USA > Illinois > A history of southern Illinois; a narrative account of its historical progress, its people, and its principal interests > Part 63
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94
In 1869 Matthew P. Murray married Mary Ann MeGaffigan, who was born in Brooklyn, New York, and died in Carlyle. Illinois. in 1901. Their union was blessed by a large family of children. as follows: Hugh Vincent ; Julia Mary ; Nano Agnes: Cecelia, the wife of R. E. Christian : Matthew P., Jr., who is connected with the East St. Louis Union Trust & Savings Bank: Mark D., deceased : Andrew P .. also deceased ; Richard T., cashier of the State Savings Bank of Prairie Du Rocher, Ilinois; Irene, the wife of Dr. W. J. Schneider, of Chicago: George E. and P. E. Dolor, both of whom are studying law.
Receiving his elementary education in the parochial schools. Hugh Vincent Murray was graduated with the degree of A. B. from St. Jo-
1506
HISTORY OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
seph's College in Teutopolis, Illinois, in 1889. He afterwards taught school two years, in the meantime studying law with his father, and in 1894 was admitted to the Illinois bar. From 1894 to 1895 he was a mem- ber of the legal firm of Murray, MeHale & Murray in East St. Louis. The partnership being then dissolved, Mr. Murray came back to Carlyle and in 1896 was elected a representative to the state legislature, in which he served one term. Going to Chicago in 1897, he was employed as a clerk in law offices for two years, when in 1899 he was appointed assistant city prosecutor and formed a partnership with J. J. Feely, who was elected to Congress in 1900 over William Lorimer, and served in that capacity until 1902. Mr. Murray then returned to Carlyle to close up his father's business, but instead of going back to the busy city on the lake, he concluded to remain in Carlyle. Ile succeeded his father as master in chancery and held that office until 1908, when he was elected state's attorney, a position for which he is eminently fitted, and which he is filling with honor to himself and to the fullest satisfaction of all con- cerned.
Mr. Murray married on February 16, 1904, Mary Ellen Hogan, a daughter of Michael E. Hogan, of Altamont, Illinois, and into the home thus established three children made their advent, namely : Mary Ellen, Hugh Vincent, Jr., and Matthew Edward.
Mr. Murray is a Democrat in his political allegiance and has done good work for the party in various ways. He is a member of the Knights of Columbus, the Catholic Knights of Illinois, the Catholic Or- der of Foresters, and the Modern Woodmen of America, and both he and his wife are members of the Catholic church.
CHARLES W. CRIM. From the farm to the vice presidency of a modern bank may seem a far cry to the uninitiated, but that is the record of Charles W. Crim. A farmer in Franklin county between the years of 1890 and 1906, he made a reputation for himself among the progressive agriculturists of Southern Illinois that was most enviable, and he not only made a record, but he made a comfortable fortune as well. In 1906 he assumed the vice presideney of the West Frankfort State Bank, likewise the positions of manager and cashier, and he has occupied those positions with all credit and efficiency since that time. He is generally regarded in West Frankfort as one of the representative and most valuable meni- bers of society in that place, and is particularly active in every move- ment calculated to be an uplift to the welfare of the community of which he is a part.
Charles W. Crim was born in Franklin county, Illinois, three miles southwest of Frankfort, on March 28, 1867. He is the son of William L. and Mary M. (Ratts) Crim, both of whom were born in Washington county, Indiana. The grandfather of Charles W. Crim was Jesse Crim, born in Kentucky and there reared. In 1858 he moved to Illinois with his family and settled on a farm in Franklin county. There he was farmer, while in Indiana he was a merchant and hotel keeper, and during his life in that district was connected with many other occupations of a similar nature. The maternal grandfather of Charles W. Crim was Rein- ard Ratts, born in North Carolina, and moved to Washington county, In- diana, early in life. He lived and died on his farm in Indiana, after hav- ing reared a family of ten children.
