USA > Illinois > Madison County > Centennial history of Madison County, Illinois, and its people, 1812 to 1912, Volume II > Part 1
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GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 00839 7611
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https://archive.org/details/centennialhistor02nort
Centennial History C
Madison County, Illinois OF
and Its People
1812 to 1912
Edited and Compiled by W. T. NORTON ALTON
Associate Editors : HON. N. G. FLAGG, Moro J. S. HOERNER, Highland
VOLUME II
ILLUSTRATED
Publishers : THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY CHICAGO AND NEW YORK 1912
-
12-15- 20is.
INV. 1723 PO. 3000
1330089
Der & Prickett
History of Madison County
MAJOR WILLIAM RUSSELL PRICKETT was born in Edwardsville, September 21, 1836, He is of Southern ancestry. His mother was a Kentuckian, having been born in Hopkins- ville, August 6, 1806, and his father, Colonel Isaac Prickett, a native of Georgia, was born in Savannah, December 22, 1790, but at an early date migrated to Illinois and was promi- nently identified with its history, both as a territory and as a state. He embarked in mer- chandising at Edwardsville in 1818, and con- tinued in the business until his death, in 1844, in the meantime filling numerous offices of public trust, viz : quartermaster general of the Illinois militia, paymaster of militia, inspector of the penitentiary, public administrator, coro- ner and postmaster. In 1838 he was appointed by President Van Buren to the responsible po- sition of receiver of public moneys for the United States land office, and was reappointed to the office by President Tyler in 1842, which position he held at the time of his death. The mother of Major Prickett, whose maiden name was Nancy A. Lamkins, was daughter of Captain William Lamkins, of Christian county, Kentucky, who was a soldier in the war of 1812. Her marriage to Colonel Isaac Prickett took place in Edwardsville, Illinois, on February 22, 1821.
The eldest son in the family, Nathaniel Pope Prickett, was an officer in the United States navy, and died of yellow fever on board the United States storeship Lexington, in the har- bor of Rio de Janeiro, South America, in 1850.
The youngest son, Major W. R. Prickett, has spent his life in his native town with the exception of the years that he was a student at the Western Military Institute in Kentucky and afterward at the Illinois College at Jack- sonville. He entered the latter institution in 1855, and there, through application and in- dustry, laid the foundation for r business life
of activity and usefulness. Major Prickett became identified with the Masonic order at the age of twenty-one years, joining Edwards- ville lodge, No. 99. Afterwards, at Lagrange, Georgia, he was made a chapter Mason. His affiliation is now with his home lodge. He is also a member of the Army of the Cumber- land, Grand Army of the Republic, and the Loyal Legion of the United States. Although he had always been a Democrat, he followed the example of the great Douglas in being loyal to the state and country, and entered the Union army as lieutenant in the One Hundred and Fiftieth Illinois Infantry. Before leaving Camp Butler he was made major of the regi- ment. On May 1, 1865, Major Prickett was assigned by Major General James B. Stead- man to Brevet Brigadier General Salm-Salm's Second Brigade, Second Separate Division, Army of the Cumberland, and on the 2d of May moved to Dalton, Georgia. He had com- mand of the forces between Bridgeport, Ala- bama, and Chattanooga, Tennessee, and was in command of the left wing of the regiment while it was stationed at Spring Place, Georgia. In July he was appointed judge advocate of the court martial which convened in Augusta, Georgia, by order of General Steadman. After his return from Augusta to Atlanta he was made provost marshal, which office he filled until the regiment left Atlanta, August 14th, when he had command of companies C, F, G, H and K, with his headquarters at Lagrange, Georgia. He was honorably mustered out of the service in 1866, at Springfield, Illinois.
In 1868 Major Prickett engaged in the banking business at Edwardsville. He incor- porated his banking interests into the Bank of Edwardsville on January 1, 1896, and at the same time assumed its presidency. He continued in it successfully until the year 1899 when he retired, selling out his interest in this bank. As an illustration of his finan-
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
cial standing during the panic of 1873, when so many hundreds of the banks in the country suspended payment, the banking house of West & Prickett continued to pay and discount as usual during the stringency. As evidence of the confidence still reposed in him by the peo- ple, it may be mentioned that during the panic of 1893 his deposits increased rather than de- creased, many withdrawing their deposits from other banks and placing them with him. Not only did he stand his own ground, but rendered assistance to several other institu- tions at the same time, while continuing to loan money to all responsible persons who applied.
