USA > Illinois > Madison County > Centennial history of Madison County, Illinois, and its people, 1812 to 1912, Volume I > Part 16
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
Counties.
Buchanan. Fremont.
Fillmore.
Bond
607
163
659
Madison
1,454
I,III
1,658
Montgomery
992
162
686
3,053
1,436
3,003
By this you will see, if you go through the calcula- tion, that if they get four-fifths and you get one-fifth you beat them 179. In Madison, alone, if our friends get 1,000 of the Fillmore votes and their opponents the remainder, 658, we win by just two votes. This shows the whole field on the basis of 1856. Whether since then any Buchanan or Fremont votes have shifted ground, and how the majority of new voters will go, you can judge better than I. Of course you, on the ground, can better determine your tactics than any one off the ground, but it behooves you to be wide awake and actively working. Don't neglect this and write me at your first leisure.
Yours as ever, A. LINCOLN.
There seems to be no copy of Judge Gilles- pie's reply, but it is evident from Lincoln's rejoinder that the judge had the blues when he replied to the first letter and must have inti- mated to Mr. Lincoln that Messrs. Billings and Job had figured the situation correctly in their representations at Springfield. Lincoln's reply was prompt and is given below :
SPRINGFIELD, July 25, 1858.
HON. JOSEPH GILLESPIE :- My dear sir: Your dole- ful letter of the 18th was received on my return from Chicago last night. I hope you are worse scared than hurt, though you ought to know best. We must not lose the district. We must make a job of it and save it. Lay hold of all the proper agencies and secure all the Americans (Fillmoreites) you can at once. I do hope on closer inspection you will find they are not half gone. Make a little test. Run down one if the poll books of the 'Edwardsville precinct and take the first hundred of known American names. Then quietly ascertain how many of them are actually go- ing for Douglas. I think you will find less than fifty. But even if you find fifty make sure of the other fifty ; that is, make sure of all you can, at all events. We will set other agencies to work which shall compen- sate for the loss of a good many Americans. Don't fail to check the stampede at once. Trumbull, I think, will be with you before long. There is much that he
81
HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
can do and some he can't. I have reason to think there will be other help of an appropriate kind. Write me again.
Yours, as ever, A. LINCOLN.
The Fillmore men in 1856 had cast over one third of the total vote of the district and car- ried Madison county, but they had no ticket in the field in 1858 and the problem Lincoln was trying to solve was what they would do with their votes. The sequel showed that while a small majority of them went to the Republi- cans in this county enough went to the Demo- crats to give the district to the latter. The interest shown by Lincoln in this county was an illuminating illustration of his methods as a politician. At the general election in Novem- ber the Democrats carried the district by a small majority and Colonel Buckmaster was elected over Judge Gillespie. The former car- ried Madison county by a majority of 184 votes, receiving 2,221 to 2,037 for Gillespie. The Democratic candidates for the House, Z. B. Job and Jos. H. Sloss, received about the same majority over the Republican candidates, Isaac Cox and the veteran legislator Curtis Blakeman. In the legislature Douglas had 54 votes to 46 for Lincoln. Had this district gone Republican Douglas would have had but two majority. Two of the legislative candi- dates in this campaign lived to a great age ; Z. B. Job died October 20, 1907, aged ninety years and six months-honored and esteemed by his fellow citizens. Jos. H. Sloss died in 1910, also aged over ninety years. When the war broke out he went south to his native state, Alabama, and entered the southern army, but during the reconstruction period he espoused the Republican cause and served as a representative from Alabama in the national congress.
Hon. H. W. Billings, who is spoken of in Lincoln's first letter, was a distinguished law- yer, and judge of the city court of Alton for a number of years. He was a member of the Vol. I-6
constitutional convention of 1870. His son, Hon. Henry O. Billings, was a member of the general assemblies of 1880-2 and of 1882-4.
Col. S. A. Buckmaster, Judge Gillespie's opponent for state senator in that historic cam- paign, was a leader of his party in the state for many years. He was a representative in the Seventeenth, Eighteenth, Twenty-third and Thirtieth assemblies and senator in the Twenty-first and Twenty-second. He was a speaker of the house in the Twenty-third as- sembly which Governor Yates prorogued in June, 1862. He was twice an unsuccessful can- didate for governor in the conventions of his party, and was a delegate to the Charleston and Baltimore Democratic conventions. He was an early settler of Alton and was for some years warden of the State Peniten- tiary. At the time of his election as speaker of the house he was characterized by a local newspaper as possessed of the suavitur in modo et fortiter in res requisite in the accom- plishments of a presiding officer.
