Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of St. Clair County, Volume I, Part 99

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

USA > Illinois > St Clair County > Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of St. Clair County, Volume I > Part 99

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SNOWHOOK, William B., first Collector of Customs at Chicago, was born in Ireland in 1804; at the age of eight years was brought to New York, where he learned the printer's trade, and worked for some time in the same office with Horace Greeley. At 16 he went back to Ireland, remaining two years, but, returning to the United States, began the study of law; was also employed on the Passaic Canal; in 1836, came to Chicago, and was soon after associated with William B. Ogden in a contract on the Illi- nois & Michigan Canal, which lasted until 1841. As early as 1840 he became prominent as a leader in the Democratic party, and, in 1846, received from President Polk an appointment as first Col- lector of Customs for Chicago (having previously served as Special Surveyor of the Port, while

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attached to the District of Detroit); in 1853, was re-appointed to the Collectorship by President Pierce, serving two years. During the "Mormon War" (1844) he organized and equipped, at his own expense, the Montgomery Guards, and was commissioned Colonel, but the disturbances were brought to an end before the order to marclı. From 1856 he devoted his attention chiefly to liis practice, but, in 1862, was one of the Democrats of Chicago who took part in a movement to sus- tain the Government by stimulating enlistments; was also a member of the Convention which nominated Mr. Greeley for President in 1872. Died, in Chicago, May 5, 1882.

SNYDER, Adam Wilson, pioneer lawyer, and early Congressman, was born at Connellsville, Pa., Oct. 6, 1799. In early life he followed the occupation of wool-curling for a livelihood, attending school in the winter. In 1815, he emi- grated to Columbus, Ohio, and afterwards settled in Ridge Prairie, St. Clair County, Ill. Being offered a situation in a wool-curling and fulling mill at Cahokia, he removed thither in 1817. He formed the friendship of Judge Jesse B. Thomas, and, through the latter's encouragement and aid, studied law and gained a solid professional, poli- tical, social and financial position. In 1830 he was elected State Senator from St. Clair County, and re-elected for two successive terms. He served through the Black Hawk War as private, Adjutant and Captain. In 1833 he removed to Belleville, and, in 1834, was defeated for Congress by Governor Reynolds, whom he, in turn, defeated in 1836. Two years later Reynolds again defeated him for the same position, and, in 1840, he was elected State Senator. In 1841 he was the Demo- cratic nominee for Governor. The election was held in August, 1842, but, in May preceding, he died at his home in Belleville. His place on the ticket was filled by Thomas Ford, who was elected .- William H. (Snyder), son of the pre- ceding, was born in St. Clair County, Ill., July 12, 1825; educated at McKendree College, studied law with Lieutenant-Governor Koerner, and was admitted to practice in 1845; also served for a time as Postmaster of the city of Belleville, and, during the Mexican War, as First-Lieutenant and Adjutant of the Fifthi Illinois Volunteers. From 1850 to '54 he represented his county in the Legis- lature; in 1855 was appointed, by Governor Mat- teson, State's Attorney, which position he filled for two years. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the office of Secretary of State in 1856, and, in 1857, was elected a Judge of the Twenty- fourth Circuit, was re-elected for the Third Cir-

cuit in '73, '79 and '85. He was also a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1869-70. Died, at Belleville, Dec. 24, 1892.

SOLDIERS' AND SAILORS' HOME, a State charitable institution, founded by act of the Legislature in 1885, and located at Quincy, Adams County. The object of its establish- ment was to provide a comfortable home for such disabled or dependent veterans of the United States land or naval forces as had honorably served during the Civil War. It was opened for the reception of veterans on March 3, 1887, the first cost of site and build- ings having been about $350,000. The total num- ber of inmates admitted up to June 30, 1894, was 2,813; the number in attendance during the two previous years 988, and the whole number present on Nov. 10, 1894, 1,088. The value of property at that time was $393,636.08. Considerable appro- priations have been made for additions to the buildings at subsequent sessions of the Legisla- ture. The General Government pays to the State $100 per year for each veteran supported at the Home.

SOLDIERS' ORPHANS' HOME, ILLINOIS, an institution, created by act of 1865, for the main- tenance and education of children of deceased soldiers of the Civil War. An eighty-acre tract. one mile north of Normal, was selected as the site, and the first principal building was com- pleted and opened for the admission of benefici- aries on June 1, 1869. Its first cost was $135,000. the site having been donated. Repairs and the construction of new buildings, from time to time, have considerably increased this sum. In 1875 the benefits of the institution were extended, by legislative enactment, to the children of sol. diers who had died after the close of the war. The aggregate number of inmates, in 1894, was 572, of whom 323 were males and 249 females.

