no professional nurses or physicians, homes were widely separated and
the calls of distress would often cause the women to rido many miles in the night
time, over lonely prairie roads or forest paths. Many lives were doubtless saved by
their prompt response and timely attention. " Mother" Redman, of Sugar Grove, Cass
county, now gone to her reward, is mentioned as living an esiiecially useful life in this
respect. Undoubtedly many others deserve strong praise for similar services. Among
the older settlers of Morgan county is Maria [widow of George] Cunningham. She
reached this county in the spring of 1825, with the family of her father— Allen Q.
Lindsey, They settled two miles south of Princeton, and she was married in 1835.
Since then she has not lived farther from Virginia than four miles. Her father was a
justice of the peace; so was one of her brothers. Her brother Allen is said to have
precipitated the Black Hawk war. Being then a boatman on the Illinois river, he was
attacked by the Indians and defended himself vigorously with firearms. The Lindsey
family were prominent and public spirited, exerting themselves to wisely shape soci
ety. They were Kentuckians of much refinement and general knowledge, always
active in politics, although not offlce seekers. Their views were of the Clay- Whig
school. Mrs, Elizabeth Hopkins is another living witness of early times hereabouts. In
the fall of 1825 she removed from Clark county, Ind., to what is now the'southern part

Mes. Hopkins — "TTnole Billy" Claek — Affaies in 1827-'30. 275
of Cass county. The next year they made a home and settled in Sugar Grove, in the
southeast part of Cass, some four miles from Virginia, Her husband, Henry (now de
ceased), without help, improved 100 acres of prairie and lived on that farm forty-nine
years, raismg to maturity a family of eleven children, Mr. and Mrs. Hopkins saw this
region grow from nothing to as prosperous and thrifty a community as the county
affords. Their home was a preaching-place for the Methodist ministry from the first
up to 1840. They always had a hearty welcome for the itinerant preachers, some of
whom, when stopping there, went out into the field to help their host reap the harvest.
Another Indianian to locate in the now Cass part of Morgan was James Garner,
who came into " Panther Grove," six miles southeast of Virginia, in 1831. He is well
remembered by early settlers as a Methodist preacher, of but limited education, yet he
was one whom all loved to hear, and he exercised as mucli influence, perhaps, as any
other man in the county in his time, for the moral improvement of its inhabitants. It
is said of him that after plowing all the week he would consider his horse as needing
rest too much to be used on the Sabbath so he would walk three or four miles to meet
his appointments. He died in 1863,
Among the present residents of Virginia, known and respected by all, is
the Rev. William (commonly called "Uncle Billy") Clark. His father, Thomas,
brought him and four other children out to Morgan in April, 1827, and the family set
tled in North Grove, some four miles west of the present site of Virginia, where they
farmed it until 1833, but soon returned. William began preaching in 1839 in Iowa,
but returned to Cass in '40, when he was twenty-three years of age, and has been
preaching the Gospel in or near his old home from that day to this, as a circuit rider of
the Methodist Episcopal church. Now-a-days he only preaches occasionally.
Mr. Clark furnishes us with the following account of himself:
I w-as born in Franklin county, Tennessee, January 17, 1817, My father, Thomas
Clark, was born in Pennsylvania, and my mother in East Tennessee. Thej- came to
Madison county, Illinois, in 1826. In April, 1827, they came to Morgan county, now
Cass. They settled in North Grove, four miles west of tho present site of Virginia.
The family consisted of father, mother and seven children. Our first school teacher
was Joshua P. Crow, in 1837, who taught several terms at the Bridgewater school
house, a log cabin in that neighborhood. Tho county then abounded in wild gamo in
cluding deer and turkeys, without number. The people w-ero remarkable for their in
dustry, honesty, frugality and sociability and w-ere much on an equality — none rich, but
few wealthy. Had no churches but their log cabins. The old Baptists w-ere the most
numerous among the early settlers in this section. The first Methodist meetings in the
neighborhood were held at my uncle William Clark's, on the farm now ow-ned by
Edward Davis. The flrst circuit preachers were Joseph TalUington and Isaac House.
The flrst burial in the Clark grave yard was a child of Mr. Norton. The flrst Methodist
class organized was at the'house of William 3Iyers, on the Tureman farm, consisting of
flve members — William M. Clark, his wife and daughter, Mrs. Myers and my mother.
The people gave more attention to the gospel in those days than now.
We saw the deep snow in 1830. It fell early in December and remained until
spring, and was about three feet deep on a level. Nearly all the game was destroyed
by reason of the snow that winter. It was never so plenty afterw-ards.
I will name a few of the families living in this part of the county in that early day,
as far as my knowledge goes: Matthews, Bridgewater, Ruby, Davis, Hoffman,
Williams, Crow, Bowyer, Savage, Summers, Case, Wiggins, Hamby, Bristow, Gilpin,
Rev, Levi Springer, Rev. Reddick Horn, Myers, Tureman, Haynes, my uncle William
M. Clark and my father's family.
We had no two-horse wagons or stoves ; the old wooden mould barshare and shovel
plow was the order of that (Jay. One great difficulty we labored under was lack of
mills. We had to go from three to twenty-five miles to get a little corn ground. In
company with an uncle I had to Walt three days and nights at uncle Jiminy Si'ios' horse

276 Eecollections of Moegan in 1828-'33 — John H. Tueeman.
mill, near Arcadia, to get grinding done. In 1829, 1 rode sixteen miles to get a single
letter out of the postofflce in Jacksonville ; the postage was twenty-five cents in those
days, Jacksonville was but a small village when I first saw it, in 1827, and Beardstown
was scarcely begun. In the spring of 1831 the big snow went off with such a rush that
it raised the streams unusually high. Uncle Tommy Beard, the founder of Beardstown,
brought his ferryboat out to the slough on this side and ferried the folks across the
slough to get to town. The first steam flouring mill was built by Knapp & Pouge, in
Beardstown. I think it was built in 1828, and was the flrst steam engine I ever saw.
After flve years residence in this neighborhood my father moved eleven iniles
eastward of Jacksonville, to near the head of the Mauvaisterre, on the Vandalia road.
Big Indian Creek in that day was flush enough with water to run mills and several
were built on it, and so with other streams, but matters have greatly changed. In the
fall of 1833, there occurred a strange phenonema, on the night of the 13th of November
— the apparent falling of the stars, raining like hail from the clouds, which created
some alarm among the people. This year, 1833, the cholera visited Jacksonville in a
fearful manner, carrying off about one hundred of its inhabitants, and laid the town in
mourning. My father left Morgan county that fall and went into Schuyler county,
where he remained two years, and then went to Iowa Territory and remained there
until May, 1840, and then returned to Cass county and settled in the old neighborhood
where he flrst settled in 1827, not far from the present site of Virginia, and remained
in the county until his death, which occurred August 16, 1852, and my mother died
August 2, 1866. They are both buried, with other members of the family, at the old
burying ground in North Grove, four miles west of Virginia.
I was converted while living in Iowa, September 28, 1837, and was licensed to
preach in the M. E. church, November 30, 1839. I traveled the circuits about four
years in all. I have been a local preacher or minister in said church ever since. I
have been a resident of Morgan and Cass counties fifty-one years — farming mostly for
a livelihood. I have seen nearly all the flrst settlers pass away and new ones take
their place and have marked the many changes and improvements that have taken
place in the last half century. As time has rolled on and improvements have been
made, such as railroads and telegraphs, the facilities have become much greater for the
development of the resources of the world and also the speedy communication to and
from all parts of the habitable globe. And schools and churches have so increased that
society ought to have been more reflned, elevated and christianized ere this. But with
all these advantages the world seems to be no better, but worse. Why is this ? We
answer, because man is a fallen and depraved being, and to materially change his life
he needs the converting grace of God. It is not frequent, to say the least, for anyone
to find liimself so near the same spot at the end of fifty-eight years, as the writer. And
he will say of himself that he has led an active and laborious life, wholly abstaining
from the use qf all intoxicants and tobacco ; that he has enjoyed good general health,
and finds in the midst of the evils of this wicked world many good things to be thank
ful for, and as a Christian, "having promise of the life that now is and of that which is
to come;" and is comfortably situated, with his kind companion in their quiet home, in
the decline of life, in the beautiful little city of Virginia, the county seat of Cass,
Mr. John H. Tureman, one of the wealthy farmers of Cass, now lives in the neigh
borhood where Mr. Clark settled. He was born there in 1828 and has made it his life
home. He has just made himself "a reputation and a name" in Virginia by erecting
an opera house at a cost of $17,000. His mother-in-law, Mrs, Elizabeth Davis, now over
eighty years of age, is also still in that neighborhood, being the only person now living
there who has been there since 1838. But to return to the Clarks, Circuit court was
in session when they came through Jacksonville in 1837, -from Madison county, enroute
to North Grove. Jacksonville was then a village of 300 or 400 inhabitants, and court
was being held in a log cabin. William, remembers that in J839 they heard of a letto
in the postofflce at Jacksonville for liis father from his (William's) brothw oa tli*

Ceow, Biddlecombe, Horn, Coebey, Cosnee, G-atton. 277
Okaw. So he rode on horseback sixteen miles to get the letter, paid the required
twenty-flve cents postage and returned home with it. He used to go eighteen miles to
a horse power mill for grinding and even farther — twenty-flve miles — to Exeter to a
water power mill.
Mr. Clark says the flrst school teacher in Cass was Joshua P. Crow, whs in 1838
taught the young idea how to shoot in a log cabin, some three and one-half miles west
of Virginia, called the Bridgewater school house. The flrst burying ground was near
by and this is now called after the Clarks. The flrst burial was that of a child of Mr.
Norton in 1836. The first frame meeting house in Virginia was built by the Protestant
Methodists in 1836. In those circuit-riding days there were no frame houses ; log
cabins were the homes, the school houses and the churches. Preaching was heard in
private houses or school cabins. The Baptists were the prevailing denomination. The
first M. E. circuit preaching was in 1838 by Revs. Isaac House and Joseph Talkington,
who organized the first Methodist church in Cass. Mrs. Clark, whose maiden name
was Glover, came from Pope to Madison, then to Morgan, settling in the neighborhood
of the Clarks and Turemans.
We have recorded the statement that Mr. Crow was the first school teacher in this
part of old Morgan. The second is said to have been Daniel Corbey who taught in
Sugar Grove, and the third, John Biddlecoiube, who wielded the birch in his neighbor
hood. Mr. William Holmes was teacher, according to Mr. Keeling Berry, as early as
1830, using one of the abandoned cabins in Sugar Grove.
The first tannery erected in Cass county, and in fact in this part of Illinois, was by
Andrew Cunningham, who is still living, but out of business.
Among the Kentuckians who came in 1837 was John Biddlecombe, from Logan
county. He came as a Missionary Baptist preacher, a man of much piety and very
useful. He was one of the early day teachers of the regions of "The Narrows" and
died only a few years ago loved and respected by all who knew him.
There came with him a brother-in-law from the same county and like him both
teacher and preacher — Benjamin Corbey. He was of the Cumberland Presbyterian faith
and probably the ablest minister of the gospel in this section at that time. His power
was not in his fine education but in his ability to win the love of all with whom he
came in contact. It is reported of him that he did more than any man in his time to
spread the influence of his denominatiop. He died many years ago.
Still another settler came from Logan county, Kentucky. Coming to Morgan about
the same time was Reddick Horn, a prominent Protestant Methodist. He and Corbey
founded a church andidid much to mould sympathy in the neighborhood of the present
Virginia. Thomas J. Cosner came from Indiana in 1843 and located four miles from Virginia.
Some three weeks after his arrival the nag he had come on from Indiana was stolen
and he was left without a particle of property. For ten years or more he was a farm
laborer by the month, at a time when wages were only $10 per month. Now by fru
gality, honesty and industry he has accumulated farm property aggregating about
three-fourths of a section worth $60 per acre. In all he is probably worth to-day about
$30,000 and now lives in the city, and owns one building on the square, of Virginia.
Z. W, Gatton was born in Allen county, Kentucky, but came to Illinois with his
father in September, 1824, locating within a quarter of a mile of Little Indian on a
farm then all raw prairie. He put twenty acres under cultivation the flrst year. The
family remained there a few years and then moved to Beardstown. Their house was
headquarters of traveling M. E. preachers. After Z. W. became grown he went to
Ottawa for one winter and Beardstown for four years. Now he is living just outside
the city limits of Virginia ; has been there over twenty years. He recollects the deep
snow and quick freeze of 1831 and 1836 ; was living in Beardstown ; had gone to his
father's, where were two cabins some ten feet apart. He walked across in slush and

278 Eaeliest White Settlee — Theee Mile Steip.
back in flfteen minutes on ice. He carried a petition, after having circulated it, to
Vandalia for the separation of Cass from Morgan.
His father and Judge Thomas, of our city, were well acquainted and particular
friends in Kentucky before either came to Illinois, to meet again in Morgan county.
Mr. Gatton recollects the cholera year, 1833, and how bad the scare was in Beardstown.
Nurses could not be obtained and men had to give up their business to nurse the sick
and care for the dead and dying. And not one of these volunteer nurses caught the
disease. The earliest white settler of Cass county, of whom we find any knowledge, was old
Eli Cox. He settled in the eastern part of what is now Cass county, in the year 1816,
stopping at a grove atthe head of a creek, whicli have since been known as Cox's Grove
and Cox's Creek. At that early date there was not a white man in all this part of the
state. The United States government had not even stretched a surveyor's chain over
the land, neither section nor township had been laid off. This man Cox, being, perhaps,
a trapper and hunter and accustomed to look carefully at his surroundings, saw at a
glance the great advantages of the prairie for farming and grazing purposes, andconclud-
to make himself a permanent home here. He staked out a claim and after remaining
on it for a time left it ; returned in 1819, built a cabin and commenced permanent im
provements, and lived there until his death which occurred in 1880, or 1881. Of the
early history of Mr, Cox little, or nothing, is linown to the writer, although well ac
quainted with him since 1836, he never on any occasion referred to his early life or the
place of his birth. He was an honest, industrious man, strictly upright and honest in
all his dealings, but mingled very little in society, and those who knew him best held
him in the highest esteem. During his long years of residence in the old cabin, he
married and raised a large family and also accumulated property and money to the
amount of thirty or forty thousand dollars.
Mrs. Cox. died in 1866 or 1867, after which time the old man lived alone till a
short titae before his death, his children having grown up and left him.
He always kept about his cabin a considerable sum of money, and two attempts
were made to rob him, in both of which he was most brutally treated ; the first time
by choking and beating, and the second by burning the old man till he gave up some
of his money. We are sorry to say that none of the perpetrators were ever discovered.
Perhaps right here we should recall the
"theee mile strip"
contest It appears, from Judge Shaw's statements, that from January, 1837 to 1843,
there was growing "a feeling of dissatisfaction among the people of the southern half
of township XVII, and other parts of Morgan, with Jacksonville." By act of the
Legislature, two votes were taken ; one in August 1843, on a proposition to divide
Morgan into two counties— Morgan and Benton. This proposition failed of the requis
ite number of votes, and " Benton" county was not created. In May, 1845, those living
in the four precincts forming the " three mile strip"— the northern tier of precincts —
voted for and against being attached to Cass county, and through the votes and influ
ence of Arenzville, the majority for taking the territory from Morgan was 168, There
was considerable of a contest before the Legislature in getting this election ordered ;
Morgan then had four representatives in the Legislature, all Whigs, Among them
was Francis Arenz, a resident on the "strip," and John W, Pratt, who, in two terms,
did much to gain foi^ Cass this valuable political and cultivable teraitory. So close was the
Legislature at this time as between Whigs and Democrats that it was urged as an argu
ment that this loss of territory to Morgan would change it trom Whig to Democratic
control and that change would transfer the majority in the House from one party to
another, Cass county had a population in 1860 of 11,325. For the next ten years there was
very little change, so that in 1870 there were only 11,580 reported by the census gatherers

Fiest Criminal Case — Fikst Fkame House.

279

In 1880 she came up nicely, however, showing 14,493 residents. The fir.st census ever
taken was in 1840— total populiition 3,981. In 1850 she had grown to 7,253.
Circuit Clerk Downing informed us tli;it the first entry in a criminal case in Cass
county was for a cliange uf venue in a murder case. Messrs. Gatton & Berry told us
more about this cause. It was a very deliberate murder, a Mr. Fowl in Philadelphia,
being shot with a revolver, by Nathaniel Gi-avos. The murderer was tried at the May
term and sentenced to lie hung, but broke jail before sentence was executed, and
escaped to his native State, Kentucky. There have been quite a number of murder
trials in Cass since the separation, but never a conviction where the punishment was
more than a flne, e.xccpt in the case of a German living near Chandlerville, convicted
of wife-murder and sentenced to ,Joliet for life. He is still there, in the State peni
tentiary. the first frame uouse
built in \^irginia was by Dr. H. H. Hall, father of Henry H. Hall, Esq., of Jacksonville,
He was not only the founder and first house-builder, but first merchant and the ruling
spirit of the place up to the day of his death, in 1847. He first visited the West in 1831,
when he entered several hundred acres of land, upon a portion of Avhicli Virginia now
stands. In 183o he moved to this State from the Old Dominion, and settled upon his
land already entered. He laid out and named the town of Virginia in 1836, making
sales of quite a number of lots that 3'ear. He opened the first store in the village, em
ploying as a clerk Charlie Oliver, afterwards a prominent merchant himself. In 1838
Dr. Hall made an addition of fifteen acres of public grounds, donating them to the
county. Of the first frame houses iu Virginia, both built by Dr. Hall, one is now occu
pied by John Berryhill as a residence and the other, built for a store, is now used for a
dwelling, being located two blocks from the square and occupied and owned by the
Misses Suffern.

POSTSCRIPT. FINAL CORRECTION OF ERRORS.
Page 83. Twenty-si.xth line from top, 1823 should read 18.83.
Page 3.53. Fourteenth line from bottom, for " bank" read banks.
Page 255. Twenty-second line from top, for " these malarious diseases" read thus.
Page 256. Eighth line from bottom for "fe.at" read fact.
Page 333. The figures "033" cover patients only and to include all inmates should
be 746, milking the total 1,500 instead of "1,300."

x.^:^^^^

J. T. KING'S STORE, EAST SIDE SQUARE, JACKSONVILLE.

CHAPTER XV-

Biographical Sketches, with some Portraits of Prominent Citizens of Morgan Connty,
including many now numbered with the dead. The Pioneers, the Cattle Kings, the
Educators, the State Officials, the Politicians and tlie Business Men, such ns Strawn,
Alexander, King, Smith. Gillett, Carriel, Phillips, Bullard, Morljison, Dnnean, h'irht/.
Tanner, Bailey. Yates, Glover, Turner, Thomas, Sturtevant, Morse. Short, Sanders,
Moore, Tomlinson, Munroe, et al. Dwight) have survived their mother and
cheer the declining yeiirs of their father —
the subject of this brief sketch.
Mr. King has held many offlces of trust
in the Town Board of Trustees, City
Council, and as Mayor for one term.
Upon arriving in Jacksonville, he flrst en
gaged in the drug and hardware business,
afterwards was interested in tbe dry goods,
lumber and millingt trade. For the last
twenty-flve years of his life he has been
Superintendent of tbe City Gas Light and
Coke Company. It was through his activ
ity and zeal that the ball was started
which located here the State institutions
for the blind and insane and gave the
city its gas-light and water privileges.
For further information as to his useful
life here, see pages 107, 109, 114, 118,
121, 133, 135, 136, 145, 148, 193, 303, 304,
205, 253 of this volume.

HON. JOSEPH O. KING has been
frequently mentioned in the preceding
pages of this volume. We have tried to
give him due credit for his activity in
prominent local institutions and interests.
Mr. King was born in Enfield, Connecti
cut, in 1814, and came West in 1838. His
home was made in this city at that time,
and here has he remained, in active and
honored social, business and political life
until the present date. Mrs. King, who
has been called to heavenly rest, was
always a favorite in the social, musical
and religious circles of the city, and ever
ready to identify herself with that which
was pure, elevating and philanthropic.
Two sons (Edw. J. and William M.) and
two daughters (Miss Mary and Mrs. Emma

JACOB STRAWN, SR., agriculturist
and stock dealer, was born in Somerset
county, Pennsylvania, Jlay 30th, 1800, de
scending from English and Welsh ancestry.
His paternal ancestor came over in the
ship which brought William Penn.
His father, Isaiah Strawn, had four sons
and two daughters, and Jacob, the suliject
of this sketch, was the youngest of the
family. These children were early initia
ted into the mysteries of farming, in which
business the Strawn family in its various
branches has since become so distin
guished. Jacob Strawn inherited an unusual
share of the h-ardy vigor and energy of his
ancestors, and early manifested those
tastes and facilities for agricultural and

282

BlOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES.

business pursuits for which in later life
he became quite remarkable. He was
born of the soil, and had for it a kind of
filial regard. He took to fanning natur
ally and from a love of the employment.
It was the bent of his mind. But his
special inclination was to the handling
of cattle. When but ten years of age he
had ideas of stock-raising, and began oper
ations in that line, which foreshadowed
the talent and success subsequently evinced
in the same. These native tendencies
were but little stimulated or modified by
advantages of education, which at that
time and in the rural region where his
boyhood was spent were very limited. In
the year 1817 the family removed to Lick
ing county, Ohio, where they renewed the
business of farming, but on a much larger
scale. Two years later, at the age of nineteen,
Jacob was married to Matilda Green, a
daughter of a Baptist minister in the
neighborhood. He was soon settled on a
farm of his own, not far from his father's,
and at once began to breed and deal in
cattle and horses, and was so successful in
this line of business that in a few years he
was worth several thousand dollars. But
desiring to extend his operations beyond
what was possible on a comparatively
small tract of land in Ohio, he turned his
eye towards the rich and cheap prairies
of Illinois, and in 1831 settled in Morgan
oounty, four miles southwest from Jack
sonville, on the large farm for so long the
homestead and still the property of the
family. A that time he was probably
worth from six to eight thousand dollars.
In the December following his wife died ;
she had borne him Seven children, of
whom three sons are living and largely
engaged in agricultural pursuits.
In July, 1832, he married Phcebe Gates,
daughter of Samuel Gates, of Greene
county, Illinois, By his second marriage
he had five sons and one daughter, of
whom three sons survive, and are owners
of large agricultural estates, settled upon
them by their father some years previous
to his decease.
His settlement in Illinois marks an era
in western farming, but especially in stock-
raising. Once firmly fixed on his vast

farm, exceeding eight thousand acres of
rich and beautiful land, in a few years he
had it all under fence and a large portion
of it under cultivation. From time to time
he added to his estates large tracts of val
uable land in other places in furtherance
of his vast plan of stock- feeding, and with
a vieW of supplying the great markets of
the East, South and West. His vast herds
were often seen passing from one of these
farms to another. No one thought of
competing with him in this business; no
one could well do so, for if any had tlie
necessary funds, they had not the required
genius for enterprises of such a character.
They had not the generalship which com
bines such numerous operations and suc
cessfully directs them to a single end.
It is related that to defeat a formidable
combination to break down his trade in
St. Louis he sent out agents upon every
road leading to that city with positive in
structions to purchase every drove on the
way thither, and so well was this move
ment conducted that for a time, ample
enough to show his capacity to cope with
any such clique, he held a complete mo
nopoly of the trade. None of his great
success was due to chance, or what is call
ed good fortune ; but it was all the legiti
mate result of wise foresight, prudent
management, and a most untiring industry,
wnile not a little was due to a ceaseless
activity, both of mind and body, which
few men would be capable of,- whatever
their talent or disposition might be. He
had wonderful physical endurance. He
did not spend much time in bed, or in the
house, but a great deal in the saddle,
niglit and day, when gathering and direct
ing the movements of his vast herds. His
business was his pleasure ; he got much of
his sleep and rest on horseback. Certain
maxims, which he published for the bene
fit of others, were the secret of his own
prosperity. Some of them sound like
Benjamin Franklin's and are worthy to be
placed with them; for instance these:
"When you wake up do not roll over but
roll out," "I am satisfied that getting up
early, industry, and regular habits are the
best medicines ever prescribed for health,"
"Study your interests closely, and don't
spend any time in electing presidents.

BlOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES.

283

senators, and other small officers, or talk
of hard times when spending your time in
town whittling . on store boxes, etc.,"
"Take your time and make your calcula
tions ; don't do things in a hurry, but do
them at the right time, and keep your
mind as well as your body employed."
It is well known that he made no pro
fessions of piety. Yet he believed rellKion
important and necessary. He had faults
peculiar to a person of powerful passions
and strange eccentricities, but his life was
an example of manj- worthy qualities and
deeds In uprightness he was severe ; in
honesty unquestioned. He had a high
sense of honor. His word he held sacred.
His promptitude in meeting promises was
proverbial. He came to time in making
payments, and required those who owed
him to do the same Yet he was kind as
well as just; he was slow to take advan
tages of any person's necessities or mis
fortunes. He had no sympathy for the
lazy, but he was a friend to the industrious
poor ; he had a warm heart for the labor
ing class, and he did not coldly turn away
from any well authenticated tale of sorrow.
During the late war he was strong tor
the Union cause, and generous in his ex-
IDressions of regard for our soldiers in the
hospital and the field. At one time he
contributed ten thousand dollars to aid the
Christian Commission. Other citizens of
the county giving a like amount at the
same time. He was also instrumental in
sending fifty milch cows to Vicksburg for
the relief of the wounded and suffering
troops at that place.
He was a true patriot, and his habits
were marked by extreme simplicity, as
became the greatest farmer of the republic.
He made no show of dress or equipage.
He thought more of well tilled fields and
handsome stock than of all personal adorn
ment. He hated all show and sham, but
admired all substantial worth. He had
the strong temptations of opulence and
passion, but he was remarkably free from
the vices which often spring up in the
midst of such infiuences. The young, es
pecially, may profit from his example of
industry, frugality, honesty, and strict
temperance. In principle and habit he
was a thorough total abstinence man.

never using intoxicating liquor in any
shape, and not furnishing it for laborers
or for guests. He could not endure men
about him who indulged in strong drink.
Tobacco also he discarded as both unneces
sary and injurious. He could not bear
the presence or enjoy the company of per
sons given to any bad principles, vulgar
habits, or low vices.
After a life of almost unexampled activ
ity, and of very unusual success in accom
plishing the worldly objects at which he
aimed, he died suddenly at his home,
August 23d, 1865, from a disease to which
for many years he had been subject.
His funeral was largely attended, and on
the 17th of September following, a com
memorative discourse was delivered by
Rev. L. M. Glover, D. D., the pastor of
the family, in Strawn's Hall, Jacksonville.
Mr. Strawn is buried in the beautiful
"Diamond Grove Cemetery," an expensive
and worthy monument marking the spot.
The Strawn mansion is occupied by ten
ants of his surviving widow, who is spend
ing the latter portion of her busy life in a
home of elegant ease and hospitality
located on AVest College Avenue, Jackson
ville. His sons Julius E., Isaiah and
Gates are also residents of the city at the
present time.

JOHN ADAMS, LL. D., was born on
the 18th of September, 1772, in Colches
ter, Connecticut; he was, consequently,
four years old when the Declaration of
Independence was declared. He was
born when these United States were colo
nies, under George III. He saw the Fed
eral Government at its beginning, wit
nessed its growth and prosperity for nearly
three-quarters of a century ; voted at every
Presidential election from Washington
to Lincoln, inclusive.
He had a strong and vigorous consti
tution, which had much to do with the re
sults of his long and remarkable life.
He received a liberal education, en
tering Yale College in the year 1791, at
the age of nineteen. He graduated with
a sound scholarship; to the culture and
knowledge there acquired, he added that
of constant study and mental action, to
the end of life.

284

BlOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES.

When he left college, he intended to
study law, but the sickness of his mother,
to whom he was devoted changed his
plans, and he commenced the business of
teaching in 1795, which occupation he
followed for forty-eight years. He was
principal of literary institutions in Canter
bury, Colchester, and Plainfield, Conn.
In 1810 he was invited to become Princi
pal of Phillips Academy, at Andover,
Massachusetts ; an institution designed to
prepare young men for college. Eleven
hundred and nineteen pupils were admit
ted under his administration.
In 1837, Mr. Adams, having resigned
his situation at Andover, turned his face
towards the Western country, locating in
Jacksonville, taking charge of the Female
Academy, until 1843, when he resigned,
having placed the institution on a firm
and substantial basis.
His pupils from these different institu
tions, numbering some 4,000, are scattered
over this and other countries, occupying
places of honor and usefulness.
He was a lover of children and youth
and possessed the rare art of winningtheir
confidence and love. At the age of sev
enty he engaged in the Sunday-School
work, and organized in destitute places
322 schools, embracing more than 16,000
scholars. He was the first one who gave
life and zeal to this work in this region
of country, lie was for a long time Su
perintendent of the Sunday-School con
nected with the First Presbyterian Church
in this city, and for a quarter of a century
a member of the Session
He received the title of Doctor of Laws
from his Alma Mater, but was universally
greeted by one dearer to him than any
other, " Father Adams."
He was of an equable and happy dis
position. A combination of personal and
social (fualitles gave him access to many
hearts. He was a daily student of the Bi
ble ; a sincere and earnest Christian, a
bright, cheerful, happy man. He lived a
long and honored life, and died. April
34, 1863 in the 91st year of his age.
The Trustees of Pnillips Academy re
quested that his remains should be borne
to New England, and laid by the side of
those men who, in their early days, were

banded together to establish literary and
benevolent institutions, which should bless
not only the States bordering the Atlantic,
but be felt throughout the world. The
first religious newspaper, the Bible* and
Tract Societies, Foreign Missions, and
other kindred associations were born on
that hill, and consecrated to God. But his
last request was that he might be laid be
neath the prairie sod of his much loved
and adopted home. No tall or costly
shaft, but the simple epitaph, "A lover of
children, a teacher of youth, be inscribed
upon the granite which should mark his
last resting place

CAPT. ALEXANDER SMITH, propri
etor of the Dunlap House, was born in
Eaton, Ohio, June 27, 1844. He emigrated
to Atlanta, 111., in 1859.
He enlisted as a private soldier in
Company E, 7th Illinois Infantry, April
17, 1861, to serve three months. The
company was the first in Camp Yates, at
Springfield, under the Governor's call for
troops. It was stationed, during its term
of enlistment, at Alton, Cairo and Mound
City. He was very apt in learning mili-
tarj' duty, so much so that at the organ
ization of the company for the three years
service he was unanimously elected first-
lieutenant of the company, though not.

BlOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES.

285

quite seventeen years old, and on the
12th of March, 1862, before reaching his
eighteenth year, he was promoted to the
captaincy for gallantry at the siege of Fort
Donaldson. He was mustered out of the
service at the termination of the war, at
Louisville, Ky., in 1865, after having
served continuously for over four years
and seven months, and participated in all
the great battles, marches and sieges in
which the Army of the Tennessee took
part, from Belmont, Donaldson, Shiloh
Seige of Corinth, Battle of Corinth, Al-
toona Pass, Atlanta, March to the Sea
Bentonville, N. C, (last battle of the war),
to the flnal great event of the war,
the grand review at Washington. At the
battle of Altoona Pass (Ga.), the company
which he had the honor to command lost,
in a square stand-up fight, tbe unpre
cedented number of sixteen men killed
outright, two mortally wounded, a loss
said to have never been equalled during
the war, in one company,
Capt. Smith returned to Illinois at the
close of the war, and for four years was
clerk of the Essex House, at Mattoon.
He came to Jacksonville in 1869, and
was clerk of the Dunlap House till 1874;
clerk of the Park Hotel till 1875; man
ager of the Dunlap House, 1876; propri
etor of the Park Hotel from 1876 to 1880 ;
owner and proprietor of the Dunlap
House and Park Hotel since and now.

J. R. BAILEY, editor and publisher
the founder of the Jacksonville Sentinel,
and its editor and publisher from January
1855, to January, 1872— seventeen years—
Avas a native of Bucks county, Pennsylva-
ni;i. He was of Protestant Irish descent;
his ancestors emigrated from the north of
Ireland during an early period in the first
settlement of the colony of Pennsylvania.
They bought a tract of land on the banks
of the Delaware river, some thirty miles
above Philadelphia, of the London Land
Company, on which they settled, and on
part of which some of their descendents
yet reside. Here the subject ot this
sketch was born, in May, 1818. In 1824
his father sold his farm and moved with
his family to the city of Philadelphia.

At the age of fourteen years he found it
necessary to quit school and engage in
the active business of life. He first
served two years at the printing business,
in a small German and English office. At
this time buckskin balls were in use for
inking the type, and he remembers work
ing at one time on the old wooden press
used bj' Benjamin Franklin during his
publishing career in Philadelphia, since
on exhibition at the Patent Office at
Washington. It came about in this way :
The Franklin press had fallen into the
hands of Mr. Ramage, the veteran Phila
delphia press maker, who had it stored
away. The Ramage press in the office
needed repairing, and while this was be
ing done, the old wooden Franklin press
was loaned to the offlce as a substitute.
The frame was like that of an ordinary
country loom ; the bed of stone and the
platen a block of wood, just half the size
of the bed, requiring two impressions to
a full form. Tiring of the printing office,
young Bailey, at the age of sixteen years,
commenced to learn the carpenter trade,
and in company with his brother, Judge
J. S. Bailey, of Macomb, 111., he worked
at that business two more years. Desiring,
however, a vocation giving him more out
door exercise, and seeing an opportunity
to better his condition by moving farther
West, Mr. Bailej^ made up his mind to
such a move. After his marriage to Miss
Ann Henderson, a young lady from New-
Jersey, he removed to Iowa, and com
menced the work of building up a home
on his claim, the land not yet being in
market. At that day the country was
very new, the entire territory being in
possession of the Indians, with the e.xcep-
tion of a narrow strip along the Missis
sippi river, known as the Black Hawk
Purchase. All supplies had to come
from the east side of the Mississippi,
and the flrst settlers underwent man}'
hardships, Mr. Bailey having to shoulder
his full share of the exposure and hard
ship of a frontier life. Not yet twenty-
three years old, and unaccustomed to the
use of the pioneer's a.x and maul, he found
making rails and building log cabins
heavy work ; but he persevered until his
farm was fenced and broken and the land

286

BlOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES.

paid for. During the flrst year of his set
tlement, Mr. Bailey began to take an act
ive part in politics; was elected a justice
of the peace, and in 1844 he received the
Democratic nomination for Representa
tive in the Territorial Legislature. In the
meantime the Indian title to the lands
west to the Missouri river had been extin
guished by purchase, and a number of
new counties had been laid out and set
tled, Wapello, the new county west of
Jefferson, became attached for legislative
purposes, the district thus formed to be
represented by one Member of the Council
and one Representative. The Democrats
of Wapello claimed the Representative, and
Mr. Bailey voluntarily retired from the
canvass to give place to another. During
the next two years a State constitution was
formed, and Iowa became a State. In the
fall of 1846 Mr. Bailey was nominated by
the Democrats of Jefferson county, again
a district by itself — for Representative to
the flrst State Legislature. He was elect
ed, and thus participated in setting the
wheels of the new State government in
motion, serving during the sessions of
1847-'48. Both these sessions were char
acterized by stormy excitement over the
election of the flrst United States Sena
tors, and the Legislature' failed to elect
until the session of 1849. During this
period he began to exercise his talents as
writer, contributing articles of a political
character to the local press, and hence his
attention became directed to the publish
ing business. In 1852 Mr. Bailey sold his
farm and removed to Mt, Sterling, Brown
county. 111. Here he commenced his
carreer as editor and publisher, by invest
ing in a newspaper office that had been
established by John Bigler, who went to
California in 1849, and afterward became
Governor of that State. The paper was
called the Prairie Pioneer, but the name
was afterward changed to Chronotype.
While publishing this sheet, Mr. Bailey
was appointed postmaster under Mr.
Pierce's administration, and held theofflce
three years, resigning when he removed
to Jacksonville, in the winter of 1855.
Since that time the history of J. R. Bailey
has been intimately blended with the his
tory of Morgan county, there having been

few matters of public interest in which,
as a journalist, he has not taken an active
part. He was an active member of the
Illinois Press Association ; was one of the
committee that drafted its constitution,
and was twice elected treasurer of the
association. During 1854 he suffered domestic mis
fortune in the loss of his wife and two
children. During the fall of 1861 he was
united in marriage to Miss Mary T. Wil
liams, a lady of some local literary repu-
tation. About this time the long agitation of
the slavery question culminated in the
Southern rebellion, and during the con
tinuance of that war Mr. Bailey was of
the class of Democratic editors who advo
cated a vigorous prosecution of the war
for the purpose of crushing out the rebel
lion, and in this he was sustained by the
leading men of his party in the county.
As before stated, Mr. Bailey established
the Jacksonville Sentinel in 1855, and
published it as editor and proprietor for
seventeen years — embracing a period of
long-continued high political excitement
and full of historical incidents. Such
long-continued, active labors began to im
pair his health, and in 1872 his eyesight
so far failed that he was unable to read or
write, even with the aid of the strongest
glasses. Having no sons of an age to as
sist him, he disposed of the Sentinel es
tablishment to other parties, and resided
on his farm near Jacksonville, living a
retired and quiet life until his death, Au
gust 19, 1880, from cancer of the mouth.
The remains of Mr. Bailey were in
terred in Jacksonville cemetery, August
20th, with the impressive burial service of
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows,
of which fraternity he was for many years
an active member in good standing.
Eight children survived him, including
Mrs. J. H. Hackett, Mrs. Reeves, and Mrs.
D. H. Hall, of this city.
At a meeting of the representatives of
the press of Jacksonville, at the Journal
editorial rooms, to take same action in re
lation to his death, the following resolu
tions were adopted :
Whbbeas, The press fraternity of Jack
sonville are called upon to mourn the

BlOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES.

