Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of St. Clair County, Volume I, Part 61

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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studies in the United States since the early eighties. He was one of the organizers and one of the first Vice-Presidents of the American Economic Association. On Dec. 14, 1889, he founded the American Academy of Political and Social Science with headquarters at Philadelphia, became its first President, and has continued such to the present time. He was also, for some years, editor of its publications. The Academy has now become the largest Association in the world devoted to the cultivation of economic and social subjects. He was one of the originators of, and one of the most frequent contributors to, "Lalor's Cyclopædia of Political Science"; was also the pioneer in the movement to introduce into the United States the scheme of public instruction known as University Extension; was the first President of the American Society for the Exten- sion of University Teaching, under whose auspices the first effective extension work was done in this country, and has been Director of the Extension Division in the University of Chicago since Febru- ary, 1896. He has been especially identified with the development of higher commercial education in the United States. From his position as Director of the Wharton School of Finance and Economy he has affected the course of instruc- tion in this Department in a most marked way. Hle was invited by the American Bankers' Association, in the year 1892, to make a careful study of the subject of Commercial Education in Europe, and his report to this association on the Education of Business Men in Europe, republished by the University of Chicago in the year 1898, has become a standard authority on this subject. Owing largely to his efforts, departments similar to the Wharton School of Finance and Economy have been established under the title of College of Commerce, College of Commerce and Politics, and Collegiate Course in Commerce, in the Uni- versities of California and Chicago, and Columbia University. He has been identified with the progress of college education in general, espe- cially in its relation to secondary and elementary education, and was one of the early advocates of the establishment of departments of education in our colleges and universities, the policy of which is now adopted by nearly all the leading institu- tions. He was, for a time, State Examiner of High Schools in Illinois, and was founder of "The Illinois School Journal," long one of the most influential educational periodicals in the State, now changed in naine to "School and Home." He has been especially active in the establish- ment of public kindergartens in different cities,

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and has been repeatedly offered the headship of important institutions, among them being the University of Iowa, the University of Illinois, and the University of Cincinnati. He has served as Vice-President of the National Municipal League; of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the American Economic Association, and of the Board of Trus- tees of the Illinois State Historical Library; is a member of the American Philosophical Society, of the Pennsylvania Historical Society, of the National Council of Education, and of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. He was a member of the Committee of Thirteen of the National Teachers' Association on college entrance requirements; is a member of various patriotic and historical societies, including the Sons of the American Revolution, the Society of the Colonial Wars, the Holland and the Huguenot Society. He is the author of more than one hun- dred papers and monographs on various economic, educational, legal and administrative subjects. Professor James was married, August 22, 1879, to Anna Margarethe Lange, of Halle, Prussia, daughter of the Rev. Wilhelm Roderich Lange, and granddaughter of the famous Professor Ger- lach of the University of Halle.

JAMESON, John Alexander, lawyer and jur- ist, was born at Irasburgh, Vt., Jan. 25, 1824; graduated from the University of Vermont in 1846. After several years spent in teaching, he began the study of law, and graduated from the Dane Law School (of Harvard College) in 1853. Coming west the same year he located at Free- port, Ill., but removed to Chicago in 1856. In 1865 he was elected to the bench of the Superior Court of Chicago, remaining in office until 1883. During a portion of this period he acted as lec- turer in the Union College of Law at Chicago, and as editor of "The American Law Register." His literary labors were unceasing, his most notable work being entitled "Constitutional Con- ventions; their History, Power and Modes of Proceeding." He was also a fine classical scholar, speaking and reading German, French, Spanish and Italian, and was deeply interested in charitable and reformatory work. Died, sud- denly, in Chicago, June 16, 1890.

JARROT, Nicholas, early French settler of St. Clair County, was born in France, received a liberal education and, on account of the disturbed condition there in the latter part of the last cen- tury, left his native country about 1790. After spending some time at Baltimore and New Orleans, he arrived at Cahokia, Ill., in 1794, and

