Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Morgan County, Part 183

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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Soon after his conversion Mr. Rutledge en- tered the ministry, first as a supply on Abing- ton Circuit, Baltimore Conference, under Rev. Charles B. Tippett as Presiding Elder. A year later he was admitted on trial as a member of the Baltimore Conference and immediately transferred to the Illinois Conference, where he occupied positions as follows: Sangamon Circuit, 1835; Jacksonville, 1836; Sangamon, 1837-38; Knoxville, 1839; Lewistown, 1840-41; Rushville, 1842; Carrollton, 1843-44; Quincy, 1845; Rushville, 1846; Jacksonville, 1847; Sparta District, 1848; Winchester, 1849-50; Al- ton District, 1851. The Southern Illinois Con- ference having been set off about this time, he remained a member of the Illinois Conference and, in 1852, was stationed at Griggsville. Ap- pointments later held by him included Presid- ing Elder of the Jacksonville District, 1853-56; Pleasant Plains Circuit, 1857-60; Carlinville Station, 1861; Bloomington District, 1862-65; Jacksonville Circuit, 1866-70. His death oc- curred September 7, 1871, as the result of ty- phoid fever, by which he was attacked after attending a quarterly meeting on the West Jacksonville Circuit August 27th previous.

Mr. Rutledge was married June 1, 1837, to Mary Ann Mathers, who with three daughters and four sons survive him. He was a zealous worker in the interest of the church whose cause he had espoused at an early age, and was an especial friend and champion of the Illinois Conference Female College-now the Illinois Woman's College-during the infancy of that institution. A generous tribute was paid to his memory in a "Memoir" printed in the Minutes of the Illinois Annual Conference held at Jacksonville, September 20-25, 1871, a few weeks after his death. (For sketch of Rev. William J. Rutledge, a brother of Rev. George Rutledge, and who was an Army Chaplain dur- ing the Civil War and one of the founders of the Grand Army of the Republic, see page 462 of the "Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois.")

RUTLEDGE, Charles G., Bank Cashier, Jack- sonville, Ill., was born in Jacksonville, January 1, 1861, the son of Rev. George and Mary Ann (Mathers) Rutledge, the former a native of Augusta, Va., and the latter of Enniskillen, Ire- land. (For genealogy of the Rutledge family,

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HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY.

see sketch of Rev. George Rutledge, preceding.) Charles G. Rutledge's mother, Mary Ann (Ma- thers) Rutledge, was born at Enniskillen, Ire- land, September 15, 1819, the daughter of Wes- ley and Elizabeth (Dennen) Mathers, both na- tives of Enniskillen, Ireland-the former born December 15, 1780, and the latter June 20th, of the same year.

The subject of this sketch received his edu- cation in the public schools of his native city and Illinois College, graduating from the latter in the class of 1881, and later taking a course in Brown's Business College. On March 14, 1882, he entered into the employment of the banking firm of M. P. Ayers & Co., at Jack- sonville, with which he has been associated twenty-four years, at present (1906) holding the position of Cashier. Official positions held by him include those of member of the Board of Education, to which he was elected on the Re- publican ticket in April, 1903, and with which he is still connected, and member of the Jack- sonville Library Board. In his political affilia- tions, Mr. Rutledge has been identified with the Republican party; is a member of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church, and is associated with the Masonic bodies up to the Knights Templar Commandery, Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, Knights of Pythias and Benevolent Pro- tective Order of Elks.

Mr. Rutledge was married at Glasgow, Mo., April 30, 1890, to Ada C. Harrison, who was a native of that city and educated at the Mary Institute, St. Louis. They have had two chil- dren born to them-a son and a daughter -- the former, Orrel Harrison, born April 20, 1895, and the latter, Lily-Way, born June 26, 1898. Mr. Rutledge's entire business life has been spent in the city of Jacksonville.

SANDERS, Charles Joseph, one of the best known and most highly respected agriculturists of Morgan County, residing on his farm half a mile north of Concord, was born in Loudoun County, Va., February 14, 1825, a son of Ed- ward and Barbara Ann (Byrns) Sanders. His father, who was born in Annapolis, Md., in 1774, served in the War of 1812, and partici pated in the memorable battle of North Point, when the British forces attempted to land and occupy the city of Baltimore. His wife, who was born in Bladensburg, Md., was a daughter of John Byrns, also a native of Maryland. John