Prior to 1896 he had been an influential fac- tor in the Democratic political affairs of the county, serving with signal ability for over twenty years as chairman of the executive committee. In February, 1885, he was ap- pointed one of the United States commis- sioners for Illinois by Judge Samuel H. Treat, and has had the honor of representing his na- tive town and county twice in the Illinois general assembly. During one session he was made chairman of the committee on banks and banking, a committee composed of the ablest and best men in the legislature. His career in the legislature was characterized by soundest discretion and by faithful and honest representation of the best interests of his constituents and the people of the state. Dur- ing the senatorial contest of 1885, when Gen- eral John A. Logan was re-elected senator, Major Prickett received at different times several votes for that office as an expression on the part of his friends of their high regard for him as a representative of the great com- monwealth of Illinois. He again received a mark of favor from his political friends in being selected for his district as presidential elector on the national Democratic ticket for 1892. In 1895 he was elected mayor of the city of Edwardsville, continuing in the office for two years.
Major Prickett has been twice married. His first wife, whom he married in 1859 and who died in 1874, was Virginia Frances, daughter of Hon. Edward M. West, who until his death in 1887 was engaged in the banking business with Major Prickett. Three chil- dren born of this marriage are living. The son, Edward Isaac, is a resident of Pasadena, California. The elder daughter, Virginia Rus- sell, is the wife of Henry Clay Pierce, of New York city. The younger daughter, Mary West, is the wife of Harrison I. Drummond,
of Pasadena, California. Major Prickett's second marriage took place in 1888, and united him with Mary Josephine, daughter of the late Judge Joseph Gillespie, who was one of the pioneers of Illinois history in politics and statesmanship and a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this history.
Major Prickett is a man of unswerving in- tegrity and honor, one who has a perfect ap- preciation of the higher ethics of life. He has gained and retained the confidence of his fellow men and is distinctively one of the leading citizens of the thriving city of Ed- wardsville, with whose interests he has al- ways been identified.
HON. JOSEPH GILLESPIE. In the early his- tory of the State of Illinois none have been more prominently identified with its personal and political histories than the subject of this sketch. As the Hon. E. B. Washburne said of him in dedicating his "Life of Gov. Ed- ward Coles" to him, "Joseph Gillespie, one of the connecting links between the earlier and the later Illinois, and who in his career as a lawyer, a magistrate and a citizen, has illus- trated the history of our State for more than half a Century, this paper is dedicated, as a slight token of the profound respect and high esteem in which he is held by The Writer."
Mr. Gillespie was of Scotch-Irish parentage, the son of David and Sara Gillespie, who were born and raised and were married in county Monaghan, Ireland, in the early part of the nineteenth century. Being ardent admirers of America and her system of government, they soon decided to cast their fortunes with this country. They landed in the United States in 1807. Their son Joseph was born in 1809, in New York city, in their residence on what is now the street called Maiden Lane. His education in schools was limited and as he frequently said, his schooling was obtained mostly from his mother's teachings and from following her instructions in his course of reading and obtaining information. She espe- cially impressed upon him the importance of studying the Bible and history of all kinds, and his love for reading and study compen- sated to a great extent for his lack of oppor- tunities. About the year 1819 his parents de- cided to remove to Illinois, where his father engaged in farming near Edwardsville. Young Gillespie having to depend upon his own re- sources at an early age chose law for a pro- fession and gladly accepted an invitation from the Hon. Cyrus Edwards, a prominent jurist, to read law with him at his residence on Wood
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Родной
RESIDENCE OF JOSEPH POGUE
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
River in Madison county. He lived in Mr. Edward's home for two years under the di- rection and tuition of his generous benefac- tor. At that time the Black Hawk war com- menced, and Mr. Gillespie volunteered and served through 1831 and 1832. It was during this Indian campaign that he first met and formed a warm intimate friendship with Abra- ham Lincoln which continued unchanged and unbroken. After his return from the war he was elected probate judge of Madison county and held the office for two years. After this he resumed his profession and began to travel the circuit, where he took rank with the fore- most men of the state. His friends and com- peers were Lincoln, Douglas, Shields, Trum- bull and the host of other names that are con- spicuous in state and national history. In 1840 he was elected on the Whig ticket to represent Madison county in the Legislature. In 1847 he was elected a member of the State Senate, in which office he continued until 1857. In 1861 he was elected Judge of the Twenty- fourth Judicial Circuit and held the office for twelve years.
