USA > Illinois > Madison County > Centennial history of Madison County, Illinois, and its people, 1812 to 1912, Volume I > Part 20
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HOOPER WARREN AGAIN
Hooper Warren, the founder of the Ed- wardsville Spectator, the third paper pub- lished in Illinois, was born at Walpole, New Hampshire, in 1790. He learned his trade as a printer in the office of the Rutland (Vt.) Herald. He removed to Kentucky in 1817 and in 1818 to St. Louis. In March, 1819, Mr. Warren removed to Edwardsville and
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commenced the publication of the Spectator. His paper was the able organ of the anti- slavery men of Illinois in their successful campaign of 1823-4, to prevent the engrafting of slavery upon the constitution of the state, of which we have spoken. After his six years of service at Edwardsville he passed part of the year 1826 at Cincinnati, editing the Crisis, when he removed the press of the Spectator to Springfield, and for two years edited the Sangamon Spectator. In 1829 he removed to Galena, establishing there the Galena Advertiser and Upper Mississippi Herald. In 1831 he removed to Hennepin, Illinois, where for five years he filled the office of clerk of the circuit court. In 1836 he pub- lished for about a year the Chicago Commer- cial Advertiser. He then returned to Henne- pin and in 1839 removed with his family to Henry, where he engaged in farming. In 1850 he published the Bureau Advocate at Princeton for one year and then removed to Chicago where he was associated for three years with Zabina Eastman in publishing the Free West and Western Citizen. He then re- turned to his farm at Henry where he con- tinued to reside until his death in 1864, at the age of seventy-four. In an obituary notice written by Rev. William Barry and published in the Chicago Tribune, it was said of him: "Earnest, calm and undaunted, yet wise and just, he remained ever true and inflexible in his principles, liberal in his politics, in warm sympathy with the people and the people's rights, yet, as such, a stanch advocate of the natural rights of all men and all races, and hence the open, unflinching foe of African slavery. Few men have passed through a long life of such labor as his with a purer record; more blameless, more respected, more trusted. His tranquil old age was not inac- tive but was occasionally improved by him in writing upon past events in Illinois history, about which few men had better information or could write more justly and more wisely.
He has passed away in a full age, to join the band of faithful laborers for humanity and right who, once stigmatized as seditious and disturbers of the peace, will be forever hon- ored as fellow workers with God and the good, friends of their country, advocates and defenders of the oppressed. The loss is our own when such men are forgotten in their death."
LAWSON A. PARKS
Lawson A. Parks, the founder of the Alton Telegraph, was a native of Charlotte, North Carolina, born April 15, 1813. He learned the trade of a printer in Charlotte and in 1832 removed with his father's family to St. Louis where he worked at his vocation in different offices, being at one time connected with Rev. E. P. Lovejoy while the latter was publishing the St. Louis Observer. He removed to Al- ton in 1836 and commenced the publication of the Telegraph, in connection with R. M. Treadway, as previously narrated. He was connected with the press of Alton for over thirty-nine years. Although born and reared in a slave state, he looked upon the institution of slavery as a moral wrong and in a time that tried men's souls had the courage to live up to his convictions. He was first a. Whig and afterwards a Republican, but his political views were broader than partisanship and founded on integrity and justice. During the dark days of the Civil war he rendered monu- mental service to the Union cause, both through his paper and on the rostrum; for he was a ready speaker as well as an able writer. He was a deeply religious man, an elder in the Presbyterian church and a licentiate of Alton Presbytery, though not an ordained minister, and served at one time as stated supply of the Presbyterian church at Troy. His life was an harmonious progression and when in 1875, at, the age of sixty-two, he laid down his armor he had not yet reached the zenith of his de-
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velopment. He was one of the great editors of Madison county and lived to see the triumph of the political and moral battle he had waged during his public career.
Of Elijah P. Lovejoy, the martyr of the Alton Observer, I have spoken fully in a pre- vious chapter.
Another name that stands high in Madison county journalism is that of George T. M. Davis, at one time editor of the Telegraph. He was a pioneer resident of Alton, a brilliant lawyer and ready writer. He served on the staff of General Shields in the Mexican war, and his letters to the Telegraph from the battle line were of historic value. His career is fully delineated in the biographical volume of this work.
