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 51
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 51
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Incorporation .- Sullivan was first incorporated under the general law as a village, in the winter of 1850. The records were burned with the court-house, and we were unable to collect all of the de- sired information. John A Frceland, John Perryman and J. W. Ross were three of the first trustees elected. Charles White was the first constable. The last trustees were T. M. Bushfield, Presi- dent ; W. B. Kilner, Peter Cofer, Milton Tichenor, J. H. Wag- goner and J. H. Shockcy ; E. Hall, clerk.
In the winter of 1872 the place was incorporated as a city, hav- ing a mayor and council. Those first elected were-Victor Thompson, Mayor ; James R. Duncan, S. Brightman, A. A. Fred- rick, W. Kirkwood, B. S. Jennings, William Thuneman, aldermen ; Edwin Hall, clerk; A. B. Lce, city attorney ; C. L. Roane, treasurer; Washington Linder, city marshal, and T. M Bushfield, strcet commissioner. Present officers are-William Kirkwood, Mayor ; J. H. Waggoner, W. P. Corbin, Dr. T. Y. Lewis, Jamcs R. Duncan, C. N. Snyder, B. S. Jennings, aldermen ; S. M. Smy- ser, city attorney ; E. Hall, Clerk; Dock Patterson, city marshal ;
C. L. Roane, treasurer. From the beginning Sullivan has had a steady and healthy growth, and with present prospects of new enterprises it is destined to become a city of no mean pretensions, not far in the distant future. The blocks and streets are laid out square with the compass. The streets are wide, well shaded, and have good sidewalks. Situated in the centre of the original plat is the court-house and square, around which cluster the principal business houses of the city. Sullivan, located as it is, in the heart of a rich and populous country, with good stores and excellent railroad facilities, commands the trade for many miles around. As a shipping point there are but few places of its size in central Illi- nois that surpass it.
Press .- The papers now published here are the Sullivan Progress and The Sullivan Journal, both examples of typographical neat- ness.
Sullivan Woolen Mill .- This factory was erected by Patterson, Jennings & Co. in the fall of 1867, and began operations the fol- lowing year. It is a brick structure three stories high, with engine- room and dye-house attached. The machinery is what is techni- cally known as a " one set mill "-40 inch cards-with spinning jack, looms, etc., and has the capacity of manufacturing into fabric 100 pounds of wool per day. It is now owned by Patterson & Jennings, and is under the personal supervision of B. S. Jennings.
Steam Flouring Mills .- The city boasts of two good flouring mills, one owned and operated by S. H. Morrell, the other by D. S. Lowe. The former is a frame structure, and was built by Gar- land & Patterson in 1852, and purchased by Mr. Morrell in the spring of 1859. It has two run of burrs, one for wheat and one for corn. The latter mill is a three-story brick, and was built by Patterson, Snyder & McClelland in 1866. It has three run of burrs, two wheat and one corn, and does considerable business in the way of foreign shipments.
Elevator .- This building is situated in the western part of the city, near the intersection of the railroads. It was built in 1873 under the auspices of the Sullivan Grain Co. It is a two-story frame building, with a capacity of storing 10,000 bushels of grain, and can shell and load five cars of corn per day. It is owned and operated by D. F. Bristow.
Plow Manufactory .- This was established by F. P. Hoke in 1877. It is run by steam and manufactures from three to four hundred plows a ycar.
Titus Opera House .- Was constructed by J. B. Titus in 1871, at a cost of upwards of $30,000, and is fashioned after Heley's, of Chicago, as it was before the fire. It has a parquet and gallery, nicely frescoed ceiling, a full set of scenery, side boxes, etc. The whole building is lighted with gas, and has all the conveniences usually found in cities. The house is far ahead of the town, and speaks in tones of unmistakable language of the public spirit of its author, J. B. Titus.
Maple House .- This is a neat, cozy, two-story frame building, owned and conducted by E. L. Shepherd.
Bank .- The first banking business done in Sullivan was by James Elder, in 1868, which he continued until his death, 1870. Other firms came into existence, but passed out of sight. The only banking house in the town at this writing is the Merchants' and Farmers' Bank, conducted by Wm. Elder, son of James Elder.
Physicians .- T. Y. Lewis ; A L. Kellar; S. W. Lucas; A. W. Williams ; E. L. Hardin ; B. B. Everitt; B. H. Porter ; J. A. Dunlap ; A. T. Marshall ; J. W. Cokenower ; A. W. Leffingwell.
