USA > Illinois > St Clair County > Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of St. Clair County, Volume I > Part 32
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EUSTACE, John V., lawyer and judge, was born in Philadelphia, Sept. 9, 1821; graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1839, and, in 1842, at the age of 21, was admitted to the bar, removing the same year to Dixon, Ill., where he resided until his death. In 1856 he was elected to the General Assembly and, in 1857, became Circuit Judge, serving one term; was chosen Presidential Elector in 1864, and, in March, 1878, was again elevated to the Circuit Bench, vice Judge Heaton, deceased. He was elected to the same position in 1879, and re-elected in 1885, but died in 1888, three years before the expiration of his term.
EVANGELICAL SEMINARY, an institution under the direction of the Lutheran denomina- tion, incorporated in 1865 and located at Elm- hurst, Du Page County. Instruction is given in the classics, theology, oratory and preparatory studies, by a faculty of eight teachers. The number of pupils during the school year (1895-96) was 133-all young men. It has property valued at $59,305.
EVANS, Henry H., legislator, was born in Toronto, Can., March 9, 1836; brought by his father (who was a native of Pennsylvania) to Aurora, Ill., where the latter finally became fore- man of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy ma- chine shops at that place. In 1862 young Evans enlisted in the One Hundred and Twenty-fourth Illinois Volunteers, serving until the close of the
war. Since the war he has become most widely known as a member of the General Assembly, hav- ing been elected first to the House, in 1876, and subsequently to the Senate every four years from 1880 to the year 1898, giving him over twenty years of almost continuous service. He is a large owner of real estate and has been prominently connected with financial and other business enterprises at Aurora, including the Aurora Gas and Street Railway Companies; also served with the rank of Colonel on the staffs of Governors Cullom, Hamilton, Fifer and Oglesby.
EVANS, (Rev.) Jervice G., educator and re- former, was born in Marshall County, Ill., Dec. 19, 1833; entered the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1854, and, in 1872, accepted the presidency of Hedding College at Abingdon, which he filled for six years. He then became President of Chaddock College at Quincy, but the following year returned to pastoral work. In 1889 he again became President of Hedding Col- lege, where (1898) he still remains. Dr. Evans is a member of the Central Illinois (M. E.) Confer- ence and a leader in the prohibition movement; has also produced a number of volumes on reli- gious and moral questions.
EVANS, John, M.D., physician and Governor, was born at Waynesville, Ohio, of Quaker ances- try, March 9, 1814; graduated in medicine at Cincinnati and began practice at Ottawa, Ill., but soon returned to Ohio, finally locating at Attica, Ind. Here he became prominent in the establishment of the first insane hospital in In- diana, at Indianapolis, about 1841-42, becoming a resident of that city in 1845. Three years later, having accepted a chair in Rush Medical College, in Chicago, he removed thither, also serving for a time as editor of "The Northwestern Medical and Surgical Journal." He served as a member of the Chicago City Council, became a successful operator in real estate and in the promotion of various railroad enterprises, and was one of the founders of the Northwestern University, at Evanston, serving as President of the Board of Trustees over forty years. Dr. Evans was one of the founders of the Republican party in Illinois, and a strong personal friend of President Lincoln, from whom, in 1862, he received the appointment of Governor of the Territory of Colorado, con- tinuing in office until displaced by Andrew John- son in 1865. In Colorado he became a leading factor in the construction of some of the most important railroad lines in that section, including the Denver, Texas & Gulf Road, of which he was for many years the President. He was also
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prominent in connection with educational and church enterprises at Denver, which was his home after leaving Illinois. Died, in Denver, July 3, 1897.
