USA > Illinois > Shelby County > Combined history of Shelby and Moultrie Counties, Illinois : with illustrations descriptive of their scenery and biographical sketches of some of their prominent men and pioneers > Part 45
USA > Illinois > Moultrie County > Combined history of Shelby and Moultrie Counties, Illinois : with illustrations descriptive of their scenery and biographical sketches of some of their prominent men and pioneers > Part 45
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 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95
HISTORY OF SHELBY AND MOULTRIE COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.
159
N-G
LW, Wouldlow
THE subject of this biographical sketch was born in Hamilton, Mass., in 1823. He received his education in the public schools and academies of his native town. Before he was twenty years of age he left Massachusetts and followed the stream of emigration to the great west, which was just then being developed and rapidly settling up. He spent one year in Kentucky, teaching school, and at the same time read the text-books upon law. In the latter part of 1843 he went down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, and spent some time in Mississippi, engaged in teaching school. While a resident of that state he cast his first presidential vote for James K. Polk in the city of Yazoo. In the fall of 1845 he came to Illinois, and spent a year or two in the northern part of Coles county. In 1847 he was admitted to the bar. From Coles county he removed to Sullivan, county seat of Moultrie, where he commenced the practice of the law, and remained there until the winter of 1850, when he removed to Shelbyville, Shelby county, where he has remained ever since. During all the years since he has been a resi- dent of Shelby county, and has been actively engaged in the prac- tice of his profession in this and adjoining counties, and in the Fe- deral and Supreme Courts. He has been retained in all, or nearly all, of the cases of great importance in this section of the state. He has been very successful, and his practice correspondingly lucra- tive. He is still in active business and vigorous health. His erect and elastic form shows no sign of decay, while his mental vigor and activity keep pace with the physical, and mark him as a man in the full prime of manhood and mental power.
A man of Mr. Moulton's ability and aggressiveness could not be long in a community without making his presence felt. It was not long until he was tendered and accepted responsible and honorable
.
positions. In 1853 he was elected a member of the legislature, and was continued and returned for three successive terms. In the legislature of 1853 ex-Governor John Reynolds was speaker of the house. While a member of the legislature, Mr. Moulton was ap- pointed chairman of the Committee on Education. He framed and introduced the first original free-school bill, establishing free-schools in the state. The bill became a law, and from time to time the law has been improved, and now the great State of Illinois has one of the most perfect systems of free-schools in the Union. He may be justly regarded as the father and projector of the free-school system of the state.
While all his other public acts may be forgotten, and time efface them from the memory of inan, yet this one will live and be an enduring monument erected in the hearts and memories of the poor youth of this state, who will kindly remember him as opening up the fountains of knowledge and making education accessible to the poor and rich alike.
Mr. Moulton, during his term in the legislature, supported the bill for the establishment of the Normal University at Blooming- ton, and very much is due to his exertion for the passage and suc- cess of the measure. He was one of the original trustees of the State Board of Education, and for sixteen years successively was the president of the board, devoting much of his time and expend- ing a vast amount of labor in the interest of the institution. That the University has become a grand success and has exerted a very marked influence upon the educational interests of the state is well known to all.
Mr. Moulton was always a democrat in politics, and since becom- ing a voter has taken an active part in political matters. In 1856
160
HISTORY OF SHELBY AND MOULTRIE COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.
he was a presidential elector on the democratic ticket, and voted for James Buchanan for President of the United States. In the spring of 1861 he was a Douglas democrat, and espoused the cause of the Union against the sccession movement and rebellion of the south. He never hesitated a moment as to his course and duty in the premises, and in the very beginning of the secession of the states, took strong grounds in favor of coercion and the preservation of the Union. During the rebellion he became identified with the republican party, and supported Abraham Lincoln for his second term, and Gen. Grant for his first term. He abandoned the Repub- lican party in 1872, and has since been fully identified and in full communion with the democratic party.
In 1864 Mr. Moulton was elected to Congress from the state at large over his able competitor, the Hon. James C. Allen, by a very large majority.
