Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Winnebago County, Volume I, Part 36

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913; Church, Charles A., 1857-
Publication date: 1916
Publisher: Chicago : Munsell Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 724

USA > Illinois > Winnebago County > Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Winnebago County, Volume I > Part 36

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FREEPORT COLLEGE, an institution at Free- port, Ill., incorporated in 1895; is co-educational; had a faculty of six instructors in 1896, with 116 pupils.

FREER, Lemuel Covell Paine, early lawyer, was born in Dutchess County, N. Y., Sept. 18, 1815; came to Chicago in 1836, studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1840; was a zealous anti-slavery man and an active supporter of the Government during the War of the Rebellion; for many years was President of the Board of Trustees of Rush Medical College. Died, in Chicago, April 14, 1892.

FRENCH, Augustus C., ninth Governor of Illinois (1846-52), was born in New Hampshire, August 2, 1808. After coming to Illinois, he became a resident of Crawford County, and a lawyer by profession. He was a member of the Tenth and Eleventh General Assemblies, and Receiver, for a time, of the Land Office at Pales- tine. He served as Presidential Elector in 1844, was elected to the office of Governor as a Demo- crat in 1846 by a majority of nearly 17,000 over two competitors, and was the unanimous choice of his party for a second term in 1848. His adminis-

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tration was free from scandals. He was appointed Bank Commissioner by Governor Matteson, and later accepted the chair of Law in McKendree College at Lebanon. In 1858 he was the nominee of the Douglas wing of the Democratic party for State Superintendent of Public Instruction, ex-Gov. Jolın Reynolds being the candidate of the Buchanan branch of the party. Both were defeated. His last public service was as a mem- ber from St. Clair County of the Constitutional Convention of 1862. Died, at Lebanon, Sept. 4, 1864.

FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. The first premonition of this struggle in the West was given in 1698, when two English vessels entered the mouth of the Mississippi, to take possession of the French Territory of Louisiana, which then included what afterward became the State of Illinois. This expedition, however, returned without result. Great Britain was anxious to have a colorable pretext for attempting to evict the French, and began negotiation of treaties with the Indian tribes as early as 1724, expecting thereby to fortify her original claim, which was based on the right of prior discovery. The numerous shiftings of the political kaleidoscope in Europe prevented any further steps in this direc- tion on the part of England until 1748-49, when the Ohio Land Company received a royal grant of 500,000 acres along the Ohio River, with exclu- sive trading privileges. The Company proceeded to explore and survey and, about 1752, established a trading post on Loramie Creek, 47 miles north of Dayton. The French foresaw that hostilities were probable, and advanced their posts as far east as the Allegheny River. Complaints by the Ohio Company induced an ineffectual remon- strance on the part of Virginia. Among the ambassadors sent to the French by the Governor of Virginia was George Washington, who thus, in early manhood, became identified with Illinois history. His report was of such a nature as to induce the erection of counter fortifications by the British, one of which (at the junction of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers) was seized and occupied by the French before its completion. Then ensued a series of engagements which, while not involving large forces of men, were fraught with grave consequences, and in which the French were generally successful. In 1755 occurred "Braddock's defeat" in an expedition to recover Fort Duquesne (where Pittsburg now stands), which had been captured by the French the previous year, and the Government of Great Britain determined to redouble its efforts. The

final result was the termination of French domi- nation in the Ohio Valley. Later came the down- fall of French ascendency in Canada as the result of the battle of Quebec; but the vanquished yet hoped to be able to retain Louisiana and Illinois. But France was forced to indemnify Spain for the loss of Florida, which it did by the cession of all of Louisiana lying west of the Mississippi (includ- ing the city of New Orleans), and this virtually ended French hopes in Illinois. The last military post in North America to be garrisoned by French troops was Fort Chartres, in Illinois Territory, where St. Ange remained in command until its evacuation was demanded by the English.

