USA > Illinois > Kane County > Commemorative portrait and biographical record of Kane and Kendall Counties, Ill. : containing full page portraits and biographicalsketches of prominent and representative citizens of Kane and Kendall Counties, together with portraits and biographies of the presidents of the United States > Part 13
USA > Illinois > Kendall County > Commemorative portrait and biographical record of Kane and Kendall Counties, Ill. : containing full page portraits and biographicalsketches of prominent and representative citizens of Kane and Kendall Counties, together with portraits and biographies of the presidents of the United States > Part 13
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 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108
From 1839 on, while he diligently pursued his profession, he participated more or less in local politics. In 1843 he became Probate Judge. In 1847 he was elected to the State Constitutional Con- vention, where he took a leading part. In 1852 he was elected to the State Senate, and at the special session of February, 1854, true to the anti-slavery sentiments bred in him, he took a firm stand in op- position to the repeal of the Missouri Compromise; and when the Nebraska question became a party issue he refused to receive a re-nomination for the Senatorship at the hands of the Democracy, issuing a circular to that effect. A few weeks afterward,
168
JOHN MC AULEY PALMER.
however, hesitating to break with his party, he par- ticipated in a Congressional Convention which ·nomi- T. L. Harris against Richard Yates, and which unqualifiedly approved the principles of the Kansas- Nebraska act. But later in the campaign he made the plunge, ran for the Senate as an Anti-Nebraska Democrat, and was elected. The following winter he put in nomination for the 'United States Senate Mr. Trumbull, and was one of the five steadfast men who voted for him until all the Whigs came to their support and elected their man.
In 1856 he was Chairman of the Republican State Convention at Bloomington. He ran for Congress in 1859, but was defeated. In 1860 he was Republican Presidential Elector for the State at large. In 1861 he was appointed one of the five Delegates (all Re- publicans) sent by Illinois to the peace congress at Washington.
When the civil conflict broke out, he offered his services to his country, and was elected Colonel of the 14th Ill. Vol. Inf., and participated in the engagements at Island No. 10; at Farmington, where he skillfully extricated his command from a dangerous position ; at Stone River, where his division for several hours, Dec. 31, 1862, held the advance and stood like a rock, and for his gallantry there he was made Major General; at Chickamauga, where his and Van Cleve's divisions for two hours maintained their position when they were cut off by overpowering numbers. Under Gen. Sherman, he was assigned to the 14th Army Corps and participated in the Atlanta campaign. At Peach-Tree Creek his prudence did much to avert disaster. In February, 1865, Gen. Palmer was as- signed to the military administration of Kentucky, which was a delicate post. That State was about half rebel and half Union, and those of the latter element were daily fretted by the loss of their slaves. He, who had been bred to the rules of common law, trembled at the contemplation of his extraordinary power over the persons and property of his fellow men, with which he was vested in his capacity as military Governor; and he exhibited great caution in the execution of the duties of his post.
Gen. Palmer was nominated for Governor of Illi- nois by the Republican State Convention which met at Peoria May 6, 1868, and his nomination would probably have been made by acclamation had he not persistently declared that he could not accept a can-
didature for the office. The result of the ensuing election gave Mr. Palmer a majority of 44,707 over John R. Eden, the Democratic nominee.
On the meeting of the Legislature in January, 1869, the first thing to arrest public attention was that portion of the Governor's message which took . broad State's rights ground. This and some minor points, which were more in keeping with the Demo- cratic sentiment, constituted the entering wedge for the criticisms and reproofs he afterward received from the Republican party, and ultimately resulted in his entire aleniation from the latter element. The Legislature just referred to was noted for the intro- duction of numerous bills in the interest of private parties, which were embarrassing to the Governor. Among the public acts passed was that which limited railroad charges for passenger travel to a maximum of three cents per mile; and it was passed over the Governor's veto. Also, they passed, over his veto, the "tax-grabbing law " to pay railroad subscriptions, the Chicago Lake Front bill, etc. The new State · Constitution of 1870, far superior to the old, was a peaceful " revolution" which took place during Gov. Paliner's term of office. The suffering caused by the great Chicago Fire of October, 1871, was greatly alleviated by the prompt responses of his excellency.
