USA > Illinois > A history of southern Illinois; a narrative account of its historical progress, its people, and its principal interests > Part 3
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Judge Harker is a native of Newport, Wayne county, Indiana, born on the 14th of December, 1846, to Miflin and Anna (Woods) Harker. He obtained his earlier education in the schools of Florid and Wheaton, Illinois, and was a student at Wheaton College from 1860 to 1862. In the following year, then only a youth of sixteen, he enlisted in the Union army as a member of Company D, Sixty-seventh Illinois Volunteer In- fantry and with that command concluded his military service at the cessa- tion of hostilities.
Upon his return to Illinois he located at Lebanon as a student at Me- Kendree College, from which he graduated with high honors in 1866. To his regular Bachelor's degree was added that of A. M. in 1869. In the meantime (1866-7) he had pursued a law course at the University of In- diana, and in 1867-8 taught various private schools at Vienna, Illinois. Admitted to the bar in 1869, Judge Harker commenced the practice of his profession in that place, where he continued for some eight years, or until his first appointment to the bench.
In August, 1878, Governor Cullom appointed Judge Harker to the bench of the first cirenit, and he continued thus to serve, by elections in 1879, 1885, 1891 and 1897, until 1903. During that period he acted as judge of the Appellate court for the second district from 1891 to 1897. and of the third district from the latter year until 1903. As stated, he was appointed dean of the law school of the University of Illinois in 1903, and still honors the position. In 1895-6 Judge Harker was president of the Illinois State Bar Association; he is also a leading member of the American Bar Association, and for many years was identified with the Illinois Council of the national organization. His high standing was further emphasized when the Supreme court of Illinois appointed him as a delegate to the International Congress of Lawyers and Jurists which assembled at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, St. Louis.
By virtue of his service in the Civil war JJudge Harker is identified with the Grand Army of the Republic; he is also a member of the I. O. O. F. and of the fraternities, Phi Delta Phi and Theta Kappa Nu.
Married on the 3rd of March, 1870, at Vienna, Illinois, to Miss Sid- ney Bain, the Judge is the father of three children-George M., a prac- ticing attorney ; Oliver A., Jr., a farmer, and Winnifred, wife of Frank M. Hewitt, a druggist of Carbondale. Judge Harker has been a resi- dent of that city since 1880. -
ROBERT J. MCELVAIN. As one of the distinguished members of the bar of Southern Illinois and as one who has given most effective service in offices of public trust, Judge MeElvain well merits consider-
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Nobert &. On Elvain
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ation as one of the representative citizens of the favored section of Illinois to which this publication is devoted. Further interest attaches to his career by reason of the fact that he is a native son of the state and a scion of one of its early and sterling pioneer families.
Judge Robert James MeElvain was born at DuQuoin, Perry county, Illinois, on the 20th of March, 1849, and is a son of Joseph HI. and Esther (Lipe) MeElvain, who established their home in that county in an early day and who continued their residence in Southern Illi- nois during the residue of their lives,-secure in the high regard of all who knew them. The father contributed his quota to the industrial and social development and progress of this section of the state and wielded no little influence in public affairs of a local order. . Indge Me- Elvain gained his early educational discipline in the common schools of his native county and supplemented this by a course of study in the Southern Illinois College, now known as the Southern Illinois Normal University. In preparation for the work of his chosen profession he began the study of law under effective private preceptorship and there- after continued his technical studies in the law school at Lebanon, St.
Clair county. He was admitted to the bar in 1878. In 1884 he found it expedient to establish an office in Murphysboro, the county seat, to which city he removed in 1890, since which year he has here main- tained his home and professional headquarters. In 1884 he was elected state attorney for Jackson county, in 1894 was elected county judge and at the expiration of his term, in 1898, he was chosen as his own successor. In 1902, shortly after his retirement from the county bench, he was elected representative of the Forty-fourth Senatorial District in the Lower House of the State Legislature, and significant evidence of his popularity was again given on this occasion, as he received at the polls a majority of more than two thousand votes. In 1904 he was elected representative of the Forty-fourth district in the State Senate, and the best voucher for his effective record in this important office was that given in his re-election in 1908, his second term expiring in 1912. Judge MeElvain has ever given a stanch allegiance to the Re- publican party and has been one of its influential representatives in Southern Illinois. He is known as a most effective campaign speaker and his services in this connection have been much in requisition in the various campaigns in the state. On the 19th of September, 1901, he delivered the principal address at the memorial services held in honor of the lamented President MeKinley at Murphysboro, and he has given many other publie addresses of a general order.