EVANSTON, a city of Cook County, situated 12 miles north of Chicago, on the Chicago, Milwau- kee & St. Paul and the Chicago & Northwestern Railroads. The original town was incorporated Dec. 29, 1863, and, in March, 1869, a special act was passed by the Legislature incorporating it as a city, but rejected by vote of the people. On Oct. 19, 1872, the voters of the corporate town adopted village organizations under the General Village and City Incorporation Act of the same year. Since then annexations of adjacent terri- tory to the village of Evanston have taken place as follows: In January, 1873, two small districts by petition ; in April, 1874, the village of North Evanston was annexed by a majority vote of the electors of both corporations; in April, 1886, there was another annexation of a small out-lying district by petition; in February, 1892, the ques- tion of the annexation of South Evanston was submitted to the voters of both corporations and adopted. On March 29, 1892, the question of organization under a city government was sub- mitted to popular vote of the consolidated corpo- ration and decided in the affirmative, the first city election taking place April 19, following. The population of the original corporation of Evanston, according to the census of 1890, was 12,072, and of South Evanston, 3,205, making the total population of the new city 15,967. Judged by the census returns of 1900, the consolidated city has had a healthy growth in the past ten years, giving it, at the end of the century, a population of 19,259. Evanston is one of the most attractive residence cities in Northern Illinois and famed for its educational advantages. Besides having an admirable system of graded and high schools, it is the seat of the academic and theological departments of the Northwestern University, the latter being known as the Garrett Biblical Institute. The city has well paved streets, is lighted by both gas and electricity, and maintains its own system of water works. Prohibition is strictly enforced within the corporate limits under stringent municipal ordinances, and the charter of the Northwestern University forbidding the sale of intoxicants within four miles of that institution. As a consequence, it is certain to attract the most desirable class of people, whether consisting of those seeking permanent homes or simply contemplating temporary residence for the sake of educational advantages.
EWING, William Lee Davidson, early lawyer and politician, was born in Kentucky in 1795, and came to Illinois at an early day, first settling at Shawneetown. As early as 1820 he appears from a letter of Governor Edwards to President Mon- roe, to have been holding some Federal appoint- ment, presumably that of Receiver of Public Moneys in the Land Office at Vandalia, as con- temporary history shows that, in 1822, he lost a deposit of $1,000 by the robbery of the bank there. He was also Brigadier-General of the State militia at an early day, Colonel of the "Spy Battalion" during the Black Hawk War, and, as Indian Agent, superintended the removal of the Sacs and Foxes west of the Mississippi. Other posi- tions held by him included Clerk of the House of Representatives two sessions (1826-27 and 1828-29); Representative from the counties composing the Vandalia District in the Seventh General Assem- bly (1830-31), when lie also became Speaker of the House; Senator from the same District in the Eighth and Ninth General Assemblies, of which he was chosen President pro tempore. While serving in this capacity he became ex-officio Lieutenant-Governor in consequence of the resig- nation of Lieut .- Gov. Zadoc Casey to accept a seat in Congress, in March, 1833, and, in Novem- ber, 1834, assumed the Governorship as successor to Governor Reynolds, who had been elected to Congress to fill a vacancy. He served only fifteen days as Governor, when he gave place to Gov. Joseph Duncan, who had been elected in due course at the previous election. A year later (December, 1835) he was chosen United States Senator to succeed Elias Kent Kane, who had died in office. Failing of a re-election to the Senatorship in 1837, he was returned to the House of Representatives from his old district in 1838, as he was again in 1840, at each session being chosen Speaker over Abraham Lincoln, who was the Whig candidate. Dropping out of the Legis- lature at the close of his term, we find him at the beginning of the next session (December, 1842) in his old place as Clerk of the House, but, before the close of the session (in March, 1843), appointed Auditor of Public Accounts as successor to James Shields, who had resigned. While occupying the office of Auditor, Mr. Ewing died, March 25, 1846. His public career was as unique as it was remark- able, in the number and character of the official positions held by him within a period of twenty- five years.
EXECUTIVE OFFICERS. (See State officers under heads of "Governor," "Lieutenant-Gov- ernor," etc.)
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EYE AND EAR INFIRMARY, ILLINOIS CHARITABLE. This institution is an outgrowth of a private charity founded at Chicago, in 1858, by Dr. Edward L. Holmes, a distinguished Chi- cago oculist. In 1871 the property of the institu- tion was transferred to and accepted by the State, the title was changed by the substitution of the word "Illinois" for "Chicago," and the Infirmary became a State institution. The fire of 1871 destroyed the building, and, in 1873-74, the State erected another of brick, four stories in height, at the corner of West Adams and Peoria Streets, Chicago. The institution receives patients from all the counties of the State, the same receiving board, lodging, and medical aid, and (when neces- sary) surgical treatment, free of charge. The number of patients on Dec. 1, 1897, was 160. In 1877 a free eye and ear dispensary was opened under legislative authority, which is under charge of some eminent Chicago specialists.
FAIRBURY, an incorporated city of Livings- ton County, situated ten miles southeast of Pon- tiac, in a fertile and thickly-settled region. Coal, sandstone, limestone, fire-clay and a micaceous quartz are found in the neighborhood. The town has banks, grain elevators, flouring mills and two weekly newspapers. Population (1880), 2,140; (1890), 2,324; (1900), 2,187.
