Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Winnebago County, Volume I, Part 60

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 60

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INDIAN TRIBES. (See Algonquins; Illinois Indians; Kaskaskias; Kickapoos; Miamis; Outa- gamies; Piankeshaws; Pottawatomies; Sacs and Foxes; Weas; Winnebagoes.)

INDIANA, BLOOMINGTON & WESTERN RAILWAY. (See Peoria & Eastern Railroad.)

INDIANA, DECATUR & WESTERN RAIL- WAY. The entire length of line is 152.5 miles, of which 75.75 miles (with yard-tracks and sidings amounting to 8.86 miles) lie within Illinois. It extends from Decatur almost due east to the Indiana State line, and has a single track of standard gauge, with a right of way of 100 feet The rails are of steel, well adapted to the traffic, and the ballasting is of gravel, earth and cinders. The bridges (chiefly of wood) are of standard design and well maintained. The amount of capital stock outstanding (1898) is $1,824,000, or 11,998 per mile; total capitalization (including stock and all indebtedness) 3,733;983. The total earnings and income in Illinois, $240,850. (HIS- TORY.) The first organization of this road em- braced two companies-the Indiana & Illinois and the Illinois & Indiana-which were consolidated, in 1853, under the name of the Indiana & Illinois Central Railroad Company. In 1875 the latter was sold under foreclosure and organized as the Indianapolis, Decatur & Springfield Railway Company, at which time the section from Decatur to Montezuma, Ind., was opened. It was com- pleted to Indianapolis in 1880. In 1882 it was leased to the Indiana, Bloomington & Western Railroad Company, and operated to 1885, when it passed into the hands of a receiver, was sold under foreclosure in 1887 and reorganized under the name of the Indianapolis, Decatur & West- ern. Again, in 1889, default was made and the property, after being operated by trustees, was sold in 1894 to two companies called the Indiana, Decatur & Western Railway Company (in Indi- ana) and the Decatur & Eastern Railway Com- pany (in Illinois). These were consolidated in July, 1895, under the present name (Indiana, Decatur & Western Railway Company). In December, 1895, the entire capital stock was purchased by the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railway Company, and the line is now operated as a part of that system.

INDIANA, ILLINOIS & IOWA RAILROAD. This line extends from Streator Junction 1.8 miles south of Streator, on the line of the Streator Division of the Wabash Railroad, easterly to the Indiana State Line. The total length of the line is 151.78 miles, of which 69.61 miles are in Illi- nois. Between Streator Junction and Streator, the line is owned by the Wabash Company, but this company pays rental for trackage facilities. About 75 per cent of the ties are of white-oak, the remainder being of cedar; the rails are 56-1b.

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steel, and the ballasting is of broken stone, gravel, sand, cinders and earth. A policy of permanent improvements has been adopted, and is being carried forward. The principal traffic is the transportation of freight. The outstanding capi- tal stock (June 30, 1898) was $3,597,800; bonded debt, $1.800,000; total capitalization, $5,517, 739; total earnings and income in Illinois for 1898, $413,967; total expenditures in the State, $303,- 344 .- (HISTORY.) This road was chartered Dec. 27, 1881, and organized by the consolidation of three roads of the same name (Indiana, Illinois & Iowa, respectively), opened to Momence, Ill., in 1882, and through its entire length, Sept. 15, 1883.

INDIANA & ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAIL- ROAD. (See Indiana, Decatur & Western Rail- way.)

INDIANA & ILLINOIS RAILROAD. (See Indiana, Decatur & Western Railway.)

INDIANA & ILLINOIS SOUTHERN RAIL- ROAD. (See St. Louis, Indianapolis & Eastern Railroad.)

INDIANAPOLIS, BLOOMINGTON & WEST- ERN RAILROAD. (See Illinois Central Rail- road; also Peoria & Eastern Railroad.)

INDIANAPOLIS, DECATUR & SPRING- FIELD RAILROAD. (See Indiana, Decatur & Western Railway.)

INDIANAPOLIS, DECATUR & WESTERN RAILWAY. (See Indiana, Decatur & Western Railway.)

INDIANAPOLIS & ST. LOUIS RAILWAY. (See St. Louis, Alton & Terre Haute Railroad.)

