USA > Illinois > St Clair County > Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of St. Clair County, Volume I > Part 24
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Governors and other State Officers; Judicial System; Suffrage, Etc.)
COOK, Burton C., lawyer and Congressman, was born in Monroe County, N. Y., May 11, 1819; completed his academic education at the Collegi- ate Institute in Rochester, and after studying law, removed to Illinois (1835), locating first at Hennepin and later at Ottawa. Here he began the practice of his profession, and, in 1846, was elected by the Legislature State's Attorney for the Ninth Judicial District, serving two years, when, in 1848, he was re-elected by the people under the Constitution of that year, for four years. From 1852 to 1860, he was State Senator, taking part in the election which resulted in making Lyman Trumbull United States Senator in 1855. In 1861 he served as one of the Peace Commissioners from Illinois in the Conference which met at Washington. He may be called one of the founders of the Republican party in this State, having been a member of the State Central Committee appointed at Bloomington in 1856, and Chairman of the State Central Com- mittee in 1862. In 1864, he was elected to Con- gress, and re-elected in 1866, '68 and '70, but resigned in 1871 to accept the solicitorship of the Northwestern Railroad, which he resigned in 1886. He was an intimate friend of Abraham Lincoln, serving as a delegate to both the National Conventions which nominated him for the Presi- dency, and presenting his name at Baltimore in 1864. His death occurred at Evanston, August 18, 1894.
COOK, Daniel Pope, early Congressman, was born in Scott County, Ky., in 1795, removed to Illinois and began the practice of law at Kaskas- kia in 1815. Early in 1816, he became joint owner and editor of "The Illinois Intelligencer," and at the same time served as Auditor of Public Accounts by appointment of Governor Edwards; the next year (1817) was sent by President Mon- roe as bearer of dispatches to John Quincy Adams, then minister to London, and, on his return, was appointed a Circuit Judge. On the admission of the State he was elected the first Attorney- General, but almost immediately resigned and, in September, 1819, was elected to Congress, serv- ing as Representative until 1827. Having married a daughter of Governor Edwards, he became a resident of Edwardsville. He was a conspicuous opponent of the proposition to make Illinois a slave State in 1823-24, and did much to prevent the success of that scheme. He also bore a prominent part while in Congress in securing the donation of lands for the construction of the
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Illinois & Michigan Canal. He was distinguished for his eloquence, and it was during his first Congressional campaign that stump-speaking was introduced into the State. Suffering from consumption, he visited Cuba, and, after return- ing to his home at Edwardsville and failing to improve, he went to Kentucky, where he died, Oct. 16, 1827 .- John (Cook), soldier, born at Edwardsville, Ill., June 12, 1825, the son of Daniel P. Cook, the second Congressman from Illinois, and grandson of Gov. Ninian Edwards, was educated by private tutors and at Illinois College; in 1855 was elected Mayor of Springfield and the following year Sheriff of Sangamon County, later serving as Quartermaster of the State. Raising a company promptly after the firing on Fort Sumter in 1861, he was commis- sioned Colonel of the Seventh Illinois Volunteers -the first regiment organized in Illinois under the first call for troops by President Lincoln; was promoted Brigadier-General for gallantry at Fort Donelson in March, 1862; in 1864 commanded the District of Illinois, with headquarters at Spring- field, being mustered out, August, 1865, with the brevet rank of Major-General. General Cook was elected to the lower house of the General Assem- bly from Sangamon County, in 1868. During recent years lıis home has been in Michigan.
