Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Morgan County, Part 176

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

USA > Illinois > Morgan County > Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Morgan County > Part 176

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Though deeply interested in public matters, the only office which Dr. Moore ever consented to fill was that of Township Treasurer of School Funds. A Whig in early life, he became a Re- publican upon the founding of that party, vot- ing for John C. Fremont for the Presidency. In religion, stanchly devoted to Presbyterianism, he served as an Elder in the Pisgah Presbyte- rian Church for about thirty years.

Dr. Moore was married November 30, 1823, to Mary O'Neal, who was born near Bardstown, Ky., May 18, 1796, a daughter of Bryant and Ann (Cotton) O'Neal. Her father was born in Ireland, accompanied his parents to Virginia, was reared in that colony, and afterward re- moved to Kentucky. He served in the Revolu- tionary War, and for his patriotism and service, received from Patrick Henry, then Governor of Virginia (which included the territory now em- braced within the limits of Kentucky), title to a tract of valuable land near Bardstown, Ky. Bryant O'Neal fought under St. Clair when the latter was defeated by the Indians in the Ohio campaign, and also under General Wayne at the battle of Fallen Timbers, near Fort Wayne. His son Thomas, the only brother of Mary O'Neal, saw valiant service in the War of 1812. He fought throughout Harrison's campaign, helped to defeat the British forces at the battle

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HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY.

of the Thames, where Proctor surrendered and Tecumseh was killed, and personally assisted in the capture of the noted British General. He held a commission as Sergeant-Major in a regiment of dragoons. It is worthy of note that Ann Cotton O'Neal was an eye-witness to a battle between the British and Continental forces during the Revolution, which occurred in her father's wheat field in Fairfax County, Va.

A romantic incident of the Revolutionary period is related by George W. Moore, son of Dr. Moore, and is here preserved for the first time in print. During an engagement between the British and Colonial troops near the home of the Cotton and the O'Neal families in Fair- fax County, Va., a British soldier who had re- ceived a serious bullet wound in the abdomen, dragged himself to the Cotton home and asked for a drink of milk. This was furnished to him by Mrs. Cotton, who invited the sufferer into the house that he might receive the care and treatment necessary to his recovery. The milk that he drank passed from his digestive organs through the wound, soothing it and eventually curing him. He remained at the Cotton home, and ultimately transferred his allegiance to the Patriot cause.

MOORE, George W., farmer and ex-County Commissioner, residing seven miles east of Jacksonville, Ill., was born on the farm where he now lives January 1, 1833, the son of Dr. Edmund and Mary (O'Neal) Moore, pioneer set- tlers of Morgan County. (For more extended ancestral history, see sketch of Dr. Edmund Moore, preceding in this volume.) Reared on his father's farm, he attended the district schools of his neighborhood. Entering Illinois College, he was graduated from that institu- tion in the class of 1856, with the degree of Bachelor of Science. Returning home, he as- sisted his father in the management of the farm until the summer of 1861, when he determined to respond to the call of President Lincoln for additional troops. At this time Captain Lewis, of Jacksonville, was recruiting a company of cavalry to fill out Missouri's quota, and in this command, which became Company G, First Regiment Missouri Volunteer Cavalry, Mr. Moore enlisted on August 20th of that year. Upon the organization of the company he was elected Second Lieutenant. The command pro- ceeded at once to Missouri where, under Gen-

eral Fremont, it assisted in the work of driving General Sterling Price and his bushwhackers from Missouri into Arkansas. He also took part in the second campaign against Price, un- der command of Generals Curtis and Sigel. His entire service was in Missouri and Arkan- sas, and the operations of the army with which he was connected were directed principally against guerrillas and bushwhackers.

At the close of the war, Mr. Moore returned to his home and reengaged in agriculture, to which he has devoted his life. He has applied modern methods to the industry, and his farm is regarded as one of the most finely cultivated and valuable in Morgan County. Much of his time has been devoted to stock-raising, in which he has been successful. A firm believer in the foundation principles and workings of the Re- publican party, he has been zealous in the pro- motion of its welfare in both township and county affairs. From 1887 to 1890 he served as County Commissioner, and for a period of thirty-five years filled the office of Township Trustee of School Funds. He has always been deeply interested in the cause of education, and in later years has served as Trustee of the Illi- nois Institution for the Education of the Blind, a post to which he was appointed by Governor Yates in 1901. His sole relation with secret or fraternal orders is his membership in Matt Starr Post, No. 378, G. A. R.

