Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of St. Clair County, Volume I, Part 93

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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RUSH MEDICAL COLLEGE, located in Chi- cago; incorporated by act of March 2, 1837, the charter having been prepared the previous year by Drs. Daniel Brainard and Josiah C. Goodhue. The extreme financial depression of the following year prevented the organization of a faculty until 1843. The institution was named in honor of Dr. Benjamin Rush, the eminent practitioner, medical author and teacher of Philadelphia in the latter half of the eighteenth century. The first faculty consisted of four professors, and the first term opened on Dec. 4, 1843, with a class of twenty-two students. Three years' study was required for graduation, but only two annual terms of sixteen weeks each need be attended at the college itself. Instruction was given in a few rooms temporarily opened for that purpose. The next year a small building, costing between $3,000 and $4,000, was erected. This was re-ar- ranged and enlarged in 1855 at a cost of $15,000. The constant and rapid growth of the college necessitated the erection of a new building in 1867, the cost of which was $70,000. This was destroyed in the fire of 1871, and another, costing $54,000, was erected in 1876 and a free dispensary

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added. In 1844 the Presbyterian Hospital was located on a portion of the college lot, and the two institutions connected, thus insuring abun- dant and stable facilities for clinical instruction. Shortly afterwards, Rush College became the medical department of Lake Forest University. The present faculty (1898) consists of 95 profes- sors, adjunct professors, lecturers and instructors of all grades, and over 600 students in attend- ance. The length of the annual terms is six months, and four years of study are required for graduation, attendance upon at least three col- lege terms being compulsory.

RUSHVILLE, the county-seat of Schuyler County, 50 miles northeast of Quincy and 11 miles northwest of Beardstown; is the southern. terminus of the Buda and Rushville branch of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. The town was selected as the county-seat in 1826, the seat of justice being removed from a place called Beardstown, about five miles eastward (not the present Beardstown in Cass County), where it had been located at the time of the organization of Schuyler County, a year previous. At first the new seat of justice was called Rush- ton, in honor of Dr. Benjamin Ruslı, but after- wards took its present name. It is a coal-mining, grain and fruit-growing region, and contains several manufactories, including flour-mills, brick and tile works; also has two banks (State and private) and a public library. Four periodicals (one daily) are published here. Population (1880), 1,662; (1890), 2,031; (1900), 2,292.

RUSSELL, John, pioneer teacher and author, was born at Cavendish, Vt., July 31, 1793, and educated in the common schools of his native State and at Middlebury College, where he gradu- ated in 1818-having obtained means to support himself, during his college course, by teaching and by the publication, before he had reached liis 20th year, of a volume entitled "The Authentic History of Vermont State Prison." After gradu- ation he taught for a short time in Georgia ; but, early in the following year, joined his father on the way to Missouri. The next five years he spent in teaching in the "Bonhommie Bottom" on the Missouri River. During this period he published, anonymously, in "The St. Charles Mis- sourian," a temperance allegory entitled "The Venomous Worm" (or "The Worm of the Still"), which gained a wide popularity and was early recognized by the compilers of school-readers as a sort of classic. Leaving this locality he taught a year in St. Louis, when he removed to Vandalia (then the capital of Illinois), after which he spent

two years teaching in the Seminary at Upper Alton, which afterwards became Shurtleff College. In 1828 he removed to Greene County, locating at a point near the Illinois River to which he gave the name of Bluffdale. Here he was li- censed as a Baptist preacher, officiating in this ca- pacity only occasionally, while pursuing his calling as a teacher or writer for the press, to which he was an almost constant contributor during the last twenty-five years of his life. About 1837 or 1838 he was editor of a paper called "The Backwoodsman" at Grafton-then a part of Greene County, but now in Jersey County-to which he afterwards continued to be a contribu- tor some time longer, and, in 1841-42, was editor of "The Advertiser, ' at Louisville, Ky. He was also, for several years, Principal of the Spring Hill Academy in East Feliciana Parish, La., meanwhile serving for a portion of the time as Superintendent of Public Schools. He was the author of a number of stories and sketches, some of which went through several editions, and, at the time of his death, had in preparation a his- tory of "The Black Hawk War," "Evidences of Christianity" and a "History of Illinois." He was an accomplished linguist, being able to read with fluency Greek, Latin, French, Spanish and Italian, besides having considerable familiarity with several other modern languages. In 1862 lie received from the University of Chicago the degree of LL.D. Died, Jan. 2, 1863, and was buried on the old homestead at Bluffdale.