Judge MeElvain and his wife and son hold membership in the Christian church, and he is prominently affiliated with the Knights of Pythias, in which he has passed the various official chairs of the local organization and in which he held the office of grand chancellor of the Grand lodge of the state in 1900. He also holds membership in the Murphysboro lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
On the 29th of January, 1874, was solemnized the marriage of Judge MeElvain to Miss Mary A. Schwartz, of Elkville, Jackson county, her parents, George and Sarah Schwartz, having been early settlers in that locality, where her father became a representative agri- culturist and stockgrower. Judge and Mrs. MeElvain have one son. Robert J., Jr., who is now successfully established in the real estate and
. insurance business at Murphysboro. He was born on the Ith of Sep. tember, 1880, and was afforded the advantages of the excellent public schools of Murphysboro, where he has gained distinctive prestige and popularity as one of the representative young business men of the city Vol III-2
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He holds membership in the Christian church, is a staneh Republican in his political proclivities, and is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias. He married Miss Naomi MeCuan, of Creal Springs, Williamson county, Illinois, and they have one son, Howard Harvey.
GEORGE JOSEPH MONKEN. Numbered among the prominent and influ- ential citizens of New Baden is George Joseph Monken, who has long taken an active and intelligent part in the management of public affairs, and as mayor of the city aids and encourages the establishment of all en- terprises conducive to the advancement and growth of the community. A son of the late John B. Monken, he was born February 26, 1865, at Columbia, Monroe county, Illinois, of thrifty German stock.
Born at Frankfort, Germany, January 12, 1830, John B. Monken re- mained in the Fatherland until eighteen years old. Immigrating then to America, he spent a year in Greene county, Illinois, being employed on a farm, and was afterwards similarly employed in Saint Clair county. near Belleville. In 1863 he established a vinegar factory in Belleville, and managed it for a year and a half. Moving then to Monroe county, he resided there a short time, but in 1865 a longing for the sight of his early home seized him, and he went back to Germany to visit friends and kinsmen. In the spring of 1868 he returned to Illinois, and in 1869 set- tled at New Baden, where for nineteen years he was a teacher in the publie schools. He was aetive in public life, being a loyal supporter of the Democratic party and for a period of twenty years was assessor of Clinton county. He was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, and both he and his wife were members of the German Catholic church. At the age of twenty-one years he was united in marriage with Annie Gundlach, of Belleville, Illinois, and they became the parents of four children, as follows: Ida, wife of Rudolph Herdenstein ; Mary, de- eeased ; George Joseph ; and Melinda, deceased. The mother of these chil- dren died in 1884, and Mr. Monken, who survived his wife, passed away January 27, 1896, in New Baden.
Brought up in New Baden, George J. Monken attended the rural schools until fourteen years of age, when he began learning the art and trade of a painter. Instead, however, of following the craft with which he had become familiar, Mr. Monken was employed in a hotel at Belleville for awhile, and in 1890 entered the employ of the New Baden Milling Company, with which he has sinee been actively associated, his efficiency in the different departments having won him the position of bookkeeper of the mill.
True to the political faith in which he was reared, Mr. Monken is a zealous advocate of the principles that govern the Democratic party, and is a most useful and highly esteemed member of the community. He is now filling the mayor's chair ably and acceptably, having been elected to the position by a handsome majority, and is also supervisor of Clinton county and a trustee of the township schools. Fraternally he belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, to the Knights of Pythias, and to the Modern Woodmen.
On July 1. 1897, Mr. Mouken was united in marriage with Louisa Bntzow, of New Baden, and their union has been blessed by the birth of seven chldren, namely: Arthur, George, Alfred, Fred, Edmund. Laura, and one that died in its infancy.