Joseph Gillespie was married in 1845, at Greenville, Illinois, to Miss Mary E. Smith, a native of Harper's Ferry, Virginia. Eight children were born to them, three of whom are living: Charles S. Gillespie, of Topeka, Kan- sas; Frank K. Gillespie, of New York city; and Josephine, wife of Major William R. Prickett, of Edwardsville. The death of Jo- seph Gillespie occurred at his home in Ed- wardsville on January 7, 1885, at the age of seventy-five years. Thus passed away a typi- cal self-made man.
JOSEPH POGUE, M. D., one of the oldest and most prominent physicians of Madison county, is one of the few doctors of the county whose professional careers began before the Civil war and who are still actively engaged in the work of healing among a second and third generation of patients. To the discoveries and improvements of the modern age of medicine these men have brought the traditions and kindly qualities of the old-time doctor and are men deserving of permanent record in the history of the last century.
With only one important interruption Dr. Pogue has been engaged in practice at Ed- wardsville since 1858. He was born in Phila- delphia, March 20. 1835, a son of Joseph and Jane Knox (Cooper) Pogue. His father, prompt and decided, was a thorough business man of Philadelphia, where he attained to prominence as a merchant broker on the board
of exchange, in his connection with cotton manufacturing and as president of Wilming- ton (Delaware) Print Works. He was a na- tive of county Cavan, Ireland, where his family was well known, and received his papers as a citizen of the United States, July 6, 1817. Mrs. Pogue, the mother of our subject, a highly cultured woman, belonged to an old Quaker family of Philadelphia and was di- rectly descended from John Knox, famous among the covenanters, and by intermarriage was connected with the Lewises and Coopers, early settlers of Pennsylvania. Joseph, the son, acquired his early education in the public schools and under private instructors at home. Entering Pennsylvania College, he pursued his medical studies there, and after his graduation came west and was for one year in practice in Alton. His experience and excellent equip- ment quickly brought him success when he lo- cated at Edwardsville in 1858 and was enjoy- ing a large practice when the war of the re- bellion broke out.
He entered the service, like a number of Madison county soldiers, with a Missouri regi- ment and became chief surgeon of the Four- teenth Missouri Volunteer Infantry, known as the Western Sharpshooters. This regiment was later transferred and became the Sixty- sixth Illinois, his commission with the rank of major, thus coming from both states. Dr. Pogue served as regimental surgeon, brigade surgeon of cavalry, battalion surgeon of ar- tillery, and brigade surgeon of infantry, serv- ing as member and finally as chief of the operating board of the Fourth Division of the Fifteenth Army Corps. In his pro- fessional capacity he was one of the most noted of Madison county's soldiers in the war. He was mustered out in August, 1865.
Dr. Pogue then resumed practice in Ed- wardsville. For many years his service in civil life was almost as arduous as that performed in the army. Like many of the doctors of thir- ty or forty years ago, his practice covered a large scope of territory and had to be attended to before the modern aids of good roads, tele- phones and automobiles came into existence. Half a dozen or more horses were in his stables and day or night his carriage was driven over the roads about Edwardsville to the home of sickness. A veteran of both Mars and Esculapius, Dr. Pogue is still ac- tive in a quieter age and his skill and experi- ence in therapeutics and surgery, his specialty, are often required for counsel and practice.
Dr. Pogue's residence on Commercial street,
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
in the midst of a beautiful landscape garden of trees and turf and flowers, is one of the charm- ing places of Edwardsville. He was the owner of a fine professional library and equipment of surgical instruments and the destruction or injury of those by fire, which ruined his office in March, 1911, is a loss to be deplored by the entire profession.
Dr. Pogue is surgeon for the Litchfield & Madison, the Wabash and the Illinois Term- inal Railways and the Illinois Traction Com- pany. He is a member of the Madison County, the District and the Illinois State Medical So- cieties; also of the Illinois Army and Navy Medical Associations ; the National Association of Railway Surgeons, the Association of Wa- bash Surgeons and the American Medical As- sociation. He was one of the organizers of the old Madison County Medical Society, and acted as secretary in 1857. He was at one time president of the present Madison County Medical Society. In politics he has always been a Democrat.