INDUSTRIAL HOME FOR THE BLIND, a State Institution designed to furnish the means of employment to dependent blind persons of both sexes, established under authority of an act of the Legislature passed at the session of 1893. The institution is located at Douglas Park Boule- vard and West Nineteenth Street, in the city of Chicago. It includes a four-story factory with steam-plant attached, besides a four-story build- ing for residence purposes. It was opened in 1894, and, in December, 1897, had 62 inmates, of whom 12 were females. The Fortieth General Assembly appropriated $13,900 for repairs, appli- ances, library, etc., and $8,000 per annum for ordinary expenses

INGERSOLL, Ebon C., Congressman, was born in Oneida County, N. Y., Dec. 12, 1831. His first remove was to Paducah, Ky., where he com- pleted his education. He studied law and was admitted to the bar; removing this time to Illi- nois and settling in Gallatin County, in 1842. In 1856 he was elected to represent Gallatin County

in the lower house of the General Assembly; in 1862 was the Republican candidate for Congress for the State-at-large, but defeated by J. C. Allen; and, in 1864, was chosen to fill the unex- pired term of Owen Lovejoy, deceased, as Repre- sentative in the Thirty-eighth Congress. He was re-elected to the Thirty-ninth, Fortieth and Forty-first Congresses, his term expiring, March 4, 1871. He was a brother of Col. Robert G. Ingersoll, and was, for some years, associated with him in the practice of law at Peoria, his home. Died, in Washington, May 31, 1879.

INGERSOLL, Robert Green, lawyer and sol- dier, was born at Dresden, Oneida County, N. Y., August 11, 1833. His father, a Congregational clergyman of pronounced liberal tendencies, removed to the West in 1843, and Robert's boy- hood was spent in Wisconsin and Illinois. After being admitted to the bar, he opened an office at Shawneetown, in partnership with his brother Ebon, afterwards a Congressman from Illinois. In 1857 they removed to Peoria, and, in 1860, Robert G. was an unsuccessful Democratic can- didate for Congress. In 1862 he was commis- sioned Colonel of the Eleventh Illinois Cavalry, which had been mustered in in December, 1861, and, in 1864, identified himself with the Repub- lican party. In February, 1867, he was appointed by Governor Oglesby the first Attorney-General of the State under the new law enacted that year. As a lawyer and orator he won great distinction. He nominated James G. Blaine for the Presidency in the Republican Convention of 1876, at Cincin- nati, in a speech that attracted wide attention by its eloquence. Other oratorical efforts which added greatly to his fame include "The Dream of the Union Soldier," delivered at a Soldiers' Reunion at Indianapolis, his eulogy at his brother Ebon's grave, and his memorial address on occa- sion of the death of Roscoe Conkling. For some twenty years he was the most popular stump orator in the West, and his services in political campaigns were in constant request throughout the Union. To the country at large, in his later years, he was known as an uncompromising assailant of revealed religion, by both voice and pen. Among his best-known publications are "The Gods" (Washington, 1878); "Ghosts" (1879); "Mistakes of Moses" (1879); "Prose Poems and Selections" (1884) ; "The Brain and the Bible" (Cincinnati, 1882). Colonel Ingersoll's home for some twenty years, in the later part of his life, was in the city of New York. Died, suddenly, from heart disease, at his summer home at Dobb's Ferry, Long Island, July 21, 1899

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HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS.

INGLIS, Samuel M., Superintendent of Public Instruction, born at Marietta, Pa., August 15, 1838; received his early education in Olio and, in 1856, came to Illinois, graduating with first honors from the Mendota Collegiate Institute in 1861. The following year lie enlisted in the One Hundred and Fourth Illinois Infantry, but, hav- ing been discharged for disability, his place was filled by a brother, who was killed at Knoxville, Tenn. In 1865 he took charge of an Academy at Hillsboro, meanwhile studying law with the late Judge E. Y. Rice; in 1868 he assumed the super- intendency of the public schools at Greenville, Bond County, remaining until 1883, when he became Professor of Mathematics in the Southern Normal University at Carbondale, being trans- ferred, three years later, to the chair of Literature, Rhetoric and Elocution. In 1894 he was nomi- nated as the Republican candidate for State Superintendent of Public Instruction, receiving a plurality at the November election of 123,593 votes over his Democratic opponent. Died, sud- denly, at Kenosha, Wis., June 1, 1898.