Since the expiration of Gov. Palmers's term, he has been somewhat prominent in Illinois politics, and has been talked of by many, especially in the Dem- ocratic party, as the best man in the State for a United States Senator. His business during life has been that of the law. Few excel him in an accurate appreciation of the depth and scope of its principles. The great number of his able veto messages abun- dantly testify not only this but also a rare capacity to point them out. He is a logical and cogent reasoner and an interesting, forcible and convincing speaker, though not fluent or ornate. Without brilliancy, his dealings are rather with facts and ideas than with appeals to passions and prejudices. He is a patriot and a statesman of very high order. Physically he is above the medium height, of robust frame, ruddy complexion and sanguine-nervous temperament. He has a large cranial development, is vivacious, social in disposition, easy of approach, unostentatious in his habits of life, democratic in his habits and manners and is a true American in his fundamental principles of statesmanship.
John& Beverilgs
0
-
17 1
GOVERNORS OF ILLINOIS.
John L. Beveridge.
OHN LOWRIE BEVER- IDGE, Governor 1873-6, was born in the town of Green- wich, Washington Co., N. Y., July 6, 1824. His parents were George and Ann Bever- idge. His father's parents, An- drew and Isabel Beveridge, be- fore their marriage emigrated from Scotland just before the Revolutionary War, settling in Washington County. His father was the eldest of eight brothers, the youngest of whom was 60 years of age when the first one of the num- ber died. His mother's parents, James and Agnes Hoy, emigrated from Scotland at the close of the Revolutionary War, settling also in Washington Co., N. Y., with their first-born, whose " native land " was the wild ocean. His parents and grandparents lived beyond the time allotted to man, their average age being over 80 years. They belonged to the " Asso- ciate Church," a seceding Presbyterian body of
America from the old Scotch school; and so rigid was the training of young Beveridge that he never heard a sermon from any other minister except that of his own denomination until he was in his 19th year. Later in life he became a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, which relation he still holds.
Mr. Beveridge received a good common-school ed- ucation, but his parents, who could obtain a livelihood only by rigid economy and industry, could not send him away to college. He was raised upon a farm, and was in his 18th year when the family removed to De Kalb County, this State, when that section was very sparsely settled. Chicago had less than 7,000 inhabitants. In this wild West he continued as a farm laborer, teaching school during the winter months to supply the means of an education. In the fall of 1842 he attended one term at the academy at Granville, Putnam Co., Ill., and subsequently several terms at the Rock River Seminary at Mount Morris, Ogle Co., Ill., completing the academic course. At this time, the fall of 1845, his parents and brothers were anxious to have him go to college, even though he had not money sufficient; but, not willing to bur- den the family, he packed his trunk and with only $40 in money started South to seek his fortune,
172
JOHN L. BEVERIDGE.
Poor, alone, without friends and influence, he thus entered upon the battle of life.
First, he taught school in Wilson, Overton and Jackson Cos., Tenn., in which experience he under- went considerable mental drill, both in book studies and in the ways of the world. He read law and was admitted to the Bar, in the South, but did not learn to love the institution of slavery, although he ad- mired many features of Southern character. In De- cember, 1847, he returned North, and Jan. 20, 1848, he married Miss Helen M. Judson, in the old Clark- Street M. E. church in Chicago, her father at that time being Pastor of the society there. In the spring of 1848 he returned with his wife to Tennessee, where his two children, Alla May and Philo Judson, were born.
In the fall of 1849, through the mismanagement of an associate, he lost what little he had accumu- lated and was left in debt. He soon managed to earn means to pay his debts, returned to De Kalb Co., Ill., and entered upon the practice of his pro- fession at Sycamore, the county seat. On arrival from the South he had but one-quarter of a dollar in money, and scanty clothing and bedding for himself and family. He borrowed a little money, practiced law, worked in public offices, kept books for some of the business men of the town, and some railroad en- gineering, till the spring of 1854, when he removed to Evanston, 12 miles north of Chicago, a place then but recently laid out, under the supervision of the Northwestern University, a Methodist institution. Of the latter his father-in-law was then financial agent and business manager. Here Mr. Beveridge prospered, and the next year (1855) opened a law office in Chicago, where he found the battle some- what hard; but he persevered with encouragement and increasing success.
