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 8

Author:
Publication date: 1888
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Beers, Leggett & Co.
Number of Pages: 1040

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 8
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 8

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).

TWENTY-FIRST PRESIDENT.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR,

coe

HESTER A. ARTHUR, twenty-first President of the United States, was born in Franklin Cour ty, Vermont, on the fifthof October, 1830, and is the oldest of a family of two sons and five daughters. His father was the Rev. Dr. William Arthur, a Baptist dergyman, who emigrated to this country from the county Antrim, Ireland, in his 18th year, and died in 1875, in Newtonville, neal Albany, after a long and successful ministry.

Young Arthur was educated at Union College, Schenectady, where he excelled in all his studies. Af- ter his graduation he taught school in Vermont for two years, and at the expiration of that time came to New York, with $500 in his pocket, and entered the office of ex-Judge E. D. Culver as student. After being admitted to the bar he formed a partnership with his intimate friend and room-mate, Henry D. Gardiner, with the intention of practicing in the West, and for three months they roamed about in the Western States in search of an eligible site, but in the end returned to New York, where they hung out their shingle, and entered upon a success- ful career almost from the start. General Arthur soon afterward married the daughter of Lieutenant

Herndon, of the United States Navy, who was lost at. sea. Congress voted a gold medal to his widow in recognition of the bravery he displayed on that occa- sion. Mrs. Arthur died shortly before Mr. Arthur's nomination to the Vice Presidency, leaving two children.

Gen. Arthur obtained considerable legal celebrity in his first great case, the famous Lemmon suit, brought to recover possession of eight slaves who had been declared free by Judge Paine, of the Superior Court of New York City. It was in 1852 that Jon- athan Lemmon, of Virginia, went to New York with his slaves, intending to ship them to Texas, when they were discovered and freed. The Judge decided that they could not be held by the owner under the Fugitive Slave Law. A howl of rage went up from the South, and the Virginia Legislature authorized the Attorney General of that State to assist in an appeal. Wm. M. Evarts and Chester A. Arthur were employed to represent the People, and they won their case, which then went to the Supreme Court of the United States. Charles O'Conor here espoused the cause of the slave-holders, but he too was beaten by Messrs. Evarts and Arthur, and a long step was taken toward the emancipation of the black race.

Another great service was rendered by General Arthur in the same cause in 1856. Lizzie Jennings, a respectable colored woman, was put off a Fourth Avenue car with violence after she had paid her fare. General Arthur sued on her behalf, and secured a verdict of $500 damages. The next day the compa- ny issued an order to admit colored persons to ride on their cars, and the other car companies quickly

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followed their example. Before that the Sixth Ave- nue Company ran a few special cars for colored per- sons and the other lines refused to let them ride at all.

General Arthur was a delegate to the Convention at Saratoga that founded the Republican party. Previous to the war he was Judge-Advocate of the Second Brigade of the State of New York, and Gov- ernor Morgan, of that State, appointed him Engineer- in-Chief of his staff. In 1861, he was made Inspec- tor General, and soon afterward became Quartermas- ter-General. In each of these offices he rendered great service to the Government during the war. At the end of Governor Morgan's term he resumed the practice of the law, forming a partnership with Mr. Ransom, and then Mr. Phelps, the District Attorney of New York, was added to the firm. The legal prac- tice of this well-known firm was very large and lucra- tive, each of the gentlemen composing it were able lawyers, and possessed a splendid local reputation, if not indeed one of national extent.

He always took a leading part in State and city politics. He was appointed Collector of the Port of New York by President Grant, Nov. 21 1872, to suc- ceed Thomas Murphy, and held the office until July, 20, 1878, when he was succeeded by Collector Merritt.

Mr. Arthur was nominated on the Presidential ticket, with Gen. James A. Garfield, at the famous National Republican Convention held at Chicago in June, 1880. This was perhaps the greatest political convention that ever assembled on the continent. It was composed of the leading politicians of the Re- publican party, all able men, and each stood firm and fought vigorously and with signal tenacity for their respective candidates that were before the conven- tion for the nomination. Finally Gen. Garfield re- ceived the nomination for President and Gen. Arthur for Vice-President. The campaign which followed was one of the most animated known in the history of our country. Gen. Hancock, the standard-bearer of the Democratic party, was a popular man, and his party made a valiant fight for his election.