became a permanent settler there. He early be- came a Major of militia and engaged in trade with the Indians, frequently visiting Prairie du Chien, St. Anthony's Falls (now Minneapolis) and the Illinois River in his trading expeditions, and, on one or two occasions, incurring great risk of life from hostile savages. He acquired a large property, especially in lands, built mills and erected one of the earliest and finest brick houses in that part of the country. He also served as Justice of the Peace and Judge of the County Court of St. Clair County. Died, in 1823 .- Vital (Jarrot), son of the preceding, inherited a large landed fortune from his father, and was an enterprising and public-spirited citizen of St. Clair County during the last generation. He served as Representative from St. Clair County in the Eleventh, Twentieth, Twenty-first and Twenty-second General Assemblies, in the first being an associate of Abraham Lincoln and always his firm friend and admirer. At the organization of the Twenty-second General Assembly (1857), he received the support of the Republican members for Speaker of the House in opposition to Col. W. R. Morrison, who was elected. He sacrificed a large share of his prop- erty in a public-spirited effort to build up a rolling mill at East St. Louis, being reduced thereby from affluence to poverty. President Lincoln appointed him an Indian Agent, which took him to the Black Hills region, where he died, some years after, from toil and exposure, at the age of 73 years.

JASPER COUNTY, in the eastern part of Southern Illinois, having an area of 506 square miles, and a population (in 1900) of 20,160. It was organized in 1831 and named for Sergeant Jasper of Revolutionary fame. Thecounty was placed un- der township organization in 1860. The first Board of County Commissioners consisted of B. Rey- nolds, W. Richards and George Mattingley. The Embarras River crosses the county. The general surface is level, although gently undulating in some portions. Manufacturing is carried on in a small way; but the people are principally inter- ested in agriculture, the chief products consisting of wheat, potatoes, sorghum, fruit and tobacco. Wool-growing is an important industry. Newton is the county-seat, with a population (in 1890) of 1,428.

JAYNE, (Dr.) Gershom, early physician, was born in Orange County, N. Y., October, 1791; served as Surgeon in the War of 1812, and came to Illinois in 1819, settling in Springfield in 1821; was one of the Commissioners appointed to construct the

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first State Penitentiary (1827), and one of the first Commissioners of the Illinois & Michigan Canal. His oldest daughter (Julia Maria) became the wife of Senator Trumbull. Dr. Jayne died at Springfield, in 1867 .- Dr. William (Jayne), son of the preceding, was born in Springfield, Ill., Oct. 8, 1826; educated by private tutors and at Illinois College, being a member of the class of 1847, later receiving the degree of A.M. He was one of the founders of the Phi Alpha Society while in that institution; graduated from the Medical Depart- ment of Missouri State University; in 1860 was elected State Senator for Sangamon County, and, the following year, was appointed by President Lincoln Governor of the Territory of Dakota, later serving as Delegate in Congress from that Territory. In 1869 he was appointed Pension Agent for Illinois, also served for four terms as Mayor of his native city, and is now Vice-Presi- dent of the First National Bank, Springfield.

JEFFERSON COUNTY, a south-central county, cut off from Edwards and White Counties, in 1819, when it was separately organized, being named in honor of Thomas Jefferson. Its area is 580 square miles, and its population (1900), 28,133. The Big Muddy River, with one or two tributa- ries, flows through the county in a southerly direc- tion. Along the banks of streams a variety of hardwood timber is found. The railroad facilities are advantageous. The surface is level and the soil rich. Cereals and fruit are easily produced. A fine bed of limestone (seven to fifteen feet thick) crosses the middle of the county. It has been quarried and found well adapted to building purposes. The county possesses an abundance of running water, much of which is slightly im- pregnated with salt. The upper coal measure underlies the entire county, but the seam is scarcely more than two feet thick at any point. The chief industry is agriculture, though lumber is manufactured to some extent. Mount Vernon, the county-seat, was incorporated as a city in 1872. Its population in 1890 was 3,233. It has several manufactories and is the seat of the Appellate Court for the Southern Judicial District of the State.

JEFFERY, Edward Turner, Railway President and Manager, born in Liverpool, Eng., April 6, 1843, his father being an engineer in the British navy; about 1850 came with his widowed mother to Wheeling, Va., and, in 1856, to Chicago, where he secured employment as office-boy in the machinery department of the Illinois Central Railroad. Here he finally became an apprentice and, passing through various grades of the me-

chanical department, in May, 1877, became General Superintendent of the Road, and, in 1885, General Manager of the entire line. In 1889 he withdrew from the Illinois Central and, for several years past, has been President and General Manager of the Denver & Rio Grande Railway, with head- quarters at Denver, Colo. Mr. Jeffery's career as a railway man has been one of the most conspicu- ous and successful in the history of American railroads.

