USA > Illinois > A history of southern Illinois; a narrative account of its historical progress, its people, and its principal interests > Part 78
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Mrs. John H. Cooper, left alone with her infant son, whom she had named for his father, was herself little more than a child. About five years after her husband's death she became for the second time a wife. The man whom she honored with her hand was Joseph P. Ryder, a mem- ber of the well established and highly respected Ryder family who had
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early come to Illinois from Hardin county, Ohio. Mr. Ryder served in the late rebellion as first lieutenant of Company D, the Fortieth Illinois Regiment. This detachment, known locally as the "Bill Newby Com- pany," saw much distinguished service and its first lieutenant never ceased to be a hero in his own land. For many years after the close of the war he was assistant postmaster of Fairfield, where his death oc- eurred when abont seventy-two years of age. By this second marriage Mrs. Cooper, now Mrs. Ryder, became the mother of four children, one son and three daughters, all but one of whom are living. Mary, the first born, is the wife of Reverend M. C. Jonson, pastor of the First Presby- terian church of Nacogdoches, Texas. Sylvester Paul, the only son, lives on a farm a mile and a half from Fairfield. Katie, the second daughter, passed away at the age of twelve, while Daisy Beall is still at home with her parents.
Judge John L. Cooper, whose soldier father was to him only a heroic name, was treated as an own son in the home of his stepfather. Like his younger brothers and sisters, he attended the elementary schools of Fairfield. His secondary education he received by tutoring with an aged minister who was a friend of the family. During this period much time was devoted to the mastery of the classics, his knowledge of which the Judge has never forgotten. After deeiding upon the legal profes- sion as his choice of a life vocation he entered the office of Judge Jacob R. Creighton, now a member of the circuit bench but at that time states attorney. From that office he was admitted to the bar in 1889 after which he became a member of the firm as junior partner to Judge Creighton. In the autumn of 1892 he was elected county judge on the Democratic ticket, serving in this capacity for one term. From 1897 until 1906 he acted as private secretary to Justice Carroll C. Boggs of the supreme court. The following year he again resumed his private practice, this time as senior member of the law firm of Cooper and Bur- gess. The general practice now elaims most of his time, although his interest in public affairs has not waned. HIe has served his city and county in many minor capacities, even acting upon the board of educa- tion when it seemed to him a duty. For many years he has been a mem- ber of the State Historical Association, serving for some time past on the publication committee of that society. In fraternal organizations he remains active, being present chancellor commander of the Have- lock Lodge, No. 206, of the Knights of Pythias. In the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Lodge No. 32, he is past noble grand of Fair- field. In addition to these orders he belongs to several minor bene- ficiary societies.
In 1880 Judge Cooper was married to Minnie Harvey, the daughter of O. W. and Inez Acker Harvey, formerly from Indiana. They have one daughter, whom they have called Inez for Mrs. Cooper's mother. Miss Inez will finish the course in the Fairfield high school in the class of 1913.
Mrs. Cooper is a devout member and active worker in the Christian church while the Judge hesitates to sever his connection with the denomi- nation of his Presbyterian fathers. Judge Cooper stands well in the financial as well as in the professional and religious world. He is the owner of the attractive farm, a mile and a half from Fairfield on the east, which his half brother manages and eultivates.
ANDREW J. POORMAN, JR. With industry, thrift and efficiency his keynotes in whatever work he has undertaken. Andrew J. Poorman has steadily progressed toward the top rung of the ladder of attainments, and now occupies a position of prominence among the leading men of
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Wayne county, being president of the First National Bank of Fairfield; president of the Mill Shoals Cooperage Company; and an extensive owner of Illinois lands. A son of Andrew J. Poorman, Sr., he was born April 28, 1871, in Pleasant Point, Paulding county, Ohio.
Andrew J. Poorman, Sr., was born in Ohio, and has spent his entire life of eighty-three years in his native state, his home now being in Panlding county, where he is living retired from agricultural pursuits. To him and his wife, whose maiden name was Sarah Daly, ten children were born, as follows: Mary E .; Thomas W .; Loretta; Emerson L .; Francis, deceased; Henry J .; Luey D .; Maggie; Perry; and Andrew J .. . Ir. The mother passed to the life beyond at a comparatively early age, her death occurring in 1887.