FRENCH GOVERNORS OF ILLINOIS. French Governors began to be appointed by the Company of the Indies (which see) in 1722, the "Illinois Country" having previously been treated as a dependency of Canada. The first Governor ( or "commandant") was Pierre Duque de Boisbriant, who was commandant for only three years, when he was summoned to New Orleans (1725) to suc- ceed de Bienville as Governor of Louisiana. Capt. du Tisne was in command for a short time after his departure, but was succeeded by another Captain in the royal army, whose name is vari- ously spelled de Liette, de Lielte, De Siette and Delietto. He was followed in turn by St. Ange (the father of St. Ange de Bellerive), who died in 1742. In 1732 the Company of the Indies surren- dered its charter to the crown, and the Governors of the Illinois Country were thereafter appointed directly by royal authority. Under the earlier Governors justice had been administered under the civil law; with the change in the method of appointment the code known as the "Common Law of Paris" came into effect, although not rigidly enforced because found in many particu- lars to be ill-suited to the needs of a new country. The first of the Royal Governors was Pierre d' Artaguiette, who was appointed in 1734, but was captured while engaged in an expedition against the Chickasaws, in 1736, and burned at the stake. (See D'Artaguiette.) He was followed by Alphonse de la Buissoniere, who was succeeded, in 1740, by Capt. Benoist de St. Claire. In 1742 he gave way to the Chevalier Bertel or Berthet, but was reinstated about 1748. The last of the French Governors of the "Illinois Country" was Louis St. Ange de Bellerive, who retired to St. Louis, after turning over the command to Cap- tain Stirling, the English officer sent to supersede him, in 1765. (St. Ange de Bellerive died, Dec. 27, 1774.) The administration of the French commandants, while firm, was usually conserva-

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tive and benevolent. Local self-government was encouraged as far as practicable, and, while the Governors' power over commerce was virtually unrestricted, they interfered but little with the ordinary life of the people.

FREW, Calvin Hamill, lawyer and State Sena- tor, was born in Cleveland, Ohio, educated at Finley (Ohio) High School, Beaver (Pa.) Academy and Vermilion Institute at Hayesville, Ohio .; in 1862 was Principal of the High School at Kalida, Ohio, where he began the study of law, which he continued the next two years with Messrs. Strain & Kidder, at Monmouth, Ill., meanwhile acting as Principal of a high school at Young America; in 1865 removed to Paxton, Ford County, which has since been his home, and the same year was admitted to the bar by the Supreme Court of Illi- nois. Mr. Frew served as Assistant Superintend- ent of Schools for Ford County (1865-68); in 1868 was elected Representative in the Twenty-sixth General Assembly, re-elected in 1870, and again in '78. While practicing law he has been con- nected with some of the most important cases before the courts in that section of the State, and his fidelity and skill in their management are testified by members of the bar, as well as Judges upon the bench. Of late years he has devoted his attention to breeding trotting horses, with a view to the improvement of his health but not with the intention of permanently abandoning his profession.

FRY, Jacob, pioneer and soldier, was born in Fayette County, Ky., Sept. 20, 1799; learned the trade of a carpenter and came to Illinois in 1819, working first at Alton, but, in 1820, took up his residence near the present town of Carrollton, in which he built the first house. Greene County was not organized until two years later, and this border settlement was, at that time, the extreme northern white settlement in Illinois. He served as Constable and Deputy Sheriff (simultaneously) for six years, and was then elected Sheriff, being five times re-elected. He served through the Black Hawk War'(first as Lieutenant-Colonel and afterwards as Colonel), having in his regiment Abraham Lincoln, O. H. Browning, John Wood (afterwards Governor) and Robert Anderson, of Fort Sumter fame. In 1837 he was appointed Commissioner of the Illinois & Michigan Canal, and re-appointed in 1839 and '41, later becoming Acting Commissioner, with authority to settle up the business of the former commission, which was that year legislated out of office. He was afterwards appointed Canal Trustee by Governor Ford, and, in 1847, retired from connection with