RUSSELL, Martin J., politician and journal- ist, born in Chicago, Dec. 20, 1845. He was a nephew of Col. James A. Mulligan (see Mulligan, James A.) and served with credit as Adjutant- General on the staff of the latter in the Civil War. In 1870 he became a reporter on "The Chicago Evening Post," and was advanced to the position of city editor. Subsequently he was connected with "The Times," and "The Tele- gram"; was also a member of the Board of Edu- cation of Hyde Park before the annexation of that village to Chicago, and has been one of the South Park Commissioners of the city last named. After the purchase of "The Chicago Times" by Carter H. Harrison he remained for a time on the editorial staff. In 1894 President Cleveland appointed liim Collector of the Port of Chicago. At the expiration of his term of office he resumed editorial work as editor-in-chief of "The Chron- icle," the organ of the Democratic party in Chicago. Died June 25, 1900.

RUTHERFORD, Friend S., lawyer and sol- dier, was born in Schenectady, N. Y., Sept. 25,

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1820; studied law in Troy and removed to Illi- nois, settling at Edwardsville, and finally at Alton; was a Republican candidate for Presi- dential Elector in 1856, and, in 1860, a member of the National Republican Convention at Chicago, which nominated Mr. Lincoln for the Presidency. In September, 1862, he was commissioned Colonel of the Ninety-seventh Illinois Volunteers, and participated in the capture of Port Gibson and in the operations about Vicksburg-also leading in the attack on Arkansas Post, and subsequently serving in Louisiana, but died as the result of fatigue and exposure in the service, June 20, 1864, one week before his promotion to the rank of Brigadier-General .- Reuben C. (Rutherford), brother of the preceding, was born at Troy, N. Y., Sept. 29, 1823, but grew up in Vermont and New Hampshire; received a degree in law when quite young, but afterwards fitted himself as a lec- turer on physiology and hygiene, upon which he lectured extensively in Michigan, Illinois and other States after coming west in 1849. During 1854-55, in co-operation with Prof. J. B. Turner and others, he canvassed and lectured extensively throughout Illinois in support of the movement which resulted in the donation of public lands, by Congress, for the establishment of "Industrial Colleges" in the several States. The establish- ment of the University of Illinois, at Champaign, was the outgrowth of this movement. In 1856 he located at Quincy, where he resided some thirty years; in 1861, served for several months as the first Commissary of Subsistence at Cairo; was later associated with the State Quartermaster's Department, finally entering the secret service of the War Department, in which he remained until 1867, retiring with the rank of brevet Brigadier- General. In 1886, General Rutherford removed to New York City, where he died, June 24, 1895 .- George V. (Rutherford), another brother, was born at Rutland, Vt., 1830; was first admitted to the bar, but afterwards took charge of the con- struction of telegraph lines in some of the South- ern States; at the beginning of the Civil War became Assistant Quartermaster-General of the State of Illinois, at Springfield, under ex-Gov. John Wood, but subsequently entered the Quartermaster's service of the General Govern- ment in Washington, retiring after the war with the rank of Brigadier-General. He then returned to Quincy, Ill., where he resided until 1872, when he engaged in manufacturing business at North- ampton, Mass., but finally removed to California for the benefit of his failing health. Died, at St. Helena, Cal., August 28, 1872.

RUTLAND, a village of La Salle County, on the Illinois Central Railroad, 25 miles south of La Salle; has a bank, five churches, school, and a newspaper, with coal mines in the vicinity. Pop. (1890), 509; (1900), 893; (1903), 1,093.

RUTLEDGE, (Rev.) William J., clergyman, Army Chaplain, born in Augusta County, Va., June 24, 1820; was converted at the age of 12 years and, at 21, became a member of the Illinois Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, serving various churches in the central and west- ern parts of the State-also acting, for a time, as Agent of the Illinois Conference Female College at Jacksonville. From 1861 to 1863 he was Chap- lain of the Fourteenth Regiment Illinois Volun- teers. Returning from the war, he served as pastor of churches at Jacksonville, Bloomington, Quincy, Rushville, Springfield, Griggsville and other points; from 1881 to '84 was Chaplain of the Illinois State Penitentiary at Joliet. Mr. Rutledge was one of the founders of the Grand Army of the Republic, and served for many years as Chaplain of the order for the Department of Illinois. In connection with the ministry, he has occupied a supernumerary relation since 1885. Died in Jacksonville, April 14, 1900.