SOLDIERS' WIDOWS' HOME. Provision was made for the establishment of this institution by the Thirty-ninth General Assembly, in an act, approved, June 13, 1895, appropriating $20,000 for the purchase of a site, the erection of buildings and furnishing the same. It is designed for the reception and care of the mothers, wives, widows and daughters of such honorably discharged soldiers or sailors, in the United States service, as may have died, or may be physically or men- tally unable to provide for the families natu- rally dependent on them, provided that such persons have been residents of the State for at least one year previous to admission, and are without means or ability for self-support.

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The affairs of the Home are managed by a board of five trustees, of whom two are men and three women, the former to be members of the Grand Army of the Republic and of different political parties, and the latter members of the Women's Relief Corps of this State. The institu- tion was located at Wilmington, occupying a site of seventeen acres, where it was formally opened in a house of eighteen rooms, March 11, 1896, with twenty-six applications for admit- tance. The plan contemplates an early enlarge- ment by the erection of additional cottages.

SORENTO, a village of Bond County, at the intersection of the Jacksonville & St. Louis and the Toledo, St. Louis & Western Railways, 14 miles southeast of Litchfield; has a bank and a newspaper. Its interests are agricultural and mining. Pop. (1890), 538; (1900), 1,000.

SOULARD, James Gaston, pioneer, born of French ancestry in St. Louis, Mo., July 15, 1798; resided there until 1821, when, having married the daughter of a soldier of the Revolution, he received an appointment at Fort Snelling, near the present city of St. Paul, then under command of Col. Snelling, who was his wife's brother-in- law. The Fort was reached after a tedious jour- ney by flat-boat and overland, late in the fall of 1821, his wife accompanying him. Three years later they returned to St. Louis, where, being an engineer, he was engaged for several years in surveying. In 1827 he removed with his family to Galena, for the next six years had charge of a store of the Gratiot Brothers, early business men of that locality. Towards the close of this period he received the appointment of County Recorder, also holding the position of County Surveyor and Postmaster of Galena at the same time. His later years were devoted to farming and horti- culture, his death taking place, Sept. 17, 1878. Mr. Soulard was probably the first man to engage in freighting between Galena and Chicago. "The Galena Advertiser" of Sept. 14, 1829, makes mention of a wagon-load of lead sent by him to Chicago, his team taking back a load of salt, the paper remarking: "This is the first wagon that has ever passed from the Mississippi River to Chicago." Great results were predicted from the exchange of commodities between the lake and the lead mine district. - Mrs. Eliza M. Hunt (Soulard), wife of the preceding, was born at Detroit, Dec. 18, 1804, her father being Col. Thomas A. Hunt, who had taken part in the Battle of Bunker Hill and remained in the army until his death, at St. Louis, in 1807. His descend- ants have maintained their connection with the

army ever since, a son being a prominent artillery officer at the Battle of Gettysburg. Mrs. Soular was married at St. Louis, in 1820, and survive her husband some sixteen years, dying at Galena August 11, 1894. She had resided in Galen? nearly seventy years, and at the date of her death, in the 90th year of her age, she was that city's oldest resident.

SOUTH CHICAGO & WESTERN INDIANA RAILROAD. (See Chicago & Western Indiana Railroad.)

SOUTH DANVILLE, a suburb of the city of Danville, Vermilion County. Population (1890), 799; (1900), 898.

SOUTHEAST & ST. LOUIS RAILWAY. (See Louisville & Nashville Railroad.)

SOUTH ELGIN, a village of Kane County, near the city of Elgin. Population (1900), 515.

SOUTHERN COLLEGIATE INSTITUTE, located at Albion, Edwards County, incorporated in 1891; had a faculty of ten teachers with 219 pupils (1897-98)-about equally male and female. Besides classical, scientific, normal, music and fine arts departments, instruction is given in pre- paratory studies and business education. Its property is valued at $16,500.

