USA > Illinois > Perry County > Combined history of Randolph, Monroe and Perry counties, Illinois . With illustrations descriptive of their scenery and biographical sketches of some of their prominent men and pioneers > Part 102
USA > Illinois > Randolph County > Combined history of Randolph, Monroe and Perry counties, Illinois . With illustrations descriptive of their scenery and biographical sketches of some of their prominent men and pioneers > Part 102
USA > Illinois > Monroe County > Combined history of Randolph, Monroe and Perry counties, Illinois . With illustrations descriptive of their scenery and biographical sketches of some of their prominent men and pioneers > Part 102
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The town was laid out by James Diek, and surveyed and platted by William H. Lovelady, county surveyor, Sep- tember 15, 1864. It is located on the N. W. quarter of see. 29, tp. 5 S., range I W.
BIOGRAPHIES.
ALITTLE
DJ Hamilton
WAS a native of White county, Illinois, and was born March 25th, 1824; his parents, Woods M. and Jane (Mccluskey) Hamilton, were natives of Tennessee, and emi- grated to Illinois and settled in White county soou after the State was admitted to the Union. Woods M. Hamilton was a Cumberland Presbyterian minister ; he was the father of ten children-nine sons and one daughter; but two of them are now living, viz : Dr. Hamilton, of Murphysboro, Illinois, and Jane, who was the wife of Judge J. M. Ralls, now deceased, of Randolph county, Illinois, now the wife of Mr. Fulton, of the same county. Presley P. was raised in the home of his father, in White county ; while yet a young man he entered the law office of Hon. S. S. Marshall, of McLeansboro, and read law ; before he finished his studies, he removed to Pinckneyville and there completed his studies in the office and under the tuition of Col. William Edwar.'s, an eminent and successful lawyer of that place. He was ad- mitted to the bar when he was in his twenty-second year. Judge Scates, one of the Supreme Justices of the State, pre- sided over the circuit courts of Perry county at that time. In the fall of 1858 Mr. Hamilton entered the Law School at Louisville, Kentucky, and graduated from that institution
iu February, 1859 ; he continued the practice in Perry and surrounding counties until 1863, and had built up a large and lucrative business, and was regarded as one of the leading lawyers in the circuit ; in 1863 he experienced religion and became a convert and member of the M. E. Church; he conceived it to be his duty to enter the ministry of the church, which he did, notwithstanding that by so doing he sacrificed his large and profitable business, and took up a calling that promised no emoluments beyond a mere living ; but he was as carnest and sincere in his last pro- fession as he was active and energetic in the first. He was admitted to the ministry at the Southern Illinois Con- ference held at Olney, and his first labors were on the Kin- mundy circuit ; two years later he was transferred to Litch- field Station, and there remained three years; then went to Alton, where he remained one year. His health then began to fail, and he was compelled to seek repose from his labors, but, alas! it was too late. He departed this life October 22nd, 1869, having been actively engaged in the ministry nearly six years. In 1865 he was ordained deacon, and in 1867, an elder in the church. IIe was by nature admirably adapted to the ministry ; he was devont and earnest; his great
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HISTORY OF RANDOLPH, MONROE AND PERRY COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.
earnestness carried conviction to those who came in contact with his ministrations, and as an exhorter he was powerful ; all acknowledged his power and ability to sway his audience, and lead them in the path of righteousness. That he was useful, and had not mistaken his calling, it is proved by the fact that in the six years of his ministry he converted five hundred, and led them into the fold of the church. His great regret was that he had heeded the call to the ministry at the eleventh hour, and therefore said he must do a whole day's work in one hour. In his home he was a kind and devoted husband, and to his children an affectionate and indulgent father.