JENKINS, Alexander M., Lieutenant-Governor (1834-36), came to Illinois in his youth and located in Jackson County, being for a time a resident of Brownsville, the first county-seat of Jackson County, where he was engaged in trade. Later he studied law and became eminent in his pro- fession in Southern Illinois. In 1830 Mr. Jenkins was elected Representative in the Seventh General Assembly, was re-elected in 1832, serving during his second term as Speaker of the House, and took part the latter year in the Black Hawk War as Captain of a company. In 1834 Mr. Jenkins was elected Lieutenant-Governor at the same time with Governor Duncan, though on an opposing ticket, but resigned, in 1836, to become President of the first Illinois Central Railroad Company, which was chartered that year. The charter of the road was surrendered in 1837, when the State had in contemplation the policy of building a system of roads at its own cost, For a time he was Receiver of Public Moneys in the Land Office at Edwardsville, and, in 1847, was elected to the State Constitutional Convention of that year. Other positions held by him included that of Jus- tice of the Circuit Court for the Third Judicial Circuit, to which he was elected in 1859, and re-elected in 1861, but died in office, February 13, 1864. Mr. Jenkins was an uncle of Gen. John A. Logan, who read law with him after his return from the Mexican War.

JENNEY, William Le Baron, engineer and architect, born at Fairhaven, Mass., Sept. 25, 1832; was educated at Phillips Academy, An- dover, graduating in 1849; at 17 took a trip around the world, and, after a year spent in the Scientific Department of Harvard College, took a course in the Ecole Centrale des Artes et Manu- factures in Paris, graduating in 1856. He then served for a year as engineer on the Tehuantepec Railroad, and, in 1861, was made an Aid on the staff of General Grant, being transferred the next year to the staff of General Sherman, with whom he remained three years, participating in many of the most important battles of the war in the West. Later, he was engaged in the preparation

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of maps of General Sherman's campaigns, which were published in the "Memoirs" of the latter. In 1868 he located in Chicago, and has since given his attention almost solely to architecture, the result being seen in some of Chicago's most noteworthy buildings.

JERSEY COUNTY, situated in the western portion of the middle division of the State, bordering on the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers. Originally a part of Greene County, it was sepa- rately organized in 1839, with an area of 360 square miles. There were a few settlers in the county as early as 1816-17. Jerseyville, the county-seat, was platted in 1834, a majority of the early resi- dents being natives of, or at least emigrants from, New Jersey. The mild climate, added to the character of the soil, is especially adapted to fruit-growing and stock-raising. The census of 1900 gave the population of the county as 14,612 and of Jerseyville, 3,517. Grafton, near the junction of the Mississippi with the Illinois, had a population of 927. The last mentioned town is noted for its stone quarries, which employ a number of men.

JERSEYVILLE, a city and county-seat of Jer- sey County, the point of junction of the Chicago & Alton and the Chicago, Peoria & St. Louis Railways, 19 miles north of Alton and 45 miles north of St. Louis, Mo. The city is in an agri . cultural district, but has manufactories of flour, plows, carriages and wagons, shoe factory and watch-making machinery. It contains a hand- some courthouse, completed in 1894, nine churches, a graded public school, besides a sep- arate school for colored children, a convent, library, telephone system, electric lights, artesian wells, and three papers. Population (1890), 3,207; (1900), 3,517; (1903, est.), 4,117.

JO DAVIESS COUNTY, situated in the north- west corner of the State; has an area of 663 square miles; population (1900), 24,533. It was first explored by Le Seuer, who reported the discovery of lead in 1700. Another Frenchman (Bouthil- lier) was the first permanent white settler, locat- ing on the site of the present city of Galena in 1820. About the same time came several Ameri- can families; a trading post was established, and the hamlet was known as Fredericks' Point, so called after one of the pioneers. In 1822 the Government reserved from settlement a tract 10 miles square along the Mississippi, with a view of controlling the mining interest. In 1823 mining privileges were granted upon a royalty of one- sixth, and the first smelting furnace was erected the same year. Immigration increased rapidly