SOUTHERN HOSPITAL FOR THE INSANE, located at Anna, Union County, founded by act of the Legislature in 1869. The original site com- prised 290 acres and cost a little more than $22,000, of which one-fourth was donated by citi- zens of the county. The construction of build- ings was begun in 1869, but it was not until March, 1875, that the north wing (the first com- pleted) was ready for occupancy. Other portions were completed a year later. The Trustees pur- chased 160 additional acres in 1883. The first cost (up to September, 1876) was nearly $635, 000. In 1881 one wing of the main building was de- stroyed by fire, and was subsequently rebuilt; the patients being, meanwhile, cared for in temporary wooden barracks. The total value of lands and buildings belonging to the State, June 30, 1894, was estimated at $738,580, and, of property of all sorts, at $833,700. The wooden barracks were later converted into a permanent ward, additions made to the main buildings, a detached buikling for the accommodation of 300 patients erected, numerous outbuildings put up and general im- provements made. A second fire on the night of Jan. 3, 1895, destroyed a large part of the main building, inflicting a loss upon the State of $175.000. Provision was made for rebuilding by the Legislature of that year. The institution has capacity for about 750 patients.

MANZ CHICAGO

Entrance to Penitentiary. View of Penitentiary and Asylum for Insane Criminals. SOUTHERN ILLINOIS PENITENTIARY AND ASYLUM FOR INSANE CRIMINALS, CHESTER.

BIRD'S EYE VIEW OF ILLINOIS STATE REFORMATORY, PONTIAC.

.... ..

Tommin- 1

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SOUTHERN ILLINOIS NORMAL UNIVER- SITY, established in 1869, and located, after competitive bidding, at Carbondale, which offered . lands and bonds at first estimated to be of the value of $229,000, but which later depreciated, through shrinkage, to $75,000. Construction was commenced in May, 1870, and the first or main building was completed and appropriately dedi- cated in July, 1874. Its cost was $265,000, but it was destroyed by fire, Nov. 26, 1883. In Febru- ary, 1887, a new structure was completed at a cost of $150,000. Two normal courses of instruction are given-classical and scientific-each extend- ing over a period of four years. The conditions of admission require that the pupil shall be 16 years of age, and shall possess the qualifications enabling him to pass examination for a second- grade teacher's certificate. Those unable to do so may enter a preparatory department for six months. Pupils who pledge themselves to teach in the public schools, not less than half the time of their attendance at the University, receive free tuition with a small charge for incidentals, while others pay a tuition fee. The number of students in attendance for the year 1897-98 was 720, coming from forty-seven counties, chiefly in the southern half of the State, with represent- atives from eight other States. The teaching faculty for the same year consisted, besides the President, of sixteen instructors in the various departments, of whom five were ladies and eleven gentlemen.

SOUTHERN PENITENTIARY, THE, located near Chester, on the Mississippi River. Its erec- tion was rendered necessary by the overcrowding of the Northern Penitentiary. (See Northern Penitentiary.) The law providing for its estab- lishment required the Commissioners to select a site convenient of access, adjacent to stone and timber, and having a high elevation, with a never failing supply of water. In 1877, 122 acres were purchased at Chester, and the erection of build- ings commenced. The first appropriation was of $200,000, and $300,000 was added in 1879. By March, 1878, 200 convicts were received, and their labor was utilized in the completion of the buildings, which are constructed upon approved modern principles. The prison receives convicts sent from the southern portion of the State, and has accommodation for some 1,200 prisoners. In connection with this penitentiary is an asylum for insane convicts, the erection of which was provided for by the Legislature in 1889.

SOUTH GROVE, a village of De Kalb County. Population (1890), 730.

SPALDING, Jesse, manufacturer. Collector of Customs and Street Railway President, was born at Athens, Bradford County, Pa., April 15, 1833; early commenced lumbering on the Susquehanna, .and, at 23, began dealing on his own account. In 1857 he removed to Chicago, and soon after bought the property of the New York Lumber Company at the mouth of the Menominee River in Wiscon- sin, where, with different partners, and finally practically alone, he has carried on the business of lumber manufacture on a large scale ever since. In 1881 he was appointed, by President Arthur, Collector of the Port of Chicago, and, in 1889, received from President Harrison an appointment as one of the Government Directors of the Union Pacific Railway. Mr. Spalding was a zealous supporter of the Government during the War of the Rebellion and rendered valuable aid in the construction and equipment of Camp Douglas and the barracks at Chicago for the returning soldiers, receiving Auditor's warrants in payment, when no funds in the State treasury were available for the purpose. He was associ- ated with William B. Ogden and others in the project for connecting Green Bay and Sturgeon Bay by a ship canal, which was completed in 1882, and, on the death of Mr. Ogden, succeeded to the Presidency of the Canal Company, serving until 1893, when the canal was turned over to the General Government. He has also been identified with many other public enterprises intimately connected with the development and prosperity of Chicago, and, in July, 1899, became President of the Chicago Union Traction Company, having control of the North and West Chicago Street Railway Systems.