On the 26th of July, 1846, he married Mis Lucy M. daughter of Humphrey B. and Harriet ( Dobbins) Jones. Mrs. Jones was born in Virginia, but reared and married in Christian county, Kentucky, where Mr. Jones was born and raised. Mr. Jones came to Illinois in April, 1821, and set- tled in Brownsville, Jackson county, and there followed the practice of medicine, and continued there until April 21st, 1827, when he removed to Perry county, which had just been organized ; he entered the land on which Pinckneyville now stands, and assisted in locating and laying out the town when the county seut was located. He was the first county and circuit clerk, and held nearly all the offices of the county for sixteen years. In addition, he was the leading physician and post-master of Pinckneyville. Ile was admitted to the bar about 1840, and from that time to his death was the leading lawyer, and was engaged on one side or the other of ne.rly all, if not all, the cases tried in the courts of Perry county. Ile was indeed a prominent and in many respects a remarkable man. His death occurred Nov. 18th, 1855, »ged fifty-six years Mrs. Hamilton was born in Pinckney- ville, December 23rd. 1527, and is credited with being the first child boru in that town. There was born to Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton six children-five sons and one daughter. Three of the sons died in infancy. Harriet A., the only daughter, married Joseph R Blackwell ; she died December 9th, 1878. leaving three children, named Luey, Bessie, and Guy Blackwell. The names of the surviving sons are : Edward J., who married Miss Lena Baldwin, of Fronton, Missouri, and John J. Hamilton, who is a book-keeper in St. Louis.
CHARLES P. RICHARDS,
ONE of the proprietors and editors of the Tribune, is a native of Wyoming county, New York, born September 18th, 1841. He is the son of Newell G., and Roxyette ( Kingsley) Richards, who are the descendants of old settlers in New York. Josiah W. Kingsley, the maternal grandfather, is still living. He is closely related to the Fulton family, of which Robert Fulton, the inventor of the steamboat, was a member. Newell G. Richards remained in New York fol- lowing the occupation of a farmer until the winter of 1865,
when he removed west and settled in Flint, Michigan, where he at present resides. By his marriage with Miss Roxyette Kingsley there were seven children, only two of whom are at present living, viz., James B, who for the greater portion of his life has been engaged in mercantile pursuits, and the subject of this sketch. Charles P. received a fair English education in the schools of his native county. At the age of fifteen he entered a printing office in the town of Perry, and served an apprenticeship of three years, after which he worked at the case in the printing office at Geneseo, and from there went to Warsaw and took the foremanship of an office. In the fall of 1864 he came west to Michigan, and stopped at Kalamazoo, where he worked at the case. One year later he went to Chicago, where he remained six months, then came down to Champaign, Ills., and elerked at a hotel for six months, after which he returned to the trade, and worked in the printing offices of Toledo, Ohio, Wabash, lud., and Bloomington, Ills., returning to Champaign where he was married. He then went to Rock Island and worked on a daily paper for nearly one year. His health failing him, he returned to Champaign, in the offices of which place, after his health had recruited, he worked, and in August 1868 he came to Du Quoin, and returning to Champaign, ten months later, took charge of the Gazette office as foreman. In Nov., 1870, he returned to Du Quoin and purchased a third interest in the Tribune office. The firm of R. Berry & Co. continued until 1874, when Berry's interest was pur- chased by the remaining partners, who, under the firm name of Beem & Richards, have continued the publication of the Tribune to the present. The Tribune, under the manage- ment of the latter firm, has risen to be the most potential organ in the Twentieth Congressional Distriet, and one of the prominent and leading newspapers in Southern Illi- nois. The office is superior to many country offices in its outfit of power presses, type and all kinds of material neces- sary to do any and all kinds of first-class work. Both these gentlemen are practical printers, and have had many years of practical experience in both country and metropolitan offices, and therefore bring to the office a thorough knowledge of the wants of the people and the interests of the community, which, as newspaper publishers, they represent On the 2d of Angust, 1866, Mr. Richards was united in marriage to Miss Emma L., daughter of Lyman D and Freelove C. (Brown) Chaddon, of Champaign, Illinois. Mrs. Richards1 parents are natives of New York. At present they are residents of Wellington, Kansas. There have been three children born to Mr. and Mrs. Richards, whose names, in the order of their birth are, Herman E., Helen Corabelle and Charles Albert Richards. Mr. Richards, politically, comes from a Democratie family, but after casting his first vote with that party, joined the Republican ranks. He cast his first presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln in 1861, and for each succeeding Republican president since.