287

death of Mr. James R. Bailey, the found
er and publisher of the Illnois Sentinel
(now Courier) in 1855 ; and
Whereas, In the death of this pioneer
of journalism in this city, it being
the first recorded of the kind in our
midst, it is fitting that this meeting
of those now and heretofore connected
with the publishing enterprises of the
city, should bear willing testimony to his
many virtues as an editor and publisher.
Therefore, Resolved, That we recognize in the
character of our departed friend and pre
decessor a man worthy of his calling, a
forceful writer, conservative in his views,
but firm in his purpose to serve the pub
lic interests in his day, ever faithful as
one who sought the public good, and la
bored most industriously for the achieve
ment of just ends.
Resolved, That the members of the press
of this city hereby tender their heartfelt
sympathy to the widow and bereaved
friends and commend them to the conso
lation to be drawn from the example of
uprightness manifested in the life of him
who has been called to his reward.
Signed— C. M. Eames. H. L. Clay, N.
C. A. Rayhouser, J. S. Hambaugh, Jos. J,
Ironmonger, M, N, Price, Geo. E. Doying,
Ensley Moore, Geo. N. Loomis, J. Aug.
Fay, G. W. Fanning.

JOHN T. ALEXANDER, stock-raise ,
was born September 15, 1820, in Western
Virginia, and when but six years old re
moved to Ohio with his father, who en
gaged in agricultural pursuits. He en
joyed in his youth but few opportunities
for securing an education, and was en
gaged in roughing it through the continu
ous labors incidental to a farm in a newly
opened country. When thirteen years of
age he began to assist his father, then an
extensive drover, in sending his cattle to
the Eastern market, and from that period
until reaching his twentieth year he
passed his time in driving his father's
herds from Ohio, over the AUeghanies, to
Philadelphia, Baltimore, New York, and
Boston. His father, then suffering se
vere reverses in fortune, he determined
to go farther West and commence life
upon his ovvn account. He traveled to
St. Louis, where he was soon employed,
at a moderate salary, by a firm which at
that time transacted the largest live-stock
business in that section of the country.

His employers, discovering the unusual
precision of his judgment in estimating
and averaging the weight of cattle, de
tailed him to travel into the interior to
¦ make purchases, and he served them faith.
fully and satisfactorily for many months
in this capacity. He then ended his ser
vice with them and, on a small scale,
suitable to his limited means, commenced
to fatten cattle for the markets on his own
account. For three years he was thus oc
cupied, gradually increasing his herd,
until it reached such proportions that he
felt justified in setting out as a drover.
He accordingly took 250 head of fat cattle
to Boston, occupying the entire summer
in driving them to that market, and sold
them at a price that yielded him a hand
some profit.
For three years he continued in this
line of business, and then concluded to
establish a large stock farm. In 1848 he
made his first purchase, buying a tract of
land in Morgan county, Illinois, for $3
per acre, which is now worth $100 per
acre. This tract, which lies ten miles
from Jacksonville, on the Toledo, Wabash
& Western railroad, soon became, under
his management, one of the most valuable
stock-farms in the State. He made it the
site of his residence, and by gradual ad
ditions enlarged his possessions in
this section, until they covered 6,000
acres. Soon after his original purchase
in 1848, he stocked his farm with cattle,
purchased mainly in Missouri, and within
a few years was the owner of the largest
herds in the State. By judicious pur
chases and sales he acquired a very large
fortune, part of which he unfortunately
lost in the years 1854-'55, by reason of the
great expense of keeping his stock, occa
sioned by the severe droughts, which
killed the crops, and the unusual decline in
prices. In 1856 he was remarkably
successful in all his ventures, clearing in
that year $60,000. In 1859 he fattened
15,000 head of choice cattle, for which he
obtained a ready sale in the large Eastern
cities ; but the closing of this year's ope
rations indicated, what very few suspect
ed, that his losses overbalanced the value
of his entire estate. Upon the breaking
out of the rebellion, great inducements

288

Biographical Sketches.

were offered stock-raisers by the heavy
decline in prices in Missouri, occasioned
by the insecure tenure of all personal
property. By taking advantage of this
opportunity for cheap jDurchases, Mr. Al
exander completely retrieved his lost for
tune, and at the close of the rebellion was
a millionaire. He subsequently bought
the "Sullivant" farm, of 20,000 acres,
afterwards called " Broad Lands," situated
on the Toledo, Wabash & Western Rail
road, in Champaign county, Illinois, in
order to have all the necessary facilities
for handling vast herds of cattle. He ex
perienced, soon after, many reverses, los
ing many cattle by SiJanish fever, and
large sums of money by the repudiation
of certain railroad contracts for ship
ments. His losses in one year aggregated
$350,000. These misfortunes produced a
crisis in his affairs, and by a failure to
sell his " Broad Lands," for which the
agreements had been partially drawn up,
he was compelled to assign his entire es
tate for the benefit of his creditors. Not
withstanding the fact that his liabilities
exceeded $1,200,000, his estate paid his
creditors dollar for dollar. His estate
now includes the "home" farm of 6,000
acres, composed of the most arable land
in the State, 2,000 acres of which are
yearly planted with corn. The remaining
4,000 acres are used for the pasturage of
a herd of from 2,000 to 3,000 cattle, and
this stock is regarded as the finest in the
West. He required, at one time, for his
farm labor forty yoke of oxen and eighty
horses and mules.
He was a man of large means and of
generous impulses. He was tall and com
manding in :;ppearance, sanguine in tem
perament and unassuming in manner.
He was the possessor of fine social quali
ties, and conscientious in all his business
transactions. These traits secured for
him the respect of the entire community,
and the confidence of merchants through
out the country.
At the age of twenty -four he was mar
ried to Miss Mary Deweese. They had a
family of eight children, flve of whom
are still living, to mourn the loss of their
loved father.
Mr. Alexander's last trip to the East

was made some three ^veeks before his
death, August 22, 1876. The very day
after reaching New York he was violently
attacked with chronic diarrhrea, a disease
from which he had suffered before, in fact
was not free from trouble with it when he
left home. He became better and started
upon his return. By the time he reached
Detroit the malady returned with renewed
and prostrating severity He telegraphed
his son AVilliam, who was at home, to
come to bim. He did so, remaining with
his father until he felt able to renew
his journey, wliich was after a rest of
six days in Detroit. The physician there
said his condition was a precarious one,
but a change for the better came and be
thought himself able to bear tbe journey.
The invalid was attacked again at Dan
ville, so that by the time he reached his
home near Alexander Station, ten miles
east of Jacksonville, lie was in a very en
feebled condition. This was upon Friday,
August 18th, and he grew rapidly worse
until on Sunday there remained no hope
of his recovery, and Monday evening, at
11 o'clock, he succumbed to the great de
stroyer. His wife and children — John T.,
William H., Lizzie, Lou (the bride of a
few* weeks previous), and Annie — and
many other relatives were at his bedside.
The widow and sons still occupy the old
homestead and home farm, at Alexander,
JOSEPH W. KING was born in Hart
ford, Conn., in the year 1808. When he was
eight years old his father died. He, with
his mother, went to Westfleld Mass., and
remained there till his education was fin
ished, then returned to his native city and
learned the jeweler's business; after that
he established himself in his former home
in Massachusetts.
In 1833 he was married to Miss Abbie
E. Hamilton, who still survives. Some
years after, indications of failing health
induced him to try the effect of a warm-
er climate. He spent three years in the
South, most of the time in Mobile.
Not wishing to make his home there, and
feeling that the climate had not benefitted
him as he had hoped, and being advised
by his physicians to go to a prairie coun
try, and spend much ot his time in out-

BlOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES,

280

door employment, he came to Jackson
ville in 1838, and established the jewelry
business ; and here was his home for the
remainder of his life.
Mr. King was a genial, warm-hearted
man, a kind husband, an excellent neigh
bor, generous to a large extent. He took
a lively interest in all schemes to invite
business enterprise here and contributed
liberally to further all such eflorts. His
hand was always open and his means freely
given to aid the soldiers during the war.
In politics he was an old Clay Whig,
till in 1856 he was appointed a delegate to
the State Convention which formed the
republican party in this State, to which
he always adhered.
It was the good fortune of some of our
citizens to be with him at the convention
which nominated Mr. Lincoln for Presi
dent, and they will never forget his en
thusiasm on that occasion.
Mr. King was appointed one of the
Trustees of the Soldiers' Orphans' Home,
and was selected as treasurer of the Board,
which he held during the entire period of
its construction.
Early in the year 1884 he w-as deeply
affected by the death of his only son, John,
a young man in the prime of his manhood,
to whom he had fondly looked as the stay
and support of his advancing years. The
severity of the stroke was more than his
physical organization could bear, and
yielding to an attack of fever, he passed
away, and we laid him in our beautiful
cemetery in May, 1884; a few months only
intervening between the burial and the
golden wedding celebration.
All deeply sympathized with the be
reaved family, where "his place is vacant
at the table, his footsteps no longer heard
in the hall;" they miss his friendly gi-eet-
ing on the streets, his animated and en
thusiastic expressions relating to current
events, and a large circle of friends are
saddened with the thought that they shall
see his face no more. See pages 119, 125,
132, 151, 232, 288.
COL. JOHN W. KING, only child of
Joseph W. and Abby, dropped from life's
ranks ere the march was ended. In the
strength and beauty of his manhood, he

faded away. God's finger touched him
and he slept.
In 1839, a fair, curly-headed boy of four
years came with his parents from West-
field, Massachusetts. From childhood to
youth and then to manhood, John King-
made this his home. He was of a happy,
frolicsome disposition when young ; genial
and social in after years. His attach
ments were strong and his friends nu
merous. He attended the public schools of this
city, also Illinois College for a time, and .
also Mr. Wyman's school in St. Louis.
In 1859 he entered into partnership
with his father in the jewelry business.
At the first call for three months troops
in 1861, he entered Company B, 10th
Regiment of Infantry, but was soon after
promoted to the captaincy. At the expir
ation of three months he returned home.
At the next call for three months troops,
he formed a company and entered the
68th Regiment, and went to Alexandria,
Virginia. He was sent up the James
river with rebel prisoners in exchange for
Union soldiers. He soon after returned
home. He ranked as colonel on Gov-
Yates' staff, which position he held during
that administration.
In 1869 he went to Chicago and re
mained one year; he then entered the
revenue service for a short time in this
place. He married, in 1873, Miss Eva Lillian
Atwood, of Alton, a descendent of one of
our best New England families. She,
with her only son, survives.
He afterwards entered into partnership
with others in the jewelry business, but
for the last few years was alone.
He was a member of a number of secret
orders; held a position in the Knights of
Honor, and in the Grand Army of the
Republic, and was once an active Mason
and Odd Fellow.
He was fond of reading and had laid
the foundation for a large and valuable
library. His home was his delight. A
loving husband and son, a devoted and
fond father.
For some time before his death he had
been interested in books which related to
the life beyond, and on the mystery we

290

BlOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES,

call death. At the funeral of a young-
friend, one week previous to his sickness,
he expressed satisfaction at the remarks
uttered, and standing over tlie casket said,
" This is not death, but life.'"
For some months he was a sufferer,
though not complaining. One night he
returned from business in great pain ; laid"
down to rest, never again rising to attend
to business. For three weeks he alter
nated between hope and fear; all that
love and care could bestow was lavished
I upon him, but of no avail — he gradually
failed. He conversed but little, but bright
visions floated before him, and waving his
hand as forms of beauty, exquisite flowers
and attractive children passed, he would
exclaim " How beautiful ! "
On the afternoon of the 3d of March
1884, the last word was spoken, the last
fond look was given, the hand clasped in
his was dropped, the eye closed, and John
King went to sleep ; he slept on, uncon
scious of the loved ones bending over him,
until, the next afternoon, as the sun was
setting, leaving only its faded light, he
passed away. See pages 159, 333, 389.
REV. WILLIAM HENRY MILBURN,
lecturer, better known as the " blind man
eloquent," was born in Philadelphia, Penn
sylvania, on September 35, 1826. His
father was a merchant, but meeting with
reverses, removed to Jacksonville, 111., in
1838. William was an active, robust boy,
possessed of perfect faculties, both bodily
and mental, but at the age of five met
with an accident which resulted in his
blindness. He was playing with another
lad in an open lot, engaged in throwing
at a mark, when his companion, in lifting
his hand to cast a piece of iron hoop or
something of the kind, inadvertently
struck the edge of it into Milburn's eye.
From this accident, however, the eye re
covered without injury to vision, except
that the scar formed a slight protuberance
which interfered with the sight downward,
but not direct or upward. This protuber
ance the physician decided to burn off
-with caustic, an operation which, twice
repeated, was hard for the boy to bear.
He begged for relief, and at last resisted,
declaring that he could not endure it.

Upon this the physician seized him in
his arms, forced the caustic upon the
wound, and in the struggle both eyes of
the poor boy were dashed with it. As a
remedy he was confined in a dark room,
and both eyes were kept bathed with a so
lution of lead for two years, during which
time the pupils became permeated with
depositions of lead, and light was shut out,
with the exception of the left upper cor
ner of the right eye, through which nar
row aperture objects were visible. By
placing a narrow shade over the eye, the
hand convexly shaped beneath it, and
leaning the body forward at an angle of
forty-five degrees, Milburn was able to
read ; seeing, however, only one letter at
a time. By this slow process, and by the
aid of friends Avho read to him, he was
obliged to get his education. Cut off from
most sports, he became absorbed in read
ing, and day after day would sit in the
constrained posture necessary to see,
poring over books often twelve hours
out of the twenty-four. His constitution
was so good, that he did not suffer under
his confinement and unnatural attitude
until he was nineteen years of age, when
a senior in college ; then his health sud
denly gave way, and it was discovered
that he had a slight curvature of the spine
and some internal organic disease. He
left college and joined the Illinois Con
ference as a traveling preacher, on Sep
tember 26, 1843, on his twentieth birthday.
Before being regularly recognized by the
Conference, in the spring and summer of
1843, he traversed a region of 1,000 miles
in extent, preaching every Saturday
and Sunday, and three or four times dur
ing the week, always in company with his
theological instructor, his text-book and
his seminary course.
In September 1845, he moved East by
order of the Conference, to present the
cause of education and collect funds for
the establishment of Methodist schools
and colleges. On his journey he found
himself on board of an Ohio river steam
er, on which were 300 passengers. From
the number of days the passengers had
been together Mr. Milburn had become
well informed of their character, and he
found that most prominent among the

BlOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES.

291

gentlemen were a number of Members of
Congress, on their way to Washington.
These gentlemen had attracted his atten
tion on account of their exceptional hab
its. On Sunday morning Mr. Milburn
was invited to preach. He consented, and
in due time began Divine service. The
Members of Congress were among the
congregation, and by common consent had
possession of the chairs nearest to the
preacher. Mr. Milburn gave an address
suitable to the occasion, full of eloquence
and- pathos, and was listened to through
out with intense interest. At the conclu
sion he stopped short, and turning his
face, now beaming with fervent zeal, to
wards the " honorable gentlemen," he
said: "Among the passengers on this
steamer are a number of Members of
Congress. From their position they
should be exemplars of good morals and
dignified conduct ; but from what I have
heard of them, they are not so. The
union of these States, if dependent on
such guardians, would be unsafe, and all
' the liigli hopes I have of the future of
my country would be dashed to the
ground. These gentlemen, for days past,
have made the air heavy with profane
conversation, have been constant patrons
of the bar and encouragers of intemper
ance ; nay, more, the night, which should
be devoted to rest, has been dedicated to
the horrid vices of gambling, profanity
and drunkenness. And," continued Mr.
Milburn, with the solemnity of a man
who spoke as if by inspiration, " there is
but one chance of salvation for these sin
ners in high places, and that is to humbly
repent of their sins, call on the Savior for
forgiveness, and reform their lives."
As might be supposed, language so bold
from a delicate stripling, scarcely twenty
two years of age, had a startling effect,
and made a deep impression on the gen
tlemen particularly addressed.
After Mr. Milburn haa returned to his
state-room, a gentleman entered and said
that he came with a message from the
Members of Congress; tliat they had
listened to his remarks, and in considera
tion of his boldness and eloquence, they
desired him to accept a purse of money
which they had made up among them

selves, and also their best wishes for his
success and happiness in life. Further
more, they offered to make him Chaplain
to Congress at the approaching session —
a promise which they fulfilled.
And thus Mr. Milburn, at the age of
twenty-two, entered upon the duties of
his new and responsible position, the
youngest man who has ever opened his
mouth in either house of Congress. This
election to the offlce of Chaplain to Con
gress, so honorably conferred, brought
him before the nation, and his name be
came familiar in every part of the Union.
His health still being delicate, in the year
1847 he went South, for the advantage of
a mild climate, and took charge of a
church in Alabama. For six years he
labored industriously in Montgomery and
Mobile, and in four years of that time
preached 1,500 times and traveled over
60,000 miles.
In December, 1853, he was re-elected
Chaplain to Congress, which post he held
till March, 1855.
During the summer of the last-named
year, he prepared a course of lectures,
entitled " Sketches of the Early History
and Settlements of the Mississippi Val
ley," which were flrst delivered before
the Lowell Institute, at Boston, in Decem
ber; and afterwards published bj^ Derby
& Jackson, New York. The same flrm
also published "Rifie, Axe and Saddle
bags," in 1856, and " Ten Years of Preach
er Life," in 1857.
In 1857 Mr. Milburn went to Europe
and remained about six months. He was
everywhere cordially received, both by
Wesleyan and Church of England people,
and preached and lectured wherever he
went. In the spring of 1868 he again went to
Europe, for the purpose of having his eye
operated upon by the celebrated oculist
Von Graef e, of Berlin. ^ The operation
took place, but no increase of vision re
sulted therefrom. He is now unable to
see any object, and has but a dim percep
tion of light.
In 1865, for personal reasons, he joined
the Episcopal Church, and in 1871, these
reasons having ceased, he returned to the
Methodists.

2!)^

BlOGEAPHICAL SivETCHES.

For the jsast thirty years he has been
largety engaged in lecturing; he has
spoken from Maine to California, from
Minnesota to Louisiana. He speaks, on
an average, seven times a week for nine
months of the year, and travels 30,000
miles. His health is now superb; and,
from present indications, he has before
him many years of activity and useful
ness. His parents were both well known and
honored citizens of Jacksonville to the
time of their deaths. His brother Nicho
las is still a resident of our city and, al
though crippled by a railroad accident, is
actively engaged in business, as agent for
coal companies.

JOSEPH TOMLINSON, our present
efficient Mayor, is a native of Bridgton,
New Jersey. At the age of eighteen
years he lost his father, after which he
removed to Philadelphia, Pa., and at the
age of 21 commenced business for himself.
His capital being limited and, in a large
city, his success not as great as he desired,
he disposed of his interest in the business
and in the spring of 1855 moved to Jack
sonville, where he has resided ever since
with the exception of one year, which he
spent in Aurora.
Mr. Tomlinson commenced business in
this city in a very humble way, but by his
perseverance, business qualities and ster

ling integrity has succeeded in building
up a large, and, we think, lucrative busi
ness. He takes rank to-day with our lead
ing business men. In 1875 Mr Tomlinson
was elected from the Fourth Ward to rep
resent it in the City Council, making an
efficient and useful member of the same.
In the spring of 1884 he was selected by
the Republicans of the city as a candidate
for Mayor, and after a spirited and closely
contested election, by the zeal of his
party, his fitness for the position and his
personal popularity his election was se- ¦
cured, and he was duly installed in the
office. He has discharged the duties of
the same with signal ability and univer
sal satisfaction. Mr. Tomlinson, though an
earnest Republican, is not a bitter parti
san. His ambition and desire seems to
be to encourage and advance every enter
prise that has for its object and aim tlie
general prosperity of the city and the ben
efit of his fellowmen.
The subject of this sketch is an active
member of Grace M. E. Church, of our
city, a pronounced and consistent tem|ier-
ance man, a w-orthy and useful citizen.
He was married in the city of Philadel
phia, in the year 1852, to Miss Eliza Jane
Apple, of said cily, and by their marriage
there have been three sons and one
daughter, all of ihem living and numbered
among our highly respected young people.
The daughter is the wife of Dr. T. Van
Welsh, a prominent druggist of our city.
Mr. Tomlinson has our best wishes for
his future welfare and success. See
also pages 202, 209.

ENSLEY MOORE is to-day one of the
most prominent of the young men of our
city, and identified with its best religious,
literary and political interests. He was
born in Springfield, III., April 16, 1846,
but taken to Perry, Pike county, a year or
two later, whence he removed to Jackson
ville in July, 1857. His early education
was in the West District School (now-
Second Ward, for which ward he is the
school board member)- under Principals
Bateman, Tunnel and Kirby, having the
personal instruction of the two latter
From Illinois College, where he was one

Biographical Sketches.

293

of the most active members of "Sigma Pi,"
he graduated in June, 1868. For several
months after his graduation he was
travelling and visiting in the East. In
April, 1869, he accepted the place of local
editor for the Daily Journal then in its
infancy, (Chapin & Glover, proprietors.)
This arrangement was but teniporary,
however, yet Mr. Moore's journalistic pro
pensities and abilities soon found him em
ployment on The Independent, the new
weekly of Messrs, Ironmonger and Funk,
during the years 1869-'70. A part of the
time he was associate editor. A year later
he was the monied partner in the book
binding business of Moeller ifc Moore, In
October, 1873, he was married to Miss
Clara, daughter of the late Rev. George I-
King, D. D., of Jerseyville. By this mar
riage there have been four children, three
of whom, William, Walter, Maggie K., and
an infant, are living in their happy West
State street home.
Mr. Moore has always been a zealous
Republican and active in city and county
politics. He was^elected an alderman for
the Second Ward in 1874, and returned as
elected in 1882, but "counted out." In
1881, was chosen by the city council as
water commissioner, and in 1883 elected
Member of the Board of Education from
the Second Ward.
He has long been a member of the
Westminster Presbyterian Church, and
has served as trustee of the same since
1870, being treasurer of the board about
one-half this time. The Sabbath School
of the church was under his superinten
dency during the years 1881 to 1884. See
pages 85, 108, 1'35, 151, 156, 174, 201, 202,
209, 262, 267, of this book.
REV. FRANKLIN W. PHILLIPS, M.
D., Superintendent of the Institution for
the Blind, was born November 5, 1827, on
Lulbegrud creek, Montgomery county,
Kentucky, and is the son of the late Rev.
Wm. Phillips, and grandson of John Phil
lips, formerly of Dorchester county, Mary
land. His parents both died in Cincin
nati, Ohio, and he then became an inmate
of the household of an uncle, living in
Paris, Indiana, where he remained about

three and one-half years. He returned to
Cincinnati in 1840, and was an interested
looker-on during the " log cabin and hard
cider campaign" of that year.
In the fall of 1840 he entered Wood
ward College, now Woodward High School,
of which Dr. B. P. Aydelotte was Presi
dent, and Dr. Joseph Ray, Professor of
Mathematics. He left college without
graduating; and, to prepare himself for
active life, served an apprenticeship of four
years with G. W. Townley & Bro., house-
carpenters. But having made a profes
sion of religion, in Februarj-, 1845, his
mind was directed to the ministry, and he
immediately set about a preparation for
that work. In September, 1848, he was
received into the Kentucky Conference of
the Methodist Episcopal Church South.
After eight years of active labor in the
ministry, he was compelled to desist and
located in 1856. Having studied medi
cine, he attended lectures in the Kentucky
School of Medicine," at Louisville, and
engaged in the practice thereof, first at
Livermore, on Green River, and afterwards
in Todd county, not far from the Tennes
see line, where he established a good
business Here he remained until near
the close of the w-ar, when he yielded to
the jiressure of circumstances and sought
peace and quiet by removing to Illinois,
arriving at Carlinville in December, 1864.
His original intention was to establish
himself as a physician, but the, way
seemed hedged up, and finding his health
impioved, he re-entered the ministry in
connection with the Illinois Annual Con
ference of the Methodist Episcopal
Church. In this work he has spent two
years in Mattoon, four in Jacksonville,
three in Springfield, and one year on the
Danville District.
In June, 1874, he was elected Superin
tendent of the Illinois Institution for the
education of the Blind, which position he
still retains.
He was married in October, 1853, to
Miss Lucy J., daughter of Rev. Richard
J. Dungan, of Maxville, Kentucky, and
has a family of three sons, two of whom
reside in Kansas, and one in Illinois.
For further reference to Dr. Phillips'
life here see pages 111, 171, 173, 175, 194
208, 333, 330 of this volume. See page 394.

i94

POETEAIT OF De. PhILLIPS.

\

REV. FRANKLIN W. PHILLIPS, M, D.,
Superintendent of Illinois In.stitution for the Education of the Blind,
jacksonville, illinois.

I )],]i Time EMiiiA\ iNC- ('AMrAinN ('Aiirdo^' ok 1s4o. The above
the .loiiiiN-Vi. Okkice, was an imitation of a similar one iMililisiied in
party w;is to lie c;iuglit. Tliis cut was pnlilished in the Illinois, in \\\
cauglit in it.

i-iit mailc by Mr .1. <). K
tlie (l('iiioci':itic paper to
h :\ mate shdwinu' tin- il

of tills city inul still preserved at
i-cprcsent the trap ))y whicli the whig
¦ad-fall sprung and Martin Van Buren

I'JVi Poem by an Old Settlee.

THE FIDNEER'S LOG- CilBIN,

The following poem was written by one of the modest old settlers of Sangamon
and read at the annual reunion in 1884 held on the spot where the flrst cabin in that
county was built. "President Matheny — The first move toward civilization was the log
cabin -which" Was a liouse of logs unhewed,
Ttat bore the marks of workmen rude.
Tlie logs were "notcKecl" and "saddled" down.
By "corner men" "round after round,"
On tlie first "round" tlie joists were laid
And "flattened" as ttie floor was made,
Wlien up about six feet or more,
Tbe logs were cut out for the "door"
Witb tbe "falling axe"' tbe work was done,
Pew other tools were used or known.
A smooth split piece then "fac'd" the "eends"
Secured by season'd hickory pins.
Then above^tbis a "round" or two
Built on, a "loft" tho' somewhat low.
Next came "eend" plates extending out
Beyond each corner about one foot.
And next the "rib :" a pole full length
Straight, and just large enough for strength,
Now "gable logs" slop'd at each end
Were built till tbe "riflge pole" was gain'd
And then around all take a sight
To see how near the "pitch" is right.
And if the "ribs"' are straight and true.
The next thing is tbe "roof" you know- —
Clap-boards "broke joint" are laid along
And then a "weight pole" straight and strong.
Rests on a "bearer" made to "scotch"
Bach end by resting in a "notch"
Cut near tbe end of tbe "eend plate,"
'Gainst which rests all the coming weight.
Another course "broke joint" comes next.
The end butt to the weight pole flxed.
Course after course thus neatly fitted
\\'ith -'weight poles" on, the roof completed.
And next tbe "fire-place" is made.
Pull four feet high and eight feet wide,
Tbe logs cut out, then split and framed
.lust like a cabin. At tbe end
A wall within this wooden square.
Of stone and clay, layer after layer.
Some two feet thick the "back walls" stood,
Tbe "jams" were less, but strong and good.
On this tbe chimney, wide below.
But narrowing &s it upward grew.
It was not made of stone or bricks.
But built in layers of mud and sticks,
Until it reacli'd the topmost roof.
And more of it was "plumb" enough.
fl'e should have mentioned, but forgot.
That it was plaster'd in and out.
A clapboard paddle was the tool
Then used for plastering, as a rule.

The Pio^'eer's Log Cabin. 297
The hearth wae made of native soil
And pounded with an "injun maul*'''
Then by the hearth— under the floor
With a loose "puncheon" for a door,
A hold was dug in which a "bin*"
Was made to keep the "taters" in,
The next work was to lay the floor
And make a "shutter" for the door,
The puncheons, mostly made of lind,
Some edges thick some edges thin,
This came, of course, as they were riven
And made the floor somewhat uneven.
By hewing off the rough edge bevel
Down to the thin, the floor was level.
Next came a floor up overhead
On which to have an extra bed.
The joists were poles, the bark peeled off.
The floor of clapboards like the roof
A ladder rear'd up for the guest
Would bring him to his cozy nest.
But to remain above while there
Requir*'d his utmost skill and care.
(A visitor once_,ro9e to dress
And mix'd the breakfast in a'mess
The clapboard slipp ''d and he fell through,
Clapboards aud all were brought to view
Table and tea and meat and bread
Were substituted for a bed.
Frightened and fiird with grief and pain
He hied him to his bed again.)
The door was framed with wondrous skill
And make to suit the maker's will,
Of clapboards shav'd and jointed too,
Sav'd from the^'pile the straight and true ;
Tho' roughs' and^strong, open or shut.
You ever found the latch string out.
A box behind this door was made,
In which to keep the corn for bread ;
Now comes the "chinking" of *;he cracks.
With pieces driven with an ax.
At angle plac'd, leaning one way.
And wedged and pounded in to stay.
Then came the "daubing," well mixed mud
With the same paddle made of wood.
Inside and out the work goes on,
The cracks all fllled, the cabin's done.
The last man in the'settlement
Is fixed to leave his wagon tent.
At the back end he bores some holes
In which to "fix*" some hickory poles.
The other ends he rests secure y
Upon a pole braced from the floor.
The first named in this bedroom set
"Tumbles to the racket" well, you bet,
And now to rest his weary head.
Washes his feet and goes to bed.
Aug. 5th, 1884. 1817-0. S.

298

Poeteait of De. Gillett.

PHILIP GOODE GILLETT, A. M., LL. D.,
Superintendent of Illinois Institution fob the Education of the Deaf & Dumb.
jacksonville, illinois.

BlOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES.

299

PHILIP GOODE GILLETT, A. M.,
LL. D., Superintendent of the Illinois
Institution for the Education of the Deaf
and Dumb, was born in Madison, Indiana,
March 24, 1833, his father being Samuel
Trumbull Gillett, a descendent of Jona
than Gillett, who emigrated from England
and settled at Dorchester, Massachusetts,
in 1630. I-Iis mother's family (the Goodes)
were among tbe founders of the first set
tlements on the James river, Virginia.
His father was early connected with the
United States Navy, and during his at-
taclunent to tbe Mediterranean squadron
visited tbe Holy Land, wliere ha received
religious iiniiressioDS which changed the
tenor of his life He resigned fron-i tbe
service and enrolled himself as an itiner
ant of the Methodist Episcopal Church,
and for forty-five years, up to the present
time, has faithfully pursued this higher
calling. His son Philip was educated at Indiana
A-^bur}' University, Greencastle, Indiana,
where he graduated in 1852. He accepted
the offer of a position in the Indiana In
stitution for the Education of the Deaf
:-nil Dumb, and entered upon its duties in
October, 1852. In April, 1850, he was se
lected as Principal of the Illinois Institu-
liim for ilio Educitioii of the Deaf and
Dumb, located at Jacksonville, and upon
his arrivMl be found it disorganized, its
raculty linikcn, and the entire fabric un
der a cliiiul of embarrassments. Out of
ibis ,;;ener;il wn>ck, by skill and undaunt-
ei.1 labdi-, be rci-erectcd the institution
upon a sounder basis, secured new and
better buildings, established a wholesome
disciiiline, and adopted a course of study
which was most adapted to the pe
culiar needs of the ' unfortunates for
whose benefit tbe institution was intend
ed. It has, under Dr. Gillett's manage
ment, become tbe largest and one of tlie
complctest of its kind in the world. The
State annually grants it a liberal support,
and the last report of an examining com
mittee of the Legislature was of the most
favorable character, and fiattering in its
tribute to the talent and energy of its Su
perintendent, whose efEorts of pen and
voice have been directed towards arousing
popular sympathy for the inmates of the
institution.

He was President of the International
Sabbath-School Convention, which, in 1872,
held its triennial meeting at Indianapolis,
and was twice selected as a member of the
International Committee, whose duty it is
to designate a seven years' course of study
in the Sacred Scriptures,
In 1865 he succeeded in establishing, by
legislative aid, an experimental school
for the education of feeble-minded chil
dren, and became its Superintendent, serv
ing without compensation.
He has been an active Sabbath-School
worker, and was one of a few gentlemen
who secured the adoption of a general
system of county associations of Sabbaih-
Schools. In 1871 his alma mater, In
diana Asbury University, conferred on him
the honorary degree of LL. D.
Ho was married. May 2, 1854, to Ellen
M. Pliipps, daughter of the late Isaac N.
Phipps, a prominent citizen of Indianap
olis. He is the father of four children,
one of whom, Mrs. Chas. K. Cole, resides
in Helena, Montana; another, Charles P.
Gillett, is Dr, Gillett's assistant, while tbe
third, Miss Alma, is a member of the fac
ulty of tho Institution for tho Deaf and
Dumb, and tbe fourth, Frederick P., is
a studi-nt of Illinois College.
For i-eference to Dr. Gillett's work here,
in connection witli the institution for
Deaf Mutes, seo jiages 12i), 131, 151,
194, 208, 223 and 220 of " Historic Mor
gan." See also full-page cut on page 298.

JOSHUA RHOAD.S, M. 1). Dr. Joshua
Rhoads was de-scended Irom an old (Quaker
family of Pennsylvania whose founder
Adam Klioads, came from England about
1682. Joshua Rhoads was the son of
Joseph and Naomi Rlioads and was born
at Philadelphia, September 14tb, 1806. In
his earl}' years he attended Westown
Boarding School, and the boarding school
of the well known educator, John Gum-
mere, at Burlington, N. J., studied medi
cine with Dr. Joseph Parrlsh, of Philadel-
phia,and afterwards graduated with honor
at the University ot Pennsylvania obtain
ing the degree of M. D. Princeton Col
lege also conferred upon him the degree
of Master of Arts.

300

BlOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES.

He was married in 1833 to Rosanna,
daughter of Barclay and Mary Ivins, of
Penn's Manor, Buclis county, Pennsyl
vania-. Their family consisted of eight
children, but three daughters alone survive.
For ten years he devoted himself to the
practice of his profession as a physician,
but from his peculiar organization, the
anxiety and responsibility incident to his
calling, so undermined his health, that he
was obliged to abandon it. He then turn
ed his attention to teaching and after
several years experience as principal of
some of the prominent schools of Phila
delphia, in 1839, he was elected principal
of the Pennsylvania Institution for the
Blind, thus entering upon the work to
which he g£tVe the best years of his life —
the instruction of those deprived of sight.
This position he filled for some years
to the satisfaction of the trustees. In
1850, a committee of the trustees of the
Illinois Institution for the Blind, then in
its infancy, visited the East in search of
a superintendent with experience and
ability to whom they would be willing to
entrust its interests. As he enjoyed the
confidence and esteem of some of the most
eminent teachers of the blind in the Unit
ed States, they invited him to preside over
the institution which has since become
one of our noblest state charities. At that
time the institution had only been found
ed two years, numbered twenty-three pu
pils, and occupied a rented building
wholly inadequate to the necessities of
the school. Owing to the liberality of
the state, however, a suitable building was
in process of erection, which in due time
afforded the much needed facilities for
the education of the blind. The curricu-.
lum of the school was extended, the de
partment of music advanced to a higher
standard, the library enlarged, new trades
and modes of handicraft introduced.
Of an eminently practical turn of mind,
and inclined to be conservative in his
views. Dr. Rhoads was always glad to
avail himself of anything that promised
to be a real improvement in the methods
of instruction, and at the time he was con
nected with tlie Pennsylvania Institution
invented a system of raising maps for the
blind, that was far superior to any then in

use. He also visited other institutions in
this country, examined the workings of
the institutions of Prance and England as
far as practicable from published records,
translating from French authors such hints
as he thought would aid him in advancing
the cause. The institution grew and pros-
pered until the new building was crowded
with eighty-eight pupils, when in April,
1869, it was destroyed by fire originating
in a defective flue. Owing to the kind
ness of citizens of .Jacksonville, combined
with the energy and promptness of Dr.
Rhoads and the trustees, the school was
not disbaaded until the summer vacation,
and by the next January a wing was
erected in which seventy pupils could be
accommodated. One of the kindliest, and most benevo
lent of men, he desired that the institution
should be a home to the pupils during the
time of their stay, as well as ajSchool, and
his government of them was trtlly paternal
— his generous sympathy being always
freely given to those so much in need of
it. In, all the care and anxiety that de
volved upon him while holding this im
portant trust, he was aided and sustained
by his wife, who brought her heart, her
energy, rare judgment and fine executive
abilities to the work. He was a member
of the "Religious Society of Friends," to
whose early training he may have owed
in part, some of the conscientiousness,
the love for humanity, and sympathy for
the poor and oppressed that distinguished
him through life. His consideration for
others was unbounded, and it could be
said of him with truth
"To do him any wrong, was to beget
A kindness from him, for his heart was rich.
Of sucli tine mould, that if you sowed therein
The seed of Hate, it blossoin'd Charity."
For almost a quarter of a century, his
life, his hopes and aims were identified
witli the history of this institution and in
all that time through various changes in
the Board of Trustees composed of men of
different political opinions, he. had the
confidence and undivided support of every
Board under whom he served. In 1874,
the retiring Board of Trustees consisting
of Matthew Stacy, E. B. Hawley and "W.
H. Grimshaw, who had been in the most
intimate relations to tlie institution for

BlOGEAI'HICAL SKETCHES.

