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 85
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 85
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 85
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In 1861 he was a candidate for the position of Judge of this Circuit, and also in 1863, but both times was de- feated, the last time by only twenty-seven votes. His com- petitor on that occasion was Judge Mulky, now one of the Supreme Justices of the State. He has held the office of Master in Chancery twice,-the first time, while he was cir- cuit clerk, and the other after he was in the practice. His practice accumulated to such a degree that he was unable to give it the attention it required, and therefore resigned. Mr. Hammack has been married three times. The first time to Miss Cordelia M. Edwards, April 7th, 1851. She died May 14th, 1872, leaving three children, named Elizabeth Jane, who is the wife of Benjamin Wood, now a resident of Choctaw Nation, in the Indian Territory ; William, and Charles Lewis, who are residents of Pinckneyville. On the 9th of October, 1876, Mr. Hammack married Miss Emma J. Bull. She died Nov. 25, 1877, leaving no living issue. He married his present wife December 7th, 1879. She was Mrs. Maria Jane Guthrie, nee Rigg, a native of Chester county, Pennsylvania, and daughter of Alexander and Han- nah (Maitland) Rigg. His wife is a member of the Presby- terian Church. Politically, Mr. Hammack was originally a democrat, but was opposed to slavery. In 1856, during the Kansas-Nebraska troubles, he leaned to the anti-slavery party, and voted for W. H. Bissell for governor ; and the whig ticket for Bell and Everett in 1860; and for Abraham Lincoln in 1864; and voted for all subsequent Presidents up to 1880, when he became a convert to the principles and theories of the Greenback party and voted their ticket. He is an outspoken and avowed prohibitionist, and believes that the licensing of saloons is an offense against good morals, religion, and against the best interests of society.
HISTORY OF RANDOLPH, MONROE AND PERRY COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.
353
Ovan. B. Rusking
THE Rushing family are the descendants of English and Welsh ancestry. The paternal grandfather, Joseph Rush- ing, was born in Ason county, North Carolina. In 1811 he moved to Bedford county, Tennessee, and there died. He married Martha Deason. Both lie buried at the Enos Meeting House burying ground in Bedford county, Tenn. There were four sons and cight daughters by that union. Five of the children are yet living. Of the sons was Joel, father of Evan B., born in Ason county, N. C., Dec. 26, 1799. He grew to manhood in Tennessee, and married in 1820, and in 1833 came to and stopped for a short time in Washington county. The same year he purchased the S. W. quarter of the S. E. quarter of section thirteen and the N. W. quarter of the N. E. quarter of section twenty-four in T. 4, R. 4, W. of 3d P. M. in Perry county, improved it, and there made his home until his death, which occurred 45
July 10, 1878. He was quite active and prominent in life, and was one of the county commissioners under whose diree- tion was built the old part of the present court-house. He became a member of the Baptist church in 1860. He was an exemplary and good citizen. In 1820, while a resident of Tennessee, he married Susauna Haile of the same state. She died Aug. 7, 1843. He afterwards married Sabra Tack- ett. She died, leaving no children living. He subsequently married Martha Y. Wells, who yet survives him. By the latter marriage there is one son, named Robert C. Rushing, clerk in the banking house of Murphey, Wall & Co
By the union of Joel and Susanah (Haile) Rushing, there were eight children, whose names are Joseph A., who died in his fourteenth year, John W., Evan B., Enoch D., Amanda, wife of Rev. John C. Wilson, Joel P., Thomas S. and Martha Ann. The latter died in infancy. Evan B.,
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HISTORY OF RANDOLPH, MONROE AND PERRY COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.
the subject of this sketch, was born in Bedford county, Tenn., June 17, 1827. He was raised on the farm, and re- ceived his education in the common schools of Perry county, which was farther improved by teaching and self culture. In 1856 he was elected circuit clerk of Perry county, re- elected in 1860, and served two terms. The position of clerk made him acquainted with many of the forms of law and a knowledge of the practice, and by reading the standard text-books during his leisure time while he was circuit clerk, he fitted himself to enter the profession of law. He passed a creditable and successful examination, and was admitted to the bar in July, 1868. He commenced the practice in Pinckneyville. He chose the chancery and real estate busi- ness, and has given that practice the most of his attention since his admission. In 1868 he was appointed master in chancery by Hon. M. C. Crawford, Judge of this judicial circuit, and was re-appointed at different times by Judges Watts, Snyder and Wall, and has held the office with but slight interregnum ever since. Politically, Mr. Rushing has been a life-long democrat and a staunch believer in Democratic principles. In the local government of Pinck- neyville, he has served the people as President of the Board of Trustees for three terms, and has been a member of the board before and since. He was one of the original founders and promoters of the Perry County Agricultural Society in 1856, and has been prominently identified and connected with it since that date. It can truthfully be said of Mr. Rushing, that he is eminently a business man, and conducts his business, whether it be of a public or private nature, upon plain business principles, which, in the end, always assures and brings success.
