Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of St. Clair County, Volume I, Part 14

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897. ed. cn; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913. jt. ed. cn; Wilderman, Alonzo St. Clair, 1839-1904, ed; Wilderman, Augusta A., jt. ed
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Chicago : Munsell Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 698

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University in 1888. From 1880 to 1889 he was Mayor and President of the Board of Education of Urbana. In 1867 lie opened a private bank, which he conducted for twenty-one years. In 1890 he was elected to Congress from the Fif- teenth Illinois District, defeating Joseph G. Can- non, Republican, by whom he was in turn defeated for the same office in 1892.

BUSHNELL, a flourishing city and manufac- turing center in McDonougli County, 11 miles northeast of Macomb, at the junction or two branches of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy with the Toledo, Peoria & Western Railroads; Has numerous manufactories, including wooden pumps, flour, agricultural implements, wagons and carriages, tank and fence-work, rural mail- boxes, mattresses, brick, besides egg and poultry packing houses; also lias water-works and elec- tric lights, grain elevators, three banks, several churches, graded public and high schools, two newspapers and a public library. Pop. (1900), 2,490.

BUSHNELL, Nehemiah, lawyer, was born in the town of Westbrook, Conn., Oct. 9, 1813; graduated at Yale College in 1835, studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1837, coming in December of the same year to Quincy, Ill., where, for a time, he assisted in editing "The Whig" of that city, later forming a partnership with O. H. Browning, which was never fully broken until his death. In his practice he gave much attention to land titles in the "Military Tract"; in 1851 was President of the portion of the North- ern Cross Railroad between Quincy and Gales- burg (now a part of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy), and later of the Quincy Bridge Company and the Quincy & Palmyra (Mo.) Railroad. In 1872 he was elected by the Republicans the "minority" Representative from Adams County in the Twenty-eighth General Assembly, but died during the succeeding session, Jan. 31, 1873. He was able, high-minded and honorable in public and private life.

BUSHNELL, Washington, lawyer and Attor- ney-General, was born in Madison County, N. Y., Sept. 30, 1825; in 1837 came with his father to Lisbon, Kendall County, Ill., where he worked on a farm and taught at times; studied law at Pough- keepsie, N. Y., was admitted to the bar and established himself in practice at Ottawa, Ill. The public positions held by him were those of State Senator for La Salle County (1861-69) and Attorney-General (1869-73) ; was also a member of the Republican National Convention of 1864, besides being identified with various business enterprises at Ottawa. Died, June 30, 1885.

HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS.

BUTLER, William, State Treasurer, was born in Adair County, Ky., Dec. 15, 1797; during the war of 1812, at the age of 16 years, served as the messenger of the Governor of Kentucky, carrying dispatches to Gen. William Henry Harrison in the field; removed to Sangamon County, Ill., in 1828, and, in 1836, was appointed Clerk of the Circuit Court by Judge Stephen T. Logan. In 1859 he served as foreman of the Grand Jury which investigated the "canal scrip frauds" charged against ex-Governor Matteson, and it was largely through his influence that the pro- ceedings of that body were subsequently pub- lished in an official form. During the same year Governor Bissell appointed him State Treasurer to fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of James Miller, and he was elected to the same office in 1860. Mr. Butler was an ardent sup- porter of Abraham Lincoln, whom he efficiently befriended in the early struggles of the latter in Springfield. He died in Springfield, Jan. 11, 1876.

BUTTERFIELD, Justin, early lawyer, was born at Keene, N. H., in 1790. He studied at Williams College, and was admitted to the bar at Watertown, N. Y., in 1812. After some years devoted to practice at Adams and at Sackett's Harbor, N. Y., he removed to New Orleans, where he attained a high rank at the bar. · In 1835 he settled in Chicago and soon became a leader in his profession there also. In 1841 he was appointed by President Harrison United States District At- torney for the District of Illinois, and, in 1849, by President Taylor Commissioner of the General Land Office, one of his chief competitors for the latter place being Abraham Lincoln. This dis- tinction he probably owed to the personal influ- ence of Daniel Webster, then Secretary of State, of whom Mr. Butterfield was a personal friend and warm admirer. While Commissioner, he rendered valuable service to the State in securing the canal land grant. As a lawyer he was logical and resourceful, as well as witty and quick at repartee, yet his chief strength lay before the Court rather than the jury. Numerous stories are told of his brilliant sallies at the bar and elsewhere. One of the former relates to his address before Judge Nathaniel Pope, of the United States Court at Springfield, in a habeas- corpus case to secure the release of Joseph Smith, the Mormon prophet, who was under arrest under the charge of complicity in an attempt to assassin- ate Governor Boggs of Missouri. Rising to begin his argument, Mr. Butterfield said: "I am to address the Pope" (bowing to the Court), "sur-

rounded by angels" (bowing still lower to a party of ladies in the audience), "in the presence of the holy apostles, in behalf of the prophet of the Lord." On another occasion, being asked if he was opposed to the war with Mexico, he replied, "I opposed one war"-meaning his opposition as a Federalist to the War of 1812- "but learned the folly of it. Henceforth I am for war, pestilence and famine." He died, Oct. 25, 1855.