INTERNAL IMPROVEMENT POLICY, a name given to a scheme or plan of internal im- provement adopted by the Tenth General Assem- bly (1837), in compliance with a general wish of the people voiced at many public gatherings. It contemplated the construction of an extensive system of public works, chiefly in lines of rail- road which were not demanded by the commerce or business of the State at the time, but which, it was believed, would induce immigration and materially aid in the development of the State's latent resources. The plan adopted provided for the construction of such works by the State, and contemplated State ownership and management of all the lines of traffic thus constructed. The bill passed the Legislature in February, 1837, but was disapproved by the Executive and the Council of Revision, on the ground that such enterprises might be more successfully under- taken and conducted by individuals or private corporations. It was, however, subsequently passed over the veto and became a law, the dis- astrous effects of whose enactment were felt for many years. The total amount appropriated by the act was $10,200,000, of whichi $400,000 was devoted to the improvement of waterways; $250,- 000 to the improvement of the "Great Western 'Mail Route"; $9,350,000 to the construction of railroads, and $200,000 was given outright to counties not favored by the location of railroads or other improvements within their borders. In addition, the sale of $1,000,000 worth of canal

lands and the issuance of $500,000 in canal bonds were authorized, the proceeds to be used in the construction of the Illinois & Michigan Canal, $500,000 of this amount to be expended in 1838. Work began at once. Routes were surveyed and contracts for construction let, and an era of reck- less speculation began. Large sums were rapidly expended and nearly $6,500,000 quickly added to the State debt. The system was soon demon- strated to be a failure and was abandoned for lack of funds, some of the "improvements" already made being sold to private parties at a heavy loss. This scheme furnished the basis of the State debt under which Illinois labored for many years, and which, at its maximum, reached nearly $17,000,000. (See Macallister & Stebbins Bonds; State Debt; Tenth General Assembly; Eleventh General Assembly.)

INUNDATIONS, REMARKABLE. The most remarkable freshets (or floods) in Illinois history have been those occurring in the Mississippi River; though, of course, the smaller tributaries of that stream liave been subject to similar con- ditions. Probably the best account of early floods has been furnished by Gov. John Reynolds in his "Pioneer History of Illinois,"-he having been a witness of a number of them. The first of which any historical record has been pre- served, occurred in 1770. At that time the only white settlements within the present limits of the State were in the American Bottom in the vicinity of Kaskaskia, and there the most serious results were produced. Governor Reynolds says the flood of that year (1770) made considerable encroachments on the east bank of the river adjacent to Fort Chartres, which had originally been erected by the French in 1718 at a distance of three-quarters of a mile from the main channel. The stream continued to advance in this direction until 1772, when the whole bottom was again inundated, and the west wall of the fort, having been undermined, fell into the river. The next extraordinary freshet was in 1784, when the American Bottom was again submerged and the residents of Kaskaskia and the neighboring villages were forced to seek a refuge on the bluffs -some of the people of Cahokia being driven to St. Louis, then a small French village on Spanish soil. The most remarkable flood of the present century occurred in May and June, 1844, as the result of extraordinary rains preceded by heavy winter snows in the Rocky Mountains and rapid spring thaws. At this time the American Bot- tom, opposite St. Louis, was inundated from bluff to bluff, and large steamers passed over the sub-

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merged lands, gathering up cattle and other kinds of property and rescuing the imperiled owners. Some of the villages affected by this flood-as Cahokia, Prairie du Rocher and Kaskaskia-have never fully recovered from the disaster. Another considerable flood occurred in 1826, but it was inferior to those of 1784 and 1844. A notable flood occurred in 1851, when the Mississippi, though not so high opposite St. Louis as in 1844, is said to have been several feet higher at Quincy than in the previous year-the difference being due to the fact that the larger portion of the flood of 1844 came from the Missouri River, its effects being most noticeable below the mouth of that stream. Again, in 1868, a flood did con- siderable damage on the Upper Mississippi, reach- ing the highest point since 1851. Floods of a more or less serious character also occurred in 1876, 1880 and again in 1893. Although not so high as some of those previously named, the loss was pro- portionately greater owing to the larger area of improved lands. The flood of 1893 did a great deal of damage at East St. Louis to buildings and railroads, and in the destruction of other classes of property .- Floods in the Ohio River have been

frequent and very disastrous, especially in the upper portions of that stream-usually resulting from sudden thaws and ice-gorges in the early

spring. With one exception, the highest flood in

inches. The recorded altitudes of others of more reached an altitude of sixty-four feet three February, 1832, when the water at Cincinnati the Ohio, during the present century, was that of

recent occurrence have been as follows: Dec.