COOK COUNTY, situated in the northeastern section of the State, bordering on Lake Michigan, and being the most easterly of the second tier of counties south of the Wisconsin State line. It has an area of 890 square miles ; population (1890), 1,191,922; (1900), 1,838,735; county-seat, Chicago. The county was organized in 1831, having origi- nally embraced the counties of Du Page, Will, Lake, McHenry and Iroquois, in addition to its present territorial limits. It was named in honor of Daniel P. Cook, a distinguished Repre- sentative of Illinois in Congress. (See Cook, Daniel P.) The first County Commissioners were Samuel Miller, Gholson Kercheval and James Walker, who took the oath of office before Justice John S. C. Hogan, on March 8, 1831. William Lee was appointed Clerk and Archibald Clybourne Treasurer. Jedediah Wormley was first County Surveyor, and three election districts (Chicago, Du Page and Hickory Creek) were created. A scow ferry was established across the South Branch, with Mark Beaubien as ferryman. Only non-residents were required to pay toll. Geolo- gists are of the opinion that, previous to the glacial epoch, a large portion of the county lay under the waters of Lake Michigan, which was connected with the Mississippi by the Des Plaines
River. This theory is borne out by the finding of stratified beds of coal and gravel in the eastern and southern portions of the county, either under- lying the prairies or assuming the form of ridges. The latter, geologists maintain, indicate the exist- ence of an ancient key, and they conclude that, at one time, the level of the lake was nearly forty feet higher than at present. Glacial action is believed to have been very effective in establish- ing surface conditions in this vicinity. Lime- stone and building stone are quarried in tolerable abundance. Athens marble (white when taken out, but growing a rich yellow through exposure) is found in the southwest. Isolated beds of peat have also been found. The general surface is level, although undulating in some portions. The soil near the lake is sandy, but in the interior becomes a black mold from one to four feet in depth. Drainage is afforded by the Des Plaines, Chicago and Calumet Rivers, which is now being improved by the construction of the Drainago Canal. Manufactures and agriculture are the principal industries outside of the city of Chi- cago. (See also Chicago.)
COOK COUNTY HOSPITAL, located in Chi- cago and under control of the Commissioners of Cook County. It was originally erected by the City of Chicago, at a cost of $80,000, and was intended to be used as a hospital for patients suffering from infectious diseases. For several years the building was unoccupied, but, in 1858, it was leased by an association of physicians, who opened a hospital, with the further purpose of affording facilities for clinical instruction to the students of Rush Medical College. In 1863 the building was taken by the General Government for military purposes, being used as an eye and ear hospital for returning soldiers. In 1865 it reverted to the City of Chicago, and, in 1866, was purchased by Cook County. In 1874 the County Commissioners purchased a new and more spa- cious site at a cost of $145,000, and began the erec- tion of buildings thereon. The two principal pavilions were completed and occupied before the close of 1875; the clinical amphitheater and connecting corridors were built in 1876-77, and an administrative building and two additional pavilions were added in 1882-84. Up to that date the total cost of the buildings had been $719,574, and later additions and improvements have swelled the outlay to more than $1,000,000. It accommodates about 800 patients and constitutes a part of the county machinery for the care of the poor. A certain number of beds are placed under the care of homeopathic physicians. The
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ALONG SHERIDAN ROAD AND ON THE BOULEVARDS.
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present (1836) allopathic medical staff consists of fifteen physicians, fifteen surgeons, one oculist and aurist and one pathologist; the homeopatliic staff comprises five physicians and five surgeons. In addition, there is a large corps of internes, or house physicians and surgeons, composed of recent graduates from the several medical col- leges, who gain their positions through competi- tive examination and hold them for eighteen months.
COOKE, Edward Dean, lawyer and Congress- man, born in Dubuque County, Iowa, Oct. 17, 1849; was educated in the common schools and the high school of Dubuque; studied law in that city and at Columbian University, Washington, D. C., graduating from that institution with the degree of Bachelor of Laws, and was admitted to the bar in Washington in 1873. Coming to Chi- cago the same year, he entered upon the practice of his profession, which he pursued for the remainder of his life. In 1SS? he was elected a Representative in the State Legislature from Cook County, serving one term; was elected as a Republican to the Fifty-fourth Congress for the Sixth District (Chicago), in 1894, and re-elected in 1896. His deathı occurred suddenly while in attendance on the extra session of Congress in Washington, June 24, 1897.
COOLBAUGH, William Findlay, financier, was born in Pike County, Pa., July 1, 1821; at the age of 15 became clerk in a dry-goods store in Philadelphia, but, in 1842, opened a branch establishment of a New York firm at Burlington, Iowa, where he afterwards engaged in the bank- ing business, also serving in the Iowa State Constitutional Convention, and, as the candidate of his party for United States Senator, being defeated by Hon. James Harlan by one vote. In 1862 he came to Chicago and opened the banking house of W. F. Coolbaugh & Co., which, in 1865, became the Union National Bank of Chicago. Later he became the first President of the Chi- cago Clearing House, as also of tlie Bankers' Association of the West and South, a Director of the Board of Trade, and an original incorporator of the Chamber of Commerce, besides being a member of the State Constitutional Convention of 1869-70. His death by suicide, at the foot of Douglas Monument, Nov. 14, 1877, was a shock to the whole city of Chicago.