301

many years and were familiar with every
thing connected with its management,
passed resolutions e.vpressing their satis
faction with the condition of the institu
tion and their confidence in the "zeal, in
tegrity and devotion to duty" of its officers.
He had the happiness to live to see the in
stitution occupying the position of one of
the best in the country, the buildings
ready to receive more pupils, and retired
to private life in 1874. In the spring of
that year he was taken with a violent at
tack of illness, from which he rallied, but
never entirely recovered, and passed away
in the utmost peace February 1st, 1876.
In the community that had so long been
his home, and where he had labored so
efiiciently to ameliorate the condition of
the unfortunate, he was respected by high
and low, rich and poor. After his death
the leading citizens testified in a public
meeting to his woitli as a private citizen
and as chief executive of the institution
over which he had so long presided, and
in one of the resolutions adopted, stated
that "the fidelity and economy with which
during his administration tbe state bene
factions had been applied, turnished an
example unsurpassed by any similar insti
tution in the country. See pages 111, 123,
126, 208.

JOHN P. WILKINSON was born De
cember 14th, 1790, in New Kent county,
Virginia, and emigrated to Kentucky, in
Tegg county, of that state. He married
Mary Harlan in 1827, and in 1828 removed
to this place which he had selected as a
permanent home. Mr. Wilkinson was a
merchant, and as such, was long and favor
ably known in Morgan county. Prompt,
honest and liberal in his dealings he en
joyed in a high degree, the confidence of
those with whom he transacted business
and his example salutary anywhere, and
at any time, was particularly so in the
early period of our local history. It is,
however, in social life that we especially
love to contemplate the character of Mr.
Wilkinson. In the early days of our town
and county, no man paid more (nor as
much) attention to strangers, who thought
of settling amongst us, as he. He gave
them information as to property and loca.
tion, furnished them facilities for examin

ing the country, tendered them the hospi
talities of his house, and thus, and other
wise, induced many valuable persons to
settle in this community. Kind in his
feelings, pleasant in his manners, courteous
in his deportment, those who visited
Jacksonville in primitive times remember
Mr. Wilkinson with pleasure.
He was a man of great public spirit.
No one had a truer conception than he, of
the superiority of his obligation to society
or those due to his individual interests.
With him the controlling idea was not,
will this contribute to my ease, and ad
vance my fortune "? But will it promote
the greater, wider, higher object ot social
life. Of comprehensive views, he was the
fast friend of our literary institutions.
Liberal in his public benefactions, he was
especially so to Illinois College, and the
Jacksonville Female Academy, ot each of
these institutions he was a trustee from
their origin, to his death, and the office of
trustee with him was no sinecure. He
did what so few men are willing to do, he
gave them his time, his thought, his watch
ful care and insight. For a long time he
also gratuitously served the college as
treasurer, and in many ways endeared his
name and memory to those who were con
nected with the valuable institution in its
early struggles, and those who now pre
side over it would doubtless recognize its
present peace and prosperitj', as, in some
measure, the results of his benefactions,
and self-sacrificing labors. Mr. Wilkinson
made profession of religion in 1830, and
was received into the Presbyterian Church
by President Sturtevant. His walk and
conversation tliereafter, was such as be
came a follower of Jesus Christ. Mr. Wil
kinson was one of the building committee
of the church this same year. Equally re
moved from as much criticism on the one
hand, and levity on the other, he was a
fine specimen of an unaffected, genial,
hopeful, Christian gentleman. In Decem
ber, 1841, Mr. Wilkinson was taken ill
while in St. Louis on business, and died at
the Planters' House. He left no children,
but his adopted son Rev. George Harlan,
whom he educated, survived him until
November 21st, 1858. Mrs. Wilkinson
was a woman of stirring worth, she was a

302

BlOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES.

sister of Mr. Levi Harlan, of Winchester ;
they were deprived of their parents early
in life by accident, both being drown
ed with their three youngest children
while crossing James River, Virginia, in
a skiff. No one knew how it happened,
but supposed her father must have drop
ped one of his oars, and thus was swept
over a mill dam near by. Mrs. Wilkinson
left alone in the world became a very self-
reliant woman, and took a very serious
view of life, which at times made tier
seem almost severe, but this was not true
of her. She was particular and exact, but
gentle and thoughtful, full of good deeds
to the sick and unfortunate. Let not her
memory perish from our midst, but be
ever cherished as a noble example of a
self-denying christian. Also see pages 4."i,
51, 57, 241, 244, 245.

ERASTUS FRANKLIN BULLARD,
A. M., Principal of the Jacksonville Fe
male Academy, Jacksonville, III,, is a na
tive of Jay, Essex county. New York, In
early boyhood he was subjected to all the
privations and hardships incident to a
rugged country life and indigent circum-
stances. When he was but six years old
his father died, leaving a widowed mother
and a large family of children to fight the

battle of life as best they could. From
the age of fourteen, he was left dependent
upon his own resources. His opportuni
ties for early education were limited, and
it was not until he had made a trial of
several years of farm life that he began to
realize the need and appreciate the bene
flts of something better in education In
view of fitting for college, he began teach
ing in the country schools during tbe win
ter and prosecuting his studies during the
spring and autumn. In September, 1860,
he entered the Freshman class in the
University of Vermont, aud although fre
quently interrupted by ill healtli and pe
cuniary embarrassments, he was gradu
ated with honors in the regular course,
four years after.
On leaving college, in 1864, he was called
to the Principalship of Iloyalton Academy,
Roj-alton, Vermont, in which position he
remained for two years. In 1866 he re
turned to his native county in New York,
and was shortly after elected, on the Re
publican ticket, to the office of School
(tommissioner for Essex count}', which
position be held for three consecutive
years. In the fall of 1869 he assumed the
principalship and superintendence of tbe
public schools of Keeseville, New York.
He remained in, this jiosition live years
and until his election as Principal of tbe
Jacksonville Female Academy, in 1374.
Prof. Bullard is now completing tbe
eleventh year of bis management of the
Academy, already a longer term than any
of his p-i-edecessors remained in the posi
tion. B}' his judicious management and
rare executive ability, be has placed the
institution upon an independent basis and
raised it to a rank second to none in the
West, in its standards of disciplip>r-iNnd
scholarship. Professor Bullard is a widower, having
one child, a daughter, who has made her
homefrom infancy with her grand- parents,
in Burlington, Vermont. He has attained
high rank as an educator and as a business
man. He is a gentleman of literary
tastes and scholarly attainments, loyal in
his friendships, active in good works and
a public spirited citizen. His familiar
features are given by our artist. For fur
ther reference to his life and work in
Jacksonville, see pages 195, 199, 206, 219.

Poeteait of De. Muneoe.

303

DImm-w-iO-v
DR. A^tJiLfafeWt .All NR<jE,

of RUSHVILLE, SCHUYLER COCNTY, ILL.

304

BlOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES.

THOMAS MUNROE, M. D.— The pro
priety of introducing some faces and
names not, at first, recalled by younger
readers of- this work may be questioned ;
but it must be remembered that history
treats rather of the past than of to day ;
that things done, instead of doing, are re
corded by the historian.
The subject of tills sketch, "Doctor Mun
roe," as he was known to many of our old
est and best citizens, needs only naming
to place an honorable man, an honored
citizen and a Christian gentleman before
the recollecting mind.
Although many years have passed since
Dr. Munroe left Jacksonville as a resi
dence, yet we doubt if any of the earlier
settlers are recalled with pleasanter
thoughts than he, by those who had the
good fortune to know him. As a physi
cian here, his practice must have brought
him into tender ties with many families
before the writer of these words had come
upon the scene of action. At this time a
wealthy resident of Rushville, this State,
the doctor has revisited our city occasion
ally of late years, and was present, last, at
the Commencement of Illinois College, in
1882, when his youngest son, William was
graduated. But, to proceed to the biographical
sketch : Thomas Munroe, son of John and
Ann Munroe, was born in Annapolis, Ma
ryland, January 4, 1807. His grandfather,
William Munroe, was one of 135 men, re
siding in and near Annapolis, who, in
1774, signed a protest against certain acts
of the Colonial Government, then under
British rule, and when the war broke out,
the next year, he espoused the cause of
the Colonies against King George.
Dr. Munroe was educated at St. John's
College, Annapolis, taking the full clas
sical course, finishing in 1826 ; he studied
medicine at that place, attended lectures
at the University of Maryland, at Balti
more; received his medical degree in
1839, practiced at Baltimore several years.
He came to this Stats in December, 1835,
practiced at Jacksonville until 1843, and
Ihen settled in Rushville. Here (Rush
ville) he was in steady practice till 1862,
when he was appointed Surgeon of the
119th Regt. 111. Vols., which was attached

to the 16th Army Corps, and he remained
in the service until June, 1864, when his
health broke down in the Red River Expe
dition, and he resigned.
Dr. Munroe was married, in 1841, to
Miss Annie Hinman, of Utica, New York,
daughter of Major Benjamin Hinman,
who was an officer in the Revolutionary
War and some time aid to Gen. Greene.
They have six children: Thomas, edu
cated at Bloomington (111.) University, is
successfully engaged in the lumber busi
ness, at Muskegon, Michigan ; James Ed
ward, a graduate of Illinois College, is
practicing law in Chicago; Mary E.,
Hinman, Charles G., and William, also a
graduate of Illinois College, are residing
in Rushville.
James E. Munroe, referred to above,
was graduated from Illinois College, with
the highest record of his class, in 1868,
and was married, in 1876, to Miss Kate B.
Smith, daughter of the late D. A. Smith,
of Jacksonville.
In 1875 Dr. Munroe was appointed
United States Examining Surgeon for
Pensions. Soon after his location in Jacksonville,
in 1885, he formed a professional partner
ship with Dr. Shirley and subsequently
with Dr. English.
John J. Hardin, Stephen A. Douglas,
Wm. Thomas, Wm. Brown, Joseph Dun
can, Richard Yates, and Murray McCon
nel were leading men, some in politics
and some in law.
About the spring of 1836 Douglas re
turned from teaching a school at Win
chester, and soon outran all competitors
in the Democratic county convention and
was nominated and elected to the Legis
lature. This was the beginning of his
political career.
Hon. Richard Yates was a young man
during the time of Dr. Munroe's residence
here, and at Mr. Yates's marriage, his
friend, the doctor, was a groomsman.
Dr. Munroe is a member of the Meth
odist Episcopal Church, in which he is
greatly respected, and has been the con
tinued recipient of trust and honor at the
hands of his co-religionists.
Our portrait, made from a very striking
likeness just taken, places before the

Biographical Sicetches.

305

younger citizens a man whom those
acquainted with love and respect; a
man whose silvered hair, whitened by
over three score and ten years, is emblem
atic of the purity of his life, and whose
later years show that tbe end of a man
who follows a Christian life " is peace."

,.lP^I^

%,¦**

^.:t.''i¥'LA

^  !^i ¦ ,->

\

HON. SAMUEL DRAKE LOCKWOOD
was born in Poundridge, Westchester coun
ty. New York, on the second day of Au
gust, 1789.
Wlien he was ten years old his father
died, and his mother was left with three
small children, and with but slender
means for their support. By this event
his plans for a liberal education were
broken up and he was thrown very much
upon his own resources.
In 1803 he went to Waterford, New
York, to live with his uncle, Francis
Drake, a lawyer in that place, and re
mained in his family as errand boy and
law-student until February, 1811, when he
was licensed to practice law, and opened
an office in Batavia, New York. The
next year he removed to Auburn, and
continued in the practice of law there till
the fall of 1818, holding during a part of
that time the offlce of Master in Chancery.

At that time his constitution (never very
strong) seemed so broken down by dis
ease and constant application to business
that his physician advised him to give up
his profession and engage in some out
door employment as the only way of re
gaining even his former degree of health.
This advice, together with the glow--
ing accounts of the great "far AVest" then
prevalent, induced him to change his resi
dence and seek his future home in the
new State of Illinois. On October 10th
of that year, in company with the late
AVilliam H. Brown and others, be started
on his AVestern trip.
At Olean Point, New York, they pur
chased a flat-boat, on whicli they floated
down the Allegheny and Ohio rivers to
Shawneetown, reaching that place on De
cember 15th, and making the trip in fifty-
seven days.
After remaining a few days in Shaw
neetown, Lockwood and Brown started for
Kaskaskia on foot, a walk of 120 miles.
The next year Mr. Brown was appointed
Clerk of the United States District Court,
aud tbeir arrangement for a law partner
ship being thus broken up, Mr Lockwood
removed to Carmi as a more favorable
point for the practice of his profession.
At the second session of the Illinois
Legislature, which was held at Vandalia
in 1821, Mr. Lockwood was elected Attor
ney General of the State, and his accept
ance of this offlce rendering another
change of residence necessary, he chose
Edwardsville for his future home.
In 1833 he was, very unexpectedly to
himself, nominated by Gov. Cole to the
offlce of Secretary of State, but soon after
accepting that office he was greatly sur
prised by receiving from President Mon
roe a commission appointing him Receiv
er of Public Monies at tbe land office in
Edwardsville. This commission was, in
itself, as undesired as it was unsought, but
the Secretary of State's salary was small
and payable in depreciated currency, while
that of Receiver was liberal and payable
in gold, and had attached to it a percent
age on receipts. These considerations
induced him to resign the office of Secre
tary and accept that of Receiver.
At tbe next session of the State Legis-

306

BlOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES.

lature, 1824-'85, he was, against his ex
pressed wishes, elected Judge of the Su
preme Court, which offlce he accepted
and held until the State constitution of
1848 went into operation, under which
new judges were elected by tne people.
In 1826 he was married to Miss Mary
Virginia Nash, of St. Louis county, Mis
souri, the amiable and excellent wife who
survived him a few years and whom all
friends so long loved and admired.
In 1829 he removed from Edwardsville
to Jacksonville, and in 1853 ' from that
place to Batavia, Kane county, where he
died. He -was sent from Morgan county
to tbe Constitutional Convention of 1848,
and in that convention was Chairman of
the Committee on Executive. To him is
due the recognition of Deity in the pre
amble of the constitution adopted by this
convention. In 1851 he was appointed, by the Legis
lature, Trustee of the Land Department
of the Illinois Central Railroad, which
offlce he held at the time of his death.
The position which he held in the his
tory of our State is indicated by the offices
which were conferred upon liim. Having
a natural distaste for everything like
offlce-seeking, and never putting himself
forward for official position, still he was
kept in offlces of high position and trust
for over fifty years.
In the anti-slavery controversy over the
question of a State Convention, in 1823,
he took an active part and contributed
materially to the support and editorial
efflclency of the Edwardsville Spectator,
one of the two papers that took decided
ground for freedom in this State.
Though never an active partisan, he was
fully identified with the Whig party till
1855, when he, with most of that party,
helpe"d to form the Republican party.
Many of the offlces which he held were
conferred upon him by administrations
with which he was not in political sym
pathy. In Governor Ford's history of Illinois
are found the following notices of Judge
Lockwood : "In 1820 was fought the first
and last duel in Illinois. One of the par
ties fell, mortally wounded ; the other was
tried and convicted of murder, and suf-

f erred the extreme penalty of the law by
hanging. Judge Lockwood was then the
attorney of the State and prosecuted in
the case. To his talents and success as a
prosecutor the people are indebted for
this early precedent and example, which
did more than is generally known to pre
vent the barbarous practice of dueling
from being introduced into the State."
" In 1826-7 Judges Lockwood and Smith
presented to the Legislature a revision of
the laws <if the State, prepared by them
in accordance with the instructions of the
preceding Legislature, and these laws
have been standard laws in every revision
since." In his chapter on a somewhat bitter
controversy that occurred between the
executive and judicial departments Of the
State in 1840, Governor Ford says : "It is
due to truth to say that Judges Wilson
and Lockwood were in every respect ami
able and accomplished gentlemen, and
commanded the esteem and respect of
all good men for the purity of their con
duct and their probity in official station,"
"Judge Lockwood w-as an excellent law
yer, a man of sound judgment, and his
face indicated uncommon jDurity, modesty
ancl intelligence, together with energy
and strong determination. His face was
the true index of his character."
Any account of Judge Lockwood's ser
vices to the State which should fail to no
tice his connection with its educational,
benevolent and religious interests would
come far short of doing him justice. As
early as his residence in Auburn, he was
so identified with the religious interests
there as to be appointed one of the trust
ees of the Presbyterian Church.
In 1815 was formed the Cayuga County
Bible Society, the flrst organized in the
State of New York, two years before the
organization of the American Bible Soci
ety, and Judge Lockwood's name appeared
as one of the originators and directors of
that organization. Of the twenty-four
first directors of that society, he was the
last survivor. The stand he thus took, as
illustrated by these incidents, he main
tained through life.
His infiuence and liberality were ex
tended toward promoting the scheme

Biographical Sketches.

307

which resulted in the establishment of
Illinois College, and it is believed that
without his labors in Jacksonville's be
half, the institution would have been lo
cated elsewhere — in all probability in
Southern Illinois. Most of the settlers of
the State were then in that section. Judge
Lockwood was one of the first in the State
to propose and advocate such an institu-
tution, and he advised those who were in
terested with him in the matter not to
decide until they had seen some of the
beautiful country around Jackscmville ;
and on this advice. Revs. Thomas Lippin
cott and John M. Ellis were sent to spy
out the country. Judge Lockwood furnish
ing a horse, and paying the traveling ex
penses of one of the party. The result
was, the location of the college on the
tract of land he had a few months before
secured for his own homestead. Judge
Lockwood was one of the Trustees of this
institution from its organization until
1868, when he resigned, as his failing
health would not allow his attending the
meetings of the Board. A part of the
time he was President of the Board. So,
too, he was always a staunch friend
and promoter of the interests of the
Jacksonville Female Academy, at one
time, with a few others, saving it from
suspension by liberality and personal exer
tions. He presided at the first meeting
held to establish it, and was an honored
member of the first Board of Trustees,
holding the same connection until his
death in 1874.
Judge Lockwood took an active part in
organizing and locating the State Asylums
for the Deaf and Dumb, the Blind and
the Insane — and was on the first Board of
Trustees of each.
In every place where he resided in the
State his infiuence was indeed a strong,
steady and reliable power for good, always'
on the side of freedom, temperance, mor
ality, and the mainspring of them all —
Christianity. For the last twenty-one years of his life
Judge Lockwood resided in Batavia, in
honored old age enjoying his quiet home
on the banks of the Fox river, and re
joicing in everything tending to advance
the material or moral prosperity of the

State he had loved so long and served so
faithfully. On the 23d of April, 1874, he passed
away in a death as quiet and peaceful as bis
life had been.
For further reference to his life and
labors, see pages 18, 40, 47, 53, 55, 56, 60,
110, 118, 120, 123, 126, 127, 138, 261.

JUDGE EDWARD P. KIRBY was
born October 38, 1834, in Putnam county,
Illinois, and is the eldest son of
the late Rev. William and Hannah (Wol
cott) Kirby. Rev. William Kirby was one
of the founders and first professors of Illi
nois College; but owing to failing health,
he was obliged to relinquish the latter
position. He died December 20, 1852,
leaving a family of six children, the care
and support of whom devolved on the
oldest son.
Judge Kirby was educated at Illinois
College, and graduated therefrom in 1854.
In the autumn of that year he went lo
St. Louis, where he tauglit a private
school for three years. On his return to
Jacksonville, he became the successor of
Hon. Newton Bateman in the principal-
ship of the West Jacksonville District
School. He commenced the study of law in
1863, and was admitted to practice in the
following year. In 1865 he commenced
the compilation of the Land Titles of
Morgan County, III., which he subse
quently completed and still owns.
In 1873 he was elected Judge of the
County Court of Morgan county, by the
Republicans, for with that party he has
been identified ever since its formation.
He was married in 1863 to Julia S.,
daughter of the late Governor Duncan, of
Jacksonville. He is now in partnership with the Hon.
AVilliam Brown, in the practice of law
and the abstract-of-titles business, with
a large and remunerative patronage.
Mr. Kirby has also filled the honorary
positions of Trustees of Illinois College and
Illinois Central Hospital for the Insane.
See pages 136, 144, 156, 176, 181, 185, 195,
203, 314, 226, 366, 367.

308

BOETRAIT OF De. CaUEIEL.

DR. HENRY P. CARRIEL,
SUI'ERISTENDBNT OF THE ILLINOIS CENTRAL HOSPITAL FOR THE InSANE.

BlOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES.

309

DR. HENRY F. CARRIEL, now Su
perintendent of the Illinois Central Hos
pital for the Insane, was born in Charles-
town, N. H. He passed his boyhood
chiefly upon his father's farm, but his
father dying when he was nine and his
mother when he was sixteen years of age,
he was thus early thrown upon his own
resources. His education was obtained at the dis
trict school, at Marlow Academy, N. H.,
and Wesleyan Seminary, Vt. After pre
paring for the Sophomore year in college,
failing health compelled him to relinquish
study, and this circumstance probably
turned his attention to medicine.
In the year 1853 he commenced the
study of medicine with Dr. E, A. Knigbt,
of Springfield, Vt. He attended his first
course of medical lectures at Woodstock,
Vt. ; his second course at Pittsfield, Mass,,
and his last course at the College of Physi-
clans and Surgeons, New York city,
where he graduated in the spring of 1857.
In April, 1857, he accepted the appoint
ment of Assistant Physician in the New
Jersey State Lunatic Asylum, which posi
tion he filled until 1870, a period of thir
teen years.
Dr. Carriel, in 1860, feeling the need of
rest and recreation and being desirous of
informing himself of the mode of man
agement of the insane in other countries,
went to Europe and visited some thirty
hospitals and asylums for the insane in
England, Scotland, Ireland and Prance;
observing particularly the per capita
costs for buildings, mode ot care and gen
eral management.
In June 1870 he received, unsolicited,
the appointment of Superintendent of the
Illinois Central Hospital for the Insane,
and on the morning of July 1st arrived in
Jacksonville to enter upon the duties of
his position. Since that to the present
time, he has applied himself assiduously
to the duties of his position, and his ad
ministration is justly receiving the cordial
support, commendation and approval of
the people of the State.
During the time Dr. Carriel has been in
charge, the institution has been doubled
in capacity, and the entire building has
been renovated, ventilated and vastly im

proved till to-day it will compare favora
bly with any institution in the country for
conveniences, home-like comforts and
medical appliances. As an organizer he
has few equals and no superiors ; every
thing under his care moves with the pre
cision of machinery ; he has shown marked
ability in planning and erecting hospital
buildings, and the State has good reason
to be proud of the results of his attention
to the smallest details of work committed
to his care.
He was married May 6, 1862, to Miss
Mary C, only daughter of Dr. H. A.
Buttolph; married his second wife, Miss
Mary L., only daughter of Prof. J. B.
Turner, May 6th 1875.
Dr. Carriel has seven children — six sons
and one daughter.
See pages 176, 177, 194, 223, 253.

WILLIAM FLETCHER SHORT, D-
D., was born in Butler county, Ohio, No
vember 9, 1829. His father. Rev. Daniel
Short, came, with his family, to Morgan
county, in 1884. He was widely known
and greatly respected as an earnest, able
and useful preacher of the Methodist
Episcopal Church through Central Illinois.
Dr. Short was brought up on a farm,
where he experienced all the privations
and hardships of those early times.
At about the age of twenty, feeling him
self called to the ministry, he determined
to seek a collegiate education. He ac
cordingly entered McKendree College,
and pursued the course of study to the
senior year. He then entered the Illinois
Wesleyan University at Bloomington and
graduated in 1854. Before his graduation
he accepted a call to the charge of the
Missouri Conference Seminary, located at
Jackson. At the end of two and a half
years he resigned, to enter the active pas
torate in this State. The several charges
filled were : Island Grove, two years ;
Williamsville, two years; Waverly, two
years ; AVinchester, two years ; Carlinville,
three years; Hillsboro, one year; Grace
Church, three years ; Presiding Elder of
Jacksonville District four years.
In July of 1875 he was elected Presi
dent of Illinois Female College, which
position he still holds.

310

BlOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES.

His administration of affairs as head of
this important and flourishing educational
institution has been marked by a wise
Christian policy, an elevation of the
standard of scholarship, the establish
ment of homeJike government and the
employment of a higher grade of talent in
the art and musical departments. The re
sult, of course, has shown itself in in
creased patronage and a broadened and
higher reputation for the school.
The degree of Doctor of Divinity was
conferred by Ohio Wesleyan University.
As a citizen. Dr. Short has always been
public-spirited, and a favorite in social
and religious circles and holds high rank
in the Masonic organization.
In August, 1854 he was married to
Miss Sarah B. Laning, of Petersburg.
Three daughters and one son are living ;
one son having died while Dr. Short was
pastor of Grace Church.

HON. RICHARD YATES, Lawyer,
War Governor of Illinois, and United
States Senator, was born in Warsaw,
Gallatin county, Illinois, January 18th,
1818, and when thirteen years of age re
moved with his father to Springfield, in
the same state. His preliminary education
was obtained in Illinois College, at Jack
sonville, from which institution he was
graduated with the class of 1838,
He afterward studied law under the in
structions of Colonel J. J. Hardin, who fell
in the war with Mexico. Entering upon
the practice of his profession, became a
successful participant in political affairs,
and from 1842 to 1849 represented his
district in the Illinois Legislature. In
1850 he received the congressional nomin
ation at the Whig convention, was elected
a member of the Thirty-second Congress,
and on taking his seat in that body was
found to be its youngest member. At the
next election, notwithstanding the politi
cal change in his district at the county
elections, he was again chosen as a mem
ber of the Thirty-third Congress, but two
years subsequently failed to secure a re
election. While a member of the House
he became an earnest opponent of the
slave power and of the repeal of the Mis

souri Compromise; evinced great ability
and entire fearlessness in his words and
actions, and in numerous ways was import.
antly instrumental in advancing the in
terests of the anti-slavery cause. In 1860
he was nominated by the Republican party
as a candidate for Governor, and after a
very exciting canvass was triumphantly
elected. During the war of the rebellion
he was an efflcient and indefatigable sup
porter of the United States government,
and, by his well directed energy and activ
ity in providing fresh relays of needed
troops, acquired an enviable position in
the ranks of the "War Governors,"
April 23d, 1861, he issued a proclama
tion to convene the Legislature at Spring
field for the purpose of enacting such laws
and adopting such measures as were
deemed necessary for the organization
and equipment of the militia of the state,
and also for the raising of such money
and other means as were required to pre
serve the Union and enforce the laws.
In May, 1861, he conferred ujion Ulysses
S. Grant, then engaged at Springfield in
the organization of the volunteer troops of
Illinois, the Colonelcy of the 21st Regi
ment Illinois Infantry.
May 20th, 1862, he issued a proclama
tion calling for recruits to fill up the vol
unteer regiments from Illinois, and on the
following July 11th published a letter to
the President of the United States urging
the employment of all available means to
crush the rebellion and prevent the over
turning of the constitution. On one occa
sion he paid an unusual, but merited, com
pliment to Mrs. Reynolds, wife of Lieut.
Reynolds, of Company A. of the 17th Illi
nois Regiment, of Peoria. She had ac
companied her husband through the
greater part of the campaign in which
that regiment had participated, and was
present at the battle of Pittsburg Landing,
where she ministered with tireless heroism
to the wants of the dying and wounded.
Upon hearing of her praiseworthy conduct
he presented her with a commission as
major in the army, the document confer
ring the honor being made out with all
due formality, and having attached to it
the great seal of the state.
June Sth, 1863, he adjourned the Legis-

BlOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES.

311

lature of Illinois, "fully believing that the
interests of the state will be best subserved
by a speed}' adjournment, the past history
of the present Assembly holding out no
reasonable hope of beneficent results to
tbe citizens of tbe state or the army in the
field from its further continuance."
In June of the same year, upon receiv
ing a letter from a town in the soutliern
part of the state, in which the writer com
plained that traitors in his town had cut
down the American flag, and demanded
his advice as to what measures should be
taken, he promptly wrote the querist as
follows : "Whenever you raise the flag
on your own soil, or on the public property
of the state or country, or at any public
celebration, from honest love to that flag,
and patriotic devotion to the country
which it symbolizes, and any traitor dares
to lay his unhallowed hand upon it to tear
it down, then I say shoot him down as you
would a dog, and I will pardon you the
offence." His whole course during the
war was such as to win for him a popular
ity second only to that enjoyed by, per
haps, two other citizens of the state, and
to cause his name to be a grateful remem
brance to the whole country.
His term of office expired with the year
1864, and March 5th, 1865, he took his seat
in the United States Senate, having been
elected as the successor of Richard A.
Richardson, Democrat. At the second
session of the Thirty-ninth Congress, when
the bill regulating suffrage in the District
of Columbia was brought under consider
ation, in his speech following that of Mr.
Cowan, of Pennsylvania, he expressed his
views in strong, terse, and logical language,
saying among other things: "I am for
universal suffrage. I am not forqnalifled
suffrage ; I am not for property suffrage ;
I am not for intelligent suffrage, as it is
termed, but I am for universal suffrage.
That is my doctrine. *****
The question of negro suffrage is now
an imperative necessity that the negro
should possess it for his own protection ;
a necessity that he should possess it that
the nation may preserve its power, its
strength, and its unity. We have now
negro suffrage for tlie District of Columbia,
and I say I believe we have won it for all

the states, and before the 4th of March,
1869 — before this administration shall
close — I hope that the negro in all the
loyal states will be clothed with the right
of suffrage. That they will be in the ten
rebel states I cannot doubt, for patriotism,
liberty, justice and humanity demand it.
He served actively and prominently un
til the expiration of his term, March 3d,
1871, returning subsequently to Illinois,
when he resumed the practice of his pro
fession. In March, 1873, he was appoint
ed a Government Director of the Union
Paciflc Railroad, in which office he con
tinued until his decease, which occurred
at St. Louis, November 27th, 1873.
The family of the distinguished deceased
are still numbered among our honored
citizens, Mrs. Yates, his widow, occupying
the old homestead on East State street,
Jacksonville. With her are the two sons,
Henry and Richard, Jr — (the latter a bril
liant and popular practitioner-at-law, now
holding the office of city attorney) — and
one daughter, Mrs. Thomas AVoodman
See pages 64, 89, 102, 103, 114, 117, 123,
135, 127, 130 to 136, 156, 158, 181, 182, 261,
365, 366, 267, also steel plate engraving on
opposite page.
PRESIDENT EDWARD A. TANNER,
D. D., was born November 29, 1837, at Wa
verly, Illinois. He is the youngest child
of Jos. A. and Orra S. Tanner, who are
old settlers in Morgan county, though
formerly from Warren, Connecticut. The
ancestors of the family were English.
His parents removed to Morgan county
about 1834, and located on a farm, where
the subject of this sketch spent his boy
hood. He entered Illinois College at the age
of fifteen and graduated therefrom in
1857, receiving the degree of A. B.,
and, three years after, the degree of A. M.
was conferred upon him, after the deliv
ery of the master's oration.
After finishing his collegiate course, he
taught in the public schools of Waverly
and Jacksonville for a period of three
years. He was called, in 1861, to the profes
sorship of Latin in Pacific University, Ore
gon, and filled that position four years.
In the meantime, having studied theology

312

BlOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES.

he was licensed to preach by the Congre
gational Association of Oregon in 1864.
In 1865 he was appointed Professor of
Latin in Illinois College, which position
he held until 1882, when he was promoted
to the presidency of the institution. He
has also officiated four years as Chaplain
of Illinois Central Hospital for the Insane,
at Jacksonville. As an eminent educator.
Dr. Tanner holds a front rank in the state,
and received the degree of D. D. from his
alma mater, in 1880, being a scholar of flne
classical culture and solid erudition.
He was married June 37, 1861, to Miss
Marian L. Brown, a lady of charming
social qualities and earnest religious
character, a daughter of Dr. I. H. Brown,
of Waverly. Her parents were formerly
from Connecticut. President Tanner and
lady have had a family of six children,
one of whom is deceased.
In politics the Professor is a Repub
lican. He is a devoted son of " Illinois
College" and still fills with greatest of
credit the presidency. His earnest labors
in the financial interest of the college
have brought thousands of dollars into its
treasury. CHARLES M. MORSE, was born July
21st, 1820, in Wilton, Maine, and is a son
of Col. Charles Morse. His education was
obtained chiefiy at the village school, sup
plemented by an attendance, during four
terms, at a higher academy, and frequent
ly interrupted by ill-health.
His father was a farmer and miller, but
as the son was physically unable to per
form much labor, very little was required
of him. A remark made by the father to
a friend, aud accidentally overheard by
the son, created a great impression on his
mind, insomuch that it very materially
determined his future course of action.
"Charles," he said, "cannot work with his
brothers, but we can always depend upon
him for closing the gates — he don't leave
things half done."
When seventeen years old, he entered
the post offlce at Augusta, the capital city
of the state, where he served four years;
and where, for weeks together, he had sole
charge of the oflice. Although he differed
politically with the postmaster, he never

lost the latter's confidence and esteem,
who refused to displace him at the behest
of party managers, to make way for a party
favorite. Shortly after arriving at man
hood, he married and returned to his
native town, where he assisted his father
in the management of his business, and
ultimately succeeded to it, on the death of
his parent in 1845. Immediately upon
his return to Wilton, he was elected Town
Clerk, whicli, with other town offlces, he
held for seven years, when he was chosen
a representative in the State Legislature.
In 1850, he entered the offlce of the treas
urer of the Maine Central (then the A. and
K.) Railroad Company, and, excepting
four months, was connected with that
corporation for over fifteen years, serving
in various capacities, from Fireman to
Superintendent, the longest period being
as General Ticket Agent and Cashier,
nearly the entire earnings of the company
passing through his hands. His services
as Superintendent covered three years at
two difEerent times. In 1866 he became
Superintendent of the St. Louis, Jackson
ville & Chicago Railroad; and in 1868,
when that line was leased to the Chicago
& Alton Railroad Company, he was ap
pointed to the position of Superintendent
of a Division, embracing 190 miles of road
and is now Freight Division Superinten
dent of the C. & A. with headquarters at
Jacksonville. He is a man of fine literary attainments,
although he makes no claim to scholar
ship. He is interested in inaugurating
and sustaining all literary and art enter
prises in this city. He is fond of books,
possessing a library of choice works, num
bering nearly one thousand volumes, and
is a lover of antiquarian research.
He takes great interest in all matters
pertaining to the welfare of the communi
ty in which he resides ; and is, in short,
a useful, worthy and honorable citizen.
As a Freemason Col. Morse ranks high
and never allows himself to grow rusty.
He has not only been Eminent Commander
of Hospitaler Commandery, Knights Tem
plar, of this city, but has risen to the ex
alted honors of Grand Commander of the
Illinois Grand Commandery, Knights Tem
plar.

BlOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES.

313

One who knows our Prater well says of
him, that his big-hearted and broad liber
ality is only limited by the length of his
purse. That wherever he has lived and
whatever his official and social duties
might be, he was always trying to help
somebody do better and to be better. To
which we who know him Masonically will
heartily say, Amen.
"With malice towards none, with char
ity for all, with firmness in the right, as
God gives us to see the right."
He was brought to Masonic Light in
Waterville Lodge, No. 33, in Maine, where
he received the third degree March 21,
1853, and afterwards served as Master.
July 10, 1856, in Jerusalem Chapter, at
Gardiner, in the same State, he accom
plished the journey over the rough road
which pertains to the R. A. Chapter ; and
at Bangor, in St. John's Commandery,
No. 3, on June 13, 1864, he participated
for the first time in the solemn service at
tending the reception into the Templar
Order. It is a little remarkable that in his
thirty-five years' railroad experience, wliile
traveling much of the time, he was never
in an accident where a liuman being was
materially injured, or resulting in any
considerable destruction of property.
Mr. Morse is not a member of any
church, but is a regular attendant (Congre-
gationalist). He traces his genealogy, on
the paternal side, through the Morses and
Lelands, back to the "Pilgrims," 1630-50,
and on the maternal side, through the
Scotch-Irish Scales and Mathes, to about
1680. His excellent wife and three daughters,
Mrs. John G. Loomis, Mrs. Alfred Sturte
vant and Miss Mattie, are numbered among
our citizens, while one son, Charles, is in
the Providence Savings Bank, in St. Louis.