HON. JOHN BAILHACHE
Another shining name in the annals of Mad- ison county journalism is that of Hon. John Bailhache, editor of the Telegraph from 1837 to 1854. He was born at St. Ouen, the largest of the Norman isles in the British channel, May 8, 1787. His mother tongue was French but he learned English at a school he attended. At the age of sixteen, after completing his studies, he served an apprenticeship of five years to the printing business. In 1810 he em- igrated to the United States and settled at Cambridge, Ohio, and in 1812 became the ed- itor of the Fredonian. In 1815 he purchased the Scioto Gazette and united it with his own. He was subsequently state printer at Colum- bus and owner of the State Journal. In 1820 he was elected a member of the Ohio legisla- ture and in 1825 was chosen a member of the court of common pleas of Ross county. In 1835 he was elected mayor of the city of Col- umbus. At the solicitation of his wife's friends, who had removed to St. Louis, he came with his family to that city in 1836. Failing to secure an interest in the Missouri Republican, he came to Alton and purchased Vol. I-S
a half interest in the Alton Telegraph in May, 1837. A year later he purchased the interest of his partner, L. A. Parks, and became sole proprietor. In June, 1838, he associated S. R. Dolbee with himself in the business, which connection continued until the close of 1849. His son (William H.), E. L. Baker and L. A. Parks were associated with him in the paper and up to 1854 when he retired.
Judge Bailhache had the distinction of serv- ing in the legislatures of two states, having been elected to the Ohio general assembly in 1820 and to that of Illinois in 1841. His death took place in his seventy-first year and was accidental. While out riding on September 2, 1857, his carriage was overturned into a ravine opposite what is now Lincoln school, Alton, and he received injuries from which he died the next day. Judge Bailhache was brought up in the Protestant Episcopal church and in that communion he lived and died. His fun- eral was attended by a great concourse and a remarkably eloquent eulogy was pronounced upon his life and character by his pastor, the Rev. Dr. S. Y. McMasters.
HON. GEORGE T. BROWN
Probably the editor who exerted the widest political influence, while engaged in journalism in Alton, was Hon. George T. Brown. He was a Scotchman by birth and settled in Alton in the early thirties. He was educated for the law but seems to have paid more attention to politics than to pleading. In 1846 he was elected mayor, an office held by his brother, Joseph, ten years later. He was a member of the constitutional convention of 1847, and in 1852 was a candidate before the Democratic state convention for lieutenant governor, re- ceiving 113 votes to 132 for Gustavus Koerner of St. Clair. In 1855 Mr. Brown was secre- tary of the state senate. On May 29, 1852, he established the Alton Daily Morning Courier, which was, under his direction, the best and
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most influential daily in the state outside of Chicago. It had the finest and most complete newspaper plant in Illinois, in a building specially erected for the purpose. It in- cluded news and job offices and a book bind- ery. The building was four stories high, lo- cated on State street, opposite Third. It is now the property of the Alton Masonic Order. But the enterprise was too large for the size of the town and in 1861 the paper failed. Mr. Brown was also the moving spirit in the es- tablishment of gas works in Alton and lighting the streets by gas. In 1861 Mr. Brown was appointed sergeant-at-arms of the United States Senate and for the next few years was a prominent figure in the national capital. Af- ter his successor was appointed he returned to Alton, but with his absence from the state he had lost his prominence in politics and failing resources added to his misfortunes. He was unmarried and led rather a lonely life, his death occurring June 10, 1880, at the age of sixty years. He is buried in the Alton City cemetery. During his later years the journal- istic instinct was still strong in him and he was accustomed to frequent the newspaper offices to look over the exchanges and thus keep pace with a world in which he had once borne a prominent part.