SPALDING, John Lancaster, Catholic Bishop, was born in Lebanon, Ky., June 2, 1840; educated in the United States and in Europe, ordained a priest in the Catholic Church in 1863, and there- upon attached to the cathedral at Louisville, as assistant. In 1869 he organized a congregation of colored people, and built for their use the Church of St. Augustine, having been assigned to that parish as pastor. Soon afterwards he was appointed Secretary to the Bishop and made Chancellor of the Diocese. In 1873 he was trans- ferred from Louisville to New York, where he was attached to the missionary parish of St. Michael's. He had, by this time, achieved no little fame as a pulpit orator and lecturer. When the diocese of Peoria, Ill., was created, in 1877, the choice of the Pope fell upon him for the new see, and he was consecrated Bishop, on May 1 of that year, by Cardinal McCloskey at New York. His

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administration has been characterized by both energy and success. He has devoted much atten- tion to the subject of emigration, and has brought about the founding of many new settlements in the far West. He was also largely instrumental in bringing about the founding of the Catholic University at Washington. He is a frequent contributor to the reviews, and the author of a number of religious works.

SPANISH INVASION OF ILLINOIS. In the month of June, 1779, soon after the declaration of war between Spain and Great Britain, an expe- dition was organized in Canada, to attack the Spanish posts along the Mississippi. Simultane- ously, a force was to be dispatched from Pensa- cola against New Orleans, then commanded by a young Spanish Colonel, Don Bernardo de Galvez. Secret instructions had been sent to British Commandants, all through the Western country, to co-operate with both expeditions. De Galvez, having learned of the scheme through intercepted letters, resolved to forestall the attack by becoming the assailant. At the head of a force of 670 men, he set out and captured Baton Rouge, Fort Manchac and Natchez, almost with- out opposition. The British in Canada, being ignorant of what had been going on in the South, in February following dispatched a force from Mackinac to support the expedition from Pensa- cola, and, incidentally, to subdue the American rebels while en route. Cahokia and Kaskaskia were contemplated points of attack, as well as the Spanish forts at St. Louis and St. Genevieve. This movement was planned by Capt. Patrick Sinclair, commandant at Mackinac, but Captain Hesse was placed in charge of the expedition, which numbered some 750 men, including a force of Indians led by a chief named Wabasha. The British arrived before St. Louis, early on the morning of May 26, 1780, taking the Spaniards by surprise. Meanwhile Col. George Rogers Clark, having been apprised of the project, arrived at Cahokia from the falls of the Ohio, twenty-four hours in advance of the attack, his presence and readiness to co-operate with the Spanish, no doubt, contributing to the defeat of the expedition. The accounts of what followed are conflicting, the number of killed on the St. Louis shore being variously estimated from seven or eight to sixty-eight-the last being the esti- mate of Capt. Sinclair in his official report. All agree, however, that the invading party was forced to retreat in great haste. Colonel Mont- gomery, who had been in command at Cahokia, with a force of 350 and a party of Spanish allies,

pursued the retreating invaders as far as the Rock' River, destroying inany Indian villages on the way. This movement on the part of the British served as a pretext for an attempted re- prisal, undertaken by the Spaniards, with the aid of a number of Cahokians, early in 1781. Starting early in January, this latter expedition crossed Illinois, with the design of attacking Fort St. Joseph, at the head of Lake Michigan, which had been captured from the English by Thomas Brady and afterwards retaken. The Spaniards were com- manded by Don Eugenio Pourre, and supported by a force of Cahokians and Indians. The fort was easily taken and the British flag replaced by the ensign of Spain. The affair was regarded as of but little moment, at the time, the post being evacuated in a few days, and the Spaniards returning to St. Louis. Yet it led to serious international complications, and the "'conquest" was seriously urged by the Spanish ministry as giving that country a right to the territory trav- ersed. This claim was supported by France before the signing of the Treaty of Paris, but was defeated, through the combined efforts of Messrs. Jay, Franklin and Adams, the American Commissioners in charge of the peace negoti- ations with England.