Byrns fought with the regular Continental Army throughout the Revolutionary War, with the exception of about eighteen months, when he served in the command of General Francis Marion in South Carolina. He participated in the battle of the Brandywine, where he was wounded five times. His record throughout this great struggle was a valorous one, to which his descendants point with pardonable pride. He died at the patriarchal age of one hundred and ten years. He was twice married, first to Annie Tate, and upon his death in 1846 was survived by his widow and ten children-five by each marriage. His second wife, Barbara Byrns Sanders, left her Virginia home with her five children, in 1848, and started overland for Illinois, the journey consuming thirty-three days. Charles J. Sanders, the subject of this sketch, was a member of this party, having first visited this region in 1847, and returned home in the spring of 1848. Mr. Sanders was reared on his father's farm in Loudoun County, Va., and received a limited education in the early subscription schools. His father lost $84,000 by becoming security for the Sheriff of Lou- doun County, and, finding himself unable to continue in business, freed his slaves. This left the family practically without means, and resulted in their determination to seek a home in a new State where they might build up their fallen fortunes. The first location of the family was in Springfield, where Mr. Sanders accepted any employment that offered itself. There he remained until 1852. During his res- idence in Springfield he formed an acquaintance with Abraham Lincoln, then a struggling law- yer, which ripened into a friendship that existed up to the time of Lincoln's death. In 1853 Mr. Sanders returned to his old home in Virginia and brought back with him his maternal grand- mother, Mrs. Elizabeth Byrns, whose husband, John Byrns, had served in the Revolutionary War. She spent the remainder of her life in Illinois, dying at the age of over eighty years.

In 1852 Mr. Sanders and his brother, James J. Sanders, came to Morgan County and pur- chased a farm of 212 acres north of the site of the village of Concord. At this time it con- tained a rude house of two rooms and a kitchen, and the land was but slightly improved. The two brothers began at once to develop the prop- erty, and so successful were their efforts that they accumulated over 800 acres of land, now

COL. GEO. M. CHAMBERS

SAMUEL KEPLINGER

RICHARD FELLOW'S

JAMES RAWLINGS

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HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY.

forming one of the most valuable pieces of farming property of its extent in Morgan County. It is finely located and includes a cominodious and attractive residence, with other improvements, all of which are the result of the combined labors of the two brothers, who re- mained equal partners until the death of James J. Sanders, August 20, 1897, at the age of sev- enty-four years.

Though Mr. Sanders has operated his farm continuously since settling upon it with his brother, for several years he also dealt in grain, making his headquarters at Concord. In poli- tics, he was originally a Whig. Upon the organ- ization of the Republican party, in 1856, he en- tered its ranks, and was one of the six resi- dents of Concord who dared defy public senti- ment and vote for General Fremont for the Presidency. He went to Jacksonville with Sam- uel French's company to participate in the first Fremont parade held in Morgan County. His first vote, as a Whig, was for Zachary Taylor for President, and Richard Yates, for Member of Congress. For the past twenty years he has been an ardent Prohibitionist. During his en- tire lifetime he has never sought political of- fice, and has consented to fill none excepting such local posts as good citizens are called upon to occupy from time to time, such as Supervi- sor of Roads and School Director.

Mr. Sanders has been one of the most promi- nent men in Odd Fellowship in Morgan County. Initiated into the order at Concord in 1852, he has served many terms as Noble Grand of that lodge. For several years he was Representative of the Grand Lodge of the State, and for eight years was Deputy Noble Grand of the Grand Lodge. While occupying the latter exalted office, he instituted the lodges at Bethel and Arenz- ville, and reorganized the Bethel Lodge when it was removed to Chapin. (See history of Odd Fellowship.)

Soon after the beginning of the Mexican War, he enlisted for service in Colonel Mason's regiment, which was organized in Loudoun County, Va .; but before the command could en- ter active service the war had terminated and, much to his disappointment, the regiment was disbanded. But he has an honorable record of service in the Union Army throughout the Civil War. In August, 1862, he enlisted in Company B, One Hundred and First Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and served continuously

with that command to the end of its term of service, or until the close of the conflict. At the battle of Peach Tree Creek, Ga., he was wounded in the frontal bone and the ear, though not seriously. At Holly Springs, Miss., he was one of the members of the four compa- nies of his regiment which were captured by the Confederates, and held prisoner for about six months. He was with his command on the memorable March to the Sea, and participated in the Grand Review at Washington, D. C., where, in June, 1865, he was mustered out as First Sergeant, receiving his discharge at Springfield, Ill. He still retains the custody of the battle flag presented to his company by a Miss Smith, a relic which is prized very highly by his family and the citizens of Concord gen- erally. For many years he was a member of the Grand Army Post instituted at Chapin.