canal management. In 1850 he went to Cali- fornia, where he engaged in mining and trade for three years, meanwhile serving one term in the State Senate. In 1857 he was appointed Col- lector of the Port at Chicago by President Buch- anan, but was removed in 1859 because of his friendship for Senator Douglas. In 1860 he returned to Greene County ; in 1861, in spite of his advanced age, was commissioned Colonel of the Sixty-first Illinois Volunteers, and later partici- pated in numerous engagements (among them the battle of Shiloh), was captured by Forrest, and ultimately compelled to resign because of im- paired health and failing eyesight, finally becom- ing totally blind. He died, June 27, 1881, and was buried in Oak Ridge Cemetery, near Spring- field. Two of Colonel. Fry's sons achieved dis- tinction during the Civil War .- James Barnet (Fry), son of the preceding, was born at Car- rollton, Ill., Feb. 22, 1827; graduated at West Point Military Academy, in 1847, and was assigned to artillery service; after a short experi- ence as Assistant Instructor, joined his regiment, the Third United States Artillery, in Mexico, remaining there through 1847-48. Later, he was employed on frontier and garrison duty, and again as Instructor in 1853-54, and as Adjutant of the Academy during 1854-59; became Assistant Adjutant-General, March 16, 1861, then served as Chief of Staff to General McDowell and General Buell (1861-62), taking part in the battles of Bull Run, Shiloh and Corinth, and in the campaign in Kentucky; was made Provost-Marshal-General of the United States, in March, 1863, and con- ducted the drafts of that year, receiving the rank of Brigadier-General, April 21, 1864. He con- tinued in this office until August 30, 1866, during which time he put in the army 1,120,621 men, arrested 76,562 deserters, collected $26,366,316.78 and made an exact enrollment of the National forces. After the war he served as Adjutant- General with the rank of Colonel, till June 1, 1881, when he was retired at his own request. Besides his various official reports, he published a "Sketch of the Adjutant-General's Department, United States Army, from 1775 to 1875," and "His- tory and Legal Effects of Brevets in the Armies of Great Britain and the United States, from their origin in 1692 to the Present Time," (1877). Died, in Newport, R. I., July 11, 1894 .- William M. (Fry), another son, was Provost Marshal of the North Illinois District during the Civil War, and rendered valuable service to the Government.

FULLER, Allen Curtis, lawyer, jurist and Adjutant-General, was born in Farmington,

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Conn., Sept. 24, 1822; studied law at Warsaw, N. Y., was admitted to practice, in 1846 came to Belvidere, Boone County, Ill., and, after practic- ing there some years, was elected Circuit Judge in 1861. A few months afterward he was induced to accept the office of Adjutant-General by appointment of Governor Yates, entering upon the duties of the office in November, 1861. At first it was understood that his acceptance was only temporary, so that he did not formally resign his place upon the bench until July, 1862. He continued to discharge the duties of Adjutant- General until January, 1865, when, having been elected Representative in the General Assembly, he was succeeded in the Adjutant-General's office by General Isham N. Haynie. He served as Speaker of the House during the following ses- sion, and as State Senator from 1867 to 1873- in the Twenty-fifth, Twenty-sixth and Twenty- seventh General Assemblies. He was also elected a Republican Presidential Elector in 1860, and again in 1876. After retiring from office, General Fuller devoted his attention to the practice of his profession and looking after a large private busi- ness at Belvidere. Died Dec. 6, 1901.

FULLER, Charles E., lawyer and legislator, was born at Flora, Boone County, Ill., March 31, 1849; attended the district school until 12 years of age, and, between 1861 and '67, served as clerk in stores at Belvidere and Cherry Valley. He then spent a couple of years in the book business in Iowa, when (1869) he began the study of law with Hon. Jesse S. Hildrup, at Belvidere, and was admitted to the bar in 1870. Since then Mr. Fuller has practiced his profession at Belvi- dere, was Corporation Attorney for that city in 1875-76, the latter year being elected State's Attorney for Boone County. From 1879 to 1891 he served continuously in the Legislature, first as State Senator in the Thirty-first and Thirty- second General Assemblies, then as a member of the House for three sessions, in 1888 being returned to the Senate, where he served the next two sessions. Mr. Fuller established a high reputation in the Legislature as a debater, and was the candidate of his party (the Republican) for Speaker of the House in 1885. He was also a delegate to the Rep. Natl. Convention of 1884. In 1897 he was elected Judge of the Circuit Court, and since 1903 (except 1913 to 1915) has represented the Twelfth District in Congress.