While a member of the Thirty-ninth Congress, Mr. Moulton was. a member of the Committees on Territories and Expenditures of the Navy. He also took an active part in most of the measures before the Thirty-ninth Congress. In 1880 he was elected a mem- ber to the Forty-seventh Congress from the Fifteenth Congressional District, by the democratic party, over the combined opposition of the republican and national greenback parties, by a majority of about three thousand. He will take his seat in the Forty-seventh Congress. It is scarcely necessary to speak of Mr. Moulton's char- acteristics as a lawyer. His name has long been familiar to the bar of central Illinois and to the state. His great industry has made him thoroughly acquainted with the learning of the law, and his natural abilities and indomitable energy long since gave him a commanding position in the profession. In his public character, any position he has occupied has been filled with fidelity and ability. His personal traits of character and long residence in the county have made him many warm personal and devoted friends.
While a resident of Mississippi, in 1844, he married Miss Mary H. Affleck.
LAFAYETTE HIGGINBOTHAM.
LAFAYETTE HIGGINBOTHAM, the present sheriffof Shelby county, is a native of Kentucky. As the name indicates the family from which he is descended is of German origin. His ancestors settled in Virginia. His father, whose name was Robert Higginbotham, was born in Vir- ginia, and when a boy went to Kentucky. He was married in the latter state to Martha Wilburn, a native also of Virginia. Robert Higginbotham settled in Russell county, Kentucky, and was en- gaged in farming till his death, which occurred when the subject of this sketch was thirteen years of age. Lafayette Higginbotham was the seventh of a family of ten children. He was born on the fourth day of January, 1839. His birth-place was in the eastern part of Russell county, Kentucky. His boyhood was spent in the same locality. His opportunities for obtaining an education were much the same as those enjoyed by boys in general in Kentucky at that period. Only subscription schools were in existence, the free-school system then being unknown. He went to school to some extent during the winter season, but most of his education is of the home-made description, and has been obtained principally by his own efforts. He lived in Russell county, Kentucky, till he was twenty years of age. He then made up his mind to come to Illinois, and became a resident of Rural township, Shelby county, in 1859, and for several years was employed in farming in that part of the county. Residing there till 1863, he then determined to try his fortune in the new mining regions of Colorado. Colorado was then a new and unexplored country, and had been visited only by a few
adventurous men Its immense mineral wealth had just begun to be developed. He remained in Colorado till 1866. He was lo- cated in Summit county and was mostly engaged in mining. He made this occupation reasonably profitable and successful.
Coming back to Shelby county in 1866, he became a resident of Tower Hill, and established himself in the grocery business at that place. He carried on the grocery store for two years, and then be- gan the drug business, in which he has since been engaged. His marriage took place in November, 1867, to Louisa Middlesworth, daughter of John Middlesworth. The members of the Middles- worth family have been ainong the old and respected residents of Shelby county. Mrs. Higginbotham is a native of this county, and was born in Holland township. Five children have been the fruits of this marriage, four daughters and one son. Their names are as follows : Ida, Nellie, Edward, Bertha and Mary. Mr. Higginbotham's political record has been that of a consistent De- mocrat. Ever since he has been old enough to exercise the right of suffrage he has voted the Democratic ticket, and has lost no op- portunity to advance the interests of the Democratic party in Shel- by county. His first vote for President was cast for Stephen A. Douglas in 1860, after he became a resident of Illinois. He has been one of the active members of the party, and has always taken a warm interest in political matters. He was known as a man of many strong traits of character who possessed considerable influence in his part of the county, but up to 1880 had taken no prominent parts in the politics of the county. The Democrats of Shelby county then made him their nominee for sheriff, to which office he was elec- ted in November, 1880. It is too early at this time to speak of his administration of that important office, but his well-known honesty and integrity, his careful business habits and his willingness to oblige and accommodate leave no rcom for doubt, but that he will prove a faithful and popular public official, and make a record se- cond to none as sheriff of Shelby county. Like most sons of the good old state of Kentucky he has a genial disposition and obliging manners. As a business man he has paid close attention to his business affairs. The advantages which he possessed in early life were not greater than those that fall to the lot of most men, and he belongs to that class who have achieved success by their own merits.