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HISTORY OF RANDOLPH, MONROE AND PERRY COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.
Johnaward
THE subject of the following sketch has been for many years one of the prominent educators of Perry county. He was born in Cayuga county, New York, July 18th, 1836. The Ward family on the paternal side is of English descent and on the maternal French. A. Ward, his father, was a native of New York. He moved to Claremont county, Ohio, in 1841, and there remained until 1857, when he came to Illinois and settled in Perry county, where he died in 1873. He followed the peaceful occupation of a farmer during his active life. He married Priscilla H. Brand, who was born in western New York. She died in this county in 1875. John B. Ward, the subject of this sketch, is the fifth in a family of nine children, four of whom have survived the parents and are yet living. The oldest son, G. C. Ward during the late war enlisted for three years, and became a member of Company G, 12th Ills. Vol. Intty. He was killed at the second battle of Corinth, where he participated with his commander in a desperate charge upon the enemy to recapture a battery. John B. was reared upon the farm and attended the District schools of Claremont county during the winter months, and thereiu received his primary education, which was of such a character as fitted him for entrance to the high schools and academies of the county. In those institutions he laid the foundations of his learn- ing, which was afterward improved by self-culture, exten-
sive reading and many years of teaching. In the spring of 1855 he came West to Illinois and stopped at Galesburg, in Knox county. In May of the same year came to Du Quoin and here served an apprenticeship at the pla-terer's trade and worked at the business for three years. During those years he taught school in the winter months, returning to his trad : with the opening of spring. He is credited with teaching the first school established in the city of Du Quoin. He then concluded to adopt the profession of teaching and make it his life work, and with this view he studied the various methods and systems of teaching and commenced fitting and equipping himself for the work. He entered upon it and has followed it steadily to the present time. During the last twelve years he has been principal of the public schools of Du Quoin. In 1873 his reputation and skill as an educator received suitable and honorable recognition from the citizens of Perry county, who elected him county superintendent of schools, over all competitors, by a hand- some majority. In 1877 he was re-elected, filling the position for eight years with great credit to himself, and also in that time bringing the public schools of the county up to a standard second no other county in the State. In 1882 he was an Independent candidate for the same position, but owing to the many factions and different parties, and much confusion in political circles, he was defeated by the
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HISTORY OF RANDOLPH, MONROE AND PERRY COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.
small majority of thirty-six votes. Combinations by politi- cal leaders often thwart the will of the people. Politically Mr. Ward cast his first vote for Abraham Lincoln and the Republican tieket, and on State and national occasions from that time to the present, has given that party his support. However he possesses sufficient independence to ignore party ties and affiliations and give his support to men and measures that in his judgment will redound to the best interests of his county and country. On the 18th of September, 1857, he was united in marriage to Miss Margery, daughter of Silas and Elizabeth (Emery) Hutch- inson. She was born in Claremont county, Ohio, April 14th, 1837. By the union of Mr. and Mrs. Ward there are four children living. There names in the order of their birth are, Eva, who is the wife of Eli T. Blakeslee, Hattie Gertrude, wife of Valle Nettleton, Harry B. and Charles E. Ward. Both Mr. Ward and his estimable wife are members of the Presbyterian church. In his habits he is strictly temperate, and in his manvers is a pleasant and affable gentle- man, unassuming aud quiet. In the community where . he has lived for many years, aud where people know him best, he is highly respected for his worth as a man and citizen.