On the 20th of March, 1849, he was united in marriage to Miss Letitia, daughter of Reuben and Elizabeth (Jones) Kelley, natives of Bedford county, Tenn. She was born in Perry county, Ills., Feb. 6, 1833, and died Sept. 28, 1864. By that union there were four children, three of whom are living. Their names in the order of their birth are Susanna E., wife of Thomas S. Campbell, Mary A, wife of Frank M. Roe, Edna L., who died Sept. 15, 1861, and Richard J. Rushing, who married Miss Lizzie Rohe of Pinckneyville. On the 3d of Sept., 1878, Mr. Rushing married Mrs. Mar- garet M., widow of James J. Hoye, and daughter of W. C. Murphey. an old and distinguished settler of Perry county. Mrs. Rushing was born in Perry county. She has one child by her former marriage, named Kate Hoye. Mr. Rushing is a member of the A. F. and A. M order, and belongs to Mitchell Lodge, No. 85, and Du Quoin Chapter, No. 44.
CAPT. R. Q. THOMPSON.
THE subject of the following sketch was born in Lawrence county, Pennsylvania, Aug. 31st, 1836. His father James G. Thompson was a native of the same State. He came west in 1859 and settled in Du Quoin, Perry county, Illinois, and remained in the county until his death, which occurred Nov 16, 1879. He was a carpenter and cabinetmaker, and
followed the trade for the greater portion of his life. He married Miss Polly Hunter, who was born and raised in Lawrence county, Pa., and there died in 1857. By that union there were four sons and the same number of daughters. Robert Q. is the eldest of the family. He received a fair English education in the common schools of his native county. When old enough he worked at the trade of car- pentering and cabinet-making, and subsequently followed the business of operating and running stationary engines He came to the west in 1857, and remained a citizen of Perry county until the breaking out of the late war, when, with characteristic patriotism and devotion to his country, in the hour of its peril, enlisted for the term of three years, the date of which was August 1st, 1861. He became a member of Co. G of the 12th Regt. Ills. Vols. Ezekiel and William were also members of the same company. The former veteranized and remained in the service until the close of the war. The 12th Regt. was enlisted for the three months' service, but soon after re-enlisted for three years. On the 31st of Dec., 1863, while the regiment was stationed at Pulaski in Tennessee, Mr. Thompson veteranized with his company, and remained in the service until the close of the war, and was mustered out at Louisville, Ky., July 4, 1865, and finally discharged at Springfield, Ills., July 11, 1865, having been in the service a few days lacking four years. The 12th Ills. was when first in the service a part of Gen. Prentiss' division. When the army was organized into corps it became part of the 16th army corps, under the command of Gen. Dodge. In the Atlanta Campaign it was part of the 15th army corps, under command of Gen. John A. Logan, and remained with that corps all through the succeeding campaigns, including Sherman's memorable march to the sea- Capt. Thompson passed from a private to sergeancy in his company, and then to a second lieutenancy. When the regi- ment veteranized he was elected captain of the company, and from that time had command of the company until mustered out of the service. His commission as first lieutenant, dates April 11, 1865, and his commission as captain, June 12, 1865. He was wounded on the 22d of July, 1864, at the siege of Atlanta, the ball passing through his left shoulder. He came home and remained there until convalescent, when he rejoined his command which was then at Rome, Georgia, and continued with it until mustered out in date above-named. After the close of the war he came to Pinckneyville and en- gaged in the cabinet making and furniture business, and still remains in the same trade. On the 1st January, 1873, he was appointed postmaster of Pinckneyville, and has been continued in that position to the present. On the 7th Sept., 1865, he was united in marriage to Miss Mary Jane, daughter of Josiah and Isabel Foster Swafford, of Franklin county, Ills By that union there were four children, one of whom is living, a son named James J. Both Mr. and Mrs. Thomp- son are members of the M. E. Church. He is a member of I. O. O. F. Politically he comes from an old whig family, who, after the disbandment of that party joined the Republi- can organization. Capt. Thompson cast his first presidential vote for A. Lincoln, and from that time to the present has not swerved in his allegiance to the party of his first choice.