DR. D. R. VAN REED
Is a native of Berks county, Pennsylvania. He was born March 25th, 1845. He was educated in the public schools and academies of his native county. In 1865 he commenced the study of Medicine in the office, and under the direction of Dr. Adam Falinestock, of Lebanon county, Pa. In the fall of 1866 he entered Jefferson Medical College, at Philadelphia, and took two full courses, and graduated from that institution, March 7th, 1868, with the degree of M. D. He immediately, thereafter, commenced the practice of his profession in Bowmansville, Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, where he continued one year, after which he returned to his native place and there remained until April, 1875, when he came west and settled in Shelbyville, and here has continued the practice to the present. Dr. VanReed belongs to the progressive order of men, and keeps pace and is fully posted upon new inventions and discoveries in the healing art. He is a member of the Alumni Association of the Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, and also of the Shelby County Medical Association. On the 5th of October, 1880, he was united in marriage to Miss Oma, daughter of Jacob Cutler, a prominent and old settler of Shelby county.
HISTORY OF SHELBY AND MOULTRIE COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.
161
1810
-8
Anthony
JUDGE ANTHONY THORNTON was born in Bourbon county, Ken- tucky, on the ninth of November, 1814. He is descended from an English family. His great-great-grandfather emigrated from Eng- land to Virginia. In Carolina county of the Old Dominion, mem- bers of the family lived for two or three generations. His father, Anthony Thornton, was born in that county, was raised there, and married Mary Towles, a native of the same county, and also con- nected with an old Virginia family. In the year 1807, Judge Thornton's father and grandfather removed from Virginia to Ken- tucky. The colony, including the members of the family and the negro servants, numbered in all ninety-nine persons. On their arrival in Kentucky, they settled in Bourbon county, where his parents resided till their death.
The early years of Judge Thornton's life were spent in his native county. He first attended the common-schools. At the age of fourteen or fifteen he was sent to a high school at Gallatin, Tell- nessee, where he remained two years. He then entered Centre College at Danville, Kentucky, and subsequently became a student in Miami University at Oxford, Ohio, from which he graduated in the fall of 1834. He studied law, at Paris, Kentucky, in the office of an uncle, John R. Thornton, and was licensed to practice by the Kentucky Court of Appeals before he was twenty-two. In October, 1836, he passed through Illinois, on his way to Missouri ; he in- tended to make his home in the latter state. Stopping at Shelby- ville, to visit some relatives, he concluded to give up his project of settling in Missouri and establish himself in the practice of the law at Shelbyville. In November, 1836, he opened an office. He was favored with success from the very start, and during the first year had as much. business as he cared to attend to in the courts of 21
Shelby and adjoining counties. In those days all the lawyers of any prominence traveled twice a year over the circuit. A com- pany of ten or fifteen generally made the round together, and their social habits commonly made the journey far from an unpleasant one. Law-books were scarce; only a few text-books were in exist- ence, and the reports were meagre in comparison with the great numbers which now crowd the shelves of every legal library. The young lawyer was in consequence compelled to thoroughly under- stand the principles of law and adapt his facts to them-a training which produced able and ready lawyers. Judge Thornton's pro- gress was rapid. He soon obtained a high standing at the bar, and was usually retained in all cases of importance. He practiced by himself till 1858. He resided at Shelbyville till November, 1879, when he became a resident of Decatur. He is now a member of the law-firm of Thornton, Eldridge & Hostetler, at Decatur.
He was a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1848, which framed the second constitution of the State of Illinois. In 1850 he was elected a member of the Sixteenth General Assembly. At that time the questions connected with the building of railroads through the state assumed great importance, and Judge Thornton, though a whig, was sent to the legislature from a democratic dis- trict, as a warm friend of the railroads, and in favor of the state grauting the lands given by the general government to build the Illinois Central Railroad to private individuals who should under- take the construction of the road, instead of the state itself. In 1862 he was elected a member of the constitutional convention which held its sessions in the winter of 1862-3. During the rebel- lion he occupied the position of a war-democrat, and in various speeches sustained the government in its efforts to break down the
162
HISTORY OF SHELBY AND MOULTRIE COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.
rebellion and preserve the Union. In the autumn of 1864 he was elected to the Thirty-ninth Congress, and took his seat in March, 1865, just as the war was being brought to a close. He was ap- pointed a member of the committee on claims, and performed much arduous labor, the committee being obliged to report on a vast number of claims presented immediately after the close of the war. He was renominated, but, though his election would have been beyond question, he declined becoming a candidate, preferring to practice his profession. He served on the supreme bench of Illinois from July, 1870, to June, 1873. During that period the supreme court had before it an immense amount of business, which required uninterrupted and laborious attention. Litigation was then at its height. The dockets were enormously large, and the position of supreme judge involved an immense amount of continuous labor. He resigned to resume his practice.