HIRAM L. BURBANK.
AMONG the prominent and substantial farmers and old settlers of Perry county is the subject of this sketch. Henry Burbank, the grandfather of Hiram L., was born and lived until the day of his death in New Hampshire. He married a Miss Johnson, and of that union was Johnson Burbank. He was born in the same State in 1790. He came to Illi- nois in 1837 and entered land in Perry county, returned, and the next year came west with his family and settled on it. It was the same traet on which the subject of this sketch now lives. There he remained until his death, except a few years that he was in Kentucky. His death occurred in 1856. He married Mary Paren, born in 1788, and died in 1880. There were six children, all living. Their names are Edwin, William P., George W., Emily S., widow of John Stratton, deceased, Hiram L. and Laura, wife of Henry K. Wells, Dow of Whiteside county, Illinois. Hiram L. was born in Haverhill, New Hampshire, April 3, 1826. 1Ie received a fair English education in his youth, eame west with his father, and in 1849, went to Kentucky and operated a saw mill there for about six years, then returned to the old home- stead, engaged in farming and has continued there until the present. On the 14th of August, 1850, he was united in marriage to Miss Melvina Tueker, daughter of James R. Tucker, of Union county, Ky. She died July 18, 1854, leaving one child living named Henry M. Burbank, who was born and raised on the old homestead and married Hattie, daughter of Wily and Mary Lipe, old settlers of Perry county. They have four children named Gussie, Guy, Alice M. and Annie Burbank. Mr. Hiram L. Bur- bank, on the 12th of February, 1861, married his second
wife, whose name was Alice M. Seeley. She died September 6, 1863, without issue. Mr. Burbank is a Republican in politics. Ile has been justice of the peace since 1873. He was raised a member of the Presbyterian church. He is one of the pioneers of Perry county, and much respected for his nobility of character.
M. B. LAURENCE,
THE editor of the Du Quoin Press, is a native of New Jer- sey, where he was born February 25, 1837. He is the son of Isaac and Keturah (Springer) Laurence. He received his education in the common schools of his native State, which was supplemented by a short term in the academy. He remained at home until in his twentieth year, when he came west, to Illinois, and stopped in Christian county ; from the e removed to Sangamon county, and engaged in school- teaching and stock business. In 1863 he came to Du Quoin to superintend the coal mines of Frank Priest, then a wealthy capitalist of Decatur, Illinois. Two years later he engaged in the hardware business, which he subsequently abandoned to engage in steamboating on the Ohio and Cumberland rivers. In 1878 he returned to Du Quoin and re-engaged in merchandising, in which he continued until 1881, when he became a partner in, and editor of the Du Quoin Press, a weekly paper removed from Tamaroa, and established here in the same year. The Press, under his able editorial management, has become well known to the citizens of Perry county. Politically he is independent in polities, and sup- ports men and measures regardless of party ties or affiliation. Upon questions of a religious character, he is liberal. He sub- scribes to none of the formulated ereeds or dogmas of churches, but believes in the golden rule of doing to others as he would have others do unto him, and believes that in the strict observance of that rule is contained the true spirit of religion. Mr. Laurence has been twice married. The date of the first was January 25, 1865, to Miss Eunice Miller. She died December 31, of the same year, leaving a child, named Emma Laurence. In April, 1871, he married his present wife, Susan Evans, of Aurora, Illinois.
CHARLES W. AND ALBERT N. CURLEE,
ARE sons of Jesse W. and Mary (Stout) Curlee, and both are natives of Perry county, Illinois. They received a good English education in the schools of Tamaroa, and both learned the printer's trade, and are practical printers. They started in the printing business, in Tamaroa, in 1879, where they continued until September, 1881, when they moved the press and material to Du Quoin, and in connection with M. B. Laurence, as editor, established the Du Quoin Press. They are active and energetie young men, and if fortune is not too severe, we predict for them wealth, prosperity and fame in the journalistic world.