184
HISTORY OF SHELBY AND MOULTRIE COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.
BUSINESS HOUSES, TRADE OF 1881.
Carriage and Wagon Manufactories .- H. W. Bury ; D. L. Pifer ; J. M. Cummins.
· Dry Goods, Clothing, etc -T. P. Mathews & Co .; A. E. Antrim; C. L. Roane.
Dry Goods, Notions, etc .- Geo. Mayer; E C. Drew.
Clothing and Gents' Furnishing Goods .- M. Ansbacher.
Boots and Shoes .- A. Wyman; M. Layman; Carl Stanke; Palmer.
Hardware, Stoves, and Agricultural Implements .- J. W. Elder ; Geo. P. Chapman.
Agricultural Implements, Organs, etc .- T. J. Hill.
Groceries, Queensware, etc .- Spitler & Son; Co-operative Store, J. H. Dunscomb, agent; M. McDonald ; J. R. McClure; Bolin & Miller ; B. W. Brockway.
Books and Stationery .- Lilly & Co .; A. Miley.
Furniture, Carpets, etc .- W. P. Corbin.
Drug Stores .-- Welch & Livers ; J. L. Reed & Co.
Jewelry .- H. J. Pike.
Bakery und Confectioneries .- Scott Bros .; R. M. Miller; L. Lee; J. Birchfield.
Merchant Tailor .- G. O. Andrews.
Blacksmith Shops .- Crow & Ham; Wm. Seaney ; F. P. & W. Hoke; J. M. Cummins; H. W. Bury.
Millinery .- Mrs. M. A. Rickets.
Harness Stores .- James Dedinan ; Wm. Thunemann.
Dentists .- S. Trowbridge ; J. C. Brooks.
Livery Stables .- P. B. Gillham ; A. F. Robinson.
Insurance Agent‹ .- Samuel E. Smyser; W. T. J. Rose; G. W. Pain.
Photograph Galleries .- A. S. Creech ; R. T. Ring.
Stock Dealers and Shippers .- Bland & Thomason.
Abstractor of Titles .- J. H. Waggoner & Co.
Carpenters' Shops .- J. N. & G. M. Williams, Rogers & Williams, Taylor & Fletcher, L. T. Haggerman, Geo. Hoke, W. F. Bush- man.
Murble Yards .- J. G. Baker, Tichenor & Leffingwell, F. Sona. Florist .- W. F. Bushman.
Butcher Shops .- J. N. Jones, Donglas & Guun, B. F. Seutel.
Sewing Machine Agents .- E. J. Gillham, Stricklin & Hill, G. O. Andrews.
Churches .- Methodist Episcopal, Christian, Cumberland Presby- terian.
Grain Dealers .- T. M. Bushfield, E. Anderson, Kirkwood & Gil- bert, G. W. Pain.
Barbers .- Riley Norton, George Robinson.
Eureka Paint Shop -Kellar & Duncan.
Lumber Merchants. - M. McDonald, Raymond.
SECRET SOCIETIES .*
Sullivan Chapter, No. 128, R. A. M., was chartered October 9th, 1868, with the following membership: J. B. Titus, H. P .; W. B. Kilner, K .; J. H. Waggoner, James Earp, T. M. Bushfield, S W. Wright, T. Y. Lewis, E. L. Shepherd, Lee Yarbrough, Benjamin Freeman, and H. H. Atchison. The present officers are, J. H. Waggoner, H. P .; J. H. Dunscomb, K .; S. W. Wright, S .; M. Tichenor, Secretary ; M. Ansbacher, Treasurer ; Peter Cofer, C. of H .; W. B. Townsend, P. S .; W. H. Shinn, R. A. C .; Geo. Mayer,
M. 3d V. ; T. M. Bushfield, M.2d V .; F. E. Ashworth, M. 1st V .; Samuel Peters, T.
Templestowe Commandery, No. 46, Knights Templar, granted a dispensation November 11th, 1874, and chartered October 26th, 1875, with the following officers: Geo. E. Millan, E. C .; W. B. Kilner, G .; J. R. Duncan, C. G .; D. F. Stearns, P .; Jno. H. Dunscomb, Treasurer ; D. G. Lindsay, R .; S. W. Wright, S. W .; W. B. Townsend, J. W .; M. Tichenor, S. B .; E. L. Morrell, Sword B .; Peter Cofer, W .; J. W. Pearce, C. of G. Present offi- cers, J. H. Dunscomb, E. C .; A. K. Campbell, G .; J. R. Duncan, C. G .; D. E. Stearns, P .; J. W. Pursell, S. W .; Peter Cofer, J. W .; S. W. Wright, Treasurer; J. K. Muncie, R. ; M. Tichenor, S. B .; A. M. Green, Sword B .; F. E. Ashworth, W. ; Robt. Cunning- ham, C. of G. Full membership twenty one.