Finally the election came and the country's choice was Garfield and Arthur. They were inaugurated March 4, 1881, as President and Vice-President. A few months only had passed ere the newly chosen President was the victim of the assassin's bullet. Then came terrible weeks of suffering,-those moments of anxious suspense, wher the hearts of all civilized na-

tions were throbbing in unison, longing for the re- covery of the noble, the good President. The remark- able patience that he manifested during those hours and weeks, and even months, of the most terrible suf- fering man has often been called upon to endure, was seemingly more than human. It was certainly God- like. During all this period of deepest anxiety Mr. Arthur's every move was watched, and be it said to his credit that his every action displayed only an earnest desire that the suffering Garfield might recover, to serve the remainder of the term he had so auspi- ciously begun. Not a selfish feeling was manifested in deed or look of this man, even though the most honored position in the world was at any moment likely to fall to him.

At last God in his mercy relieved President Gar- field from further suffering, and the world, as never before in its history over the death of any other man, wept at his bier. Then it became the duty of the Vice President to assume the responsibilities of the high office, and he took the oath in New York, Sept. 20, 1881. The position was an embarrassing one to him, made doubly so from the facts that all eyes were on him, anxious to know what he would do, what policy he would pursue, and who he would se- lect as advisers. The duties of the office had been greatly neglected during the President's long illness, and many important measures were to be immediately decided by him ; and still farther to embarrass him he did not fail to realize under what circumstances he became President, and knew the feelings of many on this point. Under these trying circumstances President Arthur took the reins of the Government in his own hands ; and, as embarrassing as were the condition of affairs, he happily surprised the nation, acting so wisely that but few criticised his administration. He served the nation well and faithfully, until the close of his administration, March 4, 1885, and was a popular candidate before his party for a second term. His name was ably presented before the con- vention at Chicago, and was received with great favor, and doubtless but for the personal popularity of one of the opposing candidates, he would have been selected as the standard-bearer of his party for another campaign. He retired to private life car- rying with him the best wishes of the American peo- ple, whom he had served in a manner satisfactory to them and with credit to himself.

Grover Cleveland

103

TWENTY-SECOND PRESIDENT.

S. Grover Cleveland.

TEPHEN GROVER CLEVE- LAND, the twenty-second Pres- ident of the United States, was born in 1837, in the obscure town of Caldwell, Essex Co., N. J., and in a little two-and-a- half-story white house which is still standing, characteristically to mark the humble birth-place of one of America's great nien in striking con- trast with the Old World, where all men high in office must be high in origin and born in the cradle of wealth. When the subject of this sketch was three years of age, his father, who was a Presbyterian min- ister, with a large family and a small salary, moved, by way of the Hudson River and Erie Canal, to Fayetteville, in search of an increased income and a larger field of work. Fayetteville was then the most straggling of country villages, about five miles from Pompey Hill, where Governor Seymour was born.

At the last mentioned place young Grover com- menced going to school in the " good, old-fashioned way," and presumably distinguished himself after the manner of all village boys, in doing the things he ought not to do. Such is the distinguishing trait of all geniuses and independent thinkers. When he arrived at the age of 14 years, he had outgrown the capacity of the village school and expressed a most

emphatic desire to be sent to an academy. To this his father decidedly objected. Academies in those days cost money; besides, his father wanted him to become self-supporting by the quickest possible means, and this at that time in Fayetteville seemed to be a position in a country store, where his father and the large family on his hands had considerable influence. Grover was to be paid $50 for his services the first year, and if he proved trustworthy he was to receive $roo the second year. Here the lad com- menced his career as salesman, and in two years he had earned so good a reputation for trustworthiness that his employers desired to retain him for an in- definite length of time. Otherwise he did not ex- hibit as yet any particular " flashes of genius " or eccentricities of talent. He was simply a good boy.