HISTORY OF RANDOLPH, MONROF AND PERRY COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.
355
O
9714110
A.S. Roz
THE Roe family are of Welsh descent. Daniel Roe, the grandfather of the present family was born at Oyster Bay, Long Island, New York, in 1780. His parents were na- tives of Wales, and emigrated to America some time prior to the Revolutionary war. Daniel Roe adopted the ministry as his calling, and was a disciple and believer in the religious tenets as expounded hy Swedenborg, preaching that doc- trine for many years at Cincinnati, but finally abandoned it and became a convert to orthodoxy. While yet in his boyhood his parents removed to Mason county, Kentucky, and he there remained until 1802, when he went to Ohio and settled at Lebanon. He afterwards removed to Cincin- nati, where he engaged in the practice of law, and thence to Dayton, of which city he laid out a portion while it was in its infancy. He died there in 1842, at the age of sixty- three years.
His son, Thomas S., the father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Cincinnati on the - day of -, 1818. The family soon after removed to Dayton, and there Thomas S. grew to manhood, adopted medicine as his pro- fession, and graduated at the Louisville Medical college, in 1841. He commenced practice in Ohio, and there con-
tinned until 1843, when he removed to Illinois, and stopped at Shawneetown. The next year he moved to Mt. Vernon, and one year later to Nashville, in Washington county, and there remained until the fall of 1849, when he removed to Chester, in Randolph county, and finally on February 14th, 1857, came to Pinckneyville, where he died on October 12th, 1873. He married Miss Anna Maria Boyer (daughter of Jacob and Catherine Boyer, who were a family of Pennsyl- vania Germans from Lancaster county, Pa.), on March 30, 1841. She died March 10, 1871. By that union there were three sons who reached years of maturity : Robert C., who was a member of Co. G, 12th Ill. Inft., and was killed at the battle of Fort Donelson on Feb. 14, 1862; Frank M. the youngest. now deputy circuit clerk, and Charles H., the eldest, the subject of this sketch, who was born at Dayton, Ohio, Feb. 24, 1842. He was educated in the common schools of Chester and Pinckneyville. Before he attained his majority the war of 1861 broke ont, and on the 24th day of July, 1861, he enlisted for three years' service in Co. G, 12th Ill. Inft., and remained with the company until June, 1864, when he was detailed for special duty in the regi- mental adjntant's office, and there remained until he was
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HISTORY OF RANDOLPH, MONROE AND PERRY COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.
detailed as clerk at post head-quarters, at Coriuth, Miss. He was successively detailed clerk to Brigade adjutant's office, Brigade quartermaster's office and finally to Division quartermaster's office of the 4th Division 15th Army Corps, where he remained until the expiration of his service, and then accepted an appointment as chief clerk in that office until the close of the war, and practically remained in the army until July, 1865, when he returned to Pinckneyville, and in November, 1865, entered the circuit clerk's office as deputy, and so remained until August 10, 1867, when the death of J. M. Brown, the clerk, occurred. On the 12th of August Mr Roe was appointed clerk by Judge M. C. Craw- ford, and in November was elected to fill out the unexpired term. In 1868, by reason of his ability and attention to duties, he was renominated by the Republican party, and at the general election following was re-elected ; he has since been successively re-elected in the years 1872, 1876 and 1880, and at the expiration of the present term will have been clerk of said court for seventeen successive years. Such a record of continued confidence in his integrity and ability any one may be proud of. As an official he is quick, prompt and industrious, looking carefully after the details of the office, and keeping the records in a clear, business-like style. In his intercourse with the public he is attentive and accommodating, and at all times ready to furnish information, and in such a cheerful manner as to win him many friends and make him, almost a necessity in the office, to which much of his popularity is due. In 1867 he began abstracting the titles of the lands of Perry county, completing the same in 1×1, and which he has always kept open to public inspection free of charge. In politics he is a staunch Republican, his first vote being cast for Lincoln for President, since which time he has been a consistent member of that political organization. On the 16th day of September, 1866, he was united in marriage to Harriet V. Jones, youngest daughter of Humphrey B. and Harriet (Dobbyns) Jones. Her parents were natives of Virginia and Kentucky, and moved to Illinois in the year 1821, where he engaged in the practice of medicine; he moved to Pinckneyville in 1827. Mr. Jones during his life filled many offices of honor and trust in Perry county. He held the offices of circuit and county clerk and probate judge when the county was first organized, and for a number of years afterwards. In fact, for a long time he held all the offices of the county except that of sheriff,- including that of postmaster at Pinckneyville. In 1840 he commenced- the practice of law, and from that time until his death was the leading lawyer of the county ; he was a member of the constitutional convention of Illinois in the year 1848. He was a man of strict probity of charac- ter, honorable to a fault, and possessed of the kindliest feelings toward all. Few men of his day had finer business qualifications, and for years he was regarded as the encyclo- pædia of knowledge pertaining to the records and business of said county. He died November 25, 1855.