RUTZ, Edward, State Treasurer, was born in a village in the Duchy of Baden, Germany, May 5, 1829; came to America in 1848, locating on a farm in St. Clair County, Ill .; went to California in 1857, and, early in 1861, enlisted in the Third United States Artillery at San Francisco, serving with the Army of the Potomac until his discharge in 1864, and taking part in every battle in whichi his command was engaged. After his return in 1865, he located in St. Clair County, and was elected County Surveyor, served three consecu- tive terms as County Treasurer, and was elected State Treasurer three times -- 1872, '76 and '80. About 1892 he removed to California, where he now resides.

RYAN, Edward G., early editor and jurist, born at Newcastle House, County Meath, Ireland, Nov. 13, 1810; was educated for the priesthood, but turned his attention to law, and, in 1830, came to New York and engaged in teaching while prosecuting his legal studies; in 1836 re- moved to Chicago, where he was admitted to the bar and was, for a time, associated in practice with Hugh T. Dickey. In April, 1840, Mr. Ryan assumed the editorship of a weekly paper in Chi- cago called "The Illinois Tribune," which he conducted for over a year, and which is remem- bered chiefly on account of its bitter assaults on Judge John Pearson of Danville, who had

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aroused the hostility of some members of the Chicago bar by his rulings upon the bench. About 1842 Ryan removed to Milwaukee, Wis., where he was, for a time, a partner of Matthew H. Carpenter (afterwards United States Senator), and was connected with a number of celebrated trials before the courts of that State, including the Barstow-Bashford case, which ended with Bashford becoming the first Republican Governor of Wisconsin. In 1874 he was appointed Chief Justice of Wisconsin, serving until his death, which occurred at Madison, Oct. 19, 1880. He was a strong partisan, and, during the Civil War, was an intense opponent of the war policy of the Government. In spite of infirmities of temper, he appears to have been a man of much learning and recognized legal ability.

RYAN, James, Roman Catholic Bishop, born in Ireland in 1848 and emigrated to America in childhood; was educated for the priesthood in Kentucky, and, after ordination, was made a pro- fessor in St. Joseph's Seminary, at Bardstown, Ky. In 1878 he removed to Illinois, attaching himself to the diocese of Peoria, and having charge of parishes at Wataga and Danville. In 1881 he became rector of the Ottawa parish, within the episcopal jurisdiction of the Arch- bishop of Chicago. In 1888 he was made Bishop of the see of Alton, the prior incumbent (Bishop Baltes) having died in 1886.

SACS AND FOXES, two confederated Indian tribes, who were among the most warlike and powerful of the aborigines of the Illinois Country. The Foxes called themselves the Musk-wah-ha- kee, a name compounded of two words, signify- ing "those of red earth." The French called them Ou-ta-ga-mies, that being their spelling of the name given them by other tribes, the mean- ing of which was "Foxes," and which was bestowed upon them because their totem (or armorial device, as it may be called) was a fox. They seem to have been driven westward from the northern shore of Lake Ontario, by way of Niagara and Mackinac, to the region around Green Bay, Wis .- Concerning their allied breth- ren, the Sacs, less is known. The name is vari- ously spelled in the Indian dialects-Ou-sa-kies, Sauks, etc .- and the term Sacs is unquestionably an abbreviated corruption. Black Hawk be- longed to this tribe. The Foxes and Sacs formed a confederation according to aboriginal tradition, on what is now known as the Sac River, near Green Bay, but the date of the alliance cannot be determined. The origin of the Sacs is equally