William L. Crim eame to Illinois in 1858 with his father, as mentioned above, and there he bought forty aeres of farm land. He returned to In- diana about the time the Civil war broke out and enlisted in Company E, Fifth Indiana Cavalry. serving three years in the defense of the Union. Ile was captured in Stoneman's raid and thrown into Libby prison,
1507
HISTORY OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
where he remained for some months. Upon his release he was discharged and sent home to Indiana. Arriving home, he prepared to move his little family to his Illinois farm, and in 1866 he settled on the place, clearing it up as rapidly as possible, and he soon began to farm and trade. He also gave a portion of his time to preaching, and for forty years preached in the Christian church. He was railroad and warehouse commissioner during the tenure of office of Governor Joseph Fifer, and he was a mem- ber of the state legislature. Ile was defeated for Congress on the Repub- lican nomination, the country being solidly Democratie at that time, but he was able to eut the Democratic vote by two thousand votes over pre- vious elections. He was always a Republican, and cast his first vote for John C. Fremont. A snecessful business man, as well as being prominent in politieal eireles, William Crim accumulated a valuable estate, and when he died in 1909 he was regarded as one of the wealthy men of his section and one of the best known men in Southern Illinois.
Charles W. Crim passed through the schools of Franklin, following which he spent a year in study in the Old College Building at Carbon- dale. Later he went to a select school at Benton, but his declining health made it necessary for him to give up his studies and take advantage of a change of climate. He went to Colorado, and for a year he roughed it on a sheep and eattle ranch. The experience was sufficient to restore him to full health and vigor. and when he returned to Illinois in 1890 he bought a farm and became actively engaged in the farming industry. Ile pros- pered in that business from the time he entered it until in 1906, when he gave up rural life in all its attraetions and moved with his family to West Frankfort, where he became connected with the West Frankfort State Bank, a thriving institution with a capital of $25,000 and average de- posits of $125,000. lle is vice president of the bank, as well as cashier and manager. In addition to those offices he is treasurer of the West Frankfort Building and Loan Association, and eonduets a private loan business. as well as being actively interested in numerous outside enter- prises. Mr. Crim is the owner of three hundred and thirty acres of the finest farm land in Southern Illinois, and with his various other holdings is with good reason regarded as one of the wealthiest men of West Frank- fort. He is a publie spirited, progressive citizen. and his affiliation with local affairs has always been for the betterment of the welfare of the eom- munity.
On December 13. 1893. Mr. Crim married Miss Lillie B. Cox. She is a daughter of Lewis W. Cox, of La Fayette county, Missouri, a one time farmer, banker and always a well-to-do man of affairs. He left an estate of $100,000 at his death. Mr. and Mrs. Crim are the parents of one child, Jessie. now in school. They are members of the Christian church.
DOUGLASS Moss. cashier of the Bank of Iola, and junior member of the mercantile firm of Jackson, Moss & Company, has had a wide range of vision during an active career, and has acquired from it a spirit of progress which makes him one of the most enterprising and useful citi- zens of his adopted community. For some years he has been busily en- gaged in breeding high-grade stock at his various farms situated near Iola. but withal he has found time to interest himself actively in public matters, and is known as one of the leading Demoerats of his part of the county. Mr. Moss was born January 31. 1874, in Bond county. Illinois, and is a son of A. W. and Elizabeth (Thompson) Moss, natives of Bond county.
John Moss, the paternal great-grandfather of Donglass, was a native of North Carolina. from whenee he enlisted in the Colonial army during the Revolutionary war, and served as a color-bearer under General
1508
HISTORY OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
George Washington. His son, William Moss, also a native of the Tar Heel state, moved to Illinois during the early 'thirties, settling in Bond eounty, where he became a well-known and substantial agrieulturist. Among his children was James Moss, a wealthy citizen of Bond eounty, Illinois, who died in 1907. A. W. Moss, father of Douglass, served as a soldier during the Civil war, was for a number of years engaged in the milling business, and subsequently turned his attention to farming. He is now living at Lovington, Moultrie county, Illinois, where he is known as a staneli Demo- erat and a faithful member of the Baptist church. His wife, who was connected with the Christian denomination, died in 1881. She was a daughter of James Thompson, who was born in Virginia, where his father was a wealthy planter and slave owner. James Thompson came to Illi- nois at an early day and settled in Bond county. He married a Miss Jett, and Thomas N., ex-congressman, present circuit judge of this district, and prominent Democratic politician is a nephew of Mr. Thompson's wife. One of the children of A. W. and Elizabeth Moss, W. C. Moss, now living at Owaneco, Christian county, Illinois, was for many years a railroad man, but is now successfully following farming.