LINDORF WALKER. The gentleman whose name forms the caption of this article is one of Cobden's progressive and highly esteemed young citi zens. Lindorf Walker, cashier of the First National Bank, is a banker of honorable and unassailable methods, and in his residence in this place he
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has won the unbounded confidence of his fellow citizens. He is a native son of Illinois, his birth having occurred, September 29, 1ssl, on a farm in Johnson county. His father, William P. Walker, is now living on his farm in Johnson county, and that section of the great state of Illinois is the scene of his birth and lifelong residence. He is a son of Robert J. Walker, a native of North Carolina, who first migrated to Tennessee and thence to Southern Illinois. He was one of the dauntless company of pioneers who paved the way for latter day prosperity and civilization. The maiden name of the subject's mother was Sarah E. Gillespie, and she was born in Tennessee, the daughter of John HI. Gillespie, who came to Johnson county with her parents when five years of age. This worthy lady was born in 1848 and was summoned to the life eternal in lune. 1911, when her years numbered sixty-three. Mr. Walker was the second of a family of three children to grow io maturity, the others being Dr. H. W. Walker and Lizzie Naomi (Hand). William P. Walker has made a great success of the great basic industry of agriculture and enjoys the esteem of his particular community.
Lindorf Walker was educated in the public schools of Johnson county and at an early age, feeling inelined toward a business career, he took an appropriate preparatory course in the Gem City Business College, from which well-conducted institution he was graduated in 1900. Ilis first experience as an actual factor in the world of affairs was in the capacity of bookkeeper for a mercantile firm in Saxton, Missouri. Ile first en- tered upon his connection with the banking world when he took the place of the cashier of the Drovers' State Bank at Vienna, the inenmbent of the office suffering from ill health. In the spring of 1901 he was em- ployed in the county elerk's office and at the conclusion of these services he spent a few weeks on his father's l'arm and then wishing like most alert young men to see something of the world he started out in June, 1901, and journeyed to Oklahoma and Texas. Ile then remained in the Indian Territory for a year and returned to Illinois in 1902, entering the mereantile business at Ganntown and remaining thus engaged for a year. Ile worked for his brother, the Doctor, for a few months and then came to Cobden, in September, 1903, remaining here for a year and a half. During the sojourn he was employed in the First National Bank. He later returned to Vienna and acted as bookkeeper of the First National Bank of that place until May 1, 1907. At the date mentioned he returned to Cobden to accept the position of cashier with the First National Bank. This thriving and well managed monetary institution is incorporated with a capital stock of twenty-five thousand dollars, while its total resources amount to two hundred and thirty thousand dollars. hs officers are as follows: President. William (. Rich ; vice-president, I. H. Lawrence ; and cashier, Lindorf Walker. The directorate consists of the three given above with the addition of H. A. Dubois and Il H. Lamar. No small part of the bank's prosperity is directly traceable to the intelligent methods of its cashier.
Fraternally Mr. Walker is one of the most enthusiastic of Masons, and exemplities in his own living the principles of moral and social just . and brotherly love for which the order stands. He belongs to the Bhie Lodge of Cobden ; the Chapter of Vienna ; and the Eastern Star : and he is also affiliated with the Knights of Pythias and the Pythian Sisters of Vienna.
Mr. Walker established a pleasant home and congenial life compan- ionship by his union, in November, 1905, to Pearl Debnam, of sol nson county, daughter of William C. and Lizzie (Dunn Debnane They share their pleasant home with one son, Willard, aged three years
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FRANCIS MAIN EDWARDS, M. D. Distinguished not only as a promi- nent physician and surgeon of Clinton county, but as a leading citizen of New Baden, Francis Main Edwards, M. D., is eminently worthy of repre- sentation in a work of this character. He was born May 14, 1876, in Sandoval, Illinois, a son of Dr. S. G. H. Edwards.
S. G. II. Edwards, a native of Mount Vernon, Illinois, where his birth occurred December 23, 1850, spent his earlier years in Jefferson county, and during a large part of the Civil war traveled with his parents, during the later years of the conflict accompanying his maternal grandfather, Col. S. G. Hicks, on his trips. In 1872 he was graduated from McKen- dree College, in Lebanon, Illinois, with the degree of A. M., and in 1875 received the degree of M. D. at Cincinnati Medical College, in Ohio. Im- mediately locating in Sandoval, Illinois, he was there successfully en- gaged in the practice of medicine until his death, in 1887, while yet in manhood's prime. He was a Democrat in his political affiliations, and held various town offices. Fraternally he was a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Order of Masons and of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He married, in 1875, Tilda Main, who is still living in Sandoval, Illinois, and to them four children were born, as follows: Francis Main, the special subject of this brief biographical sketch ; Lydia, wife of P. E. Lewis; Ralph; and Elizabeth, wife of Charles Hall.