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442
HISTORY OF RANDOLPH, MONROE AND PERRY COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.
LITTLE
CA. J Blakuslu
THE subject of the following sketch is one of the active and energetic business men, and the leading manufacturer of Du Quoin. The Blakeslee family belong to a race of machinists. They take naturally to mechanism. Albert Judd Blakeslee was born in Perryville, Madison county, New York, March 1, 1824. He is the son of Eli and Emily (Judd) Blakeslee, who were of English descent. The family originally settled in Litchfield, Conn., and from there moved to New York. Eli Blakeslee, while a resident of the latter State, was engaged in the manufacturing of carriages and wagons. In 1845 he brought his family to Illinois and set- tled in Metamora, in Woodford county, and there opened a foundry and machine shop, and carried on the business un- til 1857, when he was induced to remove to Ullin, in Pulaski county, and engage in the milling business, which, after a trial of three years, proved disastrous financially. In 1860 he came to Du Quoin, and in connection with his sons established a machine shop on a small scale, and there he remained until his death. He married Miss Emily Judd, of New York. Albert Judd Blakeslee is one of the offspring of that union. He received only an ordinary common school education in his youth, which was afterward improved by a short time in the academy, and by teaching for a term. He went into his father's shop, served an apprenticeship, and at eighteen years of age took charge of the forging depart-
ment of a foundry and machine shop at Fredonia, New York. He came west with his father, and was connected with him in business until the former's death. He con- tinued the business in Du Quoin with his brothers, and much of the business growth and success of the manufactory is due to the energy, inventive genius, and business tact of A. J. Blakeslee. He is the inventor and manufacturer of the well-known directing and acting pump for heavy service in mine work or boiler feeding. He is also the inventor of the Veneer machine, which is extensively used in all parts of the United States, and is especially adapted for cutting fruit-box material. The first successful Steam Jet Pump was patented by him in 1869, which the Company still con- tinue to manufacture. The Blakeslee Manufacturing Com- pany, of which he is president, also manufacture portable engines, and do a general jobbing business.
On the 27th of March, 1851, he married Miss Sarah Jane, daughter of Thomas Wafer. She was born in La Salle county, Illinois, in 1829. Her father was a native of South Carolina, and a soldier in the Black Hawk war. Five children have been born to him and Mrs. Blakeslee, four of whom are living. Their names in the order of their birth are : Eli T., who is secretary and treasurer of the Blakeslee Manufacturing Company. He married Eva, daughter of John B. Ward, of Du Quoin. Ella M., wife of H. P. Scott,
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HISTORY OF RANDOLPH, MONROE AND PERRY COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.
attorney at law, Du Quoin. Eda E., who was the wife of J. C. Sturgeon. She died in February, 1882, leaving two children. Clarence Eugene, who is at present a student in the Industrial University at Urbana, Illinois, and Albert H. Blakeslee. Both Mr. and Mrs. Blakeslee are members of the Episcopal Church.
DR. L. DYER.