BYFORD, William H., physician and author, was born at Eaton, Ohio, March 20, 1817; in 1830 came with his widowed mother to Crawford County, Ill., and began learning the tailor's trade at Palestine; later studied medicine at - Vincennes and practiced at different points in Indiana. Meanwhile, having graduated at the Ohio Medical College, Cincinnati, in 1850, he assumed a professorship in a Medical College at Evansville, Ind., also editing a medical journal. In 1857 he removed to Chicago, where he ac- cepted a chair in Rush Medical College, but two years later became one of the founders of the Chicago Medical College, where he remained twenty years. He then (1879) returned to Rush, assuming the chair of Gynecology. In 1870 he assisted in founding the Woman's Medical Col- lege of Chicago, remaining President of the Faculty and Board of Trustees until his death, May 21, 1890. He published a number of medical works which are regarded as standard by the profession, besides acting as associate of Dr. N. S. Davis in the editorship of "The Chicago Medical Journal" and as editor-in-chief of "The Medical Journal and Examiner," the successor of the former. Dr. Byford was held in the highest esteem as a physician and a man, both by the general public and his professional associates.

BYRON, a village of Ogle County, in a pictur- esque region on Rock River, at junction of the Chicago Great Western and the Chicago, Mil- waukee & St. Paul Railways, 83 miles west-north- west from Chicago; is in rich farming and dairy- ing district; has two banks and two weekly papers. Population (1890), 698; (1900), 1,015.

CABLE, a town in Mercer County, on the Rock Island & Peoria Railroad, 26 miles south by east from Rock Island. Coal-mining is the principal industry, but there are also tile works, a good quality of clay for manufacturing purposes being found in abundance. Population (1880), 572, (1890), 1,276; (1900). 697.

CABLE, Benjamin T., capitalist and politician, was born in Georgetown, Scott County, Ky ..

HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS.

August 11, 1853. When he was three years old his father's family removed to Rock Island, Ill., where he has since resided. After passing through the Rock Island public schools, he matric- ulated at the University of Michigan, graduating in June, 1876. He owns extensive ranch and manufacturing property, and is reputed wealthy ; is also an active Democratic politician, and influ- ential in his party, having been a member of both the National and State Central Committees. In 1890 he was elected to Congress from the Eleventh Illinois District, but since 1893 has held no public office.

CABLE, Ransom R., railway manager, was born in Athens County, Ohio, Sept. 23, 1834. His early training was mainly of the practical sort, and by the time he was 17 years old he was actively employed as a lumberman. In 1857 he removed to Illinois, first devoting his attention to coal mining in the neighborhood of Rock Island. Later he became interested in the pro- jection and management of railroads, being in turn Superintendent, Vice-President and Presi- dent of the Rock Island & Peoria Railroad. His next position was that of General Manager of the Rockford, Rock Island & St. Louis Railroad. His experience in these positions rendered him famil- iar with both the scope and the details of railroad management, while his success brought him to the favorable notice of those who controlled rail- way interests all over the country. In 1876 he was elected a Director of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway. In connection with this company he has held, successively, the offices of Vice-President, Assistant to the Presi- dent, General Manager and President, being chief executive officer since 1880. (See Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway.)

CAHOKIA, the first permanent wliite settle- ment in Illinois, and, in French colonial times, one of its principal towns. French Jesuit mis- sionaries established the mission of the Tamaroas here in 1700, to which they gave the name of "Sainte Famille de Caoquias," antedating the settlement at Kaskaskia of the same year by a few months. Cahokia and Kaskaskia were jointly made the county-seats of St. Clair County, when that county was organized by Governor St. Clair in 1790. Five years later, when Randolph County was set off from St. Clair, Cahokia was continued as the county-seat of the parent county, so remaining until the removal of the seat of justice to Belleville in 1814. Like its early rival, Kaskaskia, it has dwindled in impor- tance until, in 1890, its population was estimated

at 100. Descendants of the early French settlers make up a considerable portion of the present population. The site of the old town is on the line of the Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern Rail- road, about four miles from East St. Louis. Some of the most remarkable Indian mounds in the Mississippi Valley, known as "the Cahokia Mounds," are located in the vicinity. (See Mound- Builders, Works of the.)