JONATHAN BALDWIN TURNER.—
Few if any among present residents of
Jacksonville are better known. He was
born at Templeton, Mass., Dec. 7th, 1805.
His ancestors were among the emigrants
on the Mayfiower. He studied at Yale,
in which university he took a high rank,
and where his determined energy and
vigorous mind gave early promise of a

useful and illustrious future. In October
1835, he married Rhodolphia S. Kibbe,
and in succeeding years became the father
of seven children. He accepted the situa
tion of teacher in various schools in Mass
achusetts, and at New, Haven, Connecticut,
before his graduation, and won the en
comiums of his associates and the love of
his pupils.
He came to Illinois as teacher in Illinois
College In 1833 and was soon after chosen
one of the Professors in that institution,
holding the position for fifteen years,
when failing health, and what was then
deemed over-zealous resistance to slavery
and sectarianism, compelled his resigna
tion. He was deeply interested in educa
tional problems, and as early as 1833 de
livered in the state a series of lectures for
the purpose of arousing popular sentiment
in favor of a broad and permanent system
of common schools. While thus philan-
thropically engaged, during college vaca
tions, on horseback and on foot through
this then sparsely settled commonwealth,
on the vast timberless prairies, he con
cluded that they would remain undevel
oped so long as the people were without
the means of enclosing their farms. This
led him to the study ot some device as a
substitute for timber for fences. In his
experiments at this public labor he ex
hausted his means and effects, and was re
paid by thesilly jeers of the incredulous.
He tritid various plants with little success
for a long time, until he found the Osage
Orange ; and this for a considerable period
was always spoken of as "Professor Tur
ner's Folly," but at length, by the force of
successful experiments, incredulity was
compelled to admit the great beneflts of
his discovery.
He interested himself in the advance
ment of agriculture, and was one of the
originators of the modern methods for
planting corn by machinery, and for the
extensive use of machinery in the general
cultivation of the ground. He was rest
lessly active, contributing, to various mag
azines and journals, papers on "Micro
scopic Insects," "Fungoid growths and
Diseases of Plants and Trees," on "The
Preparation and Rotation of Crops," on
"The Analysis of Soils," and on kindred

314

BlOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES.

subjects, they were filled with practical
suggestions of incalculable value to his
fellow-men. His political discussions
have at all times attracted the attention
and study of statesmen. Daniel Webster
pronounced his essay on "Currency" one
of the ablest papers he had ever read on
that subject. His "Mormonism in All
Ages," published in this country, and re
produced in Europe, was one of the
keenest expositions of the character of a
community which has so long defied civil
and military power. His numerous lec
tures, speeches, essays and papers against
all modes of slavery and sectarianism and
party drill, whether in church or in state,
and his persistent defense of the absolute
freedom of the individual man as against
all unjust corporate power, are equally
pointed and characteristic.
As a lecturer and essayist he was
voluminous, and widely varied in his pro
ductions ; and his discourses on "Practical
Education," "The Three Races of Men,"
"The Ocean Currents and Open Sea at the
Poles," "Meteorology,""Practical Culture,"
"Metaphysical Analysis," "On Matter,
Force and Spirit," have been printed and
distributed by the State Natural History,
Horticultural and Agricultural and other
societies and periodicals. He was among
the earliest advocates in Illinois of a
United States Agricultural Bureau; and
in 1851 produced a series of lectures and
papers on the necessity for educating the
working classes by means of schools and
universities endowed by the State, which
led to the endowment of our national sys
tem of industrial institutions.
He was a strong advocate of a State
Normal School. He is a man of broad
church views, and abhors close sectari
anism. His life-long study has been that
of ameliorating the condition of the work
ing classes through the medium of tech
nical and variously graded industrial
schools. His various labors have secured
to his enjoyment a comfortable fortune,
and though he has retired from the more
active duties of life, he exhibits the same
deep interest in the questions which from
early age employed his thoughts. He is
regarded in most honorable esteem by his
fellow-citizens ; and is solaced in his de

clining years by witnessing the fruits of
those institutions which, in labor prompt
ed by the true spirit of philanthropy, he
aided in founding.
For some time past he has almost wholly
withdrawn from all private business and
all public effort to devote his time more
exclusively to a renewed and thorough re
examination and review of the real ground
work and basis of those great religious,
social, civil, philosophical and educational
questions which have so much engrossed
the public mind and his own past life.
Although four score years of age he is
still in such health as to be, in active home
life and to mingle with his fellow-citizens
upon all public occasions He has sur
vived his beloved wife, but occupies the
old home on West College Avenue, in our
city. With him is his youngest son —
Frederick C, and his wife, n.e« Alexander.
His daughter Mrs. Dr. H. F. Carriel is also
among our citizens. His sons, Wm. and
Rodolphus, have departed this life, others
—John, Charles and Howard are living use
ful lives in diflerent parts of this land.
Prof. Turner and his most intimate
friends feel that eventually if not now his
writings on religious subjects, will be
deemed by far the most important of all
his publications. This series of books
which he claims "have been passed in
utter silence by the settled policy of the
sects. Catholic, Protestant and Mormon,"
is as follows:
(I.) "Mormonism in all ages" written
and published in the vacation of 1842.
(II.) "Christ's Creed and Charter of
the Kingdom of the Heavens" published
in 1847 in which the author says he ap-
plys the "same principles to all ecclesi
astical sects. Here I hit the near ox, as
well as the oflT ox." The entire edition
was sold and read.
(Ill ) "Christs Words," as related to
Philosophy, Law and Religion, and every
human or social need — a book of over
four hundred pages, now out of print.
The last mentioned is now called for
more than the others and more than when
written. See pages 81, 85, 99,. 103, 133, 136, 137,
138, 139, 148, 157, 178, 236, 243, 259, 266, 309.

Biographical Sketches.

315

REV. WILLIAM COFFIN, A. M., at
one time in the faculty of Illinois College,
is well remembered by many of the present
citizens of Jacksonville although his home
has been in Batavia, Kane county, for the
last thirty years. Of genial disposition,
versatile talents, attractive social qualities
and with wife and children that any man
might be happy with and proud of, it is
not to be wondered at that he has made a
host of friends, here and elsewhere. As
preacher in the pulpit, professor in the
chair, banker in the counting room, pater
familias in the quiet Christian home, or
friend in social circles, he has ever been
honored and loved. He was born in Wis-
cassett, Maine, on the 19th of January,
1822, and at the age of fourteen, in 1836,
he came to Jacksonville, with his father's
family. Here his education was continued
and he was graduated from Illinois College
five years later, viz : in 1841. Three years
after this he was a member of the faculty
filling the chair of Mathematics, Natural
Philosophy and Astronomy in his Alma
Mater from 1844 to 1852. In 1847 he
was most happily united in marriage
with a lovely Christian woman, now
gone to her Heavenly reward, Mary E.
Lockwood, eldest daughter of the late
Judge Samuel D. Lockwood, whose life
and labors have been fully mentioned al

ready in these pages. Of the children by
this marriage, Lockwood is married and
living in Chicago, William, also married,
is in active business life, Charlie was grad-
uated from Yale witli honors aud is now
in Chicago, Nellie is filling well her station
as a pastor's wife in Rochester, Minn.,
Frank was suddenly taken from earth last
year, John and Mattie, the two youngest,
are at home. Their beloved mother was
taken from them in 1877. Mr. Coffin was
married again in 1883, to Miss Sophia M.
Sawyer, with whom he is living in Batavia
at the present time.
We are glad to be able to give the
readers of Historic Morgan, through an
artist's skill, a glance at the face so famil
iar to old time residents of Jacksonville.
See page 377.
JOSHUA MOORE.— There are lives, so
unostentatious and independent that those
living about them fail to realize at the
time, the good if not the great work ac
complished by them. Joshua Moore's
life was an exemplification of this class.
He was a dweller in this county about
1835, at Beardstown, before the separation
of Cass county, and at Naples a few years
later, just about the time, if not before,
Scott county was set off from Morgan.
But it was after July 9 1857, that, having
purchased what was known as "Mr. Ows
ley's" house, Mr. Moore took up his flnal
residence in this city and county. We
note hereafter, from an article appearing
as leading editorial in the Daily Journal,
of Oct. 2nd, 1871, the following obituary:
As previously announced in the Jour
nal, on Thursday morning last at 10
o'clock, Joshua Moore, Esq., an old and
respected citizen of Jacksonville, depart-
this life. Long cherished as one of the
most reliable and exemplary residents of
Jacksonville, it is appropriate at this
time to give a brief sketch of his life,
Mr. Moore was born August 5th, 1807,
near Mt. Holly, N. J.
His parents and only sister died when
he was quite young, and he then went to
an uncle's and remained with him till of
age. Having means left him he was de
sirous of entering business, and soon
after becoming of age, went to Philadel
phia to acquire a knowledge of bus
iness, acting in the capacity of clerk in
the dry goods trade. In a short time,
however, he started on his own account,
remaining in Philadelphia some time. In

316

Biographical Sketches.

1832 he came west, as far as Logansport,
Indiana, for his health, making the dis
tance partly in a "Dearborn" and partly
on horse back. Returning to Philadel
phia, and resuming business he came to
St. Louis in 1835. Remaining there
a short time he came to Beardstown,
in this state, where he engaged in bus
iness. Afterward he returned to St.
Louis, and engaged in the same line
there, for a short time; removing thence
to Naples, 111 , where he remained till
about 1843, In 1840 he was married to
Miss Margaret McMackin, of this, city.
During his residence in Naples, Hon.
Mark L. IDelahay, of Kansas, was in his
employ as clerk; as were also Hons, R.
Mooers, Thomas Hollowbush and Judge
Moses. In 1843 Mr. Moore removed to
Perry, keeping his establishment in Na
ples. He prosecuted his business suc
cessfully in both places, and won for him
self many warm friends.
In 1850 he joined tbe Presbyterian
church, at Perry, and contributed largely
to its support. He was elected elder and
trustee, and was always looked up to as
an irreproachable christian.
In 1858 he removed to Jacksonville, in
tending to retire fro.m business, which he
did in 1865.
Mr. M. became a member of Dr. Glov
er's church after removing to this city,
but joined the Westminster church in
1864, where he was elected a trustee and
an elder. In 1860 he was elected trustee
of Illinois College
During the war he manifested the
warmest interest in the cause of the Un
ion, and gave his money freely for the
support of the sick and wounded. He
also as a matter of duty, invested largely
in government bonds, and has been a lib
eral donor to all the educational institu
tions of this city, as well as to all its pub
lic enterprizes.
During the past three years ill health
has prevented him being his former self;
but the last few months had been very
encouraging as to his complete recovery.
All hopes, however, have proved delu
sive, and to-day the community mourns
the loss of an upright man and a good
citizen. Though jione from our midst.
the memory of his kindly spirit and chris
tian graces will remain as a bright exam
ple to all who have come within the circle
of his influence.

WILLIAM D. SANDERS is a native
of Huron county, Ohio, and the son of Dr.
Moses C. Sanders, a distinguished physi
cian and surgeon. He prepared for an
academic career at Huron Institute, Milan,
Ohio, and in 1841 entered the Western
Reserve College, at Hudson, and received
its degree in 1845. During the three years

immediately following his graduation, he
was Principal of the Richfield Academy,
in Summit county, Ohio. In 1848 he en
tered the Hudson Theological Seminary,
completing its course of study in 1851.
During this period there occurred a
crisis in the financial aflairs of this insti
tution, which threatened its complete ruin,
and in this emergency he was importuned
by both trustees and faculty to lead a
forlorn hope for its rescue. He was ab
sent from the institution in this generous
service over a year, and in this time exe
cuted a plan which rescued the college
from great peril, and added over one hun
dred thousand dollars to its resources.
Upon the ending of his studies in this in
stitution, he was married, in Cleveland,
Ohio, to Cornelia R, Smith, and soon after
was ordained to the ministry by the Pres
bytery of Portage, and took charge of a
church in Ravenna, Ohio. Here he labored
for three years with very remarkable suc
cess, and was then called to the chair of
Rhetoric, Elocution and English Litera
ture, in Illinois College, at Jacksonville,
Illinois. He entered upon the duties of this pro
fessorship in the autumn of 1854, and per
formed them with enthusiasm and fidelity
for the protracted period of fifteen years.
While thus laboring, he was called upon
to aid the institution in its embarrassed
financial situation, and though the work
was an exceedingly grave and difficult
one, his efforts were quite successful.
Upon his resignation of his professorship
in 1869, an appropriate tribute to his
talents, his culture, and his generous ser
vices was paid him by the trustees of the
college. During the Civil War, his allegiance to
the Government was never in doubt, and
one of the most eloquent of patriotic ap
peals was pronounced by him in Strawn's
Opera House, to the Hardin and Union
Guards, on the Sabbath preceding tlieir
departure for the field. Among other
oratorical eflorts which gave him great
celebrity were his welcomes to General
McClernand in 1862, to General Benjamin
Grierson in 1863, his oration at Carlinville
in the same year, and hi? discourse at
Quincy,' upon the fall of Richmond.

BlOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES.

317

His name, however, will perhaps be
perpetuated longer as that of the founder
of institutions of learning, than from any
other cause. He was the originator of the
"Young Ladies' Athenseum," a school es
tablished in 1864, which enjoyed for the
twenty-one years of its existence the pat
ronage of some of our wealthiest and most
intelligent families, and which under his
superintendency occupied a large fleld of
usefulness. The "Illinois Conservatory of
Music" is also the oflspring of his untiring
energy. Its faculty has embraced many
of the flnest of European and American
professors in both theory and practice,
and comprehends a scale of instruction in
vocal and Instrumental music which can
elsewhere be scarcely equalled. Professor
Sanders is also the founder and actuary
of "The Central Illinois Loan Agency,"
by which millions of eastern capital have
been invested in Illinois, Missouri and
Kansas, and the business now flowing in
the channels it has created has grown into
immense proportions. Its principal offlce
is at Jacksonville, branch offlces being
located at various points in Missouri and
Kansas. Besides all the multiform labors grow
ing out of his intimate connection with
these educational and financial institutions,
Dr. Sanders has been often called to the
assistance of the church, and has repeat
edly filled the pulpits of Jacksonville.
For eight years he was the regular supply
of the church at Pisgah. At various times
he has received calls to the pastorate of
churches in Chicago, Cincinnati, and else
where, but has been compelled to decline
them. It may be readily inferred that, in
founding and fostering so many important
institutions, he is in the fortunate posses
sion of rare powers of mind and body.
He has a keen faculty for organization,
and wrings success out of every enterprise
in which he sets out.
His entire career is an exemplification
of remarkable power of concentrating
thought and of indomitable persistence.
He is a man of strong convictions, frank
utterance, warm impulses, and ceaseless
vigilance over the welfare of the interests
with which he is identified. Although
now over fifty years of age, and despite

his arduous and ceaseless labors he is in
the enjoyment of excellent health and
mental vigor. He has had five children
all but one of whom are living and two of
these are college graduates. His oldest
son William B., is in an active law-prac
tice in Cleveland, Ohio. The others —
Mrs. Nellie Elliott and her brothers
Charles and Clarence are residents of our
own city.
See pages 155, 156, 186, 195, 199, 314,321.

HON. CYRUS EPLER, one of the three
judges of the seventh judicial circuit, was
born in Charleston, Clark county, Indiana,
November 12th, 1825. He pursued his
law studies in the offlce of Brown & Yates,
at Jacksonville, Illinois, in the year 1848,
and after an absence of two years continued
his studies for one year alone in Jackson
ville. In 1853 he commenced the practice
of law as states attorney, having been ad
mitted to the bar in 1853, at Jacksonville,
Illinois. Judge Bpler was elected States
Attorney in November, 1852, in the first
judicial district, and was elected a mem-
ber of the lower house of the general
assembly of the State of Illinois, in the
year 1857, and re-elected in 1859, thus
serving two terms. He also held the
office of master of chancery for Morgan
county from 1867 to 1873, a term of six
years. In 1873 he was elected judge for a term
of six years, and re-elected in 1879 and
1885 to the same position and for the same
terms. Judge Epler has given very gen
eral satisfaction upon the bench, his de
cisions having heretofore been regarded
as those of a man who seeks to arrive at
conclusions which the fact and the law
will sustain. During his entire profes
sional life his home has been in this coun
ty and city. Here he has, besides carving
for himself an enviable name as a citizen
and jurist, reared a family, and some of
these arriving at years of maturity are
filling places of trust and usefulness in this
and other cities. His oldest son — Carl, is
now City Attorney of Quincy, the second,
Ernest is assistant physician in a Cook
county hospital.
See pages 117, 129, 130, 148, 395, 266, 269.

318

Bust of Gov. Duncan.

HON. JOSEPH DUNCAN,
OF JACKSOlSVILl^B.
Sixth Governor of the State of Illinois, 1834^'38.

BlOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES.

819

HON. JOSEPH DUNCAN, soldier,
statesman, member of congress and
governor of Illinois, was born, in February,
1794, at Paris, Bourbon county, Kentucky,
and was the youngest son of Major
Joseph Duncan, a native of Virginia, who
removed to Kentucky at an early period
of its settlement, where he died during
the childhood of his youngest son. The
latter was, in consequence of this event,
called at a very tender age to share with
his widowed mother the responsibilities
of her bereaved family.
In this situation he was distinguished
for firmness and steadiness of purpose
beyond his years, and for those kind, deep,
and generous social aflections which
characterized his whole life.
Thus his life passed on with little of in
cident to give it peculiarity, other than his
superior skill in all the athletic sports of
boyhood, until he reached the age of six
teen. At this period he received a com
mission in the United States army, in
which he remained until the close of the
last war with Great Britain. Notwith
standing his extreme youth, he discharged
the duty of a soldier with such vigor and
fidelity as to merit and receive through
the remainder of his life the thanks of his
country. It were enough for his military
reputation to name him as one of the in
trepid band of between one and two hun
dred men, who, in the battle of Sandusky,
repulsed with tremendous havoc the com
bined British and Indian forces, amount
ing to ten times their own number, and as
having commanded, in that splendid
aflair, notwithstanding his youth, a post
of pre-eminent responsibility. For the
great services performed on this occasion
his grateful country conferred on him, and
on each of his associates in the command,
a gold-mounted sword as a testimonial to
them, and their children after them, that
their country is not unmindful of those
who nobly peril their lives in her defence.
At another time, with a handful of men
under his command, he penetrated one
hundred and fifty miles into the interior
of upper Canada, and there, enduring" all
the rigors of a northern winter, watched
the movements of the enemy within twenty
miles of his camp, and crossed Lake Erie

from Maiden to Sandusky in an open
yawl, accompanied by only three men.
Again, he made a journey of fifty miles
through forests, across streams, and amidst
hostile Indians, where an Indian guide re
fused to accompany him, in order to exe
cute the orders of his superiors in com
mand. When peace -was declared he re
tired from the army and for a time devot
ed himself to agricultural pursuits in his
native state. In 1818 he removed to Jack
son county, Illinois; and so highly was
his military character esteemed that he
early received the appointment of Major-
General of the militia; and he rendered
important military service, in the spring
of 1831, in the first outbreak of the "Black
Hawk War." In 1823 he was elected to
the senate of Illinois from Jackson county
for four years. The part of his labors
in that body from which he derived the
most satisfaction was the bill he introduced,
and which was passed, to establish a sys
tem of common schools for the state.
Though the law soon became unpopular
and was repealed, it was a noble concep
tion and reflected a lasting honor on the
name of its originator.
In 1826, one year before the expiration
of his term, he was elected as the only
representative of the state in the United
States Congress, and was re-elected con
stantly until 1834. One year prior to the
expiration of his last congressional term
he was elected governor of Illinois. Dur
ing all the political storms that raged
throughout the state and nation he enjoyed
the reputation of being an honest man.
He was neither selflsh nor malignant;
and was not the personal enemy of his
political opponents, nor did he bear them
aught of malice. His character as a pub
lic man was marked by enthusiastic patri
otism, an intuitive and generally accurate
discernment of the character and motives
of those around liliii, a Napoleon-like rapid
ity in arranging his plans, and a high de
gree of energy in their execution. He ex
ercised great honesty of purpose in the
formation of his opinions, and a bold a,nd
manly frankness in avowing and advocat
ing them.
Attachment to the cause of education
marked the whole course of his life both

320

BlOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES.

as a citizen and as a public man ; and to it
he freely and liberally contributed his
time, money, personal services and official
influence. To Illinois College his services
were most valuable, his donations were
liberal, and the amount of time and person
al attention which he gratuitously devot
ed to the object was probably greater
than the public were aware of.
From 1835 until his death he was a
member of its board of trustees, and of
the prudential committee, by which the
details of the board are generally transact
ed. He was a member of the Presbyterian
church, and was ever distinguished for his
.reverential deportment in public worship,
and for those marks of respect and kind
ness which he was accustomed to bestow
on the ministers of religion. He was a
friend to universal humanity. His aflec
tions were limited by no sectional, secta
rian or party lines ; but were ready to em
brace true worth, and honor true virtue
wherever found.
To raise the money to pay for the land
for the State Deaf and Dumb Institution,
in February, 1839, Gov. Duncan prepared
a subscription paper which he headed with
$50, and then secured from others the bal
ance of about $1000, with a jiart of which
the present site, of about six acres, was
purchased from the Hon. S. D. Lockwood
and David A. Smith, Esq. The balance
was subsequently expended in improving
the grounds. Gov. Duncan was chosen
the first President of the Board of Trustees
and remained as such until the time of his
death. He died January 15th, 1844, after
a short illness, leaving a wife. Three sons
died in infancy or early childhood. One
son is still living— ^in Chicago. Three
daughters are numbered with the silent
majority and two estimable daughters sur
vive both father and mother — Mrs. Mary
Putnam, of Davenport, Iowa, and Mrs.
Julia S. Kirby, of this city.
His estimable wife survived him many
years, continuing her residence in Jack
sonville and growing dearer from year to
year to those who knew her but to love
her for her true christian worth.
See pages 47, 53, 58, 70, 74, 78, 79, 80, 97,
100, 110, 247, 259.

JULIAN MONSON STURTEVANT
was born at Warren, Litchfield county,
Connnecticut, July 26, 1805, his parents
having been Warren Sturtevant and Lucy
Tanner, both natives of the same place.
He is a descendant of Samuel Sturtevant,
who was a farmer in the old Plymouth
colony, in 1648. During his childhood,
his father removed to what is now Sum
mit county, Ohio, and in the winter fol
lowing this migration, which occured late
in 1816, the little household was domiciled
in a log cabin, in the heart of what was
then an almost interminable forest of
Northern Ohio,
Here he spent his youth, obtaining, in
the interim of the seasons of farm labor,
a good common school education, and
here was developed a strong inclination
for the work of the Christian ministry.
In his thirteenth year, then ambitious
for a collegiate education, he commenced
the study of the Latin language with his
brother, whose desires were kindred with
his own, and together they labored dili
gently, with the limited means placed at
their disposal for self-culture. Thus he
obtained a very good preparatory standing
for a college course, and before his seven
teenth year was thoroughly acquainted
with the ^neid, Georgics and Bucolics of
Virgil, with the works of Sallust and Caesar,
the orations of Cicero, and the more im
portant productions of literature, during
the Augustan age, of ancient Rome.
In the summer of 1822, in company with
his elder brother and Elizur Wright, since
not unlinown to fame, he went to New
Haven and was enrolled among the Fresh
men of Yale. By careful attention to his
studies, by making the most of all the ad
vantages aflorded him, he graduated with
distinction, in 1826, and in a class of 101
was regarded as one of its best scholars.
Upon his graduation, he assumed the
office of Principal in an academy at New
Canaan, Connecticut, and retained it for
nearly two years, when he entered the
Theological Department of Yale. While
prosecuting his studies here, he joined an
association of his fellow-students, whose
object was the selection of some State in
the Mississippi Valley, where all should
seek their homes ; where they might unite

Biographical Sketches.

321

their eflorts for the founding of churches,
schools and a college, and the fostering
of all institutions which tended to develop
a Christian civilization. Their Eastern
friends readily contributed to aid them in
this noble mission, and, after considerable
correspondence, Illinois was selected as
their future home and field of labor. This
State was then in its infancy, having in
1830 less than 160,000 inhabitants.
In 1830 Dr. Sturtevant married Eliza
beth Maria Fayerweather, of New Ca
naan, Connecticut, and soon after, accom
panied by his wife and his life-long friend.
Rev. Theron Baldwin, he emigated to Illi
nois. In December of that year, he and
his associates organized the Board of
Trustees of Illinois College, at Jackson
ville, and he was selected to open the in
stitution for the reception of pupils.
On the morning of January 4th, 1831,
in an unfinished building, the southern
half of what is now known as the Library,
he met nine students as its first matricu
lants, and the institution was inaugurated.
One year after. Rev. Edward Beecher be
ing selected as President of the college,
he was chosen Professor of Mathematics
and Natural Philosophy, holding that po
sition until 1844, when he was elected to
succeed Rev. Mr. Beecher in the Presi
dency of the institution. Since then he
has confined his instruction to mental and
moral science, resigning the Presidency
in 1876.
In 1885, after serving Illinois College
since its founding in 1829, 14 years as
professor, 32 years as President, and 9 years
as ex-President, President Sturtevant, at
the ripe age of 80, retired from the institu
tion. We congratulate him on his long
and beneficent public career. With in
tellect still vigorous and bright, may he
enjoy many years of rest and peace in this
community, with the highest interests of
which he has been so closely connected
for more than half a century.
In 1840 Dr. Sturtevant's wife died. He
subsequently married her younger sister,
Hannah R, Fayerweather, who still sur
vives. Three of his sons have been grad
uated from Illinois College, one of whom —
Dr. Julian M., Jr.— is now a Congrega
tional pastor, in Cleveland, Ohio ; and one

— Alfred H. — was for some time a tutor in
the institution, and now is farming. The
third — Warren — died at the age of thirty-
seven. Dr. Sturtevant has written voluminously
for the newspapers and periodicals, and
his articles in the religious weeklies. The
Advance, Independent, The Gongregational-
ist. The New Englander (quarterly), and
others, show him to be a writer of no or
dinary culture. His style is smooth and
fiuent ; his reasoning is clear and power
ful; his descriptions the choicest speci
mens of word-painting. He has also made
two most scholarly and valuable contribu
tions to library literature in his published
volumes entitled "Sect'' and "Economics."
In 1863 he visited England and Conti
nental Europe, and as this was during the
Rebellion, he had frequent opportunities
for ascertaining, with much precision, the
character of foreign sentiment regarding
the North and South. Upon his return,
he delivered and finally published a lec
ture on "British feeling and Its Causes."
This discourse was published in England,
at the instance of Richard Cobden.
Many years ago he received the degreo
of D. D., from the University of Missouri
and the degree of LL. D., from Iowa Col
lege. See pages 55, 56, 60, 68, 69, 70, 74, 75,
77, 81, 84, 91, 110, 114, 126, 148, 156, 195,
199, 200, 211, 212, 231, 140, 243, 251, 254,
261. 262, 365, 269, 301.
EDWARD L. McDonald, a member
of one of Jacksonville's oldest families, was
of the manor born October 28th, 1849. His
early education was obtained at the west
district school, Jacksonville. He attended
the Jacksonville Business College as well,
and obtained the first scholarship issued
by that college. Afterwards he entered
Wabash College, Crawfordsville, Indiana,
in the fall of 1866, but remained there
only part of the year, being called home
on account of the sickness of his father,
Alexander McDonald. He entered Illinois
College in the fall of 1867, but not con
tinuing the course there, he became en
gaged in the dry goods business as clerk.
At tbe expiration of one year he resumed
his studies at Illinois College, and re-

322

BlOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES.

mained until the graduation of his class
in 1871. The following year he com
menced the study of law with Judge Cyrus
Epler, and after the latter's election as
judge, pursued the reading of law in the
offlce of Henry Stryker, Jr. He also at
tended law lectures at Michigan Universi
ty, Ann Arbor, Michigan, for two terms,
and graduated there in the class of 1874,
being class orator.
He entered upon the practice of law in
this city, in partnership with his brother
Frederick A., now County Judge in Wash
ington Territory. He was also for awhile
in partnership with Judge Wm. Thomas.
Throughout his life he has been active
in politics, taking the Democratic view of
all questions, yet he has always been a fair
minded and conscientious man. He has
been honored by his fellow partisans by
many places of trust in the management
of party aSairs and has acceptably served
his county as States Attorney and this
legislative district as Representative in
the 34th General Assembly, being elected
to that body in November, 1884, receiving
5,631 votes, a larger number than his Dem
ocratic colleague or Republican opponent.
He is a married man now, with a family
of four children. His church connections
like those of his parents have always been
Presbyterian and he is now a member of
the State Street Presbyterian Church.
See pages 203, 310, 226, 267.
HON, EDWARD SCOTT was born in
Yorkshire, England, May 10, 1828. He is
the son of Zachariah and Elizabeth Scott,
who emigrated to and settled in Morgan
county, four miles west of Jacksonville,
in December, 1830. On Christmas day of
that year the "deep snow," so frequently
spoken of by the old settlers, commenced
falling. Mr. Scott had a family of five
children, of which the subject of this
sketch is the youngest. He died July 2,
1846, at his residence, on section 30, town
ship 15, range 11, where he entered land,
on which he resided until he died His
wife died, also, in June, 1847. Mr. Scott
and his wife were members of the Episco
pal Church.
The subject of this sketch received his
education in Morgan county. He fol
lowed farming until 1847. He was next

engaged for two years in completing hi.s
education. He engaged in a clerkship
with Mr. T. 0. Routt, in 18l9, which he
followed for three years. He eslablished
himself in mercantile business in Jack
sonville, in 1852, which he continued un
til September 15, 1857 The next year he
was appointed Deputy Sheriff, and con
tinued in that offlce two years In Feb
ruary, 1864, he was engaged Id the firm of
Lambert & Scott, in a wholesale and re
tail grocery business, which he continued
until the fall of 1869, when he was elected
County Judge.
Judge Scott is now engaged in banking
and milling, being a large stockholder and
President of the First National Bank,
Jacksonville, and active member of the
firm of Scott, Hackett & Chambers, pro
prietors of Morgan Mills.
He has been politically, thus far
through life, a Democrat. He warmly
sustained the flag of our country during
the rebellion, by voluntarily putting a
man in his place, and other acts of patri
otism. As the character of Judge Scott is so
well known, we will simply say that he
is one of the pioneer citizens of Morgan
county, and stands conspicuous among
the reliable business men of the com
munity in which he has lived, and won
the esteem of a large circle of friends by
his many virtues and noble qualities as a
citizen. See pages 65, 108, 180, 181, 190, 226, 228.

JOHN N. MARSH is a native of Sulli
van county. New York, and was born No
vember 20, 1833. He is the youngest
child of S. N. Marsh, who was a lumber-
dealer. The subject of our sketch received his
early education in the schools of Monti
cello, New York. After leaving school
he taught for a period of three years. He
then engaged in mercantile pursuits at
Bridgeville, New York. He continued in
that business, at that place, for three
years. In the fall of 1846 he was married to
Miss Thirza N. Ketchum, daughter of
Dr. Alex. Ketchum, of Bridgeville. New
York. Mr. and Mrs. Marsh have had a

BlOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES.

323

family of eight children, three boys and
five girls.
In the spring of 1855 Mr. Marsh removed
to Lanesborough, Pennsylvania, where he
resided five years, and in the fall of 1860
settled in Jacksonville, Illinois, where
for five years he was engaged in the boot
and shoe business. He was then appoint
ed Assistant Assessor of Internal Reve
nue, under Johnson's administration, and
held that office nearly two years.
Mr. Marsh has given his family a good
education in our city, and was so interest
ed in school matters as to be selected as
one of the directors of the Walnut Grove
District (now First Ward) school, in 1867.
In April, 187"2, he was elected City Clerk
of Jacksonville, as the "People's" candi
date He is now filling, in an acceptable way,
the important offlce of Circuit Clerk and
Recorder, having been elected thereto, on
the Democratic ticket, in 187*, and suc
cessively re-elected in 1880 and 1884.
See pages 181, 185, 208, 210, 326.

WILLIAM THOMAS.— No present cit
izen of Jacksonville was, probably, so close
ly identified with early times here. He
was born November 22, 1802, in what was
then Warren, but is now Allen county,
Kentucky. His parents were natives of
Virginia, who in their infancy removed
with their parents, to Kentucky, soon af
ter the Indian wars, and married in 1800.
They settled in the woods, where they
opened a farm, on which they resided for
over fifty years.
His education included only the rudi
mentary branches, and was obtained in
the rude log cabins of that early day.
When he was but eighteen years of age,
his father, who was then Sheriff of the
county, appointed him his deputy; his
duties being confined to serving notices,
summoning witnesses, and collecting taxes.
At the expiration of his father's official
term, he was made Deputy Clerk of the
County Court of Allen county, receiving,
in lieu of salary, his board and clothing.
He remained in that position about two
years, when he accepted a similar place
in the county of Warren, at a salary of $200,
and there he continued, also, for a year

and a half. While attending to the duties
of these offices, he became familiar with
the forms of deeds, mortgages and other
instruments used in the proceedings of
courts ; also with the modes of proceeding
and rules of decisions upon important
questions of practice. On leaving the
Clerk's office, his friends advised him to
study and follow the profession of the law.
At this time Hon. James T. Moorehead,
of Bowling Green, who was afterwards
Governor of the State, and a United States
Senator, tendered him the use of his office
and library free of charge, while his father
proposed to board him and wait for his
pay from the fees he should receive after
his admission to practice'. He accepted
these kind offiers, and his law-license was
issued July 5, 1823, when he engaged in
professional duties with Counsellor Moore
head, who had a large practice in Logan
county, as attorney for a bank located at
Bowling Green, to attend to which Lawyer
Thomas went to Russellville, where he re
mained over a year in that service. In
December, 1824, he returned to Bowling
Green, and entered the office of the Hon.
Joseph R. Underwood, to assist the latter
in his professional engagements, and con
tinued with him, at a small salary, until
September, 1826, when he removed to Illi
nois, and located at Jacksonville, where
he has ever since resided. During his
first winter here he taught school, and in
the spring and fall of 1827 he attended all
the courts in the First Judicial Circuit,
composed of nine counties, and was for
tunate enough to find some clients.
In the summer of 1837 he volunteered
as a private in the mounted militia, called
out by Governor Edwards, to protect the
miners and settlers of Jo. Daviess county
against threatened incursions of the Win
nebago Indians. He was appointed quar-
ter-master-seargant, and ultimately filled
the post of commisary to the troops. Dur
ing the winter of 1838-39, he attended the
Legislature, then sitting at Vandalia, and
he reported the proceedings for the only
newspaper printed at the seat of govern
ment. During this same session the First
Judicial Circuit was divided, and a new-
circuit was created north of the Illinois
river. He received the appointment of

324

Biographical Sketches.

State's Attorney, and attended the courts
thereof in 1839, when he resigned. On
March 25, 1830, he was married to Cather
ine Scott, of Morgan county, Illinois, a
native of Litchfield, New York. In 1881
he was appointed School Commissioner-
of Morgan County, by which he was au
thorized to sell the school-lands of the
several townships, and secure the money
arising from the sales. He resigned this
offlce early in 1835, He participated in
the Black Hawk war : fii st in the spring
of 1831, in the brigade under General
Joseph Duncan, and a year later under
General Samuel Whitesides, and filled the
position of quarter -master and commissary
on both of those occasions.
He was elected to the State Senate for
four years, and took his seat in December,
1834. That body then consisted of twenty-
four members, of whom but two others —
Cyrus Edwards, of Alton, and Richard
Taylor, of Chicago — besides himself sur
vive. The leading question pending dur
ing that winter was the construction of
the Illinois & Michigan Canal, and after
some time had been passed in discussing
it, a loan of $500,000 was authorized,
though subsequent legislation was re
quired to effect this. Beside several other
bills of minor importance. Senator Thomas
was the author of the following general
laws : 1. The seven years' limitation law
in regard to actions and suits against par
ties having possession of lands with a con
nected title in law or equity. 3. The act
(and the first on that subject) authorizing
religious societies to hold in perpetuity
ground whereon to build houses of wor
ship, and to bury the dead. 8. The act
vesting trustees of incorporated towns or
cities with power to declare what should
be considered nuisances, and to provide
for their abatement. 4. The act to pro
vide for tlie distribution and application
of the interest on the school, college and
seminary funds. 5. The act to provide
for the security of the school-funds. At
this session provision was made for the
appointment of State's Attorneys by the
Legislature, which he opposed as being
unconstitutional, these offlces having been
previously filled by the Governor and
Senate.

