Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Morgan County, Part 165

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897. cn; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913. cn; Short, William F., 1829- 4n
Publication date: 1906
Publisher: Chicago : Munsell Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1286

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David Graff and his wife became the parents of the following named children: Two sons- George and Washington; and seven daughters

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HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY.

-Susan Willett; Louisa, wife of Samuel Mc- Clure; Amanda, wife of Rector Gore; Mary, wife of James Thornton; Ann, wife of Eli C. Ransdell; Elizabeth and Parthenia.

Washington Graff was the youngest child in the family. He received his education in the subscription schools of the county, and was reared to a farming life. In 1849 he joined Captain Heslop's company, which traveled by way of the Sante Fe trail to California. After remaining two years in the gold camps of that State, he returned to Morgan County with about $2,000, the fruit of his operations in the mines and in general merchandising. This money he immediately invested in a tract of farming land lying near his father's homestead. About a year later he purchased a body of land lying on In- dian Creek, near Prentice, to which he moved, and where he resided during the remainder of his life. So successful were his farming and stock operations that he accumulated 1,400 acres of land, all in one body, and most of which was exceedingly fertile and easily culti- vable. He became one of the influential citi- zens of Morgan County, and exhibited a deep and abiding interest in the welfare of the com- munity. A stanch Republican in politics, he was the choice of his party for the office of . County Commissioner in 1876; and though the normal Democratic majority in the county at that time was about 900, he lacked but 60 votes of being elected. Mr. Graff was a devoted mem- ber of the Christian Church, and for a number of years filled the office of School Director. He was a firm friend of education, and invariably secured the best qualified instructors for the school in his district which it was practicable to obtain. He died November 7, 1895.

Mr Graff was thrice married, and by his first wife, Almarinda Flinn, became the father of seven children: Mary E., Wil- liam, Margaret, Franklin M., Zadock Wright, Grant, and one child who died in infancy. By his second marriage with Elizabeth F. Owen there were two children, viz .: Charles B. and . Lula. His third wife and widow was Minnie Christen, who survives him, and now occupies the home farm near Prentice. She is the mother of the following named children: Almarinda, John W., Katie, Myrtle and Parthenia.

GRAHAM, Lorenzo D., (deceased), pioneer, and, during his life, a prominent and successful

farmer, whose home was just east of Meredosia, Morgan County, Ill., was born in Sussex Coun- ty, Md., October 2, 1806, the son of George and Henrietta (Willis) Graham, and at the age of six years was taken by his parents to. Chilli- cothe, Ohio. Here he remained until 1830, when he came to Morgan County and put in his first crop the season before the "deep snow," in the winter of 1830-31. In 1832 he moved onto the farm where he spent the remaining years of his life, and eventually became one of the wealthy farmers of that region.

Mr. Graham was married October 25, 1827, to Elizabeth Newman by whom he had a fam- ily of seven children, of whom Mrs. Elizabeth Andre, of Jacksonville, and Mrs. Martha, Isin- ger, of St. Louis, are the only surviving mem- bers. The wife and mother died December 20, 1871. Mr. Graham's second and last marriage was to Caroline E. Looman on April 17, 1873, widow of Henry Looman, and there were four children born of this marriage, viz .: Frank, Matilda, H. G. Pawn and Edna. The two sons of Mrs. Graham by her first marriage were Henry and William Looman, who are prosper- ous merchants of Meredosia. Lorenzo D. Gra- ham held the office of Road Master and School Director of his district and was extensively en- - gaged in the raising and feeding of cattle, dying on his farm July 19, 1896. His widow, Mrs. Caro- line E. Graham, is passing her declining years in a pleasant home which she built in Mere- dosia, where she has other property besides her interest in her late husband's farm.

GREEN, Aaron, formerly an energetic and suc- cessful farmer of Cass and Mason Counties, Ill., now living in retirement in Jacksonville, Morgan County, Ill., was born in Derbyshire, England, April 15, 1832, the son of Joseph and Anna (Sewerby) Green, natives of Yorkshire, England. In that country Joseph Green owned and operated a large cotton manufactory. He came to the United States in 1847, and, after spending a year in Philadelphia, Pa., proceeded to Illinois, and bought a farm on the Sangamon Bottom, in Cass County. Both he and his wife died in that county-the former in 1850 and the latter in 1849.