The connections of Mr. Roe seem to have been singu- larly fortunate in being selected to official positions. Himself and father-in-law circuit clerk of said county, and his
younger brother, his deputy, married the youngest daughter of Evan B. Rushing, who was for eight years circuit clerk of said county. The terms of the three represent forty-one years of the said office. In addition, the uncle of Mr. Roe, Col. E. R. Roe, was for four years circuit clerk of McLean county, and afterwards U S. Marshal for the southern district of Illinois. Two uncles of Mr. Roe also occupied official posi- tious in Ohio, one as county auditor at Dayton, Ohio, and one as county inspector of the same place. Mr. Roe and Mr. Rushing have been for three elections pitted against each other as representing the strength of the opposing parties, and at each election exerted the strength and ac- tivity of their friends to the utmost.
There have been boru to Charles H. and Harriet V. Roe eight children, seven of whom are now living, to wit : Fannie Gertrude, Jeunie Jones, Harriet Maria, Robert Boyer, Charles Henry, Thomas Hamilton and John De Witt.
Mr. and Mrs. Roe are both members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
The parentage of Humphrey B. Jones was as follows: William Jones, born April 24, 1772, of Welsh parentage, and Humphrey B. Jones was born January 13, 1799.
HON. JOHN W. PYATT.
THE Pyatt family, of which the subject of this sketch is a member, are the descendants of a Quaker family who came to America with Williamu Penn, founded Philadelphia and settled Pennsylvania. There the family lived for sev- eral generations. Ebenezer Pyatt, the grandfather of John W., was born in Philadelphia, in 1755. During the Revo- lutionary war he espoused the cause of the patriots and en- listed in the army under Washington, and remained in the service four years. A grateful country in after years acknowledged his services and he became a revolutionary pensioner. After the war he married Rebecca Milburn, of Loudon county, Virginia, and soon after moved to Southern Ohio, at which place a few settlements had been made. From there he went to Tennessee, then to Kentucky and in 1814, came to the Territory of Illinois and settled in what. is now known as Jackson county, and there lived until his death, which took place January 20, 1835. There were seven children by his marriage with Rebecca Milburn, one of whom was Samuel Pyatt, father of the present family. He was born in Southern Ohio, April 16, 1793. He came to Illinois in 1814, and settled in Jackson county, and remained a resident of that county until April, 1829, when he removed to Perry county at a point southwest from where the town of Du Quoin now stands. There he rented land, farmed it, and during the winter months taught school. About two years later he moved to sec. 8, twp. 6, R. 2, to land that he had entered, and there remained until his death, which occurred September 21, 1875. Iu 1817, he married Miss Mary, daughter of John Phelps, a native of Kentucky, but a resident of Williamson county at the time of her marriage. She died January 4, 1846. He sub- sequently married Mrs. Cyrena Marlin, who still survives
356A
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FARM RESIDENCE OF I.J. PYATT SEC. 13, T.6, R.3, (PINCKNEYVILLE PRECINCT) PERRY CO. ILL .
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HISTORY OF RANDOLPH, MONROE AND PERRY COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.
ber husband and at present lives in Jasper county, Mis- souri. By the union of Samuel and Mary (Phelps) Pyatt there were nine children, one of whom died in infaney, and another, a daughter, died at the age of fourteen. Seven of the children grew to maturity, and six are yet living. James M. one of the sons, enlisted at the breaking out of the Mexican war, in Co. K, 2nd Regt., and while en route to the seat of war was accidentally shot while the command to which he was attached was passing through Texas, and near the renowned Alamo, made famous and historical in the annals of Texas when that State threw off the yoke of Mexico. He died three months after at San Antonia, from the effects of his wound. John W. l'yatt, the subject of this sketch, was born in Jackson county, Illinois, June 22, 1820. He was raised upon the farm, and received a limited education in the subscription schools of Jackson and Perry counties. His education has been that of self-culture, and was derived more from general reading and habits of close observation than from schools.