But instead of remaining with this firm in Fayette- ville, he went with the family in their removal to Clinton, where he had an opportunity of attending a high school. Here he industriously pursued his studies until the family removed with him to a point on Black River known as the "Holland Patent," a village of 500 or 600 people, 15 miles north of Utica, N. Y. At this place his father died, after preaching but three Sundays. This event broke up the family, and Grover set out for New York City to accept, at a small salary, the position of "under-teacher " in an asylum for the blind. He taught faithfully for two years, and although he obtained a good reputation in this capacity, he concluded that teaching was not his

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calling for life, and, reversing the traditional order, he left the city to seek his fortune, instead of going to a city. He first thought of Cleveland, Ohio, as there was some charm in that name for him; but before proceeding to that place he went to Buffalo to ask the advice of his uncle, Lewis F. Allan, a noted stock-breeder of that place. The latter did not speak enthusiastically. "What is it you want to do, my boy?" he asked. "Well, sir, I want to study law," was the reply.

" Good gracious!" remarked the old gentleman; "do you, indeed ? What ever put that into your head? How much money have you got?" " Well, sir, to tell the truth, I haven't got any."

After a long consultation, his uncle offered him a place temporarily as assistant herd-keeper, at $50 a year, while he could "look around." One day soon afterward he boldly walked into the office of Rogers, Bowen & Rogers, of Buffalo, and told them what he wanted. A number of young men were already en- gaged in the office, but Grover's persistency won, and he was finally permitted to come as an office boy and have the use of the law library, for the nominal sum of $3 or $4 a week. Out of this he had to pay for his board and washing. The walk to and from his uncle's was a long and rugged one; and, although the first winter was a memorably severe one, his shoes were out of repair and his overcoat-he had none-yet he was nevertheless prompt and regular. On the first day of his service here, his senior em- ployer threw down a copy of Blackstone before him with a bang that made the dust fly, saying "That's where they all begin." A titter ran around the little circle of clerks and students, as they thought that was enough to scare young Grover out of his plans ; but in due time he mastered that cumbersome volume. Then, as ever afterward, however, Mr. Cleveland exhibited a talent for executiveness rather than for chasing principles through all their metaphysical possibilities. " Let us quit talking and go and do it," was practically his motto.

The first public office to which Mr. Cleveland was elected was that of Sheriff of Erie Co., N. Y., in which Buffalo is situated; and in such capacity it fell to his duty to inflict capital punishment upon two criminals. In 188t he was elected Mayor of the City of Buffalo, on the Democratic ticket, with es- pecial reference to the bringing about certain reforms

in the administration of the municipal affairs of that city. In this office, as well as that of Sheriff, his performance of duty has generally been considered fair, with possibly a few exceptions which were fer- reted out and magnified during the last Presidential campaign. As a specimen of his plain language in a veto message, we quote from one vetoing an iniqui- tous street-cleaning contract : "This is a time for plain speech, and my objection to your action shall be plainly stated. I regard it as the culmination of a mos': bare-faced, impudent and shameless scheme to betray the interests of the people and to worse than squander the people's money." The New York Sun afterward very highly commended Mr. Cleve- land's administration as Mayor of Buffalo, and there- upon recommended him for Governor of the Empire State. To the latter office he was elected in 1882, and his administration of the affairs of State was generally satisfactory. The mistakes he made, if any, were made very public throughout the nation after he was nominated for President of the United States. For this high office he was nominated July II, 1884, by the National Democratic Convention at Chicago, when other competitors were Thomas F. Bayard, Roswell P. Flower, Thomas A. Hendricks, Benjamin F. Butler, Allen G. Thurman, etc .; and he was elected by the people, by a majority of about a thousand, over the brilliant and long-tried Repub- lican statesman, James G. Blaine. President Cleve- land resigned his office as Governor of New York in January, 1885, in order to prepare for his duties as the Chief Executive of the United States, in which capacity his term commenced at noon on the 4th of March, 1885. For his Cabinet officers he selected the following gentlemen: For Secretary of State, Thomas F. Bayard, of Delaware; Secretary of the Treasury, Daniel Manning, of New York ; Secretary of War, William C. Endicott, of Massachusetts ; Secretary of the Navy, William C. Whitney, of New York; Secretary of the Interior, L. Q. C. Lamar, of Mississippi; Postmaster-General, William F. Vilas, of Wisconsin; Attorney-General, A. H. Garland, of Arkansas.

The silver question precipitated a controversy be- tween those who were in favor of the continuance of silver coinage and those who were opposed, Mr. Cleveland answering for the latter, even before his inauguration.

GOVERNORS®

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Shadrach Bond. -

III

GOVERNORS OF ILLINOIS.