The Legislature convened again, under
the call of the Governor, in December,
1835, the chief objects being to provide
for work on the canal, and for appointing
the representation for the succeeding five
years. At the session of 1886-7 Senator Thomas
was appointed chairman of the committee
on the canal and canal lands, and so con
tinued until he left the Senate, in March,
1839. During this session (of 1836-37) an
effort was made to change the canal from
Ottawa to Joliet, to a slack-water naviga
tion, but it did not succeed. He made
a report against the change, and in favor
of the "deep cut." He prepared all the
bills for acts relating to the canal and
canal lands, that were passed from Decem
ber, 1836, to March, 1889. He was op.
posed to the system of internal improve
ments adopted in 1836-37. He prepared
and introduced the bill for the "Act to
amend the several laws in relation to com
mon schools," approved March 4, 1887, by
which, for the first time, provision was
made for the organization of a system of
common schools throughout the State.
In the session of 1838-39, his time was
mostly occupied in preparing and acting
upon bills relating to the canal. At this
session an act was passed incorporating
the Deaf and Dumb Institution, of which
he was made one of the trustees, and was
continued as a member of the board until
1869, when he was appointed a member
of the Board of State Charities, which po
sition, owing to infirmity, lie resigned
during the following summer. In March,
1839, he was elected Circuit Judge of the
First Judicial Circuit, by the Legislature.
He was elected to the lower branch of the
State Legislature in 1846. During tha
first week of the session of 1846-47 lie
proposed and introduced a bill for an act
incorporating a Retreat for the Insane—
the first movement in the Legislature on
that subject — with provisions for the care
of that unfortunate class. This bill passed
the House and had been read, and referred
to a committee in the Senate, when Miss
Dix arrived at the seat of government, on
her mission to petition the Legislature
to make provision for the care of the in
sane of the State. She objected to this

BlOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES.

325

bill because it made no appropriation of
funds ; and she, with the committee, de
cided to propose and introduce a new bill
in the Senate. Accordingly, with the assist
ance of Miss Dix, the Hon. Charles Con
stable, of the Senate, prepared the bill,
which was finally passed; and Judge
Thomas was made a trustee of the institu
tion. When Miss Dix reached Spring
field, he was the only member of the
Legislature with whom she had any ac
quaintance; he therefore introduced her
to the members. He remained a trustee
of this Retreat until after the purchase of
the site and the walls of the building were
ready for the reception of the roof, when
he resigned. He was elected and served
as a delegate in the Constitutional Conven
tion of 1847. He was one of the parties
who paid the expenses of maintaining a
School for the Blind for nearly a year pre
vious to the meeting of the Legislature
in January, 1849; and he was the author
of the bill creating and incorporating the
Institution for the Blind, which was passed
without a change. He prepared the bill
which was enacted in March, 1845, incor
porating the Sangamon & Morgan Rail
way Company, and authorizing the sale to
that company of the railroad from Spring
field to the Illinois river. He also pre
pared, and secured the passage of the acts
under which the road was extended east
ward from Springfield to the State line.
He was a member of the Legislature
during the session of 1851-53, and the sub
sequent called session. He was charged
with being the author of the bill for the
"Act to establish a general system of bank
ing," passed in 1851 ; but the charge was
false. At the request of the committee he
revised the bill, arranged the sections,
and proposed several amendments, all of
which were adopted. He prepared all the
bills required at this session in relation to
the State institutions located at Jackson
ville. At the subsequent called session he
proposed the bill for the obtaining of the
right-of-way for roads, which was passed
without any substantial change.
During the two sessions he was placed
on numerous committees. Upon most of
them he acted, and his time was constantly
occupied in reading bills and in preparing.

suggesting and reporting amendments. He
uniformly opposed special legislation,
especially acts authorizing executors, ad-
niinistrators and guardians to sell real
estate of infants, acts granting divorces,
acts granting ferry-licenses, and acts for
all purposes that could be compassed by
application to the courts.
The present "Illinois Female College"
was originally incorporated as the "Illinois
Annual Conference Female Academy,"
intended to be established and sustained
by the voluntary contributions of the
preachers, members and friends of the
Methodist Episcopal Church. He was ap
pointed one of the trustees, and contrib
uted very liberally towards the same. He
continued a trustee until the institution
was changed to a college, and until a large
debt had been contracted (for which the
trustees were personally responsible), in
enlarging the building and providing
boarding and rooms for pupils coming
from distant points. As all of his time
was required in attending to private and
public engagements, he proposed to re
sign his place as trustee ; and to avoid
the implication that this proposition was
with a view to escape responsibility for
liabilities, he advanced $1,000 to the board,
which was supposed to be a liberal part in
case the trustees should be required to
meet the liabilities out of their private
means. In 1861 the west wing was burned,
and this so reduced the capacity of the
building to accommodate boarders, that
no revenue could be expected from that
source ; and therefore the trustees decided
at once to meet the indebtedness, which
amounted to over $30,000, or to abandon
the college. He now paid what was ad
mitted to be more than his pro rata part
of the amount ; and it was said that, but
for his liberality, the debt could not have
been paid. Although this may be true, the
same remark would apply to several of the
preachers, who paid as much, if not more
than he did, in proportion to their means.
Following the payment of this indebt
edness, he was one of several who con
tributed about $6,000 for rebuilding the
west wing. He then insured the building
for $5,000, and the trustees did the same
for $30,000. In less than three years the

326

BlOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES.

main building was burned. He charged
the institution the cost of the insurance,
and gave the college the balance of what
was paid him on his policy. In addition
he donated $1,000 to pay for heating the
main building with steam, which, being
rebuilt, he again insured it, and in less
than two years it met a similar fate. He
donated, as in the flrst instance, the
balance accruing to him, amounting, alto
gether, to about $7,000, but has not rein
sured since the rebuilding of the main
edifice. He proposed to resign his posi
tion as trustee, in 1874, but the Conference
were unwilling to accept. His term of
office expired in 1875, and he determined
not to accept a reappointment.
In the spring of 1861 he was appointed,
by the Governor and Senate, a member of
the Board of Army Auditors. In the fol
lowing summer he was deputed to go to
Washington to obtain funds from the
United States, to pay war-accounts, and
succeeded in obtaining $450,000. He had
the accounts in such form, that Secretary
Chase, without occupying more than twenty
minutes' time, gave the order for the mon
ey. On applying at the Treasurer's offlce,
he discovered thatthe treasury-notes which
he expected to receive were not printed,
and twenty days elapsed before they were
delivered to him. He continued in the
offlce of Auditor until the spring of 1862,
when he resigned, having examined up
wards of $3,000,000 of accounts.
Judge Thomas long since gave up the
practice of his profession by reason of ad
vancing years and consequent infirmities ;
but, happily married in his old age, to
Mrs. Leanna Orear, still occupies with her
and other relatives, a delightful home on
West College avenue.
See pages 14, 15, 48, 45, 48, 50, 53, 57,
58, 63, 65, 80, 81, 87, 97, 101, 103, 110, 114,
115, 118, 119, 120, 121, 123, 127, 175, 241,
343, 350, 262, 268, 278.

ISAAC L. MORRISON has been a res
ident of the city of Jacksonville since
June, 1851. He is a native of Kentucky.
He was admitted to the bar in his native
State, and has made the practice of the
law his business from the time of his ad
mission to the bar.

In politics he is Republican. He was
a delegate to the Republican Convention
which assembled at Bloomington, 111., in
1856. He attended the Republican Con
vention at Baltimore, in 1864, as a dele
gate, and served as a member of the Exec
utive Republican State Central Committee
for that year. In 1877, 1879 and 1883 he
was a member of the House of Represent
atives in the State Legislature and served
as Chairman of the Committee on Judi
ciary in the Thirtieth and Thirty-Second
General Assemblies. In 1880 he was the
Republican candidate for Congress in this
district. The district being largely Dem
ocratic, he perhaps had no expectation of
being elected. However, he made an act
ive canvass, and reduced the Democratic
majority about 900 votes and ran ahead of
the State and national tickets.

REV. LIVINGSTON M. GLOVER, D.
D,, was born February 31st, 1819, in the
the township of Phelps, Ontario county.
New York, and was the son of Philander
and Ruhamah Glover, who removed from
Massachusetts to the "Genesee country"
in 1800. He is descended from English
ancestry, traceable back to Saxon times,
when the name was written Gelofre,
Several persons of the name have been dis
tinguished in the fatherland; as, Robert
Glover, who perished at the stake in 1555,
in the reign of "bloody Mary," and Richard
Glover, an eminent poet, merchant, and
member of Parliament, born in London in
1713, and who died in 1785 in that city,
author of an epic called "Leonidas," also
of several tragedies.
About the year 1640, two brothers, John
and Henry Glover, emigrated to America,
and settled in New England, near Bostou.
From the latter of these the Rev. Dr.
Glover was descended ; and his immediate
ancestors were residents of Conway, Mass.
After passing a third of a century in
New York State, his father removed, in
1833, to the then Territory of Michigan,
and settled on Lodi Plains, near Ann Arbor.
Thither his son Livingston accompanied
him, and up to the age of seventeen was
reared on a farm, following the plow, etc.,
but without any special fondness for an

BlOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES.

327

agricultural life, as his tastes, from early
childhood, strongly inclined him to letters,
study, and public life. Stories are nar
rated of his stopping the team in the har
vest field, and of his mounting a stump to
exercise his gifts in declamation. When
other boys of his age were at play, he was
engaged in writing articles for the village
paper ; so that his father early predicted
the uselessness of inducing him to follow
in his footsteps, as an agriculturalist.
About the year 1834 a "Manual Labor
School" — then very common and a furore
throughout the country — was established
in Ann Arbor, very near the site of the
present university. He was enrolled
among its first pupils, and for a year or
more pursued the studies preparatory to a
college course, laboring four hours per
day on the "school farm" in payment for
board. In the autumn of 1836 he entered the
Western Reserve College at Hudson, Ohio,
from which institution he was graduated at
the commencement in 1840. After leav
ing college, he at once connected himself
with the Lane Theological Seminary, Cin
cinnati, studying for the ministry, to
which he had devoted himself at the time
of his conversion in 1836, although pre
vious to that date his preferences led him
in the direction of the law and of political
life. Having passed two years in theological
study, he was licensed to preach the gos
pel, and in October, 1842, took charge of
the Presbyterian church of Lodi, Michigan,
where his first profession of faith had been
made. He continued at that place for six
years, making proof of his ministry in a
wide-spread country congregation, and
among a people who had known him from
boyhood, enjoying their confidence, and
being very successful in his ministrations,
proving somewhat of an exception to the
rule that "a prophet is not without honor,
save in his own country."
In the autumn of 1848 he received, very
unexpectedly, a call from the First Pres
byterian Church of Jacksonville, Illinois
which against the wishes of his people he
deemed it his duty to accept. He took
charge of that important congregation in
October, 1848, and continued to serve this

congregation as beloved pastor for the
term of thirty-two years. ,
In October, 1873, the quarter-centennial
of the pastorate was observed with appro
priate and interesting ceremonies. His
pastoral charge was of longer duration
than any other of this denomination in
the State, and perhaps in the West.
He received, in 1864, the honorary de.
gree of Doctor of Divinity from Centre
College, Kentucky. As a theologian, he
had few equals in the country, and was a
most infiuential and useful clergyman and
citizen. He was a man of broad, liberal
and Christian views. Dr. Glover thor
oughly identified himself with the educa
tional and benevolent interests of this
place. For eighteen years he was a mem
ber and Secretary of the Board of Trustees
of Illinois College. At the time of his
death he was President of the Board of
Trustees of the Jacksonville Female
Academy, and also President of the
Board of Directors of "Oak Lawn Retreat,"
a private institution at Jacksonville for
the insane. He took a firm and advanced
stand in the temperance reform, and in
all kindred causes.
In the course of his ministry he pub
lished more than thirty discourses, ordi
nary and special, generally at the request
of his people or of the community. In
addition to these, he gave numerous arti
cles on various subjects to the religious
and secular papers. Through the same
medium he published many poems of a
moral and religious character, and, for the
most part, lyrical in form.
He has twice gone abroad ; in 1858, he
travelled through Europe, and as far East
as Syfia and Egypt, and again in 1873, by
appointment of the Presbyterian General
Assembly of the United States, he went as
a delegate to the Assembly of the Free
Church of Scotland, meeting in Edinburgh.
At that time, he made an extensive tour
through the British isles.
He was identified with Illinois during
a period of wonderful development and
saw the humble village of Jacksonville
expand into a beautiful and thriving city
of 10,000 inhabitants.
He was married in 1843, to Marcia A.,
daughter of Professor Rufus Nutting, of

328

BlOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES.

the Western Reserve College. As the
fruit of this remarkably happy union there
were five children all of whom survived
him and are living to day : Mrs. Mary
Mitchell of Springfield, Lyman Beecher
of Chicago, Mrs. Mattie Higginson of
Humboldt, Kansas, John Adams pf Indian-
opolis, Ind., and William Brown of Hum
boldt, Kansas. Dr. Glover's beloved wife,
mother and brother are still residents of
this city, honored for their own sakes as
well as for the memory of his consecrated
Christian life, which terminated after
weeks of great suffering from disease, on
Thursday, July 15th, 1880 The entiife
community felt the loss incurred in his
transfer to "the better land'" and joined
their sympathies and tears with the afflict
ed family and the stricken church of his
loving care as the mortal remains were
lain to rest in the beautiful Diamond
Grove Cemetery.
See also pages 55, 57, 61, 69, 71, 94, 115,
116, 125, 130, 153, 154, 156, 178, 186, 197,
198, 206, 210, 262, 269, 283.

HENRY CUTHBERT TUNISON was
born in Tazewell county, Illinois, on Feb
ruary 5th, A. D. 1855. Removed with his

parents to Greene county, Illinois, when
less than one year old. His boyhood was
spent on the farm formerly owned by his
father, Isaac 0. Tunison, part of which is
within the limits of the city of Roodhouse.
His present place of residence is Jackson
ville, Morgan county, Illinois. He was
married on March 23d, 1876, near Man
chester, Illinois, to Miss Kate R. Murray.
In 1868, at the age of thirteen, he began
business for himself as a canvasser. Soon
after he became an employer, sending out,
over a limited territory, a few sub-agents.
Later he became a publisher of atlases,
maps and charts. To-day his name is a
household word in every part of the United
States, Canada and the Maritime Provin
ces, and his trade extends into British
Columbia, Old Mexico, the Bermudas and
the West Indies. Hehas traveled in every
state and territory ot the United States,
also in foreign lands, and is the proprietor,
to-day, of wholesale Atlas, Map and Chart
houses in the following cities: New
York City; London, Canada; Chicago,
Illinois; Cincinnati, O. ; Atlanta, Georgia;
Jacksonville, III. ; Kansas City, Mo. ; and
San Francisco, Cal., — and contemplates
establishing a house in London, England.

JOHN J. HARDIN, eldest child of Mar
tin D. and Elizabeth Hardin, was born
January 5, 1810. His father, a distin
guished lawyer of Kentucky, died Octo
ber 8, 1823, John then being thirteen
years old. Upon his mother, as sole ex
ecutrix of his father's will until he should
be twenty-one yearu of age, devolved the
care of the family and the management
of the estate. The latter was so embar
rassed by security debts, amounting to
nearly $50,000, that Henry Clay and other
friends of the family advised her lo sur
render it to the creditors and free herself
from the perplexities connected with its
settlement. Of firm and resolute pur
pose, and with a will to discharge any
liability of her deceased husband, and
educate her children, she said, "Gentle
men, give me time, and I will pay all,"
Time was granted; aud, applying herself
to the taslc, she managed the estate with
so much discretion and ability, that she
paid all of the liabilities against it, sup-

Biographical Sketches.

329

ported and educated her children, and
provided for their advancement in life
John, who early manifested that deter
mined purpose and eUergy of character
which was impressed upon him by the
example of his mother, received a liberal
education and was bred to the law, un
der the late Chief Justice Boyle. The
Chief Justice resided about five miles
from Harrodsburgh Springs, and em
ployed a portion of his leisure iu the in
struction of a few law-students, who
boarded in the families in the neighbor
hood and repaired weekly to his library
for examination. In 1829 John J. Hardin
boarded in the family of Mrs. Smith,
whose daughter, Sarah, he afterwards
married. Judge Wm. Brown, of Jack
sonville, studied law with the Chief Just
ice at the same time, and became the
warm friend of Hardin for life.
Hardin's professional studies complet
ed, his active temperament led him at
once to seek out a theatre upon which he
should act his part in the drama of life.
He explored Illinois; and, captivated
with its beauty, settled in Jacksonville in
1830. In the January following, he re
turned to Kentucky and was married.
Possessing a correct judgment of human
nature, an ardent temperament, uncom
mon tact, energy, perseverance, he made
his mark wherever he moved, and soon
stood in the front rank of his profession.
As an advocate, notwithstanding an occar
sional hesitancy of speech, he was always
heard with attention. He selected the
strong points of his case with discretion
and sustained them with great force of
argument. At times the strong passions and sym
pathies were stirred up, and he became
persuasive and eloquent. A plain, blunt
man when his indignation was aroused,
woe to the man who, either before the
jury or the people, felt the heavy stroke
of his "meat-axe oratory."
In 1833 he was appointed State's Attor
ney for this circuit, and for years dis
charged the duties of the offlce with faith
fulness to the public interests.
At the session of 1839 O. H. Browning,
of Adams, and Wm. Thomas, of Morgan,
of the Senate, and John J. Hardin, of the
House of Representatives, procured the

enactment of a law founding the Deaf
and Dumb Institute, in this place. In
time the Insane Asylum and the Institu
tion for the Blind were also located here.
Social in his habits, warm hearted and
free in his intercourse with the people,
bold and fearless in the iiromulgation and
advocacy of his political opinions ; and
withal public spirited, he soon became a
leader in politics. How successfully he
maintained the strife, against large odds,
is well remembered by friend and foe.
In 1836, 1838 and 1840, he was returned
as a member of the House of Represent
atives of the General Assembly, from Mor
gan county.
In 1843 he was chosen to represent this
district in Congress, which he did with
lionesty, vigor and patriotism.
Possessing a taste for military life, Col.
Hardin passed from one grade to another
in the militia until he was appointed to
the high offlce of Major General, He par
ticipated with honor in the Black Hawk
war, and was selected by Gov. Thos. Ford
as a man eminently to be relied upon in
the settlement of the Mormon disturbance
in Hancock county.
In 1847, the United States entered into
war with Mexico, without deciding the
question of the justice or injustice of that
war. Thousands differed with the gov
ernment, yet when the call was made for
volunteers, John J. Hardin, then Major
General of the Illinois Militia, was the
first to appeal to his fellow citizens to
rally around the national flag. His ap
peal was promptly responded to, and Gen.
Hardin was elected colonel of the First
Regiment of Illinois Volunteers. In train
ing his undisciplined troops, in proividing
for their wants, in cheering them on the
march, in watching over them in camp,
he discharged successfully the duties of
his arduous command.
On the 31st of February, 1847, General
Taylor, who commanded our army in Mex
ico, being satisfied that the Mexicans, un
der Santa Anna, were upon the forward
march, broke up his camp at Agua and
fell back to the strong mountain pass, a
little in front of Buena Vista. The road
at this point becomes a narrow defile, the
valley on its right being rendered quite

330

Biographical Sketches.

impracticable for artillery by a succession
of rugged ridges, extending far back to
wards the mountains which bound the
valleys. "The features of the ground
were such as to nearly paralyze the artil
lery and cavalry of the enemy, while his
infantry would not derive all the advan
tage of his numerical superiority. In
this well-selected position. Gen. Taylor,
at the head of 5,000 effective men, chiefly
volunteers, prepared to receive the ene
my — 22,000 strong, and composed of the
fiower of the Mexican nation. In the or
der of battle Capt. Washington and bat
tery was posted to command the road,
while the First and Second Illinois Regi
ments, under Cols. Hardin and Bissell, and
the Second Kentucky, undei' Col. McKee,
occupied the crest of the ridges on the
left and in the rear.'' At 11 o'clock on
the 22d, the American army was sum
moned to surrender at discretion, and the
usual defiance returned. The battle of
Buena Vista began in earnest on the morn
ing of the 23d of February, End contin
ued all day. Towards evening the enemy
were driven from the fleld and the Amer
icans were victorious, but not without
great loss of life — 264 killed, 450 wound
ed, 26 missing, on the American side;
Mexican loss estimated, killed and wound
ed, 2,000 men. The commanding gener
al, in his official I'eport, remarks: "In
the last confiict we had the misfortune to
sustain a very heavy loss — Col. Hardin,
First Illinois ; Col. McKee and Lieut.-Col.
Clay, Second Kentucky Regiments fell,
while gallantly leading their commands."
He further adds, "No loss falls more
heavily on the army than that of Col.
Hardin. Thus ends the life of Col. John J. Har
din. His career was brilliant, and his
star went down ere it had reached its ze
nith. He left three children — Ellen, now
the widow of M, T, Walworth, of Sarato
ga; Gen. Martin D. Hardin, a lawyer of
Chicago, wlio lost his arm in defense of
his country in our late war, and Lemuel
Smith Hardin, who lost an arm in the
Southern army and lives in Kentucky.
Col. Hardin we have seen as a states
man and warrior. He was also a Chris
tian for years, and elected, just before

leaving for the Mexican war, an elder in
the Presbyterian Church. He entertained
sound religious principles and hoped for
' salvation only thrmigh the Atonement of
Christ. Col. Hardin's services for the commun
ity and country are referred to on pages
44, 45, 50, 53, 68, 70, 74, 78, 79, SO, 89, 100,
i03, 110, 111, 117, 119, 130, 121, 127, 129,
162, 183, 339, 328.
HON. WM. BROWN, one of the older
attorneys in practice and senior member
of the firm of Brown & Kirby, was born
in Boonevilla, Mo., September 20th, 1840,
and is a graduate of Illinois College. He
read law at Booneville, Mo., under the
direction of Judge Wash. Adams, late
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of
Missouri, and was admitted to the bar in
1861. Mr. Brown was elected City Clerk
and Attorney of Jacksonville in 1863, and
re-elected to the same position in 1868. In
1864 he was elected State's Attorney of the
counties of Morgan, Scott, Greene, Jersey
and Calhoun, and in 1868 was re-elected as
State's Attorney in same circuit. In 1872
he resigned, and .was appointed County
Attorney, by Judge Scott, for term ending
December 1873. He was elected in Novem
ber, 1872, State Senator for the 80th dis
trict, composed of the counties of Morgan
and Greene, and from 1872 to 1874, was
chairman of the Democratic State Central
Committee. Mr. Brown is justly regarded
as one of the most prominent members of
the bar, with a large and lucrative practice.
He has been identified with the politics of
the State for many years, and often favor
ably spoken of by his party friends in con
nection with the highest offlces of the
State. As a practitioner he is justly re
garded as one of the ablest and most
brilliant in the West, interests of the
largest of railroad and other corporations
being placed in his care.
Mr. Brown has been happily married
twice, first to Miss Clara, daughter of David
Robb, Esq., and secondly to Miss Eliza Mar
tin. Tiiree promising chidren by the first
marriage— Miss Kate and Masters William
and Lloyd — survive their mother and there
is also one child by the second union.
See pages 179, 181, 348.

Poeteait of

Joshua Moose.

331

JOSHUA MO ORE,
OF JACKSONVILLE.
For Biographical Sket* see pages :515-16.

332

BlOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES.

DAVID B. AYERS.— Among the men
who early became identified with the
moral and intellectual welfare of Jackson
ville and Morgan county, no one has left
a more desirable record than the subject
of this biography. The great aim of his
life, like that of His whom he humbly
sought to imitate, was to do good. He
was active and energetic among the few
pioneers of the Sabbath School work of
his time. His history shows conclusively,
that for nearly half a century of life, he
fully comprehended its importance. He
has left to the world' a brilliant record of
his faith, shown by his untiring zeal and
energy in this work. As one of the orig
inal trustees of the Jacksonville Female
Academy, which position he occupied till
his death, he exhibited his love and devo
tion to the cause of education.
One of the channels of his benevolence
was furnishing finances, aid and encour
agement to young men who were striving
to obtain an education. These private
acts of his beneficence are still treasured
up in grateful hearts living today.
David B. Ayers was born November 21,
1798, in Newark, New Jersey. He was
the son of David and Abigail Ayers, and
removed to Philadelphia, where he en
gaged in the sale of drugs and medicines.
Here the subject of this sketch was edu
cated, and was married November 1, 1831,
to Miss Eliza, daughter of Daniel and
Mary Freytag, He continued his business
in the sale of drugs until 1830, when with
his family, he settled in the village of
Jacksonville, where he established, on East
State street, near the Public Square, the
first drug store in Morgan county, which
was doubtless the first in the state.
He erected a building on the corner
of West State street and the square, which
he moved into in 1833 and occupied for
many years. The site is now covered
by the elegant banking house of M. P.
Ayers & Co. He soon added books
to his trade, which was the first stock of
importance in that line in the county. As
agent of Mr. John Grigg, of Philadelphia,
assisted by others, he sold 125,000 acres
of land, in various counties in Illinois. In
the sale of these lands he was actively en
gaged, his two sons becoming his succes

sors in his former mercantile interests.
He finished his earthly record September
36, 1850. He was an earnest Christian,
and a useful and highly respected citizen.
Mr. Ayers and his family (as his parents
before him) were active members of the
Presbyterian church. His mother, after a
residence of eighteen years in Morgan
county, died at the advanced age of ninety-
four years. His wife is still living in Jack
sonville. Mr. Ayers has not only bequeath
ed to posterity the example of a well spent
life, but has left representatives who are
among the business men of the county,
interested largely in the financial and
manufacturing interests, with which, for
over forty years, they have been identified.

JAMES H. LURTON was born in Scott
county, Kentucky, March 21, 1813. He
was the fourth child of Dr. William Lur
ton, who had a family of nine children,
six of whom are now living. Dr. Lurton
was a prominent physician of Kentucky.
He removed to Morgan county in 1833,
where he resided till his death in 1839.
James H., came to Morgan county in
October, 1831, and located on what is
known as Jersey Prairie. He was Deputy
Sherifl for three years, under Alexander
Dunlap. In 1883 he was appointed by
the county court. Collector of Morgan
county, which position he filled about four
years. He was then elected Assessor and
Collector, which offlce he filled for several
consecutive terms. One fact worthy of
record is, that Mr. Lurton was never de
feated Sor any offlce in the county ; i. e.
when he had the vote of the county for a
county offlce. He resigned his offlce in
1850, and engaged in merchandising, in
Jacksonville, which business he continued
until 1862. He was elected in 1861, Col
lector and Treasurer of the county, which
position he filled with ability till 1869.
He was married at the age of 39 to Miss
Mary Stribling, daughter of Rev. W. C.
Stribling. By this union they have had a
family of nine children, eight of whom
are still living. His oldest daughter is
the wife of Dr. G, B. Sarchette, a gentle
man of French origin, who is now residing
at Terre Haute, Indiana, His oldest son.

BlOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES.

333

William S., is married and resides near
his father and is largely and actively en
gaged in the ice trade.
Mr. Lurton has given all his children
the advantages of a good education. He
became early in life identified with the
Democratic party. Mr. Lurton, when he
became a citizen of Morgan county, had
but little capital, but by persevering en
ergy and strict adherence to business has
amassed sufflcient to make him comforta
ble. He is one of the early citizens of
the county wliom the people have thor
oughly tested and as an advocate of their
interests, he has never been found wanting.
He has done much, by his energy and cap
ital, to develop and improve the county,
in which for over forty years he has been
an active public man, and a respected and
useful citizen. The people have reposed
in him the utmost confidence by conferring
upon him many posts of honor and trust.

E. S". HINRICHSEN was born in the
Grand Duchy of Mechlinberg, on the 29th
of April, 1815, and was educated in the
mercantile line of business. After attend
ing the usual common schools of the
country, he was a clerk of the city of
Laarge for three years. He next entered
a large wholesale establishment in the
city of Hamburg. He was also supercargo
of a vessel for nearly three years, and
made two trips to the Mediterranean, one
to Sumatra, and one to South America.
After the latter voyage he was shipwrecked
on the Louisiana coast, and finally landed
on the Unhappy Islands. He then went
up the Mississippi river, then up the
Ohio, and came to Pennsylvania. He
then made two trips to New Orleans, on
the river, and next engaged in railroading,
under Thad. Stevens — afterwards the great
commoner — on the Harrisburg & Gettys
burg railway. This road was called the
"Thad. Stevens tape-worm," owing to its
peculiar grade and curves.
When Mr. Hinrichsen first came to
Pennsylvania, he discovered the oil which
of late has made Oil Creek so famous. He
had some analyzed by a chemist at Pitts
burg, who pronounced it excellent for
wheel-grease. It was called at the time.

"American Rock Oil." He did not un
derstand the nature of the same, and thus
let the golden opportunity of making a
fortune slip through his hands, not know
ing that the oil could be obtained in large
quantities by boring. At that time, any
of the land could be purchased for eighteen
and three-fourths cents per acre. Mr. H.
was the first man in the country to have
oil analyzed, and was the predecessor of
those speculating parties, who almost
coined gold out of the wild and Inhospita
ble soil of the oil regions. There is much
credit due Mr. H., for first introducing to
the chemist this far-famed ijetroleum.
Mr. H. started for the West in 1840, and
ai-rived in Illinois in the latter part of
March of the some year. After a close
examination of the State, he settled in
Franklin, Morgan county, about seven
miles south of where Alexander is now
situated. Here he established himself in
the mercantile business. He remained
in this line of trade until 1852. He laid
out Franklin, now known as Orleans, in
1852, and established his brother in the
general merchandise business, but the
style of the firm was in the name of the
subject of this sketch. In 1853 he sold
his store at Franklin, and purchased a
farm three miles north of that place.
He was also station-agent at Orleans, and
grain-buyer. In 1856 he purchased over
100,000 bushels of wheat. Not being able
to obtain sufflcient ground for building
purposes at Orleans, in 1857 he laid out
the present town of Alexander. This
place ever since has been the home of
Mr. Hinrichsen. He was the stock-agent
of the Great Western (now W. St. L. & P.)
railroad, in 1857. He held that position,
to the satisfaction of all parties concerned,
till 1867, when the consolidated Toledo,
Wabash & Western railway appointed him
general stock-agent for the road, with the
single exception of the city of St. Louis.
The position was a great compliment to
the business skill and management of the
subject of this article. That he was worthy
the confidence placed in him by the offl-
cers of this great corporation, is evident
from the long series of years in which he
was in their employ.
As to the domestic relations of Mr. H.,

334

BlOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES.

we would state that he was married in
1845, to Miss Anna Wyatt, daughter of
William Wyatt, Esq., of Franklin pre
cinct. He was among the first pioneers
of Morgan county, and is regarded as
among its most prominent citizens. Six
children are the result of his marriage, —
three boys and three girls. The oldest son
— Wm. H. — is now thirty-five years of age,
and the popular editor and part owner of
the Illinois Courier.
We have given a terse and brief sketch
of the life of Mr. H., so full of striking
and interesting events. What he is to
day is due to his remarkable business
adaptability, his knowledge of men, and
that instinctive love of order — a peculiar
characteristic of great railroad men. With
al, he is a kind, affectionate neighbor, hos
pitable to strangers, and an advocate of
the right. His generosity is only equalled
by his urbanity. He is popular among all
acquaintances, and is recognized as a first-
class business man.

GEORGE W. SMITH, Attorney, was
born in Danville, Boyle county, Kentucky,
November 19th, 1837, and came with his
parents to Jacksonville, March 8th, 1841.
He was educated at private schools, and
attended the school under the charge of
President Newton Bateman, during the
years 1856-57, and also was a student in
Illinois College in the years 1858-'59. In
1868 he was elected City Marsha| of the
city of Jacksonville, for one term. He
pursued his law studies in the law office
of Judge Cyrus Epler in the years 1863-'64,
and again read law in the winter of
1868-'69. He was admitted to the bar by
the Supreme Court of this State. In April,
1877, Mr. Smith was elected a member of
the City Board of Education from the
First Ward, and re elected to the same
position, and for the same length of term,
in 1879, '81, '88 and '85. Mr. Smith has
followed his profession closely since he
began practice, and is (luite active in
politics, figuring prominently in all local
Democratic caucuses and conventions.
Mr. Smith was a volunteer soldier in
the Union army, serving as a private in
Company A, 68th Regiment, Illinois vol

unteer infantry. This was under a three
months call in June, 1863, and in May,
1864, he re-enlisted for one hundred days
service in the 133d Illinois volunteer in
fantry regiment, being Captain of Com
pany B, until mustered out September
24, 1864.
JUDGE SAMUEL WOOD was born in
Madison county, Kentucky, October 16,
1813. He is the oldest son of Richard
Wood, who was a native of Amherst
county, Virginia, and who emigrated to
Madison county, Kentucky, in 1806. He
was married to Miss Celia Gregory, sev-
eral years before he left Virginia. He
had, by this union, ten children, four of
whom died in youth ; the others, in after
life, became citizens of Morgan county.
They were, in the order of their birth :
Nancy (deceased), former wife of Andrew
Samples, now residing near Waverly;
Jane (deceased), former wife of Robert
Hardin, of California; Polly, present wife
of Nathan Moore, of La Plata, Missouri;
Samuel the subject of this sketch, resid
ing on section 16, township 14, range 9;
James, of Labette county, Kansas ; Rebec
ca (deceased), former- wife of James An
tyl, of Morgan county, Illinois. Mr. Wood's
first wife died in Madison county Illinois,
in November, 1819. He was again married
in 1831, to Mrs. Hessie Coulee. He settled
on section 9, township 14, range 9, in March,
1836. Mr. Wood was one of tbe pioneers
of Morgan county who, by practical in
dustry and a moral life, was an ornament
to the early community in which he lived,
and a blessing to his family. . His wife
died in September, 1861, and he June 30,
1865 They were both esteemed for their
many virtues.
The subject of this sketch first settled
on section 16, in the township where he
now resides. He purchased, entirely on
credit, forty acres, in 1887, which he has
from time to time, increased until, at the
present, he has nearly 3,000 acres of land,
being the largest improved farm in the
county. Although Judge Wood had but a small
financial capital, with which to begin life,
yet he possessed that which was more
valuable, viz., an enduring basis of moral

BlOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES.

335

principles, with an energy untiring and
persistent, which, combined, have not only
made him a good farmer, but a useful cit
izen. He is strictly a self-made man. His
education is practical, and he possesses
those business qualifications which insure
success. His citizenship outranks the
State, as he became" a citizen of Illinois
one year before it was admitted into the
Union. He has devoted an active and
industrious life, thus far, to develop
ing a county and State which take pride
in claiming him as one of their prominent
aud usefiil citizens.
He was married January 5, 1881, to Mrs.
Martha Smith, relict of Harvey Smith,
by wliich union he had eight children, in
the following order of birth, viz. : James,
born March 16, 1833, residing two miles
east of his father ; Elizabeth, born Septem
ber 34, 1835, who died July 37, 1844;
David, born April 4, 1838, residing three
miles east of his father; Milton, born
September 4, 1839, residing five miles
west of Springfield; Iven, born February
24, 1841, residing near his father; George,
born December 9, 1842, also residing near
his father ; Julia A., born June 17, 1847,
wife of James B. Beekman ; and Richard
S., born October 20, 1851.
Judge Wood and his wife are still living,
in the enjoyment of mental and iihysical
strength almost unimpaired by age, and
they may still remain for years, a blessing
to their family, and to the community of
which, for so many years, tliey have been
active and useful members.
Mr. Wood was elected Commissioner
of the County Court, in November 1869,
which position he filled with ability, and
satisfactorily to his fellow citizens. He,
'like his father before him, has made farm
ing and stock-growing a specialty, yet his
activity and zeal as a Democrat and worth
as a citizen caused him to receive nomina
tion and election as a member of the House
of Representatives, in 1874,where he served
his constituents in a most creditable man
ner. At the close of his legislative term
he returned to his farm home, and has
since been content to remain in quiet ru
ral employment.
See pages 54 and 203.