and, inside of three years, the "Point" had a popu- lation of 150, and a post-office was established with a fortnightly mail to and from Vandalia, then the State capital. In 1827 county organiza- tion was effected, the county being named in honor of Gen. Joseph Hamilton Daviess, who was killed in the Battle of Tippecanoe. The original tract, however, has been subdivided until it now constitutes nine counties. The settlers took an active part in both the Winnebago and Black Hawk Wars. In 1846-47 the mineral lands were placed on the market by the Government, and quickly taken by corporations and individuals. The scenery is varied, and the soil (particularly in the east) well suited to the cultivation of grain. The county is well wooded and well watered, and thoroughly drained by the Fever and Apple Rivers. The name Galena was given to the county-seat (originally, as has been said, Fredericks' Point) by Lieutenant Thomas, Gov- ernment Surveyor, in 1827, in which year it was platted. Its general appearance is picturesque. Its early growth was extraordinary, but later (particularly after the growth of Chicago) it received a set-back. In 1841 it claimed 2,000 population and was incorporated; in 1870 it had about 7,000 population, and, in 1900, 5,005. The names of Grant, Rawlins and E. B. Washburne are associated with its history. Other important towns in the county are Warren (population 1,327), East Dubuque (1,146) and Elizabeth (659).

JOHNSON, Caleb C., lawyer and legislator, was born in Whiteside County, Ill., May 23, 1844, educated in the common schools and at the Military Academy at Fulton, Ill .; served during the Civil War in the Sixty-ninth and One Hun- dred and Fortieth Regiments Illinois Volunteers; in 1877 was admitted to the bar and, two years later, began practice. He has served upon the Board of Township Supervisors of Whiteside County; in 1884 was elected to the House of Representatives of the Thirty-fourth General Assembly, was re-elected in 1886, and again in 1896. He also held the position of Deputy Col- lector of Internal Revenue for his District during the first Cleveland administration, and was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention of 1888.

JOHNSON, (Rev.) Herrick, clergyman and educator, was born near Fonda, N. Y., Sept. 21, 1832; graduated at Hamilton College, 1857, and at Auburn Theological Seminary, 1860; held Pres- byterian pastorates in Troy, Pittsburg and Phila- delphia; in 1874 became Professor of Homiletics and Pastoral Theology in Auburn Theological

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Seminary, and, in 1880, accepted a pastorate in Chicago, also becoming Lecturer on Sacred Rhet- oric in McCormick Theological Seminary. In 1883 he resigned his pastorate, devoting his atten- tion thereafter to the duties of his professorship. He was Moderator of the Presbyterian General Assembly at Springfield, in 1882, and has served as President, for many years, of the Presbyterian Church Board of Aid for Colleges, and of the Board of Trustees of Lake Forest University. Besides many periodical articles, he has published several volumes on religious subjects.

JOHNSON, Hosmer A., M.D., LL.D., physi- cian, was born near Buffalo, N. Y., Oct. 6, 1822; at twelve removed to a farm in Lapeer County, Mich. In spite of limited school privileges, at eighteen he secured a teachers' certificate, and, by teaching in the winter and attending an academy in the summer, prepared for college, entering the University of Michigan in 1846 and graduating in 1849. In 1850 he became a student of medicine at Rush Medical College in Chicago, graduating in 1852, and the same year becoming Secretary of the Cook County Medical Society, and, the year following, associate editor of "The Illinois Medical and Surgical Journal." For three years he was a member of the faculty of Rush, but, in 1858, resigned to become one of the founders of a new medical school, which has now become a part of Northwestern University. During the Civil War, Dr. Johnson was Chair- man of the State Board of Medical Examiners; later serving upon the Board of Health of Chi- cago, and upon the National Board of Health. He was also attending physician of Cook County Hospital and consulting physician of the Chicago Charitable Eye and Ear Infirmary. At the time of the great fire of 1871, he was one of the Direct- ors of the Chicago Relief and Aid Society. His connections with local, State and National Soci- eties and organizations (medical, scientific, social and otherwise) were very numerous. He trav- eled extensively, both in this country and in Europe, during his visits to the latter devoting much time to the study of foreign sanitary con- ditions, and making further attainments in medi- cine and surgery. In 1883 the degree of LL.D. was conferred upon him by Northwestern Uni- versity. During his later years, Dr. Johnson was engaged almost wholly in consultations. Died, Feb. 26, 1891.

JOHNSON COUNTY, lies in the southern por- tion of the State, and is one of the smallest counties, having an area of only 340 square miles, and a population (1900) of 15,667-named for Col.