On May 21, 1856, Mr. Sanders was united in marriage with Hannah Eagle, who was born in England, September 19, 1835, and came to Mor- gan County in 1855, with her parents, Thomas and Elizabeth (Stagles) Eagle. The latter, who became well known and highly esteemed residents of this county, came to America in 1853, first locating in Monroeville, Ohio. Mrs. Eagle is still living at the age of ninety-one years. Mrs. Sanders' brother, Thomas Eagle, entered the Union Army at the age of fifteen years as an attache of the One Hundred and First Regiment, though not as an enlisted man, on account of his youth. He subsequently en- listed in Company B, Sixty-eighth Regiment Il- linois Volunteer Infantry, serving with credit. Her father served three months in the defense of Washington in the Civil War, and her grand- father, Reuben Eagle, served with the King's Troops in England at the time his son, Thomas, was born.

Mr. and Mrs. Sanders have been the parents of ten children, of whom five are deceased, namely: Elizabeth, Edward Lincoln, Louie, William Sherman and Grace. Those now living are named as follows: Martha Ellen, who mar- ried Thomas R. Smith; Mecca Delores, who mar- ried Charles W. Yeck; James Edward, Minnie Byrns and Charles Ernest. The three youngest children reside with their parents. the two sons sharing in the operation of the home farm. James Edward Sanders, who was born July 1, 1874, enlisted June 13, 1898, in Company K. Nineteenth Regiment, U. S. A., and served nine

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HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY.

months during the Spanish-American War. His command first went into camp at Tampa, Fla., and afterward participated in the manœuvers in Porto Rico. He was discharged at Lares, Porto Rico, April 16, 1899.

Charles J. Sanders belongs to that rugged type of men who form the bone and sinew of a community or a State. In their ambition for financial success, he and his wife, and Mr. San- ders' brother, James J., never forgot their duty to their fellowmen, but always assisted in the promotion of all worthy projects which had for their aim the advancement of the general wel- fare. Mr. Sanders has been a useful and help- ful citizen, liberal in his support of educational and religious institutions, and always willing to extend a helping hand to his friends and neighbors who have been less fortunate than he. Now, in the twilight of a long and hon- orable career, he and his estimable wife are sur- rounded by their affectionate family and enjoy- ing the comforts to which their years of devo- tion to their family and friends entitle them. A high-minded, unselfish, public-spirited citi- zen, a man whom all delight to honor, he is entitled to recognition among the representa- tive men of Morgan County, and his life record should be a source of gratification and pride to his descendants and to the entire com- munity.

SANDERS, William Davis, D. D., (deceased), orator and educator of Jacksonville, Ill., a man of marked literary ability and great scholarly attainments, was born in Huron County, Ohio, the son of Dr. Moses Chapin Sanders, a dis- tinguished physician and surgeon. He pre- pared for college at Huron Institute, Milan, Ohio, and in 1841 entered the Western Reserve College at Hudson, Ohio, from which he was graduated in 1845. During the next three years he was principal of the Richfield Academy, Summit County, Ohio. In 1848 he entered the Western Reserve Theological Seminary at Hud- son, completing his course there in 1851, and during this period executing a plan which res- cued the college from great peril and added over $100,000 to its resources.

Soon after completing his studies in theology, July 10, 1851, Dr. Sanders was united in mar- riage with Cornelia Ruth Smith of Cleveland, who still survives him and resides in her beau- tiful home in Jacksonville. Of the five children

born to them, one has died, and the remainder occupy prominent business and social positions in Cleveland and in Jacksonville. Immediately after completing his studies, Dr. Sanders was ordained by the Presbytery of Portage and took charge of a church at Ravenna, Ohio, where he labored three years with marked success. He was then called to the chair of Rhetoric, Elo- cution and English Literature in Illinois Col- lege, which he ably filled for fifteen years from the fall of 1854, through his personal exertions, relieving the institution from financial embar- rassment. Dr. Sanders was recognized as among the most powerful of the anti-slavery orators of his day and as among the most elo- quent of the supporters of the Union cause. One of his most patriotic appeals was pronounced by him in Strawn's Opera House, April 12, 1861, to the Hardin Light Guard and the Union Guards, on the Sabbath preceding their depart- ure for the field. Among other oratorical ef- forts which gave him great celebrity, were his welcome to Gen. John A. McClernand in 1862, to Gen. Benj. H. Grierson in 1863, his discourse at Quincy upon the fall of Richmond, his ora- tion in Carlinville the same year, and his wel- come to ex-President Grant on occasion of his visit to Jacksonville in 1880.