After the death of his mother, when he was but sixteen years of age. Andrew JJ. Poorman, Jr., left school and began to hustle for him- self, being first engaged in farming and afterwards in lumbering. Changing his ocenpation in 1892, he was bookkeeper and manager of a cooperage company for five years, during which time he gained a prac- tieal knowledge of the business. In 1897 Mr. Poorman migrated to Illi- nois, locating at Mill Shoals, where, in company with W. C. Johantgen, he organized the Mill Shoals Cooperage Company, with which he has since been actively connected. Enlarging its business in 1906, this en- terprising company commenced operations in the south, and in addition to its original plant is now operating mills in Boynton and Hermann, Arkansas, and in Bucoda, Missouri, the annual output of the combined plants approximating fifty million staves, in the manufacture of which over seven hundred men are employed. This company, of which Mr. Poorman is president, has a capital of $100,000 invested, and has head- quarters in Saint Louis, Missouri.
Since 1902 Mr. Poorman has been officially connected with the First National Bank of Fairfield, serving as vice-president until 1909, when. at the death of General T. W. Scott, he succeeded to the presidency, and took up his residence in Fairfield. The Bank of Fairfield was es- tablished in 1892 by local citizens, including F. M. Brock and JJ. A. Cox. In 1895 it was organized into the First National Bank of Fairfield, with a capital of $50,000. In 1912 its deposits amounted to $250.000, while its total resources were $370,000. It is housed in the fine brick building which it owns on Main street, and pays interest on its deposits. This institution has a fine corps of officers, as follow : President. Andrew J. Poorman, Jr .; first vice-president, J. A. Cox ; second vice-president, T. J. Ililliard ; cashier. Walter Sons; and assistant cashier, William After- bury. The directors are J. A. Cox. T. JJ. Hilliard, Walter Sons, S. T. Pendleton. F. M. Broek. C. E. Keith, (. H. Keith, I. H. Moore, . 1. Poorman, Jr., and B. F. Thomas.
Mr. Poorman also has other interests of vital importance, being a director of the Farmers' State Bank of Enfieldl: vice-president of the Richland Construction Company ; a stockholder in the Fairfield lee and Storage Company; and the owner of about fifteen hundred acres of valuable land, five hundred lying near Mill Shoals, four hundred and seventy aeres in Wabash county, Illinois, and a tract equally as large situated in Wayne county. Politically Mr. Poorman is a Repub- lican, and fraternally he belongs to the Ancient Free and Accepted Order of Masons, being a member not only of the local lodge, but of Fairfield Chapter. No. 179, Royal Arch Masons, of Fairfield; and is a member, also, of Olney Lodge. No. 926. Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, of Olney, Illinois.
Mr. Poorman has been twice married. He married first, in 1597, Minnie MeKinney, who died in 1899: the two children born of that
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union died in infancy. Mr. Poorman married again, in 1901, Nellie Behymer, of Mill Shoals, a daughter of Nathaniel Behymer. Three chil- dren have blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Poorman, namely : Lucille, born in 1902; Trene, born in 1905; and Paul, deceased. Born in a log cabin and brought up in the swamp lands of Ohio, Mr. Poorman has made his own way through life since a youth of sixteen years, and having met with noteworthy success in his undertakings is entitled to a place of emi- uence among the self-made men of our generation.
Andrew J. Poorman, Mr. Poorman's father, settled in Paulding county, Ohio, in 1854, taking up his residence in what is known as the Black Land District. He enlisted in August, 1862, in Company I, One Hundredth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and participated in the engage- ments of Knoxville, Tennessee; Buzzards Roost, Resaca, Kenesaw Mountain, Peach Tree Creek and Atlanta, Georgia. IIe received a wound in the left hand at Kenesaw Mountain.
IION. JAMES CAMERON ALLEN, one of the best known men in South- ern Illinois, and the most distinguished eitizen of Olney, died on Janu- ary 30, 1912, at his home in this city. He was born on January 29, 1822, and had celebrated his ninetieth birthday anniversary on the day pre- ceding his death. Mr. Allen was born in Shelby county, Kentucky, and was the seventh of ten children born to Benjamin and Margaret (Yonel) Allen, both natives of Virginia. Benjamin Allen was educated and married in his native state, where in early life he was engaged in the manufacture of sickles. Afterward he engaged in blacksmithing and general farming. In 1802 he removed to Shelby county, Kentucky, and from there, in 1830, he moved to Parke county, Indiana, where he re- sided until his death, which occurred in 1847. From early life he was a consistent member of the Presbyterian church, in which he was for over thirty years an elder.