FAIRFIELD, an incorporated city, the county- seat of Wayne County and a railway junction, 108 miles southeast of St. Louis. The town has an extensive woolen factory and large flouring and saw mills. It also has four weekly papers and is an important fruit and grain-shipping point. Population (1880), 1,391; (1890), 1,881; (1900), 2,338.
FAIRMOUNT, a village of Vermilion County, on the Wabash Railway, 13 miles west-southwest from Danville; industrial interests chiefly agri- cultural; has brick and tile factory, a coal mine, stone quarry, three rural mail routes and one weekly paper.
Population (1890), 649; (1900), 928. FALLOWS, (Rt. Rev.) Samuel, Bishop of Re- formed Protestant Episcopal Church, was born at Pendleton, near Manchester, England, Dec. 13, 1835; removed with his parents to Wisconsin in 1848, and graduated from the State University there in 1859, during a part of his university course serving as pastor of a Methodist Episcopal church at Madison; was next Vice-President of Gainesville University till 1861, when he was ordained to the Methodist ministry and became pastor of a church at Oshkosh. The following year he was appointed Chaplain of the Thirty-
second Wisconsin Volunteers, but later assisted in organizing the Fortieth Wisconsin, of which he became Colonel, in 1865 being brevetted Briga- dier-General. On his return to civil life he became a pastor in Milwaukee; was appointed State Superintendent of Public Instruction for Wisconsin to fill a vacancy, in 1871, and was twice re-elected. In 1874 he was elected President of the Illinois Wesleyan University at Bloomington, Ill., remaining two years; in 1875 united with the Reformed Episcopal Church, soon after became Rector of St. Paul's Church in Chicago, and was elected a Bishop in 1876, also assuming the editorship of "The Appeal," the organ of the church. He served as Regent of the University of Wisconsin (1864-74), and for several years has been one of the Trustees of the Illinois State Reform School at Pontiac. He is the author of two or three volumes, one of them being a "Sup- plementary Dictionary," published in 1884. Bishop Fallows has had supervision of Reformed Episcopal Church work in the West and North- west for several years; has also served as Chaplain of the Grand Army of the Republic for the Department of Illinois and of the Loyal Legion, and was Chairman of the General Committee of the Educational Congress during the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893.
FARINA, a town of Fayette County, on the Chicago Division of the Illinois Central Railroad, 29 miles northeast of Centralia. Agriculture and fruit-growing constitute the chief business of the section ; the town has one newspaper. Popula- tion (1890). 618; (1900), 693; (1903, est.), 800.
FARMER CITY, a city of De Witt County, 25 miles southeast of Bloomington, at the junction of the Springfield division of the Illinois Central and the Peoria division of the Cleveland, Cincin- nati, Chicago & St. Louis Railways. It is a trading center for a rich agricultural and stock- raising district, especially noted for rearing finely bred horses. The city has banks, two news- papers, churches of four denominations and good schools, including a high school. Population (1880), 1,289 ; (1890), 1,367; (1900), 1,664.
FARMERS' INSTITUTE, an organization created by an act, approved June 24, 1895, de- signed to encourage practical education among farmers, and to assist in developing the agricul- tural resources of the State. Its membership consists of three delegates from each county in the State, elected annually by the Farmers' Institute in such county. Its affairs are managed by a Board of Directors constituted as follows: The Superintendent of Public Instruction, the
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Professor of Agriculture in the University of Illi- nois, and the Presidents of the State Board of Agriculture, Dairymen's Association and Horti- cultural Society, ex-officio, with one member from each Congressional District, chosen by the dele- gates from the district at the annual meeting of the organization. Annual meetings (between Oct. 1 and March 1) are required to be held, which shall continue in session for not less than three days. The topics for discussion are the cultivation of crops, the care and breeding of domestic animals, dairy husbandry, horticulture, farm drainage, improvement of highways and general farm management. The reports of the annual meetings are printed by the State to the number of 10,000, one-half of the edition being placed at the disposal of the Institute. Suitable quarters for the officers of the organization are provided in the State capitol.
FARMINGTON, a city and railroad center in Fulton County, 12 miles north of Canton and 22 miles west of Peoria. Coal is extensively mined here; there are also brick and tile factories, a foundry, one steam flour-mill, and two cigar manufactories. It is a large shipping-point for grain and live-stock. The town has two banks and two newspapers, five churches and a graded school. Population (1890), 1,375; (1903, est.), 2,103.