CAIRNES, Abraham, a native of Kentucky, in 1816 settled in that part of Crawford County, Ill., which was embraced in Lawrence County on the organization of the latter in 1821. Mr. Cairnes was a member of the House for Crawford County in the Second General Assembly (1820-22), and for Lawrence County in the Third (1822-24), in the latter voting against the pro-slavery Conven- tion scheme. He removed from Lawrence County to some point on the Mississippi River in 1826, but further details of his history are un- known.

CAIRO, the county-seat of Alexander County, and the most important river point between St. Louis and Memphis. Its first charter was ob- tained from the Territorial Legislature by Shad- rach Bond (afterwards Governor of Illinois), John G. Comyges and others, who incorporated the "City and Bank of Cairo." The company entered about 1,800 acres, but upon the death of Mr. Comy- ges, the land reverted to the Government. The forfeited tract was re-entered in 1835 by Sidney Breese and others, who later transferred it to the "Cairo City and Canal Company," a corporation chartered in 1837, which, by purchase, increased its holdings to 10,000 acres. Peter Stapleton is said to have erected the first house, and John Hawley the second, within the town limits. In consideration of certain privileges, the Illinois Central Railroad has erected around the water front a substantial levee, eighty feet wide. Dur- ing the Civil War Cairo was an important base for military operations. Its population, according to the census of 1900, was 12,566. (See also Alex- ander County.)

CAIRO BRIDGE, THE, one of the triumphs of modern engineering, erected by the Illinois Cen- tral Railroad Company across the Ohio River, opposite the city of Cairo. It is the longest metallic bridge across a river in the world, being thirty-three feet longer than the Tay Bridge, in Scotland. The work of construction was begun, July 1, 1887, and uninterruptedly prosecuted for twenty-seven months, being completed, Oct. 29, 1889. The first train to cross it was made up of ten locomotives coupled together. The ap-

HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS.

proaches from both the Illinois and Kentucky shores consist of iron viaducts and well-braced timber trestles. The Illinois viaduct approach consists of seventeen spans of 150 feet each, and one span of 10614 feet. All these rest on cylin- der piers filled with concrete, and are additionally supported by piles driven within the cylinders. The viaduct on the Kentucky shore is of similar general construction. The total number of spans is twenty-two-twenty-one being of 150 feet each, and one of 10614 feet. The total length of the metal work, from end to end, is 10,650 feet, including that of the bridge proper, which is 4.644 feet. The latter consists of nine through spans and three deck spans. The through spans rest on ten first-class masonry piers on pneumatic foundations. The total length of the bridge, including the timber trestles, is 20,461 feet-about 378 miles. Four-fifths of the Illinois trestle work has been filled in with earth, while that on the southern shore has been virtually replaced by an embankment since the completion of the bridge. The bridge proper stands 104.42 feet in the clear above low water, and from the deepest foundation to the top of the highest iron work is 248.94 feet. The total cost of the work, including the filling and embankment of the trestles, has been (1895) between $3,250,000 and $3,500,000.

CAIRO, VINCENNES CHICAGO RAIL- ROAD, a division of the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railway, extending from Danville to Cairo (261 miles), with a branch nine miles in length from St. Francisville, Ill., to Vin- cennes, Ind. It was chartered as the Cairo & Vincennes Railroad in 1867, completed in 1872, placed in the hands of a receiver in 1874, sold under foreclosure in January, 1880, and for some time operated as the Cairo Division of the Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific Railway. In 1889, having been surrendered by the Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific Railway, it was united with the Danville & Southwestern Railroad, reorganized as the Cairo, Vincennes & Chicago Railroad, and, in 1890, leased to the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chi- cago & St. Louis Railway, of which it is known as the "Cairo Division." (See Cleveland, Cincin- nati, Chicago & St. Louis Railway.)

CAIRO & ST. LOUIS RAILROAD. (See St. Louis & Cairo Railroad and Mobile & Ohio Rail- way. )

CAIRO & VINCENNES RAILROAD. (See Cairo, Vincennes & Chicago Railroad.)