James Cameron Allen, his son, and the subject of this memoir, re- ceived his early education in the log school house common to the period in which he was reared, and later he attended a high school at Rockville, Indiana. Until he was nineteen years of age the greater part of his time was spent on his father's farm. He then commenced reading law in the office of Messrs. Howard & Wright of Rockville, Indiana, and in August, 1843, he was admitted to the bar. In the following December he removed to Sullivan, Indiana, where he was engaged in the practice of law until the autumn of 1845, and in that fall he was elected prose- cuting attorney for the seventh judicial district of Indiana, holding the office for two years. In 1847 Mr. Allen removed to Palestine, Crawford county, Illinois, where he remained for twenty-nine years consecutively. In 1850-51 he represented Crawford and Jasper counties in the lower house of the state legislature. In 1852 he was elected to congress from the seventh congressional distriet of Illinois, and was re-elected in 1854. At that time the election was eontested by Colonel W. B. Archer, of Marshall, Illinois. The evidence showed the election of Colonel Archer, but he offended the South American Faction by being made a vice-presi- dent of the convention that nominated Fremont, and the seat was de- clared vacant. Another election followed, at which Mr. Allen was elected. In 1857 he was elected clerk of the house of representatives, serving during the Thirty-fifth Congress. In 1860 he was the Democratic candidate for governor of Illinois, but was defeated by Richard Yates. In 1861 he was elected judge of the seventh judicial district, which posi- tion he held until the fall of 1862, when he was elected congressman-at- large for Illinois. In 1861 Governor Yates tendered him the command of the Twenty-first Illinois Regiment of Infantry, which he declined on the
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ground that he had no military training or inclination, but requested that U. S. Grant be placed in command, which was done. In 1>62 Presi- dent Lincoln offered him the command of a brigade, which he declined for the same reasons given Governor Yates. In 1870 he was a delegate to the constitutional convention of Illinois, and in June, 1873. was elected judge of the second judicial circuit. In 1876 he removed to Olney, Richland county, where he remained as a resident until the time of his death, and in the year following, 1877, he was appointed one of the appellate judges for the fourth district of Illinois. He held this office until 1879, when he resumed the practice of his profession.
Judge Allen was first married on January 22, 1845, to Ellen Kitchell, youngest daughter of Ilon. Joseph Kitchell. Three children were born to them, all deceased. Mrs. Allen died in May. 1852. In June, 1857, Judge Allen was again married. His second wife was Julia Kitehell, a daughter of Harvey Kitehell. Seven children were born of this latter union. Judge Allen and his wife were members of the Presbyterian church.
The Judge was a staunch Democrat politically. In a speech at the memorial meeting of the bar, Judge E. Callahan thus speaks of the atti- tude of Judge Allen at the time of the war: "In congress he voted for every appropriation of men and money which was asked for by the ad- ministration for the prosecution of the war, though he did not fully ap- prove of them. There was a line that he would never pass, and from which he later retreated. If he had crossed that line and given his full support to the administration of President Lincoln he might have won a senatorial toga. or seated himself in the gubernatorial chair. This was the hour of his opportunity-but it was allowed to pass by.
"June 17, 1863, he was a speaker at the conclave of politicians at Springfield that resolved .That the further offensive prosecution of the war tends to subvert the constitution and the government and en- tails upon the nation all the disastrous consequences of misrule and anarchy' and 'earnestly requested the president to withdraw the procla- mation of emancipation.'
"In 1869 he was elected without opposition a member of the eon- stitutional convention that formed the present constitution of the state of Illinois. He was chairman of the committee on the Legislative De- partment and was entitled to great credit for service wisely rendered in that capacity. He was one of the most prominent and useful members of the convention."
In connection also with the political career of Judge Allen, the Olney Times, following his death, printed the following interesting sketch con- cerning his political activities: "The younger generation of Olney does not know of an incident in the life of the late Judge Allen which came near changing the current of his existence and landing him in the presi- dential chair. Judge Allen was always fond of relating stories that re- ferred principally to his colleagues of former times, while the incidents that affected him personally he seldom referred to. For this reason. it is only the older people who knew of the situation at the Charleston con- vention when the withdrawal of Douglas was the only thing essential to the nomination of Judge Allen for the presidency.
"At that time, 'Jim' Allen of Illinois was a national figure. llis sev. eral terms in Congress and his four years as clerk of the national house, coupled with his great power as a public speaker, had brought him the notice of the entire country. He occupied a steadfast position, and his character was such that he drew the confidence of the people.