Hon. Joseph Gillespie, of Edwardsville, had a career that was an honor to Madison county. He was an almost life-long friend of Lincoln and his political confidant. They served to- gether in the Black Hawk war, were associated in the legislature in their still early manhood, and were closely related thereafter. Judge Gillespie was one of the notable men of his generation and left a notable impress on the legislation of the state and its judicial records. He was born in New York August 22, 1809, of Scotch-Irish parents and grew to manhood on a farm. He studied law with Hon. Cyrus Ed- wards and subsequently served in the legisla- ture with his preceptor. In the Eighteenth general assembly he was the Whig candidate for United States senator. He presided over the Republican state convention of 1860 which nominated Richard Yates for governor. He rounded out his career on the circuit bench where he presided from 1861 to 1867, having served fourteen years in the legislature.
82
HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
VETERAN OF LEGISLATURE
George Churchill served longer in the legis- lature than any other member from this county, his service in the house and senate covering sixteen years. In the Third assembly he voted against the resolution for a conven- tion to revise the constitution in favor of slav- ery, and was burned in effigy at Troy, this county, by his pro-slavery constituents, as was his associate Risdon Moore of St. Clair. But notwithstanding his strong anti-slavery views he was elected as senator to the next assembly. Further notes of his career appear elsewhere.
OTHER PROMINENT MEMBERS
Curtis Blakeman, an early settler of Marine and prominent anti-slavery leader, served ten years in the general assembly, beginning with the Third.
Gen. James Semple, of Alton, served in the Eighth, Ninth and Tenth assemblies and was speaker of the last two. He was attorney gen- eral in 1833 and was subsequently justice of the supreme court, minister to a South Ameri- can state and United States senator. He died in 1867 at his estate on the bluffs above Elsah.
George Cadwell served as senator from Madison in the First and Second assemblies and also a senator from Greene and Pike (daughters of Madison) in the Third. A notice of him appears elsewhere.
George Smith was another prominent pio- neer resident of Upper Alton. He was a rep- resentative in the Eleventh assembly and sena- tor in the Thirteenth and Fourteenth.
Willard C. Flagg, one of the most eminent men Madison county ever produced, was a prominent Republican senator in the Twenty- sixth and Twenty-seventh assemblies.
Daniel B. Gillham, one of the leading agri- culturists of the state and a descendant of the noted pioneer family of that name, served with distinction in the house of the Twenty- seventh assembly and in the senate of the Thirty-third and Thirty-fourth assemblies.
John M. Pearson, of Godfrey, a leading farmer and manufacturer and one of the best equipped men Madison county ever sent to the legislature, served with great usefulness in the Thirty-first, Thirty-second and Thirty-third assemblies. He was also an efficient member of the board of railroad and warehouse com- missioners. He was a leader in Masonic cir- cles, and at one time was the head of the order in the state. He was a son-in-law of Capt. Benjamin Godfrey, the founder of Monticello Seminary.
W. F. L. Hadley, a brilliant young lawyer, was a senator in the Thirty-fifth and Thirty- sixth assemblies. He was later a member of congress. His early death cut short an emi- nently notable career which is spoken of else- where.
Nathaniel Buckmaster, a pioneer settler and a relative of Col. S. A. Buckmaster, was a member of the Second and Ninth assemblies, and filled many local offices of distinction.
David Rhodes Sparks, a soldier of the Mex- ican and Civil wars and the leading miller of Illinois, was a member of the house in the Thirty-sixth and of the senate in the Fortieth assemblies.
Col. A. F. Rogers, representative in the Twenty-seventh assembly, also a veteran of the Mexican and Civil wars, still survives in an honored old age. Sketches of the careers of these two patriotic soldiers appear in the biographical section of this work.
George M. McCormick, of Collinsville, sena- tor in the Forty-fifth and Forty-sixth assem- blies, also filled various county offices. He served in an Ohio regiment during the war, was wounded at Chickamauga and left for dead on the field. When he returned to con- sciousness he was a prisoner in the hands of the enemy and suffered much in southern pris- ons. His comrades wrote home that he had been killed and his funeral sermon was preached at his home church in Ohio.
Charles A. Herb, of Alton, was a senator in
83
HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
the Thirty-ninth assembly. He died in office. He was mainly instrumental in the legislature in procuring an appropriation of twenty-five thousand dollars from the state in aid of the Lovejoy monument. He had been mayor of Alton and filled other local offices. He was likewise a soldier, having enlisted at the age of fifteen and served through the Civil war.