Judge Moore was united in marriage May 25, 1868, with Nancy M. Chambers, daughter of Colonel George M. Chambers, a sketch of whose life will be found in other pages of this work. She died in July, 1890, leaving one daughter -- Eleanor Irwin, who resides with her father.

In closing this brief memoir of one of the most highly esteemed citizens of Morgan Coun- ty, it is but proper to record the fact that throughout his entire life he has been regarded as a man of unimpeachable integrity, of high personal character and an untiring devotion to the best interests of the entire community. His interest in public matters has been unselfish, his sole aim apparently having been to do what lay within his power to elevate the social, moral, intellectual and industrial status of his native county. In his dealings with others he has been actuated by the spirit of the Golden Rule. He is a man of striking personal char- acteristics, his intellectual attainments being most liberal for one whose nurture and employ-

HUGO THORNLEY

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HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY.

ment have been among the practical affairs of rural life. In association with other men of culture and refinement, he has been able to ap- preciate learning and share in the discussion of high themes. A broad-minded, useful citizen, his career should prove a source of inspiration to representatives of the younger generation.

MORRISEY, William M., City Attorney of Jacksonville, Ill., was born in Northampton, Mass., March 26, 1874, a son of P. S. and Alice (Keefe) Morrisey. His father was born in Ire- land in 1847, came to the United States at the age of ten years, and until 1877 resided at Northampton, Mass. Since that year he has been a resident of Jacksonville. Both parents are still living.

William M. Morrisey was educated in the country schools of Morgan County and at Brown's Business College. His first independent venture was as a clerk in the grocery business, but poor health prevented him from continuing in this line very long. On January 1, 1897, after recovering his health, he began the study of law in the office of Judge M. T. Layman; on January 1, 1900, was admitted to the bar, after examination before the State Board of Examin- ers at Mount Vernon, and since that time has been engaged in practice as the partner of Judge Layman.

Mr. Morrisey has taken an active part in poli- tics, espousing the cause of Republicanism. When Richard Yates announced himself a can- didate for the Governorship, in the fall of 1899, Mr. Morrisey was chosen Secretary of the Re- publican County Central Committee, a post which he has continued to fill to the present time. He was a member of the Inaugural Com- mittee in 1900; served as Deputy under Henry Yates when the latter was Internal Revenue Collector for this district; was Secretary and Treasurer of the Illinois State Institution for the Education of the Blind, from July 1, 1901, to July 1, 1903, and resigned the latter office to become City Attorney of Jacksonville, to which he was elected in the spring of the lat- ter year. On April 18, 1905, he was reelected City Attorney, after one of the most bitter campaigns ever waged in any of the municipali- ties of the State, leading the entire ticket and receiving a majority of nearly 400. His major- ity in 1903 was the largest ever accorded a candidate for the office in Jacksonville. Mr.

Morrisey was united in marriage April 12, 1904, with Katherine I. Keating, a native of Jack- sonville, and a daughter of Edward and Mary (Ryan) Keating. Though a young man, he enjoys the esteem of his fellow-citizens in Jack- sonville. He has attained success in his chosen profession in the face of numerous obstacles, chief of which probably have been long periods of illness, which have incapacitated him for the work in which it has been his ambition to make a success. He is a self-made man in every sense of the term, is possessed of a public spirit and an inclination to accomplish everything possible for the advancement of the community, and his integrity has never been brought into question.

MORRISON, (Hon.) Isaac L., (deceased, for nearly half a century one of the ablest and most highly reputed lawyers at the Illinois bar, was born near the village of Glasgow, Ky., January 26, 1826, the son of John Organ Morrison, his mother before marriage being a Miss Welborn, of North Carolina, and his father a native of Virginia. At the commencement of the Revo- lutionary War, his grandfather, Andrew Morri- son, who was from the North of Ireland, lived with his family in the vicinity of Orange Court House, Va. He was a soldier in the Continental Army and met his death at the battle of Brandy- wine. Mr. Morrison's maternal grandfather was Samuel Welborn, of North Carolina, who also served in the Revolutionary War in the campaigns of Gen. Greene against Cornwallis. In 1793, at the age of twenty-one years, John Organ Morrison left Virginia and settled in Kentucky, where he pursued his vocation of farming. He departed this life when his son, Isaac L., was fifteen years old, and the latter being the eldest of the sons at home, assumed the management of the farm, in the meantime reading historical works and endeavoring to ac- quire knowledge from all possible sources. Thus he spent the time until he reached his twentieth year, when he pursued a two years' course of study in Masonic College, Kentucky. He then entered upon the study of law, for eighteen months reading in the office of a prominent at- torney in his vicinity. In 1851 he left Ken- tucky and located in Jacksonville, Ill., where he spent the remainder of his life. As a law- yer, he speedily galned a conspicuous standing which he ever afterward maintained. He was