SHADI BH BONI

HADRACH BOND, the first Governor of Illinois after its organization as a State, serving from 1818 to 1822, was born in Frederick County, Maryland, in the year 1773, and was raised a farmer on his father's plantation, receiving only a plain English education. He emigrated to this State in 1794, when it was a part of the "Northwest Territory," continuing in the vocation in which he had been brought up in his native State, in the "New Design," near Eagle Creek, in what is now Monroe County. He served several terms as a member of the General Assembly of Indiana Territory, after it was organized as such, and in 1812-14 he was a Delegate to the Twelfth and Thirteenth Congresses, taking his seat Dec. 3, 1812, and serving until Oct. 3, 1814. These were the times, the reader will recollect, when this Gov- ernment had its last struggle with Great Britain. The year 1812 is also noted in the history of this State as that in which the first Territorial Legislature was held. It convened at Kaskaskia, Nov. 25, and adjourned Dec. 26, following.

While serving as Delegate to Congress, Mr. Bond was instrumental in procuring the right of pre-emp- tion on the public domain. On the expiration of his term at Washington he was appointed Receiver of Public Moneys at Kaskaskia, then the capital of the Territory. In company with John G. Comyges,

Thomas H. Harris, Charles Slade, Michael Jones, Warren Brown, Edward Humphries and Charles W. Hunter, he became a proprietor of the site of the initial city of Cairo, which they hoped, from its favor- able location at the junction of the two great rivers near the center of the Great West, would rapidly develop into a metropolis. To aid the enter- prise, they obtained a special charter from the Legis- lature, incorporating both the City and the Bank of Cairo.

In 1818 Mr. Bond was elected the first Governor of the State of Illinois, being inaugurated Oct. 6, that year, which was several weeks before Illinois was actually admitted. The facts are these: In January, 1818, the Territorial Legislature sent a peti- tion to Congress for the admission of Illinois as a State, Nathaniel Pope being then Delegate. The petition was granted, fixing the northern line of the State on the latitude of the southern extremity of Lake Michigan; but the bill was afterward so amend- ed as to extend this line to its present latitude. In July a convention was called at Kaskaskia to draft a constitution, which, however, was not submitted to the people. By its provisions, supreme judges, pros- ecuting attorneys, county and circuit judges, record- ers and justices of the peace were all to be appointed by the Governor or elected by the Legislature. This constitution was accepted by Congress Dec. 30. At that time Illinois comprised but eleven counties, namely, Randolph, Madison, Gallatin, Johnson, Pope, Jackson, Crawford, Bond, Union, Washington and Franklin, the northern portion of the State be- ing mainly in Madison County. Thus it appears that Mr. Bond was honored by the naming of a

II2

SHADRACH BOND.

county before he was elected Governor. The present county of Bond is of small limitations, about 60 to 80 miles south of Springfield. For Lieutenant Governor the people chose Pierre Menard, a prominent and worthy Frenchman, after whom a county in this State is named. In this election there were no opposition candidates, as the popularity of these men had made their promotion to the chief offices of the Siate, even before the constitution was drafted, a foregone con- clusion.

The principal points that excited the people in reference to political issues at this period were local or "internal improvements," as they were called, State banks, location of the capital, slavery and the personal characteristics of the proposed candidates. Mr. Bond represented the "Convention party," for introducing slavery into the State, supported by Elias Kent Kane, his Secretary of State, and John Mc- Lean, while Nathaniel Pope and John P. Cook led the anti-slavery element. The people, however, did not become very much excited over this issue until 1820, when the famous Missouri Compromise was adopted by Congress, limiting slavery to the south of the parallel of 36º 30' except in Missouri. While this measure settled the great slavery controversy, so far as the average public sentiment was tempor- arily concerned, until 1854, when it was repealed under the leadership of Stephen A. Douglas, the issue as considered locally in this State was not decided until 1824, after a most furious campaign. (See sketch of Gov. Coles.) The ticket of 1818 was a compromise one, Bond representing (moderately) the pro-slavery sentiment and Menard the anti-slavery.