Douglass Moss was educated in the Orehard City College, at Flora, after leaving which he adopted the profession of an educator and for the following six years taught school. After acting as principal at Iola for three years and acting in the same capacity at Bible Grove for two years he engaged in the mercantile business in Iola, in 1900, with C. A. Jack- son. Mr. Moss has left and reentered the business four times since that date, and is now a member of the firm of Jackson, Moss & Company, which is doing a thriving business in and around Iola. In 1908 he was made cashier of the Bank of Iola, a private institution capitalized at $10,000. In addition he owns several farms in the vicinity of Iola, and there he is extensively engaged in the breeding of jennets. Mr. Moss has always manifested an active interest in Democratie polities, and in 1904 lie was candidate for county surveyor. The Republican party in this eounty was too strong, and he met with defeat. At present he is county Democratic committeeman from his township, and is a hard and faithful worker. Mr. Moss is connected with Masonic Lodge, No. 691, Iola, and also belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America, in both of which he is deservedly popular. From his childhood he has made his way in the world. even educating himself, and the success that is his today has come entirely through the medium of his own efforts. Mr. Moss has numerous friends in the vicinity of his home, and he and his family are held in the highest respect and esteem by all who have made their acquaintance.
In 1900 Mr. Moss was married to Miss Mary E. Vincent, daughter of Alexander Vincent, an early settler, prosperous farmer and Civil war veteran of Clay county, where he died. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Moss: Frank and Lee, who are attending sehool ; and Vir- ginia, the baby. Mrs. Moss is a consistent member of the Methodist Epis- copal church, and is well known in social circles of Iola.
WILLIAM A. RODENBERG. When it is stated that Mr. Rodenberg is serv- ing his fifth term as a representative from Illinois in the United States Congress, adequate evidence is given of his strong hold upon the confi- denee and esteem of the people of his native state as well as of his ability and sterling integrity of purpose. He has honored the state of his na- tivity through his worthy services in publie office of high order ; he has been in the most significant sense the artificer of his own fortunes; and. maintaining his home in the city of East St. Louis. St. Clair county, he is known as one of the representative members of the bar of Southern Illinois. Prior to entering the legal profession Mr. Rodenberg had gained
1509
HISTORY OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
definite success and prestige as a teacher in the public schools of Illinois, and his career has been marked by conseentive and well ordered endeavor, the while his influence has at all times been given to the furtherance of those things which represent the best in the scheme of human existence. Animated by high ideals, sincere and firm in his convictions and prin- ciples, broad-minded and progressive as a citizen, he has achieved suc- cess worthy of the name, and as one of the representative citizens of Southern Illinois, a section to which this publication is dedicated, he well merits specific recognition in these pages.
Hon. William A. Rodenberg was born at Chester, the judicial center of Randolph county, Illinois, and the date of his nativity was October 30, 1865. He is a son of Rev. Charles and Anna ( Walters) Rodenberg, both of whom are deceased, and his father was in active service as a clergyman of the Methodist Episcopal church for forty-two years,-a man of exalted character and high intellectual attainments and one whose life was one of zealous consecration to his calling. To the public schools of his native state William A. Rodenberg is indebted for his early educational discipline, which was supplemented by an effective course in Central Wesleyan College, at Warrenton, Missouri, in which he was grad- uated as a member of the class of 1884 and from which he received the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He gave his attention to the work of the pedagogic profession for seven years, and his success in this field of en- deavor was of unequivocal order. For five years of the period noted he was principal of the public schools at Mount Olive, Macoupin county. In the meanwhile he had taken up the study of law, and he continued to prosecute his technical studies, under excellent preceptorship, until he proved himself eligible for admission to the bar, in 1901. Aside from his service in publie office he has since been engaged in the active practice of his profession, in which he has gained prestige as an able and ver- satile trial lawyer and well fortified counselor. He has maintained his home in East St. Louis. and here his law practice has been of broad scope and importance involving his interposition in many important litigations.
In 1898 Mr. Rodenberg was elected to represent his distriet of Illinois in Congress, as candidate on the ticket of the Republican party, of whose principles and policies he is a stalwart and effective exponent. He made an excellent record during his first term, but, owing to normal politieal exigencies, was defeated for re-election in 1900. In the following year he was appointed a member of the United States civil service commission, but he resigned this office in 1902. to become again a candidate for Con- gress, to which he was elected by a gratifying majority. Through sue- eessive reeleetions he has since remained the ineumbent of this distin- guished office and he has proved one of the active and valued working members of the lower house of the national legislature, in which he has served on various important house committees and taken a prominent part in the deliberations of the floor and the committee room.
Mr. Rodenberg is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, the Bene- volent and Protective Order of Elks, the Knights of Pythias and other representative civic organizations, and both he and his wife hold member- ship in the Methodist Episcopal church.