John W. Coppinger, of Alton, was senator in the Thirty-sixth and Thirty-seventh assem- blies and was president pro tem of the latter. He had been mayor of Alton and was United States consul to Toronto under Cleveland.
Col. John J. Brenholt, of Alton, was a sen- ator in the Forty-first and Forty-second as- semblies, and was president pro tem of the lat- ter. During the absence of both the governor and lieutenant governor from the state he was acting governor for a few days. He had also been mayor.
Edmund Beall, a wealthy manufacturer who had served six years as mayor of Alton. was elected to the state senate in 1910.
Among the distinguished men who were sent to the legislature before the war were Robert Smith, later member of congress ; Newton D. Strong, brother of William Strong, associate justice United States supreme court ; W. F. DeWolf, Edward Keating and William Martin. There were also Judge John Bail- hache, editor of the Alton Telegraph, who met a tragic death in a runaway accident and John Hogan, a Methodist minister and later a mem- ber of congress from St. Louis.
Among other prominent figures after the war were A. W. Metcalf, of Edwardsville, an eminent lawyer and state senator ; Hon. John H. Yager, of Alton, state senator, whose ca- reer is noted elsewhere; Daniel Kerr, of Al- ton, member of the house, and later member of congress from Iowa.
Also William H. Krome, of Edwardsville, state senator, lawyer and banker, and Hon. W. R. Prickett, also of Edwardsville, a lead- ing banker, both of whom rendered distin-
guished service in the legislature and whose careers are spoken of elsewhere.
Hon. George Alton Smith, an Alton mer- chant, also served with distinction in the legis- lature, as did Hon. George H. Weigler, a pioneer German resident of Alton, who filled many local offices and died in 1910, being over ninety years of age.
Louis E. Walter, a leading representative of Union labor and a glass blower by trade, served creditably in the house in the Forty- second assembly and in the senate during the Forty-third and Forty-fourth.
One of the most notable events which ever occurred in the legislature having a national bearing, was the contest for United States Senator in 1855. Abraham Lincoln was the nominee of the Whigs, James Shields of the straight Democrats and Lyman Trumbull of the Anti-Nebraska Democrats. No candi- date had a majority. The Trumbull men who numbered five, included H. S. Baker and Dr. George T. Allen, of Alton. These five Anti- Nebraska Democrats stood solidly for Trum- bull, and finally, to prevent the election of a pro-slavery Democrat, Lincoln advised his supporters to vote for Trumbull and he was elected. Had the five Anti-Nebraska Demo- crats voted for Lincoln he would have been elected. In that event the joint debate be- tween Lincoln and Douglas, in 1858, would not have taken place. That debate gave Lin- coln national prominence and gained him the nomination for president in 1860. The de- feat of 1855 was the gateway to the victory of 1860 and the five Anti-Nebraska Demo- crats, among whom were two from this county, without foreseeing the result of their votes, thus changed the personnel of the na- tional administration.
Hon. Henry S. Baker was a distinguished lawyer and for many years, judge of the city court of Alton. He was a man of brilliant intellect and a fine orator. He was a leading Republican but declined more political hon-
84
HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
ors than he accepted. He presided over the Republican State Convention of 1880. He was a son of former United States Senator David J. Baker, Sr.
Hon. George T. Allen was an early settler of 'Madison county and a prominent physi- cian. He was descended from the famous Vermont family of that name, of whom Gen. Ethan Allen of Revolutionary annals was the most prominent representative in history. Dr. Allen served through the Civil war as a divis- ion surgeon and medical inspector with the rank of colonel, and made a notable record. After the war he was appointed United States consul at Moscow, Russia, and filled that im- portant diplomatic position with great success. Later he was placed in charge of the United States Marine Hospital at St. Louis. His career was an honored and useful one in all its varied activities.
Physicians seldom consent to serve in the legislature owing to the absorbing character of their profession, but Dr. John S. Dewey, of Troy, found time to serve, and with great credit, in the Thirtieth and Thirty-first assemblies.
William Montgomery, a prominent mer- chant of Moro, was three times elected to the legislature, beginning with 1902, and died in office.
Senator Edmund Beall and Representatives N. G. Flagg, Jos. G. Bardill and William Dickman, present members of the legislature, are active and influential in the discharge of their public duties and are doubtless destined for still higher honors.