Moultrie Lodge, No. 158, I. O. O. F., was organized Angust 23d, 1854. The first officers were-J. R. Eden, N. G .; Wmn. A. Clem- ents, V. G. ; D. D. Randolph, Secretary ; J. B. Wright, Treasurer. The present officers are-M C. Pinckly, N. G .; J. A. Stricklin, V. G .; W. C. Gilbert, R Secretary ; P. B. Gillham, P. S .; W. F. Bushman, Treasurer; R. P. McPheters, Rep. to Grand Lodge. The present membership 43.
Okaw Lodge, No. 623, K. of H., was organized May 16tlı, 1877, with twelve charter members. The first officers were-C. L. Roane, P. D .; J. H. Waggoner, D .; B. W. Brockway, V. D .; M. Mc- Donald, A. D .; J. H. Dunscomb, C .; A. E. D. Scott, G .; S. M. Smyser, R .; W. W. Peckham, F. R .; W. C. Gilbert, Treasurer ; D. F. Bristow, I. G .. George Dawson, O. S. Present officers :- J. H Dunscomb, P. D ; J. C. Stanley, D .; W. W. Eden, V. D .; A. F. Robinson, A. D .; W. C. Gilbert, R. B .; W. Brockway, F. R .; D. F. Bristow, T .; Geo. P. Chapman, Guide; J. H. Waggoner, Chapman, A. E. ; D Scott, G. M. Ausbacher, S. Present member- ship 14.
Anchor Lodge, No 105, Knights and Ladies of Honor, was organized December 9th, 1878, with twenty charter members. First officers :- Mrs. Laura E. Waggoner, P. ; Mrs. Theresa Ausbacher, V. P .; A. C. Mouser, Secretary ; B. W. Brockway, F. C .; Mrs. Elizabeth A. Robinson, Treasurer ; A. E. D. Scott, C .; George P. Chapman, G .; W. W. Peckham, G .; W. W. Eden, S .; X. B. Trower, P. P. Present officers :-- Mrs. Theresa Ausbacher, P .; E. M. Robinson, V. P., B. W. Brockway, F. S .; Geo. P. Chapman, Secretary ; L. B. Eden, C .; A. F. Robinson, Guide ; M. Ausbach- er, G .; W. W. Eden, S .; Mrs. A. L. Peckham, Treasurer.
Sullivan Lodge, No. 42, I. O. G. T., was organized May 3d, 1877, with sixty-eight charter members. First officers were Dr. J. C. Brooks, W. C. T .; Christina Freeland, W. V. T .; Dr. A. L. Kel- lar, W. C .; T. B. Rhodes, W. R Secretary ; C. B. Lewis, W. A. S .; A. Vaughan, W. F. S .; J. H. Waggoner, W. Treasurer ; John Williams, W. M .; Alice Freeland, W. D. M ; Addie E. Kellar, W. I. G .; John Stricklin, W. O. G .; Lanra E. Waggoner, W. L. H. S .; J. E. Kellar, W. R H. S .; O. Snyder, P. W. C. T .; Dr. T. Y. Lewis, L. D. Present officers-B. F. G Hagerman, W. C. T. ; Jennie Hunt, W. V. T .; Reuben Lynn, W. C .; S. G. Crevis- ton, W. R. S. ; Anna Everett, W. A. S .; J. Clark Hall, W. T. S .; A. J. Beveridge, W. T .; Samnel Raymond, W. M .; Sarah Dills- aver, W, D. M ; Nellie Compton, W. I. G .; Samuel B. Hall, W. O G .; Mrs. Kate William, W. L. H. S. ; Mrs. Mollie Eviston, W. L H. S .; W. E. Blackmer, P. W. C. T .; T. B. Stringfield, L. D. There is at present a membership of seventy, and the organi- zation is in splendid working order, with an average attendance of abont fifty.
* We are indebted to the secretaries of the various Lodges for information in reference to the same.
185
HISTORY OF SHELBY AND MOULTRIE COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.