Mr. Green received a good mental training in the boarding schools of England. In the fall of 1848, he came with his parents to Cass County, Ill., and after his father's death worked

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HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY.

for awhile on the homestead, after which he bought a farm, which he cultivated until 1858. In that year he located in California, where he remained about four years. On his return home in 1862 he enlisted in Company B, Elev- enth Regiment Illinois Volunteer Cavalry, in which he served throughout the Civil War. He was one of the sturdy heroes who took part in the famous "Grierson Raid," and was engaged during a large portion of the war as a dispatch bearer for General Chetlain. On his return from California he had purchased 80 acres of land in Mason County, III., and after the war he resumed farming, pursuing this occupation successfully in Mason County until 1883. For a few years he also operated a farm in Kansas.

On September 16, 1866, Mr. Green was wed- ded to Anna J. Logue, of Mason City, Ill., a daughter of Jonathan and Isabel (Lane) Logue. The following named children were the off- spring of this union, namely: Charles B., born June 25, 1867; Edwin Joseph, born August 12, 1868; Asabel Anne, born November 28, 1869, died December 13, 1869; Effie Jane, born No- vember 6, 1870; Grace Hannah, born January 6, 1873, died September 16, 1883; and Alice A., born August 24, 1875. The mother of this fam- ily died April 27, 1896. On September 8, 1897, in Kansas City, Mo., Mr. Green was united in marriage with Mrs. Bettie Walker, a daughter of Jesse and Anne (Scott) Winterbottom. The former Mrs. Walker was born in Oldham, Eng- land, January 24, 1839, and by her first hus- band she had six children, as follows: James H., who was born September 16, 1862, and died February 2, 1880; Anna Alice, born October 15, 1864, died October 24, 1867; Charlotte May, born May 2, 1867; Sarah Emma, born November 27, 1869; Jesse H., born June 27, 1880; and John Samuel, born January 1, 1883. Mrs. Green's father was a grocer and the father of six sons and three daughters.

In politics, Mr. Green casts his vote with the Republican party. Fraternally, he is a member of the Matt Starr Post, G. A. R. and Jackson- ville Lodge, No. 570, A. F. & A. M. Religiously, he is connected with the Baptist Church. While living in Kansas he assisted in founding a church of that denomination at LaCygne, in that State, and served as President of the Board of Trustees. He is a man of high character, and his influence is always exerted in behalf of the right.

GREENLEAF, Edward Sparhawk, grain dealer, Jacksonville, Ill., was born in Williamsburg, Piscataquis County, Maine, June 5, 1838, a son of Ebenezer Poor and Abigail (Lee) Greenleaf. The Geenleaf family in America was founded in 1635 by Edmund Greenleaf, who came from Birxham, Devonshire, England, and settled in Newbury (now Newburyport), Mass. E. S. Greenleaf's grandfather, Moses Greenleaf, set- tled in Maine, where his son Ebenezer Poor was born. One of his brothers, Simon Greenleaf, was for years a member of the faculty of . Harvard Law School, and was the author of a number of legal text books and an authority on evidence. "Greenleaf on Evidence" is still a standard in American courts. Another brother, Jonathan, was a minister in the Pres- byterian Church, and the author of widely- known works on "Evidences of Christianity." The ancestors of the family who came from England were orginially French Huguenots.

At the age. of nine E. S. Greenleaf lost his mother by death, and for a year following he resided with an aunt. In the summer of 1848 the Rev. William Coons Greenleaf, an uncle by marriage, who had been in the State since 1837, returned to New England on a visit; and when he again located in Illinois he brought with him Edward S. Greenleaf. The boy made his home with his uncle in Chatham and in Springfield until 1851, when the latter was stricken by cholera and died. This left him en- tirely dependent upon his own resources, and entering a watchmaker's establishment in Springfield, he devoted three years to that trade. In 1855 he became a clerk in the station of the Wabash Railroad at Naples, Ill., and for four- teen years thereafter was continuously in the employ of this corporation. After spending three years at Naples he was made Ticket Agent at Springfield. From that city he returned to Naples as clerk, but a year later succeeded to the agency at that point, where he remained until March 1, 1863. During the three suc- ceeding years he served as Freight and Pas- senger Agent for the same company at Jackson- ville, and on January 1, 1866, became General Freight and Ticket Agent for the St. Louis, Jacksonville & Chicago Railroad Company (now a part of the Chicago & Alton system). On March 1, 1867, he became Superintendent of the Neelyville coal mines, a post he occupied until the fall of 1870, when he was made Superintend-

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HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY.

ent of the Jacksonville Southeastern Railroad Company, whose line between Jacksonville and Waverly was then in course of construction. He served as Superintendent throughout the pe- riod when the road was under construction, and continued in that position until 1889.