COOLEY, Horace S., Secretary of State, was born in Hartford, Conn., in 1806, studied medi- cine for two years in early life, then went to Ban- gor, Maine, where he began the study of law; in 1840 he came to Illinois, locating first at Rushville
and finally in the city of Quincy; in 1842 took a prominent part in the campaign which resulted in the election of Thomas Ford as Governor-also received from Governor Carlin an appointment as Quartermaster-General of the State. On the accession of Governor French in December, 1846, he was appointed Secretary of State and elected to the same office under the Constitution of 1848, dying before the expiration of his term, April 2, 1850.
CORBUS, (Dr.) J. C., physician, was born in Holmes County, Ohio, in 1833, received his pri- mary education in the public schools, followed by an academic course, and began the study of medicine at Millersburg, finally graduating from the Western Reserve Medical College at Cleve- land. In 1855 he began practice at Orville, Ohio, but the same year located at Mendota, Ill., soon thereafter removing to Lee County, where he remained until 1862. The latter year he was appointed Assistant Surgeon of the Seventy-fifth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, but was soon pro- moted to the position of Surgeon, though com- pelled to resign the following year on account of ill health. Returning from the army, he located at Mendota. Dr. Corbus served continuously as a member of the State Board of Public Charities from 1873 until the accession of Governor Altgeld to the Governorship in 1893, when he resigned. He was also, for fifteen years, one of the Medical Examiners for his District under the Pension Bureau, and has served as a member of the Republican State Central Committee for the Mendota District. In 1897 he was complimented by Governor Tanner by reappointment to the State Board of Charities, and was made President of the Board. Early in 1899 he was appointed Superintendent of the Eastern Hospital for the Insane at Kankakee, as successor to Dr. William G. Stearns.
CORNELL, Paul, real-estate operator and capi- talist, was born of English Quaker ancestry in Washington County, N. Y., August 5, 1822; at 9 years of age removed with his step-father, Dr. Barry, to Ohio, and five years later to Adams County, Ill. Here young Cornell lived the life of a farmer, working part of the year to earn money to send himself to school the remainder; also taught for a time, then entered the office of W. A. Richardson, at Rushville, Schuyler County, as a law student. In 1845 he came to Chicago, but soon after became a student in the law office of Wilson & Henderson at Joliet, and was admitted to practice in that city. Removing to Chicago in 1847, he was associated, successively, with the late
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L. C. P. Freer, Judge James H. Collins and Messrs. Skinner & Hoyne; finally entered into a contract with Judge Skinner to perfect the title to 320 acres of land held under tax-title within the present limits of Hyde Park, which he succeeded in doing by visiting the original owners, thereby securing one-half of the property in his own name. He thus became the founder of the village of Hyde Park. meanwhile adding to his posses- sions other lands, which increased vastly in value. He also established a watch factory at Cornell (now a part of Chicago), which did a large busi- ness until removed to California. Mr. Cornell was a member of the first Park Board, and there- fore has the credit of assisting to organize Chi- cago's extensive park system.
CORWIN, Franklin, Congressman, was born at Lebanon, Ohio, Jan. 12, 1818, and admitted to the bar at the age of 21. While a resident of Ohio he served in both Houses of the Legislature, and settled in Illinois in 1857, making his home at Peru. He was a member of the lower house of the Twenty-fourth, Twenty-fifth and Twenty- sixth General Assemblies, being Speaker in 1867, and again in 1869. In 1872 he was elected to Congress as a Republican, but, in 1874, was defeated by Alexander Campbell, who made the race as an Independent. Died, at Peru, Ill., June 15, 1879.