FULLER, Melville Weston, eighth Chief Jus- tice of the United States Supreme Court, was born at Augusta, Maine, Feb. 11, 1833, graduated from Bowdoin College in 1853, was admitted to

the bar in 1855, and became City Attorney of his native city, but resigned and removed to Chicago the following year. Through his mother's family he traces his descent back to the Pilgrims of the Mayflower. His literary and legal attain- ments are of a high order. In politics he has always been a strong Democrat. He served as a Delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1862 and as a member of the Legislature in 1863, after that time devoting his attention to the practice of his profession in Chicago. In 1888 President Cleveland appointed him Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, since which time he had resided at Washington, although still claiming a residence in Chicago, where he had considerable property interests. Died July 4, 1910.

FULLERTON, Alexander N., pioneer settler and lawyer, born in Chester, Vt., in 1804, was educated at Middlebury College and Litchfield Law School, and, coming to Chicago in 1833, finally engaged in real-estate and mercantile business, in which he was very successful. His name has been given to one of the avenues of Chicago, as well as associated with one of the prominent business blocks. He was one of the original members of the Second Presbyterian Church of that city. Died, Sept. 29, 1880.

FULTON, a city and railway center in White- side County, 135 miles west of Chicago, located on the Mississippi River and the Chicago & Northwestern, the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, and the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railways. It was formerly the terminus of a line of steamers which annually brought millions of bushels of grain down the Mississippi from Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois, returning with merchandise, agricultural implements, etc., but this river trade gradually died out, having been usurped by the various railroads. Fulton has extensive factories for the making of stoves, besides some important lumber industries. The Northern Illinois College is located here. Popu- lation (1890), 2,099; (1900), 2,685; (1910), 2,174.

FULTON COUNTY, situated west of and bor- dering on the Illinois River; was originally a part of Pike County, but separately organized in 1823- named for Robert Fulton. It has an area of 864 square miles with a population (1910) of 49,549. The soil is rich, well watered and wooded. Drain- age is effected by the Illinois and Spoon Rivers (the former constituting its eastern boundary) and by Copperas Creek. Lewistown became the county-seat immediately after county organi- zation, and so remains to the present time (1899) The surface of the county at a distance from the

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river is generally flat, although along the Illinois there are bluffs rising to the height of 125 feet. The soil is rich, and underlying it are rich, work- able seams of coal. A thin seam of cannel coal has been mined near Avon, with a contiguous vein of fire-clay. Some of the earliest settlers were Messrs. Craig and Savage, who, in 1818, built a saw mill on Otter Creek; Ossian M. Ross and Stephen Dewey, who laid off Lewistown on his own land in 1822. The first hotel in the entire military tract was opened at Lewistown by Tru- man Phelps, in 1827. A flat-boat ferry across the Illinois was established at Havana, in 1823. The principal towns are Canton(pop.6,564), Lewistown (2,166), Farmington (1,375), and Vermont (1,158).

FULTON COUNTY NARROW-GAUGE RAIL- WAY, a line extending from the west bank of the Illinois River, opposite Havana, to Galesburg, 61 miles. It is a single-track, narrow-gauge (3-foot) road, although the excavations and embankments are being widened to accommodate a track of standard gauge. The grades are few, and, as a rule, are light, although, in one instance, the gradient is eighty-four feet to the mile. There are more than 19 miles of curves, the maxi- mum being sixteen degrees. The rails are of iron, thirty-five pounds to the yard, road not ballasted. Capital stock outstanding (1895), $636,794; bonded debt, $484,000; miscellaneous obligations, $462,362; total capitalization, $1,583,- 156. The line from Havana to Fairview (31 miles) was chartered in 1878 and opened in 1880 and the extension from Fairview to Galesburg chartered in 1881 and opened in 1882.