CALDWELL, (Dr.) George, early physician and legislator (the name is spelled both Cadwell and Caldwell in the early records), was born at

Wethersfield, Conn., Feb. 21, 1773, and received his literary education at Hartford, and his pro- fessional at Rutland, Vt. He married a daughter of Hon. Matthew Lyon, who was a native of Ireland, and who served two terms in Congress from Vermont, four from Kentucky (1803-11), and was elected the first Delegate in Congress from Arkansas Territory, but died before taking his seat in August, 1822. Lyon was also a resi- dent for a time of St. Louis, and was a candidate for Delegate to Congress from Missouri Territory, but defeated by Edward Hempstead (see Hemp- stead, Edward). Dr. Caldwell descended the Ohio River in 1799 in company with Lyon's family and his brother-in-law, John Messinger (see Messinger, John), who afterwards became a prominent citizen of St. Clair County, the party locating at Eddyville, Ky. In 1802, Caldwell and Messinger removed to Illinois, landing near old Fort Chartres, and remained some time in the American Bottom. The former finally located on the banks of the Mississippi a few miles above St. Louis, where he practiced his profession and held various public offices, includ- ing those of Justice of the Peace and County Judge for St. Clair County, as also for Madison County after the organization of the latter. He served as State Senator from Madison County in the First and Second General Assemblies (1818-22), and, having removed in 1820 within the limits of what is now Morgan County (but still earlier embraced in Greene), in 1822 was elected to the Senate for Greene and Pike Counties- the latter at that time embracing all the northern and northwestern part of the State, including the county of Cook. During the following ses- sion of the Legislature he was a sturdy opponent of the scheme to make Illinois a slave State. His home in Morgan County was in a locality known as "Swinerton's Point," a few miles west of Jacksonville, where he died, August 1, 1826. (See Slavery and Slave Laws.) Dr. Caldwell (or Cadwell, as he was widely known) commanded a high degree of respect among early residents of Illinois. Governor Reynolds, in his "Pioneer History of Illinois," says of him: "He was moral and correct in his public and private life, was a respectable physician, and always maintained an unblemished character."

CALHOUN, John, pioneer printer and editor, was born at Watertown, N. Y., April 14, 1808; learned the printing trade and practiced it in his native town, also working in a type-foundry in Albany and as a compositor in Troy. In the fall of 1833 he came to Chicago, bringing with him

HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS.

an outfit for the publication of a weekly paper, and, on Nov. 26, began the issue of "The Chicago Democrat"-the first paper ever published in that city. Mr. Calhoun retained the management of the paper three years, transferring it in Novem- ber, 1836, to John Wentworth, who conducted it until its absorption by "The Tribune" in July, 1861. Mr. Calhoun afterwards served as County Treasurer, still later as Collector, and, finally, as agent of the Illinois Central Railroad in procur- ing right of way for the construction of its lines. Died in Chicago, Feb. 20, 1859.

CALHOUN, John, surveyor and politician, was born in Boston, Mass., Oct. 14, 1806; removed to Springfield, Ill., in 1830, served in the Black Hawk War and was soon after appointed County Surveyor. It was under Mr. Calhoun, and by his appointment, that Abraham Lincoln served for some time as Deputy Surveyor of Sangamon County. In 1838 Calhoun was chosen Represent- ative in the General Assembly, but was defeated in 1840, though elected Clerk of the House at the following session. He was a Democratic Presi- dential Elector in 1844, was an unsuccessful candidate for the nomination for Governor in 1846, and, for three terms (1849, '50 and '51), served as Mayor of the city of Springfield. In 1852 he was defeated by Richard Yates (after- wards Governor and United States Senator), as a candidate for Congress, but two years later was appointed by President Pierce Surveyor-General of Kansas, where he became discreditably con- spicuous by his zeal in attempting to carry out the policy of the Buchanan administration for making Kansas a slave State-especially in con- nection with the Lecompton Constitutional Con- vention, with the election of which he had much to do, and over which he presided. Died at St. Joseph, Mo., Oct. 25, 1859.

CALHOUN, William J., lawyer, was born in Pittsburg, Pa., Oct. 5, 1847. After residing at various points in that State. his family removed to Ohio, where he worked on a farm until 1864, when he enlisted as a private in the Nineteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, serving to the end of the war. He participated in a number of severe battles while with Sherman on the march against Atlanta, returning with General Thomas to Nash- ville, Tenn. During the last few months of the war he served in Texas, being mustered out at San Antonio in that State, though receiving his final discharge at Columbus, Ohio. After the war he entered the Poland Union Seminary, where he became the intimate personal friend of Maj. William Mckinley, who was elected to the

Presidency in 1896. Having graduated at the seminary, he came to Arcola, Douglas County, Ill., and began the study of law, later taking a course in a law school in Chicago, after which he was admitted to the bar (1875) and established himself in practice at Danville as the partner of the Hon. Joseph B. Mann. In 1882 Mr. Calhoun was elected as a Republican to the lower branch of the Thirty-third General Assembly and, during the following session, proved himself one of the ablest members of that body. In May, 1897, Mr. Calhoun was appointed by President Mckinley a special envoy to investigate the circumstances attending the death of Dr. Ricardo Ruiz, a nat- uralized citizen of the United States who had died while a prisoner in the hands of the Spaniards during the rebellion then in progress in Cuba. In 1898 he was appointed a member of the Inter- State Commerce Commission to succeed William R. Morrison, whose term had expired.