On the 30th of April. 1904, Mr. Rodenberg was united in marriage to Miss Mary Grant Ridgway of Asbury Park, New Jersey, and they have one child, William Ridgway.
REV. JAMES T. ALSUP. The city of Vienna. Illinois, is fortunate in the character of its representatives of the ministerial profession. and one of the most highly respected and gifted men now engaged in that line of work here is the Rev. James T. Alsup, pastor of the Church of Christ.
1510
HISTORY OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
Rev. Alsup springs from a strain of sturdy pioneer stock, it having been his grandfather, James Alsup, who settled in Massae county in 1841, his death occurring shortly after that date. He had lived in the Choctaw nation for a time before coming to Illinois.
lames T. Alsup was born July 13, 1864, in Unionville. Massac county, Illinois, a son of William Alsup, who was a native of Tennessee. Ilis wife was Hannah C. Neal, also a native of Tennessee, who came to Massac county from near Nashville. They had a family of four children, all of whom are living as follows: Mrs. Dora Pierce, Mrs. Annie llight. Robert and lames T. The elder Alsup was a blacksmith by trade, and he died when James T. was but a small boy and the son was accordingly obliged to make his own way from a very early age. After the father's death the mother moved with her family to Johnson county, Illinois, and when ten years old James in order to lift a portion of the burden of the support of the family from her shoulders hired out to a farmer. He continued to thus work until his eighteenth year, when he decided to supplement his meager schooling with further study and entered the public school. Later he became a pupil at a select school, where he studied under the tutorage of Professor W. Y. Smith for two years.
The summer of 1888 marked the beginning of Rev. Alsup's career as a minister of the Christian church, his ordination taking place soon after he had started to preach. In January, 1889, he accepted a call to the Metropolis. Illinois, Christian church, and retained that charge for two years. He then resigned in order to pursue higher studies and entered Eureka College, remaining there five years, receiving his degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1896. While attending college Rev. Alsup devoted a portion of his time to preaching, filling at various times the pulpits of Pontiac, Flanagan, Saunemin and Cerro Gordo, all of which were located near Eureka College.
He responded to a call from the Washington, Illinois, church in 1896, and remained with that charge for two years, at the expiration of which period he accepted the appointment of state evangelist at the hands of the State Board of Christian Missions. This evangelical work he continued for a year and then, having received an urgent call from the Pekin, Illinois, Church of Christ, he took up work there and served for three years, severing his connection with the charge in April of 1902. It was while a resident of Pekin that Rev. Alsup suffered bereavement in the loss of his first wife, her demise occurring in October, 1901. She was Mollie Davison. danghter of Amazinah and Jane Davison, and her mar- riage to Mr. Alsup took place in 1892. They became the parents of four children, Janet, Winifred. Errett and Vivian.
In 1902 Rev. Alsup decided to seek a change of location and selected as his choice Harrison county, Missouri. Purchasing a farm at that point, he continued to live thereon with his family, cultivating the land, teaching and preaching and doing a great amount of good. For seven years he continued to pursue this mode of life and character of activity in Missouri, when a desire to return to his old home state seized him and he went back to Metropolis. Illinois, remaining there until the spring of 1911, when he returned to his first charge in Vienna.
While in Missouri, in January, 1904, Rev. Alsup married his second wife, who was Miss Josie L. North, of Washington, Illinois, daughter of Luther S. and Ellen North. To this union three children were born, two of whom are living, James and William.
Rev. Alsup is a man of good business ability and he has aeeumulated some valuable property, among his holdings being a two hundred aere farm near Vienna, which he purchased in 1908. IIe is active in social life and is a member of the Modern Woodmen and Court of Honor lodges
Joseph Blerowley
1511
HISTORY OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
and is also a Mason. As a minister he is a man of power. a forceful speaker and endowed with marked oratorical ability. He possesses great energy and has many pleasing personal qualities and a sterling character that have won for him the highest respect and esteem of all with whom he comes in contact.