Aug. 12, 1861, his law partner, Gen. John F. Farnsworth, secured authority to raise a regiment of cavalry, and authorized Mr. Beveridge to raise a company for it. He succeeded in a few days in rais- ing the company, of course enlisting himself along with it. The regiment rendezvoused at St. Charles, Ill., was mustered in Sept. 18, and on its organiza- tion Mr. B. was elected Second Major. It was at- tached, Oct. 11, to the Eighth Cavalry and to the Army of the Potomac. He served with the regiment until November, 1863, participating in some 40 bat-
tles and skirmishes : was at Fair Oaks, the seven days' fight around Richmond, Fredericksburg, Chancellors- ville and Gettysburg. He commanded the regiment the greater part of the summer of 1863, and it was while lying in camp this year that he originated the policy of encouraging recruits as well as the fighting capac- ity of the soldiery, by the wholesale furlough system. It worked so well that many other officers adopted it. In the fall of this year he recruited another com- pany, against heavy odds, in January, 1864, was commissioned Colonel of the 17th Ill. Cav., and skirmished around in Missouri, concluding with the reception of the surrender of Gen. Kirby Smith's army in Arkansas. In 1865 he commanded various sub-districts in the Southwest. He was mustered out Feb. 6, 1866, safe from the casualties of war and a stouter man than when he first enlisted. His men idolized him.
He then returned to Chicago, to practice law, with no library and no clientage, and no political experi- ence except to help others into office. In the fall of 1866 he was elected Sheriff of Cook County, serving one term; next, until November, 1870, he practiced law and closed up the unfinished business of his office. He was then elected State Senator; in No- vember, 187 1, he was elected Congressman at large ; in November, 1872, he was elected Lieutenant Gov- ernor on the ticket with Gov. Oglesby ; the latter be- ing elected to the U. S. Senate, Mr. Beveridge became Governor, Jan. 21, 1873. Thus, inside of a few weeks, he was Congressman at large, Lieutenant Governor and Governor. The principal events oc- curring during Gov. Beveridge's administration were: The completion of the revision of the statutes, begun in 1869; the partial success of the " farmers' move- ment ;" "Haines' Legislature " and Illinois' exhibit at the Centennial.
Since the close of his gubernatorial term ex-Gov. Beveridge has been a member of the firm of Bever- idge & Dewey, bankers and dealers in commercial paper at 71 .Dearborn Street (McCormick Block), Chicago, and since November, 1881, he has also been Assistant United States Treasurer : office in the Government Building. His residence is still at Ev- anston.
He has a brother and two sisters yet residing in De Kalb County-James H. Beveridge, Mrs. Jennet Henry and Mrs. Isabel French,
hubullour
175
GOVERNORS OF ILLINOIS.
SHELBY M. CULLOM.
HELBY M. CULLOM, Gover- nor 1877-83, is the sixth child of the late Richard N. Cullom, and was born Nov. 22, 1829, in Wayne Co., Ky., where his fa- ther then resided, and whence both the Illinois and Tennessee branches of the family originated. In the following year the family emi- grated to the vicinity of Washington, Tazewell Co., Ill., when that section was very sparsely settled. They lo- cated on Deer Creek, in a grove at the time occupied by a party of In- dians, attracted there by the superior hunting and fishing afforded in that vicinity. The following winter was known as the "hard winter," the snow [being very deep and lasting and the weather severely cold; and the family had to subsist mainly on boiled corn or hominy, and some wild game, for several weeks. In the course of time Mr. R. N. Cullom became a prom- inent citizen and was several times elected to the Legislature, both before and after the removal of the capital from Vandalia to Springfield. He died about 1873.
Until about 19 years of age young Cullom grew up to agricultural pursuits, attending school as he had opportunity during the winter. Within this time, however, he spent several months teaching school,
and in the following summer he " broke prairie " with an ox team for the neighbors. With the money ob- tained by these various ventures, he undertook a course of study at the Rock River Seminary, a Methodist institution at Mt. Morris, Ogle County; but the sudden change to the in-door life of a stu- dent told severely upon his health, and he was taken home, being considered in a hopeless condition. While at Mt. Morris he heard Hon. E. B. Washburne make his first speech.
On recovering health, Mr. Cullom concluded to study law, under the instruction of Abraham Lincoln, at Springfield, who had by this time attained some notoriety as an able lawyer; but the latter, being ab- sent from his office most of the time, advised Mr. Cullom to enter the office of Stuart & Edwards. After about a year of study there, however, his health failed again, and he was obliged to return once more to out-door life. Accordingly he bought hogs for packing, for A. G. Tyng, in Peoria, and while he re- gained his health he gained in purse, netting $400 in a few weeks. Having been admitted to the Bar, he went to Springfield, where he was soon elected City Attorney, on the Anti-Nebraska ticket.