FARNSWORTH, Elon John, soldier, was born at Green Oak, Livingston County, Mich., in 1837. After completing a course in the public schools, he entered the University of Michigan, but left college at the end of his freshman year (1858) to serve in the Quartermaster's department of the army in the Utah expedition. At the expiration of his term of service he became a buffalo hunter and a carrier of mails between the haunts of civilization and the then newly-discovered mines at Pike's Peak. Returning to Illinois, he was commissioned (1861) Assistant Quartermaster of the Eighth Illinois Cavalry, of which his uncle was Colonel. (See Farnsworth, John Franklin.) He soon rose to a captaincy, distinguishing him- self in the battles of the Peninsula. In May, 1863, he was appointed aid-de-camp to General Pleasanton, and, on June 29, 1863, was made a Brigadier-General. Four days later he was killed, while gallantly leading a charge at Gettysburg.
FARNSWORTH, John Franklin, soldier and former Congressman, was born at Eaton, Canada East, March 27, 1820; removed to Michigan in 1834, and later to Illinois, settling in Kane County, where he practiced law for many years, making his home at St. Charles. He was elected to Congress in 1856, and re-elected in 1858. In
September of 1861, he was commissioned Colonel of the Eighth Illinois Cavalry Volunteers, and was brevetted Brigadier-General in November, 1862, but resigned, March 4, 1863, to take his seat in Congress to which he had been elected the November previous, by successive re-elections serving from 1863 to 1873. The latter years of his life were spent in Washington, where he died, July 14, 1897.
FARWELL, Charles Benjamin, merchant and United States Senator, was born at Painted Post, N. Y., July 1, 1823; removed to Illinois in 1838, and, for six years, was employed in surveying and farming. In 1844 lie engaged in the real estate business and in banking, at Chicago. He was elected County Clerk in 1853, and re-elected in 1857. Later he entered into commerce, becom- ing a partner witlı his brother, John Villiers, in the firm of J. V. Farwell & Co. He was a mem- ber of the State Board of Equalization in 1867; Chairman of the Board of Supervisors of Cook County in 1868; and National Bank Examiner in 1869. In 1870 he was elected to Congress as a Republican, was re-elected in 1872, but was defeated in 1874, after a contest for the seat which was carried into the House at Washington. Again, in 1880, he was returned to Congress, making three full terms in that body. He also served for several years as Chairman of the Republican State Central Committee. After the deatlı of Gen. John A. Logan he was (1887) elected United States Senator, his term expiring March 3, 1891. Mr. Farwell has since devoted his attention to the immense mercantile busi- ness of J. V. Farwell & Co.
FARWELL, John Villiers, merchant, was born at Campbelltown, Steuben County, N. Y., July 29, 1825, the son of a farmer; received a common- school education and, in 1838, removed with his father's family to Ogle County, Ill. Here he attended Mount Morris Seminary for a time, but, in 1845, came to Chicago without capital and secured employment in the City Clerk's office, then became a book-keeper in the dry-goods establishment of Hamilton & White, and, still later, with Hamilton & Day. Having thus received his bent towards a mercantile career, he soon after entered the concern of Wadsworth & Phelps as a clerk, at a salary of $600 a year, but was admitted to a partnership in 1850, the title of the firm becoming Cooley, Farwell & Co., in 1860. About this time Marshall Field and Levi Z. Leiter became associated with the concern and received their mercantile training under the supervision of Mr. Farwell. In 1865 the title of the firm
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became J. V. Farwell & Co., but, in 1891, the firm was incorporated under the name of The J. V. Farwell Company, his brother, Charles B. Far- well, being a member. The subject of this sketch has long been a prominent factor in religious circles, a leading spirit of the Young Men's Christian Association, and served as President of the Chicago Branch of the United States Christian Commission during the Civil War. Politically he is a Republican and served as Presi- dential Elector at the time of President Lincoln's second election in 1864; also served by appoint- ment of President Grant, in 1869, on the Board of Indian Commissioners. He was a member of the syndicate which erected the Texas State Capitol, at Austin, in that State; has been, for a number of years, Vice-President and Treasurer of the J. V. Farwell Company, and President of the Colorado Consolidated Land and Water Company. He was also prominent in the organization of the Chicago Public Library, and a member of the Union League, the Chicago Historical Society and the Art Institute.