Having completed the course of study in the publie schools of Sand- oval, Francis Main Edwards spent a year in Valparaiso College, in Val- paraiso, Indiana, and in 1898 was graduted from the Saint Louis College of Physicians and Surgeons with the degree of M. D. Coming then to New Baden, Clinton county, Dr. Edwards met with such encouraging suc- cess from the start that he has continued here since, having now a large and lucrative patronage in this vicinity, his professional skill and ability being widely recognized and appreciated. He is a member of the American Medical Association; of the Clinton County Medieal Society ; and of the Southern Railway Surgeons' Association.
Politically the Doctor is a stanch adherent of the Republican party, and has served two terms as president of the Village Board. During the Spanish-American war he was a member of Pittinger's Provisional Regi- ment, being mustered in as first lieutenant of his company, but subse- quently resigning the position to enter the medical department. Fra- ternally Dr. Edwards is a member of the Knights of Pythias; and is prominent in the Modern Woodmen of America, having been instru- mental in organizing the New Baden eamp of that order.
In 1899 Dr. Edwards was united in marriage with Mary Griesbaum, of New Baden, and they are the parents of four children, namely : Estelle, Elizabeth, Irene and Francis, Jr.
HON. JOHN HI. BURNETT. Having attained an eminent position in the financial world and risen to the chief executive office in Marion, Illinois, the Hon. John II. Burnett may be classed among the representative eiti- zens of the southern part of the state. As president of the Marion State and Savings Bank he has carefully conserved the interests of the deposi- tors, and in the capacity of mayor he has administered the affairs of the city with the same ability that has characterized his business dealings. Mayor Burnett is a product of Williamson county, and was born Sep- tember 29, 1844, a son of Thomas H1. and Nancy ( Parks) Burnett.
Thomas 11. Burnett was born in IS13, in Wilson county, Tennessee, and came to Williamson county during the early 'thirties, spending the remainder of his life in agricultural pursuits and passing away in 1875, in the Crab Orchard neighborhood, where his brother James also reared a family, the rural neighborhood becoming known as the "Burnett Set-
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tlement." Originally a Democrat, he later became a Republican, but his life was spent in the quiet vocation of farming and he never entered the stormy field of politics. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Nancy Parks, was a daughter of Hugh Parks, whose forefathers were North Carolinians, from which commonwealth he himself came to linois. Mrs. Burnett died at the age of sixty-two years, having been the mother of the following children: George, lieutenant in the One Hundred and Tenth Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry, during the Civil war, and later a merchant and farmer in Williamson county, where he died in 1886; John H .; Milo, who served in the One Hundred and Forty-fifth linois Vol- unteers during the rebellion, spent some years in the mercantile business and died in Kansas during the eighties ; Leander. also an agriculturist of this county; Eliza, who died single ; William F., deceased, and Sarah. the wife of Rolly Carley, resides in Williamson county.
The youth of John H. Burnett was spent in much the same manner as other farmers' lads of his day, and when the Civil war broke out he, like his brothers, was fired with patriotism and desired to serve his country. Hle did not succeed in enlisting, however, until May, 1864, at which time he became a private in Company F, One Hundred and Forty-fifth Regi- ment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry, his immediate commanders being Captain Evans and Colonel Laekey. His command rendezvoused in camp at St. Louis and dropped down to Cape Girardeau, Missouri, later on and was discharged without reaching the front. Mr. Burnett's service cov- ered some five months, and after leaving the army he taught country school for a time, but eventually settled down to farming, in which he was engaged until coming to Marion in 1887. As a dealer and shipper of live stock and a buyer of grain he enjoyed a measure of success, and in 1886 he was elected to the office of sheriff of Williamson county, succeed- ing Mr. Hartwell Dunean. After serving one term he again engaged in business, and he subsequently held the office of special agent of internal revenue, with headquarters at St. Louis. The voters of Marion elected him mayor in 1895, and he has since served capably as a member of the school board and the council, and again in 1911 he was chosen as the chief executive of Marion. The Republican party has found him an able and influential leader in this part of the county. He became identified with banking as a member of the firm of Denison & Burnett, a private institution out of which grew the Marion State and Savings Bank, of which Mr. Denison was president until his death in 1908, at that time Mr. Burnett becoming president.