SPARKS, (Capt.) David R., manufacturer and legislator, was born near Lanesville, Ind., in 1823; in 1836, removed with his parents to Ma- coupin County, Ill .; in 1847, enlisted for the Mexican War, crossing the plains to Santa Fe, New Mexico. In 1850 he made the overland trip to California, returning the next year by the Isthmus of Panama. In 1855 he engaged in the milling business at Staunton, Macoupin County, but, in 1860, made a third trip across the plains in search of gold, taking a quartz-mill which was erected near where Central City, Colo., now is, and which was the second steam-engine in that region. He returned home in time to vote for Stephen A. Douglas for President, the same year, but became a stalwart Republican, two weeks later, when the advocates of secession began to develop their policy after the election of Lincoln. In 1861 he enlisted, under the call for 500,000 vol- unteers following the first battle of Bull Run, and was commissioned a Captain in the Third Illinois Cavalry (Col. Eugene A. Carr), serving two and a half years, during which time he took part in several hard-fought battles, and being present at the fall of Vicksburg. At the end of his service he became associated with his former partner in the erection of a large flouring mill at Litchfield, but, in 1869, the firm bought an extensive flour-

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ing mill at Alton, of which he became the princi- pal owner in 1881, and which has since been greatly enlarged and improved, until it is now one of the most extensive establishments of its kind in the State. Capt. Sparks was elected to the House of Representatives in 1888, and to the State Senate in 1894, serving in the sessions of 1895 and '97; was also strongly supported as a candidate for the Republican nomination for Congress in 1896.

SPARKS, William A. J., ex-Congressman, was born near New Albany, Ind., Nov. 19, 1828, at 8 years of age was brought by his parents to Illi- nois, and shortly afterwards left an orphan. Thrown on his own resources, he found work upon a farm, his attendance at the district schools being limited to the winter months. Later, he passed through McKendree College, supporting himself, meanwhile, by teaching, graduating in 1850. He read law with Judge Sidney Breese, and was admitted to the bar in 1851. His first public office was that of Receiver of the Land Office at Edwardsville, to which he was appointed by President Pierce in 1853, re- maining until 1856, when he was chosen Presi- dential Elector on the Democratic ticket. The same year he was elected to the lower house of the General Assembly, and, in 1863-64, served in the State Senate for the unexpired term of James M. Rodgers, deceased. He was a delegate to the National Democratic Convention in 1868, and a Democratic Representative in Congress from 1875 to 1883. In 1885 he was appointed, by President Cleveland, Commissioner of the General Land Office in Washington, retiring, by resignation, in 1887. His home is at Carlyle.

SPARTA & ST. GENEVIEVE RAILROAD. (See Centralia & Chester Railroad.)

SPEED, Joshua Fry, merchant, and intimate friend of Abraham Lincoln; was educated in the local schools and at St. Josephi's College, Bards- town, Ky., after which he spent some time in a wholesale mercantile establishment in Louisville. About 1835 lie came to Springfield, Ill., where he engaged in the mercantile business, later becom- ing the intimate friend and associate of Abraham Lincoln, to whom he offered the privilege of sharing a room over his store, when Mr. Lincoln removed from New Salem to Springfield, in 1836. Mr. Speed returned to Kentucky in 1842, but the friendship with Mr. Lincoln, which was of a most devoted character, continued until the death of the latter. Having located in Jefferson County, Ky., Mr. Speed was elected to the Legis- lature in 1848, but was never again willing to

accept office, though often solicited to do so. In 1851 he removed to Louisville, where he acquired a handsome fortune in the real-estate business. On the breaking out of the rebellion in 1861, he heartily embraced the cause of the Union, and, during the war, was entrusted with many deli- cate and important duties in the interest of the Government, by Mr. Lincoln, whom lie frequently visited in Washington. His death occurred at Louisville, May 29, 1882 .- James (Speed), an older brother of the preceding, was a prominent Unionist of Kentucky, and, after the war, a leading Republican of that State, serving as dele- gate to the National Republican Conventions of 1872 and 1876. In 1864 he was appointed Attor- ney-General by Mr. Lincoln and served until 1866, when he resigned on account of disagreement with President Johnson. He died in 1887, at the age of 75 years.

SPOON RIVER, rises in Bureau County, flows southward through Stark County into Peoria, thence southwest through Knox, and to the south and southeast, through Fulton County, entering the Illinois River opposite Havana. It is about 150 miles long.

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Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of St. Clair County, Volume I, Part 99

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