Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Winnebago County, Volume I, Part 37

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 37

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

182

HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS.

Knox College. Mr. Gale was married, Oct. 6, 1845, to Miss Caroline Ferris, granddaughter of the financial representative of the Galesburg Colony of 1836, and has had eight children, of whom four are living. Died Sep. 1, 1900.

GALENA,'the county-seat of Jo Daviess County, a city and port of entry, 150 miles in a direct line west by northwest of Chicago; is located on Galena River, about 412 miles above its junction with the Mississippi, and is an intersecting point for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, the North- western, and the Illinois Central Railroads, with connections by stub with the Chicago Great Western. It is built partially in a valley and partially on the bluffs which overlook the river, the Galena River being made navigable for ves- sels of deep draught by a system of lockage. The vicinity abounds in rich mines of sulphide of lead (galena), from which the city takes its name. Galena is adorned by handsome public and priv- ate buildings and a beautiful park, in which stands a fine bronze statue of General Grant, and a symmetrical monument dedicated to the sol- diers and sailors of Jo Daviess County who lost their lives during the Civil War. Its industries include a furniture factory, a table factory, two foundries, a tub factory and a carriage factory. Zinc ore is now being produced in and near the city in large quantities, and its mining interests will become vast at no distant day. It owns an electric light plant, and water is furnished from an artesian well 1,700 feet deep. Galena was one of the earliest towns in Northern Illinois to be settled, its mines having been worked in the lat- ter part of the seventeenth century. Many men of distinction in State and National affairs came from Galena, among whom were Gen. U. S. Grant, Gen. John A. Rawlins, Gen. John E. Smith, Gen. John C. Smith, Gen. A. L. Chetlain, Gen. John O. Duer, Gen. W. R. Rowley, Gen. E. D. Baker, Hon. E. B. Washburne, Secretary of State under Grant, Hon. Thompson Campbell, Secretary of State of Illinois, and Judge Drum- mond Pop. (1900), 5,005; (1910), 4,835.

GALENA & CHICAGO UNION RAILROAD. (See Chicago & Northwestern Railway.)

GALESBURG, the county-seat of Knox County and an important educational center. The first settlers were emigrants from the East, a large pro- portion of them being members of a colony organ- ized by Rev. George W. Gale, of Whitesboro, N. Y., in whose honor the original village was named. It is situated in the heart of a rich agricultural district 53 miles northwest of Peoria, 99 miles northeast of Quincy and 163 miles south-

west of Chicago; is an important railway center, being at the junction of the main line with two branch lines of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroads. It was incorporated as a village in 1841, and as a city by special charter in 1857. There are beauti- ful parks and the residence streets are well shaded, while 25 miles of street are paved with vitrified brick. The city owns a system of water- works receiving its supply from artesian wells and artificial lakes, has an efficient and well- equipped paid fire-department, an electric street car system with three suburban lines; gas and electric lighting systems, steam-heating plant, etc. It also has a number of flourishing mechan- ical industries, including two iron foundries, agri- cultural implement works, flouring mills, carriage and wagon works and a broom factory, besides other industrial enterprises of minor importance. The manufacture of vitrified paving brick is quite extensively carried on at plants near the city limits, the city itself being the shipping-point as well as the point of administrative control. The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company has shops and stockyards here, while considerable coal is mined in the vicinity. The public buildings include a courthouse, Govern- ment postoffice building, an opera house, nine- teen churches, ten public schools with a high school and free kindergarten, and a handsome public library building erected at a cost of $100,- 000, of which one-half was contributed by Mr. Carnegie. Galesburg enjoys its chief distinction as the seat of a large number of high class liter- ary institutions, including Knox College (non- sectarian), Lombard University (Universalist), and Corpus Christi Lyceum and University, and St. Joseph's Academy (both Roman Catholic). Three interurban electric railroad lines connect Galesburg with neighboring towns; city has 2 daily and 4 weekly papers. Pop. (1910), 22,089.

GALLATIN COUNTY, one of three counties organized in Illinois Territory in 1812-the others being Madison and Johnson. Previous to that date the Territory had consisted of only two coun- ties, St. Clair and Randolph. The new county was named in honor of Albert Gallatin, then Secretary of the Treasury. It is situated on the Ohio and Wabash Rivers, in the extreme south- eastern part of the State, and has an area of 340 square miles; population (1910), 14,628. The first cabin erected by an American settler was the home of Michael Sprinkle, who settled at Shaw- neetown in 1800. ; The place early became an important trading post and distributing point.