It is scarcely necessary to speak of Judge Thornton's character- istics as a lawyer, for his name has long been familiar to the bar of this state. His great industry has made him thoroughly acquainted with the learning of the law, and his natural abilities long since gave him a commanding position in his profession. A strong liking for legal work, and especially for the trial of a case in court, has made the practice of the law, to him, a pleasant and congenial occupation. He has great strength as an advocate. While on the supreme bench, he was regarded as one of its ablest members. He was first married, in 1850, to Mildred Thornton, who died in 1856. His marriage to Kate Smith, of Shelby county, occurred in 1866. He has had four children, of whom three are living.
COL. DUDLEY C. SMITH,
THE subject of the following sketch, is a native of Shelbyville, Shelby county, Illinois. He was born December 9th, 1833. His father, Addison Smith, was a native of Bethel, Vermont. He was born in 1784, and was a lawyer by profession, of liberal edu- cation, and a graduate of Burlington University, Vermont. While yet a young man he went west, and stopped at Dayton, Ohio, where he published a newspaper during the last years of the war of 1812. He removed from there to Bloomington, Indiana, where he prac- ticed his profession and hield a number of local offices. In 1832 he came to Illinois, and settled in Shelbyville, and engaged in teach_ ing school and subsequently farming and teaching. Here he re- mained until his death, which occurred in January, 1846. He mar- ried Miss Nancy F. Hicks, of Hopkinsville, Ky, in 1819, while a resident of Bloomington, Indiana. She died in Shelbyville in 1855. By this marriage there were ten children, six of whom are living. Dudley C. Smith remained at home beneath the parental roof, attending the public schools, until his eighteenth year, when he entered Jubilee College in Peoria county, Illinois, where he remained one year. On the death of J. A. Dexter, his brother-in-law, he was called home from school, and went into the store of Dexter & Roundy as clerk. One year later he entered into co-partnership in the firm of J. Roundy & Co. He remained in active business until the breaking out of the war, when he enlisted in the first call for three months volunteers. On the 25th of May, 1861, before the expiration of his term of service, he re-enlisted for three years in Co. "B" of the 14th Regiment Ill. Vols. On the organization of the company he was elected First Lieutenant. Four months later, while the regiment was at Jefferson City, Missouri, he was elected captain of Co. B., captain Hall being promoted Captain Smith participated with his command, in all the battles and skirmishes in which it was engaged, until the battle of Pittsburg Landing, when he was severely wounded in the thigh. He was brought
to St Louis, and soon after to Shelbyville, and remained at home for three months and then returned to his regiment; rejoining it near Holly Springs, remaining with the regiment until March, 1863, when his partner, Mr. Lufkin, died. He returned home on a twenty days' furlough and made arrangements, as he supposed, to have his business continued in his absence. He re- turned to his command, but his arrangements at home miscarrying, he resigned in June following and returned, took charge of his busi- ness and remained here, until the spring of 1864, when he was soli- cited to take the command of a regiment of men, recruited for the one hundred days' service, then rendezvousing at Mattoon, Illinois. He accepted the position, and his regiment was ordered to Meni- phis, where they did duty for some time, and from there ordered to Helena, Arkansas. From here, at the expiration of the term of service, the regiment returned to Mattoon, and was mustered out in October, 1864. He returned to Shelbyville, re-engaged in business, and continued until 1867, when he took a trip to Califor- nia and spent six months on the Pacific coast. In the spring of 1869, he went to Europe and spent some time. In 1871 he removed to Bloomington, Illinois, and from there to Normal, Illinois, where he still continues to reside. Politically, Colonel Smith is a Repub- lican. His first Presidential vote was cast for the Whig candidate, in 1856, but in all subsequent elections he has voted the Republican ticket.