NEWTON BATEMAN was born July
27, 1822. His father, Bergen Bateman
moved to Illinois in 1833, taking with him,
among his children, one of the brightest
natives of that New Jersey town of Fair
field. This youth, in his seventeenth year,
was permitted to prepare himself for col
lege. He had no teacher, and there was
no room in his father's house in which he
could study ; but near the house stood an
old elm tree, eleven feet in diameter. He
tried it, found it hollow, with an ax cut
a door in the side of it, removed some of
the dead wood, put down a carpet, made
a rough table and stool, built a fire in front
of the door, and commenced the study of
the Latin Grammar. He made the prepar
ation for college in four months, and en
tered the Freshman class of Illinois
College, in September, 1840, and was grad
uated in the class of 1843. From 1868
to 1876, he served as one of the Board of
Trustees of the college.
In 1850 he was Principal of the West
District (now Second Ward) School, of
Jacksonville . During the years of 1856-58
he was County Commissioner of Schools
for Morgan county, and for part of the
time in charge of the public schools of the
city. He was re-elected County Commis
sioner without opposition. After devot
ing seven years to this work, he resigned,
and became Principal of the Jacksonville
Female Academy, in 1858; but he was
elected, before the close of the year. State
Superintendent of Public Instruction. In
the meantime he had taken a foremost
and toilsome part for three years, in the
successful effort to establish the Normal
University. Five times he was elected
State Superintendent, for two years each ;
and every time, except one, by a larger
majority than any other man on the suc
cessful Republican ticket with him. He
published, near the end of each term, a
masterly volume in the form of a report,
and the volumes of the series have jilaced
him in the front rank of educational
writers. It is believed that the reports
of no other State Superintendent except
Horace Mann, have ever received so wide
spread and profound attention and study
in this country.
During the years 1862-64 he had charge

336

BlOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES.

of the correspondence of the Provost Mar
shal General of the state, and kept thirty-
five clerks busy in this work. He then
resumed the State Superintendency of
Public Instruction. He was appointed,
by the Nation.al Association of Superin
tendents, to be one of the committee of
three to <ask Congress to estulilish the Bu-
re.iu of Education; and the committee
were charged to prepare a bill tor the
purpose. He went tn Washington on this
business in 1807, and the law- now in force
is essentially tbe committee'.s draft. He
sometimes has made an hundred iiublic
addresses a year, and he rarely repeats
one more than five times. He makes
good use of his native language and of a
persuasive eloquence. In 1847 be was
elected President of Knox Colle.ge, and
has since successfully filled that office,
showing himself well worthy ot bis de
gree of Doctor of Laws.
See pages 108, 137, 130, 153, 185, 243,
265, 366, 3(i7.

In closing this series of biographical
sketches the compiler liegs the indulgence
of space sufficient to cnpy the following
from Jeriab Bonham's "Fifty Years'
Recollections," Peoria.
"Charles M. Eames was born at Jack-
.sonville, Novemiier 6th, 1845, son of T.
Dwight and A. M. Pjames, ot that city.
He e:u'Iy entered the scliools, but from the
fact of having delicate liealth never com
pleted his education fully. He entered
the freshman class ot Illinois College in
September, 1803, and did bis fir.st journal-
istir. work as a county fair reporter in
October, 18(iO, aud was the Jacksonville

reporter for the Chicago Republican and
Springfleld JourneiX in 1868, and later, in
the same year, was city editor of the Quincy
Whig for six months. After practicing
the journalistic profession he, for awhile,
gave it up and engaged in the wholesale
and retail book and stationery business in
Jacksonville for ei.ght years.
In 1870 he bought Horace Cbapin's half
interest in tbe Daily and Weekly Journal,
and in 1878 bought tbe other half interest
ot M. F. Simmons, and filled successively
tbe positions of city editor, hews editor,
]iolitical editor and business manager. At
present lie is sole proprietor and managing
editor, devoting most of his time to tbe
business. He was married November 14,
1870, to Carrie M. Hall, of Walliilgford,
C'onn., and four children has been tbe re
sult ot this marriage — Hattie, Beverly,
Charlie and Susie.
Mr. Eames is active in sustaining tbe
benevolent eflort.s of the following orders :
He liecame an Odd Fellow- in 1868, a Good
Templar in 1800, a Mason in 1871, a Knight
Templar in 1881, and a Royal Templar of
Temperance in 1880. He g.ave his first
presidential vote for Grant in 1868, and
voted for every republican candidate since.
In 1880 he was a member ot tbe republi
can city, county, state aud national ci inven
tions, and intbe lattervoted witb the "306."
Mr. Eames is very active in all the religious
anil benevolent works ot tbe churches ; has
been a delegate to tbe Presbytery, Synod
and General Assembly ot the Presbyterian
church, with wliich denomination lie has
been connected since 1803. He has been
Ruling Elder since 1879, and Sunday
School Superintendent since 1871; was
State Sunday Scliool Statistical Secretary
from 1880-'83, and District Sund:iy School
President for four years.
For a man that does not enjoy first class
health Mr. Eames performs an immense
amount of labor, so many duties requiring
his attention that he is obliged to econo
mize bis time very clo.S(dy to fill all tbe
responsibilities he has assumed."

GENERAL INDEX.

-A-.
PAGE.
Adventures witli Fugitive Slaves  145
Advantages in Jacksonville  266
Agricultural Society  195
A. F. & A..M  9.S, 117, 132, 179, 180, 229
American Bible Society  245
American Education Society  244
Annual County Expense  207
"Anti-Negro Stealing Society"  143
A. O. U. W  205, 229
Art Association  227, 228
Asiatic Cholera in 1833  83, 92
Ashland named  17
Athenajum  155,199, 213
Anti-Slavery Sentiment 12,13,14,99,133,136 to 149 240
Anti-Horse Stealing Society  230
Ayers' Block  252
Authorities Consulted  262
Alumni of ''Old Illinois"  265, 266, 267
Agricultural and Mechanical Association  268
Affairs in 1827-'30  375
B.
Banking in 1850-'52  124
Banks  128, 184, 224
Baptist Church, First.. 18, 61, 108, 112, 171, 173,
221, 242, 269
Beardstown Located  24
Berean College  129
Bee Hunters  30, 32, :33
Blue Eibbons  260
Bird's Eye View of Jacksonville  2, 283
Blind Teaching Blind  123
Books and Book-lovers  249
Broom Factory  253
Business in 1832  79
Burning Witches  83
Buena Vista  45, 118, 168
Business Items in 18,55  133
" Men " 1868-'65  151
" College  186, 195, 199, 200
Bench and Bar  53
Black Hawk War  86, 239, 274
" " Purchase  285
Blind Asylum. . . .111, 123, 126, 128, 177, 192, 223, 268
Brooklyn M. E. Church  175, 2-29, 231
Belles Lettres Society  214
Benefit Building Association  230
Bethel A. M. B. Church  178, 197, 198, 248
Blacksmith Shop, The First  11, 28, 64, 236, 241
Bridge, (1831) The First  18, 36
Brick Building, The First  45, 57, 63, 241
Babies, The First  '  18, 32, 53, 241
Bank, First, (1851)  128
Breaking of Soil, First  11, 14, 21, '241

PAGE.
"Broad Lands"  288
Business College, Jacksonville  187, 195
Boj'S of "Old Illinois"  267
Buchanan Banner  268
Biographical Sketches (Illustrated)  80 to .812
O.
Carson's Log Cabin, Hotel and Jail  43
Camp-meeting, First  12, 79
Career of Hon. Eictiard Yates  182
Catholic Benevolent Association  228, 231
Cabin, The First  9, 10, 11, ,89, 235
" Building Log  29,30, :37
Centenary M. E. Church  151, 221, 2.82, 363
Cass County, First Settlers  24, 64
Church, First M. E  12
" BrickM. B  12
" Christian..79, 99, 108, 126, 172, 173, 198, 2;J1
" and Y. M. C. A  172
" Congregational.. ..75, 100, 108, 125, 152,
156, 171, 173, 198, 321, 281, 269
" Colored M.E  248
Charities  219
Circuit Court, First  15, 34' 241
City Water Vi jrks  179, 205, -232
" and County Offlcials...78, 181, 203, 203, 209, 210
" Square in 1850  126
-' Pastors  197,321, 231
" Schools  185, 196, 227
" Hospital  139, 230
Oitj-'s Business in 1867  184
County of Morgan Created  14, 15
Corrington Farm  33
College and Academy Chartered  68
County Officials  15, 78, 97, 114, l:M, 168, 203, 210
Corrections  65, 261,263, 379
Corn-dodger and Coffee  79
Contract for old Court House  86
Conductor Freeman  146
Constitution of Morganian Society, 1823,  18
Col. Grant's Soldiers in 1861  163
Cotton-raising  134, 236
"Courier," Illinois  61, 82, 1.58, 201, 203, 219, 2-34
County Property Statistics  207
Clubs, Social and Literary  225
County Election, The First  16
" Seat Located  15, 41, 42
" Jail and Poor House  49, 86
" " First  43
" Court House  16,52, 86
County Court in 1828  48
Common Schools  57, 129, 158, 199, 211
Counterfeiting Money  .'.  82
"Constitutionalist," The  127, 131, 268
City Hospital  129

Geneeal Index.

PAGE.
Christian Commission  153, 285
Central Presbyterian  100, 156, 171, 173, 194, 198
Cemeteries  175, 183
Carriage Manufactories  193
Christian Association, Women's  306
" -' Young Men's, 172, 197, 223, 230, 234
County Assessors and Treasurers, Cass  272
Census, The First.;  34
Cabinet Maker, First  63
Court House, First  16, 48, 51
Cooking Stove, First  112
Cyclones  64, 268
Carpenter, First  241
Car and Manufacturing Company, Jacksonville 253
County Asylum for Poor  269
Cass Co., since its separation from Morgan, 271, 272
County Court of Cass  271, 273
" Commissioners of Cass  271, 272
City of Virginia  273, 274
Clerks of Cass County Courts  272
Conservatory of Music  187, 191, 195, 2U
Corn and Cotton  14, 25, 34, 2a
"Chronotype," The  '  286
JD.
Deaton's Mill  34
Death Roll ot Old Settlers  222, 232
Deaths in 1883-'84  222
" " 1859-'60  269
"Deep Snow," The  59, 81, 289, ^^9, 275
Diamond Grove Baptists  112
D'Osia Lake and Village  35
Double Wedding in 182.5  64
Dr. Reed's Anti-Slavery Work  146
Dram Shop License  58
Dunlap House, The  158, 223,257,258, 286
" Farm  33
Duel of Lincoln and Shields  98
Deaf and Dumb, 110, 20, 122, 126, 129, 151. 177,
192, 194, 307, 208, 228, 229, 268, 269
Daughters t.f the Tabernacle  228
Daily Paper, The First  1T4
Death In Morgan, Thj First  18, 241
-' -' Jacksonville, The Fi st  is, 241
Druggist, The First  64
Daily Journal, Jacksonville. ..14, 68, 103, 118,
119, 131, 150, 169, 172, 173, 174, 192 224, 231
E-
Farly Educational Helps  246
Early Settlers of Morgan, 9, 10, 20, 41, 243, 250, 28B
Early Grand Jury  48
Educational Subscriptions  92
Elections, Presidential  15,134, 226
Electric Lighting  363
Emigration ti Sangamon in 1823  25
Epltcopalian Church.... 76, 108, 17B, 125, 198, 22t
Expense of Connty  207
Expoitations  236
Extracts Irom a Letter by an Old Morganian. . 203
Extracts from the " Patriot."  364
Exeter Mills  33, 46
Errors Corrected  65, 261, 262. 273, 279
" Enterprise," Jacksonville  201
Earliest White Settler in Cass  278
Election in Illinois in 18F5 For and Against
Prohibitio'u  268

FAQS.
First Sunday-school in Morgan  18, 336
" Preachers  18,24, 83
" Presbyterian Church . . 69, 60 78, 92, 116,
162, 171, 173, 173, 260, 284
" Land Entry of Cass County  24
" Steamboat  38, 40
" Taverns  18,43, 63
" White Settlers  9, 10, 20, 241
" Springfleld Home  39
' ' Postmaster in Jacksonville  64
" Session of Connty Commlss'ners' Court. 40
" Stores  40,48,63,236,241
" Harness-Maker  63
" School  10,33,50,53, 63
" Trustees for Academy  70
" Teachers and Pupils of Academy  72
" Railroad  102, 103, 104, 105
'¦ Illinois Blind Asylum  Ill
" Sewiug-Sooiety  244, 246, 247
" Republican Club Id the U. S. . . . 184. 136, 186
" CountyJail  43
" Piauo  98
" Newspaper  97
" Daily Paper  174
" Blacksmith Shop  II, 28, 64, 236
" Presiding Elder  84
" Anti-Slavery Society  12,13, 14
" Bridge in 1821  18, 36
" Music-Teaching  96
'¦ Baptist Church  18, 61
" Brick BuildiDg  46,67,63,241
" Babies  18,32,66,241
" Bank  128
" Breaking of Sou  11,14,21,241
" Census  34
" . County Election  18
" Cabinet-Maker  63
" Circuit Court  15,34,241
" Court-House  16,48, 51
•' Cabin in Sangan.on  39
" Cyclone  64
" Carpenter  241
" Cooking-Stove  112
" Death in Morgan County  18, 241
" Death in Jacksonville  18, 241
•' Episcopal Church  76
'• German Lutheran Church  151
" Grand Jury  16
" Grave on Banks of Magee's Creek  20
" Lawyers  53, 63
" Methodist Clasf  12
" Mill  17, 18
" Druggist  64
" Marriage in Jacksonville  18,241
" Medical Fees  35
" Murder Trials in Morgan  102
" " in .Morgan County  23
" •' in Cass County  279
" Sermon Preached in Morgan  18, 241
" Physicians  18, 27, 63
" Log Cabin  9, 10, 11, 285
" Tin-Shop  241
" Eope-Walk  241
" Shoemaker  241
" Tallor-Shop  211

General Index.

First Silversmith  241
" Bake-Shop  241
" Chair-Maker  241
" Carriage-Maker  241
" Tan-Yard  241
" Blacksmith  241
" Pump-Maker  ,  241
•' Wheelwright  '241
" Wool-Carding Machine  241
" School-Teaclier  10,33,236, 241
" Corn-Crop  14,341
•' Church  66,60,241
" Hewed Log Cabin  65
" Camp-Meeting  12, 79
" House-Plants  96,112,240
" Sewiug-Machlne  IU
" Horse-Mill   2.R6
" Nurses  43,236
" Pair in Morgan County  268
' ¦ Frame House in Cass County  279
" Store in Cass  279
Ferriage  60
Female Education Society  73
Female Academy.. 57, 66, 69, 72, 94, 96, 96, 115,
126, 129, 163, 186, 195, 198, 199, 212, 213, 245, 284
Free Democracy  148
Fire Company  109, 209
Fires  130,162,177,187,210,268,269
Flour-Mills  188,190,19-)
Freight Shipments  192, 196, 324
From East to West in 1834  251
Few More Items  263
Fourth of July Celebration  78
Flogging for Forgery  82
" Porty-Niaers "  117
Feeble-Minded, Asylum for  178,194
Free Library and Reading-Room  19'2, 195, 249
Final Corrections of Errors  279
Franklin (Benj.) Press  285
C3-.
Game (Wild)  17,44,107, 236
General Review and Outlook  223
GoingtoMill  17, 29
Grain, Prices and Shipping  107
Grant, Col. U. S., and Soldiers  103, 164
Greasy Prairie aud Liter Tornadoes  216
Grace M.E Church  151,156, 173
German Lutheran Church  173
Gas Manufacture  304, 281
German Lutheran Church, First  151
Grand Jury, First  16
Hardware, Stove and Furniture Trade  233
Half Century or More in Morgan  343
HardTimes  106
Historical Society of Jacksonville  206
Homicides  210
Horticultural Society  194, 228
Hotels, Jacksonville  158, 223, 267, 358
Horse-Mill  23,34, 236
Home Woolen Mills  184, 353
" Hatchet" .lacksonville  359
Hail-Storm  260

„ PAGE.
Hospital, City  1--9, 230
Hibernians, Ancient Order of  a28
Harness-Maker, First  63
Heroines of Cass  274, 375
I.
"Independent," Jacksonville  174
Ironmonger's Printing Office  256
Ice and Wind Storms  216
Infant Town of Jacksonville  41
Illinois College. ..41, 56, .56, 68, 69, 81,96,98, 130,
157, 194, 195, 199, 211, 312, 213, 314, 2S0, 269
" Female Co'lege  lis, 126, 196, 2C0, 268
Institution for Deaf and Dumb  110, 120, 133,
126, 151,' 207, 208, 229, 268, 269
Insane. ..120, 121, Vi3, 128, 154, 176, 177, 192, 194,
207, 223, 229, 230, 268, 269, 270
Institutions  ill, 120, 194, 207, 233, 229, 369
Introduction of Gas into Jacksonville  204
I- O. M. A  206
Indians and Indian War  33, 47, gg
"Illinoisan," The  97 gg
Institution tor Blind, 111, 123, 126, 128, 177, 192,
194, 229, 268
Iron Foundry  134 243
InQrmary, Prince's Surgical  192, 194
Illinois Press Association  28c

Jaclvsonville "Constitutionalist"  127, 131
" Female Academy, ..67, 69, 7'J, 129,
153, 186, 198, 199,213, 384
'¦ in 1860  157
" in 1834  80
" "Independent"  174
" Newspaper Ne-ffi-s in 1817  119
" Ten Years Ago  193, 193
" Business College  193
" Free Library and Reading Room
192, 195, 249
" Car and Manufacturing Co  253
" "Standard"  97^ ug
" "Sentinel". ..131, 174, 207, 363, 285, 286
" Items, 1854-'59  268, 269
" Population iu 1865  263
" Gas Light and Coke Company.... 268
" Sulky Plow Works  253
" Surveyed and Named  42
Surgical Infirmary, (Prince's)  194
Jacksonville's Beauty  255
Jordan, Cabin of -'Father," In 1832  12
" "Uncle John," 1833  12
Journalistic  ;  201 209
JoUKNAL, Daily  12, 14, 58, 100, 118, 119, 131,
166, 169, 173, 173, 174, 192, 201, 219, 234^
231. 332, 268
" WeeklY,I17, 119,127, 155,166, 174, 224, 268
" Editorial Rooms  286
Juvenile Sewing Society  245
J. S. E. K. R  181
Jury in the Open Air  jg
Jacksonville laid out in 1826  41^ gg
" & Havana R. R. Co  268
" Incorporated (1826)  68, 171
" in 1S34  Rfi

IV

General Index.

PAGE.
Knights of Honor  305, 306, 219
Kerr Place  31
Kelloggs and their Cabin  9,10,11, 235
Knights Templar  180
Knights and Ladles ol Honor  261
III.
Land Sales in 1320  12
Layton Place  32
Latch String  38
Ladies Education Society  73, 157
Land Prices  106, 218
Log Cabin, First  9, 10,11, 238
Log Cabin Raising  27, 29, 80, 37
Log Cabin Hotel and Jail  43
Locating the County Seat  41
Local Bar from 1825-'45  63
Living Settlers of 45 years ago  103
Lawyers, The First  53, 61
Local Journalism  155
Lincoln-Shields Duel  98
"Literary Union," The  154
Liter Tornado, The  216
Living Pioneers  243
Lyceum, Jacksonville  '.  230
License to sell goods  51
" to keep Tavern  61, 58
Liquor License  51,68, 184
•' in the Harvest Field  68
Land Entry in Cass County Firat  24
Mauvaisterre named  18
Magill's Mill  34
Master and Slave  147
Manufactures  187, 226, 232, 263
Mail Statistics  203
" Facilities in 1832, '74 and '84. ..108. 110, 237, 238
McConnel, Murder of  179, 189
McConnel, Family The  190
Mere Mention of Matters ol Interest  369, 260
Methodists, First Class in 1S23  12, 99
" Brick Church in 1833  12, 99
" Episcopal Preachers  68, 99, 116,
151, 176, 197,- 2-0
" Number of  248
Mexico's Whiskey  164
Mexican War Volunteers  118, 239
Mills, Alfred, Surviving Signer ol Morganian
Society Constitution  12
Missouri Compromise  147
Millerism  107
Microscopical Society  202, 228
Morgan County Soldiers  168 to 169
" " created  14, 16
Mills  190
Money Hunters  27
Morgan, Greene and Sangamon Co's in 1828.... 90
" County Seat Located  15,41, 42
" " in 1831  85
Music Teaching  96
Murder Trials.. ..103, 128, 164, 176, 179, 196, 197, 210
Mundy, Mrs. A. K,. her home in 1820  10
Mrs. Bancroft's lieminisceuces ot 1837  96
Morgan County Court House  16, 52

PAGE.
Morgan County Old Settlers  9, 14, 18, 19, 25,
32, 33, 34, 40, 46, 51, 63. 65, 101, 109
Meredosia named  17
Methodist Semi-centennial  77, 83
Presiding Elders  34, 99, 117, 161, 197
Morgan County Population  1-2, 24, 81
Masonic Societies  93, 117, 182, 179, 180, 229
"Morgan House"  109, 168
Methodist Churches  117 125, 173
"Morgan Journal"  117, 118. 119, 127,148. 155
Market Prices  106, 107, 108, 109, 156
Mutual Aid I. 0  206
Mill, The First  17, 18
Marriage In Jacksonville, The First  18, 241
Medical Fees, First  36
Meeting House In Jacksonville, First  66, 60
Murder in Morgan County, The First  23
Morgan County Fair, The First  268
" " Population In 1850  268
Newspapers  79, 80, 85, 88, 97, 98, 119, 158, 174
Natural History Society  178
Necrology  222, 232
New Centenary M. B, Church  263
Northern Cross Railroad  124
New York to Jacksonville in 1834  261, 252
O.
Oak-Lawn Retreat  178, 192, 195, 230
Officials ol City and County. . 16, 130, 168, 180, 208
Old Court-House, Jail and Poor-House... . 49
" Settlers of Cass  24, 64
" Time Subscription Lists  74
" " Newspapers.. 79, 80. 86, 88, 89,97, 98, 119
" " Wedding Ceremonies  87
" " Prices  106,107,108,109
Orear Place  32
One of the Early Settlers  239, 250
Old Settlers of Morgan  25, 32, 33, 34, 40, 46,
61, 68. 66, 109 260
Old-Tlme Plow  17
Outlaws ol Morgan  21
Old Settlers Reunions  27, 64, 68, 77, 88
OpenAlrJury  16
Odd Fellows  93, 131, 180, 205, 219, 229
Orphans' Home  129, 192, 196
Officers of Casa  271, 273

Panic ol 1887  97
"Patriot," Illinois  79, 80, 81.88, 89, 97, 264
Park Family, The  88
Pastors, Jacksonville  74, 197, 231
Personals, Corrections, etc  65, 118, 127, 242
Pensioners (U. S.)  164, 169
Philadelphia (Cass County) Founded  120
Pioneer Lile  3!, 260
" Preachers  61
Peace Society  264
Phi Alpha Society  120
Portuguese Colonists  127, 128, 173, 214, 215
Pro-Slavery Sympathy  142,148, 148
Paper Barrel Factory  193
Probate Justices ol Casa  272
Phi Nu Society  gu

General Index.

PAGE.
Preachers, First  18, 24, ,38
Presbyterian Church, First .69, 60. 73, 82, 116,
171, 173, 173 250, 209
Postmaster, First  64
Piano, First  96
Presiding Elder, First  34
Physicians, First  18, 27, 63
Population of Jacksonville in 1865  208
Principal Officers of Cass  271
Present Residents ol Virginia  276
Population ol Cass  278, 279
Pioneers in M organ  238, 243
Pioneer Abolitionists ot Morgan  136, 149, 240
Posey Place  33
'Postal Facilities  46, 108, 109, 110, 213
" Routes in 1882  287
Politics, Religion and Personals  126. 136
Poultry Society  195
Protecting Stock  38
Public Improvements  46, 193
" Flogging for Forgery  82
" Schools of Jacksonville .. 184,185,195, 200, 226, 2'i7
Presbyterian SDd Methodist Pastors... 161, 171, 173
Prof. Turner at Orthodox Prayer-Meeting  140
Press  127
Private Benevolent Societies  195
Property Valuation  106, 192, 207, 218, 220, 221
Prospects  209
President Tanner  211
Principal Shipments In 1883  223
" Buildings  223
Places for Eating and Sleeping in City in 1885. 258
Population of Morgan County . . .12, 24, 81, 86,
97, 178, 203, 268
Paupers Sold and Witches Burned  83
Presbyterian Churches  116, 126, 206
" Prairie Pioneer," Tho  266
Park Hotel  286
Q.
Quincy Guards, The  168
Quick Freeze in 1831, The  85

Republican Club (Firat in U. S.)  i:i4 to 136
Revenue Municipal, iu 1855  269
Railr'dS . . 102, 103, 104, 105, 124, 318, 220, '221, 224, 266
Rainfall  217
Rataichak Hotel  223, 258
Railroad to Naples  124
Heal Estate Values  106, 192, 218
Relief Society  259
Residences  194
Records of First Sewing Society  246
Reminiscences of Early Times  240
Rebekah, Order ol  180
Reeve. Reunion ol Family in 1877  10
" John, Planting First Corn  14
Roll of Honor  165,243
Roe Monument  175
Royal Templars ot Temperance  206, 229
Robbery ol Newell's House  22
" Regulators ol the Valley"  20,21,22, 23

PAGE.
Road ReviewinE  48. 61
Roman Catholic Church ... .117, 172, 173, 221, 231
Republican Club  134 1.36,136
Reading-Room and Library, Free  192, 195
Resident Representatives of Cass  271
Recollections of Morgan (1828 to 1833)  276
Rouud-Table, The  230

Sales of Public Lands  20
Sangamon and Greene County Items  40
School by Miss Kellogg in 1821  10
Second Brick Building  58
Season of 1820  ... 34
Second Presbyterian Church  100,156,171, 173
Church ia County  34
Secret Societies, ..93, 131, 180,205, 206,219, 2!8, 229
Sewing Society  2J0, 247
Slavery Agitation  148
Slave-Owners in 1843  142
Sketch of Mr. Willard's Lite  '240
" Judge Jno. Leeper's Life  260 251
Sorosis (Jacksonville)  180
Soldier of 1812 (Webster)  10
Soil  224
Soule Chapel (M.E. South)  172
Sprlngofl821  34
State Fair in Jacksonville  156
" News in 1838  98
StreetPaving  224.232
"Strawn's Hall," now "Opera House".. ..152, 269
Shanty in 1820, Olmstedt's  10
Steamboating Fifty Years Ago  263
Steamboat, First  33, 40
Shirt-Factory  193, 263
Silversmith and Watch-Maker  81
Sangamon County  25,39,40, 90
Sigma Pi Society  107, 108,
Sabbath-School Cause  152, 198
Stock- Yards, Union  193, 196
Sheriffs of Cass  272
Superintendents of Public Instruction (Cass) . . 272
States' Attorneys (Oass)  272
Stock  92, 196, 223, 208, 282, 287
Shade-Trees and Shrubbery  42, 265
" Southern Hotel," The  258
Sunday-schools in Morgan  18, 336
Snow, The Deep, of 1830-31  84
Settlers of Morgan, First  9, 10, 30, 241
Springfleld Home, First  39
Session of County Commiss'ners Court, First. 40
Stores, First  40, 43, 63 236, 241
School, First  10,33,48,60,63, 63
Silversmith, the First  341
School-Teacher, The First  10, 33, 236, 241
Sewlng-Machlne, The First  Ill
" Standard," Jacksonville  97, 1 18
"Sentinel," " ....131,174,307,208,287
Sulky-Plow Works  253
Sewing- Society, Juvenile  243
" First  244,246,247
Snow-Storm In Jacksonville In 1855  268
School-Buildings in Virginia  273
Saloon License "  278

General Index.

PAGE.
Teachers and Pupils in Academy, The First ... 73
Tin Shop, The First  241
Tailor Shop, The First  241
Thermometer in 1869  269
"Three Mile Strip" Contest  278
Trade Palace, King's  280
Trustees for Academy, First  70
Taverns, First  18, 43, 63
Topography of Jacksonville  255
Taxes from 1826 to 1836  58
Tenth, 14th. and 27th Regiments, I. V Inf...l60, 161
Tornadoes  64, 216, 317
Tobacco  193, 325, 203
Toledo, Wabash & Western Railway  387, 288
Town Trustees and Legislatures  97, 158
Trinitj Church (Episcopal)76, 108, 172, 173, 198, 221
Trustees and Graduates  126, 180
Trotting Association  196
Turnverein, Jacksonville  195, 228
Town Officials  78, 97, 114, 130, 157, 180, 181, 203
"Tip and Tyler"  108
Templars of Temperance. Royal  306
XT.
Underground R. R. Times  139, 240
Unconditional Union Ticket  169
U. S. Pensioners, .lacksonville List  166, 167
" " from Morgan County . . 168,169
" Bank  263
Venison, Blackberries and Milk  20
Volunteers for War for the Union  159
Virginia, City of  '273, 274
Valuation ol Property  218, 220, 221

PAGE.
War, Mexican  45, 118, 168, 239
Workmen, A. O. U  205, 229
War, Black Hawk  86, 239, 274
Waverly Letter in 1837  209
Waverly Pounded  81
War For the Union  162, 169 to 169
Water Works  179, 193, 205, 256
Washington High School  150, 195
Webster's Log Cabin  10
Weddings  54, 87, 100, 193
Westminster Presbyterian Church  152, 156, 173
Whipple Acid emy. The  187, 195
Winter ot 1819-'20  '.  30
Winnebago War  —•. 47
Wild Cat Money  lOO
Wind Storms  216, 317, 218
Wolves, Buffalo and Bear  44
Woolen Mills  184, 187, 188, 193, 226, 255
Womanly Arguments  247
Womans' Work  244
Women's Christian .issociition  306
Watchmakers  81, 341
Wild Game  17,44, 107, 336
"Western House,"The  109, 127
Weekly Jacksonville Journal, 117, 119, 137,
155, 156, 174, 224
¦2-.
Yates and the Whigs  134
Years 1824 to 1835  S3
Year 1846  127
Young Ladles Athenaeum. ...156, 170, 195, 193, 214
Y. M. C. A  172,197,221,230,234
Young Women's Christian Association  206

Business Souses and Business College.

VII

_ RAWLINGS

- ' I  Z I  i

4*-

pf P W'
PSF ^ RI
[CLOTHING HOUSE]
RlSllli'''

Two West Side Stores, 1885.

— '-^T

l-JA^ ' ' - 'A

Intbrior View oi- the .Jacksonville Business College, 1885.

INDIVIDUAL INDEX.

PAGE.
Adams John  13, 94, 95, 108, 359, 383, 384
" John Q  47,133
" Capt.C.H  158,159,160
" Dr. Samuel  120, 121, 136, 148, 178, 267
" & Trover  157
" Dr. Charles  148,154,157,187
" Franklin  157, 161,266
" Miss Emily  246,247
" Miss Phebe  246
Allen, Rev. Wmiam  136,137
" Mrs. Dr  63
" EllisM  181,209
" John  40, 66
' Dr  62
" Lewis  13
" Prof. H. A  201
" Thomas  48
" Rev. John W  99
" Rev. Robert W., D. D  116, 151, 154,
166, 171, 173, 197, 198, 206
" Wash  131
" Theodore ......  203
" Miss MaryF  233
" Abby  248
" Lafayette  248
AUyn, Benjamin  75
" Cynthia  75
Allison, Adam  11, 236
" Mary A  126
Allcott, William A  179, 206
" J M  185
Allard, Dr  134
Alderman & Tomlinson  132
Alexander, JohnT  18, 287, 288
" Mrs. Ann  232
Ament, John  79
Anderson, Sarah J  243
" John  32
S.G  53
A.L  372,373
" Arthur  237
" James S  83, 108, 109, 126, 131, 243, 262
R-P  273
T  109
Antyl, Michael  11^ 65
Andrus, Rev. Reuben  187
Andras, W. S  195, 249
Angelo, John  14
" Thomas M  243
'• Theodore  197
Appel, William  230
Akera, Rev. Peter  62, 99, 115, 116, 175, 243, 263
Akins, W  109
Arthur, Michael   11^ 65

PAGE.
Arnett, Thomas B  13, 14, 15, 24, 33, 43, 63, 260
" Mrs. Thomas B  63
" Andrew  14
" James  13
Armstrong, Alex  .". . 210
" Andrew  48
Arenz, Francis  24, 51, 79, 144, 271, 273, 378
" AlbertF  273
.Arnold, Anthony  78,79,97,107
Askins, William  76
Askew, Joseph R  60
Ashelby, Mrs. Matthew  243
Atterbury, Mr  82
Atkinson, J  99,129,131
Atkine,H.J  165,167,179,360
Atwood, M OSes   46
Atwater & Pratt  188, 264
Atherton, Jonathan  25
Aspinwall  268
Ausemus, A. J  243
Austin, Joshua D  51
Ayers, Mrs. Eliza  129, 177, 195, 243, 244
" David B. 51, 60, 64, 70, 74, 86, 99, 108, 119
134, 1-28, 142, 143, 147, 266
" & Co  157
" John A  309, 268
" M. P. .86, 124, 128, 132, 185, 195, S04, 309,
226, 243, 249, 263, '.:60, 265, 266, 267
" A. B  86, 128, 131, 243, 2,53

Bailey, Rev. Alvin  108, S42
" J. R  131, 166, 174, 262, 286, 86, 387
" Mrs. Mary T  '368
" S. W  373
" Philip H  372
" Prof. G. W  178
Barton,' Rev. C. B  321, 343, 260, 266
" Miss  T,  244,347
" Jacob W  63, 74
" Mrs. C. F  19, 6.3, 243
Barber,A. K  19,40,64,133'
" Jesse  80
Babb, William W  372
Barrett, R. F  HO
Rev.G  175
" L.C  180
Bastion, N. S  1 6, 187
Bastian, W. A  116
Bateman, Newton  108, 127, 130, 163, 185, 242,
266, 266, 267
Bateman, Samuel  86
BaUhache & Baker  134
Barnes, William H  179
Lieut. N.H  313

Individual Index.

IX

PAGE.
Barnes, C. A  209, 226, 363
" Mi-s.S. E.F  343
Baskin, O. L. & Co  263
Barr, William P  181
" S.0  306'
" Mrs. Mary  '343
" Hush  306
Barlow, Prof. J. S  206, 314
Baltes, Rev. P. J  3;il
Barker, Jeremiah  76
Berryhill, John  379
Berdan, James  53, 70, 136, 130, 133, 333
" David  10,175
Beall, Richard  48
Beebe, David  13
Berry, Samuel  48
" L  109
" Keeling  -362, 274, 277
" Garrison W  48,63,86, 97
" Mrs. " "  63
" Rachel  373
" Simeon  176
" Isaac  176, -210
" James  373
" Emanuel  176
" William  .... 176
Berey, S  33
Bentley, Joseph  50, 54
" Thomas  50, 61
Beecher, Dr. Edward, 74, 81, 96, 99, 114, 135, 354, 321
Rev. Thomaa K  74, 108, 265, 266
" Mrs  245
" Rev. Dr. Lyman  240
Bergen, Abram S  14
" Rev. Dr. J. G  81, 116,126,272
" Jonathan C  14
Beyer, Edward  151
Belt, Captain  163
Becraft, Aquila  123
" Mrs  173
Bell, Sarah  33
" Alexander  33
Bennett, Isaac R  33, 33, 50, 1.30
Bellamy, Jesse  14
Beach, C. S  75
Beekman, William T  35;3
Babbitt, J. U  65
Batchelder, Rev. John  76
Barden, Horatio  155
Ballard, John A  157
Baker, William  196
" John  .33
" Gen.EdwardD  39,114,117
" D. S  108
Baldwin, Rev. Theron  56, 68, 91, 1'36, 261, 321
" Eugene  130
Bancroft, Joseph H  118, 125, 141, 144, 226, 351
" Mrs. Emily Adams  73, 94, 95, 157,
202, 206, 346, 347, 263
" Horace  101, 144
Basey, Rev. Joseph  14, 18, ai, 34
Bacon, William  179
" Elijah  25
" Samuel  111,123
Bartlett, S. R  51
Beck, Rev.. Edward  221

PAGE.
Beatty, David E  176
Benson, Sophia  180
Beagle, Rev. J. A  197
Bellatti, John A  203
Beesley, B. F  303,303, 309, 314
" Miss May  314
Beveridge, Gov. John  208
Beastall, William H  '309
Beard, George Alexander  '272, 273
" Thomas  24,25,33, 60,317,836,376
" Sarah  35
Bigler, John  -286
Bibblecombe, John  377
Bishop, W, W  273
Bibb, Dr. Richard  lOU, 114, 119, 205
Birney, James G  135
Bill, E. C  73
Bissell, Gov  158
Block, Lewis J  196, 203
Blood, C.E  '365, 366 ¦
Bleuler, Mr  203
Bliss, Rev. Stephen  89, 91
Blake, Page  13
Black, James B  373
" Carl  301, 319
" Dr. G. V  302, -338, 362
" Prof.W.P  231
Blatchford, E. W  366, 367
Blaine, Hon. James G  133
Blanford, Henry  -19, 71, 86
Blair, Thomas and David  13, 33
" Samuel  46, 47
" James  63
Bolinger, Frederick  48
Boyer, John  34
Booth, Thomas  157
Bozarth, A. J  161
Boyington, W. W  173
Bowen, Robert  14
J.W  -361
" Andrew  14
" WilliamH  133
Boone, Daniel.  61
Bogart,  14
Bonney, Amos  371
Bolden, S  348
Box, John  13, 34, 48
Boylan, John  328
Bonner, Rev. J. 0  331
Boyakin, Rev. W. F  342
Bryant, David M  343
Brune, H  ;  228
Britton, Robert  176
Bruce, Robert C  181
" & Loar  Ill
Bradley, E. W  194
" W. P  365
Branson, Wm . . 97, 108, 109, 114, 135, 126, 130, 198, 259
" Hon. N. W  266
" Mrs. Jane  100
Bronaon, T. J  180, 303, 309, 219
" Myron  14
" Mrs. Myron  319
Brennan Terrance  306
Bretherick, Prof. Henry  306
Bryan, William J  23o

Individual Index.