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HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY.

particularly skillful as a special pleader and in the examination of witnesses. He was thor- oughly versed in corporation law, and among his clients was the Jacksonville Southeastern line. He was a man of broad and varied in- formation, a profound student of history, and a rare Shakesperean scholar.

For the first few years of his law practice, Mr. Morrison was associated with Cyrus Epler. After the dissolution of that firm, about 1870, Judge H. G. Whitlock and William G. Gallaher successively became his partners, and on the death of the latter J. P. Lippincott was admitted to the firm. On the retirement of Judge Whitlock from active practice, Hon. Thomas Worthington entered the firm, and subsequently in 1899, John J. Reeve became a member. Mr. Morrison prac- ticed in the State and Federal Courts, and was generally regarded by the bench and bar as among the most forceful of Illinois lawyers. His office was the law school from which were graduated a number of prominent legal prac- titioners, including Richard Yates and the late Judge R. D. Russell, of Minneapolis. To young struggling lawyers Mr. Morrison was ever help- ful, and he never hesitated to give the worthy poor gratuitious advice and service.

Mr. Morrison was among the organizers of the Jacksonville National Bank, chartered in 1872, and was a member of its first Board of Di- rectors. To that position he was reelected every year during his subsequent life, acting also as Attorney for the institution. At the time of his death he was the last survivor of the origi- nal Directors.

On July 27, 1853, Mr. Morrison was married to Anna R. Tucker, of New York City, a daughter of Jonathan and Miriam (Weeks) Tucker. Two children resulted from this union, namely: Alfred T., and Miriam M., wife of Thomas Worthington, a distinguished lawyer, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this volume, and who for many years was United States Dis- trict Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois.

In politics, Mr. Morrison was a strong Re- publican, and a potent factor in the councils and campaigns of his party. He was a clear, impressive and convincing public speaker, and his services on the stump were of high value. The first Republican State Convention held at Bloomington in 1856, as also that of 1860, in- cluded him among its members. He was a dele-

gate to the Republican National Convention, in 1864, and during that year served as a member of the Republican State Central Committee. In 1876, 1878 and again in 1882 he was elected a Representative in the Illinois Legislature from the Morgan district, and during the session of the last named year was the recognized leader of his party on the floor of the Lower House. He was Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, and as such was instrumental in shaping all the important legislation of the session, including the famous Harper Bill. In 1880 he was his party's candidate for Congress, and largely re- duced the ordinary Democratic majority in the district. Mr. Morrison was an active member of Trinity Episcopal Church, of which he was Vestryman, and to which he was a liberal con- tributor. His busy, dutiful and useful life came to a deeply lamented end February 27, 1901.

MORTON, Francis M., who was formerly prom- inent in agricultural affairs in Morgan County, Ill., now living retired in his pleasant home at 715 South Main Street, Jacksonville, was born on his father's farm, in Morgan County, October 8, 1841. His parents were Joseph Mor- ton, better known as "Colonel" Morton, and Mary (Odle) Morton. Joseph Morton came to Morgan County, Ill., in the fall of 1819, and com- menced farming the following year. He assisted in building the first log cabin erected in the county, in 1820; was a progressive man; for two terms was a member of the Illinois House of Representatives and one term of the State Sen- ate from Morgan County, and at one time held an estate of about 800 acres. He died March 2, 1881.

Francis M. Morton was raised to farming, at- tended the public schools and was two years in Berean College (Christian Church State Col- lege). He then returned to the home farm and was married January 27, 1863, to Maria Louisa Orear, daughter of George and Sarah (Heslep) Orear-farmers, and, since 1835, representing a very prominent family of Morgan County. After their marriage Mr. Morton and wife con- tinued to live on the old homestead until 1889, when they moved to Jacksonville. They became the parents of two sons, Gilbert W. and George C. Gilbert W., who is a farmer of Morgan County, married Nellie C. Matthews, and they have five children: Mary Louisa, John Francis, Mamie A., Orear and Sarah Alice. George C.,

Mors Mary W Thornley

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who holds a position under Government as a member of the State Live-Stock Commission, at Chicago, married Anna M. Matthews, and is the father of one son, George M.