In 1856 he ran on the Fillmore ticket as a Presi- dential Elector, and, although failing to be elected as such, he was at the same time elected a Representa- tive in the Legislature from Sangamon County, by a local coalition of the American and Republican par- ties. On the organization of the House, he received the vote of the Fillmore men for Speaker, Practicing
176
SHELBY M. CULLOM.
law until 1860, he was again elected to the Legisla- ture, as a Republican, while the county went Demo- cratic on the Presidential ticket. In January follow- ing he was elected Speaker, probably the youngest man who had ever presided over an Illinois Legis- lature. After the session of 1861, he was a candidate for the State Constitutional Convention called for that year, but was defeated, and thus escaped the disgrace of being connected with that abortive party scheme to revolutionize the State Government. In 1862 he was a candidate for the State Senate, but was defeated. The same year, however, he was ap- pointed by President Lincoln on a Government Commission, in company with Gov. Boutwell of Massachusetts and Charles A. Dana, since of the New York Sun, to investigate the affairs of the Quartermaster's and Commissary Departments at Cairo. He devoted several months to this duty.
In 1864 he entered upon a larger political field, being nominated as the Republican candidate for Congress from the Eighth (Springfield) District, in opposition to the incumbent, John T. Stuart, who had been elected in 1862 by about 1,500 majority over Leonard Swett, then of Bloomington, now of Chicago. The result was the election of Mr. Cullom in Novem- ber following by a majority of 1,785. In 1866 he was re-elected to Congress, over Dr. E. S. Fowler, by the magnificent majority of 4,103! In 1868 he was again a candidate, defeating the Hon. B. S. Edwards, another of his old preceptors, by 2,884 votes.
During his first term in Congress he served on the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Expenditures in the Treasury Department; in his second term, on the Committees on Foreign Affairs and on Territories ; and in his third term he succeeded Mr. Ashley, of Ohio, to the Chairmanship of the latter. He intro- duced a bill in the House, to aid in the execution of law in Utah, which caused more consternation among the Mormons than any measure had previously, but which, though it passed the House, failed to pass the Senate.
The Republican Convention which met May 25, 1876, nominated Mr. Cullom for Governor, while the other contestant was Gov. Beveridge. For Lieuten- ant-Governor they nominated Andrew Shuman, editor of the Chicago Journal. For the same offices the Democrats, combining with the Anti-Monopolists, placed in nomination Lewis Steward, a wealthy
farmer and manufacturer, and A. A. Glenn. The result of the election was rather close, Mr. Cullom obtaining only 6,800 majority. He was inaugurated Jan. 8, 1877.
Great depression prevailed in financial circles at this time, as a consequence of the heavy failures of 1873 and afterward, the effect of which had seemed to gather force from that time to the end of Gov. Cullom's first administration. This unspeculative period was not calculated to call forth any new issues, but the Governor's energies were at one time put to task to quell a spirit of insubordination that had been begun in Pittsburg, Pa., among the laboring classes, and transferred to Illinois at Chicago, East St. Louis and Braidwood, at which places laboring men for a short time refused to work or allow others to work. These disturbances were soon quelled and the wheels of industry again set in motion.
In May, 1880, Gov. Cullom was re-nominated by the Republicans, against Lyman Trumbull, by the Democrats; and although the former party was some- what handicapped in the campaign by a zealous faction opposed to Grant for President and to Grant men for office generally, Mr. Cullom was re-elected by about 314,565, to 277,532 for the Democratic State ticket. The Greenback vote at the same time was about 27,000. Both Houses of the Legislature again became Republican, and no representative of the Greenback or Socialist parties were elected. Gov. Cullom was inaugurated Jan. 10, 1881. In his mes- sage he announced that the last dollar 'of the State debt had been provided for.
March 4, 1883, the term of David Davis as United States Senator from Illinois expired, and Gov. Cul- lom was chosen to succeed him. This promoted Lieutenant-Governor John M. Hamilton to the Gov- ernorship. Senator Cullom's term in the United States Senate will expire March 4, 1889.
As a practitioner oflaw Mr. C. has been a member of the firm of Cullom, Scholes & Mather, at Spring- field; and he has also been President of the State National Bank.
He has been married twice,-the first time Dec. 12, 1855, to Miss Hannah Fisher, by whom he had two daughters; and the second time May 5, 1863, to Julia Fisher. Mrs. C is a member of the Method- ist Episcopal Church, with which religious body Mr. C. is also in sympathy.
179
GOVERNORS OF ILLINOIS.
John M. Hamilton.