PAGE.
Braidwood, W  109
Browning, Hon. Quincy B  267
Hon.O.H  110,237,329
" J.R  74
Brown, Mrs. Fanny McCoy  214
" James N  203,203
" Frederick  267
" Mrs. Anna Thompson  214
Elisha W   164
Prof . G. W  172, 187.196,199,200
" Larkin  48
" Daniel  266
" Horace A  130
" Jehu  40
Judge William . . .46, 63, 70, 79, 102, 117,
119, 136, 130, 132, 152, 154, 157, 248, 329
" Hon. WilMam  179, 181, 248, 330
Rev. John H  116
" Robert  169
" Harvey  116
" Dr. C. G  117,206,209
" Charles S  167
" Bedford  74
Bridgewater. Mr  275
Broadwell, Baxter  ....14, 50
" WilliamH  19,65,108,119,181
" C. B  180
Bradshaw, John  11, 17, 31, 38, 34
Bryne, Rev  ;  46
Bristow, Samuel  13, 15, 33, 34, 54, 275
" B.H  267
" George  14, 66
" B. F. & Bro  114, 131, 132
Breech. Caleb  241
Brooks, W. O  157
J. P  66, 118, 126
" Samuels  88
Brady, M ra. Mahala  64
Bridgeman, Franklin  64
Brockenbrough, A   76, 78
Braun, Jacob  172
Philip  203,228
" Mra. Philip  268
Bradbury, Robert A  174,201
'¦ John E  209
Brich, Rev. John, 18, 26, 31, 46, 48, 59, 61, 89, 91, 250
Buckthorpe, Robert  194,206
Bullard, ProL E. F  195, 199, 206, 219, 302
Burnham, Mrr>. Hattie Nutting  214
Burch, J. M  219
Buhre, George  228
Burr, Mrs. Mary H  230
" Judge Albert G  180, 269
Butler, Nancy  92
" William  144
" Rev. H.E  ...210,221
Burns, J  98
Busey, Daniel  63
Burdette. Mr  144
Burt, Mr  145
Buckley, Mrs. A  68,246
" Jamea  11
" A  ,  151
" Robert H  157
" D.A  '.  109
Buck, Rev. H  161

Buchin, John  176
Paul  176
Buchanan, Joseph  11.15, 28
Burritt, William B  18
Burrows, Stephen  48
Burbank, Daniel  60
Buckner, A.H  63,76,97, 98
Buckingham, John  26, 62
" Mrs. John  63
" James  63, 108
Bunnell, Mr. and Mrs  62, 63
C.
Carson, Thomaa  46,47,62,63,241
" JohnandJames  63
" Mra. Thomaa  43, 44, 66, 83, 236
" ArohibaldW  248
" H.S  109
Cassell, Dr. John T  78, 8S, 141
H. O  181
" Brothers  263
" Benjamin  130
" Robert T  92,243
" JosephT  130
" Mra. Joseph T  243
" MartinH  114,130
" Mrs. Robert  243
" H. M  126
" -Mrs. John T  109
" J, J  78, 79, 110, 166
Cadman, A. W  206
Catlin, Joel  73, 74
" ,6 Co  161,157
" MissM.E  206,228
" Willya  119,126,133
Capps, Joseph  108, 117, 127, 130, 181, 187, 188
" Stephen R  188
McDonald & Co  184, 188
•' William E  188,194,202,209
" Mrs. Ida Alexander  214
" Joseph&Sona  193,226
Mrs. Sarah  343
Cantrall, Thomas  176
" Sampson  176
Cain, James  '  210
Callon, D. C  131
G. W. S  131
Major W. P  194, 202, 203, 209, 267
Ca-i well. Dr. George  13, 14, 15, 37, 64
Carlin, Thomas  16,40,110
Casebar, David  14
Carpenter, Alford  13
" Mrs. M. A. F  64
" H. H  272
" Jamea F  176
Charlea  )5»
" John  236
Caldwell, Curtis  13
" Robert L  86
" Joseph W  181
" Mrs. E. M  196
Carter. W. Chauncey. 141, 142, 143, 202, 209, 210, 26.1
'¦ Rev. William  75, 99, 100, 126, 136
Ebenezer  138, 141, 142, 144, 146, 147
Richard P  48
" Joseph N  267

Individual Index.

XI

PAGE.
Carlock, Moses  236
Caverly, Alfred W  16, 46
Camp, George  48
" Miss Sarah  72
Campbell, Hugh M  164
" W.M  271
" Rev. Bnos  99,173
'¦ Mra. Mary  243
" P  109
Cam, William  loo
Carney, T. J  101
Cavender, S. R  161
Carriel, Dr. H. P  176, 177, 194, 233, 263, 308, 309
" Mrs. H. F  178,309
Carroll, M. H  194, 206
" W. A  '228
Cahill, Mortimer  253
Cartwright, Rev. Peter.. 12, 61, 77, 99, 116, 118, 161
Carney, Michael  181
Case, Benjamin  48, 275
Catrough, John  33
Crittenden, H. A  107
Chamberlain, Mary  9, 75
Mrs. J. H  240
" B. B  76, 109
Timothy . .58, 74, 75, 89, 114, 136,
141,235, 343. 200, 262
Chambers, Col. George M. .44, 63, 106, 109, 110,
136, 132, 243, 262, 263
Mrs. George M  100,243
L. W  180,190 194
John W  199
George W  109
JohnI  181

Chesbrough, E. S.

, 266

Chandler. Dr. Ero  18, 34, 66, 62, 63, 79, 175
L. O  272
" Thomaa W  99
" J  265
•' Mrs. Ero  08
" Marcus  271
Challon, John  49, 86
Chappell, Mrs. C  19, 68, 101
" Charles  135
Cherry, J oseph F  273
Church, Benjamin F  154
" Thomas  02
" Mrs. Thomas  63
" Susan B  12b
Clre, John L  272
Chapman, Mahon  176
" Thomas  272
Chapin & Glover  174
" &Slmmons  201,336
Chatterton, C.W  117
Chase, ProL Elmore  199, 214
" Rev. Dr. Philander  76, 98
Clay, Hon. Henry  17,47,63,133,182
'• H. L  158, 202, 206, 219
" Porter  no
Christy, Samuel  271
Chrisman, W.P  164
Chadwiek, Mrs, C  206
Chenery, Abigail  75
Cheeaeman & Lucas  119
Chicken, H.B  200

element, Edwin  132
Clapp, Edward B  212
Closterman, Henry  198
Claxton, Constant  18
Clarkston, Aquila  14
Cloud, Joseph  51
'• Hon, Newton..68, 62, 78, 97, 110, 114, 118,
121, LSI, 269, 26S
Clark, John  16, 64, 65, 80
" C. B  109
" George W  181, 206
" Hulett  272
" Abraham  75
" Thomas P  42, 275
" William  04, 06, 262, 272, 276
" Mrs. William  277
•' Lancelot  74
" Jesse B  75
" Robert  273
¦' Eliza  65
" Jane B  72
" A, M  74
" Melicent  75
Clayton, A. C  126, 127, 268
Cowan, Horace  272
Cole, Thomas  110
" David  04, 108
" Nancy  ,54
" Orlando C  109
" Joe  54
Compton, Nathan  48, 50
Coe, Alvin  50
" L, W  160
Cordell, Ranson  63
" Mrs. Ranson  63
Cox, Mrs. A  64
" J. C  180
" Ancil  11
" Benjamin  40, 53
" Ell  278
" Armsted  14
" Charles  04
" Alexander  42
Conover, Mrs. Minnie  33
" Peter  13, 15, 18
" Levi  14
Coles, Governor  IS
Coker. Clayborn  19, 196
Cotrill, John  '21, 24,
Cook, Daniel P  ii
Cowhick, Thoma.s  48
Coddington, Joseph  19, 46, 03, 65, 76
Corneau, S. A  132
Corcoran, W. H  109
" & Austin  132
E  119
CoBgrove, James  108, 109
Corban, Stephen  236
Cosgriff, B. A  328
Cooper, Rev. P. C  197
" James  101
George W  210
Compton, Peter  198
Corwin, Rev. Dr. Bli  171, 198
Coultas, Oliver  203
Coyle, WlHiam H  80

Xll

Individual Index.

FAOS.
Colton, Brastus  81
Cobb, Orson  46, 48, 241
" Bljiah  258
" Samuel  193, 259
Conn and Chambers  119
" Richard, Matilda, Samuel, Julia, Eu
nice, Curtis  SO
" Mrs.Bllen  241
" Bliza  72, 80
" Mrs. Elizabeth  63, 80
" William  63,80,119
Collins, Hon. W. H. . .134, 151, 156, 166, 159, 267, 269
" William  56,68, 89
" Talmage  Ill
" Ambrose  36, 66
'• Morris  65, 119
" Charles  .36,102,105
" Frederick  80,126
" Mrs. Morris  195, 206
Conwell, Miss S  72
Coffman, Philip  97, 101, 109, 112, 114, 117, 119
Cooley, Jos  66
Cornellna, Chaa  87
Corrington, J. B  116
Cowgill, W. B  126
Coffin. Mrs. LllUe Tipton  214
" Nathaniel  98, 119, 120, 142
" William  365,316
Coaner, Thomas J  277
Corbey. Daniel and Benj  277
Coulter, Frank  186
Costa, Rev. Jos  173, 185
Crisp, Benj  83
Crocker. Miss S. C  7-2, 73, 246
Craig. Bdw. and Jamea  86
" Dr. Jno. W  159
" William  263
Criaay, W. S  ,  76
Crawford, Levi  102
Creamer, D. B  ,  108,114, 1-26
Crowell, W.D  125,131
Creaap, Pat'k  109
Crane, J. L  117, 161
Crain, Martha Reeve  11,18, 28
" Sarah  18
" James B  11,18, 28
Crum Robt  273
Cromwell, Robt  169
Critzer, Otho D  159
Craven, James  172
Cranston, Rev. Earl  175, 197, 198
Crampton, Prof. R. C, 186, 194, 1 95, 199, 200, 204, 212
Cross, Dr. Joseph  197
Crook, Rev. Isaac  197
Crow, Joahua P  48, 50, 271, 272, 275, 277
" Rev.W  32
Crawley, Wm. A  202
Cunningham. Mra. M  64, 274
Curta, George  19
Cullimore, Dr. T . M  209
Curtia, Rev. W. S  2il
JD.
Daniels, Verien  19, 62, 105
" Mrs. Verien  63
Daniel  25
" Buker  55

PAGE.
Davis, Jeff  339
" J.A  64
" Phil  126
" Wm T  .93, 259, 260, 268,
" Mrs. Elizabeth  64,276
'- Edward  276
" Franklin  248
Dashiel, Rev. A. II  74
Daly, Frank  176
Dandy,JohnM  201
Day and Dunavan  ._.  193
Dawson, John L . ,  243
Bailey D  167
Davenport, Mra. Martha  19
" and Henderson  51
" Bazzill  181,202,260
Ira  107, 109, 114, 125
Dalton, laham  ,...49, 86
Darlington Geo  93
Dayton and Adams  151, 183
" Dr. Bphraim  266
Day.Joaiah  157
DeHaven, W.J  271
Deaton, James, Sr., 11, 14, 16, 18, 28, 29, 60, 61,
64, 86, 236
" " Jr  U
" Robert  28
" Levi  12,14,28, 3S
" Thos. and Jos. P  ._  19
Deeds, Jacob  26
De Pleaux, Thoa  39
Dew. Peter  48
" Mra.J.F  3,58
Denney, Robert  202
" A.N  126
Deweeae, Nimrod  130, 204
" Mra. M J  227
" Samuel  131
Dewey, W.K  161
Demara, Timothy  '.  14
De Mattos, Rev A  173
De Witt, Abram B  14, 80
" Edward and George  176
De Leuw, Oscar A  181
Develin, Charlea  228
Devore, J. H  ,  181, 203
De Motte, Rev. Wm H  ¦.  187, 195, 200, 202
De Fratea, Albert  197
'- Antonio  191
Dennis and Sulton  198
Dial, Isaac  11, 14, 42, 236
Dial, Martin  28
Dixon, A. M  74, 260, 265
Dickson, A. C  109, 132
Ditson, David  is
" Daniel  241
Dickens, Rev. J. H  77,138, 148
Dick, Levi  64
" .las. A  64, 272
" Mrs. Mary  64
Dix, Mlgs Dorothy  .49, 121, 328
Dinwiddle, Jamea, 47  47
Dinsmore, David  180
Daniel  118
Diffenbacher, C. P  273
Dilley, David C  272

Individual Index.

PAGE.
Dietrick, Daniel  181, 203
Doan, Frank M  206
'• E. T  119
Dowdall, Wm. T  174, 181
Downing, Finis E  272,373, 379
Doying. Geo. E  302, 206, 219
Dod, Geo. J  181, 209
" Prof. William  164
Dougherty, Dr. J. A  206
" Mrs. Lizzie  206
Dow, Lorenzo  241
D'Osia, Antonio  17, 36
Dodge, Dr. R. V  116
Douglaa, Hon. S. A., 39, 53, 78, 88, 91,102, 111, 147
" Alex. T  61
" John H  176
Donnelly, Lloyd & Co  48, 202
Dobyns & Co  161
Drake, C. J  63
Drinkwater, Rev. Wm  18, 61
Draper, Miss Susie A  230
Dunbrack, C. H  167, 193, 253
Dulaney, F. E  72
" M  110
Dummer, R. W  76, 80
" Mrs. Phoebe  206
" Judge H. B  196, 249, 271, 272
0. H  203, 209
Mrs. Katie Smith  230
Dunlap. Alex  58. 79. 97, 382
" Col. Jamea  51, 78, 97, 102, 105, 108, 111
^ 120, 121, 123, 124, 126, 127, 168, 18 >, 190
" Mra. Jennie Marah  214
" George A  1-26
" Irvin  181,203, 210
" W.T  131
" J B  131
Dunbar, Rice  46, 49, 62
Duncan, Gov. Jos  47, 53, 68, 70, 74, 78, 79, SO,
100, 110, 247, 269, 318, 319, 330
" Mrs. "  73
Dr. E  306
Durant, Edwd  68
Dunbaugh, C. P  119
Dunn, Edw  174, 181
" Luke  271, 272
Durfee, R. D  281
Duke, J  348
Dyer, Martin  13
" W. R  179
" Jas. L  185
Dutro, T. C  253
Duff, Hiram  14

Basley, Wm. W  271
Eames, T. D..64, 89, 109, 118. 119, 126, 130, 144, 336
MrsA. M  246,336
'• CM. 5, 117, 173, 174, 198, 206, 319, 359, 836
Easter, Rev. Dr. J. D  76,314, 231
Eads, John,Jr  63,78, 341
" Mrs. John  ''3
" Jas.M  63
" Mrs. Martin  63
Bberhardt, Geo  HI
Edmundson, James  66, 80

PAGE.
Bdgerton, U. C  157
Eddy, Harriet M  242
" Rev. W. King  242
" Chauncey  119
" Horatio  14
Edwards, Mary 0  157
" Mrs.Bleanor  74
" Isaac  11,27, 32
" Jamea G. . . .70, 74, 79, 85, 88, 97, 261, 262
Gov  47, 79
Edgmon, Alexander  181
Eckler, Robert  13
Kdgar, Dr. Wm. S  132, 157
" Wm. H  167
Eels.Nathan  13
Ekelburner, Jacob  60
Ellis, Mrs. John M  71,73,244
" Rev, Jno. M. .65, 86, 57, 60, 63, 69, 70, 71,
73, 74, 80, 89, 90, 244, 201, 263, 307
" Annie  74
" Stephen  117
" MlssSueF  .'  178
Elmore, Mr  83
Ellerts, J  206
Bin on. A, J  207
Blllott, Erasmus  05
" Rev. 8  117
" Bdwd. R  131
" Mrs, Nellie  317
Elmore, Julius H  196
Blledge, W. B  206
Ellerbeck, Rev. H  221
English, Dr. Nathaniel  108, 119, 120, 121, 123,
135, 127, 132
" Lt. Wm. L  157, 181, 267
" James W.....'  266
Rev. D. W  197
JobW  310
Eno, Edwd  182, 157
" F. V. L  167, 866
Bnnla, Ellen  206
" Hiram  319
Eppinger, Wm  209
Bpler, Wm  272
" Jacob  64
" Carl  267
" James M  18!, 267, 371
" David  371
" Cyrus, 117, 129, 130, 148, 265, 266, 269, 317,332, 336
" Isaac  271
Swing, John M  181, 206
" Miss Mabel  214
Ethel, James  79
Evans, David  58
" Jno. W  53, 118, 119
Emmona, Silvester  ,  272

Panning, Levi  ••• 77
" G. W  180, 181, 174
" Esq  16
Paul,.Mrs. Mary B  258
Fahnestock, Henry  15
Farqueir, Geo  4g

XIV

Individual Index.

PAGE.
Fally, James  79
Farrell, F. G  151, 18L 1 9S, 210
Fairfield, Joseph  10,43,44, 51
" Mrs  78
Fay, WilUam L  201
" Mrs. Sarah  65, '328
Fairbank, D. W  181
" Miss Maria  214
" Samuel  267
Mrs. Hannah  332, 246
Fayerweather, Mary Jane  340
" James R.,  246
Ferguson, Mrs. V. H  243
C  '^3
Fellows, H  79
Fisher, Forrest  l-J
" John  109
" Dr. C  154, 181, 206
Fitch, Miss Maria P  95
Fields, Engineer  105
Fitzsimmons, O. D  109, 185, 190
" & Kreider  188
Fitzenberger, H  228
Finney, Thomas V  372
File, John  ;  77
Finn, Thomas  378
Finch, J. H  119
Filson, L  109
" J.M  65
Flack & Risley  157
" C. B  206
" John  2,32
Flagg, J. T. C  267
Flood, W. G  237
Foster, M. R  ._.  65
" Fannie  .'.  9
Foreman, Anderson, 18, 61, 85, 87, 101, 135, 241,
243, 259, 260, 262
" Bliza W  65
Fielden, Robert  271
Ford, Governor Thomas  53, 118, 119, 2,37, 338
" B. F. &, W. S  132
Fox, George W  125, 158, 261
" Charles H  166
Foley, J R  179
Freeman, Elizabeth  65
" E. S  237
" John  110
" Dr. J. W  202
Fremont, .lohn C  133
French, William  109,123
" Charles  260
Frost, Dr. Lewis A  176, 203
Fry, D. C  210
" John D  267
" Joseph  234
Pries, Frederick  228
Funk, H. B  174
Fuller, Miss Louise  202
Fulks, J. B  272
C3-.
Garner, James  275
Gann, Henry  272
Garlick, Hon. J. P  267
Gale, Mrs. Andrew  -  65
Gainer, G  243

PAGE.
Gaines, Robert G  272
Gatton, Thomas  17, 46, 50
" Zachary W  65, 260, 277
" & Berry  279
Gardner, George  102
Gass, Benjamin F  108, 109, 114, 181, 243, 259
Gates, Elder.  79
Galbraith, Samuel  109
" & Cassell  132
" J. W  147
Garoutte, Rev. C. W  172, 197
Gallagher, William G., Jr  ,  181, 266
" Rev. William G  156
Gay, Rev. D  210, 231
Gest, Nathan H  60, 61, 79
" Mrs. Nathan H  63
Gehrmann, C. A  89
Geyer, Edward  266
Gerdis, Faulkner W  272
Givens, H  248
Gilbert, Rev. A. N  99, 221, 231
Gibson, Coleman  74
Giddings, Rev. Mr  89
Gwin, William C  109
Gifford, Rev. Mr  117
Gibbons, Miles  154
" Johanna  330
Gillespie, Henry R  176
Gilman, Dr. H. A  197
" Mrs. H. A  202, 206
Gill, Jonathan  305
Gillham, James  14, 33
" G.L  66
", William  78, 86, 97, 110
" &Long  79
Gillett, Prof, Philip G., LL. D., 129, 131, 151, 194,
208, 228, 229, 398, 399
" & Gordon  51,79, 80
" Charles P  399
" Mrs. Philip G  157
" Dr. Bazaleel  62, 70, 74, 76, 127
" FrederickP  299
" Miss Alma  !!99
Glanville, Rev. John  12, 18, 241
Glover, Mrs. Marcia  202, 206
" Lyman B  174, 201, 231
Dr. L. M., 55, 57, 61, 69, 71, 94, 116, 116,
125, 130, 16,3, 154, 166, 173, 186, 197,
198, 206, 210, 262, 269, 283. 326, 337, 328
Gledhill, Joseph  110
Glen, Professor W, R  195
Gorum, H  229
Gordon, James  118, 123
William  47, 48, 154, 243
" E. S  179
" John..  131, 181, 208, 224, 253
Goltra, Cornelius S  80, 109, 156, 259
" J. W  108, 109, 114, 119, 126, 2.32, 259
" J. A  206
" Moore C  '.  109, 242
" & Stryker  126
Gorham, Josiah  58, 63
" Mrs. John  243
" Harvey  113
" Stephen  „  64, 113
Gore, John  272

Individual Index.

XV

' PAGE.
Goudy, W. Calvin  Ill, 269, 265, 267
" R  80, 88, 108, 265, 267
" B. T  108, 267
Goodno, W. S  242
Godfrey, Benjamin  70
Goodrick, Rev. Joel  HI, 130
Charles E  209
" James M  202
" Elijah A  166
Gouveia, H, D  193
Gotthelf & Kahn  263
Govert, W. H  267
Graham, J. W  „243, 262
L. W  74
L D  243
Groves, William  243
" George  1'38
Graves, George W  63, 172
'¦ MissS  72
" Miss J  72
Morrison  273
J. A  109
" Nathaniel  279
" Mary Ann  75
" Jeremiah  74, 76
Abigail  76
" James R  169
Gray, Byron B  230
" S. B  263
Gregory, John  93, 109
A. R  202
Grimsley, Fielding  6?, 78
" iVbram  117
Mrs. F  6J
Graff, Wash  117
Grant, Gen. Ulysses S  163, 164, 310
MlssZ. P  72
Dr  232
Grigg, John  124
Gridley, Rev. H. W  99, 108
J. N  273
Greathouse, John S  103
Grimshaw, W. A  118
Grierson, Benjamin H  166
Gruber, J. H  180, 181
Mary B  180
Grubbs, W, M  99
Greenwood, M. G  161
Greenleaf, E S  202, 253
Grosvenor, Mason  66
Green, James  25, 51, 78
" Wiley B  14, 15, 47, 58
" John  16,51,61, 97
" William  114, 159, 242
" James  86
" w. C  180
Gunn, Jesse  86
" A S  '.  86,216
Guthrie, Rev. R E  116, 161
Mrs. M  258
Gwynn, Edward  '..'.  204
Haskell, C. T  273
Happy, W. W  78, 79, 97, 109, 123, 126, 181, '259
Hatfield, Lewis  131, 133, 183, 259

PAGE,
Hamilton, William  16, 119, 181, 108
" George  93
" & Jones  151
" E  132, 157, 119, 193
" S. H  167
" Rev. B. B  „. 40
Rev. Dr. D. H  152,156, 173
& Sutton  132
" Mrs. William  243
Hackett, George....l4, 25, 43, 46, 48, 93, 236, 241, 243
" Martha  74, 244
" &Falrlleld  44, 48
J. H  179, 190, 206, 253
Harris, Timothy  18, 32
Major Thomaa L  127, 182
Profeasor D. H  178, 185, 195, 109
J  109
Harahman, J, and 8 R  175
Hancock, Rev. W. S  221
Hammond, Mlas Ellen  198
" Rev. B. P  197
Hamill, ProL H. M  186, 202, 209
" Isaac  197
Hannas, William T  196
Hastings, C. L  206
Hambaugh J. S  'iOl, 206
Uartt, A  206
" Eliza  75
Hackman. William  202
J.F  206
" Lewis C  272
Hayden, George  202, 309
Chloe  248
Hammer, Frank A  272
Harriott, M. J  :  206
Hawes, Rev. M. D  310, 231
Harker, Prof. Joseph R  312, 230
Harmon, M. S  228
Hanback, Lewis  161
Hay, A. L  228
Harne.y, J. R  63, 64
" Amanda  63, 05
Handy, John  40, 62, 241
" Mrs. John  63
Hash, Zack  64
Haskell, Mrs. John B  64
Harklns, Mary  72
Hanley, Rev. Z. K  73
Harsha, Rev. Dr. W. W  171, 197, 306, 226, 262
Haven, Prof  157
Harlan, Levi  79
Haynes, Philip  107
Hardy, Rev. Solomon  91, 245
Hartley, W, H  133
Hale, Rev. Albert  126
Harkness, J  ;  109
Hathaway, A. B,  110
Harp, Eli  109
Hardin, Col. J. J., 44, 45, 53, 63, 70, 74, 78, 79,
80, 89, 100, 103, 110, 111, 117, 119, 120,
121, 127, 129, 162, 182, 239, 310, 3-^8, 329, ,330
" Charles H  126, 130
" & Smith  119
" Lemuel  74
Harrington, A. L  266
Havekluft, H. C  271

XVI

Individual Index.

PAGE.
Harrison, William  47, 135
Hawkins, Michael  164
Hanka, Johnny  164
Hall, Aquila  18, 47, 50
" Henry H  85, 178, 198, 226, 279
" John A  102
" Dr. H. H  279
" John W  193,209
" Patterson  19
" Carrie M  336
" Hon. James  86
Hays, William  26
Harvey, Edward  40, 64
Haines, Mr. and Mrs. Philip  63
Hewett, Joaephua  79, 262
Reuben R  272, 273
Headington, Joel  112
Heath, Rev N. P  11, 176
Heslop, Joseph  49, 97, 117, 119
Henry, Robert  13
Hon. John..63, 70, 78, 88, 97, 109, lio, 114
121, 127, 341, 243, 361, 362
George  109
Charles  200
" Elijah  86
Dr. G. R  I!i0
Elisha  13
" James D  47
Henderaon, Rev. D. Pat  18,97, 99, 133
" Mra. Mary  232
Benjamin  142, 143, 144, 147
" John  51
" Smiley H  63, 101, 109, 241, 243
Amos  180
Herndon, W. H  31, 131
Hedenburg, Peter  60, 63, 79, 97
" James V  60, '241
Helms, WilliamH  273
Heyer, Rev. W. G  108
Hennessey, James  230
Henslee, Henry  176
" Caroline  176
Hellenthal, Vogel & Co  193
Heinz, Charles  303,210
Higbee, J. M  237
Hitt, B. B  130, 172
Hill, John  74, 117
" A. J  272
Hitchcock, Allen  74
" George B  76
Hite, Archibald J  60, 61
" Tolbert  241
Hills, James  13
Hinrichsen, Mis, M  65, 243
B. S  107, 333
" William H  203, 210, 219, 334
Hindman, John and James  161
Higgins, V. Edward  202
" Joseph  105
" Henry  181, 198, 203, 211
Dr. James M  123, 126, 128
" Martin F  272
Hicks, Isaac  109, '209
Hindall, Rev. M  138
Hine, Thomas  180
" Frank  206

PAGE.
Hiokey, Rev. T  221
Hilllgasa, B. F  288
Holliday, B W  ."  79, 236
" Rev. C. M  116
Hobart, Chauncey  99, 116
HoUenger, Prank  272
Horn, Rev. Reddick  272, 276, 377
Howell, John S  367
House, Rev. Isaac  276, 277
Hoover, Henry  263
Holmes, Rev. Daniel D  112
William  271,277
" James T  114, 147
" Palmer  65
" Anna L  126
Hodges, D. L  114
Judge Charlea D  63, 131, 179, 203
Holland, John  190, 259
" William H  119, 136, 137
" Electa M  126
Horrell, Cnarlea W  13, 48
Hook&Wiawall  51, 78
" Cornellna  74, »7, 108, 119
" William S  109, 128
Hooker, Ira A  48
Hobba, Bnos  63
Howard, John  42
" & Thompson  172
Charles H  180, 181
Hopkins, Mrs. F  64, 274
Holloway, S  48
Hockenhull, John  132,269
Robt..l08,109,118,119,126,132,151, 167
" Mlas Jennie  202
King .ifc Elliot  .{.  128
Houghton, B. R  109
Hopper, John  202, 209
Hodin, Peter  176
Hobart, H. K  2ul
Hoban, John  2,p9
Hocking, A. U  '310, 258
" Mr. and Mrs. F G  319
Huntoon, George H  263
Hudson, D  229
Hunter, William  81
Humphrey, W. D  64, 243, 259
" Mrs, Benjimln  248
" Mra. Mary  66
Huffaker, Michael  19, 43, 44
W. S  64
" Jacob, Sr  25
Hutchins, Mr. aud Mra. Aquilla  63
Hutchln, James  50
Huitt, John  40
Hunt, Samuel  108, 109, 123, 128, 126, 167
" H. W  202
" Mrs. Fannie  243
" Mrs. D. B  .-.  64
Huntsinger, H. P  198
Hutchinson, George  210
D  154
Humphriea, M  4S
Hibbard, David  48
Hubbard, Clarence  196
W. A  248
A. P  237

Individual Index.

XVI 1

PAGE.
Hussey, Jamea  100, 101
Hurat, James  49, 66, 119. 114, 202
" W. S  109, 132, 180
" John  78, 97, 109
" Caroline  157
Huffman, Alexander  271, 272
I.
lies, Elijah  47
Ingalls, Darius  63, 107
" Mrs. Darius  63
Ironmonger, Joseph J  166, 167, 178, 174
& Funk  174
Irvin, P. M  53
Ireland, William  242
Irving, Henry  135, 136, 187, 130, 1.39, 144, 145, 147
Israel, Taggart &Smith  63, 108
" Sarah Jane  73
Irland, T. C  258
T.
Jacques, Rev J. F  126, 187
James, Robert  11, 14, 28, 04
" William  65
Jaywood, J. D  65
Jackson, William  26
" John  167
Rev, A, W  173, 181, 202, 221, 24S
" Gen, Andrew  42,47,76,77, 88
" & Gillett  119
January, T. T  78, ;06
" P. W  74
" Mary B  74
J^Jne, Dr. G  47, 79
" William  120, 267
Jarred, William  48, 58, 78
Jameson, George  :  209
Jennings, John  230
Jenkins, James  14
Jenny, Elisha  56, 99, 126
Josephine, Mother  231
Job, Archibald  11, 18, 14, 17, S3. 56, 273
Jordan, Uncle John  60, 243, 263
" FatherJohn  12, 60
" Williams  1'2, 13, 63
Jones, John T  79, 99, 108, 109, 117
" Bennett  32
Julia D  167
" Samuel B  48
William W  153, 156
Nlch las  14
Stephen B  32, 04
" Dr. Henry  81, 108, 135, 156, 166
" Dr. Hiram K....138, 154, 200, 302, 226, 266, 207
" Charles  63
" Dr. C.George  203
Walker  83, 74, 78
Wesley  176
B. S  161
Robert  179
Johnson, N  51
N.H  51
" William G  114, 135, 18i), 180, 181, 248
" Bliza  126, 243
John  109
" James  1'55

., , PAGE,
Johnson, Abram  ig, 17^ 54^ 239
" McHenry  47^ e:j
" Rev, Edwin S  117
" Mrs. McHenry  63
" Nelson  63
W. C  65
" & Hchards  i67
C. P  179
Mrs, S. E  244
Henry  260
Johnston, A. B  72
Joiner, Mrs  C3
Judson, Zeph  65
Judd, N. B  156
Kane, Elder, A. J  99, 1-2B
Kayser, J. N  132
Karns, Andrew  26
Kaiser & Russell  151
Kavenaugh, T. H  127
Kackman, Joseph C  151
Kellogg, Hester  68
-' Dr. A.H  1H4
" JamesH  isi
Seymour, 9, 10, 11, 14, 16, 28, 36, 36, 37,
40, 241
Bllsiia  9, 11, 13, 19, 28, 35, 30, 236, 241
" Florentine  19, 235
Kerr, James  11, eo, 74
" Anna  167
" Janet  60,240
Keelock, Moses  13
Kemper, Rev. Jackson  76
Keener, Henry  iu9
Keemer, Mary E  lao, 219
" Ellas  193, 219
Keltner, Henry  14
Keller, Abram W  -.ii, 33
Kelly, Elisha  39
" John  ija
" George  ^73
" William  39
" Ira  50
Kelchum, Dr. Alex  sa3
Kendall, Rev. R. S  115, 206, 267
Keys, Edward  117
Ketcham, I. J  179, 180, 260
Kempf, William  238
Koehne, Joe  i63
Keener, T. and F  igg
Kennedy, M.S  2.3, 210
Kent, Miss Lyde  203
Keiser, Mrs. M. L. D  a^s
Kinnett, Thomas  14
Kibbe & Lathrop  119, 126
Kirby, Rev. William....66, l-,i6, 137, 186, 144, 145, 307
" Judge Edward P., 126, 156, 176, 181, 185,
195, 203, 214, 226, 366, 367, 307
" Mis. Julia S  320
King, Mrs. Frederick  m
" Dr. W. H. H  166, 209, 230
" Mrs. Rachel  65, 313
" Mrs A,E  157
" Joseph W., 118, 119, 125, 132, 151, 282, 288, 28fi
" John W  159, 232, 289, 300

XVI II

Individual Index.

PAGE,
King, Charles  82
" S. Reynolds  126
" Joseph O , 107, 109, 114, 131, 123, 135, 136,
145, 148, 193, 202, 204 205, 253, 281
Killiam, Samuel  107
Kimball, Lucretia H  95, 115
" Ira  197
Kirk, Col, B, N  161
Kingsbury, Rev. S. A  171, 173. 242
Kitner, Nathaniel  202
Kinman, Edward M  210, 319
Klein, Joseph  16, 80
Knight, John  24
Knollenberg, John R  226
H. H  151. 263
Knowles, William  176
Knaach, P. W  195
Knox, William  181
Knapp & Pogue  61, 79, 276
A R  118
N M  118
Knight, Thomas  372
" Dr. B. A  309
Kreiger, Charles  164
Kreider, Edward C  180, 193, 253
Kumler, Rev. J. A  210
Lacey, Lyman  267
Lambert & Scott  32J
Langworthy, Stephen  13, 34
Lathrop, JVlrs J. W  206
John W....82, 86, 106. 107, 114, 126, 144,
243, 262
Ladd, Milton  18
Lancaster, Jerry  99
Lappington, John  50
Lager, William  50
Lamborn, Josiah  ,  63, 102
Lambert, Edward  126, 131, 180, 181
Laurie, J. A  126
Landers, R. U  131, 132
Lax, E. C  161
Lake, Cyrus  154
Lamb, Rev. M. T  307, 242
Lane, J. M  I75
Lawler, Henry  :  isi
Lawson, Mrs. John  243
" Mrs B  243
Langley, Mary A  248
Lansden, Hon. J. M  267
Leonard, Joseph T  13, is
C, H  74
" Miss  244
Lenn, Elisha  32
" Simeon  32
Leeper, James  63, 250
John  60, 74,260,351
" Mrs. Fidelia  60, 250
" Robert  271
M  72
" ArthurA  273, 273
Leslie, Myron  83
LeSage. Capt. John B  I61
Lewis, William B  lOfi, no
" Barbour  167

FAQE.
Lewis, Josephs  166
Rev. D  112
Charlea B  181
Lee, Samuel, Jr  40
" Philip  193, 202, 209, 263
Lennlngon, Rev. Robert  173, 197
Leaton, Rev. Jamea  173, 178, 210, 221, 231
Letton, Caleb  209
Leurlg, Louis  228
Lieb, Daniel  14, 16, 60
Lisles, Ephraim  14
" Mrs  142
Lindley, Martin and Julia  33
Link, Mrs. A. G  206
Lincoln, President Abraham, 39, 53, 88, 111, 114.
136, 138, 156, 269
M. S  196
Lippincott, Rev. T  56, 68, 82, 89, 91, 126, 261, 307
•' Julian P  209, 230, 267
" Gen. Charlea E  .143, 267
" Mi-8. Clara  206
Lightfoot & Eaatnn  161
Little, M F  187
Linell, William B  169
Littlefield, G. H  198
Logan, Stephen T  89, 53, 131
" Bob and Emily  143, 147
Loar, George  86
" John R  202,209,213
Lockwood, Mrs. Mary  74, 306
" Samuel D  IS, 40, 47, 63, 65, 56,
69, 110, 118, 120,123, 126,
127, 138, 261, B05, 306, 307, 315
Loomis, ProL J  164
George N  174, 201
Locke, Rev. J. R  117, 161
Long, Dr. O. M  105, 119, 123, 128, 1-37, 182
" William H  121
" Louiaa  167
Lovejoy, B. P  99, 135, 142, 240
Loughrey, Arthur  64
Lohr, A  109
Love, William  161
longley, James F  169
Lollis, David H  203
Lord, Mary M  180
" Robert B  75
Lomb, H  228
Luttrell, Lot  11
" Thomas  80
" Charlea  68
Lucaa, Josiah M  89, 93, 97, 98, 108, 110, 259
Luak, John  42
" Edward  60,180
LurtOD, James H  50, 109, 131, 132, 180,243, 333
Dr  64
" Williams  179, 333
Lyman, Dr  146
Lynch, Patrick  14
l:y/£.
Malone, John H  271, 272
Mayfield, Milton  181,243
" Manning  16
Manning, A, S  53
J.,Jr  79

Individual Index.