Dr. Sanders' name, however, will perhaps be perpetuated longer as that of the founder of in- stitutions of learning, than from any other cause. He was the originator of the "Young Ladies' Athenæum," a school established in 1864, which enjoyed the patronage of the wealthiest and most intelligent families, and, under his superintendence, occupied a large field of usefulness. It was first in this region, if not in the West, in promoting the higher edu- cation of women. The Illinois Conservatory of Music is also the offspring of his untiring en- ergy, its establishment dating from 1870. Dr. Sanders was repeatedly called to pulpits in the large cities, but persistently declined such al- luring offers. In the socio-literary life of Jack- sonville he was active, and in 1860 or 1861 he, with Rev. Dr. Hamilton, established The Club, one of the first literary organizations which have become so numerous throughout the West of late years.

Dr. William D. Sanders was a man of the strongest convictions, of great courage, and of the broadest, yet most individual sympathies. He was possessed of an unusual fund of infor-

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mation, acquired by extensive reading upon almost every topic, keeping in close touch with the progress of religion, politics and great enter- prises and movements in general. As a teacher his ability to impart instruction was extraordl- nary, and the enthusiasm he could arouse in pupils was a matter of enduring value to them in the acquisition of knowledge. He belonged among the great teachers, and in that lofty realm his influence will probably be the most enduring. His death occurred October 29, 1897.

SARGENT, John Collens, (deceased), formerly a retired minister and farmer, of Markham, Morgan County, Ill., was born near that place June 22, 1828, the son of William Lamb and Me- linda (Hughes) Sargent, the father and mother being natives of Kentucky. The parents moved to Morgan County in 1824, and the father first entered 160 acres of Government land, to which he added 80 acres, located five and a half miles west of Jacksonville. The family moved to Andrew County, Mo., in 1868, where the father died at the age of eighty-four years, the mother having passed away in Morgan County when about sixty-six years of age.

William L. Sargent was a prominent man in the communities in which he lived. Politically, he was first a Jackson Democrat; then a Whig, and afterward a Republican. He served two terms in the State Senate, and was County Com- missioner and Justice of the Peace. He was one of the principal founders of the Methodist Epis- copal Church, organized in the schoolhouse, which afterward became the Zion Methodist Episcopal Church. In this he was a member of the first class, and held the offices of Steward and Trustee. During the Civil War he served on the Christian Commission for about six months, was captured by the Confederates near Nashville, Tenn., and was paroled and sent home. He had six sons in the Union Army, all of whom survived the war, viz .: John C., Charles A., William Smith, Thomas J., Henry and James, all being privates except John C. The period of their combined service was thir- teen years. Their uncle, John Sargent, served in the Black Hawk War.

John C. Sargent made Morgan County his home, being reared on a farm and attending the subscription schools of his neighborhood. In 1851 Mr. Sargent united with the Mount Zion Methodist Episcopal Church, near Mark-

ham, during a revival conducted by the pastor, Rev. C. W. Lewis, and he then formally dedi- cated himself to religious work. He studied for the ministry under the direction of his mother and James Dalton, a local church leader, and took a four years' conference course. He began preaching in 1854, in Morgan County, be- ing received at the conference held at Hardin, and his first sermon delivered in Wesley Chapel, after which he did circuit and station work. In 1855-56 he was stationed over the church at Manchester; in 1857 was at New Hartford; in 1858-59 at Lynnville, and 1860-61 at Whitehall.

In 1862 Mr. Sargent enlisted in the Union Army, being elected First Lieutenant of Com- pany G, Ninety-first Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry. A month later he was commissioned. Chaplain of the regiment and served two years. He was in service at Shepherdsville and Eliza- bethtown, Ky., where he was captured by John Morgan, paroled and sent to Benton Barracks. On July 4, 1863, he went down the Mississippi and was six weeks in New Orleans and six months in Brownsville, Texas. Upon his re- turn from army service, Mr. Sargent was sta- tioned, as a minister at Payson, Adams County, Ill., remaining there during the balance of 1864 and the year 1865; for the next two years was pastor of the Fifth Street Methodist Epis- copal Church, Quincy; was at Griggsville in 1869-70; 1871-74, at Hillsboro and Greenfield, and for the following three years conducted pastorates at Clayton and Mt. Sterling; 1878-81 had the West Jacksonville, North Jacksonville and South Jacksonville circuits; served the church at Chapin in 1882; from 1883 to 1895 bore a supernumerary relationship to the con- ference, and in 1896 was placed in the super- annuated list. In 1848 Mr. Sargent first set- tled on the place upon which he spent the last years of his life, until about 1873, during his most active ministerial career, renting it to others, but afterward operating it himself. His death occurred on this farm in June, 1905.