COUCH, James, pioneer hotel-keeper, was born at Fort Edward, N. Y., August 31, 1800; removed to Chautauqua County, in the same State, where he remained until his twentieth year, receiving a fair English education. After engaging succes- sively, but with indifferent success, as hotel-clerk, stage-house keeper, lumber-dealer, and in the dis- tilling business, in 1836, in company with his younger brother, Ira, he visited Chicago. They both decided to go into business there, first open- ing a small store, and later entering upon their hotel ventures which proved so eminently suc- cessful, and gave the Tremont House of Chicago so wide and enviable a reputation. Mr. Couch superintended for his brother Ira the erection, at various times, of many large business blocks in the city. Upon the death of his brother, in 1857, he was made one of the trustees of his estate, and, with other trustees, rebuilt the Tremont House after the Chicago fire of 1871. In April, 1892, while boarding a street car in the central part of the city of Chicago, he was run over by a truck, receiving injuries which resulted in his death the same day at the Tremont House, in the 92d year of his age .- Ira (Couch), younger brother of the preceding, was born in Saratoga County,
N. Y., Nov. 22, 1806. At the age of sixteen he was apprenticed to a· tailor, and, in 1826, set up in business on his own account. In 1836, while visiting Chicago with his brother James, he determined to go into business there. With a stock of furnishing goods and tailors' supplies, newly bought in New York, a small store was opened. This business soon disposed of, Mr. Couch, with his brother, obtained a lease of the old Tremont House, then a low frame building kept as a saloon boarding house. Changed and refurnished, this was opened as a hotel. It was destroyed by fire in 1839, as was also the larger rebuilt structure in 1849. A second time rebuilt, and on a much larger and grander scale at a cost of $75,000, surpassing anything the West had ever known before, the Tremont House this time stood until the Chicago fire in 1871, when it was again destroyed. Mr. Couch at all times enjoyed an immense patronage, and was able to accumulate (for that time) a large fortune. He purchased and improved a large number of business blocks, then within the business center of the city. In 1853 he retired from active business, and, in con- sequence of impaired health, chose for the rest of his life to seek recreation in travel. In the winter of 1857, while with his family in Havana, Cuba, he was taken with a fever which soon ended his life. His remains now rest in a mausoleum of masonry in Lincoln Park, Chi- cago
COULTERVILLE, a town of Randolph County, at the crossing of the Centralia & Chester and the St. Louis & Paducah branch Illinois Central Railways, 49 miles southeast of St. Louis. Farm- ing and coal-mining are the leading industries. The town has two banks, two creameries, and a newspaper. Population (1890), 598; (1900), 650. COUNTIES, UNORGANIZED. (See Unorgan- ized Counties.)
COWDEN, a village of Shelby County, at the intersection of the Baltimore & Ohio Southwest- ern and the Toledo, St. Louis & Western Rail- ways, 60 miles southeast of Springfield. Con- siderable coal is mined in the vicinity; has a bank and a weekly paper. Population (1880), 350; (1890), 702; (1900), 751.
COWLES, Alfred, newspaper manager, was born in Portage County, Ohio, May 13, 1832, grew up on a farm and, after spending some time at Michigan University, entered the office of "The Cleveland Leader" as a clerk; in 1855 accepted a similar position on "The Chicago Tribune," which had just been bought by Joseph Medill and others, finally becoming a stockholder and busi-
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ness manager of the paper, so remaining until his death in Chicago, Dec. 20, 1889.
COX, Thomas, pioneer, Senator in the First General Assembly of Illinois (1818-22) from Union County, and a conspicuous figure in early State history ; was a zealous advocate of the policy of making Illinois a slave State; became one of the original proprietors and founders of the city of Springfield, and was appointed the first Register of the Land Office there, but .was removed under charges of misconduct; after his retirement from the Land Office, kept a hotel at Springfield. In 1836 he removed to Iowa (then a part of Wiscon- sin Territory), became a member of the first Territorial Legislature there, was twice re-elected and once Speaker of the House, being prominent in 1840 as commander of the "Regulators" wlio drove out a gang of murderers and desperadoes who had got possession at Bellevue, Iowa. Died, at Maquoketa, Iowa, 1843.
COY, Irus, lawyer, was born in Chenango County, N. Y., July 25, 1832; educated in the common schools and at Central College, Cortland County, N. Y., graduating in law at Albany in 1857. Then, having removed to Illinois, he located in Kendall County and began practice; in 1868 was elected to the lower house of the General Assembly and, in 1872, served as Presidential Elector on the Republican ticket; removed to Chicago in 1871, later serving as attorney of the Union Stock Yards and Transit Company. Died, in Chicago, Sept. 20, 1897.
CRAFTS, Clayton E., legislator and politician, born at Auburn, Geauga County, Ohio, July 8, 1848; was educated at Hiram College and gradu- ated from the Cleveland Law School in 1868, coming to Chicago in 1869. Mr. Crafts served in seven consecutive sessions of the General Assem- bly (1883-95, inclusive) as Representative from Cook County, and was elected by the Democratic majority as Speaker, in 1891, and again in '93.