"SONS OF THEIR FATHERS"
The sons of Madison county legislators do not seem to have followed in the footsteps of their fathers to any great extent, in seeking legislative honors. Why this is so is hard to explain. The early legislators left many able and influential descendants, but few of them seem to have had any taste or desire for this
branch of the public service. In the early days the electors sent their ablest and brain- iest men to the general assembly, but, with the lapse of time and changes in views in re- gard to office holding, the personnel of the legislatures as a whole, has deteriorated. Of course there are many shining examples of individual worth and talent among our later legislators, but in the main the legislatures do not, of late years, average well with the earlier representative bodies in unselfish devotion to the public good. Personal ambition and greed have gradually supplanted the higher virtues of patriotic devotion to the welfare of their constituents. Graft and greed, for- merly but little known, have intruded into the halls of the capitol to the detriment of the public service. But of this taint the legisla- tors of Madison county have been free. There seems to be but one exception on record and over that we draw the mantle of charity. An honest man by nature and of an honorable private life, he was tempted beyond his strength to resist.
But of sons who succeeded their fathers in the legislature from this county the examples we have are of those where the Roman virtues of the sires descended to the sons and have been exemplified in equally useful lives. An instance of this kind, I find is where Nelson G. Edwards, of Alton, succeeded his father, Cyrus Edwards, in the general assembly in 1850-52. He was a young lawyer of brilliant talents, but resigned his seat on account of ill health and died at the early age of thirty- two.
Another instance is that of George Alton Smith, of Alton, who succeeded his father, Senator George Smith, a man of sterling worth who was one of the pioneers of the county. The junior Smith inherited the noble qualities of his father.
One of the most talented, scholarly and useful men ever sent to the legislature from this county was Senator Willard C. Flagg.
85
HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
His work in advancing the cause of agricul- ture and agricultural education, as well as education in general, has never been equaled. Himself a farmer, a graduate of Yale and a close student of economics, his work was in- valuable. He was succeeded in the Forty- sixth and Forty-seventh assemblies by his son, Hon. Norman G. Flagg, whose career is equally honorable and useful.
MADISON COUNTY LEGISLATORS, LINCOLN'S CONTEMPORARIES
Ninth general assembly: Cyrus Edwards, Nathaniel Buckmaster, James Semple and Jesse B. Thomas, Jr.
Tenth general assembly: Cyrus Edwards, John Hogan, James Semple and Robert Smith.
Eleventh general assembly : George
Churchill, William Otwell, George Smith and Robert Smith.
Twelfth general assembly: George Church- ill, Joseph Gillespie, Cyrus Edwards and James Reynolds.
All these men served with Lincoln in the several assemblies noted. Lincoln was also elected to the Nineteenth assembly, but re- fused his credentials in order to become a candidate for United States senator. Joseph Gillespie, George T. Allen and H. S. Baker, of Madison, were members of this assembly.
The Robert Smith, of Alton, named above, also served in the Thirtieth congress (1847- 9) with Lincoln, during the latter's one term in the house at Washington. Lincoln was a Whig and Smith a Demorcat, so they prob- ably advocated different policies, and were not kindred spirits.
86
HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
LYMAN TRUMBULL
GEN. JAMES SEMPLE
CHAPTER XI
POLITICAL AND JUDICIAL REPRESENTATIVES
STATE OFFICERS-ON STATE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS - CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATION -PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORS-MEMBERS OF CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTIONS-MEMBERS OF SUPREME COURT. .
Six governors of Illinois have, at one time or another, had their residence in Madison county, but only one of them was a resident when elected, and that was Edward Coles, whose home was in Edwardsville. Governor Edwards resided in Edwardsville from 1818 to 1825, when he removed to Belleville and was a resident of that city when elected gov- ernor in 1826. Thomas Ford was a resident of Edwardsville for several years and mar- ried there, but when elected governor in 1842, resided in Ogle county. John Reynolds re- sided in Madison county from 1807 to 1815, and when elected governor in 1830 was a resident of St. Clair. John M. Palmer lived in Madison county, at Upper Alton, when a youth and young man, but when elected gov- ernor in 1868 was a resident of Springfield. Charles S. Deneen was born in Edwardsville but was brought up in St. Clair. When a young man he taught school at Godfrey, this county. When elected governor in 1904 and 1908, he was a resident of Chicago.
No citizen of Madison county has ever filled the office of lieutenant governor by elec- tion, but in 1852 George T. Brown, of Madi- son, received 113 votes in the Democratic convention to 132 for Gustavus Koerner, of St. Clair. At that time a Democratic nomina- tion was equivalent to an election.