In the meantime, he had engaged in the grain business, establishing elevators at various points along the line. In 1880 he formed a part- nership with Francis M. Baker, under the style of Greenleaf & Baker, Mr. Baker assuming charge of the office of the firm in Atchison, Kans., and this partnership continued for a pe -. riod of about twenty years. Since 1889 Mr. Greenleaf has devoted his time exclusively to the grain trade, and now operates six elevators located as follows: three in Morgan County, two in Greene and one in Scott County. He is also identified with various other enterprises. He is also a Director and Vice-President of the Ayers National Bank of Jacksonville; a Director in the First National Bank of White Hall, Ill .; one of the organizers of and a Director in the White Hall Sewer Pipe and Stoneware Company; Vice-President of the White Hall Railroad Company; Treasurer of the Illinois Telephone Company; Vice-Presi- dent of the New York & St. Louis Mining & Manufacturing Company; and a Director in the Jacksonville Loan & Building Association.

Mr. Greenleaf is a member of the Masonic fraternity and of the Elks. An active Repub- . lican, he has taken a deep interest in the wel- fare of his party, particularly in municipal af- fairs. After having served a term as a mem- ber of the Jacksonville City Council, in 1876 he was elected to the Mayoralty and reelected in 1877 and in 1882. During his first two ad- ministrations he succeeded in reducing the in- debtedness of the city to the extent of more than $60,000.

May 8, 1867, Mr. Greenleaf was united in mar- riage with Kate Barr Greenleaf, a daughter of Eugene L. Greenleaf, of St. Louis. They are the parents of the following named children: Eugene Lee, of Kingman County, Kans .; Clara May, wife of W. L. Alexander, of Jacksonville; Martha L .; Malcolm Edward; Grace, wife of Dr. William B. Young, of Jacksonville; Moses and Katherine Hodge.

GRIERSON, (Gen.) Benjamin H., distinguished military commander in the Civil War, was born at Pittsburg, Pa., July 8, 1826, the son of Rob-

ert and Mary (Shepard) Grierson, natives of the city of Dublin, Ireland, who emigrated to this country in 1819, arrived in New York and proceeded to Pittsburgh, Pa., subsequently re- moving to Youngstown, Ohio, and thence to Jacksonville, Ill. Benjamin H. pursued a course of study in the high school and an academy at Youngstown, Ohio, and passed an examina- tion which would have entitled him to admis- sion to West. Point Military Academy, but de- clined the appointment on account of opposition thereto by his mother. In early manhood he was engaged in teaching music in Ohio, but in 1851, the family having removed to Jacksonville, Ill., he continued in that place his profession as a teacher of music. He possessed musical talent of high order and in early life conducted a noted band and orchestra. Later he spent some five years in the grain and mercantile business at Meredosia, Ill., until about the be- ginning of the Civil War, when he returned to Jacksonville.

Under the first call for troops issued by Pres- ident Lincoln he assisted in recruiting Com- pany I of the Tenth Regiment Illinois Volun- teer Infantry, and on May 8, 1861, joined the army at Cairo, serving for three months with- out pay as aid on the staff of Gen. B. M. Pren- tiss, with the nominal rank of Lieutenant. He was on duty for a time at Ironton, Mo., and later accompanied General Prentiss on the ex- pedition to Cape Girardeau. October 24, 1861, he was commissioned Major of the Sixth Illi- nois Cavalry, taking rank from August 28th preceding, but remained on detached service with General Prentiss in Northern and Central Missouri until November following, when he joined his regiment at Shawneetown, Ill. After having been mustered in with his regiment January 9, 1862, he started on February 10th with his battalion, under orders from General Sherman, to Smithland, Ky., and on March 25th received orders to proceed to Pittsburg Landing, but was detained at Paducah by order of Colonel Noble, the Post Commander. On March 28th, he was promoted by choice of the regiment to the colonelcy as successor to Colonel Cavan- augh, resigned. In June following he was or- dered to Memphis, Tenn., and on the 19th of that month, by a swift dash with 250 men of his regiment and 50 of the Eleventh Cavalry, routed a force of Confederates under Gen. Jeff. Thompson, at Hernando, Miss., killing and wounding a number of the enemy and captur-

Charles & Routh.

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HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY.

ing 15, besides destroying a large amount of commissary and quartermaster stores, without the loss of a single man. A week later, under order of General Grant, with a part of his regi- ment and the Fifty-eighth Ohio Infantry, he moved to Germantown, Tenn., where he was soon joined by the Fifty-second Indiana and a section of artillery, from which point important expeditions were made which led to securing a large number of colored men to work upon the fortifications at Memphis. Returning to Memphis, July 18th, he was soon transferred to General Sherman's command, under whose in- structions he was actively employed for several months scouting in different directions with uniform success. Mules were obtained, furnish- ing General Sherman with transportation facil- ities, enabling him to join Grant's Mississippi expedition. November 26th Colonel Grierson left Memphis in advance of General Sherman's corps, and for the next fifty days was almost constantly in the saddle, successively under command of Sherman, Grant and McPherson. During this time he made a rapid. march from Oxford, Miss., to Helena, Ark., destroying rebel camp equipages, wagons, arms and ammunition, also pursuing General VanDorn's forces from near Water Valley, Miss., north into Tennessee, and, after repulsing that General's attack at Bolivar, drove him south of the Tallahatchie.