FUNK, Isaac, pioneer, was born in Clark County, Ky., Nov. 17, 1797; grew up with meager educational advantages and, in 1823, came to Illi- nois, finally settling at what afterwards became known as Funk's Grove in McLean County. Here, with no other capital than industry, per- severance, and integrity, Mr. Funk began laying the foundation of one of the most ample fortunes ever acquired in Illinois outside the domain of trade or speculation. By agriculture and dealing in live-stock, he became the possessor of a large area of the finest farming lands in the State, which he brought to a high state of cultivation, leaving an estate valued at his death at not less than $2.000,000. Mr. Funk served three sessions in the General Assembly, first as Representative in the Twelfth (1840-42), and as Senator in the Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth (1862-66), dying before the close of his last term, Jan. 29, 1865. Originally a Whig in politics, he became a Repub- lican on the organization of that party, and gave

a liberal and patriotic support to the Government during the war for the preservation of the Union. During the session of the Twenty-third General Assembly, in February, 1863, he delivered a speech in the Senate in indignant condemnation of the policy of the anti-war factionists, which, although couched in homely language, aroused the enthusiasm of the friends of the Government throughout the State and won for its author a prominent place in State history .- Benjamin F. (Funk), son of the preceding, was born in Funk's Grove Township, McLean County, Ill., Oct. 17, 1838. After leaving the district schools, he entered the Wesleyan University at Blooming- ton, but suspended his studies to enter the army in 1862, enlisting as a private in the Sixty-ninth Illinois Volunteers. After five months' service he was honorably discharged, and re-entered the University, completing a three-years' course; later, for three years, followed farming, and, in 1869, located in Bloomington where from 1871 he served seven consecutive terms as Mayor; was a delegate to the National Republican Con- vention of 1888, and in 1892, was elected Repre- sentative in Congress for the 14th District; for fifteen years was also a Trustee of the State Insti- tution for the Blind at Jacksonville. Died Feb. 15, 1899 .- Lafayette (Funk), another son of Isaac Funk, was a Representative from McLean County in the Thirty-third General Assembly and Sena- tor in the Thirty-fourth and Thirty-fifth. Other sons who have occupied seats in the same body include George W., Representative in the Twenty- seventh, and Duncan M., Representative in the Fortieth and Forty-first Assemblies The Funk family have been conspicuous in the affairs of McLean County for a generation, and its mem- bers have occupied many other positions of im- portance and influence, besides those named, under the State, County and municipal governments.

GAGE, Lyman J., Secretary of the Treasury, was born in De Ruyter, Madison County, N. Y., June 28, 1836; received a common school educa- tion in his native county, and, on the removal of his parents, in 1848, to Rome, N. Y., enjoyed the advantages of instruction in an academy. At the age of 17 he entered the employment of the Oneida Central Bank as office-boy and general utility clerk, but, two years afterwards, came to Chicago, first securing employment in a planing mill, and, in 1858, obtaining a position as book- keeper of the Merchants' Loan and Trust Com- pany, at a salary of $500 a year. By 1861 he had been advanced to the position of cashier of the

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concern, but, in 1868, he accepted the cashiership of the First National Bank of Chicago, of which he became the Vice-President in 1881 and, in 1891, the President. Mr. Gage was also one of the prominent factors in securing the location of the World's Fair at Chicago, becoming one of the guarantors of the $10,000, 000 promised to be raised by the city of Chicago, and being finally chosen the first President of the Exposition Company. He also presided over the bankers' section of the World's Congress Auxiliary in 1893, and, for a number of years, was President of the Civic Feder- ation of Chicago. On the assumption of the Presidency by President Mckinley, in March, 1897, Mr. Gage was selected for the position of Secretary of the Treasury, which he has con- tinued to occupy up to the present time (1899).