17, 1847 - sixty - three feet seven

inches;

1862-fifty-seven feet four inches; 1882-fifty-

eight feet seven inches. The/ highest point

reached at New Albany, Ind., in 1883, was seventy-three feet-or four feet higher than the

historic times, at Cincinnati, was in 1884-the re- flood of 1832. The greatest altitude reached in corded height being three-quarters of an inch in

excess of seventy-one feet. Owing to the smaller

Illinois, the loss has been comparatively smaller in the Ohio River bottoms within the State of area of cultivated lands and other improvements

than on the Mississippi, although Cairo has suf-

fered from both streams. The most serious dis-

asters in Illinois territory from overflow of the

Ohio, occurred in connection with the flood of

1883, at Shawneetown, when, out of six hundred

houses, all but twenty-eight were flooded to the

second story and water ran to a depth of fifteen feet in the main street. A levee, which had been constructed for the protection of the city at great

expense, was almost entirely destroyed, and an appropriation of $60,000 was made by the Legis- lature to indemnify the corporation. On April 3, 1898, the Ohio River broke through the levee at Shawneetown, inundating the whole city and causing the loss of twenty-five lives. Much suffering was caused among the people driven from their homes and deprived of the means of subsistence, and it was found necessary to send them tents from Springfield and supplies of food by the State Government and by private contri- butions from the various cities of the State. The inundation continued for some two or three weeks .- Some destructive floods have occurred in the Chicago River-the most remarkable, since the settlement of the city of Chicago, being that of March 12, 1849. This was the result of an ice-

gorge in the Des Plaines River, turning the

waters of that stream across "the divide" into Mud Lake, and thence, by way of the South Branch, into the Chicago River. The accumula- tion of waters in the latter broke up the ice, which, forming into packs and gorges, deluged

the region between the two rivers. When the superabundant mass of waters and ice in the Chi- cago River began to flow towards the lake, it bore before it not only the accumulated pack-ice, but the vessels which had been tied up at the wharves and other points along the banks for the winter. A contemporaneous history of the event says that

there were scattered along the stream at the time,

four steamers, six propellers, two sloops, twenty- four brigs and fifty-seven canal boats. Those in

the upper part of the stream, being hemmed in by surrounding ice, soon became a part of the moving mass; chains and hawsers were snapped

bridges at Madison, Randolph and Wells Streets borne lakeward in indescribable confusion. The as if they had been whip-cord, and the whole

gave way in succession before the immense mass, adding, as it moved along, to the general

wreck by falling spars, crushed keels and crashing bridge timbers. "Opposite Kinzie wharf," says the record, "the river was choked with sailing-

craft of every description, piled together in inex- tricable confusion." While those vessels near the mouth of the river escaped into the lake with

comparatively little damage, a large number of those higher up the stream were caught in the gorge and either badly injured or totally wrecked.

The loss to the city, from the destruction of

$88,000-a large sum for that time. The wreck bridges, was estimated at $20,000, and to vessels at

of bridges compelled a return to the primitive system of ferries or extemporized bridges made

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HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS.

of boats, to furnish means of communication between the several divisions of the city-a con- dition of affairs which lasted for several months. -Floods about the same time did considerable damage on the Illinois, Fox and Rock Rivers, their waters being higher than in 1838 or 1833, which were memorable flood years on these in- terior streams. On the former, the village of Peru was partially destroyed, while the bridges on Rock River were all swept away. A flood in the Illinois River, in the spring of 1855, resulted in serious damage to bridges and other property in the vicinity of Ottawa, and there were extensive inundations of the bottom lands along that stream in 1859 and subsequent years .- In Febru- ary, 1857, a second flood in the Chicago River, similar to that of 1849, caused considerable dam- age, but was less destructive than that of the earlier date, as the bridges were more substan- tially constructed .- One of the most extensive floods, in recent times, occurred in the Mississippi River during the latter part of the month of April and early in May, 1897. The value of prop- erty destroyed on the lower Mississippi was estimated at many millions of dollars, and many lives were lost. At Warsaw, Ill., the water reached a height of nineteen feet four inches above low-water mark on April 24, and, at Quincy, nearly nineteen feet on the 28th, while the river, at points between these two cities, was from ten to fifteen miles wide. Some 25,000 acres of farm- ing lands between Quincy and Warsaw were flooded and the growing crops destroyed. At Alton the height reached by the water was twenty-two feet, but in consequence of the strength of the levees protecting the American Bottom, the farmers in that region suffered less than on some previous years.

IPAVA, a town in Fulton County, on one of the branches of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, 10 miles west-southwest of Lewistown, and some 44 miles north of Jacksonville. The county abounds in coal, and coal-mining, as well as agriculture, is a leading industry in the sur- rounding country. Other industries are the manufacture of flour and woolen goods; two banks, four churches, a sanitarium, and a weekly newspaper are also located here. Population (1890), 667; (1900), 749; (1910), 652.