The cavalry force having been reorganized, Colonel Grierson was assigned to command of the First Brigade consisting of the Sixth and Seventh Illinois and Second Iowa Cavalry, and by order of General Grant reported to General McPherson, then commanding the Seventeenth Army Corps, of which the cavalry brigade formed the rear-guard on the march to La- Grange, Tenn., where it arrived January 14, 1863. Until April following the cavalry force was employed in guarding the line of the Mem- phis & Charleston Railroad and scouring the surrounding country. Leaving LaGrange March 8, with 900 men of the Sixth and Seventh Illi- nois Cavalry, after a forced march of 50 miles, Colonel Grierson attacked the rebel forces un- der Colonel Richardson near Covington, Tenn., effecting a complete surprise, routing the enemy with a loss of 22 killed and 70 captured, besides the destruction of commissary and quartermas- ter stores, train, ammunition and military rec- ords. Colonel Grierson's loss in this expedition was only four men missing.

Then, having volunteered for the hazardous undertaking, Colonel Grierson entered upon one of the most memorable and brilliant expedi- tions of the war. On April 17, 1863, under or- ders received from General Grant, through Generals Hurlburt and Smith, he left LaGrange, Tenn., with 1,700 men, with but three days' ra- tions in their haversacks, and marching south through the entire State of Mississippi, a dis- tance of over 600 miles, sixteen days later ar- rived at Baton Rouge, La. During the last twenty-eight hours of this raid, Colonel Grier- son's force marched 76 miles, had four engage- ments, destroyed two rebel camps, captured nearly 100 prisoners, and crossed the Tickfaw, Amite and Comite Rivers. This famous expedi- tion resulted in the destruction of 60 miles of railroad and telegraph lines, several locomo- tives, with over 100 cars-many of them loaded with shell and other ordnance or quartermas- ter stores; 3,000 stand of arms and the capture of 1,000 horses and mules. The loss to the Con- federates amounted to millions of dollars in property, besides 100 soldiers killed or wounded and 500 captured and paroled. A large number of colored men accompanied Grierson's force to Baton Rouge and immediately mustered into Union regiments. Colonel Grierson's entire loss amounted to one officer, one non-commisioned officer and three privates wounded, five left sick on the march and nine missing. The expedition proved the Confederacy "a mere shell,", dis- concerted the enemy's plans, scattered and drew their forces from vulnerable points, and threw them into such confusion as to render them unserviceable and unable to concentrate against General Grant's forces in the movement against Vicksburg. As a consequence over 20,000 rebel troops were ordered to distant points by Gen- erals Pemberton and Gardner, depleting the strength of the Confederate forces at Vicksburg in the vain attempt to capture and destroy Colonel Grierson and his gallant band of auda- cious raiders from Illinois, and proving an im- portant factor in the capture of that rebel stronghold three months later. On May 12th following, Grierson's command destroyed the railroad and telegraph between Clinton and Port Hudson, La., took part in a number of en- gagements and patrolled the region in the vicin- ity of Port Hudson until its surrender.

The service rendered by Colonel Grierson in this campaign was promptly recognized by

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President Lincoln by his promotion to Briga- dier-General of Volunteers, "for gallant and distinguished service" in his great raid through the heart of the so-called Confederacy-his com- mission bearing date June 3, 1863, one month before the fall of Vicksburg.

General Grierson took an active part in all expeditions from Western Tennessee into Mis- sissippi in 1864, made with a view of attract- ing the attention of the rebel forces and draw- ing their cavalry from the front and flank of the main army under command of General Sherman during the operations of the latter in Middle Tennessee, and especially while General Sherman was concentrating his forces for his famous "march through Georgia." By direction of General Halleck, General Grierson led a rapid and successful cavalry expedition from Memphis, Tenn., in mid-winter-December, 1864, and January, 1865-dealing a destructive blow to the enemy's communications with the South, by destroying railroads, capturing' and destroying Hood's army supplies, including ordnance, commissary, medical and quartermas- ter stores at Verona, Miss., and capturing the rebel fortification and forces at Egypt Station, Miss.