GALATIA, a village of Saline County, on the Illinois Central Railroad, 40 miles southeast of Duquoin; has a bank; leading industry is coal- mining. Pop. (1890), 519; (1900), 642; (1910), 745.

GALE, George Washington, D.D., LL.D., clergyman and educator, was born in Dutchess County, N. Y., Dec. 3, 1789. Left an orphan at eight years of age, he fell to the care of older sisters who inherited the vigorous character of their father, which they instilled into the son. He graduated at Union College in 1814, and, hav- ing taken a course in the Theological Seminary at Princeton, in 1816 was licensed by the Hudson Presbytery and assumed the charge of building up new churches in Jefferson County, N. Y., serving also for six years as pastor of the Presby- terian church at Adams. Here his labors were attended by a revival in which Charles G. Fin- ney, the eloquent evangelist, and other eminent men were converts. Having resigned his charge at Adams on account of illness, he spent the winter of 1823-24 in Virginia, where his views were enlarged by contact with a new class of people. Later, removing to Oneida County, N. Y., by his marriage with Harriet Selden he acquired a considerable property, insuring an income which enabled him to extend the field of his labors. The result was the establishment of the Oneida Institute, a manual labor school, at Whitesboro, with which he remained from 1827 to 1834, and out of which grew Lane Seminary and Oberlin and Knox Colleges. In 1835 he con- ceived the idea of establishing a colony and an institution of learning in the West, and a com- mittee representing a party of proposed colonists was appointed to make a selection of a site, which resulted, in the following year, in the choice of a location in Knox County, Ill., including the

site of the present city of Galesburg, which was named in honor of Mr. Gale, as the head of the enterprise. Here, in 1837, were taken the first practical steps in carrying out plans which had been previously matured in New York, for the establishment of an institution which first received the name of Knox Manual Labor Col- lege. The manual labor feature having been finally discarded, the institution took the name of Knox College in 1857. Mr. Gale was the lead- ing promoter of the enterprise, by a liberal dona- tion of lands contributing to its first endowment, and, for nearly a quarter of a century, being intimately identified with its history. From 1840 to '42 he served in the capacity of acting Professor of Ancient Languages, and, for fifteen years thereafter, as Professor of Moral Philosophy and Rhetoric. Died, at Galesburg, Sept. 31, 1861. -William Selden (Gale), oldest son of the preced- ing, was born in Jefferson County, N. Y., Feb. 15, 1822, came with his father to Galesburg, Ill., ·in 1836, and was educated there. Having read law with the Hon. James Knox, he was admitted to the bar in 1845, but practiced only a few years, as he began to turn his attention to measures for the development of the country. One of these was the Central Military Tract Railroad (now the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy), of which he was the most active promoter and a Director. He was also a member of the Board of Supervisors of Knox County, from the adoption of township organization in 1853 to 1895, with the exception of four years, and, during the long controversy which resulted in the location of the county-seat at Galesburg, was the leader of the Galesburg party, and subsequently took a prominent part in the erection of public buildings there. Other positions held by him include the office of Post- master of the city of Galesburg, 1849-53; member of the State Constitutional Convention of 1862, and Representative in the Twenty-sixth General Assembly (1870-72); Presidential Elector in 1872; Delegate to the National Republican Convention of 1880; City Alderman, 1872-82 and 1891-95; member of the Commission appointed by Gov- ernor Oglesby in 1885 to revise the State Revenue Laws; by appointment of President Harrison, Superintendent of the Galesburg Government Building, and a long term Trustee of the Illinois Hospital for the Insane at Rock Island, by appointment of Governor Altgeld. He has also been a frequent representative of his party (the Republican) in State and District Conven- tions, and, since 1861, has been an active and leading member of the Board of Trustees of

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Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Winnebago County, Volume I, Part 36

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913; Church, Charles A., 1857- Publication date: 1916 Publisher: Chicago : Munsell Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 724

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913; Church, Charles A., 1857-
Publication date: 1916
Publisher: Chicago : Munsell Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 724