OHN MARSHALL HAMIL- TON, Governor 1883-5, was born May 28, 1847, in a log house upon a farm about two miles from Richwood, Union County, Ohio. His father was Samuel Hamilton, the eldest son of Rev. Wm. Hamilton, who, to- gether with his brother, the Rev. Samuel Hamilton, was among the early pioneer Methodist preachers in Ohio. The mother of the subject of this sketch was, before her marriage, Mrs. Nancy McMorris, who was born and raised in Fauquier or Lou- doun County, Va., and related to the two large families of Youngs and Marshalls, well known in that commonwealth; and from the latter family name was derived the middle name of Gov. Hamilton.
In March, 1854, Mr. Hamilton's father sold out his little pioneer forest home in Union County, O., and, loading his few household effects and family (of six children) into two emigrant covered wagons, moved to Roberts Township, Marshall Co., Ill., being 21 days on the route. Swamps, unbridged streams and innumerable hardships and privations met them on their way. Their new home had been previously selected by the father. Here, after many long years of toil, they succeeded in paying for the land and making a comfortable home. John was, of course,
brought up to hard manual labor, with no schooling except three or four months in the year at a common country school. However, he evinced a capacity and taste for a high order of self-education, by studying or reading what books he could borrow, as the family had but very few in the house. Much of his study he prosecuted by the light of a log fire in the old-fashioned chimney place. The financial panic of 1857 caused the family to come near losing their home, to pay debts; but the father and two sons, William and John, "buckled to" and perse- vered in hard labor and economy until they redeemed their place from the mortgage.
When the tremendous excitement of the political campaign of 1860 reached the neighborhood of Rob- erts Township, young Hamilton, who had been brought up in the doctrine of anti-slavery, took a zeal- ous part in favor of Lincoln's election. Making special efforts to procure a little money to buy a uniform, he joined a company of Lincoln Wide-Awakes at Mag- nolia, a village not far away. Directly after the ensuing election it became evident that trouble would ensue with the South, and this Wide-Awake company, like many others throughout the country, kept up its organization and transformed itself into a military company. During the ensuing summer they met often for drill and became proficient; but when they offered themselves for the war, young Hamilton was rejected on account of his youth, he being then but 14 years of age. During the winter of 1 863-4 he attended an academy at Henry, Marshall County,
180
JOHN MARSHALL HAMILTON.
and in the following May he again enlisted, for the fourth time, when he was placed in the 14Ist Ill. Vol. Inf., a regiment then being raised at Elgin, Ill., for the roo-day service. He took with him 13 other lads from his neighborhood, for enlistment in the service. This regiment operated in Southwestern Kentucky, for about five months, under Gen. Paine.
The following winter, 1864-5, Mr. Hamilton taught school, and during the two college years 1865-7, he went through three years of the curriculum of the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, Ohio. The third year he graduated, the fourth in a class of 46, in the classical department. In due time he received the degree of M. A. For a few months he was the Principal of Marshall " College " at Henry, an acad- emy under the auspices of the M. E. Church. By this time he had commenced the study of law, and after earning some money as a temporary Professor of Latin at the Illinois Wesleyan University at Bloomington, he entered the law office of Weldon, Tipton & Benjamin, of that city. Each member of this firm has since been distinguished as a Judge. Admitted to the Bar in May, 1870, Mr. Hamilton was given an interest in the same firm, Tipton hav- ing been elected Judge. In October following he formed a partnership with J. H. Rowell, at that time Prosecuting Attorney. Their business was then small, but they increased it to very large proportions, practicing in all grades of courts, including even the U. S. Supreme Court, and this partnership continued unbroken until Feb. 6, 1883, when Mr. Hamilton Was sworn in as Executive of Illinois. On the 4th of March following Mr. Rowell took his seat in Con- gress.
In July, 1871, Mr. Hamilton married Miss Helen M. Williams, the daughter of Prof. Wm. G. Williams, Professor of Greek in the Ohio Wesleyan University. Mr. and Mrs. H. have two daughters and one son.
In 1876 Mr. Hamilton was nominated by the Re- publicans for the State Senate, over other and older competitors. He took an active part "on the stump " in the campaign, for the success of his party, and was elected by a majority of 1,640 over his Democratic- Greenback opponent. In the Senate he served on the Committees on Judiciary, Revenue, State Insti- tutions, Appropriations, Education, and on Miscel- lany; and during the contest for the election of a U. S. Senator, the Republicans endeavoring to re-
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.