REV. JOHN M. PECK
The pioneer of religious journalism in Illi- nois was Rev. John M. Peck, who in connec- tion with T. P. Green, established at Rock Spring, May 25, 1829, the Pioneer of the Val- ley of the Mississippi. It was published in the interest of the Baptist denomination and of his seminary. After a troubled existence the paper was moved to Alton, in 1836, and its name was changed to Western Pioneer and Baptist Standard Bearer. It was a heavy bur- den on the publishers and in 1838 its name was shortened to Western Pioneer, but that did not help matters and it was removed to
Louisville, Kentucky, and combined with a paper there. Mr. Peck was the foremost cler- ical opponent of the convention in the great anti-slavery campaign of 1824, and his labors were perhaps greater than those of any one man, except Governor Coles. He organized almost the entire religious element of the state against the convention, but it is a striking fact that his aggressive views on slavery after- wards underwent a change, or at least a great modification. In 1837 he was opposed to Lovejoy in his anti-slavery campaign, in re- gard to which Rev. Thos. Lippincott writes in his reminiscences as follows: "In the grand struggle to preserve liberty in Illinois Mr. Peck was among the most active and efficient. I cannot tell how much he wrote but it is im- possible to believe that his ever active pen was idle ; he traversed the state over and over, and everywhere scattered publications, and preached and argued with his forcible logic, spreading light and influence everywhere, ex- posing the schemes of political adventurers and the horrors of slavery. Nor did he think his labors against the convention desecrated the pulpit, or were incongruous with the call- ing which he deemed the highest and holiest. He was pleading against oppression. Illinois has reaped vast blessings from his labors.
"But it is a matter of painful regret that when Elijah P. Lovejoy was doing what Mr. Peck had so nobly begun in years agone, the latter, instead of joining in the noble work, threw his influence against him; and when the popular feeling was rising against the faithful witness, Mr. Peck (unintentionally and un- consciously I am sure) pursued such a course as tended to fan the flame. And it is believed that ever after he was on the conservative in- stead of the progressive side. Yet let not any of us condemn him for this. He was doubt- less honest and sincere as ever. Let the good he has done for the state and the world be held in everlasting remembrance."
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In confirmation of this statement of Mr. Peck's change of views on the slavery ques- tion I have seen a published sermon which he preached before the legislature, in the later fifties which apologized for and extenuated slavery, and deprecated any interference therewith. Mr. Peck lived to old age, his de- mise taking place March 15, 1858.
John Fitch was another notable name in Madison county journalism. He was first editor of the Alton Courier, 1853-4, and of the National Democrat from 1854 to 1860. Mr. Fitch subsequently went into the army where he rendered important service as an of- ficer and later was the author of "The Annals of the Army of the Cumberland," a compre- hensive work in two volumes.
OTHER MADISON COUNTY EDITORS
Rev. J. B. Logan, D. D., has an honored place in the journalism of the county as editor severally of the Missouri Cumberland Presby- terian, transferred from St. Louis to Alton ; the Ladies' Pearl, the Western Cumberland Presbyterian and the Cumberland Presbyter- ian. His son-in-law, Thomas H. Perrin, was associated with him in these publications as publisher. Rev. Dr. J. W. Brown was also associated with Mr. Logan editorially. Mr. Perrin was also one of the proprietors of the Alton Democrat from 1876 to 1882, with D. C. Fitz Morris as editor. The latter has since occupied prominent positions on the St. Louis press. A. W. Corey was a leader in temper- ance journalism from 1836 to 1842, editing a series of papers devoted to that cause. An- other editor engaged in the same work, over twenty years later, was B. H. Mills, of Upper Alton, publisher of the Good Templar.
The late Rev. A. T. Norton published the Presbytery Reporter at Alton for twenty-two years. His career is considered elsewhere.
James J. McInerney, who died in 1819, was connected with the Morning News, Sentinel
and Sentinel-Democrat for a period of thirty- four years. He was a native of Alton, of Irish parentage, and was a fine example of a self- made man. Although his educational advan- tages did not extend beyond the public schools he was a ready and forcible writer, a pleasing speaker and a leader in the Democratic party. He was once the nominee of his party for con- gress and an independent candidate for mayor, but had the misfortune to reside in a Repub- lican city and district and suffered defeats which were no personal reflection on himself. He made his mark in his generation and is worthy of remembrance.
Hon. Thomas Dimmock, who was editor of ยท
the National Democrat for some years, was a polished writer, of scholarly tastes and at- tainments. He was subsequently, and for many years, one of the editors of the St. Louis Republican. As a public speaker and lecturer he had few superiors. His elegance of diction and felicity of expression were remarkable.
VETERAN JOURNALISTS
Coming down to the present time I close this chapter with a reference to the fact that several of our veteran journalists have been connected with the press of Madison county for a generation, or more, and are still on the stage of action with their younger associates or competitors.