B. P. DEARING.
AMONG the young and active business men of Shelbyville, who have made for themselves an honorable name, may be mentioned Mr. Dearing. He is a native of Maine, and was born February 21, 1848. His ancestors were among the first settlers of that state. On the paternal side, the family is of Scotch descent. They were engaged in agricultural pursuits. The subject of this sketch was raised on a farm ; he received a fair English education in the public-schools of his native state. When he was in his sixteenth year he com- menced the tailor's trade, in the town of Brunswick. In September, 1865, he came to Shelbyville, Illinois, and stopped with his brother, who had preceded him here a few months before. The latter was engaged in the merchant tailoring business, and B. P. entered his shop and continued his trade. He remained with his brother for four years, then went to Vandalia, in Fayette county, Illinois, where he was engaged for one year and a half, as cutter. After the expiration of that time, he returned to Shelbyille, and purchased the stock of goods of his brother, and commenced busi- ness for himself. He added largely to the stock, from time to time, and has continued his additions until he has now a large assortment of well-selected goods in every department of merchant-tailoring and gents' furnishing line. On the 25th of July, 1877, he was united in marriage to Miss Ada, daughter of Samuel French, an old settler and prominent citizen of Shelby county. Mrs. Dearing was born in this county. By this marriage there have been two children born to them, a son and a daughter. Both he and his wife are members of the Presbyterian Church. He is a member of the Knights of Honor, a beneficiary and insurance order. Politi- cally, he is a member of the Republican party. Mr. Dearing started his business unaided ; his only capital was his knowledge of the trade, business integrity and a determination to succeed and earn for himself a comfortable competency. That he has succeeded is due to his close attention and personal supervision of his busi- ness. He is progressive, and keeps fully posted in the different and many changes in the trade, and is always prepared to give the public the latest designs in the world of fashion. In his character as a man and citizen he is above reproach.
HISTORY OF SHELBY AND MOULTRIE COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.
163
M G
M. A Schrau
THE Cochran family may be regarded as among the pioneer families of Shelby county. On both the paternal and maternal sides they are of Irish ancestry. Several generations back they belonged to a sea-faring family ; the great-grandfather was born on board a vessel of which his father was commander. They came to America and settled in the colonies prior to the Revolutionary war. John Cochran, the grandfather of the subject of the present sketch, was born in North Carolina, and was a soldier of the Revolution. He was in the irregular service, and for the greater portion of the time under Gen. Francis Marion, and with that gallant, dashing and patriotic leader, participated in the many engagements and skirmishes he had with the British forces. He was for a short time in the regular service, and was present and took part in the battle of the Cowpens, King's Mountain, Eutaw Springs and Hanging Rock; at the latter battle he was severely wounded in the leg. After Independence was declared he removed to Kentucky and remained there until 1824, when he emigrated with his family to Illinois, and settled in Shelby county, at a point then and for many years after known as "Cochran's Grove," now Ash Grove town- ship. There the old veteran and pioneer remained until his death, which occurred in January, 1853, in the ninety-fourth year of his age. He married Martha McCaslin, who was of Irish parentage, but a native of North Carolina. By this union there were five children that reached the age of maturity and had families, viz. : John, Rachael, Jane, Martha and James Cochran. The daughters married three brothers, named, William, John and Daniel Price. The latter was a prominent man in the early history of Shelby county. He was one of the first commissioners after the county was organized; he also was captain of a company in the Black
Hawk war. The Price family removed from Kentucky to Shelby county, Illinois, in 1825. They are also among the pioneers of the county.
James Cochran, the father of William A., is the youngest of the family and the only surviving child of John and Martha Coch- ran. He was born in Caldwell county, Kentucky, April 8, 1813. When the family came to Illinois he was but eleven years of age. When he grew to manhood he married Miss Nancy Templeton. She was born in Iredell county, North Carolina ; her parents re- moved to Rutherford county, Tennessee, and settled on the place where was fought in after years the battle of Stone River. They remained there until 1825, when they came to Shelby county, Illi- nois. The marriage took place July 29, 1829. By this union there were four sons who reached the age of maturity. Their names are : William A., John J., who died in 1859, James H., and George R. Cochran. The subject of this sketch is the eldest son. He was born in Cochran's Grove, June 23d, 1831, on the farm where his father, mother and brothers still live, and where John Cochran, his grandfather, settled in 1824, more than a half-century ago. He was brought up on the farm, and attended the subscription school, where he received the rudiments of a common-school education. In the rude pioneer school-houses, built from rough unhewn logs, with dirt floors, wooden benches for seats, and greased paper for windows, he pored over Dilworth's Speller and tried to master the complex and vulgar fractions of Pike's and Smiley's arithmetic. When he had mastered their contents, and feeling the necessity of a more extensive and varied education, he went to Charleston, ini Coles county, and there entered the high school ; he continued a pupil for eighteen months, then returned home, and in 1852, in
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.