An awkward element in the State government under Gov. Bond's administration, was the imperfec- tion of the State constitution. The Convention wished to have Elijah C. Berry for the first Auditor of Public Accounts, but, as it was believed that the new Governor would not appoint him to the office, the Convention declared in a schedule that "an auditor of public accounts, an attorney general and such other officers of the State as may be necessary, may be appointed by the General Assembly." The Constitution, as it stood, vested a very large appoint- ing power in the Governor ; but for the purpose of getting one man into office, a total change was made, and the power vested in the Legislature. Of this provision the Legislature took advantage, and de-

clared that State's attorneys, canal commissioners, bank directors, etc., were all " officers of the State" and must therefore be appointed by itself independ- ently of the Governor.

During Gov. Bond's administration a general law was passed for the incorporation of academies and towns, and one authorizing lotteries. The session of 1822 authorized the Governor to appoint commis- sioners, to act in conjunction with like commissioners appointed by the State of Indiana, to report on the practicability and expediency of improving the navi- gation of the Wabash River; also inland navigation generally. Many improvements were recommended, some of which have been feebly worked at even till the present day, those along the Wabash being of no value. Also, during Gov. Bond's term of office, the capital of the State was removed from Kaskaskia to Vandalia. In 1820 a law was passed by Congress authorizing this State to open a canal through the public lands. The State appointed commissioners to explore the route and prepare the necessary sur- veys and estimates, preparatory to its execution; but, being unable out of its own resources to defray the expenses of the undertaking, it was abandoned until some time after Congress made the grant of land for the purpose of its construction.

On the whole, Gov. Bond's administration was fairly good, not being open to severe criticism from any party. In 1824, two years after the expiration of his term of office, he was brought out as a candi- date for Congress against the formidable John P. Cook, but received only 4,374 votes to 7,460 for the latter. Gov. Bond was no orator, but had made many fast friends by a judicious bestowment of his gubernatorial patronage, and these worked zealously for him in the campaign.

In 1827 ex-Gov. Bond was appointed by the Leg- islature, with Wm. P. McKee and Dr. Gershom Jayne, as Commissioners to locate a site for a peni- tentiary on the Mississippi at or near Alton.

Mr. Bond was of a benevolent and convivial dis- position, a man of shrewd observation and clear ap- preciation of events. His person was erect, stand- ing six feet in height, and after middle life became portly, weighing 200 pounds. His features were strongly masculine, complexion dark, hair jet and eyes hazel ; was a favorite with the ladies. He died April 11, 1830, in peace and contentment.

Educação Coles

115

GOVERNORS OF ILLINOIS.

Edward Coles.

DWARD COLES, second Governor of Illinois, 1823- XIXI1XIXI XIIXIX 6, was born Dec. 15, 1786, in Albemarle Co., Va., on the old family estate called "Enniscorthy," on the Green Mountain. His fath- er, John Coles, was a Colonel in the Revolutionary War. Having been fit- ted for college by private tutors, he was sent to Hampden Sidney, where he remained until the autumn of 1805, when he was removed to William and Mary College, at Williamsburg, Va. This college he left in the summer of 1807, a short time before the final and graduating examination. Among his classmates were Lieut. Gen. Scott, President John Tyler, Wm. S. Archer, United States Senator from Virginia, and Justice Baldwin, of the United States Supreme Court. The President of the latter college, Bishop Madison, was a cousin of President James Madison, and that cir- cumstance was the occasion of Mr. Coles becoming personally acquainted with the President and re- ceiving a position as his private secretary, 1809-15.

The family of Coles was a prominent one in Vir- ginia, and their mansion was the seat of the old- fashioned Virginian hospitality. It was visited by such notables as Patrick Henry, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, the Randolphs, Tazewell, Wirt, etc. At the age of 23, young Coles found himself heir to a plant- ation and a considerable number of slaves. Ever since his earlier college days his attention had been drawn to the question of slavery. He read every-

thing on the subject that came in his way, and listened to lectures on the rights of man. The more he reflected upon the subject, the more impossible was it for him to reconcile the immortal declaration "that all men are born free and equal " with the practice of slave-holding. He resolved, therefore, to free his slaves the first opportunity, and even remove his residence to a free State. One reason which de- termined him to accept the appointment as private secretary to Mr. Madison was because he believed that through the acquaintances he could make at Washington he could better determine in what part of the non-slaveholding portion of the Union he would prefer to settle.

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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 8

Author: Publication date: 1888 Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Beers, Leggett & Co. Number of Pages: 1040

Author:
Publication date: 1888
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Beers, Leggett & Co.
Number of Pages: 1040