Richard M. Johnson. Its organization dates back to 1812. A dividing ridge (forming a sort of water shed) extends from east to west, the waters of the Cache and Bay Rivers running south, and those of the Big Muddy and Saline toward the north. A minor coal seam of variable thickness (perhaps a spur from the regular coal- measures) crops out here and there. Sandstone and limestone are abundant, and, under cliffs along the bluffs, saltpeter has been obtained in small quantities. Weak copperas springs are numerous. The soil is rich, the principal crops being wheat, corn and tobacco. Cotton is raised for home consumption and fruit-culture receives some attention. Vienna is the county-seat, with a population, in 1890, of 828.

JOHNSTON, Noah, pioneer and banker, was born in Hardy County, Va., Dec. 20, 1799, and, at the age of 12 years, emigrated with his father to Woodford County, Ky. In 1824 he removed to Indiana, and, a few years later, to Jefferson County, Ill., where he began farming. He sub- sequently engaged in merchandising, but proving unfortunate, turned his attention to politics, serving first as County Commissioner and then as County Clerk. In 1838 he was elected to the State Senate for the counties of Hamilton and Jefferson, serving four years; was Enrolling and Engrossing Clerk of the Senate during the session of 1844-45, and, in 1846, elected Representative in the Fifteenth General Assembly. The following year he was made Paymaster in the United States Army, serving through the Mexican War; in 1852 served with Abraham Lincoln and Judge Hugh T. Dickey of Chicago, on a Commission appointed to investigate claims against the State for the construction of the Illinois & Michigan Canal, and, in 1854, was appointed Clerk of the Supreme Court for the Third Division, being elected to the same position in 1861. Other posi- tions held by him included those of Deputy United States Marshal under the administration of Presi- dent Polk, Commissioner to superintend the con- struction of the Supreme Court Building at Mount Vernon, and Postmaster of that city. He was also elected Representative again in 1866. The later years of his life were spent as President of the Mount Vernon National Bank. Died, No- vember, 1891, in his 92d year.

JOLIET, the county-seat of Will County, situ- ated in the Des Plaines River Valley, 36 miles southwest of Chicago, on the Illinois & Michigan Canal, and the intersecting point of five lines of railway. A good quality of calcareous building stone underlies the entire region, and is exten-

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ILLINOIS STATE PENITENTIARY, JOLIET.

Women's Prison.

ILLINOIS STATE PENITENTIARY, JOLIET.

Cell House,

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sively quarried. Gravel, sand, and clay are also easily obtained in considerable quantities. Within twenty miles are productive coal mines. The Northern Illinois Penitentiary and a female penal institute stand just outside the city limits on the north. Joliet is an important manufac- turing center, the census of 1900 crediting the city with 455 establishments, having $15,452,196 capital, employing 6,523 hands, paying $3,957,529 wages and $17,891,836 for raw material, turning out an annual product valued at $27,765,104. The leading industries are the manufacture of foundry and machine-shop products, engines, agricultural implements, pig-iron, Bessemer steel, steel bridges, rods, tin cans, wallpaper, matches, beer, saddles, paint, furniture, pianos, and stoves, besides quarrying and stone cutting. The Chi- cago Drainage Canal supplies valuable water- power. The city has many handsome public buildings and private residences, among the former being four high schools, Government postoffice building, two public libraries, and two public hospitals. It also has two public and two school parks. Population (1880), 11,657; (1890), 23,254, (including suburbs), 34,473; (1900), 29,353.

JOLIET, AURORA & NORTHERN RAIL- WAY. (See Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway.)

JOLIET, Louis, a French explorer, born at Quebec, Canada, Sept. 21, 1645, educated at the Jesuits' College, and early engaged in the fur- trade. In 1669 he was sent to investigate the copper mines on Lake Superior, but his most important service began in 1673, when Frontenac commissioned him to explore. Starting from the missionary station of St. Ignace, with Father Marquette, he went up the Fox River within the present State of Wisconsin and down the Wis- consin to the Mississippi, which he descended as far as the mouth of the Arkansas. He was the first to discover that the Mississippi flows to the Gulf rather than to the Pacific. He returned to Green Bay via the Illinois River, and (as believed) the sites of the present cities of Joliet and Chicago. Although later appointed royal hydrographer and given the island of Anticosti, he never revisited the Mississippi. Some historians assert that this was largely due to the influential jeal- ousy of La Salle. Died, in Canada, in May, 1700.

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Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of St. Clair County, Volume I, Part 61

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