"As 1860 approached with its slavery agitation and its national con- ventions, there was a conflict growing between the northern and southern
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Democrats. The south became more distrustful of Senator Douglas of Illinois, who for three years had been conceded the Democratie nomina- tion, and the Charleston convention showed that this hostility was so great that if Douglas were named the party would split. It was at this juneture that the southern Democrats urged Douglas to withdraw in the hope of keeping the party united. They made this proposition to the Illinois delegation : 'Induce Douglas to withdraw and we will join you in nominating Jim Allen.' Although facing division and defeat if nom- inated, the autocratic Douglas refused to listen to withdrawal talk and kept his delegates in line. Judge Allen was then nominated for governor of Illinois and made the historie race against Richard Yates, Sr.
".Judge Allen possessed all the elements of a great publie man. Had he been nominated at Charleston or had he defeated Yates in 1860, his subsequent career would have been interwoven with national affairs for many years."
HAMPTON S. BURGESS. Standing prominent among the leading mem- bers of the legal fraternity of Wayne county is Hampton S. Burgess, of Fairfield, now serving as state's attorney. A native of Wayne county, his birth occurred on a farm in Big Mound township, December 5, 1866.
Ilis father, the late Jolin II. Burgess, was born, in 1826, in Tennes- see, where he was reared. Hle migrated to Illinois in 1848, and when the Civil war broke out he offered his services to his eountry and served for two years in Company D, Fifth Illinois Volunteer Cavalry. Returning home he resumed his agricultural labors, and was thenceforth engaged in farming until his death, which occurred in 1897. To him and his wife, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Williams, eight children were born, as follows : William, living in Republic, Missouri ; Eliza, deceased ; Mary, deceased; Lucy, deceased; Kanzadia, living near Fairfield, Illinois; Hampton S. of this brief personal review; Anna. deceased ; and Oscar, also deceased.
Brought up on a farm, Hampton S. Burgess aequired his first knowl- edge of books in the rural schools of Wayne county, Illinois, later at- tending the old Hayward College in Fairfield. On attaining his ma- jority he secured a position as a teacher in a country school, and subse- quently taught school for nine consecutive years in Wayne county. While thus engaged Mr. Burgess spent his leisure moments in studying law, and in 1895 he was admitted to the bar. Beginning the practice of his profession in the fall of 1897, he continued alone until July 1, 1906, when he entered into partnership with JJudge Cooper.
Evincing a genuine interest in local affairs, Mr. Burgess has filled many public offiees of importance and responsibility, in each serving with eredit to himself and to the honor of his constituents. For one year he was chairman of the county board of supervisors: from 1892 until 1894 he was township assessor; was supervisor from 1896 until 1900: elected city attorney in 1900, he served in that capacity one term; and in the fall of 1908 he was elected state's attorney on the Democratie ticket for a term of four years, and is now serving the people most acceptably.
On December 27, 1893, Mr. Burgess was united in marriage with Lillie Harlan, a daughter of William D. Harlan, and to them seven ehil- dren have been born, namely: Oscar. Jessie, Vivian, Anna, Hampton, John and James.
Fraternally Mr. Burgess belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, to the Tribe of Ben Hur and to the Improved Order of Red Men.
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ADAM WARD. Eighteen months ago Adam Ward established a stave manufacturing plant in Sims, and in the time that has elapsed since then he has demonstrated to all that the new plant is a fixed industry in this community. A man of wide experience in the business before he made a venture on his own responsibility, he is amply prepared for any and all emergencies which might arise in the conduet of such a business, and the continued success of the new plant is assured. With an annual ca- pacity of 5,000,000 staves, the plant employs twenty men at the mill and a foree of thirty-five in the woods the year around, thereby adding some- thing in a material way to the industrial life of the town.
Adam Ward was born May 19, 1862, in Grayville, White county, Illi- nois. He is the son of Adam Ward, a native of Posey county, Indiana, born there in 1828, and who died in 1862. His wife, Mary Jane Martin, born and reared in Edwards, Ilinois, died in 1892. Four children were born to them : William, a resident of Indianapolis; Hugh and John, both deceased ; and Adam, of this review. The schooling of Adam Ward was of a very meagre order. When he was nine years of age he began to work in a stave mill in Graysville and he passed twenty years in various em- ployment in the plant. In 1891 he located in Jonesboro, Arkansas, and engaged in stave manufacturing. In 1892 he settled in the same business in New Harmony. Indiana, remaining until 1896, after which he took employment in a similar line of work in Vincennes, Indiana, remaining there until 1902. The next two years he passed in Shawneetown, Illinois, after which he was employed six years at Mill Shoals, Ilinois. In 1910 he was able to purchase a stave mill, and he located in Sims, where he has since conducted a flourishing business with a high degree of success. He employs more than fifty men regularly in the operating of the mill, the annual capacity of which is five millions of staves. The capital stock of the coneern is $10,000.