Alma Council, No. 3, Royal Templars of Temperance, received its charter February 19, 1879, with fifteen members. The first officers were: J. D. Spitler, S. C .; I. J. Mouser, V. C .; J. C. Brooks, P. C .; E. S. Wamsley, Chap. ; B. F. Stocks, R. S. and F. S .; N. O. Smyser, H .; Mrs. Cora Mouser, D H .; Mrs. Lottie Brooks, G .; Peter Cofer, Sent .; Dr. A. L. Kellar, M. E. Present officers are J. D. Spitler, S. C .; A. L. Kellar, V. C .; J. C. Brooks, P. C .; A. C. Mouser, C .; T. B Stringfield, R. S. ; A. P. Greene, F. S .; E. E. Fleming, H. ; Mrs. Emma Stringfield, D. H. ; Mrs. Kate Williams, Guard ; Peter Cofer, S. ; Dr. A. L. Kellar, M. E. There is at present a membership of thirty-threc, and the lodge is in good standing.
Cushman, is a small village post-office and station on the Chicago division of the W. S. F. L. and P. R. R, situated on the N. E. } of the S E. } of Section 15-14-5. It was surveyed and platted by Abraham Jones, county surveyor, for William Hoggatt, the original proprietor, July 30, 1872. The first building was a store- house, erected by Mr. Hoggatt soon after it was laid out. There is one general store kept by J. H. Dunscomb, a blacksmith shop operated by Z. Taylor, and Kirkwood & Gilbert, dealers in grain, which constitute the business. There are about a half dozen houses in the place. It has a good store trade, and large quantities of grain are annually shipped from this place.
Hampton Station, is situated on the line of the P. D. & E. R. R., on Section thirty of 14-5. H. E. Hampton conducts a general store, and is post-master of Dunn post-office, located at this point.
The census of 1880, gives Sullivan township a population of 3,692.
MOULTRIE COUNTY BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. *
In the spring of 1857, the citizens of Moultrie county began dis- cussing the propriety of organizing an agricultural society in the county, and an organization was effected the year following.
Arrangements were made, however, for holding a fair in the fall of 1857, iu an opeu piece of ground half a mile south-east of Sulli- van, and it was a grand success for the county. This fair, though not held under a regular organization, was denominated the first fair of Moultrie county.
About the middle of April, 1858, notice was given for a meeting of citizens of the county, to be held at Sullivan, May 1, 1858, by E. E. Waggoner, then editor of the Sullivan Express-now of the Shelby county Democrat-for the purpose of effecting a permanent organization. The meeting was held and organized by the election of David Patterson, chairman, and E. E. Waggoner, secretary. Articles of preliminary organization were drawn up at this meeting and signed by a number of the prominent citizens, among whom were B. W. Henry, Sr., B. W. Henry, Jr., J. H. Waggoner, E. E. Waggoner, David Patterson, J. H. Snyder, J. W. R. Morgan. Samuel M. Smyser, D. D. Randolph, A. B. Lee, Elihu Welton, John Roney, John Rhodes. A. M. Braun, Elijah Bridwell, M. Kliver, J. R. Eden, J. E. Eden, J. A. Freeland, J. W. R. Morgan, A. B. Lee and B. W. Henry, Sr., were then appointed a committee to draft a constitution and by-laws for the association.
A meeting was again held May 15th, 1858, when the committee on constitution and by-laws made their report, and a permanent or-
ganization was effected by adopting the report, and electing as per- manent officers for the society : J. W. B. Morgan, President ; David Patterson, Vice President ; E. E. Waggoner, Secretary ; Elijalı Bridwell, Treasurer ; Johu Rhodes, John Roney, M. Kliver, A. M. Braun and Samuel M. Smyser, Directors. The name given to the organization was-" The Moultrie County Agricultural Society," and the object stated to be for the promotion of Agriculture, Horti- culture, and the Mechanical arts. The first fair ground was located near where the first fair was held, south-east of Sullivan, and was used as such until the year 1872, when it was moved and located north-west of Sullivan, one-half mile, where the fairs of the county have been held ever since. The building on the old ground con- .sisted of one liall, 18x36 feet, with about 100 stalls for stock, be- sides pens for hogs and sheep. The new ground has two halls ; one the same as the old one, and the other of an oblong shape, about 40 feet long and twenty feet in the centre, other out buildings, and about 176 stalls for horses, cattle and inules, and pens sufficient for other stock. A splendid amphitheatre stands near the halls, with Judges' stand, and exhibition stand in front of it. A half- mile tract, one of the best in the state, is located in the grounds.