CALHOUN COUNTY, situated between the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers, just above their junction. It has an area of 260 square miles, with a population (1900) of 8,917; was organized in 1825 and named for John C. Calhoun. Origi- nally, the county was well timbered and the early settlers were largely engaged in lumbering, which tended to give the population more or less of a migratory character. Much of the timber has been cleared off, and the principal business in later years has been agriculture, although coal is found and mined in paying quantities along Silver Creek. Tradition has it that the aborig- ines found the precious metals in the bed of this stream. It was originally included within the limits of the Military Tract set apart for the veterans of the War of 1812. The physical con- formation of the county's surface exhibits some peculiarities. Limestone bluffs, rising some- times to the height of 200 feet, skirt the banks of both rivers, while through the center of the county runs a ridge dividing the two watersheds. The side valleys and the top of the central ridge are alike fertile. The bottom lands are very riclı, but are liable to inundation. The county- seat and principal town is Hardin, with a popula- tion (1890) of 311.

CALLAHAN, Ethelbert, lawyer and legislator, was born near Newark, Ohio, Dec. 17, 1829; came to Crawford County, Ill., in 1849, where he farmed, taught school and edited, at different times, "The Wabash Sentinel" and ""The Marshall Telegraph." He early identified himself with the Republican party, and, in 1864, was the Republican candidate for Congress in his dis-

HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS.

trict; became a member of the first State Board of Equalization by appointment of Governor Oglesby in 1867; served in the lower house of the General Assembly during the sessions of 1875, '91, '93 and '95, and, in 1893-95, on a Joint Committee to revise the State Revenue Laws. He was also Presidential Elector in 1880, and again in 1888. Mr. Callahan was admitted to the bar when past 30 years of age, and was President of the State Bar Association in 1889. His home is at Robinson.

CALUMET RIVER, a short stream the main body of which is formed by the union of two branches which come together at the southern boundary of the city of Chicago, and which flows into Lake Michigan a short distance north of the Indiana State line. The eastern branch, known as the Grand Calumet, flows in a westerly direc- tion from Northwestern Indiana and unites with the Little Calumet from the west, 312 miles from the mouth of the main stream. From the south- ern limit of Chicago the general course of the stream is north between Lake Calumet and Wolf Lake, which it serves to drain. At its mouth, Calumet Harbor has been constructed, which admits of the entrance of vessels of heavy draught, and is a shipping and receiving point of importance for heavy freight for the Illinois Steel Works, the Pullman Palace Car Works and other manufacturing establish- ments in that vicinity. The river is regarded as a navigable stream, and has been dredged by the General Government to a depth of twenty feet and 200 feet wide for a distance of two miles, with a deptli of sixteen feet for the remainder of the distance to the forks. The Calumet feeder for the Illinois and Michigan Canal extends from the west branch (or Little Calumet) to the canal in the vicinity of Willow Springs. The stream was known to the early French explorers as "the Calimic," and was sometimes confounded by them with the Chicago River.

CALUMET RIVER RAILROAD, a short line, 4.43 miles in length, lying wholly within Cook County. The Pennsylvania Railroad Company is the lessee, but the line is not operated at present (1898). Its outstanding capital stock is $68,700. It has no funded debt, but has a floating debt of $116,357, making a total capitalization of $185,087. This road extends from One Hundredth Street in Chicago to Hegewisch, and was chartered in 1883. (See Pennsylvania Railroad.)

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Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of St. Clair County, Volume I, Part 14

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897. ed. cn; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913. jt. ed. cn; Wilderman, Alonzo St. Clair, 1839-1904, ed; Wilderman, Augusta A., jt. ed Publication date: 1907 Publisher: Chicago : Munsell Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 698

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897. ed. cn; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913. jt. ed. cn; Wilderman, Alonzo St. Clair, 1839-1904, ed; Wilderman, Augusta A., jt. ed
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Chicago : Munsell Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 698