uncertain. Black Hawk claimed that his tribe originally dwelt around Quebec, but, as to the authenticity of this claim, historical authorities differ widely. Subsequent to 1670 the history of the allied tribes is tolerably well defined. Their characteristics, location and habits are described at some length by Father Allouez, who visited them in 1666-67. He says that they were numer- ous and warlike, but depicts them as "penurious, avaricious, thievish and quarrelsome." That they were cordially detested by their neighbors is certain, and Judge James Hall calls them "the Ishmaelites of the lakes." They were unfriendly to the French, who attached to themselves other tribes, and, through the aid of the latter, had well-nigh exterminated them, when the Sacs and Foxes sued for peace, which was granted on terms most humiliating to the vanquished. By 1718, however, they were virtually in possession of the region around Rock River in Illinois, and, four years later, through the aid of the Mascou- tins and Kickapoos, they had expelled the Illinois, driving the last of that ill-fated tribe across the Illinois River. They abstained from taking part in the border wars that marked the close of the Revolutionary War, and therefore did not par- ticipate in the treaty of Greenville in 1795. At that date, according to Judge Hall, they claimed the country as far west as Council Bluffs, Iowa, and as far north as Prairie du Chien. They offered to co-operate with the United States Government in the War of 1812, but this offer was declined, and a portion of the tribe, under the leadership of Black Hawk, enlisted on the side of the British. The Black Hawk War proved their political ruin. By the treaty of Rock Island they ceded vast tracts of land, including a large part of the eastern half of Iowa and a large body of land east of the Mississippi. (See Black Hawk War; Indian Treaties.) In 1842 the Government divided the nation into two bands, removing both to reservations in the farther West. One was located on the Osage River and the other on the south side of the Nee-ma-ha River, near the northwest corner of Kansas. From these reser- vations, there is little doubt, many of them have silently emigrated toward the Rocky Mountains, where the hoe might be laid aside for the rifle, the net and the spear of the hunter. A few years ago a part of these confederated tribes were located in the eastern part of Oklahoma.

SAILOR SPRINGS, a village and health resort in Clay County, 5 miles north of Clay City, has an academy and a local paper. Population (1900), 419; (1903, est.), 550.

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SALEM, an incorporated city, the county-seat of Marion County, on the Baltimore & Ohio South- western, the Chicago & Eastern Illinois and the Illinois Southern Railroads, 71 miles east of St. Louis, and 16 miles northeast of Centralia; in agricultural and coal district. A leading indus- try is the culture, evaporation and shipment of fruit. The city lias flour-mills, two banks and three weekly newspapers. Pop. (1890), 1,493; (1900), 1,642.

SALINE COUNTY, a southeastern county, organized in 1847, having an area of 380 square miles. It derives its name from the salt springs which are found in every part of the county. The northern portion is rolling and yields an abundance of coal of a quality suitable for smith- ing. The bottoms are swampy, but heavily timbered, and saw-mills abound. Oak, hickory, sweet gum, mulberry, locust and sassafras are the prevailing varieties. Fruit and tobacco are extensively cultivated. The climate is mild and humid, and the vegetation varied. The soil of the low lands is rich, and, when drained, makes excellent farming lands. In some localities a good gray sandstone, soft enough to be worked, is quarried, and millstone grit is frequently found. In the southern half of the county are the Eagle Mountains, a line of hills having an altitude of some 450 to 500 feet above the level of the Mis- sissippi at Cairo, and believed by geologists to have been a part of the upheaval that gave birth to the Ozark Mountains in Missouri and Arkan- sas. The highest land in the county is 864 feet above sea-level. Tradition says that these hills are rich in silver ore, but it has not been found in paying quantities. Springs strongly impreg- nated with sulphur are found on the slopes. The county-seat was originally located at Raleigh, which was platted in 1848, but it was subse- quently removed to Harrisburg, which was laid out in 1859. Population of the county (1880), 15,940; (1890), 19,342; (1900), 21,685.

SALINE RIVER, a stream formed by the con- fluence of two branchies, both of which flow through portions of Saline County, uniting in Gallatin County. The North Fork rises in Hamil- ton County and runs nearly soutlı, while the South Fork drains part of Williamson County, and runs east through Saline. The river (which is little more than a creek), thus formed, runs southeast, entering the Oliio ten miles below Shawneetown.

SALT MANUFACTURE. There is evidence going to show that the saline springs, in Gallatin County, were utilized by the aboriginal inhabit-

ants in the making of salt, long before the advent of white settlers.' There have been discovered, at various points, what appear to be the remains of evaporating kettles, composed of hardened clay and pounded shells, varying in diameter from three to four feet. In 1812, with a view to en- couraging the manufacture of salt from these springs, Congress granted to Illinois the use of 36 square miles, the fee still remaining in the United States. These lands were leased by the State to private parties, but the income derived from them was comparatively small and fre- quently difficult of collection. The workmen were mostly slaves from Kentucky and Tennes- see, who are especially referred to in Article VI., Section 2, of the Constitution of 1818. Tlie salt made brought $5 per 100 pounds, and was shipped in keel-boats to various points on the Ohio, Mis- sissippi, Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers, while inany purchasers came hundreds of miles on horseback and carried it away on pack animals. In 1827, the State treasury being empty and tlie General Assembly having decided to erect a peni- tentiary at Alton, Congress was petitioned to donate these lands to the State in fee, and per- mission was granted "to sell 30,000 acres of the Ohio Salines in Gallatin County, and apply the proceeds to such purposes as the Legislature inight by law direct." The sale was made, one- half of the proceeds set apart for the building of the penitentiary, and one-half to the improve- ment of roads and rivers in the eastern part of the State. The manufacture of salt was carried on, liowever-for a time by lessees and subse- quently by owners-until 1873, about which time it was abandoned, chiefly because it had ceased to be profitable on account of competition with other districts possessing superior facilities. Some salt was manufactured in Vermilion County about 1824. The manufacture lias been success- fully carried on in recent years, from tlie product of artesian wells, at St. John, in Perry County.