183

HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS.

A ferry across the Wabash was established in 1803, by Alexander Wilson, whose descendants conducted it for more than seventy-five years. Although Stephen Rector made a Government survey as early as 1807, the public lands were not placed on the market until 1818. Shawneetown, the county-seat, is the most important town, having a population of some 2,200. Bituminous coal is found in large quantities, and mining is an important industry. The prosperity of the county has been much retarded by floods, particu- larly at Shawneetown and Equality. At the former point the difference between high and low water mark in the Ohio River has been as much as fifty-two feet.

GALLOWAY, Andrew Jackson, civil engineer, was born of Scotch ancestry in Butler County, Pa., Dec. 21, 1814; came with his father to Cory- don, Ind., in 1820, took a course in Hanover Col- lege, graduating as a civil engineer in 1837; then came to Mount Carmel, White County, Ill., with a view to employment on projected Illinois rail- roads, but engaged in teaching for a year, having among his pupils a number who have since been prominent in State affairs. Later, he obtained employment as an assistant engineer, serving for a time under William Gooding, Chief Engineer of the Illinois & Michigan Canal; was also Assistant Enrolling and Engrossing Clerk of the State Senate in 1840-41, and held the same position in the House in 1846-47, and again in 1848-49, in the meantime having located a farm in La Salle County, where the present city of Streator stands. In 1849 he was appointed Secretary of the Canal Trustees, and, in 1851, became assistant engineer on the Illinois Central Railroad, later superin- tending its construction, and finally being trans- ferred to the land department, but retiring in 1855 to engage in real-estate business in Chicago, dealing largely in railroad lands. Mr. Galloway was elected a County Commissioner for Cook County, and has since been connected with many measures of local importance.

GALVA, a town in Henry County, 45 miles southeast of Rock Island and 48 miles north- northwest of Peoria; the point of intersection of the Rock Island & Peoria and the Chicago, Bur- lington & Quincy Railways. It stands at the summit of the dividing ridge between the Missis- sippi and the Illinois Rivers, and is a manufac- turing and coal-mining town. It has eight churches, three banks, good schools, and two weekly newspapers. The surrounding country is agricultural and wealthy, and is rich in coal. Pop. (1900), 2,682; (1910), 2,498.

GARDNER, a village in Garfield Township, Grundy County, on the Chicago & Alton Rail- road, 65 miles south-southwest of Chicago and 26 miles north-northeast of Pontiac; on the Kanka- kee and Seneca branch of the "Big Four," and the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern R. R. Coal-mining is the principal industry. Gardner has two banks, four churches, a high school, and a weekly paper. Pop. (1900), 1,036; (1910), 946.

GARDNER, COAL CITY & NORMANTOWN RAILWAY. (See Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Rail- way.)

GARY, Joseph Easton, lawyer and jurist, was born of Puritan ancestry, at Potsdam, St. Law- rence County, N. Y., July 9, 1821. His early educational advantages were such as were fur- nished by district schools and a village academy, and, until he was 22 years old, he worked at the carpenter's bench. In 1843 he removed to St. Louis, Mo., where he studied law. After admis- sion to the bar, he practiced for five years in Southwest Missouri, thence going to Las Vegas, N. M., in 1849, and to San Francisco, Cal., in 1853. In 1856 he settled in Chicago, where he has since resided. After seven years of active practice he was elected to the bench of the Superior Court of Cook County, where he sat for thirty years, being four times nominated by both political parties, and his last re-election-for a term of six years, occurring in 1893. He pre- sided at the trial of the Chicago anarchists in 1886-one of the causes celebres of Illinois. Some of his rulings therein were sharply criticised, but he was upheld by the courts of appellate jurisdic- tion, and his connection with the case has given him world-wide fame. In November, 1888, the Supreme Court of Illinois transferred him to the bench of the Appellate Court, of which he served three times as Chief Justice. Died Oct. 31, 1906.

GASSETTE, Norman Theodore, real-estate operator, was born at Townsend, Vt., April 21, 1839, came to Chicago at ten years of age, and, after spending a year at Shurtleff College, took a prepar- atory collegiate course at the Atwater Institute, Rochester, N. Y. In June, 1861, he enlisted as a private in the Nineteenth Regiment Illinois Volunteers, rising in the second year to the rank of First Lieutenant, and, at the battle of Chicka- mauga, by gallantry displayed while serving as an Aid-de-Camp, winning a recommendation for a brevet Lieutenant-Colonelcy. The war over, he served one term as Clerk of the Circuit Court and Recorder, but later engaged in the real- estate and loan business as the head of the exten- sive firm of Norman T. Gassette & Co. He was &

184

HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS.