In February, 1860, Dr. Pogue married Miss Sarah Whiteside, of Edwardsville, whose death occurred in 1862. His second wife, whom he married in March, 1866, and whose name was Elizabeth Hoaglan, passed away in 1894. Of this marriage there are three daugh- ters: Katharine Barry; Jane Cooper, who is the wife of Leland T. Milnor, of Cincinnati, Ohio, manager of the Western Electric Com- pany; and Ann Ayres, who married Charles F. Ford, Edwardsville, superintendent of schools. His present wife was Miss Mary Littleton, daughter of George and Sarah Littleton, of Edwardsville.
Dr. Pogue has been a Mason since 1860 and belongs to the Blue lodge. Other affiliations are with the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, the Druids, the Knights of Pythias, the Loyal Legion and other prominent societies. He is wonderfully public-spirited and no mat- ter how exclusively taken up with his pro- fession he has been he has always taken a defi- nite part in civic reform and municipal work.
THOMAS M. CROSSMAN, who has been the Edwardsville postmaster for nearly seventeen years, belongs to one of the oldest Madison county families and represents a name that for over half a century has been identified with the newspaper history of the county.
His father, Samuel V. Crossman, who was born in London, England, September 29, 1828, and died at Edwardsville, June 17, 1875. He came with his parents to this country in 1834, and when little more than eight years of age
was sent to Cincinnati and bound out to learn the printer's trade. In 1854, having learned his trade, he came to Alton and was made fore- man of the Alton Courier. He later became superintendent of the Courier office, and in 1860, with L. A. Parks, revived the Alton Telegraph. In 1864 he engaged in job print- ing, and in 1869 removed his plant to Ed- wardsville, where he founded the Edwards- ville Republican. He was publisher of this journal up to the time of his death. For many years he took an active part in the Methodist churches of the two cities, and was one of the prominent members of Masonry in this county. On February 27, 1849, he married Miss Ellen A. Morgan, of Cincinnati. Her death occurred in 1873, and she was the mother of eight children.
Thomas M. Crossman was born in Cincin- nati, Ohio, January 3, 1852. After being edu- cated in the Alton public schools and two years in McKendree College at Lebanon, he began his practical career in 1869 as printer's devil on his father's paper in Edwardsville. He learned the trade and in 1875 became asso- ciated with his brother William R., in the management of the Republican. His first ap- pointment as postmaster was given by Presi- dent Harrison in 1888, when he served a four year term. Beginning with the administration of President McKinley, he has served continu- ously to the present time. He also continued his connection with the editorial and business management of the principal newspaper on the Republican side in the county until 1907. Samuel V. Crossman, the father, died in 1875, and for several years the subject and his brother, William, carried on their father's business, continuing to publish the Republican here. The brother, William Crossman, is still with the paper, The Republican, being its edi- tor and proprietor.
As a publisher and public official Thomas M. Crossman is one of the influential men at this period of Madison county's history. Be- sides his present office he served for several years as assessor for the city and township of Edwardsville. He is a member of Edwards- ville Lodge, No. 99, A. F. & A. M., and has been secretary of this lodge twenty-four years, and has been a member of Edwardsville Chapter, No. 146, R. A. M. for ten years.
Mr. Crossman was married in 1872, to Miss Mary E. Stinchcombe, who was born and reared in Edwardsville. They are the parents of seven children: Thomas, Nellie, Marie, Wilbur, Rothberry, Ray and Lottie.
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
HON. JOHN A. PRICKETT, whose death on February 18, 1897, took away one of the most notable citizens in Madison county during the last century, was born at Edwardsville, May 4, 1822. The Prickett family were among the founders of Edwardsville, and to the achieve- ments and character through which that early generation of citizens influenced the history of Illinois the Pricketts contributed an honorable part. For more than a century the name has been identified with the best civic and social ideals of this community, and in the promo- tion of these ideals the late John A. Prickett lived a life that deserves a permanent record in this history.