Mr. Morton is a member of the order of Elks, and a Democrat in politics; Mrs. Morton is iden- tified with the Methodist Episcopal Church, and their attractive home is situated in a pleasant part of the city.

MORTON, (Col.) Joseph, (deceased, was born in the State of Virginia, August 1, 1801, a son of Robert and Elizabeth (Sorrels) Morton. The Morton family settled in Bledsoe County, Tenn., where, in March of that year, Robert Morton died. His widow subsequently married Wiley Kirby, and soon afterward moved to Adair County, Ky., where, in 1825, Mr. Kirby died. In 1828 Mrs. Kirby and her family journeyed to Morgan County, Ill., where she, too, passed away. Jo- seph Morton received his early mental training mainly in Madison County, Ky., and in the fall of 1820, before the county survey was made, lo- cated on Government land just east of Jaekson- ville. He was one of a dozen or fifteen pioneer settlers in Morgan County, and was a farmer and stock-raiser. He assisted in building sev- eral of the first log cabins in the county.

On April 27, 1823, Col. Morton was united in marriage with Mary Odle, a native of Kentucky, and a daughter of Daniel Odle. Both of her par- ents were born in Kentucky. The union of Col. Morton and wife resulted in thirteen children, namely: Minerva, Charles, Clarinda, Helen, Jo- seph, Andrew, William, Mary, Francis, George, James and Thomas. In politics, Col. Morton was an unswerving but independent Democrat, and a potent factor in the local councils and cam- paigns of his party. He was elected to the Lower House of the Illinois Legislature in 1836, while the State capital was still at Vandalia. He was again elected to this body in 1846, and in 1854 was chosen to the State Senate. In 1862 he was a member of the Constitutional Convention. He took the census of Morgan County, then includ- ing Scott and Cass Counties. In 1835, he super- intended the taking of the State census. Relig- iously, Colonel Morton was a member of the Christian Church. He was a man of strong character, resolute, keen, courageous and perse- vering, and possessed all the qualities essential to success in the pioneer period. He died on March 2, 1881.

NEWTON, Samuel, who resides on his farm half a mile east of Concord, has been a resident of Morgan County for two-thirds of a century. He was born at Randolph, Portage County, Ohio, May 4, 1833, a son of William B. and So- phia (Sutliff) Newton. William B. Newton, who was a native of Templeton, Mass., and a representative of one of the oldest and most worthy families of the Bay State, received a liberal education and early in life became a teacher. Removing to Ohio in the pioneer days of that State, he there engaged in educational work until his removal to Illinois with his fam- ily in 1839. His first location in this county was at Meredosia, where he remained for one year. He then engaged in farming at Diamond Grove for two years, upon the expiration of that period removing to Scott County, where he pur- chased a farm located eight miles east of Win- chester. With splendid prospects of success be- fore him, his life was cut short, while still in the prime of manhood, his death occurring at his home in Scott County, October 12, 1846.

Left dependent upon his own resources at the age of thirteen years, Samuel Newton began work in the spring of 1847 upon the farm of J. B. Fairbank, near Concord, receiving $6 per month for his services. After spending four years upon this farm, he was similarly engaged for one year for James Ellis, whose place was situated east of Concord. His entire service as a farm hand extended over a period of seven years, and the highest pay he received was $15 per month. Upon attaining his majority he rented 33 acres of land situated west of the railroad, near Concord, paying therefor one- third the income. The following fall he pur- chased a half interest in a thresher, which he operated during the harvest season, in conjunc- tion with his agricultural enterprise. Until 1891 he continued threshing, purchasing and operating seven different machines in the mean- time. In the spring of 1865 lie purchased 100 acres of land, the nucleus of his present fine property, to which he has added until he now owns 506 acres, all of which has been improved except small pieces of native timber. For sev- eral years, during the earlier days of his life in Illinois, he drove hogs in large numbers to Beardstown and Whitehall, finding the under- taking quite profitable. He has found the great- est profit, however, in raising and feeding cattle.