While the citizens of the county took a deep interest in the first fair, the exhibitions of stock were far inferior to the present exhibi- tions, which are the outgrowth of well-conducted county fairs. At present, the exhibition of cattle, hogs and sheep are almost entirely of a thoroughbred class, whereas, in the first ones, none but com- mon and graded stock were shown. The improvement in the horses of the present, are not so marked as that of the other stock. The fairs of the county have been heretofore managed on a pro rata system, but an effort is being made, and it is thought will succeed, to organize the society on a permanent joint-stock basis.
The present officers of the association are :- O. A. Sargent, Pres- ident ; J. T. Howell and John Dawson, Vice President ; P. B. Gill- ham; Treasurer ; Geo. W. Vaughan, Secretary ; Directors,-T. H. Crowder, S. P. Lilly, Jamcs Bence, C. C. Bergs, R. E. Nazworthy, Reuben Adkins, and William Kirkwood. Among those most prominent in the perpetuation of the society, are T. H. Crowder, J. E. Eden, J. H. Snyder, O. A. Sargeant, John T Howell, John Dawson, Wm. Kirkwood, C. C. Berks, Dock Patterson, A. N. Smy- ser, Jo. B. Taylor, S. P. Lilly, Elihu Welton, Col. Morgan, G. W. Vaughan, and others.
The organization retained its first name until the year 1872, when it was changed to its present name to conform to a law passed by the Legislature of the state, approved April 17th, 1871, entitled,- " An Act to create a Department of Agriculture in the State of Illi- nois ; " which act requires that the state board should provide for the organization of the county boards of agriculture, in order that they might be recognized by law as legal organizations, and be en- titled to the appropriations, made by the state, for the benefit and encouragement of Agriculture in the state.
The present fair grounds consist of 40 acres of ground, and al- though in the prairie, will soon be shaded by trecs set out since the location. The fairs of the county have been like all other busi- nesses, to some extent : sometimes very successful, and at others almost a failure ; but, through the untiring energy of a few men of the county, Moultrie is now second to but few counties, in the cen- tral portion of the state, in the display of stock of all kinds-much of which is owned in the county -agricultural, horticultural, floral, mechanical, kitcheu, and dairy products.
* For this data we are indebted to G. W. Vaughan, Sec.
24
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
JOHN R. EDEN, for four terms one of the Illinois representatives in Congress, is a native of Bath county, Kentucky, and was born on the first day of February, 1826. His great grandfather was an Englishinan, who emigrated to this country and settled in Mary- land. His father, John Eden, was born in the city of Baltimore, and was five or six years of age at the time of the removal of the family to Kentucky. John Eden was raised in Kentucky, and married Catharine Cann, who was a native of the same state, but whose father was a Virginian. Mr. Eden's grandparents, both on his father's and mother's side, were among the early settlers of Ken- tucky, making their home in the state soon after the opening of the present century. The subject of this sketch was the third of a fa- mily of six children. In the year 1831, when he was five years old, the family moved to Rush county, Indiana. Four years later the father died, leaving his family in somewhat limited circumstances. Mr. Eden's boyhood days were spent in Rush county, a rough fron-
tier portion of Indiana, possessing only the commonest educational facilities. As was the custom with the boys of that period, he went to school in the winter, and worked on the farm during the summer. He made the best use he could of his opportunities, and at the age of eighteen, secured a position as teacher of a school in the same neighborhood where his early years were spent. He afterward taught school several winters.
Having resolved on the practice of the law in the spring of 1850, he became a student of Bigger & Logan at Rushville, Indiana, and industriously applied himself to his legal studies. After reading law two years at Rushville, he came to Illinois in the spring of 1852, and settled at Shelbyville with a view of establishing himself in practice at that point. He was admitted to the bar in May, 1852. He opened an office and was meeting with success in secur- ing business, when the unfavorable condition of his health occasioned his removal in August, 1853, to Sullivan, of which place his brother
186
187
HISTORY OF SHELBY AND MOULTRIE COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.
had become a resident. At that time Sullivan was a place of small size and importance. There was only one other lawyer beside him- self in Moultrie county, and he was fortunate in getting an excel- lent start. He secured the good will and friendship of some of the elder and prominent members of the bar in the neighboring coun- ties, and at their suggestion in 1856, became a candidate for the position of prosecuting attorney for the seventeenthi judicial district, which then comprised the nine counties of Macon, Piatt, Moultrie, Shelby, Effingham, Fayette, Bond, Christian aud Montgomery. Previous to this event his acquaintance had been confined mostly to the counties of Moultrie and Shelby. His four years' service as prosecuting attorney brought him in contact with the people of the different counties composing the district, while the position was one which, of necessity, was of great value in developing his talents as a lawyer. In the trial of important criminal cases he was fre- quently opposed by such able lawyers as Linder, Thornton, Moul- ton and Ficklin, who tested his abilities to the utmost.