He remained at home until the Mexican war, when he en- listed for one year's service in Co. K of the 2nd Illinois Regt. commanded by Col. Bissell, afterward Governor of the State. After his brother received his accidental wound he was detailed to take care of him, and during the next three months nursed him until death relieved him of his charge. In the meantime the army had passed on to the seat of war and had fought the battle of Buena Vista. So arduous was Mr. Pyatt's duties in taking care of his brother, and being unaccustomed to the climate and water, his own health gave way, and from that time to the present, he has been an invalid. At the expiration of his term of service he returned home, and in 1849 was solicited to run for Sheriff. Ile consented and was elected. In 1853 he was elected County Clerk, and re-elected in 1857, and held that position until 1861. On July 2, 1859, he married Mrs. Lydia E Burnell nec Andrews. She was a native of New York. In 1864, he moved on to a farm and farmed until the death of his wife, which sad event occurred May 6, 1878. Since that time he has practically made his home with his brother. Politically Mr. Pyatt was originally a Henry Clay Whig, and in 1844, east his first vote for "Gallant Harry of the West." After the disbandment of the Whig party he joined the Repub- lican ranks, and voted for Abraham Lincoln. From that time to the present has been devoted to the principles of that political organization.
In 1872, his worth and standing as a citizen, was honor- ably recognized by being elected to represent the 48th Dis- trict in the General Assembly of the State. While a mem- ber of that body he earned the reputation of being a careful and prudent member, and one who carefully guarded the rights of his immediate constituents and voted for measures that were in the interest of the whole State. In 1875, he was elected one of the County Commissioners, re-elected in 1878, and again elected in 1881, and is now serving his third term in that body. We simply mention these facts in the history of Mr. l'yatt, as it seems to show in what esti- mation he is held by the people in whose midst he has lived for over fifty years. He succeeded to the confidence of the
citizens of Perry county over thirty years ago, and from that time to the present has not forfeited it, but rather has grown in their esteem and good will. This a record of which any man may be proud. In his manner Judge Pyatt is a plain, unassuming man, making no pretensions to be other than what he is-a quiet and unobtrusive gentleman.
CAPTAIN M. C. EDWARDS.
THE Edwards family are descendants of English ancestors, but for many generations have been residents of this country. Calvin Edwards, the grandfather, was a native of Vermont, born in 1786. He removed to Ohio in 1814, and in 1818 came to Illinois and settled at Shawneetown, and there remained until 1835, when he came to Perry county, and died here December 2, 1861. He was a farmer by occupa- tion. He married Fanny Cook, who was born in 1780 in Connecticut. She survived her husband, and died in the spring of 1876 at the advanced age of ninety-six years. Of that union was William Edwards, the father of Mortimer C. He was born in Athens, Vermont, February 14, 1805. He was a mere lad when the family moved to Ohio, and in his boy hood, when they came to Illinois. He grew up to manhood in Shawneetown, and remained there until 1830, when he came to Pinckneyville, and here he and his brother engaged in mercantile business, in which he continued until September, 1843, when he commenced the practice of law, which he continued until his death, which occurred April 10, 1854.
On the 24th of May, 1832, he was united in marriage to Miss Juliet M., daughter of Samnel and Elizabeth (Jenkins) Brown. Mrs. Edwards was born in Abington, Washington county, Virginia, in 1813. She was a resident of Shawnee- town, Illinois, at the time of her marriage. She still sur- vives her husband, and is a resident of Pinckneyville. By the union of Mr and Mrs. Edwards there were eight chil- dren, six of whom reached maturity, and three of whom are now living. Their names in the order of their birth are Cordelia, who was the wife of Lewis Hammack. She died, leaving three children. Gilbert H. was the second son. He enlisted during the late war in Company A, of the Eighteenth Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and died at Cairo, Illinois, in August, 1861, from disease contracted while in the line of his duty. Eliza was the wife of C C. Irwin. She died, leaving two children. Row- ena was the wife of J. D. Hamilton. They are both residents of Geneva, Nebraska. W. W. is the youngest living. He is a practicing attorney of Pinckneyville. Mortimer C., the subject of this sketch, was born in Pinckneyville, March 14, 1838. He was educated in the common schools of his native town, which was supplemented by two years tuition in Masonic College, located at Lexington, Missouri. He then entered the office of Lewis Hammack and commenced the study of law, and after reading the standard text books and making snitable progress was upon examination in open court admitted to the bar. The date of his admission was in the fall of 1860. The war of the rebellion breaking out soon afterward he assisted in raising a company for the service. Upon its organization Mr. Edwards was elected
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