Republican in politics, active in Grand Army circles and prominent as a Mason, holding the position of Eminent Grand Commander of Knights Templar of Illinois on occasion of the Triennial Conclave in Washington in 1889. He also had charge, as President of the Masonic Fraternity Temple Association of Chicago, for some time prior to his decease, of the erection of the Masonic Temple of Chicago. Died, in Chi- cago, March 26, 1891.

GATEWOOD, William Jefferson, early lawyer, was born in Warren County, Ky., came to Franklin County, Ill., in boyhood, removed to Shawneetown in 1823, where he taught school two or three years while studying law; was admitted to the bar in 1828, and served in five General Assemblies-as Representative in 1830-32, and as Senator, 1834-42. He is described as a man of fine education and brilliant talents. Died, Jan. 8, 1842.

GAULT, John C., railway manager, was born at Hooksett, N. H., May 1, 1829; in 1850 entered the local freight office of the Manchester & Law- rence Railroad, later becoming General Freight Agent of the Vermont Central. Coming to Chi- cago in 1859, he successively filled the positions of Superintendent of Transportation on the Galena & Chicago Union, and (after the consoli- dation of the latter with the Chicago & North- western), that of Division Superintendent, General Freight Agent and Assistant General Manager; Assistant General Manager of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul; General Mana- ger of the Wabash (1879-83) ; Arbitrator for the trunk lines (1883-85), and General Manager of the Cincinnati, New Orleans & Texas Pacific (1885-90), when he retired. Died, in Chicago, August 29, 1891.

GENERAL ASSEMBLIES. The following is a list of the General Assemblies which have met since the admission of Illinois as a State up to 1898-from the First to the Fortieth inclusive- with the more important acts passed by each and the duration of their respective sessions:

FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY held two sessions, the first convening at Kaskaskia, the State Capi- tal, Oct. 5, and adjourning Oct. 13, 1818. The second met, Jan. 4, 1819, continuing to March 31. Lieut-Gov. Pierre Menard presided over the Sen- ate, consisting of thirteen members, while John Messinger was chosen Speaker of the House, containing twenty-seven members. The most important business transacted at the first session was the election of two United States Senators- Ninian Edwards and Jesse B. Thomas, Sr .- and

the filling of minor State and judicial offices. At the second session a code of laws was enacted, copied chiefly from the Virginia and Kentucky statutes, including the law concerning "negroes and mulattoes," which long remained on the statute book. An act was also passed appointing Commissioners to select a site for a new State Capital, which resulted in its location at Van- dalia. The sessions were held in a stone building with gambrel-roof pierced by dormer-windows, the Senate occupying the lower floor and the House the upper. The length of the first session was nine days, and of the second eighty-seven- total, ninety-six days.

SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY convened at Van- dalia, Dec. 4, 1820. It consisted of fourteen Senators and twenty-nine Representatives. John McLean, of Gallatin County, was chosen Speaker of the House. A leading topic of discussion was the incorporation of a State Bank. Money was scarce and there was a strong popular demand for an increase of circulating medium. To appease this clamor, no less than to relieve traders and agriculturists, this General Assembly estab- lished a State Bank (see State Bank), despite the earnest protest of McLean and the executive veto. A stay-law was also enacted at this session for the benefit of the debtor class. The number of members of the next Legislature was fixed at eighteen Senators and thirty-six Representatives -this provision remaining in force until 1831. The session ended Feb. 15, having lasted seventy- four days.

THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY convened, Dec. 2, 1822. Lieutenant-Governor Hubbard presided in the Senate, while in the organization of the lower house, William M. Alexander was chosen Speaker. Governor Coles, in his inaugural, called attention to the existence of slavery in Illinois despite the Ordinance of 1787, and urged the adoption of repressive measures. Both branches of the Legislature being pro-slavery in sympathy, the Governor's address provoked bitter and determined opposition. On Jan. 9, 1823, Jesse B. Thomas was re-elected United States Senator, defeating John Reynolds, Leonard White and Samuel D. Lockwood. After electing Mr. Thomas and choosing State officers, the General Assembly proceeded to discuss the major- ity and minority reports of the committee to which had been referred the Governor's address. The minority report recommended the abolition of slavery, while that of the majority favored the adoption of a resolution calling a convention to amend the Constitution, the avowed object

185

HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS.

being to make Illinois a slave State. The latter report was adopted, but the pro-slavery party in the House lacked one vote of the nuniber neces- sary to carry the resolution by the constitutional two-thirds majority. What followed has always been regarded as a blot upon the record of the Third General Assembly. Nicholas Hansen, who had been awarded the seat from Pike County at the beginning of the session after a contest brought by his opponent, John Shaw, was un- seated after the adoption of a resolution to reconsider the vote by which he had been several weeks before declared elected. Shaw having thus been seated, the resolution was carried by the necessary twenty-four votes. Mr. Hansen, although previously regarded as a pro-slavery man, had voted with the minority when the resolution was first put upon its passage. Hence followed his deprivation of his seat. The triumph of the friends of the convention was celebrated by what Gov. John Reynolds (himself a conven- tionist) characterized as "a wild and indecorous procession by torchlight and liquor." (See Slavery and Slave Laws.) The session adjourned Feb. 18, having continued seventy-nine days.

FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY. This body held two sessions, the first being convened, Nov. 15, 1824, by proclamation of the Executive, some three weeks before the date for the regular session, in order to correct a defect in the law relative to counting the returns for Presidential Electors. Thomas Mather was elected Speaker of the House, while Lieutenant-Governor Hub- bard presided in the Senate. Having amended the law concerning the election returns for Presi- dential Electors, the Assembly proceeded to the election of two United States Senators-one to fill the unexpired term of ex-Senator Edwards (resigned) and the other for the full term begin- ning March 4, 1825. John McLean was chosen for the first and Elias Kent Kane for the second. Five circuit judgeships were created, and it was provided that the bench of the Supreme Court should consist of four Judges, and that semi- annual sessions of that tribunal should be held at the State capital. (See Judicial Department.) The regular session came to an end, Jan. 18, 1825, but at its own request, the Lieutenant-Governor and acting Governor Hubbard re-convened the body in special session on Jan. 2, 1826, to enact a new apportionment law under the census of 1825. A sine die adjournment was taken, Jan. 28, 1826. One of the important acts of the regular session of 1825 was the adoption of the first free-school law in Illinois, the measure having been intro-

duced by Joseph Duncan, afterwards Governor of the State. This Legislature was in session a total of ninety-two days, of which sixty-five were during the first session and twenty-seven during the second.

FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY convened, Dec. 4, 1826, Lieutenant-Governor Kinney presiding in the Senate and John McLean in the House. At the request of the Governor an investigation into the management of the bank at Edwardsville was had, resulting, however, in the exoneration of its officers. The circuit judgeships created by the preceding Legislature were abrogated and their incumbents legislated out of office. The State was divided into four circuits, one Justice of the Supreme Court being assigned to each. (See Judicial Department.) This General Assembly also elected a State Treasurer to succeed Abner Field, James Hall being chosen on the ninth ballot. The Supreme Court Judges, as directed by the preceding Legislature, presented a well digested report on the revision of the laws, which was adopted without material alteration. One of the important measures enacted at this session was an act establishing a State penitentiary, the funds for its erection being obtained by the sale of saline lands in Gallatin County. (See Alton Penitentiary; also Salt Manufacture.) The session ended Feb. 19-having continued seventy-eight days.

SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY convened, Dec. 1, 1828. The Jackson Democrats had a large major- ity in both houses. John McLean was, for the third time, elected Speaker of the House, and, later in the session, was elected United States Senator by a unanimous vote. A Secretary of State, Treasurer and Attorney-General were also appointed or elected. The most important legis- lation of the session was as follows: Authorizing the sale of school lands and the borrowing of the proceeds from the school fund for the ordinary governmental expenses; providing for a return to the viva voce method of voting; creating a fifth judicial circuit and appointing a Judge therefor; providing for the appointment of Com- missioners to determine upon the route of the Illinois & Michigan Canal, to sell lands and com- mence its construction. The Assembly adjourned, Jan. 23, 1829, having been in session fifty-four days.

SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY met, Dec. 6, 1830. The newly-elected Lieutenant-Governor, Zadoc Casey, and William L. D. Ewing presided over the two houses, respectively. John Rey- nolds was Governor, and, the majority of the Senate being made up of his political adversaries,

186

HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS.

experienced no little difficulty in securing the confirmation of his nominees. Two United States Senators were elected: Elias K. Kane being chosen to succeed himself and John M. Robinson to serve the unexpired term of John McLean, deceased. The United States census of 1830 gave Illinois three Representatives in Con- gress instead of one, and this General Assembly passed a re-apportionment law accordingly. The number of State Senators was increased to twenty-six, and of members of the lower house to fifty-five. The criminal code was amended by the substitution of imprisonment in the peni- tentiary as a penalty in lieu of the stocks and public flogging. This Legislature also authorized the borrowing of $100,000 to redeem the notes of the State Bank which were to mature the follow- ing year. The Assembly adjourned, Feb. 16, 1831, the session having lasted seventy-three days.

EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY. The session began Dec. 3, 1832, and ended March 2, 1833. William L. D. Ewing was chosen President pro tempore of the Senate, and succeeded Zadoc Casey as Lieutenant-Governor, the latter having been elected a Representative in Congress. Alexander M. Jenkins presided over the House as Speaker. This Legislature enacted the first gen- eral incorporation laws of Illinois, their provisions being applicable to towns and public libraries. It also incorporated several railroad companies, -one line from Lake Michigan to the Illinois River (projected as a substitute for the canal), one from Peru to Cairo, and another to cross the State, running through Springfield. Other char- ters were granted for shorter lines, but the incor- porators generally failed to organize under them. A notable inci dent in connection with this session was the attempt to impeach Theophilus W. Smith, a Justice of the Supreme Court. This was the first and last trial of this character in the State's his- tory, between 1818 and 1899. Failing to secure a conviction in the Senate (where the vote stood twelve for conviction and ten for acquittal, with four Senators excused from voting), the House attempted to remove him by address, but in this the Senate refused to concur. The first mechan- ics' lien law was enacted by this Legislature, as also a law relating to the "right of way" for "public roads, canals, or other public works." The length of the session was ninety days.

NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY. This Legislature held two sessions. The first began Dec. 1, 1834, and lasted to Feb. 13, 1835. Lieutenant-Governor Jenkins presided in the Senate and James Semple was elected Speaker of the House without oppo-

sition. On Dec. 20, John M. Robinson was re- elected United States Senator Abraham Lincoln was among the new members, but took no con- spicuous part in the discussions of the body. The principal public laws passed at this session were. Providing for the borrowing of $500,000 to be used in the construction of the Illinois & Michii- gan Canal and the appointment of a Board of Commissioners to supervise its expenditure; incorporating the Bank of the State of Illinois; and authorizing a loan of $12,000 by Cook County, at 10 per cent interest per annum from the county school fund, for the erection of a court house in that county. The second session of this . Assembly convened, Dec. 7, 1835, adjourning, Jan. 18, 1836. A new canal act was passed, enlarging the Commissioners' powers and pledging the faith of the State for the repayment of money bor- rowed to aid in its construction. A new appor- tionment law was also passed providing for the election of forty-one Senators and ninety-one Representatives, and W. L. D. Ewing was elected United States Senator, to succeed Elias K. Kane, deceased. The length of the first session was seventy-five days, and of the second forty-three days-total, 118.

TENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY, like its predeces- sor, held two sessions. The first convened Dec. 5, 1836, and adjourned March 6, 1837. The Whigs controlled the Senate by a large majority, and elected William H. Davidson, of White County, President, to succeed Alexander M. Jenkins, who had resigned the Lieutenant-Governorship. (See Jenkins, Alexander M.) James Semple was re-elected Speaker of the House, which was fully two-thirds Democratic. This Legislature was remarkable for the number of its members who afterwards attained National prominence. Lincoln and Douglas sat in the lower house, both voting for the same candidate for Speaker-New- ton Cloud, an independent Democrat. Besides these, the rolls of this Assembly included the names of a future Governor, six future United States Senators, eight Congressmen, three Illinois Supreme Court Judges, seven State officers, and a Cabinet officer. The two absorbing topics for legislative discussion and action were the system of internal improvements and the removal of the State capital. (See Internal Improvement Policy and State Capitals.) The friends of Springfield finally effected such a combination that that city was selected as the seat of the State government, while the Internal Improvement Act was passed over the veto of Governor Duncan. A second session of this Legislature met on the call of the

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Winnebago County, Volume I, Part 37

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