In his politics he had always been a Democrat, and in 1860, re- ceived the Democratic nomination for representative in the legis- lature. The district was strongly Republican, and he was defeated by a few votes. In 1862, the Democracy of the seventh congres- sional district, comprising the couuties of Iroquois, Ford, Vermil- lion, Champaign, Piatt, Macon, Moultrie, Douglas, Edgar, Coles and Cumberland, made him their candidate for representative in Congress. These counties in 1860, had given a Republican major- ity of about sixteen hundred, but Mr. Eden was elected with four- teen hundred votes to spare, and in March, 1863, took his seat in the thirty-eighth Cougress. The war of the rebellion was then in progress. The Democratic members of Congress formed only a small minority. He was placed on the Committees on Accounts and Revolutionary Pensions. He supported the measures necessary for the suppression of the war of the rebellion. In 1864, he was re-nominated by the Democrats without opposition, but a Re- publican was returned from the district. He then gave his whole attention to his law practice, till 1868, when he was made the De- mocratic candidate for governor against Palmer. He thoroughly canvassed the state, making speeches in almost every county, but was, of course, defeated with the balance of the ticket. In June, 1872, though he made no efforts to obtain the nomination, nor was present at the convention, he received the Democratic nomination for representative in Congress in the present fifteenth district. He was elected, and in 1874, and again in 1876, was re-elected. His services in the house are well known to the people of the district he represented. In the Forty-Fourth and Forty-Fifth Congresses, he took a particularly active part in the general business of the house, and the vigor of his opposition to all kinds of subsidies, and the various schemes for the depletion of the treasury attracted general attention. During the last four years of his service he was chair- man of the Committee on War Claims. This position threw on him a vast amount of labor, the numerous claims which came be- fore the committee requiring the closest scrutiny. He was a mem- ber of the special committee appointed by the house of representa- tives to investigate the presidential election of 1876, in South Ca- rolina, and with other members of the committee visited that state.
Since the expiration of his term as member of the congress, he has been engaged in the practice of the law in Sullivan and in farming. During the years 1870 and 1871, he was a resident of Decatur. His marriage took place on the seventh of August, 1856, to Roxana Meeker, daughter of Ambrose Meeker. He has five children living. He has always taken an active part in politics, and in every impor- tant political campaign since 1856, has been a ready and earnest
advocate of the principles of the Democratic party. In his election to important positions he has been honored, but in every instance has justified the confidence placed in his ability and integrity. He has passed through his years of public service without the smell of corruption ou his garments and whether a private citizen or in public life has always been the same honest, plain and unpretending man of the people.
JUDGE J. MEEKER,
WHO has been since 1877 judge of the Moultrie county court, is a native of Delaware county, Ohio, and was born on the 25th of July, 1831. His father, Ambrose Meeker, was born near Orange, New Jersey. He was a descendant of a family which had settled at an early date in Connecticut, and removed from there to New Jersey. About the year 1821 he emigrated to Ohio, making the whole journey on foot. At Newark, Ohio, in 1824, he married Hannah Hartwell, who was born at Plymouth, Mass, through her mother she was connected with the Ripleys, one of the early New England families. Jonathan Meeker, the subject of this sketch, was the third of a family of four children. Two died on reaching the age of eighteen, and two,-Judge Meeker aud his sister, Mrs. John R. Eden,-are now living. His father was a blacksmith by trade, and carried on that business for many years, which he finally quit to engage in farming. When Judge Meeker was about a year old the family left Delaware county, and afterward lived at Aetna, Ohio, and at Marysville, in Union county, where he was principally raised. In the fall of 1846 the family moved from Ohio to Illi- nois. Que year was spent in Hancock county, and then in the fall of 1847 they went to Clark county, where the winter was spent with Judge Meeker's uncle, Enoch Meeker, and then in February, 1847, they became residents of Sullivan. On the 30th of March, 1848, a short time after their arrival, his mother died. He had attended school but little in Ohio. After coming to Sullivan he attended the high school two or three winters, and secured a more thorough education. He learned the blacksmith trade with his father, at which he worked till twenty-four or twenty-five years of age.
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