GEORGE YOUNG HORD. Prominent among the professional men of Clinton county, Illinois, is George Young Hord, M. D., a pioneer resident of the city of Keyesport and a physician who during the thirty years that he has been engaged in practice here has won the respect and esteem of the people of the community and an enviable reputation in the ranks of his profession. Dr. Hord was born January 17, 1849, in Metcalfe county, Kentucky, and is a son of Thomas II. and Elizabeth (Young) Hord
Dr. Thomas H. Hord was born March 27, 1819, in the State of Vir- ginia, and as a young man moved to Kentucky, where he received his medical training in the College of Medicine, Louisville. In 1845 he began to practice medicine, and some time later removed to Texas, but eventu- ally returned to Kentucky after a few years spent in the mercantile and land business, and in 1867 came to Ilinois and located near Keyes- port, where he followed his profession up to the time of his death in 1883. Ile was married in Kentucky in 1846 to Miss Elizabeth Young, daughter of George Young, a farmer, and she bore him for children, of whom three are now living: Catherine, George Young and James K. Mrs. Hord died, and about the time of the outbreak of the Civil war, Dr. Hord was married (second) to Elizabeth Sandifer, also a native of Ken- tueky, and three children were born to this union. His widow survived him several years. Prior to the war Dr. Ilord was a Whig in politics and was well known in the political field and a prominent man in his pro- fession.
George Young Ilord spent his early life in Metealfe county, Ken- tucky. receiving his early education in the public schools and later attend- ing Transylvania University, at Lexington, the Belleville Medical Col- lege, New York, and the Ohio Medical College at Cincinnati, from which latter institution he received the degree of M. D. in 1877. After prae- ticing his profession in his native state for five years Dr. Hord came to Keyesport, where he has since carried on a large and herative practice. A great reader, deep thinker and earnest student, Dr. Hord is one of the best-informed men of his locality today, not only in matters pertain- ing to his profession, but on various topics of the times. He has also of later years given a great deal of attention to farming, and owns a well- enltivated farm near Keyesport, on which he spends a great deal of his time. Politically he is a Democrat, but he has never cared to engage in publie life. as his profession has demanded the greater part of his activi- ties. ITo holds membership in the Modern Woodmen of America, in which he is very popular, and is also connected with the state. county and national medical associations.
While in Kentucky Dr. Hord was united in marriage with Miss Betty Stephenson, and seven children have been born to this union: Harley Thomas, a well-known edneator, who is now serving as principal of the Keyesport schools : Eunice Frances, who became the wife of Charles Aus- tin, of Salem, Ilinois; Mary, who is clerk in the Bank of Keyesport : and Lena Grace, George Stephenson, Flora and Helen, all of whom live with their parents and are attending school.
JOSEPH BURNS CROWLEY. According to Emerson "a strenuous soul hates cheap successes." and we wonder if this is not the attitude of Joseph B. Crowley. of Robinson, Illinois. He is now one of the best
1512
HISTORY OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
lawyers in his section of the country, and is well known as one of the members of the Democratic party, upon whom they may always depend. He has won the confidence of the people by his attempts, which were usually successful, to carry out their desires, and they have given evi- dence of their trust in him many times by electing him to various re- sponsible positions. He is thoroughly alive to the political and industrial crisis that this country is now facing, and his influenec is being strongly felt on the side of good government and a general political house clean- ing from eellar to garret. He has been entirely unselfish, if such a thing is possible to human nature, in his whole public life, having the good of his constituents and the advancement of his country much more at heart than his own aggrandizement.
Joseph Burns Crowley was born at Coshocton, Ohio, on the 19th of July, 185S. Ile was the son of Sammel Burns Crowley, who was also a native of Coshocton. The latter was a carpenter and a builder by trade, but most of his life was devoted to other pursuits. He was a man in whom patriotism was no surface enthusiasm, instigated by waving flags and bands of music, but a deeply planted, instinctive feeling that made him ever responsive to the call of his country. He first saw mil- itary service in the Mexican war, and after it was over returned to Coshocton county, expecting to spend the rest of his life in peace. The residents of his county, however thought they could do no better than to elect a man who was famous for his personal strength and bravery sheriff of the county. IIc served one term as deputy sheriff and one term as sheriff, and then left Ohio for Illinois. He located, in 1859, upon a farm in Jasper county, and no sooner had he gotten his farm into operation than he dropped the hoe to again shoulder the musket. This time he was to take a hand in saving his beloved country from be- ing shattered into fragments. He was made captain of his company, the Seventy-second Volunteer Infantry of Illinois, and was sent directly to the front. He served through all four years of the war, acquitting himself with honor, and at the close, with a contented feeling of duty well performed, again settled down in Jasper county. Here he served two terms as sheriff, and in 1872 came to Robinson, Illinois. The buying and selling of horses now beeame his business and he followed this oc- cupation until his death. in December, 1895.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.