THE Dyer family is of English ancestry and the descendants of an old family. Members of the family emigrated to America at an early day in the history of this county, some of whom were soldiers in the revolutionary war. Dr. Dyer was born in Shaftesbury, Bennington county, Vermont. He is the son of Henry and Sarah Coy Dyer, natives of Connectieut. He grew to manhood in Vermont, and re- ceived his primary education in the common schools, and his literary education in the academy. His professional studies were obtained in the Berkshire Medical Institute, at Pittsfield, a department of Williams College, from which institution he graduated in 1828 He entered upon the practice in his native county, but a few years later was in- duced to go west, in which direction emigration was then tending. He followed the stream to Ohio, and settled in Greenbrier county, where he was appointed physician to Kenyon College and Theological Institute. From these he removed to Mount Vernon and shared the office with Hon. Columbus Delano, late secretary of the interior. In the latter place he edited a whig newspaper, in addition to practising his profession. In 1855, he removed to Iowa, but the climate of that State proving too severe after a two years' residence, removed to Du Quoin, Illinois, where he has since resided. While a resident of lowa, he was offered, but declined, a professorship in the Medical College at Keokuk. During the late war he took a prominent and decided stand in favor of the union, and sustaining the armies in the field, and promoting the growth of union sentiment in Southern Illinois. In 1862, while at Spring- field, Gov. Yates importuned him to enter the service as a surgeon of one of the regiments that were then being or- ganized. He consented, appeared before the Medical Examining Board, passed a highly creditable examination, and was commissioned surgeon and assigned to duty with the 81st Regiment Illinois Vol. Infty., the date of which was August 26, 1862. In October following he was placed on the operating staff, in which position he served two years, and then was made surgeon-in-chief, appointing his own staff. While in the service an incident occurred which demands notice here. Two or three officers of the line having become, without eause, hostile to him, succeeded by perjury in having charges preferred against him, which were forwarded to the secretary of war. The information of the conspiracy came to Dr. Dyer one month after its con- coetion, and after the false evidence was sent to Washington. He upon first knowledge made enquiries at division head- quarters, and was there informed that no paper of such
purport had passed through the hands of the general. But his colonel still persisted that a paper containing charges against the doctor had been forwarded, and believed that it would result with his (the doctor's) dishonorable discharge and advised him to resign. This the doctor refused to do, declaring that such action on his part would be an admission of guilt, and would in his judgment be cowardly. He went at once to General Grant's head-quarters, and then learned positively that charges had been made and where then in the hands of the secretary of war, at Washington. He enquired of General Grant what an innocent and honorable man should do under the circumstances. General Grant at once issued an order to General MePherson to order a court of inquiry and investigate the whole matters. The court was convened, charges investigated, and Dr. Dyer declared inno- eent. The proceedings with a letter were forwarded to the war department, but in the meantime an order dismissing him from the service and loss of pay, was received and read on dress parade. Surgeon Dyer was present and remarked that " this is not the end of it." He took off' his shoulder straps, repaired to General MePherson's head-quarters and said, " General, I have come to tender my services to carry a musket in the ranks. The medical director, who was pre- sent said, " If Dr. Dyer wishes to volunteer I shall be very glad to assign him to duty, as I need his services very much." The Dr. accepted, and was assigned to duty, and remained six weeks, when an order for his reinstalment was received, which was as widely published as the order of dismissal. We mention this incident as one of the many growing out of the turbulent times of the war. Had it not been for the doctor's determination and pluek, not to suffer the ignominy of a dishonorable discharge, when he was guilty of no erime, misdemeanor, or semblance of it, perhaps the order would have remained in force and he for ever disgraced, but he staid upon the ground until his vindication came and was given as much publicity as his discharge. One of the highest compliments paid to the intelligence and integrity of Dr. Dyer was the fact, that he was called upon to write the his- tory of the command to which he was attached, for the use and information of the state of Illinois. At the close of the war, congress passed a bill granting him full pay and allow- ance for the six weeks he was nominally out of the service. He returned to Du Quoin after the close of the war, and re- sumed his practice, in which he yet continues. On the 2d of Sept., 1875, he was appointed examining surgeon for pensions in the district. Dr. Dyer married Miss Laura A. Purdy, of Vermont, by which union there were two sons and four daughters. In religious faith he is a Presbyterian. His eldest brother was a clergyman in the M. E. church, while his younger brother, Rev. H. Dyer, of New York, is one of the most distinguished Episcopalian ministers in that church, having been in 1845 elected president of the uni- versity of western Pennsylvania, and in May, 1869, elected hi- shop of Kansas. Politically Dr. Dyer is a Republican. He is a member of the Southern Illinois Medical Association, and others, that have for their object the mutual improvement and advancement of its members, and at different times has been president of that body.
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