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For twenty-one years Mr. Newton served as School Director; for thirty years has been Secretary of Concord Lodge, No. 82, I. O. O. F .; and is also a member of N. D. Morse Lodge, No. 346, A. F. & A. M., of Concord. On May 5, 1860, he was married to Martha E. Sims, daughter of Rev. L. B. Sims, a preacher in the Methodist Episcopal Church, his wife dying September 22, 1877. They became the parents of the following named children: Ida May, wife of John G. Irving, of Arenzville; Emma Florence (de- ceased ), wife of George F. Blimling, of Concord;' Nellie E. (deceased), wife of R. C. Huddleson, of Pike County, Ill .; Addie and Alice (twins) -- Addie becoming the wife of C. E. Willard, of Concord, and Alice, the wife of Thomas Titus, of Trilla, Coles County, Ill .; Charles Edward, living at home; Archibald L., residing one mile east of Concord; and Katie, wife of John Rink, of Beardstown. On March 7, 1878, Mr. Newton was united in marriage with Mrs. Elvira (Park) Haney, daughter of John S. Park, who was born in South Carolina in 1802, and died in Illinois, in 1847. He removed to Spring Creek, Sangamon County, Ill., between 1832 and 1835, with his wife, formerly Mary A. Morrison, who was born near Maysville, Ky. Mr. Park finally took up Government land located on the northeast edge of Joy Prairie, and at the time of his death owned 220 acres, all improvements upon which were the result of his own labors. He and his wife were the parents of eight children, one of whom died in infancy. Those who reached maturity were: Warren J., who died in Arkansas in 1876; Sarah G. (died in Ore- gon), wife of Martin C. Collier; Mary J. (de- ceased), wife of Jacob Valentine; Elvira A., who married J. A. Haney; George W., of Pe- culiar, Mo .; Caroline S., deceased, wife of Rev. Columbus Derrick; Josephine, widow of Ira Chase, of Haddam, Kans. Mrs. Newton's chil- dren by her first marriage were: Ada V., wife of John F. Blimling, of Murrayville; Alma C., wife of Arthur Hamilton, Superintendent of the Railway Terminal System at St. Louis and East St. Louis; Grace E., who died at the age of twenty; and Mary S., who died at the age of two years. The children of Mr. and Mrs. New- ton have been: John Samuel, who died at the age of two years; and James Jay, residing at . home.

Mr. Newton is a representative of that type of sterling man who finds delight in the ac-

complishment of those things which benefit his community. Possessed of an unselfish public spirit, a broad mind and generous disposition, he has come to be highly regarded as a citizen of genuine worth-helpful and progressive, and earnest in his espousal of all movements which are intended to elevate the moral, social and industrial status of Morgan County.

NICHOLS, Samuel Warren, editor and one of the proprietors of the Jacksonville (Ill.) "Daily Journal," was born near Quincy, Adams County, Ill., February 5, 1844, a son of War- ren and Ann Maria (Morrill) Nichols, both de- scendants of old and honored families of New England. Warren Nichols was born in Read- ing, Mass., January 25, 1803, and was a repre- sentative of an English family which emi- grated to New England in the early colonial period. He received a liberal classical educa- tion, and after his graduation from Wil- liams College in 1830, entered Andover Theo- logical Seminary for the purpose of qualifying himself for the ministry in the "New School" Presbyterian Church. After pursuing the rigid course prescribed by that institution, he was graduated thereform in 1833, with his health badly impaired as the result of years of hard study, and work performed in order to pay his expenses through college. Having decided to engage in home missionary work in the West, he at once proceeded to Missouri, where he spent about a year in this work. While in Mis- souri he suffered from an attack of Asiatic cholera, during the memorable epidemic of 1833, but from which he recovered.

In 1834 he removed to Illinois, and for fif- teen years thereafter labored continuously in Adams, Pike and Hancock Counties, in the lat- ter county striving to overcome the influence exerted by the Mormon Church, whose head- quarters were then at Nauvoo, Hancock County. Warren Nichols was also one of the most ardent workers in behalf of the slave, and for a long period assisted in the workings of the so-called "underground railroad."

As the associate of the celebrated Dr. David Nelson, he devoted a large share of his time to educational work in Illinois; and during a por- tion of the time in which he made this State his field of labor, served as agent for the Ameri- can Tract Society. He gave freely of his time and services for the promulgation of religious

HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY.

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Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Morgan County, Part 176

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