Hon. Charles Boeschenstein, of the Ed- wardsville Intelligencer has been connected with the press of the county for over thirty years. The Crossman family, of the Ed- wardsville Republican, for forty-three years counting from the founding of the paper in 1869 by the elder Crossman. J. S. Hoerner, late of the Highland Union, for thirty-two years. A. L. Brown, of the Edwardsville Democrat, for thirty years. Henry Meyer, of the Alton Banner, for thirty-one years, not counting his service in other places. W. T. Norton has been connected with Alton papers
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for thirty-three years though not consecu- tively. J. A. Cousley became connected with the Alton Telegraph March 4, 1861; he served as printer and foreman for thirty-one years, and as editor and senior proprietor for the last twenty years. In direct connection
with the same paper for fifty-one years he is the Dean of the corps.
D. C. FitzMorris and Clark McAdams, who were connected with the Alton press for several years, have both since won distinction in St. Louis journalism.
CHAPTER XIV
HIGHER EDUCATION
SHURTLEFF COLLEGE-MONTICELLO SEMINARY-WESTERN MILITARY ACADEMY-URSULINE ACADEMY OF THE HOLY FAMILY.
It it noteworthy how early in the history of the county the thoughts of the fathers turned to the necessity of higher education for the rising generation. The distance to the east was great. It required weeks of travel and in- volved heavy expense. The early settlers were poor. They had come west for the purpose of improving their condition. It was a con- stant struggle to win a living amid their prim- eval environment. There was no public school system and the children and youth were de- pendent upon private schools for even the most meagre educational advantages. The first need of the country seemed to be for educated men and women fitted to take the lead in ad- vancing the cause of general education as teachers and leaders of the young. These could only be obtained in limited numbers from the older sections of the country and it was realized that the only way to secure an adequate corps of instructors was to establish training schools, or colleges at home, where young men and women, ambitious for higher education but too poor to leave home to at- tend the institutions in the east or south, could secure the desired advantages.
Some few, it is true, had the means to leave home to attend distant institutions. Among them might be mentioned Governor John Rey- nolds, who came to the state in 1800 and to Madison county in 1807. He had an ambition for a higher education than the new country
afforded and made the journey to east Ten- nessee on horseback to enter college, remain- ing there until he had secured a classical edu- cation, making occasional visits home in the meantime. But instances of this kind were not many, and no provision was made for higher education in the state until the coming of Rev. John M. Peck to Illinois. The story of his successful endeavor in this direction in connection with others is told in the following historical sketch of Shurtleff College.
SHURTLEFF COLLEGE
Shurtleff College was founded in 1827. It is the pioneer school of the west, and the oldest institution of learning in the Mississippi Val- ley. One of the prime movers in its establish- ment was Rev. John M. Peck, D. D., who was sent from New England in the year 1817 by the Baptist Triennial convention as a mission- ary to the Mississippi territory. Mr. Peck soon formed broad and comprehensive plans for the extension of evangelical activities in the new and growing west. In 1826 he made a visit to Boston, during the progress of which he emphasized the importance of "getting up of a Theological School in Illinois for these states, where young men approved as preach- ers may have the intellectual training which they need." On his return to the west, Mr. Peck labored to lead the minds of his friends to the adoption of his views. Accordingly a
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SHURTLEFF COLLEGE BUILDINGS
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school was soon established at the village of Rock Springs, and commenced operations with twenty-five students of both sexes. A board of trustees was elected in January, 1827, at a meeting of the friends of the enterprise. Rev. James Lemen, Sr., was the first president of the board, and Rev. Joshua Bradley the first principal of the school. Four years of suc- cessful work followed, the average attendance of students being about fifty.
It was at a meeting of the Rock Spring board of trustees, held at the house of Dr. B. F. Edwards in Edwardsville, July 26, 1831, that the question of a removal of the seminary to Alton was for the first time considered in any public meeting. The situation of the place, almost at the junction of the three great rivers, in the midst of a rich and healthful country, and amongst a strong and loyal peo- ple, doubtless determined the question at is- sue. The school, with the furniture, library, etc., was removed to Upper Alton, where it has remained ever since.