SANDOVAL, a village of Marion County, at the crossing of the western branch of the Illinois Central Railroad, and the Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern, 6 miles north of Centralia. The town has coal mines and some manufactures, with banks and one newspaper. Population (1880), 564; (1890), 834; (1900), 1,258.

SANDSTONE. The quantity of sandstone quar- ried in Illinois is comparatively insignificant, its value being less than one-fifth of one per cent of the value of the output of the entire country. In 1890 the State ranked twenty-fifth in the list of States producing this mineral, the total value

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of the stone quarried being but $17,896, repre- senting 141,605 cubic feet, taken from ten quar- ries, which employed forty-six hands, and had an aggregate capital invested of $49,400.

SANDWICH, a city in De Kalb County, incor- porated in 1873, on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, 58 miles southwest of Chicago. The principal industries are the manufacture of agricultural implements, hay-presses, corn-shell- ers, pumps and wind-mills. Sandwich has two private banks, two weekly and one semi-weekly papers. Pop. (1890), 2,516; (1900), 2,520; (1903), 2,865.

SANGAMON COUNTY, a central county, organized under act of June 30, 1821, from parts of Bond and Madison Counties, and embracing the present counties of Sangamon, Cass, Menard, Mason, Tazewell, Logan, and parts of Morgan, McLean, Woodford, Marshall and Putnam. It was named for the river flowing through it. Though reduced in area somewhat, four years later, it extended to the Illinois River, but was reduced to its present limits by the setting apart of Menard, Logan and Dane (now Christian) Counties, in 1839. Henry Funderburk is believed to have been the first white settler, arriving there in 1817 and locating in what is now Cotton Hill Township, being followed, the next year, by William Drennan, Joseph Dodds, James McCoy, Robert Pulliam and others. John Kelly located on the present site of the city of Springfield in 1818, and was there at the time of the selection of that place as the temporary seat of justice in 1821. Other settlements were made at Auburn, Island Grove, and elsewhere, and population began to flow in rapidly. Remnants of the Potta- watomie and Kickapoo Indians were still there, but soon moved north or west. County organi- zation was effected in 1821, the first Board of County Commissioners being composed of Wil- liam Drennan, Zachariah Peter and Samuel Lee. John Reynolds (afterwards Governor) held the first term of Circuit Court, with John Taylor, Sheriff; Henry Starr, Prosecuting Attorney, and Charles R. Matheny, Circuit Clerk. A United States Land Office was established at Springfield in 1823, with Pascal P. Enos as Receiver, the first sale of lands taking place the same year. The soil of Sangamon County is exuberantly fer- tile, with rich underlying deposits of bituminous coal, which is mined in large quantities. The chief towns are Springfield, Auburn, Riverton, Illiopolis and Pleasant Plains. The area of the county is 860 square miles. Population (1880), 52,894; (1890), 61,195; (1900), 71,593.

SANGAMON RIVER, formed by the union of the North and South Forks, of which the former is the longer, or main branch. The North Fork rises in the northern part of Champaign County, whence it runs southwest to the city of Decatur, thence westward through Sangamon County, forming the north boundary of Christian County, and emptying into the Illinois River about 9 miles above Beardstown. The Sangamon is nearly 240 miles long, including the North Fork. The South Fork flows through Christian County, and joins the North Fork about 6 miles east of Springfield. In the early history of the State the Sangamon was regarded as a navigable stream, and its improvement was one of the measures advocated by Abraham Lincoln in 1832, when he was for the first time a candidate (though unsuc- cessfully) for the Legislature. In the spring of 1832 a small steamer from Cincinnati, called the "Talisman," ascended the river to a point near Springfield. The event was celebrated with great rejoicing by the people, but the vessel encountered so much difficulty in getting out of the river that the experiment was never repeated.

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Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of St. Clair County, Volume I, Part 93

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