On May 28, 1848, Mr. Sargent was married to Belinda Holliday, who was born here June 14, 1828, near the site of the County House. She is the daughter of James Holliday, who moved on the Sargent place In 1829. James Holliday was born in Yorkshire, England, between 1780 and 1790, and In 1821 settled in Indiana, where he remained three years. In 1824 he located In Morgan County, where he spent the remainder

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HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY.

of his life, dying in 1855, as a lifelong farmer. He was the first Englishman to settle in Mor- gan County, and through correspondence in- duced many others to follow him. His wife was Eleanor Thompson, who made all the cloth and clothing for the family. At his death Mr. Sargent left a widow and three children (three having died young), as follows: John A., at home; George, living at Springfield, Ill., freight agent for the Wabash Railroad; and W. T., a farmer. Mrs. Sargent's brother, Joseph, served in the Black Hawk War.

Politically, Mr. Sargent was a stanch Repub- lican, but his life work in the ministry pre- cluded activity in any but the field of religion. His funeral at the Centenary Church, Jackson- .ville, was largely attended, and in his death it was universally felt that the community had lost an earnest Christian friend, and the Meth- odist Church one of its most faithful and efficient workers.

SCHAFER, John Joseph, President of the Jack- sonville (Ill.) Meat Company, was born in Ba- den, Germany, March 15, 1857, and there re- ceived his mental training in the public schools. His parents, who were both natives of Germany, died in the Fatherland. Mr. Schafer emi- grated to the United States in 1870, first locat- ing in Schenectady, N. Y., and afterward in Albany, that State, where he was employed in the foundry of the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad. Later, for eighteen months, he was engaged in the butchering business with Henry Gray, and then worked for a like period as a butcher, in Brookfield, Mo. Afterward he spent two years in Quincy, Ill., moving thence to Jacksonville, where he has since resided. Two years after settling in Jacksonville, Mr. Schafer started in business for himself. In 1899, with others, he organized the Jasksonville Meat Company, of which he was elected President, and in which capacity he has since acted. The concern is incorporated with a paid-up stock of $30,000. The plant is of large dimensions, and the company is extensively engaged in packing and shipping all kinds of meats.

In February, 1878, Mr. Schafer was united in marriage with Barbara Oslenschlager, who was born in Terre Haute, Ind., April 3, 1856, and there, in girlhood, received her education in the public schools. To this union were born three children, namely: Albert J., Frank F. and Carl

J. Another member of the family group is Minnie Oslenschlager, daughter of George and Catherine (Hassler) Oslenschlager, who has shared Mr. and Mrs. Schafer's home since her infancy.

In politics, Mr. Schafer is a Democrat, and served in 1897 as a member of the Jacksonville City Council. Fraternally he is a member of . the I. O. O. F. Mr. Schafer is a thoroughly competent business man, and applies himself to the affairs of his company with a degree of energy and constancy productive of most satis- factory results.

SCHOLFIELD, Thomas, retired from active farming, residing at 509 Kosciusko Street, Jacksonville, Ill., was born at Sheffield, York- shire, England, October 25, 1835, the son of James and Maria (Buckley) Scholfield. The family emigrated to America in 1841, and, com- ing direct to Morgan County, they remained for a year and a half at Lynnville, and then located on 80 acres of timber land which was afterward cleared. James Scholfield was by trade a carpenter and erected many houses and barns throughout Morgan County. He also closely attended to his farming interests and acquired an estate of 200 acres, dying at the age of sixty-six years, and leaving a family of seven children, of whom Thomas was the eldest.

Thomas Scholfield has made farming his occu- pation through life, and his chances for an edu- cation were very limited in his boyhood days. On October 1, 1857, he was married to Eliza- beth Herring, who was born in England August 5, 1836. They became the parents of ten chil- dren, eight of whom are living, namely: Ellen; Eliza, wife of George Scholfield; Ellsworth; William; Alice, wife of Charles Gibbs; Della; Ida, wife of Bert Rawlings; and Fred, who is conducting his father's farm of 174 acres. Mr. Scholfield moved into Jacksonville, in 1897, and bought the house in which he now resides. He has served his district as School Director, Road Master, and in other capacities, being a sub- stantial and capable citizen. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and, frater- nally, is connected with the I. O. O. F. In poli- tics he is a Republican.

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Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Morgan County, Part 183

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