Samuel D. Lockwood, of Edwardsville, was
appointed secretary of state in 1822, the only citizen of Madison to fill that position.
Levi Davis, of Alton, was appointed audi- tor of public accounts in 1835, but at that time was a resident of Fayette county.
Four citizens of Madison have filled the office of attorney general. Samuel D. Lock- wood, appointed in 1822; James Semple, 1833 ; Jesse B. Thomas, Jr., 1835 ; George W. Olney, 1838.
No citizen of Madison has ever filled the office of state treasurer, or that of superin- tendent of public instruction.
ON STATE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS
The following citizens of Madison county have been elected members of the State Board of Equalization since the creation of that body in 1867: Irwin B. Randle, Alton, 1868; John E. Coppinger, Alton, 1880; Joseph C. Ammann, Highland, 1888; Joseph F. Long, New Douglas, 1892 and 1896; James T. Tartt, Edwardsville, 1900; Utten S. Nixon, Alton, 1904 and 1908.
Following are present members of state boards and commissions: John S. Culp, Bethalto, vice president State Board of Agri- culture and trustee Eastern Illinois State Nor- mal School; Dr. W. H. C. Smith, Godfrey, trustee Illinois Asylum for Feeble Minded Children; E. W. Burroughs, Edwardsville,
87
88
HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
director Illinois Farmers' Institute; Walton Rutledge, Alton, inspector of mines, Eighth district; John A. Cousley, Alton, member State Civil Service Commission ; Judge Ben- jamin R. Burroughs, Edwardsville, member State Board of Administration; Ralph E. Niedringhaus, M. D., Granite City, member State Board of Health; Fridolin Oswald, Al- hambra, member of State Board of Examin- ers of Architects.
CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATION
The representation of Madison county at Washington during the last century has been meager compared with its deserts. In the United States senate it has been represented as follows: Ninian Edwards, of Edwards- ville, from 1819 to 1824, Democrat; Jesse B. Thomas, Edwardsville, 1823 to 1829, Demo- crat. Both these statesmen served previous terms when residents of Kaskaskia.
Gen. James Semple, Alton, 1843 to 1847, Democrat. His career noticed earlier in this chapter.
Lyman Trumbull, Alton, 1855 to 1873, three terms. When first elected he was a resident of Belleville, but soon after removed to Alton. Resided there until near the close of his sec- ond term when he removed to Chicago. When first elected he was an Anti-Nebraska Demo- crat, but became a Republican.
Another citizen of Madison county, Judge David J. Baker, of Alton, also served a frac- tional term, by appointment-from Novem- ber 24 to December II, 1830, but was then a resident of Kaskaskia. He was then a Demo- crat, but became one of the pioneer leaders of the Republican party in the state.
Senator Baker was the father of five sons, all of whom became famous, viz: Judge Henry S. Baker, of Alton ; Hon. E. L. Baker, journalist and United States consul at Buenos Ayres; David J. Baker, Jr., chief justice of the supreme court; Col. John P. Baker, U. S. A., and Joseph Baker, U. S. Marine service.
All of these senators were prominent fig- ures in the senate during their terms of office.
Jesse B. Thomas was the author of the celebrated Missouri Compromise.
Lyman Trumbull was a national figure for many years, especially during the war. He was a profound lawyer and was chairman of the Judiciary committee. He became a Lib- eral in 1872 and was a candidate for the presidency before the convention of that party, but was defeated by Horace Greeley, whose candidacy was afterwards endorsed by the Democrats.
In the lower house of congress, Madison county has not fared as well as in the senate. Benjamin Stephenson, of Edwardsville, was the delegate in congress from Illinois terri- tory from 1814 to 1816, when he was ap- pointed receiver of public moneys. He was a Democrat. Madison was then without rep- resentation in congress until 1843, when Rob- ert Smith, of Alton, was elected. He served three consecutive terms until 1849, when he was succeeded by Col. William H. Bissell, of Belleville, who also served three terms until he was elected the first Republican gov- ernor of Illinois, in 1856, having previously been a Democrat. Robert Smith was again elected and served from 1857 to 1859. He was also a Democrat, but became a Republi- can and served in the Union army as pay- master.
The county was then unrepresented in con- gress by one of its own citizens until 1895, when W. F. L. Hadley, of Edwardsville, was elected vice Frederick Remann, deceased, and served until 1897.
This gives a total of but twelve years when the county has had one of its own Representa- tives in Washington during the century.
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.