Mr. Ward is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at. Mill Shoals, where he at one time resided, and is a member of the Mis- sionary Baptist church. He has been twice married. His first wife was Frances Hill, of Grayville, whom he married in 1881 ; she died in 1885. leaving one son, Hugh, who is now employed in his father's mill. In 1889 Mr. Ward married Alice Green, the daughter of Louis Green, of Hamilton county, Illinois.
WILLIE ELMER WARREN, former cashier of the Bank of Sims and now eashier of a bank at West York, ocenpies a place of considerable im- portance in the business life of the localities in which he has resided. When the Bank of Sims was organized, October 19. 1909, Mr. Warren was made cashier and manager of the bank, and he continued in that po- sition until recently and in which he acquitted himself with credit to himself and to the shrewdness of the men who installed him in that place in their interests. With his brother Mr. Warren organized a bank at West York, and was made its cashier, he having sold his interest in the Bank of Sims.
Willie Elmer Warren was born October 6. 1868, in Marion county. Illinois, and is the son of Henry and Mary ( Nichols) Warren. The father was born in Marion county, in 1846, and was the son of Aca War- ren, a native of Kentucky. Mary Warren, the mother of Willie Elmer Warren, died Jannary 6, 1903. Five children were born to this couple. They were: Willie Elmer : Harry L., cashier of the Bank of Kimmundy : Charles, cashier of a bank in Willow Hill : Emma, who died in infancy ; and Nettie, the wife of Laurence Stevens, of Kinmundy.
The son Willie Elmer was educated in the public schools of his com- munity, the while he was reared on his father's farm. He remained in
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the family home until he was twenty-four years of age, at which time he began farming for himself in Marion county. He became the owner of his first farm in 1904, when he bought a small place of forty aeres, which he recently sold and is now the owner of a home in Sims. His natural ability is better employed in his present responsible position than when engaged in farming, as the high degree of success which has attended his efforts since he became connected with banking interests amply attest. Mr. Warren is a member of the Court of Honor, and of the Free Will Baptist church, in which faith he is an ordained minister, his ordination taking place in 1909. His high character and unqualified sterling worth are in every way consistent with his religious profession, and he is re- garded as one of the most valuable men of his community.
Mr. Warren has been twice married. In 1892 he was married to Miss Lillian May Dilman, who died in 1894, leaving one child, Iva May, who is now eighteen years of age. In 1897 he was married to Miss Birdie Harber, the daughter of Charles Harber, of Farina, Illinois. Of this latter union one child has been born,-Comaleta, aged eleven years.
WILLIAM ALBION DULANY, M. D. Among the professional men of Wayne county probably none are more worthy the success which has attended their efforts than Dr. William Albion Dulany, of Keenes, a practitioner of more than loeal reputation and a man who has made a place for himself in the ranks of his chosen profession entirely through his own efforts. Handicapped by the lack of early advantages, he per- sistently labored to better his condition, and after eleven years of inees- sant endeavor succeeded in reaching his goal. Dr. Dulany was born June 8, 1873, near Bluford, Jefferson county, Illinois, and is a son of I. II. and Sarah (Green) Dulany.
Preston Dulany, the grandfather of Dr. Dulany, was a native of Vir- ginia, from which state he migrated with his adopted parents to Tennes- see. There he was married and engaged in agrienltural pursuits, but in his later years became blind, and until his death was dependent upon his son. I. H. Dulany was born in Tennessee, and in 1860, when twenty- three years of age, migrated to Southern Illinois, settling near Bluford, in Jefferson county. Later he moved to Middletown, Wayne county, where he practiced medieine for thirty years, building up the largest pro- fessional business in the county, but he is now retired and lives with a daughter. His wife, the daughter of a Tennessean, died in 1887, having been the mother of seven children, namely : Professor Thomas S., princi- pal of the high school at Adamson, Oklahoma; A. G., an attorney of Me- Alister, Oklahoma ; Mrs. Eliza Dorsey ; Mrs. Mary Anderson; Mrs. Mi- nerva Hunter; John, who is deceased ; and Dr. William A.
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