XIX

,, , PAGE.
Mayhew, Mrs  246
Massey, Henderson  274
" Silas  58, 64
" King, Neely & Co  157, 204
MaUory, Stephen  65
" Morton  109
Matthews, John  40, 91
" Samuel. . .14, 40, 48, 57, 58, 78, 82, 86, 375
" W  196
" Richard, Sr  14, 40, 196
" Samuel T., Sr  74, 114
T., Jr  14, 40
" Cyrus  28, 40, 58, 86, 107, 130, 131
" JohnH  30,3, 210
" George B  206
" Rev.R. J.L  171
Hon. T. L  371
" Col. A. C  267
Mattingly, S. J  19
March, E. C  24,3.5,33,46,47,48, 61, 6:3
Magill, G  126
Mayo, William M  151
Marshall, Rev. C. H  153, 156
" Hugh S  213
Markham, James  154
Maupin, M. B  157
" P. C  51
Martin, Gersham  174
" Dr. Samuel M  180, 184, 249
" Frank  173
" Mrs. Bliza  166
" Miss G  157
" Annie H  2:30
Mason, William  160
Maddox, Lewis and William  176
Manchester, David  339
Marks, David  40, 48
May, William L  58, 63
" Mrs. William L  63
Masters, Jamea D  267
Mathis, Jennings G  271
Mann, Daniel  75
Mauzy, George  83
Mathers, John  109, 135, 136, 137, 148
" Wesley  :  86, 185
" William D  258
" Buckingham <»; Ziegler  '332
Mather, Col. Thomas  105, 121, 134, 126, 160
Mapes, Ira  343
Markley, William H  65
Mader, George  157
Marsh, John N  181, 185, 303, 310, 236, 332, 323
" Mrs. John N  3:33
Markoe, Samuel  185
Mayes, Robert and Mary  196
Marvin, John D  330
Mayor, Mr. and Mrs. H. A  219
Matheson, Mr, and Mrs. Neil  206, 219
Matteson, Joel  105
McClure, H. B  53
" Mrs. H  64
McCartney, Orris  14
McClung, James  56
" Hervey  ..60,6:3, 74
McDowell, Nelson  14
McConneU, J. H  180

McConnel, JohnL.,53,117,U8,r23,136,147,148,158, 190
" George M  181, 190, 201, '3M
" Edward  190
'' Minerva  72
" Sen. Murray.. 15, 16, 17, 19, 30, 31, 34,
46, 48, 51, 53, 63, 117, 119, 120, 135,
147, 148, 158, 178, 179, 188, 189, '341, 263
McHenry, George  97
McDougall, J. A  53, iri, 190
McPherson, Wj S  181
McLaughlin, Rev. James  306
" Mrs. F. t:  195
McElroy, Rev. Dr. W. N  210, 331
McGinnis,M   338
" Francis  230
McCrea, Minnie  ,  330
McMackin, Catherine  108
McCutchin, James M  110
McDonnell, Henry  117
McDonald, Mra. Charles  109
" Andrew N  181
" Alexander  ....1,30,132,161,188
" Mrs. Alexander  195
" Hon. Edward L.203, 310, 326, 367, 321, :3-33
Frank 1  '309, 330,2:33
" Miss Mary A  200
" Charles  151
" & Chambers  119
" &King  310
" Capps & Co  188
McCabe, Chaplain C. C  152
McGrath, Henry  150
McBnally, Charles P  1.59
McClernand, Gen. John A  163
McDonnell & Rightmire  172
McCord, Fidelia  350
McClintock, John II  367
McLean, Joseph M  373
McHenry, Henry  371
" William  371
McFarland, Dr. Andrew... 128, 178, 195, 230, 255, -r.O
" Dr George C  178
" Dr. T. Fletcher  178
" - acob  131
McCoy, D.C  173
" Rev. A. S  175,197
" Rev. H.S  187
McLain, Calvin W  180
McKay,Jame8  181
McAlister, J  63, 109
McClusky, Ellen  243
McKee, Joseph  53, 79
McCullough, Mr. and Mrs. Simeon  63
" Prof. J. F  373
McCary, Benjamin  80
McBride, M atthew  93
" John C  180
McNeely, Robert T  97
McKinney, James  97, 110
McCaslin, Joseph  101
Meserve & Kittredge  258
Meade,Dr  120, 1'31
" Miss Elizabeth  137
Merriam, H. M  136
Meacham, John W  160,181,269
Mendenhall, A. H  155

XX

Individual Index.

PAGE.
Meher, Sister J  . . . 195
Melton, John W  203, 209
Merrill, Miss Dorie  214
Meek, Miss Emma   214
Meeker, Joseph  241
Metcalf, Mr. and Mrs. Emanuel  63
" Marion L  167
Mears, James  25, 60, 74
" Rollin  350, 365,266
" Edward A  56,60,74, 75
" Polly  60,250
" Sarah  '.  60, 75
Melendy, Miss S. P  73, 363
" Miss M. C  126, 143
M.E  72
" Thomas W...78, 108, 1.36, 142, 143, 144, 147
Mitchell, Frank  17,3, 174
" J.T  76, 99, 151
Professor B. P  152, 15.3, 173
" James B  180,159
" R. B  174
" James M  181,209
" Lewis R  '.. 209
Misch, George A  172
Miner, William H  161
Milligan, Dr. H. W..6, 178, 180, 195, 302, 313, 226, 249
" Mrs. H. W  178, 303
Michaels, T. C  206
Minter, LeeG  209
" John  176
Mills, Alfred  12, 13
" Hon. Richard W  273
" Benjamin  16,46, 61
Milletead, Joseph  14
Milburn, Nicholas, Sr  64, 109, 115
" Rev. William Henry  390, 291, 292
Miller, William  32,250
" & Thomas  74
" Rev. John  33
U. M  126
" E. T., 49, 63, 70, 76, 97, 108, 109, 125, 167, 181
William  48, 63, 97
" Mrs. E.T  63,101,243
" George F  271
" A  228
Michael, Samuel  93
Montgomery, James  181, 209
Morton, Governor  1S2
John T  108, 267
" Joseph. ...'... 11, 17, :3:3, ;35, 86, 121, 127, 1:30
" Rev. S. M  152, 221
Morse, William L  14
" Col. C. M  180, 312, 313
" James K  265
" Miss M. B  227
Moss, Elizabeth  35
" Mrs. D  258
Moore, Rev. Jesse H  151
" SS  II!:; 181
" Joshua  315, 316, 331
" Rev. W. H. II  197
" W.J  ;;;;;; 206
" MisB M. C  i^f^
" i-v  ZZZm
Ensley  85, 108, 125, 156, 174, 201, 202,
209, 263, 367, 392,' 293

PAGE.
Morgan, Robert  14
" Captain  168
Mount & Engle  198
Moees, Hon. John  ;. 201
Mosely, T. J  206
" Frank A  206
Munroe, Thomas  108, 303, 304, 305
" Jamea B  267
Morey, Bev. A. B  221, 226
Morris, Lee T  8"
B. F  110
Morrison, Hon. L L  132, 185, 210, 221, 336
" Rev. Dr. T. N  173
" James D  48, 76, 87
" John G  202, 230
" Mrs. I. L  206
Murdock, Harriet P  126, 153
" Samuel  101
Murray, M. H  228
Mullett, Patrick  14
Mundy, Mrs. A. K  10
" Matheson  210
Murphy, Jamea J  209
" John  154
Myers & Knollenberg  1.51, 193
" JohnH  202, 206
" William  275
3sr.
Nash, Moaea  .'  13
" Isaac  161
" Stephen  14, 74
" D. B  126
" Philip W  102
Nagle. J. F  209
Newman, Levi  ',  14
" Jesse T  49
" Nat  228
Newell, Lewis G  31, 22
Neely, Thomas W  46, 47, 79
Jonathan, 108, 114, 126, 137, 181, 190, £09, 2:32
Negus, Isaac  51
Newcomb, Andrew  :...114, 241
Newland, Samuel  170
Nelaon, Richard  241
" Rev. W, T  243
Needham, William  isi
Nevius, Rev Dr. H. V. D  194, 198
Nixon, George  10, 175
Nichol-', Sam 1W..201, 204, 305, 219, 226, 248, '260, 262
Nicely, George  48, 62
" Mrs. George  63
North, Mr. and Mrs J. M  200, 202
Norris, Archibald  goo
Norton, Rev. Dr. A. T  §9, 186
Northcutt. B. F  ' 118
Nolte. George H  271
Nutting, Professor T. D  214, 230 1
" Rev. Rufus  156 '
" Miss Jennie  214
Nulton, Senator J. B  isi
O,
Oakes, Royal  203
Ogle, C  'Z'ZZ 110
Officer, Thomaa  120, 126 129

Individual Index.

xxi

PAGE.
Olmstead, Stephen  10, 11, 14, 10, 28, 82, 37
L. S  202, 221
William  147
Oliver, William A  209, 273
" Mrs. C. H  66
Oliverson, John  174
Orear, William  58, 78, 79, 110
Osborne, D. W  113
" Elder H.W  61, 86
" Robert T  181
Overton, James  46
Overall, Isaac W  212

Paddock, Sylvester  271
Park, The family  88, -243
Passavant, Rev. Dr  l-;9, 195, 230
Packard, Charles  130
" Mrs  259
Patterson, Frank H  86, 243
" Captain William  06,109,243
" A. C  46, 117, 243
" L. A  206
" Dr. Robert W  265, 367
Page & Bacon  124, 125
Padgett, Adjutant George W  163
James L  193, 263
Paxson, Stephen  162
Parker, Emily  157
Parkinson, Laura  72
" &Miller  241
" Mr. and Mrs, Jamea  68
Cordelia  73
Palmer,D.P  33,109
" S. M  179,180,181
" Mra.D.P  62
HonJohnM  118
" H. H  201,206,206,219
Palraerlee, Roswell  13
Pendleton, Rev. G. W  242
" Nellie Loar  214
Peckloeffel, Henry  161
Perkina, Jamea  161
" Solomon  48
Pence,!. B  271
Perrin, Wllliim H  262
Pegram, MaryS  200
Petree, Francla  11
Perry.C.H  74,79, 80
" Ralph  74, 76
Peter, Rev. Simon  77
Peck, J. M  80
Percifield, H. and J  21,32,23, 24
Petefish, S, H  ,  64
Penny, Solomon  48
Phelps, Hon. S. S  98
Phillips. Hon. Joseph  40
" Henry  272
" Aaron  65
" W.M  206
Mrs. L.J  230
Rev. Dr. F. W  IU, 171, 173,
175, 194, 208, 223, 230, 293. 294
Peet, Edward  268

PAGE.
Piper, Jonathan  16, 27
Piggott, Isaac N  15
Pierce, John T  108
'• Stephen  16, 28
" Fannie Reese  214
" Earl  337
" Rev. CO  242
Pierson, E. L  287
DanielC  99
" Naomi  232
Dr Azel  130,137,139
Pickett, Rev. Newton  17,18, 8
" Abraham  43
Pistol, James II  :  22
Pitcher, Captain T. G  159
Pile, Robert  164
Plaster, Lemon  272
" Jeptha and Thomas  371
Pires, Rev. E. N  197,221
Pitner, Montgomery  26
" William  272
" Rev,L. C  161
" Alexander  64
•' Dr. T.J  196,202,228,267
Piatt, Alexander  ..210
Plants, George B  102
Pope, Captain  160
Poznanski, Professor I. B  196
Pond.M. C  243
Porter, Guinn  14, 54
" Nancy  54
" Joseph N  64,265
Posey, William C  26, 66, 60,74,260
Post, Rev. Dr. T. M  78, 100, 108, 231, 269
Prosser, Dr. Samuel M  63, 76, 97, 110
Price, M.N  202, 206
" Rev, Dr  171
" T. D  174,201,203
" Wjcklifle  108
" PhlllpB  12.5,131,132
" B. F  159
" EmilyP  72, 80
Prentice, Thomas  74
" w.S  117,161,197
Prince, J. Warrick  186
" Dr.ArthurE  202
" Mrs Dr. David  228
" Stella  214
" Dr.Davld  118,119,120,
121, 147, 148, 167, 194, 19S, '202, 327, 253
Prentiss, General Benjamin M  168
Pratt, Henry  -161, 176
" Rev.WlUiamG  243
" Lewis H  261
" JohnW  271,272,278
Purcell, Archbishop  172
Pngh, Jonathan H  16, 46
Putnam, A. V  109
" Mary  320
Pyatt, Bryson  99
" Oliver S  159
" Benjamin  114, 119, 180, 181, 19.S, 263
'1 John  119,131,151,302,203,209
" John C  179,181
Pyle,Rev,G.W  265

XXII

Individual Index.

Q.
<luan,M.W  179
tjuigg, Henry  272, 273
Rach, Samuel B  273
Rahn, John  272
Rabourn, R. W  273
Rawlings, Isaac D.78, 97, 109, 114, 125, 148, 161, 243
" Spencer C  161
" Isaac  78
" AttlUa  195
" Daniel W  78,128,179,206
Ramage, Mr  285
Rapp, Susan  243
" Thomaa  309
" Michael  93, 109,
114, 118, 119, 126, 130, 131, 181, 269
Rattan, Thomaa  40
" M. and H  250
Ratekin, William  114, 119, 126, 130, 132
Rabbitt, Peter  209
Rayhouser, Captain N. C. A  219
Ralaton, Jamea II  237, 238
Ranaon, R. W  262
Redfern, John  26
Rearick, George D  43, 2B6, 241
" Mrs George D  63,243
" F  271,273
Reddlck,Dr  '.  98
Keed, Frank  341
" Andrew  ^  13
" &Klng  108
" Stephen H  243
" Harriet  126,230
" Dr. M. M. L..64, 74, 76, 108, 142, 144, 146, 147
" Rev. Horace  197,206
" Henry   248
" Mrs. Dr. M. VI L  75,147,167,206
Rees, E. M  117
Redmond, James  14, 48, 181
" Daniel  181
Reid, N. W  206
Redding, Jacob  25, 78, 79
" Eli  13
Reynolda, John  15, 40, 46, 53, 76, 152
C. B  200
" Mrs. Lieut  310
" Judge Thomas  40, 241
" Ralph...  180, 269
Rector, Mrs. M.J  19
Rhoads, Dr. Joshua. .111, 128, 126, 308, 299, 300, 301
" Alice  202
" Rosanna  124,300
Richardson, B. B  19, 38
" William  263, 260
" Daniel  25, 38
" Thomaa D  226
" Benjamin  33
Richards, Samuel C  46
" Williams..  181,193
" George M  46, 48, 68, 63, ISO
" Mra. George M  36, 37, 03, 101, 243
Richmond, John P  99
Ridgely, N. H  105, l'.!4

FAOE.
Rice, Elder E. 6  106,107
" Henry  131
" Rev.N.L  198
Rixford, Samuel  *3
Rider, Justus  79
'• Professor Ge rge T  199
" Emma and Katie  214
Rivaz, Professor Ernst  214
Riley.Danlel  203,210
Rltter,R.A  126
Riggs, Archibald P  31, 87
FatherScott  62
" W. W  66
Reeve, Lazarus  11,12,14,19, 28
" John  11,14,28,241
" Joel  14, 28
" IsaacSr  11, 14, 2»8, 241
Jr  28
" Keren  H, 41
" Amanda  65
" Huram  11. 19,
27, 34, 41, 43, 10«, 17.5, 260, '262, 263
Roe, Isaac Fort  10, 11, 18,28,30.37,65, 176
" Dr.E. R  127
" Dr. Ozel  10
Robertson, Israel  13
" Alexander  14,36, 74
" Aaron  14
JohnT  19,66,260
" William  14
Robinson, Rev. S. T  76
" Hon Jamea  .179
Joseph  63
" Ann  63
Uncle Billy  32,286
" WilllamA  179,189,236
" J.F  27'2, 273
A.R  117
Charlea  24, 25, 62
Roach, Rev. J. B  16, 85, 64, 260
" Rev. Needham  87
Robley, Henry  14,48,49,63, 86
" Mrs. Henry  63
Rosenbach, M  228
Robbins, C. C  181
Romerman, W. H  193
Rockwell, Mrs. Dennis  63, 64
" William  56. 65, 117, 241
" Charles  66
" Dennis....;  13, 15, 26, 43,
46, 48, 66, 56, 62, 64, 70, 74, 76,
80, 109, 110, 120, 128, 126, 127, 236
Rosenhaupt & Co  151
Rouae, Albert  179
Rottger, John  180, 2i 6
" Emma L  180
Robb, David  119, 126, 161, 167, 330
Ross, William N  114,118, 206,219
" Dr. P. C  120
" L.C  172
" H.M  73
" Mrs. L. P  178
" Charlea E  ,  i8l
Roberts, Alice  ... 230
'- Rev. James G  171
" Rev. W. W  175

Individual Index.

xxiii

„ PAGE.
Rowen, James J  181
Rowe, W. H  203
Rodgers, Jephemiah  176
" Captain William  47, 48
" Belle  273
" Samuel  48,58, 86
Routt. Thomas C  132
" Harvey  125, 139
Russell, Rev. W. S  99, 166
Dr  148
" & Akers  263
" Charles E  172
Robert D  173, 202, 209, 230
Ruaael, John S  232
" Andrew  194
" William  93
" G. Scott  202
Rutledge, Rev. W.J  161, 160
" Rev. George  175
" James  ii09
Rugglea, Edward.,  126
Ruschie, John  176
Rudisill, Henry  243
Rush, J ohn  14
Ruble, Jesse  11, 31, 47
Ryder, Mlas B. F  206
Ryland, B. L  166
Ryan, Francla  64
S.
Sawyer, Judge John York  40, 46, 63
Dr. C. K  13;, 157, 181, 209
Kate  214
Savage, John  46, 63, 271, 373
Rev. WilliamH  171,197, 198
Peter  46, 276
Sartain, William  227
Sandera, T. R  372
William B  317
" Charlea and Clarence  317
Lewla F  '272
Dr. WilliamH  155, 156,
186, 196, 199, 214, 221, 316, 317
Sanford, B. M  157, 206
Samplea, John  114
William  14
Field  181
' " Chailea  130,260
Saunderson, H  97, 114
David  179
Salter, C. J. andD. B  81
Sargent, Rev. John  260
Schickle, Harrison & Co  179
Schaub, John A  202
Schoonover, David  203
Schermerhorn, C  206
Schafer, John  '338
" George  273
Schultz, Philip  228
Schrage, Fritz  '¦'30
Schott, W. B  48
Scott, Samuel  H, 28
" & McDonald  119
" <te Fitch  151
" William  Si6
" W.C  110

Scotr, John C  271
" Elizabeth  75
" Thomas  179
" Hackett & Chambers  ISO, 193, 322
" & Duckett  263
" Edward. . . .66, IOS. 180, 181, 190, 226, 228, 322
" Jamea  194,202
" P  72
" BUzabeth  75
" Mra. Jonaa  233
Scroggin, John  26, 74
Schuyler, Robert  124
Selby, Paul  136, 127, 131, 165, 301, 267, 268
" John  132
" Mary A  178,196, 203
Sevier, CM  210
Selleck, Rev. C. G  129, 130, 332
" Mra  129,130
Selmitz, Benjamin  14
Seward, Hon. William H  135
Semple, Gen, James  108. Ill
" Rev. Alexander  151, 268
Sewall, William  74, 86
Seymour, Richard  87
Seargent, W. L  97
Hon. John  118
Self, Charles  14
" J. H  233,343
Shaw, John B  ill, 119, 265, 216, 272
James  159
" Bion  196
" JarvisG  174
" Judge J . Henry  24, 179, 262, 271. 278
Shelton, Johnston  11, 18, 43, 372
Sharon, William  48
Shuff, John  33
Shields, Gen, James  39, 98
Shartzer, Benjamin  48
Shirley, Dr. G. Y  119, 132
Shelby, David  13
Shinel, Mrs. G  84
Shawen, G. W  271
Seilschott, A. H  272,273
Shepherd, Rowland  14, 18, 88, 35
Thornt n  28,62, 77
' Samuel  14
" Peter  ;i5
" J.J  86
Richard  24
" Stephen  65
Sellow, C. J  168
Sharpe, Joseph K  306
" FredL  206,209,261
Short, Dr, W, F  176, 197, 200, 213, 219, 226, 309
" SarahB  200,214
" John M  271
•' Lottie D  200
Shubert & Koenig  198
Sheriffs, James  210
Shea, J. G  206
Sherry, Frank  164
Sinclair, Rev. J  77
" & March  241
" Samuel  248
Silloway, Perley  40
Sigler, W. H  108, 119

XXIV

Individual Index.

PAGE.
Singleton, Gen. J. W  118, 124
Simpson, Rev. B. F  242
Lizzie B  2:30
Sinks, Rev. P. W  172
Sinnock, Rev. J. W  175, 176, 197
Simmons, Milton F  201, 336
" & Fames  201
" L. R  273
" David M  181, 209, 243
" Barton W  181 202
Sierer, Isaac L  181
Sims, Rev. William  33
" "Uncle Jimmy"  275
Simms, Samuel R  260
" Chatham H  250
" Edward C  259
Slade, Hon. .lames P  211
Slattern, Joseph  ."  32, 33, 236
8malley, David and William  109
Smith, Minerva  66
" David A..64,]14,117, 125, 126, 130, 134, 166, 167
" Prof. James B  200, 201, 203
" Mary  66
" Thomas  11, 108
" S. E  19
" Col. George P  173, 174 '269
" Isaac  11
" David B  167, 205, 269, 267
" Robert  1  74
" J. B. C  126, ISO
" Samuel  271
" Peter  13
" BUzabeth  65
" Kate Murdock  71, 95, 200
" Thomaa W  157, 159, 266, 267
" "Jacky"  14
" George W  181,209,334
" John A  157, 267
" G. S  131
" Stafford  ]09
" William H  180, 230
" A  108, 109
" W. R  79
" D. G  273
" Anna  214, 2:30
" Talma  108
" Robert C  125
" Rev. Bishop  76
•' Conatance Barlow  214
" Captain Alexander  t.'.5S, 284, 285
Smart, Bennett  13
Smedley, Hiram  ,  172
" Mrs. Hiram  243
Snyder, J. M. & Co  181
" Dr. J. F  271, 273
Wesley  209
" MiasM G  157
" Adelia  273
Snedeker, Isaac  143, 144
Snow, H. H  14, 2.37
Solomon, Judge Lewis  17
Sorrella, D. H  226
Spartzen, Benjamin  236
Spring, Profeasor B. A  227
Spaulding, Horace  63, 114, 119, 134
Spruill, Rev. W. F. T  197

PAGE.
Springer, John T  60, 269
F. M  181,248
Hon William M  131,259
Rev. Levi  83, 276
Spencer, Mlssea H. R. S. and M  72
" Captain  239
" Major W  164
•' David  147
Rev. W  264
Sprague, Joahua  166
Spillman, Rev. B. F  89, 91
J.A  91
Spurgeon, Rev. S. S  172
Sperry, Charlea O  202
Splrea, John C  86, 248
" William  179, 243
Spates, Preston  88. 157
Spilman, Rev. Jonathan B  261
Staley, Henry  253
Spence, Isaac C  271
Stickney, Miss  2I4
Strawn, Jacob  18, 64, 1,52, 1(3, 269, 281, 283, 283
Julius E  258, 207
" William  136, 138
Sturtevant, Alfred H  321
" Warren  321
Dr. J. M. Jr  321
" Mrs. J. M  167
" Lucy E  227
" Dr. J. M..56, 66, 60, 68, 69, 70, 74,75,
77, 81, 84, 9L 110, 114,126, 148, 156,
196, 199, 200, 211, 212, 231, 240, 243,
251, '254, 261, 26i;, 266, 269, 301, 320, ;321
Starr, Bev. Thomas J  18, 76, 241
" Mrs. W  219
" William H  108, 205
Stites, M. S  72
Street, M and L  72
Stark, James  109
Stuart, Hon JohnT  97
" Jamea P  260
Storer, William  no
Steele, Isaac W  46
Stanley, Joseph  '.  u
Stryker, Henry, Jr  3-.i2
Stacy, Mra. Matthew  63
" Matthew  62, 63, 70, 101,
118, 110, 112, 118, 119. 130, ISl, 243, 269
Stout, C. W  206
" Jacob  64
" Mortimer  131
Stice, A. W  87
Stewart, M  132, 160
" Walden  144, 145
" ,Iamea H  I60
Stevenson, Benjamin F  109, 112, 126, 131, 151
" William  74, 260, 273
Mra. B. F  96, 111, :57
" Eliot  74, 78
Fleming  109, 112, ISO
" & Tompkina.....  1,57
Strode, Rev, Eugene  266
Struble, Andrew  271
Stephens, H. C  126
Stringham, Philip  101
Stevens, Rev. George  197, 210

Individual Index.

xxv

Stevens, J. Scott  36''
" F. A  306
Storrs, Professor Henry E  178, 202, 212
Standley, Henry  179
Stewart, Dr. Henry C  203
John  210, 265
" Rev. A.L  221
Sterritt, Kate Detrick  214
" David  151
Strong, General.  '339
Stone, J. D  109
" Barton W  '363
Sutherland, Rev. Dr. J. R  310
Sammerbell, Rev. J. J  173
Sutton, Stephen  109, 130,3:32,259
" F.C  109
Summers, William  60, 276
Suffern, The Misses  279
Swalee, Jamea M  159, 166
Swett, William C  110, 117, 119, 1'27
" Hon. Leonard  156
Sweet, Peleg  13, 25
" Revs. Joel and Jonathan  112
" Robert and James  13
Swinnerton, J. G  14, 15, 28
Swift, William  164
Sweeney, Mrs. E  258
Sybrant, George E  209
Symms, J  72
T.
Tate, Harvey  373
" Harmonia  . . 373
Taylor, Frank C  206
" Spencer   243
" Joseph N  253
" Louisa  72,244
" WiUiam  271
" Mrs.Dr.H.G  48, 63
" Dr. Hector G  13, 47, 48, 56, 60, 63, 236
" James  32, 48, -272
" Rev. Thomas  112
" T.G  173
" Gen. Zack  118,135
Taggart, J. M  63, 127, 131
Tanner,J.A  81
" Dr. Edward A. ..199,211,212,266,311,312
Talcott, Asa  75,144
" Maria  75
Te«t,David  48,46, 63
Terry, Silas  341
Talkington, Joseph  275,277
Thompson, Joseph E  105
" A. C  253
" A.J  102,303,360
" George B  271
B. D  64
" S. Henry  127, 180, 303
" Phoebe  153
" Samuel P  156
" H. C  371
" AnnaM  157
W. Howard  203,209
N.B  272
Allie  314
" EffieDon Carlos  314

PAGE.
Tait. James B  159
TarheU, Annie  214
Tefft,JohnP  14, 46
Thomas, Judge Jesse B  53
" Anthony  14
" Mrs. Leanna (Orear)  303, 206
" Richards  271,272
" Rev. Samuel  34
" Judge William  14,15,43,
45, 48, 60, 58, 57, 68, 63, 65, 80, 81,
87, 97, 101,103, 110, 114, 116, 118,119,
120, 121, 133, 137, 175, 341, 243, 250,
363, 363, 378, 323, 323, 324, 3'25, 326, :3-i9
Thornton, Deborah  18,241
Thayer, C.F  108
• ' Professor Gilbert  153, 186, 199
Theby, Jacob  154
Thorp, M. V  157
Tinney, Charles M  273
Tiffany, Mary Berdan  314
Tilford, A. W  110
Ticknor, Olney  ¦- 14
TUson, John  66, 69, 136, 159
" Robert  3:37, 338
" Mrs  157
Titus, Samuel  63
" Mrs. Samuel  63
Tilton, James T  78
Tobey, Hannah ,  195,203
Tomlineon, Joseph  202, 209, 293
Town, Henry D  108
" Joseph and Lucy  75
" Salem and Eliza  74, 75
Todd, Rev. Andrew  100, 108, 116, 126
" Dr.John  56, 56, '361
Trotter, Rev. W. D. R  86, 99, 115, 117, 131, 180
Treadway, W. T  64
Troy, Charles  14
Truett, H. B  SI8
Tracey, James  46
Trabue, John  49, 181
" ^Chambers  151
True,WmiaJ  176
Trover, Edward  158
Travis Rev. R W  117
Trimble, Elder  99
Trent,S. H  HO
Tunison, Henry Cuthbert  328
Turley, Howard  343
" Mrs, Sarah J  65
" Thomas  179
" Mahala  65
Tunnell, R. M  126,156,266
" S. S  243
Tureman, Mrs. M.J  64
J. H  260, 273, 275, '276
Turney, Gen. James  15,16, 98
" John  46, 53
Turner, S  S6
WilliamH  157
" Frederick C  314
" Asa  56
" Rodolphus  314
" M  74
" John  314
" Howard  178,314

XXVI

Individual Index.

PAGE.
Turner, Mary  I'S
" Charle'  314
EdwardW  271
JonathanB  81,8.5,
99, 102, 133, 136, 137, 138. 139, 148,
187, 178, 226, 243, 269, 266, 809, 313, 314
Twining, A. C  81
Twin, Captain B. H  161
Upham, B,R  181,202,208,210
" & Snyder  156
Underwood, (of Chicago)  263, 272
" Phineas T  272
Rev. John  99
Vail.Mra, P. W  66,243
Vanpelt, Samuel  241
Vance, Abraham  80,61, 62
" Mrs. Abraham  63
Van Wey, Charles  197
Van Buren, President Martin  89, 98, 185
Van Baton, Hon. H. S  120, 267
Van Deren, A. J  126
Cyrus  130
Vasey, Richardson  20-3,232
" VlrgieGordon  214
Van La; r. Professor A. T  214
Veitch, Silas  172
" William K  253
Verry, W. C  11, 18
" Mrs. W.C  143
Virgln.John  181,203
Vlgus,MaryS  200
Vieria, Joseph  219
Volkmar, George  272
Vandemark, James K . .  272
Way, Maria  273
Warlow, George L  273
Warfield, Dr  269
Watson, CjrusL  91, 152
Warren, W. B . . . 50, 97, 109, 114, 117, 126, 132, 262
Mrs.V.R  214
" Louisa M  167
Ward,A.J  206
" Jacob   271
" Rev.Israel W  198
" John N  206
" W. C  206
" Rev. Philip  248
" Isaac  97
Walla, Alexander  50
Wadaworth, A. C  64,263
" Mrs. A. C  96,167,206
Walker, R  .110
N.B  168
" Darius N  271,273
" Cyrus  110
" Fred  151
" S. Tefft  ,  208
Waters, Patrick  164
Wallace, Rev. H  175

PAGE.
Washington, Rev. S  197,242
" Mra. Lucy  302
Waller, Dr. J. D  "7
'• George  •  114,187
Walton, R  193
" V' iaa  -  178
Walters, B.R  ••¦•¦ 209
Waddell, Thomas  198
Walah, Michael H  181,202,209
Wel3enbnrg,0  228
Wenkie, J S  243
W ebster. Rev. W . H  197, 210
Daniel....  135
Weaver, George W  271
Weatherford, Col. William  110, 118
Weidensall, Robert  172
Weil, Leopold  180,228
" & Brother......  183
Weigand, Leopold  181
Weatherbee, Ambrose  187,188
Wells, Alexander  83, 60
" Levi  237
Welch, Rev. L. W  .'  99
Witherbee. Seth  64,112
West, AmosS  271
Whittlesey, Carrie  214
Whitney,D.G  110,237
" . J, D  266'
Whllwood.D.C  .. .. ..163
Whipple,S.L  187
White, Hugh Lawaon  80
" Samuel  48
" John   97
" Thomaa  61
" ElizabethE  126
" & Shuff  193
" Rev. J.G  198
Whit'ock, A. B  98
" Judge H.G  243
Wiibourne. John S. and Thomas  272
Willard, Julius A  142, 'il'
Samuel, 107, 11,8, 136, 137, 142, 240, 265, 267
Williams, Rev. H  96, 99 108, 116, 136
AbbleL  95
" Rev. J. Mad  99
" Ellas  48,236
WilliamR  119
" GeorgeD  280
" Samuel  131
" John  130
" Daniel  288
Wilkins, John  40
Wilkin aon, Mrs. John P  63,301,302
Ott wa  110, 119
" Robert  120
" ^Bancroft  93
" Profeahor Israel  185
John P  48, ,51, 57, 62, 69 70,
74, 241, 244, 246, 301, 3u2
Winter, Nathan  47
" Rev. William  197
Wing, Henry  17,108
Wilhoit, Matilda  65
Wildey, Thomas  ;  93
Wiswall, Mra. S  243
Wlthrow, William E  110

Individual Index.

XXVI I

PAGE.
Wilson, Hugh  172,2*2,263
" Profeasor Robert D  120
" WilllamG  109
" J.M  179
" Jesse  278
" Rev.J.B  117
" Joseph  273
" Andrew F  126
" Judge Aaron  ... 236
Wilbur, Dr. Charles T  161, 178, 194
Willett, R.W  176
Wimmerstedt, ProL A. B  200
" Mrs.M. P  200,214
Widmayer, Charlea  202, 209
" ErnestP  273
Woffendall, Alexander  55
Woods, n. Judge D. M  63, 125, 134, 179, 268
Woodworth, Professor I. J  200
Worrell, W. H  180. 189, 206, 219
Mra. W. H  219
Woof, Captain Thomas B  163
Wolfe, Samuel  151
" Rev. George B  210
Woodman, W^.C  ,  151
E  206
Wood, Miles,  33
" Captain McLean F  131, 169
" William  48, 273
" John  164,266
" Rev.GeorgeC  198
•- Abram  202,209
" W.D  267
" James  243
Woods, Rev. B. C  116
" Rebecca  185
" Judge Samuel  54,203,334
" Mr. and Mrs. A. C  68
" Prof. John H. . . . 164, 194, 196, 201, 227, 249

PAGE.
Woods, William  78,86, 97
Wolcott, Francis J  75
" Mrs. Julia.  244
" Richmond  266
" Mrs. M. D  ..96, 228
Elizur  86, 180, 195
Elihu  60,70,
72, 74, 99, 136, 136, 137, 143, 144, 147, 251
Wright, Thomas  87
C  271
" Dr. N  120
" William  87,232
" Elizur  320
" William H  181, 203,210,243
" W. Chilton  303,309,310
" Rev. J. B  173
Wyatt, Captain W. D  160
" James L  166

Yates, Mrs. Richard  311
" Richard, Jr. . :  135, 201, 319, 230, 811
" Henry  311
" Mary  157
" Abner  194
" Richard, Sr. .64, 89, 102, 103, 114, 117, 119,
133, 125, 127 130, 132, 133, 184, 136. 186,
137. 166, 158, 183, 261, 265, 266, 367, 310, 311
Yaple, John  64
Young, James P  348
" Dudley  86
•' Sister Lina N  319
Yohle,Mrs  261
Yeck, Charles B  373
Zabriski, Captain Jacob  118

List of Portraits.

PAGE.
Hon, Joseph O. King  381
Capt. Alex. Smith  384
Hon. Jos. Tomlinson  393
Rev. F. W. Phillips, M. D  394
Dr. P. G. Gillett  398
Prof. E. F. Bullard  803
Dr. Thomas Munroe  303

PAGE.
Judge Samuel D. Lockwood  80.5
Dr. H. F. Carriel  308
Engr. of Senator Richard Yates, opp. 311
Prof. William Coffin  315
Gov. Joseph Duncan  818
H. C. Tunison  338
Joshua Moore  331

xxviii Illustration Index.

List of Illustrations.

Bird's Eye View of Jacksonville  Frontispiece. Page.
Anti-slavery Pioneers, (Photograph,) opposite  143
Ayers' Block, West State Street  252
Business College — ^Interior View  vii
Conservatory of Music  191
Centenary M. E. Church  233
Central Hospital for the Insane  270
Dunlap House, Jacksonville  257
Daily « Journal " Office, East State Street  239
Hatch's Drug Store, West Side Square  vii
Institution for the Blind  26
Institution for the Deaf and Dumb  122
Illinois College Campus and Buildings  67
Illinois Female College  113
Ironmonger's Printing Offlce  256
Jacksonville Female Academy  66
Jacksonville Woolen Mills  241
Morgan County Court House  52
Odd Fellows' Block, North Side Public Square  264
Old Time Wood-cut Engraving  29-5
Park Hotel, North Side Public Square  ¦  247
Eawlings' Clothing House, West Side Square  , . vii
Sulky Plow Works and Thompson's Foundry  24C
Trade Palace of Jas. T. King  280
Washington High School  , . 150
Young Ladies' Athenseum  170
Young Men's Christian Association Building  234

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