In March, 1866. Mr. Burnett was married to Miss Mary A. Davis, daughter of Thomas Davis, a pioneer of Williamson county, and the fol- lowing children have been born to this union: Misses Delia and Eliza, who reside in Marion ; Senator O. Herman, who was one of the leading members of the Williamson county bar and state senator at the time of his death : Lillie, who married Frank Throgmorton and resides in Harris. burg: Amy, who married Harry Melntosh, of Marion; Estella; and Bertha, who married Philip Cline, of Marion. The family is connected with the Missionary Baptist church.
FRED JOHN KOCH. Distinguished as the foremost citizen of New Baden, and one of the ablest business men of Clinton county, Fred John Koch is an important factor in advancing the industrial and financial prosperity of this part of Southern Illinois, and as a representative to the State Legislature from the Forty-second district he is as faithful to the interests of his constituents as it is possible for any man to be, per- forming the duties devolving upon him in that capacity in a praiseworthy
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manner. A native of Clinton county, he was born September 16, 1870, in Germantown, where he grew to manhood.
His father, Herman Koch, was born in Neuenkirchen, Germany, Oeto- ber 10, 1839, and was there bred and educated. Leaving the Fatherland when nineteen years old, he crossed the ocean to the United States, and for nearly two years followed his trade of a cabinet maker in Saint Louis, Missouri. Migrating to Clinton county, Illinois, in 1860, he became one of the pioneer settlers of Germantown, and one of its first cabinet makers. When the railroad became assured in that locality, he embarked in the lumber business, with which he has ever sinee been prominently identi- fied, and also engaged in mercantile pursuits, his stock at the present time consisting of lumber, hardware and furniture valued at nine thousand dollars. He is a Democrat in polities, and for twelve years served as justice of the peace. Religiously he is a member of the Catholic church, and has reared his family in the same faith. He has been three times married. He married first, in September, 1864, Elizabeth Frerker, whose parents were early settlers of Germantown. She died the following year, leaving no children. He married in 1866 Elizabeth Lampe, who died in 1867, leaving one child, Elizabeth, who is now in a eonvent in Chicago, where she is known as Sister Angelina. He married for his third wife Mary Wieter, and of their union ten children have been born, as follows: Fred J., the subject of this sketch; Kate, deceased ; Antone; Mary, wife of Henry Westerfelbaus; Herman; John; Henry; Edward; Clara; and Alphonse.
Obtaining his preliminary educational training in the parochial schools of Germantown, Fred J. Koeh subsequently completed the com- mereial course at the Saint Louis University. Beginning work then as a cabinet maker, Mr. Koch gradually drifted into the business of build- ing, contracting and construction work, all of which he is following today in connection with other lines of industry. With his brother John and brother-in-law, Henry Westerfelhaus, he is located in New Baden, where he deals extensively in lumber, hardware and building material, having established a substantial business. Mr. Koch is likewise prominently identified with two safe and sound financial institutions, being president of the Germantown Savings Bank and a director and vice-president of the Bartelso Savings Bank. He is also connected with the Southern Coal and Mining Company of New Baden. In 1910 Mr. Koeh was chosen to represent the Forty-second senatorial distriet in the Forty-seventh Gen- eral Assembly of Illinois, in which he is serving ably and faithfully.
Mr. Koeh married, in June, 1885, Josephine Westerfelhaus, of Ger- mantown, and to them five children have been born, namely: Gertrude, Adeline, Leona, Joseph and Francis. Politically Mr. Koch is a steadfast Demoerat and an earnest supporter of the principles of his party. Re- ligiously both Mr. and Mrs. Koch are members of the Catholic church.
GEORGE W. ANDREWS. One of the venerable but still vigorous and active members of the bar of Jackson county is Judge George Washing- ton Andrews, who established his home in Murphysboro and here en- gaged in the practice of his profession nearly half a century ago. The intervening years have been marked by large and distinguished aecom- plishment along the line of his profession, of which he has long stood as one of the leading representatives in Southern Illinois, and he has also been called upon to serve in various offices of distinctive publie trust, the while he has guided his course upon the highest plane of integrity and honor and thus has well merited the unequivocal confidence and esteem in which he is held in the prosperous community that has so
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