FARWELL, William Washington, jurist, was born at Morrisville, Madison County, N. Y., Jan. 5, 1817, of old Puritan ancestry; graduated from Hamilton College in 1837, and was admitted to the bar at Rochester, N. Y., in 1841. In 1848 he removed to Chicago, but the following year went to California, returning to his birthplace in 1850. In 1854 he again settled at Chicago and soon secured a prominent position at the bar. In 1871 he was elected Circuit Court Judge for Cook County, and, in 1873, re-elected for a term of six years. During this period he sat chiefly upon the chancery side of the court, and, for a time, presided as Chief Justice. At the close of his second term he was a candidate for re-election as a Republican, but was defeated with the re- mainder of the ticket. In 1880 he was cliosen Professor of Equity Jurisprudence in the Union College of Law (now the Northwestern Univer- sity Law School), serving until June, 1893, when he resigned. Died, in Chicago, April 30, 1894.
FAYETTE COUNTY, situated about 60 miles south of the geographical center of the State; was organized in 1821, and named for the French General La Fayette. It has an area of 720 square miles; population (1900), 28,065. The soil is fer- tile and a rich vein of bituminous coal underlies the county. Agriculture, fruit-growing and mining are the chief industries. The old, historic "Cumberland Road," the trail for all west-bound emigrants, crossed the county at an early date. Perryville was the first county-seat, but this town
is now extinct. Vandalia, tlie present seat of county government (population, 2,144), stands upon a succession of hills upon the west bank of the Kaskaskia. From 1820 to 1839 it was the State Capital. Besides Vandalia the chief towns are Ramsey, noted for its railroad ties and tim- ber, and St. Elmo.
FEEBLE-MINDED CHILDREN, ASYLUM FOR. This institution, originally established as a sort of appendage to the Illinois Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, was started at Jacksonville, in 1865, as an "experimental school, for the instruction of idiots and feeble-minded children." Its success having been assured, the school was placed upon an independent basis in 1871, and, in 1875, a site at Lincoln, Logan County, covering forty acres, was donated, and the erection of buildings begun. The original plan provided for a center building, with wings and a rear exten- sion, to cost $124,775. Besides a main or adminis- tration building, the institution embraces a school building and custodial hall, a hospital and industrial workshop, and, during the past year, a chapel has been added. It has control of 890 acres, of which 400 are leased for farming pur- poses, the rental going to the benefit of the insti- tution. The remainder is used for the purposes of the institution as farm land, gardens or pas- ture, about ninety acres being occupied by the institution buildings. The capacity of the insti- tution is about 700 inmates, with many applica- tions constantly on file for the admission of others for whom there is no room.
FEEHAN, Patrick A., D.D., Archbishop of the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Chicago, and Metropolitan of Illinois, was born at Tipperary, Ireland, in 1829, and educated at Maynooth College. He emigrated to the United States in 1852, settling at St. Louis, and was at once appointed President of the Seminary of Caronde- let. Later he was made pastor of the Church of the Immaculate Conception at St. Louis, where he achieved marked distinction. In 1865 he was consecrated Bishop of Nashville, managing the affairs of the diocese with great ability. In 1880 Chicago was raised to an archiepiscopal see, with Suffragan Bishops at Alton and Peoria, and Bishop Feehan was consecrated its first Arch- bishop. His administration has been conserva- tive, yet efficient, and the archdiocese has greatly prospered under his rule.
FELL, Jesse W., lawyer and real-estate opera- tor, was born in Chester County, Pa., about 1808; started west on foot in 1828, and, after spending some years at Steubenville, Ohio, came to Dela-
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van, Ill., in 1832, and the next year located at Bloomington, being the first lawyer in that new town. Later he became agent for school lands and the State Bank, but failed financially in 1837, and returned to practice; resided several years at Payson, Adams County, but returning to Bloomington in 1855, was instrumental in securing the location of the Chicago & Alton Railroad through that town, and was one of the founders of the towns of Clinton, Pontiac, Lex- ington and El Paso. He was an intimate personal and political friend of Abraham Lincoln, and it was to him Mr. Lincoln addressed his celebrated personal biography; in the campaign of 1860 he served as Secretary of the Republican State Cen- tral Committee, and, in 1862, was appointed by Mr. Lincoln a Paymaster in the regular army, serving some two years. Mr. Fell was also a zeal- ous friend of the cause of industrial education, and bore an important part in securing the location of the State Normal University at Nor- mal, of which city he was the founder. Died, at Bloomington, Jan. 25, 1887.
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