IRON MANUFACTURES. The manufacture of iron, both pig and castings, direct from the furnace, has steadily increased in this State. In 1880, Illinois ranked seventh in the list of States producing manufactured iron, while, in 1890, it had risen to fourth place, Pennsylvania (which

produces nearly fifty per cent of the total product of the country) retaining the lead, with Ohio and Alabama following. In 1890 Illinois had fifteen complete furnace stacks (as against ten in 1880), turning out 674,506 tons, or seven per cent of the entire output. Since then four additional fur- naces have been completed, but no figures are at hand to show the increase in production. During the decade between 1880 and 1890, the percentage of increase in output was 616.53. The fuel used is chiefly the native bituminous coal, which is abundant and cheap. Of this, 674,506 tons were used; of anthracite coal, only 38,618 tons. Of the total output of pig-iron in the State, during 1890, 616,659 tons were of Bessemer. Charcoal pig is not made in Illinois.

IRON MOUNTAIN, CHESTER & EASTERN RAILROAD. (See Wabash, Chester & Western Railroad.)

IROQUOIS COUNTY, a large county on the eastern border of the State; area, 1,100 square miles; population (1910), 35,543. In 1830 two pioneer settlements mere made almost simultane- ously,-one at Bunkum (now Concord) and the other at Milford. Among those taking up homes at the former were Gurdon S. Hubbard, Benja- min Fry, and Messrs. Cartwright, Thomas, New- comb, and Miller. At Milford located Robert Hill, Samuel Rush, Messrs. Miles, Pickell and Parker, besides the Cox, Moore and Stanley families. Iroquois County was set off from Ver- milion and organized in 1833,-named from the Iroquois Indians, or Iroquois River, which flows through it. The Kickapoos and Pottawatomies did not remove west of the Mississippi until 1836-37, but were always friendly. The seat of government was first located at Montgomery, whence it was removed to Middleport, and finally to Watseka. The county is well timbered and the soil underlaid by both coal and building stone. Clay suitable for brick making and the manufacture of crockery is also found. The Iroquois River and the Sugar, Spring and Beaver Creeks thoroughly drain the county. An abun- dance of pure, cold water may be found anywhere by boring to the depth of from thirty to eighty feet, a fact which encourages grazing and the manufacture of dairy products. The soil is rich, and well adapted to fruit growing. The prin- cipal towns are Gilman (population 1,112), Wat- seka (2,017), and Milford (957).

IROQUOIS RIVER, (sometimes called Picka- mink), rises in Western Indiana and runs westward to Watseka, Ill .; thence it flows north- ward through Iroquois and part of Kankakee

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HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS.

Counties, entering the Kankakee River some five miles southeast of Kankakee. It is nearly 120 miles long.

IRVING, a village in Montgomery County, on the line of the Indianapolis & St. Louis Rail- road, 54 miles east-northeast of Alton, and six miles northeast of Hillsboro; has five churches, one bank, a creamery, and a weekly newspaper. Pop. (1900), 675; (1910), 678.

ISHAM, Edward S., lawyer, was born at Bennington, Vt., Jan. 15, 1836; educated at Lawrence Academy and Williams College, Mass., taking his degree at the latter in 1857; was admitted to the bar at Rutland, Vt., in 1858, coming to Chicago the same year. Mr. Isham was a Representative in the Twenty-fourth General Assembly (1864-66) and, in 1881, his name was prominently considered for a position on the Supreme bench of the United States. He is the senior member of the firm of Isham, Lin- coln & Beale, which has had the management of some of the most important cases coming before the Chicago courts. Died Feb. 16, 1902.

JACKSON, Huntington Wolcott, lawyer, born in Newark, N. J., Jan. 28, 1841, being descended on the maternal side from Oliver Wolcott, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence; received his education at Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass., and at Princeton College, leav- ing the latter at the close of his junior year to enter the army, and taking part in the battles of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg, a part of the time being on the staff of Maj .- Gen. John Newton, and, later, with Sherman from Chattanooga to Atlanta, finally receiving the rank of Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel for gallant and meritorious service. Returning to civil life in 1865, he entered Harvard Law School for one term, then spent a year in Europe, on his return resuming his legal studies at Newark, N. J .; came to Chicago in 1867, and the following year was admitted to the bar; has served as Supervisor of South Chicago, as President of the Chicago Bar Association, and (by appointment of the Comptroller of the Currency) as receiver and attorney of the Third National Bank of Chicago. Under the will of the late John Crerar he became an executor of the estate, and a trustee of the Crerar Library. Died at Newark, N. J., Jan 3, 1901.

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Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Winnebago County, Volume I, Part 60

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