Although the institution accomplished a large amount of efficient work during the early years of its history, its first charter was not obtained until March, 1833. It was then known as the Alton Seminary, and later as the Alton College of Illinois. The self-denying efforts and rare talents of Rev. Hubbel Loomis were employed in giving dignity and success to the school, and its actual inception and continuance for several years are due to his labors.
On the 8th of October, 1835, the college re- ceived from Benjamin Shurtleff, M. D., of Boston, a donation of ten thousand dollars, one-half of which was to be used for founding a professorship of oratory, and one-half for the erection of buildings. In gratitude for this early and timely munificence the trustees, on the 12th of January, 1836, changed the name of the institution to Shurtleff College, and the
charter was amended in accordance with this action.
Between 1836 and 1841 the average number of students in attendance was eighty-eight, and instructors four. During this period Rev. Prof. Washington Leverett, being the senior officer, acted as president of the college. In 1840 Rev. Adiel Sherwood, D. D., was elected to the presidency, which position he filled until 1846. During his presidency, Rev. Professors Zenas B. Newman, Washington Leverett and Warren Leverett were associated with him in instruction. During the years 1847-1849 Rev. Washington Leverett was again acting presi- dent of the college, and Warren Leverett, Erastus Adkins, Justus Bulkley and William Cunningham were instructors. In 1850 Rev. N. N. Wood, D. D., accepted the presidency, which he held for five years. Rev. S. Y. Mc- Masters, LL. D., succeeded him in 1855 as president pro tempore, and the next year Rev. Daniel Read, LL. D., entered upon his duties. Her faculty, too, has been honored with many distinguished names. It included such men as John Russell, Dr. Pattison, O. L. Castle, E. Marsh, Oscar Howes, Geo. B. Dodge and others, not mentioning those now living.
During the war the number of students greatly decreased, and the very life of the school was threatened for a time. Of former students, and those in attendance at the out- break of the war, about one hundred and forty enlisted in the service of their country. Sev- eral of the students rose to great distinction as soldiers, becoming majors, colonels, brigadier generals and major generals. In the spring of 1864 almost the entire student body enlisted in a short-term regiment and for the next six months the college was closed. All the mem- bers of the graduating class of 1866 had seen service in the army.
In 1869, Dr. Read resigned, and, after an interval of nearly three years, during which
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Prof. Bulkley performed the duties of the of- fice, Rev. A. A. Kendrick, D. D., was elected to the presidency, and entered upon his duties in September, 1872.
In 1876, a special effort was made to estab- lish the college on a stronger financial basis. As a result largely of the labors of Rev. G. J. Johnson, D. D., and Rev. J. Bulkley, D. D., about $75,000 was raised, a large part of which was used to pay existing obligations.
In 1892, a strenuous effort was made, under the direction of President Kendrick, to in- crease the endowment. The American Bap- tist Education Society pledged $10,000 on con- dition that $40,000 more should be obtained. The state was carefully canvassed, and more than enough was subscribed to meet the con- ditional pledge.
After an administration of twenty-three years, the longest in the history of the institu- tion, Dr. Kendrick retired in 1894. He was succeeded by Principal Austen K. deBlois, Ph. D., of the Union Baptist Seminary, St. Martins, New Brunswick. President deBlois served five years, largely increasing during his administration the enrollment in the collegiate department ; then resigned in 1899 to enter the pastorate.
The college now experienced an interreg- num of one year, during which time the ad- ministration was in the hands of a board of control from the faculty. Rev. Stanley A. Mckay, D. D., of Bloomington, Ill., was then elected to the presidency, and entered upon the active duties of the office in September, 1900. The engagement of Rev. Norman Carr was a notable act of his administration, which was further characterized by the making of extensive repairs on the college buildings and the payment of $25,000 worth of bonds which were held against the institution.
President Mckay resigned his office in the spring of 1905, and entered the pastorate in the state of New York. The trustees imme-
diately elected Rev. John D. S. Riggs, Ph. D., L. H. D., who had been president of Ottawa University in Kansas for nine years. Dr. Riggs accepted the election, and entered upon the duties of administration in the fall of 1905.
During his administration the movement be- gun under President Mckay to raise $50,000 for endownment was completed and an offer secured from Mr. Carnegie to give the college a $15,000 library building, if an equal amount was raised for maintenance. The last of this sum was secured in the fall of 1910, and the building is now being erected.
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