CRAIG, Alfred M., jurist, was born in Edgar County, Ill., Jan. 15, 1831, graduated from Knox College in 1853, and was admitted to the bar in the following year, commencing practice at Knoxville. He held the offices of State's Attorney and County Judge, and represented Knox County in the Constitutional Convention of 1869-70. In 1873 he was elected to the bench of the Supreme Court, as successor to Justice C. B. Lawrence, and was re-elected in '82 and '91; his present term expiring with the century. He. is a Democrat in politics, but has been three times elected in a Republican judicial district.
CRAWFORD, Charles H., lawyer and legisla- tor, was born in Bennington, Vt., but reared in Bureau and La Salle Counties, Ill. ; has practiced law for twenty years in Chicago, and been three times elected to the State Senate-1884, '88 and '94-and is author of the Crawford Primary Elec- tion Law, enacted in 1885.
CRAWFORD COUNTY, a southeastern county, bordering on the Wabash, 190 miles nearly due south of Chicago-named for William H. Craw- ford, a Secretary of War. It has an area of 452 square miles; population (1900), 19,240. The first settlers were the French, but later came emigrants from New England. The soil is richi and well adapted to the production of corn and wheat, which are the principal crops. The county was organized in 1817, Darwin being the first county-seat. The present county-seat is Robinson, with a population (1890) of 1,387; centrally located and the point of intersection of two railroads. Other towns of importance are Palestine (population, 734) and Hutsonville (popu- lation, 582). The latter, as well as Robinson, is a grain-shipping point. The Embarras River crosses the southwest portion of the county, and receives the waters of Big and Honey Creeks and Bushy Fork. The county has no mineral resources, but contains some valuable woodland and many well cultivated farms. Tobacco, potatoes, sorghum and wool are among the lead- ing products.
CREAL SPRINGS, a village of Williamson County, on the St. Louis, Alton & Terre Haute Railroad; has a bank and a weekly paper. Popu- lation (1890), 539; (1900), 940.
CREBS, John M., ex-Congressman, was born in Middleburg, Loudoun County, Va., April 7, 1830. When he was but ? years old his parents removed to Illinois, where he ever after resided. At the age of 21 he began the study of law, and, in 1852, was admitted to the bar, beginning practice in White County. In 1862 he enlisted in the Eighty-seventh Illinois Volunteers, receiving a commission as Lieutenant-Colonel, participating in all the important movements in the Mississippi Valley, including the capture of Vicksburg, and in the Arkansas campaign, a part of the time commanding a brigade. Returning home, he resumed the practice of his profession. In 1866 he was an unsuccessful candidate for State Superintendent of Public Instruction on the Democratic ticket. He was elected to Congress in 1868 and re-elected in 1870, and, in 1880, was a delegate to the Democratic State Convention. Died, June 26, 1890.
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CREIGHTON, James A., jurist, was born in White County, Ill., March 7, 1846; in childhood removed with his parents to Wayne County, and was educated in the schools at Fairfield and at the Southern Illinois College, Salem, graduating from the latter in 1868. After teaching for a time while studying law, he was admitted to the bar in 1870, and opened an office at Fairfield, but, in 1877, removed to Springfield. In 1885 he was elected a Circuit Judge for the Springfield Cir- cuit, was re-elected in 1891 and again in 1897.
CRERAR, John, manufacturer and philanthro- pist, was born of Scotch ancestry in New York City, in 1827; at 18 years of age was an employé of an iron-importing firm in that city, subse- quently accepting a position with Morris K. Jessup & Co., in the same line. Coming to Chicago in 1862, in partnership with J. McGregor Adams, he succeeded to the business of Jessup & Co., in that city, also becoming a partner in the Adams & Westlake Company, iron manufactur- ers. He also became interested and an official in various other business organizations, including the Pullman Palace Car Company, the Chicago & Alton Railroad, the Illinois Trust and Savings Bank, and, for a time, was President of the Chi- cago & Joliet Railroad, besides being identified with various benevolent institutions and associ- ations. After the fire of 1871, he was intrusted by the New York Chamber of Commerce with the custody of funds sent for the relief of suffer- ers by that calamity. His integrity and business sagacity were universally recognized. After his deatlı, which occurred in Chicago, Oct. 19, 1889, it was found that, after making munificent bequests to some twenty religious and benevolent associations and enterprises, aggregating nearly a million dollars, besides liberal legacies to relatives, he had left the residue of his estate, amounting to some $2,000,000, for the purpose of founding a public library in the city of Chicago, naming thirteen of his most intimate friends as the first Board of Trustees. No more fitting and lasting monument of so noble and public-spirited a man could have been devised.
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