Referring to the famous raid of 1863, General Grant stated in writing, now on file in the War Department, "General Grierson was the first officer to set the example of what might be done in the interior of the enemy's country without a base from which to draw supplies," and that the mid-winter raid of 1864-65 "was most important in its reults and most success- fully executed."

It is impossible within the limits of this · sketch to give a detailed account of even the most important of General Grierson's military achievements during the war period. Suffice to say that, up to the hour of the suppression of the Rebellion, he was engaged in a service calling for gallantry, military skill and able leadership, and was not found wanting, as shown in the reputation conceded to him in the history of that dramatic period.

On February 10, 1865, by direction of Presi- dent Lincoln, he was assigned to duty with the brevet rank of Major-General and ordered to report to General Canby at New Orleans, to take command of a cavalry expedition through Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi. Returning to New Orleans he organized a cav-

alry force for service in Texas, and later was in command in Northern Alabama with head- quarters at Huntsville, where he remained un- til January, 1866, soon after being summoned to Washington to testify before the Congres- sonal Committee on Reconstruction. While there he was promoted to Major-General of Vol- unteers, to rank from May 27, 1865, "for gallant and meritorious service during the War of the Rebellion." At his own request he was honor- ably mustered out of the volunteer service, April 30, 1866.

On the reorganization of the Regular Army, General Grierson was appointed Colonel of the Tenth Regiment U. S. Cavalry, soon thereafter receiving the Brevets of Brigadier and Major- General U. S. Army. He organized his regi- ment at Fort Leavenworth, Kans., and for nearly a quarter of a century was actively en- gaged in scouting and exploring throughout the Western States and Territories, being al- most constantly in the field or at some exposed post in the midst of the most savage and war- like Indians of the frontiers. In this way he rendered service to the Government quite as hazardous and important as that rendered dur- ing the War of the Rebellion. Besides this val- uable service at various military posts, he com- manded at different times the Districts of the Indian Territory and Pecos, Texas; the De- partment of Texas; the District of New Mexico, and the Department of Arizona, with headquar- ters at Los Angeles, Cal., where he received his appointment as Brigadier-General U. S. Army, to rank from April 3, 1890. He was re- tired from active service on July 8th of the same year, since when he has resided at Jack- sonville, Ill.

On September 24, 1854, General Grierson was united in marriage with Alice Kirk, of Youngs- town, Ohio, daughter of John and Susan (Bing- ham) Kirk. She died August 16, 1888. Seven children were born of this union, of whom two daughters and one son are deceased. The sur- viving sons are as follows: Major Charles H., U. S. A., a graduate of West Point, now at Fort Robinson, Neb .; Robert K., of Jackson- ville, Ill .; Benjamin H., Jr., and George M., who are at Fort Davis, Texas, in the ranch business. On July 28, 1897, he was wedded to Mrs. Lillian King, formerly the wife of Col. John W. King, and a daughter of Moses G. Atwood, of Alton, Ill., who moved west from Concord, N. H., in

William Reuben Routh

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HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY:

1837. Mrs. Grierson has one son, Harold At- wood King, general manager of a ranch belong- ing to General Grierson at Fort Davis, Texas.

In politics, General Grierson is a Republican. Immediately on the organization of that party he became actively allied with it, earnestly ad- vocating the election of John C. Fremont for the presidency, and in the campaign of 1856 was one of very few supporters of Fremont in Meredosia, Morgan County, Ill.

In view of the grandly patriotic career of Benjamin H. Grierson words of encomium are superfluous. His deeds will speak evermore. They are written in imperishable characters on the scroll of his country's heroes, and form an inseparable part of the nation's history.

HACKETT, James Henry, retired merchant of Jacksonville, Morgan County, Ill., is a native of Vermont, born in Orange County, that State, March 30, 1841, a son of James and Hannah (Richardson) Hackett. His ancestry is trace- able to the colonial period, he himself being a member of the Sons of the American Revolution. His great-grandfather, Daniel Hackett, was born May 25, 1753, and died in Tunbridge, Vt., July 11, 1841. Daniel Hackett served in the earth- works thrown up on Bunker Hill, and his father was a member of the Patriot force who received from General Israel Putnam the famous order to hold their fire until they could see the whites of the enemy's eyes. He was in Cap- tain Samuel McConnell's Company, of Col. Dan- iel Moore's command.

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Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Morgan County, Part 165

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897. cn; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913. cn; Short, William F., 1829- 4n Publication date: 1906 Publisher: Chicago : Munsell Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1286

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897. cn; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913. cn; Short, William F., 1829- 4n
Publication date: 1906
Publisher: Chicago : Munsell Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1286