The Pricketts were originally from England and on coming to America located in Mary- land. Some of them served in the Revolution- ary war. George and Jacob Prickett married sisters by the name of Anderson, and after re- siding successively in the Carolinas, Georgia and Kentucky came to Illinois in 1808. George Prickett was the father of Abraham Prickett, the founder in Edwardsville of the branch of the family now being considered. The first child born in Edwardsville was George W. Prickett.
Abraham Prickett was one of the first board of trustees named in an act of the legislature in 1819 to govern the town of Edwardsville. Previous to this he had been a member of the convention which framed the constitution by which Illinois became a state in 1818. He was a strong Jackson Democrat and later was nominated for Congress. Abraham Prickett was also proprietor of the first store in Ed- wardsville, and in many ways was closely identified with the early history of the town. He married Martha Harris, a native of Nor- wich, Connecticut, and who died in 1823. Her family was likewise originally from England, and articles of furniture brought with them from the old country nearly two hundred years ago are still preserved in the family.
John A. Prickett was the son of Abraham and Martha Prickett. He learned his alphabet in a log schoolhouse and later gained a partial knowledge of algebra, physics, chemistry and Latin. His fondness for study remained a lifelong characteristic, and he preferred the companionship of books to that of persons. On the death of his father he was taken to the home of an uncle, whose intention was to prepare him for the practice of law. But do- mestic tyranny drove him from this home, and he was about to engage as a cabin-boy on a steamboat when he was persuaded by an older
brother to live in the latter's home and thus continue his education. He made rapid pro- gress in his studies, but influenced by the be- lief that he was a burden to others, he closed his books and learned a trade, which he fol- lowed closely for six years.
At the opening of the war with Mexico, in- fluenced by Governor Ford and other friends, ·he assisted in raising a company of volunteers, known as Company E, Second Regiment, un- der the command of Colonel Bissell, and was elected first lieutenant. This campaign brought him acquaintance and association with General Wool, General Taylor, Major Bliss and other officers who gained national fame in that war. At the battle of Buena Vista a bullet shattered his left shoulder, in consequence of which he was sent home in advance of the army.
The returned soldier was elected recorder of deeds of Madison county for two years, and afterwards for twelve successive years was elected clerk of the county court. From the cares of office he determined to engage in farming, but not being physically able he con- ducted a flour-mill for ten years with good suc- cess, until it burned down. In the meantime he had become interested in banking, and for many years thereafter was one of the county's financiers.
Outside of ordinary business, Mr. Prickett interested himself in all civic movements for the fundamental welfare of society. His de- sire to promote education among all the people led him to serve on the school board for many years, and his services in that capacity should not be forgotten. When Edwardsville was organized as a city, he was the first citizen chosen to the office of mayor. An independent thinker, with broad experience and balance of judgment, he was a man whose usefulness to the community was not to be measured by material work alone, for his influence during his life was a constant factor in favor of com- munity welfare.
Mr. Prickett married, in 1847, Miss Eliza- beth M. Barnsback, daughter of Julius L. and Mary (Gonterman) Barnsback, of the promi- nent family of that name mentioned elsewhere in this work. Mrs. Prickett died July 12, 1909, the mother of the following children: Julius L .; Minnie P., wife of Cyrus Happy, of Spokane, Washington; Clara P., wife of William H. Jones; Harris E .; and Jessie E., wife of W. W. Greenwood, of Seattle, Wash- ington.
The old Prickett homestead where Mr. Prickett lived over fifty years is now occupied
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
by Mrs. Clara Prickett Jones. It is one of the most attractive places in Edwardsville, many of the native forest trees stand on the grounds, and about is the atmosphere of comfort and solid worth which is a fitting expression of the character of its original owner.
JOIIN U. UZZELL, county superintendent of schools, has for nearly thirty years been en- gaged in educational work, chiefly in Madison county. Known as a man of progressive ideas, of proven executive ability, and with high rank among his professional associates, his choice as the official head of the county's schools was strongly endorsed by the people, and after his first term he was readily elected again.
Professor Uzzell was born in Bond county, Illinois, March 13, 1866, though properly he represents a family which has been identified with Madison county ever since Illinois be- came a state. The first of the name to come to America were of French stock. The great- grandfather was a soldier of the Revolution under General Marion, and later moved across the mountains into the middle west. Jordan Uzzell, the grandfather, was a Tennesseean who came to Illinois and settled at St. Jacobs in Madison county in the year 1815. His wife was Mary Dugger.
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